Well, I invite you to turn with me in your copy
of God's Word that you've brought with you or
in the purac in front of you to Revelation. We
are going to be in the book of Revelation chapter
1 today looking at the exalted and risen Jesus.
Looking at the exalted and risen Jesus. Revelation
has been characterized as a picture book and
in many ways it is a picture book. sort of like
a graphic novel, less photography, and if you're
into art, more impressionism. As we look today,
we will not see a photograph of what Jesus looks
like. We will look at a picture of what Jesus
is like in his character and his essence as the
risen and exalted Christ and see why and how
that is so good for us today. So, Revelation
chapter 1. Look with me beginning at verse 12,
and we will go through verse 20. Revelation 12,
1. Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking
to me. And on turning, I saw seven golden lampstands.
And in the midst of the lampstands, one like
a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with
a golden sash around his chest, the hairs of
his head were white like white wool, like snow.
His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet
like burnished bronze refined in a furnace, and
his voice was like the roar of many waters. In
his right hand he held seven stars. From his
mouth came a sharp two -edged sword, and his
face was like the sun shining in full strength.
When I saw him I fell at his feet as though dead,
but he laid his right hand on me saying, Fear
not, I am the first and the last and the living
one. I died and behold, I'm alive forevermore.
And I have the keys of death and Hades. Write
therefore the things that you have seen, those
that are and those that are to take place after
this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that
you saw in my right hand and the seven golden
lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of
the seven churches. and the seven lampstands
are the seven churches. Well, on Palm Sunday,
we beheld Jesus gentle and lowly and humble.
And just as much as we needed to see our humble
Savior, coming to lowly needy people like me
and like you. We also need to see that very same
Savior high and lifted up, resurrected in power
and glory and authority as we see Him here. For
His glory is the great end for which we were
created and this image of glory actually answers
all of the distress. that you're experiencing
in life right now or tomorrow? Yes, indeed, whether
going through personal trials, temptations, or
griefs, or troubles, or if you're just bothered
by all of the plagues of our society that seem
to be new every time you turn on the news, this
picture of the exalted risen Savior is the answer.
As we behold Christ in this passage, what we
should feel and think is both a sense of consolation
and confidence. As we behold the exalted risen
Christ, He gives us His consolation and confidence
to live for Him. So let's see that. Let's see
this picture of Jesus, the risen. ruling king.
You remember the context of the book of Revelation
written by the Apostle John? Where is John? John
is on the island of Patmos. Why is he on the
island of Patmos? Well he's exiled. He is exiled
for the cause of Christ, and he is in the Spirit
on the Lord's Day. The Lord's Day is Sunday,
the Sabbath, the Christian Sabbath, moved to
Sunday in celebration of what? The resurrection
of Christ from the dead. And though John is unable
to gather with the saints, because he's alone
on Patmos, he's not really alone, is he? No,
not at all. As he turns, hearing this voice like
a trumpet, he sees this awesome sight never beheld,
well, the most awesome sight ever beheld by a
mortal man. It's an impression of what Jesus
is really like and it should reside deeply. This
image of Christ must reside deeply in our hearts
and our minds if we are to feel that sense of
comprehensive comfort that he brings us. We behold
His Majesty beginning in verse 13. What do you
see here? What impression does this visualization
create? As I read these words again, He's one
like a son of man, clothed with a long robe,
a golden sash around His chest. The hairs of
His head are white like wool, like snow. His
eyes, flames of fire, feet like burnished bronze
refined in a furnace. His voice like the roar
of many waters. Seven stars. He holds the stars
in his hand and out of his mouth comes what?
A double -edged sword. And his face is shining
like the sun at full strength. When was the last
time you tried to look at the sun and not be
in a solar eclipse? It's almost impossible to
look at the sun for more than an instant. And
this image. is one of the majesty of God, and
more specifically, the divine sovereignty of
God. The divine sovereignty of God. John is overwhelmed.
This is almost too much for him to take in. In
fact, he is knocked over by this image as the
Son of Man stands before him. This description
of the Son of Man draws a lot of language from
the Old Testament. Most of Revelation is made
up of images from the Old Testament. And this
harkens back to Daniel. In Daniel chapter 7,
the prophet has a vision of the Son of Man. And
that vision in Daniel, bottom line, that vision
in Daniel taken with this vision here in Revelation
is showing us that this one is the Divine Lord
of Glory. He's the divine King of kings and Lord
of lords. He is God, and He is King. This Jesus.
He's the Lord of everything. And in a day, the
day in which Revelation was written that day,
this would have been an immense comfort. to Christians
who are being forced in various places in the
empire, particularly towards Rome, to bow down
to Caesar as a god, Caesar as a lord and as divine.
One far greater than Caesar is here. One far
greater than any president or premier or prime
minister is here in this passage. in all the
chaos of this world, in whatever we're going
through day in and day out, amidst all the clamor
or the text messages that you get throughout
the week that compete for your attention for
a moment here this morning. And for many moments
throughout your week, we need to be captivated
by this picture of reality if we're gonna hold
everything else in its proper perspective. Otherwise
we'll be dominated by the chaos in this world
rather than seeing the one who controls and is
risen far above the chaos and clamor of this
life. We need to behold this son of man. No matter
what trial we are in, no matter what administration
is in the White House, no matter how the nations
vainly rage against God's people, you and I are
not captive to the world. We are not captive
to our sin or to Satan. We are living right now
under the dominion, under the reign of this sovereign
King who is absolutely, absolutely in charge
of your today's and your tomorrows. That's who
the resurrected exalted King Jesus is right now.
And this image brings consolation to John because
we see he is sovereign Lord and he is all -sufficient
Savior. And that all -sufficient Savior is depicted
in the various pieces of the garment that he
is wearing. We get little glimpses of the fact
that Jesus as our Savior is a prophet and a priest.
and a king, and what each of those prophet, priest,
and king ministries means to us. We see in verse
13 some priestly aspect of our exalted king's
ministry. The robe and the sash around his waist
remind us of the garments that the priests wore.
And we see also as we look at this picture that
Jesus is tending these lampstands in verse 12
and 13. That reminds us of the work of the high
priest back in the Old Testament. The work of
the priest in the Old Testament was to keep the
oil in the lampstands, to keep them burning,
to keep them bright. The priests themselves would
offer sacrifices for the sins of the people.
And this particular aspect of the priestly work
applied to this image of Christ is so powerful
because we realize that Jesus didn't just offer
a sacrifice. He was the great high priestly sacrifice
for our sins. And he's a high priest who's able
to help because he's present. Oh, you see back
in verse 13 that he is among the lampstands.
He's in the midst of the lampstands. What great
assurance to John, even though John is exiled
on this island and he probably doesn't get much
news of what's happening to the church on this
island. What great assurance to see that Jesus
is among the lampstands. which represent the
church. And so John sees, ah, Jesus is with His
church. He's among His church. He's with His
people. He's not going to abandon His people
in their moment of need, but He's going to tend
them, care for them, fan them into flame. Dear
ones, if you are in Christ today, He is with
you. And we also see not only the priestly ministry
of Jesus and how He is present with us, but He
is present with us as a prophet as well. How
do we see that prophetic ministry of our all
-sufficient, consoling Savior? Well, we see that
as we see what comes out of His mouth. Out of
His mouth comes a double -edged sword. What does
this signify? Well, Jesus Himself, who... proclaims
that He is the Word, also uses the tool of God's
Word, which is described like a sword. And so
God's Word, the sword of the Spirit, comes to
us. As Hebrews says in Hebrews chapter four,
the Word of God is living and active, sharper
than any two -edged sword. It penetrates, dividing
soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges
the thoughts and the attitudes of the heart.
And so Jesus, with His Word, comes in His prophetic
ministry, His speaking ministry, to purify us
with the sword of His Word. And in some way,
He's both a King and a prophet in this way because
His Word judges us. Now, that doesn't mean that
His Word condemns you, Christian, because we
know that the Scripture says that there is no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
But His Word does come to rebuke, to admonish,
to correct. Why? Because He doesn't want to leave
and He will not leave any vestige of sin in you.
He won't leave any vestige of sin in His church
because He has saved you to be a holy people
for Himself. So He won't let anything in the
church hinder Her relationship with Him. Let
any sin remain in your life that will harm you.
He loves you too much. And so, in his speaking,
in his prophetic ministry, he comes with this
sword, so to speak, to root out all that is harming
his people and displeasing to him. But you also
see his kingship. in the description further
there in verses 14 through 16, all of that mighty
imagery of His power, of His might, eyes like
flames of fire, et cetera. And you see here,
not only the priest that sacrifices himself,
the prophet who speaks words of life, but also
a king. Who's in charge of Fairview Presbyterian
Church? Jesus. This king. He is absolutely in
charge. And if you read on through Revelation
what he is going to do, he's going to speak words
of love and critique to his churches. And as
he comes, he is the one to say, this is going
well in your church and these are areas where
you need to repent in your church. He is the
one who defines her worship, her work, her belief,
her practice. He is the one who gives shape to
and protects and defends his church. You saw
that imagery of the seven stars, the seven stars
which correspond. to the seven angels. Oh, He's
protecting His church. He's defending His church.
And He's subduing you to Himself. That's a good
thing. Our catechism says that He executes the
office of a king by subduing us to Himself. He
wins us to Himself. He brings us to Himself.
He rules, defends, and protects. But he doesn't
just do this one time. No, he is the all -sufficient
Savior. And you see that sustaining sufficiency
as you realize that he is working and laboring
among the lampstands. He's not just distant in
heaven, but he is at work in his church now by
his Holy Spirit putting oil in the lamp, so to
speak, giving power to the church. as it were,
by His Spirit, sustaining her, guarding her,
protecting her, defending her, teaching her,
leading her. Christ will not abandon her. He
is actively at work right now in this church,
sustaining His people, sustaining you. That's
an incredibly encouraging thought in a day where
the church sometimes seems very small in a big
world. It seems opposed to Christ and opposed
to His people. No. No. Christians then were not
in the grip of Caesar. Ultimately, they were
in the grip of grace. And so are you. And so
am I. That's the picture. The all -sufficient
savior, prophet, priest, and king, the one who
is in charge of all things, sustaining and ruling
and defending his church, providing for all of
her needs. We're in this picture too. Fairview
Presbyterian Church is in this picture too. He
provides for us, he rules and defends us. We
need not think that Our faithful gospel witness
in this place has lasted for the last 239 years
because of sheer self -determination. No, we
are here today because of Christ's preservation.
That's the great consolation that comes to John,
and it's great consolation to us to know that
we have a priest who has opened the way to the
Father by his shed blood, a prophet that speaks
wonderful words of life to every situation, and
a king that rules, defends us, and conquers all
of his and our enemies. He is an all -sufficient
Savior for you. It's a comprehensive Savior who
touches every hurt. And He gives faith and repentance
to every one of us who are wounded by sin. And
so in the light of all that you've heard this
morning and all that we've sung and what we're
hearing now, if you today realize that you don't
know this Savior King, that you've never turned
from your sins. to trust in Him alone for salvation.
The Bible says that He is the only way to salvation.
He is the way, the truth, and the life. If that's
you today and you realize you don't know Him
as Savior and Lord, today is the day of salvation.
Let resurrection day be the day of repentance
and faith for you. Come to Christ, believe in
Him, and you will be saved. Jesus provides us
that divine comprehensive consolation but he
also gives us confidence and this is where his
victory over the grave and death give us great
confidence and dispel our fears. Notice here
in verse 16 or rather verse 17 that John sees
Jesus and what happens? Verse 17, he falls at
the feet of this figure as though dead. Now,
when you behold the incomprehensible picture
of this divine majesty, it's only natural to
be frightened and afraid. I've told you before
about the first time I read the book of Revelation
to Briley, and Briley maybe can remember this.
I got through the description of Jesus in this
passage, and do you remember what my daughter
said to me? She said, Daddy, Jesus sounds scary.
And I said, you were paying attention. You're
paying attention. But I did not read Revelation
to her to frighten my child with some sort of
terror. When we read this book, there should
be a sense of holy awe that comes upon us as
Christians. If we're not Christians, there is
a sense of terror, but John is not left in terror.
Jesus doesn't leave him there. No, he dispels
John's fear. Before the unveiled majesty of the
Lord of hosts, it's only natural for those to
see that image to fall in utter terror and feel
as though they are about to be utterly destroyed
because in light of Christ's awesome holiness,
the disparity between. Christ and His creature
and His people is so great that it leaves us
keenly aware of our unworthiness and sin. Daniel
had this experience, the prophet Daniel had this
experience in Daniel chapter 10, and you remember
Isaiah. When he saw the Lord high and lifted
up, he also said, what, woe to me, I am undone.
In the face of the Lord Jesus, sinners. naturally
prostrate themselves, yet Jesus comes to us in
tenderness. He comes to us in tenderness, and
what does Jesus say here? He says, fear not.
Don't be afraid. Oh, how tender Jesus is. He
bids our sorrows to cease. He comes to us and
encourages our hearts. Why? Why does Jesus say,
fear not? Why? Why does the Bible say to us over
and over again, Do not fear. Well, in this passage,
Jesus says, fear not, verse 17, for I am the
first and the last. Oh, what good news to know
that Jesus is in charge of history. Jesus is
in charge of current events. He's the first,
he's the last, and he's in charge of everything
in between. And so, dear ones, verse 17 really
begs us to ask the question, what is shaping
my worldview? What is shaping my worldview? Is
it the news? Is it my favorite podcast? What
is it that tells me how to think about the world?
Am I going to let the world shape my worldview?
Or am I going to let the Lord Jesus, the first
and the last, who is in charge of history, who
is shaping all things for the good of His church,
show me how to think about my world? No matter
what you read in the news or see on the world
stage, the main headline is this. This is what's
going on right now. God is working out his purposes
through the Lord Jesus Christ as year proceeds
to year for the good of his church. And if you
read through Revelation, you will see the end
of the story. And the end of the story is this,
Jesus wins and his people triumph with him. That.
It's a reason for confidence. That is why Jesus
can say to you today, fear not. I'm the first
and the last. He's the Lord of history. But why
else should we fear not? Oh, on this great resurrection
day, we shouldn't pass over this. The other reason
we should not fear is in verse 18. I am the living
one. I have died and behold, I'm alive forevermore.
I have the keys of death and Hades just as Jesus
paid for our sins at the cross. He also conquered
death by rising from the grave. And dear ones,
if he has dealt with your greatest reason for
fear, and if you really dig deep down, the base
fear under all other fears is that fear of death.
If he has dealt with that greatest fear and the
reason why we are doomed to die because of our
sin, the wages of sin is death. If he has dealt
with all of that Then we really have no other
reason to fear, do we? He took God's wrath upon
Himself for our sin at the cross, and He took
the wages of our sin all the way to the grave,
and He rose from the grave, triumphing over death
on our behalf. He conquered Hades and the grave
which means that in the resurrection when Jesus
comes again he is going to unite soul and body
together and we are going to live in a real physical
and spiritual existence in heaven that is beyond
all we could ask or imagine. That is a certain
and sure hope that we have because Christ has
died and because Christ is risen indeed. As Paul
has said, we who have died with him will also
rise with him because we were united to him in
a death like his, we will be united to him in
a resurrection just like his. We are so connected
to Christ. You have to understand that you are
in Christ, that he is in you. Your life is so
bound up with Christ's life that you could know
more, you could no more be separated from God
the Father's love than Christ could be separated
from God the Father's love, because you are in
Christ. And he can no more deny you than he can
deny himself. So see today, see today just as
verse 17 says, that Jesus placed his hand, this
mighty sovereign Lord places his hand gently
on John's shoulder to reassure him. See him placing
his hand on you today and saying this, fear not,
I am the living one. It's easy to say, isn't
it? Don't be anxious, don't be afraid. Easy to
say, hard to believe. And so when Monday comes
or Tuesday comes and those worries and renumeration,
ruminations, not renumeration, ruminations, worries,
cares, frets, just start bombarding you, come
back to this word. Proclaim to yourself the truth
that Christ proclaimed to John. Pick up this
book, read this passage, preach to yourself Jesus
died, Jesus rose. Jesus lives. Jesus died, Jesus
rose, Jesus lives for me, and I have nothing
left to fear. And as you proclaim the truth of
the risen Savior to your heart, you'll know the
assurance of God's love, you'll know confidence
in Christ, and you'll speak boldly for Christ.
I think it's interesting that when you have the
vision here of John and Jesus' reassurance and
strengthening to John, of his resurrection power,
John is then commissioned to do what? To write
Revelation. And when you see that vision that
Isaiah has, very similar vision that Isaiah has
in chapter six of Isaiah, and Isaiah's picked
up and cleansed and reassured of his relationship
with God, he is commissioned. And then Daniel,
is also strengthened in his own experience with
a vision of the resurrected or exalted Christ.
You remember the disciples, when they behold
the Lord of glory after he's risen, Jesus pronounces
peace upon them. He reassures them and he sends
them out to be witnesses for him. And so that's
the effect of this passage on us. Not only should
it console our hearts to know that Jesus is the
everything savior for me and for you, The word
today also gives us confidence to go on mission
for Him, to be His witnesses, to proclaim the
good news that Christ has died, Christ has risen,
He's coming again. He strengthens us to go and
sends us out from this place to proclaim the
good news that He has risen.