1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,360 Pastor Rick and I represented Grace Church at a conference on Friday in Phoenix. 2 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:12,600 And I want to tell you, I'm going through culture shock. 3 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:18,980 We got back in about an hour ago and this morning had breakfast out into the blue sky 4 00:00:18,980 --> 00:00:22,000 with palm trees all around us at the hotel. 5 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:24,760 And a little different than that here tonight. 6 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:27,040 A little different. 7 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:29,840 But we're glad to be back. 8 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:34,440 Well, I'm glad to see my family again. 9 00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:38,440 Let's put it that way. 10 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:43,720 Yesterday we had the day free to visit some churches in the Phoenix area to see facilities 11 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:50,160 and get a sense of what's happening in some of those ministries, which was very interesting. 12 00:00:50,160 --> 00:00:57,880 We had the extra day because as you well know, if you go by airplane anywhere, it costs so 13 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:01,640 much if you don't stay over Saturday night that it's almost worth it to extend your stay. 14 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:02,840 And so we did that. 15 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:07,520 And had the extra day and this morning in the city. 16 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:11,280 Yesterday we also visited a church in Tucson. 17 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:17,080 These churches are doing a work for God in that part of the country. 18 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:19,320 We went to the North Phoenix Baptist Church. 19 00:01:19,320 --> 00:01:22,040 Some of you have heard their choir on the radio. 20 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:24,080 Perhaps you have recordings of them. 21 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:27,440 The church of 21,000 members. 22 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:32,080 The pastor, Dr. Jackson, is retiring. 23 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:37,700 Just announced his retirement and today celebrated his 25th anniversary in the church. 24 00:01:37,700 --> 00:01:43,940 We also visited Bethany Bible Church in Phoenix. 25 00:01:43,940 --> 00:01:51,040 The first assembly, which is probably the fastest growing church in Phoenix and has 26 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:56,560 a setting for a church campus that you just can't imagine with mountains around it and 27 00:01:56,560 --> 00:02:00,400 overlooking beautiful scenery around there. 28 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:04,160 And then we visited the Christ Community Church in Tucson yesterday. 29 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:08,520 This morning we attended services at Grace Community Church in Tempe, which is a suburb 30 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:12,600 of Phoenix as you know, and enjoyed the ministry there. 31 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:15,000 Dr. Larry Finch. 32 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:19,640 But it's good to be back here with you tonight to talk about other churches than these that 33 00:02:19,640 --> 00:02:20,640 I've just named. 34 00:02:20,640 --> 00:02:25,800 I've been reminded in the last 24 hours of how each church is different. 35 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:27,900 Each church has its own personality. 36 00:02:27,900 --> 00:02:32,240 Each church has its own way of looking at the mission that God has given to us. 37 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:38,560 God is doing something different in each of the five churches that we expose ourselves 38 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:39,840 to. 39 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:40,840 And it's all good. 40 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:41,840 It's wonderful. 41 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:45,000 We give God praise and glory for what He's doing. 42 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:51,080 In Revelation chapters 2 and 3 we have Jesus speaking to seven churches that existed 2,000 43 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:52,080 years ago. 44 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:56,480 And I'll tell you this today. 45 00:02:56,480 --> 00:03:03,720 Jesus writes a letter through John to each of the seven churches of Asia Minor. 46 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:13,080 Each of the letters has a basic format that is the same. 47 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:18,160 Can you see that all right? 48 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:20,360 There we go. 49 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:26,560 I think you have perhaps in the back of your Bible this chart that we've filled out in 50 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:28,000 weeks past. 51 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:33,900 And we've gotten all the way down to the challenge is what we're looking at tonight. 52 00:03:33,900 --> 00:03:38,480 Each of these seven letters closes with a personal promise or challenge from the Lord 53 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:40,320 Jesus to the overcomers. 54 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:45,480 We need to understand who the overcomers are as we turn to that text. 55 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:50,440 There are some who feel that they are the super saints, that they are the believers 56 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:57,480 who are walking with God and doing very well in their lives, overcoming the devil and the 57 00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:00,440 world and therefore they're called overcomers. 58 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:06,280 I think however that in the context of John's writings, overcomers are not super saints 59 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:09,820 but they're every saint. 60 00:04:09,820 --> 00:04:14,520 For every saint overcomes in the sense that John uses that term. 61 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:20,120 For example in 1 John, just turn back a few pages and look at his epistle with me. 62 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:28,760 In 1 John chapter 5 verse 4 he says, for whatever is born of God overcomes the world. 63 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:31,960 This is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. 64 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:39,480 Who is he who overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the son of God? 65 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:46,080 So in John's language the overcomer is the true believer and because he is a true believer 66 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:49,040 there is evidence of that in his life. 67 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:55,660 John uses this term again in chapter 2 verses 13 and 14 of overcoming the wicked one. 68 00:04:55,660 --> 00:05:04,040 He uses it in chapter 4 and verse 4 of overcoming the false teachers that were infiltrating 69 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:07,460 the churches by the end of the first century. 70 00:05:07,460 --> 00:05:11,720 But in his language the overcomers are those who are genuine believers. 71 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:17,040 So as we come to Revelation 2 and 3 we would understand that John's use of that term and 72 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:21,480 Jesus' use of it through John would have the same meaning. 73 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:26,800 To each of these churches a promise is given to the genuine believers within it. 74 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:33,560 And I put it that way because some of these churches may have had majorities that were 75 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:36,280 not genuine believers. 76 00:05:36,280 --> 00:05:43,280 But every church seems to have had a remnant, even Laodicea, a remnant of genuine believers 77 00:05:43,280 --> 00:05:48,840 and Jesus speaks to them as he closes these letters. 78 00:05:48,840 --> 00:05:55,120 In Ephesians chapter 2 verse 7 we have the word of challenge or I think a better word 79 00:05:55,120 --> 00:06:01,200 really is the word of promise to the church at Ephesus. 80 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:04,520 He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. 81 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:09,320 You'll notice that phrase in each of these letters by the way. 82 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:13,400 He says to him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life which is in the 83 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:17,720 midst of the paradise of God. 84 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:26,120 Each of the promises that Jesus gives in the seven letters is metaphorical or symbolic. 85 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:32,440 Jesus is using a figure here with a deeper meaning to it. 86 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:37,280 Some of the figures are difficult to interpret as we will see. 87 00:06:37,280 --> 00:06:43,240 I have a hunch that had we lived in that day and been a part of the particular church mentioned 88 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:47,440 that we would have understood clearly what Jesus was saying to the overcomers. 89 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:53,040 But we don't have that kind of archaeological or historical information today for each of 90 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:55,080 these churches. 91 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:57,840 Some of the figures come out of scripture. 92 00:06:57,840 --> 00:07:04,400 Some of these symbols or metaphors seem to have come out of the culture in which the 93 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:06,800 churches existed. 94 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:15,360 Each of these promises points to a future and it correlates with some aspect of Revelation 95 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:18,000 chapters 21 and 22. 96 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:22,560 Not everything that's said can be found back there in those chapters but every promise 97 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:27,480 in some way relates back to the end of this very book. 98 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:33,360 And it's interesting that several of them also echo from Genesis chapters 2 and 3. 99 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:38,880 This one for example, the tree of life, where have you seen that before? 100 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:40,420 Genesis, right? 101 00:07:40,420 --> 00:07:45,560 Chapter 2, it's first mentioned in fact is in chapter 2 verse 9 of Genesis, the garden 102 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:46,560 of Eden. 103 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:52,160 And so there is an echo here in this promise that goes all the way back to Genesis but 104 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:55,980 it's really pointing to the future. 105 00:07:55,980 --> 00:07:59,920 You say, well why does he go back and seem to echo things from Genesis? 106 00:07:59,920 --> 00:08:06,400 It seems that Jesus is trying to underscore in our minds that what we lost in Adam, we 107 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:10,960 regain in Christ, the last Adam. 108 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:18,860 What was lost in Adam to the human race because of Adam's sin has been regained for the human 109 00:08:18,860 --> 00:08:24,880 race, the redeemed of the human race by the last Adam, Jesus Christ, and his great act 110 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:30,040 of obedience and redemption at the cross. 111 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:35,400 Now Jesus gives the promise here that the overcomers will eat of the fruit of this tree 112 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:40,040 which he says is in the midst of the paradise of God. 113 00:08:40,040 --> 00:08:44,880 The very last mention of this tree is in chapter 22 verse 2 of Revelation. 114 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:49,600 So it goes from Genesis 2 all the way over to Revelation 22. 115 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:56,840 It is said to be in the New Jerusalem, in the paradise of God here. 116 00:08:56,840 --> 00:09:01,800 The word paradise is another name for heaven. 117 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:08,560 It originates in the Persian language, this word paradise. 118 00:09:08,560 --> 00:09:14,360 It is a word that Paul uses in 2 Corinthians 12, 4 when he talks about having been caught 119 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:20,680 up to the third heaven, to paradise, and there seeing things that he could not talk about. 120 00:09:20,680 --> 00:09:28,440 It's the same word that Jesus used when at the cross he said to the thief who repented 121 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:33,020 and believed on him, this day you will be with me in paradise. 122 00:09:33,020 --> 00:09:39,560 That Persian word means a park or a garden. 123 00:09:39,560 --> 00:09:45,520 So we have just a glimpse of what heaven is like in this word. 124 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:51,040 This hotel that we stayed at for the last couple of days was beautiful. 125 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:59,200 The courtyard inside was well manicured with lovely green grass and all kinds of tropical 126 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:02,120 plants and palm trees. 127 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:03,120 It was beautiful to be there. 128 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:06,720 It was like a little park inside the hotel. 129 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:13,240 But heaven, you see, is that way and the size of it is immense. 130 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:18,920 It's nearly half the size of the United States of America, at least according to the dimensions 131 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:20,800 given to us later in this book. 132 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:21,800 All of it is a park. 133 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:30,320 It is a well manicured, well kept paradise of God and there in the midst of it is this 134 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:35,440 tree and Jesus says that those who are genuine believers will be able to pluck fruit from 135 00:10:35,440 --> 00:10:39,320 that tree and eat of it. 136 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:42,520 Symbolically meaning, I mean literally I believe there is a tree there. 137 00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:46,360 But symbolically what Jesus is saying is that true believers will be there and will have 138 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:52,320 eternal life in that place that God has prepared for his own. 139 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:57,360 Now as we move ahead to the next church, we come to verse 11 and we have the promise or 140 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:02,160 the challenge given to Smyrna, the suffering church, you may recall. 141 00:11:02,160 --> 00:11:08,400 Verse 11 he says, he who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death. 142 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:12,000 Notice again the forward look of this verse. 143 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:19,680 Shall not be touched by, shall not be hurt by the second death. 144 00:11:19,680 --> 00:11:24,200 This is one of those occasions when there are two negatives put together. 145 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:29,360 John does this, remember back in the gospel when he says about Jesus sheep, he quotes 146 00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:35,160 Jesus as saying, and they shall not never perish. 147 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:40,080 Which means they shall not ever by any means perish and the same thing is said here by 148 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:41,080 our Lord. 149 00:11:41,080 --> 00:11:49,080 He who overcomes shall not by any means whatsoever be hurt by the second death. 150 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:57,440 The term second death is found in rabbinical literature in the days of the New Testament. 151 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:04,640 The rabbis spoke of the second death as that death which the wicked will endure in the 152 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:07,160 next world. 153 00:12:07,160 --> 00:12:09,360 That's what they meant by the second death. 154 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:15,480 But the book of Revelation tells us clearly and exactly what our Lord means by the second 155 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:16,480 death. 156 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:22,760 Let's turn over to chapter 20 of the book of Revelation. 157 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:29,600 In verse 14, we have here the account of the great white throne judgment when all the wicked 158 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:32,720 are brought before the Lord. 159 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:38,760 And after they are dealt with, it says in verse 14, then death and Hades were cast into 160 00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:41,320 the lake of fire. 161 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:46,840 This is the second death. 162 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:54,240 So the second death in the terms of the New Testament is being cast into the lake of fire. 163 00:12:54,240 --> 00:13:01,080 And he says in verse 15, and anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into 164 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:03,800 the lake of fire. 165 00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:09,000 Again in verse 8 of the next chapter it says, but the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, 166 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:15,720 murderer, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the 167 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:23,360 lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. 168 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:31,720 Death is the outcome of Adam's sin, and it culminates with eternal separation from God 169 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:40,040 in this place of punishment that is called the lake of fire, or the second death. 170 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:44,680 The Lord Jesus Christ, however, has reversed this for his own. 171 00:13:44,680 --> 00:13:51,800 He says for those who are his, those who are the overcomers, this experience will not be 172 00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:54,700 theirs in any shape or form. 173 00:13:54,700 --> 00:14:00,160 He says there is no way that the second death, that is the lake of fire, will ever have any 174 00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:08,480 impact or influence or any affectation upon those who are the overcomers, the genuine 175 00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:11,180 believers, a promise that God gives. 176 00:14:11,180 --> 00:14:17,960 That undoubtedly was a comfort to these people of Smyrna who were facing the likelihood actually 177 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:28,320 of martyrdom, of death, like the famous Polycarp who was a pastor there and gave his life. 178 00:14:28,320 --> 00:14:34,280 These people endured one death, but Jesus says never the second death. 179 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:38,320 They're the overcomers. 180 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:43,920 Now moving down to verse 17 of Revelation 2, we come to the next promise, that given 181 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:46,200 to Pergamum. 182 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:51,680 Here Jesus says to him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. 183 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:56,320 I will give him a white stone, on the stone a new name written which no one knows except 184 00:14:56,320 --> 00:15:00,200 him who receives it. 185 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:03,120 The hidden manna, what is that? 186 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:09,360 We understand Jesus to be speaking about himself as the bread that comes down from heaven, 187 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:11,480 John chapter 6. 188 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:17,600 Jesus is saying here that those who are the overcomers will be sustained and provided 189 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:25,320 for forever with that hidden manna, the unseen manna to the world, which is very real, the 190 00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:30,400 spiritual sustenance that is found in him. 191 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:38,360 The word hidden reminds us of a tradition that is recorded in the book of 2nd Maccabees, 192 00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:42,080 not a part of the Bible, but a part of the Apocrypha. 193 00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:50,200 In that book there is a tradition that says that the pot of manna that was preserved in 194 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:57,560 the Ark of the Covenant was taken out of that Ark in Jeremiah's time before Jerusalem was 195 00:15:57,560 --> 00:16:01,200 overrun by Nebuchadnezzar. 196 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:12,500 That pot of manna was hidden underground on Mount Nebo to the east of Jerusalem across 197 00:16:12,500 --> 00:16:15,120 the Jordan River. 198 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:20,560 Tradition says that that pot of manna will be recovered when Messiah comes and he will 199 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:26,480 take it back to the Messianic temple that will be established in the Kingdom. 200 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:31,440 I repeat, that is merely a tradition, not a prophecy of the Word of God. 201 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:37,160 But it's interesting that the word hidden is used here and undoubtedly to those Jewish 202 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:41,600 believers who received this promise, they were reminded of that tradition that had been 203 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:45,840 penned by that time and they were aware of it. 204 00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:50,240 The hidden manna that is in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. 205 00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:53,960 Then we have this white stone that is mentioned. 206 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:55,420 This is one of those mysteries. 207 00:16:55,420 --> 00:16:58,440 No one knows for sure what the white stone is. 208 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:02,840 A number of guesses and some are better than others. 209 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:09,400 For example, some say the white stone represents the precious stones that were upon the high 210 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:14,760 priest as he did his work in the tabernacle and in the temple. 211 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:20,720 Remember, he had a beautiful breastplate and on the breastplate a stone, a precious stone, 212 00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:27,560 each one representing the twelve tribes of Israel and the name of the tribe engraved upon that stone. 213 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:31,600 There are some who say, well this stone reminds us of that. 214 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:39,840 There are others who look to the tradition of jurors in that ancient day, 2000 years 215 00:17:39,840 --> 00:17:47,200 ago, who when they were involved in a trial and who when they wished to cast a vote for 216 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:56,240 innocence on the part of the party being tried, they would put into the plate a white stone. 217 00:17:56,240 --> 00:18:00,400 That was their way of saying this one is innocent. 218 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:06,840 Others say no, it represents, the white stone represents a token that was common in that 219 00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:14,660 day to important banquets and social events and that the white stone is given to the overcomer 220 00:18:14,660 --> 00:18:18,280 as his ticket, so to speak, into heaven. 221 00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:20,400 It is his badge of entrance. 222 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:26,720 It is his way of proving that he is a part of this party and his name is written on it, 223 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:29,240 a new name that no one knows. 224 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:33,000 But what we really don't know is what the white stone means. 225 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:34,980 But it is a promise of the Lord Jesus. 226 00:18:34,980 --> 00:18:42,320 That will be clear, by the way, one day when we will be in these scenes when that trumpet 227 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:47,280 has sounded and the roll call has been given. 228 00:18:47,280 --> 00:18:55,560 Well we come now to the next of the promises, verses 26 to 29. 229 00:18:55,560 --> 00:18:56,560 It is the longest. 230 00:18:56,560 --> 00:19:03,960 It is to Thyatira, one of the most difficult of the letters. 231 00:19:03,960 --> 00:19:09,660 He says, and he who overcomes and keeps my works until the end, to him I will give power 232 00:19:09,660 --> 00:19:10,660 over the nations. 233 00:19:10,660 --> 00:19:15,400 Tell me to stop for a moment, I want you to notice that phrase that follows overcomes 234 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:16,400 here. 235 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:22,360 He who overcomes and keeps my works until the end. 236 00:19:22,360 --> 00:19:29,000 Is Jesus saying that we not only have to believe but we have to hang on to the end to be saved? 237 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:31,560 That's not what he is saying. 238 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:33,320 This is an appositional phrase. 239 00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:45,400 It means that the overcomer is proven by the fact that he endures, he keeps my works, Jesus' 240 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:47,840 works until the end. 241 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:52,120 You see the evidence that one is a genuine believer is not that his name is written down 242 00:19:52,120 --> 00:19:57,420 on a church roll or that it is in the back of a Bible somewhere saying on this day I 243 00:19:57,420 --> 00:19:59,920 prayed to receive Christ. 244 00:19:59,920 --> 00:20:02,360 I am not putting that down. 245 00:20:02,360 --> 00:20:04,440 I think it is good to write things down like that. 246 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:10,120 But the real proof that one is an overcomer is found in the continuance of his life. 247 00:20:10,120 --> 00:20:15,360 It is in the faithfulness of his life, keeping on with God. 248 00:20:15,360 --> 00:20:21,760 Not that he can't stumble, not that he can't for a time transgress, get out of the way. 249 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:24,920 He will be brought back, he will come back. 250 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:29,600 The one who is the true believer proves that by his life. 251 00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:36,560 To that one, Jesus says, he shall rule them with a rod of iron as the potter's vessels 252 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:42,480 shall be broken to pieces as I also have received from my Father. 253 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:46,960 And I will give him the morning star. 254 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:52,800 You will notice here this quotation of our Lord from Psalm 2. 255 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:57,280 If you have studied your Bible, you know that Psalm 2 really is a messianic Psalm and this 256 00:20:57,280 --> 00:21:06,160 verse there points to him as the one who will rule with a rod of iron. 257 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:16,440 Jesus takes that same verse now and he reapplies it, not to himself but to overcomers. 258 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:23,560 That is, overcomers will rule with him is the point in his coming kingdom. 259 00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:30,240 And the word rule here is not the word for a death spot, it's the word for shepherd. 260 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:35,040 Well shepherd over, be a shepherd to the nations. 261 00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:38,000 Be a shepherd with a rod of iron. 262 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:42,560 The picture there may be of the staff that belonged to a shepherd and at the end of it 263 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:50,240 had a tip of iron that was attached to make it more of a weapon that the shepherd could 264 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:51,240 use. 265 00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:57,480 Well the promise is that the overcomer will reign with Christ, we'll see that again in 266 00:21:57,480 --> 00:21:58,480 just a moment. 267 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:01,720 And Jesus also says, I will give him the morning star. 268 00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:05,480 The morning star that appears just before the dawn. 269 00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:10,460 And again this is mysterious, we're not sure exactly what this means although Jesus calls 270 00:22:10,460 --> 00:22:18,400 himself the morning star, chapter 22 verse 16. 271 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:22,520 But there are other kinds of interpretation of this verse as well, some say it stands 272 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:25,240 for the beginning of immortality. 273 00:22:25,240 --> 00:22:30,920 The one who is the overcomer will have the morning star and immortality then will dawn 274 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:33,760 for him as the eternal day. 275 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:40,340 The promise will be made clear one day, but again it's a promise that points to the future 276 00:22:40,340 --> 00:22:42,920 for those who are the children of God. 277 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:51,800 We've come to chapter 3 and the fifth of the churches, verses 5 and 6 give us the promise 278 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:54,440 to the church of Sardis. 279 00:22:54,440 --> 00:22:59,920 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, I will not blot out his name from 280 00:22:59,920 --> 00:23:01,400 the book of life. 281 00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:08,880 I will confess his name before my father and before his angels. 282 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:14,960 Here the Lord Jesus gives the promise that those who are his will be clothed with garments 283 00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:16,240 that are said to be white. 284 00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:23,100 Elsewhere in Revelation the white garment is symbolic of righteousness. 285 00:23:23,100 --> 00:23:28,480 So it may well be that Jesus is saying that one who is an overcomer will have this garment 286 00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:33,080 that is appropriate to who he is in Christ. 287 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:39,280 A garment representing the purity, the righteousness that he is in Christ. 288 00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:48,280 Dr. Mounts says it represents the attire appropriate to the heavenly state, whatever that means. 289 00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:54,840 It will be clothing he says that is appropriate that we will wear forever and forever. 290 00:23:54,840 --> 00:23:58,240 Saturday won't be wash day in heaven. 291 00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:05,720 It will be our clothing forever in that resurrection body. 292 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:11,640 And then he says that he will not blot out the name of the overcomer from the book of 293 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:12,880 life. 294 00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:16,880 The book of life is found six times in the book of Revelation. 295 00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:27,300 Here then in chapter 13 verse 8, chapter 17 verse 8, chapter 20 verse 12 and verse 15 296 00:24:27,300 --> 00:24:32,040 and then again in chapter 21 and verse 27. 297 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:40,440 In the ancient days cities kept a log of their citizens. 298 00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:48,480 Those names were recorded in the registers of the city and were kept there until death. 299 00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:57,840 And we are told that at death the names were then removed as citizens of the city. 300 00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:02,080 There are those who say well Jesus is threatening, he is implying here that there are some who 301 00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:05,560 may have their names taken out of the book of life. 302 00:25:05,560 --> 00:25:12,560 John Walvard says correctly that what the verse really does is to affirm that that will 303 00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:16,200 never happen. 304 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:21,400 While a threat may be implied by some what the verse really says, not what it implies, 305 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:28,040 what it says is that the overcomer will never have his name removed from the book of life. 306 00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:33,600 He will always be a citizen of the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem. 307 00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:41,240 And Jesus says I will confess him before the courts of heaven is the real thought here. 308 00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:47,560 I will give testimony before my father, before his angel that this one is my own. 309 00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:50,680 It is a great thought isn't it? 310 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:56,240 It follows up what Jesus said in Matthew 10-32 where he promises the same thing to those 311 00:25:56,240 --> 00:26:01,280 who are not ashamed to confess him before men. 312 00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:09,600 Then as we come to chapter 3 verses 12 and 13 we have the promise to the church of Philadelphia. 313 00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:17,400 He says he who overcomes I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God and he shall 314 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:22,760 go out no more and I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of 315 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:28,360 my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God and I will write 316 00:26:28,360 --> 00:26:32,600 on him my new name. 317 00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:40,360 You will notice that he says here that the overcomer will be a pillar in the temple of 318 00:26:40,360 --> 00:26:42,200 God. 319 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:47,960 This may remind us of Paul's words in Galatians 2 where symbolically he called James and Peter 320 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:52,720 and John pillars in the church of Jerusalem. 321 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:59,560 What he meant was that they were men who were reputedly stable and sound and a part of the 322 00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:05,080 very foundation of that local church in Jerusalem. 323 00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:08,240 That may be what Jesus has in mind here. 324 00:27:08,240 --> 00:27:15,560 We are also told that the city of Philadelphia was prone to earthquakes and that because 325 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:25,940 of that there were architectural specialties done in the temples that were in the city 326 00:27:25,940 --> 00:27:32,080 of Philadelphia, the pagan temples, so that in case of an earthquake the temples might 327 00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:33,280 stand. 328 00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:42,880 Jesus may have been drawing upon that picture and saying here that the overcomers will be 329 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:51,640 kept stable and secure and safe in the midst of the earthquakes, the shakings of life and 330 00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:54,480 of persecution in the world. 331 00:27:54,480 --> 00:28:01,040 And there are those who say also that in that day citizens of some cities were honored by 332 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:05,380 the erection of a pillar in the pagan temple. 333 00:28:05,380 --> 00:28:06,720 Their name was placed in the pillar. 334 00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:12,820 It was sort of like a plaque that was put there in public to remember what this citizen 335 00:28:12,820 --> 00:28:13,820 had done. 336 00:28:13,820 --> 00:28:16,200 And again that could be the symbolic meaning. 337 00:28:16,200 --> 00:28:21,840 Jesus is saying that those who are overcomers will be remembered in heaven. 338 00:28:21,840 --> 00:28:23,440 Their works will go before them. 339 00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:31,200 They will be rewarded and be publicly acknowledged as pillars in heaven. 340 00:28:31,200 --> 00:28:39,680 And he says that he will write on him the name of God, the name of the new Jerusalem, 341 00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:42,680 the city of God. 342 00:28:42,680 --> 00:28:49,840 The idea seems to be here that those who are the overcomers will be clearly marked and 343 00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:57,040 designated forever as those who belong to that glorious place that Jesus is preparing 344 00:28:57,040 --> 00:28:58,400 for his own. 345 00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:03,720 But in that new creation, the new heavens and the new earth that's coming, those who 346 00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:12,800 are the overcomers will be designated forever with the honor of being citizens of the new 347 00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:22,720 Jerusalem and have the very name of God written upon them in some way. 348 00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:28,720 And then we close with the promise to the church at Laodicea in chapter 3 verses 21 349 00:29:28,720 --> 00:29:36,140 and 22, to him overcomes I will grant to sit with me on my throne as I also overcame and 350 00:29:36,140 --> 00:29:40,080 set down with my father on his throne. 351 00:29:40,080 --> 00:29:47,040 And so again the promise that the overcomer will reign with the Lord Jesus Christ and 352 00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:51,880 will sit with him on his throne. 353 00:29:51,880 --> 00:30:01,200 I want you to remember that seven times Jesus has said these words, he who has an ear, let 354 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:07,080 him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. 355 00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:08,880 Who are those that have ears? 356 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:16,680 Well, I believe again it's those whose ears hear the voice of the shepherd. 357 00:30:16,680 --> 00:30:22,080 Those whose ears have been opened by the Lord, those who are the overcomers, the true believers. 358 00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:29,960 And he says, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. 359 00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:37,160 Jesus is probably saying here, let those who are true believers understand the personal 360 00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:42,960 application of these words by the Spirit to their lives. 361 00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:49,000 You see, these words are not merely written to believers who have been dead 2,000 years, 362 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:51,840 but they're written to us also. 363 00:30:51,840 --> 00:30:59,320 They are written for our encouragement to remind us that in Christ we too are overcomers. 364 00:30:59,320 --> 00:31:05,360 And the future is ours and all that God has promised is ours in Christ. 365 00:31:05,360 --> 00:31:08,160 Everything is ours in Christ. 366 00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:12,200 And with him we will reign forever and forever. 367 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:18,920 And so let's let our ears hear that and let our hearts rejoice in that truth and let the 368 00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:24,620 Spirit of God apply these promises to our lives. 369 00:31:24,620 --> 00:31:30,120 We come to the table of the Lord and we always speak of its meaning. 370 00:31:30,120 --> 00:31:34,840 We are remembering, we're looking back when we come to this table. 371 00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:40,560 We are reminding ourselves of what he did for us at the cross when he laid down his 372 00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:44,000 life on our behalf. 373 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:51,120 But tonight, let's do that, but let's also remember the future. 374 00:31:51,120 --> 00:31:56,800 Let's remember what this Lord who gave himself for us has promised us. 375 00:31:56,800 --> 00:32:03,560 Let's remember that we have a glorious, wondrous future before us. 376 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:08,760 Hey, you need to be reminded the world doesn't come to an end if your candidate doesn't 377 00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:12,720 get elected Tuesday. 378 00:32:12,720 --> 00:32:17,440 It doesn't mean that somehow the end of the world has come. 379 00:32:17,440 --> 00:32:20,520 God is on the throne, the future is ours in Christ. 380 00:32:20,520 --> 00:32:22,760 Let's be encouraged in that. 381 00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:29,520 And as we partake of these elements, let's remember that Jesus said for us to do this 382 00:32:29,520 --> 00:32:31,920 until he comes. 383 00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:35,320 And one day he's coming. 384 00:32:35,320 --> 00:32:39,840 And we will no more celebrate communion. 385 00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:49,160 We will sit down and eat with him and have a wonderful meal at the Lamb's table. 386 00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:53,340 If you are a believer in Jesus Christ and an overcomer, we invite you to share with 387 00:32:53,340 --> 00:32:55,920 us tonight in this table. 388 00:32:55,920 --> 00:33:01,360 If you are walking in obedience to Jesus Christ, if he is Lord of your life, he invites you 389 00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:09,560 to come and partake and remember and also rejoice in the future and what's coming. 390 00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:10,960 Let's bow together in prayer. 391 00:33:10,960 --> 00:33:17,000 I'm going to ask those who are serving to come and join me here in the front as we give 392 00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:19,960 thanks to the Lord. 393 00:33:19,960 --> 00:33:24,560 Lord Jesus, we want our ears to hear. 394 00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:29,820 We don't want to be deaf. 395 00:33:29,820 --> 00:33:36,720 In the din and the noise of the world, open our ears to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. 396 00:33:36,720 --> 00:33:42,800 And may that word that we've looked at tonight be applied to our lives just like you wanted 397 00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:45,680 it to be. 398 00:33:45,680 --> 00:33:53,340 As we partake of these elements, we give thanks for the bread, reminding us of your sacrifice 399 00:33:53,340 --> 00:33:59,040 at the cross, reminding us that you are the hidden manna, that you are the sustenance 400 00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:01,200 of our souls. 401 00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:10,540 We partake of you tonight as we eat and we anticipate that day when we will be changed 402 00:34:10,540 --> 00:34:13,440 and made like you and be with you. 403 00:34:13,440 --> 00:34:29,080 Amen.