{"id":18951,"date":"2018-06-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-10T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/revelation-003-the-main-thing\/"},"modified":"2018-06-10T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-06-10T05:00:00","slug":"revelation-003-the-main-thing","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/revelation-003-the-main-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"Revelation 003 – The Main Thing"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[111],"series_event":[490],"sermon_service_type":[472],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18951","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-revelation","series_event-revelation","sermon_service_type-main-service","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Revelation 003 - The Main Thing","sermon_date":"20180610","sermon_month":"6","sermon_year":"2018","sermon_notes":5830,"sermon_slides":5829,"sermon_mp3":5841,"sermon_id":"610181343490","series_or_event":490,"service_type":[472],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":111,"chapter_and_verse":"1:4d-8","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nThe Main Thing\n\n6-10-18\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Revelation 1:4d-8\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lesson 3\n\nGood morning everybody.\u00a0 Let\u2019s take our Bibles if we could and open them to the Book of Revelation, chapter 4 and those that are viewing online I want to show you these aren\u2019t props I brought in as sermon illustrations; these are for our upcoming VBS, Vacation Bible School at the end of the month.\u00a0\u00a0 The title of our message is The Main Thing, and there\u2019s a saying that goes something like this: the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.\u00a0 Amen!\u00a0 As a matter of fact I heard a sermon once on how to keep the main thing the main thing and that\u2019s the main thing and the sermon never told me what the main thing was.\u00a0 [Laughter]\u00a0 So what exactly is the main thing?\u00a0 As we\u2019re going to discover today the main thing is Jesus.\u00a0 He is the focus, He is the spotlight of redemptive history.\n\nOne of the things we talked about is the background of the book; we sort of asked and answered some basic questions about the book in order to orient us to the Book of Revelation.\u00a0\u00a0 We saw that John wrote this book at the end of the first century as he was marooned on the island of Patmos.\u00a0 This is the final revelation or information that God gave to His church.\u00a0 And we have been working through what is called a prologue of the book.\u00a0 The prologue of the book is really there in chapter 1 and verses 1-8.\n\nAnd one of the reasons I\u2019m not flying through this prologue at breakneck speed is because I think the things spoken of in the prologue, which is just a fancy of saying an introduction, really put into the ground seeds or kernels of truth that become watered and are developed into fuller maturity, fuller revelation, as we move through the book.\u00a0 So when we miss the prologue we sort of misunderstand what this book is about.\u00a0 There\u2019s sort of an outline of the prologue.\u00a0 [1] Title (1a) [2] Chain of Communication (1b-2)\u00a0 [3] Blessing (3) [4] Author (4a)\u00a0 [5] Audience (4b)\u00a0 [6] Greeting (4c)\u00a0 [7] Source (4d-5a)\u00a0 [8] Subject (5b-8)]\n\nWe\u2019ve gone through verse 1 through most of verse 4.\u00a0 We saw last time a greeting of grace and peace there in verse 4.\u00a0 And notice the end of verse 4 into verse 5, it\u2019s very clear who the source of this greeting is.\u00a0 In other words, why do we have the information that we have?\u00a0 Why do we have grace and peace?\u00a0 Why do we have this revelation?\n\nTake a look at verse 4, \u201cJohn to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace,\u201d that\u2019s where we left off last time, but the rest of the verse says, \u201cfrom\u201d in other words, here\u2019s the source, in other words, if you\u2019re not tapped into the source you can\u2019t experience the blessing.\u00a0 So who is the source?\u00a0 \u201c\u2026from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,\u201d and then you go into verse 5 and it says, \u201cand from Jesus Christ.\u201d\n\nIf you\u2019re a careful reader of the Bible what you\u2019ll discover is that all three members of the Trinity are mentioned here.\u00a0 We believe in the eternally existent triune God, one God but He has expressed Himself in three different personages; God the Father is unique to His Fatherhood, God the Son is unique to His Sonship and then we also have God the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 One God but He\u2019s expressed Himself in three personages.\n\nAnd you say well, pastor, can you explain that to us?\u00a0 And the reality is I\u2019ve been trying to understand this for a long time\u2026 I don\u2019t understand it!\u00a0 I accept it as a biblical revelation; I accept is as biblical truth.\u00a0 And what you discover here in the source of this greeting is all three members of the Trinity are mentioned.\u00a0 First of all you have the first member of the Trinity mentioned, God the Father.\u00a0 You see that in verse 4, \u201cfrom Him.\u201d\u00a0 Now notice it doesn\u2019t say the Son, or Jesus. The Son, or Jesus, is going to start getting explained in verse 5.\u00a0 \u201cFrom him who is and who was and who is to come.\u201d\u00a0 The first source of these blessings is God the Father.\u00a0 And you\u2019ll notice that God the Father is described as the one who is, was, and is to come.\u00a0 What does that mean?\u00a0 He is outside of time.\u00a0 He is what you call the self-existent one.\n\nIn fact, you remember Moses got called into service by God and Moses asks a question; he was told to go and proclaim divine truth to Pharaoh, the largest world empire of that time, and he asks God who shall I say sent me. [Exodus 3:13, \u201cThen Moses said to God, \"Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, \u2018The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' Now they may say to me, 'What is His name?' What shall I say to them?\u2019]\u00a0 And God\u2019s answer is very clear, Exodus 3:14, \u201cGod said to Moses, \u2018I AM WHO I AM\u2019]and He said, \u2018Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, \u2018I AM has sent me to you.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cI AM\u201d ego eimi<\/em> in Greek.\u00a0 The uncaused cause, the One that has always been here is here now and will always be here, the self-existent one.\u00a0 That is the ultimate source of this book of this book and the source of our blessings.\n\nBut you\u2019ll notice in verse 4 how he shifts from the first member of the trinity, the triune Godhood, to the third member.\u00a0 He begins to describe here the Holy Spirit and notice what it says in verse 4, \u201cAnd from the seven spirits who are before His throne.\u201d\u00a0 [Revelation 1:4]\u00a0 Now who are these seven spirits?\u00a0 Many people interpret them as angels, angels ministering before the throne room of God.\u00a0 Why do they interpret it that way?\u00a0 Because in the Book of Hebrews, chapter 1 and verse 14 angels are called spirits.\u00a0 Hebrews 1:14 says, \u201cAre they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?\u201d\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that great to know by the way?\u00a0 That we have on our side as children of God ministering angels, ministering spirits whose assignment is us.\u00a0 And I say praise the Lord because I need all the help I can get.\n\nBut so many people will look at the word \u201cspirits\u201d and say well, these are seven spirits, seven angels in the presence of God.\u00a0 And that\u2019s a possible interpretation.\u00a0 I\u2019m more of the persuasion that he is talking about the third member of the Trinity just like he is talking in these verses about the other two members of the Trinity, because the fullness of the Holy Spirit is often described through number seven, looking at the Holy Spirit\u2019s various ministries.\n\nIsaiah 11:2 says this: \u201cThe Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and under\u00adstanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.\u201d\u00a0 Isn\u2019t it interesting that the Holy Spirit is described through seven genitive expressions here?\u00a0 Number 1, \u201cof the LORD.\u201d\u00a0 Number 2, \u201cof wisdom.\u201d\u00a0 Number 3, of \u201cunderstanding.\u201d\u00a0 Number 4,\u00a0 of \u201ccounsel.\u201d\u00a0 Number 5, of \u201cstrength.\u201d\u00a0 Number 6, of \u201cknowledge.\u201d\u00a0 Number 7, of \u201cfear of the LORD.\u201d\u00a0 The fullness of the Spirit.\u00a0 In other words, when the Holy Spirit disclosed this book to humanity He was operating in His fullness, He held nothing back from us.\u00a0 And seven, as we have talked about, is the number of completion or perfection, not only in the whole Bible but specifically the Book of Revelation.\n\nSo this message has come from God the Father.\u00a0 It has also come from God the Son.\u00a0 And then you move down into verse 5 and you see lighted here not Trinity Member 1 nor 3 but Trinity Member number 2.\u00a0 It says there in verse 5, \u201cand from Jesus Christ.\u201d\u00a0 [Verse 5a, \u201c[Verse 5, \u201cthe faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood and from Jesus Christ\u2026.]\u00a0 He ends with, as he discusses the various members of the Trinity he ends with Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Why does he end with Jesus Christ?\u00a0 Because Jesus Christ is the point of the book.\n\nDid we not see earlier in our study the title of the book, \u201cThe revelation of\u2026.\u201d Who?\u00a0 \u201cJesus Christ.\u201d\u00a0 The point of the book is to disclose, not the antichrist although information is given about him, but Jesus Christ.\u00a0 And how tempting it is in a book of interesting information to loose Jesus Christ in a maze of detail.\u00a0 That\u2019s what happened with the Pharisees when you think about it, in the first century in the life of Christ.\u00a0 They got so caught up in the maze of regulations and details they couldn\u2019t recognize who was standing right in front of them, Jesus Christ! And I\u2019ve seen this happen to many students of the Book of Revelation, they get pulled into very fascinating details and forget what the book is about: it\u2019s about Jesus, the second member of the Triune Godhead.\u00a0 It\u2019s about His final phase of victory which is just on the horizon.\n\nWe have already seen Revelation 19:10 where it says, \u201cFor the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.\u201d\u00a0 [Revelation 19:10, \u201cThen I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, \u2018Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.\u201d\u2019]\u00a0 Who is prophecy about?\u00a0 What is prophecy about?\u00a0\u00a0 The prophecy is about Jesus Christ.\u00a0 The title of the book is about Jesus Christ.\u00a0 The function of the book is about Jesus Christ.\u00a0 The role of the book is about Jesus Christ.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I\u2019ve entitled this message \u201cThe Main Thing\u201d is to keep the main thing.\n\nAnd you say well can you give me some more information about Jesus Christ. And I\u2019m so glad you asked that because that is who begins to be amplified and explained in the second half of verse 5 all the way through the end of the prologue and that\u2019s where we\u2019re going to be spending our time this morning, talking about Jesus Christ.\n\nWe can take the information here and organize it into four parts.\u00a0 Number one, who He is.\u00a0 And you see the verses that identify this part of Jesus.\u00a0 Number 2, His past work, because if we don\u2019t understand His past work we don\u2019t understand the basis for our confidence in a future victory that is disclosed in the Book of Revelation.\u00a0 Number 3, verse 7, His future work, what is He going to do?\u00a0 And if time permits number 4, His sovereignty; He is not some sort of created being that\u2019s barely holding things together.\u00a0 He is the uncaused cause, He is just as self-existent as is God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 He has always been and will always be.\n\nSo let\u2019s talk about who He is.\u00a0 Who is Jesus Christ?\u00a0 In fact, if you get into a conversation this week and somebody asks you who is Jesus what would you say exactly. Well, we discover that there are several things to say about Jesus Christ, all given there in verse 5.\u00a0 Let\u2019s read together verse 5, \u201cthe faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood.\u201d\n\nWho is Jesus Christ?\u00a0 Number one, He is \u201cthe faithful witness.\u201d\u00a0 One of the things that we fail in so much as human beings is we\u2019re just not faithful.\u00a0 We\u2019re not consistent; part of our sin nature is that way.\u00a0 People are unfaithful in their places of employment many times, they\u2019re unfaithful in their marriages many times, and we have a tendency as fallen human beings to fail and we just lack consistency in what God has called us to do.\u00a0 But not so this man, Jesus Christ.\n\nIf you look there at verse 5 \u201cand from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness.\u201d\u00a0 You can\u2019t find a more faithful individual than Jesus Christ.\u00a0 1 John 1:9 says, \u201cIf we confess our sins He is\u201d what? \u201cfaithful and righteous to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse\u00a0 us from all unrighteousness.\u201d\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t say well, you know, I don\u2019t really feel like doing it this time around.\u00a0 His character is completely consistent and you\u2019ll notice that He is \u201cthe faithfulness,\u201d what did He witness to exactly? Well, in His first coming or in His first advent His job, one of them, was to disclose the Father to the world.\n\nIn John 17:25-26 Jesus is praying to the Father and He says in verse 26,\u00a0 \u201cI have made known Your name to them,\u201d what I came to do I executed it with precision and perfection and completion and fullness.\u00a0 [John 17:25-26, \u201cO righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; [26] and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.\u201d\u2019]\n\nWho was Jesus Christ?\u00a0 Number one, he is the faithful witness.\u00a0 Number two, He is the firstborn of the dead,\u00a0 you\u2019ll see that there in verse 5.\u00a0 [Revelation 1:5, \u201cand from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood\u2014 \u201d]\u00a0 The \u201cfirstborn of the dead,\u201d what does that mean, \u201cfirstborn of the dead\u201d exactly?\u00a0 He is the very first person to be resurrected into a resurrected immortal body.\u00a0 There were other people in the Bible brought back to life. We studied one such individual in the Gospel of John, John chapter 11, and there we learn of Lazarus being brought back from the dead.\u00a0 But you see, that was more of a matter of a resuscitation than a resurrection because as Lazarus was brought back from the dead he was brought back in his same body and he died again.\n\nIn Matthew 27:52-53 we read about people in Jerusalem that upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ came out of their graves but\u00a0 you see, they went back into those graves because they were not placed in resurrected or glorified bodies at that point in time.\u00a0 [Matthew 27:52-53, \u201cThe tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; [53] and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.\u201d]\u00a0 Yet this man, Jesus Christ, is different, He came out of the grave and was placed into a resurrected and glorified body, \u201cFirstborn from the dead.\u201d\u00a0 [Colossians 1:18 \u201cHe is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.\u201d]\n\nThis is why the Apostle Paul, when he describes resurrection, he describes Christ\u2019s resurrection as the firstfruits.\u00a0 1 Corinthians 15:20 and verse 23.\u00a0 [1 Corinthians 15:20, \u201cBut now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.\u201d\u00a0 [23]\u00a0 \u201cBut each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming.\u201d]\u00a0 And that imagery is so significant because the firstfruits was the initial harvest that came in and as the initial harvest came in that guaranteed the rest of the harvest.\u00a0 And that\u2019s what the bodily resurrection of Jesus does. It gives us hope for a future that this body that I am in, which is groaning\u2026 anybody in that experience today?\u00a0 Groaning in our fallen body, from dust you are to dust\u00a0 you shall return.\u00a0 [Genesis 3:19, \u201cBy the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.\u201d]\n\nAnd yet the hope of Christianity is that could be reversed one day and will be reversed one day; just as firstfruits guarantees the rest of the harvest Christ\u2019s resurrection guarantees our resurrection so the resurrection gives us hope for the future and beyond that it really proves who Jesus was.\u00a0 All the other tombs of all the great religious leaders of the world, their tomb is still occupied.\u00a0 Jesus\u2019 tomb is empty!\u00a0 Nobody, even from a legal perspective, has ever come up with a plausible explanation to explain the missing tomb and that validates everything Jesus ever said.\n\nYou see, if Jesus gave a bunch of teaching and did a bunch of signs and miracles but He didn\u2019t perform the ultimate miracle of resurrecting from the dead then everything that He said really doesn\u2019t have a lot of weight.\u00a0 But because He is the firstborn from the dead it validates who He was.\u00a0 He claimed He was God and proved it through His bodily resurrection from the dead and in so doing gives us hope for the future.\u00a0 That\u2019s who Jesus is.\u00a0 He\u2019s the faithful witness, He\u2019s the firstborn of the dead.\n\nNumber three, He is the ruler of the kings of the earth.\u00a0 If you look carefully at verse 5 you\u2019ll see it. \u201c\u2026and the ruler of the kings of the earth.\u201d\u00a0 [Revelation 1:5]\u00a0 You say wait a minute pastor, hold the phone, have you looked at the headlines lately?\u00a0 Have you looked at our situation that\u2019s about to break out with North Korea, allegedly, and it seems like every time you pick up the newspaper the war clouds are always on the horizon.\n\nAnd the Bible is very clear that at the present time Satan is the ruler of this world, not that God can\u2019t intervene into humanity and be sovereign.\u00a0 He retains that right as God.\u00a0 But by and large when you study the Bible what you\u2019ll discover is Satan is the prince of this world.\u00a0 He\u2019s the god of this age.\u00a0 I have all of the verses on the screen to back that up.\u00a0 He\u2019s the \u201cprince and power of the air.\u201d\u00a0 [Ephesians 2:2, \u201cIn which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.\u201d]\n\nHe\u2019s the god of this age, I have all of the verses on the screen to back that up.\u00a0 [ Corinthians 4:4, \u201cin whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.\u201d]\u00a0 If that weren\u2019t true then why do we put on the full armor of God?\u00a0 Because we\u2019re living on enemy territory, that\u2019s why.\u00a0 He roams about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.\u00a0 [1 Peter 5:8, \u201cBe of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.\u201d]\u00a0 The whole world lies within his power.\u00a0 And if all of that is true how in the world could this prologue in the Book of Revelation describe Jesus as the ruler of the kings of the earth?\n\nAnd the answer to that is it\u2019s describing His role as it will be carried out when the kingdom is established.\u00a0 It\u2019s his future ministry following the second advent.\u00a0 Psalm 89:27, of Jesus, says \u201cI shall make Him my firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth.\u201d\u00a0 Matthew 2:6, of Jesus says He \u201cwill shepherd my people Israel.\u201d\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings, Revelation 17:14, Revelation 19:16.\u00a0 [Revelation 17:14, \u201cThese will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.\u201d\u00a0 Revelation 19:16, \u201cAnd on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, \u2018KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.\u2019\u201d]\n\nIt\u2019s just a matter of time before He asserts Himself, evicts Satan and assumes His rightful place.\u00a0 These things, the way they\u2019re described are a done deal.\u00a0 The Book of Revelation is describing the process through which Christ will ultimately begin to function as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.\u00a0 Currently now He is functioning as high priest at the right hand of the Father, fulfilling vital functions, fulfilling very real functions but not yet reigning as \u2018KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS,\u2019\u201d in the same way that He will reign during the millennial kingdom.\u00a0 He\u2019s always sovereign; He\u2019s always in control.\u00a0 He can always intervene in human history when He wants to.\u00a0\u00a0 But let me just say this, \u201cyou ain\u2019t seen nothin\u2019 yet!\u201d\u00a0 When He actually takes His seat on David\u2019s throne and asserts Himself over a repentant Israel and over the world as the reigning King, that is what is being described here.\n\nAnd so what do we do with all of these nations that are plotting against God?\u00a0 What do you do with them?\u00a0 Psalm 2:1 says, \u201cWhy are the nations in an uproar and the people devising a vain thing?\u201d [2]\u00a0 The kings of the earth take their stand and rulers take counsel together against the LORD and His anointed, saying [3] \u2018Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their\u201d crowns, or their \u201ccords from us!\u2019\u201d\u00a0 This is a description of the nation today as they\u2019re sort of jockeying for position, as they\u2019re devising systems of government that exclude God.\u00a0 They are actually doing a vain thing, Psalm 2 says.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because they\u2019re plotting against the one who is the ruler of the kings of this earth.\u00a0 He just hasn\u2019t entered history and exerted his authority the way He will do so during the millennial kingdom.\n\nAnd so as these nations plot and scheme against God what is the reaction of God?\u00a0 What is the reaction of Jesus Christ to this plotting.\u00a0 Psalm 2:4 says, \u201cHe who sits in the heavens laughs and scoffs.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I mean, to God this is just foolishness to watch these nations jockey for position and scheme and to act as if Jesus Christ doesn\u2019t exist.\u00a0 It is foolishness because Jesus has the title King of Kings and Lord of Lords.\u00a0 He is the One who is the ruler of the kings of the earth and how foolish it is for these nations to think that somehow they\u2019re in control.\u00a0 The reality is they\u2019re in control of nothing, they wouldn\u2019t even exist for their very next breath had not God in His sovereignty allowed it.\u00a0 And the only issue is which side of the ledger are we on here.\u00a0 Are we aligned with Jesus Christ and His coming kingdom and enthronement or have we foolishly cast our lot with the kingdoms of this earth.\n\nWho is Jesus Christ?\u00a0 He\u2019s the faithful witness.\u00a0 He\u2019s the firstborn of the dead.\u00a0 He is the ruler of the kings of the earth.\u00a0 Look at number four, aren\u2019t you glad about this one, He is the one who loves us.\u00a0 If you look there at verse 5 it says, \u201cTo Him who loves\u00a0 us.\u201d\u00a0 [Revelation 1:5]\u00a0 Now love here is a present tense participle. And so I think verse 5 is better translated as Jesus is the One who continually loves us.\u00a0 So you are loved by God despite the sin you committed last week, and despite the sin that you\u2019re going to commit this week.\u00a0 Not that we\u2019re promoting sin here but the reality of the situation is sin or disobedience or rebellion in the life of the child of God brings terrible consequences but it never fluctuates God\u2019s love for you, which is an ongoing present tense reality.\n\n1 John 4:8 says, \u201cGod is\u201d what? \u201clove.\u201d\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t even say God is loving, it says \u201cGod is<\/u> love.\u201d\u00a0 God\u2019s love defines who He is in terms of His character.\u00a0 What could God possibly do other than to love us when His very nature is love.\u00a0 I\u2019m reminded of the story of the rich young ruler.\u00a0 Remember the rich young ruler that had it all together in terms of the world?\u00a0 He was presented with the claims of Christ and he went away disappointed because he had so much going for him in this world and he rejects Christ.\u00a0 But yet Mark 10:21, as that rejection is imminent, says \u201cLooking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him,\u201d so here is a man about ready to reject Christ, reject the call of discipleship, wrapped up in the things of this world and yet as that rejection is taking place Jesus is loving Him.\n\nDidn\u2019t Jesus love Judas until the end?\u00a0 Didn\u2019t Jesus call Judas friend until the end?\u00a0 And under-standing this attribute of God is so significant because the things that are going to happen in this book are horrific in terms of judgment.\u00a0 And what is going to be highlighted in this book is not so much the love of God although that\u2019s very prominent, but the holiness of God.\u00a0 And I believe that this is mentioned here at the beginning of the book so that we would not lose sight of the love of God for the world.\u00a0 \u201cFor God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.\u201d [John 3:16]\n\nAnd isn\u2019t that another interesting feature of love.\u00a0 What is love?\u00a0 People\u00a0 use that word all the time.\u00a0 Couples throw the word around back and forth to each other.\u00a0 What in the world are we talking about when we talk about love?\u00a0 Love is always demonstrated by its actions.\u00a0 Romans 5:8 says, \u201cBut God\u201d what? \u201cdemonstrates His own love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s more than God just saying He loves us; that probably would be enough, but He demonstrated His love for us by dying in our place.\u00a0 You see, because love is always demonstrated by its actions.\u00a0 Wisdom is always demonstrated by what it does, what its actions are.\n\nAnd so many young people fall into relationships because somebody told them that they loved them.\u00a0 And what you discover in those relationships many times is the person uses that word to get something out of a person.\u00a0 You see, lust can\u2019t wait to get; love (by contrast) can\u2019t wait to give.\n\nWho is Jesus Christ?\u00a0 He\u2019s the faithful witness, He\u2019s the firstborn of the dead, He\u2019s the ruler of the kings of the earth, He is the one who loves us by demonstrating something on our behalf, which takes us to the second part of our outline, His past work.\n\nYou see how love naturally flows into His past work? \u00a0\u00a0His past work on our behalf, His sacrificial death on our behalf, was what He did to demonstrate His love towards us.\u00a0 Who is Jesus Christ?\u00a0 We\u2019ve talked about that.\u00a0 Moving into the second part of verse 5 and into verse 6 His past work.\u00a0 His past work secured the basis for the future victory.\u00a0 If there wasn\u2019t the past work of Jesus Christ two thousand years ago then there would be no hope for victory but the reality of the situation is the war is already over; it just hasn\u2019t been fought yet.\u00a0 Why is that? Because of something Jesus did in the past and according to these verses He did two things for us.\u00a0 The end of verse 5 is the first thing He did, verse 6 is the second thing that He did.\n\nPeople ask what has God ever done for me?\u00a0 We get an answer here don\u2019t we?\u00a0 Let\u2019s talk about His past work. Revelation 1: 5, \u201cAnd from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us\u201d now here comes the action, \u201cand released us from our sins by His blood.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He\u2019s actually done something for us, He has \u201creleased us from our sins by His blood.\u201d\u00a0 The technical word for this, although it\u2019s not used here is redemption.\u00a0 What does redemption mean?\u00a0 It means to release someone from bondage through the procurement of a ransom.\n\nWhen you think about that word redemption your mind should automatically go to the Book of Exodus because in the Book of Exodus God released His people from four hundred years of Egyptian bondage.\u00a0 And He did it primarily through plague ten, which broke Pharaoh\u2019s will, letting the chosen people go, and\u00a0 you remember that in Passover the nation had to take the blood of a Passover lamb and apply it to their doorpost to be exempted from plague ten.\u00a0 That\u2019s why it\u2019s called \u201cPass over.\u201d\u00a0 When God saw the blood on the doorpost His judgment passed over those various Jewish homes.\u00a0 And that\u2019s what really broke Pharaoh\u2019s stubborn will, when he saw the death of all of the firstborn throughout Egypt and he let the chosen people go.\n\nBut notice that this was not procured coincidentally.\u00a0 It was not procured accidentally.\u00a0 But it only took place because of the blood of a Passover lamb.\u00a0 You say well what did the lamb do wrong?\u00a0 Nothing!\u00a0 The lamb was sacrificed.\u00a0 And all of that is just sort of typology, if\u00a0 you will, for what we have in Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Prior to me coming to Christ I\u2019m a slave to my sin, I have no choice in the matter, I\u2019m in bondage to it.\u00a0 In fact, I\u2019m on my way to hell.\u00a0 And yet Jesus saw my pathetic and hopeless condition and He released me from that bondage through the blood of an innocent sacrifice.\u00a0 Who was the innocent sacrifice?\u00a0 It\u2019s Jesus Christ Himself.\u00a0 People say what did God ever do for me?\u00a0 There\u2019s your answer!\u00a0 He\u2019s released us from our sins through a very rich theological term known as redemption.\n\nI like church signs that people put on marquees.\u00a0 I saw a church sign recently saying, \u201cHis blood is for you,\u201d kind of a pun after \u201cthis Bud is for you\u201d I guess, \u201cHis blood is for you.\u201d\u00a0 And we have gone through a lot of these verses when we studied the doctrine of salvation and one of the things we talked about when we were studying the doctrine of salvation is the atoning death of Jesus Christ and what you discover in the Bible is atonement is always mentioned in harmony with the blood of Christ.\u00a0 No blood\u2014no atonement, no redemption.\u00a0 And we just continue on and on in our state of bondage.\n\nI wish we had time to look up all of these verses but in all of these verses, whether it\u2019s Acts, Paul\u2019s letters, the general letters, even the Book of Revelation, there\u2019s an emphasis on the blood of Christ.\u00a0 In fact, you\u2019ll notice what I\u2019ve got underlined there, the very first time in the Book of Revelation that the blood of Christ is highlighted.\u00a0 And so what exactly is salvation?\u00a0 Salvation is a wonderful thing and we trumpet the idea that salvation is free.\u00a0 And I think so much time we spend trumpeting its freeness that we forget that it wasn\u2019t free to Jesus.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t free to Christ, the second member of the trinity.\u00a0\u00a0 He had to pay a price so that our redemption could be procured, so that it could be gained.\n\nAnd quite frankly this is what the whole Lord\u2019s Table is about, we celebrated it last week.\u00a0 Here at Sugar Land Bible Church we celebrate it the first Sunday of the month. What are we celebrating?\u00a0 We\u2019re reflecting on the fact that Jesus did something in history to gain for us freedom.\u00a0 He shed His blood on our behalf.\u00a0\u00a0 Your pastor didn\u2019t do that for you, your elders didn\u2019t do that for you, the President of the United States didn\u2019t do that for you, your employer didn\u2019t do that for you.\u00a0 Certainly all those individuals that I mentioned may have added great benefit to your life through sacrifices but they didn\u2019t do this.\u00a0 Only in Christ did this happen.\u00a0 Salvation is free to us\u2014very expensive to Him!\u00a0 And had that not happened the ultimate victory which is yet future could not be a done deal or a foregone reality.\n\nWhat else did Jesus do for\u00a0 us.\u00a0 Look at verse 6, the second thing. \u201cHe made us\u201d watch this, \u201cto be a kingdom of priests,\u201d WOW! \u201cto His God and Father-- to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.\u201d\u00a0 How could John do anything other than glorify Jesus Christ for what He has already done.\u00a0 Not only who He is but what He has done.\u00a0 He has released us from our sins by His blood and He has transformed us into a kingdom of priests.\u00a0 Did\u00a0 you know you\u2019re a priest?\u00a0 We don\u2019t act like priests very much, do we?\u00a0 That\u2019s because we live, many times beneath our identity.\u00a0 What is a priest exactly?\u00a0 I mean, a priest, that was one of the holiest people in the whole Old Testament.\u00a0 The Book of Hebrews says a priest never became a priest because he put his hand up and said I want to be a priest.\u00a0 He was chosen to be a priest.\u00a0 And what we discover in the Old Testament is the priest came from which tribe?\u00a0 Levi!.\u00a0 And they had to come from which line?\u00a0 Aaron\u2019s line?\u00a0\u00a0 Aaron\u2019s line.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t have those two things going for you\u00a0 you\u2019re not a priest.\n\nAnd yet here we are in the twenty-first century as the age of the church is unfolding and we discover from this verse that we\u2019re all free because of what Jesus has done.\u00a0 What is a priest?\u00a0 Someone who has access to God is a priest.\u00a0 That\u2019s who you are, you have total and complete access to God; you don\u2019t even have to go through a veil or enter the Holy of Holies once a year as priests did in Old Testament times.\u00a0 Not only do we have access to God but we, as priests, represent God to a lost world.\u00a0 The saying is very true, you may be the only Bible someone ever reads.\u00a0\u00a0 And\u00a0 yet God has designed it that way because you\u2019re a priest in God.\u00a0 You represent God to a lost and fallen world.\u00a0 How are you representing God by the way?\u00a0 In your vocation, in your employment, in your relationships.\u00a0 How are you representing God?\u00a0 We ought to represent Him very well shouldn\u2019t we, given our calling as priests.\n\nAnd beyond that I have complete and total access to God.\u00a0 I have privileges that those in Old Testament times couldn\u2019t even dream of.\u00a0 And what a tragedy it is, at least in my own personal life, that sometimes I\u2019m just too busy to pray, too busy putting out fires that go before God and enjoy Him, have fellowship with Him, petition Him.\u00a0 And how so frequently we live beneath the privileges that we have been given as priests.\n\nYou say well pastor, it says here that we\u2019re \u201ca kingdom of priests,\u201d does that mean we\u2019re in the kingdom now, and we\u2019re reigning as kings now?\u00a0 Well, remember what we said earlier, who\u2019s running the world system?\u00a0 The devil is.\u00a0 And this is why it\u2019s so important when you build your theology you don\u2019t just look at one verse, you look at everything God has disclosed on the subject, preferably in the same book.\u00a0 And when you go to Revelation 5:10 you\u2019ll see our title reaffirmed, that we\u2019re a kingdom of priests and then it tells us when we\u2019re going to reign.\u00a0 It says, \u201cYou have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they\u201d what\u2019s the next word? \u201cwill reign\u201d basileia<\/em>, future tense, the reigning time hasn\u2019t started yet because Satan is running the world system.\u00a0 In fact, as I speak today many of our brothers and sisters in Christ are being martyred all over the world.\u00a0 Obviously the Christian is not reigning as a kingdom of priests, yet that\u2019s our identity, that\u2019s who we are.\u00a0 But when you put Scripture together with Scripture\u00a0 you learn that we \u201cwill reign.\u201d\u00a0 Where are we going to reign?\u00a0 Up in the clouds somewhere, strumming harps, wearing white garments, singing the Hallelujah chorus a million times, bored out of our minds?\n\nWhat does your Bible say?\u00a0 \u201cthey will reign upon the earth?\u00a0 What earth?\u00a0 This earth!\u00a0 But what has to happen first?\u00a0 The current ruler of this world has to be evicted and as that ruler is evicted\u2026 we learn about that in the ongoing progress of the Book of Revelation, we discover that we will come with Jesus Christ, return with Him and rule alongside His delegated authority.\u00a0 You say well what\u2019s God doing now then, if we\u2019re not reigning?\u00a0 Here\u2019s what God\u2019s doing\u2014He\u2019s training!\u00a0 Training time for reigning time!\u00a0 Every problem, every trial, every temptation, everything that comes into your life is designed to prepare your character in such a way that you will have the proper character to exercise that authority once the kingdom comes to the earth.\u00a0 Don\u2019t think that you\u2019re suffering is somehow being wasted; it\u2019s all preparatory for the future that we have in God.\n\nAnd when is that kingdom going to come?\u00a0 The Book of Revelation explains it.\u00a0 In the midst of the book it says this, Revelation 11:15, \u201cThe kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.\u201d\u00a0 Satan will be evicted just like Saul was.\u00a0 Christ will ascend to the throne just like David did and as Christ ascends to the throne your destiny in God is to be right there alongside with Him reigning under His delegated authority in the glorious millennial kingdom over a cleansed and renewed earth with Satan in the abyss.\u00a0 And the only thing that\u2019s happening in your life right now is preparation\u2014training time for reigning time, as our character is being shaped in a particular way for the future that God has for us.\n\nWhat has God ever done for me?\u00a0 Well, number one, He\u2019s released us from our sins by His blood.\u00a0\u00a0 Number two, He\u2019s made us into a kingdom of priests.\u00a0 Who is Jesus Christ?\u00a0 We talked about that.\u00a0 What has Jesus done in the past?\u00a0 We\u2019ve talked about that.\u00a0 Number three, what\u2019s He going to do in the future?\u00a0 And I\u2019m glad you asked that question because that\u2019s the focus of the book. The whole Book of Revelation is disclosing, we don\u2019t need a lot more information about what he\u2019s done in the past, helpful reminders are good but we have the Gospels there to articulate that to us.\n\nBut what about the future?\u00a0 What is He going to do in the future?\u00a0 If His pas sacrifice guarantees a glorious future what is the glorious future exactly?\u00a0 So in verse 7 we get a description of His future work.\u00a0 Look, if you will at verse 7.\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cBehold, He cometh with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.\u201d\n\nHe\u2019s going to do three things:\u00a0 Number 1, He\u2019s coming in the clouds.\u00a0 Look at verse 7 again.\u00a0 \u201cBehold, He is coming with the clouds.\u201d\u00a0 You say well, that\u2019s the rapture, right?\u00a0 Do we understand the difference between the rapture and the second coming?\u00a0 Every is not going to see Jesus at the rapture.\u00a0 Every eye will see Him, though, at the second coming.\u00a0 In the rapture He comes in the air.\u00a0 In the second coming at the end of the seven year tribulation period He comes to the earth.\u00a0 In the rapture, prior to the tribulation period, He comes for His saints.\u00a0 At the second coming He comes with His saints.\u00a0 The rapture is a blessing.\u00a0 The second advent, by contrast, is a blessing but it\u2019s also a time of terrible judgment on who?\u00a0 On those Psalm 2 nations that plotted against God and jockeyed for position and acted like He didn\u2019t exist.\n\nThe rapture affects Christians; the second coming will affect believers and unbelievers.\n\nThe rapture is invisible in the sense that the only people that participate in it are the church age believer.\u00a0 But the second coming (that we\u2019re reading about here) is visible to the whole world.\n\nThe rapture is announced by an archangel.\u00a0 The second coming involves myriads of angels.\n\nThe rapture is a resurrection, the time in history where you receive your resurrected body as a church age believer.\u00a0 The second coming there doesn\u2019t seem to be an immediate resurrection, at least the same way as described in the rapture.\n\nThe rapture is a rescue operation for the church.\u00a0 The second coming is the rescue operation for Israel that will go into the tribulation period unbelieving but become believing towards the end and in need of rescue from the beast and Satan who is trying to eradicate the Jewish nation and the Jewish people.\n\nHe\u2019s coming in the clouds at this second advent, which is what is being described here; \u201cevery eye will see Him.\u201d\u00a0 This is not the rapture, this is at the end of the tribulation period.\u00a0 In fact, if you want a parallel passage, Matthew 24:29-30 describes the same event.\u00a0 It\u00a0 says, \u201cBut immediately after the tribulation\u201d what is that?\u00a0 At the end of the seven years of tribulation, then \u201cthe SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.\u201d\u00a0 Are you looking forward to that?\u00a0 Are you looking forward to His entrance, His re-entrance into human history, not to suffer and die as He did two thousand years ago but to assert His kingdom of authority over the whole planet, and suddenly the righteous, the just, who always got the short end of the stick and an unfair deal and an unfair treatment in this world, suddenly the righteous are vindicated and we actually see coming to the earth actual justice, not shams of justice, mockeries of justice, loopholes, all of the types of things that we see today.\u00a0 All that ends with Jesus \u201ccoming in the clouds.\u201d\n\nWhat is he going to do?\u00a0 He\u2019s going to come in the clouds.\u00a0 What else is He going to do?\u00a0 He\u2019s going to reveal Himself to the Gentiles.\u00a0 That would be the non-Jews.\u00a0 Notice what it says there,\n\n[Revelation 1:7]\u00a0 \u201cBEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS,\u201d look at what it says, \u201cand every eye will see Him.\u201d\u00a0 This probably is going to be one of the most, if not the most spectacular events that will come to this planet.\u00a0 Not the rapture, I\u2019m looking forward to that, believe me, I don\u2019t have a single problem in my life that the rapture wouldn\u2019t fix.\u00a0 Amen!\u00a0 But this is talking about something even greater than the rapture\u2014the assertion of the kingdom and the authority of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 No hidden manner here because every will see Him.\n\nAnd isn\u2019t it interesting that when we become familiar with just a basic few facts about Bible prophecy how easy it is to recognize a counterfeit?\u00a0 The Watchtower organization, Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses, do not believe that Jesus will return in bodily form but they believe He has already returned in 1914 in invisible form and is ruling as King on the earth through the Watchtower society.\u00a0 How convenient is that?\u00a0 The Watchtower and tract society, otherwise known as the Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses, not if they come to your house but when they come to your house, if you get them into a discussion about the second coming, it\u2019s a discussion you\u2019ll have to lead them into because they won\u2019t come out and tell you they believe this, they\u2019ll try to convince you that the second coming is something hidden, invisible in the past.\u00a0 And I\u2019m sorry, that\u2019s not what my Bible says.\n\nMy Bible says, your Bible says He\u2019s coming in the clouds, and \u201cevery eye will see Him.\u201d\u00a0 He\u2019s not hiding out in some apartment in New York City.\u00a0 This is a spectacular glorious event that will conclude the 70th<\/sup> week of Daniel.\u00a0 He\u2019s coming in the clouds, He\u2019s going to reveal Himself to the Gentiles because \u201cevery eye will see Him,\u201d but He\u2019s also, during this time period going to reveal Himself to the Jews, the Hebrew people, the covenanted nation.\n\nLook at the end of verse 7, \u201ceven those who\u201d what? \u201cpierced Him, and all the\u201d what? \u201ctribes,\u201d doesn\u2019t that sound kind of Jewish?\u00a0 \u201c\u2026all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him,\u00a0 So it shall be.\u00a0 Amen.\u201d\u00a0 If\u00a0 you\u2019re interested in cross references\u00a0 you can cross reference Zechariah 12:10, it talks about the same thing.\u00a0 \u201cI will pour out on the house of David\u201d doesn\u2019t that sound Jewish, \u201cand on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have\u201d what? \u201c pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.\u201d\n\nWe\u2019re not talking here about a box of Kleenex to handle the sniffles.\u00a0 We\u2019re talking about outright emotional repentance before God for the nation of Israel because we had it wrong all these years.\u00a0 All these years we rejected Christ and they will being to mourn, it says \u201cweep\u201d and then it says \u201cweep bitterly\u201d and they\u2019re crying as if they\u2019d just lost their own firstborn child.\n\nIt is to me very moving to realize that after all of these centuries of unbelief and rejection that God has not forgotten the nation of Israel.\u00a0 There\u2019s coming a day in which they will be brought back into the faith, at least what Zechariah calls the remnant, they are the instrument that God is going to use during this time as a firstfruits group comes to Christ first after the church is gone.\u00a0 Does God, is God through with the Jew?\u00a0 Not at all!\u00a0 There\u2019s a glorious future in store for the nation of Israel and it\u2019s interesting how they are pictured here in Zechariah\u2019s prophecies, Revelation 1:7 as openly bitterly grieving and weeping.\u00a0 [Revelation 1:7, \u201cOn the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, as follows:\u201d]\n\nI don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve tried recently to talk to a Jewish person, and there are Jewish people that are saved and I praise God for that but that\u2019s not the norm.\u00a0\u00a0 You talk to a Jewish person today and there is such a callousness, it\u2019s almost like a philosophical game, such a redefinition of terms, such a semantical game.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s a hardness of the heart is what it is.\u00a0 And yet God is going to get hold of that group, He\u2019s going to get hold of that nation, they\u2019re going to weep and mourn bitterly as one weeps and mourns for an only son and they\u2019re going to say we\u2019ve got it wrong.\n\nAnd isn\u2019t it interesting that the Holy Spirit has revealed this conversion of Israel in the form of typology?\u00a0 Take the story of Joseph as an example.\u00a0 Joseph, Genesis 37, age 17, is rejected by his brothers.\u00a0 He\u2019s actually left for dead, thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, ultimately down into Egypt, lied about, his brothers lying to Jacob, acting as if this horrific thing that they did to Joseph somehow didn\u2019t happen, trying to sort of pull the covers over his eyes so that he couldn\u2019t see clearly.\u00a0 Complete treachery, deceit, disgust, evil, wickedness, and\u00a0 yet the story of Joseph doesn\u2019t end in Genesis 37, for Joseph goes all the way through to the book of Genesis chapter 15 where Joseph himself says to his brothers, \u201cYou meant it for evil but God meant it for\u201d what? \u201cgood.\u201d\u00a0 Genesis 50:20.\n\nAnd isn\u2019t it interesting that the second time around the nation embraced Joseph, the brothers did.\u00a0 They recognized who he was through a providence of events; he was elevated to second in command in all of Egypt; they knew who he was, they recognized who he was, they submitted to his authority.\u00a0 They came from the land of Canaan to find help in Egypt in the midst of famine and so they got it wrong the first time but they got it right the second time.\n\nAnd let me tell you, when they got it right the second time they wept over it.\u00a0 Genesis 45:14 says, \u201cThen he fell on his brother, Benjamin\u2019s neck, and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0Benjamin is crying, the brothers are crying, Joseph is crying, and isn\u2019t it interesting how that is just typology for what is yet future, how that reveals in seed form the future for the nation of Israel, how the nation of Israel just in cold hearted spirituality rejected Christ at His first coming.\u00a0 I realize that there are Jews that got saved in that time period, I\u2019m not here to debate that.\u00a0 But that\u2019s not the bulk of the nation; the bulk of the nation went off into unbelief; they\u2019re in unbelief right now as I speak.\u00a0 But the second time they get it right.\u00a0 And there is weeping and there is crying and there is mourning.\n\nHow can some story like this not grip your heart?\u00a0 Who is Jesus Christ?\u00a0 Who He is, His past work, His future work\u2026 one other quick thing and we\u2019re done, His sovereignty.\u00a0 Two things are described about His sovereignty in verse 8.\u00a0 Look at verse 8.\u00a0 \u201c\u2018I am the Alpha and the Omega,\u2019 says the Lord God, [who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty\u201d]\u00a0 Now you all know that Alpha is the first letter in the Greek alphabet, Omega is the last letter in the Greek alphabet.\u00a0 It\u2019s like saying from A to Z, I\u2019m the beginning and I\u2019m the end.\u00a0 What does that mean?\u00a0 He is the point of history, He is the one that history revolves around.\u00a0 After all He\u2019s the Creator, John 1:3, Colossians 1:6, Hebrews 1:2.\n\nHe\u2019s also the redeemer, Revelation 5:6, 9.\u00a0 He\u2019s also the sustainer.\u00a0 Have you ever asked yourself that, what to smell the coffee?\u00a0 Because He\u2019s the sustainer, He is the Creator, He is the Redeemer, keeps this solar system working?\u00a0 I mean, why is it that these planets revolve around the sun, a heliocentric solar system, and they never collide with each other.\u00a0 Why is it that every morning I wake up and my respiratory system is working, my cardio vascular system is working, why do I even have the ears to hear the alarm clock, the olfactory capacities to smell the coffee.\u00a0 \u00a0Because He\u2019s the sustainer, He is the Creator, He is the Redeemer, He is the Sustainer, He is the future ruler, we\u2019ve already talked about that one.\u00a0 History is what?\u00a0 His-story!\u00a0 He\u2019s the point and how insane is it that we think we can throw God out of the schools, out of the history books, and think we understand anything.\u00a0 You can\u2019t understand history, you can\u2019t understand life, without Jesus.\u00a0 He\u2019s the Alpha and He is the Omega.\n\nYou say well, wait a minute, pastor I\u2019m looking at this very carefully and it doesn\u2019t say Jesus here, it says, \u201cthe LORD God.\u201d\u00a0 Well, jot down Revelation 22:13, end of the Book which says, \u201cI am the Alpha and the Omega, [the first and the last, the beginning and the end.\u2019]\u201d\u00a0 Jot down verse 16 of chapter 22, end of the book, where the speaker is identified as I, Jesus.\u00a0 [Revelation 22:16, \u201c\u2018I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.\u201d\u2019]\n\nJesus Himself claims to be the Alpha and the Omega and show that one to your Jehovah\u2019s Witness friends that show up on your doorstep, because they don\u2019t believe that.\u00a0 They think Jesus is some kind of created being; He\u2019s really not God, they don\u2019t even think He claimed to be God.\u00a0 And show them Revelation 1:8 where the Alpha and the Omega is identified with the Lord God and show them that the exact same title, Revelation 22:13 and verse 16 is applied to Jesus Christ.\u00a0 And then pray for their eyes to be opened because they\u2019re not going to have an answer for that.\u00a0 And typically what happens is you\u2019ve got two people coming to your house.\u00a0 You say well why two?\u00a0\u00a0 The guy that\u2019s talking is being trained, the other guy that\u2019s sort of in the background or gal, is a mentor.\u00a0 Aim your question to the guy that doesn\u2019t know as much as the other one; aim your question at the guy who\u2019s doing the talking.\u00a0 Ask him this.\u00a0 Now if\u00a0 you don\u2019t get an immediate conversion that\u2019s all right, you just pray for their eyes to be opened.\u00a0 You pray that whatever seed just got put into their hearts the Holy Spirit will water.\n\nFolks, we\u00a0 used to say we\u2019ve got to get out and evangelize the world.\u00a0 The kingdom of the cults is coming right to your doorstep.\u00a0 You\u2019ve got one of the greatest opportunities of evantelism that\u2019s probably ever existed in world history where those that need evangelism are showing up at your door wanting to start a spiritual conversation.\u00a0\u00a0 Your average Christian doesn\u2019t know what to do because the pulpits of Christianity never tell people what to do.\u00a0 I\u2019m telling you what to do.\u00a0 You say well, I don\u2019t know as much as you.\u00a0 Well, that\u2019s all right, you don\u2019t have to.\u00a0 And I\u2019m not sure at the end of the day how much I know really either.\u00a0 I know a few things but these are things that will work; these are things that you can use, these are things that allow you to be an evangelist that God has called you to be.\u00a0 Ask Him about the Alpha and the Omega.\u00a0 You say well what if they ask me a question I can\u2019t answer?\u00a0 You say this: I don\u2019t know the answer but I\u2019ll get back to you.\u00a0 I know where to look, I\u2019ve got my pastor\u2019s phone number, he\u2019s got lots of books in his library.\u00a0 I mean, this is a joy to do this work.\n\nSo He is the Alpha and the Omega and one other thing; His is, as we saw earlier, not just God the Father but God the Son, the self-existent One, He is the One that is, He is the One that was, He is the One that who is to come.\u00a0 He is outside of time, the uncaused cause in His sovereignty.\n\nWho is Jesus Christ?\u00a0 What is His past work? \u00a0What is His future work?\u00a0 Is He sovereign?\u00a0 And that concludes the prologue and next week we move into the actual content of the book.\n\nYou may be here today outside of a relationship with Christ, hearing a bunch of sort of Bible rhetoric but not really knowing the God of the Book and you can fix that right now simply by trusting a single condition, trusting in what Jesus has done.\u00a0 You hear the content of the Scripture expressed in terms of the gospel, you realize that Jesus came into this world to bridge a gap that we could never bridge.\u00a0 He never asks us to bridge the gap ourselves, He simply says to believe or to trust in what I have done and you can do that right now as I\u2019m speaking.\u00a0 In the quietness of\u00a0 your own mind and hearts and thoughts.\u00a0 It\u2019s a matter of privacy as the Holy Spirit places an individual under conviction where they respond by way of faith to the provision of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 And that and that alone saves the soul.\u00a0 If it\u2019s something you need more explanation on I\u2019m available after the service to talk. Shall we pray.\n\nFather, we are excited about this truth, excited about this book, excited about our future and what\u00a0 you have in store for us.\u00a0 I ask that You\u2019ll be with us as we continue to study; help us to walk these things out this week by way of faith.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be careful to give You all the praise and the glory.\u00a0 We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name, and God\u2019s people said, Amen.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t