Blessed For Success | Pt 2

Al Pittman: Historically, Jesus was from the Middle East. When Europeans got a hold of him, they Europeanized him and gave him blond hair, blue eyes, and all that. What it does is those who are white begin to think they must be better. Or, those who have taken Jesus and made him Black now feel that since he is Black, they must be better than anyone else. You see how we do things? You see how racism and prejudice are so evil that we even ascribe it to the Lord many times? In His wisdom, the Lord made sure there was no description. If it had said Jesus turned around and his countenance had high cheekbones, those with high cheekbones would say they are like Jesus. If he had dark skin, those with dark skin would say they are like Jesus. We would worship those things. So the Lord did not even mention the pigmentation, lest we divide ourselves and be worshipping the outward things rather than the Lord God Himself. In this description, when John turns around and sees Him, he says, "All I saw was a brilliant light, shining brighter than the sun." That is all you need to know.
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Al Pittman: He who was, who is, and is to come. Listen, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." Yes, the Almighty, says the Lord. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the first letter of the Greek alphabet and the last letter of the Greek alphabet, the beginning and the end. In other words, Jesus is saying He has it all covered. God knows the end from the very beginning. But He is also the Almighty. The Greek word is Pantokrator. It is a masculine noun meaning omnipotent and all-powerful. Jesus is declaring this about Himself. What a glorious thought that is for us. Philippians 1:6 says that He who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it. We are confident of this thing, that He who began a good work in you is also able to complete it. God is saying, "I am at the Alpha and I am at the Omega. I started a good work in you and I am going to complete it." I know you have given up sometimes and you have doubted, but He who began a good work does not walk off the job halfway through. He does not walk off when you get old and gray. He is there from the beginning all the way to the end. Aren't you glad about that? He is faithful, no matter how you feel right now or what you are going through. God will finish that work within you. The Bible says He will present us blameless, faultless, and with exceeding joy before the presence of God on that day. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. That is not something we do; that is something that God is able to do because Jesus Christ is the Almighty. In verses 9 and 10, "I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos." Everything we read before is just the introduction. He says, "I was isolated on the island of Patmos for the Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." It is interesting in the text that John says he was in a place of obscurity for the cause of Jesus Christ. That makes a difference in our lives. You are in that marriage, you are on that job, you are in that classroom, or whatever it is, for the cause of the Word of God and for the glory of Christ. You may be in a place of obscurity, but you are there for His purpose and for His glory. John understood that about his situation. He says in verse 10, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day." Some people believe that could have been Saturday, while others think it refers to the first day of the week when Jesus rose from the grave on Sunday. Or, it could simply refer to the fact that it was the Lord's Day because God had ordained this day to bring this revelation to John. He said, "I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet." Before we move on, I want to point out a great example here. John says, "I am your brother and companion," and then he says, "not in just fair weather, but in tribulation, in kingdom, and in the patience of Christ." I love that. We need to have that attitude toward one another today in the church. We should be a brother, sister, or companion with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, not just in the good times, but in tribulation, in the kingdom of God, and in the things of God. Too many times in the church, we are so quick to shoot our wounded. When someone is going through a difficult time, we do not want to be around them. But we have a slogan around here that is more than a slogan because it is biblical: we do life together. God meant for us to be the body of Christ, to do life together, not to hide out or be lone rangers. We do life together through the good, the bad, and the ugly. Isn't that what a family is like? There are no perfect families. You fight with your siblings, and sometimes you fall out with each other, but you are still family. That is the body of Christ. John is demonstrating and displaying this in his life. He says he is a brother and companion, not in the good times, but in tribulation, referring to the persecution under the Emperor Domitian. But he also says he is in the patience of Christ. What does the patience of Christ look like? Peter tells us that we are called to suffer for Christ’s sake. That is not a popular sermon title today, but Peter tells us that we are called as believers to suffer for Jesus Christ and that Jesus Christ is our example in suffering. Peter says in 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 23, "Jesus, who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously." That is the patience of Christ. It is to commit myself to God's judgment, not to the judgment of others or even the judgment of myself. It is about what the Father thinks. Commit yourself to God because if you are trying to please everybody else, you are going to go crazy. If you are putting unrealistic expectations upon yourself and judging yourself by those expectations, you are going to go crazy. But it is God who has judged you righteous through faith in Jesus Christ. Now we get into the personal revelation of Jesus Christ in verse 11. This voice behind him spoke, saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last," and, "What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea." Then he turned to see the voice that spoke to him. Having turned, he saw seven golden lampstands. In the midst of the seven lampstands was one like the Son of Man. That is Jesus. He was clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band or a golden sash. It speaks of a priestly garment. The description is reflective of the garments for the priest that God gave to Moses for Aaron and his sons to wear in Exodus chapter 28. The sash and the robe coming down to the feet speak of a priestly garment. Jesus Christ is our high priest forever, according to Hebrews chapter 9, verses 11 to 12. In verse 14, it says His head and hair were like wool, as white as snow. Some people have said his hair was wool, so he must have had an afro. No, it says it was like wool. They would wash wool in the Old Testament to get it to be white, but this white was beyond any whiteness they could achieve. It was as white as snow, a brilliant white. This whiteness represents the Ancient of Days. According to Daniel chapter 7, verse 9, the Ancient of Days is a reference to God Almighty. It is a reflection of Christ's deity. Some scholars believe that it is not that His hair was white itself, but that it was lucent and brilliant. It was a glittering whiteness that John saw, a lucent, glowing whiteness that was giving off light. Then he says His eyes were like a flame of fire. How would you like to look into those eyes? His eyes denote His omniscience, our all-knowing God who knows all things. They were eyes like flames of fire. In other words, you can lie to some of the people and fool some of the people, but you can never fool Jesus. When He looks at you with His eyes, He looks right through you. Eyes like flames of fire speak of the penetrating nature of His divine knowledge and describe His piercing judgment of sin. In verse 15, His feet were like fine brass. Fine brass was an emblem that represented stability and permanence, brass being considered the most durable of all metallic substances. It was as if it were burned in a furnace, with a bright brilliance and a beautiful metallic glow. Then verse 15 says His voice was compared to the roar of rushing waters, like being on the ocean or a huge waterfall. It was like rushing water to John. Then a two-edged sword was coming from His mouth. This may be symbolic, but maybe there was a sword that John saw. Revelation chapter 19 also says He has a sword that comes from His mouth, and by it, He strikes the nations. I believe it is symbolic of the Word of God. God’s Word is sharper than any two-edged sword, able to pierce down into the bone and the very marrow of mankind’s conscience. So, it is speaking clearly here of His words. It is like a Roman stabbing sword that the Romans would use for close-quarters combat, with two sharp edges on it. The Word of God cuts both ways. It can heal you, or it can kill you or convict you. God’s Word is like a surgeon’s knife that can heal us, but it can also be used in judgment. Verse 16 also talks about seven stars in His right hand. We will get an explanation of what the seven stars are in a moment, but they indicate sovereign possession in the right hand of Jesus Christ. His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength, a brilliant, lucent light. I think it is interesting that there is no description found anywhere of what Jesus looked like. Have you ever thought about that? We have movie stars and rock stars today, and we want to take pictures of them and put them on TV. We bow down and worship them. No one took the time to say he had high cheekbones or this color of eyes. To me, it is miraculous that there is no record. I think God wanted it that way because if there were, we would worship the outward things rather than worship the Lord. Historically, Jesus was from the Middle East. When Europeans got a hold of him, they Europeanized him and gave him blond hair and blue eyes. What it does is those who are white begin to think they must be better. Or, those who have taken Jesus and made him Black now feel that since he is Black, they must be better than anyone else. Racism and prejudice are so evil that we even ascribe them to the Lord many times. In His wisdom, the Lord made sure there was no description. John said, "When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead." That is the proper response of all flesh. Sometimes I hear people say, "When I get to heaven, I’m going to tell God I’ve got some questions for Him." You are going to fall dead. That is the proper response for the flesh when it encounters the glory of God. We have nothing to boast in. What righteousness are we going to bring to the table so that God would somehow honor us? What argument can we bring to God? The only proper response in the flesh is to fall dead in His presence so that He can live through my life. Everyone will eventually bow to His lordship. People can resist all they want now, but when you see Him, you are going to have to bow. To those who are redeemed, the Lord does not rebuke John, but says to him, "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last." Verse 18 says, "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore." John, you do not have to worry. I am for you. And if I am for you, who can be against you? John, you do not have to worry; I hold the keys to the grave and to death. Do not be afraid. Romans 6:22 and 23 says, "But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." God has the authority to declare life where there has been death. In verses 19 and 20, Jesus says to John, "Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches." We are here today to celebrate communion. What a wonderful day to talk about the one whom we celebrate through communion. The revelation of Jesus Christ in the Book of Revelation is for our comfort and to give us everlasting hope, to know that it is not where we have been, but it is where we are going that really matters. Our eternity has been secured through our faith in Jesus Christ. Before this revelation, we have seen in His first coming the full revelation of God’s love on an old rugged cross where He died for our sins, whereby we have come into faith in Jesus Christ. In doing so, we need not live any longer in fear. These words for those who do not know Christ are fearful, but for those who are in Christ, there is no fear. John says there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. And here is perfect love: not that we loved Him, but that He first loved us. Amen.