Good morning. This life really,
truly is a funeral procession, isn't it? I hope that the Lord
will remind us of that again this morning. We get so wrapped
up in the temporal things of this world. I read someone say
this week that that religion was based too much on life after
death, that we needed to get more focused on real life, the
things that we experience here in this world. And boy, they've
just got it completely. What we just sang is what we're
here for. We're in a funeral procession,
and it's not going to last long. And truth is, the only way of
being able to live in the temporal is to have assurance of the eternal. And when you have that, then
everything else comes into, it makes sense, makes sense. We're going to be looking at
a passage of scripture in Revelation chapter one this morning, Revelation
chapter one. Lord willing, we're going to
embark on a two-year pilgrimage this morning. If the Lord enables
me, for the next two years we're going to take 100 names and titles
that are given to us of Christ in the scripture and spend this
Bible study hour on Sunday mornings on each one of them. And I trust
the Lord will reveal himself to us through that study. So this morning I want us to
consider the Lord Jesus Christ as he's revealed here in Revelation
chapter one as the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the
end. The Alpha and the Omega, the
beginning and the end. Let's pray together. Our Heavenly Father, we're reminded
this morning as we sang that hymn, that truly this is life
eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and
Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. Father, if we're to know Thee,
we're completely dependent upon You to open the windows of heaven,
to open our hearts, to open your word. And Lord, we know that
what you open, no man can shut. And so we pray that you would
make yourself known to us. We pray that your word would
be alive and effectual and sharper than any two-edged sword and
that would divide asunder the the thoughts and the intents
of our hearts and cause us, Lord, to find our rest and all our
salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is himself the Alpha and
the Omega, the beginning and the end. We ask it in his name. Amen. Juliet asked Romeo, what's in
a name? What's in a name? Montague, whatever,
change your name. A rose by any other name still
smells like a rose. Well, that may make for a famous
line in a Shakespeare play, but we know that it's not true. Truth
is, there is much in a name. There's much in a name. There's
a lot in your name, isn't there? A name is not just a label of
identification. A name represents a person and
everything about that person, their personality, their character.
When we speak of someone's name, we don't just think of it in
terms of letters on a piece of paper. We think of that person
that that name represents. And so it is, infinitely so. with the names that the Lord
has given us of Himself. He has a name that is above every
name. that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow and every tongue should confess. There's no other
name given among men whereby we must be saved. Oh, how important it is for us
to know Him as He has revealed Himself to us through many, many
names and titles in His Word. A name is very descriptive but
it's also very restrictive, isn't it? And so the reason why the
Lord has given us so many names of himself is to open up to us
more of his character, more of his glory. As we look at each
one of these names and titles, it's like It's like looking at
the same diamond from a different facet. And the more we turn it
and the more we look at it, the more glorious and beautiful it
becomes. It's important that we understand
these names for what they are meant. You don't want somebody
to misspell your name. You don't want somebody to mispronounce
your name. Your name's important to you. You don't want anybody
to misrepresent your name and to use your name in a way that's
not flattering to you. That's, you know, your name is
important. how much more so the names of
the Lord Jesus Christ reveal to us who He is. And by the power
of the Spirit of God, we'll find out what Paul meant in Colossians
chapter 2 verse 3, all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid in Christ. All the treasures,
all the treasures of wisdom and all the treasures of knowledge
are hid in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and He has
revealed Himself to us in His Word by His many, many names. I want us to begin with this
name because it is mentioned here in Revelation
chapter 1, it's mentioned in Revelation chapter 22, it's mentioned
in Revelation 20 and Revelation 21. Look at, you have your Bibles
open with me to Revelation chapter 1. John has been given an opportunity
to peer into the very portals of heaven. God has opened the
window, he's rolled back the veil, and he's given John this
revelation, this vision of the Lord Jesus Christ and of all
the names that we have of Christ in the scriptures. This one is
mentioned first. Look what he says, Verse 7, Behold,
he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also
which pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because
of him. Even so, amen, so be it. And here's how the Lord Jesus
Christ makes himself known in his glorious coming. It's the
way he made himself known in his first coming. It's the way
he makes himself known when he comes now through faith into
the hearts of his people. And it's the way he will make
himself known when he comes in that glorious day of his final
coming to this earth. He says, I am alpha and omega. You know the alpha is the first
letter of the Greek alphabet, omega is the last letter of the
Greek alphabet. And so if we were to understand
this in our language, we'd say he's the A and the Z and everything
in between. Everything that can be said,
everything that could be known, all wisdom, all knowledge, all
truth that can be communicated with language and with words,
the Lord Jesus Christ is A to Z and everything in between. I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the beginning and the end, saith the Lord, which is and which
was and which is to come. I'm the eternal one, the infinite
one. I haven't changed. I'm the same
yesterday, today, and forever. The one who was, the one who
is, the one who is to come, that's me. and I'm the Alpha and the
Omega. I, John, who also am your brother
and companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and patience
of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos. Now why
was John on the isle of Patmos? He was exiled by men because
of his faith. You know men still do that today. If you believe the gospel, expect
to be exiled. Expect to be put out. Expect
to be shunned. Just expect it. It's just man's natural response
to those who believe the gospel. There's no way to avoid it. Tribulation, exile, ostracization,
it comes as a result of believing the gospel. The Lord said they
hated the master, don't you think they're going to hate the servant? Turn with me to Matthew chapter
5. Matthew chapter 5. The gospel of God's free grace
in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the beginning and the end,
the Alpha and the Omega, and everything in between, is the
only message believed that will bring about this result. Look
what the Lord says in Matthew chapter 5 at verse 10. Blessed are they which are persecuted
for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And
to be persecuted for righteousness' sake means that you stand for
the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. You declare His
righteousness to be the only righteousness. You say, as David
said, I will speak of thy righteousness even of thine only. The Lord
Jesus Christ is my Alpha and my Omega and everything in between
in my righteousness before God. I have no righteousness apart
from Him. He's everything in my righteousness. Now the natural
man doesn't believe that. The religious man doesn't believe
that. He believes he has some righteousness of his own. He believes he has some power
in his will, some goodness in his decision making, something
that he can make contribution to his own salvation. He doesn't
believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is his Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end and everything in between. He believes his law
keeping or his decision making has something to do with his
righteousness. So to suffer for righteousness
sake means that you are confessing the Lord Jesus Christ as your
Alpha and Omega in all your righteousness. Blessed are you when men shall
revile you. and persecute you, and shall
say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake." They're
not persecuting you because you're a goody two-shoes. They're not
persecuting you because you've stood up against some evil in
the world. You know, religious people think
they're being persecuted because they've taken a stand against
homosexuality or against abortion or against something else that's
going on in the world, and they take a moral stand against that,
and they receive the assault of the world for their moral
stance, and they pride themselves in believing they're being persecuted
for righteousness' sake. That's not what he's talking
about. Being persecuted for righteousness' sake is standing for Christ.
And he says, they will accuse you falsely. For my sake, rejoice,
rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven,
for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Oh, it's
always been that way. It's never been any different.
It's always been that way. John said, I was exiled to Patmos
because of the gospel. If you believe the Lord Jesus
Christ as your Alpha and Omega, as your everything, and you reject
every other message that would speak contrary to that, there'll
be some exiling taking place. There'll be some folks you won't,
you won't have to break away from them. You won't have to
escape. Religious people are always building
themselves an enclave. They build themselves these walls,
and they get behind the walls, and they protect themselves from
the world, and they have their little cloistered group. We're
not doing that. No, we're happy to go into the
world, but know that the world is going to exile. John didn't
take it upon himself to move out to Patmos to get away from
the world. No, they put him out there. They
exiled him out there. So, go back with me to Revelation
chapter 1. John says, I am your brother
and I'm your companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and patience
of Jesus Christ. While I was on the isle that
is called Patmos, for the word of God and for the testimony
of Jesus Christ, that's why I'm here. That's why I'm here. I'm here because I believe God's
Word and because I have testified that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of the living God, and that He is all my righteousness before
God. And in making that testimony,
I am exposing every other message of salvation for what it is,
a lie. And men hate that. They just
hate it. Look at verse 10. And I was in the Spirit
on the Lord's day. Paul put it like this, we are
the true circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit and
rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. The
Lord told the woman at the well, The Father seeketh after them
who would worship Him in spirit and in truth. If we're going
to get beyond just playing church and just being religious and
just coming to this place and chalking up our points with God,
if we're going to get beyond that, which is what most folks
do, if we're going to worship God, it'll have to be done in
the power of the Spirit of God. And the only way the Spirit of
God will enable us to worship Him is if we do it in the truth
of the gospel, in the truth of Christ. And so John says, I was
in the spirit on the Lord's day. This is the day that the Lord
has ordained for us to come together. And he's promised where two or
three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst
of them. John put it like this in 1 John
chapter four, verse one, he said, try the spirits to see whether
they'd be of God. Now what that means is, listen
to what's being preached and discern the truth. I have people
tell me, well, you know, you're all just too judgmental. We do
judge righteously. We judge the truth from error. For the salvation of our souls
and for the glory of God, we can do no other. We're not going
to allow error to creep in. A little bit of leaven leavens
the whole lump. That'll be to the destruction
of the gospel and to our souls if we allow that. Try the spirits
to see whether they be of God. If it's of God, it'll be the
truth. And it'll be consistent with
the revealed truth of God's word. No lie is of the truth. When the Lord's pleased to gather
together his people and to open his word to their hearts by the
power of his spirit, enabling them to worship in the spirit,
they will have the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but
the truth. The Lord's not going to, he's not going to allow them
to be deceived. There are many false prophets,
the Lord said, many false prophets. And they will perform many wonders
and miracles and signs. And if it were possible, here's
what the Lord said, if it were possible, even the elect would
be deceived. It's not possible. It's not possible
for the elect to be deceived. They have discernment. They know
the difference. They've seen Christ and they
can, and the Lord's not gonna allow them to, to be deceived
by a lie. So John says, I was in the Spirit
on the Lord's Day. Here's how we're going to see
the Lord Jesus Christ as our Alpha and as our Omega if He
allows us to worship Him in the Spirit in this place on the Lord's
Day. And behind me a great voice as
of a trumpet. Oh, there was no... This wasn't
a... quiet voice. This wasn't something
I had to strain to listen to. It was a clear, clarion call. As the Lord Jesus Christ spoke,
He revealed Himself. And what did He say? I am the
Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. and what thou seest,
write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which
are in Asia, unto Ephesus, and Smyrna, and Pergamos, and Thyatira,
and Sardis, and Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. And I turn
to see the voice that spake with me." To see a voice? I thought you hear a voice. Well,
you see a voice. If the Lord's voice is heard,
the eyes will be opened. and we will see him for who he
is." The Lord told Nicodemus, Nicodemus, if you're not born
again, if you're not born by the Spirit of God, you can't
see the kingdom of God. You can't perceive of it. You
can't understand it. You can't believe it. So John said, I turned to see
the voice that spake with me, and being turned, I saw seven
golden candlesticks. In the midst of the seven golden
candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man. He's the one that
was speaking. And that's another title that
we'll look at as we go through the many, many names and titles
that are given of the Lord Jesus Christ in the scripture, the
Son of Man. Right now I want us to think about the Lord Jesus
Christ being the Alpha and the Omega. He is the Alpha and the
Omega in creation. If you go to Genesis chapter
1 verse 1, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And in John chapter 1 at verse
1, the scripture tells us who that God was. The Word, the Scripture says, in the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God and the Word was God and the same
was in the beginning with God and all things were made by Him
and without Him was not anything made that was made. Before the galaxies spun like
pinwheels out in space, the Lord Jesus Christ was and He is. He's the infinite one. He was
before the world began, He was before the stars sparkled, He
was before the sun shined, before the moon reflected its light,
before Adam was created, before anything, the Lord Jesus Christ
is the creator and the sustainer of all of life. Paul said in
Colossians chapter 1 verse 16, for by Him, for by Him, by the
Lord Jesus Christ, were all things created, things that are in heaven
and things that are in the earth, visible and invisible, whether
they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers,
all things were created by Him and for Him. He made everything for His own
glory. So He's the cause of creation
and He's the purpose of creation. And when He's finished with creation,
He'll bring this creation to its end. Turn with me to Matthew
chapter 24. Matthew 24 verse 36, But of that
day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven,
but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were,
so shall also be the coming of the Son of Man. You know, I know
that this is a wicked and perverse generation that we live in, there's
no question about that, but every generation has been. every generation
has been. You know, you look historically,
I'm not sure things are any worse than they've been ever. How were they in the days of
Noah? Well, men were giving him marriage,
and married, and they're working, and they were eating, and just
going about their routine of life without any thought for
the things of God or for the eternality of their own souls.
They had no consideration for those things. They just lived
as if this world was everything. And the Lord said that's the
way it's going to be when the Son of Man comes. That's the
way it's always been. And so every generation from
the time that our Lord spoke this 2,000 years ago, every generation
of God's people have anticipated and expected the return of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And as Peter said, the gainsayers
will say, ah, they've been talking about that from the beginning
of time. And God's people say, no, he's coming, he's coming. I'm waiting, I'm watching, and
I'm believing, I'm believing that he's coming in my lifetime.
Truth is, He is coming in your lifetime. He is coming in my
lifetime. Now I'm not predicting the glorious second advent of
the Lord Jesus Christ when the eastern sky will be split and
the trump of God will sound and the dead in Christ will be raised
and those of us who are alive will be caught up together with
them in the air. I'm not predicting that day. The Lord just made
it clear no man can predict the day or the Father knows that
day. But there's going to be a day
soon. Very soon. Sooner than we think. Sooner
than we think. When that muscle in your chest
is going to take its last beat, and those lungs are going to
draw in their very last breath, and in that moment of time, the
Lord's going to have come for you and for me. Verse 38, for as in the days
that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying
and giving in marriage until the day of Noah entered into
the ark. They just were going about their daily routine. Isn't
that what men are doing today? Even in religion. As I mentioned
to you already, I read this article this week about this preacher
saying, you know, we're just giving too much emphasis on pie
in the sky, by and by. You know, we need to teach people
how to live their life in the here and now. And we need to
give them, you know, better hope and better things to enjoy right
now. Eating, drinking, marrying, giving
in marriage as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be
in the days of the coming of the Son of Man. Hasn't changed,
has it? Solomon said there's nothing
new under the sun. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. Hasn't
anything changed? And they knew not until the flood
came and took them all away, so shall also the coming of the
Son of Man be. Then shall two be in the field,
and the one shall be taken in the other left. Two women shall
be grinding in the mill, and the one will be taken in the
other left. Watch therefore, for you know
not the hour your Lord doth come, but know this. that if the goodman
of the house had known in which hour the thief would come, he
would have watched and would not have suffered his house to
be broken up. Therefore, the Lord's coming is the thief in
the night. Therefore, be ye also ready, for in such an hour as
you think not, the Son of Man cometh." You know, somebody's
always predicting the coming of Christ. And you can just mark
it down whenever someone stands up and gives a date for the second
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, that's the date he's not coming.
I don't know when he is coming, but I know when he's not coming,
he's not coming on that day. In such an hour as you think
not, the Son of Man cometh. Thou art worthy Revelation chapter
4 verse 11, Oh God to receive glory and honor and power for
thou has created all things and for thy good pleasure they are
and shall exist. So the Lord's made it and the
Lord's going to bring it to an end and when he's finished with
this world he's gonna roll it up like a scroll and it'll be
done with. heaven and earth will pass away. He's the Alpha and He is the
Omega in creation. In creation. Quickly, He's the
Alpha and the Omega in Providence. in all the circumstances of your
life and in my life, He's the one that ordained them, He's
the one that purposed them, He's the one that planned them from
the beginning of time, He's the one that's fulfilling them for
His own good purpose. He's the Alpha and the Omega.
You know, if you're a child of God, you know that He is working
all things together for good for them that love Him and those
that are the called according to His purpose. If God has done
for you what He did for Nebuchadnezzar, if He's humbled you, put your
face in the dirt, then you'll make the same confession that
Nebuchadnezzar made. And what was that confession?
Daniel chapter 4 verse 35, he hath done according to his will
in the army of heaven and with the inhabitants of the earth. And no man can stay his hand
or say unto him, what doest thou? He's sovereign in providence. He's the alpha and the omega. He is the beginning and the end. We see just the tip of the iceberg,
don't we? The Lord's pleased from time
to time to show us what He was doing when we didn't know what
He was doing, and we rejoice in that. But oh, there's so much
more He's doing than we could ever even see, ever even see. And truth is, God will turn nations
upside down for His children. I mean, he raises up nations,
he puts down nations. He says the nations are dropping
a bucket to him. They're but a speck of dust on
the scale. His children and the salvation
of his people is everything. And everything that he does providentially
is for that end. I don't guess there's a city
in the United States that doesn't have a Ronald Reagan boulevard.
We've got one here, not far from my house, Ronald Reagan Boulevard.
How influential that man was as the President of the United
States and in the affairs of the things of this world. Now,
I don't pretend to know all that God purposed in raising up Ronald
Reagan, but I do know of one purpose, and if this is the only
purpose, God would have done it for this purpose. I wish that
you could read some of the letters that I get from Eugene and Natalie's
son, Dennis. 17 years old, he writes me letters
about Christ and about his love for the gospel and questions
that he has that sound like they're coming from a 50 year old man
that's been walking with the Lord all his life. When Ronald Reagan, whatever
year that was, stood up before Mikhail Gorbachev and said to
him, Mr. Gorbachev, bring down that wall,
Eugene Natalie came out. And God would do that. God would
raise up a Ronald Reagan and a Mikhail Gorbachev and God would
turn the world upside down for the salvation of one of his children. There's no question in my mind
about that. That's the only purpose God had in all that Ronald Reagan
accomplished. Everything else is insignificant. Insignificant. Our God is a God
of purpose. Our God is a God of providence.
He's working all things together for the good of His people and
for the salvation of His church. and he raises up kings and puts
down kings and nations and... He's the Alpha and the Omega
and everything in between in creation and in providence. Many will say at this point,
well I believe that God is sovereign in creation and in providence. Problem is because they only
have physical eyes and they're only looking at natural things,
this faith that they have in the sovereignty of God over creation
and providence is not saving faith. It's only the faith that
they would have because it gives them an opportunity to make sense
out of things. It makes the world to make sense. It makes the circumstances of
life to make sense. Yet those same people don't know
that the sovereignty of God in creation and the sovereignty
of God in providence, the Lord Jesus Christ as the Alpha and
the Omega in creation and as the Alpha and the Omega in providence
is a means to an end. It's a means to an end. It's
not an end within itself. Why did the Lord create this
world, and why does He do what He does in Providence, in our
lives, and in the nations of the world? Why does He do it?
One reason. For the salvation of His people.
That's it. The church of the Lord Jesus
Christ is the only reason that this world exists. It's the only
reason it exists. The salvation of God's people
is what he's doing everything to accomplish. He's the Alpha
and the Omega in salvation. In other words, he has sovereignly
chosen a people in Christ, in the covenant of grace, before
the foundation of the world. He elected a particular people.
He's the Alpha. Before the world existed, before
Adam was created, God had a people. And He's the Omega. He's going
to see to it that all of those that were chosen by His sovereign
purpose are going to be brought into glory. and enjoy His presence
for all eternity. Turn with me to Romans chapter
8. There are plenty who believe,
or say they believe, that God is sovereign and that He is the
Alpha and the Omega in creation and in providence. but that His
sovereignty and that His being the Alpha and the Omega comes
to a screeching halt when it comes to controlling me. When
it comes to having power over my will, I've got to say so in this. And the irresistible force, which
they would say of the sovereignty of God, comes up against an immovable
object when he comes to me. Why? Because man has set himself
up on the throne of God. He's made himself to be God.
Look at Romans chapter 8. Verse 28 is His providence, and
we know that all things work together for good to them that
love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose,
for whom He did foreknow. All that God had chosen in Christ
before the world began, that's who He foreknew. He loved them. He placed His love on them in
Christ. He wrote their names indelibly in the Lamb's Book
of Life. All that He did foreknow, He
did predestinate to become conformed to the image of His Son, that
He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, them he also called." You see, he's not
just the Alpha and the Omega, he's everything in between. So
he elected them and now he's calling them. And when he calls,
he makes his people willing. He breaks their hearts. It's not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth. It's of God that showeth mercy.
If you don't believe that God's able to overpower your will,
then you don't believe in God. You just don't believe in God.
Whatever God you believe in is just a figment of your imagination.
He's not the God who is. The God who is, is the Alpha
and the Omega. He has foreknown, He has predestinated,
He has called, and all that He has called, He has justified,
and all that He has justified, He, notice the verb tense in
that verse, verse 30, Them He also glorified, past tense. Past tense. You see, the truth is that when
God chose a people in the covenant of grace before the world began,
they were glorified. They were before God in Christ,
their substitute, before the world ever began. When the Lord
Jesus Christ ascended back into glory 2,000 years ago, God's
people were glorified. They were glorified. We're in
the heavenlies, in Christ, right now. He's the Alpha and the Omega. He foreknew, He predestinated,
He called, He justified, He glorified His people. He did everything
necessary for them. He's not just the Alpha and the
Omega in creation and providence. He's the Alpha and the Omega
in salvation. If you don't believe that, you
really don't believe the first two either. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father,
we ask, Lord, that you would cause us to find our rest, our hope, and
all our salvation in the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning
and the end. For it's in His name we pray.
Amen.