May I please almighty God to
bless us together this morning as we meditate in his word. Let
us turn to the book of the revelation and chapter one and we'll read
verse 10. The book of the revelation of
John and the first chapter and verse 10. I was in the spirit. on the Lord's
Day and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet. We have this testimony of John
and how the Lord was very gracious to him. He was on this Isle of
Patmos and we think he was there probably because he was cast
out and was there as a prisoner and of course it was a good few
years since The Lord had been crucified and again we think
he was probably something about 90 years of age when he had this
visitation from God. And there he was, you see, by
himself on this iron of Patmos. But he tells us it was the revelation
of Jesus Christ which God gave unto him to show unto his servants
things which must shortly come to pass. And he sent and signified
it by his angel unto his servant John, who bear record of the
word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ and of all things
that he saw. And then the word of God encourages
us and tells us, blessed is he that readeth. And they that hear
the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written
therein, for the time is at hand. Well, it's surely good for us
to realise that we are blessed to have the Word of God to read
the great truth of Scripture. How many people today cast it
aside, count it of no worth at all, but it's a blessing if by
the grace of God we really appreciate the Bible, the Word of God, and
the things that it contains. And it's very significant as
we read down this chapter to see how the Lord spoke to John
And John was then to speak, of course, to the seven churches. And he tells us very clearly,
and he says, John to the seven churches which are in Asia, grace
be unto you and peace from him. That means from God, from the
Savior, from him, which is and which was and which is to come. and from the seven spirits which
are before his throne." And again, here is a very, very clear statement
with regard to the eternity of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was, and he is, and he always
will be the unchanging God. And it's good if you and I have
a right understanding of this, an appreciation of the great
God, and to be very thankful He is high and lifted up. And then you see, John is blessed
with this unfolding of the truth of God and he's told, unto him
that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood. What a blessed statement that
is with regard to the Saviour. And it followed on from, and
from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness and the first
begotten of the dead, the first to rise from the dead. He was
crucified, laid in a tomb, but rose in the dead that third day. And we know that that is true.
We have the wonderful evidence of it. So many saw him in that
risen form after he had rose, risen from the dead. What a blessing
it is then to realise that today we come to the risen Saviour. the glorious one who is seated
on the Father's right hand in glory. It's a glorious thing
to be able to meditate upon. And John was blessed then. And as we're told, he said, I
was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. You may think, what does
that really mean? And I believe it means this,
that he was in a spiritual state. He was in a healthy state with
regard to his soul. He was concerned about the things
of God and they were his life. He was taken up with them. It's
a wonderful thing, isn't it? To be taken up with the things
of God. And we're told it was on the
Lord's Day. It's interesting in the whole
word of God. This is the only place where the Lord's Day is
referred to as the Lord's Day, that first day of the week, the
day that Christ arose. And so the Holy Spirit ordained
that John should have this vision on the Lord's Day. He was in
the Spirit and we can imagine surely that here was a servant
of God, an apostle, a blessed man, although isolated and by
himself, yet meditating on the truth of God, the glorious truth
of God. He who had been with the Saviour,
been with the Saviour for those years, those last few years of
the Saviour's life. He witnessed many glorious miracles. He'd seen and been at the time
when he went to Gethsemane, prior to that when he instituted the
Lord's Supper. Yes, he'd been a privileged disciple. And perhaps now, after these
many years, he's now meditating upon these great truths. Hence
the reason why we read he was in the Spirit, taken up with
the things of God. Well, it's good to realise that
we worship the same God today, who is able to influence us,
so that we may be truly taken up with the things of God. Because the things of God are
the important things. The things of this world come
and go, but you see those things which are divine, those things
which would reference to our blessed Saviour, are eternal. And they will not fade away.
They will not fade away. And what a mercy it is. But to
think then, to think back upon the great work of the Saviour,
John was able to remember and to truly rejoice in the work
of the saviour, all that he has seen and all that he'd been favoured
to enjoy of that glorious fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ in
a very special way. And now we're told, I was in
the spirit on the Lord's Day. Yes, what a mercy it is if when
you and I come week by week to the Lord's Day, When we wake
up in the morning, we're able to think and meditate upon the
truth of God, the glory of God, and look forward to the glory
of heaven, which is the lot of all God's people. And have that
faith to believe that by the grace of God, one day we shall
be with the Saviour, and to view him face to face without a veil
between. It is a wonderful consideration. And may it be true of us, week
by week, especially on the Lord's Day, that we are found in this
same frame of mind, in the Spirit, on the Lord's Day. Sometimes
we mourn that we're not in the Spirit on the Lord's Day. And
I hope we do mourn when we're not in the Spirit, when we find
the poor things of time flood into our minds and divest us
of meditation upon the great truth of God. And we must never
forget that the devil's aim is to separate us in our thoughts
from the things of God. He wants to fill our minds with
the things of time which perish with the using. And therefore,
what a blessing it is if the Holy Spirit and it's the sovereign
work of the Spirit of God unite. Can't really produce it ourselves,
but we should pray for it. We should seek after it that
we might be spiritually minded. spiritual people, seeking those
things which are above, seeking that union and that communion
with the Lord Jesus Christ, realising how blessed it is to have fellowship
with the Lord Jesus Christ. You know we often pass over these
things, we're so earthly minded and yet What a blessing it is
to know and have that great and wonderful desire that the Apostle
Paul did, which he refers to when he wrote to the Philippians
and reminds us of these great and wonderful desires which he
was blessed with. And he tells us in the third
chapter, but what things were gained to me, those I counted
loss for Christ. That means he's referring to
the poor things of this world. And he says, if they were gained
to him, he counted them loss for Christ. And then he uses
this wonderful phrase, yea, doubtless. He wasn't in any doubt. And I
count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus, my Lord." Well, his desire was to know the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. And surely this was
what John was enjoying on this Lord's Day, in this isolated
condition of the Isle of Patmos, by himself. And yet, you see,
he wasn't by himself because God was with him. And he was,
therefore, in the Spirit on the Lord's day. Well, surely we can
echo the desire that the apostle had, and I pray we all may be
seeking spirituality, health in our soul, and not be satisfied
with the passing things of time. The excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus, my Lord. Well, what does that really mean
to you and to me? The excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus, my Lord. That's not just a natural knowledge,
just a historical knowledge. It's a personal knowledge to
have the evidence in our hearts that the glorious Saviour died
upon that cross at Calvary in order to redeem our souls. Well, what knowledge that is,
what a blessed knowledge it is. And are we truly seeking after
it? The apostle Paul longed for it. He knew Christ, of course he
did, but he wanted to know him more. And that should be our
concern in the sad day in which we live. to know the Lord Jesus
Christ indeed in him crucified. And he tells us then, the apostle
you see had a real testimony. He says, for whom I've suffered
the loss of all things and do count them but done that I may
win Christ. Well, what a blessed place he
was in. And he was willing, you see,
to accept that situation. And he was willing to realize
that he had suffered all things, but they were of no value. No
value really compared with Christ and him crucified. And as he
goes on to say, and be found in him, not outside of him. He wanted to be found in Christ. Indeed, that wonderful hope of
glory, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which
is of God by faith. These are great desires, aren't
they? But they're recorded, recorded in the Word of God to encourage
us in the day and age in which we live. to seek after these
blessings so we can then perhaps in some measure enter in to what
John was greatly blessed with here when he tells us, I was
in the Spirit on the Lord's day. What a mercy, you know, to walk
in such a path as this, that I may win Christ. And he goes
on then to say, and be found in Him. Again, not outside of
Christ, to be found in him, united to Christ. You see, real religion
is personal and real religion draws us to the Saviour. And we see in the Saviour that
which is completely outside all the vanities of this world, because
it has with it eternal blessings. eternal blessings and be found
in him. Well, the Apostle John was found
in him. He was no doubt rejoicing in
him. That's why we read, and I was in the spirit on the Lord's
day. What a spiritual place it is
to be in, to realize with the Apostle Paul, to truly seek after
these blessings and he tells us not having mine own righteousness
his own righteousness it was just as filthy rags of no value
of no value it's good when the holy spirit convinces us that
our righteousness is of no true value but that which is through
the faith of christ the righteousness which is of God by faith. Wonderful blessing to receive
God-given faith. If we receive God-given faith
then, to have that faith to believe that the Lord Jesus did die upon
that cross at Calvary, to clothe us, to impute to us his righteousness,
What a blessing, what a meditation, to think that this great and
glorious Saviour imputes our sin to Himself and in exchange
gives us His righteousness, so that we are indeed washed in
the blood of the Lamb We are indeed complete in Him. Now, try and imagine the Apostle
John then, on this Isle of Patmos, meditating upon these great and
glorious truths. We're not told any detail, are
we? But we are told this, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. And we can surely conclude, if
he was in the Spirit, he was spiritually minded, and he was
meditating and thinking upon the glory of God and the greatness
of the Saviour and the faith that he'd received to believe
the righteousness of Christ was indeed imputed to him, unworthy
as he was to realise the wonderful mercy and grace of God which
had come to him. And he goes on, you see, it's
a lengthy statement. It's a wonderful statement, really.
And then he goes on to say that I may know him where he wanted
to be found in him. He wanted to know him. He wanted
to be full, really, with the knowledge of Christ, which, as
we often refer to, is far more precious than gold or the things
of this vain world. Yes, in the case that I may know
him and the power of his resurrection. Resurrection power brings life. Christ received that resurrection
power when he rose from the dead. The whole Church of God received
that resurrection power when the Holy Spirit brings them out
of the darkness of nature into the glorious light of the Gospel,
from that state of spiritual death into that state of spiritual
life. The power of His resurrection
And what a mercy it is. And surely it's something that
we can rejoice in and bless God for if the Holy Spirit has revealed
to us that the glorious Savior died upon Calvary's cross in
order to redeem us all. See, we need reality in the things
of God. It's not just a mere historical
knowledge. just reading the Word of God
and passing over it. It's when the Word of God is
sovereignly applied to our heart. And God does, my friends, apply
His Word to our very souls. Can we today bless God if He
has looked upon us and caused the power of His Word to rest
in our hearts so that we realize we are born again of the Spirit
of God. And therefore we have the wonderful
evidence of the power of the resurrection, which has produced
life in our souls. Life indeed. Spiritual life in
the Spirit. on the Lord's Day, whether it
be a good Lord's Day today. If you and I are indeed found
in the spirit, truly seeking after these blessings and the
power of his resurrection, then you see the apostle moves on
to something which we may perhaps consider as rather strange. But he tells us this, and the
fellowship of his sufferings. Why did the apostle want to be
blessed with this wonderful fellowship? Fellowship of his sufferings. Because what it does is to bring
us nearer to Christ. It helps us to understand what
the Saviour suffered in order to redeem our souls. And we will not really understand
it unless the Holy Spirit shows us and brings us into this fellowship
with the Lord Jesus Christ through his sufferings. It doesn't mean,
of course, that you and I will be crucified upon a cross. But
it does mean that you and I will have to endure some of the things
that the Saviour had to endure. And when the Holy Spirit brings
us into those conditions and situations which we may find
hard and difficult, it will be a great blessing if that same
Spirit directs us so that we realise and know that the Saviour
passed this way. The Saviour endured what I'm
being called upon to face, what I'm being called upon to endure. And you see then it puts everything
in a right perspective. And then things which you and
I may have Turn away from it and think, why ever has this
come into my life? Why am I having to face this
difficulty, this trial, this temptation? Well, it's to bring
us nearer to Christ, nearer to Christ. In that situation, you
see, to be found in the Spirit. Well, the apostle knew the comfort
of this blessing, fellowship with his sufferings. And if you
read in the Corinthians, the second epistle, and towards the
end, I think it's the 12th chapter, what the Apostle Paul had to
suffer, a tremendous amount, but he never complained. He never
complained and he rejoiced that he was counted worthy to suffer
for his sake. Fellowship with his sufferings. What a blessing it is then to
be found in that. The apostle desired it. He wanted
it. He knew the blessing of it. To
be found in the Spirit. Yes, in the Spirit. And to be
made conformable unto his death. Well, to rejoice in what Christ
had done and to realize that he had been crucified. And in truth, you see, we are
crucified. Yes, we have to crucify the flesh. We have to crucify all the wrong
thoughts, the evil thoughts, the wrong words. the wrong sayings,
the wrong walk. All these things have to be crucified. That means put to death. Well, not easy, painful to the
flesh. But you see, the apostle knew
the blessing of it. He desired that he might know
the Lord Jesus Christ and he realized this was the way. We can believe that this servant
of God, the Apostle John, here he was in the Isle of Patmos
and tells us, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day. Won't it be
a great blessing for us if the Lord graciously comes and blesses
us? And then he concludes really,
says, if by any means any means I might attain unto the resurrection
of the dead.' It would appear from this he could look beyond
the things of this life, look beyond them to the time of the
glorious resurrection It would have been that spiritual resurrection,
but then to look forward to that great day of the resurrection,
when the Lord Jesus will return in all his glory. We read about
it a little bit in this first chapter, how the Lord came and
spoke to the apostle. He said, 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. Well, the Lord
will come. The Lord will return in all his
glory. And so the apostle says here,
if by any means We could interpret that like
this. Whatever the cost, whatever the cost, I might attain unto
the resurrection of the dead. Yes? What a mercy it is to be
able to look beyond the things of time to the things of eternity. We are fast hastening through
time, and how important it is that each one of us is right
for our eternal home. So, Paul goes on and he tells
us, not as though I had already attained, neither were already
perfect, but I follow after, if that I may apprehend, he wanted
to really understand the spiritual blessings And what a mercy it
is if you and I have a real desire to understand these spiritual
blessings. And he tells his brethren, I
count not myself to have apprehended. Yes, he didn't really, he didn't
say, well, he knew everything. No, he didn't. And it's good
when we understand that we don't know everything. Perhaps we don't
know very much at all. And yet he tells us that forgetting
those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those
things which are before. I press toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. We ought to be very thankful
for past blessings. But my friends, we must press
forward. Press forward with that desire
for greater blessings. pressed forward for greater concern
that we might be more Christ-like in our daily walk and conversation. That was the Apostle's concern,
wasn't it? Well, it's a great testimony
for us to meditate upon. And what a blessing, therefore,
if such considerations bring us to this blessed place, like
the Apostle John, and able to say, I was in the spirit on the
Lord's day. And again, I always think it's
wonderful when we read in the word of God, the faithfulness
and the honesty of the children of God. You see, they don't turn
away from that which God has done for them. They acknowledge
it. They testify of it. And he was
to say here, I was in the spirit Yes, it wasn't any mock humility
he was operating under, pretending that he didn't really know these
things. No, it's good when the Lord causes us to be honest,
and in being honest, to desire to honour and glorify our God,
and to testify of what he has done for our souls, how he has
blessed us, how he has changed us. What a mercy, isn't it? When we see in our hearts the
Holy Spirit has brought a change, so that we can say, one thing
I know, whereas I was blind, now I see. Well, here was the
Apostle John, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and in that
position he heard the voice of the Saviour. And what a voice
it was. I heard behind me a great voice
as of a trumpet. A great voice as of a trumpet. It wasn't a trumpet, but it was
a loud noise to his soul. It entered in. It entered in. I wonder if you and I have heard
the voice of the Saviour speaking to our hearts. And it's been
a powerful word. A powerful word. Well, to the
Apostle John here, it was a powerful word. And the Lord had a very
clear work for John to do. He had to write out those things
that the Holy Spirit was going to speak to him. And he was told,
write, I am Alpha and 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. Well, there were then the seven
churches, and as you probably know, in the second and third
chapter of this wonderful book of the Revelation, we read there
of the message that God gave to the Apostle John to write
to each church. But we should also note that
all those messages although written to the individual churches, were
also to be read to all the churches. So each church was to hear the
messages sent to all the churches. And what a wonderful thing it
is. And it's good sometimes to think
that if we were to read what the Apostle John wrote to these
churches and to realise the effect it had It may have the effect
upon each of us because none of the churches were really perfect. Some were better than others.
But what a mercy it is when the Holy Spirit corrects us in perhaps
things that we thought we were doing well in. In actual fact,
we weren't doing as well as we thought. It's good to take these
things to heart and to realise that we have a holy God who wrote
these things. And of course, so sad it is that
none of these churches that we read of here, these seven churches,
exist today. And what we find is, therefore,
the Lord blesses a church. He builds up a church. And then
often we find that church fades away. Yes, the Lord builds up
and the Lord brings down. Yes, we have a sovereign God
who deals with his church in accordance with his way for his
honour and glory. So this great voice that the
apostle heard was telling him that he must write that which
he heard. And then he turns and he'd heard
this voice before and now he turns to see the voice. being turned, he tells us, I
saw seven golden candlesticks, and in the midst of the seven
candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man, clothed the garment
down to the foot. We don't have very many descriptions
really of the Lord in glory. We do have one here. Just gives
us a little insight. There was this son of man, the
Lord Jesus Christ, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and
girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs
were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were as
a flame of fire, and his feet like under fine brass, as if
they burned in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many
waters. And he had in his right hand
seven stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword.
And his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. It's a wonderful picture, isn't
it? That the Holy Spirit has given
to us. You see, we know that in glory there will be no sun
nor moon, no need of it. Because the Lord Jesus Christ
is all the glory in Emmanuel's lands. And we perhaps have some
understanding, if we think of the brightness of the sun, how
very bright it is. Reminds us of the Apostle Paul's
experience on the Damascus Road, when the light from heaven shone
into his heart and he tells us, above the brightness of the midday
sun. Well, that's an astounding truth,
isn't it? I'm not recommending you do it,
but if we try to look at the sun, it's so bright, we can't
look at it. And yet here, we have this wonderful
picture set before us. And his countenance was as the
sun shining in his strength. Oh, yes. What a truth. What a wonderful thing it is
to realise. Here we have a picture of the
great and glorious saviour. And so he tells us what happened. What happened? And again, it's
good just to ponder these things. And he laid his right hand upon
me, saying unto me, fear not. I am the first and the last. And I am he that liveth and was
dead. And behold, I'm alive forevermore
and have the keys of hell and of death. Well, you see what
a wonderful truth that was. Remember, he said, and when I
saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. Yes, the sight of the glorious
savior. Yes, there he was. Of course,
John, he wasn't he wasn't resurrected. He was on the earth still. And
he had this view. And there he was on his face
before a holy God. So great. So high. So lifted up. What a good thing it is when
the Holy Spirit gives us a right view of the Saviour. Like Isaiah, he saw the Lord
high and lifted up. How good it is for us to have
right views of the Saviour, high and lifted up. A great and glorious
God. Oh, He's not a little God. He's
a great God. And my friends, if we have such
a great God, how we should be concerned that we act rightly
in the sight of that great God and that we may be found just
like he was in the spirit on the Lord's day, meditating, pondering
the greatness of our God, meditating on the glorious salvation thinking
upon the cost of our salvation, the wonder of it, that such a
God should have looked upon such an unworthy sin of the earth,
one who never deserved any mercy, and yet to think that this great
God looked down from the height of heaven and caused us to hear
his great and glorious voice and therefore truly desire to
be found like John in the spirit on the Lord's day. Well, my friends,
none of us know which each one truly thinks or truly knows,
but may our real desire be to be heavenly minded, seeking spiritual
blessings, because these are eternal blessings. These are
that which will land us safe in glory. Let us not be over-concerned
with the poor things of time. We live in time. We have to do
the things in time. We have to work for our living.
But let them never be our God. Let them never be our God. What a mercy it is then to be
blessed with this spiritual desire like the Apostle Paul did as
we've gone through this morning. to be like Christ, to love him,
to serve him, and then by his grace to one day be with him
for eternity. It's a great prospect for the
Church of God to think those great words are true. For here
we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come. Well, may that be true in each
of our lives, that we are pilgrims and strangers on this earth,
but we are looking forward to our eternal home, that place
in glory with the Saviour, who is and ever will be the King
of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Amen.