God bless us as we consider his
word together this morning and we'll turn to the chapter we
read in the Book of the Revelation and Chapter 1. We'll read together
verses 17 and 18. The Book of the Revelation, reading
Chapter 1, verses 17 and 18. When I saw him, I fell at his
feet as dead, And he laid his right hand upon
me, saying unto me, Fear not, I am the first and the last.
I am he that liveth and was dead. Behold, I am alive forevermore,
Amen. And have the keys of hell and
of death. Revelation 1, verses 17 and 18. I'm sure we have all been in
a situation in the past, and I imagine you children can all
think of an occasion at school when you have been in a lesson,
but if you're honest, you haven't been at all interested. You have switched off. Perhaps
before you even sat down and started the lesson, you weren't
intending to listen at all. You weren't intending to take
anything on board. You weren't intending to learn
anything. You just were not at all interested in what you were
being taught. Perhaps you thought it didn't
relate to you. It had nothing to do with you.
You could carry on in your life quite happily without any of
the knowledge and information. that the teacher was trying to
give you. I'm sure we've all had times
in lessons or in lectures when we've switched off. Do you switch off when you come
to chapel? When you have come this morning,
when you have thought about coming this morning, when you knew that
this morning you would be here, Have you thought, well, I'll
just switch off? I won't bother listening. I don't
think it really applies to me. If it did, I'm not really interested.
I'm not really bothered about what's going to be said. What
I have to do is just sit for a certain length of time and
when it comes to an end, I'll go on my way. And I don't intend
to listen at all. Have we prepared for worship
today? All of us, have we prepared for
our times of worship? How have we come and how has
our time this morning and perhaps our time last night spent, when
we knew we would be gathering for worship today, have we come
with a desire to hear? A desire to hear what God will
say. what his word speaks, because
when we read the word it is God speaking in the Bible. Do we
want to hear it? Do we want to understand it?
Do we desire it will be applied to our lives ourselves? Have we prayed? Have we prayed for God's blessing
today? Have we prayed that God would
be here and that God would work? Or do we think it will just be
another Sunday that comes and goes and passes and we start
another week? Or have we prayed that today
would be a special day, a day when God comes to us and to others
as well? Have we prayed in preparation
for today that our hearts would be ready to hear the word? Well, we read of John in the
first chapter of Revelation. And John was exiled to the island
of Patmos because of his faith. And he was, we read, in the spirit
on the Lord's Day. Today is the Lord's Day, the
first day of the week. The Lord's Day. And John was
in the spirit on that day. That means he was in a mind to
worship. He desired God's blessing. He
was focusing his meditation and his thoughts on the Lord Jesus
whom he remembered that day had risen again to life. And his
thoughts and mind was focused on those things. He was in a
spirit of worship on the Lord's day. Now John on this day was
going to receive an amazing blessing. On this day, he was going to
receive revelation and visions as described to us throughout
the Book of Revelation. He was going to be led in the
Spirit to deep and wonderful things. But you notice that before
he was even brought to those more wonderful blessings of these
visions, he was already in the Spirit on the Lord's Day. And may it be that for us today,
that the Lord has blessings in store for us today as we gather
round his word and as we hear the gospel. But as that is before
us, we hope and pray, may it be that we have prepared already
to be in the Spirit, desiring to hear his word. Are we ready
to hear and to worship? The Apostle Peter was called,
as we thought about on Friday, by Cornelius to go and to speak
to him and his household. He had been instructed to call
for Simon Peter, to hear what he would say. And we read in
Acts 10 that the Cornelius said when Peter arrived, now therefore
are we all here present before God. to hear all things that
are commanded thee of God." Could we say that this morning? Could
we join with Cornelius and say, we are all here today before
God. We want to hear the things that
are commanded of God. That is why we've come. May it be so today. Well then, you children, you
think, have you thought about today? And now, as you sit here
this morning, are you ready and willing to hear? When we think of the Lord Jesus
Christ, I'm sure our minds are often directed to the Gospels
of the Lord Jesus Christ, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And of course,
in those Gospels, we have described to us the Lord in his humanity
as he walked on this earth. We see described to us his love,
his humility, his compassion. We trace him as a man without
possessions, without homes, with many enemies, a humble man. And that is the Jesus we often
think of, the man described in the Gospels. But sadly, I think
we often forget that Jesus Christ is also the second person of
the Trinity. He is the almighty, holy, great
Son of God. Yes, a humble man. Yes, walking
amongst mankind on this earth for 33 years, but also great,
holy, almighty God. And John saw something of the
greatness of Christ. And we read about that description
in Revelation chapter 1. John was on this island. And
we read that he heard a great voice as of a trumpet. He heard
a voice. And it said, I am Alpha and Omega,
the first and the last. What thou seest, write in a book
and send to the seven churches. which are in Asia. He heard this
voice and then we read that he turned round to see who had spoken,
to see where the voice had come from. And having then turned
round, he saw an amazing sight, an amazing sight. He saw seven
golden candlesticks and standing in the midst or in the middle
of all these candlesticks, these seven candlesticks, one like
unto the Son of Man. He saw a man standing before
Him. He had heard His voice and now
He saw this man. And He saw the majesty of Christ. He saw His glory. And in everything that he saw,
as we'll consider this morning, he saw his wonderful, glorious
attributes as well. He had a vision of the glorified
Christ. He saw one like unto the Son
of Man. Like unto the Son of Man. Clearly a glorious man. A wonderful
man. The Son of Man, of course, is
the term that Jesus used often to refer to himself. It's a term
that comes from the book of the prophet Daniel, who refers to
Messiah as the Son of Man. And Jesus, as I say, used that
often to describe himself. And here John uses it again. I saw one like unto thee, Son
of Man. But he wasn't any ordinary man,
as it were. This was a glorious sight, an
amazing sight of this man. The Son of Man. It is clear then
that John knew he was looking on Christ. He was looking on
the Messiah himself. The Son of Man. What a glorious vision. And as
we come to it, to remember that he realised his glory and who
he was. One like unto the Son of Man.
And this is how he describes him. He was clothed with the
garment down to the foot. girt about the paps with a golden
girdle. So this man that he saw was wearing
a full length garment down to his foot and around his clothing
was this sash or this girdle which was around his waist or
just above his waist height. And so he was fully clothed in
this wonderful garment and with a girdle, a golden sash, a golden
girdle round about him. This takes us back to the Old
Testament. The high priest or the priests
used to wear this garment, an ephod is referred to, and around
it was a girdle or a sash to hold it. Here he saw the Son
of Man, the Lord Jesus, wearing priestly clothing, the garment
and the girdle. And as he stood there before
him, this showed him his authority, his leadership, his authority. As the high priest had authority
and leadership, was the highest in the ranking, as it were, in
the worship of God, and had authority over the people. So here Christ
is seen as his authority as he stands before John, dressed in
the glorious apparel of the high priest. the girdle and the garment. So he shows him who he is, the
son of man. He shows him his authority and
his leadership. Then we read, his head and his
hairs were white like wool, as white as snow. So this man, the
Lord Jesus before him, had white hairs, white as wool, white as
snow. This shows to us his age. the wisdom as we think of those
who are older, who are experienced and wiser than those of us who
are younger. It shows his wisdom, his dignity
and it shows us of course his eternal nature. That he has always
been, that he always will be, the all-wise, the dignified,
the glorious God. who has authority over all things,
his hairs white as wool, white as snow. Then his eyes as a flame
of fire, his eyes shone as a flame of fire. Here we see his penetrating
insight, that he could see all things in all places, that he
knew everything. It shows us his omniscience,
his knowledge about everything, these eyes that could see. And
of course, for many, these are eyes that look at sin and look
at judgment. They're eyes that see where we
have failed. They're eyes that see where we
have rebelled, that pierce through all events and are even our thoughts
and see sins. These eyes that pierce through
as a flame of fire. You see this glorious man who
he saw, clothed in the garments of authority, with wisdom and
dignity, who could see all things. And for many we cower under these
eyes that show that he knows what we have done. His feet like
unto fine brass as they burned in the furnace, shining as they
burned in the furnace, newly formed these feet. These show
unto his ways, the ways that he goes, the ways that he walks,
really it shows us his sovereignty. He is sovereign over all events,
over all circumstances, over where he goes, where others go.
He is our sovereign who will go where he will go and order
as he will order. And then his voice as the sound
of many waters, his voice, a loud, a true, a clear voice that was
sounded as many waters. So it was clear to hear. You
think of the word of God, you think of the law of God here.
The law that was sounded in that loud, clear voice on Mount Sinai,
the people could hear. And the law that sounds today,
which applies to all people today. The law of God, the sound of
many waters. The law which tells us how he
would have us to be. The law that shows us our condemnation. The law that shows us his holiness
and our sinnership. His voice, loud and clear. And then he refers to his hand.
He had in his right hand seven stars. Well, what are these seven
stars? Well, we're told in verse 20,
seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. This refers
to, it could be, I don't know, it could be that they were literally
angels sent to minister amongst those churches to be in those
early churches that could refer to the leaders, the elders of
those churches. Either way, it shows us that
in the Lord's hand are the churches, the leadership of these seven
churches. They're in his hand. He is ultimately
in control of them. Out of his mouth went a sharp
two-edged sword, a sharp two-edged sword. reminds us of a sword
of judgment, a sword that cuts us under, a spirit, the sword
of the spirit that divides and shows us where we are and what
we have done. It cuts us sometimes into pieces
as it were, sears our conscience, it shows us what we have done.
This sword of judgment that came out from his mouth. And then
finally his countenance was as the sun shineth in its strength. So all around was his glory shining
as the midday sun, like as they saw on the mountain Transfiguration,
the glory of Christ shining. So you see, very briefly this
morning, this description that the Apostle gives of the glorious
Lord Jesus Christ as he saw him on the Isle of Patmos. He saw
him in his authority, dressed as the High Priest. He saw him
in his wisdom and dignity. He saw him in his omniscience
and piercing eyesight. He saw him in his wisdom. He
saw him in his ways. He saw him in his sovereignty
and in his judgment. And the sight was glorious to
the Apostle. And what does he do in response. What does he do in reaction to
the sight of this glorious son of man, this glorious son of
God when he tells us, when I saw him I fell at his feet as dead. I fell at his feet as dead. He was overawed by the sight
that he had before him. It was too glorious for him hardly
to bear. He fell at his feet as dead.
He realized what he was in comparison to this glorious Son of Man before
him. What John was was a sinner. John
was a finite sinner before this glorious Son of God. But he falls before him, I believe,
also in an attitude of worship and of wonder and of reverence
and of fear. He falls before Him as dead. Do we have this same sense of
awe at the glory and majesty of Christ? Yes, the man of the
Gospels. Yes, the man of sorrows, the
man of humility, the man of compassion, but also the man of glory and
of honour. Do we fall before Him in a realisation
of his glory. Do you perhaps today fall before
him in fear? Are you afraid of this glorious
man? You say, how could I possibly
stand before such a one as this? How could I possibly stand before
one who has the sword of judgment coming forth from his mouth?
How could you stand before one who sees everything about you,
all that you've done, said and thought? How could you stand
before one who has ultimate sovereignty and authority over your life,
who will dictate how you should live, and his law will show you
that you have broken his commands. Do you fall down in awe and in
literal fear before this man who rightly judges? He fell before him as dead. Do you feel like that today as
you consider his glory and majesty? Well, he fell before him. But
we read these wonderful words of what Jesus did. Jesus had compassion. Even in his wonderful, glorious,
majestic state, he reached down to John. And here we have, as
it were, the Gospel. The gospel coming down to a sinner
who has fallen at the feet of the glorious Son of God. He laid
his right hand upon me, he said. Here he is, fallen in front of
him, prostrated his feet in worship and in fear and adoration, and
the Lord reached down his right hand and touched him. a loving touch, a condescending
touch. Here we have the grace of Christ
reaching down to one who has rightly fallen at his feet. And
yet Christ has not turned him away. Christ has not judged him
and sent him to hell. Christ has not cast him out of
his presence. Christ has reached down to this
prostrate John. and touched him. And this is
the wonder of the gospel today. He is the glorious son of God
and yet he has reached down into the lives of sinners today. He reached down and he touched
him. And John found this comfort.
And the Lord's people find comfort in what the Lord does, in what
the Lord says, and in where the Lord is, what he
does, what he says and where he is. What he does is he reaches
down and he touches John in a touch of love and compassion. And then
he speaks. And he speaks the gospel. Fear not, he says. Fear not. John was afraid. And maybe you
are afraid of the judgement and authority and sovereignty of
Almighty God today. And yet, He reached down and
He says, fear not. There is no reason to fear. Yes, He is glorious. Yes, He
is majestic. Yes, He is holy. But He is loving. And this glorious man is a saviour
of sinners. For the Jesus Christ, the Son
of Man that he saw, is the Saviour, is the One who came to raise
up and to forgive the lost and the sinners. Fear not, he says,
you won't be consumed in my presence. You won't be consumed by my glory. Fear not, for I have words of
comfort. I have the gospel to speak to
you. Fear not, he says. And you falling
at his feet, under the weight of his authority and judgement
today, may you hear these words to you, fear not. Fear not, because
there is hope. Fear not, because there is a
good message. There is the gospel to hear.
Fear not. I am the first and the last. The first and the last. We consider it in the whiteness
of his hair, his eternity, his wisdom, his dignity, that he
always has been. He says here, I am the first
and the last. But here it's spoken to him by
him rather who has said, fear not. I'm the first and the last. I am eternally the same. And therefore, the Jesus that
you read of in the Gospels is the same. who stands before John
here on this occasion. The one of compassion in the
Gospels still has the same compassion as he reaches down to John. The
one who came into the lives and hearts of sinners in the Gospels
is the same who comes into the life of John and reveals himself
in his glory and will raise him up. He's the same Son of God. He's not different people. Two
sides, two elements, two natures, two persons maybe we could say,
but he's not two different people. Humility and the glory and yet
the same glorious man. I'm the first and the last. I always have been and I always
will be the same. And then he says, I am he that
liveth and was dead and behold, I am alive forevermore. This is the gospel. In short
summary, in a short sentence, he speaks to John, fear not,
because I am he that is alive. I am he that was dead and I am
he who will never die again. I am alive forevermore. Here, in these words, he lays
before John the life of Christ, the death of Christ, and the
resurrection of Christ. It shows Him Calvary and He shows
Him the empty tomb. I was dead. I am alive forevermore. This is why we are told not to
fear. Not to fear because the Lord
Jesus Christ lived and died and is alive forevermore. Because
He lived a perfect, holy, righteous life Because he never sinned
and he never broke the law of God. Because he therefore was
a perfect substitute and sacrifice on the behalf of his people.
Fear not, I have lived a life that you cannot live on your
behalf. Fear not, because I was dead. Because I went to the cross to
suffer and die on the behalf of sinners. Fear not, because
I paid the price. of God's wrath and anger upon
your soul. Fear not because the curse was
removed through my death. Fear not because I am alive forevermore
and the tomb is empty and death has been defeated and I am alive,
ascended into glory forever and forever to receive you to myself. This is why We are told not to
fear, though in the sight of this glorious majestic man, because
I am alive, I was dead and I am alive forevermore. This is the
gospel of Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection for sinners. And then he says, and I have
the keys of hell and of death. This work which he accomplished
on the cross, was so that he could release his people from
death and hell. So that he could release them
from the bondage of sin and of Satan. So he could release them
from that captivity where they were bound for eternity in hell. He could release them. He has
the keys of hell and death because he has bought them and died on
their behalf. Fear not. I that speak unto you have gone
to the cross, has paid the price, and have freed you and brought
you to life. This is the comfort of the gospel
that the glorious Son of Man brings. As John bows in wonder
and awe at His feet, he hears the comfort of the gospel. that
this man is the saviour. What he does, what he says and
also the comfort is where he is. Because we read that the
son of man was in the midst of the seven candlesticks and the
seven candlesticks represent the church. Each candlestick
for one of the seven churches of Asia. The son of man stood
in the midst of the church. Here is the comfort for God's
people. When we see something of His
glory and majesty and feel our sinnership as a result, He stands,
the Saviour, who was dead and is risen again, stands in the
midst of His people. He is not moved. He still loves
His people with the everlasting love. He is still there amongst
us. There is no reason to fear, which
is why He says, fear not. So you see, the comfort of Christ
comes as John falls down as dead at his feet. The wonderful Son
of Man, the Son of God, still today reaches down and touches
sinners who are fallen at his feet. He still today reaches
down and raises them up with his comfort, with the gospel
of Jesus Christ. Do you, do I know the comfort
of the Gospel? The fact that He has died and
risen again, is that our hope, our joy, our comfort when we
consider His holiness and glory and judgement? This God, this
great God, you see, He answers all our need. Fear not, He says. I have what you need. I have
accomplished what you could not accomplish yourself. Do we today
appreciate something of his love, of his finished work, which he
describes here as dead and is alive forevermore. Do we appreciate
something of that? Really it comes to the question
of the hymn of John Newton, doesn't it? What think ye of Christ is
the test. What do you think of Christ. Is he your judge who condemns
you because of his holiness and because of your sinnership? Has
he come and touched you so that you no longer fear? You may fear
in reverence and in awe, but you do not fear because you're
afraid, because you're looking to him who once died and has
risen again. What do you think of Christ? This is the comfort of the gospel,
the wonderful good news that he expands in his words to John
as he declares who he is. The wonderful thing, I believe,
is that when the Lord's people come to see him in the light
of the gospel, the light of these words that he's gone to the cross
and the tomb is empty, the light of the words that he has freed
them from death and hell, when they see him in that way and
they come to believe and receive and to trust in this glorious
Saviour, then the attributes that we have gone through this
morning take on a different meaning, take on a different perspective.
once we saw the Lord in His holiness and majesty and judgement. But
when the Lord brings us to see the Gospel, when we see Him through
the good news of salvation, then these wonderful attributes that
once we bowed under in fear become a blessing, become a wonderful
thing for us to consider. The Son of Man, the Son of Man,
Almighty Messiah, Now we see Him as the One who came alongside
us. The One who came as the Man Jesus
Christ. The Man who knows what it is
to suffer and be tempted. The One who can succour us who
are tempted, because He is the Son of Man. He is our substitute. He is in our place. He is our
representative. The Son of Man. No longer just. He still is the glorious God.
The glorious Christ. But now He is Our Saviour. He's the One who's stood in our
place. The humility and the humanity
of Christ take on a wonderful, blessed meaning for us because
we now see Him as our Saviour who came alongside us as the
Son of Man. The high priestly garments we
no longer see as a sign of authority and of leadership over us. We see Him now as the high priest,
the mediator. We see Him who represents us
in the presence of Almighty God. We see Him now as the High Priest
who intercedes for us and speaks on our behalf. And as we bring
our prayers, the High Priest presents them in His name and
through His blood. And they're received and they're
accepted. We see His glorious work as the
High Priest. He still has authority. He is
still over us. but now He is also our representative. You see, the Gospel has changed
our view of the attributes of Christ. His hair, it shows that
His dignity, His wisdom, His age, His eternity. Now we see
that eternally, He has loved us. He has always loved us throughout
eternity, throughout all ages. Him who never changes. The same
yesterday, today and forever. There has never been a time when
the Lord has not loved us. There's never been a time when
He suddenly chose to start loving us eternally. He has loved us
forever and forever. When we were yet enemies, we're
told, Christ died for the ungodly. Even before we ever loved Him,
He loved us. Even before we were even conceived
and brought into this earth, He went to the cross with our
names on His heart. An eternal love. His eyes, which once pierced
through us and saw all that we did and judged all that we did,
and we cowered underneath And we read in Psalm 139, Whither
can we go from thy presence? We ascend into heaven, descend
into hell, to the uttermost parts of the earth. He is there. To
an unbeliever that's a terrifying thought. That God has seen everything
about us. And yet in the light of the Gospel,
now these eyes and these looks are eyes of love. Now he's looking
on his bride with love and with joy. He looks on us in compassion
and pity. He looks on us in love. Now these
eyes that once we feared, now how thankful we are that wherever
we go our Saviour is there. Wherever we are, whatever our
circumstances, our Saviour looks upon us. His eyes. The feet. His feet. His ways of sovereignty. Now in the light of the Gospel,
we see that all things work together for good to them that love God. Now His ways are wise and right. And now we want to walk in His
ways and with Him in those ways. And now we see His wisdom and
His goodness. He is no longer just the King,
the Sovereign. Now He is our King and our Sovereign. In the light of the Gospel, His
sovereignty is now a joy to us, that our loving Saviour is in
control. His voice is the sound of many
waters, once the sound of the law, the loud and clear commands
from Sinai, now the voice of the Gospel. Now food for our
souls. Now a wonderful word. Once perhaps
the Bible, whenever you read it, they've condemned you. It
showed you what you were. It showed you what God was. It
showed you what He thought of you. It showed you what He would
do with you. The Bible was full of condemnation.
And yet in the light of the Gospel, the Bible is now full of blessing. It's full of food for our souls.
It's full of life. It's full of Christ. His word,
the voice of many waters, sounds loud and clear now. Salvation
and life. The voice. His right hand had
the seven stars. The church, the people are in
His hand. In the light of the Gospel as
He brings us into His family, we see we're in His hand. He
holds us. He knows us. He does what is
right for us. His mouth, the sharp two-edged
sword, once the sword of judgment, and yet we see two sides. We
see judgment, but we also see mercy. We see condemnation, but
we also see the gospel. We see the law, but we also see
peace. The sword that comes out divides,
but it shows us if we are right, shows us if there is life remaining,
shows us if there is truth in our hearts, the sword, and then
finally the sun shining in its strength, the countenance as
it shone around. Now we see the glory of Christ
in a different way, in a different way. Once you bowed under the
glory, you are fearful of the glory, you cowered under the
glory, and now you worship at the foot of the glory. Now he
is glorious not only in his majesty, but he's glorious in his grace.
He is not only glorious in his commands and in his law, he's
glorious in his mercy. He's not only glorious as our
creator and our king, he's glorious as our saviour and our friend,
his countenance as the bright shining in its strength. Do you
know, do you see the glory of Christ in the gospel? The beauty
of Christ in the Gospel. Do we bow before Him today and
see something of His beauty in these attributes as He was revealed
to John? The beauty of the Gospel as we
see them in these attributes, as they're revealed in His Word
to us today, and do we stand in wonder at the Gospel that
He gives life to the dead? When we lie before his feet as
dead, he reaches down and he says, fear not. Here is the glorious,
gracious side of me. Fear not. I was dead, but now
I'm alive. Is this Son of Man your Saviour? Is this Son of Man all we need,
all we desire, all we hope and trust in. May we hear His voice,
all of us, that speaks fear not. I am the way of life, the truth. I am the way. I am alive and
I give life. Have you heard that? Do you understand
it? Do you appreciate it? Do you
even realise you need it? This one who says, I am the first
and the last, fear not. May we all search our own hearts. With that question again, what
think ye of Christ? Do we stand in wonder at the
countenance shining in his strength, the glory of Christ? And we see
there the glory of a gracious Saviour, the glory of our Saviour. May we all then one day bow before
Him, as we will, because one day every knee will bow and every
tongue will confess. We will all one day bow before
Him. May it be that we're all bowing
in love and in adoration of this glorious Christ, not bowing in
fear and trembling to be cast out of His presence. If we bow
in love, adoration and wonder at Him who has loved us and bought
us, then we will in a sense bow before Him throughout eternity
in an attitude of worship. If we bow before Him in fear
and trembling because we've been condemned, then we'll be cast
out of His presence. to fear his wrath. What do we
think of him? Do we fall at his feet and then
hear these wonderful, comforting words of the gospel? Fear not. I am the first and the last.
I am he that liveth and was dead. Behold, I am alive forevermore.
Amen. And have the keys of hell and
of death. May God add his blessing this
morning. Amen.