Let us turn to the Word of God
as we find it in Revelation chapter 1 and directing you this morning
for our text to words that we find in verse 16 and that verse in association with
what we have at the end of verse 20. Revelation 1, 16 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. And then, the end of verse 20,
the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. and the
seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. Well this morning I want us to
consider the seven stars and all that is represented by this
imagery suggesting to us the ministry and the ministry of
the word of God. We were of course in this chapter
last Lord's Day morning when we considered what's written
previously there at verse 12 and the beginning of verse 13.
John says, I turned to see the voice that spake with me, and
being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks. And in the midst
of the seven candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man. And remember there at the end
of the chapter the seven candlesticks which they saw us are the seven
churches. So last time we were saying something
or seeking to say something with regards to the doctrine of the
churches. We have it here at the very end
of the New Testament scriptures. John the last surviving apostle
is granted this revelation and it begins of course in chapters
2 and 3 with the letters that the glorified Christ is sending
to the seven churches there in Asia Minor. So we have churches
at the end of the New Testament. We go back to the Old Testament
and of course there is a church there. in the Old Testament. In Acts chapter 7 when Stephen
is making his great defense at his martyrdom, a remarkable chapter,
his great apology as it were for his faith, he recants something
of the history of the children of Israel and in Acts 7.38 he
speaks of the church in the wilderness, the church in the wilderness
and It's the same word that is used here in Revelation chapter 1 concerning
the seven churches. There we have the singular, the
church. In the wilderness here we have
the plural, the seven churches. It's the same word, and it's
a word that we're probably not familiar with, the Greek word
ekklesia, and it's derived from the verb that means to call out. What was that church in the wilderness?
It was a people called out. God had called them out of Egypt
and God was bringing them into the promised land. And it was
a glorious time in Israel's history. I remember thee, says God, the
kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals when they
went after me in the wilderness. Israel, was holiness to the Lord. And now that church in the Old
Testament is represented in the tabernacle, represented by the
candelabra with the seven lights, the various pieces of furniture
that were to be employed there in the Old Testament in the worship
of God. There was the Holy of Holies,
where was to be found the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy
Suit and then outside that first veil there was the table of Shobrit
and there was also the candelabra with the seven lights to give
light. It was representative of that
one true church. And Moses, of course, is told
quite explicitly there in Exodus as his 40 days and forty knights
in the mount told explicitly that all things that they do,
all things that they make for the worship of God must be according
to that pattern that was being shown on to him. All that symbolic
worship was so important and they must follow God's instructions
and he's told concerning that candelabra it shall be of one
beaten work of pure gold Here is the church, representing the
church in the wilderness. But when we come to the end of
the Scriptures, here in the Revelation, where so much of the imagery
is taken from the Old Testament, it's not a candelabra with seven
lamps, but what is seen are seven candlesticks. Here is John on the Isle of Patmos,
for the Word of God, the testimony of Jesus Christ. It's the Lord's
Day, John is in the Spirit. He hears a great voice, as of
a trumpet, saying, 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. And then we have the names of
those seven churches there in verse 11 and then John turns
to see the voice that spoke with him and he says being turned
I saw seven golden candlesticks they are individual candlesticks
and I said last time that what we have represented to us here
is the independence of churches We believe in the independence
of the local church. And of course, the book, as we
know, is highly symbolic. All these things were sent and
signified unto John, as we're told in the opening verse. And
so, the seven candlesticks are symbols. Symbols of what? Well,
the seven candlesticks, which thou sawest, are the seven churches. the seven churches there in Asia
but there were more than seven churches in Asia the church at
Colossa was also there in Asia Minor and seven again is a symbolic
number and it speaks to us of the perfection of the work of
God and These seven churches represent the whole of that church,
they represent every church. The book of the Revelation is
sent to all the church, write in a book and send it on to the
seven churches. But it is the independence, and
this is what we sought to emphasize last Lord's Day morning, that
the doctrine of the local church and the independence of that
local church. And what is the glory of any
church? It is the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ and we
see that quite clearly. John hears the voice, it's the
voice of the Lord Jesus who is speaking, but when he turns he
doesn't see the Lord Jesus Christ, he sees the seven golden candlesticks. He sees that that represents
the churches and then in the midst of the seven candlesticks
one like unto the Son of Man. That's the glory of the church.
Or the Lord Jesus himself has said where two or three are met
together in my name there am I in the midst. The Lord is in
the midst even of little churches. even in the midst of small and
struggling churches. When we have the letters that
follow to those seven churches, we have there in chapter 3 that
letter that is sent to the church at Philadelphia. And what does
it say? Verse 8 of chapter 3, I know
thy works. Behold, I have set before thee
an open door, and no man can shut it, for thou hast a little
strength. and has kept my word and does not deny my name." There's
the true church. It has a little strength. But
the true church will keep the word of the Lord Jesus Christ,
will not deny the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, it is
not great churches, it is faithful churches. Well, these are some
of those things that we were seeking to say last Lord's Day
morning. But now I want us to turn and
to consider the seven stars. I mean, look at the seven candlesticks.
Turn now to consider what he said here in verse 16 with regards
to the seven stars. He had in his right hand, that
is the one like unto the Son of Man, he had in his right hand
seven stars. And out of his mouth went a sharp
two-edged sword. And then at the end, the seven
stars are the angels of the seven churches. Or if we were to translate
the word, it's transliterated here. The word is Angelos, transliterated
into our English as the word angel, but literally it's a messenger. The seven stars are the messengers. the messengers of the seven churches
and the references to the ministry. And that's what I want to think
of this morning. We say that the glory of the church is the
glory of Christ who is in the midst of his churches. But also,
how is Christ present in the churches? How does Christ speak
in the midst of the churches? It is by the ministry of the
Word. And how significant is what we
have here at the beginning of the verse 16. And the juxtaposition of these
two opening clauses. He has in his right hand seven
stars and then immediately out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged
sword. So we're going to think of the
ministry of the words of God in the midst of the churches,
in the midst of the local church. So I want to take two headings really. First of
all, to say something further with regards to the reading,
the public reading of the Word of God. And then secondly, to
say something with regards to the preaching of the Word of
God. I did touch on some of these
things last Lord's Day, but I want to develop what I was saying
then somewhat more. So first of all, to say something
with regards to the public reading of the Word of God. Now, as I've
already said in the second and third chapter, we have the letters.
You're familiar, I'm sure, certainly with the opening part as much
of the book of Revelation that I wouldn't pretend to understand
for a minute. It's interesting that so great
an expositor and commentator on Holy Scripture as the great
reformer John Calvin never attempted to produce a commentary on the
book of the Revelation. That doesn't mean that there's
not profit here. There's much profit. It's part
of the Word of God. And there's some parts that are
easier, some parts that are more difficult. And I'm sure we would
recognize that the opening chapters, chapters 1, 2, and 3, where we
have these letters are Well, there are difficult parts in
the letters, but we can follow quite clearly what John is saying
here. And there are these letters that
are sent to these churches in Asia Minor, or Turkey as we would
now call it. But it's interesting, though
they are personal, individual letters to particular churches,
yet they do belong to all the churches because we have that
repeated refrain throughout the letters like verse 7 in chapter
2 He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto
the churches and then again in verse 11 He that hath an ear
let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches verse
17 and so on so whilst the letters are sent to particular churches
yet they belong to all the churches. And the whole of the book of
the Revelation belongs to these seven churches, as we've already
said. That is the instruction that
the Apostle John has received here at verse 11. I am Alpha
and Omega, the first and the last, what thou seest right in
the book, and send it unto the seven churches. The whole of
the Revelation belongs to these seven churches. These seven churches,
as I've said, are representative of the whole church and representative
of each local church, each faithful church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, again, we went on last Lord's
Day in the evening to seek to say something with regards to
the significance of the Word of God in the midst of the churches
and we were looking then at those words that we have at the end
of the epistle to the Colossians. There in Colossians 4 we took
for our text verses 15 and 16, Salute the brethren which are
in Laodicea and Nymphos and the church which is in his house
and when this epistle is read among you cause it to be read
also in the church of the Laodiceans and that ye likewise receive
the epistle from Laodicea. So this epistle that Paul addresses
under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to the church at
Colossae is also to be read in the neighboring church at Laodicea. And there was an epistle that
was sent to Laodicea and they should also read that at Colossae. Now, we don't have the epistle
to the Laodiceans. It is not part of the inspired
Word of God. That's why. It's not part of
what they call the canon of Holy Scripture. Everything that Paul
did, everything that Paul wrote, he was not immediately inspired
by the Spirit in everything. When he comes to write those
epistles that we have in our Bibles, he is writing under the
direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit. But there were things
that he did, words that he spoke, letters that he wrote, that were
not immediately inspired by the Spirit. The only person who always
constantly spoke the words of God is the Lord Jesus Christ
himself, the great prophet. But it is evident that there
was an exchange between these local churches and they would
read one another's epistles. The epistles are addressed to
the churches. There are personal epistles also
to Timothy and Titus and Philemon but when the letters are sent
to the churches it's very much to the whole of that local church
or those local churches. There in Galatians chapter 1
and verse 2 it's on to the churches of Galatia. Belongs to all in
those churches and when Paul writes to the Thessalonians there
in 1 Thessalonians 1 verse 1 it's clear that he is writing to the
church of the Thessalonians but then what does he say later?
there in 1 Thessalonians 5.27 I charge you by the Lord that
this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren it's the Word of God you see
and that Word of God It's for all. This is one of the great
principles that's rediscovered at the time of the Protestant
Reformation. The Bible's a closed book. It's not even available
in the languages of the people. The Roman Church keeps that to
the clergy. It's not for the laity. The people
are left in total darkness with regards to the Word of God. But
of course, with the Reformation, we see the great providence of
God, the discovery of printing, and men like Tyndale raised up
to translate God's Word into the English language, and Luther
translating the Scriptures into the German language, and the
Bible being made available to the common people. That's who
it belongs to. It belongs to those who are the
people of God, those who are the called out, those who are
gathered together in local churches. When Paul writes to the church
at Corinth, I said this last week, there in 1 Corinthians
1 verse 2, yes it's to the church at Corinth, but he says this,
it's to all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ
our Lord both theirs and ours all who in every place call upon
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, there is an importance you
see with regards to the Word of God, it's for the people of
God and it is an important part of the worship of God's people
when they gather together in local congregation when the Apostle
gives instruction to Timothy. Think of those epistles to Timothy
and to Titus, we call them the pastoral epistles. He's giving
instruction to those who are, as it were, the messengers of
the churches, the ministers of the Word. And what does he say
to Timothy? 1 Timothy 4.13, Till I come,
give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine, or
literally to teaching. And all these are public, you
see. Timothy is to attend to the public reading of the Word
of God. He is to attend to the matter
of exhorting the people of God. He is to attend to the teaching
the people of God the great doctrines. Those are public functions that
he's being instructed in there in 1 Timothy 4.13. It's the place,
then, of the public reading of the Word of God. And again, I
remind you of what we noted last time, and we have it there in
the Old Testament, the solemn reading of the Word of God in
Nehemiah chapter 8, at the time of the restoration of the Jews
from from Babylon and here is Nehemiah
now engaged in that great work of the rebuilding of the walls
of Jerusalem. There in chapter 8, all the people
gathered themselves together as one man into the street that
was before the water gate and they spoke unto Ezra the scribe
to bring the book of the Lord of Moses, which the Lord had
commanded to Israel. And Ezra the priest brought the
law before the congregation, both of men and women, and all
that could hear with understanding upon the first day of the seventh
month and he read therein before the street that was before the
water gate from the morning until midday before the men and the
women and those who could understand and the ears of all the people
were attentive unto the book of the law and Ezra the scribe
stood upon a pulpit of wood which they had made for the purpose.
And then there are all these other scribes with him. And the
book is opened in the sight of all the people. And the people
stand up and there is that solemn reading. Verse 8, So they read
in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense,
and caused them to understand the reading. It's not just the
reading now. It's the expounding of the Word, the explanation
of the Word. They read in the Law distinctly, but they also
gave the sense, and caused the people to understand. So, with regards to the ministry
of the Word, there is to be the public reading of the Scriptures.
It belongs to the people of God. It's part of the worship, when
God's people assemble, that they might worship their gods but there's
also to be that expounding or that preaching of the word and
coming back to our text and these opening clauses here in verse
16 of Revelation 1 he had in his right hand seven stars and
out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword And we have several
mentions subsequently to that particular truth, the sharp two-edged
sword that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord Jesus. We see it there in that portion
that we read in chapter 2. That letter that he sent to the
church at Pergamos There, in verse 12 of chapter 2, to the
angel of the church in Pergamos writes, These things saith he
which hath the sharp swords with two edges. And then again, verse
16, he says, Repents, or else I will come unto thee quickly
and will fight against them with the swords of my mouth, the sword
of my mouth. And then again, in that remarkable
19th chapter, we have the same truth set before us. The one
who rides upon the white horse, verse 14 of 19, the armies which
were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine
linen, white and clean, and out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword,
that with it he should smite the nations, and he shall rule
them with a rod of iron." And then again at the end of that
19th chapter, in verse 21, we have mention of the sword, the
two-edged sword that proceeds out of his mouth. Well, what
is this sword? Remember the book is full of
sign, full of symbol. What is this sword? How can we
understand what is being spoken of? Well, it is the Bible that
interprets itself. Those old writers called the
great analogy of faith. We know what the sword is. It
is part of that armor that the Lord God has provided for his
people. The sword of the Spirit, which
is the Word of God. or in Hebrews 4.12, that Word
of God, quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing
to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints
and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
the heart. Now, it's interesting there in
Hebrews 4, verses 12 and 13, because there is some discussion
and difference of opinion with regards to the learned commentators. What is to be understood by the
Word of God that is quick and powerful, sharper than the two-edged
sword? In verse 13 it is apparent that the Apostle is speaking
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Word. He is the Word
of God incarnate. But there are others who say,
no, we're not to understand that that's what's being spoken of
in verse 12. It's the Scriptures, it's the
word that we have here in the Bible, the inscripturated word. But surely it is one and the
same. It is that word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord
Jesus Christ. All the Scriptures testify of
Him. The Lord Jesus Christ is that one who speaks to us in
all the Scriptures. And that's what we have here,
you see, how does the Lord come, how does the Lord address his
people? He comes by his word, he comes by and through the office
of the ministry. Here we have it quite clearly.
In his right hand there are seven stars, the angels or the messengers
of the seven churches, out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged
sword. Or are we not here to understand
that this is the Lord Jesus Christ coming, as it were, in the chariot
of His Word, in the ministry of His Word? Remember what we're
told at the end of the Lord's ministry after His resurrection.
There in John 20, verses 22 and 23, it says how He breathed on
them, breathed on His disciples, and saith unto them, Receive
ye the Holy Ghost, whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted
unto them. All that remitting of sins, or
that retention of sins, is not only there spoken of in John
20, the Lord speaks of it in Matthew 16, after Peter's great
confession, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and
the Lord speaks of how He's going to build His church upon that
great confession. The church is built upon the
Lord Jesus Christ Himself. But He goes on to say to Peter,
Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted. Whosoever sins
ye retain, they are retained. And then again, speaking to all
the disciples, He says much the same in Matthew 18 and verse
18. So what is he speaking of? And we said last time, it's not
the Romish doctrine of confessing to a priest and then receiving
absolution from a priest. It's nothing to do with that.
That's a perversion. It is the ministry. It is the
ministry of the word It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit by
and through the office of the preaching of the Word. The Lord
breathes on his disciples and says to them, Receive ye the
Holy Ghost, whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto
them. How? By and through the preaching
of the Word of God. And it's Calvin who says that
Christ did not give this power, this power to remit sins. to men, but to His words of which
He made men ministers." How does faith come? All faith comes by
the Word. Faith cometh by the Word of God. All Paul's determination was
to know nothing amongst the Corinthians. I determine not to know anything
among you, say Jesus Christ. and in crucified. He would preach
Christ, Christ in his person, Jesus Christ. He would preach
Christ in his work, his obedience. Obedient unto death, Christ and
in crucified. That's what he preached. And
he goes on to say, my speech and my preaching was not with
enticing words of man's wisdom. but in demonstration of the Spirit
and of power. That's what we should desire,
that the Spirit of God might come in the Word of God. It's
Word and Spirit together. And Word and Spirit as it comes
to us, be it in the reading, the public reading of the Holy
Scriptures, be it in the preaching, the ministry of the Word of God. Now, I just want to mention,
as we begin to close, three aspects which are the mark of that faithful
ministry, that faithful preaching of the Word. What will be the
effect? Three things I mentioned. It
will be, there will be a convicting work. There will be a convicting
work. What does it say there in Hebrews
4.12? It is a discerner. of the thoughts and intents of
the heart. That sword, that two-edged sword
that's sharp and piercing, it's a discerner. Now, the word that
is used there is that word that we have in our English language
as criticize. The English word critic or criticize
is simply a transliteration of the word that's been translated
as discerner. A critic of the thoughts and
intents of the heart. Where God's word comes, you see,
it comes, as it were, to judge men. It comes to condemn sinners. For which true men would be critics
of the word of God. And there have been critics back
in the 19th century, those wicked men, those higher critics, principally
in Germany, initially in Germany, but now their criticisms of the
Word of God, their higher criticism as it was called, how they ransacked
the Old Testament and say it's full of myths and fables and
all that poison, then is brought even over into England and Scotland
as men are reading the writings of these higher critics and the
whole doctrine of Holy Scripture is undermined. It's a work of Satan himself.
Men would be critics of the Word of God, they would sit in judgment
upon the Word of God, but really The reverse is the case. All the words of the Lord Jesus,
there in John 12 and verse 48, He says, "...he that rejecteth
Me, and receiveth not My words, hath one that judges him, the
word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in that
day." Those are the words of the Lord Jesus. Men might criticize
the Word of God and foolishly reject the Word of God but what
does Christ say? He that rejecteth me and receiveth
not my words hath one that shall judge him the word that I have
spoken the same shall judge him in that day all men are to be
judged by the words of the Lord Jesus Christ that is the Word
of God Remember the father judges no man, but hath committed all
judgment unto his son. Or the day will come. He is that
one who is to sit as the great judge and make that final separation
between the sheep and the goats, but even in the course of his
own ministry. Remember how John the Baptist
who comes to be the the forerunner of the Lord Jesus Christ in his
ministry now John speaks of him there in Matthew 3 verse 12 he
says whose fan is in his hand and he will thoroughly purge
his floor and gather his wheat into the garner and he will burn
up the chaff with unquenchable fire now is he speaking here
of that final day of judgment. No, he's not. He's speaking of
the beginning of the Lord's earthly ministry. "...whose fan is in
his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor and gather his
wheat into the gardener, but he will burn up the chaff with
unquenchable fire. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee
to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him." The Lord is about to
begin His own ministry. John says verse 10, now also
the axe is laid unto the root of the trees therefore every
tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast
into the fire even in the day of grace you see the Lord Jesus
Christ as a ministry and there is a convicting ministry that
is given to the Lord Jesus Christ, there is that aspect of the preaching He's the one who has breathed
on His disciples in anticipation of the coming of the Holy Spirit
as He came on the day of Pentecost. And what does Christ say concerning
the Spirit when He has come? He will reprove the world of
sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. Of sin, because
they believe not on Me. Of righteousness, because I go
to the Father and you see Me no more. Of judgment, because
the Prince of this world is judged. Oh, there is a convicting work
and it must come, you see. The sinner must be brought to
see what he is, to feel what he is. Who does the Lord Jesus
Christ come to save? He comes to save sinners. All
are sinners in God's sight, but how few have any sense of their
sin. I came not to call the righteous,
He says, but sinners unto repentance. or that we might be those who
are sinners, convinced of our sins, who know something of that
sword of the Spirit, as those on the day of Pentecost knew
it, they were pricked in their hearts. Men and brethren, what
must we do to be saved? I cry. Where there is that faithful
ministry there will be the conviction of sin. There will be the conviction
of sin. There will be a separation. The ministry of the Word of God
is a separating work. And we see it again throughout
the Lord's own ministry. How many times in John's Gospel
do we have that statement, there was a division among the people
because of him. There was a division amongst
the people because of his sayings. The Lord's ministry you see,
it separates. And that's still the same today.
It will come into the midst of a congregation and it will separate
a people. The Puritan John Owen says that
no man is the same after hearing the Gospel, after hearing the
Word of God. We're either for Christ or we're
against Christ. We cannot be in that place of
indifference. how he comes, you see, as a certain
saver. There are some solemn passages.
You know these passages. We've referred to them previously.
I think of the language there at the end of 2 Corinthians chapter
2. Paul speaking of his preaching
says, we are unto God a sweet saver of Christ in them that
are saved and in them that perish. To the one we are the saver of
death, unto death. and to the other the saviour
of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these
things? For we are not as many which
corrupt, or as the margin says, deal deceitfully with the word
of God, but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of
God, speak we in Christ. Oh, that's that Christ-centered
ministry and how it separates, how it distinguishes between
one and another. Isn't the Prophet Jeremiah told
quite plainly, if they take forth the precious from the vial, they
shall be as my mouth. That's what the ministry does,
it separates the precious from the vial. It separates the election
of grace from the reprobate. that's the purpose of the ministry
of the word of God a convicting work a separating work but ultimately
ultimately of course it is a comforting work that's our that's our consolation
it is a comforting work although converting and separating ultimately
it is that ministry of salvation It's the grace of God. The law
was given by Moses. Grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ. All where sin abounds, grace
does so much more abound. This is the great mark of the
ministry that is being spoken of then as that that is exercised
in the churches of Jesus Christ. The entrance of thy word giveth
light. It giveth understanding to the
simple. And here we have John speaking
of the seven stars in the right hand of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's that hand that speaks of authority. You see there's an
authority in this ministry. and authority to save sinners.
And this is the purpose of Christ's coming, is to save sinners. And as Paul is exercising this
ministry himself, what does he desire? He desires the prayers
of the people of God. There in Ephesians 6 where he
speaks of the armour that God has provided for believers, And
he speaks at the end of the prayer, and then he goes on to request
that they pray in particular for him. For me, he says, that
utterance may be given unto me that I may open my mouth boldly
to make known the mystery of Christ, or to make known the
mystery of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the great purpose of the
Gospel. We preach Christ. and him crucified,
the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now Paul brings
it out in that opening chapter of the first epistle to the Corinthians. He speaks there of the wisdom
of this world After that, in the wisdom of
God, he says, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God,
by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For
the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom,
but we preach Christ, crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block,
and unto the Greeks foolishness, but unto them which are called
both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom
of God. The Lord Jesus Christ is that
one, you see, in whom we see all the power, all the wisdom
of God. And He wants prayer, you see,
that He might open His mouth, that He might be granted such
utterance, such an unction of the Spirit that these things,
these great mysteries might be known unto men. All they concern
Christ, When we think of the mystery of His birth, we think
of the mystery of His life, the mystery of His death. What a
birth! The Holy Ghost shall come up,
only the power of the Highest shall overshadow them. Therefore
also that Holy Thing that shall be born of the earth shall be
called the Son of God, says the angel to Mary. Oh, the miracle
of His birth, the miracle of His dying, that One who is truly
God, or that one who is the great God and never anything less than
that and yet he dies crucified through weakness he cries out
my God my God why hast thou forsaken me this is what the apostle desires
to preach and he wants the prayers of the churches that he might
make known this gospel. Now it came to those at Thessalonica. Our gospel came not unto you
in word only, he said, but in power, and in the Holy Ghost,
and in much assurance. And oh, that this Word of God,
this Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ might ever come to us
as that sort that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord
Jesus Christ himself, that we might know his voice. For where
the voice of a king is there is power, to know it, to feel
it. 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. And 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. And behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell
and of death. Amen.