Inside the heart of my own heart,
whatever we are, still be my vision for tomorrow. All right, back to Revelation
1, which Brother Sam read for us. We've been going through
the Gospel of Luke and the Revelation, two of the wonderful 66 books
in this book. It's a difficult matter deciding
what to preach, or that is, when to preach what. But since it's
all the same, it doesn't really matter, does it? If you'll be
reading Luke and Revelation, then you'll be prepared regardless
which one we look at. I will give you a clue. Sunday
morning, we'll look at Luke 9 in the 11 o'clock hour. All right,
Revelation 1. Now, after John sees the Lord
in all his glory as he is, we'll notice John's reaction.
And then what Christ does to John and what he says to John. Verse 17. The truth. John saw the truth. As he is
in his glory, when I saw him, I fell at his feet. Now. Yeah, I want you to turn
you turn to Daniel chapter 10, Daniel chapter 10, while you're
turning there. I'll read to you. what Ezekiel
said in Ezekiel 1. You remember, Ezekiel and Daniel
both saw the same Christ John did, because he is the same. These three visions are of one. They're the same vision, same
Christ. Christ is the same. Whoever sees
him will see him as he is. And there won't be different
opinions. Well, Ezekiel said in Ezekiel one, he said. There
was the appearance of a man. In the throne. And it says. I saw him as the appearance of
fire. He said, the appearance of the
bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance
of the brightness around about this woman. This was the appearance
of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. You see, when I
saw it, I fell on my face, and then I heard a voice. And he
touched him, and now Daniel 10, verses 5 through 9. Daniel 10,
verses 5 through 9. I lifted up my eyes and looked,
and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded
with fine gold. It sounded like a golden girdle
to me. And his body was like the barrel,
and his face was the appearance of lightning, his eyes as lamps
of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colored polished
brass. The voice of his word like the
voice of a multitude or many waters. I, Daniel, alone saw
the vision. Men that were with me, they didn't
see the vision. But a great quaking fell upon
them, so they fled to hide themselves. Therefore, I was left alone and
saw this great vision. Look at his reaction. There remained
no strength in me. My comeliness was turned into
corruption. I retained no strength. Heard
I the voice of his word, and when I heard the voice of his
words, then I was in a deep sleep on my face, my face toward the
ground. You see, and now back to the
revelation, all who see Christ really see Christ in his glory. And all believers do see him
in his glory. Do you know where that scripture
is that we behold his glory in someone's face? We quote it all
the time. 2 Corinthians 4. I want you to
turn there. 2 Corinthians 4. We quote this all the time. This
is one of those, well, one of the thousands and thousands
of wonderful, glorious verses. 2 Corinthians 4. Every believer has seen Jesus Christ. And what they'll see is light
and glory. Verse 6, 2 Corinthians 4, verse
6, God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has
shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And so all who see him in his
glory and hear his voice, they see him as he is. They see the
same sovereign majesty and power and glory as John, as Ezekiel,
as Daniel did. Same Christ. There's not one
whit difference in those visions. And that's how they speak of
him, too. They fell down. When you fall
on your face before someone, what does that mean? One word. I'm looking for one
four-letter word. When you fall on your face in front of somebody,
you must fear that person. Every one of them. That's what
they did. They fell on their face because they feared him.
They feared him. And they bowed to him. Daniel
said, I melted into corruption, there's no strength left in me.
You remember Queen Sheba, when she saw just a man named Solomon.
Says there was no strength, no spirit left in her, is what it
said. Well, greater than Solomon, much greater. I love what Job said. He said,
Now I've heard of you, the hearing of ear, and now I see you, and
wherefore I abhor myself, and I repent. And without exception,
all who know Christ, who've really seen him, they fear him. This is the mark. They bow before
him. They denied themselves, like
Daniel said, my comeliness, or my beauty, or my worth, or my
works, and all that I am. Now Daniel was the finest man
on the earth, arguably. You know, of all the men and
women in the Scriptures, there are just a few whom God really
shows no fault in. Daniel's one of them. You can't
find any fault with Daniel. of impeccable character. But
Daniel said, when I saw him, the Holy One of Israel, my commonness
melted in corruption. Didn't it? And I saw him. Paul, you know, the Apostle Paul,
even before, even before the Lord saved him, he said, concerning
the righteousness of the law, I'm blameless. blame us. Paul was evidently the most moral
man of his day. And Paul said, but when the commandment
came, sin revived and I died. You know, when the Lord appeared
to Paul, what did he do? What happened? What was his reaction?
Come on his face, hit the dust, hit the dust. And you know, we
emphasize this a lot. We talk about this a lot. Because
it's so relevant in our day. But I don't see, and you tell
me, do you see any fear of God in religion today? I know we say that a lot. I know
we talk about it a lot. And the reason being is because,
well, Sunday morning we're going to look at Luke 9 where the Lord
says, whom do men say that I am? And they begin saying, they think
you're Grace. They think, well, they think
you're Elijah. They think you're John. They think you're one of
the old prophets. Boy, he ought to be flattered. No. Who do you say they are? When you stop and consider and
look around you at religion today and listen to people talk about
God, use His name, talk about Jesus, see what all is going
on in religion today, tell me. Now, there's one ingredient,
the chief ingredient in all believery You found it in Ezekiel, Daniel,
John, Albert, Paul? Fear. Do you see any of that
today? Huh? I don't. I don't see any.
In men's faces? In the services that's going
on in religion today? I don't see any fear. I don't
see any reverence. I don't hear any awe. I don't
hear any reverence or humility. What about humility? Religion
is a religion of pride today. Especially when they speak that
holy name. The Jews of old, you know, they
were very hesitant to even use God's name ever, even take His
name on their lips. Jehovah, they would not use His
name, Jehovah. They considered that the highest,
the holiest of names. They just wouldn't use it. But this ought to tell us something.
Who do men say that I am? What are they saying about me?
How do they use my name? How do they act when they get
around supposed to be worshipping me? How, huh? Well, I'll tell
you how God's people do. They react in fear and worship,
trembling. True worshippers shall worship
the Father in spirit and truth. To this man will I look. He was
poor and of a contrite heart, and that trembled at my word. Well, John saw him, Ezekiel,
Daniel saw him, and the Lord, everyone that see him as he is,
the Lord touches them. All that hit the dust, he raises
up. All beggars on the dunghill get
to sit among princes. All that hit the dust get to
be raised up to the throne. That's it, each one of them.
Every one of them heard God speak to them personally. Now, look
at what the Lord did to John here, verse 17. When I saw him,
I fell at his feet as dead, and now here's what he did. He laid his right hand on him. He laid his right hand on me. You know, talking about human
beings, we're flesh and blood. We have to touch each other.
Touch can really mean something sometimes, can't it? Just a touch. Somebody, you know,
a handshake. touch your flesh and blood. And
that's what the Lord, and nobody's ever been touched like John got
touched. With a hand, my hands are cold,
you know, you notice that. My feet are cold, too. Before
I preach, after I preach, it all warms up. You had to do this,
too, all the blood would run out of your body. You'd lose
all the circulation. All moisture, leave your mouth,
right, Sam? But then you get warm to the
subject. The Lord's hand, oh, how warm His hand must be. His
touch, how gentle, how just, what it, He touched me. I love
that song, He touched me. You play that all the time, but
off the tour. I keep threatening to jump up and sing it. We'll sing it someday. He touched
me. Oh, the joy that fills my soul. Something wonderful happened,
and now I know He touched me and made me. John, He touched
you with His right hand, it said. Everything's significant in the
Scripture. He touched him with His right
hand. Why His right hand? I went through the Scripture
and looked at the right hand of the Lord. You know the Lord's
right hand? He's right-handed. Scripture
says his right hand and his holy arm have gotten him the victory.
The right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. The right hand of
the Lord is exalted. Thy right hand shall save me. Thy right hand doth hold me up. Thy right hand, you know the
right hand, you remember Jacob, the blessing? All the blessings
are on the son of the right hand. The eldest, you see, got the
blessing, and the father laid his right hand on the eldest. And the Lord is right-handed
to all his people. He's right-handed, a hand of
blessing, a hand of favor. And look at what he said. Listen
to what he said to John. First thing, it's a familiar voice. John had heard this before. And he laid his right hand upon
me, saying unto me, Fear not. And you know when you read the scriptures,
you don't know whether to try to read them with feeling or
how, because no man can. You can't, you can't duplicate
the way the Lord said to him. He, when he said, fear not, oh
my, that allayed, totally allayed all of John's fear. And only
he can say that to you, doesn't he? He said, fear not, fear not. You remember Brother Nyberg pointing
that out to us? How that the, the command, this
is what the Lord said more than anything else. Fear not. You see, the Lord, now the Lord's
going to strike fear. in the hearts of all men someday. He's not going to have to say,
fear me. When they see him, they're going to strike fear. Remember,
the scripture says, they shall say, hide us from the face of
him. He's going to strike fear in men, but to those who fear
and worship him now. He says in the gospel, Fear not. Fear not. You see, we don't go
to men with that first. We can't tell men that, John,
can we? We can't tell men fear not. What
we tell men is better fear the Lord. No one. What the preacher
says is fear the Lord. Repent, repent. That means fear.
God is angry with the wicked every day. God is holy. God is
righteous. God hated call workers of iniquity. Better fear the Lord. That's
what we tell men. And only God in the gospel can speak to a
man or woman's heart and say, fear not. You have to wait on
Him to say that, you see. And only He can say it like it
needs to be said. Fear not. And so those who fear
Him now, He says in the gospel, fear not. Fear not what? Not
fear, not condemnation. Fear not judgment. There's no
fear of judgment for the believer. There's no fear of judgment.
Fear not sin. Sin shall not have dominion over
you, you see. Fear not sin. Fear not Satan. We think he rules the town. No,
he doesn't. No, he never has. Never has.
Fear not. He's on a leash. Fear not yourself. I fear myself more than any.
I fear I am a Jew. No, don't fear that. Don't fear
that. Fear not calamities, Psalm 91.
Don't fear calamities and disasters and so forth. Don't fear it.
And this is what he's saying. Look at this. What he says to
allay the fears of all who, all of his people, all who fear him. Here's what he says that allays
their fear. I am the first and the last. I am. This is one of many times
he says, I am. Isn't it, Brother Henry? Well,
Jesus never said he was God. He never said it to you, did
he? He reveals himself to his people, doesn't he? His people
know who he is. I am, he says, and this is what
removes our fear, our doubts and fear, because this is no
mere man. This is the I am. He says, I
am the first and the last. A few things I want us to notice
here about first and last. We could spend all our time right
here. But he says, I'm the first and the last. He's the first
and last word on any subject. He's the first and last word. Now, several of you, after we
started studying Revelation, several of you came up to me
afterwards and said, you know, I used to be afraid of looking at Revelation. I used
to be afraid to read it and afraid to study it. It's just mysterious
and fearful. Well, you know, He says, fear not, I'm the first
book in the Bible, and I'm the last. Now, we studied, did anybody,
was anybody afraid to look at Genesis? When I said, why don't we study
through Genesis, everybody said, oh no, that's too, now listen
to me now, Genesis is full of, full of plagues, full of judgments,
full of destruction, misery, death, mysteries. I mean visions and
wonders and signs. Genesis is full of that. What
did we see going through it? Christ. We saw glory. We saw glory. We saw promises. We saw promises, didn't we? We
saw blessings. We were given assurance. My assurance
grew going through Genesis. And it already has going through
in the Revelation. He said, fear not, I'm first
and I'm last. I'm the subject. I'm first and
last word on any subject. Don't fear. Fear not, I'm the
first and last word on any subject. Secondly, he said, I'm the first
and last cause of all things. I want you to turn. We're going
to browse through Isaiah, OK? Got an hour or so? Isaiah 41. We'll just browse through. He's the first and last cause
of all things. Now, there's nothing that will
speak peace to your heart and allay your fears more than this
right here. That he's the first, and listen to me now, listen
to him, he's the first and last cause of all things. A-double-L. What we think's bad, what we
think's good. What we think's right, what we
think's wrong. He's the first and last cause. I'm first and
last. He didn't qualify that day. He said, I'm just the first.
And whatever you want to put with that, he is it. First and
last. Isaiah 41. Now, he goes all the
way through here. All the way through Isaiah, he
keeps saying, now, I am God, there's nothing beside me, there's
nothing else. Keeps telling his people that. I am, that I am. He started out saying that, didn't
he, Nancy? I am, whom shall I say? Tell them, I am, that I am. And to his people, he keeps on
telling them, I am. I am. I am God. Isaiah 41, verse 4. He's the
first and last cause of all things. Who hath wrought and done it?
Calling the generations from the beginning, I the Lord. First
and with the last, I am He. Verse 10. Fear thou not, for
I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy
God. I will strengthen thee, yea,
I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand
of my righteousness." Verse 14, "'Fear not, thou worm, Jacob,
you men of Israel. I will help thee, saith the Lord,
and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.'" Chapter 43, chapter
43, verse 10. Turn quickly with me so we won't
have to dwell too long. Chapter 43, 10. You are my witnesses,
saith the Lord, and my servant, whom I have chosen, that you
may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Beside, before
me there was no God-form, neither shall there be after me. I am,
even I am the Lord. Beside me there is no Savior. Verse 13. Yea, before the day
was, I am. And there's none that can deliver
it. I will work. Who shall? Who's going to stop
me? Verse 25. Verse 25. Every one
of these is my favorite verse. I, even I, am he that blotted
out thy transgressions for my own sake. I will not remember
thy sin. Chapter 44, verse 6 and 7. Thus saith the Lord, the King
of Israel. His Redeemer, the Lord of hosts,
I am the first and I am the last. Beside me there is no God. Who,
as I, shall call and shall declare it, and set it in order for me,
since I appointed the ancient people, and the things that are
coming and shall come, that them shall fear ye not, neither be
afraid." Had not I told you? Haven't I declared you? You're
my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? There's
no God, I don't know of any. Verse 22, jump down there. I
have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgression, as a cloud
thy sins return unto me, for I have redeemed thee. Come on, come, come unto me."
That's what he said there. Chapter 45. Oh, this is my favorite
right here. This is my favorite. Verse 5,
chapter 45, 5. I am the Lord. There's none else.
There's none else. There is no God beside me. I
girded you. thou hast not known me, that
they may know. From the rising of the sun, from
the west, there is none beside him. I am the Lord, there is
none. I form the light, create darkness, I make peace, create
evil. I, the Lord, do all these things."
Verse 21 and 22. Tell ye, bring them near, let
them take counsel together. Who hath declared this from ancient
times? Who hath told it from that time? Have not I the Lord?
There is no God else beside me, a just God, and a Savior. There is none beside me. Look
unto me, and be ye saved. All the ends thereof. For I am
God, there is none else." Want more? Chapter 46. Chapter 46,
verse 9 and 10. Look at this. Remember the former things of
old. I am God, there's none like me. I am God, there's none like
me. Declaring in from the beginning, from ancient times, things that
are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, I will do
all my pleasure. Chapter 48, one more, okay? One more. Chapter 48, verse 12,
hearken unto me, O Jacob, in Israel, my called, I am he, I
am the first, and I also am the last. He never said he was God. Not to them he didn't, but he
sure did to me, didn't he? He said, I'm God. Fear not. Why do men fear and all this,
and why are they trying to save Mother Earth? They don't know
that God who walked this planet. They've got a Jesus, but he doesn't
allay their fear. Mine says to me, Fear not, I
am, I am, I bore, I am. Look at, now back to the text.
I'm the first and last, and he, he keeps saying I am. I'm the
first and last. Verse ten, verse eighteen I meant. I am he that liveth and was dead. Behold, I am alive for evermore. Amen. I am He that liveth and
was dead. He that liveth and was dead.
Now, this is the mystery of mysteries. God, who is life, He says, I
am he that liveth, and in him we live and move and have our
being. Yet he said, I was dead. But behold, I am alive forevermore. Explain that. I can't, except
to say this. God became a man for one reason. Well, two reasons. Number one,
to live as a man. I am he that liveth. God was
manifest in the land. God lived as a man for men, for
me. And secondly, he came to die. He came to die. Because man must
die. Right? God can't die. You'll
never hear me, well, maybe I have said it, and I don't want to
ever say it. I don't want to slip up and say this, but God
died. It doesn't say that in the scriptures
anyway. God can't die. God is life. In Him is life. God can't die. God can't die. But the God-man
died. Now, you see, when you say a
man died, I'm he that liveth. I was dead. He's telling us who
he is, and behold, I'm alive forevermore. I arose from the
ground, proving who he is, justified in the Spirit. A righteous man can't die. Sin has no hold over him. Sin,
death, the sting of sin is death. OK? And Christ can't die, because
he's a sinless person. A sinless person. And he said,
to he that believeth in me shall never die, too. Didn't he? He that believeth in me shall
never die. He said he'll never taste of death. Never taste of
it. Now, I can't explain that, but
that's why he's telling us that. He that believeth in me shall
never die. He told that to Martha and Mary
at Lazarus' tomb. He said, do you believe this?
Believe the style of this? He that believeth in me shall
never taste of death. You believe that, Vicki? You'll never die. You say, well, I'm alive. I'm
here to live, but I'm dead. No, I'm alive forevermore. For he giveth his beloved sleep.
It's not death, it's sleep. But he died, and the death that
he's talking about they will never experience. It's death
because of sin. I mean, hell, judgment, punishment,
wrath, separation from God. That's death. God is life. You separate from God, it's death. Understand that? Separation from
God. Life, what makes life on this
planet worth living? Experience a little mercy, a
little grace, a little love. of kindness, a little joy, a
little peace, a little goodness. You see what I'm saying? Remove
all that, what do you got? You'd rather die, wouldn't you? But that's where
God is not. None of that, there's none of
that. And he that believeth in me will never die. And while
these things, you won't die, as a matter of fact, these things
will only be multiplied, multiplied. Grace and peace be multiplied. Well, he that believeth shall
never die. What do you say to that? He said,
I'm he that liveth and was dead, and behold, I'm alive forevermore. Amen. I say, good, amen to that. And look at this. He said, and
I have the keys of hell and death. I have the keys of hell and death. There's a couple of keys mentioned
in scripture. Right, John? A couple of keys. Keys of hell
and death. Over in chapter 3, I believe
it is, the key of David. He promises the church, I'll
give the key of David. Well, what's that mean? Well, you get the keys of hell
and death, and you get the keys of... Who's David? He's the king.
Keys of the kingdom. All right? Who's got them? Caretaker. Have you ever tried to get in
someplace and there's a night guard or whatever, you know,
there? A fella and he's got a... You've seen him, haven't you? He's got a whole big bunch of
keys, a key to every door in the business, you know. He's
got the keys. If you want to go in, he's got
the keys, right? Christ is signed. All judgment,
he said, was committed unto me, the Father. All souls were given
unto him. Psalm 2 says, God says he gave
him the heathen. Did he? Gave him the heathen.
Gave him everything. Everything committed unto him.
And so he decided, he's got the keys. I got the keys to a white
Jeep out there. Got the keys to a home over there
on Holly Drive. Now I can let somebody drive
my car. I can let somebody in my house. Can I? It's mine. Who decides? Dan says, Hey, I've decided to
let you let me borrow your car. Oh, no, wait a minute now. I've got the keys here. Who does
the deciding here? I've decided to come home with
you. Well, wait just a minute. You
can try, but I just may bar the door, right? I've got the key. Here. Now who gets in my car? Now who
gets in my house? Henry Sorkin, not Richard Sweed,
not Roberta Sorkin. Henry Sorkin. I chose him. Had
all these people in. I chose him. Gave him the key. He's got the keys of hell and
death. He decides who goes there. He's got the keys of the kingdom,
the key of David. He decides who goes there. Doesn't
he? I am. Who? The one with the keys. We read all the way through Isaiah,
didn't we? He said, I do all these things. I am. I am that
I am. I've decided all this way before
the world, but you can't do that. Oh, God will work. Now, who's
going to let it? He's got the keys. We're coming in. Now, wait a minute. I got the
keys. I'll tell you what, I'll let
you in. Hell. That's for all those who decide.
For all those he decides, that's the man who's the king. All those
who say this decision's not mine, if you will. Lord, if you will.
That's where I deserve to go. But if you will, I sure enough
love to be in your kingdom. Lord, remember me when thou comest
into thy kingdom. Come on me. Come on me. I got the key. Well, look at
the next thing. Let's close. Verse 19. Now this
is, now people, this is, right here's the key. to unlock the
revelation. Right here. Revelation 1 verse
19 is key to unlock this whole book. Look at it with me, all
right? This jumped out at me like a
ton of brick. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the
things which are, and the things which shall be. Do you remember me making the
statement? Most of what is written in the revelation has already
been fulfilled. That's what verse 19 says. Did
you catch it? He said, write the things you've
seen. You've already seen them. It's already done. All right?
It's already happened. And the things that are. When? John's day. Two thousand years
ago. Got that? And the things which
shall be, when? In the future. In the times to
come. Well, that's at least two-thirds
of the revelation has already happened. Huh? You know what that says? It's already happened. The things which shall be. And
the mystery, and he lets us in on the mystery. Right from the
very beginning, didn't it? He says, verse 20, the mystery
of the seven stars and the candlestick, he lets us in on it from the
very beginning. Well, so he did of the rest of
the book. He said, I, John, I bear record of the Word of God. I
was in the Isle of Patmos for the Word of God and the Testament. He says it twice. And here he
says, now you write down what's already happened, what's happening
now, and what will happen in the future. There's no need to
fear. Fear not. We're going to see
glory throughout this. Don't need to fear ten-horned
creatures. They're there. They're out there
right now. Seven-headed, ten-horned creatures. They're right now. It's not some, you know, wild-looking
beast who's going to follow something like that. It's like, and we're
going to go into that. You tell me who in his right
mind, after hearing all they've heard of 666, who's going to
let somebody put that on their head? Would you? Everybody's going
to have it on their head, you know. After all that's been said
all these years by everybody, the mark of the beast, the mark
of the beast, 666. Can't you just see everybody lining up?
Yeah, mark me. Isn't that ridiculous? Fear not. 666 is already on the
brains. It's already in the minds. They've
already got the mark. It's marked everywhere. I see
666. It's the number of a man. I see
it everywhere. That's all they talk about. Man,
man, man. Don't they? What man used to be, what man
is, what man shall be. 666. Mark of the redeems, mind of
Christ. And the mystery of the stars, he said, the stars are
the churches and the angels are the candlesticks of the churches
and the stars are the angels of the churches. And he's going
to write them letters. And now, Sunday morning, we're
going to look at a letter he's written, already written. But he says, fear not, fear not.
I am the first and the last. All right, let's stand. Our Lord, we thank you for what
we have seen from your Word. If you had not cause the light to shine
out of darkness, we would be in darkness even as others, and
not see glory and not see the face, person, purpose, work of
Christ in all of this. But we would—it would remain
a mystery, be hid, though thinking ourselves to be wise and become
fools even as others. We do see our calling and we
recognize what we are. Things that are not base things,
foolish things. It's not by our own striving
or wisdom or understanding, but it's all a revelation. And we thank You by Your grace,
sovereign grace to reveal Your Son in us and in this book. But we know in part. We don't
know the half that's never been told. We just know in part. We preach, prophesy in part. We know when that which is fully
come, when Christ, who is to come, he'll show us, he'll reveal
all things clearly. We'll see him as he is. We'll
know then, even as we've been known. But now it's enough to
know that you, that I am he. We're so glad you've shown us
that thou art the I am. And this speaks peace to our
heart. Let this word, this word of peace and comfort remain with
your people throughout this week as they face doubts and fears
and troubles and hardships. Let these words echo in their
minds and hearts. I am the first and the last.
The first word, the first cause, the first and the last. By the Lord, do all these things.
We thank you, Lord, for revealing yourself to us, that we know
and understand the I am. Dismiss us with your blessing.
Be with your people this way. In Christ's name, for his glory.
Amen. You're dismissed.