There are two manners of looking
at this book I found. Number one, have you ever had
a blanket that you really liked? You're reading and you just kind
of curl up in it. Comfortable. There's a word that
I found in the South. It's called a comforter. Big,
thick blanket you put on there. It's comfortable. And then this
month reminds me of the other way of interpreting or looking
at this book. And that's a Halloween fear tale. Now I want to blanket. I want to look at this book as
the blanket, the comforter, the way that God comforts his people,
even in perilous times. Now there are some perilous times
mentioned in here, but God is over all, ruling over all, in
absolute control, and nothing falls out that he hasn't ordained. So, I want the comforter, I want
the blanket. And as we read through this first
chapter tonight, I just want to, I would like us to notice
the number of ways that the Lord comforts us in this chapter alone. And this is just chapter one.
the revelation of Jesus Christ. Now, we notice that that word
revelation is found in another place, where it's translated
there, a light to lighten the Gentiles. So this is my book
of enlightenment. Enlightenment, it's a light to
lighten the Gentiles. Now, the next phrase, which God
gave, now I like that too, this whole book, is the book which
God gave. It's the revelation of Jesus
Christ which God gave. Now all the books God gave, holy
men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. And
that's just the way God gave his word. He used men to do that. They were secretaries. They sit
down or were walking along and they wrote down exactly what
the Holy Spirit gave them. He did not open it up for discussion. He gave them the word of God.
Now we have a translation of it and I like it in my vernacular
because Greek and Hebrew is difficult to read. It's just a difficult,
I'll never forget looking up one word in my Hebrew dictionary
and I worked and I worked and I worked and then I remembered
they write their things backwards. Made a lot more sense when I
started at the backward side of that word and went across.
Well, I realized then I would never, ever, ever, master anything
about the Hebrew language. As I've shared before, I know
a little Hebrew and he runs a bread store. All right. The revelation of
Jesus Christ which God gave unto him to show unto his servants. Now, that's a good word too.
I like that word, servants. To show unto his servants things
which must shortly come to pass. And if he's going to show it,
it's for our good and for his glory, whatever it is. And he sent and signified it
by his angel unto his servant, John. Here's a message, John,
I'm giving it to you. And John was faithful to write
it down, who bear record of the word of God and of the testimony
of Jesus Christ of all the things that he saw. What a statement
is made there in verse two. And we looked at that, how John
was used to bear record of the word of God. And that's what
a believer's commission is today, to bear record of the word of
God. And the testimony of Jesus Christ. He is the God-man. He is the eternal son of God,
and he is the son of man. He's the one that God, in perfect
union, brought together with human flesh. And that's the perfect
marriage. is the God-man. He brought him
together in perfect union for our redemption. Blessed is he
that readeth. And that word, blessed, we saw
how often it's translated in, you don't get there without the
Lord causing it to happen. Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona,
for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto you, but my
Father which is in heaven. And that's this blessed. We're
not gonna have this kind of blessing unless the Holy Spirit gives
it to us. And we're not gonna be able,
as it says here, to read with comprehension unless the Lord
opens it up to us. And, to hear the words of the
prophecy. A lot of hearing going on, but
blessed is he that has ears to hear. The spirit provides those
ears, and then it says, and keep those things. My goodness, if
that was my responsibility, I'd have lost it yesterday, given
to me today. We just can't keep it like we
should. But he does. Then it goes on
to tell us, for the time is at hand. John to the seven churches
which are in Asia. Grace be unto you and peace from
him which is and which was and which is to come and from the
seven spirits which are before his throne. And from Jesus Christ,
now just listen and read with me the number of ways the Lord
comforts his people in this one chapter. From Jesus Christ, who
is the faithful witness, and the first begotten from the dead,
and the prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved
us, underline that, and washed us, loosed us from our sins in
his own blood. What a comfort that has always
been to the church. He has washed us, loosed us from
our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests. Now that's good. I love that. He's made us kings and priests.
And it goes on to say there, He hath made His kings and priests,
and to God and His Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever
and ever." Now that just really helps me. He has dominion forever
and ever. He's never given up His dominion. He's always held it. Behold,
He cometh. Now, can you just imagine being
set aside on the Isle of Patmos, and this vision is given to you,
this word is given to you, and you're just so caught up in it
that you say, behold he cometh. Now that's for us too. I don't
think there was any grander moments in my growing up years than on
Sunday when we could invite our grandparents, Grandma and Granddad
Cook, to come eat dinner with us. And once they said yes, the
word went among the kids, they're coming. That was the greatest
event we could have on Sunday. Now, church didn't mean that
much to me then, but to have the grandparents in the home.
Oh, we loved it. Grandma and Granddad, they're
coming, they're coming. Can you just put that? Behold,
he cometh. a promise he made to his church. As you've seen him go, so shall
he return. He cometh. And then he says there,
and every eye shall see him, and they that pierced him. Now,
who are those? I've always had the lost people
blamed for that. Who pierced him? We pierced him. We'll see him whom we pierced.
It was our sins that pierced him. And then all the kindreds
of the earth shall wail because of him. Those who are outside
of faith, those who are outside of Christ, they're going to wail
at his coming. But John said, behold, he cometh. and we'll
see him whom we pierced. It was our sin that pierced the
Lord Jesus Christ. And then verse eight, I'm Alpha
and Omega, I'm the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord,
which is and which was and which is to come, the Almighty. I,
John, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation
and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle
that is called Patmos, And this is why he was exiled, for the
word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. No better reason
to be exiled. He wasn't a thief. He wasn't
a criminal. He was a preacher of righteousness.
And that's why they put him there. Now, I kind of feel, for a while,
he says, what has happened to me until this took place? And
then he knew why. This whole book was given to
him there. Then it says there, I was in
the spirit on the Lord's day. He's having church. There on the Isle of Patmos exiled,
remembering that great resurrection day. He was there when it took
place. He could recount it. He could
go over it in his mind. We went and looked, there was
an empty tomb, we didn't know what was going on for a while,
and then it was brought to our attention, and all we could do
is say hallelujah. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's
day and heard behind me a great voice as 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 which
are in Asia, unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos,
and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto
Laodicea. And 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, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and his gird
about the paps with a golden girdle, and his head and his
hairs were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were
a flame of fire. My, if you don't read this and
get The hair on the back of your neck just crawled just a little.
Oh, what a sight, he saw his savior. Feet likened to 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.
And when I saw him, now he was on the Mount of Transfiguration,
and this didn't happen there. Oh, the glory of the glorified
Savior. I saw him and I fell at his feet
as dead. I was overwhelmed by the glory
of my Savior. He was one of the three on the
Mount of Transfiguration. He saw him in his transfigured
glory, but when he saw him in his glory, he fell down as dead. And now comfort, he laid his
hand on me, his right hand on me, saying unto me, fear not,
I'm the first and the last. I am he that liveth and was dead,
and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of
hell and death. Now that's comfort. I was told
all my life the devil has those. And then the book said the Lord
has them. That's just comforting. Write
the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and
the things which shall be hereafter. The mystery of the seven stars
which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks.
The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the
seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.
Now, I'd like to go back and spend just a little bit of time
tonight beginning with verse four. and go through this, we
might get through verse four. It's just like a fountain that's
so full. It's just running over. There's
a big head of water. He said here, John to the seven
churches. Now, I am convinced that he's
not talking about seven church ages. He's talking about the
church in its summation, its totality. Now, if we follow this
through here, we're gonna see that he found, the Lord says,
I have a few things against thee on every one of those churches
except for one. Now, boy, we better clean up
our act, hadn't we? We better clean up our act. And
then I want you to turn with me to the book of Psalms 119.
119, as much as we want to and as
much as we try, we can't clean up our act enough. All it does
is make us depend on Jesus Christ the more. He is the one that
makes us accepted in the beloved. He is the one that makes us accepted
to the Father. He is the one that makes our
life in the church enjoyable life. I don't want to go through
my church life, and I'm talking about the church, the universal
body of Christ. I don't want to go through my
life feeling blue and down about being in that church. I want
to be lifted up. I want it to be a glorious day
every day that God in his purpose of grace shared with me the gospel
through a preacher and he converted me, he saved me, he gave me his
regeneration and it's the best thing that ever happened to me
and I want to enjoy it every day of my life. I don't want
to read the second and third chapters and have the Lord say,
I've got someone against you and you better clean up your
act because I'll never get there. I have a Savior that has them. Now turn here in Psalm 119. This is not going to be used
to beat you over the head. This is going to be used to say,
thank God for God. Thank God for the Lord Jesus
Christ. Thank God that he lifted us up
and made us accepted. Even though we're sinners to
the core, sinners by nature and practice and even by choice,
he still has lifted us up. And here in Psalm 119 and verse
117, not very many of those 117 verses in a chapter or Psalm
in the Bible, but notice this. Psalm 119 verse 117, hold thou
me up and I shall be safe. I found that, this is hallelujah. You
hold me up Lord and I'll be safe. Come whatever comes, high water, heat. I'll be safe. You hold me up
and I'll be safe. Oh, the comfort that that just
swelled in me, that God holds us up and we are now safe. Goes on to say there, and I will
have respect unto thy statutes continually. The only way that
I could ever have respect to his statutes is he's holding
me up. He's given me a new heart. He's given me a new mind. He's
given me a love for the Lord Jesus that I never had by nature,
but I'm still a sinner by nature, still a sinner by practice, and
still a sinner by choice, and I need His righteousness and
sanctification every day. I can't add one iota to it. He's
the only one that can provide the necessity that I need when
I stand before God Almighty. And turn with me, if you would,
to 1 Peter. 1 Peter 1 and verse 5. And we read these words, oh,
it is something. Seven churches of Asia, there's
some instruction there, but thank God Almighty, just like the law
was given to Israel, these requirements given to us, trust Christ. Oh my, He's the only one that
can hold us up and make us safe. 1 Peter 1, it doesn't mean we
quit. It means whenever we're permitted
to do something good, it's from God. And if you've ever done
anything good, It's from God. Now, if we've ever done anything
bad, that's us. If, since, it's us. But if we've ever, ever done
anything good, it's from God. He's the only one that can cause
us to do good. Now, 1 Peter chapter one. 1 Peter 1 verse 5, who are, we
are, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation,
ready to be revealed in the last time. I'm so thankful that we're
kept by the power of God. Now we're gonna go through, we're
gonna see that from the beginning of our walk, There's been times
we've been as the Church of Smyrna, as the Church of Philadelphia,
as the Church of Ephesus, and we're just not gonna say that's
a church age. That's just the way it is. It is. In this church, every day, there's
things that God would like to have different, and the only
reason that we'll ever stand before him is he presents us
spotless. He will never make it on her
own. Turn with me, if you would, back
to the book of Zechariah. Zechariah chapter four. I like
this verse of scripture. It's just something. How many
new verses of scripture I've found in my Bible recently. I've
just read over them and read over them and nothing struck
me, but boy, this is just good. Zechariah chapter four, verse
six. We think of the seven churches
of Asia. It's not by might. Zechariah chapter four, verse
six, the word of the Lord says this. It doesn't. Does it? Okay. Oh, there we are. Okay. Then he answered and spake
unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel,
saying, Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord
of hosts. So all the effort we try to squeeze
out, that's not how we're going to get the job done. And by all
of the work we perform, We're not going to get righteous, but
it's by His Spirit, saith the Lord. He's the one that holds
us up. He's the one that sustains us.
He's the one that makes us acceptable. He's the one that's given us
His grace. He's the one that's given us His peace. He's the
one that's given us His joy. He's the one that's given us
His hope. And it is through Him and through Him alone we are
able to even pray. We know not how to pray as we
ought, but He helpeth our infirmities by words that can't even be uttered. All right, go back with me to
there to the book of Revelation. Revelation. Now, Revelation chapter
one, verse four, we find the order that is throughout the
Bible. The order. We'll never, ever, ever have
peace without grace. Notice that. And you just find
this order throughout the scriptures. God doesn't change it. We must
have grace. And that's God's unmerited favor. We must have him. We must have
his intervention. We must have him stopping us.
He must have him arresting us. It must be his grace. It says
there in verse four, John to the seven churches which are
in Asia, grace be unto you and peace. That's the way it comes. Grace first and then peace. It's
never turned around. We don't get peace without his
grace. His grace is what changes us,
makes us, molds us. It's what He does with us, in
us, and for us. And as a result of that, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And that's a permanent
peace. It's not a day peace or a week
peace or a month peace or a year's peace. It's a daily peace with
God. It's being settled in Him. This
doesn't mean that we don't have rises and falls, but he's at
peace with us, and therefore we're at peace with him. It's
a peace that he gives us, a peace that passeth all understanding. It's incomprehensible that he
could give worms peace. We're singing in a song, but
he gives worms peace with him. There's no retaliation. He's
not keeping track and say, well, I'm gonna smash him at the fifth
sin. There's peace. And then it tells
us there in verse four, grace be unto you and peace now from
him. Now there's three aspects about
from him right in that verse. Their comfort to God's people,
every one of these aspects. There are three things that's
mentioned about him. It's from him which is, which
was, and which is to come. Now I want you to turn back with
me to the book of Exodus. You know where I'm going. Exodus
chapter three. This is a question that Moses
asked. Who do I tell the children of
Israel? He's scared to death. Who am I gonna tell them sent
me? And here in the book of Exodus, the Lord God Almighty shared
with Moses what name. he would share. And so we find
over there, which is, this is a always present. It's never
in the past tense. It's always present. It was present
in the days of Abraham. It was a present in the days
of Moses. It was present in the days of
David. This term is always present from beginning to end. It's never
in the past tense. And that just shares a quality
about our savior that we find great delight in. That is he
is the ever present one. Book of Exodus, chapter three,
and there in verse 14, it says, and God said unto Moses, I am
that I am. And he said, thou shalt say unto
the children of Israel, I am, hasn't you? It is an ever present
relationship that God had with his people throughout all ages.
He is, am. I am. And it's interesting how
many times the Lord used that term in the New Testament, I
am. But one of the most significant
ones is the King James records, I am he, but the he has been
added for clarification. When that troop of soldiers came
to take the Lord Jesus, and they, he asked, who do you seek? And
he said, they said, Jesus of Nazareth. He said, I am. He didn't
say I'm he, I am. He used the Greek word for this
Hebrew word and they found themselves with their nose in the dirt.
He put them down. They had handprints all over
them, and they couldn't figure out what happened that moment. But he demonstrated to them,
I lay down my life. No man takes it from me. I am the ever-present I Am. He was, I am to Abraham. He was, I am to Abel. He is, I am to Adam. And today
he's the, I am. He's the, I am to us. And tomorrow
he's the, I am to us too. And in a hundred years, if he
should tarry, he's still the, I am. This is what the Lord said
there. You tell them this verse four,
he says, that which is. It's an ever-constant present.
And then he says, which was. Now I love to look at the eternality
of the Lord, of God. Ever and ever and ever and ever
and ever and ever. John 1.1. This is who this book is from.
the I am, that which is. We heard a sermon
several years ago up at camp called the isness of the Lord. He is. He never was. He is. He's ever present. I am that I am. He didn't say
I is. I was. I will be. I am. Now notice here in John
1.1, he's speaking again and he says, which was from eternity. We use terms that we don't even
understand. And they're really a little bit
contradictory about our God. The eternal, before eternity
began, he was, there was never a We use the word time, and there
was no time. We just cannot comprehend it.
But notice this, in the beginning was the word. I can't comprehend it, but I'm
just saying yahoo. It's so good. It's so good. It's so delightful to the church
to know that he is the constant I am, but at the same time he
is the absolute was. He was before the world began. He was in the council halls of
eternity. He was forever. In the beginning
was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. I've never got a hold of that.
I believe it, but it just is beyond my ability to comprehend. The eternality of God Almighty,
to be forever and ever and always in absolute control, to have
the words written about them and their covenant mercy, none
can stay his hand or say what. He does his will in the armies
of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. The angels bow
before him and say, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.
In eternity past, even when that great angel tried to usurp authority,
God just went... Barking up the wrong
tree. I got my chain on you. Men rise up against God. He's
always was. And then it says thirdly, which
is to come. He's coming back for his church,
coming back for saints, coming back in glory. coming back to
collect them all, coming back to get them from the four winds,
calling them out of the four winds, everywhere, whether they're
at the bottom of the ocean, whether they've been buried for 3,000,
4,000, 5,000, 6,000 years, cemeteries moved and houses placed over
the top, he's going to bring back every one of his children. Not one will be lost. They will
all be united. Their spirits that are sitting
before the throne of God will be united with their bodies,
and so shall we ever be with the Lord. He is promised to come
back. He is the I am, and he was the
God before the foundation of the world, but he has promised
the church he will come back in power and great glory for
the church. Turn with me, if you would, to
the book of Acts chapter 20 Oh 2nd Timothy 2nd Timothy chapter 4 let's go
there first 2nd Timothy chapter 4 he's promised and he will fulfill
and the church has been waiting waiting waiting waiting ah not
just sitting idly by preaching the gospel because there is only
one thing One thing that hinders the coming of the Lord, it's
not rebuilding anything. It's not having some city somewhere. It is the long suffering of the
Lord means salvation. Somewhere on this earth, there's
still sheep to be saved. And when that last one is brought
in, The fold is complete. He will come down as the great
shepherd, the chief shepherd, and the good shepherd, and collect
all his sheep, and he'll have them with him for eternity, worshiping
him who is, and was, and is to come. Now notice here, second
Timothy, chapter four. I charge thee, therefore, before
God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and
the dead at his appearing and his kingdom, preach the word,
be instant in season out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with
all longsuffering and doctrine. I charge thee, the Lord Jesus
Christ shall come and he shall judge the quick, the living and
the dead. Now it's interesting, the only
place in all the Bible that you'll ever find that there's a judgment,
a thousand-year judgment between the people is in people's minds. I can show you ten places in
the scripture where it says that there will be a resurrection
of the just and the unjust. Simultaneously. Turn with me,
if you would, to the book of Matthew chapter 22. I love this
passage of scripture. This just shows us our Lord Jesus
Christ in power, doing what he said he will do. Matthew chapter
22. He is going to come. As you saw
him go, so shall he return. But when he comes, there's no
second chance. There's no secrets. It's going
to be with loud, thunderous coming. And here in Matthew chapter 22,
verse 31, the scriptures share these words about it. But as touching the resurrection
of the dead, have you not read that which was spoken unto you
by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead,
but of the living. Those who have met the first
resurrection in Jesus Christ. And then in Matthew chapter 25,
Matthew chapter 25, verse 33, he's coming, power and great
glory. Every eye shall see him. Every
tongue shall confess. And here, it gives us a demonstration
of what's gonna take place. The Lord's gonna come back for
his own, but he's gonna judge. Now, his people have already
been judged in Christ. He already says here, welcome
to the kingdom prepared for me from the foundation of the world.
I like that. You know, it's not ours. It's
his to give us. And he chose the residents of
that city. Notice here, Matthew chapter
25, verse 33, the scriptures share this. He's gonna, he is,
which is, which was, and which is to come. Verse 33, the scripture
says, and he shall set the sheep on the right hand and the goats
on the left. Now, when I was down in, they called
it Bible school. But what they had done is taken
their Bible and just ripped out hundreds of pages. and we're
teaching a lie. They taught a lie about salvation,
they taught lies about God, they taught lies about his power,
they taught lies about, they just lied about God. And the
only way you can do that is just rip pages out of your Bible.
And this was brought up, this is the judgment of the nations.
Well, look at the word, it's judgment of the people. And when
are you gonna judge America? Now, we started off pretty good,
but I wouldn't give a three-cent piece for us today. We're just
glad to be alive. We're just glad to exist. We have really thrown in the
towel, haven't we? As a country. Now, if he's going
to judge us now, I don't want to be on the left-hand side.
This is the judgment of people. Daniel said he's going to raise
the quick and the dead. We'll read that in just a moment.
But notice here, he set up sheep on the right hand, but the goats
on the left. And then in that same passage, look at verse 41.
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, depart from
me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and
his angels. This is the loss. This is those
without Christ. These are on the left hand side
and they're lined up. We got the sheep and we got the
goats and the Lord has made the differentiation between them.
And he set those on the right hand side. And what's it say
to them? Verse 34, then shall the king
say unto them on the right hand, and that's one reason the Lord
touched John with his right hand. Over in Revelation chapter one,
when he was like dead, he touched him very clearly. He wants us to understand it
was with his right hand. Come ye blessed of my father
into inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. Now that's what he's always said
to his sheep. To his goats, to the goats, he said, depart. Depart from me, ye workers of
iniquity. And here he says, depart from me, ye cursed into everlasting
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. And then in verse
46, and these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the
righteous to life eternal. He shall come. He shall separate
the people. The sheep will be on the right
hand, the goats on the left hand, and he will speak to them. And
if you have Christ, welcome. If you don't, depart. And that's
serious. And it's going to happen. And
he will find glory even in that. I take comfort, though, he finds
no pleasure in the death of the wicked. No pleasure. Now there's sometimes I could
almost find pleasure in people, that nitwit that robbed my daughter
down in Florida with a pistol, I could go down there today and
pistol whip him and find great pleasure in it. I just, forgive
me, Lord, but I was so angry at him, I could have just grabbed
ahold of him and throttled him. He put a .22 pistol in my daughter's
face, put her life on the line over a few dollars. But the Lord, I'm thankful it
says, with regard to Him in eternity, I find no pleasure in the death
of the wicked. But I find pleasure in my sheep.
because I've anointed them, I've set them aside, they're mine
from time and for eternity. I bought them, I sent my son
to redeem them. He is, and he was, and he shall
be, he shall come again, and he shall receive his own unto
himself, and they shall praise him forever and ever. And we're
gonna find that here in the book of Revelation so often, they're
gonna, have pleasure in the Lord Jesus Christ and he and them. Would you turn with me back to
the book of Daniel? Daniel chapter 12. Daniel chapter
12. Daniel chapter 12 and verse 2. There's no secret coming. He's
going to come with power and great glory. He's going to shake
this place up. And those who pierced him will
say, thank you for coming. And those have no part, they're
going to wail. They're going to stand in judgment
before him. And here in Daniel chapter two, or 12 in verse two,
it says, and many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth
shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting
contempt. We find all through the scriptures
this presented as there's going to be a resurrection. There's
going to be a judgment and it's going to be over. And the righteous
shall sit with him for eternity. Now I'm not gonna go on about
what is gonna, we know what's gonna happen to those without
Christ. But the righteous shall sit with him for eternity. And we will, God's people will,
the church will, learn of his grace. There won't be days, but
I'm gonna say this. Every day we're there, we'll
learn of his grace. Learn of his grace. Magnify him
for his grace and for his mercy. All right, let's go back over
there to the book of Revelation chapter one and verse four. It
says, there are seven spirits which are before his throne.
Now we know that there are not seven Holy Spirits. My goodness,
the people that declare that, they're just fools. They got
half their Bible tore out. Seven spirits. This is symbolic
language of the ministry of our Holy Spirit. This is symbolic
language. The Holy Spirit does seven things
for us. He's complete in every activity
he performs on the behalf of his people for the church. Turn
with me, if you would, over to the book of Isaiah. Isaiah chapter
11, and I wanna show you this. There's seven things listed here
about the Holy Spirit, and I'm thankful for every one, because
we are unable, excuse me, unable to perform these for ourselves. And it is absolutely essential
that we have the Holy Spirit resting on us. He did on the
Lord Jesus, and he rests on his people. I drive through Portland,
I see these birds coming down the edge of a church building.
trying to imitate the form of a dove resting on Jesus. My goodness. He's not a dove. He's a spirit. And they that worship God must
worship him in that spirit and in truth. It's not being spiritual,
it is in him, the Lord Jesus. All right, Isaiah chapter 11,
and there in verse two, the Lord says, and the spirit of the Lord
shall rest upon him. Now this is what happened to
the Lord in his personal ministry at the very beginning of his
ministry. When it says he went down into the water, and I've
seen these pictures of John standing with a bowl out there and pouring
a little water on him. He went down into the water and
he came up out of the water. My goodness, that's so plain. And it says that the spirit of
the father spoke to him from heaven. This is my beloved son.
And the spirit descended upon him and rested on him. And that happens to every believer.
The spirit of God seals us. We have a brand on us. That we
can't lose. And no one that knows anything
would ever want to lose it. We've been sealed. He's resting
on now. It goes on to say here. This
this is the aspects of the Holy Spirit on our behalf. This is
what the Spirit does for us, and we desperately need every
one of them. It says there, the Spirit of Wisdom. I'm a fool,
but He has given us wisdom. He shows us Christ. And then
it says here, the Spirit of Understanding. I'm an ignoramus. I've always
been when it comes to spiritual things, but the Holy Spirit reveals
the truth to us. He's the one that showed us the
revelation of Jesus Christ, the spirit of counsel. My goodness,
which way should I go? Oh Lord, thank you for your eternal,
infinite counsel to your church, to your people. You counsel them
every day. And then, and might, Oh, to have
God reveal to us that he is powerful, he's sovereign, he's king of
might. And then the spirit of knowledge.
I want to know more, don't you? Oh, that's what Paul cried, that
I might know him and the power of his resurrection. Oh, Lord,
show me my savior. The spirit of knowledge. and
the fear of the Lord. The church has been given a reverence
for Jesus Christ that you can't get on your own. A reverence
for the Savior, fear for him, not afraid of him, but a respect,
a reverence. We don't say Jesus is my co-pilot. We say he's my pilot. Jesus,
Savior, pilot me. We don't say, me and Jesus got
a good thing going. I mean the irreverence in some
of that stuff. It's irreverent. Jesus has created
life in me. He's made himself known as the
God Almighty. And so the Holy Spirit in his
completeness has shown that. He demonstrated it to Christ.
He demonstrates it to us. He did it to him to show what
he does to the church. And he has done that, and he
continues to do that. He reveals himself in every capacity,
the Holy Spirit. I hadn't been saved a month,
and I realized that my job was not to beat people. If the Holy
Spirit can't do it, who am I? If the Holy Spirit can't correct
people, who am I? My goodness, He's one that can
just get down into our heart and turn us around. He uses the
word, the preachers that preach the word, but he uses the word
and he'll correct us. He'll correct us. Oh, he is all
powerful. He is the spirit. As we read
there, there's not seven persons, it's the spirit, seven full complete
gifts and graces that he gives to us. This number is specified
as implying a fullness. the Holy Spirit's fullness to
us. And turn with me, if you would,
to the book of Zechariah chapter three. Zechariah chapter three. Got a couple of verses I want
to read here in Zechariah. Zechariah chapter three. We think
about the Holy Spirit's activity on the behalf of the church.
Without him, we wouldn't be born again. Without him, we'd never
heard the word. Without him, we'd just wander
through this life and be quite religious, no doubt, and not
know a thing about the Lord Jesus Christ. We'd even use his name. We'd even say we've had some
religious experience. But the Holy Spirit gives us
the new birth, regeneration. Here in the book of Zechariah
3, verse 8, the scriptures share this. Zechariah 3, verse 8, here
now, oh Joshua, the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit
before thee, for they are men wondered at, for behold, I will
bring forth my servant the branch. No question in the world who
that is. Look at the lettering. branch. For behold, a stone that
I have laid before Joshua, upon one stone shall be seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave the graving
thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I'll remove the iniquity
of that land in one day. This is the ministry of the Holy
Spirit to remove iniquity in one day. And that day, saith
the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbor under
the vine and under the fig tree. What's the benefits of the everlasting
covenant? All shall know me. And beside that, we get to know
each other. That's the benefits of the everlasting
covenant. And then in chapter four, in
verse 10, it says this. For who hath despised the day
of the small things? For they shall rejoice and shall
see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven. They are the eyes of the Lord,
which run to and fro through the whole earth. The wind bloweth
where it listeth, and thou can hear the sound thereof. It's
the Holy Spirit moving through this whole world, moving people
to move somewhere to preach the gospel so he can call his people
out of darkness. Moving in every kindred, nation,
people, and tongue. The Holy Spirit moves. It's the
seven eyes. It's the seven aspects of the
Spirit moving on behalf of the covenant of grace to save all
his people from their sins. Then in 2 Chronicles 16, this
is a good verse. You'll want to underline this one. This is a good verse. Second
Chronicles chapter 16, talking about those seven eyes moving
to and fro throughout all the earth. You can't, you just see
what's happened. You can't see the wind. You don't
know where it's come from. You don't know where it's going.
You just see the activity. Here in 2nd Chronicles chapter
16, and there in verse 9, the Lord says this, for the eyes
of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, what? To show
himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfected
for him. Whoa, to show himself strong. God's people recognize a God
that is above every imagination that we can come up with. He
is all powerful. He demonstrates to our heart,
he's strong, and we're weak. Oh, there is such a tie between
the sovereignty of God, the sovereign grace of God, and what the Holy
Spirit has done to our heart. He reveals that God is strong. Undeniable. Now we may not realize
all his strength, but we'll say he's strong. He's able to do
exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. He's
strong. He's able to deal where I'm unable to deal. He is strong. Second Chronicles chapter 16
and verse nine, Herein thou has done foolishly therefore from
henceforth thou shall have wars but the Seven eyes the eyes of
the Lord run to and fro through the whole earth to show himself
strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards
him the church The church gets to know that and I it's sad to
say people who don't know and won't learn About that just haven't
seen it God's not revealed it. And that's just part of being
saved. It's just part of having Christ. All right. Well, well, one more verse. I've got
a minute. I'm a minute pastor Romans, Romans chapter eight, verse 31. Romans 8 31. I want to sum this up with this verse. What shall we then say to these
things? If God, if God before us, who
can be against us?