Would you join me in your Bibles
tonight to the book of Revelation? Revelation chapter one, the apocalypse. And I still remember what a blessing
it is to see that that word apocalypse, revelation is used, a light to
lighten the Gentiles. We want to look at this book
as it is a blessing to God's people. and not a dread. In this is the book of the Lord
Jesus Christ, as we find in the very first verse, the revelation
of Jesus Christ, the apocalypse of Jesus Christ, the light he
sheds on our heart of Jesus Christ. This is the book. The word lamb
with regard to the Lord Jesus is found more times in this book
than any other book. This just magnifies the Lord
Jesus. It glorifies the Lord Jesus.
And we sang a couple songs tonight. I just wanted to set the tone
because this is the book of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now there
are some mysteries in here. There's no question about it.
There are some things that are hard to be understood, but those
are the minors. The blessings that we have in
seeing the Lord Jesus is the majors. And that's what we want
to spend our time on. Revelation chapter one, verse
one, and I'd like to read down through verse eight tonight,
and our subject is going to be found in verse eight. It's one
word, Alpha. I am Alpha and Omega. The revelation of Jesus Christ,
which God gave unto him to show unto his servants things which
must shortly come to pass. And he sent and signified it
by his angel unto his servant John, who bear record of the
word of God. No greater thing a person could
do than to bear record of the word of God. We just be remembered
at the end of our life, he bore record of the word of God. She
bore record of the word of God. And it says there of the testimony
of Jesus Christ, And of all things that he saw, John was privileged
to see many things. And by faith, we're privileged
to see the same things. I don't have to have the Mount
of Transfiguration again. It's written in the book. And
it happened. And there were those, Peter,
James, and John, that went up on that mountain and witnessed
it. And John recorded about it. And we find great joy in what
they saw and what joy they had when they heard, this is my beloved
son in whom I am well pleased. Here ye him. Blessed is he that
readeth, they that hear the words of this prophecy and keep those
things which are written therein, 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
we mentioned as we went through verse four that we'll never have
peace without first of all having grace. It's never the other way
around. We never get peace, and then
God gives us grace. That's the human view. God's
view is, I give my grace, and that is how you get your peace. It's unmerited favor. God gives
his grace, and then we have peace. And it says there, from him,
the Lord Jesus, which is, and we looked at his great isness,
I am that I am, ever present. Never, never was he not. Can I say that? Never, never
was he not. It's just ever-present isness.
And then it says there in Revelation chapter one and verse four, for
him which is and which was. And I like what it says in John
chapter one, verse one, in the beginning was the word. And the
word was with God, and the word was God. And that's it. And then it says, to him which
is to come. Now the saints have forever looked
forward to his coming. Now we read about Job saying,
I know my redeemer liveth. And he was looking forward to
his coming again the second time before he ever got here the first
time. So we rejoice with them, and we rejoice in his coming.
We're approaching Christmas, and I shared with a lady the
other day, no one knows the date the Lord Jesus was born. And
the date that has been celebrated has been changed several times.
But we all appreciate, enjoy, and delight in the incarnation,
Emmanuel. God with us. We delight in it. It's a Christian's delight to
delight in the incarnation, God coming in the flesh. And his
purpose in coming was not to set up a kingdom, but his purpose
in coming was to lay down his life, a ransom for many. That
was his purpose. And it wasn't until the right
time that that happened. But when it was the right time,
he was set aside, examined, and crucified. And then it says there
from the seven spirits, which are before his throne, and we
know that there's not, and the scriptures declare there's not
seven holy spirits, but there are seven aspects, and we read
about that. And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness.
I like that. That's gonna be a blessing when
we look at this word alpha. faithful witness, and the first
begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth,
unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his father, unto
him be glory and dominion forever and ever, amen. And we looked
over there at Hannah's prayer, how he has taken his people from
the worst of the worst of the worst and exalted them to the
highest place. kings and priests of God. Those who worship the king of
kings and those who have him as their chief priest, and they
have this position before him, he has imparted them and blessed
them with the privilege of being ruling with him. What's that
mean? Enjoying the free grace of God
Almighty and his everlasting sovereignty. A king enjoys a
king that rules, and God's people enjoy a God that rules. has his
way and sway, and nothing moves him to the right hand or to the
left hand, and nothing thwarts him. He is always... I've been
asked some questions lately about an issue, and I shared with this
gentleman this morning, Scott Richardson said, an atheist who
believes or does not believe in God is no better or worse
than a religionist that believes in a God that can't do anything. You know? What's the difference
between being an atheist and believing in a God that has no
capability of doing what he wants to do? That's a worthless position
to be in. And then it says, Behold, he
cometh with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also
which pierced him. And that's God's people. That's
the church. They're the ones that pierced
him. He said so. I lay down, I'm the good shepherd, I give
my life for the sheep. They're the ones that are really
going to appreciate the piercing of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
the rest, it says, and all the kindreds of the earth shall wail
because of him. There's going to be those that are going to
wail because of his judgment. But, it says there, even so, amen.
God's will be done. I was talking to Vita this afternoon,
praying God's will. Sometimes we don't have to be
specific. Lord, thy will be done. Thy will
be done. Someone asked me one time, Nancy
was carrying a child, our first child, and says, well, what are
you praying about? And I says, I'm praying for a
healthy child. She says, well, are you praying
for a boy or a girl? And I says, well, when I ask
for bread, I don't ask for wholesome or flour. What's that? some brand name of bread, I'm
just asking for a loaf of bread. So, you know, thy will be done. Thy will be done. And then it
says here in verse 8, and I share so many of the day, I'm glad
this book of Revelation is not sitting on my chest because it's
heavy. This one verse One verse, I am. And we looked at that last
week a little bit about the I am's of God. And the Lord shared with
us his great I am-ness. I am the vine. I am the door. And I am the living water. And
I am that I am. And in fact, he also said, there's
gonna be others that come and say, I am he, don't listen to
them. Turn with me, if you would, to
the book of John chapter eight. Look at this, John chapter eight.
As we look at the I am's of the Lord, I am the alpha, I am alpha
and omega. Turn with me to John chapter
eight, and here we find that there are the church of the living
God, the sheep of his pasture, will not be deceived by those
who come along and say they are him." If it were possible, he says,
it would deceive the very elect, but that's not possible. He's
going to take care of them. So in John chapter 8 verse 24,
We read these words, I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in
your sins, for if ye believe not that I am, ye shall die in
your sins. Now that's a serious consequence
for not believing that Jesus is I am. You'll die in your sins. Now, look with me to Luke chapter
21. Luke chapter 21. Luke chapter
21 in verse eight, There are going to be many that
say they come in His name. Now notice this with me, Luke
chapter 21 verse 8, as we think of him as the great I am, I am
that I am, and he shares with us a number of times his I am-ness
about a various object. I'm the bread, I'm the living
water, I'm the door, I'm the good shepherd. He shares this
about himself. And then he shares with us right
here, Luke chapter 21 and verse 8, take heed that ye be not deceived,
for many shall come in my name, saying, I am. Now Christ is added
for clarification, but it would just be as easy to say, saying,
I am, I have, I have a word, I have a, I am. The time doth
near, go ye not therefore after them? But when ye shall hear
wars and commotions, be not terrified, for these things must come to
pass, but the end is not. by and by. Don't be terrified.
Why? Because God's in charge. He is in control, and these things
are working out for His glory, His honor, and His praise. The
church will not be terrified at them. The church will be saying,
Thy will be done. I am settled on this. Thy will
be done. And then backing up to Matthew
24, we find this again about his, the I am-ness. This is a
warning that he has about those saying I am. Matthew chapter
24 and verse five. Then we want to get on to alpha. Matthew 24, verse five. The scriptures share this. Many
shall come in my name saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive
many. And you shall hear of wars and
rumors of war. See that ye be not troubled,
for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. Many shall come and say, I'm
Christ. Can you imagine anybody doing
that? He said it will happen. Jesus said it will happen. I
speak for him. I have the authority of him.
Just don't be deceived. How will you know? The most straightforward
question you can ask one of these that says, I am of Christ, is
who did Christ die for? Just ask him. And if they stammer
and say, well, John 3.16 says everybody, then you know they're
not speaking for the Lord. Because the Lord Jesus Christ
himself says, I lay down my life for the sheep. He has particular
redemption. That is his purpose. He was going
to, did, and is always going to save his people from their
sins. So just ask the point blank question, and before you know
it, They're gonna betray themselves, and they'll just admit right
off the dingbat, I'm not of Christ, I'm not of Christ, I'm not of
Christ. All right, now let's go back
over here to the book of Revelation. This word alpha, this is the
first letter of the Greek alphabet. Before this letter, there isn't
a letter. Now I mentioned when we, a couple
weeks ago, if you look at the number line, we got negative
numbers and we have positive numbers. But when it comes to
this, there's nothing before alpha. It is the first letter
and nothing comes before it. And it is so reflective of our
savior. There's nothing before him. He's
always been, he has never not been. This alpha is nothing comes
before alpha. The letter is expressive, also
the first, a leader, or chief, or sovereign person. And as I
mentioned, scientists that do studies on canines in particular,
wolves, they're always mentioning the alpha male or the alpha female. And that's the one that gets
to hold her tail or his tail high, and the rest of them have
their tails down. And my friend, that is a picture of us before
God. We're never proud and boastful
around the Lord Jesus Christ because he is King of Kings and
Lord of Lords, and God's people are just glad to be in his presence. It's just rejoicing to be in
his presence. He is alpha. He is number one. He is the highest. As we go through
this, he is the first and the last. And the prophet Isaiah
mentioned that three times in his writings. I'm the first and
the last about the Lord Jesus Christ. The alpha is used by
the Jews for chief of persons or things. There's a place called,
and it's just translated alpha for fine flower. If you wanted
the best flower possible, you went to this place because it
was the alpha flower. The best. And the same is true
about a place where you can get the best oil. And I hear people
talk about where you can get the best food. The best hamburger. It's the alpha hamburger joint.
It's the best premier. You go down to certain restaurants,
it's the best. They serve, and that's the word
we find here about our Lord Jesus Christ. He is number one, superior. He is alpha. There's nothing
before him and shall be nothing after him. Romans, would you
look with me in the book of Romans chapter 9? Romans chapter 9,
it tells us here about the Alpha, the Lord Jesus Christ. And this
subject is just permeated the scriptures. It is just oozing
everywhere. When it describes the Lord Jesus
Christ, He always is described as being preeminent over all
things. He is subject to no one. He has all power and all authority. And He said that about Himself.
I have all power and I have all authority. He is not subject
to a soul. He has all power and all authority
and is preeminent over all things. And in fact, we find here in
the book of Romans chapter nine, Romans chapter nine and verse
five, the Lord Jesus Christ is described as this. And this is
his alphaness, number one, preeminentness. He is supreme. We use the word
Lord. It means the same thing. Now,
we shouldn't have to go on to describe what it means to be
Lord, but we do. But Lord, master, king. These are words that describe
the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans chapter nine, verse five. We have this verse of scripture
that shares with us about his alphaness. It says, whose are
the fathers and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came. Now notice
these next words, who is over all. God bless forever, amen. When he came, he is over all. Now we can look at that as his
sitting high and lifted up, and we can also look at that for
the church. He covers us completely. He is overall. There's nothing
sticking out. We have nothing that has been
unattended by the Lord Jesus Christ. He has completely taken
care of all the issues that were between us and God. He has covered
them all, but he is also absolute sovereign king over all things.
He is alpha, premier, sovereign king. Turn with me, if you would,
to the book of Luke chapter seven. In this verse of scripture, he
is called the great prophet. Luke chapter seven, verse 16. It just makes so much sense when
we see this. He is called the chief priest. He is called the chief shepherd.
He is called the, taught as one having authority. All of these
verses of scripture fit under the word alpha. I am alpha. I am alpha. I am superior. I am absolutely number one. There's
nothing above me. Now, we may want, people may
want, we may have at times tried to put him down a little bit,
but it hasn't changed his position one inch. He still sits high
and lifted up. He still rules over all. He is absolutely king. Now, notice
here in the book of Luke, chapter 7, verse 16, The word says there, and there
came a fear on all, and they glorified God, saying, This is
a great prophet, that a great prophet is risen up among us,
and that God hath visited his people. There's a great mystery. It talks
about great is the mystery of godliness. Now, if we talk about
the greatness of the mystery of godliness, we're talking about
the greatest mystery that ever happened. This word means greatest. He is a great mystery. Great
is the mystery of godliness. Now we can talk about great is
the mystery of how a tree grows, great is the mystery how a baby
grows, great is the mystery how we digest food, great is the
mystery how a car works. They're all mysteries to me.
Everything's a mystery. How a battery works, it's a mystery.
But great, greatest, the greatest mystery of all is the mystery
of godliness. God come in the flesh to God's
people, that's the most fantastic mystery, and every one of us
are dependent upon it for our salvation. Great mystery. God would give up his glory that
he had in heaven before the world began, he said, In his great
I-Priestly prayer, restoring to me the glory I had with you
before the world was. So he gave up the glory. What
a mystery that he would give up the glory that he had. But
he had a purpose in doing that, and that was to redeem his people
from their sins. Great sinners take a great Savior,
and the greatest of sinners, Paul said, and everyone I believe
will concur with Paul, that's me, that's me speaking for us,
takes the greatest Savior, the Alpha Savior. the premier, number
one. Before him, there was not. Now,
notice here, great prophet. Now, in Titus chapter two and
verse 13, the same word is great as you. Now, notice this with
me. He is a great prophet, a great prophet, the greatest When the
Lord Jesus Christ came, he came as prophet, priest, and king,
and we find that he came as king of kings, he came as the chief
priest, and he came as the greatest prophet. There were great prophets
in the Old Testament. Why? Malachi was a great prophet. Isaiah was a great prophet. Elisha, great prophet. But the
greatest prophet. was the Lord Jesus Christ, and
you know when it's written about him in the covenant of grace?
Him you shall hear. We may say to every other prophet,
but this prophet, when he works on us, we shall hear. He will tune us into him. He will make sure that there
is an absolute direct line between his voice and our heart. And
he will speak. And Jesus said, my sheep, hear
my voice and follow me. Now that's the great shepherd,
the chief shepherd and the good shepherd saying that the alpha
shepherd. There's other shepherds called
under shepherds. But there is an alpha shepherd
that every shepherd bows before, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I
do want to get over here into Titus chapter 2. Titus chapter
2, as we think about the alpha, the alpha king, the alpha priest,
the alpha prophet, the alpha shepherd, the alpha vine, the
alpha water, the alpha bread. He's superior in every category. There's nothing that he lacks.
He is the alpha. I'll get here, Titus. Titus.
Titus chapter two, verse 13. The scripture says, looking for
that blessed hope and glorious appearing of the great God and
our savior, Jesus Christ. Now this word is the same word
we found over there about great prophet. Great God. And the church says, greatest
God, alpha God. This is the word. It means greatest.
He is the greatest God. Now he even mentions other gods,
people that have superiority over a certain element or certain
people or certain place. When it comes to God Almighty,
He is Alpha. In fact, He doesn't have to use
the word Almighty. God is absolute. He is the Almighty. And then in that same vein, turn
with me to Hebrews chapter 8. Hebrews chapter 8, and this word
is translated greatest. Greatest. He is the greatest.
When I was in English in high school, I didn't pay much attention. Nancy comes home and talks about
those kids not paying much attention to her. I know the feeling. Oh,
Mrs. Fox, she tried to pour it into
us, but it wasn't until years later I appreciated what she
was trying to do. But she kept talking about superlatives. And greatest has nothing greater. Now you can have great and you
can have greater, but you can't have anything bigger than greatest. That's it. And he is the greatest. He is the Alpha. Hebrews chapter
8 and verse 11. And they shall not teach every
man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the
Lord, for all shall know me from the least to the greatest. That's the same word. Greatest. He is the greatest. He is the
alpha. He is the highest. He is the
most profound. He is the greatest mystery. Great is the mystery of godliness.
It's the greatest mystery we'll ever study. We spend our lifetime
studying about the mystery of godliness. We study about the
mystery of the incarnation. We study about the mystery of
the resurrection. We study about the mystery of
his word. It's the greatest mystery and
gives his people the greatest delight to study it and him reveal
a micrometer about it. and shares with our heart his
greatness. Oh, we walk away and say, oh, he's greater than I
ever thought, but we haven't even touched the iceberg. He
is great, great, great, great. Alpha, he's the alpha and omega. And then, if you would, turn
with me to Hebrews chapter four. Hebrews chapter four, as we think
about the Lord Jesus Christ, those Old Testament people, they
had, the Jews, they had a high priest. They had a chief priest. But
he couldn't do anything what the Lord could do. He wouldn't
even, he had the semblance of his dress, but he wasn't dressed
like, and we're gonna get to that part here just very quickly
in our reading, the dress of the high priest. But here the
high priest of the Old Testament just couldn't get the job done.
You know one thing they never got to do? Sit down. In all of their service, they
never got to sit down. And that is one thing our great
high priest got to do. He finished His work and He sat
down. He sat down at the right hand
of the Father because He is the Alpha Priest. He was able to
accomplish what all the priests in the Old Testament were never
able to accomplish because God never intended one moment for
those people in the Old Testament to ever get anything, forgiveness
of sin out of a death of an animal. Forgiveness of sin would only
come by the death of the Son of God. And when he did what
he had purpose to do in the covenant of grace, he could sit down because
he completed it. Now notice here in the book of
Hebrews chapter four and verse 14, the scriptures share this,
seeing then that we have a great high priest. He's the alpha priest. Everybody else is under him.
Talk about the comparison of Saul and the rest of the men.
Head and shoulders. That's what the Bible says about
him above all other men. Head and shoulders. What a picture
of our Savior, the Lord Jesus. Head and shoulders. And then,
over there, as we've mentioned many times and it's been come
up in lessons about the daughters of Jerusalem asking the bride
about her husband-to-be, he is altogether lovely. There's nothing
that isn't lovely about him. My goodness. Nothing that isn't lovely. Now I know a whole bunch about
me. As a husband, that's not lovely. But him, all together, he's the
alpha husband. Premier. Great high priest. Says there
in chapter 4 and verse 14, says we have made protectors, excuse
me, Verse 14, seeing then we have a great high priest that
is passed into the heavens. Jesus, the Son of God, let us
hold fast to our perfection. And keeping that in mind, turn
over there to chapter 7 and verse 24 of the book of Hebrews. Chapter
7 and verse 24, but this man, because he continueth ever, hath
an unchangeable priesthood. That's so delightful about our
alpha priest. He never changed. He's always
making intercession for his people. He is always our advocate. He is always the chief priest. He never was not. And we have
the pictures and the types and the shadows in the Old Testament
as well as some in the New Testament about the priests, but they died. But this one ever liveth. They
never got the job done. They never got to sit down. Now
we know they went home and they sat down in their recliners just
like we do, but when it came to spiritual things, they never
finished their job because it was never finished. The blood
of bulls and goats cannot, will not take away sin. It's the blood
of Christ that we're loosed from our sins. We're washed in his
blood and that's what looses us from our sins. So he's the
Alpha High Priest. Those others were high priests. Those others were chief priests,
but he is the alpha priest, the chief priest. Turn with me, if
you would, to the book of 1 Peter, chapter five. Now, we want someone
to watch over us. 1 Peter, chapter five. We want someone to watch over
us. There's a whole flock of sheep, and we're like sheep going
astray. We need an alpha shepherd. someone
to watch over us, someone to protect us, someone to keep off
the diseases. Here in the book of 1 Peter chapter
5, 1 Peter chapter 5, Jesus said, I'm Alpha. I'm Alpha. I am premier. And every aspect
of his person and every aspect of his personality and every
characteristic and attribute He is number one. He gives not
an inch on any of those things. When it comes to His holiness,
none holier. When it comes to His sanctification,
no one can sanctify like He does. When it comes to His regeneration,
no one can regenerate like He does. I mean, it just goes on
and on and on, and the church says, hallelujah. He is superior
in every aspect, and there's, as the priest did say, and Pilate,
I find no fault in him. Isn't that truly our words? Every
aspect, he is superior. He's the alpha, and we bow in
his presence. First Peter, it says here, First
Peter chapter five, verse four. First Peter chapter five and
verse four, and when the chief shepherd shall appear. You need
someone to take care of you? We want the chief shepherd. Someone shared with me many years
ago, if you want to get business done, you're having a problem,
you want business done, you want to get the manager. Go to the
manager. I mean, you just have to go right
overhead sometimes. Go to the manager. Well, you want superior
care, go to the chief shepherd, to the superior shepherd, to
the one who has under shepherds, but he is superior shepherd.
He's the one that has all the orders for everyone else. Go
to him. He's the one that is able to
do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. That's
because he's the chief. He can do superior in every aspect. His reign is superior. His blessings
are superior. The hope that he gives is superior.
And when he talks about his peace, a peace that passeth all understanding
is superior peace. Everything about him is superior
to everything that we could even cogitate up. We could think of
the greatest and he's superior. He is far above the heavens.
What's his ways are not our ways as far as heaven is above the
earth are his ways above our ways. That's talking about the
alpha, the alpha. Turn with me if you would to
the book of Revelation chapter two, Revelation chapter two. Now how does he get to where
you live? How does he stop us in our tracks?
How did he stop Saul of Tarsus? How does he stop us? Notice here,
Revelation chapter two and verse 22. This is... And did I write the wrong one
down? I did. There is a great voice. I wrote the wrong reference down,
but that's, it's a superior voice. It's an alpha voice. It's a voice
that every one of his people pay attention to. There's a great
voice. Maybe it is 122. Nope. It's a superior voice. Now, the
Lord Jesus Christ, it is said about him, he taught as one having
authority and not as one of the scribes. They recognized him
in his ministry. 1 verse 10, all right, chapter
1 verse 10. And I was in the spirit on the
Lord's day and I heard behind me a great voice. Now that's the alpha voice. That's
the voice that he gets her attention with. It's no other voice like
it. Now, just for an example, when
we were growing up, we recognized our dad's voice and our mama's
voice out of all voices. I can hear my mother say, Norman,
you knew where you stood. You were in trouble. Then she'd
call for supper. And he knew supper was ready.
There was a distinctness about her voice and dad's voice too.
There's a distinctness about this great voice. It gets right
where we live. It's an alpha voice. It's a voice
of authority. He spoke as one having authority
and not as one of the scribes. And even some Pharisees came
back. They were told to go arrest him
and they came back and he says, No man ever spoke like this man. No man ever spoke like this man
and they came back empty handed and you know what their bosses
says? Don't tell me you're believing him. Don't tell me that. No man ever. No man ever spoke like this man. You know what the church will
line up behind those words, won't they? No man ever spoke like
this man. I heard a lot of men, but no
man ever spoke like this man. And he's the king of kings, superlative. He's the alpha king. He said,
I'm king of kings. It's written about him being
king of kings. Titus or Timothy, Paul wrote to him. He's the only
potentate, King of Kings. And he is the Alpha Lord. He's the Alpha King and he's
the Alpha Lord. He's the Alpha Mystery. He's
the Alpha Hope. He's our Alpha. He said I'm Alpha. And he might, in Colossians,
turn with me to Colossians, if you would, chapter one, verse
18. The Apostle Paul, in writing to the church at Colossae, the
saints there, had this to say. He's led by the Holy Spirit to
write about the Lord Jesus. You know why there's so much
written in the Bible about the Lord Jesus? Because the Lord
said, when the Spirit comes, he will testify of me. Now, when the Lord Jesus Christ
is given glory, the Holy Spirit's given glory. The Father's getting
his glory when the Son is spoken of highly. We don't have to spend
a lot of time on the Holy Spirit. We know his ministry is to convince,
convict the world of sin and of righteousness, of judgment,
to regenerate people, but he gets glory when the son is glorified. When he shall come, he will testify
of me. Now, here we have in the book
of Colossians chapter one, verse 18, Washington's chapter 1 verse
18, and he is the head of the body. He is the alpha of the
body of Christ. He's the apex. He's what gives
life to the body. He's the brain of the body. He's
the breathing process of the body. He's the sight of the body. He is the spokesman for the body.
He's the hearing of the body. And then it goes on to say in
that same verse of scripture, it says, he is the head of the
body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from
the dead, that in all things, he might have the preeminence. He will be Alpha. He will not give up his reign
to anyone. He is Alpha. He is the chief
priest. He is the chief prophet. He is
the king of kings, and he is the Lord of lords. He is in all
things, he might have the preeminence. And then backing up just a little
bit in the book of Ephesians chapter one and verse 22, we
read these things about the Lord Jesus Christ as he says, I'm
Alpha. The Bible is full of statements about the Savior, the Lord Jesus,
and this is one of them. Ephesians chapter 1 verse 22,
the scripture says, and hath put all things under his feet
and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which
is his body, the fullest of him that filleth all in all. Put
all things under his feet and gave him to be head over all
things to the church. He is the absolute preeminent. That's why God is pleased when
his people bow. And that's why he's angry when
they will not. By nature, we will not. Thank
God Almighty in his covenant of grace, he made plans to trip
us up, stop us in our way, cause us to bow to the Alpha. He is
my beloved son. He's my Alpha son. We're sons
and daughters of the king, but he's alpha son. How many children
did Abraham have but one, thine only son? The one he took up
on Mount Moriah with him, thine only son, the alpha son. This one will not inherit with
the alpha son. That's what he was told, Abraham
was told. He's head over all things. Hebrews chapter 12 and
verse two, he's the author and finisher. What's that mean? I'm
the alpha and omega of your faith. I give it to you, I'm the finisher
of it. I'm alpha and omega. I am the
author and finisher of your faith. He's the one that gives it to
us. He's the one that holds us in it, and he's the conclusion
of it. He's the only reason that God's
people will have faith, because he gives it to us. And he was
faithful over his house. He has a name above every name. The Bible is so full of statements
about his alphaness. He is supreme, superior. He is in him dwelleth the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. He is alpha. He is superior. Speaking of him as a prophet
turn with me if you would to the book of Acts chapter 7 and
verse 37 Acts chapter 7 and verse 37 and he this is written about
him and his own words were My sheep hear my voice notice here
Acts chapter 7 and verse 37 Speaking Moses spoke of a prophet alpha
prophet Moses wrote of the Lord Jesus John, one time, he had
the opportunity of taking the position and he said, I am not
even Omega. I'm not worthy to unloose his
shoestrings. Are you the prophet? No. I'm not worthy to loosen
his shoestrings. Here it is. Acts chapter 7 verse
37 this is that Moses which said unto the children of Israel a
prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you and your brethren
likened to me him ye shall hear and this goes on to talk to us
about that the alpha prophet, prophet among all prophets, the
prophet that gave all the prophets the words to prophesy, the one
that was before all things. Every knee shall bow and every
tongue shall confess to the glory of God the Father, the Lord Jesus.
He has a name which is above every name. No name is like his. You can call all the children
you have Jesus or Jesus. You can call your teddy bears
Jesus, but that name is above everything because it's his name.
You know, a lot of people have the names of God, but there's
only one God. He's Alpha, Superior, King of
Kings and Lord of Lords, Chief Priest, Chief Shepherd, Chief
Prophet, Chief King. He is in all things. He's going
to have the preeminence. He is that great prophet. He
is that great high priest. He's that great shepherd. He's
a great voice. He taught with great authority.
Why? Because I'm Alpha. That's what
he said. I'm Alpha. I'm the number one. I have absolute control over
all things. I have all power and all authority
given unto me in heaven and in earth. It says here in the book
of Revelation, I have the keys of death and hell. Now that's
the alpha. I have the keys of death and
hell. That's the alpha. Don't be rejoicing that the spirits
are even subject to you. Be rejoicing that your names
are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. That's the Alpha Clause. That's the Alpha Clause. Great
High Priest, never man spoke like this man. He's the one that
could turn the most wicked wicked. It shares with us in the book
of Acts how he does that turn the wicked of the wicked of the
wicked of the wicked. Oh There's a man over in the
Old Testament turned out in for seven years And he come to the
conclusion He's the Alpha King No one can take and move him
or tell him, what doest thou? No one can hold his hand. No
one can stop his words. No one. He's the Alpha King.
Took him seven years acting like an animal. Well, it takes some
of us longer than that, doesn't it? But he stops his people and
they bow and say, he's Alpha King. He is the King of Kings
and Lord of Lords. Now the good Lord willing will
look at Omega. I am Alpha and Omega. There's nothing after him. The
last letter of the alphabet, there's nothing after it. There
is nothing after it.