Revelations chapter 2. What a wonderful passage this is. It almost doesn't make sense
the way it's worded. So we'll look at that and try
to solve that difficulty. I'm going to start reading in
verse twenty four of revelations chapter two and read to the end
of the chapter look at but one verse that caught my attention
starting verse twenty four but unto you I say and unto the rest
in Thyatira as many as have not this doctrine and which have
not known the depths of Satan as they speak I will put upon
you none other burden but that which you have already hold fast
till I come, and he that cometh and keepeth my works unto the
end, to him will I give power over the nations. And he shall
rule them with a rod of iron as the vessels of a potter, shall
they be broken to shivers, even as I received of my father, and
I will give him the morning star. Now he that hath ear hath an
ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." So
that's what I want to propose. What is the Spirit saying to
his churches? That's what he says. He that
hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is expressingly saying
to the churches. But other churches, they're not
my concern. I pray that where the gospel
is preached, Wherever his church is, if it's a church that meets
under an oak tree, the Lord would be with them, and he's promised
he would be with them. But my concern is for Sovereign Grace
Church in Jackson, is for each of us here. What is he saying
to the church here in this place today? And I want to specifically
look at verse 28. This is what he's saying. This
is what he's saying. And I will give him the morning
star. I will give him the morning star. Now who's speaking? We'll go
back to verse 18. Let's see who's speaking. In
verse 18, And unto the angel of the church of Thyatira write,
These things saith the Son of God. That's Christ. That's who's speaking. I will
give him the morning star, or as the morning star. Okay, if
we compare scripture with scripture, we will notice that Christ is
referencing himself. Christ in this verse is referencing
himself. Because in Revelations 22 and
verse 16, well, let's turn there. Believe me, let's look at it.
Revelations 22 and verse 16. Jesus Have sent mine angel to
testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root
and the offspring of David and the bright and morning star so
this passage in verse 28 is Speaking about Christ. Well who's speaking
Christ? He's referencing himself and he does this in other places,
which we'll look at in a minute. So I Taking out the difficulty in
our verse, the way it's worded, we see Christ is promising himself. Christ is promising himself. And this is not unusual in the
scripture at all, because we immediately, Christ immediately
becomes the priest. We've seen this in Deuteronomy.
He's the priest and the sacrifice. Well, how can that be? Well,
all the scriptures testify him. So it doubles back on himself,
so to speak. So he's not only the priest,
but he's the sacrifice. Not only is he the guide, but
he is the way. Not only is he the roadmap, but
he's the final destination. Not only is he the teacher, but
he's the very lesson. And that's what they couldn't
understand. The Pharisees were, who's speaking, who's speaking?
I came from my father. Well, what's he talking about?
He's talking about himself. And he's the only one that can
do that. And we say, there's no pride there. He's the only
one that can reference himself in this passage in verse 18.
I will give him, Christ is speaking, the morning star. He's speaking
about himself. He is the giver and he's the gift. Well, he says
in Hebrews 6, when God could swear by no greater or make an
oath by no greater, he swore by himself. So this is not uncommon
ground. Indeed He is our all and in all. So when I saw this, and I was
reading, I don't know, Phil Potter or somebody, and I just kept,
I'm like, what are you saying? And then I kept reading, I must
have read this devotional last week, I just kept reading and
reading, and it's just like finally, ding, finally something went
off. But this is a wonderful passage.
This is a beautiful passage. It's mercy fulfilled by compassion,
the Lord Jesus Christ. He gave himself for and to his
beloved church, the remnant according to the election of grace. And
so in doing so, I will give him the morning star. We've seen
out of Revelation, the morning star is Christ, and we've seen
out of verse 18, it's thus saith the son of God, he's speaking,
in doing so, In giving himself for a covenant of the people,
a promise to the people, redemption for his people, in doing so,
promising himself, he would teach us a couple things. First of
all, first thing, to look for happiness and contentment, which
everybody is. You don't need a psychiatrist.
You don't need somebody to tell you how to feel. You just need
to look in the word. He would tell, it teaches us
to look for happiness and contentment in Him only. In Him only. Not in the creature,
not in our flesh. Turn to Isaiah 61. Isaiah 61.
And verse 10. I will greatly rejoice, now we're
happy, in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my
God. For he hath clothed me with the
garments of salvation. He hath covered me, us, with
the robe of righteousness. As a bridegroom decketh himself
with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. How joyful could a wedding day
be? If you can think back about it,
how joyful and how glorious that day was. And that's, we have
contentment that we are married to him. Psalms 144. Psalms 144
and verse 15. Psalms 144 verse 15, happy, blessed
is that people. that is in such a case, yea,
happy is that people whose God is the Lord. So the fact that
he has given us himself as the morning star should teach us
that he has a preeminence in all things. Whatever we do, work,
play, wake up, whatever we do, We look for happiness and contentment
in Him, not in things or our flesh. Secondly, it's to teach
us to look for satisfaction in no other. Not only happiness
and contentment, but satisfaction. This world, and the longer you
live in this world, the more empty it becomes. We don't look
in satisfaction at any other, not the law, not our will, not
the church or its creeds, not in Christless religion, tradition,
or formalism. Psalm 17. Psalm 17. And verse 15. Bruce read this
this morning. As for me, I will behold thy
face and righteous, I will be satisfied when I awake with your
likeness. Now we can be satisfied and content
and happy in Him even though we're not with Him completely. Now even though the body hasn't
been fully redeemed, we can be satisfied if we're
looking to Him. if we look and see why he's given
me himself as the morning star. Thirdly, he would teach us to
be encouraged in the anticipation of hope. Like Bruce said this
morning, anticipation of hope. It's an earnest expectation. It's not, oh, it may show up,
it may not. No, or we should encourage to
expect the best at his hands. If Christ gives himself, what
will he withhold? Nothing that's for our good.
Now we have a different version of the scripture than what God
has of good sometimes because we want to get our way. That's
not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about he would teach
us in giving and promising himself above all others that to expect the best from
his hands. Romans 8, 28, we know that. If Christ gives himself,
what would he withhold? This gift, the bestowment is
better than heaven because Christ is the believer's heaven. We're
not looking for streets of gold. We're not looking for crowns.
We're looking for him, looking for him. Hebrews 3 says, he that builds
the house has more honor. than the house. That's what we're
talking about. But you say to me, he's already
given himself to me on Calvary and as he redeemed me, as he
revealed himself by the Holy Spirit, he has already given
himself to his dear people. Yes, he has in redemptive glory. Yet, look at the text again. He speaks of a future time. I
will give him the morning star. So there's anticipation. Now
we have him now. And we are as Christ is now,
but it does not appear what we shall be. We're not fully redeemed,
if I can use that word. Let me see if I can't speak it
here. So, though we have the Son, he will have fuller knowledge
of him, fuller love of him, experience and communications with him until
the full sun or day star, which is also called in first Peter,
or morning star, as it is called here in our text, has fully risen
up. We wait in anticipation. This
is what Bruce talked about in first Corinthians 15. We're not what we shall be. We
look through that glass darkly and dimly. Perhaps I can use
the word growth and grace. We sing that song, more love
to thee. Why would you need more love
if, you know, well, spouses, let me ask you, do you love your
wife 100% all the time, you know, morning, noon, and night? No,
I don't, because we got the old flesh and the nature. That's
what I'm talking about. It's, I will give him. We have him,
but there's more promise. There's that perfection, that
final completion, More love to thee, O Christ, more love to
thee. And we really couldn't receive Christ totally and in
his total fullness for Corinthians 15 says, flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of heaven. And look with me at Proverbs
chapter four. What a glorious expectation. This is not all there is. Now,
I know our children, and you know, you do things, and when
you're younger, and even when you get older, you're like, oh,
this is it. Man, this is, no, it isn't. No, it isn't. That's
the falsity of Satan. That's the falsity of the flesh.
That's the falsity, false promises of the world. Scripture says,
if this is all we've got, we are of most men most miserable. Proverbs chapter four. in verse
18, but the path of the just is as a shining light, it shineth
more and more unto the perfect day. We're not there yet. We're not fully mature, but we're
heading. Why? Because he's promised to
give the morning star. In anticipation, and I got to
thinking further illustration, on the day before my wedding,
I didn't think that night was ever going to end, but it did. The sun came up, and then whatever
transpired, transpired. And I remember Tim James, right
after he wrote an article in his bulletin, He said, it's basically
9-11, everybody knows September 11th in this country's history.
He said there was a 9-12. Yes, there was. And David, that's
the same thing David's saying. He goes, my hope is not so. My house is this way and that
way. My children, myself, I'm not all I want to be. Like Newton,
I'm not what I want to be, not what I should be, not what I
could be, but by the grace of God I'm not what I used to be. David
said, but God has made with me an everlasting covenant. Here
it is. Who's speaking Christ will give
him, give me as the morning star. And as I said in second Peter
one, it's called the day star. Now let's talk about this day
star just a little bit. What is this morning star? What
is this day star? Well, it's the first, it's the
most luminous, it's the most beautiful. And is Christ not
fairer than man? Is he not fairer than the angels,
fairer than the sons of God? Yea, is he not, says Song of
Solomon, altogether lovely, And are we not to resemble our
Lord in character, conduct, and attitude? We are. And is not this morning star,
this Christ, is he not a perfect illuminator? shining all of God's
attributes, all concerning God's character, his holiness, his
righteousness, his mercy, his wrath, his anger. Does he not
illuminate this in this book to us? And does he not also illuminate
to us if we will hear him, if he that hath an ear to hear,
let him hear what the spirit says of the churches, if you
can hear this morning. Does he not illuminate to you what God
requires of you and I? Not what your mom and dad, though
it should be similar if they're believing parents, but God requires
perfection. God requires righteousness. God
requires absolute sinlessness. And we can't, you know, Bruce
was talking about in the back there, if we mess up in one little
area, we're guilty of all the law. And when he requires of us and
we see we cannot meet that, What we cannot do, thus we begin to
plead for mercy. Oh, day star, arise in my heart. Or we say like Paul, oh wretched
man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death? I
thank God, Jesus Christ. It's like, and I know as parents,
we wanna ease these things into our children. We want to make
sure that, but you know, sometimes God will back them into a corner
and he'll have his way. And I still remember the situation
and I can't remember who it was. I remember it was at a conference.
And I've told you this story before. One of the preachers,
wise, she heard the message and she said, I'm not saved. And
then Henry was telling, and some of the preachers were trying
to get around her and comfort her. And Henry's like, back off. leave her alone, God will deal
with her. And he'll deal with our children
if it's his will. And all we pray that it is. Our
children, our grandchildren, that they would come to know
and hear this morning star. This morning star, it's a harbinger,
it's a herald, it announces a new day. A new day, and you know,
I never was much on New Year's resolution. It's that kind of
thing, you know, okay, a new year. Today, every day, every
day, it's just a new day until he returns and comes back and
shuts this whole thing down. It speaks to his people, his
dear people, of a better day. So, you know, man, I messed up.
I burnt supper. I did this. I did that. You go
to bed and you wake up and by the grace of God and the mercy
of God, he gives us another day. It speaks of a better day coming
for us. As I said, this is not all that there is. A better day,
a better and a more glorious time ahead. Sin and sorrow will
vanish away. Ignorance and error and pain
will be no more heard in the streets. The scripture says in
Psalms 30, weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in
the morning. Why? The day star's there, the
morning star's there. Believe, oh sinner, look at this
pledge. I will give him the morning star. Look at this pledge. Trust him evermore. Don't trust to yourself, don't
trust to your, anything within us. Look at what's mean, Romans
chapter 13 starting in the middle of verse 11. Romans chapter 13 verse 11, for
now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is
far spent, the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the
works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light. Let
us walk honestly as in the day, not in rioting and drunkenness,
not in chambering and wantonness, in the strife and in envying.
Put you on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the
flesh to fulfill the luster of. The morning star approaches,
the day star comes. Let us look to him. Look to Him
and fear not the night seasons. What is that? Well, that's sin,
Satan, the world, the cares and anxieties of the world, you know,
the anxieties that we have as parents, it never stops. It really doesn't. I mean, once Kerry got married,
we're like, but you still, your mind goes
back, you think, Now they got another little rascal brought
into this world. Your mind goes... It's so easy to get wrapped up
in anxiety. But the day star, the morning
star, it's promised. This is a pledge. This is a pledge
to all his people. It's a pledge to he that has
an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Like I say, we're not speaking of some other churches. We're
talking right here this morning, or just this morning. In closing,
I have a word to those who believe, who have ceased from our own
works and entered into the rest, which is found in Christ. First
exhortation, I ask, let this pledge, this promise, keep us
in the proper frame of mind to not be worldly minded. to seek
the fellowship of those who love this truth, to be in whatever
state we're in, to be content, to rejoice more, to give thanks
more, to trust more. And if this world, in this world
we have tribulation, no worries, we have Him. He's promised, He's
pledged to us. We have the morning star. And
if this is your last night on earth, last day on earth, last
night on earth, when you wake, you will be satisfied because
you will totally experience what we've been talking about these
35 plus years. You'll finally have the earnest
expectation. If others have and succeed and
gain, what of it? We have the morning star. And
I close with the hymn that I found out of Gatsby's from Isaac Watts
of all people, just a stanza. What others value, I resign. Lord, tis enough that thou art
mine. I shall behold thy blissful face
and stand complete in thy righteousness. Amen and amen, because he's given
us this promise, this pledge. You know, pledges that we have,
it's like, well, I pledged this, and sometimes you can't fulfill
it. It's not so with our Father, with our Son, and with the Spirit.
If you have ears to hear, hear and rejoice. Matt, would you
close us?