Thank you so much, Judy. She
always picks hymns that give praise and honor to our God,
and I delight to hear them. Turn with me, please, to Revelation
chapter 1. The Apostle John had seen Christ
with the natural eye, and that was a blessing. but many saw him with a natural
eye who never knew him, who never trusted him, who never experienced
any grace from him. John saw him with the eye of
his soul. He saw him with the eye of faith.
He saw him as few did. John saw the word of God. He handled the living not only
with his hands physically, but with the hand of faith he laid
hold of him and he handled him. The apostle John saw the Son
of God in his humiliation, in his sufferings upon the earth
as the man of sorrow. He saw the power of God in him
as he performed miracles of great divine power, demonstrating that
he is indeed very God of very God. He heard the instructions
of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Sermon on the Mount and in the
various messages that he delivered as he walked upon this earth,
and he heard them with a hearing ear and a discerning heart. The
apostle John saw the Lord Jesus Christ as he ascended up to the
Mount of Transfiguration and was there glorified in his presence. John was with the Lord in Gethsemane. He saw the agony of his soul.
He heard the cries of his heart. Father, if it be possible, let
this cup pass from me. And this man, John, saw the Son
of God break out in a cold sweat of blood pouring from his body. And then John saw the Lord arrested,
stripped humiliated. He saw them hang the Son of God
upon the cursed tree, and he heard the cries of the divine
Savior as he suffered as the sinners substituted. And John
understood what was going on. He understood that the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Good Shepherd, was laying down his life for his
sheep. He understood that by the death of Christ, redemption's
work was finished. And John saw the risen He saw
him not only with the physical eye again, but with the eye of
his soul, and he saw in the resurrected Christ the fullness of salvation. John was present when the Lord
took his disciples outside the city, and he lifted up his hands
and he blessed them, and he was taken up out of their midst,
and he This man, John, heard the angels declare that this
same Jesus, whom was taken up from you, shall so come in like
manner as you have seen him go up in the glory. And now the
apostle John was on the Isle of Paton. This one who had seen
Christ had been exiled. He was now a prisoner, he himself
the suffering servant of Jehovah. And one Sunday, while he was
meditating upon his blessed Redeemer, Christ appeared to him again,
and he gave him another vision of his majesty and his glory. It is this vision which John
describes in Revelation 1, 9 through 20. It's my prayer that as I
lead you in meditating upon this vision which John saw of the
Lord, that God the Holy Spirit will both give you and me a fresh
vision, a personal revelation of him who is the object of our
faith and love. I've seen him. I've seen him,
I believe, with our faith. I've seen him many times. I've
seen him as the surety who stood in my stead before the world
began and struck hands with God, guaranteeing my eternal salvation.
I've seen him living as my representative in righteousness. I've seen him
wrestling with Satan in temptation so that he might be able to help
this tempted sinner. I've seen him suffering as my
substitute, satisfying the law and the justice of God for me.
I've seen him as my Lord and my King. And with every vision
of Christ, there is a word of reproof, a withering work upon
my soul. and yet at the same time a reviving
and a refreshing of my very heart. And with every vision of Christ
there is created within my soul a hungering and a thirsting,
a yearning for a clearer, fresher vision all over again. Every
time we see him our hearts are made to cry out to him again,
Let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice, for sweet
is thy voice and thy countenance is company." Do you want to see
it? Oh, wouldn't you love to see
him one more time upon this earth in his glory and his majesty? I'm not talking about some kind
of a hallucination that men have under the deception of some religious
ecstasy or some religious fanaticism. I'm talking about a revelation
of Christ in your heart, a revelation of Christ through the gospel,
a revelation of Christ by his Spirit in your very soul. Oh,
may God now make every eye here to see him in his glory and in
his majesty. As Christ revealed himself to
John on Patmos, he still revealed himself to men and women like
this man John. This vision took place 1900 years
ago. Why should it be of any importance
to us to look at what John saw and to study it? Why is it of
any significance to us? Well, this vision of Christ is
a symbolical representation of the one who suffered and died
for our sins. When John saw him, he recognized
him immediately. He said, that's the Son of Man.
That's the one upon whose breast I've laid my head. That's the
one that I saw, that's the one who called me, that's the one
who redeemed me, that's the one who saved me, that's the one
who justified me. And John is here giving us a
vision, a description of the vision he had of that very God-man
who suffered as our substitute and bore the wrath of God for
us. Surely it ought to be interesting and appealing to us. This vision
also represents what Christ is now. You see, what Christ was
when he was upon the earth is of vital importance to us. We
want to know that. But it is equally vital that
we understand what he is now. Some folks get all excited about
what Christ shall be in the future. And I've got to admit, I get
excited about what he shall be in the future. But the great
concern is, what is he now? Where is he now? What's he doing
now? What is his character right now at the Father's right hand
in his mediatorial session as our great King? And this vision
of Christ is presented to us in this passage as showing us
what Christ is to his churches. Our Lord is here revealing himself
in the midst of his churches. The vision ought, therefore,
to be of particular interest to all who are members of the
churches of Christ. Every pastor, every elder, every
deacon, and every member of every Christian church should be very
vitally interested in knowing what John saw here, for he saw
Christ in the midst of his seven churches. It has to do with us. This vision is something about
which we are personally involved. I want to go through these verses.
try to answer three questions that I think will help us to
understand what John is showing us. First of all, to whom was
this vision given? What kind of man was this fellow
John, upon whom God bestowed this great privilege? Surely
there's something about this man that's worthy of our attention,
something about this man that's worthy of our imitation. Look
at John's description of himself. John was, first of all, a truly
humble man. In verse 9 he says, I, John,
who am your brother and companion in tribulation and in the kingdom
and patience of Jesus Christ. Now, here was a man who was a
chosen apostle of Christ. Here was a man who went to school
at the feet of the Son of God. Here was a man who was chosen
of God to be an inspired author of Holy Scripture. This man,
John, seems to have been one of the most intimate disciples
of our Lord. He was one of the chosen twelve.
Of the chosen twelve, he was one of the chosen three, and
of the chosen three, he seems to have been the one who held
the most intimate communion and relationship with Christ. This
man, John, had been with Christ from the beginning. He saw his
humiliation, he saw his suffering, and he saw his glory. And yet,
when he describes himself, John doesn't lay claim to any fancy
title, he doesn't ascribe to himself any dignity or any superiority
over the rest of God's elect. He simply says, I, John. Let me insert a sinner like you. I, John, a sinful man saved by
grace redeemed by blood, justified by the righteousness of Christ.
I, John, am your brother, one with you in the family of God.
I'm one of you. You see, all of God's people
stand upon an equal footing before him. We're all joint heirs of
God and our joint heirs of Christ, who is the heir of God. We are
all members of that family, which is named after the Lord Jesus
Christ. I, John, who am your brother
and companion in tribulation. Are you tempted? I am too. Are
you tried? I am too. Are you afflicted? I am too. Do you mourn? I know what mourning is. Do you
weep? I know what weeping is. Are you
sorrowful? I know what sorrow is. I'm just
like you, a man of sinful flesh. Not only your companion in tribulation,
but also your companion in the kingdom and in the patience of
Jesus Christ." John was a humble man, and this man, John, was
a faithful servant of the living God. He tells us here that he
was in the isle that is called Patmos for the word of God and
for the testimony of Jesus Christ. John had been exiled to the isle
of Patmos by the Roman Emperor Domitian. He had been exiled
for the Word of God because he believed the Word, because he
wrote the Word, and because he proclaimed the Word. He had been
exiled to this Isle of Patmos because of the testimony of Jesus
Christ. Not because of any crime he had
committed, not because of any vile deed he had performed, but
simply because he professed faith in Christ and he followed Christ
with loyalty, with a singular allegiance of heart, and he refused
to bow down and worship any but Christ, the Christ of God. You
see, in Rome it was customary among the Romans to allow any
nations that they conquered to keep their religion and to keep
their gods, and they had many, many gods. And the emperors themselves
were thought to be gods. And men were required to bow
down before the image of the emperor as though he were some
sort of god. But John bowed to none but Christ. John offered sacrifice to none
but Christ. John gave nothing of allegiance
and homage to anyone except Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Any false
god he would not tolerate as being recognized as god. He was
a tender, humble man. He was the beloved John. He was
the disciple that was probably the least offensive in all of
his mystics. He was a mild-mannered man. But
he was a man who believed God. He was a man who trusted Christ,
and he would not give any credibility to any God except Jesus Christ,
our God and Savior. For that, he was banished to
hard labor. in his old age, and this man
John was a worshiping man. He said, I was in the Spirit
on the Lord's day. Sometimes you read those words
and you think, well, that was a rare, rare thing, and it is,
but it's not so very rare. When Sunday came around Though
John was exiled from his beloved brethren, his heart was with
them. He was meditating upon his beloved
Redeemer, and he was under the influence of God the Holy Spirit. That's what it is to worship.
That's what it is to worship. If ever you and I worship God,
we'll worship him in the Spirit, in the Spirit, by the leadership
and the direction of God's Spirit. John apparently was in a unique
way in the spirit, not as though it were some kind of an ecstatic
mystical experience, but he was simply carried away in his heart
by the spirit to the worship of Christ. His body was in shackles,
but his soul was free. His heart and his mind by the
leadership and the direction and the control of God the Holy
Spirit had been taken out of contact with everything around
him. The world around him seemed non-existent. His shackles were nothing. His
imprisonment, his banishment was nothing. He was in the Spirit
worshiping God. He could not be in the house
of God, but he was in the house of God. He could not gather with
the people of God, but he gathered with God's elect on the Lord's
Day, on Sunday, around the throne of God, on that day when God's
church celebrates redemption and the resurrection of Christ.
John said, I was in the Spirit, worshiping God. Well, this man,
John, being in the Spirit, under the influence of the Spirit,
was brought into direct contact with the Savior. Here was John
on the Isle of Patmos where I longed to be. I longed to be. He was alone with God. He was
alone with God. You don't have to be exiled to
be alone with God. It may be that tonight you by
the Spirit of God will be made to be in the midst of this assembly
alone with God. That's when worship begins, when
you get alone with God. Everybody else and everything
else is insignificant. Christ alone is of importance. The Lord Jesus Christ always
reveals himself to such men as this. When Cornelius, that devout
man, was worshipping on the Lord's Day, the Lord appeared to him.
When Peter was worshipping in the Spirit, the Lord appeared
to him. When Isaiah was carried away in the Spirit, the Lord
appeared to him. Christ always reveals himself
to humble, faithful, worshipping men. That's the only kind of
man he reveals himself to. And John knew the voice of his
shepherd. Look in verse 11. He said, I
was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, I'm sorry, verse 10, and
I heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet saying, I am
Alpha and Omega. He had heard that voice before.
Christ spoke those words in verse eight, the first and the last,
and what thou seest right in a book. and send it to 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." John knew his shepherd's voice. Whether
it sounded as a still, small voice behind him, or sounded
like the peal of thunder, or sounded like the blast of a trumpet,
John recognized his shepherd's voice. He was one of the Lord's
sheep. They all knew his voice. It was
this man, John, the humble, faithful, worshiping servant of God to
whom Christ revealed himself. Now, secondly, what does this
vision tell us about Christ? That's where I want to get to.
This is not a vision for curious, speculative eyes. Most people,
because of poor instruction, read and study the book of Revelation
with curiosity, much like a child might peruse a book on space
exploration. Well, this vision is not for
speculative, curious eyes. It's a vision for reverent, believing
hearts. For reverent, believing hearts.
If you're just curious, you'll never find out what's revealed
to you. But if God will give you a reverent
heart to I believe you'll see exactly what John saw. You may
not see it with the same clarity of vision, but you'll see exactly
what John here described. Put off thy shoes from off thy
feet, the Lord said to Moses when he appeared in the bush,
for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Now surely God
revealed in a bush is nothing to compare to God revealed in
Christ. So this is a place of refuge.
I don't need to tell you that the words used in this passage
are symbolic words. They are not, of course, to be
taken literally. I have a book on my shelf in
the office, as a matter of fact, I have several of them, written
by men of the strict literal school of interpretation, and
they try to draw pictures of these visions. Well, you try
to draw a picture of this vision, you're going to get a picture
of a monster. That's not what it's designed for. The candlesticks
are not literal candlesticks. The flames out of the eyes of
Christ are not literal flames. The two-edged sword is not a
literal sword. They're symbolic pictures. They're
designed not to represent the physical appearance of Christ,
but rather to represent his spiritual majesty, dignity, and glory. This is a vision of Christ as
he now is. Let's look at it together in
verse 12. And I turned to see the voice
that spake with me, and being turned I saw seven golden candlesticks. Now you don't have to be inquisitive
to find out what those are, just read the 20th verse. And 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, the pastors, the messengers, and the seven
candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. These
candlesticks represent the seven churches of Asia Minor to whom
the epistle is addressed, and those churches represent the
churches of God throughout all ages. Certainly there is some
reference here to the candlesticks in the sanctuary of the Old Testament,
but the church of Christ is here described as being a candlestick,
and we may well be compared to a candlestick because the church
holds forth the light of the gospel in a dark world. It has
no light of its own, but it holds forth the light that is put in
it by the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ, like Aaron
the high priest, goes around his churches and he trims the
candles so that the light may burn brightly and clearly. It's
our responsibility in this world simply to hold forth the light
which God has given us. It's the light of the gospel.
The church, then, is a candlestick. Ye are the light of the world.
Don't put your light under Don't hide it, but remove everything
that might dim the vision of others, and cause your light
to shine, that men may glorify God your Father." And then John
says in verse 13, "...and in the midst of the seven candlesticks,
one like unto the Son of Man." John saw the seven churches like
a candlestick, like seven candlesticks, and he saw the Son of God standing
in the midst of the churches, walking over here, over there,
visiting the churches, standing perpetually in the presence of
the churches. Christ, our risen Lord, is ever
present with His church in this world. He graciously visits the
assemblies of His saints. He promises that where two or
three are gathered together in His name, there I will be in
the midst of you. Lo, I am with you always, even
to the end of the world. and hold sweet communion with
us. We've had some blessed times in this assembly, as others have
in other assemblies before us, and even now are having, because
Christ comes where his people walk. Christ meets with his people. He always meets with us. Sometimes
we perceive his presence and sometimes we don't, but he always
meets with his own. The Lord Jesus Christ stands
and rules as a king in the midst of Zion. His word is our law. We have none other. He stands
and speaks in his church as a prophet. His word is our doctrine, our
creed. We have no other. The Lord Jesus Christ provides
for and protects his churches. And like a priest, our Lord Jesus
Christ ever stands in our midst and pleads our cause before God
and pleads God's cause with us. Then John tells us that he was
clothed with a garment down to the foot and gird about the peps
with a golden girdle. Now, it ought to be clear enough
what the garment is. The robe that our Savior is wearing
is like the robe of Aaron. It's a holy garment. It's the
righteousness of Christ. Do you get the picture? There
he stands in the midst of his churches. Christ is in our midst
as a sin-atoning high priest. His royal robe of righteousness
is a robe that he wove by his own hands when he walked upon
this earth fulfilling all righteousness as our representative. And it
is a robe which covers him from top down to his foot. The robe of Christ is not only
the robe of righteousness which our mediator wears, but it is
the robe of righteousness which covers all the members of his
mystical body, so that we, too, just as he is, are robed in perfect
righteousness. It is the garment of our righteousness.
He's called the Lord our righteousness, the golden girdle that he wears. is not the kind of girdle that
most people think about when they think of a girdle. Not something
to hold fat in. It's a belt. But it's not a belt
to go around the waist. It's a golden girdle around his
pants or around his chest. Christ wears the golden girdle
of a king. It's the girdle of faithfulness,
righteousness, and power. Christ wears the golden girdle
of a prophet. It's the girdle of truth. Christ
wears the golden girdle of a priest, and I think that's particularly
what John has reference to. It's the girdle of love. It has
the names of his people inscribed upon it. He is worthy, all he
is worthy of our worship, our faith, and our love. He who redeemed
us is with us right now. He's a king to rule over us,
a prophet to teach us, and a priest ever to intercede for us with
a golden girdle of love. about his very heart for the
people whom he loves. His head, John says in verse
14, and his hairs were white like wool, as white as the snow. Now, turn over to the Song of
Solomon. Hold your hand here and turn to the Song of Solomon,
chapter 5. Song of Solomon, chapter 5 and
verse 11. Now here we are told his head
is as most fine gold, his locks are bushy and black as a raven. Now some smart aleck with a doctor's
degree who's been to seminary and learned not to believe the
word of God would read that passage and he'd say, well, there's a
discrepancy. Those two passages say exactly
opposite things. Not at all. Not at all. For you
see the Song of Solomon, here the church is looking forward
to Christ's coming as her all-sufficient Redeemer, and she describes him
as having the view of his youth, as being the one who has perpetual
strength of youth, who never grows old. Here, John is describing
not his power, not his strength, but he's describing his eternality.
He's describing his purity, he's describing his wisdom, he is
the Ancient of Days, and as the Ancient of Days, the pure and
holy, eternal God, his head is white like wool, and as white
as snow, with wisdom, demanding our reference. Brother Hubert
Montgomery has the whitest hair around here, and there's a reason
for He's been around longer than Bob Bunser has. Now, that demands
respect. It demands reverence. I know
that old men are not always wise, but they usually are. They usually
are. They've been around a while.
And therefore, when I speak to that man or of that man, I speak
to him differently than I do to Jimmy Smith. And I speak of
him differently than I do Jimmy Smith. He has wisdom, he has
some dignity, he has some wisdom of age. John is saying here concerning
Christ, he is the infinitely wise, ancient of days, and his
wisdom is altogether pure and holy. He's describing Christ
in his beauty as his God and Savior, and then he says, and
his We're as a flame of fire. That certainly speaks of our
Savior's omniscience. He sees everything. All things
are naked and open to the eyes of him with whom we have security. We put up a facade and nobody
else sees us, but he sees us. We're just, our minds and hearts
are as naked before him as Adam was in the garden. Everything's
seen plainly by him. He sees all and he knows all. And that's comforting to the
believer. That's comforting to the believer.
To the hypocrite, that's terrifying. To the hypocrite, that's something
that causes him to tremble. But to the believer, he's like
Peter. He said, Lord, you know all things. Oh, yes, you know what I've said
and done. But you know that in my heart
of hearts I love you. You see beyond the outward, you
see the inward. You know all things, you know
that I love you. And Peter took comfort from that.
But principally, the flaming eyes describe our Lord's love
for his people. His love, you see, never waxes
cold. His love being shed abroad in
our hearts, like a flame of fire, warms and revives and refreshes
our hearts. His love, like a flame of fire,
melts our hearts before him in true submission and in true repentance. And yet those very eyes burn
with wrath and vengeance against his enemies and against our enemies. Those eyes, those flaming eyes
of fire seek They're always upon you. Don't, don't misunderstand me. He sees everything, yes. But
I'm not talking about him spying out some secrets you won't cover
up. That's not the indication of
the text. But his eyes are always upon you, watching out for you,
watching over you, protecting you. He who sees all and knows
all knows how to provide everything that is needed for the object
of his love. And then John says in verse 15,
and his feet likened to fine brass as if they burned in a
furnace. These feet of brass refer to
the strength and the power of Christ to support and defend
his people. But as I read the passage, I
can't help thinking that they also, being burned in a furnace,
indicate that in all our afflictions, he is afflicted. And when we
pass through the refining furnace of affliction in the hand of
God's providence, he who is our God is always with us. That's
what he said. Turn over to Isaiah 43. Isaiah
chapter 43. God's people pass through trials,
heartaches, and afflictions. A refining process for us. True
gold has to be refined. The dross has to be removed.
The tin has got to be melted away. But when our Lord in great
love causes us to go through the furnace of affliction, he's
with us. That's what he was saying to
John. Here's John exiled on the Isle of Patmos. Suffering for
the testimony of Christ. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
saying, my feet burn with yours. My feet are with you in the midst
of the trial. Look at it here. Isaiah 43 in
verse 2. When thou passest through the
waters, I will be with thee. Through the rivers, they shall
not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned. Neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God. Yes,
if you belong to Christ, he's going to take you through the
fiery furnace. He's going to put you in the
fiery furnace. He's going to refine you as silver and gold
is refined. But he'll be with you in the
midst of the trial. He'll be with you, always with you, protecting
you, guiding you, guarding you, so that the flame shall not kindle
upon you. It'll burn away the cross, but
it'll not kindle upon you. You remember the three Hebrew
children, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were cast into
the burning and fiery furnace, and Nebuchadnezzar looked down
and he saw a fourth man in the midst of the flames, one like
unto the Son of Man. That's what John saw here. He
says his feet were as fine brass as though they had been burned
in a furnace. And then John tells us that his
voice is as the sound of many waters. The voice of Christ is
the word of the gospel. It is the gospel which we preach.
Sometimes we preach it and we think it's not being heard, it's
not doing any good. Why go on? Nobody's paying any
attention. Let me tell you something. the weakest preacher, faithful
preacher, who stands in the smallest little cottage in the most remote
part of the world and preaches to a little handful of people,
is sounding out the voice of Jesus Christ that shall be heard
not only then, but from generation to generation to generation. Most of us are so weak and feeble
that if the Lord would be pleased to allow us to preach to many,
our heads would swell with pride and then we'd be useless. But
if man stands and he preaches plainly, faithfully, declaring
the gospel of Christ, his voice is as the voice of many waters.
and it shall be heard over the Pacific and the Atlantic and
over all the seas and into the outermost part of the earth and
it shall accomplish exactly what he pleases. For when his voice
goes forth in the power of his spirit, it's effectual and it's
irresistible. It's as the sound of the waters. John could perhaps be comparing
it here to the sound of the of the billows breaking upon the
shore at his side. He said it has the sound of the
waters of the sea breaking against the earth, and the voice of Christ
in the gospel as it goes forth is as a mighty wave sweeping
over the earth, gathering together God's elect from the four corners
of the earth. And then John says in verse 16,
And he had in his right hand seven swords, In verse 20, John
tells us that the mystery of the seven stars, which thou sawest
in thy right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks, the seven
stars are the angels of the seven churches. I speak neither arrogantly nor
facetiously. This is angel The word simply means messenger.
These stars are God's appointed pastors, those men who preach
the gospel of Christ. God's preachers are compared
to stars because they're placed where God wants them. And like
stars, they are useful only as reflectors of the light and the
glory of the sun. Like stars, they are like the
pole star, they're guiding light. They are stars that point sinners
to Christ. They are stars that point out
to perishing men the way of life and eternal salvation. They are
stars that give out light, not their own light, but the light
they gather from the sun of righteousness. These stars, faithful gospel
preachers, are the angels of God to his churches. That is,
they are the messengers of God in the churches of Christ. I
realize that men in our day hold preachers in contempt by and
large, and frankly I do too. But you better not ever hold
God's messenger in contempt. You better not ever look upon
God's messenger as something or someone that you can either
hear or not hear without any consequence. God's messenger
is to be treated as God's messenger, as God's messenger. Man goes to Spain as an ambassador
of the United States. He goes with the authority of
the President of the United States. He speaks for the President. You hear him, you hear the President. You reject him, you reject the
President. You treat him with contempt,
you treat the president with contempt. Now listen to this.
God's messengers are God's ambassadors to perishing men. Hear them,
and you hear God. Despise them, and you despise
God. Treat them with honor, and you
honor God. Treat them with contempt, and
you treat God with contempt. I know people say, well, Pastor,
you just take too much upon yourself. if I took it upon myself, it
would be far, far, far too much. But I'm telling you that Christ
holds his preachers in his right hand, in his right hand. I've been around the corner a
few times, and I've had a few experiences. I've preached in
where I wondered what the reaction was going to be before I got
out the door. But no reason to be afraid. No reason to be afraid. Afraid
of what a man's going to do? Afraid of how a man's going to
respond? Afraid of something that a man might say or do to
me? Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
hold me in his right hand! What have I to do? This is what
he was saying to John. John, you're on the Isle of Patronage.
You're exiled, you're an old man, you're all alone. But you're
not alone. I'm holding you in my possession.
Oh, that must have been comforting to that old man. You see, in
his right hand, that's the place of authority. In his right hand,
that's the place of approval. In his right hand, that's the
place of security, the place of all protection. And then John
says in verse 16, And out of his mouth when a sharp two-edged
sword. Here it is. The Word of God. Quick, powerful, and sharper
than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder
of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart. Isn't it amazing how a man can
just, with simple language, Stand up and preach the Word of God
and it'll pierce right through your innermost being. Isn't it
amazing how man can preach the Word of God and just probe right
down into the deep recesses of your heart? You've come up to
a Master of Services over and says, who's been talking to you
about me? God has. God has. It's sharper than a
two-edged sword. It divides the sundered joints
and marrow. It discerns the thoughts and
the intents of the heart. It's an offensive weapon by which
Christ Jesus conquers our enemy. It's a defensive weapon by which
Christ protects his church. And it cuts both ways. Swing
the sword this way and it cuts down man's sin. Swing it back
this way and it smites away his righteousness and causes the
flesh to be slain before him. was as the sun shineth in his
strength." John says, when I looked on him, it was like looking on
the moon. Shining, dazzling, noonday print! John had seen that before. He
was on the mouth of transfiguration when the Lord was transfigured
before him, and his countenance did shine as the sun. John saw
once again, the dignity, the majesty, and the glory of Christ,
who is the Son of Righteousness. Like the Son, he is the source
of life. Like the Son, he's the strength
of life. Like the Son, he's the sustainer
of life. And if ever a man sees this Son,
the Son of Righteousness, he'll always see it. Somebody told
me one time, I don't know that it's so, maybe I read it, I can't
remember, And if you look at the sun in its brilliance, especially
look at the sun in an eclipse, and you look with the naked eye
at the glare of the sun, you'll have sunburn eyes so that you'll
see the sun wherever you look. I've had a slight experience
of it. You have too. You're out working in the middle
of the day and you look up and When you look down again, before
you realize, look into that burning sun and you look down again and
you see sunspots all over everything. All you see is the sun. Oh, if
ever you see the sun, the sun of light, you'll have sunburn
high. You'll see the sun everywhere
and in all things and you'll be glad to do so. Now thirdly,
what was the result of this No man will ever have Christ
revealed to him and walk away the same as he was before. It
doesn't happen. When Christ reveals himself,
something happens, and the results are always pretty much the same.
I'll tell you the first thing that'll happen when Christ is
revealed, the first thing that'll happen when Christ makes himself
known to any man, the flesh always withers before Christ. John says
in verse 17, when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. Manoah saw the Lord and he said,
I'm going to die and hope that he can see God again. Ezekiel
saw the Lord and he fell down as one dead. Daniel saw the Lord
and he said, my crumbliness was turned into corruption. Isaiah
saw the Lord and he said, oh, woe is me. I'm a man of unclean
lips. Oh, that we might have such a
thing. How blessed it is to fall at
his feet as one who has been slain in his presence. We're
never so much alive as when we're dead at his feet. We're never
so truly living as when our flesh withers in death. Before our
great and glorious Savior, I want more than anything else the death
of all that is sinful and rebellious in me. Old Adam, how I wish he would
die. But old Adam withers only in
the presence of Christ's glory. The only time he withers in the
presence the glorious God. Secondly, Christ
who slays our flesh will raise us up and revive our spirits. You see, when Christ reveals
himself, first thing he does is he slays all self-confidence. He slays all self-worth. He causes us to be slain in the
dust before him and then He comes over and lays his right hand
upon you and he raises you up. Life comes out of death. Revival comes out of withering. Christ raises up those who are
cast down with his feet. And if you never cast down, you'll
never be raised up. If you've never been withered,
you'll never be revived. And if you've never been slain,
you'll never be given life. And then Christ revealed always
brings a word of comfort and assurance. Look at what he says. Fear not, I'm 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 of death. Here I am, a sinner at the feet
of Christ with no merit no righteousness and no worth, trembling and fearful. There's no need to tremble, not
at his feet. Oh sinner, there's no need to
be afraid of falling down at his feet. For every sinner that's
fallen down at his feet, he lays his hand upon them and he gives
them a word of comfort. This is what he says, I live
as your surety. before the world was. And I lived
as your surety in time upon the earth. And behold, I died as
your surety and your substitute. And behold, I am alive forevermore
as your surety and your substitute. And as your surety, your mediator,
as the center substitute, as the head of an elect race, I
am the one who has sovereign power over life, over death,
and over the grave. For I have conquered death, hell,
and the grave. Once more, whenever Christ reveals
himself to a man, he gives that man a message to declare to the
sons of men. You remember when Isaiah saw
the Lord high and lifted up? And his lips were purged, and
he heard a voice saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go
for us? Isaiah said, Here am I, send me. Well, here John is. He gets a message. He says in
verse 19, the Lord speaks to him and says, Write the things
which thou hast seen, and the things which are. and the things
which shall be hereafter. Every man who ever had Christ
revealed to him received a message to declare to his fellow men. You see, what I'm saying is this. We, to whom Christ has been revealed,
are his messengers. God's given you a message, Wes.
He's given your wife a message. a message, a light to shine in
the dark world, a message to declare to perishing men. The
message is the message of Christ's glory as the center substitute,
as the sovereign ruler of heaven and earth. Oh, how can I bring this thing down to some
practical application right now to us some of you here have never
seen christ your eyes are blind you can't
see didn't have been revealed in
your heart ask god to show you this ask
god to reveal his son oh lord god Make me to know Christ. Let me see Him in His fullness
and His glory. I'm not talking about some kind
of a physical carnal vision. I'm talking about a vision of
your heart seeing Christ as He's revealed in this Word. One time
George Whitefield was visiting in a home and he made it his
business wherever he stayed always to bear faithful witness the
people around them. And there was a young maiden
girl. She was a maid in the house, poor girl. She came to Mr. Whitfield after hearing him preach
and she was asking him the way of life. Mr. Whitfield said to
her, ask God. Now, if you really want to know
the way of life, if you really want salvation, eternal life,
ask God. to show you yourself. Ask God
to show yourself and keep on asking God to show you yourself
until he does. Well, he left. He came back some
weeks later. And he asked the couple in the
house about this young girl. And they said. I said, oh, since
you were here the last time. She seems to have just lost her
mind. She's been in despair, weeping and mourning and crying
all the time. And we can't seem to reason with
her, can't talk with her, can't get anything out of her. And
he said, go find her. So she came in and she sat before
him. He said, when I was here the
last time. You came to me inquiring about the way of life. And I
told you to ask God to show you yourself. And she said, oh, Mr. Whitfield, I have. And he showed
me myself, and it makes me miserable. He said, now ask God to show
you Himself. And He did. He did. Ask God to reveal Christ to you. If you want Him, ask for Him.
If you want Him, seek after Him. Call upon Him. All Church of
God, you men and women, with whom my heart is knit in this
assembly. Ask God to reveal Christ in our
midst to our hearts one more time. When you come to the house of
God, we'll meet again Tuesday evening. Ask God to let you see his Son.
Ask God to speak through the gospel and reveal Christ in you
all over again. And now, let us go like John
and tell the world what a glory Savior we found. Tell them what you've seen. and
tell them the way things really are and tell them the way things
shall be hereafter. Amen. Let's stand together for
prayer. Blessed Savior, reveal yourself. There are some here who have
never seen you, and unless you make yourself
known, they never shall. Will you graciously, by the word
of the gospel, reveal yourself, slay sinners in the dust before
you, and raise them up in life everlasting? Lord God, we ask that you will
make yourself known to us. Let me see your face and no face like yours. Let me hear your voice for your
voice has life giving power. Draw us, O Lord, and we will
run after you. And we ask that you'll give us
grace to proclaim to a perishing world, a world in darkness, the
light of gospel truth, telling perishing sinners of
the riches and the glory and the grace of God in Christ Jesus
our Savior. These things we ask that Christ
may be known and that Christ may be glorified in this day,
in this generation, throughout the world. Amen. You're dismissed.