Turning now to the revelation
of Jesus Christ, and we're looking at chapter 1, verse 9, 10, and
11. Look at verse 9. I John, I John, who also am your
brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom of the Lord
Jesus Christ. I'm taking the title for the
message from those words in verse nine. John, our brother, John,
our brother in trouble and tribulation. Being a believer of the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ does not exempt us from sorrow, trial,
heartache and tribulation. God had one Son, when old preachers
said years ago, God had one Son without sin, but none without
sorrow. The Lord Jesus Christ had no
sin, knew no sin, and did no sin, but our Lord knew much about
sorrow, heartache, and tribulation. As a Son of Man, He knew a lot. He was called a Man of Sorrows,
acquainted with grief. He was wounded for our transgression,
bruised for our iniquities. And with his stripes, bearing
our sin in his own body and putting it away, we have healing. We
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. John, our
brother, was cast out of society by the Roman emperor to an island
called Patmos. You can look on your map today.
You can go to Google Map and bring it up on your computer. I've done that several times.
Forty miles off the coast of Ephesus in what is now modern
day Turkey. At that time it was part of the
Roman Empire. Now this island that's mentioned
here in verse 9, the island that is called Patmos, the island
today is a paradise island. go on vacation and a vacation
on this paradise island. But this island at this time
was not a place of paradise, leisure, and pleasure, but it
was rather full of a place of others who had been cast out
of society like John. I kind of think of it as the
Alcatraz of the day when the Roman Empire took everybody that
was a rebel and put them out on that island. Perhaps John,
I thought about this, perhaps John had a captive audience.
Those people couldn't get away from him. They couldn't get off
that island. And you know he was there preaching the gospel.
How long he was there, we don't know how long he was there, at
least I don't. From secular history, we know that he was banished
there around 95 or 96 AD, that is about 60 years or so after
the time of our Lord Jesus Christ. John was the last and the only
living apostle at this time, and he was about 90 years old,
an old man. We do know that he was banished
and kicked out of society, because of the gospel that he preached
to the Lord Jesus Christ and him crucified. We also know that
all this was done by the sovereign good pleasure of God. God worked
all things after the counsel of his own will. The Lord put
John on this island to receive this special revelation that
he might give it to us. Now you see how all that works
together for good to them who love God, to them who are called
according to His purpose. It would seem strange to us that
the Lord would put His choice servants in some very unusual
places to preach the gospel to His elect, but He does. We just read and studied this
morning how Paul was beaten at Philippi and put in jail, him
and Silas, And the Lord sent an earthquake, and the Lord opened
the door, and Paul preached the gospel to that Philippian jailer.
And the Lord, by putting Paul and Silas in prison there, started
a gospel ministry there in Philippi, a gospel church. Both Paul and
Peter and John were all imprisoned for the gospel. We know that
Paul and Peter were also executed, put to death because of the gospel. John is the last surviving apostle. He's put in this dreadful place,
but what a blessing to him and to us because he received this
special revelation of Jesus Christ. He received God's Word, God's
truth, and He told to write it down and preserve it and send
it unto the seven churches. Look at the middle part of verse
11. What you see, you write it in
a book and send it to the seven churches. You're holding that
in your hand. This revelation that God gave
to John He preserved it and given it unto us today and here we
sit and read it. What a miracle. What a blessing
God has given unto us. To receive this Word of Truth. All Scriptures given by inspiration
of God. Now look at verse 9. I John.
I John. He takes no high title to himself. He could have called himself
The apostle John, he does call himself the servant of the Lord,
but he said, I'm just John. John, the brother of James. Do you remember John's brother
James? Do you remember what happened
to him? Early on in the ministry, he was killed with a sword. But
John survived. John, who also am your brother,
and I'm your companion. God's servants are not men who
impress with themselves. They are not men who are impressed
with themselves, but rather are men who are impressed with God.
John believed the Lord Jesus Christ. These men, sin of God,
they seek no recognition or applause of men. They don't preach to
please men. They do seek the favor and pleasure
of God, as we studied in our Bible study this morning. We
are not seeking to glorify ourselves or to moat ourselves. If we preach
the gospel to please men, we're not the servants of God. John
takes no high title to himself. He doesn't even mention that
he's an apostle of the Lord, specially chosen, specially taught,
specially sent, has the power of doing miracles. John was a
special servant of the Lord. But he makes no mention of that
other than, say, I, John. I like that. I, John. A lot of
times, people who know I'm a minister of the gospel, they get a little
bit confused on what to call me. Just call me Tom. My name is Tom. Thomas. Thomas
Allen. Thomas Allen. John takes no high
title to himself. He simply calls himself a brother,
a companion. I'm your companion. in trouble. I'm just like you, I've got trouble
just like you. And then a servant of the Lord.
Notice he calls himself over here in verse 1, and sent and
signified it by the angel unto his servant John. Now what a high title. To be
known as a servant of the Lord, I've instructed the men of this
church to put that on my tombstone. A servant of the Lord. You've
got that written down, haven't you? A servant of the Lord. So
we take no high title to ourselves, but being a servant of the Lord
is a high title, and I'll tell you why. The Lord Jesus Christ
Himself is known as the servant of the Lord. Remember Isaiah
42, 1? Behold my servant, my elect,
in whom my soul delighteth." How many times have we seen in
those epistles by Paul where he calls himself, I Paul, the
servant of the Lord. And then later on he gets around
to saying, well, I was an apostle too. An apostle chosen in the
sin of God. But being a servant of the Lord
is a high title. Now let's look at some of these
things, what John says of himself. He said, I'm your brother. I'm
your brother. If we belong to Christ, we're
in the same household and of one family, brethren who love
one another and care for one another and forgive one another.
We are brothers together in the Lord. Turn back here to the book
of Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 2. We're to
love and forgive one another even as God has forgiven us.
We're brothers in the same household. We're born of the same Father,
the same Spirit. Ephesians chapter 2, now therefore
you are no more strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens
with the saints and the household of God. Behold what manner of
love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called
sons of God. and are built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the
chief cornerstone, in whom all the building fitly framed together
groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you all also
are built together for habitation of God through the Spirit." I'm
your brother. Just call me Brother Tom. Or
just Old Tom. I told the little ones up at
Kingsport when I started going up there back in 2006, they wanted
to know what to call me. Well, at work,
where I used to work, I had a nickname. You know how they do around the
job site, they always come up with a nickname. And my nickname
was Tom Tom. Tom Tom. I told the little ones
up there, just call me Tom Tom. And they still do. They still
do. I, John, I'm your brother. And
then he says, I'm your companion in trouble. I'm your companion
in trouble. Brethren are companions in joy,
and in sorrow, in laughter, and in weeping. We're always brothers
one another. Believers are not exempt from
sorrow, heartache, and trouble. We read in the book of Job, man
is born under trouble as sure as the sparks of a fire fly upward. Again, we read, man that's born
a woman is few days and full of trouble. You can turn if you
want to, hold your place there and find 2 Timothy chapter 3. The Apostle Paul was a chosen
servant of God like John. But he says in 2 Timothy 3, 11,
persecution, afflictions which came unto me in Antioch, Iconium,
and Lystra, what persecutions I endured, but out of them all
the Lord delivered me. Yea, all that will live godly
in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Don't expect an
easy life. Don't expect blue skies and green
light all the time. We shall have tribulation in
this world. Our Lord said, These words have
I spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In this
world you shall have tribulation. But be of good cheer, I have
overcome. We are to rejoice with them that
rejoice, and weep with them that weep. We through much tribulation
must enter into the kingdom of God. in the Kingdom of God. We have studied, and we're going
to, right now we're studying in 1 Thessalonians, but I ran
into this verse the other day. Don't turn, let me just read
it to you. 1 Thessalonians chapter 3, verse 3, the Apostle Paul
reminds us that no man should be moved by these afflictions,
for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. We have afflictions that are
appointed of God, given of God, and they don't work against us. They don't work against us. You
remember he writes about our light afflictions. Our light
afflictions, which are but for a moment, worketh for us a far
more and exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Their light
afflictions, they just last a little while. Their light afflictions
compared to what the Lord Jesus Christ suffered for us. And their
light afflictions compared to eternal glory, aren't they? But
we do have afflictions and trouble in this life as believers. Now, John, I'm your brother. I'm your companion. And then
he says, we're in this kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're
in this kingdom. The kingdom. The kingdom of Jesus
Christ. Our Lord said, upon this rock
I'll build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it. This kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ is the same
as the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. How do we get into this
kingdom? How do we get into this kingdom?
You don't make yourself a citizen of this kingdom. We're born into
this kingdom. Turn over here to John chapter
3. We're born into this kingdom. Special birth from above. John
chapter 3, verse 3, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man
be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. You see that?
Look at verse 6. Verse 5, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, Except a man be born of water and of spirit, he cannot
enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh
is flesh, that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. We are
born into this kingdom, but of Him are you in Christ. For God
is made in us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and power. We
are born into this kingdom by the supernatural power of God. Christ is our King. and His throne
has been established in our heart, and we submit to Him as the King,
we submit to His sovereign rule in all things. The fourth thing
that John says about himself, and he's describing every believer,
we're all brothers in one another, we're all in this fellowship,
we're all of the same household, and he says, and the patient
of Jesus Christ, the patient of Jesus Christ, all believers,
are brothers, companions in trouble, and this word here, patience,
is perseverance. It has to do with persevering
in the faith. Persevering faith is always looking
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Persevering faith and the faith
of God's elect never draws back. It does not quit. It keeps on
looking to the Lord Jesus Christ, even when trouble comes. Believers
persevere in faith, looking to the Lord Jesus Christ. Wait upon
Him, he said. Wait upon me. And again I say,
wait upon the Lord. We live and walk by faith, always
looking to the Lord Jesus Christ, being kept by His power through
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. John was also a faithful preacher
of the gospel, as it says there in verse 2, who bear record of
the Word of God, that's the Lord Jesus Christ. In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was God. His name is called, we're
going to read in Revelation 19, His name is called the Word of
God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ. John preached those things
he heard and had seen. You remember, look at 1 John
1. 1 John 1, that verse 1. 1 John 1, verse 1. That which is from the beginning,
which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which
we've looked upon, our hands have handled of the Word of Life,
the Word of God, the light was manifested and we've seen it,
and bear witness unto you and show unto you that eternal life
which was with the Father was manifested unto us, that which
we have seen and heard, We declare unto you that you may have fellowship
with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His
Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. So John, I John, brother, companion
in this kingdom of God, persevering for the faith, and he was forced
out of society The Roman government put him on this island for or
because of the Word of God. Because of Jesus Christ, we could
put it that way. He is the Word of God. And for
the testimony of the Gospel. He refused to stop publicly preaching,
and he was forced out, perhaps forgotten by many, but not forgotten
of God. He said, Lo, I'll never leave
you, I'll never forsake you. Lo, I'm with you always. John
was a determined preacher of the gospel, bearing witness that
the Lord Jesus Christ is the absolute holy God, absolute holy
God. Look at Revelation 4 verse 8. for the Word of God, for the
testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. Revelation 4 verse 8, The four
beasts had each of them six wings, And about Him, they were full
of eyes within, and they rest not day nor night, saying, Holy,
Holy, Holy. Same thing as the message in
Isaiah 6, Lord God Almighty, Lord God Almighty, which was
and is, and is to come. He's the Almighty God. The Almighty God. We preach that
Jesus Christ is the absolute victor, defeater of all His enemies. He spoiled principalities and
powers, made a show of them openly, triumphing over them Himself. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
winner. You remember Revelation 6, turn
over there, verse 1. And I saw when the lamb had opened
one of the seals, and I heard as it were the noise of thunder,
and one of the four beasts saying, come and see. And I saw and behold
a white horse, and he that sat on it had a bow and a crown was
given him, and he went forth conquering and the conqueror. I heard a story the other day
and I thought it would be a good point right here. There was an
old man who was a believer and he worked in this school system
and he would open up the gymnasium at night and let some of the
neighborhood kids come in and play, play and practice some
basketball. And he was sitting there, he'd
always bring his Bible along and he'd sit there and he would
read. And oftentimes he would read through the Revelation.
One of those young boys, you know how young boys think they
know everything, know it all, approached the old man and said,
that Revelation, that's a big mystery, said the young man.
Said to the old man, do you know anything about that Revelation?
He said, yeah, I know this. I know he wins. He wins. He's the winner. He's the victor
of all things. That's the message of the book.
He wins. I've read through it several times that he's the winner.
Turn to Revelation 19. And I saw heaven open, verse
11, and behold a white horse, and he that sat upon him was
called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge
and make war. And his eyes were as a flame
of fire, on his head were many crowns, and he had a name written
that no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture
dipped in blood, and his name was called, there it is, the
Word of God. And the armies which were in
heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine white
linen. clean, white, and out of his
mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations,
and he shall rule them with a rod of iron. And he treadeth the
winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. And
on his, he had on his vesture and on his thigh a name written,
King of Kings and Lord of Lords." He wins. He wins every battle. He's our Lord. I confess there's
many things I don't fully understand, but I can say with that old man,
I know the Lord Jesus Christ has won every battle. Thanks
be to God who's given us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ. Look at verse 10 now. Revelation
1 verse 10. I, John, was in the Spirit on
the Lord's day and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet. Even though John was banished
from public worship with other believers, he was not banished
from worshiping the Lord in spirit and in truth. You don't have
to be in the Lord's house on the Lord's day to worship. Believers
worship Him every day. Every day. His body was imprisoned
on this island, but his heart and soul was free at liberty
To worship God. Our Lord said, look unto Me.
You don't have to be in a certain building or a place or a cathedral.
We can look in our heart by faith unto the exalted Lord Jesus Christ. He seeketh such a worship in
spirit and in truth. We read this morning. In Acts
16, when Paul and Silas were beaten and in jail there in Philippi,
at midnight, what were they doing? Praying, singing, and worshiping
God. And the Lord heard that and sent
a great earthquake and opened up the prison doors. And it says
there, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. And I take that
to mean the first day of the week, Sunday. The day the Lord
was raised from the dead, the first day of the week. And this
is the day the Lord hath made, and we do rejoice, and we're
glad in it. We set this day aside each week
for public worship, but worship takes place in the heart. And
worship takes place in the heart of the believer every day we're
looking to the Lord. When we go to sleep at night,
when we lay down at night, if we're able to sleep, we thank
the Lord for the day. And when we wake up in the morning,
again, we thank the Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord.
On this day, the Lord was pleased to speak to John with a great
voice. Oh, how blessed we are to hear
the Word of God and be given grace to receive it. John heard
the Lord speak to him, and it was the same one who spoke to
John before when he ministered among his disciples in that day. It was the same voice as of a
great trumpet that said, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead
came forth. The same voice. It was the same
voice that spoke peace to a sinner like Zacchaeus. Make haste and
come down. I must abide at your house. And
he made haste and came down. It was the same voice that spoke,
and the wind ceased, and the waves ceased, and there was a
great calm when the Lord said, Peace be still. And those apostles
said, Behold, what manner of man is this, that even the waves
and the seas, they obey his voice? a great trumpet, the same voice
that said, people said of him, never a man spake like that man.
When those Pharisees sent out their guards and soldiers to
arrest the Lord, and they came back without him, and they said,
well, where is he? He said, never a man spake like
that man. They couldn't lay a hand on him.
His great voice. He has a great voice to declare
unto us great things of the gospel. This is the same voice that thundered
upon Mount Sinai when the law was given. The voice of a great
trumpet. And here's what he said over
in Exodus 16. Let me just read it to you. And it came to pass
on the third morning that there were thunders and lightning and
thick clouds upon the mount. This is the giving of the law.
And the voice of a trumpet. exceeding loud, so that all the
people in the camp trembled." Same trumpet voice. The Lord,
the same yesterday, today, and forever. He never changes. His voice never changes. His
word never changes. As a great trumpet sound. Saying, verse 11, what does He
say? I'm it. I am that I am. I am God, beside me there is
no other. I am Alpha, that means the beginning. I am Omega, that is the end. I'm the A to Z and everything
in between. Christ is all and in all. He
said, I'm the first, beside me there is no other, and I'm the
last. And what thou seest, write it
in a book. Send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia. We have the epistle, Paul's epistle
to the Ephesians, but we're going to see if you've read ahead in
chapter 2 and chapter 3, we're going to see a specific letter
that the Lord sends to each of these seven churches. Each of
these seven churches. I'm Alpha, I'm Omega, The first
and the last. The Lord declares unto us that
all things are under His dominion, under His Lordship, that He's
in charge of all things. You remember, look up at verse
8. We had this last week. Revelation 1, verse 8. I'm Alpha, Omega, The beginning,
the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and was, and is to come,
the Almighty God. He is everywhere. He is the eternal. I am that I am. There's an article on the back
of the bulletin. Don't turn and read it now. Read it later. I tried to write
a sum of some of what I said last week. This brings comfort
to our heart, doesn't it? The Lord who loves us and cares
for us is in absolute control of all things. Nothing comes
to pass in our life except God brings it on purpose. Now, I don't understand all that.
You don't need to. I believe it. I believe it. I
believe it so. Now, the Lord gives instructions
unto John concerning what he's to do. You write these things
down and then send it. Send it to these seven churches.
Send it to these seven churches. These seven churches were located
in what is modern-day country of Turkey. Paul and others had
preached the gospel in these cities, and the Lord was pleased
to establish a group of believers. These churches were made up of
sinners, chosen by the Lord's electing love, redeemed by the
blood atonement of Christ, and called out of darkness into his
marvelous light. Where are these believers today?
They're with the Lord. They are with the Lord, worshiping
him forever and ever. To be absent from his body is
to be present with the Lord. One of the greatest blessings
the Lord can give to any community is a faithful gospel preacher.
And through the preaching of the gospel, the Lord Jesus Christ
will call out, raise up, and establish a congregation of believers
who are steadfast in the gospel and are zealous to spread the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to others. John was instructed to write
what God revealed to him. Notice this, and I'll let you
go. Send it unto the churches. Why
didn't the Lord say, send it to the Roman government? He said,
no, you write this special revelation and send it to the churches.
Now, not anyone else, but why the churches of Christ? It was
the Lord's good pleasure. But this is teaching us something
very important here. God Almighty does His work in
this world through His church, preaching the Gospel and calling
out His people. The Gospel is sent out in this
world through His church. He said, go into all the world
and preach the Gospel to every creature. Through the preaching
of the Gospel, the Lord is pleased to call out His people. Through
the preaching of the gospel, the Lord is pleased to establish
local congregations as he did here in Zebulon. The Zebulonians
abide here. The Lord sent the gospel here
and called out his people here. We have the gospel here in Ashland,
Lexington, Kingsport, and other places. California, New Jersey,
Florida, Montana, different places. The Lord is pleased to give us
His word, give us His revelation, and then gives us the privilege
of sending out this message by whatever means God is pleased
to give us. And we have some excellent means
in these days. Radio, internet, Messages gone
out from this pulpit, CDs, cassette tapes years ago. We've been on
the radio here for more than 25 years. We've been on the internet
with Sermon Audio since 2005. We have on Sermon Audio over
5,379 messages with Brother Henry's and my messages. Just this month,
in the month of October, 15,000 downloads this month on sermon
audio from all over the world, in every state, and usually 50
to 60 foreign countries. In the 35 years that this ministry
has been established here, I've been here almost 28 years, and
I've personally brought to this congregation over 4,000 sermons.
4,000 sermons. That's hard to believe, isn't
it? The Lord takes the preaching of the word, write it down, and
send it to the churches. And God's given us such a blessing,
these different means that he gives us to preach the gospel. And I assure you that this is
not a one-man ministry. As I've told you often, we're
all in the ministry. If you're a part of the body
of Christ, we're all in this ministry together. And we're
members one of another. And we're brothers, we're in
the household, we're companions, and we believe the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ.