Max Lucado wrote this illustration in his book When Christ Comes.
Augustine once posed the following experience.
Imagine God saying to you, “I will make a deal with you if you wish. I’ll give you anything and everything you ask: pleasure, power, honour, wealth, freedom, even peace of mind and a good conscience. Nothing will be a sin; nothing will be forbidden; and nothing will be impossible to you. You will never be bored and you will never die. Only… you will never see my face.”
The first part is appealing. Isn’t it great to have everything we crave for?
• But then, just as we are about to say yes, we hear the final phrase: “You will never see my face.”
• Do you want that? To have everything else but not being able to see Him.
• We have to pause for a while and think. Never? Never, ever be able to see Christ and be in His presence?
What do you think? Will you take it?
• The bargain loses some of its appeal, somehow, right?
• We want to see Christ. We love His presence. Isn’t that true of our heart?
John’s experience tells us no matter how lonely you felt or how difficult your situation, Christ’s presence can be real.
• John saw Christ literally, and this encounter was far different from all that he had experienced before.
• He was knocked out cold. 1:17 “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.”
• Even in solitude and suffering, Christ is very present. You just need to seek Him, and you will find Him.
In fact, He is always present. The problem is with us.
• I was just having a conversation with my dad the other day, as he shares about a sermon he heard over a tape.
• The error we often made in prayer, asking God to be with us.
• God is always present. We need to pray that people will be made AWARE of His presence, that in the midst of our pain, we will be able to KNOW His presence.
John put himself in a position to hear His voice and experience His presence – he said, “On the Lord’s Day, I was in the Spirit” (1:10)
• Every day we have been hearing voices – voices of politicians, economists, teachers, actors, parents…
• We need to put ourselves in a position to hear God’s voice, and know His presence.
A. W. Tozer in his book ‘The Pursuit of God’ says:
“…it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself, and unless and until the hearers find God in personal experience they are not the better for having heard the truth. The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and centre of their hearts.”
In Gold by Moonlight Amy Carmichael wrote: "It is not the sense of His presence, it is the fact of His presence that is our strength and stay."
When was the last time you tasted the sweetness of His presence?
When was the last time you heard Him speaking to you?
John did, in a totally unexpected place. He was determined to seek God.
• Isa 55:6 “Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.”
• If we do not seek the Lord NOW, when trouble comes, it will be too late.
• We will not have the relationship we need with the Lord to help us during our time of trouble.
• You’ll find yourself too distant, unacquainted with Him. You do not know Him enough to give you the strength to weather the storm.
John sought Him and found Him.
You have a very contrasting picture here.
• John was in dire circumstances, and the believers under great persecution.
• In fact, the Lord reveals in 2:13 “I know where you live-where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city-where Satan lives.”
• How about living in this city for a week, where Satan lives?
We have this very bleak picture down here and a very bright, cheery and almost fake heavenly picture of Christ, in control of everything.
• And yet that picture is more real and what we are seeing down here. This place was created; it didn’t exist once upon a time.
• But for eternity, Christ has been there. Overseeing everything that has taken place.
John was instructed (Rev 1:11) to write to the seven churches.
• It wasn’t a standard letter sent to all seven but each written according to their respective needs.
• Christ was fully aware of their situations and was concerned:
2:2 to the church of Ephesus: “I know you deeds, your hard work and your perseverance…”
2:9 to the church in Smyrna: “I know your afflictions and your poverty…”
2:13 to the church in Pergamum: “I know where you live – where Satan has his throne…” (under great persecution).
2:19 to the church in Thyatira: “I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.”
3:1 to the church in Sardis: “I know your deeds…”
3:8 to the church in Philadelphia: “I know your deeds….. I know that you have little strength…”
3:15 to the church in Laodicea: “I know your deeds…”
Christ has been watching over them.
• The Lord is fully aware of your situation today. I may not. Your parents may not.
• No one may have noticed the sacrifices you’ve made; the struggle you’re in.
• No one thank you for the work you’ve done.
• No one knew of the hard work you’ve put in, worst still, the credit goes to someone else. But the Lord knows.
The fact that Jesus knows everything about you may sound scary to some.
• But the Bible tells us He is not out to judge you. He could have, but He has chosen not to.
• God sent His Son into this world not to condemn us but that we can be saved through Him.
• So His knowledge of you should not be a threat. It should be reassuring!
• It is good to know there is always someone to whom we can go and never be misunderstood or rejected.
• We may not be able to express ourselves well all the time, but we can be assured that He understands.
To what extent He understands?
• He said to John in 1:17 “I am the First and the Last.” 1:8 “I am Alpha and Omega.”
• Rev 22:13 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
• There is nothing that is beyond His knowledge or wisdom.
• And then in 1:19 “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.”
In the midst of the difficulties the Christians are in, the Lord wants them to know that He knows all.
• He knows your past, your present and your future.
• You cannot surprise Him. There won’t be any new revelation about you. Everything there is to know about you, He knows it before you are born.
And the most surprising thing is that He allowed everything under heaven to go on.
• John suffered. The Christians suffered. Many were persecuted and martyred.
• Suffering and pain does not negate God. His silence cannot be faulted. In fact, His inaction is part of His great plan.
• Christ is sovereign and still in control. And John was told what is to come, in His time and in His way.
We see Christ responding to the needs of the churches.
• To the seven churches, the revelations were precise. They were addressed to the individual churches, according to their situation and specific needs.
• There were words of rebuke and discipline, and words of encouragement and assurance.
• The Lord will speak what you need to hear.
• When you are moved by a particular verse or word from Him, take note. The Holy Spirit highlights what we need to hear.
God does not speak irrelevant or immaterial words, with no apparent purpose.
• He says in closing (Rev 3:19): “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.”
• That’s where He is coming from. And He still speaks with that heart today.
We can trust Him today because He makes no mistake.
• Jesus knows exactly what He is doing. He never has to second-guess Himself.
• His wisdom does not improve with age or experience. It’s perfect.
• He does everything exactly right the first time.
• If we are in God’s will, our life is exactly right, regardless of how great your problems are.
Rom 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
• Surprisingly it did not say, ‘in some things’ but in ALL THINGS.
• In other words, when we are in the will of God, everything that comes into our life can work for our good.
• If by “good” we meant our health, comfort, wealth, prosperity, success or pleasure, then we would all question it.
Rom 8:29-30 “For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those He predestined, he also called; those he called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.”
• This is God’s ultimate concern and our ultimate good – to be saved and be conformed to the image of Christ.
• Our salvation and character is the good God is seeking!
Our preoccupation with Christ will see us through the storms of life.
• In worship, we are drawn to see this Christ, who is all-present, all-knowing, and all-powerful.
• Isa 55:6 “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on Him while He is near.”
