1. Jesus personally protects His local churches by holding His messengers in His hand
2. Jesus personally protects His local churches with the all-sufficient power of His Word
3. Jesus personally protects His local churches with the permeating power of His presence
REVELATION 1:16
In World War II, one of the most effective weapons the Germans had was their submarine fleet. They were known as U-boats and they struck terror in the hearts of allied sea captains everywhere. It was so bad that Winston Churchill later wrote that the only things in the whole war that really frightened him were the U-boats. They were so frightening to civilian ships because they were silent. They were invisible. And they were deadly. A story is told about a passenger ship that set sail from Britain to New York during the height of the war. The captain was terrified of the U-boats. So before he left port, he checked with the Navy Admiral. The Admiral calmly told him that no matter what happens, “Don’t take any detours. Sail straight ahead. Continue onward. Head straight toward your destination.” That didn’t really help the captain’s nerves, but he set sail anyway. Every day on the water, he got more and more nervous. He just knew that the water was full of those silent killers. He imagined subs and torpedoes and all kinds of German evils in the water. Then it wasn’t just his imagination. Off in the distance, he saw an enemy destroyer headed toward him. In a panic, he grabbed the radio and called for help. A calm voice came back at him over the radio: “Don’t take any detours. Sail straight ahead. Continue onward. Head straight toward your destination.” A few minutes later, the German destroyer turned away. After a couple of more days of nervousness, the captain finally guided his passenger ship safely into New York harbor. As the crew was making ready to come ashore, the captain looked back toward the horizon. All of a sudden, coming over the horizon into view was the largest British battleship he had ever seen. And then he knew. Even though he hadn’t seen it, that battleship had been there the whole time providing his protection. Isn’t that the way Jesus protects us? Isn’t that the way He protects us both as individuals and as His church? We can’t always see His hand of protection. Most of the time it’s just out of our view. Sometimes we come across something and key our mike of prayer in a panic. And then we hear His calm voice: ““Don’t take any detours. Sail straight ahead. Continue onward. Head straight toward your destination.” Our passage this morning continues John’s vision of Jesus on the island of Patmos. According to verse 10, there on the Lord’s Day, Jesus appears to John and tells him to write down what he sees and send it to the seven local churches located in Asia Minor. John sees Jesus walking in the midst of His local churches. It’s significant that all this happened on the Lord’s Day. Ever since the church actually began on Pentecost, Christians have gathered together in local congregations on Sunday. Whereas the Jews of Jesus’ day met in synagogues on the Sabbath according to the Law… the earliest Jewish Christians gathered together on Sundays. They gathered on Sundays to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. So, from the earliest Christian times, Sunday was known as the Lord’s Day. And the Lord’s Day was known for one thing and one thing only. It was known for gathering together in a local congregation with other believers and worshipping Jesus. When we come to the book of Revelation, John was prevented from doing that. By the time we get to Revelation, John was an old man. He had been serving as the pastor of the church at Ephesus when the Roman authorities under the Emperor Domitian came and arrested him. Since neither John nor his church would worship the emperor, Domitian had him banished to the small deserted island of Patmos. The Apostle John was no longer physically able to be with God’s people on the Lord’s Day. But he was with them spiritually. Verse 10 says that he was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day. And that’s when Jesus came to him. As John was there by himself, unable to worship with his church on the Lord’s Day… Jesus came to him and showed him how important the local church is to Him. Last week we looked at how Jesus showed John His intimate involvement in His local churches. This morning we’re going to see how Jesus is personally protective of His local churches. Did you know that Jesus is personally protecting us here at Brushfork Baptist Church this morning? As He walks in our midst this morning, He is personally protecting us. I want us to recognize His protection this morning. But not only do I want us to recognize His protection. I want us to cling to His protection. I want us to be comforted by His protection. I want us to be confident in His protection. Confident enough to fearlessly go about the work that He’s called us to do. In order to do that, we’re going to look at three ways Jesus is personally protective of Brushfork Baptist Church. The first way is that He protects us by holding His messenger in His hand. Notice the first part of verse 16.
“And He had in His right hand seven stars…”
Jesus protects Brushfork Baptist Church by holding His messenger in His hand. One time I had to go through a corporate sales course. It wasn’t one of my most fun experiences. As a matter of fact, most of it was awful. One of the things they had us do was these role-playing sales calls. Those weren’t too bad. The bad part came after they were over. After they were over, your classmates and your instructor would evaluate you. Right in front of you. In the third person. “Well, I think it would have been much better if he had done x, y, z.” “Yes, and he wasn’t very effective in his delivery and presentation.” “He really needed to carry himself better and look more professional.” HELLO! I’m right here! I can’t tell you how uncomfortable that was. Almost as uncomfortable as this is going to be. Because right now, Scripture and you are going to have a little conversation. You’re going to have a conversation about me. In front of me. And worse yet, through me. So here goes. John has just seen an awesome, powerful revelation of Jesus walking in the midst of seven golden candlesticks. And we’re not left to wonder what the golden candlesticks represent. Because verse 20 tells us. Verse 20 tells us that the seven candlesticks are the seven churches. They are the seven local churches of Asia that Jesus told John to write to. So we know that Jesus told John to write a letter to the local church at Ephesus, the local church at Smyrna, the local church at Pergamos, the local church at Thyatira, the local church at Sardis, the local church at Philadelphia, and the local church at Laodicea. And He not only told John to write to them… Jesus showed him that He continually walks in their midst. And now Jesus shows John, not only am I walking in their midst, I’m holding seven stars in My hand. Well, what are those seven stars? He takes the mystery away again in verse 20. In verse 20 we’re told that the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. Oh—that clears things up… not really. Until you see that the word that’s translated “angels” literally means “messengers”. Sometimes Scripture uses this word to mean angelic messengers. Sometimes it uses it to mean human messengers. See, there are two ways to look at this verse. Either you can say that each local church has an angelic being assigned to it… which doesn’t fit either the context of this passage or the rest of Scripture. Or you can see that each local church has a human messenger who is held in the protective right hand of Jesus. That matches the context of the passage and is consistent with the rest of Scripture. Now, does that mean that local pastors are perfect? No. Does that mean that Jesus’ protection of His pastors is unconditional? No. It means that He protects His pastors as His pastors honor Him in fulfilling His calling to His churches. Ezekiel 34 stands as a harsh warning against shepherds who feed off of their sheep rather than feeding and protecting them. But that being said, Jesus protects His church by protecting His pastors. What a comforting thought it should be for you to know that Jesus cares enough for you that He is holding your pastor in His right hand of protection. Jesus protects Brushfork Baptist Church by holding His messenger in His hand. He also protects us with the all-sufficient power of His Word. Continue on to the second part of verse 16:
“and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword…”
Jesus protects Brushfork Baptist Church with the all-sufficient power of His Word. Several years back, Southern Baptists went through was has been called the Conservative Resurgence. In the years leading up to that time, liberalism had begun to make its way into our seminaries. And from the seminaries to the churches is a very short distance. Whether from the students who graduated or from the professors who wrote books and commentaries—many Southern Baptist churches were affected by liberalism. What liberalism teaches is that the Bible has mistakes in it. It teaches that the Bible has inconsistencies and contradictions in it. So, since that was the falsehood that was being taught, where did that leave them? It left them with no sourcebook. If the Bible has contradictions and error in it, then it’s not the Word of a perfect God. And if it’s not God’s Word, then we have to look other places for guidance. So churches began to look to science and philosophy for answers to the big questions. They began to look to psychology for help with the deep problems. They began to look to sales and business models for methods of maintenance and growth. But thank God for the Conservative Resurgence. Thank God that He used men like Adrian Rogers and Paige Patterson and WA Criswell to turn this denomination back to the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible. Because the Bible is how Jesus is personally protective of His local churches. Jesus showed John a picture of His Word. He pictured His Word as a sharp two-edged sword. Hebrews 4:12 uses this same picture. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” The Bible is sharp enough to cut between things that are indivisible. It’s sharp enough to cut between a man and his sin. Between a man and his pride. Between a man and his lust. God’s Word is sharp enough to operate on any social problem, any psychological problem, any organizational problem, any spiritual problem, and any physical problem. God’s Word is consistent, logical, free from error and full of supernatural power. Because of that, God’s Word is sufficient. Psalm 119:89-96 says, “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth. They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants. Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction. I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me. I am thine, save me; for I have sought thy precepts. The wicked have waited for me to destroy me: but I will consider thy testimonies. I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad.” Because the Word of God is settled in heaven forever, it is the two-edged sword that Jesus uses to protect His churches. That’s where we get into trouble. We get into trouble when we forget the sufficiency of God’s Word. We forget our protection and we run after our own methods. Yes, God has blessed us with brains to examine His creation with. And when we examine His creation, He allows us to come up with some wonderful things to help us. But when the things we come up with aren’t rooted and grounded in the Word of God, we have given up our protection. When we seek to cure our sin-sickness with godless philosophies and methods, we give up Jesus’ protection for us. When we seek to run and grow this church using man-centered methods and models, we give up Jesus’ protection for us. We turn down the protection of Jesus’ sharp two-edged sword for the sorry substitute of a child’s homemade toy knife. As long as we stay focused on, and under the authority of God’s Word in this church, Jesus will protect us. Jesus protects Brushfork Baptist Church with the all-sufficient power of His Word. He protects us by holding His messenger in His hand and He protects us with the all-sufficient power of His Word. He also protects us with the permeating power of His presence. Look at the last part of verse 16:
“and His countenance was as the sun shineth in His strength.”
Jesus protects Brushfork Baptist Church with the permeating power of His presence. Wasn’t it nice to see the sun come out earlier this week? Wednesday and Thursday were absolutely gorgeous days. Now, don’t get me wrong—I’m not complaining about the rain. After the last couple of years, the Lord knows that we’ve needed the rain. But even so, there’s something about sunshine. I’ve had friends who lived in Alaska and at one time I wanted to go there. But something interesting happens in Alaska. You know how the days are shorter here in the wintertime than they are in the summer time. Because Alaska is so far north, they have the same thing, but to a much greater extreme. As a matter of fact, for a few weeks in the summer, they have what are called white nights. Those are days where the sun never sets at all. Of course that means that for a few weeks in the winter, they have what are called polar days. Those are days where the sun never rises at all. Can you imagine going days without the sun ever rising? That would be depressing. As a matter of fact, it is depressing. Those days without the sun cause a very common depression called SAD—Seasonal Affective Disorder. People do all kinds of things to try and overcome SAD. They paint their walls bright colors. They even put powerful sun lamps in their houses. But nothing can take away the depression like the permeating rays of the sun. The power of the sun is amazing. But it’s nothing compared to the permeating power of the Son. Over the past couple of weeks I’ve said this over and over. But if I keep saying it over and over, maybe we’ll get it. Jesus is here with us this morning. Jesus is walking in our midst. Just like John saw Him walking in the midst of the seven churches of Asia, He is walking in our midst this morning. Do you know what that means? It means we’re in His presence. As we sit in this place this morning, we are bathed in the permeating power of Jesus’ presence. That is a fact. Mark it down. Just as sure as we’re bathed in sunlight when we’re outside on a sunny day. But here’s the problem. You have to react to the power of the Son of God shining in our midst this morning. And you can react to His presence in our midst one of two ways. You can either turn away from Him. Or you can turn to Him. And I can tell you—just like if you were to walk outside and look straight into the sun—when you turn straight into the presence of Jesus—it’s going to hurt. It’s going to hurt, because when you turn to Jesus, you’re going to have to turn from some things that are very precious to you. As a matter of fact, you’re going to have to turn from whatever is most important to you. Because Jesus said, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” What is most important to you this morning? And don’t lie to yourself. You sacrificially give your time, effort and money to the thing that is most important to you. You would give up anything you have for the thing that is most important to you. So I ask again—what is most important to you this morning? Is it Jesus? If He is, He’ll bless you. He’ll bless you with the permeating power of His presence. He’ll bless you with the all-sufficient power of His Word. He’ll bless you with His protected messenger. Jesus is walking in the midst of Brushfork Baptist Church this morning. He is intimately involved in this church and He is personally protective of this church. Are you included in His involvement? Are you included in His protection? Or are you on the outside looking in? You don’t have to be. Jesus died for you. He died to make you part of His body. To wash you and cleanse you and present you spotless and without blemish as His bride. Will you be washed clean this morning? Will you turn to Jesus this morning? Let Him save you today.
