The Unveiling
Responding To the Sovereign Christ
Revelation 1:9-18
At the end of every service, we have (what we term) the invitation, the altar call, or even the time of decision. This morning I submit that every time you hear a word from HIS word, you make a decision. Believing that God speaks continuously, I know He speaks through His word calling people to Himself. John was on Patmos for the gospel and was found in God’s presence. What did He do? How did he respond? What should I do? (TEXT)
When I sense God speaking, what is my response to Him? Look at John.
1. I turned (vs. 12) – John heard a loud voice, like a trumpet so he turned toward the voice. For salvation & followship, nothing is more required than a turn toward HIM. Do you remember what your parents expected when they spoke to you? Mine expected me to turn toward them, looking at them, and giving them my undivided attention. To them, it wasn’t enough to say I was listening; I had to turn toward them. I submit that, in the message of our Lord and the New Testament, the evidence clearly points to us turning toward our Lord when He speaks. John the Baptist, Jesus, Peter, and Paul, all preached messages of repentance. Repentance by definition is turning around. It literally means an “about face.” It means turning from and turning to. Some of us do not want to turn from what we are doing and turn to Christ because we don’t see anything wrong with where we are facing now. This was on the “Lord’s Day” and John was “In the Spirit.” Could there be a better place & time to be than in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day? Yet, John had to ‘turn’ and so do we. We turn to HIM.
* Sadly from time to time, our human nature kicks in and we don’t respond like we should. In fact, we ‘turn’ but we turn wrong. Years ago, it was suggested to us that our daughter had a disorder called, “Oppositional Defiant disorder.” (I thought all teenagers had this) While her problem turned out to be different, we came to understand that this condition manifested itself in rebelling against any authority figure. This means when someone in authority says ‘go left’ the individual turns ‘right’. Can you see the implications of a person have a “Spiritual Oppositional defiant disorder?” Actually, it would not be a ‘disorder’ for the unsaved. The unsaved person automatically rebels against any kind of spiritual authority & certainly Christ is such an authority.
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* To respond to Christ is to turn TO Him FROM whatever else has our attending. This happens at salvation, it happens in our sanctification, and ultimately in our translation to heaven.
* Interestingly, he didn’t turn to hear the voice, but to SEE the voice.
2. I saw – John turned to respond to the voice that called to Him. From the sound (and being in the spirit), He knew that this was a voice from the Lord Himself. I honestly don’t think He was prepared for all He saw.
* The first thing he mentions is the Seven Golden Lampstands – We do not have to ‘guess’ about the symbolism of the ‘Lampstands’ because in verse 20 the Lord tells us that they are the churches. The number seven would have us conclude that He sees all the churches of all mankind for all of time. The reason our Lord pictures the church as “Lampstands” is because the church is to light this dark world. We are to be fueled by the ‘oil’ of the Holy Spirit of God fulfilling ONE purpose in this world, shining His light in the dark places. He walks among His churches, reveals Himself through His church, & judges the Laodiceans wherever He finds them. His words to the church? “Call to me, & I will answer.”
* One Like the SON OF MAN - He sees a picture of the Sovereign, Glorified Christ. Remember John is the one who sat closest to Jesus in the upper room, he referred to himself as the “disciple whom Jesus love,” and arguably he spent more time with Jesus (on earth) than did anyone else. Yet now, he turns to see this one who was “like” the Son of Man. It would seem that John was speechless as he witnessed, once again, God in human form. What follows is a description of what Jesus looked “LIKE.” John was so taken with what he saw, that he grabbed for words – and those words seem to fall short. It kind of reminds us of Isaiah. Although Isaiah didn’t seem to search for words, he was obviously awed by what he saw. (Read Verses 12-16 emphasizing ‘like’). To see God is to discover that all the vocabulary, intellect, & ability you have is impotent against the One who is Omnipotent. Eye has not seen nor can the human mind conceive God. Let’s take a look at what John could tell us. His description tells us something of the Glorified Lord.
* A Long Robe – This pictures Jesus in every position we know Him. He is a prophet, a priest, and a king. It speaks of His Royalty. He is seated at the right hand of God where He makes intercession for you & me.
* Gold sash around His chest – That ‘gold sash’ is the symbol or a judge or King who possesses all authority. It serves as a reminder of His last words as recorded by Matthew, “All power & authority has been given.”
* Head & Hair white like wool –What awesome picture that reveals the purity of this Son of Man. He is the Alpha, the Ancient of Days, the sinless & the unchangeable one.
* Eyes a fiery flame – You’ve heard it said, “There is something about His eyes.” This perfectly describes the glorified Lord. Hebrews 4:13 says, “No creature is hidden from Him, but all things are naked & exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account.” Daniel 10:6 says that His eyes, “are like flaming torches.” This is the picture of judgment as He can see all. He eyes are burning, penetrating, searching, and exposing all sin. Those eyes see through to motives, thoughts, desires & more.
* Feet like ‘fine bronze’ (fired in a furnace) – Think about the fine, fired bronze. Every instrument of outside the Temple was bronze because it dealt with judgment. Think about the feet which are the foundation. The message is simply that God, from His foundation, judges rightly & justly. His judgments are beyond question.
* His Voice like ‘cascading waters’ – Little force in the world possesses the power of water. When the waters cascade, almost everything yields. Remember the Tsunamis & be reminded of the power. Niagara Falls is one of those places you wish you had a volume knob. The voice of the almighty is a voice you cannot ignore. He speaks to the sun, moon, stars, the winds, the waters, and to people. One day this mighty voice will speak to you saying one of two different phrases. Either He will says, “Well done, enter in” or “depart from me, I never knew you.”
* His Right hand holds the seven stars – This is more than a little interesting. He walks among the Lampstands, but He holds the stars in His hands. Verse 20 tells us who the stars are. HCBS calls them ‘angels’, but fundamentally the word means ‘messenger.’ W.A. Criswell makes no bones about it, he writes, ‘this is the angel, the messenger, the servant, the pastor; who is held by God. In the hand of authority, command, strength, power, & might, God holds on to, God Holds up, and God holds fast, HIS SERVANT.” Forgetting for a second that I am a pastor, it seems to me as I read this text, that the pastor, messenger, & angel is God’s gift to the church. Is it any wonder that God says, “touch not my anointed?” He calls this one a ‘star’ because a star only shines in the dark, yet does not produce any light of its own but reflect the light of the greater one. In the right hand of strength He holds the Pastor.
* His mouth a two-edged sword - Hebrews tells us the word of God is like a two-edged sword and this is what the Lord Jesus speaks.
* Scripture is the ‘breath of God.’ It is this weapon which Jesus used in Matthew 4 & it is the same sword He’ll use in Revelation 19. It is the absolute one.
* His face shining like the sun – The word here is countenance. We have seen it hinted at all through God’s word. Moses reflected this when he came down off the mountain. Jesus took off His human garb on the Mt of Transfiguration and was seen in this way. Now, John sees Him once again and probably is reminded of why there is ‘no need of the sun’ in heaven. God is the light which never goes out.
* Here’s my question; In the face of turning & seeing, what would you do?
3. I fell – It would seem that a human catching a glimpse of the glorified one always has the same response. We see it in Isaiah, we see it in Peter, James and John at the transfiguration, and now we see John simply collapsing with a ‘woe is me’ or ‘I am undone’ sense. John fell like a dead man who was afraid to move because he understood who he was seeing. Already filled with the Spirit, now overwhelmed by His presence, & now He was worshipping in Spirit & truth because He was afraid to life his hands or voice. He had a fresh view of the Holiness of God. He was standing in the manifest presence of Holiness. I submit that we need a fresh view of the Purity, Power, and Purpose of almighty God. We need it to work on our pride, to change our view of righteousness, & to break our strut. To see the Glorified Lord will change our prideful strut into a pitiful slump. We ‘think’ we’re good, smart, wealthy, affluent, and worthy, but these fall by the wayside in the presence of God. To see those eyes of fire is to know that they see the real you. To gaze onto those bronzed feet is to realize that His judgment comes to you. He is schedule to tread on the ‘winepresses of humanity—so you and I will be no problem. Don’t miss this truth; we will fall down before Him, either NOW or LATER.
4. I heard – Picture yourself like John, on your face before the Creator of it all, the King of all Kings, and the one who ultimately judges all who live. What are you praying for? You are praying for Him to have compassion & show your some grace. John hears the voice, feels the touch, and knows the assurance of a loving Savior. This is the actions of our Lord;
* He calms with His touch – The picture of John is the picture of me-totally at the mercy of this Savior. It is only with His touch that I know all is well.
* He comforts with His words – Jesus lays His ‘right hand’ on John to assure the old disciple that He has nothing to fear.
* He consoles with His presence – Those words of comfort do much to console John. He knows that if Jesus is the beginning & end as well as the holder of the Keys to death and hell, then John is in good hands.
For John had responded to Jesus some 60 years earlier. He had walked, talked, and lived with for 3 years. Time & again John had proven His love & heart for the Lord Christ. Responding to Jesus in this setting was natural & normal because John had responded the same way in the difficulties. Today, do you have a clear view of Jesus?
