THE CHURCH: GOD’S LAMPSTAND
REVELATION 1:12-20
FEBRUARY 24, 2019
I MUST TELL YOU THAT THIS IS A VERY EXCITING DAY FOR ME. I’M GETTING TO PREACH ON THE CHURCH WHICH IS BECOMING VERY SPECIAL VERY SPECIAL TO ME, AND I GET TO SPEAK FROM A BOOK THAT IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES IN SCRIPTURE, REVELATION. YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE COMPLEXITY OF REVELATION AS THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS ARE LESSONS JESUS GAVE TO JOHN THAT DEAL WITH THE CHURCH DURING OUR TIME. WHILE IT DOES NOT STATE THIS, MOST THEOLOGIANS AGREE THAT THE RAPTURE TAKES PLACE AT THE END OF CHAPTER THREE AND BEFORE CHAPTER FOUR BEGINS.
WE ARE NOT DEALING WITH ANYTHING POST-RAPTURE TODAY. CHAPTERS TWO AND THREE DEAL WITH SPECIFIC ISSUES THAT CAN BE FOUND IN CHURCHS TODAY, BUT WE ARE GOING TO FOCUS ON WHAT I FEEL IS THE CENTRAL ISSUE OF THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS.
CHAPTER ONE IDENTIFIES THE CHURCH WITH THE LAMPSTANDS AND THAT BECOMES OUR CENTRAL FOCUS AS A CHURCH. JESUS SAID IT TO JOHN, AND JOHN SAID IT TO US, THAT WE ARE TO BE A LIGHT TO THE WORLD, A LIGHT THAT LEADS PEOPLE TO JESUS. WE ARE TO BE A LIGHT THAT LEADS PEOPLE TO SALVATION, THAT LEADS PEOPLE TO HEALING, A LIGHT THAT CAN HEAL BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS AND TO A LIGHT THAT WILL SAFELY LEAD US HOME INTO HIS ETERNAL PRESENCE.
LIGHT CAN BE VERY IMPORTANT IN OUR DAILY LIVES . A LITTLE 5-YEAR OLD GIRL WAS “HELPING” HER MOTHER FIX DINNER ONE EVENING WHEN THE MOTHER ASKED HER TO GO INTO THE PANTRY AND GET HER A CAN OF TOMATOS. THE LITTLE GIRL WAS AFRAID TO GO IN THERE BECAUSE IT WAS DARK.
THE MOTHER TOLD HER IT WAS OKAY TO GO INTO THE PANTRY AS NOTHING WAS GOING TO HURT HER BECAUSE JESUS WAS IN THERE TO PROTECT HER. THE LITTLE GIRL THEN WENT TO THE PANTRY, OPENED THE DOOR, AND SAID, “JESUS, IF YOU ARE IN THERE, HAND ME A CAN OF TOMATOS, OKAY?”
THE LIGHT HAS OFTEN BEEN USED SYMBOLICALLY IN SCRIPTURE. GRENESIS RECORDS THAT THE FIRST THING TO BE CREATED WERE THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH, AND THE NEXT THING TO BE CREATED WAS LIGHT, AND FROM THAT POINT ON LIGHT HAS ALWAYS BEEN SEPARATED FROM DARKNESS.
GENESIS: 1:3: AND GOD SAID, “LET THERE BE LIGHT,” AND THERE WAS LIGHT. 4 GOD SAW THAT THE LIGHT WAS GOOD, AND HE SEPARATED THE LIGHT FROM THE DARKNESS. 5 GOD CALLED THE LIGHT “DAY,” AND THE DARKNESS HE CALLED “NIGHT.” AND THERE WAS EVENING, AND THERE WAS MORNING—THE FIRST DAY.
LIGHT HAS ALWAYS BEEN USED IN SCRIPTURE AS BEING SYMBOLIC OF GOODNESS. JOHN RECORDS THAT JESUS IS THE LIGHT IN CHAPTER ONE:
JOHN 1:4-9:
IN HIM WAS LIFE, AND THAT LIFE WAS THE LIGHT OF ALL MANKIND. 5 THE LIGHT SHINES IN THE DARKNESS, AND THE DARKNESS HAS NOT OVERCOME IT. 6 THERE WAS A MAN SENT FROM GOD WHOSE NAME WAS JOHN. 7 HE CAME AS A WITNESS TO TESTIFY CONCERNING THAT LIGHT, SO THAT THROUGH HIM ALL MIGHT BELIEVE. 8 HE HIMSELF WAS NOT THE LIGHT; HE CAME ONLY AS A WITNESS TO THE LIGHT. 9 THE TRUE LIGHT THAT GIVES LIGHT TO EVERYONE WAS COMING INTO THE WORLD.
THIS PASSAGE IN REVELATION CHAPTER ONE GIVES US A CHANCE TO SEE A PICTURE OF THE VICTORIOUS GLORIFIED CHRIST, BUT IT ALSO INFORMS US OF OUR ROLE AND MISSION AS A CHURCH AND INDIVIDUALLY AS CHRISTIANS. FIRST A BIT OF HISTORY CONCERNING JOHN AND THE WRITING OF REVELATION.
CONTEXT:
WE KNOW THAT THE BOOK WAS WRITTEN BY A MAN NAMED JOHN. IT IS REASONABLE TO ASSUME THAT THIS IS THE BELOVED ONE, THE APOSTLE JOHN, BUT IN FACT THERE IS NO DIRECTEVIDENCE OF THIS, BUT I FEEL A GREAT DEAL OF INDIRECT BIBLICAL EVIDENCE OF THIS.
WE KNOW THAT ALL OF THE APOSTLES SAVE JOHN WERE EXECUTED. JOHN WAS EXILED TO THE ISLAND OF PATMOS, A SMALL ISLAND THAT WAS USED TO KEEP CRIMINALS. THEY WOULD PERFORM HARD LABOR THERE, AND IT WAS PROBABLY FELT THAT JOHN, ROUGHLY AROUND THE AGE OF 90 WOULD SOON MEET HIS DEATH AT THEIR HANDS, RATHER THAN ROMAN OFFICIALS.
SIR WILLIAM RAMSEY DESCRIBED JOHN’S IMPRISONMENT THIS WAY:
“JOHN’S BANISHMENT WAS PRECEDED BY SCOURGING, MARKED BY PERPETUAL FETTERS, SCANTY CLOTHING, INSUFFICIENT FOOD, SLEEP ON THE BAR GROUND, A DARK PRISON AND WORK UNDER THE LASH OF THE MILITARY OVERSEER.”
CHRISTIANS AT THIS TIME WERE FACING GREAT PERSECUTION BY THE ROMANS. THE MAIN ISSUE WAS THEIR REFUSAL TO WORSHIP THE EMPEROR AS THEIR GOD. IN A LETTER WRITTEN TO THE EMPEROR BY PLINY THE YOUNGER HE DESCRIBED THIS ACTION:
“I INTERROGATED THESE AS TO WHETHER THEY WERE CHRISTIANS; THOSE WHO CONFESSED I INTERROGATED A SECOND AND A THIRD TIME, THREATENING THEM WITH PUNISHMENT; THOSE WHO PERSISTED I ORDERED EXECUTED. FOR I HAD NO DOUBT THAT, WHATEVER THE NATURE OF THEIR CREED, STUBBORNNESS AND INFLEXIBLE OBSTINACY SURELY DESERVE TO BE PUNISHED.”
IN THE SAME LETTER HE WENT ON TO DESCRIBE THOSE WHO CHANGED THEIR STORY DENYING THAT THEY WERE CHRISTIANS. HE SAID:
“THOSE WHO DENIED THAT THEY WERE OR HAD BEEN CHRISTIANS, WHEN THEY INVOKED THE GODS IN WORDS DICTATED BY ME, OFFERED PRAYER WITH INCENSE AND WINE TO YOUR IMAGE… AND MOREOVER CURSED CHRIST – NONE OF WHICH THOSE WHO ARE REALLY CHRISTIANS, IT IS SAID, CAN BE FORCED TO DO.”
IT IS QUITE POSSIBLE THAT JOHN HAD A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SEVEN CHURCHS MENTIONED, AND SENT THE LETTERS AS A MEANS TO OFFER ENCOURAGEMENT AND DIRECTION TO THEM, TO REMAIN FAITHFUL IN THE MIDST OF PERSECUTION.
BIBLICAL CONTEXT:
JOHN IS GIVEN A VISION OF WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN, BY GOD THROUGH CHRIST. HE WRITES A SERIES OF SEVEN LETTERS, TO THE “ANGELS” OF THE SEVEN CHURCHS MENTIONED. HE THEN WRITES IN GREAT DETAIL, THE VISION THAT HE HAS CONCERNING THE POST-RAPTURE DAYS ON THE EARTH, THE TRIBULATION, RISE OF THE ANTI-CHRIST, AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NEW HEVEN AND EARTH.
I FIND IT INTERESTING THAT THE FIRST THING THAT HE NOTICED WHEN HE TURNED AROUND WERE THE LAMPSTANDS. I’VE ALWAYS FELT THAT THESE LAMPSTANDS WERE MANORAHS, BUT IN FACT THEY ARE NOT.
THESE ARE LAMPSTANDS, AND ALTHOUGH SHAPED LIKE A MANORAH, HAVE BOWLS ON TOP THAT CONTAIN LAMP OIL. THEY ARE INSTRUMENTS OF LIGHT. HE SEES SOMEONE AMONGST THE LAMPSTANDS THAT HE SAYS “LOOKS LIKE A “SON OF MAN.” THE NAME COMES FROM THE BOOK OF DANIEL 7:13:
DANIEL 7:13: “IN MY VISION AT NIGHT I LOOKED, AND THERE BEFORE ME WAS ONE LIKE A SON OF MAN, O COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.
IT WAS JESUS PERFERRED TITLE WHILE HE WAS ALIVE, AND IT IS CHRIST’S WAY OF IDENTIFYING HIMSELF AS THE FULFILLMENT OF THIS PROPHECY. IT INDICATES CHRIST’S PRESENCE IN HIS CHURCH.
WE SHOULD NOT BE SURPRISED THAT JOHN DID NOT RECOGNIZE HIM AT FIRST. JOHN HAD ONLY SEEN A GLIMPSE OF JESUS GLORY ONE TIME BEFORE THIS, ON THE MOUNT OF TRANSFIGURATION.
MATTHEW 17:2: 2 THERE HE WAS TRANSFIGURED BEFORE THEM. HIS FACE SHONE LIKE THE SUN, AND HIS CLOTHES BECAME AS WHITE AS THE LIGHT
THIS WAS THE TOTAL DESCRIPTION OF JESUS GIVEN TO US. HERE IN REVELATION IT IS MUCH MORE DETAILED. NO WONDER JOHN DIDN’T RECOGNIZE HIM AT FIRST. WE WILL TALK MORE ABOUT THIS LATER.
JESUS DESCRIBES THE MEANING OF THE STARS AND LAMPSTANDS IN V. 20.
REVELATION 1:20: THE MYSTERY OF THE SEVEN STARS THAT YOU SAW IN MY RIGHT HAND AND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN LAMPSTANDS IS THIS: THE SEVEN STARS ARE THE ANGELS OF THE SEVEN CHURCHES, AND THE SEVEN LAMPSTANDS ARE THE SEVEN CHURCHES.
THE GREEK WORD FOR “MYSTERY” HERE IS “MYSTERION.” AND MEANS A TRUTH GIVEN AND REVEALED ONLY TO A SELECT VIEW THAT WAS UNKNOWN UNTIL IT WAS REVEALED. WHEN DISCLOSED, IT MAY BE AS CLEAR, AND AS CAPABLE OF COMPREHENSION, AS ANY OTHER TRUTH.
THE SEVEN STARS ARE THE “ANGELS” OF THE SEVEN CHURCHES. SOME HAVE FELT THESE COULD BE “GUARDIAN ANGELS” OR “PROTECTIVE BEINGS”. THE GENERAL CONCENSUS AMONG THEOLOGIANS IS SOMETHING THOUGH THAT I REALLY LIKE.
THE WORD ANGEL MEANS “MESSENGER” AND IS USUALLY APPLIED TO HEAVENLY BEINGS. IT CAN HOWEVER MEAN ANYONE WHO IS EMPLOYED TO COMMUNICATE THE WILL OF AND ACT FOR ANOTHER.
YOU WILL NOTE IN CHAPTERS TWO AND THREE THAT THE “ANGELS” ARE RECEIVING THE MESSAGE NOT DELIVERING IT. THEREFORE TO THINK OF THE “ANGEL” AS BEING A HEAVENLY MESSENGER DOESN’T FIT.
THE ANSWER AS TO WHO THE “ANGELS” ARE IS THOSE WHO PRESIDE OVER THE CHURCH. IT IS THE PASTOR AND CHURCH LEADERS. WE ARE THE ONES DELEGATED BY THE CHURCH TO LEAD IT, AND MAKE NECESSARY CHANGES. CHURCH LEADERS WILL BE HELD TO A GREATER RESPONSIBILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE WAY WE LEAD THE CHURCH. PERSONALLY I THINK IT IS GREAT THAT YOU HAVE AN ANGEL AS YOUR PASTOR DON’T YOU!!!
NOW WE COME TO THE LAMSPTANDS. LET’S KEEP IN MIND THAT WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE LIGHT, BUT THE STANDS THAT HOLD THE LIGHT. THESE LAMPSTANDS ARE MADE OF PURE GOLD WHICH WAS NOT ONLY VALUABLE, BUT A SYMBOL OF PURITY. THESE LAMPSTANDS WERE CAREFULLY MADE AND ALL IN ONE PIECE.
JOHN IS NOT TALKING ABOUT ONE LAMPSTAND WITH THE SEVEN BOWLS ON TOP. HE IS SPEAKING OF SEVEN INDIVIDUAL LAMPSTANDS, EACH WITH SEVEN BOWLS ON TOP. EACH LAMPSTAND HAS A UNITY UNTO ITSELF, AND A UNITY WHERE THEY ARE ALL COMBINED WITH JESUS IN THE CENTER. HERE IN CAMPBELLTON FIRST BAPTIST HAS UNITY AMONGST OURSELVES, BUT IT ALSO SHARES SOME ASPECTS OF UNITY WITH THE OTHER CHURCHES THROUGH THE MINISTERIAL.
JESUS SAID IN JOHN 8:12:
JOHN 8:12: WHEN JESUS SPOKE AGAIN TO THE PEOPLE, HE SAID, “I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. WHOEVER FOLLOWS ME WILL NEVER WALK IN DARKNESS, BUT WILL HAVE THE LIGHT OF LIFE.”
IT IS OUR MISSION THEN AS A CHURCH TO BE SUPPORTIVE OF THE LIGHT THAT IS CHRIST. WE ARE TO REFLECT HIS LIGHT TO OTHERS AND HOLD HIS LIGHT BRIGHT SO OTHERS CAN SEE THEIR WAY INTO THE KINGDOM.
WHAT THEN IS GOD’S MESSAGE TO HIS LAMPSTANDS OR TO HIS CHURCH? WHAT IS HIS MESSAGE FOR FIRST BAPTIST?
FIRST: CHRIST INDWELLS HIS CHURCH (REV. 1:12-13).
CHRIST WILL INDWELL ANY CHURCH THAT PROCLAIMS THE GOSPEL THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST. HE WILL INDWELL CHURCHES WHO PROCLAIM OUR GUILT AS SINNERS AND OUR NEED FOR A SAVIOUR. REMEMBER JESUS WORDS AT THE END OF THE GREAT COMMISSION.
MATTHEW 28:20: AND TEACHING THEM TO OBEY EVERYTHING I HAVE COMMANDED YOU. AND SURELY I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, TO THE VERY END OF THE AGE.
SECOND: CHRIST PRAYS FOR HIS CHURCH (REV. 1:13B).
THE FIRST THING JOHN SAW ABOUT JESUS WAS HOW HE WAS DRESSED. HE HAD A LONG ROBE AND A GOLD SASH. A ROBE WAS WORN BY KINGS AND PROPHETS, BUT MOST COMMONLY THE GREEK WORD WAS USED TO DESCRIBE THE ROBE WORN BY THE HIGH PRIEST. THUS JESUS IS BEING PRESENTED HERE IN HIS ROLE AS GREAT HIGH PRIEST OF HIS PEOPLE. THE PRIMARY TASK OF THE HIGH PRIEST WAS TO INTERCEDE FOR THE PEOPLE. THIS IS WHAT JESUS HAS BEEN DOING FOR US SINCE HIS ASCENSION.
ROMANS 8:34: WHO THEN IS THE ONE WHO CONDEMNS? NO ONE. CHRIST JESUS WHO DIED—MORE THAN THAT, WHO WAS RAISED TO LIFE—IS AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD AND IS ALSO INTERCEDING FOR US.
THIRD CHRIST EXERCISES WISDOM OVER HIS CHURCH (REV. 1:14)
JOHN DESCRIBES THE HAIR ON HIS HEAD WERE WHITE, LIKE WHITE WOOL, LIKE SNOW. I WOULDN’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT. COMMENTATOR GRANT OSBORNE WRITES: “IN ANCIENT CULTURE WHITE HAIR INDICATED BOTH DIGNITY AND ACCUMULATED WISDOM OY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE. IN HIS DESCRIPTION JOHN IS PRESENTING CHRIST AS ONE WHO EXERCISES ETERNAL WISDOM OVER THE CHURCH.
FOURTH: CHRIST SEES HIS CHURCH (REV. 1:14)
JESUS ONCE SAID TO HIS DISCIPLES
HEBREWS 4:13: NOTHING IN ALL CREATION IS HIDDEN FROM GOD’S SIGHT. EVERYTHING IS UNCOVERED AND LAID BARE BEFORE THE EYES OF HIM TO WHOM WE MUST GIVE ACCOUNT.
IF WE ACCEPT THE FACT THAT CHRIST SEES WHAT WE DO AS INDIVIDUALS, WHY IS IT HARD TO BELIEVE THAT HE SEES WHAT WE DO AS A CHURCH. HE SEES WHAT WE DO FOR OUR COMMUNITY. HE SEES HOW FAITHFUL WE ARE TO HIS WORD.
FIFTH: HE CHASTENS HIS CHURCH: (REV. 1:15).
JOHN SPEAKS OF JESUS FEET AS BEING REFINED IN A FURNACE. JOHN MacARTHUR SUGGESTS THAT IT PICTURES JESUS WALKING AMONGST THE CHURCHES READY TO PUNISH CHURCHES FOR SINFUL ACTIONS TO RIGHT THEIR COURSE AND PUT THEM IN A GOOD PLACE WITH THE LORD.
SIXTH: CHRIST SPEAKS AUTHORITATIVELY TO HIS CHURCH (REV. 1:15)
JOHN SAID THAT JESUS VOICE WAS LIKE THE ROAR OF MANY WATERS. IT CAN REMIND YOU OF GOD SPEAKING IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.
EZEKIEL 43:2: AND I SAW THE GLORY OF THE GOD OF ISRAEL COMING FROM THE EAST. HIS VOICE WAS LIKE THE ROAR OF RUSHING WATERS, AND THE LAND WAS RADIANT WITH HIS GLORY
THIS SPEAKS OF THE AUTHORITY OF CHRIST. CHRIST DOES HAVE AUTHORITY OVER THE CHURCH AND WE MUST BOW TO IT. LESLIE AND I WENT TO ONTARIO ONCE AND ON OUR WAY BACK SAW NIAGARA FALLS. THE NOISE FROM THE FALLS WAS DEAFENING. WE SAW IT’S POWER AND MIGHT AS PART OF THE NOISE FROM THE FALLS. IT HAD FINAL AUTHORITY. THE MAID OF THE MIST WOULD GO SO FAR, AND NO FURTHER, OR THOSE ON BOARD WOULD FACE GRAVE CONSEQUENCES.
SEVENTH: CHRIST PROTECTS HIS CHURCH (REV. 1:16)
JOHN MacARTHUR SAYS THAT THE SHARP TWO-EDGED SWORD IN THIS CASE SPEAKS OF THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCH. HERE IT SPEAKS OF ENEMIES PRIMARILY FROM INSIDE THE CHURCH.
I EQUATE THIS WITH LIBERAL THEOLOGY, THOSE WHO SOW DISCORD AND DISUNITY IN THE CHURCH, THOSE WHO USE THEIR TONGUES TO TEAR DOWN INDIVIDUALS INSTEAD OF BUILDING THEM UP.
GOD’S WORD IS POTENT AND ALL THE FORCES OF DARKNESS, INCLUDING DEATH WILL BE UNABLE TO PREVENT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST FROM BUILDING HIS CHURCH.
EIGHTH: CHRIST IS GLORIFIED IN HIS CHURCH (REV. 1:16)
JOHN SAYS THAT HIS FACE WAS SHINING IN FULL STRENGTH. CHRIST WANTED JOHN TO KNOW THAT HE (JESUS) WOULD BE GLORIFIED IN AND THROUGH HIS CHURCH. THE CHURCH SUCCEEDS WHEN CHRIST IS GLORIFIED IN ALL THAT WE DO.
CONCLUSION:
ALL OF THESE POINTS ARE POINTS THAT WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO CALL UPON AND SEE IN OUR CHURCH HERE. WHEN YOU CONSIDER IT I THINK WE WOULD AGREE THAT IT IS A DAUNTING TASK TO BE THE LAMPSTAND THAT GOD WANTS US TO BE. I THINK WE WOULD ALSO AGREE THAT THIS IS SOMETHING WE NEED CHRIST TO DO IN OUR LIVES.
HE WALKED WITH THE CHURCHES THEN, DO YOU NOT THINK THAT HE WILL WALK WITH US NOW, AND STRENGTHEN US, COMFORT US AND EQUIP US TO DO OUR MINISTRY.
JOHN WAS FRIGHTENED BY WHAT HE SAW. I WONDER SOMETIMES IF WE ARE FRIGHTENED BY THE WORLD WE SEE. I TAKE COMFORT IN HOW JESUS HELPED JOHN.
REVELATION 1:17-18:
WHEN I SAW HIM, I FELL AT HIS FEET AS THOUGH DEAD. THEN HE PLACED HIS RIGHT HAND ON ME AND SAID: “DO NOT BE AFRAID. I AM THE FIRST AND THE LAST. 18 I AM THE LIVING ONE; I WAS DEAD, AND NOW LOOK, I AM ALIVE FOR EVER AND EVER! AND I HOLD THE KEYS OF DEATH AND HADES
JESUS REMINDS US OF FOUR REASONS WHY WE NEED NOT FEAR AS A CHURCH.
FIRST: HE REMINDS US THAT HE ALMIGHTY. HE SAID “I AM THE FIRST AND THE LAST.” JESUS IS THE ETERNAL ALMIGHTY GOD. HE IS THE BEGINNING AND ENDING OF ALL THINGS. EVERYTHING IS UNDER HIS CONTROL AND HE REIGNS SUPREME. IF HE IS WALKING WITH US WHAT DO WE HAVE TO FEAR.
SECOND: JESUS IS ALIVE
JESUS SAID WONDERFUL WORDS TO MARY AND MARTHA IN JOHN 11:25-26
JOHN11:25-26:
JESUS SAID TO HER, “I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE. THE ONE WHO BELIEVES IN ME WILL LIVE, EVEN THOUGH THEY DIE; 26 AND WHOEVER LIVES BY BELIEVING IN ME WILL NEVER DIE. DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?”
FAITH IN JESUS SECURES FOR US ETERNAL HOPE. I DO NOT WORRY ABOUT TOMORROW, FOR I HAVE JESUS IN MY HEART TODAY. IF JESUS CAN OVERCOME DEATH SO CAN WE AND CHURCHES OVERCOME DARK TIMES IN OUR LIVES.
THIRD: JESUS HAS AUTHORITY.
HE HOLDS THE KEYS OF DEATH AND HADES. DEATH CANNOT REIGN OVER US..
HEBREWS 2:14-15:
SINCE THE CHILDREN HAVE FLESH AND BLOOD, HE TOO SHARED IN THEIR HUMANITY SO THAT BY HIS DEATH HE MIGHT BREAK THE POWER OF HIM WHO HOLDS THE POWER OF DEATH—THAT IS, THE DEVIL—15 AND FREE THOSE WHO ALL THEIR LIVES WERE HELD IN SLAVERY BY THEIR FEAR OF DEATH.
FOURTH: JESUS GIVES ASSURANCE.
JESUS COMFORTS THE CHURCHES MENTIONED BY REMINDING THEM OF THE BLESSINGS THAT FLOW TO THOSE WHO KEEP THE HOPE AND THE WILL TO CARRY ON FAITHFULLY FOR HIM.
HERE AT FIRST BAPTIST WE HAVE SOME THINGS TO WORK ON. BUT WE ARE ALSO DOING SOME THINGS RIGHT. IF WE REMAIN FAITHFUL THE LORD WILL CORRECT THE ERR OF OUR WAYS AND OUR LAMPSTAND WILL BURN BRIGHTLY IN THE MIDST OF A DARK WORLD.
MATTHEW 5:14-16:
“YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. A TOWN BUILT ON A HILL CANNOT BE HIDDEN. 15 NEITHER DO PEOPLE LIGHT A LAMP AND PUT IT UNDER A BOWL. INSTEAD THEY PUT IT ON ITS STAND, AND IT GIVES LIGHT TO EVERYONE IN THE HOUSE. 16 IN THE SAME WAY, LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE BEFORE OTHERS, THAT THEY MAY SEE YOUR GOOD DEEDS AND GLORIFY YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN.
