*Neighbor’s ring doorbell. Going off all the time. Means somebody just got their picture taken.
* Caught on camera - most folks think it’s just a few times a day.
* Depending on where you live/work/shop, it could be about 70x/day.
* That number is going up with every Ring doorbell cam that folks install.
* There’s over 1 billion cameras filming worldwide. Right now, there are about 1 camera for every 5 people in the US.
* Nearly everyone is a little queasy about the apparent lack of privacy to simply move about unobserved.
* So we could be even more unsettled when we realize that there’s some “spiritual” observation going on all the time.
* Revelation ch. 1 describes the nature of Jesus’ oversight of His church.
* Before addressing the problems that the seven churches were dealing with, John takes time to answer potential objections.
*Things like
* Nobody is being singled out.
* Jesus isn’t “reading a report.”
* We don’t have to do this on our own and in our own power.
All In This Together
Revelation 1:9–11 NLT
9 I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering and in God’s Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us. I was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and for my testimony about Jesus. 10 It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast. 11 It said, “Write in a book everything you see, and send it to the seven churches in the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
* John doesn’t rely on apostolic authority to gain credibility with the churches. Instead, he speaks of brotherhood and partnership based on a common experience of suffering, being together in the Kingdom and for their testimony.
* While there’s uncertainty over just how wide-spread any persecution may have been, there was some.
* The churches needed to know that they weren’t alone. As individuals or as communities.
* Seven churches (map)
* Point: We’re all in this together.
Ephesians 4:3–6 NLT
3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.
* That One Lord is in His Church
The Risen Lord In His Church
Revelation 1:12–16 NLT
12 When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. 13 And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. 14 His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire. 15 His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. 16 He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance.
* Brief descriptions. What’s the “big picture?” A stunning, glorious figure.
* Son of Man - designation of God’s chosen One.
(Dan. 7.13 “13 As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence.” )
* Long robe/gold sash (leadership) - recalls priestly clothing.
(See Exo. 28.4 “4 These are the garments they are to make: a chestpiece, an ephod, a robe, a patterned tunic, a turban, and a sash. They are to make these sacred garments for your brother, Aaron, and his sons to wear when they serve me as priests.” )
* Jesus is both the priestly mediator for us with God through His role as Son of Man who is both human and divine.
Hebrews 2:17 NLT
17 Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people.
* This is intended to describe someone with divine power. Who is strong, with a powerful Word, who sees everything.
* The point: Jesus, the Risen Lord and King - is among his churches as One who knows and has experienced everything we do.
* Holding the churches literally in His hand.
* He is able to overcome any obstacle or problem we can face.
* The issues that the seven churches face can be overcome. And, in fact, MUST be overcome in order to remain loyal to the King.
The Risen Lord is Eternal
Revelation 1:17–20 NLT
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave. 19 “Write down what you have seen—both the things that are now happening and the things that will happen. 20 This is the meaning of the mystery of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and the seven gold lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
* The good news is that, while Jesus is intimately aware of what’s going on in our lives, we don’t have to fear that knowledge.
* The curtain has been pulled back. We see the titanic struggle in creation of good and evil.
* The churches are living in the middle of that battlefield.
* Their king is there with them.
* He holds and guides the angels (leaders, proclaimers?).
* He walks among His churches.
