A Last Look at Jesus for 2012

So friends, as has been reminded already a number of times this morning, it's the second

last day of the year.

Tomorrow, TV stations and newspapers will reflect upon the year that has been in the

news and what there is to look forward to in the year ahead.

Traditionally, it's a time to reminisce and it's a time to plan and also a time to get

over Christmas lunches.

For me, 2012 has been a hard year.

How has 2012 been for you?

And so there are things about Christ that I need very much at the end of 2012.

As I reminisce on the year that's been and as I think about the year ahead, I need the

perseverance of Christ in the midst of affliction.

I need the energy and strength of Christ in the face of depleting resources.

I need the wisdom of Christ in the face of complexities of life and ministry.

I need the stability of Christ in the midst of rapid church and personal changes that are

happening around me.

I need the assurance of his sovereign authority in the culture, which is sliding further and

further away from his truth.

And so, two days before the end of the year, I want us to take a year-end look at Jesus.

The last look of Jesus, if you like, together for 2012.

And we're going to do that in Revelation chapter 1.

Revelation 1 · chapter mention

I want to, if you like, linger for a while with our gaze simply on Jesus.

As we think about the year that has been and the year that is to come, we need to fix our

gaze on Christ.

Why do that?

Because of all the uncertainty that surrounds me for the year ahead, I am certain of one

thing.

God's specific plan for me and his specific plan for you is that you be transformed more

and more into the image of the Lord Jesus.

That was the message of Christmas after all, that Jesus came to save and to change.

And true gospel change of a person's character comes from steadily gazing at the glory of Christ.

That is what 2 Corinthians 3.18 says.

So that is that God's desire for you in 2013, as it was for 2012, is that you be transformed

more and more and more into the image of the Lord Jesus.

And the way he does that is by getting us to gaze upon the glory of the Lord Jesus again

and again and again.

That is how you get transformed.

So let's look at Jesus together for one last time in 2012.

According to Revelation chapter 1, you need your Bibles open here, Revelation chapter 1.

Revelation 1 · chapter mention Revelation 1 · chapter mention

Go right to the end, Revelation, and then go back to the beginning of Revelation.

The second half of Revelation chapter 1 verse 9, John was exiled on the island of Patmos

Revelation 1:9

because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

And so what John's writing first and foremost here to Christians who lived and died almost

2,000 years ago.

Christians who lived in the Roman Empire and they were about to face the biggest nightmare

that you can imagine.

John hints at it right at the beginning when he talks about what must soon take place.

And again, at the end of verse 3 when he says, because the time is near.

You see, these Christians were about to face the full force of the Roman Empire.

And according to the Roman writer Suetonius, the Roman Emperor Domitian, who was the kingpin

in the Roman Empire when John wrote this, he demanded that all the people in the Roman Empire

referred to him as the Lord God.

That was his request.

And so John is writing to a bunch of Christians who are about to be fed to the lions.

Christians who are about to be exiled, thrown out of their jobs, destitute refugees because

they refuse to call a Roman Empire Lord God.

So this message is first and foremost to them.

Those who are feeling the pressure to stop bearing witness to Jesus, to stop calling him Lord God

and call a bloke who sits on a throne in Rome Lord God.

To stop talking about Jesus as if he is important.

And notice who this message is from that comes to John.

Verse, it is from him who was and who is to come.

Verse 5, it's from Jesus Christ, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth,

from him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood.

Verse 6, the one to whom power and glory belong forever.

Verse 8, the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty, the ruler, in other words,

from eternity to eternity.

You see, Domitian might be the emperor of the Roman Empire, but he is a library monitor compared to Jesus.

You see, this word ultimately is a word of comfort and security for hard-pressed people of God.

And one of those whom is hard-pressed and feeling insecure is the apostle John himself who writes these words.

You'll notice that if you read verses 1 and 2 and link them to verse 9,

you'll see that he is hard-pressed.

Because what John's been doing is he's been bearing witness to Jesus.

And already it has got him into a heap of trouble.

And he says there's more trouble coming soon.

Friends, it is just around the corner.

Notice John knows exactly what he's going to be like.

Because he's already facing it himself.

John's writing from exile.

You don't see it at first.

Because there's just a casual mention in verse 9 that he's writing from the island of Patmos.

You see, Patmos is a prison island, six kilometers long.

These days, it's got over 3,000 inhabitants.

And it's full of five-star resorts and luxury villas.

But not in John's day.

In John's day, he wasn't there for a holiday.

He was there as an old man sentenced to work in the quarries.

Because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

And so what John says in writing this letter is that he is their partner to these seven churches out there,

to the churches of Asia.

I am your partner in suffering.

Jesus was so real and so precious to John that he would rather be exiled in a barren island,

cutting stones with a hammer,

than to not talk about Jesus.

But now on the island, God gives John another remarkable glance.

One remarkable chance here to gaze again on the glorious Lord Jesus.

He gives him a vision.

But he does this not just for John,

but for these churches in Asia and ultimately for us.

For these churches who are suffering,

for those who are tired and weary and running out of steam

and they are confused and disheartened and disenfranchised.

They are insecure.

So in verse 10, John says that he was in the spirit on the Lord's day.

So much so that suddenly I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.

And the voice says this in verse 11,

Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches.

You see, this means that the vision John is about to get is not just meant for John,

it's meant for these churches, but it's also meant for us.

And the point of writing it down is to transmit to us the same kind of experience

of seeing the glorious of Jesus that John himself had on that island.

Jesus does not intend to come to each of the seven churches

in the same way that he came to John on the island of Patmos.

He appears to John and says,

John, write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches.

John gets the vision, we get the book.

He wants us to come to him through his word.

He wants us to seek him in his words.

He wants us to know him by his word.

He wants us to gaze upon him steadily through his word.

The primary way of gazing on Christ today on his glory is through his word.

And so we must be Bible-saturated people

in order to be transformed into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So let's look at what John saw.

Verse 12.

John turns to see whose voice was like that of a trumpet in verse 10.

And what he saw was seven golden lampstands and Christ in the midst of them.

Notice verse 20 for an interpretation of the lampstands.

It says,

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.

You see, the vision of Jesus that John gets

is him amongst the churches.

Christ Jesus standing amongst his churches.

He is not merely over his church.

He is not distant from his church.

He is in the middle of his church.

And what John saw, according to verse 13,

was one like a son of man.

Son of man was Jesus' favorite title for himself

during his ministry here.

You might think it refers merely to his humanity

and so it is a title of humility

and it's certainly probably that.

But in this instance, it is more than that.

Mainly because of its use in Daniel chapter 7,

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

which Betty just read out for us.

In Daniel, the term son of man or one like a son of man

refers to a great ruler over all other rulers.

It says this in verse 13 of Daniel 7.

In my vision at night, I looked and there before me

was one like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven.

He approached the ancient of days and was led into his presence.

He was given authority, glory and sovereign power.

All peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away

and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

That's the son of man who John saw.

And so when John says that he saw a son of man standing in the middle of the lampstand,

he means that he saw someone with everlasting dominion

and authority and glory and kingly power.

Someone with authority over all the nations and over all peoples

who would rule the world forever and ever

because his kingdom will never be destroyed.

Unlike Domitian.

The one who stands among the churches

is the one who received from the ancient of days

dominion and glory and kingdom rule and power and authority in heaven.

and on earth over all time and eternity.

Then we get a specific description of what he saw.

The next thing John saw in verse 13

was that this son of man was dressed in a robe

reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.

The robe here is similar to the robe in the Old Testament

where it almost always refers to the robe of the high priest.

And the gold sash around his chest shows two things.

The fact that it is high.

It is not a belt around his waist.

It is a belt around his chest.

And sometimes we do see that, don't we?

With pants that are up just a little too high.

But in this case, it reflects that his priesthood is so very, very great.

So very, very great.

Jesus, not only the son of man from Daniel 7

who receives everlasting dominion over all nations,

he is also the final high priest

who brings all the work of the priests in the temple to an end.

There is no more need for animal sacrifices.

Verse 5 says that this Christ who has dominion from everlasting to everlasting

is the one who has freed us from our sins by his blood.

He is a merciful, gracious high priest.

The priest is so great that he gave his own blood once and for

to put away all sins by the sacrifice of himself.

And this is the one who stands amongst his churches.

The one who stands amongst us today

as one with authority and everlasting dominion

and one with final decisive forgiveness for our sins.

The merciful, gracious Lord Jesus.

Then John sees in verse 14

that his head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow.

This is remarkable because in the same chapter in Daniel

where John gets this picture of the one like the son of man,

in verse 9, God the Father is described like this.

As I looked, thrones were set in place

and the Ancient of Days took his seat,

his clothing were as white as snow

and the hair of his head was white like wool.

In other words, John is describing the son of man

in terms used by God himself.

You put this picture together with the next thing that John saw

in the end of verse 14.

Oh, sorry.

Yeah, the end of verse 14.

It says there that his eyes were like blazing fire.

The eyes of this son of man are not the clouded eye of fading glory.

These eyes are sharp with clarity.

They are purified eyes.

They miss nothing that happens in his universe

and they are exploding with energy.

We all know what it is to have the drooping eye of sleep.

And some of you are yawning right now.

That is about to go.

You know what it's like.

The eyes are closing.

We also know the eye of resentment

and the grumpiness and the half-shut scowl

and the bad mood.

We know the eye, however, that is alive with wonder

and with excitement and with hope and expectancy and energy

like a child on Christmas Day

with a huge present right in front of them.

And Jesus' eyes were like a flaming fire.

What we see then is hair as white as snow

and eyes like fire.

When you gaze upon the Jesus at the end of 2012,

remember that he is not tired.

He is not burnt out.

He is not fatigued.

Instead, his eyes are aflame with a flashing fire

of inexhaustible energy and hope for his church.

He sees everything that has been

and everything that will be.

Nothing will take him by surprise.

And when Jesus thinks about his plans for you in 2013,

when he thinks of his plans for St. Paul's

and for his country and for his universe,

he's not hesitant.

He's not wearied.

He's not bored.

His eyes are aflame with fire

with utter exhilaration and passion

and relish for the work that he intends to do

as another year's pieces are put in place

for the consummation of history

where everything will bow down at his feet

and say, you are king.

But there's more.

There's the bronze feet of verse 15.

A similar picture of glowing metal

is found in Ezekiel and Daniel

in both the brightness of shining metal

or like a fire is connected with the glory of God.

They are the feet of a glorious

and almighty conqueror over everything.

Again in verse 15,

is the voice like the sound of many waters.

Again it describes the majesty of God

as you might see in Ezekiel.

It is a picture of raw power.

The thunder of his voice is authority.

And then there is the right hand with the seven stars

and the sharp sword coming out of his mouth

and his face shining like the sun in full strength.

What do you do when you're confronted

with such power and authority

and splendor and glory?

Verse 17,

When I saw him,

I fell at his feet as though dead.

As at the end of times when Jesus comes back

and people will say,

let the mountains fall on me

rather than be confronted with this Jesus.

Share awe.

He is not to be trifled with.

He is not to be treated with disdain.

Who can stand in the presence of such a Christ?

And to John's immense relief,

this judge, king, majestic, eternal ruler,

reassuringly in verse 17,

placed his right hand on John

and spoke words of comfort.

Do not be afraid.

I am the first and the last.

I am the living one.

I was dead and behold,

I am alive forever and ever.

These are astounding words of comfort

for a prisoner of the Lord Jesus.

Jesus' deity are implied

in the threefold I am statements

and in the title living one

and by his sovereignty over history

as the first and the last.

So this morning I want you to gaze

on this.

The great I am,

the living one,

the first and the last,

is amongst his church St. Paul's

as the son of man,

the one with power over Chatswood

and with everlasting dominion and glory.

He is the great high priest

that has put away the sins of his people

once and for all.

He is the great and wise ancient of days,

yet with eyes that are aflame

with the fire of youth and energy

and hope and exhilaration

for his unstoppable plans for you

and for his church St. Paul's

and for his world.

Gaze upon Jesus in the last days of 2012

and let his royal power

and his priestly forgiveness

and his fiery hope

fill you with confidence afresh

that serving him in 2012

was not a vanity.

And it is not a vanity

to throw your lot in with him

in 2013.

How encouraging

it must have been for John

in his weakness and need

on the island of Patmos

feeling

what was just around the corner

for his brothers and sisters

in the seven churches.

What an encouragement

that the revelation of Jesus

was as the powerful son of man

in the midst of his church

in their weakness and need.

So let me close this year

and this last word,

this last look at Jesus

with three points of application.

One for me,

one for a small group of you,

and one for all of us.

As I said earlier,

as I began,

this has been a tough year.

As I recently read,

there are a few things

that will reveal to you

the full range of your sin,

immaturity,

weakness,

and failure

like gospel ministry.

There are a few things

that will expose

your weakness to others

as consistently

as ministry does.

There are a few endeavors

that will put you

under more public expectancy

and scrutiny

like ministry does.

There are a few things

that are as personally humbling

as ministry is.

There are a few endeavors

that have the power

to produce in you

such deep feelings

of inadequacy

as ministry does.

And I read those words

and I wept.

I have become

more acutely aware

of it this year.

Our church has gone

through a number

of painful transitions

and I feel

every one of them.

This time,

we had 30 people more

gathering with us

each Sunday

this time last year.

There have been

a number of difficult

and ongoing

and very painful

pastoral situations

where I don't have

the answer for it.

I don't know

what to do.

We are $120,000

behind on our offertory.

The school was rejected

at Roseville East

by a handful of people.

The gospel appears

to be making slow progress

in our culture.

The staff are tired.

I see fragility

everywhere I look.

And at points,

my resources

have been very low

and I feel weak.

I am weak.

So what a wonderful picture

this is for me

in my weakness

and need.

The King of Kings,

the Lord of Lords,

stands in the midst

of his church

and he has done

remarkable things

in 2012

in spite of my weakness.

It is his church.

He is Lord over it.

He is not distant from it.

The only answer for me

is to fix my gaze on him,

to turn,

to look

and to see

the Lord Jesus

again and again.

It is essential

for longevity

and effectiveness

of ministry

that I spend

more and more time

communing

with the Lord

of St. Paul's Chatswood.

Secondly,

some of you

are feeling insecure

and fragile

because of the

cultural changes

that we have made

over the past number

of years here

at St. Paul's.

And for those of you

who are feeling fragile,

I am acutely aware

that some of you

are about to feel

even more fragile

because a dearly loved brother

is near death.

For many decades,

John Donne has been

a source of wisdom

and guidance.

He has been a rock

in hard times.

He has thought for you.

He has prayed for you.

He has encouraged you.

He has rebuked you.

He has taught you.

For some,

he has grown

to become the primary leader

in the church,

a source of security

and stability.

And although he hasn't

been here all year,

he has been

only a few streets away

and at the end

of the phone

and potentially

within hours,

certainly within days,

he won't be here at all.

And you'll look around

for the first time

in decades

and John won't be

sitting in a pew.

And that will

unsettle you.

That will be tough.

You will feel insecure.

And for some,

St Paul's will feel

even more so

different

than what it has been

without John.

And in those moments,

I call to you

as your pastor

to turn around

and see Jesus.

To fix your gaze

on Jesus

in your insecurity,

the Jesus

that John has been

pointing you to

for decades.

The triumphant,

eternal Lord Jesus

stands in the midst

of his church,

St Paul's,

and he puts his hand

on your shoulder

in your weakness

and your fragility

and he says,

I'm still king.

I am the living one.

Last of all,

for all of us,

what are your

new year resolutions?

And do they have

anything to do

with serving

the almighty

King of kings,

Lord of lords,

who is

and was

and always

will be?

And do they have

anything to do

with being transformed

more and more

into his likeness

in 2013?

What is it

that you want

Jesus to change

in you

in 2013?

What area

do you need

to let go of

that he might be

not just king

of St Paul's

but king

of your heart?

Let's pray.

Our gracious

Saviour

and eternal

Lord,

help us,

your church.

We are slow

to learn,

so prone

to forget,

so weak

to climb.

We are in the

foothills

when we ought

to be in the heights.

So make it

our chiefest joy

to know you,

to treasure you

and to represent you.

May we meditate

on you,

gaze on you,

sit like Mary

at your feet,

lean like John

on your chest,

appeal like Peter

to your love,

count like Paul

all things rubbish

that we might

know you

more and more.

So give us

increase

and progress

in grace

in 2013

that there may

be more decision

in our character,

more vigour

in our purposes,

more fervour

in our devotion,

more constancy

in our zeal,

rule in our hearts

and over your

church St Paul's,

Lord Jesus,

King of kings

and Lord of lords,

the beginning

and the end,

the living one

who was

and is

and yet is

to come.

Come Lord Jesus.

Amen.