God's Plan Unveiled to God's People, Part 2

Chapter 1 verse 3, we're picking up where we left off last week.

We'll see how far we can get last week.

We're supposed to get through verse 8.

We got through verse 2.

So we'll see how it goes this week.

But you remember we're in this beginning part of Revelation where we're seeing that it is

God's plan being unveiled to God's people in order that it would strengthen our hearts

and help us to endure the trials and circumstances of life.

And we talked about this unveiling process, how when the plan is unveiled, we're supposed

to be encouraged and happy and joyful.

But we're beginning to see, as we did last week, that this unveiling isn't necessarily

the way that we would choose it because God chose to reveal it through pictures and symbols

and stuff and not just a straightforward, here's how it's going to happen and when the

dates are and how it's going to take place.

But we can still rejoice because he gave us this awesome picture book to behold his wonderful

story of redemptive history.

And so we're going to pick up in verse 3 where this is continuing.

All right, so notice what it says, verse 3,

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy and blessed are those who

hear and who keep what is written in it for the time is near.

And as we've said this a couple times now, Revelation is literally the only book in the

Bible that promises blessing for the one who reads it and hears it and does what it says.

And it's really interesting that we have a blessing here, it's the first of seven blessings

throughout Revelation.

Is that significant for some reason?

Is that an accident or significant?

Yeah, it's probably significant, right?

What does seven represent?

The symbol of perfection, completion, fullness.

And so what do you think it communicates to us that we have seven blessings throughout

Revelation?

It's a complete blessing.

It's the fullness of God's blessing to us who are in Christ.

And so we can rejoice in that.

It's kind of like the Beatitudes that we just talked about in the Sermon on the Mount.

We just covered these in Matthew.

And if you remember the Beatitudes, we said about them, those blessings, they were not

a list for you to go and do in order to be blessed, right?

The Bible was not saying, hey, do these things in order to be blessed, but it was a description

of the one who is blessed, right?

And so that was talking about a description of who the blessed one is in the eyes of God.

Most of the blessings in Revelation, the other six, they deal with what's called eschatological

blessings, meaning to the one who endures, to the end, the one who perseveres.

Here's what you have to look forward to in the future.

Here's the blessing that's promised to you in the future.

But what's interesting is this first one, when is the blessing promised?

Now, the one who reads the book now, the one who hears this book now, the one who does

it now, he is blessed.

And there's this really interesting idea of how this blessing begins to transform the

way we think and see the world.

Because, I mean, if we talk about just being real Christians, when you think about blessing,

don't we sometimes kind of make it like a mystical, almost like a magical type thing?

We don't even really know how to describe it.

You call someone blessed.

What does that mean, really?

I mean, you might have material blessings and stuff, or you might say, God bless that

person.

What do you mean by that?

You know, it almost becomes this mystical, magical thing.

But I think it's much more practical when you're talking about the blessings of Revelation.

Because when you think about this, right?

Think about an unbeliever who works in the government.

Okay?

An unbeliever who works in the government.

That's our scene.

And he's just going about his life, thinking primarily of himself and what he has going

on.

He wakes up, he goes to work, he comes home, he eats dinner, goes to bed.

That's his routine.

Maybe he has some hobbies, but he primarily views his life in terms of his routine and

his responsibilities.

Do you think that describes a large portion of unbelievers today?

I'd say so.

Okay?

But let's say that this person has been attending a Bible study.

What book do you think they're studying?

Revelation, right?

At least for this hypothetical.

They're studying Revelation.

And he finds that Revelation has been impacting him, and it's beginning to change how he sees

the world and views his life.

So when he goes to work on Monday, he looks around at all the ungodliness surrounding

him.

And he sees all the secret deals.

Remember, he works in government, so there are a lot of secret deals.

He sees the secret deals, he hears the lies, and he knows the true motivations behind certain

moves that are being made between the power players.

He's familiar with many of the evil agendas, but here's something that's interesting.

As he's looking out on his workplace, which he's become so familiar with, he begins to

recall the words of Revelation.

And as he looks out at where he works and what's going on, he thinks of Babylon.

He's been reading Revelation, been studying Revelation, and now here he is at work and

all of a sudden, because of what he's observing around him, he starts thinking of Babylon,

that he read about in Revelation.

He starts thinking about dragons and serpents and angels on horseback.

And right before his very eyes, he begins to see the book of Revelation unfolding before

him.

And he finds that it seems like his eyes are truly open for the first time.

It's like he's seeing this unseen realm for the first time.

And he begins to become convinced that what he's been reading and studying in Revelation

is true and that it's happening right now all around him.

Now here's my question to you.

Would you say that that man, that unbeliever, has been blessed by reading and studying the

book of Revelation?

Yeah, I would say so.

He was just there going about his normal everyday life, not thinking two things about all the

stuff that he saw going on around him, but because he had been reading the words aloud

and listening to them and seeking to do them, his perspective begins to change.

And it's like he's seeing things new for the very first time.

When we think about blessing, it doesn't have to be some mystical thing.

It's very tangible and practical, and it can come about in many different ways, but I think

one of the most common ways that we're blessed through reading and hearing and doing the book

of Revelation is that it gives us a framework through which to view the world.

You begin to read Revelation and you see all these things happening.

You read about all these symbols and these pictures, and what you actually get is this

framework through which you can view the world around you.

It teaches us to view the world with storybook eyes.

Stop thinking about it in terms of these black and white, boring characters.

Get some storybook eyes.

It begins to tell us how to recognize dragons and serpents, how to recognize bulls and trumpets.

It teaches us how to recognize the ongoing, unfolding story of God and our place in that

story because you understand as a Christian, you have a part in that story, right?

As a Christian, you are a part of the story.

Now the story is about who?

Jesus.

We're us.

I feel bad even saying a side character.

We're not even a side character.

We're like that character that shows up for one episode and then they're never seen again.

That's awesome.

We had a guest spot.

We're part of the story, but it's not about us.

The story is about Jesus, but he invites us to be part of it, which is really cool that

he would take someone who was an enemy who rejected him and says, hey, come be part of

my story and that we actually get to play a part in it.

Revelation gives us these storybook eyes and a framework to view the world, and it promises

us blessing now, and it's good that it's now because notice what it said there in verse

3.

It said the time is near.

So once again, we see that Revelation isn't here to tickle our fancies.

It's here to awaken us and strengthen us, and John's going to prove that again in verses

4 and 5.

So look what he says next.

So remember, his goal is to strengthen us, to awaken us, to encourage us.

He says, John, to the seven churches that are in Asia, grace to you and peace from him

who is, who was, who is to come.

From the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful

witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings on earth.

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

So notice, he's extending grace and peace to the churches.

Who is the grace and peace coming from?

This isn't trivial.

Okay, I'm not just saying this so we can take up time.

You know I don't need to take up time.

Okay, I can do that fine on my own.

Who is the grace and peace coming from?

Okay, who's up?

Okay, care to elaborate?

Okay, sure, absolutely.

Yup, from the seven spirits.

So we have three different phrases here, right?

We have the one who was, who is, who is to come.

We have the seven spirits.

And then also, Jesus, right?

Why mention three phrases like that?

There might be some theological significance here, right?

Potentially?

What do you think that signifies?

The trinity, right?

Here's an important part of Christian doctrine.

From the very beginning of Revelation, we have John laying out the trinity for us.

We have God the Father, we have God the Spirit, we have God the Son.

There's a reason he divided this the way that he did.

Yeah, there you go, right.

The Clover, right, I like it.

And so you have the trinity coming here and this is John laying out an important point

for us saying that we serve a triune God, one God in three persons.

There's not one God who's the Father, one God who's the Son, one God who's the Holy

Spirit.

There's not three different gods.

You have the Father God, the Son God, and the Holy Spirit God and they exist separate

from each other.

That's heresy as well.

And there's also not modalism where it says that God sometimes appears in the mode of

the Father and other times he appears in the mode of the Son and other times he appears

in the mode of the Spirit.

You have God, one God in three persons.

One divine nature, three persons, Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, Spirit is not the Son, Spirit

is not the Father.

All of that, one God in three persons.

Now let me compare the trinity to something.

You can't, right?

This is why it's so hard to talk to Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons and anybody else who

rejects the trinity because there is literally nothing you can compare the trinity to and

have it make sense.

Like some people go, well it's like water.

Water can appear as liquid or as ice or as gas, right?

Sure, but not all at the same time.

And not all share the same molecules and stuff.

There's just nothing to compare the trinity to.

And so let me just ease your burden, Christian.

You don't have to find an example and say, oh the trinity is like this.

You just stand on the Word of God.

Here's what I know.

The Bible says that the Father is God.

Everything the Bible says about God, it also says about the Son, also says about the Spirit.

And yet the Bible also says there is only one God.

But all that together might not make sense to our human minds because we're fallible.

The Bible teaches one God in three persons, eternally existing that way.

But here's my question too.

There's not just theology here.

There's a lot of application here.

So notice it says first and foremost, from him who is and who was and who was to come.

Now here's my question.

If John's purpose is to strengthen the churches who are being persecuted, who are endearing

hardship, who are facing trial after trial, he's going to describe it as a tribulation

in chapter two.

If his purpose here is to encourage them and strengthen their hearts.

And he says, here's grace and peace to you from him who was and who is and who is to

come.

Here's my question.

How might that comfort believers and strengthen their hearts and their resolve?

God's always winning.

Explain that a little bit.

Yes, ever present.

I think that's a good way to say it.

I think if you're just going to put it in layman's terms, here's what you're dealing

with, right?

You've got trials and tribulations going on.

John's saying to the churches, listen, God was before all this.

And God is in it now.

And God is going to be long after this all passes, right?

Because I mean, I think everybody in here has experienced tragedy at some point, right?

Haven't we all?

And when you experience tragedy, doesn't it feel like the entire world is ending?

The entire world is crumbling.

You don't know how you personally are going to make it another day.

And the comfort that the Bible is saying here is, listen, God was before this.

God is in it now.

And God is going to be long after this passes.

And so you don't have to worry.

God is ever present.

He's always there.

And God is bigger than our circumstances.

That's a comfort.

Is it not?

And so you're going through persecution and trials and tribulations.

You're hearing this is going to pass, but God never will.

God will always be there.

And that's a big comfort for Christians.

But then notice he also says from the seven spirits who were before his throne.

And again, we've talked about this, the seven spirits before his throne, talking about the

full presence of the Holy Spirit, the fullness of the spirit of God is right there.

And so again, here's my question.

How might this strengthen believers in the midst of their situation to hear this?

This grace and peace is coming not just from the Father, but also from the fullness of the

spirit.

So how might that be a comfort?

No, you're kidding.

Hey, at least you're thinking, throwing some stuff out there.

I like it.

But think about why we need the Holy Spirit.

All right.

That's that's what got me thinking about this.

You mentioned all three.

It's not just theological.

God is always theological with orthopraxy orthodoxy with orthopraxy.

He wants you to apply things rightly.

So it's not just a theological point.

And so I started thinking, well, why do we need the Holy Spirit?

I think John is saying that the spirit we need to strengthen us in times of hardship

and persecution, the spirit we need to grow us as Christians, the spirit that we need

to convict us of indwelling sin in our lives and all the ways that we still fail to be

like Christ, the spirit we need to conform us to the image of Christ, the spirit that

we need to build our resolve in the midst of trying in difficult circumstances.

The spirit we need to enlighten us into illuminous has not abandoned us.

He is right there before the throne of God and he indwells all of us.

If you're a believer, the same spirit who raised Christ from the dead, that same power, the

same spirit is within each and every one of us.

And so the spirit we need as Christians has not abandoned us.

He knows what we're going through even better than we do, right?

Because you remember, there's that comforting passage in the Bible where it talks about

there are going to be times when you know you need to pray and you are so miserable

and you are so distraught and fearful and full of anxiety, you don't even know what

to say.

What does the Bible say that happens?

The spirit calls out for us.

It means too deep for words.

Now isn't that a comfort?

That the Holy Spirit, when you are unable to go to God in prayer because you belong to

God because you've been blood-bought by Jesus himself, that Holy Spirit who indwells you

calls out on your behalf.

So the spirit we need has an abandon.

He's right there with us equipping us to endure all that we face.

And then finally it says here, and from Jesus, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the

dead and the ruler of the kings of earth.

So again, here's my question.

If you're a Christian in the first century, how might that phrase comfort you and strengthen

you?

That's right.

It tells us that it's a reminder that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true.

His faithful witness, it's worth living for and it's worth dying for.

It reminds us not to fear death.

You're being persecuted, right?

The Roman government's coming after you.

They're killing Christians left and right.

The Bible's saying here, hey, don't be afraid of death.

Why?

Jesus is the firstborn of the dead.

And you know what he promises all who follow him?

Just as Jesus was raised from the dead, so will you be.

He's the firstfruits, meaning here's what you have to expect coming.

He's the first fruit of the harvest of God, the firstborn of the dead, and everybody who

trusts in Christ and puts their faith in him, they too will be raised from the dead.

So why would you fear death?

The worst the world can do is kill you, and even that doesn't really take, does it?

We have eternal life now, so if they kill us, I have to sit from the body at home with

the Lord.

Why would you fear death when it is just a blink into glory?

Now that's not saying just go put yourself in danger situations, but it is a comfort

when you know that they're threatening you with death.

What kind of a threat is that to a Christian?

You're going to send me home to be with Jesus?

I'm not going to stop preaching.

You could kill me if you won't, but that's not going to stop this message from going

out.

This is a message worth dying for, and even if you kill me, Jesus is the firstborn of

the dead.

And then look at this, no matter how chaotic this world gets, no matter how evil it might

seem, no matter how much it looks as if evil is a triumphing, notice what it says here,

Jesus is sovereign over all things.

He's sovereign over all things.

He is in control at all times.

He is the ruler of the kings of earth.

So in the end, who gets the victory?

Jesus.

And it's not even close.

I mean, it's not, it's like the world is doing their absolute best to try to wage war against

the kingdom of God.

And I've used this example before, but I think it's great.

It's like one of my favorite musicians said, it's like a kid with a super soaker trying

to conquer Spain.

You got no chance.

It's real cute.

You've got your little water gun there, but this is a major country.

Well, that's what the kingdoms of this world look like when they're trying to conquer the

kingdom of God.

It's just no match.

And so the world might persecute Christians.

They might come after us.

They are coming after us.

They're hunting us down.

We have Christian martyrs all the time.

The church around the world is highly persecuted.

You hear about Christian deaths all the time.

It looks like the world is winning.

And yet the Bible says Jesus is the ruler of the kings of earth.

He is the only one who is getting the victory because this whole world is his.

He's sovereign over it.

So the world can do what they want.

But the kingdom of God, it will go forward.

The gospel will continue to go forward.

The word of God is not going anywhere.

The heavens will pass away before the word of God fades away.

It's not going anywhere.

The church isn't going anywhere because we know Jesus said that he's building his church.

Gates of hell are not going to prevail against it.

And so we have nothing to fear.

Even when it looks like we're losing, we're winning because Jesus is sovereign.

He's the ruler of all things and he protects his bride.

And he makes sure that his mission goes forward.

He gets the final victory.

And so that's probably a good place for us to end tonight.

Thought we'd get through verse eight.

We'll look there next week.

But it's a good word to end on because you just want to think back to the situation of

those early Christians.

And you see that it's not really different for the church at large today.

I'd say it's quite different from the church in America.

We have it pretty easy here in America.

Even the things that we don't like, it's still very light compared to other places

in the world.

But when you look at the world at large, it really does look a lot like what was going

on in the first century here.

And you begin to wonder, what do we do with a world like this?

How is God going to do anything with this?

If you're a believer in those countries, you're probably getting discouraged and fearful,

full of anxiety.

You might know that your death is imminent.

You might have heard reports that they're coming.

How are you going to be strengthened?

How are you going to be comforted?

And you read these verses here in Revelation.

It says, hey, God was here way before this.

He's here in the midst of it.

And he's going to be here long after this is over.

It tells us that the spirit we need for times like that, the spirit we need to comfort us,

encourage us, embolden us, enlighten us, illumin us, strengthen us, conform us, convict

us.

He has an abandonment.

He's sending grace and peace from the throne of God.

It tells us that Jesus is worth living for and dying for.

He's a faithful witness.

And at the end of all things, he's still standing.

He's the ruler of the kings of earth and he will have the victory.

Now, if that doesn't light a fire under the church, I don't know what will.

I mean, it means that we cannot fail.

Isn't that good news?

Because I'm prone to fail.

I don't know about you.

I mess up all the time.

I make mistakes all the time.

We're human, right?

That's what we're going to do.

And yet the church cannot fail because Jesus cannot fail.

He will have the victory.

All right.

Mr. McKinney, word of wisdom, please.