On Earth as in Heaven 1: Seeing Christ as Heaven Sees Him

This podcast is brought to you by Walmart Lutheran Church in Langley, D.C., in the hope that it will draw you closer to the one who loves you most.

So, as part of my preparation for becoming a pastor, I had a one-year internship under the supervision of another pastor.

In our church body, we called it a vicarage.

And so I was a vicar, and I did my vicarage in Vagerville and Bruce in Alberta.

And as I was nearing the end of that 12-month vicarage, I got a phone call at home one day from one of the elders in Vagerville.

And he told me that two children of one of the other elders were in a car accident.

And the youngest of those two children, who was 14 years old, was killed.

And his older sister was badly hurt, was airlifted to Edmonton, and was in a coma there.

And I was asked, because my supervising pastor was away for a few days, I was asked to go and be with the family during this terrible time.

I got to the hospital and I was met at the door by one of the hospital chaplains who took me into the room where the family was waiting.

And I was met at the door by the father who had lost his son whose daughter was badly hurt.

And I said to him, I don't know what to say.

And he said, There's nothing you can say except I'm sorry.

There are moments in all our lives when all that we see and all that we have here on earth is not enough.

We see problems too big for us, fears that are too powerful for us to overcome.

And we worry about future unknowns that are hidden from our sight.

There are things we do see.

We do see our limits and our disappointments and our failures, but those things don't help us.

Ideally, faith in Jesus should help us.

But if we're honest, at least at times, what we tend to do is use limiting lenses on Jesus, just as we do with everything else.

Kind of like Carolyn was referring to in her children's lesson.

And then we see Jesus as small, distant, manageable, and familiar.

And perhaps without even realizing it, we have put Jesus in a box of our own making, a box that limits our understanding of who he is and what he can do.

And so then we function as if we're totally on our own when we face the challenges before us.

At least I know I do that.

But heaven sees Jesus very differently.

And that's why Revelation chapter 1 is such a great gift to us.

Revelation 1 · chapter mention

The Apostle John is exiled on the small island of Patmos.

He is cut off from all the people that he loves, all the support that he needs, and he is powerless to change anything.

He sees only exile, weakness, and uncertainty.

But then heaven breaks in.

And John is invited to see Jesus not as earth sees him, but as heaven sees him.

And that's the invitation of this new series that we are starting today called On Heaven as in Earth.

And the invitation is this: to let God reshape our vision so that what is true in heaven becomes true in our hearts here on earth.

After all, don't we pray that God's will would be done on earth as it is in heaven?

Most of us don't struggle with believing in Jesus.

We struggle with seeing him in all his fullness.

We see a gentle Jesus, but not a glorious one.

We see a forgiving Jesus, but not a reigning one.

We see a Jesus who walks with us, but not a Jesus who holds the universe together.

And when our vision of Jesus shrinks, our courage shrinks with it.

And our hope shrinks, our worship shrinks, and our sense of mission shrinks.

But Revelation 1 is God's antidote to small Christianity.

It is heaven pulling back the curtain and saying, look again.

And so let's dig into our Bible passage for today, Revelation chapter 1, verses 9 to 20.

Revelation 1:9–20

Now here is some important background information to help us as we look at this passage.

The purpose of the entire book of Revelation is given to us right at the very start.

And that purpose is described in this way.

This is the revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place.

He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw, that is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

You see, Christians were suffering intense persecution for their faith at this time under the Roman Emperor Domitian.

And they needed a hope that would help them to endure the suffering that was set before them.

They needed to see how the conflict on earth was being reflected in heaven.

They needed to see the rightness of their faith in Jesus Christ.

And they needed to see that God would prevail and they would share in his victory.

In other words, followers of Jesus needed to see into heaven to have the hope that they needed to persevere on earth.

So Jesus reveals what his followers need to see.

And he does that by revealing it to John, who wrote it down and then shared Jesus' revelation with us.

It all began on a Sunday when John was in a state of spiritual exaltation, likely praising and worshiping God in his humble surroundings.

Behind him he heard a loud voice like a trumpet, which said, Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyartira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.

All these churches are in Asia Minor or what is present-day Turkey.

And this was the area where the persecution of Christians was most intense.

And when John turns around, what he sees is overwhelming.

He sees Jesus, but not in the somewhat sentimental, familiar, manageable, earthly ways in which we tend to see him.

He sees Jesus as he actually is in heaven.

Glorious, powerful, and ruling over all creation.

And Jesus is standing in the midst of seven lampstands, which are those seven previously mentioned churches.

And this tells us that Jesus is present with his people, not distant from them.

John then describes Jesus in language that stretches the limits of human vocabulary.

He describes them as having hair white like wool, which indicates that Jesus has the purity and wisdom of the ancient of days, another name for God.

John describes Jesus as having eyes like blazing fire, which tells us that Jesus sees all things as they truly are.

He has feet like burnished bronze, telling us Jesus has strength, stability, and unshakable authority.

He has a voice like rushing waters.

Jesus has the power to drown out every rival voice.

He has seven stars in his hands.

The Christian church, which is represented by those stars, is held securely in Jesus' grasp.

There's a sharp double-edged sword from his mouth.

Jesus' words have the power to both judge and save.

And he has a face shining like the sun.

Jesus has glory that no darkness can overcome.

This is not the Jesus that we reduce to a comforting idea.

This is the Jesus who reigns.

And when John sees him, he falls at his feet as though dead.

Because when heaven reveals Jesus, the only appropriate response is ah.

But then comes the moment that changes everything.

John collapses in fear.

But Jesus doesn't leave him there.

The same Jesus, whose face shines like the sun, places his right hand on John and says, Do not be afraid.

I am the first and the last.

I am the living one.

I was dead, and now look, I am alive forever and ever.

And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

The hand that holds the star is the hand that lifts his people.

The voice, like rushing waters, speaks comfort to the trembling.

The one who died and rose again stands with John in his exile.

This is the heart of the gospel.

The glorious Christ is also the gracious Christ.

He is not only the Lord of heaven, he is the Lord who draws near.

So what does this mean for us?

Well, revelation can feel overwhelming.

It's filled with symbolic language that we don't understand.

As John tries to describe things that are really undescribable.

John's vision is otherworldly, and if we're honest, it scares us just like it scared him.

And we might be tempted to ignore what we don't understand.

But there's a message of hope here if we can hear it.

And to help us consider this picture from history.

In World War II, the conflict happened in two realms: the front lines and the occupied territories, different locations, different experiences, different types of conflict, but the same war, the same enemy.

And people were striving for the same victory in both realms.

And in the same way, Scripture tells us that there is a battle between good and evil, both in heaven and on earth.

Heaven is the front line, earth is occupied territory.

And what happens in heaven determines what happens here.

And the turning point in the war between good and evil has already happened.

When Jesus lived and died and rose again, evil suffered its decisive defeat.

And just like the Axis powers after their defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad, evil has been in retreat ever since.

But we still live in occupied territory.

We live in the time between evil's greatest defeat and our final liberation.

We are still waiting for our own D-Day to come.

And that's why revelation matters.

It shows us the front lines, it shows us the reigning Christ.

It shows us that victory is certain.

But even more, revelation shows us that the victorious Christ is with us.

When we see Jesus as heaven sees him, glorified, powerful, present, victorious, discouragement turns into hope.

Fear gives way to courage, and dismay becomes determination.

Because we realize that we are not fighting in our own strengths, but in the strength of our risen, reigning, glorious Savior.

When heaven pulls back the curtain and we see Jesus as he truly is, radiant, reigning, present, and victorious, something shifts inside of us.

And we begin to realize that if Jesus is powerful to defeat all evil in heaven, then he's powerful enough to defeat all evil here on earth.

And if Jesus possesses complete divine glory, then he is able to provide solutions for all the problems we face here on earth.

And if Jesus is gracious enough to gently lift up John, who is overcome with fear, then he is gracious enough to lift us up when we're overcome with fear.

And that's when that fear loosens its grip, hope rises, and courage awakens.

Because the one whose faith shines like the sun is not far away.

He is standing among his churches, he is standing with you.

And the hand that holds the stars is the hand that rests on your shoulder.

Heaven sees a Christ who is more than enough.

And when we see him that way, everything changes.

So the challenge that I'm setting before you today is this to ask Jesus to help you see him as heaven sees him.

Encourage you to pray that prayer each morning, to pray it when fear rises, to pray it when you feel small.

Because the more clearly you see him, the more courage, hope, and worship will rise within you.

Amen.

Let's pray.

Dear Jesus, we thank you for loving us and coming into this world to be our Savior, living and dying and rising again, and then ascending into heaven to take your place as the King over all creation.

And so we pray, Lord, that by your Spirit you would help us to see not only your gentleness and your graciousness, but also your power and might.

For you are a good and gracious God, and you are for us.

Thank you, Lord, for your love.

We love you too.

In your precious name, we ask this, and all God's people said.

Amen.

If you have enjoyed this podcast and would like to support the work that we are doing at Walnut Grove Lutheran Church of leading people into a growing relationship with Jesus, please go to WGLC.org slash donate.

Any gift that you would like to give will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.