Greetings to the Seven Churches | Revelation 1:1-8 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Revelation Bible Study Series)

We are about to embark on a journey to behold a glorious,

marvelous, compelling, captivating revelation of the

Lord Jesus Christ, who He is now.

What He is saying to the churches today and what He will

do in our world in the days to come are the things that await

us in this amazing exegetical expedition.

We briefly touched on the first few verses of chapter 1 in our

overview last week, but there's still crucial details that we

need to draw from them before we move on to the main passage of

this section. And so if you can, let's meet

together again at Revelation chapter 1, beginning in verse

Revelation 1 · chapter mention

one, and read it together. The revelation of Jesus Christ,

which God gave him to show to His servants the things that

must soon take place. He made a known by sending his

Angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God

and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.

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.

When reading this over and over again, There are three things

that should stand out to us from these 3 verses.

Who this is for meaning the book who this is from, and lastly,

who will be blessed. Did you notice the specific

group of people that the Holy Spirit addresses concerning this

book? We're told right here that it is

to show his servants, that's Christ servants and verse one,

the things that must soon take place.

So what that tells us is that the insights of this book, the

wisdom of this book, the encouragement, the guidance, the

warnings, the predictions, the visions of this book are tailor

made and are targeting a particular category of people,

Christ's servants. Now servants is quite a broad

term, but when you understand the original language a little

bit, you'll discover that it's much more narrow in its

interpretation. It's not just servants.

We're actually talking about slaves.

The Greek word is doulos, and a doulos or a slave was not

somebody who was necessarily employed, it was somebody who

was actually owned. A doulos was somebody who was

permanently owned by someone else, and that position of

servitude remained as a lifelong call.

A slave didn't have his own rights.

He solely lived to perform the will and the pleasure of the one

that he was owned by. Now in John's day, the joy of

that position being a slave, being an advantage or

disadvantage, largely depended on the goodness of the

individual that one was subservient to.

And this may sound surprising to us, but in Roman Society of this

time, you would have people who would give themselves up to be a

slave thinking that they would be better off doing so.

And so we have to understand that even the concept of slavery

was much different than how we seem to interpret it in Western

culture. In the case of the apostles,

they gladly identify themselves and many of the openings of

their letters as slaves specifically to Jesus Christ,

bond servants of Jesus Christ. And they did so because they

wanted to communicate, one, that Jesus Christ is a glorious

master, and two, that their devotion to him was complete and

that it was lifelong. I hope you don't miss it next

time you study the New Testament.

Paul, a servant, a bondservant, a slave of Jesus Christ.

Jude even says I'm a servant of Jesus.

James says I'm a servant of Jesus Christ.

This is not a temporary thing. This is permanent.

It's forever and you and I have to understand that the opening

of this book, God expects all of his followers to relate him in

the same way. And so we have to establish

something right now before we move on.

Here's a question we should ask am IA bondservant of Jesus

Christ. Does he own my will?

Does he determine my decisions? Does he have my resources?

Am I truly a slave to Jesus Christ?

And that's important for many reasons, including for how we're

going to receive the truth of this book because later we're

going to discover that there's a specific blessing for those who

keep what is written in it. And to keep what is written in

it means that you take it to heart and that you obey what it

asks of you. You can't do that unless you

first settle this. Do I actually belong to Him?

So what I'm trying to convey from the beginning is this.

The way this book will impact your life is determined by

whether or not you are a slave to Jesus Christ.

If not, completely surrender to Him that you're not going to

truly benefit from what this book has to teach you.

And so you have to ask yourself, am I coming to the Book of

Revelation here at Maranatha Bible Church merely as a

student? Or am I coming because I am a

bondservant of Jesus Christ? This is for bondservants.

This is for slaves of Jesus Christ.

But who is this from? Interestingly, look at the last

part of verse one. He made it known by sending his

Angel to his servant John. So even there we have John

called a bondservant, a slave of Christ.

And each of us here have to understand that John is one of

the apostles. He's one of the 12 and church

tradition attributes the authorship of this book, the

human authorship to him. And there are many reasons for

that, good reasons for that. When you actually look at and

you survey this book, you'll discover clues, phrases,

expressions, references that are unique to John's writings.

And there are, there are many, many, many parallels, but I want

to look at 2 obvious ones. So hopefully you have the Book

of Revelation open in your hands.

Look at Revelation 5 and I want you to see verse 6 briefly.

John writes. And between the throne and the

four living creatures, and among the elders, I saw a lamb

standing as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with

seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all

the earth. The messianic title of the Lamb

is very common to us. I think it was virtually in

every song that we sang this afternoon.

But that picture of Jesus which appears many times in Revelation

is only found in one other book in the New Testament, the book

of John, unless you count Paul, who says in First Corinthians

that Christ is our Passover lamb.

But the the idea of the Lamb, the Lamb of God, that's only

found here in Revelation and the Gospel account, which is amazing

and it's not the only one. Here's another Joy 9 expression.

Look at Revelation 19 in verse 13 it says he is clothed in a

robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is

the Word of God. Sound familiar?

In the beginning was the Word, yes, right?

John 11. And not only in John 11 but

first John 11, Christ there is referenced as the word of life.

So we have it in Revelation as a title, as a reference to Christ

here in Revelation, have it in John, have it in the first

epistle written by John. This is obviously written by him

and there's many other things that we can look to to confirm

that. Instead, I want to take this

time to look at something that John mentions back in chapter 1,

verse two. Look what this bond servant said

about the Book of Revelation who bore witness to the Word of God

and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.

John calls the Book of Revelation the Word of God.

That may seem obvious to you, but what is sad is that

believers in the past and even some believers today in practice

do not uphold the Book of Revelation with such dignity and

honor. Now this may shock you, but let

me give you a quote from Martin Luther.

Yes, the great reformer, he said this about the Book of

Revelation. Quote, My spirit cannot

accommodate itself to this book. For me, this is reason enough

not to think highly of it. Christ is neither taught nor

known in it. End of quote.

Now, Martin Luther was right about very important theological

truths, but I have to say that he was not right about the Book

of Revelation. And the reason why he wrestled

with it like many do today is because of the visions and the

cryptic nature of some of these things.

So he just kind of put it in the peripheral.

He didn't really uphold it. The way John himself describes

this book, it's the word of God which tells you and I that no

matter how you feel about the visions, the predictions of this

letter, we have to understand that the man who wrote it lived

with Jesus for 3 1/2 years. He witnessed his execution on a

Roman cross. He spent time with him and ate

with him after his resurrection, and he beheld his bodily

ascension into heaven. The same John who experienced

that is the same John who is telling us that Lord gave me

this truth. It's as though John is saying in

the same way I faithfully conveyed to you the details of

His first coming, I am equally loyal to tell you about the

details of His second coming. And that is not the only thing

that John wants to tell us which comes to verse 3 for us.

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.

If you've ever read the Book of Revelation, then you've probably

noticed that this is not the only beatitude found in the Book

of Revelation. A beatitude is a declaration of

blessedness or happiness, right? And we're most familiar with the

Beatitudes and the introduction of the Sermon on the Mount, But

we have beatitudes here, and the one that we have here in verse 3

is one out of seven total beatitudes in the Book of

Revelation. Now, the other day I was

counting to make sure, and it's confirmed there are a total of

7, which bless me because 7 is such a significant number in

this book. Most of us know that the number

seven in the Bible speaks to completion or God's full

fulfillment concerning something.

And if that's true and we relate it to these declarations of

blessings in Revelation, here's what we can confirm.

This book has complete blessing for us.

Total blessing, full blessing. And at the beginning here, we're

told three ways that we can be blessed by this book.

The first way is to read it aloud.

I think that's what I'm doing, right?

The second way is for those to hear it.

That's what you're doing. And lastly, for the reader and

the hearer to keep what is written in it.

John expected that this letter, when he sent it to the seven

churches, would be read in each congregation.

Now, what I appreciate about what he's saying here is that he

doesn't say blessed is the one who understands every single

detail in the Book of Revelation because a lot of us would be in

trouble. No, no, no, this book is so

packed with spiritual treasure that just reading it and hearing

it will bless you. Just doing that.

Now I got to also say this. You can tell I'm getting a

little excited, right? This is a clue to some of the

practices of the early church, a practice that you and I are

honoring right now. There would be somebody who was

designated to read the Scriptures while others listen

to the word of God being read. Aren't you glad that we're

keeping up with that biblical tradition?

Here we are reading and hearing. This is something that the

ancient church did, and it's been going on for thousands of

years now. Many of us who grew up in

Christian circles are familiar with this beatitude in

Revelation One. But I have this question, What

blessing does John have in mind for those who would read and

hear and obey what this book has to say?

And I believe we have an answer. The answer is when you look at

the book end, the last part of the Book of Revelation, and you

see this beatitude repeated almost word for word.

So go to Revelation 22 and notice what Jesus says in verse

7 of Revelation 22. Here's another beatitude and

behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the

words of the prophecy of this book.

So notice that there is a connection between keeping the

words of this prophecy and Jesus coming back soon, engaging with

the prophecies of this book in light of the return of Jesus

Christ. Here's what this tells me.

Reading, hearing, keeping what is in this book blesses us

mainly because it thunders the truth of the soon return of

Christ and it compels you to prepare for his arrival.

That's a blessing. Here's what you're going to be

reminded as we go through every detail, try to at least in these

wonderful chapters. The main message is going to be

this Jesus is coming back soon. Christ is coming back soon.

The King is coming again, and the appropriate response is I

must be ready for it. I must be prepared.

And as helpful as that is, this fountain is so deep, so lively,

so gushing with blessing that we have other things to receive

from it. And we're going to sip from more

of it as we consider now the main section of this message.

Now, last week, let me say this, I was providing the testimony

early on about how encouraged I was by the response of the

people. One of the comments was you were

too fast, brother, with your introduction message.

Please take your time. Please don't be afraid to

continue. I don't know if all you feel

that way, but here's me responding to that request

because all that I just said was the introduction.

Let's come to verse 4 now and read to verse 8.

John to the seven churches that are in Asia, grace to you and

peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from

the seven spirits who are before his throne.

And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first born

of the dead and the ruler of kings on earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His

blood and made us a Kingdom priest to his God and Father, to

Him be glory and dominion, forever and ever.

Amen. Behold, he's coming with the

clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who Pierce them,

and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him.

Even so. Amen.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and

who was and who is to come the Almighty.

There's that #7 again. Verse 4 John to the seven

churches that are in Asia A student in the New Testament

will know we'll probably think well there are more than 7

churches in Asia Minor at this time and you might even wondered

why didn't John write to some of the churches that we read in the

epistles so. So why not more than 7?

Why not fewer? Well, again, if there is a

symbolic attachment to this number, then we can understand

what John by the Spirit is trying to communicate.

Yes, these are real historical churches that have been

addressed, but that #7 is meant to tell us that this message is

also for all believers. If #7 means completion,

fullness, then what we have here is John telling us that God is

trying to speak to God, is aiming His message at all

believers of all time. This is relevant to every

Christian. So we are being written to.

This is for us, and those specific messages will come in

chapter 2 and chapter 3. But right here, we're being

prepared. What we have to read is for us

personally, and the first thing that we can learn, the first

major lesson following the fact that John writes to the seven

churches, is that a true church that belongs to Jesus Christ

will be a church that acknowledges and believes in the

Trinity. There are many branches of

Christianity that are not really Christian that do not believe in

the Tri unity of God, that he is one being 3 persons, not 3 gods.

He is one, yes, but He is also 3.

And we can spend the rest of this time trying to explain that

and prove it from the Bible. But the thing that I want to

just make clear is that a true church will believe in that,

will defend that, and a church is not really a church that

rejects that truth. Did you notice that this

greeting to the seven churches came from the Trinity?

Look again from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come.

This speaks of the Father and His eternality, and from the

seven spirits who are before His throne.

This speaks of the Spirit and His fullness.

And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first born

of the dead and the rulers of kings on earth.

This speaks of the Son and His supremacy.

So right here in this greeting you have traces of the Trinity.

A clear reference that this is coming from Father, Spirit and

Son. And this teaches us that a true

church will receive such a revelation.

They will not deny it, they will not resist it, they will not try

to explain it away. But let's look at these things

more closely, shall we? Let's look at the Father, at all

the things that can be said about the Father.

We're told here that he is, He was.

Who is to come. The timelessness of the Father.

Now, that sounds very abstract, That sounds very out there, but

it's meant to comfort the believer.

Because what we're supposed to face here is that the God you

learned about in Genesis through Deuteronomy, the God who did

miracles in Joshua, the God who was patient in the days of

Samuel and the kings, the God who spoke through Isaiah,

Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and all the other prophets is the

same God who is watching over his church today.

That's what we're supposed to sense.

He's the same 1. He hasn't changed.

He still is there. He's still supervising, he's

still empowering, he's still providing, he's still speaking.

So he's not diluted in any manner.

He's not distance himself over time.

He is near, he is close. And the same power and wisdom

and love that he operated in the past is available to us today.

The Father. And then we go to who is before

the Father's throne. Look again here and from the

seven spirits who are before His throne.

Now initially that may sound confusing because we are all

familiar with one spirit who shares equal standing with the

Father, That's the Holy Spirit. So now we have this idea of

seven spirits, and I've even heard people who mockingly come

to a text like this and accuse Christians.

Oh, you believe three and one. I think you actually believe

9:00 and 1:00 because you have this mention of the seven

spirits and you add the Son and the Father.

Isn't that 9? Do you remember how we open up

this series last week? That from beginning to end, the

Book of Revelation is absolutely drenched with Old Testament

references. And so when something doesn't

seem so clear, we have to ask ourselves, have we seen

something like this before? Have we looked at any text that

might give some explanation to what John is conveying here?

And the answer is yes, I believe the apostle John is referencing

the sevenfold ministry of the Holy Spirit that Isaiah spoke

about in Chapter 11. Turn there with me and Isaiah 11

verses one and two, and this will hopefully make sense to us.

And Isaiah 11 verse one and two we read there shall come forth a

shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots

shall bear fruit. Let's count now in verse 2.

And the Spirit of the Lord, one shall rest upon him, the spirit

of wisdom 2 and understanding 3 the spirit of counsel 4 and

might 5 the spirit of knowledge 6 and the fear of the Lord 7.

So when John is depicting the seven spirits who are before his

throne, he's not speaking about 7 separate beings.

He's referring to the perfect qualities of the ministry of the

Holy Spirit, one Holy Spirit who's also the Spirit of the

Lord, the Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might,

knowledge, and the fear of the Lord.

And while Christ was on earth, according to Isaiah's prophecy,

the Spirit in his fullness rested upon the Messiah.

And now we find him before the throne of God in the Book of

Revelation. And it's going to appear more

than once in our study of this book.

So we have the Holy Spirit who's greeting the seven churches.

Lastly, we have the Son. It's no surprise to us that

Christ is mentioned last because he's the theme of the Book of

Revelation. So John's going to expand on the

truth of who Jesus Christ is. And what are we told?

Look at these wonderful titles, The faithful witness.

You can depend on what He says. He never lies, He never

exaggerates. He's perfect in His witness.

He's the first born of the dead and the rule of kings on earth.

We sang that so resoundingly. And out of this threefold

portrait, I think the most puzzling 1 might be the first

born of the dead. What does John mean by that?

It's not a mystery. This is a banner that is not

only powerful, it has promise attached to it.

The first born of the dead, implying that there are others

on the way. What he means by this is that

Jesus Christ is the first to rise from the dead with a

glorified, exalted, eternal body.

And his resurrection, as unique as it is, paves the way for

future resurrections, namely those who put their faith and

trust in Him. So he's the first born of the

dead, and we will follow him and share in that experience.

How encouraging this would have been to these seven churches who

are being persecuted and suffering in unique ways.

They were reminded right at the introduction, We are going to

follow in the destiny of Christ. He's the first one of that.

And even if we lose our lives, we will share in his fate.

This is what John is saying. And this is not all that he has

to say about this caption of Christ.

He goes on to something that I think is so precious.

He goes on to say what to him who loves us and has freed us

from our sins by his blood. You know what one of the first

messages is of the Book of Revelation?

That this eternal King, the defeater of death, the returning

conqueror, loves you, loves each of us.

I don't think many people associate the Book of Revelation

with the revelation of God's love.

It's right there in the beginning.

Do you believe God loves you? It's one thing to believe that

he created you. It's one thing to believe that

he provides for you. It's another thing to believe

that he will. Yes, promise you a place with

him forever. Do you have the faith to believe

that this amazing, incredible, powerful God actually has

delight for you? John wants the churches to know

this. God loves you.

When is that ever dawned on you? When was the last time you

relished in the thought God loves me, not that you love God.

That's wonderful. When did you bathe in that

revelation last? I can tell you it will empower

you in ways that you cannot even fathom.

The other day I was driving on my own.

I was meeting a few people and it was in a long drive.

So I thought to myself, let me just, I'm not going to listen to

anything. I'm just going to take this time

by myself. It was dark, it was quiet, just

speaking to the Lord. And this thought that you and I

know touched me in a fresh way. You died for me.

You died for me. There I am driving, thinking.

You left heaven. You came to this world and you

died for me so that I can be with you forever.

I almost skipped my meeting. Because you see, this is not

just a sentimental thing. This love, it acts, it moves, it

intervenes, it transforms, it's tangible, it's observable, it's

measurable in a way, because we're told here what this love

has done. Look at the last part of verse

5. To him who loves us and has

freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a Kingdom

priest to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion

forever and ever, Amen. So this, this love frees us from

something and makes us into something.

It frees us from our sins by his blood.

So it's a love that is a rated erased our record of wrong.

It's it's a love that liberates us for eternity.

It's a love that actually sets you free from the power of sin.

If God just said I loved you, that would have been wonderful,

but he proved it and it changes you.

If you really receive it, it frees you.

He paid a high price in order to show how much he loves us, not

just saving us from something. He saved us for something.

He made us a Kingdom priest to his God and Father, Not just the

Kingdom, a Kingdom of priests. I, I get it.

The temptation to hear language like this is like this is

abstracted. I don't know what to make of it.

What does that have to do with me?

Really Well, how does that really impact my life?

Well, it speaks of the royal nature and the spiritual

privilege of the Christian, so that we've been guaranteed not

just to be with Christ when he comes to rule and reign, but we

will reign with Him. And more than that, we have an

access to Him. We don't need any earthly

mediator. We need to jump through hoops.

Think about this. It doesn't even end here.

Not only am IA priest, a priest is one who serves as a meteor

between man and God. I have access to God, but God

even tells me that I'm the temple of the Holy Spirit.

So as a priest and as the dwelling place for God, no

matter where I am at any point of the day, I can talk to him, I

can worship him, I can access him, I can receive from him on

the basis of the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice.

So this love, it frees me, it also molds me and makes me into

something. That's one of the first messages

of the Book of Revelation. God loves his church and every

single individual believer. I pray that you would pray that

this would be more real to you in the days to come.

This thought so moved John. He couldn't help it.

He breaks out into praise. Look at the rest of verse five.

He says to him, be glory and dominion, forever and ever.

Amen. He got excited when he spoke

about these things too. But in contrast to the grace,

peace, and love that is poured out on believers, those who are

outside the church will wail on account of Him.

Look at verse 7. Behold, He is coming with the

clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who Pierce them.

And all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him.

Even so. Amen.

So John says now look, behold, turn your attention to this.

I'm giving you a preview of what this book is really about.

Christ is coming back and that truth is a means for us to

worship, and it will be the reason for many to lament.

Look how incredible this is. He is coming with the clouds and

every eye will see Him, no matter the time zone, no matter

the regions of the earth that are unexplored, that are hiding

indigenous people groups. At one point Christ will take

center stage of the universe and every eye will witness it, and

every eye will acknowledge this is Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Every blasphemer who mocked him will admit it.

Every false religionist who is denied His identity, namely His

deity, will accept it, and in one moment every atheist will

become a believer. But it will be too late for

many, because they'll realize that he's not coming the way he

came the first time. He's coming to judge, and his

judgement will be eternal. This is why we're told that many

will wail. But it is so interesting here

that John gives us a heads up. He actually underscores a

specific people group who will also witness him.

Look again here, even those who pierced him.

Now you read that and you think this is OK, but it's a general

reference to those who crucified him.

But no, he's actually echoing a prophecy from Zechariah 12/10.

You can turn there on your own at another time, but that's

where we're told that the people of Israel who are responsible

for crucifying their Messiah, the fulfillment of them who

pierced Him and wailing and weeping on account of Him, will

be realized at the Second Coming.

Which is fascinating because when you look at Zechariah

12/10, it confirms that God has a purpose and plan for the

ethnic people of Israel up until His return.

That is why understanding God's purpose for Israel is so

crucial. Nothing to do with politics my

friend, but deeply ingrained in how you frame your eschatology,

which is a fancy word for the study and your knowledge of the

last days. Those who have pierced them will

see Him. Why would you highlight out of

all the tribes of the world, all the people, groups of the world,

all the nations of the world, one that has gone through a

roller coaster throughout history?

Evidently a prophecy about them will be realized at the

culmination of the age. We're going to explore this as

we go on through this book. But notice here, this is a

spectacular prophecy and here's a summary of it.

He says here that Christ will do what he is coming with the

clouds. When Jesus went up bodily in

Acts chapter one verse 9, we're told there that he was hidden by

a cloud. Now, if you've ever been to a

play, then you might remember that at some point, in the event

a curtain would drop and there would be a pause, a break right

to the act. And then there would be a time

for you to, you know, refresh yourself, go do something in

return, only for that curtain to lift again and for the play to

resume. That's how I like to think of

this cloud picture that when he ascended into heaven, the

curtain dropped. The cloud concealed him.

But when he returns, the clouds will part and they will reveal

him the first time he ascended as a rejected Messiah.

When he comes back, he's going to be a conquering king.

And John is saying look for the clouds.

They will usher him in. And this is such a spectacular

prophecy. You are think about it.

You are predicting somebody who has been supposedly dead for

2000 years is going to make a reappearance and actually take

over everything. Now we as Christians believe

he's alive and so astounding is such a claim.

John pauses, not speaking on behalf of the Lord anymore, but

allows God now to speak for himself.

In verse 8. What does the Lord say?

I am the Alpha and the Omega says the Lord God who is and who

was and who is to come the Almighty.

It's as though God steps in and gives his personal endorsement

for verse 7. I'm going to do this.

Jesus Christ is coming back. You know why?

I'm the alpha and the Omega. What does that mean?

That's the first and last letter for the Greek alphabet.

And So what the Lord is saying essentially is I'm the beginning

and the end. It again echoes his eternality.

More than that, he says, I give the first word, I'm going to

give the last word, and no one can change that.

I'm the alpha and the Omega. I'm outside of time.

I can predict the future because I already see it from time to

time when people try to ask how does God know things?

How do we kind of wrestle and make sense of His foreknowledge

and our personal responsibility and all these things?

It's hard to grasp. And I like to jokingly tell

people, you know, God right now is at your birth date, your

first birth date and your funeral at the same time.

Try to figure that out over food today.

The alpha, the Omega, the beginning of the end.

I gave the first word. I'm going to give the last word.

But this statement here is more than just God declaring that He

is outside of time. He also wants to confirm that He

is in control of every event within time.

What is he going to say? And the alpha and the Omega says

the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come?

The Almighty, The Almighty. That description for God doesn't

appear a lot in the New Testament.

A total of 10 times the rest. All other nine are found here in

Revelation. Think about that.

This is God saying something about Himself in Revelation that

He wants to emphasize. And the word Almighty simply

means this one who has His hand and everything, One who holds

sway to everything. In other words, He's in control,

the Almighty, the Almighty, the Almighty.

That's what is being blasted from Revelation.

Obviously, for us to be persuaded of His sovereignty,

that in the last days He is going to be completely in

control, even though everything looks like it's going out of

control. I'm the Almighty 1, the Almighty

1, the Almighty 1, and so He's the determiner of events.

And it would be a mistake to think that the Lord being the

Alpha and the Omega, is only interested in the beginning of

time. Then He backed away and let

things just go their own way. And then now He'll come back and

put things in order. No, remember, what does it say?

Who is not just who was and who is to come?

He is now. So even now, today, in 2025,

He's the Almighty. He's not just going to be

Almighty when He returns. He's the Almighty until His

return. And when He returns, which tells

you, and I want that He is in control of every single thing in

your life, He's in control of the city of Chicago.

He's in control of the state. He's in control of this nation

and the nations of the world. He is sovereign over every king,

every president, Prime Minister, a dictator.

And none can resist them. None can challenge him and

succeed. Many have tried to thwart his

plans and his prophecies, but have failed.

And they will always fail until he proves himself.

He's the Almighty and the Almighty.

Loves you, genuinely loves you. His heart is stirred for us.

People talk about mysteries in the Bible.

To me, that's one of the greatest mysteries.

How many of us are there in the world?

How many of us throughout the ages?

And yet He promises to walk with you and me as though we were the

only person in the world. How many prayers has God

answered in your life from heaven?

The Almighty 1 Not because you're worthy, but because He

loves you. The things that you're not even

aware of that He's protecting you from.

How He has every single day planned for you ahead.

He knows it all and it will be for your good.

And He will supply everything. And it'll be for the purpose of

sanctifying you, making you more like His Son.

I belong to the Almighty. So do you if you're in Christ.

So this is what these seven churches are hearing before he

gets into these specific things that he will say to them in

chapter 2 and three. And listen, in chapter 2 and

three, a lot of these churches will receive scathing rebukes.

But you know what's amazing? Before he corrects any of them,

he tells these churches, you're loved.

You were loved. I think even in that we have an

example for how we correct others.

Do we love them? Do they know that they are loved

by us? Well, I better stop before I get

carried away. I hear the voices of those.

Last week I said just keep going brother, don't worry about it.

This is the beginning of our study in Revelation, but we've

come together here to reflect on His love for us as we break

bread. So if I can ask the praise team

to join us. And I encourage you to reflect

on His love. So you have the woman at the

well who is so ashamed of her story that she goes to this

well. The hottest point of the day

wasn't very wise. People would go earlier to get

water for their families and their flock.

So here she is in isolation, and she's drawing from this.

Well, Jesus comes and asks for a drink.

And you're familiar with the conversation.

And Jesus begins to slowly unveil who he really is by

demonstrating his power, his knowledge.

And he tells her you've had more than one husband.

And he actually confirms the amount.

And she's obviously moved by this, but it says something

about what she was yearning for. You know, when she goes to this

well and she's drawing water, it's a picture of what she was

thirsting for it. She was looking for love.

She was looking for validation. And so she was jumping from

marriage to marriage to marriage, right?

And then she just gave up on the whole marriage thing all

together. And the person that she was with

when Christ met her was not her husband.

And then Jesus so patiently leads her to the revelation of

that, of the fact that he is the Messiah.

Her eyes are open to this truth. She's so moved by it that she

goes to run back to Samaria to tell people of what this man has

told about her. And there's this little detail

in John 4. She left behind that jar of

water, again, if you're consistent with the picture, who

Christ was to her, satisfied her thirst.

And she left behind that jar where she tried to scoop up

meaning and purpose and gratification because she found

it in him. She found it in him.

You can find it in him. I'm telling you, this love is so

profound, so real, that it frees you.

It really does free you. And it's so difficult for man to

grasp it. That's why Paul in Ephesians 3,

he says, I bow my knees before the Father.

And what does he say? It's just that you may know the

height, the depth, the breadth of this love for you see, a

preacher can come up and tell you God loves you.

That's one thing and it can move you and it should.

But you need the power of the Holy Spirit to really get it.

It's really good. That's why we pray before we

come up here and do these meetings and that's why this

leadership prays for the people here that the reality of God

would be you name to known to every single one of us,

including those who are praying for it.

Well, we ask, that is, we've entered the door of the series

and revelation and we've been confronted by many things,

including this truth that who you are and all your might and

splendor and glory, You love us. Make it real in every heart in

this place. And Lord, we'll know it's real

when we are free from things that are lying to us and

damaging us and robbing us of the gift that you have for us.

Lord, let this love liberate people from sin, doubt,

depression. We pray that, Lord, through this

series of revelation, we would see your love.

And so even now, Lord, as we eat together and fellowship, may the

presence of the Holy Spirit be real and all that He has to

offer. Would you bless the food and the

hands that have sacrificed to prepare for it?

And may we get a glimpse of that feast that is to come and the

fellowship that we will have with you and with one another

for all of eternity. Lord, open our eyes, We pray.

This Sunday, in the mighty glorious name of the Lord Jesus

Christ, we pray Amen and Amen and Amen.