20260329 The Church Revelation 1 Sunday Sermon Mike Dickmann

Let's pray together once more. Heavenly Father,

we are thankful for your help and presence thus

far in the meeting. We come now once again to

confess our need of you and to ask that you would

meet that need this morning as we attempt to

study the Word once again. We pray that you'd

open it up to us through the power of your Spirit

that you'd make yourself and your teachings known

unto us. That we indeed would have the response

of faith today to put into practice all that

you teach us that you give us Open minds open

hearts to receive all that you have that the

Holy Spirit himself would empower us To do all

that we in ourselves could never do We're thankful

that you have done for us what we could not do

in bringing us salvation through Jesus Christ,

the Savior of sinners. So be glorified in our

midst then this morning, Father, as we open your

word, save the lost, strengthen the saved, and

we ask in Jesus' name, amen. Well, we've been

looking at the church the last several weeks,

and so this week I was... determined to find

the best picture of the church that I could in

the Bible. We've been talking a lot about it,

but it always helps to have a picture. Some of

us can't quite get the idea without a picture.

So I went to Revelation for a picture of Christ

and his church. Now you'll remember that when

we looked at this, book in its entirety back

in 2019. Seems incredible that it's been that

long already, but it has been that long. The

book of Revelation is a revelation of Jesus Christ

and His Church that is universal. In other words,

from the time it was written forward, it has

application to the Church because The Bible is

always relative to, first of all, whom it was

written to. And we know that it was written to

the church. And then it's also relevant because

it's timeless. It's unchanging. It's the unchangeable

truth of God. That's the Bible, which the Revelation

is a part of. So I'm going to go here then to

the first chapter. And we're going to look at

the first chapter of Revelation. So we're just

going to go through these. Perhaps we'll be more

of a Bible study this morning, but we'll see.

So in the first verse of the first chapter, we

read the revelation of Jesus Christ. Now remember,

this isn't just talking about the first chapter.

This is talking about the whole book. This is

a revelation of Jesus Christ. It is a revelation

of Jesus Christ, but it's mostly symbolic in

its representation. In other words, we're not

going to see a physical picture here of Jesus

Christ. We're going to see things that represent

Jesus Christ, that tell us about Jesus Christ.

So it's a symbolic book. It uses symbols or pictures

to depict the teaching. So it tells us which

God gave unto him to show unto his servants things

which must shortly come to pass. And he sent

and signified it by his angel unto his servant

John, who bare record of the word of God and

of the testimony of Jesus Christ and of all things

that he saw. So there you have it. He gave the

revelation to John. John saw the revelation.

It was a vision of multiple visions. and he gave

it to his faithful servant John. So it says in

verse 3, blessed is he that readeth and they

that hear the words of this prophecy and keep

those things which are written therein for the

time is at hand. Okay, so there's the blessing

of Jesus Christ upon his word. Those who receive

it, who hear it, who read it, blessed be ye.

Nothing can be better than to receive A promise

really, the promised blessing of Jesus Christ

upon those who put these words into action. Hear,

read, and do. So it's an encouragement, or it

should be, to all the people of God that they

can indeed please their Lord and Savior Jesus

Christ. They can be assured of a purposeful and

profitable life simply by following His instructions.

It's really that simple. It's not difficult.

He's told us. He's not a God that hasn't revealed

Himself. He has. And He's let us know, He's going

to be letting us know through the first chapter

here and of course all the rest of it, the same

as He has done in the whole Bible, what we're

to do. So He says then in verse 4, John to the

seven churches which are in Asia grace be unto

you and peace from him which is and which was

and which is to come and from the seven spirits

which are before his throne and from Jesus Christ

who is the faithful witness and the first begotten

of the dead and the prince of the kings of the

earth unto him that loved us and washed us from

our sins in his own blood So you have the Trinity

there, you have the Father first, you have the

Spirit second, and you have the Lord Jesus Christ

here listed third in the Holy Trinity, the three

-in -one God that we worship. And he says, John

can't just say that. You know something? We do.

We just read these verses or whatever. We read

a lot of different verses and we just read them.

We've become so familiar with everything, perhaps,

that the amazement of it, we've lost it. We've

lost the ability to be moved by the truth that

we read. Well, John wasn't that way. He has to

break into this doxology. praise and thanksgiving

at the end there when he says unto him that loved

us and washed us from our sins in his own blood

and then he goes on and hath made us kings and

priests unto God and his father to whom be glory

and dominion forever and ever amen so now this

is a familiar statement we've just looked at

this maybe it was last week where we're in Peter

where he is Revealed or told us once again that

we are kings and priests. We don't become it.

We are We are the kings and the priests So we're

asked how we're to act and if you understand

we've explained that You know, we're not we're

not ruled by sin We're to be kings over that

We don't we're not dominated by sin We're to

rule our bodies for the glory of God. We don't

let sin have its way. It has no power over us,

so on and so forth. We're priests. We represent

God to people and people to God. We pray, primarily,

is how we exercise our priesthood. We pray for

one another. We pray for the lost. We pray for

our leaders. We pray, pray, pray. That's what

a priest does. And of course, a priest would...

verbally speak of his God to others as well.

So we have then a declaration of truth in verse

seven. Behold, behold, pay attention, are you

listening? Behold, he cometh with clouds, and

every eye shall see him, and they also which

pierced him. and all kindreds of the earth shall

wail because of him even so amen so as a declaration

a promise if you will jesus is coming again he's

come the first time to be the savior he'll be

the coming the second time to bring his people

who are yet on the earth to glory and to punish

all of the wicked he is returning not as a humble

servant, Savior, but as a royal king, He is coming.

So we put our faith in that. We put our faith

in God's Word, the revelation of Himself, the

things that He's told us. He's coming again.

And when He comes, it's over. There are no second

chances. However many years you've had here,

If it's 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, how much

time and how much of an opportunity does a man

need to make his peace with God, to own his sin

and own the Savior? There's no second chances.

A lot of fairy tales are told out there. That's

just what they are, is fairy tales. The Bible

speaks nothing of that. You won't find it in

the Bible. It's a system of man -made tradition

and teaching that doesn't exist anywhere but

in their own imagination. So He's coming and

when He comes it's over. He seals your fate.

If you've repented and believed in the Lord Jesus

Christ, you have a glorious life ahead of you.

If you haven't, you have a most miserable wretched

life. All men are going to live forever. One

place or the other. And that fate is sealed by

what you did during your probationary period

right here on earth. Consider it. Consider it.

Do you know yourself a sinner? Do you know yourself

guilty before a holy eye? Do you know God is

willing to forgive you of that sin when you embrace

Jesus Christ as the Savior for sinners? And have

you done so? Are you right with God? Now is the

day of salvation. None of us know tomorrow. Today,

will you be saved? Will you humble yourself before

the mighty God? who sent his only begotten son

into the world to be the savior for sinners.

Will you? Do so, please. If you don't know him,

come to him today. For when you see him, it'll

be too late if you haven't. So he says there

in verse 8, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning

and the ending. Sayeth the Lord. Which is and

which was and which is to come the Almighty Okay,

so he's the Alpha and the Omega the beginning

and the ending There's nothing before him. There's

nothing after him. He encompasses everything.

He always lives in the present He has no past.

He has no future. He's in the present all the

time He knows everything because he's ordained

everything His plan is being worked out perfectly.

Alpha and Omega. Everything is under the control

of our Lord Jesus Christ. And as we're going

to see in a few verses, it's under control for

the benefit of His people, His Church. That's

why this world is still going on, folks. Right?

Not all the Church has been brought in. In other

words, not all of God's people are with God as

yet. When the last one comes it's gonna end there's

no other reason for this world to be in existence

Do you realize that? The significance of the

Church of God We've sung about it David talked

about it. I've been talking about it. We're talking

about it again. It is The one institution that

will never perish from the face of the earth

Kingdoms will wax and wane Organizations, institutions

will come and go. The church will never leave

the face of the earth until Christ returns. That's

the promise. That's the significance of what

you're a part of. Do you realize it? Well, we're

gonna get here, getting a picture of it. We're

gonna get more of a picture of it. So in verse

nine, he says, I John who also am your brother

and companion in tribulation and in the kingdom

and long suffering of Jesus Christ was in the

aisle that is called Patmos for the word of God

and for the testimony of Jesus Christ I was in

prison that was a prison Patmos was a prison

island he was a castaway he had no companions

no fellowship Maybe he had a few, we don't know

for sure, but he was out of the mainstream. He

was away from most of his brothers and sisters.

So he's on this island and he's declaring that

though I'm separated from you physically, I am

still your brother. I am your companion. I'm

suffering for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

He's not upset. He's not bitter. He's not mad.

He loves the Lord as much as he did before, but

he's a prisoner. But he's John. He's John, the

apostle John. He's declaring to us, to the people

that he was writing to, to the whole church,

I am your brother in tribulation. In other words,

do you see that the way the Christian church

is not a hierarchy? It's not governed by rank.

We know there are institutions and so -called

churches that are, but in the scriptures that

doesn't exist. It doesn't exist that way. He's

declaring his oneness with everybody. He's not

demanding any type of worship or homage or importance.

No. I am your brother, your companion. That's

how we are if we're in the church. We're one

in the church. We're not those who seek the priority.

And John certainly gives us a good example of

that. But in verse 10 we read, I was in the Spirit

on the Lord's Day and heard behind me a great

voice as of a trumpet. He was in the Spirit on

the Lord's Day, folks. Can we say the same? Do

you know what it is to be in the Spirit? Well,

John doesn't even bother to explain it because

it's so obvious. He was doing what he always

does on the Lord's Day. And hopefully you all

know by now this is the Lord's Day, the first

day of the week. He was in the Spirit. He was

worshipping. He was meditating. He was... in

communion with his God on the Lord's day, just

as he always has been, even though he's all there

by himself. He was in the Spirit. He had put

aside all of his cares, all of his problems,

and he was focusing on the Lord Jesus Christ,

worshiping his Savior, communing with him, remembering.

But he was in the Spirit. He wasn't a bit concerned

about the place he was in. It didn't matter.

I don't know where he was. Was he sitting on

a rock? Was he laying in the grass? It doesn't

tell us. But he was communing with his God, spirit

to spirit. Remember? Adam used to walk in the

garden with his God in the cool of the day. He

had real communion with God. It was real. He

felt it. He knew it. Just as He always did. There

wasn't anything special about it, in other words.

It was a very ordinary experience for Him. Hopefully

we can all say the same. Hopefully we understand

that when we come here on a Lord's Day, we don't

come, yeah, we're friendly and we greet each

other and everything, but we're here to meet

with God. That's what we're here for. We're here

to commune with Him. We want to worship our God

and we want to hear from Him. And when we're

in that, we're in the Spirit. The Spirit has

been given free rein in our lives to minister

to us according to our need and we do have need

of the Spirit's ministry. So notice that the

voice isn't some meek and quiet voice. It's not

something that you could miss. It's the voice

of a trumpet. It's loud. It's authoritative.

It has some oomph behind it. He's got something

to say and he's going to say it. Pay attention.

You can't just ignore this trumpet voice. And

here's what the... Here's what the voice said,

I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.

And what thou seest, write in a book and send

it unto the seven churches which are in Asia.

So there you have it. Again, the declaration.

This is the Alpha and the Omega. I'm here. You're

going to see this representation of me with your

own eyes. And so he says, write it. Write it

in a book. Why? Because it's important. This

is the last word from Jesus Christ. That's the

importance of this book of Revelation. It's the

last word, the last book written. Jesus is given

the last instructions and we're supposed to be

living on these instructions until His return.

It's rather amazing, isn't it, that That's the

case, but so little attention is paid to the

book of Revelation, except by all the fairy tales.

That's all over the place. This is a very practical

book. It's telling us about our relationship

with Jesus Christ. It's talking about the Christ's

care over his church. What does Christ think

of his church? He thinks more of his church than

probably we do. Because it is his church. He

has built it So he says write it and send it

to the seven churches why seven churches of Asia

Well, if you can remember the seven is a number

of completion or perfection in the book That's

a representation of the whole It's not it's not

that there's that's the only churches We know

Colossi, the Colossians, they were in Asia. They're

not listed here. So does that mean they're excluded?

Of course not. The Lord is his sovereign. He's

the ruler. So he says send it to these seven

churches. We also know that the letter was passed

around through all areas. There's multiplicity

of copies. Because that's what they did. They

wrote it down, they copied it, they sent it on.

And it's not seven different letters that he's

sending to these seven churches. It's one letter.

The whole book. It's not only the little part

in there about the particular church. He's to

send the whole thing to the seven churches of

Asia or to all of the churches that would ever

come into being. In other words, this is a completion.

The complete church is to receive this. very

important letter that is being written by John

declaring what he has seen. So then John says,

I turned to see the voice that spake with me

and being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks.

Excuse me. So before we look at the vision that

he saw, I want to go down to verse 17. and see

what John's reaction was to what he saw. He says,

John says in verse 17, and when I saw him, I

fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right

hand upon me, saying unto me, fear not, I am

the first and the last. So what was his reaction?

He fell down in worship. He didn't run away.

He wasn't so scared of this thing that he ran

away. Because he knew who he was talking to.

What did he do? He fell on his feet toward the

Lord. He worshipped. And he waited for the response

of his worship. And what was it? Was it anything

but love? That's exactly what it was. Love and

encouraging. Fear not. You're right in what you're

doing. He's not rebuked for worshiping the Lord,

but he is comforted and told that everything's

fine. I receive your worship. He laid his right

hand upon me. Fear not. I am the first and the

last. He's received. His worship is received.

Pretty encouraging. God wants our worship and

receives it. And He comforts us when we worship.

We bring our problems to Him. He takes them all

and comforts us. That's our God. Hopefully you've

experienced it. So what is it exactly that John

saw here? He says that he saw seven golden candlesticks.

Okay, and in the midst of the seven candlesticks,

one light unto the Son of Man. It was light unto

the Son of Man. In other words, it was a representative

or a symbolic representative of Jesus Christ,

who we know is the Son of Man. He was clothed

with the garment down to the foot and gird about

the pats with a golden girdle. His head and his

hairs were white like wool, as white as snow,

and his eyes were as a flame of fire, and his

feet likened to fine brass, as if they had been

burned in a furnace, and his voice as the sound

of many waters. And he had in his right hand

seven stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp

two -edged sword, and his countenance was as

the sun. shineth in his strength. So it's quite

a representation of our Lord Jesus Christ. What's

represented here in all these symbols? What's

he trying to tell John? He's trying to tell John

that I am the prophet, the priest, and the king

of the new covenant. These are all symbolic representations.

So the high priest, which is where he begins,

he has a long robe down to his feet and he has

a golden belt or a sash around his waist. That's

the garments of a high priest. He wants John

to know that he is in fact a high priest. He's

acting as the high priest of his people, of his

church. That's the... idea that he has already

accomplished that work of the high priest in

sacrificing himself, of dying, of being resurrected.

All of that is high priestly work. Now the bulk

of the representation is the kingship. All of

these things. It's a white hair is the crown.

It's a crown of holiness and purity. It's pure

white. unimaginably white holiness bronze feet

of power conquering eyes of fire in other words

penetration it's not like there were flames but

there were there were intense that ability to

see and to know and to command of the voice of

many waters and the power of his of his word

In other words, he's a king. He's a powerful

king. He has the right to command. He knows all

about us. And he loves us anyway. We say that

so glibly, I think, you know? It's true. It is

a true statement. But do you ever really get

the full feeling and impression of it? Do you

know yourself well enough to know that you're

not worthy of any such thing as God's love? That

if we ever got what we deserved, we'd all be

in hell. God knows us completely and loves us

anyway. That's an amazing statement. So, he's

our King. Now, obviously, we could go on and

on here, but I'm not going to because I'm just

trying to get the picture. I've already talked

about it. He commands he has commands. He rules

over us. He owns us We are to serve him We are

to bring honor and glory to him the king We're

not the king. We're not the king. He is the king

So nothing when our king is writing all these

details instructions we should be paying attention

And we should be putting into practice all that

he taught. Lastly, then, he's a prophet. His

face was as the sun, in brightness and in strength,

and his mouth was in a double -edged sword. In

other words, he rules and teaches his word. Double

-edged sword, that's the word. The word of the

spirit, the spirit of the word. It's double -edged,

the gospel. It either brings salvation or it

brings damnation. Double -edged sword. When you

walk away from the gospel, you just killed yourself.

That's all it is. You said, I don't need that.

It's not for me. It may be fine for you. I'm

glad for you, but I don't need it. Well, that's

not a good response. The response is, this is

exactly what I need. I am a sinner. So it's a

double -edged sword. It's good news for those

who can receive it. It's bad news for those who

can't because that's the only remedy for man,

the gospel. So he's the prophet. The prophet

is the teacher. So he's the teacher, the king,

and the high priest. And it's portrayed in these

symbols. And we could say much more about all

of them, but that's not necessary for today.

So in 18, he says, and is this confirmation of

who he is? How do we know who he is? Well, because

he told us who he is. I am he that liveth and

was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore.

Amen. And I have the keys of hell and of death.

So there's nobody else that fits those words

but Jesus Christ. That's who's before John in

this vision. So he says then again in 19, write

the things which thou hast seen and the things

which are and the things which shall be hereafter.

How can he do that? How can he know? Well, because

he's Alpha and Omega. That's how he knows. Nothing.

He lives in the present. There's no unknown future.

There's no forgotten past. It's in the future.

He's declaring it. He's declaring it because

he planned it. His purposes will stand. He'll

bring to pass everything that he said he would.

And he wants it written. So you don't have to

be surprised. I don't have to be surprised. Bad

things are going to be happening all the time.

all over the place i mean that's proven throughout

history and it's proven in our day people are

suffering and dying god's people are suffering

and dying probably daily we've been spared and

do we care do we appreciate it do we declare

our gratitude and love for god for sparing us

from all the torment and terrible tribulations

that are going on to forest people all over the

world? All right, so now we're going to get the...

we've seen it, but now we get the explanation

in verse 20. The mystery of the seven stars which

thou saw in my right hand and the seven golden

candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels

of the seven churches and the seven candlesticks

which thou saw are the seven churches. So here

you have this vision and there's seven golden

candlesticks around and they're lit and they're

shining they're light and right in the midst

of those candlesticks is this vision of Jesus

Christ. In other words, they're inseparable.

That's what he's telling us. Christ, the head

of the church, cannot be separated from the church,

the body of Christ. Does that make any sense

to you? It's just logic, is it not? It's the

most sensible thing that you could have. The

Bible declares the church is the body of Christ.

The Bible declares Christ is the head of the

church. Are you cutting off the head from the

body? They're together, they're inseparable.

What we do to each other, the Bible says, we

do to Christ. The way you treat each other is

the way you treat Christ. Do you love Christ

and not his people? That's an impossibility.

Do you love his people, but not Christ? Again,

it's an impossibility. They go together. Another

amazing truth, do you grasp the reality that

you as an individual are part of the body of

Christ? That you've been brought into the church

not to act like an individual, but to act like

what? a member of the body of Christ. You're

to benefit the whole body. You may be given gifts.

Those gifts are for the benefit of the body.

And who's glorified when the body is benefited?

Jesus Christ, the head of his church. Who's glorified

when we acknowledge the gifts that he's given

to the body of Christ, but the giver of the gift,

the Holy Spirit. It's a wonderful... inseparable

relationship, Christ and his church. And he loves

it. He glories in it. He gets glory from it.

Christ and his church are one. They're golden

candlesticks. They're not mud. They're not dirt.

They're not even brass. They're not even silver.

They're golden candlesticks. and they shed light

abroad. Golden, that's how Christ thinks about

his church. That's how much he values you, and

he values me. We're the golden candlesticks that

surround him, that are part of him, that glorify

him. And then he got the seven stars. And remember,

the number seven. It's not he's not just talking

here about these seven churches. He's talking

about all of his churches universal Seven stars

are the angels of the churches? every church

I Don't know but every every church is covered

by an angel The angel of the church that's what

he's telling us It is in fact an angel that is

involved covering the church. That's what it

says It's not anything else, but Take it to the

bank The angel is waiting for the command of

Christ to intercede for particular churches They

work at Christ's command they are his messengers

He sends them forth at His will. When the need

arises, the angel will be there. You have Daniel

for the biblical reference of the angel for the

church. Again, is it astounding? Do you think

about that stuff? That's how much Christ thinks

of His church. He's got an angel protecting the

churches. Does that mean that no harm can done?

No, it doesn't mean that it means that if hard

if Bad things come at what we call bad things.

We're gonna be helped In other words, the church

is gonna be here as we said in the beginning

There is no end until all ends He's gonna bring

us through if we die we go to heaven How do you

view your death Would you be all upset if you

died? I mean, you know, that's the truth. You've

made a great step forward whenever you die. Now,

those of us that are left here, we're going to

be sorrowful. We're going to miss you. But you're

not. You're not going to be sorrowful. You're

going to be rejoicing in the very presence of

God. So why would we fear? something that sends

us to God. Why would we fear him that can only

kill the body? They can't hurt us. They can only

free us from this battle, this warfare that we

fight daily against sin and send us victoriously

into heaven with our Savior, Jesus Christ. That's

the truth. That's the reality. How do you think

about it? just a couple of thoughts here to be

and i'll be finished the church now is according

to the vision to light be the light of the world

that's not a new thing that the gospels tell

us that we are the light of the world we are

the candlesticks we give off the light of christ

not our own life But Christ like So Number one

Jesus Christ rules in his church through his

word That's what that's I know that's not new

for you guys, but it is bedrock There's no rule

here in this church, but the Word of God we're

not going to do anything that's not in the Word

of God At least not knowing that. That's what

it is. The Word of God. It's not tradition. It's

not the Pope. It's not the Archbishop. It's none

of those things. It's Jesus Christ through His

Word, ruling the Church. Number two, Jesus takes

care of His Church. You know? He keeps the lights,

the lamps burning. He takes care of us. Just

as a priesthood did in the Old Testament, remember?

They had the candlesticks all over the temple.

And it was the priest's job to keep them lit,

maintain them, clean them, put new oil in it,

whatever it took. That's the same idea. That's

what Jesus does for us, to us. He maintains us.

He enables us to give the light that we're supposed

to give. He enables us to do whatever he's called

us to do, really. That's what he does. He's doing

it right here. He's doing it right now. He's

in our midst right now. He's owning this word

right now. He takes care of his lampstands. And

the third thing that we should learn from this

vision is that Jesus judges or disciplines His

church. Jesus is concerned about removing sin,

removing things that tarnish, things that hurt

the light of His church. He wants a pure church.

He wants it to be as free from sin as it can

possibly be on this earth. So the first thing

that we learn from that is that Christians people

who have made a profession of faith, people who

love the Lord and want to serve Him are members

of the Church and nobody else. That's what a

pure Church is. It's not that it's sins, but

it is a pure Church. It's not a mixed company.

It shouldn't be a mixed company. It's made up

of people who love the Lord, have agreed with

Him. They know they're sinners. They've received

the redemption that is theirs in Christ Jesus.

And then because of that, they want to be free

from sin also. They want to be done with sin.

They fight the battle. The battle is joined between

us and our sin. And we're supposed to be helping

the rest of the body of Christ to fight the fight

against their sin. In other words, we're truth

tellers, and we're truth receivers. We don't

want to sin, and Christ is going to help us in

the battle through the Spirit, through all the

means of grace, to gain the victory over our

sin. We've already gained the positional victory.

We're holy now, but practically speaking, we're

still in the fight. We're still fighting to practically

be sin -free, which we won't be until we get

to heaven, of course. But that's why the battle

lasts all of our life. We never settle down in

our sin. We never be satisfied that we're sinned

or that we still sin. We fight the battle and

Christ disciplines us. If we get into sin and

we don't recognize it, Christ is going to be

bringing some discipline upon us because he's

not going to allow us to remain in known sin.

So it's a glorious picture before us. Hopefully,

you know, I was able to convey some portion,

at least, of the glorious relationship between

Christ and His Church. The importance, the place

that the Church has in Christ's love. He gave

Himself for the Church, for His people. He loves

the Church. He views it as a glorious thing.

Remember we saw, we are actually His inheritance.

That's who He inherited when He died on the cross.

That's another glorious thing that we don't think

enough about. That's how He views us. So hopefully

we will give the proper priority to one another,

to the Church of Jesus Christ, honoring Him in

our relationships one with the other. and uh...