Encounters with God is a sermon series about the theophanies or divine appearances and how they reveal the stunning character of God and his heart for a world that is lost without him. How can we face the danger and chaos of this world with courage and poise? The Apostle John encountered Jesus while he was in exile. What did he learn? That Jesus has authority over life and death, that Jesus has a plan and knows the end from the beginning, and that Jesus is near and involved in his church. Recorded on Jan 9, 2022, on Acts 9, by Pastor David Parks.
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Sermon Transcript
All year, we’re talking about The Greatness of God. And today, we’re finishing our Encounters with God series. Next Sunday we’ll start a new sermon series called The Making of Heaven and Earth from Genesis 1-3. But, as we’ve said throughout this series: in the Bible, when God appears to someone it’s known as a theophany or divine appearing. And these encounters are wild stories; God never seems to act how we would expect. But these encounters, reveal the stunning character of God, and his heart to save a world that is lost without him. Well today, we’re finishing a series that started in the first book of the Bible by landing in the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation. And Revelation is wild, full of vivid and sometimes disturbing imagery. It’s written in the style of Jewish apocalyptic literature, which was a style popular in the first century AD, but no longer really exists, which makes it notoriously difficult for us to understand/interpret. The closest modern style, I would say, would be a combination of a zombie and superhero movie, everything is big and scary and there’s a cosmic battle between good and evil. So today, and like last week with the story of the conversion of the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus, we get another theophany of the risen Jesus, high and lifted up, to an elderly Apostle John. But in this, our final encounter with God, we’ll see that Jesus is the reason that we can face all the danger and potential chaos of the world with courage and poise. If you have a Bible/app, please open to Revelation 1:9.
Revelation 1:9-11 (NIV), “9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”
Let’s pause here. So the Apostle John was a young man when he met Jesus and started following him with his brother James. Based on the gospel accounts, he seems to have had anger issues when he was young, but by the time he was an old man, he was known as the Apostle of love. John was raised near the Sea of Galilee, like Jesus, but eventually served as a bishop over the churches in the region of Ephesus in Turkey. You never know where your life might take you or how you might change when you start to follow Jesus. But here, toward the end of a long life, we’re told that John is in exile on the Island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. They didn’t kill him for talking about Jesus (although according to historical accounts they tried several times), but they did send him into exile. Perhaps, for this reason, much of John’s vision is similar in style to Daniel’s and Ezekiel’s theophanies when they were in exile in Babylon. John says that it was the Lord’s Day, meaning it was Sunday, the day that Jesus rose from the dead. This is why Christians continue to gather for worship on Sundays.
We don’t know if anyone else was there, but at least John was worshiping that Sunday, he was in the Spirit and he heard a loud voice like a trumpet calling him to write down what he would see and send it to the seven churches of the Roman province of Asia or modern Turkey. Let’s look at a map so we understand where in the world we’re working here. John was on the Greek Island of Patmos in the middle of the Aegean Sea. And he was commanded to write to the churches of seven influential cities of western Turkey. Now, these weren’t the only cities with Christian churches at the time. But the number seven in the Bible seems to represent fullness or completion. So the command to write to these seven churches was meant to be both a revelation for those churches and also for churches everywhere, for all time, even to us today. v. 12.
Revelation 1:12-20 (NIV), “12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. 19 “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”
This is God’s word. So, there are so many interesting details in this encounter with God. First, John says that the mighty voice started speaking behind him. So it’s interesting to me that to respond to the voice of Jesus, John must turn. Turning around and going in a new direction is a picture of repentance. It doesn’t say that John needs to repent of sin, but everywhere the gospel is preached, the way people respond is by repentance (turning from your way) and faith (turning to the way of Jesus). So John turns, and who does he see? One like a son of man, standing among seven golden lampstands. His description of one like a son of man is meant to remind us of the prophet Daniel’s vision in Daniel 7:13–14 (NIV), “13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” So here, in exile/worship, John turns and sees this mighty King of the Kingdom of God. One whose reign and rule would never end. One who would be worshiped by people all over the world. John’s description of Jesus is amazing. He’s dressed in pure white and gold and he’s like blazing fire, shining with all the brilliance of the sun. These are all meant to convey something of the character of Jesus. He isn’t stained by sin/oppression/corruption like one of the kings of this world. He’s pure. He’s holy. He’s radiant with glory, honor, and praise. We’ve seen this before, this struggle to describe a heavenly reality within the bounds of earthly language.
But he isn’t just impressive to look at, he’s speaking. From start to finish, the Bible presents God as one who speaks. God speaks to us, his people. God speaks and creation springs to life. As we’ll see next week when God speaks he brings light into darkness, he brings order into chaos, and he brings life where there is no life. John envisions the word of Jesus to be a sharp, double-edged sword. Hebrews 4:12 (NIV) says, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” God has spoken in the past through the prophets and apostles, but no one reveals more of who God is and what God has done and what God promises for our future than Jesus, the word of God made flesh, as John wrote in his gospel. So God still speaks to us to this day through his Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is alive today, the king of glory, and his weapon is the sword of his word.
And how did John respond to this theophany, this encounter with the risen and ascended Jesus, high and lifted up? How would you respond? v. 17 says, “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.” What a shock! But look how Jesus responds to his old friend, John. “Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid.” He reaches out to reassure him, the king of heaven. It’s ok, I’m really here. But is this the Jesus that John befriended and followed all those years ago? Jesus tells John, “I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!” This has to be Jesus! Who else died and rose again? John saw him die and he saw him rise again. He was one of the eyewitnesses. Though he had all the glory/honor/praise of heaven, it was still his friend who had come to him in exile. Amazing.
Well, what did he have to say? If you read through Revelation, Jesus has a lot to say. But in the rest of our passage for today, Jesus reveals three things with the power to strengthen us to face anything today with courage and poise. Why shouldn’t we be afraid in this life? There are many scary things in this broken world. Dangers and difficulties abound. Life seems so fragile at times. And if God is real, why would that necessarily be good news? No one is perfect. And some of us have said or done some terrible things. Are we not guilty? Will we not have to give an account of our lives to our Maker? No wonder people are always falling down in the presence of God. So Jesus, why should John not be afraid? He gives three reasons at least. First: Jesus says, “I hold the keys of death and Hades.” Jesus, the risen one, had died and was buried. But on the third day, he rose again, which marked the beginning of a whole new age of history. One where God would unite and renew all things under the Lordship of Jesus. Now he is the Living One, he is life itself. Jesus is the source of life and is the one who sustains all life with a word of his power. Don’t be afraid. Why? Because Jesus holds the keys of death and the grave. One of the most profoundly unsettling aspects of Covid is that we all have been continually reminded of our own mortality and the mortality of our loved ones. Fear of death is understandable and real. But if death isn’t an obstacle for Jesus, then it won’t be the end of your story, either. Are you afraid of death? Turn to Jesus, he is life without end.
Second, why shouldn’t we be afraid? In v. 19 Jesus says, “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.” So much of our stress and anxiety comes from our lack of knowledge about what will happen tomorrow. We, human creatures, are amazing inventions. But we are very much finite. We are limited. We can not control much of our lives. And we do not know what our future holds. But there is one who knows. There is one who holds the future in his hands. There is one who knows how to work all things for the good of those who love him. There are religious scholars who don’t believe this could be true. They study the Bible and interpret all prophecy as having been written after the fact. Their starting point is that God can’t know or prophecy the future. But if God is God, how could he not know what will happen? How could his plans not supersede the plans of human beings? And from start to finish, the Bible records just such a God, one who stands outside of time and space. One who transcends his creation. One who knows the end from the beginning. One who can confidently say, “This will happen.” Are you afraid of the unknown of the future? Do you struggle with anxiety? Turn to Jesus, he is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. And his plans are good, his work is sure. All the promises of God will find their yes and amen in him.
Third and finally, why shouldn’t we be afraid? In v. 20, Jesus says, “The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” The lampstand with seven lights is also called the menorah or the golden lampstand of the tabernacle and then the temple in ancient Israel. But John sees Jesus as walking among seven lampstands which are interpreted as the seven churches here. Elsewhere in Revelation, the lampstands also represent the Spirit of God. So the Church here is vividly presented as the location of the Spirit of God with Jesus walking among them, holding in his hand the angels or messengers of each church. When are we most vulnerable to fear? When we feel like we’re all alone. But are we alone in Christ? Think about this imagery again. Jesus actively, carefully holding, protecting, working, near and involved in his church, not far off and removed from his people. Even in exile, when John might’ve felt lost and lonely, Jesus was near. Are you afraid you’re the only one who is faithful? Have you been abandoned in the past and are afraid it’ll happen again? Turn to Jesus, he is the one who walks with us and holds us in his hands and who assures us, comforts us, and gently corrects us when we need it. He has promised to be with us even to the end of the age. He has promised never to leave you or forsake you. He is the faithful one.
In all of the encounters with God that we have seen, it’s remarkable how consistent God is. He is glorious, high and lifted up, and radiant with splendor. God is great. But these encounters all reveal God’s heart for people, his heart for a world that is lost without him. They reveal his desire and his plan and his work to rescue and redeem and transform us by his Son and Spirit. This is who God is. God is great. And God is good. And we are safe in his hands today. Let us rejoice and be glad in him.