May 21-23, 2016 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Numbers 6:22-27 THREE IN ONE GOD/THREE IN ONE BLESSING!

TRINITY SUNDAY

May 21-23, 2016

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Numbers 6:22-27

THREE IN ONE GOD/THREE IN ONE BLESSING!

1.     A Blessing of Protection.

2.     A Blessing of Graciousness.

3.     A Blessing of Peace.

Numbers 6:22-27 (NIV) “The LORD said to Moses, ²³“Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: ²⁴“‘“The LORD bless you and keep you; ²⁵the LORD make his face shine upon you   and be gracious to you; ²⁶the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”’ ²⁷“So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

          It might be hard to see from the inside, but you can easily see it from the outside. Our sanctuary has a three in one roof. It’s true. Three separate roofs make up the one roof over our worship space. What a blessing it is to have it! It keeps the rain off of us and the sun when it’s hot in summer. It keeps the heat in when it is cool in winter. And can you imagine what might have happened if we had no roof when those geese were up there. I did a little roofing back in my college days but I really don’t know how to build a roof, certainly not one of these dimensions. But it doesn’t matter what I understand about roof making. I’m still blessed by having one. So are you. In a similar way we don’t’ have to figure out all the ins and outs of how God can be three separate persons but only one God to be blessed by Him. It’s enough to be blessed. Let’s rejoice in that truth today as we look a little more closely at some words we get to hear a lot. The three in one blessing!

          Now the Triune God is hard to understand. But you know what’s really hard to understand? The fact that this God continues to bless sinners. Let’s consider the context of the three in one blessing. God originally put it in place right after He had led the people of Israel out of their slavery in Egypt. Do you remember how the people acted toward God? As soon as they encountered the admittedly difficult predicament of being caught between the impassable Red Sea and the pursuing Egyptian army they turned on God really cursing Him for freeing them from slavery. You know the rest of the story how God miraculously dried up the Red Sea so they could pass through safely only to have the walls of water come crashing down on the pursuing Egyptian army drowning them in one fell swoop. Then you know how God had Moses go up on Mt. Sinai to get the Ten Commandments. During that time the people of Israel threw a party for themselves, made the Golden Calf and gave it credit for saving them instead of God. Later they grumbled and complained again and again and again. That’s the thanks God gets. It would be very understandable if God had wiped them off the face of the planet or at the very least walked away and left them to themselves. And yet when it comes time to prescribe the worship life for His people God wants to bless them. Amazing!

God is still amazing because we really are no different. In spite of God’s goodness to us and all the times He has come to our rescue and made seemingly impossible problems work out when the next one comes there we are again, wringing our hands, maybe even mad at God. Grumbling. Complaining. How many times hasn’t it happened that when some success has come our way, on the inside if not out loud, we have taken the credit for it, setting ourselves up as the Golden Calf. God still wants to bless us. He is amazing. And so is His blessing. Let’s look at what it contains.

“The LORD said to Moses, ²³“Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: ²⁴“‘“The LORD bless you and keep you.” The first part of the blessing is a blessing of protection. God does want the best for His people. That’s what the word bless means, to have good things happen. He also wants us protected from harm. That’s what the word “keep” means here. Guarded or protected. Maybe some of you young and old have some kind of a treasure box at home, somewhere special where you keep special things. Maybe your collections or things that have special meaning, maybe your valuables. If God had a treasure box do you know what you would find in it? You. His people. You are God’s treasure. Hold on to that when something you consider bad happens to you. Remember then that just as you can’t understand the nature of the Triune God you aren’t going to be able to correctly judge His actions or allowances. Anything that you consider to be bad that He allows to happen He already has in place a plan to work for your good. Our 3 in 1 God wants you blessed with a blessing of protection.

He also wants you blessed with a blessing of graciousness. The prescribed blessing goes on. ”The LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.” God says He wants his face to shine on us. Have you ever stopped to consider what that means? The opposite of a shining face would be a darkened face. Let me show you one. Now you can see what God means. If it was His will to look on us with a darkened face it would be because He was angry over our sins. Now He has a right to do that because we do sin. Yet that’s not what He wants to do. He wants to have His face shine on us. That means He’s smiling at us. It’s called being gracious. Have you ever been at a very formal occasion like a dinner where a serious social blunder occurred? Maybe a glass was tipped over or a burp slipped out. A gracious host would cover over that mistake, not bring it to everyone’s attention. God is gracious to us. Each day we sin against Him. Unlike many people who seem to delight in pointing out that failings of others God covers over them with the blood of His Son Jesus. He makes them go away. And His graciousness continues. He gives us gift after gift after gift. Our 3 in 1 God gives us a blessing of graciousness.

And He concludes with a blessing of peace. ”The LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Similar to have His face shine on us is having the Lord turn His face toward us. It’s another word picture by which the Lord assures us of His love. The opposite of turning His face toward us would be to have Him turn His face away from us. We would call that turning His back on us. Instead God’s blessing indicates that He always welcomes us and wants to see us. He’s telling us that we have direct access to Him in prayer. And He wants us to have peace. You’ve heard this Hebrew word before. It’s shalom. It describes the peace that goes beyond all understanding. It’s not the absence of strife or problems in our earthly life but the certainty that God will take care of things. This peace flows from the peace won by Jesus. Since we know that our sins have been removed and God does not hold them against us we can count on His help in every trouble. We get God’s peace even when there are terrorist attacks and political strife. We have God’s peace through loss of job of loss of life. God wants us to have a blessing of peace. It’s part of  the three in one blessing from the three in one God.

For the life of me, I can’t figure why someone wouldn’t want that blessing every week. As God finished his instructions on what was to happen when God’s people worshipped Him each week He said, “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

 They, the priests, pastors, will put my name on them and I will bless them! God has bound Himself to bless those who receive this blessing. Who would want to give that up? We know who wants us to give that up. The Devil. Summer’s coming! Will you be receiving God’s blessing or giving it up? The blessing part is up to God. Receiving it? Well that’s up to you. Amen.

April 30, May 1-2, 2016 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: 2 Kings 6:15-17 “LORD, OPEN OUR EYES!

EASTER 6

April 30, May 1-2, 2016

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: 2 Kings 6:15-17

“LORD, OPEN OUR EYES!

1.     To see the real enemy.

2.     To see Your real protection.

2 Kings 6:15-17 (NIV1984) “When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” the servant asked. ¹⁶“Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” ¹⁷And Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

          Some of you may be familiar with the name Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He was a Lutheran pastor in Germany during the time of Adolph Hitler and the Nazis. He spoke against the Nazi government was imprisoned and executed just two weeks before U.S soldiers liberated the prison camp he was in. Bonhoeffer is famous for writing a book called the Cost of Discipleship in which he spoke out against what he called cheap grace. Now obviously grace is free. It’s God’s goodness which flows from His love freely given to undeserving sinners. From my quick perusal it appears Bonhoeffer was frustrated with how he saw members of the visible Christian church living and so he described cheap grace as “any grace that justifies sin along with the sinner, grace that preaches forgiveness without requiring repentance and grace that comes with no expectations of discipleship or cross.” Without totally agreeing with him because grace is just that, grace, what I think he was really reacting to was the way sinners cheapen God’s grace when they use it as an excuse to keep sinning instead of motivation to fight sin, or to stop calling sin what it is, or use grace as an excuse for lazy Christian living instead of zealous Christin living.

          That makes me wonder if we could also talk about a cheap Easter. No, I don’t mean saving your pork perks to get a cheap Easter ham, which is good. I mean when we Christians don’t allow the message of  Easter to permeate our everyday living. Jesus lives! He is risen indeed. Joy is ours. We have the right to be the happiest people on the planet. There is no such thing as hopeless. Those are facts that nothing can change. But when we live as though Jesus were still dead, have no joy and no confidence are we cheapening Easter? There are some things only God can do. One of those is enabling us to see things as they really are. Let’s keep that thought in mind as we look at an event that happened way before the first Easter in Old Testament Israel where the Lord had to open some eyes as well.

          These were not shining times for the people of God. The 12 tribe kingdom of Israel God had established had been broken in two for almost 100 years now. The northern kingdom of Israel had suffered under the reign of wicked King Ahab and wickeder Queen Jezebel. Now they were dead. So after suffering attacks from within the nation, now God’s people were being attacked by neighboring nations including Aram or Syria. Elijah the prophet had been taken to heaven and his successor Elisha was God’s spokesman. Whenever the king of Aram planned an ambush to destroy Israel’s army, God, through Elisha, warned the king of Israel. As you can imagine the king of Aram thought he had a spy in his camp. But his men, probably remembering how their general Naaman had been cured of leprosy told him, “No! There is a prophet of God named Elisha. He’s telling them where they are.” So the  king of Aram sent soldiers to capture Elisha.

          That’s where we join the story. “When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” the servant asked. ¹⁶“Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Elisha’s servant was scared. Who could blame him? An army with horses and chariots was surrounding their city. They were facing a strong enemy. But Elisha’s servant didn’t see the real enemy, did he? Look again at Elisha’s response. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Now we know from what’s coming that the “Those who are with us” are God’s angels. Who then are the “those who are with them?” The them is the army with chariots and horses. The “those” are the opposites of God’s angels, the demons. The Devil. This is the real enemy. He was behind the attacks against God’s people just like he had been behind Ahab and Jezebel.

          Brothers and sisters, times come in our lives when we wake up and look around and we find we are facing enemies. We see a society that keeps rejecting God’s rights and wrongs and seems to blame us Christians for what God says. We see the drug dealers who are trying to lure our kids into a lifetime heroin addiction. We see a family member who keeps saying those hurtful words. And it’s true that those in the world who love sin and hate God are enemies. But Lord, open our eyes. The real enemy is the Devil and demons with him whose ultimate and eternal existence is Hell, the fire God prepared for them. As God had the Apostle Paul remind us in Ephesians 6, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” LORD open our eyes to see the real enemy.

          And open our eyes to see your real protection. “And Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” Elisha prayed for the LORD to open his servant’s eyes and when he did the servant saw the truth, the angel armies of the Lord. There was nothing to be afraid of. God had it under control.

          God has it under control. These attacks on Old Testament Israel were not just happening because the Devil and the demons like to see people hurt and killed. These were attacks against Jesus, even though He had not yet come into the world. Just as the Devil tried to use people to kill Jesus right after He was born and before He went to the cross the Devil was trying to kill Jesus by getting rid of His ancestors. But it didn’t work. God is always about the salvation of souls. He will not be denied. As Elisha’s servant saw those who are with us are more than those who are with them.

          That’s God’s real protection. If He chose He could open our eyes to see the angel armies. While there are enemies to God and His people today, enemies with skin on, and we can and should take the appropriate steps to keep our kids safe from predators and drug dealers or to speak up as US citizens against advancing immorality God’s real protection is Himself and the angel armies thwarting the plans and plots of the evil one. Fear is not our master. Doom and gloom not our destiny. Jesus is our master and heaven is our home. And absolutely nothing happens in our lives that is not under God’s control. Nothing happens that He will not also work for the good of people like us who love Him and have been called according to His purpose. Lord, open our eyes. We don’t want to live lives like Elisha’s servant wringing his hands whining “What are we going to do?” Rather we want to live lives like Elisha with a light smile saying, “Let’s see what God will do, with us or without us!” Lord, open our eyes!

          Open our eyes so we aren’t guilty of having a cheap Easter, you know where Christians cheapen Easter by acting as though Jesus is dead and the Devil won instead of  Him. Think of the message of Easter. Joy. Confidence. Comfort. When we live our lives letting Easter truth permeate our existence we will be the happiest people on the planet. Oh we may fail in that from time to time. But we don’t have to and we don’t want to. We don’t want to because we heard Jesus in His letter to the church at Laodicea say that lukewarm Christians are distasteful to Him. We heard Him tell His disciples there is no reason for our hearts to be troubled nor be afraid. Jesus lives! And because He lives those who are with us will always be more than those who are with them. God give us strength to believe it and live it outside these walls. Amen.

April 16-18, 2016 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: John 10:22-30 “WHAT A JOY TO BE JESUS’ SHEEP!”

GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY

April 16-18, 2016

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: John 10:22-30

“WHAT A JOY TO BE JESUS’ SHEEP!”

1.     Sadly some refuse to be.

2.     Happily we are!

John 10:22-30 (NIV 1984) “Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. ²⁴The Jews gathered around Him, saying, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” ²⁵Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in My Father’s name speak for Me, ²⁶but you do not believe because you are not My sheep. ²⁷My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand. ³⁰I and the Father are one.”

          Have you ever taken a personality test? There’s all kinds of them out there. They ask you questions about your likes, dislikes, how you would likely respond to different situations. Many of the tests of the past used animals to describe your personality and so you might test out to be a lion, a beaver, an otter, or a golden retriever. I saw one that claimed to use over 50 different animals to really nail you down. I’m guessing that under most circumstances it’s not considered good to test out as a sheep. And yet the Word of God before us clearly shows that a sheep is exactly what each of us wants to be, at least when we are talking about Jesus’ sheep. What a joy to be Jesus’ sheep!

          Sadly some refuse to be. “Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.” John chapter 10 in the Bible is known as the Good Shepherd chapter of the Bible. Because of God’s constant pictures of His care like that of a shepherd with his sheep, most notably in Psalm 23 Jesus used the picture too. As he revealed Himself again and again as God’s Son, the Messiah, the Savior from sin, He called himself the Good Shepherd, a picture the Jewish people would readily recognize from everyday life and Old Testament Scripture. He is the Good Shepherd. It’s now about two months after Jesus revealed that truth. He’s at the Temple at a time when many would be there.

           “The Jews gathered around Him, saying, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Now at first this sounds pretty good. It sounds like they are eagerly seeking truth. Until you hear Jesus’ response. “Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in My Father’s name speak for Me, ²⁶but you do not believe because you are not My sheep.” In many different ways Jesus had already told them who He was. He used the Bible’s titles for the Messiah. Every time Jesus said “I Am,” he was telling the people who he was, God. They knew it because sometimes they tried to stone Him. The specific miracles Jesus did, causing the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear were all specifically mentioned in the Bible as the miracles the Savior would do. They already knew. That’s why Jesus spoke to them some of the scariest words of Jesus that a person could possibly hear. “You are not my sheep.”

          “You are not my sheep.” There are some words you don’t want to hear. “You failed the test. You’re fired. You were 20 miles over the speed limit. You’ve got cancer.” These are so much worse. “You are not my sheep.” While those other words mean some consequences for earthly living, these are for eternity. For those who are not the sheep of Jesus are the goats to whom He said, “Depart from me you who are cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels.” Who hears these words? Those who don’t believe. Those who don’t believe Jesus is God’s Son and Savior. Brothers and sisters, hear these words and take them to heart and join me right now in praying, “Lord Jesus, please do whatever you have to do so that I am my loved ones never reject you. We do believe, help us overcome our unbelief. Amen.” Sadly some refuse to be Jesus’ sheep.

          But oh what a joy for those who are! “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand. ³⁰I and the Father are one.” Hey, let’s take one of those animal tests. What are Jesus’ sheep like? Maybe you want to jot down or underline these words. They: listen, are known, follow, have eternal life, are safe. First, Jesus’ sheep listen. They listen to His voice. Now this makes sense. Those who are not Jesus’ sheep do not believe. No one can believe on their own. That only happens when the Holy Spirit works in hearts and he does that in God’s word. This is where Jesus’ voice is. Now take the test. Are you listening to Jesus’ voice? Well yes here and that’s great but do you have a habit of daily listening? I’m not asking for a show of hands but do it inside. Jesus’ sheep hear His voice and listen to it.

          Jesus’ sheep are known. What a joy filled truth. Jesus knows each one of us personally. He knows your name. He knows what gives you godly happiness. He knows what you need. He knows when you are hurting and just what happened. He knows all those things you try to hide from other people and would be so ashamed if they find out. He knows and loves you every day the same whether you had a good day of serving God or a sin filled one.

          Jesus’ sheep follow. They follow Him. Kids here today, what does it mean when your teachers tell you to follow directions? It means that you not only read what they say but you actually do them, right? Older kids called men here today, have you  ever had to put something together that had some assembly required and something didn’t quite fit only to hear, well did you read the directions? Of course not, we always follow the directions… or not. Jesus’ sheep follow Him. His directions. You know we could go through every one of the 10 Commandments and find out each one of them is really for our good, to bless us. When we don’t follow the directions, sin, it hurts us. Jesus’ sheep follow Him. Do you follow Him? Is He your authority or is it the latest self help fix your family in five easy steps guy or gal? Or your own ways, what makes sense to you? Jesus’s sheep follow Him.

          Jesus’ sheep have eternal life. Being a sheep of Jesus means all kinds of blessings for this life. He guides and guards us every step of the way. Nothing happens that he won’t work for good. But as the Apostle Paul once said, “If only for this life we have hope we are to be pitied more than all men.” But we don’t. We have more. Jesus’ sheep get eternal life. And when my short life is ended, by his angel hosts attended. He shall fold me to his breast, there within his arms to rest.

          Jesus’ sheep are kept safe. One of the top needs of children of all ages is security. They need to feel safe. One of the top concerns of parents for their children, you got it, safety. Now, while I really hate to remind you of elections and politics, have you noticed how high safety is listed on the candidates’ platforms? People have a need for safety. Jesus’ sheep are kept safe by Him. “No one can snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand. ³⁰I and the Father are one.” The Bible makes clear that the real enemy of God and people is the Devil. The Devil hates God. The Devil hates people. He would like nothing better than snatch us away from Jesus. In times of trial or when things are going easy Satan is right there trying to snatch us away from Jesus. Not going to happen. Jesus won’t let it. He has the power of God and is God. He and the Father are one. When you feel like you are slipping or just can’t go on Jesus holds you his hands. You are safe in the arms of your Shepherd. Oh the joy of being Jesus’ sheep.

          The people of the world might look down on those who are considered sheep like. But it’s those who aren’t Jesus’ sheep that we need to feel sorry for. They are missing out. We are not. We know the joy of being Jesus sheep. Today Jesus looks at us and says, “You are my sheep and you listen to my voice. I know you and you follow me. I give you eternal life and no one can snatch you out of my hand.”  What a joy to be Jesus’ sheep! Amen.

April 2-4, 2016 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Revelation 1:9-16 “A COMFORTING PICTURE OF OUR LIVING LORD JESUS”

https://vimeo.com/161663541

April 2-4, 2016

EASTER 2

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Revelation 1:9-16

“A COMFORTING PICTURE OF OUR LIVING LORD JESUS”

1.     He knows where you’re at.

2.     He has all power.

3.     He has all authority.

Revelation 1:9-16 (NIV 1984) “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. ¹⁰On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, ¹¹which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”¹²I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³and 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. ¹⁴His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. ¹⁵His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. ¹⁶In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. ¹⁷When 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. ¹⁸I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”

          For this past Lenten season and Holy Week we looked at many different portraits or pictures of Jesus during His passion. It was interesting to try to picture the looks on Jesus’ face during the various events. Now it’s after Easter, after Jesus rose from the dead. What does He look like now? Well we know that when Jesus wanted it to happen, Mary Magdalene and the Emmaus disciples did not recognize Him. Then they did. The disciples in the Upper Room recognized Him with his wounds still visible. What do you think the risen Lord Jesus looks like now? I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that none of you pictured Him as John saw Him in Revelation. It was about 95, 100 A.D. And John received a picture of our Risen Lord Jesus that is very comforting. Let’s see why.

          First it’s comforting because it shows Jesus knows where we are at. Where was John at? “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. ¹⁰On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, ¹¹which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.” John was on a 40 square mile island of rock in the Aegean Sea. He had been exiled there by the Roman government I guess as an enemy of the state. His crime? He had been proclaiming the word of God as the truth and testifying that Jesus is God and Lord. I guess Rome hoped to minimize his influence. But did you notice how John saw himself in this book that is to comfort Christians until the end of this world? Your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus. Suffering, kingdom, patient endurance. In Jesus.

          Do you do Easter baskets in your home? If so, what did you get? The Easter baskets of those who follow the risen Lord Jesus can be filled with suffering, kingdom, patient endurance. Look at John. What was Patmos like? I’m guessing at the time if it was used for exile it probably held mostly prisoners. It was no Aegean Sea resort. I’m sure John longed to be with his fellow believers. He suffered for following Jesus. Kingdom. Jesus’ kingdom. Not like the ones of the world. It’s Jesus ruling in the hearts of His loving subjects through love and the Gospel. It lasts to eternity. Patient endurance. John would have to wait and endure patiently  for the Lord to help him. But Jesus knew where he was at. He was not abandoned.

          Neither are you. Jesus wanted John sharing this vision of him with all his followers, us included. That’s why God made sure it was written in the Bible. John is our companion in suffering, kingdom and patient endurance. That means as faithful followers of Jesus we will experience it too. I haven’t been exiled, not even beaten or whipped for that matter. But sufferings for Jesus still come. They might be the laughs behind the back when you stand for what is right, or the things you miss out on because Jesus comes first. There might be some more obvious ones coming down the road. Kingdom. We are part of Christ’s kingdom too. He rules in our hearts now through His love and we will rule all things with Him in eternity. Patient endurance. Ooh, yeah, there is a better way of handling things than complaining. Jesus knows where we are at.

          He has all power. “I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³and 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. ¹⁴His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. ¹⁵His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. ¹⁶In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.”  I ask you again, is this what you picture the risen Lord Jesus looking like? Remember this is Revelation. The visions are pictures that teach truth. The seven golden lampstands are the 7 churches serving as light to the world where God had placed them. The stars are the ones who brought God’s message to those churches. One translation says angels. I think better the messengers are the earthly ones, their pastors. They are held safely in Jesus strong right hand. Look at the description of Jesus again. Brilliant like the sun. A robe with a golden sash. Sounds good. But then head and hair white as snow. Eyes like blazing fire. Feet of glow bronze. A powerful voice and a mouth with a double edged sword. Sounds kind of scary. And it is for some. Can you imagine being a soldier in WWII hunkered down in a foxhole. Enemies all around you. Nothing you can do. All of the sudden the ground starts shaking. You hear the metallic clinking of heavy armor and tanks approaching. Are you scared of them? Well it depends whose side they are on right? If they are yours those intimidating looking tanks will be one of most beautiful sights you could imagine. So is this picture of Jesus. John had enemies, the Roman government, the false teachers who were vexing the young Christian church, the devil, the demons. With the exception of the Roman government we have the same enemies John did. Our government’s disposition toward Christianity may change. Those enemies look at Jesus and shake in terror. We look and our comforted because He’s on our side, more accurately, we get to be on His! Jesus has all power.

          And all the authority. “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. ¹⁸I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” You can understand John’s reaction. It’s the typical reaction a sinner has in the presence of a holy being, be it angels or God. But look instead at Jesus’ reaction. He put His right hand on John. “Don’t be afraid,” He said. And then Jesus gave John the reasons He did not need to have fear. Jesus is the living one. The I AM. Death had no authority over Jesus. It was the other way around. Jesus had the authority over death and Hell.

          Do you see what that means? The Devil can’t win. He’s already beaten. Hell isn’t his kingdom. It’s his prison! And Jesus has the key. All of the things the devil did to try to stop John from leading the early Church, no matter what he tries today, it is all under Jesus’ control. Just look at what happened with John. The government of Rome had exiled John to Patmos, about 40 square miles. What influence could he have there? So what does Jesus do but deliver the book we call Revelation with its messages to the seven churches and every other one after them, including us. John’s exile served Jesus glory. Thank you Roman government! You were used by Jesus. So are all the other plots and plans of the enemies of Christ and His followers. There is no need for to fret and worry. Jesus has all authority.

          It can be fun to look through picture books to see what you, your children, parents or grandparents look like at different stages of their life. We all have different pictures in mind of Jesus, mostly as artists have portrayed Him as a baby in the manger, a young boy at the Temple, a travelling teacher, the Good Shepherd, on the cross, in the upper room. The picture we looked at today is one God Himself provided. It shows our Lord Jesus at this stage with all power and all authority. He knows right where we are at, just what we need and everything that’s going on. As you leave today you can smile no matter what you are up against. This Jesus has your back!  Amen.