Jesus Shows Himself Perfect With His Church

STUDY: #913- CHURCH IN THE HOUSES FROM: SEPT. 27 @ OCT. 3, 2016

Topic: "Jesus Shows Himself Perfect With His Church” Revelation 1:8-20

Here we see Jesus showing how majestic, glorious and perfect He is in His holiness and justice, thus showing this way for His dealings with His Church. Many believers do not see Him this way as majestic and perfect. When people go to Jesus they do not see Him with the fear and respect that He deserves; they go to cry, to repent but without the offering, they do not tithe, they do not congregate, and this way they arrive at the church and nothing happens. False way of looking at Jesus! It is necessary to see and understand that He already went to the cross, that he was already spitted and mocked and already despised. Now, THAT IS NO LONGER IN HIM! HE WON! Before Him no one and after Him absolutely no one! He is the first and last! (Vs 8, 11) But, nowadays we even diminish His name. Jesus is our glorious savior who was crucified, but was victorious; He conquered death. He has absolute control of everything! Just once He came to earth, NOW HE IS AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, THE FATHER, EXALTED! Here in Revelation we see the DEMANDS OF THAT POWERFUL AND GREAT JESUS FOR THE CHURCH. The way the Lord wants His Church! John is the messenger and this he says about himself in Vs. 9: "...your brother and partaker in tribulation." There is tribulation for those who follow the Lord. Those who resist to the end will be saved; this is read in Matthew 24:13. If we resist, if we suffer, then we reign with Him (2 Timothy 2:12). In the Christian life there are struggles, wars, battles, agonies and complaints, it is not a life of awards in a terrestrial and human manner; the award comes as we endure, suffer and persevere faithfully before the great Lord. The path to the kingdom is the path of resistance (the ability to resist). He is in you as a mighty giant, well it means that the resistance you need to persevere is found in Christ, who is in you. (Revelation 1:9 "... and in the patience of Jesus Christ...") Because of his unwavering loyalty to the Word of God and his insistence on preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, the sentence of exile on the island of Patmos was imposed upon John. There John was in the Spirit! (Vs. 10) In order to listen you have to live in the Spirit. The Lord's voice sounded with an unmistakable clarity like the sound of a trumpet. John was in Patmos under human punishment but in the Spirit. We see that it is not the difficulty of life or what is happening, it is always possible to be in the Spirit! We read that God sends a message to the Church, He sends it with a quick action, urgent; He doesn’t allow delays (lateness). Revelation 1:11 "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches..." John turned to look; he turned around since the voice surprised him because he had his back (Vs.12). He saw seven candelabras and in the middle of the candelabras the Son of Man (Vs.13). Of course, who he sees is Jesus Christ Himself. He sees Him with a robe that reached down to His feet and a golden sash above the elbow; this is the proper clothing of the High Priest (Exodus 28:4, 29:5, Leviticus 16:4). Jesus presents Himself here with the same effect the high priest had in the village. Through the high priest there was access to God, the high priests opened the path to the rest of the men so they could approach God. IT WAS JESUS WHO OPENED THE WAY TO MEN TO THE PRESENCE OF GOD! The robe now worn by the Risen Christ represents His royalty. He was no longer a criminal on a cross as His people took Him; now He was dressed as a King. This garment is from the messenger of God who lets us see Jesus Christ as the supreme messenger of God. Jesus is presented as THE ONE WHO BRINGS THE TRUTH OF GOD, THE ONE WHO ALLOWS US TO ENTER THE PRESENCE OF GOD AND

WHO HAS RECEIVED FROM GOD THE POWER AND THE DOMAIN FOREVER! See to whom you come to humiliate yourself, to whom you come to worship, to whom you serve! John sees God! (Vs. 14, 15) His head and hair were white, as white as the wool or more than the snow (Daniel 7: 9). His voice was like the sound of many waters (Ezekiel 43: 2). The earth shone because of His glory. (Revelation 1:17 "...I am the first and the last ..." Isaiah 44:6) (Revelation 1:18 "... I am the Living One..." Joshua 3:10) ("...and I hold the keys of death and Hades. " Revelation 1:18) The Lord Jesus dominates everything, no one is above Him. His head and hair were white, as white as the white wool or like the snow. John saw Him as the Elderly of days, of a great age, in the eternal existence of Jesus Christ. Not like the one who was born as a man 2,016 years ago; He is eternal! His purity is immaculate! You cannot serve Him as if He was just one more. Better said, do not serve others as if they were God. His eyes were like blazing fire (Vs.14); His eyes, like torches of fire. He sees everything and judges it; everything goes through the flame of fire of His eyes. His feet were like polished bronze, fire refined in a crucible (where the metal is melted), burnished bronze that shined. His feet are already polished, no longer on earth. The bronze represents strength, the stability of God; the shine or brightness represents speed, God’s promptness to come and aid His own or to punish sin. The One who John saw is Emmanuel (God with us), who took the position of the redeeming Messiah and is now all God. His voice was like the sound of many waters (Vs.15), you have to shake to His voice. The voice of God, whatever it is, shudders our ordinary being and our spirit knows His voice. In His right hand He had seven stars (Vs.16). At last our Lord takes everything in Him. The hand of Christ is powerful enough to sustain the heavens and benign enough to wipe away our tears. Look at where you are; if in His hands or His feet of authority. His face was like the sun when in the fullness of its radiance. “When I saw him, I fell at His feet as though dead." (Vs.17) Here the Lord is not seen as the Jesus who was fishing, who healed, liberated, reprimanded and took pity when He first came to Israel; He is now before His church with all the authority of God. This is how great and powerful He presents Himself to John, no longer like the one at the cross, but rather as the God and Lord of the Church and of all creation. “The first and the last.” This is the description that God makes of Himself. (Isaiah 48:12). He lives watching after the church; so be careful where and how it is you move. No matter how you are, the Lord will see you as the Church and will come to an absolute conclusion of you. Then, He will come to work with you according to how He knows to do so. It is better for each of us to love and fear Him! Amen.