“Love in Spite of…" – FBC Morning Light (11/30/2023)

Things from this first chapter of Revelation. In verse 4, John tells us that he's writing to the seven churches which are in Asia. Now, if you've read Revelation before, you know that you're going to hear more about these seven churches in chapters 2 and 3.

In fact, most of these churches are going to be confronted with some pretty serious problems that they have in those churches. But before dealing with those problems that the Lord Jesus himself is going to address in chapters 2 and 3, listen to what John says to them here in chapter 1, verse 4.

He says, 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. So he's saying grace to you from God the Father, God the Spirit, and thirdly, and from Jesus Christ, God the Son, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.

So to these churches, whom we're going to find out, most of which have some pretty serious sin problems, he begins by, you know, praying for grace to them. Grace and peace from the Trinity, from the triune God, from God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Then he says, at the end of verse 5, speaking of Jesus, to him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood and has made us kings and priests to his God and Father. Aren't you get the significance of that?

Again, these are the seven churches, most of which have serious sin problems. And so what John is communicating here is that in spite of all my foibles and my failures and my weaknesses and the things that I need to deal with, and the areas in my Christian life where I need to grow, in spite of those things, the Lord Jesus loves me, and he has freed me from my sins by his blood.

I won't pay the eternal penalty for those sins, because he has done so. He's freed me from the penalty of those sins by the shedding of his blood, paying that penalty for me. And he has brought me into his kingdom, and has made me a priest in that kingdom.

He's made me one who can lead people to God, be a mediator of God's truth to other people. These are wonderful blessings that I have in Christ Jesus, and they are mine in spite of myself, if you will.

This is a wonderful, encouraging way that John begins this letter, because he's, you know, very soon going to have to share with these same seven churches some very serious things that the Lord Jesus calls them out on.

So that's one encouraging truth here in this opening chapter. The other is what comes next in verse 7. John says, Behold he, Jesus, is coming with clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, they who pierced him.

And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him. There is a very real truth that is scoffed at, mocked at, ignored by the vast majority of people on the planet, and that is, Jesus is coming again.

And he, when he comes, he will be seen by all. All will know him, and all will end up bowing before him. Every eye will see him, and even those who pierced him. And you know who that is? That's really, all of us are that responsible for that.

Every eye will see him. Every sinner will see him. And even those who are responsible for his death on that cross. And the verse goes on, All the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him. That day's coming.

That day's coming. It may come before this month ends. It may come before the year ends. I don't know when it'll be. When John wrote this, he didn't know when it would be. But he ended this book, we'll see in a few days, with the prayer, Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Even so, Lord Jesus, come. Our Father and our God, we thank you today for the love of the Lord Jesus for us as sinners. Oh, how unworthy we are that he would love us, that he would free us from our sins by his blood, that he would bring us into his kingdom.

And yet, O Lord, you have done so, and we thank you and praise you for it. And now, O Father, I pray, be with us the remainder of this day. Help us to walk with you, and live for you, and love you, we ask in Jesus' name.

Amen. All right, well listen, have a good rest of your Thursday, and may your month end well. God bless.