Sunday, May 12, 2024 AM

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Sunnyside Baptist Church Michael Dirrim, Pastor

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on the earth. The solution is immediately given, and Paul goes on to talk about how keeping our attention there, we experience the renewal that we desire, a renewal being made in the image of God.
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We must see the exalted state, the glorious state, the ascendant state, of our
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Savior, Jesus Christ. We must have that in mind. What picture do you think folks have when the name
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Jesus comes up? The name Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth. What kind of picture do you think people have in their minds when
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Jesus is brought up? I was just reading a line from,
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I think it was Francis Schaeffer, who said that he was growing more and more frightened of the name
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Jesus being used in all manner of conversations. Because so much of who
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Jesus is according to the Scriptures had been emptied out. The name Jesus vacated of biblical meaning to be filled in with whatever anybody thought should be there.
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When people use the name, people think, oh, they know who that is. But do they?
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Do we know the glory of our Savior, Jesus? What picture do people have of Jesus in their minds when
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His name comes up? What picture do we have in our minds?
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How do we think of Him? What do we consider?
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The Jews leave Jesus Christ in shadow. Liberals leave
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Jesus Christ dead in the ground. Roman Catholics leave
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Christ on the cross. Brothers and sisters, where is
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Christ to be found? At the right hand of the
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Father. He ascended. Forty days after, He ascended.
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Ten days before Pentecost, He ascended. Do we remember this?
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That Jesus Christ ascended to the right hand of the Father. We have days on our calendar.
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We look forward to Christmas for an extended season, and we celebrate the birth of our
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Savior, Jesus Christ. Our King, Jesus Christ. This is the 2024th year of our
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Lord Jesus Christ in the reign of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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We celebrate on Good Friday and on Easter. We celebrate the death of Jesus Christ and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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These are essential parts of the Gospel. The birth of Jesus Christ, born of Mary, born of the
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Virgin Mary, born as the God -Man. How essential to the Gospel. We celebrate on Christmas every year.
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How essential to the Gospel message is the death and resurrection of Jesus. And so we celebrate on Good Friday and Easter.
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These are important milestones in the story of the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, His person and His work.
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Where is Jesus today? Well, He ascended to the right hand of the
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Father. I wonder how clear people are on that. How often do people think of Jesus and think of Him as ascended to the right hand in His glorious, exalted, reigning state?
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Or when Jesus is mentioned, do we picture Him in the white robe and the blue sash and the long shampooed hair on a gentle, green, curving hill surrounded by children and Disney birds?
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How often do we think of Jesus Christ ascended in His glorified state? Or do we focus more on the critical matters?
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We remember Jesus Christ combating false teachers and in confrontational mode.
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We remember Him compassionate and doing powerful miracles, healing the lame and the blind.
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We remember Jesus Christ on trial being falsely accused. We remember Him scourged and beaten and shamed.
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We remember Him crucified upon the cross. And we recall Him resurrected from the dead.
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The empty tomb. The glory of Jesus talking to His disciples and saying,
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It is I. But how do we think of Jesus when we pray, when we worship, when we think of each other?
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How do we think of Jesus? Where is He? Thursday, May 9th, was
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Ascension Day. It's not a day that is highly acknowledged or thought about.
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Traditionally, Ascension Sunday is the day following Ascension Day that we may reflect and rejoice that our
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Savior is also our Sovereign, that He's at the right hand of the Father and He's ruling and reigning.
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And if Christmas is helpful, and if Good Friday and Easter are helpful, certainly
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Ascension Day and Ascension Sunday should be helpful. I find it interesting that there is a great lead -up to Christmas, even as there was great anticipation of the arrival of the
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Messiah amongst the Jews. I find it significant that on the day of Good Friday, on the day of Easter, we make sure that we rejoice and celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus.
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I also find it encouraging and significant that we celebrate
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Ascension Day after it happens, because every day we live is in the light of the fact that Christ has ascended.
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Every day we live today is in the light of something that happened in the past. Two years ago, when we started through the book of Acts, we started talking about the doctrine of the
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Ascension, about how the Ascension of Jesus Christ at the right hand is the fulfillment of God's promises.
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He is there at the right hand as the mediator of the New Covenant. He goes to the right hand of the
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Father that He may send forth the Holy Spirit to indwell His people as the sign and seal of the
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New Covenant. He is there at the right hand of the Father as the head of the church.
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And He is ruling over all nations. And even as Hebrews says, we do not yet see all in subjection to Him.
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It's a not yet. There's certain confidence and hope in that statement. We find
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Jesus Christ at the right hand interceding for His own, always pleading
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His own merits and His own blood on behalf of all of His who pray to God. And, of course, the promise that if He went away,
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He would come again, for He's preparing a place for us. The promise of the angels that Christ would return in like manner as He left.
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How important, then, is the ascension? It's vitally important. How much of our hope in everyday life is based on the fact that Jesus Christ ascended to the right hand to rule and reign.
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We are to be wonder -filled at our Ascendant Jesus Christ.
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Be wonder -filled at our Christ Ascendant. The head of our church is the ascended
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Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. He is the head of our church. He is the head of every local church.
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He is the head of the church plenary. If there were all churches to gather together at one time in one place, although they were from different regions and different languages and different cultures, and just different in all many ways, we would all still have one head.
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We would have one shepherd. And His name is Jesus Christ. And He is worthy of our praise and worthy of our glory.
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I want to encourage you this week in following sermons that when you think about the way in which
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I am preaching of Christ, how you're reading Christ in the Scriptures, especially in the book of Acts and following, think of and consider who
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Christ is, how He speaks, how He looks, who He is in all of His glory.
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When we pray to Jesus Christ, we're not praying to a soft man on a green hill.
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When we're praying to Jesus Christ, we're not praying to a dusty man in a full -pitched argument with scribes and Sadducees.
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This is our Jesus who was compassionate. This is our Jesus who was confrontational.
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But our Lord Jesus Christ is ascended at the right hand of God and we ought to consider who
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He is today in all of His power, in all of His authority. I wonder sometimes about the saints.
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Do we ever fail to worship? Do we often fail to call out to and depend upon our
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Savior because we do not first and foremost think of Him as ascended, glorious, reigning?
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Hebrews 3 verse 1 says, Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our confession,
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Christ Jesus. Consider Him. Consider Him.
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Who is He? What does He look like? What does He sound like? What does
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He do? What are His titles of honor? What glory does He hold?
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The wonder of our ascendant Christ should fill our hearts with worship.
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I invite you to stand with me as I read Revelation chapter 1, beginning in verse 9.
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This is the word of the Lord. I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called
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Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the
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Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet saying,
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I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. And what you see right in the book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.
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Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me, and having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands.
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And in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.
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His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like a flame of fire.
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His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters.
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He had in his right hand seven stars. Out of his mouth went a sharp two -edged sword, and his countenance was like the sun, shining in his strength.
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And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying to me,
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Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last. I am he who lives and was dead, and behold,
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I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of death, of Hades and of death.
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Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.
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The mystery of the seven stars, which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars, are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.
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This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. You may be seated. Whether we are saints like John living in the late 60's, the actual 60's, we may be like John in the late 60's, or we may be saints in the mid -2020's, but either way, the saints need to hear from their
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Savior. The saints need to hear from their
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Savior. We must hear our Lord. I want us to consider from verses 9 -11 how we are to receive
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Christ's ascendant address. We are not receiving a word from somebody who is utterly absent.
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We are not receiving a word from somebody who is uninvolved. We are not receiving a word from somebody who has failed.
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We are not receiving a word from someone who is in every way frustrated.
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We are receiving a word from a king. We are receiving a word from not just a king, but a king who has given himself to save us.
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And so the saint, we must consider the saint, John, and his situation.
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For we must understand what his situation is, and we may relate to that, for we too are the saints.
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It isn't just St. John and St. Paul. It's St. George and St.
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Bob and St. Benjamin and St. Dean, St.
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Brian. We're all saints if we're in Christ. Consider the situation of John and his situation so that we may understand the
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Savior and how He speaks to John. Notice that John is not elevated. Like we were talking about in Acts 14, he is not somebody who is put above everybody else.
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Even as an apostle, he says, I am your brother. I am your companion.
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We're in this together. What are we in together? We're in the kingdom. We're in the tribulation.
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We're in the kingdom and the patience. And all of this is of Jesus Christ. We're in all of this together because we're all in Christ together.
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And we see this language of tribulation and kingdom and patience all at the same time.
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And yet also, John says in verse 10,
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I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. I want us to think about some of the terms that are being used here.
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First of all, John calls himself a brother. This is an obedience to Jesus Christ in Matthew 23, who said to His apostles, let no one call you father.
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Don't let anyone come up to you and address you as a father. Don't let anyone come up to you and say to you,
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Rabbi. Get rid of those special titles. You are brothers. You are brothers.
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You have one father, and you are all brothers. Don't let anyone come up to you and call you teachers.
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If you were a special group, because you have one teacher, and that is Christ. He said, so you don't take on those names, those elevated statuses.
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Something that the apostles needed to hear, who often were arguing about who would be first in the Kingdom of Heaven. Something that we need to hear, lest we venerate and worship men.
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But John not only says he's a brother, but he's a companion. Now, he's obeying
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Jesus when he says he's a brother. Call me a brother. Truly, because of who
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Christ is, positionally, John is a brother to these saints in Asia Minor.
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But he's also a companion. There is a fellowship. There is a sharing in things together.
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That he is practically, in all manner, a sharer, a partner, in what he calls the tribulation and kingdom and patience of our
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Lord Jesus Christ. They're together in Christ.
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How is it that there can be a togetherness in Christ? We fail to see sometimes the true nature of our brotherhood, the true nature of our relationships to one another, because sometimes it seems to be too different.
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Too distant. But that's because perhaps we're not seeing
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Christ as elevated as we should. The distance between South America and Africa looks pretty far up close.
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But from the moon, they look pretty close to each other. The more elevated perspective we have of the authority and the person of Christ, the more we understand how close we are as brothers and sisters.
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Less focus on the differences. Less focus on the distances. More focus on the elevated Christ.
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John says we're in this together. And it's all of one piece. There's one definite article that grabs all of it.
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The tribulation and kingdom and patience qualified by the person of Jesus Christ.
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All of these things together at the same time, and it's all of Jesus Christ.
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Christ in His name for His sake understood through His light the wounds that the
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Christians were suffering in the days of John were His wounds. He also was suffering in those days.
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As the kingdom was being preached over and against the opposition of both
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Jews and Romans, the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom was a spiritual war.
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As many rejected this claim of authority by Jesus of Nazareth.
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And as they were suffering their wounds and as they were going through their war, they were waiting, waiting on the timing of the
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Lord to act upon their behalf to deliver them and to bring to justice all these wicked who were opposing them.
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John is saying I am in it with you. We are all in this together. We are in it for Christ.
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John recognized that he was on the island called Patmos rather than among the churches in Asia whom he obviously loved.
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He was on the island of Patmos not with these brothers for the
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Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. It was said by an early
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Christian writer Clement that John was on the island of Patmos until the tyrant died.
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And Clement meant Nero. So that was 68, halfway through the year 68
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AD. So John is on the island of Patmos, a mining colony, a labor camp.
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If you were out of favor with the Roman emperor, you get sent to a labor camp.
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And so John is there on the island of Patmos for the Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
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And so notice he is living in a time of tribulation.
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And he is living in a place of persecution. But notice how he understands it.
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Verse 10, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. He might be in a time of tribulation, but it's the
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Lord's day. That's what time it is. He may be on the island of Patmos in a place of persecution, but he's in the
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Spirit communing with his Lord, worshiping and rejoicing in the truth.
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He's suffering for the Lord's sake. The saint is suffering for the
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Lord's sake. This is of vital importance for Christians to suffer for the
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Lord's sake. Not to go and try to find new ways of suffering and try them out. Not to adopt customs where people think that if I cause my own suffering that I'll be more holy.
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But it's vital that we suffer for the Lord's sake, not our own.
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There are so many people today, all of their suffering is in their own name.
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I suffer because I am all of these identifiers. And they glorify and exalt themselves.
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They give themselves names and they give themselves titles. And they exalt themselves. And I am unlike anybody else.
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And my sufferings are so unique. I suffer because I am me. And of course, we know that when men are exalted, division is the result.
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Let our suffering always be in the name of the Lord. And if we suffer because of our own sin, let us confess it to our
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Lord. Let us make it about Him. So we suffer for the Lord's sake.
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And notice that John is in the Spirit on the Lord's day. You remember that Jesus, in response to the
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Samaritan woman's red herring, he starts getting a little personal about her sin.
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She brings up some random doctrinal debate. Let's talk about something else, shall we?
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And she says, you know, the Jews say we have to worship in Jerusalem. Samaritans, we say we worship on this mountain here.
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And Jesus says, you know, a time is coming and now is when you are not going to worship on this mountain or that mountain.
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But God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth. John is on the island of Patmos.
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He is a long boat ride away from the temple.
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But he is worshiping God. He is worshiping the Lord. He is in the
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Spirit on the Lord's day. Which Lord? The risen Lord Jesus Christ.
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The Lord who was raised from the dead. The Lord who has the highest throne. It was common in the very region to where John is writing to this
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Roman province of Asia. It was common in cities like Ephesus and Smyrna and Pergamos and Thyatira and Sardis and Philadelphia and Laodicea and other cities around them.
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It was very common that the very first day of every month was called the Emperor's day. It was called the
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Lord's day. First day of every month. What were you expected to do on the
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Lord's day? First day of every month? Probably throw a little bit of incense onto a fire that was traveling around and saying
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Caesar is Lord. Venerating Caesar. Giving credence to the divine status of the
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Roman emperor that he was the avatar of Jupiter on earth. Praise be to Caesar.
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And the Christians went around preaching a gospel where they said Jesus is Lord. Not Caesar is
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Lord. Jesus is Lord. And they said the Lord's day is not the first day of every month.
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It's the first day of every week. Because that's the day Jesus rose from the dead.
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And so Paul is writing to the Christians who are under fire from both Jews and Romans because the persecution of Nero has already fired up.
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And he's writing to the Christians in Asia Minor and he's saying I'm with you in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patience of our
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Lord Jesus Christ. And I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day and Jesus, your
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King and your Savior is sending you a message. He's sending you a message. And the message is very much what we're going to hear as we continue on in Acts 14 where Paul explains the deadly persecution aimed at him when he says through many tribulations we enter into the kingdom of God.
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Something that John shares with the saints in Asia Minor. The saints and their situation.
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Well the saints are not in one particular region. They're all over the place.
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Did you know that there's more than seven churches in Asia? I mean, I don't know why Colossians left off the list.
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What about the churches started in Iconium and Lystra and Derbe? I mean, why are they not on the list?
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They're in the same neighborhood. But the seven churches nice figure.
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Talk about all the churches. A plentitude of churches. The fullness of churches. Even as the number seven is used to talk about the
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Holy Spirit. In the previous passage, the seven spirits, the plentitude of the Holy Spirit.
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There is enough Holy Spirit the entirety of the
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Holy Spirit the fullness of the Holy Spirit for every single church. Right?
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The Holy Spirit is not piecing Himself out. 0 .001 % goes to Sunnyside.
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0 .002 % goes to Heritage. No. The whole
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Holy Spirit for every local church. Wherever the saints are, they need to have the
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Word from the Savior. Wherever we are, we need to hear how He speaks. We need to hear from our
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Savior. The image of God is to live by the Word of God. Listen to how
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His voice sounds. Verse 10. I was in the
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Spirit on the Lord's Day and I heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet. Now, a trumpet is not a subtle instrument.
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A trumpet was not invented by somebody wanting to be quiet.
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A trumpet was invented to get attention. A trumpet was to announce a king.
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A trumpet was to sound off on judgment. A trumpet was to be sounded at the beginning of battle and in the midst of battle, which is the only kind of instrument you're probably going to be able to hear in the midst of a battle.
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Trumpet. Trumpets were also used for celebrations. You've got to blow the trumpets when you're making a loud parade.
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That's what trumpets were used for. I think the closest thing we have today is the fire engine siren.
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The fire engine siren is going to get your attention. There may be a terrible situation, but that siren is going to sound to let you know and get your attention so that you may act appropriately.
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Maybe you're daydreaming and not moving at an intersection. The fire truck is going to light up that siren and say, get out of the way.
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We've got to get on back to where we need to be. And the fire truck's going to be one of the favorite parts of the parade, glistening in red and bright and shiny and sounding off that siren.
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Everybody looks and celebrates and rejoices. It's an attention getter.
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It grabs hold of your attention. It piques your interest. You want to know what is going on.
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Why are the lights flashing? Why is the siren going? The trumpet of the Lord should be like that.
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The Lord's voice should be like that for us. The voice of Jesus Christ ought to get our attention, hold our attention, compel our interest.
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We need to know what's going on. A trumpet might reassure.
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A trumpet may rally. A trumpet relays information. So also the
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Lord's voice. He sounds His voice as a trumpet.
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And what does He say? On the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, what you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia.
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So we know who the Lord is, but He is sending His word to the churches.
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Just to reflect on how Christ has already been described, let's go back to verses 1 through 8 of Revelation chapter 1.
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Revelation chapter 1, verses 1 through 8. Listen to the way in which our
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Ascendant Christ is exalted, glorified, and honored in these eight verses.
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The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave
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Him to show His servants things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant
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John who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.
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Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it for the time is near.
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Church, do you hear what was just said? This is from our Lord Jesus Christ. His revelation by the hands of an angel through the means of His apostle
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John given to His saints. And you are blessed if you read, blessed if you hear, blessed if you keep the words of your
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Savior Jesus Christ. John to the seven churches which are in Asia.
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Grace to you and peace from Him. Grace to you, peace from Him.
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This is why He is writing. This is what's being communicated. Saints need the word of the Savior that we may have grace and peace from our
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Savior. Let us hear Him, listen to Him. Why is He so important? Notice, grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come.
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This is our God. This is our God. And from the seven spirits who are before His throne.
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The plentitude of the Holy Spirit. The whole Holy Spirit for every church. And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.
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Church, do you hear who your Savior is? Do you hear who Jesus Christ is?
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He is the faithful witness. He hasn't endured even unto death. For the joy set before Him, He went to the cross.
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He was the faithful witness, the very Word of God in human flesh. And He is the firstborn from the dead.
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He is the firstfruits of the resurrection. And He is the ruler over the kings of the earth.
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Who's in charge? Jesus Christ is in charge.
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Many mighty men, kings and despots, tyrants, world leaders, think they're in charge.
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Jesus Christ is in charge. And the degree of futility and folly, the disasters, the political machinations that go down and never seem to work out right, the mess, these things that fall apart, the things that come together and then never succeed and fall apart.
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In every generation, Jesus Christ is ruling over it all. Doing what
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He does. To Him who loved us. Listen to how
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Christ is described. To Him who loved us. Now, He's ruler of the kings of the earth. He has the highest position, all authority, all power, seated at the right hand of the
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Father. Now listen, He's the one who loved us. He loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood.
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King of kings. Lord of lords. He has washed us in His own blood and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father.
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To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. This is the one who is speaking with a loud voice as of a trumpet and saying,
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I have a word for the churches. I have a word for the churches. Behold, He is coming with clouds and every eye will see
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Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him.
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Even so, amen. Listen to how He declares Himself. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end says the
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Lord, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. Now this is the one who is speaking to the churches.
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He's speaking to the churches. Now as we read through Revelation 1 -8, and in fact, really, if you read through the entire book of Revelation, you're going to find that the interpretation is rich, but the grace is crystal clear.
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No matter where you go in Revelation, the interpretation may be rich, but the grace is crystal clear.
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Now these churches that are addressed, they are not the only churches in Asia, but they are near to Patmos, the island.
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And John is sending word to them. He sends to them this entire book for them to pay attention to and read and be blessed by and to follow and to keep.
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He sends it to them, but he doesn't just send it to them. The churches that are listed are listed in order because that is the postal route.
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That is the ancient Roman postal route and it goes in a U -shaped fashion. It begins with Ephesus and it goes up the coastline, dips over to the side, and then comes back down south again.
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And so he sends a letter, the revelation of Jesus Christ, the entire book, he sends it first to Ephesus.
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They receive the word. They read it. They are benefited by it. And then they, only the
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Lord knows, but I figure they copied it down, and send it on to the next church. And they send it on to the next church.
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And do you know what was said to each of the churches? Seven times. Seven times it is said,
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He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the churches.
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Plural. As each singular church is addressed, all of the churches are told to pay attention.
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In other words, what the ascended Lord Christ said to any church, he says to every church.
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Which is why when we read the book of Ephesus, or the book of Ephesians, or the book of 1
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Thessalonians, or 2 Thessalonians, or we read the book of Galatians, we sit up and take notice. We don't say, well that was for some church long ago somewhere else.
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No, we say, hey, that is for us. Our ascended Lord Jesus Christ said something to that church which means that we need to sit up and pay attention because He is the head of the church.
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He is God incarnate. He is the Word made flesh. He did die and He was raised from the dead again.
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And He is our ascended Lord Jesus Christ, and so we must hear Him. May the
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Lord give us grace to rejoice and be wonder -filled at our
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Christ ascended. I think it is important for us to recognize something as we close, and we'll come back to this passage as the
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Lord wills next week. But something I want you to consider very briefly as we close.
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I want you to... The question that we asked at the beginning, brother, sister, where is
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Christ to be found? Remember the question? Where is He to be found? He's not left in shadow.
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He's not left in the tomb. He's not left on the cross. Where is He? And it is right that we would say that He is at the right hand of the
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Father. It is right to say He is in heaven preparing a place for us. It is right that we would say that He is beyond our sight.
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And I think that those things are right to say. But look in the text. Where is
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Christ to be found? Look at the text. Verse 12, Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me.
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And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands one like the
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Son of Man. Jesus says at the end of this passage those lampstands are the churches.
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Where is our Lord to be found? He is among the churches.
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He is among the churches. Our Lord and Savior has not checked out. He is telling us to check in.
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Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank You for this time You've given us in Your Word. For the opportunity to rejoice in the ascension of our
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Savior. And to consider what this glory is that we may listen in Your grace.