1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,333 2 00:00:01,417 --> 00:00:06,167 [music] 3 00:00:08,042 --> 00:00:10,250 ♪ Oh, who's that writing ♪ 4 00:00:10,333 --> 00:00:12,167 ♪ John the Revelator ♪ 5 00:00:12,250 --> 00:00:14,167 ♪ Who's that writing ♪ 6 00:00:14,250 --> 00:00:16,083 ♪ John the Revelator ♪ 7 00:00:16,167 --> 00:00:18,083 ♪ Oh, who's that writing ♪ 8 00:00:18,167 --> 00:00:20,250 ♪ John the Revelator ♪ 9 00:00:20,333 --> 00:00:23,958 ♪ A book of the seven seals ♪ 10 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:26,167 ♪ Tell me what's John writing ♪ 11 00:00:26,250 --> 00:00:28,292 ♪ Ask the Revelator ♪ 12 00:00:28,333 --> 00:00:30,083 ♪ What's John writing ♪ 13 00:00:30,167 --> 00:00:32,083 ♪ Ask the Revelator ♪ 14 00:00:32,167 --> 00:00:34,167 ♪ Tell me what's John writing ♪ 15 00:00:34,208 --> 00:00:36,167 ♪ Ask the Revelator ♪ 16 00:00:36,250 --> 00:00:40,417 ♪ A book of the seven seals ♪♪ 17 00:00:51,333 --> 00:00:54,167 You ever burned yourself? 18 00:00:54,250 --> 00:00:55,917 Do you remember that? 19 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:58,917 The first time I really burned myself, I was a little kid. 20 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:01,292 My parents knew I would eat all the candy, 21 00:01:01,333 --> 00:01:04,167 so they put it up on a top shelf above the stove. 22 00:01:04,250 --> 00:01:06,917 So, I climbed up on top of the counter, 23 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:10,083 and then I took a step on the stove to get the candy 24 00:01:10,167 --> 00:01:13,917 out of the top, burned my foot horrendously. 25 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:15,917 Immediately just blew up like a puffer fish. 26 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:18,417 I had no idea what had happened to my foot, 27 00:01:18,500 --> 00:01:20,500 and it was filled with water. 28 00:01:20,542 --> 00:01:23,583 You had that? 29 00:01:23,667 --> 00:01:26,292 And I didn't know what had happened. 30 00:01:26,333 --> 00:01:27,917 I was just a kid. 31 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:30,667 I didn't know burning could be so bad. 32 00:01:30,750 --> 00:01:32,292 Have you had that experience? 33 00:01:32,333 --> 00:01:36,583 Now, imagine that on your whole body. 34 00:01:36,667 --> 00:01:38,583 There's a guy in the Bible named John, 35 00:01:38,667 --> 00:01:43,000 and he was a friend of Jesus, and they couldn't get him 36 00:01:43,042 --> 00:01:45,250 to stop talking about Jesus, 37 00:01:45,333 --> 00:01:47,167 and so they tried to kill him 38 00:01:47,250 --> 00:01:51,958 by boiling him alive, and he didn't die. 39 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:55,500 And so they exiled him out to an island called Patmos. 40 00:01:55,542 --> 00:01:59,667 And in that place, Jesus came down and met with him. 41 00:01:59,750 --> 00:02:02,792 We're going to get into that, as we begin our series, 42 00:02:02,833 --> 00:02:04,417 "The Seven," where we look at 43 00:02:04,500 --> 00:02:06,417 the seven churches of Revelation, 44 00:02:06,500 --> 00:02:08,667 and we look at the Revelation of Jesus Christ 45 00:02:08,750 --> 00:02:11,417 in Revelation 1-3. 46 00:02:11,500 --> 00:02:14,500 But I want you to see John as a man who endured 47 00:02:14,542 --> 00:02:17,667 horrendous pain and suffering. 48 00:02:17,750 --> 00:02:21,583 He bears likely the scars on his body 49 00:02:21,667 --> 00:02:24,583 from this suffering for Jesus. 50 00:02:24,667 --> 00:02:27,583 And it's important for you and I to get to know John. 51 00:02:27,667 --> 00:02:29,000 He was Jesus' friend. 52 00:02:29,042 --> 00:02:30,667 I want him to become your friend, 53 00:02:30,750 --> 00:02:32,167 because he's the author of Revelation. 54 00:02:32,250 --> 00:02:34,667 And as, in the course of the next few months, 55 00:02:34,750 --> 00:02:38,667 we look at Revelation 1-3 and the historical events 56 00:02:38,750 --> 00:02:40,750 that happened in the first century, 57 00:02:40,833 --> 00:02:42,333 John's the author. 58 00:02:42,417 --> 00:02:44,417 John's the one that Jesus is speaking to. 59 00:02:44,500 --> 00:02:48,167 John is the one that Jesus is speaking through. 60 00:02:48,208 --> 00:02:50,500 And I didn't even know this until this week, 61 00:02:50,542 --> 00:02:55,583 but John was possibly, if not probably, Jesus' cousin. 62 00:02:55,667 --> 00:02:57,958 I didn't know that they were related. 63 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:01,417 And it was a relationship through John's mother. 64 00:03:01,500 --> 00:03:05,417 And so as we get to know John, I want you to know, first of all, 65 00:03:05,500 --> 00:03:08,583 that John's family were Jesus' faithful friends. 66 00:03:08,667 --> 00:03:13,083 And we learn that not only was John's family faithful to Jesus, 67 00:03:13,167 --> 00:03:15,167 John himself was faithful to Jesus. 68 00:03:15,250 --> 00:03:18,292 So, you see multiple generations of this family loving, 69 00:03:18,333 --> 00:03:20,667 serving, giving financially, 70 00:03:20,708 --> 00:03:23,917 serving faithfully to the cause of Jesus. 71 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:26,667 And isn't that what you and I want for our families? 72 00:03:26,708 --> 00:03:28,083 Right? 73 00:03:28,167 --> 00:03:30,583 That the parents would love and serve Jesus, give generously, 74 00:03:30,667 --> 00:03:32,583 that the kids would love and serve 75 00:03:32,667 --> 00:03:34,500 and give generously to Jesus. 76 00:03:34,542 --> 00:03:37,167 It gives us this great hope that it can actually be 77 00:03:37,250 --> 00:03:40,667 a multigenerational ministry family. 78 00:03:40,708 --> 00:03:44,667 And where we see Jesus calling John into ministry is actually 79 00:03:44,708 --> 00:03:46,833 on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, 80 00:03:46,917 --> 00:03:49,167 which is in the region where Jesus grew up, 81 00:03:49,208 --> 00:03:52,417 and there we find that John was at work with his dad. 82 00:03:52,500 --> 00:03:55,333 His dad had this fishing business, and Jesus comes up, 83 00:03:55,417 --> 00:03:59,167 and John is mending the nets and fixing the boat, 84 00:03:59,208 --> 00:04:02,792 and he's at work with his dad, and he did something that was 85 00:04:02,833 --> 00:04:05,500 really unexpected in that day, culturally, 86 00:04:05,542 --> 00:04:08,000 because in that day a business would be handed from 87 00:04:08,042 --> 00:04:09,792 one generation to the next. 88 00:04:09,833 --> 00:04:12,500 So, if your dad was a farmer, you'd inherit the land 89 00:04:12,542 --> 00:04:13,917 and be a farmer. 90 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:16,417 If your dad was a fisherman, you'd inherit the fleet 91 00:04:16,500 --> 00:04:20,167 and become a fisherman, and that was your financial security. 92 00:04:20,250 --> 00:04:22,083 That was your family legacy, 93 00:04:22,167 --> 00:04:24,083 and that was how you would take care 94 00:04:24,167 --> 00:04:26,792 of your children and grandchildren. 95 00:04:26,833 --> 00:04:30,292 And so John is at work with his dad at the family business, 96 00:04:30,333 --> 00:04:33,167 and Jesus comes along and invites him to leave 97 00:04:33,250 --> 00:04:37,500 the family business, to take a job that pays nothing, 98 00:04:37,542 --> 00:04:41,750 to follow around his homeless cousin, who claims to be God. 99 00:04:41,833 --> 00:04:45,000 And John takes him up on the offer. 100 00:04:45,042 --> 00:04:48,167 He walked away from it all to walk with Jesus, 101 00:04:48,208 --> 00:04:50,250 and then his whole life changed. 102 00:04:50,333 --> 00:04:52,792 When Jesus was preaching, and teaching, and healing, 103 00:04:52,833 --> 00:04:54,750 and casting out demons, John was there, 104 00:04:54,833 --> 00:04:57,500 because, in addition to the 12 disciples, 105 00:04:57,542 --> 00:05:00,333 there was an inner circle of senior leaders, 106 00:05:00,417 --> 00:05:02,792 and this is how it works in all organizations, 107 00:05:02,833 --> 00:05:04,417 including Mars Hill. 108 00:05:04,500 --> 00:05:05,833 There will be leaders, 109 00:05:05,917 --> 00:05:07,833 and then there will be leaders of leaders, 110 00:05:07,917 --> 00:05:10,167 and senior leaders, and the senior leaders for Jesus 111 00:05:10,250 --> 00:05:11,667 were Peter, James, and John. 112 00:05:11,750 --> 00:05:15,917 They were three men, who had privileged access to Jesus; 113 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:19,000 so they are there, for example, when Jesus raises 114 00:05:19,042 --> 00:05:20,583 Jairus' daughter from death. 115 00:05:20,667 --> 00:05:22,833 The other disciples weren't there for that. 116 00:05:22,917 --> 00:05:24,792 When Jesus went up onto a mountain, 117 00:05:24,833 --> 00:05:27,083 and he was transfigured, shown in glory, 118 00:05:27,167 --> 00:05:30,500 and Moses and Elijah come down for a lunch meeting--a pretty 119 00:05:30,542 --> 00:05:34,333 fantastic day, however you look at it--they come down to meet 120 00:05:34,417 --> 00:05:37,000 with Jesus, and Peter, James, and John are there. 121 00:05:37,042 --> 00:05:39,792 The other disciples are not. 122 00:05:39,833 --> 00:05:42,000 When it comes time to prepare the Last Supper, 123 00:05:42,042 --> 00:05:45,167 John is one who is sent ahead to prepare it. 124 00:05:45,250 --> 00:05:47,417 In addition, in the Garden of Gethsemane, 125 00:05:47,500 --> 00:05:51,167 where Jesus is in anguish and sweating drops of blood, 126 00:05:51,250 --> 00:05:54,292 as he prepares for his execution via crucifixion, 127 00:05:54,333 --> 00:05:59,417 he invites closer to him three men to pray for him: 128 00:05:59,500 --> 00:06:01,792 Peter, James, and John. 129 00:06:01,833 --> 00:06:04,000 Peter, James, and John. 130 00:06:04,042 --> 00:06:09,167 So, John is one of the closest people in the history of 131 00:06:09,250 --> 00:06:13,583 the world to Jesus, and I would say he was Jesus' best friend, 132 00:06:13,667 --> 00:06:16,083 because one of the gospels says that he was, quote, 133 00:06:16,167 --> 00:06:18,500 "The one whom Jesus loved." 134 00:06:18,542 --> 00:06:20,000 Jesus really loved John. 135 00:06:20,042 --> 00:06:23,000 You look at it like a big brother and kind of like 136 00:06:23,042 --> 00:06:24,417 a little brother. 137 00:06:24,500 --> 00:06:26,667 My belief is that their relationship 138 00:06:26,750 --> 00:06:28,917 was something like that. 139 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:31,292 And John was the youngest of the disciples. 140 00:06:31,333 --> 00:06:34,458 I don't know how old he was when he started following Jesus. 141 00:06:34,500 --> 00:06:38,292 We know Jesus was around 30 when he called John into ministry. 142 00:06:38,333 --> 00:06:42,750 John was probably, I'm speculating, in his 20s, 143 00:06:42,833 --> 00:06:45,333 probably a young man. 144 00:06:45,417 --> 00:06:48,500 And he left everything and walked away from his 145 00:06:48,542 --> 00:06:55,500 opportunities to walk with Jesus into whatever Jesus had for him. 146 00:06:55,542 --> 00:06:57,917 And if you want to know something about John, 147 00:06:58,000 --> 00:06:59,667 there's really one scene of his life 148 00:06:59,708 --> 00:07:02,458 that I think is most interesting. 149 00:07:02,500 --> 00:07:05,583 When Jesus is being crucified, 150 00:07:05,667 --> 00:07:09,500 who is there at the foot of his cross? 151 00:07:09,542 --> 00:07:11,000 John. 152 00:07:11,042 --> 00:07:13,167 And who's standing next to John? 153 00:07:13,250 --> 00:07:16,083 Mary, Jesus' mother. 154 00:07:16,167 --> 00:07:19,667 And so John is standing next to Mary, and Jesus looks at Mary, 155 00:07:19,708 --> 00:07:22,167 and he looks at John, and he tells John what? 156 00:07:22,208 --> 00:07:24,000 Do you remember? 157 00:07:24,042 --> 00:07:25,417 "Take care of my mom. 158 00:07:25,500 --> 00:07:27,583 Take care of my mom." 159 00:07:27,667 --> 00:07:30,000 Friends, that tells us everything we need to know 160 00:07:30,042 --> 00:07:32,500 about John, amen? 161 00:07:32,542 --> 00:07:37,292 You know that Jesus trusts John more than anyone, 162 00:07:37,333 --> 00:07:40,250 when from the cross he assigns him to look after 163 00:07:40,333 --> 00:07:44,000 his own grieving mother. 164 00:07:44,042 --> 00:07:46,917 John is Jesus' best friend. 165 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:50,583 John is the one that Jesus loved. 166 00:07:50,667 --> 00:07:54,583 John is the one that Jesus trusted. 167 00:07:54,667 --> 00:07:57,583 And when Jesus died, John was there. 168 00:07:57,667 --> 00:08:02,458 And when Jesus rose from death, the first people to arrive at 169 00:08:02,500 --> 00:08:07,083 the empty tomb were women, and one of those was John's mother. 170 00:08:07,167 --> 00:08:08,667 She was so devout. 171 00:08:08,750 --> 00:08:11,000 She so loved Jesus. 172 00:08:11,042 --> 00:08:13,167 And then the word came back to the men, 173 00:08:13,250 --> 00:08:15,458 "Hey, the tomb is empty. Maybe Jesus is alive." 174 00:08:15,500 --> 00:08:18,167 So, Peter and John, who worked closely together for the rest 175 00:08:18,250 --> 00:08:21,167 of their life, until Peter is crucified upside down, 176 00:08:21,250 --> 00:08:23,667 they run together to the tomb, and the Bible records 177 00:08:23,750 --> 00:08:25,500 that John got there first. 178 00:08:25,542 --> 00:08:29,167 I'm guessing not only younger, also maybe slimmer. 179 00:08:29,250 --> 00:08:31,667 I just see Peter as thick. I don't know why. 180 00:08:31,750 --> 00:08:33,167 I just see Peter as thick. 181 00:08:33,250 --> 00:08:36,583 And so John gets there first, and the tomb is empty, 182 00:08:36,667 --> 00:08:39,792 and the stone is rolled away, and John respectfully waits 183 00:08:39,833 --> 00:08:43,083 for Peter, and then Peter is the first one to walk in, 184 00:08:43,167 --> 00:08:46,917 and he sees the empty tomb, and John sees Jesus risen 185 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:50,458 from death, and John sees Jesus ascend into heaven, 186 00:08:50,500 --> 00:08:54,000 and John continues to testify about Jesus. 187 00:08:54,042 --> 00:08:56,667 "He did miracles. He cast out demons. 188 00:08:56,750 --> 00:08:58,458 "He healed the sick. 189 00:08:58,500 --> 00:09:00,083 "He gave sight to the blind. 190 00:09:00,167 --> 00:09:02,083 "He gave food to the hungry. 191 00:09:02,167 --> 00:09:03,917 "He said he was God. 192 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:05,417 "He died for our sins. 193 00:09:05,500 --> 00:09:07,250 "He rose. He's our Savior. 194 00:09:07,333 --> 00:09:08,667 He's ascended into heaven." 195 00:09:08,750 --> 00:09:12,917 They couldn't get John to stop talking about Jesus. 196 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:14,292 And he was faithful. 197 00:09:14,333 --> 00:09:16,750 John's an amazing man! 198 00:09:16,833 --> 00:09:19,667 John has what I like to call a boring testimony. 199 00:09:19,750 --> 00:09:23,292 "I met Jesus, and for 80 years, I served him." 200 00:09:23,333 --> 00:09:26,583 That's John's testimony. 201 00:09:26,667 --> 00:09:29,667 "Well, tell us about when you failed, or when you denied, 202 00:09:29,750 --> 00:09:31,333 or when you were impetuous." 203 00:09:31,417 --> 00:09:35,292 There's no evidence that John was like that. 204 00:09:35,333 --> 00:09:40,083 I'm not saying he was perfect, but I'm saying he was steady. 205 00:09:40,167 --> 00:09:44,292 He was absolutely rock-solid dependable. 206 00:09:44,333 --> 00:09:48,833 You know, he was that way for maybe 80 years. 207 00:09:48,917 --> 00:09:53,458 He saw all of the other apostles murdered. 208 00:09:53,500 --> 00:09:56,167 He saw Peter crucified upside down. 209 00:09:56,208 --> 00:09:59,333 I mean, he's the guy who would be preaching the funeral 210 00:09:59,417 --> 00:10:01,500 of the other Christian leaders. 211 00:10:01,542 --> 00:10:04,167 He goes on to write books of the Bible. 212 00:10:04,250 --> 00:10:06,792 1, 2, and 3 John are letters that he wrote. 213 00:10:06,833 --> 00:10:09,792 The Gospel of John is a whole biography about Jesus that he 214 00:10:09,833 --> 00:10:14,000 wrote, and Revelation, where we will be for the next few months. 215 00:10:14,042 --> 00:10:15,583 He wrote that, as well. 216 00:10:15,667 --> 00:10:19,000 He contributes much to our New Testament, and it's, 217 00:10:19,042 --> 00:10:23,167 for John, always about Jesus. 218 00:10:23,250 --> 00:10:25,167 It's all about Jesus for John. 219 00:10:25,250 --> 00:10:29,583 That's all he's ever talking about. 220 00:10:29,667 --> 00:10:32,583 When John was an old man, he oversaw a network of 221 00:10:32,667 --> 00:10:35,000 seven churches. So, multi-site is 222 00:10:35,042 --> 00:10:37,250 nothing new; multiple locations with one writer, 223 00:10:37,333 --> 00:10:38,667 preacher, author 224 00:10:38,750 --> 00:10:40,250 is nothing new. 225 00:10:40,333 --> 00:10:42,250 Yeah, I know, John's way better than me. 226 00:10:42,333 --> 00:10:45,000 I apologize. But that's how it was organized in that day. 227 00:10:45,042 --> 00:10:48,167 John oversaw seven churches in what is now modern-day Turkey, 228 00:10:48,208 --> 00:10:51,583 and he has these seven letters he's going to deliver on behalf 229 00:10:51,667 --> 00:10:54,000 of Jesus to them. 230 00:10:54,042 --> 00:10:55,917 And as an old man, 231 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:58,917 maybe 100 years of age when he's writing Revelation, 232 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:01,292 around that time, history outside of the Bible 233 00:11:01,333 --> 00:11:04,333 records that they would bring John in to talk to the church. 234 00:11:04,417 --> 00:11:06,083 Can you imagine that? 235 00:11:06,167 --> 00:11:08,000 Imagine Billy Graham with more years, 236 00:11:08,042 --> 00:11:10,083 having hung out with Jesus personally. 237 00:11:10,167 --> 00:11:12,792 That's amazing. 238 00:11:12,833 --> 00:11:15,583 And so they would bring John in, 239 00:11:15,667 --> 00:11:17,917 and he would talk to all the new Christians, 240 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:20,167 the second, third, fourth, fifth generation, right, 241 00:11:20,250 --> 00:11:24,292 the folks that they didn't see Jesus risen from death. 242 00:11:24,333 --> 00:11:27,292 He had already gone to heaven by the time they were born. 243 00:11:27,333 --> 00:11:29,500 They'd bring John in, and everybody would gather in, 244 00:11:29,542 --> 00:11:31,083 and the church would be packed. 245 00:11:31,167 --> 00:11:34,083 And John was so old and feeble, pushing 100 years of age, 246 00:11:34,167 --> 00:11:36,583 that they would bring him in, carry him in, 247 00:11:36,667 --> 00:11:38,667 and they would sit him down up front, 248 00:11:38,708 --> 00:11:40,958 and he would just talk about his friend, Jesus. 249 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:42,917 Can you imagine that? 250 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:44,792 Can you imagine him saying things like, 251 00:11:44,833 --> 00:11:47,500 "Now, this one day I was with Jesus." 252 00:11:47,542 --> 00:11:49,292 Wow. 253 00:11:49,333 --> 00:11:52,500 "And he was a good friend to me, and we had lunch together." 254 00:11:52,542 --> 00:11:53,917 "Wow." 255 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:56,167 "And then we had lunch with Moses and Elijah." 256 00:11:56,250 --> 00:11:57,583 "Wow." 257 00:11:57,667 --> 00:11:59,583 "I've gotta put this on my Twitter feed. 258 00:11:59,667 --> 00:12:01,292 This is amazing stuff right here." 259 00:12:01,333 --> 00:12:03,792 And John would always talk about God as a Father 260 00:12:03,833 --> 00:12:06,917 and Jesus as our big brother, and he takes away our sins, 261 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:08,958 so we can be the family of God. 262 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:12,458 And this is really his heart. As you read 1, 2, and 3 John, 263 00:12:12,500 --> 00:12:15,958 he keeps talking like an old grandpa to a bunch of grandkids. 264 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:19,167 And he would say the same thing over and over and over, 265 00:12:19,250 --> 00:12:22,083 as he would talk to the churches and to the new Christians. 266 00:12:22,167 --> 00:12:24,417 He would say, "You are the children of God. 267 00:12:24,500 --> 00:12:26,458 Love one another." 268 00:12:26,500 --> 00:12:28,792 That's what John always said. 269 00:12:28,833 --> 00:12:32,083 Feeble and old, sitting in a chair in front of the church. 270 00:12:32,167 --> 00:12:33,667 "Love one another. 271 00:12:33,708 --> 00:12:35,167 "Jesus loves you. 272 00:12:35,250 --> 00:12:37,292 Love one another." 273 00:12:37,333 --> 00:12:39,667 And like I said, they couldn't silence him. 274 00:12:39,750 --> 00:12:42,458 They tried to get him to stop talking about Jesus. 275 00:12:42,500 --> 00:12:44,417 They couldn't. 276 00:12:44,500 --> 00:12:47,292 So, they boiled him alive. 277 00:12:47,333 --> 00:12:50,458 How much do you have to hate somebody to boil them? 278 00:12:50,500 --> 00:12:54,792 They really hated John, because he loved Jesus. 279 00:12:54,833 --> 00:12:58,083 And because he didn't die, they exiled him off to Patmos, 280 00:12:58,167 --> 00:13:01,333 and Patmos is a rugged area. 281 00:13:01,417 --> 00:13:04,000 It's basically a rock in the middle of the ocean, 282 00:13:04,042 --> 00:13:07,500 and it's about 6 miles by 10 miles. 283 00:13:07,542 --> 00:13:11,083 In a modern-day motorized boat, it takes a few hours 284 00:13:11,167 --> 00:13:14,167 of traveling and throwing up to get there. 285 00:13:14,250 --> 00:13:16,833 It's a rough ride. 286 00:13:16,917 --> 00:13:19,667 In John's day, I don't know how long it would've taken 287 00:13:19,708 --> 00:13:23,083 on a sailing ship, but this was a hard place to get to. 288 00:13:23,167 --> 00:13:25,667 Now, I'll show you it in just a moment. 289 00:13:25,750 --> 00:13:27,417 Here's one of the cool things. 290 00:13:27,500 --> 00:13:30,083 I'm so blessed to live in the day of video, 291 00:13:30,167 --> 00:13:33,083 because I get to do show- and-tell with you all, and 292 00:13:33,167 --> 00:13:35,792 take you all around the world and let you see things. 293 00:13:35,833 --> 00:13:38,167 So, let me show some of the footage to you. 294 00:13:38,250 --> 00:13:39,583 And this is Patmos. 295 00:13:39,667 --> 00:13:44,083 First of all, it's basically a rock in the middle of open sea. 296 00:13:44,167 --> 00:13:47,083 As you can tell, it doesn't have high vegetation. 297 00:13:47,167 --> 00:13:49,583 That's because it has no protection. 298 00:13:49,667 --> 00:13:51,917 The winds are fierce. 299 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:54,958 Storms can come up on the sea very suddenly. 300 00:13:55,000 --> 00:14:00,167 As you can tell, it's a very harsh, rocky, rugged terrain. 301 00:14:00,250 --> 00:14:02,292 And this is where they exiled John, thinking, 302 00:14:02,333 --> 00:14:05,458 "If we put him on this rock, then he'll stop writing, 303 00:14:05,500 --> 00:14:08,917 "preaching, teaching, planting churches. 304 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:11,458 We'll get him away from ministry." 305 00:14:11,500 --> 00:14:14,083 As I said, it's a lengthy journey across the sea 306 00:14:14,167 --> 00:14:15,583 to get there. 307 00:14:15,667 --> 00:14:17,458 And as one who's made that journey, 308 00:14:17,500 --> 00:14:19,417 it can be very rough seas. 309 00:14:19,500 --> 00:14:22,250 So, at the top of one of the high points 310 00:14:22,333 --> 00:14:26,167 on the island of Patmos is an ancient cave 311 00:14:26,250 --> 00:14:29,417 that history and tradition tell us is where John 312 00:14:29,500 --> 00:14:32,917 physically was when Jesus showed up to meet with him. 313 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:35,917 And it's been turned into a tourist destination, 314 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:39,667 and they have put in icons and paintings that show John 315 00:14:39,750 --> 00:14:42,083 and Jesus showing up to meet with him, 316 00:14:42,167 --> 00:14:45,833 and John writing down the book of the Bible called Revelation. 317 00:14:45,917 --> 00:14:48,583 And history and tradition say that this is actually 318 00:14:48,667 --> 00:14:51,583 where John prayed up against the wall, as an old man, 319 00:14:51,667 --> 00:14:54,833 pushing 100 years of age, holding himself up. 320 00:14:54,917 --> 00:15:00,417 And so he was in this very dark, lonely, cold, isolated place, 321 00:15:00,500 --> 00:15:03,917 and none other than Jesus Christ, his good friend, 322 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:07,917 came down from heaven to meet with John, to speak to John, 323 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:12,083 to encourage John, and to reveal to him the entirety of the book 324 00:15:12,167 --> 00:15:14,083 of Revelation. 325 00:15:14,167 --> 00:15:16,083 It's amazing. 326 00:15:16,167 --> 00:15:19,500 And I've been there, and I can tell you that it's an actual 327 00:15:19,542 --> 00:15:24,292 place, and that everything that is recorded actually occurred. 328 00:15:24,333 --> 00:15:28,000 And if you can imagine being John, you love Jesus, 329 00:15:28,042 --> 00:15:31,583 you miss Jesus, you're in exile. 330 00:15:31,667 --> 00:15:33,167 You're alone. 331 00:15:33,208 --> 00:15:35,167 Your body is hurting. 332 00:15:35,208 --> 00:15:37,917 You are elderly and lonely, 333 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:40,417 and you can't be with your church on Sunday. 334 00:15:40,500 --> 00:15:44,792 And Jesus shows up, and he reveals himself to you, 335 00:15:44,833 --> 00:15:46,292 and he speaks to you. 336 00:15:46,333 --> 00:15:48,667 That is the story of John. 337 00:15:48,750 --> 00:15:52,167 That is the story of Revelation. 338 00:15:52,250 --> 00:15:54,167 It's amazing, isn't it? 339 00:15:54,250 --> 00:15:55,833 It's amazing. 340 00:15:55,917 --> 00:15:58,333 Now, some of you would hear the story of John, 341 00:15:58,417 --> 00:16:01,417 and you would say, "Man, I wish I could be like that." 342 00:16:01,500 --> 00:16:04,417 By the grace of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, 343 00:16:04,500 --> 00:16:05,792 you can. 344 00:16:05,833 --> 00:16:08,583 You may not have been faithful consistently up to this point, 345 00:16:08,667 --> 00:16:11,583 but the same Holy Spirit that empowered the life of Jesus and 346 00:16:11,667 --> 00:16:14,583 empowered the life of John is very glad to empower your life, 347 00:16:14,667 --> 00:16:17,083 so you could be faithful for as many days, years, 348 00:16:17,167 --> 00:16:19,167 decades that God would give you. 349 00:16:19,250 --> 00:16:21,917 John's story is not one just to be admired, 350 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:24,792 but to be imitated, that we could love Jesus, 351 00:16:24,833 --> 00:16:27,667 we could serve Jesus, we could follow Jesus, 352 00:16:27,708 --> 00:16:31,458 that God could use us to make Jesus known and to see 353 00:16:31,500 --> 00:16:35,500 churches planted, just as he did his friend, John. 354 00:16:35,542 --> 00:16:40,583 And John loved Jesus, and Jesus loved John, and Jesus loves you, 355 00:16:40,667 --> 00:16:44,792 and Jesus loves us, and Jesus is inviting us today to, together, 356 00:16:44,833 --> 00:16:47,167 love him and serve him like John did. 357 00:16:47,250 --> 00:16:51,000 So, don't just take John's life as an amazing example. 358 00:16:51,042 --> 00:16:53,417 Take it as an imitable example. 359 00:16:53,500 --> 00:16:55,083 Amen? 360 00:16:55,167 --> 00:16:57,750 And that being said, now we get to open Revelation, 361 00:16:57,833 --> 00:17:00,583 and the first three chapters are about things that happened 362 00:17:00,667 --> 00:17:02,250 in and around the first century. 363 00:17:02,333 --> 00:17:04,833 The rest of the book, chapters 4 through 22, 364 00:17:04,917 --> 00:17:07,583 I believe, are primarily about future events. 365 00:17:07,667 --> 00:17:10,417 So, in our time together, in "The Seven" series, 366 00:17:10,500 --> 00:17:13,167 we're just going to look at the first-century issues 367 00:17:13,208 --> 00:17:16,667 in Revelation 1:1-3. 368 00:17:16,750 --> 00:17:18,167 So, here it goes. 369 00:17:18,250 --> 00:17:23,292 "The revelation of Jesus Christ" is how it begins, because, 370 00:17:23,333 --> 00:17:27,167 ultimately, Revelation is all about Jesus Christ. 371 00:17:27,250 --> 00:17:29,000 Here's how it starts, Revelation 1:1, 372 00:17:29,042 --> 00:17:30,792 "The Revelation of," who? 373 00:17:30,833 --> 00:17:32,583 "Jesus Christ." 374 00:17:32,667 --> 00:17:34,833 How many of you have not read Revelation, 375 00:17:34,917 --> 00:17:37,000 because it just seems spooky? 376 00:17:37,042 --> 00:17:40,083 Or all the people who say they understand it, they're weird. 377 00:17:40,167 --> 00:17:41,917 Amen? 378 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:45,083 Or how many of you have read it, or you started reading it, 379 00:17:45,167 --> 00:17:46,583 and it just freaked you out? 380 00:17:46,667 --> 00:17:48,750 You're sleeping with a helmet on, one eye open, 381 00:17:48,833 --> 00:17:50,167 and the light's on. 382 00:17:50,208 --> 00:17:52,167 You're like, "That is a scary book. 383 00:17:52,208 --> 00:17:55,667 "The beast, the false prophet, the antichrist, blood flowing. 384 00:17:55,750 --> 00:17:58,292 You know, I'm scared." 385 00:17:58,333 --> 00:18:00,792 Here's what Revelation is about. 386 00:18:00,833 --> 00:18:04,167 Here's who Revelation is about: Jesus Christ. 387 00:18:04,250 --> 00:18:06,417 And what happens is sometimes people go to Revelation, 388 00:18:06,500 --> 00:18:08,417 they read right through the early words, 389 00:18:08,500 --> 00:18:10,583 and then they get into all the imagery. 390 00:18:10,667 --> 00:18:13,000 Here's why Revelation is sometimes hard to understand. 391 00:18:13,042 --> 00:18:14,417 John had a vision. 392 00:18:14,500 --> 00:18:16,333 It's like watching a movie. 393 00:18:16,417 --> 00:18:21,833 And he saw the future, and he's trying to write it down. 394 00:18:21,917 --> 00:18:25,250 It's all true, but it's not as easily understood 395 00:18:25,333 --> 00:18:27,833 as other parts of the Bible. 396 00:18:27,917 --> 00:18:30,000 The key to understanding Revelation, 397 00:18:30,042 --> 00:18:33,083 the key to understanding any book of the Bible is that 398 00:18:33,167 --> 00:18:34,667 it's all about Jesus. 399 00:18:34,750 --> 00:18:36,500 Right? 400 00:18:36,542 --> 00:18:38,667 And so as you're studying, reading Revelation, 401 00:18:38,708 --> 00:18:41,083 keep asking the question, "Who is Jesus? 402 00:18:41,167 --> 00:18:43,000 "What does it teach me about Jesus? 403 00:18:43,042 --> 00:18:45,417 Where is Jesus in this book?" 404 00:18:45,500 --> 00:18:48,292 And our conviction is that the whole Bible is about Jesus, 405 00:18:48,333 --> 00:18:51,083 that everything is about Jesus, and that each particular book of 406 00:18:51,167 --> 00:18:53,583 the Bible ultimately points to Jesus, 407 00:18:53,667 --> 00:18:56,750 because it's all the revelation of Jesus Christ. 408 00:18:56,833 --> 00:18:59,667 And by revelation, it means something that was unknown 409 00:18:59,750 --> 00:19:01,750 is now made known. 410 00:19:01,833 --> 00:19:05,167 It's God revealing himself to us. 411 00:19:05,208 --> 00:19:09,667 It's God talking to us and showing us who he is. 412 00:19:09,708 --> 00:19:13,250 And God does this through history, showing up in places, 413 00:19:13,333 --> 00:19:16,583 working with people, like John. 414 00:19:16,667 --> 00:19:19,417 So, if you're here, and you wonder what is the difference 415 00:19:19,500 --> 00:19:21,167 between Christianity and other religions, well, 416 00:19:21,250 --> 00:19:23,292 this is the big one. 417 00:19:23,333 --> 00:19:27,000 We believe that everything that needs to be known about God 418 00:19:27,042 --> 00:19:30,667 has been made known in Jesus Christ, 419 00:19:30,750 --> 00:19:33,417 and that we don't believe in speculation. 420 00:19:33,500 --> 00:19:35,333 We believe in revelation. 421 00:19:35,417 --> 00:19:38,250 We don't believe that we can know God apart from Jesus, 422 00:19:38,333 --> 00:19:43,000 but in Jesus we know everything that we need to know about God. 423 00:19:43,042 --> 00:19:45,417 And so it's the revelation of Jesus Christ, 424 00:19:45,500 --> 00:19:49,083 "which God gave him to show his servants the things 425 00:19:49,167 --> 00:19:51,500 that must soon take place." 426 00:19:51,542 --> 00:19:54,917 So, this book of the Bible, like all books of the Bible, 427 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:59,333 is ultimately for those who are servants of Jesus Christ. 428 00:19:59,417 --> 00:20:01,083 Let me ask you. 429 00:20:01,167 --> 00:20:03,167 Are you a servant of Jesus Christ? 430 00:20:03,250 --> 00:20:05,167 Some of you say, "I believe in Jesus." 431 00:20:05,250 --> 00:20:06,667 Good. 432 00:20:06,708 --> 00:20:10,000 John believed in Jesus as his friend and Lord. 433 00:20:10,042 --> 00:20:13,583 We want you to believe in Jesus as your friend and Lord, 434 00:20:13,667 --> 00:20:16,750 but you need to serve. 435 00:20:16,833 --> 00:20:22,500 Jesus himself came not to be served, but to serve. 436 00:20:22,542 --> 00:20:25,750 And to be a Christian is to be served by Jesus 437 00:20:25,833 --> 00:20:28,417 and to be a servant of Jesus. 438 00:20:28,500 --> 00:20:31,583 One of the great problems in Western Christianity is this: 439 00:20:31,667 --> 00:20:34,083 It's about consumption, 440 00:20:34,167 --> 00:20:36,792 and the church gets treated in a way 441 00:20:36,833 --> 00:20:39,750 that really is selfish and not servant minded. 442 00:20:39,833 --> 00:20:42,667 So people will come in and say, "I want these services. 443 00:20:42,708 --> 00:20:47,500 I want these people to do these things for me." 444 00:20:47,542 --> 00:20:52,000 And Christianity really is to be about God's people serving-- 445 00:20:52,042 --> 00:20:55,417 not just being served, but serving. 446 00:20:55,500 --> 00:20:58,292 So, I would ask you, what are you spiritual gifts? 447 00:20:58,333 --> 00:21:00,333 What are your natural talents? 448 00:21:00,417 --> 00:21:02,917 What are the things that God is compelling, and calling, 449 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:05,583 and gifting, and enabling you to do? 450 00:21:05,667 --> 00:21:08,417 What has the Holy Spirit already given you a burden for, 451 00:21:08,500 --> 00:21:11,167 or who has the Holy Spirit given you a burden for? 452 00:21:11,208 --> 00:21:12,583 Serve. 453 00:21:12,667 --> 00:21:15,083 And sometimes what happens is we become very self-centered, 454 00:21:15,167 --> 00:21:18,292 and very selfish minded, and we can walk into the church 455 00:21:18,333 --> 00:21:22,917 and say, "You all need to serve me." 456 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:27,583 And Jesus would say, "All need to serve one another." 457 00:21:27,667 --> 00:21:30,583 And sometimes when we start serving others, 458 00:21:30,667 --> 00:21:34,083 our problems really find their perspective. 459 00:21:34,167 --> 00:21:36,000 They're not as big as we thought. 460 00:21:36,042 --> 00:21:38,083 What we thought were really our needs 461 00:21:38,167 --> 00:21:40,583 were really just our wants. 462 00:21:40,667 --> 00:21:44,667 And as we serve others, we start to appreciate Jesus more, 463 00:21:44,750 --> 00:21:48,000 because he serves us, and we start to have a growing heart 464 00:21:48,042 --> 00:21:51,167 of compassion, and love, and empathy for others, 465 00:21:51,250 --> 00:21:54,333 and we realize that God doesn't just love me, 466 00:21:54,417 --> 00:21:57,083 but that God loves us. 467 00:21:57,167 --> 00:22:00,500 And I would invite you, I would invite you to not only be 468 00:22:00,542 --> 00:22:03,500 a believer in Jesus, but a servant of Jesus. 469 00:22:03,542 --> 00:22:06,458 And for those of you who are serving Jesus faithfully-- 470 00:22:06,500 --> 00:22:07,958 Community Group leaders, 471 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:10,500 Redemption Group leaders, deacons, elders, however, 472 00:22:10,542 --> 00:22:13,500 whoever you are serving--let me just say thank you, 473 00:22:13,542 --> 00:22:16,792 and let me say that the promise here is that the Scriptures 474 00:22:16,833 --> 00:22:18,792 don't make any sense unless you're a servant, 475 00:22:18,833 --> 00:22:21,792 because the Scriptures are written to those who what? 476 00:22:21,833 --> 00:22:27,333 Who are servants--to help them be encouraged in their serving, 477 00:22:27,417 --> 00:22:30,167 to help them see Jesus as a servant, 478 00:22:30,208 --> 00:22:32,292 to motivate their service. 479 00:22:32,333 --> 00:22:35,083 And if you're not serving or won't serve, ultimately, 480 00:22:35,167 --> 00:22:38,167 the Scriptures are, for you, not going to be fully understood 481 00:22:38,250 --> 00:22:40,250 or appreciated. 482 00:22:40,333 --> 00:22:43,167 And so he goes on: "to show his servants the things 483 00:22:43,208 --> 00:22:44,667 "that must soon take place. 484 00:22:44,750 --> 00:22:47,958 "He made it known by sending his angel to his servant, John." 485 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:50,167 So, an angel showed up to talk to John. 486 00:22:50,250 --> 00:22:53,917 Now, in our day, there is a growing interest in angels, 487 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,083 and angels are spirit beings. 488 00:22:56,167 --> 00:22:57,750 They're not equal to God. 489 00:22:57,833 --> 00:22:59,167 They're not eternal. 490 00:22:59,208 --> 00:23:00,583 They're made by God. 491 00:23:00,667 --> 00:23:02,958 They came into existence at a point in time. 492 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:04,458 They don't share God's attributes. 493 00:23:04,500 --> 00:23:06,625 They're not all knowing, all present, and all powerful. 494 00:23:06,667 --> 00:23:09,292 They're limited, created spirit beings. 495 00:23:09,333 --> 00:23:12,167 That being said, some are good, some are evil. 496 00:23:12,250 --> 00:23:15,083 All were made good, but some chose evil. 497 00:23:15,167 --> 00:23:16,917 We call them demons. 498 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:18,417 They've rebelled against God. 499 00:23:18,500 --> 00:23:21,167 They want the glory that is only due to the Lord. 500 00:23:21,208 --> 00:23:22,917 And so you've got to be careful. 501 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:26,750 And this is where spirituality is ultimately very dangerous. 502 00:23:26,833 --> 00:23:29,167 John tells us elsewhere in 1 John, he says, 503 00:23:29,208 --> 00:23:31,292 "Don't believe every spirit, but test the spirits, 504 00:23:31,333 --> 00:23:34,167 because not all spirits come serving the Lord." 505 00:23:34,250 --> 00:23:36,458 Some of you have been lied to. 506 00:23:36,500 --> 00:23:38,167 You've been lied to. 507 00:23:38,250 --> 00:23:40,792 You've been told to be spiritual is a good thing. 508 00:23:40,833 --> 00:23:42,292 It's not good to be spiritual. 509 00:23:42,333 --> 00:23:44,792 It's good to be filled with the Holy Spirit. 510 00:23:44,833 --> 00:23:49,167 It's good to love Jesus, but it's not good to be spiritual. 511 00:23:49,250 --> 00:23:51,958 But those who are angels, those who are holy, 512 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:53,917 those who do serve the Lord, 513 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:55,917 they have two primary ministries, 514 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:57,417 as they did for John. 515 00:23:57,500 --> 00:24:00,083 Number one, they're messengers; number two, they're ministers. 516 00:24:00,167 --> 00:24:03,083 So, they will sometimes deliver a message like an ambassador. 517 00:24:03,167 --> 00:24:05,083 They will deliver a word from the Lord, 518 00:24:05,167 --> 00:24:07,417 and they're doing that here for John. 519 00:24:07,500 --> 00:24:09,292 And sometimes they're ministers. 520 00:24:09,333 --> 00:24:11,000 They'll show up and serve. 521 00:24:11,042 --> 00:24:13,000 And Hebrews says sometimes we entertain angels, 522 00:24:13,042 --> 00:24:14,792 and we didn't even know it, 523 00:24:14,833 --> 00:24:16,500 because they show up looking like people. 524 00:24:16,542 --> 00:24:19,250 How many of you, looking back on your life, you say, 525 00:24:19,333 --> 00:24:21,667 "Yeah, that person was a total gift from the Lord, 526 00:24:21,750 --> 00:24:23,667 and now they're gone." 527 00:24:23,750 --> 00:24:26,917 Maybe it was an angel that God sent to minister to you 528 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:28,583 in a season. 529 00:24:28,667 --> 00:24:30,583 And angels are ministers and messengers, 530 00:24:30,667 --> 00:24:33,667 and one is sent to John to reveal to him the message 531 00:24:33,750 --> 00:24:35,458 of Revelation from Jesus. 532 00:24:35,500 --> 00:24:37,917 This is all miraculous and supernatural. 533 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:40,458 This is something that God does to tell us things 534 00:24:40,500 --> 00:24:43,917 that we otherwise could simply not know. 535 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:47,333 And he goes on to say, "He made it known by sending his angels 536 00:24:47,417 --> 00:24:50,500 "to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God 537 00:24:50,542 --> 00:24:52,583 "and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, 538 00:24:52,667 --> 00:24:54,500 even to all that he saw." 539 00:24:54,542 --> 00:24:56,292 Now here's something amazing about John. 540 00:24:56,333 --> 00:24:58,583 He was an eyewitness. 541 00:24:58,667 --> 00:25:01,292 See, when you and I, when it comes to Jesus, 542 00:25:01,333 --> 00:25:04,417 we have to rely on testimony from someone. 543 00:25:04,500 --> 00:25:07,583 Some of you, you'll read books, 544 00:25:07,667 --> 00:25:09,792 you'll listen to philosophers, or you'll examine other 545 00:25:09,833 --> 00:25:11,792 religions, and you'll become confused, and you'll say, 546 00:25:11,833 --> 00:25:14,000 "Well, I don't know if I trust the Bible. 547 00:25:14,042 --> 00:25:16,000 "I don't know if I trust the witnesses. 548 00:25:16,042 --> 00:25:19,000 I've read some other people, and I'm not sure who to trust." 549 00:25:19,042 --> 00:25:20,750 Trust the people who were there. 550 00:25:20,833 --> 00:25:23,250 Trust the eyewitnesses. 551 00:25:23,333 --> 00:25:25,750 Now, again, I would submit to you, 552 00:25:25,833 --> 00:25:28,917 perhaps no one is more trustworthy than John. 553 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:33,000 If he was Jesus' cousin, they grew up together. 554 00:25:33,042 --> 00:25:35,417 He was one of Jesus' disciples. 555 00:25:35,500 --> 00:25:37,500 So, of the 12 human beings on earth, 556 00:25:37,542 --> 00:25:39,292 he had the closest access. 557 00:25:39,333 --> 00:25:42,083 In addition, he was one of the inner circle of three, 558 00:25:42,167 --> 00:25:45,917 so he had privileged access, and he was the one that Jesus loved, 559 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:50,167 the guy that Jesus picked as his best friend. 560 00:25:50,250 --> 00:25:54,917 He followed Jesus at great personal financial cost. 561 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:58,500 He did so without any risk of reward. 562 00:25:58,542 --> 00:26:01,500 He simply did what was right. 563 00:26:01,542 --> 00:26:05,250 Furthermore, he was there for the life, death, burial, 564 00:26:05,333 --> 00:26:08,083 resurrection, ascension of Jesus, 565 00:26:08,167 --> 00:26:10,583 and he lived the rest of his life being hated 566 00:26:10,667 --> 00:26:13,083 and persecuted. 567 00:26:13,167 --> 00:26:15,083 He suffered. 568 00:26:15,167 --> 00:26:17,583 He had nothing to gain. 569 00:26:17,667 --> 00:26:20,583 He was just telling the truth. 570 00:26:20,667 --> 00:26:24,250 Everyone that he loved got murdered. 571 00:26:24,333 --> 00:26:28,250 He has no motivation for enduring as he did 572 00:26:28,333 --> 00:26:32,167 and persevering as he did, other than it's just the truth. 573 00:26:32,250 --> 00:26:33,792 Here's who Jesus is. 574 00:26:33,833 --> 00:26:35,583 Here's what Jesus has done. 575 00:26:35,667 --> 00:26:38,083 And he says this, as well, in 1 John, 576 00:26:38,167 --> 00:26:39,917 one of the letters that he writes, 577 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:42,792 he begins 1 John 1:1 talking about Jesus, 578 00:26:42,833 --> 00:26:46,583 and he says, number one, it's, quote, "what we have heard." 579 00:26:46,667 --> 00:26:49,583 Number two, "We have seen with our own eyes." 580 00:26:49,667 --> 00:26:51,000 That's a quote. 581 00:26:51,042 --> 00:26:52,500 And number three, here's another quote, 582 00:26:52,542 --> 00:26:54,083 "We have touched with our hands." 583 00:26:54,167 --> 00:26:55,458 Here's what John's saying. 584 00:26:55,500 --> 00:26:58,083 "When I'm talking about Jesus, I'm talking about 585 00:26:58,167 --> 00:27:00,167 "when I'm telling you, 'Here's what he said,' 586 00:27:00,250 --> 00:27:03,333 "it's because I heard it with my own ear. 587 00:27:03,417 --> 00:27:05,417 "When I'm telling you what Jesus did, 588 00:27:05,500 --> 00:27:08,292 "it's because I saw it with my own eyes! 589 00:27:08,333 --> 00:27:10,667 "And did he really live? Did he really die? 590 00:27:10,750 --> 00:27:12,417 "Did he really rise? Yes! 591 00:27:12,500 --> 00:27:15,292 I hugged him and embraced him with my own hands." 592 00:27:15,333 --> 00:27:18,167 There's no one more trustworthy, more credible 593 00:27:18,250 --> 00:27:20,958 than Jesus' friend, John. 594 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:22,500 Amen? 595 00:27:22,542 --> 00:27:25,583 So, when you get those moments of doubt, or you're confused, 596 00:27:25,667 --> 00:27:29,167 or your faith is a bit shaken, go back to John. 597 00:27:29,250 --> 00:27:30,583 He was there. 598 00:27:30,667 --> 00:27:32,333 You've got to trust somebody. 599 00:27:32,417 --> 00:27:34,292 Trust him. 600 00:27:34,333 --> 00:27:37,167 And what a godly man, what a humble man. 601 00:27:37,250 --> 00:27:39,667 I mean, there's no hint of scandal in his life. 602 00:27:39,750 --> 00:27:41,167 He's not greedy. 603 00:27:41,250 --> 00:27:42,750 He's not immoral. 604 00:27:42,833 --> 00:27:44,167 He's not impure. 605 00:27:44,250 --> 00:27:45,833 He's not selfish. 606 00:27:45,917 --> 00:27:51,292 He's a man who suffers, loves, gives, serves, and even 607 00:27:51,333 --> 00:27:54,792 if he's boiled and exiled, he's still talking about Jesus 608 00:27:54,833 --> 00:27:57,083 with a smile on his face, and he's saying, 609 00:27:57,167 --> 00:27:59,333 "Love one another like Jesus loves us." 610 00:27:59,417 --> 00:28:01,458 What a guy! 611 00:28:01,500 --> 00:28:03,458 I've been hanging out with John for weeks. 612 00:28:03,500 --> 00:28:05,458 I want him to become your friend. 613 00:28:05,500 --> 00:28:08,458 I see why Jesus picked him as his best friend. 614 00:28:08,500 --> 00:28:11,167 I want him to be a friend to you, as well. 615 00:28:11,208 --> 00:28:14,167 And so he tells us this is a testimony even to all 616 00:28:14,250 --> 00:28:16,167 that he saw. 617 00:28:16,250 --> 00:28:18,000 And then he says there's a blessing-- 618 00:28:18,042 --> 00:28:19,583 as if this isn't enough. 619 00:28:19,667 --> 00:28:21,083 There's a blessing. 620 00:28:21,167 --> 00:28:23,583 Number one, for "the one who reads aloud 621 00:28:23,667 --> 00:28:25,583 the words of this prophecy." 622 00:28:25,667 --> 00:28:27,792 Yay! I'm blessed today, right? 623 00:28:27,833 --> 00:28:29,583 What am I doing? 624 00:28:29,667 --> 00:28:31,333 I'm reading it. 625 00:28:31,417 --> 00:28:33,167 I'm blessed to read it to you. 626 00:28:33,250 --> 00:28:34,667 I know I'm blessed. 627 00:28:34,750 --> 00:28:37,083 I feel I'm blessed to read it to you. 628 00:28:37,167 --> 00:28:40,750 And we read it aloud, because faith comes by hearing 629 00:28:40,833 --> 00:28:43,083 the Word of God, the Scriptures say. 630 00:28:43,167 --> 00:28:45,292 So, it's good to be under preaching and teaching. 631 00:28:45,333 --> 00:28:48,292 It's good to listen to the Bible on your way to work, 632 00:28:48,333 --> 00:28:50,333 or during your workout, or commute, 633 00:28:50,417 --> 00:28:54,583 or whatever the case may be, to just hear the Word of God. 634 00:28:54,667 --> 00:28:58,000 If you read it to your kids, you're blessed! 635 00:28:58,042 --> 00:29:00,583 If you read it to your Community Group, you're blessed! 636 00:29:00,667 --> 00:29:03,417 If you're in Community Group, you open it up and say, 637 00:29:03,500 --> 00:29:05,750 "Let me read something from the Scriptures," you're blessed. 638 00:29:05,833 --> 00:29:07,750 How many of you have felt that blessing, 639 00:29:07,833 --> 00:29:10,458 sharing the Scriptures with others? 640 00:29:10,500 --> 00:29:12,792 Someone comes to you with a question, say, "Well, 641 00:29:12,833 --> 00:29:15,792 let me open the Scriptures, and let me read it to you." 642 00:29:15,833 --> 00:29:17,792 Immediately, the Holy Spirit confirms in the believer 643 00:29:17,833 --> 00:29:19,167 the blessing. 644 00:29:19,250 --> 00:29:20,583 "Wow! 645 00:29:20,667 --> 00:29:23,083 "I now get to be a messenger for the Lord! 646 00:29:23,167 --> 00:29:25,083 "I get to do what the angels do. 647 00:29:25,167 --> 00:29:28,792 I get to tell the truth, and I get to share the love of God." 648 00:29:28,833 --> 00:29:31,167 So, thank you for letting me be blessed today. 649 00:29:31,208 --> 00:29:35,000 And in addition, there's a blessing for "those who hear." 650 00:29:35,042 --> 00:29:37,250 And hearing is not just listening, 651 00:29:37,333 --> 00:29:38,958 but it's listening attentively. 652 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:40,500 It's listening carefully. 653 00:29:40,542 --> 00:29:42,500 For me, it's an act of worship 654 00:29:42,542 --> 00:29:44,500 to present the Word of God to you. 655 00:29:44,542 --> 00:29:47,833 For you, it's an act of worship to receive the Word of God 656 00:29:47,917 --> 00:29:49,250 for you. 657 00:29:49,333 --> 00:29:50,667 You get that? 658 00:29:50,708 --> 00:29:53,000 You are worshiping God now and will be blessed 659 00:29:53,042 --> 00:29:54,417 if you're listening, paying attention. 660 00:29:54,500 --> 00:29:56,833 This is where I want you to bring your Bible. 661 00:29:56,917 --> 00:29:59,083 This is where I want you to take notes. 662 00:29:59,167 --> 00:30:01,500 This is where I want you to bring a journal. 663 00:30:01,542 --> 00:30:04,667 This is where I want you to write it down on your phone. 664 00:30:04,750 --> 00:30:06,083 Whatever your method is, 665 00:30:06,167 --> 00:30:07,500 I don't care. 666 00:30:07,542 --> 00:30:08,917 But be an attentive listener. 667 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:11,667 Be listening for those things that the Holy Spirit would say. 668 00:30:11,708 --> 00:30:13,667 "That one's for you. Write that one down. 669 00:30:13,708 --> 00:30:15,167 "Think about that. Pray about that. 670 00:30:15,250 --> 00:30:16,917 "Memorize that verse. Spend time with me. 671 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:19,250 "We need to talk about that. That's for them. 672 00:30:19,333 --> 00:30:21,750 "Go share it. Share the Word of God with them. 673 00:30:21,833 --> 00:30:23,750 "Bring the truth to them. Pray for them. 674 00:30:23,833 --> 00:30:25,167 Serve them." 675 00:30:25,208 --> 00:30:27,917 In every way, bring the Word of God into your life 676 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:29,417 and through your life to others. 677 00:30:29,500 --> 00:30:31,167 And those who hear it, they're blessed. 678 00:30:31,208 --> 00:30:33,667 They're blessed. The Word of God is a blessing. 679 00:30:33,708 --> 00:30:36,000 The Word of God is a source of life. 680 00:30:36,042 --> 00:30:38,000 That's what we believe at Mars Hill. 681 00:30:38,042 --> 00:30:40,500 So, you're blessed if you get to read it aloud, 682 00:30:40,542 --> 00:30:42,500 you're blessed if you get to hear it, 683 00:30:42,542 --> 00:30:44,667 and we'll all be blessed if we obey it. 684 00:30:44,750 --> 00:30:48,667 It says, "And who keep what is written, for the time is near." 685 00:30:48,750 --> 00:30:50,917 And this is obedience; otherwise, 686 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:54,833 the Word of God becomes information, not transformation. 687 00:30:54,917 --> 00:30:58,167 And for some of you, it becomes a way to win arguments 688 00:30:58,250 --> 00:31:01,583 with other people, or a way to judge other people, 689 00:31:01,667 --> 00:31:04,083 or some of you have a religious view and say, 690 00:31:04,167 --> 00:31:05,917 "Yes, I read the Word of God, 691 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:07,917 "and I make note of all the things 692 00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:09,417 that other people need to hear." 693 00:31:09,500 --> 00:31:12,583 We use the Word of God first for ourselves and then for others; 694 00:31:12,667 --> 00:31:15,417 first for our own sin and then for theirs; 695 00:31:15,500 --> 00:31:19,833 first for our own maturity and humility and then for theirs. 696 00:31:19,917 --> 00:31:22,750 And you're blessed if you speak the Word of God; 697 00:31:22,833 --> 00:31:25,417 you're blessed if you listen to the Word of God; 698 00:31:25,500 --> 00:31:28,583 and we can all be blessed if we obey the Word of God. 699 00:31:28,667 --> 00:31:30,292 If we do what the Scriptures say-- 700 00:31:30,333 --> 00:31:31,792 Jesus' brother says it this way: 701 00:31:31,833 --> 00:31:34,667 "Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. 702 00:31:34,750 --> 00:31:36,083 Do what it says." 703 00:31:36,167 --> 00:31:38,583 And what happens here is much of the obedience is 704 00:31:38,667 --> 00:31:40,000 in relation to the church. 705 00:31:40,042 --> 00:31:43,167 So, what happens is John's alone on the Lord's Day, a Sunday, 706 00:31:43,208 --> 00:31:44,583 the day of Jesus' resurrection. 707 00:31:44,667 --> 00:31:47,250 He's alone in this cave, in all likelihood, 708 00:31:47,333 --> 00:31:49,500 up on the mountain of Patmos. 709 00:31:49,542 --> 00:31:51,417 He's a very elderly man. 710 00:31:51,500 --> 00:31:53,292 And Jesus shows up. 711 00:31:53,333 --> 00:31:55,083 And here's what Jesus doesn't talk about. 712 00:31:55,167 --> 00:31:56,833 "John, how are you feeling? 713 00:31:56,917 --> 00:31:58,792 "John, what can I do for you? 714 00:31:58,833 --> 00:32:00,458 "How can I encourage you? 715 00:32:00,500 --> 00:32:02,500 What's it like to be boiled?" 716 00:32:02,542 --> 00:32:04,500 That's not the conversation. 717 00:32:04,542 --> 00:32:06,250 Because, see, here's what we do. 718 00:32:06,333 --> 00:32:09,917 We reduce Jesus down to our therapist. 719 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:12,917 And if he does show up, it's just to talk about me 720 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:15,917 and my feelings, and my hurts, and my wants, and my needs, 721 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:18,667 and the spanking of my inner child, and my father issues, 722 00:32:18,708 --> 00:32:21,833 and, you know, how hard this life is, and how depressed I am, 723 00:32:21,917 --> 00:32:25,333 and he needs to sit there and listen to me and nod, and smile, 724 00:32:25,417 --> 00:32:27,667 and take notes, and give a prescription so that 725 00:32:27,750 --> 00:32:29,167 my whole life can get better. 726 00:32:29,250 --> 00:32:31,083 That's not who Jesus is! 727 00:32:31,167 --> 00:32:34,958 Don't let the American version of Jesus reduce him down to 728 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:38,667 sympathetic therapist, that he allows you to be the center 729 00:32:38,750 --> 00:32:42,667 of your world, and he shows up to glorify you, 730 00:32:42,708 --> 00:32:44,833 to take away all your problems 731 00:32:44,917 --> 00:32:46,667 and to give you all your rewards. 732 00:32:46,750 --> 00:32:50,750 That comes at the end of the age, not in this life. 733 00:32:50,833 --> 00:32:52,833 And John is suffering, and John is hurting, 734 00:32:52,917 --> 00:32:55,417 and do you know what John didn't get from Jesus? 735 00:32:55,500 --> 00:32:58,000 A bunch of statements of ways 736 00:32:58,042 --> 00:32:59,792 that he could make his life better. 737 00:32:59,833 --> 00:33:03,250 What Jesus immediately did is he redirected his whole focus 738 00:33:03,333 --> 00:33:07,167 to the church, to the church, to the church, to the church. 739 00:33:07,208 --> 00:33:11,750 And, friends, this, I'm telling you, this is where it's at. 740 00:33:11,833 --> 00:33:15,583 It's about knowing who Jesus is--Lord, God, Savior, King, 741 00:33:15,667 --> 00:33:19,083 Christ, risen, ruling, reigning, coming again--and then keeping 742 00:33:19,167 --> 00:33:21,458 your eyes on the church. 743 00:33:21,500 --> 00:33:23,292 Who needs to meet Jesus? 744 00:33:23,333 --> 00:33:25,083 Who's hurting? Who's suffering? 745 00:33:25,167 --> 00:33:27,250 Who could we help? Who could we serve? 746 00:33:27,333 --> 00:33:30,167 Where could we grow? How could we mature? 747 00:33:30,250 --> 00:33:33,417 And what God does then is he gives this series 748 00:33:33,500 --> 00:33:36,000 of seven letters to and through John, 749 00:33:36,042 --> 00:33:38,417 and they are about seven churches. 750 00:33:38,500 --> 00:33:41,333 It'd be like our multi-site, multi-campus, 751 00:33:41,417 --> 00:33:44,083 multi-church network of churches. 752 00:33:44,167 --> 00:33:46,083 "This one's doing good. This one's doing bad. 753 00:33:46,167 --> 00:33:47,583 "This one's suffering. Help them. 754 00:33:47,667 --> 00:33:49,000 "These guys are greedy. 755 00:33:49,042 --> 00:33:50,667 "Tell them to give generously. 756 00:33:50,750 --> 00:33:52,292 "These guys are all theologically, 757 00:33:52,333 --> 00:33:54,917 "doctrinally correct, but they're jerks! 758 00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:56,917 Tell them to be nice to people." 759 00:33:57,000 --> 00:33:59,917 And he's looking at all the churches, Jesus is, and he says, 760 00:34:00,042 --> 00:34:02,250 "John, I need you to look at the churches. 761 00:34:02,333 --> 00:34:04,583 "I need you to pay attention to the churches. 762 00:34:04,667 --> 00:34:06,292 "I need you to serve the churches, 763 00:34:06,333 --> 00:34:07,792 "teach the churches, rebuke the churches." 764 00:34:07,833 --> 00:34:09,292 'Cause here's the truth, friends. 765 00:34:09,333 --> 00:34:11,792 If you love Jesus, you have to love the church! 766 00:34:11,833 --> 00:34:15,000 'Cause Christ gave himself for the church! 767 00:34:15,042 --> 00:34:18,167 And what can happen is sometimes we think it's just me and Jesus. 768 00:34:18,250 --> 00:34:19,917 It's not. 769 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:22,917 The majority of the books of the Bible are written to churches, 770 00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:24,292 not individuals. 771 00:34:24,333 --> 00:34:26,292 So, the application is often for the church, 772 00:34:26,333 --> 00:34:27,667 not just for the individual. 773 00:34:27,750 --> 00:34:30,083 There are individual applications, 774 00:34:30,167 --> 00:34:33,500 but it's us together, and we even teach our kids, falsely, 775 00:34:33,542 --> 00:34:35,292 "Jesus loves," who? 776 00:34:35,333 --> 00:34:36,667 "Me. 777 00:34:36,750 --> 00:34:38,167 This I know." 778 00:34:38,250 --> 00:34:40,000 We should sing, "Jesus loves us. 779 00:34:40,042 --> 00:34:41,958 This we know." 780 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:45,000 Jesus does love you, but he loves us. 781 00:34:45,042 --> 00:34:47,667 And the goal is not that you would just know Jesus, 782 00:34:47,708 --> 00:34:50,292 and love Jesus, and enjoy Jesus, but that you would love 783 00:34:50,333 --> 00:34:53,083 what Jesus loves, that you would do what Jesus does, 784 00:34:53,167 --> 00:34:55,250 that you would go where Jesus is, 785 00:34:55,333 --> 00:34:58,083 that you would give for what Jesus gave his life to: 786 00:34:58,167 --> 00:35:00,167 the church. 787 00:35:00,208 --> 00:35:04,583 And I am just sick, tired, frustrated with people saying 788 00:35:04,667 --> 00:35:07,917 negative things about Christian churches, browbeating, 789 00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:12,292 criticizing, standing back, holier-than-thou-ism. 790 00:35:12,333 --> 00:35:15,500 Jesus loves the church! 791 00:35:15,542 --> 00:35:17,750 We love the church! 792 00:35:17,833 --> 00:35:20,292 We know the church isn't perfect. 793 00:35:20,333 --> 00:35:23,417 The seven letters to the seven churches show the ways that they 794 00:35:23,500 --> 00:35:26,667 need to change, and repent, and learn, and grow, 795 00:35:26,750 --> 00:35:30,833 but there's a heart in John that says, "And I'm here to help." 796 00:35:30,917 --> 00:35:34,917 It's not the heart of a critic who stands back to find fault. 797 00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:38,333 It's the heart of a servant who jumps in to make better. 798 00:35:38,417 --> 00:35:40,292 This is what God wants for you. 799 00:35:40,333 --> 00:35:43,583 This is what God wants for us in this particular sermon series 800 00:35:43,667 --> 00:35:46,833 and this section of the Bible: to have a heart for Jesus 801 00:35:46,917 --> 00:35:49,792 and the church, to love Jesus and the church, 802 00:35:49,833 --> 00:35:53,083 to serve Jesus by serving the church, 803 00:35:53,167 --> 00:35:55,583 by being the church. 804 00:35:55,667 --> 00:36:00,083 And this is exactly what is revealed to John. 805 00:36:00,167 --> 00:36:01,500 And let me say this. 806 00:36:01,542 --> 00:36:03,083 Whatever you're struggling or suffering with, 807 00:36:03,167 --> 00:36:06,083 I don't want to in any way diminish it or downplay it, 808 00:36:06,167 --> 00:36:09,250 but it is not equal to what John was enduring, amen? 809 00:36:09,333 --> 00:36:12,833 A 100-year-old man, boiled alive, in a cave, all alone. 810 00:36:12,917 --> 00:36:15,792 Whatever your week looked like, his was worse. 811 00:36:15,833 --> 00:36:18,250 Amen? 812 00:36:18,333 --> 00:36:22,083 So, number one, Revelation the book is all about 813 00:36:22,167 --> 00:36:24,083 Jesus Christ. 814 00:36:24,167 --> 00:36:28,667 Number two, Revelation is all about Jesus' church. 815 00:36:28,750 --> 00:36:30,917 And so we'll just unpack it. 816 00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:34,167 Revelation 1:4-8. 817 00:36:34,250 --> 00:36:38,792 So, to John, through "John to the seven churches 818 00:36:38,833 --> 00:36:40,667 that are in Asia." 819 00:36:40,708 --> 00:36:42,458 So, it's this network of churches, 820 00:36:42,500 --> 00:36:44,583 like we've got a network of churches. 821 00:36:44,667 --> 00:36:47,583 It's to this network of churches. 822 00:36:47,667 --> 00:36:50,083 "Grace to you and peace." 823 00:36:50,167 --> 00:36:52,000 Let's just start there. 824 00:36:52,042 --> 00:36:55,667 Grace. 825 00:36:55,750 --> 00:36:57,792 God is good to us. 826 00:36:57,833 --> 00:37:01,250 Amen? 827 00:37:01,333 --> 00:37:03,250 God is so good to Mars Hill Church, 828 00:37:03,333 --> 00:37:05,917 it's crazy, nutty, freaky, ridiculous. 829 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:07,292 Okay? 830 00:37:07,333 --> 00:37:08,667 Here's Mars Hill Church: 831 00:37:08,750 --> 00:37:11,667 An angry 20-something guy, who's never been a member of a church, 832 00:37:11,750 --> 00:37:13,083 has no formal theological education, 833 00:37:13,167 --> 00:37:16,167 decides to get a bunch of people committed to anarchy together 834 00:37:16,208 --> 00:37:19,000 for a small Bible study in the least-churched city, 835 00:37:19,042 --> 00:37:21,667 in the least-churched region in the United States of America, 836 00:37:21,708 --> 00:37:24,083 trying to reach the least-churched person, 837 00:37:24,167 --> 00:37:26,167 a 20-something college-educated guy, 838 00:37:26,250 --> 00:37:27,917 educated beyond his intelligence, 839 00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:30,792 who's still single, because he hates responsibility. 840 00:37:30,833 --> 00:37:33,667 And, oh, by the way, he won't give, because he's broke. 841 00:37:33,708 --> 00:37:35,417 Okay, so that's the plan. 842 00:37:35,500 --> 00:37:36,792 Okay? 843 00:37:36,833 --> 00:37:39,458 And then boom, 15,000 people. 844 00:37:39,500 --> 00:37:42,417 It's crazy, nutty, freaky, ridiculous. 845 00:37:42,500 --> 00:37:43,958 It doesn't make any sense. 846 00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:46,167 Mars Hill Church is a joke in the 847 00:37:46,250 --> 00:37:49,292 "Wow, Lord, that's hilarious" kind of way. 848 00:37:49,333 --> 00:37:52,250 We don't deserve to exist. 849 00:37:52,333 --> 00:37:53,750 I'll travel around. 850 00:37:53,833 --> 00:37:55,292 People will say, "What's the secret? 851 00:37:55,333 --> 00:37:56,667 What's the secret?" 852 00:37:56,750 --> 00:37:58,083 Here's the secret. 853 00:37:58,167 --> 00:37:59,750 Jesus is alive. He's nice. 854 00:37:59,833 --> 00:38:01,917 That's the secret. That's the secret. 855 00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:03,958 Everything we've ever accomplished is solely, totally, 856 00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:06,167 fully, thoroughly, from beginning to end, 857 00:38:06,208 --> 00:38:07,917 by the grace of God. 858 00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:10,333 Mars Hill, I want your heart to be for Jesus. 859 00:38:10,417 --> 00:38:13,583 I want your heart to be for the church, and it will be, 860 00:38:13,667 --> 00:38:16,750 if you know that the grace of God is not just on you, 861 00:38:16,833 --> 00:38:20,167 and it's not just on me, but the grace of God is on us. 862 00:38:20,208 --> 00:38:21,667 He's doing something I don't understand, 863 00:38:21,750 --> 00:38:23,792 but it's pretty fantastic. 864 00:38:23,833 --> 00:38:25,292 He's being gracious. 865 00:38:25,333 --> 00:38:26,917 He's pouring out grace. 866 00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:28,583 We're a blessed people. 867 00:38:28,667 --> 00:38:31,417 This is where I want you to love this church. 868 00:38:31,500 --> 00:38:33,583 I want you to serve this church. 869 00:38:33,667 --> 00:38:36,792 And it's not just enough to say, "Well, it's me and Jesus." 870 00:38:36,833 --> 00:38:40,583 No, friends, it's us and Jesus, and grace is on us, 871 00:38:40,667 --> 00:38:42,083 and there's peace. 872 00:38:42,167 --> 00:38:45,083 And so don't hear this as a guilt. 873 00:38:45,167 --> 00:38:47,083 Don't think God's going to punish you, 874 00:38:47,167 --> 00:38:48,792 God's angry with you, God hates you. 875 00:38:48,833 --> 00:38:51,583 If you're a Christian, and you're in Christ, God loves you. 876 00:38:51,667 --> 00:38:52,958 God cares for you. 877 00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:54,458 God is not done with you. 878 00:38:54,500 --> 00:38:55,833 God is not forcing you, 879 00:38:55,917 --> 00:38:58,083 he's inviting you to be on mission with him, 880 00:38:58,167 --> 00:39:00,583 to see lives get changed, to see people get saved, 881 00:39:00,667 --> 00:39:02,583 to see churches get planted. 882 00:39:02,667 --> 00:39:05,958 That's what got John up every day to supper 883 00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:08,667 for 80 years of his life. 884 00:39:08,708 --> 00:39:11,667 It's the only thing that'll keep you motivated and keep you from 885 00:39:11,708 --> 00:39:16,083 being frustrated is to love Jesus and serve the church. 886 00:39:16,167 --> 00:39:18,917 And Jesus has peace with us, through the cross, 887 00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:21,417 and he has grace for us. 888 00:39:21,500 --> 00:39:23,917 And, Mars Hill, there's still grace to be had. 889 00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:26,667 There's still people to reach, leaders to raise up. 890 00:39:26,750 --> 00:39:28,500 There are churches to plant. 891 00:39:28,542 --> 00:39:32,000 There is work to be done, and this is a herald call from God 892 00:39:32,042 --> 00:39:34,917 saying everybody is welcome! 893 00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:37,083 And there's grace for you, as well. 894 00:39:37,167 --> 00:39:40,917 He goes on to say, "Grace to you and peace from him--" 895 00:39:41,000 --> 00:39:42,917 Now he's going to talk about Jesus again. 896 00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:44,292 You know, here's John: 897 00:39:44,333 --> 00:39:45,833 "Something, Jesus, something, Jesus, something, Jesus." 898 00:39:45,917 --> 00:39:47,333 He's always talking about two things: 899 00:39:47,417 --> 00:39:49,292 something and Jesus. 900 00:39:49,333 --> 00:39:53,250 "Grace, Jesus, peace, Jesus, church, Jesus, Bible, Jesus." 901 00:39:53,333 --> 00:39:58,292 It's all about Jesus for John, and Jesus is the one "who is, 902 00:39:58,333 --> 00:39:59,917 who was, and is to come." 903 00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:01,792 This is a statement of deity. 904 00:40:01,833 --> 00:40:05,417 He was before heaven and earth! 905 00:40:05,500 --> 00:40:10,458 He is living today, ruling and reigning, risen from death, 906 00:40:10,500 --> 00:40:13,167 and in heaven as King, Lord, God, Savior, and Christ. 907 00:40:13,208 --> 00:40:15,333 And he will come again. 908 00:40:15,417 --> 00:40:20,500 This is our Jesus, who was, and is, and is to come-- 909 00:40:20,542 --> 00:40:24,083 "from the seven spirits who are before his throne." 910 00:40:24,167 --> 00:40:27,083 Angels are worshiping Jesus right now. 911 00:40:27,167 --> 00:40:29,583 And when you and I sing, we raise our voice. 912 00:40:29,667 --> 00:40:31,250 We raise our hands! 913 00:40:31,333 --> 00:40:32,667 It's a form of prayer. 914 00:40:32,708 --> 00:40:35,667 It's a form of surrender, saying, "Jesus, you're worthy, 915 00:40:35,708 --> 00:40:39,292 "and we want to join the angels doing that for which 916 00:40:39,333 --> 00:40:41,833 "we were made, because it is glorious to you, 917 00:40:41,917 --> 00:40:45,833 it is good for others, and it makes us glad." 918 00:40:45,917 --> 00:40:48,500 "And from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, 919 00:40:48,542 --> 00:40:49,917 the firstborn of the dead." 920 00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:53,250 He says that Jesus is the pattern of the resurrection 921 00:40:53,333 --> 00:40:54,917 of the church. 922 00:40:55,000 --> 00:40:56,292 You need to know this. 923 00:40:56,333 --> 00:40:59,417 We're all going to die, and we will not rise individually. 924 00:40:59,500 --> 00:41:01,583 We will rise corporately. 925 00:41:01,667 --> 00:41:03,167 We'll rise collectively. 926 00:41:03,208 --> 00:41:05,250 We'll rise as the church. 927 00:41:05,333 --> 00:41:09,917 There will be a day when you die, when your funeral is held, 928 00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:14,000 and your family sheds their tears and says their goodbyes, 929 00:41:14,042 --> 00:41:18,917 and there will be a day that Jesus Christ calls us together 930 00:41:19,000 --> 00:41:22,958 from our graves, risen from death, no sin, no sickness, 931 00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:27,750 no suffering, to be together forever with him, like him. 932 00:41:27,833 --> 00:41:30,167 And this is how it says it in Daniel 12:1-2, 933 00:41:30,250 --> 00:41:33,292 that the multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth, 934 00:41:33,333 --> 00:41:34,917 they will arise! 935 00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:37,250 Friends, we're going to rise together. 936 00:41:37,333 --> 00:41:39,792 We could still get together as Mars Hill Church 937 00:41:39,833 --> 00:41:41,958 in the heavenly kingdom of God. 938 00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:44,792 You'll still see your friends in Community Group forever. 939 00:41:44,833 --> 00:41:46,167 They'll be perfected. 940 00:41:46,250 --> 00:41:47,750 So will you. 941 00:41:47,833 --> 00:41:50,417 It'll be much better than it is right now. 942 00:41:50,500 --> 00:41:54,083 Right now it's sinners just learning how to be sanctified. 943 00:41:54,167 --> 00:41:55,458 Okay? 944 00:41:55,500 --> 00:41:58,292 But, ultimately, you need to know that we're going to be 945 00:41:58,333 --> 00:42:01,083 together forever, so we need to get along right now 946 00:42:01,167 --> 00:42:02,500 and practice for then. 947 00:42:02,542 --> 00:42:04,167 Amen? 948 00:42:04,208 --> 00:42:06,167 And so the story continues. 949 00:42:06,250 --> 00:42:09,083 "The ruler of the kings of the earth"--love this! 950 00:42:09,167 --> 00:42:11,458 This is big King Jesus. 951 00:42:11,500 --> 00:42:14,417 All kings, all kingdoms, all rulers, 952 00:42:14,500 --> 00:42:16,917 they will all give an account to him. 953 00:42:17,000 --> 00:42:19,917 You know, your parent, your spouse, your employer, 954 00:42:20,000 --> 00:42:23,167 your critic, they're not Jesus. 955 00:42:23,208 --> 00:42:25,583 They're not in ultimate authority. 956 00:42:25,667 --> 00:42:27,333 They will give an account to him, 957 00:42:27,417 --> 00:42:29,500 as you will give an account to him. 958 00:42:29,542 --> 00:42:32,667 And the truth is we should all live for that day, 959 00:42:32,750 --> 00:42:36,333 that day, when we sit or stand before Jesus, 960 00:42:36,417 --> 00:42:38,333 and we give an account to him. 961 00:42:38,417 --> 00:42:42,583 And whatever he calls it, that's what it is, because he is what? 962 00:42:42,667 --> 00:42:45,167 He is the ruler of the kings of the earth. 963 00:42:45,208 --> 00:42:49,167 It doesn't matter what someone's title, position might be. 964 00:42:49,208 --> 00:42:52,833 Ultimately, they are under Jesus and give an account to him. 965 00:42:52,917 --> 00:42:55,250 That includes you and I. 966 00:42:55,333 --> 00:42:57,083 "To him who," what? 967 00:42:57,167 --> 00:42:59,458 This big Jesus, he what? 968 00:42:59,500 --> 00:43:01,292 He "loves us"! 969 00:43:01,333 --> 00:43:04,667 Not just me, not just you, but us! 970 00:43:04,708 --> 00:43:07,167 Jesus loves the church! 971 00:43:07,208 --> 00:43:09,958 Friends, this is why I want to give my whole life 972 00:43:10,000 --> 00:43:11,667 to the church! 973 00:43:11,708 --> 00:43:15,083 I could speak, I could travel, I could write, I could take a nap. 974 00:43:15,167 --> 00:43:17,667 There are other things to do! 975 00:43:17,750 --> 00:43:20,667 I'm not opposed to a drink with an umbrella and a hammock. 976 00:43:20,708 --> 00:43:25,583 Like, I've prayed about it, and I'm open to it, but-- 977 00:43:25,667 --> 00:43:27,792 Jesus loves the church! 978 00:43:27,833 --> 00:43:32,083 Jesus gave himself for the church, and he loves who? 979 00:43:32,167 --> 00:43:33,750 Us. 980 00:43:33,833 --> 00:43:36,583 Mars Hill, we are a loved people. 981 00:43:36,667 --> 00:43:38,583 You are a loved people. 982 00:43:38,667 --> 00:43:40,083 Does he love you individually? 983 00:43:40,167 --> 00:43:41,667 Yes. 984 00:43:41,750 --> 00:43:43,292 But does he love us collectively? 985 00:43:43,333 --> 00:43:45,000 Yes. 986 00:43:45,042 --> 00:43:47,083 I want you to love what Jesus loves. 987 00:43:47,167 --> 00:43:48,792 Love your church. 988 00:43:48,833 --> 00:43:52,000 And if Mars Hill is not your church, or you're visiting, 989 00:43:52,042 --> 00:43:56,958 or listening in, love a church and give yourself to what Jesus 990 00:43:57,000 --> 00:43:59,083 gave himself to. 991 00:43:59,167 --> 00:44:00,792 Your treasure follows your heart. 992 00:44:00,833 --> 00:44:03,167 You could follow this with your giving, your finances, 993 00:44:03,250 --> 00:44:05,333 your prayers, your service. 994 00:44:05,417 --> 00:44:07,667 They will follow your heart. 995 00:44:07,708 --> 00:44:10,000 We don't just want your time or your money. 996 00:44:10,042 --> 00:44:12,750 We want your heart for Jesus and the church, 997 00:44:12,833 --> 00:44:16,250 and everything else will follow, because he loves us! 998 00:44:16,333 --> 00:44:18,292 That's awesome! 999 00:44:18,333 --> 00:44:21,167 There's nothing better than being loved by Jesus. 1000 00:44:21,250 --> 00:44:23,417 He makes enemies friends. 1001 00:44:23,500 --> 00:44:26,083 He takes those who are far away, he brings them near. 1002 00:44:26,167 --> 00:44:29,958 He takes those who are dirty, and he makes them clean. 1003 00:44:30,000 --> 00:44:33,167 He takes those who are guilty, and he makes them righteous. 1004 00:44:33,250 --> 00:44:35,083 We're loved! 1005 00:44:35,167 --> 00:44:38,667 We are absolutely loved by Jesus. 1006 00:44:38,750 --> 00:44:41,167 And he goes on to say, 1007 00:44:41,208 --> 00:44:46,167 "and has freed us from our sins by his blood." 1008 00:44:46,250 --> 00:44:48,167 How do we know that Jesus loves us? 1009 00:44:48,208 --> 00:44:50,000 Look to the cross. 1010 00:44:50,042 --> 00:44:54,417 He suffered, died, shed his blood in our place for our sins. 1011 00:44:54,500 --> 00:44:56,667 "God demonstrates his love for us in this: 1012 00:44:56,750 --> 00:44:59,667 while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." 1013 00:44:59,708 --> 00:45:02,958 Jesus says, "No greater love has anyone than this: they lay down 1014 00:45:03,000 --> 00:45:05,417 their life for their friend." 1015 00:45:05,500 --> 00:45:08,083 The Bible says that it's not that we loved God, 1016 00:45:08,167 --> 00:45:11,000 but that he loved us, and he sent his only son, Jesus, 1017 00:45:11,042 --> 00:45:13,667 to be the propitiation for our sin. 1018 00:45:13,750 --> 00:45:17,583 If you doubt, disbelieve, or disregard the love of Jesus, 1019 00:45:17,667 --> 00:45:21,167 look to the cross, and you will know you're loved! 1020 00:45:21,250 --> 00:45:26,583 You are loved by God himself, and he takes away your sin. 1021 00:45:26,667 --> 00:45:28,458 You are forgiven. 1022 00:45:28,500 --> 00:45:30,292 You are not who you were. 1023 00:45:30,333 --> 00:45:31,917 You are someone new, 1024 00:45:32,000 --> 00:45:33,792 and you're becoming increasingly more like him. 1025 00:45:33,833 --> 00:45:36,292 He's not sick of you. He's not done with you. 1026 00:45:36,333 --> 00:45:39,083 He's not frustrated with you. He's not given up on you. 1027 00:45:39,167 --> 00:45:40,458 He's not overwhelmed by you. 1028 00:45:40,500 --> 00:45:43,167 He loves you, and he has a calling, and a mission, 1029 00:45:43,250 --> 00:45:45,250 and a purpose on us, as a people. 1030 00:45:45,333 --> 00:45:47,083 He determines when and where you're born. 1031 00:45:47,167 --> 00:45:49,917 He has you here to be on mission with him. 1032 00:45:50,000 --> 00:45:52,667 And you may have come here thinking about someone or 1033 00:45:52,708 --> 00:45:55,417 something else, and that was probably John's experience 1034 00:45:55,500 --> 00:45:58,417 on that day, and Jesus is revealed in glory, 1035 00:45:58,500 --> 00:46:01,917 and that changes the heart and redirects the course of life 1036 00:46:02,000 --> 00:46:04,792 to be on mission with him together as the church, 1037 00:46:04,833 --> 00:46:07,417 because we are a kingdom of priests! 1038 00:46:07,500 --> 00:46:10,167 That's crazy talk! 1039 00:46:10,250 --> 00:46:12,000 That's crazy talk! 1040 00:46:12,042 --> 00:46:14,500 'Cause in the Old Testament, if you were a Jew, 1041 00:46:14,542 --> 00:46:15,917 who were the priests? 1042 00:46:16,000 --> 00:46:17,750 Holy guys, went to school, knew Hebrew, 1043 00:46:17,833 --> 00:46:20,417 memorized the Pentateuch. 1044 00:46:20,500 --> 00:46:24,500 These guys are holy, righteous, devout nerds. 1045 00:46:24,542 --> 00:46:27,167 That's who they were. 1046 00:46:27,208 --> 00:46:29,500 And you had to go through a lengthy process 1047 00:46:29,542 --> 00:46:30,917 to be a priest. 1048 00:46:31,000 --> 00:46:32,292 You had to qualify. 1049 00:46:32,333 --> 00:46:34,792 And then there were rankings, and these were the guys 1050 00:46:34,833 --> 00:46:36,583 who get to do the holy stuff. 1051 00:46:36,667 --> 00:46:39,083 And what he says is, in Christ, as Christians, 1052 00:46:39,167 --> 00:46:43,333 all of God's people, you're all priests, all priests! 1053 00:46:43,417 --> 00:46:46,333 That means you're in full-time ministry. 1054 00:46:46,417 --> 00:46:49,083 When you go to work, you're going to work for Jesus, 1055 00:46:49,167 --> 00:46:50,833 representing the kingdom of God. 1056 00:46:50,917 --> 00:46:52,958 When you go love, serve, give, care, 1057 00:46:53,000 --> 00:46:55,917 you're going as an ambassador of the King of kings. 1058 00:46:56,000 --> 00:46:57,667 You are in full-time ministry. 1059 00:46:57,708 --> 00:46:59,875 You're a kingdom of priests. 1060 00:47:00,000 --> 00:47:04,083 You're home raising your kids, you're doing so as a priest. 1061 00:47:04,167 --> 00:47:07,167 Someone who belongs to God and represents his kingdom 1062 00:47:07,250 --> 00:47:08,958 and serves his cause. 1063 00:47:09,000 --> 00:47:11,083 Everything we do is meaningful. 1064 00:47:11,167 --> 00:47:12,833 Everything we do is sacred. 1065 00:47:12,917 --> 00:47:14,583 Everything we do is worshipful. 1066 00:47:14,667 --> 00:47:16,458 Everything we do is missional. 1067 00:47:16,500 --> 00:47:19,167 Everything we do is ministry. 1068 00:47:19,250 --> 00:47:24,000 All of life for Jesus is the work of a priest 1069 00:47:24,042 --> 00:47:28,250 in a sacred place doing a divine task. 1070 00:47:28,333 --> 00:47:29,792 That's you. 1071 00:47:29,833 --> 00:47:32,792 Don't look at what you do as something less than 1072 00:47:32,833 --> 00:47:34,958 full-time ministry. 1073 00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:37,583 Some of us get paid; some of us don't. 1074 00:47:37,667 --> 00:47:40,667 All of us who belong to Jesus are on mission, 1075 00:47:40,750 --> 00:47:43,667 in ministry with him as servants. 1076 00:47:43,750 --> 00:47:45,583 How's it going? 1077 00:47:45,667 --> 00:47:47,500 He goes on. 1078 00:47:47,542 --> 00:47:49,292 "To him be," what? 1079 00:47:49,333 --> 00:47:50,792 "Glory!" 1080 00:47:50,833 --> 00:47:52,292 It's about Jesus. 1081 00:47:52,333 --> 00:47:53,667 It's all about Jesus. 1082 00:47:53,750 --> 00:47:55,167 It's about Jesus in the family. 1083 00:47:55,250 --> 00:47:56,667 It's about Jesus in the church. 1084 00:47:56,750 --> 00:47:58,167 It's about Jesus in the home. 1085 00:47:58,250 --> 00:47:59,833 It's about Jesus in the workplace. 1086 00:47:59,917 --> 00:48:02,083 It's about people seeing Jesus, people knowing Jesus, 1087 00:48:02,167 --> 00:48:04,667 people meeting Jesus. 1088 00:48:04,708 --> 00:48:08,958 "Glory and dominion forever and ever"--it never ends. 1089 00:48:09,000 --> 00:48:11,500 We'll never stop celebrating him, 1090 00:48:11,542 --> 00:48:14,958 and he'll never stop ruling over all. 1091 00:48:15,000 --> 00:48:18,667 And it says, "Amen," which means, "That's what I want! 1092 00:48:18,750 --> 00:48:21,500 Yes, Lord, be it so!" 1093 00:48:21,542 --> 00:48:23,583 "Behold, he is coming with the clouds." 1094 00:48:23,667 --> 00:48:26,167 Jesus is coming back! 1095 00:48:26,250 --> 00:48:29,750 We don't know when, but we know it's a fact, 1096 00:48:29,833 --> 00:48:31,917 because all the other prophecies of Scripture 1097 00:48:32,000 --> 00:48:33,583 have been fulfilled, 1098 00:48:33,667 --> 00:48:35,750 and we're waiting for this one to be fulfilled 1099 00:48:35,833 --> 00:48:37,292 as well. 1100 00:48:37,333 --> 00:48:41,500 "Jesus is coming back on the clouds, 1101 00:48:41,542 --> 00:48:45,250 "and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, 1102 00:48:45,333 --> 00:48:48,667 and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him." 1103 00:48:48,750 --> 00:48:52,000 Friends, when Jesus comes back, you will see the scars 1104 00:48:52,042 --> 00:48:54,417 of crucifixion on his body. 1105 00:48:54,500 --> 00:48:57,583 He was eternally, spiritually God, 1106 00:48:57,667 --> 00:49:02,667 and then he added to his nature, his essence, 1107 00:49:02,750 --> 00:49:04,750 humanity. 1108 00:49:04,833 --> 00:49:09,333 So, in addition to his divinity, he assumed humanity, 1109 00:49:09,417 --> 00:49:12,917 that the spiritual God took on a human body 1110 00:49:13,000 --> 00:49:15,917 to associate with us, to relate to us, 1111 00:49:16,000 --> 00:49:18,292 to live without sin, to die for our sin, 1112 00:49:18,333 --> 00:49:21,500 to rise as the pattern of our resurrection, 1113 00:49:21,542 --> 00:49:25,917 and he now lives forever in a glorified, resurrected body. 1114 00:49:26,000 --> 00:49:28,792 And when you see Jesus--and the Bible says you'll see him 1115 00:49:28,833 --> 00:49:35,292 face-to-face as a friend--and he goes to embrace you, 1116 00:49:35,333 --> 00:49:39,083 you will see the price he paid for your sins. 1117 00:49:39,167 --> 00:49:43,917 You will see the marks of crucifixion on his hands 1118 00:49:44,000 --> 00:49:48,667 and on his body, and you will know how much God loves you. 1119 00:49:48,750 --> 00:49:52,000 And every time you see Jesus, you will remember the price 1120 00:49:52,042 --> 00:49:54,667 that he paid for the forgiveness of sin 1121 00:49:54,750 --> 00:49:58,000 and the gift of eternal life. 1122 00:49:58,042 --> 00:50:02,667 "All the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. 1123 00:50:02,708 --> 00:50:04,417 Even so. Amen." 1124 00:50:04,500 --> 00:50:06,083 Here's Jesus. 1125 00:50:06,167 --> 00:50:07,792 Here's how this section ends. 1126 00:50:07,833 --> 00:50:10,792 Jesus is God, Jesus is God, Jesus is God, Jesus is God, 1127 00:50:10,833 --> 00:50:12,167 Jesus is God! 1128 00:50:12,250 --> 00:50:14,458 He says, Jesus says, "I am." 1129 00:50:14,500 --> 00:50:17,167 Well, that's the God who spoke to Moses 1130 00:50:17,250 --> 00:50:19,667 through the burning bush in Exodus 3:14. 1131 00:50:19,750 --> 00:50:22,417 He's having a conversation with a bush, and the bush says, 1132 00:50:22,500 --> 00:50:25,083 "Go take down the entire Egyptian empire." 1133 00:50:25,167 --> 00:50:27,792 And Moses says, "Well, who should I say sent me? 1134 00:50:27,833 --> 00:50:30,958 "Because if I say the bush, I don't think it's going to have 1135 00:50:31,000 --> 00:50:32,333 the punch I was anticipating." 1136 00:50:32,417 --> 00:50:35,500 "Thus saith the bush!" You know, so, "Really?" 1137 00:50:35,542 --> 00:50:37,667 Okay, so-- 1138 00:50:37,708 --> 00:50:39,667 So, God says through the bush, 1139 00:50:39,750 --> 00:50:42,417 "Tell them I AM has sent you." 1140 00:50:42,500 --> 00:50:45,000 So that's a title of deity. 1141 00:50:45,042 --> 00:50:46,583 Jesus is God. 1142 00:50:46,667 --> 00:50:50,000 "The Alpha," that's the beginning, that Jesus is without beginning, 1143 00:50:50,042 --> 00:50:53,917 that he is the one who creates all that is. 1144 00:50:54,000 --> 00:50:57,667 He's the beginning of everything. "And the Omega." 1145 00:50:57,708 --> 00:50:59,833 He's the end of it all, too. 1146 00:50:59,917 --> 00:51:02,667 Everything is created by Jesus, and everything ultimately 1147 00:51:02,750 --> 00:51:04,958 will give an account to Jesus. 1148 00:51:05,000 --> 00:51:06,958 So, "I AM," that's a statement of God. 1149 00:51:07,000 --> 00:51:08,458 "Alpha," that's a statement of God. 1150 00:51:08,500 --> 00:51:09,958 "Omega," that's a statement of God; 1151 00:51:10,000 --> 00:51:12,167 Alpha and Omega being "beginning" and "end" in Greek. 1152 00:51:12,208 --> 00:51:13,583 Says who? 1153 00:51:13,667 --> 00:51:15,417 "The Lord God." Who's Jesus? 1154 00:51:15,500 --> 00:51:17,167 The Lord God! 1155 00:51:17,250 --> 00:51:21,333 John knows that his friend, Jesus, is also his Lord God. 1156 00:51:21,417 --> 00:51:23,750 "Who is." He's risen from death! 1157 00:51:23,833 --> 00:51:25,750 Jesus is alive right now. 1158 00:51:25,833 --> 00:51:27,167 "Who was." 1159 00:51:27,208 --> 00:51:29,333 He was around before the foundations of the earth. 1160 00:51:29,417 --> 00:51:30,750 He is the uncaused cause. 1161 00:51:30,833 --> 00:51:32,250 He's the beginning of all things. 1162 00:51:32,333 --> 00:51:34,292 He's the Creator God. "And is to come." 1163 00:51:34,333 --> 00:51:36,292 He's not dead. He's alive. 1164 00:51:36,333 --> 00:51:37,792 He's coming again. 1165 00:51:37,833 --> 00:51:40,500 Not only that, just in case you missed it, he's what? 1166 00:51:40,542 --> 00:51:44,083 He's Almighty! Jesus is God! 1167 00:51:44,167 --> 00:51:46,667 And then John says it this way. 1168 00:51:46,750 --> 00:51:49,167 He says it regarding the throne. 1169 00:51:49,250 --> 00:51:50,750 Let me read it to you. 1170 00:51:50,833 --> 00:51:53,917 "Grace and peace from him who is, who was, who is to come, 1171 00:51:54,000 --> 00:51:57,958 from the seven spirits who were before his throne." 1172 00:51:58,000 --> 00:52:00,417 All of this imagery, it culminates, 1173 00:52:00,500 --> 00:52:04,500 and it explodes in my favorite piece of furniture 1174 00:52:04,542 --> 00:52:08,833 in the whole Bible, the throne, the throne. 1175 00:52:08,917 --> 00:52:11,333 When you think of throne, who do you think of? 1176 00:52:11,417 --> 00:52:12,833 What do you think of? 1177 00:52:12,917 --> 00:52:15,458 King, Judge, Ruler. 1178 00:52:15,500 --> 00:52:18,417 If you walk into a room, and there's one big throne with 1179 00:52:18,500 --> 00:52:22,500 somebody on it, you just assume that guy is in charge, right? 1180 00:52:22,542 --> 00:52:25,292 When you see the throne, you know that somebody regal, 1181 00:52:25,333 --> 00:52:28,500 and royal, and respected is there. 1182 00:52:28,542 --> 00:52:30,958 Well, this imagery of the throne, 1183 00:52:31,000 --> 00:52:33,083 it's throughout the New Testament, 1184 00:52:33,167 --> 00:52:35,417 but 3/4 of the time that it appears, 1185 00:52:35,500 --> 00:52:37,583 it appears in Revelation. 1186 00:52:37,667 --> 00:52:41,417 The throne of Jesus Christ appears no less than 45 times 1187 00:52:41,500 --> 00:52:43,500 in Revelation. 1188 00:52:43,542 --> 00:52:46,000 And who's seated on the throne, Mars Hill? 1189 00:52:46,042 --> 00:52:47,917 Who's seated on the throne? 1190 00:52:48,000 --> 00:52:49,417 Jesus is seated on the throne. 1191 00:52:49,500 --> 00:52:51,083 He's King! He's Lord! 1192 00:52:51,167 --> 00:52:53,417 He's God! It's all about Jesus! 1193 00:52:53,500 --> 00:52:55,583 And the angels are worshiping him, 1194 00:52:55,667 --> 00:52:58,417 and all of the nations are worshiping him, 1195 00:52:58,500 --> 00:53:00,458 and all of the beasts of the field, 1196 00:53:00,500 --> 00:53:01,958 and the birds of the air, 1197 00:53:02,000 --> 00:53:04,292 and the fish of the sea, they're worshiping him, 1198 00:53:04,333 --> 00:53:06,083 and all the martyrs are worshiping him, 1199 00:53:06,167 --> 00:53:08,292 and the 12 tribes of Israel are worshiping him, 1200 00:53:08,333 --> 00:53:10,500 and the 12 disciples and all of their followers, 1201 00:53:10,542 --> 00:53:11,917 they're worshiping him, 1202 00:53:12,000 --> 00:53:13,917 and the church is all of God's people, 1203 00:53:14,000 --> 00:53:17,083 together, around the throne of Jesus. 1204 00:53:17,167 --> 00:53:19,000 And what that means is this. 1205 00:53:19,042 --> 00:53:23,292 The center of human history, the center of theology is not you! 1206 00:53:23,333 --> 00:53:25,083 It's not me! 1207 00:53:25,167 --> 00:53:26,833 It's him! 1208 00:53:26,917 --> 00:53:28,667 It's all about Jesus! 1209 00:53:28,750 --> 00:53:30,583 He is high! He is exalted! 1210 00:53:30,667 --> 00:53:32,667 He is lifted up! 1211 00:53:32,750 --> 00:53:37,083 This is the same Jesus in glory, and I need you to not see Jesus 1212 00:53:37,167 --> 00:53:40,000 in his humility, but in his glory! 1213 00:53:40,042 --> 00:53:42,667 Sometimes when we think of Jesus--humble, poor, broke, 1214 00:53:42,750 --> 00:53:44,917 marginalized Galilean peasant. 1215 00:53:45,000 --> 00:53:46,917 That was his incarnation. 1216 00:53:47,000 --> 00:53:50,083 Now he's in his moment of exaltation. 1217 00:53:50,167 --> 00:53:52,417 He's not in humility. 1218 00:53:52,500 --> 00:53:54,083 He's in glory! 1219 00:53:54,167 --> 00:53:55,500 He's not suffering. 1220 00:53:55,542 --> 00:53:57,083 He's reigning. 1221 00:53:57,167 --> 00:53:59,083 He's not hearing, "Crucify him." 1222 00:53:59,167 --> 00:54:03,417 He is hearing, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty." 1223 00:54:03,500 --> 00:54:06,583 Six hundred years before Jesus was even born of Mary 1224 00:54:06,667 --> 00:54:09,458 on the earth, Isaiah had this magnificent vision, 1225 00:54:09,500 --> 00:54:13,083 much like John's vision in Revelation, and he says that, 1226 00:54:13,167 --> 00:54:16,417 "I saw heaven open, and I saw the Lord high and exalted, 1227 00:54:16,500 --> 00:54:17,917 "seated on a throne. 1228 00:54:18,000 --> 00:54:20,250 "And the train of his robe filled the temple, 1229 00:54:20,333 --> 00:54:22,958 "and the angels gathered around him, and they cried out, 1230 00:54:23,000 --> 00:54:26,333 "singing, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. 1231 00:54:26,417 --> 00:54:29,250 Heaven and earth are full of his glory.'" 1232 00:54:29,333 --> 00:54:33,000 In John 12:41, our author of Revelation says, 1233 00:54:33,042 --> 00:54:38,292 "Isaiah saw Jesus and spoke of his glory." 1234 00:54:38,333 --> 00:54:42,667 John saw Jesus and spoke of his glory. 1235 00:54:42,708 --> 00:54:46,417 You and I, through the pages of Scripture and the illumination 1236 00:54:46,500 --> 00:54:50,417 of the Holy Spirit, we get to see Jesus 1237 00:54:50,500 --> 00:54:52,583 and speak of his glory. 1238 00:54:52,667 --> 00:54:55,792 And so that's what we're going to do today, right now. 1239 00:54:55,833 --> 00:54:59,167 I want you to in your mind imagine the throne of Jesus, 1240 00:54:59,250 --> 00:55:02,167 heaven opened up, him being worshiped. 1241 00:55:02,250 --> 00:55:06,833 And as we sing, as we rejoice, he is being glorified, 1242 00:55:06,917 --> 00:55:09,417 and we are being satisfied. 1243 00:55:09,500 --> 00:55:12,792 As we take our offering, we are saying, "Jesus, for your cause. 1244 00:55:12,833 --> 00:55:14,833 "Jesus, for your kingdom. 1245 00:55:14,917 --> 00:55:17,333 Jesus, for your church." 1246 00:55:17,417 --> 00:55:20,667 As we take Communion, we're saying, "Jesus, it's your body, 1247 00:55:20,750 --> 00:55:22,083 "it's your blood. 1248 00:55:22,167 --> 00:55:24,333 "I'm loved. We're loved. 1249 00:55:24,417 --> 00:55:28,417 "Thank you that we get to be the church together forever. 1250 00:55:28,500 --> 00:55:30,333 Amen!" 1251 00:55:30,417 --> 00:55:34,792 That's what we want. 1252 00:55:34,833 --> 00:55:36,917 Let me pray. 1253 00:55:37,000 --> 00:55:39,292 Lord Jesus, right now, we confess you are high 1254 00:55:39,333 --> 00:55:41,167 and exalted. 1255 00:55:41,208 --> 00:55:42,917 You are seated on a throne. 1256 00:55:43,000 --> 00:55:44,333 You are ruling and reigning. 1257 00:55:44,417 --> 00:55:46,250 You are the Alpha and the Omega. 1258 00:55:46,333 --> 00:55:48,083 You are the beginning and the end. 1259 00:55:48,167 --> 00:55:50,750 You are the one who has shed your blood 1260 00:55:50,833 --> 00:55:53,000 to purchase the church. 1261 00:55:53,042 --> 00:55:56,500 Jesus, we acknowledge that John walked away from what 1262 00:55:56,542 --> 00:55:59,833 looked like everything; but in comparison to you, 1263 00:55:59,917 --> 00:56:02,083 it was nothing. 1264 00:56:02,167 --> 00:56:04,667 Lord Jesus, we ask that you would visit us, 1265 00:56:04,750 --> 00:56:06,917 as you visited John. 1266 00:56:07,000 --> 00:56:09,000 We ask right now, Holy Spirit, 1267 00:56:09,042 --> 00:56:11,167 that you would come to reveal to us Jesus. 1268 00:56:11,250 --> 00:56:13,750 For those who are not Christian, I pray, Holy Spirit, 1269 00:56:13,833 --> 00:56:18,083 you would give them new birth and life, to love Jesus. 1270 00:56:18,167 --> 00:56:21,292 Jesus, I ask for those who have been observers, 1271 00:56:21,333 --> 00:56:24,583 that they would turn into servers. 1272 00:56:24,667 --> 00:56:29,083 God, I pray for us, as a church, that not only would we look 1273 00:56:29,167 --> 00:56:31,792 to you, but that we would look to the church, 1274 00:56:31,833 --> 00:56:34,250 that we not only look out for ourselves, 1275 00:56:34,333 --> 00:56:36,333 but we look out for each other. 1276 00:56:36,417 --> 00:56:38,958 God, we acknowledge we are a blessed people. 1277 00:56:39,000 --> 00:56:41,292 We are a graced people. 1278 00:56:41,333 --> 00:56:43,000 We deserve hell. 1279 00:56:43,042 --> 00:56:45,083 Everything we have is a gift, 1280 00:56:45,167 --> 00:56:48,083 and I thank you for the gift of Mars Hill Church. 1281 00:56:48,167 --> 00:56:51,417 I thank you that I am blessed to read the Word of God. 1282 00:56:51,500 --> 00:56:53,917 I thank you that there is a blessing for those 1283 00:56:54,000 --> 00:56:55,917 who hear and obey the Word of God. 1284 00:56:56,000 --> 00:56:59,083 And, Jesus, as we come now, we ask that you would receive 1285 00:56:59,167 --> 00:57:02,667 our praise, that you would receive our repentance, 1286 00:57:02,750 --> 00:57:05,417 that you would receive our tithes and offerings, 1287 00:57:05,500 --> 00:57:09,167 and that you would receive our church as your people, 1288 00:57:09,250 --> 00:57:12,083 and that you would continue to pour out grace on us, 1289 00:57:12,167 --> 00:57:15,583 so that you would get glory and that we would have joy, 1290 00:57:15,667 --> 00:57:17,750 because this is what we were made for, 1291 00:57:17,833 --> 00:57:21,417 and it's all about Jesus, in whose name we pray, amen.