Resurrection Power

“I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation, kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of God’s word and the testimony about Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet saying, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.” I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me. When I turned I saw seven gold lampstands, and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man, dressed in a long robe and with a gold sash wrapped around His chest. His head and hair were white like wool — white as snow — and His eyes like a fiery flame. His feet were like fine bronze as it is fired in a furnace, and His voice like the sound of cascading waters. He had seven stars in His right hand; a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth, and His face was shining like the sun at midday. When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. He laid His right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last, and the Living One. I was dead, but look — I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades. Therefore write what you have seen, what is, and what will take place after this. The secret of the seven stars you saw in My right hand and of the seven gold lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” (Revelation‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬-‭20‬ ‭HCSB‬‬)

Sometimes life seems to be a string of heartaches and disappointments interrupted by moments of joy and love. At other times it seems to be a life filled with joy and love with moments of disappointment and heartache. I suspect that has something to do with your viewpoint or perspective. What you see depends entirely on where you’re looking. If you’re looking west in the morning, you might see some beauty of the sunrise but not its full glory and the same can be said of looking east during the sunset.

When you’re dealing with overwhelming heartaches and disappointments in your life then you often don’t realize the full joy and deep love of God because you’re looking the other way. Your focus may be on your pain instead of His promise so you miss the beauty of all He is doing in you and through your circumstances. The Apostle’s initial view of the cross in the hours, days and weeks following the crucifixion are like that. Their grief and pain hindered their view of the gorgeous sunset God was creating through the resurrection and unfulfilled promises that were yet to be realized. Your focus on the grief and pain you’re experiencing might be obscuring your view of God’s beautiful work in your life, too. 

John now moves past his introduction and its intended recipients that we considered last week and into the heart of why he’s writing, his vision of the resurrected Lord and His message. But notice, he is their “brother and partner in the tribulation, kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus.” He recognizes and understands their pain because he’s a brother and partner or participant in that same struggle. The word “tribulation” is the pressure or friction that comes against you in these trying circumstances. It is how you feel when all of these difficulties and challenges are weighing you down and overwhelming you. It is what you feel when it seems like everything and everyone is against you. 

Don’t overlook that fact that John is not just a partner in their tribulation, he’s also a brother and partner in the “kingdom and the endurance that are in Jesus!” He ties the tribulation they’re experiencing directly to their participation in the kingdom of God Jesus has called them to and the endurance needed to stay engaged in and obedient to Jesus’ kingdom rule over them. Don’t make the mistake of trying to disconnect those three things: “the tribulation, kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus.” They are and must remain indelibly linked together in our minds and in our hearts. As Jesus told His disciples, “I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You WILL have suffering in this world. But be courageous! I have conquered the world (Jn. 16:33).”

When we are walking in obedience to Jesus and engaged in the work of His kingdom we will encounter the pressure, struggles, challenges and hostility He warned us about. But the tribulation, kingdom and endurance are all found “in Jesus.” It is important to know that these things go together. Why? Because there are false teachers who would have you believe that your struggles are a sure sign of God’s disfavor because He wants you to have nothing but “health and wealth.” John was suffering “because of God’s word and the testimony about Jesus” and he implies his brothers and partners in Christ’s kingdom are suffering for the same reason. 

Let me say this very directly and very LOUD: the promise that God only wants you to be healthy and wealthy is nothing but a lie straight from the pits of hell. When we seek material wealth and happiness through the world’s treasures and pleasures we are deceived by the lies of the enemy. When we seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness first, then we are promised He will provide, not for wants, not for our dreams, not for our worldly desires but for our needs.

Next, John was worshiping on “the Lord’s day” when he heard a loud voice behind him that sounded like a trumpet. This is a great time to remind you, the things we will see and hear in this book are presented as symbols of reality. He uses many, many symbols throughout the book to draw attention to them, illustrate and explain them and to help clarify their purpose and meaning for those of us who did not see or experience them. The voice was not a trumpet, it was like a trumpet and like a trumpet blast it should get our attention and cause us to listen to what the King has to say. 

One quick word on worship: whatever happens at church is NOT worship unless it is “in the Spirit.” Simply put, when unbelievers gather and participate with the church, they are not worshiping. They can sing, they can listen, they can enjoy the presentation but they cannot worship because they do not have the Spirit of God. However, the church can worship whenever and wherever they are regardless of location or content because they have and are led by the Holy Spirit.

“For those who live according to the flesh think about the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, about the things of the Spirit. For the mind-set of the flesh is death, but the mind-set of the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind-set of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit itself to God’s law, for it is unable to do so. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God lives in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. Now if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭5‬-‭10‬ ‭HCSB‬‬)

So, John is on the island of Patmos and “in the Spirit” on the Lord’s day when he hears a loud, trumpet-like voice. It doesn’t matter where he physically is or what he’s physically doing at that moment because he’s “in the Spirit” and God has a message for him. Pay attention, I need you to see and understand this. John is exiled to Patmos and suffering tribulation “because of God’s word and the testimony about Jesus” when God dials up the pressure. Some think the reference here to “God’s word and the testimony” may be the gospel that bears his name. Others think this is just John’s call to Apostleship and obedience to Jesus. I think it is probably all of it combined – faithful obedience to Jesus, the fulfillment of his Apostolic duties and the writing of his gospel “testimony” to Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.

Maybe you’re asking: Ok, what’s your point? My point is that God’s not dialing down the pressure on John or the churches of Asia because of their suffering. He’s dialing up the pressure but then doubling down on what they need for the “tribulation, kingdom, and endurance” to faithfully follow Jesus. He tells John, “write down what you see and send it to the seven churches.” God doesn’t deliver us out of tribulation, He delivers us through the tribulation by His word and with His Spirit! Folks, God’s not dialing down the pressure on His church in the midst of our modern cultural challenges. He’s dialing up the pressure and then doubling down on getting us focused on Him, centered in His word, obedient to His commands, dependent on His Spirit and working His mission.

When things get hard, we don’t need some new flashy program or catchy media campaign. When it gets hard to follow Him, we don’t need an easier route or new directions. When the world questions our beliefs and rejects God’s word, we don’t need a new revelation. Remember, that voice was like a trumpet. Did it get your attention? John turned to see whose voice it was and he saw an incredible sight: “I saw seven gold lamp stands, and among the lamp stands was One like the Son of Man, dressed in a long robe and with a gold sash wrapped around His chest. His head and hair were white like wool — what as snow — and His eyes like a fiery flame. His feet were like fine bronze as it is fired in a furnace, and His voice like the sound of cascading waters.”

What we need when the pressure gets too high and the cost too great is a glimpse of the One we’re actually following. John’s not leading this group of struggling churches in person, but he has eyes on the One who is and he hears His voice. You and I need to remind ourselves, this ISN’T our church it’s HIS! First, notice He was “One like the Son of Man” He is unique in who He is; He is the One and the Only. The phrase used in John 3:16 from the King James Version is the “only begotten Son.” For many years, I misunderstood that word “only begotten.” It means, the only one of its kind. But He is also “like the Son of Man” or human. He is the unique, one and only Son of God who is both fully divine and fully human. There’s no one else like Him, never has been and never will be. He’s worthy of our worship and our unreserved commitment to love and follow Him. 

He is also clothed in a long robe with a golden sash around His chest. These are the vestments of a priest, specifically the High Priest. His head and hair are white, his eyes like a fiery flame, His feet like bronze in the furnace and His voice like the cascading waters or crashing waves. He walks among the seven lamps, holds seven stars in His hand, has a sharp double-edged sword coming out of His mouth and His face shines like the sun at midday. All of these things highlight aspects of Jesus’ character and purpose. He is the One and Only Son of God who is our great High Priest and has offered Himself as a sin sacrifice on our behalf. He is eternal, wise and able to see even those things hidden from man’s sight. He is strong, stable, speaks the truth full of justice and He is righteous, holy and shines with the glory of Almighty God. 

The very sight of Jesus is enough to cause John to fall at His feet as a dead man. Some things leave you speechless. Others leave you awed and overwhelmed. This sight is all of these things and so, SO much more. John wasn’t just awed, overwhelmed and speechless. John was so impacted by what he saw he fell as though dead at His feet. People, we cannot know the power of God to overcome the world until we see Jesus for who He is and fall dead at His feet! He is the unique, One and Only Son of God who offered Himself on the altar for our sins. He is the ancient of days who sees all that we face but offers us Himself as a firm foundation on which to build our lives. He is the very word of God, who was and is and is to come, that speaks truth and judges our sin by His righteousness. And He is the glory of the Almighty God who lights our path and guides our steps each day. You don’t proudly stand before Him, you fall before Him as though dead. 

But don’t miss this, He’s the one who walks among the seven lamp stands, holds the seven stars in His right hand and then lays His hand on John and says: “Don’t be afraid! I AM the First and the Last, and the Living One. I was dead, but look — I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades.” I think John was worshiping that Sunday on Patmos, maybe early in the morning as the sun rose or while he toiled at the task assigned by his persecutors. Remember, it doesn’t matter where he was or what he was doing because he was “in the Spirit.” He was worshiping that Sunday morning, perhaps while he worked, and I think his mind went to these churches and the struggles they were facing. Struggles that were not unlike his own, but struggles that probably seemed overwhelming in his life and in theirs. Those thoughts for these churches probably elicited a prayer from him on their behalf and John’s prayer triggers a response from the One who holds them in His hand:

Write these things down, John! Send it to the churches. Tell them, don’t be afraid! I AM the First and the Last, and the Living One [alive]. I was dead, but look – I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades. Therefore write what you have seen, what is, and what will take place after this.

The seven golden lamp stands are the seven churches and the seven stars are the angels [messengers] of the seven churches. While scholars are split on whether the seven stars are the pastors of those churches or actual angels who oversee and guard those churches, the main point is that the One who is the First and the Last, who was dead and is the Living One walks among those churches and holds them and their care in His right hand. I mentioned last week that the number seven would be used by John over and over again. It is the number of perfection and completion. While it no doubts is referencing the literal churches of the cities listed, it also references the church across the ages and around the globe. He holds each church in His hand and cares about the struggles they face. He holds our church in His hand and He cares about our struggles but He’s not removing them. He’s walking with us through the struggles and working His will in us, in spite of them.

Jesus cares about us and the challenges we face, today. The cities listed in verse 11 were facing specific challenges that threatened their faith and their obedience. Many of them were locations where emperor worship was the cultural norm and to choose Jesus meant a loss of livelihood and, quite likely, loss of life. While our church is not facing these specific challenges, there are many who are. They live and minister in hostile environments and many of their members face threats to their livelihood or life. The biggest challenge we face is the threat from false teachers and the lure of worldly success and fame. Regardless of the threat you or your church faces, Jesus is the faithful and true witness. He’s the One who can enable you to remain faithful to your brothers and sisters “in the tribulation, kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus.”

Remember, He’s the “First and the Last, and the Living One.” He holds the keys of death and Hades. There’s nothing the world can threaten or do to us that He hasn’t already conquered. He offers us Resurrection Power, today. The power to live today in the promise of eternal life. Stop worrying about tomorrow and start living today in the power of His resurrection. That’s how you live as a “brother and partner in the tribulation, kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus!”