Focused on Jesus – Part 1

And grim logs from today's message of hope on living in the light when it comes to leaving a godly legacy and ungodly world. Not only do we need to be fired up not only faithful to Jesus, but we need to be focused on Jesus through prophecy and to praise and for patient endurance and then through prostration welcome to living in the light in the Bible teaching ministry of n-gram. How would we know the end of the story. How would we know we were headed. How would we know the climax of human history.

If it wasn't for prophecy and message is taken from the book of Revelation chapter 1 titled focused on Jesus. Is there several weeks ago I was walking with a friend to walk around the lake. About 2 1/2 miles making round one bend in the trail and as a couple in front of us and they were both staring intently upward and then there were sort of turning around like this were staring upward and then the wife when she start pointing upward and I knew what she was looking at. There's an Eagles nest in the top of this tall pine tree, but I knew the Eagle wasn't there on your the babies and left and I knew it was empty, but because they were staring and she was pointing.

I looked up to see what she was looking at and when we focus on something very intently.

Often people will follow our focus. I think it may be what happened to Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb, and when she went. She stuck her head in and the Angels therefore are you crying and she said that taken my Lord away and I don't know where they've taken him and I wonder if the Angels just looked with that focus over her shoulder so they were staring intently pastor because Mary turned around and she saw a man standing in back of her and he said woman, why are you crying and she said sir, if you're the gardener she thought he was the gardener subject taken my Lord away, tell me we've taken my go get him and he just said one word Mary and it was the Lord, but she turned to see if it's because angels were focus over showing she was looking for. They were looking software you looking where is your focus when it comes to leaving a godly legacy and ungodly world. Not only do we need to be fired up not only faithful to Jesus, but we need to be focused on Jesus, and it doesn't mean that everybody that sees us focus on him is going to receive Christ. But I think at least the going to give him a glance and Lisa going to look his way and I think our focus is more effective when it's against that backdrop of struggle, pressure, stress, hard things that these trials of come in your life so that Jesus would be revealed through the fire and sought about the trials are that you've been in, but as we said it's a platform and when you're going through, the struggles and the terminal is all around you, and sometimes it just gets so hard because it gets us at every level on every side edges boom boom boom boom and at that point if we can keep our focus on Jesus somebody else is going to look his way. Because we are the first century A.D. the early church was being persecuted and shared a little bit of that Friday night but it wasn't Nero's donation that was on the throne when Revelation was written, and donation was also somebody who was a madman with absolute power, he declared himself God when the early church refused to worship and report out persecution upon them. He burned them at the stake that them. The lines crucify them on crosses and they had pressure, trouble, stress every which way.

I expect every family living in that area every single person had been affected by persecution in one way or another everybody maybe had a family member who had been thrown to the lions are burned at the stake.

They had friends, it was just permeating the Roman Empire and it was at that moment that God gave to the apostle John, a vision of the glory of Jesus to help the early church and every body all of us since then to stay focused on Jesus to turn to Revelation chapter 1 and this will be our text and John is challenging you and me to stay focused on Jesus through prophecy and through praise and through patient endurance and then through prostration. So let's look first of all, it's saying focus on Jesus through prophecy.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ can't know what your attitude is towards the book of Revelation may be you're afraid of it because none go through that imagery and the symbolism is just so weird and it is like science fiction, except there's some reality to it. You just want to go there maybe are fascinated and you're just trying to find everything and see what it means, but the book of Revelation. The primary purpose is not prophecy.

The primary purpose of the book of Revelation is to reveal Jesus is the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

The word Revelation means to lift the veil and through prophecy, God lifts the veil and we see something we wouldn't see except we have the prophecy so the Old Testament as we shared the Old Testament saints from Adam and Eve they receive the prophecy the seed of the woman that would come that would take away the sin bring them in the right relationship with God is a paraphrase of Genesis 315 but anyway through prophecy, they could see the Messiah they didn't know his name but they long for the seed of the woman and go on through the Old Testament and the prophecy lifted the veil and reveal Jesus to them in a way they wouldn't have a not have the prophecy so we focus on Jesus through prophecy and through prophecy that is revealed by God.

And then John goes on to say he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw. That is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ and so John is saying this is my personal testimony is an amazing thing because John, you know, for you and me.

It's prophecy for him, its history counted right in one translation 49 times. He said I saw with my own eyes 28 times. He said I heard with my own ears.

So this is John's witness account of the future, but still future.

To us, but he thought he heard it. So if he were here. You might want to share his testimony with you as I love the sand informs of you just funeral me for a moment I'm going to share with you is testimony and he would say if he was here something like this that I was a disciple of Jesus of Nazareth for three years and on many occasions. Also Jesus to some of the most amazing things I saw and feed 5000 people, with five loaves and two fish and I signed cleanse the leper and give sight to the blind and sigh saw him actually raise the dead back to life but I'll never forget that Thursday night and we all going upstairs to have a last supper with them and while we were there, having supper. He shared all sorts of things with this and he washed our feet and taught us that if he did that were to do likewise. He taught us about heaven you taught us that we would be persecuted because of our identification with him. He taught us that he was divine.

We were the branches that we couldn't do anything without him that's taught us about the Holy Spirit who would come in his name and then asked us to come out and we followed and we overheard them praying to his father and he took us to the garden of Gethsemane and went into praying he asked James and Peter and myself to go in and the inner part of the Gethsemane pray with my went to sleep. When I woke up I saw with my own eyes. The Roman soldiers, placing them under arrest and because I'm a relative of the high priest followed at a distance and I slipped inside that courtyard with my own eyes I saw and placed on trial before and and then Caiaphas and in the full Sanhedrin and with my own ears in and I heard them convict Jesus of Nazareth for blasphemy. Nothing more nothing less just blasphemy claiming to be the son of God, and I saw with my own eyes as he took Jesus and they took him to Pilate and placed them on trial before the Roman governor on trial before Pilate and then Herod, and in back.

The pallet and I saw as pallets told the crowd and and I heard this man as it is in seven different times.

The Roman court said this man is innocent then Pilate turned them over for flogging, and when they brought them back in East stood on the judgment tall platform in front of a crowd that was now beginning to riot you have a hard time identifying him as a person, much less know exactly who he was. The blood and flesh was ripped from his body still had a noble bearing indignity in the crowd riding crucifying crews.

The firemen followed asked for basin of water now saw Pilate wash his hands of responsibility and say this man is innocent.

You can crucifying the saws they put a cross on his back and they took him up to Calvary and stripped him of his clothes and laid him down on the cross and drove the spikes to his hands and feet, and I saw them raise that cross and planted in the ground like a tree saw Jesus of Nazareth crucified on a Roman cross in a state of the foot of the cross for six hours. At one point he even noticed me and asked me if I would take care of his mother, which I did for the rest of her life. Then at the end of six hours, I heard with my own ears.

It is finished and I saw with my own eyes as he bowed his head and he deliberately refused to take the next breath saw Jesus of Nazareth.on that Roman cross. You understand my whole life fell apart all my hopes and dreams. Everything I believed in just crashed into little pieces at the foot of the cross because I've got Jesus was the Messiah. I thought he was God walking the earth in human body.

I thought he was the Redeemer of Israel thought he was the son of God, and he died on a Roman cross and I went back to the upstairs room with the other disciples and we locked the door and we barred the wind as we were terrified. The Romans would come get us in our grief. The hours just ran together and before I knew it was Sunday morning and I heard somebody banging on the door.

I thought the Romans had come to get us to heard a woman's voice and open the door and it was Mary and she was saying something about the tubing empty grave robbers and Peter and I looked at each other.

We have the same thought.

We ran through that open door through the early morning streets of Jerusalem we came to the tomb where Jesus had been buried. The stone was rolled away just like Mary said I ran inside and I will never forget what I saw nothing except for the grave clothes and I was there in Bethany, when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.

Remember, and he told Martha to unwrap them in my mind to finish unwrapping Lazarus's grave clothes were lined like a pile of stinking rags in the grave clothes of Jesus were lying there like a pile of stinking rags like somebody taken the body of neck and the grave clothes were lying there like it to cocoon is of the body was still inside and then you Jesus had risen from the dead, but I was more confused than ever.

So I went back to the upstairs room with the other disciples and we locked the door and we barred the windows and Sunday afternoon with my own ears. I heard that very below familiar voice say peace is being unafraid and I turned and looked and also Jesus of Nazareth standing in front of me. I saw the wound on his brow with the thorns of been in the wounds in his hands and feet with the nails it been any invited me to reach out and touch him and I'm here to tell you I've seen and felt and experienced the risen Lord Jesus Christ. She's alive he's alive for 40 days he came and went and he taught us and about 40 days later we were standing on the Mount of olives and reached out his hands to bless us, as was his custom and as I saw him reaching out his hands.

The blessings I saw with Jesus of Nazareth begin to rise up from the ground in his man's body. Also, his body begin to go up through the air saw him go up through the clouds of glory saw Jesus of Nazareth.

I stand back and they have an but that's not all have the let me tell you what else I've seen with the same knives and heard with the same years I've seen wars on a worldwide scale so devastating that the blood of those slaughtered rises to the height of horses bridle obscene pestilence like AIDS and Ebola virus in cancer and some of these other things to wipe out 1/3 of the earth's population. I've seen stars like SCUD missiles falling out of the sky and obscene mountains falling into the sea, announcing a beast rise up out of the sea to rule the world and obscene a false property does miracles in his name, announcing a dragon given both power and nothing helped open the demon flooding the earth and obscene heaven opened absent angels come out to clear the gospel in the sky for the whole world to see you end up seeing the sky unfold in a white horse appear whose router is faithful and true, followed by the armies of heaven and obscene with the sword that comes from his mouth but don't every enemy that's raised up against the map seen him establish his kingdom on theirs and obscene heaven announcing the places prepared for us and I want to tell you something around it all through it all over it all under it all at the beginning of it all. At the end of it all. I have seen Jesus Christ absolutely supreme command as John's testimony. How would we know the end of the story. How would we know where were headed.

How would we know the climax of human history. If it wasn't for prophecy revealed by God, recorded by the prophets, so you and I can read it verse three Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy. Blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it because the time is near and is much newer today than it was when John wrote that in the blessing is only book in the Bible that promises a special blessing and is not just reading through one time, but it means continuously reading continuously heating and one of the blessings I think it applies the whole Bible, but one of the blessings when you read the book of Revelation again and again and again is that it helps you stay focused on Jesus, and in this day and time when there's so much craziness in the way our world is so polluted and the use, defiance, and so much disaster worldwide environmentally politically, socially, culturally and morally spiritual.

We need to keep our focus on Jesus. So would you focus on him through prophecy. The book of Revelation. It's thrilling. It is not a scary book the bad things that happen that's happening to the bad people, but you and I redeemed were, say, the rapture, I believe, based on Scripture and end it could be disagreement not agree to disagree. We won't know till it happens, but I believe the rapture will take place before that. Of great tribulation God's going to catch us up to be with himself to live with him in his heavenly home and so I think a lot of the things described in the book of Revelation. You and I won't be on planet Earth to experience, but if we are he's going to be there with this and you walk us through it, but focus on Jesus through prophecy. He's magnificence he's the end of the story. He's where were going all of human history is going to be summed up in Jesus and we focus on Jesus to praise verse for John to the seven churches in the province of Asia Grace and peace to you from him who is and wasn't is to come as the one we think of God the father from the seven spirits before his throne is the sevenfold Spirit, speaking of the Holy Spirit using the number seven because it implies perfection in the Holy Spirit is perfect because he is God from Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, the ruler of the kings of the earth that's got the sons we have God the father, God the sevenfold Spirit and God the son things that the Jews say every day the Lord our God is one and yes he is. But this is the mystery our Lord God is one piece three in one and I don't understand the Trinity and I can explain it and I'm not going to try. I just know there is the father and there is the sign and there is a Holy Spirit and we praise Jesus for his deity because Jesus is God. He's fully God and you found in Genesis chapter 1 in verse one in the beginning God created everything that's when we think of is God the father verse to the spirit of God hovered over the face of the deep. That's the sevenfold Spirit. The Holy Spirit verse three and God said, let there be light and all the way through Genesis chapter 1 it says and God said and God said everything God said was so and we think that's just nouns and pronouns coming out of the mouth of God.

Until we come to the gospel of John chapter 1 verse one in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God in he became flesh and dwelt among us, and with beheld his glory, full of grace and truth. Even Jesus in Colossians 1 says nothing was made that was made by him.

For him, through him. Jesus Christ is the creator and his godliness in his deity. He is the creator of everything, and we praise him for his deity. We praise him for his humanity. He says in verse five the middle of it to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and father to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. Look, he's coming with the clouds, and every eye will see.

And even those who pierced him. And Jesus is fully God and he's fully man, understand that I can explain, but I know he is God and he is also man and in his manliness in his humanity. He is the Savior who redeemed me with his own blood.

He is the Lord who rules the details of my life enabling me to feel God's purpose and he's the king. One day he will come back to receive me to himself. So I tell you how much this meant to me. It was years ago, but I was feeling very small, very unimportant. I don't if you ever have those days have them a lot. And for whatever reason, and on this particular day I was feeling smaller than usual and the spirit just began whispering to me in my years in office action. I was meditating during the three questions on this passage ends the spirit began whispering to me and who is the most important man in your life, and I thought what course my husband at that time and my father and and then and who's the most important man in the United States, and I thought were the presidents. He would have the power he would be in obligation of the top of the heap and and then and and who would be the most important man on planet Earth and all that well.

If the United States is still the leader of the free world in the present leaves United States I would expect the present United States is perhaps the most important man, not just in America but in the whole world, but for four years or eight years that he goes often you know somebody else takes its place and and then there was this whisper and the most important man, not in your life work in North Carolina or in America or on planet Earth. But the most important man in all of the universe. The most important man in all of the universe, not just for four years or eight years, but for ever and ever and thinks you are so important that he's the Savior who redeemed you with his own blood he went to that cross. If there's nobody else who needed a redeemer. Nobody also needed the Savior he would've gone to the cross just for you and and he's the Lord that rules your life so that you can fulfill God's purpose for your life. You can fulfill your potential he will arrange the details of your life as it is a way that nothing else to do, and he's the king. One day he will come to receive you to himself. How can you feel it important when you're that important to the most important man in the universe.

I've never felt quite so small again and I want to tell you something. I think the spirit which whisper that to you.

The most important man in all of the universe forever and ever thinks you are so and he's brought you to the cove. He's brought you right here he's brought you to watch online so that I could tell you, on his behalf that the most important opinion in all of the universe forever and ever thinks you are so important. He's the Savior, whose redeemed you with his own blood. The Lord who rules your life the king's coming for you which you just thank praise God and it's very personal. You know, we think, will he loves all church. He loves every body needs, got people from every generation. Any and I don't exactly know how this works but I know we go to the beach every year. Try to take two weeks in July and we go down as a family and we usually catch the beach when there's a full moon and because were on the East Coast. The moon comes up over the water and what I love at the beach is if I'm standing here at the beach and the moon comes up. I have a moonbeam that comes right to me and if tomorrow is like you know hundred yards down the beach and she standing on the beach. The moonbeam comes right to her and of Rachel. Ruth is farther down the beach and she standing moving comes right to her now. I don't know how that works for all of us have our own moonbeam just coming to us and I want to help her expert cheeses is your Savior as there is nobody also needed one, and he is your Lord is so he doesn't have in our universe to run and planet suspended nations to rise and fall in, and he's the king was coming back just for you so praise him for his humanity, the God man, would you praise him for his eternity in verse eight says I am the Alpha and the Omega, that's his omniscience, Alpha and Omega. That's the first and last letter of the Greek alphabet. The alphabet sums up all of our wisdom and knowledge and in his omniscience. Think about it. Jesus has never had a new thoughts. He's always known everything which means you have always been on his mind. He's always been thinking of you and when he came to earth, he came down for you when you went to the cross. He was dying for you when he rose up from the grave he was rising up to give you life.

When he opened heaven. It was for you is preparing a place for you, in his omniscience always been thinking of you always loving you by name. He's omniscience and then the next says he's the Lord God who is and wasn't is to come. That's his omnipresence usefully present yesterday fully present. The day fully present tomorrow every age, every generation, fully present in all of the universe. All the planets fully present everywhere on planet Earth fully present with me appear fully present with my family. They are fully present back home with the family would left fully present with the missionaries in the jungles, trying to reach the native people with the gospel and fully present with the believers are living in the gulags of North Korea pray for them almost every day.

I just some reason that's just in the heart. The persecuted church praying for those who are being martyred because of their identification with Jesus praying for the Muslims in the Middle East have put their faith in Jesus and their live under a death sentence and you know he's fully present everywhere because I haven't fully present with me doesn't mean you having less he doesn't spread himself in omnipresence and then he is the Lord God Almighty. That's his omnipotence. No one is more powerful than Jesus.

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