The Exalted Lord of the Revelation

Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Friday, November 24th. The Book of Revelation paints a dramatic picture of Christ and His role as the Returning King. Let's get to know the exalted Lord of the Revelation. The last book of this Bible is called the Revelation. That is, it is the revelation of Jesus Christ, His beloved Apostle John.

It is a book of prophecy. And it's interesting that nowhere does he say, if you do this, I'll do that. He says, John, I want you to write the things that are, the things that have been, and the things that are going to take place. Nowhere does he say, these things will do. These things will take place under certain conditions. He says, what I'm going to show you are those things that will take place in the future.

Write them down. The Apostle John gives us in this first chapter an explanation and really a division of what it's all about. That is, the things that have been, the things that are, and the things that are going to come to pass. And all through the Revelation, Jesus is the star. He is the key. He is the one about whom life surrounds. Now, when I think about that, I think about this first chapter because in this first chapter, here's what we see, first of all, that Jesus Christ is the exalted Lord of His church. Now, John is in exile on the isle of Patmos, and he hears this voice, and this voice tells him to write. And if you look at the book of Revelation, you'll see that John is the exalted Lord of the Revelation. And he says, I want you to write the things that have been, the things that are, and the things that are going to come to pass. And all through the Revelation, Jesus is the star. He is the key.

He is the one about whom life surrounds. Now, John is in exile on the isle of Patmos, and he hears this voice, and this voice tells him to write. And if you look at the first chapter, and beginning in the 12th verse, listen to what he says, and follow me through now. Verse 12, And I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me, and having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands.

And if you read the 20th verse, he interprets that for us. As for the mystery of the seven stars, which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels, or the pastors of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. So he sees, listen, having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, seven churches.

In the middle of the lampstands are the churches, one like a son of man, clothed in a robe, reaching to the feet, girded across his breast with a golden girdle. And his head and his hair were white like wool, like snow, and his eyes were like a flame of fire. And his feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been caused to glow in a furnace. And his voice was like the sound of many waters, and in his right hand he held seven stars. And out of his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in its strength.

Well, what do you suppose would happen if you saw something like that? Well, listen, verse 17, John says, When I saw him, I fell at his feet as a dead man. And this is a real tender touch here concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the exalted Lord of his church. Listen, Jesus didn't stand over at some distance and say, John, don't be afraid.

The Bible says, And he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last, and the living one. And I was dead, and behold, I'm alive forevermore.

And I had the keys of death and of Hades, or torment. Write therefore the things which you have seen, the things which are, and the things which shall take place after these things. Now, when we look at this first chapter of the Revelation, we see Jesus Christ is the exalted Lord of his church. He's standing in the midst of these seven churches, which represent the churches of all the ages.

He's standing there before them as a judge and as their Lord, as their master and as their king. It is Jesus Christ who is the Lord of his church. It is the church of the living God.

It is the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and none other. But in the very beginning of the Revelation, it's interesting that what he does, he gives us here in this Revelation. In the very beginning, here is Jesus Christ, the Lord of his church, the exalted Lord of his body.

The second picture I want you to see here in the Revelation is a second exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn, if you will, to the fifth chapter of the Revelation. In this fifth chapter, we see the Lord Jesus Christ, listen, exalted as the worthy Lamb that was slain for our redemption. You'll recall that the first time John mentions Jesus in his ministry, how does he mention him?

He says, look, look, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Now, as John is receiving this Revelation from God, I want you to notice in this fifth chapter what is taking place. In the fifth chapter, the scripture says that, verse 1, I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne, the Father God, a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals like a big scroll.

And what is happening is they're looking for someone to open it. The scripture says, and I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals? And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it.

And I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it. He said, stop crying, stop weeping. Verse 5, he says, behold, the Lamb that is from the tribe of Judah, the root of David has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals. And so he catches a glimpse of him.

Then, I want you to see what happens here. All of heaven, all of heaven bows in exaltation. All of heaven bows in absolute worship of Jesus Christ, the exalted Lamb of God who was slain for the redemption of mankind. Listen, if he is worthy of all of heaven bowing down before him and speaking of his glory and his praise and his honor, what in the world should you and I be doing in this earth with a little bit of knowledge that we have and the life that we have, but to praise him and to honor him by the life that we live, obedience to him, giving of ourselves to him unreservedly, because listen, he deserves it. He is worthy of our life. He is the Lord of lords and the Bible says all of heaven bows in the presence of the Son of God. And if all of heaven thinks that of him, he deserves my best, he deserves my all, he deserves my walking in absolute total obedience to him because of who he is. I don't have to do it motivated by reward. All the motivation you and I should need is to know Christ.

What? The Lord of his church, the exalted Lamb of God slain for our redemption. That should be all the motivation you and I need to want to serve him and to honor him and obey him.

But I want you to move to a third picture that he saw. Move all the way over because from this sixth chapter, fifth chapter, all the way to the nineteenth chapter. What is happening in all those chapters? It is the unveiling, the unleashing of God's judgment upon mankind in seals and trumpets and vials, one after the other. The judgment of God coming. In this nineteenth chapter, we see the Lord Jesus Christ as the exalted King of kings.

The exalted King of kings. Now I want you to notice, beginning in this eleventh verse, and let's read a few of these verses here. He says, and I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse and he who sat upon it is called fateful and true. And in righteousness he judges and wages war and his eyes are like a flame of fire and upon his head are many diadems. And he has a name, listen, written upon him which no one knows except himself. And he is clothed with a robe dipped in blood and his name is called the word of God. And the armies which are in heaven clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following him on white horses. And from his mouth comes a sharp sword so that with it he may smite the nations and he will rule them with a rod of iron. And he treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty. And on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written King of kings and Lord of lords.

Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of the glory of God. Kingship speaks of a kingdom and kingdom speaks of rule.

And Jesus talked about the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven. For all of us who are his children it is his desire to rule in our heart. And that is he is our Lord and he is our king. He has the ultimate final authority in our life.

Every decision that you and I make should be sifted through him. We're to live our lives in submission to him. Listen, if he is the king of kings in heaven and if he is the king of kings coming in judgment at his second coming, how could you and I in any facet of this live other than under his lordship, under his kingship and in continuous praise and bowing before him honoring him as the one who redeemed us from our sins who went to Calvary as our great high priest and died and paid our sin debt in full. And so the Bible says he's coming as the king of kings. And if you'll notice in that passage he says when he comes written upon his thigh and upon his breast is that term king of kings and Lord of lords.

So let me ask you a question. Who really in all practicality, I don't mean singing and praying and talking about it, but I mean for all practicality who is the king of your life? Who is the Lord of your life? Who does make the decisions for you? Who determines what decisions you make in life? Some of you are trying to find out what God wants to do with your life.

Which direction you to go in? You've asked this one and that one and the other one. Why don't you ask the one who created you? The one who has already determined his plan for your life.

The king of kings and the Lord of lords. He has, listen, ultimate and final discretion about what you and I to do with our lives. And when he created us, he created us with a purpose in mind, a will in mind, a plan in mind. And he is the king and he is the Lord and he is the master. And by his own life he has redeemed us. By his position he is our Lord. By his position he is our king. And he has the rightful place of honor to dictate to me when necessary or to speak to my heart when necessary and to tell me exactly how I'm to respond in every single circumstance of life. He is our king and our Lord and our master.

And he says that he predestined you and me to be conformed to the likeness of his son. And all of heaven bows before him as the king. And all of heaven one of these days will bow before him as he comes reigning and ruling as the king. And because he's a king, he has a kingdom. And all of us who are his children are, listen, we are children of the kingdom of God.

One who, listen, is preserving us, protecting us, providing for us. He is our king. He is our Lord. He is our master. And the more we understand who he is, the more we will worship him and praise him like all the rest of heaven.

You see, if you and I could just get a glimpse of who he is. And Jesus gave to John these awesome pictures of Christ. This exalted Christ.

Not the babe of Bethlehem, not just the savior hanging on the cross. We are talking about the final authority. He says, I am the living one.

I am Alpha and Omega. Every single solitary thing that exists, exists by the permissive will of this king, this Lord, this high priest. Every single person who's ever been saved is saved by this person, the high priest Jesus. There's not anything that exists. Nothing out there in orbit that's in orbit apart from the power and the greatness and the might and the wisdom and the omniscience of this Christ who is the king.

But listen, there's one other picture I want you to see. Because not only is he the Lord, the exalted Lord of this church. Not only is he the great high priest who went to the cross on our behalf. Not only is he the king coming in judgment upon this earth.

But the Bible says he is to be exalted as the inescapable judge of all of humanity. And I want you to look at two or three passages if you will. Look if you will in the 14th chapter. Well let's look at the sixth verse. And I saw another angel flying in mid heaven having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people. Well listen, there's not going to be a single people group that's ever existed without which someone in that people group will be saved by the grace of God. That's what these missionaries are going to be doing in the tribulation period.

Listen, they're going to be able to speak in the language of tribes that have no written language today out of every tribe and tongue and nation. Verse 7, and he said with a loud voice, fear God and give him glory because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and the springs of water. He is coming as judge. Then I want you to turn to the 20th chapter of the revelation because this is a solemn warning.

We're talking about Jesus Christ the exalted judge, the inescapable judgment of this judge. Look if you will beginning in the 11th verse. He says, and I saw a great white throne and him who set upon it from whose presence earth and heaven fled away and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead.

Look at this. The great prominent prestigious position and the small standing before the throne and books were opened and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged from the things that which were written in the books according to their deeds.

How thorough is this inescapable judgment? And the sea gave up the dead which were in it. Death, the grave and Hades torment gave up the dead which were in them. And they were judged every one of them according to their deeds. And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire, which is the second death, the final hell. The lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. This Jesus who was born in Bethlehem is this tiny, precious, sweet, silk skinned little baby boy is the Jesus who will one day sit upon his throne of judgment and judge all the nations of the earth. Every single lost person. Every single person has rejected him. They will stand in his presence and give an account for their life.

The exalted Christ of the revelation is not only the Lord of the church, not only the high priest and the coming king, but he is the final judge of all of humanity. So what ought we to be doing? Motivated by fear? No. Motivated by reward?

No. Motivated by what? Motivated by who he is. All of us should be living, walking expressions of the person of Christ. Our lives invested in. Our lives employed in.

Doing what? Sharing the gospel in some form or some fashion. That's the reason he left us here.

That's the reason we are here. He is the Lord of the church. He is our great high priest. He is our king.

And he is our judge. Motivated, listen, motivated by who he is. Motivated by what he's done for us. Motivated by rewards.

Motivated by whatever. Our ministry is to be sharing the gospel of Jesus. Now you say, some people will say, well, I don't know what to tell them.

If you don't know what to tell them, here's a good start. You just say, let me tell you who Jesus is. Or if they ask you who Jesus is, you just say, well, he's the Lord of the church. He's the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He's the coming king of kings and Lord of lords. And he is the ultimate judge of all mankind. And you've summed up the life and ministry of Jesus Christ because in great high priest, that is his saviorship.

And so this is who he is. And the revelation, listen, the last book of the Bible exalts him and lifts him up because God wants us to see his son as he is because to see his son as he is is to do what? To see his son as he is is to bow before him in submission to his will, in worship and praise and honor and glorifying him. It is to stand with our voices shouting out, our hands raised in praise and adoration with our voices singing the praise of the Lord Jesus Christ, walking daily and sharing the truth of the son of God.

If he's who he says he is and he is, he deserves every single facet of our life with no exception whatsoever. Now, my friend, let me say something to you carefully. You will never, after this moment, you will never be able to say to someone, I don't know anything about Jesus. You've heard enough today to bring you to a saving knowledge of him because of who he is. You'll never be able to stand before God and say, but Lord, now let me tell you, I didn't under... That won't work. Because the truth is Jesus Christ is the eternal son of God whom the father sent into this world for the primary purpose of going to Calvary, being crucified. The father placed all of your sin upon him and when he died, listen, when he died, he paid your sin debt, past, present and future in full.

He was your substitute. God the father placed him on the cross and killed him, crucified him. He died in your behalf as your substitute so that when we say, if you will accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior, if you will receive him as your savior by faith, what that means is this. You believe the testimony of the word of God that he's the son of God. It means that you do believe that when he went to Calvary, the father placed all of your sin upon him. It means that you do believe that when he died, he paid your sin debt in full. And when you say, I receive you, Lord Jesus Christ as my personal savior, in that moment, your sins are forgiven. Your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. You become a child of the living God, a part of the kingdom of God. And how do you become one of his followers?

Believing the testimony of who the Bible says he is and saying to him, in confession of my sins, father, I know that I have sinned against you and I receive the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal savior by faith in the truth of the word of God. Thank you for listening to The Exalted Lord of the Revelation. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.