A Vision Of Jesus

While in exile on the Isle of Patmos, the Apostle John was given a preview of the future. That glimpse ahead was written down and became what we call the Book of Revelation. Here, the Jesus who will one day return to earth is depicted in power and glory, and we find in this book words from Jesus to seven churches of the first century.

Stay with us. From Chicago, this is The Moody Church Hour, a weekly service of worship and teaching with Pastor Erwin Lutzer. Today, we'll hear the first of eight messages on What Jesus Thinks of His Church.

Later in our broadcast, Erwin Lutzer will speak on A Vision of Jesus. Minister of Music Gerald Edmonds comes now to open today's service. Well, we've gathered this morning to honor the Lord Jesus Christ, to bring glory to His name.

That's why we're here. We're here to listen to a message that reminds us of God's word, to listen to music, but also for our hearts to be united with the Almighty. I'd like you to look in your bulletin because we have placed a hymn. This hymn is new. In fact, it has been written and orchestrated by one of our orchestra members. We don't normally do this, but because it's a rather momentous occasion for Joshua.

Joshua Ivanovich, would you stand? He's in the trombone section back here. We're grateful for his ministry with us. The hymn will be sung by the choir, of course, and especially we'd like you to sing verses one, as you see, and then verse two, we'll have the choir sing it by themselves. And then verses three and four will all join together. Tim will be helping us to make sure that we're all together and even the congregation has practiced earlier. So thank you for joining us. Now may we put our attention toward God the Almighty.

Let's stand as we sing. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The.

The. Yes. Amen. Rejoice. I want you to just remain standing. We'll do it a little differently this morning for just a moment. And if you could bend down at the same time and take your hymnal and turn to number 14.

That actually is going to be read to us by Tom Johnson and Amy Lilly. But be prepared to sing together at number 15. No other name but the name of Jesus.

And then him number 45 crown him with many crowns. And we'll continue to stand, by the way, until we have sung the chorus in Christ alone. As you look through the bulletin, you'll notice that our emphasis today is on indeed Jesus.

The name above all names. So let's pray together. And after we have prayed, we shall listen to this reading about the names of Jesus. And then we shall sing together.

Number 15. Join me as we pray. And our father, we pray that you shall clear from our minds all else that we might give glory to you alone. And that these moments may be in some sense sacred, set apart because they are moments of corporate worship.

They are moments when we come into your presence with great joy, even as we have sung. But also with great anticipation to hear your voice through your word and teach us to honor your son in a better way. We pray in Jesus' blessed name.

Amen. Who is Jesus? What is his name? He is the word, the word that was God. His name is Emmanuel, God with us. Where do we find him?

How do we recognize him? In the scriptures, he is revealed. Throughout the Bible, he is described.

In Genesis, Jesus is the ram at Abraham's altar. In Exodus, he's the Passover lamb. In Leviticus, he's the high priest.

In Numbers, he's the cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. In Deuteronomy, he's the city of our refuge. In Joshua, he's the scarlet thread out Rahab's window. In Judges, he is our judge. In Ruth, he is our kinsman redeemer. In 1 and 2 Samuel, he's our trusted prophet. And in Kings and Chronicles, he's our reigning king. In Ezra, he is our faithful scribe.

In Nehemiah, he's the rebuilder of everything that is broken. And in Esther, he is the Mordecai, sitting faithful at the gate. In Job, he's our redeemer that ever liveth. In Psalms, he is my shepherd and I shall not want. In Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, he's our wisdom. And in the Song of Solomon, he is the beautiful bridegroom. In Isaiah, he's the suffering servant.

In Jeremiah and Lamentations, it is Jesus that is the weeping prophet. In Ezekiel, he's the wonderful four-faced man. And in Daniel, he is the fourth man in the midst of a fiery furnace. In Hosea, he is my love that is forever faithful. In Joel, he baptizes us with the Holy Spirit. In Amos, he's our burden-bearer.

In Obadiah, our savior. And in Jonah, he is the great foreign missionary that takes the word of God into all the world. In Micah, he is the messenger with beautiful feet.

In Nahum, he is the avenger. In Habakkuk, he is the watchman that is ever praying for revival. In Zephaniah, he is the Lord mighty to save.

In Haggai, he is the restorer of our lost heritage. In Zechariah, he is our fountain. In Malachi, he is the son of righteousness with healing in his wings. In Matthew, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God.

In Mark, he is the miracle worker. In Luke, he is the son of man. And in John, he is the door by which every one of us must enter. In Acts, he is the shining light that appears to Saul on the road to Damascus. In Romans, he is our justifier. In 1 Corinthians, our resurrection. In 2 Corinthians, our sin-bearer.

In Galatians, he redeems us from the law. In Ephesians, he is our unsearchable riches. In Philippians, he supplies our every need. And in Colossians, he's the fullness of the Godhead bodily. In 1 and 2 Thessalonians, he is our soon coming king. In 1 and 2 Timothy, he is the mediator between God and man. In Titus, he is our blessed hope.

In Philemon, he is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. And in Hebrews, he's the blood of the everlasting covenant. In James, it is the Lord that heals the sick. In 1 and 2 Peter, he is the chief shepherd. In 1, 2 and 3 John, it is Jesus who has the tenderness of love. In Jude, he is the Lord coming with 10,000 saints. And in Revelation, lift up your eyes, church, for your redemption draweth nigh.

He is King of kings and Lord of lords. No other name but the name of Jesus. No other name but the name of the Lord. No other name but the name of Jesus.

He is worthy of glory and worthy of honor and worthy of love and of praise. No other name but the name of Jesus. No other name but the name of the Lord. No other name but the name of Jesus.

He is worthy of glory and worthy of honor and worthy of love and of praise. No other name but the name of Jesus. No other name but the name of Jesus. No other name but the name of Jesus. No other name but the name of Jesus. No other name but the name of Jesus. No other name but the name of Jesus. No other name but the name of Jesus. No other name but the name of Jesus. No other name but the name of Jesus. No other name but the name of Jesus. No other name but the name of Jesus. No other name but the name of Jesus. No other name but the name of Jesus. The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that soon must take place.

He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy. And blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

John, to the seven churches that are in Asia, grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come. And from the seven spirits who are before his throne. And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and the ruler of kings on earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom priest to his God and father. To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him.

Even so. Amen. I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea. Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the midst of the lampstands, one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars. From his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.

But he laid his right hand on me, saying, Fear not. I am the first and the last and the living one. I died, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and Hades. Write, therefore, the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.

As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. During the next few moments, I want you to be thinking about two questions. First question is this. What does Jesus think of Moody Church? And then the second question, which is related, is simply this. What does Jesus think of you? How are you doing? And I could even throw in a third question, and that is this. How good a listener are you?

Are you able to hear the voice of God? But I begin today with Domitian. He was one of the early emperors in the great Roman Empire, and he was one of the first emperors who demanded emperor worship. He wanted all of the Christians in his realm, along with everyone else, to worship him and to honor him as a god. The Christians, of course, couldn't do that. Christianity has always clashed with political regimes that are antithetical to the sovereignty of Jesus, who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. As a result of some of the persecutions, there was an island by the name of Patmos.

It's about 10 miles long and six miles wide, very rocky. Not too many people were able to survive on Patmos, but it was on that island that John, the apostle, was exiled to, probably to work in some mines, some primitive mines, very, very hard work that the Romans had, and that's where the exiles were taken to do some work for the empire. It was in that context that John had the experience, and I hope that your Bible is open to Revelation chapter 1. Revelation chapter 1, and I'm going to pick it up there at verse 9. He says, I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and patient endurance in Jesus. I'm here because of persecution, and I am your brother. We are all, after all, all brothers and sisters in Jesus, and John is a partner in Jesus and a partner in suffering, which the early church actually always expected.

They expected suffering as a Christian. And he goes on to say in the text, he says, I was in the Spirit. I'm glad it's capitalized because that is the Holy Spirit. He was in the Spirit. God gave him a vision of things that no one could ever know or predict unless God gave it to him. You read the Book of Revelation and you know that no man, no matter how creative, no man could have come up with the Book of Revelation and made the predictions that the Book of Revelation makes. So John says, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, could be the first day of the week, maybe, maybe also a reference to the day of the Lord, the time when God is going to wrap up history and maybe what John is saying.

I was able to see into the Lord's day, the final triumph of Jesus over history. And he says, I was in the Spirit and suddenly I heard behind me a voice like the sound of the trumpet in the Old Testament. The trumpet was always a command.

That's the way armies went to battle. When you heard the trumpet, you knew that you were being commanded and your attention was necessary. He says, I heard the voice like a sound of a trumpet saying, write what you see in a book and send it to the churches, to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.

If you see these on a map and they're all in Turkey, you can begin with Ephesus. And then if you go counterclockwise in an arc, you'll end up with Laodicea, all the seven churches. Write what I'm going to tell you and send it to the seven churches. And with that, John then sees a vision of Jesus.

Before we look into this vision briefly, I want to ask you a question today. Just between you and me, who is Jesus to you today? Many people have what I call the Christmas Jesus. The Christmas Jesus is Jesus as a baby. And you're a Christmas Christian. Jesus and the baby at Christmas.

And you kind of love it. We think, for example, of Simeon, who held the baby Jesus in his hands. And there are some churches that actually have a prayer based on what Simeon said. And to many people, Jesus is the baby of the manger. There are others for whom Jesus is the rabbi.

Jesus is the teacher. He is the one who instructs people and gives the wonderful sermon that we call the Sermon on the Mount. That's who Jesus is to some people. And then for others, he's more than that. He's the Easter Jesus. He's the Jesus who died and rose again.

And for them, the Jesus is a savior. And well, he might be. But in the Book of Revelation, Jesus is a lot more than that. He is all that and more. He is Jesus, the judge. And that's who we look at today.

Jesus, the returning, triumphant judge. Now let's look at the text. John says that, I turned to see the voice and I saw seven golden lampstands.

Pause there. What are the lampstands? Verse 20. Jesus explains it and says that the lampstands are the seven churches. Now, why is it that you have the number seven? You had many different churches in that part of the world. Why number seven?

It's because the number seven is a number of completeness. God says these seven churches, I believe that they are representative churches of all the churches that have ever existed. I believe that one of these seven churches is best represented, that Moody Church best represents one of these seven churches. Every church has the characteristics of many of the churches, but predominantly one. In fact, there are those who believe that actually the seven churches even represent seven periods of church history.

So God says whatever you need to know about a church, whatever kind of church you have, you can find it in chapters two and three where I write the letters to the seven churches. And where is Jesus found in this? You'll notice that he is among the lampstands. I saw seven golden lampstands and in the midst of the lampstands, one like unto the Son of Man. This is reminiscent of Daniel, who predicted the coming of the Messiah.

And Daniel said, I saw on the night visions and behold with the clouds of heaven. There came one like a son of man and he came to the ancient of days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom and all people, nations, languages should serve him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. This is a picture of Jesus, the Messiah, the God man. And on earth he was found crucified between two criminals. Now, as the resurrected judge, he stands among the lampstands. He is standing among the churches and the implications for us are overwhelming. Now, what I'd like to do in the next few moments is to move through very quickly this description of Jesus. Nine different ways in phrases, nine different phrases are used to describe the triumphant Jesus, the Jesus who is going to return again.

And let's look at the text. It says, and in the midst of the lampstands, one like unto the son of man clothed with a long robe. When he was on earth, the gamblers, they cast lots for his robe, such as it was. Well, those days are over and now he is the triumphant one and he is dressed in elegance and he is dressed like a king. And no one, no one is dickering over his robe. But you'll notice that the text goes on to say that there was a sash around his chest. It says in the 19th chapter of John, verse two, that when Pilate was ridiculing Jesus, the Bible says that they put a robe on him and they mocked him and said, you're the king of the Jews. And they spit on him and they pulled out his beard.

No one is doing that now. The sash that he was wearing around his chest was symbolic of kingship. And no one is mocking him. No one is making fun of this portrait of Jesus. And then we go on and it says that his head and his hair were white like wool, like snow. We think, for example, of that head which had a crown of thorns. And it is that head that blood splattered down his face when he was so cruelly mocked and ridiculed. Now he has a head that is white. The hair is white, symbol of dignity, symbol of power. And this head that the Bible says when Jesus was on earth, he had nowhere to lay his head. This head now is striking in its appearance. And Jesus is standing in utter triumph and dignity.

And yes, you can clap if you want. And now notice also that the scriptures goes on and it says in verse four, excuse me, it says in the next verse, it's actually my fourth point. It says that his eyes were like a flame of fire. If you could have seen his eyes when he was on earth, sometimes they were filled with tears. Sometimes they were red with the strain of lack of sleep. And now his eyes are like a flame of fire seeing through everyone.

It's a symbol of omniscience. I remember all of us as parents have sometimes said to our children, I don't remember saying it, but I remember it was said to me, I can just see right through you. I can just see right through you.

Well, thankfully, I was glad that my parents couldn't see right through me, though sometimes they claim to. But Jesus sees right through you. The Bible says that all things are naked and open onto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. There is nothing that is hidden in his sight. I want you to see Jesus today looking at you with eyes that are piercing like fire. And he sees the hidden sins. He sees the secret plans. He sees you in your loneliness and when you're alone and when you're with others. And he not only sees your body, but your mind and your heart and your intentions.

Jesus here, his eyes are like a flame of fire. It says in verse 15, his feet were like bronze glowing or burnished bronze. These were, after all, the feet that walked the dusty roads of Palestine. They were the feet that walked along and then eventually were nail pierced. When he was put in great humiliation on the cross, these feet now are feet of judgment. And these are the feet about whom it says in the Old Testament, his goings forth have been from of old and from everlasting. These feet are ones that if you could see, you could not absorb it into your soul as Jesus walks among the candlesticks, observing what the churches are doing.

And then it says the voice like the voice of many waters. When he was on earth, he sometimes whispered. There in the upper room, there was that discussion between Peter and John, wondering who was going to betray him. And John was, of course, leaning on the chest of Jesus as the disciples arranged themselves actually on the floor.

The way in which we see the Last Supper painted is really not historically accurate. And as they were there, Jesus whispered. And the scripture says that he sometimes cried up to God with long crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death.

And he was heard. But this voice, which oftentimes now was not heard, is like the voice of many waters. On at least two occasions in my life, I have been to Niagara Falls. Now, if you go to Niagara Falls, could I say it humbly, don't be satisfied with seeing the American side of the falls.

You have to go to the Canadian falls. And when you see those hundreds of tons of water every second going over that huge cliff, if you're standing next to someone, you can't talk to them. You can only mouth the words because the rush and the roar of the water is so overwhelming. And now he who was not often heard on earth is heard from heaven.

And no one can ignore his voice because his voice is thunderous and powerful. And then the text goes on to say that on his right hand, the right hand, which on earth had a spike, nails that were put through it, now he has in his right hand, notice that there in the text, seven stars. And what are the seven stars? The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. In fact, next time as we look into the story of Ephesus, to the angel of the church of Ephesus, right?

Very probably it was a messenger. That's another way to translate the word angel. It may also refer to the bishop. And I say this hesitantly or the lead pastor of the church. And I've been meditating on this now for more than a week, that those leaders are in Jesus Christ's right hand.

That's where the seven stars are because it says the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. So there's the nail pierced hand now glorified, holding the churches and holding the leaders of the churches in that nail pierced hand. The text goes on and it says, and out of his mouth came a two-edged sword, a sharp, sharp two-edged sword.

Oh, oftentimes his mouth was swollen because of crying and tears when he was here on earth. Now we see this picture of Jesus in absolute triumph. And we notice that there's this sword coming out of his mouth, a sharp two-edged sword.

It was the kind of sword that was used with both hands and totally lethal and devastating. And that comes out of the mouth of Jesus. You say, well, Pastor Lutzer, is this Jesus, the meek and mild Jesus? This is the meek and mild Jesus as judge, as returning king. Wow. Scripture says in First Thessalonians that when Jesus comes, he will come in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And elsewhere it says people shall be slain by the sword of his mouth.

Wow. This is Jesus. You'll notice then it says his face. Now let's talk about his face. On earth, the Bible says that his face was more disfigured than that of any other man, beaten to pulp. Yes, the beard plucked out, slapped, hit, whipped. We all remember the movie, Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion of the Christ. That's what he went through.

Greatly humiliated in great pain. And now, now the Bible says, and I saw his face and it was like the sun in full strength. There it is shining in a blaze of eternal glory.

That's the face of the Redeemer as judge and as king. John realized that he was in the presence of infinite knowledge. He realized that he was in the presence of infinite power. He realized that he was in the presence of infinite holiness.

So he did what any rational person would do in that situation. He fell down, the scripture says, verse 17, I fell at his feet as though dead. Spurgeon, the great 19th century preacher from England said, better to be dead at the feet of the triumphant Christ than to be alive anywhere else. And if you and I caught a glimpse of Jesus, like John saw him, we also would fall down and say this is the king, this is the Lord, this is the eternal judge. You look at scripture and you discover that this is what always happened to people who came in contact with God. Job said, I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye sees thee, therefore I abhor myself. In dust and in ashes I lie before God in humiliation and prayer. Isaiah, he says, I have seen the king, the Lord of hosts, therefore I abhor myself. This is the natural position of any rational person in the presence of God.

Now I find this very interesting because we have to visualize it. By the way, I had one time wondered whether or not there had been a painting made of Jesus like this, but I realized that that would have been a mistake for us to find it and even show it because it would be so inadequate, just like my words today are totally inadequate to describe what John saw. But the Bible says that when John was there as it were dead, that Jesus took his right hand. Now this is the hand with which he holds the seven stars. I thought to myself, did he put them down in order to put his hand on John? I don't think so because you remember it is Jesus and impossible things are very possible with the creator of the sun, the moon, the stars and all things. But the Bible says that Jesus took his right hand, the one that had the seven stars, and he placed it on John.

What an act of kindness. And he said, do not fear. He said, John, I've got good news. You don't have to fear death because I am he that was dead and I'm alive. I'm Jesus who triumphed over death. And you don't have to fear eternity because I have the keys of death and of Hades. And so it is that this John who leaned on the chest of Jesus at the last supper falls before him in worship and overwhelming adoration. And Jesus kindly says, don't be afraid.

If you're with me, you can handle the future. I have the key of death and of Hades. Milton said that the reason that Satan rebelled is that he would rather be king in hell than a servant in heaven. What a mistake Lucifer made because there are no kings in hell. In hell, Lucifer is not the tormentor. He is the tormented. And he will be tormented day and night, forever and ever. It's always a bad idea to fight God.

But Jesus said, I have the keys of death and of Hades. I'm the one that determines when people go in and where they go when they do go in. I determine their eternal, everlasting destiny. Now, where does that leave us as a church? Please notice today, my dear friend, that Jesus stands today amid the candlesticks. I want you to visualize Jesus here from about 8 o'clock in the morning at Moody Church.

I want you to visualize him going down the aisles. He's checking to see whether the ushers are faithful, whether or not they're on time. He's there to see the Sunday school teachers and the ABF leaders as to whether or not they're being faithful to the word and faithful to their flock. He's there looking at the parkers. He's there checking us out. He's listening to our music.

May it ever glorify him. He's listening to the word that is being preached in Jesus if you asked him. Now, of course, you know that he is everywhere because he is God, but he is localized.

He'd say, where do I spend my Sunday mornings? I go to church too because I observe the faithfulness of God's people, the double standard people who would perhaps never be late to work nonetheless indifferent regarding the time when they come to church. All those things are observed because Jesus is here. How precious is the church to Jesus? The scripture says he bought it with his own blood.

That's how precious it is. And when you read chapters two and three, as we will as we go through this series, you'll notice that Jesus rebukes the church. He says to the church in Ephesus, as we'll learn next week, you've left your first love.

And if you do not repent, I will take out your candlestick from its place. A few years ago, we were in Ephesus. There is no church in Ephesus.

One of the most sobering things you will hear from me today is simply this. You can go to all the seven churches which are in Turkey today. We send camera crews there because they look at the churches archeologically and look at the history, but there is no Christian church to speak of.

The candlesticks have been removed. The fact that Jesus said, I will build my church is no guarantee that it is automatic. If we don't hear his voice, our candlestick could be removed from its place. You know, the death of a church is a very, very sad thing. I think to myself that when a church closes its doors, doesn't that hurt you in your heart? A church moves from the inner city to the suburbs because the demographics change.

What are we saying about the triumph of Jesus where the need is the greatest? Or you have churches that sell their buildings to other religions. And I think to myself, you know, if that other religion can do it and can make a go of it, where are the people of God? Sometimes it's because the church was unwilling to adapt, unwilling to change its focus, it lost its vision, and the candlestick is removed. I think that whenever a church is closed that the leaders of that church ought to call a funeral. They ought to invite the whole evangelical communion and the whole evangelical community and then give us lots of Kleenex boxes so that we can weep and mourn. But the candlestick has been taken out. Let us not take for granted the gift that God has given us here at The Moody Church.

Don't ever take it for granted. You say, well, is Jesus like Santa Claus? You know, going through trying to find things that you're doing wrong. He's got his list and he's checking it twice. I'll tell you that the primary reason that Jesus is here observing us is because he not only judges his people because he wants to reward us. We're going to notice in these seven churches over and over again, he says things like this. To him who overcomes, I will grant to sit with me on my throne even as I overcame and sat with my father on his throne. Jesus is saying, I want to reward you in ways that will blow your mind if you're faithful to me and if you are an overcomer. Now, I'm going to take a different interpretation of that phrase that we're going to encounter seven times in the next seven messages because there are some people who teach all Christians are overcomers. Yes, we are in Christ, but I don't believe that all Christians are overcomers. That's why Jesus has a general letter to the church and then he's always calling out individual he, or we could say she who overcomes.

To them, I'll give this promise. That's why I asked at the beginning of this message, think about, first of all, Moody Church and then think about you. We'll talk about Moody Church and we may have some disagreement as to which church in the book of Revelation best fits us, but in the midst of it all, it all comes down to you and it comes down to me. Last night before I fell asleep, I again quickly read the chapters two and three, those seven letters, and I noticed seven times Jesus always said, he who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the spirit is saying to the churches, because this is the reality. There are some of you during this series of messages who are going to hear and it's going to be transforming for you as I hope it is going to be for me. We'll hear the spirit call us out and speak to us, but there are others sadly who just won't get it. They'll hear the same words, but they will not respond because they're not hearing it for themselves by the spirit. So you have an assignment and the assignment very briefly is this, I want you to read chapters two and three and I want you to read it over and over again, ask yourself what letter best fits Moody Church, what would Jesus say to us if he were writing to us today, and then I want to ask you to read it for another reason. What is God saying to you? Are you an overcomer? Is he appealing to you and say, but to him who overcomes, I'm going to bless you in ways that you could not possibly have envisioned?

Are you going to do that? Whatever men build, said Augustine, men will destroy. I say let's get on with the business of building the church because the gates of Hades ultimately cannot prevail against it. God has given us a great opportunity here at The Moody Church.

We are on the brink of what could be a great time of growth, both in depth and in numbers with the new Christian Life Center, but the question is will we hear the spirit's voice or will we not? And I conclude today with a question for you, by the way. So who is Jesus for you today? You believe in the Christmas Jesus, the Jesus, the baby. You believe in Jesus, the rabbi, the great teacher whose sayings are famous. Do you believe in Jesus as savior?

I hope you do. But if you do not see him as judge, if you do not see him as coming king, you don't have a full picture of who it is that we love and who it is that we worship. Let us this week fall at his feet as though dead. We are in the presence of the triumphant, victorious Jesus. And let us pray. And our Father, we ask in Jesus' name that you might take these words and burn them into our souls. For those who have never trusted Christ as savior, they have never believed on him. They know only the Jesus of Christmas and the Jesus, the teacher.

Show them that Jesus is savior. And for those of us who know that he is also judge, help us to worship him in new ways. Help us to understand that eventually every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that he is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And because of that, we pray, may we confess him Lord of our life right now. Whatever God has talked to you about, would you say it?

Speak to him right now. Take our frail words, O Lord God, we pray, and translate them into heartfelt prayers because we do love Jesus, savior, and coming king. Pray in his name.

Amen. On today's Moody Church Hour, Pastor Lutzer spoke on his prayers and his prayers for Jesus. On today's Moody Church Hour, Pastor Lutzer spoke on a vision of Jesus, taken from Revelation chapter 1, the first of eight messages on what Jesus thinks of his church. Next week, we'll learn about the first of the seven churches of Revelation as we hear a message on When Jesus Observes Our Love. What Jesus thinks of his church can be yours on CD with any amount to The Moody Church Hour. Call 1-800-215-5001. Let us know you'd like to support Moody Church's ministry.

Our thank you will come as a CD album with eight powerful messages you can hear and then pass on to others. Call 1-800-215-5001 or you can write to us at Moody Church Media, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. Online, go to moodyoffer.com. That's moodyoffer.com. Join us next time for another Moody Church Hour with Pastor Erwin Lutzer and the Congregation of Historic Moody Church in Chicago. This broadcast is a ministry of The Moody Church.