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Sunday – July 26, 2015 “Look Who’s Talking” Revelation 1 verses 4 to 20

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Sunday – July 26, 2015 – Read the Word on Worship

Sunday – July 26, 2015 “Look Who’s Talking” Revelation 1 verses 4 to 20 from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.

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Revelation 1:7-8
“BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Do you really believe God wants no idols? Many people think of Martin Luther as a prophet. But he wrote, “My spirit cannot adapt itself to the book and a sufficient reason why I do not esteem it highly is that Christ is neither taught nor recognized in it.” Some this morning will not think for themselves, but wait for their Bible teacher to wrestle with it, because like Mr. Luther, their mind is made up already.

Personally, I cringe when I read Luther’s appraisal of the Book of Revelation. Having said this, I fear that Luther’s words may reflect an attitude toward Revelation that is far more common than we would like to believe. How much of Christ do we seek to see in the Book of Revelation, and in the rest of biblical prophecy? When we come to the Book of Revelation we may be so intent upon discovering the events of the future and the means by which they will be brought to pass that we fail to focus on the Person of our Lord, who is preeminent in prophecy, and who should be the focus of our attention.

The focal point of verses 1-8 is the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is His work. It is the fact that He has received the revelation and He has communicated it. It is the fact that He is the One who has come as the Witness, who is the Firstborn from the dead, who is going to be the Ruler of kings. He is the One who has loved and released us and made us a kingdom of priests. He is coming again with power and authority to subdue His enemies.

If men saw Jesus Christ as He really will be then they would see Him as John did. John could rest on the bosom in the Gospel of John, but he falls dead before His feet in Revelation. What I am saying is that we have a totality of the Person of Christ. The disciples kept saying, in effect, give us a glimpse, give us a look, let us behold Your glory. But there was a sense, in His first coming on earth, in which that glory was subdued. It was suppressed, veiled, for a purpose. But in Revelation the veil was removed and now we see Christ exalted, lifted up, all-powerful; all of that glory, that visible manifestation of His deity that had been veiled over Him at the first coming was removed. Now Jesus Christ is seen in His totality.

Sunday May 17, 2015 “The Man Who Saw the Unseen” 2 Kings 6 verses 8 to 23

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Sunday – May 17, 2015 – Read the Word on Worship

Sunday May 17, 2015 “The Man Who Saw the Unseen” 2 Kings 6 verses 8 to 23 from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.

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Word On Worship – Sunday – May 17, 2015 Download / Print

2 Kings 6:15-17
“Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

Each time the Syrians would make a raid into Israel their plans were spoiled through the revelation given by God to Elisha. Elisha would inform the king of Israel who would then take precautions against their invasions. This naturally enraged the heart of the king of Aram (Syria) who first thought that he had an informer in his camp. When he was then told of Elisha’s ability as a prophet of Israel to know of the king’s plans, the king of Aram knew that if his plans were to be successful, he would have to do away with Elisha. This meant the prophet became the object of his attack.

This event shows us the omniscience of God Who knows the plans of the enemy and has provided special revelation for us that we might be informed to protect ourselves from Satan’s attacks. If, when we are warned, we do not appropriate God’s provision and armor against Satan’s devices, we have no one to blame but ourselves. Unfortunately, though the king of Israel was quick to listen to the warnings regarding the physical attacks of the Syrians, he was slow to heed the warnings of Elisha regarding his sin and refusal to truly follow the Lord. I am always amazed at how people are ready to heed the counsel of doctors regarding our health, but slow to listen to the counsel of the Word of God.

Elisha’s attendant went out seemingly oblivious to both the fact of the enemy and of God’s provision. As is the case for many Christians, the new day simply meant business as usual for the attendant. He was going to take care of his chores and with no concern for the spiritual battle around him, which meant he was also completely unprepared for what he faced. Christians can be the same way. Too often we don’t take our spiritual warfare seriously. We act as though Satan and his kingdom were asleep or posed no problem to us. We go out unprepared spiritually. Consequently, when faced with some form of spiritual warfare, as Elisha’s attendant was, our response is consternation, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”

How can we minister to the fears of people? Just as Elijah did! We need to show personal concern and involvement, provide biblical instruction, and go to the Lord in personal dependence on Him to illuminate them to His resources and sufficiency. Unless the Lord prospers our ministry, our work is futile (1 Cor. 3:7). Our tendency, however, is to neglect one or the other of these important ingredients. Whether we are impersonal and cold in our teaching and relationships with people or we are warm and personable, we may still fail to communicate God’s truth because we are trusting in our personality or skill as a teacher and we fail to pray. We need to grasp the balance here. God uses people. And God uses His Word because it is alive and powerful in spite of us. Yet, it is prayer that gives power to our personal love and teaching.