A Daily Walk

John Randall: Being a faithful witness of Jesus in our daily walk. Next.

Friends, be a faithful witness. Be a faithful witness. Care less about what the world thinks about you and more about what God thinks about you. Use the platform that God has given you to proclaim the gospel, whether that's in your neighborhood, at your job, in your business, because that's all that's going to matter, friend, at the end of the day when you stand before God.

Not how much money you made, not how many followers you had, not how many Facebook friends you had. Are they really friends anyway? I mean, does anybody really care about that? What does Jesus think? Am I a friend of God? That's the question. Am I a follower of his?

Guest (Male): Hello and welcome to a Daily Walk with Pastor John Randall. Last time we kicked off our new series in Revelation. So if you're joining us for the first time today, your timing is just about perfect.

If I was to ask you to describe the Book of Revelation in a few words, what comes to mind? Perhaps death, destruction, suffering, judgment. But actually, as we'll see today, it contains wonderful blessings. It can bring hope and encouragement to you when we're in the midst of a trial. So prepare to be blessed as we join Pastor John now in Revelation chapter one.

John Randall: I think we forget that the time is near. We get lulled to sleep. We lapse in our memory of the reality that Jesus is coming again. The world says, oh, he's not coming. Oh, the world says you've been saying that forever. Listen, he's long suffering.

He's not willing that any should perish. And maybe you're here this morning and you've been putting off a relationship with God, and God's been seeking to get your attention. He's been knocking at the door of your heart and you've been resisting and running, but here you are today listening to the Word of God, and God is calling you. And before our time is over, I'm going to give you an opportunity to respond to Jesus, to come to Christ.

Think about that this morning. But the next great event, and this is exciting, the next great event on God's prophetic calendar is the imminent return of Jesus Christ for his church: the Rapture. The Rapture. And from a standpoint, prophetically speaking, it could happen at any moment. There's nothing left on the prophetic calendar of God that needs to happen for the Rapture of the church to take place. It could happen anytime.

Let me ask you a question. If you knew today—and by the way, it is possible, I'm going to preface—it's possible. But if you knew today Jesus is coming back at 5:00 tonight—just so you know, you understand, I'm not saying it's happening. Don't be putting this on the internet. Actually, we're on the internet. But what I'm telling you is this: if you knew hypothetically that he was coming back at 5:00, would anything in your life change right now?

Is there anything you'd get rid of, do away with, walk away from, throw it out, flush it, get rid of it, anything right now if you knew he was coming back at 5:00? You say, man, if he came back right now, this would be great. We're at church, beautiful day. Come, Lord Jesus, this would be a great time. But what about later today? The fact is, he could come, and he's on the way. It's a matter of time.

Following the unveiling, we have the blessing. Oh, and then the letter moves into a greeting. In verse four, John to the seven churches which 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. John picks up his pen and he writes to seven churches.

By the way, here's a side note: the word seven appears 54 times in the Book of Revelation, a number of completeness. The seven churches to which John is writing were actual literal churches in Asia Minor, which was the Roman province of Asia, which is in the western part of modern-day Turkey. And the messages to those specific churches are also God's final message to all churches throughout history.

And within this greeting, we find reference to the Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. John gives this common greeting of grace and peace. Grace—charis in the Greek—it's God's unmerited favor. You can do nothing to earn it; you can only receive it. God is gracious. He is longsuffering. He is merciful, giving us what we don't deserve—his grace.

Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. The Bible says we're saved by grace through faith. It's a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Saved by grace, standing by grace, serving as a result of God's grace. Someone defined grace as God's riches at Christ's expense. That's what grace is, friend, and it's amazing.

Grace and peace. It's interesting that John puts it in that order. You will never know the peace of God until you experience the grace of God. And once you experience the grace of God through salvation, then you're at peace with God and you experience the peace of God in your life.

Maybe you're here today and you are not at peace in life with eternity, and the reason is because you haven't experienced his grace yet. But I want you to know something: there is grace available for you today. God wants to be gracious to you. He wants to be merciful to you. He wants to save you. He's a God of grace.

John says the Father is greeting you. The phrase, "him who is, and who was, and who is to come," that's the first person of the Trinity, God the Father. It's interesting because we live today in a time continuum, and yet God is completely outside of time, the eternal God who has always existed—past, present, and future.

It's never enough to just say God is, or just to say he was, or just to say he is to come. He's Lord over all of eternity. He rules the past, he rules the present, and he's already there in the future. You see, folks, the Bible doesn't try to prove the existence of God; it assumes it.

The one who is, who was, and who is to come. And from the seven spirits who are before his throne. All right, pay attention here. Who are the seven spirits? There's a lot of things out there people say concerning this. Some suggest that the seven spirits that John refers to are seven angels who are in a place of high privilege around the throne that are mentioned in Revelation chapter eight in verse two.

Others suggest it's a reference to the Holy Spirit. But there's only one Holy Spirit. But the number seven is the number of perfection, depicts him in his fullness. Some people will quote from the book of Isaiah, chapter 11, where it says concerning the Spirit of God: there is the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of understanding, the Spirit of counsel, the Spirit of strength, and of knowledge, and the fear of the Lord.

And they'll say that's what it's referring to. Here's what we know for sure: the Spirit of God is there, and he is perfect. This greeting from the Father, from the Holy Spirit, and from the Son. And in verse five, John points to Jesus Christ, the Son. And make note of this: he highlights five remarkable truths concerning the Son of God.

The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit—these three are one. You say, John, explain the Trinity to me. I can't. I don't fully understand it. I just know the Bible teaches it and I accept it. By the way, there are many things in the Bible I don't fully understand, but I accept it. These three are one.

And here John says in verse five, this letter is from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, the ruler over the kings of the earth. Friends, Jesus is his name. The name Jesus means Jehovah is salvation. Jesus is his name. Christ is his title. It's the equivalent of saying Messiah.

Not Mr. Jesus Christ; it's not his first and last name. This is Jesus and this is his title. This is his name; this is who he is. He's the Son of God. John refers to Jesus first of all as the faithful—underline this—the faithful witness. The word for witness there is the word martyr, and it establishes Jesus's credibility.

He's a faithful witness. In John chapter five, it says this in verse 36: I have a greater witness than John's, for the works which the Father has given me to finish, the very works that I do, Jesus said, they bear witness of me. The Father has sent me and the Father himself who sent me has testified of me. Jesus was a faithful witness.

Paul tells us in 1 Timothy chapter six: I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things and before Christ Jesus, who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate. When Jesus stood before his accusers, when he stood before Pontius Pilate, he was a faithful witness. When he stood and preached before this world, he was a faithful witness.

Friend, let's ask ourselves a question this morning: are we faithful witnesses concerning the gospel of Jesus Christ? Because that's what we're called to be. We're called to be a witness. When you take the name Jesus, when you say I'm a Christian, listen, your life then becomes a witness to the world.

And if the world wants to know what Jesus is like or what Christianity is about, they look at us. And what do they see? Do they see a faithful witness? Do they see a marginal witness? Do they see an unfaithful witness? Is there any witness at all? Our lives are testifying of something.

Paul wrote to the church and he said, we are living epistles, known and read by all men. There are people that we come in contact with in this world that will never pick up a Bible and read it, but they'll look at your life and they'll look at my life and they'll read that. What is being shown to the world today? What does the world know about Christianity at this moment?

What are they seeing in the church? Are they seeing a faithful witness? Are they seeing people who are standing for the gospel unashamed, willing to proclaim it regardless of what the cancel culture says? Listen, this is the time when the church has to be a faithful witness because one day we're going to stand before the Lord and we're going to want to hear him say, well done, good and faithful servant.

There is nothing to be ashamed of. Why would I be ashamed of someone who saved my life? Why would I be ashamed of somebody who rescued me from the fires of hell? I've got nothing to be ashamed of, everything to proclaim for the glory of God because of what Jesus has done. Friends, be a faithful witness. Be a faithful witness.

Care less about what the world thinks about you and more about what God thinks about you. Use the platform that God has given you to proclaim the gospel, whether that's in your neighborhood, at your job, in your business, because that's all that's going to matter, friend, at the end of the day when you stand before God.

Not how much money you made, not how many followers you had, not how many Facebook friends you had. Are they really friends anyway? I mean, does anybody really care about that? What does Jesus think? Am I a friend of God? That's the question. Am I a follower of his? And if people are following me, am I pointing them to the one that I follow? A faithful witness: his credibility.

But then John also says that Jesus is not only a faithful witness, but he's the firstborn from the dead. The firstborn. It doesn't imply that Jesus was created, but what John is saying, the word firstborn there—you might circle it and in your margin you might write preeminent.

Jesus was not the first person to be resurrected chronologically speaking in the Bible. There were others. But Jesus is the first in priority of those who have been resurrected because Jesus is the only one who was resurrected never to die again. Therefore, John says he is preeminent above everybody who's ever been resurrected.

Jesus is the ultimate. And this establishes his superiority. His credibility and that he's a faithful witness, his superiority and that he's risen from the dead never to die again. But then also John says in verse five, he is the—man, I love this one—he's the ruler over the kings of the earth.

He's the ruler. This establishes his sovereignty. Oh, how grateful I am for this. All the kings of this world, all the leaders in government, have their power, have their authority, but none of them can compare to Jesus Christ. He is over every king. He's more powerful than any kingdom.

He's the ruler. And though he permits human beings a degree of latitude, ultimately he is in charge, and one day every person is going to bow before Jesus Christ and acknowledge his authority. And you can choose to do that now or later. If you do it now, he'll be your Savior. If you do it then, he'll be your Judge. His sovereignty over all. This is who Jesus is.

But then John goes on to describe what Jesus has done, and he breaks out in this glorious doxology of praise to the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse five. Oh, this is powerful, guys. To him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood and he has made us kings and priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

First of all, he says to him who loved us. I wonder if you know today how much God truly loves you. I mean, if you only knew how much God loves you today, it makes all the difference in the world. People are looking to find their identity in something or in someone. They want to be loved.

And God says, I have loved you. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn you. He does love you. He has and he does. In fact, the Bible says that God loved you long before you ever loved him.

The Bible says that while we were yet dead in our trespasses and sins, God loved us then. When did God start loving you? Well, when I started going to church. No, no. He loved you way before that. He loved you when you were at your worst, when you were far from him, when you were cursing him to his face, when you were living like he didn't exist. Did you know he loved you then?

And he certainly loves you now. In fact, check this out: there's nothing that you could do today to make God love you more than he does right now at this moment. You are absolutely, totally loved by God. You need to know that today. And his love was not just stated in scripture, but it was demonstrated in his life. How? John said he loved us and he washed us from our sins in his own blood.

This love that is eternal, unconditional, supernatural, was demonstrated at the cross at Calvary. Jesus not only said that he loved you, God not only says that he loves you, but he demonstrated his love when he sent his only Son to die on the cross for your sins.

When Jesus went to the cross and paid the price for me, died the death I should have died, took the wrath that should have been poured out on me for my sin, and he suffered in my place, and he washed us from our sins in his own blood. Don't you love the order here? First he loved, then he washed.

It wasn't that God washed us out and then, out of some sense of obligation, then he loved us—well, because now you're clean, so now I'll love you. No, no, no. He loved us first and then he washed us. We were redeemed with the precious blood of Jesus Christ, washed from our sins, cleansed from the deep stain of sin, so that we can be clean before him.

You know, sin leaves a mark, it leaves a stain. When you live a life of sin, it's a dirty life. You might be a really good sinner, professional almost. But the fact is, it's a dirty life. And you get involved with it, and you justify it, and you practice it, and you participate in it, and it's just an unclean life.

And you try to get rid of the guilt through different means and try to run from it and cover it up or somehow inebriate it, but the fact is, it's still there until you come to Christ. And when you come to Christ and you experience his love, then he washes you from your sins. He makes you clean. He lifts the burden of the guilt that you bear right now this morning. He wants to take it from you.

And John said, if that wasn't enough that he loved us and cleansed us, notice what the future he has for us. If you're a Christian today, he has made us kings and priests to his God and Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Folks, listen, the future of the child of God is so bright. We get to, as it says here, rule and reign with Jesus Christ. Anybody excited about that? What's your retirement plan? Well, eternally speaking, I'm going to rule and reign with Jesus for eternity. It's looking pretty good.

The Bible says in 1 Peter chapter two concerning this: it says that we come to him as to a living stone, indeed rejected by men, but chosen by God, and you also as living stones are being built up on a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

There's the unveiling of Jesus. There's the blessing found in learning of Jesus. There's the greeting from Jesus who has loved us and washed us in his own blood. The promise of a beautiful and glorious future with Jesus. And then John says this, and we'll conclude: Behold—get ready for this—behold, he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him, even those who have pierced him or crucified him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him. Even so, amen.

John says, behold. It's a word used 25 times in Revelation and it's used to get our attention. It's like wake up, hey, listen up. Behold, he—Jesus—is coming with the clouds. Despite the unbelievers who deny the second coming, the Bible repeatedly states over and over again that Jesus will return.

And the truth of the second coming of Jesus to establish his kingdom upon the earth appears in more than 500 verses throughout the Bible, which we're going to look at now. No, we're not. But there's 500 of them concerning the second coming of Christ.

It's estimated that one out of every 25 verses in the New Testament refers to the second coming of Jesus. Jesus repeatedly spoke of his return and he warned believers to be ready for it. And the next time we meet out here, Lord willing, we're going to talk about the difference between the second coming of Christ and the Rapture of the church, because they are two separate distinctive events that the Bible teaches. That's a preview of things to come.

Guest (Male): This is A Daily Walk, and Pastor John Randall is just beginning his verse-by-verse study of Revelation. He'll be right back to close things out for us. Be sure to visit us at adailywalk.org, where you can listen to these programs anytime you'd like or download the Calvary South OC app so you can start receiving biblical encouragement on your mobile devices on a regular basis.

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Each day at adailywalk.org, we release the daily walk devotional video. Be encouraged as you study the word with Pastor John each day. Short enough to watch on your lunch break or before you head out the door in the morning. Again, you'll find it at adailywalk.org. Now with these final words, here again is Pastor John.

John Randall: Maybe this morning as you're here listening, somebody invited you and said, hey, we're going to go through Revelation. You're like, I'm in, let's check it out. But you don't know personally the one to whom Revelation reveals. But today he wants to reveal himself to you.

He wants to be your Savior. He wants to be your Lord. The time is near. It's time to awaken. You need to come to Christ today. For others of you, maybe you've known about Jesus or you've attended church. Maybe you went to Sunday school as a child.

But the truth is you don't walk with the Lord. You're like me before I walked with the Lord: you pretended. You lived a hypocritical life. You had everybody fooled except God and people who really knew you. But all that can change if you come back to Christ and commit your life to him.

He is gracious. He is merciful. He loves you. He's not waiting saying you better go up there because when you do, that's it, I was waiting for this moment. That is not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible loves you. He died to prove it, and he's calling you to himself.

He bled and died—hands pierced, feet pierced, crown of thorns, beaten beyond recognition of a man—took the punishment that you and I deserved. And today he's calling you and saying, come, I want to save you. I want to change your life. I want to give you a full disclosure of who I am and what I've done for you.

And if that's something you desire today, then I'm going to ask you, nobody leaving, nobody driving away, be praying, that if that's you, to get up out of your seat and just come right down here. And when you get here, whether you're coming back to the Lord or you're coming to the Lord for the first time, I want to pray with you to receive Christ today.

It could be one of you, or it could be many of you, but there's no better time than today to get right with the Lord, friend. Don't put it off any longer. Jesus loves you. Come to him today.

Guest (Male): Our journey through Revelation will continue next time on A Daily Walk with Pastor John Randall. If the Lord doesn't rapture us first, we'll see you then. This program is made possible through your generosity and brought to you by Calvary South OC.