His Perfect Love

Guest (Male): Many of us long for positive changes in this country of ours. Pastor Matt on where that all begins.

Matt VanderVen: You want to change a country, you start with the church. And the church goes out, changes a culture. The culture changes a nation. When the family falls, when the judges fall, so the nation falls.

Again, it's historical. It's happened in Rome, it's happened in the Greeks. Go back. Is it a wonder that we're getting revisionism in our history books? Because they don't want you to know that.

Guest (Male): It's time once again for His Perfect Love, online at HisPerfectLove.org. Today, Pastor Matt VanderVen picks up where we left off in Revelation chapter one, helping us zero in on our calling and mission as believers in Christ.

The Lord could rapture the church at any moment, so we need to be laser-focused on reaching the lost and advancing the kingdom of God. Let's be encouraged in that direction as we join Pastor Matt for this message recently delivered at Calvary Chapel Harrisburg West Shore.

Matt VanderVen: Christ is always present in his church. A lampstand is not the light itself, but a lampstand is the bearer of the light. Jesus is the light of the world, John 8:12. And as a lampstand, the church's mission is to hold up the light for the world to see.

He says this in Philippians chapter two, verses 15 and 16. I'll read it to you: "So that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation." Check. Crooked and depraved generation, check. Debased mind, check, Romans 1 and 2. Anybody in here think Jesus is already on the throne? On the earth, I mean. No, we're not living in the millennial reign. Okay, everybody good?

Evil being called good, good, evil, just like it said in scriptures. A depraved and a crooked generation. He says but we are to shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life. You have the word of life on your very laps and in your very heart. You have what nobody else has in the world.

Verse 13, and we're going to really close with this verse, verse 13 and really kind of part of 14, but mostly 13. "And in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band." I want you to think about this. Who is the one like the Son of Man? Who is this talking about here? I think most of us would say certainly this is obviously Jesus, the Messiah.

Well, it's interesting, it's used 189 times in your Old Testament and New Testament, and Jesus uses it speaking of himself over 80 times. So we know he's talking about himself here. But if you didn't know, I mean, think about it. 404 verses, 278 referencing Old Testament scriptures. We have to ask ourselves, have we read or seen the title or description "one like the Son of Man" before?

Before we walk out of here today, open your Bible to Daniel chapter seven, please. Daniel chapter seven. Because only what's poured in can be poured out. So, Lord, keep filling. We got it. Enlarge our hearts, Lord Jesus. Remove the dross, remove all that other stuff that's been occupying us. Get rid of all that Netflix and Prime and all that stuff, and fill up the cup of righteousness right now in our hearts.

In Daniel chapter seven, I draw you to verse 13. But just to sort of get you started, Daniel records a dream and a vision of four beasts. Daniel chapter seven, verse 13. Daniel records a dream of four beasts, a king referred to as the Ancient of Days—we know that as the Father, the Godhead—and a person described as one like the Son of Man. And we'll read that in verse 13.

The vision constitutes a sweeping panorama of a future event that causes Daniel to be troubled in spirit. If you look at verse 15 since you're in Daniel 7, you can see Daniel said, "I was troubled in spirit." It overwhelmed him. And the four beasts, if you just go back to verse three, this is where he receives those visions of these beasts.

Verse four, or beginning in verse three, there's the beast that comes up out of the sea. Verse four, we get the first one. The first was like a lion, having wings of an eagle, and after its wings were plucked, it stood up as a human and was given a human heart. That's one of the kingdoms. It's one of the beasts. And a second was like a bear, raised up on one side, had three ribs between its teeth, and it was directed to eat much meat. That's verse five.

The next one, the third one, is in verse six of chapter seven. This one is the third beast. He is like a leopard, but he had four wings and four heads and he was given dominion. And then finally Daniel sees something that he describes differently than the first three beasts. This one, far more terrifying. He says the fourth was terrifying, this is verses 7 and 8, and had iron teeth. Ten horns. Horns speak to power, kingdoms, and power.

This is why you've often heard that many people believe the United Nations, when we have a one-world government, that the United Nations could be used to formulate the ten kings because they're broken out that way. So it's a natural governance model already. We don't know. It could be. We know it could be the revived Roman Empire. We know there's a capacity for that. We need to be very careful how matter-of-fact we are. But he does say there's ten horns.

Horns being power. And one horn arose having eyes with a boastful mouth. Who else do we read that's boastful in the scriptures? That's right, Antichrist. Daniel 7:7 and 8. So Daniel was alarmed by these beasts and it was told him that they were four kings. Verse 17 tells us that these are actual kings. We get the interpretation by God.

But the kingdom of these four kings would not last because of the Ancient of Days, because of the Father, and one like the Son of Man. Who is that again? We know Jesus. Now, at the end of Daniel's vision of the four beasts, he saw the Ancient of Days and he takes a seat on the throne. Now, I want to read verse 13 to you.

"I was watching in the night vision and behold, one like the Son of Man—" there's that exact same language we just saw in the book of Revelation "—coming with the clouds of heaven. He came to the Ancient of Days and they brought him near before him. Then to him—" Jesus "—was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, then all the peoples, nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom, the one which shall not be destroyed."

It will be the last kingdom that we know on this earth. If you remember from further prophecy, there's a stone and that stone is cast at these other statues. And what happens? What's the stone do? It breaks that last government up. And it was a mixed sort of material type statue. Remember clay and iron? And yet that stone, it was nothing for that stone, Jesus being the stone and his kingdom.

Friends, we've already won. Isn't that wonderful? We have already won. It takes all the weight off. Now let's get after it. If you knew you were going to go compete in a sporting event and you already knew you had a superior team and you were going to win no matter how hard it is, just the mental clarity that that gives you, without stress of wondering how it's going to end, you can focus on the role you're to play within the competition.

Jesus gave us the end of the story, the end of the account, so that you and I don't have to worry about anything at the beginning and the end and anything in between, so we could be solely focused on our roles and parts that we are to fulfill in his perfect purpose. That is a gift from God to you and I because every one of us, while we may not want to admit it, always can't wait to get to the last chapter of a book.

Sometimes don't you want to know how the account or the story is going to end? What's going to happen? We're at the climax, oh my, is he going to survive? Is he going to die? What's going to happen? I just gotta turn there. And you turn and oh, okay, all the weight's off. Now I can enjoy the rest of the story. Is that not what Jesus has done for you and I?

He didn't have to do that. There's not a man-made religion that has anything like that on them. They don't have a book or anything like that that they can go to and say, "Oh, this is how it's all going to culminate and end." They have their fiction, but it's untested, it's unproven, not like what we have supernaturally in our laps.

Look at what he says. He was clothed with white and had hair like wool, Daniel 7:9. It seems he sat in judgment, putting an end to the kingdoms and particularly the boastful horn of the fourth beast, Daniel chapter 7:11 and 12. Then Daniel observed one like the Son of Man coming to the Ancient of Days. To the one like the Son of Man was given eternal dominion and to rule all peoples.

That's what's coming. That's what we're right up to the precipice of. We're walking right to the precipice, we're to the point where we can even start to look over. We're right there. The only difference is before we have to take a step, we'll go like this and up. And we'll be raptured out. Whatever generation it will be, that's up, out.

Because he doesn't beat the bride. Jesus doesn't beat the bride, and we're the bride of Christ. First Thessalonians chapter five, First Thessalonians chapter 4:16, harpadzo, parousia. We've talked about these things. You know them well. But study them, teach other people about these things. What's poured in, pour out. Teach other people that have ears to hear what the spirit is saying.

Warn people these things are coming. If you knew that something was coming in the next 24 hours, who wouldn't you reach out to? You'd tell everybody. There ought to be that same urgency right now. Yesterday, just pay attention to all of us, to what we're seeing. It's going to go faster to the point where you and I aren't going to have a grip on it, and then we're going to be out.

How much more could we have done if we would have been laser-focused and intentional and all-in with everything we got? All of our heart, mind, soul and strength. All of our finances, everything, everything all-in, holding nothing back. Pastor, that's scary. Welcome to the kingdom of God. That's why it's a step of faith. It's always been a step of faith, but you're rewarded with eternal security and an inheritance that surpasses anything on this temporal earth. It's not even close.

This kingdom that we just read about in Daniel chapter seven, this vision is similar to one that Nebuchadnezzar had. Remember that? He had that dream and the vision. It's very similar, as a matter of fact. In Daniel chapter two, look at verses 44 through 45. And it described again four kingdoms on the earth, ruling until God set up an eternal kingdom on the earth.

And Daniel's vision again revealed that one like the Son of Man would have an everlasting kingdom. There's no coincidence that the title Jesus most often used to reference himself in the Gospels was the Son of Man. So there's nobody that can come to this passage and go, "Oh, well, maybe this isn't talking about Jesus, this Son of Man. Maybe this is just talking about somebody else."

Jesus himself, in a pivotal conversation, Jesus asked his disciples who the Son of Man was. Do you remember that? That was Matthew chapter 16, verses 13 through 15 in the Gospel. Jesus looked to his disciples and said, "Who do you say the Son of Man is?" And who answered that question? Peter. Petros.

He affirmed that Jesus, the Son of Man, was the Christ, the Son of the living God. That's Matthew 16:16. He says that wasn't given to you just because of common sense or something on this earth. He says that was given to you supernaturally, spiritually speaking, by my Father in heaven. He was in the spirit, in other words, just like John is in the spirit.

And when we're in the spirit, we see the things of the spirit. And when we're in the world, we see the things of the world. Does that make more sense to everybody now, why things are happening the way these things are happening and so many people can't see it? I mean, the devil's clearly overplaying his hand. At least in the 60s, 70s and 80s, some of the politicians were sort of sneaky about it.

Now they're broadcasting it. It's right on the news. You can record these things. "Did you just hear that?" They're not even hiding it anymore. And yet people, it's like—well, it's Romans 1 and 2, it's the debased mind. They're like, "Huh? I don't understand. What are you so—what are you talking about? Why did that strike you wrong? What do you mean murdering babies is okay? When did that become okay?"

"What do you mean these things that we're seeing today, murdering a politician because he's a different point of view? You think that's okay?" What has happened in the morality and the character of a human being living in this country that thinks that would be okay? We're no better than terrorists. The very people we're trying to defend this country from, we are becoming from the inside out.

And that's exactly what's happening. And that's what happened in England and Europe, and it's happening here. And unless the church gets serious and stands up and gets all-in—and look, it can start with this church, it can start with the remnant church—unless we take these things serious and we get after it, I don't even know if it'll be years.

We're going to look back and we're going to wonder why the country is where it is at that point and looks nothing like anything we recognized. Because the country's always been changed by the believers of Christ within the church. You want to change a country, you start with the church. And the church goes out, changes a culture. The culture changes a nation.

When the family falls, when the judges fall, so the nation falls. Again, it's historical. It's happened in Rome, it's happened in the Greeks. Go back. I mean, is it a wonder that we're getting revisionism in our history books? Because they don't want you to know that. They don't want you—they like to keep you with short memories. Don't look back. No, no, no, just keep having the sugar.

Keep tasting the sugar, it's good for you. Almost like a drug dealer. Just take a little bit more, just have a little taste. They want to keep you addicted, keep coming back, just a little taste. And we know people that have all struggled with addiction. Do they just remedy themselves? Or does it often require help? Supernatural help, as a matter of fact.

But usually by that time the family's been wrecked because that person in addiction's stolen from their own family members. A lot of times other family members don't even want them to live there anymore because they can't trust if they'll steal the car and go kill somebody in an accident. They don't want to be personally liable. Think about what I'm saying here. We all know this in human terms.

But all of a sudden when we spiritualize it we go, "It's different." It's not different. It's never been different. Peter affirmed Jesus is the Son of Man, the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus affirmed that he would one day return and bring his kingdom, Matthew chapter 16, verse 27 and 28.

John here is writing of this, the Son of Man in verse 13, who had died, was alive and forevermore. Then the Ancient of Days is God the Father, that compares with Daniel's description or expression. We see that very clearly of the Ancient of Days in Daniel 7:9 and we see that in Revelation chapter 4:2 through 5:1. We get the same picture, for example.

And he gives his kingdom to his son. Remember the scrolls, who is worthy to open the scrolls? We're going to go through those passages and look at that. Also, by the way, Psalm 2. Jesus is the Son of God. One of the many aspects and expressions of the relationship with his Father is the fact that he was conceived not of man but of the Holy Spirit, Matthew 1:20.

And Jesus was also the Son of Man in the same sense that he was born in the line of David and he was also called the Son of David. For example, Luke chapter 1, verse 32 and Romans chapter 1, verse 3. And God had promised to David that there would be an eternal king in his line. We know that today as the Davidic Covenant, 2 Samuel 7:16.

The Son of God is the Son of Man is the Son of David. Jesus used all three of these titles to describe the only one that is worthy to be called King. Here we read of his description. Again John, this is the best way he can humanly explain what he's seen. "I see Jesus or someone that looked like him." I probably think he's thinking back to the Mount of Transfiguration.

And then he goes on to say, and we see this description in verse 13: "And in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the Son of Man, clothed with garment down to the feet and girded with the chest with a golden band." This is the only place in the New Testament that you and I are given a description of Jesus Christ, the glorified King that looks like this.

And look at what's highlighted. It's not his skin color. It wasn't the style of his hair, it wasn't his beard style. It wasn't his dreads. He doesn't describe any of those things. This is the first time that John had laid his eyes on Jesus in over 60 years, being a younger man. And what does Jesus want to communicate to John?

He wants us to understand who he truly is now and forever. He is Jesus, the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world, that ascended into heaven and now is resting and serving in eternal glory now and forevermore. That also is the Gospel. And we read about those promises throughout the Old Testament scriptures.

He's clothed in a white robe, a priestly robe. I believe it's pointing to a priestly robe. It says that he had a sash, a golden band or breastplate. After all, wasn't Jesus our high priest? He's our high priest. He still is our high priest, always will be. I think John is doing the best he can to give us the description with his limited faculty.

You can only describe what you have a reference to. If you don't have a reference, you can't describe something from that. I just found it interesting that he was clothed at all. I mean, did you ever think about that, what are you going to be clothed in? Were you going to wear clothes? I don't know, were you going to walk around in your birthday suit?

Think about it. When we came down to the Garden of Eden, originally Adam, he was naked. So when we got to heaven, was that all going to go back? And the answer's no. We're all going to be wearing clothes. And I praise God for that, and I'm sure you praise God for that too. We're going to be wearing clothes. What kind of clothes are we going to be wearing?

The hippest style from Milan? No. It's white robes for the hagios, for the saints. Revelation chapter 3:4. Look at how many times he tells us.