REVIVAL PERCEPTION

“REVIVAL PERCEPTION”

In the first message we saw briefly the need to 1) prepare our hearts and 2) confess our sins and 3) give ourselves to prayer, if we truly wanted to begin the process of revival in our lives and church.
In this, second, message on revival, we will discover the absolute necessity of seeing or beholding Jesus for who He really is.
In the book of Revelation, we find a very interesting study of eight different portraits that John paints of our Lord Jesus Christ.
As you might see eight photos of Israel or America or of a person doing various things, John paints a portrait of Christ for us and then reveals how Christ reveals himself to each of the seven churches.
Depending on where a person is in their spiritual walk with the Lord, will depend on how they view Jesus Christ or how Jesus reveals Himself to them.
To many folks Jesus is the giver of life. He is their Savior. He is their joy. He is wonderful and thrilling. The mention of His name is precious.
To others he is a party pooper. They see Jesus as one who wants to take away their fun in life. Some folks would not enjoy Jesus coming to their home. They definitely would not enjoy taking Him to their ball games or Friday night dates.
If they did they would have to change the way they live and talk.
In this chapter we will see how Jesus reveals Himself to John, His disciple of love.

It is a must, for all people, especially God’s people to have a right vision, a right image and a right mental picture of Jesus Christ.
To see a true picture of Christ will bring a great love and warmth to one’s heart.
But, the heart with sin can not see a true image of Christ. A few weeks go my wife bought an off-brand bottle of glass cleaner. I washed and washed my car windows with it and I could not begin to get them clean. We have a glass table in our kitchen that we eat on. It has to be cleaned with glass cleaner. I noticed that it looked pretty pathetic but thought it would best if I didn’t say anything.
Today, she said to me, “You know, I bought an off brand glass cleaner and it is terrible. It doesn’t get anything clean.
God’s glass cleaner says in Proverbs 28: 13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
Satan’s off brand cleaner says, “You can live as you want and God will still hear your prayers.”

The apostle John was given the first mental image of Jesus Christ after His resurrection and John wrote down what he saw in Revelation 1:10-17.

JOHN’S VISION OF JESUS CHRIST
John was the last living disciple of the Lord. He was exiled on the Isle called Patmos. Patmos was a prison Isle, where criminals were sent to die.
All of John’s colleagues had graduated with highest honors and were awaiting John on the other side.
John was ready to go and meet the Lord, but the Lord had some unfinished business, He wanted John to take care of. He wanted John to pen down the book of Revelation.

In my mind, I vision John sitting on a rock in a desolate place on this Island, all alone, in worship and prayer, thinking on the Lord, on the Lord’s Day.
Maybe John was thinking about Calvary or maybe he was thinking of the Lord when he appeared in their midst, in the upper room the day of His resurrection.
What a contrast of emotions John must have had. At Calvary, John’s heart was broken. The one he loved the most had been betrayed, beaten and condemned and crucified to death. His visage of Christ was that of His bloody and broken body he saw on Calvary.
The sounds were those of the false religions crying crucify Him, crucify Him.
John heard the hisses of the crowd and the mockery of the Sanhedrin. He heard the thunder from heaven and the rumbling of the rocks when the Lord shook the ground with an earthquake. Maybe a tear dropped from John’s eye, when Jesus said, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
Then, John’s mind may have moved to the third day after the crucifixion, as the disciples had gathered in the upper room and suddenly, Jesus appeared in their midst. Their hearts jump for joy.
They were astonished and overwhelmed for their Lord lived and would live forever. Oh, the excitement John experienced.
Now John was all alone and suddenly, John hears a booming voice that causes him to jump AND HE TURNS TO SEE THIS SIGHT:
I – THE SIGHTS JOHN SEES: Now, John was old and he hoped for that day when he would be with his Lord forever. He was all alone and he would rather die then live.
Read Revelation 1:12. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; 13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man,
The seven candlesticks represent the seven churches that Jesus reveals in Revelation two and three. These seven churches represent 2,000 years of church history, from the time of Christ till today.
Jesus wanted John to know that the hope of the world depends on what those in the church do with Him. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew nation was to be the light of God to a lost world.
Now, the Church was to be the light and hope of the world.
The believers within churches must have the right image of Christ.
They must know, honor and respect Him. They must know that He is holy and righteous.
He is precious and pure, and He wants His church to be holy and righteous, precious and pure.
When John first turns, he saw the seven churches. The church is described as a seven golden candlestick.
Seven is the number of completion, maturity, perfection. God wants His children to mature and to become like Christ.
Golden reveals that the church will be put through test and trails.
It will be tempted to compromise in every way under the son and be tempted to be like the world and act like the world but, the church must be pure as gold.
Though the Church will be put through the fires from generation to generation, and it has, it must be pure gold if their light is to be a witness in this dark world.
The candlesticks represent the words of Christ, that “Ye are the light of the world set on a hill.” We are to be separated from the world. We are to be a witness to the world but totally separated from it.
John views the church only briefly, because his eyes were captivated by the one walking in the midst of the seven churches, Jesus Christ. John sees Jesus and he describes Him four ways in the next few verses.
I - THE ROYAL KING
He first describes Jesus as the Royal King. Revelation 1:13 reads, “And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.”
The word for garment in the Greek speaks of royalty. John sees Christ, as The Royal King, wearing a royal robe, to whom all the world will bow, one day.
Today, Jesus is still the savior for all who are lost, in their sins.
But, to the Christian, walking with the Lord Jesus Christ, He is our Royal King to whom we bow and worship and obey and serve. Jesus Christ should be our Lord.
Christian, do you look at Jesus with great respect and honor? Does it trouble you to sin against Him?
There was a time in history when a serf or a son, bowed before the king of a land or they had their heads removed.
It is a sad day in which we live today, when so many people talk about Jesus Christ as if He was an equal.
I’ve heard men older than I call God, the old man upstairs.
I have heard young people call Jesus, “J.C.” I’ve heard people compare Jesus to a rock star or some type of revolutionist. It is because they don’t know my Lord.
Friend, my Jesus is the Holy God of the universe.
He is not to be trifled with or disrespected. He should be feared by all.
All who trifle with Him will be terrified when they face Him one day, and give account for their thoughts and words.
I am convinced that the greatest sin today in the world and in many churches is the breaking of the first two commandments.
It is true that God is to be first place in our life. That is what the first commandment is saying. That is why Jesus said, “Love God with all your heart.”
The second commandment is having a false image of who God is. I talk with people every day. I talk with Christians, and many Christians have a false image of the Lord Jesus Christ.
They treat Him so flippantly, that even their dog comes before time with Him. His Royal robe tells us He is our Royal King.

II - REDEEMING KING
In Revelation 1:13c John describes another character trait of our Lord. 13c … and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
Under the royal robe was a golden girdle or vest. The gold symbolized that Jesus Christ was put in the fires and came out as pure gold.
This golden image of Christ was to be the golden image of the Church.
He proved Himself to be the perfect, sinless, Son of God. He proved Himself to be the Lamb slain and the Lion worthy to be praised.
He had every right in the world to demand His churches to repent, for it was He who paid the price for their redemption.
He gave man life and man fell into sin. Jesus Christ then redeemed man by giving His life on Calvary. He owns man twice.
He first saw the majestic royal King. Then he saw the magnificent redeeming King. Now, John sees the righteous King.

III - RIGHTEOUS KING
Now, John’s eyes are draw to our Lord’s face. 14a His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
The whiteness and brightness of our Lord’s countenance speaks of His righteousness, His spotlessness, His purity, His virtue, His innocence, His honor, His integrity and His respectability.
In First John 3:7, John reminds us: Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous. God’s children take on the character traits of their Father.
Look at Revelation 1:14b …and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
The eyes of Christ were on fire. His eyes were penetrating, piercing, acute and infiltrating.
They were convicting. The unsaved of this world doesn’t care of holy and righteous preaching. It is convicting to them.
When John saw the Lord, it even humbled him and exposed him. John felt as if Christ could see right through him.
Every deed and every motive was revealed. Every sin was exposed in a moment.
That is what happens when a person gets the right picture of Christ. He can no longer hold onto his sins. He must turn them lose or turn his back on God.
When the apostle Paul looked into the face of Christ, it blinded him. It not only blinded him, it changed him forever. From the day Paul saw Christ, he was a changed man. His life was holy and righteous, pure and peaceful. He walked different and acted different.
You will never see Christ physically, but you can behold His beauty in the Scriptures and see Him with spiritual eyes which will make Him as beautiful and awesome as when John and Paul saw Him.
Upon John looking into Christ’s eyes, John immediately casts his eyes downward, for the image of Christ was too glorious to behold.
John saw our Lord’s royalty, redemption and righteousness. Now he sees our Lord’s rightfulness.
IV - RIGHTFUL KING
Jesus is the rightful King. The next sight John describes is Christ’s feet. 15a And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace;
The Lord’s rightfulness is seen in the furnace of brass He is not only Savior of all sinners who come to Him;
He is not only Lord of all the saints whom He has saved, but Christ will be the rightful Judge of all men on earth, saint or sinner.
The fine brass burning like a mighty furnace reveals that a day is coming when Christ will judge the entire world.
Some Christians think, well, I will wait till judgment day and let the chips drop where they may, but they don’t understand that God judges daily
Our righteous life and our prayer life and our walk with God, determines His dealing in our homes, churches and government every day.
That means, Christians can make a difference in their world, if they walk with the Lord.
The amazing thought about this revelation of Christ is, Christ gives this picture to John, maybe the most righteous man on earth at this time in history.
If John, the most righteous man on the earth needed to see Christ in this manner, how much more do you and I, today, need to behold Him that is not only royal, redemptive, righteous but the rightful judge?

II – SOUNDS: John also heard the Lord speak.
A – TRUMPETED VOICE:
Revelation 1:10, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.
John tells us that the Lord’s voice sounded like a great trumpet.
What he meant was His voice was loud and His voice is clear.
His voice was fully understandable and piercing.
The same is true today, for the Bible says what it means and it means what it says.
Anyone who has knowledge of the Scriptures knows the mighty voice of the Lord.
When I hear people say, well the Bible has so many interpretations, I simply think, that person hasn’t read the Bible much or else, that person is not saved.
When Christ spoke to John, He said in Revelation 1:11, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last:

Jesus Christ reveals to John that He was Jehovah God, the eternal God. He always has been and He always will be.

B – A THUNDEROUS ROAR:
(15b) …and his voice is as the sound of many waters.
If you have even been to Niagara Falls, you heard as you walked across “Goat Island” squirrels running through the leaves.
You heard the birds singing and the crickets chirping.
You heard the voices of people talking and cars moving down the road. But, then you heard the distant roar of the falls growing louder and louder until you are standing at the summit of Niagara Falls.
Then, you only hear the roar of the falls. You don’t hear the birds singing, or crickets chirping, or squirrels playing or people talking. You only hear the thunderous sound of 53 million gallons of water a minute going over the falls. You only hear the voice of many waters.
If the Church ever gets a Biblical vision of Jesus Christ, and draws close enough to hear His awesome voice, the Church will see and will know that He is the royal, redemptive, righteous and the rightful King that will judge the world.
What critics have said or written about Him will be like the mere chirping of a squirrel, for His Church will know that their righteous Lord’s Word will reign supreme over anything man ever says.

C - A TRUTHFUL WORD:
Then John reveals another amazing fact of our Lord in verse (16) And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
The seven stars tell us that God will always have His true servants preaching His true Word.
The two-edged sword speaks of God’s Holy Word.
God’s word is more powerful, penetrating and precise than a doctor’s scalpel or even a laser. It will cut out the cancer of sin and pride, and will bring healing and health.
Paul wrote in Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The whole council of God is to be preached to the church. When it is preached, it will cut asunder. It will bring conviction, if we are harboring sin in our lives. It will reveal our laziness, our prayerlessness and our failures.
It will cut out cancerous sin so our bodies might heal, if we will allow God’s Spirit to do spiritual surgery on our soul and spirit and on the thoughts and motives of our hearts. Selah!
Notice His countenance is as the noon-day sun.
There is nothing in the world as purifying and wholesome as the sun. Without sunlight everything in the world would die. Light gives life.
Christ giveth life and he giveth light. He gives life to the Church first, and with that life, He gives strength and guidance and direction and growth.
Have you ever had a vision of the Lord, like John? If you had, then verse 17 would have transpired in your life. “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead.”
You would die, not physically but this means you would totally surrender your life to the Lord. You see, a dead man has no pride.
You can’t say things to hurt a dead man. You can’t say things to make a dead man proud. A dead man doesn’t hold grudges. He is not selfish or mean, or critical. He is dead.
Before you can live for Christ, you must die to self.
John fell down as dead. Then the Lord touched him and lifted him up.
17 …And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;
We must not lift ourselves up. We must die and surrender to Him. Let the Lord touch us.
Would you like the Lord to touch you? If he did He would change you. Would you want Him to change you?
If you would like that, you will have to lay your life on the altar. You would have to give Him your possessions, pleasures, mate, children but especially your sins, your pride, your self will.
Weep and pray and moan and groan before the holy God of Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ, and then He will lift you up and show you things that most of the world has never seen nor will they ever see.
He will show you things most churches and most Christians have never seen either.

Understand that God is a God of order.
God reveals this need first to the church of Ephesus, because once a person leaves the love of God, that person begins sliding down a slippery slope of no return.
Some folks might start giving more money, or working harder to gain God’s approval, but it will be to no avail.
He will continual to slip farther and farther into sinful habits, if he does not return to a love relationship with the Lord.

When Joshua was old and near death, he gave his farewell to Israel.
In Joshua 23, he tells them of all the great things God has done and will do for them… under one condition. Look at verse 11: Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the LORD your God.
Deuteronomy 6: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Deuteronomy 11: 1 Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway.
Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
It is a great and gross sin, not to Love the Lord with all your heart. The devil has fooled many. He says, “You don’t get drunk, you don’t commit adultery, you don’t steal, why you are a good guy.” If Jesus is not your first love, you are living in a sin so gross that Jesus said He would charge the church with a two-edge sword.
How dare we justify our apathetic love for Jesus Christ? We must get alone with Him and behold His glory and our love will grow.