The Myth of Human Initiative: Hearing God on His Terms

• The Nature of Revelation [00:05:21 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor clarifies that Revelation is not a 'secret decoder ring' for the Antichrist or end-times speculation, but rather the unveiling of Jesus Christ Himself.
• Worthiness and Grace [00:04:36 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor addresses the feeling of unworthiness, asserting that no one is worthy, but Jesus loves sinners and desires to speak to them regardless of their status.
• Faith and Hearing [00:09:38 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that faith comes from hearing the Word of Christ, not just from trials, and that reading/hearing Revelation strengthens the believer.
• Jesus as Faithful Witness [00:11:22 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor defines Jesus as the 'faithful witness' who tells believers what they need to hear, not necessarily what they want to hear.
• Political Sovereignty [00:12:02 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the title 'ruler of kings' to encourage believers not to be overly anxious about earthly politics, as Jesus reigns supreme.
• The Love of Jesus [00:12:39 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor emphasizes that Jesus loves His people regardless of their spiritual state or feelings of unworthiness, correcting the idea that God gives up on those who are 'messed up.'
• Freedom from Sin (Power, Penalty, Presence) [00:13:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor breaks down the Christian's relationship to sin into three parts: freedom from the power of unbelief, freedom from the penalty of sin through the cross, and the ongoing struggle with the presence of sin until the Second Coming.
• The Kingdom of God [00:16:45 ▶️ 📄]
  > Using Daniel chapter 2, the pastor illustrates the succession of earthly empires (Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome) and contrasts them with the eternal, unshakeable Kingdom of God established by Christ.
• Priesthood of Believers [00:19:36 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor corrects the cultural view of priesthood, defining believers as intermediaries between God and man, rather than just clergy in specific roles.
• Persecution and Idolatry [00:20:43 ▶️ 📄]
  > Drawing parallels between Roman emperor worship and modern secularism, the pastor urges Christians to refuse to bow to the 'idols of our age' and accept the cost of loving Jesus.
• The Calling of Working Men [00:23:55 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor highlights that Jesus called John, a working fisherman with calloused hands, to illustrate that Jesus looks for 'working men' engaged in the stuff of life.
• Servanthood and Perseverance [00:24:33 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the life of John the disciple to illustrate that true faith involves serving Jesus through all life stages, from working life to persecution, emphasizing that following Jesus is not a phase but a lifelong commitment.
• Motivation for Faith [00:29:13 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor critiques superficial motivations for attending church, such as finding a spouse or getting through a tough season, arguing that faith must persist even when those temporary needs are met or seasons end.
• The Nature of Worship [00:37:04 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor distinguishes between mere music and spirit-filled worship, encouraging the congregation to enter a spiritual state to hear from God, rather than treating church attendance as a routine checkbox.
• Thankless Service [00:34:27 ▶️ 📄]
  > Using his own experience preaching to teenagers, the pastor explains that serving in 'thankless places' is a testing ground where God evaluates whether one serves for applause or for love of the Lord.
• Spiritual Experience vs. Routine [00:38:07 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues against treating church as a mere routine or 'checking the box,' urging believers to seek a genuine spiritual experience with the Lord.
• Practical Preparation for Worship [00:40:39 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor provides specific admonitions on how to 'get in the spirit,' including arriving on time, praying before leaving home, and actively participating in singing.
• Humility and Response [00:46:10 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor teaches that God reveals His word to those who remain humble, using biblical examples like Moses and John to illustrate the necessity of turning to God and lowering oneself.
• Humility and Service [00:51:42 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses George Washington as an example of a man who knew that in humility we serve and fulfill our purpose in God, inviting the congregation to adopt a similar attitude of surrender.
• Divine Revelation [00:52:36 ▶️ 📄]
  > The core thesis states that God reveals His word specifically to those who humble themselves and respond as servants.
• Evangelism and Invitation [00:53:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor transitions to an altar call, asserting that God is speaking to attendees and desires to bring them into His family.

• Sermon Illustration [00:00:30 ▶️ 📄]
  > A joke about a 'Husband Store' with six floors where each floor adds more desirable traits (job, looks, housework, love for children) until the fifth floor has no men, proving women are impossible to please. The pastor also mentions a 'Wives' Store' across the street where no men have visited floors two through six.
• Sermon Illustration [00:07:06 ▶️ 📄]
  > A personal anecdote about standing three feet away from Tom Brady in a locker room in 2005 after a game loss. The pastor was too intimidated to speak to him or tell him about Jesus.
• Sermon Illustration [00:17:02 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts the historical dream of King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 2, describing a statue made of gold, bronze, iron, and clay, which is destroyed by a rock not hewn by human hands, symbolizing the rise and fall of empires versus the eternal Kingdom of God.
• Sermon Illustration [00:20:43 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares the historical context of John the Apostle being exiled to the island of Patmos by the Roman Emperor Domitian for refusing to worship the emperor, using this to illustrate the cost of loving Jesus in a secular age.
• Sermon Illustration [00:23:55 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor describes Jesus finding John while he was working as a fisherman, emphasizing that John was a 'working man' with calloused hands running a business, contrasting this with the idea that Jesus only calls religious professionals.
• Sermon Illustration [00:24:33 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts the life of John the disciple, detailing his background as a fisherman, his presence at the cross, his brother James' martyrdom, his exile to Patmos after surviving boiling oil, and his eventual status as a servant of Christ after 65 years.
• Sermon Illustration [00:32:49 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about being asked to serve in the 'Waters kids' ministry (children's church) because he wasn't preaching, noting that while he prefers the pulpit, he appreciates the hard work of those who serve behind the scenes.
• Sermon Illustration [00:38:39 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor tells a story about a couple at the South Coast church who were on the verge of divorce but attended a 'Re-engage' marriage class, illustrating how church gatherings can lead to life changes.
• Sermon Illustration [00:38:39 ▶️ 📄]
  > A couple in the South Coast church was miserable and had filed for divorce, but after attending a 'Re-engage' marriage class, the Holy Spirit changed their hearts. The wife had forgotten to sign one page of the divorce papers, leaving them legally married, which the pastor cites as a rescue by the power of God.
• Sermon Illustration [00:50:10 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts the story of George Washington resigning his military command on December 23, 1789, after leading the Continental Army to victory. Washington's humility in giving up power is used as an analogy for believers humbling themselves before God.
• Sermon Illustration [00:51:42 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor cites George Washington, noting that a state, the nation's capital, a monument, a mountain, and every dollar bill are named after him, to illustrate a man who understood that humility leads to service and fulfilling one's purpose in God.

• Pastoral Charge [00:00:15 ▶️ 📄]
  > Retrieve physical notes for the sermon series.
• Pastoral Charge [00:06:28 ▶️ 📄]
  > Write the statement 'The Bible is about Jesus' at the top of their notes.
• Pastoral Charge [00:11:38 ▶️ 📄]
  > Circle the phrase 'faithful witness' in their notes.
• Pastoral Charge [00:12:39 ▶️ 📄]
  > Write down 'Jesus loves us' as the first point in their notes.
• Pastoral Charge [00:12:25 ▶️ 📄]
  > Write down the statement 'Jesus loves us' in their notes
• Pastoral Charge [00:13:22 ▶️ 📄]
  > Write down the statement 'He has freed us from sin' in their notes
• Pastoral Charge [00:19:25 ▶️ 📄]
  > Underline the word 'priests' in their Bibles
• Pastoral Charge [00:21:05 ▶️ 📄]
  > Stand firm against secularism and humanism, affirming that only God is Lord, not the country
• Pastoral Charge [00:27:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > Commit to remaining a servant of Jesus regardless of life circumstances.
• Pastoral Charge [00:34:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > Agree to serve God faithfully in unappreciated, difficult, or unknown situations.
• Pastoral Charge [00:53:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > Bow heads and close eyes in prayer to accept God's invitation into His family.
• Pastoral Charge [00:53:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor asks the congregation to physically bow their heads and close their eyes in prayer.

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:00:00] Amen. Seven letters from the book of Revelation. Are you ready for a new series coming into the summer? Summertime is a good time to come to church. Can I get a good amen? Take out your notes. They look like this. And it is Father's Day. Fathers matter. Praise the Lord. I don't know if you heard the news that a new store has opened in New York City. It's called the Husband Store.
[00:00:30] and there's rules to the husband's store. Your women can visit the store only once and there's six floors and they can only shop one floor at a time. But if they go up to the second floor,
[00:00:43] they cannot go back to the first floor and shop. They cannot go back to the floors that they previously visited. So a woman went to the store and she found a sign on the first floor that said
[00:00:52] this floor is filled with men who have jobs. And she was intrigued, but she wanted to know what was on the second floor. So she went up to the second floor of the store. There was a sign that said,
[00:01:03] this floor has men who have jobs and are incredibly good looking. And she said, that sounds pretty good, but I got to know what's up on that third floor. She went up on the third
[00:01:13] floor and she found out that this one said, this floor has men who have jobs, are incredibly good looking and do housework. She was even more intrigued, but she just had to know what was
[00:01:28] on that next floor. She went up to the fourth floor, and there was a sign that said, these men have jobs, are incredibly good looking, they do housework, and they love children. She was floored.
[00:01:39] What more could she ask? But she had to know. And she went up onto the fifth floor, and on the fifth floor was a sign that said, this floor has no men. This floor, you are visitor
[00:01:54] number 34,736,732. And this floor is proof that women, no matter what they get, are impossible to please. Across the street, across the street from the wife, the woman, the husband's store is a wives' store. Same rules. On floor one, there's a sign. It says, these women will make love
[00:02:23] any time you want. No man has visited floors two to six in that store. I just want to let you know that that joke was not sanctioned by my wife. Don't hold her responsible for my words, okay?
[00:02:42] Let's talk about how, in that theme, let's talk about how to hear from God. So, Revelation.
[00:02:50] Revelation, a couple years ago, actually, no, many years ago, almost 20 years ago, I did a study on Revelation on Wednesday night we used to have Wednesday night Bible study every week and I remember that everybody was so fired up to come and hear about what was in Revelation but I knew
[00:03:07] I noticed something that as I went verse by verse chapter by chapter through that book that people basically kind of checked out and the reason why is because you don't really get to the bells and
[00:03:18] whistles if you will of Revelation until about chapter six but how many know that every word of god is important i wish i get a better amen than that from down here come on revelation chapter
[00:03:31] one to three first is the revelation that john gets of jesus in his glory as we just saw to pick it in the video but then the second and third chapters of this book are jesus's letters to his
[00:03:43] church seven churches in asia minor and we will talk about that in a moment but i thought this would be a great series for our summer because summer is a come and go season you might be here
[00:03:54] for two weeks off for a week off for two weeks whatever you're going on vacation doing your thing i get that but we're always available on youtube youtube.com slash waters church so don't miss a message seven letters seven different topics seven different ways jesus wants to speak
[00:04:07] to his church and what he wants to say to his people now you got to know something that is the theme of this series the lord wants to talk to you he wants to say something to you and he wants to
[00:04:24] show himself to you. That is the theme of this series. And I think that some Christians, you don't, you don't have that kind of relationship with the Lord yet. You don't know if the Lord
[00:04:36] wants to speak. You don't know if you're, how about this? You don't think you're worthy of having God speak to you. Can I tell you, none of us are worthy. You're not looking at somebody
[00:04:47] who's worthy. You're looking at somebody who's been saved by God's amazing grace. I'm made worthy because Jesus loves sinners. That was what they held against Jesus. That's why he went to the cross. That's why they crucified him, because he loved to hang out with sinners. Are there any
[00:05:07] sinners in the house today? Good news. Jesus loves you and he wants to talk to you. But let me tell you a couple of rules about revelation. Well, one essential rule about revelation. Here it is.
[00:05:21] Revelation is not the Christian's secret decoder ring on how to identify the Antichrist. It is not the means by which you understand when Jesus is coming again. As much as it talks about the end
[00:05:37] times, and I believe it does in the last days, and how we're supposed to live in a world that is hostile to the gospel hostile to christ the central message of revelation here's your note
[00:05:50] the central message of revelation is in the very first phrase in the book what is revelation and it's singular not plural it's not revelations it's revelation what is the revelation of check this out. The revelation of Jesus Christ. Do you know what revelation is about? Revelation is about
[00:06:19] Jesus. When you want to know who Jesus is, look at revelation. In fact, how about this one? If you want to know who Jesus is, look at the Bible. Write this down in your notes, top of your notes.
[00:06:28] Ready? The Bible is about Jesus. Why is that so important? Because when you go to the Bible, you are coming to know the person of Jesus Christ, God's son. And he is the most important person you
[00:06:42] could ever know. I wonder who you would love to sit down and have lunch with. I wonder who you'd love to get to know. I'd wonder who you'd love to have friendship with. And it's probably somebody
[00:06:51] that's important. Maybe they're in your business. Maybe they're in your industry. Maybe there's somebody that's famous. You want to know them. You want to have a relationship with them. You'd love to meet them. I will never forget the time that I stood, and I kid you not, I stood before the
[00:07:06] great one. He was three feet away from me. Yes, Waters Church, I'm talking about the goat. Tom Brady was right literally from this podium to me. There he was. It was 2005. He had just lost a
[00:07:24] game. He did not look so good. I was in the locker room area with the team that used to have me do chapels, and I remember he was standing right there, and I was like, and he looked at me. I'll
[00:07:38] never forget. He looked at me, and I went, I can't look at him. I can't look at him, and I never got a chance to meet him. I was so afraid. I was so intimidated. I wish I had another chance. I'd tell
[00:07:50] him about Jesus. Anyway, who would you like to be around? Listen, there's no greater person to know than Jesus. There's no greater person I have a relationship with than the King of the universe.
[00:08:03] And the scripture says here, that's what this book is about. By the way, revelation in the Greek is apocalypsis. What does that sound like? Apocalypse. Kind of interesting how we use this word apocalypse in our movies. In fact, there was a movie called Apocalypse Now. In fact,
[00:08:21] as a theme of literature and of film industry, apocalyptic movies. These are movies that end how? They end with disaster. They end with tragedy. It's the end of the world. How many remember in the 1990s, way back in the Stone Age? Come on, somebody. There was a bunch of
[00:08:41] end of the world movies, Independence Day, Deep Impact, Armageddon, all of these phrases that come out of the book of Revelation. But I want you to think about this. Apocalypsis, it just means unveiling. It just means to pull the curtain away. And what you have to understand, this is God's
[00:08:59] heart for you. He wants to reveal himself to you. Think about it this way. The word revelation begins with revel or reveal. God wants to reveal Jesus to you. And then it says this. He gave this
[00:09:14] to his servants to show the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to a servant named john who bore witness to the word of god and to the testimony
[00:09:23] of who so so revelation is about jesus even to all that he saw and then look at verse three it says blessed is the one who reads aloud how many know that faith doesn't just come by thinking
[00:09:38] the bible says in romans chapter 10 verse 17 that faith comes from hearing what hearing through the word of Christ. Can I tell you, if you want more faith, get more word. You don't grow in your
[00:09:54] faith just by your trials and your troubles and your tribulations. You grow in faith by hearing about Jesus. And the more you hear about Jesus, the more the Holy Spirit goes to work in your heart
[00:10:04] and he makes you a stronger follower and he makes you more committed. And it just comes through the supernatural work of the Spirit. Amen. So blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this
[00:10:16] prophecy emphasize loud come on somebody the uh and it says blessed is the one who hears the word and blessed is the one who keeps so the bible is the scriptures the word of god is a benefit when
[00:10:29] you read it it's a benefit when you hear it and it's a benefit when you do it amen then verse four gives us the kind of like the the framework of this book john to the seven churches that are in
[00:10:43] Asia. We've got a new talent here for screening, my little preaching friend here on our graphical screen. We've got a map. This is a map of what is now modern-day Turkey. It was Asia Minor
[00:10:54] back in the ancient world. These are the seven, you'll see seven names here that we will talk about through this series. But what you have to know is that John is right over here on the Isle
[00:11:04] of Patmos. This was a prison colony. This is where they sent dissidents. This is where they sent political exiles. It was also a slave colony. And the Bible says that John was there sending these letters to the church of Asia. Grace and peace. He greets them. And then it talks about
[00:11:22] Jesus again. He says from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness. What does that mean? Circle the word faithful witness in your notes. Why do I say that? Because you have to understand what that means. It means that Jesus is always going to tell you the truth. He's always going to say
[00:11:38] what you need to hear. Understand he might not tell you what you want to hear. Amen. He's going to tell you what you need to hear. He's the faithful witness. He's the firstborn of the dead.
[00:11:52] He's the ruler of the kings of the earth. Listen, this is why Christians, we should never, ever, ever get so worked up about politics and about who's in charge, because we know that no matter
[00:12:02] who's king on the earth, Jesus is the ruler of the kings on the earth. Some of you don't like this president. Some of you didn't like the last president. Some of you don't like any of the
[00:12:12] presidents. Good news. They are all under the authority of Jesus Christ who rules and reigns from heaven. Amen, somebody. And then it says to him who loves us and has freed us and has made us
[00:12:25] a kingdom. Three things that Jesus does. I want you to write this down. Number one in your notes, Write this down. Jesus loves us. The first thing that that that John the Revelator wants to
[00:12:39] communicate is that the Lord loves his people. That's why he wants to talk to you. He wants to speak to you. By the way, when we get into these seven churches, five of the seven are really
[00:12:51] messed up. Five of the seven are not living as they should. And the Lord is going to bring a word of correction, a word of warning. And you got to understand this. Just because they're messed
[00:13:02] up doesn't mean that Jesus gives up. And this is good for any Christian here or any Christian at any location. You feel like you're not worthy. You feel like you're not living up. You feel like
[00:13:12] you're not where you should be. Good news. Jesus still loves you. He's not done with you. Now he might need to warn you. He might need to correct you, but he never stops loving you. My Bible tells
[00:13:22] me that nothing can separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Second thing I want you to write down. He has freed us from sin. Now there are a couple of things I want you to understand
[00:13:35] about the Christian's relationship to sin when it comes to the work of Jesus. And you'll see there I have power, penalty, but not presence. Power, penalty, but not presence. Three relationships that we have to sin. Every human being has these relationships to sin. Number one, the scripture
[00:13:52] says there is a power to sin. There is a power to sin that if you're not in Christ, if you're not saved, people have no power over their sin. They can't not sin. They can't stop disobeying God.
[00:14:12] And it starts with unbelief.
[00:14:15] Have you, as a Christian, have you ever talked to somebody who doesn't believe and it feels like you're talking to a stone wall?
[00:14:21] Anybody know what I'm talking about?
[00:14:23] Do you know what that is?
[00:14:23] That's the power of sin.
[00:14:25] Sin has darkened their minds.
[00:14:27] Sin has stopped them from receiving and believing.
[00:14:30] Now, the good news is that Jesus Christ, if you're in him, if you've come to faith in him, he has set you free from the power of unbelief.
[00:14:39] he has broken sin's power over your life and now the fact that you believe in Christ is evidence already that sin's power has been broken in you now do you still sin yes you still
[00:14:52] struggle with something called the presence of sin but let me talk about number two the penalty of sin that Jesus Christ on the cross this is so important for Christians to understand and remember that Jesus bore our penalty on the cross for our sins, that God is not going to punish you for
[00:15:10] your sins. He's not going to judge you for your sins. Your sins were judged on Jesus 2,000 years ago. And when he hung on that cross, he said, it is finished. The word is tetelestai in Greek.
[00:15:22] It means paid in full. It means every penalty for every sin for everyone who ever believed on Jesus has been paid by the King of the universe, our Lord and Savior. And if you're in Christ,
[00:15:35] you are freed from the penalty of sin. Amen. You are guiltless before the Father. That's hard to understand. That's a wrestling issue in my own mind, and I'm sure in yours as well, because we
[00:15:49] still wrestle with the presence of sin. The presence of sin is still a thing. And this is what Paul talks about in Romans chapter 7, when he says, listen, I keep doing the things I don't
[00:15:58] want to do and the things that I want to do I don't do and he says there's this wretched sinfulness inside of me and there's this thing inside of me that just lives and I don't want it and I want it
[00:16:07] to death and then he gets to the end of that chapter and he says who will rescue me from this body of death how many can easily resonate with what Paul says in that passage and the good news
[00:16:16] is that this the good news is this when Jesus comes finally and fully at the second coming guess what he's going to do he's going to wipe off sin from the face of the earth and we will
[00:16:27] be forever freed from sin. Number three, he's made us a kingdom. Now, this is a reference to another passage in Daniel chapter two. In Daniel chapter two, and Daniel and Revelation go hand in hand. Daniel is kind of like the apocalypse of the Old Testament, the revelation
[00:16:45] of the Old Testament. And Revelation is very connected to the book of Daniel. In Daniel chapter two, King Nebuchadnezzar, he has a dream. He's the king of Babylon. He's the he's the the leader of the world if you will he's a totalitarian dictator he's an evil man
[00:17:02] daniel a faithful jewish man has been brought in exile under his authority he's been placed with the chief magicians and sorcerers of babylon and he's serving the lord faithfully in the throne room of babylon and and nebuchadnezzar has a dream and it's a dream of a statue and the statue has
[00:17:20] different materials and the head is gold and daniel says that's the kingdom of babylon and that kingdom is not going to last forever and the chest is made of bronze he says there's going to be a kingdom after babylon that's the meat in the persian kingdom and this all goes
[00:17:35] down historically by the way and then the uh the the the way that the legs are iron and he says that's the kingdom of greece or he doesn't say that but that's what happens it becomes the kingdom
[00:17:45] of greece and so there's all these successive kingdoms that come babylon mes and persians and this is historically true, by the way. And then there's the Greece kingdom under Alexander the Great. And then he dies suddenly at age 33 and his kingdom divides into two and this kingdom
[00:18:02] becomes muddled. And then the Romans rise up and that's the feet of clay of the statue. And Daniel says in his dream that there was a rock that was not hewn by a man's hand and it struck
[00:18:13] the feet of that statue and the whole statue collapsed. And Daniel says, here's what that means. Daniel chapter 2, verse 44 on the screen. It says, in the days of those kings, the God of
[00:18:26] heaven, look at this, will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all the kingdoms and bring them to an end,
[00:18:38] and it shall stand forever. The kingdom of God, that rock not hewn by a man's hand, a rock from heaven struck the Roman Empire. And through the church, the Roman Empire crumbled. How many know
[00:18:53] the Roman Empire is on the ash heap of history, but the kingdom of God is still alive across the earth on every continent in almost every country. And people who love Jesus are still coming into
[00:19:06] the kingdom. 2,000 years later, the word of God is true. Come on, somebody. And he says that is who you are. What Daniel prophesied 800 years before this moment has come true in the church
[00:19:25] of Jesus Christ. And then notice this, priests, if you got your Bibles out, underline priests, because that's who you are. Some people think the priest is the guy in the front of the church with
[00:19:36] the funny costume on. No, you're the priest of Jesus Christ. What is that? You're the priest of God. What does that mean? What does a priest do? He represents God to man and man to God. He's an
[00:19:47] intermediary. You understand? That's what you are in Christ Jesus. You are an intermediary between God the Father and mankind. And then it says, to him be glory forever and ever. And then John goes on and he talks about his own testimony. I, John, and I want to bear in here on verse nine.
[00:20:06] How does he identify himself? Number one, he says, I'm your brother and I'm your partner in the what?
[00:20:11] now some of you think that tribulation is going to happen at the last seven years of human history and i do believe that there is a great tribulation that will come in the last seven years of human
[00:20:21] history but understand that at this moment great tribulation was already upon the church when john wrote these words it was illegal to be a christian the roman emperor at the time of this writing, right around 95 AD, was named Domitian. Domitian was a sadistic, evil, wicked emperor.
[00:20:43] He instituted something called emperor worship. You didn't just obey the laws of Rome. You had to worship the emperor as Lord and God. And for Christians, they refused. They knew there was only one Lord and God. They determined in their hearts that they would not bow the knee to Rome.
[00:21:05] Hey, listen to me very carefully. America still is very much asking people to worship at the altar of secularism, of humanism, of sexual fornication, of unrighteous ideologies of the age. And Christians, we've got to be willing to stand as our forebearers did. We've got to be willing to say there's only
[00:21:28] one God and this country isn't it. Come on, somebody. There's only one Lord and it's not the president or the congressman or the governor. There's only one king and we only march to the beat of his drumming. We only follow his lead and we refuse to bow the knee to the idols of our age.
[00:21:49] Well, John, the apostle says, listen, I did that and I got in trouble and here's where I am. I am on the island of Patmos. And like I said, it was a prison colony just off the coast of Asia Minor.
[00:22:01] Here's Ephesus. By the way, John lived in Ephesus for many, many years. And now he's on the island of Patmos as a political exile. Why? Because he loved Jesus. Hey, sometimes when you love Jesus,
[00:22:14] it's going to cost you. Sometimes when you love the Lord and obey him, people aren't going to be good with you loving the Lord and obeying him. And sometimes, listen to me, sometimes that's going to be family. Sometimes that's going to be friends. Sometimes that's going to be your own
[00:22:29] community. To love Jesus is to separate. And he got he got he got persecuted. He says on the account of the word of God, I was on this island. I've been, by the way, to the island of Patmos. And
[00:22:41] there's a place where they acknowledge that John probably laid his head and got the revelation of Jesus. And then he talks about the testimony of Jesus. It's going to cost some people to follow Jesus. And in this moment, on the island of Patmos, after he's been persecuted and rejected by
[00:23:00] everybody around him, listen to me, Jesus shows up. What do I mean by saying that?
[00:23:07] Somebody got to get a hold of something here. You want to hear from Jesus? Most times in my life, and I know many, many men in this church, because I talk mostly only to men who will say the same
[00:23:20] thing. You hear the loudest from Jesus when life is the toughest. You hear the loudest from the Lord when no one else is praising your name. Come on, somebody. You know what I'm talking about?
[00:23:38] He shows up in the hard times of your life. But I want to show you something else from the apostle John, because this is John. This is John, the fisherman who Jesus called. He wasn't a religious
[00:23:55] professional. He wasn't a priest of Israel. He wasn't a teacher of the Bible. When Jesus found John, he was working. He was fishing. He was running his business. The Bible says that Jesus walked along the Sea of Galilee. He saw James and John with their father Zebedee in the boat.
[00:24:15] he said, follow me. And James and John left their father with the servants in the boat.
[00:24:21] Servants, plural. That means that John had a fishing business. He was a working man. He had calluses on his hands. This was not a religious guy. This is not a dainty guy fishing in the
[00:24:33] ancient world. Hard work here in Florida and in America, fishing is a recreation sport for most men. For John, it was his livelihood. And I just think about this. Some of you got to hear me.
[00:24:45] jesus came and found his disciples in the working areas of the world what kind of men does jesus look for i think he looks for working men come on somebody i think he looks for men who are men
[00:24:58] man's men that that have their hands busy in in the stuff of life in building a family building a home and john follows jesus for three years he learns about the kingdom he's got a privileged
[00:25:14] status the inner circle peter james and john and and he's with jesus and he sees jesus crucified the bible says that john was at the cross when jesus took his last breath john is the beloved
[00:25:27] disciple the the friend of jesus the scripture says in acts chapter 3 that john is arrested shortly after the day of pentecost for preaching jesus healing a man lame at birth and this man suffered and and worked and and preached and and and and gave his life to the cause of jesus
[00:25:46] for many many years and then i don't know if anybody's ever picked this up but check this out in acts chapter 12 there's an interesting moment that applies to john the church is running the
[00:25:57] church is growing and then it says that herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church and he killed who james but notice what it says the brother of think about this
[00:26:09] how long would you stay with Jesus if your brother got killed for it he saw his own brother beheaded for the cause of Christ does John give up no he stays strong history tells us that John moves to
[00:26:24] Ephesus he becomes an elder in the church he writes the book of John the gospel of John he writes first John second John third John and and then uh he he is persecuted even further history
[00:26:35] tells us, Tertullian, our church father from the second century, relates this story that the Romans imprisoned John, and then to kill him, they threw him in boiling oil, and somehow he miraculously escaped the boiling oil of Rome, and they didn't know what to do with him, so they threw him up on
[00:26:51] this island in the middle of nowhere, because they had no course to take this man's life, and yet here he is. Now listen, from the moment Jesus found him on the shores of Galilee, all through those ups and downs, those trials and tribulations and walking with Jesus and
[00:27:08] fighting for Jesus and suffering for Jesus. When we get to Revelation chapter one, when we get to this book, this moment, it's 60, 65 years of following Jesus. And I want you to see after 65 years of following jesus what does john call himself he calls himself a servant of christ
[00:27:35] here's my question to you will you remain a servant of jesus no matter what happens in your life 65 years now look i gotta i gotta do something because we got a lot of people coming to
[00:27:52] christ in this church we got a lot of people getting baptized we got a lot of new believers and I'm glad for that. Anybody else glad for that? Praise the Lord. We even had a live baptism down
[00:28:03] here in Apollo Beach just this morning. Praise God for new followers of Jesus. Come on, somebody give praise to God for that. Never get tired of that. But where are you going to be in 60 years?
[00:28:21] Some of you are like, I'm going to be dead. I understand that. A lot of you all are going to be dead. I understand that. I'm going to be dead. Where are you going to be in 30 years?
[00:28:32] where are you going to be in how about 10 years what I'm trying to say is that following Jesus is not a phase amen somebody it's it's not something that you just do because it helps
[00:28:47] you get through a tough season following Jesus is not something that gets you through your difficult marriage look if you make Jesus about getting you through the difficult season of your life, watch out, because someday that difficult season will be over. Will you still
[00:29:05] hold on to Jesus? Some people, and I'm going to step on some toes, but this is important.
[00:29:13] You've made coming to church about finding a good Christian woman, finding a good Christian man.
[00:29:20] You tried the bar. You tried the club, and you realized that those people were freaks and crazies.
[00:29:29] so you decided let let me go to church let me see if i can get me a good christian woman and that might be why you're here today and i think that's fantastic i hope you find a good
[00:29:43] christian woman praise the lord but after you find the good christian woman are you going to serve the lord jesus that's what i love about this chapter in this verse do you understand that the the only word that is repeated twice in revelation chapter one verse one doesn't work
[00:30:06] is the word servant here's what i'm trying to say here's point number one are you ready god reveals his word to those who remain his servants can you serve the lord when life is going terrible. Can you serve the Lord when you've got the diagnosis? Our pastor down here,
[00:30:32] Pastor Tom, he's got a cancer diagnosis. You know what he's been doing? He's been saying, Lord Jesus, have your way through this trouble. I'm here to serve God. And by the way, he's got a good diagnosis from the doctor. No chemotherapy. It's just going to be maintenance, but we're
[00:30:49] praying for complete healing. Amen. Healing. Serve the Lord through your singleness. And then when you get married, serve the Lord in your marriage, because here's something that married people don't tell single people enough. Marriage doesn't solve all the problems you had before you
[00:31:12] got married. In fact, most of the time it just amplifies those problems. And you see all the different issues now that you have because you're married. And how about this? Serve the Lord in your job and then serve the Lord if you lose it and then serve the Lord when you get a new job
[00:31:28] and serve the Lord as you raise your children and then serve the Lord as you see those children start to leave the nest and and do their own thing and become their own people and then serve
[00:31:38] the Lord when you're by yourself again sir in other words I'm here to serve God and I think that's why John gets this revelation because he was I don't know how that happened he was ready
[00:31:53] to serve jesus no matter where he was no matter what he experienced all right jesus said this in chapter 10 he said the son of man has not come to be served but to what serve and to give his life
[00:32:12] as a ransom for many here's a here's a great idea ready for water church some of you you're brand and and what you have never put together and i want to put it together for you is
[00:32:23] that everything that you love about water church is because somebody who got here before you decided to serve you somebody decided to welcome you into the building somebody decided to hand you a cup of coffee this morning somebody right now is incredibly watching your children for free
[00:32:49] i'm some of you in apollo beach you remember this a couple years ago i wasn't preaching so i told my wife hey i'm not preaching she said hey i need somebody in waters kids she put me in waters kids
[00:33:04] i'll tell you i'm not going back i like the pulpit and i'm telling you that is hard what i'm trying to say it's hard work but somebody is serving to make it possible for you to be here to hear the
[00:33:22] Word of God. This is what the church is about. It's about people serving the Lord so that other people can hear about the Lord. Now, here's what you have to put together in your mind at some
[00:33:33] point. Now it's your turn to serve. Now it's your turn to be here for somebody who's not yet here.
[00:33:43] Because we serve a Savior who did not come to be served, but to serve. Can we even claim that we're following Jesus if we're not serving alongside him. And I think some of you, you
[00:34:01] desperately want God to speak to you about your life. You desperately want God to speak to you about decisions that you have to make. But he's asking, can I ask, can I have you serve no matter
[00:34:12] what I say? Can you serve me in the unknown places, in the dark places, in the places where no one thanks you. I thank God for my training ground to preach to you adults. Can I tell you
[00:34:27] that preaching to, I've done Waters kids and I've preached to adults. Preaching to adults is a joy because I spent the first six years of ministry preaching to teenagers and they don't say thank you. They don't say amen. They don't say good job. They just come in, they eat the pizza and they
[00:34:51] walk out the door at least you adults will say good job pastor at least some of you not everybody but some of you will say that was really good today pastor and i appreciate i don't do it for
[00:35:05] that but it's nice to have that and i say all that to say this that the training ground of my job was in the thankless places dealing with teenagers and the lord i think some of you got to get a hold
[00:35:18] of this in your life, that you might not be in a, I'm sorry, you might be in a thankless place.
[00:35:26] Can I tell you, it's a testing space. God is testing. What are you doing it for? Are you doing it for praise? Are you doing it for applause? Are you doing it for rewards? Or are you doing it
[00:35:36] because you love the Lord? It's his church. These are his people. I had to tell myself on a regular basis, these kids who I can't stand, these are his kids. It's about his glory. It's about his
[00:35:50] name my life is for the name of Jesus all right number two God reveals his words to those who regularly respond to his voice there's something you want to hear from God but you don't respond
[00:36:01] when he speaks you don't turn check this out in Revelation chapter 1 how this passage goes down in verse 10 he says and just notice this verse this first phrase I was where I was in the
[00:36:17] on the what now the lord's day we know this from the didache the didache is probably the earliest christian writing from the church is dated to around the first century or a little bit shortly
[00:36:29] after there and uh they acknowledge that the day of worship moved from saturday the last day of the week to sunday the first day of the week and the reason why anybody know the reason why because
[00:36:40] Jesus rose again on what on the first day so Sunday is the Lord's day now they're all God's day but this day is special because we come together as the church all around the world
[00:36:52] the church is gathered together to hear the voice of the Lord pretty cool isn't it but he says I was in the spirit what does that mean how do I get some of you listen you want to hear from God you
[00:37:04] got to learn how to get in the spirit what does that mean well if you notice today when you came into our church, you probably noticed that there was singing, there was worship, and it was spirit
[00:37:16] led. It was spirit anointed. You got to know something. There's a difference between music and worship. You know, anybody can play music if you're talented enough, but it takes an anointed child of the most high God to lead God's people in spirit filled worship. I thank God for the team
[00:37:39] that does such a great job at all of our locations thank god for them they get up early they're here and they're leading us into the presence of god in worship can we give them a hand amen
[00:37:50] thank god for them but what are they doing they're bringing you into the spirit it's the lord say listen it's not just go to church out of routine it's not just check the box i went to church on
[00:38:07] sunday no no no i want to have a spiritual experience with the lord amen somebody i want my heart to be open to what he wants to do in my life you understand when we gather in this room
[00:38:18] at any moment somebody's heart could be completely changed somebody's life could be completely reoriented i mean we've had healings in this church we've had marriages healed i i was so excited i heard this story about someone in our south coast church this is so phenomenal you know
[00:38:39] the sunday morning we like to say is kind of like just the first step of water church there's classes there's uh small groups there's opportunities for you to grow in different areas and there's one
[00:38:48] class it's called re-engage it's for people who need their marriage healed and and and this this couple was coming to our church in south coast but they were miserable in their marriage and they decided to call it quits but they came to one sunday morning and it was announced hey why don't
[00:39:09] you sign up for our re-engage marriage class so they did they signed up for re-engage and this is so funny it's kind of funny on the way to the first class the wife in the marriage dropped off
[00:39:25] her divorce papers with the lawyer went to the class the holy spirit went to work their hearts were broken changed by the holy holy spirit and they decided not to get divorced but she had already filed and she didn't know what she was going to do she gets a call from the lawyer
[00:39:47] the next morning turns out she forgot to sign one of the pages on the documents and they're still officially married. More than that, their marriage has been rescued by the power of the Most High
[00:39:59] God, and a family has been saved through Jesus Christ. Do you know what that's called? That's called the work of the Spirit. Friends, never, ever despise Sunday morning. Never, ever treat it like it's just a routine, like it's just something that you do because you're trying to
[00:40:23] make god happy you understand coming here doesn't make god any happier than he already is he's completely self-sufficient in himself he's not impressed because you're in this building he wants to work in your life but you've got to let the holy spirit so here's some admonition about how
[00:40:39] to get in the spirit are you ready come to church on time i don't know why you're laughing you should be saying amen or ouch how about this come to church and i'm talking to christians now because
[00:40:59] I don't expect this from non-Christians, but how about this? Before you leave your house, how about you pray? How about you say, Father, I'm going to your house. It's a privilege to go to the house of God. I'm excited. I'm going to hear from the Lord. I'm going to see Jesus shown.
[00:41:17] I'm going to see worship. I'm going to join my family of faith. I'm going to be in the presence of the Lord. Father, prepare my heart for what you want to do in my life. That's called elevating
[00:41:28] your experience at Waters Church. Come on, somebody. How about when we start singing, you join in. Now, I'm talking to a church that knows how to sing. You were beautiful this morning and I love it. But everybody should sing. Everybody. The Bible says that everything that has
[00:41:48] breath, praise the Lord. Do you got breath? What did you use your breath for this week?
[00:41:57] Did you use your breath to curse out your neighbor?
[00:41:59] Did you use your breath to complain about the guy driving in front of you on I-95 or I-75?
[00:42:06] Did you use your breath to complain?
[00:42:08] How about use your breath to give praise to the God who's always good in every season?
[00:42:16] Praise the Lord.
[00:42:17] And I believe when you start to do that, you get in the Spirit.
[00:42:20] And when you get in the Spirit, guess what happens?
[00:42:23] Then you start to hear.
[00:42:24] See, there's a lot of Christians.
[00:42:25] you're just routine you just go through the motions friends that's not at all what the lord wants for your life he wants to have a spiritual real experience with you spiritually real and then he heard a loud voice preacher pastor why are you so loud because jesus is loud like a trumpet
[00:42:47] saying write what you hear and send it to the seven churches in asian minor now i want you to see this. Verse 12. Check this verse out. Then I what? I turned to see the voice that was speaking
[00:43:03] to me. This is a key principle in Christian living that you've got to get a hold of. Listen, God will knock on the door of your heart. We're going to read about that in the last part of this
[00:43:17] series. God will knock on the door of your heart, but you've got to open up the door. You've got to respond that's why point number two so important that you regularly respond to his voice uh jesus
[00:43:34] first up he he heard verse 10 and then verse 12 he turned some of you have heard but you haven't turned my my mind goes to exodus chapter 2 3 exodus chapter 3 the bible says that god spoke
[00:43:56] to Moses from the burning bush, the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the bush. And he looked, Moses looked, and he saw that the bush was burning, but it was not consumed. And Moses said,
[00:44:07] verse three, and Moses said, what? I will. What did John, what did John do? He turned. What did Moses do? He turned. And now check this out. When the Lord saw what? That he turned. God called to
[00:44:23] him out of the bush this is not surfacy religiosity this is not going through the motions this is not just showing up at church and checking the box this is lord i am gonna investigate i am gonna
[00:44:37] look i am gonna spectate i'm gonna wait for you to say something to me it's real it's deep it's meaningful my fate one of my favorite verses in the bible james chapter 4 verse 8 says draw near
[00:44:53] to god and check out the last part of that verse and he will what he'll draw near to you is my favorite verse because here's what that verse means it means that you are as close to god as
[00:45:06] you choose to be it's in your court you draw near to him you make the first step and this is for believers, and he will respond and draw near to you. Man, that's so important. You don't want to
[00:45:26] live life without the Lord's presence. You don't want to do marriage without the Lord's presence.
[00:45:32] You don't want to be a father without the Lord's presence in your life. Fatherhood is tough.
[00:45:41] Amen, men? It is hard. These kids are going to challenge you. They're going to make you doubt what you know. In fact, there's a whole stage of life that they're going to go through from age 12
[00:45:52] to about age, well, I don't know. I'll tell you when they get there, where they think you don't know nothing. You're going to need the Lord's presence in your life. Amen, somebody. But you got to respond. You got to open the door. You got to say, yes, Lord, speak to your servant. All right,
[00:46:10] here's number three. God reveals his word to those who remain humble before him. See, you got to have an attitude of acceptance that he's God and you're not. What he says is right. What you think is not
[00:46:29] right. Amen, somebody. Verse 17. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. When you want to hear from God, humble yourself. It's not all about you. By the way, this is not the first time
[00:46:48] that that john saw jesus shining in full strength nope nope it's not the first time anybody know where else it was it's called the mount of transfiguration jesus took peter james and john there he is right there 65 years earlier 65 years earlier all right and he went up on a high
[00:47:09] mountain and he was transfigured and his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white his light and behold not only did they see Jesus in his glory they saw Moses and Elijah wow what a
[00:47:23] moment and then Peter goes talking because Peter always opens his mouth and inserts his foot and while Peter was still speaking behold a bright cloud overshadowed them and a voice from the cloud said this is my beloved they I want you to see this they saw Jesus shining like the sun
[00:47:41] they saw moses and elijah and they heard the voice of the father what i'm trying to tell you is that this this presence of jesus for john it did not become routine it did not become old hat
[00:48:00] that when you get to revelation chapter one and he sees him again in his glory he still falls down before him. You want to hear from God? Humble yourself. Now, our culture does not have a clue
[00:48:19] about humility. No, they love their pride. They love their arrogance. They love their celebration of themselves. Me, my, me, this is my. It is absolute insanity. God resists the proud, the Bible says. He gives grace to the humble. Psalm 25, verse 9 says, he leads the humble
[00:48:46] in what is right. He teaches who? He teaches who? The humble. He says, God, I want to know where I should go. Humble yourself before the Lord. Let him be in charge. Psalm 25, verse 14, the friendship
[00:49:04] of the Lord is with those who fear him and he makes known his covenant. Isaiah 66, verse 2 says, this is the one to whom I will look. He who is contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. In
[00:49:16] other words, God, I lift your word up. This word is more important to me than anybody else's opinion.
[00:49:22] This word is more important to me than the approval of crowds. This word is more important to me than the success of my industry. This word, if I don't hear from God, I've got nothing.
[00:49:32] I want to hear what he has to say. And the good news is that when you humble yourself before the lord he doesn't leave you there no first peter chapter 5 says if you humble yourselves before
[00:49:43] the lord he will what he will exalt you at the right time you know it's uh america's 250 250th birthday coming up july 4th big day 250 years old and everybody's going to think about july 4th
[00:50:02] 1776. But I want to end today by talking about a different date, December 23rd, 1789.
[00:50:10] 1789, December 23rd. What happened? Well, you have to understand that after July 4th, the signing of the Declaration, that led to a war with the most powerful nation on earth, the most powerful empire, the Great Britain Empire, and the monarch of the day, King George III.
[00:50:26] and our Continental Army fought back the greatest army that the world had ever seen.
[00:50:36] And December 23rd, 1789, George Washington, who had just beaten and led the Continental Army and had beaten back the most powerful army that the world had ever seen, walked into the Continental Congress and tendered his resignation
[00:50:55] as the leader of our country's military.
[00:50:59] that moment was unheard of in the history of humanity because all throughout history, if you led an army to overthrow the most powerful army, guess what that made you?
[00:51:14] You now became the king who consolidated power and you now ruled over the whole world.
[00:51:20] And George Washington said, nope, that's not what this country is going to be about.
[00:51:25] And he gave up his post.
[00:51:28] When King George III heard about it in England, he said if he does that he's going to be the greatest man the world has ever seen and apart from Jesus and a few noble saints I almost agree with that but think about George
[00:51:42] Washington uh we got a state named for him our nation's capital is named after him there's a monument to him in the middle of that capital countless rows and bridges and a mountain in New Hampshire is named after that guy. And on the face of every single dollar bill is the face and
[00:52:03] the name of George Washington. This was a man who knew that in humility we served and we fulfilled our purpose in God. He reminds me of John and he invites us into an attitude of likewise manner
[00:52:20] to say, Father, I'm not here for myself. I'm here for your purposes. My life is yours to do with what you want. I need to hear from you. Humble yourself. The Lord will exalt you in due season.
[00:52:36] Hey, sermon in a sentence. God reveals his word to servants who respond and humble themselves before Jesus. Have you heard from God? I believe that there are people in our church right now, every location you're hearing from God right now. And this might be the first time you've ever heard
[00:53:01] from God. Can I tell you that what he wants to do right now is he wants to bring you into his family. Would you bow your heads and close your eyes at every location of Waters Church? Because
[00:53:13] we're going to give you an opportunity to say yes to Jesus Christ right where you are. I like to lead you in a prayer. The prayer is not mystical. It's just a simple confession that Jesus is Lord.
[00:53:30] that's it and if you've never done this this is your chance to do it right now would you say after me say it quietly but say it with your mouth say heavenly father i repent of my sins forgive me
[00:53:45] and make me your child today i choose to follow you i trust in jesus for the forgiveness of my sins and i believe he died and rose again in jesus We'll be right back.