Lord of Destiny
About this series
Obviously we are always focussed on Jesus, but in our first series - Just Jesus - we’re going to look, over 13 weeks, at some of the high points in the New Testament that show us who Jesus is, why he’s so wonderful, what he’s done for us and what it means to live in the light of all that.
Sinclair Ferguson wrote, ‘We need to expend our energies admiring, exploring, expositing and extolling Jesus Christ’ - that is precisely our aim in the Just Jesus series. The more we see of Jesus, the more we’ll have to be delighted in and the greater will be our motivation to live for him in our everyday lives.
So, come with great expectation that the Holy Spirit will be powerfully at work leading us to know and love our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
About this talk
Scripture: Revelation 1:4-20
This vision comes to us, v 1, from God to Jesus to an angel and to John and its purpose is to communicate, v 19, “what is now and what will take place later.” To John’s readers, under great persecution, this was to be a hugely comforting set of messages and visions.
In anthropomorphic terms, vs 9-20 brings us a vision of the awesome person and power of Christ. What John heard is described in vs 10-11 and 17-20; what he saw is described in vs 12-16. Despite all he’s previously seen Jesus do and heard him say in the three years he spent with Jesus, there is something so overpowering about this vision that John collapses, v 17. There is always more of Jesus to know and experience - “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better” (Ephesians 1:17).
There are so many descriptions of Jesus here. We spend time looking at just some of them to help us gain a greater view of who Jesus is. Above all, this vision is designed to give John, the seven churches and all who would read it, confidence in the ruler, the Alpha and the Omega, the one who holds the keys of people’s destinies and of history.
We look further into:
To a people under the pressure of persecution because of their faith, what God gives is not solutions to their problems but a greater view of Jesus. What can we do to ensure we keep growing in what we see and hear of Jesus
What difference does it make to know that Jesus is Lord of history and individual destiny?
Can you give some personal examples of times when a clearer sight of Jesus has had an impact on your life?
Audio only
In Revelation 1, John sees a magnificent vision of Jesus. This chapter presents us with the magnificence of Jesus Christ - the Lion, the Lamb, the one of whom all in heaven and earth forever cry “Worthy.”