Louie Giglio - The Reigning Christ In The Midst of His Church
So, the working title of this message today is «The Reigning Christ In The midst of His Church». And we see this in this opening section of Revelation 1. It says in verse 9, «I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom of… and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord’s Day, I was in the spirit,» we’re going to come back to that at some point today, «and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet which said, 'Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches.'»
And then he names these churches that are real places not too far actually, from where he is on the island of Patmos. And then in verse 12, «I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man».
Now, we talked last week that we see this word like a lot in Revelation because John is seeing things no one’s ever seen before. He’s seeing things no human being has seen before. So, he’s never read about anything like this or heard anybody talk about anything like this, other than the Old Testament prophets who also had revelation and were also describing scenes in heaven. But He doesn’t know exactly what he’s looking at. And so, he says, «In the midst of the lampstands, among them, was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to His feet and with a golden sash around His chest».
So, in the midst of the lampstands is Jesus. And we know from the very end, that the seven stars in the hand of Jesus, we’ll see those in a moment, are the angels of the seven churches. Just to touch on that briefly, the angels of the seven churches is interesting. There’s a difference of opinion of what exactly this means. The word angel here means messenger. And so, it’s not literally describing a heavenly being. What Jesus is saying is the messenger of these seven churches. And so, some theologians believe that is an angel that is assigned to each of the churches who is like a spiritual authority protecting, and guiding, and leading that flock.
And other theologians believe that the messengers are the leaders of the seven churches: the pastors, and the teachers, and the evangelists, and the builders. That it’s those people that are the angels of the churches. But either way, there’s leadership for the church. There’s spiritual leadership on Earth in human form, and there’s spiritual leadership in heaven, and the angelic world that is around the church. But in the midst of the churches, which he says at the end, «The seven lampstands are the seven churches». And so, «in the midst of the lampstands, in the midst of the seven churches, was someone like a son of man».
I want us to note first today, where is Jesus? Where is the risen Jesus right now? So, we know He’s not in the Tomb. We know He’s not in the ground. Where is He? We know He’s not walking around the holy land. So, where is He? He’s in the midst of the church. When John saw Him, he saw seven churches, seven lampstands. And in the middle of the seven lampstands was the risen Christ. «So, where is Jesus today»? He’s in the midst of His church? «What does that mean»? It means that the church is connected to Jesus right now in glory and on earth, in this moment in time, and for all time Jesus and the church are one. And I just want us to breathe that in today. Because we all, most, all of us in this gathering today have been around church, and some of you are coming back to church because of things that went sideways at church.
Some of you are in church today kind of suspect because of some other church story that you have somewhere in the past, or you know someone who’s given up on church because church broke down for them at some point. I get that. And the church should do nothing other than be honest about its shortcomings and its sins. But don’t make any mistake, Jesus loves the church. And He is in the midst of it with all of its mess, and all of its shortcoming, dealing with all of us, and our inadequacies, and our failures. He is still in the midst of His church. «Who is telling us about this»? John. «Where is he»? On Patmos.
«Why is he on Patmos»? He says he’s on Patmos because of, «the suffering, and the kingdom, and the patient endurance that are ours in Jesus». That just leapt off the page in a different way to me. I was talking recently with someone who works among leaders of a church in a part of earth right now where it’s illegal to be a leader of a church. And this person was telling me the story of a pastor, this is a little horrific, by the way, just a heads up, who had been arrested and had clippers put on his finger.
And the statement was, «Deny Christ». «I can’t». Lost a finger. Next finger. «Deny Christ». Lost a finger. The next finger. «Deny Christ». He said about his fingerless hand, «I lost all my fingers, but I lead the warden to Jesus». John could relate to that, most of us can’t. When we think of suffering, and the kingdom, and our patient endurance, we’re thinking about the fact that our package hasn’t arrived on time. We’re like, «Lord, give me patience». Somebody is going a little too slow on the two-lane road in front of us and we’re late to the meeting, «God, help me. I need patience».
And I’m not trying to be too facetious, I’m just trying to balance where we all are today. And this church that we are a part of, today, is special. It is under pressure. It is under attack. It is up against hell itself today. And by the grace of God, where we are today, we all joyfully gathered here. None of us were tailed here by the authorities. Nobody was reading your license plate or checking face recognition to see whether or not you were in this building. But that happened at a lot of churches on earth today.
And in a lot of countries where I’ve been expats can go to church in that country, but people who are citizens of that country cannot. And there are facial recognition cameras all over the building so that if one of them tried to go, they would be marked immediately by the authorities and they’d get a knock on their front door or an email saying, «Hey, one visit. We’ll let that slide, but a second visit is gonna cost you». This church that He’s in the midst of is the bride that He is refining for his future wedding feast and for eternity. And He’s in our midst right now.
And like John, and like this dear pastor, and thousands like him on Earth right now, He knows that we need this glimpse to make it to the end. That’s where He is today, if you’re looking for Jesus. He’s in the midst of His church. «What’s He like»? Well, John tries to describe Him. He says, «He was like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to His feet with a golden sash around His chest. His head and his hair were white like wool. They weren’t wool, but that’s the closest thing I can think of when I saw them. They were as white as snow».
Now, John hasn’t seen a ton of snow, but there are snowcapped mountains in the region where he would have lived. And so, he knows what that looks like and he’s got a glimpse of that. And he’s saying that’s kind of what it was like. «And His eyes were like blazing fire, His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and His voice, whoa, woah, it was like the sound of rushing waters».
I imagine that when I’m reading that of being on that boat, maybe you have, that’s gone up into the midst of Niagara Falls, or standing in Zimbabwe at Victoria Falls and just hearing this kind of low rumble. «And in His right hand He held the seven stars,» the leaders of the churches. The angels, or the leaders, or both were in His right hand. Interestingly, not in His left hand, but in His hand of authority, and His hand of power, and His hand of rule and reign, is where the stars were. «And out of His mouth came a sharp double-edged sword».
«What does that mean»? It means that there’s no way of getting around it. You’re not gonna go, «Okay Duke, Juke, Oh sharp over here too. I thought I was gonna be able, somehow, to do a little maneuver, the maneuvering around Jesus». «And His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance». That’s why we came up with this banner for this collection, All-Consuming Fire. «His eyes were like fire and his face was like the sun shining in all of its brilliance». The all-consuming fire is Jesus.
It’s interesting that this is how God describes Himself, In Hebrews 12 it says, «See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth,» so, they’re prophets on earth trying to help people find the path, «how much less will we if we turn away from Him who warns us from heaven»? So, if God gives a human messenger, and we say, «We don’t care about what God is saying through you», to the human messenger, «How much worst shape are we in if God sends His Son, and we say to His Son, 'we don’t care what God’s saying to us through you either? '» «At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, 'Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.' The words 'once more' indicate the removing of what can be shaken, that is created things, so that what cannot be shaken may remain».
And we are in the shaking right now. So that things that can be shaken are gonna be shaken, and they’re gonna fall away. So that the things that cannot be shaken, the eternal, the true, the right, can remain. «Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful». Amen. Can we be thankful today? We’re a part of something that can’t be shaken. What’s coming can’t be shaken. What God is grafting us into can’t be shaken.
So, we’re grateful today, we’re thankful today. And we worship God acceptably with reverence and awe for our God is a consuming fire. Yes, He’s grace and mercy. He gave His life for us. Yes, he is someone who identifies with us in our struggles today because He became one of us. But don’t make any mistakes today. He’s a consuming fire. And in the end, everything that can be shaken will be consumed. And everything that is true, and just, and right will remain because our God is a consuming fire.
So, someone had asked, «What is He consuming»? We’re gonna talk about that at the end of every one of these messages in the next few steps of this collection, and we’re gonna talk about some of the things He’s wanting to consume today. But before that, I just wanna come back to this idea that the reigning Jesus is not the same as the man from Galilee. Now, this is complex theologically because Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He’s always the God man. He didn’t come to be man for a while and now, He’s not man anymore. He’s still fully God and fully man. That’s who He is, but He’s glorified. And so, He wants us to identify with Him in His humanity because He shows us an example of how those of us who are in humanity should live as humans.
So, yes, we’re still relating to Jesus in His humanity. We’re reading the gospel accounts, the eyewitnesses accounts, of Jesus in His humanity and we’re going, «Oh, that’s how you treat people. That’s how you handle that situation. That’s how you deal with that particular set of circumstances. Yes, we’re relating to Him that way, but please understand, He’s not that guy anymore. He’s not just the man from Galilee. He is the risen, reigning Son of God, son of man». «He was like a son of man».
This is hearkening back in John seeing Him this way, and describing Him this way, to the Old Testament scripture. And son of man is a big term of rule and reign. But I just want you to know when you’re praying to Him, yes, He’s close, yes, He put His arm around you, yes, you can walk hand in hand with Him. You can call the Almighty «Abba,» and Jesus is a coheir, or we are coheirs with Him. But He’s reigning now. He’s risen now. And that should change the way that we approach Him and change the way that we walk on earth because of him. «How are some of these things different»? Well, He’s high now, not low. Zechariah was prophesying about the donkey.
«See, your king comes to you righteous and victorious but,» listen to the way Zechariah described it, «lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, on the foal of a donkey, lowly in riding on a donkey». Well, I just need you to know today, Jesus is not lowly. He was lowly riding on a donkey, but now He’s highly. And you’ll see Him riding on a stallion with a double-edged sword coming out of His mouth, and hair white like wool, and face like the Sun at noon. He is now someone like a Son of man versus just a man. And he wasn’t ever just a man, but people perceived Him.
«How can you say this? You’re just a man. How can you do that? You’re just a man. Why should we follow you? You’re just a man». And now, people know He’s not just a man, and we all need to know this today. You cannot just put Him in the pantheon of great religious men 'cause He’s not a man, He’s a son of man. And that son of man hearkens back to Daniel. «In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man». John picks up that exact language, «Coming with the clouds of heaven, He approached the ancient of days and was led into His presence. He was given authority, glory, and sovereign power. All nations and people of every language worshiped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed».
This son of man has all dominion. So, we know where He is. He’s in the midst of the church. We know what He’s like. Significantly different from this man from Galilee because He’s glorified now. All these things were true of Him then. Everything we’ve just said about Him was true of Him then, but He was humbling Himself, becoming in the form of a man, a servant, lowly, reigning in as He would cast off all of His glory. So, that now He is representing God to us in human form, but no more. And so, what has He done? He describes it. If you don’t know the gospel then it’s right here.
If you don’t know the good news, if you don’t know what Jesus is about, if you’ve been wondering your whole life, «What is the point of Jesus»? It’s right here in red, His words in Revelation. In the last book of the Bible Jesus is speaking. He says to the guy who thinks He died, «Do not be afraid». This is the best line in scripture because it means that we got a glimpse. And if God has never had to say to you, «don’t be afraid,» you may have never gotten a glimpse.
If you’ve never felt like, «Oh, man, I just wanna get my face down on the ground right now». Maybe you haven’t had a glimpse. And I’m not trying to sell some kind of, you know, upgraded spiritual mysterious experience. I’m just saying that we’re dealing with someone who’s awe inspiring. And if you’ve never been inspired by awe then maybe your prayer today is «God, I need a glimpse. I need sight. I need to see». «I am the first and the last. I am the living one. I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever. And I hold the keys of death and Hades».
What is He saying to us today? He’s saying that the wages of sin is death. And it’s not inhalation, it’s Hades. «But I got the keys, and I can open that gate and let anybody out. I’ve got the keys». Death is real, Hades is real. But Jesus is saying, «I got the keys. I am holding the keys to death and to Hades. How do I get these keys? I went down there and got them. I was dead, but I’m alive for evermore. That’s how I got 'em. Not literally the set of keys, but by the authority of my Father and the power that He used to raise me up out of death, hell, and the grave, out of Hades, I now am the living one. I went through death and Hades. But look at me. I’m alive, not just now, I’ve alive forever. And in the process of defeating death and Hades I got the keys in my hand».
So, even if you fall like a dead man in front of me, don’t worry. «Even if you were dead, I got the keys to death and Hades. I got the keys to death and ha,» Come on, Passion City Church, it’s not about a moment and a talk. It’s about Jesus. Can we just give praise, and honor, and glory today to Jesus? So, what’s He consuming today? What is the all consuming fire consuming right now? What does He want to consume right now? What about us, what about me does He wanna consume right now?
Two things in this text. One, He wants to consume a casual view of Him. He wants to burn it up. He wants to burn up us putting Him down and putting Him on our level, our buddy. He wants to burn that up. Because if He doesn’t, you’ll still have all your fingers at the end that probably no one will have come to faith in Him. Second thing he wants to burn up is our fears about the future. He wants to consume our fear of what’s gonna happen. I would guess that’s gotta be up in the number one or two fears in this room.
«I am so scared the world is unhinged and I don’t know if I should do this, or if I should do this, or if we should do this. I don’t know what is happening». Well, it’s okay not to know what’s happening as long as you know who’s happening. He says, «I want you to write down what is now and what is to come». And here’s the thing. We’ve been singing about, «In our house we all know how it ends. Our future has been written and there is a reigning King. And because of Him, only because of Him, I can face tomorrow. Only because of Him. Can I face the future, because He lives, and He’s holding the keys».