So friends, as has been reminded already a number of times this morning, it's the second
last day of the year.
Tomorrow, TV stations and newspapers will reflect upon the year that has been in the
news and what there is to look forward to in the year ahead.
Traditionally, it's a time to reminisce and it's a time to plan and also a time to get
over Christmas lunches.
For me, 2012 has been a hard year.
How has 2012 been for you?
And so there are things about Christ that I need very much at the end of 2012.
As I reminisce on the year that's been and as I think about the year ahead, I need the
perseverance of Christ in the midst of affliction.
I need the energy and strength of Christ in the face of depleting resources.
I need the wisdom of Christ in the face of complexities of life and ministry.
I need the stability of Christ in the midst of rapid church and personal changes that are
happening around me.
I need the assurance of his sovereign authority in the culture, which is sliding further and
further away from his truth.
And so, two days before the end of the year, I want us to take a year-end look at Jesus.
The last look of Jesus, if you like, together for 2012.
And we're going to do that in Revelation chapter 1.
I want to, if you like, linger for a while with our gaze simply on Jesus.
As we think about the year that has been and the year that is to come, we need to fix our
gaze on Christ.
Why do that?
Because of all the uncertainty that surrounds me for the year ahead, I am certain of one
thing.
God's specific plan for me and his specific plan for you is that you be transformed more
and more into the image of the Lord Jesus.
That was the message of Christmas after all, that Jesus came to save and to change.
And true gospel change of a person's character comes from steadily gazing at the glory of Christ.
That is what 2 Corinthians 3.18 says.
So that is that God's desire for you in 2013, as it was for 2012, is that you be transformed
more and more and more into the image of the Lord Jesus.
And the way he does that is by getting us to gaze upon the glory of the Lord Jesus again
and again and again.
That is how you get transformed.
So let's look at Jesus together for one last time in 2012.
According to Revelation chapter 1, you need your Bibles open here, Revelation chapter 1.
Go right to the end, Revelation, and then go back to the beginning of Revelation.
The second half of Revelation chapter 1 verse 9, John was exiled on the island of Patmos
because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
And so what John's writing first and foremost here to Christians who lived and died almost
2,000 years ago.
Christians who lived in the Roman Empire and they were about to face the biggest nightmare
that you can imagine.
John hints at it right at the beginning when he talks about what must soon take place.
And again, at the end of verse 3 when he says, because the time is near.
You see, these Christians were about to face the full force of the Roman Empire.
And according to the Roman writer Suetonius, the Roman Emperor Domitian, who was the kingpin
in the Roman Empire when John wrote this, he demanded that all the people in the Roman Empire
referred to him as the Lord God.
That was his request.
And so John is writing to a bunch of Christians who are about to be fed to the lions.
Christians who are about to be exiled, thrown out of their jobs, destitute refugees because
they refuse to call a Roman Empire Lord God.
So this message is first and foremost to them.
Those who are feeling the pressure to stop bearing witness to Jesus, to stop calling him Lord God
and call a bloke who sits on a throne in Rome Lord God.
To stop talking about Jesus as if he is important.
And notice who this message is from that comes to John.
Verse, it is from him who was and who is to come.
Verse 5, it's from Jesus Christ, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth,
from him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood.
Verse 6, the one to whom power and glory belong forever.
Verse 8, the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty, the ruler, in other words,
from eternity to eternity.
You see, Domitian might be the emperor of the Roman Empire, but he is a library monitor compared to Jesus.
You see, this word ultimately is a word of comfort and security for hard-pressed people of God.
And one of those whom is hard-pressed and feeling insecure is the apostle John himself who writes these words.
You'll notice that if you read verses 1 and 2 and link them to verse 9,
you'll see that he is hard-pressed.
Because what John's been doing is he's been bearing witness to Jesus.
And already it has got him into a heap of trouble.
And he says there's more trouble coming soon.
Friends, it is just around the corner.
Notice John knows exactly what he's going to be like.
Because he's already facing it himself.
John's writing from exile.
You don't see it at first.
Because there's just a casual mention in verse 9 that he's writing from the island of Patmos.
You see, Patmos is a prison island, six kilometers long.
These days, it's got over 3,000 inhabitants.
And it's full of five-star resorts and luxury villas.
But not in John's day.
In John's day, he wasn't there for a holiday.
He was there as an old man sentenced to work in the quarries.
Because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
And so what John says in writing this letter is that he is their partner to these seven churches out there,
to the churches of Asia.
I am your partner in suffering.
Jesus was so real and so precious to John that he would rather be exiled in a barren island,
cutting stones with a hammer,
than to not talk about Jesus.
But now on the island, God gives John another remarkable glance.
One remarkable chance here to gaze again on the glorious Lord Jesus.
He gives him a vision.
But he does this not just for John,
but for these churches in Asia and ultimately for us.
For these churches who are suffering,
for those who are tired and weary and running out of steam
and they are confused and disheartened and disenfranchised.
They are insecure.
So in verse 10, John says that he was in the spirit on the Lord's day.
So much so that suddenly I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.
And the voice says this in verse 11,
Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches.
You see, this means that the vision John is about to get is not just meant for John,
it's meant for these churches, but it's also meant for us.
And the point of writing it down is to transmit to us the same kind of experience
of seeing the glorious of Jesus that John himself had on that island.
Jesus does not intend to come to each of the seven churches
in the same way that he came to John on the island of Patmos.
He appears to John and says,
John, write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches.
John gets the vision, we get the book.
He wants us to come to him through his word.
He wants us to seek him in his words.
He wants us to know him by his word.
He wants us to gaze upon him steadily through his word.
The primary way of gazing on Christ today on his glory is through his word.
And so we must be Bible-saturated people
in order to be transformed into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.
So let's look at what John saw.
Verse 12.
John turns to see whose voice was like that of a trumpet in verse 10.
And what he saw was seven golden lampstands and Christ in the midst of them.
Notice verse 20 for an interpretation of the lampstands.
It says,
The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand
and of the seven golden lampstands is this.
The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches
and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
You see, the vision of Jesus that John gets
is him amongst the churches.
Christ Jesus standing amongst his churches.
He is not merely over his church.
He is not distant from his church.
He is in the middle of his church.
And what John saw, according to verse 13,
was one like a son of man.
Son of man was Jesus' favorite title for himself
during his ministry here.
You might think it refers merely to his humanity
and so it is a title of humility
and it's certainly probably that.
But in this instance, it is more than that.
Mainly because of its use in Daniel chapter 7,
which Betty just read out for us.
In Daniel, the term son of man or one like a son of man
refers to a great ruler over all other rulers.
It says this in verse 13 of Daniel 7.
In my vision at night, I looked and there before me
was one like a son of man 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 peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away
and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
That's the son of man who John saw.
And so when John says that he saw a son of man standing in the middle of the lampstand,
he means that he saw someone with everlasting dominion
and authority and glory and kingly power.
Someone with authority over all the nations and over all peoples
who would rule the world forever and ever
because his kingdom will never be destroyed.
Unlike Domitian.
The one who stands among the churches
is the one who received from the ancient of days
dominion and glory and kingdom rule and power and authority in heaven.
and on earth over all time and eternity.
Then we get a specific description of what he saw.
The next thing John saw in verse 13
was that this son of man was dressed in a robe
reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.
The robe here is similar to the robe in the Old Testament
where it almost always refers to the robe of the high priest.
And the gold sash around his chest shows two things.
The fact that it is high.
It is not a belt around his waist.
It is a belt around his chest.
And sometimes we do see that, don't we?
With pants that are up just a little too high.
But in this case, it reflects that his priesthood is so very, very great.
So very, very great.
Jesus, not only the son of man from Daniel 7
who receives everlasting dominion over all nations,
he is also the final high priest
who brings all the work of the priests in the temple to an end.
There is no more need for animal sacrifices.
Verse 5 says that this Christ who has dominion from everlasting to everlasting
is the one who has freed us from our sins by his blood.
He is a merciful, gracious high priest.
The priest is so great that he gave his own blood once and for
to put away all sins by the sacrifice of himself.
And this is the one who stands amongst his churches.
The one who stands amongst us today
as one with authority and everlasting dominion
and one with final decisive forgiveness for our sins.
The merciful, gracious Lord Jesus.
Then John sees in verse 14
that his head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow.
This is remarkable because in the same chapter in Daniel
where John gets this picture of the one like the son of man,
in verse 9, God the Father is described like this.
As I looked, thrones were set in place
and the Ancient of Days took his seat,
his clothing were as white as snow
and the hair of his head was white like wool.
In other words, John is describing the son of man
in terms used by God himself.
You put this picture together with the next thing that John saw
in the end of verse 14.
Oh, sorry.
Yeah, the end of verse 14.
It says there that his eyes were like blazing fire.
The eyes of this son of man are not the clouded eye of fading glory.
These eyes are sharp with clarity.
They are purified eyes.
They miss nothing that happens in his universe
and they are exploding with energy.
We all know what it is to have the drooping eye of sleep.
And some of you are yawning right now.
That is about to go.
You know what it's like.
The eyes are closing.
We also know the eye of resentment
and the grumpiness and the half-shut scowl
and the bad mood.
We know the eye, however, that is alive with wonder
and with excitement and with hope and expectancy and energy
like a child on Christmas Day
with a huge present right in front of them.
And Jesus' eyes were like a flaming fire.
What we see then is hair as white as snow
and eyes like fire.
When you gaze upon the Jesus at the end of 2012,
remember that he is not tired.
He is not burnt out.
He is not fatigued.
Instead, his eyes are aflame with a flashing fire
of inexhaustible energy and hope for his church.
He sees everything that has been
and everything that will be.
Nothing will take him by surprise.
And when Jesus thinks about his plans for you in 2013,
when he thinks of his plans for St. Paul's
and for his country and for his universe,
he's not hesitant.
He's not wearied.
He's not bored.
His eyes are aflame with fire
with utter exhilaration and passion
and relish for the work that he intends to do
as another year's pieces are put in place
for the consummation of history
where everything will bow down at his feet
and say, you are king.
But there's more.
There's the bronze feet of verse 15.
A similar picture of glowing metal
is found in Ezekiel and Daniel
in both the brightness of shining metal
or like a fire is connected with the glory of God.
They are the feet of a glorious
and almighty conqueror over everything.
Again in verse 15,
is the voice like the sound of many waters.
Again it describes the majesty of God
as you might see in Ezekiel.
It is a picture of raw power.
The thunder of his voice is authority.
And then there is the right hand with the seven stars
and the sharp sword coming out of his mouth
and his face shining like the sun in full strength.
What do you do when you're confronted
with such power and authority
and splendor and glory?
Verse 17,
When I saw him,
I fell at his feet as though dead.
As at the end of times when Jesus comes back
and people will say,
let the mountains fall on me
rather than be confronted with this Jesus.
Share awe.
He is not to be trifled with.
He is not to be treated with disdain.
Who can stand in the presence of such a Christ?
And to John's immense relief,
this judge, king, majestic, eternal ruler,
reassuringly in verse 17,
placed his right hand on John
and spoke words of comfort.
Do not be afraid.
I am the first and the last.
I am the living one.
I was dead and behold,
I am alive forever and ever.
These are astounding words of comfort
for a prisoner of the Lord Jesus.
Jesus' deity are implied
in the threefold I am statements
and in the title living one
and by his sovereignty over history
as the first and the last.
So this morning I want you to gaze
on this.
The great I am,
the living one,
the first and the last,
is amongst his church St. Paul's
as the son of man,
the one with power over Chatswood
and with everlasting dominion and glory.
He is the great high priest
that has put away the sins of his people
once and for all.
He is the great and wise ancient of days,
yet with eyes that are aflame
with the fire of youth and energy
and hope and exhilaration
for his unstoppable plans for you
and for his church St. Paul's
and for his world.
Gaze upon Jesus in the last days of 2012
and let his royal power
and his priestly forgiveness
and his fiery hope
fill you with confidence afresh
that serving him in 2012
was not a vanity.
And it is not a vanity
to throw your lot in with him
in 2013.
How encouraging
it must have been for John
in his weakness and need
on the island of Patmos
feeling
what was just around the corner
for his brothers and sisters
in the seven churches.
What an encouragement
that the revelation of Jesus
was as the powerful son of man
in the midst of his church
in their weakness and need.
So let me close this year
and this last word,
this last look at Jesus
with three points of application.
One for me,
one for a small group of you,
and one for all of us.
As I said earlier,
as I began,
this has been a tough year.
As I recently read,
there are a few things
that will reveal to you
the full range of your sin,
immaturity,
weakness,
and failure
like gospel ministry.
There are a few things
that will expose
your weakness to others
as consistently
as ministry does.
There are a few endeavors
that will put you
under more public expectancy
and scrutiny
like ministry does.
There are a few things
that are as personally humbling
as ministry is.
There are a few endeavors
that have the power
to produce in you
such deep feelings
of inadequacy
as ministry does.
And I read those words
and I wept.
I have become
more acutely aware
of it this year.
Our church has gone
through a number
of painful transitions
and I feel
every one of them.
This time,
we had 30 people more
gathering with us
each Sunday
this time last year.
There have been
a number of difficult
and ongoing
and very painful
pastoral situations
where I don't have
the answer for it.
I don't know
what to do.
We are $120,000
behind on our offertory.
The school was rejected
at Roseville East
by a handful of people.
The gospel appears
to be making slow progress
in our culture.
The staff are tired.
I see fragility
everywhere I look.
And at points,
my resources
have been very low
and I feel weak.
I am weak.
So what a wonderful picture
this is for me
in my weakness
and need.
The King of Kings,
the Lord of Lords,
stands in the midst
of his church
and he has done
remarkable things
in 2012
in spite of my weakness.
It is his church.
He is Lord over it.
He is not distant from it.
The only answer for me
is to fix my gaze on him,
to turn,
to look
and to see
the Lord Jesus
again and again.
It is essential
for longevity
and effectiveness
of ministry
that I spend
more and more time
communing
with the Lord
of St. Paul's Chatswood.
Secondly,
some of you
are feeling insecure
and fragile
because of the
cultural changes
that we have made
over the past number
of years here
at St. Paul's.
And for those of you
who are feeling fragile,
I am acutely aware
that some of you
are about to feel
even more fragile
because a dearly loved brother
is near death.
For many decades,
John Donne has been
a source of wisdom
and guidance.
He has been a rock
in hard times.
He has thought for you.
He has prayed for you.
He has encouraged you.
He has rebuked you.
He has taught you.
For some,
he has grown
to become the primary leader
in the church,
a source of security
and stability.
And although he hasn't
been here all year,
he has been
only a few streets away
and at the end
of the phone
and potentially
within hours,
certainly within days,
he won't be here at all.
And you'll look around
for the first time
in decades
and John won't be
sitting in a pew.
And that will
unsettle you.
That will be tough.
You will feel insecure.
And for some,
St Paul's will feel
even more so
different
than what it has been
without John.
And in those moments,
I call to you
as your pastor
to turn around
and see Jesus.
To fix your gaze
on Jesus
in your insecurity,
the Jesus
that John has been
pointing you to
for decades.
The triumphant,
eternal Lord Jesus
stands in the midst
of his church,
St Paul's,
and he puts his hand
on your shoulder
in your weakness
and your fragility
and he says,
I'm still king.
I am the living one.
Last of all,
for all of us,
what are your
new year resolutions?
And do they have
anything to do
with serving
the almighty
King of kings,
Lord of lords,
who is
and was
and always
will be?
And do they have
anything to do
with being transformed
more and more
into his likeness
in 2013?
What is it
that you want
Jesus to change
in you
in 2013?
What area
do you need
to let go of
that he might be
not just king
of St Paul's
but king
of your heart?
Let's pray.
Our gracious
Saviour
and eternal
Lord,
help us,
your church.
We are slow
to learn,
so prone
to forget,
so weak
to climb.
We are in the
foothills
when we ought
to be in the heights.
So make it
our chiefest joy
to know you,
to treasure you
and to represent you.
May we meditate
on you,
gaze on you,
sit like Mary
at your feet,
lean like John
on your chest,
appeal like Peter
to your love,
count like Paul
all things rubbish
that we might
know you
more and more.
So give us
increase
and progress
in grace
in 2013
that there may
be more decision
in our character,
more vigour
in our purposes,
more fervour
in our devotion,
more constancy
in our zeal,
rule in our hearts
and over your
church St Paul's,
Lord Jesus,
King of kings
and Lord of lords,
the beginning
and the end,
the living one
who was
and is
and yet is
to come.
Come Lord Jesus.
Amen.