Bowing Before the God of Israel: Three Reasons Why Christians are not to be Afraid of the Future

0:58What are some of your fears? You know, they had to rearrange the top ten phobias now that we're in this post-COVID world. You know what a phobia is, right? You heard of arachnophobia. What is that? Fear of spiders. What about acrophobia? Have you heard that? Fear of heights. Very good. Now, have you heard of trypanophobia? You know what that is? That's the fear of injections and needles. That one's kind of moved up the list a little bit over the past couple of years. How about mysophobia? You know what that is?

1:49Excessive fear of germs. That one too has gone up the list, right? But then there are those fears that stay consistent, common fears that consistently rise to the top of the list. Becoming seriously ill, not having enough money for the future, death, dying, a terrorist attack, high medical bills, public speaking. Interesting how that's up there, right? Natural disasters, crime, war, pollution, all of these are consistently rise to the top ten or top lists. What's interesting about these common fears is that most all, if not all of them, relate to the future. Whether it's a terrorist attack, whether it's death, whether it's not having enough money, whether it's a natural disaster, whatever it may be, it really relates to the future.

3:00Well, one of the things that is made very plain in our text this morning, and what we began looking at last week, is that Christians are not to be afraid. They are not to be fearful of the future. And if you bow your heart before the God of Israel, you will not be afraid of the future. Our anxiety, our fears for the future come from an unbelief in who God has said he that he is. We remember the vision. We're working through this vision, this very first vision in the book of Revelation. Beginning in verse 12, John sees this incredible vision. Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the middle of the lampstands, I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet and girded across his chest with a golden sash. His head and his hair were white like wool, like snow, and his eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze when it has been made to glow in a furnace. And his voice was like the sound of many waters. Waters. In his right hand, he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in its strength. That was the vision that John saw. In verse 17, when I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. That was John's response to this vision. And that was consistent. We've seen this individual before. We've seen in Ezekiel 1, Ezekiel sees the glory of God, and he's described in very similar terms. Daniel chapter 10 sees a similar figure described with the very same words and expressions that John sees here.

5:18And like Daniel, John, when he saw him, fell at his feet like a dead man. Look at Jesus' response. And he placed his right hand on me, saying, Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid. And that's an appropriate response on a couple of levels. Jesus is saying, Do not be terrorized. Do not be frightful. Do not be running away in fright. It's appropriate because of who Jesus is. John is in the presence of the incarnation, the manifestation of God Himself, the God who has revealed Himself in ages past.

6:16John is now in His presence. And so there's reason to fear to move beyond that healthy reverence into a debilitating fright. And so Jesus reaches forth His hand, puts it on Him, says, Do not be afraid. He is the kind-hearted Jesus. God has revealed Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. We know Him. We know what He's like. And we couldn't have known God unless God became one of us and revealed Himself in such a manner so that we can relate to Him. And we know the heart of Christ.

7:14And we know we will not be cast out. So we do not have to fear unless we don't know Him. So it's appropriate: do not be afraid. Because of who Jesus is. But when he says, do not be afraid, do not be fearful, it's also appropriate for what John is about to see. John is about to see events concerning the future. Revelation is an epic prophecy. And it speaks about war in heaven, all kinds of things, martyrs, blood, red dragon, beast with ten horns, and a woman riding the beast, drunk with the blood of the saints. Now that would probably alarm you.

8:18There are demons, death, plagues, wars, famines, cataclysmic events, the end of the earthly environment as we know it, the end of human existence as we know it, and that's just a few things. And so it's appropriate for what's coming. What John is about to see, what John is about to write about, what we're about to read about. At the forefront of all of this, do not be fearful. Do not be fearful. And John goes on, or Jesus gives John three specific. Reasons why he is not to be terrorized by the future.

9:09Let me read those words again. Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last and the living one, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death in Hades. So I want you to see three reasons why Christians are not to be afraid of the future. Very important. Number one, Jesus controls the future. First reason why Christians are not to be afraid of the future is because Jesus controls the future. Look at verse 17. Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last.

10:04First and the last. These words imply beginning and end and a purpose for everything in between. It's like what he said in verse 8. I am the alpha and the omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty. The alpha and omega is the almighty. This is a description. Of the Almighty God. The first and the last is a description of the Almighty God, the cause, the goal, and everything in between.

10:45True Christians are not to be afraid of the future because Jesus is the sovereign over human history and human destiny. And by using this expression, Jesus leaves no doubt as to who He is. He is the embodiment of God Almighty. Listen, the only first and last in the Bible is a reference to God. The only first and last in the Bible is the Lord. Yod, Hebah, Hei. The Lord. It's interesting how much Isaiah wrote on this topic. Isaiah wrote many comforting words to the believing remnant of Israel. And keep in mind, in Isaiah's time, they had experienced the decimation by Assyria. They were foretold about the pending decimation by Babylon. Where is comfort in times like this? How does Isaiah begin to comfort?

12:00The people of Israel by proclaiming the one who controls the future. If all of a sudden you see these events are held in the hand of a good God who loves and who is accomplishing his purpose, there's comfort. Listen to some of the words that Isaiah used, and they all anchor upon this expression: the first and the last. In Isaiah 41, Isaiah tells of God's power over the nations. It is in Isaiah 41, it's very clear that God is the first and the last, He's the one who brings forth all generations, even evil military powers. He brings them forth to accomplish His purposes. Isaiah 41:1 says, Coastlands, listen to me in silence, and let the peoples gain new strength. Everyone, listen to me with the deepest kind of reverence and gain some strength. Well, you do. That's Isaiah's message. And what does he? He goes on to say in verse 4, who has performed and accomplished it, calling forth the generations from the beginning, I, the Lord. Yod, hey, Bob, hey, I am the first, and with the last, I am He.

13:49And he goes on in verse 9 of Isaiah 41: You, whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its remotest parts, and said to you, You are my servant. I have chosen you and not rejected you. Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Surely I will help you. Surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

14:28You see, this picture when John falls before Christ, that right hand comes and touches him and strengthens him. I am with you. And the first and last, just as he did in Isaiah 41 to the nation of Israel, as he made the promise of his presence, so he makes again his promise to his people. His presence is His promise. We are not to fear what's ahead. Look, you and I, we know the one who is from the beginning. We know the end. We know the beginning and the end. You and I are somewhere in the in between.

15:19We are not to fear because we know who the first and the last is. Isaiah 44:6. Isaiah goes on to tell of God's power over historic and future events. In Isaiah 44, the first and the last is the one who declares the things that are coming. That's what he's going to do in the book of Revelation. This is what he says in Isaiah 44, 6. Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer. Oh, you love these titles. The Lord of hosts. I am the first and the last.

16:03The Lord, the covenant-keeping God. Yod, Hevav, Heys, we say. The King of Israel, the Redeemer of Israel, the Lord of hosts. I am the first and the last, and there is no God besides me who is like me. Let him proclaim and declare it. Yes, let him recount to me in order from the time that I established the ancient nation. And let them declare to them the things that are coming and the events that are going to take place. And in all this, he says, Do not tremble and do not be afraid.

16:46He has power over historic events, the first and the last. Not only does he have power over the nations, not only does he have power over the historic and future events, he also has power over the material world. And in Isaiah 48, Isaiah tells of God's power over the material world. Listen to what he says in Isaiah 48:12, Listen to me, O Jacob, even Israel, whom I called, I am he. I am the first. I am also the last. Surely my hand has founded the earth and my right hand spread out the heavens. When I call to them, they stand together.

17:38Wow. He calls the power. He is God over the material world, and when he calls, the cosmos came into order. And then he goes on to say in Isaiah 48, 17, Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. I am the Lord your God who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go. Think about that for a second. The first and the last, the one who has instructed order in the physical universe. He is the one who is instructing us in the way to go. Think about the incredible beauty of the cosmos. He's the one who calls it into order.

18:36He is the one who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go. He's the same one. His ways are good. His ways are right. Oh, that we would embrace them. Hurry to embrace them. He knows his people by name. He knows us by name. The first and the last. Isaiah 43:1 says this: But now, thus says the Lord your Creator, O Jacob, and he who forms you, O Israel, do not fear, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name. Name, you are mine.

19:33Listen, that's who God is. We are not to be afraid of the future because we know who the first and the last is. The second reason why Christians are not to be afraid of the future is because Jesus is never going to be superseded. He is never going to be displaced. He is never going to be removed from office. He is never going to cease being the first and the last. Look back at verse 18. He says, Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last and the living one. And I was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore.

20:27I became dead. I am the living one. And I became dead. It's the same word, you know, in John 1, 14, where it says, and God and the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory. It's the same word. And Jesus became dead. The first and the last became dead. And behold, He is the living one forevermore into the ages of the ages. Imagine what John experienced at the crucifixion. I mean, just moments before, just days and even hours before Jesus goes to the cross, the disciples are talking about who's going to be the great, who's going to sit on the right, who's going to sit on the left. There's all this debate going on who's the greatest.

21:31And you can imagine what happened when all the disciples fled, when all of a sudden they saw the hand of crucifixion, the lash of crucifixion coming upon the one who they knew was king, the one who they believed to be the Christ. And they watch him. Those who are brave enough to even stand and watch from a distance saw him crucified. Imagine the loss. But true Christians are not to be afraid of the future, not only because Jesus is sovereign over human history, but he is also sovereign over life itself, including his own life.

22:27John 10, 17, Jesus said, For this reason, the Father loves me because I lay down my life so that I may take it up again. No one has taken it away from me, but I lay it down on my own initiative. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it up again. Jesus said in 11:25 of John, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even if he dies.

22:56Yeah, the death and resurrection of Jesus was all part of his sovereign plan to reveal who he was so that the world would see him to accomplish his purposes. All of this was part of the sovereign plan of the first and last. Jesus' death and resurrection was all part of the plan of the first and the last. And it demonstrated that he himself is in control of human history. I mean, nobody else, nobody, no other prophet made this kind of statement. Yeah, crucify me, kill me, and three days I'll rise again.

23:40No one ever was bold enough to put that one on. But if you're a student of Deuteronomy, if you're a student of the Torah, you know very quickly that there's only one who has power over life and death, and that is God Himself. Deuteronomy 32, 39, see now that I, I am he, and there is no God besides me. It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded, and it is I who heal, and there is no one that can deliver from my hand. It is God who put him to death. All part of the sovereign plan.

24:30But all this speaks of Jesus' sovereignty over his own life. He was in control of his own life. His life, his death, and resurrection demonstrated his control and sovereignty over his own life. It also demonstrated his definite plan for human history. His death had a definite purpose in his plan. What were some of his purposes for his death and his resurrection? Well, I'll mention two. Probably put together a whole lot, but first, the purpose of Jesus' death and resurrection is so that the world could easily identify him as the Christ.

25:24Remember the sign of Jonah that Jesus kept talking about in his ministry? In Matthew 12, 38, some of the scribes and Pharisees came to Jesus saying, We want to see a sign from you. But he answered and said to them, An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it, but the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Luke also picks up this theme. You remember Simeon was the one that came in and said into the temple and sees baby Jesus and makes the statement he is destined to be a sign in Israel for the rise and fall of many. He will be a sign to be opposed.

26:25And in Luke 11, 27, there was this woman, Jesus is teaching, and this woman cries out in verse 27, while Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said, Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts at which you nursed. But he said, On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it. So Jesus is saying, Look, the ones who are blessed are the ones who hear the word of God and observe it. And then the crowds were increasing. And he says, this generation is a wicked generation, for it seeks a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. Think about what Jonah was assigned to the Ninevites. I mean, people don't just come shooting out of the belly of a fish on your beach. And it may very well have been that, and there is history and records that would indicate that the Ninevites did have a fish god, and that here is one that has been in the belly of the fish, and he's thrown up on to the beach. And they're like, okay, we need to listen to him.

27:51Whatever the case, God prepared the Ninevites to receive the message of Jonah. And what happened with Jonah and the fish was a sign so that the Ninevites took it to heart and said, We need to listen to Jonah. And as Jonah preached, they were convicted at heart and they repented of their ways. And Jesus says, For just as Jonah became assigned to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. And no one comes, the grave doesn't spit anyone else. Out, right?

28:32If the grave spits somebody out, you probably listen. And Jesus goes on to say, the queen of the south will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And behold, something greater than Solomon is here. And then in verse 32, the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And behold, something greater than Jonah is here. Remember in John chapter 2, Jesus goes up there for the Passover, and he goes into Jerusalem and he finds in the temple all those who are selling oxen and sheep and doves. They had turned it into kind of a money-making industry. And Jesus made this scourge of cords and he drove them out of the temple. And he says, take these things away. Stop making my father's house a place of business. And then his disciples remembered that it was written, Zeal for your house will consume me. And then the Jews came up to him.

29:44You can think about it. Okay, you just cleared the house. You just really caused a big mess here. You know what the Jews said to him? What sign do you show us as your authority for doing this? Who are you to come in here? And do all this, and what sign are you going to give us to show us that you have this authority? And Jesus said, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. The Jews said, It took 46 years to build this temple, and you're going to raise it up in three days. But he was speaking of the temple of his body. So when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken. Listen, one thing about a Roman crucifixion, it killed you.

30:39There is no mistake. Jesus, the living one, became dead and is alive forevermore. Listen, no prophet or religious leader ever made such a claim. And that was the sign he gave: Kill me. Destroy this temple. I will raise it up. It's interesting that Moses said in Deuteronomy 18:15, The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your countrymen. You shall listen to him. You shall listen to him. You can't miss him.

31:30Just as the Ninevites couldn't miss a man that had been spit up by a fish on their shoreline, neither can we miss the one who has come out of the grave. Listen, these disciples suffered some of the most horrifying things for the testimony that he had been raised from the dead. People don't die for a lie. Why are we still here today? Because there's something enduring, there's truth about this one who has come out of the grave.

32:13And we are to listen to him. As we read earlier in Acts chapter 3, therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. Not only is the first purpose to identify the Christ, but the second reason for the death and resurrection of Christ is to sanctify his people. Not only does it identify the Christ, there's only one who's gone to the grave and come out, but those Who believe in him understand that he is the substitution, he is the lamb, he is the one, he is the sacrifice that God would provide, he is the one that cleanses so that your sins may be wiped away, so that times of refreshing would come from the Lord. He is the one, and it also separates, sanctifies.

33:34Moses said, The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brethren, to him you shall give heed to everything he says to you. And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people. It is in his seed. Abraham, in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. So Jesus had a purpose in laying down his life to show that he is sovereign over his own life, to sanctify those who believe in him, but also to demonstrate his sovereignty over all life.

34:23Jesus, you remember, he is the life. I am the way, the truth, and the life. Life. He is the life-giving Spirit. He is the manifestation. He is the incarnation of the life. Everyone else borrows life from Him. It's His prerogative to give life. It's His prerogative to take life. It is only God who has that prerogative. That's why Jesus's reign transcends for time, space, and eternity, because He is the source of life. Life lives. That's why Jesus will never be displaced, because life never ceases to be life. Life never ceases to live. He is the eternal source for life for every living creature. He is life.

35:32He's never going to be superseded. He's never going to cease being the first and the last. Jesus will never cease being Jesus. And listen, in a world where political alignments are critical for institutional survival, Christians do not need to fear being on the wrong side of history. Jesus is never going to be superseded. We also do not need to fear that we're going to miss out on life in its fullest sense. I think that's one of the fears. I could, a fear of young people and then middle-aged people. Where do middle-aged crises come from? Where do they come from? There's this fear that life is passing us by and we missed out on something. Or a young person, I need to get out and get what I can when I can because life is passing me by. Have you ever heard that? Have you ever thought that? Of course you haven't, but there's people that have, I'm sure you.

36:46You feel like you've got to get out and you've got to go and you've got to apprehend life because it's slipping away. Listen, this isn't our time to experience the fullness of life. This isn't the place. This isn't the time. Oh, yes, we all want to live a full life, but this isn't even the realm in which we can experience life to its fullness. We would do well to learn the lesson from Gehazi. You remember Gehezi? Remember Naaman, the Assyrian, came down to cleanse himself in the Jordan and his leprosy was removed?

37:25And he says, Behold, I know now that there is no God in all the earth. But in Israel, Naaman needed to know that. But then there was Gehazi, right? He wanted some reward. Elisha wouldn't take the reward. No, no, you go on your way, and Gehazi chases after him. You know the account in 2 Kings chapter 5? He goes after him and he receives goods and wealth from Naaman's hand. And he comes back to Elisha, and Elisha says, Look, is this the time to receive money?

38:10Time to receive clothes, and olive groves, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and male and female servants. Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever. And he went out from the presence, a leper as white as snow. Listen, now is the time to make Christ known. Now is the time to be expended, to hurry, to give to him. There are many Naamans of this world who will listen and who will believe and who will forsake their gods and turn to the true God, the God of Israel.

38:58Look back at verse 18. Do not be afraid. I am the living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. I love this expression. It's translated as forever. But a literal translation would be alive into the ages of the ages. Isn't that an interesting way? The ages of the ages. It gives us insight into eternity. Ages of the ages. Humanity is going to pass through the ages of the ages, and there is one who is never going to be superseded through all of that, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. The future, heaven, forever, the ages of the ages. That is where life for the fullest is going to be experienced.

40:06Well, Jesus is never going to be displaced, never going to be superseded. Fourth, third. Third reason why Christians are not to be afraid of the future. Not only does Jesus control the future, not only is Jesus never going to be superseded, but death and the grave serve Jesus. Look back at verse 18. He says in verse 17, Do not be afraid. I am the first, the last, the living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and Hades.

40:46Keys. It's a symbol of authority, ownership, possession. Jesus has the keys of death and Hades. The realm, death itself, and the realm of the dead. Listen, in the Garden of Eden, death was not some foreign, unexpected invader. There were two kinds of death. There is spiritual death, which is separation from God. That's the absence of man having God in his life. That's spiritual death. Man became his own God. Physical death is the separation of the spirit from the body. And death was the absence of physical life.

41:43But it was God who withheld man physically from eating of the tree of life. And Jesus, he has the keys to death. They are his. His possessions, death and Hades. He says who comes in, he says who goes out. They serve his purposes. Already we've seen that death and the grave have served the purposes of God by number one, identifying his Christ, number two, by sanctifying his people, and number three, death and the grave will serve as separating the wicked from ever harming God's people again.

42:36So people who know God do not need to fear death. Death is accomplishing something for God. And I would add a fourth. Death in the grave makes us long for the eternal state, doesn't it? We see decay all around us. We have a graveyard all over here. Loved ones. Listen, I don't pretend to know why some people live and some die. I don't know why people live and die when they do. I don't know why my little brother died so young and I lived. He probably would have been a lot nicer guy than me.

43:23But he died, I lived. Why do so many boys? Young men, 18 years old, die in combat without ever knowing what hit them. I don't know the answer to that. Why are some taken in illness and others not? I don't know. I know death hurts. We all know that. We all know that it hurts. And it makes us long for the eternal state. It makes us thirst. Death hurts. But this I know. I know the one who controls death and the grave.

44:29Death and the grave are not some sort of foreign invader. They are controlled by the kind-hearted Jesus Christ. And he is good. He is good. This life is not where life to the fullest is going to be experienced. That's what the age of the ages is for. And everyone. Everyone that he calls out will experience life to the fullest. You don't have to run out right now and go live life to the fullest. This dimension isn't even possible to accomplish that. I know who holds the keys of death and Hades, so I can trust and I can rest.

45:32Listen, when the one who controls the future, who controls life itself and the destiny of all the living, the one who controls death, the one who controls the grave, when he tells us not to be fearful of the future, guess what? You ought to obey. He's given you good reason. Look back at verse 17. Let me just read this: as John saw the vision, when I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. And he placed his right hand on me, saying, Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last and the living one. And I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and Hades.

46:21Friends, please hear me. I am the first and the last, Jesus says. Listen, before all the kings of the earth came into being, he was there. When all the executive, legislative, and judicial powers of all the earthly powers have completed their final act, he will still be there. His power and authority undiminished. I am the living one, Jesus says. When both small and great have passed by like the morning mist on a hot summer day, he will still live in unrivaled glory.

47:10When all the monuments to the great personalities of the earth are turned to dust and their names are remembered no more, the celebration of his great name will only be getting started. He said, I am alive forevermore, Jesus says. He said, I have the keys of death and Hades, Jesus says. Listen, when all the hostilities against Christ and his people have run their course, when all of his enemies shall be removed, when death itself shall be locked up forever, he will be fully alive, and so will his people.

48:03Fellow Christians, get this. Before you and I ever existed, he was. After you and I have grown old, if we have granted such a privilege, after all our earthly trials and labors have ceased, when all our bodies lie motionless in the grave, when our little empires have withered, and when all of our earthly associations have dissolved, remember, his love for us remains. We will be no less loved then than we are right now or were before we ever existed.

48:53The same love that imagined us, created us, redeemed us, shall endure forever because Jesus endures forever. And such love will compel him to call us forth because he has a mansion. He has his father's house that he wants to show us. And such love will compel him to not only call us forth, but to shower us with his love and express itself in the Age of the ages, a place we call heaven. Are you going to heaven? Turn to Christ today. Confess your sins so that the times of refreshing may come to your soul.

49:49And you will be a blessing to those around you. Let's pray. Dear Lord, let us behold you. A lot of things going on in our hearts and minds, those gathered here today. Lots going on in the world. Lots going on in the nations. A lot's going on, Father. And it's very easy to become dismayed, perplexed, and frightened. But then we come to a text like this, Father, and we are reminded that you are the first and the last. You have declared the end from the beginning, and you have declared a beautiful, glorious end. And we thank you for it.

50:46And, Father, we marvel at the love. Father, we marvel that we didn't just accidentally show up on planet Earth. But that in your love you imagined us and you created us. And Father, when we departed from you, you sent your Son to die for us that we might be redeemed. And you put in place a high priest over our souls, Father, that we would forever be shepherded by the Source of Life Himself. So, all this is so much for us to take in, but let us now just help us to hurry, hurry to repentance, hurry to call upon your name, hurry to walk in your ways.