Christ Our Sufficiency

Homiletical Idea: In past weeks we have discussed how each of us is on a journey through this life. That journey will lead us into the time of trouble if we are not laid to rest prior, but that journey will ultimately culminate in the second return of Christ when He rescues His people and takes them to be with Him. In the mean time we must learn to more fully rely upon Jesus for He is our sufficiency in all areas of life.

Journey to the Summit

Almost each year since Sir Edmund Hillary's 1953 ascent there has been attempts to climb the world's highest peak: Mt Everest. The number of climbers has dramatically increased since the early nineties and each year the mighty mountain sees nearly 100 attempts or more to reach the summit; a summit towering 29, 035 ft/8,850 m above the earth. Not all who begin that journey make it to the top and not all who attempt that journey even live to tell about it. It is estimated that there are about 120 people who have never left the slopes of Everest.

Despite the nearly overwhelming physical challenges and political hoops that must be jumped through to attempt Everest, climbers from all over the world come to challenge the mountain, but come really to challenge themselves as they aspire to be counted among those who have stood on top of the world.

If you aspire to mount your won expedition there are many things that you must know. There are many websites that claim to have the best gear, the best guides, and the best prices. But no matter what you choose among the options you are without a doubt going to want to make sure that you take along bottled oxygen. Yes, there are some who have made the climb without it, but they are the rare exception and not the rule. In fact, you do not have to go to Everest to experience a need for more oxygen. It can happen in the Rockies of Colorado too.

Thick Blood

The human body is really quite amazing. When we take oxygen into our lungs the oxygen it is diffused into the blood. Blood can dissolve twice the amount of oxygen as water because of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a specialized protein that binds oxygen to the blood so that it can be carried throughout the rest of the body. What happens at higher altitudes is that the body has an increase in the amount of hemoglobin in the blood thus demanding more oxygen. People find that they have to breathe faster and harder to supply the amount of oxygen that they need and some cannot acclimatize at all and have to get back to lower altitudes to survive. Having along bottled oxygen on a climb supplies this need for increased oxygen.

Our Ascent

I am not sure how many of you have a desire to climb Everest or other famous or not so famous peaks, but I think it would be safe to surmise that each of you here today has at least some desire to ascend with Jesus to heaven when He comes to take us to be with Him, Amen?

As I think about those who climb the great slopes of the world I cannot help but relate that to the weary souls who climb through this life of toil. As you look around the world today there are many who claim to have the right answers to the questions that burden our souls. They say that there are many ways that can lead you to heaven or eternal peace.

The New Age crowd would have us sit still long enough to find that peace and connection with the divine within ourselves. Others would have us believe that we need to drink a deadly cocktail so that in our suicide we can be joined to the tail of a comet that will take us to heaven. Can you say Heaven's Gate Cult?

Setting the Record Straight

Friends, I want to set a few things straight today. You can sit all day long and meditate looking deep within yourself, but unless you have Jesus in your heart all you are going to find is darkness and evil, selfish desires. When I hear the New Age philosophy taunted as the great awakening of the soul my mind is immediately taken back to Romans 3:23. It is in Romans 3:23 that Paul reminds us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. If all have sinned then how many of us have it within ourselves to be holy before our holy God? The answer is that no one can.

What about suicide? I know that this is touchy topic because some of us may have lost a loved one as they took their own life. I am not the judge so I will leave that up to God, but I can tell you that there is not one verse in the Bible that encourages us to take our own lives in hopes of hitching a ride to heaven on a comet.

However, the Bible is quite clear that there is only one way to secure your spot in heaven. That way is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Unless your wagon is hitched to Jesus you have no hope of anything positive beyond this life. Without Jesus all you have to look forward to is the destruction of the wicked after the 1,000 years (Rev 20:5, 15).

I hope and pray however that you will not let that be your lot. I hope and pray that you each will choose Jesus because He has already chosen you.

• He chose you when He left heaven to become a man.

• He chose you when He lived the life of a poor carpenter's son over the kingly grandeur of heaven.

• He chose you when He walked in the wilderness for forty days without food and was tempted by the devil.

• He chose you when He sweated great drops of blood in Gethsemane.

• He chose you when He was beaten with the Roman scourge and the flesh was ripped from His back.

• He chose you when the crown of thorns was pressed into his brow and His head was beaten with a reed.

• He chose you when great spikes were driven into His hands and feet on that old rugged cross.

• He chose you when He looked at His executioners and said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."

• He chose you when He rose from the grave and ascended to heaven to serve as the High Priest of humanity before our mighty Father God.

Transition to the Text

It is my prayer today that each of you will choose Jesus today because without Him we will all pay the penalty for our own sins. And what is so amazing about Jesus is that He can supply all of our needs. Not just a few of them, all of them. He is our all in all.

The book of Revelation beautifully describes how Jesus is exactly what we need no matter what we are going through. No matter what challenges you have in your life Jesus is the answer that you need. I want us to take a journey through the book of Revelation today. I want us to look at the first couple of chapters. We are not going to look at each verse in depth, but I want us to look at the messages to three of the seven churches and see how Christ gave to them of Himself. In each case He gave exactly what was needed.

**Read Revelation 1:9-16**

Notice the imagery that is used here. Obviously these are symbols that point out various characteristics of Christ. Although it came across as a picture of terrible majesty that John beheld, Jesus reached down with His right hand and sought to comfort John. Even in vision Jesus seeks to comfort His followers. He seeks to take the mind away from what is difficult for sinful men to behold, and He turns John's mind and ours back to the task at hand.

Messages for All Time

Even though there were actually seven physical churches in the cities mentioned, the messages given have a universal, far-reaching appeal. Not only to periods of church history that followed after the Revelation was given, but to churches and people living today. Often we hear about the Laodicean Church and how many of us are luke-warm in our spiritual walk, but the other six messages apply as well. Not everyone is in a Laodicean state. Yes, far too many are, but many fall in other categories as well.

Various Needs

Like we have mentioned earlier as we talked about mountain climbing a bit, we each have needs. I feel that our greatest need in this life is to have a personal relationship with Jesus. There are many facets to exactly what that relationship looks like in individual lives, but we all have need of the same basic essential element; our Lord Jesus.

I want us to look briefly at the messages to three of the seven churches and see what Jesus gave of Himself to each of them. I think we will see quite clearly that no matter what our need is, Jesus is the One who can supply it.

Ephesus

The church in Ephesus was zealously orthodox in their approach to Christianity. They walked the fine line of doing everything right. They would not tolerate any kind of heresy. The problem was that they were very formalistic and cold. They were more concerned about the letter of the law than the spirit in which the law was given. In fact Jesus pointed this out and told them that they had lost their first love. Who was and is supposed to be our first love? Jesus. In other words they had all the forms of godliness but they were denying the power of it because they were trying to do it all themselves and they ended up being legalistic and cold hearted.

Notice that their message begins by saying that it comes from the One who walks among the lamp stands and Who holds the seven stars in His hands. What Ephesus needed was to re-focus their attention on the giver of the law and not the law itself. It was not bad that they wanted to be in harmony with all that Christ had given them, the problem came when they tried to do it in their own strength apart from the love of Christ.

So what portion of Jesus did the church in Ephesus need and what portion of Jesus do those who today are overly formalistic and legalistic need? They needed and we need the love and warmth that can only come from turning our hearts and minds daily to the One who is really in control. You see when we try to do everything by the letter of the law and become cold and rigid we are working in our strength.

When we realize that Jesus is the One holding or controlling the seven stars and He is the One who is really overseeing the churches then we can do things in His strength. We should jump at the chance to work in Jesus' power. When we do this our lives will be filled with the life-giving oxygen of Jesus' power. Our labor will not be as exhausting because we will not be relying on ourselves, but instead we will fall on the mighty arm of Jesus for our sufficiency.

Notice the promise to the overcomer at the end of the message: To him who overcomes I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God. I don't know about you friends, but I want to taste that fruit.

Smyrna

If you take time to read the entire message to Smyrna you will realize that it one of only two churches to not be rebuked by Christ. Smyrna was known for being earnest, pure, and growing. They were also a reviled and persecuted group. Despite their persecution they remained faithful to Jesus. They did not waiver in their love for Him or their mission. They kept faithfully plugging along.

What portion then did they need of Jesus? Notice their greeting. Jesus says He is the first, the last, the One who was dead and had come to life. Basically what Jesus is saying to them is that He too knows what it is like to be persecuted wrongfully. It has been going on ever since jealously crept into the heart of Lucifer. Jesus and the Father were accused of being unjust and tyrannical in heaven and Jesus was accused of being a troublemaker while He was on earth. The pure, unselfish love of Jesus is a stinging rebuke to the arrogant, pride of angels and men.

Jesus wants the church in Smyrna to know that even if they have to die for their faith, He will give them life beyond the grave when He comes to resurrect all who sleep in Jesus. Today, you may be one of the millions who are persecuted for their faith. For sure if you remain faithful to Jesus until the end of time you will no doubt suffer because of it. But just like the believers in Smyrna, we too can have the hope of knowing that Jesus will give us eternal life no matter what men may do to us in this life.

The promise to the overcomers in Smyrna is also one of great encouragement. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death. The second death is reserved for the wicked and overcomers will not taste of death a second time because they have placed their faith in Jesus and Him alone.

Pergamum

The church in Pergamum is the last one we will look at today. This church too had its problems, but they were different problems than Ephesus had. The Pergamum church was recognized by and allied with the state. As our founding fathers in this country knew, alliances with the state are not in the church's best interest. The alliances that Pergamum had led ultimately to a compromise of beliefs by some. Notice that the text says they were dwelling where Satan's throne is. Essentially Jesus is saying that Satan's throne is among the state political powers. People wonder why I do not discuss politics with them and this is why. I do not get wrapped up in politics because ultimately it is God who sets up and takes down kingdoms. We may vote this way or that but who is really in control? God is!

As Jesus looked at the church in Pergamum what did He give of Himself to them? In His greeting He said that the One who has the sharp two-edged sword. What is this representative of? The Word of God, right? In Hebrews 4:12 we are told that the Word of God is active and living, sharper than any two-edged sword. The church in Pergamum was essentially wrapped up in ties with the state that led to compromise because they were not rooted in the Word of God. Jesus knew that their greatest need, just like a climber on a high mountain who needs oxygen, was to immerse themselves back in the Word of God.

When you look around the world today and you see churches who seem to follow anything but the Word of God. I think it should make us as Seventh-day Adventists that much more zealous to share our faith that is wholly based on the Word of God. When I meet with people who tell me that they are struggling with life and they feel like their world is falling apart at the seams, I always ask them about their devotional life. I ask them how often they read their Bible and how often they pray. 100% of the time they tell me that they do not read or pray like they used to do. I can promise you that when your devotional life goes, you will see compromise creep into your life. When you rely on your own judgment over the counsel in the Bible you too will allow compromise to come into your life.

Notice once again the promise to the overcomer: To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it. The hidden manna is the living Word Jesus and the Word of God. That which they rejected and turned away from will become their prize. They will also receive a white stone with a new name upon it. In those days white stones represented acquittal. Black stones represented condemnation in ancient courts. Those who overcome with the Word of God will be acquitted of their sins. Is that a good thing friends? You better believe it is. If you are not acquitted of your sins then you will have to face the second death to pay for them.

What about the new name? White stones were also give to the winners of the games and a new name was written upon it. This new name connected the winners with the king or ruler. When you and I receive new names it will be to associate us with our King, the Lord Jesus! That new name will reflect our character as formed through our walk with Christ. I am not sure how much you like your name, but I have always had a bit of disdain for mine. "Darryl" has just never sounded all that great to me. If you too are named Darryl I am sure that it suits you just fine, but I am looking forward to the day that the Lord gives me a new name that He has picked out just for me.

Wrap-up & Appeal

Today we have taken time to look at three of the four churches of Revelation and we have seen that each one had a special need that only Jesus could supply. Even the church that was not off on some tangent theologically or otherwise needed Jesus to keep them in line.

• Ephesus was legalistic and cold and needed a fresh start with their Lord Jesus to rediscover their first love.

• Pergamum was mixed up with politics and that sent them down a road of compromise. What they needed was to immerse themselves in the Word of God. The Word of God will keep us close to the heart of Jesus and when we are close to Him compromise will not be part of the equation.

• Smyrna was the only one we discussed that did not have need of rebuke. Notice that as they remained faithful they were the ones who were persecuted and tried. All those who remain faithful to God will suffer for Him at some point. It may not be such that it leads to death, but persecution will come to those who refuse to reject Jesus and His teachings. Their hope and ours lies in knowing that we will inherit eternal life and we will be allowed to live forever with our Lord Jesus.

I think back to our climbers whose blood thickens as it craves the oxygen their bodies need. The higher they climb the thinner the air gets and the more reliant they are on their bottled oxygen. The same is true with us friends in that the closer we get to the end of time the more we will need to be fully reliant on Jesus to supply our needs. The more unemployment our county experiences, the more people will be forced to rethink their self-sufficiency. If we think that our security relies in a job or career then we are living an illusion. Our only hope and our only security comes from being connected to our Lord Jesus. **Appeal**