The Throne - 1

Talked about Jesus priestly ministry

tending his churches - seven letters

now we move more into his kingly ministry

he is sitting on his throne.

shifting a bit from Jesus tending his churches, to Jesus ruling the world.

both of which are present tense - happening now.

Rev 4:1-6 “After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind:”

at the end of Jesus’ letter to Laodicea he makes an interesting statement

Rev 3:21 “The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.”

so - access is granted - but there’s more than that.

sit with me on my throne...

rule. ruling and reigning w/ Christ. Now. In the present.

but imagine who this was written to - the infant church.

obscure, weak, little to no influence.

but they sat on the throne with Christ… and you know what… they believed it.

It was the fledgling infant church that turned the world upside down.

in about 300 years the church went from a dozen people to about 33 million.

the majority of the Roman empire.

that’s exponential - and it’s also generational.

we live in the microwave culture - the we want it now type of culture

if we don’t see results in a week we think something is wrong.

but that’s not the strategy...

Statisticians estimated that in that season of growth the church grew 40% a decade.

but that doesn’t sound great to us does it? Sounds slow… inneffective… like you need a new strategy.

but how many overnight fame preachers can we recall that have fallen?

How many rapid growth churches that won’t preach all of Christ for fear of losing some pew sitters?

How many congregations that were once thriving are now in decline?

Barna reports that all Christian denominations except reformed presbyterians, baptists, and anglicans are in decline. ALL OF THEM.

what’s the difference? How was the early church able to do this and the church today not?

The throne. They understood the throne. They believed that they truly sat on the throne with Christ - and that he was ruling TRULY RULING ALL OF CREATION - and they were ruling with him...

this is what we need to reclaim.

a vision of the throne - a heart convinced of Christ’s rule and reign happening NOW - and be convinced that we rule and reign with him.

Rev 4:1 “After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven!...

“behold!” - pay attention! this is important!

and it also indicates a change - the door to heaven wasn’t always open...

When Jesus was on earth he said something interesting...

John 3:13 “No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.”

1 Sam 28:8 “So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you.””

1 Sam 28:11-14 “Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul.” The king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.” He said to her, “What is his appearance?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage.”

but where was Samuel being “brought up” from?

And remember the parable of the rich man and lazurus? How were they within ear shot?

So what does all this mean? Now the door is open? Jesus has prepared a place for us?

Why does the apostles creed say “and he descended into hell”?

Before Christ’s coming - there was a place that the dead went to. Gehenna, Hades, Sheol, Abraham’s bosom…

and in it, it was divided between the good and the evil. (The Rich Man and Lazarus)

and when Jesus rose, he descended into hades - gathered the sleeping - and “prepared a place” for his people in heaven itself.

and BEHOLD the doors of heaven stand open! Why? Because Jesus went through already.

Why did all those folks rise from the dead in jerusalem when Jesus did?

It was those sleeping, those who “fell asleep” in Christ.

BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR US NOW

Heaven is open… and first that means POWER

Matt 11:11 “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

John 14:12 ““Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.”

how? what? - because heaven is open now. We have access to the throne, the Holy Spirit is poured out, we have POWER

Mark 1:8 “I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.””

Acts 2:2-4 “And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

Acts 2:15-18 “For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: “ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.”

Jesus promised them the Spirit - then poured it out on them, through this door that is open.

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.””

Ok - power - but power to do what?

Have you ever had someone that just can’t see the truth of the Bible even though it’s right in front of them? - No power.

Even seen those trapped in their sin, no matter what they just can’t seem to escape it? They need power!

ELECTION year is coming up - all the wanna be saviors are lining up, state, local, federal - but so far where has the real transforming change been? No power.

Ok got it - but how do we get it??

Well, where does the power to change, transform, obey come from? Christ - on his throne.

In other words - who was ruling and sent the Spirit.

it was Christ.

So if you want his power, you have to go to him.

The DOOR is open - go to him - on the throne - and ask.

and our governments - local or national - can’t change without going to him either.

what if we get a conservative in the seat!?

build a wall? lower taxes? more taxes?

ultimately - none of this matters unless we first get right with Jesus.

AND IT’S NOT JUST POWER

True biblical flourishing -

Mal 3:10-12 “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.”

Psalm 41:3 “The Lord sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health.”

Eph 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,”

So - maybe you’ve got problems?

kiddos? - maybe you need diff methods, but what you really need is power.

relationships? money?

at the end of the day, what you need, is power.

and there’s only one person you can get it from.