The Only A to Z

Examples of A-Z

Azusa

Abbreviation

A through Z

in the USA

From a Jack Benny bit

Actual:

Native American word for “skunk”

Amazon

Smile from A to Z

Implies they sell everything from A to Z

Write This Down

John had known Jesus like few had known Him

Lived with Him for three years

Part of Jesus’ inner circle of students

John had (1Jn 1:1)

Heard Jesus with his own ears

Looked upon Jesus with his own eyes

Touched Jesus with his own hands

John had been serving in a church

In Ephesus

Now has been banished to a small island off the coast

Patmos

While we might consider a banishment one form of suffering

Truth was that John was being positioned where he could once more hear and see Jesus

Which would result in John discovering new truths about the nature of Jesus

But to also do something else:

Worship

What we think of when we think of worship

A good feeling

Holy heartburn

Burning in the bosom

Quiver in the liver

If those folks would

Sing the right songs

Preach the right kind of message

Then I could…worship

Truth:

Worship happens when we

Discover who Jesus is

Hear what His Spirit has been saying to us

When we discover a truth about Jesus that we never knew before

Or we are reminded about a truth concerning Him that we have not spent time lately thinking and reflecting upon

So as he was on Patmos, John discovered something new about Jesus’ identity

Shares that with us in Re 1:8

Revelation 1:8

Revelation 1:8 NKJV

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Jesus is worthy of our worship because of these truths about Himself

1. He is Outside

Outside

Of time

Of space

“I Am”

“THE Alpha and the Omega”

“Beginning and End”

Outside

Of time

Of space

Before there was a “was”

There was Him

Why that’s important

If time has a beginning and an end

And if Jesus calls Himself the Beginning and the End

Then by being outside of time

Jesus is not limited by time

Jesus is able to control time

He can stop it

He can make it go backward

He can work within the constraints of time

He can work outside of time

Therefore,

He is never in a hurry

He is never late

2. He is the Center of Time

“Who is”

present active participle—εἰμί

“who continually exists”

“Who was”

Imperfect active indicative—εἰμί

“who always was”

“The Coming One”

“The One Coming”

Pointing to the fact that He will be returning physically to the Earth one day

Vince Lombardi

“Lombardi time”

Usually 15 minutes

Anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes before something is scheduled to start

Idea

If you’re not early, you’re late

Truth about Jesus

If He continually exists

If He always was

If He is the Coming One

Then all of time is focused upon the when of His coming

As it is now

Time now centers around Him

BC and AD

Attempts by secularists to date using BCE and CE

Another way to explain it:

We run not on Lombardi time

We run on Jesus Time

3. He is All-Powerful

“the Almighty”

pantokratõr [παντοκάτωρ]

“the all-powerful One”

used 10 times in NT

9 in Re

What that means

Because He is All Powerful, Christ is fully able to accomplish everything He says He will do

Combine that with the fact that He is Outside of Time as well as the Center of Time

Jesus will accomplish what He says He will do whenever He chooses to do it

Now What?

With what is center stage in world events

Pandemic

Turmoil on the issues that divide America

Social Justice

Cancel Culture

Existence of human-caused climate issues

Typical turmoil on international stage

Iran’s nuclear buildup

North Korea’s missile testing

Now Russia’s troop buildup on border with Ukraine

Realization

World is no closer to peace than it was 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 years previous

Only conclusion:

Humanity cannot heal or repair itself

Regardless of what others may want to believe

Because of its sin

Cause you to stop and think about this:

Among all that exist

Only One stands apart

One who is Outside

One who is Central

One who is All-Powerful

He is the One who stands

Still Sovereign

Still in Control

Still Good

Still loves you

Still wants you to experience the abundant everlasting life that only He can provide

And…has done everything necessary to make this life available to you

Took away your sin problem on the cross

Took away your death problem by coming out of the tomb

Believe in Him to receive it

Follow Him to experience it

Want to know more?

Contact us

When you contrast this with yourself

You had a beginning

You are restricted

To here and now

In your abilities and capacities

Your most immediate response when confronted with this difference ought to be

Worship

Lead into “Is He Worthy?” song