FEAR - Why Guilty People Run from God — and Why They Shouldn’t

Who in all the world does God oppose?

The proud. We say, "Well, that's got to be my route to wellness and health is to indulge me and myself and I." God

opposes the proud, yes, but gives grace to the humblel.

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand

though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not. I am the first and the last and the living one. I died,

and behold, I am alive forever more, and I have the keys of death and Hades."

When we see something that threatens us such that we fear for our lives, typically our body's fight or flight

response kicks in. We either attack, we fight, or we run, we fly.

But what happens when the threat, when the danger is so colossal that it renders both fight and flight futile? A

fight is doomed to fail. A flight is impossible because we cannot get away.

I've heard stories from people in the face of such dangers who survived them.

And a common theme can be this. They

freeze. They cannot move at all. They

black out perhaps as well. And we have just read of such an episode. The

Apostle John has seen a colossus, an overwhelming terror. He's frozen to the

overwhelming terror. He's frozen to the point of paralysis. He cannot move. He

falls down as if a dead man, as if all is hopeless.

Why? Well, let's revise for a minute the nature of this colossus. We looked at this in great detail in a previous episode, but let me give you the

heading. So, we're in the picture. Verse

heading. So, we're in the picture. Verse

13. This is one like a son of man. So,

for all the fire and the glory and the wall of sound, this figure is strangely manlike. There's a humanness to his

manlike. There's a humanness to his form. This is a person.

form. This is a person.

And then it says clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest, a garment signifying power. This

is the robe of a king. His eyes were like a flame of fire. There's swirling

fireballs lighting up his eyes to remind us what scripture says that all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account. Hebrews

4:13 of his feet. It says his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, because his feet tread down all things that stand before him in

thunderous earthshaking colossal steps. His voice was like the roar of

steps. His voice was like the roar of many waters, for it's heard throughout the entire cosmos. Imagine that, a voice that is heard to the ends of the earth.

It's heard by all creation so that when he speaks the whole universe stands to attention and it is done. In his right

hand he held seven stars. And I want you just to think, we'll get to the meaning of the seven stars in a chapter 2 episode, but think at the scale. Seven

stars in one hand. And these are not the things you stick to the ceiling in your kid's bedroom. These are balls of gas

kid's bedroom. These are balls of gas giants in the sky, and it's as if he reached up and plucked them down from

space and holds them in one hand. From

his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword because he speaks justice. And when the God of the universe speaks justice, the universe listens. And all that is wicked

universe listens. And all that is wicked and evil and wrong will be slain and killed and destroyed.

and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. Just to look at him is to

full strength. Just to look at him is to damage your eyes. You want to see it, but you can't even look. The glory is too hot. It's too bright. It's too much.

too hot. It's too bright. It's too much.

Well, this is a shock.

This is a shock because John knew Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter, the Christ.

He knew him personally. And if you go and read uh the book of first John, John's first letter in the Bible, same author, just a few pages before Revelation starts, he begins that letter

with words that testify of his having, and I quote, seen, heard, and even touched him.

He was an eyewitness to the days of his humanity and humiliation as he lived here with his creatures on earth, the

man Jesus.

Time has passed since those days. He's

an old man as we find him here in the book of Revelation on the island of Patmos in prison for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. Jesus ascended

to heaven years ago. Oh, it's been a a long while since John saw him, but this is his chance to meet him again. John is

given a reunion with this same Jesus.

But you see how different it is this time.

Is this really that same Jesus? Well,

let me quote the Apostle Peter when he stood up just after the ascension at Pentecost and he said, "God has made this same Jesus whom you crucified both

Lord and Christ." You see, things have moved on. He is risen. He is reigning.

moved on. He is risen. He is reigning.

He is ascended. He is glorified. He is

Lord Jesus Christ. And John's reaction this time is not to look at him. and

certainly not to touch him. It is abject paralysis inducing fear.

Why?

Well, psychologically speaking, the sight of the glorified Lord Jesus leaves John apprehending that he must be in

very great danger. This is a fear response. Our text tells us it's a fear

response. Our text tells us it's a fear response. For that's why Jesus says to

response. For that's why Jesus says to him, "Fear not, John." Because John is afraid of what? He's afraid for his safety.

And this is the common experience of those few men in scripture who had the great and rare experience of seeing a vision of God himself. You consider

Isaiah as one of the great examples of this. He sees the Lord high and lifted

this. He sees the Lord high and lifted up upon his throne and the building shakes and smoke pours into the room.

You know, it's interesting in each of these visions, there's very often something that stops the person seeing God or the risen Lord in full strength.

And in this case, the room is full of smoke. It's a haze, right? And the

smoke. It's a haze, right? And the

angels covered in wings say, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts." And on that occasion, Isaiah's fear is manifested. Not it doesn't say paralysis

manifested. Not it doesn't say paralysis and falling down. It doesn't doesn't describe that. But he does cry out in

describe that. But he does cry out in fear. And he says, "Woe is me," which is

fear. And he says, "Woe is me," which is the prophet's way of proclaiming his own damnation.

Woe is a condemnation to hell. Isaiah is

saying, "I am sentenced to hell. My eyes

have seen the king, right? The Lord of hosts."

hosts." See, nearness to God results in a discovery

that we humans otherwise prefer to resist or that otherwise we would lack real clarity on.

Namely, nearness to God brings a discovery of our own sin and our own rottness.

our own fallen state in contrast to his holy glory. That's why Isaiah confesses

holy glory. That's why Isaiah confesses his sin when he's confronted with his own doom. He says, "I'm a man of unclean

own doom. He says, "I'm a man of unclean lips. I dwell in the midst of a people

lips. I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. I'm I'm dirty. I'm

sinful. I'm going to hell." Or consider Adam. You see that before the fall, Adam

Adam. You see that before the fall, Adam spoke with God. He walked close to him in the garden. But after the fall, what

a difference. God becomes terrible to

a difference. God becomes terrible to him. After the fall, he hid in fear and

him. After the fall, he hid in fear and the nearness of God and the speech of God became a fearful thing. He was

hiding away as if wishing that they would go from him. You say, "What changed?" In just a matter of hours,

changed?" In just a matter of hours, what changed?

Well, he became a sinner.

The fear was on account of the discovery of his sin. And even the best humans, even the great Apostle John, are

overburdened by the infinite majesty of the Lord as against their own fallen and damnable state, which they see with awful and unprecedented clarity in the

presence of his glory.

Alexander McLaren calls it a fear that rises from the sight of sin which nearness to God discovers.

Adam, Isaiah, and others, time prevents us from going through them all. They

fear their undoing in the face of his holy glory because of their sinfulness.

See, when we start to come near to the Lord in our sin, we fear a conflict with him. We realize that we are not in

him. We realize that we are not in conformity with him. We realize

that there's a relationship problem. We

we fear that we cannot stand before him.

Indeed, we're faced with our own doom.

And I wish I really wish that we lived in days when men and women would come to grips with

this reality. When we would actually

this reality. When we would actually face it rather than pretend it's not really there.

We live in days when people live in presumption.

They live proudly. Uh our culture is one where men and women rather than fearing God because of what they are, they raise

themselves up instead and they find themselves competing with him for glory.

We say that our true self, our authentic self, our identity, the very thing from which our sin

springs, by the way, the very thing through which sin rules us and perverts us, our fallen nature, the old uh uh

man, as the Apostle Paul would say, uh we say that that's the thing actually that's who I really am. that should

define my life. And we bow and worship what we are in our sin. And we believe it to be the blueprint for our living.

Our lusts, we say we must pursue them and fulfill them in order to truly express who we are. Our coveting, we say, "Well, that's got to be the

blueprint for my ambition and my self-development." our self-indulgence.

self-development." our self-indulgence.

We say, "Well, that's got to be my route to wellness and health is to indulge me and myself and I and live in a perfect

little cocoon of self-erving.

These become the higher values and we cloak them in language, right? Like I

used some of it just then.

Self-development, identity, you know, wellness. Okay,

these are a cloak for living after that very thing which pits us against God.

We're so far away from God that we haven't seen ourselves, our true selves, our identities for what they truly are.

We're becoming all the things that the colossal Lord Jesus confronts in his holiness and indeed will one day destroy for all eternity.

This is why we live in days when people are so hardened against God. It's as if somewhere deep down in the recesses of

their psychology, they know that to allow themselves to look at him, to allow themselves to get near to him and apprehend him even just a little bit is

a grave and an awful threat to their love of themselves and their sinning.

If they would do that, they would have to face the fact that their true and authentic selves will damn them in the presence of his glory.

So, they won't speak of him. They won't

think of him. They'll live a life distracted in every possible way. And

they'll say, "Don't talk about religion and politics in polite company." And

they'll say, "Don't tell me about that message. I don't like the religious and

message. I don't like the religious and and religion. I just think God is God to

and religion. I just think God is God to me. What I would like God to be. God is

me. What I would like God to be. God is

that force that that is out there that serves my interests. And we proudly make God in our own image. Because

you know people are angered by the proclamation of him. Why? Because like

Adam, they rather hide from him. Because

to discover him is to discover their sin. And to discover their sin is to

sin. And to discover their sin is to threaten themselves.

People don't want to face that. So they

spend their lives in hiding.

But the Christian is not immune from a similar problem. Not quite the same. They're not hiding in uh hardened

same. They're not hiding in uh hardened unrepentance and without salvation.

But we do this thing and God forgive us.

We can do this thing where we become distant on account of our sin. Sometimes

we too try to hide away.

A prayer life grows colder. We think he doesn't wish to hear from me. Our sin

confronts us. You see, when we are near to God, something must be done about those sins in our life. When we face

God, complacency can't survive nearness to God. Our sin confronts us when we're

God. Our sin confronts us when we're there.

This is why I believe we've reduced him in modern Protestantism from this colossal Lord as he is so evidently

revealed to us in this day of the church. We've reduced him to only Jesus.

church. We've reduced him to only Jesus.

We've reduced him to the point where we see him still as the carpenter, the man. We see him still as the one who

the man. We see him still as the one who the disciples followed in the dusty streets of Judea.

And yes, he's that and he's more than that. And that's what John had to come

that. And that's what John had to come to grips with. Things have moved on. He

is that. He is son of man and he is more.

We need to see him as God in his ascended glory.

But see, he's less threatening when we keep him down on earth. And instead of our sin, we can say brokenness. As if we all just need a little bit of therapy.

And his gospel is far less about my broken relationship because I'm judged and damned in my sin and fallenness from which I need redemption. And it's more

about his coming to fulfill me, fulfill who I really am. And that's suspiciously reflective, is it not, of the worldly culture of our day.

Pride and presumption of the condition in which people of our day live and against the proud and the presumptuous, this Lord Christ is a treacherous and a

terrible foe. the sword of his mouth,

terrible foe. the sword of his mouth, the fire of his eyes, the roar of his voice, the sun in full strength. Pride

and presumption cannot stand before them because pride and presumption will ensure that that sin which pits you against him has never been dealt with.

In fact, it has been amplified, doubled down on in your resistance against him.

And yes, he offers mercy for a time.

Perhaps he's offering mercy in your life. But the day will come when he will

life. But the day will come when he will judge finally and totally. And James

warns us, God opposes who in all the world does God oppose? The proud. He

opposes the proud.

But what about John?

What about a different kind of person?

What about the soul in which there's something special, something different?

Not pride and presumption. Look at John falling down in this way. In John,

there's something a little different, a lot different. There is the opposite

lot different. There is the opposite thing. There is humility and repentance.

thing. There is humility and repentance.

And so you say, well, what about the soul that is humbled before Christ? Not

the proud and presumptuous, but the one who is humbled by their sin.

Well, what about the soul who in his presence knows their sin, hates their sin, yearns for release from their sin, actually sees it in some measure, gets

it. That's unusual in today's world. But

it. That's unusual in today's world. But

when a work of God takes place, there's a conviction that starts to emerge. And

the other half of that verse in James is God opposes the proud, yes, but gives grace to the humble. Look at the stark

difference. The Lord Jesus in his glory

difference. The Lord Jesus in his glory becomes a totally different encounter to such a person. And we see this in his

treatment of John in our text. It says,

"But he laid his right hand on me." You

think, "Oh no, it's over." Uh-huh. He

says, "Fear not. Fear not."

And if you followed this series, you may remember as I passed through the detail of each of these glorious descriptions of the risen Lord Jesus

Christ. I said that each one of them is

Christ. I said that each one of them is either one of two things. It is in fact it's both at once depending who you are.

Right? It is utterly terrifying or it will come to you as immensely comforting. Depends who you are. And if

comforting. Depends who you are. And if

you're John with a sight of your sin and a knowledge that it is your undoing in the presence of God and you seek release and you come penitently, he deals with

you very very differently because that thing which separates you from holiness and glory and light is the thing which

you would bring to him for a solution.

and the sun shining in its strength.

Remember that's the metaphor of his face. Uh which would burn up and destroy

face. Uh which would burn up and destroy the proud and presumptuous who conceal and hold on to their sin. Is to you instead a son of warmth that brings healing and life because that's the

other function of the son in this world.

For he is, and I quote the prophet, the son su n of righteousness with healing in his wings. And the same glory, the very same glory that gave you a sight of

your sin, as you started to draw near to God and find out who God is and see him in his reality and see the Lord, that same glory that gave you that sight and

that conviction is in this paradoxical way, the very same glory that will redeem and heal it. For in that glory is

his work of salvation.

And that explains why he says the words he says here in this text. The words he says, you say, why of all the things he says, fear not, John? And we'd expect some kind of therapy session after that,

wouldn't we? You can do it. You're

wouldn't we? You can do it. You're

strong. You're this, you're that, you know, a pep talk or something about don't worry, uh, I'll fight off your enemies. No, the credential he gives

enemies. No, the credential he gives goes way deeper. It's way more fundamental and significant in the light of what's going on. The credentials he gives are the credentials of his

salvation.

The credentials that show he is the savior of sinners. Assuring John that he has what's necessary to redeem him, to

save him, and to heal him. Right? I was

dead. I'm alive forever more. Right? I

have the keys of death and hades. He's

reciting to John his salvation work for him. But also if that is true, if he's saying to John with his hand on

him, fear not, I am savior, fear not. Right? He's also saying to him

fear not. Right? He's also saying to him actually this great power that you've seen, this great glory, this great revelation of my might, this colossus

that is me ruling all things and the cosmos and the world and history and everything in it. Actually,

all of that now is the Savior's power to guard and to keep and to advance the cause of his

people. It is my salvation and my

people. It is my salvation and my strength actually that I have for you. And that's

why in full, this is a moment above all to fear not. Fear not. He says, "I'm the first and the last and the living one. I

died and behold, I am alive forever more and I have the keys of death and Hades."

John, I am God and to you I am savior and you are in my strength. Let me

remind you of my credentials which are going to set you back on your feet and put a spring in your step as we look to the future and cast out fear. Well,

let's look at those credentials. Let's

look at them, the clauses of this statement. But notice first, it's his

statement. But notice first, it's his right hand that he places upon the fainting and fearful apostle. And if you read the Bible and you read the verses that refer to his right hand, you know

something. It is always a reference to

something. It is always a reference to the hand of his strength. My right arm, he says that is by strength. And when

he's extending his strength to someone or something, he extends his right hands. And when Daniel fainted at the

hands. And when Daniel fainted at the sound of his voice, a similar thing happened uh in Daniel 10:10. He says,

"Behold, a hand touched me which set me upon my knees, strengthened me, lifted me up." And with the comfort of comfort

me up." And with the comfort of comfort of those words, fear not, the Lord also gives him the strength of his right hand. Because his strength

hand. Because his strength is our strength. We've been saying uh that the great encouragement of this chapter, the theme that comes to the

front over and over again is that we belong to the one to whom history belongs.

And his power is over history. And he is the one who rightfully rules it now, having done his great conquering work over the things that were taking it to its doom so that he might rule it to its

glory. And he's doing that, yes, for his

glory. And he's doing that, yes, for his own for for God's own purposes and for God's glory. Yes. But guess what that

God's glory. Yes. But guess what that includes? It includes the preservation

includes? It includes the preservation of the redeemed through it all. This

colossus is the colossus of the true Christian. This is your colossus. Our

Christian. This is your colossus. Our

colossus. Look at our Jesus now. The

strength of his right hand is upon you in this day of his reign. And that's

that's the key to the book of Revelation. That it's not just that the

Revelation. That it's not just that the future is Jesus Christ. It doesn't say the revelation of the things that must soon take place. It says the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave him to

show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He is the future but also you are his.

His command of the future is one that addresses the needs and the preservation of his people. His right hand is upon you. Now let's turn more deliberately to

you. Now let's turn more deliberately to the phrase fear not. He placed his right

hand upon me and said fear not. See,

John's fear was wrongly placed.

It was actually based on wrong thoughts about his savior. You say, "Martin, you've just been telling us that they were right thoughts." Ah, it depends who you are, doesn't it? Remember I said this is either immensely threatening or

greatly comforting depending on who you are. And John is one who belongs to the

are. And John is one who belongs to the Lord Jesus. He's a a man who has been

Lord Jesus. He's a a man who has been brought through repentance and faith in his finished work. And yet John from that standing and position fears his

undoing in the presence of the glorified Lord. But see this undoing is not for

Lord. But see this undoing is not for the humble. This undoing is not for the

the humble. This undoing is not for the penitent sinner. This undoing is not for

penitent sinner. This undoing is not for the saved. Rather you see how that Jesus

the saved. Rather you see how that Jesus so tenderly deals with him in this case.

It's not like he's dealing with the proud and the presumptuous. It's the

exact opposite because John's conviction is actually his salvation. Remember we

mentioned that paradoxical reality that actually the same glory which uh enliven us to the awareness of the sin which has kept us from God which is

sending us to our doom that same glory is the healing and salvation that is ours. That's why when people are

ours. That's why when people are convicted, you you you actually want to rejoice in the fact that God is convicting you of your sin, that your guilt weighs heavily upon you because

actually it's that very moment that is the same moment in which a salvation is available. This is the great problem

available. This is the great problem people have in their conviction. They

either run from God like Adam did hiding at first or they run to God. And

actually that very same God who is convicting them is saving them. Because

part of his glory, his glory is the outshining. His glory

is the manifestation of who he is. And

part of that is that he is savior. He is

savior of convicted sinners. And that's

what Jesus meant in the gospels when he said, "I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." And

actually, if you listen to the teachings of the Lord in the Bible, there are none righteous. No, not one. None is good

righteous. No, not one. None is good save God alone, said Jesus. And so, he's not saying actually there's righteous people here that don't need saving. What

he's actually saying is the self-righteous.

What he's saying is there are those who are proud and presumptuous, who live without conviction, who know not their condition and their state. Well, there's

no salvation for that person. Salvation

is to the one who knows they are a sinner. And you see how we can have

sinner. And you see how we can have wrong thoughts about him like John did.

It's easy to slip into this false apprehension of him on account of our guilt. We detect righteousness and glory

guilt. We detect righteousness and glory and we run. But no, our guilt must drive us to him, not from him.

This goes for both the Christian and the non-Christian. When the non-Christian

non-Christian. When the non-Christian hides uh from bringing his conviction into the light before him, they fail to realize that if only they would to trust

him, they would be saved.

Repentance and faith, right? Two sides

of the coin, which are salvation.

And when the Christian feels wretched and discouraged, we must not mistake his glory for his coldness and rejection.

You are wrong to fear if you know your sin. Our sin must not distance us, but

sin. Our sin must not distance us, but it must draw us near because it is only he who has the answer. It is only he who

is the savior of sinners who did a work which we're about to look at in dying for sin and rising to save you.

Actually, it's our nearness to Christ which is the single greatest force for our sanctification to progressively free us from sin and

grow us in righteousness.

I'm going to give you a couple of examples of this practically.

one about uh one on pornography and one on pride.

Uh as you know something that entraps especially young men is pornography. And

I recall a period of time in ministry when I was doing a number of youth events and I had quite a number of young men in quick succession asking me always in great distress how they could get

free of this sin once and for all. And

it left me wondering what the best answer to that question might actually be. I thought, am I answering this as

be. I thought, am I answering this as well as I could? And so I asked someone who has a ministry to men on this very issue. And I said to this guy, I

issue. And I said to this guy, I remember I said, I've heard, I've been told there's no silver bullet, but if there was one, what would you say that

it is? And his answer was this. He said,

it is? And his answer was this. He said,

'If a young man has a steady daily discipline of focused time in prayer, in scripture reading and devotion, and if

he really does all three of those things, and he does so every day with discipline, and he does so sincerely, not as a rhythm or something cold and

detached, but really does it, really commits to it, he said, the strangle hold of that sin will ultimately ly fall away. And that has been his universal

away. And that has been his universal experience.

And you know something that makes perfect sense.

The men uh who spoke to me, they were so ashamed.

They were brought so low and they were expecting such judgment from God and they would say, "I fear this is going to

happen. I fear he'll never allow me to

happen. I fear he'll never allow me to marry. I fear this. I fear that.

marry. I fear this. I fear that.

But what they needed to see from that position, that position of having been brought low in conviction actually in repentance and

humility, that is the position into which the Lord speaks his word. Fear

not, and extends his right hand.

That is the position in which you don't want to hide away from him because of your sin. That is the position from

your sin. That is the position from which you must go to him with your sin.

Whatever it is, and there's many possibilities and you say, "But but I did that already. I did that three times. I did that whatever. Whatever."

times. I did that whatever. Whatever."

Do it again.

Don't hide yourself because the humbled and the penitent sinner is welcome and he seeks that you would come to him for grace to help in time of need. And that

place of nearness is the place of his strength.

And in so dwelling there consistently, I tell you, it will be the biggest force of sanctification in your life.

He will heal you.

I remember uh actually on this front I remember I had two distinct experiences on the same day. I had one young man come to me and he said, "I look at all

kinds of filthy things and you know what? I just don't care. It doesn't

what? I just don't care. It doesn't

convict me."

And my answer to him was, "It is incumbent upon me to tell you that you are going to hell."

And he visibly recoiled when I told him that uh and it opened a conversation.

And I said that because of this very principle. He resists the proud. The one

principle. He resists the proud. The one

who is not convicted, who cares nothing for who he is and what he's become, who doesn't see his glory, is not near. It's

a very very very dangerous place to be. And that person requires confrontation as Jesus always

confronted the proud. Always. And he did not treat them with kid gloves ever.

But such a different answer. It was the same day another young man came and he was as utterly broken as anybody who's ever spoken to me about anything. Um and

he was broken down and weeping. And so

with him, I took him to Psalm 103 where it says, "For he has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor

rewarded us according to our iniquities.

But as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his mercy, his withholding of his judgment to those who fear him."

fear him." See, if that's you, never fail to go to him in your sin. You say, "I'm not welcome there." Yes, you are. Fear not.

welcome there." Yes, you are. Fear not.

He placed his right hand upon me. See

what John experienced.

And you know that in nearness to him is the force for your sanctification. Oh,

it may come because we're such great sinners. I mean, we really are. And it

sinners. I mean, we really are. And it

may come slowly and painfully. It'll

come. it'll come in his presence. What

folly it is that we run and hide.

Absolute folly. The worst thing you can do. I recall uh in that regard being

do. I recall uh in that regard being asked about another sin during a Q&A. It

was at an event in Brisbane, Australia.

Uh and someone asked uh there was two of us on stage answering questions and I asked, "How do you keep yourself from pride?" And I think uh they were a bit

pride?" And I think uh they were a bit worried because it was a big event. They

probably thought we were going to get big heads. Uh which is fair enough. And

big heads. Uh which is fair enough. And

I sat and I thought and it came to me to answer this way. And I've often reflected, it's funny, sometimes you preach to yourself in your answers and you go away and you learn something. And

I said, "Stay near to the Lord Jesus."

In fellowship with him, you'll never fail to be kept in your place, to be brought down from your throne and

understand what you are before him, a redeemed, saved sinner by his grace alone. And it's there in nearness to the

alone. And it's there in nearness to the Lord Jesus that the size of my sin is ever before me. But it's also there in nearness to the Lord Jesus that the

scale of his salvation, my need of it, and my rejoicing in it. And the wonder of it is evident to me. It is there that

his greatness and my weakness are in clear view at the same time. And that is the antidote.

Ah, yes, there's sin discovery and nearness to Christ and we hate it. Don't

hate it because it's sin discovery. The

glory that reveals that to you is the glory that will save you from it because he is savior. That's part of his glory.

That's part of the manifestation of who he is. I wish we would stop keeping our

he is. I wish we would stop keeping our distance, Christians and non-Christians alike.

To the humbled sinner in fainting discouragement, he will only say, "Fear not."

not." And he lays out his credentials.

Credentials of his power, his right hand as we've seen them. And credentials of his salvation, the credentials which enable the fear not because he saved us

from our sin. And notice what he says next. And these are still the

next. And these are still the credentials of his salvation. I am the first and the last and the living one.

Why would he say that next? Why would

that be the first thing? Fear not.

Right? I am the first and the last and the living one. Interesting. Why start

there? Well, because actually, you think about it. He's saying to John, "Fear

about it. He's saying to John, "Fear not.

I am God.

It is God you're in the presence of. I

am the son of God, the second person of the Godhead. You are here in the

the Godhead. You are here in the presence." No. This awesome power that

presence." No. This awesome power that reaches up and takes stars from heaven.

this awesome power that shakes the universe with his voice. It's not a demon. It's not a malignant entity. It's

demon. It's not a malignant entity. It's

not Satan. No, it's God. He rules. He's

the one who is the colossus of the ages and history. And John, he's not bad.

and history. And John, he's not bad.

He's good. John, he's not unholy. He's

righteous.

John, he's not against you. He is for you. Now you suddenly realize something.

you. Now you suddenly realize something.

If God is the one who is this great commander of all things, the greatest power of all things, the king with the robe and the golden sash, uh who will in

the final analysis by the miracle of his sovereignty see all things come to pass according to his final will and purpose and end. If it's God in that position,

and end. If it's God in that position, then our sin is our greatest problem.

Right? So no wonder he says God is in that position. All evil and sin and hell

that position. All evil and sin and hell will be judged. But fear not because I'm the savior. Because for you actually

the savior. Because for you actually this one who is the greatest force actually this one is savior is for you.

If you are one who has come in humility and repentance. Oh,

and repentance. Oh, that means you're in the greatest possible standing before the one who commands the ages. That means the ages are commanded with your wi your

interests in mind.

Well, no wonder we fear not. This great

force is God. If it were malignant or dark or a demon, there'd be no salvation. It'd be all doomed and over.

salvation. It'd be all doomed and over.

Oh, no. Oh, it's quite different. Um,

and then he says, 'Look at the extent of what I've done for you. If you doubt that I am for you, look at this. I died.

I died. That's how much I am for you.

Um, the literal translation is, I became dead. That's He wasn't always dead, but

dead. That's He wasn't always dead, but he died for a time. You say, why did he die? Well, he died under the justice of

die? Well, he died under the justice of God against sin. It was poured out upon him. It was the justice John should have

him. It was the justice John should have faced. It was the justice I should have

faced. It was the justice I should have faced. It's all been paid, John. This

faced. It's all been paid, John. This

colossus has no ground to destroy you.

God has no prosecution against you that is for your final damnation. That's

resolved. I resolved it. I died. I died.

And he continues, "And behold, I am alive forever more." He's not going to die again. Forever he lives. And what a

die again. Forever he lives. And what a great consolation that is from the resurrection to you and to me. from his

endless life. He is alive now.

Christ lives so that I might live forever in the benefits of his salvation.

The deity, the life that is in God. I am

the living one, right? It flowed over his manhood as Christ, right? And so he was never going to be held by the grave.

And now he says in salvation it will flow over your humanity as well and you too will not be held by the grave. You

will live forever. And that's why he concludes and I have the keys of death and Hades. Hades is the place of the

and Hades. Hades is the place of the dead. Right? Um why would he go there?

dead. Right? Um why would he go there?

Why is that the crescendo? Well, think

about it. If death itself is no longer a problem, then nothing's a problem.

He goes to the most undefeable thing in the world for the finite human death and he says don't worry I've defeated even

that in your salvation and maybe John feared his death at this particular point. Jesus is saying no no no I've

point. Jesus is saying no no no I've conquered death for you. He uses the image of having the keys of death and Hades, meaning to say, "Even these

things are under my command. I lock them and I unlock them." Right? And you say, "Well, how did he get those keys? How do

you get the keys to this uh passage of going into death and entering the place of the dead?" How does he unlock that?

How does he have power over even that?

Well, we know something. Death had an entrance, but it had no exit.

You could check in, but you could never check out of death. That was the reality. That's why it's the most

reality. That's why it's the most undefeable thing. Right? Absolutely.

undefeable thing. Right? Absolutely.

Something that from which there's no coming back. You go in, you don't come

coming back. You go in, you don't come out. That is until the man who was truly

out. That is until the man who was truly God entered it. And by his power and because of his righteousness, that is

that death had no hold on him because it death is for sinners. He conquered it and he walked right out again. It's like

he built an exit. He constructed a emergency exit door on death and he minted the key to that exit and he's

holding it today. You say, why does he hold it? Well, he holds it for us.

hold it? Well, he holds it for us.

Because you see, death is still an impostor in God's creation. We need to be careful not to pretend that death isn't a tragedy. I

think sometimes we go too far and we think that death death must be a nothing. It's not a nothing. It's

nothing. It's not a nothing. It's

horrible. It's a tragedy. It was never in a perfect world. It was never in the very good world of creation. It was

never meant to be. God is life. He's the

one. I am the living one, right? He's

the one who lives forever more. And that

life was to be ours, too. Remember the

tree of life was in the garden. The tree

of life will be in the new Jerusalem.

But sin, the fall brought death.

Satan brought death and death reigned.

It was the thing that had the final say over every existence, the last word. And

it remains because it is an impostor. It

remains a dark and lonely door that we all must enter. The journey there is one of weakness.

is one of fading.

It's one of coldness, isn't it?

Loneliness, finality.

To grow near to death is to grow weak and cold and reach an end.

And it's a mysterious thing. It's a sad threshold to cross.

It is a dark portal to enter.

It is Hades, the place of the dead. But no sooner shall the redeemed enter death, and our

savior will show up with the key, and he will open the back exit for us and walk us out into glory. Hades isn't a dead

end for the Christian, for the redeemed.

It's a thorough affair. Oh, it's a nasty one. No, though I walk through the

one. No, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, it's a not a nice passageway, but the light is shining just on the other side.

You know, it makes me think of the Apostle Peter in prison. Hades is

described as a prison. I think in 1 Peter 3:19, a weird and hard verse, but I think you could probably take that much from it. And when Peter went to prison in the book of Acts, he was

asleep in his cell and he was awakened from his sleep by an angel, but he didn't know what was happening. He was

in a daysaze. He was numb. And the angel led him through that prison. And when

they got to the gate of the prison, we read that it opened of his of its own accord.

For of course, who had the key?

Well, the Lord did. And when he came to himself, when he snapped out of that haze, he found that he was standing in the city, doubtless a little perplexed

for a moment, with the dawn breaking overhead. He was delivered.

overhead. He was delivered.

That's what the Lord Jesus Christ has done with death for his redeemed.

Perhaps we will be stirred from that dark cold sleep by an angel, led through the, to quote the scripture, the gate of the Lord into which the righteous shall

enter and left standing in the sunlight of his glory in that great garden city, New Jerusalem, where he will be our God

and we will be his people. And that sin, that sin that blighted us and this world will be no more.

I don't know if you feel this, but I do. The world is a weird place right now. I think nobody really knows

right now. I think nobody really knows what's going on.

And we live in a time when a lot of people who don't really know what's going on like to make it up and podcast it. And it's a war of theories and

it. And it's a war of theories and tribes are opening up and splinter groups and everybody's against each other.

And mostly what they're saying is whatever keeps their audience coming back. And the fact is they don't know.

back. And the fact is they don't know.

They fill in the gaps with vague speculation become very self-righteous that they've cracked the code. They join

dots which may or may not even join.

And I think as we sit in this world of rising conspiratorialism, a chaos and chorus of voices, acrimony,

we're more and more ruffled by it.

The political podcasts are not what they were. The more time you spend in them,

were. The more time you spend in them, the more you get a bit desparing at best or really quite shaken up at worst and it starts to weigh on your mood.

Listen, there is a standing that you may have this very day in which you can fear not. and it is

humbled at the feet of the Lord of strength and salvation.

Draw near to him with your sin.

For he gives grace to the humble who are there in repentance.

And he says to you, "Fear not, for he has all the credentials of salvation from judgment, from death into his life.

And he places his right hand upon you to bring you into the arm of his strength because he rules all this madness and misery and hell and death. And he rules

it with your security and your progress in mind. For he did a great work to save

in mind. For he did a great work to save you and to make you his own. And that is the great purpose of history.

Fear not, for you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom the future belongs.

Amen.