Sermon Notes from the Follow Me series. 13 Reason to Follow Jesus.

Revelation 1:1-8

Follow Me—Why Should I Follow Jesus?

February 14, 2016

There are some pretty serious questions that I have faced in my life, but looking back there was one question that topped them all: Why Should I Follow Jesus? Not only have I asked that question, but I’ve had people ask it of me. Our text today gives us some pretty good answers to that question. READ TEXT

John begins this book of the apocalypse with the words “The revelation of Jesus Christ.” In the end Jesus is the subject matter of the entire book. It reveals to the reader the holy judgment of God the Son against the sin of the world. It also reveals to us His great compassion toward His bride.

1. Jesus is the giver of grace and peace. v. 4  Eph. 2:8-10, John 14:27
2. Jesus is eternal. v. 4 He “was and is and is to come.” John 1, Matt. 1:2
3. Jesus is King. v.4 He is on the eternal throne of God, and He is the ruler of the kings of the earth. Phil. 2
4. Jesus is the faithful witness. v. 5 Heb. 6:18 says, “It is impossible for God to lie.” 78 times Jesus said, “I tell you the truth.” 2 times in John 3:1-7 (the beginning of the story of Nicodemus.).
5. Jesus was once dead but now is alive. v. 5 I Cor. 15:1-23 There were a few people whom had been raised from the dead before the resurrection of Jesus, but all of those people would die again. Jesus died, was buried, and three days later He arose never to taste death again!
6. Jesus loves you. v. 5 Multiple times the Scriptures tell us that Jesus wept. These circumstances were often centered around people whom Jesus loved. Jesus wept when Lazarus died, after He had talked with Mary and Martha. Jesus also wept as He stood on the hills outside of Jerusalem looking down on the city. Jesus also wept as He looked at a crowd one day “wandering aimlessly like sheep without a shepherd.” John 15:13-14 state, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.”
7. Jesus set us free from our sin by His blood. v. 5 Someone once asked, “How much do you love me Jesus?” He answered, “This much,” and He stretched out His hands as they nailed them to the cross.
1. Humanity rejected Him in the garden. Gen. 3 
2. Humanity rejected Him in Jerusalem and crucified Him. Luke 23:15b-23
3. Humanity continues to reject Him, but He loves us anyway.
8. Jesus made us a kingdom. v. 6 He has made us part of His kingdom. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. He will rule and reign, and having been adopted into His family through His blood we have been made joint heirs with Jesus. Rom. 8:15-19
9. Jesus made us priests to God the Father. v. 6
1. Priests were ordained by God and called to service out of a specific group of people, the tribe of Levi. If you were not a dependent of Levi, like Moses and Aaron (Ex. 2:1), you could not serve as a priest. You could not work in the Temple. You could not even care the articles in the Tabernacle as the Israelites moved from place to place. For almost two thousand years that’s the way it was.
2. When Jesus died on the cross, Matthew 27:51 tells us that God ripped the curtain in the Temple from top to bottom fully exposing the place where God dwelt among the people. He opened up the place of His presence, where once only the High Priest could enter. No all are allowed into the presence of God in the Holy of Holies because of the acceptable sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. I Peter 2:9-12

1. Jesus is worthy of all glory and dominion. v. 6
1. The word worthy means “good and deserving respect, praise, or attention. having enough good qualities to be considered important, useful, etc…” Jesus is all of that  that Webster had to say and so much more.
2. In the Greek the word glory is the “doxa” and “doxa” also means praise, worship, splendor, and kingly majesty. Rev. 5:13; Is. 6:1-4; Rev. 1:17  The word translated dominion in our verse means “force, strength, power, might, mighty with great power.” Matt. 28:18 “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth, go therefore…”
2. Jesus is coming again and everyone will see it. v. 7 Everyone won’t be glad about it when He comes. 
1. Matt. 24:30 tells us that those who see Jesus at His coming will mourn. That is the same Greek word in v. 7 that is translated “wail.” But understand that word does not mean repent. They will experience great grief but will not humble themselves willingly before the Lord Jesus seeking forgiveness and mercy.

1. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end. v. 8 Heb. 12:1-2 
1. He is the author and finisher (completer) of our salvation. He is the author and finisher of creation. He is the author and completer of you.

1. Jesus is the Almighty. v. 8

The world is constantly asking, as they reject Him, “Why should I follow Jesus?” So many in the church are, seemingly, asking the same question, “Why should I follow Jesus.?” When it comes down to it, the most simple and yet profound answer given in Scripture is summed up in v. 8. You should follow Him because He is God. 

Every Sunday during the beginning of this series “Follow Me” we have concluded the service with the question, “Will you follow Him?” Today is no different. “Will you follow Him?” I don’t know specifically what that might mean for you, but I do know that God will work a change in you from the inside out if you will humble yourself and follow Him. He will accept you and save you, forgive you and cleanse you, just like you are, but He will not leave you the same.