Sermon 1-18-09
The Alpha and the Omega
- Revelation 1:8
Audio Sermon
The Alpha and the
Omega
“‘I am the Alpha and the
Omega,’ says the Lord God,
‘who is and who was and who is to come, the
Almighty’” (Revelation 1:8)
What is God like? The place that we hope to go
to someday, the place we call “heaven!” What is it like? Scripture uses
many words to describe our Lord, such as “the
Alpha and the Omega,” which are the first and last letters of the
Greek alphabet. These are words stating that in the beginning He already was,
and when everything we know about is gone, He still will be (Revelation
1:8). There is nothing in eternity like “death” for Him or for anybody
who is associated with Him. Sadness and sorrow will be no more. And even
“time,” which we take for granted, does not seem to exist in this
“heaven” we are headed for.
We know about time that there is a “yesterday”
we can look back to and may wish we could return to it, but cannot go
there. There is a “tomorrow” we cannot see or visit, but we assume it
will come. Books and movies are written in which time travel is
presented as possible, but these are just fantasies – we are locked in
these moments we call the "present."
In the Bible, we find glimpses of God’s
perspective on what is called “time.” And it suggests that what we think
of as
“yesterday” and “tomorrow” are “right now” with Him. In the Old
Testament particularly, God, through the prophets, often presents a
future event as though it happened in the past. An example is Isaiah
Chapter 53 where the past tense is used for events that would happen
hundreds of years later. For God, the events had already occurred.
Isaiah Chapter 53 said about Jesus that “He is
despised and rejected by men… He was despised and we did not esteem Him…
He has borne our griefs… He was wounded for our transgressions… the
chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are
healed… the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all… He was
oppressed and He was afflicted… He was laid as a lamb to the slaughter…
He was numbered with the transgressors and He bore the sin of many, and
made intercession for the transgressors.”
The same is true for many of the Old Testament
prophets. There is a surprising disregard for tense – There isn’t a
past, present or future for the Lord who created time, and the prophets
of God caught a glimpse of this. The entire scope of human history is
sometimes portrayed in a few verbal brush strokes, for it is all just
the blink of an eye to God.
It’s true. One of the aspects of God and the
place of His throne, is that there is utterly no time. No tomorrow
exists, except as today, and there is no yesterday, which does exist,
but it, too, is occurring right now. In the Book of Revelation, we catch
an intriguing look at a “crystal” sea and
river, “trees of life,” a green “rainbow” around the throne of God, living creatures
covered with eyes, with four faces, wings and more (Revelation 4, 22).
It all is thought to be in the future, and in a way it is, but the
reality is that for God and those who are with Him, it’s right now and
it always was.
The constant changes we experience in our lives
are only about the earth and the temporary state of the universe in
which we live. There will be a point at the end of the age when all
shall be NOW and nothing else. Everything will be fresh and new. There
shall
be no regrets about the past because there won’t be any. No worries
about the future because everything is literally NOW. We won’t need long
distance telephones because everything will be right here. Time and
space will not exist as we know it, for everything is right here.
It’s not only the lack of time and distance that
is confusing to many about God and the place where He is. God Himself is
far more than our ability to understand and we tend to project our human
limitations onto God as though He has them. He does not. When we think
about someone or something, other persons or things are momentarily not
in our minds. For us to “unwind” is to be so absorbed that for awhile we
forget about everything else. God is simply not like that. He utterly
sees each one of us and our needs to the smallest detail, along
with everyone else who exists – all at the same time. When David said, “O Lord, You have searched me and known me… You understand my
thought afar off… (You) are acquainted with
all my ways… there is not a word on my
tongue, but behold O Lord, You know it altogether…” (Psalm 139:1
& forward), it was not only true about David, but it also is true for
every person, each creature of all places and times that have ever
existed or will exist. God HEARS and responds to your prayers, your
needs – and to
mine – right now.
And what about those prayers? Why does Almighty
God care about our prayers? We saw in Psalm 139 that God our Creator
knows everything about us; our thoughts, words, deeds, hopes –
everything. Since He already knows about us – why does He want us to tell
Him about it? He demonstrated utterly that He loves us by sending His
Son to die for our sins (John 3:16), and many understand that fact, but
why is prayer necessary?
The same could be asked about marriage. When two
become one as a result of the marriage ceremony, they each pledge love
to that other person. You are promising to love them even if they get
sick, are maimed in some manner, or get something like Alzheimer’s
Disease and forget who you are. If the person you marry already knows
you love them because you married them, is there a need to tell them so
again?
Yes, emphatically yes. It is important to tell
your beloved that you love them and to show your love as well. Your
spouse needs and you need to hear and see love because it will give you
both the strength and the joy needed to run this race we call “life.”
But for God, who loves you without limit even if you become an
outrageous sinner for some reason, God already knows your heart. He knows it when you
repent and turn to Him once more. Why do you need to tell Him? Because
He has given prayer to you as a gift that reveals His presence in Your life. It is YOUR love that needs to grow; YOUR faith that
needs to mature; and it is YOUR awareness of Him that must develop.
Jesus said, “Everyone who
asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be
opened” (Luke 11:10). Does that mean you will always get a new
car or a million dollars, every time you pray? No it does not. The
context continues, “If you then, being evil, know
how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” (Luke
11:13). God will give you more than just your need of the moment – He
who is “the Almighty,” the “Alpha and the Omega” will give you – Himself.
Almighty Lord, I love You. I repent of my sin
and trust in You now. Please fill me with my greatest need – Yourself,
Your Holy Spirit. Thank You. In Jesus Name. Amen.
