A fresh revelation of Jesus Christ at the centre of the Church enables believers to overcome spiritual compromise and transform society. As the supreme Judge and compassionate Priest, Christ holds absolute authority over history and offers enduring grace to a changing world.
The big idea
The greatest threat to the church in South Africa today is not persecution but compromise. The answer is not manipulation but a fresh revelation of the risen Jesus Christ, which has changed lives and whole societies and can change ours too.
Key points
Christ is revealed more and more. Each New Testament writer shows another side of Jesus, and what each of us was saved out of becomes the revelation we present to our city.
A revelation of Christ changes society. Wilberforce, Lansbury, the YMCA and Christian-founded schools and hospitals show what happens when people truly see Jesus.
The flawed church is still God's plan. Jesus comes into our mess and calls us golden lampstands, so don't leave the church.
The Son of Man is fully in charge. Governments come and go, but His never does, so stop moaning and speaking negatively.
He is Judge, Priest and Victor. We should feel the weight of our sin, yet find comfort in the Lamb. Jesus is the great bridge builder, and the war is already won.
His Word and His hand hold us. The power lies in His Word, our lives are in His hand, and He holds the keys of death.
Key scriptures
Revelation 1:9–18: John's vision of the risen Christ standing among the lampstands as Son of Man, Judge, Priest and King
Daniel 7:9–14: the Ancient of Days on a throne of fire, and one like a son of man whose kingdom will never be destroyed
Romans 1:16: the gospel as the power of God for salvation
Numbers 6:25: His shining face exposes what is hidden, yet comes with grace
Takeaways
Ask God to renew the revelation of Christ that first gripped you.
Stay planted in the church rather than isolating yourself.
Stop fighting, and take a step to build a bridge in a broken relationship.
The big idea
The greatest threat to the church in South Africa today is not persecution but compromise. Over time we lose sight of the Christ who first gripped us, and serving Him becomes a schlep. The answer is not manipulation or a preacher shouting at us, but a fresh revelation of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 1 shows the risen Jesus standing among His flawed church: Son of Man, Judge, Priest and King. Throughout history, a revelation of Christ like this has changed lives and whole societies. It can change ours too.
Key scriptures
Revelation 1:1: "The revelation of Jesus Christ"
Romans 1:16: the gospel as the power of God for salvation
"Whom the Son sets free is free indeed": Christ the liberator
Revelation 1:9–18: John's vision of the risen Christ among the lampstands
Daniel 7:13–14: one like a son of man, whose kingdom will never be destroyed
Daniel 7:9–10: the Ancient of Days on a throne of fire
Daniel's picture of kingdoms with feet of clay
Jesus telling Peter to put his sword away
Numbers 6:25: "Let your face shine upon them… and be gracious unto them"
An ever-increasing revelation of Christ
Each New Testament writer reveals another side of Jesus:
Matthew shows the length: Jesus as the fulfilment of the law, prophecy and Israel, all the way back to Abraham.
Mark goes deep: Jesus as the suffering servant, reaching right down into our hearts and our sin.
Luke goes wide: Jesus eating with prostitutes and touching lepers, Samaritans and outcasts.
John shows the signs that come from heaven to earth so that people might believe.
Galatians reveals Christ the liberator, and Romans reveals His great salvation.
We must present Christ to everybody. What each of us was saved out of becomes the revelation we present to our city.
By the time of Revelation, the church was in a holding pattern. The apostles were dying, believers were being persecuted and sexual immorality had crept in. Into that situation, Christ revealed Himself.
A revelation of Christ changes society
History is full of people whose revelation of Jesus changed the world:
William Wilberforce and the Clapham Sect believed the liberating God could not allow the slave trade. For 46 years they fought it. On 26 July 1833 it was abolished, and Wilberforce died three days later. The same group also gave rise to the SPCA.
George Lansbury saw Jesus as a carpenter. He gave his life to fighting for workers in Parliament and opened the parks to poor children.
The YMCA began because a man saw young men arriving in the cities with nothing. It fed them, taught them the Word and upskilled them. Basketball and volleyball were invented there, and the International Red Cross grew out of it.
Universities, hospitals and schools were started by Christians.
"I don't want to look into the piercing, burning eyes of Christ and live an ordinary existence."
We should respond not to manipulation but to the Christ of revelation and of history, the Christ who gripped us in the beginning.
The golden lampstands: God's flawed church
John hears a voice like a trumpet and turns to see seven golden lampstands, which are the church. The church does not look golden. It is full of flawed, hurting people who repent and sin again. Yet it is into that mess that Jesus comes and calls us a golden lampstand.
The church has a terrible history, yet empires, communism and apartheid have all gone, and the church is still God's plan for the world. So don't leave it.
"We are on a journey of trying to find Christ together."
One like a Son of Man
This title comes from Daniel 7: the one given everlasting authority, whose kingdom will never be destroyed. South Africa is hard, with fuel prices and commissions, but governments come and go and His government never goes.
So before you apply for Australia, stop moaning and stop speaking negatively. This is not positive thinking. It is because Jesus is fully in charge. When society loses its way, as it has with sexuality, it is because we have lost sight of the Son of Man.
The Judge with white hair
Daniel sees the Ancient of Days on a throne of fire, and the books are opened. Jesus will return as Judge. Rory described standing in court beside a church member and hearing her cry when the gavel fell. Every one of us should cry like that over our sin.
But His hair is white like wool, the wool of the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. Feel the judgement, then find comfort in His white hair.
The robe: our great Priest and Bridge Builder
A robe to the feet marks a priest. There is only one priest, and His name is Jesus. The Latin word pontifex means bridge. Jesus is the Pontifex Maximus, the great bridge builder between heaven and earth and between guilt and God's presence.
"Quiet time alone or solitude is wonderful. Isolation is demonic."
Shame drives us into lonely cells, but Jesus builds a bridge to wherever we are.
The golden sash: the war is won
Soldiers wore their weapons on a belt at the waist and moved it to the chest once the war was won. Jesus has already won. So stop fighting. Build a bridge to the parent you haven't spoken to in years, or to the child who left home.
Feet of bronze and a sword from His mouth
Earthly kingdoms have feet of clay. Christ has feet of bronze. Out of His mouth comes a double-edged sword, because the power lies in His Word. Without the Word gripping our hearts, we will make no difference to this nation.
Seven stars in His hand
Rory once had a friend who simply made up magazine horoscopes. Instead of trusting stars, superstition or rash vows, we can know that God holds the direction of our lives in His hand.
"You were not born by mistake. You were born on purpose."
A shining face and the keys of death
His face shines like the sun and exposes everything hidden in the dark. Yet Numbers 6 follows "let your face shine" with "and be gracious". He holds the keys of death and Hades, just as a friend once handed Rory a key to his home.
"I've got the keys. Stop being scared."
Takeaways
Ask God to renew the revelation of Christ that first gripped you, especially where you have grown comfortable or lax.
Stay planted in the church, flawed as it is, rather than isolating yourself.
Replace moaning about South Africa with trust that Jesus is fully in charge.
Stop fighting, and take a step to build a bridge in a broken relationship.
Live by the Word daily, not just now and again.
Reflect and discuss
Where has compromise or comfort crept into your walk with Jesus?
Which picture of Christ in Revelation 1 speaks most to your situation right now, and why?
How do you respond to being both judged and covered by the Lamb?
Is there a relationship where you need to stop fighting and build a bridge?
What need in our city could a fresh revelation of Christ lead us to meet?
A written record of the teaching. Search it with your browser’s find (⌘F / Ctrl+F).
Morning, everybody. I have got a belt, I've got some keys, and I've got a sword, and we're going to continue in the book of Revelation. It's an exciting book. It's life-changing.
There are some things happening in the church. There's persecution happening. The Romans are trying to get rid of the Christians. There's compromise taking place. And as I said last week, I don't think you and I are going to die from persecution. Not in South Africa right now.
So what our government has given us is the freedom of worship. And so the issues in our church are not really persecution. The issues in our church are compromise. That's how the church in South Africa will go down.
I remember when I was a young Christian, tithing was just absolutely easy for me. I was in love with Jesus. I was completely sold out for His kingdom, and for 20 years it was just an absolute joy. Now tithing for me is a schlep. I still do it, but it's not easy.
And as we've been going a long time, you say, "But what do we...?" Just because I had such a wonderful revelation of Christ, it was easy. As my salary's gone up, it's got harder. You know that, hey? I mean, that's why you must start tithing when you're young.
So it's just amazing to be together, to listen to what God is doing, and this is how the series starts: the revelation of Jesus Christ. And so I've had a wonderful week studying the Scriptures.
I looked at Matthew, and Matthew is appealing to the Jewish people. And Jesus is the fulfilment of everything. He's the fulfilment of the law. He's the fulfilment of prophecy. He's the fulfilment of Israel. And he writes all the way back to Abraham.
And he's got this amazing revelation of Jesus, but it's not the whole revelation. But it's got an incredible length to it. He goes all the way back, and he starts to pick up the threads of Jesus all the way through.
And then we look at Mark, and Mark goes into the very deep parts of Christ. And Christ eventually dies and gets buried in a tomb. That is Mark, the suffering servant. He goes very deep into Jesus' life. And when you read Mark, you kind of think, "Wow, this is getting right down deep, deep, deep into my soul, into my heart, into my sin." That's the revelation that Mark had.
And Luke comes along, and Luke's an amazing guy. He's a doctor. He writes Luke and he writes Acts, and he starts to go for the width. Jesus starts to have lunch with prostitutes.
There was one last week when I walked out. She said, "You know what I do?" I said, "I've got no idea." She said, "I'm a prostitute." I said, "Did you see any of your clients in the church?" Just asking. I'm just asking, because this is the place of sinners, is it not? Is this not the place of sinners?
And he starts to meet with prostitutes and the outcasts, and he starts to touch lepers and sick people and publicans and Gentiles and Samaritans. That's what happens in the book of Luke. He starts to go wide, to try and get to the outside of society.
Speaker
Rory Dyer
Date
1 November 2026
Series
Blazing Eyes, part 2 of 3
Includes
Video · Audio · Notes · Transcript
And we have to make sure when we present Christ, we present Christ to everybody. I would love to just present sort of the clean Christ that I got to know. I didn't do drugs and all that stuff, but some of you did. And together, what I got saved out of and what you got saved out of becomes the revelation that we present to our city. Amen?
And John sees this incredible picture of Jesus, and he starts to talk about the water turning into wine and the signs that come down from heaven to earth, so that people might possibly believe.
And Galatians is the first book written, and Paul starts to write about Jesus setting people free. He said, "Whom the Son sets free is free indeed." And we see another revelation of Christ, the liberator, the one who comes in and starts liberating people.
And then we read Romans, and we see this incredible salvation: "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation of all men, first for the Jew, then for the Gentile." And so we start to unpack this ever-increasing revelation.
But this Jesus has been dead for two generations now, and the church has gone into sort of a holding pattern. They're getting killed. They're getting persecuted. The power of God has not been flowing, and they're kind of deciding, should they go on with Christianity or should they give up Christianity, because sexual immorality has come into the life of the church.
The apostles are dying off. Paul's been killed. Peter's been killed. John's been dipped in oil and stuck onto an island. And the church are kind of saying, "Where's Christ?" And He reveals Himself in the book of Revelation.
He revealed Himself through history. I've looked at some of the men, like William Wilberforce. If you can Google the 26th of July 1833. The 26th of July 1833 was the day that the slave trade ended, because of William Wilberforce and his friends in the church.
I sent a message to Damon. I said, "Damon, we were talking about the trumpet call. Is there a trumpet player or a saxophonist in the church that can play?" He said, "Yeah, I don't know, Rory. We've got South Africa's best saxophonist in our church."
That's how God works. We didn't even know he existed. He's been sitting in the ranks. What's inside of you? Can you play the sax? Can you call people to prayer? Can you call people to make a difference for Jesus? And all of a sudden we've got the best.
You think, "My goodness, that sounds like Kenny G." I want to hear the Word of God in that C note. "Lay down your life for your wife" sounds a whole lot better when it's played on a saxophone, eh? We're going to play "Submit to your husband" on a saxophone, girls. Slightly higher.
But sitting inside of the church, there was a sect called the Clapham Sect, where William Wilberforce and his mates would get together and they would reread the Scriptures. And they thought, "There's no ways that slavery can exist. There's no chance that the liberating God can allow this trade of human beings."
And so for 46 years that group of Christian men fought against the slave trade. For 46 years they had a revelation of a free Christ, and they spent 46 years as pastors, bankers and businessmen and members of Parliament to undo the slave trade. And on the 26th of July 1833, the slave trade was abolished. And three days later, William Wilberforce died.
He had a revelation of Christ. He fulfilled the revelation, and then he went to go and be with his Saviour and Lord. And at the same time that they were fighting for the freedom of humans, they realised that God even cares for animals, and out of that group of people came the SPCA. As they were fighting for the freedom of humans, so they were fighting for the care of animals.
I was reading of a man called George Lansbury. George Lansbury was reading the Bible one day, and he had a picture that Jesus was a carpenter. That was the revelation. He looked into the eyes of a carpenter, and he spent his whole life to win a seat in Parliament so that he could fight for workmen in Britain: boilermakers and carpenters and the workforce.
That's why it's called the Labour Party, just for people that were going to work every day and working with their hands. And England was built on the aristocracy and all the rich people and all the knights and all the saints. And he, because of Christ the carpenter, came in and gave rights to workers. It starts with the revelation of Christ.
And then he would start to walk to Parliament, and he realised that poor children were not allowed access to the parks. And so then he started to fight for children to get access to the parks. Not just the rich kids in all the fancy parks, Richmond Park, but so the poor kids could play. And he eventually got the gates open to the poor kids, and as he would walk towards Parliament, they would shout, "Good old George! Good old George!"
Come on, guys. Why don't you stand? Why don't you stand? Let's go like this, and you tell me what I'm doing. You tell me what I'm doing. Let's go like this. Then like this. Then like this. Then like this. Let's do it again.
Okay, now, I know some of you don't get this. But some of you do. Let's go again. Now you say it loudly, for those who know it. Okay, keep standing. Let's play the song. Let's see how we do.
Give yourselves a hand. Come on. Okay, you can be seated.
"It's fun to stay at the YMCA." The Young Men's Christian Association. Because the Industrial Revolution took place, and young Christian boys came from their families, unqualified, into the cities, and they were down on their dough. They never had money.
So a man who had a revelation of Christ started a thing called the Young Men's Christian Association, so that he could take young boys into a place where they could teach them the Word of God, feed them and upskill them. And now that has been robbed by the LGBTQ movement, friends, to become the song where boys can go and have a good time. It was never meant for that. It was meant as the revelation of a man that saw a need in the life of society and provided for that need.
And he said, "And these young men must be healthy, and so they must train, they must go to gym." And basketball and volleyball were invented in the YMCA. Friends, we need a revelation of Jesus. We need a revelation of Jesus that will take our breath away and change the society in which we live.
Because we see basketball all over the world, millions of followers, millions of dollars, players flying private helicopters, started by Christian boys in the YMCA, learning about the ways of God. And a man left the YMCA in London and he went to Switzerland, and he started the International Red Cross.
Friends, and it just goes from one thing to the next. Yale, started by Christians. Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, hospitals, education, started by Christians, because they had a revelation of Christ.
And sometimes we can just sit in the compromised position of an air-conditioned building and say, "Praise Jesus." I don't want to do that. I don't want to waste my life. I don't want to look into the piercing, burning eyes of Christ and live an ordinary existence.
But I don't want to respond out of the motivation of a preacher whose veins are sticking out of his neck. I don't want to have to give because somebody's manipulating me for money. I want to respond to the Christ of revelation. I want to respond to the Christ of history. I want to respond to the Christ who gripped me in the beginning.
So let's read. "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to Him..." Actually, let's go all the way to verse 9. Let's see how we do that. There. No, that's it.
"On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet." You know, you can save your marriage with one verse of Scripture, if it would be like a trumpet to you, if it would grab your attention. You can save your marriage today.
"Which said, 'Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.' I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands."
Friends, that's the church. I met a guy at the door today who said, "It's so nice to be part of this church." I said, "How did you get here?" He said, "I actually got hurt by the church, and for four years I believed I was a Christian, but I never went to church. And then somebody invited me here."
I just want to tell you this. When you look at the church, it doesn't look like a golden lampstand. It looks like a combination of very dodgy people. How do I know? Because I look at you every week. And how do you know? Because you look at me every week.
And we are dirty, we are debauched, we have done bad things, we are trying to recover, we have repented and sinned again. And actually, it is into the mess of the church that Jesus decides to come and reveal Himself, and He calls us a golden lampstand.
I keep looking at Christiana and I think, "How, God? You must have an amazing imagination. There are some fat, dirty okes in that church, Lord God." He said, "Just like you. Just like you." And He comes and makes Himself present.
Friends, you can jump on your head. The church has got a history. The church has got all sorts of controversies. Apartheid started in the church. The Inquisition started in the church. The Crusades started in the church. The church has got a terrible history, but the church is still God's plan for the world.
And the Roman Empire is gone. The Babylonian Empire has gone. Communism has gone. Apartheid has gone. And the church is still here. And that's the most amazing thing.
And so don't ever get too clever and think, "I'm going to leave the church." You will never account for God unless you're part of the church, that insufficient, highly flawed, deeply pained church. And the world is full of hundreds of millions of hurt church people.
You know why you're going to get hurt here? Because you're here. You're flawed. I am flawed. I've never preached perfection. We preach off the ground, not the stage, because we're telling you, friends, we are on a journey of trying to find Christ together.
But it's still amongst the church that He comes. And when we witness and worship together, with a trumpet player and a saxophonist and an Afrikaans guy on the piano and a black guy leading, when we do that together, God comes and visits us, the church.
"And among the lampstands was someone like a son of man." Say, "Someone like a son of man." What does that mean? Where does that come from?
Can I just put four pictures on the board for you, and you tell me what these people do. What does he do? We have to be politically correct. Go back one. A doctoress. No, it's a proper doctor. I know. Okay, don't jump at me.
Let's go back. Let's go back. First one. Fireman. How do you know that? Go back. How do you know that? How do you know? Next one. How do you know that? How do you know that? Next one. Next one. That's why they call you lawyers bigwigs. You get bigwigs and you get smallwigs. That's a bigwig, like some of you okes think you are.
"And among the lampstands was someone like a son of man." Let me read it to you from... This is not my fault, actually. "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a..." Say it. Hundreds of years. Hundreds of years before Revelation.
"...one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed."
How are you doing in South Africa right now? South Africa is not an easy place to live. Our fuel price is doing this. We have got commissions going on constantly around the things that are happening in Parliament, the things that are happening under Parliament, the things that are happening around Parliament. We've got the Madlanga Commission. We've got this commission. It seems like the head of police is involved, or the 2IC of police.
And so we've got all these things happening, and we think we are going to come to nought. And Jesus says, "Do you have a revelation of the Son of Man?" Because Rome will come and go. Babylon will come and go. Russia will come and go. The Nkandla government will come and go. The ANC government will come and go. "But My government," Jesus says, "will never go."
And so before you chuck your toys out of the cot and apply for Australia, just remember you've got to look into the eyes of Christ, who's perfectly in charge of this nation now. May I say, stop moaning. May I say, stop speaking negatively. I'm being dead serious.
Not out of some kind of, "Oh, I'm going to be like a positive thinker." No. Jesus is fully in charge. He is fully in charge of this government right now. We are not swayed. And I see people get all het up.
Friends, there is going to be a constant attack on every godly form. How does the YMCA, which has got 90,000 employees, which houses 62 million young men a year in their hostels, how does that get robbed by the LGBTQ movement? It starts with an incredible revelation of Christ, and now that song has become the anthem song for gay people. How?
How does sexuality, which is a gift from God to be explored in marriage, how does sexuality find itself in the dark crevices of society? Because we have lost sight of the Son of Man. We have lost sight of the One who holds the authority of the world in His hand. And when He says something, it's because it's good. Amen?
And then he looks behind him and he sees a judge. You can put the judge up there, please. He looks behind him and he sees a judge. And that judge in Daniel... There are all these people that are playing havoc with the church. God will judge the church.
What it says here, actually, it says: "As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took His seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of His head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze." That's why all this flame is here, friends. When Jesus comes back, it's going to be like fire. It is going to be a blaze, and He's going to come back as a judge.
"A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before Him. Thousands upon thousands attended Him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, and the books were opened." Boom!
And my life was before Him, and I thought, "Dear God, what am I going to do?" And He says, "But My hair. Remember My hair? My hair is covered in the Lamb of the world, the wool of the Lamb." And every time you sit here and you think, "I'm going to get judged," remember: with a burning throne, around the Judge is the salvation of God.
And you look at all these pictures and think, "What is the church? Is the church a righteous place, a holy place, a judging place, a freedom place?" Yes. The answer is yes. It's all of these things. It's all of these things.
And this week I just can't stop looking into the eyes of it. I don't know if any of you have ever appeared before a judge. I know some of you have. And you look at him.
I remember appearing before a judge for a lady in this church. Myself and Adrian walked through a court case with her, and we sat there, and then he smacked the gavel, boom, and he gave the judgment, and I heard her cry, "Ah!" Like every one of us should cry when the gavel hits and the Judge hits us for our sin.
And then I look at the Judge again and I think, "But His hair is white, like the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the whole world." And you should feel so uncomfortably judged today. And as you feel so uncomfortably judged in your sexuality that has gone rampant, find comfort in His white hair. Find comfort in His white hair.
"I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was one like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to His feet and with a golden sash around His chest."
The only people that wore robes were priests. The same way you can tell a fireman by the clothes that he wears, the same way you can tell a doctor by the clothes that she or he wears, the same way that you can tell a judge by the clothes he wears. When you turn around and see a man in a white robe to his feet, you know that he's a priest. And as he turned and he looked, he saw a man in a white robe.
People think I'm being silly, but I see men in the church now that dress like mothers, and you call them father. Because we have taken this robe unto ourselves and made ourselves priests. We are all priests. And one of the reasons why you come and line up here for prayer is because you think that I am a priest. But there's only one priest. His name is Jesus.
And the word for priest in Latin is pontifex. You can Google it. Pontifex. And the name of the Pope is Pontifex Maximus, the maximum priest. But pontifex means... Who knows what pontifex means? Anybody? Who said that? Who said that? Ron. Pontifex means bridge.
John is caught on an island. He's got a group of churches that are being persecuted, that are compromising in every single way, and he turns around and God says, "I am Pontifex Maximus. I am the maximum bridge builder. I am the One that will build the bridge between heaven and earth. I am the One that will build the bridge from your prayers on Patmos to the church that is in trouble. I am the One that will build the bridge from people's guilt and shame back into the presence of God. I am Pontifex Maximus."
And you know, friends, quiet time alone or solitude is wonderful. Isolation is demonic. Isolation will put you into all kinds of trouble. And when we have guilt and when we have shame and when we have condemnation, we go into little cells by ourselves. And Jesus Christ comes and says in Revelation, "I am the bridge builder. I will come to your mess. I will come to your life, and I will put a bridge there so that you and I can have communion."
I'm not the bridge builder. I'm not dressed in a robe. I'm just dressed in a shirt and tackies. I am just the one preaching about the bridge builder. And as we understand this, friends, know that there's a bridge from wherever you are to wherever He is.
"With a girdle around His chest." What you would do when you went to war is you'd put a belt on, and off the belt would hang all your stuff. Your axe and your hand grenades and your knife and your gun would all hang here, and you would go to war and you would fight the war.
And when you won the war, you would take off your belt, and you would put all the arms down, and you would put it around your chest to say, "I'm not fighting any more. I've won the war." And when he turned around, he saw One in a robe, a bridge builder, who's already won the war.
Stop fighting. Stop fighting. Stop. You know your parents that you haven't spoken to for ten years, twelve years? Your son who did drugs and left the house? Stop fighting. Build a bridge and take this girdle of this King of kings. Take this girdle and believe it.
How are you doing? Imagine if we started movements like the YMCA, or a university campus.
"His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace." Julle sing die song: "Vat hom daarby, vat hom, vat hom laag, vat hom na." Julle oukies, julle is doof, hè? You sang the song about Dawie de Villiers, the scrumhalf. You want to take a man down, you take him at his feet.
Young ladies, if you have trouble, they'll tell you where to kick him. Don't kick him there. Just kick him in the shins. You kick him in the shins, he'll drop like a sack of potatoes.
And in the book of Daniel it says the problem with the kings is that they have feet of clay. The problem with the Nationalist government: it had feet of clay. The problem with the ANC government: it's got feet of clay. The problem with the Roman Empire: it had feet of clay. The beauty of Christ is He has feet of bronze.
And out of His mouth... We love to fight. But Jesus said to Peter, "Put the sword away now. My words are going to do the work." And out of His mouth came a double-edged sword.
The power is in the Word of Christ. Do you still believe that? Do you just pick it up every now and again? Or do you live by the Word? Do you live by the Word? Because we'll never change this nation. We can shout until we're blue in the face. But if we do not allow the piercing sword of Christ to grip our hearts, we'll make no difference to this nation. None whatsoever.
My keys. I'm nearly finished. I had a friend who worked for Scope magazine. You guys don't even know what Scope magazine is. Scope magazine was the first magazine in South Africa that had nude women, but they had to put stars on them in certain places. So he was the main star guy. He was also the writer of the stars.
"I'm born in July. I am of the star sign..." No, you lie. You all read it. And the whole world was dictated to by the stars and by astrology, and the astrologers became rich.
But my friend who put the stars on naked women also wrote the stars. And he used to just wake up one day and say, "For all those who are Libra, today you will see the sunshine from afar. And those who are Cancer, yes, God has a double blessing for you. You could meet a woman today." And you would hope in everything. And we start to put our hope in all sorts of superstitious things, like the aligning of the planets.
And when he looked around, he saw Jesus holding the seven stars in His hand. You know what, friends? God holds the direction of your life in the palm of His hand. No superstition, no guesswork, no maybe. No vows, which some of you make: "I vow to God that if He comes through for me, I will tithe for the rest of my life." And you get yourself into an absolute pickle. You go bankrupt because you can't keep your vow.
Revelation is not a book of chance. It's a book of Jesus. You were not born by mistake. You were born on purpose.
And then He says... And you know what? I've got a friend of mine, Grant, who used to lead this church. And they bought a beautiful house in Pretoria North, probably the nicest house in Pretoria North. They've just redone it. It's got a beautiful swimming pool.
And one day he came here and he said, "Hey, Ro, I've got a gift for you." I said, "What is this?" He said, "This is a key to my house in Pretoria North." I said, "What for?" He said, "You can use it whenever you like." I said, "How do I get in?" He said, "I've sent you the code, and I've sent you the app to disarm it, and you can go and braai there with your family. You can swim in the pool. You can go and study if you want to. Here are the keys."
When he looked at Christ, he turned around and he saw the Ancient of Days. He saw the One whose kingdom would never, ever give way. Although He was a judge with a burning flame, His hair was white, and the judgment that would come out of His voice would be completely covered in the salvation of God.
His eyes were like blazing fire. His robe was the robe of a priest, Pontifex Maximus, to fix the bridge between any divides that we might have, or any form of isolation or separation that we might have. He will fix the bridge. He's the bridge repairer. He is the Pope of this nation. He is the Pontifex Maximus.
We don't need to go to Rome or to some holy site, or even to church, to meet a guy at the front who has special authority. I have no authority. He is the priest of heaven, and He won the battle and put His girdle around His chest.
His face is bright, shining like the sun. And if you go outside and look at the sun now, you will burn your eyelids, and you will burn the inside of your eye. And if we go back to Numbers chapter 6, it says, "Turn your face towards them, let your face shine upon them," and the next verse says, "and be gracious unto them."
Because when you look at the sun and you realise that there's no darkness in Christ, the things that you've been doing in the dark places will be exposed by the sun, and it will burn everything out of you. And just at the moment you think you're going to be ended, He says, "And be gracious unto them."
I told you it's not an easy series. Because the church is under pressure. The church is compromising, and many in this building will be living in unbelievable comfort zones. You've been serving God for 40 years, but you've become lax because you've lost sight of the One whose word comes out of His mouth like a double-edged sword, and who holds in His hand the keys of death and Hades.
The greatest thing I fear, and probably what you fear, is the fear of death. And He says, "I've got the keys. Stop being scared."
