THE “A” TO “Z” AND ME

Revelation 1:1-8

 “Revelation” means “unveiling.”  It’s the unwrapping of a present, the pulling back of a curtain, the breaking through of something/one into this world.  We live on the very edge of the breaking through of the Kingdom of God, a Kingdom in which Jesus is King.  In Revelation, we are repeatedly told to LISTEN and LOOK.  We LISTEN to the voice of Jesus speaking through His Word, and we LOOK at life through the visions Jesus gives us in the book of Revelation. 

To be faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ has never and will never be an easy task.  It fact, when your life is a testimony to the reality of living under the authority of King Jesus, you will be targeted by both “religious” AND secular people.  Since we are targeted for tough times because of our stand, we need to focus on the one who is “The Alpha and The Omega.”  What are we claiming when our lives are focused on Him Who was and Who is and Who is to come? 

1.   WE CLAIM THAT JESUS IS THE ETERNAL GOD.

Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet.  By saying the is the “A” and the “Z,” He’s saying that before Him, there was nothing, and after Him, there will be nothing.  He alone is the Eternal God.  (John 8:58; Colossians 1:17)   Everything else is just “B” through “Y”.  Does YOUR life story include the letters “A” and “Z”?  If not, your life’s alphabet is incomplete and your life has no eternal dimension because it’s missing the most important two letters! 

2.      WE CLAIM THAT JESUS IS THE PROVIDING GOD.

            In the Greek language, when you put the letters Alpha and Omega together,  you include all the letters in between.  So this claim by Jesus reminds us that He ALONE is sufficient to meet every one of our deepest needs both physical (air, water, and food) and spiritual (forgiveness, a record of moral perfection, acceptance with God and acceptance into Heaven, eternal hydration for spiritual dehydration).  No one but Jesus, the Alpha and the Omega, is sufficient to meet our deepest needs. 

3.      WE CLAIM THAT JESUS IS THE COMPLETING GOD.

What Jesus starts, He finishes.  He’s not “A” through “M” or even “A” through “Y”.  He’s the complete alphabet, and when He starts at “A,” He doesn’t stop until he gets to “Z”.  Before time began, in concert with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, Jesus had a plan to gather together a people from every corner of the earth into a place to delight in the indescribable glory of God’s presence and to praise Him for eternity.  The Bible story unfolds that plan, a plan completed in Revelation 21-22. 

If you’re “in Christ,” that plan includes you!  In the story of your life, what the Lord starts, He will finish (Philippians 1:6).  What does it mean for us to remember that Jesus is “The Alpha and the Omega”?  It means EVERYTHING!  So, what does it mean to YOU?

Sermon Summary from April 27, 2008 // Copyright 2008 Dr. J. Stephen Jussely

A CD of the entire sermon may be ordered from office@lakelandpres.com