The Reigning King: Living in the Victory of Christ's Unshakable Kingdom - Revelation 1:4-7

Summary
Pastor Jon Noyes reminds us that despite the chaos in the world, Jesus is reigning now, with all things under His authority, and His sovereignty continues to unfold through history. He emphasized that Christ’s love is personal, unmerited, and infinite, freeing us from sin’s power and commissioning us as priests to reflect His kingdom in our daily lives.

Transcript
This morning we were gonna start our paschal series. We're gonna be in Revelation, uh, for the time. We're gonna just pick up in Revelation 1, verses 4 through 6. Um, so I'll read it. Our, our theme is to see Jesus, the, the lamb who is slain, uh, and then look at the cross, uh, as it appears in Revelation, uh, for the next couple weeks. So Revelation 1, 4 through 6, John to the seven churches that are in Asia, grace to you in peace, from him who is and was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth, to him who loves us and released us from our sins by his blood, and he's made us a kingdom, priests, to his God, the Father, to him be the glory and dominion forever and ever. Uh, imagine with me guys, um, being the apostle John, uh, exiled on Patmos away from every human comfort and including his, his friends and community, the, the church, uh, en masse under persecution, uh, Rome tightening its grip from a human perspective, things I would think look, look extremely bleak. Uh, some of us today might be able to relate in, in a culture that, that seems to want to marginalize, uh, the Christian worldview and, and reduce this holiday, especially Easter to things like, like bunnies and, and, and, and egg hunts and, and candy and, and things like this. Um, makes me want to wonder, is Christ truly victorious? Have you guys seen the news today? I was talking to Sharon, the church in Syria. We should pray for them. Uh, persecution, beheadings. Not 2,000 years ago friends, but this morning, um, makes us wonder, uh, is Christ victorious? You know, and then John in exile, uh, his vision, the vision that we're going to talk about this morning or start our conversation, it, it shatters the darkness. Uh, Jesus appears not as the, the humble teacher of Galilee, but as the glorified King declaring, I was dead, but behold, I am alive forever more. So it's, it's our goal as a church, as an elderboard, as, as your pastors this Easter season to, to see Christ as he is, the risen reigning Lord who transforms everything. Let me pray and then we'll dive into the verses. Lord, we thank you for the morning that you've given to us, not just to us, but to your church universal. We do, we pray for those in Syria that are suffering persecution, those in China who are suffering persecution, those who are finding themselves under, uh, Islamic rule, uh, that are suffering persecution. Would this word be enough? Would it be a lamp to their feet and a light to their soul? And would it be enough for them this morning to stand firmly and boldly, uh, in, in areas of true persecution? Um, even as they are marched sometimes on their hands and knees to their death, would we be reminded this morning through these words that, that the Lord reigns, Jesus reigns. He currently right now presides with you and is whispering in your ear, our advocate whispering in your ear, eternal truths reminding you of who we are, your children. And would this word be found, um, in our hearts and our minds and our souls and would it produce, uh, growth and would change us. So when we leave here, God, uh, through the preaching of your word, the, the eating at your table, the hearing of your word proclaimed, would we be changed more and more into the likeness of your son? And on this day, would you give us the peace that we so desperately need? Uh, we love you. Help us love you more and each other better. Amen. So John opens a revelation with a, a striking greeting really, grace to you in peace, he says, and, and this isn't a mere formality, but a, a lifeline to persecuted Christians. They need a divine favor. They need grace. They need this amid a hostile word, a hostility and, and, and then they need also a supernatural calm, a peace. A mid fear, something maybe we all could use this morning, perhaps a lasal is, I think of you. Many of us in this room who knows what's going on in our lives. Uh, we need these supernatural things. This is what John chooses to open revelation with by asking. And, but this grace and this peace, they, they come from no earthly source. They flow from the, the triune God. John first describes the father as him who is, and who was, and who is to come echoing Exodus three 14, the self existing sovereign. I am. It's the I am who delivered Israel. And that, that he's crying out to and reminding us is there. He's the same God who sustains his people today, who sustained the people back 2000 years ago when this book was written. Next, John speaks of the seven spirits before his throne, a symbolic reference to the Holy Spirit's perfect fullness. The same spirit who empowered God's people then empowers his church today, not by human might or force, but by God's power. And what comfort this would have been to, to John's readers, what comfort it is to us this morning. Before even mentioning Jesus explicitly, he anchors their hope in the triune God. This, this greeting isn't just a formality. It's a theological declaration that Easter is more than a past events. It's the work of the Father, Spirit and Son in redemption, that same redemption that takes had hats of stone today and turns them to had soft hearts of flesh. Having established the divine source of grace and peace, John now shifts our focus to Jesus himself. This we're going to look at is the Jesus of Revelation. This is the Jesus of Easter, the slain lamb, now the risen reigning Lord. And as we journey towards Easter in the next couple of weeks, John's vision in Revelation 1.4-6 calls us to behold Christ in his fullness, not just as crucified Savior, but as victorious King. So who is this Christ who stands at the, at the center of our faith? Good question. In verse five, it says, Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first born of the dead and the ruler of the kings of earth. First, Christ is the faithful witness. Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God. He is the truth, the one who perfectly testifies to the Father. As John writes elsewhere, no one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son who is himself God in his closest relationship with the Father. He has made him known. And when Philip asked to see the Father, Jesus replied, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." Before Pilate, Jesus declared this, if you guys remember, this is actually my favorite scene in the Bible, right? Jesus is standing before Pilate. He's put on mock trial, right? Pilate's charged with choosing Barabbas or Jesus and who's going to be crucified. And then Jesus, he's standing there before Pilate and he asks probably the most profound question anybody could ever be asked. Who do you say that I am, right? And then Jesus tells that the purpose, why he came to Pilate. For this purpose, I was born and for this purpose, I've come into the world to bear witness to what? The truth. To bear witness to the truth. The world rejected the truth then, just as it rejects the truth today. But here's the question. Do we? What do we do with the truth? Consider how Jesus' testimony stood firm even in his dacquest hour. When facing the cross, he didn't recant. When his disciples, they all ran away, they fled. Jesus didn't waive, huh? Even when he cried out from the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" He's still submitted with, "Into your hands I commit my spirit." His witness remained faithful. To the very end, it remained faithful. A stack contrast to a lot of our tendencies to compromise when faith becomes costly. And I'm always looking for an apologetics angle, maybe just because my vocation, right? But in a world filled with competing truth claims, skeptics always ask us, "How can we trust Jesus?" Well, the simple answer is his resurrection. If Christ had died and stayed dead, he would have been just another leader of a failed revolution. But he's not dead. I'm getting ahead of myself. Hopefully you guys already know the end of the story, right? Have you read that, Pat? He rose, right? And because he rose, we can trust every word that he's spoken. The empty tune validates every claim Jesus has ever made. So Jesus is the faithful witness, but he's also the firstborn of the dead. Easter's about resurrection, but not just any resurrection. Jesus' resurrection is unique. He's the firstborn from the dead, meaning he's the first to rise in a glorified, "Never to die again" body. This points us to the contrast between the two atoms that Paul talks about and describes in 1 Corinthians. The first Adam, the first man Adam, became a living being. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. Where the first Adam brought death through disobedience, the last Adam, the truer Adam, the greater Adam, Jesus, brings life through obedience perfectly. As Paul explains in Romans 5, Adam's sin brought all of us into death. But the obedience of Christ, it's the obedience of Christ that brings all who believe into participation, into new life. Christ is the covenant head of a new resurrection race where all barriers are broken. They're shattered. In 1 Corinthians 15-23, Paul, he clarifies this. He says, "But each in his own order Christ, the first fruits, after those who are in Christ, will be raised." Guys, this isn't just good news for Jesus. It's good news for us because his resurrection guarantees our resurrection. Death, it doesn't have the final word in this world. It's impotent. It's moot because Jesus conquered it. He conquered all sin and death. When we stand at the graveside of a loved one or face our own mortality, we don't simply have a philosophical comfort either. We have historical precedent. Jesus' resurrection isn't a metaphor for spiritual renewal. It's the concrete reality that death has been definitively conquered. Exclamation point, full stop. His empty tomb is the down payment on our own resurrection. So Jesus, he's a faithful witness. He's the first born. But he's also the ruler of the kings of earth. I love this. I'm trying really hard not to get too excited. I really am. This is for you, Nate. It may not look like Jesus is always ruling and reigning. The world is still filled with corruption, with war, with chaos, with persecution. That's the result of having to live in a now but not yet kingdom. That's the result of having to bump into the reality that we still, as saints of God, have to live in a fallen and a broken world. There's consequences to sin. And we suffer them. And some of the consequences are at our own peril. They're our own sin. And then we're naive to believe if we think that we can restrict the consequences of our personal sin to just ourselves, but our sin affects others too. We live in a fallen and a broken world. And sometimes we confuse that with maybe Jesus isn't reigning. Well, that's just not true. Appearances are deceiving. Scripture declares that Jesus reigns now. Now. John says that Jesus is the ruler of the kings of the earth. Every ruler, whether they acknowledge Jesus or not, is subject to Jesus' authority. And that subjectation starts now. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is reigning. God has put all things in subjection under Jesus' feet. Do you know that phrase appears three times in the New Testament? It appears in Hebrews, in 1 Corinthians and in Ephesians. It's a true statement. Ephesians 1, 10-11 declares that in the fullness of time, God will gather together in one, all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth. The time is coming. Christ is even now working all things according to the counsel of his will. He's the ultimate head over all human government. Take heart, Christian. God is on his throne and he is in control. And consider how Christ's sovereignty has played out through history. We aren't the first people that maybe we're thinking, where is Jesus today? I mean, think about, I mean, the Roman Empire that executed him eventually bowed before him. Countless regimes that persecuted Christians have fallen while the church has endured. Even today, in places where Christianity is most severely oppressed, the church continues to grow. And oftentimes in those countries, it's growing at a more rapid rate than it is here in the West. Not only is Christ reigning, but he's on the move. This is amazing. And when we watch the news and see global turmoil, we have to remember, no crisis takes Christ by surprise. No political leader operates outside of his jurisdiction. His jurisdiction falls under Jesus. You see, in no world power rises or falls apart from his sovereign purpose, that the throne of heaven is not vacant. It's not contested. It's occupied by the risen Christ. And the best part is this is true. This isn't just like my empty plat, this isn't just feelings. This isn't just me hoping you feel better when you leave church today. This is the true story of reality. This is what actually is. Christ is not just about personal salvation either. It's about the victory of Christ's kingdom over sin, death, and the powers of this world. The questions that are raised in my mind, right? Do we live as though Christ is currently reigning? Are we taking dominion? Does our anxiety about world events betray our lack of confidence in Jesus' supreme rule? If Jesus is risen and reigning, how should that transform our perspective on the headlines that frighten us? If Jesus is the ruling king, then his reign ought to have a direct impact in our lives, and everything in our lives is touched. But what exactly has Jesus done for you and for me? Well, John now directs our attention to the hat of the gospel, the power of the cross. To him who loves us, to him who loves us, and has freed us from our sins by his blood. My family has largely been antagonistic towards my Christian convictions. I am still the only Christian in my family. My brother's favorite word for me is "deluded." He thinks I'm deluded, which is okay, because he's blind, and he can't see. And this last time I was home, I've been living in California for 20 years, as if it's not home. Last time I flew back east, I got to hang out with my brother and his family, and I took Eva with me, and I got to have a great conversation just briefly alone with my brother in his living room. And where I was expecting normally to get made fun of, which doesn't bother me, it really doesn't. My brother asked me a really great question. Instead of calling me deluded, instead of calling me a name, or making fun of my belief in zombies, which is what my family thinks I believe in a zombie, he asked, "John, why did Jesus have to die?" What a great question. What a wonderful question. And here we find the answer. We find the answer in this single phrase, because in this single phrase from John contains the heartbeat of the gospel. To answer why Jesus came, why he had to die, what he accomplished, and how he did it, it's the declaration of our redemption rooted in both God's love and Christ's blood. You see, God was motivated by his love. Notice the order here, it's significant. To him who loves us comes before and has freed us. You see, the cross is, it's not what makes Jesus love us. The cross is the result of Jesus' love for us. And this is echoed in Paul, and by Paul in Romans 5. But God demonstrated his own love for us in this. While we were sinners, Christ died for us. You see, Christ's love, it's personal. It doesn't say to him who once loved us, but to him who loves us. His love is, it's not just a past event, it's an ongoing thing. It's unchanging. Guys, I was in North Dakota, negative 19 degrees. Kids were coming to school in t-shirts and shorts. What's wrong with your parents? And I taught on suicide my last morning there. And part of my suicide talk, I step back and I just point out, did you know that God's love for you is constant? God's love for you, it doesn't change according to your behavior. You don't earn merit with God. And I explained this to them, and at the end, I had a young man, he was 15, he came up to me, he said, "John, I think I just got saved." Well, you pray with me. Nobody has ever told me that God's love for me is consistent, even when I sin. I thought every day I had to be perfect. And if I messed up, God didn't love me. God's love for you guys is constant. God's love for you is so great that he gave his only son for you. He went to extreme lengths for you. It's personal. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end, is what John says in 13.1, his gospel. There's a beautiful tension here worth exploring. Christ's work for freeing us is completed. He has freed us. It's past tense. But his love continues uninterrupted. He loves us. It's present tense. The cross was a once for all sacrifice, but the love that drove him to that cross, it remains constant in action towards us. And he doesn't love us because he saved us. He saved us because he loves us. And that love, it continues unabated today, regardless of our performance. Prince, there is true freedom here. You are children of God. Declared forgiven before a holy and just God. And his love for you is unconditional. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The Bible says that neither heights nor depths, neither angels nor principalities, nor any created thing will be able to separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Did you know that? Unbelievable. And not only is Christ's love personal. Christ's love is unmerited. Now this phrase, guys, is scandalous. We are the only religion, the only worldview that believes this. Every other worldview, you spend your life here working your way towards God, meriting his favor. That's not true with Christianity. The true story. Christ merited everything so we don't have to. It's a scandalous phrase. We've got to understand this, that when we understand who we are apart from Christ, where we're enemies of God, where we're dead in sin, we're children of perdition, we're children of wrath, and yet he loves us, not because of who we are, but because of who he is. Christ's love is its personal. It's unmerited, but it's also infinite. And John, Jesus says the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. He says greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for who? His friends. And how can we human beings be sure that we're loved? I mean, a lot of us, I think, spend a lot of time desperately seeking, actively looking out for how we can be loved, constantly seeking the affections of other people, and then we die disappointed and sad. Well, Paul, he says he who did not spare his own son but delivered him up for all. This divine, and therefore truly infinite love, has made us kings and priests to God. You see, sin's not just a mistake. It's a bondage is what John in his gospel says. But Jesus' death doesn't just forgive us of our sins, it frees us from them. Think about the different forms of bondage that some of us might experience today, right? The addict who says, "I'll never do that again." Only to relapse just a few hours or days or weeks later, the person trapped in shame, unable to believe they could ever be truly loved. The perpetual people, please, are imprisoned by the need for others' approval. The victim of trauma, still captive to the memories and the fears after the event that they suffer. What all these things have in common is the experience of being trapped, of wanting freedom, but being unable to achieve it through mere sheer willpower of the human nature. Just that alone is not enough. And this is the reality of sin that Jesus takes on through his blood. His freedom, it's not just forgiveness that leaves us struggling with the same old patterns. It's true liberation that breaks sins, power on you and me. Yesterday, Rihanna, I mean, Eva and I, we went to a pro-life prayer walk. It was amazing. We joined with what, maybe 50 or 60 other people in Ventura, and we did a little bit of worship and prayer, and then we walked in front of a planned parenthood where every Wednesday in Ventura, across from reality, across from that new church there, every Wednesday, all they do in that building is perform surgical abortions. And we prayed for an hour outside of that building, and then when we went back, we got to hear a testimony of a woman who had an abortion. But through the power of Christ and his cross, she has received healing. There's no shame in her because of it, because she met Jesus. And she knows that she's washed clean of even that grievous sin, and that she's found community and love within the church of God. Friends, this is the power of the cross. There's nothing like it. There's nothing like it. It transforms lives. Paul in Galatians says, "For freedom Christ has set us free, stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery." This is why Revelation refers to him as the Lamb who was slain. You see, in Exodus, the blood of the Lamb entirely freed Israel, ultimately freed Israel from slavery as they painted it on their doorposts, allowing death to pass over the home, saving Israel's firstborn. Do you guys remember this account? Right, well, Jesus, Jesus is the true and better Passover Lamb. He frees us from a more pervasive and greater slavery, the slavery of sin and death. Therefore, there is now, like I said, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ has set you free from the law of sin and death, is what Paul says in Romans. And how do we know that his sacrifice was accepted? The resurrection, Easter, unbelievable. You see, Easter, am I saying Easter? Easter. It's not just a celebration. It's a declaration. The cross worked. It worked. It were unbelievable. The Father's raising of Jesus from the dead was his divine verdict. Payment accepted, debt canceled, prisoners doors opened, chains falling off, the things we sing about. It's true because of the resurrection. And my chains are gone. I've been set free. My God, my Savior, has ransomed me, and like a flood his mercy reigns on ending love. Amazing grace the earth shall soon dissolve, like snow the sun for bear to shine. But God who called me here below will be forever mine, will be forever mine. But Christ, he didn't just redeem us from something. He redeemed us for something. John here reveals the incredible purpose of Christ's work in our lives. He has made us to be, this is, guys, this is so good. He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. You see, the work of Christ, it's not just about personal salvation. It's about restoring us to our true calling. We're a kingdom. We're no longer slaves to sin. We're citizens of Christ's kingdom, for he rescued us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son, is what Paul says. This means our allegiance is first and foremost to Christ, not to this world. Remember what James says. James says that that friendship with this world is hostility to God. Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Exodus 19.5 through 6 provides a background to all of this. Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to me, above all people, for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. What was the purpose? This is what he promised to Israel, and it's now fulfilled through Christ and his church. Peter says to you and me now, he says, "But you're a chosen race, a royal priest, and a holy nation, a people of God's own possession so that you may proclaim the excellence of him who has called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light." But there's more. Jesus' kingdom, it's not just any kingdom. It differs from every world of the kingdom. My kingdom is not of this world is what he said to Pilate. His citizens live in every area, every sector, every segment of life, and these citizens, they seek to live obediently by the rulers, by the ruler of Christ's kingdom. It's these citizens, they pray for those in authority and conduct themselves peacefully in godliness and holiness. They demonstrate the love of the Lord Jesus by helping the poor and feeding the hungry and caring for the widow. They defend the rights of the disadvantaged, the downtrodden, the least of these. They care for needy people, and then they proclaim and they teach the gospel of Jesus Christ to anybody and everybody who will hear. You guys can pray for me this weekend. I'm going down to Palm Springs. If you guys know anything about what Palm Springs has become, it's a very dark place. And on Thursday night, I'll be walking the streets of Angelizing down there. Pray for me. Pray for the people that I'll be talking to as I proclaim the goodness of Jesus Christ and the freedom that comes with falling under His sovereign will. Pray for lives changed. As citizens of the kingdom, we testify to the present reign of Jesus in the world today. So what's this mean practice? I have no idea where I am time-wise. Are you guys okay? Do you guys love me? Are you sure? Nobody answered. You just giggled. You laughed. I love you guys. Do you guys want to know why I love you? It's a good guess. You can talk to me. It's okay. Why? Because Jesus loves us. Good guess. I love you because you're made in the image of God. Every one of you is made in the image of God, and so am I. And because we're made in the image of God, you know what? I'm worthy of your love. I am. There's nothing I need to do to earn it. It's freely given because I'm made in the image of God, but so too is the center. So too is the rebel. So too is the homosexual. So too is the adulterer. So too is the adulterer. So too is the abortionist. They're all made in the image of God. And they're not outside Christ's love. Christ can reach them if we're obedient, if we're willing, if we find ourselves under the Lordship of Christ and follow His instruction to go and baptize and teach, watch what happens. Lives changed. Worlds changed. So what's this mean practically? Being part of Christ's kingdom changes how we make everyday decisions. It means we operate by a different value system. When our culture says success is wealth and status, kingdom citizens measure success by faithfulness and service. Something, know who exemplifies this perhaps more than anybody else is our deacons at this church. Faithfully serving. None of this would happen without them. Coming here early. Kay Lynn, you're incredible. Have you guys noticed her back there? Everybody say hi to Kay Lynn. Hi Kay Lynn. Incredible. None of this happens without her. Made new kingdom. Saint of God. Royal priest. It means we have different priorities. We invest our time and talents and treasures, not primarily for earthly comfort, but for eternal impact. Solely is a good example of this. I don't know if you know this, but you're pastors, we don't get paid a ton. It's part of our model. Because we're not chasing the earthly things, guys. I'm not patting myself on the back. I'm saying that Christ has transformed me. And I love Him. And I'll do whatever it takes. Different priorities. My investments are not here. They're in heaven. It means we recognize different authorities. When laws and cultural pressures conflict with the Christ commands, our allegiance is clear. Our allegiance is to Christ. Peter in Acts 5, we're reminded this as he's preaching, right? Peter in Acts 5, we must obey God rather than man. If we're still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ, is what Peter says. I mean, there's examples of replete in our culture, you know, when your company expects unethical practices to maximize profits. Your kingdom citizenship guides your response. When political polarization demands our ultimate loyalty, our higher allegiances to Christ's kingdom, it helps us to maintain perspective. At the law firm, I bumped into this all the time. All the time. I worked at a really prestigious law firm in Santa Monica, and I worked alongside a woman, she was fantastic. And she was a lesbian. And she would come in to, guys, I just lived by Christ's principles faithfully. And honestly, I was a hard worker, and I did everything unto the Lord, whether to eat or drink, we do all unto the glory of God. So I was respected in the office, just because of my shared effort. And I loved people. Why did I love people? Made in the image of God, even my friend who's a lesbian, she had a wife. I know who she would come to when she had marital problems. Me. And she'd come into my office and I'd say, I understand what you're saying, but you know God's not going to bless your marriage because you're in sin, this is against God's. I didn't placate the truth at all to her. And she's like, I understand that's what you believe, but could you just give me some advice? So I'd pull out my Bible, I'd open it to a section, I'd hand it to her, and we'd go through, I'd give her some practical advice and communication skills through the word of God. And now now fast forward five years, haven't been at the law firm for five or six years. All of a sudden she texts me out of the blue. She says, hey John, can you call me? Sure, so I just called, do you remember this? I just called her right away, and she's like, oh my gosh, you're really busy, I didn't think you'd call me right up. Because I love you, because you made an image of God. What's going on? And she says, well, I'm really concerned. She goes on to explain that her youngest son has autism, severe autism, so he takes everything very literally. She says, my son has come home from school and he says he's a Christian, and I'm terrified. And she says to me, this breaks my heart, she says to me, I'm so fearful that my son is going to read the Bible and come to hate me because of my sexual identity. John, would you be willing to meet with him and read the Bible with him? Yeah? Right? You see what happened though? It stats way back where it's like living consistently, where the world is going to tell us that you're going to be punished and persecuted because of your beliefs. I'm not saying that's not going to happen, but because I was faithful, because I was honoring Christ, it opened up doors that never would have been opened up. And who knows what's going to happen? Christ's followers who make up his kingdom, they honor him as Lord of hosts and the King of kings, and they utter in their daily prayers, may your kingdom come, may your will be done. You see, Jesus, he didn't rise from the dead merely to give us a ticket to heaven. He rose to establish his kingdom. And he did so, and he uses us as citizens here and now. It stats now. We're priests. The Old Testament priests mediated between God and man. Well, now we have direct access to God. We're called to intercede and to worship and to proclaim his name. Being priests in our daily lives means that we're at work. We represent God to our colleagues and our clients through integrity, excellence, and compassion. We also represent our colleagues to God through prayer and intercession. In our families, we create spaces to encounter God through prayer, scripture reading, and spiritual conversations. We intercede for our loved ones, again, through prayer. And in our communities, we stand in the gap between human need and divine provision being channels of God's grace through service and witness. I mean, consider with me the parent who prays over his children every night. That parent, that mom and that dad, they're functioning as a priest. The business person who conducts deals with integrity, even when it costs them, they're functioning as a priest. The neighbor who serves the suffering and points them to Christ, they're functioning as a priest. So this Easter, remember, the risen Christ didn't just save you. He ordained you. The empty tomb is your commissioning ground. And it ends our time here with all glory belongs to him. Our salvation is not for our own glory, but for his Easter is the ultimate display of his dominion. He reigns forever. You see, I'm wrapping up here. That's like promised, just like a paragraph. No more swiping. Revelation 1, 4 through 6 reminds us that Easter, it's not just a historical event. It is that, but it's more. It's a cosmic reality that everything changed. And in it, everything changes. Jesus is the faithful witness that the risen firstborn, the reigning king, and he's freed us by his blood, made us a kingdom and called us as priests. And this is who we dine with at this table. This is who we meet here every weekend. It's so good. So guys, as we approach Easter, let's not merely celebrate. Let's respond. Let's worship the Lamb who is slain, who now reigns forevermore. Amen. Father, I thank you for your word. In Jesus' name, amen.