[0:00]
You're listening to [music] Talk One from Adam Chung at the Reach Australian National Conference in 2026. We pray this resource is fruitful for you and for your ministry. [music] If you do find it helpful, can you give $5 to help support the people and the network behind it? Your gift helps us [music] to make more gospel- centered resources available at churches across the nation. So, we're going to hear from God speak to us now as we read from his word. So in Revelation 1:es 1 to18, the revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave

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him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ whatever he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy. And blessed are those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it because the time is near. John to the seven churches in Asia. Grace and peace

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to you from the one who is, who was, and who is to come. and from the seven spirits before his throne. And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and father. To him be glory and dominion forever and

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ever. Amen. Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. So it is to be. Amen. I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, the one who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. I John your brother and partner in the affliction kingdom and endurance that

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are in Jesus was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the spirit on the Lord's day and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet saying write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thotyra, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Leodysia. Then I turned to see whose voice it was

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that spoke to me. When I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. And among the lampstands was one like the Son of Man, dressed in a robe, and with a golden sash wrapped around his chest. The hair of his head was white as wool, white as snow, and his eyes like a fiery flame. His feet were like fine bronze, as it is fired in a furnace, and his voice like the sound of cascading waters.

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He had seven stars in his right hand. A sharp double-edged sword came from his mouth, and his face was shining like the sun at full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me and said, "Don't be afraid. I am the first and the last and the living one. I was dead. But look, I am alive forever and ever, and I

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hold the keys of death and Hades. Therefore, write what you have seen, what it what is and what will take place after this. The mystery of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. And the seven lampstands are the seven churches. This is the word of the Lord.

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Well, brothers and sisters, why don't you uh keep your Bibles open there? We're going to be looking especially at verses uh 1 to8. Uh let me pray. To you who love us and have set us free from our sins by your blood and made us a kingdom, priests to our God and Father. To you be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

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Well, friends, you'll have to um forgive me actually if I look a little sleepd deprived over these few days. You see, two two months ago, uh I became a dad. Uh you see on the on the 15th of March uh my wife Justine uh she gave birth to our son Jesse and as and as soon as he was born Jazz and I both said um we really want to bring him to reach. We didn't say that at hospital but that was that was our goal. Uh we've been working towards this over that time. So this week right now it's it's the milestone

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that we've all been uh leading up to. And can I say that as of 3:00 a.m. last night, I totally regret our decision. If you're a parent, I know you've been there before. You hold the baby in your arms at 3:00 a.m. You try to settle him. You pray for the Lord Jesus to return. And there he is in your arms. If he were crying, that would be okay. I could understand that. But he's just silent, just staring right at you.

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And I know what he wants. And I say to him as just lies there asleep mate like what you want I cannot give. And in those moments where I hold him there and and time just stretches for an eternity all these thoughts go through my mind really. I look at him and I wonder what are you going to be like when you grow up and maybe you'll be sporty like your mom uh or a bit of a nerd like your dad. Uh, which of the great Asian three are you going to

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become? Yeah. A doctor, a lawyer, or a failure, right? Like which which one which one of those? Right. I I just don't know. Uh, I'll accept two out of three, right? Like, and I thought to myself, actually, can I be optimistic about your future? Can I actually look forward to the life ahead that you have? or should I just measure my expectations a little bit? So, what do I do? I go to our 11:15

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service and look look at the young people there. And when I look at the younger guys in our church, to be honest, uh it it doesn't look great. Uh and I'm serious. I mean, they this shocked me. They they all seem so pessimistic. I mean, think about it, right? They've got almost no trust in authority, barely any motivation to do anything. And in a way that really surprised me. So few hopes for the future. I hear them say it all the time. Adam,

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what's the point in working hard? It doesn't do anything. Nothing's going to change. Why even bother? In fact, uh when J was pregnant, one young girl said to me, "Uh, why would you even want to bring a child into such a broken world?" She to be fair, she didn't know that J was pregnant. So that that's fine. But you see, the reality is I think that my son Jesse is being born into a deeply pessimistic generation. And here's my bigger fear that that pessimism is actually shaping

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our disciplehip. I I see so many young men and women fight their sin but give into it. And you know what they tell me? It is what it is. >> That's just who I am. >> And in a way that's heartbreaking. I think we actually have really low expectations of growth and change. You know, sure, there was a previous generation of Christians. They had to deal with the whole entire

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sanctification and higher life movement of KZIC. Uh friends, that's not our problem today. I actually think ours is the opposite. We don't even think that transformation is possible. And I really worry that that as a church, we're being gripped by a kind of worldly pessimism. So into that, what better book for us to meditate on this week than Revelation? You see, for the churches to whom John is writing, to be honest, have even more reason for pessimism than we do. Chapter

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2, 13, these are the days of Antipus, who was put to death among you. Chapter 3:10, the hour of testing is going to come on the whole world. Chapter 12:12, the devil has come down to you with great fury. You see, of all books, Revelation is written to a church that is persecuted and has every reason for a deep, deep pessimism. And in its suffering, the people of God are so easily tempted to sin,

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to abandon their first love, to tolerate heresy, to give up on the Lord Jesus all together, which is exactly why John doesn't just write a letter, he writes an apocalypse. He doesn't just want to tell us something. No, he wants to show us something. He doesn't just want us to hear this news. Can you see? He wants us to see a vision. You see, in Revelation, John paints signs and symbols to show it

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an otherworldly reality. In fact, friends, I want to offer that he wants us to he wants to show us reality as it truly is. Because I don't know about you, but when I look out at the world with all of its reasons for despair, it's so tempting, isn't it, to fixate on those three great enemies that we have, to fixate on sin, to fixate on death, to fixate on the devil. And when we see those enemies, we are so

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easily overwhelmed. But over the next three days, John wants to show us three greater realities. He wants us to see that our lives and our ministries are not defined by sin, death, and the devil, but by affliction, kingdom, and endurance. You see it there in Revelation 1:9. I, John, your brother, and partner in the affliction, kingdom, and endurance that are in Christ Jesus.

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I actually think those three words so beautifully capture the message, the vision of revelation that in our affliction, John shows us the kingdom so that we might endure. And I love this right in today's passage, Revelation 1, John wants to take us by the scruffs of our neck and shake us out of our worldly pessimism instead of desparing at the great enemy that is our sin. John wants to summon us

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to lift your eyes. Look, look, look. Firstly, I want you to see, look, look at who he is. [snorts] It's right there in verses 1 to5. You see, John is writing to a church on the cusp of great suffering. Chapter 1, verse one, he writes off what must soon take place. in in verse three, he he tells us that the time is near. And yet, here's what's so surprising

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that John's focus is actually not on our suffering. His focus is on our savior. This is verse one, the revelation of Jesus Christ. John is testifying verse two to the testimony of Jesus Christ. You see, it's not just that this revelation and this testimony are from Jesus, though they are. No, they are of Jesus. And right out from the gate, we see that the answer to a worldly pessimism

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is a glorious vision of our risen King Jesus. No wonder John's first vision is of one like the son of man dressed in a white ro dressed in a robe with a golden sash wrapped around his chest. John wants us to behold Jesus for who he really is. Look at verses 4 to 5. John greets the seven churches in the name of the father, the son, and the spirit. We see

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the father there in verse four. He is the one who is, who was, and who is to come. He is the great I am of Exodus 3. We we see the spirit there as well from Zechariah 4. He is the seven spirits before the throne. But notice again, even in the Godhead, John's emphasis, his focus, his passion is on is on the son, on Jesus Christ, the the faithful witness that as we seek not only to hear the

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words of this prophecy, but also to keep what is written in it. Can you see that Jesus is the model of our faithfulness? He is the faithful witness and the firstborn from the dead. Just think about it. For a church that's facing the prospect of death, Jesus is our assurance that death is not the end. He is the guarantee of our resurrection. And he is the ruler of the kings of the

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earth. Just imagine for a moment what the early church must have felt just reading these words. the the kings who wage war against us, Caesar, Augustus who persecutes us, they are nothing before the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Brothers and sisters, do you realize that this is who Jesus is? He is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, the ruler of of the kings of the earth, and he is all of those things

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right now. that this is not a picture of what is to come. This is a picture actually of our present reality. Jesus is like that first relay runner who blazed the trail, who pushed through the pain and and he's finished the race. And now, brothers and sisters, if we run that same race as we endure that same pain, he stands there on the other side of the finish line saying, "Look at me. Look at

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me. Look at me. I I was dead, but look. I'm alive forever and ever. And I hold the keys of death and Hades. The antidote to our worldly pessimism surely is a much bigger vision of our risen king. Don't we sing it Sunday after Sunday? High King of heaven, my victory one. May I reach heaven's joys, oh bright heaven son,

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heart of my own heart, whatever before, still be my vision, oh ruler of all. The truth is, you know what makes me pessimistic about at least my the church I lead? It's not actually our suffering on the outside. In in one sense, I can understand that the thing that makes me really despair

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is our sin on the inside. I love cross and crown. I planted it seven years ago. It's my heart. I love it so much. I don't know about you, but sometimes I look at our church and my my heart actually breaks. You know, week after week, I it's easy for me, right? I can't help but see the consumerism. You know, the other member who comes the another member yet who comes to you who

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demands so much and sacrifices so little. I can't help but notice kind of the godless apathy. This one really gets me. People who just don't care about the things of God. And it feels like you're preaching week in and week out and just zero, like no reaction at all. And maybe the one that breaks me most of all is, you know, you watch in horror as brothers and sisters fight and gossip and slander each other. I don't know if I'm alone in that. Maybe my church is just more sinful than every other.

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But if you grieve the state of the church like I do, if you grieve the sins of the church like I do, I suspect, can I speak for myself? I am too easily fixated on her sins and not transfixed enough by her savior. You'll know the line by Robert Murray McShane. He famously writes, "For every look at yourself, take 10 looks at Christ." Beautiful, isn't it? I need to keep reminding myself, for every look at the church, take 10 looks at Christ. For

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every look at her sins, take 10 looks at Christ. For every look at her transgressions, take 10 looks at Christ. He is the model of our faithfulness, the the guarantee of our resurrection, the ground of our assurance. Imagine what it must feel like for this suffering and sinning church to behold a vision of her king who stands over it all. Look at who he is.

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And in verses 5 to 6, John writes, I want you to look at what he's done. Look at what he's done. Friends, this is where I want to spend most of our time today. I want us to do something really simple, but Lord willing, really deep. I want us to meditate on just 14 words because in these simple words, we discover the Lord's tenderness and triumph. We experience his mercy and might. I want I want you all now just for a moment, just close your eyes and I

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want you to listen to these words. To him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by his blood. to him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by his blood. Open your eyes and realize this. Isn't that astounding? To to a people hated by the world, they hear the words, "He

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loves you." To a people in prison for the gospel, they hear the words, "He has set you free." To a people facing death, they hear the words, "He bled and died for you." Here's my question today for us this morning. When Jesus died on that cross, what do we think he exactly achieved there? What was it that happened on that hill far away? Now throughout history, Christians have generally understood the death of Christ in three different ways. Let me zoom you

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through it. The first view says this that that the primary work of the cross is on you and me. That when Jesus dies on the cross, he dies as a great example of love. And then when I behold that, it sparks in me a kind of saving love for God and one another. You might call that that the cross has inspiration. Now the second view says no no no the primary work of the cross is not on me but it's on the powers of evil. So if that first view says that my primary

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problem is my loveless heart. No the second view says no my my primary problem is my captivity to sin. So so when Jesus died he didn't just spark love in me. No no no he freed me from the powers of darkness. This isn't the cross as inspiration. No, the second view is is the cross as liberation. The third view though says our primary problem is not a loveless heart nor a captive soul.

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Our primary problem is a holy God. And on the cross, Jesus died in our place to bear God's wroth and reconcile us to him forever. the cross as substitution. Now, here's the question that keeps the nerds in business, right? Uh, is there one ring to rule them all? How do you get inspiration, liberation, and substit here? And I want to offer that in these 14 beautiful words,

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we find them all in their right place. Just meditate on these words with me for a moment. Right. Firstly to him who loves us. Can you just feel how beautiful that is? That the first word of the cross is love. Love is the great motivation of the atonement. You you cannot h have a loveless cross. But I want you to realize that love is so much more than just inspiration. You see if Jesus death does nothing more

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than merely inspire. It only inspires an empty love. boss his death doesn't actually do anything. It's entirely subjective. No, I want I want us to see the cross is more than mere inspiration. This is a love that has done what? It's a love that has set us free. There it is. The cross as liberation. There it is. The victory of the Lord Jesus. [snorts] But please don't read those three words set us free to simply mean Jesus has

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forgiven us though he has. No, no. John uses that same word to describe a release from bondage. He sets us free from the power of sin. And he doesn't just write to him who loves us and will one day set us free from our sins. No, no. He has set us free from our sins. Brothers and sisters, this is our present reality that Jesus has freed us from the bondage of sin. He hasn't just saved us from its

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penalty. He has liberated us from its power. Which means that you and I are captives no more. We are free to grow, free to change, free to transform into into who God saved us to be. Right there in verse six, a kingdom, priest to his God and father. Can you see what Jesus has done on the cross? Out of love, he set us free from the sins that bind us. Out of love, he has set us free to live a transformed

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life. Out of love, he has set us free to become more like him. The cross is so much more than a mere inspiration of love. Brothers and sisters, the cross is our radical liberation from sin. But the question is, how? How is it that Jesus achieves such a great victory? It's right there in those three precious words that sit at the at the heart of the gospel

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by his blood. Because it's only when Jesus bears my sins in my place that I can say I am free. You see, when Jesus died in our place, he took our sins to the grave. And when he rose from the grave, he left our sins in the ground. Can you see at the at the heart of Christ's love and at the heart of Christ's victory is Christ's death. There is no inspiration or liberation without substitution.

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Without Jesus sin atoning, wroth bearing death, his love is hollow and his victory is empty. Substitution is the ground of our liberation. But can you see what that also means? See, it means that our liberation is the goal of substitution. Our liberation is the goal of substitution. So why did Jesus die? He didn't just die to forgive our sins. Yes, important though that is. He died

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to free us from our sins. You see, I suspect that most people in my church know that they're forgiven. But somewhere in their hearts, they don't really believe that they're freed. The other week, I was speaking with a young man who's uh fighting, thank God, but losing sadly a long-term battle against inddwelling sin. I caught up with him. I asked him, "How's it going?" He said to me, "Adam, I I prayed about it, but nothing's changed,

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so I just gave up." Isn't that tragic? And yet, doesn't it also capture the the worldly pessimism of our age? that why is it that I give into sin? I think we give into sin because we give up on change. We just don't think it's even possible. So why even bother? Well, I know I've been forgiven, but I think I've been forsaken. I think I've been left to the ravages of sin in this world, armed only with the cold, delayed comfort that God just won't hold it

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against me in the next. It can feel like the gospel has no this worldly power, no power to change, no power to transform, no power to free. I know that I'm saved from sin's penalty, but I think I'm still under its bondage, under its power, and the Christian life just becomes God's waiting room. To be honest, it's like I've given up and I'm waiting for heaven.

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And if I could gently offer, I I worry that of all places in this is how we deal with kind of those besetting sins that arrive from within our hearts. You know, I get it right. There are some besetting sins that every single one of us here will fight against till the day we die. But if I could suggest that especially I think right now when it comes to sinful sexual desire, those involuntary disordered desires that arise from within our hearts,

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I really worry that we too quickly give up the fight, that we too quickly give up even on the possibility of change, that we too quickly say, you know, that's just who I am. I guess that's just my cross to carry. Brothers and sisters, we need to define our identities by our savior more than our sin. I'm ashamed to admit it. I said before that I'm a natural pessimist. And let me tell you how it plays out in ministry. In my drier moments and darker seasons, which sometimes feels like every Sunday

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night, you know, I don't actually think people can change. Don't tell my church I said that. But I I in my heart of hearts, I don't think people can change. Someone came to me not long ago and they said, "Oh, you know, we had a someone who's in our church years ago. They long since left and and they said to me, do you know how they're going?" And I said, "No, no, no." I said, "Well, let me tell you." And they told me about this their continued struggle with sin and oh, life is awful. Do you know what? Do you know how I

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responded when I heard that that this brother or sister was still stuck in sin? still stuck in the same problem, still hurting themselves and other people. I said, "Yeah, of course." What do you expect? Isn't that awful? Like there is a kind of realism that goes with ministry. I get it. But but the fact that I just was like, "Yeah, that's what they're like. They'll always be like that. Why even bother?"

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Or even when you think about things something as simple as mission heat in church. We talk about that at reach all the time. There was a season in our church where the mission heat was like subzero, right? Like no one's inviting their friends to church. No one cares. You put on this evangelism course. It's like just a tree falling in an empty forest, right? And you just think, what's the point? Cancel it. Right? So you I know we're told just keep running it. Keep running. It just feels like a waste of time. You try to bring spiritual change to your church. Now, I love my elders, but

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you know that feeling if you're a Presbyterian. We're not FIC. You know what? But but your elders just fight you every step of the way. And you just think to yourself on Sunday night when you go home, I have a group chat with two pastors here and don't look at it. It's not godly, right? And and you just look every Sunday night, you're like, I'm just going to leave. There's no hope for this place, right? And all my prayers kind of become directed to a God who can answer my prayers but probably won't. He won't change, won't save, won't transform.

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Why do I think like that? Now, let me tell you the emotional reason, right? But this is a self-awareness piece that I'm trying to grow in. It's hard, right? I think I say that to protect my heart from disappointment. I think that's why I say it. Let me tell you the theological reality, right? It's because I have a limited view of what Christ has achieved on the cross. I need to repent of that worldly pessimism. For guilty,

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helpless, lost were we, blameless lamb of God was he sacrificed to set us free. Hallelujah. What a savior. Do I really believe that? Do I really believe that Jesus was sacrificed to set us free? Do I really believe that I live in that state of grace where in Christ we have all we need to not sin? We have

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all we need to grow. We have all we need to change. In fact, there is a humble sense in which we should expect growth and expect transformation. There is a sense that for me to expect anything less than to be set free from my sins diminishes the blood which was shed for my freedom. Back in 2010, um I started catching up uh every few months with uh Peter Adam

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down in Melbourne. And Peter has this wonderful manner of rebuking of your sins. You don't realize it until you're at home, right? And did he just say that to me? Right? And so we sit there in his office and he closes his eyes and I think he's like I think I know he's still there, right? But he closes his eyes for a very long time and he says, "Young man, tell me what what sins are you struggling with?" I was honest. I said, "Peter, I struggle

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to love the church." He asked me why, and I said, "Well, look at her. She's so sinful." To which Peter with his eyes continued to be closed said, "Yes, because you are. And she's holy because you are, brother. You must learn to love the church as she is and not as you wish she

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would be. Yes, she is sinful, but she is holy." When you look at the church, what do you see? Is all you see her inddwelling sin? Is all you see her loveless heart? Is all you see her godless apathy? That's my Sunday night. Or do you see her holiness? Do you see her freedom? Do you see the church who her savior died to make her? Do you see that kingdom priest to our

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God and father? Let let's not let's not have our hearts be jaded by this worldly cynicism and pessimism. Let's not look at the church like a lost cause or a spiritual graveyard. If Paul could write to the Corinthian church in all of its sin and still call them saints, how can we not see our churches for who they really are to a suffering and sinning church? John says, "Look at who he is. Jesus is the risen and reigning king. Look at what

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he's done. He has set us free from our sins." And in verses 7 to8, look brothers and sisters. Look to his return. Look, he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him. Even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. So it is to be. Amen. John looks to the son of man of Daniel 7, who will come on the clouds of heaven. And on that day, the prophet

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Zechariah will be vindicated as Israel mourns in repentance. But this time, it won't just be Israel. Now, all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. The king of heaven whom they pierced and by whose wounds we are freed. On that day, the son of man will come in glory with his eternal kingdom. On that day, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. On that day, Jesus will be by might what he is by right.

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King of kings and Lord of lords. Don't you long for that day? Here's the good news. Three words. He is coming. Not not he will one day come at some time, right? Like not he is coming. He is on his way. So So don't despair when you see the sin of your church. Don't grieve as those who have no hope. Keep looking to his return. Look to the day on which Jesus will

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come, establish his kingdom of priests, and purify his church. Look to the day on which Jesus will present all of us here in splendor without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless. Agatha Christie writes, "Old sins cast long shadows." And the truth is many of our churches

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are sitting in the long shadows of old sins. [snorts] And for those of us who are tasked with the great responsibility to lead these churches, it will it feels like those shadows just stretch forever. Brothers and sisters, know this. When Jesus returns in glory, he will cast all the shadows away. It's true. At another time, the problem with Kzik was that it overstated our

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expectations of sanctification. But but please, let's not pendulum swing to the other extreme. Let's not classify some sins as irredeemable or or somehow beyond the transforming power of Christ. We we need to remember that the decisive moment when sin was defeated is not in Jesus' future return. It's in his past death. It's not as if we live in bondage to our sins today and our whole lives and one day look forward to the one the possible reality that we might be freed in the

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future. No, no. John tells us we are freed from sin today and we will be perfected from sin forever. Which means that right now we are being transformed from one degree of glory to another until the day on which Jesus returns and we shall be as he is. [snorts] So don't look at the church from her sin forwards. Look at the church from her glory

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backward. See her not for who she was as sinful, but see her for who she is as holy and one and for what she will one day be perfect. I've noticed uh that if you're a reformed theology type of guy, some of us reformed types almost boast in having a huge doctrine of sin, don't we? Right? It's like the deeper the sin,

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the more solid the doctrine. It's ironic because unless we have an even bigger doctrine of Christ, our doctrine of sin is itself deeply sinful. For we are understating the power of Jesus' death and the extent of the spirit's transforming work. If I'm fixated on our sins but not on our savior, we will inevitably fall into a deep despair

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and we'll be so afraid to lead. We just why even bother? It's not going to do anything anyway. Sin is too powerful. The spirit is too weak. God's not going to answer the prayers that he's promised to answer. So what's the point? Why even try? And then we think we get smart. We even hide behind we even hide our fears behind a distortion of divine sovereignty. We say things like, "Well, I guess if God is sovereign and we're not seeing any growth, no transformation, no fruit at all, I guess

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that's just his will." The revelation of all books is a vision of divine sovereignty, isn't it? of the risen Lord Jesus reigning from the father's right hand. And John says the sovereignty of God shouldn't make us give up. The sovereignty of God should make us step up because the truest reality is this. Jesus died for our liberation. Jesus died for our freedom. Jesus died so that we can change. Man, that should fill me with an

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irreressible gospel optimism. An optimism that isn't blind to sin or suffering, but beholds a greater savior in heaven. An optimism that is dead honest about the transgressions and failings of the church. But far more hopeful that in Christ we can change. An optimism that not only thinks that we can change, but believes that we must. For surely a transformed life honors the blood that was shed to make us holy.

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So when you look at the church and when you shed a tear and your heart breaks at her captivity to sin, please don't despair. Don't give up. Don't give in. Lift your eyes. Look at who he is. He is our risen and reigning king. Look at what he's done. He died to set us free. and look to his return

[40:12]
when he will come and reign in glory. Let me pray. To you who love us and have set us free from our sins by your blood and made us a kingdom, priests to our God and Father, to you be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.