Someone has said, the brightest crowns that are worn in heaven have been tried and smelted and polished and glorified through the furnace of tribulation. God, speaking through Isaiah, said concerning His people Israel, Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver. I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. Yes, adversity comes to all of us, rich or poor, young or old. We cannot choose whether it will come, but we can choose how to respond to it. It can beat us down, or we can rise above it and use our experience to help someone else. Adversity is never pleasant, but sometimes we can learn lessons from it that can be learned in no other way. Someone has written a poem entitled, The Weaver. Listen to the words. My life is but a weaving between my Lord and me. I cannot choose the colors he worketh steadily. Oft times he weaveth sorrow, and I in foolish pride forget he sees the upper and I the underside. The dark threads are as needful in the weaver's skillful hand as the threads of gold and silver in the pattern he has planned. Not till the loon is silent and the shuttle ceased to fly shall God unroll the canvas and explain the reason why. Yes, often God weaves into the believer's life the dark threads of suffering. Paul had suffering woven into God's plan or God's pattern for his life. For we read in Acts chapter 9, But the Lord said unto Ananias, Go thy way, for Paul is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how great things he must suffer for my namesake. And we know that as Christ conformed to God's pattern for bringing many sons to glory, He suffered. The author of the book of Hebrews writes about this. He says, For it became Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. Yes, God, in bringing many sons to glory, wove into the plan and the pattern for the life of His Son intense suffering. And Peter reminds believers that they have been called to this very thing. For he wrote this, For even hereunto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps. And yet there's a warning, and this is the message that I want to leave with you. Present suffering must not keep us from serving lest we be unprepared for the appearance of our Judge. It's a message that comes through very clearly in Revelation chapter 1 and verses 9 to 20. The Apostle John had been exiled to the island of Patmos, and he was suffering for righteousness' sake. And as he suffered, he saw a vision of Jesus Christ, the Judge. And the Lord said, write these things. I have a work for you. I have something for you to do, John. I know that you're suffering, but I've got something for you to do. I want you to write these words and send them to the churches. And John could have made an excuse. He could have said, Lord, I'm suffering. I'm hurting too badly to serve you now. Find someone else. And that's the danger. Present suffering must not keep us from serving, lest we be unprepared for the appearance of our judge. The Bible makes it clear that believers have been called upon to suffer for Jesus Christ. And we have the example of John the Apostle, for we read in Revelation chapter 1 and verse 9, I, John, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and in patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. Yes, John, is our example for he was suffering for righteousness sake and he reminds us that first of all he is our brother there is a closeness expected between brothers and sisters in Christ the Bible says that Jesus knows us he knows how imperfect we are he knows how we fail He knows how experientially we are far removed from our position, that is, our position in Christ. And yet, he is not ashamed to call us brethren. It reminds me of the story of a bunch of kids gathered for a ball game, a game to be played before an audience made up mostly of parents. The two captains chose sides, And everyone was worried about Charlie. He couldn't see. He couldn't hit. He couldn't bunt or run or catch or slide. Everybody was worried about Charlie. And so it came as a great surprise when the captain who won the toss chose Charlie first. And as it turned out, the game was lost. And it was lost due to Charlie. An angry parent came to the captain from the audience and asked, Why did you pick Charlie? The captain said, Because Charlie is my brother. You see, there is a closeness expected between brothers and sisters. This is not only true in the human family. But this is true especially in the family of God. The Bible makes it clear that Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers. Are we ashamed of one another? Are we ashamed of Him? The Bible says we ought not to be. Fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell rather than the one who is only able to kill your body. We are to fear God more than we fear man. And we are to be like the Apostle Paul who said, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Yes, we are not to be ashamed John is our brother. And not only is he our brother, the book of Revelation goes on to say that he is our companion. He is our co-sharer. And he is our companion in three areas. First, in tribulation. Tribulation refers to distress that is brought about by outward circumstances. We refer to it as affliction, or pressure, or tribulation. It is said of the Thessalonian believers that they received the Word of God in much affliction. And we read about the ministry of the Apostle Paul. And Paul wrote this. He says, we are troubled on every side. There is the word. We are pressured. We are afflicted on every side. We are perplexed. We are persecuted. We are cast down. Paul experienced tribulation as he ministered for the Lord. And John says, I am a co-sharer. I am your companion. in tribulation. It came as no surprise to John that as a believer he was called upon to suffer, and with other believers he is a co-sharer in suffering. But notice that he is not only a companion in tribulation, he is a companion in the kingdom. like other believers he finds himself in the kingdom and there's only one way into the kingdom and it's by faith if you have exercised faith you are in the kingdom of God Jesus was speaking to the Jewish people in the presence of their leaders and he said except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees you shall in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven." You see, the Pharisees had a works righteousness. And Jesus said it takes more. You need to be clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ by faith, and then you can enter the kingdom. In essence, He said the same thing to Nicodemus. He said, Nicodemus, verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Today we are in the mystery form of the kingdom. It's described in Matthew chapter 13. That is, the parables of Matthew chapter 13 describe the mystery form of the kingdom. One day Jesus Christ will return and He will establish the kingdom, and we as believers will rule and reign with him. But John says, I am a companion not only in tribulation, I am a companion, a co-sharer in the kingdom. And then thirdly, he says, I am a companion in patient endurance in Christ. Now this word for patience means to remain under. We read of it in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 and verse 3 where it speaks of the patience of hope or it speaks of the hope that produced patience. That is their hope in Christ's return encouraged and motivated them to remain under. It was a hope that produced patience. And that's what the author of Revelation is talking about. John himself indicates that he is our brother and he is a companion or a co-sharer in affliction and in the kingdom and in remaining under in Christ. And we discover that he was on the island of Patmos and he was there for two reasons. He was there on account of the Word of God and he was there on account of his testimony concerning Christ. He found himself suffering because of his stand upon the Word of God and upon the Son of God. Now you and I are brothers and sisters in Christ if we have exercised faith. We are co-sharers in tribulation and in the kingdom and in remaining under in Christ as we look for his return. And while we certainly are not on the island of Patmos, we may very well be suffering due to the Word of God. That is due to what we believe and due to our testimony for Christ. Let's be careful suffering must not keep us from serving the Lord, lest we be unprepared for the appearance of our Judge." The Bible makes it clear that Jesus Christ will appear one day as the Judge. In Revelation chapter 1, this is described in verses 10 to 18, and some interpretation is given in verse 20. But it's talking about Jesus Christ as the judge. And every Jew knew that judgment preceded the kingdom. That's why John preached. And Jesus followed him by preaching the same message. And the twelve that Jesus sent forth in Matthew chapter 10 preached the same message. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Get right with God. Because if you're not right with God, you're going to be purged out into judgment, and you will not be able to enter the kingdom. Yes, every Jew knew that judgment preceded the kingdom. And we see that judgment very clearly in Matthew chapter 25. In verse 31, it describes His coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And we're told that the nations were gathered before Him, and they were separated into two groups. One referred to as the goats, the other referred to as the sheep. And we're told that the goats were cast into everlasting fire that had been prepared for the devil and his angels. But the sheep entered the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. Yes, there will be a judgment upon his return before the kingdom is established. In Ezekiel chapter 20 we read about the Jewish unbelievers, the rebels who will be purged out and will not be allowed to enter the kingdom. Actually, everyone is accountable to God. The book of Ecclesiastes ends on that note. It says this, for God shall bring every work into judgment with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. And so even believers are accountable to God. The Bible says we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. That is all believers must appear before the judgment seat of Christ that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad. And then we know that unbelievers will appear at the great white throne judgment And the books will be opened, and they will be judged out of those things that are written in the books. Their destiny is the lake of fire. Their punishment is determined by what is found in their books. And in Revelation chapter 1, John saw Christ as the judge. He was on the Isle of Patmos, suffering for righteousness' sake, and he had a vision. He had seen Christ as the Savior, for he walked with the Lord. He ministered under His leadership. He was here when Christ ministered on earth, and he knew that Christ was a Savior. He witnessed the resurrection. He witnessed the crucifixion. He witnessed the post-resurrection of our Lord. Yes, he's seen Christ as the Savior. And he had also seen Christ as the King, for he was present on the Mount of Transfiguration, which is really a preview of the Kingdom, a preview of Christ's return. And so on the Mount of Transfiguration, John had seen Christ as the King, but now he sees Him differently. For in the vision in Revelation chapter 1, he saw Christ primarily as the Judge. He was wearing a dress, a robe, a long flowing robe that went down to his feet. and it was held in place from the breast by a band of gold. His head, that is the white hairs of his head were as white as wool, they were as snow, verse 14 tells us. It also tells us that his eyes were as a flame of fire, they were piercing, they were penetrating. You can't hide anything from God. When he judges it will be right, it will be fair, it will be just, for nothing will be hid. His feet were glowing like bronze in a furnace. His voice was loud, like the sound of a trumpet, like the sound of much water, like a mountain torrent. And from his mouth was coming a sharp, two-edged sword. And with that sword, he would purge out the wicked in the earth. For we read in chapter 19 of Revelation, when Jesus Christ returns, here John saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. And he had on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. And it says, Out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations, and he shall rue them with a rod of iron, and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. Yes, the sword coming forth from the mouth of the Lord is an instrument of judgment. With His own word He will judge. And John primarily sees Him in that way. His face was shining like the noonday sun. And He was holding seven stars in the midst of seven lampstands, and we're told that John fell at His feet as dead. Now the man in the vision identified himself, so there's no question as to who he was. He said, I am the first and the last. I am he that liveth and was dead. Yea, I am alive forevermore. Amen. I have the keys of hell and of death. It could be none other than Jesus Christ. The one who went down into the realm of the dead. paid the penalty for sin, owed by man, and then came forth. He is the captain of our salvation. He has led the way, and by faith we too will go down into the realm of the dead and come back out. It's Christianity that takes us not only to the grave, but through the grave. Have you known Christ as your Savior? I trust that you have. You will see Him as a Judge before you will see Him as a King. One day He will rule, and we will rule and reign with Him. Revelation chapter 3 and verse 21 makes it clear that we will be associated with Him on His throne. But before we see Him as King, before we rule and reign with Him, we will see him as a judge and so be careful don't allow present suffering to keep you from serving him for if present suffering is allowed to keep us from serving him we will be unprepared for the appearance of Christ as our judge and we don't want that to happen All too often, believers are called upon to suffer. They're in a church. They're in a family. And they get hurt. And because of their testimony for Christ, and because of their witness, and for one reason or another, they find themselves suffering severely. And all too often, It stops their service for Christ. John would say, don't do that. If you have already done it, get it corrected and move in the right direction. Present suffering must not keep us from serving. lest we be unprepared for the appearance of our Judge. You see, believers have the opportunity to serve Him now. God clearly communicates His will for each one of us. John's task was clear, for the Lord said in the 11th verse of Revelation chapter 1, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, and what thou seest, write in a book and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia." So John knew what the Lord wanted him to do. And I believe that we know what the Lord wants us to do. Don't let suffering get in the way. We have been called to that. Don't be surprised when suffering comes your way, lest you be unprepared for the appearance of your judge. And then the Lord made it even more clear in verse 19 as He spoke to John. He said, Write the things which thou hast seen. That's the vision and the introduction to this book. And then He says, Write the things which are. That's chapters two and three where he writes about the churches that are in Asia. The church at Ephesus and the one at Shmyrna and Pergamum and Thyatira and Sardis and Philadelphia and Laodicea, all of these were in the province of Asia on the Aegean coast, modern-day Turkey. And John was to write not only the things which he saw, but the things which are, and also the things which shall be after these things." And interestingly, Revelation chapter 4 begins with that very same expression. After these things I looked, and behold. And so chapters 4 to the end of the book is what John wrote after these things. Verse 19 turns out to be an outline for the book of Revelation. Write the things which are. That's chapter 1. Write the things, I'm sorry, write the things which thou hast seen. That's chapter 1. Write the things which are. That's chapters 2 and 3. And then write the things which shall be after these things. That's chapters 4 through 22. Yes, like John. We might be suffering in one way or another, but don't use suffering as an excuse to stop serving the Lord. If we do, we'll not be ready when He appears. Present suffering must not keep us from serving, lest we be unprepared for the appearance of our Judge.