Well, good morning. It's my privilege this morning to preach and to share God's word with you.
! This morning we're preaching out of the book of Revelation, so already I realize there's a lot of questions that come up with that book and a lot of different opinions about what the book of Revelation says.
It turns out this morning we're looking at two chapters, chapter 4 and chapter 5, which there's not a lot of controversy. There's not a lot of friction between beliefs. It's pretty straightforward.
And the reason we're looking at those two chapters this morning is related to this time of the year. We're stepping into a new year and often we think about, at least we entertain the concepts, how should I live this year?
What is it that I should be about? A lot of people make resolutions. Obviously this morning, as I share from the book of Revelation, it's more so this concept of what is God calling me to be about this year?
What is spiritually, what is God asking me to do? How should I live spiritually? What should be my goal spiritually this year? How should I live in light of the gospel?
That's what I hope we'll see this morning in the book of Revelation. So I'd ask if you're able, if you would stand in honor of the reading of God's word.
And we're going to actually read two chapters, chapter 4 and chapter 5 this morning.
And then we'll take a look and see what God has for us.
So starting in chapter 4.
After this,
verse 1.
Verse 1.
and the elders, the voice of many angels,
numbering myriads upon myriads
and thousands upon thousands,
saying with a loud voice,
worthy is the lamb who was slain
to receive power and wealth and wisdom
and might and honor and glory and blessing.
And I heard every creature in heaven
and on earth and under the earth
and in the sea and all that is in them saying
to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb,
be blessing and honor and glory and might
forever and ever.
And the four living creatures said, amen.
And the elders fell down and worshiped.
Let's pray.
Father, this morning, would you open up
our understanding to this passage
in your book of Revelation?
Lord, would you move us deeply this morning
by these truths and I pray in your name, amen.
You can have a seat.
So I feel the need to share
about the interpretation of the book of Revelation.
It is sometimes very difficult
and I won't spend much time on this.
Ordinarily when I would teach about this book,
I would say there's 10 keys to unlocking
the truths of the book of Revelation.
This morning, I'm just going to share two.
I don't have time to dig in deeply.
One of those two truths is this,
is that the book of Revelation uses symbols
to share truths.
Many, and some would even say most of the passages
are symbolic and they represent truths
that we're intended to understand.
So that's one.
The second truth I would share,
the second key to unlocking the understanding
of the book of Revelation is this,
is that Revelation, in my belief,
is divided into seven sections
that all cover the span from the first
to the second coming of Christ.
I'll say it again.
We're looking at seven parallel sections
of the book of Revelation
that cover the time frame
between the first and second coming of Christ.
This morning, we're looking at a portion
of the second parallel section.
These parallel sections cover the same time frame,
but they zoom in on different aspects
of that time frame
from the first to second coming of Christ.
Chapters four through seven
are one of the parallel sections.
This morning, we're looking at chapters four through five.
So I would say this before we begin to dig in.
What we're looking at here
is the time frame near the first coming of Christ.
We're looking at the time frame
when Christ, we will see in this passage,
has died.
He's given his life on the cross.
He has been resurrected and seated
at a place of power,
and that's what we're looking at this morning.
That's the time frame in history
that we're talking about this morning in this book.
I want us to see four main points this morning
out of these two chapters, four and five,
four main points.
And the first point is this,
the Lord God Almighty reigns.
The first point,
the Lord God Almighty reigns.
How do I see that?
Where do I see it?
Let's look with me, if you will,
starting in verse two.
So John, the apostle John is,
he gives an intro here,
and in verse two he says,
that once I was in the spirit.
And by the way, let me make this caveat.
There's no way I can answer all the questions
of all the symbols,
of all the things that are in these two chapters.
So if you leave, say,
wait a minute, what about that?
Why didn't you tell me what that meant?
There's no time.
Would love to sit down with anybody
and share a perspective
and go through the book of Revelation with you.
But this morning, it's an overview, okay?
We're looking at this second verse
and it talks about a throne.
So John is in the spirit.
What does it mean to be in the spirit?
It's as if all conscious awareness
of the physical realm is put on hold
while he's experiencing this vision.
So I want us to see that this is a vision
that John is given
and what we have here in our hands
is a description of what he saw in this vision.
And so I believe that there's much symbolism here
and I believe that this throne is symbolic.
So there's an author
who has written about the book of Revelation
I greatly respect.
He says in this passage,
he said to believe that this is a literal,
physical interpretation that we need to take,
he said it makes no sense.
He says to believe that it's literal and physical,
we would have to believe
there's a physical throne in heaven
and around this physical throne,
there's 24 physical thrones
and then there's a physical lamb who's standing,
who looks like he's been slain,
but he's standing in the midst of it all
and he has seven horns and seven eyes.
And he says to believe that it's physical
would be ludicrous.
It makes no sense that these things would be physical.
He says it's symbolic
and we want to look at the interpretation
and what it means.
What are we being shown here
in this section of scripture?
So a throne and there's one who's seated on the throne.
What does the throne represent?
It represents a kingdom, right?
He's on the throne
and the one who is on the throne
is the one who dictates,
the one who shares,
the one who oversees all that goes on in his kingdom.
And here we talk about one seated on the throne
and if we look at the picture,
there's a message in the picture.
So you see it?
There's a throne and around the throne
are 24 elders
and around the throne are four living creatures.
What are these living creatures?
We look at it and there's confusion here.
It talks about a lion, an ox,
the face of a man and an eagle.
I don't want to get trapped into all of that
in the time it would take to interpret all those things.
I would just say this,
that the angels,
excuse me,
the living creatures are a high order of angels.
They're continually in the presence of God
and at any moment they're willing to do his bidding.
So you can see a throne that's the center of this picture
and around the thrones are rainbow
and around the throne are elders and other thrones
and around the throne are these living creatures.
Do you see the picture of what's being shown here?
At the center of it all is Jehovah God.
Now we might look at this and say,
wait a minute,
it doesn't name Jehovah God here in verse two and verse three,
but it does later when they're worshiping in verse eight.
It says,
holy,
holy is the Lord God almighty.
So who's being pictured here?
Jehovah God's being pictured here.
And what do we see in this picture?
That he absolutely is reigning over all things.
He's on the throne.
Lest we think this is not shared in other places in scripture,
listen to a couple of other passages
where it talks about a similar concept of the reign of God.
You would possibly remember in the book of Daniel Nebuchadnezzar,
the strongest or the most powerful,
probably is a better way to say it,
the most powerful man on earth at the time.
He was head of the Babylonian kingdom.
And you remember when he stood and looked
and look what all my hands have made.
You remember what happened?
God humbled him.
And you remember for seven years,
he'd lost his mind
and he wandered around eating grass of the field like an animal.
And when his mind came back to him,
the Lord gave him his mind back.
Do you remember the declaration that he shared?
It's in the book of Daniel, it says this,
about the most high.
It says, he praised and honor him who lives forever.
For his dominion is an everlasting dominion.
And his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing.
And he does according to his will among the host of heaven
and among the inhabitants of the earth.
And none can stay his hand or say to him,
what have you done?
Do you hear the sovereignty of God
that's declared by Nebuchadnezzar in the book of Daniel?
Listen to the way Isaiah would share it
in his 46th chapter.
He says this, he says,
I am God and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, my counsel shall stand
and I will accomplish all my purpose.
Calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from the far country,
I have spoken and I will bring it to pass.
I have purposed and I will do it.
Do you hear in these two passages
that when God declares a thing to be done,
do you think anything can stand in his way?
Do you think there's any power in all the universe
that can stay the hand of God,
that can prevent him from doing what his will desires?
Nothing.
One more.
Maybe two more.
Psalm 103, David.
He's speaking prophetically about Christ
and as he speaks,
this is as if the words of Christ are on the page
and we hear him say this,
the Lord has established his throne in the heavens
and his kingdom rules over all.
The Lord has established his throne.
You hear that word again?
Throne.
The Lord has established his throne in the heavens
and his kingdom rules over all.
One more.
Psalm 99 says this,
the Lord reigns.
Do you believe it?
The vision of John, he sees it crystal clear.
This one who's seated on the throne,
he is reigning.
And David declares,
the Lord reigns.
Let the people tremble.
He sits enthroned above the cherubim.
Let the earth quake.
Isn't it interesting the tie
between this book of Revelation,
these Old Testament passages?
Talking about a throne,
talking about cherubim,
talking about him sitting enthroned above all.
So point number one,
the Lord God Almighty reigns.
You know, I've often thought about,
I wonder what the center of the universe is.
Have y'all ever thought about that?
You know, in science class,
as I was going up through high school
and even in college,
the concept, well,
maybe everything rotates around the earth
and the earth is the center of the universe.
Or maybe it all rotates around the sun
and the sun is the center of the universe.
You know, this passage declares
neither one of those are true.
You know what it declares?
The Lord God Almighty is the center of the universe.
Everything moves according to his will
and nothing stops what he desires.
Spiritually speaking,
he is the spiritual center of the universe.
And as such, point number two,
he's worthy to be worshiped and praised.
You believe it?
Do you agree?
Listen to what the passage declares here
about the Lord God Almighty.
Verse three says,
he who sat there had the appearance of Jasper in Carnelian.
What in the world might that mean, right?
To dig a little deeper,
you would see that one of these is crystal clear.
You can see through it.
The other one is blood red.
So the interpretation would be
a look at his holiness and his purity.
His holiness and his purity.
If we look down at verse eight,
jump to verse eight,
and we want to see a little more about
who is this one seated on the throne?
Why is it that he's worthy to be worshiped?
And verse eight says this,
the four living creatures
they are continually,
let me say it this way.
They have an unveiled view of the glory of God.
You understand what I mean by that?
There is no veil.
You and I, we see through,
like the scripture says,
through a glass dimly.
We can't see the greatness of the glory of God.
We see the examples of,
we see the workings of,
we see the creation of God.
We see the hand of God.
We don't see the greatness of his glory in full view,
but the angels do.
You know, there is a day coming for his people.
We will see that glory in full view.
But isn't it interesting that the angels
who see his full glory,
how they respond to the greatness
of his holiness and his purity.
Here's what they do in verse eight.
They never cease to say.
Do you hear the wholeness of what's being said?
They never cease.
Continually, moment by moment by moment,
what do they do?
They say this in their heart
and with their voice.
They make this proclamation.
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty
who was and who is and who is to come.
Y'all know what that means?
There's never a time he wasn't
and there's never a time he won't be.
And he's here now and he's present now
and he knows all things.
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God.
Verse nine.
Whenever these creatures give glory
and honor and thanks
to the one who's seated on the throne,
the Lord God Almighty,
what happens to the 24 elders?
What do they do?
What do we see here?
They fall down before him.
And as I pictured,
I remember some Old Testament passages
when men were exposed
in part to the glory of God.
And what did they do?
They either ran
or they bowed down on their face, right?
In honor of the glory of God.
Remember, it'd take too long.
My brain wants to go to all these examples,
but it would take too long.
But you've read this before.
You've seen it in scripture before
that when we're in front of the presence of God
and whatever veiled glory we see,
it causes men to be on their face
and lose strength because of his holiness.
And so what happens to these 24 elders?
They fall down before him and they worship.
And they throw their,
cast their crowns before him.
What in the world?
Who are the elders?
And what are the crowns?
How did they get the crowns?
What does this signify
that they're throwing their crowns away?
What does all that signify?
Here's what I would say.
And I know there might be
some differing of opinions here,
but I believe the 24 elders represent
the Old Testament Christians
and the New Testament Christians.
The number 12 symbolizes the people of God
in the scriptures.
The number 12 symbolizes
the Old Testament Christians
plus the number 12 New Testament Christians.
Together they are 24.
In my belief,
this represents all the Christians
that have ever been
on the face of the earth.
And what is the response
of all these Christians?
Certainly these 24 elders,
they fall down in worship.
Why?
Because of the greatness
and the glory
and the holiness of Almighty God
who is seated on the throne
and is sovereign.
Okay, so what about the crowns?
We've talked about
they have golden crowns
if you were to look back up
earlier in the passage.
What are the crowns?
The crowns symbolize victory.
What is the victory of a human,
of a man?
What is the victory?
How does a man go from earth
and live in this life
to the presence of God
in heaven?
In the presence of God,
how did they get there?
We will see that
especially in chapter 5.
But let me suffice it to say
that they receive a crown
because of victory.
What is the victory?
The victory is over sin and death.
You know that when a Christian dies,
it's not the end?
When a Christian dies,
he goes.
And where does he go?
He goes to be in the presence
of Almighty God.
That is victory, right?
How did he achieve that victory?
Was it because, man,
they were smart?
Because they read their Bible a lot,
because they gave a lot of money
to the church,
because they tried to be a good person,
how is it that they earned this crown?
They didn't earn it.
It was a gift.
The victory that we will enjoy
one day as Christians
is not something that we accomplished.
The victory that we enjoy
is a gift from Almighty God to us
through his son, Jesus Christ.
And the crown of victory
that this symbolizes
when they throw their crown
back before him,
it's as if they're saying,
it's not because of what we've done.
We don't deserve this crown.
It's because of what you've done
on our behalf.
And we cast our crowns before you
because the source
of our salvation is you.
And so they worship him.
And then in verse 11,
worthy.
What a powerful word.
Worthy.
Worthy are you, O Lord God,
to receive glory and honor and power.
By your will,
all things were created.
Do you see the worthiness
of Almighty God?
Do you see the sovereignty
of Almighty God?
Do you see the worship
that he deserves?
And then we step into chapter 5.
And the third point this morning is this.
God has an eternal plan.
And what is that plan?
It's a plan of redemption.
The eternal plan of redemption.
Where do we see that?
Look with me, if you will.
chapter 5, verse 1.
And I saw in the right hand of him
who was seated on the throne
a scroll.
What in the world does that mean?
What is this scroll that's in his hand?
Well, I would say this.
When we read the book of Revelation,
we always have to read it
in light of the Old Testament.
Is there a place in the Old Testament
where this term,
this picture is displayed
so that we can understand
what's being said here?
Well, it turns out
in Psalm 40,
again,
a Psalm of David,
David prophetically speaking
as if Christ is speaking.
And he says this,
then I said,
behold,
I have come.
And if you can understand
this being Christ speaking,
behold,
I have come
in the scroll of the book
it is written of me.
I delight to do your will,
oh my God.
Your law is within my heart.
In the scroll of the book.
What is Christ referring to?
What is David referring to
in this Psalm?
In the scroll of what book?
Look,
this book.
Have we not said
so many times,
do we not believe
that the scripture
is all about Jesus the Messiah?
It's about God's plan
to send a Messiah
so that he could save
a people that would be
with him for eternity.
Throughout the pages
of God's word,
the scroll,
as it's called by David,
there is this picture
of a plan
from Genesis to Revelation
that's being fulfilled by God.
This plan of redemption
that is in this scroll
according to this chapter 5.
So let's go a little further.
This scroll is sealed
with seven seals
and we go on to see
that no one could open this scroll.
What does it mean
that the scroll could not be opened?
It's that the eternal plan
of redemption
could not be executed,
could not be accomplished
is what it would signify
the fact that it can't be opened.
And so when John
in this vision hears it,
he says he weeps openly.
Why?
The holy, almighty God
who's worthy to be worshipped
has a plan
that he desires
to be executed
and no one is worthy
to take the scroll.
Can you see
how John would be overwhelmed?
How he would desire
so greatly
this plan be executed
because the greatness
of the one
who desires it?
And then one of the 24 elders
comes over to him.
Remember,
this is a vision.
In the vision,
one of the 24 elders
comes to him
and said,
wait,
you don't need to weep.
You don't need to weep.
Listen to what's said here
in verse 5.
And one of the elders said,
weep no more.
Behold,
the lion of the tribe
of Judah,
the root of David,
has conquered.
Man,
I would sit here
for quite a while.
We could have
a whole sermon
that speaks
of this phrase,
he has conquered.
Who is it
that has conquered?
Who is this lion
of the tribe
of Judah?
Well,
we would look back
at Genesis 49
and we would see
the blessing
on the tribe
of Judah,
on the son Judah,
and it refers
to this concept
of a lion
pointing to
the Messiah Jesus.
Christ was born
through the lion
of Judah
and he is
called here
the lion
of the tribe
of Judah,
the one
that God
was pointing
to all along
that was going
to be born
as the Messiah.
I mean,
he says,
the root of David.
What is meant
by that?
He is descended
from David.
Wasn't that a covenant
promised by God?
There will always
be someone
to reign,
on the throne
to reign
out of your descendants.
The covenant
promise of God
is that I'm sending
the Messiah
through you,
David,
through your tribe,
that is Judah.
And he goes on
to,
in this picture,
can you see it?
If you were John,
you had this bird's eye
view of a throne
with a God
that's indescribable
in all his glory
and holiness
and you've got
these other Christians,
the representatives,
all Christians
surrounding this throne
and you have one
walk in
who is defeated
and who is conquered
and what does he look like?
He looks like a lamb
slain.
It's like,
wait a minute.
I thought he was a lion.
I thought he roared
and everybody ran.
You know,
the plan of God
doesn't look like that.
You know,
the plan of God,
it looks different.
Point number three
is he has an eternal
plan for redemption.
Point number four
is this,
is that God sent
a lamb
to accomplish
his purpose.
God sent
a lamb
to accomplish
his plan,
this plan
of redemption.
A lamb.
What rings
in your ear
when you hear this?
Hopefully,
at least two things
ring in your ear.
You remember
in Egypt
when all the plagues
were taking place,
the last plague?
you remember
that he was sending
an angel of death
to destroy
all the firstborn
in the land?
And he said
to the children
of Israel,
you need to
take a lamb
and you need
to sacrifice
that lamb.
You need to take
the blood
and you need
to cover the lentil
on both sides
in the top
and you need
to shelter
under the blood.
And if you
shelter under
the blood,
you will be saved.
the Passover lamb.
And we see it
declared by
John the Baptist.
You remember
what he said
when Christ
walked up
to the Jordan River
where he was
baptizing
what John the Baptist
said
to his disciples?
He said,
behold,
the lamb of God
who takes away
the sins of the world.
Behold,
the lamb
of God.
Isn't it amazing
that God
could have
created any
story
he wanted
to
and he chose
to create
this story,
this plan
that would
need a savior,
that would
need someone
who was willing
to die
and shed
his blood
on behalf
of others?
This lamb.
Isn't it interesting
that this lamb
is able
to take
the scroll?
What does this mean?
The scroll
that no man
was worthy
to take
and open.
However,
there was one
found that
was worthy
to take
the scroll
and to open
and unseal
the scroll.
Do you see
the symbolism here?
Do you see
the meaning
of the text?
The one
who can open
the scroll,
this eternal
plan of redemption
is the one
who has sacrificed
his life
on behalf
of the people
of God.
And he took
the scroll
and he opened
the scroll
one seal
at a time,
seven seals.
Those seven seals,
that number seven
in the book
of Revelation
refers to
spiritual completeness.
That is the
complete work
of God.
Once these
seven seals
are removed,
the work
of God
is complete.
His plan
of redemption
is accomplished
and there's only
one who's able
to accomplish it,
that's Christ.
It's the lamb
who died
for the sake
of a people.
and we see
it if we
look down
here,
we see
a new song.
And this
new song
says this
in verse 9,
they sang a new
song.
Who sang it?
In this
context,
who's singing?
It's the
24 elders
and the angels
that are
in the presence
of God
and John
is hearing
this incredible
song
and is saying,
worthy are you.
Who's the you?
It's referring
to the lamb.
Worthy are you
to take the scroll
and to open
its seals.
Why is he worthy?
It begs the question.
Well,
the song tells us
why he's worthy.
What does it say?
For you were slain
and by your blood
you ransomed
a people for God.
Do you hear
the truth here?
By your blood
you ransomed
!
a people
for God.
from every tribe
and language
and people
and nation.
What makes him
worthy
to open the seal?
What makes him
able
to satisfy
the requirements
of redemption?
It's because
he shed
his blood.
He died
in our place.
He lived
a holy
sinless life
in our place
and this lamb
died
in our place
and he purchased
a people.
What do you mean
he purchased?
We all had a sin debt
and our sin debt
had to be paid.
How is it
that a sin debt
is paid
according to the scripture?
It takes
perfection.
It takes
the life
of one
who is perfect
to be sacrificed
on behalf
of the one
who is not perfect.
The one
who is being
ransomed.
That we had
a sin debt
that was paid
by the sacrificial
life and death
of Jesus
the lamb
in our place.
And you have
made them
a kingdom.
You know
what this is?
Do you see
what this is picturing?
It's picturing
the coronation
of a king.
This passage
is a picture
of the coronation
of Jesus
the king.
Because of
his sacrificial
death
in our place
on our behalf
people from
every tribe
and language
and people
and nation
are now
part of a kingdom
that he's
caused to come
to pass
and they
shall reign
on the earth.
Do you see
the beautiful
picture that's
being painted
here?
Jehovah God
the Almighty
has an eternal
plan
and his
eternal plan
is very
unexpected
that he's
going to
send a lamb.
A lamb
who is
if we
understand
lambs
and sheep
we know
that
they're not
aggressive.
he didn't
come with
an army
and though
you remember
in the gospel
where it says
he could have
called down
legions of
angels to
deliver him
but though
he could have
called down
those he chose
not to
he willingly
chose to go
to the cross
understanding
that apart
from his death
in our place
we would never
be able
to enjoy
the kingdom
of God
but because
of his
sacrifice
we are now
Christians
a part of
the kingdom
of God
and we
shall reign
on the
earth
and we
like these
elders
will respond
in a similar
way.
Look with me
for the rest
of the chapter
starting in
verse 11
then I looked
and heard
around the
throne
and the
living creatures
and the elders
the voice
of many angels
can you imagine
there's coming
a time
when we
as Christians
will be
part of
this
many angels
numbering
myriads
upon myriads
what's a
myriad
I don't
know
but it
sounds
big
myriads
of myriads
and thousands
of thousands
saying with
a loud
voice
worthy
is the
lamb
who was
slain
to receive
power
and wealth
and wisdom
and might
and honor
and glory
and blessing
do you see
the seven
fold worship
here
and I heard
every creature
listen to this
every creature
in heaven
on earth
and under
the earth
and in the sea
and all that
is in them
saying what
to him
who sits
on the throne
and to the
lamb
be blessing
and honor
and glory
and might
forever
and ever
there's coming
a day
and when we
will enjoy
the incredible
company
of this
worship
you know
I love
Handel's Messiah
and I love it
when there's
three to four hundred
people
a big big big
choir
all the musicians
sing in Handel's
Messiah
it
I don't know
if it moves
y'all
it certainly
moves me
often where
I tear up
I am
overwhelmed
with the
incredible
worship
and it
just the
the
the blending
of the
voices
and the
blending
of the
instruments
is just
powerful to me
you know
it's nothing
like this
this is gonna
be far
and away
greater
we can ever
imagine
let me ask
this question
what do you
see in chapter
five
don't you see
the gospel
you see the gospel
displayed here
you know what
the gospel is
that we as
sinners have
no hope
of being in the
presence of
almighty God
our sins
have separated
us from
a holy God
and unless
God provides
a way for us
to be redeemed
we will never
enjoy the
presence of God
we'll never
know him
but he has
a plan
and his
plan includes
this lamb
this plan
for Jesus
to take
on flesh
to step
into humanity
to become
a man
like us
and to live
a life
with all
the temptation
and all
that Satan
would throw
at him
to live
a life
without sin
and for him
to willingly
go to a cross
and die
in our place
because we're
the ones
that deserve
to be on the cross
we're the ones
deserve judgment
we're the ones
that deserve
eternal punishment
and to be
separated from God
but by God's
plan he sent
a savior
Messiah
Jesus
who would be
willing as a
lamb to be
slaughtered
and slain
in our place
so that by
his sacrifice
God would
forgive us
and Christ
would redeem
a people
to himself
and that we
one day
will enjoy
worship
that is
unimaginable
even the
greatest
worship
here
can't
compare
to what
we will
enjoy
when we
see him
in all
his glory
face to
face
let me
just say
this
I ask
this question
what should
we be
doing this
next year
how should
we be
living
this next
year
it's my
hope that
as we
read this
beautiful
passage
that we'll
see that
we have
a God
an almighty
God
who reigns
let me
ask this
y'all
have times
when your
life is
upside down
you have
times
when
circumstances
are heavy
you have
times
you say
I wish
it wasn't
like this
I don't
know what
the future
holds
I'm full
of fear
I don't
know if
I can
make it
I'm
overwhelmed
let me
just
let me
let's
let this
word of
God
minister
to you
do you
realize
that God
reigns
and that
God
is on
the throne
and if
he's your
father
if he's
your God
he will
take care
of all
this
you know
he says
we can
depend
on him
if we
were to
read
six and
seven
you know
what we
would
see
that as
he peels
these seals
away
you know
what's
in store
for his
people
these
are often
referred to
as the
seals of
persecution
you remember
what Christ
said
if they
persecuted
me
guess
what
Christian
there's
persecution
of some
variety
in store
for all
of us
but he
said
I will
sustain
you
I will
never
leave
you
forsake
you
I am
absolutely
on the
throne
and I
have a
purpose
in all
the things
I send
your way
in the
midst
of these
trials
trust me
in the
midst
of these
trials
look
to me
in the
midst
of these
trials
depend
on me
and in
so doing
you will
see my
glory
in a way
you've
never
seen
it
before
what is
it that
God is
calling
us to
this year
do you
hear him
pulling you
closer to
himself
do you
hear him
drawing you
into an
intimate
relationship
you know
there may
be some
here that
aren't in
the kingdom
and listen
there's 22
years I
wasn't in
the kingdom
I remember
fully remember
not until
God grabbed
my heart
that I
understand
this gospel
message but
I hope
this morning
if you're
not in
the kingdom
I hope
you hear
that in
Christ is
our salvation
if you
are a
believer I
hope that
you hear
he's worthy
to be
worshiped
you know
what worship
looks like
for you
and me
on this
side of
the cross
looks a
whole lot
like
Romans 12
it says
it would
be right
it would
be considered
worship to
present our
bodies as a
living sacrifice
holy and
acceptable to
him
you know
it's right
that we
would live
for his
kingdom
right
the book
of Matthew
says seek
first his
kingdom and
his righteousness
and I'll take
care of all
your needs
are we
willing to
set Christ
as Lord
in our
life
are we
willing to
serve him
Christian
are we
willing to
live for his
kingdom and
his righteousness
you know
it's easy
to say
it's
challenging
to do
pray with
me
Lord
God
so amazing
to look
at this
passage and
see that
you're
absolutely
seated on
the throne
and all
of creation
worships
you
Lord God
you're the
one that
is a lover
of our
soul
you're the
almighty
holy
creator
of all
things
God
you're
worthy
of
worship
God
I'm
thankful
for your
plan
of
salvation
this
redemption
that you
have
achieved
through your
your
son
Jesus
the lamb
Passover
lamb
that was
slain
for us
God
I pray
that you
would
do a
work
in our
lives
where we
would
no longer
live for
our own
kingdom
to build
our own
kingdom
God
I pray
that you
would do
a work
in our
lives
where we
live for
your
kingdom
and we
worship
you
by giving
our
lives
away
for the
sake
of
your
kingdom
God
there's
no way
we can
do that
on our
own
strength
and so
I'm
asking
God
you do
a
supernatural
work
in each
of our
lives
where you'd
be glorified
by the
way we
live
God
we desire
to
magnify
your
name
we
thank
you
for
the
gospel
that
is so
crystal
clear
here
the
gospel
that has
led
to our
salvation
and God
the
gospel
just
shout
your
glory
what a
loving
God
that would
provide
a way
for us
to know
you
and be
with
you
forever
God
we love
you
we praise
you
in Christ's
name
amen