Magnify The Glory of God in the Gospel of Jesus Christ

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.

Verse 1.

Verse 1.

Verse 1.

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,

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.

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

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

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