Worthy is the Lamb

Over the past couple weeks, we've been reflecting on the truth from God's Word that He is worthy of praise, worthy of our worship.

And that's really the reason why we've started services up again, even with the restrictions that we have.

Because our God is worthy. He deserves our praise and our worship.

And we've looked at a number of different reasons over the past couple weeks.

And this morning, we're going to bring this series to a close and look at one final reason.

And we're going back to Revelation. We're going to see it through the eyes of John in his spectacular vision that the Lord Jesus gave him when he was on the island of Patmos.

So if you have your Bible, we're going to just kind of work through it bit by bit.

And so you can follow along there. And I'll try to...we've got some technical difficulties here, but we'll try to manage.

We've got some stuff on the screen too.

And...

This is where we are in this moment. And this is, of course, an artist's rendition of what John saw in his vision.

We talked about this two weeks. He was called up into heaven in the Spirit, in this vision.

And there he saw something like this.

He saw one seated on the throne who was radiant and beautiful.

Four living creatures and 24 elders, kings with crowns.

And there was worship going on in heaven.

And we're going to continue on a little bit with this vision and just see what John saw in his vision next.

In chapter 5, verse 1.

Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals.

So all of a sudden, this worship moment, something happens.

John notices that there's a scroll in the hand of the one who is seated on the throne.

And not just any scroll, but a scroll with writing on both sides.

A scroll with seven seals.

This is another artist's depiction of maybe something like what he saw.

And of course, John is probably wondering, just as we are, well, what is the scroll?

What's written on it?

What's the meaning of this?

Why are there these seals on it?

Well, we're going to get to that in a moment.

But let's keep going and hear what John saw.

Verse 2.

And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice,

Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?

But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it.

I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.

So as John is watching, a mighty angel comes in a loud voice, not just once,

but the sense here is that continuously he is proclaiming,

Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?

It's time to open the scroll.

And the sense we get is that this call, this invitation to open the scroll,

goes out not just in heaven, but to the whole universe, to the ends of the universe.

No one in heaven or on earth or under the earth, in all of creation,

was found who is able to open the scroll, to read its contents.

And so this moment of worship and praise all of a sudden takes a turn of sadness.

And John, he says, I wept.

I was weeping.

Not just crying, but weeping because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll.

But his sadness is interrupted in verse 5 as one of the elders turns to him and speaks to him and says this,

Do not weep.

See or behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed.

He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.

Don't weep, John.

There is someone who is worthy to open the scroll.

And he gives two titles of the one who is worthy, the one who is able to do it.

One of them harkens back to a prophecy given long ago by Jacob to his son Judah.

Judah.

Jacob said this, Judah, your brothers will praise you.

Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies.

Your father's son will bow down to you.

You are a lion's cub, Judah.

You return from the prey, my son.

Like a lion, he crouches and lies down.

Like a lioness, who dares to rouse him?

And then these words, wonderful words.

The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,

until he to whom it belongs shall come, and the obedience of the nations shall be his.

This promise of a great king made long ago, a lion descended from Judah.

He also refers to the root of David.

David, these words harken back to the prophecy of Isaiah.

In Isaiah chapter 11.

Isaiah 11 · chapter mention

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse.

From his roots, a branch will bear fruit.

And it goes on to describe how the spirit of the Lord will be upon him,

and how he will judge and bring righteousness and peace to the earth.

Another wonderful promise.

This is the one.

And of course, we know who he is talking about.

He's talking about Jesus.

This is the one that the angel proclaimed would be born to Mary.

Well, the vision goes on.

In Revelation chapter 5.

Revelation 5 · chapter mention

The elder says,

Behold the lion, or see the lion, the root of David.

He has triumphed.

He's able to open the scroll.

And it's seven seals.

And you almost get the sense that he's gesturing.

Behold, look.

In that moment, John looks.

And this is what he sees.

Verse 6.

Then I saw a lamb looking as if it had been slain,

standing at the center of the throne,

encircled by the four living creatures and the elders.

The lamb had seven horns and seven eyes,

which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

This is one artist's rendition of it.

It's not really in the throne scene,

but you kind of get the idea.

Seven horns and seven eyes.

A very strange vision,

looking as if it had been slain.

There's another artist's rendition of it.

In this one, the lamb is standing,

wearing the crown of thorns there.

So, even as we hear John say this,

I mean, we should be thinking,

this is not an ordinary lamb.

This is a vision.

This is almost like a dream,

like some of the visions that were given long ago to Daniel and Ezekiel,

to Pharaoh,

that Joseph interpreted for him.

So, there's this lamb,

and there's details about it

that he highlights,

looking as if it had been slain.

It's not dead anymore, though,

because it's standing.

And it's got seven horns and seven eyes.

And he explains a little bit about that.

From there, the vision goes on.

John says,

And when he had taken it,

the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the lamb.

Each one had a harp,

and they were holding golden bowls full of incense,

which are the prayers of God's people.

And they sang a new song,

saying,

You are worthy to take the scroll

and to open its seals,

because you were slain.

And with your blood,

you purchased for God

persons from every tribe

and language

and people

and nation.

You have made them to be a kingdom

and priests

to serve our God,

and they will reign on the earth.

So, even at the taking of this scroll

by this lamb,

heaven bursts into worship.

The 24 elders,

the four living creatures,

they begin to sing this song of praise

to the lamb.

From there, the worship service seems to grow

in size.

Verse 11,

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels,

numbering thousands upon thousands

and ten thousand times ten thousand.

They encircled the throne

and the living creatures and the elders.

In a loud voice,

they were saying,

Worthy is the lamb

who was slain

to receive power

and wealth

and wisdom

and strength

and honor

and glory

and praise.

You can just imagine

what this might have

seemed like to John.

What this would have looked like.

I imagine it's something like

maybe stepping out

into a stadium

full of a hundred thousand people,

except more.

There were myriads

of myriads of angels

all over the place.

Can you imagine the sound of them

singing these words?

What a moment that must have been.

But it doesn't stop there.

The worship service gets even bigger.

Verse 13,

Then I heard every creature

in heaven and on earth

and under the earth

and on the sea

and all that is in them

saying,

To him who sits on the throne

and to the lamb

be praise

and honor

and glory

and power

forever and ever.

The four living creatures said,

Amen.

And the elders

fell down

and worshipped.

What a moment.

What a sight.

What a sound.

I wish that I could have seen

with my own eyes

what John saw

in this vision.

A spectacular

worship service

in heaven.

Now what does this vision

mean?

Here's the big question.

And of course,

this is the book of Revelation.

This is one of the most debated,

discussed

pieces of the Bible

that there is.

And there's all kinds

of different ideas

and opinions

and interpretations.

And if you

come to a different one

than me

in your reading

or your study of it,

I bless you.

I would rather

that you read this book

and love it

and treasure these words of God

and interpret it

a different way

than not read them at all

and just agree

with whatever I say.

But what does this vision mean?

What's going on here?

What are we to take from this?

Well,

let's look at the first element

of this vision,

the scroll.

What does the scroll

represent?

I thought I had a picture

of it there.

Maybe not.

Thanks, David.

So there's this scroll.

We want to know

what is this scroll

all about?

What does it mean?

And

even at the outset here,

I think we can cross off

a few things.

In Revelation 4,

Revelation 4:1

verse 1,

we read

about how

John was first invited

to come up to heaven

to witness

this vision.

Come up here

and I will show you

what must take place

after this.

So the sense we get

is that this is not

a vision of what's happening

in heaven right now.

This is not the present.

This is what's going

to come later

or after

that John sees.

And from there,

we can also probably

rule out

this is not really

a depiction

of what things

in heaven

actually look like.

And we kind of get

that sense

all throughout this book,

but especially here

in this passage,

we see some elements

of it that,

okay,

this is strange.

John kind of gives us

the clue

that this is a vision.

This is almost

like a dream

and there are various

elements to this dream

and details

that have meaning.

They represent something.

And he actually

interprets some of those

for us.

He kind of gives us

the meaning.

Like in verse 6,

the Lamb had

seven horns

and seven eyes

and those seven eyes,

he tells us,

represent

the seven spirits

of God

sent out

into all the earth.

And we kind of know

that this vision

is full of

representative things

and not necessarily

actual depictions.

We know

that the Lamb

is Jesus,

the Son of God,

the God-man.

And he doesn't

look like this.

It's in the vision.

that he looks like this.

And those details

of how he appears

to John

are significant.

They correspond

to reality,

but they're not

the actual depictions.

Again,

we see this

in verse 8

where the kings,

the 24 elders,

are holding golden bowls

full of incense.

And John tells us

that those bowls,

they represent

the prayers

of God's people.

So,

I think

those are kind of

the guiding things

that can kind of

lead us towards

how we're to

read this.

It's not as though

we're seeing

a video clip

of what will happen

actually in the future.

It's more of a vision

or a dream

that God has given

in which all of the details

correspond to realities

that we will see

come about

in the future.

And so,

let's look at,

let's consider

the scroll.

Back to the scroll.

what does the scroll

represent?

Well,

if we continue

reading in

this vision,

we see that the scroll

represents,

in a moment,

the Lamb,

in verse,

chapter 6 and 7,

we're not going to read it,

but He will come

and actually open

the seals

and open the scroll

and we assume

read it.

And as He opens

each seal,

some kind of event

is triggered

or something

is unleashed

either on earth

or in heaven

or something

that relates

to both.

And so,

we might,

it seems like

the scroll

represents God's

decree,

God's written

kind of

ahead of time

account of the

final chapter

of human history,

of how things

are going to

unfold,

especially as it

pertains to the

final judgment

and to the

final salvation

of God's people.

And we kind of

get this sense

as we come to

the opening of

the sixth seal

at the end

of chapter 6.

The people there

are calling out

to the mountains,

fall on us

and hide us

from the face

of Him who sits

on the throne

and from the wrath

of the Lamb

for the great day

of their wrath

has come

and who can

withstand it?

So the opening

of these seals

seems to be

the triggering

of events,

the setting

in motion

of what God

has ordained

from long ago

to bring forth

the final judgment,

the wrath

of God.

These seals

seem to trigger

the events

that either

themselves are

part of the

day of the Lord

or lead up

to the day

of the Lord

depending on

how you want

to see it.

But it's not

all judgment

and punishment.

Chapter 7

goes on

as the seventh

seal is opened

and we get

descriptions

of salvation.

We get

descriptions

of how some

of God's

people are

sealed

to protect

them from

the judgment

that is about

to be poured

out.

And we

see a snapshot

of a multitude

in heaven

singing

about the

salvation of

God,

the great

deliverance

of God

in the

midst

of all

of this.

And so

that's kind

of how I

would take

the scroll.

It seems

as though

it is

kind of

the last

chapter

of the

story.

It's sealed

up.

It's already

planned.

And there

is only one

who is

worthy

to initiate

the unfolding

of that

chapter

and the

reading of

it

into human

history.

And one

who is

worthy to

carry forward

the events

that are

there.

The final

judgment

and the

final salvation

of God's

people.

Well,

there's the

scroll,

and then

the next

most,

and the

most important

detail of

this vision

is not the

scroll,

but the

lamb.

The lamb,

when he

comes into

this vision,

just takes

the whole

spotlight,

and it's

almost as if

after he

takes the

scroll,

the scroll

just kind

of fades

into the

background.

We've got

to put that

on hold

for a

moment,

we've got

to have

a worship

service

here,

because this

one is

worthy.

And it's

a worship

service,

as we

looked at,

that starts

in heaven,

and it

just grows

from there

until the

whole universe

in John's

vision is

praising

this lamb,

this one.

Why are they

praising him?

What are they

saying?

they're saying,

you are

worthy.

Verse 9,

you are

worthy to

take the

scroll and

to open

its seals.

Verse 12,

worthy is

the lamb.

Verse 13,

to the lamb

be praise

and honor

and glory

and power

forever and

ever.

You deserve

it.

It belongs

to you.

It's only

right that we

praise you

and worship

you.

Why?

We've looked

at a number

of reasons

already in

this series,

but what's

the reason

that they

give here

in this

heavenly

worship service

that John

sees?

Verse 9,

you are

worthy to

take the

scroll and

to open

its seals.

Why?

Because you

were slain

and with

your blood

you purchased

for God

persons from

every tribe

and language

and people

and nation.

you have

made them

to be a

kingdom

and priests

to serve

our God

and they

will reign

on the

earth.

So there

are many

reasons that

he is

worthy,

but the

one that

shines bright

right at

the beginning

of this

is the

reason

that he

was

slain,

the reason

that he

died,

that through

his death

and the

shedding of

his blood,

he purchased,

he bought,

he paid

the ransom

to set

a people

free,

a people

from every

tribe and

nation and

tongue.

He paid

the price

that was

required so

that a

great people

from all

over the

earth could

be set free

from the

debt that

they owed

God

from their

guilt for

their sins.

Not only

were they

ransomed or

purchased,

set free

from,

but they

were purchased

to.

Do you see

that word?

Some translations

say purchased

for.

With your

blood you

purchased

for God

persons from

every tribe

and language

and tongue.

It's not just

to set them

free from the

negative consequence,

but it's to

buy them

and bring

them back

into

relationship

with God

to be a

people for

him,

who live

with him

and enjoy

him.

And he is

their God

and they are

his people.

And it goes

on from

there.

Not only

that,

but verse

10,

you have

made them

to be

a kingdom

and priests

to serve

our God.

This is a

picture of

John,

what John

saw at the

beginning of

this vision

because Jesus

is not

still dead.

He is

alive.

This is not

a song of

his sacrifice

and death

and that's

the end.

This is a

song of

his triumph

of what he

has accomplished

through his

death.

and his

resurrection.

Verse 10,

you made

them to be

a kingdom

and priests

to our

God.

We often

think of

that word

kingdom in

terms of

a location,

a place

with boundaries.

God.

But as we

read these

words,

it seems

that what

they are

saying is

that the

kingdom is

primarily,

first and

foremost,

a people.

It's a

people whom

Jesus,

the Lamb,

has won

for God

and to

God.

We almost

get the

sense here

that Jesus

is offering

a gift

to God.

I have

gone out,

I have

gone into

the world

and I

have won

for you.

I have

established,

I have

brought back

into order

your kingdom

in this

world which

has rebelled.

I have

made them

priests who

will worship

you appropriately.

And this

kingdom,

these people,

these priests

are people

from every

tribe and

language and

people and

nation.

It's not

just a

kingdom up

in heaven,

it is the

kingdom established

from heaven.

But look at

the last

verse of

the song

in verse

10,

they will

reign,

on the

earth.

A kingdom

on earth.

All of

this reasons

why the

lamb is

worthy and

why heaven

explodes in

praise and

after that

the angelic

host joins

in and

then the

universe joins

in.

Look at

what he

has done.

And he

didn't do

it with

a sword.

Convert

or die.

No.

No.

He did

it by

lovingly

laying down

his life,

by taking

the bullet

for this

people,

by jumping

on the

grenade to

save this

people.

He is

worthy

because he

has saved

us by

his blood.

God,

this is the

ultimate

reason why

we worship.

This will

be the

reason for

all eternity

that one

of the

big ones

at the

heart of

our

worship

forever,

this one,

our great

king,

laid down

his life

for us

so that

we could

become a

part of

this great

kingdom

that we

will enjoy

forever.

He is

worthy of

our

worship.

He is

worthy of

our

praise.

Sunday

after Sunday

after Sunday

and forever,

day after

day,

not just

here at

church when

we sing,

but in

each of

our lives

as we go

about the

various parts

of our

day,

he is

worthy of

our praise.

So I

want to

invite the

worship team

to come

forward again

and we're

going to

sing one

final song

to the

lamb,

to our

God.

Amen.

Amen.