Revelation: The Only One Worthy | Revelation 5

I want to welcome you to the First Baptist Church of El Doredo Sermon Podcast.

My name is Taylor Guerin, the senior pastor here.

All throughout this fall, we're in a series through the Book of Revelation.

Certainly a book that can feel intimidating, certainly a book that at times can be misunderstood.

What we believe is that it is a book that is meant to be read by Christians and meant to provide great encouragement, both for the future but also for today.

I hope you are encouraged by the series this fall.

If there's anything we can do for you, specifically any way we can pray for you, don't hesitate to reach out.

Go to our website and click the Connect with Us page.

We'd love to hear from you.

Thank you so much for listening.

We'll see you soon.

Revelation chapter 5.

Revelation 5 · chapter mention

As we continue, really continue straight from where we were last week.

At the throne room of God.

There we were in Revelation chapter 4, and really it's the same story, same moment, same event continued.

Revelation 4 · chapter mention

Let me pray for us as we begin.

Lord Jesus, by your Spirit, would you speak through your word?

Give us a fresh look at who you are, how mighty you are, how holy you are.

Let us see that so clearly and beautifully this morning.

And Lord, let it change everything about us.

So, Lord, speak now through your word we ask.

In Christ's name.

Amen.

I've joked before that within this church, if you have aspirations for leadership, let's say you have aspirations to be the chairman or chairwoman of a specific committee or team, you aspire to that leadership position.

It's honestly quite easy to do.

All you have to do is miss the very first meeting of any team.

Because there is no doubt that as we are selecting that chairperson for that team, the one who is not there, very likely will get selected.

That's how it often happens around here.

As you come to Revelation chapter 5, I would argue it's the most important committee meeting in the history of the world.

Revelation 5 · chapter mention

The most important committee meeting you could ever imagine, where the most important decision is being made.

And quite honestly, we need someone to step forward who is worthy to fulfill their leadership position.

And yet, for the first few verses, we cannot find anyone who is worthy.

Look with me at verse 1 of chapter 5.

Again, we're continuing from chapter 4, where John has received this vision.

He's been escorted to the heavenly place.

He has seen God on the throne.

Now, chapter 5, verse 1.

Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

We're really going to see four things this morning.

And the first one I want to see is the extent of our need.

The extent of our need.

So again, John says, I saw in the right hand of him seated on the throne, there was a scroll.

And that scroll was written front and back, and it was sealed with seven seals.

So imagine with me this rolled-up scroll just to the right of the throne of God.

We'll see in just a moment how important this scroll is.

Now, it has this seal.

Actually, it has seven of these seals on it.

And you can probably visualize what that is.

Even today, very occasionally, but occasionally, you might even receive a letter, say, with a waxed seal on it, maybe a wedding invitation.

The couple wanted to go the extra mile and they put a that neat little wax seal on it, which really serves two purposes.

Number one, it's just a beautiful touch.

But number two, it serves a purpose of uh security.

You know, if that letter arrives in your mailbox and that wax seal has been broken, you are not the first one to read that letter.

Someone got to it before you.

But but security is probably the main focus of the existence of this seal, and there were seven of these seals.

And so, whatever is in this scroll is extremely important.

It is extremely secure, and in the moment in a moment, we're going to want those seven seals open, and we're going to need someone extremely qualified to open those seals.

Now, here's the important question.

Well, what in the world is this scroll?

If we could break those seals and let that scroll roll open, what would we find on there?

Well, really think in these terms, that scroll that is at the right hand of the throne of God is really the description of everything that will soon take place.

But I want you to think more than just a mere description.

It's almost as if the words put the action in motion.

So everything that will come to be is on these scrolls, and it will only come to be as this scroll is opened.

And so we need this scroll open so everything can go forward.

When you think about, well, what is everything?

Well, one easy way to look at it is uh think about this everything from chapter 5 onward in Revelation.

So everything that Jesus has promised, the fulfillment of the promise, the consummation of all things when Jesus comes again, the judgments, and rightfully so, that will come upon wickedness.

And by the way, we are grateful to the Lord that he is a God that judges wickedness.

Uh we don't want a God that just sweeps sin under the rug.

Instead, he judges the evil things in the world.

By the way, I'm not I'm not speaking and saying that from some superiority outside of the grace of God, by the way, I am under that judgment.

I'm one of those individuals receiving the judgment of God.

But all the judgments of God that will take place, starting in chapter six, all of the redemptive elements of uh the kingdom of God coming from heaven to earth, all of it is on this scroll.

And as this scroll is open, those things will begin to take place.

So clearly, this is an important scroll.

No wonder there are seven seals.

We want to keep it secure and safe.

Verse 2.

And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, and here's the question of the day Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?

Who is worthy to open the scroll?

Okay, if we have the scroll that will announce and really set into motion all things that are to come, who is able to open it?

Who is able to see this through?

And verse three, and no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or look into it.

So who is worthy of this?

And the answer is this no one.

So what happens in the moment when the angel asks this question?

I imagine John is expecting to hear someone speak up.

Surely someone's gonna come forward and say, I'm happy to do this task for us.

And you think, as we look around last week and this week, you would think there would be uh some individuals that that could make this happen.

I mean, I mean, I look around, we saw last week 24 elders, these impressive individuals that are on their own thrones, circled around the thrones.

They have crowns on their head.

Clearly, these are impressive individuals.

I would expect one of them to speak up and say, I am worthy.

I'm happy to open the scroll.

None of them do.

But then we say this, well, I know.

How about those four living creatures?

Remember those from last week.

Powerful individuals, these angelic beings, eyes all over, six wings.

One has the head of an eagle, one of a lion, an ox, a man.

They've they fly around, these mighty beings.

Surely one of them will step up, and none of them step up.

But that's okay because we remember this.

We're dealing in this moment, this question being asked to everyone on heaven and earth and under the earth.

Those who are living and those who have lived.

There's your good news.

Surely we've got uh some individuals that are worthy of this, because within the crowd are people like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, uh, David, Ruth, Hannah, uh Jacobed.

Uh you've got people like uh Peter and Paul and all the disciples.

Uh surely among this group, someone will step up.

Abraham, Moses, do something here.

Someone will step up and say, I am worthy.

And still, no one speaks up.

No one says that they are worthy.

No one is clean enough, holy enough, mighty enough, strong enough to open the seals.

Now look at verse 4.

This is John talking, and I, John, began to weep loudly, because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or look into it.

John begins to weep.

Now, this is an important term, this specific word to weep, and it's translated to weep loudly.

That's exactly what it is.

John, it really it's this uh how I would translate it.

John starts to make a scene.

Uh John starts to weep loudly uh over the fact uh that that no one can break the seal.

I think about this word weep.

I want to give you three other instances among a few in the New Testament where this word to weep loudly is used.

It's used in um uh Luke, uh excuse me, John chapter 11, when Mary is standing outside the tomb of her brothers, uh of her brother Lazarus that is in the tomb and he has died, and what is Mary doing?

John 11 · chapter mention

She is the same word weeping loudly.

Luke chapter 19, when Jesus is looking over Jerusalem and is so heartbroken over the fact that the the his own people, the people of God, have rejected them and don't see that he is their savior.

Luke 19 · chapter mention

He weeps over his people.

Uh a few chapters later, Luke chapter 22, we see that Peter is weeping when he he weeps after three times he has denied his Savior.

Luke 22 · chapter mention

Three times they say, Don't you know the guy?

And Peter says, I've got nothing to do with him, I've never met him.

Then he realizes the weight of his betrayal.

And what does it say?

The same word, he weeps.

And so now why is John weeping?

Let's think about the extent of what is going on here.

John is weeping because if no one uh steps up to break the seal and open the scroll, think about this now, that means that the remaining uh redemptive judgment, all of these events that that God will unfold in history, uh the party's over.

They won't go forward.

That the rest of the story cannot come to fruition.

That the new heavens and new earth will not come down, that in fact the wicked will not be judged.

James Hamilton, one commentator, just wrote about some of the things even throughout Revelation that would not take place if no one opens the scroll.

Uh Chapter 5, Jesus would not be worshipped as worthy to open the scroll.

Jesus would not be worshipped as the world's redeemer.

Chapter 6, the martyrs of the faith, those who have died for the faith of Christ, would not be avenged.

That God would not fulfill his promise to avenge the blood of the martyrs.

Uh Chapter 8, the prayers of the saints would not be answered.

Andrew just helped us sing about that.

Day and night, night and day, incense arise, the prayers of the saints won't be answered.

Chapter 9, God's appointed plan would not come to pass.

Chapter 11, the kingdom of the world would not become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ.

Chapter 16 through 18, the wicked would not be judged.

Let me tell you what that means.

The evil ones get away with it.

The evil ones get to do evil with no consequence.

Chapter 19 and 20, devastating.

Jesus would not return.

Chapters 21 and 22, God would not reign in glory in the new heavens and the new earth.

And then he says this in short, if that scroll isn't open, the Bible's promises don't come true and hope is defeated.

That's it.

That if the scroll is not open, God's promises don't come true, and hope is defeated.

And think about it for our own lives this morning.

There are some kinds of sorrow in our lives that I'm just convinced only resurrection can heal.

There's certain sorrows in our lives that only resurrection can heal.

When you've stood at the graveside of a loved one, and you know that on this side of eternity you will not see them again.

What gets you through in that moment?

The hope of Jesus Christ.

That someday resurrection, even for their lives, it's coming.

As you walk through different sorrow and pain of any kind in life, what what helps us in those moments?

It's knowing that this is not the end, that death is not the end.

I you've thought it, I've thought it too.

I I don't know how non-Christians go to funerals.

I don't know how they do it.

I couldn't do it.

I couldn't even show up.

It would just be too devastating.

Because for some funerals you've been to, I've been to, the only thing that gets you uh out of your chair and to that service is the fact that there is hope on the other side of all this.

And by the way, if the scroll is not open, if the seals are not broken, then all of those future promises, just to put it bluntly, I'm sad to say it, come to nothing.

And so why is John weeping?

It's because no one can open the scroll.

We need someone from outside of us because we look around the room, the room being all of heaven and earth, above the earth, on earth, under the earth.

We look around the room and no one is able.

And so we look at the extent of our need, and our need is great, and we need a need from outside of us.

I like how Martin Luther talks about uh this, the term alien righteousness.

Now, alien righteousness.

Every child in the room got fired up when I said that.

You're thinking alien.

I'm not talking about little green men, I'm talking about like an adjective, an alien, a he talks about a foreign, a different, an other.

Alien righteousness means this: a righteousness that is from outside of us.

That I need something I can't offer, that I can't muster up.

And so, what is the need for salvation?

It's the same need that he has here as he's sitting in the throne room and no one is worthy.

I need someone from outside of this group here, outside of all of these uh you know, mere humans in heaven that can actually say I'm worthy to take the scroll and open it.

And up to this point, he's weeping because he has found no one.

So, first we saw the extent of our need, and our need is total.

Second, I want to see this the extent of his resume.

The extent of his resume.

Verse 5.

One of the elders said to me, Weep no more.

Here's good news.

Behold, look, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.

So there where there is good news this morning.

Let me read it again.

Weep no more, the elder says.

Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.

And so what does this elder do?

He tells John, in the midst of his loud weeping, you don't have to weep anymore, because there is one that is qualified.

And he in this moment begins to list the resume.

First, he says this he is the lion of the tribe of Judah.

Well, what in the world uh does that mean?

It's an important note in his resume.

You go all the way back to Genesis chapter 49, Jacob is uh blessing his sons.

Genesis 49 · chapter mention

And there is one son named Judah.

Out of these twelve sons, and if you track these uh lines down through history, you see that the Savior comes from the line of Judah.

And what is said when Jacob gets to his son, beginning in verse 8, Judah, your brother shall praise you, your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies, your father's son shall bow down before you.

Judah is a lion's cub.

From the prey, my son, you have gone up.

He stooped down, he crouched as a lion, and as a lioness, who dares rouse him?

Look at verse 10.

The scepter shall not depart from Judah.

The scepter shall not depart from Judah.

So first we have the lion of the tribe of Judah, as promised way back in Genesis.

By the way, we're in Revelation, the very last book, and he's looking way back in Genesis, the very first book, and even from way back when we have been promised that this kind of Savior from the line of Judah, the lion of the tribe of Judah is coming.

And then he says this, and not only the lion of the tribe of Judah, what's next on the resume?

The root of David.

The root of David.

You go back to Isaiah 11, when the people of God were not acting like the people of God, and they just needed a piece of hope.

What does it say?

Verse eleven chapter eleven, verse one, there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

Last Christmas we talked about this passage, and we literally had a stump in here, and it was just a picture of what the people of God had become.

They were this tree cut down.

Yet God promised, from this stump there will come this shoot.

A plant will grow up again.

And what we saw is that root of Jesse, by the way, Jesse, the father of David, that root of David will grow up.

We saw in 2 Samuel chapter 6, chapter 7, the fact that David, when he is anointed the king of Israel, what does God say?

2 Samuel 6 · chapter mention

That there will always be a ruler to sit on your throne.

That's God's covenant with David.

So from the root of David comes forth this Savior.

So you look at the resume.

We've got one who is the lion of the tribe of Judah.

We've got one who is the root of David.

And then you said this, who has conquered.

Now notice, this is a post-game press conference.

This is not a pregame, this is post-game.

He has conquered.

The work has already taken place.

What is he referring to?

Obviously, I hope you know he's referring to the fact that the Savior has come, defeated sin and death, he took sin to the grave, he died to the grave, and early Sunday morning rose from the grave, defeating sin and death.

This is what Christ has already done.

So the root of David, the lion of the tribe of Judah, he has conquered, and therefore he can open the scroll and it's seven seals.

And so you and I, we can take heart this morning, because there is one who is worthy.

We saw the extent of our need.

We saw the fact that as we looked all around us, no one was worthy.

You weren't.

I wasn't.

All the saints of old weren't.

The creatures, the elders, none were worthy.

And yet then we see the extent of the resume of Jesus Christ, and we finally found one who is worthy.

And as we'll see in a minute, the party is back on.

Everything is going forward because we found one who is worthy.

So we saw the extent of the need, the extent of the resume.

Now I want to see this.

The extent of his humility.

The extent of his humility.

Verse 6.

And between the throne and the four living creatures, and among the elders, I saw a lamb standing.

Let's stop for a minute.

Because you gotta visualize what's going on with John in this moment.

You imagine.

He's looking towards you know the direction of the elder that told you know weep no more.

He's talking to this individual.

The elder tells him, the lion of the tribe of Judah.

And so John is about to turn around between verse 5 and 6, and he's expecting to see what?

A lion.

A lion of the tribe of Judah.

And so now, here's exciting.

I'm going to turn around and see this lion.

He his eyes are probably looking up where this lion is, and then his eyes have to go down to the ground.

He turned around expecting to see this lion, and instead he sees what?

A lamb.

And that'd be one thing, but not just a lamb.

A lamb standing as though it had been slain.

With seven horns, with seven eyes.

This really, these numbers of completion just speaks to the power of Jesus, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

You look at this lamb who was slain, and again, it's not what we expected because you just told me, I thought, elder, that I was going to turn around and see the lion of the tribe of Judah.

I turn around and see a lamb as if it had been slain.

So I don't know what that exactly looks like as if it had been slain.

If there were clearly, I'm sure, visible marks of that.

If there was visual uh blood, I don't know.

But this lamb has been slain.

And really it's a picture of the Lamb of God that we see throughout Scripture in John chapter 1.

John 1 · chapter mention

What does he say as Jesus walks by and he's in the water trying to baptize folks?

He says this behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

You go back to Exodus chapter 12.

Exodus 12 · chapter mention

The angel of death is about to pass through the camp.

It's the night of Passover, and the angel of death is coming through, and he is going to take the lives of all firstborn children in Egypt.

And if you want to avoid that, there is one way that God has given you to do it.

You can slaughter this unblemished lamb, and what do you do?

You put the blood of the lamb over and above your door, and the angel of death will pass over the lamb who has been slaughtered.

You go to Isaiah 53, and you see this fascinating passage, Isaiah writing 600 years before the death of Christ, yet he might as well have been riding it from the cross itself, looking at Jesus on the cross.

What does he say beginning in verse 5?

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way.

And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

My iniquity, your iniquity.

And look at this.

And he was oppressed, verse 7.

He was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth.

Here it is, like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, like a sheep that before its shears is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

This is the picture of the Lamb of God.

You're expecting the lion of the tribe of Judah.

You turn around, you see the Lamb of God who was slain.

And really, what this is, is the picture of our faith, the picture of Christianity, the picture of all of Revelation, because all of Revelation just hits on this theme over and over and over.

How do you overcome?

Really, it's through your weakness, my weakness.

I overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of the testimony.

I don't overcome because I'm something special.

I overcome because he's something special.

How do I win?

Well, actually, uh the way I'm gonna win is by losing, by laying down my own life spiritually, for many in revelation, physically.

How do I win by looking uh to Jesus Christ, not looking to my own self, my own merit.

This is uh Christianity.

I I was fascinated this week.

As I think about the humility of Jesus, as I think about the Lamb of God who was slain, I came upon this uh uh the Alexamenos graffito.

I wanted to do I have the picture?

Yeah, yeah, look at this now.

This Alexa Menos Graffito, you won't believe this.

It it was dated somewhere as early as 85 A.D.

At the latest, around 200 A.D.

Now, remember Revelation's being written in the mid-90s A.D.

And so, you know, we're kind of right in the general uh time frame.

This is a sketch that was carved into the plaster.

Get this now, at the palace of Roman Emperor Caligula.

So in the Roman Emperor's palace, this sketch was there.

It says, Alexamenos Sibete Theon, Alexamenos worships his God.

That's what those little letters down there say.

Alexamenos worships his God.

Now, what's happening here is someone in the palace wanted nothing more than to mock Alexamenos and the silliness of his faith.

They drew Alexamenos there on the left, and you can look it up on your own time, but right where I've kind of edited out is a picture of Jesus on the cross.

Kind of a crude picture that instead of his head, it's the head of a donkey, which was really a way in the early centuries to completely mock, make fun of.

It was a slur, it was a way to bash Christians.

And I mean, please, by all means, look it up.

I I didn't want to put a mocking picture of Jesus kind of in our sacred space, so I just kind of blocked it out there.

But you look at this right around the time, it could have been children, it could have been some bully, it could have been adults.

I don't, we don't know who wrote it, but what we do know is this here's how Christians were treated.

And Alexamenos, surely he was just silly.

It couldn't be fathomed how someone like Alexamenos could worship someone who would end up on a criminal's cross.

It couldn't be fathomed that someone like Alexamenos would give their lives, their livelihood.

Think about the churches in Rome that we discussed.

Think about the fact that they lived in poverty uh because of uh their faith.

Think about the fact that they lived under persecution for their faith.

This person couldn't fathom the fact that Alexa Menos and people like him would give their lives to this cause of just some guy that would end up on a criminal's cross.

How is that possible?

Why is this guy so special to you?

And all this person wanted to do uh 2,000 years ago was mock Alexa Menos and talk about the silliness of it.

It's the same thing Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 that to the world this gospel is foolishness.

1 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention

To the world it's completely ridiculous because why?

In the world's terminology, in the world's mindset and idea, you don't win by going to a cross.

You don't get life by worshiping one that died on the cross.

Here's the good news, though.

We saw the extent of our need, we saw the extent of his resume, we see the extent of his humility, the lamb who was slain, who was willing to go to the cross for Alexamenos, for you, for me.

Here's the good news for Alexamenos, here's the good news for you, here's the good news for me.

We're now going to see the extent of his glory, the extent of his glory.

Look with me at verse 7.

And he went.

The Lamb of God went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.

And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

And they sang a new song, saying, Worthy are you to take the scroll, to open its seals, for you were slain.

By your blood, you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priest to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.

Let's keep going.

Then I looked, and I heard the throne, I heard around the throne the living creatures and the elders, the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb who is 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.

Do you think the opening of this seal might be a little bit important?

Do you think it might be worthy of a worshipful celebration?

Do you think people that that just five minutes ago, when they thought, you know, will no one step up to do this, and John was weeping, do you think he might have had something to celebrate when suddenly the plans of God can and will go forward?

Because the lion of the tribe of Judah, the lamb who was slain, is here, and he can open the scroll, and all of his promises will be fulfilled, and everything I'm hoping for will come to pass, and everything that has caused me sorrow in this life will be put away and redeemed in the yet to come.

And everything I've suffered and walked through, uh I will see it in a beautiful light as Jesus begins to heal me or does heal me in the new age to come.

Everything of God's plans is going forward.

And here's what happens: the people just can't stop worshiping.

They just start making up new songs.

Like we've got the old songs, but we're just gonna do some new ones.

We want to worship in some new ways.

We want to say some new things.

And so they just start worshiping.

I'm fascinated, just three quick things that I see in the three songs that they sing throughout the rest of the passage.

Number one, the gospel is at the center.

Notice that in these new songs, uh in this time, as they're worshiping their God, notice you are the Lamb who was slain.

Do you know that the theme of heaven is still the gospel?

Do you know that when we've been there 10,000 years, the theme will be what?

The gospel.

That you are the Lamb who was slain.

That everything comes back to that.

Not only that, but you just see an expression in this worship of the power of God.

They can't stop talking about the gospel, the Lamb who was slain.

They can't stop talking about just how powerful our God is.

You receive power, wealth, wisdom, might, honor, glory, blessing.

He is the one worthy of all this.

And number three is just this it's just pure excitement.

They're just really excited about what God is up to.

And they just want to get their praise out, and they just can't be still and can't stop until they do.

Uh last week, uh, I talked about uh Handel's Messiah and the Hallelujah chorus.

I talked about the fact that the king stood one time and we've been standing up for the hallelujah chorus ever since.

And it's a fascinating little chorus, and I love it.

I think it's just stunningly beautiful, but uh think about the lyrics to it for a second, and I'm gonna uh recite, not sing, but recite for you the first two lines, and I want you to listen quickly, because I don't want this to get past you, okay?

Line one hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

That's line one.

Now hang with me for line two and line two hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

That's line two.

Did you catch it?

Are you with me now?

If that song were written today, uh uh all the respect in the world, the songwriter's hall of fame wouldn't be knocking on Handel's door.

The the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry might not be knocking on his door.

What has he done?

He's just taken one word and repeated it over and over and over and over.

Let me tell you why the Halloween Course is just so beautiful.

Why why those are some of the most beautiful words that that uh any human musician could ever write and compose.

It's simply because of this.

I I'm convinced.

I can't prove it, but I'm just gonna prove it.

I'm just convinced that Handel just sat down one day and he got to that moment and he had just seen the beauty of the glory of God, and he said, All I want to do in this moment is get as much praise from my lips to this page as quickly as possible.

How many syllables of praise can I fit into a line?

And that's just what we're gonna sing.

And it's just hallelujah over and over and over again, because he was just so excited for two, for not 2,000 years, for 300 years, we've been just as excited about it.

We just have to say hallelujah! And it's just this kind of thing.

How much worship can I get out as quickly as possible?

Why?

Because the Lamb was slain, because I was hopeless and I've received hope.

I had no reason for joy, and now I have every reason for joy.

Because the rest of salvation history was not going to unfold, and now it is business as usual to the glory of God, and evil will be judged, and the new heavens and the earth will come down, and we have a future and a hope.

I want to just tell you this morning that Revelation chapter 5 and Revelation as a whole, it's not some hypothetical scenario, it's not some you know, cute story, some figurative illustration.

Revelation 5 · chapter mention

It's the real deal.

And that there is one who is worthy, and because he is worthy, he is able to open the scroll, he is able to send forward all the beauty of salvation history that you and I, if we know Christ Jesus, will experience all the promises that will be fulfilled.

And for now and forever to come, we will be worshiping the one who is worthy.

We will be doing it with excitement, we will be doing it, uh announcing his power, we will be doing it by keeping the gospel at the center, and we will do it for his glory alone.

This is the truth of Revelation chapter 4 and 5.

Revelation 4 · chapter mention

That our God still sits on the throne, and our God is still about the business of bringing his people to himself.

As we close, I wonder if there's someone that for the first time wants to come to know Jesus.

You want to say, I want to be a part of that.

I want that story to be my story.

I want to introduce you to Jesus this morning.

You may want to join this church, you may want to talk about baptism, you may I don't know what it is.

You may want to have a pastor pray with you.

We'd love to do that.

But however you want to respond, I'm gonna be down front.

If you want to come down as we worship, please do.

Bow with me now.

Lord Jesus, thank you so much for the truth of the gospel, the hope of your word.

Thank you for the joy of your word.

Thank you for the hope that we have in Christ Jesus, that you are worthy to open the scroll, open the seals, and we know that your promises are yes and amen, and your word will come to pass.

If there's anyone in this room this morning that needs to know Jesus for the first time, I pray they wouldn't wait till tomorrow.

I pray they wouldn't wait till next week.

I pray they wouldn't wait till five minutes from now.

I pray they would come now and meet Jesus Christ.

If there's anyone that just needs to spend time and pray, would they do that?

Maybe they need to come to this altar and pray.

Whatever it may be, if there's someone to join this church or respond in any way, would they do it now?

In Christ's name.

Amen.

Would you stand now as we worship?

I'll be down front.