Revelation 5
- Tim Cain
- Dec 6, 2009
- Series: Revelations
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- Tim Cain
- Dec 5, 2009
- Series: Revelations
Revelation 5
This message begins right where we left off last week. Last week we saw how John had been taken up to heaven in a vision and how he had caught a glimpse of the way things really are. He caught a glimpse of the majesty and the glory of God and he watched as the four living creatures and the elders proclaimed to all of us here on earth the truth that God is worthy. He sits upon his throne in total control over all of his creation and because of that, he is worthy. Not only is he in control today of all of his creation, but he is, was, and he is to come, so his reign will never pass away. Today we pick up where we left off. The elders, those representatives of all of God’s people in both the Old and New Covenant, have just joyfully cast their crowns before the throne of God and proclaimed, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
We join John in this heavenly chorus today. Today, once again, we are going to catch a glimpse of heaven. We are going to see ultimate reality. Let’s look at Revelation 5 and see what happens as John continues to describe his vision of heaven.
Revelation 5 begins with John seeing the one who sits upon the throne holding a scroll in his right hand. Again we are confronted with the sovereign authority of our God. He is seated on the throne, in his right hand he holds a scroll that is sealed with seven seals. Most commentators agree that this scroll contains God’s future plan of redemption and judgment. In this scroll are all God’s plans for his people and for his enemies. In it you will find judgment for God’s enemies and an inheritance for his people. For his people it speaks of joy and blessings, and all the benefits that God will lavish upon the faithful. Basically, the best way to see this scroll is to understand that it contains the ultimate fulfillment of all of God’s promises.
At the end of each of the letters to the seven churches, Jesus would say, “the one who conquers I will grant…”. It was these promises that were intended to strengthen and encourage the faithful in each church, and they were meant to call the compromisers to something greater than the empty comforts of this world for which they were settling. Sometimes, when you find yourself in the midst of a terrible tragedy, the only comfort and joy you can find is by going to God’s word and clinging to one of his promises. You find yourself clinging to the fact that Jesus said, “I will never leave you of forsake you.” Your hope is based on the fact that “Nothing will ever separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus.” Overwhelmed with guilt, you may cling to the fact that “If you confess your sin God is faithful and just to forgive you your sin and cleanse you from all unrighteousness.” Certainly many of us have truly staked our lives upon some of these promises of God. This scroll contains the fulfillment of all of these promises. That’s why this scroll is so important. However, the scroll is sealed. What this means is that its contents cannot be revealed and their ultimate fulfillment cannot be put into action. In other words, God holds in his hands the fulfillment of all his promises, however, until the seals are broken the promises of God cannot ultimately be fulfilled.
John goes on to tell us that he saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?” Try to grasp this scene. A strong angel shouts with a loud voice. He is looking for anyone who might be worthy to open the scroll. All of history stands in the balance. All of God’s promises for his people are on the line. All of them await one who is worthy to open the scroll. God himself, the maker of heaven and earth, who holds the scroll in his right hand, cannot open it. He cannot open it, for in this scroll are written countless blessings and everlasting happiness for sinners. The one who is holy cannot by himself open this scroll. For God to open the seals, for him alone to try and enact history would mean only judgment for all the earth. It would mean people would get what they deserve. That is what a just God must do to sinners if he is to act alone. The holy one cannot look at sin. The holy one cannot tolerate sinners. Even though people repent, he cannot merely forgive, for that would not be just. Somehow their sins must be paid for in order for God to forgive them, and on our own we cannot pay for our sin. So, we see that God the Father cannot open the scroll by himself. Now, God by himself is a capable and worthy judge. He did not need anyone to help him bring history to its close if he wanted to merely give to everyone what they deserved. But that is not how God the Father chose to end history. God the Father wrote the scroll, and in it he wrote countless and lavish blessing upon sinners. Even though he didn’t have to, God chose to make promises: promises to deceptive Eve that he would send a hero to crush the serpent’s head, promises to the idolater Abraham that he would bless the world through him, promises to that adulterous murderer David that one of his decedents would reign on the throne forever. God didn’t have to make these promises, but he did. So, to enact the history he wrote, he needs a mediator. He must find a way to be both the just and the justifier of the ungodly.
Certainly the stakes are beyond our ability to comprehend. If you and I are to have any hope, if any promise that God has ever declared is to be true, someone must be found to open the scroll. Here again we are confronted with our desperate need. We need someone to open the scroll for us and break its seals.
So a search is made. The voice of the strong angel echoed throughout heaven, earth, and under the earth. The living creatures with all their eyes in front and in back are waiting in anticipation. All of heaven holds its breath as this desperate search is made. Everything hangs in the balance.
Then verse 3 says that no one was found who was worthy. No one. You have to let this sink in. Look at what happens to John when this reality begins to sink in. He weeps loudly because everything hangs in the balance. He weeps because he has staked his life upon God’s faithfulness to keep his promises. He bore so much suffering for Jesus’ sake. Sixty years ago he left his fishing nets to follow this man Jesus who he believed was the Messiah, and for the last 60 years he gave his life to hard labor and patient endurance of being a faithful witness to him. And now, when he needs him most, he is nowhere to be found.
Even though John is in heaven, though he has just heard and seen the most majestic things, he knows it is all for nothing if no one is found worthy to open the scroll. I think we need to feel this. We need to taste what John tastes. John shows us the desperation all of us are to feel. Do you see how different John is than the church of Laodicea? They are on earth and say, “I am rich and I don’t need anything.” John is in heaven staring at the throne of God, and he weeps because he needs something more. He needs something desperately. He needs a mediator. He needs one to come between him and God and make a way for him. He needs one to open the scroll to cover his sin, to bear the wrath of this holy God for all his failures, and he needs it so bad that he is inconsolable without it.
He weeps in heaven. Do we need Jesus as John does? Are we as desperate as he is? Can we actually say that a heaven without Jesus would be empty? Many of us live functionally day-to-day on this earth without Jesus, so why would we expect to weep if we got heaven without Jesus? Only those who have made their savior their greatest treasure will find that all the comforts of heaven are empty if their true treasure is not there.
But then one of the elders comes to comfort John. He says, “Weep no more; 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.” There is one who is worthy! There is one who has conquered, and because he has conquered we don’t have to weep any longer. There is one who has come to dry our tears and open the scroll and bring about all of the promises of God to his people and usher in his judgment against his enemies. There is one who is worthy. This is good news. This is amazing. Praise the lion of Judah. Praise the one who is worthy. Praise him, for it is only because of him that we don’t have to weep anymore.
You can picture the scene. John has just witnessed amazing wonders. He has seen the four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind, the very throne of God, the elders casting their crowns before him and worshipping, and a mighty angel calling out in a loud voice—and having seen all these he is still weeping. Having seen all these amazing beings he knows that there is still one greater out there. His heart was not comforted by any of these majestic creatures. He wept because his heart longed for another, for the one who was worthy to open the scroll. It longed for his mediator, his savior, his advocate, his shepherd, his master, and his friend. It longed for him and it had not yet seen him. So, when the elder comes to John and says the one who is worthy is the “Lion of the tribe of Judah,” you can only imagine what John expects to see. As he stops weeping, dries his eyes, and looks up to see what the elder had described as the “Lion of Judah” he must expect to see something even more glorious, more powerful, and more majestic than anything he had yet seen.
Certainly with those types of expectations John must have been very surprised at what he saw. John saw the Lion of Judah standing among the elders, and he was a slaughtered lamb. The text really should not have the words “as though” in it. You see what John saw was a slain lamb standing up. He saw standing up, a bloody sacrificial lamb who had been slain.
Can you believe it? The Lion of the tribe of Judah became a lamb. The roaring, untamable lion who reigned soveriegnly over all creation became a lamb, led silently to the slaughter. Why does the lion become a slaughtered lamb? It was through his sacrifice, through his suffering, that he conquered. If we compare Revelation 5:5 to Revelation 5:9 we will see that the lamb conquers through suffering.
In verses 3-5, they are looking for one who is worthy, and they find a lion who is worthy because he has conquered and can open the scroll. In verse 9 again they find someone who is worthy, he is a lamb, and he is worthy because he was slain. So, if we compare these verses we clearly see that it was through his death that the lion conquered. That is why the lion is a lamb. He is a lamb because he has conquered through his sacrificial blood. Our savior conquered death, hell, and Satan, and redeemed for himself a people through his death. He conquered through the cross. Do you see the irony of the Lion being a slaughtered lamb? Do you see how unimaginable it is to all but God that one could conquer through suffering, through death? It is interesting to note that throughout this whole chapter, even though the resurrection is clearly implicit and absolutely necessary, the emphasis is that Jesus conquered through his death. It was his death that ransomed people from every nation; it was his blood that made them a kingdom and priests to our God; it was his death that insured his victory and right to open the scroll and redeem for himself a people according to God the Father’s eternal plan.
What a mystery! What a mystery that our savior conquered through his death. James Stewart, a Scottish preacher, said this:
The very triumph of his foes Jesus used for their defeat. He compelled their dark achievements to subserve his ends, not theirs. They nailed him to a tree, not knowing that by that very act they were bringing the world to his feet. They gave him a cross, not guessing that He would make it a throne. They flung him outside the gates to die, not knowing that in that very moment they were lifting up all the gates of the universe, to let the King come in. They thought to root out his doctrines, not understanding that they were implanting imperishably in the hearts of men the very name they intended to destroy. They thought they had God with his back to the wall, pinned and helpless and defeated: they did not know that it was God himself who had tracked them down. Jesus did not conquer in spite of the dark mystery of evil. He conquered through it.
How amazing that God in his sovereign wisdom did not conquer in spite of evil, but he conquered through it. The greatest, most heinous crime in all of history, the darkest day, the greatest tragedy of all, was bent by almighty God to serve his purposes and become the very cornerstone of our faith. To illustrate what this looked like, I want us to see how God has transformed the cross—that ugly, shameful, fear-inspiring, torturous instrument—into the hope of the world, into something that we sing about, treasure, an in which we boast. I like to use the illustration of the actual cross because it shows us how God chose to turn evil on itself and use it for his glory. He does not transform the cross into something beautiful by snapping his fingers. He does not send an army of angels to powerfully bend the forces of evil upon themselves. No, he transforms the heinous cross into something beautiful by hanging on it. Do you see at what cost he conquers evil? He transforms the cross by hanging on it. We love the cross because our savior hung on it. Can you believe that his passion to be both the just and the justifier went so deep? Can you believe that his desire to be praised by a people from every tongue and tribe and nation went so deep that he willingly gave his only son to hang on that cross? Can you fathom the depths of the love of the lion for his bride? He loved her so much that he became a slaughtered lamb.
Throughout the rest of the book of Revelation, John’s favorite name for Jesus is the lamb. It should not surprise us, for only the lamb was worthy to open the scroll. Truly it is the lamb who has conquered, for only a lamb willing to hang on the wretched cross and bear the sins of all God’s people could have merited the amazing blessing God wrote in that scroll for us. And so we serve a slaughtered lamb.
What an amazing savior! What a God! Don’t ever think you have the Gospel figured out. Let the truths of the majesty of this God wash over you afresh. Think of how unlike us he is. I can’t be quiet when I am being blamed for something that I actually did. I constantly want to defend myself, to appear righteous before others, to keep my reputation intact. Our savior was no such man. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. It is by his wounds that we have been healed. What a savior!
John goes on to remind us that this lamb-like lion is also a lion-like lamb. He has seven horns upon his head. During this time and throughout the Old Testament, horns represented power. So, this lamb is more than a slaughtered lamb. He is not laying helpless on the floor of heaven; he is standing and he has horns. Throughout the rest of the book, John’s favorite way of describing Jesus is as a lamb, however, he is often seen as a lion-like lamb. He is seen as powerful, having horns. The next chapter ends with the kings of the earth calling out, “fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb for the great day of their wrath has come and who can stand.”
This lamb takes the scroll from the hand of the one who was seated on the throne. As he proved to be worthy of taking the scroll, as he proved to be the one who would sovereignly reveal and execute God’s eternal plan to save a people for himself, heaven explodes in song. First, the four living creatures and the 24 elders carrying the prayers of the saints fall before this slaughtered lamb and worship. They sing a new song about God’s new creation. Notice how similar this song begins to the song we saw in chapter 4. Both are about creation. In chapter 4 the song was about God’s first creation, while this song is about his new creation. It is about his plan to restore all things to himself, and it proclaims that Jesus is worthy. He, like God the father, is worthy of worship. He is worthy to be bowed before, worthy to be sung to, worthy to gazed upon. He is worthy because he has shed his blood and ransomed a people for God from every tribe, language, people and nation. This verse tells us what God is doing.
God is about reconciling men, women, and children from every nation, tongue, tribe, and language. This is what he is doing. This is why we must continue to live in the tension we talked about last week. God has a massive plan for the restoration of this world, and it includes the salvation of people from every ethnicity. It includes more than merely the personal salvation of diverse individuals from every different language and tribe and nation; it includes reconciling these diverse peoples to each other.
God is about bringing vastly diverse cultures, languages, and people together and forming them into one people, one kingdom. He is about bringing men from warring tribes in Africa together, united by something bigger than themselves, their history, and their families. They are united by the precious blood of the lamb and they are united for God. God is taking people from every different people group and making them into a new people, his people. They are a people redeemed from the futile way of life handed down to them through their culture, who do what they were created to do, who give their lives to worship God, and who fall before the throne and praise the one who is worthy.
This passage has major implications for us. God is reconciling people to himself and forming them, not into many different peoples, but into one people with a new culture, a new story, redeemed to love one another. He has come to break down the walls of hostility. This verse shatters all attempts to justify racism or discrimination of any kind.
This topic of racial reconciliation is a topic we seldom talk about in church. It is a topic that many of us, especially those of us who live in the majority culture, are simply content to ignore. In one of his books, Piper urges us not to ignore this topic. He says,
I want to remind you of June 6th, 1998, outside Jasper Texas, when James Byrd, a 49 year old African American, was beaten and chained by his ankles to the back of a 1982 pickup truck and dragged 2 miles until his head came off. Many things have changed but some deep things haven’t changed. These events are the blood-red tip of a deep, partially subconscious iceberg in American culture. It affects all of us. But few in the majority culture feel it or admit it. That is the privilege of being the majority. Your color and your ways are assumed. Whiteness is not an issue for us, we say, so why should blackness be an issue? We are naïve at best.
Living in Southern California, and especially in El Cajon, we know that the issue is far bigger than just a black and white issue. El Cajon is 22 percent Hispanic, and we have a large Kurdish population. San Diego is one of the most diverse cities around, and the San Diego Union-Tribune quoted one specialist as saying, “Immigration from Mexico raises the heat. There is clearly a lot of ethnic mixing and conflict in San Diego. More so than in other cities.” Certainly we would be foolish to not see that diversity and the desperate need for racial reconciliation is a huge topic here in El Cajon.
I want us to understand today that this is not just a topic, not some liberal, social gospel issue. This is a blood issue. Jesus bought people from every ethnicity to unite them as one great worshiping community, and lest we forget what it cost him, he bought them with his blood. Jesus cares about racial reconciliation. Jesus cares about bringing people whose histories are marred by persecution, discrimination, hate, and violence together in one body. He has come to break down the walls that separate us. The pasts that divide, the stigmas, and the stereotypes all are to be shattered by his precious blood. Jesus cares that people from every race and ethnicity come together in love for one another, united under a cause bigger then the color of our skin or the way we dress. Racial reconciliation is not some cursory issue for Jesus, it’s not some side note in one of Paul’s letters; it is a blood issue. Jesus died to bring men, women, and children of different ethnicities and languages together into one body. He died to do it, so we must care about it. We must fight for it. It must be a priority among God’s people. Our God is glorified when diverse people put away their own comforts and come together to worship our God who is worthy. That is why we long to be a church of diversity, a church that accurately reflects heaven. Not a church of cliques, not a church where everyone hangs out with people just like them, not a church based on affinity, but a church whose joyful and loving diversity is a glimpse of the world to come and demonstrates the power of Jesus’ blood. His blood has broken down all the walls, and his blood has brought us together. Let us give our lives to being a part of what God is doing in this world.
Not only does this passage speak to us about our call to be about racial reconciliation in our own neighborhoods, but this passage calls us to be about foreign missions. God has a plan, and it is his plan to see people from every nation and language come to know him. Matthew 24:14 reads, “And this Gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
Right now there are hundreds, most believe thousands, of whole people groups who have no vital church among them. What I mean by this is that there are tribes of people who have never heard of Jesus, who have no word for Jesus in their language, who have no scripture, no witness, nothing. They are and have been living in utter darkness. These people will not hear of him until someone goes. But God has a plan. His plan is to save men and women from every tribe, nation, and tongue. One day the Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world. This is going to happen. God is doing this. The only question for us is whether we as a church will be about what God is doing. Will we seek to see the unreached people of the world hear the good news about Jesus? Will we give our lives, our resources, and our prayers to that end? Will we spend ourselves on behalf of the lost? Will we make it a priority not only to reach the people in our neighborhood, but to be about God’s global purposes? That is a question we must ask.
For Paul, is clear these unreached people groups need a preacher. In Romans 10 he asks: “How will they believe in one they have never heard? And how will they hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written how beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news.” What a privilege awaits us! What a privilege to be a part of God’s global purposes, of what God is doing in history. We have been left here on earth not merely for ourselves, but for the sake of the world. Don’t you think heaven would be a better place for you to be right now? Don’t you think you would enjoy it more? Paul sure did, that is why he said in Phil. 1:21 “for me to die is gain.” However, he knew that it was better for the world that he stay. Paul says, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh that means fruitful labor for me…” He defines what it means to live when he says, “To live is Christ.” For Paul to live meant fruitful labor. Basically, Paul saw that the Christian has two options. One is to die and go to heaven and the other is to live a life of fruitful service. He goes on in verse 25 to further define fruitful service when he says, “Convinced of this I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith.” For Paul, fruitful labor meant bringing others joy in the faith. Fruitful labor meant making people glad in God. So, basically Paul is telling us that either he is going to die which would be great for him, or he is going to live and if he lives, his life will be about bringing others joy in God. That’s what life meant for Paul. Did you know that those where the only two options? Did you know that for the believer there is only dying which would be gain or life which would mean fruitful labor in making others glad in God? I don’t think most of us believe there are really only two ways. I don’t think that most of us would say that for me to be alive means fruitful labor. I think many of us would say, “For me to die is gain and to live means to be as comfortable as possible and provide for my family well until God calls me home.” Most of us assume that as long as someone can honestly say that “To die is gain” they are demonstrating the faith to which God calls us. We consider someone a spiritual giant when they lay on their death bed preparing to leave this life of comfort, ready to die in peace because they trust in the promises of God that to die is gain. We consider them heroes. But how do we know that to die is gain if living for us is not Christ? If our lives are not fruitful service, if we do not consider everything rubbish to gain Christ, if we are living for ourselves and then looking forward to going to heaven which will be an upgrade on the comforts we have enjoyed on earth, then I don’t think we rightly understand what Paul is saying. I think we all must constantly evaluate our lives and ask, “Can I truly say that for me to live means making others glad in God? Is that how I understand my existence?” That’s why we live in the tension we talked about last week. The tension exists because there are people from tribes and tongues who have no Gospel witness whom God intends to be around his throne, and until that day the tension will exist. The not yet exists until the gospel is preached in all the world as a testimony to the nations, “And then the end will come.”
What a privilege we have to be about the global purposes of our God. What a privilege we have to bring the light of the glory of God in the face of the lamb to a people who have never heard of him. Someone believed their life was about making others glad in God, that is how you heard about him. Let us so love and treasure the slaughtered lamb that we long to see others made glad with the same joy that we have found in him. Let death be gain for us because we have so treasured, valued, and needed the lamb here on earth that the prospect of seeing him face-to-face is truly our greatest longing.
Remember what John was doing when no one was found worthy to open the scroll. He was weeping. There are whole people groups, whole languages, and whole regions of the earth who do not know the one who is worthy. They have never heard of the slaughtered lamb. They do not know of the scroll which speaks of the salvation for all those who believe in the lamb of God, slaughtered to redeem sinners. We need to care not only about our neighbors who do not know the one who is worthy, but about those around the world who will never hear until someone goes. I want all of us to hear the call to give our lives to the salvation of the unreached people of the world. It is what God is doing. Let us commit to give our lives to going and planting churches among unreached people, to praying that the Lord of the harvest will send forth labors to those regions, and to giving generously and sacrificially to this cause.
The lamb conquered through suffering. He conquered through suffering, death, and spending himself on behalf of the needy. His call to us is that we would follow in his footsteps, that we would be faithful unto death, and conquer as he has conquered. Racial reconciliation and the reaching of the unreached people groups in this world will not be accomplished without suffering. The cost will be great. Millions have already given their lives for it.
I believe a letter from Adonirom Judson rightly depicts the great cost of proclaiming Christ where he is not known. Before Adonirom Judson set out to marry Anne and take her with him to preach to the Burmese people, he wrote Anne’s father this letter:
I have now to ask, whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world; whether you can consent to her departure, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of missionary life; whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean, to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death. Can you consent to all this, for the sake of him who left his heavenly home, and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion, and the glory of God? Can you consent to all this, in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with the crown of righteousness, brightened with the acclamations of praise which shall redound to her Savior from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair?
Her father let her decide. She said yes, and years later died in Burma.
The Gospel shall be preached in all the world. Men, women, and children from every tribe, nation, and tongue will one day be gathered together around the throne proclaiming the majesty and worthiness of our God. Judson and his wife, Anne, knew the cost, but they also had caught such a glimpse of the glory of God that understood he was worthy. They knew that they had been rescued when God himself became a slaughtered lamb. They knew that the precious blood of God’s only son had been shed for them and so they willingly and joyfully gave their lives to make his glory known. Will we follow? Will some of you begin to pray about giving your lives to make Christ known where people still live weeping in darkness because they do not know the one who is worthy? Will all of us give our lives to making our savior known in our own neighborhoods to those who don’t know him? Will we give our lives to praying for the unreached people groups of this world? Will we sacrificially give our resources to send people to preach Christ where he has never been heard?
I know there is a great danger when preaching messages that are so application-oriented. Some of you will be overwhelmed with guilt and will be energized and invigorated to go out and be better, to truly make your life about “fruitful labor” since you know you have failed so badly at this in the past. My friends, that will not work. If you feel guilty today, if you realize that your life has not been about fruitful labor, if you know that you have not been willing to sacrifice and truly follow the slaughtered lamb, there is a place for you to go. Take your guilt to the throne of grace where you might find mercy in your time of need. Take your guilt to the lamb who shed his blood to cover your wretched sins. Please don’t end this series with guilt, you don’t have to. God has provided an advocate for us. There is one who is worthy to open the scroll and unleash the forgiveness of God for sinners. Guilty people make for poor witnesses of the God of forgiveness. It is very hard to make others glad in God and thus to live lives of fruitful service when we ourselves are bore down under a guilty conscience. Your sins are real, your feelings of guilt are deserved, the slaughtered lamb you worship should be you, but it does not have to be. God wrote forgiveness in a scroll and you can have it if you will fly to his throne and let the precious blood of the slaughtered lamb cover your sins. Please do that today. If you genuinely do that, you will leave his throne passionate about pointing others to the joy and peace that you found there.
My friends, our savior is worthy. He is so much better than anything you will ever find on this earth. Please don’t try and fit in, in this world which idolizes wealth, prosperity, comfort, and pleasure when our hero is a slaughtered lamb. We are living in a different story. We know the truth, we have seen heaven. We know that in all of heaven, earth, and the underworld there is only one who is worthy, only one who can break the seal. There is only one who can make a way for us to stand before God, only one who is worthy to be praised, loved, worshipped, and worthy to give our lives to. Everything in the world is rubbish compared to him. Everything but him will leave us in tears. He is better. Love, cherish, treasure, know, and worship the lamb, for he is worthy. Give your lives to making his name famous. Give your lives to his global purposes. Give your lives to being his witnesses in your family, in your missional community, in your work place, and to the ends of the earth. Work together with your community to be a people for the sake of the lost, a kingdom of priests to represent God to a lost world who so desperately needs to hear about him.
It is a privilege that we sinful people have the opportunity to be about the global purposes of our God. Praise God that he has chosen to use people like us to see his name made famous. He has chosen broken vessels like us to be the caretakers of his glorious gospel so that the world might know, when God’s global purposes have finally been completed, that the all surpassing power has always belonged to God and not to us.
One day the glory of the Lord will cover this world as the waters cover the sea. What a day that will be! On that day you will not regret anything that you have suffered for the sake of the Gospel. On that day you will not be thinking about anything that you have given up on earth. There will be no tears, no pain, no more suffering. You will see face-to-face the slaughtered lamb. You will be dressed in white and all of your wretched sin will be wiped away. You will know then that you were made to worship and gaze upon the infinitely fascinating lamb-like lion who has loved you and made you a part of the people of God, a kingdom and a priest who will reign with our savior. The lamb is worthy. Please give your life to worshipping him and making him known where he is not.
This message begins right where we left off last week. Last week we saw how John had been taken up to heaven in a vision and how he had caught a glimpse of the way things really are. He caught a glimpse of the majesty and the glory of God and he watched as the four living creatures and the elders proclaimed to all of us here on earth the truth that God is worthy. He sits upon his throne in total control over all of his creation and because of that, he is worthy. Not only is he in control today of all of his creation, but he is, was, and he is to come, so his reign will never pass away. Today we pick up where we left off. The elders, those representatives of all of God’s people in both the Old and New Covenant, have just joyfully cast their crowns before the throne of God and proclaimed, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
We join John in this heavenly chorus today. Today, once again, we are going to catch a glimpse of heaven. We are going to see ultimate reality. Let’s look at Revelation 5 and see what happens as John continues to describe his vision of heaven.
Revelation 5 begins with John seeing the one who sits upon the throne holding a scroll in his right hand. Again we are confronted with the sovereign authority of our God. He is seated on the throne, in his right hand he holds a scroll that is sealed with seven seals. Most commentators agree that this scroll contains God’s future plan of redemption and judgment. In this scroll are all God’s plans for his people and for his enemies. In it you will find judgment for God’s enemies and an inheritance for his people. For his people it speaks of joy and blessings, and all the benefits that God will lavish upon the faithful. Basically, the best way to see this scroll is to understand that it contains the ultimate fulfillment of all of God’s promises.
At the end of each of the letters to the seven churches, Jesus would say, “the one who conquers I will grant…”. It was these promises that were intended to strengthen and encourage the faithful in each church, and they were meant to call the compromisers to something greater than the empty comforts of this world for which they were settling. Sometimes, when you find yourself in the midst of a terrible tragedy, the only comfort and joy you can find is by going to God’s word and clinging to one of his promises. You find yourself clinging to the fact that Jesus said, “I will never leave you of forsake you.” Your hope is based on the fact that “Nothing will ever separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus.” Overwhelmed with guilt, you may cling to the fact that “If you confess your sin God is faithful and just to forgive you your sin and cleanse you from all unrighteousness.” Certainly many of us have truly staked our lives upon some of these promises of God. This scroll contains the fulfillment of all of these promises. That’s why this scroll is so important. However, the scroll is sealed. What this means is that its contents cannot be revealed and their ultimate fulfillment cannot be put into action. In other words, God holds in his hands the fulfillment of all his promises, however, until the seals are broken the promises of God cannot ultimately be fulfilled.
John goes on to tell us that he saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?” Try to grasp this scene. A strong angel shouts with a loud voice. He is looking for anyone who might be worthy to open the scroll. All of history stands in the balance. All of God’s promises for his people are on the line. All of them await one who is worthy to open the scroll. God himself, the maker of heaven and earth, who holds the scroll in his right hand, cannot open it. He cannot open it, for in this scroll are written countless blessings and everlasting happiness for sinners. The one who is holy cannot by himself open this scroll. For God to open the seals, for him alone to try and enact history would mean only judgment for all the earth. It would mean people would get what they deserve. That is what a just God must do to sinners if he is to act alone. The holy one cannot look at sin. The holy one cannot tolerate sinners. Even though people repent, he cannot merely forgive, for that would not be just. Somehow their sins must be paid for in order for God to forgive them, and on our own we cannot pay for our sin. So, we see that God the Father cannot open the scroll by himself. Now, God by himself is a capable and worthy judge. He did not need anyone to help him bring history to its close if he wanted to merely give to everyone what they deserved. But that is not how God the Father chose to end history. God the Father wrote the scroll, and in it he wrote countless and lavish blessing upon sinners. Even though he didn’t have to, God chose to make promises: promises to deceptive Eve that he would send a hero to crush the serpent’s head, promises to the idolater Abraham that he would bless the world through him, promises to that adulterous murderer David that one of his decedents would reign on the throne forever. God didn’t have to make these promises, but he did. So, to enact the history he wrote, he needs a mediator. He must find a way to be both the just and the justifier of the ungodly.
Certainly the stakes are beyond our ability to comprehend. If you and I are to have any hope, if any promise that God has ever declared is to be true, someone must be found to open the scroll. Here again we are confronted with our desperate need. We need someone to open the scroll for us and break its seals.
So a search is made. The voice of the strong angel echoed throughout heaven, earth, and under the earth. The living creatures with all their eyes in front and in back are waiting in anticipation. All of heaven holds its breath as this desperate search is made. Everything hangs in the balance.
Then verse 3 says that no one was found who was worthy. No one. You have to let this sink in. Look at what happens to John when this reality begins to sink in. He weeps loudly because everything hangs in the balance. He weeps because he has staked his life upon God’s faithfulness to keep his promises. He bore so much suffering for Jesus’ sake. Sixty years ago he left his fishing nets to follow this man Jesus who he believed was the Messiah, and for the last 60 years he gave his life to hard labor and patient endurance of being a faithful witness to him. And now, when he needs him most, he is nowhere to be found.
Even though John is in heaven, though he has just heard and seen the most majestic things, he knows it is all for nothing if no one is found worthy to open the scroll. I think we need to feel this. We need to taste what John tastes. John shows us the desperation all of us are to feel. Do you see how different John is than the church of Laodicea? They are on earth and say, “I am rich and I don’t need anything.” John is in heaven staring at the throne of God, and he weeps because he needs something more. He needs something desperately. He needs a mediator. He needs one to come between him and God and make a way for him. He needs one to open the scroll to cover his sin, to bear the wrath of this holy God for all his failures, and he needs it so bad that he is inconsolable without it.
He weeps in heaven. Do we need Jesus as John does? Are we as desperate as he is? Can we actually say that a heaven without Jesus would be empty? Many of us live functionally day-to-day on this earth without Jesus, so why would we expect to weep if we got heaven without Jesus? Only those who have made their savior their greatest treasure will find that all the comforts of heaven are empty if their true treasure is not there.
But then one of the elders comes to comfort John. He says, “Weep no more; 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.” There is one who is worthy! There is one who has conquered, and because he has conquered we don’t have to weep any longer. There is one who has come to dry our tears and open the scroll and bring about all of the promises of God to his people and usher in his judgment against his enemies. There is one who is worthy. This is good news. This is amazing. Praise the lion of Judah. Praise the one who is worthy. Praise him, for it is only because of him that we don’t have to weep anymore.
You can picture the scene. John has just witnessed amazing wonders. He has seen the four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind, the very throne of God, the elders casting their crowns before him and worshipping, and a mighty angel calling out in a loud voice—and having seen all these he is still weeping. Having seen all these amazing beings he knows that there is still one greater out there. His heart was not comforted by any of these majestic creatures. He wept because his heart longed for another, for the one who was worthy to open the scroll. It longed for his mediator, his savior, his advocate, his shepherd, his master, and his friend. It longed for him and it had not yet seen him. So, when the elder comes to John and says the one who is worthy is the “Lion of the tribe of Judah,” you can only imagine what John expects to see. As he stops weeping, dries his eyes, and looks up to see what the elder had described as the “Lion of Judah” he must expect to see something even more glorious, more powerful, and more majestic than anything he had yet seen.
Certainly with those types of expectations John must have been very surprised at what he saw. John saw the Lion of Judah standing among the elders, and he was a slaughtered lamb. The text really should not have the words “as though” in it. You see what John saw was a slain lamb standing up. He saw standing up, a bloody sacrificial lamb who had been slain.
Can you believe it? The Lion of the tribe of Judah became a lamb. The roaring, untamable lion who reigned soveriegnly over all creation became a lamb, led silently to the slaughter. Why does the lion become a slaughtered lamb? It was through his sacrifice, through his suffering, that he conquered. If we compare Revelation 5:5 to Revelation 5:9 we will see that the lamb conquers through suffering.
In verses 3-5, they are looking for one who is worthy, and they find a lion who is worthy because he has conquered and can open the scroll. In verse 9 again they find someone who is worthy, he is a lamb, and he is worthy because he was slain. So, if we compare these verses we clearly see that it was through his death that the lion conquered. That is why the lion is a lamb. He is a lamb because he has conquered through his sacrificial blood. Our savior conquered death, hell, and Satan, and redeemed for himself a people through his death. He conquered through the cross. Do you see the irony of the Lion being a slaughtered lamb? Do you see how unimaginable it is to all but God that one could conquer through suffering, through death? It is interesting to note that throughout this whole chapter, even though the resurrection is clearly implicit and absolutely necessary, the emphasis is that Jesus conquered through his death. It was his death that ransomed people from every nation; it was his blood that made them a kingdom and priests to our God; it was his death that insured his victory and right to open the scroll and redeem for himself a people according to God the Father’s eternal plan.
What a mystery! What a mystery that our savior conquered through his death. James Stewart, a Scottish preacher, said this:
The very triumph of his foes Jesus used for their defeat. He compelled their dark achievements to subserve his ends, not theirs. They nailed him to a tree, not knowing that by that very act they were bringing the world to his feet. They gave him a cross, not guessing that He would make it a throne. They flung him outside the gates to die, not knowing that in that very moment they were lifting up all the gates of the universe, to let the King come in. They thought to root out his doctrines, not understanding that they were implanting imperishably in the hearts of men the very name they intended to destroy. They thought they had God with his back to the wall, pinned and helpless and defeated: they did not know that it was God himself who had tracked them down. Jesus did not conquer in spite of the dark mystery of evil. He conquered through it.
How amazing that God in his sovereign wisdom did not conquer in spite of evil, but he conquered through it. The greatest, most heinous crime in all of history, the darkest day, the greatest tragedy of all, was bent by almighty God to serve his purposes and become the very cornerstone of our faith. To illustrate what this looked like, I want us to see how God has transformed the cross—that ugly, shameful, fear-inspiring, torturous instrument—into the hope of the world, into something that we sing about, treasure, an in which we boast. I like to use the illustration of the actual cross because it shows us how God chose to turn evil on itself and use it for his glory. He does not transform the cross into something beautiful by snapping his fingers. He does not send an army of angels to powerfully bend the forces of evil upon themselves. No, he transforms the heinous cross into something beautiful by hanging on it. Do you see at what cost he conquers evil? He transforms the cross by hanging on it. We love the cross because our savior hung on it. Can you believe that his passion to be both the just and the justifier went so deep? Can you believe that his desire to be praised by a people from every tongue and tribe and nation went so deep that he willingly gave his only son to hang on that cross? Can you fathom the depths of the love of the lion for his bride? He loved her so much that he became a slaughtered lamb.
Throughout the rest of the book of Revelation, John’s favorite name for Jesus is the lamb. It should not surprise us, for only the lamb was worthy to open the scroll. Truly it is the lamb who has conquered, for only a lamb willing to hang on the wretched cross and bear the sins of all God’s people could have merited the amazing blessing God wrote in that scroll for us. And so we serve a slaughtered lamb.
What an amazing savior! What a God! Don’t ever think you have the Gospel figured out. Let the truths of the majesty of this God wash over you afresh. Think of how unlike us he is. I can’t be quiet when I am being blamed for something that I actually did. I constantly want to defend myself, to appear righteous before others, to keep my reputation intact. Our savior was no such man. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. It is by his wounds that we have been healed. What a savior!
John goes on to remind us that this lamb-like lion is also a lion-like lamb. He has seven horns upon his head. During this time and throughout the Old Testament, horns represented power. So, this lamb is more than a slaughtered lamb. He is not laying helpless on the floor of heaven; he is standing and he has horns. Throughout the rest of the book, John’s favorite way of describing Jesus is as a lamb, however, he is often seen as a lion-like lamb. He is seen as powerful, having horns. The next chapter ends with the kings of the earth calling out, “fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb for the great day of their wrath has come and who can stand.”
This lamb takes the scroll from the hand of the one who was seated on the throne. As he proved to be worthy of taking the scroll, as he proved to be the one who would sovereignly reveal and execute God’s eternal plan to save a people for himself, heaven explodes in song. First, the four living creatures and the 24 elders carrying the prayers of the saints fall before this slaughtered lamb and worship. They sing a new song about God’s new creation. Notice how similar this song begins to the song we saw in chapter 4. Both are about creation. In chapter 4 the song was about God’s first creation, while this song is about his new creation. It is about his plan to restore all things to himself, and it proclaims that Jesus is worthy. He, like God the father, is worthy of worship. He is worthy to be bowed before, worthy to be sung to, worthy to gazed upon. He is worthy because he has shed his blood and ransomed a people for God from every tribe, language, people and nation. This verse tells us what God is doing.
God is about reconciling men, women, and children from every nation, tongue, tribe, and language. This is what he is doing. This is why we must continue to live in the tension we talked about last week. God has a massive plan for the restoration of this world, and it includes the salvation of people from every ethnicity. It includes more than merely the personal salvation of diverse individuals from every different language and tribe and nation; it includes reconciling these diverse peoples to each other.
God is about bringing vastly diverse cultures, languages, and people together and forming them into one people, one kingdom. He is about bringing men from warring tribes in Africa together, united by something bigger than themselves, their history, and their families. They are united by the precious blood of the lamb and they are united for God. God is taking people from every different people group and making them into a new people, his people. They are a people redeemed from the futile way of life handed down to them through their culture, who do what they were created to do, who give their lives to worship God, and who fall before the throne and praise the one who is worthy.
This passage has major implications for us. God is reconciling people to himself and forming them, not into many different peoples, but into one people with a new culture, a new story, redeemed to love one another. He has come to break down the walls of hostility. This verse shatters all attempts to justify racism or discrimination of any kind.
This topic of racial reconciliation is a topic we seldom talk about in church. It is a topic that many of us, especially those of us who live in the majority culture, are simply content to ignore. In one of his books, Piper urges us not to ignore this topic. He says,
I want to remind you of June 6th, 1998, outside Jasper Texas, when James Byrd, a 49 year old African American, was beaten and chained by his ankles to the back of a 1982 pickup truck and dragged 2 miles until his head came off. Many things have changed but some deep things haven’t changed. These events are the blood-red tip of a deep, partially subconscious iceberg in American culture. It affects all of us. But few in the majority culture feel it or admit it. That is the privilege of being the majority. Your color and your ways are assumed. Whiteness is not an issue for us, we say, so why should blackness be an issue? We are naïve at best.
Living in Southern California, and especially in El Cajon, we know that the issue is far bigger than just a black and white issue. El Cajon is 22 percent Hispanic, and we have a large Kurdish population. San Diego is one of the most diverse cities around, and the San Diego Union-Tribune quoted one specialist as saying, “Immigration from Mexico raises the heat. There is clearly a lot of ethnic mixing and conflict in San Diego. More so than in other cities.” Certainly we would be foolish to not see that diversity and the desperate need for racial reconciliation is a huge topic here in El Cajon.
I want us to understand today that this is not just a topic, not some liberal, social gospel issue. This is a blood issue. Jesus bought people from every ethnicity to unite them as one great worshiping community, and lest we forget what it cost him, he bought them with his blood. Jesus cares about racial reconciliation. Jesus cares about bringing people whose histories are marred by persecution, discrimination, hate, and violence together in one body. He has come to break down the walls that separate us. The pasts that divide, the stigmas, and the stereotypes all are to be shattered by his precious blood. Jesus cares that people from every race and ethnicity come together in love for one another, united under a cause bigger then the color of our skin or the way we dress. Racial reconciliation is not some cursory issue for Jesus, it’s not some side note in one of Paul’s letters; it is a blood issue. Jesus died to bring men, women, and children of different ethnicities and languages together into one body. He died to do it, so we must care about it. We must fight for it. It must be a priority among God’s people. Our God is glorified when diverse people put away their own comforts and come together to worship our God who is worthy. That is why we long to be a church of diversity, a church that accurately reflects heaven. Not a church of cliques, not a church where everyone hangs out with people just like them, not a church based on affinity, but a church whose joyful and loving diversity is a glimpse of the world to come and demonstrates the power of Jesus’ blood. His blood has broken down all the walls, and his blood has brought us together. Let us give our lives to being a part of what God is doing in this world.
Not only does this passage speak to us about our call to be about racial reconciliation in our own neighborhoods, but this passage calls us to be about foreign missions. God has a plan, and it is his plan to see people from every nation and language come to know him. Matthew 24:14 reads, “And this Gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
Right now there are hundreds, most believe thousands, of whole people groups who have no vital church among them. What I mean by this is that there are tribes of people who have never heard of Jesus, who have no word for Jesus in their language, who have no scripture, no witness, nothing. They are and have been living in utter darkness. These people will not hear of him until someone goes. But God has a plan. His plan is to save men and women from every tribe, nation, and tongue. One day the Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world. This is going to happen. God is doing this. The only question for us is whether we as a church will be about what God is doing. Will we seek to see the unreached people of the world hear the good news about Jesus? Will we give our lives, our resources, and our prayers to that end? Will we spend ourselves on behalf of the lost? Will we make it a priority not only to reach the people in our neighborhood, but to be about God’s global purposes? That is a question we must ask.
For Paul, is clear these unreached people groups need a preacher. In Romans 10 he asks: “How will they believe in one they have never heard? And how will they hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written how beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news.” What a privilege awaits us! What a privilege to be a part of God’s global purposes, of what God is doing in history. We have been left here on earth not merely for ourselves, but for the sake of the world. Don’t you think heaven would be a better place for you to be right now? Don’t you think you would enjoy it more? Paul sure did, that is why he said in Phil. 1:21 “for me to die is gain.” However, he knew that it was better for the world that he stay. Paul says, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh that means fruitful labor for me…” He defines what it means to live when he says, “To live is Christ.” For Paul to live meant fruitful labor. Basically, Paul saw that the Christian has two options. One is to die and go to heaven and the other is to live a life of fruitful service. He goes on in verse 25 to further define fruitful service when he says, “Convinced of this I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith.” For Paul, fruitful labor meant bringing others joy in the faith. Fruitful labor meant making people glad in God. So, basically Paul is telling us that either he is going to die which would be great for him, or he is going to live and if he lives, his life will be about bringing others joy in God. That’s what life meant for Paul. Did you know that those where the only two options? Did you know that for the believer there is only dying which would be gain or life which would mean fruitful labor in making others glad in God? I don’t think most of us believe there are really only two ways. I don’t think that most of us would say that for me to be alive means fruitful labor. I think many of us would say, “For me to die is gain and to live means to be as comfortable as possible and provide for my family well until God calls me home.” Most of us assume that as long as someone can honestly say that “To die is gain” they are demonstrating the faith to which God calls us. We consider someone a spiritual giant when they lay on their death bed preparing to leave this life of comfort, ready to die in peace because they trust in the promises of God that to die is gain. We consider them heroes. But how do we know that to die is gain if living for us is not Christ? If our lives are not fruitful service, if we do not consider everything rubbish to gain Christ, if we are living for ourselves and then looking forward to going to heaven which will be an upgrade on the comforts we have enjoyed on earth, then I don’t think we rightly understand what Paul is saying. I think we all must constantly evaluate our lives and ask, “Can I truly say that for me to live means making others glad in God? Is that how I understand my existence?” That’s why we live in the tension we talked about last week. The tension exists because there are people from tribes and tongues who have no Gospel witness whom God intends to be around his throne, and until that day the tension will exist. The not yet exists until the gospel is preached in all the world as a testimony to the nations, “And then the end will come.”
What a privilege we have to be about the global purposes of our God. What a privilege we have to bring the light of the glory of God in the face of the lamb to a people who have never heard of him. Someone believed their life was about making others glad in God, that is how you heard about him. Let us so love and treasure the slaughtered lamb that we long to see others made glad with the same joy that we have found in him. Let death be gain for us because we have so treasured, valued, and needed the lamb here on earth that the prospect of seeing him face-to-face is truly our greatest longing.
Remember what John was doing when no one was found worthy to open the scroll. He was weeping. There are whole people groups, whole languages, and whole regions of the earth who do not know the one who is worthy. They have never heard of the slaughtered lamb. They do not know of the scroll which speaks of the salvation for all those who believe in the lamb of God, slaughtered to redeem sinners. We need to care not only about our neighbors who do not know the one who is worthy, but about those around the world who will never hear until someone goes. I want all of us to hear the call to give our lives to the salvation of the unreached people of the world. It is what God is doing. Let us commit to give our lives to going and planting churches among unreached people, to praying that the Lord of the harvest will send forth labors to those regions, and to giving generously and sacrificially to this cause.
The lamb conquered through suffering. He conquered through suffering, death, and spending himself on behalf of the needy. His call to us is that we would follow in his footsteps, that we would be faithful unto death, and conquer as he has conquered. Racial reconciliation and the reaching of the unreached people groups in this world will not be accomplished without suffering. The cost will be great. Millions have already given their lives for it.
I believe a letter from Adonirom Judson rightly depicts the great cost of proclaiming Christ where he is not known. Before Adonirom Judson set out to marry Anne and take her with him to preach to the Burmese people, he wrote Anne’s father this letter:
I have now to ask, whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world; whether you can consent to her departure, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of missionary life; whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean, to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death. Can you consent to all this, for the sake of him who left his heavenly home, and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion, and the glory of God? Can you consent to all this, in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with the crown of righteousness, brightened with the acclamations of praise which shall redound to her Savior from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair?
Her father let her decide. She said yes, and years later died in Burma.
The Gospel shall be preached in all the world. Men, women, and children from every tribe, nation, and tongue will one day be gathered together around the throne proclaiming the majesty and worthiness of our God. Judson and his wife, Anne, knew the cost, but they also had caught such a glimpse of the glory of God that understood he was worthy. They knew that they had been rescued when God himself became a slaughtered lamb. They knew that the precious blood of God’s only son had been shed for them and so they willingly and joyfully gave their lives to make his glory known. Will we follow? Will some of you begin to pray about giving your lives to make Christ known where people still live weeping in darkness because they do not know the one who is worthy? Will all of us give our lives to making our savior known in our own neighborhoods to those who don’t know him? Will we give our lives to praying for the unreached people groups of this world? Will we sacrificially give our resources to send people to preach Christ where he has never been heard?
I know there is a great danger when preaching messages that are so application-oriented. Some of you will be overwhelmed with guilt and will be energized and invigorated to go out and be better, to truly make your life about “fruitful labor” since you know you have failed so badly at this in the past. My friends, that will not work. If you feel guilty today, if you realize that your life has not been about fruitful labor, if you know that you have not been willing to sacrifice and truly follow the slaughtered lamb, there is a place for you to go. Take your guilt to the throne of grace where you might find mercy in your time of need. Take your guilt to the lamb who shed his blood to cover your wretched sins. Please don’t end this series with guilt, you don’t have to. God has provided an advocate for us. There is one who is worthy to open the scroll and unleash the forgiveness of God for sinners. Guilty people make for poor witnesses of the God of forgiveness. It is very hard to make others glad in God and thus to live lives of fruitful service when we ourselves are bore down under a guilty conscience. Your sins are real, your feelings of guilt are deserved, the slaughtered lamb you worship should be you, but it does not have to be. God wrote forgiveness in a scroll and you can have it if you will fly to his throne and let the precious blood of the slaughtered lamb cover your sins. Please do that today. If you genuinely do that, you will leave his throne passionate about pointing others to the joy and peace that you found there.
My friends, our savior is worthy. He is so much better than anything you will ever find on this earth. Please don’t try and fit in, in this world which idolizes wealth, prosperity, comfort, and pleasure when our hero is a slaughtered lamb. We are living in a different story. We know the truth, we have seen heaven. We know that in all of heaven, earth, and the underworld there is only one who is worthy, only one who can break the seal. There is only one who can make a way for us to stand before God, only one who is worthy to be praised, loved, worshipped, and worthy to give our lives to. Everything in the world is rubbish compared to him. Everything but him will leave us in tears. He is better. Love, cherish, treasure, know, and worship the lamb, for he is worthy. Give your lives to making his name famous. Give your lives to his global purposes. Give your lives to being his witnesses in your family, in your missional community, in your work place, and to the ends of the earth. Work together with your community to be a people for the sake of the lost, a kingdom of priests to represent God to a lost world who so desperately needs to hear about him.
It is a privilege that we sinful people have the opportunity to be about the global purposes of our God. Praise God that he has chosen to use people like us to see his name made famous. He has chosen broken vessels like us to be the caretakers of his glorious gospel so that the world might know, when God’s global purposes have finally been completed, that the all surpassing power has always belonged to God and not to us.
One day the glory of the Lord will cover this world as the waters cover the sea. What a day that will be! On that day you will not regret anything that you have suffered for the sake of the Gospel. On that day you will not be thinking about anything that you have given up on earth. There will be no tears, no pain, no more suffering. You will see face-to-face the slaughtered lamb. You will be dressed in white and all of your wretched sin will be wiped away. You will know then that you were made to worship and gaze upon the infinitely fascinating lamb-like lion who has loved you and made you a part of the people of God, a kingdom and a priest who will reign with our savior. The lamb is worthy. Please give your life to worshipping him and making him known where he is not.
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