Who is Worthy? Finding Unshakable Hope in the Slain Lamb of Revelation

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[00:00:01] I invite you to join me in standing as we hear our call to worship this morning from psalm 67 the psalmist says may God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us that your way may be known on earth your saving power among all nations let the peoples praise you O God let all the peoples praise you let the nations be glad and sing for joy indeed we will lift our
[00:01:58] voices and sing for joy as we turn in our hymnal to number 164 we will sing the first four verses

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[00:02:05] of oh four a thousand tongues to sing let us pray together oh lord our god we have gathered

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[00:03:33] together this morning in this place in your presence precisely because you have been gracious to us and have blessed us you have made your face to shine upon us in that you have made yourself
[00:03:46] known on the earth. Lord, you have revealed your glory, but what's more, you have also revealed your salvation through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Lord, we stand before you this morning, not in our own merit, not in our own worth, but because of the merit and worth of our Savior,
[00:04:06] Jesus, who has lived that perfect righteous life and who has satisfied your wrath for our sin on calvary's cross and because of faith lord you have blessed us with his record of righteousness while he has taken upon himself our record of transgression and so we thank you father for the
[00:04:26] atonement that jesus christ has accomplished we thank you for his righteousness that clothes us even now and we thank you for the invitation to gather together at your command in this place and we thank you also for the promise that you have made through your word that even now as we are
[00:04:43] here together your holy spirit is here as well moving in and through us while collectively all around the world wherever your saints are gathered we are joined through your spirit with them and so we offer you up our praise and our glory and our adoration this morning because you are a great god
[00:04:59] and you do great things father we do thank you for jesus we thank you for his life death and resurrection we thank you for everything that he has taught us that has been recorded in your word
[00:05:09] even the way he has taught us to pray saying together our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day
[00:05:26] our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever amen you may
[00:05:45] be seated if you have your bibles with you i invite you to turn with me to isaiah chapter 49 for our old testament reading this morning isaiah chapter 49 if you're familiar with the book of
[00:06:04] isaiah you know that in the latter portion of this book we are introduced to this character who is referred to over and over again as the servant of the lord and if you have ever studied
[00:06:18] that you know that this is a reference in light of the new testament in light of the person and work of jesus christ to him it is a reference to the work of the messiah he first appears in isaiah
[00:06:30] chapter 42 and then we see as we will now in isaiah chapter 49 and a couple of other places after that and and jesus or this servant of the lord who who is jesus in our passage today
[00:06:44] is put forward as one who is not only the embodiment of everything that israel should have been had it not been for for sin but more than that he is god's great light to the world
[00:06:57] to the nations to all of the peoples revealing that god's plan of redemption was not just for one particular people group but for all peoples and that's what we celebrate as a gathering of christians today that jesus christ the servant of the lord came for us so let's be encouraged
[00:07:17] this morning as we hear this word from Isaiah chapter 49. I'll be reading verses one through seven. Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from the womb. From the body of my mother, He named my name. He made my mouth like
[00:07:40] a sharp sword. In the shadow of His hand, He hid me. He made me a polished arrow. In His quiver, he hid me away. And he said to me, You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
[00:07:55] But I said, I have labored in vain. I have spent my strength for nothing in vanity.
[00:08:01] Yet surely my right is with the Lord and my recompense with my God. And now the Lord says, He who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might
[00:08:14] be gathered to him for i am honored in the eyes of the lord and my god has become my strength he says it is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of jacob and
[00:08:26] to bring back the preserved of israel i will make you as a light for the nations that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth thus says the lord the redeemer of israel and his holy one
[00:08:40] to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers.
[00:08:45] Kings shall see and arise, princes, and they shall prostrate themselves because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.
[00:08:59] Friends, the grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of our God will stand forever.
[00:09:04] Amen.
[00:09:06] Well, this time I would like to invite the children back forward for the children's message with Pastor Eric. You guys want to come up? Where do you normally sit?

[00:09:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:09:21] You sit there? It's a little awkward when you come up front and there's a stranger up here, right?
[00:09:30] It's okay. Well, it's great for me to be here. Let me introduce myself. My name is Eric, and I love coming to this church. It's probably been about two years since my wife Lori and I were here,
[00:09:48] but we just love coming here because every time we come, you feed us. So every time we come, There's like a meal after church. Do you guys like the meals after church? Yeah. Who has a
[00:10:02] favorite dessert? What's your favorite? The chocolate cake. Yeah. Who else likes chocolate cake? Yeah. Who else has a favorite dessert? Banana bread. Oh, okay. Yes. Now, can you imagine if you found out that there was only two slices of chocolate cake and only three pieces of banana
[00:10:29] bread over there, what would you do? You'd be a little sad and ask them to put out the rest of the cake. Yeah. Oh, you would cut them in half and share them. You're a lot nicer than I am.
[00:10:54] You would let other people get them. Yeah. Do you know what's a really, really good thing?
[00:11:04] I think Pastor Andrew already told us that there is more than enough food today. So hopefully we don't have to worry about the banana bread or the chocolate cake running out today.
[00:11:11] But you know what else is even better? God and God's love. Now does God's love only have a few pieces? No. There's a lot of pieces, aren't there, of God's love. So wait, does Jesus love you?
[00:11:28] Yes. Wait, he loves you? Does Jesus love me? Does Jesus own, is there just a little bit of love that we have to share? Wait, does Jesus also love your siblings, your brothers and sisters?
[00:11:45] He loves everybody. Okay, so he loves everybody, but does he love the people in your school who are different than you? What about someone who speaks a different language? Really? What about someone who comes from a different country? Jesus loves them too? Wow. In the whole dire galaxy,
[00:12:10] I was just in Africa two weeks ago. Does Jesus love the people in Africa?
[00:12:15] Yeah. Jesus loves everybody. Jesus' love isn't like the chocolate cake that we have to cut in half and share just a little bit in here. In fact, hold on one second. In fact, we have that story
[00:12:30] where Jesus breaks, has all those hungry people, 5,000 people are hungry, and one little boy comes with how many pieces of bread? Do you remember? And how many fish? And what happens? As they share,
[00:12:48] it becomes greater and greater and greater and everybody gets to have everything that they need and there's even more left over yes does Jesus love everybody everybody that's right he doesn't love the devil but even people when they do bad things Jesus still loves them Jesus love is for
[00:13:18] everybody and so today in the sermon I'm going to talk about heaven and it says in heaven that there are going to be people from every tribe, every language, every people group, every country in the world are going to be in heaven with us. And so even now we get to be like that little boy
[00:13:39] with Jesus and share the love that we have with those people around us. Even the people that don't know that Jesus loves them. Maybe especially the people that don't know how much Jesus loves them.
[00:13:50] We get to go and share with them, okay?
[00:13:54] Let me pray for you, okay?
[00:13:56] Let's pray.
[00:13:58] Jesus, thank you so much that you have given a special ability to understand the truth to these children that sometimes we adults forget.
[00:14:08] That you truly do love everybody.
[00:14:12] And so I just pray that you would be with these children.
[00:14:14] that as they go into their lives and go into school and soccer club and dance club, that they would be able to share your love with all those around you.
[00:14:24] And thank you that your love is so much bigger than any one place in this world.
[00:14:29] In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
[00:14:31] Thank you, guys.

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[00:14:35] As our children make their way back to their seats, why don't we stand together again, turning in our hymnals to number 447, singing Christ for the World We Sing.

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[00:14:46] Let's pray together. Lord our God, we do thank you that your gospel is for all the peoples,

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[00:16:56] that Jesus Christ came for this entire world. Lord, we thank you that you are so generous in your salvation and you are so gracious in what you supply to your people. And Father, we are responding to that now as we continue in worship by returning to you a portion of the
[00:17:13] things that you have blessed us with, giving to you your tithes and our offerings. And our prayer this morning is that you would take these gifts and that you would use them, multiply them so that
[00:17:24] they might impact the work that you are doing in our community and throughout the world as you are advancing your church and building it up. And so, Father, we entrust these things to you and we pray

[00:17:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:17:35] that they would be glorifying in your sight. We ask in Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated. You may

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[00:20:48] seated as we look to the lord in a few moments of prayer to get together obviously this being our missions conference sunday we want to be mindful of our missionaries who are serving the lord all throughout the world and even in our own nation as well and we'll be mindful of them as we
[00:21:06] pray together i'd also mention a couple other families that you can continue to be in prayer for uh continue to pray for the goodrum family freddie i'm glad that you're here this morning ruth's memorial service was held yesterday morning here in the sanctuary so we continue to pray for
[00:21:18] them in their grief. I'd also encourage you to be praying for the Whittington Moore families.
[00:21:25] Judy and Barbara's sister-in-law, Darlene Brotherton, died late last week, and there'll be a funeral service for her on Wednesday of this week. So we can continue to pray for your larger family during your time of loss and grief. That being said, let's look to the Lord now
[00:21:39] in a time of prayer. Lord, as we come before you in prayer this morning, we are mindful of the words of the psalmist who says, shout for joy to God all the earth. Sing the glory of His name and
[00:21:56] give to Him glorious praise. Say to God, how awesome are Your deeds. All the earth worships You and sings praises to You. They sing praises to Your name. Lord, as we consider the words of
[00:22:13] the psalmist, we recognize that there is an aspect in which there is an already and not yet element at work in those words that all of the earth is called to praise you because you and you alone
[00:22:25] are god and yet not yet does all of the earth sing praises to you and in the midst of that father we exist in the midst of this already and not yet lord we are part and partners with you
[00:22:40] in this gospel work of proclaiming the good news of jesus christ to the dying and the lost around us and around this globe. For Lord, we know that You are a God who is on mission. When our first
[00:22:56] parents, Adam and Eve, fell into sin, You did not leave them in their sin as they deserved, but instead You pursued them. You sought them out, and You gave them good promises of a coming Savior
[00:23:08] that has been realized in Jesus Christ. And ever since, You have been calling a people to Yourself, men and women, boys and girls, as we have heard already this morning, from every tribe, from every tongue from every nation and you are still about that good work even now and so we thank you
[00:23:26] lord for this opportunity that you give us as christians in this particular place at this particular moment in history to have a role in that greater work that you are doing you have not called all of us to go to a far nation you have not called all of us to become a missionary or
[00:23:44] minister and yet you have called all of us to be engaged in this work or it might be that it is a particular gift of ours to pray for the work of your kingdom advancing all over the world it might
[00:23:58] be that you have positioned us to provide material and financial support to those who are being sent and going forth it may be that you call us to be an encourager to those who are sent the very fact
[00:24:12] that we are here in this place as members of your church signifies to us that we have a place we have a part we have a role to play and we do think particularly this morning of those who are sent
[00:24:25] out in other words we've heard at our sunday school hour that there is a great cost that many have weighed and have considered worthy of paying for the glory of suffering alongside of jesus christ
[00:24:37] in sharing the good news of the kingdom of God.
[00:24:40] And so our prayer this morning is with and for our missionaries all throughout the world.
[00:24:45] Lord, we would pray that even today, that you would give them some sense of your presence, some sense of encouragement, maybe even a measurable sense of success in gospel ministry.
[00:24:59] Where there is fear, we pray, Lord, that you would bring peace.
[00:25:03] Where there is discouragement, we pray that you would give encouragement.
[00:25:06] where there are exhaustion where there is perhaps fracture or brokenness within marriages or within mission teams we pray that you would bring healing and wholeness and unity we pray that you would also continue to raise up the next generation of missionaries and lord we would pray even from
[00:25:29] from our own congregation from our own number there might be a young person or a middle-aged person that even now you are stirring in their heart and mind we pray that you would fan that
[00:25:38] into a flame that they would be sent forth well we thank you for those who are even now serving the gospel of jesus christ in far off places thank you for their service thank you for their work and
[00:25:54] we pray that you would bless them lord we also think of our ministry closer to home we think of even as a congregation our desire to plant a daughter church so that the many coming to our
[00:26:05] area who don't yet know the name of christ might and we pray father that you would bless the work of our church planning team as we continue lord to endeavor in this pursuit that you would give
[00:26:15] us success we also pray for our ministry to our own church family as well we think particularly of families that are walking the road of grief father we pray for freddie and for casey and the
[00:26:28] rest of the good rooms even after yesterday's memorial service for miss ruth that you would continue to minister to their hearts and minds we pray now the same for the brotherton family for the moors for the whittingtons and all of those who are grieving the death of darlin that
[00:26:41] you would watch over them as they travel this valley of the shadow of death or that they would find great hope in the gospel of jesus christ and that you would tend to hearts and minds
[00:26:52] lord we know that there are other families that are going through their own particular struggles their own particular difficulties in this time and we ask that you would minister to them as well Lord we thank you that you are sufficient for all of these things and we entrust all of this
[00:27:08] to your fatherly care this morning as we pray it all in the name of Jesus our Lord

[00:27:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:27:12] amen well you already heard Eric a little bit ago during the children's message but it's my

[00:30:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:30:06] pleasure to invite Reverend Eric Meeberg who is serves with Barnabas International to the pulpit to bring to us God's word this morning so Eric welcome well thank you before you go, I wanted to

[00:30:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:30:18] thank the Cottle Creek ARP Church and especially the Missions Committee, Chris and Andrew and others for allowing us to go on this most recent trip to Tunisia.
[00:30:30] And so I just have a small little gift of hand-painted doors from Tunisia as a thank you to you and to the congregation and when you look at it to pray for the open doors of the gospel in this
[00:30:42] land. Absolutely. Thank you.
[00:30:44] Thank you. Appreciate it.
[00:30:47] Thank you. It is a joy to be here with you today and to open up the Lord's Word with us today.
[00:30:57] When I was in Tunisia, we rented a car and we were driving around and Tunisia has Google Maps, sort of. You could put in the destination and most of the time it worked. It would tell you
[00:31:12] which roads to take and every now and then you would be on a road and it would tell you to turn right, and you would turn right, and you would go straight into a brick wall, or into someone's
[00:31:22] yard, and thinking, it's not quite there. And as I think about what we're going to look at today in Revelation chapter 5, we are looking at the destination of where we are going. This picture
[00:31:36] of heaven that John is given by the angel of where we are going, and what that is going to look like.
[00:31:44] and yet we know, don't we, that all too well sometimes it feels like on our way there, there is a detour that leads us straight into a brick wall. It takes us someplace that we didn't
[00:31:58] expect to go, and we wonder where are we supposed to go here? Where are we supposed to go next? Is this really the way to get to where we are supposed to go? The book of Revelation gives us
[00:32:12] the destination of where we are going, when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord over all. But it also gives the message of how we get there, and it gives the
[00:32:26] message to a people who may have been wondering if they took a wrong turn somewhere along the way.
[00:32:35] Let's start by reading Revelation chapter 5, and we're going to read the first four verses.
[00:32:45] Revelation chapter 5.
[00:32:47] Then I, that is John who is speaking, 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.
[00:33:02] And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?
[00:33:10] and no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or look into it. And I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into
[00:33:29] it. Have you ever felt broken down by this world? Have you ever felt hopeless? Either as you look at what's happening around the world where it feels like there's increasing strife and division and wars and rumors of wars or maybe in your own life as you see
[00:33:52] loss as you see the brokenness as you see things that have been done to you and even things that you have done and you look at your life and you're saying where is God in all of this we live with this dissonance sometimes between
[00:34:10] where we think we are supposed to be, where we think we are going, and the reality of our life of where we are. This past week, Lori and I, along with some other of our colleagues from
[00:34:22] Barnabas International, got to serve a missions agency that had to pull out all of their workers from a particular country because of security threats. They had all suffered great loss and great trauma. And all day, every day, every hour, hour after hour, we would sit with them as they
[00:34:44] would lament what they had lost, as they shared the trauma of what they had gone through, and all of them questioning, did we miss something? Where is God in this? We thought we went with these great
[00:35:01] plans that we were going to bring the gospel to the nations, and now we feel like we've just come back with our tail between our legs, and we're wondering what is happening. We can take comfort
[00:35:14] here in John. John, the beloved disciple, the one who was with Jesus every step of the way of his life and his ministry. He was one of the first that was called. He got to be part of that inner
[00:35:31] circle of three. He was one of just those three that got to see Jesus raise up Jairus' daughter from the dead. He was one of the three that got to go to the mountaintop and see Jesus transfigured
[00:35:44] and even speaking with Moses and Elijah. He was leaning on Jesus in that very last night in the upper room. And when all of his friends had left, John was still there at the foot of the cross to be with Jesus to his very end, to be able to give witness to what happened
[00:36:05] when the soldier pierced Jesus that there was water and blood. John was also the first one, because he was faster than Peter, to run into the empty tomb on Easter Sunday and to see what was
[00:36:19] there. He was there at the upper room when the Holy Spirit fell. He was one of the ones to preach the gospel. He was one of the first ones to do a healing and to see the church of God develop and
[00:36:32] grow. He was there to go to Samaria to see what God was doing in this other place. He was there in Acts 15 to hear what God was doing among the nations. And so here is John. If anyone should be
[00:36:47] sure of Jesus, sure of what is going to happen, it should be John. And yet here he is weeping as he is confronted with the reality that he's the only one left, that all of his colleagues,
[00:37:02] all of the other apostles have been killed for their faith. And here he is, an old man himself put into prison in a rock in the middle of the Aegean Sea. And I'm sure there was some thoughts.
[00:37:16] Did I miss something? Is this really what Jesus was talking about? And as he's put face to face with the reality of that there is this scroll that no one is able to take and open, and there's
[00:37:37] no one on heaven on earth who is able to understand and make sense and have the authority to make sense of what is happening, he begins to weep. And as we come to these verses, sometimes
[00:37:50] it's really easy for us to take that false shortcut. We know what comes later on in this chapter. We know that there's going to be, at the end, every tribe and tongue and language and nation
[00:38:01] will be gathered around the throne singing worship. And so we could easily just want to jump right over there really quickly. And yet there is this reality that we live in that sometimes it doesn't always feel like that. Sometimes we find ourselves, like John, questioning and wondering
[00:38:24] and even weeping loudly at what we see. Let's pray. Lord, that's how we come today. Maybe some of us, with heavy hearts, with questioning minds. And so we come to you, as John did, leaning on you and asking for you to give us your words of truth, your words of life,
[00:38:57] your words of hope. Amen. And so we see that there is this scroll, and this scroll really harkens back into Daniel chapter 12, and it represents all of human history, all of redemptive history what god has promised that he would do to make all things right
[00:39:16] and it is sealed up and the question goes out who can take this who is worthy and that question of worthiness who is able and who has the authority to be able to take it out of the father's hands
[00:39:30] and open it up and enact the redemption for all peoples and in that quietness and in the weeping of John, we read on in verse 5 that one of the elders said to me, weep no more. Behold the lion
[00:39:50] of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals. The crying of John, the weeping, the questioning is answered when Jesus comes front
[00:40:06] and center because Jesus now is able to take the scroll. He and he alone as the Messiah, as the servant that we read about today, is able to take the scroll out of the Father's hands
[00:40:20] and to bring it in to power. And so there is comfort, brothers and sisters, when we are struggling to know that God is in control, that God is sovereign, and that we have a Messiah
[00:40:32] who is able to take the scroll and to make all things right.
[00:40:38] But why is Jesus worthy?
[00:40:40] Let's read on in verses 6 to 10.
[00:40:45] And in these verses, we find out why exactly is Jesus worthy to take this scroll.
[00:40:51] It says, sent out into all the earth. And he 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 24 elders
[00:41:16] 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 and to
[00:41:30] open its seals. For you were slain, and 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 priests to our God,
[00:41:43] and they shall reign on the earth. So what do we see here? Why is Jesus uniquely worthy to take this scroll? It is because not only is he the Lion of Judah, but he is also the Lamb of God.
[00:41:59] that he came and he conquered, but how did he conquer? Through his sacrifice. He conquered sin and death and the devil, not through some political regime, but through his very own death on the cross. He conquered through his sacrifice, through spilling his blood as the Lamb of God.
[00:42:30] February 15th, 2015, so 11 years ago last week, on the shores of Libya, the Islamic group ISIS had captured 21 Christians from Egypt and Ghana, and they lined them up, and they killed our brothers and sisters right there on the banks of the Mediterranean. And in the video that ISIS made,
[00:43:01] in order to mock Christians, they called us people of the cross. And it was their way to mock us and saying, look, I'll show you what this looks like. And yet, what they said about us that
[00:43:18] they meant as an insult is really our true identity, that we are indeed people of the cross.
[00:43:26] that, just like it says here in verse 9, that because God was slain, because Jesus Christ was slain for us, his blood now has redeemed us. What looked like utter defeat, what looked like the
[00:43:40] triumph of the enemies of God, was actually the very means to bring about salvation and hope to every single person in this world. And that is our hope today, is still the cross of Jesus Christ.
[00:43:55] And so we see that it is because he was slain and by his sacrifice that he has redeemed people.
[00:44:04] And as we saw earlier in Isaiah 49, it isn't just for the people of Israel.
[00:44:11] And so here we see that people from every tribe and every language and every people and every nation will be redeemed, will be there in heaven around the throne singing to him.
[00:44:25] So all the ways that we as humans can divide ourselves, which we're pretty good at dividing ourselves, there will be representatives of that in heaven around the throne. Language groups, people groups, nationalities, passport countries, whatever we would say that we would make our
[00:44:44] distinctions humanly speaking, even then there will be representatives there in heaven at the throne. He is worthy because he was slain, and he has ransomed and redeemed people from every nation.
[00:45:01] And so what is he worthy of? We see that Jesus alone was worthy, and he was worthy because of his sacrifice for us on the cross. But what is he worthy of? Well, already we saw one thing.
[00:45:17] He's worthy of our worship. He's worthy of our worship. But he's also worthy of our service.
[00:45:26] Look at there in verse 10 again.
[00:45:29] That he has redeemed and ransomed people from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.
[00:45:43] That God has redeemed us, not just so that we could pat each other on the back and eat chocolate cake, although I'm looking forward to the chocolate cake, but he has redeemed us in order to be his servants in this world. So what was started in Isaiah 49
[00:46:02] as the servant, now that same mission statement comes down to us so that we could go out as his servants into the world. And we are now to be kings and priests. And there's these two roles
[00:46:17] that he has given us. In this kingdom idea, he is the king and we are his emissaries. We are his ambassadors to go out and to tell the people of the world who don't know that there is a salvation
[00:46:31] that is found in Jesus Christ. And so we are to go out into the world, and that is our kingly role.
[00:46:41] And yet we're also to be priests in which we intercede on behalf of this world that doesn't know their left hand from their right hand to our Father on their behalf. And so we have this role
[00:46:52] that might seem contradictory, but yet they mutually define each other, that we are to be sent out and to intercede back to the Father. This is what we get to be participants in. This is what
[00:47:10] we are remembering on this particular Sunday. And while we will hear from individual people and how they are specifically doing that in various roles, whether in prison, whether in schools, whether in Camp Joy. It is the calling for each and every one of us of where we are that we get
[00:47:30] to be Christ's emissaries. We get to be his ambassadors to the world and to the people around us. We get to pray for a world that is broken on behalf of our Father. It's really easy
[00:47:47] these days to look at the news, look at social media, and just feel like we are constantly being rage baited, that we are constantly being led into being angry and angsty and full of anxiety
[00:48:01] as we look at this world. And this is what they're making money off of making us more and more angry and more and more divided and more and more full of anxiety. And yet we have this role that
[00:48:14] supersedes that that we get to go and preach a gospel of peace and we get to intercede on behalf of this world so Christ is worthy of our service and he is also worthy of our worship look at verse 11 and following and as you look
[00:48:40] at it think and see the how it just ripples out but it's not like a little pebble that you throw into the lake and it starts big and then it diminishes as it goes farther this is more
[00:48:56] like a tsunami that what happens as it goes out the waves actually get bigger and bigger and bigger and broader and broader listen to these verses in verse 11 and onwards then i looked and
[00:49:09] and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders and the voices of many angels numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice worthy is the lamb was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing
[00:49:29] 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
[00:49:43] might forever and ever and the four living creatures said amen and the elders fell down and worshiped what it started in verse 8 is just the four living creatures and the representative 24 elders now becomes larger and larger there's the saints now are joining in and not just the
[00:50:04] saints, it says that every creature in all of the world, in heaven, on earth, and in the sea, and under them, will begin to praise the Lord for who he is. As it goes out, there's more and more
[00:50:18] numbers, more and more people who are gathering into this great worship service. And not only that, look at the song that is being sung. It's as though they pulled out a thesaurus to find every
[00:50:31] kind of attribute that they could think of that God is worthy of. And so he is now worthy of power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. And you feel like they could
[00:50:44] have just kept going and going and going of all that he is worthy of. The breadth of this worship service that will go for all of eternity and include all of creation, giving him what he
[00:51:02] is uniquely worthy of, which is our service and our worship and our whole lives. So what does this mean for us this morning? I think there's three applications or implications that I want to pull
[00:51:23] out. I think the first is, going back to the beginning of where we started today, that we get to weep no more. There is a powerful message here that because Christ has the authority and is
[00:51:41] worthy to take that scroll, that we also are in his hands, that he holds us and he holds our people and he holds the events of this world. While it may feel like sometimes we've hit a brick wall,
[00:51:56] while it feels like we must be taking a wrong turn somewhere, we can trust that He is holding all things. And there is an unshakable hope that comes from that. Regardless of what happens in
[00:52:12] this world, we have an unshakable hope and an audacity that comes from this, that we get to believe and trust, even when everything around us would make us think that we are crazy, that we
[00:52:29] have lost our way, that God isn't really there, we can trust in what He has done for us. Somebody in the Sunday school asked about Iran and what's going on in Iran today. And as I think about this idea of weeping no more and having a
[00:52:48] hope, I think of what was going on in the country of Iran. My mentor and colleague had been in a pastor in Iran in 1979 and 1980 and he was finally kicked out by the Islamic Republic of Iran and as he left he left a small group of people
[00:53:12] behind and he left weeping all of these years of sowing and what is left and what's going to be happening after he leaves. Do you know that today the church inside of Iran is the fastest growing church in the world? That every year there are more and more and more
[00:53:37] Christians inside the country of Iran. And there is a hope that we can hold an audacity that if the enemy thinks that he can tell us what we can do or can't do, we see in Psalm 2 that Jesus is
[00:53:52] on the throne, and he will scoff. He will laugh and say, you cannot kick me out of any country.
[00:53:59] And in fact, I will show you there where the church seems the weakest, there where the church seems the most persecuted, is where I'm going to bring about the most growth. So we weep no more.
[00:54:11] We have a different perspective. And that was one of the primary reasons why John was given this gospel. At the end of his earthly ministry, as he was thinking about going on as the last of
[00:54:23] the apostles, God, Christ, wanted the church to know that it does not end with John, that the church will continue throughout the generations, regardless of all the opposition that will come its way. So we weep no more. Our second implication is that we serve the Lamb. We serve the Lamb,
[00:54:47] that He who lived on this earth and then showed us the way of sacrifice to bring about life becomes our MO, becomes our calling, that we get to serve the Lamb in the same way.
[00:55:00] And I want to say that this happens, I think, primarily in two ways for you today.
[00:55:04] In our society, in our world right now, people are wracked with anxiety, and it's coming out sideways in all kinds of ways. But we who hold the Holy Spirit within us, we get to give a different
[00:55:19] way. We get to be a non-anxious presence to your co-workers and to your neighbors and to your family members. In a world of division and hatred, we get to be love. In a world of division, we get
[00:55:34] to be peace. In a world of anger, we get to be gentleness. In a world of questioning, we get to be patient. The fruit of the Spirit gets to define us. And trust me, as we live out the fruit of the
[00:55:52] Spirit in our lives, people will be drawn to us and will be asking questions. Why are you different?
[00:56:00] And so that is our calling. Because we know where things are going, even then we have an ability, and assurance that we can be a non-anxious presence to this world. And I believe, as Andrew
[00:56:15] prayed, that there is still the need for us to go out into missions. And since it is the Mission Sunday, I do want to pray this prayer for this particular congregation, among the young people
[00:56:29] in this church, that God may be calling some of you to leave behind your home, leave behind your culture and go to another place in this world to share this message that is so desperately needed
[00:56:42] by the nations. So we get to go out, even if it brings suffering, even if it brings hardship.
[00:56:49] We can trust that God is calling us out and will go with us and be with us. And finally, we get to worship. Let us be a people of worship, not just on Sunday mornings,
[00:57:05] but a people marked and filled by worship. At the end of this week, yesterday morning, as we were getting ready to say goodbye to this group that had been pulled out of their country, we ended with the song, Is He Worthy by Andrew Peterson, which is pretty much taken exactly
[00:57:27] from our verses that we read today. And to hear this choir of people who had counted the cost and we're living in the hardship to sing out, is he worthy? He is. He is. And to see the hope that
[00:57:44] was renewed in them, that even though it looked awful at this time, that through worship, we are now able to go into this world. In worship, we remind ourselves of what is true about ourselves
[00:57:57] and more importantly, what is true about him. And so I want to end our sermon today with a prayer and then to invite each of you to join in this worship.
[00:58:10] We pray for us.
[00:58:14] Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are seated on the throne, that you who are the creator of all things are sovereignly in control of all things.
[00:58:28] And today, regardless of where we find ourselves, we can come to you in confidence because the lamb was slain, because we know that we have been redeemed and ransomed by the blood of Jesus Christ, that we are firmly in your hands. And so would you give us comfort
[00:58:50] where we are sorrowful? Would you give us perspective where we are lost and confused? Would you give us courage where we would be afraid? Would you give us love where we might want to pull back? Would you give us hearts and minds and
[00:59:11] and souls of worship, training our eyes on you, the author and perfecter of our faith.
[00:59:22] And I just pray for this church, Lord, that you would continue to keep it close to you. Lord, I want to pray specifically for the vision that you have given them for a daughter church in
[00:59:35] Mooresville. Would you raise up the right people? Would you make open doors so that your gospel could go forth even here in this community. Would you bless them, I pray. Amen. I would ask you to

[00:59:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:59:50] rise and stand, and we will sing hymn number 296, All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name. Thank you for

[01:03:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[01:03:19] letting me be here with you this morning. I invite you afterwards to head over to the Fellowship Hall to enjoy our meal together. Kids, leave some chocolate cake for your parents. But as you go
[01:03:31] out, go out with the Lord's blessing. Now may the God of all peace give you his peace. And may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
[01:03:48] May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace, the peace that was accomplished through the lamb that was slain. And may he give you spirits and hearts of worship as you go out into this week.
[01:04:04] Amen.
[01:04:06] Thank you.