Well, if you weren't with us this morning, and you're here tonight, we're considering the second part of this vision from Revelation 4 and 5, and tonight we're considering Revelation chapter 5. It's the last book of the Bible, and we will read together the entirety of Revelation chapter 5. This is the word of the Lord. Then I saw in the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals? And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. And I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, 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. And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a lamb standing as though it had been slain with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God 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 fell down before the lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. They sang a new song saying, worthy are you to take the scroll and to 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've made them a kingdom and priests to our god and they shall reign on the earth then i looked and i heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that is in them saying, to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb, be blessing and honor, glory and might forever and ever. And the four living creatures said, Amen. And the elders fell down and worshiped. May the Lord bless tonight the hearing of his gospel. Well, as we considered this morning, one of the great things that Revelation is showing us, one of the great truths of the Christian faith is the one whom we proclaim Jesus, the one whom we preach, He is reigning as King and Lord over all. That He is what history is all about. That He's the center. That He has won a great victory. And that all the nations of the world are subject to Him. That is a striking, remarkable claim, isn't it? All the nations of the earth, all the peoples of the earth must bow and pay homage to Him. He's the true King. He's the ruler. Every life is under His powerful lordship. Everyone gives an account to Him. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. What's our problem? What's the problem we've looked at in Revelation? The problem the churches were facing, the problem that we struggle with, is that everything we confess in the Christian Gospel, the accomplishments of Jesus, doesn't seem to be happening. This does not seem to be happening. In fact, if I look out at everything, everything seems contrary, doesn't it? That's the struggle. I look at weak, hurting sheep. I look at some people of which seem to make no progress at all. Hey, I'm not even happy with my own. You cry out at times and you see saints suffering. I'm dealing with that right now. My own family. My dad trusts the Lord and it just seems to be one complication after another and it's only getting worse. The church is in turmoil. That things don't look good at the face of things. It almost feels like we're living the very opposite of what we confess and believe, isn't it? Doesn't it feel this way as you head out into another week? Victory and yet persecution. Everyone's saying that this generation of Christians is the most persecuted ever in the history of the world. If you know what I'm describing, you're not so far off. And if you know that struggle and you've had that struggle and you know that struggle personally, then that's not so far off from understanding the dilemma of these Christians in the first century. These Christians said, hey, we believe that Jesus is king. We've come there. We believe that. They confessed his lordship. They gathered together. They would put together the apostles' creed. But they were stuck over the question. How do we make sense of all of this when nothing of what we believe and confess seems to be validated on earth? None of this seems to be validated here and now. Earth doesn't show any of this. We saw the summits this week. Who talked about Jesus? Not one. And these Christians were actually in the face of persecution. These Christians were actually being threatened. These Christians were losing property. Everything was going south for these Christians. And they felt like giving up. And as we considered this morning, that led to a lot of compromise. Most of all, you know, of the empires in the world, think of where they sat. Think of the Roman Empire. So strong. So powerful. So mighty. Was Jesus really more powerful than Caesar? You want to make that claim? You know what it takes for us to believe that? We can see Caesar. We can see the glory of Caesar's kingdom. We can see the muscle. Can't see Jesus. Where is this triumphant kingdom that you talk about? All we see is idol worship. All we're confronted about is idol worship, and we're in the thick of it. All we're exposed to is wickedness. So the question is, how do we make sense of a Christian life that tells the story of victory, but all that we seem to experience in the world is conflict and seeming defeat? And in this environment, how in the world are we to make a difference? Do you really expect a little church like the Escondido United Reformed Church to make a difference? Are we? Who in the world is talking about Jesus? He's not even on the radar for these people. And as we considered this morning from Revelation chapter four, you have a book that is meant here to help the church that is confused, the church who is compromised, to see the bigger picture, to lift up their heads, to come up here for a moment and understand things. And this was John, John being banished to the island of Patmos for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. These very things got him banished. He's suffering and he's given this vision. And this vision was meant to help and encourage all of them, and it has that same effect for us, for things really aren't any different. They needed to understand what was happening in heaven. They needed to look at the boardroom for a minute. They needed to go up and get a clear picture. They needed strength for the present. They needed encouragement for the present. They needed perspective, didn't they? You know how perspective can change everything. and once you have a proper perspective you get motivated you're able to go forward well this morning we considered that uh john received this call to come up and consider things from on high and we looked at this throne we looked at a throne that was fixed in heaven and and and and um the voice encouraged john and there on that throne was one we know from ezekiel like the son of man it was Christ not described in the beauty the imagery was powerful seated fixed thrown and in all of that we saw the power of that first vision really focused on creation creation responding creation bowing heaven bowing to him look at how heaven is given to worship let me encourage you, dear church. Look at how heaven is full of joy. Look at what heaven is like. This is a help to you. The sea is calm there. There's no wrath against you. There's a rainbow there. There's peace. You're headed there. This will shortly take place. For them, no matter what they faced on earth, they needed a vision of God's splendor, God's holiness, and God's sovereignty and His might as the ruler over all of creation. We need that. We need that, don't we? We have to be reminded of that. We have to be helped with that. That helps us get through everything. Can you imagine not believing God was sovereign? Can you imagine not believing that He's not in control of everything? I couldn't make it. The throne scene of Revelation 4 and 5 is really one. It was meant to encourage the church and encourage them with a message of victory, but the Lord's not done. And that's where we take a special look again in chapter 5. They needed to see that history is centered on the one they confess. The first part showed his power of all creation, sovereignty, rule, and of course motivated us to worship as this one will do, as chapter 5. But in the second part of this vision, chapter 5, it's now particularly focused on redemption and recreation, even somewhat consummation. We'll look at these themes as we go through Revelation, but especially the emphasis now on redemption. So again, this two-part vision is meant to really help the church in struggle, that they see the whole story. They see the whole picture. That's important because the chapter is meant to say that ultimately, life as we have it centers on the person and the work of the one who is seated on the throne in chapter 4. The heralding of the everlasting gospel that Revelation will talk about is the thing that we must hold on to the most. It is the basis of all future hope. It's the basis of all joy. It's the basis of all worship. John sees something. And so as we open up chapter 5 tonight, We read, then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne, a scroll written and on the back sealed with seven seals. Then, and I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals? John is looking and seeing here. Remember, this is all vision. In the hand here of the one, the right hand of one seated on the throne, you'll notice here an emphasis of a scroll written. And it's written on the front and it's written on the back. And it's a powerful imagery of something that is sealed up, something that is unknown. What we're going to see as we look at this here is that what is revealed here and what is shown here in Revelation 5 on this scroll is something concerning the history of the human race. It has the will of God recorded there. The will of God, everything that God requires and of all of the promises and eternal decrees and the will of God with respect to this world that He has created and that He has made. But what John is really focused on in this second part of this vision is the problem here presented with these seals. We know from the next chapter that these seals are linked together with the judgments that God is going to unleash upon the world. Verse 1 of chapter 6 will say that. So the emphasis then becomes in chapter 5 on the ability to do the will of God and to have the ability, someone to loose the seals of this document. Whoever would do this, whoever could do this, whoever would have the power to do this would receive all dominion and power to execute the will of the Father on earth. Get that? Whoever could accomplish this receives all dominion and power. Authority. Well, the problem is this scroll is sealed. And all of a sudden, this powerful angel begins to summon with a question. A question that is a very important question. Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals? that is the important question and then John says something absolutely devastating 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 it this is quite a moment in this vision for John now finds himself weeping. It's a great moment, isn't it? John is weeping almost uncontrollably. I stood back from this and thought about this a little bit this week and reflected on this thought that this must have been somewhat of a subtle rebuke to the churches who were worried about anything and everything else. Earthly fears, fears of persecution from Caesar, all the fears that happen, I suppose, living in this earth, and John is caught up into heaven, and one issue captures him. One great concern overtakes him. One great concern is raised in heaven above everything else. This has always been the greatest struggle of the church on earth, if you think about it. That has led to all kinds of compromises that we get caught up in all the wrong concerns and the wrong pursuits. All of the wrong projects, all of the wrong things, and we forget what is a matter of life and death. We forget what we're doing. We forget what matters most. Distraction has always been the church's greatest problem here on earth. It's the devil's greatest tool. Distraction. But John here is introduced to the most pressing issue raised in heaven itself. The most pressing. The biggest concern. He's weeping over something far greater. An issue that is most important. Now, I suppose we could get into there. So, when you preach Revelation, the challenge, of course, is always that you get lost in all of these details. And there are many details. But I don't really believe this is that hard when you look at the big picture. This is something that has always been taught to us in the Bible. This is the main story of the Bible. This is the main story from the Bible that we heard from Genesis 3 on. What will sinners do in the hands of a God who is holy and just? What a distressing question. It was a question that was always asked throughout the Old Testament, especially when the ark was brought back. Even the Philistines and Israel understood it and asked it, who will stand before the holy God of Israel? It was a question always interwoven in Scripture. It was always the emphasis of Scripture. People are always blinded to their awful predicament and to the one who sits on the throne and the real issue of life. Everyone is at ease. This was the, you open up Zechariah, and this was the statement that you find in Zechariah 1. The nations are at ease. They're busy eating and drinking. They're completely in the dark. That God has a will that He's written down. And unless this will is done, there's only curse and woe. There's only curse and woe that is to fall from the throne. It's about what you're studying in chapter 6. That's what the seals are. And John feels the weight of this. John is seeing things as they are. John is understanding the gravitas and the weight of all of this. The consequences of this. The thought that finally, thinking about what is most important, there is no mediator. What if? What if there were no forgiveness? It would mean that all of us go through life with no protection. It would mean that God would never defend you from any enemies or attacks. It would mean that there is absolutely no help for you. You would never pray and He would never hear. You would never know love. You would only know suffering and then judgment. You would have no perspective. In trial, no assurance. All the while living under the wrath of God in ignorance and darkness and unbelief, nothing but a fearful expectation of judgment. No heaven, no inheritance, just a place where the devil and his angels are. Isn't this the issue the church should be most concerned with? Isn't it? So what happened? Well, this is a continued emphasis in Revelation. You come to something like chapter 14, and I saw another angel flying directly overhead with an eternal gospel to proclaim. to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation, tribe, language, and people. And he said with a loud voice, he's got an eternal gospel. Fear God and give Him glory because the hour of His judgment has come and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water. John says nobody was worthy. So unless the scroll would be opened, unless this will would be done, unless someone comes and is given this kind of authority, what is written on this scroll is everyone's doom. And all of a sudden, John says, one of the elders came to me from heaven, the heavenly council. And he said something. He said something absolutely wonderful. Verse 5, And one of the elders said to me, Weep no more. Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, The root of David is conquered so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals. What a wonderful verse verse 6 is when he says, And I looked, and between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a lamb standing. Who can stand? Here's one. Here's one. Here's one. Standing. as though it had been slain. This lamb. It's beautiful imagery. I know I'm not going to do justice to this, but it's beautiful imagery. Think of what we, this morning, the sea of glass that is before the throne. Notice that this lamb approaches the throne. He's coming to take his seat. This is Ascension Day. you have a vision of the ascension where is he coming from the sea there are the saints stand and all of a sudden from among them this it's it's warrior-like language but then he twists the language and turns the language to that of a lamb this warrior comes out of the midst a lion of the tribe of judah always promised the fulfillment a conquering victor the fulfillment of history comes up and from that calm sea is now making his way up to the throne the angel presents him and if we understand this properly the whole bible here comes together you remember when isaiah saw the vision of the lord seated in all of his glory and the angels flew around saying holy holy holy and isaiah dropped himself and said woe is me i'm undone i'm a man of unclean lips and i dwell among those with unclean lips in all of these visions now one one is presented as worthy one i saw one and the angel says stop weeping stop your weeping's done i looked at him a warrior who looked like a lamb who was slain what a remarkable moment the vision that john was given was for the church to remember what this was all about that this lamb has secured a reign this lamb has secured a kingdom having seven horns and seven eyes that symbolize real strength all this is borrowed from daniel this figure is powerful he conquered and because of that guess what that means here's what it means since he is worthy he holds the seals he has all dominion and power it's been given to him he conquered to conquer so the picture is from the turbulent sea this one came out among us he ascends into heaven the sea is calmed and from among the glassy sea he appears walks right up to the throne taking the scroll declaring to all that the will of god for the redemption of his people is done that's the imagery here done i did it i did it for you and he's seated you see this answers for us this morning And what I raised at the beginning of this sermon, the question that we struggled with, our struggle as Christians is why in the world, why in this world, is often correlating what we believe about Jesus and His power and His Lordship. How do we do that when nothing of the victory seems apparent? I don't see that. I don't see any of this. And what this vision is meant to do is help you to see it. This is the Word of God. The Lord wants us to understand on the earth as we're in the thick of it, He wants us to live in full understanding that His people are forgiven. That His people are loved. That we have a citizenship in heaven. Remember the union emphasis tonight in the Lord's Supper, that we're joined to Him. We're members of His body. We belong to that kingdom. We belong to Him. And He wants us to see in this vision. Jesus loves His bride. Jesus rules His bride. He died for us. And what does that mean for us? Well, it means that as we confess in our Heidelberg, that He's there for our good and not our evil to judge us. That He's going to defend us from all enemies. That's His promise to us. That solves everything, doesn't it? It solves everything. Now He's worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals. Well, now look at chapter 6, verse 1, and you understand this. Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the living creatures say with a voice like thunder, come and i looked and behold a white horse you're going to see the seals about ready to be open guess what he's doing this is the this is the help for you guess what he's doing well he has the seals he has the will of god and all authority and power has been been given to him that's what he said before he left earth and he went and took his seat and was seated in heaven well you understand it guess who's ruling and judging the world then you ever stopped now think about this for a minute you ever stopped and looked at the conflict in this world you look at it all backwards revelation's giving us another perspective why is the world so turbulent why is it in other words all the world's wise men get together and they have their summits and their kings and their kingdoms and they're bustling about and they're trying trying to solve all the world's problems and they have climate summits. They do everything, don't they? Next minute, what are they faced with? Oh, a volcano could blow up on Earth Day. Oh, that did happen. They're faced with seal judgments. Famines, pestilences, earthquakes in various places. Where do you think those are coming from? See, we've lived so comfortably here at times we've forgotten that we don't belong here. He's defending. He's working. He's stopping kings and kingdoms. He's overturning them. Where's Rome today? Could you have imagined saying in the first century, Rome will be no more? The boardroom. The boardroom. He's seated. Jesus told us all this has to come to pass that's Matthew 24 he told us this where are they coming the judgments the throne the message that he wants us to consider is this even though it may seem that nothing of what we confess is of any real power or it doesn't seem like anything's happening or that our Christianity is not making a difference he wants you not to lose heart in this struggle He wants you to live in faith to know He's defending you. He's watching over His church. This is where His eye is. All of history is centered on the Lamb who was slain, and that means that His people are the object of His care. I love the Belgic Confession in Article 37, and it talks in the end that these saints, their cause was nothing on earth. They were treated and disregarded on earth on that day. it will be found out and made real clearly that their cause was the cause of the Son of God. Don't you love that? Him. His will. And you're going to have to understand Revelation is showing us that He is judging. He is a judge. The world is receiving birth pains. The sea is going to finally be calmed. And that's what He wants you to see, that in the center of the universe in the boardroom of it all the thing you long for the thing that you desire you will be there soon but he's already seated there for you he's ruling he's caring for you he's watching over you a church in persecution will appreciate that message listen to this you are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals for you were slain and notice what they're singing and by your blood you ransom people for god this is the new song anticipated all throughout history anticipated when they crossed over the red sea and saying you were slain and by your blood you ransom people for god from every tribe and language and people and nation and you've made them a kingdom and priests to our god and they shall reign on the earth you're victors around that throne this song is being sung this is recognized as done you see none of them are lost and it goes on to say then i looked and i heard many angels around the throne and living creatures and the elders and the number of them was 10 000 times 10 000 and thousands of thousands all these all these heavenly courts gathered and worshiping heaven is full of worshipers and when the lamb appears from the sea as the one worthy to open the scroll the whole place bursts into praise the whole place is ecstatic in worship all they can do is fix their eyes on the lamb who's the victor two final encouragements though i want you to listen um for the church how the lord encouraged them in this last section in verse 8, when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Why is He mentioning that? Because all of those heavenly beings are concerned because God has put it in them that the prayers that are made are brought before the throne he wants you to know i mean angels are ministering spirits to us who inherit salvation your prayers are heard your prayers are received he's hearing you he's answering you he's delivering you he's saving you that's the first thing and then you'll notice here verse 8 actually down at verse 12 that the whole now it works out to from the inner court to the outer court and then the the vision leaves us with the whole world in worship saying with a loud voice worthy is the lamb who was slain receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing and I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and as in the sea and all that is in them saying to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever and the four living creatures said amen and the elders fell down and worshiped what the text is ultimately then encouraging the church with is you really need to think a lot more about what you're doing as the body of christ you're joining them it's an invitation to join in in all of our struggles here the greatest need today is to remember this vision and and how it reminded us in struggle come up see clearly enjoy already what is yours enjoy already what is happening in heaven you need that you need that encouragement, that's exactly what the churches had forgotten. Because they had actually tasted an experience amidst all the trials that they were facing and all of the hardships they had forgotten, there is a lamb seated. The Lord of victory has won. I pray tonight that these two visions today as we leave and go home and have another week, maybe you could think a little bit about that weeping of john what if nobody was worthy what if nobody was worthy to take the scroll and open it and we were still in our sins doesn't it change everything that one is worthy and that heaven's disposition toward you even telling us that when one sinner repents there's more joy in heaven that the disposition towards you is one of favor and love and help it was the horror and thought that there would be no one worthy to deliver us that left John in tears but when John saw the vision of the lamb it changed everything and the message of the everlasting gospel that is proclaimed to you every week as you gather in worship should change everything shouldn't it I assure you all that John wanted to do was join that heavenly throng and worship worship always is a pretty good litmus test of where somebody is spiritually isn't it it really is worship is a very good litmus test of where somebody is spiritually come up here that was the lord's message to you today let me show you wonderful things let me encourage your hearts worship your king see the victory remember your sins are paid for Delight yourself in the Lord your God and you will ride on the high hills of the earth. It's the air you need to breathe. It's the vision that you need to see and to live by. And that's your encouragement that he gave you today as you head out into another week. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for your word to us and your help to us in time of need. And these things are so marvelous that sometimes it's hard to process in the thick of all of the trial and testing and hardship that we face here, but You've not left us alone. You've given us Your Spirit. And we have a great victory that's been secured for us by the Lamb who is seated. And may then it turn our hearts to be a worshiping people, a thankful people, a people who understand who we are, what we're called to do, what we're called to be. To give You glory and remember who we belong to, who purchased us, who owns us, would we as a church body then glorify god in this body and would your church around the world today be faithful in the great commission that you've given thank you for encouraging us and may we bless you this week in our service and works and and as we trust in you all the more as we see this day approaching in jesus name we pray amen