Let's turn in our Bibles to Ezekiel chapter 2 and then to Revelation chapter 5. Ezekiel chapter 2 and then Revelation chapter 5, and we'll stand as we read the Word of God together. We're going to begin reading the last phrase of chapter 128. The focus of this reading is going to be verses 9 and 10 in the first verses of chapter 3. 9 and 10 is really the focus. We're going to read a little bit more. So beginning in the last verse of chapter 1 and then a couple verses of chapter 3. So when I saw it, and it's Ezekiel's vision of God, I fell on my face and I heard a voice of one speaking. And he said to me, son of man, stand on your feet and I will speak to you. Then the Spirit entered me when he spoke to me, and set me on my feet. And I heard him who spoke to me, and he said to me, Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day, for they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, thus says the Lord God. As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are a rebellious house, yet they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words. Though briars and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions, do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks. though they are a rebellious house. You shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I give you. Now, when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me. Behold, a scroll of a book was in it. Then he spread it before me, and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe. Moreover, he said to me, Son of man, eat what you find, eat this scroll, and go and speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that scroll. He said to me, Son of man, feed your belly and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you. So I ate. And it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness. Now to Revelation chapter 5. And I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals. No one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look at it. So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, do not weep. For behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals. And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb, as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then he came. took the scroll out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. Now, when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song saying. You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you are slain and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation and have made us kings and priests to our God. and we shall reign on the earth. Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures and the elders, and the number of them was 10,000 times 10,000, and thousands of thousands sang with a loud voice, worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven and on earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea and all that are in them, I heard saying, blessing and honor and glory and power be to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb forever and ever. And the four living creatures said, amen. The 24 elders fell down and worshiped him who lives forever and ever. and ever. This is the Word of the Living God. Taking a break from our ordinary series in 2 Thessalonians, the next sermon in that series, Lord willing, will deal with the matter of church discipline. As I thought about that as this week unfolded, I thought there are times when an occasional sermon, sermon from a different text that particularly addresses the matters of the day, sometimes helpful for us. And I hope today that will be the case, a sermon from Revelation chapter five. It's been a week, which for many of us has been filled with unsettling news. This virus COVID-19 novel coronavirus is upon us and it is a strange thing. Virus linked I think if I read right to the common cold, it's not a plague. It could be significantly dangerous to some, especially those who are weak. And I'll leave all the discussion of that to the medical experts. But whatever it is, it has had dramatic effects on the world this week. Right to Greenville here. The world seems like it's turned upside down. Countries like Italy under quarantine and Norway. You can't fly back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean right now. These are unprecedented things that are happening in our economy. I read American Airlines, 75% of international flights shut down. Delta, 40%. Schools are being closed. Universities in the upstate. My daughters have no classes. Anymore this semester. Online classes continue, but no more gathering. on the campus. I know that Bob Jones, Furman, I think it's the same and others. All of this happened within a week. The president has been tested for this. Prime Minister of Canada is in quarantine. Prime Minister of Brazil has been tested. I even saw in the headlines, I'm not sure this is as important, but Tom Hanks has this. The whole world is glued to their phones, glued to the 24-hour news cycle. More headlines flashing at us. The governor of South Carolina declared a national emergency. The governor of North Carolina asked for no meetings above 100 people. I was in Georgia a few times in the past week. Cases are multiplying there. The president is holding multiple news conferences. His cabinet is working feverishly. The vice president is leading a task force to deal with this. Here's a small bit of news that perhaps you didn't notice in all of this. The Federal Reserve put $1.5 trillion into the markets. It's a number we can't even begin to imagine. What does that mean? It's never a good sign of stability. Maybe you didn't read this in the news. There's an attack on a US base in Iraq by Iranian-backed militias. And another top commander, I think a commander New commander of the Revolutionary Guard, I believe, was killed by a U.S. airstrike. You just keep going. And you can ask yourself suddenly, in my comfortable little world, what's going on? What is going on? And then this week, I couldn't help but feel it more profoundly as we were at the funeral. And I watched and walked alongside, and I know many of you here did, the Weldy Azus family and wept with them. Young man killed in a car wreck in what we think to be the prime of life, heart-rending sadness. A young man who worshipped with us for years, some of you here, considered him a close friend, some of you young men, and all of you young people knew him. Sober, one week, can appear to use the imagery of Psalm 46, that the earth is giving way under our feet, that the mountains are being cast into the sea, that the waters are roaring, that everything that we perhaps mistakenly assume to be stable actually isn't. It's unstable, not reliable, and cannot be trusted. Revelation chapter 5 gives an antidote to what may come next in the heart of a believer, fear. The purpose of this book is what we're going to look at for a moment, and that is to answer a question. We're going to look at the vision of the scroll and the lamb in this book, and then we're going to see a number of lessons for the church. What is the purpose of the book of Revelation? Well, it's to answer a question. At the end of the book, in chapter 22 and verse 6, the book was written because God was showing His servants, His people, the things that must surely take place. Revelation 22 and verse 6. Now, who were these servants? The church of the Lord Jesus Christ, His people. And the revelation was exactly that, a revelation. through the powerful operation of the Holy Spirit, given to the inspired penman, the apostle John, as he was on the Isle of Patmos. It is the last book of the Bible by date. Irenaeus wrote, John received the book almost in our time. Dated to the reign of Domitian, a harsh Roman emperor, given to a church that had very much in its recent memory the harshness of an earlier ruler, Nero, and understood persecution, sadness, and pain. It was addressed not generally, but very specifically, The opening chapters give us a list of the seven churches of revelation. Ephesus and Smyrna and Pergamum and Thyatira and Sardis and Philadelphia and Laodicea. Individual congregations with individual makeups and individual strengths and weaknesses. And the vision was of Christ himself, the great shepherd of the sheep, walking amongst the lampstands. and with deep intimate knowledge of every fellowship in every city, knowing where they were, what was happening, what was going on, the very details of their church life, cities and names and places. It opens with that strong statement then of the direct personal interest of Jesus Christ in his church by name, by place, with all the details of our existence. If it was written today, could have had tailors as one of the city's real times and places and people. The historical situation, again, getting back to the historical situation, the emperor had revived the emperor cult in this period. Again, elevated the ruling family to be gods and demanded that everybody worship the emperor, bow down to the state, and acknowledge no higher god and no higher power. Eusebius, the fourth century historian, reports that during this same period, the church was not only being commanded to worship the emperor, but if they did not, they were under heavy persecution. They were paying with their blood. They were becoming martyrs. They were dying. And they were wondering. They were experiencing excruciating suffering. much more profound than what we could call, in the whole sweep of history, our mildly unsettling week. They were asking profound questions. Where is God in all of this? And what is Jesus Christ doing right now? We've believed in Him. We've trusted in Him. Where is He? And what is He doing? Why this? The book of Revelation is the answer to that question. What is Christ doing? Where is He? There's a period that we often think about in our minds sometimes with a sort of blankness between the ascension of Jesus and His second coming. What I mean by that is we often fail to think about a living, reigning, active, conscious Christ, God and man, given all authority in heaven and on earth. Revelation chapter five gives us a window into his present mediatorial reign. It answers the question, what is he doing as he walks among us and rules over this world? And why is he doing what he's doing? So we come to the vision of the scroll and the lamb in Revelation chapter 5, but a little bit more before we get there. How does John get to the place where he has a vision of what's happening in heaven and of Christ and his mediatorial reign? Well, he's been invited there. He, in chapter 4 and verse 1, has seen a doorway to heaven. And in chapter 4, he's been invited through that door. And immediately, 4 verse 2, I was in the spirit and behold, a throne set in heaven and one sat on the throne. He is seeing the throne room of all known reality, and he's seeing the one who sat on the throne, who verse 8b identifies as holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, the whole earth is full of his glory, God himself. He also sees the following. Precious stones, a rainbow, elders around the throne, 24 elders. He sees lightning. He hears thunder. He hears voices. He sees the sevenfold fullness of the Holy Spirit of God before the throne, which he also testified to in the opening verses of the revelation. He sees a sea of crystal, verse six. Before the throne, there was a sea of glass like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, around the throne, were also four living creatures full of eyes and in front and on back. And these four living creatures, together with 24 elders, form a congregation closely surrounding the throne. They are angel-like, these four living creatures, and if we connect the holy, holy, holy Lord God of hosts The Lord God Almighty, the whole earth is full of his glory. With Isaiah chapter six, we get some sense that these four living creatures are linked with the cherubim, the seraphim, the angelic host, but particularly those who Isaiah saw around the throne, crying, holy, holy, holy, covering their faces and feet to shield them from the unapproachable glory of God. The worship begins with them, verse eight. With that chorus, they do not rest day or night saying, holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. And then it spreads, it flows to the 24 elders. Perhaps symbolic. Of the Old Testament and the New Testament church, the 12 tribes and the 12 apostles, as we look at the end of the book at the city and the wall of the city with the names of the tribes and the apostles on it. the fullness of the church triumphant, verse 11. Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, that spreads to the 24 elders and they fall down before Him who sits on the throne and they worship Him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns and they say, you are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power for you created all things. By your will, they exist and were created. You have to understand that this is a description of heaven now. This is the way we should think about glory. But it's also a description of heaven in this vision at a certain point in time. A certain event is about to happen. Now you and I would be overwhelmed at this point if you were to see this vision. You would be like Isaiah. Crushed. Terrified. Unraveling. Woe is me, I'm a man of unclean lips. You you would be terrified. But this spirit-enabled apostle is not terrified, and the evidence of that is amazing. He, in this vision, with prophetic, spirit-enabled, telescopic vision, he sees one detail in that vast scene. He sees one small thing. One thing. And he's looking, as it were, across the sea, over the 24 elders, through the around the living through the ring of the living creatures and the lightnings and the thunderings to the throne itself. And there, what does he see? He sees a scroll in the hand of the Lord. Scroll in the right hand of him who sat on the throne, a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. What is this scroll? It's Old Testament language you just read from Ezekiel chapter two. It is the revelation of the will of God. the purposes of God for all of human history. It is the Word of God. It is the revelation. The scroll is not just an object of John's interest, but all of heaven has interest in it. This scroll is very important. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll into lucid seals? It's not just John that's focused on it. It's the four living creatures and the 24 elders and the strong angel. And then later, you'll see all the angels around the throne, everybody fixated on this one object. And the question is, who will open the scroll? Now, what does that mean? It means who will be the executor of the purposes of God in history? God has a plan. He said to his people in Jeremiah chapter 29, I have a plan for you, a future and a hope. He has a purpose. The question is the scrolls on the right hand of the one who sits on the throne. The problem is who will be the executor of the covenant. Now, if you get back to the problem of the church in John's day, And you go back to this week in our day, and we've been reminded in small ways, who is executing the plan that I see unfolding all around me right now? Who's doing this? Who is governing what I see? The focus on the seal continues. Verse three, no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or look at it. Now again, Paul writes to Timothy that God dwells in light unapproachable and full of glory. The radiance from the throne. The seal is there, but as it were, everyone is covering their eyes. Only able to get a glimpse. No one able to approach. No one able to enter in. No one able to grab the scroll, let alone open the scroll. There's seven seals on it. Who is worthy to go, to open, to loose? And the answer is no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth. Verse four, I wept because no one was found worthy to read the scroll or to look at it. No one. It's locked down, it's hidden, it's impenetrable, it's unreachable. John understands the gravity of the situation and tears flow from his eyes until the angel Whispers the elder rather whispers in his ear behold one of the elders said to me Do not we behold the lion of the tribe of Judah the root of David has prevailed to open the scroll and lucid seven seals What is this vision let's keep going I The first thing we learn is the titles of the one who will open the scroll, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David. And his identity is clear. This is none other than Jesus Christ. And the vision we're seeing is the vision of the ascended Christ in glory. It's Jesus after his conquest. He has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose his seven seals. The vision is of Christ having conquered and prevailed. And in conquering and prevailing, the elder already knows what he is about to do. Well, what is the conquest? Keep reading. And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne under the four living creatures, in the midst of the elders, stood a lamb as though he had been slain. The Lamb of God. Remember John the Baptist, behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Here he is, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David from Isaiah, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, the Passover lamb. And this lamb has an appearance that's remarkable. He is a lamb who appears as though he has been slain. He's been killed. It's an interesting description. Look at verse nine again. You were slain, a lamb who had been slain. There's one more time referent here. And I looked and behold, the lamb, as if it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all of the earth. And here, the sevenfold spirit, the fullness of the spirit is being linked to the ministry of Jesus Christ, the spirit who would be sent into all the earth. And a reference here to Pentecost, and the Spirit-enabled ministry of the Lamb, empowered ministry. So where are we? Jesus, after the cross, the triumph of the resurrection, and the ascension, in the period leading up to and including Pentecost and the giving of the Spirit, you are seeing the exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ on the pages of Scripture. What's the key action in the text now? I want you to think again about the position and nature of that scroll. It is in the hand of the one who sits on the throne, who inhabits eternity, who dwells in light unapproachable, who is holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. The nature of the scroll, sealed seven times, locked down impenetrable, unreachable. To lay hands on it, hold on it, requires a unique, singular individual. Again, nobody. You would be better off, any creature God had ever made in all history, including the holy angels, including the holy angels, You would be better off trying to land on the surface of the sun than you would be to grab hold of this scroll. Because the God who holds the scroll, he made the sun, the moon, and the stars also. The closest angels, Isaiah chapter 6, covered their feet and their faces. And there's this remarkable action. Now when, and he came, verse seven, and he came and he approaches and he takes the scroll out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. He went. And all of this, again, you think about this is Jesus Christ, the one who went from heaven to earth, the word who became flesh and dwelt among us and lived a perfect life. then died a substitutionary death, then rose again, and then ascended, and from earth back to heaven. And then in this scene, he crosses the sea of crystal, passes through the ring of the 24 elders, passes the four living creatures who shield themselves, approaches the throne, reaches to the right hand of the one who inhabits eternity, and he lays hold of the scroll. He goes through the rainbow and the thunder and the lightning and the power and glory. And you have to think about this. This is the word made flesh who dwelt among us. This is the mediator. This is the God man. This is Jesus Christ in our flesh. With human consciousness at the same time, divine glory. He takes the scroll and he becomes the executor as the mediatorial king of the will of the father for all human history. And what happens? Heaven explodes. Now, when he had taken the scroll, There's a wave of praise that emanates from the throne. It begins with the four living creatures. Then it moves to the 24 elders. And notice now they're falling down before the lamb with harp, golden bowls full of incense, the prayers of the saints joining in their worship. And they sing a new song. At this moment, you are worthy to take the scroll. And open its seals, for you were slain, and have redeemed us to God by your blood over every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and made us kings and priests to our God. And then the vista expands. Then I looked as if John steps back and now he sees even more. And I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures and the elders, the number of them, 10,000 times 10,000, thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice and the roar of heaven increases again from the living creatures to the 24 elders, to the innumerable company of angels, Hebrews chapter 12. And what are they saying? Worthy is the lamb to receive riches and power and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. And then it goes farther. Listen to this. It reaches the edges of the cosmos and every creature which is in heaven and on earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea and all that in them. I heard them saying blessing and honor and glory and power. Now listen to this. Be to him who sits on the throne forever, the father. And to the Lamb, the Son, forever and ever. And now the cosmos is united in praise of the Triune God. And the Mediatorial King is exalted. Look at verse 14. It echoes back. It's like it hits the edge of reality. And then the four living creatures say amen. The 24 elders fell down and worshiped him who lives forever and ever. And the waves of worship emanate from the throne of God to the edge of the cosmos and then back up all the way to the living creatures to the throne, where we see now the father and the son. Psalm 110, jointly wielding the omnipotent power of the triune God in the affairs of men and nations. Why was the Lamb worthy? Verse 9, this is profound, for you were slain. This whole glorious, resplendent moment revolves around, well, it's connected to the cross on earth. The cross work, the offering Jesus Christ of a perfect life to the father Flowing from that moment of the cross you remember what pilot asked are you a king? You say rightly I am a king, but then he reminded him my kingdom is not of this world Now we have a window into the nature of that kingdom The cross, he was called the King of the Jews. Remember, Pilate, what I've written, I've written. I'm not taking it down. It was prophetic in his humiliation. The cross yet was pointing to his enthronement. And all of heaven knows that because the suffering servant, obedient to the will of his heavenly father, because he was obedient to death, even the death of the cross, therefore he was highly exalted and given the name which is above every name, so that His worship would reverberate, that every knee would bow, every tongue confess that He is Lord to the glory of the Father on the throne together with the Son wielding the scepter of omnipotent power, the Son who takes the scroll, the mediatorial King. And that has effects. Look at verse 9 again. You are worthy because you were slain. And what is he doing? He's redeeming us to God out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation made as kings and priests who are God and that we will reign on the earth. He's accomplishing the gathering of his church, the perfecting of his people, the rescue of his saints, the redemption of the church in the middle of the chaos that these Christians were experiencing. That's Revelation chapter five. Now, lessons for the church. First, going back to this moment, you are worthy to take the scroll and open its seals, for you were slain. The assurance we have that Jesus Christ is presently ruling and reigning is deeply rooted in these words from the cross. It is finished. There he accomplished all that the Father sent him to do. As the second Adam, living a perfect life, dying the sinner's death, bearing the sins of his people, taking on his own shoulders the cross being the curse, in himself, bearing our sins on the tree. And from this flows this series of salvation actions, redemption to God by the blood of Jesus Christ, out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, the forming of a new humanity, the church, and the promise that we have been made kings and priests to our God and that one day, though it appears, The power of the church is weak and insignificant in the face of the actions of what appears to be powerful forces in human history, that the trajectory of a suffering people will be to be reigning on the earth with our God. Think about the power of the cross for salvation and for redemption. And here this morning, as you're reminded of his mediatorial rule in the affairs of men and nations in an unsettled world, you need to begin by running to him for forgiveness, mercy, and cleansing. And remember that the cross also qualified him to be the ruler of the universe. So submit to him. Remember the one who penetrated the impenetrable, who went to the throne, and laid hold on the scroll. He's the same one who ever lives to make intercession for His people. He's the same God-man. He's the same sympathetic High Priest. He's the one we entrust ourselves to for salvation, for He was slain. It's the Lamb as though He has been slain who takes the scroll. Without having Him, you'll never enter that place. you won't be saved. With Him, we have everything. But I want you to see a second thing. The power of the cross for Jesus Himself. It qualifies Him as the second Adam in His obedient service to God to be the ruler of the universe. The mediatorial king. The power of the cross qualified Him to approach, to take the scroll. And this is a theme that we see all through the The New Testament, rather. Hebrews chapter 1. God has spoken to us in these last days by his Son, who has appointed the heir of all things, through whom he also made the worlds, who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person, upholds all things by the word of his power. When he by himself purged our sins and sat down at the right hand of the majesty of God, linking the cross to the exaltation, the worthiness of the mediator king, in his obedience to the Father, to his approach, and laying hold of the scroll. Psalm 110. Jesus Christ has received the scepter of the Father, and he is ruling until he makes all his enemies his footstool. Second lesson. The scene simply answers the question, who is in control of all that is happening in our apparently unstable world? First thing is, it's not unstable. It's not unstable. It's unstable to unbelieving eyes. It's stable and purposeful to those who trust Jesus Christ. Chapter 6 and verse 1, there's a key action. Now, when I saw the lamb had opened one of the seals, we could keep reading the whole book, but he doesn't just take this seal. He doesn't just take his place at the right hand of the father, but he begins unsealing the seal. Who is able to take the scroll and open its seals? And if you were to keep reading in chapter six, just briefly, he begins opening the seals and those seals As they one by one are exposed, the nature of the seals is revealed and the nature of the mediatorial reign of Jesus Christ are revealed. And in chapter six, just to give a sketch of that rule, we have what have been called the four horsemen of the apocalypse, four seals, four directions, north, south, east, and west, covering the whole earth with the reign of Jesus Christ, beginning with the white horse and the one who rides on the white horse, Jesus Christ himself. and the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ as he conquers and goes out to conquer over all the earth. A red horse as Jesus uses in human history, listen carefully, bloodshed and war and the persecution of the saints to accomplish his purposes and he rules as these things are happening and even in and through and by these things. The black horse with scales. reminding us that the economy in its ebbs and flows, there's a picture in this seal, you have to go home and read it, of the scarcity of food, of poverty, of inflation, that the worker can hardly buy food. That horse, the black horse is marching now, sent by Jesus Christ as the executor of the plan of the triune God to exalt himself in history. The pale horse, the sickly horse, whose name is Death in Hades, who by the sword, by hunger, and by plague, by sicknesses that sweep across the earth, by the wild beasts, is executing the plan on the scroll which he took from the hand of the Father as he rules as a mediatorial king to rescue his people. And at the end of the book, to make all things new. And so our interpretation of history is different from the world. You look out over an unsettled week and you can see the hand of the king and the unafraid. His gospel still marches on and everything that's happening The sovereign reign and perfect plan of Jesus Christ is being carried out. In everything. All of this, the will of the Father executed by the Son. So, two things first submit. Humble yourself. This is the will of Christ. As a matter of fact, if you keep reading the book, you'll see more and more of the unfolding of the mediatorial kingdom and glory of Jesus Christ, even in the present. The one thing you have to remember is that submit and trust and submit, it doesn't mean we're going to escape. The persecuted that we're being written to, we're being told why this is happening and that why they will suffer many things and that it would turn out well in the end. We may suffer. You're not in control. You know, there's a note in your bulletin about preparing in case you perhaps have to be quarantined to help the deacons and their work. But we have to be careful that we're not panicked. There's a whole pepper movement who thinks that you can store enough food and dig a deep enough hole in the ground that you can avoid calamity. Good to take care of your family, but it's not in your hands to avoid calamity. It's in your hands to submit to the rule of Jesus Christ and trust him by the power of the Holy Spirit. That's what he calls you to do. And we should trust. We shouldn't be given the hysteria about what's happening. And I'm not talking about medical facts. Leave that to the medical experts. But in Greenville right now, there are empty shelves. All in stores all across the town, there's a palpable fear. There's a deep rooted response. What is happening to our world? As God takes out the props, as it were, the things we depend on for a moment. It may be just a week and it might go away. That's in the hand of the Lord. But, all of us, since, we know that there is something in all of this that's rooted to greater realities. And we're being humbled under the hand of God. And He's calling us to trust Him. The world? Terror. The believer? A quiet heart. remembering that the one who sits on the throne is Jesus Christ, and that when you're in Him, the whole sweep of the river of history is to end up at the throne of God, to see the river flowing from the throne, the tree of life whose leaves are for the healing of the nations, and to bask in the light of the glory of God as His children forever. For the world terror, for us, Christ, We don't make rash predictions right now about the second coming of Jesus. We don't know, but we trust the present reign of Jesus and we commit ourselves to him. We see in all these things, the hand of Christ, the ruler of the universe, the opener of the scroll, the opener of the seals. How are you going to live this week? your bearing, your conversation, your life. In a sense, not much should change. You should wake up and pray with your family and read the word. You should go to sleep and you should sleep well, resting in Christ. And between those two places, you should be wise and prudent, care for your family and think about others and have love for your neighbor and submission to authorities and a thoughtful, careful Christian response. But in the middle of it all, there should be a quiet peace and trust. I know what has happened in heaven. I know who has been exalted. I know who holds the scroll. I know who rules and reigns. And it's my Savior, Jesus, the God-man, should change everything. Your bearing, your conversation, your life. your witness to Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Lord our God, we come as those who have been drawn close to You, our lives safely hidden under You, Lord Jesus, and Your powerful, gracious reign. We pray that You would grant us again this morning the grace to submit to Your rule in everything. Lord, whether it's children at home through their parents, Lord, that they would remember this vision of your greater reign in heaven and submit. Lord, whether it's life in your church or in the civil realm, I would see your hand in the unfolding affairs of men and nations. And Lord, more than anything, submit to you. We also pray for that quiet trust. that belongs to those who know that this world is passing and that you have greater purposes than our brief momentary existence comprehends. Lord, you have a purpose to exalt your name in all the earth. And Father, you have a purpose to do that in the exaltation of your son and the giving him of an inheritance and the rod with which he rules the nations. And we pray for quiet trust in him. for salvation, redemption, protection, and everlasting life. We ask all this in Jesus' name, amen. Okay, let's sing together Psalm 99. This is going to be your bulletin insert. I want you to notice that Psalm 99 actually anticipates the scene in Revelation chapter five, the cherubim, the Lord who reigns in majesty, and our response to him. Let's stand and sing together. The Lord God reigns in majesty Let all the nations pray He dwells between the cherubim Let earth's foundations shake Supreme in Zion is the Lord, exalted gloriously. Ovations raise His name with hope, the Holy One is here. The mighty King loves justice well, and equity awaits. He proves His people righteously, and faithfulness maintains. O magnify the Lord our God, let Him exult in thee. In worship at His footstool bow the Holy One His King. When priests and prophets told of God in their petitions, sir, His cloudy pillar led them on, and they all believed his word. Though sending judgments for their sins, he pardoned graciously. Amen.