Would you join me, bow your heads, as we come before the Lord in prayer. Lord, we thank you so much, and oh how we need you, Lord, every hour. Oh, we need you. Lord, would you bless the teaching this morning in this great book of Revelation. Would you bless your word to our body, Lord, to our minds, to our spirit. Speak to us, we pray, Lord. Thank you so much for this church that you have. Wow, what a blessing it is for all of us, Lord. Thank You for our minister. Would You continue to watch over, guide, protect, strengthen him and his family, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Amen and Amen. Good morning. Welcome. You can be seated. So glad you're joining with us. Those of you online as well. Before we get started, I want to have Steve White come up and share again, second service. Many of you know, yeah, Many of you know Steve from his mission work in the Philippines. He's a dear friend and not just of mine. Do you tell people that you're a friend of mine? Of course. Anyway, so I asked him to share with you today. I know you'll be tremendously blessed. For those of you that were at our prayer meeting on Tuesday night, the miracle with Walt Cheshire's daughter. Well, we got another one. So anyway, I'm going to have Steve share with you. Well, good morning, Church. What a wonderful blessing it is to be here, joining you all in fellowship this morning. And thank you, Pastor JD, for allowing me the opportunity to come here and share an update and a testimony of faith. These past four and a half months, the Lord has given me a life learning experience of what is written in Isaiah chapter 55 verses 8 and 9. It is written, for my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Well, back on March 26th of this year, I had left the island of Boracay for a follow-up appointment with my cardiologist in Manila. This was in regard to some tests that were done a few weeks prior. The results of that test led me on a four-month journey that included a trip to the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio and major open-heart surgery. You see, I'd been having some shortness of breath issues for quite some time, and I'd been seeing doctors here in Hawaii and also there in Manila, and they had done this last test, and I'd gone there for the results, and on that day that I was to meet my cardiologist, he was called away to an emergency procedure, and so I met with his associate, and as she received that report, she's reading it, looking at me, And she says, this is serious. You need surgery, like today. Oh, but I don't mean to scare you. And I was like, OK. Well, I knew it wasn't going to be with her, so I waited for my cardiologist. And he went ahead and scheduled an angiogram a couple days later. Then he went through and found out that, yes, I did have some pretty severe calcium deposits. So he's going to put in a couple of stints, and he popped three balloons in trying to do that. And afterwards, he felt that that wasn't enough, that I needed bypass surgery. And so he referred me to the bypass surgeon there. And so we went ahead with that and planned it, and they were going to go in through my rib cage. And so, OK, that's not so bad. And prior to that, as they had me on the table, they did one last, I guess, a thoracic scope, they call it, and they saw that one of my valves was severely leaking. So they went out and asked my wife, Herlin, you know, this is what needs to be done. She said, I think he needs to make that decision. Thank you, Herlin. And so he pulled me off out of that, and come to find out, they didn't have enough blood for me anyways. I have a pretty rare blood type for the Philippines. And so they would have gone forward, and if they needed more blood, well, I don't know what would have happened. But anyways, they sent us, and a friend of mine after that, Here in Hawaii, he said, Steve, you need to get out of there. You need to go to the Cleveland Clinic back in Ohio. And so we did. We actually have, there's a church back in Ohio that has been coming down to Boracay and Panay for the last 14 years. There's a family there that's very instrumental with our family and bringing Mikaela to her mom a number of years ago. So it was it was just a blessing all around. But obviously that was not what I had planned to ever thought of. You know, I would have preferred to have stayed in Boracay and continued on the ministry that the Lord had called us to. But God had a different plan, which I was reminded constantly of Proverbs 69, which says a man's heart plans his way, but God directs his steps. Now you've heard me quote that before, but this time it had a whole new meaning. And as I stand here before you today, I'm so very thankful of the journey that the Lord has blessed me with, truly, because His ways are far, far higher than my ways, and His thoughts are far, far greater than my thoughts. I am so very thankful that the Lord has decided to give me more time to serve Him and the people of Boracay and Pinay. For if I had not taken this journey, my days would most likely have been much shorter. So during this time, the Lord has also blessed me with a lesson of humility. You know, we can always use that, right? So when I get stressed about how important I think my role is while serving in the ministry, the Lord reminds me that he most certainly can get by without me. He doesn't need me to accomplish his ways. He doesn't need my plans, but he lovingly allows me to serve him in a capacity that gives him all the praise, honor, and glory. So often we can get tripped up on thinking how important our role is in serving others. And please don't get me wrong, our role is important, but not to the point that we assume that we must have control over every little detail. It is God who is in control. We just need to trust in Him, lean not on our own understanding, and He will direct our paths. As believers, every trial that we encounter is a journey to grow closer to Him. Let us grasp that and be joyful in that. As James writes in chapter one, My brethren, consider it all joy when falling into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. That's God's will for us, that we be perfected and completed as we are made into his image. Some of the refining process can be painful. Some of it can seem to be overwhelming at times. Some of it might even seem unnecessary to us. But if we hold steadfast to our faith, we know it is for our good. As Paul writes in Romans 8 28, and we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the call according to his purpose. So with that, may I proceed to give you a brief update on the ministry that took place while God redirected our way these past four months. So without us being there, both schools were able to complete graduation this past school year in May. And most importantly, it really touches my heart, is out of a staff of 30 teachers, between both schools, 25 teachers have chosen to remain for this coming school year. This is a huge blessing and a testimony that God is working in the hearts of our teachers. You see, our pay for a private school is only one third of what a public school is. And so they are there for the ministry of those children. And so God is just amazing and touching their hearts. For the school year that just started last week, we've been blessed with another record enrollment. Nearly 200 students at our Ahti Tribal School on the island of Panay, and over 300 students at our school on Boracay, which also we have about 30% of our students there are Muslim children that are learning the gospel. They memorize scripture, they take part in chapel. God is doing amazing work there. So it's just another testimony of faith that God has kept guiding our staff while we have been away. The roof for our Boracay school that we've been praying for is well underway with all the needed permits that we gained in favor while we were away. Our pastoral ministry just completed their fourth training session this past week with an enrollment of over 200 pastors and church leaders while we were away. Our college ministry for the Ahti tribal students continues to move forward with plans to hire a full-time English tutor and an administrator upon our return. And then the first tribal teacher, the Ahti tribal teacher who graduated college and passed her board exam is now teaching at our school again while we're away. To God be the glory on that. So I'm just so amazed at how God has used these past four months to take us on a journey outside of His ministry and to continue to bless and multiply His goodness while we were away. He is so very faithful. He is so, so good. So God bless you all and thank you for being such a great part of God's family in the Philippines. To God be the glory. I told him after first service, actually that was almost more convicting, this service. I started talking about humility and Lord doesn't need you and don't think you're all that. He didn't clear that with me before you. Anyway, thank you, Steve. Continue to pray for Steve, his family, the mission there in the Philippines. And hopefully when you're back, we'll have another good report. And you have a good heart, literally. So Revelation chapter four, we're actually Lord willing going to finish the entirety of the chapter. This after last week, only doing one verse. So we're going to pick it up in verse two, which comes after verse one, deeply profound, I know. And we're going to make it through to verse 11. What I'll do is I'll ask you to stand if you're able. If not, where you're seated is fine, but you can follow along as I read the text. The Apostle John, by the Holy Spirit, is writing now. He has just been caught up to heaven. He's in heaven now, after hearing the sound of the trumpet and being told by God, really commanded by God, to come up hither. So now everything from chapter four verse one is yet future from heaven. So now he's going to describe, commencing in verse two, what he sees once he gets there. And all I can say is, wow. Verse two, At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of Jasper and Ruby. a rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were 24 other thrones, and seated on them were 24 elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne, verse 5, came flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. in front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. We talked about that. We'll talk about it again. Also, verse six, in front of the throne, there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center around the throne were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes in front and in back. The first living creature, verse seven, was like a lion. The second was like an ox. The third had a face like a man. The fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night, they never stopped saying, holy, holy, holy. is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come. Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to Him who sits on the throne and who lives forever and ever, the 24 elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever. They lay or cast their crowns before the throne and say, You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power. For You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being. Let's pray, if you would please join with me. Father, thank You so much for Your Word, for this revelation to John of this heavenly scene. Lord, this is just a glimpse, just a taste, but we'll take it. Just to be able to even have this recorded for us of what it's going to be like when that trumpet sounds. Oh Lord, As we go through this, would You, as only You can, and are always so faithful to, just speak in that still, small, refining voice of the Holy Spirit into our lives. Lord, when You do, even if it's personal or even convicting, because you know the heart. You know every heart of everyone that's in this church and watching online. And you know the need of every heart of everyone. So Lord, would You minister to our hearts, in and through this portion that we have before us today, in Your Word we pray, in Jesus' name, Amen. Amen. You can be seated. Thank you. So I want to talk with you today about what it is that we'll see and be after the pre-tribulation rapture in heaven when we're caught up to heaven. Can I just parenthetically say that I am so grateful for chapters four and five, because the church is in heaven in these two chapters. Well, from that point on from chapter four verse one on, everything is future. But the reason I say that is because heaven awaits. The glory that awaits is incomprehensible and unfathomable. No eye has seen, no ear has heard, Nor could we ever even begin to imagine. But by the grace and the mercy of Almighty God, Who loves us so much, He gives John this vision to record and write. And remember verse three, chapter one, the only book in all of the Bible that promises a blessing to those who read it, hear it, and take it to heart. So this is, I think, for us from God to encourage us concerning that which we have to look forward to. Because isn't it true that when you know what you have to look forward to, it makes whatever you're going through, as hard as it might be, easier to get through when you have this to look forward to. Now, John, again, has just been caught up, raptured up to heaven. In verse one, and immediately he's in the spirit, we're told. And he goes on to describe what he sees in this revelation of heaven after being caught up to heaven. Now I want to know about that. Don't you? So he's going to describe in as much as he's able. Because again, keep in mind, he's describing that which is in the infinite to those who are finite. How's that working out for you? It's impossible to understand in the finite that which awaits in the infinite. But What we're about to see is going to be extremely exciting. And I hope to tremendously encouraging, especially for those of you who find yourself in the midst of a trial and you're discouraged. And God knows that. And God cares. God knows, God sees, God cares. I suppose in some ways you could say that this was written especially for you. This is God's way of saying, yeah, I know it's hard and you're going through a very painful time, but I want you to be encouraged by what I have in store for you. Remember as a child, when your parents would say, I got a surprise for you, to which you would usually respond, what is it? to which they would say, well, if I told you it wouldn't be a surprise, would it? So if we only knew the glory that awaits, and we're going to just get a taste of it now. If we only knew the glory that awaits us, I think that our lives here on earth until we're taken up to heaven would be completely different. Let me say the same thing in a different way. I think that we would live our lives differently if we truly embraced that which awaits us in glory. Well, let's start with the first one. What are we going to see? What's it going to be like? And what are we going to be like? And the first one is in verse two, and it's a biggie. Of course, they're all biggies. We'll be safe and secure. you know, John, notice, I should say it like this. Notice what he doesn't say. He doesn't say that he saw the form, not God, but the form, the presence. He saw him seated on the throne. Now, why is that important? Well, notice he didn't say, I saw Him pacing back and forth in front of the throne. Okay, now I'm really insecure. This is God who created the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that in them is, and He's pacing back and forth in front of the throne. No, He's seated on the throne, securely seated, safety and security as you see God seated on the throne. And then he goes on to describe, and I don't know if you caught it as I was reading and you were following along. We got a description of what was at the center, around, behind, in front. I mean, that's a pretty good description, pretty much covers the basis. So we start off with the most important thing, and that is God is seated on the throne. I think of Isaiah, in the year that King Uzziah died. You have to understand that this was a good king, of which there were only nine, by the way. And they were all in the southern tribes of Judah. No king in northern Israel, the northern tribes. Every king that Israel in the north had did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. And of all the good kings of which it was said, they did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. There were only nine, and Uzziah was one of them. And in the year that he died, Isaiah is feeling very insecure. And what does God do? God allows him to see Him seated on the throne, and the train of His robe, the glory filled the temple, as if to say, it's going to be okay. It's going to be okay. I'm still on the throne. Now, before we move on to the second one of verse three, and maybe this is for somebody here today or watching online, your world right now is so kapakahi, sorry, upside down, messed up. Your world is so crazy right now. And the one thing you need is that stability, that security, that peace, that supernatural peace of God, who is the God of peace. That's Paul writes of the Philippians, because that's your anchor, because everything around you is just falling apart, off the charts crazy. And you need that center, that anchor. You need to know that God is still on the throne. I know that's cliche. Sadly, it's become cliche and we dismiss it. Let that sink in. God is still on the throne. Could you imagine, let me illustrate it this way. Could you imagine if in the midst of your trial, everything's in utter turmoil and chaos, everything you touch falls apart, and the more you pray, the worse it gets. Has that ever happened? Please say yes, so that I'm not the only one. I mean, so you think, man, the more I pray, the worse it gets. I know, I'll stop praying. Maybe it'll get better. And then it gets even worse than that. The one thing that you need to know and understand, God is still on the throne of your life. He is in control. He's not wondering what He's going to do. He's not pacing back and forth. He's not biting his nails. How freaky would that be if John wrote, you know, he was kind of, he was biting his nails. He wasn't quite sure what to do. He was calling an emergency meeting. And now he's sitting on the throne and he's seated on the throne of your life and everything is under control. Yeah, but Pastor JD, everything in my life is completely out of control. That doesn't matter. God is still in control. Yeah, but I mean, right now everything is so messed up. I mean, it is, everything in my life right now is so bad. God has to be in it. I mean, because the situation is so impossible. Perfect. It's about time. It's a good thing if it's impossible. Why? Because God is the God of the impossible. In fact, if it's still possible for you, it's not likely that it's going to be possible for God. What do you mean? Well, let's be honest. If it's still possible for us, we try in our own strength. And then it's like we're saying to God, God, I got this. I'll let you know. You know, and then you mess it up even worse. And you go to God, God, it's impossible. And I just picture God saying, well, it's about time. What took you so long? I've been here the whole time waiting for you. It's impossible. Watch me now, because I'm still on the throne. I'm still on the throne of your life. You're going to be fine because of who I am and where I am on the throne of your life. I'm in control. I am totally in control. See, that's a problem for us. I know I said that was one thing before. One more thing, real quick. That's a problem for, I won't look at anybody when I say this, because you know who you are. It's a problem for control freaks. Look, I'm looking down. I'm looking at myself is what I'm doing. See, we so want to be in control, right? And God, don't you think God knows that? He knows, He knows who, again, I won't look at anybody. He knows who the control freaks are. Don't raise your hand. He knows who the control freaks are. And thank you again, Steve, for the conviction. Bless you, brother. Talking about God not, when you know, when you're not there and the ministry does better when you're not there, God's in control. But see, when I'm there, I've got to be in control. Right, Steve? Can I get an amen at least from you? See, I have to be in control, because see, I think that it all depends on me. I'm calling the shots. The buck stops here. The buck stops with me. I've got to be there for the people. What are you going to do without me? God's like, you have no idea what I'm going to do. Right? That was so good. I'm still very convicted. I don't know. I'm not. Just give me some time, Steve, on that one. But the problem for control freaks is that we want to be in control. And God, we're not, what, God's going to compete with us for control? God's like, you think you're in control? Really? Okay, well, here goes. Okay, God, no, I'm not in control. You're in control. You're in control. Yeah, that's what I've been trying to tell you. I'm seated on the throne. I'm in control. You're not in control. build a bridge and get over it, as my wife always tells me. Now I can move on to the second one in verse three. Not only are we going to see in the heavenlies that He's seated on the throne, we're going to see in all of its splendor and magnificence, His grace and mercy. It's symbolized in the appearance of this bright white jasper. I can almost imagine John having to wince and look away. It was the glory of it, the brightness of it. It really, in the original, it's really describing a brilliant bright diamond, white, And this ruby, that's red. You see where this is going? How about the emerald rainbow? The rainbow is a little touchy topic these days. Well, this one's emerald. That settles it. What's the rainbow a symbol of? Covenant. What's the white and the red symbols of? Though your sins be as crimson red. I will make them white as snow, because of the blood of the new covenant shed in your stead. The grace and the mercy of God. I hope you don't tire of me describing grace and mercy in as much as you can describe the indescribable. But the closest that I've ever heard anyone get is that grace is God giving you what you don't deserve, and mercy is God not giving you what you do deserve. You know, I really need a lot of mercy. I mean, I need them both. But mercy, God not giving you what you do deserve. Oh Lord, I need, I need me some of that mercy. You got it. He's a merciful God. He doesn't pay us as our sins deserve. Why? Because of His grace, His amazing grace. Why? Because He has a covenant, a new covenant in His blood. We, every time we partake together of communion, it is a reminder. It's a commemoration and a celebration of His body broken and His blood shed to remind us of that which we forget. We're saved by grace, through faith, because of His mercy. It's the gift of God, not of works, that any man should boast. And I think sometimes we live our lives like we've forgotten, totally forgotten that. And we need to be reminded that this is what we're going to see, and what it's going to be like, and what we're going to see when we get there. I think we need to see a preview of coming attractions. Don't you agree? Just as a reminder of the grace of mercy. I think if we, if we just stop for a moment, this is hard, by the way, I've tried it. You know how they say, don't try this at home. Try this at home. Don't do it right now. I'm still teaching. Try just to take 60 seconds of complete silence. I can tell you what's going to happen. First of all, if you, if you can do it, it's going to seem like 60 years. That's a long time. In fact, watch this. That was five seconds. You still here? Surprised you didn't get up. Did that seem like 60 seconds? Just take one minute and embrace God's grace and thank Him for His grace and His mercy. I assure you on the authority of God's Word, it will be a game changer in your life. It'll change your attitude towards that person. Somebody just came to mind right now when I said that. And don't look at your wife, husband, and wife don't look at your husband. It's going to change everything. Because see, when you've been the recipient of God's grace and God's mercy, you then are going to be gracious and merciful. You know, there's a passage in Luke that is misquoted, taken out of context in a horrid way. And it's taken by the televangelists and out of context and used to get money out of you. You know, if you give, in fact, somebody has a gift the Lord has shown me of, but I do that too well. But you know what I'm talking about, right? So if you give, then God will give to you, pressed down, shaken together and running over. It's not talking about money. Jesus is talking about mercy. Proportionate to how merciful you are will be the mercy that you're on the receiving end of. How about the prayer that Jesus taught the disciples to pray? Forgive, forgive me, be merciful to me Lord for my trespasses. Forgive, forgive me as I have been forgiven. I know I've shared this, it's been a while. We got a lot of new people. Think about them if you've heard it before, okay? Early on in my marriage, I was such a jerk. I would, you know how it is, right? I probably shouldn't look at anybody again either, but you know how it is when, you know, it's kind of like, well, you know, the silent treatment. No, they need to apologize to me. I'm not going to, no. And then you're praying, God show her where she's wrong. And then apparently if God showed her, she's not seeing it. So you keep praying, God show her that she needs to submit to me as her husband. I'm the leader in the home. Like God's going to answer that prayer. Guys, could I just save you the time? Don't bother. God doesn't hear or answer those kind of prayers. So here I am again, I'm just being very open early on. I'm walking. I have a perfect marriage now, of course, 36 years later. So, you know, the silent treatment goes on. Isn't it sad? It goes on sometimes for days. Reminds me of a funny story I heard where this guy said, you know, my wife and I made an agreement that we will never go to bed and let the sun go down on our anger. And sometimes, I mean, we're up to like two or three o'clock in the morning. until finally she'll come crawling to Me on her hands and knees, and she'll say to Me, come out from underneath that bed and fight like a man, you coward. That was no extra charge, so. So sometimes it goes on for days. And then we let it, we go to bed and it's cimbers and festers. You know, in the original Greek language, it's the word thumos from where we get our English word for thermos. It just kind of, we just let it seethe and fester and boil. And then, you know, we just, we hold it in and we hold it against them. And then all of a sudden God kind of breaks through. Instead, I'm going to take one for the team. I'll use myself as an example, being the godly husband and pastor that I am. JD, I noticed that you're withholding forgiveness from your wife. Yeah, she needs to apologize. She's wrong. Oh, well, you know, I'm going to have to download a file of all your wrongs. But depending on Internet speed, it might take a while because it's a huge file of all of the things that I have forgiven you of, and you're withholding forgiveness from her. And by the way, Oswald Chambers said it best this way. It's not, have I been wronged? It's, have I wronged? One more thing. It's not what's been done to you. It's that Jesus died for you. See, when you embrace God's grace, because that's the ultimate expression of God's grace and mercy and love. Greater love hath no man that he lay down his life for another. When you see, forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do. He didn't deserve that to be on the cross. He did that for me, for the forgiveness of my sins. And here I am withholding forgiveness. How much mercy have I been on the receiving end of, and I won't show mercy? And here's God saying the measure you use to show mercy will be the same measure that I use to show you mercy. And here we are with a little, you know, there's not the, not the construction measuring tape, the industrial size. We use the selling ones, you know, the real small ones, the, you know, you need the microscope, the magnifying glass. And this, that's the measure we use. And then the Lord saying, oh, that's, that's the measure. Okay. We're going to use that. Okay. How much did you get? That's only like a millimeter. That's fine. Okay, then you get a millimeter of grace. Wait, wait, wait, wait. Let's do 100 yards. Does it go that far? We'll make it go that far. I'll buy 2, 3, 4, 5, put them together. I'll use that measure instead. Good. That's what the measure I'm going to use too. God's grace, God's mercy. We need to be reminded of that. Number three in verse four, We're going to see thrones and have crowns. Now this is a verse that is the subject of much debate concerning these 24 elders. There are some that say that, well, they're the 12 apostles and the 12 tribes. Well, that can't be because Israel is still on earth and the church is in heaven. So that can't, that doesn't work. Well, they're angels. Well, that's not going to work either when we get to verses 10 and 11, because angels don't have crowns. So well then if they're not angels or the 12 tribes of Israel or the 12 apostles, well then who are they? The church. Come back to it in a moment. Okay, just hang on to that. The 24 elders seated on 24 thrones is a representation of the church. clothed in white robes, wearing crowns. We just got done reading and we'll see here in a moment. How are you going to cast crowns you don't have? And aren't we the ones, the church, given the crowns? Have you ever done a study of the different crowns in Scripture? We're going to be given crowns. And by the way, guys, don't get weird on this. These are like king's crowns. Don't think what they call the tierras, you know, for the women, the girls. We're not talking about that. For the men, we're talking about king's crown. And there's different types of crowns for different types of things. This is speaking to the church. And some of us, and this might, don't please don't misunderstand me on this, because there's not going to be any envy or covetousness or jealousy or anything like that in heaven. Like we're not going to be up there going, wow, He got a bigger crown than I did. He got more jewels in his crown than I did. What's up with that? It's not going to be like that. I always think about the mansions, the dwelling places. I like mansions better. Mansion sounds cool. Mansions are like every time I, you know, which isn't much lately, but when I used to walk with my daughter to the beach, we'd go to flags, you know, we live close by and And they were building this, I mean, mansion. The guest house was like five times bigger than our house. And I have to confess, I've already confessed this to you, by the way. I coveted, I sinned and I had to repent because I'm looking at this thing going, that's just the guest house. That's just for their guests. Can I be the guest? I mean, right on Kailua Beach. Are you kidding me right now? I'm walking by this thing. Don't look, don't look. I can't. It makes you want to look more. It took him a while to build it. It's done now. I don't want to go back. But you know, the Lord stopped me dead in my tracks and said, really, really? The mansion I'm preparing for you. No, no. If you only knew what I have in store for you. I mean crowns, gold, mansions, thrones. Okay, cool. But I'm still looking at that property right there on Kailua Beach. What's your point? My point is, listen, we are heirs and the untold riches that await us, the crowns, the rewards. You know, I know the Olympics is going on now, and it's of course a satanic ritual with the opening ceremony. You know that the Apostle Paul was referring, it wasn't called the Olympic Games then, but that's where they originated. And he draws the parallel to running a race for a wreath as a crown. He said the race that we run is for a crown that never perishes. That's a gold crown. How much more? That's what awaits us. Here again, I'll say it again. Just let me have this one. Okay. I think if we knew that our lives here will determine our eternal lives forever, our treasures that we lay up in heaven, the crowns, the rewards. I think we would live our lives differently. Again, not that there's going to be regret in heaven. But I think if we really knew, you know, it's been said you can't take it with you. Yeah, but you could send it ahead. That's what Jesus said in Matthew six, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust and the IRS cannot break in and steal. That's the J. D. V. C. T. Stutt famously said, soon one life will be passed, only that which was done for Christ will last. When we get there, all the rewards. And it's all predicated upon what we did in our lives here. This vapor of a life we call three score and 10. That presupposes you make it to 70. I've got eight years left. Let's go 80. Let's go 80. Hopefully the raptures before. Think about that. You live to be 80. Let's go 90. Find 100. You live to be 100 years old. Compared to eternity, We're not even on the same, anywhere close to being on the same level here. But see what I did in that 100 years here on earth determines what I'm going to have and do for all eternity. Man, you know that expression, if I'd have known then what I know now, I would have done something differently. I would do a lot differently. Number five. on number four in verse five. We're going to just be in awe of His power. I get a kick out of, and I do it. I'm just as guilty as the next person. When you say, when I get to heaven, I've got a few questions I'm going to ask you. Save them. No, you're not. You're just going to be going in such awe. of the power and the glory of God. Picture the scene that John is trying, inspired by the Holy Spirit, to describe. Peals of thunder, lightning. I mean, I'm running, hiding already. I'm filled with fear and terror. But no, you know the sound, how powerful the sound of thunder is? How about the crack of lightning that ensues? That's what he sees and hears. Why? It's a display of God's awesome power. A number of years ago, It was, people still say it today. I don't want to be derogatory towards anybody that still does this. But when we say, I think we err greatly when we say to someone, man, you're awesome. No, God is awesome. You're awesome, dude. No, dude. That is a word reserved only for God. And let's think about that word awesome for a second, can't we? You're just in awe of His Majesty, His glory, His power. You're not afraid of Him. You're in awe of Him. And this is where John again refers to, as he did in chapter one. Remember the sevenfold work of the Holy Spirit? One of the things that Chuck Misler taught me was that there are over 800 references in the, in 400 verses in, well, I'm botching it already. There's 400 and some verses in the Book of Revelation. And there's over 800 references to the Old Testament in those 400 verses. This is a reference, remember, to Isaiah chapter 11 verse 2, the sevenfold work, complete work of the Holy Spirit. Now watch this. John is describing the awesome power of the Holy Spirit in its completeness. the seven spirits of God, the awesome lightning and the peals of thunder. We're going to be in awe of His power. Again, I've got to say it again, this on this one too. I think if we, and there is a time for that intimacy to call Him Abba, Baba, Daddy. But there are also those times where we are to, to hallow His name, to have a reverent fear of God, a fear and a trembling, not in the sense of a terrifying fear. The Proverbs says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And to fear the Lord is to hate evil, meaning that you love God so much that you fear doing any evil that would hurt the heart of God. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, to have a heart after God's own heart, and not want to do anything that would grieve God's heart. That's the fear of the Lord. I think there's a lack of holy fear and trembling in the life of the Christian today. Number five in verses six through eight, You know the pictures that people paint of heaven that, you know, like we're just going to be up there playing harps. Come on, don't look at me like that. You've heard that, right? Man, even non Christians. Why would I want to go to heaven? All you guys are going to do is just be up there playing harps. Listen, I'm not going to just be playing harps. I'm going to be worshiping Him the way God created me. Did you know that you were created to worship? This is neurological too. And they found research that your brain is wired for worship. That music is so powerful. And this is why Satan, the angel of music, fallen angel of music, uses the medium of music because he's always wanted to be worshiped. Well, it's worshiping God in heaven. We're even given the lyrics of the song. By the way, you might want to, well, you won't need to, because you're going to have your glorified minds. You know, there's not going to be any projectors with the words to the songs that we're going to be singing. Thank God. Could you imagine? You don't have to pretend, you know, like you know the songs, you know what I'm talking about. You don't have to do that. But here John sees these four living creatures, and when they're just glorifying, worshiping God. Do you know why they're saying Holy, Holy, Holy three times? That's the Trinity. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Holy, holy, holy. Now these four living creatures at first read kind of sound freaky, eyes all over the place. Like when your mom, when you were a kid, you know, I got eyes in the back of my head. I wonder if that's where they got it from maybe. But this is where it gets really interesting, unending worship forever. And by the way, please, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, never imagine that it's going to be like, oh, we got to, is it time for worship again? First of all, don't look at your watch. There's no time in heaven. We're in eternity. That alone, that alone, no more alarm clocks. Never mind. So it's not going to be like, oh, we just got done worshiping Him. It's not going to be a God to, it's going to be a get to, it's going to be, I can't wait to, it's going to be all that I want to do. And when John describes these four living creatures, And if you'd like the word creations better than creatures, if creatures gives you, you know, has a negative connotation, fine, use creations. They're living creations of God. God created these living creations. And now we're even told that there's four of them and what they look like. The first one, like, a lion, the second one like an ox, the third like the face of a man, the fourth like a flying eagle. And these four living creations are as symbolic as they are prophetic. And if you'll indulge me, I want to take you on a fascinating journey of the typology that is portrayed by these four living creatures. Again, remember John is giving us a snapshot, a preview of what awaits us in heaven. So these four living creatures, first of all, the four heads of the tribes of Israel broken up into three, four camps of three tribes each for a total of 12. It's recorded in Numbers too. You know the book of Numbers? You know what it's a book about? Numbers. So we have the numbers of the tribes in the camps with the heads of the tribes of each of the four camps. Four living creations, four camps of the Israelites. Do you know that each one of these four heads of those camps matched the four living creations? Judah, Ephraim, Reuben, and Dan. And we're told in numbers that they were to hold their banners. So each of the four camps had banners, you know, a standard. And Judah's was that of a lion, the lion of the tribe of Judah, Ephraim an ox, Reuben the face of a man, and Dan an eagle. What a coincidence. Wow, that's exactly what John described in heaven. It gets better. They're divided into four camps with specific numbers. And I mean, for those of you that were with us, man, this was years ago. We went through the book of Numbers. What an amazing book, by the way. So much in that book. But when we got to Numbers 2, you're just going, and this tribe, you know, had this many numbers, and this tribe had this many numbers. you know, by the time you get to the end, until you realize the reason. You had four camps and they were divided into specific numbers in four directions, very specific, with Judah to the east, Ephraim to the west, Reuben to the south, and Dan to the north. Watch this. You've got four gospel accounts. Another coincidence. Four gospel accounts of Jesus Christ matching the four living creations and the four camps of the tribes of Israel. Matthew's account, that of Jesus as the Messiah, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Mark's gospel being that of Jesus as the servant, ox. Luke being that of Jesus as fully man, son of man. And John being that of Jesus as fully God, son of God. Now, the four presentations of Jesus Christ in the four gospels It starts with Matthew written to the Jew, because he was from the tribe of Judah, the lineage. And Mark was written to the Roman, servant, slavery ox. Luke was written to the Greek. By the way, speaking of the Olympics, The Greeks, the Greek gods, Greek mythology, they made man a god. That's why the Gospel of Luke was written chiefly to the Greeks portraying and presenting Jesus Christ as being the God man, the perfect man. And then you get to the Gospel of John, which is why we always recommend new believers read and start with John. Don't do what I did. I started in Genesis. Big mistake. I shared that last week. I won't torment you again with that again this week. But the reason why is because John was written to the church. He's the son of God, portrayed as the Savior. Now That's the four presentations of Jesus Christ, which brings us to the four representations of Jesus Christ. In the four Gospels, we start with Matthew and what Jesus said, then Mark and what Jesus did, then Luke and what Jesus felt, and lastly John with what and who Jesus was. Now I'm going to show you another slide. Just don't be mean to me, because it's another slide with a bunch of numbers. Okay, you ready? Yay. What does this mean? I'm going to tell you. Thanks for asking. This ties all the typology together. And if you'll just hang in there with me, you'll see a picture of Jesus Christ and the finished work on the cross by Jesus Christ. Now you look at these numbers, I realize, you know, they're just numbers, right? But notice the totals. Notice the totals. They're different, right? The totals of the camps of the Israelites, and this was so specific so specifically, easy for me to say, so specifically commanded that each of the four camps consisting of three tribes be counted by those numbers and camped in that direction. Watch this, with the tabernacled Levites, the priestly tribe, right smack in the middle. You know what that would have looked like? and been like the cross of Jesus Christ. Hey, fast forward to Numbers chapters 22 through 25. I know I won't, I won't go along on this. Bear with me. But it's the well known account of when Balaam is paid an enormous amount of money, or offered to be paid an enormous amount of money to pronounce a curse on the Israelites, because they were growing in numbers. You can find it in the book of Numbers. And they posed a formidable threat to Balak, the Moabite king. So he hires Balaam. He says, hey, I know you've got this, you know, prophetic thing going on. How much, give me an estimate on what it would cost to curse the growing numbers of the Israelites. So Balaam being the greedy guy that he is, by the way, says, oh yeah, I'll do it. And so he gets on his donkey and heads on his way. And you know, of course, the humor, this is why I know God has a sense of humor. Besides every time I look at myself in the mirror, this is another reason I know God has a sense of humor. It's not that the donkey is talking, it's that he's talking back to the donkey. And the donkey is arguing with him saying, don't even think, what are you doing? And by the way, why are you beating me up? I've been your faithful donkey for how many years now? You're beating me? Don't do it. You can't curse them. You know that. What are you thinking? That's a very loose paraphrase of the account, but you get the idea. So what does he do? He forges on anyway, gets there. What comes out of his mouth? Have you read those blessings? You should read them, especially the last one. I mean, what? It comes up. Remember, this is going to date me. It's all right. Happy days, the Fonz, Henry Winkler. He could never, I'm so, I'm so. He could never say the words, you know, I'm sorry. Oh, come on, you guys. You're, you're my age. You remember that? He just, he tried. It couldn't, it wouldn't come out of his mouth. And now what was happening with Balaam, he instead of a curse, out came this most glorious, magnificent blessing. He's blessing them, and Balak is going out of his mind. Dude, what are you doing? I paid you big bucks, Balaam, to curse him. And what do you do? You bless them? Is this a joke? Okay, I know what we're going to do. We're going to go to a higher mountain top, and you'll have a better, because it's a lot of numbers. of Israelites. So you can't. Maybe the reason why you can't curse them is because you can't see them all from here. Let's go up higher where you can see the entire camp. So it takes them up to a higher vantage point and out comes an even more magnificent blessing. Why couldn't He curse them? Because before even a Roman cross had been thought of, It pictured as a foreshadow the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, so that Romans 8, 1, there is therefore now no condemnation, no curse, no guilt for those that are in Christ Jesus. You know, all throughout. I mean, even the Passover, the lamb inspected four days, Jesus on trial four days, without spot, without blemish. They slit the throat, shed the blood, put it on the door, post, top, bottom, side, side, shape of a cross, angel of death, Passover, the high priest, the priest, the temple service, the tabernacle before it, the wave offering. It wasn't this. It was north, south, east, west in the shape of a cross to foreshadow the person of Jesus Christ and the finished work on the cross. And one last thing on this, and we'll bring it into a close, there's hope. You know John chapter one, in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God. You get to verse 14, and the Word became flesh and tabernacled amongst us. You remember in our study in Exodus when the specific instructions on the construction of the tabernacle down to the colors was a, well, first of all, the tabernacle itself was in the shape of a cross. There were seven furnishings in the shape of a cross. There were three sections, the Trinity. And I mean, the colors of the threads that were to be used were the body of Christ, the white, the purple from the bruising, the red from the blood, the white, the bones. And the thing outwardly, as Isaiah says, there was nothing outward about him that would make him. In fact, that's why Judas had to kiss him to point him out, because he looked just like, he doesn't look like the pictures that are portrayed of him. He doesn't have blonde hair and blue eyes. Okay. And by the way, I'm sorry, but he's not a scrawny, wimpy. When we see him as the lamb that was slain, we are going to talk about wince. I mean, that's why you never see me ever put a picture or depiction of what Jesus looked like. All I can tell you was he was Middle Eastern. He was a Jew. Imagine that. He was a Jew. He was Hebrew. And he probably looked like me. Sorry, I should have. It's too late. That moment when you realize that they probably could have gone without that image for the rest of their lives. But no, he just looked He wasn't eight feet tall. He was probably average height. He was, he was a carpenter. And this is before, you know, modern equipment. He was not a wimp. When he went into that temple and makes that whip and cracks the whip. And by the way, turns the tables over. Don't think Costco folding tables. He was no wimp. I know I took that too far, but whatever. So the Word became flesh and tabernacled amongst us. He's right smack in the middle, represented by the tabernacle. Everything in the shape of a cross foreshadowing the cross. Everything in the Old Testament points to the person of Jesus Christ. And that is what John is describing. Oh, I'm getting chicken skin. Okay, last one. Verses nine through 11. What's the difference between worshiping and glorifying? I'm glad you asked, because I can't think of a better way to end a chapter and a sermon with it. And by the way, this is why this has to be, the 24 elders have to be a representation of the church. I'm going to give you this reference. First Chronicles 24. How ironic is that? Chapter 24, First Chronicles, records the priests grouped into 24. First Chronicles 24. I think God did that intentionally when they did the chapters so that we would remember. Oh, First Chronicles 24 has the representation of 24. 24 priests. Wait a minute, that was the Israelites. No, no, no. We're the priests to the believers. That's the 24. It's symbolic and representative of the priesthood of believers. This is the church. The 24 elders seated on the 24 thrones is the church because we're the priesthood. Did you know that you're a priest? Don't get a rope. You're a priest. How about saint? How hard is that one? to, you know, when it works with Paul, St. Paul. If you're named Paul, you got it good on that deal. St. John, you've got, you're in. St. JD doesn't work at all. But I am. I'm a saint. And no, I didn't have to have the Catholic Church give me sainthood. I'm a saint. because I'm in Christ. I'm a priest as a believer in Jesus Christ. This 24 grouping is the priesthood of believers. This is why it's the believers, because the believers are the ones in heaven. Israel isn't there yet. They'll come later. They got reservations for a later time. But here's the other thing too. we fall down before Him. We cast our crowns that were told of in Scripture before Him, and we praise Him, and we worship Him, and we glorify Him. Here's the delineation between worship and glorifying Him. Worship comes from worth ship. Worthy is the lamb that was slain. When you say holy, holy, holy, or you glorify God, you're magnifying Him in all of His majesty and all of His glory as holy. And that's the difference. There's a difference between glorifying God and worshiping. Worshiping is basically saying you're worth ship. You're worthy of my worship. and all of My praise. To glorify Him is to magnify Him. I'm going to close with this. It's something I learned many years ago. I'm still learning. I've got a lot to learn, but I learned many years ago. what the purpose of my life is, what the purpose of your life is, what the purpose of my marriage is, what the purpose of your marriage is, what the purpose of my business at the time was, what the purpose of your business or employment is, or career, whatever walk of life you come from, here is the purpose of it. And it will change your life forever if you get it. The purpose of your life is to glorify God. You are to bring glory to God. That is the purpose of your marriage, to glorify. Isn't marriage a microcosm, a picture of our marriage to the Lamb? He's our bridegroom. We're the bride. The family unit is a microcosm of the family of God. Do you know? I hope this doesn't weird you out. Actually, I hope it does weird you out. You know, we call sibling rivalry. I wonder, we're brothers and sisters in Christ. Maybe that explains the sibling rivalry within the Church of Jesus Christ. Because after all, we're siblings, and siblings fight. We're brothers and sisters in Christ. This is a microcosm of the family, the family of God. He's our Heavenly Father. Did I mess you up? Should I have stopped earlier? The purpose of your life, your job, your career, your marriage, whatever it is, is to glorify God, to bring Him glory. Okay, this is the last thing. Jesus said, don't miss this. If you ask anything, anything, and it glorifies the Father, you got it baby. Again, loose translation, paraphrase. But if you ask according to God's will, and it brings God's glory, and it's for your good and His glory, you got it. Anything, anything, anything. If it's good, it's God. And if it glorifies God, it's good. You're going to get it. You just may not get it when you want, because you want it now. And God says, no, I'm going to give it to you. But it's going to be in My time, in My way, like Steve again convicted all of us. I hope you guys were as convicted as I was about the ways of God, Isaiah. You had to go there, didn't you? In His way, which are not our ways. in His time, not our time, and for His glory. Why don't you stand? Capone, come on up. I'm done. I'll put you out of your misery. Thanks for your patience. What we'll see and be in heaven. Who knew? God, you knew. And you want us to know. Otherwise you wouldn't have inspired John to write this, and even chapter five, when we get there, Lord willing, next week. You want us to know and see what it's going to be like, and what we're going to be like, and what we're going to see when we get there. And it makes us long even more for Your appearing, as Paul writes to Timothy, and the crown of righteousness that comes with that. All we're going to do is cast it before You anyway. Oh Lord, thank You. Thank You for this. Thank You that we can leave this church service today, maybe a little bit different than the way that we came to this church service today, knowing that this is what awaits us in glory. Oh Lord, all the glory is due unto Your holy name. Holy, holy, holy are You, oh Lord. worthy are You, O Lord, of all of our praise, all of our worship. We want to glorify You, and we thank You, in Jesus' name, Amen.