Revelation chapter 4 and 5 this morning. What an amazing text. It's a description of God's glory. The Apostle John is brought into the throne room of God. How can we get our hands around this? Just something to help us think about it a bit. I recall recently watching a National Geographic special on volcanoes. Our family watched this together. It was something that they were studying in school, and it was about a particular French couple. That was their life's work. They studied volcanoes, and they were fascinated with volcanoes. They interviewed them, and some of the comments they made were, that they were very daring. They would get as close as they could and take risks. And the husband of this couple said that he would be glad, he would be happy if he died studying volcanoes. Well, amazingly, several years later, well, maybe not so amazingly, they indeed did perish studying volcanoes. You see, to them, it was an amazing and drawing thing, sort of like a moth being drawn to the flame. or a lamp or a light. They're just attracted to it and they come and they touch it and they're consumed. Well, the glory of God is like that. This is both what we need and what we dread. The one who sits on the throne and wrapped in light that we can't approach. It's dreadful. It's terrible. It's awful. It's fearful. But yet, this is what we need. He is the one that we need. He is the one for whom, well, He created us for Himself. He created us to have communion with Him, to be able initially to enter into worship before Him. But what has happened? Sin has come. Man has rebelled against the Glorious One. Man has separated himself from the very thing that he needs. What have we been learning in the book of Romans in the past months? that we have to be justified. And why is that? Because Romans 3.23 says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We need glory. We were created to behold and worship glory. But because we fall short of this glory, we must have help, we must have aid from God. And God has made provision through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, so that if you believe in Him, that you will be declared righteous and you will be made fit. Though not now, though now we are not able to see this with our eyes, we are not able to see this in our human form. Someday we will be made fit. who will be made able to enter into this very place, this place of glory where God dwells. Martin Luther said that anything that one imagines of God apart from Christ is only useless thinking and vain idolatry. Now why did Luther say that? Luther said that because he understood any knowledge that we may pretend to have of God or any worship we may pretend to offer to God that is apart from and outside of Christ is futile and is idolatry. You see, we must come through the Lamb. He is the one who has provided righteousness for us. and then we will be fit for this glory. And by the way, this is the same glory that filled the temple of Solomon when Solomon dedicated that temple and when the ark was brought in. This is the same glory that Isaiah saw in Isaiah chapter 6 when the refrain goes that, holy, holy, holy, and then they add that the whole earth is full of his glory. The very creation is a manifestation of the glory of God. Everything hinges upon this vision John sees God's glory. I want to remind us again of the intent of the book of Revelation is to comfort the church in its struggle against the forces of evil. We have looked at the seven letters and throughout the theme was to encourage the church in spite of tribulation and persecution and heresy and hypocrites to press on in faith, love, good works. to follow the Lord in spite of all obstacles. And I pray and hope that the Holy Spirit will help us to be encouraged along the same lines, because we also struggle against sin in this world. I thought, what an awful thing if evil were to overcome this nation and we were suddenly under severe persecution. What if the Taliban were in control of the United States of America? What a different place it would be. Christianity outlawed. Everything would change. A completely different worldview imposed upon us that if you went against you would be persecuted. Even under those kinds of circumstances, the message of God's glory from Revelation chapter 4 and 5 is intended to buoy us up under even the most difficult circumstances and enable us to persevere. Especially as we await the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. You see, the message of the church was that Jesus had come, he had laid down his life on the cross, he had ascended to God's right hand after his resurrection, and soon he would return from God's right hand and reign over all the cosmos. All earthly empires would be subject to him. Even dominant Rome in the first century would one day be subdued. The church longed for the return of her Lord, but the years turned decades, and Roman dominance continued. The decades turned to centuries, and now for us, the centuries have worked on out to millennia. Where is the Lord? When will he come? When will he make things right? When will he bring justice? When will he make things as they ought to be? Well, this prophetic vision of God's exalted throne reminds us that Jesus Christ is involved with the affairs of his people in history and is actively controlling all things from above history. He is the sovereign ruler of all existence. And God on the throne has commissioned him as the only mediator between God and man. Well, first of all, we see that John is brought into the throne room of God. He is called up. After these things, I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and a voice which I had heard, the sound of a trumpet like, with me saying, Come here, and I will show you what things must take place. Like the prophets before him, the apostle John is allowed to see the throne room of God. Like Moses, who was written of that, my servant Moses is faithful in all my house, and I speak with him face to face, clearly and not in riddles, and he sees the form of the Lord. John is given such a vision. And like Isaiah, in Isaiah chapter 6, when he saw the Lord seated on the throne in his temple, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. And like the prophet Ezekiel, when he said that he was by the Kibar River, and the heavens were open, and he saw visions of God. Or like the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, when he said, I don't know how such a man, whether in the body or apart from the body, was caught up, but he was caught up into paradise. And he heard things that were inexpressible, which a man is not permitted to speak. all of these prophets and the Apostle Paul had had these visions of the heavenly scene. And now John, at the end of the age, is brought with the final vision, the culmination of all the visions of all the prophets and all the apostles, and it is put at the end of the canon of God's scripture as the final message of this is what the church is to look forward to. This is what one day will take place when the Lamb comes and takes that sealed scroll. The worship of heaven is always going on, and one day we expect to participate in that worship, but it will only be after we, represented by the Lamb and in the Lamb, join with that heavenly scene, after the seal has been taken and after the book has been taken and the seals have been opened. We must not despair of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't despair as you wait for the consummation and for the judgment. Though the return of Christ seems long and coming, though evil abounds, though wickedness is in this earth, the very thought that someone would even conceive of blowing up those towers in New York is a fearful thing. The very idea that there are people in this world who, if they had opportunity, would change our world as we know it. would take away all freedom and would rule with an iron fist, an evil iron fist, and stop all worship. It's a fearful thing. Thankfully, God, by His grace, has allowed us freedom and allowed us to continue with the way that things are. But we must not take it for granted. Evil abounds. And even in our world, the way things are, evil abounds. There are temptations, there are things that are thrown in our way by this world that entice us and lure us that we must be on guard against. And one way that the Scripture has given us, that God has given us to be on guard is to be anticipating the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. And then the saying will come to pass that death is swallowed up in victory. Death, that final enemy, representative of evil, brought into the world by our own sin, by man's sin. One day when the Lord comes, we will be changed and death will be done away with. Oh beloved, don't despair of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you realize that there is nothing left to fulfill before his return? Some would say that there must be a great revival before his return. Some would say that there must be a secret catching away before His return. Some would even say that He has already returned, in a sort of a spiritual sense. But no, nothing remains to be fulfilled. Jesus Christ has fulfilled all the Law and the Prophets, and He may come at any moment. He may come before we leave this meeting place. He may come before this day is over. There is nothing left. His return is imminent. And I wonder if you think that way. I have to ask myself, have I been thinking that way? Have I been living that way? Sometimes I get so caught up in reading the Scriptures and expecting the Lord to do things, and certain different perspectives of eschatology and end-time scenarios, how it's going to play out and how it's going to happen, I lose sight of the fact that I'm waiting for a person, you're waiting for a person, the Lord Jesus Christ, and one day He is going to split the heavens. He could do it today, and He will end evil. And He will bring righteousness, and it will come to light that He is indeed the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Just as John saw Him on that throne in Revelation chapter 4 and 5, we could see Him there today. We have to think that way. That's the message of the New Testament. That's the message that has kept the church going down through the centuries, down through the ages. Have you grown complacent? Have the affairs of this world dulled your spiritual senses? Do you want the Lord to return or would you rather He wait? Are there things you want to do first, goals you want to accomplish? Do you want Him to come back? Have you grown weary? Has the drag of your own sin and the temptations of materialism or perhaps the persecution of the wicked caused you to nearly give up and worn you down? you must look to heaven. Like the psalmist said, my feet had almost slipped, I had almost lost my foothold. I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked, until I entered the sanctuary of God. Then I understood their final destiny." See, that's what John does. He is brought into the sanctuary of God. He is allowed to enter that holy place. Like John, you and I must enter that sanctuary, and we must come in Christ. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is, and everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He, the Lord Jesus, is pure. Now, your experience won't be identical to that of Moses, or Isaiah, or Ezekiel, or Paul, or John. I'm not asking you to look for such spiritual ecstatic experiences. We're not promised such things. Where do we find this? Well, you have the prophetic word. You have the record of the prophets. You have in your possession the scriptures, which is the the testimony of the apostles and the prophets to this very truth. Peter says this in 2 Peter 119 that we have a prophetic word which is more sure It's more sure than any ecstatic experience. It's more sure than any human experience. On this level, we have this prophetic word, more sure, by which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a manner of one's own interpretation. It was never made by any act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. We have the record in the Scripture. We have John's experience and vision recorded for us. We don't need to look for any more experiences or ecstatic happenings. We have the prophetic Word. This is how you will persevere. Maintain your diligence in reading the Scripture. Maintain your watch for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Maintain your work in pursuing holiness. Scripture reading, prayer, fellowshipping, serving. You have this prophetic word and these are the things that the word exhorts you to do. You can enter his counsel through this word. You can enter the very counsel of God. You can hear God's voice. God's voice is recorded in every word. Every word is spoken by God and the Bible is the very voice of God. Enter into fellowship with God through the word, through Jesus Christ, and the troubles of this world will indeed take their proper perspective. They will fade, they won't disappear, they won't go away, but you'll see them as you ought to see them. And that's the intent of this vision, that the church would persevere and see the Lord Jesus, see God on the throne as high and exalted. The reality of John's vision will change your perspective on tribulation and persecution. When you see with John that God, our Creator, Redeemer, sits as the all-powerful sovereign ruler over man and over his institutions, then you will endure. But what does John see? Now, I have to ask you to please be patient with me here. We have to look at some detail in the text. Please be patient. I'll try not to get lost in the details. And I'll try not to lose you with the details. But remember that these are literal things, but we must look at them as literal symbols. When we see this throne, we don't necessarily know if it's something that we could possibly go up and touch. The throne is symbolic of the absolute sovereignty of God. When we see the eyes in the angelic beings, we don't know if they really had eyeballs all over them. These are symbolic of things. When we see the lamb and the eyes throughout him, we don't know if he actually physically looks like that, but we know that these symbols are literal in their meaning. They teach us something. So please be patient as we look at what John saw. John sees heaven opened up. He sees, first of all, the Creator on his throne as the object of all praise. We see that in chapter 4. He sees light shining from the one who sits on the throne. The one who sits on the throne dominates everything in the vision. The word throne is used 19 times in Revelation chapter 4 and 5, 60 times throughout the book of Revelation. He sees the throne, but he's not able to look upon the one who is sitting on the throne. All he sees is radiance shining from that throne, and a spectrum of light from various precious stones. This is in keeping with what the psalmist said, "'Praise the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God! You are very great. You are clothed with splendor and majesty. You wrap yourself in light as with a garment. You stretch out the heavens like a tent. This is what Paul said, Paul the Apostle in 1 Timothy chapter 6, that he is the blessed and only sovereign, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in inapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. Living on the farm and working there in my younger days, we had to do a lot of repair on metal fences. And I did a lot of welding. Now, I don't know if you know anything about welding, but in order to do welding, you cannot look on the arc. It's made by intense voltage, and you just can't look on it. It's high amperage. You have to wear a special mask. If you look on that arc, even from a distance, it can burn your eyes and cause severe damage. And even if you're too close to it and you're not covered, it can burn your skin. It's a powerful, powerful beam of light. Well, God is enveloped in such a light that John can't even look at it. It's even more powerful than any light on earth than we can imagine. And a thousand welding arcs, a million welding arcs. God, you just cannot look upon God directly. He's surrounded by overwhelming light. And this light symbolizes His absolute and uncompromised purity. John tells us in 1 John 1, 5, God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. This is the mark of a Christian, that we walk in the light. We cannot look upon the light of God, but we walk in the light of God. And if we embrace darkness, We do not know God. If we embrace darkness and say we know God, we're not telling the truth. We're telling a lie. Do you see God as pure? Do you pursue holiness so that you would be pure, like your God, like your Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ? This is the mark of a Christian. God cannot compromise with sin. And if you compromise with sin, it should trouble your conscience. Because you are like your Savior, you are like God, you have been made new. So if you have been made new, this should be true of you. That sin and darkness is repulsive to you, because your God is perfect and pure. And He cannot compromise with any sin. So John sees him sitting on the throne. Then John sees the 24 elders on 24 thrones around the throne of God. Who are these 24 elders seated on the 24 thrones? They appear throughout the apocalypse. They continually are falling down and worshipping God whenever they appear. Twice one of these elders interprets a vision for John. Many, most Bible teachers say that they're a combination of twelve Old Testament patriarchs and the twelve apostles, and I think that's fitting. That's correct. They wear white garments, which I think is a symbol of Christ's righteousness. They wear golden crowns, which is also a symbol of Christ's righteousness in 2 Timothy chapter 4. Their number is 24, which represents the complete number of God's people, a multiple of 12, and then the 144,000 we have in Revelation chapter 7. So I think that these 24 elders represent the full number of God's people. But the important thing here is what they do. They're on the twelve thrones around the throne, and they cast their crowns before God's throne in submission to Him. Even in this exalted place that they are given, in heaven, yet they cast their crowns down before God. You see, this again is another mark of a Christian. You are not a believer without submission to God. If you have trouble obeying the scripture, if you have trouble submitting to the fact that God is a sovereign God and He is in control of all things, you're either a Christian in sin or perhaps you're a Christian, not a Christian at all. You see, this is the difference between the world and the church. The church submits to God. The 24 elders submit to God. The hosts of heaven submit to the one who sits on the throne. But the world will not submit to God, will not see His Word as the final authority, and will not submit themselves to every Word of God. Beloved, we must, you must submit yourself to God. When the scripture says, thus says the Lord, we ought to say, I will obey. Because that is the mark of a believer. That is what the 24 elders do, and that is what we are called to do. Then John hears the thunders and lightnings from the throne in verse 5. And in Revelation, lightning and thunder signals final judgment. We see this throughout as you read down in Revelation chapter 8 verse 5, 11, 19, 16 verse 18. It signals that some cataclysmic event is coming, that final consummation judgment is about to dawn. And then he sees the seven lamps of fire. there in Revelation 4-5, and this is representative of the... and the seven spirits of God. This is representative of the seven-fold working of the Holy Spirit in redemption, which is rested upon Jesus Christ. Isaiah chapter 11 verse 1, Isaiah the prophet speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ says that a shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a branch will bear fruit, and the Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him. And then he lists seven aspects of the Holy Spirit's work, the spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord. And he will delight in the fear of the Lord. So these seven lamps of fire are the seven spirits of God. And it is just a picture of the working of the Holy Spirit in redemption, calling people, calling a people for God. from the earth. And then John sees these four living beings in verses 6 through 10 of chapter 4. Who are these living beings? Well, we've seen them in other places in Scripture. In Ezekiel, each of them has four faces, but in Revelation, not quite the same. In Revelation, they have six wings. In Ezekiel, they have four wings. In Ezekiel, their wheels are filled with eyes. In Revelation, their bodies are filled with eyes. And then Isaiah chapter 6, it also says that they have six wings. They are like the six-winged seraphim of Isaiah. And John quotes their praise here in Revelation from Isaiah. So what are we to make of all this, these four living beings? The four living beings are the same angelic beings from Isaiah and Ezekiel, with some variance in the visions for which We cannot account. This is a place where we just have to say, we don't know. You don't know. I don't know. We know it's in heaven. We know there are these angelic beings and they never stop praising God. Never. They cry, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty. And this is a proclamation. It is both a proclamation and it is a warning. They call the hosts of heaven to worship the one who sits on the throne. They will allow, it seems as if they're guardians of the throne. They will allow nothing unholy to approach the throne. Their many eyes symbolize that they see everything. Nothing leaves their notice. And they render the call to worship. Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, who is and was and who is to come. And at this call, John sees the hosts of heaven fall and prays in worship to God. They praise God for who He is. They praise God because He has created all things and for His pleasure He has done His will. And this word will is interesting. It's interpreted in different ways and in different translations as will or pleasure. It just simply means God does what He wants to. The entire created cosmos exists because God wanted it to. It pleased Him. He spoke and it came. You exist because of His pleasure, because He wanted you to exist. There is no other explanation for your existence, for my existence, except the fact that God spoke. This is the God that we serve, that we claim to come together and render worship to. We are sinful and fallen. Thank God for the Redeemer. Thank God for the Lord Jesus Christ. When the call to worship comes, they all fall and they worship. Now every Sunday we have a call to worship here, do we not? The call to worship that we bring Sunday by Sunday in the morning and in the evening serves the same purpose. We're calling you, all of us together, we're being called by the scripture to come and worship God. To come and fulfill the very purpose for which we were created. To come and render with feeble lips and broken and troubled minds some sense of praise to God, trying to bring that for which God created us before His throne. I just want to ask you, when that call to worship comes, when Mark reads it, or one of the other elders or leaders read that call to worship on Sunday mornings, Sunday evenings, have you thought of it that way? That you are being called to join in with the hosts of heaven. You are being called to come into the same vision though not literally as John did because we don't always have such ecstatic visions, but you nevertheless are being called to join in with the hosts of heaven to worship God, the one for whom everything exists because of His mere pleasure. This is your purpose for existence. You are called to worship Him. It's a merciful call. God doesn't have to call us to worship Him. He has every right to be angry with us. We have sinned against Him. We have not followed Him, kept His word, lived up to His law. We have turning thoughts. We have impure desires. We have strife. We have trouble. And yet God, in His mercy, calls us to worship Him. And in Christ, accepts our worship on behalf of the representative, the Lord Jesus Christ, our representative by faith. Amazing, amazing. So that when it says in Revelation 8, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and who is to come. And then in verse 11, worthy are you, Lord, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things. And because of your will, they existed and were created. When you hear those words, they ought to pull your heart. If you belong to Christ, they ought to pull your heart to worship him. They ought to call you to worship him. You see, he sits on the throne. He's the center of all things. The elders and the angelic beings are fixed upon the throne of God. It is the focal point of their life and purpose. It ought to be the focal point of our life and purpose. So it ought to be with the church. We ought to have God-centered worship, God-honoring worship. And when we see the throne as the center of all, our troubles become insignificant. Our temptations and trials take their proper place. But you see, Revelation chapter 4 by itself leaves us out. It leaves us without hope. We must have Revelation chapter 5. We have no hope to draw near to see God's glory, to come into God's throne room. We see God the creator on his throne in chapter 4. In chapter 5, John sees the Redeemer Lamb approaching the throne. What John sees in Revelation chapter 5, first thing he sees is the scroll in the hand of the one who sits on the throne. Now what is this scroll? The scroll represents God's eternal plan, His all-comprehensive decree. It symbolizes His purpose with respect to the entire universe throughout history and concerning all creatures in all ages and to all eternity. It's all contained in this scroll. It represents God's redemptive decree for the ages. Everything hangs on this scroll. If the scroll remains sealed, God's purpose will not be realized. His plan to restore all things to Himself will not be carried out. It's always been God's plan to redeem this fallen world, this fallen cosmos, fallen men to Himself. And that purpose, that decree, is written in this scroll. We know this because later on, as the seals are taken off of this scroll, and the judgments come, that God is fulfilling his purpose. He's calling his people to himself, and he's destroying the wicked. It's crucial, it's imperative that the sealed scroll be opened. So the angel cries out, in verses 2 through 4, says the strong angel, who is worthy to open the book, to break its seals? Is there anyone worthy? And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able. Notice the response that John, he says it's not necessarily that they weren't worthy, but they weren't able. No one is able. Not only are we not worthy, we're not able. We couldn't if we wanted to. If we could get to the throne and we could get our hands on that scroll, we couldn't open it. We are not able. It takes a strong Redeemer, an omnipotent, all-powerful Redeemer. And what does John do? How does he respond? He weeps bitterly. He weeps convulsively. Literally, he melts down. He comes to the ground. Why? There's no hope, you see. There's no hope of approaching God. There's no hope of redemption, no hope of opening the sealed scroll. Total disintegration. There is no other recourse. That scroll must be opened, and for who knows how long, moments, minutes, hours, no one is there. No one is worthy. And John weeps convulsively. You see, you are without hope apart from the Redeemer. You also have no hope to approach God without Jesus Christ. But hope does come. You see, John then sees the Lamb of God. Who is this Lamb? He is first described in verse 5 as the lion of the tribe of Judah. This is the one whom Jacob predicted in Genesis chapter 49, that the scepter would not depart from Judah nor the ruler's staff from between his feet until he comes. Until he comes, whom it belongs, and the obedience of the nations is his. You see, here comes the one, the Redeemer. The lion of the tribe of Judah. To him it belongs to come before the throne. To him belongs the obedience of the nations, Jacob said. Then how is he described also? He is the root of David. He is David's Lord. You see, Jesus Christ is an anomaly. He's a conundrum. Not only is he David's descendant, born of the house and lineage of David, but he is also David's Lord. And this is Jesus' argument to the Pharisees in the temple in Matthew chapter 22, and it's also foretold in Psalm chapter 110. The Lord said to my Lord, David wrote, sit at my right hand until I put your enemies beneath your feet. David, the Lord said to my Lord, David is predicting of his descendant, the Messiah that would come through his own lineage, but yet he is David's Lord. He is the one whom Jehovah God will give his enemies as a footstool. All of the wicked, all of the wicked nations, all of the enemies of God will be given to David's Lord, to the Lord Jesus Christ, the root of David, as a footstool put down brought down, all of the enemies of God will be submitted, will be subjected by the power of God, by the power of the Redeemer Lamb. He is the one who is worthy to open the scroll. Why? Because he has defeated sin, death, and hell at the cross by his shed blood and by his sacrificial death. You see, Jesus Christ then appears when John turns and sees the Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 6, what does he see? He doesn't see a lion. He doesn't see the exalted Messiah that David predicted. He didn't see a messianic king. He saw a lamb. A lamb, a weak and humble lamb, standing as if it were slain in the midst of the throne. You see, because Jesus Christ came in the flesh, he was humiliated. He was a humble lamb. By laying down his life as a lamb, he overcame his enemies like a lion. What a paradox that the king of the universe would come become a man and submit himself to death like a slaughtered lamb, like a disdained thing. And by this very act, He would destroy His enemies. And God the Father, the One who sits on the throne with the sealed scroll, will give Him the kingdom. And you, if you believe in Him, you will be part of that kingdom. Because He has all authority to bring an end to the curse of sin. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. John sees Him there in verse 6 with seven horns. and seven eyes, which are again the seven spirits of God. But these seven horns symbolize his absolute authority, absolute authority over all creation. The hosts of heaven then, seeing him come and taking the scroll, you see God, the one who sits on the throne, allows him to come and approach the throne and take the scroll. He is the only one who is worthy, and God allows him to do so. God is pleased with him. If you remember what God said from heaven on the day that Jesus Christ was baptized by John the Baptist, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Hear him. And now he comes. He comes at the end of the age after fulfilling his passion, living a sinless life, dying, being resurrected, ascending to God's right hand. Now the time has come. The time has come to take the universe back, to redeem it to God, to deliver it over to God, to call in the elect, to finally and fully finish redemption. And at the thought of this, all worship breaks out in heaven. all worship the Lamb for what He has done. First in chapter 4, as Marcus said, we saw worship for who God is. And then in chapter 5, we see worship for what He has done. In verse 9, worthy are you to take the book and break its seals, for you were slain and purchased for God with your blood, men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth. And then in verse 12, worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. And then at the end of verse 13, to him who sits on the throne, to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever. And the four living creatures kept saying, amen, amen, amen, don't stop, amen. This is heaven, this is glory, this is worship. You see the movement of worship here. In chapter four, it starts with the first wave of worship. It's sort of like in the sporting events when you see cheerleaders or guys riding on horses in front of the stands and they're carrying the flag and as they go by, people throw their hands up and they're yelling. Well, here we have the hosts of heaven. The wave starts in chapter four with who God is. The 24 elders are there, the spirits of God are there. the four living beings, and they see God and they fall down, they throw down their crowns, and the first wave starts and begins, starts from the center and moves out. And then here, the second wave begins. In chapter 5, the 24 elders, the four living beings praise the Lamb, the host of the angels praise the Lamb, and then, finally, all creatures. All created beings, everything living in the whole universe resounds with praise towards God. The wave starts from the throne and moves out. And then the beings, the four living creatures, they just keep it going over and over and over and over. Amen, amen, amen. This is what our business will be in the life to come. We will join in this way. We will join in this throng. We begin now because of our weakness, because of our sin, because of the toils and troubles of this world, because of so many things. We don't see it and realize it perfectly, but we are part of this. We are part of this now, today. By gathering with God's people, you are joining in with this throng. The wave includes all of creation. The praise comes from everywhere. Isaiah chapter 6, that says that the whole earth is full of God's glory. We see the handiwork of God in creation and revelation. I mean, sorry, in Psalm chapter 19. And all of this, this scene in heaven, all of this is for you, for God's people. It is to encourage you to persevere in the struggle against sin, your own personal sin, against the sin in this world, against the God of this world, It is intended to remind you to be eternally minded in spite of great evil and wickedness in this world, corrupt politicians, enemies of what is true and good around the world. In spite of all this, you can worship God. You can come before the one on the throne. in the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Because the Lamb has overcome, you will overcome. The gates of hell cannot prevail against the church, nor against you as a member of that church. And I have to ask you, are you a member of the Church of Jesus Christ? Now, I'm not thinking initially of visible membership of the local church. By faith, do you belong to Christ? Have you been baptized into the body of Christ by the Spirit of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? If you have, then you can join in with this chorus. But if you haven't, then you are outside. Then that call, holy, holy, holy, is a warning to you to stay away. And you have to stay outside in the darkness, in the shadows, in dread and fear and terror of the condemnation of God. I hope and pray that each one of you belong to Christ. We all do. Those of us here who do know the Lord pray the same thing. How can you do this? How can you come? You simply must believe in the Lord Jesus, turn from your sin, and join in the throng of praise. Worship is the occupation of heaven and one day of the universe. Though we don't see it now, one day it will be true. all created beings will worship God in one way or the other. Is worship your occupation? Is worship something that consumes you? Do you look forward to coming here and worshiping? Worship ought to be something on the forefront of our life and existence as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. We live to worship God. The lamb is the only one worthy to approach the throne of God. You are not worthy to come to God only if you believe in the Lord Jesus. In him you may come, not because you're worthy, but because he's worthy. Because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Believe on him and you will be saved. God's glory is beautiful and terrible at the same time. It's like that couple that got cooked by that volcano. They were drawn to it. It was amazing, awesome, beautiful, but they got too close and it burned them. So also, if you think that you can come to God without Christ, or based on your own merit, anything good that you've done, in the end, you will be consumed by the very thing that you say you have claim to. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. You must come before His holiness in Christ or God's holiness will be your undoing. What a wonderful picture of God's glory and grace. May we all go home with this vision on our minds. Read this over. Read it through the week. Let it encourage your souls. Read the whole book of Revelation. It's intended to encourage you as you follow Christ and resist sin. Let's pray. Our great God and our heavenly Father, we are not worthy in and of ourselves. We thank you for our Lamb, Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, who has prevailed and by his death on the cross has purchased us, has made us to be kings and priests before God. Oh, we give you thanks. What a merciful and great and kind God you are to extend such a privilege to those who are so unworthy. Lord, we pray you would use us as lights and witnesses in this dark world, in our neighborhoods, in this community, around the world. Oh God, use us. Help us, oh Lord, to reflect your glory to a dark world. And we pray and ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.