Let's begin here in Revelation
7 at verse 9, and then we'll read to the end of the chapter,
verses 9 through 17. Among the things that John was
invited to see, to behold, when he was caught up to heaven, he
says in verse 9, After this I beheld in lo, a great multitude. which no man could number, of
all nations and kindreds and people and tongues, stood before
the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and
palms in their hands. The Lord said, except a corn
of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone. But if it dies, speaking of himself,
it bringeth forth much fruit. Here's a picture of it. There's
no possibility that Jesus Christ died in vain. He shall see of
it to develop his soul, all of it, and be satisfied. Verse 10. This multitude cried with a loud
voice, saying, Salvation to our God which setteth upon the throne
and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round
about the throne and about the elders and the four beasts, and
fell before the throne on their faces and worshipped God, saying,
Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor
and power and might be unto our God forever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered,
saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes,
and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou
knowest. And he said to me, these are
they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their
robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore,
are they before the throne of God and serve him day and night
in his temple. And he that sitteth on the throne
shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither
thirst any more. Neither shall the sun light on
them nor any heat. For the land which is in the
midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto
living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes." In chapter 1, here in Revelation, verse
9, we're told where John was and the reason that he was there.
Verse 9 of chapter 1, John, who also am your brother, and companion
in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ
was in the owl that is called Patmos for the word of God and
for the testimony of Jesus Christ. He was exiled there for the preaching
of the gospel. But notwithstanding all that,
John was exactly where God wanted him to be. The authorities didn't
place John there. God Almighty placed John there. Because while he was there, he
was given a fresh glimpse, a fresh revelation of the Lord Jesus
Christ who encouraged him. And oh, how encouraging it must
have been to him and to every weary pilgrim to see Him who
loved them and gave Himself for them. Look, if you will, again
in chapter 1, verse 1. We read, the revelation, this
is what the book is, singular, not plural, one revelation of
Jesus Christ. It's all about Him. The revelation
of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him to show unto His servants
things which must not things that might, but things that must
shortly come to pass. And he sent and signified it
by his angel unto his servant John. The revelation not of John
to John, but it's the revealing of Jesus Christ. This same Jesus. We'll see how he appears to John
in just a moment. You remember And our Lord for
the last time was with His disciples and led them to Mount Olivet,
and they ascended to the mount. And while He was speaking to
them, we're told in Acts 1, while they beheld, He was taken up,
up, How far up? How high? Well, so high that
everything's under His feet. So high that everything is beneath
Him. So high that God's exalted Him
and given Him a name, Jesus Christ. And God declares, without question,
without a doubt, every need. There's not going to be a person
Rebels included, they will bow the knee to Jesus Christ and
confess to the glory of God the Father that he is Lord of all. This same Jesus, the angels told
them, that you see exalted up, that you see taken up, sitting
now at the right hand of the majesty on high, this same Jesus
is going to come again, not that imposter. That same Jesus that
was taken up was the Lord of glory, the mighty God, the everlasting
Father. It was a stroke of genius, so
to speak, when the devil, the father of lies, panned off on
our generation and many more succeeding generations this imposter
called Jesus, which is another." You remember when our Lord was
on Mount Olivet, when He left the temple for the last time,
and He said, the day is coming, there won't be one stone left
upon another. And He went out to the Mount
of Olives and sat down, and the disciples came to Him and said,
Lord, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign
of our coming and of the end of the world? And the first thing
he said in answering their question, the very first thing he said,
and he repeated it again and again throughout his discourse,
he said, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come
in my name, saying, I am Christ, and they shall deceive many.
Didn't he, Fred? Another Jesus. Can you think
of anything more horrifying? Anything more, anything sadder
than someone trusting in another Jesus, another Christ, an imposter,
not the Son of God, and multitudes are doing it today. I hear them
describing. They describe him. They talk
about a Jesus that wants to. And I look in God's word and
I don't find that. They talk about a Jesus that
wants to have his way but can't. They talk about a Jesus and I
know he's an imposter because they say his will is determined
by my will. But he can't do anything unless
I allow him to do so. Here's a good theological word
for you, hogwash. It's not so. It's not so. He's King of kings and Lord of
lords, and this same Jesus that was taken up, that same one is
coming back. At home, I have two single volumes,
commentaries on this book of Revelation. I have complete commentaries
on the entire Bible, which also include this book, but I have
two that devote only to the book of Revelation. One was written
by a man named William Hendrickson and was published in 1940, and
the title of his book is More Than Conquerors. The other, written
by my pastor, Mr. Fortner, Don Fortner, and it
was published in 2002, and the title of his book is Discovering
Christ in Revelation. Now, if you take those two titles,
Discovering Christ in Revelation and More Than Conquerors, you
have a pretty accurate description of what this book is about. And
that's what it's about, the victory of Christ and His church without
question. Without question, I think it's
in chapter 14. We're told that I looked, verse
1, and lo, A lamb stood on the Mount Zion. A lamb stood in sovereign
majesty, ruling and reigning. And I saw that lamb standing
on Mount Zion. But he's not alone. He's not
alone. All of his brethren are with
him. And with him, 140 and 4,000 representing all of God's elect. from all time, having His Father's
name written in their foreheads." Revelation. The word means apocalypse. It means unveiling, uncovering. The unveiling of Jesus Christ,
this revealing of Christ as He is, assures every child of God
of their ultimate victory over the world and the flesh and the
devil. The theme of the book is the
victory of Christ and His Church. Turn, if you will, back to Isaiah,
Isaiah chapter 46. This is the promise of our glorious
Redeemer here, Isaiah chapter 46. I know you are familiar with
this, but let's look at it, read it together. Verse 3, verses
3 and 4. Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob,
and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are born by
me from the belly, which are carried from the womb. Someone
said God keeps His children from the womb to the tomb and even
beyond. Verse 4, and even to your old
age, Paul, Paul, that's a lot, I know. Even to your old age,
I am He. I am still God. I change not. Therefore, there are some blessed
consequences to the immutability of our God because He changes
not. He'll always love us, no matter
what, Fred. Isn't that comforting? No matter
what, He'll always love me. No matter what, He'll never let
me go. No matter what, I'll never be
plucked from His hand. No matter what. Oh, I find much
comfort in that. Rather, even to your old age
I am He, and even to whore hairs will I carry you. I have made,
and I will bear. Even will I carry and will deliver
you." Oh, what a mercy that God says, I will uphold you with
the right hand of my righteousness. I will uphold you. The devil
whispers, I'll trip you up. I'll get you. You'll be mine.
But God says, not so, because I'll uphold you. Unbelief, our
own unbelieving heart says, one day we're going to fall and perish. But God says, oh, no, I will
uphold you. The flesh cries out, I just can't
bear up under this cross. It's just too much. And God says,
oh, yes, you will, because I will uphold you. Again, our heart,
we're tempted to believe that we can't endure such temptations,
such losses, such fiery trials, and God says, you can because
I will uphold you. My grace is sufficient for you.
That's the only explanation, Pastor. When Job sat down in
sackcloth and ashes, emblems of his broken, hurting heart,
What enabled him not to curse God, as his wife suggested, and
die? What enabled Job to say, from
a broken heart, the Lord gave, the Lord has taken away, blessed
be the name of the Lord. What enabled Job to do that?
I'll tell you. Job was just a man, like any
other man. I'll tell you what enabled him
to do it. God says, I will uphold you. James says, he giveth and
he giveth and he giveth more grace. More grace. Look at that
one John saw here in Revelation unveiled before him. No wonder
he was encouraged. Look again in chapter 1. Chapter
1, verse 8. Oh, this is our Redeemer. This is
the one who, in that everlasting covenant of grace, Promised his
father that he would be surety for you and I that he would bear
all the responsibility bear all the responsibility. God doesn't
look to me. He looks to His Son. His Son
is accountable for this sinner. And it will be His everlasting
glory. We saw Him standing as a lamb
on Mount Zion and with Him all of His elect. All the Father
gave Him. All that He redeemed. Every one
of them will be with Him in glory. He says in verse 8 of chapter
1, I am Alpha and Omega. The beginning and the ending. Look at verse 17. John says,
when I saw Him, what effect does it have on a
man when God is pleased to reveal Himself to him? Now, I see these
peacocks on TV that claim to have had a revelation of the
Son of God, the God of all grace, and they say the effect that
it's had on them, it makes them proud. They pop their suspenders
and say, I've got something you haven't got. I've experienced
something you haven't experienced. I know good and well they've
not seen the Lord of Glory. Everyone who ever sees the Lord
of Glory, everyone God is pleased to reveal himself to, it'll have
the effect it had on John and every other sinner. They bow
down. They come down. Can you imagine
a worm in the presence of the thrice holy God strutting around
and being proud? It just don't jab. It don't click.
It doesn't happen. John says, when I saw him, The
true God, now that imposter, the one that needs my help, boy,
I can be proud with him, but not King Jesus. When I saw him,
John said, I fell at his feet as a dead man. And he laid his
right hand upon me, saying unto me, fear not, I am the first
and the last. I am he that liveth and was dead. Destroy this temple, and in three
days I'll raise it up again. And behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell
and of death. It is the one who says to his
suffering children, to John, to you, and to me, you're mine. I redeemed you. When you pass
through the fire, the flame won't kindle on you. When you pass
through the waters, you won't be hurt. You're mine. I've ransomed
you. I will uphold you in the right
hand of my righteousness. It is this revelation of the
great God and Savior the captain of our salvation, that encourages
pilgrims in this world to press on. What did Paul say? Say, I
press toward the mark of the prize. Oh, what a prize. Of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus. What a prize. What a day that
will be when my Jesus I shall see. What a prize. When I look
upon the face, I can only imagine. I have had a dear brother in
our church that God took home about two years ago. I remember
one evening we were sitting in the back on the patio and
he said, Larry, you know, I just can't imagine what it's going
to be like for us to see him. I said, Brother Loyal, I can't
either. I just can't either. Oh, but
he doesn't. He no longer looks through a
glass darkly. He sees him face to face. Oh, pressing toward the mark. Let me read you two brief articles,
one by old John Newton, the writer of that most famous hymn of his,
I suppose, Amazing Grace, and the other by Martin Lloyd-Jones. Old Newton said, it is part of
my daily habit to look back to my slavery in Africa. Newton
was not only a slave trader himself at one time, the captain of a
slave ship, he himself became a slave for some time in Africa. He said, it's been my habit to
look back on the days of my slavery in Africa and to retrace the
path by which the Lord has led me. For about 47 years since,
he called me from infidelity and madness. My astonishing unsought
deliverance from the helpless wickedness and misery into which
I had plunged myself, taken in connection with what he has done
for me since, make me say, make me say with peculiar emphasis,
we sang it a moment ago, O to grace, how great a debtor, De
Leon, Constrained to be. Excuse me, Mr. Newt. Could you
let this sinner step in there, too? Because I must say the same
thing. Oh, to grace, how great a debtor. Daily, every day, I'm constrained
to be. Martin Lloyd Jones wrote this.
The sufferings of this present time are many, and they are painful. God's people feel. They hurt. They're not immune
from tribulation. No. John said they all came out
of Is that seven years of tribulation? Wishful thinking. Tribulation
all your lifetime. From the moment God calls you
by His grace and you take up your cross to follow Him, through
much tribulation you shall inherit the kingdom of God. They cause
us to weep and to be sad. They rob us of rest and sleep
and make our days dreary and our nights weary. They take from
us our mates and our dear children. They cause us to be troubled
on every side, perplexed and cast down. But. But they are
not worthy to be compared with the glory of Christ which shall
be revealed in us." And they're not, are they? Not worthy to
be compared. Look, if you will, at verse 17. This is the elders' answer to
John concerning who they were. This multitude, all dressed in
the white robe of Christ's perfect righteousness, waving the palm
leaf of victory before the throne, and crying, Salvation to our
God that setteth upon the throne. Who are they? These are they
which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and
made them white in the blood of the Lamb. A glimpse into glory. That's the title of my message.
A glimpse into glory. They all came out. There was a man who was the captain
of a passenger ship. One time, his young daughter
accompanied him on a trip across the ocean. And a storm arose
one night, and she was asleep in her quarters. And they thought
it was possibly time to get the life rafts. And they began to
wake everybody up and say, look, it's time to get up. Put on your
life jacket. We may have to get off. And they woke up the little
girl and told her, and she said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes,
she said, is father still on board? And they said, yeah. She said, OK. And she laid back
down to sleep. As long as father's on board,
everything's going to be OK. What did the psalmist say? I
will lay me down and sleep. Why? Because God, my God, sustains
me. He watches over me. He'll take
care of me. My heavenly father knoweth. You
remember. This passage here, our text,
verse 14, reminds me of what our Lord said in Mark chapter
4. He told His disciples, let us
pass over, didn't they? Let us pass over unto the other
side. Let us pass over. That didn't sink in, did it?
Because in just a little while, when our Lord went to sleep,
flesh of our flesh, made like unto His brethren, He was tired,
He went to sleep. In a moment, He would arise and
say, Peace be still. And the angry waves would lay
down at the feet, obeying the voice of their Creator. But He
was tired. Isn't that amazing? Great is
the mystery of godliness. But they forgot. He said, Let
us pass over. Let us pass over." Listen, that
storm arose. But before they perish, before
they perish, He would have to perish. Before they go down,
He would have to go down. And that's not possible. He said,
let us pass over. And we're going to pass over.
They went through tribulation. Bless God, but by His grace,
they all come out. None perish in it. None are overcome
by it. Let us pass over. And in the
very next chapter, verse 1, Mark chapter 5, and they came over
unto the other side. Let us. Lord, I'm with You always. I'm with You always, even until
the end of the world. That night that He told His disciples,
I'm going away, and you can't come. where I'm going, you can't
come." And man, their hearts were broken. They thought, what
are we going to do? Where are we going to be without
him? He's going away. We don't understand it. Because
until He rose from the dead, the disciples did not understand
the purpose of His coming. They kept looking for Him to
set up an earthly kingdom. But He came to redeem His people
from their sins. He came to save all of His people
from all of their sins. They didn't understand that.
When he said, let us pass over, oh, they could never, never perish.
I'll go with you. I'll never leave you. I'll never
forsake you. I passed through a little church
for a couple of years when I was a young fellow in my 30s. Said, what you are afraid of? Okay, you're not far from it.
But one evening, I met a couple of my deacons. They said, Larry,
I think we ought to go out and visit in the neighborhood and
invite some folks to church. I said, sure, we can do that.
So one summer evening, I met them. We went around inviting
folks. And we came to one house. I started
up the sidewalk. There was no light in the house
on, but the door was open. I looked and my deacons had stopped.
I said, what's going on, fellas? They said, Larry, this guy that
lives in this house, he's the meanest guy in town. All he does
is sit in there and drink and get drunk and cuss and threaten
to kill anybody that comes up on his porch. You go ahead. We're
going to stay back here and pray for you. I said, say what? Yeah, you go ahead. We'll stay
back here and pray for you. The Lord said, I'm not going
to send you out alone. I'm with you. Let us pass over. And by the way, that man did
threaten to shoot me. And I said, He said, you got
no business on my porch. I said, you're exactly right.
Just let me backtrack out of here. Our Lord says, let us pass
over. When we read, they all came out
of great tribulation. This picture is almost like a
mirror, isn't it? Set in eternity. And we see the
reflection of our future glory. Beholding as a mirror our heavenly
glory and encouraged to look forward to that time when we
shall be changed. That's what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians
15, didn't he? We're not always going to be
this way. It's not always going to be this
way. I'm not always going to cry out,
oh wretched man that I am. One of these days soon, I'm going
to be Changed, changed forever, changed eternally, changed into
the image of the Lord of glory. I like what old John Bunyan wrote,
his Pilgrim's Progress. He wrote, then I saw in my dream
that on tomorrow he got up to go forward, that is Christian,
but they desired him to stay until the next day. And they
said, We will, if the day be clear, show you the delectable
mountains, which they said would further add to his comfort, because
they were nearer the desired haven than the place where at
present he was. So he consented to stay. When
the morning came, they took him to the top of the house and bid
him look south. So he did, and behold, at a great
distance he saw a most pleasant mountainous country, beautified
with woods and vineyards and fruits of all sorts, flowers
also with springs and fountains very delectable to behold. Then
he asked them the name of the country, and they said, Emmanuel's
land. Oh, we are going to Emmanuel's
land. When I can read my title clear,
the mansions in the skies, I'll bid farewell to every tear and
wipe my weeping eyes. Let cares like a wild deluge
come and storms of sorrow fall. May I but safely reach my home,
my God, my heaven, my all. there I shall bathe my weary
soul in seas of heavenly rest, and not a wave of trouble roll
across my peaceful breast." When I read, these are they which
came out of great tribulation, we really shouldn't be surprised,
should we? You remember when our Lord, right
before he was betrayed by Judas and arrested, saying, take me,
let my sheep go, he can't have his bow. But just before that,
he prayed in his high priestly prayer, Father, I will also that
those whom thou has given me be with me where I am that they
might behold my glory. Imagine that. Now that's the
will. That's the will of He who has
His way in the whirlwind, and the clouds are simply the dust
of His feet. That is the will of Him who sets
King forever. That is the will of Him who is
in the heavens doing whatsoever He hath pleased. That's the will
of the mighty God and the Prince of Peace. When He says, I will
this, I ask you, who's going to stop it? Who's going to prevent
it? When he says, I will that they
be with me again, I ask you, who's going to hold them back?
In chapter 4, John heard a voice saying, Come up hither. And John
was caught up, and he saw a throne set in heaven, one throne, and
one sat upon the throne. the ruler of this universe, our
sovereign God. He said, John, I'm going to show
you things that must be hereafter. Not might be hereafter, or maybe
they'll be hereafter. No, they must be hereafter. No question about it, Father,
I will that they be with me where I am. Isn't that astounding?
Jesus Christ wants this sinner to be with Him where He is. That is astounding. How can it
be? How can it be that He should
love a soul like me? Oh, how can it be? And yet, at
the same time, how comforting that He does, and how assuring
that He will. He surely thought so, didn't
he? He had no doubts about it, did
he? In John chapter 6, can you catch an inkling of supposition
or doubt in these words? All that the Father giveth me
might come to me." No, no, no, no, no, no. That's the gospel
of free will. That's not good news, no. The
Lord Jesus said, all that the Father giveth me shall come to
me. There's no doubt. They'll all
come to me. They're going to come down. That
hard rebel prodigal, son or daughter, if they're one of those given
to the Savior by the Father, they're going to come to Him.
They're going to hear His voice, and they're going to bow at His
feet, crying for mercy. I remember when I was a rebel,
hard-hearted rebel. I thought Christianity was for
old women and old men that didn't have nothing better to do. My
grandmother would tell me, Mary, you need Christ. What are you
talking about? What are you talking about? I
said, Grandma, I'm living enough. I'm partying. I'm into a good
life. I don't need Christ. And then
Christ came. Then he got a hold of this old
rebel's heart. And I knocked on my grandmother's
door at midnight, sat on her living room couch with the tears
coming down my cheeks like a baby. Grandma, what must I do to be
saved? I want to know Him. Oh, yes,
all that the Father giveth me shall come to me. He that cometh
unto me I will in no wise cast out John chapter 10 look what
he says here verse 9 I am the door by me if any man enter in
he shall be saved This same Jesus is able to save to the uttermost
all that come unto God by Him. We underestimate His power and
His grace. I mean, we see sinners and we
think, oh, there's no hope for him. As long as there's breath,
there's hope. There's not a rebel in this world
that the Lord Jesus Christ can't make, I said make, really, in
the day of His power. He can do it. Saul of Tarsus
and Saul hit the dirt, didn't they? Zacchaeus come down, and
so does everyone he calls by his grace. They shall be saved. Look at verse 16. Other sheep
I have, which are not of this fold, them also I'll try to bring. If they're willing, no, them
also I must bring. I must bring. They'll come. They'll
come. And they shall hear my voice,
and there shall be one foal and one shepherd. Does he sound doubtful? Verse 27, my sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me, and I give them their eternal
life, and they shall never perish, they shall never perish, neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand. Oh, again, hear him
say, Father, I will, that all those whom thou hast given me
be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory." He shall,
my righteous servant, shall justify many, for he shall bear their
iniquities. He shall see and prevail of his
soul and be satisfied. The Lord Jesus Christ, for the
joy that was set before Him and endured the cross, the joy of
bringing many sons to glory, the joy of saving His people,
the joy of presenting all of His sheep at the throne of His
Father, who entrusted them into His hands and saying, Father,
here they are, a multitude that none can number, here they are,
and I didn't lose one. Oh, glory to His name. They all came out on the other
side. Yes, Daniel went into the lions
then. But he came out, didn't he? The
three young Hebrews were cast into the fiery furnace, but they
all came out. David said, they all walked through
the valley. I'm not staying there. I'm walking through. I'm just
passing through. They came out. And my hurting
brother or sister in Christ, so will you. More than conquerors
through him that loved us. Look, if you will, in 2 Corinthians
for a moment. 2 Corinthians chapter 4. I love
how the apostles spoke. I know, under divine inspiration
of God's Holy Spirit, but they spoke so matter-of-factly, didn't
they? Like they believed God. Like
what God had promised He was able to perform. And look what
we read here in chapter 4, verse 16. For the witchcalls we faint
not, but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is
renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which
is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the things
which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not
seen are eternal. For we know, we know, God help
us to know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were
dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with
hands, eternal in the heavens. Daniel was exalted, the Hebrew
children were exalted, and so will every child of God be exalted. Paul wrote in Romans 8, we are
saved by hope. But hope that is seen is not
hope. For what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if
we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait
for it? Believers have a good hope, a
good hope. Millions in our religious day
have a false hope. But God's children have a good
hope through grace wrought in them by the Holy Spirit of God
and fixed upon certain eternal realities, things assuredly believed
among us. This hope is grounded on the
oath of God, I will be their God and they shall be my people.
The blood of the everlasting covenant of grace and the pledge
of the Holy Spirit, the earnest of our inheritance. This hope
is well supported by all the promises of God, the experience
of the Lord's people, and the glorious character of God. As
certain as the promise of God, the work of the Holy Spirit in
us, and the intercession of Jesus Christ for us, as certain as
Jesus Christ, our mighty God, can make it. These things must
be. They all came out. Revelation unveils Him who sits
upon the throne, who always has this way. all the time. He saideth, the psalmist said,
Psalm 29, the Lord saideth upon the flood, the Lord saideth,
King forever. Chapter 19 of this book, they
cast their crowd before the throne and say, hallelujah, the Lord
God omnipotent reigneth. Now a rebel don't like to hear
that. When they hear they're in the hands of Jesus Christ
and He can save them if He wills, it's all up to Him, isn't it,
Pastor? I mean, I know we naturally think it's up to us, and then
you've got these hucksters telling people it's not. It's your will
that will decide whether you're saved or not. Oh, no, no, no.
Father, You've given me power over all flesh. For me to give
eternal life to as many as you have given me, to hear, for a
rebel to hear that he's in the hands of a sovereign God makes
him uncomfortable. It should, it should. Oh, but
for a child of God, a believer, a struggling pilgrim, a stranger
in this world, to hear that his God's in the heavens, he's sovereign,
he's ruling, he's reigning, man, what a pillow for him to lay
his weary head on and just rest. Rest! My God is in the heavens. He's always in control. There's
nothing more comforting for a child of God than that. And that God
that rules is my Father. I'm a child of the King. Yes,
every believer will land on the other side by God's sovereign
grace and mercy. Because by His grace, all those
shall be with the Redeemer that were purchased with His own precious
blood. Listen to how Paul calculated
this. I like Paul's arithmetic. He said in Romans 8 and 18, "...for
I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed
in us." Paul compares present sufferings with future glory.
And believers are exposed to a lot of suffering, aren't they?
Some endure inward suffering. There's a young man in our church
that's 42 years old. He's not been there for a while.
He suffers and has for many years such mental turmoil in his mind. I can't identify with that. But
I talk to him two or three times a week. He's become so bad now
that he hardly ever comes to service. But we were talking
on the phone one day, and he had such dark forebodings of
mine, and he said, Larry, I wonder why my life's like this. Oh, it just broke my heart. I
said, I don't know. I don't know, dear brother, but
I know this. One of these days, God's going
to take it all away. And you won't have any troubling
thoughts again. It's all going to be cleared
up. And you'll thank God for the way He led you. Others suffer
in body. I know you have, you know, people,
many, many of us do. We all probably do, that don't
experience a day without pain, without physical suffering. Some
suffer financially. Some suffer reproach. Others
suffer in the family, domestic life. Boy, that's a tough one.
That's a tough one to bear. I mean, we like to think we can
take about anything this old world can dish out, but at home,
at home, I'll have some peace, have some quiet there, but when
there's turmoil, Turmoil there, American unbeliever, a rebel.
Man, that's tough. But whether from trouble in the
mind, sickness in the body, trials in business, persecution for
Christ's sake, or the home life, all suffer, and most believers
suffer much, but they all came out. Glory to His name. They
all came out. Jesus, on you our hope depends
to lead us on to your abode. Assured, our hope will make amends
for all the toil while on the road. Turn, if you will, to Isaiah
chapter 51. We'll wrap this up. Let me just
read one verse of Scripture to you. are with you. Isaiah chapter
51. Here we have another sweet promise
of our God who is able to bring to pass all that He purposed
and all that He promised. Isaiah chapter 51. Verse 11,
therefore, the redeemed of the Lord shall. That's another one
of those things that must be. The redeemed of the Lord shall
return and come with singing unto Zion, and everlasting joy
shall be upon their head. They shall obtain gladness and
joy, and sorrow and mourning shall flee away, and God shall
wipe every tear. from their eyes. If Jehovah is
your God, then all of his glorious attributes and perfections are
engaged and employed for your eternal welfare. His mercy will
supply all your needs. His power will conquer all your
foes. His wisdom will direct all your
ways. His justice will maintain your
cause. His infinite love and mercy will
be displayed in all His gracious dealings with you until we're
all gathered on the other side. Let me close by just reading
some verses of a poem. And when the weary traveler gains
the height of some overlooking hill, his heart revives if across
the plains he eyes his home, though distant still. While he
surveys the much-loved spot, he slights the space that lies
between. His past fatigues are now forgot,
because his journey's end is seen. Thus, when the Christian
pilgrim views by faith his mansion in the skies, the sight his fainting
strength renews, and wings his speed to reach the prize. The
thought of home his spirit cheers. No more he grieves for troubles
past, nor any future trial he fears, so he may safe arrive
at last. Tis there, he says, I am to dwell
with Jesus. in the realms of day. And so
shall we ever be with the Lord. What a description of heaven.
It's to be where He is, to be with Him. It is there, He says,
I am to dwell with Jesus in the realms of day. Then I shall bid
my cares farewell, and He shall wipe all my tears away. God bless you.