Well we come now to the second
vision which begins in chapter 4, the second of the seven visions,
and I've entitled this message, Come Up Hither, which you see
in the first verse of chapter four. We've seen in chapters
one to three the glorified Christ. He's been to this earth, he became
man, he's walked this earth, he's done all that was necessary
to redeem his people, to satisfy the law of God, that God might
be just and the justifier of those whose faith is in Christ
Jesus. He's been and done that and then he's ascended on high.
He's gone back to glory. And in chapters 1 to 3 we've
seen the glorified Christ, where He is now, where is He now? He's
in the midst of us. is in the midst of his churches.
He tells us that. Where two or three are gathered
together in his name, he is there in the midst. He tells us he
is here in the midst of his churches, speaking to his people by his
angels, the stars that are in his hand. Who are they? The end
of chapter 1 tells us. They're the pastors and teachers
that he's given. He gives ministry gifts, Ephesians
chapter 4. He gives gifts of ministry to
his church for this world. He put us in a wilderness world
He hasn't taken us out of this world, he's put us in a wilderness
world to keep us, and to feed us there. And how does he do
it? By the pastors and teachers that he's given to his church,
to teach the truth of the gospel of his grace. And in chapters
one to three, in those letters to the seven churches, which
were seven real churches, but which are symbolical of all the
church of God in all ages, there are words of praise for their
good things, there are words of rebuke, There are words of
warning, there are words of encouragement, and there are words of promise.
And we looked at that and tried to condense it all into one message
last Sunday. But there's a lot more on this,
and I would encourage you to read for yourself, to study for
yourself. There are messages that I preached
not much more than two years ago on each individual letter.
So this is giving us comfort for our souls in this wilderness
world. We're here for a while. The Lord
Jesus Christ, the night before he was crucified, He prayed to
his father, that great high priestly prayer of John chapter 17. And
he said, I don't pray that you take them, his people, the church,
us, out of this world, but that you keep them. Keep them from
the evil. Keep them there. And feed us
there. Revelation 12. The woman, which
represents the church, goes into a wilderness place prepared by
God for her. Does it seem like a wilderness
place where we are? Read those next few words. Prepared
by God for her. It's exactly where he's put us. Prepared by God for her. Why? To feed her there. He feeds his people in this wilderness
world. He feeds us with words of grace,
with the gospel of his grace. But why should we trust him?
Do you believe? Do you believe he's here? Why
should we trust him? Think about an earthly contract.
You know, you buy something. You buy a house, or you buy a
car, or you buy something that involves a contract. Why should
you trust that contract here and now? Well, you base your
trust on the reputation of the one making the contract, don't
you? When you buy something in other cultures, you're a lot
more wary. Oh, I wonder if it's okay, I wonder if their legal
system's going to uphold it if anything goes wrong. I wonder,
I wonder, I wonder. All sorts of doubts come in.
You rely on the reputation of the people making the contract.
You rely on the rule of law. Well, in the same way, why should
we believe God's word? Christ Via John, the Apostle,
gives us heavenly, eternal reasons to trust our God now, and that's
the vision of chapters four to seven. Gives us heavenly, eternal
reasons to trust our God now. And the assurance that we get,
the assurance that God's saints in this world get, comes from
that which God gives, which is a heavenly perspective. We see
things from a heavenly perspective, by his word, by his spirit. He
gives us a heavenly perspective of the things that we experience
here and now. You know how the same thing can
look different from a different angle? We were walking in the
Derbyshire Dales earlier, last week, in the middle of last week,
and we went for a walk that was, it was both beautiful and it
was also extremely precarious because there was one bit of
it that was absolutely treacherous, but we managed to negotiate it.
But when we were on the top of the valley sides, it was the
River Dove, You get one perspective. You're looking at this valley
and it looks a certain way. And then you descend, at great
danger to life, all the way down to the valley bottom. And when
you're walking along the valley bottom by the river, exactly
the same valley looks completely different. Looks completely different. And really, it's staggering.
It's just, well, it's like that with these heavenly things. You
see, heaven is not far from us. Paul says that to the Athenians
in Acts 17. He says, God is not far from
each one of us. Heaven is not far from each one
of us. He says in him we live and move and have our being.
The thief on the cross asked Christ to remember him when he
comes into his kingdom. Oh, some distant prospect. And
Jesus says to him, truly I say to you, this day The moment you
close your eyes in death now, you will be with me in paradise. Isn't that amazing? Can you understand? I can't understand that because
I'm so bound up in the realm of space and time. I struggle
to understand that. Jesus died and went into the
tomb for three, but he said to that thief, this day, you will
be with me in paradise. It's close. It's close. Heaven
is close, not far from us. The apostle Paul said this, To
be absent from the body, we all fear death, don't we? Oh, Hebrews,
two, man, through the fear of death, all his life, subject
to bondage, fear. But the apostle Paul said that
for the believer to be absent from the body is to be present
with the Lord. No purgatory in between. No state
of limbo in between. To be absent from the body is
to be present with the Lord. Okay, but how do you get in there
to see this? How do you get in there to get
this perspective? God's perspective on our situation
now. Look in verse one. After the
first vision, I looked. Remember, he's in the spirit
on the Lord's day. He's in the spirit. This is spiritual. These visions are spiritual.
They're absolutely rock solid real permanent, but they're spiritual.
I looked. And what did he say? Behold,
a door was opened in heaven, and the first voice which I heard
was as it were of a trumpet talking with me, which said, come up
hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter.
You know, when a trumpet speaks, Michael will know this, I don't
know how much trumpet he does these days, but Michael will
know this, and anybody that's listened to him will know this
as well. One of the hardest things, I think, playing a wind instrument
is playing it quietly. It's quite easy to play it loud,
as Christine and I knew when we were singing with an orchestra
locally, an amateur orchestra, and when you get the French horns
going, it's inclined to sound a little bit more like a traffic
jam in the Spanish street than it is anything nice and soft
and soothing. Very, very loud. This was a clear voice. A clear
voice spoke with him. Come up hither, through this
door in heaven. There's a door opened in heaven. to the Apostle John. And why
is he given this? Chapter 1 tells us. It's given
by Christ. God gave it to Christ who gave
it to John for his people to show his servants the things
which must be. There's a door opened in heaven
and that's so evocative of Ezekiel. You know, Ezekiel's full of weird
things. You read it, there's all sorts
of visions, but in Ezekiel chapter 1 and verse 1, heaven was opened
and he saw visions of God. Come in, is what's being said
to John. Who? Who's invited to come in? Everyone? No. only those who
come via the door. Only those who come via the door.
You cannot just breeze your way, you must come via the door. What's
the door? Who is the door? John chapter
10 and verse 9. Jesus said, I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he
shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. Is
that clear? Jesus said, I am the door. If
any man enter in by me, he shall be saved. No question. No may,
no possibility. Shall be saved. And he shall
not fail in that. He is the way, a few verses further
on. He said, I am the way, the truth,
and the life. John 14 verse 6. I am the way,
the truth, and the life. He is the way into the eternity
of God. He is the way into the realm
of God. Only by him. No man comes to
the Father but by me. Oh, all religions are equal and
we're all really worshipping the same God. No, we're not.
The scriptures are clear. This is my beloved son in whom
I am well pleased. Hear ye him. He is the way. You can't come except by him. Colossians tells us that he qualifies
us. He makes us meet to be partakers
of heavenly things. He qualifies us to come. How
does he qualify his people to come? By his justice satisfying
death and blood. His blood shed, his life poured
out, pays the price of the sins of his people. And when that
price is paid, the debt is cancelled. When that price is paid, justice
is satisfied. When the debt is paid and when
the lifeblood is poured out, the law has no more to demand
of his people, for Christ has paid it all. You can't come as
you are and decide if you like what you see, I'm agnostic, I'm
not sure. Let me come in and have a look
and if I think it's alright. No, you can only come by the
door. You can only come through Christ,
by faith. And through him, Ephesians 2.18,
through him we both have access. He's talking about Jews and Gentiles
coming together, there's only one way. He says through him
we both have access by one spirit unto the Father. And what is
it that qualifies us? Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter
10 verse 19. Let me read this to you. Having
therefore brethren boldness to enter into the holiest. Who dares
go in there? Who dares go into the holy presence
of a holy God? A sin-hating God? A God who is
a consuming fire? Who dares? We dare. having therefore,
brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest. How? By the blood
of Jesus. That's the way. By a new and
living way, which he has consecrated for us through the veil, that
is to say, his flesh. That's how we come, through the
blood of Jesus. That's the qualification, for
he has made us just before God, so we can come into his presence.
And coming to Him by faith, He saves us to the uttermost. Hebrews 7.25, saved to the uttermost,
those who come to God through the door, which is Christ. So
come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. in this age in which we live
because when John was writing it was more or less at the start
of this age I will show you things that must be these are the things
as they are now as we sit here in this room in Datchworth in
2015 this morning this is a view in heaven as to how things really
are those eternal things those things that are not seen with
physical eyes but are the permanent eternal things and he says verse
two And immediately, he came up, come up here then, in the
spirit, he comes up there. And immediately, I was in the
spirit, and behold, he starts to see things in this vision.
Remember, this is a vision, this is a spiritual vision. Don't
try and get too bound up in physical things, but it's a vision. It
has to be in language that is worldly in the sense of describing
different stones and seats and all that kind of thing, but it's
because human language in this space-time realm cannot get close
to what really is the situation. It's trying to show us these
spiritual realities. Immediately I was in the Spirit,
and this is what he was aware of. Behold, a throne set in heaven,
and one sat on the throne. A throne. The throne and the
sovereign. You know we say our Queen is
the sovereign of this country. She's the ruler. She's the one
who sits in that supreme position of government. I know practically
speaking she doesn't govern other than she's a constitutional monarch
in that sense. The executive of Parliament is
what makes the laws and she puts her seal to them. But nevertheless
as a symbol of power she sits there. It's what she denies to
others who might take that position that I think wherein lies that
sovereignty. But here we see in heaven a throne
and a sovereign. John sees this with spiritual
sight, a throne and a sovereign. And this is completely consistent
with the testimony of scripture. Let me take you back to Psalm
93. Psalm 93, let me read, it's only
five verses. This is David writing a thousand
years before Christ came. And I want you to ask the question,
is this consistent with what we're reading in Revelation 4?
The Lord reigneth. He is clothed with majesty. The
Lord is clothed with strength. Wherewith he hath girded himself.
The world also established that it cannot be moved. Thy throne
is established of old. Thou art from everlasting. The
floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their
voice, the floods lift up their waves. The Lord on high is mightier
than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of
the sea. Thy testimonies are very sure. Holiness becometh thine house,
O Lord, forever. You see, there's a picture there,
a thousand years before Christ came. of God reigning in heaven. Psalm 97 and verse 1, the Lord
reigneth, let the earth rejoice. Who's in control? The Lord reigneth,
let the earth rejoice, let the multitude of isles be glad. Are
you glad that God is on the throne of this universe? Yes. absolutely
as his people we're glad that he's on the throne of the universe
but let's look what it was like verse three and he that was he
that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone
and there was a rainbow round about the throne in sight like
unto an emerald so there are these stones around this throne
these gemstones these beautiful gemstones jasper is a sparkling
stone, a very sparkling stone. As the light catches it, it sparkles. It's speaking of the glorious
perfections of God. A God who is on the throne of
heaven, on the throne of the universe, is glorious in his
perfections. The sardine stone is blood red,
blood red, which is speaking of his justice. He is of purer
eyes than to behold iniquity. He is a just God. Oh yes, He's
a Savior, but He's a just God. And around about Him is a rainbow,
as it appears, like an emerald. A rainbow, like an emerald. The
emerald is green. The emerald is green. It speaks
of budding nature. You know that green of early
spring? We were commenting on the way here how beautiful the
trees are with their autumn colors. Yes, very beautiful. But that
lovely fresh green of spring, that emerald green of spring,
speaking of a new creation. And that's what this is speaking
of. A new creation. We know from the rest of the
book of Revelation. A new heavens and a new earth wherein dwells
righteousness. And the rainbow, what does the
rainbow speak of? Think back to Noah when the rainbow
was instituted after the flood. There hadn't been a rainbow before,
but now there's a rainbow. Whenever God puts his rainbow
in the sky, it reminds man that he will not again destroy the
whole world with a flood. And it's a symbol of covenant
grace and of mercy. there's a rainbow. Around this
one who is sparkling in perfection, who is sardine red, blood red
in justice and perfection, around that is a rainbow of covenant
mercy and grace. Speaking of a new kingdom, of
a new heaven and a new earth, not this earthly kingdom which
is corrupted by sin, where the prince of this world has corrupted
it, but a new one wherein dwells righteousness, and it speaks
of covenant mercy to his people. And then we see a roundabout
in verse 5, I'll come back to verse 4 in a moment, but we see
roundabout lightnings and thunderings and voices, and the lightning
speaks of the wrath of God, for God is angry with the wicked
every day, and it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands
of the living God, for our God is a consuming fire, lightnings. We don't, we don't come glibly
before the God of the universe. He's on the throne, and there
are lightnings, and there are thunderings, which speaks of
terror. For when there were thunderings
at Mount Sinai, when the presence of God came down on Mount Sinai
and there were thunderings, the people were terrified, terrified. But in the midst of the lightnings
and the thunderings, there are voices, voices, speaks of gentleness,
voices of mercy and of grace from this same terrible throne
of judgment. There are voices of mercy and
grace And out, look at the end of verse 5, before the throne,
seven lamps burning. What are these seven lamps? It's
the spirit of the living God. It's a picture, it's a vision
of the spirit of the living God sent from the Father and the
Son to minister, the comforter of which Jesus spoke in John
15 and 16. I will send the comforter to
you. And he comes, and seven means
perfection. He comes all places. Our Lord
Jesus Christ, as he walked this earth, was limited by space and
time. He put himself subject to it
for the purpose of redemption. He couldn't be in two places
at once. But the Holy Spirit comes, and we meet here, and
he's here in our midst, and Christ is here by his Spirit. And friends
meeting in other places know the presence of the living God.
His seven spirits, his perfect, comforting perfection, comes
out to his people, wherever they may be. And in front of the throne,
verse 6, before the throne, there was a sea of glass like unto
crystal. A sea of glass like unto crystal. In the Old Testament temple,
before the priests could go into the holy place to minister, there
was a great big brazen bowl, shiny, full of water in which
they were to wash. And that was symbolical of washing
in Christ's blood for cleansing before going in there. This sea
of glass pictures that. We come to that throne of God
through the cleansing of the blood of Christ. That is the
cleansing place. That's like the labor. Believer
This is for your comfort. Our God reigns. God is on the
throne of the universe. The Lord of all the earth who
must do that which is right is on the throne of the universe.
And he controls all things, so the Apostle Paul can say, we
know that all things work together for good to those who love God,
who are called according to his purpose. How do we know? Because
our God is in control of them all. So in this world of turmoil,
and of uncertainty, and of fragility of existence, because it is,
isn't it? Isn't our existence fragile? Isn't it easily broken? Isn't it easily taken away? In
that situation, God, God who is a consuming fire to those
on their own, is the friend of sinners in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Our God who is the friend of sinners in the Lord Jesus Christ,
this God rules supreme. He rules supreme. The world grasps
for comfort. You know, does it not amaze you?
I'm interested in science and the universe and the things that
we find and space exploration, but quite honestly, the world
grasps for comfort in finding water on Mars. What's that going
to do for anybody? earth does that do for anybody?
Apart from confirm to them, which is all they're trying to do it
for, that there is no God. That there is no God. That we
didn't need God for life to start. That's all it's for. We will
not have this man to rule over us. That's all it's for. God
inhabits eternity ruling over all things in this universe.
while they're scratching around with their spacecraft trying
to find water on Mars and get such, oh, there's going to be
such a party, oh, we found water, oh, brilliant, oh, wonderful,
oh, I'm going to sleep so much more soundly tonight because
I know there's water on Mars. Really? Oh, knowing that there's
water on Mars is going to make my cancer so much easier to deal
with. Really? Knowing that there's
water on Mars is going to make so many other things so much
better for my life. Really? Honestly, the straws
that fallen man clutches at in his fallen view of this world
and his unbelief of God. Our God inhabits eternity, ruling
over all things. For look at verse 11 of chapter
4. Thou art worthy, for thou hast created all things, and
for thy pleasure they are and were created. What is your paradigm
of life? You know, your starting point,
your framework of life. If it's like the majority of
the rest of the world, it's causeless, random, evolutionary materialism
and hopelessness. And philosophers who dig to the
root and the core of it, some of them go out and commit suicide
because they say, what's the point of living? There's no point
of living. And do you know something? Without
Christ, you're without hope in this world. everything they see,
you know, they say it all supports it and underpins it, it's because
what you start with, you make everything else fit to it. But
if as a believer you know who is in control, everything that
you see fits in with that, without any trouble at all. Look at verse 4. Round the throne
were four and twenty seats, and upon the seats I saw four and
twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment, and they had
on their heads crowns of gold. The four and twenty elders. This
is symbolical of the church of the redeemed, of God's people.
Why twenty-four? 12 patriarchs of the Old Testament,
12 apostles of the New Testament. Oh, weren't there 13 apostles
in them? No, there weren't. You know, Judas betrayed Christ,
they went and elected Matthias in his place, and do you know
what else we hear of Matthias in the rest of the New Testament?
A big zero. Nothing whatsoever. Because who
was God's replacement for Judas among the 12? It was the apostle
Paul. The apostle Paul. There were 12 New Testament apostles. and they symbolise the Church
of God's redeemed. Outside of time, in eternity,
he sees there the whole Church of God in symbol, sitting in
heavenly places. Is that not what Ephesians 2
verse 6 says? that God has raised us up together
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That's
where we are. Outside of time and space, we're
in eternity. We're those 24 elders around
the throne of God. We're there in heaven beholding
him. You see, in space and time we're here in this wilderness
world. But John's vision is of eternity outside of time. There
is the elect of God. Who is the elect of God? A multitude
which no man can number from every tribe and kindred. Those
chosen by God in Christ before the foundation of the world.
Clear as daylight. Boy, you need some scissors and
some cutting to take those truths out of this book. the elect of
God, the multitude, sanctified, not by what they do, but by what
He has done, set apart, justified in the blood of Christ, glorified,
clothed in white. What are they clothed in? Isaiah
61 verse 10, He's clothed me with the garments of salvation.
He's clothed me with them. He has put that robe on me, the
garments of salvation. We read that I made the righteousness
of God in him. All who believe in him are made
the righteousness of God in him, because he was made the sin of
his people in their place. Remember, the things which are
seen physically are only temporal. What we see around us now is
only for a time, and then it won't be seen anymore. Whereas
the unseen things 2 Corinthians 4, 18, are eternal. They're fixed, they're unchanging,
they're permanent, they're solid, they're reliable. That's the
position. We are seated in heavenly places,
in Christ. This is what John saw. Don't
be disturbed by what you see around you. That is eternal reality. Then, verse 5, verse six sorry and before the
throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal and in the
midst of the throne and round about the throne were four beasts
full of eyes before and behind and the first beast was like
a lion and the second beast like a calf and the third beast had
a face of a man and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle,
and the four beasts had each of them six wings about him,
and they were full of eyes within, and they rest not, day and night,
saying, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and
is, and is to come." There's lots of speculation about what
these four beasts represent in this vision of John. There was
a very similar vision given to Ezekiel, chapter 1, verses 5
to 14, we haven't got time to read it now. but it's visions
of the eternal kingdom of God. God's kingdom supplanting Satan's
kingdom, this world, the prince of this world, and all that's
happened because of the sin that he has brought in. You know like
seven is the number of perfection and ten is the number of completeness,
four is the number of creation. We read of the four winds and
of the four corners of the earth. I know it's not literally four
corners of the earth, but it's symbolical of creation, of that
which is physical. And it's saying it's all under
God's control. This is one interpretation. I think there's truth in this.
There is truth in this. The lion speaks of strength. If you went to Woburn Safari
Park, I don't think you'd be too keen to wander about outside
of your vehicle as you go through the lion enclosure, would you?
Because the lions are strong, aren't they? The boys know this.
The lions are strong. And then there's a calf. One's
got the face of a calf. Calf speaks of oxen. Oxen were
the beasts of burden, and they were the hard workers, and they
were diligent, and they worked, and they made things go. And
then there's the face of a man, and that speaks of intelligence
in the image of God. And then there's the face of
an eagle. The eagle is known for wisdom and swiftness. It's known for wisdom because
of the place where it builds its nest to protect its young,
high up out of the reach of anybody. It's known for swiftness because
of the way it flies from those great heights. These things are
all speaking of creation under the control of God. God is in
control of all creation and will replace this fallen one. which
is subverted by Satan, with a new heaven and a new earth. If you
were to jump forward to Revelation 21 and verse 1, in that vision
John sees the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven. A new heavens
and a new earth. And this is very comforting,
that God, although this realm now is defiled and subverted
by Satan and sin, that there's a new heavens and a new earth.
that God is in control of all things. That's a good interpretation,
but I tend to agree with Don Faulkner that there's something
more here. Will you look over to chapter 5 and verses 8 to
10? Chapter 5, verses 8 to 10. And
when he had taken the book, this is Christ, takes the book of
the purposes of God, the four beasts that we see, we're looking
at here in chapter 4, and the four and twenty elders fell down
before the Lamb, having every one of them, that is, the beasts
and the elders, and golden vials full of, everyone having harps,
and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of the
saints. And they sung, all of them, the beasts and the elders,
sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book,
and to open the seals thereof, for Thou was slain. and has redeemed
us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and
people and nation and has made us unto our God kings and priests
and we shall reign on the earth. There's something more here than
just creation. He's redeemed us unto God. And
the us is the four and twenty elders and the four beasts. They're
redeemed. These beasts are redeemed unto
God. The angels are not redeemed.
But the beasts are redeemed. Who are they? Yes, creation is
redeemed. If you read Romans 8, 19-22,
it talks about the creation groaning for the redemption, for the completion
of all things. The coming of a new heavens and
a new earth. But these beasts are with the elders, the church,
singing the song. They're singing the song of praise
to God. These are gospel preachers. You
know how God in Christ has in his hands the stars which are
his preachers to his churches? These beasts are gospel preachers.
Old Testament prophets, New Testament preachers. All in the midst of
the throne of God. They're in the midst of the throne
of God. They're doing God's bidding. Verse 9, when those beasts give
glory and honor and thanks to him that sat on the throne who
liveth forever. They're doing his bidding which
is to proclaim his glory. And how do you proclaim the glory
of God? How do you? How do you proclaim the glory
of God? Moses said to God, show me your
glory. This is what I want to see, and
God said this. There wasn't earthquake, wind,
fire, lightning, thunderings, all of those things that were
seen at Mount Sinai. No, there wasn't that. There was this.
I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have
compassion on whom I will have compassion. The greatest glory
of God is I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. And
the purpose of the four beasts is to proclaim that in the church,
amongst the church, to this fallen world, to call out his people
from this fallen world. They give honor and glory to
God by preaching the grace of God, which is in Christ alone.
And the picture still fits. The lion is bold in the face
of opposition. The calf is diligent in his work. There's no such thing as a lazy
man preacher. No. Not at all. Not at all. There's man there, the face of
a man, for empathy with fellow men. There's the eagle, which
is wise in Christ, for in Christ dwell all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge, and swift to do his bidding. These are the stars
in the hand of Christ in the midst of his churches. This is
vital in God's purpose to feed his church in its wilderness
sojourn, in the time here, in this world. And the beasts give
glory. The beasts give glory and the
elders, which represent the church, worship. What promotes true worship? Oh, a lovely big cathedral with
big, ornate stained glass windows and glorious, oh, uplifting music
that, oh, just thrills you, makes the hairs on the back of your
neck snap. That's not true worship. Not true worship. Where two or
three are gathered. in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, hearing the gospel of his grace proclaimed. That is
where God is truly worshipped. Thou art worthy When his people
know that he has been gracious, when his people know that he
who is holy, who dwells in unapproachable light, has been gracious to sinners
who in their flesh deserve nothing but death, when they know that
he has clothed them in the robes of righteousness, the garments
of salvation, they give glory to him. They worship him, they
cry, what is it to worship? They cry, worthy, oh Lord, thou
art worthy, that's worship, thou art worthy. What's the conclusion
of this? Believer, utterly distracted
by the things of this world, though you know that you are
in Christ, come up hither. and see things from God's eternal
perspective. Come! How do you come? Through
Christ alone, through the door. See who's in complete control.
Our God is in complete control. See the church of which you are
a member in Christ, if indeed you have trusted Christ. You
see it in its eternal abode. seated around the throne of God
in glory. See all of creation under his
control and heading for the triumphal replacement of Satan's kingdom
with his glorious kingdom, a new heavens and a new earth. And
bless God. forgiving the four beasts, the
preachers, to feed us in this space-time sojourn. I didn't
say anything about the wings. It's like Isaiah chapter 6, when
he saw the Lord, the vision of the Lord in the temple, and the
seraphim were there, and they had six wings. Two to hide their
faces, because the glory of God was so great. Two to cover their
feet in humility, symbols of hiding their humility before
him, and two with which to fly swiftly to do his bidding. It's
just more pictures of what God's true preachers do. What's the
conclusion of it all? I could think of no better way
than ending with this text. Philippians 4, verses 6 and 7. Be careful for nothing. or as
we might say in our more modern language, be anxious, be concerned,
be worried, be full of care for nothing. Why? In everything,
by prayer and supplication and thanksgiving, let your requests
be made known unto God. Why? Because what you've just
seen, where he is in glory, what he's doing, what he has power
to do, there's nothing to fear. There is nothing to be anxious
for, there's nothing to be careful for. Just pray to him, because
he's in control of all things. And the result? And the peace
of God, which passeth all understanding. Can you understand it? Can anybody
explain it? No. You know it when you've got
it. The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep
your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus as long as we're
here in this wilderness world. Amen.