Turn with me to the book of Revelation
chapter 14. Revelation 14. I'd like to look at one verse this morning. Verse
14. Revelation 14. I have entitled this message,
The Lord of the Harvest. And we have a wonderful and glorious
account of this third revelation that was given to the Apostle
John in this fourteenth chapter. in verse 14, ìAnd I looked, and
behold, a white cloud. And upon the cloud one set like
unto the Son of Man, having on his head a golden crown, and
in his right hand a sharp sickle.î John says, ìAnd I looked, Now
this word looked is a word that carries more meaning than just
to see. It's a word that means to know,
to be aware, or to be sure. I looked. I was aware. I was sure. It's the same word
that's found in Romans 7, 18 where Paul says, For I know.
The same word. When John says, I looked, Paul
said, I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, there dwelleth
no good thing, for to will is present with me. But how to perform
that which is good, I find that not. And Paul said, I know this. I looked. I see. I'm aware. I'm convinced of. It's not something that I just
saw and kind of have a vague believer knows. John said, I
looked. Job 19.25, same word. When John says, I looked, Job
says, for I know, that is, to know by seeing. that my Redeemer
liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth."
I am convinced of that. There are some folks this morning
that are convinced. You are convinced because you
have seen it. You have seen it by faith. I
looked. There are some folks this morning
that are looking and seeing, and they are aware, and they
are rejoicing. They are thankful. Now, John
looked and what he saw was he saw the One who was the Lord
of the harvest. Now, the next few verses from
15 to 20 is going to speak of the harvest of the earth, the
harvest of the Lord. This is the Lord of the harvest. The next part will be the harvest
of the Lord. But John is looking He sees the
one who is to harvest. And even though the chapter that
follows, 15, 16, 17, it's an amazing thing how the book of
the Revelation is written. There's going to be some things
that we're going to look at after this part right here that's going
to take us back before the harvest. But this passage of Scripture
sets forth that the harvest is certain. It's as if, as John
was being told by the Spirit of God, what would happen. Like I'd be telling you a story,
Carl, and I'd say, now this is what's going to happen. Now,
you know, before I got here, this is, you know, and I'm sure
that in time there shall be, and it's this, Book is set forth,
set down and shown to be not in chronological order always. This is the certainty of the
harvest. So John sees Him. And there's
four things that John sees that I'd like to look at for just
a few moments that's revealed in this verse, this one verse,
four things that's set forth about the Lord of the harvest,
the one of whom we must deal. I was speaking with my mother
this morning, and she has a sister, my aunt. And my aunt is very
sick, and she makes no profession whatsoever. of having any concern
whatsoever. She was so excited because last
week she had gone to the doctor and they thought that she was gravely ill. They told her that
they suspected that she was going to have a terminal disease. And they released her. from the hospital and told her,
said, no, I think we've made a mistake. I think it's just
that you've got a little, you know, you're a little anemic.
She was so excited. Eighty years old. So excited
because they called her back. Told her, said, we're not so
sure now. And so my mother was telling
me this morning that she was very down and depressed. You know, I thought to myself,
yes, If you're anemic and you're excited
and you think that, you know, well, this may last a little
longer, I understand that, but we're all going to die. We're
going to stand before Almighty God. Here's the Lord of the harvest,
the One of whom we must deal. The first thing that I see, John
says, I looked and he says, and behold, a white cloud, a bright
cloud. It's an illuminated cloud. White is the word that's used
here. It's an illuminated cloud. This is the symbol that was set
forth when the Lord was guiding His people through the desert. Remember when they came out of
Egypt and there was a cloud A light, it was light to the children
of Israel, and darkness, the other side of the cloud was darkness
to the Egyptians. But the Scripture says that John
sees, behold, a white cloud. Turn with me to Matthew 24. Now,
the Lord Jesus Himself said something about His coming. Matthew 24, verse 29. He says, Matthew 24, 29, immediately
after the tribulation of those days. Now let me tell you what
is being set forth right here, and it's that Scripture that
we read in the book of Amos that says that there shall come a
time when there will be a famine. It's not a famine of meat and
bread, but it's going to be a famine of the hearing of the Word of
God. And I'm absolutely convinced
that we're in, to what extent, I don't know. But I am convinced
that we're in that period of time right here where there's
a famine. It's so few places that you can,
comparatively speaking, where you can hear the gospel of free
grace where the message never deviates. I was telling Glenda
this morning before we came up here, I said, you know, you think
of the word the gospel. The word gospel is good news. Now this is how you know whether
you're hearing the gospel. Is the message that you're hearing
consistent with these scriptures that sets forth what Almighty
God has done for a people, Bob, that He's everlastingly loved,
that He's done for them in spite of them. Good news. What God
has done, that's the gospel. That's the setting forth. Not
what you can do, but what He's done for you. Scripture says
immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun
be darkened, the moon shall not give her light, the stars shall
fall from the heavens, the powers of the heavens, shall be shaken."
I believe that that is symbolic language that speaks of the Son
of Righteousness not setting forth Himself as He had previously. Then shall appear the sign of
the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of
the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in
the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. John said, I
looked and I saw, behold, a white cloud. The Lord says this is
the way that He shall come. You know, the Scripture sets
forth in Acts 111 that He ascended in a cloud. And the Scripture
says that the two that were standing there as the apostles watched
Him ascend into heaven, into the cloud. The clouds received
Him. And they said this same Jesus, which is taken up from
you into heaven shall so come in like manner if you have seen
Him go." The clouds received Him and the clouds is what the
Scripture says. This cloud represents, remember
this book is setting forth a vision that John sees and the cloud
here represents His presence, His dignity, His throne, His
honor. At the Lord's Transfiguration. Remember when Peter, James, and
John went up with Him up on the mountain, and there He was. And
the Scripture says that while in Luke 9, 34-35, while He thus
spake, there came a cloud and overshadowed them, and they feared
as they entered into the cloud. And there came a voice out of
the cloud saying, This is My beloved Son. Hear Him. This cloud represents the presence,
the honor, the dignity. This cloud is white, setting
forth the purity and the holiness of His throne. The throne of
God's making, not a throne of man's making. This is God's making. Turn to Isaiah. Isaiah chapter
19. Isaiah 19 and verse 1. Isaiah 19, 1. The burden of Egypt. Egypt, you know, represents. It's a country that represents
the bondage. Remember when the children of
Israel were in bondage in Egypt? Egypt represents the bondage. Behold, here's the bondage of
Egypt. Behold, the Lord rideth upon
a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt, and the idols of
Egypt shall be moved at His presence, and the heart of Egypt shall
melt in the midst of it." This cloud represents the presence,
the honor, the dignity of the Lord Jesus Christ that shall
deal with and judge all unrighteousness and bondage In that day all men
shall see His glorious justice." And the cloud that John sees
right here indicates that in that day when the Lord comes,
when the Lord returns to harvest the earth, and Lord willing,
the next time we look at this, we're going to see in those last
verses, 15 to 20, the righteous and the unrighteous shall all
be harvested. And in that moment, in the twinkling
of an eye, before you know it, before you realize it, it's just
over. You have no time to think, no
time to react, nothing. It's done. The swift cloud. And in that day, none shall be
heard except those for whom the Lord Jesus Christ the incense
of His mediation speaks. Lamentations. Let me just read
this to you. Lamentations 3, 42 to 44 says
this, We have transgressed and rebelled. Thou hast not pardoned. Thou hast covered with anger
and pursued us. Thou hast slain. Thou hast not
pitied. Thou hast covered Thyself with
a cloud so that no prayer can pass through." That means nothing
is going to be heard. Nothing is going to enter except
that which the Lord Jesus Christ says, the Beloved Son. So this cloud that John sees,
this is the first thing. that I see of the Lord of the
harvest. He's holy. He's just. He's swift. He's right. He's the Lord. This is a glorious
harvest. Secondly, the thing that I know
that John reveals here in this vision is that the Lord of the
harvest is Jesus Christ Himself. John says, "...I looked, and
behold, a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the
Son of Man." Sitting is what it says. Resting. Finished has been His work on
this earth. And now the glorious Messiah
is seen as the great High Priest and Judge of this earth. Here is the one to whom all authority
has been given. John said, I looked in a white
cloud, and the one that sat on that cloud was likened to the
Son of Man. The Lord said in John 5, 22 and
23, For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment
unto the Son. All men should honor the Son
even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not." He that
doesn't prize, that doesn't revere. He that doesn't value the Son
as He is revealed in this book, in the Scriptures itself. He
that doesn't revere Him. Honor is not the Father. That's Senate. And the judge
of the wicked is going to be seen to be the Savior of the
sheep. He judgeth all men. A judge stands
on the bench. And you know, a man might be
innocent. He comes before that judge to
have all the evidence judged. And the judge makes the judgment. If all the evidence shows that
man to be right and innocent, that judge declares him justified. No record here, no indication
here that this person is guilty. But the wicked, the evidence
showing him to be wicked, that judge is going to judge righteously
and he is going to say, condemn. And the Scripture says, the Lord
says that the Father is not going to judge, the Son judges. Because
the Father has committed all judgment unto Him. So here comes,
John says, a white cloud and upon Him one sat like the Son
of Man, the Son of Man sitting in judgment. The Son Himself. Son of Man, Son of God. Perfect
Man. Glorious God, the Lord of all,
the Beloved of the Father, the One who bears in His head from
the crown of thorns that was upon Him, in His hands where
the nails pierced Him, in His side, in His feet those scars
that are the scars of the sheep's redemption will be the wicked's
judgment. And those scars will either plead
for mercy or they shall plead for wrath. But this one that
comes on this white cloud is the judge. He's the Lord of the
harvest. And the character of this one
that John saw sitting upon that white cloud, this is what he
says. Here's the third thing. The third thing. It says he had it on his head
of golden crown. The Lord of the harvest who is
the judge of this world, the Son of Man Himself is the King
of kings. He is the Lord. He is the boss. I have heard Brother Scott say
He is the one running this show. That is who He is. God Himself. It says that John saw The one
sitting upon the cloud, like the Son of Man, He had on His
head a golden crown." Now this word, crown, is the same word
that is victor's prize. The prize of the victor. The
crown. Like the games that they would
have. You know what I'm talking about. It was like a wreath that
went around. It was the victor's crown. The
one who was victorious. It's the symbol of triumph. There would be kings that would
sit upon the throne because of their lineage. You know, it was
a young child, a young boy, a kid per se. And because he was the
lineage of his father, you know, they'd put a crown. This crown
here is the word that sets forth the victor. the one that earned
it, the boss, the triumpher, the symbol, the token of distinguished
honor. It is the emblem of life and
reward and glory. Psalm 98-1 says this, Oh, sing
unto the Lord a new song, for He hath done marvelous things,
His right hand and His holy arm had gotten Him the victory. Now listen, when John saw this
One sitting upon this cloud, he was likened to the Son of
Man, the Messiah Himself, the God-Man. And He had on His head
a golden crown, the victor's crown. The crown of triumph. And when David said he's done
some marvelous things, sing unto the Lord a new song. You remember,
we read about that. It said those that sang, they
sang a new song. And the only ones that could
learn to sing, that knew the song, were the elect. Those that had been brought,
who had washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb. He's
done some marvelous things. Now let me just mention a few
of the marvelous things that He's done. He stood before the
foundation of the world. He stood as our eternal surety. Now you just stop for a moment
and think about that. The Father chose a people in
the Son The One who would answer for them. The One who would be
their plea. The One who would answer for
all that was demanded of the Father. He's done some marvelous
things. Eternally our surety. Here's the second thing, the
marvelous thing He's done. He obeyed as our eternal representative. before the law of God. He came
into this world. And you just stop, you that believe,
you just stop and just think right now. He came into this
world and walked before Almighty God as the representative of
all of God's sheep. And as He walked through this
earth, And everything that he did, everything he thought, everything
he said in word and thought and deed, he obeyed God. To this extent, as the sheep's
representative, he walked before God as Carl Born. Carl Born, Scott Richardson.
Bye. walked before Almighty God perfectly
as their representative. In Him, the Father considered
only Him and all in Him as obedient. That's a marvelous thing. I'll tell you what else He's
done. as our substitute being made
a curse for all that the Father gave Him from the foundation
of the world. There at Calvary, now I can't
even imagine, you know, answering for my own debt. I lose the thought here. But
if I had to answer for you and me, if I had to answer for everything
that you've Mitch, everything that you thought, everything
you said, I thought, man, I've got more than I can handle myself.
But the answer for you and you and you and you, how can that? Here's a marvelous thing. He
died under the wrath of Almighty God and drank the dregs dry. for all that the Father gave
Him. That's a marvelous thing. He's
done some marvelous things. Here, John says, I saw like unto
the Son of Man having on His head a victor's crown. The crown of victory. He's done some marvelous things.
Let me tell you what else He's done. He, after living perfectly,
under the scrutinizing eye of Almighty God and the law watched
it, the law that deviates in no wise, one jot off top dead
center, one tittle out of place, guilty. Here he lived and died and was
buried Justly with all of His people, buried with Him. And then you know what He did?
He raised Himself up. That's what He said. He said,
I have power to lay down my life and I have power to take it back.
That's a marvelous thing. Raised Himself as our justification
before Almighty God. And when He came out of that
grave, All for whom He died and was buried came out with Him. Never to fear the second death.
Justified. I'll tell you what else He does.
He sits on the right hand of the Father as the author and
finisher of our faith. And He ever liveth to make intercession
for us, pleading His own merit The Father that sees him loves
him. Sing unto the Lord a new song.
David said, He's done some marvelous things. His right hand, His holy
arm has gotten him the victory. Turn over to Revelation 15. Well,
we're right there. If you look, you'll look at the
same page probably. Revelation 15, 1-3, I saw another sign in
heaven, great and marvelous. seven angels, having the seven
last plagues, for in them is filled up the wrath of God. And
I saw as it were a sea of glass mingle with fire, and them that
had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and
over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea
of glass, having the harps of God, and they sing the song of
Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,
Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty. Just and true
are Thy ways, Thou King of Saints." John says, I saw in on His head
a golden crown. The Son of Man came into this
world and at the time of His death, He wore a crown of thorns,
a symbol of His suffering and His humiliation But now, here
He is wearing a golden crown, a crown that sets forth His victory
in the redemption of His elect, the triumph of His great conflict,
which He verbalized when He Himself said in the Garden of Gethsemane,
in Matthew 26, verse 38, He says, Listen, I don't know anything
about this kind of battle, but I can tell you this. He was victorious. I know that. But he said, My
soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death. He told his disciples,
Tarry ye here and watch with me. But they couldn't enter into
the battle with him. Oh, but he was victorious. Never
was there a doubt of His victory, the mighty God, the everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace. The Scripture says when the angel
announced at His birth, you should call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people. And the one
that wears the golden crown is the one that does as He will.
and the armies of heaven among the inhabitants of the earth."
Now, there's peace and joy and there's comfort in realizing
that when the redeemed shall see Him, by now we see Him by
faith. We see Him through a glass darkly.
But I'll tell you, you that believe, you rejoice right now. You enter
into exactly what John is saying right here. You see Him coming
as He sits on the throne of His justice and His rightness, sitting
as the Messiah, God's anointed, the Savior of His people, wearing
a crown of glory, a golden crown. And the fourth thing that John
saw, he says, and in his hand, a sharp sickle. His sharp sickle was a gathering
hook, a fit symbol of the sword of His justice and righteousness. Here we are told of the surety
of the harvest of this earth. Almighty God shall surely in
that day, a day that just approaches, Every second that goes by is closer to that time that He
Himself shall absolutely gather all to Himself to be judged. And how sweet verse 13 that we
just looked at last week becomes to the believer when John says, write, Blessed are the dead which
die in the Lord. Henceforth, yea, saith the Spirit,
that they may rest from their labors, and their works do follow
them." Their work of faith. Labor of love. Blessed. This sickle that John saw reveals
that the Lord of the harvest, He is going to finish the work.
It's a sure thing. And this work is going to be
swift, it's going to be discriminating, and it's going to be decisive.
He's going to gather. This is the completion of the
work of the sower in this world. Turn to Matthew 13. Matthew 13, the Lord had given
a parable. The disciples heard that parable
and they wanted to get an understanding of it. It was the parable of
the sower. And the Lord in Matthew 13 verse
37 says, He answered and said unto
them, He that soweth the good seeds is son of man. The field
is the world, the good seed of the children of the kingdom,
but the tares, are the children of the wicked one. The enemy
that sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the
world, and the reapers are the angels. And therefore the tares
are gathered and burned in the fire, and so shall it be in the
end of this world. The Son of Man shall send forth
His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things
that offend, and them which do iniquity and shall cast them
into a furnace of fire, and there shall be wailing and gnashing
of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the
kingdom of their Father, who hath ears to hear. Let him hear."
When all things are brought forth to their full maturity, then
the end is come. The Lord said in Mark 4.29, when
the fruit is brought forth immediately. He put forth a sickle because
the harvest is come. This is the one of whom we must
all deal in mercy and wrath. And you know who is the discriminator?
The Lord Himself. God Almighty. In this great harvest,
the Lord is going to be glorified in mercy and in justice. He is going to do right. Romans
9, 27, 28 says, Isaiah also crieth concerning Israel, though the
number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a
remnant shall be saved. For he will finish the work and
cut it short in righteousness because a short or a speedy work
will the Lord make upon this earth. This One of whom we must
deal, He is the just God. He does that which is right. He is right. John said, And I
knew, I knew, I know that man by nature makes light of this
thing. I know that we're passing through
this world. When Glenn and I were coming
back, leaving Franklin yesterday morning, we were talking about, we were
passing through Nashville. Thriving City. It's making mention
of the stadium there. And I told him, I said, you know,
I said, God's been pleased to raise up a little flock, a little
remnant of people. It's meeting out right out of
town, a little place called College Grove. like Katy, just a little small
place there. And I said, I want you to look
around at all this stuff here, this city, big thriving city. But there's, within that city,
some of the folks that attend and worship at that little church
come into this city and they work. God meets their needs and
supplies for them. And I said, I know that to the
world, man thinks that this is the most foolish statement that
anybody could ever make, but I'm telling you, this is so.
Almighty God, and raise up a Nashville, Tennessee, and maintain it for
years and years and years and years, because in time he'd be
pleased to raise up, because he has a flock, a little flock,
just a little group of people, a remnant, just a remnant, just
as far as this is concerned, just that which is left over,
a remnant according to grace and mercy, and maintain this
huge edifice and set all kinds of wonderful and costly things
for the elect's sake. All of these things shall be
brought to light. He raises up nations for His
people's sake to bring honor and glory to Himself. This is the God of whom we deal. This is the sovereign God. John
said, I looked and I saw a white cloud. And Him that sat on that
cloud was likened to the Son of Man. And He had a golden crown
on His head. And He had a sickle in His hand. This is God. This is sovereign
God. This is the God that to His people
they thankfully worship. And they're appreciative. And
in that day, in that day, they'll know then how appreciative they
are.