by singing together hymn number
383 to the tune Strecathro 863, wherewith shall we approach the
Lord and bow before his throne by trusting in his faithful word
and plead in Christ alone. Hymn 383, tune Strecathro 863, you. His lips a-breathing, a-freshened
glow, And a happy, lowly smile. I trust in His faithfulness, and in Christ's salvation. The one, the one, just this one
moment. ? Our Jesus, where we meet ? ?
He liveth within us ? ? Evermore ? ? For us to win ? Show round, and show foundation's
way. May the light in Jesus' name
He repaired with every valiance in view, And every cry of thine. ? And let His name ? ? Glorify
me ? ? In the house of liberty ? ? And the home of the brave
? May they pray For all the hope
is there This is the day that Thou o'er us, to give His
children made. And all those of thee in pity
have praise, Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the Book of the Revelation and Chapter
20. Revelation chapter 20. And I saw an angel come down from
heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain
in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon,
that old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him
a thousand years and cast him into the bottomless pit and shut
him up and set a seal upon him that he should not deceive the
nations that he should deceive the nations no more till the
thousand years should be fulfilled and after that he must be loosed
a little season and I saw the thrones and they sat upon them
and judgment was given unto them And I saw the souls of them that
were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of
God, which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image,
neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their
hands. And they lived and reigned with
Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived
not again until the thousand years were finished. This is
the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath
part in the first resurrection. On such the second death hath
no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall
reign with him a thousand years. And when the thousand years are
expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall
go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters
of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle,
the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went
up on the breadth of the earth and compassed the camp of the
saints about. And the beloved city and fire
came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. And the devil
that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone.
where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented
day and night, forever and ever. And I saw a great white throne,
and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the
heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. And
I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, And the books
were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book
of life. And the dead were judged out
of those things which were written in the books according to their
works. And the sea gave up the dead
which were in it. And death and hell delivered
up the dead which were in them. And they were judged, every man,
according to their works. and death and hell were cast
into the lake of fire. This is the second death and
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast
into the lake of fire. May the Lord bless the reading
of his holy word grant unto us a spirit of real prayer. Holy Holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is an art, an art to come, we desire to bow before thy glorious
majesty. We desire a spirit of real prayer,
the grace of supplication, precious faith and repentance and godly
sorrow for sin, that we may right the approach unto thee. that
we may be enabled to touch the hem of Jesus' garment and to
draw from that precious virtue that is in him, the precious
virtue of his blood, of his glorious righteousness, that we may receive
it as our own, the precious blood of the Lamb that cleanses from
all sin. Oh, to know the sweet application
of that precious blood onto our souls, and to know, most gracious
Lord, what it is to be clothed upon with that glorious everlasting
robe of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And here this afternoon,
as we gather round thy word, we pray for the divine leading,
unction, power of the Holy Ghost. For, Lord, there can be no prophet
without the Holy Ghost, without His divine power, without His
heavenly unction, without His enlightening, without His quickening. Oh, we pray that we might know
that quickening power of the Holy Ghost and that we may truly
realise it is the Spirit that quickens the flesh. Prophet is nothing. For I know
that in me that is in my flesh there dwelleth no good thing.
O Lord God, we do pray that thou wouldst deliver us from our flesh.
That which I would, I do not. That which I would not, I do.
I find a law within my members that when I would do good, that
evil is present with me. And we solemnly realise, Lord,
that our flesh will always be our flesh. and it profiteth nothing
but we pray that we may be spiritually profited this afternoon and that
the eyes of our understanding may be opened and that thy word
may be opened that our hearts may be opened and that the power
that brings salvation may be exerted in the word that the
deaf ears may be unstopped and the blind eyes be made to see
and the tongue of the dumb to speak. Lord, hear us. We humbly pray thee. So we bow
before thee, O Lord, as poor, wretched, ruined sinners, and
we painfully feel it to be so. And we pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou would reveal the things of Jesus, that we may behold
the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. that
we may behold his glory, and his power, and his grace, and
his love, and his mercy, and that the love of God may be shed
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. Oh, do hear us, Lord. We humbly pray thee to have mercy
upon us. Show us thy ways and teach us
thy paths. We do humbly beseech thee. Show
me now thy ways, O Lord. Teach me thy paths. And as the
psalmist himself O Lord, please quicken me according to thy word. May thy word be a living word
in our hearts this afternoon. May it be a word to revive us
and to renew us. May it be a word to deliver those
that are bound and to bring them into liberty. To deliver those
that are in darkness and bring them into light. O gracious God,
we do pray that thou wouldst let thy work appear unto thy
servants and thy glory unto their children, that thou wouldst grant
that mighty signs and wonders may be seen among us. O Lord, do hear us, we pray thee,
and let us see thy goings in the sanctuary. Remember us for
good, we do humbly pray thee. We come, Lord, to the last service
of 2023. And soon, Lord, we shall come
to the last year of our lives, when we shall soar through tracks
unknown and see Thee on Thy judgment throne. Make us ready, O Lord,
for that great day. And now, my God, prepare my soul
for that great day. Wash me in Thy precious blood. Take all my sins away. Hear us,
O Lord, we humbly pray Thee, and lead us continually unto
the Lord Jesus Christ, and reveal the precious things of Christ
unto us. We thank Thee for the wonderful
glory of His person, and of His grace, of His love, and of His
mercy. And we thank Thee that He has
reconciled the church unto Thee. And we do pray that we may have
that realisation that we are in His Church, among His people. Oh, do be gracious, Lord, we
humbly pray Thee for Thy great namesake and show us the way
to life and lead us continually to Christ. We thank Thee for
the incarnation of the Son of God. We thank Thee for His holy
life as Jesus Christ here upon earth. We thank thee, O Lord,
that he lived under the law and fulfilled it and honoured it
and magnified it on behalf of his people. We thank thee that
he offered that holy life as a sin atoning sacrifice on the
cross of Calvary. I lay down my life for my friends,
O gracious God, What wonderful mercy there is in Jesus Christ. And we hang our all upon his
glorious person, his power, his love and his grace. The cross
of Calvary and the dealing with the sin of thy people and peace
through his blood as Jesus made the church's ever living head.
We thank thee for that peace that we have tasted and handled
and felt. in the glorious person of our
Lord Jesus Christ. We thank thee for that deliverance
from death and condemnation in the resurrection of Jesus from
the dead, who rose again for our justification. We thank thee,
most gracious Lord, that he is now ascended into heaven and
that we indeed have a great high priest, we have a friend before
the throne of God, we have an advocate with the Jesus Christ
the righteous, O most gracious Lord, continually lead us unto
him, continually speak to our hearts, we do humbly pray. We think of those wonderful words
of Jesus to poor sinners, come unto me all ye that labour and
are heavy laden and I will give you rest, take my yoke upon you
and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall
find rest for your souls. May we find that rest, that glorious
rest of faith. May we find that pearl of great
price, even our Lord Jesus Christ, and sell everything that we have
to obtain and to lay hold upon Enable us, O Lord, to lay aside
every weight of the sin that doth so easily beset us, and
that we might run with patience the race that is set before us,
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. O
most gracious Lord, help us to look to Him, who for the joy
that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is now set down at the right hand of the majesty on high,
he hath made a new and living way into the holy place. We pray that thou would remember
us as a church and as a congregation, and we pray that thou would prosper
us, and that thou would add unto us, and that we may see an ingathering,
and that there may be a spirit of real travail For as soon as
Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. Gracious God, let
us see thy work, thy power, thy glory in the gospel among us. O Lord, we do pray that thou
would grant in this coming year, it may indeed be a year of jubilee,
that when we shall see poor sinners delivered from sin and Satan's
power, and brought to living faith in Jesus Christ. We thank thee for what thou hast
done in bringing forth dear Lydia, and we pray that thou wouldst
bless her and be with her and undertake for her. We pray for
each one of our brethren and sisters in church fellowship.
Bless them indeed. We pray for the whole of our
congregation, all that thou wouldst work mightily, powerfully, and
that thou wast loose, loose the stammerer's tongue, to come and
tell to sinners round, what a dear saviour they have found, and
point to thy redeeming blood, and say, behold the way to God. Lord, we pray that the light
and truth and power of the gospel may shine into this village and
the surrounding villages and hamlets, that we may see in ingathering,
that thou wouldst bring our sons from far and our daughters from
the ends of the earth, do arise, O thou mighty God of grace, do
work mightily, powerfully and effectually for thy great name's
sake. Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst
graciously work mightily among us, Remember the little ones
and the children, we thank thee for them, we pray that thou wouldst
bless them indeed. Show them thy ways, put thy holy
fear in their hearts, and suffer those little children to come
unto thee. And forbid them not, for of such
is the kingdom of heaven. Except ye become as a little
child, ye shall in no wise enter the kingdom. how searching thy
words are, O Lord, to make me, Lord, a little child, right,
simple-hearted, meek, and mild, and loving to the end. We pray that thou wouldst remember
the young friends in all their concerns, that thou wouldst bless
them with that rich grace that is in Christ Jesus, that thou
wouldst open their hearts to receive thy word, that thy word
may become a lamp unto their feet and a light unto our path.
Gracious God, do hear us, we humbly pray thee. Do in thy precious
mercy guide and direct them in all matters, especially direct
them unto Jesus Christ. Bring them and draw them unto
thyself. We do humbly beseech thee that
they may be safely folded. And that we do pray, most gracious
Lord, that thou wouldst fulfill what we read of in the word,
other sheep have I which are not of this fold, them I must
bring, gracious God. Grant that it may be so, that
there may be an ingathering, a building up. And oh Lord, we
do pray that thou wouldst remember those of us in the evening time
of life journey, remember us, O Lord, with the favour that
Thou bearest unto Thy people and visitors with Thy great salvation. Remember dear Ina at home in
her old age and weakness and infirmity. We lovingly commend
her to Thee. Lord, remember each one. We do
humbly pray Thee for Thy great namesake. And we do pray that
Thou would guide us safely unto Thy heavenly kingdom. Remember
that those in the midst of the journey of life, we think of
parents with their responsibilities with their children, that thou
would indeed bless them, guide them, direct them, and grant
family worship, and grant that thy presence may be known and
felt in the home. The dear children may be given
the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom. that
do we humbly pray thee, remember the prodigals that have wandered,
stretch out thy almighty arm, cause them to return, how we
long to see those prodigals return, how we long to see thy work and
thy power and thy glory as thou usest to be in the sanctuary. O Lord of hosts, O God of Israel,
thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth, We do
humbly beseech thee, let thy hand be upon the man of thy right
hand, the Son of Man, whom thou madest strong for thyself, so
will not we go back from thee. O most gracious Lord, we do pray
that thou would remember all thy servants as they labour in
word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion. Remember our brethren,
the deacons, in their responsibilities. and yet send forth true labourers
into the harvest and that there may be that abundant blessing.
We think of our dear friend at East Peckham coming to the end
of his pastorate and that we pray for him that thou wouldst
bless him and his now in the evening time of life journey. Thou hast maintained him these
many years and we pray For our dear brother Mark, that thou
wouldst enable him as he goes forth as the minister there,
we pray that he may know thy blessing, thy favour, thy divine
guidance, we do humbly pray thee. Lord, do hear us, we pray. Remember
we do beseech of thee all the assemblies of thy people. Remember
our own group of churches and the charities to which we affiliate.
Give wisdom and guidance and direction unto those that have
responsibilities, the secretaries of the societies, the committees
as they gather, the editors of our magazines, Lord. Oh, do be
gracious and do return and do blow with the wind of the Spirit
and grant that there may be a reviving. Instead of a falling away, we
may see a building up. Instead of the closing of chapels,
we may see the building of chapels. instead of declension, that we
may see, O Lord, thy mighty power in the gospel, in in-gathering,
in rebuilding, in renewing. We pray for all the churches
of God up and down our land, wherever the gospel is preached
and wherever thy servants stand, pour forth thy Spirit, return
unto Jerusalem with mercies, and send a real true revival
renewing. Lord we we think in those years
gone by we've read the wonderful outpouring of thy spirit and
upon thy servants and the gathering in of precious souls and that
true conviction of sin, whole congregations weeping over their
sins and after them. Lord there's nothing too hard
for thee and now I said I will abundantly bless her provision
I will satisfy her poor with bread. O gracious God, do hear
us and do work mightily among us, and do let us see thy goings
in the sanctuary. Do come and touch one's lips
with a live coal from off the heavenly altar. We ask for Jesus
Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 1085, the tune is Saxby 409. Hence, vain intruding world
depart, no more allure nor vex my heart. Let every vanity be
gone, I would be peaceful and alone. hymn 1085, tune Saxby
409. O say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the
brave? ? In love shall be forevermore
? ? In love shall be forevermore ? ? And God is with us today ? ?
And God is with us today ? The land that I chose Please join with me in the sound
To empty souls and their gloom God only knows where we'll be
going, passing the passing time. ? Be this, my prayer ? ? My heavenly
air ? ? My deepest youth ? ? My fatherland ? ? My passion ? ? God rest ye merry, gentlemen
? ? By yon virgin ? ? Mother and child ? ? And light and hope ? ? And joy
he brought ? ? From heaven above ? ? O say can you see ? ? By
the dawn's early light ? greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention again to the book
of the Revelation and chapter 1 and read in verse 1 for our
text. The Revelation chapter 1 verse
1. The revelation of Jesus Christ
which God gave unto him to show unto his servants things which
must shortly come to pass and he sent and signified it by his
angel unto his servant John. It is really the first clause
of the verse that has rested with me, the revelation of Jesus
Christ which God gave unto him and we looked this morning at
this first chapter and we noticed also that the to understand rightly
the book of the Revelation, we must always bear in mind it's
the revelation of Jesus Christ. It's not a book that we're to
speculate on and because we want to see this, we want to see that.
And you know, whenever we search the Holy Scriptures, whenever
we read and pray over the Holy Scriptures, surely the one thing
that we need to look for is Jesus Christ, the glorious person,
power, love, grace, mercy of God in Jesus Christ. That is
what is so important, that is what is so fundamental. The Apostle says that you may
grow in grace and in the knowledge. The knowledge, how do we grow
in grace and in the knowledge? Well, it's when the Holy Spirit
opens the Word of God, when the Holy Spirit reveals the precious
things of Christ. when the Holy Spirit gives us
faith to behold Him in the Word and just who He is in this glorious
person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, manifest in the flesh,
or that the Lord would enable us to continue. Here we looked
very briefly at chapters two and three, and then also in chapter
four. and this afternoon I think we
need to go to chapter five because again we have the revelation
of Jesus Christ and this is what this book is all about and he
says I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne
a book written within and on the back side sealed with seven
seals and a strong angel proclaimed with a loud voice who is worthy
to open the book and to loose the seals there This book is
the eternal decrees of the eternal God written in this book. I believe it's the everlasting
covenant ordered in all things and sure it is the book of life. It's the book of life and it's
those decrees of what the Lord is going to do. You know friends
we spoke this morning of Jehovah and how we lives forever, that
how he's from everlasting to everlasting, the glorious self-existent
God, he is just as intimately acquainted with a thousand years
to come as he is with a thousand years that have passed. God lives
in one eternal now and he sees eternity The hymn writer says,
doesn't he, eternity with all its years stands present in his
view. God knows all things. Now, it
says concerning this book, this book of the eternal salvation
of the people of God, of the eternal covenant of grace, their
names are written in the book of life. And it says here, and
no man in heaven nor in earth, neither under the earth, was
able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much,
because there was no man found worthy to open and to read the
book, neither to look thereon. Now, we have here the revelation
of Jesus Christ in verse 5. And one of the elders saith unto
me, weep not behold the lion of the tribe of judah the root
of david hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven
seals thereof the lion of the tribe of judah you know christ
we see him here in the next verse, same revelation of Christ, I
beheld and lo in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts
and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb as it had been slain. So we have two revelations of
Christ here, one as a lion, one as a lamb. You know friends,
we couldn't get two creatures more diverse one from the other,
the helpless, hopeless lamb and the mighty bold lion. But you see, we see the two natures
that are in Christ here, the Son of God and the Son of Man. As the Son of God, as it's revealed
right the way through this book, he's almighty, he's eternal. He ever lives, he ever has and
he ever will. And it says here in the revelation
in that another revelation of him it says upon his thigh there
is a name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords he's the lion
of the tribe of Judah. He overcomes all the enemies
of the people of God. He came here to destroy the works
of the devil and that is what exactly he has done. He has destroyed
the works of the devil. He has destroyed death and him
that hath the power of death that is the devil. And Christ
has done that. The Almighty Son of God has done
that. He's destroyed the works of the
devil. But then how did he do it? As a Lamb. As a Lamb. Behold the Lamb of God which
taketh away the sin of the world. He's the almighty God, he speaks
with an almighty voice, and when he speaks, something is done.
And yet when he was here upon earth as a man, he was like a root out of dry ground.
He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He was. He gave himself into the hands
of his eternal Father, to live, to suffer, to bleed, to die as
the Lamb of God for the sins of His people. He became the
sin-bearer of His people. The Lion of the tribe of Judah,
my beloved friends, we see Him as the Lamb of God, as our Saviour,
as our Redeemer, as that One that stood in our room, place
and stead, but never forget He's the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
With heaven and earth at His command, He waits to answer prayer. He's the Almighty King. You see,
this is the revelation of Jesus Christ that we have here in Holy
Scripture. He says, Weep not, behold the
Lion of the tribe of Judah. Now, you might say, what is the
significance? Well, the tribe of Judah its standard or banner had lions
on it. It says in prophecy, doesn't
it, Judah is a lion's whelp and the lawgiver shall come from
between his feet. The lawgiver is Christ. It says
in that same blessing, until Shiloh come. That's the only
time in scripture that Christ is called Shiloh, until Shiloh
come. You might say, what does the
term Shiloh mean? What does the name mean? Because
the names to Jesus Christ are proper names. Shiloh means the
rescuer. He rescues his people from their
sins. He rescues them from the temptations
of Satan. And he does it as the Lion of
the tribe of Judah. We see this lion of the tribe
of Judah revealed in the Gospels when our Lord Jesus Christ, my
mind in particular, goes to Legion. He was full of devils, the poor
man. And those devils spoke to Christ. Our name is Legion for
we are many. The poor man was full of devils,
controlled by them. But there was a higher power,
the lion of the tribe of Judah. And when he commanded those devils
to depart from him, they pleaded with him. Notice they couldn't
do anything, but what he allowed them to do, he's the mighty lion
of the tribe of Judah. And the devils asked if they
could go into the swine. And it says, and forthwith he
gave them leave. Friends, they couldn't do anything
without his permission. He's the lion of the tribe of
Judah. all power is given unto me, these
are the words of Christ, all power is given unto me in heaven
and in earth. But you see here in the sixth
verse in chapter five, and I beheld and lo in the midst of the throne
and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders stood
a lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven
eyes, which are the seven spirits sent forth into all the earth.
The Holy Ghost sent forth into all the earth. And it says here
that the lamb, he has the seven eyes, the seven horns. Horns
represent power, eyes represent, he's all seeing eyes. But it says a lamb. And you think
of those beautiful types in the Old Testament and you think of
the Passover lamb and how the blood was taken of that lamb.
And it was painted on the side posts and lint was the door of
the children of Israel in Egypt. And they were to go inside and
to roast it with fire. And the Lord said that when the
destroying angel came through the land of Egypt that night,
where I see the blood, I will pass over you. Oh, what a revelation
of Jesus Christ. When I see the blood, the blood
of Jesus Christ, God's son, cleanseth us from all sin. When I see the
blood, I will pass over you. Now, Of course, the Lord's living
family desire to know the power of the blood of Christ. They
desire an experience, an application of the blood of Christ in their
own souls. But you know, the important thing
there in the Passover, it doesn't say when you see the blood. He said when I see the blood,
I will pass over. that precious blood of Jesus
Christ. It's a powerful blood. It's the
blood of the Lamb of God. It's the blood of the Lion of
the tribe of Judah. It's precious blood. It's of
eternal worth. It was the shed blood through
that glorious sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary. Now he says,
when I see the blood, One hymn writer, he says, speaking
of the blood, 12 Jordan's icy waves divide and land my soul
upon. It cleanses from all sin. What a wonderful, precious truth,
isn't it? And I beheld, and lo, in the
midst of the throne, and this is in heaven above, and of the
four beasts, and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb, as
it had been slain. The glorious, eternal Lamb of
God. the one glorious sacrifice that
has satisfied all the demands of divine justice, that has delivered
the people of God from the curse, from sin and Satan's power. The mighty lion of the tribe
of Judah has done this. He did it as a lamb, a lamb as
it had been slain. Every morning under the Levitical
dispensation, a lamb was sacrificed. pointing to the coming of Christ. John the Baptist with his disciples
and he saw Christ and he pointed to him and he said, behold the
Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Oh, my
beloved friend, this is where salvation is. This is where redemption
is. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus. No condemnation, why? Because
of his precious blood. because of his glorious righteousness.
That is where the child of God stands, in the blood and righteousness
of Christ. He's Jehovah Sidkenu, the Lord,
our righteousness. That is all our hope, that is
all our desire. Isn't that what you long for?
Isn't that what you long to feel, the power of the blood, to be
clothed upon with the everlasting robe of his righteousness? Because
you feel you're unrighteous, I know I said it just recently,
but recently I preached from that word for the first time
in John 6. It is the spirit that quickness,
the flesh, profiteth nothing. And you know friends, I've never
seen it so clearly before. Our spirit, quickened by the
Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost dwelling in the
heart. spiritual life in the soul quickens but our flesh remains
our flesh and always will do it will never be any better our
flesh will always be our flesh our flesh will always be sinful
there'll always be corruption and it's something that the living
child of God battles with but the deliverance from it the revelation
of Jesus Christ That's where you'll be delivered from this
body of sin and death, in the glorious person of our Lord Jesus
Christ. For I know, says the Apostle,
that in me that is in my flesh there dwelleth no good thing.
And you know, friends, something that we have to be constantly
taught, in our flesh dwelleth no good thing, but it's the life
of faith, the spirit of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. in
the Lamb of God slain from before the foundation of the world.
So here in heaven, and it's the revelation of Jesus Christ, the
Lamb in the midst of the throne, oh that the Lord would grant
that we may have clear views. And it says here, And he came,
as the Son of God came, and took the book out of the right hand
of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book,
the four beasts, the four and twenty elders, fell down before
the Lamb, having every one of them hearts and golden vials
full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung
a new song, saying, Thou art worthy. Who? The Lord Christ. Again, a revelation of Jesus
Christ. Thou art worthy to take the book
and to open the seals thereof, for Thou wast slain and hast
redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred and tongue
and people and nation, hast made us unto our God kings and priests,
and we shall reign on the earth. You see, look at this song of
adoration and thanksgiving. And I beheld and I heard the
voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and
the elders and the number of them was 10,000 times 10,000
and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice what a wonderful thing when that
is the case and worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive
power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory
and blessing and every creature that is which is in heaven and
on earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea and
all they that are in them heard I say in blessing and honour
and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne
and unto the lamb forever and ever. It makes me think of the
word we spoke of on Christmas morning and it speaks there unto
us a son is born the son of God unto us a child is given the
son of God manifest in the flesh and what does it say and he shall
reign forever and ever he shall reign forever and ever and the
same witness here blessing and honor and power be unto him that
sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb forever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders
fell down and worshipped him that liveth forever and ever. The revelation of Jesus Christ. Now, I want to pass on to chapter
six. And again, we have the revelation
of Jesus Christ. And I saw when the Lamb opened
one of the seals, and I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder,
and one of the four beasts saying, come and see. And I saw, and
behold, remember this is the bringing in of the New Testament. And this New Testament was to
be spread throughout all nations. no longer was it to be confined
to the Jewish people or the children of Israel it was to be to the
whole Israel of God of every nation kindred tongue and tribe
and people and I saw a white horse again this is a revelation
of Jesus Christ and behold a white horse and he that sat on him
had a bow and a crown was given unto him and he went forth conquering
and to conquer. You see the revelation of Christ
as he goes forth in the gospel sending his servants for all
the nations of the earth to preach the everlasting gospel unto poor
dying sinners. David he prays for this you know
what we have revealed here in Psalm 45 that David prays for the prosperity of Zion, he
prays that the Lord will go forth. He's praying to Christ. He says
in Psalm 45, thou art fairer than the children of man. This
is, again, a glorious revelation of Christ. Grace is poured into
thy lips, therefore God has blessed thee forever. Now listen to what
David prays. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh,
O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty, and in thy majesty
ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness,
and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. Thine arrows
are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies, whereby the people
fall under thee. Thy throne, O God, is for ever
and ever. The scepter of thy kingdom is
a right scepter. you see gird thy sword upon thy
thigh and I saw and behold a white horse and he that sat on him
had a bow and a crown was given unto him and he went forth conquering
and to conquer and he's still going forth to conquer and to
conquer and he'll be going forth right to the end of time because
what this reveals is how the Lord conquers in the hearts of
his people He finds the blackest and the vilest wretches upon
this earth, and he sends his spirit into their heart. He convicts
and convinces them of their sin. He shows them their lost estate,
and he shows them that Jesus is the way to God. Jesus is the
way to bliss. And he went forth, you see, and
he still is, conquering and to conquer. It's only he that can
do that. The preacher can't do it. He's anointed with the Spirit,
but it's only Christ that can truly conquer in the heart of
a sinner. It's only the Holy Ghost, by
His divine power, sent into the heart, that can reveal our lost
condition, that can give us spiritual light and life, and then reveal
unto us. We looked this morning at the
revelation in 1 Corinthians 2, that God has revealed them unto
us by His Spirit. And it goes on here in chapter 5,
chapter 6 rather, and it speaks of the various seals that were
opened of the book that was written. And it says, if we look here
in verse 10, or look at verse 9, because it speaks of the fifth
seal. I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain
for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice,
saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge
and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? White
robes were given unto every one of them, and it was said unto
them that they should rest yet for a little season. until their
fellow servants also and their brethren that should be killed
as they were should be fulfilled. And they beheld when he had opened
the sixth seal and lo there was a great earthquake and the sun
became black as sackcloth of hair and the moon became as blood
and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth. See when Christ
opens the seals even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs
when she is shaken of a mighty wind and the heaven departed
as a scroll when it is rolled together and every mountain and
island were moved out of their place and the kings of the earth
and the great men and the rich men and the chief captains and
the mighty men and every bondman and every free man hid themselves
in the dens in the rocks of the mountains and said to the mountains
and rocks fall on us and hide us from the face of him that
sits on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb for the great
day of his wrath is come and who shall be able to stand the
great day of his wrath is come And if we just turn to verse
14, chapter 14 rather, and verse 14, again we have the revelation
of Jesus Christ when he comes to judge the world in righteousness. And I looked and behold a white
cloud and upon the cloud one sat like unto the son of man
having on his head a golden crown, and his hand a sharp sickle.
And another angel came out of the temple crying with a loud
voice to him that sat on the cloud, thrust in thy sickle,
and reap, this is the grim reaper, and reap, for the time is come
for thee to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. Now this
first harvest, you'll notice, is a wheat harvest. And he that
sat on the cloud, thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the
earth was reaped. That's the church. The seed of
the word had been sown in their heart. It bore fruit in their
lives. And they were, we read, I think
it's in Job, about a shock of corn fully ripe. That is what
the child of God is, ripened, ready for eternity. And he reaps
the earth. Then it says here, another angel
came out of the temple which is in heaven he also having a
sharp sickle and another angel came out from the altar which
had power over fire and cried with a loud cry to him that had
the sharp sickle saying thrust in thy sharp sickle and gather
the clusters of the vine of the earth for her grapes are fully
ripe. Notice the difference there's
a wheat harvest there's a grape harvest The wheat harvest is
the harvest of the church, ripened and ready for eternal glory.
The great harvest is the harvest of the world. It's called the grapes of wrath.
And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth and gathered the
vine of the earth and cast it into the great winepress of the
wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden
without the city And blood came out of the winepress, even under
the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand six hundred years. And you know, in chapter 19 of
the Revelation, again, it's a revelation of Jesus Christ. And it says in verse 11, and I saw
heaven open, And behold, a white horse, and he that sat upon him,
this is the revelation of Jesus Christ, and he that sat upon
him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he's a judge
and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire,
and on his head were many crowns, and he had a name written that
no man knew but he himself, and he was clothed with a vesture
dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. You
just think of those lovely words in John, and the word was made
flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory
of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. He was
clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, and his name is called
the Word of God. And the armies which were in
heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen,
white and clean. Out of his mouth goes a sharp
sword, with it he should smite the nations and he shall rule
them with a rod of iron and he treadeth the winepress of the
fierceness and wrath of God almighty he hath on his on his vesture
and on his thigh a name written king of kings and lord of lords
with this glorious person Jesus Christ and It's a solemn thing,
my beloved friends, but Revelation, the book of the Revelation covers
the period of time from the first coming to the second coming of
Christ. And here we are reading of the second coming of Christ. And may the Lord awaken us. We go on into what we read together
in chapter 20. Again, it's the revelation of
Jesus Christ in verse 11. And I saw a great white throne
and him that sat on it, he that sits on it is Christ. It's the
eternal son of the eternal father, the judge of all the earth. And
him that sat on it from whose face the earth and the heaven
fled away. And there was found no place
for them. And I saw the dead small and gray. This is the day
of judgment. And I saw the dead, small and
great, stand before God, and the books were opened, and another
book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were
judged out of those things which were written in the books according
to their works. And the sea gave up the dead
which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which
were in them. And they were judged, every man,
according to their works. and death and hell were cast
into the lake of fire. This is the second death and
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast
into the lake of fire. Whenever I read this my mind
always tends to go to the prophecy of Isaiah and if I remember correctly
it's chapter 63 and there in chapter 63 we see another revelation
of Jesus Christ when he comes to judge the world. I've actually
heard this expounded as Christ when he comes to redeem his people
but I do not believe that that is a correct interpretation because
of the way it's written. Who is this that cometh from
Edom with dyed garments from Bosra? This that is glorious
in his apparel. This is Christ traveling the
greatness of his strength I that speak in righteousness mighty
to say, wherefore art thou red in thine apparel? I've heard
some interpret that as being his precious blood. My beloved
friends, it's the blood of his enemies. Wherefore art thou red
in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the
wine-fat? trodden the winepress alone of the people there was
none with me for I will tread them in mine anger and trample
them in my fury and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments
and I will stain all my raiment for the day of vengeance is in
my heart and the year of my redeemed is done and I looked and there
was none to help and I wondered there was none to uphold therefore
mine own arm brought salvation unto me and my fury he upheld
me. I will tread down the people
in mine anger and make them drunk in my fury and I will bring down
their strength to the earth. That's Christ when he comes to
judge the earth. He himself in Matthew chapter
25 speaks of that final judgment and it says all nations shall
be gathered before him when Christ comes and sits upon the throne
of all nations. Everybody will be there at the
day of judgment. And it speaks of two types of
people, and really friends there are only two types of people.
There's the Lord's people, chosen by the Father, redeemed by the
Son, sanctified by the Holy Ghost, brought to living vital saving
faith in Jesus Christ, and they become followers of the Lamb.
That's the Lord's people. And then, as it says in Matthew
25, it speaks of the sheep and the goats, it's the Lord's people
and the sheep. They shall be separated and stand
on his right hand, the place of honour. But the goats, they
shall go on the left hand. To the sheep he will say, come
ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from before the foundation of the world and to the goats on
his left hand he will say depart from me ye cursed into everlasting
fire prepared for the devil and his angels. You know friends
I often think of that verse of John Kent's How stands
the case, my soul with thee? For heaven are thy credentials
clear. Is Jesus' blood thine only plea? Is he thy great forerunner there? The revelation of Jesus Christ,
which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which
must shortly come to pass, and he sent and signified it, by
his angel unto his servant John. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together the
hymn number 698 to the tune Alpha 693. pause my soul and ask the question,
are thou ready to meet God? Am I made a real Christian, washed
in the Redeemer's blood? Have I union to the church's
living head? Hymn 698, tune alpha 693. ? Hear me voice ? ? That I may
obey your pressure ? ? For I shall never leave you alone ? ? To our churches give thanks ?
? Where our faith and life is buried
? ? Where our life of faith and prayer ? God's
been holy, death despairing, God's been on him all my care. Daily planting, Then things like
this do come in. In my home on Christ's east lake
Let him come where he thinks best. Thou, my soul, be not dismayed. He hath wronged his loving best. He will tear thee in the stridings
of His wrath. Love gives still a touch of stranger
To His precious Name and Blood. Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb
of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God,
Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of
God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb
of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of
God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of
God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb
of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of
God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb
of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb
of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God,
Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Now may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship
of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us each both now and
forevermore. Amen.