Chapter 14 of the, you know,
a lot of people say the book of Revelations, and that's not
right. It's the revelation. It's one
revelation about the blessed God and Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now, I've just realized that
I don't have a title to this message, but I'm sure that we
can come up with one. And we'll find one here somewhere.
But in John chapter 14, John in this vision, he's on
this island. I don't think it's a deserted
island. I think it's kind of like the
Alcatraz of our day. And this island was called Patmos. And they put all the outcast
that the outcast had cast out on this island. And John is there
for one reason. John is cast out for one reason,
because of the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. He says that
in chapter one, because of the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. And John received this glorious
vision. And needless to say, we know
the vision is all about the blessed Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. I think I've mentioned this before,
but if you would just look at the references to these 22 chapters
to the Lamb, to the Lamb, to the Lamb, 26 times, it talks
about the Lamb. And did you notice that in this
revelation, the Lord Jesus Christ is magnified in the character
of His redeeming blood, the lamb that was slain, the lamb that
was slain, God's sacrifice for sin. Now, John here in this vision,
having just gone through this, what was revealed in chapter
13, a vision of terrible woes upon the earth, the beast that
came out of the sea and the beast that arose out of the earth,
a vision of terrible woe that was upon the earth. Now in chapter
14, John turns his eyes heavenly, heavenward, to the vision above
and sees the Lord Jesus Christ in this vision, magnified and
glorified. Notice verse 1, I looked, I looked
and I looked, And I looked, what a look, what a look. You know,
saving faith has an object. Saving faith does not look inwardly. Saving faith looks outwardly. Saving faith looks to the Lamb. John said, I looked, I looked. You remember in Revelation, or
rather Hebrews chapter 12, looking unto Jesus, who's the author
and finisher of our faith? We continually, by faith, look
unto him, coming unto him, looking unto him. John said here, and
I looked, I looked. Now, what a sight. I looked,
I looked, and lo, and lo, behold, he says, a lamb, and we know
this is the lamb, the lamb of God, the lamb of God, stood on
mountainside, and with him, with the lamb, 144,000 having his father's name written
in their forehead. Now, John, as he sees this heavenly
vision and of the Lamb that had been slain, sees the Lord Jesus
Christ enthroned, doesn't he? around the throne, on the throne.
He sees the Lord Jesus Christ enthroned. And here's the amazing
thing to me. The Lamb stood and with Him a
number of sinners glorified with Christ Jesus. We see the Lamb
upon the throne as always ruling and reigning with all authority
and all power. The Lamb upon the throne. who
was worthy to receive all worship, power, and glory. Now back in
chapter 13, Satan and his many ministers who parade as ministers
of righteousness and angels of light tried to deceive God's
elect and to destroy God's elect. But we see here in verse one
that with the Lord Jesus Christ, those given to him all stand
with him. Not one soul of God the elect
will be lost. All 144,000 stand with the Lord
Jesus Christ. Our Lord said in John chapter
six, remember, All that the Father hath given to me, they will come
to me, and I will in no wise cast them out. For I came down
from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him that
sent me. And this is the will of Him that sent me. If everyone
would see it, the Son, and believe it on Him, I'll raise Him up
at the last day. Not one sheep of Christ will
be missing. Not one sheep of Christ. He came to seek and to save His
sheep, and my friend, He got it done. He got it done. Make no mistake. Now, the first
thing John beholds is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lamb. The Lamb. The Lamb. Now, hold
your place there. Let me show you something here.
Turn back to John chapter 1. You know the first message that
John the Apostle heard from the lips of God's servant, John the
Baptist, you know what it was? Behold the Lamb of God. Look what it says down here in
John chapter 1, verse 35. Well, let's look at verse 29,
too. The next day John seeth Jesus. Now, this is John the
Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, coming unto him, and he saith,
Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away, or beareth away
the sin, the sin of the world. Now that doesn't mean all the
sin of all men, but it does mean the sin of God's covenant people
in this world. And it is the world of God's
elect, but notice verse 35. And again, the next day, John
stood and two of his disciples, Two of the disciples were Andrew,
we know as one, and most believe the other was John. The same
one we're reading about who was cast out on this isle of Patmos. And looking upon Jesus as he
walked, John the Baptist had the same message. Behold the
Lamb of God. Now he didn't change his message.
Did he need to? No. We have one message. That's
Christ the Lamb. Christ and Him crucified. And
the two disciples heard Him speak and they followed the Lord Jesus
Christ. And one of them we know was Andrew,
Simon Peter's brother. And the other, most of the old
writers believe it was John the Apostle. Now look back in Revelation
14. Now here's the point. The first message that John heard
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ was about the lamb that takes
away sin. Now, many years later, I don't
know how many, but many years later, John's an old man. No
doubt bent, stooped, white-headed. deserted and hated of men. Our
Lord said, if this world hates you, you know that it hated me
before it hated you. John was hated and despised for
the gospel and cast out. But he again beholds the Lamb
of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now here's my point. Here's my
point. This sight of seeing the Lord
Jesus Christ as our only sacrifice for sin, effectually putting
away our sin, this sight of the Lamb of God, His person, His
work, never grows old. The first message John heard
was about the Lamb. Now he's an old man about to
die soon, and he is still beholding the Lamb. Now think about this. Where's John right now? Where's
John right now? His body's in the ground somewhere,
but John's not there. What's John doing? He's seeing
the fulfillment of what he's seeing in this vision, isn't
he? To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Lamb. He's beholding the Lamb. Now,
we read in Revelation 5 a moment ago The Lord Jesus is known as
the Lion of the tribe of Judah, root of David, and the Lamb. This is the Lamb who is the Lion,
and the Lion who is the Lamb. That's an amazing thing, isn't
it? God who is King of kings and
Lord of lords. God was manifest in the flesh. God took upon himself a body. God took upon himself a body
and died in our stead as our sacrifice for sin. The lion and
the lamb, redeeming us, ruling and reigning over us. Now notice
this. There's no approaching God Almighty. He dwells in a light to which
no man can approach. There's no approaching God Almighty
apart from this sacrificial lamb. Apart from a suitable priest,
who has a suitable sacrifice, who is anointed to present that
sacrifice unto God. And that is none other than who?
the Lord Jesus Christ. He's both priest, anointed. He
is both the given sacrifice, and He is not only the priest
and the sacrifice, but He's the altar. He's the altar. He sacrificed
His humanity upon the altar of His deity. Now, I don't know
who said that, but here's the point. It's who He is. that gives infinite and eternal
value to what he did. This is not just some man dying. This is not just some historical
character from Nazareth dying. This is God Almighty manifest
in the flesh. This is God's appointed, anointed,
sacrificed lamb. Now, how long has he been that
way? Look at chapter 13, verse 8. This has always been God's purpose,
to redeem sinners with the blood of the Lamb. See verse 8 in chapter
13, all that dwell upon the earth shall worship Him, that is the
beast, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb,
slain from the foundation of the world. I tell you what, Those who are not chosen and
blessed of God to see and believe the truth, they'll believe a
lie and be damned. That's right. When Satan puts
his mark upon you, and when you go the beastly way, and it's
the mark of the beast and the number of man, we'll see here
is six hundred, three, four, and six. Six, six, six. That's the religion of the beast.
What is the number six mean? Well, that's the number of man.
For it says that in verse 18 of Revelation 13, the number
of man is 600, three score, six, six, six, six. Man was created
on the sixth day. Six will never be seven. Six
is always one short of seven. We've always, always, we all
have sinned to come short of the glory of God. Seven's a number
of perfection. The number and the mark of the
beast is the religion of man, the religion of the flesh. But
I tell you this, my friend, there is no approaching God who is
wholly apart from God's appointed sacrifice. God's appointed priest,
the Lamb of God. Now watch this. Back to the text,
Revelation 14 verse 1. And he sees the Lord Jesus Christ
in his vision standing, standing upon Mount Zion. Now this Mount
Zion here, symbolic of that heavenly, glorious Zion, that heavenly
city, and with him 144,000. Now this Mount Zion here, For God said, I've set my king
upon my holy hill Zion, is that heavenly new Jerusalem that Abraham
was seeking, whose builder and maker is God. And notice this,
notice this, the lamb here is standing, standing, standing. Now you remember from Psalm 110,
the Lord said unto my Lord, sit here at my right hand till I
make all your enemies to bow at your footstool. I kind of
get the picture here in this vision that the Lord Jesus Christ
stands with his foot upon the neck of all the enemies, being
the victorious Lamb. The Lamb here stands. Stands
in victory. Stands having conquered all.
It says in Revelation 6 verse 2 that he went forth conquering
to conquer. I kind of get the idea that he
stands to take a bow. He stands to receive all honor
and glory. He stands at all might bow before
Him and acknowledge that He is Lord to the glory of God the
Father. You remember we read in Philippians 2, every knee
will bow, every tongue will confess that He's Lord to the glory of
God the Father. Standing to receive all honor
and glory, standing to receive all recognition due Him, standing
to be recognized as King of kings. and Lord of Lords, standing to
let all know that He accomplished salvation by Himself, with Himself,
for His own glory. Now, notice this. Standing with
Him, the Lamb stood upon Mount Zion, and with Him, with Him,
the 144,000 having His Father's name written
in their forehead, standing with Him, those given to Him in that
blessed covenant of grace. You remember we've read many
times, throw them here to Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews chapter 2,
where it talks about those for whom the Lord Jesus Christ tasted
death to become, to bring many sons unto glory, to make the
captain of their salvation perfect through suffering. Hebrews chapter
2. Be not ashamed to own them as
brethren, saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren. In
the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee, and
again I'll put my trust in him, and again Behold, I and the children,
which God hath given to me. I kind of get the idea here.
As the Lord Jesus Christ stands, and just behind him or around
him and with him, he said, behold, I and the children, we're all
here. The Lord will not lose one of
His covenant people. These all stand with Him, chosen
by His grace, redeemed by His blood, and kept by His power. They're all there with Him. Now notice something else. These saints of God have their
Father's name written in their forehead. written in their forehead. Now the children of the beast,
back in chapter 13, they were the mark of the beast. See verse
17 of Revelation 13. No man might buy or sell, save
he that had the mark, or name of the beast, or the name of
that number. Here is wisdom. Let him that
hath understanding count the number of the beast, for it is
the number of man. The children of the beast wear the mark of
the beast, that number of failure. The saints of God, now look at
the difference here. They have the mark of the beast
in their hand or in their forehead, but here, the redeemed of the
Lord, the 144,000. Who are the 144,000? the elect of God, the chosen
of God. Now it's a definite number, but
it's symbolic of an indefinite number. God's elect out of every
tribe, kindred, nation, tongue, and people under heaven. 10,000
times 10,000 and 1,000, and they're all represented here by the 144,000. But they all, now not some of
them, all of them, all have the Father's name written in their
forehead. He knows His own. He knows His people. The foundation of God standeth
sure having this seal. The Lord knoweth them that are
His. He knows the sheep. And the sheep
know Him. And you know what the sheep do? They follow Him. They follow
Him. They are sealed of God. Now turn
back to Revelation 3, verse 12. They're sealed of God. Sealed
of God with the Holy Spirit. Sealed of God, made new creatures
in Christ Jesus. Sealed with the blood atonement
of the Lord Jesus. Revelation 3, look at verse 12. Him that overcometh will I make
a pillar and a temple of my God. He shall go no more out. I will
write upon him the name of my God, the name of the city of
my God, which is New Jerusalem, which come down out of heaven
from my God. I'll write my name upon him,
that new name, that new name. Now turn to chapter 7. Here it
talks about the 144,000 that are sealed. Revelation 7, look
at verse 3. Hurt not the earth, neither the
sea, nor the trees. Tell, we have sealed the servants
of God in their forehead. And I heard the number of them
which were sealed. And they were sealed, 144,000
of all the tribes of the children of Israel. And again, that is
a number of all of God's spiritual Israel. They're sealed of God. They have the name of God placed
in their heart, in their mind, in their thoughts. Now, think
about this. Had it not been for His election
of grace, had it not been for His saving mercy and His redeeming
grace, we would have been deceived and devoured by Satan and his
beastly ministers. Had it not been for God's distinguishing
mercy, we would have been a target for the beast. We would have
put his mark upon us and wore it gladly, apart from God's saving
mercy, apart from his intervention, apart from his irresistible grace. Who makes us to differ from another?
It's grace alone that has made us to differ. We have the Father's
name written in our forehead. We can say with Paul, I am what
I am by the grace, by the grace of God. Now look at verse two
and look at verse three. And I heard a voice, a voice
from heaven. as the voice of many, many waters,
and as a voice of great thunder. And I heard the voice of harpers
harping with their harps, and they sung, they sung as it were
a new song before the throne, before the four beasts, the four
beasts here are symbolic of God's Servants, the ministers of the
gospel, chapter four, verse eight tells us about that. And the
elders here are the 24 elders. Again, a symbolic number of all
of God's redeemed. And no man could learn that song
but the 144,000 which were redeemed from the earth. And here we see those standing
with the lamb are occupied, aren't they? Those who were standing
with the Lamb and exalted with the Lamb upon the throne are
occupied. We see the total occupation of
the redeemed in glory doing one thing. Doing one thing. Worship. Worship. Worship. Worship. Worshipping, singing
about His redeeming blood. The blood of the Lamb. These
were redeemed from the earth. Now notice this. It's called
here a new song. A new song. Learned here on this
earth by the experience of God's grace. Now take your book there
and turn back to Revelation 1. Revelation 1 verse 5 and 6. They
learn this song here. And they begin to sing this song
here. And they really sing that song
there, but it's learned here. Revelation 1, look at verse 5
and 6. Jesus Christ, who is a faithful
witness, first begotten of the dead, the prince of the kings
of the earth, unto him that loved us. Now watch this carefully.
It's unto him that loved us and washed us from our sin in his
own blood, made us kings and priests unto God and his father.
To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. We learn this
song now. that we are redeemed with the
blood of Christ alone. It's a new song learned here
on this earth by the revelation of Christ into our heart. It's
a new song inspired by gratitude and love unto the Lord. Turn back to chapter 7 of Revelation. Chapter 7 of Revelation. inspired by gratitude and love
unto the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice verse nine, and after
this, I beheld and lo, a great multitude, Revelation 7 verse
9, which no man could number of all nation, kindred, people,
tongue, stood before the throne before the Lamb, clothed with
white robes and palms in their hand, palms of victory, and cried
with a loud voice saying, salvation to our God. Sitteth upon the
throne, and to the Lamb, and the angels ran about the throne,
about the elders, and the four beasts fell before the throne
on their faces, and did what? Worship, worship, saying, Amen,
blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, might be unto our
God forever and ever. And one of the elders answered,
saying unto me, What are these? Who are these which are ragged
with white robes, and whence came they? And John said, I,
John, said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, these
are they. He said to me, these are they,
which came out of great tribulation. I've washed their robes and made
them white in the blood of the Lamb. Now look at verse 15. Therefore
are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night
in his temple. And he that sitteth on the throne
shall dwell among them. Their total occupation, where
time will be no more. is a continual worship and singing
glory and honor unto the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a
new song that all the redeemed sang. that new song of redemption
that we read about just a moment ago in Revelation chapter 5,
unto Him who loved us and redeemed us with His own blood. Now this new song of redemption,
look back at Revelation 14, is described by three symbols. The song of this heavenly choir
Imagine this sound of this heavenly choir, all the redeemed, all
the elect of God, of all ages, standing with the Lamb, honoring
and worshiping the Lamb, and singing unto the Lamb with one
unison in perfect harmony, no one out of two, singing worthy
is the Lamb. Three things it said here in
verse two. And I heard a voice, a voice
from heaven, It was as it was one voice, and yet it was many. As a voice of many waters, as
a voice of great thunder, I heard the voice of harpers, harping
with their harps. A voice of many waters, yet one,
sung by all the redeemed, from all places, ten thousand times,
ten thousand and thousands. singing glory unto the Lord. What a choir. What a sound. What a hymn. And then secondly,
it says the voice of great thunder. You see, this song has a powerful
message. This song has a powerful message. It's the song of the Lamb. The
gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation. Great
thunder. Great thunder. moving, powerful,
impressive. And then it says here, the voice
of harpers. I heard this song as a voice
of harpers harping with their hearts. If you ever heard someone
play a harp, it is the most soothing. When we were on vacation last
year down in the Smokies, went to that craft fair, there was
a man who had made harps. And he was sitting there plucking
that harp. I just stood there in amazement.
I've never been in front of someone playing a harp. And it was so
pleasing. It was so soothing. I could have
stood there all day and not got tired of it. And here's the point. This song of the redeemed, Sound
of many waters and great thunder, yet it is a lovely, sweet, and
tender song. Because it's all about the one
we love, the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, we never get tired
and weary of hearing about Him. Can you preach the Lord Jesus
Christ too much? Can you exalt Him too high? Tell me more about Him. Tell
me more, I want to know more of Him, more of His person, more
of His work. These are all gathered before
the throne. Have a great privilege to serve
the Lord with perfect worship. Now think about this, worship
without sin. Now I don't know anything about
that. We know a little bit about worship,
but we still have this old wretched man. When I would do good, evil
is present with me. We worship the best we can, and
we try to worship like we ought to, like we should, in spirit
and in truth. But oftentimes, I'm so hindered
in worship, aren't you? There, there'll be no distractions. There, there'll be no sin. There,
we'll behold Him face to face and worship Him as He ought to
be worshiped. And all the elect of God, all
the ministers of the gospel, all the elders of the church,
the whole redeemed of the Lord Jesus Christ, the church of the
firstborn, they'll all be there, all redeemed with the blood of
Christ himself. Now, in closing, verse 4 and
5. Verse 4 and 5. These, these are
they, these are they which came out of great tribulation, have
washed their robes, made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
These are they." These are they. I like that statement. These
are they which were not defiled with women for they're virgins. These are they which follow the
Lamb, whithersoever he goeth. These are they which were redeemed
from among men. These are they. which bring firstfruits
unto God and to the Lamb. These are they, verse 5, in their
mouth was found no guile. These are they without fault
before the throne of God, the redeemed of the Lord. What a
beautiful description of the Lord's people. This is the way
He sees us. You know the way He sees us is
the way we exactly are. in Christ Jesus without spot,
without blemish. What a beautiful description
the Lord gives us of His redeemed. And this is true of all of His
covenant people. This is not a description of
some select super saint. This is a description of the
Lord concerning all His church, all believers in Christ Jesus. Now, let's look at these things
here. and then I'll let you go. They're redeemed. They're redeemed. It says here, verse 4, which
were not defiled with women. Now this is not talking about
sexual sins, but rather what he's saying here is not being
defiled with the great whore of idolatry. Idolatry is spiritual
fornication before God. Idolatry is will-worship. Idolatry
is superstition. Idolatry is ungodly. The elect
of God have been kept and delivered and preserved from idolatry. Matter of fact, it says in 1
Thessalonians chapter 4 when it talks about the description
of God's elect, Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God,
for a gospel came unto you, not in word only, but in power, these
are they which turn to God from their idols, they turn to God
from their idols to serve the living and true God. They've been delivered. They're
not defiled with idolatry. They're not defiled with will-worship
and superstition. The elect of God have been kept
and preserved, and in God's sight, they are chaste virgins, cleansed
and justified by the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses
us from all sin. Original sin, actual sin. Past, present, and future. These are they which are not
defiled with idolatry. Look at the second thing. These
are they which follow the Lamb wheresoever the Lamb goes. Now, by nature we are defiled. But by grace we're cleansed. By nature we're lost sheep. We're lost. But these are they
which follow the Lamb. We were lost sheep going astray. We turned everyone to our own
way. But the Good Shepherd did what? The Good Shepherd found
us. The Good Shepherd laid down His
life for us. The Chief Shepherd, the Great
Shepherd, the Good Shepherd saved us. Now, because of His grace,
you know what the sheep of Christ do? They follow the Shepherd. Where does the Shepherd lead
us? To Himself, to the green pastures of His Word, and we
hear His voice. You see the sheep, you remember
our Lord said in John chapter 10 about my sheep, They said
to him, if you be the Christ, tell us, and we'll believe you.
He said, I told you, and you believe not, because you're not
my sheep. My sheep, they hear my voice,
and I know them, and I love them, and they follow me. And then
it says in that same chapter earlier, in verse three or four,
where it talks about a stranger they will not follow. They have
a voice of the shepherd that lead to the shepherd. They have
a ear rather to hear the voice of the shepherd. And when the
shepherd calls, they come to him. They follow him. They don't
follow feelings. They follow Him. They don't follow
the traditions of men. They follow Him. They don't follow
the church rule and the church order set up by a panel of elders. They follow Him. They're looking
for Him, the Lord, as He's revealed in His Word. And you know how
far they follow Him? All the way to glory. You remember
our study in Revelation, or rather Psalm 85, where it talks about mercy and
truth are met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. Righteousness shall go before
us and set us in the way of His steps. Remember? You see, they follow Him. They
don't depart from Him. They don't turn back from Him.
And the forerunner for us has entered into glory, and is seated,
and we enter in in him." Now watch this. Thirdly, they're
not defiled with idolatry, superstition, and will-worship. They've been
cleansed by the blood of Christ. They stand justified in the Lord
Jesus Christ. And these are they which follow
the Lord. They follow the Lamb. They're
not quitters. They don't turn back. They follow
the Lamb. And then thirdly, it says they're
redeemed. They're redeemed. And the marginal reference on
that word is they're bought. They're bought. They're bought
from among men being the first fruits unto God. They're redeemed. Now, what are we redeemed with? You remember what Peter said,
1 Peter? Not with the blood of bulls and
goats. Not with silver and gold, but with his own blood he obtained
for us eternal redemption. We are redeemed, we are bought
with the blood atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. These, these
were redeemed. Who were these people? The 144,000,
all the elect of God. These were redeemed from among
men by the blood of Christ. Again, this is teaching. Wherever
you see the atonement and redemption declared, it's always particular
and definite. It's never vague and foggy. And it's not universal, is it?
It is a particular redemption. It is a definite atonement for
the sheep of Christ, for the 144,000. He loved the church
and gave himself for it. Now, I hate the thought. I absolutely
hate the thought. I can't stand the thought of
the Lord Jesus Christ being any kind of a failure. and to preach
this thing of a shotgun universal atonement and redemption, saying
that he died for all the sins of all men, yet some of those
men wind up in hell anyway. Then the blood atonement of Christ
is meaningless. I hate that. I love that blessed,
blessed doctrine of God saving mercy in Christ Jesus to suggest
that the Lord Jesus Christ and his atonement is a failure is
a horrible, horrible. It's contrary to the word of
God because the word of God said he cannot fail. Christ did not
die for any reprobate in hell. Can I be any more clear and plainer? The word of God is absolutely
crystal clear on this. The good shepherd lays down his
life for the sheep, for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
God bought the church with his own blood." Is that what the
scriptures teach? You see, they belong to him.
He bought them. Now let me give you a homely
illustration, and I hope this will make the point about universal
or definite. Particular or general? Now this
book teaches the definite particular redemption. You ladies who go
to Walmart every week, you probably go as often as my wife does.
Do you go over there to Walmart and buy everything in the store?
Do you go over to Walmart, buy out the whole store universally?
Buy out every Walmart store, every item on the store? No. What do you do? What do you do? Now you know what you do, don't
you? You make a list. You actually choose deliberately
what you're going to buy. And you go over to Walmart and
what do you do? You buy it. You bought it. You didn't buy the whole store.
You bought what you wanted. You bought what you chose. You
bought it. And then what happens? You take
it home. And then what happens? You enjoy
it. Don't you? You eat it. Now that's
a homely illustration, but I believe it makes the point. The Lord
Jesus Christ chose His covenant people. He elected them. He chose
them. Does He have the right? Well,
He's God. Certainly He does. He came down
here and He bought them because He chose them. And what's He
going to do with those He bought? He's going to take them home.
And then what's he gonna do with them? He's gonna enjoy them forever
and ever. And that's a simple illustration,
but I believe it makes a profound point whereby we can somehow
get a hold of what he's saying. These were redeemed from among
men. He bought them. He's going to
have them. They're his. Now, you don't go
over to Walmart and buy groceries and leave them there. You bought
them. And you're determined. What are
you determined to have? You're determined to have that
which you bought. How much more? That pales in
comparison. And that's a poor illustration. But it makes the point. I hope
it does. God's going to have that which
he bought. These were redeemed, and these are the firstfruits
unto God. The firstfruits belong to Him.
Now turn over here to James chapter 1. It's like I've never seen
this verse before. James chapter one, and I've quoted
it a hundred times. James 1.18, of his own will,
of his own will begat he us, James 1.18, with the word of
truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits. of His creatures. We are His firstfruits. He bought us with His own blood
and He's going to enjoy us forever. We are the firstfruits of His
redeeming blood. Now get a hold of this. In closing
is this. Verse 5 says, His bride, those
He bought, the Lamb's wife, in their mouth was found no guile,
for they are without fault before the throne of God." His people
are completely justified by His blood. Their sin has been totally
eradicated and put away, so much so that God said their sin and
their iniquity will I remember no more. He has imputed to them
a blessed, holy, divine righteousness, which is the very righteousness
of Christ the Lord, our righteousness, and they stand before the throne
of God. They stand before the throne
of God. Now, the throne of God is what? Pure holiness, pure
power. They stand before the throne
of God without fault, without blame, without sin. Now, how can this be? How can
this be? You know the answer, don't you?
This can only be because of Christ putting away our sin. You remember that verse in Colossians?
In the body of His flesh through death, He died to present you
holy, unblameable, unreprovable in His sight. Now, you may... I might not look good in your
sight, and that's okay. In God's sight, God's people
are without fault, without blame, without blemish. Now, turn back
to Revelation chapter 1, and then find right in front of the
Revelation is the little epistle Jude. And look at verse 24, Jude
1, 24. Now, verse 24, unto him that
is able to keep you from falling, To present you, He's able to
keep us. Is He able? Able to save us.
Able to keep us. Kept by the power of God. And
present you. Present you how? Faultless. Before the presence of His glory. And you know what? He's not ashamed
to call us brethren. We read that in Hebrews 2. Before
His presence, His glory with exceeding joy. He's gonna present
us unto God with exceeding joy. Now, to the only wise God, it
says, our Savior, be glory, majesty, and dominion, and power, both
now and forever. These are they. These are they. redeemed unto God, bought with
his blood, standing with the Lamb forever and ever and ever.