Turn to Revelation chapter 5. Revelation chapter 5. Let's ask the Lord to bless his
word. Our Father, we come before your presence
once again, seeking your mercy, seeking the forgiveness of our
sins. Lord, get glory to your name
here this morning in spite of us. Help me to preach the gospel
once again. Enable us to worship you in spirit
and in truth. Lord, bless this congregation. In your time, send them a pastor
according to your own heart, one that's after your own heart. Help us to worship, Lord, the
most important thing at this hour. is to be able to worship
you and give you the glory that's due unto your name. In Christ's
name, we pray and amen. The title of the message is, Worthy is the Lamb. Worthy, fit. Another word for
that is fit. As we look into this chapter, we are given a glimpse into heaven. The curtain is pulled back and we are allowed to look into
that other world. You realize that? Look at the Word of God, and
I'm sure you don't, but don't look at it as you'd look at another
book. It's not another book. This is
God's Word. Infallible Word. And He is letting
us, this morning, He is allowing us to Pull back the curtain and
look into that other world, that unseen world. And the focal point
is centered on the Lamb of God. The very focal point is the Lamb
of God. He is the praise of heaven. He is the one That the angels
and the host of heaven, thousand, ten thousand, times ten thousand,
fall down and worship, worship this morning. And he is worshipped
there as he deserves to be worshipped. He's worshipped there with no
sin. disturbing the service. Can you
imagine that? Can you imagine being able to
worship without your mind straying? I can't comprehend that. I can't
comprehend my mind not straying and having to rest and pull it
back and then it takes off again and pull it back. It's like a
yo-yo. It's like playing with a yo-yo.
Like also sin, that's what sin does to us. But there he's worshipped without
sin. Without sin molesting that congregation. And there in John chapter 4,
John saw the sovereignty of the thrice holy God in creation.
He says in verse 11, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory
and honor and power, for Thou hast created all things, and
for Thy pleasure they are and were created. All things belong
to the Lamb. All things were created by the
Lamb. It says in Colossians 1, All
things were created by Him. and for Him. This wasn't created
for me. None of this was created for
me. It was created for Jesus Christ.
It was created by Him and for Him. Now verse 1, John says, And I
saw in the right hand of Him that
sat on the throne a book written within and on the back side and
it was sealed with seven seals. John saw Him who sits on the
throne and rules over all. Over all. It is written in Psalm 115. But
our God is in the heavens he hath done whatsoever he hath
pleased." That's the one John is speaking of. But don't let us forget that
this throne of sovereignty and power and glory that John is
looking at is also a throne of grace or John wouldn't be there
and we wouldn't be here. to find both sovereignty, power
and glory and grace at the same throne. Same throne. Now John's attention is drawn
to the book that is in the right hand of him that sat upon the
throne. This is a very important book.
And it is written, the eternal decrees and purpose of God for
all time and eternity. It's all written in that book. And every redeemed sinner's name
is written within that book. Would you want to look in that
book? You know what the first thing, if I could look in that
book, you know what the first thing I'd look for? My name. I'm sorry, but that would be
the first thing I'd look for. It would be my name. Every redeemed sinner's name
written in that book. God is not in heaven writing
names as we go along. That is not happening. Before God created the heavens
and the earth, God is a God of order. God is a God of infinite
wisdom. God is a God of knowledge. God
is perfect in knowledge and wisdom. And before He created the heavens
and the earth, that book was written. Every event, everything
that moves, everything that has an existence is written in that
book. Every decree of God, the purpose of God is written in
that book. And that book is sealed, it says
with seven seals. And it's written, listen, it's
a complete book. It's written within and on the
backside and sealed with seven seals. Seven is a number of completion. There's no additives. I worked
for a Mormon one time years ago. I was running a company. And
the people who owned it were Mormons. And he and I got to
talking. He's talking to me about their
prophet. And he's giving these new revelations
and stuff. And I said, no! I said, everything
God has to say is in this book. And he said, you mean to tell
me God doesn't have anything else to say right now than what's
in that book? I said, you know what's in that
book? You know all that's in that book? No, then why should
he say anymore? You don't know what's in it anyway.
I said, so why should he even say anymore? Until you learn
what he's already said. Well, I was a little smart Alec,
I have to admit. I've been a little smart Alec. Everything, everything
that's happening today, that's going to happen tomorrow, is
written in this book. And it's sealed. He said it's
sealed. It's closed. It's sealed with seven seals.
There are no mistakes in this book. There are no mistakes in
this book. There's no mistakes in this book.
There's no blank pages. If I had to write a book, first
of all, it would be very short and very little say. And there'd be a lot of blank
pages. There's no mistakes in this book
that John saw. There's no blank pages. It's
complete. It's perfect. It contains the whole counsel
of God written in this book. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming
with a loud voice. And I guarantee you that was
loud. I assure you when John heard this strong angel proclaiming
with this loud voice, who is worthy? Who is worthy to open
the book and to loose the seals thereof? Who's worthy? That sale
went throughout all of time. Who is fit? The first thing John is made
to realize is first, his own unworthiness. John knew he couldn't
go touch that book. No. He knew that. I tell you this, I can take the
Word of God and if God doesn't open this book to me, it's a
closed book. If Christ does not reveal Himself
to me out of this book, it's a closed book to me. The angel's voice goes throughout
all time and not one steps forward. Abraham! Can you open the book? King David, a man after God's
own heart, can you open the book? The strong angel who cries with
a loud voice, can he open the book? Who can open the book? That's what's going forth. No one steps forward. No one
steps forward, not even John. He dared not approach the throne
room without a mediator. The call goes out, who's fit?
Who's fit to take the book and reveal its contents? Who has the wisdom? Who has the
holiness? Who has the knowledge to do this? No one steps forth. Listen, verse 3. No man in heaven,
nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book,
neither to look thereon. None was found able. Listen,
here's what we have. The call goes out by the angel. Who's able? Who's able to open
this book? Who's fit to open this book?
And you know what we have? Absolute failure. Not one of
the saints of God stood forth. Not one of the elect angels stepped
forward. Not one. Not one. All looks hopeless, doesn't it?
It looks hopeless. Because John wept much. He felt
the unworthiness and he felt... He wants to know what the will
of God is, don't you? I do. I do. Who has known the mind of the
Lord or who has been his counselor? Who knows God's mind? Who can
know such a mind? Well, that's so much for human
wisdom and intellect, isn't it? You know, our wisdom and our
intellect will do for earthly things but not heavenly things. God's thoughts are higher than
our thoughts and His ways higher than our ways. And John says in verse 4, And
I wept much, or another translation, I wept aloud, another translation,
I wept uncontrollably. John felt that. He felt that
nobody was able to step forward. God made it evident to him that
there was not one person worthy to step forward and open this
book and expound and reveal the mind of God. Oh, I tell you, we ought to weep over
our unworthiness. We ought to. John wept because he desired
to know the mind and will of God for himself. And then one of the elders, one of the redeemed, you see
an angel stepped forward and with a loud voice proclaimed,
who's worthy? And then an elder, a redeemed
child of God, He said to me, weep not. Hush. Hush. Quick cry. Wipe your tears from your eyes,
John. Weep not. Behold now, John. See, John had
beheld the book, and he was made to know that there's no one worthy
to open this book. No one able to step forward.
And now he says, the elder says, now we've 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. There is one! At this time, it says there was
a thousand, ten thousand, times ten thousand, an innumerable
company of the redeemed and the angels, and not one stepped forward. But you know what? There is one.
Brethren, there is one. One of the elders, one who has
been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, a man, not an angel,
one who has experienced what he's talking about. He says,
we've not, there's good news. There's good news. It's the same
good news that you're getting this morning. The gospel is good
news. Good news from a far country,
says in Proverbs. Behold, give attention, look,
look. The lion of the tribe of Judah
hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals
thereof. John, John, let your tears of sorrow become now tears
of joy. The lion of the tribe of Judah
hath prevailed. And he's called a lion because
of his power and courage. All power, he says, is given
to me in heaven and earth. He's the king of kings. We are
under a theocracy. And brethren, I live under a
theocracy. We all do. King Jesus. That's real to me. That's real to me. There are different people who
run different countries, but there's one who's running all
of them. They're running all of them. And to us, naturally,
it looks like chaos. I can tell you what, it's orchestrated
chaos. It's orchestrated by him. It's
in his hands. He is running this whole thing.
If you and I could see from where he sees, And if we could see
the end from the beginning as God does, if we could see that,
this would become a worship service this morning. I mean a real worship
service. We'd be in tune with those that
are there now. He says here, He hath prevailed.
He conquered death by dying. What is it people are afraid
of? What is it they're afraid of?
You say, well, I'm afraid of cancer. I'm afraid of getting
this or getting that. No, you're afraid of the end
result, death. He conquered death. I'm not going to die. This body
is going to go to the ground. It will be absent from the body
to be present with the Lord. Is that so? You're not going
to die. It's just a transformation. I'm
just going to go from one place to the other. If I told you that
one of you told this congregation that Doug and Judy are in Florida,
they're in Florida this weekend. I'm glad for them. I'm having a good time. But if
I said Doug and Judy passed away, it would be like, No, they're
having a good time. They're having a good time. I
had a dear friend, we had a dear friend pass away here a few weeks
ago, Dale Simpson, some of you may know him. And when he passed
away, I thought about my grandson, my grandson when he was four
years old. I took him on a horseback ride. We were riding around the
ring. He's about four years old. He said, I'm on the horse and
he's in front of me. And my family, we got a big family,
it was kind of around the ring there, you know. And he starts
looking at me going, I'm happy now, I'm happy now. He was just
waving and just shouting, I'm happy now. That's what my brother said,
I'm happy now. When you believers, when you
die and you leave this life, you're happy now. That's when
you'll know what happy really is. He conquered death by dying.
He conquered sin by being made sin. Not paperwork here. We're not doing just legal paperwork. Christ was made sin for us. Explain it. I can't. It's a transaction
that happened between him and God the Father. But I know this,
when the law dealt with him at Calvary, it dealt with John Chapman.
I know he was made to be what I am and I might be made to be
what he is. Righteous. Righteous. And that's more than paperwork.
That's real. That's real. He conquered Satan
on his own ground. He conquered the curse of the
law by being made a curse. He conquered the grave by being
buried and rising from it. Nothing was able to stand
him down, nothing. Now listen, where the elders
cried, he said to John, he said, weep not, behold the lion of
the tribe of Judah hath prevailed. So John turns and he's going
to look at this lion of the tribe of Judah. And you know what he
sees? Verse 6, in the midst of the
throne stood a lamb. Stood a lamb as it had been slain. The lamb is the reason to stop
weeping and rejoice. John sees the one who's worthy
to take the book and open it. And when he looks upon him, he
sees that lamb as it had been slain. He sees him in his sacrificial
character. That's what he sees him in. He
sees his substitute. He sees our substitute. He sees
him in that character that won the victory, the lamb. He saw
Jesus Christ crucified. Paul said to the Corinthians,
I am determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ
and him crucified. He saw him as a lamb on earth
and now he sees him as one in heaven. The sacrifice, now I
want you to get this. The sacrifice is always fresh
in God's sight. The sacrifice for my sins is
always fresh in God's sight. This is his most glorious character. This is his chief glory. This
is the object of worship, the lamb. The lamb. And the lamb is not
only our sacrifice, he's our mediator. He took the book. He's the one who went between
me and God, and he took the book. And it says that he's having
seven horns, and listen, you know what that is? That's an
emblem of power. If you'll go through the scriptures, you'll
see where horns, when it speaks of horns, it speaks of kings.
It's speaking of his kingship. He's not a weak, defeated lamb
as they saw hanging on a cross that they thought was weak and
defeated. This one has all power and authority. So much so that he could walk
up to the throne and just reach out and take the book. Take the
book out of the hand of God. John saw A living Lord, not a
dead one. Someone said a dead Christ can't
save anyone. But a living Lord can. He died,
yes. He buried, yes. He's not dead
now. He's risen. He's risen. He has seven eyes. This is His
omnipresence. There's nothing hid from the
Lamb. There's nothing hidden from Him. He knows the mind of
God perfectly. And He knows our hearts too.
He knows us. I'm glad. I'm glad. The Lord
said, Peter, do you love Me? He asked him three times. The
third time it just grieved Peter. He said, Lord, You know all things. You know I love You. You know it. And he came, verse 7, and he
came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat
upon the throne. He's the only one worthy to step
forward and take the book and listen and reveal its contents,
to open and make them happen. Who won the victory? The Lamb. Who opened the book? The Lamb. Who reveals the secrets? The
Lamb. Who's worthy to be worshipped?
The Lamb. Oh, that we could worship Him
here this morning. And when He had taken the book,
the four beasts and four and twenty elders, they fell down
before the Lamb, having every one of them hearts, golden vials
full of odors, which are the prayers of the saints. Does God
hear me? Does God hear my prayer? It says
right here that He has them. The Lamb has them right there
before the throne. And they fell down in a posture
of profound worship. And they sung a new song. Thou
art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof.
For thou wast slain, and thou hast redeemed us to God by thy
blood, out of every kindred, tongue, and people, and nation. This new song is always fresh. And there's always someone singing
it for the first time in His presence, even right now. Even right now. And this new song has to do with
Him who is worthy. He possesses all the credentials
needed. The Scripture says all the fullness
of the Godhead dwells in Him bodily, all of it. The joy of
heaven has to do with the Lamb and His redemption of sinners.
And that's our joy. That's our joy. Listen here, it says, for thou
was slain. Mutilated. Tortured. Isaiah says, his visage was so
marred, more than any man. Unrecognizable. No one will ever be guilty of
praising him too much. We'll never get that charge laid
against us. Paul said, God forbid that I should glory save in the
cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. There stands my salvation. There it is. Jesus Christ alone
is my salvation. Our salvation. And notice how
far reaching his redemption is. Every kindred every tribe, every tongue, every people, and nations. And nations. How far reaching is the grace
of God. His redemption may be limited
in its scope, but not in its power. You know, I have no doubt, when
I read this, I have no doubt that the vast majority, I believe
heaven will far outweigh hell in numbers. I have no doubt that
heaven will be far greater populated than hell. And I believe that
the greatest population of heaven is made up of those who have
died in infancy, children, the mentally handicapped. I believe that Christ has redeemed
them. I believe He's redeemed them. How many people do you run into
during the day or the week or the month or the year that actually
believe the gospel of grace? Not very many. Not many. And listen here in verse 10.
And hast made us kings and priests. And we shall reign on the earth.
That new earth. new heaven, new earth. He's made
us kings and priests. This people, this redeemed people
shall never fail nor fall again. That possibility is gone. It's
gone. I can never fall away. Not if
I've been redeemed. I can never be lost. Not if I've
been redeemed. Not if I'm His. He lives to see
to it. He lives to see to it. You know what I'm looking at
this morning? I'm looking at royalty. I'm looking at royalty. I'm looking
at sons of the king. Sons and daughters of the king. I know you don't feel like it.
I don't feel like it. But it's real. Is God my Father? I'm looking at sons and daughters
of Almighty God. That can't be comprehended. He says in verse 11, I'll close,
wind this down. And I beheld and I heard the
voice of many angels, who can number that crowd, Round about
the throne and the beast and the elders and the number of
them was 10,000 times 10,000 and thousands of thousands. Innumerable. Innumerable. Same with a loud voice. Isn't
that what we saw in Psalm 100? Singing to Him with Give Him
praise, loud praise. Sing to Him with loud singing
this morning. Sing with a loud voice. Sing
with a loud voice. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
to receive power, riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor,
glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in
heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as
are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I say, blessing,
and honor, and glory, 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 twenty elders fell
down and worshipped him that liveth forever and ever. Worthy is the Lamb. Worthy is
the Lamb. If you notice what happens next,
I'm not going to get into the next But if you'll notice what
happens next, and I could not tell you what all these emblems
and things represent. I can't go there. But I can tell you this. He walks up to the throne. He
takes that book that's sealed with seven seals. And he opens
it. And guess what? Guess what begins
to happen? The purpose and the will of God
starts to develop. All you got to do is start reading
those next chapters and then you see He opens the first seal,
second seal, third seal, fourth seal, and everything starts to
develop and happen. The will and purpose of God is
happening. And it's happening right there
in the hands of the Lamb. He's making it happen. He's causing
it to happen. Everything that's happening this
day is in His hands. And it's been decreed and purposed. Everything. Everything. Aren't you glad that's so? I
sure hate to think this thing is just willy-nilly running along.
Oh my soul. Now that would make for hard
sleeping at night. David said, Thou only makest
me to dwell in safety. I lock my doors, yes I do. I
lock my windows, yes I do. We're to use means. We're to
use the wisdom that God's given us. But I'm telling you what,
when I lay down at night, I don't trust my door locks. They can
be kicked in. I don't trust my window locks.
I don't trust a gun under some pillow. I trust God to wake me
up in the morning. If it's for His will for me to
wake up in the morning. I trust Him to do it. He's either
God or He's not. It's either real or it's not.
It's real. Okay. you