We, as mankind, have developed
many different kinds of ways to communicate. To communicate
our wants, our needs, our feelings, our moods, our fears. We've all seen the hieroglyphics
on the walls and pictures or in real life on the inside of
caves where men used to draw pictures and that was their way
of communicating. or at least it was the language
that they left for us to find in their communication. We speak. We hear each other's voices.
We act out things. We draw pictures. And in today's
world, we can even communicate electronically. But as you might have noticed
so far, we have a special theme that I want to look at this morning.
And today, I'd like to look at the form of communication that
has been around a long, long time. Are you with me in Revelations
chapter 14? Begin at verse 1, if you would.
And I looked, and lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Zion, and
with Him 144,000 having His Father's name written in their foreheads.
And I heard a voice from heaven as the voice of many waters,
and as the voice of a great thunder, And I heard the voice of harpers
harping with their harps. And they sung, as it were, a
new song before the throne." My message this morning is a
new song. Singing. I will sing the wondrous
story of the Christ who died for me. and I will sing it with
the saints in glory gathered by the crystal sea. Singing. Singing a new song. Let's continue in that verse.
And they sung as it were a new song before the throne and before
the four beasts and the elders and no man could learn that song
but the 144,000 which were redeemed from the earth. So I have two questions this
morning, and first is, what is this new song? And secondly,
who are the 144,000? These 144,000 that are redeemed
of the earth. My first point I want to look
at, though, is redeemed of the earth. You see, the 144,000 is
nothing more than a figure. If you look back there at least
a little bit, it says, a voice of many waters, and as the voice
of a great thunder, and I heard the voice of harpers harping
in their harps." This is no more than a picture or a type of God's
chosen people. In John 6.37 it says, All its
Father giveth me shall come to me. Our Lord calls these my sheep. He tells us that they hear his
voice, they know him, and they will hear no other. and they
will follow Him. Israel is another of this picture,
another type of these who were redeemed of the earth. They are
called the elect of God. In Jeremiah 33, 22, it describes
them this way, as the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither
the sand of the sea measured. In Hosea 1.10 it says, yet the
number of children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea. Consider that for a moment, how
much sand there is on the earth. Wouldn't be too hard to put 144,000
somewhere on the earth, but I guarantee you if there was enough men and
women on the earth as there is sand, we would not be able to
fit them all on this small little planet. So it can't mean that there's
144,000. And I'm going to give you an opinion now, and I want
you to take it as such, because this is all this is, is an opinion. Our Lord uses Scripture to confuse those who don't believe. There are many who take numbers,
and some of it may be OK, and some of them may not. I don't
know. I've never been one who could get into, well, the number
7 means this, the number 11 or 12 means that, number 144,000
means this. I mean, you can take numbers
and you can do all kinds of stuff and come up to that 144,000.
But the overall picture of it is this. The 144,000, our Lord
has used that number to represent, in this case, His people. But
he's also used in other cases, as I just read to you in Hosea,
the number of the children of Israel who are also God's people
is as of the sand of the sea. So this 144,000 isn't an actual
144,000, it's God's people. As the host of heaven cannot be numbered,
neither the sand of the sea measured. We see in verses 4 and 5 of the
scripture, the 144, as described. These are they which are not
defiled with women, for they are virgins. They are they which
follow the Lamb, whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed
from among men, being the firstfruits of God and to the Lamb. And in
their mouth was found No guile, for they are without fault before
the throne. Do you know anyone? Have you
ever heard of anyone? Has there ever been any writings
of anyone other than Christ that could fit that description? How can one Be without fault
before the throne of God, if all have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. Turn back to chapter five. Just a few pages to the left. And I'd like to mark your Bibles
there, because we're going to leave it in a few moments and then
come back. Look at verse nine with me, if you would, please.
and they sung a new song. These ones who could stand before
the throne with no guilt, no guile in their mouth. These ones
who fit that description of the 144 being spoken of. And they
sung a new song saying, thou art worthy to take the book and
to open the seals thereof, for thou wast slain and hast redeemed
My question was, how can anyone stand before the throne of God
without fault? For they were redeemed by the
blood of God himself out of every kindred, tongue, and people,
and nation. God Almighty was manifest in
the flesh. He shall be called Jesus, for
he shall save his people. The people of God, there are
so many that they cannot be counted as the sand and the sea cannot
be counted. And it's referred to as 144,000 that is spoken
of in chapter 14. Those are the ones who can stand
before the throne of God as virgins. Those who have no guile in their
mouths. Those who have no fault. It's
because of the Lamb that is spoken of in the song that they sing.
We sing about the Lamb of God who was crucified and died for
us. He who shed His blood before
the world was even made. The Lamb slain before the foundation
of the world as He is known. He redeemed the people of God
by His own blood. Worthy is the Lamb. This is the
new song. But I want to remind you in verse
3 of chapter 14 that we just read, it says, we are told that
no man can learn this song. You're not going to learn it
by just sitting down and reading the Bible to yourself. You're
not going to learn it by coming to this building and hearing
a man preach about it by himself. It takes God to make it acceptable,
to make it effectual in the heart of men. I can't talk to your
heart, God must do that. We must be taught of God. Turn over to Psalms 40 if you
would. Remember, mark your spot there in Revelations 5, we'll come back
to it. Well, if no man can learn it,
then who can sing it? If the Bible, which is the truth,
is telling us that no man can learn this song, then how can
any man sing it? Our Lord talks about being born
again in His Scriptures. He says to be born again is as
impossible as a camel for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.
With men, our Lord says, the Lord Jesus Christ in His own
words, with men this is impossible. Learning Scripture, learning
the truth of God with men is impossible. It must be revealed from God
Himself. Our Lord asked Peter and the
disciples, who do you say that I am? And Peter said, thou art
the son of the living God. And what did our Lord say to
him? He said, blessed art thou. For flesh and blood hath not
revealed that unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven. With
men it is impossible, but with God all things are possible. So much so that even a donkey
spoke at one point. So much so that the waters of
the Nile rose up like walls and Israel walked on dry ground through
it. All things are possible through
our Lord Jesus Christ. We must be taught of God and
by God himself. One can only come to God when
one has been given life to come. Lazarus didn't get up on his
own, And to prove that very point,
when the Lord said, come forth, He came forth. And after He had
come forth, our Lord told them to loose Him, to take the bounds
off of His feet. Just to show us the power of
God in giving life to somebody. We can only come to God when
He has given us life to come to Him. Are you with me in Psalms 40?
Look at verse 1. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently
for the Lord and He inclined unto me and heard my cry. Before we can call on the name
of the Lord, we must be brought to a position to cry out to Him. Not saying it doesn't happen,
but it is a very, very rare occasion when one who has no troubles
comes to the Lord crying for mercy and grace. He heard my cry. He brought me
up also out of the horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and he
set my feet upon a rock, upon the rock. The very rock that
our Lord Jesus Christ was talking about with Peter when He told
Peter, Blessed art thou for flesh and blood hath not revealed this
unto you, neither my Father in heaven, upon this rock, upon
the rock that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of the living
God. Not Peter, Peter's not a rock
at all, he's just a man. I love it when the Lord shows
us in Scriptures that these men who should be esteemed, Peter,
Paul, David, Abraham, Joseph, all these ones, Ruth, all these ones who should be
esteemed as great people, yet they are still just people. Our
Lord shows us that they're no more than you and I, men and
women who are saved by grace and grace alone. Set my feet upon a rock and established
my goings, Read this next verse with me,
will you? And He hath put a new song in my mouth. What is that
new song? Even praise unto our God. Many shall see it, and fear,
and trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man that maketh
the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such turn
aside to lies. Many, O Lord my God, are Thy
wonderful works which Thou hast done, and Thy thoughts which
are to usward. They cannot be reckoned up in
order unto Thee. If I would declare and speak
of them, they would be more than could be numbered. Now jump over
to verse 13, if you would, please. Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver
me. O Lord, make haste to help me. Let them be ashamed and confounded
together that seek after my soul to destroy it. And let them be
driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil. Let them be
desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, aha.
Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee.
Let such as love thy salvation. Say continually, the Lord be
magnified. But I am poor and needy, yet
the Lord thinketh upon me. Thou art my help, my deliverer. make notary, oh my God, what
is the new song that we sing? Now that we've seen who those
are who sing this new song, those who are chosen of God, those
who are the elect, those who have been predestined before
the world was, what is this new song that they sing? We've already been singing it. from the very first verse we
read. The lamb slain before the foundation of the world. That's
the new song. The world didn't know him. I didn't know him. Did you? Not until the day he showed himself
to me through his word. I sang a song of John Reeves.
I sang a song of the world. I was the master of where I was
going. I wasn't a very good master at
it either. In fact, I was going in some pretty bad ways. But even worse, I was going in
the way of the world. Until the Lord, until the Lord
brought me out of that. and turned me to see who He is.
That's when my song became new. When He showed me that He's the
Sovereign Creator of all things. I have no problem in my world
today when something great is happening, saying it is of the
Lord. I wished I had no problem, and
I wish to do it more, but I could say the same thing about those
things that don't go my way. It is of the Lord, let me trust
in Him. This new song that declares the
sovereign rule of our Lord and Savior is what we've been singing
all along. Jesus Christ, the Son of the
Living God. There was a time when that wasn't
even part of my song. There was a time when I never
even had that thought cross my mind. Oh, I've heard of Jesus.
I'd been to church. I'd heard about him. I didn't
care about it. I didn't trust in it. I didn't think about it. It was
never on my mind. I never knew the love that he
had for me. I have a new song now. A new
song of the one who loved me so much that he gave his life
for me. The song of Jesus Christ, the
Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. I have a Savior now. My sins are paid. God helped
me to turn from Him as much as possible. As much as it be His
will. But when it's His will for me
not to, My Savior is still there. And I turn to Him and ask for
forgiveness. My new song is Jesus Christ,
the Redeemer of His people. The one who paid the price in
full by His blood shed on that cross. This is the new song that
we sing of. Jesus Christ, my God. This is the new song for me.
For once I was in the deep pit, in the miry clay that we just
read about from David, and I loved it there. It was dark, and no
one could see my wickedness but me. Or so I thought. The new song is one of my condition. A condition that says I have
nothing to bring before my God. Nothing of myself, nothing of
my flesh. I am poor and destitute. I am
but a worm before a thrice holy God. My new song is one of election. Because He has loved me before
the world was, He chose me. He chose me in God the Son. God
the Father chose me in God the Son. And it was unconditional. It wasn't for any reason or anything
that I would do. It wasn't because I would make
a decision. It wasn't because I would get baptized. It was because He chose to love
me, just as He chose and chose to love each and every one of
His people. The 144,000, which represents all the numbers of
those that He has loved before the world was. The new song is one of atonement. The payment is made. I can rest
in that and that alone. I don't have to go out and earn
my salvation for Christ has already done it for me. Rest in Him. My new song is limited. It's limited to those he has
loved from before the world was. But it's effectual. Who can stop it? Who has power
over God? None. My new song is one of drawing
power, irresistible grace. I had no idea about it, but the
Lord brought me by his irresistible grace to this building where
I would hear the gospel preached for the first time, where he
had prepared a heart. He had taken that old stony heart
that said, I will not have God rule over me, I am my own ruler,
I will make a decision where I want to go, and cut that heart
completely out and remove it and put one in, a whole new one
that says, you are my savior. Who can resist the grace of God? And my new song is eternal. It perseveres, no matter how
weak my faith can get, no matter how much burden a trial can be
upon me. And we all know that those burdens
can be there, every one of us. if not from our loved ones, from
a sin that's within ourselves. Nothing. Nothing. Not even you can separate
you from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. Our new song is eternal. We sing
a song that the world does not know, and it's called the Gospel. Turn over to the 98th Psalm if
you would. Just a few pages to the right. We sing the story of the God
of all power. The God of our salvation. It's
a song that He has given us. when He took up residence in
our new heart. A heart that was given to us
by Him. This new song is all about Him. It's all about what
He has done for us. You see, all glory belongs to
Him and we sing, glory be to the Lord. Are you with me in
Psalms 98? Oh, sing unto the Lord a new
song for He hath done marvelous things. You know folks, He didn't
have to do what He's done for us. He could have left us just
like He has the world, yet He has had mercy on some. And His mercy has brought us
to this room where we hear the truth of His Word spoken out
about His sovereign rule over everything. Not some wimpy God
who's waiting for us to do something, but He who rules over us. A new song, for He hath done
marvelous things in His right hand and His holy arm, hath He
gotten Him the victory." Christ Jesus is the arm of God. He is
the right hand, the strength of God. The Lord hath made known
His salvation, His righteousness hath He openly showed unto the
side of the heathen. Our Lord Jesus walked this earth
performing miracle after miracle after miracle. There's so many
that even the books that we have could not hold all the miracles. Yet even those miracles that
people saw, some still did not believe. He tells them plainly, you're
not my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. He hath remembered His mercy
and His truth. Verse 3, toward the house of
Israel. All the ends of the earth have
seen the salvation of our God. Make a joyful noise unto the
Lord, all the earth. Make a loud noise and rejoice
and sing praise. Sing unto the Lord with a harp
and the harp of the voice of the Psalms. With trumpets and
sound of cornet, make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King. Let the sea roar in the fullness
thereof, and the world and they that dwell therein. Let the floods
clap their hands. Let the hills be joyful together
before the Lord, for he cometh to judge the earth with righteousness,
shall he judge the world and the people with equity. In Romans
15, 6, you don't need to turn there, that you may with one
mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, wherefore receive ye one another as Christ also received
us to the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ was
minister of the circumcision of the truth of God to conform
the promises made unto the fathers, and that the Gentiles My glorified
God, for his mercy as it is written for this cause, I will confess
to thee among the Gentiles and sing unto thy name. The new song
is for us too, it's not just for Israel. It's for all of God's elect out
of every tongue and every nation and every time. In Hebrews 2.11 we read, For
both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all
one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren.
Our Lord calls us His brethren, co-heirs with the Son of God. He makes us to be priests and
kings as He is. saying, I will declare thy name
unto my brethren in the midst of the church. I will sing praise
unto thee." Our new song, praise unto our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ. Now go back to Revelation chapter
5 if you would. Turn to verse 11. And I'll bring this to a close.
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 ten thousand times ten thousands and thousands of thousands.
Now I don't know about you folks, but I'm pretty sure that adds
up to a lot more than 144,000, doesn't it? Saying with a loud
voice in verse 12, What does it say? Worthy is the
Lamb. There's our new song. It doesn't
get any more simpler than that. Worthy is the Lamb, not worthy
as though are us, worthy as the people of the church, worthy
as the building, worthy as whatever. It's worthy as the Lamb. That's
the song to sing. Worthy is the Lamb who has redeemed
us. The Lamb that was slain to receive
power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and
what? And glory, and blessings. And every creature which is in
heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and such are there
in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, blessing,
and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon
the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. What is your song? Is it still about you? Or has the Lord given you a new
song? I can guarantee you, I can guarantee you, that if God has
given you a new song, it's going to be a song of His Son. All glory. And that's what a
song is, isn't it? Praising and thanking our Lord
for what He's done. Praising Him and thanking Him
for choosing. Praising Him and thanking Him
for making atonement. I'd like you to read the verse
on the front of the bulletin with me if you would. Praise ye the Lord, sing unto
the Lord a new song and his praise in the congregation of saints.
Let Israel, let God's people, let God's elect Rejoice in Him that made Him.
Let the children of Zion be joyful in their kingdom. We, in our sinful flesh, have
so much trouble being joyful in our kingdom. But there is
a day coming when the people of God will sing it perfectly.
I don't think that day is off very far, folks. When we look
at the things around us in today's world, we say, oh my God, how
could people do those things? I can't wait for the day that
my Lord brings us together and that we can sing this song
when we all get to heaven. Will you stand with me?