Not that I need to be heard,
but, well, it definitely is my privilege
being here. It's been a good number of years
since I've been here, and I think the last time I was privileged
to come here, your pastor was just in transition of moving
here, and I was asked to come up a couple times while he was
trying to move and settle in. I never appreciated—and, Paul,
if you're listening to this, I confess that I never really
appreciated, as much as I should have, a man quitting a job and
moving to a family, uprooting your children and your circumstances,
your surroundings. Moving to a strange place, it
takes grace. I know that. I know your pastor
didn't come here out of fleshly ambitions. I know he came here
for a purpose, and the purpose is to preach Christ. I know that's
his purpose, and that was his aim, and that's his goal yet,
to preach Christ. And I hope God would enable me
to do that this morning. Turn to Revelation chapter 5.
Revelation chapter 5. Boy, I like to see that. I like to
hear pages ruffling. I get often discouraged when
I see people coming to the house of worship and think so little
of the Word that they—or maybe they're ashamed to carry the
Word and read the Word. I don't know the reason. But
I like to hear those pages ruffling, turning to the Scriptures. You
know, it's not so much what I say, and it's not—I'll say this—it's
not what I say that's important. It's what God says. The words
of men—oh, what was it Martin Luther said? Feelings come, feelings
go, feelings are deceiving. My warrant is the Word of God
and nothing else. is worth believing. Though all
my heart should feel condemned for want of some sweet token,
I know one greater than my heart whose word cannot be broken."
And then he says, So I'll trust God's unchanging hand till soul
and body sever. The words of men will pass away. God's will abide forever." Martin
Luther wrote that hundreds of years ago, and I believe it's
so. And I know your pastor makes
much of the Word of God, and it's essential, it's essential
that it be read not only in private, but it's essential that it be
read in public and to be preached from. We read the Scripture there before
the service starts, during the service, two or three chapters. Brother Henry Mahan will deal
with several portions of the Scriptures of a chapter, a portion
of a chapter. Just make much of the Word of
God. It can be trusted. It can be
relied upon. I hope the Lord will bless this
message. In the few years I've been trying to preach the gospel,
I've never found it an easy task. And one of the things that I'm always
anxious about—I'm not so anxious about standing up in front of
men and trying to declare what the gospel is and who the gospel
is, but what makes me so anxious is I dread standing before men
in the strength of my wretched nature and trying to preach in
the strength of me. It's a delight to preach when
God blesses. Like that lesson we had this
morning, that was a blessing to me. Just to take those verses
and look at that, that blessed me. And I hope it was a blessing
to you. I would encourage all of you
to try to come to the Bible study in the morning. It's most profitable.
Your pastor spends much time, and it would do you well to come
and listen to the teaching of God's Word. Revelation chapter
5. This is such a glorious portion
of Scripture. I laid in bed this morning and
preached this to myself. Maybe I shouldn't tell this.
I thought about it. You know, I had such a strange
dream last night. I'm not one for trusting dreams,
believe me. That pumpkin pie must have done
something to me last night, Sherry. I even hesitate telling you,
but I had a dream last night that this world was ending. It was a troublesome dream, and
it was a blessing, too. I don't put any stock in dreams.
I just—I don't know why I dreamed that. But I laid in bed this
morning after I woke up, and I thought of my text this morning,
John here, this revelation of Christ. And that's what this
book's about. It's a revelation of Jesus Christ. This, from Genesis
clear to the end of Revelation, it's a picture, it's a presentation
of a person, Christ the King, God our King. I laid in bed this
morning and mused this over in my mind. I could recall it up
in my mind and would think over it in my mind, and it was a blessing
to me. And I pray that God will bless
it to you. Now, let me try to move on here, and it might be
good just to read these few verses here. You've read this before,
and it would be good to read it again. Fourteen verses, Revelation
5. Let's just read this, and then
we'll come back and make a few comments as God will be pleased
to bless us. John said, And I saw in the right
hand of him God. He's talking about God. I saw
God sitting on a throne, the right hand of him. that sat on
the throne. Now, it's interesting to see
in chapter 4 and chapter 5 how many times we have mention of
the throne. Seventeen times, I believe, he
talks about the throne. God on the throne, on the throne. I saw him, God, sitting on the
throne. Read on. And a book written within,
on the back side, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong
angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open
the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven,
none in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the
book, neither to look into it. John said, I wept much, verse
4. No man was found worthy to open
and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the
elders, one of those twenty-four elders, that's a picture of the
church, twenty-four elders, one of the elders of the church,
said unto me, John, don't weep. Behold, the line of the tribe
of Judah, the root of David, has prevailed open the book to
fulfill the seven seals, to loose the seven seals thereof. And
I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four
beasts," and I believe the four beasts there, if you read in
chapter 4, verse 7, is a picture of God's preachers, the four
living creatures. In the midst of the throne and
the four living creatures, in the midst of the elders, in the
midst of the church, and around about the throne, stood a Lamb,
capital L, the Lord Jesus Christ, as it had been slain, having
seven horns, seven eyes, which are the seven spirits that God
sent forth into all the earth. And he came, and he 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 living creatures, and the twenty-four
elders fell down before the Lamb," notice capital L, having every
one of them harps and golden vials full of odors, which are
the prayers of the saints. And they sung a new song. saying, Thou art worthy to take
the book. Lamb of God is worthy. Lord Jesus
Christ is worthy to take the book, to open the seals thereof,
for Thou was slain. Thou hast redeemed us to God
by Thy blood out of every kindred, tongue, people, and nation. unto our God, kings and priests,
and we shall reign on earth.' And I beheld and heard the voice
of many angels round about the throne. And the beast and the
elders, and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousands
and thousands of thousands, sang with a loud voice, singing loudly
in their heart unto God, that was slain, to receive power,
riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessings. And every
creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth,
those in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying,
blessing, honor, glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon
the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." And the four
beasts, the four living creatures, the ministers of God said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders,
a picture of the Church, a symbolic picture of the Church, fell down
and worshiped him that liveth forever and ever. I'm going to
ask you a question. When you read through the book
of Revelation, when you read this revelation of Jesus Christ,
when you read through this book of Revelation, what is it that
draws your attention? What is it that grips your heart? What is it that stirs you up
in your soul when you read? When we read that passage, That
portion. What is it that leaps out at
you that grabs your attention? Or when you read through this
book, what is it that rivets your attention to the pages of
Word? Of His Word. Is it the opening
of the seven seals? Is it the pouring out of the
vials of the wrath of God? Is it the battle of Armageddon
that so many people are talking about? Is it the mark of the
beast? Is it that number of man, 666?
Are those the things that you're enamored with? Are those the
things that you're taken up with? People are so much today concerned
about end-time prophecy. Whenever an evangelist, someone
comes to town and he'll get his charts and his rules and his
pictures and he'll talk about, he'll take the book of Revelation
and Daniel and Ezekiel, he'll talk about this time and that
time and the end time, and he missed the whole message of the
Revelation because it's a message concerning the Lamb. It's all about the Lamb of God. Behold, the Lamb, he said. It'd be interesting to you It
was to me as I started thinking about this Scripture and thinking
how to preach Christ from this Scripture. When you consider
the Lamb, when you say, what's the book of Revelation about?
It's all about the Lamb. If you would look that word up
in your concordance, you'll find it's used thirty-one times in
the New Testament. The Lamb, the Lamb. It's recorded
many times in the Old Testament. The Lamb, the Lamb, the Lamb. But you know how many times,
it's 31 times in the New Testament. You know how many times it's
recorded in the Revelation? The Lamb? 27 times. In this Revelation,
this book here, 22 chapters, the Lamb. The Lamb. The Lamb. You ask me what the revelation
is about? It's about the Lamb. The Lord
Jesus Christ. That's what it's all about. These
other things, these other trivial things of times and judgments
and seasons, they're trivial things. Christ is the center. Christ is the message. Christ
is the only host that we have. The Lord Jesus Christ. It's all
about Him. Now, I would not be arrogant.
and tell you I understand all the mysteries that are spoken
of in this book, I don't. I would be a fool to say that
I did. I don't. I can say with Paul,
if the Apostle Paul said this, Henry, if he said, I see through
a glass dimly, I see through a glass darkly, we preach in
part. The Apostle said this. We preach
in part. We know in part. What does that
leave me? I tell you, I don't know much. I don't know much, but I know
this. I can say with Paul, and I can identify with Paul, I know
whom I have believed. I'm not ashamed of him. I know
whom I have believed, and I'm persuaded that he's able to do
all that he said. I'm persuaded he's able to keep
that which I've committed unto him against that day. Whatever
that day is, I'm persuaded he's able. He's able to save to the
uttermost all that come to God by him. He's able to keep me
from falling and to present me flawless before the presence
of God. Glory! He's able. He's able to save. His hand is not shortened that
he cannot save. He's able. The Lamb is worthy. The Lamb's worthy. We know in
part. We preach in part. But the part
I know is Christ. And you know what? That's all
I want to know. That's all I want to know is the Lord. You can
have those other things. You can go out and play with
these other things if you want to. I'm interested in Christ.
I need to know Him. You see, He's life. He's life. He's salvation. He's all of God's
salvation. This is eternal life that you
might know Him, the only true God. John 17. He said, this is
eternal life, that you might know Him, the only true God. And that little word, A-N-D,
I like to take that out. You know why? The only true God,
Jesus Christ. That's eternal life to know Him,
to know God. How can I know God who is holy?
How can a sinner know Him? How can a sinner approach unto
God? In Christ is the answer. In Him
is life. In Him is life. I'm confident
about the focus of the Bible, the center of all God-honoring
preaching, the heart of the gospel, and the keys of this book. And
what thrills my soul and what thrills my heart and warms my
heart is Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, the Lamb of God. Look at verse 6. Did you notice
in this when we read here in verse 6, chapter 5, I beheld
and lo in the midst of the throne. The four living creatures in
the middle of the church, in the midst of all this scene,
the center of that throne, the center of that scene, the Lamb. The Lamb stood in the midst,
having as it had been slain, newly slain. So that's what it's
all about. It's all about the Lamb, the
Lamb, the Lamb of God. And I tell you right now, friend,
that lamb that you need to approach unto God. You know, what does
the lamb, what does the character of the lamb signify? You go back
to the whole Old Testament and you find the lamb. They brought
a lamb. Abel, when he approached unto
God, what did he bring? He brought a lamb. The Lamb in
the Old Testament during Exodus, it was the Lamb of Passover Lamb. What's that all about? What does
that mean? That means that God who is holy, that God who is
unapproachable apart from a suitable sacrifice, and that sacrifice
has to be the one appointed of God, who is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is that Lamb. He is that Lamb. Old John the Baptist, do you
remember him? Old John the baptizer? What was his message? That day
he was out there in Jordan baptizing there in John chapter 1, and
he looked down the shoreline there, and here comes one walking
in that sand down that shoreline. It was hot and dry and dusty,
and people looked at him, and they didn't see anything. They
seen this man coming along the shoreline, and others looked
at him, and they didn't see nothing in him. But John looked at him,
and he said, Behold, this lamb, he was manifested
to take away our sin. You know, John the Baptist knew
something about the lamb. He knew to approach unto God
you had to have a lamb. You know why he knew that? His
daddy was a priest. Old John the Baptist grew up
in the temple. He'd seen lamb come year after
year after year, morning, evening, lamb, the lamb, the blood. And he points to the Lord Jesus
Christ and says, This is that Lamb, the Lamb of God, which
taketh away the sin of God's elect, wherever they are in the
world. Behold the Lamb, the Lamb. That's what it's all about. God's
unapproachable apart from a sacrifice, a suitable appointed sacrifice. That's what the character of
the Lamb means. This lamb died in our room and in our stead.
Let me make this statement. Listen to me. If our Lord's sacrificial
character in heaven is most prominent, and it is, they rallied around
the throne, Joe. They rallied around the lamb. If the Lord Jesus Christ in his
sacrificial character in heaven is most prominent, And it is
stated, most prominent in heaven, they rallied around the Lamb,
they talked about the Lamb, they said, where is the Lamb? If it's
most prominent in heaven, you know what? We'd do well to make
much of it right here on earth. No wonder Paul said, God forbid,
I said, glory, save in the cross. of the Lord Jesus Christ. Huh?
No wonder he was taken up with the Lamb, with the glory of the
Lamb, with the sacrifice of the Lamb, with the intercession of
the Lamb, with the substitutionary work of the Lamb. That's why
he said, God forbid I should glory, save in the Lamb of God. It's all about the Lamb. All about the Lamb. Did you notice
verse 2? Now let me work down through
these verses here. Look at verse 2. You'll have to go back up and
read chapter 4 and chapter 1, 2, 3, and 4 to get this picture
here. It's such an awesome, holy scene. He sees the throne and God Almighty
sitting on the throne with the book of His decrees. That book
is the book of God's redemptive purpose. It's sealed on the back
side. It's sealed up. It's sealed up
with the omnipotent hand of Almighty God. None can stay His hand. None can say unto Him, it's in
God's hand. None can lift His hand. None
can stay His hand. It's in the hand of God. Verse
2, And a strong angel proclaimed with a loud voice, saying, Who
is worthy to open the book? Who's worthy to come forward? Who's worthy? What creature could
come forward to execute, to counsel the purpose of God? Who's worthy
to come to open a book, to loose the book? Look at verse 3, and
here's the response of glory. No man. None. None were found. None were found. No man in heaven. None in earth,
neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither
to look into it, to look on it. None were worthy to look into. No holy angels, none of the angels
of God, no other ministers of God, they came out to perform
the redemptive purposes of God, the redemptive decrees of God.
None in heaven. He said there was none in earth.
No man, the wisest, the strongest, the best, the best preacher ever
known, prophet, preacher, king, they all have the same idea as
Jacob of old, I'm not worthy of the least of your mercies,
I'm not worthy of your truth. No man was worthy in heaven,
in earth, and it says here, under the earth. No man in heaven or
for heaven could challenge, could meet the challenge of this angel
who was worthy to take the book. And to look thereon, to look
into this book, to fulfill this book, none was worthy, not even
Satan himself. He said in Isaiah 14, I will
ascend, I will rise, I will exalt myself above the throne of God,
I will be like the most high God. And God said, no, you won't.
You ever wonder where free will doctrine originated? It didn't
originate with man. It originated with Satan. And
he's kind of promoted. That's what he told our Mother
Eve. You'll be like the Most High God. That's where free willism
began. It began with Satan. I will. No man was found worthy. None found worthy. Look at verse
4. John said, I wept much. John's seeing this scene, and
he stands there with anticipation. The angel proclaimed who's worthy,
and no one was found worthy. And John's standing here with
great anticipation. And John is the Apostle. He knows
the Lord Jesus Christ. He knows in his heart that no
man is worthy. He knows that every man's a sinner. He knows that no one can come
forward. No man of the human race or the
angelic race, fallen angels, or angels that haven't fallen.
None can come forward. And he stands there and he weeps
much. Why is he weeping? I stumbled
over that. I couldn't understand John. John,
you know the Lamb. John, you know the gospel. Why
are you weeping? And he weeps much. No man was found worthy to open
the book and to look therein. The only thing I could think
of was this. John waits with great anticipation for the Lord
Jesus Christ to come forward, to step forward. I know He is.
He's standing there waiting for Christ His Lord, Christ His King,
Christ the Lamb to come forward and say, I want to leave! And
He doesn't come forward. There's a hesitation. He's waiting
there with anticipation. You see the anticipation, and
He begins to weep! The Lord Jesus Christ doesn't
come on the scene right then. And I thought of this. I thought
of this, you know, when Abraham and his son Isaac went to the
mountain to sacrifice. And Isaac said to his daddy,
we've got the fire. You've got the knife. And he
said, where is the lamb? Maybe John thought the same thing
in his heart. Where is the Lamb? Where is the
Lamb of God? Where is my home? Why didn't
my Mediator come forward? And he weeps much. Remember what
Abraham said? God will provide Himself a sacrifice. God will provide that Lamb. Behold
the Lamb. The Lamb. No Mediator came forward. No intercessor came forward immediately. John began to weep. And one of
the elders, verse 5, look at verse 5. One of the elders, just
an elder, just one of the members of the church. That's a picture
of those 24 elders. It's a symbolic picture of the
redeemed elect of God. Just one of the elders, one of
the members of the church, said, John, don't weep. Don't weep,
John. Winked not, he said, Behold,
watch this, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David,
he hath prevailed to open the book, to loose the seven seals
thereof. God sent a messenger. God sent
a messenger. Listen to me. The church of God
is still about its business, telling the same message. They haven't changed their message
one bit. Even in glory, they're still
talking about the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lamb of God. God sent an angel, or a messenger,
an elder to instruct an apostle. Huh? Could an elder instruct
an apostle? Don't weep, John, don't weep.
I tell you, we need to learn something here. May we never
get to the station in life where we're above being taught something
by someone who we think is nobody. May we sit still, and as James
said, let everyone be swift to hear, slow to speak. Oh, we need to sit still and
listen. How important is the preaching of the gospel? Even
in glory, the church is still proclaiming the same message. The elder came forward and said,
John, don't weep. Don't weep, John. The lion. The lion, he says. Look at verse
5. Weep not, behold, the lion of
the tribe of Judah, the root of David. And I love this phrase
right here. Get a hold of this phrase. This
is so precious. This lion, this man who's the
root of David, the offspring of David. He has prevailed, prevailed,
prevailed, prevailed to open the book, to fulfill the book
and to loose the seven seals thereof. Now why is he called
a king? Or why is he called a lion? The
lion of the tribe of Judah. When you think of a lion, you
young people, when you see those shows on those nature channels,
National Geographic or something, and they show the lion. When
you think of the lion, you think of what? A king. He's known as
the king, don't you? When you see that lion, you think
of a king. That's what he's saying right
here. Behold the king of the tribe of Judah. You see, he's
from the tribe of Judah. Why is he from? Why did he spring
out of Judah? He's the kingly tribe. Judah's
the kingly tribe. The scepter shall not depart
from Judah until Shiloh comes to tell the king comes. He came
out of the kingly tribe. He's the king. He's not only
the king, but he's the root of David. He was a man. He was a
real man. God and man in one body. He explained it, I can't believe
it, I do. He's the lion of the tribe of
Judah. He's the king. He's not king. Listen to me. I know you had
an election here recently for governor, right? You got a new
governor. Governor Allen, is that his name? Was he appointed king? Uh-uh. He was king. He was made king
by a democratic process, wasn't he? And that's why we should
do things in this But by a democratic process,
you voted. You said, I like him. I like
his politics. And you voted for him. But see,
the Lord Jesus Christ is not king by a democratic process.
We're not going to hold a vote to see if he is king. You know
why? God appointed him king. God made him king. You can't
make the Lord Jesus Christ Lord. God has made him both Lord and
Christ. God beat you to it. God decreed
an eternity. He said in Psalm 2, I sent my
king on my holy hill Zion. He's Lord by his God's almighty
decree. You see that? He's king. He's
king. God made him king. He's king
of kings and Lord of Lords. He's every man's king, whether
you acknowledge him or not. One day you will. Every knee's
going to bow. Every tongue's going to confess
that he's Lord, that he's king to the glory of God. He's king. That's what the church is saying,
preaching about the Lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's
king. He's not only king, but he's the root of David. And this
king, this one, this God-man, this root of David, he was born
a real man. In the fullness of time, God
sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law. And this
one here has prevailed. He has prevailed. And I love
that phrase. Don't you? Listen, the Christ
of God, the Lamb of God, this king, priest of God that we have,
He's not a phaser. He's not a frustrated monarch
sitting on the king. He does as he will, with whom
he will, when he will. He's the king. He's God's king,
Ed. He's God's king. He hath prevailed. I love that verse over there
in Isaiah 42 where it says, He shall not fail. He shall prevail. This king of God, this lion of
the tribe of Judah, He hath prevailed. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ
has won the victory. He has won. He's conquered the
enemy. He's won the victory. He's conquered
the enemy. He's defeated all our difficulties. He has defeated sin. Listen,
He met sin head on. He didn't skirt it. He didn't
go around it. He met the issue of our sin head
on, didn't He? He has prevailed over our sin. He put away the sin of God's
elect. All the sin of His elect was
made to meet on Him, and by His offering, by His sacrifice, He
put our sin away. He let sin hit on, and He put
away the sin of God's elect. He met Satan head-on. He didn't go around him. He didn't
skirt the issue. He met him head-on. And you know
what? He's called in Scripture over
in Revelation 19, I believe it is, Satan is called the destroyer. But the Lord Jesus Christ destroyed
him who is a destroyer. He's crushed the serpent's head. He met him head-on. He met sin
head-on. You see, he's prevailed. He's
prevailed. He met Satan head on and defeated
him. He met the law head on. He met
the law, God's holy, inflexible, immovable law. He met that law
head on and fulfilled it. And God said, I'm well pleased
with his righteousness. This is my son in whom I'm well
pleased. Would you hear him? Hear him.
You see, he has prevailed. He has prevailed. Friend, let
me tell you, never, never, Tolerate low thoughts of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Make your thoughts of Him glorious. Glory in the Lord. Make your
thoughts of Him. You can't think too highly of
Him. You can't exalt Him too much. I'd like to be charged with that. I would like to be found guilty
of making too much of Christ. I would like to be found guilty
of glorifying Him too much. Can't be done. Can't be done. Someone recently, I was trying
to tell the gospel to the steel mill where they're in Ashland,
had some men around me and had opportunity to try to tell them
the gospel of Christ who cannot fail. And he told me, he said,
you give too much to Christ. You honor him too much. And he
thought he insulted me. And I told him, I said, thank
you. Thank you. You can't exalt him too much.
You can't make too much of him. He has prevailed. We could say
with David, my soul does magnify the Lord. I've got to move on. Look at
verse six. Give me just a few minutes here.
Look at verse six. And I beheld and lo in the midst
of the throne and of the four beasts and amidst of the elders
stood a lamb, as it had been slain, having seven horns, seven
eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the
earth." Not only is this lion, the Lord Jesus Christ called
a lion, but get this, this lion is also a lamb. Now that seems
impossible, doesn't it? How can a lion be a lamb? That's what the gospel is all
about. The King, the King, the Lion became the Lamb, the Lamb
of God. That's what the Gospel's all
about. He who was greater than the greatest, higher than the
highest, became lower than the lowest. The Lion became the Lamb. The Scriptures call Him the Great
Shepherd of the Sheep. Listen, the Shepherd became a
Lamb. to save the sheep, to secure
the sheep. You get that? The great shepherd
of the sheep became a lamb to save the sheep. He's not only
called the great shepherd of the sheep, but he's called the
chief shepherd of the sheep. Is he not? The chief shepherd
of the sheep. The chief shepherd of the sheep
became a servant. He made himself of no reputation
and he took upon himself the form of the servant and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. And the Good
Shepherd, he's called the Good Shepherd, who lays his life down
for the sheep. The Good Shepherd was made sin
for us. You see where I'm driving at?
The Lamb and the Lion are one. The Lamb, the Good Shepherd,
became sin. God made him to be sin for us
who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. That's the gospel. That's the
gospel of substitution. And this lamb here that stands
in the midst having been slain, this lamb that's been slain,
this lamb having been slain, it was newly slain. The blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ is ever fresh, and it's new. The merits
of His sacrifice are eternal, having been slain, newly slain,
lately slain. But listen, this Lamb that died
that was slain, notice this Lamb here, it's standing. How can
a Lamb that has been slain stand? Listen, He died, but He didn't
stand! He was delivered from our offenses,
but God, what happened? Raised him up for our justification. You see, this Lamb that was slain,
this Lamb is standing as our shelter, as our representative,
as our mediator right now. Standing. Oh, His blood ever, He ever lives
to cleanse us through His blood. You see, what was that song we
sung? Dear dying lamb, thy precious
blood shall never lose its power. And that's so. You see, there
in the midst of the throne, that lamb having been slain, it's
standing. Look over Revelation 1, 18. Let
me see if this is the verse I want. Yeah, Revelation 1, 18. He said,
I am he, got it, Revelation 1, 18. I am he that liveth. He was a real man. Bone and flesh,
flesh and bone and blood. I am he that liveth and was dead. He died a real death, a horrible
death, a substitutionary death. And he said, though, I'm alive
forevermore. He died, but God raised him up.
And look what it says right here. I'm alive forevermore. Amen.
And he has the keys. He has the ownership. You know,
when you have the keys, you're in charge. Huh? When you have
the keys, I've got keys in my pocket to a house. You know why?
It's mine. I'm the owner. And the Lord Jesus
Christ has the crown right to your soul. He bought them with
his own blood. He's in charge. He's got the
keys of hell and death. He's Lord. He'll have mercy on
whom he will. Look back at the text now. It
says here in verse 6, he has seven horns, seven eyes, Well,
you know, if you're a student of scripture, that word seven
there has to do with completeness. The Lord Jesus Christ has seven
horns and that, and that horns is symbolism. It's, it's a symbolic
of power. And what he's saying right there
is the Lord Jesus Christ has complete power. Seven horns,
complete power. He has seven eyes. He has complete,
perfect wisdom. which are the seven spirits of
God, complete Holy Spirit, powerful, effectual Holy Spirit. The Lord
Jesus Christ has perfect power to execute all the purpose and
counsel of God in perfect wisdom, to understand it, and do it all
in a most effective manner to his Father's glory. He said,
I finished thee on earth. I glorified thee on earth. I
finished the work which you have given me. to do. He glorified
his God by finishing that work. Let me move on. I'll be through
in just a minute. Give me just a minute, will you?
You're not in a hurry, are you? I've traveled 300 miles down
here to tell you the gospel. Don't run out on me now. Hang
in there, you young people. Listen up now. Look at verse
7. And this one here, this lion,
this lamb, He came. Who came? This Lion Lamb of God
who has prevailed. Here's the one that came. And
watch what happened. He took the book. He took the
book out of the right hand of God who sat on the throne. He
took the book. Not by robbery. Not by violence. Not by fraud. Not by deceit. But by his righteousness, by
his blood, through his death, through his atonement, he took
the book. And you know what? God gave it
to him. God gave it to him. He said,
this is my son. God gave him the book. Oh, the
Lord Jesus Christ readily and gladly received it, for he always
delights through the will of his Father. Now, let me wind
this up here. Look at verse 8. When he took the book, look what
happens here. When he had taken the book, the living creatures,
with all the preachers of God and the church of God, they fell
down before the Lamb. They worshiped the Lamb. You
know why? He's God. He's God. They worship the Lamb.
Every one of them having harps, and harps is symbolic of praise.
They praise God in their hearts. And they had golden vials full
of odors, and it tells us what that is. It's the prayers of
the saints. Here's the church. They're full of praise when this
happens, because Christ has prevailed, because the Lamb, Lion of God,
has prevailed to put away all our sin. And He came and He took
the book, and He loosed the book. That means He fulfilled the book.
All the redemptive decrees of God, He fulfilled them all. And
the church is full of praise and full of prayer, full of thanksgiving. And notice what happens in verse
9. They start singing. They start singing. Praise and
prayer and singing. Worship God. They worship God. And they sing here just not any
song. Oh, we need to be so careful
what we sing. Those songs you selected this
morning were excellent. There is a fountain filled with
blood drawn from Immanuel's vein, and sinners plunged beneath that
blood shall lose all their stain." That's a precious song. Precious
song. Not just any song. Notice what
they sung here in verse 9. And they sung this song, Thou
Art Worthy. They agreed he's worthy to take
the book. to open the seals, to loose the seals, to fulfill
because—here's a reason for—because thou wast slain and hast redeemed
us to God by your precious blood out of every kindred, tongue,
people, and nation. It says here, thou wast slain.
When the Lord Jesus Christ undertook to be our surety, our mediator,
he paid the ultimate cost to guarantee our delivery. He died
in our room, in our stead. Thou was slain for us, for us. Christ suffered the just for
the unjust that he might bring us unto God and no one will be
brought any other way. than through the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ, the just for the unjust, that substitution.
He died in our room, in our place, and in our stead. I'm never weary
of it. Tell it to me again. Christ died
for me. He was wounded for me. He was
bruised for me. Tell it to me one more time.
I'm never weary of it. That's my hope. Thou was slain
for us. And notice the fruit of this.
We not only sing of His victorious suffering and death, but we also
sing of the fruit, Thou hast redeemed us to God. Redemption, full, effectual,
powerful, complete. The Bible knows nothing, the
Scriptures know nothing of an atonement that fails. It says
here, Thou has redeemed us. It's done. The great transaction
is finished. He said on the cross, it is finished. He has secured our redemption
with his own blood. We're redeemed, not with corruptible
things of silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ.
He has redeemed us with his blood. He has redeemed us. The Bible
knows nothing of an atonement that fails to atone. A Redeemer
that does not redeem? A Savior who cannot save? The Scriptures know nothing about
that. The angel proclaimed, called
his name Jesus. Why? He shall save his people
from their sins. He has redeemed us. Oh, Arthur Pink said this, to
promote an atonement that fails to atone, a redemption that fails
to redeem, a Savior who fails to save is a horrible reflection
upon the attributes of God. When you preach this thing of
universal atonement, you have to hold to the position that
if you know anything of God and the character of God, if Christ
died for all, then all men have to be saved. The blood of Christ
cannot fail in its purpose. You can't say that he died for
Peter and Judas, and Judas went to hell. That's nonsense. Christ
died to secure the elect with his own blood, and those for
whom he died, none will perish. God, give us grace to go to our
grave preaching this thing of particular, wonderful, exalting,
glorifying redemption. Stand for it! Die for it! Why? It's a reflection on the
attributes of God. If you tell me that your God
died to save you and yet you go to hell, what kind of God
you got anyway? Huh? You don't have a God. The
good news is that Christ died. God purchased the church with
his own blood. He laid down a good shepherd
for his sheep. None of those will perish. He'll
bring them all home. Bring them all home. Oh, it's
wonderful redemption. He redeemed us with his own blood.
And notice verse 10, and let me quit. He has made us unto
our God. Here's the result of this redemption.
He has made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign
with him on earth. Now, how is this sinner a king
and a priest? Only one way, through the blood
of Christ. We're kings in him. You know
why? We live like kings. We live in
the kingdom of grace. Kingdom of grace and mercy. We
fare like kings. Everything's provided for us.
Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Everything's
provided in him. We're kings to the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Not only are we kings, but he
said we're priests unto our God. He offers unto God sacrifices
of praise and thanksgiving, don't we? It's accepted to the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ, our great high priest. And then we
have this wonderful doxology. I'll not read it again. The church
breaks out into singing in awe of creation, all the angels in
heaven, all the redeemed of the ages, and they sing this song,
Worthy is the Lamb. Oh, He's worthy. He's worthy,
friend. If there's anything I would have
you remember today is that He's worthy. I would impress this
on your heart and your mind that the Lord Jesus Christ is worthy. His righteousness is worthy to
clothe us. His sufferings and sacrifices
are worthy to satisfy the justice of God to redeem us. His blood
is worthy to cleanse us. The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
cleanses us from all sin. His power is worthy to preserve
us. His love is worthy to win our
hearts. He is worthy of our faith. our
obedience, our love, and our worship. The Lamb of God is worthy. Is that your hope, this Lion
Lamb? Do you have a lamb? I'm asking you, do you have a
lamb? Is it the Lord Jesus Christ? You know, God's going to accept
exactly what He provided, nothing else. And he provided the Lord
Jesus Christ. Don't bring a lamb. Don't go
out and get a lamb now. We've got a lamb. Will you look?
Look to the lamb. Look and live. Look and live. There's none other Savior. Know
the name under heaven, given among men, whereby must be saved. That lamb. That lamb. I appreciate
your attention. I appreciate your time. My time is gone. Come back tonight. And I'll tell you the same thing.
You heard me preach one time, you heard me. I ain't got nothing
new to tell. I don't want to know anything
new. Tell me the old, old story of how this sinner, huh? Are you a sinner? I met a man. Let me tell you this now. I met a man a couple weeks ago.
I was preaching somewhere. I met him at the door before
the meeting started. He came to the door. He looked
troubled. And he took me by the hand and
drug me out front. And he looked at me dead in the
eye, troubled. This man was troubled. He said,
I'm a sinner. And I smiled and I told him,
oh, I give thanks. There's not many of them left.
The old songwriter said the sinner is a sacred thing. The Holy Ghost. I know this. I die for the ungodly. Huh? They need a savior. Amen. I'm sure I'm glad the Lord brought
me here this morning. I rejoice in it. Appreciate it, brother. Thank
you for preaching Christ our Savior. Let's take our hymn books
and turn to number 127 and sing hallelujah, what a sight. 127,
would you please stand? Let's sing this one, will you?
Be dismissed and remember the service this afternoon at 6 o'clock,
right? you. God who came through the tenors
to reclaim. Hallelujah! What a Savior! Bearing demons, scoffing rude,
in my place condemned he stood. Still my pardon with his blood But hallelujah, what a Savior
He'll be found in heav'nly peace On the trail of God's mercy Lord
of all the saints, be hallelujah! What a Savior! Lifted up for me to die, He received
His cross, His pride. Now in heaven exalted, Hallelujah! What a Savior! When He comes, our glorious King,
All His ransomed home to bring, Then a new, new song we'll sing,
Hallelujah! What a Savior! Thank you and your distance.