Revelation chapter 7 tonight. Revelation chapter 7, the last
song we sang is very appropriate for our lesson tonight. I mentioned
the blood of Christ and that's what we'd like to speak about
tonight that is found here in the book of Revelation chapter
7. I've mentioned several times in our study of the book of Revelation
that when God's people are beset by temptations, persecution,
or great tribulation. Now it's interesting when we
read that last week, it's often mentioned as THE great tribulation. The word THE is not there, it's
great tribulation. And we looked at the Apostle
Paul and his great tribulation was, O wretched man that I am.
And it's a constant warfare that God's people are in every day
of their life. A warfare, those things I would
like to do, I do not do. And those things I don't want
to do, those are the things I do. And that's the confession of
the Apostle Paul. And he certainly speaks for the
whole church on that subject. But whether it be temptations
or persecution or great tribulation, a revelation of God's character
and glory is the best remedy. And once again, in this passage
of scripture, we're going to see that God was going to comfort,
is comforting, and will continue to comfort his people by a revelation
of himself, by a revelation of the Lamb of God, and the rich
benefits that the church has as a result of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And once again, he sends out
his comfort to his people under whatever circumstance we may
be in, and it may be that our only conflict has been our Great
Tribulation. Our only conflict may have been
our flesh against our spirit. And we may not have met conflict
from someone else or conflict by the sword, but to have that
conflict constantly about us. And so here in the book of Revelation
chapter 7, we find verse 14. And I said unto him, sir, thou
knowest. And he said to me, these are
they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their
robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 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. Verse 16, they shall hunger no
more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on
them, nor any heat. For the lamb, which is in the
midst of the throne, shall feed them and shall lead them unto
living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes. Now we'd like to spend a little
time tonight on that last phrase in verse 14, have made them white,
washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb.
This afternoon as I was in my study, I was just hoping to realize
again a little more the value, the importance of the blood of
Christ. And in the New Testament, there
are a number of verses that we'd like to read. Now, all of the
Old Testament sacrifices spoke of the shed blood of Jesus Christ,
almost without exception. There were a few sacrifices that
were given that were not blood sacrifices. But one of the things
that we notice about every sacrifice in the Old Testament, that when
that blood was shed, that animal was dead. There was never a living
animal after the blood was shed. And all of the sacrifices throughout
the Old Testament, none of them combined, all of them, could
not do what the shed blood of Christ did one time. They pictured it, but they could
not accomplish it. They pictured the shed blood
of Christ and the work that it would accomplish, but never accomplished
it, not with all of them combined, were they one step closer to
redemption than the blood of Christ made in one time. from the beginning of the world,
the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus accomplished more in his death,
his shed blood, than all the blood of rams and goats did throughout
all those years that they practiced it among Israel. The Lord had it written in the
book of Hebrews that no one, It was not the blood of bulls
and goats that put away sin. They were typical, figurative,
they were shadows and types, but they did not make anybody
better. They simply were a picture of
what must be accomplished. Now here, we have, they've come
through great tribulation and have washed their robes and made
them white in the blood of the Lamb. Very careful, a number
of times in scripture, very careful, particularly when we get to the
New Testament, it's very careful, the Lord was to specify whose
blood it was. that was going to make us better. It wasn't human blood. It wasn't
some martyr's blood. It wasn't Stephen's blood. It
was the Lord's blood. Now turn with me, if you would,
back to the book of Acts, chapter 20. There are a number of other
times that the Lord, even in the New Testament, in the Gospels,
uses the term blood. But notice here in the book of
Acts, the apostle Paul was used to write these words or to speak
these words with regard to the blood of Christ and in relationship
to the church. Now, we're going to see by the
blood of Christ that he has accomplished and finished a work that could
not be accomplished from Abraham's sacrifice, Noah's sacrifice,
Abel's sacrifice, down to the last sacrifice that was given
in the temple. Now it appears that Israel was
offering sacrifices in the temple up to and possibly including
AD 70. And that's the sacrifices from
Abel to 70 in our, after Christ, after the birth of Christ. So
all those years, the sacrifices that were given, they could not
accomplish in all that, and in all that time, what Jesus Christ
did with the sacrifice of himself. And when we read about the blood
of Christ, we read about a finished work. an accomplished work, a
work that is concluded. It is a work that is successful.
Here the blood of the Lamb fixes redemption for time and eternity. It fixes redemption. It doesn't
make redemption possible. It fixes redemption. The blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ is the only cleansing agent from all
the effects of the fall, from all sin, and from the results
of sin. The blood of Jesus Christ is
the only cleansing agent. And we find it is the blood of
Christ that is the only thing that will deal with our conscience
and put away dead works. I've just come to the conclusion
of why people are so interested in continuing in their works
to make themselves more appealing to God. They've never had the
blood of Christ cleanse their dead conscience from dead works.
Once Christ does that, works is no longer a part, an issue. Now we serve the Lord out of
gladness and we serve the Lord out of joy, but it's not to make
ourselves better before him. That's a slap in the face at
the quality of the blood of Christ. Now, those Old Testament people,
they worked their full heads off after the sacrifice of those
animals, because it didn't clean their conscience from dead works.
But the blood of Christ will do that, and do it without reservation. It will take care of that issue,
and there is no longer any dependence whatsoever on our works. knowing full well it's the work
of Christ and his shed blood. Acts chapter 20 verse 28, the
Apostle Paul was speaking to a group of people and he is telling
them to be faithful. And he is telling them here in
Acts 20, 28, he is, take heed, he's speaking to these elders,
take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock over which
the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers to feed the church
of God. Now notice this last phrase,
which he hath purchased." Now that's a finished work. That's
a completed work. It's not making them purchasable. It is meaning they were purchased. They were purchased with his
blood. feed the church of God which
he purchased with his blood. This is a finished work. When
we're dealing with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, we're
gonna be dealing along with it, finished works. Completed works. There is no additional requirements
here. His blood means finished work. His blood means finished redemption. His blood means finished, finished,
it is finished when we see the blood of Christ. When we see
his blood as it's applied in the scriptures, it always comes
and concludes all work. It's a completed redemption.
So the Apostle Paul was used to speak this. What wonderful
instructions he left these elders, but what wonderful success he
shares because of the blood of Christ. I mentioned not too long
ago, oh, the most freeing thing in all the scriptures is I, nor
anyone else has to convince me or anyone else of anything. It's
the Holy Spirit. Because of the success of the
blood of Christ, we do not spend our time trying to convince people
of spiritual things. We bring it up. We share it.
We preach it. We talk about it. but it's not
our responsibility to convince one person of one spiritual truth
about the Word of God. It's the blood of Jesus Christ
that purchased the church, and it's the blood of Jesus Christ
that puts away all sin. Let's move on here. Turn with
me if you would to 1 Corinthians 11. As we look at the blood of
the Lord Jesus, it's no wonder those saints there, were so lifted
up, and those saints that were in persecution, and those saints
that were in temptation, and those saints who are in great
tribulation, how it lifts us up to find out daily, expressed
to us in the scriptures, that he purchased the church. It's
not something that's coming. It's not something that is partially
done. It's not something that's left
up to us to finish the work. He has purchased the church with
his own blood. How effectual is the blood of
Jesus Christ? Completely. How valuable is it? Absolute. There is nothing that
will take the place of the blood of Christ. The Old Testament,
though those people saw the effect of ineffectual work in those
sacrifices. Now there were people saved in
the Old Testament, but they were saved on the promise of the blood
of the everlasting covenant. God wrote a check for them. And
at Calvary, everything that was necessary for that check to be
cashed and appropriated to Abel was taken care of. He promised
it in the covenant of grace, taken care of at the cross, and
the blood of the everlasting covenant saved Abel just like
he saves anybody today. First Corinthians chapter 11
verse 25, we find these words with regard to the blood of Christ.
It is so valuable and so important and so encouraging to the church
to know that we've been purchased. And then it tells us here, First
Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 25 after the same manner also
he took the cup when he had sup saying this cup is the New Testament
in my blood this do you as often as you drink it in remembrance
of me this is the New Testament in my blood We're not dealing
with the old anymore. We're dealing with the everlasting
covenant, which is the new covenant. This is the blood of the everlasting
covenant, the blood of the New Testament. Oh my goodness, thank
you, Lord. That is over, done, and finished. And the work of Jesus Christ
has entered into a section of the Word of God we call the New
Covenant, the New Testament. And it is through that he has
redeemed all his people. It was not by the blood of bulls
and goats. It was not by the Old Covenant.
It's by the New Covenant. And he said this is a symbol.
Now I don't know how big it was, this big, this big, I don't know,
but this is a symbol of my blood, the everlasting, the new covenant. And the churches said, oh, I
knew there was better than that old. Never could get there. Never could get there. Sacrifice
after sacrifice and people brought their own sacrifice after sacrifice
and never saw the finished work except in the blood of Christ.
They look forward to it as we look back to it. In the book
of Romans, Romans chapter 5, Romans chapter 5 it tells us
here Backing up just a little bit, in Romans chapter five,
we find here that we're, and this is so valuable, oh my, the
church needs to know this. And this is what encouraged those
saints. This is, how does God correct
his people today? Does he lift them up? I saw a
teacher, Mr. Dobry. He was my third grade
teacher. He grew up in Moline, got to
meet him a long, long years later, got to eat at his table, enjoy
his fellowship. But he was my third grade teacher
and he picked up an eighth grader by the belt. And he suspended
between heaven and earth, feet off the ground, and Mr. Dobry. with his hands as big as a ham,
come and collided with his glutamate maximus. And he's swinging in
the air like a pendulum. Bing, bong, bing, bong, bing,
bong. Tears running down his cheek.
He didn't dare cry. He's an eighth grader. Sat down. Do you think he had any more
trouble with him? Never. To this day, I visited with that
guy at my brother's funeral, and he still remembers being
between heaven and earth. Oh, you know what? We need to
know that we're out of wrath's way. The church needs to know
this, and we can know this by the blood of Christ. Old Jerry
Panner met Mr. Dobry, and he was not out of
wrath's way. But the blood of Jesus Christ
takes us out of wrath's way, God's wrath against us. Here
in the book of Romans, Romans chapter 5 and verse 9, it says
here, much more than being now justified by his blood, we shall
be saved from wrath through him. My goodness, thank God. I know
what I deserve. That's one of the things that
the everlasting covenant reveals to God's people. We know what
we deserve. We deserve the wrath of God,
but by his blood, he took all our wrath. He shed his blood,
took all our wrath on that tree. He put himself between God the
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and every one
of his children, and took every dart, and every spear, and every
sword, and every bit of justice. And you know what he did? He
saved us from wrath. And those saints in the Revelation
time, and the saints in the Middle Ages, and the saints back there
in the Old Testament era, when God the Holy Spirit revealed
to them that the blood of the Lamb will save them from wrath,
they could sit under their vine. My God's not mad at me anymore. He was mad at Adam. Hung him
out to dry. I was thinking about God putting
Adam in one of those great big slingshots, like the cartoons
use, and just shot him away because of his sin. He pushed him away,
got rid of him, if you please. Spiritually, he died right there.
But because of the blood of Christ and all the wrath of God was
placed upon his son, his blood demonstrates that we will not
fail. We can meet God on good terms.
We can come under the sun's apron strings, if you please. We can
meet him in the sun. And here as it says, much more
than being out justified by his blood, we shall be saved from
wrath through him. That's this wrath. How does God
judge his people today? Does he pick them up like Mr.
Dobry? You know what he uses on his
people today? His word. That's what he uses
on us. That's how he corrects us. My
goodness, if every time we fell down, God's beaten on us. Now he purposed that. I agree
with that. But God corrects his children
through his word. He speaks to us through his word. We know his displeasure by the
word. Thy word have I hid in my heart
that I might not sin against thee. It's his word. He doesn't
literally pick us up and throw us over the brow of a hill. He
uses his word. He corrects us with his word.
He speaks to us. And He speaks to us out of love
and compassion. He speaks to us as children.
He speaks to us, and His blood has saved us from wrath. His
blood was shed in wrath. The Father's wrath was poured
out on the Son, and His blood was shed in wrath. Turn with
me, if you would, to the book of Ephesians, chapter 1. We've
read this many times. I just fell in love with this
verse all over again. Ephesians chapter 1 verse 7 says
here, redemption. When we find the blood of the
Lamb, when we find the blood of Christ, we're going to find
the finished work. We're not depending on anything. It's not
up to us for anything. We don't have anything to add.
The blood of Jesus Christ means finished work. When he presented
his blood, as he says there, he has entered in once into the
holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. He, by his
own blood, has redeemed the people, and that is a finished work. It is redemption that is redemption. It is a purchase that actually
purchased the object. It is a finished work. He didn't
put a down payment on it. He didn't put us on layaway.
He finished the work and redeemed us. Notice here, Ephesians chapter
one, verse seven, it says, in whom we have redemption. Complete
full in whom we have redemption how through his blood. It's a finished work. It's no
wonder those saints are shared with us in Revelation chapter
seven as being in bliss. God's people even today can spiritually
be in bliss to understand that his redemption is actually redemption. Redemption carries with it the
idea of purchasing a slave. And it is total purchase. We never have to be taken back
to the old master again. What was our master? Sin, what
was our master? Adam, what was our master? All things that are evil and
wicked, those are our masters. And here Jesus Christ and by
his blood has redeemed us and purchased us and made us accepted
in the blood, taken us away from our old master and given us to
another. And our master is the Lord Jesus
Christ. And we find that the Apostle
Paul was so tickled to say, I'm a bondservant of the Lord. I
was a slave to sin. I was a slave to self. I was
a slave to Adam and to all he stood for. Adam imputed to me. Adam, my federal head, gave to
me. And in Jesus Christ as my federal
head, he has taken me out of that and redeemed me from it
and placed me in the church of the living God by his own blood. The blood, life of the flesh
is in the blood. We're talking about the life
of Jesus Christ was laid down as a ransom price, a payment
price for the church. There in Ephesians chapter one
and verse seven, finishing that, we have redemption through his
blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his
grace. It's no wonder God's people just can't hardly stand it. redemption
and forgiveness of sins. When we deal with the blood of
Jesus Christ, we're dealing with a finished work, nothing left
to do. Finished work, the work is finished. In chapter 2 verse 13, chapter
2 verse 13, we read this, the blood of Jesus Christ has made
us nine. Now, in Adam, we were flung to
the farthest part of the universe. God loaded us in that slingshot
and shot us away. Ephesians chapter two and verse
13, the scriptures say this, but now in Christ Jesus, ye who
were sometimes were far off are made close by the blood of Christ,
finished work. What does that mean? That means
that God in his great work of redemption has brought us close
to him. In fact, so close we're grafted
into Christ. So close we're looked upon as
Christ. We're heirs of God and joint
heirs with Jesus Christ. God looks at his son and sees
us. It's inseparable. The church is inseparable with
Christ. He is the head. And the church
is the body, inseparable. God looks at his people inseparable
from Christ. And it's the blood of Jesus Christ
that has made us nigh, or brought us close. We were far flung to
the corners of the universe, and God in his effectual work
and call brought us from that. The Bible talks about it, the
swine yards. The Bible talks about it in Lodibar. The Bible talks about it as place
no bread. All kinds of ways God talks about
it in the scriptures of where we are by nature. But it's the
far flung parts of the universe and God in his effectual love
for his church has drawn every one of his people from there
and brought them so close in fact that they have become as
part of his son. He doesn't look at us as a separate
entity. He looks at us as the body of
Christ. And I'll tell you what, that
just makes me happy. There's such good things about
the blood of Christ, because when we find it, we're going
to find a finished work. It's completed. It's over. Redemption. He's the Redeemer by the blood.
He has finished work of forgiveness of sin. It's over. It's complete. I know we sin every day. We're
not forgiven because we get down on our knees and ask God to forgive
us. We're forgiven because of the blood of Christ. For Christ's
sake are we forgiven. We're never forgiven for getting
down on our knees and pleading to God, forgive us of our sins.
We're forgiven for Christ's sake and that's the only reason. Now
he stirs our heart by the word of God and we come down and we
ask God for forgiveness, but it's for Christ's sake and his
blood that our forgiveness is worked out and effectual. and
it was done at the cross. There's no work after that. Christ
is not going to the cross again. He paid for every single solitary
sin that we'll ever commit, even after we're saved, paid for them
at the cross. And when it's all said and done,
God's people, the church of the living God, will not answer for
one sin before the Lord Jesus Christ and when we see him in
glory. We'll just plead our law here. Who can lay anything to the charge
of God's elect? It is God that justify it. Turn
with me, if you would, to the book of Colossians, chapter one. Colossians, chapter one. We find
here this blessed verse of scripture with regard to the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ, we have redemption. I'm just starting to understand
a little bit about what that word means. We are on the most
serious case of slavery. There's no case worse than slavery
that was invoked by the fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden.
The slavery in the world today cannot even come close. to the slavery that we were put
in in Adam. The slavery that we had in the
United States, as bad as it was. And I still can't understand
why it was here, except by the purpose of God. That slavery
falls so far short of the slavery that we find ourselves in in
the scriptures with regard to the fall. But that slavery, as
bad as it is, to the very heart and core of our being. We're
in slavery to sin, and slavery to self, and slavery to hell
and the grave. That's slavery. Read with me
here in Colossians chapter 1 and verse 14, in whom we have redemption. He's redeemed us. That terrible
case of slavery. We've been redeemed, purchased,
bought out of it. Even Adam's appearance has been
purchased. everything about it. The Lord
Jesus Christ dealt with it. He dealt with it at the cross.
There in Colossians chapter 1 verse 14, in whom we have redemption
through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. In verse 20 of that
same chapter, and having made peace through the blood of his
cross. Once again, absolute and full success. Peace with God. We can come in boldly. Our prayers
come in boldly. Our appearance before him comes
in boldly. There's no reservation. We respect and honor and revere
and reverence, but God's children can come to their father at any
time. at all time because of the success
of the blood of redemption. And as it says there, we're made
peace through the blood of his cross by him to reconcile all
things to himself. By him, I say, whether they be
things in earth or things in heaven, reconcile to God, made
peace. Turn with me, if you would, to
the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter nine. Hebrews chapter
9, we think about the blood of Christ, those saints there in
the book of Revelation, they washed their robes in the blood
of the Lamb. Every member of the church has
had that happen. been washed in the blood. We
do not apply the blood. I don't know how many sermons
I heard before I ever heard the message of grace, and I was instructed
to apply the blood of Jesus to my heart. An impossible situation. It cannot happen. He is in charge
of His blood, and He applies it where He wants, and we, by
the grace of God, wait in time to have the knowledge that it's
been applied. It's been applied in eternity,
effectual because of the cross, and we find out about it. But
He's the one that applies the blood. Here in the book of Hebrews
chapter 9 and verse 12, neither by the blood of goats and calves,
but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place,
having obtained eternal redemption for us. One more time, when we
find his blood, we find success. When we find his blood, we find
victory. All the sacrifices throughout
the Old Testament are summed up there in that one verse of
scripture, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his
own blood. That blood, it's indescribable. The blood of Christ. Blood is
indescribable. How in the world does it take
our oxygen around? It's absolutely essential for
life. How does it do what it does? How does it take oxygen
through our nostrils into our lungs, exchange it there, put
it in the blood system, and go to all our cells? And why is
it that oxygen is necessary? God, in his infinite wisdom and
determinate counsel and foreknowledge, did all that in this miracle
of blood. This is what was required to
redeem his people from their sins. It was a statement that
Jesus Christ gave his life a ransom. Ransom for many. Gave his life
a ransom. And he has entered in once into
the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption, will not
get to glory and find out, well, And that's where all this mistake
comes from, all the things that you have to go through after
you die that people preach. The mistake, this is it. He has given eternal redemption
to his church. He has been their complete and
total go-between and substitute, and he has laid down his life,
and he gave us the sign of that life, his blood. And by his blood, he has obtained
eternal redemption, payment price. high price, the life of the Son. People in the Old Testament were
purchased with coins. People in America purchased with
coins. The church was purchased with
blood, the blood of Christ, the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has taken us away, purchased
us, redeemed us. It's a precious blood. We're
not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, but
we're redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has
purged our conscience, verse 14 of that verse, chapter nine,
I think it's verse 14. Oh, yes. Yes. Verse 14, how much
more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit
offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience
from dead works to serve the living God. He takes that old
attitude of work salvation and throws it out. God's people don't
have it in them. Oh, we're kind of recovering
Pharisees, but we don't have the attitude that we're going
to have to work our way to heaven. We're trying to please God. We're trying to add to our sanctification. We're trying to add to our glorification. We're not either. The church
couldn't and wouldn't. They have no interest in it.
They believe in the finished work of Christ. The body of Christ
believes in the finished work of Christ. He has completed the
work. It's totally completed. And here
he has purged your conscience from dead works. No more sacrifice
for sin. You know what he did for the
people that believed in those Old Testament sacrifices? He
made them understand it's not that. What do you do for a New
Testament? He says, it's not by works of
righteousness which we have done. And they believed it. There's
no question. They're not, I wonder if that's
true. It is he has by his blood, he
has purged our conscience from dead works to serve the living
God. And that's why the church has
no interest in those. no interest in them as a means
of getting closer to God. Well, if I stop doing that, I'm
going to get closer to God. Well, let's just go over and
over to the book of First John Chapter 1. First John Chapter
1. First John Chapter 1, verse 6 and 7. First John Chapter 1,
verses 6 and 7. If we say we have fellowship
with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth.
But if we walk in the light, now that's the only way the church
can walk. He'd bring it up. If we have
fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and not the
truth. If we say we're walking with Him and walk in darkness,
we lie. We don't have the truth. If we walk in the light, as He
is in the light, that's the only way God's people can walk, as
He is in the light. We can't walk any other way.
Now, I'm not saying that we meet sinless perfection by no means.
We have this great tribulation that we deal with every day of
our life. But in our spirit that was created
in our regeneration, there is an unending following of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And if we walk in the light as
he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. What does that
do for every member of the church? We have fellowship about the
blood of Christ. We have fellowship about salvation in Christ. We have fellowship about the
peace we have through the blood of Christ. We have fellowship
about being brought nigh by the blood of Christ. We have fellowship
with him about being redeemed by his blood. There's fellowship
that we have. We don't have to talk about the
weather. I read the other day, don't knock the weather. Without
it, 98% of the people in the world wouldn't have anything
to talk about. You know, we don't have to talk
about the weather. Now we do, I realize that, but
we have something grander. We have fellowship with Christ
in the blood of Christ, this finished work of Christ. Those
people over in the book of Revelation are enjoying the fellowship about
the finished work of Christ. And it goes on here to say, and
the blood of Jesus Christ is sin, his son cleanseth us from
all sin. One more time, the blood of Christ
means victory. One more time, the blood of Christ
means success. One more time, the blood of Christ
means hallelujah. One more time, the blood of Christ
means we are with Christ and not set aside. It is a redemption
that actually is a redemption. He has paid the price in full
and has the title deed. And he has given us the earnest
of our redemption, the indwelling of the spirit. It is the blood
of Christ. Now, one other verse, would you
turn with me to Revelation chapter one? We read this some time ago
and commented on it, but I would just want us to look at it again.
And this is exactly what those saints are doing in chapter seven,
Revelation chapter one. We have the finished work, the
church is purchased with his own blood. And we have this new
testament in his blood. And we have redemption through
his blood. And we're made nigh by his blood. And the blood of
Christ purges our conscience from dead works. Oh, that is
so peaceful. That is so peaceful. I remember
telling that one of the first things I shared with someone,
a preacher, after the Lord saved me was, you know what? I don't
have any fear of the devil anymore. Oh, the devil was doing everything
wrong. He was everywhere, doing all that stuff. And the Lord
saved me and gave me a peace that God is in control of all
things. And that old critter is just
on a leash and it's short at that. And I was, you know, you're
taught. Brother Wayne shared with me,
and I think Gene shared it with us. Brother Wayne used to preach,
and I heard it too, not from him, but other preachers. Devil's
over here voting against you. God's over here voting for you.
Now it's up to you to make the deciding. You know what that
does in people's minds? Put the devil and God on the
same plane. And that's a lie. And secondly,
it's not truthful. The devil never got to be in
the vote. There's elective grace in Christ Jesus. Devil wasn't
even consulted. And you know what? Neither were
we. Or we'd have voted against it. We would have voted against
it far worse than Satan would have. God didn't even get them
in the mix. He just chose us in Christ before
the foundation of the world, and he said, that's enough. That's
it. Finished work. Now, notice here. Revelation chapter 1 verse 5
and from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness and the
first begotten of the dead and the prince of the kings of the
earth unto him that loved us and washed us or loosed us as
some translations say washed us from our sins in his own blood
he got rid of it with his own blood When we find the blood
of Christ, we find victory. When we find the blood of Christ,
we find success. When we find the blood of Christ,
we have something to shout about. And on the Old Testament, oh,
no, we got to go back today. Oh, no, we got to go back today.
Oh, no, Aunt Matilda's asked us to go down because she's got
something to say over a lamb. It was a rigor, a rigor. All of that shed blood didn't
redeem one person, didn't redeem one hair that fell out of their
head that morning. All that blood pointed to the blood that could,
the blood of the lamb. And those saints over there,
it says, they came out of great tribulation, have washed their
robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. And then
the rest of that chapter just goes on and says, well, here's
some more blessings about the Lamb. Here's some more. He feeds
us. He waters us. He takes care of
every need, just like he promised he would. And the church, whether
in temptation, whether in persecution, or whether in great tribulation,
are sustained by God's character and glory. That's the best remedy
for every day. Best remedy. I don't think the
world's getting much better. But our knowledge of Christ gets
better and better and better all the time. And I've said this
before, but it's just becoming more and more apparent to me.
He is bigger than we thought. And he is better than we thought. And his work is more complete
than we thought. We just can't get to the conclusion
of this. It is grander and more glorious
than we ever anticipated. And it gets better the more we
see it in the Word of God.