Well, it should go without saying,
but I want to say it anyway, how honored I am and I know it's
a great responsibility to preach the gospel anywhere, anytime,
but I feel that responsibility and I'm thankful for the privilege,
appreciate Donnie inviting me. Actually, he did invite me in
Louisiana in March and I hadn't heard from him since. So I couldn't back out unless I
called him and told him and I was afraid to do that. I thought
that would be presumption on my part. Maybe he didn't mean
it anyway. It's good to be here. If you
will open your Bibles today to Revelation chapter 5. So good to see many of you that
we've known for many years. My wife said last night, it's
so encouraging to see people that have been faithful over
the years. They're still going on with the
Lord, and new people also. Now the theme of this chapter
is the theme of the Bible. And you will find it in verse
number 12, worthy is the Lamb. the theme of the Bible, from
Abel's lamb in the first few chapters of Genesis, to the Passover
lamb in Exodus chapter 12, until the lamb that was led as a, or
the one who was led as a lamb to the slaughter in Isaiah's
prophecy in chapter 53. The theme of the scripture, worthy
is the lamb. What I'd like for us to do today,
I'd like to point out four things in this chapter that the Lamb
is worthy to do. Four truths. First of all, the
Lamb is worthy to reveal God. If you notice that in verse one,
it begins, and I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne. Now, who is this who sits upon
the throne? It is God. It is God the Father,
especially, but it is God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. He's the one who sits upon the
throne of everything, of all creation. He sits upon the throne. In chapter 4 of Revelation, in
verse 3, He that is seated upon the throne is described as a
jasper and a sardine stone. But what does that tell us about
God? What does that reveal to us about
God? God described like a stone. You know, people sometimes say,
well, I can see God in creation. Well, you may see the handiwork
of God in creation. You may see the power of God
in creation, the wisdom of God in creation, but God is much
more than all power and all wise. The Lamb, He is the one who is
worthy to reveal God. The only one. You know, in I
John, the scripture says God is light. Think about this, God
is light. Light that no man may approach
unto. And then the psalmist tells us
that he covers himself in light. How may we know God? There's only one way that anyone
may know God, and that is through the Lamb of God. He's the only
one worthy to reveal God. And if God ever reveals himself
to you, it will be in the Lamb, through the Lamb of God. Worthy
is the Lamb. Worthy is the Lamb to reveal
God. The hymn writer said it like
this, immortal, invisible, God only wise. in light inaccessible,
hid from our eyes. Most blessed, most glorious,
the ancient of days, almighty, victorious, thy great name we
praise. In the first chapter of John,
the scripture says, no man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, hath declared or revealed Him."
The Lamb is worthy to reveal God because He is the only begotten
Son of God. One with the Father and one with
the Holy Spirit who was made flesh, who became bone of our
bone and flesh of our flesh. The scripture says, in the fullness
of the time, or when the fullness of the time was come, God sent
forth his son made of a woman. Now surely this is a great mystery
as the Apostle Paul said, great is the mystery of godliness.
God was manifested in the flesh. That in that moment of preparation
when the Holy Spirit prepared the body from the Virgin Mary,
He joined himself, the eternal son of God united himself to
that body that was prepared him as the one and only one in which
we may see God and know God. Remember he said this is life
eternal that you might know the true God and his son whom he
has sent. There is no knowing God. Men
talk about a God and talk about a great power and a supreme being
and all of those names that we hear, but only the Lamb is worthy
to reveal God. If you would know God, if you
want to know what God is like, look at the Lamb. See the glory
of God in the face, in the person. of Jesus Christ. The writer of
Hebrews tells us that He is the brightness of His glory. That
is, the Lamb is the brightness of God's glory, the express,
the express, I mean, the express image of His person. I read years
ago that that word is like they used to, the king used to take
his ring and in wax he would He would put his ring, and it
was an exact, exact replica of the king's ring to make something,
put something in authority. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
the express image of his person. Paul wrote that he is the image
of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. And so I ask
all of us here this morning, if we would know God, not just
know about God, not just know that there is a God. All men
know that. The devils believe that and tremble. But if we would know God, and
this is life eternal, to know Him. and His Son, whom He has
sent. If we would know God, we must
recognize that He is revealed unto us in the Lamb. Worthy is
the Lamb to reveal God. You know, just before He went
to the cross, one of His disciples said unto Him, Show us the Father,
and it sufficeth us. And the Lord Jesus Christ said,
Philip, he that has seen me has seen God, has seen the Father. Have I been so long time with
you? He that has seen me. You know, the disciples were
slow learners. I think that's pretty typical
of God's sheep, don't you? All of us were slow learners. But thank God he doesn't stop
teaching us. He continues with us. Would you know, God, that will
only be true through the Lamb, for he is the one and only mediator
between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus. He said this, no
man knoweth the Son, but the Father, neither knoweth any man
the Father, save the Son. And he to whomsoever the Son
will reveal him. So first of all, worthy is the
Lamb. He's worthy to reveal God. Now the second thing I would
point out to us from this chapter, the Lamb is worthy to reign over
all. Beginning with verse 2, John
said, and I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice,
who is worthy to open the book? Now the book was in the hand
of him, that is God, who sat upon the throne, and it was written
within and on the backside and sealed with seven seals. Who is worthy to open the book,
and to loose the seals thereof." Who is worthy? In other words,
who is worthy to take the reins of government and rule over all
of God's creation? Who is worthy? You notice this
book, a scroll, is pictured as being written within and without
and then sealed with seven seals. And I believe the reason we read
it's written within and without is because it speaks to us of
everything that God has purposed in eternity is written in the
book. Everything. There's not the slightest
thing, not the smallest thing that takes place in this world
that God did not purpose from all eternity. Who is worthy to
take the book and to reign, to rule over all God's creation? Well, John, the scripture says,
began to weep in verse four. And I wept much because no man,
no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither
to look. Think about that. There was no
man who was even worthy to look upon this book, much less to
open it and execute God's purpose. No man. And then one of the elders
tells John not to weep. Weep not. Verse 5, and one of
the elders saith unto me, weep not. Behold, the Lion of the
tribe of Judah the root of David hath revealed to open the book
and to loose the seven seals thereof. As I prepared this message,
I looked at that word prevailed. Behold the line of the tribe
of Judah, the root of David hath prevailed to open the book. And I found out that this word,
this same word, which is translated here prevailed, is translated
conquer and conquering in chapter 6 and verse 2, conquering and
conquer. And in each of the seven letters
which were written to the seven churches in chapters 2 and 3,
remember they all end the same way, he that overcometh, the
same word. And so this could be translated
that he hath prevailed, he hath conquered, he hath overcome and
is worthy to open the book and to unloose the seals. The lion
of the tribe of Judah, he has prevailed. What has he prevailed
over? He prevailed over sin, first
of all. He prevailed over sin. He prevailed
over Satan. That first hint or promise of
the gospel in the book of Genesis was that the seed of the woman
would bruise the head of the serpent. And it was at the cross
of the Lord Jesus Christ that he dealt Satan that death blow. He prevailed. He prevailed. He conquered. He's prevailed
over sin, over Satan, and over death. Think about the thousands
of millions of people who had lived before the Lord Jesus Christ
came into this world. And since he was in this world
in the flesh, how many have died? How many graves there must be
in the earth? Not one person has ever walked
out of that grave. except the Lamb, the Lamb of
God. He hath prevailed, and even death
with all of its power could not hold Him. He hath prevailed. He hath obtained
the right to execute the purpose of God in providence. You know, we talk about providence,
we hear about providence, but providence is just the execution
of God's purpose, the execution of His purpose which was made
in eternity, the execution of His purpose in time. And it's
interesting that sometimes politicians, they will talk about a providence,
a providence, but they don't say God's providence, a providence. The Lamb, He's worthy to reign,
to rule over all things. In fact, in the letter of Hebrews,
we read, He was made a little lower than the angels. Angels
are higher order of creation than man, but He was made a little,
He was made a man, made a little lower than the angels. Thou crowned
him with glory and honor, and didst set him over the works
of thy hands. Thou hast put all things in subjection
under his feet." Put all things in subjection under his feet.
Remember, he said to his disciples, all power is given unto me, both
in heaven and in earth. And in Ephesians, let me turn
to this verse, Ephesians 1, because we understand that this power,
this reigning of the Lord, the purpose is for the church, for
calling out His people, building this spiritual temple in Ephesians
1, beginning in verse 20. Speaking of the power of God,
which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and
set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above
all principality and power and might and dominion and every
name that is named, not only in this world but also in that
which is to come, and hath put all things under His feet and
gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which
is His body. the fullness of Him that filleth
all in all." Does this sound like the little Jesus that is
preached so much? Won't you let Jesus come into
your heart? Won't you have pity on Jesus? Do something for Him? I tell
you, I learned a long time ago by the grace of God God didn't
need me, but I sure need Him. And that's true of all of us
here today, whether you've learned it or not. This Lamb, the Lamb of God, He
reigns over all. All things are under His feet. The last enemy that shall be
destroyed, Paul said, He must reign till He hath put all enemies
under His feet. And He's Death a death blow to
the last enemy, but one day death shall be no more. Not for his
people. The Lamb is worthy to reign over
all. All things are put in subjection
to him. Here's the third thing. The Lamb
is worthy to redeem God's elect. In the middle of verse 9 and
verse 10 we read, For thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to
God by thy blood, out of every kindred and tongue and people
and nation, and has made us under our God kings and priests, and
we shall reign on the earth." God has an elect people in this
world. And his people are scattered,
as this text tells us, among every kindred, every language
or tongue, every people, and every nation. They were all sold
into the market of sin by our federal head, our representative,
Adam. But he has redeemed us under
our God. The word here translated redeemed
literally means to go into the market and to purchase. To go into the market and purchase. But I like the word redeemed.
He bought his people. The scripture tells us that.
We're bought with a price. I understand that. But I really
like the word redeem because today this word is generally
used when someone redeems something that was really theirs. Originally it was theirs. For
instance, if you have something, you go to the pawn shop. You
need to pawn something. give you so much money for whatever
it is, and they give you a ticket. It's a redemption ticket. Now
it's yours, but it's in possession of someone else. Now his sheep,
his elect, were his from before the foundation of the world.
But we had been sold into the market of sin, and he came into
this world, into the market and redeemed us. And He redeemed
us, the Scripture says, with His blood. Thou hast redeemed
us unto God. In 1 Peter chapter 1, verses
18 and 19, the Apostle said, For as much as you know, you
were not redeemed with corruptible things, such as silver and gold,
from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers.
but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb slain from
the foundation of the world, as a lamb slain. Christ loved
the church and gave himself for it. Redemption is usually from something
to something. Let me say that again. Redemption
is usually from something to something. And that's the case
here. He's redeemed us from something
to something. And that's given to us in Titus
chapter 2. Titus chapter 2 and verse 14. who gave himself for us that
he might redeem us from, from all iniquity. All of the consequences
of iniquity. Death, eternal death, the power
of sin, the guilt of sin, He hath redeemed
us from all iniquity. And to something, to purify unto
himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. We sang that hymn
last night. There is a fountain filled with
blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins. You remember the story Ralph
Barnard told years ago when he was a a youngster, I believe
he was with his parents, and they were going out west and
they went to Yellowstone National Park. And there was the Old Faithful,
you know, that stream of water, hot water, I believe, that shoots
out of the ground every so often. They had made their way up the
mountain and got their clothes dirty and greasy. Didn't have
air conditioning back in those days. One of my grandchildren
said, did you know that That car even has a crank on the window? Yeah, I've heard of those things. But anyway, on the way up, they
got there with his dad, I think, and his family. And he asked
someone if he could put his handkerchief down in that steaming water. And he dropped it down in there,
of course, pulled it up. I've never been there. But it
came out white as snow. And someone there began singing. There is a fountain filled with
blood, drawn from Emmanuel's veins. Sinners plunge beneath
that flood, lose all. He's redeemed us from all iniquity
and purified us unto himself. A peculiar people. And what is
peculiar about God's people is we enjoy being here today. We were singing those hymns while
ago, and they began playing, I Need Thee Every Hour. I spoke
to my heart, how great thou art. I couldn't think of a better
way to spend a Saturday morning, or a Sunday, or a Monday, or
a Tuesday. peculiar, zealous of good works. Here's the last thing. The Lamb
is worthy to receive all glory and honor, beginning in our text
with verse number 11. And here the angels join in,
even though they're not redeemed with the blood of the Lamb. They
know Christ as their head, as their representative head, And
I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the
throne, and the beast, and the elders, and the number of them
was 10,000 times 10,000, and thousands of thousands, saying
with a loud voice, worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive
power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and
glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in
heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as
are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying,
blessing and honor and glory and power be unto him that setteth
upon the throne and unto the Lamb forever and ever. Worthy is the Lamb to reveal
God, to reign over God's dominion, creation, to redeem God's elect
and worthy to receive all glory and honor. Now let me Let me
close with a fifth point here by saying to all of us here this
morning, the lamb is worthy of our trust. You may be here today
and you may not enjoy being here. Maybe you're not sure if you
enjoy being here. But I just want to leave us with
this thought. He's worthy. He's worthy of every
person in this building trusting in him. No, the prophet Isaiah said,
look unto me and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth. That
includes all of us here, doesn't it? All ye ends of the earth. Look unto me and be ye saved,
for I am God and there is none else. John the Baptist had the
privilege of pointing him out one day. Behold, the Lamb of
God. which taketh away, beareth away
the sin of the world. May God help all of us to look
to Him to behold the Lamb of God. He's worthy. He's worthy. Thank you.