Well, come back with me to Revelation. We come to Revelation chapter
5 this week. Why am I looking at this again?
It's only seven or eight years since we did a full series on
this and there's the book that I wrote summarizing those messages
because I think the times are developing and the message is
so relevant for us in these days when we would when we would be
inclined to despair, to be despondent, to be concerned at the state
of things in this world, of the rampant dishonesty that there
is amongst governing circles, the campaigns that there seem
to be. And the people of God need assurance
from God's Word. This is why this book was written
by John. that God gave this book to John in A.D. 95, very close to that at any
rate. And it was to comfort believers for the time in this world until
Christ comes again. For this world is a battle scene,
it's a conflict of the kingdom of Satan versus the kingdom of
God. The kingdom of Satan seems to
be totally in the ascendancy. All around us, the world powers
seem to be doing whatever it is that they want to do. And
they're arrayed against the kingdom of God. Really, whether they
know it or not, it's satanic. It's Satan trying to destroy
the kingdom of God. You see, God's kingdom is a kingdom
of righteousness, of truth, of justice, of peace, all of those,
that's the kingdom of God. And yet Satan's aspiration for
his kingdom is to produce a utopia that has no respect for the righteousness
and justice of God. And how does he do it? Jesus
said he is the father of lies. He is the father of lies. He
does it in his kingdom by lies, by deceit, By all of these things
that we've seen, especially in these last few years, it seems
to be coming to a pinnacle. The lies that we've been told
by those that are supposed to be our democratic governments,
they've just told us lies, the deceit that there's been. It's
all around us in this world today. All we see today is the outworking
of Satan's kingdom. But, but, don't despair. It will be destroyed by God's
kingdom. And God's kingdom will triumph.
God's kingdom will be victorious. Which side would you be on? This
is a good question. Ask yourself, which side would
you be on? In the book of Exodus, Moses
asks, who is on the Lord's side? Who is on the Lord's side? Which
side are you on? Are you on the Lord's side? Or
are you on the side of the kingdom of Satan? In Joshua 24 verse
15, Joshua says to the people, choose you this day whom you
will serve. Will you serve? Will you follow?
Will you be on the side of the true God? Or will you follow
the gods of this world, the false gods of this world? Because you
know there are different endings. As Jesus said, there is the broad
way that leads to destruction and there is the narrow way that
leads to life. To be on the Lord's side is to
have an objective of eternal bliss in the presence of God.
To be on that broad way that leads to destruction, to be on
Satan's side, on the side of the false gods of this world,
that all ends in eternal torment. This is not trivial. This is
not just metaphor. This is true. This is absolutely
true. The Scriptures couldn't be clearer.
Absolutely true. It's a big divide. Where will
you be? In Luke chapter 14 and verse
15, there was a man listening to the Lord Jesus Christ, and
he was talking about the kingdom of God. And the man said, blessed
is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. We don't
know who he was, we hear nothing more about him. But he said,
blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.
Do you know that's still true today? Blessed are you if it's
for you that you will eat bread in the kingdom of God. You will
be in that kingdom of God, in that eternal bliss in the presence
of God. Will you be among those blessed
of God in his eternal kingdom? Now, let's just recap. We looked
at chapters 1 to 3 in the early studies of this book, and we
saw Christ, the glorified Christ. The man who was Jesus, in whom
there was no comeliness that we should desire him, on whose
breast the disciples leaned and they ate and they shared three
and a half years with him, but now we see him glorified, because
he is God. He is God. In Him dwelt the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, but He is God. He is glorified. There
He is, in all of His glory, walking, walking, moving around in the
midst of His churches in the world, bodies of His believers
in local places. There are seven of them. not
literally seven, symbolically seven, God's perfect number.
They're represented by seven churches in western Turkey in
that first century, to whom John was told to write letters. And
there, Christ is pictured walking in their midst, symbolically. But in reality, he's walking
amongst us now. Didn't he say, where two or three
of you are gathered together in my name, there am I, in the
midst? He's in the midst of his people
now. And then, having seen that worldly perspective of Christ
with His people in this world in the first three chapters of
Revelation, we moved into the second vision of the book at
the start of chapter four, and before... The Holy Spirit goes
any further in what he reveals to John. We have a view of the,
can I put it this way without sounding irreverent, the end
game. What's the end of it? What is the end of it? The end
of it is God's kingdom triumphant. the triumphant kingdom of God.
That's what we see in Revelation chapter 4. We see the heavenly
perspective, the kingdom of God, triumphant, outside of time,
in eternity. We see the new creation, which
I think are represented by those four beasts. We see the redeemed
church, the 24 elders, in intimate communion with God. But how is
God's kingdom triumphant? You see, that's the end game.
Basically, chapter 4 is what you see in chapter 21 and 22,
the end game. But it's to say, this is the
end of it. God's kingdom is triumphant.
Come up out of this world in which you are, John. Come. There's
a door in heaven open. Come up here and have a look.
And there's a throne. There's a throne, a symbol. of absolute power. And one sits on that throne,
one who is God, one in all of the attributes of God, of righteousness,
of purity, of hatred of sin, of vengeance against sin. There
He is, even in eternity, sitting there. But there's a new creation,
this emerald, this rainbow, this emerald, this green, this new
life, this hope, this renewal, round about the throne, the Church
of God and the new creation. As John saw in Revelation 21,
I saw coming down out of heaven the new Jerusalem prepared as
a bride for her husband. This is the situation where he
is, but this is the question. How is God's kingdom triumphant? How is it going to be triumphant?
Here we are in 2023, still in this world, you know, 2,000 years. almost since Christ returned
to glory, 1930 something years, my arithmetic's
not that quick at this time in the morning, since John wrote
these things. How are we going to get to this
triumphant kingdom where we're amongst those 24 elders sitting
on those seats around the throne of God in the new creation of
God? Well, chapter five onwards tells us. Chapter 5 onwards tells
us. It tells us because God knows,
because God has ordained. The limits and the bounds of
everything that happens, God has ordained. And He tells us
so that we know, not to be frightened, not to be alarmed at how bad
Satan's kingdom becomes and is becoming as we exist in this
world in these days, but to assure us that God is in control and
his kingdom is triumphant, will be triumphant. So let's look
at chapter 5 because we see, not sequentially, it isn't as
if chapter 4 happens and then he looks, you see outside of
time things don't flow sequentially. There's the end game, the kingdom
of God triumphant, but how does he get there? Right, here the
vision develops. I saw in the right hand of him
that sat on the throne. I saw, it says literally in the
original, not in the right hand, but on the right hand. Palm held
out like this, presenting as it were, on the right hand of
him that sat on the throne, a book. written within and on the back
side, sealed with seven seals, in God's right hand, in his hand
of supreme power, literally on his hand, as if offered to another,
you know, and you say, would you like one of these? You hold
out your hand with something on it. in his hand offered to
another. And it's a book which is covered
with writing, written within and on the back side. The idea
is that there's no white space left that isn't written on. It's
finished, it's complete, it's divinely complete, and it's sealed
with seven seals. Why seven? Because seven is God's
number of perfection. Here is the perfect will of God
for how his kingdom will be triumphant. It's his plan. I was going to
say project plan, but that just sounds too irreverent to say
that. But it is the plan of God for how his kingdom will be triumphant. And what is the objective of
his kingdom? Look in verses 9 and 10, 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 us to God by thy blood
out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation, and hast
made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on
the earth. This is the church of God triumphant. That is the
objective of God's eternal purpose. The kingdom of God The Church
of God, triumphant in eternal glory, redeemed from their sins,
qualified, made meat for the presence of God, because, why?
He was slain. The Lamb was slain. He has redeemed,
paid the price of sin. to God by his blood, who out
of every kindred and tongue and people and nation. And as Peter
says, he has made us, his church, those who believe him, a kingdom
of kings and priests unto God. And we shall reign on the earth,
is what it says, by accomplished redemption. God's plan To conquer
Satan and all worldly rule and establish his unrivaled kingdom
of peace and righteousness is what we have here. And it's sealed
up in this book perfectly by the number seven, seven seals.
It's safeguarded. It's kept secret to be implemented
as God reveals it and opens it. In Romans chapter 16, we read
this at the end of Romans 16 in verse 25, Now to him that
is of power to establish you according to my gospel and the
preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery
which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made
manifest. And by the Scriptures of the
prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made
known to all nations for the obedience of faith, that which
was the secret of God regarding His eternal kingdom was kept
secret since the world began, but now is made manifest. God has made it manifest by His
Spirit revealing it through His written word. applying it to
his people. Now then, if this plan of God
is to be implemented, those seven seals must be opened, they must
be loosed, they must be undone. The book must be opened, looked
upon, and read. You know, it's one thing for
me to say, oh look, there's a good book down there that contains
a very good message, And I'm not going to tell you what's
in it, but there it is. Now, how are you going to get it?
You've got to pick it up and open it and read the pages. To
implement it, to understand it, you've got to read it and look
upon it, and it's got to be seen to be done. Loosing the seals
doesn't just reveal the contents, it implements the plan of God
for how his kingdom will be triumphant over the kingdom of Satan. You
see, The kingdom of Satan was the kingdom of God in the beginning. It was God's creation. In the
beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And God, when
he created Adam, he made Adam viceroy, vice king, over his
creation. He put Adam in charge. He was
in charge of his creation. But Adam, in the fall, ceded
that viceroyship to Satan. And ever since the fall, Satan
has been the one who usurped the rule of God over this creation
for his own rule over this creation. But the plan of God is that that
is going to be restored. Satan is going to be defeated.
His kingdom is going to be restored to him. It's going to be a new
kingdom where all trace of sin is going to be obliterated. So
for God's kingdom to triumph, the seals on the book, on the
hand of God, on the throne of the universe, those seals must
be loosed. But who's going to do it? Who's
going to do it? That's the question. That's the
key question. And so, there is a challenge
and there is a response. This is what John sees. This
is explaining why things are as we see them. There is a challenge
and a response. In verse 2, I saw a strong angel
proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the book
and to loose the seals thereof? Here's a challenge. Who's worthy? You see, not just anybody can
open these seals. You need to be in the right position
with the right qualifications to open these seals to implement
the plan of God for the triumph of his kingdom over the kingdom
of Satan. In this world in which we live,
is God's kingdom triumphing over Satan's kingdom? Do we see it?
You say, I don't really know. Well, this is telling us that
it is in the process of triumphing. And we will see it come to its
conclusion as these seals are opened. But first of all we need
somebody who is qualified to open these seals, who has the
strength to open these seals, who is in a position to do this
opening of these seals. So the strong angel Angel is
God's messenger, and he's strong, means that when he speaks, it's
a loud voice, with a loud voice, proclaiming with a loud voice.
It goes everywhere. The whole creation hears it.
Angels hear it. The powers that be hear it. The
principalities, the demonic principalities. Men and the rulers of men hear
it. And here is the question, who
is worthy? Who is qualified? Who is capable
to implement God's plan and establish His triumphant kingdom of peace
and of righteousness and of justice? Who is able to do it? Who is
able to open these seals? And so the cry goes out, the
strong angel's voice goes out with the question. It goes out
to the empires of this world, you know, down all the ages.
And in this day in which we live, There they are again, the globalists,
those that are trying to bring worldwide rule in the kingdom
of Satan. I'm speaking of the World Health
Organization. I'm speaking of the World Economic
Forum. I'm speaking of what you might
call the Davos set that meets in Davos in Switzerland every
January. And they are the ones that think
they absolutely have their finger on the pulse of this world. The
cry goes out to them, are you worthy to unloose the seals of
this scroll? It goes out to academia, to human
philosophy. Are you worthy to unloose the
seals and bring about a kingdom of peace and righteousness and
justice? It goes out to so-called science
and technology, all the wizardry that we see around us in this
last 200 years, but it's accelerating, isn't it? The last 40 or 50 years
particularly. It goes out there. You know,
the communications have never been like it as they are in the
last 20 or 30 years. The cry goes out, are you able
to unloose the seals and implement this plan for the kingdom of
God, triumphant? Are you able to do it? Are you
able to produce a kingdom in which is peace and true righteousness
with the justice of God maintained and upheld. Are you able to do
it? It goes out to political systems, all the political parties. Don't you notice the more and
more you look at them? They're just identical. They're absolutely
identical in their philosophies with slight different changes
of masks between them. It goes out to the latest woke
culture in the society in which we live. It goes out to all of
these in this world. Who is worthy to implement this
plan and establish God's kingdom of righteousness, peace and bliss,
populated by righteous citizens? What's the answer? verse 3 and
4. And no man in heaven, nor in
earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither
to look thereon. All of these political powers
of this world, the nations of this world, the military of this
world, the economic forces of this world, look how ragged and
forlorn they are in the days in which we live because of the
foolishness of man, because of the sinfulness, the greed of
man. Look at the state of it all.
None of it is worthy to unloose the seals and to implement the
triumphant kingdom of God. Oh, they can try and implement
a kingdom, But it isn't the kingdom of God. It isn't the kingdom
of righteousness and peace, of God's holiness. And no man was
able to open the book, neither to look thereon. There is no
response. There's a deafening silence. Think of man's attempts at establishing
a utopia of peace. You know all the empires of world
history, their objectives always were empires of peace and goodness
for the citizens. That was always the case. The
empire of Egypt, of Assyria, of Babylonia, the Chaldean Empire,
the Medo-Persian Empire, the Greek Empire of Alexander the
Great, the Roman Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, the European
monarchies, the British Empire, the Soviet Union, Hitler and
the Third Reich, even modern USA-led Western democracy. Without exception, they all utterly
fail to bring anything other than death, destruction, exploitation,
and extremes of wealth and poverty. Is that not the world that we
observe all around us? Yes, of course it is. How bankrupt
is all hope of eternal blessing outside of Christ? It really
is. You know, those that look to
this world for hope of blessing they will be bitterly disappointed. The book on the hand of God,
the book of the universe, the book of the unfolding of the
purposes of God remains sealed because none of these worldly
forces can implement it. The plan isn't implemented to
completion. There is no kingdom of peace
and righteousness. And John weeps much, verse 4,
I wept much because no man was found worthy to open and to read
the book, neither to look thereon. You see, absolutely distraught. John looks and here's the plan
for the establishment, for the triumph of the kingdom of God.
But it needs somebody qualified to open the seals of it and implement
the plan for the triumph of the kingdom of God. And the cry goes
out to all. And all these worldly forces
can give no response because none of them is qualified. Why
not? Because they're all sinners. They're all sinners when God,
the God whose book it is, is supremely holy and righteous.
But look, John weeps. And he weeps because he's absolutely
forlorn. No one was found worthy. There
isn't anybody to implement. Is there going to be a triumphant
kingdom of God is what he's saying in verse 4. And one of the elders,
one of the elders, one of the One of the members of the church
triumphant, the church redeemed from this earth, one of the elders,
one of those who know the gospel and have experienced saving grace,
and have been taken to glory as that penitent thief on the
cross, this day you will be with me in paradise. Here's one of
them in paradise, and he says to John, who is still a member
of the church militant on earth, he says, weep not. Weep not. Weep not. Because why? He gives
him a reason. He doesn't just say, there, there,
don't cry. You know like some people do. There, there, don't
cry. But they don't give you... Your heart's broken about something.
There, there, don't cry. Why not? My heart's broken. Why
shouldn't he cry? Why? You've got to give a reason
if I'm not going to cry. Weep not. Why? Because look. Behold. Look. Behold. The lion of the tribe of Judah.
The root of David hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose
the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and lo, in the
midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the midst
of the elders, stood a lion. No, no, it doesn't say that,
does it? stood a lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns
and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth
in all the earth. The lion and the lamb. There
is one worthy. There is only one worthy. There are not multiple ways for
this to be achieved. There is one who is worthy. I
am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father
but by me, said the Lord Jesus Christ. There is one worthy to
open the seals. He says to John, look at him,
look at him. Look at the Lord Jesus Christ. Look, that's good advice. The
scripture gives it again and again. Run this race of this
life looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
Look at him. Look at the lion. Look at the
root, the root of David. The lion is as we read in Genesis
49 right at the start. He's the lion of Judah. Judah was that fourth son of
Jacob who Jacob prophesied, would bear the rule right until the
Romans came and took the kingdom away from them. Your brothers shall praise you. Genesis 49 verse 8. Your hand shall be on the neck
of your enemies. Your father's children... You're going to be
the preeminent one, Judah. Judah is a lion's whelp, a lion's
cub. From the prey, my son, thou art
gone up. He stooped down, he couched as
a lion, and as an old lion, who shall rouse him up? The scepter,
the royal power symbol, shall not depart from Judah, nor a
lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh, until the peacemaker
comes, until, who's the peacemaker? The Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah,
the Redeemer. The Christ, till he shall come,
and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. He, the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Messiah, shall gather the church of God, binding
his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine,
There's lots of symbolism in there that we haven't got time
to go in now, but look how it speaks. You see, an ass's cult
is symbolical of man, of fallen man. And you know Jesus rode
into Jerusalem on an ass and the cult of an ass that had never
been ridden on. That's so symbolical. But his
clothes, his garments, are washed in wine, speaking of blood redemption. His clothes in the blood of grapes,
his eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth with milk. This
is the lion of the tribe of Judah. He is there in the midst of the
throne. Verse 5, Weep not, behold, look
there in the middle of the throne, the lion of the tribe of Judah. He's got the scepter of absolute
power, the symbol of sovereign kingly power. Now, until Shiloh
comes, until Christ comes, he is the root of David. It says
in Isaiah 11, the root of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David. The branch, one will come who
is called the branch, and his name shall be glorious. Revelation
22, 16 says this, jumping right to the back of the book, I, Jesus,
still calls himself Jesus, I, Jesus, Saviour, have sent mine
angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am
the root and offspring of David and the bright and morning star.
That's who he says he is, the elder, The saint in heaven, the
redeemed one in heaven, tells John and tells us here that there
is a king who has been found worthy to implement God's kingdom
plan. Rejoice. Don't weep. Don't weep. Don't be alarmed. You children
of God, you believers, you whom have been called out of this
world into the marvelous light of God, don't weep at the state
of things. Rejoice! For there, in the center
of the throne, is a king. Do you believe Christ and his
gospel? Well, if you do, you've got a home in heaven. It's certain. It can't be taken away. It's
reserved for you in heaven. Look at this. This is what it's
all about. 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 3. Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant
mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope, by the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible
in heaven, and undefiled, that fadeth not away, reserved in
heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith
unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. This is the
objective. This is what it is. Look at the
lion. Look at the lion of the tribe of Judah who's prevailed.
Look at the lion. And I beheld Verse 6, I beheld,
and in the centre of the throne, I'm looking at a lion, but it's
a lamb, as it had been slain. I beheld, and lo, in the midst
of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the
elders, stood a lamb, stood a lamb, not lay down, not prostrate there,
but standing, a lamb as it had been slain, with all the marks
of death upon him, having seven horns. What does he say in chapter
1? I am he that was dead, and I
am alive forevermore. A lamb as it had been slain,
having seven horns, power, perfect power, and seven eyes, perfect
ability to see, which are the seven spirits of God. There's
one Holy Spirit of God, but manifested perfectly to His churches in
the world, sent forth into all the earth. He is the one who
is worthy. The Lamb has overcome and loosed
the seals. How has He done it? In the capacity
of a Lamb. A Lamb for the slaughter. A Lamb
speaks of submission. Isaiah 53 verse 7, He, speaking
of Christ the Redeemer, is brought as a Lamb to the slaughter. He
bears the marks of sacrifice and death, but He's standing
up. He's not defeated, He's not dead. He bears the marks of sacrifice
and death that has paid the price, but He's raised from the dead.
By the resurrection from the dead, said Peter in 1 Peter chapter
1. With seven eyes, the fullness
of God's Spirit upon Him. With seven divine horns of power. Not the ten of worldly power,
but seven, the perfect power of God. Why does this make the
lion worthy to loose the seals? and to open the book and to implement
the triumphant kingdom of God, the kingdom of redeemed sinners
made kings and priests, and to God, as it says in verse 10,
It can only be established and implemented if satisfaction is
made to God's infinite holiness and justice, which must condemn
sin, which must exact payment for sin. It must be. You will
receive double for all your sins. Perfect mirror image, what the
justice of God, the law of God requires. The debt to God's offended
justice must be cleared. But the lion being slain as a
lamb, as a substitute for his people, has made satisfaction. Hence, he is worthy to loose
the seals and implement the establishment of God's kingdom. He came, verse
7, and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat on
the throne. Hallelujah. There it is. The
Redeemer, who is God himself, the second person of the Trinity,
the Son of God, comes. The lion of the tribe of Judah,
as a lamb that had been slain, he is worthy, and he takes that
book, for he is qualified to implement this perfect kingdom
of God. What is the purpose of the perfect
kingdom of God? That God be glorified in the
redemption of a multitude that no man can number. Are you amongst
that number? So let's see the citizens and
their praise finally. The church's response to seeing
the Lamb take the book is verse 8. When he had taken the book,
the four beasts and the four and twenty elders felt the new
creation, and the church triumphant falls down before the Lamb, every
one of them having harps, instruments of praise, and golden vials full
of odours, which are the prayers of the saints, and they sung
a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book. the
lion who is the lamb, thou art worthy to take the book, and
to open the seals thereof, the perfectly sealed plan of the
kingdom of God, its triumph. For thou was slain, that's how,
and has redeemed us to God by thy blood. What is it that qualifies
him? He was slain and has redeemed
us to God by thy blood. That has paid the price of the
justice of God. Out of every kindred, and tongue,
and people, and nation, thou art worthy, and hast made us
unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth.
And I beheld, verse 11, 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 thousand,
and thousands of thousands. Try not to be bound up in literal
numerics, try to see what it's saying. It's trying to tell us
about a number that we cannot number. I saw before the throne,
he says elsewhere, a multitude that no man can number. A multitude
that no man can number. Saying with a loud voice, this
is what they say, worthy is the Lamb. Who is worthy? The Lamb.
Verse 2, who is worthy to open the book? Worthy is the Lamb
that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and blessing, whatever the state of this world.
My servants don't take up arms to fight because my kingdom is
not of this world. My kingdom is a kingdom of righteousness
and peace and of eternity. And he has qualified his people
to be there. He 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 honour, and glory, and power. Be unto Him that sitteth upon
the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four
beasts said, Amen. The new creation said, Amen.
The four and twenty elders, the church triumphant, fell down
and worshipped Him that liveth for ever and ever. You know it
says elsewhere in Isaiah, and then repeated in Philippians,
that every knee shall bow. You say, I'm not a believer,
it doesn't occur to me, it doesn't interest me, it's of no relevance
to me. Every knee shall bow and confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father. An innumerable multitude,
all ascribing praise and honor to the Lamb of God. Are you a
citizen of that kingdom? Is your home on earth the Church
of Christ? or is it vanity fair? You know
what I'm talking about, Pilgrim's Progress. Is your home on earth
the Church of Christ, or is it vanity fair? Yes, we live in
the world, but true believers are not of the world. We operate,
we do our business in this world, we go to school, we have friends,
we interact with the community in which we live. All that is
fine, but is our home the Church of Christ? with that eternal
destiny, that eternal hope of heaven? Or is it vanity fair
in this kingdom of Satan? Is it the eternal city, the celestial
city? Is that our eternal destiny?
Or is our eternal destiny, and I'll be blunt here, is it what
the scripture, and this book particularly, calls the lake
of fire, of separation from God? What qualifies you to apply for
citizenship? Would you like to be a citizen
of this kingdom of God? I'll tell you what qualifies
you. Thirst for it. A burden to be rid of your sin. Being heavy laden. Because Jesus
said, come unto me, all you that are weary and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest for your souls. Rest for your souls?
You know, it said in Isaiah 11 that one would come who was of
the root of David, and it says a rod shall come forth from the
stem of Jesse, and a branch, the branch, capital B, shall
grow out of his roots, And then in verse 10 it says, In that
day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for
an ensign of the people. To it shall the Gentiles seek,
you and me, and his rest, the rest of this Lord Jesus Christ,
this Messiah, this Lion who is a Lamb, his rest shall be glorious. Amen.