Revelation chapter 7. Let's begin
reading in verse 9. Revelation 7 verse 9. After this John writes, after
this I beheld and lo a great multitude when with holy throngs
were standing. Bobby just sang about it. Lo
a great multitude which no man could number of all nations and
kindreds and people and tongues stood before the throne and before
the lamb clothed with white robes and palms in their hands and
cried with a loud voice saying salvation to our God which setteth
upon the throne and unto the lamb and all the angels stood
round about the throne and about the elders and the four beasts
and fell before the throne on their faces and worshipped God
saying Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving,
and honor, and power, and might be unto our God forever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered,
saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes,
and whence came they? 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. 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." The Apostle John who wrote this in his first
epistle also wrote these words, and we know we are of God and
the whole world lieth in wickedness. But now John sees an entirely
different picture. He sees one of those things that
our Lord told him in chapter 4 when he was caught up, caught
up hither The Lord told him, John, come up hither and I'll
show you things that must be hereafter. And what we read here,
this glorious scene, is one of those must-be things, must-be
things. Our Lord spoke of it in Matthew's
Gospel, chapter 13. Let me read you a verse or two
there. The Son of Man shall send forth his angels, and they shall
gather out of his kingdom all things that offend. There will
be a separation of the wheat and the tares. They grow together
till this time, but then our Lord speaks of that time when
he will send his angels forth to gather them out. And all those
which do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire,
and there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then, then,
That's the time John saw, that we read of in Revelation 7. Then shall the righteous shine
forth as the son in the kingdom of their father, who hath ears
to hear, let him hear. Brethren, when we read in verse
9 of this great multitude, John said they couldn't be numbered. It was beyond the power of man
to number them, but the Lord knows. He knows who are his.
He knows his sheep. This picture teaches us that
Christ shall have, without a doubt, Christ shall have a glorious
crown. The captain of our salvation
shall have everyone he redeemed. There's no question about that.
There's no question about that. Christ did not shed his blood
in vain. His death will never be proven
to be a miscarriage. He'll have everyone that he paid
for. There are some things concerning
this multitude that they each have in common. Although we're
told that they were of different nationalities and different tongues
and different nations and different kindreds of people, they have
this in common. First of all, did you notice
where they were? They're all alike in this. We
all identified them first by their position. They all stood
before the throne and before the lamp. There's no slums in
glory. Oh no, they all enjoyed the same
position. Look over, if you will, in chapter
6. In chapter 6 here in Revelation, these that were separated from
God's true people. They asked the question in verse
16, or rather verse 17, the great day of his wrath is come and
who shall be able to stand? Indeed that's a good question.
Who shall be able to stand? And yet we see these, these blessed
individuals, this multitude of people that no man can number
standing before the throne of God and before the Lamb in perfect
conformity to their glorious Redeemer. Peter wrote in his
epistle, 1st epistle chapter 5, He said, we testify unto you,
those suffering believers, those people who were being persecuted
severely by that tyrant Nero at the time that Peter wrote
his first and second epistle. And in closing his first letter
to them, he said, we testify unto you and exhort. We remind
you that this is the true grace of God wherein you what? Stand. Stand. The true grace of God. What a
comfort that is to know that God's grace is not an offer to
save. God's grace is not an attempt
to save. God's grace does what's necessary
to raise sinners from spiritual death to life and to keep them,
preserve them, and to bring them all the way to glory. This is
the true grace of God wherein you stand. And God's true grace
is reigning grace. It's abounding grace. We read
that in Romans chapter 5. It is indeed saving grace to
each one of those who now stand before the throne of God and
of the Lamb in glory. They'll stand then, or rather
they stand there by grace, they will one day stand there in glory. Notice the second thing about
them. They're all dressed just alike. They're all dressed exactly
alike. We read they're clothed with
white robes. Look again at verse 14. They've
washed their robes and made them whites, pure. How's that so? How can that be? They must be. They must be pure. Indeed, they
must be perfect to stand before the throne of God, to stand in
the presence of God accepted. How can that be? They washed
their robes and made them white. Perfect. Perfectly whole. Perfectly righteous. Perfectly
holy. In the blood of the Lamb. That's how. And then we read
in verse 15, therefore, Therefore, no other reason, no
other reason, therefore are they before the throne of God. God
has made Him, that is Christ. God has made Him to be unto us. Every believer, every believing
sinner can claim this. God had made Christ to be unto
us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. God had made Him, that is Christ,
who knew no sin, to be made sin that we might be made the very
righteousness of God in him. Here's a third thing they have
in common. Look at verse 10. They all sing the same song.
Well, how about that? How about that, Mike? And they're
in perfect harmony. There's no discord, not in their
voice, not in their hearts, in perfect union of spirit, mind,
and heart and soul. They sing salvation to our God
that set us up on the throne and unto the Lamb. There's not a note, there's not
a note in this glorious song about man's will. Imagine that. There's not a note about man's
work. Nothing is said about man's contribution
to bringing him before the throne of God and of the Lamb. This
song is all about the salvation being God's work. It's all based
upon the Lamb's worth. That's what they sing in glory.
Worthy is the Lamb. When our Lord said, John, come
up hither in chapter 4 and I'll show you things that must be
hereafter. Don't you like that? Our God
speaks, not as man speaks. He's God. He doesn't say things
that might be. Oh no, God who sits upon the
throne, who rules over all, He doesn't speak in that fashion.
He says when He speaks, I'll show you things, John, that must
be hereafter. That must be hereafter. And all
those that sing, sing about the Lamb's worth, the Lamb's merit,
the Lamb's value. They all in one accord cast their
crowns at His feet and they say, what worthy is the Lamb that
was slain? He had redeemed us. He had redeemed
us. He got the job done. He didn't
make redemption possible. Now, hear after the message.
We're going to observe the Lord's Supper. We'll take the wine and
the bread simply, without fanfare, without ceremony, without flashiness,
and we'll do simply what He commanded us to do. We'll remember Him. And remembering Him, we remember
this. When we take that wine, Randy,
and drink that wine representing his blood, we're remembering
that he obtained eternal redemption for us, that he actually atoned
for our sins, that he really did put away all the sins of
all of his people forever. It's an accomplished redemption. And that's why they sing unto
him that loved us, salvation to our God which setteth upon
the throne. Here's the fourth thing. They
are all washed in the blood, as we read a moment ago in verse
14. They've each and every one been
made white thereby. We sometimes sing the old hymn,
what can wash away my sins? Now, religion answers, well,
man's effort can wash away sins. Man's morality can wash away
sins. Oh, no. What can wash away my
sins? Start dark the stain, dark the
stain. What can wash away that stain? What can make me whole again?
Nothing. Oh, we gladly sing, nothing but
the blood of Jesus. Oh, but that blood, Their precious
blood of the Lamb of God cleanses all of His people from all of
their sins. This multitude before the throne
that no man can number, they stand there without a spot, without
a blemish, without any such thing. Indeed, they have no evidence
that they were ever sinners. They've been so thoroughly purged
by the precious blood of the Lamb of God. Oh, precious is
the flow that makes me white as snow. White as snow. Even
God Almighty himself sits upon the throne, looks at that multitude,
and sees nothing in them that displeases him. They're without
fault. Without fault before the throne
of God. No other fount I know, nothing
but the blood of Jesus. And here is something else they
all have in common. We read in verse 14, these are
they which came out of great tribulation. They all experienced
it. None of them was exempt. Our
Lord said, here's a promise, in the world you'll have tribulation. There's not one true child of
God that doesn't experience the trials, the heartache, the battle
that Paul described in Romans 7 when he cried out, O wretched
man that I am. But here's the good news. Here's
the good news. By God's grace, by the power
of his grace, they all came out. John, they all came out. I love that verse of scripture.
I've told you this before, but I just love that verse. They
all didn't die on that battlefield. Mike, there's no casualties,
not for any enlisted under the banner of King Jesus. The captain
of our salvation brings them all out. Glory to His name. Just as Israel did that day at
the Red Sea. Turn if you will to Exodus chapter
14. Here is a picture. Here is a picture of our glorious
redemption by our glorious Savior. We read just now in Revelation
7 verse 14 concerning this multitude. They all came out of great tribulation. I imagine it must have been joy
unspeakable for Moses that day to stand on the other side of
the Red Sea and look back once the waters returned to their
proper place and see all the mighty army of the Egyptians
swallowed up. All dead, washing up on the seashore. But every one that was brought
out of Egypt, every one that was redeemed by the blood that
night, God said, when I see the blood, I'll pass over you. Every
one of the redeemed are brought forth safely on the other side.
What a joy it must have been for Moses to know to know that
they were all saved, not one of them perished that was redeemed
by that Lamb representing the Lord Jesus Christ. Here in chapter
14 of Exodus, we read in verse 30, Thus, thus the Lord saved
Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians. God did it
all. God saved them. And Israel saw
the Egyptians dead upon the seashore. And Israel saw that great work
which the Lord did. Nobody else. They saw that great
work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians. And the people
feared the Lord. They stood in holy wonder of
Him. Like David did. He sat before
God and said, Who am I, O Lord, that you should even take notice
of me? A dead dog like me. And Israel believed the Lord
and his servant Moses. And Moses said, You know what?
You know what? This is worth singing about. We've got to sing a song of praise
to our God. And he led the children of Israel
in a song. Verse 1 of chapter 15. Then sang
Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord. And
spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath what? He's
tried. He done his best. Oh, no. He
hath triumphed gloriously. He always does. Our God. The true God, the only God. He's in the heavens and He always
does whatsoever He is pleased. None can stay His hand. None
can say, what doest thou? He always has His way in the
whirlwind and the clouds, oh, they're but the dust at His feet.
He has triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider hath
he thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song.
Just like that song we read of in Revelation 7. It's all about
the Lamb. All about our God. So is this
song. And he has become my salvation.
He is my God. And I will prepare him in habitation. My Father's God. And I will exalt
him. Jump down to verse 9. The enemy
said, I will pursue. That's what Pharaoh said. After
the children of Israel were gone, he said, now what have I done?
Lester, what have I done? Why did I do that? I'm going
to go back and get them. The enemy said, I will pursue.
I will overtake. I will divide to spoil. My lust
shall be satisfied upon them. And I will draw my sword. My
hand will destroy them. What did God say? He that saideth
in the heaven shall laugh them to scorn. Thou didst blow with
thy wind, the sea covered them, they sank as lead in the mighty
waters. Who is likened to thee, O Lord,
among the gods? O my God, how great thou art! How great thou art! And when
I think that God, His Son not sparing,
sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in, that on the cross,
my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died, He bled and died
to take away my sin. O my God, how great Thou art! Who is like unto Thee, O Lord,
among the gods? Who is like unto Thee, glorious
in holiness? fearful in praises, doing wonders. Verse 13, thou and thy mercy
has led forth the people which thou has redeemed. Pharaoh wasn't
one of them. He wasn't redeemed. He perished
under the wrath of God. But all those redeemed God in
thy mercy has led forth the people which thou hast redeemed, thou
hast guided them in thy strength into thy holy habitation. Thou shalt, verse 17, Thou shalt
bring them in. John, come up hither, and I'll
show you things that must be hereafter. And I saw a multitude
that no man can number. Thou shalt bring them in, and
plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place,
O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, where you
are, Lord. Father, I will that they also
whom thou hast given me be with me where I am. I want them with
me. in thy sanctuary, O Lord, which
thy hands have made." Our Lord spoke to his disciples one evening
and he said, let us pass over into the other side. In Mark
chapter 4. And then in verse 1 of chapter
5 we read, and they came over into the other side. John, these
things must be hereafter. Some through the water, it's
true. And some through the flood, that's true. And some through
the fire, but all through the blood. Some through great sorrow,
oh, but God gives a song. He gives songs in the night,
doesn't he? Some through great sorrow, but
God gives a song in the night season and all the day long.
Yes, glory to his name, he leads his dear children along. Look
in chapter 14 here in Revelation, verse 3. And they sung, as it
were, a new song before the throne and before the four beasts and
the elders. And no man could learn that song but the 140 and
4,000 which were redeemed from the earth. They represent all
God's select. These are they which were not
defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are they which
follow the Lamb, whether so ever he goeth." Don't you like that?
They follow the Lamb whether so ever he goeth. My sheep hear
my voice and I know them and they follow me. These were redeemed
with everybody else. These were redeemed from among
men. That's what they sang at the
Red Sea. You've led forth the people that you redeemed. Not
everybody, but those you redeemed. That's exactly what we read here.
These were redeemed from among men. being the firstfruits unto
God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found
no guile, for they are without fault before the throne of God. Grace, all the works your crown,
through everlasting days, it lays in heaven the topmost stone,
and well deserves the praise. John before this had already
seen Christ, the head of his church, now he sees the church,
his body. What kind of head would Christ
be if his body should perish? What kind of shepherd is Christ
if his sheep should perish? But he said that'll never happen.
My sheep will never perish. What kind of husband is Christ
if he allows his bride to perish? What kind of priest is Christ
if his atonement fails? What kind of physician is Christ
if his patient dies? And what kind of king is Christ
if he has no subjects after all? If ever it should come to pass
the chief of Christ might fall away, my fickle feeble soul at
last would fall a thousand times a day. I on thy promises depend
that thou will love me to the end and so he shall. I think I've told you the story
about the lady who called her pastor to make arrangements for
a funeral. And she said, before they close
the lid on the coffin, one thing I want you to make sure to remember
to do, put my fork in the coffin. And the pastor scratched his
head and said, say what? Strange request. Put my fork
in the coffin. And he said, my soul, what in
the world for? She said, when I was a little girl at home with
several brothers and sisters, it would be a rare occasion if
after a meal we would have dessert to follow. Rarely. We were poor. Rarely did we have dessert, but
when we were finished with our evening meal and we're clearing
off the table, if mama would say to us, hold on to your fork,
we knew something better was coming. Children of God, hold
on to your fork. Something better is coming. Something
better is coming. I suppose the sufferings of this
present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that
shall be revealed in us. Look at verse 9 again. After
this I beheld and lo a multitude which no man can number. A multitude
of miracles. A multitude of miracles. Yes,
we read they were of all nations and kindreds and people in tongues,
but they all have this in common. No exceptions to this rule. Every
one of them are sinners saved by grace. Every one of them is
a miracle of God's saving grace. The salvation of a sinner, although
we hear on every hand today that it's an easy thing, it's a simple
thing. The scriptures say it's impossible.
The salvation of a sinner requires God's purpose. It requires God's
purpose. It required the blood of Jesus
Christ being shed. It requires the power of the
Holy Spirit calling dead sinners to life. Nothing less will do. And they all acknowledge that
that's so when they cry, salvation to our God and unto the Lamb. Our Lord told the religious folk
of his day, Go and learn what this means. You Pharisees, they're
so meticulous about you profess to keep the law and you dot every
I and cross every T. Go and learn what this means.
I will have mercy and not sacrifice. Go and learn what that means.
Go and learn. that it's not the labors of your
hands that can fulfill the law's demands. Go and learn what that
means. Have you ever learned that? Have you ever learned,
as God ever taught you, have you ever been to the school of
grace where God the Holy Spirit strips you and teaches you that
all of your righteousness is as filthy brags? Ever been there? Ever been so taught of God? Oh,
each one of these before the throne of God, this multitude,
they've all learned that. They've all learned that Christ
is all. Turn, if you will, to 1 Corinthians
chapter 6. 1 Corinthians chapter 6. You know the passage well. Paul in verse 9 is writing and
he says, Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit
the kingdom of God? Be not deceived. Be not deceived. Neither fornicators, nor adulterers,
nor adulterers nor infeminate, don't be deceived, nor abusers
of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards,
nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of
God. It's not going to happen. And Paul says, and you used to
be that. He says in verse 11, and such
were some of you. Such were some of you. You were
in that category. You were among those that shall
not inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you. Oh, but. Thank God, Mike, he didn't stop
there, did he? But, what happened? But, now
they'll be among those that stand before the throne of God without
blemish, without fault, without sin. But, what caused this? What brought about this great
change? What happened? But ye are washed. but ye are sanctified, not were
but are, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus
and by the Spirit of our God. Oh, thank God there is a fountain.
There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Emmanuel's
veins, and every sinner, every sinner that plunges beneath that
flood, they come out without any more. of their guilty stains. Who's responsible? None other
but the triune God. But God, who is rich in mercy,
wherewith his great love wherewith he loved us, by grace ye are
saved. Let me read just a sentence or
two from the article on the back page of our bulletin. The last
words of a Scottish preacher named James Guthrie. He spoke
these words while he was standing on the scaffold where he would
soon be beheaded for preaching the gospel. The first sentence,
he said, I come hither to lay down my life this day and I bless
God I die not as a fool. Why? I know whom. Oh, thank God for the precious
gift of faith. I know whom I have believed. Now I'll probably not die by
being beheaded. That's not very likely. But I
will die. The time of my departure, we
can all say, is at hand. It's not far off. Oh, but when
that time comes, oh, when that time comes, to be able to say
what this man said, what Paul said, what every child of God
can say, I know who. I know him. It's well with my
soul. Because I know Jesus Christ.
I'm not afraid to go through this valley. Because I know that
He'll be with me. I know whom I have believed and
that He's able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against
that day. I have preached salvation through
His name. And as I have preached, so do
I believe. and do command the riches of his free grace and
faith in his name unto you all as the only way whereby ye must
be saved." Salvation is of the Lord in its planning, in its
purchase, in its performance, in its preservation, and in its
perfection. Salvation is a miracle of God's
grace. Was that a miracle? Wasn't that
a glorious, wondrous miracle that day? That our Lord went
to Bethany where Martha and Mary and Lazarus lived, that little
family. One of the few places while he was on earth that he
was welcomed. Lazarus has died and our Lord goes there. Wasn't
that something? When he who told Martha just
shortly before this, I'm the resurrection and the life. Martha,
your brother's going to rise again. She said, Oh, I know he
will someday out there, way out sometime in the future at the
resurrection. It meant nothing to her then
at that moment. And our Lord said, Martha, you
got it wrong. You don't understand. You think
of resurrection as just a doctrine, a cold, unfeeling, uncaring,
distant doctrine. Martha, I'm the resurrection. I'm the resurrection. Oh, what
a miracle that was when he stood before the tomb of that brother
that had been dead four days and said, Lazarus, come forth.
Lo and behold, there he comes shuffling out of the tomb. And
our Lord says, now take those graveclaws off of him, loose
him, and let him go. What a miracle that was. What
it must have been like to see that. Let me tell you a greater
miracle, that which is represented by that. And it's this, you had
he quickened. What a miracle that is. You had
he quickened, given life to, raised up from the dead, who
were dead in trespasses and sins. What a miracle it was when in
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Oh, what
a great miracle it is when God makes sinners new creations in
Christ Jesus. Look among that vast multitude
and you'll see a once indecisive, delaying lot who pitched his
tent towards Sodom and soon was living right in the midst of
Sodom for a present advantage. Oh, until his dying day he'd
say, he would say, oh, I wish I'd have never done that. Wish
I'd have never done that. God's going to destroy that place
but he tells Abraham I can't do it until Lot gets out. Gotta bring Lot out. And there
he is among the multitude. Why? Because God's fetching grace
reached down and brought him out. And there I see an adulterous
David who took another man's wife,
had that man murdered, and then tried to cover it up. And the
faithful prophet comes to him, exposes him, You're the man,
David. And then he says, but God. There's
David among that multitude. Why? But God has put away your
sin. God has put away your sin. And
David would write afterwards, blessed is the man whose transgression
is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. Among that multitude, I see one
who for three and a half years had intimate communion with his
Lord, walked with him on earth. And then one night he curses
and denies that he even knew him. And yet there he stands
before the throne of God. Why? Because the master said,
Peter, when you are converted, when I turn you back again, Thank
God for grace that will not let us go. Just will not let us go. Among that multitude is a Mary
Magdalene, saved by grace. A Bartimaeus, a dying thief,
who seemed to be hanging over the very jaws of hell. And the
great master said, today that shall be with me in paradise. And there he stands, clothed
in a white robe, waving that palm leaf, trying to out-sing
everybody else, crying, worthy is the Lamb. Yes, there are indeed
a multitude of miracles. All Israel shall be saved. Learn this, brothers and sisters
in Christ. What God has promised, He's able
also to perform. Everything that He's purposed,
He'll bring to pass. What Joshua said on his deathbed
is true of every word and promise of our God. Joshua said, Behold,
this day I'm going the way of all the earth. And you know in
all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has
failed. John, I'll show you things that
must be. That not one thing hath failed of all the good things
which the Lord your God spake concerning you. All are come
to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof. Learn that all things work together
for good to those who love God, to those who are called according
to his purpose. And that he that hath begun a
good work in you will perform it at the day of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And learn this. Learn it again. Christ is able to save to the
uttermost all that come unto God by Him. Archibald Alexander was a man
who preached the gospel for 60 years. He was a professor of
theology at Princeton University for 40 years. When he laid on
his deathbed dying, he said to one standing by, All my theology
is reduced to this. This is it. Jesus Christ came
into the world to save sinners. That's all my salvation and all
my hope and glory to his name. He shall save his people, all
of his people, from all of their sin. He said, all that the Father
giveth me, All that the Father giveth me shall come to me. All given to him, all redeemed
by him, and all brought to heaven to be with him forever. He's
able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that
day. Are you still in Revelation?
Look in chapter 5. Revelation chapter 5, verse 9
and 10. And they sung a new song, saying,
Thou art worthy to take the book. and to open the seals thereof.
Why? For thou was slain and has redeemed
us. The word of God knows nothing
about a possibility redemption. You've redeemed us. You've got
the job done. You have redeemed us to God by
thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation
and has made us unto our God kings and priests and we shall
reign on the earth. My righteous servant shall justify
many the prophets said before, because he shall bear their iniquities. And we always have an advocate
with the Father. We always have an advocate with
the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And the Father always
hears him. And learn by beholding this great
multitude before the throne, that God's grace, God's grace
must be sufficient. Sufficient to preserve us, to
protect us, and to present us faultless in glory. Grace really
does save. Each of this multitude prove
it. Ask any of them, why are you here? How did you come to
be here? And their answer will be the
same. The same as yours, the same as
mine. if we know God. It was grace
that wrote my name in life's eternal book. It was grace that
gave me to the Lamb who all my sorrows took. Grace taught my
heart to pray and made my eyes overflow. It was grace that's
kept me to this day and will not let me go. And that's the
truth. That's the truth. It's grace
that's kept me to this day and will not let me go. Hold on to your fork. Keep your
fork. Something better is coming. He which testifieth these things
saith, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, says, surely I come quickly. And the church responds, Amen.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus. And in the meantime, the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Amen. God bless you.