How great thou art. Everything about the Lord Jesus
Christ is great, isn't it? And one day we shall see him
as he is. And as Alan concluded, or as
the hymn concluded, then we'll know, then we'll proclaim. My
God, how great thou art. It's been good to be with you
today. It's always a joy for me, I look
forward to it, I miss you, and you're invited down to Sylacauga
anytime, anytime. Will you turn with me to Revelation,
the book of Revelation, chapter one. Your pastor didn't
know it, but when he used the article that I wrote in today's
bulletin, your bulletin here, It has sort of a summary of my
message. The article was Things That Must
Be. The title of my message is Dictates
from the Throne. Dictates from the Throne. Here
in Chapter 1, let's read the first two verses. The revelation of Jesus Christ
not the revelation of John, the revelation of Jesus Christ, which
God gave unto him, that is, the Christ, to show unto his servants,
not just John, but you and I, things which must shortly come
to pass. And he sent and signified it
by his angel unto his servant John, who bare record of the
word of God. and of the testimony of Jesus
Christ and of all things that he saw. Now turn, if you will,
to chapter four. Let's read the first two verses
in chapter four. After this, after what had taken
place in the first three chapters, after this I looked, and behold,
a door was opened in heaven. Christ said, I'm the door. By
me, if any man shall enter in, he shall be saved. A door was
opened in heaven, and the first voice which I heard was, as it
were, of a trumpet talking with me, which said, Come up hither,
and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately
I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne was set in heaven And
one sat on the throne. Now one more place, chapter 21. Chapter 21. Verse 1. And I saw a new heaven
and a new earth. For the first heaven and the
first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea. And
I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God
out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And
I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle
of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall
be his people, and God himself shall be with them and be their
God, and God shall Without a question. Without a question. God and God
shall wipe away all tears. Whatever makes you weep now,
you won't weep over it then. God's going to wipe away all
tears. You'll have no reason to cry
in heaven. No reason to weep. And God shall
wipe away all tears from their eyes. And there shall be no more
death. neither sorrow nor crying, neither
shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed
away." Those are all dictates from the throne. In all three
places we read, it spoke of these things as must be, shall be. They're not suggestions, are
they? Not suggestions. He who dictates
these things will bring them to pass because what he promised
he's able to perform. The promise would be useless
otherwise if he couldn't carry it out. Are you still in chapter
21? Let's read verses 5 and 6. Here's the reason why these things
must be. They're dictates. He that sat
upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. Who else
could? And he said unto me, Write. For
these words are true and faithful. Count on them. Bank on them. Fall down on them. Trust them.
And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end, and I will give unto him that is a thirst of
the fountain of the water of life freely." Now I had a pretty
good idea what the definition of dictate was, but I checked
Mr. Webster just to see if he could
give me any more insight And if you look under the definition
of dictate as a noun, and that's the way I use it here, you would
find this. Dictate is an order or a command
delivered with authority. Just as we read in those three
places here in Revelation. Because it comes from the sovereign
of the universe. He doesn't suggest, I repeat,
he dictates, John, write these things down. They're true. They're faithful. I say unto
you, he'll do all that he has promised to do because above
him there is none other. Turn, if you will, to Ephesians
chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2. He that sits upon the throne
is above all. There's none higher than Him.
In Ephesians chapter 2, concerning God working by His mighty power
in Christ, verse 20, which He, that is God, wrought in Christ
when He raised Him from the dead and set Him at His own right
hand in the heavenly places, far above most things, the majority
of things. No, no, no, no. That's not how
it reads, is it? Far above all principality and
power and might and dominion and every name, every name. Mary called His name Jesus. He shall be great. Every name that is named, not
only in this world, but also in that which is to come. In Isaiah 6 we read, In the year
that King Uzziah died, Isaiah said, I saw also the Lord. And where was he, Isaiah? High,
lifted up, glorious. The earthly king's death stopped
his reign. Oh, but he that sets upon the
throne, his kingdom is forever and ever. He always reigns."
David answered the question. When they asked David, where
is now your God? Where is now your God? Brothers and sisters in Christ,
I don't know where now I find you. I don't know. I don't know
right now what may be breaking your heart. I don't know. I don't
know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow." And
David answered the question, where is now your God? David
says, our God is in the heavens. He's high and lifted up. He's
above all. He's at the right hand of God.
above all power and principality, in every name that is named.
Our God is in the heavens, and He has done whatsoever He hath
pleased." That's where He was when John saw Him, on the throne. That's always true, always. It is right now, Rex, right now. Jesus Christ sits upon the throne
of sovereign majesty. Now we have heard in this day,
not from the drums, but from men who claim to speak for God,
speak in words like this. If God had his way, now you've
heard that, haven't you Mark? Every time I hear that. I want
to knock on the man's noggin and ask him, buddy, has your
cheese slid plum off the cracker? What do you mean if God has his
way? Let me ask you a question. Who's stopping God? Who's stopping
God from having his way? No, not so. God always has His
way everywhere and all the time. Let me read you a familiar verse
or two from Isaiah chapter 46. Does it sound like God doesn't
have His way? God says, remember the former
things of old, for I am God, Jehovah. And there is none else. I am God. And there's none like
me. There's none like him, Alan.
How great thou art. And he says, declaring the end
from the beginning, I'm Alpha and Omega, the beginning and
the end. And from ancient times, the things that are not yet done,
saying my counsel shall stand. My counsel shall stand and I'll
do most of my pleasure. Oh, no, no. My counsel shall
stand and I will do all my pleasure. Isn't that comforting? There's
none above Him. That means everyone is beneath
Him. Everything is below Him, and
that's exactly what Paul went on to write in Ephesians 2, concerning
God exalting His Son, and hath put all things under His feet,
all things under His feet. Is that not what He Himself prayed
to His Heavenly Father? Father, You've given Me power
over all flesh, saved and unsaved, those who have bowed and those
who haven't. Father, You've given Me power over all flesh. They're all in My hand, and I
give eternal life to as many as You have given Me. have put all things under his
feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the church."
Isn't that comforting? Isn't that comforting? And now
here back in Revelation, the purpose of this book is to encourage
God's people. It's as if Christ comes to John
in this last book and reveals himself to John. I imagine it
was a great encouragement to this old man, who had been exiled
on this rocky isle for the preaching of the gospel and the testimony
of Jesus Christ. That's how God encouraged John. By the revelation of Jesus Christ,
John, look who he is. John, look where he is. Nothing's out of control. You're
right where He wants you to be. All things are under His feet. Again, in verse 1 of chapter
1, John was told that he would see things that must. Oh, I like
that, don't you? That must come to pass. not might come to pass, oh no,
must come to pass. Why must they? Because He that
sits upon the throne dictates that it should be so. The revelation
of Jesus Christ which God gave to His servant, the revelation,
the word is the unveiling, the uncovering, pulling back the
curtain to give a glimpse of the King of Glory. The revelation
of Christ, all the previous 65 books of the Bible, before revelation
do that. Give a progressive revelation
of Jesus Christ. It's all about Him. Is it not
all about Him? The Baptist said, God giveth
the Spirit not by measure unto Him. The Father loveth the Son,
he said, and hath committed everything, all things into his hand. Remember John's circumstances?
Look here again in chapter 1, verse 9. I, John, who am also
your brother and companion in tribulation and in the kingdom
and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called
Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. John was exiled for the preaching
of the gospel. My soul. He was 90 years old
when this took place. He was an old man. He was the
last living apostle. And now he's alone at the command
of an earthly emperor. Is there never a break in this
warfare? No. No, there's not. Not until
we're called to glory. There's never a break. I'm sure
John recalled the words of the Lord that night before he went
to the garden. He told John and the others,
in the world, you'll have tribulation. In the world, you'll have tribulation.
Don't be shocked. Don't be overwhelmed. Don't be
caught off guard. If the world should hate you,
they've hated me. they'll hate you as well. But
be of good cheer. I've overcome the world. Is there never a break, even
for a 90-year-old man, a faithful apostle? No. This is what J.C. Ryle wrote. A religion that costs
nothing, you know what it's worth? Nothing. Nothing. A cheap Christianity
without a cross, will prove in the end a useless Christianity
without a crown. And so it is. There is a so-called
Christianity today that knows of no conflict, no struggle,
no warfare. Not so. Not so concerning true
believers. There's a warfare without that
our Lord warned John of, the world shall hate you. because
you're not of the world. And then there's that even greater
warfare, the one Lindsey made mention of in his lesson this
morning, that one that Paul describes in Romans 7. And there is never
a let up there, is there? Not as long as we're in this
flesh, O wretched man that I am. O wretched man. Who shall deliver
me from the body of this death? And Paul answered that question.
He said, I thank God through the Lord Jesus Christ. He shall deliver me. The suffering
servant of John sees him, Jesus Christ, who is The faithful witness,
verse 5 of chapter 1, the first begotten of the dead, oh my,
wouldn't this vision encourage the suffering servant of God?
He saw he who is the prince of the kings of the earth. He saw
him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood. He heard him say, John, I'm Alpha
and Omega. the first and the last. I'm he
that liveth and was dead. And behold, John, look, look,
look and take heart. Look and be encouraged, John.
Behold, I'm alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of
hell and of death. John, fear not. Don't be afraid. You're exactly
where Christ wanted you to be. I think of another John who,
for the same reason, was put in jail, Old Bunyan, in Bedford,
England, for the preaching of the gospel and the testimony
of Jesus Christ. And I like the arithmetic of
grace, don't you? The calculation of God's grace,
only grace can do this, because out of that suffering John's
came the revelation of Jesus Christ. And out of Bunyan's sufferings
came what he called Pilgrim's Progress. My, progress? Why not regress? Why not regret? Oh no, oh no. That's the arithmetic
of grace. The more they afflicted them,
the more they multiplied and grow, such as the great work
of our great God and Savior, He who is the Alpha and Omega,
the first and the last, He who holds the keys of hell and of
death, He who sits upon the throne of sovereign majesty, says to
John and says to you and I, fear not, fear not, I'm with you. As the old hymn expresses it,
by water still or troubled sea. Man, Bobby, that can happen fast,
can't it? I mean, one moment, all is peace,
all is tranquil, everything's well. Or just lying down by still
water, so peaceful, so comforting. And then all of a sudden, like
the disciples experienced that night when the Lord sent them
across the sea. It was calm when they started
out. Before they got halfway across, suddenly there was a
great storm. By water, steel, or troubled
sea, still, David, still, still, it's still God's hand that leadeth
me. Remember that night on the troubled
sea? Our Lord stayed on the shore.
He sent them across. John 6 tells us that it was now
dark. Oh, it was dark. It was dark
without and it was dark within the troubled hearts of those
disciples. It was now dark and Jesus had
not come to them. Ever been there? Ever entertained
that thought? Oh, this storm, these angry waves,
where is he? Where is he? Ever had such thoughts? Well, sure you have, and so have
I. Oh, but in that narrative, we
also read, Jesus came to them, oh, my soul, in a way they had
never seen it before. He comes to them walking upon
the water. Isn't that something? He says,
I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you. I'll
not leave you comfortless. I'll come to you. There's not
a devil in hell or a tyrant on earth. There's nothing in nature. There's nothing that can prevent
me from coming to you. I've loved you with an everlasting
love. Christ assures his sheep of victory
over this world, over the flesh, that tyrant. One day we shall
lay it down forever. O grave, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?
and over the devil as well. God enabled us to see who John
saw, the sovereign. How refreshing it must have been
to John's heart and soul. In the first three chapters of
Revelation, Christ, the head of his church, appears on earth. But here in chapter four, he
appears in heaven. but still the same, because he's
Lord of heaven and earth. He's Lord over all and blessed
forever. He's the head of his church below
and his church above. I like what Augustus' top lady
said. He said, when a believer dies,
he just goes from the church below to the church above with
his glorious head. Christ is Christ everywhere. and always. He said as king forever. And our great king says these
things must be. These things must shortly come
to pass. There's no need to panic. No need to panic because God
had laid in Zion for a sure foundation. elect and precious, a chief cornerstone,
the foundation of his church, and he that believeth on him
shall not make haste." Don't panic. All is well. I like your pastor's story in
his commentary on this book of Revelation, discovering Christ
in Revelation. He told the story, if you haven't
read it, he told the story about some businessmen that on Saturday
evenings would gather at a local high school gym and play basketball. And while they did so, the janitor,
waiting for them to finish, would just sit in the corner and read
his Bible. And one time after their game
was over, one of the businessmen walked over to this janitor and
looked at him and rather with a smirk said, What are you reading? He said, Revelation. He said,
Do you understand it? And the man said, Yes, Jesus
Christ is going to win. Jesus Christ is going to win.
And that's exactly what John is reminded of here. He heard
a voice, singular. He saw a door, one door. He saw a throne, one throne. In one chapter four again, A
throne was set in heaven, verse 2, and one, one sat upon the
throne. Seventeen times in chapters 4
and 5 alone, the word throne is used. He who sets upon the
throne is why these things must be, not may be, they must be. Turn, if you will, for a moment
to Luke's Gospel, Luke's Gospel chapter 22. Our Lord speaks of those things
concerning himself, the must-be's concerning our Savior. This is after he's instituted
the Lord's Supper. shortly before he goes to the
garden where he's betrayed by Judas. Whereas the faithful shepherd
of the sheep, he steps out in front of an angry mob and says,
if it's me you seek, let my sheep go. Just prior to that, he speaks
these words, verse 37 of chapter 22 in Luke. For I say unto you,
that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me. And
he was reckoned among the transgressors, for the things concerning me
have an end." The things concerning me have an end, have a purpose,
have a fulfillment, an accomplishment. The Son of God came here on purpose. When the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under
the law, on purpose for this purpose, to redeem. Oh, I love the language of Scripture,
don't you? It speaks emphatically. It speaks as indeed it is the
Word of God, and it speaks to us as God. God sent forth His
Son to redeem. Mmm, I like that. Not to try
to redeem, not to hope to redeem, not to partly redeem, but redeem
them that were under the law. The things concerning me, he
said, have an end, have a purpose, have a fulfillment. Joseph, don't fret concerning that babe
in the womb of Mary. Rest easy. That holy thing that's formed
in her is Emmanuel. That's God with us. God with
us, Joseph. And when he's born, call his
name Jesus. For he shall save his people
from their sins. The things concerning me, he
said, have an end. He must be made flesh. He must
be made sin. He must trod the winepress alone. I've thought about that, Don.
Our Lord said that night, the hour has come that you're all
going to leave me alone. It's written, the shepherd shall
be smitten, the flock shall be scattered. You're going to leave
me alone. And yet, I'm not alone. The Father
is with me. Not long after that, he cries,
my God, my God, you've forsaken me. Why have you forsaken me? What kind of loneliness was that? What kind of loneliness did the
Son of God endure on the behalf of his people? I've trodden the
winepress Nobody was with me. There was
none with me. He must fulfill all righteousness. And as we'll do in remembrance
in a few moments, glory to His name, He got the job done. He put away all the sins of all
of His people. He fulfilled all righteousness. He made an end of transgression. I remember hearing Brother Tim
James. I believe he was preaching from
the text, It Is Finished, in John 19. Our Lord's cry upon
the cross concerning the things that He said would have an end. He cried, They're done. They're
finished. They're complete. Brother Tim
was preaching and said, can you imagine, can you imagine someone
coming up after Michelangelo, the artist, inventor, those things,
had painted the Sistine Chapel? Can you imagine after, I don't
know how, that took a long, long time. I really don't, it took
a long time. But can you imagine someone coming up to Michelangelo
after it was done and Michelangelo was standing there looking up
at that? great work of art that took such labor, such time, such
anguish, and someone comes up to him and says, Michelangelo,
let me borrow your brush there. I don't think you've got that
right. I need to touch that up for you. Can you imagine that? No. Can you imagine anyone suggesting
that the Son of God did anything less than obtain eternal redemption
for us? No. They do. We hear such God
dishonoring, so comforting, stilling for God's people from every corner. But thank God, he said it was
finished. And I believe him. Don't you? The things concerning him have
an end. Most people think that redemption
was only something he made possible. And it needs their help. to make
it effectual. Thank God that's not so. It's
done. When I was a young boy at home,
Earl, my father, we had chores. Imagine that. Imagine that. Old-fashioned, Bob. My daddy
said, son, you got to do this. And he wouldn't say, well, if
you don't do it, we'll give you a second chance. No. Oh, no. I knew I'd better do it. And
sometimes I would do it as it should have been done. And he'd
often stand over me and say, son, you're not finished. You only did half the job. God
Almighty said concerning his son, it's finished. It's finished. You did everything. You did everything perfectly
that I sent you to do. That's why, son, I've highly
exalted you and given you a name above every name. My son, it's
your name. Every knee is going to bow and
every tongue is going to confess of things in heaven, things on
earth, and things under the earth that you're the son of God to
the glory of God the Father. You're the Christ. You got the
job done. Thank God, He that sits upon
the throne says, these things must be. That's why we rejoice,
do we not, in observing the Lord's Supper. Because we're doing something
that's worth remembering. If he only made something possible,
that's not worth remembering. I mean, if he didn't actually
put away my sin, if he didn't really make an end of transgressions,
then it doesn't matter if you used wine, use Kool-Aid. Use
Dr. Pepper. It doesn't make any difference
if he only made something possible old. But we know we use wine
because without the shedding of blood, which that represents,
there's no remission. And as the writer in Hebrews
said, let me read a verse or two there to you. Hebrews chapter
9. But Christ, being come a high
priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect
tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building,
neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood,
he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained," how
you like that, Dave? "...having obtained eternal redemption
for us." That's what we remember. redemption obtained, sins put
away. For if the blood of bulls and
of goats and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean,
sanctify it to the purifying of the flesh, how much more,
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? That's the dictate
from the throne of the Lord Jesus Christ. And there are some things
concerning you and I that must be as well, and we'll be brief. His glory is involved in the
salvation of His people. He said, I came down from heaven,
not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent Oh, he
speaks with such certainty, doesn't he? He speaks with such authority. He speaks as one who knows what
he's talking about. We would do well to hear him.
I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will
of him that sent me. And this is the will of him that
sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should lose
none, but raise them up again, at the last day. Brothers and
sisters in Christ, we're going to see the King. We're going
to see the King. That's the dictate of our great
God. It must be. Can you imagine Christ
saying, in that day, when all His redeemed are brought around
the throne of God, Can you imagine him saying, Father, I and the
children which thou hast given me, none are lost except, Lindsay, you're right to shake
your head. I can imagine that. I kept them all except that rebel,
Larry Criss. Couldn't keep him. He was too
hard a case. My grace couldn't reign over
him. The devil snatched him out of my hand. I loved him, and
I died for him, and I called him, but I couldn't keep him. Ridiculous. I don't even like
saying that. Oh, many believe that, but thank
God it's not so. It will be the boast. The boast. of our glorious, faithful, great
shepherd of the sheep to say, Father, here's all my sheep. Everyone you entrusted into my
hands in that covenant of everlasting grace we entered into before
we ever created the world. All those multitudes of souls
that you committed into my hands and I became responsible for,
here they are. They're all here. And we're going
to throw down our crowns and say, worthy is the Lamb. Isn't
He something? Isn't He something? He that loved
us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. to him be the
glory." I've noticed in the presidential debates that the phrase, at the
end of the day, is being used a lot. Have you noticed that?
Just about every debate, and there's been quite a few of them,
someone says, but at the end of the day, I suppose that means
when everything's said and done, after all the chit-chat, At the
end of the day, this is how it should be. Brothers and sisters,
at the end of the day, at the end of the day, Christ shall
stand on the Mount Zion and with Him, all is redeemed. At the end of the day, He's going
to say, enter into the joy prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. You know, when I was Couldn't
have been more than five or six years old at home, Larry. I had two older brothers. You
know what those rascals would do to me? A week before Christmas,
now let me explain. At my house, there were nine
children. My father and mother did well
to get us a gift. They didn't waste money on wrapping
paper. When we would all go to bed on
Christmas Eve, they'd sneak the gifts out and just place them
under the tree as they were, unwrapped. My two older brothers
would start waking me up five or six days before Christmas.
At daylight, they'd, Larry, Larry, it's Christmas. Christmas, the
presents are there, and I'd go running out. They would do that
to me every morning. That's pretty mean. Let me tell
you something. Here's a dictate from the throne,
and it's not a fairy tale, and it's not a false alarm. The King
of Glory says, I will also, Father, that all those whom you have
given me be with me where I am, that they
may behold my glory. And we read in Revelation 22,
and they shall see his face. The king there in his beauty
without a veil is seen. It is a well-spent journey, though
seven deaths lay between. The land with his fair army does
on Mount Zion stand, and glory, glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's
land. The bright eye is not her garment,
but her dear bridegroom's face. I will not gaze at glory, but on my King of Grace. We shall see him as he is. That's
a dictate from the King. Not on the crown he giveth, But
on his pierced hand, the Lamb is all the glory of Emmanuel's
land. God bless you. It's been a delight
to be with you. Thank you for your attention.