The purpose of the book of Revelation
is to encourage God's people. The very last book, it's as though
Christ comes and he says, now don't forget, don't forget, I'm
coming again, I'm coming again. What an encouragement that is. And remember the circumstances
John was experiencing at the time we made mention of it in
the reading. He was exiled for the preaching of the gospel of
Christ. I thought of this comment that
I read some time ago by Brother Joe Terrell, and he said this
along this line. He said, Do not let the light
of earthly joys distract you from the glory of what lies ahead,
nor let the darkness of the present hour blind you to the light of
the glory that shall be revealed in us. This is what the revelation
of Jesus Christ did for John. Did for John. That's how John
was encouraged. That's the only way any suffering
saint of God can be encouraged. A revelation of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Look again at verse 1 of chapter
1. The revelation of Jesus Christ,
the unveiling, the uncovering, the pulling aside the curtain,
the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto him to show
unto his servants, not just John but all his people, things which
must shortly come to pass and he sent and signified it by his
angel unto his servant. It's not the revelation of John,
but the revelation of Christ. This book, as the 65 books that
preceded it, the entire Word of God is a revelation of Him. It's all about Him, revealing
Himself to needy sinners, those which God gave Him before the
world began. Let me just read you what John
wrote concerning him, concerning what the Father has done for
Christ. I'm reading from John's Gospel,
chapter 3. He that hath received his testimony
hath said to his seal that God is true. For he whom God hath
sent, that is Christ, speaketh the words of God. For God giveth
not the Spirit by measure unto him, The Father loveth the Son,
and hath given all things, all things. It pleased the Father
that in Him should all fullness dwell. For the Father loveth
the Son, and hath given all things into His hand. Paul in Hebrews
wrote, God who at sunry times and in various means spoken to
the prophets have in these last days spoken to us by his Son. That's the final word. Again
I would remind you, when our Lord appeared to John as he tells
us in verse 9 of chapter 1, He was exiled on the Isle of Patmos
for the Word of God, for preaching the Gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ, for the testimony of Jesus Christ. John was the last living apostle. When this took place, John was
about 90 years old. His brother James was gone. Peter
was gone, Andrew was gone, they had all died. They were all going
on to be with the Lord. Only John is left and he's an
old man and now in his old years he's cast out on this Isle of
Patmos by the command of a Roman emperor, Domitian, who took the
place of Nero and he was just as hateful to God's people as
that tyrant was. We might ask ourselves, is there
never a break in this warfare? I mean, after all, had not John
suffered enough? Ninety years old, was it not
time for some peace in his life? Well, if there is ever a break
in this warfare, it's not for very long. Not for very long. Let me read you another comment.
This is by J.C. Rowell. He said, a religion,
oh how needful this is for our day, a religion that costs nothing
is worth nothing. Is that right? That's exactly
right. A religion that costs nothing is worth nothing. A cheap
Christianity without a cross were proven to end a useless
Christianity without a crown. Without a crown. J.C. Ryle wrote that many, many years
ago. What would he think if he lived
in our day? Because today there is a Christianity,
so-called, that knows of no conflict, no struggle, No warfare, because
it walks arm in arm with the world. That's not the salvation
of God's Word. That's not the Christianity of
God's Word. The captain of our salvation
said, if the world hates me, it'll hate you. The world is
no friend to God's people. It never has been. John remembered
every day by experience the words of our Lord. That very night
before he was betrayed, he said to them, in the world you'll
have tribulation. And I'm telling you now. I'm
telling you ahead of time, so that when it happens, you won't
be overcome, you won't be caught off guard. Expect it. In the
world, you shall have tribulation. And if that weren't enough, what
about that warfare? Not from without. but from within. What about that warfare that
Paul talked about in Romans 7? What about that warfare? The
greatest fight in all the world doesn't go on out here. It goes
on in here. It makes a child of God, an unbeliever,
knows nothing about this. Oh, but a child of God He cries
out, O wretched man that I am, all this terrible warfare, this
conflict within me, the spirit lusting against the flesh and
the flesh against the spirit, so that you cannot do the things
that you have an inclination to do, a tendency to do. O wretched man that I am, who
shall deliver me from this warfare? And Paul answered the question.
I thank God, he said, through Jesus Christ the Lord. Yes, exiled John was by an earthly
ruler, but God's suffering servant is given a revelation of the
King of Glory. The King of Glory, the faithful
witness, the first begotten of the dead, the prince of the kings
of the earth, Him who loved us and gave himself for us. John
is given that. A picture of the Almighty. The Almighty. And John is reminded he is exactly where God wanted
him to be. That Roman Emperor wasn't the
one in control. The one who saideth king forever,
the king of kings, and the Lord of lords. He's the one in control. And when John saw him, he thought,
hmm, all is well. All is well. Seeing him as he
is and hearing these words, fear not. Fear not, John. I'm the Almighty. I'm the Almighty. What's happened to you is no
accident. No, no. I'm the Almighty. John, I'm the first and the last.
I'm the A and the Z. The Alpha and Omega and everything
in between. John, don't be afraid. You're exactly where Christ wanted
you to be. When I was preparing this, in
John's circumstances, I couldn't help but think of another John,
old Bunyan, who was cast into Bedford jail for the same reason,
for the preaching of the gospel and the testimony of Jesus Christ. But out of those sufferings,
you see, this other John Bunyan was exactly where God wanted
him to be. Because he wrote, of all things,
a book that has outsold more books than any other except the
Word of God itself. And you know what he wrote, you
know what he called it, Pilgrim's Progress. He wrote it when he
was in jail. Progress. Not regress. Not a
step back. Oh, but a step forward. Progress. And so it was with the apostle
John. You see, children of God, what
was said concerning the children of Israel in bondage in Egypt
is always true. This is what God's grace does. It brings us down. Oh, but that's
a good thing. Concerning those in Israel, who
Pharaoh enslaved, we read that the more that he afflicted them,
the more they multiplied and grew. They didn't regress, they
progressed. Isn't that something? That's
only the work of God's grace because he is the Alpha and Omega,
the first and the last. He holds the keys of hell and
death, not a Roman emperor. Not a president. Not the devil. No, they're not almighty. The
almighty is the one who holds the keys of hell and of death. And therefore he says, fear not. Remember who I am. Remember what
I've told you. I'm telling you things that must
shortly come to pass. Brothers and sisters in Christ,
whether we're walking by water, steel, or troubled sea. Remember, he's the master of
the sea. He sends the storms. And in his
own time, when it's best for our good and his glory, has he not proved it to you,
child of God, over and over and over again? He'll come to you
walking upon those stormy seas, saying, it is I, fear not, I'm
the Almighty, be not afraid. By water, steel, or troubled
sea, it's still, it's still His hand that leadeth me. Christ assures us of victory
over this world. John himself wrote in his first
epistle, This is the victory that overcometh the world, even
our faith. Those who believe in Jesus, the
Christ, the Son of the living God. And that other warfare that
we made mention of, that one within, that conflict, Paul says,
oh yes, that will be won as well. We'll have the victory over that
as well, through our Lord Jesus Christ. He wrote in 1 Corinthians
15, because it's not always going to be like this, John. No, it's
not. He says, we shall be changed. We shall be changed, Louie. This
corruptible going to put on incorruption. This mortal is going to put on
immortality. We're going to dress for that
eternal morning. And then we'll arise from our
grave and say, Oh, death, where is thy sting? Oh, grave, where
is thy victory? We have victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ, Paul wrote. And concerning the devil, Paul
said, soon God shall bruise him under your feet. Oh, may God
give me grace to see what John saw. He saw the sovereign monarch
of the universe, the Almighty. How refreshing that must have
been, that John's heart and soul. In the first three chapters in
Revelation, Christ, the head of the church, appears to John
on earth. But here in Revelation chapter
4, turn there if you haven't already, In chapter 4, he appears
in heaven. But he's still the same because
he's Lord of heaven and earth. He's Lord over all, everywhere. There's no place that he doesn't
reign. He's the head of the church below
and above. Mr. Toplady said, when a believer
dies, he just goes from the church below to the church above. where our glorious head is. Christ
is Christ everywhere, always. He's Lord everywhere, always. He saideth king upon the flood,
yes. He saideth king forever and that's
exactly what John sees here. Look again at verse 1 of chapter
4. The 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. Must be. Oh, I want to talk to
you about some must be things. Not might be, but must be. Let me read you a verse from
Isaiah chapter 28. Therefore, Verse 16, Therefore thus saith
the Lord God, Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation. This is Christ. I lay in Zion
for a foundation. The church's one foundation.
A stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. But he doesn't stop there. He
that believeth shall not make haste." Just stay calm. With such a foundation as that,
there's no need to panic. I found in my Christian pilgrimage
those times that I haven't waited upon the Lord. When I've made
haste, I've always wished afterwards that I'd waited on the Lord.
It never turns out well. Oh, those that wait upon the
Lord, don't get nervous. Or when you get in a rush, you
just make a mess of things. Just make a mess of things. All
but for grace to calmly wait upon the Lord, that's where you
renew your strength. By looking unto him, the church's
one foundation almost titled this message, no need to panic,
but we'll stick with them, must be things. There was a group
of businessmen that would meet every Saturday evening to play
basketball at the local high school gym. The janitor there,
while they were playing basketball, would find him a place in the
corner and read the Word of God until those fellas got done and
he could turn out the lights and lock up and go home. And
one evening, one of the young businessmen came over and with
kind of a smirk said, what are you reading? And the janitor
said, The book of Revelation, the revelation of Jesus Christ.
And the businessman said, do you understand it? And his janitor
said, I sure do. Christ is going to win. That's a pretty good commentary
on Revelation. Jesus Christ is going to win. And that's what John's reminded
of. He who sits upon the throne is why these things must be so. Verse 2 is an explanation of
verse 1. Because of who he is, remember,
these things must be because who can stay his hand? Who can
prevent it? Who can say unto him, what doest
thou? No, he has his way, whirlwind
or not. The clouds are but the dust of
his feet. This is the reason we rejoiced
last weekend, is it not? Now I know religious people talk
about a God that tries. I hate to hear that stuff. Who
are they talking about? When I hear people say that,
I want to stop and say, listen, wait a minute, wait a minute.
Did you hear what you just said? In the same breath, you talked
about God trying. That doesn't jive. Who are you
talking about? It's not the God of this book.
No. Christ didn't say, John, I'm
going to show you some things that might be, could be, hope
to be. John, I'm going to show you some
things that must be. Must be. The reason they must
be because he's going to bring them to be. Because he that sat
upon the throne rules over all. That makes all the difference.
Who says so? I've noticed here recently, well,
for a while now, that Hollywood is getting in on the money-making
prostitution of God's Word and these precious things, making
movies. I saw one advertised the other
day, I don't know what the name of it was, but they said See
Jesus the Messiah as you've never seen him before. And I said,
that's probably the only true line in the whole movie. Because
it'll be an imposter. Oh no. The Lord Jesus Christ
says, John, I'm the first and I'm the last. I had no beginning. I had no end. I'm from everlasting. I'm everlastingly God. I've always
been. There wasn't a starting place
for me. Everything springs from me. All
life. And that eternal God was made
flesh and dwelt among us. Let me read you a comment, as
John did, concerning what I'm saying. This is from another
commentary by Don Fortner, Discovering Christ in Revelation. And he
said this, He asked the question, why should this vision of Christ
John had so many years ago be of any importance to us today?
Why does it matter to you and I? Why does it matter to you
and I today? And Don wrote, it's important
because this vision of Christ is a symbolical representation
of the one who suffered and died for our sins. This vision represents
what Christ is now. What Christ was when he was upon
the earth is vital, is of vital importance to us, but what he
is now is equally vital. Too often men and women get so
wrapped up in thinking about how Christ will appear in the
future, they fail to recognize and adore him as he is now. As we struggle with pains and
sorrows and trials of this world, in this world rather, We need
to know what Christ is now, where he is now, and what he's doing
now. The future will be glorious both
for Christ and his people, but we need help now. And this vision
of the risen Savior shows us one who is able to save, able
to keep, able to preserve, able to bring us before the presence
of God without a spot or a blemish or any such thing. This vision. of the risen, reigning Christ
is why all that he said must be. That's why we rejoiced last
weekend, was it not? That man stood and told us of
a God who is God. He told us of a Christ who actually
saves. He told us of real grace for
real sinners. I'm one, aren't you? I don't
pretend to be, I am. I don't need a sham Savior. I
don't need a helpless Savior. I'm helpless already. I need
a mighty God and Savior. I need real grace and that's
what Christ has. I need grace that brings salvation. everlasting salvation, salvation
to the uttermost, and all things concerning Christ are must-be
things, must-be things. That includes what took place
since John's vision. Remember, 2,000 years had elapsed. Some of this has taken place,
and everything that is yet to take place are must-be things. All shall come to pass. The same
reason as the former things. The prophet Isaiah told us. The
same reason that the former things have come to pass. Especially
concerning God's Son. He must have the preeminence. Go back if you will to Isaiah.
Isaiah chapter 9. Remember this. This is usually just read or
heard at Christmas time. This is a cause for rejoicing
every day. Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6, For
unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government
shall be upon his shoulder. The government shall be upon
his shoulder. And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end.
upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom to order it
and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth
even forever." John, these things must be. Must be. Why? The zeal of the Lord of hosts
will perform it. Not attempt it. He'll perform
it. Oh, how comforting to know that
what he has promised, he's able to perform. He's able to keep
us from falling. He's able to do all things necessary. These are must-be things. It's always true concerning the
Son of God. Turn if you will to Luke's gospel,
chapter 22. Luke chapter 22. is the record of our Lord instituting
the Lord's Supper. This was the night of the last
Passover, the very last Passover, after which our Lord instituted
the Lord's Supper. John was present when this happened.
Verse 37 of Luke 22, For I say unto you that this that is written must yet be accomplished." There's
that word again, must yet be accomplished in me. And then
he quotes that, which must be accomplished. And he was reckoned
among the transgressors. And then he says, for the things
concerning me have an end. The things concerning Christ
are must be things. They have an end. They have a
purpose. The Son of God's purpose must
be accomplished. It must be realized. He came
here on purpose. When the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth his son. He came here for a purpose,
to redeem those who were under the law. I come to do thy will, O my God,
he said. He came on a mission. What was
it? Call His name Jesus. He shall
save His people from their sins. And in order to do so, He must
be made flesh. And then He must be made sin.
And He must trod the winepress alone. And He must fulfill all
righteousness. Those are must-be things. And
glory to His name, He did. Mission accomplished. He got
the job done. Can you imagine? I think, if
I remember right, Tim James used this as an illustration. He would
have done it better than me because it's been so many years ago since
I heard him say it. But imagine Michelangelo. They say he was a genius. He was an artist. He was an inventor.
But he painted the Sistine Chapel. Years I think it took. And can
you imagine once he completed that work standing there and
looking up and somebody come prancing up to him and say, let
me borrow your brush. I need to touch that up. It's
not finished. Can you imagine? Can you imagine
that? Most people think of the work of Jesus Christ in just
that way. that his redemption only made
salvation possible. That it didn't actually then
and there obtain eternal redemption for us. And that Christ needs
their help. If they don't add their will
or their faith or their merit to the redemption of Christ,
somehow it won't be effectual, it won't work. Can you imagine that? What did
the Son of God say? Knowing that all things were
now accomplished, John said, that were written concerning
the Son of Man, that's when He hung up on the cross that those
verses are read, in John chapter 19, knowing that all things were
accomplished. He said, I thirst, because that
had yet to be accomplished. They gave me vinegar to drink.
And after that was fulfilled, He said, can you hear Him? Can you hear Him, suffering believer? Can you hear Him? Hurting child
of God. Can you hear Him? He said, it's
finished. It is finished. It's complete. It's fulfilled. It's done. It's over. Glory to His name. Louis, it's over. It's over. He put away my sins. He redeemed
me then and There, glory to his name. When I was young at home,
I don't know if it's still practiced in our politically correct society,
we don't want to give our children some kind of phobia, but I had
chores to do. I'm so thankful my father didn't
subscribe to modern-day philosophy of raising children, but I had
chores to do, and he expected me to do them. And often he would
say to me, Larry, come here. You're not finished. You're not
finished. Why? Because the job is only
half done. It's only half done. God Almighty, God the Father,
didn't say to his son, it's only half done. You didn't do everything
that I sent you to do. It's only half done." Oh, of
course not. No, he said, my son, it's done. It's done. Sit on my right hand. until I make all your enemies
your footstool. My son, it's done. Ask of me
and I will give you the heathen for your inheritance. I will
draw all to you for whom you suffered and died. Everyone I
entrusted into your hands shall be brought by my grace to glory
to be with you forever. It's not half done. The things
concerning the Son of Man have an end. And again, I remind you,
he spoke those words the night he instituted the Lord's Supper
when he said, this is my blood which is shed for you. And Peter
who was there and took that cup from the hands of Christ and
drank it, passed it among the others. He said concerning that
blood that we've been redeemed Don't forget, he said, you weren't
redeemed with silver and gold. No. You've been redeemed with
the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb slain from the foundation
of the world was revealed in these last times for you. That's why we rejoice when we
observe the Lord's Supper. We're remembering something that's
worth remembering. But only if he obtained our redemption. Only if he really did put away
sin and made an end of transgressions. If he didn't, use Kool-Aid. Use grape juice. Use Diet Pepsi.
It doesn't make any difference. If the symbol doesn't matter. If he didn't actually obtain
our eternal redemption. If he failed, it doesn't matter.
Oh, but we use wine. Because it represents His blood.
And without the shedding of blood, there's no remission. Oh, but
by His own blood, He entered in one time into the holy place,
and glory to His name, He got the job done. These things must
be. They must be. Oh, my sins. Not in part, all of them. The whole were nailed to his
cross and I bear them no more. I never will. Oh praise the Lord,
praise the Lord, oh my soul. There's some must be's concerning
his people as well. His glory, think of this, the
glory of the great shepherd is involved in the salvation of
his sheep. He said, I came down from heaven
not to do my own will, but the will of the Father who sent me.
And this is the will of the Father who sent me that of all, all,
all that he had given me, I should lose none, none, but raise them
all up at the last day. John referred to it in his lesson
this morning. It will be the boast of King
Jesus to gather the millions around the throne and say, Father,
all are here. I've lost none. All the children
that thou has given me, that's a must be. That's a must be. Can you imagine? Can you imagine
the Son of God saying, Father, I and the children that thou
has given me, they're all here but one. But one. They're all here but
Larry Criss. I couldn't keep him. He was too
hard a case. My grace couldn't reign over
that sinner's sin. 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 from falling and he's
lost forever. Man, that leaves a nasty taste
in my mouth. Just saying that leaves a nasty
taste in my mouth. But that's what many people believe.
They believe that horrible, horrible Christ dishonoring doctrine. That he died for people that
end up in hell anyway. Well then what did he die for?
He's a failure. That shall never happen. That
destroys the comfort of a true child of God. Oh no, listen. Listen to the Almighty. Listen
to he that liveth in him was dead and is alive forevermore.
He says they shall never perish. They shall never perish. That's
a must be. When they sing the song around
the throne of God, worthy is the land that was slain. It's
because the land of the tribe of Judah has prevailed. That's a must be thing. Have
you noticed in these debates among those running for the nomination
for president, I keep hearing the phrase, but
at the end of the day. Have you noticed that? One fellow
in particular always says that. But at the end of the day, I
guess what he means is, no matter what you fellas say or do or
think or want, at the end of the day, It all comes back to
this. It all boils down to this. At
the end of the day, at the end of the day, the Son of God is
going to step from his throne of sovereign rule and declare,
time shall be no more at the end of the day. And if we read
here in chapter 1, he said the same thing in Matthew 24. He
shall send his angels to gather from the four corners of the
earth all of his elect. And then the righteous shall
shine forth in the kingdom of their God. There shall be weeping
and wailing and gnashing of teeth when they see the Son of God
coming in the clouds. Imagine if that should happen
right now. Most folks sitting in churches
are described by those words of our Savior. They'll be weeping
and wailing and gnashing their teeth because they see Him as
John saw Him. They see Him as He really is. Oh, can you imagine the horror?
The utter horror that gripped their hearts when they realized
they trusted the wrong Jesus? Can you imagine? So shall it
be, our Lord said. But for those, the righteous,
they shall be gathered with Him to be with Him forever. Brothers
and sisters in Christ, this is what the book of Revelation tells
us. We're going to see the King. Jesus Christ is already on His
way. The King is coming. He's coming. He's not going to come. He's
coming. We shall see the King. When I was very young, very young
and very naive, about a week before Christmas, my two older
brothers, Jim and Ronnie, I'm going to let them know when they
visit me in a few weeks, Lord willing. I've not forgot this.
But about a week before Christmas, they would wake me up at daylight,
John, and say, Larry, Larry, It's Christmas. It's Christmas. It's... Man, that's mean. Six or seven days away, but every... Larry, it's Christmas and I'd
be half asleep and I'd run looking under that tree. And they'd just
laugh. Did it every morning until Christmas
actually arrived. Brothers and sisters, children
of God, we're going to see our God and Savior. And it's not
a trick. It's not a false alarm. I'm not
pretending. Soon and very soon we're going
to see the King. He which testifies these things,
the last words of the last book. He which testifies these things
saith surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so come Lord Jesus. And until he does, the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Amen. God bless you.