Good evening. So good to be with
you. It was such a joy for me to be
here Sunday and to hear your pastor preach those two wonderful
messages. My fellowship here during those
20 years before God placed me where I am now in Sylacauga,
Alabama were such a delight to my soul when I think of you I
think I can say on a daily basis, I think, if you hear. And I would
ask that you would remember the little flock in Sylacauga. It's
only 400 miles away. Come on down and visit us sometime. Our conference, the Lord willing,
will be about a month after yours here, the last weekend in September. Dave, thank you so much. Thank
you so very much. Would you turn with me to Revelation
chapter 7? Let's begin reading at verse
9, Revelation 7. After this, John writes, after
this I beheld and lo, a great multitude, which no man could
number, of all nations and kindreds and people and tons, stood before
the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and
palms in their hands, just thousands and thousands and hundreds of
thousands. Christ said, except a corn of
wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone, but if
it fall into the ground and die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
That's a picture of what we just read. Verse 10, And they 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,
you have here in verse 12, seven words of perfect praise to our
perfect Redeemer, 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 land 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." In verse 13, the elder asked John two questions. And then in verse 14, the elder
himself gave John the two answers to those questions. And he answers
the second question first. Whence came they? This multitude,
a multitude that John couldn't number, too many for him to count.
John, where did they come from? And the answer is, These are
they which came out of great tribulation." I read a statement
somewhere, and I don't recall who said it or exactly where
it was, but this man wrote, I love the infinity of Scripture. I
love the infinity of God's Word. That just illustrates that it
is God's Word, not another book like it, is there? So very much
to consider. just in half of his answer, the
answer to just one of the questions. My soul, it is so full of comfort,
isn't it? Every word, every word. Where
did they come from? Who are they, John? And he answers,
they which came out of great tribulation. So much to consider
and so full of comfort. I've perhaps told you, I thought
of it again when I was considering this verse of scripture today
and last night. I visited a friend in the hospital
one time, a dear brother in the Lord, and I went in around noon
when he was attempting to eat his lunch. He'd been chewing on a piece
of meat for a little while, and I just sat there patiently. I
said, you go ahead and eat, Shannon, and I'll do the talking. And
finally, he pushed his tray away and said, Larry, I declare, the
more I chew that piece of meat, the bigger it gets. And I thought
the same thing about this text of scripture, and that could
be said about so much all of God's Word, really. The more
I thought about it, the bigger it gets. Let's just, as God enables
us, pitch tent here for a little while. His answer was, They which
came out. The title of my message is Victory
Assured. Victory Assured. The very fact that God has at
any time had a church in this world, and He always has. He always has. That's the only
reason the world exists. He has a people in this world. He's calling out, calling to
His Son who redeemed them by His grace. But the very fact
that God has a church in this world is a standing miracle,
isn't it? A proof that they are kept by
the power of God. There's no other explanation.
There's no other explanation. Their very existence is testimony
to the sufficiency of the grace of God that is in Christ Jesus.
Where sin abounded, no doubt about that, no doubt about this,
grace doth much more abound. The fact of God's church in this
world is a proof of that and a sure evidence as well of our
Lord's words. Because I live, he said, you,
my people, my disciples, my sheep. Because I live, ye shall live
also. I like that, don't you? It takes me out of the equation
altogether. My life, my eternal life, my
everlasting life, The same life I now possess as a child of God
is the same life that flows from my glorious head. Therefore,
he says, because I live, ye shall live also. Before one member
of the church, which is his body, ceases to live, first of all,
Bobby, her head would have to die. Jesus Christ himself must
die. And he said in chapter 1 of this
book, Revelation, yes, I am he that liveth. I was dead. But
behold, I'm alive forevermore. And everyone who is united to
him, every member of his glorious body, his church, shall live
eternally with him, through him, and because of him. I read something
along this line in a bulletin of Joe Charles, an article that
he wrote. I thought it was very good. I
just want to read a couple sentences of it to you. Joe wrote, all
that were in Christ when he died were in him when he arose, in
him when he ascended, and are seated with him in glory now.
In our experience, we may follow him into the tomb but we shall
surely follow him out of it and into glory. These are they which
follow the Lamb, whithersoever he goeth. Joe went on to write,
It cannot be that those for whom he went into the grave shall
not come out of it with him and be glorified with him forever. This is the assurance of the
gospel, and so it is. That's why the title of my message
is assured victory. I wonder how different would
a soldier's outlook be or how much more comfort it would give
him if somehow he knew, he knew that his commander-in-chief,
don't think about that fellow in the White House, but the commander-in-chief
guaranteed the victory, the warfare that he was engaged in. The captain
of our salvation does that very thing. He guarantees the victory
of all of his sheep. Did we not read it just now?
These are they, not that died on the battlefield, not that
perished. He said, men shall hate you.
The time shall come that they that kill you will think that
he does God a service, but not one hair on your head shall perish. They all came out. Would you have the sweet comfort
of knowing that the captain of your salvation, that he holds
you securely in his mighty, omnipotent hand? Would you have the sweet
comfort of that? then look to Him. Look at Him. Consider Him. And all your comfort
will be derived from that. Turn, if you will, back to chapter
1. Let's look at the captain just briefly. Look at the captain
of our salvation. And may we be comforted by the
look. John says in verse 12 of chapter
1, And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being
turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks. And in the midst of the seven
candlesticks, one likened to the Son of Man, look how he's
described, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girded
about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs
were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were as
a flame of fire. Doesn't sound like that imposter
we hear so much of today. Pipsqueak that can't have his
way. Doesn't sound like that's the
one we're reading up here. Verse 15, and his feet were likened
to fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace, and his voice as
the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand
seven stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword,
and his countenance was as the sun which shineth in his strand. And when I saw him, I fell at
his feet as dead." That's the captain of our salvation. John described him, described
what he saw. And now listen, listen to when
the captain of our salvation opens his mouth to John. He laid
his right hand upon me saying, fear not, I am the first and
the last. I am he that liveth and was dead,
and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of
hell and of death. Hear him again. I give my sheep
eternal life, and they shall never perish. They shall never perish. Oh,
but what if they go through the valley? They shall never perish. What if they endure tribulation?
There's no if about it. They shall never perish. They
shall come out of great tribulation. Again, hear the voice of our
great shepherd, the captain of our salvation, our commander-in-chief. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. Well did the prophet say concerning
him? He shall not fail. Do you hear
that child of God? He shall not fail. Anything the Son of God puts
his hand to, he shall be successful. Failure is out of the question.
Of him, and through him, and back to him, are all things to
whom be glory for ever. Amen. When Gabriel was sent by
God to the little obscure village of Nazareth to a virgin named
Mary, the angel spoke these words to her. This was his message. And behold, he says to Mary,
thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and thou
shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall
be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give unto
him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign over
the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall
be no end. that holy thing that shall be
formed in you, he shall be great. Great. Greater than you and I
have ever conceived of him being. He shall be great. He was great. And he is great. And he shall ever be great. Behold,
he said. Behold! greater than Solomon
is here. One greater than Abraham is here. One greater than Jonah is here. One greater than your most cherished
temple is here. Oh yes, he shall be great. In
chapter 4 of this book, the revelation of Jesus Christ, John said, he
heard a voice saying unto him, come up hither. And immediately
he was in the Spirit, and behold, A door was opened in heaven and
he saw a throne. He saw a throne. Bill, there's
only one throne. There's only one throne. And
John said one sat upon that throne, none other than the King of Glory
himself. He shall be great. In chapter
5, John wept much because no man was found worthy to open
the book of God's decrees God's predestinating purpose. And the
angel said, John, weep not. Behold, the lion of the tribe
of Judah hath prevailed. He shall not fail. He shall be
great. That great and worthy one, that
man. Oh, great is the mystery, Paul
said. No controversy about this. This
is a great mystery. God was manifest in the flesh,
that great and worthy one, that man who is God, and that God
who is himself man, the captain of our salvation. I ask you this,
with such a one as he is leading his sheep, and we read that they
all come out of great tribulation, I ask you, why wouldn't they?
Why wouldn't they? Why wouldn't they? When we hear
our great high priest praying, Father, I will that they also,
that those whom thou has given me be with me where I am. I ask you, who's going to hold
them back? Who's going to stop them? Who's
going to sever one of his sheep from their great shepherd? Who
shall pull asunder One member of his body, his bride,
from their glorious head, their glorious bridegroom, I ask you,
when he says, Father, this is my will and testament. I want
them to be with me. I want them to behold my glory.
Again, I ask you, who's going to stop them? Who's going to
hold them back? Oh yes, this is indeed a sure
victory, is it not? The elder, I think. I think among many other things
that we will find comfort in, I think one thing to consider
is this. The elder reminds John of this
very practical point. Those that are now before the
throne of God, those described in verses 9 and 10, waving the
palm leaf of victory, dressed in white robes, standing before
the throne of God, with the spotless, pure, immaculate righteousness
of Jesus Christ, all dressed in that perfect robe and all
singing the same song. John, where did they come from? And the elder by his answer reminds
John, they came out of great tribulation. John, it was not
always so. They were once just like you.
where you are now. They were tried. They were tempted. They endured. Not one of that
innumerable multitude, not one of them was exempt from tribulation. Great tribulation, just like
John at the moment was enduring. Look, if you will, at verse 9
here in Revelation, verse 9. John was enduring tribulation
at the time. He says in 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. Why, John? For the word of God. He was exiled, put out there.
For the word of God, for the testimony of Jesus Christ, for
the preaching of the gospel. They put him out there and thought
no one would hear from him again. Our Lord said, In the world you shall have tribulation."
But again, the captain of our salvation said, be a good chair. I, your captain, your commander-in-chief,
have overcome the world for you, for you. And so it is with God's
children like John. They go through great tribulation.
I remember another John. not the apostle Bunyan, remember
him, recall reading of him. Like John, he was put in prison
for the testimony of Jesus Christ, for the preaching of the gospel.
He was asked on various occasions, will you renounce what you Preach
where you at least agree not to do so anymore and you can
go home. You can go home. Be with your
family. That little blind daughter in Bunyan said, I can't do that.
Can't do that. Now that's just too high a price.
And he went back to prison for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
And the outcome of his imprisonment, much like the Apostle John, was
that he wrote a book, which was at one time, I don't know that
this is still the case, but sold more copies than any other book
except the Word of God itself, Pilgrim's Progress. And John
the Apostle, though in exile, was given the revelation of Jesus
Christ. As we read in Exodus chapter
1, there rose up a Pharaoh that didn't know Joseph. And he set
taskmasters over the children of Israel. But we read, the more
they afflicted them, it had the very opposite effect. It didn't
stymie them. The more they afflicted them,
we read, the more they multiplied and grew. These are they that
come out of great tribulation. Someone once said, no child of
God ever came out of a trial worse than he was when he went
in. Never happened. And you've heard this saying,
I think it was a Puritan. He said, when I find myself in
the cellar of affliction, I remember my heavenly father keeps his
best wine there, and I search for it till I find it. And I
drink of that wine on the lees well refined. Clause, God give
me grace not merely to recite Romans 8 and 28, Don, that's
not hard to do. That's not hard to do. Oh, but
give me grace to believe what I read in Romans 8 and 28. That
God does indeed work all things together for the good of this
sinner that he's been pleased to call by His grace. And you
know why? You know why that's true? Because
God is doing the work. Salvation is His work. Oh, for
grace to trust him more, this multitude before the throne was
not always there worthy. They'll be there forever after
arriving. Oh, yes, he that sits upon the
throne shall dwell among them forever. They'll behold the king
and his beauty forever. They'll adore him forever. They'll love Him with an unsinning
heart forever, forever. Oh, but before that, they pass
through great tribulation. But then again, when they are
going through the tribulation, unlike the glory that shall be
revealed, and that the tribulation itself will help produce, bring
them to that eternal weight of glory, it shall end the tribulation. Oh, but the everlasting weight
of glory, that's going to be forever. That shall never end. Oh, indeed, I think it's safe
to say that the tribulation we endure on our way to our Heavenly
Father's house shall make heaven even sweeter than it would be
otherwise. Oh, yes, victory assured. I cannot
tell you how many times I've found sweet consolation to my
troubled heart In these blessed words, these are they which came
out. We've got, I'm sure, the same
is true of some here. But there's a few of our little
flock that I pastor going through some very difficult times right
now. Robin, Robbins, has been up in
Indiana, where her daughter lives, has been in the hospital, staying
with her just about day and night, just watching her die. That's heavy. That's a heavy
trial. Got another dear brother-in-law.
He's got one daughter left out of three. Saw two die. His wife is going on. He's been
in the hospital a month. Every time I speak to him, he
doesn't have hardly enough wind to carry on a conversation, but
he's always there. How is that so? How is that possible? Because God leads his dear children
along. Yes, some through fire, but all
through the blood, God leads his dear children along. They
all come out. You know why? Let me tell you
why not. Mr. Spurgeon said, if you want
to take up time, if you don't have much to say in a message,
just go, it's not, not, not, not, not. Well, I'm going to
Go against Mr. Spurgeon's advice and say what
the reason cannot be. I think there's comfort even
in that. Consider what the reason cannot be why God's people shall
all come out. And the reason is this. And this
is good news, weary pilgrim. It's not for anything in you. Aren't you glad that's true?
It's not your doing. Your safekeeping is not up to
you. It's not in themselves. The elder
told John, all these came out, and they did not arrive in glory
by pulling themselves up by their own bootstraps. Any fool ever
told you that? Huh? Oh yeah, what you need to
do, child of God, you need to pull yourself up by your own
bootstraps. First of all, I don't have any
straps on my boots, and my arms don't reach down that far if
I did. Oh no, they come out. because
the omnipotent arm of their mighty God, once he has reached down
his hand for them, will never let them go. He reached down
out of the pit and set them up on a solid rock, and they shall
never be washed up until they enter glory. Thank God that it's
not due to their own strength or their own merit. Ask any one
of them. You know, this is what the devil
would tempt us to believe. would have us think, you can
do all things. Really? Really? You can do all
things, but never tell us through Christ that strengthens us. This
is what he told Peter. Peter, you'll never forsake Christ. You're not like the rest of these
fellas. You're stronger than they are. You love the Master
more than they do. And a few hours later, there
Peter stands before a little maid cursing, not even using
the name Jesus, so swiftly fallen that he wouldn't even speak that
most lovely name. I don't know the man, he said. Pride cometh before a fall. Oh, but here's the way it is.
We are no more kept by our own strength. We no more keep ourselves
saved, thank God, than we could save ourselves. If that's true,
then that superstitious story set out by the Church of Rome
about that fellow St. Dennis, he's beheaded, you've
heard it, and he picks up his head and walks a thousand miles.
If he took the first step, he can take all the rest. But thank
God, the child of God, every step of the way, is because of
God's amazing grace. There will never be a time in
the life of a believer that God David doesn't lead his dear children
along all the time. Paul said it like this, and this
is the testimony of every child of God. But I am what I am by
the grace of God. Setting in that prison cell waiting
to be taken out and beheaded. Timothy, at my first answer,
all men forsook me. Nevertheless, the Lord stood
with me. The great shepherd said, I'll
never leave you forsaken. And he delivered me. And Timothy,
I believe he shall deliver me unto his heavenly kingdom. And so he shall. And Peter agrees
wholeheartedly with Paul, does he not? Now the God of all grace, that
brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great
shepherd of the sheep, after that you have suffered a while,
make you perfect in every good work to do his will. In Romans
chapter 15, a verse of scripture you're familiar with, Verse 4,
we read this, Romans 15 and 4, for whatsoever things were written
aforetime were written for our learning that we through patience
and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Where would
the hope be if God's people of old were some sort of super race
of believers and not men of like passions just like you and I,
where would the comfort be? Oh, but when I read words like
this, words from David, when I read words like this, so foolish
was I and ignorant, I was as a beast before thee. That sounds
familiar. That sounds like somebody else
I know. That sounds just like Larry Criss. It sounds like David
wasn't any different than me. Sounds like he was just a sinner
saved by grace just like me. And he, like me, confesses before
his God, I've been like a beast before you. I've been foolish.
I've been ignorant. I envied the lost. Oh, my soul. That does sound
familiar. But he also wrote, After making
that confession, he said, nevertheless, here's the language of grace.
Nevertheless, I am continually with thee. Thou hast holden me
by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy
counsel, and afterward receive to me the glory. Oh, God, grant
me childlike faith. When I was a child at home, as
far back as I can remember. And I'm a great-grandfather now.
My memory's probably fading fast. But I can still recall as a child
at home lying in bed at night, never one time entertaining a
thought, I wonder what I'm going to eat tomorrow. I wonder if
there'll be any clothes for me tomorrow. I wonder if there'll
be a meal on the table in the morning. I never thought about
that. Never entertained such a thought.
That was my daddy's job. That was my daddy's job to take
care of that, and he did. That's why we say concerning
children, look at them, look at them. Don't have a care in
the world. Look at them. Just lay down and
sleep like a baby. And our great shepherd said,
don't worry. about what you're going to eat, wherewithal you shall be clothed.
Don't worry about that. And the sole reason he gave was
your heavenly father knows that you have need of all these things.
That's your father's business. That's your father's job. And
he'll take care of it. I can imagine if Roger or Larry
or Misty, when they were young and at home, would have come
up to me and said, Daddy, I'm just worried. I'm just worried.
And be biting their nails and pacing back and forth, I'm worried
that you won't take care of us. No, no. Our Heavenly Father knoweth. Now secondly, secondly, and second
is last. Reasons why they must come out. Notice, they must come out to
glory. In chapter 1, John, I'll show
you things that must be hereafter. He was caught up in chapter 40
again. These things that must come to
pass. Why must they be? Because God,
Larry, God. Does that make a difference?
I hope you realize that redundancy is such a question. The very
fact that God wills something makes all the difference. That's
the only difference. If God wills it, it's a done
deal. They must come to pass because
God Almighty has purposed it. They all came out of the great
tribulation because the mighty God and Savior brings them out. God leads His dear children along.
All the way my Savior leads me. They go from strength to strength.
Every one of them in Zion appeareth before God. That's why, again,
when the great high priest says, Father, I will, that they also
whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, there's none that
shall hold them back. Does a belief in God's sovereignty,
that God is God, that He's on the throne, have any practical
benefit? Well, is it practical to remind
ourselves that he is the only King of Kings and Lord of Lords,
that he is the only potentate, that our Lord and Savior sits
upon the throne ruling and overruling everything for the salvation,
the eternal salvation of all of his people. Oh yes, that has
practical value. Is it practical to be allowed
to lay down at night and sleep in peace because I know that
he steers the ship, the vessel of grace? Yes, that's practical. When Job uttered these words, He wasn't
sitting in his easy chair discussing five fine points of theology. No. He was speaking out of the
dust and the ashes and the tears and the heartache when he said,
I know that my Redeemer liveth. I may not understand all this.
But nonetheless, I know the Lord God gave. And I know the Lord
God takes away. I know that God Almighty is still
on the throne. And I know that my Redeemer lives.
And that He shall stand in the latter day upon the earth. And
though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall
I see God. Whom I shall see for myself,
and mine eye shall behold, and not another, though my reins
be consumed within me." Oh yes, that has very practical value. Mr. Spurgeon commenting on Psalm
37, verse 37, which reads, Mark the perfect man, and behold the
upright, for the end of that man is peace. Mr. Spurgeon said, with believers
it may rain in the morning, and thunder at midday, and poor torrents
in the afternoon, but it must clear up before the sun goes
down." I like that, don't you? It must clear up before the sun
goes down. Every promise, every promise
of God is a reason why they must come out. Every one of that great
multitude is an argument, a proof, a sure evidence that they must
come out. And every attribute of God shouts
the same, they must come out. His wisdom, His justice, His
love, His power, His mercy, His grace, His purpose, His will,
they all cry in unison, they must come out. And they respond
in verse 10, by crying, Salvation to our God, which setteth upon
the throne and unto the Lamb. I thought this was a sweet thought. It was to me. I trust it will
be to you. They came out, even though, I'm
sure, being men of like passions as you and I, there were times
they doubted if they ever would. This trial is just too severe, too painful. This darkness, oh, it's just
engulfed my... I can't even think straight. Oh, well, will it ever end? I'm going to perish, as David
said. by the hand of Saul, but he was mistaken. He was mistaken. But my point is this. Even though
there may be times that we entertain such thoughts as that, of little
faith, it does not affect whatsoever God's purpose or outcome, does
it? It doesn't affect it. They still
all come out. We've all, perhaps, or many of
us, have undergone surgery. Alan, you did just recently. We're put asleep. We're not aware
of what's going on. Man, we're in la-la land. We
don't know what's going on. But the surgeon performs it anyway. He performs the operation anyway.
And our great physician, our great high priest, steps up on
the throne of sovereign grace. Look at him. Look at him. He's altogether lovely. He's
perfect. Perfect. Perfect. Perfect power. Perfect wisdom.
Perfect justice. Perfect grace. Perfect in every
way. He's altogether lovely. And He's
able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by Him. Look again here, if you will,
in chapter 7, the last three verses, and we'll Bring this
to a close. Verse 15, Therefore, because
they have been washed 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. Imagine that. 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. We shall enjoy without a tear,
as Don preached Sunday, without one single tear to dim our vision. we shall enjoy a perfect sight
of our perfect Redeemer. There'll be no divided praise. They all sing the same song. They all cry, salvation to our
God that sits upon the throne. Worthy is the Lamb. Not unto
us, O God, not unto us. but unto thee be glory both now
and forever. One united voice with one united
heart. They all sing the same glorious
song and not one among that multitude wants it any other way. Any other
way. Praise God from whom all blessings
flow. The Lamb which dwells amidst
the throne shall over them still preside. feed them with nourishment
divine, and all their footsteps guide. Among pastures green he'll
feed his flock, where living streams appear, and God the Lord
from every eye shall wipe off every tear. Yes, weeping may endure through
the night, oh, but the everlasting joy that's coming in the morning
God bless you. God bless you. Thank you for
your time.