Back in Revelation chapter 17,
the verse we read a moment ago, verse 14, three parties are mentioned
in it. These that make war with the
lamb, and then, of course, the lamb. And then a third party. Between those that make war and
the lamb, there's a third party. They that are with him. Isn't that a blessed description?
They that are with him. They don't make war with the
Lamb. They're not children of darkness. No, they're children
of light and of the day. They that are with him. Although
while they were in the world, they weren't given much notice.
They were like the Pharisees accused Peter and John of being,
and the other disciples, unlearned and ignorant men, nothing to
be concerned about, nothing to take much notice of. That's all
right. That's not a problem, is it?
Because these are they that are with him. But of course, the
central figure in the verse And in the book of Revelation is
the Lamb. Is the Lamb. It's true of this
book and it's true of the entire Bible, the Word of God. You take
him out, as I've mentioned before, but if you would take out Jesus
Christ, you'd have nothing left. There'd be nothing else to write
about. Take out that central figure,
the Lamb. the lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. This wasn't an afterthought. No, God had purposed Christ as
that lamb that would be slain, be made sin, that would take
away all the sins of all his people, as we sang just a moment
ago. that was determined before the
world was ever created. As someone well said, before
there was a sinner, before Adam fell, there was the Savior standing
for him as his glorious substitute. Without him in the book, there
would be nothing left to write about. There would be no election,
be no such thing as election, because we were chosen in him. Without him, there would be no
election. There would be no mediator between God and the sinner. Imagine
that. Imagine that. Not a pleasant
thought. Not a pleasant thought. And there will be many that will
experience that. These that may war with the Lamb,
they'll experience it. But not those that are with him,
that are with the Lamb. But to stand before God without
a mediator, can you think of anything more horrible? to stand
before God Almighty without anybody to stand for you, and the only
one that can is the Lord Jesus Christ, because there's only
one mediator between God and man, and it's not Pope, whatever
his name is these days. Doesn't matter. And it's not
the priest, and it's not the preacher, and it's not the Catholic
church, and it's not the Baptist church. No, there's one mediator
between God and man, and that's the man Christ Jesus. Oh, how
adorable. will He appear in that day? When we stand before the Lord
God, like the multitude that we read about in chapter 7, and
we see Him stand for us, no need to be fearful, no need to be
in doubt. Those that stand with the Lamb
and He stood for from eternity, They'll never hear these terrible
words, depart from me. They won't hear that. Oh, no,
no. On the contrary, they'll hear, enter in. Don't go away,
but come in. There would be in Scripture no
story about redemption without the Lamb, because we were redeemed
by his own precious blood. That old hymn expresses it well. Oh, precious, rare, rare, nothing
else like it. Oh, precious is the flow. Nothing else could do this. As
we read in Hebrews 10, not the blood of bullocks and goats,
that could never take away sin. They were never intended to.
They were only pictures and types until he should come that John
pointed out and said, there he is. There's the fulfillment. There's the fulfillment of all
those types. Behold the Lamb of God. There he is. Oh, precious is
the flow that does what? Is this true? Is this scriptural? Absolutely. That makes me white
as snow. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleanses us from all sin. Is this not what the Lord God
told Moses? Turn back, if you will, to the
book of Exodus chapter 11. You know what I'm referring to,
that terrible night that God, as promised, would pass through
the land of Egypt. This is what he tells Moses and
this is what he does. He'll destroy all the firstborn. In chapter 11, he tells Moses
this in verse 4. And Moses said, Thus saith the
Lord. Or Moses, rather, is repeating
what the Lord has told him. Thus saith the Lord, About midnight
will I go out into the midst of Egypt. It's a terrible thing
to fall into the hands of an angry God. a God that is only
a consuming fire, these people had no mediator. And all the
firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die from the firstborn
of Pharaoh that setteth upon the throne, his throne, even
unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill, and
all the firstborn of the beast. And there shall be a great cry
throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it,
nor shall be like it any more." He doesn't stop there, though,
does he? But Israel was in Egypt. God's people were in Egypt. That's
why you have this blessed word, but, because of them, those that
are with the land. But against any of the children
of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast,
that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between
the Egyptians and Israel." God makes his people to differ. Now, turn over to chapter 12
here in Exodus. Chapter 12. Verse 21. What God said he would do, he's
about to do. Then Moses called for all the
elders of Israel and said unto them, Draw out and take you a
lamb according to your families and kill the Passover. And you
shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that
is in the basin and strike the little and the two side posts
with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall
go out at the door of his house until the morning, for the Lord
will pass through to smite the Egyptians." And here's the only reason they
wouldn't be smitten. The only reason. And when he
seeth the blood, when he seeth the blood upon the lintel and
on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over you. and will
not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite
you. Oh yes, precious is the flow
that makes us white as snow." Can you imagine when those Israelites
were in their houses after slaying that lamb, after applying the
blood of that sacrificed lamb upon the door of each house,
and they could hear the cries of anguish and woe, all around
them as the firstborn was slain by the hand of a just God. Can
you imagine how thankful they were for that sacrificed lamb? Indeed, how precious is that
flow? That alone is why they were spared. Someone had already been sacrificed
at those houses where the blood was applied. A substitute had
been provided and payment of just God will not twice demand. Not at my bleeding surety's hand
and then again at mine. Oh no, no he won't. And they
know in glory, do they not? They know in glory. There's no
question about it. Back in Revelation, look what
they sing in, or rather look in chapter 5, what we read here.
There's no question about who made them to differ. They don't
have any problem knowing, knowing as they never knew here, or knowing
better than they could ever know here, because now they can no
longer see through a glass star click. but they know why they're
there. They know it better than ever.
They appreciate it better than it ever could before. They know
who made them to differ. In chapter 5, verse 6, And I
beheld a low in the midst of the throne, and of the four beasts,
and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb as it had been slain,
having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits
of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came, He came and
answered the question, who's worthy to take the book and loose
the seals thereof? No man was found, but he came
and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon
the throne. And when he had taken the book,
the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before
the Lamb, having every one of them harps and golden vows full
of odors, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sung
a new song saying, Thou art worthy. Won't that be something? Won't
that be something to hear and to take part in? Thou art worthy
to take the book and to open the seals thereof for thou was
slain and has redeemed us to God. I can't help but point out. It's
delightful to point it out. Notice the words. Thou has not
tried to redeem us to God. Thou has redeemed us to God by
thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation. Yes, the Lamb. The Lamb is all
the glory of Emmanuel's land. These, back in verse 14 of chapter
17, these were told that make war with the Lamb. Verse 12 identifies
them as being those ten kings. They represent the political
powers, the secular powers, the academic powers, the who's who's
in the world. And they walk in unity with Babylon. Babylon, that man-centered, man-exalting,
man-made religion. They walk hand in hand together
opposing the true Church of God, opposing Christ and His people. They always have. They always
have. They hate the message of free
grace. because it speaks of God's grace
and not man's will. It speaks of salvation not by
works but by grace, and those who build upon their own foundation
don't like that message. They don't like to hear it, and
it hasn't changed. Who were Christ's most fierce
enemies? Who hated him more than anybody
else? Who was it? The religious people.
They're religious leaders. They hated him without a cause. And the same today. We're told
these shall make war with the Lamb. And these, no matter how
powerful they are, no matter who they're in league with, no
matter who they join hands with, they'll lose. They'll lose. This is what we read. These shall
make war with the Lamb. And what shall they accomplish?
The Lamb shall overcome them. When Satan put in the heart of
Judas that night to betray the Master, and he went out, went
out to betray the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord used that very
thing as one of the means to fulfill his own glorious purpose
of redemption for his people. That which Satan attempted to
do through Judas didn't even hinder the purpose of God, but
God used it to accomplish his will and purpose. By Satan, using
Satan. He's God's devil. Don't forget
that. He's God's devil. I hear people
talk. I hear preachers talk. And it
just displays their ignorance. They shouldn't be standing up
trying to instruct anybody when they tell folks that the devil
is a rival to God. That they have equal power. I've
had a preacher tell me that we really don't know the outcome
of who's going to win. Isn't that ignorant? Well, this
text right here tells us very plainly. They shall make war
with the Lamb. Oh, what a wasted effort, what
a wasted time. And the Lamb shall overcome them. Yes, He even used Satan to accomplish
His purpose. He wasn't hindered by it, but
our great God and Savior proclaims It is finished. It is finished. Hear that? Hear that, devils? In heaven and earth and hell,
it rings out forever. It is finished. The Lamb shall overcome them.
The religious powers join forces with the political powers, but
it doesn't matter. The Lamb shall overcome them.
The Lamb always triumphs. The Lamb always triumphs. He's
always victorious. He never fails. We read in Isaiah,
my servant, my righteous servant, this is God speaking of his Son. He shall not fail. Let me read you a verse from
Exodus chapter 15, or you might want to look at it with me. In
Exodus chapter 15, The children of Israel have come across the
Red Sea by God's mighty hand. And Moses leads them in a song,
these thousands and thousands. And look at the first note, look
at the first note, the first verse in this song, verse 1 of
Exodus 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 done the best he could. He hath
left the rest up to us. That's not worth singing about.
No. I will sing unto the Lord, for
he hath triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider hath
he thrown into the sea. Yes, the Lord always prevails. And we're told again in the text
why. These shall make war with the
Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them for or because he is Lord
of lords and King of kings. He is. Notice that in the present
tense. Not that he was, he is. Right
now he saith king forever. I've heard folks say again, And you have too. And they're
usually religious people. They'll make this statement,
if God had his way, if God had his way. I've had people say
that to me and I'll say, really? Really? If God had his way? Are we talking about the same
God? We're not talking about the same God because the God
of Scripture The God of glory, the God with whom we have to
do, he does have his way. Not some of the time, all of
the time. Look in chapter 15 of Revelation. Chapter 15, verse 3. And they
sing the song of Moses. And that's a glorious song. It's
a song all about God. All about God's glory, God's
power, God's work, God's faithfulness, God's doing. It's all about him.
And that's the theme of the song in glory. They sing the song
of Moses, not what they did, but what the Lamb did. And of
the Lamb saying, great, great and marvelous are thy works.
Oh, what a great work. What a great salvation. Lord
God Almighty, just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear? Fear thee,
O Lord, and glorify thy name, for thou only art holy. For all
nations shall come and worship before thee, for thy judgments
are made manifest. Psalm 29, the Lord saideth upon
the flood. You see the picture there? No,
not controlled by it, but controlling it. The Lord saideth upon the
flood, yea, the Lord saideth, King forever. And no wonder the psalmist said,
therefore, I will lift up my eyes until the hills from whence
cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord. Well then, he's got all the help
I need because he's king of kings and lord of lords. Now look at
this third party in our text, verse 14. And they that are with
him, they're not against him, they're with him. They don't
make war, they're not so foolish. Oh no, they've been conquered
long ago. They've laid down their arms
of rebellion long ago. They were overcome by his mighty
grace long ago. That's why they're with him.
And they that are with him are called and chosen and faithful. They that are with him, what
a glorious place to be with him. That's the one thing that distinguishes
them from all other people. They're with him. They're with
him. "'Who maketh thee that differ
from another?' Paul wrote to the church at Corinth. "'And
what hast thou that thou hast not received?' "'If you have
received,' that he asked them, "'why do you glory as if you
had not received it?' "'This is why they're not of the world
making war with the land, "'because they're one with him. They were
chosen with him. chosen in Him rather from eternity
and kept through time all their journey here below. Do you remember
what we read in Revelation? These all came out of great tribulation. I was visiting Mike. I hope he
doesn't mind me saying this, but I noticed he had a lot of
medals. A lot of medals on the wall where he had served for
many years in the service, he talked to me a little bit about
it, was in Vietnam. I'm sure Mike saw some things
that still disturbs his sleep, some things he wished he hadn't
seen and wished he could forget. There has never been a war. There's never been a conflict
where there weren't casualties. Never has been, except this one.
Except this one. These all came out of great tribulation. There's no casualties. No casualties. Sin is slain. Satan's defeated. The world's overcome. But the
captain of our salvation brings all of his sheep, all of his
soldiers. They all come home to glory to
be with him. My, so what a Savior. What a Savior! King of kings
and Lord of lords. He's the one that accomplishes
that. They that are with Him, they
always have been. Have they not accepted in Him? Accepted in the Beloved. One
hymn writer puts it like this. I like this hymn. Bobby, you
have to learn this. You may already know it. In the
Beloved, accepted am I, risen, ascended, and seated on high.
Saved from all sin through His infinite grace, with the redeemed
ones accorded a place. In the Beloved, how safe my retreat. In the Beloved, accounted complete. Who can condemn me? In Him I
am free. Savior and Keeper forever is
He. In the Beloved, God's marvelous
grace caused me to dwell in this wonderful place, and I like these
words especially. God sees my Savior, and then
he sees me. In the Beloved, accepted and
free. God sees my Savior, and then
he sees me. And thou renown went out among
the heathen for thy beauty, for it was perfect through my comeliness
which I put upon thee, saith the Lord, dressed in his righteousness
alone, fought lest to stand before the throne." That's the reason
that they are with him, because none could pluck them out of
the hand of that one who is himself King of kings and Lord of lords. He said, none shall pluck them
out. My Father gave them to me, and
my Father's greater than all, and they're in my Father's hand."
You see there? None can pluck them out, and
they're in my hand. Look at that. God's hand and
the God-man's hand. Who's going to pluck us out of
the hand of the King of kings and Lord of lords? In Psalm 84,
we're told, every one of them, appeareth before God in Zion. They go from strength to strength. This is why every lost sheep
that's found causes rejoicing in heaven. This is what our Lord
taught in Luke 15, didn't he? The parable of the shepherd and
his sheep and the lost coin and the prodigal son. He said, likewise,
there's rejoicing in heaven over one sinner that repenteth. Every
time the great shepherd goes out searching for one of his
sheep, he finds it. And every time he finds it, he
rescues it. He saves it. He puts it upon
his mighty shoulders and he brings it home. And he said, likewise,
likewise, Just like that shepherd tells his neighbors, come and
rejoice with me. Rejoice with me. I found my sheep
that was lost. He said, likewise, there's rejoicing
in heaven over one sinner that repenteth. Why are they rejoicing? Because they know. They know
that the great shepherd's going to bring that sheep all the way
to glory. Oh, but they're not there yet.
They've just been found. They've just been saved. They've
got to endure. They will. They will. because
the great shepherd of the sheep shall lose none of his own. He
himself said, upon this rock I build my church. I'm the builder
of my church. It's my church and it's founded
upon me, the solid rock Christ Jesus. Upon this rock I'll build
my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. A fellow that lived quite a few
years ago wrote a good old hymn Let me read a couple of verses
of it to you about this very thing. On Christ salvation rests
secure. The rock of ages must endure. Nor can that faith be overthrown
which rests upon the living stone. No other hopes will intervene.
To him we look, on him we lean. Other foundations we disown and
build on Christ the living stone. In him it is ordained to raise
a temple to Jehovah's praise composed of all his saints who
own no savior but the living stone. They that be with him. What joy. What joy it must be
in that day when all is redeemed. are with Him. There'll be no
miscarriages of God's grace. The prophet said, concerning
the sufferings of the Messiah, the shepherd being smitten in
the place of the sheep, God Almighty, in unmitigated, strict, absolute
justice, making bare his holy arm and bruising his son, Isaiah
53. Bruising his son. The word is
crush. crushing his son. It has allusion
to that olive meal, that press, that great stone laid up on another
where it grinds every bit of juice out of those grapes. It
pleased the Lord, God, to bruise, to crush his son. He had put
him to grief. And what's the outcome of all
that? The prophet didn't leave us to question about it or to
be in doubt about it. He said, he shall see his seed.
He shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of
his soul, and he shall be satisfied. They that are with him, how blessed,
how secure, how complete in him. They can't lack anything. And
it says they're called and chosen and faithful. Called. Called
out of darkness. What we read a moment ago in
Exodus. The Lord, but the Lord puts a
difference between his people and those who are not. And those
who are his people are called. called affectionately. Everyone's
called that hears the preaching of the gospel. Oh, but there
must be more of a call than that. This is the outward call. Oh, there must be accompanying
that word. Through this means, God is pleased
to send forth a call that reaches inside and draws that sinner. draws that sinner to His Son. Everyone that has learned of
the Father Christ said, what? Comes to me. He reels them in. Oh, they hear the voice of the
Great Shepherd and they follow Him. He calls them affectionately.
personally, individually, they hear his voice, Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou me? Zacchaeus, come down. Salvation
has come to your house. Today I must abide at thy house. When it pleased God who called
me by his grace, how thankful I am, how thankful I am that
he didn't leave me where I was. He didn't leave me in my sins,
in my darkness, but he called me. And notice what it says here.
They're called and chosen. I thought chosen came before
calling. It does. But we don't know anything about
it until we are called. It's impossible to know anything
about it. It's a futile effort to try to ascertain your election
before you come to Christ. It's impossible. Oh, but those
who are called, they are called because they were chosen in him.
the glorious captain of their salvation, chosen out of the
world. Remember what he said to those
disciples? Your names are written in heaven. Now, you could lay
your head down on that sweet pillow of comfort and night and
rest, couldn't you? Think about that before you doze
off. Your name is written in heaven. Imagine that. My name. If I'm with him, If I'm one that
the Father gave Him, oh yes. If I've been called by His grace,
yes, my name's written in heaven. Imagine that. Larry Criss. That doesn't sound like anything
to get your attention. That doesn't sound like anything
Distinguishing? Larry Criss? It's like two first
names. I've been told that. You got
a plain simple. Larry Criss. I mean, it's not
like Engelbert Humperdinck or anything like that. No. Larry
Criss? How plain? How simple? Oh, but
you know what? You know what? The name Larry
Criss in the Lamb's Book of Life. The Lamb's Book of Life. That's
the only book I'm interested in. That's the only book I want
my name in. The Lamb's Book of Life under
the name of the Lamb Jesus Christ. There's that name. That nobody. That lost, worthless, helpless
sinner. That rebel. There it is. His name's written in heaven
in the Lamb's Book of Life. And the Lord said rejoice in
that. Rejoice in that. The Lamb himself has made a reservation
in glory for all his people. Man, isn't that something? There's
a reservation. I go to prepare a place for you,
for you. And if I go, I'll come back and
receive you unto myself that where I am, there ye may be also. The Lamb's book of life. And
then not only are they called and chosen, It says they're faithful. Faithful. They're called, those
that are chosen are called and have faith in Jesus Christ. They
believe. They believe. God grants them
faith. Oh, precious gift. And they're
made faithful. It means that as well. They're
made faithful by His grace. The righteous shall hold on their
way. These all died in faith. Oh, I pray. I pray that when
God calls me out of this world, it will be his will that I can
leave a testimony behind. Leave a testimony behind to my
children. I'm going home. I'm going home. That one who loved me, and gave
himself for me and wants me to be with him forever, I'm going. I'm going to be with him. They
remain faithful. Their faith fails not because
Christ, their great high priest, the one that chose them, the
one that called them, he also intercedes for them. They there
are with him. The same ones, turn back, if
you will, to chapter 14, a couple of pages here in Revelation,
chapter 14. How blessed these people are. My soul, how blessed
they are. They that are with him. Look
in Revelation 14, verse 1. These are the same ones. And
I look, John said, and lo, lo, a lamb stood on the mountainside and with him. with Him. With Him, 144,000 having His
Father's name written in their foreheads. Look down at verse
4. These are they, the same ones
that are with Him. These are they which were not
defiled with women, for they are virgins. They're pure, chaste. They've not followed the world
religion of Babylon. These are they which follow the
Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among
men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their
mouth was found an old guy, for they are without fault before
the throne of God." Without fault. How blessed. How infinitely,
everlastingly blessed are they that are with him. Let me wrap
this up. Look at chapter 22. My soul,
they've been chosen. They've been called. They've
been redeemed with precious blood. They've been brought to glory. But that's not all. That's not
all that awaits those that are with him. Look what we're told. And I'm going to read this. I
want you to look at it with me. But I'm not going to try to comment
on it. I don't know what I could say. Look at verse 4. And they, they
that are with him, they that he has already done so much for,
they shall also have this, they shall see his face. They shall
see his face. What a day. What a day that will
be when my Jesus I shall see and I'll look upon the face of
the one who saved me by his grace and he takes me by the hand and
leads me through the promised land. What a day, glorious day
that will be. And here's John's benediction.
We'll make it our benediction. The last two verses of chapter
22. He which testifieth these things
saith surely, surely, I come quickly. These are the words
of him who cannot lie. You can count on it. It's certain. It's bound to happen. It will
happen. Surely, I come quickly. He's
on his way. Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus. And while we wait that blessed,
blessed time, when He comes for us, either in His second advent
or comes to us at the hour of our death, until that event arrives,
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen and amen. God bless you.