If you turn again to Colossians
in chapter 3, I'd like to draw your attention to the latter
part of this chapter. Colossians 3 and from verse 12
we read, Put on therefore as elect of God, holy and beloved,
bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness,
long-suffering, forbearing one another and forgiving one another.
If any man have a quarrel against any, Even as Christ forgave you,
so also do ye. And above all these things put
on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace
of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called
in one body, and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell
in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. singing with
grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever you do in word
or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks
to God and the Father by him. Wives, submit yourselves unto
your own husbands as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your
wives and be not bitter against them. Children, obey your parents,
In all things, for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers,
provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. Servants, obey in all things
your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service as
men pleases, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. And whatsoever
ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men. knowing that of the Lord ye shall
receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ.
But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he
hath done, and there is no respect of persons. Whatsoever ye do,
do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men. Or as verse
17 says, if whatsoever ye do in word or deed, Do all in the
name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father
by him. Do all in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. The believer, the child of God,
those brethren at Colossae to whom Paul wrote, all of God's
people are those who, as we've seen at the beginning of chapter
three, are those who have died, who have risen and who have ascended
with Christ. They are dead and they are risen
in Christ, in Him. If ye then be risen with Christ,
seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right
hand of God. Yes, the believer died and rose
in Christ, and having risen, they've ascended with Christ.
As their priest, Christ took them to where they simply couldn't
go. He took them to where they simply
couldn't go. He took them inside the veil,
into the very holy of holies, into the very presence of Almighty
God. When Christ rose from the dead
and ascended into glory, He took His blood and He went into the
Holy of Holies, into the presence of God with that blood for His
people, into the presence of Almighty God, into the presence
of that God from whom that people had once been estranged, once
cast out of the far distance, once separated by their sins
and their corruption, once at a great distance, unable to come
anywhere near God, for God cannot look upon wickedness. And this
was a people who were wicked, corrupt from head to toe. Yes,
this was the God from whom they were estranged. But in Christ,
because of that blood which he shed for them upon the cross,
because of that death which he died, the just for the unjust,
because of that death which he died in which he bore their sins
and bore the wrath of God against their sins and bore that wrath
away to the uttermost that there would be no wrath left to pour
out against their sins for every sin was taken away and every
sin was blotted out, and righteousness reigned. Because of that death,
and because of that blood shed for them, this people who were
once estranged from God, are now brought nigh. They're brought
nigh unto God, they're brought with Christ into the very presence
of God, into the holy of holies. For Christ himself has made peace,
He's reconciled them unto God by the blood of his cross. He's
brought this people not only near to God, but into the very
presence of the Father, into the very holy of holies, under
the mercy seat. Yes, when he died, he rose again
victorious over death. And having died and having risen,
he ascended and he passed within the veil. He entered the Holy
of Holies and he sprinkled his own blood on the mercy seat for
that people. And having sprinkled it, he sat
down. His work accomplished, his work
complete, salvation perfected, salvation completed. He sat down. And from that position in the
heaven, sat down. From there, he preaches his gospel. And by the preaching of that
gospel he gathers his own unto himself. He gathers them unto
himself to where they already are in him. Into the heavens,
into the heavenlies. He gathers them to himself. For
that's where they are in him. In him they've risen. In him
they've ascended. in him now they are in the heavens
no longer on earth but in the heavens oh what a company he gathers
unto himself what a company what a people those who were captives
those who were dead those who had hard hearts the stony-hearted,
the cold, the wayward, the arrogant, the selfish, the rebellious. This sort of people. What a company. Hard-hearted sinners. And yet
those Those who have been chosen in Christ from all eternity,
chosen in Him from before the foundations of the world, chosen
from all eternity unto everlasting glory. This people, those who
in time as the Spirit brings the sound of the gospel unto
them, as the Spirit quickens them from deadness unto life,
as the Spirit opens their eyes to look by faith unto that Saviour
who died for them, unto that Saviour who shed his own blood
for them, unto that Saviour who perfected forever them that are
sanctified, unto that Saviour who washed and cleaned by his
own blood. This people, this people are
gathered They're gathered by the Gospel, they're gathered
by the Spirit, and they're gathered around the throne, which is set
in heaven. They're gathered around the throne
of the Lord Jesus. For that is where they are. If
you are in Christ, if we are in Christ this day, that is where
we are this day. Not merely on earth. not merely
sat here on earth listening about the things of eternity, hearing
about the things of glory, but in God's eyes, in Christ we're
already there, we are with him, we are sat in glory, we're seated
in the heavenlies. As we read in Ephesians and chapter
2 of such a people, This is what God has to say of his own. And
you, hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this
world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the
spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. among
whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of
our flesh, fulfilling the desire of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature the children of wrath even as others. But
God, but God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith
he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, have quickened
us together with Christ. By grace ye are saved, and have
raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places
in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the
exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through
Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. Yes, in Christ, by God's mercy,
and to those that deserved it not, because of that great love
wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, God quickened
us together with Christ. and raised us up together and
made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus in heavenly
places that's where we are in Christ if you're in Christ if
you're one of his one of his for whom he died one of his whom
he justified at the cross one of those wicked sinners whom
he blotted out the sins of, whom he washed away the sins of in
his blood, whom he made righteous. If you're in him, then now even
this day you have been raised up with him and have been made
to sit with him in heavenly places. Yes, in the Spirit that's where
we are. Those who've been born again
of God, quickened by His Spirit, that's where we are. In glory,
in the heavenlies, in heavenly places, in Christ. We're in heaven. In heaven. And yet, and yet whilst
we are there, we are nevertheless, as we are very much aware, we
are nevertheless, we're still here in our bodies. We're still
on the earth. We still live on the earth bodily. We still live our lives on the
earth. We still have our duties and
our responsibilities in our lives upon the earth. We still have
our work and our family and our responsibilities here. We're
still in the flesh. We still have our relationships
upon the earth. We're still mothers and fathers.
children, brothers and sisters, employers and employees. We're
still wives and husbands, fathers, children. We still have work
to do and we're very much engaged in these things and they take
all of our effort and our time. And whilst as believers we know
that we have been saved and delivered from this evil world, and we
know as believers that we live in the heavens, nevertheless
each and every day we're still very much aware that we live
upon the earth also. And we have to deal with those
upon the earth. And we have these things which
we are called to do upon the earth and our responsibilities
upon the earth. We have our responsibilities
as brothers and sisters, fathers, mothers, children, employees,
employers. And how are we to walk in these
things? How are we to reconcile our heavenly
position in Christ with our earthly position as we walk through this
world in the flesh? How are we to deal with our responsibilities
in the flesh? How are we to approach our brethren
in the church or those outside of the church, our employers
or our fellow workmen, our families and our friends and our relations?
How are we to deal with these things? Well, here in Colossians,
Paul exhorts his hearers, he exhorts those at Colossae to
walk in this world. and he exhorts them to walk in
the light of those truths which he has presented to them in the
gospel. He calls upon them to walk in these relationships which
they have on the earth. He calls upon them to walk in
the right manner in these things. But he always lifts their gaze
up from the earth to that which is heavenly. He always causes
their gaze to be set upon those things which are true of them
in Christ. He will not have them to be earthly
minded, but he will raise up their minds and their gaze into
the heavenlies and says to do and to walk and to live as those
who are in Christ. Whatsoever ye do in word or deed,
do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and
the Father by him. whatsoever ye do, do it heartily,
as to the Lord, and not unto men. Don't look upon your life
in this world in merely earthly terms. Don't look upon your work
as that which is done merely before men. Don't look upon your
employer simply as a man with whom you must deal. Don't look
upon your friends and your family and your relationships mid as
other men, and your duties before them as that which you must do
with other men. But live and walk and do as unto
the Lord. Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily
as to the Lord, and not unto men. He says earlier in the chapter,
Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth, in
the which also you walked sometime when you lived in them. Mortify
these things which you had in the flesh, your evil inclinations
in the flesh, mortify them, walk in the spirit, walk in the new
man, put off the old man with his deeds, walk in the new man,
you once walked in that manner, You once walked as other men
did. You once walked selflessly for
selfish gain. You once went with the crowd
and did as the crowd did, fought as the crowd did, went where
the crowds go, did the same things they did, rejoiced in the same
things they rejoiced in, took pleasure in the same things they
took pleasure in, but no more. You're not like them anymore.
You're no longer those children of wrath. You're no longer the
children of disobedience. You're no longer walking as others
walk, upon whom the wrath of God comes. Yes, you once did
those things in those manners, but not anymore. No, you're different
now. You're in Christ now. You've
been quickened from the dead. You've risen from the dead. Set
your affection on those things which are above, not on things
which are on earth. You're dead and your life is
hid with Christ in God. Live in Christ. Look to Christ. Walk in Christ. Think in Christ. Be heavenly minded. No, you once
went that way, but now you go this way. Now we seek Christ. We seek his kingdom. We seek
all that is of him, all that is for him, all that is in him. We seek that which is above.
And everything we do, everything that we do here on the earth,
we do all as unto the Lord Jesus, all as unto Christ. All is in
his name. Everything that we do for our
brethren, everything which we do for other men upon this earth,
don't do it as unto men, but as it were as unto the Lord. Read in Matthew 25. And the king
shall answer them and say unto them, verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my
brethren, ye have done it unto me. When Christ rewards those on
the left hand and those on the right hand, when he divides the
sheep from the goats, And he praises the righteous and delivers
them into eternal glory. We read in that passage in Matthew
25 of how he speaks of those that served him, of those that
gave him drink, of those that gave him shelter, of those that
clothed him when he was naked, of those that took him in, of
those that visited him when he was in prison. And such a people
say, when did we do these things unto thee, Lord? When did we?
visit thee, when did we feed thee, when did we water thee,
when did we give thee clothing, when did we minister unto thee? They have no idea how they've
done these things unto the Lord. But his answer is that when they
have done these things unto the least of his brethren, they've
done it unto me. And when they've not done it
unto the least of the brethren, they've not done it unto him.
You may ask, how can we serve God? How can we do all unto God? How do we do all as unto the
Lord Jesus? Well, here's your answer. By
Christ's words, when you do it to the least of his brethren,
when you serve the brethren, when you minister unto your brethren
in the church, you do it unto him. That's how we show Him our love
and our devotion. Our love and our devotion for
the Lord is not separated, it's not abstract. It's not merely
that which we may go into our closet and pray and thank Him
for His goodness towards us and praise Him for His goodness towards
us. If we do that, if we pray and
we praise Him, And then we go out and we care not for our brethren,
but we despise them as it were. And we think only for ourselves
and we care not for the saints of the Lord. We do not look after
them in their need, then we have become as hypocrites. We may
say in our prayers that we serve the Lord and we worship the Lord
and we care for the Lord, but our deeds say otherwise. We really
serve the Lord. If our hearts are set upon the
Lord, then our hearts are set upon the Lord's people. And if
we serve the Lord, we will serve the Lord's people. And if we
love the Lord, we will love his own. And if we care for the Lord,
we will care for his own. And when we care for the least
of these, his brethren, we show him our love and our devotion. You see, here in Colossians,
when Paul exhorts his hearers in whatsoever things they do,
to do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, to do all heartily
as to the Lord. Here in his exhortations here
to his hearers, he doesn't whip them. He doesn't command them
with some dogmatic commands. You must walk like this. If you
don't walk like this, then this will happen. He doesn't bring
the rod of Moses upon the saints of God. He doesn't whip them
and command them. He doesn't bring a threat of
condemnation upon them. But he exhorts them in the Lord. He points them to Christ in the
gospel. He lifts up their gaze to the
heavens. He exhorts their love and their
devotion unto their Lord and their Saviour, unto Him who gave
His life for them, unto Him who forgave them all their transgressions. And He exhorts them into light
of such glorious truths, out of such love unto Him who first
loved them. He says unto such a people, do
all as unto Him. You know what Christ has done
for you, you who once were like this, you who once were the children
of disobedience, the children of wrath, that's what you were. Think what Christ has done for
you, think of His great love for you in that He gave Himself
for you. He suffered the wrath of God
for your sins. He gave himself for you. Do you
not want to serve him? Do you not love the one that
first loved you? Will you not walk before him
in love and adoration and devotion? Then if you will, do all as under
him. Do all in the light of the Gospel. Walk with your gaze in heavenly
things. Walk with your sight set upon
the heavens. Walk in the light of that which
is above. And treat those upon the earth
as you would treat your Saviour. Do unto them as you would unto
the Lord. Do unto them as in the name of
the Lord. Serve them as you would your
Lord and Saviour. Love them as you would love Him. Be as devoted unto your brethren
in Christ as you would be devoted unto Him. Yes, Paul doesn't whip
his hearers. He lifts up their gaze. He encourages
their devotion from love unto their Saviour. and he encourages that yoke,
that easy yoke which Christ puts upon their shoulders, that easy
yoke in him to walk as before him. Note the order of things
which he gives unto his hearers here, the order in which he sets
before them. In verse 18 he says, wives submit
yourselves unto your own husbands as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands,
love your wives and be not bitter against them. Children, obey
your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing unto the
Lord. Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the
flesh, not with eye service as men pleases, but in singleness
of heart, fearing God. Now there's an order here. He
first begins with submission. Wives, submit yourselves unto
your own husbands. Then he brings out love, husbands
love your wives, as Christ loved the church. And then finally
he speaks of obedience, children obey your parents, servants obey
your masters. He doesn't begin with obedience,
he begins with submission, and then love, and then out of that
flows obedience. When we submit to Christ and
his authority as our saviour, love flows forth to him, and
out of love flows forth obedience. He speaks of the word of Christ
dwelling richly in us in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing
one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing
with grace in your hearts to the Lord, whatsoever you do in
word or deed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks
to God and the Father by him. In Ephesians and chapter 5 we
read a very similar passage speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs singing and making melody in your heart to
the Lord in your heart Giving thanks always for all things
unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives,
submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of
the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and he is
the saviour of the body. is when we submit to Christ as
unto our own husbands, as unto the Lord. We love Him and we walk before
Him in obedience. And such obedience is not grievous,
it is that which flows forth as those who love Him who rose
from the dead, having taken away our sins and led us forth into
the heavenlies. ascended on high, went into the
holy of holies, sprinkled his blood upon the mercy seat and
sat down in whom we sat down as those who have been taken
as beggars off the dunghill and made to sit as princes in Christ.
That's where we are and it's in the light of that in which
we walk and in the light of that in which we deal with all earthly
relationships Whether it's the wife to the husband, the husband
to the wife. Whether it's children in obedience
to their parents or fathers in provoking not their children
to anger but in leading their children firmly but graciously. Whether it's the servants obeying
their masters in all things or the masters giving unto their
servants that which is just and equal. knowing that they have
a master in heaven. In all these relationships on
the earth, in all these responsibilities, all is done in the light of that
which is true in Christ in the heavens. Now we read in our readings earlier,
a wonderful example of one who lived before God. As one who
lived in this world, and in the circumstances in which he was
brought in this world, very, very difficult circumstances
at times, and yet nevertheless he lived and walked and served
as one who lived by faith, as one who lived in the sight of
God, as one who lived with his mind set upon heavenly things,
as one who did all as unto the Lord, as we read in Genesis in
chapter 39 of Joseph. This wonderful figure and type
of Christ, this wonderful picture of one who served the Lord freely,
lovingly, graciously, this man who knew what it was to die in
a figure, who knew what it was to be given up as dead, who knew
what it was to be cast out and rejected, thrown into a pit by
his brothers out of jealousy, cast off as dead, rescued out
of that pit and then brought into the land of the Egyptians,
brought to rise in the house of the Egyptians, brought out
of the pit, one who knew what it was to, as it were, die when
cast into the pit, cast out as dead, and yet by the mercy of
God he was lifted out of the pit, brought into the house of
the Egyptian, brought into the house of Potiphar, caused to
rise in his house to a great height, caused to find grace
in the eyes of Potiphar, well respected by his master, caused
to be seen as a great servant in his master's house, and yet
again brought into trouble when his master's wife brought a false
allegation against him and his master's anger was kindled against
him. And he was thrown again into
jail, cast into jail again, as it were, slain again. And then
in the midst of jail, he was counted as a great servant, a
wonderful example of one in the midst of adversity, who nevertheless
served the Lord in that circumstance. and was pleasing unto his masters
in that circumstance, and prospered in that circumstance, and in
the end was again delivered from it, again rose as it were from
the dead, and ascended to a great height, and eventually was made
second in the kingdom of Egypt, just underneath Pharaoh. Of course to have such great
authority and reign in the land of Egypt, What a picture we have
here of one who was slain, who died, and then arose again, and
who ascended to great heights. A wonderful picture of Christ.
And yet also one who is a wonderful picture of a servant of Christ,
as a servant of the Lord. He's a wonderful example of a
child of God, and of the walk of a child of God in this world.
he was a servant of his Master in heaven, one who lived and
walked by faith, one who did all things as unto the Lord,
one who did all things as in the name of the Lord. Yes, when
in Egypt, when a slave, when a servant, he lived, he did,
he served, as it were, unto the Lord Jesus. Joseph wasn't one
who just served because he had to. He wasn't one who did as
little as possible, as little as he needed to in order to do
that which his employer, which his master demanded of him. So
he could then finish early in the evening and go off and have
his rest. So he could finish early at the
weekend. He didn't do just as much as he needed to for his
master, that he could go off and do those things which he
really wanted to. even if those things were noble
and right things. As Christians, we could be tempted
to put great pay on wanting to go and read the Word of God or
read Christian books or go and do those things which we would
rather do out of our love for the Lord. And we can treat rather
half-heartedly these earthly responsibilities which we have.
In our work, we can be keen to finish soon so that we can go
off and do those things which are more interesting to us, even
if they may be spiritual things. Nevertheless, Joseph here is
an example of one who did not treat these earthly circumstances
in which he was placed as of no consequence. He treated everything
he did and every circumstance he was put in He treated all
the responsibilities and labours which he had to do, he treated
these things as if he was serving the Lord in them. He acted as
though he lived before the Lord. He didn't serve simply because
he had to. He didn't simply give eye service,
as we read of in Colossians 3. He wasn't simply a men pleaser. He didn't do things simply for
the applause he may gain from men, or for the credit he may
gain from his employers, from his masters. Neither did he become
grieved and lazy because of the terrible circumstances in which
he was thrown. He didn't become bitter because
he was brought into Egypt, nor did he become bitter when he
was thrown unjustly into jail. He didn't wallow in self-pity
and despair in jail, and failed to do that which was right to
his master. He didn't wallow in self-despair
and selfish thoughts, but in whatever circumstances he was
brought, he lived as a wonderful example of grace. He rose above
them and he served his master as he would serve his Lord. he
did all as unto the Lord. Whatever circumstances he found
himself in, he went the extra mile. He did all as all as unto
the Lord, he served as it were in singleness of mind, fearing
God. He served heartily as to the
Lord and not unto men, knowing that of the Lord he shall receive
the reward of the inheritance. Yes, Joseph was heavenly minded. He worked, he served, he lived
by faith. And the Lord was with him and
made all that he did to prosper. We read that twice in this chapter. Once when he's brought into the
house of Potiphar, early in the chapter we read that his master
saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all that
he did to prosper in his hand. And then when thrown into jail
at the end, the keeper of the prison looked not to anything
that was under his hand, because the Lord was with him, and that
which he did, the Lord made it to prosper. Yes, all that he
did, the Lord blessed. The Lord was with him and made
it to prosper. Joseph lived before God. He loved
God, he served God, he worshipped God. He did all as unto the Lord. And he did all as unto the Lord
because he was a man of faith. And he lived by faith, and he
lived as though before God, and he lived as though he was serving
God in the heavens. He may have had an earthly master,
but he served that earthly master as though he served his heavenly
master. He did all as unto the Lord.
But how did he? How did he do this? How did he
live such a life? How can any do this? How can we live up to such an
exhortation? How can we live up to such an
example? We fail constantly. Really we do. You probably come
to such passages as Colossians 3 and read such exhortations
and know that they are right and know that you should be living
in such a manner. Know that you should live as
unto the Lord. Know that you should serve in
such ways. You'd probably read of someone
like Joseph and read of his example and think, oh, that I could live
like him. But honestly, you fail to come
so short. To be such a failure. The flesh
rises up so quickly. The spirit's willing, but the
flesh is weak. You would do as unto the Lord,
but you see these people and this person and they're so difficult
to deal with. Your employer's such an awkward
person and you would serve him rightly, but he really, he really
gets you, really frustrates you, treats you unjustly, unfairly,
meanly. How do you live before such people
and serve such people when they're like this? Wives are called to
submit to their husbands and husbands to love their wives.
But in the reality of life, that's not always easy. We're not always
lovable. Children are called to obey their
parents, but sometimes their parents grieve them. Parents
are called not to provoke their child to rock, but sometimes
they're so cross at the disobedience of children. Servants are called
to obey their masters, but sometimes these masters are so difficult
to obey. Well, how do you? How did Joseph
obey? How did he live? How did he rise
above such outward things? How did he cease not to look
upon that which was outward, that which was causing to stumble?
How can any live such an exhortation out? Well, he did it because
God was with him. God was with him. His master
saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all that
he did to prosper in his hand. Yes, God was with him. God showed
him grace. God worked in him. That's the
only way that any can live before the Lord and do as unto the Lord
in such things, because God works in him. God works in us both
to will and to do of his good pleasure. That's how. That's the only way how. That's
the only way that we can live before God as those that would
walk before him because he works in us, both the will and to do
of his good pleasure. Because he does a mighty work
of grace, because he kindles that love within his children,
because he sets their gaze upon Christ, he lifts up their gaze
under heavenly things. that's how joseph did all things
without murmurings and disputings as one of those who are blameless
and harmless the sons of god without rebuke in the midst of
a crooked and a perverse nation among whom you you shine as lights
in the world holding forth the word of life philippians 2 15
to 16 that's how For God worked in Joseph as he
works in all his children, causing them to serve heartily as to
the Lord. Well, do you? Do you live out
of love to your Lord? Do you live in the light of these
things? Do you really live by faith?
Can you say that you're heavenly minded? Is that where your mind
is? Is that where your affections are? Hear Paul's exhortations,
child of God. Be heavenly minded. Live in the
light of the gospel. Let us be those who count ourselves
dead to the flesh in this world and alive unto God. Not looking with the outward
eye, but with the eye of faith. Live as though you're not really
here, but in heaven. Treat others in the light of
your heavenly state. as though you're around the throne
of glory, as though you're serving your Lord and your Master. Serve
them as though you serve God, as though you serve Christ. Do
all as unto the Lord Jesus. Live knowing that you're sat
around the throne of the Lamb, the Lamb of God, around that
throne. Which throne is this? that throne
of which we read in Revelation 4. Immediately I was in the Spirit,
and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the
throne. And he that sat was to look upon
like a jasper and a sardine stone. And there was a rainbow round
about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. And round about
the throne were four and twenty seats, and upon the seats I saw
four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiments, and
they had on their heads crowns of gold. And out of the throne
proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices. And there were seven
lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven
spirits of God. And before the throne there was
a sea of glass like under crystal. And in the midst of the throne
and round about the throne were four beasts full of eyes before
and behind. The four and twenty elders fall
down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that
liveth forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the
throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and
honour and power, for thou hast created all things, and for thy
pleasure they are and were created. This is the throne which we are
sat around, Even now, what a throne! What a Saviour sat upon that
throne! Him who is worthy to receive
glory and honour and power. That's the throne around which
we sit. He is Him, the Master in heaven
whom we serve, that let us do all in this world, as unto Him,
as unto the Lord Jesus. And will this not come to pass?
Will it not come to pass? Doesn't our Lord himself pray,
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Thy will be
done. O let it be so. Amen.