happened so I remember her. Arlene's going, did you say this
week for your check on the eye? Friday, so I remember her. And
your prayers also. Happy birthday to Ethel Conley
today. And also Hannah's friends. Dora? Dora, right? sarah dorsey scum and her dad
let's begin our worship service at hymn number two hundred and
fifty-five two fifty-five blessed assurance jesus is mine
? Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine ? ? Air of salvation,
purchase of God ? ? Born of His Spirit, washed in whose blood
? ? This is my story, this is my song ? Praising my Savior
all the day long. Listen my story, listen my song. Praising my Savior all the day
long. Perfect submission, perfectly
light. Visions of rapture now burst
on my sight. Angels descending, rain from
above. Echoes of mercy, whispers of
love. This is my story, this is my
song, Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story,
this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long. Perfect submission, always at
rest, I in my Savior am happy and blessed. Watching and waiting,
looking above, filled with His goodness, lost in His love. This is my story, this is my
song, praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story,
this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long. After scripture reading and prayer,
we'll sing hymn number 242. Do you have your Bibles? Turn
with me to Revelation, the Revelation of Jesus Christ, chapter 14. I want to read verses 1 through 5. And I looked, and lo, a lamb
stood on the mount Zion. and with him 144,000 having his
name, his father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard
a voice from heaven as the voice of many waters and as the voice
of great thunder. I heard the voice of harpers
harping with their harps. And they sung, as it were, a
new song from before the throne and before the four beasts and
the elders, and no man could learn that song but the 144,000 which were redeemed from the
earth. These are they which are not defiled with women, for they
are virgins. 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 that
their mouth was no guile, for they were without fault before
the throne of God. Our Father, we bless you and
thank you that we are privileged as your children, as sinners
saved by grace, and we can read such words, and that you have given us faith
to believe and to rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ. We are thankful, Father, for
your goodness and your mercy that is new every day. We are thankful that in the midst
of trials you never leave us nor forsake us. In fact, we know
that the trials come our way by appointment. According to
your good pleasure, and always have the same result
for the child of God, brings them to the feet of the Savior
to seek help in time of need. Father, we pray for those who
are sick, those who have lost loved ones. We ask for your help
for them. We pray for those who can't make
it for whatever reason. We ask that you minister to them
as only you can. We pray for ourselves this day
as we gather here to read your word, hear it preached. And we
might see the Savior high and lifted up, indeed enthroned in
glory. For therein lies our assurance
and our strength. And therein lies the place where
we rest and take comfort and consolation in the midst of trials
and tribulation. Help us, Lord. to remember each other in prayer,
to call out Jesus' name or each other's names before heaven.
Help us, Lord, to love you more. We love you. Our love is weak
and frail, and often it's changed by circumstance. We're embarrassed
and ashamed to even call it love. But we know that if we love you,
it's because you first loved us. Help us to rest in the beauty
of that truth. Help us this day to worship you. To give honor and glory to you
and take none for ourselves. To worship you in spirit and
in truth. We pray in Christ's name, amen.
And number 242, Jesus I come. Out of my bondage, sorrow unite. Jesus, I come. Jesus, I come into thy freedom,
gladness, and light. Jesus, I come to thee. Out of my want and into thy will. Out of my sin and into thy self. Jesus, I come to thee. Out of my shameful failure and Jesus, I come. Jesus, I come. Jesus, I come to Thee. Out of life's storms and in thy
calm. Out of distress to jubilant song. Jesus, I come to thee. Out of unrest and arrogant pride. Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come
into thy blessed will to abide. Jesus, I come to thee. ? Out of despairing raptures of
heart ? ? Up with Orion, whistled like a dove ? ? Jesus, I come
to thee ? ? Out of the deep and red of the tomb ? Jesus, I come,
Jesus, I come into the joy and light of thy home. Jesus, I come to thee out of
the dead. into the peace of thy sheltering
home. There thy glorious face to behold. Jesus, I come to thee. Let us pray. Father in heaven,
we praise you and thank you that you and your kind grace
and mercy have made it so that your children
who have received everything at your hand can return unto
you that which you have given us and that you would use it
for the furtherance of your kingdom for the preaching of the gospel
here and in other places. We count it a great privilege
that you have ordered this means for your children to purpose
in their own heart and give. Help us, Lord, now to render
unto thee that which is due your name with a heart full of thanksgiving
and praise and all glory unto you in Christ's name. you You. you The Revelation of the Lord Jesus
Christ is a record of seven visions that John received while he was
on the Isle of Patmos, while he was in the Spirit on the Lord's
Day. And much of it is metaphorical. Much of it has to do with signs
and pictures of things yet to come. at the time it was written
our Lord said these things shall shortly come to pass now with God shortly is a thing
we can't really measure what the scripture says is a year
is a thousand days and a thousand years is a day with the Lord
but he said he sent the angel to signify and the actual meaning
of that word is to signify signify things that shall shortly come
to pass. These seven visions are not about
today's newspapers or today's articles. These seven visions
are about the church in seven different situations, not seven
different time spans or seven different dispensations. Seven
different situations have to do with their existence in a
world that hates God. world that will ultimately be
ruled by babylonian religion until the king of king comes
and sets it all in order so when you read the revelation
don't try to then goes to your newspaper and your magazines
or cnn and try to figure out what's going on in the world
look at it this way each vision is about In fact, the seven visions
were written to the seven churches in Asia Minor, as is covered
in the first three chapters of this book. So these seven churches
received this revelation, this letter from John on the Isle
of Patmos, to deal with what was going on with them at the
time it was written. And we know that there is nothing
new under the sun. So we can look at the seven visions
that were written there and we can see it taking place today
in our midst because people are the same. The only difference
between then and now, we get to see things a lot quicker because
we have cell phones and things like that and the internet which
immediately gives us news of what's happening. These people
had to wait a while to get it. but it's the same old stuff.
Now John, here in the 14th chapter of the Revelation, and in order
to understand these first five verses and the strength and the
power of them, we need to understand the 13th chapter, which was all
about the beast rising out of the sea, antichrist and so forth
and then what follows this is the same thing the destruction
of babylon is talked about and all how the angels are going
to take as it were a giant scythe and mow them down but here in
the midst we have these words these glorious words by the apostle
john he's seen the vision of the horrors of the beast and
the vicious hordes he carries with him And now in this passage
he turns his eyes upward to view heavenly things. Now if you've
ever been through a trial or a tribulation in your life, you
know there will come a point in that trial and in that tribulation
that that's where your eyes will be cast to. Usually it's when
we tried everything ourselves to fix it and piled up everything.
Finally, we'll turn our eyes to heaven as John did here. And
what his eyes behold is the satisfied Savior, the Lamb of God. The Lamb of God is a central
figure in the book of Revelation. And being the Lamb of God speaks
of his substitutionary, sacrificial, propitiatory work on Calvary's
tree. John does not see him condescending
as he did and stooping as he did to save sinners. He does
not see him kneeling in prayer as he did in Gethsemane or sitting
in repose with his disciples. He sees him on the throne. On
the throne. He sees him then standing up
from that throne to receive honor and glory that is due his name
for the utter success of the work he has performed. He is
on that throne for a reason, according to Philippians chapter
2, because he was obedient even to the death of the cross. God
has highly exalted him and given him a name above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue
confess that he is Lord. That is what is going on in this
passage of Scripture. John sees the Lamb surrounded
by everyone for whom he died, every chosen sinner whom he redeemed
by his blood. In plain and simple, he sees
heaven. He sees heaven. He sees the Lamb
standing on Mount Zion. He sees the church. He beholds
the church with Christ as its head. He sees the place where
the Lord rules as King of kings and Lord of lords because he
has thwarted the foolish doom plots of carnal men to cast from
them the cords of his sovereign majesty in Psalm 2. The kings
of the earth gathered together, and our Lord said, Why do the
heathen rage, and their people imagine an empty, vain thing? The kings of the earth are gathered
together, and they say, Let us cast his corpse from us. We're
not going to have this man to rule over us, and yet, God says,
I have set my king on Zion's holy hill, and you better kiss
the son, lest he be angry. and you'll be destroyed in the
way. And when you kiss him, you don't
kiss him on the cheek, you kiss him on his feet. All these representations here
refer not only to the future state of eternal bliss, but the
state of the church in this gospel age. The only place, this is
a crazy world we live in. The only place where there is
true peace in this world, at this moment, is in the church
of the living God, the true and living God. There the people
are at peace. They have a peace that passes knowledge and understanding. They are at peace when the world
is in turmoil. That's the people of God. That's
the church. The church is safe. In the midst
of the horrors inflicted by the beast, the church and her Lord
are safe and secure. In one way, this upward look
of John is an exemplar of what the child of God will do in the
midst of a trial. Look into Christ in the midst
of a trial. A believer sees what? He sees the Lamb. The Lamb as
it had been slain. The Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. The Lamb that has redeemed His
people by His blood out of every kindred, nation, tongue, and
people, and made them kings and priests unto His God. He sees
just men made perfect. by the blood of Jesus Christ
and by faith in the midst of trial when the beast and Satan
and Antichrist are hurling their fiery darts, the believer lifts
his eyes to heaven and sees Christ and all the sinners for whom
he died standing with him clothed in white robes without fault
before the throne, saved, completely saved. With this sight, with this vision,
the believer's fears are assuaged and the peace that passes knowledge
watches over his frame. What John sees is heaven. Heaven
has been the subject of a great deal of conjecture. Books have
been written about it. Songs have been written about
it. About as many ideas about heaven as there are men to conjure
up ideas about heaven. We consider the vision of John
here in these first five verses. Heaven is simply this, it's Christ
and His church together at last. Heaven is the satisfied Christ
because all the elect surround Christ. Isaiah spoke of Christ
as seeing of the travail of His soul and being satisfied. Christ
said, Behold I and the children which thou hast given me. Christ
could not be satisfied if one that He bought and paid for was
not with Him in heaven. So heaven is Christ with His
church. Heaven is the satisfied and glorified Lamb of God, who
taketh away the sin of the world, whose satisfaction is the complete
redemption of His people. That's what satisfied Him. The first five verses of this
passage or in reverse chronology if you look at it to the remainder
of the chapter. It's in the middle of chapter
13 and the end part of chapter 14 and all that's going on there
is nothing but trouble. Then you have these five verses
stuck right in here. The reason for this reversal
is probably that John, having seen the entire vision, is struck
with awe and wonder at the absolute victory. and glory of the Lamb,
and is simply overcome with joy in his heart. Though the word
of God is inspired, God breathed, the Lord uses the personalities
of the writers. There are sometimes seemingly
spontaneous utterances recorded as the writer is overwhelmed
by what is revealed before him. Many times the Apostle said,
Glory be to God. Paul said, Of him, and through
him, and to him, is everything. is everything. The seraphic joy
of the Apostle John gives us all many things that will stay
with us in the midst of the persecution of the church. I looked, he said.
I looked. And lo, an angel, or rather a
lamb, stood on Mount Sihon, and with him an hundred and forty-four
thousand, having his father's names written in their foreheads,
And I heard a voice from heaven as the voice of many waters,
as the voice of great thunder. I heard the voice of harpers
harping on their harps. And they sung as it were a new
song before the throne, before the four beasts and the elders.
And no man could learn that song but the 144,000 which were redeemed
from the earth. These are they which were not
defiled with women, for they are virgins. 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 no guile, for they were without fault before
the throne of God." That's what he saw in the midst of trial. If we look full upward, the first
object that fills our vision is the sovereign substitute.
People talk about assurance a great deal in this world. People look
for assurance of their salvation in many places. Some look to
their works. Some look to their dedication.
some look to their prayer life, others look to reading the Bible,
others look to their giving, but let me tell you this, you
can look all you want to at any of those things and you'll never
have assurance. Never. In fact, if you're looking
for assurance, you won't find it. You'll never find it, because
you'll never do enough, you'll never be good enough, You simply
won't find it. Well, how do I have assurance? By looking to Christ. The Lamb
slain. That's where assurance comes
from. When you look to Christ, you're not looking to yourself.
And assurance will be there. If you stop looking for assurance
and trust Christ, you'll have assurance. If you look for assurance,
you ain't gonna have it. The first thing he saw in the
midst of all this trial that surrounds these first five verses
was the substitute, the one who stood in his room instead and
took the wrath of God in his place. Jesus Christ has been
the singular subject and object of the faith that God has given
His elect. It is the description of the
Lamb slain that evokes the hearts of the believers' praise. It
is His death that settled forever the issue of my sin before God.
It is His death that we celebrate in baptism and in the Lord's
table and in the preaching of the gospel. It is His death that
we celebrate. The believer rejoices that Christ
has been exalted as Lord over all and rejoicing is a condition
upon the fact that he was obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross. The glory and bliss of heaven
is experienced here on earth when we see the Lord our substitute,
the Lamb of God, and can say in our heart, I am His. As we look upward, the next thing
we see is the unqualified success of the Lamb's substitution. Here with Him are 144,000 having
the Father's name written in their forehead. This is metaphorical
language. This specific number is about
specificity rather than abundance. The number represents all of
God's elect. I know that every new religion
in America formed between 1830 and 1860 hopped all over this
144,000 and still work it over today. Jehovah's Witness said
there's only 144,000 going to be saved. That was Charles Taz
Russell's idea and then 144,000 became Jehovah's Witnesses and
then there was 144,000 and 1,000. What are we going to do with
that one? Well, let's have a second chance
at salvation and then we can take care of that. That was their
idea. But every religion formed during that time, and you can
look it up, there's a ton of them, was formed somehow addressing
this 144,000. This is a specific number, but
it has nothing to do with the amount. has to do with specificity. The number represents all whom
God has saved. They are those who were chosen
before the foundation of the world and redeemed by the blood
of the Lamb. That's how it is described right here. The number
is a large number. It means the same thing as the
Greek number, which the highest Greek number was 10,000. In the
Koine Greek language, 10,000 was the biggest number they had.
They never went past 10. They didn't have a million or
a gazillion like we have or a trillion like we have. They didn't have
those numbers. They had 10,000. And that was the highest number they
had. So they had to go more than that. They said 10,000 times
10,000, and thousands of thousands. That's how it's worded in scripture. That's how it's worded in scripture.
This number, 144,000, is akin to when in Luke, Peter, Simon Peter asked the
Lord, how many times shall I show mercy on a man? How many times
shall I forgive a man? Seven times, shall I say, seven
times? If he wronged me seven times,
should I forgive him seven times? The Lord said, 70 times seven. That's 490 times. You think that's
the exact amount? Our Lord says, forgive him every
time. just use that number, a specific number to show an indefinite
number. Given any time in history this
144,000 is also said to be in scripture
a number that no man can number. It's also said to be greater
than the stars of heaven and greater than the sand pebbles
upon the shore. In any given time in history,
the church seems small and insignificant, a very small remnant, as it's
called in Isaiah 1, yet it is innumerable. It is innumerable. Remember the story of Elijah
and his servant when they were surrounded by the hordes of the
Philistines upon the mountains. The servant went out to get some
water for the prophet to wash his face, and he looked up, and
there was his enemies. He said, Master, we're in trouble. He said, no, we ain't in trouble. There's more of us than there
are of them. There's just two of us. More of us than there
are of them. The Lord opened his eyes. And
he went back out and looked, and behind those Philistines
was the host of heaven. The host of heaven. Church is
a very small remnant in this age. It has been in every age.
But it's innumerable. The number is specific because
the number of the elect is specific. Christ came to save his people,
those whom he chose before the foundation of the world. They
are described in 1 Kings chapter 6 as stones put in the temple. Peter calls them living stones
or lively stones that make up the temple once Christ is the
chief cornerstone and the headstone. But you know when they built
the temple back in the old days, they pre-cut those stones in
the quarry. Every stone was cut before it
was brought to the temple. And it was cut to a specific
size to fit the space that was designed for and purposed for.
So no extra stones were cut. And there was no holes in the
wall. Every stone was cut, and it says that in the temple you
could not hear the sound of hammers or tools. Why? Because that temple
was built by the Lord, not by the hands of men. Every stone
was pre-cut, preordained to be in that temple. That's the way
it is with the Church of God. We're all pre-cut stones. We're
cut in the quarry of eternity, in eternal election, and put
into the temple in time by the Word of God. These people surrounding Christ
are the flock of God, known by name. He said, I know my sheep
by name. I call my sheep by name. They are the body and the members
of the body of Christ. None are missing and there are
none left over. There are 144,000. They are all that the Father
gave to Christ of whom He has lost nothing. They are all on
Mount Zion with their Savior. That'll float you, Bo, when you're
in times of trouble. Look up. See the land. See the
land. and see that everybody he died
for is saved. As we look upward, we see that
the elect worship the Lamb. It is their vocation, their avocation,
and they even do it on their own vacation. The distinctive
mark of the 144,000 is they worship, and their worship is singular.
They worship the Lamb. They worship the Lamb. Their
worship is not flailing about in some ignorant trance overcome
by some outside spirit of euphoria possessing them. They worship
because they know the One they worship and deem nothing but
Him as to be worthy of praise. The song they sing is known only
by them. They sing a song that no man
can know but the 144,000. Nobody else knows that song because
it's only known by revelation, by the Spirit taking the Word
of God and applying it to the heart of men. Men may go to seminary,
they may study the Bible, they may seek to find this song in
some musical conservatory, but only those who know this song
by revelation can sing it. This song is the melodious strains
of the blessed. This song is the gospel of Christ,
known only by the elect through the new birth, those to whom
God has revealed them. There were those who thought
they knew a song. In fact, they piped. They played music in the
streets, and they got around and danced in the streets. They
thought they knew some songs when they heard John the Baptist
preaching, when the Lord Jesus Christ preached, and they looked
at John the Baptist, and they said, we ain't gonna dance to
your tune, because you're too hard. it's an austere man, you're
too hard. We're not gonna mourn when you
preach, you know you preach a hard message. We're not gonna cry,
we're not gonna carry on. Then when the Lord Jesus Christ
preached peace and mercy and grace, they said, you sound like
a man playing a flute and we ain't gonna dance to you. And after they said that, our
Lord looked up to heaven and he said, I thank thee, oh Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, for thou hast hid these things from
the wise, and the prudent has revealed them unto babes. For
even so, Father, it seemed good in sight. No man knows the Son,
but the Father. No man knows the Son, but the
Father, and he too. Whosoever the Son will reveal
him. A natural man receiveth not the
things of the Spirit. They are foolishness to him.
Neither can he know them, nor discern them, because they are
spiritually discerned. Scripture says the Lord has given
us an unction, His children, and they know all things. They
know all things. You say, well, I don't know everything.
Yes, you do if you're a child of God. You know everything worth
knowing. You know everything that will never fade away. You
know everything that will not die when this world is destroyed. You know everything. everything
that will last, everything that's of value, of eternal worth, you
know it. You know it. It's even said of
the people of God, they have the mind of Christ. They sang
a new song, it says in Revelation, they sang a new song. What's
that song? It's revealed in the next chapter,
or the two chapters down the road in Revelation. They sang
a new song. What's that song? Worthy is the Lamb. that was
slain, that has redeemed us by his blood out of every kindred,
nation, tongue, and people, and has made us kings and priests
unto our God. They learn this song while others
cannot, because they are redeemed from the earth, it seems. Out
of. That's what the word elect means.
Eclektos. It's two Greek words, a prefix
and another word put together. It means called, chosen out of. that means out of, chosen out. They were redeemed from the earth
it says. As we look upward we see a true
wonder. Those who surround the Lamb are not there by hook or
crook. They are not there by some religious
chicanery. They are not there by mistake.
They are there because they belong there. They're there because they meet
the qualifications to be there. What are the requirements? Look
over at Psalm 24. Verses 3 and 5. Who shall ascend
to the hill of the law? or who shall stand in his holy
place? And we find these folks standing,
robed in white robes, said that in chapter 7, chapter 9 of this
same book. Who shall ascend to the hill
of the Lord? Who shall stand in his place? He that hath clean
hands, a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul to vanity,
nor sworn deceitfully, he shall receive the blessings of the
Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Pure hands,
clean heart, pure heart, clean hands. What is it said about
these? These stand before the throne
without fault. Without fault before the throne. Paul admonished the Colossian
church to give thanks to God because he had made us meet. That means suitable. to be partakers
of the inheritance of life. Now, in myself and in yourself,
we don't qualify for anything but hell. The wages of sin is
death. We give to God as eternal life. But in Christ, the qualification
for perfection and righteousness is met in every believer because
Christ is made to be their righteousness, sanctification, wisdom, and redemption. They are pure. It says that.
They are symbolized by the word virgin. Now, both men and women
are called virgins in Scripture, and, in fact, the Church of the
Living God is called a virgin. What does that mean? That is
simply a word that means pure. The word applies to both men
and women who have kept their bodies chaste. We know that says
that. What a declaration of the effectual
blood of Christ! It speaks spiritually to the
Bride of Christ. Remember, the Church is the Bride
of Christ who is espoused to Him as a chaste virgin, as Paul
says in Corinthians. How does anybody know? Well,
there's no need to ever show reason unless the virginity is
called into question. That's the only reason you'd
ask about it. How do you know these are virgins?
There was a law in the Old Testament that cleared that up. When a
man and a woman got married, they went into the bedchamber
that night and had coitus, and they kept the sheets. And what
to look for was what's called the hymeneal blood of the woman
when her maidenhead was broken. And that next morning, when they
left, they would look and see if the blood was on that sheet.
They'd fold up that sheet, wrap it up, and take it to the father.
The father never looked at it, never thought about it. Put it
in the closet. But then somewhere down the line,
somebody says to that woman, she was not a virgin. Called into question her virginity,
her purity. And he says, the father, went
into the call how do I know child I'll tell you what call it into
question what Christ can say when I see the I will pass over
you No accusation can stand against
the child of God. The Father brings forth the sheets
from the wedding night and proves the virginity by blood. Christ
says of His people, Thou art all fair, my love. There is no spot in thee. He
says of these also, back in our text, that they are followers
of the Lamb wherever He goes. followers of the lamb this is
indicative of the fact that they are the sheep of the great shepherd
my sheep hear my voice and they follow me and I give them to
them eternal life and no man is able to pluck them out of
my hand my sheep follow me but he's a lamb he's a shepherd and
he's a lamb maybe he's the bellwether lamb the lamb that leads the
flock he's the lamb and the shepherd It says they are redeemed from
among men in verse 4. They were chosen from all eternity,
selected, severed, picked out of a fallen race, made into vessels
of mercy, and redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb. It
says they are the firstfruits unto God and unto the Lamb. The
firstfruits, that is what belongs to God. The firstfruits belong
to the Lord. indicates that they are sanctified
or set apart for God alone by Jesus Christ. They belong to
God. They are His purchased possession. You see, when Jesus Christ redeemed
His people, He bought them with a price. And now He possesses
them, it says in Acts 20, that God bought with His own blood. And in their mouth is no guile. What do you think when you hear
that? you poor old bunch of sinners, saved by grace, in your mouth
before God. There's no guile. There's no
guile. Out of the abundance of the heart,
the mouth speak, the scripture says, these are without guile
in their hearts, therefore there's no guile in their mouth. Concerning
the salvation of their souls, their words are pure. The word
guile means the lie. lies not in their mouth finally it says they are without
fault without fault that means it cannot be charged Paul said in Romans 4 there's
somebody out there walking around now who God will never charge
with sin who he will not impute sin These are those who are made
worthy to be in the presence of God and the Lamb. The next
time you feel the sting of persecutions, look up to see the Lamb standing
on Mount Zion surrounded by His elect who are worthy to be there
because He's finished the work. It just might cause you to get
beside yourself and rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ. Father,
bless us to understand and pray in Christ's name.