Sermon Notes | 5.5.24
Revelation 4
After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.
And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!”
9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”
Revelation 5
Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”
13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
HOW TO BE A NON-ANXIOUS PRESENCE
You are not created to remain paralyzed in anxiety. You were not created to offer an anxious crowd quick-fix solutions and a panacea for their lostness. You were not patterned after heaven to retreat into a comfort zone. You were made in the image of God to bring chaos into order, as you act as a channel of God’s will on earth. The Spirit manifests the pattern of heaven in the world, and we mediate that pattern as God’s workers in creation. – Mark Sayers
See the THRONE
Revelation 4
Will we look?
We now join a service already in progress…
The cry “worthy” does not come from the religious world. It comes from the secular world, from the political realm. “Worthy” is what was shouted by citizens to the emperor when he entered a city. “Worthy” is what was shouted by the Roman senators as the emperor entered the great hall. Scholars have done a great deal of research into the so-called “imperial hymns,” the songs and choruses sung at political events.
Here is a list of the words and phrases shouted to the emperor:
- Holy one
- Glory
- Salvation belongs to you
- Authority
- Worthy to receive power
- Righteous are your judgments
- Our lord and god (Dominus et deus noster, dominus terrarum, dominus mundi—literally, “Our lord and god, lord of the earth, lord of the world”) – Darrell Johnson
Sing the NEW SONG
Revelation 5
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. – Isaiah 53:6-7
[10] so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11] and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. – Philippians 2:10-11
Serve Like JESUS
Revelation 5:10
[10] and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
How do we rule as priests?
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. – Romans 12:1
The Lion gets to the throne. How? By being a lion? No, by being a Lamb—a little lamb—who in servant love gives himself even for his enemies. Remember: the Lamb is not foolish; Jesus Christ is not a dummy. The Lamb has seven eyes—he is immensely wise. And the Lamb is not weak; Jesus Christ is not a wimp. The Lamb has seven horns—he is immensely strong. But here is the secret, a secret we would never know through an ordinary set of glasses: The greatest power in the universe is the “weakness” of sacrificial love. The greatest wisdom in the universe is the “foolishness” of sacrificial love. The apostle Paul calls Christ crucified, “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:24). – Darrell Johnson
A Prayer for Salvation
“Heavenly Father, I admit that I am weaker and more sinful than I ever before believed, but through your Son Jesus I can be more loved and accepted than I ever dared hope. I thank you that he lived the life I should have lived and paid the debt and punishment I owed. Receive me now for his sake. I turn from my sins and receive him as Savior. Amen.”