"They Worship" Sermon: Revelation 7:9-17 (manuscript)

 

“They Worship”

[Revelation 7:9-17]

November 1, 2024 Second Reformed Church/YouTube

            Today we remember All Saint’s Day.  In the Western Church, the season begins with All Hallows Eve (October 31st), and then All Saints Day (November 1st) – a day to give thanks to God for the witness of the saints. 

            On All Saints Day, we remember all those who have died in Christ – known and unknown.  This day symbolizes part of what we mean when we say in the Creed, “I believe in the communion of saints.”  There is a unity among believers who are still alive and those who have died in the faith.

            And so, we turn to one of the visions of John as we consider those who have died in the faith.

            And we see, first, Salvation belongs to God and to the Lamb.

Our text begins with a vision of all those people who have died in the faith – both those who have died believing in the Savior Who was to come and those who died in the faith having known Who the Savior is.  And we are told that salvation has been given to people from every type of person and every type of people.

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages,”

This is the promise that was made to Abraham:

“Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed’” (Genesis 12:1-3, ESV).

In Paradise, now, there are every type of people and every type of person who has ever lived:  male and female, Democrat and Republican, American, and African, and even Scottish.  God promises that every family of the earth will be blessed with salvation.  Nothing about how, who, when, or where you were born excludes you from the Kingdom.

This is how the saints are described:

“standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,”

The saints are standing before God and the Lamb and they are worshipping – they are clothed in white robes – pure and holy – and they are waving palm branches – symbols of the victory of the King – triumph and eternal life.

“and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’”

As they worship, they cry out that salvation belongs to God and the Lamb.

And we might wonder about that – shouldn’t they be saying that salvation belongs to us?  After all, we are the ones who are saved, right?

What we are being told is that salvation is God’s to give.  It is not something that we deserve or can earn – it is something that is given to us purely of grace.

As Paul tells us, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10, ESV).

Salvation belongs to God and to the Lamb, and from before the foundation of the world, God and the Lamb chose to give salvation to the people that God chose to give to the Lamb to be His eternally – people of every type from every people group.

And now, all who have died in the faith are worshipping before God and the Lamb.  And with them, the angels, the elders, and the four living creatures fall on their faces in the worship of God and the Lamb:

“And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,”

They are all worshipping God and the Lamb now in humble and ecstatic joy.

Can we imagine the scene – now and on the last day – when myriad upon myriad people and myriad upon myriad angels, and all the creatures of Creation fall before our God and Savior?

When we are all joined together on the last day, “so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11, ESV).

What a day that will be!  What joy will be ours!

And now – and on that final day when the communion of saints is fulfilled in the Kingdom – we will worship God by acknowledging the attributes of God – everything that makes God Who He is in Trinity – some of which are mentioned here.

“saying, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.’”

They – and we – cry out that God will be blessed for ever and ever – for Who He is and what He has done.

They – and we – cry out that God will be glorified for ever and ever – that we will continually be in awe and reflect Who God is and what He has done.

They – and we – cry out that God will be seen and known as Wisdom and the repository of all wisdom.

Paul writes, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Romans 11:33, ESV).

            And Job says, “With God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding” (Job 12:13, ESV).

            God is not just smart.  He is not just knowledgeable.  He is wise.  He has all knowledge and knows how to apply it to His Glory and for the good of His people.

They – and we – cry out that God will be thanked for ever and ever – that we will recognize every reason we have to be thankful and give God thanks for it – for every good gift comes from God Alone.

That can be a tough one for us sometimes, can’t it?  We don’t tend to be thankful – certainly not for every good gift God gives us, much less for those things we don’t see as good but are things we need to be the people God has called us to be.

Yet, we ought to be raising our voices in praise to God, because we slept last night, because we got an extra hours sleep, because we had a place to sleep, because we woke up, because we are breathing, because we have something to eat and drink, because we had clothes to put on, because we were able to get to worship this morning – on and on, right?

Even the so-called “bad” things.  When I was first diagnosed with sarcoidosis, I didn’t think, “O thank You, God!” I would prefer not to have sarcoidosis, but I have come to be thankful for it for many reasons – including that it has helped to be better at ministering to others with health issues and to comfort people going for tests and procedures.

They – and we – cry out that God will be glorified for ever and ever and be given the honor He deserves – that He would be respected for the Being He is and what He has done.

They – and we – cry out that God will be glorified for ever and ever – that He would be know as the Omnipotent God – that He would be known for being the All-powerful God.

What that means is that God has the ability to do anything that does not contradict His Character and Attributes.  God is able to accomplish His Will.

And they – and we – cry out that God will be glorified for ever and ever for being All-mighty.

We may draw a distinction between power and might by saying that God’s power is His ability to carry out His Will and His Might is His ability to overcome all of His and our enemies.

This it the God and the Lamb to Whom salvation belongs.  This is the God Who loves His people so much that He offered up the Lamb as the Sacrifice to save us and make us the people of the Lamb.

Second, before the throne of God, the Lamb is the saints’ Shepherd.

“Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?’ I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’”

A group of the saints in Paradise are highlighted for John, and one of the elders asks John who they are.  It is a rhetorical question.  The elder tells John that these are the saints who died during the great tribulation, who have been washed in the Blood of the Lamb and their robes have been made white.  That is, Christ’s work in living, dying, and rising has cleansed and perfected them and made them holy.

We shall all be made holy when we are received into the Kingdom.  It will be impossible for us to sin, and we will do everything perfectly and with joy.  It is our great hope that we will be raised perfected and holy on the last day to be with our God and Savior forever.

            “Therefore”

            Since they have been washed in the Blood of the Lamb and their robes have been cleansed white –

            “they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple;”

            What are our beloved friends and family doing who have died believing in the Lord?  Are they sitting on clouds playing harps?  Are they haunting the place where they died?

            All those who die believing in the Savior are received into Paradise where they are before the throne of God – they are in the immediate Presence of God – and they are worshipping Him – they are doing everything that God would have them do – perfectly, sinlessly, and filled with all joy.

            How do we know they are filled with joy?

            “and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;            the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.”

            Because God shelters them with His Presence – and in doing that, all those who die believing in the Savior no longer hunger, they no longer thirst, they no longer experience any type of suffering.

            David writes, “I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies” (Psalm 18:1-3, ESV).

            David knew this on earth – how much more will every believer know it in Paradise and the Kingdom.  God is our shelter.  God is our refuge.  We are safe and protected for all of eternity.

            “For” – God is our shelter and will keep us from all suffering because:

“the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Jesus is both the Lamb and our Shepherd.

We will remember, “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29, ESV).

And the author of Hebrews writes, “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:11-12, ESV).

            Since Jesus is both God and perfect human, He is the Lamb able to be the sacrifice for our salvation.

            The Lamb, Jesus, is also our Shepherd – the One Who guides us to springs of living water.

            David writes, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (Psalm 23:1-3, ESV).

            And Jesus says to the woman at the well, “Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink,” you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water’” (John 4:10, ESV).

            “Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life’” (John 4:13-14, ESV).

            Our Great Shepherd gives all who believe eternal life.

            And in eternity, He will wipe away every tear from our eyes.

            There is no sorrow in Paradise because there is no sin and we are focused on worshipping the Lamb, our Shepherd.

            So, let us be assured that all those who have died in Christ – all those who have believed in the Savior – are in Paradise, eternally saved by God and the Lamb Who graciously bestow salvation on all those They have chosen.  They are with the Lamb, Who is the Shepherd, eternally alive in joy worshipping our God.

            And let us be assured that we – and all those who have yet to die believing savingly in Jesus – will be received into that same Paradise, with our God and Savior, the Lamb and Shepherd.  We will be at peace, in joy, where there is no more sorrow.  We will be eternally alive, worshipping God and the Lamb with myriad after myriad of others and all the creatures of Creation.

            Let us pray:

            Almighty God, we thank You for this vision that assures us that those who have died believing in the Savior are eternally in joy worshipping You, and we, also, will be received, most assuredly, into Paradise one day.  Keep us in this assurance and help us by the Power of God the Holy Spirit to do all those good things You created us to do.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.