{"id":18969,"date":"2018-12-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-12-02T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/revelation-021-a-reason-for-optimism\/"},"modified":"2018-12-02T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-12-02T06:00:00","slug":"revelation-021-a-reason-for-optimism","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/revelation-021-a-reason-for-optimism\/","title":{"rendered":"Revelation 021 – A Reason for Optimism"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[111],"series_event":[490],"sermon_service_type":[472],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18969","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-revelation","series_event-revelation","sermon_service_type-main-service","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Revelation 021 - A Reason for Optimism","sermon_date":"20181202","sermon_month":"12","sermon_year":"2018","sermon_notes":6260,"sermon_slides":6257,"sermon_mp3":6262,"sermon_id":"122181421322097","series_or_event":490,"service_type":[472],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":111,"chapter_and_verse":"5:1-7","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nA Reason for Optimism 12-2-18\n\nRevelation 5:1-7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lesson 21\n\nIf we could take our Bibles and open them to the Book of Revelation, chapter 5.\u00a0 The title of\u00a0 our message this morning is A Reason for Optimism.\u00a0 Are you a natural optimist or a pessimist or somewhere in between?\u00a0 Is the glass half full\u00a0 or half empty?\u00a0 I hope this chapter, as we look at chapter 5 today, verses 1-7, makes you, as you leave here today, a flaming optimist because if you know Christ personally you\u2019re on the right side of history.\n\nWe are in sort of that section of the Book of Revelation that we call the heavenly scene;\u00a0 it\u2019s before the judgments are introduced onto planet earth, which will be highlighted beginning in chapter 6.\u00a0 Before that happens we\u2019re taken into heaven (John is taken into heaven) to see the person who is bringing these judgments, God Himself, and the place from which they will come, (heaven itself) asking and answering the question who is God to judge this world?\n\nIn chapter 4 we learn that God is worthy to judge the world, in fact, we sang about it just a few moments ago, because of His role in creation.\u00a0 He has created all things.\u00a0 And then in chapter 5, as we begin today, we\u2019re going to be learning that Jesus is worthy to bring judgment to the earth because He is the redeemer of all things.\u00a0 It\u2019s both the creator and the redeemer what higher qualifications do you need?\u00a0 I don\u2019t know of any higher credentials than those.\u00a0 Do you?\n\nSo here is John, chapter 4, being taken into heaven to see these things.\u00a0 We\u2019ve seen his summons into heaven, the sights he saw in heaven and the explosion of heaven into praise because of who God the Father is and because of His role in creation.\u00a0 We leave chapter 4 and now we come into chapter 5 where we learn of the worthiness of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Here is our outline, if you will, for chapter 5, likely making it (Lord willing) only through verse 7 this morning.\u00a0 [1. Title, (1a)\u00a0 2. Chain of Communication, (1b-2) 3. Blessing, (3)\u00a0 4. Author, (4a) \u00a05. Audience ,(4b) 6. Greeting (4c) 7. Source (4d-5a) 8. Subject, (5b-8)]\n\nNotice, if you will, verse 1, an observation.\u00a0 John, in heaven, is describing these things that he saw.\u00a0 \u201cI saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals.\u201d\u00a0 This is an observation about the existence of a seven sealed scroll held by God the Father seated on His throne in His right hand.\u00a0 You say well what is this seven sealed scroll exactly?\u00a0 It is probably the most important legal document in the history of mankind.\u00a0\u00a0 It represents the title deed to the earth.\n\nYou see, when God created Adam and Eve and gave them authority to rule on His behalf, Genesis 1:25-28, they were given this title deed.\u00a0 [Genesis 1:25-28, \u201cGod created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. [28] God blessed them; and God said to them, \u201cBe fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.\u201d]\n\nBut we, of course know the very sad story; instead of our forbearers ruling under God over creation they began to listen to creation, a talking snake, and in the process rebel against God.\u00a0 And the moment this happened the authority of this world was taken from man\u2019s grasp given to him by God into Satan\u2019s grasp.\u00a0 And that\u2019s why this title deed is sealed up; in fact, it\u2019s so sealed up it\u2019s got seven seals on it.\n\nAnd yet Jesus Christ, as we will see in this chapter, has stepped out of eternity into time to redeem us.\u00a0 And consequently He\u2019s the only person qualified to open this seven-sealed scroll, thereby restoring earth to its rightful rulers.\u00a0 In this case it will be not the first Adam but the last Adam who will govern the world for God the Father in the millennial kingdom.\u00a0 That\u2019s the point of the Book of Revelation.\u00a0 As each seal is opened a judgment will come to the earth further evicting Satan from this turf until by the time\u00a0 you get to the end all of the judgments will have run their course, Satan will be bound in the bottomless pit or the abyss and the world as it exists will be restored to its rightful authority.\u00a0 This seven sealed scroll therefore represents the storyline of the Book of Revelation.\u00a0 It represents the story line of where human history is headed.\n\nSo we have an observation, verse 1.\u00a0 The observation is followed by a question, verse 2, \u201cAnd I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, \u2018Who is worthy<\/u> to open the book and to break its seals?\u201d\u2019\u00a0 If the seals remain unbroken the scroll remains sealed and that\u2019s a problem because the authority to the earth is never reclaimed.\u00a0 So we have to have somebody to open it.\u00a0 The question becomes who\u2019s qualified to open it?\u00a0 You\u2019ll notice this word \u201cworthy,\u201d verse 2, you can underline that if you\u2019re an under liner in your Bible, and\u00a0 you should underline the same word in verse 9, and the same word in verse 12 because this chapter is going to answer the question \u201cwho is worthy.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019ll discover very fast who is worthy as\u00a0 you just track that word \u201cworthy\u201d through this chapter, verse 2 to verse 9 to verse 12.\u00a0 Who is worthy to open this scroll?\u00a0 That\n\n[2] And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, \u201cWho is worthy<\/em> to open the book and to break its seals?\u201d [3] And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. [4] Then I began<\/em> to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it; [5] and one of the elders said to me, \u201cStop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.\u201d\u00a0 [6] And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. [7] And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. [<\/strong>8] <\/strong>When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one 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<\/u> are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. [10] You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.\u201d [11]Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, [12] saying with a loud voice, \u201cWorthy<\/u> is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.\u201d]\n\nWho is worthy to open this scroll?\u00a0 That leads to verse 3, an investigation.\u00a0 Look at verse 3, \u201cAnd no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it.\u201d\u00a0 Now this is an investigation no doubt\u2014who can open this?\u00a0 It\u2019s quite a comprehensive investigation isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 First of all the people in heaven or the entities in heaven aren\u2019t worthy.\u00a0 Who are they?\u00a0 They\u2019re not exactly spiritual lightweights.\u00a0 The angels are there, the four living creatures are there, the twenty-four elders are there, but none of them are qualified to open this scroll.\u00a0 No one in heaven is worthy so therefore no one on the earth is worthy and certainly no one under the earth is worthy.\n\nThis is what you call in biblical interpretation a merism, which is a figure of speech giving the outer edges and once you give the outer edges it automatically encompasses everything in between.\u00a0 It\u2019s like when the Bible says the Lord watches over me when I rise up and when I lie down.\u00a0 So people say well, I guess God only watches over me in the morning and in the evening.\u00a0 No, it would encompass everything in between because it\u2019s a merism.\u00a0 It\u2019s like saying Genesis 1:1, \u201cIn the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.\u00a0 The heavens, the earth and everything in between, a\u00a0 merism.\u00a0 It\u2019s like when\u00a0 God says in Jeremiah 23:24, \u201cDo I not fill the heavens and the earth?\u201d\u00a0 A merism meaning everything.\n\nAnd so this inquiry, this investigation goes out trying to figure out who in the world is qualified to open this seven sealed scroll thereby restoring the earth to its rightful rulers and the answer is nobody because of the comprehensiveness of the investigation.\u00a0 Everything is searched except the one that has the right credentials.\u00a0 Which credentials would those be?\u00a0 Creator and Redeemer!\n\nThe investigation, verse 3, leads to verse 4, a lamentation.\u00a0 Now you know what a lamentation is, we have a whole book in the Bible, called The Book of Lamentations, written by Jeremiah the prophet when Nebuchadnezzar came and destroyed the first temple.\u00a0\u00a0 He had so many tears to shed over this he wrote a whole book about this called The Book of Lamentations.\u00a0 There is a tremendous lament of tears taking place when it looks at first glance that no one is qualified to open the seven sealed scroll.\n\nLook, if you will, at verse 4, \u201cThen I\u201d now who\u2019s the \u201cI\u201d?\u00a0 It\u2019s John, \u201cbegan<\/em> to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it;\u201d now when it says \u201cweep\u201d notice there\u2019s an adjective here, much weeping, poul<\/em>\u1f7a in Greek. Much weeping demonstrates what John is feeling when he sees the lack of qualifications in anybody to open this scroll.\u00a0 And in fact if the word \u201cmuch\u201d was not enough the verb \u201cweeping\u201d when you look this up in the Greek what does it mean?\u00a0 It means to weep or wail with emphasis upon the noise accompanying the weeping.\n\nThis is not someone with a case of the sniffles.\u00a0 This is not somebody drying a few tears.\u00a0 This is not somebody with a mild case of waterworks.\u00a0 This is a verbal, emotional travail that John is in at the prospect that this scroll remains shut and remains closed.\u00a0 In fact, it\u2019s the same verb used to describe how Peter felt after the third betrayal of Christ.\u00a0 It says, \u201cHe went out and he wept bitterly,\u201d\u00a0 [Luke 22:62] same verb.\u00a0 By the way, it\u2019s the same travail that we are to experience as God\u2019s people over our own personal sins.\u00a0 It\u2019s the same verb used in James 4:9, \u201cBe miserable and mourn and weep;\u201d same verb, \u201clet your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.\u201d\n\nNo one is worthy because at first glance it looks like no one has the credentials necessary to open the seven sealed scroll.\u00a0 Well what does that mean?\u00a0 What it means is this: the earth, as it currently exists the earth as we know it remains forever and ever and ever outside the grasp of its rightful ruler, which means Satan wins.\u00a0\u00a0 Satan continues on and on with the custody over the earth.\u00a0 By the way, I hope you know that Satan is the ruler of this world.\u00a0 Of course God is sovereign and we pray for God to intervene constantly but the general trajectory of the whole world is not under God\u2019s authority, it\u2019s under Satan\u2019s authority.\u00a0 If you look up all of these verses you see very clearly that Satan is running the world system.\u00a0 [Job 1:7; 2:2, Luke 4:5-7, John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11, Ephesians 2:2, 2 Corinthians 4:4, 1 John 4:4; 5:19]\n\nIn fact, these are the current names given to describe Satan.\u00a0 [Prince of this world (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), God of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4), Prince and power of the air (Ephesians 2:2), Who the believer wrestles with (Ephesians \u00a06:12), Roaring lion (1 Pet. 5:8), Whole world lies in his power (1 John 5:19).]\u00a0 And you can see the Scriptural addresses next to them.\u00a0 He\u00a0 is the Prince of this world, he is the god of this world, he is the prince and power of the air, he is the one that the believer wrestles with, he is the one that roams about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour, he is the one that the whole world lies in his power.\n\nIt\u2019s what God said to Satan in the very first, oldest I should say, book of\u00a0 the Bible, the Book of Job, \u201cSatan, where have you come from\u201d God said.\u00a0 [Job 2:2, \u201cThe LORD said to Satan, \"Where have you come from?\" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, \"From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.\u2019\u201d]\u00a0 Job 1:7, \u201cHe said, \u2018From roaming about on the earth,\u201d going to and fro over it.\u00a0\u00a0 [Job 1:7, \u201cThe LORD said to Satan, \"From where do you come?\u2019 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, \u2018From roaming about on the earth and walking around on It.\u201d\u2019]\u00a0 Why is Satan allowed to do that?\u00a0 Because he was given that authority in Genesis 3 and he will continue to have that authority as long as that title deed, that seven sealed scroll, remains closed.\n\nJesus in being tempted by Satan was offered in Luke 4:5-8 all the kingdoms of this world. \u00a0[Luke 4:5-8, all the kingdoms of this world [can't understand word] the devil.\u00a0 [\u201cAnd he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.\u00a0 [6] And the devil said to Him, \"I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.\u00a0 [7] Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.\u2019 [8] Jesus answered him, \"It is written, \u2018YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY.\u2019\u201d]\n\nIt\u2019s interesting to me that Jesus never questioned that when that offer was given to Him; He just quoted Scripture and endured the temptation because it is true.\u00a0 Satan has this world, he has the kingdoms of this world, and he was offering them to Christ on a silver platter just for a moment of worship.\u00a0 The authority is Satan\u2019s.\u00a0 And because the authority of this world belongs to Satan the world that we\u2019re living in today has been cursed.\u00a0 Is it God\u2019s creation?\u00a0 Yes, but it is under a curse, the curse is described in Genesis 3:17-19.\u00a0 \u201cThen to Adam He said,\u201d that\u2019s God, \u2018\u201cBecause you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, \u2018You shall not eat from it\u2019; Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.\u00a0 [18] Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; and you will eat the plants of the field; [19] By the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.\u201d\n\nThe Apostle Paul, in the Book of Romans, chapter 8, verses 19-23 says, \u201cfor the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. [20] For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope [21] that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. [22] For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth<\/u>\u201d and if that weren\u2019t bad enough he says \u00a0together until now. [23] And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our<\/em> adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.<\/u>\u201d]\n\nIf you were to personify creation as it currently exists it\u2019s groaning and that includes your body; your body is groaning, amen to that?\u00a0 Everything has been put under travail, everything has been put under a curse.\u00a0 The earth is in a state of bondage.\u00a0 One of the favorite titles of a book that I have on my shelf concerning the Book of Revelation is called The Liberation of Planet Earth.<\/em> [by Hal Lindsey]\u00a0 I can\u2019t think of a more appropriate and apt title because that is the condition of the world and that is the condition the world will remain in until this seven sealed scroll is opened.\n\n \n\nThat\u2019s why I have sort of a problem with these insurance companies calling earthquakes and Tsunamis and these kinds of things acts of God.\u00a0 Why do we blame God for everything?\u00a0 Why don\u2019t we call them acts of Satan since the Bible is very clear that he is the authority over this earth.\u00a0 And this is the problem with the song that we sometimes have children sing in church, \u201cThis is My Father\u2019s World.\u201d\u00a0 I mean is that true? \u00a0It\u2019s our Father\u2019s creation but the world as it currently exists with cancer, earthquakes, disease, death, drive-by shootings, crime, drug addiction, you name it, it\u2019s not our Father\u2019s world.\u00a0 Something obviously has gone wrong with our Father\u2019s world.\u00a0 We\u2019re living in the domain and in the territory of Satan.\n\n \n\nAnd John sees this scroll remaining shut and he starts to lament which is an outright emotional and verbal outburst because he draws the logical conclusion that cancer, war, earthquakes, tsunamis, homelessness, you name it will just go on and on and on and on and on and on without end.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t that depress you?\u00a0 I think to some extent we are blinded to this because of the artificial prosperity that we enjoy in the west.\u00a0 I call it an artificial prosperity because if you monitor our debt we\u2019re close to twenty-two trillion dollars in debt.\n\n \n\nSomeone says well look at the economy, look at how things are turning around.\u00a0 Well, to quote one politician, if I could give you twenty-two trillion dollars in hot checks I could give you the illusion of prosperity also.\u00a0 And we think because we\u2019re living in this bubble that somehow we\u2019re not in a world that\u2019s in travail and we think that we can defy the law of gravity forever.\n\nBut when you travel around the world and you see the way people are living, wondering where their next meal is going to come from, living in abject poverty, they have a very clear under\u00adstanding of this than we do.\u00a0 Something obviously has gone terribly wrong.\n\n \n\nAnd John sees this scroll remaining closed and he loses his emotional composer in heaven because of it.\u00a0 That is what John is experiencing here in verse 4, a humanistic understanding of the world.\u00a0 It\u2019s what Solomon called \u201cunder the sun,\u201d a knowledge of life without God.\u00a0 You shut yourself off from divine revelation, you shut yourself off from the Book of Revelation and what are you really left with?\u00a0 The only thing you\u2019re left with is the nasty now and now and you can\u2019t fathom just continuing on and on and on but that\u2019s what the world system tells\u00a0 you; what\u2019s normal has always been and will always be.\u00a0 And we wonder why our youth, who don\u2019t have the light of the Word of God are addicted to drugs or giving themselves over to alcohol, or trying to numb the pain of their lives with hedonism.\u00a0 I would be doing the same thing if I didn\u2019t know anything about God or His Word.\u00a0 The pain of this world has no end to it.\n\n \n\nThat\u2019s what John is seeing and we see a lament.\u00a0 We follow from verse 4 into verse 5 and I love this about God\u2014whenever there\u2019s a deep lament there\u2019s a comfort.\u00a0 Have you noticed that in God?\u00a0 Many times mu wife and I will say we maybe haven\u2019t had the best day, maybe some things have gone wrong and we always say well, you know what?\u00a0 There\u2019s always tomorrow, because in the Book of Lamentations, chapter 3, verses 22 and 23 at the height of Jeremiah\u2019s anguish it says, \u201cThe Lord\u2019s lovingkindness indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail not.\u00a0 [23]\u00a0<\/sup>They<\/em> are new every morning; Great is Thy faithfulness.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Psalm 30:5 says, \u201cFor His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.\u201d\n\nIt\u2019s interesting to me that in the parts of the Bible where you have the greatest anguish you also have the greatest consolation or the greatest comfort.\u00a0 You may be today in a place of anguish in your personal life, relationally, physically, economically, I don\u2019t know if I have the answers to all of our problems and your problems but I know this, that God in that valley will reveal Himself to you with the God of all comfort.\n\nThat\u2019s what\u2019s happening here with John in this deep level of anguish you find an immediate comfort.\u00a0 And what does it say there in verse 5, \u201cStop weeping\u201d it says.\u00a0 It says, verse 4, [Revelation 5:4 \u201cThen I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it;\u00a0 [5] and one of the elders said to me, \u2018Stop weeping\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Now it\u2019s interesting to me that when you look at this phrase, \u201cStop weeping\u201d in Greek it\u2019s not a suggestion. It\u2019s what we call in Greek in the imperative mood, this is a command, \u201cStop weeping!\u201d\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because there is somebody that is worthy to open this seven-sealed scroll and consequently restore the earth.\u00a0 And the person that tells John about this is, what does it say, \u201cone of the elders.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cOne of the elders said to me, \u2018Stop weeping,\u2019\u201d notice, \u201cone of the elders.\u201d\n\nNow who are the elders?\u00a0 Well, in prior sermons, and I\u2019ll have a lot more to say about this when we get chapter 5, verses\u00a0 9-10, most likely next week, we believe that the elders is the raptured church in heaven.\u00a0 So one of these members of the redeemed church tells John in a command to \u201cStop weeping!?\u00a0 Why would one of\u00a0 the twenty-four elder say that?\u00a0 Because one of the twenty-four elders is in heaven having experienced the redemption of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 And if Jesus can redeem, guess what else He can do?\u00a0 He can open that scroll and bring the world back to its rightful authority and its rightful ruler.\n\n\u201cStop seeping.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 You know, there\u2019s a lot in the Bible about sorrow and what the Bible presents is a balanced perspective on the issue of sorrow.\u00a0 Paul says, \u201cBut we do not want you to be informed, brethren,\u201d1 Thessalonians 4:13, \u201cabout those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.\u201d\u00a0 Grieving, of course, is something that is normal and natural in the Christian walk and in the Christian life.\u00a0 We just had a memorial service here a week or so back.\u00a0 But the Christian is not to go on and on and on mourning as if there\u2019s absolutely not hope at all.\u00a0 That\u2019s what John is demonstrating here.\u00a0 He\u2019s acting like this will never be corrected, this will never be reversed.\u00a0 And he\u2019s told by one of those who\u2019s actually experienced redemption in the form of a command to stop weeping.\n\nA great injustice is about to be reversed, a miscarriage of justice, something that should have never happened in Genesis 3, with all of its ramifications and all of its consequences is about to be reversed.\u00a0 So why would you go on and on and on weeping and mourning and wailing, acting as if this world in its current state will always be that way?\u00a0 Why is it that we have in the body of Christ so many sad faced things?\u00a0 Why are we so down all the time?\u00a0 Why are we so downtrodden all the time?\u00a0 Why aren\u2019t we the flaming optimist that we ought to be knowing who controls history.\u00a0 And people say well Andy, you don\u2019t understand, there\u2019s a culture war going on, we\u2019re losing the country.\u00a0 I hope we don\u2019t but at the end of the age so what?\u00a0 So what, we lose the country?\u00a0 Does that change my optimism for the future.\u00a0 I mean, is that where my hope is, in turning the United States around?\n\nThere is a great injustice that happened in Genesis 3 that\u2019s about to be reversed.\u00a0 And if you live your life with that perspective how could you ever be a gloom and doomer?\u00a0 People say you know, I just don\u2019t like the Book of Revelation, there\u2019s just so much gloom and doom in that book and I\u2019m thinking are we reading the same book?\u00a0 I mean it\u2019s the Book of Revelation that shows you how to be an optimist, how to look at life with all of its complexities and problems as just temporal.\u00a0 You chop off the Book of Revelation and you\u2019re stuck with knowledge, as Solomon called it in his waywardness, \u201cunder the sun.\u201d\u00a0 You have no perspective, you have no point of view and you\u2019re stuck with the nasty now and now.\n\nIf I could use this analogy perhaps we can think of it this way: we are people in Nazi Germany just before the allies invaded; that\u2019s where we are.\u00a0 We\u2019re living in depressing deplorable conditions under Satan\u2019s rod and rule but the allies are about to invade; the fortunes are about to be reversed, a miscarriage of justice is about to be corrected.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because this consolation leads to a manifestation, verses 5-6, there is someone literally to open the scroll.\u00a0 If it remains shut there is no hope.\u00a0 But we have someone, verses 5-6, who is worthy to open this scroll.\n\nTake a look if you could at verses 5 and 6, \u201cand one of the elders said to me, \u2018Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.\u201d\u00a0 Verse 6, \u201cAnd I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.\u201d\u00a0 We\u2019ve got someone here with credentials to open this scroll.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got someone from the right tribe, from the right lineage, with the right victory, with the right mission.\u00a0 Those four things have only come together in a single human being, the God-man, Jesus Christ.\n\nLook at these four credentials that Jesus has.\u00a0 Number one, the right tribe.\u00a0 He is the lion from the tribe of Judah. \u00a0You say well who cares?\u00a0 Well, when\u00a0 you go back to Genesis 49:10 you\u2019ll see one of the early Messianic predictions in the Bible that when the Messiah comes forth from the line of Israel he will come forth from the line of Judah.\u00a0 Genesis 49:10 says this, \u201cThe scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh\u201d peace, Messiah, \u201ccomes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.\u201d\n\nThink about what an astounding prediction that is.\u00a0 Israel hadn\u2019t even gone into the land yet. When that was given under Joshua, and it\u2019s a prediction that all the tribes looked for the Messiah to come forth from the lineage of Judah.\u00a0 This is why Jesus Christ is called \u201cthe lion of the tribe of Judah.\u201d\u00a0 There\u2019s somebody in human history that has fit the Messianic prediction and thus qualified to open the scroll which will redeem the earth from the devil\u2019s grasp.\n\nThe second piece of qualification or credentials that Jesus has is not just the right tribe but He is from the right lineage, having come from Revelation 5:5, \u201cthe root of David.\u201d\u00a0 [Revelation 5:5, \u201cand one of the elders said to me, \u2018Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.\u2019\u201d]\u00a0 This relates to the covenants that God gave to the nation of Israel: land, seed and blessing were promised to Israel.\u00a0 The seed is amplified in the covenant He gave to David.\u00a0 First God says there is coming one from Jesse, David\u2019s father.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c\u201cThen a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.\u201d\u00a0 [Isaiah 11:1]\u00a0 You go right through that chapter, Isaiah 11, it\u2019s obvious who this branch is talking about, it\u2019s talking about the Messiah.\u00a0 He\u2019s coming from Jesse\u2019s line.\n\nNow Jesse had a son named David, this Messiah must come from the line of David.\u00a0 2 Samuel 7:8, \u201cNow therefore, thus you shall say to My servant David, \u2018Thus says the LORD of hosts, \u2018I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel.\u201d\u00a0 Verse 16 of 2 Samuel 7, \u201cYour house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.\u201d\u00a0 David, I\u2019ve got news for you God says, there\u2019s coming one from your lineage who is going to bring in an eternal dynasty, a forever throne and we call this the Davidic Covenant.\n\nYou\u2019re on\u00a0 your one year reading program through the Bible, you get to Matthew chapter 1, verses 1-18, that long genealogy there and\u00a0 you\u2019re bored out of\u00a0 you mind because there\u2019s a bunch of names there that you can\u2019t even pronounce, and you wonder what all that\u2019s doing there.\u00a0 What it\u2019s doing there is it\u2019s establishing the credentials of Jesus Christ, first through David and ultimately back to Abraham through whom these covenants came into existence.\u00a0 I mean, Jesus has the right tribal identity and number two He\u2019s got the right genealogy.\u00a0 This is what is being used to correct John in\u00a0 his humanistic sorrow that he is experiencing here.\n\nBut Jesus Christ has something else going for Him, He\u2019s the right victor. He\u2019s already secured the right victory.\u00a0 Well what has He done?\u00a0 It\u2019s right there in verse 5, \u201cStop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome\u201d it\u2019s not just I hope He overcomes, I pray He overcomes, it\u2019s a done deal!\u00a0 It\u2019s already happened!\u00a0 Through what?\u00a0 Through what we just celebrated this morning at the Lord\u2019s Table, the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Those are historical facts.\u00a0\u00a0 Because that has been secured the victory itself has been secured.\u00a0 This is why Jesus in some of His final words to His disciples in the Upper Room, John 16:33 says, \u201cThese things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation,\u201d Amen! \u201cbut take courage;\u201d well why in the world should I take courage in the midst of tribulation?\u00a0 Because Jesus says, \u201cI have overcome the world.\u2019\u201d\n\nIn fact, that verb \u201covercome\u201d is nika\u014d<\/em>, where get the word Nike as in the shoe company.\u00a0 Athletic victory has already been secured because of our diligence?\u00a0 NO, because of what He\u2019s already done.\u00a0 He\u2019s already secured it.\u00a0 And if I\u2019m related to Him by way of faith that makes me an overcomer.\u00a0 I\u2019m not trying to overcome in the Christian life, that\u2019s not even my identity.\u00a0 I already am an overcomer, not because of any self-discipline or ingenuity, or talent on my own behalf; it\u2019s because of who I\u2019m related to and connected to.\n\n1 John 4:4 says, \u201cGreater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.\u201d\u00a0 You\u2019re living in the devil\u2019s world but you\u2019re already a victor.\u00a0 Do you understand why hell itself is waging war on your life?\u00a0 Because of who you are?\u00a0 You\u2019re a victor in a world that Satan is pulling downward because of who your connected to.\u00a0 In fact, if you really wanted to be technical about it the Book of Romans, chapter 8, verses 37 doesn\u2019t just say we are victors, nika\u014d<\/em>, it says we are huper nika\u014d<\/em>.\u00a0 What does that mean?\u00a0 An overwhelming victor!\u00a0 A super victor!\u00a0 So why don\u2019t you go out and start a shoe company and instead of calling Nike call it Super Nike, because that\u2019s what\u2019s being said here concerning us in Romans 8:37.\u00a0 [Romans 8:37, \u201cBut in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.\u201d]\n\nWell, pastor,\u00a0 you don\u2019t know what I\u2019m going through?\u00a0 I know this much, you\u2019re a super victor and if that\u2019s your identity you have all the grace all the resources necessary to handle whatever struggle you\u2019re in.\u00a0 \u201cGreater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.\u201d\u00a0 [John 4:4]\u00a0 And it\u2019s all possible because of what Jesus did.\u00a0 John, quit weeping, the scroll can be opened by someone who has (A) the right tribal identity, (B) the right lineage, (C) the right victory has already been secured.\n\nWell what about this last one here, the right mission?\u00a0 What does it say here in verse 6, He is the \u201cLamb.\u201d\u00a0 You\u2019ll notice how He\u2019s called the Lion, verse 5, but then in verse 6 He\u2019s called the Lamb.\u00a0 Lion\u2014second coming, Lamb\u2014first coming!\u00a0 Either way you\u2019re going to meet Jesus, you can either meet Him as your Savior or your Judge.\u00a0 You can meet Him as the Lion or you can meet Him as the Lamb. As for me and my house I\u2019m a path of least resistance type, I\u2019d much rather meet Him as my Savior and my Judge.\n\nBut notice what it says about His mission, verse 6 is what we just got finished celebrating a few moments ago with the Lord\u2019s Table, \u201cAnd I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain,\u201d he says in verse 6 \u201cas if slain having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.\u201d\u00a0 Not only is Jesus of the right tribe, not only is He the right lineage, not only has He secured the right victory but He has secured the right mission, being not just a coming Lion but the two thousand\u00a0 year old mission that He had of being the Lamb of God.\n\nYou know, for 1,500 years there was a sacrificial system that God brought into place through Moses; 1,500 years is a long time to have something in place and when God looked at that sacrificial system during the time of David, about a thousand\u00a0 years before Christ, God said in Psalm 40:6 I\u2019m not pleased with this.\u00a0 \u201cSacrifice and meal offering You have not desired; My ears You have opened; Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m not desiring this, I\u2019m not pleased with this even though God is the One that set it up.\u00a0 Why was it something that never fully pleased God?\u00a0 Because it never permanently fixed the problem because the next year,\u00a0 Yom Kippur, the same sacrifice would be offered.\u00a0 This went on year after year after year after year after year.\u00a0 Think of the repetition for one thousand five hundred years.\u00a0 The United States has only been in existence a little over two hundred years, think of one thousand five hundred years of a system that never fully pleased God.\n\nBut one day Jesus showed up, in John 1:29, \u201cThe next day he\u201d that\u2019s John the Baptist, \u201csaw Jesus coming to him and said, \"Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!\u201d\u00a0 There\u2019s an answer to one thousand five hundred years of repetition\u2014Christ.\u00a0 Christ is the One that this whole system foreshadowed, prefigured.\u00a0 But until Jesus shows up this displeasure with God continued on and on and on.\u00a0 And I find it very, very interesting, I don\u2019t know about you but I find it very interesting that when John is in heaven and he sees Jesus he looks at Him as if slain.\u00a0 In other words, if I\u2019m understanding this right John in heaven can see the wounds of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that what Jesus showed to Thomas in His resurrected body, doubting Thomas.\u00a0 Then He said to Thomas, \u2018Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.\u2019\u201d [John 20:27]\u00a0 That\u2019s Christ in the resurrected body, the wounds are still there.\n\nIs there certain wounds that the resurrection itself will not permanently heal?\u00a0 Not so much for us but for Him?\u00a0 Those wounds will always be there.\u00a0 They will always be physical, they will always be visible, they will always be tangible. Why is that?\u00a0 Because when\u00a0 you\u2019re in heave you figure out real fast that you\u2019re there because of what He did because you see the wounds in His body that secured it.\u00a0 If those wounds just sort of disappeared as all of our wounds will I might think there\u2019s be a tendency to forget.\u00a0 Doesn\u2019t God want us to remember what He\u2019s done?\u00a0 Didn\u2019t we just celebrate the Lord\u2019s Supper where He said, \u201cDo this in\u201d what? \u201cremembrance of Me.\u201d\u00a0 In eternity future you\u2019re never going to forget why you\u2019re there\u2014because of what He has done.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t get into this deal because I\u2019m such a great overcomer.\u00a0 I got into this deal because He overcame and He made me an overcome by way of my positional identity with Him.\u00a0 That\u2019s the lesson.\n\nWhat else does John see here as he\u2019s looking at the right mission?\u00a0 It says he has \u201cseven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.\u201d\u00a0 It also says \u201cseven horns,\u201d seven the number of perfection; horns would speak of power.\u00a0 The antichrist\u2019s kingdom is not portrayed, Daniel 7, as seven horns, three subdued out of ten.\u00a0 Jesus is the source of all power.\u00a0 It also describes it as the seven eyes, intelligence, awareness of what is always happening in its perfection.\u00a0 We somehow think we can pull the wool over Jesus\u2019 eyes and He\u2019s not aware of what\u2019s happening.\u00a0 He\u2019s aware of everything.\n\nAnd then it also talks about the seven spirits of God.\u00a0 Now we have studied the seven spirits in the Book of Revelation, I think it\u2019s the fullness of the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 I think it\u2019s a reference back to Isaiah 11:2, \u201cThe Spirit of the Lord will rest upon Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.\u201d\u00a0 Seven genitive expressions here describing the fullness of the Holy Spirit.\n\nSee here on the earth we can quench the Spirit, can\u2019t we, by returning to sin, 1 Thessalonians 5:19.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [\u201cDo not quench the Spirit;\u201d 1 Thessalonians 5:19]\u00a0 We can grieve the Spirit, can\u2019t we.\u00a0 Ephesians 4:30, by returning to sin.\u00a0 [Ephesians 4:30, \u201cDo not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.\u201d]\u00a0 We can, in our fallenness encumber or place an obstacle over the work that God wants to do through us.\u00a0 What a tragic thing when that happens.\u00a0 But in heaven I\u2019ll tell you this much, that can\u2019t be done.\u00a0 There is absolutely nothing which can derail the reclaiming of this earth from Satan\u2019s grasp because of the fullness of the Spirit.\u00a0 An observation, a question, an investigation, a lamentation, a constellation, a manifestation, there is someone that can open that scroll who\u2019s got the right four credentials: right tribe\u2014Judah; right lineage\u2014David, right victory\u2014He overcame, right mission\u2014He\u2019s the Lamb that permanently fixed\u00a0 the sin problem that the 1500 year Mosaic was never able to fix.\n\nAnd that leads, number seven, to a reception.\u00a0 Look at verse 7, here is where everything has been headed.\u00a0 \u201cAnd He\u201d who\u2019s that?\u00a0 The Lamb, \u201ccame and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.\u201d\u00a0 [Revelation 5:7]\u00a0 Jesus now comes and takes something that no one above the earth, in the earth or under the earth is qualified to open, He\u2019s qualified to open it and He just comes and takes it.\n\nWhat does that mean?\u00a0 It means once this book is in His hand He\u2019s going to start opening it up progressively and as He\u2019s opening it up progressively seven judgments are hitting the earth.\u00a0 Judgment seven will unleash the next set of judgments, called the trumpets.\u00a0 The seventh trumpet will unleash the next set of judgments called the golden bowls of wrath, all describing great detail in the Book of Revelation which we\u2019re going to be seeing.\u00a0 And as these judgments are being released Satan\u2019s authority over this earth is being gradually taken away through a process that lasts seven years.\u00a0 It\u2019s sort of like the judgments that hit Egypt in the days of Moses; every time a judgment hit, there\u2019s ten plagues, Pharaoh\u2019s resolve to continue to hold Israel in bondage got weaker and weaker and weaker and weaker until finally he let them go with plague ten.\u00a0 That\u2019s what\u2019s happening with Satan.\n\nAnd what gets the ball rolling?\u00a0 What starts the whole process of a chain of events that can\u2019t be stopped\u00a0 once this seven sealed scroll is opening if someone\u2019s qualified to open it in the first place\u2026 Jesus Christ.\u00a0 That\u2019s why we know and why John is comforted that the current state of the world is just temporary.\u00a0 That should make flaming optimists, shouldn\u2019t\u00a0 it?\u00a0 Once this happens and this reception takes place, once Jesus receives the scroll we know beyond the category of the doubt, any doubt, that Satan\u2019s days are limited.\u00a0 That\u2019s why it says in Revelation 12:12 concerning Satan, \u201cknowing that he has only a short time.\u201c\u00a0 [Revelation 12:12, [\u201cFor this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.\u201d]\n\nThis is why you go to church after church after church after church and they won\u2019t teach the Book of Revelation.\u00a0 And pastors have been deceived into thinking that if they teach the Book of Revelation they\u2019re going to divide the church, the church is not going to grow, they\u2019re going to scare people.\u00a0\u00a0 And this is why ever since Augustine in the fourth century the Book of Revelation has been so symbolized and allegorized and deliteralized that no one thinks they can understand what it means.\n\nWhat do you think is causing all these things?\u00a0 I mean if the Book of Revelation revealed your future the way it reveals Satan\u2019s future would you want it taught?\u00a0 Would you want it proclaimed?\u00a0 Of course you wouldn\u2019t.\u00a0 That\u2019s why the Book of Revelation continues to be a sealed book\u2026 tragically!\u00a0 That\u2019s why even the great John Calvin wrote commentaries on virtually every New Testament book except the Book of Revelation, probably because he didn\u2019t think the Book of Revelation could be understood.\u00a0 This is why the great Martin Luther thought that the Book of Revelation didn\u2019t even belong in the Canon of Scripture.\u00a0 There has always been a satanic and spiritual assault and attack on this book.\u00a0 That\u2019s why everybody today that\u2019s popular that teaches it is portrayed as a date setting fanatic, because Satan would have you to study anything other than this book which secures and reveals his doom and takes the Christian life and turns it into the optimistic joy filled life that God has for us.\n\nSatan\u2019s days are numbered, the earth is going to be liberated and what do you think would happen as a result of this?\u00a0 There\u2019s a reaction in heaven, verses 8-14, and explosion of worship like you\u2019ve never seen it before.\u00a0 And in fact, those that worship are portrayed just like they\u2019re portrayed in the investigation as being in the earth, on the earth, above the earth.\u00a0 It\u2019s sort of like, the verse that came to my mind as I was trying to prepare this sermon, it\u2019s sort of like the manifestation of Jesus Christ at the triumphal entry in His first coming.\n\nIt says in Luke 19:39-40, \u201cBut some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, \u2018Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!\u201d\u2019 Shut these people up Jesus.\u00a0 But Jesus answered,\u00a0 [40] \u201cI tell you,\u2019 He answered, \u201cif they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.\u201d \u00a0This is what happens with this reaction, verses 8-14.\u00a0 It\u2019s almost as if this has been bottled up for so long that now that the victory is obvious how can you restrain worship?\u00a0 You can\u2019t.\u00a0 You can\u2019t restrain it; it explodes all over the pages in this chapter, verses 8-14.\n\nAnd you say well, can you tell us a little bit about that scene of worship?\u00a0 Well, you\u2019ll have to come back next week to find out about it because we\u2019re out of time.\u00a0 I hope this much, I hope worship to you is not just another Christian ritual.\u00a0 May God help us and deliver us from another meaningless church event.\u00a0 May we approach worship with this type of expectation, knowing that the victory is secure and the liberation of planet earth is just a matter of time.\u00a0 The more important question of course is are you on the right side of history because as God is my witness if you don\u2019t know Christ personally you\u2019re on the wrong side; you\u2019re on the losing side that\u2019s going down.\u00a0 And what a tremendous thing it is to reverse your fortunes, just like this earth\u2019s fortunes will be reversed simply by trusting in what Jesus did.\u00a0 Jesus, His final words on the cross were \u201cIt is\u201d what? \u201cfinished!\u201d\n\nThere\u2019s nothing else for you to do other than receive it as a gift.\u00a0 You can receive it as a gift right now in the quietness of your own mind, in the quietness of your own heart, the quietness of\u00a0 your own thoughts and you place your confidence exclusively in Jesus Christ.\u00a0 You can do it even as I\u2019m talking, it\u2019s not something you have to raise a hand to do, join a church to do, give money to do, it\u2019s a matter\u00a0 of privacy between you and the Lord where you receive as a gift what He has done and that changes you identity into not just a nacho<\/em> but a hupernacho<\/em>.\u00a0 If it\u2019s something you need more explanation non I\u2019m available after the service to talk.\n\nShall we pray.\u00a0 Father, we\u2019re grateful for this turning point in history and the Book of Revelation.\u00a0 Help us to live our lives knowing that the victory is secure.\u00a0 Move us from being sad-faced joyless saints into being the flaming optimist that You would have for us and want us to be. We\u2019ll be careful to give You all the praise and the glory.\u00a0 We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name, and God\u2019s people said\u2026. Amen.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t