Sunday’s Sermons

Text: Revelation 5                                                           3/23/08 a.m.

Thesis: Worship Christ because he is the conqueror, perfect sacrifice, and worthy.  

 

Intro: It’s Easter Sunday; that’s why you’re here. So, let me ask you an obvious question, Does Easter matter to you?

Dad gum right it matters, some of you are thinking because 1 Corinthians 15 says if Jesus didn’t rise from the grave, if Easter didn’t happen then we are still in our sins and most to be pitied.

But further on in 1 Corinthians 15 we read, “If the dead are not raised, ‘Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die’” (v32).

If Easter didn’t happen then live normal lives. If Easter didn’t happen just go to school, get a job, get married, raise kids, keep your nose clean, retire, and die a happy camper.

My goal this morning is to show you why Easter matters for every day of life. I hope to show you that Easter is about understanding Christ and worshipping Him.

Turn with me in your bibles to Revelation chapter 5. You can use the pew bible beside the hymnals and turn to the last book of the bible, Revelation chapter 5.

I hope to give you even more reason to worship Christ by giving you an even greater appreciation for Easter.

 

Read Revelation 5

 

I’m going to give you 3 reasons to worship Christ. First, worship Christ because he is the conqueror. Second, worship Christ because he is the perfect sacrifice. And third, worship Christ because he is worthy.

I) Christ is worthy because he is the conqueror (vs. 1-5)

a)      Revelation is the record of the end of history as we know it.

i)        We are somewhat walking into the movie after the opening scene so let me explain a little bit.

ii)      Revelation chapters 4 and 5 play out in the awesome throne room of the almighty infinitely holy God.

iii)    In God’s hand is a scroll. But this isn’t just any scroll or any book off the library of heaven’s shelves.

iv)    This scroll is the unfolding of or completion of history.

v)      The details are exhaustive covering front and back and when the seals are broken things start to happen.

vi)    So the angel calls out for an opener, no one answers, and John weeps. He’s not torn up because he wants to know the rest of the story John’s torn up because he wants history to come to its appointed completion.

vii)  But no one is found worthy to make history take the next step. Is God going to be frustrated? Will his plans be stopped?

b)      Enter the conquering King

i)        Read verse 5

ii)      Suck it up John and look, here is the Lion of Judah, the root of David. Because he has overcome all things, because he has conquered his enemies he is worthy.

iii)    The Lion of Judah is a title that is full of images of power. The phrase comes from the book of Genesis chapter 49 verses 9 and 10 which say,

iv)    Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my sons, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

v)      The Root of David is another kingly and powerful title.

vi)    Isaiah 11:1&2 say, “there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.”

vii)  This one who is majestic and strong, this one who is the greatest king has defeated every one. He’s like a lion who has just finished his kill.

viii)            Think about it, this conquering king is the king who has overcome all obstacles to his reign and defeated every enemy who seeks his throne of power.

ix)    Precisely because Jesus is the highest and the strongest he is worthy to open the scroll, break it’s seals, and usher in the final chapter of God’s plan.

x)      The conquering Jesus is the central player from eternity past to eternity future.

xi)    Jesus has always been the most important (Eph 1:10)

xii)  The One who was, is, and is to come is the focus of all things then, now, and forever more.

xiii)            His centrality is proven by his strength which leads him to conquer his enemies.

xiv)            His centrality is proven by his purity which leads him to open the scroll.

xv)  Why do we worship Christ today? Why will we worship him for all eternity? Because he is the victorious warrior. Nothing, no one is greater.

xvi)            Now I want us to shift our focus from the fact that Jesus is the conqueror to how Jesus conquered. This will give us our second reason to worship

II) Worship Christ because he is the perfect sacrifice (vs. 6-10)

a)      In verses 6-10 John now sees a lamb

i)        With an introduction like the one we just saw we would expect a more majestic person to appear.

ii)      Possibly The Duke, Conan the Barbarian, Superman, Indian Jones, Jack Bower, or some other character whose power and leadership are obvious.

iii)    We certainly do not expect to see a Lamb standing as though it had been slain. The hero doesn’t die.

iv)    The hero comes in and destroys all his enemies and sets up his rule and authority over the whole town, nation, or world.

v)      And Jesus could have done that; he certainly has the power and ability to destroy all his enemies.

vi)    The image painted for us in Revelation is symbolic.

vii)  The seven horns, eyes, and spirits are not meant to be taken literally in the same way that when we get to heaven we won’t recognize Jesus because he’ll be the woolly guy munching grass by God’s throne.

viii)  These are pictures painted for us of who Jesus is. The horns represent perfect power. The eyes represent perfect wisdom. The spirits demonstrate the perfect presence of the Holy Spirit throughout the earth.

ix)      No one, no thing, no enemy is able to overthrow God.

x)      But think about this, who is God’s enemy?

xi)    God’s enemy is any person who attempts to throw off God’s loving rule and live life ‘my own way’.

xii)  Every sinner is God’s enemy. From Satan to every one of us in this room we are God’s enemies.

xiii)            Ephesians 2:3 tells us that we are all born God’s enemies, we are “by nature children of wrath”

xiv)            Romans 3:10-12 says, “there is no one righteous, no not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

xv)  Romans 6:23 says, “the wages of sin is death”

xvi)            Suddenly we realize we don’t want this conquering king to come in and destroy his enemies because we are his enemies.

xvii)          Back to the throne room of Revelation 5.

xviii)        This Lamb standing center stage still bearing the marks of death walks to the throne and takes the scroll from the hand of the Father.

xix)            When he does worship erupts in heaven because they know the fullness of time, the completion of world history is now happening and they begin singing.

xx)  Here’s what they sing (read verses 9&10)

b)      Jesus is worthy because he conquered by dying

i)        This lamb was slain. Jesus is the Passover Lamb.

ii)      When the people of God were slaves in Egypt thousands of years ago God sent the angel of death.

iii)    Protection was given to those who sacrificed a lamb and covered the doors of their homes with his blood.

iv)    The Passover Lamb died in their place.

v)      The enemies of God stood on their own and died.

vi)    In Revelation 5 Jesus, the lamb standing as though it had been slain died in your place.

vii)  Isaiah 53:5&6 say, “He was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. 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.”

viii)            Again we have the idea of going our own way. Every one of us has become God’s enemy because we’ve told God to take a hike while we do our own thing living normal lives.

ix)    In order to take away that iniquity the price must be paid, so God takes our sin and puts it on Jesus.

x)      A ransom is the price of purchasing a slave. It’s the amount a person pays in order to own another individual.

Romans 6:22 says, “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.^”

xi)     Jesus did not die on the cross, endure 3 days in the grave, and rise again so that you could do whatever you wanted with your life.

xii)  Easter is not about living a normal life. Easter is about Jesus dying our deaths and giving us his life.

xiii)            Easter is about being transformed from a rag tag band of God’s enemies worthy of death into a kingdom and priests to our God able now to reign on the earth.

xiv)            A kingdom is a place ruled by a king. No longer are we bound to live life following our foolish sinful desires.

xv)  Now we are freed to live life following our loving King and his infinitely good desires.

xvi)            No longer are we kept away from God’s presence because of our sin but now we have been made priests.

xvii)          We have been made into the very people who live in God’s presence.

xviii)        We are no longer enemies of the conquering king because of what he has done we now rule with him.

xix)            And how does all this come about? Is it because we did something great or small? Not at all, a mighty king gives his life for his enemies.  The perfect lamb is slain as a sacrifice for sinful people namely me and you.

xx)  Jesus paid our debt in full.

xxi)            But he didn’t stay dead proving forevermore that he is the majestic lion and king of all kings.

xxii)          He isn’t lying on an altar or rotting in a tomb. He’s standing in the very presence of God.

xxiii)        Worship Christ the perfect sacrifice for our salvation. And third,

III) Worship Christ because he is worthy of worship (vs. 11-14)

a)      This is where I hope to make Easter immensely practical because many of us here would agree that no one is stronger than Jesus and he died for our sins but we don’t live like he’s worthy of worship.

i)        And living like he’s worthy of worship is what makes us Christians. (Read verses 11-14)

ii)      This is the proper response of everyone who trusts in Jesus Christ for salvation.

iii)    This is the only right reaction from all of us who believe Jesus Christ has saved us.

iv)    It’s not that we live in a perpetual sing-a-long. It’s living every day pursuing a greater reliance on Jesus Christ who is these things.

v)      You recognize Jesus is these things and you strive to know Him and live like Him.

vi)    It is not that we give this list of things to Jesus or that he lacks these things. We are to recognize these things and worship Him.

b)      He is worthy of power

i)         The emphasis here is on the fact that Jesus is able.

ii)      Philippians 4:13 is about Easter, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

iii)    I am able to be reconciled with God though my sins are many and my guilt is great.

iv)    I am able to be reconciled with my wife though I’m addicted to porn or had an affair.

v)      I am able to forgive that person who abused me or took advantage of me. Jesus is full of power.

c)      He is all sufficient

i)        This wealth is not a call to make Jesus your choice and you’ll drive a Rolls Royce.

ii)      Ephesians 1:3 says that God “has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.”

iii)    Easter says, “Jesus will provide all that I need and he will give me enduring joy even in difficulty.”

iv)    Trust Him. He will make you the husband your wife needs, the father your kids need, and the man this world needs.

d)     He is wisdom

i)        The cross says to us, “look what a horrible mess you’ve made.” Easter says, “look at the wisdom of God and the wonderful things He can do. Christ is alive!

ii)      We must trust the wisdom of Christ to guide our daily lives. Believing in Jesus means we believe Jesus knows what he’s talking about so we go about bringing our lives in accordance with God’s Word.

iii)    When we seek to do things God’s way then we are trusting in Jesus. That’s our goal.

e)      He is mighty

i)        Earlier, power emphasized that Jesus is able to do all things. Might emphasizes that Jesus is strong enough.

ii)      Plutonium by it’s self is a store house of capable energy. Put that plutonium in a nuclear reactor and it unleashes all of it’s might.

iii)    That’s what the bible through faithful preaching and the Holy Spirit’s guidance is meant to do in your life; unleash the power of God to obey and serve with all joy.

f)       He is worthy of honor

i)        Because Jesus is the conquering king and perfect sacrifice we are to honor him by giving him priority in our lives.

ii)      Where is the daily pursuit of a life that honors this infinite Savior? Where is every day Easter?

g)      He is worthy of glory

i)        Robert Thomas wrote, “[Glory] is the higher term, [meaning] ‘divine and heavenly radiance,’ the loftiness and majesty of God and even the being of God” (406).

ii)      Is there a weightiness to your understanding of God or is he just the man upstairs?

iii)    Do you see the glory of Christ such that you work to help your wife, your kids, your neighbors, and your coworkers experience this same all-satisfying glorious truth of Christ?

iv)    We tell others about what we think is glorious? Do you tell others about Jesus?

h)      Lastly, He is worthy of blessing

i)        Jesus is worthy of a thankful response for benefits received (Thomas, 406).

ii)      Those who truly believe, those who rightly understand Easter are thankful people.

IV) Here’s our closing question: Do we have to have these things in perfect quantity in order to be Christians?

a)      Thankfully the answer is no. The only person who has these qualities in perfect quantity is Jesus and none of us here are Jesus.

b)      What the Christian does is daily seek Christ for change.

c)      Repentance is realizing I’m not where I need to be in these areas, trusting Christ to cover that sin, and seeking his power to make tomorrow different.

d)     But some say, “I’m incapable of these things I will be lost forever.”

e)      And the glory of the gospel is the response, “No, you will not be lost for ever.”

f)       Go back 2000 years to a cross and on it hangs Jesus Christ and on his shoulders rests your sin. The cross happened precisely because we are all incapable of doing what God demands.

g)      Go back 2000 years to a tomb where the fullness of God’s wrath against sin was poured out crushing his son and causing his death. Rejoice because there is no wrath for you.

h)      And go back 2000 years to the very first Easter and you will find a conquering King who has risen from the grave.

i)        You will find a lamb no longer slain by your sin but standing ready to give you new life and bring about the completion of history.

j)        This morning He is demanding your life. Come to him, submit to him, and place his yoke upon your back, and you will live as a part of the kingdom, a priest to God, reigning with Christ.

k)      Or you can keep on living normally, pay the bills, keep your nose clean, and spend eternity in hell.

l)        Make this Easter different. Repent of your sins toward God, place your faith in Christ, and you will be saved.

m)    Like Christ, you will spring from the tomb the recipient of new life. Join a church like this one that is devoted to Christ and raising up men, women, youth, and children to follow Christ.

n)      Will you trust Him today? Will you become a Christian today? If you have questions I’ll be here as we sing and at the back door when we’re done.