1 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:08,119 This is Living Waters of Grace, the teaching ministry of Clark 2 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:12,240 Wofford, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland, 3 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:16,400 County of Greensburg, PA. Now here's Pastor Clark as he 4 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:18,760 continues teaching through God's Word. 5 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:40,960 That he's pictured in tight and the Old Testament is a Passover 6 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:43,920 lamb. That he is the true Lamb of God 7 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:49,560 that has the ability to take away the sins of the world. 8 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:54,960 Well, John is giving us a picture as though it had been 9 00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:59,520 slain, and he's describing what he's seeing in this this vision. 10 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:04,920 And the lion is referring to the one who judges as sins of the 11 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:07,840 ungodly, the lion of the tribe of Judah. 12 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:12,760 Stop and think about a lamb. They are furry, fairly docile 13 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:15,120 and approachable. Have you ever heard of a lamb 14 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:18,360 attack? No, lambs are harmless 15 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:20,640 creatures. As we just heard from Pastor 16 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:26,480 Clark, Jesus is described as the Lamb, the Lamb of God. 17 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:29,520 Why would God describe His Son this way? 18 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:33,760 You'll learn today that Jesus is described as the Lamb of God 19 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:37,160 because he is directly correlated to the Passover lamb 20 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:41,120 that was sacrificed for the Jewish people just before the 21 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:45,480 exodus from the land of Egypt. Now here's Pastor Clark in the 22 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:49,400 Book of Revelation Chapter 5 with today's edition of Living 23 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:52,720 Waters of Grace. They represent his government 24 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:54,560 over the four corners of the Earth. 25 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:58,640 The first one is referred to one who looks like a lion, 26 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:02,520 representing one who has majesty and authority and power. 27 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:06,480 We think of Jesus being the lion from the tribe of Judah. 28 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:11,480 We see the second creature is described as a young bull or 29 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:17,240 like an ox, meaning someone who is a servant and we know Jesus 30 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:21,960 Christ is a servant to all. The third one is has a face of a 31 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:25,480 man that represents intelligence and moral choice and 32 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:28,720 responsibility. We know that God Himself became 33 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:33,280 man and dwelt among us, and so the picture of the humanity of 34 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:37,200 our Savior being fully God and fully man, and the fourth 35 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:41,560 creature is symbolized as looking as a flying eagle, 36 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:45,400 representing the majesty and the swiftness and the transcendence 37 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:48,160 of our God. I love that verse in Isaiah that 38 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:51,000 says that those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their 39 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:53,520 strength. They shall mount up with wings 40 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,600 like eagles. They shall run and not be weary, 41 00:02:56,600 --> 00:02:59,040 and they shall walk and not faint. 42 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:01,120 And boy, don't we need that at times, huh? 43 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:05,720 We get weighed down in life, the struggles, the difficulty, and 44 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:07,480 to be able to wait upon the Lord. 45 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:11,160 And He promises us if we wait upon Him, He will renew our 46 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:14,720 strength. And I know I need that all the 47 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:17,560 time. And this vision that John is 48 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:20,920 receiving is pretty much the same kind of vision that Isaiah 49 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:28,320 saw in chapter 6 of the book of Isaiah when he was standing 50 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:30,920 before the throne of God. And he had the vision and heard 51 00:03:30,920 --> 00:03:33,800 the voices of the cherifim and the seraphim. 52 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:38,760 Holy, holy, holy art thou, O God, who was and is and is to 53 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:41,760 come. This is a picture of worship 54 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:45,480 again of the throne of God. As we speak. 55 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:51,600 There is continual worship. The worship is never over and 56 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:56,640 the creatures are always ascribing to the Lord his honor. 57 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:01,240 Do holy, holy, holy art thou, O God. 58 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:05,280 Whenever I look at this and I'm at a different stage in my life, 59 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:09,480 when I would read this when I was a fairly new believer, I 60 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:12,240 would sort of say, well, that sort of sounds nice, but is that 61 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:14,360 all they do up there? I mean, when they get boring 62 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:17,640 after a while, I mean, just like, what else do you do? 63 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:21,279 Well, I'm sure there's a lot of things we do the scriptures, you 64 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:26,000 know, there's, there's so many things that are not yet in this 65 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:27,600 book. The Bible says all the things 66 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:32,040 that Jesus both spoke about and did, all the books in the world 67 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:36,360 could not fill everything that He had actually accomplished. 68 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:43,200 But in regard to worship for me at this stage of my life, I want 69 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:45,560 Christ more than ever in my life. 70 00:04:46,280 --> 00:04:51,560 And I found in my own heart that He's enough to satisfy me. 71 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:57,400 There's nothing else I long for in earth or in heaven but the 72 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:00,080 Lord. And so in my own mind, at the 73 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:02,800 stage I'm at my life, to me this is bliss. 74 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:07,000 This being in the presence of God and worshipping Him, it 75 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:09,520 just, it satisfies the deepest longings in my heart. 76 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:18,920 No distraction or no temptation or no other thought would come 77 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:21,480 near. No other experience would come 78 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:26,120 close to experiencing this kind of presence right with God. 79 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:29,000 And I trust that as we study this book, that Christ will 80 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:33,760 become your All in all that as you are being taught of him and 81 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:36,920 as you're being drawn closer to him, that he fulfills your heart 82 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:39,800 in a way that nothing or nobody else can. 83 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:43,760 And because it's that's what it's going to be all about. 84 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:47,120 And those of us I think that come to understand that in a 85 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:50,360 deeper way on this side of heaven, we'll be able to be 86 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:54,800 prepared to receive the richness of this experience when we see 87 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:57,680 it face to face, as opposed to going and saying, what are they 88 00:05:57,680 --> 00:05:59,760 doing? Can you explain why are they 89 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:02,400 doing that? Well, go back in the Book of 90 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:03,680 Revelation. This is what's going on. 91 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:05,960 I mean, we're going to continually learn in the in the 92 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:07,400 in the heavens. You know, it isn't like we're 93 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:10,200 going to get there and we don't need to learn anymore. 94 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:13,800 It tells us in Ephesians that in the ages that come, He will 95 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:18,640 reveal his riches and his glory and His kindness to us in Christ 96 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:20,760 Jesus. And so as we see these 97 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:24,800 creatures, keep in mind that heaven is full of all kind of 98 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:30,080 experiences and a different type of manifestations of things that 99 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:32,520 God has created. Specifically in the heavenly 100 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:36,880 realm of that first sphere where they, Sarah from a cherub, from 101 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:40,680 standing, give watch to the throne of God, angels, 102 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:44,760 archangels, Sarah from cherubim. And what's happening here? 103 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:47,840 This is the prelude to the tribulation, judgment, the 104 00:06:47,840 --> 00:06:51,760 celebration, the worship, the glory of God, the excitement, 105 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:54,880 the anticipation that's happening right now is that 106 00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:59,440 they're on the edge of God, finally bringing justice upon 107 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:01,680 the earth, upon the evilness of this earth. 108 00:07:02,280 --> 00:07:07,760 David says, why do the wicked rage and the people imagine vain 109 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:09,280 things? Why is it that the wicked 110 00:07:09,280 --> 00:07:11,520 prosper? I'm sure you think in your own 111 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:16,120 life, people that have done bad things to you in in your life, 112 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:20,280 why do they get away with it? Why is there seeming no justice? 113 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:21,960 But one day there will be justice. 114 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:25,800 And one day God's anger in his wrath is going to come down upon 115 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,840 the ungodly people upon the face of the earth. 116 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:32,720 And even then, his love will still be manifest because that 117 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:36,320 judgement, even though it's a judgment that's due, it's a 118 00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:40,080 judgment that will cause many to realize Jesus is who He said He 119 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:42,560 was. I remember all those people that 120 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:45,360 would tell me about him, and they're no longer here that have 121 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:48,960 been raptured or taken out. I know now that what they told 122 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:52,440 me was true. And I need this Savior as well. 123 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:56,320 And so His holy judgment is about to be unleashed. 124 00:07:56,320 --> 00:07:58,920 And we'll get into that next week in chapter 6. 125 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:03,600 As we look in the verse nine now, it says these living 126 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:05,920 creatures, they give glory and honor. 127 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:09,560 And we see in this picture the attributes of God being 128 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:13,400 magnified. In verse 9, it tells us that the 129 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:17,200 one who sits on the throne, he lives forever and ever. 130 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:20,560 God is an eternal being. There is no beginning or ending 131 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:23,080 with God. He's the Alpha and Omega, the 132 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:25,400 1st and the last, the beginning and the end. 133 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:30,960 And verse 11 it says He is worthy, the worthy one. 134 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:34,919 His worthiness to receive glory, honor and power. 135 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:36,919 That's something we need to learn, isn't it? 136 00:08:36,919 --> 00:08:40,880 More about that. Our prayers before God and our 137 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:45,320 offerings to Him. He deserves our worship and so 138 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:48,400 often our prayers are, Lord, I need this, help me with this. 139 00:08:48,560 --> 00:08:50,880 This isn't going right. I'm not happy with this. 140 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:53,680 And we our prayers many times are complaints and 141 00:08:53,680 --> 00:08:56,720 unthankfulness to God, wanting him to to do all kinds of 142 00:08:56,720 --> 00:08:59,040 things. But can we learn to just give 143 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:03,040 him glory and worship him and give him honor and give him 144 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:05,760 praise. Think about your prayer life 145 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:07,720 this week when you sit before the Lord. 146 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:11,800 How much of your time is this praising Him and thanking Him 147 00:09:12,160 --> 00:09:14,360 and honoring Him and glorifying Him? 148 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:19,760 And then verse 11 it says that He has created all things. 149 00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:23,760 This is a good proof text for those who are trying to cram 150 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:28,680 evolution down your throat. Just smile and say, well, it 151 00:09:28,680 --> 00:09:31,600 says here that God creates all things. 152 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:36,920 They just didn't happen. God has made these things and He 153 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:41,200 has brought all this to pass and He does this, it says for His 154 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:43,400 pleasure. These are created. 155 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:46,680 And it isn't like this ego selfish type concept. 156 00:09:46,680 --> 00:09:49,560 It means for his desire they were created. 157 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:53,280 You know, God has created everything on the earth to bless 158 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:55,880 us. Everything He's made, everything 159 00:09:55,880 --> 00:10:00,200 He's designed was with the intention of blowing our minds 160 00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:03,520 and blessing us and this being good to us. 161 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:06,880 Think about that when you see a beautiful sunset or you see the 162 00:10:06,880 --> 00:10:10,080 blossoms of the spring come this don't say, well, this is just a 163 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:12,120 cycle. Again, it happens every year, 164 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:16,200 spring, summer, winter and fall. No, God rejoices in the 165 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:19,920 daffodils and the lilies and all the flowers in the bloom. 166 00:10:19,920 --> 00:10:24,120 It magnifies Him and gives him glory, but it also regenerates 167 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:27,040 us, doesn't it? It makes us alive and it 168 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:30,600 strengthens us. And so again, God does these 169 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:35,440 things for various purposes. And I think of that song, Open 170 00:10:35,440 --> 00:10:39,240 the eyes of my heart, Lord. We need the Lord to open our 171 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:41,960 eyes that we may know how to worship Him. 172 00:10:42,560 --> 00:10:46,200 I know I need to learn a lot about what that means to worship 173 00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:49,960 Him. Worship is a selfless act, isn't 174 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:52,480 it? Worship is all about being 175 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:57,040 totally empty of our own interests and our own desires 176 00:10:57,520 --> 00:11:01,000 and our our thoughts and our intentions are only upon the 177 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:03,080 Lord. It's important that our hearts 178 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:08,120 are empty of our self will when we come to worship God so that 179 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:10,800 our focus and our attention can be on Him. 180 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:13,320 And boy, what a day that's going to be when we are in the heavens 181 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:16,200 and I can worship and I don't have to think about Monday 182 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:18,280 morning anymore. You know what's going to happen 183 00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:21,760 Monday morning with my job or my boss or the trials and the 184 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:24,920 struggles of life? It won't be like that anymore. 185 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:27,440 What a freedom it'll be. It'll be like a eternal 186 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:29,960 vacation, won't it? It's going to be awesome. 187 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:33,520 And in verse 10, it says that the four and 20 elders, they 188 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:36,240 cast their crowns before the throne. 189 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:39,600 And there's different types of crowns we see in the Scriptures. 190 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:42,360 James 112 talks about the crown of life. 191 00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:45,160 It's for those who endure temptation. 192 00:11:45,680 --> 00:11:49,960 And Jesus says that those who love him will receive this 193 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:52,080 crown. You know, when temptation comes 194 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:56,360 our way, we have one or two choices and and God doesn't let 195 00:11:56,360 --> 00:11:59,600 us get tempted. He he permits the temptation, 196 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:01,360 but he doesn't cause the temptation. 197 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:04,280 The Bible says when we're tempted, we're drawn away by our 198 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:06,920 own lusts. And while lust is birth, it 199 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:09,680 brings forth evil. So no one can say they've been 200 00:12:09,680 --> 00:12:12,440 tempted by God. But the interesting thing about 201 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:16,360 temptation is that there's never a temptation that's set up, so 202 00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:18,440 to speak, by the evil one that you're going to look and say, oh 203 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:19,960 man, that's horrible. Who would want that? 204 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:23,280 The temptation is always going to be the most alluring, most 205 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:28,160 exciting, most dynamic type of possibility that you could ever 206 00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:30,160 fathom. It's a temptation. 207 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:33,840 It's called temptation because it wants to draw you to itself 208 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:36,680 and draw you away from the Lord. Well, the beauty of you 209 00:12:36,680 --> 00:12:41,160 resisting temptation by the grace of God, every time you 210 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:45,280 guys resist temptation, you're saying and proving that you love 211 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:47,920 God. The crown is given to those who 212 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:50,640 endure temptation because they love him. 213 00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:53,040 So how can we prove that we love God? 214 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:55,880 Resist temptation. Every time you give in to 215 00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:59,280 temptation, you're basically saying I don't love you God. 216 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:03,320 I want this more than you was taught to me many years ago. 217 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:05,520 And every time I'm tempted, I think of that. 218 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:09,240 If I give into the temptation, I'm not loving God. 219 00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:15,280 But if I resist the temptation, God knows that I love him. 220 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:19,680 The crown of righteousness And Second Timothy 48, this is for 221 00:13:19,680 --> 00:13:21,320 all those who love his appearing. 222 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:24,400 So that's a crown that you're all going to have because if 223 00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:26,840 you're really a Christian, you're, you're looking forward 224 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:30,240 to his appearing. You're you're you're excited 225 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:32,760 about it. The next crown is a clown of 226 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:36,840 crown of glory. First Peter 54 it fadeth not 227 00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:40,160 away. It's again given to those who 228 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:44,360 are excited about his appearing. And then first Thessalonians 219 229 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:47,720 talks about the crown of rejoicing and that's for those 230 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:50,920 who have lived their life for the purpose of reaching others, 231 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:54,440 winning people to Christ, telling people the gospel, 232 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:56,560 seeing people come into the Kingdom. 233 00:13:56,880 --> 00:14:01,160 Those we reached for Jesus Christ who now stand in the 234 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:04,720 presence of God with us. And then the last crown is the 235 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:09,080 crown of life again, similar to the first one I described. 236 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:12,200 And this is given to the martyrs and we'll read about this. 237 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:14,800 We already read about it in the second chapter of Revelation. 238 00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:18,480 These people have been faithful to death. 239 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:21,600 And you think about all those who have given our lives for the 240 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:26,720 gospel and history of the church that died horrendous deaths, 241 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:31,160 burned at the stake and horrible things happening to them 242 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:33,920 physically. And they didn't renounce their 243 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:36,560 faith in Jesus Christ. They were faithful to death. 244 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:41,480 The Bible says precious in the sight of the Lord is the death 245 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:43,880 of his Saints. And we'll get to cast these 246 00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:47,200 crowns at the feet of Jesus Christ, just like the elders. 247 00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:50,480 And when we go through the judgment seat, which is a 248 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:53,800 judgment for believers, our works are going to be tried as, 249 00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:57,320 oh, by fire. Gold, silver, precious stone or 250 00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:00,600 wood, hay and stubble. If you died today and your life 251 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:06,160 would go through that fire, what would be left of your work on 252 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:09,560 earth, would it? This burn up like man? 253 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:11,960 There's nothing there. It says there will be some saved 254 00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:16,240 as oh, by fire, meaning by the skin of their teeth, and then 255 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:19,440 there'll be others that out of their life will flow gold, 256 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:23,480 silver, and precious stone, and have a big pile of stuff that 257 00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:28,600 you can take and lay at the feet of Christ and cast at his feet. 258 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:32,320 I'll tell you, the Bible says that there will be some who will 259 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:35,960 suffer loss in Jesus. It says in Revelation, we'll 260 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:38,760 wipe away all the tears that people will have. 261 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:42,200 There'll be a lot of heartache and heartbreak at that judgment 262 00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:45,280 because we'll say, oh, if I would have known how glorious 263 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:50,080 this was and how real it truly is, I would have lived my life 264 00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:53,680 so differently. But May God give us grace this 265 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:58,200 morning to sit here not thinking just about words, but may these 266 00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:02,560 words penetrate our heart to wake us up to the reality of 267 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:06,600 what lay lies ahead for those who belong to the Lord. 268 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:10,760 And in chapter 5 we see it says, I saw on the right hand of him 269 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:14,920 who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back 270 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:20,040 sealed with 7 seals. This scroll was written on both 271 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:21,840 sides. There's seven seals. 272 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:28,480 The Romans whenever they had a document in regard to a deed of 273 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:34,040 title, it was sealed 7 times and this is seen as the title deed 274 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:38,880 to to the earth and Christ is the only one that can receive 275 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:40,880 this. The judgments are already 276 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:44,240 written on this scroll. It isn't like, well let's figure 277 00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:47,840 this out as we go along. All this has been preordained by 278 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:50,280 God. Everything has been established. 279 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:52,840 It's just waiting to be a manifest. 280 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:59,440 And the seal is, these seals are made with wax and it forbids any 281 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:02,840 unauthorized opening. This particular scroll, this 282 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:05,880 document has never ever been opened in the past. 283 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:10,480 And it will be open at that time prior to the the wrath of God 284 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:13,760 being poured out onto the face of the earth at the start of the 285 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:17,119 tribulation period. And these 7 seals represent the 286 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:21,160 tribulation judgments that will be manifest by these seals. 287 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:25,400 Verse 2 says, I saw a strong Angel proclaiming with a loud 288 00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:28,760 voice, who is worthy to open the scroll and to lucid seals. 289 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:32,080 And no one in heaven are on earth or under the earth was 290 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:35,480 able to open the scroll or to look at it. 291 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:39,600 And the reason that is, is that we're all sinful people. 292 00:17:39,600 --> 00:17:42,920 There's only one that has the power and the ability and the 293 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:46,560 right to cast judgment. Right now, you and I aren't to 294 00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:48,720 judge. The Bible says judge not lest ye 295 00:17:48,720 --> 00:17:51,360 be judged. One of my prayers every day is 296 00:17:51,360 --> 00:17:55,200 Lord, help me to judge my own sins and not the sins of my 297 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:58,680 brothers and sisters. It's easy for us to judge, but 298 00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:03,240 our judgments have no power. They have no authority, and I'm 299 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:06,680 not talking about the judgments of sin or church discipline. 300 00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:10,880 Those have been given to us that authority by the word of God. 301 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:16,000 But in regard to judging sinful people, well, this person 302 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:19,400 deserves to go to hell because of this and this and that. 303 00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:21,960 Well, if that's the case, we all deserve to go to hell, right? 304 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:23,680 There's none of us that are worthy. 305 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:28,000 Praise God that when you look at someone who's messed up, that 306 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:30,880 your heart would pray for the Lord to save them and work in 307 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:34,160 their lives as He's worked in yours, and that you wouldn't be 308 00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:37,600 casting judgment. But John's weeping, this was so 309 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:42,480 broken understanding that we are so unholy compared to the 310 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:46,200 greatness of our God, our Savior Jesus Christ. 311 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:51,360 And John 87, it says he that is without sin among you, let him 312 00:18:51,360 --> 00:18:56,320 cast the first stone. Who of us here today can pick up 313 00:18:56,320 --> 00:18:57,960 a stone and throw it at each other? 314 00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:01,200 None of us. God's our Judge. 315 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:08,640 The Scripture reminds us about this picture of the scepter of 316 00:19:08,640 --> 00:19:14,520 God's righteousness that only is given to the one from the tribe 317 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:20,920 of Judah, Jesus Christ himself. In Genesis 44910, it says A 318 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:24,600 scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from 319 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:28,880 between his feet until Shiloh come, and unto him shall the 320 00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:35,000 gathering of the people be. And we see that verse 4 says he 321 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:38,240 wept so much that no one was found worthy to open and read 322 00:19:38,240 --> 00:19:41,240 the scroll or to look at it. But one of the elders said to 323 00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:43,800 me, do not weep. Behold, the lion of the tribe of 324 00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:47,360 Judah, the root of David has prevailed to open the scroll and 325 00:19:47,360 --> 00:19:51,240 to lucid 7 seals. And so the the beauty of this is 326 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:56,600 Jesus isn't only the descendant of the throne of David, but he's 327 00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:59,520 the one who established the throne before the earth was 328 00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:02,480 made. So David truly is a descendant 329 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:05,480 of our Savior, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. 330 00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:10,280 But in Jesus humanity, he is a descendant of this lineage 331 00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:16,000 through David's father Jesse. And the Messiah is this word 332 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:21,200 Shiloh is taken from the word meaning Messiah, and he takes 333 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:24,520 the scepter, the symbol of the right to govern. 334 00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:27,400 There's only one that has the authority to govern the universe 335 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:31,920 and the whole world, and that's our Savior Jesus Christ and all 336 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:36,080 those in the line of Judah. David and Solomon and Rehoboam 337 00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:41,400 were actually kings from the line of Judah, but Jesus himself 338 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:44,960 is truly the King of kings and the Lord of Lords that was 339 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:50,040 preordained and prophesized by the Old Testament Saints and the 340 00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:53,720 prophets. And Acts 13 is an interesting 341 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:56,360 verse that ties into this. If you got your Bible to flip 342 00:20:56,360 --> 00:21:00,000 over there to Acts 13, it's amazing how all these things 343 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:05,880 connect together. Acts 13 verse 22 and 23 it says 344 00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:10,200 and when he had removed him, he raised up for them David as 345 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:14,440 king, to whom also he gave testimony and said, I have found 346 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:18,680 David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will do 347 00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:24,640 my will from this man's seed. Referring to David, according to 348 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:28,960 the promise God raised up for Israel a Savior Jesus. 349 00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:33,520 And so Jesus is this one that's being spoken about in the Book 350 00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:36,840 of Revelation. The lion of the tribe of Judah, 351 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:41,280 the root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose 352 00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:45,440 its seven seals. Jesus is seen as he looks in 353 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:47,280 verse 6. And behold, in the midst of the 354 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:50,560 throne, and of the four living creatures, into the midst of the 355 00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:54,280 elder, stood a lamb as though it had been slain, having 7 horns 356 00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:58,360 and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out 357 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:01,840 into all the earth. Then he came and took the scroll 358 00:22:01,840 --> 00:22:04,440 out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 359 00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:09,560 Again, when we study the Book of Revelation, some of these things 360 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:12,280 are quite graphic and strange. You know, that we would think, 361 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:16,200 OK, here's here's the Lord here referred to as a lamb, the Lamb 362 00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:18,720 of God who taketh away the sin of the world. 363 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:21,520 That's what John the Baptist said whenever he saw Jesus 364 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:24,200 walking at him. He said, behold, the Lamb of 365 00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:26,200 God. Now, Jesus was not coming down 366 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:30,720 the road as a lamb, but he's pictured in type and the Old 367 00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:35,080 Testament is a Passover lamb, that he is the true Lamb of God 368 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:40,680 that has the ability to take away the sins of the world. 369 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:46,080 Well, John is giving us a picture as though it had been 370 00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:50,640 slain, and he's describing what he's seeing in this this vision. 371 00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:56,040 And the lion is referring to the one who judges the sins of the 372 00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:58,920 ungodly, the lion of the tribe of Judah. 373 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:03,600 And the seven horns represent the complete omnipotent power of 374 00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:07,200 God. 7 is always a number of completeness and perfection. 375 00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:12,120 The seven eyes show the omniscience of God, that God is 376 00:23:12,120 --> 00:23:14,280 all seeing. He's everywhere, present and 377 00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:17,000 knows all things. I mean, today he looks into your 378 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:18,920 heart and mine. He sees it all. 379 00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:22,520 We can't see each other's hearts, but God sees it all. 380 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:27,840 He's receiving now, taking into His own hands the title D to the 381 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:30,400 universe. The beautiful picture is that 382 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:34,480 only the Father has the authority to give this scroll, 383 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:40,160 and only the Son has the power and the authority to receive it. 384 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:43,800 No one else. And what happens in verse 8 when 385 00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:47,160 he takes this scroll? The the living creatures, the 386 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:50,360 four creatures and the 24 elders, they fall down before 387 00:23:50,360 --> 00:23:54,280 the Lamb. They fall down and adore Him and 388 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:58,760 worship him. Thanks for being with us today 389 00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:02,640 here on Living Waters of Grace. We're in the Book of Revelation, 390 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:06,920 and we find it fascinating how influential and involved the 391 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:11,840 angels are in this book. They bring about whatever it is 392 00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:15,440 that God has instructed them to do, but it's through their 393 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:18,560 actions that much of the judgements come on the earth. 394 00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:22,840 The angels are in submission to God as their authority, but He 395 00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:26,120 utilizes them in unique ways throughout this book. 396 00:24:26,520 --> 00:24:30,280 Like angels have a specific purpose from God, you have a 397 00:24:30,280 --> 00:24:34,240 unique purpose and plan too. God wants to use you in your 398 00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:37,760 life as a testimony to others and to bring others who are 399 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:40,440 currently lost into the fold of God. 400 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:44,320 God would love more than anything for all who are willing 401 00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:47,640 to come to Him for salvation, but he wants it to be their 402 00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:53,240 choice, not a forced situation. This is the way God works, not 403 00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:57,480 forcing himself on anyone, but giving each person free will. 404 00:24:58,040 --> 00:25:01,400 If you're interested in learning about this choice that's free 405 00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:06,200 and that it's a gift, go to calvarychapelonline.com and 406 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:10,600 click on the About Us tab and then find the link for what we 407 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:13,160 believe. We'd love to be a help and a 408 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:16,680 resource for you as you walk through what it means to be a 409 00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:20,600 follower of Jesus. If you find the contact tab on 410 00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:24,040 our website, you can get in touch with us or submit a prayer 411 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:26,400 request. We'd love to hear from you. 412 00:25:27,120 --> 00:25:30,680 That's all for today's edition and Revelation, but there's much 413 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:34,000 more that Pastor Clark plans to share with us from this 414 00:25:34,120 --> 00:25:37,480 culminating book of the Bible. Stay tuned for that. 415 00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:40,480 And make sure to mention this radio program to others. 416 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:46,800 Invite them to tune in to Grace FM 91.7 FM and they can stream 417 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:52,760 worldwide at Grace Radio dot FM. This has been living waters of 418 00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:53,320 grace.