Mission Accomplished

After this, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the Earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea, or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising sun with the seal of the Living God. And he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the earth and see, saying, do not harm the earth, or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. And I heard the number of the seal, one hundred and forty four thousand sealed from every tribe with the sons of Israel. Twelve thousand from the tribe of Judah were sealed, twelve thousand from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand from the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand from the tribe of Naftali, twelve thousand from the tribe of Manassa, twelve thousand from the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand from the tribe of Isakar, twelve thousand from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand from the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed. After this, I looked and behold a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb. And all the angels were standing around the throne, and around the elders, and four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power, and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen. Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, who are these clothed in white robes? And from where have they come? I said to him, sir, you know, And he said to me, these are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in the temple. And he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither anymore the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the lamb in the. Midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Let's pray God, our great and glorious Father, the Father of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the God who created the world with the word and sustains it by the power of his mighty hand. The God who said, let there be light, and there was, and the God who will say it is done and it will be finished. God, we bow before you as a humble and grateful people, in awe of your majesty, in awe of your might, and in awe of your grace. Grant by your grace that we might hear and heed your word. Grant that your spirit would grant us understanding and faith to believe that which we come to understand. Grant this we pray, that we might be faithful stewards the calling that you placed upon us, and that we might do so as those with hope and trust in the God who will conquer, who will judge, and who will save his people. For we asked this in Christ's name and for his sake. Amen. Amen. I love Revelation, Chapter seven. I love the Book of Revelation. There was a survey done while back. In two surveys, one survey asking church members what book in the Bible they would most like to hear preached, and the answers to that question was the Book of Revelation. And another survey asking pastors what book in the Bible they would least like to preach, and the answer was Revelation. And we undertook to preach through this book at Grace Family Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. And it was a marvelous journey. And one of the things that I love about this book is how it balances those two ideas of judgment and salvation and undergirds them both with worship. You know, oftentimes when we talk about missions, we talk about reaching the nations, and we talk about having a passion for reaching the nations. One of the things that we leave out and I think to our detriment is that our goal as servants of God, our goal as worship of God, our goal and desire is not just to see salvation. That's not the only laudable thing at the end of the age. We will also celebrate the judgment of God that is to come. Because our God is holy, and he is righteous, and he is just, and he must punish sin. And his glory is seen not only in the salvation of his people, but also in the judgment of sin. And if we forget that, sometimes we will make a mistake in our motivation, and we will not heed this advice. I remember I. Told you about growing up with my uncle, grown up with g I Joe, spending that year and a half two years retired drill instructure in the Marine Corps. And one of the things that I remember that he would say to me that I really didn't understand until later, was go fast, but don't hurry. Go fast, but don't hurry. Well, it's the same thing, right, I know, not the same thing. Go fast, be expeditious, do what you do, and do what you do quickly, but don't be in a hurry, because when you're in a hurry, that's. When you make mistakes. And I believe that we would do well to heed that in our approach to missions, because oftentimes we're in a hurry and we just think there's so many people who haven't heard, and there's so many people who need to know. And we've got to go. We've got to go, we've got to. Go, we've got to hurry, and we end up being anxious, and we're anxious on behalf of the God who says, don't be anxious about anything. Be passionate, but not anxious. Go fast, but don't hurry, because hurrying would seem to imply that you don't believe God is going to save his people. And he is, he is, and not because of you. God will save his people in spite of you. Amen somebody, or if you can't say amen, you want to say oux right, And oftentimes we do. We believe you all day that it's me. It's me, it's me, you know, if it's to be it's up to me. No, actually it's not. God doesn't need you. By his grace, chooses to use you, but he doesn't need you, and he's going to prove it because one day you're going to die and the world is going to keep on spinning. Somebody's gonna get all your stuff, Amen, and the Kingdom will continue to advance. Oftentimes, when we think about the great heroes of the faith, and we ought to. But here's what we ought to remember. When you think about the great heroes of the faith that we talk about in hushed tones, here's what you need to keep in mind. They died, and the Kingdom continued to advance. Praise God for men like Luther, and praise God for men like Calvin, and praise God. For men like Zinglei and other. I mean, we could go on and on and on, Martin, Lloyd Jones, Charles Hadden Spurgeon. Praise God for all of those men. But they're dead, and the kingdom marches on because God did not need them, just like he doesn't need you. And all of those men he used in spite of themselves. They were all flawed and fragile and sinful men, and God used them. Why Why would God. Use flawed and fragile and sinful men, Because that's the only kind of man there is. He's going to get it done. The mission will be accomplished, and we need to rest in that so that we can go fast, but don't hurry. Be passionate, but don't be afraid. Don't be anxious, because God will save his people. And I think there are a few places where this idea is clearer than here in Revelation chapter seven. It's been alluded to a number of times already, but I want us to look at it more carefully here today. In Revelation chapter seven, there is a break in the action between the sixth and seventh seal. If you'll remember chapters one through three, we had these letters to the churches. We have this introduction, this this this prelude in chapter one and chapter two and three, we have these letters to the churches. And then things move to heaven, and we see in chapters. Four and five this glorious worship of the Lamb in heaven. But in heaven there is a moment of panic as John recognizes that there is no one worthy to take the scroll and break the seals. And then we read in chapter five, verses one through five, then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne, a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals? And no one in heaven, or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. And I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll and to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, weep no more. Behold the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals. Amen, al Lujah, Praise the Lord. The Lamb is worthy to open the scroll and break the seven seals. Now here's what I want you to understand. Chapters four and five are all about worshiping the Lamb because he's worthy. We get that right. We're worshiping the Lamb because he's worthy, worthy to do what open the scroll and break the seals? Well, riddle me this batman. What happens when the seals are broken? Judgment? All heaven breaks loose judgment. So Christ, let's make this clear. Christ is being worshiped in chapters four and chapter or five before the Throne of Heaven because he is worthy to unleash judgment. On sin and save his people. And I think we would do well to be reminded of this, that Christ is worthy of our worship, not just because of him saving us from judgment, because of the judgment from which he saves us. That's what we find here. Remember the result of breaking the seals. Let's go back to chapter six, and we have to look at it, because this is what happens when the seals are broken. I don't want you to just take my word for it. Remember, we're worshiping Jesus. Then chapter four and chapter five, around the throne, the four living creatures, the twenty four elders, this great throng around the throne. We've seen a throng in chapter five. We're worshiping the Lamb, who is worthy because he can do this. Now, I watched verse one when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a loud voice, like thunder come. And I looked and behold a white horse, and its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering and to conquer. Worship Jesus for the conquering Verse three. When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say come, And out came another horse, bright read its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword. We're worshiping Jesus for this. Verse five. When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say come, And I looked and behold a black horse, and its rider had a pair of scales in his hands. And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, a quart of wheat for a genarius, and three courts of barley for a genarius, and do no harm to the oil and wine. Now there's famine. Verse seven. When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say come. And I looked and behold a pale horse, and its rider's name was Death. And the hades followed him, and they were given authority over a fourth of the earth to kill with the sword, and with famine, and with pestilence, and by wild beasts on the earth. We're worshiping Jesus for this. Verse nine. When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, Oh, Sovereign Lord, Holy and True, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell. On the earth. Then they were each given a white robe, and behold, and told to rest a little longer until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been Verse twelve. When he opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth. Full moon became like blood. The stars of the sky fell to the earth as fig trees, as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit. When shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a. Scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth, and the great ones, and the generals, and the rich and the powerful, and everyone's slave and free hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks fall on us, and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the lamb. What a phrase. We heard about lambs yesterday, right the lambs, lambs, helpless creature, They got nothing. And everyone on earth, from the greatest to the smallest, from the strongest to the weakest, is saying to the mountains and the rocks fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand. Again? Remember in chapter five, John begins to weep aloud because there's no one in heaven. And earth, under the earth, there's no one. There's no one who's worthy to take the scroll and break its seals. And then worship breaks out again. When the lion of the tribe of Judah, the worthy one, comes to take the scroll, he is worshiped, and he starts breaking seals. And that's what happens. Judgment is poured out on the whole world. Christ is worthy of our worship because he saves. Christ is worthy of our worship because he judges. This is so incredibly important because here's what we have a tendency to do. We have a tendency to believe that we are successful only when people repent as though our God is somehow in heaven saying. I just hope, Oh, I just hope. Oh maybe that one, oh not that one. Maybe that one, oh not that maybe that one, like everyone that's not saved, is a failure for God. And we take this posture and have this attitude because we do not comprehend or we do not remind ourselves that the justice of God and the judgment of God is worthy of our worship, because that's where we see the holiness and the righteousness of God poured out. And so we worship the God who is holy. We worship the God who is righteous. We worship the God who pours out his wrath. And at the same time we bow ourselves in humble adoration because we deserve that wrath too. But He saves us in spite of that. And so there's a break in the action. Actually between the end of chapter six and the beginning of chapter seven. There is this unthinkable dilemma because in. Chapter six, the whole world is judged. Everybody, not everybody, everybody that list. If you notice back there in chapter six, verse fifteen, it's not just a list, it's not just a long list, but it's a list of seven kings, great ones, generals, rich, powerful, slave free. Why is that important? Because the number seven in the Book of Revelation points to the number of perfection. This is perfect judgment, perfect judgment. We saw these four horses, and you know the four horsemen of the apocalypse, right, well, number four represent number four represents the earth and the totality of the earth. So these four. Horsemen bring perfect judgment to the totality of the earth. Which is why the question in verse seventeen is so important. If this is the case. That the seals are being broken and the judgment of God is being poured out, the perfect judgment of God on everyone and all the earth, then. Who can stand? How does anybody survive this. On this day of the righteous judgment of the righteous judge, When the whole world is judged and everyone in the world is judged, that's a legitimate question, who can stand? How can anyone be saved? And Chapter seven comes in to answer that question. And Chapter seven answers that question by going backwards, it's a flashback. We go back in time. You em you know, you watch a movie and sometimes you watch a mystery, and you know, all of a sudden everything goes back right. Because something happens. You go wait, wait, wait, wait a minute, how can what wait what And all of a sudden you go back and you remember, oh, he dropped the phone back there, and then that's why the okay, that's what's happening here, because you read chapter six and you go. Kill me. Now, amen, just find something high to jump off of, something big, heavy and fast to stand in front of. I mean, just be done with it. And then we come to chapter seven and he says, after this I saw. Now, Now after. This I saw means I saw this, and then I saw that. Not this happened. Next four angels. There's that number again standing at the four corners. There's that number again of the Earth holding back the four winds. There's that number again of the earth that wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Now, if you don't believe me when I say that we've gone back in time, let's keep reading. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising sun with the Seal of the Living God. And he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the earth and sea, saying, do not harm the earth or the sea, or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God. All that stuff was destroyed in chapter six, right, I mean, look at verse twelve. He opens the sixth seal, and I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake. The sun became black as sackcloth, The full moon became like blood. The stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit. When shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll is being rolled up. Every mountain and island was removed from its place. If that already happened in chapter six, what's happening in chapter seven? This can't happen in chapter seven. Other angels sending from the rising of the sun. Sun's gone, y'all with the seal of the Living God, do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees. Brother, you a little late for that, unless a flashback, And that's exactly what it is. We're answering the question of chapter six, Verse seventeen who is it then that can stand? Well, a couple of ways we answer that question. This break is provided to answer the question, and what does it mean to stand? So what does that refer? Does it mean to remain unharmed in the tribulation? Does it mean to be saved out of the tribulation? Some would argue that you know there's a rapture and you were saved by you know, being raptured. Does it mean to be saved through or in spite of the tribulation? Remember we're talking about surviving the judgment of the earth. And being so and that the. Idea of standing, I would argue, has to do not with us not being here, but standing in spite of And again, there are different scatological views, and I don't have time to go through all the different eschatological views. I've got a point to make here, and I'm making this point from my escatological view. Amen, I don't think this text points to us being unharmed in tribulation. I don't think this text refers to us being absent from the tribulation. I believe this text clearly refers to God saving us through and in spite of this tribulation and By the way, since we're talking about where I stand on this, I believe this tribulation is now. Now. Saving Saints through tribulation is not something God's going to do in the future. Saving Saints through tribulation is something God's been doing all along. In this life. You will have trials, you will have tribulations, and God will save you. By the way, that's good news, Saints. That's good news because you know, you go through tribals, and I don't believe that our eschatology exists for us to go through tribulations and say, oh, if I was part of that generation that's to come. I wouldn't be. No, this is good news for you right here and right now. This is good news to you right because war and famine and tribulation and trials and all of these things are part of our life right here and right now. And God saves his people. That's who he is. That's who he was, and that's who he will always be. Who are these people, those who are known by God and those who are sealed by God. That's what we see there in that sealing of those from the tribes. They're sealed. The question is who can stand And the answer is those who are sealed. Look at the text again. Do not harm the earth verse three, or the seal or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. And I heard the number sealed, one hundred and forty four thousand. Don't do this'. He doesn't notice. He doesn't say, don't do this until we get them out. He doesn't say. Don't do this until we get them over into a corner that won't be touched. He says, don't do this until they're sealed. They're not getting out of it, they're going through it, but they will be sealed. This seal is our protection. Revelation nine three through four. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green plant, or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. Those who are sealed are the ones who are kept by God, preserved by God through tribulation. Those are the ones who are saved. It's a curious list, and we could say much more about the list. There are many views on the list. Some view this list as a literal list, and others view this list figuratively. I stand with those who see this list as figurative or symbolic and pointing to God's people in general. There are problems with viewing this list literally. There are irregularities in the list. Let me give you seven one. This list in this order is not repeated anywhere else in scripture. Secondly, this list is out of birth order. Thirdly, Joseph is included, which points to a list of sons, but four Manassa is included, which points to a list of tribes and not sons. Five Ephraim is excluded, which points to sons and not tribes. But he was Manassa's twins. So Dan is excluded, which points to tribes. And not sons. And Levi is included, but they didn't inherit Land. So does this point? Do you see their problems here with this list? Why is this important? This list is symbolic, It explains those irregularities, but it also points to another issue. It points to the issue that I believe it's most important for us when we think about missions, and that is the issue of this multitude whom God will save and the significance of that multitude. The symbolic list fits in that it is twelve times twelve times one thousand. What's twelve? The number twelve in the Book of Revelation is the number of the people of God. In Revelation, Chapter twenty one, Verses twelve to fourteen, the city had a great wall. It was a high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels. And on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the Sons of Israel were inscribed. On the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, on the west three gates, and on the wall of the city twelve foundations. And on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the I believe that number that, by the way, the twelve representing the people who have gotten the Old Testament, the twelve representing the people who got in the New Testament. Twelve plus twelve is twenty four. Around the throne, twenty four elders right, twelve Old Testament twelve New Testament as an important number. They even had to replace judas so that they would be twelve again. Amen, twelve plus twelve is twenty four. But what if you want a bigger number? Twelve times twelve, that's one hundred and forty four. That number is just not big enough. What's a huge number? Now? You and I are used to thinking in billions and trillions, right, thank the government for the dead. Right were used to. But if you're not used to thinking in billions and trillions, the thousands a huge number, twelve times twelve times a thousand, a huge number of the people sealed. This harmonizes the rest of the chapter. Why does it do so well? Look beginning in verse nine after this, I looked and behold a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages. By the way, nation, tribe, people, language, there's that number four again. In other words, God is going to serve to save. An unimaginable number of people from every corner of the earth. The judgment of God will be unimaginable corner of the earth, and the salvation of God will be unimaginable in every corner of the earth. One hundred and forty four thousand Sealed from the Tribes talks about the specificity of God's salvation. God is not just haphazard in saving people. He's sealing people, and he's sealing specific people. However, this ceiling. Of people, not only is it not hap hazard, but it's not small either. Listen to it again and behold a great multitude that no one could number. God is going to save more people than you can imagine. And that ought to motivate you in missions. We also ought to humble you. Amen, it ought to humble you. God's gonna save more people than you imagine. Here, listen to me, all these Calvinists up in the building. Right, somebody said to me yesterday cave and shook my hand. Man, I want to thank you for helping me get out of the cage stage. You know where that is, right, the cage stage. That's the stage when somebody comes to the doctrines of grace and everything is all sovereignty all the time, all Calvinism all the time, all election all the time. They have absolutely no balance, and they say the craziest things and they alienate everybody around them. And we ought to be able to just put them in a cage until they get past that stage. That's where the term cage stage come from. Right, And sometimes there is an air of arrogance which is completely ironic for a Calvinist. I believe in the sovereignty of God. I am saved by the grace of God and not because of anything in me or anything that I do. And then I get puffed up and proud because I believe that. Help you. But here's the other thing that you kind of had to have a tendency to do. Sometimes, we Calvinists, we look at churches and we think that a badge. Of honor for a church is being small. Again, if you can't say amen, you ought to say ouch. Because obviously the only way you can have a big church is to compromise. If you're really preaching the word and preaching it hard, you're not gonna. Have a lot of people. You just won't have a lot of people. I just wonder, do you have to just rip the Book of Acts out of your Bible in order to believe that. Amen? Somebody? And we do. We get this idea, and if we're not careful, what ends up happening is we believe, you know, Heaven is just gonna be just just a few folks. We make the same error on that side that the Armenians. Tend to do. On the other side, there's so many people who believe that hell is going to be tiny just a few notorious sinner sinners, right, there's there's there's Satan and the fallen Angels, and then Polpot and Hitler and just you know, just a couple of a couple of. Notorious Jack the Ripper, you know, people like that. But you got to be a notorious sinner in order to go to Hell, or a fantabulous Calvinist in order to go to heaven. A great multitude that no one could number. There are going to be more people in heaven than you can imagine, and praise God for that because the Lamb is worthy. And then judgment is going to be worse than you can imagine. Praise God for that. Because the Lamb is worthy. They're going to be more people than heaven than you can imagine. Praise God for that, because the Lamb is worthy. But not only that, but look at this from every nation and all tribes and peoples and languages standing before the throne, you know, we all have a tendency to believe that Heaven is going to be populated mainly with our people, people like us. And however you want to define our people, our people can mean mainly Americans. Our people can mean mainly your ethnicity, our keep people with whatever however you define our people. Remember what we talked about on last night. He tells Abraham that all the families of the earth are going to be blessed and him. I believe James Whitey was talking about this blessing of traveling and going to various places, and it is a huge blessing. There's something that happens when you have the opportunity to go to various places around the world and worship with the saints. There's something that happens when you stand in a room where you don't understand the language, but worship is happening, and you know exactly what's going on. It's just a. Reminder that God has his people everywhere, everywhere, tribes, languages, ethnicities, nationalities that you can't even imagine. That's the scope and the reach of the Gospel. And then this is why, this is why we press the Gospel to the ends of the earth, so that Christ might indeed have the fullness of the reward for which he died. It is not enough that He saves me and those like me. He is worthy of worship from every tribe, every nation, every tongue, every people. I believe it was John Piper who summarized it best when he said missions exist because worship does not. There are people out there who are not yet worshiping our God, and they need to be. And we ought to be jealous for that, crying out with a excuse me, go back, every people in language standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb. And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders, and the four living creatures is at number four again. And they fell on their faces before the throne of God, before the throne and worshiped God. Saying. Amen, and then blessing glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, might, sevenfold praise, perfect praise. In chapter six we have perfect judgment of all the earth, and in chapter seven we have perfect praise. From all the earth. This is why we do what we do. Then verse thirteen, one of the elders addressed me, saying, who are these clothed with white robes? And from where had they come. I said to him, sir, you know what an answer? What an answer? You're looking at something this glorious. It's this great multitude that you can't know where this perfect praise coming. And the angel asked you a question, best answer in the world. I don't know, man, you tell me. I'm here to listen and to learn. These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Now watch this. Remember I said earlier, I don't believe. There's two things. I don't believe that we are going to be taken away. And not experience the tribulation. And secondly, I don't believe that this number sealed is a literal number, but instead it's a figurative number, and it's the same as that great multitude. Well, who are these? Is referring to. The great multitude that no one can number, but it's also referring to the one hundred and forty four thousand. Which is the same group of people. They're washed in the blood of the Lamb, and they are the ones coming out of the tribulation. They don't want to scape. They're the answer to the question. What's the question, who can survive this? What's the answer. The ones who were sealed, the ones who have washed their robes and the blood of the lamb, They're the ones who can and will survive this. I got thirty seconds and so much more. Let me wrap this up because here's the point. This is already written, the end is already being told. Why because God is sovereign and he doesn't hope to save his people, He doesn't try to save his people. He saves his people. God will save his people. And because we believe that God will save his peace people, our approach to missions can be and ought to be. Go fast, but don't hurry