The Triune God Will Lead Us Home

Good morning. If you have your Bibles with you, would you open them to the last book in the Bible, the Book of Revelation. Let's look at Revelation chapter seven. Revelation chapter seven. It's a poll taking a while back asking churchgoers what one book they would like to have or the one book they would like to hear preached through. And number one on the list was the Book of Revelation. And pastors were polled as to the one book that they would least like to preach through, and number one on the list was the Book of Revelation. I have to confess, this is the first book that I read when I became a Christian. It just sort of made sense to me. I wanted to find out works out, so I read. I read Revelation. And I don't recommend that because I was quite confused and terrified, which is a pretty bad combination. Right what what what? What? What are you reading about? I'm not sure, but it scares me. But we preached through this book as a teaching team at GFBC and it was absolutely the most rewarding time that that we experienced in the Word together with our people. And so as we look here in chapter seven, I want us to really concentrate on the last portion, beginning down at verse nine. Let me just give you a recap. But first of all, explain to you that there are a number of ways that people look at the Book of Revelation, and the most common is a futurist approach look at Revelation, and the simplest where I can put it is that we believe that most of what we find in the book is yet to come. It's going to come someday in the end. There are, however, other approaches to the Book of Revelation, and the approach that I take is which referred to as an idealist approach. And I believe that the Book of Revelation is really seven parallel narratives, all explaining the same thing over and over and over again from different perspectives, and that really it explains what we experience between Christ's first and second coming, that most of what we find in Revelation is not necessarily future, though some is, most of what we find in this book is absolutely present and as relevant as anything else that we find in the Bible. Unfortunately, for us today, that won't make a whole lot of difference as it relates to this passage of scripture. But as we look at this passage of scripture, I want us to concentrate on this theme, the Triune God will lead us home. The Triune God will lead us home. And this is one of those glorious parts of the text where regardless of the approach you take to the Book of Revelation, we get to the same conclusion in this passage. Look beginning of verse nine. No, we can start it actually back up even further. And encompass the last verse of chapter six, chapter six, And we'll look at some of this momentarily because it's relevant. Chapter six, the famous chapter in the Book of Revelation, because in the first portion of that chapter we meet the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Now we've all heard of the four horsemen, and some of you older folks may remember. You know, you were not talking about Notre Dame football, by the way, Okay, but we're talking about the four horsemen of the apocalypse. This this is just a terrible and awful and frightening scene. And at the end of chapter six, people are running and hiding and they want the rocks to fall on them to hide them. And then there's a question at the end of chapter six, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand? Now? The day there's God? The great day of their wrath has come. This is God's wrath being poured out. And the question is who can stand? Who could possibly survive this? And if you just read chapter six, the obvious answer to the question is no one. No one could survive that, no one could make it through that. And that's the bad news that makes chapter seven good news. Amen, And I want you to hear this today because there are some in our midst who believe that the answer to that question, the great day of their wrath has come and who can stay? Some of you believe that the answer to that question is you. That you can stand in. The great day of God's wrath because you're better than most people, or because you're smarter than most people, or because you've sinned less than most people, or because you've done more good than most people. Here's a news flash, that ain't the right answer. I didn't say that's the wrong answer. Uh huh. I said that ain't the right answer. Sometimes correct English just won't get it. Amen. After this, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth. Now here it bears explaining. There are a lot. Of people who for example, you've heard the term flat earth. Right, you know how Christians used to believe that the earth was flat. We were wrong about that. Now we're wrong about you know, homosexuality, same sex marriage, so and so on. And so forth. Christians have never believed in a flat earth. Christians have never taught a flat earth. You'll never find any theologian in Christian history who taught that the earth was flat. Nobody believed that. Nobody taught that. It's pure propaganda and myth. The number four in the Book of Revelation is an important number. It's the number of the Earth, of the totality of the Earth. Right. The number three, that's the number for God. The number six, that's the number four the beast and the false prophet. The number seven that's the number of perfection. The number ten the number of completion. The number twelve the number of the people of God. Right, you have the twelve tribes and the Old Testament, and the twelve Apostles and the New Testament. So there these are symbolic numbers that mean something. So having understood this throughout all of the history of Christianity, throughout all of the history of biblical prophecy, because Revelation is not the first Biblical prophecy is the last amen. So we understood this since biblical prophecy was being written. So nobody came to this and said, while they're standing at the four corners of the earth, it must be a square standing at the four corners. They're standing and guarding the totality of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth. Again, symbolic language. When you read the Book of Revelation, know this. It's always symbolic unless it tells you it's not. It's always symbolic unless it tells you it's not. That no wind might blow on earth or sea, or against any tree. It's pretty amazing. Chapter six, it's as though all hell breaks loose. Literally the end of chapter six. Who can stand now? In chapter seven, the angels stand at the four corners of the earth, and not even the wind is blowing. It gets real quiet, real still. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the 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 earth and sea, saying, do not harm the earth or the sea, or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. Now this answers the question. What's the question at the end of chapter six? In chapter six there is this great picture of wrath, and at the end the question who can stand? Chapter seven is answering the question. Chapter seven backs up and tells you why there are some who withstood. And there are some who withstood because before it all broke out, they were sealed. Do no harm to 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 sealed, one hundred and forty four thousand seals from every tribe of the sons of Israel. It's a very important number. Remember I told you that there are important numbers. One of those numbers is twelve, right, twelve, the number of the people of God, the twenty four elders around the throne. Twelve Old Testament, twelve New Testament. It's a picture of the people of God from the Old Testament and the New Testament. Well, now we have one hundred and forty four thousand, which is twelve times twelve times one thousand people of God in the Old Testament times the people of God and the New Testament times a huge number. This is not a literal one hundred and forty four thousand people. One of the reasons we know it's not a literal one hundred and forty four thousand people is because the rendering of the twelve tribes that we see here isn't repeated anywhere else in the scripture. Dan is missing, and he's missing because of his idolatry. Manassa is mentioned, but not Ephraim. Joseph is mentioned. Usually, you either get Joseph if you're talking about the twelve Sons, or Ephraim and Manassa if you're talking about the twelve tribes. Here we get a mixture. So we're not necessarily talking about the twelve Sons. We're not necessarily talking about the twelve tribes. We're talking about a symbolic number here, twelve times twelve times one thousand, twelve thousand from the tribe of Judah. There's the other issue. Judah's not the first born. Why do we list Judah first? Because we're talking about salvation history. Here Judah is preeminent because he is the one through whom the Messiah comes. Juda's not listen first other places. He's listed first here because again, this is a symbolic number, not a literal one, no matter how much that Jehovah's witnesses insist that it is. Twelve thousand from the tribe of Judah were sealed. Twelve thousand from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousands from the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand with the tribal of Ashure, twelve thousand from the tribal of not Dealy, twelve thousand from the tribe of Manassa, twelve thousand from the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousands from the tribal 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 look and behold a great multitude that no one could number. Further evidence that the one hundred and forty four thousand is a symbolic number, Because here you have one hundred and forty four thousand, right, twelve times twelve times one thousand, and then right after that, I'm looking at a multitude how many? He doesn't say, I'm looking at one hundred and forty four thousand. No, a multitude that no one can number. It's a huge number. But age who's in the huge number? The people of God from the Old and the New Testament. Right hence the twelve time, the twelve 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 the 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. I'm in. And one of the elders addressed me, saying, who are these clothed clothed in white robes? And where they 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, there before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple. And He who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither shall they thirst 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 the springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Amen, Hallelujah, Praise the Lord, the Triune God, Well guide is home. It's amazing that we see God's work here described really from a Trinitarian perspective. This one God who has existed eternally in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This perfect unity, perfect harmony within the Godhead, and this work being accomplished in the Godhead, by the Godhead to our benefit, and it's our only hope. First we see that God the Spirit is the one who will bring us to glory. Notice this glorious throng. After this, I looked and behold a great multitude that no one could number. From every Now watch this from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, the number four ever since what the totality of the earth. So we have the four corners, the four winds. Now we have the four descriptors of the people before the throne. And amazingly, he doesn't just say he notice this. First of all, we're talking about that number one hundred and forty four thousand that we just saw, And I'm arguing that this number is symbolic. First of all, I'm arguing that it's symbolic because of its construct Secondly, I'm arguing that it's symbolic because right afterwards we see a great multitude that no one could number. But thirdly, I'm arguing that it's symbolic because listen to these people where they from from, every nation, not just Israel, all tribes, not just the twelve, and people's and languages not just Hebrew. It's everybody, not just everybody, is everybody that's beyond everybody. Amen. He looks and he sees this multitude. John, who do you see? I see everybody where, they from from everywhere. This is what God is doing. Back up with me if you will to chapter five and look beginning. We'll just back up to verse six. It is so hard. The other here's the other thing about the Revelation. It's the book is dox so logical in its nature. It's just especially this section the Praise and Glory of God. You see two things in this book. Mainly you see the wrath of God and the glory of God. God and the glory of God through the wrath of God. Amen. Verse six. And between the Throne and the four Living Creatures, and among the elders, I saw a lamb standing as though it had been slain, with seven horns, and with seven eyes. There's that seven, which are the seven spirits of God, set out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty four elders twelve and twelve fell down before the lamb, each holding a harp and golden bulls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals? For you were slain, and by your blood you ransom people for God from every tribe and language, and people and nation. And you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth. That's the same picture. This is what God is about. This is what God is achieving. This is what God is accomplishing. This is the consummation of the covenant of redemption that in eternity past God, the Father bequeathed to the Son a love gift. And this love gift was a people that the Father gave to the Son from every tribe and language and people in tongue or a kindred And the Son, because of his love for the Father, wraps himself in flesh, lives a perfect life, dies an un deserved death, so that through his active and passive obedience, he might impute his righteousness to this love gift of people that the Father had given him, and their sinfulness might be imputed to him so that they might be received. And declared as righteous. And the Spirit, who is the very personification of the love between the Father and the Son, is now applying this redemption to God's people so that Christ might have the fullness of the reward for which he died. So God the Spirit will bring us to glory. How many of us, all of us, all of us. And it's the only way we get there. The only way we get there is the declaration of the Father, the redemption of the Son, and the application of the Spirit of that redemption to us in time. That's the only way. That's the only way. That's your only hope, beloved, you have no other hope of being a part of this glorious throng. And that's why this throng is a worshiping throng. Amen that we get there and we worship you get to heaven. Why do we worship when we get to heaven because we don't get there ourselves. Amen. God does this, and so we worship him, all created beings worshiping him. And then look at what happens here and verse ten through twelve and crying Josh, thank you, thank you. Back in chapter seven beginning verse ten, and crying out with a loud voice in the sense say crying out with loud voices, crying out with a loud voice, one loud voice, listen. I don't I'm not a fan of the whole sports analogy thing, but sometimes. It just works. So I played football at Rice University, rish University's smallest Division one school in America. Literally, smallest Division one school in America, twenty five hundred undergraduates. I mean, smallest Division one school by far. The next the next school in size in all the Division one, I think is around six thousand students. So just I mean little old, bitty tiny school. And when I was there, we played football in the Southwest Conference. Right now it's SEC. Used to be as w C, but we'll leave that alone. Okay, So HU in solid conference and one of the schools in the Southwest Conference now an SEC schools Texas A and M, and it was it was something else to play the Aggies and with us, it didn't matter if we played them at their place or ours, because you know, College Station was close enough to Houston that even when they played us in our stadium, it was more of them than there were of us, right, So it just was huge. And one unique thing about that. It's one thing to play in a stadium that's crowded, amen, and you just hear the roar of the crowd. But the Aggies have this thing called yelle practice before every game, and they practiced, they practiced their yells, and the the first time you experienced this again. We'd all played football. You played football, and we all played in front of big crowds of people before. But never in my life. Had I heard fifty sixty thousand people who spoke in unison so clearly that you can hear them as though it were one voice that. You can be in a one hundred thousand people. Was just loud. Right, we just go and we just did right here playing football. Man care how many people that's just loud. But when they start saying stuff and you can hear them enunciate every word, you have a tendency to go. It's an unusual thing, sort of like a great multitude that no one could number crying with a loud voice because there's only one song to sing. Amen when we get there, there's only one song to say. You don't go over in the corner and just make up your own song. When we get there, there's one song to sing. We cry out with a loud voice. We're a worshiping throng. 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, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worship. God, saying Amen. Now let's count these blessing glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever sevenfold doxology. What's the number seven? The number of seven is perfection. Folks. We're going to offer perfect praise and glory. Amen, John, Who do you see? I see everybody where they're from. They're from everywhere. How are they worshiping. Perfectly? They're offering perfect worship to our perfect God. How dare you think you can get here by yourself? How dare you think you can get to this place, to this point apart from God the spirit. You to glory? You won't. You can't. And then it's made even more clear who are they? There's this discussion angels, you know, who are these people? Well? You know, I think i'd be about like that too. Right here we are, we're seeing all these things. Were overwhelmed by what we see, overwhelmed by what we hear. Yeah, man, don't ask me questions. Just tell me, because I don't even want to get it wrong right now, Just tell me. You know, these are the ones coming out of the Great Tribulation. Now, first, don't miss that. What's the question at the end of chapter six? Who can stand? The answer? These can amen. By the way, this is further evidence that that one hundred and forty four thousand number is simm question coming out of chapter six is who can stand? Chapter seven starts with the ceiling of the one hundred and forty four thousand. We're essentially going back to answer the question. We see this and we go, well, if this happens, everybody's wiped out. Uh why because before this happens, there's one hundred and forty four thousand who are sealed. Oh great, So there's one hundred and forty four thousand who can stand. But now we see a great multitude that no one can number. And who are they? They're the ones who came through the Great Tribulation. So they're the same group as the one hundred and forty four thousand. It's a symbolic number. Who can stand only the ones who are sealed. That's all the only way you make it from here to glory. So God marks you as his home. Does that look like they have washed their robes? God has a mark you as his own, and you've got to be washed, You've got to be made clean. You are not basically good and needing some help. And finally they made them white in the blood of the lamb. That's the only answer. How do you get there from here? By making your robes white in the blood of the lamb. Not only will God the Spirit God us to glory, but in glory, God the Father will be our shelter. God the Father will be our shelter. Let's look back at our text verse fifteen. Therefore, there before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple. And he who sits on the throne will be will shelter them with his presence. And what will that sheltering look like? They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore. The sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. Here's the amazing thing. We've already talked about our spiritual need, about the fact that it is God and his saving grace and his saving mercy that brings us to this place. But what's interesting is that in this in this middle, in this second movement, if you will, there are some very earthly needs being met. Hunger, thirst, shelter. You know, one of the interesting things about traveling to different parts of the world, and about living in different parts of the world is that we discover these these two opposing truths. On the one hand, we discover that people are different everywhere you go, and on the other hand, we discover simultaneously that people are the same wherever you go. Amen. You have people with different languages, with different customs, with different cultures wherever you go, different features everywhere you go, but all of them are basically trying to find a way to feed, shelter and clothe themselves and their loved ones. I mean, just gets really simple, Amen, I mean, ultimately, we live in this land of luxury, and so the things that we use to do this are much nicer than most people in the world. But the fact of the matter is we are trying to clothe, shelter, feed, and transport ourselves and the people we love. Our clothing is nicer than other people's clothing, but still it serves. The same purpose. Our shelter is nicer than most people's shelters, but still it serves the same purpose. Our food may be nicer and more abundant than that of other people, but still it serves the same purpose. Our modes of transportation may be nicer than those we find in other places, but still they serve the same purpose. Because wherever you go on this earth, people are different, absolutely the same. So what we find in this middle movement here is that those things that we have been scratching and clawing and fighting to secure for ourselves, we won't be in glory. We won't have to. And notice it doesn't say that God will give us these things. He will be these things, Amen. He will be these things. And so now on this side, even when the Lord taught us to pray, give us this day our daily bread. Amen, God will be those things. We won't hunger anymore, we won't thirst anymore. The sun won't strike us no scorching heat, because God will be our sustenance, He will be our shelter, He will be our everything. And then interesting thing about that is when you look in chapter six all of these terrible things that come, you see that there is a correspondence between what is being suffered and what God provides. We won't look at all of this in chapter six, but let's look at the last paragraph here, beginning verse twelve in chapter six again the four horsemen have come, and we've seen the martyrs, and verse twelve, when he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sacloth. The full moon became like blood, and 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 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 slave and free hid themselves in the caves 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 vex everybody else, but for us. They are before the throne of God and serve him dead night in his temple. And he who sits on the throne will shelter them from his presence. With his presence, as shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore. The sun shall not strike them, nor the scorching heat. You see the direct correlation in chapter six. What do we see in chapter six? We see even the stars in the sky, and the sun and the sky itself and everything. We see everything going haywire, and we see people being exposed. And unprotected, and they're calling for the rocks, and they're calling for protection from whom from the one who sits on the throne, and from the lamb, the very one from whom they are trying. To hide is the one who is our all and all. There's a final peace verse seventeen. For the lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd. And what will he do. He will guide them the springs of living water, and he will wipe away every tear from their eyes. So in this world. Where we have trouble on every side, we don't just struggle and scrape to provide food and shelter and clothing for ourselves and our loved ones. But in the midst of it. All, we have all of the consequences of the fall. We have ill health, we have pain in our bodies, we have the loss of loved ones, corruption, hopelessness, despair, deceit. Lies. All manners are discipline. Ointment, doubt, fear, disease, crime, And I mean, you can go on and on and on. There's an endless list of things that make our tribulation and travails great. And instead of giving us a list, because whatever list we would have been given, you know, every one of us would have been able to find something all of these things He's gonna take care of, and all of us would be like, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait wait, because I got something that's not on this list. So beloved, he doesn't give you a list. He just says every tear hallelujah, Yeah, Well what about every tear? Yeah, but you know I've had every tear everyone, And isn't an amazing The Spirit of God is gathering together of people, and he sees to it that they get to glory. The Father is our shelter before the throne, but the one who became one of us, the one who wrapped himself in flesh, the one who still has a physical body right now today, the one who was tempted at every point as we are, and yet without sin, the one who hungered and thirst, the one who lost loved ones and wept. That's the one who will wipe tears from our eyes, every tear, every tear. The one who had to wipe tears from his own eyes will wipe away every tear from ours. How dare we think that we can be good enough? How dare we think that we can organize this on our own. How dare we think that we just walk into this and because of how marvelous and magnificent we are, just fall right in with the rest of the throng. God the Spirit, it is the only one who from God is to glory. God the Father is the only one who can be our shelter, and God the Son is the only one who can be our shepherd. And this is how the Triune God, God just that I don't know what aspect of this you need most this morning, but I do know that whatever it is, God's enough. If you need your robes washed in the blood of a lamb. God can do that today. If you need tears wiped away from your eyes, God can do that today. If you need provision to just make it through one more day, God can do that today. And if you need just for this morning to lift your eyes from your circumstances and look toward the age to come, so that you might have just that much more hope. To make it. Through, then God can do that for you today. Let's pray, Gracious God, our heavenly Father, How we thank you for your goodness and your kindness and your mercy toward us. How we thank you for sending your son to redeem us. And how we rejoice in the power and presence of your Spirit, who applies that redemption to us and sustains us and keeps us. And Oh, how we anticipate the culmination of all of this as God the Spirit guides us to glory, where God the Father will be our shelter, and God the Son will be our shepherd forever. Grant by your grace that we might walk in this truth. Ahmen.