WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:05.200 Hi, I'm Pastor Creighton, and thank you for tuning into Newsong Churches Podcast. 00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:16.160 We're a biblically faithful, gospel-centered Anglican church in Port Perry, Ontario, proclaiming the true and life-giving word of Jesus as we love and serve our neighbors. 00:00:16.399 --> 00:00:20.239 You can learn more about us at newsongportperry.ca. 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:24.079 May God bless you today through his life-giving word. 00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:31.519 The first reading is from the Book of Revelation, chapter 4, verses 1 through 11. 00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:38.479 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. 00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:48.719 And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this. 00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:57.039 At once I was in the spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 00:00:57.280 --> 00:01:02.159 And he who sat there had the appearance of Jasper and Carnelian. 00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:06.959 And around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 00:01:07.680 --> 00:01:18.799 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. 00:01:19.040 --> 00:01:25.040 From the throne came flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder. 00:01:25.519 --> 00:01:31.760 And before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God. 00:01:32.319 --> 00:01:38.079 And before the throne there was, as it were, a sea of glass, like crystal. 00:01:39.280 --> 00:01:47.120 And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. 00:01:47.680 --> 00:02:00.640 The first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. 00:02:01.040 --> 00:02:08.879 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within. 00:02:09.360 --> 00:02:21.280 And day and night they never cease to say, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. 00:02:22.639 --> 00:02:39.439 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the 24 elders fall down before him, who is seated on the throne, and worship him who lives forever and ever. 00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:50.719 They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power. 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:58.319 For you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. 00:02:58.879 --> 00:03:00.560 This is the word of the Lord. 00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:01.919 Thanks be to you. 00:03:05.919 --> 00:03:11.520 Worthy are you, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. 00:03:11.759 --> 00:03:17.919 For you created all things, by your will they existed and were created. 00:03:18.479 --> 00:03:19.759 Let's pray. 00:03:25.199 --> 00:03:31.520 Lord Jesus, we come to you, your creatures created by your will. 00:03:34.319 --> 00:03:43.840 And Lord, we come to you today, perhaps burdened, perhaps anxious, perhaps fearful, perhaps resentful. 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:50.400 Whatever it is, Lord, we are bringing with us, we pray we would just cast it before you now. 00:03:50.800 --> 00:03:52.560 Speak to us your good word. 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:55.360 It is life and health to us. 00:03:57.840 --> 00:04:06.560 And Lord, may we, with all of your angels and archangels and the whole company of heaven, join in that great heavenly chorus. 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:09.439 Holy, holy, holy. 00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:11.520 May that be true in our hearts today. 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:12.479 Amen. 00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:14.719 Please be seated. 00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:28.639 Have you ever had the experience of taking off in an airplane in the middle of a rainstorm? 00:04:28.879 --> 00:04:33.759 It's happened to me once or twice, and it's really a remarkable experience. 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:38.560 Especially if it's a particularly overcast day, the rain is beating down. 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:40.000 Maybe it's a day like yesterday. 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:42.720 That was a biblical storm yesterday afternoon. 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:55.120 And the airplane is on the runway, and you take off, and it's nothing but pitch dark clouds until you make your way through the fog and you emerge on the other side, and what is it that you see? 00:04:55.600 --> 00:04:56.720 You see the sun. 00:04:57.199 --> 00:05:06.639 And not just the sun, but you're kind of overwhelmed, at least I find myself overwhelmed, by the stillness and the peace and the brilliance of it all. 00:05:06.959 --> 00:05:08.959 That is, until you have to land. 00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:12.319 And maybe you land right back into the rainstorm. 00:05:12.480 --> 00:05:15.600 But there's something about that that changes your perspective, doesn't it? 00:05:15.839 --> 00:05:28.959 You know that on the other side of these clouds, no matter how hard they may rain down on me right now, there is a dazzling, brilliant beauty and peace above it all. 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:33.199 See, moments like that give you perspective. 00:05:33.519 --> 00:05:38.319 Revelation is the book we've been working through the last number of weeks, well, through the summer, really. 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:45.040 And the purpose of the book of Revelation, believe it or not, is to give Christians like us perspective. 00:05:45.519 --> 00:05:50.800 I say believe it or not, because Revelation can seem like a daunting book. 00:05:51.040 --> 00:05:55.040 And for some, it seems to confuse perspective rather than give it. 00:05:55.199 --> 00:05:57.839 But Jesus has a purpose for revelation. 00:05:58.480 --> 00:06:10.399 The purpose is to give Christians like us perspective, especially in hardship, especially when we experience the trials and tribulations and sufferings of this world. 00:06:10.639 --> 00:06:23.279 Revelation is a peeling back of the clouds, as it were, so that we can glimpse God's dazzling, radiant beauty and goodness and order above all things. 00:06:23.600 --> 00:06:29.519 Jesus has in mind what he wants the church to see and to hear. 00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:34.000 And so in his way, he's going to tell it to the church in the book of Revelation. 00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:42.879 When we started our study in chapter one, we saw that Jesus stands amongst seven lampstands, as it were, standing in for the seven churches, the church of all time, really. 00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:54.480 And in chapters two and three, we've made our way through seven letters that Jesus dictates to John, who is having this heavenly vision, and sends these letters, these circulating letters, to the seven churches. 00:06:54.639 --> 00:07:00.879 They are seven real churches with real Christians like us, but they also stand in for the church of all time. 00:07:01.199 --> 00:07:12.160 They stand in for the uh the trials and shortcomings of the church for all time, but they also offer the hope of the gospel to the church of all time, our church as well. 00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:14.639 Now we're coming to chapters four and five. 00:07:14.800 --> 00:07:27.439 And chapters four and five is an amazing vision Jesus gives to John of the glory of God's throne, peels back the clouds and sees things for what they are. 00:07:27.680 --> 00:07:33.279 The purpose of this vision is to give us, with John, perspective. 00:07:33.600 --> 00:07:39.439 Perspective on the present trials and hardships that we experience as Christians today. 00:07:39.759 --> 00:07:44.240 Jesus wants God's throne to give us perspective. 00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:47.120 He wants God's throne to give us perspective. 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:52.480 And he wants us to see, I think, three things in particular in Revelation 4. 00:07:52.879 --> 00:08:03.920 He wants us to see that God is presently reigning, that God is forever holy, and that God is unsurpassably worthy. 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:07.040 Reigning, holy, and worthy. 00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:15.519 And these three things taken together are meant to give us the perspective we need to face life like Christians. 00:08:16.480 --> 00:08:20.639 This is a conviction, perhaps, for some of the churches that have been addressed in the letters. 00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:24.720 This is a comfort and confidence for all Christians who believe the gospel. 00:08:25.040 --> 00:08:28.800 So let's open up Revelation chapter 4 together and have a look. 00:08:28.879 --> 00:08:39.919 That's page 967, if you're using the Bibles in front of you and the chairs in front of you, or you can turn to your order of service and let's work our way through Revelation chapter 4 together. 00:08:40.159 --> 00:08:45.120 In a lot of ways, Revelation 4 is setting the scene for what's about to follow in Revelation 5. 00:08:45.200 --> 00:08:49.120 There's a bit more of a storyline, a bit more of a narrative in Revelation 5. 00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:53.279 This is kind of setting the scene, but we shouldn't overlook what's going on here. 00:08:53.440 --> 00:08:58.320 We should grab a hold of it and take it with us into next week, into Revelation 5. 00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:00.879 But let's see what Jesus wants us to see here. 00:09:01.360 --> 00:09:05.840 First and foremost, what's the perspective Jesus wants us to have? 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:08.480 God is presently reigning. 00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:10.399 Let's just look at verse 1. 00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:18.960 After this, John says, I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. 00:09:19.200 --> 00:09:20.320 Let's pause right there. 00:09:20.399 --> 00:09:21.440 What's going on? 00:09:21.679 --> 00:09:24.480 So remember, revelation means an unveiling, right? 00:09:24.639 --> 00:09:25.679 It means a disclosure. 00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:28.080 It means the curtains are coming apart, right? 00:09:28.399 --> 00:09:38.960 John is seeing with spiritual vision past our temporal earthly shadows and into the eternal heavenly reality. 00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:45.600 John is not seeing what's unreal, he's seeing what's realer than real, if I can put it that way. 00:09:45.919 --> 00:09:49.519 Understanding how heaven and earth relate here is really important. 00:09:50.080 --> 00:09:57.600 Some theologians suggest that to our modern Western imagination, heaven and earth are like a two-story house, right? 00:09:57.759 --> 00:10:01.279 We live downstairs, God and his saints live upstairs. 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:05.519 Occasionally they holler down to us, but we pretty much do our own thing. 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:15.360 But John, as well as classical Christianity, understands that heaven and earth don't occupy two stories, they overlap on the same floor. 00:10:15.679 --> 00:10:19.279 But the curtains are drawn and all the lights are off. 00:10:19.840 --> 00:10:29.200 We can sense the earthly layout of the house, but it's too dark to behold God's glorious presence and the heavenly population surrounding us. 00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:45.519 One New Testament scholar puts it this way: Heaven is part of the universe, part of the universe God's created, but a part which is entered by opening the spiritual eye rather than by any external form of transit. 00:10:45.919 --> 00:10:46.320 Right? 00:10:46.559 --> 00:10:58.639 Revelation 4 and 5 is a moment where the curtains are being pulled back and the lights are being switched on, and it reveals the heavenly reality undergirding our earthly experience. 00:10:58.879 --> 00:11:00.639 What does this reality look like? 00:11:00.799 --> 00:11:02.320 Well, John wants to tell us. 00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:14.080 The first voice, probably Jesus, which I heard speaking to me, was like a trumpet, and it said, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this. 00:11:14.799 --> 00:11:24.000 So some interpreters take after this as a signal to skip to the end of a period called the Great Tribulation, or to skip to the end of history as we know it. 00:11:24.159 --> 00:11:32.879 And maybe that's the case, but I'm more inclined to think that it refers specifically to the sequence of events that we've seen so far, right? 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:49.360 After John's initial vision of Jesus standing amongst the lampstands, and after transcribing our Lord's letters to the churches, John is now prepared to see the next thing that Jesus has in mind for him, which is the present state of the throne room of heaven. 00:11:49.600 --> 00:11:50.639 Verse 2. 00:11:51.039 --> 00:11:59.919 At once, John writes, I was in the spirit, probably a state of spiritual illumination or ecstasy, whatever we want to put it. 00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:05.600 Behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:11.440 So in an earthly sense, John is wasting away as an exile on the island of Patmos. 00:12:11.600 --> 00:12:12.000 Remember that? 00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:13.679 John's writing in exile. 00:12:14.080 --> 00:12:16.639 From an earthly perspective, he's helpless. 00:12:16.879 --> 00:12:22.559 He's oppressed, and he's far, far away from Caesar's powerful throne in Rome. 00:12:23.039 --> 00:12:35.279 But spiritually speaking, John is no further distant from the central seat of power for the whole cosmos, nor is he any distant from the one who sits on it. 00:12:35.919 --> 00:12:49.120 When God draws back the curtains and turns on the lights, we realize that he is sitting on his throne, and that his throne is not distant from us. 00:12:49.679 --> 00:12:51.919 So what does Jesus want us to see here? 00:12:52.240 --> 00:13:02.000 He wants us, in our hardships and in our difficulties, to see that God is presently reigning from his throne. 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:04.399 So don't lose perspective. 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:07.759 Don't lose perspective when life gets hard. 00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:14.000 This is the source of Christian confidence in all of life's hardships. 00:13:14.320 --> 00:13:16.399 God sits on the throne. 00:13:16.559 --> 00:13:18.559 Let's just think about what John sees for a moment. 00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:20.399 Let's look at verses 3 to 6. 00:13:20.720 --> 00:13:26.879 Because he's seeing God's throne room in very densely and symbolic ways, meant to signal. 00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:28.720 Let's just go through it. 00:13:28.960 --> 00:13:30.080 What does John see? 00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:32.000 John looks towards the throne. 00:13:32.080 --> 00:13:33.440 What does he see on the throne? 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:37.679 He sees one at who looks like Jasper and Carnelian. 00:13:38.320 --> 00:13:43.120 God is radiant and dazzling as he sits on his throne. 00:13:43.279 --> 00:13:48.399 He is of incomparable worth to anything else we can imagine. 00:13:48.639 --> 00:13:52.080 And then around the throne, John sees a rainbow. 00:13:52.320 --> 00:13:57.360 A rainbow looking as substantial and priceless as an emerald, right? 00:13:57.519 --> 00:14:06.960 When we see a rainbow, there should be a signal in our minds that remembers the covenant promise that God has made to Noah, never to do away with humanity again. 00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:12.080 But God, in his mercy, is committed to his program of salvation. 00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:16.559 This should signal to us God is merciful. 00:14:16.879 --> 00:14:25.759 And then below the throne, John sees elders in crowns and white robes, and we're going to deal with them a little bit more in a few minutes. 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:28.799 But it signals to us that God is exalted. 00:14:29.039 --> 00:14:34.159 He sits amongst exalted ones as the exalted one. 00:14:34.879 --> 00:14:39.600 And then from the throne, John sees lightning and thunder. 00:14:39.840 --> 00:14:50.720 And if we're students of the Old Testament, which Revelation assumes we are, we remember God's presence being made manifest in Sinai, where he gives the law to Moses to give to the people of Israel. 00:14:50.960 --> 00:14:53.039 His presence is so overwhelming. 00:14:53.360 --> 00:14:57.919 The whole mountain is shrouded in darkness and thunder and lightning. 00:14:58.080 --> 00:15:05.200 The people are so frightened by God's manifest glory and holiness, they say, Moses, you gotta deal with this God. 00:15:05.360 --> 00:15:06.639 We're not gonna make the approach. 00:15:06.720 --> 00:15:07.919 You gotta deal with him. 00:15:08.320 --> 00:15:11.759 See, God is terrifically holy. 00:15:12.159 --> 00:15:14.639 I use that word terrifically intentionally. 00:15:14.960 --> 00:15:36.080 And then before the throne, John sees seven spirits, which again I think signals God's sevenfold the fullness of God's Holy Spirit, and he sees a sea of glass, which again, water in the ancient world, signaled chaos and being swallowed up and enveloped by the forces of nature. 00:15:36.320 --> 00:15:44.399 But this sea, despite the howling lightning and thunder, is perfectly peaceful and still like glass. 00:15:44.720 --> 00:15:49.679 See, God brings peace and order to our chaos. 00:15:51.200 --> 00:15:54.960 So this is what John sees, but think about what it means for him. 00:15:55.759 --> 00:15:59.759 He knows what it is to experience the hardships of being a Christian. 00:15:59.919 --> 00:16:11.039 He's in exile right now, and he knows that the letters he just wrote to Christians are Christians who are themselves facing persecution and facing hardships. 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:15.919 Don't lose perspective, is the message for John. 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:23.120 But remember, God sits on his throne, and that makes all the difference. 00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:25.759 Think about what this means for us now. 00:16:26.559 --> 00:16:37.120 We might not have an ecstatic spiritual illumination experience like John had of the throne room, but we don't need to, because we have God's word. 00:16:37.759 --> 00:16:42.879 And we can see here in God's word that there is one who sits on the throne. 00:16:43.039 --> 00:16:50.399 Above all of the hardships and difficulties that we experience, there is one who brings peace and order to our chaos. 00:16:51.200 --> 00:16:54.159 He reigns as sovereign over all. 00:16:54.480 --> 00:16:58.879 And there is none who can outmatch him, there is none who can outdo him. 00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:07.119 See, I say this because I think in our moment, I say this as someone who spends a lot of time in coffee shops, by the way. 00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:11.519 And when you're in coffee shops a lot, you end up overhearing a lot of people's conversations. 00:17:11.599 --> 00:17:14.240 So beware when you're having a conversation in a coffee shop. 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:15.759 I'm probably listening to you. 00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:28.799 Anecdotally speaking, I'm finding more and more coffee shop conversations have to do about something like the tenuous state of the world that we live in. 00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:31.680 Maybe politics are disintegrating. 00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:36.720 Maybe we're concerned about new world orders that are emerging, what have you. 00:17:36.960 --> 00:17:52.079 I'm hearing, or at least I'll say this, I detect a lot of fear, a lot of anxiety, perhaps even a lot of resentment that things are changing for the worse, and anger. 00:17:52.880 --> 00:17:59.599 Underlying all of these things, I wonder if we feel powerless to do anything about it. 00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:02.000 Because we're changing the world. 00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:06.240 Order is just not in our toolbox. 00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:20.079 So when you think about earthly chaos, when I reflect on what seems like an increasingly chaotic moment of human history, do we bring to mind God's throne? 00:18:20.720 --> 00:18:24.240 Do we remember that there is nothing that can overwhelm this God? 00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:31.759 I'm not saying we pretend like everything is just fine and dandy in the world we live in, but can we remember that there is one who reigns here? 00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:36.960 And that there is one who has the reins of history in his hands? 00:18:37.759 --> 00:18:41.200 History will not escape God's attention. 00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:45.039 And our world will not spiral beyond his control. 00:18:45.200 --> 00:18:46.640 There is one who reigns. 00:18:46.880 --> 00:18:50.720 Christians, it doesn't mean we can't be concerned for the state of the world. 00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:53.599 It doesn't mean we don't experience our fears from time to time. 00:18:53.759 --> 00:19:00.559 But can we be centered in the gospel truth that God reigns right now? 00:19:01.039 --> 00:19:13.920 Because that will be the answer to the anxiety, to the fear, to the resentment, to the anger that we will so often feel if we only see the world without the vision of heaven. 00:19:14.559 --> 00:19:15.839 Does that make sense? 00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:24.559 Perhaps that even means we need to repent of our own desire to sit on the throne and make an order of the world around us. 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:31.119 God is presently reigning. 00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:34.559 So, Christian, have confidence. 00:19:34.799 --> 00:19:42.240 Not in your ability to bring in order into the world, but have confidence in the one who sits on the throne. 00:19:43.599 --> 00:19:45.759 That's the first thing that John wants us to see. 00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:47.359 Let's look at two and three. 00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:52.079 Second thing, God is forever holy. 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:55.039 Let's look at the second half of verse six. 00:19:55.599 --> 00:20:03.839 And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes, in front and behind. 00:20:04.400 --> 00:20:17.200 The first creature, like a lion, the second living creature, like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. 00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:22.079 So it's verses like this that have led many Christians to this conclusion. 00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:25.440 The book of Revelation is bonkers. 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:27.680 Right? 00:20:27.920 --> 00:20:29.680 You're probably thinking it. 00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:38.640 It's this dense symbolism that seems so unfamiliar or so inscrutable that many have given up on reading Revelation altogether. 00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:40.400 But we shouldn't give up. 00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:48.240 Remember, Jesus gives us this book not to obscure our perspective, but to give us perspective. 00:20:48.400 --> 00:20:51.519 There is something he wants us to see here that is important. 00:20:52.319 --> 00:20:53.599 Remember this also. 00:20:53.839 --> 00:20:58.079 Revelation assumes that we know our Old Testament, right? 00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:05.039 And it, if an image seems confusing in the book of Revelation, it's to the Old Testament that we need to go first. 00:21:05.359 --> 00:21:21.759 So for John, these six-winged creatures would undoubtedly have recalled Isaiah chapter 6, where the prophet Isaiah has his own vision of God's heavenly throne room and the six-winged seraphim ministering and singing in the Lord's presence. 00:21:22.160 --> 00:21:24.880 What are these creatures that John is seeing? 00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:41.599 Isaiah and John would agree, they are heavenly beings, probably of the highest angelic order, ministering right next to God, where God's kingdom and power and glory are most fully made manifest. 00:21:42.559 --> 00:21:59.440 And yet, as in Ezekiel's vision of God's throne and glory, these four angels also bear resemblance to the earth's noblest creatures, and their many eyes suggest that nothing escapes their attention. 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:13.119 So as one commentator puts it, these close attendants represent and yet transcend the whole of the created order on earth and in heaven. 00:22:13.359 --> 00:22:18.079 These four creatures are like heaven and earth fused together. 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:22.960 If that's confusing, then we're in good company. 00:22:23.759 --> 00:22:32.160 But here's the question: What do you do if you are one of the greatest creatures in all heaven and in all earth? 00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:35.680 The answer is this you worship God. 00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:37.119 Verse 8. 00:22:37.359 --> 00:22:57.839 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come. 00:22:58.400 --> 00:23:03.200 Be it known, this God is holy. 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:13.440 Holiness is God's set apartness, his absolute perfection, his dazzling, radiant otherness. 00:23:14.640 --> 00:23:19.359 You could almost say holiness is the Godness of God. 00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:20.880 Right? 00:23:21.200 --> 00:23:22.720 We describe things as holy. 00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:27.759 We'll talk about the holy Bible, we'll talk about holy baptism or holy communion. 00:23:28.079 --> 00:23:32.880 Things we describe as holy are only holy in relation to God, right? 00:23:33.039 --> 00:23:35.119 They're holy in a derivative sense. 00:23:35.440 --> 00:23:40.240 Here, John is in the presence of holiness himself. 00:23:41.039 --> 00:23:42.400 It's overwhelming. 00:23:42.640 --> 00:23:46.559 And this God is not just holy, he is thrice holy. 00:23:46.799 --> 00:23:48.960 He is holy, holy, holy. 00:23:49.119 --> 00:24:00.240 Sure, I bet that's repeated for emphasis, but given the triune nature of our God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, isn't it appropriate that holy would be repeated three times over? 00:24:00.559 --> 00:24:02.799 Old Testament and New Testament? 00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:05.599 And this is true for all eternity, right? 00:24:05.920 --> 00:24:13.519 This thrice holy God is the one who was and is and is to come. 00:24:14.160 --> 00:24:17.440 That has never changed, and it never will. 00:24:17.839 --> 00:24:20.880 What is it that Jesus wants us to see in the throne room? 00:24:21.119 --> 00:24:25.759 He wants us to see that God is forever holy. 00:24:26.640 --> 00:24:33.680 And friends, I think this has implications for us as Christians in our own pursuit of personal holiness. 00:24:33.920 --> 00:24:44.160 See, pursuing personal holiness is not an extracurricular activity for Christians who want to take things extra seriously or something like that, right? 00:24:44.319 --> 00:24:46.160 Who want to earn some bonus marks. 00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:53.279 Pursuing personal holiness is the calling of a Christian, how a Christian lives his or her life. 00:24:53.519 --> 00:25:03.839 1 Peter chapter 1 puts it this way: as he that is God who called you is holy, you also, church, be holy in all your conduct. 00:25:04.079 --> 00:25:08.079 Since it is written, you shall be holy, for I am holy. 00:25:08.400 --> 00:25:15.119 See, all of the Christian life is meant to reflect God's character out to God's creation, right? 00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:16.480 But how? 00:25:16.640 --> 00:25:19.200 How are we supposed to pursue personal holiness? 00:25:19.359 --> 00:25:24.000 And this is where I think a lot of Christians, sometimes including myself, get tripped up. 00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:31.759 Because we assume that pursuing personal holiness is the equivalent to moral self-improvement, right? 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:36.960 Becoming better, nicer, harder working people, something like that. 00:25:37.119 --> 00:25:44.960 And that by doing these sort of moral self-improvement projects, we will make ourselves more acceptable to this holy God. 00:25:46.720 --> 00:25:50.319 See, this answer we can call moralism. 00:25:50.559 --> 00:25:58.480 And moralism is either going to end up being two things, well, it's going to miss the gospel, we're going to get there in a moment. 00:25:58.720 --> 00:26:10.079 But this kind of moralism, this moral self-improvement project, if we understand that to be the essence of Christian holiness, either it's going to end up being a crushing burden, right? 00:26:11.039 --> 00:26:16.000 Because we're going to try our best to be better people and find that we fail at it. 00:26:16.319 --> 00:26:21.440 And when we fail at it, we assume that God, you know, therefore is going to crush us. 00:26:21.839 --> 00:26:23.599 So we beat ourselves up, right? 00:26:23.759 --> 00:26:25.839 Or perhaps we get defensive, right? 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:29.839 We end up sort of playing this denial game about our sin to try and minimize it. 00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:33.440 Or we end up gossiping about others because can you believe what they did? 00:26:33.599 --> 00:26:35.920 That takes the attention off me, doesn't it? 00:26:36.880 --> 00:26:39.440 See, moralism ends up being a crushing burden. 00:26:39.680 --> 00:26:43.519 Maybe it is for some of us right now, and we need to have that burden lifted. 00:26:43.839 --> 00:26:46.240 Or moralism does the opposite. 00:26:46.480 --> 00:26:48.880 It becomes a swell of pride, right? 00:26:49.119 --> 00:26:55.200 Because if I've had a great week and I am killing it at the Christian life this week, I feel like a winner. 00:26:55.359 --> 00:26:56.160 So what happens? 00:26:56.240 --> 00:26:58.480 I start to get Pharisaical, right? 00:26:58.640 --> 00:27:04.079 I start to assume I'm righteous in a way that you're not, that I've earned it in a way that you haven't. 00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:08.720 And so therefore, I get contemptuous of everyone else around me. 00:27:08.960 --> 00:27:20.160 And especially when, like the Pharisees, I see someone who I don't think deserves God's grace, you know, have received God's grace as a gift, I think that's not fair. 00:27:22.240 --> 00:27:27.519 We either get crushed by moralism or we get inflated by it. 00:27:27.759 --> 00:27:29.279 Either is not the gospel. 00:27:29.440 --> 00:27:30.559 Well, what is the gospel? 00:27:30.720 --> 00:27:33.759 What is pursuing holiness by way of the gospel look like? 00:27:33.920 --> 00:27:42.000 We need to acknowledge, and Revelation is helping us see here, that holiness is not a quality that God has to be emulated, right? 00:27:42.160 --> 00:27:43.119 To be mimicked. 00:27:43.359 --> 00:27:46.160 Holiness is describing who God is. 00:27:46.559 --> 00:27:48.480 It is the godness of God. 00:27:48.640 --> 00:27:54.400 And therefore, personal holiness, yes, it has a moral dimension to it, for sure, right? 00:27:54.559 --> 00:27:59.200 Because God desires moral goodness, and he's designed us for that. 00:27:59.440 --> 00:28:01.920 But it's more than just a moral dimension. 00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:04.319 It is not merely acting like God. 00:28:04.720 --> 00:28:12.559 Personal holiness is participating in the very life of God by grace through faith. 00:28:12.880 --> 00:28:25.440 It is through union with God in Christ that we are being transformed more and more into creatures who are like our Creator, who aren't striving to achieve something on a moral plane. 00:28:25.839 --> 00:28:30.880 We are enjoying and delighting in God forever, and therefore we live out the life of God. 00:28:31.119 --> 00:28:32.720 Does that make sense? 00:28:34.720 --> 00:28:36.000 The good bishop J.C. 00:28:36.160 --> 00:28:40.160 Ryle puts it this way in his great book, Holiness. 00:28:40.319 --> 00:28:42.559 He asks us, would you be holy? 00:28:42.880 --> 00:28:45.119 You must begin with Christ. 00:28:45.359 --> 00:28:47.279 Not moral self-improvement. 00:28:47.519 --> 00:28:48.720 You want holiness? 00:28:48.960 --> 00:28:50.160 Start with Christ. 00:28:50.400 --> 00:29:00.720 He goes on to say, You will do nothing at all, and you will make no progress till you feel your sin and weakness and flee to him. 00:29:01.519 --> 00:29:11.519 He is the root and beginning of all holiness, and the way to be holy is to come to him by faith and be joined to him. 00:29:12.240 --> 00:29:15.680 Holiness comes from Christ. 00:29:16.400 --> 00:29:19.759 It is the result of a vital union with him. 00:29:20.319 --> 00:29:25.279 It is the fruit of being a living branch of the true vine. 00:29:25.599 --> 00:29:27.920 Do you see what Ryle is saying here? 00:29:28.240 --> 00:29:30.480 Enough with your moral striving. 00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:37.839 Holiness comes from a personal, vital union with God in Christ by faith. 00:29:38.079 --> 00:29:50.880 And as we are branches of the vine and the life of the vine flows into us, so will we be transformed into holier and holier creatures as God's life flows into us by faith. 00:29:51.839 --> 00:29:55.599 Christians, God is forever holy. 00:29:56.240 --> 00:30:01.119 So be holy as he is holy through faith in Christ. 00:30:03.200 --> 00:30:05.680 What's the third thing John wants us to see? 00:30:05.920 --> 00:30:07.759 Let's see how quick we can be. 00:30:08.079 --> 00:30:09.680 Probably not that quick. 00:30:09.920 --> 00:30:15.200 Let's look at verses 9 to 11 and see that God is unsurpassably holy. 00:30:15.759 --> 00:30:30.880 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. 00:30:31.359 --> 00:30:37.200 Okay, so these four heavenly creatures are praising God in the throne room, but they are not the only ones doing so. 00:30:37.440 --> 00:30:44.400 In verse 4, John's already told us that he saw twenty-four elders sitting on twenty-four thrones. 00:30:44.640 --> 00:30:59.039 And this mirrors the fact that Caesar was surrounded by twenty-four electors, or kind of bodyguards, but most likely these twenty-four elders stand in for the fullness of God's covenant people. 00:30:59.519 --> 00:31:06.400 The twelve patriarchs of Israel in the Old Testament, together with the twelve apostles in the New Testament. 00:31:06.559 --> 00:31:20.880 And they are clothed in white, we're told in verse 4, signaling the righteous deeds of the saints that we will read about in Revelation 19, and the fulfillment of the promises that God has made to Christians who persevere through trial and hardship. 00:31:21.039 --> 00:31:23.440 We've read about that in Revelation 3. 00:31:23.920 --> 00:31:28.720 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, Jesus promises. 00:31:29.039 --> 00:31:33.599 I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. 00:31:33.920 --> 00:31:40.880 So these persevering and righteous elders, God's people, are caught up in a sort of heavenly liturgy, aren't they? 00:31:41.119 --> 00:31:50.000 The four living creatures call out glory and honor and thanks, and these elders respond by falling down before the throne in worship. 00:31:50.319 --> 00:31:55.119 Now, as Christians who worship liturgically new song, it's something to think about. 00:31:55.599 --> 00:32:01.359 It's not as if we're joining our voices with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven. 00:32:01.680 --> 00:32:09.599 Perhaps we are actually taking our place in the liturgy that is already happening in heaven. 00:32:11.279 --> 00:32:13.200 I'll just let you think about that. 00:32:14.079 --> 00:32:18.720 And it's not enough that these elders merely fall down before the throne and worship. 00:32:18.880 --> 00:32:34.559 Verse 10, they cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. 00:32:35.200 --> 00:32:40.480 See, it's in light of God's unsurpassable worth, worthy are you, they cry. 00:32:40.640 --> 00:32:55.759 It's in light of this unsurpassable worth that we realize either, number one, our little self-made crowns of worthiness, the measure of our success, achievement, power, status, are really not worth that much, are they? 00:32:57.039 --> 00:33:06.079 And two, we realize that whatever we are crowned with is itself a gift from the one who sits on the throne. 00:33:06.480 --> 00:33:08.880 And it really belongs to him anyway. 00:33:09.920 --> 00:33:12.799 After all, the elders know that God is the creator. 00:33:16.720 --> 00:33:29.359 In the full view of God's glory, all we can do is hand over everything in recognition of God's inestimable worthiness and say, Worthy are you, our Lord and God. 00:33:29.920 --> 00:33:32.160 See, what does Jesus want us to see here? 00:33:32.319 --> 00:33:38.480 He wants us, his church, to see that God is unsurpassably worthy. 00:33:38.720 --> 00:33:42.079 There is no crown he does not deserve. 00:33:43.119 --> 00:33:45.759 And consider what it means for something like this. 00:33:47.440 --> 00:33:50.640 What makes Christianity worthwhile? 00:33:50.960 --> 00:33:53.279 What makes being a Christian worthwhile? 00:33:53.519 --> 00:33:57.599 If someone were to ask you that, a neighbor, a coworker, what is it that you would say? 00:33:58.160 --> 00:34:01.680 In my experience, there's generally one of two answers. 00:34:03.119 --> 00:34:13.440 Answer number one, we're a Christian because worshiping God means something like, he can do good things for me. 00:34:13.760 --> 00:34:19.679 I do good things for him, things he likes, he'll generally respond with the same towards me. 00:34:19.920 --> 00:34:23.679 I had an encounter with someone not too long ago who asked me this question. 00:34:24.000 --> 00:34:27.119 Or I think how did it go? 00:34:27.280 --> 00:34:32.480 Something like you're a pastor, you go to church, I'll come to church when God makes me rich. 00:34:32.960 --> 00:34:33.599 Something like that. 00:34:34.000 --> 00:34:34.639 You know. 00:34:35.039 --> 00:34:38.159 Okay, he's being honest about his priorities, I'll give him that. 00:34:38.960 --> 00:34:40.880 But what does that betray? 00:34:41.360 --> 00:34:49.519 What is really worthwhile in this individual's life is his financial success, is his security. 00:34:50.079 --> 00:35:01.360 Maybe some of us, it's not wealth, but maybe what we want God to give us is a spouse or a job or fame or a six-figure salary, whatever it is. 00:35:01.760 --> 00:35:09.840 When we desire these good things and go to God for them, what we really think is worthwhile is not God but the things. 00:35:10.079 --> 00:35:11.760 Do you see how that works? 00:35:12.079 --> 00:35:16.079 God ends up becoming a means rather than an end. 00:35:17.280 --> 00:35:21.920 What's really worthwhile, it's the object of my own self-interest. 00:35:22.079 --> 00:35:24.480 And there is a theological term for that. 00:35:24.639 --> 00:35:26.000 It's an idol. 00:35:27.679 --> 00:35:32.000 Friends, I'll confess I'm probably more in category one than I would like to admit. 00:35:32.239 --> 00:35:35.599 And we probably all are, because we're sinners. 00:35:35.840 --> 00:35:39.599 But by grace, God can begin to shape category two in us. 00:35:39.760 --> 00:35:40.400 Answer number two. 00:35:40.639 --> 00:35:43.440 What's the second answer to what makes Christianity worthwhile? 00:35:43.679 --> 00:35:48.079 It's because God Himself is unsurpassably worthy. 00:35:48.320 --> 00:35:53.920 It's not because I have worthwhile things in mind, it's because he is the worthwhile one. 00:35:54.239 --> 00:36:03.199 And friends, we haven't begun to grasp the gospel until we see God as intrinsically, unsurpassably worthy. 00:36:03.760 --> 00:36:04.239 Right? 00:36:04.400 --> 00:36:12.800 Take all luxuries and successes and security away, and Christianity is still worth it if God is worthy. 00:36:13.599 --> 00:36:14.159 Right? 00:36:14.559 --> 00:36:17.840 Why did so many martyrs go so gladly to their deaths? 00:36:18.079 --> 00:36:20.480 I don't think it was because they were crazy. 00:36:20.800 --> 00:36:24.320 I think it's because they knew how worthy God is. 00:36:24.559 --> 00:36:26.960 And there was nothing they would withhold from him. 00:36:27.440 --> 00:36:37.440 And friends, I have to confess, I think for so many of us living in 2026, we wonder whether or not, you know, do I feel like going to church today or something like that? 00:36:37.599 --> 00:36:40.639 Do I feel like showing up as a Christian in my workplace? 00:36:41.519 --> 00:36:52.239 You know, I get convicted when I think about the sheer worthiness of God that previous generations have borne witness to in their life. 00:36:52.559 --> 00:36:57.119 And I don't mean to shame, I don't mean to, I mean to identify with the problem here, right? 00:36:57.760 --> 00:37:01.039 We all of us have those self-interested desires in mind. 00:37:01.280 --> 00:37:08.159 God wants to shape them and give us a bigger vision for how worthy he is and how that impacts our life. 00:37:08.400 --> 00:37:09.440 So what is it? 00:37:09.599 --> 00:37:15.840 Well, Revelation chapter 5 is going to give us an answer to why God is so worthy, but I'll give you a spoiler. 00:37:16.079 --> 00:37:17.519 The answer is Jesus. 00:37:17.840 --> 00:37:19.519 You probably saw that coming. 00:37:19.760 --> 00:37:24.480 What makes God worthy of all of it, worthy of not withholding anything? 00:37:24.559 --> 00:37:31.519 It's because of his cross, his resurrection, his ascension, and his promise to come again. 00:37:31.679 --> 00:37:40.320 That's why Paul can write in Galatians 6, God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:37:41.119 --> 00:37:44.480 He is worthy because of what he has done for me. 00:37:44.639 --> 00:37:47.440 And friends, I could hammer from the pulpit. 00:37:47.599 --> 00:37:49.760 Preachers have hammered from the pulpit. 00:37:49.920 --> 00:37:59.440 You should consider God more and more and more worthy, and that is going to be useless until God expands our vision for how wonderful and beautiful and good he is. 00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:02.079 So we invite him to do that. 00:38:02.719 --> 00:38:06.000 And he proves himself worthy to us. 00:38:06.719 --> 00:38:10.000 That is his gracious condescension to us. 00:38:10.320 --> 00:38:13.519 God is unsurpassably worthy. 00:38:13.840 --> 00:38:18.800 So, Christian, worship him in the beauty of holiness. 00:38:19.440 --> 00:38:21.920 See, we lose perspective sometimes, don't we? 00:38:22.400 --> 00:38:27.519 We are the airplane waiting on the tarmac, wondering what's on the other side of the clouds. 00:38:27.679 --> 00:38:34.880 And here John has the clouds peeled away, and the reality of heaven bears itself upon our present situation. 00:38:35.039 --> 00:38:40.639 What hardships are we facing right now that we need perspective for? 00:38:41.440 --> 00:38:46.239 Let us call to mind what Jesus wants his suffering church to see. 00:38:46.559 --> 00:38:53.199