SPEAKER_03: Hi, I'm Pastor Creighton, and thank you for tuning into Newsong Churches Podcast.
SPEAKER_03: 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.
SPEAKER_03: You can learn more about us at Newsongportperry.ca.
SPEAKER_03: May God bless you today through his life-giving word.
SPEAKER_00: Reading from Revelation chapter 5.
SPEAKER_00: Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within it 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 the seals?
SPEAKER_00: And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or look into it.
SPEAKER_00: And I began to weep loudly, because no one was found were found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.
SPEAKER_00: And one of the elders said to me, Weep no more.
SPEAKER_00: 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.
SPEAKER_00: 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, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
SPEAKER_00: And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.
SPEAKER_00: And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty four elders fell down before the lamb, each holding a harp and a gold and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
SPEAKER_00: 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.
SPEAKER_00: And I looked and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the lamb who is slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.
SPEAKER_00: And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that is in them saying, To him who sits on the throne and to the lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever.
SPEAKER_00: And the four living creatures said, Amen.
SPEAKER_00: And the elders fell down and worshipped the word of the Lord.
SPEAKER_03: And honor and glory and blessing.
SPEAKER_03: Let's pray.
SPEAKER_03: Lord Jesus, though we cannot comprehend such a mystery, just a glimpse of you revealed is compelling us to sing.
SPEAKER_03: Would we glimpse even a fraction of your glory, Lord Jesus?
SPEAKER_03: And in glimpsing a fraction of your glory, would we be compelled to sing with the saints for all of eternity, how worthy you are.
SPEAKER_03: And would we be caught up in this great heavenly earth?
SPEAKER_03: In Jesus' name we pray.
SPEAKER_03: Amen.
SPEAKER_03: Please be seated.
SPEAKER_03: So one of my favorite poets is T.
SPEAKER_03: S.
SPEAKER_03: Elliott, and he wrote a play called The Cocktail Party, which is set, believe it or not, at a cocktail party.
SPEAKER_03: And what's going on is all these characters are having conversations with one another and all these relationships are getting entangled.
SPEAKER_03: The real question that's driving the whole thing is this how do we escape from the spiritual emptiness of modern life?
SPEAKER_03: If we feel a sense of emptiness, what coping mechanisms, what strategies, how do we try and outpace this feeling?
SPEAKER_03: So there is one conversation in particular that I'm interested in, and it's between Edward, the host, and this character named Riley, who's something of a psychiatrist or more of a kind of spiritual moral guide throughout the play.
SPEAKER_03: Edward says to Riley, I'm obsessed by the thought of my own significance.
SPEAKER_03: I mean, that's honest enough, right?
SPEAKER_03: To which Riley responds like this, precisely.
SPEAKER_03: I could go on to make you feel important, and you would imagine it a marvelous cure.
SPEAKER_03: Cure for spiritual emptiness, right?
SPEAKER_03: And you would go on doing such amount of mischief as lay within yourself until you came to grief.
SPEAKER_03: Half of the harm that is done in the world is due to people who want to feel important.
SPEAKER_03: They don't mean to do harm, but the harm does not interest them.
SPEAKER_03: Or they do not see it, or they justify it, because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves.
SPEAKER_03: They are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves.
SPEAKER_03: Do you know the feeling?
SPEAKER_03: I'm scared to say I know the feeling.
SPEAKER_03: What's Riley's point here?
SPEAKER_03: His point is this: our obsession with our own self-worth, feeling important, thinking well of ourselves, often leaves us feeling completely the opposite, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_03: It leaves us feeling less worthwhile.
SPEAKER_03: It can end up leaving us feel worth less.
SPEAKER_03: It blinds us often to the harm that we do to others and it enables us to justify it.
SPEAKER_03: So we have a choice in our modern world.
SPEAKER_03: We can either keep trying, but we know the definition of insanity.
SPEAKER_03: We determine that nobody and nothing is worthwhile, really.
SPEAKER_03: That's nihilism.
SPEAKER_03: Or option three, we can try and determine what is truly worthwhile, something outside of ourselves, and we can try and relate ourselves rightly with it.
SPEAKER_03: That's option three.
SPEAKER_03: So the question in front of us is what is true worth look like?
SPEAKER_03: What is true worthiness look like, and how do we relate ourselves to that worthiness?
SPEAKER_03: Well, we saw uh last week as we opened Revelation chapter 4, the clouds are parting.
SPEAKER_03: It's as though the plane is taking off and we rise above to see the glorious, peaceful splendor of heavenly worship taking place just over our heads.
SPEAKER_03: If only we could glimpse it, if only we could see it.
SPEAKER_03: And here in chapter 5, it's much the same.
SPEAKER_03: We've seen what Jesus wants to say to his church in chapters 1 to 3.
SPEAKER_03: Now it's what Jesus wants his church to see that we're concerning ourselves with in chapters four and five.
SPEAKER_03: And here, as we conclude our study in Revelation for this summer, we see this.
SPEAKER_03: Jesus wants us, his church, to see the one who is truly worthy.
SPEAKER_03: He wants us to see what true worth really means and who is truly worthy.
SPEAKER_03: And it's in beholding this worth that we gain the perspective to worship God and to trust his sovereign purposes and to persevere through suffering and despair.
SPEAKER_03: So three questions I want us to use to interrogate this idea with.
SPEAKER_03: Jesus wants to see the one who's truly worthy.
SPEAKER_03: Let's ask who is worthy, let's ask why is he worthy, and let's ask, for what is he worthy?
SPEAKER_03: Who is worthy?
SPEAKER_03: Why is he worthy?
SPEAKER_03: For what is he worthy?
SPEAKER_03: That's what Jesus wants us to see with John today.
SPEAKER_03: And as I've been sort of going through this passage, as I've been working through my sermon notes, there's this one voice that kind of keeps cropping up in my head.
SPEAKER_03: And it's an objection, and maybe it's a composite of a number of people I know, maybe you've met people like this too.
SPEAKER_03: The objection is this what I don't like about Christianity is it completely undermines self-worth, right?
SPEAKER_03: It's all about let's elevate God, let's talk about worthwhile Jesus is, and it says nothing about how worthwhile I am.
SPEAKER_03: I need a worldview that leaves me feeling more worthwhile and not less.
SPEAKER_03: A little bit like we're at the cocktail party, right?
SPEAKER_03: Here's what I want us to see.
SPEAKER_03: I want us to see the answer to where we find true self-worth as we encounter the one who is truly worthy.
SPEAKER_03: I think we can answer this objection together.
SPEAKER_03: Let's open up uh the scriptures.
SPEAKER_03: Let's open up Revelation 5 together, either in your Bibles in front of you, I think page 967.
SPEAKER_03: Or you can open up your order of service.
SPEAKER_03: Let's ask these three questions as we figure out who the worthy one is.
SPEAKER_03: Who is this worthy one?
SPEAKER_03: Verses 1 to 5.
SPEAKER_03: Let me read the first four verses.
SPEAKER_03: Then John says, I saw in the right hand of him who is seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.
SPEAKER_03: And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?
SPEAKER_03: And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it.
SPEAKER_03: And I began to weep loudly, because no one was found worthy to open up the scroll or to look into it.
SPEAKER_03: So if the question is who is worthy, probably it's the Sunday school answer that leaps to mind, right?
SPEAKER_03: And you're absolutely correct.
SPEAKER_03: But before we get ahead of ourselves, I want us to enter into the hugely, cosmically consequential drama that is taking place in the throne room of God here.
SPEAKER_03: I want us to see through John's eyes, and what John knows, what he sees, suggests that the stakes could not be higher.
SPEAKER_03: Let's appreciate that.
SPEAKER_03: God is seated on his heavenly throne, and he is holding a seven-sealed scroll.
SPEAKER_03: What's the deal with this scroll?
SPEAKER_03: On the one hand, it resembles Roman wills and contracts, right?
SPEAKER_03: Sealed with uh, you know, an inscription or something that would pertain to the person it's intended for.
SPEAKER_03: And it would have a description of the contents on the back, right?
SPEAKER_03: So it's a Roman will, it's a contract of sorts.
SPEAKER_03: We've seen God communicate his will with the images of scrolls in the Bible before, right?
SPEAKER_03: Remember, Revelation is always assuming that we're good students of the Old Testament, and so in Ezekiel 2 and 3, we see God giving the prophet Ezekiel a scroll to pass along to his people, as it were, his word, his plan for salvation, right?
SPEAKER_03: So John sees the scroll and he knows intuitively what it represents.
SPEAKER_03: In the words of commentator Daryl Johnson, the scroll contains the completeness of God's plan for rectifying what is wrong and establishing his gracious rule in the world.
SPEAKER_03: The scroll contains God's plan for bringing the kingdom of heaven to earth.
SPEAKER_03: Don't you want the scroll to be open?
SPEAKER_03: Don't you want evil and suffering that you've experienced to be finally and completely answered?
SPEAKER_03: That's what John wants.
SPEAKER_03: We want that too.
SPEAKER_03: Opening this scroll is the only way to realize God's will for humanity once and for all.
SPEAKER_03: And we are so close to it, aren't we?
SPEAKER_03: But one thing is required.
SPEAKER_03: Someone, anyone who is worthy to open up this scroll.
SPEAKER_03: If God is worthy, he could open it up, but that's not the point.
SPEAKER_03: Is there anyone in human history who is free from the stain and corruption of sin?
SPEAKER_03: Who hasn't rebelled against God in his or her own heart?
SPEAKER_03: Who hasn't worshipped the false gods of their desires or their ambitions?
SPEAKER_03: Can you understand why John weeps?
SPEAKER_03: These are ugly tears.
SPEAKER_03: And they are ugly tears because this unopened scroll means an unredeemed universe forever.
SPEAKER_03: We are so close.
SPEAKER_03: And yet without someone who is worthy to open up this scroll, there is no real hope for humanity.
SPEAKER_03: There is no real hope for you.
SPEAKER_03: There is no real hope for me.
SPEAKER_03: We will all just spiral off into nothing forever.
SPEAKER_03: Some see this as an honest outlook in life.
SPEAKER_03: Towards the end of his life, the famous British public intellectual and atheist Bertrand Russell was asked, you know, what do you hold on to?
SPEAKER_03: You know, that's an important question for the end of your life, right?
SPEAKER_03: What do you hold on to?
SPEAKER_03: And do you want to know what his answer was?
SPEAKER_03: Grim and unyielding despair.
SPEAKER_03: That's what Bertrand Russell has to hold on to at the end of his life.
SPEAKER_03: And you know, I think he says it as something to be admired.
SPEAKER_03: Because at least I'm being honest about my outlook here.
SPEAKER_03: And frankly, if the scroll remains unopened, that's all we have to hold on to as well, isn't it?
SPEAKER_03: Grim and unyielding despair.
SPEAKER_03: This is the universe we are inches away from.
SPEAKER_03: But this need not be our answer.
SPEAKER_03: Verse 5.
SPEAKER_03: One of the elders said to me, to John, weep no more.
SPEAKER_03: Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered.
SPEAKER_03: So he can open up the scroll and its seven seals.
SPEAKER_03: Weep no more, John.
SPEAKER_03: I've got good news for you.
SPEAKER_03: In fact, I've got the good news for you.
SPEAKER_03: There is one who is worthy, and he is the Lion of Judah, right?
SPEAKER_03: This principal, kingly image that we have carried forward ever since Genesis chapter 49.
SPEAKER_03: He is the root of David.
SPEAKER_03: We read about that in Isaiah 11.
SPEAKER_03: He is the Messiah.
SPEAKER_03: He is worthy.
SPEAKER_03: Why?
SPEAKER_03: Because he has conquered, he has overcome, he has vanquished sin and death and meaninglessness and despair by way of his cross and his resurrection.
SPEAKER_03: So if the question is, who is worthy, the answer is this: the Lion of Judah is worthy.
SPEAKER_03: The Lion of Judah.
SPEAKER_03: Jesus the Messiah is uniquely worthy.
SPEAKER_03: Hallelujah.
SPEAKER_03: The scroll can be opened.
SPEAKER_03: See, from time to time, maybe this, I'm just going to make a confession here.
SPEAKER_03: I've been a Christian pretty much all my life.
SPEAKER_03: I hang out in the church a lot.
SPEAKER_03: I hang out with you guys a lot.
SPEAKER_03: I like that a lot.
SPEAKER_03: But the danger sometimes of the danger is I never do this thought experiment from time to time.
SPEAKER_03: What would life be like apart from Jesus?
SPEAKER_03: I wonder if sometimes we need to ask ourselves that question.
SPEAKER_03: Because I think there's at least a couple things that could result.
SPEAKER_03: One is a greater love for Christ.
SPEAKER_03: Because we can appreciate the fact that he alone is uniquely worthy to move forward God's plan of salvation.
SPEAKER_03: He does what I cannot do for myself.
SPEAKER_03: And so, apart from Christ, I have no hope.
SPEAKER_03: But with Christ, I have all the hope in the universe.
SPEAKER_03: Surely that increases my love for Christ.
SPEAKER_03: Here's a second thing that can result: a greater desire to share Christ with those who have yet to know his hope.
SPEAKER_03: Because if I'm caught up in this heavenly hope, surely, surely, I want that hope to go into all corners of the world.
SPEAKER_03: I want to share it with those that I love.
SPEAKER_03: Who is worthy?
SPEAKER_03: The Lion of Judah.
SPEAKER_03: Jesus, the Messiah, is worthy.
SPEAKER_03: Here's what's interesting.
SPEAKER_03: John hears about a lion, and that signals who's worthy.
SPEAKER_03: But when he turns to look, he sees something quite different.
SPEAKER_03: Did you notice that?
SPEAKER_03: And what he sees says everything about how Jesus has conquered.
SPEAKER_03: Who is worthy?
SPEAKER_03: The Lion of Judah.
SPEAKER_03: Why is he worthy?
SPEAKER_03: Let's look at verses 6 to 10.
SPEAKER_03: Um, yeah, 6 to 10.
SPEAKER_03: And between the throne, God's throne, and the four living creatures, right?
SPEAKER_03: We met them last week, these heavenly beings, and among the elders, these 24 elders seated around the throne, right, representing God's people, I saw a lion.
SPEAKER_03: A lamb.
SPEAKER_03: That's very interesting.
SPEAKER_03: I saw a lamb standing as though it had been slain, with seven horns representing power, right?
SPEAKER_03: With seven eyes representing omniscience, which are the seven spirits of God, right?
SPEAKER_03: The fullness of God's one Holy Spirit sent out into all the earth.
SPEAKER_03: Verse 7.
SPEAKER_03: And he went and took the scroll, the Lamb took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.
SPEAKER_03: And when he had taken up the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
SPEAKER_03: And they sang a new song.
SPEAKER_03: Hey, that's a good name for a church.
SPEAKER_03: They sang a new song, saying, Worthy are you to take the scroll and open its seals.
SPEAKER_03: Why?
SPEAKER_03: Don't you want to know why?
SPEAKER_03: For you were slain, and by your blood you redeemed 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.
SPEAKER_03: So we know that it's Jesus who's worthy to open up God's plan of salvation, and we know he's worthy because he's conquered sin, death, meaninglessness, and despair, right?
SPEAKER_03: He's introduced himself in chapter 1 as the one who has died, and behold, I'm alive forevermore.
SPEAKER_03: I have the keys of death in Hades.
SPEAKER_03: He's not kidding around here.
SPEAKER_03: He's the lion of Judah, and lions conquer.
SPEAKER_03: But notice, John looks for a lion.
SPEAKER_03: What does he see?
SPEAKER_03: A lamb, as though it had been slain.
SPEAKER_03: See, the lamb evokes the whole biblical story of sacrifice, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_03: The Passover lamb, sacrificed as a substitution in Exodus chapter 12, right?
SPEAKER_03: The Old Testament priestly sacrificial system pointing ahead to the one great sacrifice to come.
SPEAKER_03: It remembers Isaiah's suffering servant.
SPEAKER_03: We like sheep have gone astray.
SPEAKER_03: On him this servant was laid the iniquity of us all.
SPEAKER_03: Jesus has conquered, but not as a lion who has slain his enemies.
SPEAKER_03: He's conquered as a lamb who was slain by his enemies and for his enemies.
SPEAKER_03: Do you see?
SPEAKER_03: On the cross, Jesus uniquely and unrepeatedly makes satisfaction for sin and death as our great high priest by acting not only as our high priest who makes the offering, but also as the sacrificial lamb being offered as a substitution for us, his sinful people.
SPEAKER_03: That's why the book of Hebrews in chapter 10 can say that we've now been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
SPEAKER_03: And what's the result of this sacrifice?
SPEAKER_03: By his blood, he has redeemed, he's rescued, he's purchased back people from every tribe and language and people and nation and made us a kingdom and priests to our God.
SPEAKER_03: The people of God are no longer to be identified with just one nation or ethnicity.
SPEAKER_03: God's salvation goes out to all people.
SPEAKER_03: Right?
SPEAKER_03: And his kingdom envelops all national boundaries.
SPEAKER_03: Not only are we made citizens of his kingdom, we are made priests.
SPEAKER_03: Did you notice that?
SPEAKER_03: We are royal citizens and priests.
SPEAKER_03: Now it's my humbling privilege to serve the church as an ordained priest, or as in what a New Testament would call a presbyter, but we should never forget this: that before the church has a priesthood, an ordained priesthood, the church is a priesthood, a priesthood of all believers.
SPEAKER_03: And we minister God's truth and his grace to the world, standing like a priest, ministering God's truth and goodness to the world, and bringing the burdens and cares of this world before God.
SPEAKER_03: See, friends, when a friend comes to you and unburdens themselves, says, This is the struggle I'm going through right now, here's what I'm trying to do right now.
SPEAKER_03: And you say, Let me pray for you, you are acting as God's priest.
SPEAKER_03: You are bearing God's heart to them and their heart to God.
SPEAKER_03: This is our calling.
SPEAKER_03: To participate in the great priesthood of Christ.
SPEAKER_03: To God's glory and for the sake of the world.
SPEAKER_03: Do you see?
SPEAKER_03: Do you see why Jesus is worthy?
SPEAKER_03: He's worthy because he is the great high priest, the once-for-all sacrificial Lamb who has reconciled us to God.
SPEAKER_03: And being reconciled to God, united with Christ by faith, we now share in his royal priestly ministry.
SPEAKER_03: This means victory comes not through slaying enemies, it comes by way of Christ and going to Christ.
SPEAKER_03: See, one of the things that has me excited these days, I'm not online a ton.
SPEAKER_03: Rachel keeps me posted.
SPEAKER_03: But one thing I'm very excited about what I see online is an increasing interest in Christianity.
SPEAKER_03: I think that's very cool.
SPEAKER_03: I think it's very cool to see young people having conversations about faith and spirituality and Christianity in particular.
SPEAKER_03: This is all very exciting.
SPEAKER_03: There are more people, anecdotally, there are more people today who are interested in talking with you about your faith than there might have been in previous generations.
SPEAKER_03: That's pretty cool.
SPEAKER_03: That's a cool opportunity, isn't it, new song?
SPEAKER_03: If I have a concern, it's only this.
SPEAKER_03: My concern is not that people want to talk about Christianity.
SPEAKER_03: My concern is their motivation for talking about it.
SPEAKER_03: Because often the question behind this interest is something like this: what can Christianity do for me?
SPEAKER_03: Right?
SPEAKER_03: Maybe it's as grandiose as Christianity has the capacity to save Western civilization from oblivion.
SPEAKER_03: That's not unimportant, right?
SPEAKER_03: Or maybe the question behind the question is something like this: can Christianity give me that sense of personal fulfillment that I'm looking for?
SPEAKER_03: Because if not, then I'll move on to the next thing, you know?
SPEAKER_03: Notice lion, lamb, and throne all go together.
SPEAKER_03: We cannot have the lion that conquers offers us the thing we want, so to speak, without the lamb.
SPEAKER_03: True Christianity understands that there is a spiritual paradox at the center of the cosmos.
SPEAKER_03: Jesus is the powerful lion, yes.
SPEAKER_03: There is nothing he is not capable of.
SPEAKER_03: But he conquers by way of the Lamb.
SPEAKER_03: Are we willing to do the same?
SPEAKER_03: Right?
SPEAKER_03: When Christianity asks of us not to vanquish our enemies, but to forgive them, do I want to take the way of the lion or the lamb?
SPEAKER_03: When Christianity asks me to choose non-retaliation, or to pray for my enemy, or to trust vengeance to the Lord, am I willing to only trust the lion and not the lamb?
SPEAKER_03: Or am I willing to take both together?
SPEAKER_03: See, these things, these images are given to us conflated together on purpose.
SPEAKER_03: We're not meant to split them up.
SPEAKER_03: We like the power and strength of the lion, but we need to conquer by way of the lamb.
SPEAKER_03: We need to be those who follow in Jesus' footsteps and take up our cross to follow him to the glory of God and for the sake of our neighbor.
SPEAKER_03: Do you see the difference here?
SPEAKER_03: Jesus is worthy because he is our great high priest and the sacrificial lamb.
SPEAKER_03: And so therefore, we follow in the imitation of him.
SPEAKER_03: Jesus is worthy, for what is he worthy?
SPEAKER_03: Let's look at verses 11 to 14.
SPEAKER_03: Then I looked, and I heard around the throne, and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads and myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.
SPEAKER_03: And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and in the sea, and all that is in them say, To him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever.
SPEAKER_03: So for what is Jesus worthy?
SPEAKER_03: Notice the seven things that these heavenly hosts have declared that Jesus is worthy to receive: power, wealth, wisdom, might, honor, glory, blessing.
SPEAKER_03: These are seven of the most excellent tributes suitable to a conquering king.
SPEAKER_03: And seven, as we've seen throughout Revelation, is the number of completeness, right?
SPEAKER_03: It symbolizes fulfillment.
SPEAKER_03: So, in other words, what is King Jesus worthy to receive?
SPEAKER_03: The answer is everything.
SPEAKER_03: He is worthy of everything, every honor, every accolade, every single word of praise that we can utter.
SPEAKER_03: Jesus is supremely worthy above them all.
SPEAKER_03: There is nothing we can possess, nothing that we are, nothing that we can offer, which he is not worthy to receive.
SPEAKER_03: After all, all things come of you, O Lord, and of your own have we given you.
SPEAKER_03: And notice who declares them worthy.
SPEAKER_03: First, it's the whole company of heaven, right?
SPEAKER_03: These four living creatures, the 24 elders, thousands upon thousands of angels.
SPEAKER_03: I mean, that's a big deal enough.
SPEAKER_03: But then the camera lens zooms out, as it were.
SPEAKER_03: Heaven reverberates with the worthiness of the Lamb, but the circle expands.
SPEAKER_03: John hears every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that is in them.
SPEAKER_03: This vision is as cosmic and as comprehensive as it gets.
SPEAKER_03: There is no voice in all of creation excluded from honoring Christ as worthy.
SPEAKER_03: So here are a couple of facts.
SPEAKER_03: There are somewhere between 100 billion to 400 billion stars in our galaxy alone.
SPEAKER_03: Think about that.
SPEAKER_03: Most of these stars are likely to have their own planetary bodies.
SPEAKER_03: And our galaxy, made up of 100 billion to 400 billion stars, is just one of about 2 trillion galaxies in our universe.
SPEAKER_03: And from what we can observe, the universe itself is about 93 billion light years in diameter and expanding.
SPEAKER_03: Light from the most distant observable object takes about 13.8 billion light years to reach us.
SPEAKER_03: John would have known none of this.
SPEAKER_03: We can barely get our heads around it, can we?
SPEAKER_03: John would have known none of this, but not precisely.
SPEAKER_03: He would have known this truth perhaps better than any of us can fathom on this side of eternity.
SPEAKER_03: And the truth is this: the heavens declare the glory of God.
SPEAKER_03: All of creation is wrapped up in declaring Jesus is worthy.
SPEAKER_03: No corner of the universe can't declare that.
SPEAKER_03: Before this throne, every voice is gathered up, and every tongue confesses Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
SPEAKER_03: And notice something remarkable, right?
SPEAKER_03: The lion and lamb, right, these two images, one and the same, who emerges from the throne of God and receives the same worship as him who sits on the throne.
SPEAKER_03: So the crucified and risen Jesus, we're left to conclude, receives the worship due to God alongside the Father, in the fullness of the Holy Spirit, who is sent out from the throne, because he is God.
SPEAKER_03: And this God was slain for us.
SPEAKER_03: So for what is Jesus worthy?
SPEAKER_03: To receive everything from every conceivable creature.
SPEAKER_03: And that includes you and me.
SPEAKER_03: And the four living creatures said, Amen.
SPEAKER_03: And the elders fell down and worshiped.
SPEAKER_03: Because what else can we do when we see a glimpse of this glory and worthiness revealed?
SPEAKER_03: What else can we do but fall down and declare him to be worthy?
SPEAKER_03: See, friends, we gather and worship.
SPEAKER_03: Not because it might make us feel or not feel any particular feelings.
SPEAKER_03: I mean, it's great to feel caught up in worship.
SPEAKER_03: I'm glad that we have a singing congregation that gets caught up in this.
SPEAKER_03: But we don't sing to get the feels.
SPEAKER_03: That's a nice side effect.
SPEAKER_03: Why do we sing?
SPEAKER_03: Because he's worthy.
SPEAKER_03: And because he will keep being worthy regardless of the week or the month or the year that I've had.
SPEAKER_03: And I need to be reminded of that.
SPEAKER_03: When I stand here and sing of his worthiness, I am training myself to take up my place in this heavenly chorus, where one day I will spend eternity declaring his worth and being caught up in it.
SPEAKER_03: That's what we're doing, friends, when we worship.
SPEAKER_03: We are bringing the Lord Jesus, placing the Lord Jesus on the throne of our hearts where he belongs.
SPEAKER_03: Jesus wants us to see the one who is truly worthy.
SPEAKER_03: So back to the cocktail party.
SPEAKER_03: They are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves.
SPEAKER_03: Maybe you know the feeling.
SPEAKER_03: The one who is truly worthy, we've seen in Revelation 5, is the Lion of Judah, the Messiah.
SPEAKER_03: And he's worthy because he is the great high priest and sacrifice given for us.
SPEAKER_03: And he's worthy to receive all praise from every creature in every corner of the universe.
SPEAKER_03: And friends, if that objection still resonates in our minds, that the problem with Christianity is that undermines our self-worth, I want us to see that Christianity doesn't ask us to have low self-esteem.
SPEAKER_03: That is not a prerequisite of being a Christian.
SPEAKER_03: It does ask us to see Jesus as the worthy one.
SPEAKER_03: He is at the center of it all.
SPEAKER_03: He radiates glory and worth.
SPEAKER_03: He alone is sinless.
SPEAKER_03: He alone is our Redeemer.
SPEAKER_03: He alone can open up the scrolls and secure God's will for humanity forever.
SPEAKER_03: Christianity asks us to see Jesus as the worthy one, but it asks us to see ourselves in Jesus.
SPEAKER_03: Do you see?
SPEAKER_03: It asks us to see ourselves in Jesus, united with him by faith and the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_03: Christianity does not neglect self-worth.
SPEAKER_03: It teaches us what we are truly worth and how.
SPEAKER_03: We are not worms to be despised and kicked aside.
SPEAKER_03: But we're also not God, which is really unburdening, don't you think?
SPEAKER_03: We do not need to be in control to be worthwhile.
SPEAKER_03: And our worth is not tied to our performance.
SPEAKER_03: It is tied to his word to us.
SPEAKER_03: He is the worthy one.
SPEAKER_03: And what does he say to us?
SPEAKER_03: You are my beloved.
SPEAKER_03: What does he say to us?
SPEAKER_03: You are worth my cross.
SPEAKER_03: And you are worth my resurrection.
SPEAKER_03: You are worth it.
SPEAKER_03: You are worth my redeeming.
SPEAKER_03: So, friends, do not neglect the worthiness of Jesus, because in Jesus you will find your infinite worth, and you will praise him for it for all of eternity.
SPEAKER_03: Worthy is the Lamb who is slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.
SPEAKER_03: Amen.
SPEAKER_03: We hope that you've been blessed by God's word today.
SPEAKER_03: If you live in the area, we hope that you'll come and worship with us in person on Sunday at 10 a.m.
SPEAKER_03: If you'd like to learn more about Newsong Church, we'd love to connect with you.
SPEAKER_03: Please find our contact information at newsongperry.ca and reach out to us.
SPEAKER_03: Newsong's ministry is entirely funded by the generous giving of those who worship and journey with us.
SPEAKER_03: If you feel called to support our ministry with a financial gift, please go to newsongportperry.ca slash giving to make your contribution.
SPEAKER_03: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.