Worthy is the Lamb (Part 2)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Last week we came to Revelation 5 and were given a glimpse into Heaven’s throneroom and today we are going to continue that message. A search was made across every universe to find someone worthy to open the seven sealed scroll held in the Father’s right hand and no one was able to step forward. John began to weep and then the Lamb of God was found worthy to open the scroll. The rest of Chapter 5 tells what happens next...
Notice again Rev 5:8
Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
As the Lord Jesus Christ receives the scroll from the Father worship in Heaven intensifies as the 4 living creatures and the 24 elders fall down in worship before the Lamb of God. John notices they are holding something...
Notice What they are Holding (v. 8)
Notice What they are Holding (v. 8)
Harps
Harps
Walvoord notes that the only two instruments that are mentioned in heavenly worship are the harp and the trumpet. The Greek word for “harp” could refer to a 10 stringed instrument like we think of or a LYRE which would be an instrument more like a guitar...
Harps (lyres) were well known instruments that had been used for centuries in the service of God and to accompany the singing of Psalms:
For instance we are told:
Praise the Lord with the harp;
Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.
Sing to the Lord with the harp,
With the harp and the sound of a psalm,
I will sing a new song to You, O God;
On a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
Sing praises on the harp to our God,
Not only are they holding these musical instruments used in worship but they are also holding...
Bowls of Incense
Bowls of Incense
I want you to try to imagine this scene...The prayers of the saints are still rising before the throne of God as incense. The Psalmist seemed to understand this concept when he wrote
Let my prayer be set before You as incense,
The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
The idea of incense in OT worship was very common. John MacArthur notes that
...gold, wide-mouth saucers were common in the tabernacle and temple. Priests stood twice DAILY before the inner veil of the temple and burned incense so that the smoke would carry into the Holy of Holies and be swept into the nostrils of God. That symbolized the people’s prayers rising to Him.
Could it be dear friend, that my prayers and your prayers are stored in these Golden Bowls before the throne of God and rise as pleasant incense in His presence?
Gwyn Pugh thinks so. He says:
Prayers, once prayed, are stored and continue to work for us, they are not lost. Each time we pray, we add to those already prayed. God never forgets legitimate prayers. Knowing this brings great comfort about past efforts in prayer and is an incentive to pray even more.
John Courson mentions “GOD’S ACTIVE BOX” in his commentary. He says:
I’m convinced that many of the blessings in our lives are answers to prayers we prayed years previously.
He talks about Luke 1:13
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
John Courson imagines what Zachariah’s response may have been:
What do you mean...I haven’t prayed that pray in decades==which shows us even the prayers we forget about are still in “God’s Active Box.”
What if, in this very moment, your tears and whispers were rising before the throne of the Lamb?
Do you still remember the sincere, faith-filled, heartfelt prayers you prayed as a child?
Do you still remember the sincere, faith-filled, heartfelt prayers you prayed when you found out your were expecting your child, the prayers you prayed over them as they lay sleeping on your chest...
Do you still remember the broken hearted prayers that you offered up to God when He said no to a child?
Do you still remember the broken hearted prayers that you prayed after that phone call?
Do you still remember the broken hearted prayers that you prayed after the diagnosis?
Do you still remember...you may not, but God does and those prayers are still in His presence, reverberating throughout time, being answered in God’s way, in God’s time, and according to God’s will.
Oh dear child of God do not stop bringing your petitions before a loving, merciful, gracious, God.
Someone illustrated prayer this way:
Imagine a large, solid stone placed under a dripping faucet. At first, the drops of water seem insignificant—just tiny droplets hitting the surface of the rock. But over time, as the water continues to fall, something incredible happens. The once-hard stone begins to wear down. The persistent drops, though small on their own, eventually carve a groove into the rock.
Our prayers are like those drops of water. Sometimes, we pray and don’t see immediate results. We wonder if God is hearing us. But Revelation 5:8 reminds us that our prayers are not lost—they are being gathered, stored, and rising before God like incense. Just as the dripping water shapes the stone over time, our persistent prayers make a difference in ways we may not always see at first.
So, don’t stop praying! Every prayer matters, every word is heard, and every cry is gathered before the throne of God. Keep praying, and trust that God is at work—even when you don’t yet see the results
After this scene ALL OF HEAVEN BREAKS LOOSE as a NEW SONG is sung...and God gives us the words...
Singing a New Song (vv. 9-10)
Singing a New Song (vv. 9-10)
And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.”
The concept of a NEW SONG is an OLD CONCEPT!
Walter Elwell says:
In the Old Testament there is a constant reminder to sing a new song to the Lord because of all that he has done
Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!
For He has done marvelous things;
His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.
A NEW SONG is appropriate because Revelation is a book about NEW THINGS.
William Barclay says its a book about a
NEW NAME,
the NEW JERUSALEM,
the NEW HEAVENS AND NEW EARTH,
and the promise that GOD IS GOING TO MAKE ALL THINGS NEW!
In the song these creatures and elders celebrate the fact that the Lord Jesus has been found WORTHY to take the scroll, break its seals, and reveal its contents.
Then they remind us of the SACRIFICE HE MADE and FOR WHOM HE MADE IT and THE BENEFITS WE RECEIVE FROM IT!
Then they remind us of the SACRIFICE HE MADE and FOR WHOM HE MADE IT and THE BENEFITS WE RECEIVE FROM IT!
First they say He was SLAIN. Again this is in the AORIST TENSE which emphasizes His ONCE-FOR-ALL-SACRIFICE!
First they say He was SLAIN. Again this is in the AORIST TENSE which emphasizes His ONCE-FOR-ALL-SACRIFICE!
Second, they emphasize the reason He was slain...TO PAY THE PRICE OF REDEMPTION! He paid the price to RESCUE us from the POWER OF SATAN; the POWER AND PENALTY OF SIN through His blood!
Second, they emphasize the reason He was slain...TO PAY THE PRICE OF REDEMPTION! He paid the price to RESCUE us from the POWER OF SATAN; the POWER AND PENALTY OF SIN through His blood!
Third, they sing about the SCOPE of His Redemption—it is universal!
Third, they sing about the SCOPE of His Redemption—it is universal!
EVERY tribe
EVERY tongue
EVERY people
EVERY nation
We will see this group gathered in...
After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
Fourth, we See What His Sacrifice Has Made Us: Kings and Priests to our God!
Fourth, we See What His Sacrifice Has Made Us: Kings and Priests to our God!
We’ve been made ROYALTY because we’ve been adopted and now we are a CHILD OF THE KING!
We are now privileged to come directly to God through our great High Priest the Lord Jesus!
As Chapter 5 comes to a close...
Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,
A Myriad of Angels of Angels Join In (vv. 11-14)
A Myriad of Angels of Angels Join In (vv. 11-14)
Not only are the 24 elders and the 4 creatures involved in worship and song, but now there are 10,000 x 10,000 and thousands of thousands! It’s interesting in the Greek language their highest number was 10,000...so whenever they wanted to express something that was uncountable they would say 10,000 x 10,000...it’s going to be a VAST MULTITUDE OF ANGELS joining in the chorus and notice what they will be saying
saying with a loud voice:
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
So we have the ELDERS, the BEASTS around the throne, a multitude of ANGELS around the throne...now look at what happens
And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:
“Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”
Concluding Thoughts
Concluding Thoughts
Notice again WHO recognizes His worthiness?
The Father—by allowing the Son to take and open the scroll
The 24 Elders
The 4 Living Creatures
The Angels
EVERY creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth, on the sea, and in the sea
It’s wonderfully amazing to think the FATHER, the ELDERS, the CREATURES and the ANGELS recognize His worthiness...
BUT THE REAL QUESTION THIS MORNING IS DO YOU AND I RECOGNIZE HIS WORTHINESS
When will we start ACTING like HE IS WORTHY?
When will we start LOVING like He is WORTHY?
When will we start OBEYING like He is WORTHY?
When will we start SURRENDERING like HE is WORTHY?
When will we start praising like HE IS WORTHY?
When will we start TRUSTING like HE IS WORTHY?
When will we start PLANNING like He is WORTHY?
When will we start singing like HE IS WORTHY?
When will we start giving like HE IS WORTHY?
When will we start living like HE IS WORTHY?
I want you to think about the person YOU love and adore the most on planet earth...maybe your spouse, your parent, your child, your sibling, your grandchild...
NOW THINK ABOUT THE FACT THAT IN ETERNITY PAST GOD LOOKED FORWARD IN TIME AND KNEW THAT PERSON WAS GOING TO NEED A SAVIOR, A REDEEMER...JESUS STEPPED IN AND TOOK THE JUDGMENT FOR THEIR SINS...
BUT NOT ONLY THEM...HE IS THE ONLY ONE STANDING BETWEEN YOU AND ETERNAL JUDGMENT IN THE LAKE OF FIRE!
REMEMBER, “WORTHY IS THE LAMB THAT WAS SLAIN...” Why was He slain...He was slain to make a way for us to be reconciled to the Father, yes, but He was also slain to take THE HELL WE DESERVED for eternity, those 6 hours on the cross!
HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT THAT LATELY? HE IS THE ONLY ONE STANDING BETWEEN YOU AND ETERNAL DESTRUCTION!
“Let today be that day. Let this moment be when you say, ‘Lord, You are worthy—of all my heart, all my praise, all my life.’”
Have you recognized His worthiness to be YOUR ONLY Savior?
Have you recognized His worthiness by SURRENDERING to His place for YOUR life?
Have you recognized His worthiness to SUPPLY the power you need to live YOUR life for His glory?
Are you dependent upon His riches and strength to PROVIDE what you need?
Are you reliant upon His wisdom?
How are you giving Him honor, glory, and blessing?
Salvation
Rededication
Baptism
Church Membership
