Victory’s Comfort

Salvation & Comfort Come From Our God

5.11.25 [Revelation 7:9-17] River of Life (4th Sunday of Easter)

Can you read me a bedtime story? It’s the classic request of every kid who doesn’t want to go to sleep, yet. Can you tell me a story? 

Disney has built an entertainment empire on fulfilling this simple request. Vivid animations, catchy songs, and colorful voice actors have embedded characters like Cinderella, Ariel, Aladdin, and Pinocchio into our collective consciousness. But, as you likely know, these stories and more were not the creations of Walt or his team. Stories like these can be traced back to authors like Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm, among others. 

But when you read the original versions, they’re very different than Disney’s versions. In the Disney version of the Little Mermaid, Ariel trades her voice for the opportunity to win Prince Eric’s heart. In the original version, she is mute, but after drinking a potion that turned her tail into legs, also in excruciating pain with every step. In the Disney version, Ariel ultimately wins Eric’s heart. In the original version, Ariel has to choose whether or not to kill the prince who didn’t fall in love with her or lose her own life. She chooses to sacrifice herself instead of slaying the sleeping prince. 

And the Little Mermaid isn’t the only one like that. So many of the original stories have really dark twists. Cinderella’s evil stepsisters have their eyes pecked out at Cinderella’s wedding. The Princess doesn’t fall in love with the frog and kiss him. She throws him against the wall when he tries to hop in her comfortable bed. Hansel and Gretel don’t get lost in the forest. Their stepmother abandoned them in the forest—twice! These stories are short on happily ever afters. 

But the Disney version almost always ends with a happily ever after. It sells better. It’s what audiences yearn for. We all want it. Not just in our stories. We long for the happily ever after in our own lives. 

And that’s what’s so appealing in our reading from Revelation 7. Because it ends on such a high note. Rev. 7:15-17 God will shelter them with his presence. Never again will they hunger or thirst. The Lamb will be their shepherd and he will lead them to springs of living water. Protected and provided for is about as happily ever after as it gets, isn’t it? But how do we know it’s true?How do we know that this isn’t some fanciful story that the Apostle John made up to put his kids to bed? 

What John describes in these last verses isn’t what life looks like in this world, is it? Life in this world, for all kinds of people, is filled with struggles and suffering. Men, women, and children have always been vulnerable to distress and disaster. Try as we might, we cannot prevent calamity from visiting. All over our world—and throughout human history—mankind has struggled to make ends meet. In ancient and modern times, people have died of starvation and lack of good, clean drinking water. In ancient and modern times, people have lost their lives to adverse weather conditions—including the scorching heat of the sun. All of these struggles began when Adam and Eve rebelled against God, disobeyed his orders, and were banished to live outside of paradise. Life in this world isn’t happily ever after. Life is full of troubles and tribulation. 

But if you look carefully, John acknowledges as much. In chapter six, he has given us the view of God’s plan of salvation from earth. On earth, mankind has been subjected to belligerence, barbarity, and bloodshed. Any semblance of peace or security vanished. Violence became the norm. And with that economic hardship, sickness, natural disasters, and death ran rampant. 

And even God’s own people are not spared. Believers and unbelievers navigate the same miseries and disasters. In fact, John sees that it was worse for those who were faithful to the Word of God. Many were martyred Rev. 6:9 because of the Word of God and the testimony they had maintained. Life is tribulation. 

This is the world we live in today. Now, we must acknowledge, our experience of these hardships has certainly been mitigated in many ways by modern conveniences. There are threats and attackers in this world, but they don’t keep us up at night. Our food might not be as good for us as it ought to be, but we are not starving. Our water might contain microplastics and forever chemicals and may produce kidney stones, but we are not dying of thirst. It might be hot in our homes and cars, but we have air conditioning at our fingertips. 

It would be foolish of us to pretend that our lives are as hard as those who have gone before us, or those who live in other places. 

But this misses John’s point of the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation depicts the great battle of Christ and his church against Satan and the sinful world throughout history. Satan and the sinful world have a singular goal—to separate believers from their Lord. 

In the past and in other places, the wicked foe will use direct affronts & attacks, hoping that Christians will turn their back on Christ to save their own hides or because he has not prevented them from experiencing suffering. 

But in our time and place, the tactic is different. Satan’s goal is to lull us into complacency. What do we need salvation from? Life here isn’t half bad! I’m not being attacked. I’m not hungry or thirsty or being beaten down by the sun. I’m not feeling lost or overwhelmed with grief. I’m not living a fairy tale, but I’m doing just fine. That kind of complacency quickly leads to carelessness & ultimately apathy. 

In times of hardship, Satan wants us to believe God cannot help. In times of success, Satan wants us to believe we do not need God’s help. Both are lies, his native language, and bring about eternal death. 

And this is why God gives us his Word. So that we may know the message of truth, the Gospel of our salvation. Christ has come to save us because salvation comes from our God and the Lamb. 

Christ has come to save those who are crying out for salvation from the troubles of this world. Christ has come to show those who have grown comfortable in this world that they need saving, too.

The Gospels record Jesus responding to both things. How many times does Jesus respond to those who are crying for help and healing? Is there a single instance where someone is sick or suffering and our Savior doesn’t respond with help or healing? Not only that, but he goes above and beyond in bringing salvation to mankind. Jesus served us. 

When people brought their sick and suffering to him, he never just began the healing process. When four friends brought a lame man to Jesus, he didn’t renew the man’s muscle synapses and restore his muscle mass and send him off to physical rehabilitation center. He simply said to him Mk. 2:11 Get up! Take your mat and go home.

Jesus performed miracles for those who were hungry and thirsty—even when their lives were not hanging in the balance. He fed the 5000 Israelites and the 4000 Gentiles. He turned water into wine so that the wedding party would not be put to shame. 

Salvation comes from our God and his Lamb. Jesus served sinners. When he came to Jericho, there were crowds of people who were eager to see him. Some wanted to listen to him teach. Others were hoping to witness a miracle. Jesus did both, but not in a way any of them expected. He looked up and said to a despised local chief tax collector: Lk 19:5 Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today. The people were shocked and appalled. Lk 19:7 He has gone to be the guest of a sinner. 

But salvation belongs to our God and his Lamb. Jesus Lk 19:10 came to seek and save the lost—even those who were living comfortably. So in doing this, Lk 19:9 salvation came to his house. 

So many lives were made happier because salvation came to them. Even Jesus’ enemies had to admit that he had miraculous power. But he did not come to just make life in this world a little more comfortable. He came to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. So he threw himself into this world of troubles and tribulations. He served as our Substitute. He came to offer his lifeblood as a sacrifice for our sins. He was wounded so that we might be healed from harm sin has done. He died on the cross so that we might be set free from the debt of our sin, guilt, and shame. He shed his holy, precious blood so that we might be washed clean. 

And we are! By his wounds, we have been healed! By his blood, we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. By his death, we have died to sin and we now live for him. And we look forward to life eternal with him, as well. That’s where John lifts our eyes, today. To the heaven that Jesus has opened and fashioned for his faithful people. 

And there is so much about this that is better than happily ever after. Every single form of suffering and hardship has been eliminated. We have a designated place—before the throne of God. We have a purpose for our existence—we serve him night and day. We have an intimate connection with the Lord Almighty—he will shelter us with his presence. We have sustenance and protection—hunger, thirst, and blazing heat cannot touch us. We have guidance—the Lamb will be our shepherd and he will lead us to springs of living water. 

If our text stopped there, it would be better than any story you could tell your kids or grandkids—and it’s true. But our God is greater. His mercy is new every morning and surpass even our wildest dreams. Look at what our God does for us individually. Rev. 19:17 God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Who does this? 

Moms usually, for their young children. Why? Because they love them and they notice the little things. Because they are intimately involved in the well-being of their children. Maybe you have a mom like that now. Maybe you wish you did growing up. Maybe your mom is no longer here and a day like this makes you nostalgic and sad. Well, God has good news for all who are grieving. One day, he will wipe every tear from your eyes, and they’ll never have a reason to cry again. Amen.