Untitled Sermon (3)

“One More Hallelujah”

Revelation 19:1-6

Introduction:  

Primary Claim: Praising God demonstrates our resistance against the forces of evil and our alignment with the victorious reign of God.

Restatement of Claim: When believers praise God... We are declaring that evil loses and victory belongs to God.

When you lift your hands…... you are surrendering your burdens and declaring that God still reigns above every trial, attack, and opposition

When you raise your voice…. you are pushing back against fear, despair, and darkness with the confidence that our God is victorious.

When you wave your hands….. you are testifying that God has been faithful through every battle, every trial, and every test, and that your praise belongs to Him alone.

When you stand to your feet, you are rising in agreement with heaven that God is worthy of glory, honor, and praise.

When you dance in His presence…...  you are celebrating by faith that what tried to destroy you will not have the final word over your life.

When you leap, you are rejoicing in advance because the God who brought you through before will bring you through again.

When believers praise God, we are putting hell on notice that the devil is defeated, darkness cannot prevail, and the victory still belongs to our God!

Your praise is an active resistance against the forces of evil and alignment the victorious reign of God!

There is one word that embodies Praise to our God … and that the word Hallelujah!

Declaration of Hallelujah: it is the pinnacle of your verbal affirmation of God… the apex of your adoration…

It’s the summit of your celebration and the height of your honor…

It’s the crowning confession of the redeemed and the language of heaven itself…

It’s the fullest response to God’s goodness and the highest recognition of God’s glory…

When you say “Hallelujah,” you have climbed to the top shelf of praise and given God the highest praise your lips can offer.

Definition of Hallelujah – Hallelujah is a biblical command, a theological declaration, and a covenant response to the Character of God. When you meditate on this word it will make you shout.

- The Structure: Hallelujah is a compound Hebrew word. Hallel means to praise or shout; and Yah is the abbreviated version of the Covenant name of God (Yahweh).. Hallelujah literally means praise Yahweh!

- The Syntax: Hallel is the verb, Yahweh is the direct object, and this plural imperative word functions as a command. Which means that Hallelujah is not a suggestion but all 117 times that Hallelujah appears in your Bible… the scriptures are commanding us to praise the Lord.

- The Sound: When you say Hallelujah, it’s not easy to whisper very long

o  This word begins deep in your chest and rises through your throat.

o It opens the mouth wide, it engages the breath, it requires participation... this four-syllable word is emphatic without an exclamation!

- The Significance: The significance of this word is that it shifts your focus from what you see to who God is! When you say hallelujah, you are declaring that God is good regardless of my condition

- I may be hurting… but Hallelujah!

- I may be waiting… but Hallelujah!

- I may not understand it…. But Hallelujah!

- Because Hallelujah is a praise that survives the process!

- Something significant happens when the church shouts Hallelujah,

- When the church says hallelujah, faith starts rising.

- When the church says hallelujah, fear starts retreating.

- When the church says hallelujah, chains start loosening.

- When the church says hallelujah, heaven and earth begin to agree that God is worthy.

- And the beautiful thing about hallelujah is that it needs no translation.

- It's hallelujah in Hebrew.

- It's hallelujah in Greek.

- It's hallelujah in English.

- It’s hallelujah in Spanish

- It's hallelujah in every nation, every tribe, every tongue.

- Because when God has been good, this one word is enough!!!!

Transition sequence:  But if you really want to understand the power of the word Hallelujah, you’ve got to go back to where the author of this text first heard it.

The loudest proclamation of Hallelujah ever recorded was heard in heaven by the Apostle John.

This is John, the beloved disciple of Jesus Christ. John, who walked with Jesus, talked with Jesus, and learned at the feet of Jesus. John, who belonged to that inner circle alongside Peter and James. John, who stood on the Mount of Transfiguration and watched the glory of Christ shine through His humanity. John, who stood at the foot of the cross when others fled. John, whom Jesus entrusted with the care of His mother.

This is the same John who wrote the Gospel of John so that we might believe, who penned 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John so that we might walk in truth and love, and who now writes the book of Revelation so that we might remain faithful in the midst of suffering with our future victory in view.

By the time he writes this text, John is no longer a disciple in training; he is now an aged apostle, a seasoned pastor, and a faithful witness of Jesus Christ. His life embodied the words he and Peter declared before the Sanhedrin in Acts 4:20: “We cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

And because he would not stop speaking about what he had seen and heard in the presence of Jesus, the Roman Emperor Domitian banished him to the rocky prison island of Patmos. They tried to silence his testimony. They tried to isolate his influence. They tried to remove his voice from the church.

But what they meant for punishment, God used for revelation.

While exiled on Patmos, John was caught up in the Spirit and given a vision of heaven itself. In Revelation 1:19, the Lord commanded him to write three things: the things he had seen, the things that were taking place, and the things that would happen after these things. In other words, John was given a divine glimpse into the past, the present, and the future purposes of God.

And church, isn’t it good news to know that persecution cannot stop revelation? Isolation cannot hinder God’s voice. Exile cannot cancel God’s purpose.

While John was suffering on earth, God was showing him heaven.

And what John sees in Revelation 19 is heaven erupting into worship because evil has finally met its match in the judgment of Almighty God

Organizational sentence:  These scenes in heaven give us reasons why we ought to praise God by shouting, Hallelujah!

Transition statement: First, we can shout Hallelujah because Evil fall under God’s judgement!

I. Hallelujah- Evil falls under God’s judgment (v.1-3)

That’s right evil falls under God’s judgment. Evil is any thought, action, or desire that opposes the Goodness of God. Evil manifest itself in two primary ways: Actions against other people and actions against God.

a. God’s Enduring Justice (v.1-2)

b. God’s Eternal Punishment (v.3)

II. Hallelujah- The Righteous stand under God’s protection (v.4-5)

III. Hallelujah- God Prevails with eternal sovereignty (v.6)