Heavenly Dress
Heavenly Dress?
Revelation 7:2-17
November 7, 1999
Goal: That the hearer believe he will be clothed with a heavenly robe through God’s gift of his only Son.
Magdalene Luther was a happy, active 12-year-old girl in 1542. Her father, Martin Luther, loved her very much. She was his little girl. On a beautiful summer day she was playing under the family pear tree when she suddenly felt faint. Her mother carried her to her bed, but her pain increased. They called a doctor, but he could do nothing. Her father prayed and prayed, but the pain continued. The days dragged on and she got worse. When they thought her end was near, her mother sat by her bed with her face in her hands to hide the tears. Her father knelt by her bedside and said, “Magdalene, my little daughter, are you content to go to your Father above?” In a whisper barely audible she said, “Yes, dear Father.” Her pain continued and Martin Luther prayed, “O Lord, have mercy and end her suffering.” And the Lord did. They buried her under the pear tree. The grieving father said in a choked voice, “Dear child, all is well with you.” He said to the mourners, “I’m glad she is in heaven. My sorrow is of the flesh. Our little daughter is at rest in body and soul. We know that this must happen to gain eternal life.”
Is there a robe for me, in that great multitude before the throne. In the grand Kingdom that has no end and no darkness? After all, Lord, there are only a certain number in that group! A number uncountable by me but known perfectly to you! Will I be there, with glorified eyes, glorified body, glorified vocal chords, shouting, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb”? Is there a white robe for me? Sometimes it doesn’t look like it, Lord! H have assembled quite a robe here for myself.
I Sew My Robe
I have dressed myself ina robe of human making, Lord. It’s a robe I have sewn together as a very personal possession. I have woven it following the pattern of an expert tailor, who sells these designs at the cost of human souls. And evil is alive in every seam. Oh, how I love this robe. And at the same time I hate it! It’s heavy as lead, hanging on my shoulders. And it flashes flourishes of adultery, murder, fornication, and hate in all directions. It’s a robe that I donned at a point in history when four guilty feet tiptoed across a holy threshold and were commanded never to return! Oh, it’s such an ancient robe. And I’ve got it. And I’m dressed for death!
Lord, am I like the one standing in the great banqueting hall? You enter your Son’s banquet, and you see me standing over there in the corner, wearing my own clothers, my deadly robe, and you come over to me and say, “What are you doing here? Out of here, into the darkness! Weep and gnash your teeth forever!” Am I that one? Or, Lord, is there a robe for me?
God Gives Me a Robe
The answer comes in as a silent gift! And yet it has such eternal ramifications. It’s a gift spelled “Lord, have mercy!” It’s a gift that puts me on my knees. Indeed, the Son of God has chosen to reveal to us his Father. And our heavenly Father has chosen to draw us to his Son. And the Holy Spirit has chosen to give us the confession “Jesus is Lord!” And this mighty triune God discards my old robe as he leads me to the necessary heart-set, “Christ have mercy!”
He dresses me in robes of eternity’s making. A robe sparkling with bright holiness and sewn together with large, sharp, bloody nails at the foot of an indescribable cross. The robes are designed for us by a Father who was pleased to bruise his Son, robes patterned after an invisible, immortal design, covering every aspect of our fallen life. They are robes that go back to a doorway to heaven called Golgotha, and even before that!
All Saints Are There
All saints will be dressed perfectly as the Father’s personal possessions. How amazing it is that not only will we be dressed perfectly at that time, but that we are also dressed in perfection now! And we will see what the saints who have preceded us behold! What a formidable list it is of those who have arrived in that glory! It may include names special to you—mother, father, wife, husband, child, best friend.
The entrance is guaranteed! For the words of Jesus are clear: “For my Fathers’ will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day” Jn 6:40). These words parallel words in our text: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
Is there a robe for me? The answer whispers back: “You need not ask. For the marching order has been set from before the foundation of the world. All my saints will be there. Not one will be missing.” Not even you. Not even me. Amen.