Who Really Controls Our Government? Part 3
The Book Of Revelation Shows Us That God Is Worthy Of All Praise and Worship.
Pastor Matt Stokes
Feb 7, 2021 47m
Do you feel that praising and worshipping God is an important part of your spiritual life? This message taught out of the Book of Revelation chapter 4 reminds us that our God is worthy of all praise and worship. Video recorded at Ocean City, New Jersey.
TranscriptionmessageRegarding Grammar:
This is a transcription of the sermon. People speak differently than they write, and there are common colloquialisms in this transcript that sound good when spoken, and look like bad grammar when written.
This is a transcription of the sermon. People speak differently than they write, and there are common colloquialisms in this transcript that sound good when spoken, and look like bad grammar when written.
Matt Stokes: 00:00 Holy, Holy Holy, worthy, worthy, worthy to receive glory, and honor, power, blessing, and praise, because he is the King of Kings, he is the Lord of Lords, he is the Governor of all Governments. And as we worship and we center down on the concept of giving praise to God, we view the throne room of heaven. We want it to be pressed into your heart to be asking the question, what are you publicly proclaiming has priority in your life, and how are you showing that to the world?
Matt Stokes: 00:37 It becomes quite natural to ask that question when we're reading the Book of Revelation chapter 4. So I'm going to read it for you as we begin, you can just soak some of this in, and then we'll provide more of the scriptures for you, as you move forward into the rest of the chapter today. Revelation chapter 4 says this, John says, "Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it. The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow. Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit of God. In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal."
Matt Stokes: 02:05 And we'll pick up here, next it says, "In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back. The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight. Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty— the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.” Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever), the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say, “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.”
Matt Stokes: 03:41 I want you now in the shortness of our time, because I want to leave time for worship. I want you to just come with me and imagine yourself in this scene. What do you see? What do you feel? What are you experiencing? What are you hearing? What impresses you most about this particular passage, in what's being revealed literally in Revelation, and how might this vision of God actually enhance your understanding of the government of God, of the rule and the reign of God, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Governor of Governors. How might this vision of God enhance your worship life, as you hear, see, and experience this, and then break forth from this place and at any time and on any day, somehow you're able to get back to the center. Somehow there's an experience of transformation that happens in your soul, because you understand that there is a throne, and that there's one seated on that throne, and he's surrounded by these living beings and these 24 elders. And they continually day and night, and night and day, continue to sing forth his praise. And how is that affecting you? How will that affect you in this hour? And God willing as we move into the next chapter where it continues to give worthy glory, honor, phrase, even to the lamb who's worthy to open the seals.
Matt Stokes: 05:17 There's so much more, but in the time today, it's as if what you're looking at today, these living beings, it's as if they're guarding the throne, these four mysterious beings. Watch this now, they are in this, did you read this? They are in the center, but they are also all around the throne. Okay, how can you be in the center and all around at the same time, unless John is describing something that very well may be in another dimension, beyond the third dimension, right? Beyond just what we know as height and depth and width, apparently these living beings are able to be in the center and all around simultaneously, which shouldn't be too surprising to us that God is multi-dimensional because you see it throughout the scriptures.
Matt Stokes: 06:16 You have Moses who really hasn't been back to see his people for 40 years, he's on the backside of the desert with the Midianites, he sees this bush burning, but it's not consumed, so he goes to see it. God meets him there, and he says, I've heard the affliction of your people. Okay, so you're with me here now, but you're also 40 years ago, you know what I've been through, and you know the affliction of my people, and you've already chosen me? God is outside of time and eternity. Take the Sea of Galilee, somehow he's with the fish, and he actually knows where they are, and yet he's in the boat with the disciples. He tells them exactly where to cast, they bring multitudes of fish to the sea, and it happens on more than one occasion in the gospels because Christ is multi-dimensional. He's able to say to Nathaniel, as he's very skeptical, hey, Nathaniel, when you were underneath the fig tree, I was with you, I saw you. Well, wait a minute, you're here with me now, but you're saying that you saw me then, you didn't even know me then. Well, that's because I'm multi-dimensional, I am in and around.
Matt Stokes: 07:21 And they are in, and around, the all-powerful, multi-dimensional throne. And these four living beings are covered with six wings, not arms, and not hands, that are filled with riches and rubies and emeralds and gold right, they are wings. And all the wings, okay, hang onto your hockey sticks, are you ready for this? All the wings are covered with eyes. And here we go again, and the eyes are inside and out, so the wings have eyes inside them and on the outside as well. Now I know it's getting trippy, come with me, their proximity to the all-powerful throne, combined with the wings that represent the ever-present God who can go anywhere and be anywhere, and then all these eyes that represent the ever seeing God who has vision everywhere at all times and in all places...There are some scholars that say that the eyes represent actually his omniscience, his eternal wisdom that he sees, and in that because he sees everything, he knows everything. What I'm saying is like, John, is pushing, man, he's pushing the limits on how far the human imagination can give itself to the comprehension, and to the depiction, of this description of the throne and the King that's worshiped in heaven.
Matt Stokes: 08:54 And if that just like impacts you at all, as it has me as I study the scriptures and I go through this particular passage. I want to ask you this question with your Bibles open, maybe you take a pen and you write this down in your margin. Here's the question I want to ask you, how far are you willing to go to get a glimpse of the glory of God? Because John is pushing the limits of human imagination to try to portray, to try to depict, and try to proclaim to you, the greatness of God. How far are you willing to go to get that glimpse? Because throughout the scripture, anyone who's ever had a glimpse of the glory of God, their life is transformed. How far will you go? What will you do? Will you commit to a deeper engagement into the study of God's Word, pouring over, saturating, yourself in the scriptures? Will you commit to cultivating a greater, more fervent, prayer life? Where you're just not praying great pontifications, you know, that you may have memorized in your previous education. These are things where you're crying out to God. You're not praying, oh, most heavenly Father, may thy grace and glory. It's you're crying out like a child cries out for his father in the midst of a nightmare. How far are you willing to go to get a glimpse of the glory of God? Would you be more passionate in regards to your heart in the midst of worship, so you're not song singing, you're literally praising because you want to know him, you want to see him?
Matt Stokes: 10:52 Philippians chapter 3, Paul says, "I've seen a lot of things, I know a lot of things, and I've been a lot of things, but I count all of that nothing, I count it less than nothing, I counted all as loss. For the greatness of the knowledge of the excellence of Christ Jesus my Lord, of whom I am willing to suffer the loss of all things, that I might know him." And then he says, "Oh, that I might know him, and that I might know, and see, and experience, the power of his resurrection. Even if it means going to the point of suffering, I'm willing to suffer, if that's what it takes for me to get a glimpse of his glory." Because that suffering is temporary, but his glory is eternal, and I'm going to reach out and grasp it, costs what it will. How far are you willing to go? What will you do to get a glimpse of his glory?
Matt Stokes: 11:55 I mean, I know you're willing to do something, that's why you're here. Like, I think you've come, maybe because you have friends here, right? But the reason that most of us are here is because we want to worship, and in the midst of worship and hearing the truth, the eternal truth of scripture go forth, you want to get a glimpse of the glory of God in the hopes that it's going to transform your life, it's going to transform your marriage, it's going to transform your children, your family, the people in your circle of influence, and in doing so, you're going to give more glory to God because you've actually seen more of the greatness and glory of God.
Matt Stokes: 12:34 These four distinctions, like a lion, like an ox, like a human face, like in like an eagle in flight. These four distinctions have several interpretations, but when you do the research, really it narrows down to two predominant interpretations. Some think that it describes the characteristics of God, the four great characteristics of God, the power in the lion, the faithfulness in the ox, the intelligence in man, since we are God's highest creation, and then the sovereignty in the eagle that's seen, as it is, in flight.
Matt Stokes: 13:21 There are others that see these four living beings as a representation, as a depiction of the four gospels. Hey, isn't that a bit interesting that out of all of heaven, there's only four beings and yet there's also four gospels revealed to us. Now, maybe you've heard this before, but I grew up in a Catholic church and they had four stained-glass windows. And also on those stained glass windows that was interesting, on them, the first one had the face of a lion. I'll never forget this, because I don't know if you grew up in the Catholic church, but you spent a lot of time looking around. Like I'm staring at the stained glass, and like how many? It's like, you know, that seek and find game? I'm like, how many things can I find in that stained glass? Ooh, okay, there's something new, I see a little fishy over there and some loaves of bread, I can see them. The first one had a lion, the second stained glass had an ox, the third one had a man, the fourth one had an Eagle in these circles, inside the mosaic glass.
Matt Stokes: 14:18 I was like, there's a reason for that, because Matthew portrays Jesus as the Messiah. And if you know what Messiah means, it literally means the anointed one, it means the King. And of course that's illustrated by the lion, because the lion is the king of the jungle. And I know we use that today, but they also said it in ancient times, because everyone knows that on the top of the food chain is the lion. Like everybody's scared that somebody's going to eat somebody, except for the lion, he ain't afraid of nobody, he's the top of the food chain, so he is the king. And in this particular depiction, Matthew portrays him as the king, and that is symbolized as a lion. In fact, in the scriptures, when you research and study, you find out that Jesus is actually called the lion of Judah
Matt Stokes: 15:04 Mark, on the other hand, portrays Jesus as a strong, but faithful, servant, and that's symbolized as an ox. Did you ever hear that expression, man, that girl's as strong as an ox. I'm just kidding, it's usually a guy, there are some girls that are strong as an ox as well. That guy's as strong as an ox, the ox became a symbol of strength and also a symbol of servitude, because donkeys are known as being stubborn, but not oxen, they're faithful, and they will plow through whatever is in front of them, and they serve. What's really interesting is that when you read the Book of Mark, you see a lot more of what Jesus did as a servant, then you do see what Jesus said as in the other gospels that have long discourses of what Jesus said. He's portrayed as this servant that is humble and faithful, and he's working, and he's continuing to work. One of the most common phrases in the Book of Mark is immediately. And immediately Jesus went and did this, and immediately Jesus went and did that. King James, straightway and straightway he went into the desert, and straight away he made his way to this particular destination. He's a servant, and that's portrayed as an ox. He's the servant. In fact, most scholars agree that the pinnacle verse of the Book of Mark, is Mark 10:45, where it says that, "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve to the point of giving his life as a ransom for many.” You could even move to Philippians where it says that he took that service so far, "He became a servant even to the point of death, death on the cross."
Matt Stokes: 16:45 The lion, the ox, then there's the man, the face is portrayed as the face of a man. Now Luke is a doctor, and when Luke writes as a doctor, he writes as a man, he is amazed at the fact that a man is God. And when he writes, he often uses the medical terms that this woman had an issue of blood, right? Or this person was healed of this particular eye disease. Like he's always looking at the miracles and the healings, and he finds then fascinating that a man would be God. Referring to Jesus as the son of man, fascinates Mark as a doctor, that God is man.
Matt Stokes: 17:23 Now, flip that 180 degrees, and you have John. John is fascinated not that a man is God, but that God is a man. And in the Book of John, you will find more proclamations of the deity of Jesus than in any other gospel, remarkable. John magnifies the deity of Christ, his claims to be God in human flesh, and he is symbolized as, depicted as, an Eagle. And the reason is, and we don't have time to get into the research. But if you study the ancients, the ancients understood that the Eagle was a symbol of deity, and it was a symbol of sovereignty.
Matt Stokes: 18:03 My personal perspective, you know, I'm telling you, there's two different interpretations, y'all this is freaky, right, there's some crazy stuff going on here. God is multi-dimensional, so what I'm saying is I see it as both. Yes he's powerful, yes he's faithful, yes he's intelligent, and yes he's sovereign, but also he's depicted as this one through the four gospels. What I want to ask you is, regardless of which interpretation, here's the application, watch this, please write this down with a pen, because this is the real take home today. And it's this, in all of those depictions, how are you portraying Jesus to the world? Because there are four living beings in heaven, and they had these unique depictions, metaphorical depictions of Christ to the world, the character of God to the world. How are you portraying, how are you manifesting, Jesus to the world? By declaring him as your King, that he is your sovereign, that he governs your life, how are you portraying Jesus to the world? By the way that you walk in humility, giving him the glory, to you portray Jesus to the world, by actually sharing the truth of the gospel and literally showing Jesus to the world, by showing them the scriptures? Portraying grace, or strength, or determination, or perseverance, in the midst of your own pain? By trusting your father in heaven, regardless of the outcome, how are you portraying Jesus to the world? By showing mercy to people who actually hurt you? By loving people who have absolutely no intention or no indication of ever loving you back? Will you portray Jesus to the world by giving to those who can never repay you?
Matt Stokes: 20:05 I know some of you do, by fighting to defend the glory of your Father, as Jesus did relentlessly throughout the gospels. You watch, anytime Jesus got angry, his Father's name was at stake. He said, my father's house shall be called a house of prayer unto all nations. Don't ever, don't you ever stop little children from coming to me because the Kingdom of God, that's my Father's kingdom, and if you can't come like a little child, you can't come at all. It's very fascinating to watch. And I'm just asking you, as much as I'm asking myself, how are you portraying Jesus to the world? Because that is not only your calling and your privilege, but it is his command, and what that might look like in the life of a believer in every believer in this room may be different today. But I believe if you pray, I'm convinced God will bring it to you, what you need to do. And what you need to do today may be different than what you need to do tomorrow, that's why you and I need to be sensitive to the Holy spirit of God. To know, like Paul, when he said, well, when I was with the Romans, I became like the Romans, to win the Romans. With the Gentiles, I became like ,a Gentile to win the Gentiles. When I was with those who had the law, I became like those who had the law, to win those who had the law. In other words, what he's saying is, is with the Holy Spirit within me, I learned the mystery of being all things to all men, that I might win some. The reason, listen, what's the why, right? The whole reason we want to portray Jesus to the world, is so that we win people to Christ.
Matt Stokes: 22:16 Let me continue. John is actually building, he's building on a foundation that's already laid. And I want to leave time for worship, so I'm just going to hit this really hard and fast, but just like come with me on this and watch this. Isaiah chapter 6, in the opening verses it says, that he's having a vision, just like John. And listen to his vision, and tell me if what I'm saying about it is like it's trippy, but it's also extremely in integration with what you see in Revelation. He said he saw what he calls mighty Serafin, which are a class of angels that were a high class of angels that were devoted to worship, each one of them having wings, guess how many? Six. With two wings they covered their faces, with two wings they covered their feet, and with the other two that they flew. And they were calling out to each other, guess what they called out? Holy Holy, Holy, is the Lord of heaven's armies, the whole earth is filled with your glory. And then it talks about how their voices shook the temple on the foundations, and there was smoke. Does any of this sound familiar?
Matt Stokes: 23:23 You open to Ezekiel chapter 1, and I don't have time to go over 20 plus verses with you, but I'll just highlight a few pieces where it says that he saw God in this vision, he saw the heavens open up and he saw flashes with lightning, brilliant light, fire. And he also said there came four beings in the midst of this vision, each one moved, listen to this, each one moves straight forward in every direction without turning around. Okay, what? That actually, that doesn't make sense unless you're trying to explain something that's multi-dimensional, then all of a sudden that makes sense. And these beings that he saw, the four, each one had a human face on the front, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, the face of an Eagle on the back. I mean, wow, am I reading this? That the living beings look like bright coals of fire, brilliant torches, which we talked about last week, with lightening streaming and flashing back and forth from them. They had, oh, by the way, Ezekiel right here, it says that they also had eyes that covered them all around. And as they flew, their wings sounded like the waves crashing against the shore. Do you remember talking about that when we were starting Revelation, that he heard a voice, John did, and it was like the sound of many waters. Then he talks about this crystal surface, and above this crystal surface was something that looked like a throne, and around him was a glowing halo that looked like, listen, a rainbow. And I heard someone's voice speaking to me, and it continues to go on from there. I can't even get into the half of it, that's all I can tell you right now.
Matt Stokes: 25:15 I'll just hit you with Daniel chapter 7, where it talks about this one who's on this throne, and they call him the ancient one, and he sits down to judge and his clothing was as white as snow. Tell me if this doesn't sound like the opening of the Book of Revelation? And his hair was like the purest wool, and he sat on a fiery throne with wheels of blazing fire, and a river of fire was pouring out, flowing from his presence. Is that the crystal sea in Revelation chapter 15, that he says, I saw a sea that was like crystal, but yet it was glowing and shimmering like fire?
Matt Stokes: 25:52 We're talking about books that were written thousands of years earlier, millenniums earlier, and John the Revelator is having the same exact visions that correlate and integrate exactly together with scripture from thousands of years ago. As I read it, I'm just filled by the understanding of it, in the limited amount of understanding I have, of saying, how is that going to change my life? How does that touch down into my reality every day? I've got to move on, the chapter comes to an apex right here in these verses, when the musicians cry out in what's called antiphonal structure. Now that's a musical terms, so most of us here when we were in grade school, we know that as question and answer. Remember question and answer? So the horn section over here, it goes like, [inaudible] right. And then the drums go [inaudible] right? And the strings are like, [inaudible] right? That's antiphonal structure, one plays, and then the other responds, and then the other responds. Here, you have these four living beings and they are saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty— the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.” And then every time they do that, the 24 elders, they respond, right? They respond, here's how they respond, they respond by bowing down and casting their crown before the throne.
Matt Stokes: 27:26 Now, I've studied through Revelation, and I've taught some of this before, but I saw something in this reading that I didn't see in the times past. I just want to share it with you, because for me it was like, it's paradigm shifting. There's a metaphor here that blows me away. In ancient times, a king who conquered vast territories would travel through his territories to visit them because he ruled over them, and in place he put lesser kings in authority to rule over those smaller regions. And when the great king would ride through the territories that he had conquered, the lesser kings that he appointed would come out to meet him, and greet him, and honor him. And they would bring their entourage into the courtyard, or onto the main street upon which the great king who conquered the territories would come, and do you know what they would do? They would bow down, and they would take their lesser crown, and they would cast it before him. And then this is going to blow you away, do you know what that King would do? He would have that crown on the ground placed back upon their head, and in doing so, when he returned the crowns to their head, there was a silent statement being said, what was being said? I can wear this crown because of your grace, I wear this crown because of your grace. And I look at that metaphor, and it just strikes me, and I can't help but ask the question, and I hope you'll ask yourself today as well, because to me it's a life-changing question. And the question is this, what glory, what glory will you lay before the Lord today? And what has he given you, what talent, what gifting, what ability, what endowment, has he given you that you would consider to be your glory? And you're saying, you know what, I cast that down before you, because the only reason that I have it is because of your grace. Maybe it's your talent to win and influence people, right? Win friends and influence people. Maybe it's your ability to make money, your ability to make wise investments, maybe it's your position in this life, your prominence, your prestige, your great accomplishments for which you receive the acclaim and the applause of other people. And you say, you know what, I lay it all down. The greatest of my crowns mean nothing to me now, my wealth is in the cross, my wealth is in the cross.
Matt Stokes: 30:20 So I want you just right now in the moment, to ask God to bring to the surface of your conscience, what crown will you lay down? I don't have to think too long, and cry out to the Holy Spirit to show me, before I know the places where God has given me a gifting, an ability, an endowment, something of his grace that in some way brings me glory in the eyes of men. And I have to say, I take this crown, and I cast it down because it means nothing to me now in light of the glory of the grace that you've given me in the beauty of your cross.
Matt Stokes: 31:18 After the four and living elders say, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, the 24 respond by casting the crowns down after they've bowed down. And now they also, here's what they say, “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power." And here's why , here's the why, "Because you created all things." For you created all things, and they exist because you created what pleased you.” "They exist because you created what pleased you." Someone here today's struggling with self-worth, or self-esteem, or depression, or some sort of humiliation, God created you because it pleased him.
Matt Stokes: 32:07 It says the same thing in Ephesians, it says that God abounded towards you with all wisdom and prudence. In other words, when he created you and decided to choose you, in somehow in some anthropomorphic mysterious way that I can't explain, he said, I find it wise and prudent to choose you, to choose you, to choose you, to choose you, to choose you. Like, if you really believe that in the core of your being, I think it would change the way that you see. And beginning to change the way you see yourself, seeing yourself the way God sees you, is the way you begin to love others. I wish I had the time, I'm going to just say this, and there's no time to even get into this, so I'll just state the fact. It's interesting to me, it's fascinating, that in all of the praise that you're going to see in the Book of Revelation, and there's a lot of praise. This is the first one, so I look at those praises, I look at the worship in Revelation and I try to make it my own, I try to like integrate it into my own worship in my personal devotional time. There's about 10, you can email me if you find more...no there's not, there's nine, and that one was not really praise, it was just...Okay, there's about 10.
Matt Stokes: 33:23 And in those 10 places, the first time is right here and it says, that he is declared glorious, and honorable, and powerful, and why? Because he's the eternal creator. The first time that he's worshiped by the four living beings and the 24 elders is when they declare that he is the eternal creator. He was, and is, and is to come, and you're worthy O Lord our God, because you've created whatever pleased you. So again, I don't have the time, but let me just state the fact, isn't that interesting, isn't it fascinating, that the first words of praise are acknowledging the creator? Why? Here's why, and this is worth writing down, please take this to the bank, because acknowledging the Creator is the first step towards trusting the Redeemer. How can you trust the Redeemer, if you first don't understand and acknowledge God, who is the Creator? Because that's where it all begins, it all begins in Genesis 1.
Matt Stokes: 34:32 Speaking of the first words of praise, what are the first four words of the Bible? Someone say it loud, just yell it out, like kindergarteners in a classroom. Just, what are the first four words of the Bible? "In the beginning, God." "In the beginning, God." What's the fifth word, say it loud, say the whole sentence, "In the beginning God created." Very good. So the question I want to leave you with, before we enter back into worship, because worship is really where we want to center down right now in Revelation 4 and 5. The question is this, do you really believe that, "In the beginning God."? And do you really believe that, "In the beginning God created?" Because if you believe the first 5 words of the Bible, then the 783,168 other words totally make sense. Because if you believe that in the beginning God created, then of course he could do it all in six days. If you believe that in the beginning God created, then of course he could part the sea, and of course he could bring a river out of a rock, and he could make streams in the desert. If you believe that in the beginning God, then of course he could turn weeping into dancing, and he can bring beauty from ashes. If you believe in the beginning God created, then of course he's going to bring down giants and the walls of Jericho. If you believe in the beginning, God. If you believe in the beginning God created, then it doesn't matter if a whale swallowed Jonah or Jonah swallowed a whale, all things are possible with God. If you believe in the beginning God, then a baby in a manger would be Emmanuel God with us, then of course he would walk on water, and of course his death would pay my debt for my condemnation, of course he would be the way, truth, life, and the resurrection, of course he would be seated upon a throne that goes beyond the third dimension, thunder and lightning.
Matt Stokes: 36:33 Does God have your attention? He controls the governments of every nation, and he's praised as the sovereign in all creation, and of his reign and of his government, there will be no completion, there will be no end. And if you want to get your praise on and say, amen. And with that, Amen. Let's worship together.
Worship Band: 36:52 (Worship Music).
Matt Stokes: 39:30 As we move out of 4, and into Revelation 5, we're going to see again, these 24 elders are going to sing a song of praise to Jesus, the lamb who was worthy. They're going to sing a song, and really it's a song on our behalf, it's a song that someday we will sing forever and ever and ever. So what we're saying is why not begin right now? Like why not begin right here, let's get practice in. Okay, let's work on this, not just your voices, but your posture of worship. Let's begin to work on publicly proclaiming who has priority in our lives, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Why not right now say we lay down our crowns at the feet of Jesus, because of the greatness of your mercy and love, at the feet of Jesus we cry, Holy, Holy, Holy is the lamb. And they're crying out, and what they're saying in heaven is this, you have been slain, how painful, how disturbing, how glorious. And in doing so, in being slain, you have redeemed us to God by your blood. So apparently in heaven, it's not bloodless, the blood of Jesus is still precious, it's still celebrated, it's still remembered as the means by which we have been brought from death to life, from darkness to light, you've redeemed us by your blood. And what you did was you have drawn us out, you've drawn out the redeemed from every time, you've drawn out the redeem from every tribe, you've drawn out the redeemed from every nation, you've drawn out the redeemed of every people of the world. So who's the one, the one who's in control of all governments? It's God, it's God, it's God, let's sing together one more time.
Worship Band: 42:26 (Worship Music)
Matthew Maher: 46:03 So we do know that when worship ceases, at least the music, that is where our worship and a lifestyle of obedience begins beyond the building here. This is where we fill up and declare God's worth, and then we take the gospel to a dying world and we share the good news of God's good grace. We pray that we have equipped the saints for the work of ministry, and we would love for you to tap into the momentum here, not only on Thursdays and Sundays, but the various other opportunities. Ladies, you have a Bible study this Tuesday, Deeply Rooted, right here in the sanctuary at 9:30. You also have an opportunity with Women In Service on Saturday at 10:00 AM in the sanctuary. Thursdays, we're back in the Book of Daniel. And of course we would encourage parents to take advantage of the early bird special for summer camp. We thank you so much for joining us on this Sunday morning, and may God bless you, and may he keep you. You are dismissed.
Recorded in Ocean City, New Jersey.
Matt Stokes: 00:37 It becomes quite natural to ask that question when we're reading the Book of Revelation chapter 4. So I'm going to read it for you as we begin, you can just soak some of this in, and then we'll provide more of the scriptures for you, as you move forward into the rest of the chapter today. Revelation chapter 4 says this, John says, "Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it. The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow. Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit of God. In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal."
Matt Stokes: 02:05 And we'll pick up here, next it says, "In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back. The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight. Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty— the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.” Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever), the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say, “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.”
Matt Stokes: 03:41 I want you now in the shortness of our time, because I want to leave time for worship. I want you to just come with me and imagine yourself in this scene. What do you see? What do you feel? What are you experiencing? What are you hearing? What impresses you most about this particular passage, in what's being revealed literally in Revelation, and how might this vision of God actually enhance your understanding of the government of God, of the rule and the reign of God, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Governor of Governors. How might this vision of God enhance your worship life, as you hear, see, and experience this, and then break forth from this place and at any time and on any day, somehow you're able to get back to the center. Somehow there's an experience of transformation that happens in your soul, because you understand that there is a throne, and that there's one seated on that throne, and he's surrounded by these living beings and these 24 elders. And they continually day and night, and night and day, continue to sing forth his praise. And how is that affecting you? How will that affect you in this hour? And God willing as we move into the next chapter where it continues to give worthy glory, honor, phrase, even to the lamb who's worthy to open the seals.
Matt Stokes: 05:17 There's so much more, but in the time today, it's as if what you're looking at today, these living beings, it's as if they're guarding the throne, these four mysterious beings. Watch this now, they are in this, did you read this? They are in the center, but they are also all around the throne. Okay, how can you be in the center and all around at the same time, unless John is describing something that very well may be in another dimension, beyond the third dimension, right? Beyond just what we know as height and depth and width, apparently these living beings are able to be in the center and all around simultaneously, which shouldn't be too surprising to us that God is multi-dimensional because you see it throughout the scriptures.
Matt Stokes: 06:16 You have Moses who really hasn't been back to see his people for 40 years, he's on the backside of the desert with the Midianites, he sees this bush burning, but it's not consumed, so he goes to see it. God meets him there, and he says, I've heard the affliction of your people. Okay, so you're with me here now, but you're also 40 years ago, you know what I've been through, and you know the affliction of my people, and you've already chosen me? God is outside of time and eternity. Take the Sea of Galilee, somehow he's with the fish, and he actually knows where they are, and yet he's in the boat with the disciples. He tells them exactly where to cast, they bring multitudes of fish to the sea, and it happens on more than one occasion in the gospels because Christ is multi-dimensional. He's able to say to Nathaniel, as he's very skeptical, hey, Nathaniel, when you were underneath the fig tree, I was with you, I saw you. Well, wait a minute, you're here with me now, but you're saying that you saw me then, you didn't even know me then. Well, that's because I'm multi-dimensional, I am in and around.
Matt Stokes: 07:21 And they are in, and around, the all-powerful, multi-dimensional throne. And these four living beings are covered with six wings, not arms, and not hands, that are filled with riches and rubies and emeralds and gold right, they are wings. And all the wings, okay, hang onto your hockey sticks, are you ready for this? All the wings are covered with eyes. And here we go again, and the eyes are inside and out, so the wings have eyes inside them and on the outside as well. Now I know it's getting trippy, come with me, their proximity to the all-powerful throne, combined with the wings that represent the ever-present God who can go anywhere and be anywhere, and then all these eyes that represent the ever seeing God who has vision everywhere at all times and in all places...There are some scholars that say that the eyes represent actually his omniscience, his eternal wisdom that he sees, and in that because he sees everything, he knows everything. What I'm saying is like, John, is pushing, man, he's pushing the limits on how far the human imagination can give itself to the comprehension, and to the depiction, of this description of the throne and the King that's worshiped in heaven.
Matt Stokes: 08:54 And if that just like impacts you at all, as it has me as I study the scriptures and I go through this particular passage. I want to ask you this question with your Bibles open, maybe you take a pen and you write this down in your margin. Here's the question I want to ask you, how far are you willing to go to get a glimpse of the glory of God? Because John is pushing the limits of human imagination to try to portray, to try to depict, and try to proclaim to you, the greatness of God. How far are you willing to go to get that glimpse? Because throughout the scripture, anyone who's ever had a glimpse of the glory of God, their life is transformed. How far will you go? What will you do? Will you commit to a deeper engagement into the study of God's Word, pouring over, saturating, yourself in the scriptures? Will you commit to cultivating a greater, more fervent, prayer life? Where you're just not praying great pontifications, you know, that you may have memorized in your previous education. These are things where you're crying out to God. You're not praying, oh, most heavenly Father, may thy grace and glory. It's you're crying out like a child cries out for his father in the midst of a nightmare. How far are you willing to go to get a glimpse of the glory of God? Would you be more passionate in regards to your heart in the midst of worship, so you're not song singing, you're literally praising because you want to know him, you want to see him?
Matt Stokes: 10:52 Philippians chapter 3, Paul says, "I've seen a lot of things, I know a lot of things, and I've been a lot of things, but I count all of that nothing, I count it less than nothing, I counted all as loss. For the greatness of the knowledge of the excellence of Christ Jesus my Lord, of whom I am willing to suffer the loss of all things, that I might know him." And then he says, "Oh, that I might know him, and that I might know, and see, and experience, the power of his resurrection. Even if it means going to the point of suffering, I'm willing to suffer, if that's what it takes for me to get a glimpse of his glory." Because that suffering is temporary, but his glory is eternal, and I'm going to reach out and grasp it, costs what it will. How far are you willing to go? What will you do to get a glimpse of his glory?
Matt Stokes: 11:55 I mean, I know you're willing to do something, that's why you're here. Like, I think you've come, maybe because you have friends here, right? But the reason that most of us are here is because we want to worship, and in the midst of worship and hearing the truth, the eternal truth of scripture go forth, you want to get a glimpse of the glory of God in the hopes that it's going to transform your life, it's going to transform your marriage, it's going to transform your children, your family, the people in your circle of influence, and in doing so, you're going to give more glory to God because you've actually seen more of the greatness and glory of God.
Matt Stokes: 12:34 These four distinctions, like a lion, like an ox, like a human face, like in like an eagle in flight. These four distinctions have several interpretations, but when you do the research, really it narrows down to two predominant interpretations. Some think that it describes the characteristics of God, the four great characteristics of God, the power in the lion, the faithfulness in the ox, the intelligence in man, since we are God's highest creation, and then the sovereignty in the eagle that's seen, as it is, in flight.
Matt Stokes: 13:21 There are others that see these four living beings as a representation, as a depiction of the four gospels. Hey, isn't that a bit interesting that out of all of heaven, there's only four beings and yet there's also four gospels revealed to us. Now, maybe you've heard this before, but I grew up in a Catholic church and they had four stained-glass windows. And also on those stained glass windows that was interesting, on them, the first one had the face of a lion. I'll never forget this, because I don't know if you grew up in the Catholic church, but you spent a lot of time looking around. Like I'm staring at the stained glass, and like how many? It's like, you know, that seek and find game? I'm like, how many things can I find in that stained glass? Ooh, okay, there's something new, I see a little fishy over there and some loaves of bread, I can see them. The first one had a lion, the second stained glass had an ox, the third one had a man, the fourth one had an Eagle in these circles, inside the mosaic glass.
Matt Stokes: 14:18 I was like, there's a reason for that, because Matthew portrays Jesus as the Messiah. And if you know what Messiah means, it literally means the anointed one, it means the King. And of course that's illustrated by the lion, because the lion is the king of the jungle. And I know we use that today, but they also said it in ancient times, because everyone knows that on the top of the food chain is the lion. Like everybody's scared that somebody's going to eat somebody, except for the lion, he ain't afraid of nobody, he's the top of the food chain, so he is the king. And in this particular depiction, Matthew portrays him as the king, and that is symbolized as a lion. In fact, in the scriptures, when you research and study, you find out that Jesus is actually called the lion of Judah
Matt Stokes: 15:04 Mark, on the other hand, portrays Jesus as a strong, but faithful, servant, and that's symbolized as an ox. Did you ever hear that expression, man, that girl's as strong as an ox. I'm just kidding, it's usually a guy, there are some girls that are strong as an ox as well. That guy's as strong as an ox, the ox became a symbol of strength and also a symbol of servitude, because donkeys are known as being stubborn, but not oxen, they're faithful, and they will plow through whatever is in front of them, and they serve. What's really interesting is that when you read the Book of Mark, you see a lot more of what Jesus did as a servant, then you do see what Jesus said as in the other gospels that have long discourses of what Jesus said. He's portrayed as this servant that is humble and faithful, and he's working, and he's continuing to work. One of the most common phrases in the Book of Mark is immediately. And immediately Jesus went and did this, and immediately Jesus went and did that. King James, straightway and straightway he went into the desert, and straight away he made his way to this particular destination. He's a servant, and that's portrayed as an ox. He's the servant. In fact, most scholars agree that the pinnacle verse of the Book of Mark, is Mark 10:45, where it says that, "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve to the point of giving his life as a ransom for many.” You could even move to Philippians where it says that he took that service so far, "He became a servant even to the point of death, death on the cross."
Matt Stokes: 16:45 The lion, the ox, then there's the man, the face is portrayed as the face of a man. Now Luke is a doctor, and when Luke writes as a doctor, he writes as a man, he is amazed at the fact that a man is God. And when he writes, he often uses the medical terms that this woman had an issue of blood, right? Or this person was healed of this particular eye disease. Like he's always looking at the miracles and the healings, and he finds then fascinating that a man would be God. Referring to Jesus as the son of man, fascinates Mark as a doctor, that God is man.
Matt Stokes: 17:23 Now, flip that 180 degrees, and you have John. John is fascinated not that a man is God, but that God is a man. And in the Book of John, you will find more proclamations of the deity of Jesus than in any other gospel, remarkable. John magnifies the deity of Christ, his claims to be God in human flesh, and he is symbolized as, depicted as, an Eagle. And the reason is, and we don't have time to get into the research. But if you study the ancients, the ancients understood that the Eagle was a symbol of deity, and it was a symbol of sovereignty.
Matt Stokes: 18:03 My personal perspective, you know, I'm telling you, there's two different interpretations, y'all this is freaky, right, there's some crazy stuff going on here. God is multi-dimensional, so what I'm saying is I see it as both. Yes he's powerful, yes he's faithful, yes he's intelligent, and yes he's sovereign, but also he's depicted as this one through the four gospels. What I want to ask you is, regardless of which interpretation, here's the application, watch this, please write this down with a pen, because this is the real take home today. And it's this, in all of those depictions, how are you portraying Jesus to the world? Because there are four living beings in heaven, and they had these unique depictions, metaphorical depictions of Christ to the world, the character of God to the world. How are you portraying, how are you manifesting, Jesus to the world? By declaring him as your King, that he is your sovereign, that he governs your life, how are you portraying Jesus to the world? By the way that you walk in humility, giving him the glory, to you portray Jesus to the world, by actually sharing the truth of the gospel and literally showing Jesus to the world, by showing them the scriptures? Portraying grace, or strength, or determination, or perseverance, in the midst of your own pain? By trusting your father in heaven, regardless of the outcome, how are you portraying Jesus to the world? By showing mercy to people who actually hurt you? By loving people who have absolutely no intention or no indication of ever loving you back? Will you portray Jesus to the world by giving to those who can never repay you?
Matt Stokes: 20:05 I know some of you do, by fighting to defend the glory of your Father, as Jesus did relentlessly throughout the gospels. You watch, anytime Jesus got angry, his Father's name was at stake. He said, my father's house shall be called a house of prayer unto all nations. Don't ever, don't you ever stop little children from coming to me because the Kingdom of God, that's my Father's kingdom, and if you can't come like a little child, you can't come at all. It's very fascinating to watch. And I'm just asking you, as much as I'm asking myself, how are you portraying Jesus to the world? Because that is not only your calling and your privilege, but it is his command, and what that might look like in the life of a believer in every believer in this room may be different today. But I believe if you pray, I'm convinced God will bring it to you, what you need to do. And what you need to do today may be different than what you need to do tomorrow, that's why you and I need to be sensitive to the Holy spirit of God. To know, like Paul, when he said, well, when I was with the Romans, I became like the Romans, to win the Romans. With the Gentiles, I became like ,a Gentile to win the Gentiles. When I was with those who had the law, I became like those who had the law, to win those who had the law. In other words, what he's saying is, is with the Holy Spirit within me, I learned the mystery of being all things to all men, that I might win some. The reason, listen, what's the why, right? The whole reason we want to portray Jesus to the world, is so that we win people to Christ.
Matt Stokes: 22:16 Let me continue. John is actually building, he's building on a foundation that's already laid. And I want to leave time for worship, so I'm just going to hit this really hard and fast, but just like come with me on this and watch this. Isaiah chapter 6, in the opening verses it says, that he's having a vision, just like John. And listen to his vision, and tell me if what I'm saying about it is like it's trippy, but it's also extremely in integration with what you see in Revelation. He said he saw what he calls mighty Serafin, which are a class of angels that were a high class of angels that were devoted to worship, each one of them having wings, guess how many? Six. With two wings they covered their faces, with two wings they covered their feet, and with the other two that they flew. And they were calling out to each other, guess what they called out? Holy Holy, Holy, is the Lord of heaven's armies, the whole earth is filled with your glory. And then it talks about how their voices shook the temple on the foundations, and there was smoke. Does any of this sound familiar?
Matt Stokes: 23:23 You open to Ezekiel chapter 1, and I don't have time to go over 20 plus verses with you, but I'll just highlight a few pieces where it says that he saw God in this vision, he saw the heavens open up and he saw flashes with lightning, brilliant light, fire. And he also said there came four beings in the midst of this vision, each one moved, listen to this, each one moves straight forward in every direction without turning around. Okay, what? That actually, that doesn't make sense unless you're trying to explain something that's multi-dimensional, then all of a sudden that makes sense. And these beings that he saw, the four, each one had a human face on the front, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, the face of an Eagle on the back. I mean, wow, am I reading this? That the living beings look like bright coals of fire, brilliant torches, which we talked about last week, with lightening streaming and flashing back and forth from them. They had, oh, by the way, Ezekiel right here, it says that they also had eyes that covered them all around. And as they flew, their wings sounded like the waves crashing against the shore. Do you remember talking about that when we were starting Revelation, that he heard a voice, John did, and it was like the sound of many waters. Then he talks about this crystal surface, and above this crystal surface was something that looked like a throne, and around him was a glowing halo that looked like, listen, a rainbow. And I heard someone's voice speaking to me, and it continues to go on from there. I can't even get into the half of it, that's all I can tell you right now.
Matt Stokes: 25:15 I'll just hit you with Daniel chapter 7, where it talks about this one who's on this throne, and they call him the ancient one, and he sits down to judge and his clothing was as white as snow. Tell me if this doesn't sound like the opening of the Book of Revelation? And his hair was like the purest wool, and he sat on a fiery throne with wheels of blazing fire, and a river of fire was pouring out, flowing from his presence. Is that the crystal sea in Revelation chapter 15, that he says, I saw a sea that was like crystal, but yet it was glowing and shimmering like fire?
Matt Stokes: 25:52 We're talking about books that were written thousands of years earlier, millenniums earlier, and John the Revelator is having the same exact visions that correlate and integrate exactly together with scripture from thousands of years ago. As I read it, I'm just filled by the understanding of it, in the limited amount of understanding I have, of saying, how is that going to change my life? How does that touch down into my reality every day? I've got to move on, the chapter comes to an apex right here in these verses, when the musicians cry out in what's called antiphonal structure. Now that's a musical terms, so most of us here when we were in grade school, we know that as question and answer. Remember question and answer? So the horn section over here, it goes like, [inaudible] right. And then the drums go [inaudible] right? And the strings are like, [inaudible] right? That's antiphonal structure, one plays, and then the other responds, and then the other responds. Here, you have these four living beings and they are saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty— the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.” And then every time they do that, the 24 elders, they respond, right? They respond, here's how they respond, they respond by bowing down and casting their crown before the throne.
Matt Stokes: 27:26 Now, I've studied through Revelation, and I've taught some of this before, but I saw something in this reading that I didn't see in the times past. I just want to share it with you, because for me it was like, it's paradigm shifting. There's a metaphor here that blows me away. In ancient times, a king who conquered vast territories would travel through his territories to visit them because he ruled over them, and in place he put lesser kings in authority to rule over those smaller regions. And when the great king would ride through the territories that he had conquered, the lesser kings that he appointed would come out to meet him, and greet him, and honor him. And they would bring their entourage into the courtyard, or onto the main street upon which the great king who conquered the territories would come, and do you know what they would do? They would bow down, and they would take their lesser crown, and they would cast it before him. And then this is going to blow you away, do you know what that King would do? He would have that crown on the ground placed back upon their head, and in doing so, when he returned the crowns to their head, there was a silent statement being said, what was being said? I can wear this crown because of your grace, I wear this crown because of your grace. And I look at that metaphor, and it just strikes me, and I can't help but ask the question, and I hope you'll ask yourself today as well, because to me it's a life-changing question. And the question is this, what glory, what glory will you lay before the Lord today? And what has he given you, what talent, what gifting, what ability, what endowment, has he given you that you would consider to be your glory? And you're saying, you know what, I cast that down before you, because the only reason that I have it is because of your grace. Maybe it's your talent to win and influence people, right? Win friends and influence people. Maybe it's your ability to make money, your ability to make wise investments, maybe it's your position in this life, your prominence, your prestige, your great accomplishments for which you receive the acclaim and the applause of other people. And you say, you know what, I lay it all down. The greatest of my crowns mean nothing to me now, my wealth is in the cross, my wealth is in the cross.
Matt Stokes: 30:20 So I want you just right now in the moment, to ask God to bring to the surface of your conscience, what crown will you lay down? I don't have to think too long, and cry out to the Holy Spirit to show me, before I know the places where God has given me a gifting, an ability, an endowment, something of his grace that in some way brings me glory in the eyes of men. And I have to say, I take this crown, and I cast it down because it means nothing to me now in light of the glory of the grace that you've given me in the beauty of your cross.
Matt Stokes: 31:18 After the four and living elders say, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, the 24 respond by casting the crowns down after they've bowed down. And now they also, here's what they say, “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power." And here's why , here's the why, "Because you created all things." For you created all things, and they exist because you created what pleased you.” "They exist because you created what pleased you." Someone here today's struggling with self-worth, or self-esteem, or depression, or some sort of humiliation, God created you because it pleased him.
Matt Stokes: 32:07 It says the same thing in Ephesians, it says that God abounded towards you with all wisdom and prudence. In other words, when he created you and decided to choose you, in somehow in some anthropomorphic mysterious way that I can't explain, he said, I find it wise and prudent to choose you, to choose you, to choose you, to choose you, to choose you. Like, if you really believe that in the core of your being, I think it would change the way that you see. And beginning to change the way you see yourself, seeing yourself the way God sees you, is the way you begin to love others. I wish I had the time, I'm going to just say this, and there's no time to even get into this, so I'll just state the fact. It's interesting to me, it's fascinating, that in all of the praise that you're going to see in the Book of Revelation, and there's a lot of praise. This is the first one, so I look at those praises, I look at the worship in Revelation and I try to make it my own, I try to like integrate it into my own worship in my personal devotional time. There's about 10, you can email me if you find more...no there's not, there's nine, and that one was not really praise, it was just...Okay, there's about 10.
Matt Stokes: 33:23 And in those 10 places, the first time is right here and it says, that he is declared glorious, and honorable, and powerful, and why? Because he's the eternal creator. The first time that he's worshiped by the four living beings and the 24 elders is when they declare that he is the eternal creator. He was, and is, and is to come, and you're worthy O Lord our God, because you've created whatever pleased you. So again, I don't have the time, but let me just state the fact, isn't that interesting, isn't it fascinating, that the first words of praise are acknowledging the creator? Why? Here's why, and this is worth writing down, please take this to the bank, because acknowledging the Creator is the first step towards trusting the Redeemer. How can you trust the Redeemer, if you first don't understand and acknowledge God, who is the Creator? Because that's where it all begins, it all begins in Genesis 1.
Matt Stokes: 34:32 Speaking of the first words of praise, what are the first four words of the Bible? Someone say it loud, just yell it out, like kindergarteners in a classroom. Just, what are the first four words of the Bible? "In the beginning, God." "In the beginning, God." What's the fifth word, say it loud, say the whole sentence, "In the beginning God created." Very good. So the question I want to leave you with, before we enter back into worship, because worship is really where we want to center down right now in Revelation 4 and 5. The question is this, do you really believe that, "In the beginning God."? And do you really believe that, "In the beginning God created?" Because if you believe the first 5 words of the Bible, then the 783,168 other words totally make sense. Because if you believe that in the beginning God created, then of course he could do it all in six days. If you believe that in the beginning God created, then of course he could part the sea, and of course he could bring a river out of a rock, and he could make streams in the desert. If you believe that in the beginning God, then of course he could turn weeping into dancing, and he can bring beauty from ashes. If you believe in the beginning God created, then of course he's going to bring down giants and the walls of Jericho. If you believe in the beginning, God. If you believe in the beginning God created, then it doesn't matter if a whale swallowed Jonah or Jonah swallowed a whale, all things are possible with God. If you believe in the beginning God, then a baby in a manger would be Emmanuel God with us, then of course he would walk on water, and of course his death would pay my debt for my condemnation, of course he would be the way, truth, life, and the resurrection, of course he would be seated upon a throne that goes beyond the third dimension, thunder and lightning.
Matt Stokes: 36:33 Does God have your attention? He controls the governments of every nation, and he's praised as the sovereign in all creation, and of his reign and of his government, there will be no completion, there will be no end. And if you want to get your praise on and say, amen. And with that, Amen. Let's worship together.
Worship Band: 36:52 (Worship Music).
Matt Stokes: 39:30 As we move out of 4, and into Revelation 5, we're going to see again, these 24 elders are going to sing a song of praise to Jesus, the lamb who was worthy. They're going to sing a song, and really it's a song on our behalf, it's a song that someday we will sing forever and ever and ever. So what we're saying is why not begin right now? Like why not begin right here, let's get practice in. Okay, let's work on this, not just your voices, but your posture of worship. Let's begin to work on publicly proclaiming who has priority in our lives, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Why not right now say we lay down our crowns at the feet of Jesus, because of the greatness of your mercy and love, at the feet of Jesus we cry, Holy, Holy, Holy is the lamb. And they're crying out, and what they're saying in heaven is this, you have been slain, how painful, how disturbing, how glorious. And in doing so, in being slain, you have redeemed us to God by your blood. So apparently in heaven, it's not bloodless, the blood of Jesus is still precious, it's still celebrated, it's still remembered as the means by which we have been brought from death to life, from darkness to light, you've redeemed us by your blood. And what you did was you have drawn us out, you've drawn out the redeemed from every time, you've drawn out the redeem from every tribe, you've drawn out the redeemed from every nation, you've drawn out the redeemed of every people of the world. So who's the one, the one who's in control of all governments? It's God, it's God, it's God, let's sing together one more time.
Worship Band: 42:26 (Worship Music)
Matthew Maher: 46:03 So we do know that when worship ceases, at least the music, that is where our worship and a lifestyle of obedience begins beyond the building here. This is where we fill up and declare God's worth, and then we take the gospel to a dying world and we share the good news of God's good grace. We pray that we have equipped the saints for the work of ministry, and we would love for you to tap into the momentum here, not only on Thursdays and Sundays, but the various other opportunities. Ladies, you have a Bible study this Tuesday, Deeply Rooted, right here in the sanctuary at 9:30. You also have an opportunity with Women In Service on Saturday at 10:00 AM in the sanctuary. Thursdays, we're back in the Book of Daniel. And of course we would encourage parents to take advantage of the early bird special for summer camp. We thank you so much for joining us on this Sunday morning, and may God bless you, and may he keep you. You are dismissed.
Recorded in Ocean City, New Jersey.
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