Revelation 7.9-17

This coming Tuesday is an important day for the American people.  It an an important day that comes around once every four years.  And, on this important day that comes around once every four years, each of us, who is an American citizen has to answer the question, “Where do you stand?”  Meaning, “Who do you stand behind and who will you vote for to lead our nation?”

So, I ask you the rhetorical question (because I believe it is a private matter and I don’t want to know your answer), “Where have you chosen to stand on Election Day?”

Our text for this morning, which has been chosen for us by the lectionary, speaks to the issue of figuring out where we stand.

However, it is not asking us where we will stand on Election Day.

Instead it is asking us where we will stand on Judgment Day when we meet God face-to-face.

Let’s hear together from Revelation 7.9-17 now.

Revelation 7.9-17 says this:

[9] After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, [10] and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” [11] And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, [12] saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

[13] Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” [14] I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

[15] “Therefore they are before the throne of God,

and serve him day and night in his temple;

and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.

[16] They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;

the sun shall not strike them,

nor any scorching heat.

[17] For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,

and he will guide them to springs of living water,

and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (ESV)

In our Biblical text for this morning, from the apocryphal book of Revelation, we get to peak into Heaven to see what our eternal Heavenly home is like. 

What we see when we peak into Heaven, through Revelation 7, is what we would consider to be a church service.  

People are singing songs of praise and worshiping Jesus who is present with them.  

The gathering of people who have found their forgiveness and hope in God’s gift of Jesus Christ are telling of what God has done for them and thanking God with a never-ending thanksgiving for His grace and mercy upon them.

Those in Heaven standing around Jesus, their eternal Lord and Savior, are overflowing with praise because they know the truth that we are saved and made pure by Jesus, the Lamb of God, who was the innocent and blemish-free sacrifice for our sins on the cross.

They are particularly thankful that God’s offer of salvation is both global and glorious.

I love that we are told that the people who are there are people from every tribe and nation that ever existed on earth.  This is such an important reminder because sometimes we get so anchored in to our local congregation and used to the way that things are done there that we forget that there are other Christians doing the same thing as us, sometimes in a different way.

One commentator points out that, “In this massive throng of the redeemed in heaven, there is not the slightest hint of bigotry, ethnocentrism, prejudice, or racism. Of the 11,243 people groups in the world, each is present and represented.”

Those in Heaven standing around Jesus, their eternal Lord and Savior, are also overflowing with praise because they know the truth that we are fully and enterally satisfied and provided for in Jesus.

In verses 13-17 of this morning’s text, we hear thanksgiving and praise in Heaven because:

Jesus makes us clean.

Jesus let’s us take part in God’s plan by serving Him and our neighbor.

Jesus gives us His presence.

Jesus provides for our needs.

And, Jesus promises to always be our Shepherd—our leader, defender, and teacher.

1 Peter 2:24–25 sums this up for us when the apostle Peter writes:

[24] He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. [25] For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (ESV)

This week is election week.  

Election week culminates on Election Day.  

This is the day that we, in the Republic that is the United States of America, use the democratic process to cast a vote for the individual that we think will do the best job at overseeing our nation as the President for the next 4 years.

For those of us that profess faith in Jesus Christ and know that God’s Law is the ultimate law set forth to govern the rights and wrongs of individuals, it is our responsibility to head to the polling station to vote for the person that will rightly and justly discharge the duties of the office, uphold the Constitution that governs our land, and that we believe will give us, the Church, the freedom to continue worshipping and believing the truth without interruption.

In his famous 1967 “Knock at Midnight speech,” delivered in Cincinnati at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Martin Luther King Jr. announced:

“The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.”

As true as all of this is, there is a very sad reality behind every election.  

The sad reality is that both those who profess faith in Jesus Christ and those that deny Jesus’ divinity often put all of their hope and trust in a human political candidate and a humanly governed political party inside a humanly run government to save them.  

Those that profess faith in Jesus forget that God is ultimately in control of all things and all things that happen in this world are allowed by God our Father in Heaven.  

Instead of prayerfully voting and trusting on Election Day, Christians all across the world throw God out the window and choose to die on the hill next to some human president, governor, or King.  

Those that deny Jesus’ divinity and God’s ultimate control over all things have no other option except to sadly die on a hill next to a politician who can help them on this earth (if they are true to the promises they make) but cannot help them in Heaven.

I want you to hear this loud and clear:

The candidates on Tuesday’s Presidential ballot cannot clean you from your sin.

The candidates on Tuesday’s Presidential ballot cannot strengthen you to serve and love God and your neighbor.

The candidates on Tuesday’s Presidential ballot are not omnipresent.

The candidates on Tuesday’s Presidential ballot cannot provide for your ultimate needs.

The candidates on Tuesday’s Presidential ballot cannot eternally shepherd you into God’s Kingdom of Heaven.

That is why King David warns you in the Old Testament book of Psalms against placing your trust in earthly leaders.

In Psalm 146, King David gives us these instructions for life:

[1] Praise the LORD!

Praise the LORD, O my soul!

[2] I will praise the LORD as long as I live;

I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

[3] Put not your trust in princes,

in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.

[4] When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;

on that very day his plans perish.

[5] Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the LORD his God,

[6] who made heaven and earth,

the sea, and all that is in them,

who keeps faith forever;

[7] who executes justice for the oppressed,

who gives food to the hungry.

The LORD sets the prisoners free;

[8] the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.

The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;

the LORD loves the righteous.

[9] The LORD watches over the sojourners;

he upholds the widow and the fatherless,

but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

[10] The LORD will reign forever,

your God, O Zion, to all generations.

Praise the LORD! (ESV)

When you wake up on Wednesday, the day after America’s Presidential election, God will still be in control. 

When you wake up on Wednesday, the day after America’s Presidential election, Jesus will make you clean.

When you wake up on Wednesday, the day after America’s Presidential election, Jesus will still need you to take part in God’s plan by serving Him and your neighbor.

When you wake up on Wednesday, the day after America’s Presidential election, Jesus will be alive and present with you.

When you wake up on Wednesday, the day after America’s Presidential election, Jesus will provide for your needs.

When you wake up on Wednesday, the day after America’s Presidential election, Jesus’ promise to always be your Shepherd—your leader, defender, and teacher—will still be fulfilled.

And, when you wake up on Wednesday, the day after America’s Presidential election, Jesus will still be the ONLY ONE able to save you from your sin through the forgiveness he provides for you through his death on the cross—including the sin of placing your trust in politicians, political parties, and political systems.

In his essay, “A Brief Instruction on What to Look For and Expect in the Gospels,” 16th Century Church Reformer, Martin Luther, says this:

“Yet even the teaching of the prophets, in those places where they speak of Christ, is nothing but the true, pure, and proper gospel—just as if Luke or Matthew had described it.  For the prophets have proclaimed the gospel and spoken of Christ, as St. Paul [in Romans 1.2] reports and as everyone indeed knows.  Thus when Isaiah in chapter fifty-three says how Christ should die for us and bear our sins, he has written the pure gospel.  And I assure you, if a person fails to grasp this understanding of the gospel, he will never be able to be illuminated in the Scriptures nor will he receive the right foundation.”

Revelation chapter six ends with the question, “Who can stand in the day of the Lamb’s wrath?”  Meaning, “who can stand on the day of judgment when God they meet God face-to-face as he He rightfully and justly punishes sin?”

According to the good news found in our text from the Biblical book of Revelation, if you find yourself standing before God’s throne, faithfully believing in Jesus Christ, God’s Only Son, as your Lord and Savior, the only way to receive forgiveness of sin and eternal life, you will continue to stand in God’s Kingdom of Heaven forever. 

However, if you find yourself standing before God’s throne, faithlessly denying Jesus Christ, God’s Only Son, as the Only Lord and Only Savior and the only way to receive forgiveness of sin and eternal life, you will be sent away to stand in the pain and suffering that comes with being separated from God in Hell.

This morning, know that Jesus is God’s ONLY elected candidate to be your Savior.

This morning, though faith in Jesus Christ you are God’s chosen candidate for the Kingdom of Heaven.  

That is the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 2:13–14 says:

[13] But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. [14] To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. (ESV)

And, John 15:12–17 says:

[12] “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. [13] Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. [14] You are my friends if you do what I command you. [15] No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. [16] You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. [17] These things I command you, so that you will love one another. (ESV)

Today, this week, and this Election Day, joyfully sing over and over again,

Standing on the promises of Christ my king,
through eternal ages let his praises ring;
glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
when the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
by the living Word of God I shall prevail,
standing on the promises of God. 

Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
bound to him eternally by love’s strong cord,
overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
listening every moment to the Spirit’s call,
resting in my Savior as my all in all,
standing on the promises of God.

Standing, standing, 
standing on the promises of God my Savior;
standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

November 3, 2024.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, 

We confess with our lips the blessedness of seeking your kingdom first, but our lives proclaim a different story. We sing the wonders of your love, but we grumble and complain when our desires are not fulfilled. We say that we follow a loving God who does what is best for us, but often we want to be our own gods, running the world in our own way. We declare that we long for the coming of your kingdom, but often we are more interested in the gifts that you give us than we are in you. Instead of following you, we are prone to follow our wisdom, our desires, and our own kingdoms. Father, forgive us for this prideful selfishness. 

Lord Jesus, thank you that you are the King who reigns in truth and love. You showed us this love by becoming one of us and following your Father’s will in our place. When Satan tempted you with the glory and power of your own kingdom, you rebuked him and followed the path of suffering instead. You laid down your life so that we could flourish in your kingdom forever. Thank you for this disarming kindness and love. 

Holy Spirit, grow in us the desire to follow you, because we are still sinful, blind, and easily distracted. Help us to see the glory of your kingdom and to love it more than we love our own. Delight our hearts with your goodness until we bow our will to you joyfully. Give us grace to stand in obedience, knowing that without you we can do nothing. Give us grace to run to you when we fall, knowing that in Christ we have all the righteousness we will ever need. Help us to trust that your will is always done on this earth, even when it looks like Satan is winning. Help us to die to ourselves and to serve your kingdom with humble gratitude, boasting in the sweet name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Benediction:

Go in peace this morning; through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, you are God’s chosen candidate for His eternal Kingdom of Heaven.