It Will Be Worth It All!
The Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ • Sermon • Submitted
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Revelation 14:1-5
Revelation 14:1–5 (NLT)
1 Then I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.
2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of mighty ocean waves or the rolling of loud thunder. It was like the sound of many harpists playing together.
3 This great choir sang a wonderful new song in front of the throne of God and before the four living beings and the twenty-four elders. No one could learn this song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
4 They have kept themselves as pure as virgins, following the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been purchased from among the people on the earth as a special offering to God and to the Lamb.
5 They have told no lies; they are without blame.
INTRODUCTION:
Here in Revelation 14 we have a refreshing change of scenery! We move from the Judgement upon a Christ—rejecting, Satan honoring world; A place of hazard, pain and martyrdom for all who dare to commit themselves to Christ — to the place of the Christian's joyful inheritance.
The saints who suffered on earth and gave their lives as martyrs are now forming a heavenly choir! The sorrows and trials and tests we face here on earth will one day be over. When we enter that place of eternal rejoicing — It will be worth it all! — All that we’ve endured on our way to share in His glory.
There are three wonderful truths that we need to learn in these five short verses.
I- GOD NEVER LOSES ONE OF HIS CHILDREN (Revelation 14:1)
I- GOD NEVER LOSES ONE OF HIS CHILDREN (Revelation 14:1)
Revelation 14:1 (NLT)
Then I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.
A- The tribulation martyrs will all be present in heaven with the Lamb of God.
A- The tribulation martyrs will all be present in heaven with the Lamb of God.
1- Jesus, the true Lamb, appears on the scene.
a- In Chapter 13, there was a false lamb who was the false prophet
1) Counterfeits will always be shown for what they are.
b- Here we find the true Lamb of God—
1) He is the one who is the sacrifice for sin. (Revelation 13:8b)
Revelation 13:8b (NLT)
And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made.
a) He was slain for your sins and mine.
· He gave Himself because of His love for us (Romans 5:8)
Romans 5:8 (NLT)
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
2- Jesus the true Lamb appears in Victory.
2- Jesus the true Lamb appears in Victory.
a-He is standing on Mount Zion —
1) In spite of the blasphemies and actions of the Antichrist, the false prophet, and Satan, he still stands — in victory over them!
3- Jesus is accompanied by His Martyr Evangelists. (Revelation 7:4)
3- Jesus is accompanied by His Martyr Evangelists. (Revelation 7:4)
Revelation 7:4 (NLT)
And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God—144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel:
a- Notice that- all 144,000 of them are with Him! There are not 143,999 but 144,000 — He has not lost even one!
1) They were sealed with the name of God — and can never be lost !
B- The truth of our eternal security means that we can never be lost .
B- The truth of our eternal security means that we can never be lost .
1. The Word of God clearly tells us_that Jesus will never lose one of His own!
1. The Word of God clearly tells us_that Jesus will never lose one of His own!
a. We’re sealed with the Holy Spirit.
(Ephesians 1:12-14)
Ephesians 1:12–14 (NLT)
God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.
b. We ' re kept his His Power.
(1 Peter 1:5)
1 Peter 1:5 (NLT)
And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
c. We 're held in His hand.
(John 10:27-30)
John 10:27–30 (NLT)
27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me,
29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.
30 The Father and I are one.”
II - GOD GIVES A UNIQUE- SONG TO THE REDEEMED (Revelation 14:2-3)
II - GOD GIVES A UNIQUE- SONG TO THE REDEEMED (Revelation 14:2-3)
Revelation 14:2–3 (NLT)
And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of mighty ocean waves or the rolling of loud thunder. It was like the sound of many harpists playing together.
This great choir sang a wonderful new song in front of the throne of God and before the four living beings and the twenty-four elders. No one could learn this song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
A- The tribulation martyrs praise God.
A- The tribulation martyrs praise God.
1- They praise him with instruments: (Revelation 14:2)
1- They praise him with instruments: (Revelation 14:2)
Revelation 14:2 (NLT)
And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of mighty ocean waves or the rolling of loud thunder. It was like the sound of many harpists playing together.
a- The word of God declares that we are to use all instruments to praise Him
(Psalm 150)
Psalm 150 (NLT)
1 Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heaven!
2 Praise him for his mighty works; praise his unequaled greatness!
3 Praise him with a blast of the ram’s horn; praise him with the lyre and harp!
4 Praise him with the tambourine and dancing; praise him with strings and flutes!
5 Praise him with a clash of cymbals; praise him with loud clanging cymbals.
6 Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord! Praise the Lord!
2. They praised Him with a New Song
2. They praised Him with a New Song
a- They praised him with a new song that no-one else could sing.
“New song” = ᾠδὴν καινὴν = ‘previously unknown, previously unheard of, new.
b- The others in heaven can only listen as they sing.
c- It is a song of the redeemed! (ἠγορασμένοι = to cause the release or freedom of someone by a means which proves costly to the individual causing the release—‘to redeem, to set free.’)
(Revelation 5:9-10)
Revelation 5:9–10 (NLT)
And they sang a new song with these words:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and break its seals and open it.
For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation.
And you have caused them to become
a Kingdom of priests for our God.
And they will reign on the earth.”
B- The redeemed have a song that the angels cannot sing.
B- The redeemed have a song that the angels cannot sing.
1- On1y the redeemed can sing praises for redemption — The angels cannot- understand redemption.
1- On1y the redeemed can sing praises for redemption — The angels cannot- understand redemption.
2- You, believer, have a unique song of praise to sing.
2- You, believer, have a unique song of praise to sing.
a. No-one else has experienced the redeeming power of Christ in the exact same way that you have.
b. As you sing, images of His deliverance and grace from your own mind.
c. Sing from the depths of your own heart!
III- GOD PURIFIES THOSE WHOM HE REDEEMS (Revelation 14:4-5)
III- GOD PURIFIES THOSE WHOM HE REDEEMS (Revelation 14:4-5)
Revelation 14:4–5 (NLT)
They have kept themselves as pure as virgins, following the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been purchased from among the people on the earth as a special offering to God and to the Lamb. They have told no lies; they are without blame.
A- The tribulation Martyrs: their description
A- The tribulation Martyrs: their description
1- Their lives were morally pure
1- Their lives were morally pure
a. "pure as virgins” - speaks purity of life before God.
b. “told no lies” they were without deceit.
· 1) Total truthfulness was theirs in word and life.
(Ephesians 6:14)
Ephesians 6:14 (NLT)
Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.
c. “Without fault” (ἄμωμοί = ‘blameless, without fault, faultless, perfect.) - They were completely blameless before God. (1 John 1:7,9)
1 John 1:7 (NLT)
But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 1:9 (NLT)
But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
1) This speaks of an absence of rebellion in their lives.
2-They lived complete commitment to Christ. (Revelation 14:4b)
2-They lived complete commitment to Christ. (Revelation 14:4b)
Revelation 14:4b (NLT)
They have kept themselves as pure as virgins, following the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been purchased from among the people on the earth as a special offering to God and to the Lamb.
a. No matter where the Lord led, they followed!
· The key: (Romans 12:1-2; Galatians 2:20)
Romans 12:1–2 (NLT)
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Galatians 2:20 (NLT)
My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
1) In life they followed through victorious revival.
2) In life they followed through endless persecution .
3) In life they followed to a martyr's death.
3- The reason for their purity and faithfulness: they have been redeemed!
3- The reason for their purity and faithfulness: they have been redeemed!
a. No man can be morally pure and live-in commitment and obedience to Christ until he has been washed in the blood of the Lamb.
(John 14:6)
John 14:6 (NLT)
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
B- What about You?
B- What about You?
1- Can your life be described with the same. adjectives as these martyred saints?
1- Can your life be described with the same. adjectives as these martyred saints?
a. undefiled, pure, guileless, blameless?
2- Can you in honesty say that you are living fan complete commitment and obedience to Christ?
2- Can you in honesty say that you are living fan complete commitment and obedience to Christ?
a. Have you become a part of that blood-washed, redeemed throng that will one day stand before His throne?
CONCLUSION:
My friend, don't delay — let today be the beginning of a new life for you. Give your heart to Jesus Christ and follow him wherever He leads.