AtomRevelation Part 2
Revelation 5:11-14
Grace to you and peace from God our Father, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who comes to us through His Holy Spirit. Amen.
The daily devotion for Friday was very apropos for our journey through Revelation. If you missed it, he based his devotion on James 4:8, “Come near to God, and God will come near to you”. And then, Lucado wrote:
Some of us have tried to have a daily quiet time and have not been successful. Others of us have a hard time concentrating. And all of us are busy. So rather than spend time with God, listening for his voice, we’ll let others spend time with him and then benefit from their experience. Let them tell us what God is saying. After all, isn’t that why we pay preachers?...
If that is your approach, if your spiritual experiences are secondhand and not firsthand, I’d like to challenge you with this thought: Do you do that with other parts of your life? ...
You don’t do that with vacations…. You don’t do that with romance…. You don’t let someone eat on your behalf, do you? [There are] certain things no one can do for you.
And one of those is spending time with God.
By the way, if you would like to receive a daily devotion…send me an email with your email address and we’ll get these out to you…
In a real way, this devotion is the theme of our start in revelation. It brings us back to last week and the invitation given from Revelation 1:3…the verse that is printed under the sermon line. Remember:
Blessed is the one who READS aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who HEAR and who KEEP what is written in it!!
And, in the words of Max Lucado…NO ONE can do this for you!! There are certain things no one can do for you, and one of those is spending time with God…Reading, Hearing, and Keeping His word!!
Today’s encouragement…If you haven’t started your reading…GET STARTED!! Need some help??
Barb Rossing’s book “The Rapture Exposed” is a good resource. So is Esther Onstad’s study book “Courage for Today and Hope for Tomorrow”!!
By the way…note that my mother-in-law…who grew up in a “theological” family (her dad was a pastor and teach at Concordia and her 10 brothers/sister either became pastors or married them).
She has always been scared to read this book…until she read Barb Rossing’s book. Now, she is ready. I’m saying this to encourage…utilize these resources as a help…as tools!!
Today, we’re already in chapter 5…and what a glorious vision we are given…I hope you caught the depth of this vision!! Esther Onstad writes about this vision (page 47):
The purpose of this vision was to draw the eyes of discouraged Christians upward to the throne room of heaven to behold the King of the universe seated in radiant splendor, surrounded by his court of worshiping, adoring attendants…He alone possessed all power, although at times to the persecuted Christian it may have seemed that the power of Rome was supreme. IN NO WAY!! Ultimately God and God alone is in control…and, whatever the cost, be TRUE to the eternal God of the universe.
How powerful is this vision today to inspire God’s people?? Ester continues…
In April 1991, the Asia Press reported that in China the government had begun to impose restrictions because of the growing influence of the church and the growing numbers of Christians who boldly were proclaiming Jesus as Lord!! House-church leaders had been arrested and listening to foreign broadcasts was tightly controlled. One province issued a decree that forbade believers to preach the gospel, hold house-church meetings, or mention the name of God outside the doors of government churches. Yet, in spite of the increased restrictions, Christians were and still are willing to risk everything because of their love for Jesus Christ.
How powerful is this vision today???
I regularly receive an email from an organization called “the Voice of the Martyrs”. These folks are, from their website: A non-profit, interdenominational organization with a vision for aiding Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ.
While I read these emails with a grain of salt…I continue to be amazed at how THIS VISION of the Lamb on the throne gives courage and hope to God’s People living under IMPOSSIBLE situations filled with persecution and fear…and Courage and Hope!!
And, we fully recognize that for us, Christians living in the United States…in First Lutheran of Detroit Lakes, we are not persecuted because of our faith…yet this vision speaks to us also!!
Onstad writes:
On a personal level, when discouragement, illness, problems, and unanswered “whys” confront us, we need to know that the God of the universe is in control…we need to learn to trust him, believing that he cares for us and that he has the answers. We need to learn to worship and praise him as the hosts of heaven do.
Let’s remember that the writer of the proverbs tells us (Proverbs 29:18):
Where there is no vision, the people perish…and people of God, God knows that we need this vision…to give us hope and courage in the midst of everything we face…
I needed this vision on Friday…as we gathered for the funeral for Melva Swanson…
Without this vision of Jesus conquering death and sitting on the throne, all we would have on the day of a funeral is memories…good and bad. All we would have is a past. THIS vision gives us a FUTURE…a HOPE and more!!!
I needed this vision on Thursday in the ICU unit at St. Mary’s…
Without this vision (and the others like it in Revelation)…where would we find hope in the midst of unknown medical issues…when fear and a loss of control threaten us and get into our head and heart??
I needed this vision on Tuesday, when the person called on the phone, telling of the suicide of their brother…and we talked and shared…
And then entered into what she really wanted to talk about…the unspoken question that lurked in the shadows of the phone call… “is there anything that can separate us from the love of God?? Does suicide mean my brother is outside of God’s grace?? And the answer is NO…
Because the Lamb who sits on the throne reminds us in his word that there is NOTHING…NOTHING….NOTHING that can separate us from the Love of God given in Christ Jesus our Lord…NOTHING!!
Actually, I needed this vision at the wedding yesterday of Richard and Meghan…
You see, I need this vision to know that with Christ as the center of a marriage, God’s people have been declared to be priests to serve our God and indeed, will reign on earth…with Christ on the throne of their lives…in their marriage and we can proclaim this loud and clear and celebrate this with these young folks…and with all marriages that are unity in Christ!!
This Revelation 5 vision declares LOUD and CLEAR that, with God, there is a future and the future is bright because it belongs to the Risen Lamb of God who sits on the throne…who purchased us and all people for God with His Blood!! This Vision gives, to lift up Esther Onstad’s book once again: ”Courage for Today, HOPE for Tomorrow”!!
One of my favorite concession speeches came from Walter Mondale…and you have heard this before. When he conceded the election that many years ago…he steppe to the microphone and said, “I have seen the light and the end of the tunnel…and…it is OUT”!!! Revelation proclaims that God’s people can say, “I have seen the light at the end of the tunnel and it is BRIGHT…!!”
And you know; I need this vision as we enter into Revelation chapter 6 and following…when the seals are opened and the judgments begin…when the 7 trumpets are sounded and the bowls and so much more take place…
We need this vision when Revelation 6 happens in our lives….when the woes of live threaten to overtake us…
Today…the vision from Revelation 5…It’s a powerful vision…
How do we respond to this vision…
I hope and pray that we respond as Jesus calls us to…to Worship the lamb and to give him all power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!!
I pray we’ll respond as a Church…as the Vision Council is installed today…to always keep JESUS on the throne of our Church…not our own personal agendas, not our fears or apprehensions, not our human failings, but the RISEN LAMB OF GOD as we press forward to run the race of faith that God has set before us!!!
Individually, I hope and pray that we’ll respond with our commitments of all we have.
That today, that we will consecrate not only our estimate of giving cards…but also our lives; consecrate our lives to worship and serve the Lord and Him only because this vision proclaims loud and clear that here is NO ONE else….there is NOTHING ELSE that is worthy…
However, let’s be reminded that no matter what is said today…these words cannot convince anyone of this truth…as everyone here needs to read and be caught by this for themselves…
thus, let’s return to the beginning once again to close…
Blessed is the one who READS aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who HEAR and who KEEP what is written in it!!
And, in the words of Max Lucado…
There are certain things no one can do for you, and one of those is spending time with God…in his word!!
Be sure to do so THIS WEEK…as we prepare for next week…to catch one more glimpse of this glory of God…as the lectionary brings us into chapter 7.
And with the four living creatures (who by the way represent all of creation…the number 4) we say together…AMEN!!!
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