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.”
Introduction
Many times we as Christians look to the ways and thoughts of the world to find out what to do in a particular situation.In business matters we seek out people that are knowledgeable in that field.We want to buy a house and we look for a real estate agent.We want a car and we go to a car dealer.These are not bad things it is just the way we operate.
We live on the earth so we get to see things from an earthly perspective.It is not that often that we get to see things from a heavenly perspective.But when it comes to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, in Revelation 7, we do get to see the church this way.
When I came to Gulfport in April of 2006 to visit with the three families that made up the Bible study and fellowship that would become GraceFellowshipChurch I preached this text of Scripture in Doug and Chris Lipscombe’s livingroom.There were a couple of reasons I chose this text.For one it shows the nature of the church.We get a glimpse of the church triumphant.But the church triumphant is a picture of what the church militant is to look like on earth.
Context
There is much theological wrangling surrounding Revelation as a whole and Revelation chapter 7.My intent is not to try and sort that out this morning.Hopefully there will be a time for that some day.But understand the Apostle John is showing us a heavenly scene.He received a view of the redeemed of the Lord and offers us a fantastic description of them.And for the sake of our congregation I would like to explore these this morning.
We need to know what to expect as the church.We need to know what this body is supposed to look like.We need to know what we are to expect from the outside world and what we should be looking forward to.
Purpose
My purpose in preaching this passage this morning is for us to understand what the characteristics of the church are in a world that seems to have lost its sense of what the Christian can expect as they make their pilgrimage through this world.
Too often we are bombarded by mixed messages.The marketing of the modern church has left many of us scratching our heads as to what the church should look like and act like.
PNP
So I want to be very clear this morning as I show you from this text five characteristics ofthe church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
1.The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a multi-ethnic congregation.
2.The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a redeemed congregation.
3.The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a worshipping congregation.
4.The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a persecuted congregation.
5.The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a protected congregation.
I want to be very clear about what the church should look like.I want to be very clear about what the church should be involved in.And I want to be very clear about what we should expect from the world and from our Lord.
As we move forward as a congregation we need to know how to move forward and what to do and what to expect.What are we supposed to look like?
RPNP
So look with me at these five characteristics of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
1.The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a multi-ethnic congregation.
Notice with me verse 9.
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,
I want you to notice a few key identifiers in verse 9.Notice first that John is beholding not a small group of people.Look at verse 9 again.
9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude
Understand that this is not just a big crowd.We all have been places where there were big crowds.I was at a college football game last year and there were over 92,000 people there.That is a lot of people but it pales in comparison to the multitude that John saw.How many were there?Look at verse 9 again to see this.
that no one could number,
This is a mass of people.Think about how many people were in WashingtonDC when President Obama was inaugurated.There were estimates that told about how many people were there.But John said this great multitude was so large that no one could number.Now could John estimate a crowd?Sure he could.Remember the feeding of the 5000 by the Lord Jesus?John records this event in the 6th chapter of his Gospel.So crowd estimates in the New Testament are common.On the Day of Pentecost Luke records in Acts 2 that about three thousand were added to the church.And in Acts 4 he records about 5000 were added to the church.So it would not be a stretch to say that John could have given an estimate.But he said there was so many that no one could number them.
Besides being a large innumerable crowd I want you to notice something that is really important in the text.I want you to pick up at the word “from” in verse 9.If you have a KJV it says “of.”The of or the from tells us where these people were from.It is the Greek word “ek” and it means out of. Look at verse 9.
from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages,
This is what the church in Heaven will look like and this is what the church on earth should look like.This is where most churches have it all backwards.There are so many niche churches that only try to reach a certain segment of the population.
If you were to read the immensely popular PurposeDrivenChurch, which I highly recommend you not waste your time doing, you will find that Saddleback Community church’s targets are called Saddleback Sam and I believe Saddleback Sally. They are white, middle aged urban professionals.They are the type of people that Saddleback targets.And folks, no matter how you spin it that is just plain wrong.
Over the years historically downtown churches have relocated from culturally diverse downtown areas to more suburban areas to avoid the people downtown.Now they will say it was because their congregations were moving out that way and they decided to move with them.But really it was to maintain a certain demographic in the church and folks that is a sin.
If the church in Heaven is multiethnic and there will be people of all flavors then why is the church on earth segregated by these barriers?Do you know what the one division in the church should be?Language.If I am in Greece and I only know English then I am going to find an English speaking church. But if I know Greek then I am going to find a biblical church and go there with my brothers and sisters from Greece.
But sadly many churches are centered around color, economic status, education level, worship style, and a host of other things that will be forever frowned upon in Heaven.
If that ever happens here, then we cease to be a church.When the color of skin or the diploma on the wall or the w-2 form becomes the measure of belonging to this local family then we need to buy a golf course and start charging.
And let me say a word about race.I challenge any of you to find a division in Scripture based on the color of one’s skin.Sure the Bible talks about skin color but it never divides based on the color.You have two divisions in Scripture that run from Genesis all the way to Revelation and that is the people of God and those who are not His people.And His people predicted in the Old Testament and who we see being redeemed in the New Testament are a multi-ethnic population.
And back to the word race.God only created one race and that is the human race.The idea of race does not come from Scripture.It comes from man centered God dishonoring ideas of separation. Basically people over the last few centuries have determined that there are three races.The Caucasian, the Negroid, and the Mongoloid.In their minds this is white, black, and yellow.But that presents some major problems.Where do you classify everyone else?We know there are more color variations than these three.
Let me tell you how you classify them.You throw out the unbiblical paradigm of race and you take up the language of Scripture.Look at the language of Scripture.Look at verse 9.
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
Very simply the Bible classifies people as people.They are from every tribe, nation, people and language.And Biblically speaking we all, no matter of the color of our skin or the place that we are from, all come from one man and one woman.Listen to Acts 17:26.
26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,
From one man, Adam, the Lord has set up in their place every nation and their appointed times and boundaries of where they lived.Then through one man, Abraham, God would bless all of these nations right down to the individuals that make up those nations.Listen to Acts 3:25.Peter is speaking to the Jews in Jerusalem and he says.
25 "It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, 'AND IN YOUR SEEDALLTHE FAMILIESOF THE EARTHSHALL BE BLESSED.'
And speaking biblically and theologically all people are sons of Adam in Adam they are condemned by sin and under the righteous judgment of God unless they repent of their sins and turn to Christ by faith for salvation.Then they are in Christ.This is the case for Jew and Gentile alike.This is the case for rich or poor and for the differing amounts of melanin in yours and my skin.
Folks the church should be like Joseph’s coat.It is a multicolored tapestry woven together by the hands of a loving Father who gave His son as the propitiation for those from every nation, tribe, people, and language.That is what the church looks like.And on earth when we meet we should be a snapshot of what Heaven will look like.
That is the first characteristic of the church.Second we need to see that:
2.The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a redeemed congregation. Notice the rest of verse 9.
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,
Notice three descriptions in the rest of verse 9.This mass of people are standing before the throne of God and before the Lamb who is the risen, glorified Lord Jesus Christ.They are clothed in white robes and have palm branches in their hands.
Now I want to expound on all of these descriptions.Listen to Psalm 24:3.
3 Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place?
Psalm 15:1 says:
1 O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
These are great spiritual questions.Who can stand before the throne of God?Who can ascend to His heavenly tabernacle?Psalm 24:4 answers the question that Psalm 24:3 poses.
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully.
Psalm 15:2 and 3 answer the question of Psalm 15:1.
2 He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart; 3 who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
These are people who walk in the ways of the Lord.But therein lies the problem.According to a plethora of Scripture there is none who does good.There is none righteous.No one seeks for God.No one can be justified by the Law.All have turned aside. All our righteousness is like filthy rags.All we like sheep have gone astray.
So how does this multitude of people stand before the Lord?How are they in Heaven?Because they are a redeemed people.Notice verse 9 again.
The multitude is standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
If humanity is so sinful then how did they get these white robes which show righteousness?The answer is in Revelation 7:13-14.
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.
These are blood washed redeemed sinners from all over the world.This is what makes up the church.These are those who have repented of sin and trusted in Christ Jesus alone for salvation.They have forsaken man centered religion and the ways of the world and have taken up their cross to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.These are those who believe the Gospel.
And let me say to you that this is the centerpiece of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.If an assembly can rightly be called a local church of the Lord Jesus Christ then the central message that this assembly will proclaim will be the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
When someone asks you what type of church Grace Fellowship is I hope you will respond by saying that we are a Gospel centered, Christ exalting, Bible proclaiming congregation.We call ourselves reformed Baptists simply because we believe that this title is an accurate historical portrayal of the Gospel.We believe that it most closely represents what Scripture teaches and most faithfully proclaims the Biblical Gospel.
I want you to remember whose blood they washed their robes in?Verse 14 says it was the blood of the Lamb.The Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.
If you look up the word Lamb in the New Testament you will find that it is used over thirty times in the book of Revelation alone.Do you not think Heaven will be filled with the praises of the Lamb?All of these praises will be centered around the Lord Jesus’ saving activity on the earth.He will be exalted and the Father will be glorified as the Son is lifted up in praise as the Lamb that has been slain.
Here is what we need to understand about the church.The church is not some evangelistic crusade every Sunday although evangelism does happen here.The church is not some social club for people to gather and fellowship although fellowship does happen here.The church is not a classroom where students gather to learn theology although the Bible is taught here.The primary purpose of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is to gather in one place those who have been called out of darkness by the Father, convicted of sin and of righteousness by the Holy Spirit, and redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God, His Son, so that Christ will be the centerpiece for all that happens and He will be on display.
For all of eternity Christ Jesus will be on display for His people to look upon Him with ever increasing amazement and praise.Do you understand that in Heaven the praises of God will never reach a crescendo?So here on earth and particularly in the gathering of the church we are preparing for that soon and coming day when the saints of God from Adam to the very last elect from every nation are gathered to the Lord in Heaven to forever praise and worship and glorify the Father through the Son.
And when that is practiced on earth in the gathering of the church then the natural spillover will be evangelism, missions, fellowship, discipleship, and sanctification.
Every now and then it is good to have our course redirected.
Thus far we have seen that:
The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a multi-ethnic congregation and the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a redeemed congregation. Third we need to see that:
3.The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a worshipping congregation.
Notice what this redeemed multi-colored tapestry of people who are wearing white robes and holding Hosanna branches are doing.Look at verse 10.
10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
This is not the only singing to the Lamb in the Revelation.In chapter 15 they all sing again.Did you notice in verse 10 though what they sang about?Salvation.Folks this is true worship and the person who calls themselves a Christian and has no desire to sing praises to our great God and Savior is no Christian at all.Why would anyone who has no desire to sing in worship to God want to spend eternity in Heaven doing just that?The answer is that it would not be Heaven for them.
I want you to notice the response in verses 11 and 12 to the song in verse 10 by the redeemed.Look at the verses.
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.”
Can you imagine the angels that surround the throne of God and have so done so for thousands and thousands of years that when they hear this song sung by sinful people who had to be redeemed by the death of the One whom they have been praising for so long hear this song, they are so overwhelmed by the grace and majesty of God that they fall on their faces before the throne and break out in their own song.
Have you ever heard a lot of people sing at the same time?I remember going to a very large church and the choir was probably three or four hundred people and they began to sing and I was overwhelmed by the volume and the power of their voices.In my mind were these images of Revelation 7.And that was nothing compared to the power and the volume and the beauty of this multitude of multi-colored redeemed people singing this one line, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
It’s going to be an overwhelming experience.Folks we may be small in number but sing out.
O worship the King, all glorious above, O gratefully sing His power and His love; Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days, Pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise.
The Church of Jesus Christ is a multicolored, redeemed, and worshipping people.Fourth we need to see that:
4.The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a persecuted congregation.
There is a great question asked in verse 13.There is great tension in these verses and I think the tension is there so that we will pay close attention.Look at verse 13.
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?”
Hey John!!Who are all these people who are dressed in white and where have they come from?John answers in verse 14.Look at it with me.
14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.”
That is a polite way of saying that he did not really know.I want you to understand that what John is getting here is a glimpse into the future realities of Heaven.
John could have been a bit discouraged don’t you think?I believe that John wrote this in the midst of a great persecution that was happening in the early church.After all John was on the Alcatraz of his day, the prison Island of Patmos.Imagine for a moment you witnessed the life and death of the Lord Jesus Christ and you know for a fact because you were there and saw and touched the Lord Jesus that He indeed did rise from the dead.You know that He is the Messiah of Israel and He is the Savior of the world and the only hope for sinful humanity.Yet every time it seems that you get the opportunity to preach Jesus to people they insult you and beat you and try to kill you and throw you into prison and it seems only a few people truly believe.And many who have come into the church have gone out of the church and turned on you and caused you much trouble.
I mean you can have a whole lot of “woe is me” moments couldn’t you.
“John!!! Who are these who are clothed in white robes and where have they come from?”See I think that many Bible scholars have tried to make these verses fit their eschatology rather than getting what I think is taking place here.If your amill then be amill.If your postmill be postmill.If your premill, fine.If you believe in a pretrib rapture and we are going to get zapped out of here at any moment and go to Heaven, fine.I want to go to but what I don’t want to miss is what is taking place in verses 13 and 14 and I don’t want you to miss it either.
Who are these?John politely says, “I don’t know!”Who are they?Look at the rest of verse 14.
And he said to me, “These are the ones coming (present tense) out of the great tribulation.
They are coming out and they will continue to come out of the great tribulation.The point of this is in the last part of verse 14.Look at it.
They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Let me tell you what I think the elder is saying to John.“John you are suffering for the sake of the Gospel.The Christians are suffering for the sake of the Gospel.The church seems so small and is under much pressure and attack… but look at the result!”
Suffering and persecution is part of the Christian life.The Lord Jesus said, “In this world you will have tribulations.”The Apostle Paul said, “I fill up in my body what is lacking in the suffering of Christ.”
The promise is that we will suffer.If we proclaim the Gospel we will be persecuted.But there will be glory to come.Listen to Romans 8:18.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
That is fourth this morning, the church is a persecuted congregation, and fifth and finally I want you to see that in spite of suffering and persecution that:
5.The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a protected congregation.
I want you to see the comfort in these words.The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us and in verses 15-17 we get a taste of that.Feel these words of Holy Scripture.Look starting in verse 15.
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.
Did you hear that?Isn’t that comforting?He who sits on the throne, the One who spoke and the universe came into existence.The One who condescended and came to earth as the man Christ Jesus and died so that these could be redeemed, will shelter them with his presence.
That beating does not seem so bad now does it?That prison sentence does not seem so long now.The doctor looking at you and saying you have six months to live now only means you have six months to real living.Losing all that you have financially to follow Christ now looks like losing a pile of rubbish in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord.Going to the Middle East to preach the crucified Christ to men who think they are doing you a favor by lopping off your head does not seem so bad now does it?Losing a child who will be waiting at the throne of God sheltered by His presence does not seem quite as hard as you once thought it was.
All of the difficulties of life and the Christian life now seem like nothing at the great and glorious thought of verse 15.But there is MORE!
On this earth you may have endured hunger.You may have endured great thirst.You may have gone without proper clothing.But, look at verse 16.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.
Why is this?Because of verse 17.Look at it with me.
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.”
The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a shepherded, protected congregation.
Conclusion
Let’s put this all together.We have seen this morning five characteristics of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a multi-ethnic congregation, it is a redeemed congregation, it is a worshipping congregation, it is a persecuted congregation, and it is a protected congregation.
This is the nature of the church.
And if we follow this pattern on earth then we get a foretaste of glory divine.The gathering of the body of Christ on earth is a glimpse, a taste, of what Heaven will be like when its done according to Scripture.The congregation will be multi-ethnic.They will be worshippers who are so wrapped up in the Glory of God and the Grace of Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit that the angels will fall down before the throne of God and worship.And then they will gather around to spend time with one another in godly Christian love and fellowship to aid each other in our walk with Christ in a world in opposition to God and His Gospel and His people.Lord help us to do just that.
Let’s pray.
The Nature of the Church
Revelation 7:9-17
GraceFellowshipChurch
September 6, 2009
Interim Sermon between Psalm 51 and John’s Gospel
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.”
Introduction
Many times we as Christians look to the ways and thoughts of the world to find out what to do in a particular situation.In business matters we seek out people that are knowledgeable in that field.We want to buy a house and we look for a real estate agent.We want a car and we go to a car dealer.These are not bad things it is just the way we operate.
We live on the earth so we get to see things from an earthly perspective.It is not that often that we get to see things from a heavenly perspective.But when it comes to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, in Revelation 7, we do get to see the church this way.
When I came to Gulfport in April of 2006 to visit with the three families that made up the Bible study and fellowship that would become GraceFellowshipChurch I preached this text of Scripture in Doug and Chris Lipscombe’s livingroom.There were a couple of reasons I chose this text.For one it shows the nature of the church.We get a glimpse of the church triumphant.But the church triumphant is a picture of what the church militant is to look like on earth.
Context
There is much theological wrangling surrounding Revelation as a whole and Revelation chapter 7.My intent is not to try and sort that out this morning.Hopefully there will be a time for that some day.But understand the Apostle John is showing us a heavenly scene.He received a view of the redeemed of the Lord and offers us a fantastic description of them.And for the sake of our congregation I would like to explore these this morning.
We need to know what to expect as the church.We need to know what this body is supposed to look like.We need to know what we are to expect from the outside world and what we should be looking forward to.
Purpose
My purpose in preaching this passage this morning is for us to understand what the characteristics of the church are in a world that seems to have lost its sense of what the Christian can expect as they make their pilgrimage through this world.
Too often we are bombarded by mixed messages.The marketing of the modern church has left many of us scratching our heads as to what the church should look like and act like.
PNP
So I want to be very clear this morning as I show you from this text five characteristics ofthe church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
1.The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a multi-ethnic congregation.
2.The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a redeemed congregation.
3.The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a worshipping congregation.
4.The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a persecuted congregation.
5.The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a protected congregation.
I want to be very clear about what the church should look like.I want to be very clear about what the church should be involved in.And I want to be very clear about what we should expect from the world and from our Lord.
As we move forward as a congregation we need to know how to move forward and what to do and what to expect.What are we supposed to look like?
RPNP
So look with me at these five characteristics of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
1.The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a multi-ethnic congregation.
Notice with me verse 9.
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,
I want you to notice a few key identifiers in verse 9.Notice first that John is beholding not a small group of people.Look at verse 9 again.
9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude
Understand that this is not just a big crowd.We all have been places where there were big crowds.I was at a college football game last year and there were over 92,000 people there.That is a lot of people but it pales in comparison to the multitude that John saw.How many were there?Look at verse 9 again to see this.
that no one could number,
This is a mass of people.Think about how many people were in WashingtonDC when President Obama was inaugurated.There were estimates that told about how many people were there.But John said this great multitude was so large that no one could number.Now could John estimate a crowd?Sure he could.Remember the feeding of the 5000 by the Lord Jesus?John records this event in the 6th chapter of his Gospel.So crowd estimates in the New Testament are common.On the Day of Pentecost Luke records in Acts 2 that about three thousand were added to the church.And in Acts 4 he records about 5000 were added to the church.So it would not be a stretch to say that John could have given an estimate.But he said there was so many that no one could number them.
Besides being a large innumerable crowd I want you to notice something that is really important in the text.I want you to pick up at the word “from” in verse 9.If you have a KJV it says “of.”The of or the from tells us where these people were from.It is the Greek word “ek” and it means out of. Look at verse 9.
from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages,
This is what the church in Heaven will look like and this is what the church on earth should look like.This is where most churches have it all backwards.There are so many niche churches that only try to reach a certain segment of the population.
If you were to read the immensely popular PurposeDrivenChurch, which I highly recommend you not waste your time doing, you will find that Saddleback Community church’s targets are called Saddleback Sam and I believe Saddleback Sally. They are white, middle aged urban professionals.They are the type of people that Saddleback targets.And folks, no matter how you spin it that is just plain wrong.
Over the years historically downtown churches have relocated from culturally diverse downtown areas to more suburban areas to avoid the people downtown.Now they will say it was because their congregations were moving out that way and they decided to move with them.But really it was to maintain a certain demographic in the church and folks that is a sin.
If the church in Heaven is multiethnic and there will be people of all flavors then why is the church on earth segregated by these barriers?Do you know what the one division in the church should be?Language.If I am in Greece and I only know English then I am going to find an English speaking church. But if I know Greek then I am going to find a biblical church and go there with my brothers and sisters from Greece.
But sadly many churches are centered around color, economic status, education level, worship style, and a host of other things that will be forever frowned upon in Heaven.
If that ever happens here, then we cease to be a church.When the color of skin or the diploma on the wall or the w-2 form becomes the measure of belonging to this local family then we need to buy a golf course and start charging.
And let me say a word about race.I challenge any of you to find a division in Scripture based on the color of one’s skin.Sure the Bible talks about skin color but it never divides based on the color.You have two divisions in Scripture that run from Genesis all the way to Revelation and that is the people of God and those who are not His people.And His people predicted in the Old Testament and who we see being redeemed in the New Testament are a multi-ethnic population.
And back to the word race.God only created one race and that is the human race.The idea of race does not come from Scripture.It comes from man centered God dishonoring ideas of separation. Basically people over the last few centuries have determined that there are three races.The Caucasian, the Negroid, and the Mongoloid.In their minds this is white, black, and yellow.But that presents some major problems.Where do you classify everyone else?We know there are more color variations than these three.
Let me tell you how you classify them.You throw out the unbiblical paradigm of race and you take up the language of Scripture.Look at the language of Scripture.Look at verse 9.
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
Very simply the Bible classifies people as people.They are from every tribe, nation, people and language.And Biblically speaking we all, no matter of the color of our skin or the place that we are from, all come from one man and one woman.Listen to Acts 17:26.
26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,
From one man, Adam, the Lord has set up in their place every nation and their appointed times and boundaries of where they lived.Then through one man, Abraham, God would bless all of these nations right down to the individuals that make up those nations.Listen to Acts 3:25.Peter is speaking to the Jews in Jerusalem and he says.
25 "It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, 'AND IN YOUR SEEDALLTHE FAMILIESOF THE EARTHSHALL BE BLESSED.'
And speaking biblically and theologically all people are sons of Adam in Adam they are condemned by sin and under the righteous judgment of God unless they repent of their sins and turn to Christ by faith for salvation.Then they are in Christ.This is the case for Jew and Gentile alike.This is the case for rich or poor and for the differing amounts of melanin in yours and my skin.
Folks the church should be like Joseph’s coat.It is a multicolored tapestry woven together by the hands of a loving Father who gave His son as the propitiation for those from every nation, tribe, people, and language.That is what the church looks like.And on earth when we meet we should be a snapshot of what Heaven will look like.
That is the first characteristic of the church.Second we need to see that:
2.The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a redeemed congregation. Notice the rest of verse 9.
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,
Notice three descriptions in the rest of verse 9.This mass of people are standing before the throne of God and before the Lamb who is the risen, glorified Lord Jesus Christ.They are clothed in white robes and have palm branches in their hands.
Now I want to expound on all of these descriptions.Listen to Psalm 24:3.
3 Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place?
Psalm 15:1 says:
1 O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
These are great spiritual questions.Who can stand before the throne of God?Who can ascend to His heavenly tabernacle?Psalm 24:4 answers the question that Psalm 24:3 poses.
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully.
Psalm 15:2 and 3 answer the question of Psalm 15:1.
2 He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart; 3 who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
These are people who walk in the ways of the Lord.But therein lies the problem.According to a plethora of Scripture there is none who does good.There is none righteous.No one seeks for God.No one can be justified by the Law.All have turned aside. All our righteousness is like filthy rags.All we like sheep have gone astray.
So how does this multitude of people stand before the Lord?How are they in Heaven?Because they are a redeemed people.Notice verse 9 again.
The multitude is standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
If humanity is so sinful then how did they get these white robes which show righteousness?The answer is in Revelation 7:13-14.
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.
These are blood washed redeemed sinners from all over the world.This is what makes up the church.These are those who have repented of sin and trusted in Christ Jesus alone for salvation.They have forsaken man centered religion and the ways of the world and have taken up their cross to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.These are those who believe the Gospel.
And let me say to you that this is the centerpiece of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.If an assembly can rightly be called a local church of the Lord Jesus Christ then the central message that this assembly will proclaim will be the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
When someone asks you what type of church Grace Fellowship is I hope you will respond by saying that we are a Gospel centered, Christ exalting, Bible proclaiming congregation.We call ourselves reformed Baptists simply because we believe that this title is an accurate historical portrayal of the Gospel.We believe that it most closely represents what Scripture teaches and most faithfully proclaims the Biblical Gospel.
I want you to remember whose blood they washed their robes in?Verse 14 says it was the blood of the Lamb.The Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.
If you look up the word Lamb in the New Testament you will find that it is used over thirty times in the book of Revelation alone.Do you not think Heaven will be filled with the praises of the Lamb?All of these praises will be centered around the Lord Jesus’ saving activity on the earth.He will be exalted and the Father will be glorified as the Son is lifted up in praise as the Lamb that has been slain.
Here is what we need to understand about the church.The church is not some evangelistic crusade every Sunday although evangelism does happen here.The church is not some social club for people to gather and fellowship although fellowship does happen here.The church is not a classroom where students gather to learn theology although the Bible is taught here.The primary purpose of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is to gather in one place those who have been called out of darkness by the Father, convicted of sin and of righteousness by the Holy Spirit, and redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God, His Son, so that Christ will be the centerpiece for all that happens and He will be on display.
For all of eternity Christ Jesus will be on display for His people to look upon Him with ever increasing amazement and praise.Do you understand that in Heaven the praises of God will never reach a crescendo?So here on earth and particularly in the gathering of the church we are preparing for that soon and coming day when the saints of God from Adam to the very last elect from every nation are gathered to the Lord in Heaven to forever praise and worship and glorify the Father through the Son.
And when that is practiced on earth in the gathering of the church then the natural spillover will be evangelism, missions, fellowship, discipleship, and sanctification.
Every now and then it is good to have our course redirected.
Thus far we have seen that:
The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a multi-ethnic congregation and the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a redeemed congregation. Third we need to see that:
3.The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a worshipping congregation.
Notice what this redeemed multi-colored tapestry of people who are wearing white robes and holding Hosanna branches are doing.Look at verse 10.
10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
This is not the only singing to the Lamb in the Revelation.In chapter 15 they all sing again.Did you notice in verse 10 though what they sang about?Salvation.Folks this is true worship and the person who calls themselves a Christian and has no desire to sing praises to our great God and Savior is no Christian at all.Why would anyone who has no desire to sing in worship to God want to spend eternity in Heaven doing just that?The answer is that it would not be Heaven for them.
I want you to notice the response in verses 11 and 12 to the song in verse 10 by the redeemed.Look at the verses.
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.”
Can you imagine the angels that surround the throne of God and have so done so for thousands and thousands of years that when they hear this song sung by sinful people who had to be redeemed by the death of the One whom they have been praising for so long hear this song, they are so overwhelmed by the grace and majesty of God that they fall on their faces before the throne and break out in their own song.
Have you ever heard a lot of people sing at the same time?I remember going to a very large church and the choir was probably three or four hundred people and they began to sing and I was overwhelmed by the volume and the power of their voices.In my mind were these images of Revelation 7.And that was nothing compared to the power and the volume and the beauty of this multitude of multi-colored redeemed people singing this one line, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
It’s going to be an overwhelming experience.Folks we may be small in number but sing out.
O worship the King, all glorious above, O gratefully sing His power and His love; Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days, Pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise.
The Church of Jesus Christ is a multicolored, redeemed, and worshipping people.Fourth we need to see that:
4.The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a persecuted congregation.
There is a great question asked in verse 13.There is great tension in these verses and I think the tension is there so that we will pay close attention.Look at verse 13.
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?”
Hey John!!Who are all these people who are dressed in white and where have they come from?John answers in verse 14.Look at it with me.
14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.”
That is a polite way of saying that he did not really know.I want you to understand that what John is getting here is a glimpse into the future realities of Heaven.
John could have been a bit discouraged don’t you think?I believe that John wrote this in the midst of a great persecution that was happening in the early church.After all John was on the Alcatraz of his day, the prison Island of Patmos.Imagine for a moment you witnessed the life and death of the Lord Jesus Christ and you know for a fact because you were there and saw and touched the Lord Jesus that He indeed did rise from the dead.You know that He is the Messiah of Israel and He is the Savior of the world and the only hope for sinful humanity.Yet every time it seems that you get the opportunity to preach Jesus to people they insult you and beat you and try to kill you and throw you into prison and it seems only a few people truly believe.And many who have come into the church have gone out of the church and turned on you and caused you much trouble.
I mean you can have a whole lot of “woe is me” moments couldn’t you.
“John!!! Who are these who are clothed in white robes and where have they come from?”See I think that many Bible scholars have tried to make these verses fit their eschatology rather than getting what I think is taking place here.If your amill then be amill.If your postmill be postmill.If your premill, fine.If you believe in a pretrib rapture and we are going to get zapped out of here at any moment and go to Heaven, fine.I want to go to but what I don’t want to miss is what is taking place in verses 13 and 14 and I don’t want you to miss it either.
Who are these?John politely says, “I don’t know!”Who are they?Look at the rest of verse 14.
And he said to me, “These are the ones coming (present tense) out of the great tribulation.
They are coming out and they will continue to come out of the great tribulation.The point of this is in the last part of verse 14.Look at it.
They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Let me tell you what I think the elder is saying to John.“John you are suffering for the sake of the Gospel.The Christians are suffering for the sake of the Gospel.The church seems so small and is under much pressure and attack… but look at the result!”
Suffering and persecution is part of the Christian life.The Lord Jesus said, “In this world you will have tribulations.”The Apostle Paul said, “I fill up in my body what is lacking in the suffering of Christ.”
The promise is that we will suffer.If we proclaim the Gospel we will be persecuted.But there will be glory to come.Listen to Romans 8:18.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
That is fourth this morning, the church is a persecuted congregation, and fifth and finally I want you to see that in spite of suffering and persecution that:
5.The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a protected congregation.
I want you to see the comfort in these words.The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us and in verses 15-17 we get a taste of that.Feel these words of Holy Scripture.Look starting in verse 15.
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.
Did you hear that?Isn’t that comforting?He who sits on the throne, the One who spoke and the universe came into existence.The One who condescended and came to earth as the man Christ Jesus and died so that these could be redeemed, will shelter them with his presence.
That beating does not seem so bad now does it?That prison sentence does not seem so long now.The doctor looking at you and saying you have six months to live now only means you have six months to real living.Losing all that you have financially to follow Christ now looks like losing a pile of rubbish in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord.Going to the Middle East to preach the crucified Christ to men who think they are doing you a favor by lopping off your head does not seem so bad now does it?Losing a child who will be waiting at the throne of God sheltered by His presence does not seem quite as hard as you once thought it was.
All of the difficulties of life and the Christian life now seem like nothing at the great and glorious thought of verse 15.But there is MORE!
On this earth you may have endured hunger.You may have endured great thirst.You may have gone without proper clothing.But, look at verse 16.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.
Why is this?Because of verse 17.Look at it with me.
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.”
The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a shepherded, protected congregation.
Conclusion
Let’s put this all together.We have seen this morning five characteristics of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a multi-ethnic congregation, it is a redeemed congregation, it is a worshipping congregation, it is a persecuted congregation, and it is a protected congregation.
This is the nature of the church.
And if we follow this pattern on earth then we get a foretaste of glory divine.The gathering of the body of Christ on earth is a glimpse, a taste, of what Heaven will be like when its done according to Scripture.The congregation will be multi-ethnic.They will be worshippers who are so wrapped up in the Glory of God and the Grace of Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit that the angels will fall down before the throne of God and worship.And then they will gather around to spend time with one another in godly Christian love and fellowship to aid each other in our walk with Christ in a world in opposition to God and His Gospel and His people.Lord help us to do just that.
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