Text: Revelation 5:1-14, Title: The Worthiness of Christ, Date/Place: LSCC, 4/2/05, AM
A. Opening illustration: Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA makes a statement about human nature that I believe is accurate. He says that worship is at the core of our being. In life all of us are worshippers. By nature we look for something to give our life away to. We typically determine what that thing will be based on our assessment of value. For some, it may be a Nascar driver or sports team. For some it may be a band. For some a social or political cause will do nicely. For some, it can be self. It come be shopping or gambling or deer hunting. For some it is work, or even family. Not only was every item of Henry’s clothing green, but so was his house, his stove, his furniture, his walking stick, and his carriage. He ate nothing but green food, and he even painted his horse green! Whatever you deem most valuable, you will give your self away to in a form of worship. One of the keys to life is making the right thing the object of worship, which relates back to value. We must value what is truly most valuable (this is the highest and most pure form of righteousness), and our lives tell us what we truly value.
B. Background to passage: Next Sunday is Palm Sunday, our remembrance of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem during the Passion Week. In Luke’s rendition of the story, the Pharisees indignantly tell Jesus to stop the crowds from praising Him as the messiah, and He responded that if they did not praise Him that the rocks would cry out in their place. The idea is that praise must come forth to the object that is most worthy of this praise. Therefore, I want to examine the worthiness of Jesus this morning. In Rev 4, God the Father is exalted and praised for His work in Creation, and in Rev 5, Christ is praised because of his worth and value, especially that of redemption. If we value Jesus accurately in our minds, every part of our existence will be transformed, beginning with our worship, and going on to affect all parts of our lives. So my goal this morning is to present Christ as most-valuable and worthy of worship, so that we might respond appropriately.
C. Main thought: in our text we will see why Christ is so worthy, and what we should do about it.
II. BODY
A. Who He is (v. 1-6, 12)
1. Exp the book (of the rest of time on earth) and the One sitting upon the throne. The right hand was the hand of authority. Jesus took his position at the right hand of God. The angel was looking for someone who was worthy (qualified, valuable, suitable, sufficient, deserving, entitled, morally fit) and able to open the book. A search of the universe revealed that no one was worthy—not Abraham, Moses, David, Paul, Peter, not nobody. Two options: 1) death reigns, no hope, 2) God annihilates everyone by opening the scroll without a mediator. But don’t weep! The Lion of Judah has prevailed (overcome, conquer, subdued) death, hell, and the grave, and is coming to validate and consummate all the promises to the faithful, and execute judgment on sinners. Exp Lion (a vicious warrior) and Root (messianic king). He is also the Lamb of God (spotless, guiltless, holy, sin-bearing, pure sacrifice) standing in the middle of the throne, having been slain (perfect tense—continuing results). Seven horns, eyes, spirits.
2. Matt 13:44-46, Col 1:15-19, Phil 3:8, Jer 9:23-24, 2 Cor 4:4, 6, Eph 1:18b, Col 2:3
3. Illustration: A story was told of a man who loved old books. He met an acquaintance who had just thrown away a Bible that had been stored in the attic of his ancestral home for generations. “I couldn’t read it,” the friend explained. “Somebody named Guten-something had printed it.” “Not Gutenberg!” the book lover exclaimed in horror. “That Bible was one of the first books ever printed. Why, a copy just sold for over two million dollars!” His friend was unimpressed. “Mine wouldn’t have brought a dollar. Some fellow named Martin Luther had scribbled all over it in German.” “a failure to find a redeemer meant that this earth in its curse is consigned forever to death…that death, sin, damnation, and hell should reign forever…” –Criswell, someone said that we know the cost of everything, but the value of nothing; everything in our culture is given a monetary value…read part of the Nicean Creed from ill file, read the chorus to Prince of Peace, Champion of Love
4. We see Christ’s equality with the Father between Rev 4-5. We see that He possesses omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. We see that nothing, no one, no thing is greater. That His worth and value and qualification surpasses all above, in, and under the earth. He is our conquering warrior in life, our reigning king, the only one with the divine right to rule and reign, our strength, or shield, or refuge, our compassionate sin-bearing lamb. He is the highest of high, greatest of great; no one could ever take his crown away. He will forever bear the marks of our punishment in glory. Christ is worthy of everything because of who He is! And the rocks know it!
B. What He has done (v. 7-10)
1. The first thing that this standing, having been slain, Lion/Lamb does is take the book from the Father. Don’t think of it by force, but something that God ordained from eternity past to take place. The main thing, however that the elder says that Jesus has done to manifest his worthiness is that He was slain. Redemption was the greatest act ever accomplished! God incarnate submitted Himself to a cruel punishment and separation from God that was not His. He bought back, redeemed (purchased off the slave auction block then set free), paid the price for people in every ethnic, political, linguistic group on the planet selflessly and perfectly. He conquered/prevailed through submission and death. He defeated Satan, took the keys to hell, took the sting from death, took the permanence from the grave, validated every promise of God, completed perfectly the plan of God for His life, and pleased and brought glory to the Father. And as if that wasn’t enough, He has also made us kings and priests to God.
2. Dan 7:13-14, 1 Peter 1:18-19, Heb 9:12, 15, Col 1:20, Tit 2:14, Rom 3:24-26, 5:7-8
3. Illustration: I’m forgiven, because you were forsaken, I’m accepted, you were condemned, The redeemed are dependent on God for all. All that we have—wisdom, the pardon of sin, deliverance, acceptance in God’s favor, grace, holiness, true comfort and happiness, eternal life and glory—we have from God by a Mediator; and this Mediator is God. God not only gives us the Mediator, and accepts His mediation, and of His power and grace bestows the things purchased by the Mediator, but He is the Mediator. Our blessings are what we have by purchase; and the purchase is made of God; the blessings are purchased of Him; and not only so, but God is the purchaser. Yes, God is both the purchaser and the price; for Christ, who is God, purchased these blessings by offering Himself as the price of our salvation. –Edwards, An article in the National Geographic (9/91) tells of a young man from Hanover, Pennsylvania, who was badly burned in a boiler explosion. To save his life, physicians covered him with 6,000 square centimeters of donor skin, as well as sheets of skin cultured from a stamp-sized piece of his own unburned skin. A journalist asked him, "Do you ever think about the donor who saved you?" The young man replied, "To be alive because of a dead donor is too big, too much, so I don’t think about it." I’m At Your Mercy,
4. Christ has done for you more than any other. If he never did another thing for you, what he has already done is of infinite value, and you will enjoy it for eternity if you trust Him. You and I deserved punishment for our sin, but Christ stepped in. And not only will you be together will him eternally, you will reign with Him. You didn’t just barely squeak through the gate, you are in with authority and privilege. Christ is shown to be worthy because of his sacrifice on our behalf as propitiation and a justification of God. This shows the certainty of salvation, and the destiny of world evangelization. Think what it must have been for John to see the myriads of people worshipping Christ.
C. Final Applications (v. 11-14)
1. Worship Him: to prostrate yourself down in adoration of His person. Comes from an old English word by combining “worth” and “ship” which mean to honor. This is what everyone in this scene does. Worship him in church, at home, at work on break. Shout, sing, clap, dance, sit in silence, cry, lift hands, give, hear, receive the word, live the word. Ascribe to him the value that you know to be true, and you will only be scratching the surface. Do something to magnify His name, reputation, character, and works in worship. This is what you are made for!
2. Love Him: Just as you would love a spouse, but greater. Pursue Him. Learn of Him. Adore Him. Ask God to give you a holy desire for Him. Let your passion for God drive your other pursuits in life. Work so that you can be financially stable to serve in the kingdom, financially blessed to give to the kingdom, WHY because you love Him. Love him with reckless abandon to yourself. Enjoy time with Him.
3. Trust Him: Trust him for eternal life if you have not already. Abandon all your faith in yourself, your religion, your service or good works, and trust Him alone for salvation based on the cross. If you are trusting him for eternal life, trust Him with everything. God saw fit to trust Him in orchestrating the rest of history, so why not trust Him to provide for you, deal with that person, save your kids, or marriage…
4. Prepare to sacrifice all for Him: its OK to give away all that you are to gain all that He is, because you come out better with him than with you. The nature and worthiness of Christ compels us to give everything that we have in order to advance His kingdom and His glory. This is why missionaries can go to Muslim countries, this is why you can wait until marriage for sexual relations, this is why you can endure persecution at work because you are a Christian. This is why you can tolerance anything for the sake of knowing Him. Tell of Dr. Sam Williams leaving his profession to teach seminary.
III. CONCLUSION
A. Closing illustration:
a. The most valuable stamp—$2.24 million
b. The most valuable toy soldier--$200,000
c. The most val pop memorabilia--$2.29 million for John Lenon’s Rolls Royce
d. The most valuable watch--$11 million
e. The most valuable Savior—priceless, limitless, infinite value
B. Recap
C. Invitation to commitment
