SOME CALL IT “TREASON”
Rev. 5:1-14
Sermon Objective: A communion sermon challenging the congregation to spiritual fidelity
REV. 5:1-14
1Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" 3But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."
6Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."
11Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!"
13Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" 14The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped.
INTRO
Have you ever read a more beautiful depiction of our Savior? If you are looking for a passage to show His glory, draw you to Him or inspire you – look no further.
I once heard someone say. “When we ask ‘what do you stand for?’ we get pulled apart… but when we say, ‘Who do you stand with?’ (as in Jesus), we are one.”
Treason. A simple definition is “a violation of allegiance to one's sovereign; the betrayal of a trust or confidence; breach of faith; treachery.”
Is it too strong a term to use in relation to our faithfulness to Christ’s Kingdom?
Does it add a sense of importance or even urgency to your fidelity?
It works for me.
• It speaks to me about the underlying intention of the book of the Revelation and the reason John emphasizes the imagery of “Kingdom.”
• Chapters 2 and 3 support this assumption for me (the insistence on faithfulness and the dire warnings regarding abdication of the same).
• The place of honor that the martyrs play throughout the book also drives home the nature and expectancy for unswerving perseverance.
If my study of “The Revelation” has done anything it has reinforced the belief that identifying with Jesus Christ is an all-or-nothing proposition. There is no place for compromise or half-hearted service. The book has made it clear that a disciple must count the cost and make a life-changing, loyalty-altering choice. The imagery of (and loyalty to) Kingdom is at the heart of the book once the slaughtered Lamb is introduced in this chapter.
Are there are other ‘kingdoms” that compete for your allegiance?
SERMON
What might these “kingdoms” be?
As I said, the churches in chapters 2-3 give us some idea of what those kingdoms are. Yet even there we see they pale in comparison to The One who is worthy of our devotion.
What “kingdoms” are competing for YOUR allegiance?
RELIGION?
Religion, as I am using the term, plays on the edges. It seeks to accommodate the world’s interests and attachments while still making a play at being “Christian” in ways that are really not costly or significant.
The church has for centuries struggled with the notion that somehow in some way we (Christians) are responsible to make the Gospel relevant to society. I heard that very thing from a minister just this week. That suggests that the Gospel must somehow be manicured or massaged in order to help the message “make sense” to the world-at-large.
Whenever we operate from this posture we do the Gospel an injustice – in fact – we change it.
An accommodating Gospel never saved anyone. The Gospel’s call is for the world-at-large to conform to God’s ways and to be transformed by His Spirit not the other way around. This, you see, is akin to the very atrocities that some of the seven churches in chapters 2-3 were indicted for.
A number of years ago the National Council of Churches declared a week in October to be “Peace and Justice” week. They created an interesting poster to promote the emphasis. The poster depicted a globe or world held aloft by many different colored human hands. What they didn’t realize is that this was really no different that the Greeks having Atlas hold the world or the Arabs having a turtle hold up the earth. They are all inadequate cosmologies. In the corner of the poster with the hands of religion holding up the earth was a dove. A dove of peace I presume. Tellingly (and ironically), this dove was flying AWAY from the globe not toward it. (“Resident Aliens” by Willimon and Hauerwas).
Religion still thinks that human effort is needed to “help” Christianity be relevant and effective. But the Gospel still says that our call is a call to Lordship and that it is only an emphasis on genuinely living with “Jesus as Lord” that will make a difference.
If you understand religion in the way I use it here then it is treason. It is “the betrayal of a trust or confidence; breach of faith.” It cheapens the call of the Kingdom and infuses human effort into its identity
What “kingdoms” are competing for YOUR allegiance?
• Religion?
NATIONALISM?
Now hear me out. Then you can stone me if you’re so inclined.
There has always been a propensity for people of a country to identify so closely with that nation that they intertwine their faith and patriotism. The American Church in the United States is no exception. There are many who have sacrificed their Biblical ideals for national ideals.
For example, I fear we have forgotten what “sanctity of life” really means and I think this loss has been nurtured by nationalism.
Listen closely …
On August 6, 1945 the man once described as “an outstanding Baptist layman”, President Harry Truman, stood on the deck of the battleship “Augusta”, right after the first atomic bomb was dropped, and proclaimed “this is the greatest thing in history.” Few Americans Christians challenged his claim.
Never mind that thousands of innocent lives were destroyed. The Scriptures teach that God hates hands that “shed innocent blood”; in fact, 13 times in the Old Testament he declares this.
Never mind that it went against the national psyche. Just a few years earlier (at the beginning of WWII) President Truman issued a proclamation which said “The bombing of helpless and unprotected civilians is a strategy that has aroused the horror of all mankind. I recall with pride that the United States consistently has taken the lead in urging that this inhuman practice be prohibited.”
Never mind that it meant we had stooped to the level of our enemies. We began to see doing terrible evil as a necessity to combat evil.
Never mind that there was a time when Christians in America were the voice denouncing such immoral acts. In fact, just a few years before Truman’s announcement (1937) the church did so when it was repulsed by Francisco Franco (A general in Spain) when he selected the sleepy little market town of Guernica, Spain as an “experiment” and bombed it into oblivion!
Never mind that it changed the morality of our nation. After the bomb all sorts of compromises when into effect and life became cheaper. So cheap that a matter of 2 million abortions a year seemed a small price to pay for “personal choice” and the plight of the poor in the world’s richest nation seemed the price and cost of economic necessity (“Resident Aliens” by Willimon and Hauerwas).
If “patriotism” can get the church of Jesus to support and redefine “Sanctity of life” and kill innocent people by the droves, then patriotism can ask anything of God’s people and the church will concede. Just look at what the church in Germany; it supported the Third Reich under the leadership of a “Christian” theologian Emanuel Hirsch (R.P. Ericksen, “Theologians under Hitler”).
Unfiltered nationalism is a cult. No country is above the Gospel’s call to the church and no country deserves to be placed on a plane of equal loyalty with God’s Kingdom.
It is more than treason … it is idolatry. And it I at the heart of the conflict in The Revelation.
What “kingdoms” are competing for YOUR allegiance?
• Religion?
• Nationalism?
RECREATION?
Some of you remember that day when the standards of the church governed the community.
Willard Willimon tells the story of the day “The Church lost to John Wayne” in his hometown of Greenville, South Carolina. It was a summer Sunday night in 1963. For the first time the Fox Theater in town decided it would show movies on Sunday night. The churches protested but the movie was shown and the theater was packed. And church attendance suffered because many of them were there. (“Resident Aliens” by Willimon and Hauerwas).
It is just an anecdote but it drives home my point that Christians, on way too many occasions, will not hold the line on that which is sacred. Compromise rules the day and recreation / entertainments seduce Christians to bow at their altars and offer their souls as sacrifice.
In the book, “Amusing Ourselves to Death” Neil Postman states, "Everything in our background has prepared us to know and resist a prison when the gates begin to close around us . . . But what if there are no cries of anguish to be heard? Who is prepared to take arms against a sea of amusements? To whom do we complain, and when, and in what tone of voice, when serious discourse dissolves into giggles? What is the antidote to a culture being drained by laughter?"
Postman’s point is that entertainment has become a god that we have willingly given our lives too in much the same way we evangelicals talk about giving our lives to Jesus. When serving and worship are convenient – we are there. But let the world schedule a sports tournament or let a long weekend hit the calendar and we … become guilty of treason.
What “kingdoms” are competing for YOUR allegiance?
• Religion?
• Nationalism?
• Recreation?
MATERIALISM?
At some point you stop owning things and things start owning you.
You make decisions regarding things like money, self-image, success, and possessions, based upon how it makes you feel and how it “improves” your life.”
You stop making decisions based upon stewardship, Lordship, service, and spread of the Gospel. The material possession becomes your god. It demands your time and energy and leaves very little left for the Kingdom that you say you belong to.
You give God second best (or even your left over time, money, and energy) and then, somehow, these very same possessions deceive us into thinking we are “blessed” … even special to God!
This is blasphemy … this is sacrilege!
This is “a violation of allegiance to one's sovereign” … it is treason!
Wrap-Up
What “kingdoms” are competing for YOUR allegiance? There are others aren’t there?
I trust that you know that all earth-bound kingdoms are cheap, vacuous counterfeits of “The Truth” that establishes and governs God’s Kingdom.
I once heard someone say. “When we ask ‘what do you stand for?’ we get pulled apart… but when we ask, ‘WHO do you stand with?’ (as in Jesus), we are one.”
Who do you stand with? You don‘t have to tell us … your life already has.
Is treason too strong a term to use in relation to our faithfulness to Christ’s Kingdom?
Does it add a sense of importance or even urgency to your fidelity?
Have you ever read the “Oath of Allegiance” that a naturalized citizen must take if they are to become a United States citizen? Once the oath of finished they are, at that moment, citizens of our country.
It is quite demanding (as it should be) and I think serves as a good model for our declaration of loyalty to Christ’s Kingdom. When someone from another country CHOOSES to become a United States Citizen they must say these words.
I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.
Those are strong words aren’t they? They are very demanding and exact.
You know, that might just work as a model for an oath to Jesus and His Kingdom. By switching a few words (and leaving out a portion or two) it could read as follows:
I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will follow the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, without reservation; support and follow the values and virtues of the Kingdom of God as given in the Holy Scriptures; that I will bear witness to the truth; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.
Could you say an oath like that? I hope so because I firmly believe that is what is required for God’s people. There is only ONE who is worthy of such loyalty and that is none other than Jesus Christ.
Is God calling you to unite with His Kingdom? I am certain He is. It all begins with a simple prayer we call “The Sinner’s Prayer” and it reads as follows:
Heavenly Father:
I come to you in prayer asking for the forgiveness of my sins. I confess with my mouth and believe with my heart that Jesus is your Son, And that he died on the cross at Calvary that I might be forgiven and have eternal life. Father, I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you right now to come in to my life and be my personal Lord and Savior. I repent of my sins and will worship you all the days of my life.
Because your word is truth, I trust even now that I am born again and cleansed by the blood of Jesus!
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you say that prayer, and mean it, God will transfer your membership from the Kingdom of Darkness into the Kingdom of Light. Colossians 1:13 says, “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.”
+++++
One way the church has always shown its identity with Jesus, and its commitment to God’s Kingdom, is through communion. Traditionally, it has served as a declaration … not too different than the “Oath of Allegiance to the United States.” In fact, many have died because they chose to be baptized a Christian and receive communion.
1 Corinthians 10:14-17 Paul says, “Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.”
Communion is sacred.
Communion is serious.
It is a moment of divine judgment because, in receiving communion, we are declaring that we will follow the Lamb above all other competitors. We are saying we will be called by His name and no other.
That is why Paul warns of judgment in the next chapter. Those who were receiving communion were not acting like members of the Kingdom. They were acting like the world and sinning against their brothers and sisters in Christ.
11:18… I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you ... 20When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, 21for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. 22Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!
27Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.” (1 Cor. 11:18-29 – portions)
We are called to examine ourselves and make certain that we are clearly identified with the Lamb.
I trust you have and receive communion with confidence today.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
This sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
Potsdam Church of the Nazarene
Potsdam, New York
www.potsdam-naz.org
