“THANKSGIVING IN HEAVEN” Revelation 7:9-12
FBCF – 11/10/24
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Welcome those watching today – CSpire, Youtube, Facebook – Let us know you’re here & if we can pray w/ you about anything today – Go to website for more info.
One week closer to T’giving – Last week: “Thankful for our Victory” – over doubt, demons, & death. Continue this week – “T’giving in Heaven.” Not talking about turkey & dressing & cranberry sauce being served in heaven. But going to look at the deep, passionate, heartfelt gratitude that we have in our hearts as we ponder on the majesty & glory of heaven today.
Thankful for so many things in the Christian life – Bible, Church, fellowship & support/encouragement of brothers & sisters in Christ (got a text Thu from Selby Oliver, new church member, asking how he could pray for me. Wanted to beat me to the punch before my Friday “PrayDay”), beauty of corporate worship, list goes on & on.
But probably at top of most of our lists would be the promise of heaven & the gift of eternal life freely given to those of us who know Jesus Christ as our Savior & Lord. So many wonderful promises in Scripture about heaven & eternal life:
- John 3:16
- John 14:1-2
- Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death…”
- 2 Corinthians 5:1 – “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”
- Philippians 3:20 – “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
- Hebrews 11:10 – “For [Abraham] was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
- Hebrews 13:14 – “For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.”
- 2 Peter 3:13 – “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.”
- Revelation 21:1-2 – “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
All of these promises & so many more are given only to those who truly know Jesus personally & passionately – those whose relationship w/ Him has moved from an intellectual knowledge of Him to an intimate walk w/ Him, which means you need to come to Jesus TODAY if you’ve never truly done that! NOW is the time! TODAY is the day of salvation! Be saved before it’s too late!
EXPLANATION – Revelation 7:9-12
Revelation written by Apostle John on island of Patmos where he had been exiled by Roman emperor Domitian. Sent there as punishment for his opposition to the worship of the emperor & for his preaching of the Gospel. But using Genesis 50:20, “[Domitian] meant it for evil, but God meant it for good,” b/c it was during this time of exile that God inspired John to write the book of the Revelation. John begins w/ letters from Jesus Himself to 7 different, actual churches, followed by a long series of judgments on the wicked, culminating in the eventual, inevitable, & eternal condemnation of Satan himself by Jesus Christ, “the King of kings & Lord of lords.” Revelation 20:10 – “Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” (NLT) To put it succinctly & triumphantly: WE WIN B/C JESUS WINS! And throughout this book, heaven is mentioned at least 55 times. Pretty important subject!
APPLICATION – Our gratitude for our future in heaven should motivate us to worship & live for Jesus now.
THE SPACIOUSNESS OF HEAVEN – v. 9 – How big is heaven? It’s big enough for every person who gives their life to Jesus. Look at this verse:
IT’S A BIG CROWD: “a great multitude that no one could number” – What’s the biggest crowd you’ve ever been in?
- Maybe football game at Kyle Field TX A & M (102,733) or Tiger Stadium LSU (102,321) or Neyland Stadium TN (101,915) or Bryant-Denny AL (101,821)
- PK “Stand in the Gap” – Oct 4, 1997 – 600K-1.4 million men
Those stadiums have a seating capacity that can be numbered. That PK rally was numbered w/ attendance estimates from US Park Service & others. Yet none of those come anywhere close to the great multitude that will be gathered before the throne of God in heaven one day. No human can number all those who will be in heaven, but there’s plenty of room for them all.
IT'S A BEAUTIFUL CROWD: That crowd will be made up of people “from every nation, from all tribes & peoples & languages” all “clothed in white robes.” There won’t be anyone who has celebrity status there...anyone who’s more important or more special than anyone else there…anyone set apart by their designer clothes there…anyone distinguished by their ethnicity or prosperity or family or ability…anyone recognized for their exquisite physical beauty or appearance… Everyone in that crowd will be there for one singular reason: To worship Jesus Christ w/ every ounce of their eternal energy & strength! Nothing else will matter, which is how it should be right here right now! Nothing else should matter to us right now than worshiping Jesus w/ every fiber of our being! It will be a big, beautiful crowd pouring out big, beautiful praise & worship to the One who gave His life so that they could be there – the crowd will be “crying out w/ a loud voice”!!!
- PK t-shirt – “Real Men Sing Real Loud!”
This verse is actually a foundational truth that drives the work of our SBC IMB & the work we do as a church. The foundational reason that the IMB & FBCF must continue “Making Much of JESUS!” is that we want as many people “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” standing before that throne on that day.
- We pray “God give us Flora!” b/c we want as many people from Flora, MS, to be in the crowd!
- We witness b/c we want…
- We give our tithes & offerings…(financial report)
- We go on mission trips & we send missionaries…
QUESTION: Are YOU going to be in that crowd?
THE SALVATION OF GOD – v. 9-10 – The subject of the worship service that will be going on will be the salvation that God alone has given to us through Jesus.
- It “belongs” to Him
- It is His possession
- It is His to give to us which He does by His GRACE & GRACE alone
- It is a free gift, not a deserved reward
- It is given to us, not earned by us
- It was purchased for us by His death on the cross, not b/c of our performance in good works
- It was sealed for us by His Spirit, not by our standing in the church or community
When we are standing before that throne, gazing at our Savior w/ the nail scars in His hands & feet, we will be so blown away by our salvation & the final complete realization of what He truly did for us to make it possible for us to be standing there that we will be screaming & shouting & proclaiming His praise at the top of our perfected lungs! It’s a good thing that we are going to have perfect bodies then b/c we are going to need them to be able to fully express our thanksgiving for the salvation of our God so amazingly given to us!
THE SPLENDOR OF WORSHIP – v. 11-12 – And the crowd just keeps growing! All the angels standing around the throne awaiting their assignments from God won’t be able to contain themselves any longer. They, too, will be overwhelmed & overcome w/ the power of this moment & will fall down on their faces before the throne of God & worship Him. That’s just what happens when you get a true understanding of what salvation is truly all about! That’s what ought to happen in here every time we meet to worship Jesus! Look at what they say:
- “Amen!” – So be it! It’s true! Let it be done!
- “Blessing” – eulogia – “eulogy” – Pour out words of praise for the gift of this person – Here it’s them pouring words of praise for God & God alone!
- “Glory” – ha doxa – “doxology” – Praise for His glorious power & splendor – He’s simply wonderful!
- “Wisdom” – Praise that God alone is the source of all wisdom
- “Thanksgiving” – Amazing expressions of gratitude deeper than the deepest ocean
- “Honor” – Worshiping Him b/c His value & worth & respect & status are priceless!
- “Power” – Giving Him glory for His unending & unbelievable & miraculous ability to do anything & everything He wants to do – Psalm 115:3 – “Our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.”
- “Might” – Praising Him b/c of His perfect & eternal strength.
Just sit & soak in the truth of what awaits us in the splendor of that heavenly worship service! It ought to change the way we worship Jesus now! We are all in heavenly choir practice right now!
CONCLUSION – “Think of the perfect moment. Recall the first time you held hands w/ someone special. Think of that first kiss or the first time you held your newborn child. A perfect moment is an experience we wish would never end. But it always does. Holding hands is followed by disagreements. First kisses give way to first fights. Newborns become teenagers.
Heaven is akin to the perfect moment we wish would never end. But the mystery - & majesty – of heaven is that it won’t. We’ll enjoy the reality & presence of God for eternity, & even then, it won’t be enough.” (Deron Spoo, The Good Book, p. 340-341)
