Worthy Is The Lamb

“Worthy Is the Lamb”

Revelation 5:1-14

Revelation 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

I’ve given much thought to what I should preach today, a day that we have looked forward to for months and that we’ve prayed about for so long, and that we have anticipated with such great interest. I asked myself, “What could I preach that would be both instructional and inspirational at the same time?” The Holy Spirit led me to this text and this thought and this title morning, “Worthy of the Lamb.” You know, if you know Jesus, you never tire of hearing about Him, Amen!

First, consider the worthiness of the Lamb:

I. The Worthiness of the Lamb – “…thou art worthy to take the book…”

As you read this chapter notice that the theme is the worthiness of the Lamb. Verses 2, 4, 9, & 12 all use this term.

A. The Question v. 1-2

As we open chapter five John sees a personage on the throne holding a book followed by the sight of a “strong angel” who asks the question, “Who is worthy to open the book…”

B. The Quandary

In verses 3-4 John is made to understand that no man could open the book “…neither to look thereon.” The realization that there was no one worthy to open the book produces a very powerful emotional response. “And I wept much…” because there was not one man in all of heaven and earth that was able to open the book. No being, not the angels in heaven nor any creature on earth was able to open the book. Why, because angels don’t know what it is to be redeemed and because “…we all like sheep have gone astray…”

C. The Qualification v. 5

One of the 24 elders tells John to “…weep not…” for there is someone who is worthy to open the book and read it, “…behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book…”

Prevailed is from the — Greek, “conquered”: absolutely, as elsewhere (Revelation 3:21): gained the victory: His past victory over all the powers of darkness entitles Him now to open the book. When Jesus cried “…it is finished…” He conquered death, hell and the grave. Satan and all the forces of Hell were defeated and every enemy was put “…under His feet…”

Bill and Gloria Gaither write:

There's a line that is drawn through the ages

On that line stands an old rugged cross

On that cross, a battle is raging

To gain a man's soul or it's loss

On one side, march the forces of evil

All the demons, all the devils of hell

On the other, the angels of glory

And they meet on Golgotha's hill

The earth shakes with the force of the conflict

And the sun refuses to shine

For there hangs God's son, in the balance

And then through the darkness he cries

It is finished, the battle is over

It is finished, there'll be no more war

It is finished, the end of the conflict

It is finished and Jesus is Lord

Second, let’s look at the work of the Lamb:

II. The Work of the Lamb – “…for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people and nation…”

A. It is gracious

The Lion of Juda becomes The Lamb of God and died so that we so that we could live! He died in our place. Was there ever an act so selfless?

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

DOES YOUR GOD BLEED?

A little boy went up to a missionary Sunday School leader in a pagan country. The boy said, "I like what you say about the God of the Bible but I can’t see him. But if I go to the temple I can see my God."

The missionary said to the little boy, "Listen, does your God bleed?" The boy said, "I don’t know." The missionary gave him a pin and said, "Next time you go to the temple, when no one else is watching, prick him and see what happens." The following week the boy returned to his Sunday School class. He said to the missionary, "I did it, I did it, I pricked the idol." The missionary said, "And what happened?" The boy replied, "Nothing, my god doesn’t bleed." Straight away the missionary said, "But my God did! He bled for me and he bled for you!"