Participants: Lawrence Dorsey
Series Code: UR
Program Code: UR000003
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00:57 Good evening. I am Pastor Henoc Paulicin,
01:02 pastor of the Ambassador Seventh-day Adventist Church 01:05 in the great city of Lauderdale Lakes, Florida. 01:07 On behalf of the Ambassador Church family, I wish to welcome 01:13 all of our viewers from around the world who are viewing in as 01:18 as we look at this important series, 01:22 Through the Eyes of John. 01:23 The fact is the Bible says that all scripture is inspired 01:27 by God, and there is no greater evidence of this 01:30 than in the prophetic word. 01:32 And so we look forward with great anticipation 01:37 as the man of God, Pastor Lawrence Dorsey, brings to us 01:42 the Word of God as revealed to the Apostle John. 01:46 But let us begin with a word of prayer. 01:50 Our Father and our God, we thank You for Your Word, 01:54 the prophetic Word that gives us hope and lets us know 01:59 that You care about us enough to give us insight into the future. 02:04 We pray for Your manservant, and we ask that You endow him 02:09 with a double portion of the Holy Spirit. 02:12 May his words come out loudly and clearly, 02:17 and may our hearts be stirred. 02:19 Hear us as we pray. 02:20 This we ask in Jesus' name, Amen. 02:24 You know, the Bible gives us a prescription for depression. 02:33 It gives us a prescription, or remedy, 02:36 for the attacks of the enemy. 02:37 Whenever the devil gets you down, the Bible says just lift 02:44 the name of Jesus. Amen! 02:45 And when you lift the name of Jesus, Jesus reaches down 02:50 and He will lift you. 03:11 He lifts my burdens whenever I'm down. 03:20 He gives me joy when I'm wearing a frown. 03:29 He is my hope in the midst of despair. 03:38 And He, He is my comfort for He's always there. 03:54 So I sing, not because I feel like singing, 04:03 and I praise Him though the end I may not see. 04:13 For whenever I lift the name of Jesus, 04:20 Jesus reaches down, and He lifts me. 04:37 He gives the music that makes my heart glad. 04:46 He whispers peace whenever I am sad. 04:55 He is the sunshine that brightens my day. 05:04 And He is the lighthouse to show me the way. 05:14 So I sing, not because I feel like singing. 05:24 And I praise Him, though the end I may not see. 05:34 For whenever I lift the name of Jesus, 05:41 Jesus reaches down and He lifts me. 05:51 So I sing, not because I just like singing. 06:00 And I praise Him, though the end I may not see. 06:11 For whenever I lift the name of Jesus, 06:18 Jesus reaches down, turns me around, 06:25 and He plants my feet on higher ground. 06:31 He reaches down and He lifts me. 07:02 That was beautiful, Pastor Murray. 07:04 I tell you, I wish I could sing for your preaching one time. 07:09 He reaches down with those hands of love, those nail scarred 07:17 hands, and lifts us up from the deepest depths, 07:23 and brings us to the solid rock. 07:27 Somebody ought to say Amen. Amen! 07:30 A loving God that we serve. 07:32 Tonight we're going to look at a message that I believe is really 07:36 going to be special to you, because God is special to us. 07:40 We're going to look at this message, in this series, 07:44 through the eyes of John called, The Lamb of God, 07:48 The Lamb of God. And those of you who are at home, 07:52 I pray that you have your Bible near that you, too, 07:55 might be able to follow along with us, and receive the full 07:58 blessing that we have by the Spirit of the Living God. 08:02 Shall we pray? Our Father and our God, again we are so 08:05 thankful that You have allowed us to come together again 08:08 to open Thy Word and to be able to worship unmolested. 08:12 We ask that Your Holy Spirit would not only fill this 08:15 sanctuary, but fill the very presence, the space, the air 08:19 with those individuals who are at home, those who are watching 08:22 online and wherever they may be, that Your sweet, sweet spirit 08:26 might draw them closer and closer to You, 08:30 and that as a result of this meeting tonight, dear Lord, 08:33 we will understand Your role as the very Lamb of God 08:38 in a more personal way, is our prayer in Jesus' name, Amen. 08:43 We go directly to our first book of Revelation, chapter 1, 08:49 and this is just a mini-review, chapter 1 verse 1. 08:52 It says this book is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, 09:05 And ladies and gentlemen, we established last night, without 09:08 a shadow of a doubt, that the book of Revelation is not a 09:11 sealed book. It's not closed. 09:13 It's not mysterious. 09:15 It is something for us to study, to cherish, to embrace, 09:19 and most of all to follow. 09:22 We saw in verse 3 of this same book, Revelation 1, it says, 09:26 Blessed is he that reads, and they that hear the words of this 09:31 prophecy, and those that keep those things which are written 09:34 therein. In other words, there's a triple blessing for us just 09:37 studying it, reading it, listening to it, and then doing 09:44 the things of the book. 09:46 So when we come together tonight and we look at this sweet book 09:50 of Revelation, and we established last night that 09:53 the key of understanding Revelation is to understand 09:57 that the Bible is it's own expositor. 09:59 In other words it explains itself. 10:02 And we saw last night, our opening night, that the book of 10:05 Revelation has 505 direct, or indirect quotations from 39 of 10:12 the other books of the Bible. 10:14 We see that all of the books of the Bible end and meet there. 10:18 So when we look at it, it is something, and please don't hold 10:22 this against me, but if I had to just take one last book of 10:26 the Bible to keep with me, in these very last days, 10:29 I'd take the book of Revelation, because in it all the books of 10:32 the Bible end and meet. 10:35 I come to this book of Revelation, and I see something, 10:38 and we noticed this last night. 10:40 We said that all of the Bible, the whole Bible, 10:43 we have sure word of prophecy. 10:46 We saw that with the Spirit of the Living God, holy men were 10:50 moved by the Holy Ghost, and presented this book to us 10:56 by the inspiration of God. 10:57 We saw in 2 Timothy 3, 2 Timothy 3:15, that it told us that all 11:05 scripture, all scripture, not some, but all scripture is given 11:09 by God, and it is profitable for doctrine. 11:12 It's profitable for reproof. 11:15 It's profitable for correction. 11:17 It's profitable for instruction, that the man, woman, boy, 11:21 or girl may be able to be thoroughly furnished into all 11:24 good works, and to be perfect in the sight of God. 11:28 And, ladies and gentlemen, that's what really counts, 11:30 to be perfect in the sight of God. 11:32 Not in our own estimate of what and who we are, 11:39 but knowing that heaven is smiling at us, 11:41 and we have heaven's approval in all that we do and say. 11:46 But when we come to the book of Revelation, 11:48 again we see something new, something greater, 11:50 something more, experiencing that when we look at it, 11:55 and understand it, and read it, it lets us know how dear 11:59 this book is to us. 12:00 It was not so much as holy men of God spake 12:04 and moved upon John. 12:06 It was not so much that it was dictated through the power 12:10 of the Holy Spirit. 12:11 But when we look through the book of Revelation and we see 12:16 these words over, and over again, I John saw, I John saw, 12:22 I John behold, what does it mean? 12:25 Well, ladies and gentlemen, it tells me in Revelation 1, 12:29 beginning with verse 9. 12:31 It tells us that John, I John, verse 9, of chapter 1, I John, 12:54 And you all know the story. 12:55 We talked about it the other day. 12:57 John was placed on the island of Patmos because they couldn't 13:01 do anything else with him. 13:02 They tried to kill him, but they couldn't kill him. 13:06 He was the last surviving of the disciples. 13:09 Everyone else met a martyr's death. 13:12 Even Paul had his head taken from him, but they could not 13:16 take his relationship with God. Amen! 13:19 They took Mark and tore him between two horses 13:23 and pulled him apart. 13:24 Then we've looked at Peter and all the rest. 13:26 They went through a martyr's death. 13:28 And they tried to kill John. 13:30 They tried to do something different, something new. 13:32 They didn't want to crucify him. 13:34 They wanted to do something that would cause the people 13:37 to be filled with fear for standing up for God. 13:39 They took a cauldron of oil, and they put it there, 13:43 and they heated it up, and it was boiling, and they took John 13:47 and put him in that hot, boiling oil. 13:52 And friends when you're with Jesus, all that turned out 13:57 to be for John was a hot mineral bath, because my Bible tells me 14:04 that John was able to put together this book of Revelation 14:08 because he survived what man could do for you. 14:11 Folks, don't you know that if you're walking with God 14:13 the devil can't do anything. 14:15 Don't you know that if you're walking with God He can bless 14:18 you, and there's no curse that man or devil can put upon you? 14:21 Don't you know that if you're walking with God there is 14:24 nothing that God will not do for you until your work 14:28 and ministry is done? Amen! 14:31 He has promised never to leave us, never to forsake us, 14:34 never to let the enemy overwhelm us. 14:36 He has promised not even to let temptation come upon you 14:40 that we are not able to bear. 14:43 That's the kind of God we serve. Amen! 14:46 And John in his mercy, and in his relationship with Jesus 14:49 Christ, he is there now, but folks you know what? 14:51 If believe if you just allow me to just insert my own feelings, 14:57 I can imagine that it was worse than death putting John on that 15:02 island all by himself. 15:03 A preacher with nobody to preach to! Have mercy! 15:08 That means the satellite went out! Come on now! 15:12 He had no crowd, and there was nobody there to share 15:15 the good news. You see, when you have a relationship with Jesus 15:18 and what He has done for you, ladies and gentlemen, 15:20 and you don't have to be a preacher on somebody's payroll 15:23 or any conference. When you have a love of Jesus Christ in you, 15:27 it's going to come out of you. 15:29 You have to tell somebody about how good your God is, 15:32 and how He cares, and what He has done for you, 15:34 and how He has forgiven you, and how He helped you. 15:37 Your relationship with Him is so great that you talk to Him 15:41 not only about the crisis time periods in your life, 15:44 but even the little things. 15:46 There are times when I'm in LA and I can't find a parking spot, 15:49 and I say, Lord Jesus, can You just help? 15:51 Can You help Your servant find a parking spot so I don't 15:55 have to walk so far? 15:56 I do need the exercise, but that's not the point. 15:58 I'm talking about on a time schedule. 16:00 And God allows the parking spot to just be there. Amen! 16:05 You see, prayer is talking to God as friend with friend, 16:09 a relationship that you have with Him. 16:11 You can talk about Him. 16:14 You can talk to Him about anything, and everything. 16:19 And it's a sweet relationship. 16:20 And when somebody else gets near you, the first thing you 16:24 want to do is be able to find a way that you can tell them, 16:28 right pastor? You can tell them about the goodness of God. Amen! 16:32 We walk, and walk down these streets of this planet Earth, 16:36 and you see so many people who are heartbroken, and so many 16:40 people who are hurting, and so many people 16:42 who are stressed out. 16:43 You see it on their faces. 16:45 You see people who are bewildered as they watch 16:47 the news night, after night, after night and they see 16:49 all the things happening to planet Earth, 16:51 and they're looking for an answer. 16:53 And, ladies and gentlemen, we have the answer. 16:56 That answer is Jesus Christ the Lord, and He's coming again, 17:00 and we have to engage them and let them see that the reality, 17:05 the reality that will last for eternity is a reality that 17:12 is based in Christ Jesus. Amen! 17:15 So here we have this preacher. 17:16 He's all by himself. 17:18 His compadres have all been slain. 17:23 They put him in a place where he couldn't preach to anyone. 17:30 And many of us, we might have been despondent and discouraged, 17:34 and said, We just give up, but it tells me, 17:36 ladies and gentlemen, it tells me in verse 10, 17:39 and this thing gives me so much joy, 17:41 it says in verse 10 of chapter 1, he says: 17:47 In other words, even though he was by himself, there was no 17:51 one looking at him, there were no members to impress. 17:53 There was no one to preach to. 17:56 The Sabbath School director was not there to see 17:58 if he was on time or not. 18:00 John was by himself on the Lord's Day, 18:03 and he had church by himself. 18:06 I can see him getting up very early in the morning 18:08 for early morning prayer meeting. 18:11 I see him move over now to Sabbath School study time 18:14 as he's studying the parchments that he has the things, 18:17 and recollecting the things that he experienced in his 18:20 relationship with Christ. 18:21 And then when the divine hour comes up, and he is about to 18:25 really get into a meditative thought about his Lord, 18:27 Jesus shows up! Amen! Amen! 18:31 You see, where there are two or three gathered together 18:35 in His name, He's going to show up. 18:37 But guess what? don't feel bad if you're by yourself. 18:40 Jesus is not going to let you stay by yourself. 18:43 He's going to be with you, and He is there in you, 18:46 and He is there drawing you to Him with cords of love. Amen! 18:50 That's the kind of Savior we serve. 18:53 That's the kind of Savior that loves us. 18:55 And when we look at this portion of the scripture, 18:57 get my point, what I am saying is Jesus showed up to not 19:02 only inspire John, but to give him a visual of what's going to 19:10 happen in the last days. 19:12 The record says here, look at it please, in chapter 1, 19:16 verse 10, And I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, 19:18 and I heard behind me a great voice as a trumpet saying, 19:22 I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, 19:24 and what thou seest write in a book, and send it to the seven 19:28 churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, 19:31 and to Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, 19:34 and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. 19:36 And I turned to see the voice that spake unto me. 19:40 And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; 19:43 and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the 19:46 Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, 19:49 and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. 19:52 His head and his hairs were white like wool, 19:55 as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 19:59 and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a 20:04 furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 20:07 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his 20:10 mouth went a two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the 20:14 sun shineth in his strength. 20:16 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. 20:20 And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; 20:24 I am the first and the last: 20:27 Amen! Can you imagine? 20:30 Here you are all by yourself thinking you're by yourself, 20:35 but John didn't think it, he knew that there are more 20:37 with him than against him even though 20:40 the invisible shield was there. 20:41 By faith he could see into heaven. 20:43 He understood his relationship with his God. 20:47 And even if he was by himself, he had enough sense to count 20:51 down on the calendar, and keep God's Sabbath 20:53 by himself with his God. Amen! 20:57 Oh my friends, the Lord showed up and gave him instant 21:02 spiritual cable vision to shown him the things which must 21:10 shortly come to pass. 21:11 And when we look at this, ladies and gentlemen, He gave John 21:16 a revelation of Himself, and He gave us, ladies and gentlemen, 21:21 the guidelines that we need to make it through to the finish 21:26 line in the last days of Earth's history. Amen! 21:29 The record says He identified Himself. 21:32 God didn't send Gabriel, even though Gabriel would have 21:36 come, He went to Daniel. 21:37 He could have sent some other angel. 21:39 He could have wrote it in the sand. 21:41 He could have just filled his head with a night vision, 21:44 but Jesus Himself came. 21:47 The record says in verse 18: He said, I am He that liveth 21:50 and was dead, and... 22:03 And that is exactly what John did. 22:09 He wrote these things here for us, and they have been kept 22:16 through time that you and I might be able to understand 22:21 them, and read them, and heed them, and not only receive the 22:25 blessings from obeying those things, but be fortified and 22:29 strengthened, and not afraid of the things that shall come 22:33 upon Planet Earth. 22:35 Now tonight, again, the subject is Jesus, the Lamb of God. 22:41 And as I said, there are many names for our Lord and Savior 22:46 Jesus Christ. When you look throughout the scriptures 22:51 He is called the Advocate, the Almighty. 22:53 We heard Him called Alpha and Omega. 22:56 He's the Bread of Life, the Bridegroom, the Beginning 22:59 and the End. He's the Chief Cornerstone, and the Creator. 23:03 He's the Christ our Righteousness, the Deliverer, 23:05 the Savior, the Great I Am. 23:08 And I just love I Am. 23:10 I don't know why. 23:12 I wasn't raised in the church, but as a child I had a cartoon 23:18 hero, and that was Popeye, and Popeye used to say, 23:22 I am what I am. He used to say that. 23:24 And he needed spinach for that. 23:26 And you know, I love spinach, and I would say, I am what I am. 23:29 But then when I saw a real hero who was not fictional, 23:34 come on now, and he could beat the greatest enemy at anytime. 23:42 That's what He did. 23:43 He defeated the devil, the greatest enemy 23:45 and adversary there is, and when He said, I am what I am, 23:52 He didn't need a substance, come on, it was already in Him. 23:56 I Am what I Am, in other words, whatever you need Jesus to be, 24:01 that's what He is. 24:02 If you're sick He's a doctor. 24:04 If you're hungry, He's a grocer. 24:05 Whatever you need Him to be. 24:07 He's your husband, He's your wife, He's your son, 24:10 He's your daughter, He's your brother, He's your friend 24:14 that sticketh closer than a brother. Amen! 24:17 He's all of that and more. 24:19 And when we look at this God, this loving Savior, 24:23 the great I AM, ladies and gentlemen, this El Shaddai, 24:27 this Eloheim, this God who is omnipotent and omniscient. 24:32 This God who cares about us. 24:34 We saw on the first night that 28 times, 28 times, 28 times 24:41 in the book of Revelation He's called the Lamb. 24:44 And in each one of these instances it has to do with our 24:48 salvation, and His relationship with us. 24:51 And we looked at a few of them last night. 24:53 We looked at it where it said in Revelation 7:14 that we will 24:58 wash our robes and they will be made... 25:02 We looked at Revelation 12:11 and it says: 25:08 We looked at Revelation 14:4, and one I really love. It says: 25:15 And everywhere Jesus goes we'll be right there with Him. 25:19 And He's going to fly over to another part of the universe. 25:22 He's going to take some of His redeemed with Him. 25:24 We're going to be right there with Him everywhere He goes! 25:28 I don't know how it's going to work out, folks when we get 25:30 to heaven, you know, sometimes you get selfish about Jesus. 25:33 You get selfish. I said, Lord, will You have time for a private 25:40 audience with me? And guess what folks, He'll have time for every 25:45 one of us because there will be no more time. Amen! 25:49 We shall be with Him from everlasting and everlasting, 25:52 and it will be more than our minds can comprehend. 25:56 So I see Him here as this Lamb, and these instances, 26:00 these instances where He is called this Lamb. 26:04 He is called the Lamb by John the Baptist when His eyes fixed 26:08 on His very own cousin. 26:10 He sees Him in the crowd. 26:11 He knows that there's something different. 26:13 He feels the unction of the Holy Spirit. 26:16 He is moved by the inspiration of the Spirit, 26:19 and he bellows out with this loud voice, Behold the Lamb 26:24 of God which taketh away the sins of the world, 26:28 but people didn't get it! 26:30 They didn't understand it. 26:34 But it didn't take away who He is. 26:37 His Father declared, This is My beloved Son 26:41 in whom I am well pleased. 26:44 And the people heard it, except those that weren't 26:46 walking with the Lord, they thought it thundered. 26:48 Now folks, when God speaks, I want to hear His voice, 26:52 not thunder, hello? Amen! 26:54 So we need to stay close to the Lord, don't we? 26:56 The record tells us, ladies and gentlemen, that in the book of 27:01 Revelation, these 28 times that He is called the Lamb, 27:04 but we see the whole significance of it when we turn 27:09 in our Bibles to Revelation chapter 5. Now follow me. 27:14 Revelation 5:1, there's a particular scene into heaven. 27:20 Now we shared that the Lord gives this instantaneous 27:24 heavenly spiritual cable vision that the individual John 27:30 will be able to see these things, and make an 27:33 impression upon His mind. 27:35 He says, I saw. Again an eye witness account. 27:40 I saw in the right hand of him, verse 1 of chapter 5, 27:45 that sat on the throne a book written within and on the 27:51 backside, sealed with seven seals. 27:55 Now folks, I want us to just back up a little bit so we can 27:59 see the whole picture of this. 28:01 If you go to the first verse in chapter 4, just go back one 28:06 chapter, John is seeing an interactive video, or live shot, 28:15 from heaven. It says in verse 1 of chapter 4: 28:21 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in 28:25 heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were 28:29 a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, 28:33 and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. 28:38 And immediately I was in the Spirit: and, behold, 28:41 a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. 28:45 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine 28:50 stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, 28:52 in sight like unto an emerald. 28:55 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: 28:58 and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, 29:02 clothed in white raiment; and they had on their 29:05 heads crowns of gold. 29:06 What a scene that John is seeing! 29:09 He is taken up in the very Spirit of the Living God, 29:12 and he is seeing into heaven. 29:15 He's seeing these individuals, four and twenty elders sitting 29:19 around the throne. 29:20 He sees the golden crowns upon their heads. 29:24 He hears in verse 5 the thunders and lightening, 29:29 and voices that are going on. 29:31 He sees the seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, 29:34 which are the seven Spirits of God, which symbolize 29:36 the completeness of the Spirit of God. 29:38 Before that throne, it says in verse 6, he saw a sea of glass 29:43 like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, 29:46 and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes 29:49 before and behind. 29:50 And, ladies and gentlemen, this sea of glass is the same 29:53 sea of glass that John sees, and Revelation 15:2, 29:57 where he sees those who have gotten the victory over 30:02 the beast and its image and the number of his name stand there 30:05 and with the harps of God, singing the song of 30:07 Moses and the Lamb. 30:09 And as I said to you before, you must have the faith to visualize 30:12 yourself standing before the throne of God victorious. Amen! 30:19 Church you have to know, you have to know that God loves you, 30:26 and He died for you, and you are forgiven. 30:28 You who are at home listening to this message, watching this 30:33 message, you have to know that God cares about you, 30:36 and He doesn't care about your history, or your past, 30:39 and that He loves you with an everlasting love. 30:43 And He, too, wants you to have the faith to believe that you 30:46 will stand before that very throne of God, 30:51 and on that sea of glass. Amen! 30:54 When they sing that song, The Saints Go Marching In, 30:57 Oh When the Saints Go Marching In. 30:59 You have to see yourself as one of the Saints going through. 31:04 Amen! It's in your mindset; in your relationship with God that 31:08 is based on faith, no matter what has happened in your life. 31:12 He says He'll take our sins and throw them down to the depths 31:16 of the sea, and He will won't mention them to us again. 31:19 People might still talk about you. 31:20 And they'll talk about you until they die or you die. 31:23 But God, who loves you, and who gave Himself for you, 31:29 who allowed His Son to come down here and die on Calvary's 31:33 cross, He won't mention them to you again. 31:36 And you will receive a new name, and a new kingdom. 31:39 And that's a promise you can count on. Amen! 31:42 We see this scene that John is seeing. 31:45 It continues to say in verse 8 that these four beasts, 31:48 each of them had six wings about him; and they were full of eyes 31:52 within: and they rest not day and night, saying Holy, holy 31:55 holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. 31:59 Ladies and gentlemen, we're talking about angels before the 32:01 very throne of God. 32:02 And these angels, all they do 24/7 is say Holy, holy, holy, 32:08 Lord God Almighty. Amen! 32:10 That's all they say! 32:12 24/7, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty. 32:19 Now folks I want you to know that the first time I read this 32:22 I was so thrilled with that, and I was ecstatic at the fact 32:25 that heaven has continuous praise going on. Amen! 32:29 And I began to think, and I'm just going to be honest 32:33 with you, I said to myself, Now man, that might be some job 32:40 that could get a little hard. 32:43 Now this is just my humanity now. 32:45 A little hard if you have to do that through all eternity. 32:52 But then I read this book, Unfolding Revelation, 32:55 by Roy Allen Anderson, and he gave this comment on that text. 32:59 He said that these angels do not lose their enthusiasm. 33:07 It's a bad night tonight folks, help with me. 33:10 They do not lose their enthusiasm because each and 33:15 every time they say that, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, 33:21 that they get a new revelation of what God has done for 33:27 somewhere in God's universe. 33:29 In other words, each time they say that, and their hearts are 33:33 filled up, and folks you know when God does something 33:35 for you, you don't care who's around, you have to stand up 33:38 and shout. The folks might look at you. 33:40 You have to stand up and say, My God did it, and no one else 33:43 did it, and no one else can claim it, because my God did it! 33:46 It gives you a new shot of adrenalin. 33:48 It gives you a new faith. 33:50 It gives you a new encouragement, and you just 33:51 get up higher and higher. 33:53 Well, these angels are, as it were, the collecting point where 33:57 it comes to their mind what God has done for somebody somewhere. 34:02 And they can't stop praising how good our God is! Amen! 34:11 I said I could take that job now, Dear Lord, if You give me 34:16 the insight to keep coming in. 34:18 But as this is going on, ladies and gentlemen, as this is going 34:21 on it tells us that John, he's seeing this scene, 34:24 and he is excited, and he is watching this. 34:26 And then he hears them saying, in verse 11, Thou art worthy, 34:30 O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast 34:33 created all things, and for thy pleasure they 34:36 are and were created. 34:38 In other words, it is reinforcing, watch this, 34:41 it is reinforcing that God made us to be loved by heaven. Amen! 34:49 And then the scene changes. 34:51 We come to chapter 5 and we're going to see here 34:54 Jesus as the Lamb. 34:56 It says, And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the 34:59 throne a book written within and on the backside, 35:02 sealed with seven seals. 35:03 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, 35:06 Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? 35:10 And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, 35:14 was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. 35:18 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open 35:23 and to read the book, neither to look thereon. 35:26 In other words, when John saw this, 35:28 he knew something wasn't right. 35:31 He knew that this was a pivotal point. 35:35 He knew that we were in danger. 35:41 Something was going on. 35:43 This mighty angel is going around proclaiming, and asking 35:47 for someone to open the book, but no one can open the book. 35:50 No one moves! The angels don't move. 35:55 The four and twenty elders don't move. 35:58 And John is sensing the tension in the air. 36:03 As he begins to cry, and I thank God my Jesus feels 36:10 something when we cry. 36:11 Every tear that we shed, ladies and gentlemen, every tear 36:15 that comes from your eyes, it's not unnoticed by a loving God. 36:19 Every heartache that you have, His heart aches, and He wants 36:23 to be able to massage it with His hands of love, 36:26 to bring us peace of mind. 36:28 And it says that as John was watching this, and his eyes 36:31 begin to fill up with tears, ladies and gentlemen, 36:34 it says that one of the elders said unto him... 36:51 In other words, there's somebody who can take care of this. 36:55 You just keep watching! Amen! 36:58 Sometimes we have to learn to wait on the Lord, Amen? Amen! 37:01 And just keep watching, and waiting, and praying, 37:04 and He will send deliverance. 37:06 And then He says: 37:30 Now folks, that Lamb is none other than Jesus. Amen! 37:35 The contrast is He had just been called the Lion 37:39 of the tribe of Judah. 37:40 And, ladies and gentlemen, that is a fitting symbol for Jesus, 37:44 because the lion is the king of the jungle, and Jesus is King of 37:48 kings, and Lord of lords. Amen! 37:50 But when He moves over as this individual who will take this 37:54 legal document that has in it, ladies and gentlemen, 37:58 the eviction notice for planet Earth, for humanity, 38:01 and they need someone to take it over. 38:03 It seems that He can not do this job as King of kings, 38:08 and Lord of lords. 38:09 He has to move into a different realm. 38:11 He has to move in the realm of the Lamb of God. Amen! 38:16 Now you notice it says it was not just an innocent lamb that 38:20 came up, it was a lamb that had been slain. Amen! 38:25 The point of this message is in this vision that John saw, 38:31 and he wrote for us for understanding, the victory 38:35 to buy back planet Earth did not come as Jesus being 38:38 King of kings, and Lord of lords. 38:40 He will always be that. 38:42 But, ladies and gentlemen, it comes because Jesus was 38:45 that innocent Lamb who laid down His life 38:47 that we might have life. Amen! 38:50 That's why He is called that Lamb of God. 38:55 You see, the wages of sin is death. 38:59 But the gift of God is eternal life. 39:02 1 John 3:4 tells us that sin is the transgression of the law. 39:07 And the law had been broken, and the penalty is death, 39:10 and someone had to pay. 39:11 And the someone that paid was Jesus. 39:14 Jesus paid it all on Calvary. 39:17 We continue to read here, and it says, And he came and took 39:22 the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. 39:26 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and 39:28 and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, 39:30 having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, 39:34 which are the prayers of saints. 39:38 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to 39:42 take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast 39:45 slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every 39:50 kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us 39:53 us unto our God kings and priests: 39:56 and we shall reign on the earth ... with Him. 40:01 Oh my friends, it's because of Jesus as the Lamb. 40:05 And then John saw a celebration break out, verse 11. 40:09 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about 40:12 the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of 40:14 them was ten thousand times ten thousand, 40:16 and thousands of thousands; saying with a loud voice, 40:19 Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, 40:23 and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, 40:26 and glory, and blessing. 40:28 Ladies and gentlemen, seven virtues here 40:31 that show completeness. Amen! 40:35 You see that number seven is a special number 40:37 to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen! 40:39 It is the number of completeness. 40:42 When you look at the book of Revelation, there are so many 40:45 things that are there in seven. 40:46 There are seven candlesticks, and seven churches, 40:49 and seven angels with seven vials, and seven plagues, 40:52 and seven trumpets, and seven thunders and sprits of God, 40:55 and eyes of God. And we see all of these things 40:58 in the book of Revelation. 40:59 And it shows the completeness of it. even when we look at 41:01 Even when we look at the verse that talked about the 41:04 seven eyes and seven horns. 41:08 It's talking about with seven horns symbolic of power, 41:11 and seven eyes, meaning Him all knowing. 41:13 And the seven spirits, in other words, the completeness of God. 41:17 But when we look at the number seven in the book, 41:19 the whole book, and nothing but the book, we see, 41:23 ladies and gentlemen, the children of Israel got complete 41:26 victory when they walked around Jericho for seven days. 41:29 And on the seventh day they walked around seven times. 41:32 We see complete healing when Naaman went down 41:35 to that Jordan River. 41:36 He didn't really want to go in because he had better... 41:39 When Naaman went into the Jordan River he 41:42 he had rivers back home. 41:43 And he went down 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 times, and he almost quit. 41:47 But they said, Listen, God said 7 not 5. 41:50 He went down the 6th time expecting something and still 41:53 nothing. But when he went down the 7th time, 41:56 the song said he came up shouting. Amen! 42:00 Complete healing! Amen. 42:02 On creation's week, 1st day, 2nd day, 3rd day, 4th day, 5th day, 42:08 6th day, God said it was good, but then when it came to number 42:12 7, the 7th day, it says, He blessed it and sanctified it. 42:15 In other words, He set it aside for a holy purpose; 42:18 when we, His people, can have a special relationship with Him. 42:23 He is always with us as we go through our daily chores, 42:27 but on that seventh day He wants to come and take us to a higher 42:31 spiritual level that we might be able to have that special 42:35 relationship, showing the world that we are His people, 42:38 and He is indeed our God. 42:41 Oh yes, that number seven is so special. 42:45 He is the Lamb of God. 42:48 He is that great sacrifice. 42:52 I look at that sacrifice that Jesus gave for us, 42:57 and I understand it better now because it's personal. 43:03 You see, when you turn to 1 Peter 1, 1 Peter. 43:07 What did I say? 1 Peter 1 looking at verse 18, 43:13 it tells us about that sacrifice. 43:17 It tells us how our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ gave His own 43:23 blood for our salvation. 43:26 It tells us in 1 Peter 1:18: 43:56 Now watch this! 44:04 And friends, John the Revelator himself said, in Revelation 15:8 44:10 that Jesus is the Lamb that was slain before the foundation 44:14 of the world. In other words, it was not an act of thought. 44:17 It was planned. It was in the bank. 44:23 It was in the safe, as the emergency exit for us. 44:28 The salvation that came full and free, not as an afterthought, 44:34 but of forethought, because God, who knows all things, 44:37 He is omniscient. He knew what was going to happen. 44:41 We are not individuals who have this program that we have 44:47 to follow through. 44:48 We have the spirit to choose whom we will serve. 44:51 And when Adam and Eve fell, God's Son, and His Father 44:55 came together to make a way that that they had already made for 45:00 us. They just put the plan into practice. Amen! 45:04 Someone had to die for sin, and Jesus chose to do that. 45:09 Ladies and gentlemen, we look throughout the scriptures 45:15 and we see in Isaiah, Isaiah 53, and I can remember 45:20 the first time, and I've shared this with many people, 45:23 and many times, and many meetings. 45:24 I remember the first time that this came clear to my mind. 45:28 I was sitting in my office while I was working 45:32 for the phone company. 45:33 It was lunch time and I was reading my Bible. 45:37 I was reading chapter 53, and I didn't understand 45:41 the connection of it. 45:42 And I was reading chapter 53 of the book of Isaiah, 45:46 and it says, Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the 45:48 arm of the Lord revealed? 45:50 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, 45:52 and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor 45:55 comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty 45:58 that we should desire him. 45:59 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, 46:02 and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces 46:04 from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 46:07 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: 46:10 yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 46:14 But he was wounded for our transgressions, 46:17 he was bruised for our iniquities: 46:19 the chastisement of our peace was upon him; 46:21 and with his stripes we are healed. 46:24 All we like sheep have gone astray; 46:26 we have turned every one to his own way; 46:28 and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 46:32 And I remember that day when I read that. 46:34 I said, They're talking about Jesus! Amen! 46:38 I didn't know it. I didn't know how to use my Concordance 46:42 back then, but when I read that I saw it. 46:44 The Living God put this in my heart, and my mind, to know 46:48 He's talking about Jesus. 46:50 He is the Lamb of God! Amen! 46:53 He went to the cross for me! 46:55 When I read about this, and it said, He was taken from prison 46:59 and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? 47:02 for he was cut off out of the land of the living: 47:04 for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 47:07 And he made his grave with the wicked, 47:09 and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, 47:12 neither was any deceit in his mouth. 47:14 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; 47:16 he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an 47:20 offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his 47:25 days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 47:28 He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: 47:32 In other words, when He sees us standing on the sea of glass 47:36 He's going to smile. Amen! 47:40 Because we accepted the sacrifice; that spotless, 47:45 spotless, Lamb on Calvary's cross. 47:48 He was wounded in His head for our unholy thoughts, 47:52 with that crown of thorns. 47:54 His hands were nailed for our misdeeds. 47:57 His feet went to that cross, ladies and gentlemen, 48:00 because the Roman nails pierced His bone where we have walked in 48:05 paths of unrighteousness. 48:07 A Roman spear pierced His side for all of our unholy affection, 48:14 and His back was ripped with the cat of nine tails, 48:17 but with His stripes we are healed. Amen! 48:21 He died the death, ladies and gentlemen, He endured the cross, 48:26 despising the shame, because of the joy, the joy, the joy 48:31 that was set before Him, seeing you and I one day being 48:36 translated in the twinkling of an eye, or coming forth from a 48:39 dusty grave in the newness of life because of 48:43 what He did for us. Amen! 48:45 He is, ladies and gentlemen, the Lamb of God; spotless, pure, 48:52 holy, righteous, and giving willingly and freely by the 48:57 Father for you and I, who were so unworthy. 49:00 But because of the grace and mercy of God, He gives it over 49:05 and over again in our daily relationships with Him, that we 49:09 one day may be able to walk on streets of gold with Him. Amen! 49:14 Oh my brothers and my sisters, evaluate your relationship 49:18 with Jesus. Evaluate your life, and what you're doing, 49:22 and where you've been. 49:24 Make a clear distinct effort to walk with your Lord and Savior. 49:29 Decide to put away sin in your life, 49:33 for look at what sin has caused. 49:36 The Son of God lay down His life. 49:39 He gave His life, ladies and gentlemen, not for anything 49:45 that He has done, but for what we have done, 49:49 and sometimes continue to do. 49:52 Oh my friends, after we have a knowledge of the Living God, 49:55 can we continue to walk in the ways of sin? 49:59 When you look at the Bible, and it tells us that there, 50:05 the priests, what they did. 50:07 They had to bring that lamb, that innocent lamb, 50:12 to the altar, and the sinner had to take that knife, 50:18 and cut that lamb's throat. 50:20 And that blood would pour out. 50:23 And he had to open up that lamb, and he had to take those 50:25 internal organs and take all the fat off of it, 50:30 and throw it into the fire from the altar. 50:31 And, ladies and gentlemen, this lets us know that all sin is 50:36 internal, and it has to be removed from us. 50:39 And, friends, when we look at that, and I don't think any 50:44 of us here today really would have the heart, 50:46 if we had to do that today. 50:48 Either we become so cold in doing it over and over again, 50:53 or it would shock us each time to see that innocent 50:57 victim dying for us. 50:59 Well, friends, the innocent victim that died for us 51:02 is Jesus Christ. He went to Calvary's cross that you and I 51:09 could be saved to the utmost. 51:11 Tonight you at home, and you who are here, 51:14 Jesus is looking at you. 51:17 He's looking at me. 51:19 And He wants to know if we will give Him those secret sins, 51:23 those things that are holding back a full and vibrant 51:27 relationship with Him, that we might have eternal life. 51:31 Tonight won't you let Jesus have His way with you? 51:44 The Savior, He's waiting to enter your heart. 51:56 Why don't you let Him come in? 52:05 There's nothing in this world to keep you apart. 52:18 What is your answer to Him? 52:30 And time after time He has waited before, 52:40 and now He is waiting again, to see if you're willing 52:58 to open the door. 53:04 Oh how He wants to come in! 53:13 If you take one step toward the Savior, my friends, 53:27 you'll find His arms open wide. 53:37 Receive Him and all of your darkness will leave, 53:49 deep in your heart He'll abide. 53:57 And time after time He has waited, He's waited before. 54:11 And now my lovely Savior, He's waiting again, 54:23 to see if you're willing to open the door. 54:35 O how He wants to come in! 54:55 Amen! The Lord wants to come into our hearts, 55:01 ladies and gentlemen. 55:02 He wants to come in and have complete control of our lives. 55:07 Do you want to give Him complete control of your life? Amen! 55:12 I know that we all are always struggling with something. 55:17 But folks, we don't have to struggle anymore 55:21 for Jesus is a burden bearer. 55:25 When I look at my Bible, and I see in 1 Corinthians 10:13, 55:29 it tells us, There hath no temptation taken you but such 55:33 as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer 55:37 you to be tempted above that ye are able; 55:39 but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, 55:44 that ye may be able to bear it. 55:46 Is that good news tonight church? Amen! 55:49 Is that good news, you who are sitting at home? 55:51 Whatever temptation that has taken you in the past, 55:54 Jesus says He will come into your life and set you free, 55:59 give you the power to resist, and give you the power 56:03 to live a holy life consistently. 56:07 If it's your desire tonight to receive the Spirit 56:11 of the Living God, and to take this power to transform you 56:15 into a man, woman, boy, or girl that appreciates the sacrifice 56:18 of Jesus on Calvary, won't you stand with me just now? 56:23 Those of you who are at home, I want you, too, to stand 56:28 where you are, if it's possible, or raise your hand heavenward 56:33 and say, Lord Jesus, I am so thankful for Your 56:38 sacrifice on Calvary. 56:40 I recognize You not only did it for the world, 56:43 but You did it for me. 56:45 And by You giving me an opportunity for eternal life, 56:50 I will treasure You, not only as the Lamb of God, 56:55 but I will treasure You as King of kings, and Lord of lords. 57:00 Good night! |
Revised 2014-12-17