The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. 6 He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.
9 He who has an ear, let him hear.
10 If anyone is to go into captivity,
into captivity he will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the sword,
with the sword he will be killed.
This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints…
1 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. 5 No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless…
A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, 10 he, too, will drink of the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name.” 12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.
My Understanding: As I prayerfully read through the words to the song, “Fully Surrendered,” and then I read these two chapters of scripture, I realized that the Lord would have me focus this morning on what it means to be one of his saints, and how these godly characteristics are essential to surviving and overcoming the devil, who is out to get the children of God, and to conquer them. So, I am going to prayerfully examine this morning the various characteristic traits of a true saint of God, and why it is necessary to have these traits if we are to be overcomers in these evil days in which we live.
God’s Name on Foreheads
The Lamb is Jesus Christ, who was slain (crucified) as the sacrifice for the sins of the entire world. When he died, our sins died with him, and when he arose from the dead, he conquered Satan, death, hell and sin so that we could go free from the control of sin over our daily lives, be free to worship and obey our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and so we could go free from the ultimate penalty of sin, eternal torment in the lake of fire. The Lamb and those who had the name of the Lamb and God the Father written on their foreheads were standing on Mt Zion. Mount Zion was a physical place in Jerusalem and came to be synonymous with Jerusalem, but now it is a spiritual place, i.e. it stands for the New Jerusalem, the holy city, the city on a hill, i.e. God’s eternal kingdom made up of God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – and the true followers of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of God’s eternal kingdom, and his followers are his body, the true church.
To stand upon something means to fight resolutely, to hold to a belief, to be a witness, to take a particular position on something (attitude; viewpoint; outlook). So, I believe Jesus and his followers standing on Mt Zion has to do with a resolute (determined and purposeful) commitment to the kingdom of God and to all that it entails in thought, word and deed. This means that the saints of God will be one in heart and mind in commitment to the kingdom of God with Jesus Christ and God the Father, and they will be committed to living out the gospel in their own lives, and to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in word with a world in need of a Savior. As well, a person’s name is their character and their word on something, so for the saints of God to have the name of the Lamb and of the Father written on their foreheads, I believe means that the character, truth and word of God are indelibly imprinted on their minds, attitudes, behaviors and actions. Jesus Christ and God the Father are with them in their minds and in their hearts always directing, giving counsel, leading, guiding, convicting, encouraging, and giving much hope and healing in times of great difficulty.
Undefiled and Pure
For the saints of God to be undefiled means that they are not corrupted or ruined, damaged or destroyed, or polluted by the world of evil and the evil world’s system. The scriptures teach that when we come to faith in Jesus Christ, we are crucified with Christ so that we (our flesh natures) no longer live, but Christ lives in us and we live by his power and strength within us. It teaches us that coming to Christ means to forsake our old lives of sin, to be renewed in our minds (thinking and behavior) by the working and power of the Holy Spirit within us, and to put on Christ and his purity and righteousness so that he lives in us and we (our flesh natures) are crucified and no longer live. Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny himself and take up his cross (die to self and sin) daily and follow (obey) him. He said if we want to hold on to our old lives of sin that we will lose our lives, but if we put to death the old life of sin, then we will find our lives in Christ Jesus. John said that if we love the world – its evil passions and desires – that the love of God is not in us. We cannot love the world and love God, too. In Romans we learn that we are to present ourselves as living sacrifices to God (his firstfruits), holy and pleasing to him, for this is our reasonable service of worship. We are to no longer be conformed to this sinful world’s pattern (design; shape; model; blueprint; guide; plan), but we are to be transformed in the renewing of our minds. This is what it means to be pure.
Follow the Lamb
Again, Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny (reject; disallow) himself (his sinful and selfish ways), and he must take up his cross (die to self and sin) daily and follow (obey) him. When Jesus called his disciples, he told them to follow him, and they left everything they had to follow him. Luke recorded in chapter 9 of Luke that a man told Jesus that he would follow him wherever he went. Jesus replied to the man by letting him know that he had no place to lay his head, i.e. he had no home on this earth, so following Jesus would mean not having security in this earthly life. Jesus told another man, “Follow me.” The man responded by saying he wanted to wait until his father had died and he had buried him, but Jesus told him to let the dead bury their own dead, but that he was to go and proclaim the kingdom of God. Following Jesus sometimes means leaving our parents and/or adult children behind us and going wherever the Lord leads us. Another person said he would follow Jesus, but he first wanted to say “good-bye” to his family. Jesus replied by letting him know that he could not have divided loyalties if he was to be fit for service in the kingdom of God. He had to know what his mission was and he had to stay the course. There is no room for vacillating (indecisiveness; hesitancy; being wishy-washy) if we are truly to be Christ’s followers in going wherever he sends us, saying what he commands us to say, and doing all that he requires of us to do. We can’t serve two masters. We must have undivided hearts and loyalty to Jesus Christ if we are to be his true followers.
Obey God’s Commandments
Jesus said that if anyone is to come after him, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow (in obedience) Jesus Christ. The Great Commission of Jesus Christ to his disciples tells us in Matthew 28:19-20 that we are to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey everything Christ has commanded us. Jesus said that if we love him, we will obey what he commands (John 14:15), and his teaching (John 14:23). Jesus said that if we obey his commands, we will remain in his love (John 15:10). Peter and the other apostles said they must obey God rather than men, and then they told about Jesus being crucified and the one who gives repentance (the ability for us to turn from our sins) and forgiveness of sins, and who gives his Holy Spirit to those who OBEY him (Acts 5:29-32). Paul declared Jesus Christ revealed, so that all nations might believe and OBEY him (Ro. 16:26). When Jesus Christ returns, he will punish those who do not know God and do not OBEY the gospel of our Lord Jesus (2 Thess. 1:8). John said that we know we have come to know Christ if we OBEY his commands. He said that those who OBEY Christ’s commands live in him, and he in them. And he said that love for God is to OBEY his commands (1 John 2:3; 3:24; 5:3).
Remain Faithful to Jesus Christ
John, in Revelation 14, said that “This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.” To remain faithful means to be loyal, devoted, trustworthy, reliable, dedicated, committed, true, constant, and unwavering (not vacillating) in faith, commitment and practice; and being resolute (determined) in one’s belief in Jesus Christ, as evidenced in one’s lifestyle, words and deeds. These are saints of God with undivided hearts who think about, obey, worship, and serve their Lord Jesus day and night in unbridled devotion and with purity of heart and reverence for Almighty God. They have a heart desire to please God in all things and to do his will for their lives – to be his witnesses, to love others, to minister to other’s needs, to go where he wants them to go, to say what he wants them to say and to be who he wants them to be without fear of man and what man might think of them or what man might say about or do to them, because they are resolute in their commitments to follow the Lord Jesus.
Patient Endurance
To be patient is a difficult virtue for most people, I think, but it means to be able to wait for someone or something without becoming fearful, annoyed or upset. It involves perseverance, which means to persist in an action or belief despite problems or difficulties. And endurance involves bearing up under hardship without giving up.
If we are to have this kind of patient endurance to the end, which we need now to fight off Satan’s evil attacks, and will especially need if we are still here during the time of the Great Tribulation when Satan rules, we will need to first of all have these other characteristic traits of the saints of God. We must be sealed in Christ with his divine character indelibly imprinted on our hearts and minds, as evidenced in our lifestyles. We must be unpolluted by the evil world and its evil world system, not loving the world, but loving God; not living for pleasure, but living for God and for his desires for our lives. We must follow Jesus Christ wherever he leads us with undivided hearts and loyalty, and with unbridled devotion to him and to his will for our lives. We must obey his commands – be doers of the word, and not hearers only. And, we must remain faithful to Jesus Christ in all we do, making him truly the Lord and Master of our lives. Then, we can endure patiently all that Satan will throw at us, and we will be able to stand in the day of evil, and to be resolute in the battle for our faith in Christ Jesus, because Jesus Christ reigns and rules in our hearts and lives and he will give us all we need to stand against all the evil forces coming against us.
Fully Surrendered / Alfred C. Snead / George C. Stebbins
Fully surrendered—Lord, I would be,
Fully surrendered, dear Lord, to Thee.
All on the altar laid,
Surrender fully made,
Thou hast my ransom paid;
I yield to Thee.
Fully surrendered—life, time, and all,
All Thou hast given me held at Thy call.
Speak but the word to me,
Gladly I'll follow Thee,
Now and eternally
Obey my Lord.
Fully surrendered—silver and gold,
His, who hath given me riches untold.
All, all belong to Thee,
For Thou didst purchase me,
Thine evermore to be,
Jesus, my Lord.
Fully surrendered—Lord, I am Thine;
Fully surrendered, Savior divine!
Live Thou Thy life in me;
All fullness dwells in Thee;
Not I, but Christ in me,
Christ all in all.
Source: http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/442#ixzz1FB6YmZcT
*All definitions taken from Encarta Dictionary.
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