Saturday, August 15,
2015, 12:22 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Above All.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Revelation 5 (NASB).
Stop Weeping
I
saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on
the back, sealed up with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with
a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?” And no
one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or
to look into it. Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy
to open the book or to look into it; and one of the elders *said to me, “Stop
weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David,
has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.”
Do you ever have a sense of hopelessness? People are dying
all around you and are going to hell. You have loved ones who are lost, who
have not yet turned their hearts to Jesus. You see many broken lives in need of
God’s saving grace and his healing power who have not yet yielded their lives
to God. You watch what seems like the vast majority of the church going down
the toilet, because they are following humans instead of God, because they have
bought into Satan’s lies and deceptions delivered through false teachers, and
because they have become one with the world in so many respects to where it is
indistinguishable between the church – the people of God - and the world
anymore.
Marriages are broken due to adultery, apathy and selfishness.
Families are destroyed by worldliness and lack of parental guidance. So many
men, including pastors, are addicted to pornography and other sinful behaviors,
and so the church and our Christian homes are lacking in true male spiritual
leadership, because the men have largely gone spiritually AWOL. Many of those
who do seem to be taking their leadership roles seriously are following after
false teaching, and thus they are leading their flocks astray. And, so we weep,
because there seems to be no end of it all in sight, and it is heart-breaking.
And, so we pray for God to move in people’s hearts and to turn them to Jesus.
The good news is that Jesus has overcome and he is worthy to
do and to accomplish what others could not do, and what we, in our human flesh,
cannot do. He died on a cross, taking upon himself the sins of the entire
world. When he died and was buried, our sins were crucified and buried with
him. When he was resurrected from the dead, he rose triumphant over sin, hell,
Satan and death. Now through faith in Jesus Christ we can be saved from our
sins, have eternal life with God, be delivered out of bondage to (the control
of) Satan and sin over our lives, and be set free to walk in Christ’s
righteousness and holiness.
As well, Jesus Christ has the power and control to save
lives, to heal broken hearts, to set the captives free, and to deliver his
wayward church out of her state of spiritual adultery and apathy, and to move
her heart to desire her Lord above all else. What may seem or feel hopeless to
us is not out of the realm of our Lord’s control and power. He is a God of
miracles. He is a God who transforms human hearts, and who moves people to obey
him. If we do not obey him willingly, he has the power to discipline us in such
a way to where we will get on our knees in humility before him, and to where we
will acknowledge and honor him as our only Lord. He said that those he loves he
disciplines, reproves and scourges. He disciplines us for our good that we may
share in his holiness. “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful,
but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields
the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (See: Hebrews 12:3-12; cf. Rev. 3:19).
The Prayers of the
Saints
And
I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb
standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven
Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. And He came and took the book out
of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. When He had taken the book, the
four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb,
each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers
of the saints. And they *sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy
are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and
purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people
and nation.
“You
have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon
the earth.”
Then
I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living
creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and
thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy
is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and
honor and glory and blessing.”
And
every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and
on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying,
“To
Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and
dominion forever and ever.”
And
the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and
worshiped.
God will answer our prayers. What is presently going on in
the world is not forever. Although it pains us deeply to see the church in the
condition that such a vast majority is presently, and we see so much wickedness
in the world, and we know it is certainly going to get much worse, because
prophecy of scripture says it will, we must endure patiently. We must trust our
Lord that he has all things under his control, and that everything he allows is
for a purpose, and he will get the glory through it all. We must bear patiently
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, and not grow weary in trial and in
tribulation. We must lean on Jesus’ everlasting arms, rest in his love and
grace, and keep praying, believing God to answer.
Yet, we must understand that the way in which our prayers
will be answered is going to involve even greater tribulation, for the seals
broken mean war, bloodshed, famine, pestilence, wild beasts, death, the conquering
of kingdoms and peoples, and even more followers of Jesus Christ persecuted and
put to death for their faith in Jesus Christ and for their testimonies for him
and for his gospel of salvation (See: Rev. 6). Yet, we will be richly rewarded,
for we are “obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls,”
(See: 1 Pet. 1:9) but not ours only, for if we are faithful in sharing the
gospel of Jesus Christ with others, we will have as our reward the hope of
heaven for many others, too.
So, what is our hope in all of this? It is not merely that
one day when we leave this earth that we will escape the fires of hell and that
we will have an eternal home with God in glory. Jesus Christ is worthy to open
the scrolls because he purchased us with his blood, and he made us to be a kingdom
and priests to our God, and we will reign with Jesus upon the earth. This means
that we are no longer our own, to do with our lives whatever we want while claiming
salvation and the promise of heaven when we die. We are his, because we were
bought with a price, so we are to honor God with our lives. Jesus did not just
save us from the punishment of sin, but he saved us from the control of
(slavery to) sin over our lives so that we might walk in his holiness and
righteousness. And, that is true hope and joy and freedom! If we are not saved
from slavery to sin, what kind of grace is that?
God’s grace, which brings salvation, is not a free license
to continue on a course of conducting our lives according to our sinful flesh.
His grace teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions and
desires, and to live self-controlled, godly and upright lives while we wait for
his return. Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. That
is true grace! He died that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him
who gave himself up for us. He died that the righteous requirements of the law
might be fully met in us who walk not according to the flesh, but who conduct
our lives according to the Spirit. He died so that we might be a kingdom (with
him as King) and priests to serve our God, to do his will, to obey him, and to
walk in his holiness.
So, live your lives for Jesus. Walk in his truth and
holiness. Surrender your lives to him. Trust him with your circumstances and
with other people in your lives. Believe in his many promises, rest in his
love, lean on his strength and power to endure, and keep on keeping on. Don’t
let discouragement set in, but keep praying, trusting and believing. One day we
will get to be with our Lord forever and all this will be behind us. Amen! Even
so, come Lord Jesus!
Above All
/Artist: Michael W. Smith
Crucified laid behind the stone
You lived to die rejected and alone
Like a Rose trampled on the ground
You took the fall and thought of me
Above all
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