5 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within
and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open
the book, and to loose the seals thereof?
3 And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open
the book, neither to look thereon.
4 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the
book, neither to look thereon.
5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of
Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven
seals thereof.
6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in
the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and
seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
7 And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the
throne.
8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders
fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full
of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
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;
11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and
the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten
thousand, and thousands of thousands;
12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power,
and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
Introduction
What would be the first thing that would come to your mind if I asked you to
describe what you consider to be beautiful? If I were to give you a few moments
to give your list of the top five most beautiful things you have seen, I am fairly
confident that there would not be two people in the room that would have a
matching list. Some immediately go to memories in their lives that they consider
to be beautiful, ones that are etched in their minds and present in their hearts.
Some others may think of beautiful people that they’ve encountered along the
way, whether it be in real life or a fictional one. Still some others may think of the
beautiful monuments and architecture they have seen in the world. You may
even have some others that think of beautiful things they have seen in creation
like sunsets and sunrises, the rising and falling action of waves on an ocean, or a
star-filled sky on a night where there is a full moon. Wherever you find your
source of beauty, we can agree that the old statement we have heard from time
to time is an accurate one-- “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.” Something
that is considered beautiful to me might be seen as unattractive to you, and the
things you define as beautiful may just seem ordinary to me.
Connection
There are many good reasons to serve God. But one that is worth considering at
this moment is that when you serve the Lord, your definition of what is beautiful
becomes simplified because you begin to see beauty through His eyes instead of
your own. Hebrews 12:2 summarizes this change of sight like this: “Looking unto
Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him
endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” This means that Jesus, the Supreme One, the Righteous One, The
Holy One, The Anointed One, The Chosen One, The Savior, The Alpha and The
Omega, counted it beautiful to look down the line of time, see our sin, see Himself
as our propitiation, see what He would have to endure on the cross, see that He
would be despised among men after being praised by the same men, see that He
would have to endure the shame, see that He would have to die, and still call that
process beautiful. And this makes it an honor to serve the Lord, because I don’t
believe that all of that would be in a man or woman’s definition of beautiful.
We may look at one's outward appearance and call that beautiful or ugly. Even
Samuel, when he examined the sons of Jesse to find the next one that should be
anointed King of Israel, saw Eliab and said he is a good looking guy that looks like
he fits the part of being king. Samuel was ready to anoint Eliab because he looked
the part, had the right height, the right appearance, a little swag about him,
freshly groomed, and smelling like Gucci Black, Burberry Touch, or Dolce and
Gabbana. And even with all of that, God told Samuel “I have rejected him, for
man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
We may look at a particular culture and think that one culture has more beauty
than another. It is difficult at times for people of one culture to see beauty within
another culture. Difficult at times for people in a church to recognize that all
souls belong to God, and not just those in the church. Difficult at times for one
denomination to concede to another that we all serve the same God. We can
mask this as preference, but God sees it as cliques, and says I don’t see beauty
that way. God is not concerned about where you came from, what your culture
is, whether you are in this church or the one across the street, or even if are a
die-hard denominationalist, all He says is “come unto me, all ye that labor and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” And we thank God for this, because this is
what gave us access to be engrafted, while we were yet sinners, and yet Gentiles,
to become spiritual Jews and sons and daughters of the living God.
Some may look at a person’s zip code, address, occupation, social rank, education,
or affiliations and determine them to be beautiful based upon their status. A house with multiple floors and multiple bedrooms is called beautiful while an
apartment is seen as a good start. A luxury vehicle is admired with oohs and ahhs
while a used car with a little character is called a dependable hoopty. You see, It
is tough for us to see beauty sometimes in the struggle. But we thank God that
status and connections, affiliations and occupations, bank accounts and
possessions don’t equate to beauty to God. Instead, God calls us all “the sons and
daughters of God, and there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor
female, for we are all one in Christ.” He even provides a hint to us that disrespect
the process in 2 Timothy 2:12 which says “if we suffer, we shall also reign with
Him.” For the Bible goes on to say in 1 Peter 5:10 “but after we have suffered for
a little while, the Lord of Grace will make you perfect, settle you, establish you,
and strengthen you.” And this is why Paul makes the case beautifully in Romans
8:18 when he says “I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.” I shared with
a brother of mine just the other day that there ought to be some time where we
get a good LOL in our spirit! Instead of worrying, instead of complaining, instead
of arguing, instead of giving the devil ammunition with a whole bunch of words,
you ought to confuse him one good time and just laugh. For the enemy doesn’t
know what to do with a good laugh when he knows he’s given you all he has and
that you should be crying. Proverbs 17:22 lets us know that “a merry heart doeth
good like medicine”, and so I have started to laugh at the enemy-- for when he
comes in like a flood, Isaiah said that the spirit of the Lord shall lift a standard
against him!
Denouement #1
So I come to my first conclusion this morning that it is not the outward, flashy, or
even easily noticeable beauty that God’s eyes behold. Think on it this way:
● God’s glory is beautiful, but it is beautiful because it is fueled by love and
humility even while He is omnipotent
● God’s justice is beautiful, but it is beautiful because we have experienced
His mercy.
● God’s majesty is beautiful, but it is beautiful because we have witnessed His
meekness.
● God’s goodness is beautiful, but it is because He used it to triumph over
evil.
● God’s wisdom is beautiful, but it is because despite how wise He is, He is
able to be simplistic enough for the children to understand.
And I am so glad that God’s definition of beauty does not change based upon
what’s happening around us; that God’s definition of beauty doesn’t shift because
He is angry with me; that God’s definition of beauty doesn’t depend on if you like
me or not; and that God’s definition of beauty makes perfect that which once was
imperfect; finds that which was once lost; makes beauty out of that which was
once ashes; gives salvation to that which was once living in sin. Someone ought
to stop what they are doing right now even as we speak and shout “Lord thank
you for defining beauty!”
Scripture Text
This understanding of what is beautiful in the eyes of God is important to know in
order to determine the context and application of this text in Revelation 5. We
have to understand that we were made to admire, adore, and worship God.
Genesis 1 lets us know that God made us in His image and likeness so that we
would be able to rule upon the Earth. But to live up to the potential, we must
love God. And to love God, we must know God. And so David summarizes it like
this is Psalm 27:4 “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after. That
I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. To behold the beauty
of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.” David understood that one of the most
beautiful things to God is our worship.
John recounts a vision in Revelation 5 that begins with a book being in the right
hand of God that has writing both within it and on the backside of it, and the
writing could not be revealed because there were 7 seals upon the book. The
seals are upon a scroll, and the Bible declares that a strong angel proclaims with a
loud voice “who is worthy to open the book and loose the seals.”
We must understand that only the Lord has the power to put our past under the
blood and also decree what is to be in our future. The scroll has writing on the
outside and writing on the inside. There is no wonder the Lord told Jeremiah in
29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you-- plans to prosper you and not to harm
you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
● Scrolls are official decrees from the Lord
● All official decrees have seals upon them
● We are not worthy to loose the seals and open the scroll; the bible declares
that we are not even worthy to look upon the book
● You could spend your time crying over the promises that have yet to come
to past; you could spend your time crying over the fact that you are not
where you think you should be; you could spend your time crying over the
fact that others seem to be blessed and that you seem to get skipped.
● Or, you could realize that though you are not worthy, though you are not
qualified, that the Lion of Judah, the Lamb that WAS slain, the Worthy One,
The One Who Paid Our Ransom, The King of Kings, The Lord of Lords, The
One Who WAS slain but HAS prevailed is worthy to loose the seals and
open the book! And this is the reason why we only have the power to
declare what God has decreed-- because alone, we don’t have the power
nor are we worthy enough to loose the seals on the scroll, but with God,
what He has decreed for our future can be released?
● What, then, releases the seals? What looses the seals on the scroll and
opens the book? What causes God to make official decrees over us? What
is beautiful enough to Him to make Him set our blessings in motion? The
answer is found in the remaining verses
● 8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty
elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and
golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
● 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;
● Verses 8 and 9 show us that our worship is so beautiful to God that it will
cause for the decrees found within the scrolls to be opened on our behalf.
○ John 4:24-- God is a spirit, and they that worship him, must worship
him in spirit and in truth
○ Psalm 29:2-- Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness
○ Psalm 66:4-- All the Earth Worships you and sings praises to you
○ Psalm 84:10-- Better is one day in your courts than a thousand
elsewhere
○ Hezekiah added 15 years after a death sentence because of his
worship to God
○ There ought to come a time in every service where we are so
desperate for God’s presence that we just lose ourselves. The old
song says “Forget About yourself-- concentrate on Him, and Worship
Him!”
● 11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the
throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten
thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
● 12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive
power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and
blessing.
○ Worthy is the Lamb because He has All Power! He is omnipotent
○ Worthy is the Lamb because He Has All Possessions!
○ Worthy is the Lamb because He Has All Wisdom! He is omniscient
○ Worthy is the Lamb because He Has All Strength! He is not lacking in
ability
○ Worthy Is the Lamb because He has All Honor! He has an Impeccable
Reputation
○ Worthy Is the Lamb because He Has All Glory! He is deserving of All
the Praise
○ Worthy is the Lamb because He is deserving of every blessing I can
bestow upon Him-- I Owe God My Worship!
○ You can focus on what everyone is wearing, and who has a new
hairstyle or not, or what shoes people have on, or whatever else you
define as anointed and appointed or beautiful, but my one desire
when I am in the presence of God is Lord don’t let me leave here
worst or the same as when I came!
○ You can focus on whether or not you liked what the preacher had to
say or if you were feeling the praise team today, but my one desire
when I am in the presence of God is Lord, don’t let me miss what you
are about to do in this season.
○ And you can focus on things that don’t matter and form all the
opinions you want, but since none of us are worthy to open the
scrolls and loose the seals, I will focus on giving my energy, my
attention, and my best to the Lion of Judah. In this season, all I want
to do is make sure I am giving my worship to the one who is worthy.
○ The only one who is worthy is the one that saved me. The one that
raised me. The one that filled me. The one that healed me. The one
that kept me. The one that loved me. The one that redeemed me.
The one that set a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
The one that blessed me when others were set on cursing me. His
name is Jesus! And He is the Worthy Lamb!