Radical with David Platt
The Hallelujah Chorus
Man-centered worldliness will ultimately be overcome by God-centered worship. God is faithful and true. Christ is the Messianic warrior. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Let’s revere, rejoice, and be ready for his coming. In this message on Revelation 19, Pastor David Platt teaches us to bow before the splendor of God and behold the supremacy of Christ.
From unexpected olympic champion to martyr in China. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Eric Liddell’s win in the 1924 games.
In Glory Road, Radical’s new narrative podcast, we’ll follow Liddell’s remarkable journey, and discover the current state of the gospel in the countries he knew best.
Start listening to this 6 part series now everywhere you listen to podcasts or find out more at radical.net/gloryroad
Man-centered worldliness will ultimately be overcome by God-centered worship. God is faithful and true. Christ is the Messianic warrior. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Let’s revere, rejoice, and be ready for his coming. In this message on Revelation 19, Pastor David Platt teaches us to bow before the splendor of God and behold the supremacy of Christ.
From unexpected olympic champion to martyr in China. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Eric Liddell’s win in the 1924 games.
In Glory Road, Radical’s new narrative podcast, we’ll follow Liddell’s remarkable journey, and discover the current state of the gospel in the countries he knew best.
Start listening to this 6 part series now everywhere you listen to podcasts or find out more at radical.net/gloryroad
You are listening to Radical with David Platt, a weekly podcast with sermons and messages from pastor, author and teacher David Platt.
Speaker 2:Revelation 19. After this, I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven crying out.
Speaker 1:Hallelujah, salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just, for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.
Speaker 2:Once more, they cried out Hallelujah.
Speaker 1:The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.
Speaker 2:And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God, who was seated on the throne saying Amen, hallelujah.
Speaker 1:And from the throne came a voice saying Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him small and great.
Speaker 2:Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder crying out.
Speaker 1:Hallelujah For the Lord, our God. The Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory, For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready. It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure.
Speaker 2:For the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
Speaker 1:And the angel said to me Write this Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me these are the true words of God.
Speaker 2:Then I fell down at his feet to worship him. But he said to me you must not do that.
Speaker 1:I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.
Speaker 2:For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Then I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse. The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood and the name by which he is called is the Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead.
Speaker 1:Come gather for the great supper of God to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.
Speaker 2:And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him, who was sitting on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was captured and with it the false prophet who, in its presence, had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur, and the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
Speaker 3:If you have a Bible and I hope you do. If you're not already open to Revelation chapter 19, then I invite you to. If you're not already open to Revelation chapter 19, then I invite you to turn with me there, the very end of the Bible, or the last chapters in the Bible, revelation chapter 19,. And let me invite you to pull out the worship guide you received when you came in tonight. Finally, we are getting to the good news. We've been waiting seven seals and seven trumpets of judgment, seven visions and seven bowls of wrath, dragon and beast and babylon rising up to oppose and seduce and deceive and persecute the people of God. And now, in Revelation 19, jesus arrives riding on a white horse, with eyes like fire and crowns everywhere in his head and a sword in his mouth. And just like that, the battle is over, the beast is gone and a cascade of praise just erupts and hallelujah is all across heaven. So this is where all of eternity is headed. Last week if you were here last week in Revelation 17 and 18, we looked seriously and soberly as we should. 17 and 18, we looked seriously and soberly as we should, at the dangers of worldliness, at the seductive attractions that lure people away from God in this world. But, brothers and sisters, those seductive attractions, things of this world, will not have the last word. Sin and satan and the suffering they produce will not have the last word. Sin and Satan and the suffering they produce will not have the last word. Christ will have the last word. The good news of Revelation 19 is that man-centered worldliness will ultimately be overcome by God-centered worship. That's, and that's, the point of Revelation 19. Man-centered worldliness will one day ultimately be overcome by God-centered worship. That's the theme of Revelation chapter 19. It's right in the middle of the chapter, verse 10, end of that verse. Angel tells John worship God. Worship God. Overcome man-centered worldliness with God-centered worship. So let's dive right in. See this God orchestrates all of history to display His glory. God orchestrates everything in all of history to put his glory on display. To display his glory, there's one word that drives Revelation chapter 19. It's mentioned four times. You might circle them with me. Verse one and say it when we get there. You'll notice that after this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven crying out. What were they crying out? Hallelujah. You get down to verse 3. Once more they cried out what? Hallelujah, the smoke from her goes out forever and ever. Verse 4. The 24 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne, saying amen, hallelujah, and then you get to verse 6. I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters, like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out Hallelujah. Did you know that this is the only time in the entire New Testament that word is mentioned? Nowhere else in the New Testament. It's like the New Testament is just waiting for this New Testament. It's like the New Testament is just waiting for this.
Speaker 3:26 books, 18 chapters telling us about how Jesus came to the earth, died on the cross, rose from the grave, ascended into heaven, sent down his spirit, inaugurated, his church, was preached among the nations. This is the history of the church, the story of the king who came and the kingdom he's advancing by this point to revelation. In revelation 19, the kingdom has advanced, been proclaimed among all peoples and nations and tribes and tongues. And now, as Jesus returns, in light of all of history, it's like heaven has nothing left to shout but hallelujah, praise Yahweh, praise the Lord. Mark this down. Brothers and sisters, the goal to which all of history is headed is the glory of our God. The goal to which all of history is headed is the glory of God. Everything in history, all of it, everything is aiming toward the day when hallelujahs will ring from the heavens and the earth to the glory of God, and God's designed it this way. He's the one who writes this book, and God's designed it this way. He's the one who writes this book, he's the one who writes the script of history and he determines how it ends. And he has determined that it will end with his name being praised across the universe.
Speaker 3:Now, to some, that may seem selfish for God to bring all of history to culminate in his own praise, but I would ask you, who else do you think should be praised in the end of it all? You, me, us. No, god is the only one who deserves to be praised in the end of it all. Now, the beauty is how we're involved in this picture of praise. So follow this God orchestrates all of history to display his glory and, at the same time, god ordains all of his people to enjoy his glory. So see the picture that's unfolding here, especially based on context. You go back to chapter 19, verse 1, and John writes after this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude. After this, after what? What's this? And this is a reference back to the two chapters we saw last week, chapter 17 and 18, where we saw and heard about the destruction of Babylon.
Speaker 3:Babylon, this picture of non-christian, anti anti-Christian culture that has surrounded the church throughout her history, luring people away with worldly wealth and worldly pleasures and worldly pursuits, seducing people, even some who were thought to be among the people of God, seducing them into spiritual adultery and spiritual idolatry. So here's the picture. What you've got is the church in the middle of worldly Babylon, surrounded by all the enticing pleasures and satisfaction and wealth and luxury and fame that this world has to offer, and in the middle of it all this picture in Revelation 19, is the church saying no, our deepest joy, our deepest delight, our deepest pleasure, our deepest satisfaction is not found in all the stuff this world has to offer us. Our deepest joy, delight, pleasure, satisfaction is found in the worship of our God. He's better than everything else. So it's a picture of the church saying we want God more than we want the pleasures and pursuits and plaudits and possessions of this world.
Speaker 3:This is my prayer for the church at Brook Hills. This is my prayer for the church at Brook Hills, even tonight, as we gather together, as we do this every single week, that our worship in this church might be a loud and public declaration in the middle of Birmingham, in the middle of this culture, in the middle of this country, in the middle of this world around us, of this country, in the middle of this world around us, that our worship every single week would be a loud, public declaration that we will not be drawn in by the pleasures and pursuits and plaudits and possessions of this world, because we have found in our God the supreme satisfaction of our souls. This is what we do when we gather together for worship. We say behold our God. Nothing can compare. Come, let us adore him. He's better.
Speaker 3:I love the way John Piper puts it. He says worship is an open declaration to all the powers of heaven and to all of Babylon that we will not prostitute our minds or our hearts or our bodies to the allurements of the world. Though we may live in Babylon, we will not be captive to Babylonian ways and we will celebrate with all our might the awesome truth that we are free from that which will be destroyed. Corporate worship is the flagrant, open enjoyment of God in the midst of a very seductive Babylonian culture. That that's who we are, church. That's what we do. We gather together to say we enjoy our God more than anything this world has to offer us. God orchestrates all of history to display his glory. He ordains all of his people to enjoy his glory. So bow before the splendor of God the Father.
Speaker 3:These first 10 verses in Revelation 19 give us a glimpse into heaven's worship of God. And if we're going to worship God the way heaven worships God, we need to see God the way heaven sees God. So what causes the sound and the roar of many waters and mighty peals of thunder in heaven? The answer is a God who is victorious Verse 1, he's victorious. Salvation belongs to our God. That word is used two other times in Revelation Revelation chapter 7, verse 10, and Revelation, chapter 12, verse 10, both times when heaven is shouting praise to God for his victory in saving his people. And that's the connotation behind this word God is victorious in bringing his salvation.
Speaker 3:From the very beginning of this book, genesis, chapter 3, we've seen sin, enter the world and take captive men's hearts, lead men away from God, lure men and women into eternal, everlasting death. And yet, from Genesis 3 on, we've seen God having set in motion a plan to redeem sinners to Himself, to bring them back to Himself, to reconcile them to Himself, to save them from sins. And so now, when we get to the end of the story, there's this declaration of victory salvation, victory. It's here. Remember we talked about this a few weeks ago. Revelation summed up in three words Remember what they are Our God wins period. That's the book. God is victorious. Salvation belongs to Him. He is glorious. Glory belongs to Him. Magnificence and splendor and grandeur and brilliance and beauty and honor, they all belong to Him. Glory belongs to Him. And power, he is omnipotent. Power belongs to Him. Who else has power to conquer the beast? Who else has power to conquer evil and suffering in Babylon? Who else has power to conquer evil and suffering in all of history? Only God has that power. He's omnipotent. He is just Now.
Speaker 3:Look at chapter 19, verse 2. It says for his judgments are true and just, for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality and has avenged on her the blood of his servants. Now, at first glance that seems a little strange that God here is being praised for his vengeance. I'm not used to that. We don't have a lot of vengeance in our worship songs, praising God for wielding the sword of his wrath. And yet psalmists do I remember when I was learning psalm 149, and there's just beautiful poetic language about all these things that god has praised for it calling the people praise the lord, praise the lord for this, praise the lord for that. And then it gets to this point where it says may the praise of god be in his people's mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, sort of like. Inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples. To bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, to carry out the sentence written against them. This is the glory of all the saints. Praise the Lord. And then think about times where I've quoted that and I've just kind of gone really quick over that part Double-edged sword in their hands, with vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples. This is the glory of all the saints. What is that about? It's exactly what we've seen Revelation is about.
Speaker 3:Do you remember way back in chapter 6, as you've been walking through this journey and this book, remember where we saw martyrs who had been murdered, slain for their testimony of the Word of God, around His throne. And what were they crying out? Revelation, chapter 6, verse 10,. They cried out with a loud voice O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? They were crying out for the justice and the vengeance of God. And we saw Babylon. Chapter 17, verse 6, says Babylon was a woman drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. And so this is where we need to sit back and remember.
Speaker 3:We talked about this a couple of weeks ago. We talked about how, how and why God has worshiped for his wrath, and the reality is that, because God is just and true, it is right to praise Him for His true and just judgments. If God turned a deaf ear to these things, if God turned a deaf ear to sin and evil and injustice and suffering in this world, he would not be true and he would most certainly not be just. So here God is rightfully and wholeheartedly praised for his justice, and we desperately need to see this. What would it do for our evangelism if we really believed that the people around us that we know in this world and peoples around the world, if we really believe that they are sitting under the judgment of a just and holy God, a God who desires to save them by His grace as we speak His gospel? If only we would truly see the justice of God in our worship. Surely we would be far more compelled to spend our lives as His witnesses. We would not sent back silently. God, help us to see your truth and your justice in your worship. Next, he's eternal.
Speaker 3:Verse 3 emphasizes the eternality of His truth and justice. The smoke from Babylon goes up forever and ever. God's judgment is final, permanent, irreversible and everlasting. This is solemn news and a reminder for every single one of us in this room tonight. The judgment of God is final and eternal. Do not play around with the justice of God, carrying on with sin like it does not matter or will not matter. Do not be deceived. Sin matters and the consequences of sin before a just and holy God are everlasting consequences. He is eternal, he is mighty.
Speaker 3:You skip down to v 6. Hallelujah for the Lord, our God. The Almighty reigns, probably John's favorite title for God. In the book of Revelation, he used nine different times Our Lord, god Almighty. God is mighty and he is sovereign. Our Lord, god Almighty reigns, he's in control.
Speaker 3:You think about it? How could this little band of believers, this little alien outpost of faith in the Roman Empire that was persecuting them, how could they keep on seeing the praises of God with hope and joy and confidence when they were surrounded by pressures and persecution on all sides? How could they worship and sing with joy and hope and confidence? Here's how they knew that God reigned over the Roman Empire. That's what keeps you singing with all your might, in the middle of it all, even when it costs you your life, because know that he reigns. How do you in your life tonight some of you in this room, walking through hardship and difficulty, was talking with a brother just a little while ago whose family is going through the valley in all kinds of ways how do you keep singing with joy and hope and confidence in the middle of that?
Speaker 3:The way you keep singing with joy and hope and confidence is you know that God is still on the throne and he is in control of it all. And when it seems like everything else is crashing, falling apart. You know that he is still in control and he is indeed working all of these things together for the good of those who love him and have been called according to his purpose. He's sovereign. So bow before the splendor of God the Father, and then behold the supremacy of Christ the Son.
Speaker 3:So, after this glimpse into heaven of the worship of God the Father, verse 11 says John saw heaven open once again and behold a white horse, and the images that follow paint a powerful portrait of Christ, our coming King, one of the most powerful portrayals of Christ ever written down on paper. One of the most powerful portrayals of Christ ever written down on paper. This is the suffering servant who came into Jerusalem riding on a humble donkey, and now he's coming out of heaven riding on a war horse. And see his description he is faithful and true Verse 11. This is exactly how we were introduced to Jesus in the book of Revelation, revelation 1, verse 5. Jesus was called the faithful witness, chapter 3, verse 14. He was called the faithful and true witness.
Speaker 3:From the start of Revelation, we've been anticipating the arrival of a king who promised to come for his people, and now he's coming. He is faithful and true to His Word. He's the righteous judge. In righteousness he judges. End of verse 11. Says he's coming to make all the wrongs right. He's coming to dispense the justice of God fully and finally and fairly, once and for all. He's the Messianic warrior. John says at the end of verse 11, in finally and fairly, once and for all. He's the messianic warrior.
Speaker 3:John says at the end of verse 11, in righteousness he judges and makes war. In righteousness he makes war. This is Jesus on the assault against evil and injustice and unrighteousness in this world and in that war. He sees all, knows all and judges all. His eyes are like a flame of fire. That's imagery we saw in Revelation 1 and Revelation 2.
Speaker 3:Depicting the omniscient eyes of Christ. He sees everything. He sees everything in our lives. He sees all the things that we would like to keep hidden. He sees all the things that we would like to keep hidden. He sees all the things that we convince ourselves are hidden. He sees it all in our lives, in the world. He sees it all. He knows it all and he will judge it all. Nothing left hidden on this day. His eyes like a flame of fire and on his head are many diadems. There are many crowns on his head. Now you know what's interesting. There's two other times where we see diadems like this, mentioned in Revelation. Let me show them to you. Go back to Revelation, chapter 12. I want you to see this real quick. There's two other times where we see diadems like this, mentioned in Revelation. Let me show them to you. Go back to Revelation, chapter 12. I want you to see this real quick. There's two other times where diadems are mentioned in the book of Revelation Diadems, these crowns on someone's head. Look at them with me. Revelation, chapter 12, verse 3 is the first time.
Speaker 3:This vision that we talked about a few weeks ago. John writes in Revelation 12, verse 3, another sign appeared in heaven Behold a great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and on his head seven what Seven diadems. So seven diadems on the head of this great red dragon. If you remember this vision, who's the dragon? It's Satan. He's got crowns on his head. Then you get to the next chapter, chapter 13, verse 1. John says I saw a beast rising out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads. With ten, what horns and seven heads. With ten, what diadems on its horns and blasts of its names on its head. So he had the beast with diadems on its head. So so catch the picture here.
Speaker 3:What you've had up to this point is satan and his agents, beasts claiming to have kingship and claiming to have authority and looking in the world like they do have authority, looking in the world like they do have reign. But it becomes clear in Revelation, chapter 19, that there is only one true king who has all reign. He does not have seven or ten diadems, he has many diadems on his head. There are days when you may be tempted to think that this world will have its way in the end, that the God, little g, god of this world will have his way. Looks like he's in control, but be assured he only looks like that. The true king is coming, who has true reign and control over all things. He has many diadems on his head, many crowns on his head, and there's much mystery to his name.
Speaker 3:You come back to chapter 19, verse 12. It says he has a name written that no one knows but himself. A name written that no one knows but himself. Now there's a lot of discussion about what that means. Surprise, a verse in Revelation. There's a lot of discussion about what it means. What is this name? But the point? So don't miss the point. We can discuss this or that about what this name is, but the purpose of a name is a revelation of character.
Speaker 3:All throughout scripture, god is revealing himself with different names and different titles. My kids have been learning the names of God all throughout scripture and I they know Hebrew better than I do at this point having family pizza night the other night and we're doing some names of God trivia there at the table and they're shouting out these Hebrew names and titles for God left and right Jehovah Rogi, el, elyon, yahweh, shema, elohim and they'll shout out some Hebrew and they'll be like all right. So what does that one mean, dad? And I'm like well, you guys, I want you guys to figure this out. So inside they don't have a clue what that means. A four-year-old knows the character of God better than I do, and that's what these purpose of names in Scripture are. They reveal character time after time.
Speaker 3:God, in different places at different times, would reveal himself in different ways, with different names, different titles, and so the picture here is as Christ returns, know that there is even fuller revelation of himself, his character that we will see on that day. We will call him. What we know of him on that day will be far greater than what we know today. There's a mystery to his name. Many crowns on his head. He comes when he conquers god's enemies.
Speaker 3:Now this is where the imagery gets graphic. In verse 13, he is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, which could be a reference to the blood that Jesus shed on the cross for our sins. But in light of the context here, this is much more likely a reference to the blood of those whom Jesus comes to judge. Listen to Isaiah 63, what Isaiah had prophesied centuries before. Isaiah had spoke of one coming in crimson garments, splendid in apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save, with red apparel, because he treads the winepress of God's wrath. That's exactly what we see here in Revelation 19. Jesus is coming as the clear conqueror of God's enemies. He reveals God's Word. The name by which he is called here we see one of His names is the Word of God. Jesus is the authoritative Word, capital W In Revelation. He brings judgment and salvation through the power of a word, by his word, through his word.
Speaker 3:With his word, jesus ends the history of this world. This is fascinating. The scene is set here in Revelation 19 for a major battle Like this is what Revelation has been building to. But when we get to Revelation 19, we really don't even see a battle take place. We're expecting and I get the scene an army on each side of the field and they go after each other, and this happens and this happens. We see this battle play out Instead after each other. And this happens and this happens. We see this battle play out instead. Once jesus shows up, it's over. That's the point. All it takes is a sword from the mouth of jesus and everything is done.
Speaker 3:With his word, he ends the history of this world and he rules the nations of this world with a rod of iron. Verse 15 says that's prophecy from psalm, chapter 2. The psalmist, talking about the son, the lord, said to me you are my son. Today I've begotten. You ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. All the nations who have taken their stand against the messiah will be ruled by the messiah.
Speaker 3:He rules the nations of this world and he brings god's wrath upon this world into verse 15. He will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of god, the almighty, and this is a frightening picture that plays out in verses 17 to 21. As Jesus brings the judgment of God, he follows this. He ushers in the wrath of God in this world in two primary ways. First, upon sinful men and women. This angel calls birds to swoop down and feast on the flesh of kings and captains, mighty men, horses and riders, the flesh of all men, both free and slave, small and great, who have turned from God and trusted themselves and lived in their sin. This is a graphic depiction of the just judgment of God and the final end of sinful man upon this earth, the final end of all who refuse to trust in Jesus the Savior King, who refuse to trust in Jesus the Savior King. He will usher in God's wrath upon sinful men and women and upon satanic agents and ambassadors.
Speaker 3:So up to this point in Revelation, we've been introduced to a dragon, a beast, a false prophet and Babylon, all who oppose God and His people. And now what we're seeing is systematically, one by one, each of them being taken down. I've seen babylon taken down. Now it's time for the false prophet and the beast here and the dragon still to come. These satanic ambassadors age. He's the beast and the false prophet and all those whom they've controlled, captured and thrown into a lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
Speaker 3:When Jesus comes, don't miss this. When Jesus comes, yes, clearly he will come to consummate salvation for all who have trusted in him. At the same time, jesus will also come to usher in wrath for everyone who has turned from him, and it will be abundantly evident on that day that he alone is the king of kings and he alone is the Lord of lords. On his robe and on his thigh he has these names written. So you look at this picture. What a powerful picture. Just envision it. On a white horse, faithful and true, the righteous judge and messianic warrior who sees all, knows all and judges all, crowned with diadems shrouded in mystery. He comes to conquer God's enemies once and for all, to end the history of the world with the revelation of God's word, to rule the nations as he brings the wrath of God upon this world that's dominated by sin and Satan. King of kings and Lord of lords.
Speaker 3:So, ladies and gentlemen in this room, let us revere Him. Let's revere Him. Verse's. Revere Him. Verse 5, praise our God. All you, his servants, you who fear Him, small and great, fear Him, revere Him. Oh, let me ask every single person within the sound of my voice have you turned from your sin and trusted in this Savior King? So let that question land right where you're sitting, not just with the person next to you, in front of you, behind you. Besides, have you come to the point? So get through the religious games that we play.
Speaker 3:It's real, eternal reality. Have you come to the point where you have acknowledged, confessed, realized your rebellion against a holy God, rebellion the Bible says warrants the wrath of God? And have you seen and believed that Jesus came to take the punishment that you were due upon Himself when he died on a cross For all who trust in Him? He's risen from the grave so that all who believe in Him turn from their sin and trust in Him will experience His salvation and be saved from God's full and final eternal wrath. Have you turned, in fear and reverence, to trust in him? Is this a reality in your heart? Because the truth is one day he will return and he will usher in full and final salvation for all who trusted in him and, at the same time, he will usher in full and final wrath for all who have turned from him. So which will you receive on that day?
Speaker 3:And I want to urge you, if you have not come to the point where you have called out for Christ to save you as King of kings and Lord of lords, I want to urge you to do that tonight, even now, in this room, this moment, to say I need Jesus to save me from my sins, to reconcile me to God, to save me from what I deserve the wrath of a holy God who I have rebelled against. I receive His love and His mercy and His grace. Enter into reconciliation with God when you do, and for all who have done, let's revere Him. Servants, small and great, fear Him. There is no room for casual worship before this King. It's impossible to be bored with the Savior on the white horse, to be nonchalant in commitment or devotion to Him, to be marginal or nominal in relationship to Christ makes no sense. It makes no sense. Let's revere Him. Let's fear the thought of running after the things of this world and showing that this Christ is not enough for us when he's better than all the things this world has to offer us. So let's revere Him and let's rejoice in Him. Verse 7, let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory. Why? For the marriage of the Lamb has come Wedding. This is God's re-celebration.
Speaker 3:I remember December 18, 1999. I wake up in the morning and think, man, I'm going to get married today and I gather together my friends and family. There's laughter and rejoicing and expectation and celebration, and everybody has a seat. And I'm standing there at the front and the doors in the back swing open and there stands my bride. Everybody stands up in her honor. She walks down the aisle with a smile on her face, takes my hand. We turn to one another, we unite our lives together. Then we walk out, hand in hand, husband and wife, we go to celebration and party with all these people who mean so much to us. What a scene.
Speaker 3:And that's the imagery we have of the return of Christ for his people. This is cause for rejoicing. And what's really interesting is you get down to verse 9, the imagery here shifts and instead of the church being the bride which we're going to talk about more, even just even more in a second when you get down to verse 9, the angel says write this blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. So here the church has described this wedding guest, and so you've got multiple images here, but they all have the same point the worship of God, the glory of God, is cause for joy and delight and feasting and celebrating. Let us rejoice in our God. Let us rejoice in our King. Let's enjoy His glory. We have reason us rejoice in our God. Let us rejoice in our King. Let's enjoy His glory. We have reason to rejoice in Him and let's be ready for His coming.
Speaker 3:The bride has made herself ready. Now, wouldn't that have been unfortunate. Those doors in the back had swung open at my wedding and no one was there. Somebody comes running down the aisle not my wife and gives me a note that says she's not ready yet. Give her a few more minutes. You don't do that, doesn't happen at weddings. The bride is ready when the door is open. So, brothers and sisters, bride of Jesus Christ, let us be ready. Let's walk by faith in Him. This picture the bride has made herself ready.
Speaker 3:It's the only time in the book of Revelation where followers of Christ are described as preparing themselves. So how do they do it? How do they get ready? How did the bride get ready? And the answer is all the ways that we've seen in the book of Revelation. They get ready by remaining faithful to Christ in the middle of a fallen world. The bride gets ready by proclaiming Christ even when it costs them in persecution. The bride gets ready by enduring hardship and trusting God in the middle of suffering. The bride gets ready by obeying the commands of God and completing the mission of God. So let's do these things. Let's walk, live by faith in Him, knowing that it's not easy.
Speaker 3:Revelation is not saying it'll be easy. In fact, revelation is telling us over and over again this is hard. You see, god has a purpose in Babylon and a beast and a false prophet. God has a purpose in Babylon and a beast and a false prophet. He uses these things to prepare his bride for marriage, to purify her, to refine her faith, to teach her to trust in him more than the things of this world, to trust in him even amid suffering in this world. So, christian, let's live by faith in him, let's walk in righteousness until he returns. But notice that this life of faith, this walk of faith is not something that we generate out of our own strength, our own willpower. Notice that it's the grace of God that empowers such faith.
Speaker 3:Did you see what seems like a dichotomy, a contradiction here? End of verse 7, his bride has made herself ready. End of verse 8, with righteous deeds of the saints. But then, right in the middle, the beginning of verse 8, the Bible says it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure. So here's the question Is this something that the bride did herself or is this something that God did for the bride? Is the bride doing the work here to repair herself, or is God doing the work here and granting her these things? Bride doing work or God doing work? And the answer is yes. The bride is preparing, making herself ready, walking in righteousness, living in purity and trust and hope in God. The bride is doing all these things. But the bride is only able to do all of these things because God, by His grace, is working in the bride. So let's live by faith in Him and, christian, let's work by grace from Him. This is Paul in Philippians, chapter 2. He says work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Work, christian. Work hard. Work hard in faith and purity and hope. Work, work, work out your salvation day by day, for it is God who works in you to will and to work according to his good pleasure. Work as God works in you. The grace of God is what makes the life of faith possible. The life of faith possible.
Speaker 3:It's like when my kids buy me a gift with money. I give to them. I give them money, I take them to the store, I walk them to the place where they can get something that I want or need. They pick it up, carry it to the counter and they pay for the gift with my money. They pay for the gift with my gift. So were they involved in this picture? Absolutely they were. They were totally involved. A heartfelt gift from them to me. Was I involved in this picture? Absolutely I was. The gift to me was not possible apart from my gift to them. That's not a perfect illustration, but it is a picture of how walking by faith is a work of grace.
Speaker 3:Christian, what do you have to give to God that he has not already given to you? What will you give to him that is not a gift from him? This is the beauty of Christian life God gives. Augustine said God gives what he demands. We can't live this life of faith on our own. We need his grace. So this is really good news.
Speaker 3:Christian, you live amidst adulterous Babylon, where you are surrounded by the pleasures and pursuits of this world. You're surrounded by temptations to sin and you are surrounded by trials and suffering on all sides, all of which take aim at your faith. So how are you going to live by faith? How are you going to stand firm in your faith? How do you walk in righteousness when you're tempted by worldliness on every side? Here's how, only by the grace of God, you call out for his mercy and you cry out for his grace and you say to God I can't make myself ready in my own strength, in my own willpower, in my own resources. I need you to make me ready. And God stands ready to give you the faith you need for whatever you will walk through at this moment. I was talking with one person this week just in the middle of a fight of faith, and this person said I just can't do it. And I said that is the point. But God is gracious and God is able and God is strong, and God is merciful and he stands ready to grant you grace and strength and mercy at every moment, and he does. You will make yourself ready as God grants you these things. So let's be ready for His coming.
Speaker 3:Brothers and sisters, you got to realize the cultural background behind this picture, so follow me. In this day, and this is the way it is in some places in the world today, a marriage involved two major events. You had the betrothal and the wedding, and this was different than just engagement and then wedding. So a couple would be betrothed to be married and during that time of betrothal they were considered husband and wife, even though they'd yet to come together officially in marriage. That's why we remember Matthew, chapter 1.
Speaker 3:Matthew tells us that Joseph and Mary were betrothed to one another. She was found pregnant before they actually came together in marriage. So Matthew 1, 19 says Joseph resolved to divorce Mary quietly. Well, why did he need to divorce her if they weren't married yet? It was because, betrothal You're looked at as husband and wife, still awaiting this picture of coming together in marriage. So a betrothal would occur and then there'd be this waiting period that would eventually lead up to marriage and when the day for the wedding came. It would start with the procession to the bride's house, retrieval of the bride, come back to the groom's house and celebration of the marriage feast there, everything official.
Speaker 3:So I give you that background simply to remind you of where we stand in this room. As followers of Christ Christian, you and I have been betrothed to Christ, united with Christ in relationship with Christ, sealed in relationship with Him. At the same time, we're waiting, we're in this time in between, and there's coming a day when our groom, our king, will come to retrieve his bride, take us to himself, where we will celebrate this marriage feast of the ages. And so the question is when he comes, will we be ready? What if he came tonight, which he absolutely could? Are you ready? In fact, that's? I know you've got another blank in your notes. I'm going to leave you hanging for a few minutes.
Speaker 3:We're going to pause here, and I want to challenge you and encourage every single person in this room to ask the question am I so not thinking about all the people around you? Am I ready for his coming? If he came back now, what sin would he find me holding on to? What sin would he find me holding on to If he came back now. What areas would he find me not trusting him in? If he came back now, would he find you or me faithfully proclaiming this gospel, find you or me faithfully proclaiming this gospel, or would he find you and me silent with this gospel in a world under his judgment? What I want to challenge you to do is in the next few moments don't move around yet.
Speaker 3:In just a second I'm going to invite folks to come to these tables, but I want to challenge you to spend time in prayer and reflection and consideration of this question am I ready and what in my life is not ready and to confess that before God, knowing that he is more than ready in His grace, to cover over your sins, to give strength in your weakness, where you are struggling, to trust in Him and to empower you to be bold and witness in this world? So if you've never turned from your sin and trusted in Christ, then I invite you in these next few moments to do that. I invite you to come to the end of yourself and let go of your pride and trust in Jesus as the King and Lord, who alone is able to reconcile you to God, save you from your sin and and for Christians across this room, I want to encourage you to consider what needs to change in your heart, in your mind, in your life, in your relationships, so that you might be ready. So, for those who are serving the Lord's Supper, let me invite you to make your way down to these tables now. So we're going to come back to the blank in a few minutes, but I want us to have this time in prayer and reflection. These folks are going to begin to distribute these elements. While they do, I want to invite every follower of Christ who's walking in repentance and faith to take these elements during this time. If you're not a follower of Christ, not willing to repent of sin and turn trust in Christ, then I'd simply invite you to pass these elements to the person next to you. Nobody's going to isolate you, point you out, anything like that. This is simply a meal that's intended solely for followers of Christ. And while they're passing this out, these guys are going to play in the background and I I want to invite you all across this room to pray and reflect on that question am I ready? And what needs to be done in my life so that I might be ready and then, after we've had some time to do that, I'll come back up, lead us in communion and lead us to the last truth that revelation 19 leaves us with revelation chapter 19, verse 14. We just skipped over it real quick. I want to come back to it.
Speaker 3:When christ comes on a white horse, he's not alone. Verse 14 says he comes with the armies of heaven, clothed in bright, white linen, bright and pure Same language that we used in verse 8 to describe the bride of Christ's church. And of course there's debate, as everything else in Revelation, around who exactly these armies of heaven are. Are these angels, are these Christians, churches, angels and the church together? I think at the very least this is a picture of the church, at least the saints followers of Christ, because the description is just the same as what we saw in verse 8. But regardless of how you interpret that verse, we know from all the New Testament, from all we've seen in Revelation, that when Christ returns, he's not just coming back to claim a people that are under his rule. He's coming back to make us participants in his reign. So let us revere him, let's rejoice in him, let's be ready for his coming For one day. Soon, we will reign with him forever.
Speaker 1:We hope you've enjoyed this week's episode of Radical with David Platt. We will reign with him forever.