Randall Caselman
Bella Vista Church of Christ
6/15/97 am
Jesus Is Lord — God Is Sovereign
Reading — Revelation 4.1-11
Have you ever wanted to be in on somebody’s dream? This morning, we are privileged to be in on a vision by the Apostle John. Not just any vision, but a Divinely inspired one. This vision is important in your life and mine as it was to John and the Christian of 1900 years ago.
Perhaps there are more books being written and sold today about the message of Revelation than any other book in the Bible. Most of the authors approach the book of Revelation as a time line of human history that will help us discern just how close we are to the end of time. We must know this morning, this is not the message of the book. The message of Revelation is who will win in the end... Not when will the end come.
Revelation is an apocalyptic letter. Apocalyptic language is the language of encouragement in time of conflict and persecution. It was the language of Daniel and Ezekiel as they encouraged the children of Israel while they were in Babylonian captivity. The word apocalypse literally means, to take the cover off... To reveal. Revelation has a lot more to do with the outcome rather than with the time of the events. As an apocalyptic letter, Revelation was written to encourage the persecuted church, encouraging them to not give up, but to keep-on-keeping on in their faithfulness to Christ in their conviction that Jesus was Lord and the God was sovereign in the face of overwhelming persecution and suffering.
You see, these were perilous time for anyone to be a Christian in the Roman Empire. Nero and Domention were hunting down faithful Christians, who claimed anyone other than the reigning Caesar as Lord and King of their lives. Revelation was written to revel the outcome of events that had them doubting their choice to live for God.
Remember the mountain climbers who were killed in their attempt to climb Mt. Everest? At the foot of the mountain is a monument to their memory... Three words are found there, they died climbing. Revelation was written to encourage us to keep on climbing. Chapter two, verse ten sets out the theme of the whole book, Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, Satan will test you, and you will suffer persecution. Be faithful, unto and until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Jesus is Lord... God is Sovereign.
We need this message in our world today... Don’t we? But we don’t need it any more than John and those of his day. You see, forty years earlier, John had been privileged to hear, with his own ears, Jesus say, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. What do you suppose John was thinking in A.D. 97? Things had not gotten any better in 40 years. In fact they had gotten much worse since Jesus ascended into heaven. John had lost everyone of his fellow apostles... They all died as martyrs. Those John and others had converted to Christ were being killed by the hundreds and thousand in ugly cruel ways. Now John would never see his brethren again, because he had been banished to a pile of rocks in the Aegean Sea known as the Isle of Patmos. All authority in heaven and earth has been given to Christ... RIGHT!... SURE! If that is true, then why is all this happening? If Jesus is Lord... If God is sovereign, then why all the evil in our world?
You see church, not much has changed in 1900 years. This question of, if Jesus is Lord and God is sovereign, then why all the sin and suffering in our world today is not original in our generation. John and the early church were asking this question. And the book of Revelation is God’s answer to their and our question. This encounter, this vision, changed John and the Christians of his time, because it gave them a totally different perspective on the lordship and sovereign nature of God. What John saw changed their lives, and will change your life and mine ALSO.
What was the first thing John saw in this life changing vision? The first thing that John sees is the most important thing John sees. He sees a throne and God is firmly seated on that throne.
- Forty times in the book, John speaks of a throne.
- Twelve times John refers to God as being the one seated on the throne.
Church, don’t miss the main point of the apocalyptic book. Before you dive into a sea of questions about all the symbolism, don’t miss the main point. The point is this, the throne is not vacant, it’s not up for grabs.
- The throne is occupied,
- Someone sits there,
- Someone is firmly in control of this world.
Jesus is Lord... God is sovereign. Church, it is more important to know WHO HOLDS THE FUTURE than to know WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS. It’s more important for us to KNOW THE ONE WHO HOLDS THE FUTURE than to know what the future holds.
Notice something else, not only is the throne filled, WHERE IS IT? It is placed in the center of it all. Everything that happens in our world, happens around the fact that Jesus is Lord and God is sovereign. Jesus is Lord, our God reigns. John and the early Christians needed to know that. We, as Christians today need to know this... Don’t we? You see, what God wanted in this vision, was for John and us to see the events on earth from a heavenly perspective. God is telling us things may look hopeless to you, but truth is, things are not as bad as they appear to be.
- In spite of everything we see around us,
- In spite of everything we feel within,
- In spite of the things everybody else may be saying,
GOD STILL REIGNS.
Now I know what your thinking. If Jesus is Lord, if God reigns, then why all the evil, pain, and suffering in our culture? You ask a good question. David asked this same question repeatedly in the book of Psalms. Now, I don’t have the answer to this frequently asked question... OK? But I would like to make three observations in response.
Number One, The Abundance Of Evil And Chaos In Our World Has A Lot More To Do With The Free Will Of Man Than The Free Will Of God.
You see, before the fall in Genesis chapter three there was: No evil, no chaos, no suffering. God didn’t create sin and suffering. We must know this morning that all the: Evil, Death, Pain and Suffering; all the tears in our world... all the ugly things that happen to us is due to sin... Either ours or someone else’s.
Scripture pictures heaven as a place where these things are not to be found, WHY? Because there is no sin there.
Secondly, If We Choose To Believe The Throne Is Vacant, That Jesus Is Not Lord And God Is Not Sovereign, Then We Have No Hope.
But because we believe God rules, we have hope. And because we have hope, we are willing to live with the evil and suffering.
- Jesus prayed in John 17.15, I pray not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one.
- In Romans 8.24 Paul says, we are saved by our hope of reigning with Jesus.
- Paul concluded near the end of his life, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Paul was able to: Fight the fight, Finish the course, Keep the faith... WHY? Because he had HOPE. Do we?... Do you?... Does your speaker this morning? We must know Jesus is Lord... God reigns.
Thirdly, It Could Be A Lot Worse.
If you think this is as bad as it can get, you had better think again. If you think this is as bad as it can get, then you are not giving the Devil his proper due.
- Revelation 12.12 tells us, he is filled with fury, because his time is short.
- What do you think Paul is saying in First Corinthians 10.13 when he says, God will not let us be tempted beyond what we are able to bear?
Hey folk, there is a whole world of: Evil, Temptation, and Suffering, out there that Satan would love to hurl at us, but God will not allow it... Praise His name for this!
Remember Job?... Satan had to come to God asking permission to affect Job. Satan is under the authority of God... God is restraining Satan this very moment.
How about Luke 22.31 where Jesus says, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. Satan had to ask permission.
It could be a whole lot worse. But it isn’t because Jesus is Lord and God is sovereign.
In Revelation, God is giving us a glimpse of the throne room so we can know that He reigns... Well, SO WHAT?
WHAT DOES THIS VISION SAY TO US, HOW DOES IT AFFECT US HERE THIS MORNING.
First - We Must Learn To View All Of Life From The Press Box, From The Throne Room.
When I was young, I used to be the engineer for the University of Arkansas Sports Network. When the football game got close, some of the coaches would come to the press box. They wanted to see the game from a different perspective. They wanted to able to see the whole picture. Sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees. Sometimes coaches need to get off the playing field and see what was really happening from above. There are things they can see from the press box that you can’t see from another perspective. Church, Revelation is our press box pass. When we step into the throne room of God, we can see life from a much different perspective. We can see things as they really are, rather than just see them from a human perspective.
Some of us need to adjust our game plan by stepping into the press box. Some of us are: Filled with doubt, We are anxious, Worrisome, Cynical, Pessimistic, and are about to be overcome by the opposing forces of Satan. You see, we have spent too much time listening to what the:
- Sociologists,
- Psychologist,
- Philosophers,
- Entertainers,
- Politicians,
- And the media, are saying about life and how we should live. We are consulting too many self-help books written from a human perspective, using human wisdom.
What we should be doing is consulting someone who has been there!!... Who has:
- Stood in the presence of God,
- Seen life from the press box, from the throne room.
John will tell us how it really is. What’s really going on from a heavenly perspective. Church, don’t listen to those on the sidelines... This can be fatal. I like what Stephen Curtis Chapman wrote, The Lord of the gentle breeze is also the Lord of the rough and tumble, and He is the King of this jungle. Jesus is Lord, God is sovereign.
Secondly, Revelation Four Tells Us That God Is Not Dead.
God is not sunk, so let’s stop acting like He is. A six year old was praying in his Sunday school class. He prayed that God take care of his mama, daddy, grandparents; and then he said, and God take care of yourself; for if you are sunk, we’re all in trouble. Folk, that’s great theology. Too many of us are living like God is sunk. Without meaning to, we’ve bought into the modern devilish lie, that God is dead. Listen: Are we acting as if God is sunk if we worry more than we pray, or if we regret more than we hope? Then we’re acting like God is sunk... God is dead... That just ain’t so. John says so in Revelation four, and it’s time we BELIEVE IT... LIVE IT.
Thirdly This Morning, Revelation Four Tells Us, When You Can’t Trace God’s Hand, Trust That He Still Rules.
You see, there are times when life tumbles in, when the tumor is malignant, when we must visit the cemetery, when the sky turns dark and we can’t see the light, and we’re not sure what God is doing... or even where He is.
We, like David ask:
- God where are you?
- What are you doing?
- Why me Lord?
When you can’t trace God’s hand, trust that He still rules. You think we have confusion, what about these Christians of the first century. They certainly couldn’t see God’s hand, but He sent them this vision which says, I still rule. Listen to these scriptures:
- And low I am with you always, to the very end of the world.
- God has said, Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.
- For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."
- And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
- For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?
I once worked at a radio station in Tulsa with Roger Borden. His family owned the Borden dairy industry, this story came from his family. In 1906 William Borden graduated from high school and his parents offered him anything he wanted for a graduation present. He chose a trip around the world. By boat, train and on foot William Borden traveled the world for three months. He came home with a heart burning to alleviate the suffering people of the world and to share Jesus with them. He wanted to be a missionary. His family kinda brushed him off thinking he would get over this ambition. William went to Yale and received a business degree. After Yale, William told his parents, I want to be a missionary, I am going to be a missionary. So he enrolled in Princeton Divinity School of religion. His parents said, No you are not, you’re taking your place in our diary business.
That night he wrote in his Bible, NO RESERVES. Upon graduation from Princeton, William wrote in his Bible, NO RETREAT. William left America for a mission effort in China. While passing through Egypt, he contracted Cerebral Meningitis. He died ten days later in Egypt. The American media picked up the story with headlines, William Borden, hair apparent to the Borden Dairy industry dies in Egypt... What a waste.
What a waste of money. What a waste of education. What a waste of energy. What a waste of ambition. After eight years of schooling, halfway around the world, in the middle of nowhere, William dies: A disappointment to his parents. Without ever fulfilling his dream. Indeed, what a waste. But why don’t we ask William Borden. For in Cairo, a few hours before his death, he wrote two more words in his Bible... ‘No Regrets’.
- NO RESERVES.
- NO RETREATS.
- NO REGRETS.
Six words from someone who understood, that even though things seem out of control around him, he knew that Jesus is Lord... That God is sovereign.
This morning, the view from the press box, from the throne room is that:
- God is alive and well.
- The throne is not up for grabs.
- It is occupied by our Father and He reigns.
So:
- Stop doubting like He doesn’t.
- Stop worrying like He doesn’t.
- Stop regretting like He doesn’t.
- Start praying like He does.
- Start hoping like He does.
- Above all start live like He does.
Harry is about to lead us in a familiar song this morning... ‘All To Jesus I Surrender.’ I want you to sing this song with a new perspective. Sing it with a view from the throne room. Sing it with the understanding that Jesus is Lord and God is sovereign, and only YOU can wave the white flag of surrender.
There are some here this morning that need to surrender to God, become His child by: Faith, Repentance, Confession, and New Testament baptism, immersion in water for the forgiveness of all your sins.
Perhaps others of us need to surrender to God some ugly sin in our life, asking His forgiveness and the forgiveness of others.
Or maybe you need to surrender your Time, Talent Treasure and Energy in becoming a true servant in His Kingdom.
We will pray with you and for you. Will you acknowledge that Jesus is Lord and that God is sovereign?
