Revelation 7:9-17
Dear future members of the heavenly host arrayed in white,
I have to admit that even though I don’t consider myself to be a big follower of the political scene, lately I’ve found myself paying closer attention to the presidential caucuses and primaries. On occasion I’ve even strayed from the usual ESPN and Sci-Fi channels over to CNN to catch what the latest polls are saying! Regardless of whom I’m pulling for, I have to admit that I’m impressed with the time and effort all the candidates are putting into their campaigns. Whereas I think it’s a bit silly and even a tad wasteful for so many dollars to be spent on such efforts, I’m amazed at the schedules the candidates keep as they jet from state to state, often getting very little if any sleep. More than once I’ve heard many of them make comments about how, in the end, if the voters turn out to vote for them, it will all be worth it. These candidates are willing to sacrifice so much of their time and energy now in the hope that the end result will prove to be worth their efforts.
Today we’re celebrating Evangelism Sunday, a day in which we emphasize the work our Lord has given us to do. And what is that work? Take another look at the theme for today: “Declare His Praises: Everyday, Everywhere, to Everyone!” It’s certainly a privilege to tell the good news of our salvation, won for us by our Savior Jesus. But we also know it’s hard work. Our best efforts are often met with challenges and obstacles that prove to be discouraging. Too often we’re discouraged to the point of giving up. As a result we end up feeling guilty whenever the topic of evangelism is brought up, knowing that we should do better. Then we’re reminded of the times when our efforts seemed to be in vain, and the vicious cycle begins all over again.
This morning our Lord’s going to help us break that cycle by giving us a picture of what the result of all evangelism work will be. If you wonder if your efforts to tell people about Jesus are ever going to do any good, then join with the apostle John and . . .
“Look at the End Result of Evangelism!”
I. People standing gloriously in the presence of the Lamb
II. People dwelling eternally under the providence of God
John was given a vision of God’s throne room in heaven. He saw the Lord surrounded by 24 elders representing the Church of all believers from both the Old and New Testaments. There were four living creatures close to the throne, often interpreted as representing special angels called “cherubim.” But there were more angels – more than John could possibly count! All these angels joined together in a glorious song of praise to the Lamb of God who had been slain for the world’s salvation (v 12), “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!” They sang the praises of him who deserves all praise! They praised Jesus – once humbled for our salvation, but now exalted over all the universe with power and glory!
A multitude of angels was not all that John saw in his vision (v 9), “I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.” Another countless mass, but this one was made up of people. These were all the spiritual children of Abraham, the fulfillment of God’s promise to this Old Testament patriarch that his descendants would be as countless as the stars in the sky. John was seeing the end result of the gospel proclamation throughout history – all the people that the Lord had brought to faith and preserved in faith by the power of his Word! Try and imagine the sight: people from everywhere, of every time and culture, of all languages and nations, gathered before the Lamb!
John describes this impressive mass of people as “wearing white robes” (v 9). Later we’re told why they were dressed the way they were (vv 13,14), “Then one of the elders asked me, ‘These in white robes – who are they, and where did they come from?’ I answered, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said, ‘These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’”
John saw those who had come “out of the great tribulation.” That tribulation represents the many sufferings which Christians endure in this life before they reach heaven. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to us, for in Scripture we’re told (Ac 14:22), “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” So suffering and trouble in the form of illness, pain, stress, losses, persecution, and the like can be expected. But someday they’ll all end! And we’ll be in that group of people whom John saw, those who had come out of that great tribulation and now would experience nothing but uninterrupted happiness. Since there’s no sin in heaven, there are no effects of sin. Here on this earth the curse of sin makes our lives miserable and difficult. That’s why it’s hard for us to imagine what life would be like without it. So God describes it for us (v 16), “Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down upon them, nor any scorching heat.” No more discomforts or difficulties of any kind! In heaven we’ll have everything we need for a perfect life!
That’s because we’ll all be “wearing white robes.” This represents complete sinlessness, because only perfect people are allowed into heaven. So how can we picture ourselves as part of this group? Even our best efforts don’t measure up, because in God’s sight “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isa 64:6). But you will be perfect when you enter heaven. As a matter of fact, in God’s eyes you already are, because you and I and all believers have been washed clean in the blood of the Lamb! The stains of sin that marred us have all been dissolved in the pure, holy blood shed on Calvary’s cross. Our Savior’s blood – and only his blood – has such power, because only “the blood of Jesus, [God’s] Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 Jn 1:7). Only in Christ are we made fit to live with God in heaven. So, yes, we too will be wearing white robes in heaven. We too will be there standing gloriously in the presence of the Lamb!
John noted one more thing about this glorious group (v 9), “They . . . were holding palm branches in their hands.” This makes us think of the people welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Waving palm branches was an ancient sign of victory. Years ago Christians were known to bury their dead with palm branches in their hands to express the belief that people who die in Christ die victoriously. That’s what Paul proclaims in 1 Corinthians (15:54-57), “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
So get those palm branches out to celebrate the blessing received by those who have gone before us into heaven! We may shed tears when they leave, but don’t weep for them — they don’t need them! Weep for your temporary loss but rejoice that your loved ones are free from this world of sin and suffering and are now abiding in perfect bliss and glory!
See why evangelism work is so important? Don’t we want so many more people to know what we know, to have the hope that we have? That’s why we declare his praises everywhere, everyday, to everyone. We want more people to stand gloriously with us in the presence of the Lamb!
But there’s more to the vision John saw that day. The end result of evangelism also includes people dwelling eternally under the providence of God.
When we’re born into this world we’re totally dependent on the care of our parents and others who are there to attend to our needs. As little children we could not survive without them. But even when parents try their best to serve the needs of their children, still they make mistakes. They’re often inconsistent. They often let their children down.
Not so with God! One of the heavenly elders who was telling John about the multitude of believers standing there before God’s throne went on to give this comforting picture (v 15), “He who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.” God’s care for his children is consistently perfect. He protects them. He lives right there among them. Like a tent covering them, the Lord wards off anything that would threaten them or cause them to be afraid.
And the Lord provides for them (v 17), “The Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water.” As Christians we cherish this picture of Jesus as our Good Shepherd, as the one who leads us to the waters of salvation. No matter what other joys we might experience in heaven, the greatest of all our joys will be simply being with Jesus, singing his praises, safe in his care!
And just like Johnson’s Baby Shampoo . . . no more tears! “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (v 17). A hurt child is comforted by a loving parent who gently wipes away those tears of pain and sadness. God promises to do the same for us in heaven. In fact, he promises to take away the cause of our tears – everything which now causes us pain and sorrow. Heaven is pure joy. It’s the total absence of evil and the complete fulfillment of good! All those in heaven are under the perfect providence of God forever.
That’s why we want to be there someday. Sometimes it’s hard for us to wait, just thinking about what joys await us. But that’s why God wants us to pass our time waiting by working! He wants us to occupy ourselves by declaring his praises: everyday, everywhere, to everyone!
That’s what we hope to continue to do here at Messiah. We share John’s vision of the end result of evangelism, and we want to do everything we can to add more people to that glorious multitude of white-robed saints. So we’re aggressively moving forward with another building project which will allow us to continue to reach out to children and their families with the gospel. This means a dramatic increase in our budget for 2008 – an increase of 33% from 2007 – an increase which I believe is the greatest one-year jump in the history of Messiah. Our new building project will put our congregation over $1 million in debt – a debt which many of us may never live to see eliminated.
Challenging? Sure. But, oh, so necessary for us to continue to do what we’ve been called to do. With the Lord’s continued blessing, we know that our work is not in vain. He blesses the gospel whenever it’s proclaimed so that more and more people might stand gloriously before the Lamb who was sacrificed to save them and dwell eternally under the providence of a God who loves them.
So the next time you’re discouraged because of your evangelism efforts (or the lack thereof), just take a look for yourselves again at what John saw and you’ll see the end result. You’ll see people with God, rejoicing for all eternity in heaven. You’ll see why the work of evangelism is well worth it!
Amen
–Rev Jonathan Rockhoff