Heavenly Worship Service (Revelation 7.9-17)

Sermon by: Robert Austell; August 25, 2019 - Revelation 7:9-17; Psalm 23:1-3a

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::: Music ::
Wonderful, Merciful Savior (Rodgers, Wise)
Be Unto Your Name (DeShazo, Sadler)
OFFERTORY: Is He Worthy? (Peterson)
O For a Thousand Tongues (AZMON)

:: Sermon Manuscript (pdf) :: This manuscript represents an early draft of the sermon. Some weeks the spoken version varies more than others from the early manuscript. Nevertheless, if you'd prefer to read than to listen, this is provided  for that purpose.

There’s a lot going on in Revelation, but one of my favorite parts of it is the worship. Some six times in John’s vision he sees and hears the worship before the throne of God in Heaven. Now technically, only two of these passages are explicitly sung (chs. 5, 15). Others are spoken and still others shouted. But they are all formatted like poetry or lyrics. And across the six examples of worship the themes are overlapping. They speak and sing of God’s salvation, they offer praise to God, and they express the holiness and worthiness of God and Jesus, the Lamb.

I want to look with you at the worship in Revelation 7 today. It’s like a complete worship service, beginning with a shout of praise, then with a face-to-the-ground prayer, then with a time of teaching and explanation (not unlike a sermon). It seems to me that studying and participating in the worship of Heaven would be a good thing to do. So I want to walk us through that and then invite us to make it our own at the end.

Now I do want to follow the forms actually listed (shout, pray, teach); but I think what’s more important is the content of each form. So it is true that this scene of Heavenly worship starts with a shout, moves to prayer, and then has a time of teaching. But throughout the main point will be the content. In other words, the point is not that we re-format our own worship to shout, pray, teach. The point is to understand what is at the heart of Heavenly worship as a clue and cue to what should guide our own worship.

Starts with a Shout (vv.9-10)

This scene of Heavenly worship begins with a shout. That’s in verse 10, which was translated as “they cry out with a loud voice, saying…”. The word translated “cry out” just as often is translated as scream our shout, especially when “with a loud voice” is explicitly added. Let’s look at who was doing the shoutin’ and what they were shoutin’ about!

It’s a “great multitude.” And it’s not just big numbers like at a SEC football game, it’s too many to count. And it’s not just a crowd that looks like me or you, but one “from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues.” It is a crowd drawn from all of humanity in all its rich array of colors and languages and cultures. I don’t think I can stress that enough as a biblical theme. It’s throughout the Old Testament covenant as the purpose for blessing Israel. It’s throughout the ministry of Jesus and teachings of Paul; that God so loved the whole world and there is no distinction to be made between Jew and Greek, male and female, slave and free. And this is the trajectory of all that: an uncountable multitude shouting praise in the presence of God in Heaven.

And what were they (will they be) shouting” They cry out, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” (v.10) I think of the crowds scream for their team before a huge football game. Or I think of the deafening sound of a crowd at a rock concert. The sound is enormous, but it’s focused on a person or a team. It’s directed praise. And that’s what is going on here. God the King and Jesus the Lamb have SAVED this crowd from sin and death. Salvation belongs to God and this huge crowd is shouting out that truth in celebration, enthusiasm, and victory.

Humble Prayer (vv.11-12)

And as pictured in verses 11-12 that follow, there is a smaller group simultaneously on their faces before the throne of God. This group is made of angels – ALL the angels – and the human elders and the four living creatures described elsewhere in Revelation. These beings and these people were seemingly in the midst of all that, yet face down in prayer and praise and worship.

They were saying something different: “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” I love the overflowing nature of that. I love the string of attributes that seem to just go on and on. “Amen” is “truly!” or “let it be so!” as if to affirm the shouts of praise from the surrounding multitude. But this group prostrate around the throne is offering more specific praise and the truth of it drives them to their knees and to the ground in humility. This is God! God is worthy! The Lamb is worthy!

Teaching Time (vv.13-17)

In vv. 13-17 there is a dialogue that I can only describe as a teaching moment. One of the elders asks what must be a rhetorical question because he goes on to answer his own question. He asks John (in the vision): “Who are these people with the white robes? What’s their story?” John says, “You know.” (i.e. “You tell me!”)

And the elder answers and packs an amazing amount of teaching into a relatively short response.

Who are they? They are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation, a horrible time of persecution for the sake of Christ. But for their endurance and faithfulness Christ has washed their robes (presumably stained with their own blood and suffering) and made them white in his own blood. Jesus has delivered them finally into a place of peace, wholeness, and rightness.

Why are they there? It is because of their faithful obedience and suffering. It is for this reason the elder says that they are close in the presence of God, serving Him day and night. (I should note that this is not some kind of extra burden, but an extra HONOR, to serve God in this way.) And in that nearness, God “spreads his tabernacle” – that is, His protection and presence – over them. Those who suffered most are comforted and protected most in the presence of God.

What is their future? Remembering that this vision of the future was written to comfort those suffering in the present, the elder describes what God’s tabernacle – His comfort and protection – will mean for those who suffer for the sake of Christ: “They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat.” And then here is another image to go with the “tabernacle” God has spread over them: “the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd.” As written long before John’s time, in the 23rd Psalm, the Good Shepherd will “guide them to springs of the water of life” and, further, will “wipe every tear from their eyes.”

Joining In the Theme

This vision of Heavenly worship was given to encourage those who suffered for the sake of Jesus – in John’s day and in the days that would follow. In a nutshell, this particular scene was to remind them of the huge news of God’s salvation (shout), that God is so ultimately worthy (prayer), and that God Himself is our future hope, even in the difficult present.

Now that seems like a theme we could join into. On this day you may connect more with one piece of that than another, and that is fine. Perhaps you need to be reminded of God’s big movement to save: “God so loved the world!” Maybe the world seems desperately out of control and anything but trusting in God. God’s story is not of people trusting so well in Him, but in His ultimate faithfulness to love and pursue humanity – the world He made and loves. God’s faithfulness and power are such that one day all the world will know and people from every tribe and tongue will gather to shout praise, no longer separated by skin color, language, culture, position, or any other thing that keeps us apart now.

Maybe you need a fresh reminder of who God is and what God is like. Maybe that string of descriptors would give you a fresh picture of God  - to whom belong blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might. Maybe like the angels, humans, and heavenly creatures you need to simply come before God and quietly pray.

Or maybe you can identify with the theme of suffering. The specific context of Revelation is the suffering of people for their faithful obedience to Christ, so suffering the loss of WiFi doesn’t measure up. But we do know the deep suffering of sin, sickness, and death. We know wars and conflict and betrayal. And we have heard the invitation of Christ to fix our eyes on him to make our way through this life. While the white robes of the martyrs may not fit our situation, the reminder of a Good Shepherd should comfort each of us. Jesus Christ is the one who leads us to living water, who walks with us in the dark night, who guards and keeps us to bring us into the presence of God.

As other-worldly as Revelation can seem, this scene of Heavenly worship is not so far-removed from our own lives and our own worship. We, too, can shout praise over God’s salvation, bow in humble prayer to our extraordinary Heavenly Father, and trust hopefully in the protection and care of our Good Shepherd. If you are careening through these days in fear, in distress, disconnected, and discouraged, read and re-read this passage this week to re-focus you on who God is and what God has done. Re-read Psalm 23 and pray to the one who is our Good Shepherd. And I believe you will find encouragement for the days ahead. Amen.

Youth Mission Sunday 2019

Testimonies by GPSC Youth and Youth Leaders; August 18, 2019

:: Sermon Audio (link) :: Click link to open and play in browser; right-click to save. Sermon audio is also accessible as a free podcast in iTunes. Search for "Good Shepherd Sermons" or "Robert Austell." 

All Testimonies


::: Music and Testimonies ::
Holy Spirit (Torwalt) - Maggie, Liz, Camron trio; call to worship
   (video is one verse and refrain)

I Love to Tell the Story (HANKEY) - audio is final a capella refrain

Zach

Mira

Amelia

Hear the Call of the Kingdom (Getty/Townend)

Lucas

Olivia

My Lighthouse (Rend Collective)

Sarah

Elizabeth

Blessed Assurance (ASSURANCE; arr. Austell)

Melissa

Zach

Let Your Kingdom Come (Kauflin)

First and Last (Revelation 1.4-8,17-18)

Sermon by: Robert Austell; August 11, 2019 - Revelation1:4-8,17-18; Isaiah 48:12-14a

:: Sermon Audio (link) :: Click link to open and play in browser; right-click to save. Sermon audio is also accessible as a free podcast in iTunes. Search for "Good Shepherd Sermons" or "Robert Austell." 



::: Music ::
Creation Sings the Father's Song (Getty, Townend)
We Will Glorify (Twila Paris)
Jesus, Name Above All Names (Hearn, arr. Austell)
OFFERTORY: Immortal, Invisible (Story, Cash)
Rejoice, the Lord is King (DARWAL)

:: Sermon Manuscript (pdf) :: This manuscript represents an early draft of the sermon. Some weeks the spoken version varies more than others from the early manuscript. Nevertheless, if you'd prefer to read than to listen, this is provided  for that purpose.

This morning we are returning to chapter one of Revelation to look at some of the preamble to the seven letters we have looked at this summer. The letters are found in chapters two and three and are letters from Jesus to the people in seven of the early churches. Because the church is people we have treated these letters as letters to us as well, listening for points of connection and identification with those early churches.

This morning I want to back up to chapter one and look at the author of these letters because the author is the one we worship and the reason we are here. Far more in-depth than just saying “God” or “Jesus,” the introduction to Revelation names God in important ways. I’d like to focus on that with you this morning. And while it may seem basic to many of you to talk about “Who is God?” and “Who is Jesus?” I think this text will take each of us deeper into those questions than we are used to going.

Creator and Sustainer: Assemble and Listen (Isaiah 48:12ff)

First, I’d start with the text from Isaiah that we heard as our call to worship. Revelation will identify God (and Jesus) as eternal, as “the first and the last.” This is not new to the New Testament, but part of the Old Testament, the Hebrew scriptures. God spoke to His people through the prophet Isaiah and said, “I am He, I am the first, I am also the last.” (v.12b)  God then connects that name with His work as Creator and Sustainer: “Surely my hand founded the earth and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand together.” (v.13)

Some folks shy away from naming God as Creator and Sustainer because there has been a movement to distinguish the members of the Trinity into roles as Creator God, Sustainer Spirit, and Redeemer Son. But that’s not what is going on here. God is involved in all those activities – in fact Father, Son, and Spirit are all involved in all three activities! From the account of Creation in Genesis to Isaiah to the New Testament and the visions in Revelation, God is declared as First and Last – outside of this world as the one who created it and holds it together. In Revelation Jesus shares that name with God and I will return to it. But for now, the Isaiah text continues with this charge from the First and Last: “Assemble, all of you, and listen!” (vv.14a) That is what we do when we gather to worship; we are here because God, the First and Last, calls us together to listen and to respond in faith. So, let us listen!

Triune God (Revelation 1:4-8)

I mentioned the Trinity because the whole Trinity is in view in Revelation 1. John writes Revelation to the seven churches and begins with a blessing of “grace to you and peace.” He sends the blessing in the name of the Triune God. It is “from Him who is and who was and who is to come.” (v.4) In verse 8 we read that this is the Lord God, the Alpha and the Omega (Greek for first and last, or A to Z) and again “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (v.8) The Lord God, the Almighty is how God the Father is often named. It is the Lord God, the Almighty, who spoke through Isaiah and said, “assemble and listen up.”

But the greeting in verse 4 is also “from the seven Spirits who are before His throne.” (v.4) This may be the most confusing part of the formulation; isn’t there just one Spirit? Yes – this is part of a vision and the number seven is used symbolically and poetically throughout Revelation. Picture if you will a waterfall and river dividing into seven streams, each of which sends water to a village. That’s the image here; God’s Spirit flows outward from God’s throne into the world and into the seven churches who are about to receive a Word from God. And because the Holy Spirit also provides union with Christ, the Spirit also brings the Church into the presence of God. It’s not meant to sub-divide God or the Spirit or represent some other new spiritual being. For the seven churches to whom this vision and letter will be shared, God’s Spirit is sent to them and bears them into the very presence of God through Jesus.

And finally, the “grace and peace” blessing is from Jesus. (v.5) I’ll say more about him, because he is named and described in a full and glorious way. But my first point here is to lift this up as one of the places in Scripture the Triune God is named and described. And again, the three persons of the Trinity are One God; Father and Son are described as “first and last.”

Jesus, Name Above All Names (vv.5-7,17-18)

Earlier in the service we sang the song, “Jesus, Name Above All Names.” Verses 5-7 read a bit like that song. I see no fewer than six names for Jesus in these verses, with even more in verses 17-18. He is named or described as follows:

Faithful Witness – In the very beginning of Revelation (v.2), the vision that John will share is described as “the testimony of Jesus Christ.” These are not presented as John’s words, but as the Words of Jesus Christ. These are not ultimately the letters to the churches from John, but the letters to the churches from Jesus. And Jesus is named as the faithful or truthful witness. We can trust what he says to be true.

Firstborn of the Dead – Jesus is named as this elsewhere in the New Testament as well. (1 Corinthians 15:20) The idea behind that name is that until Jesus was resurrected on Easter, death (as a consequence of sin) had the final word. We die and that is it. But when Jesus defeated sin and death and was raised, he became the first of many that God will raise to eternal life. He is the first; he is the “firstborn” of the dead to be raised to new life.

Ruler of the Kings of the Earth – Jesus is not only heir to David, the ancient King of Israel, but that inheritance is a foreshadowing of His eternal reign described in Revelation as “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” In God’s timing every knee will bow and every tongue confess. Jesus is given all power and authority in the New Heavens and New Earth.

Releaser from Sin – I struggled to condense a number of words into a title, but in the middle of naming Jesus John kind of runs off for a moment of praise. He’s naming Jesus and then this burst of “to him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood and he has made us to be a kingdom of priests.” The first part of that is a way of describing Jesus as Savior. His work on the cross released us from the curse of sin. And it was an act of love.

Maker of a Kingdom of Priests – The second part of that outburst of praise describes the way Jesus incorporates us into God’s Kingdom. We become part of God’s family and God’s Kingdom, participating in the praise and presence of God. To all of this, the salvation and the belonging in the Kingdom, John can’t help but praise. Jesus is worthy of all praise – all “glory and dominion forever and ever.” (v.6)

Returning One – Finally we read of his future return, such that ALL will know who he is and what he has done on behalf of the world. (v.7)

Then a few verses later, John throws himself at Jesus’ feet “like a dead man” and Jesus speaks to him, telling him not to be afraid. And Jesus reveals a few more things about himself. (v.17)

First and Last – Is Jesus God? He uses the same name used for God the Father in Isaiah and earlier in Revelation 1. Jesus, too, is “first and last” (or Alpha and Omega). Jesus, too, was at creation and before creation… see John 1 for more about that.

Living One (dead and alive) – Jesus is the Living One; to clarify, he was (briefly) dead and (look!) is alive forevermore. He is the Resurrected One; He is the embodiment of God’s victory over sin and death and, as already declared, the firstborn from the dead. He was before us, but also goes ahead of us.

Has the keys of death and Hades – In fact, Jesus is not just the example of new life, but holds the power TO that new life. He has the “keys of death” – that is, the power to bring us with him. There is a powerful scene in Ephesians 4:8 (quoting Psalm 68) that describes his victory over death and his leading those captive to death to freedom and to life. It’s the same story previewed in Exodus when God uses Moses to deliver His people from slavery and death in Egypt into freedom and ultimately into the Promised Land. Now in Revelation, God is doing the same thing with humanity, but into an eternal Promised Land of His Kingdom.

Do you Know Him?

What do we do with all this? It leads me to ask, “Is this the Jesus I know?” Or to you, “Do you know him?”

Whether you are pretty new to Jesus or a long-time fan, I would confess that the Jesus I carry around in my head is much watered-down from the one described here. I remember a saving-me-from sin Jesus. I remember a teacher who urged compassion, love of neighbor, and care of the most needy. But while I’ve studied and read all of this before it is not part of my day to day understanding of Jesus. So I feel pretty safe in asking a room full of church people, “Do you know him?”

And along with that I’ll ask the other two application questions raised by these names for Jesus: Are you listening? Will you follow?

When you head out today and go about the rest of your day, when you wake up in the morning and begin a new week, when you think about your short-term goals or long-term dreams, when you decide how to interact with a neighbor or co-worker or new acquaintance at school, when you watch the evening news, when you scroll and scroll and scroll through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or other parts of the Internet…

Are you listening? Will you follow? Do you know him?

Do you know Jesus who is Triune God, before Creation, part of Creation, Faithful Witness, Firstborn of the Dead, Ruler of the kings of the earth, Releaser from sin, Maker of a kingdom of priests, Returning One, First and Last, Living One, Holder of the keys of death itself?

One reaction to all that is to be terrified; as it says about his return we who have pierced and betrayed him will know and mourn. But as he said to John, “Don’t be afraid.”

Don’t be afraid. He lifts you up eye to eye and invites you to know him more and more deeply. Listen to him, for he loves you. Follow him, for he is faithful and true. Don’t be afraid. Amen.

Sin (Genesis 3.1-6)

Sermon by: Bob Simes; August 4, 2019 - Genesis 3:1-6

:: Sermon Audio (link) :: Click link to open and play in browser; right-click to save. Sermon audio is also accessible as a free podcast in iTunes. Search for "Good Shepherd Sermons" or "Robert Austell." 



::: Music ::
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing (NETTLETON)
O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus (EBENEZER)
All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name (CORONATION)

:: Sermon Manuscript :: There is no manuscript this week.