Father, this evening, we know you, we worship you because you have given us your Son. You’ve extended Sonship to us through Christ.

Jesus is our faithful friend. He’s our mighty King. Your King and your Spirit ever leads and guides and teaches and equips and comforts, strengthens in all things and all ways. Lord, we have no reason to fear, but only to look onward to you and to worship you and to live passionately for the name of Jesus. Knowing that in the end, all things… will be made well and you will receive all glory. Lord, I just want that to truly be the song that rings in our hearts. Lord, we pray you would take our financial offering as we worship you through faithful, sacrificial giving. Lord, your name would be blessed. Lord, you would continue to meet our needs as a church. Grow us that we can continue to… to make disciples and do all that you’re calling us to do as your church here in this place, in this time. We pray that in Christ’s name. Amen. Amen.

Good evening. I’m going to be in Revelation chapter 7.

Revelation chapter 7. I’m going to try to work through the whole chapter tonight.

But what do you do, kind of as we jump into this, what do you do if you’re the pastor of a… the church in Nashville? You’re that pastor that lost his daughter in the school shooting. You know, you thought about that. I’ve kind of put myself in those shoes because my daughter is a similar age as his daughter that was shot and killed. Even if you’re not that pastor and you had to preach a sermon or you still had to eventually be present again for your church or you’re just one of those families that you lost… you know, a child. What do you do with that? How do you… not make sense of it, but how do you continue on believing that God is good? And how do you believe that God is really present? Because I think that’s one of those questions we ask, isn’t it? When hard trials and troubles come is, where were you, God? Where were you at? Right? That’s the question we generally tend to ask in our heads and hearts. And that’s generally, you know, one of the reasons non-believers want to give. Like, well, if there was a God, how come X, Y, Z happened, right? Revelation is so relevant, not for the future. It is, but it’s relevant right now. Because I think it answers that question really, really well. So, where is God when life is really hard? I think the answer is He’s right here. I think that’s the answer. So, my sermon title is The Ever-Present God. The Ever-Present God. What I want you to see in this chapter, and this chapter is really unique, because it’s like two pictures, and there’s this one picture of what’s happening on earth, and then there’s a scene change in heaven, but I want you to know and see this, the scene changes, the people don’t. The scene changes, the God doesn’t.

Verse 1, After this, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rock, arising of the sun, with the seal of the living God. And he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. So, four corners, four angels, so these four winds, four corners, is kind of a holistic way of saying the entirety of the world. It’s a phrase used in the Old Testament. In Isaiah, he says, He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. We’re talking about the entirety of the planet. And four winds, again, this is God saying, destructive forces that come to pass. Who is it that’s in control of these winds of destruction? It’s God. Kind of the same, in the same apocalyptic vein that Daniel talked about in Daniel chapter 7 verse 2. Daniel declared, I saw in my vision by night, behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. So, right here, if we didn’t even go any further, I think there would be enough for you in your suffering right here. Because we’re just told that the entire globe is always under the say-so of God. The destruction that happens anywhere, it’s happening with God’s servants, angels, present. They know they’re there. God is omnipresent. God is omniscient. And God’s servants are always there. We’re told later in Revelation that there’s an angel in charge of waters. We’re told again in Revelation later that there’s an angel in charge of fire. Go back to the Old Testament. Remember, Balaam is being paid off to prophesy against Israel. But, you know, he can’t get there because an angel of the Lord does what? He presents himself to the donkey and the donkey won’t go any further. Consider in the New Testament when the Apostle Peter is sitting in jail chained to two prisoners and we’re told in the middle of the night an angel strikes Peter on the side and the chains fall off. Angels are at work in every corner of the globe under God’s command and there’s no reason to think that angels aren’t presently fighting spiritual warfare all around us. So, see with faith what you can do. You can’t see with your eye and do so with your comfort. For your comfort. God is always working and the angels of heaven are always working for our good, for the kingdom of heaven. Hebrews 1, verse 14. Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? He says it plainly. Of course they are. So these angels that we’re reading about here in chapter 7 they’re ready to unleash great destruction upon the earth. But another angel comes and it’s a very beautiful poetic scene. This angel arises with the sun coming from the east. He’s ascending. But he comes as a means of protection as a means of salvation from this destruction of the four winds to protect who? God’s people. Believers. We’re told in chapter 14 and we’ll get there that this seal is the name of God and of Jesus on their foreheads. That’s the seal that is going to be put on these believers’ foreheads. And what’s important here is to see the distinction and you’re going to start seeing a distinction in Revelation between different types of destruction. There’s a distinction between the wrath of God and the suffering and the judgment that comes upon the people of the earth for being the unbelieving nations. And then there’s persecution and martyrdom for those that suffer because they do believe in God. When you get to Revelation chapter 9 you see that the plague of locusts are told that they cannot harm those that have the seal of God upon them. So the meaning is something of like a signature. A signet ring like a king in olden times when you would want a document to be seen as official he would put that ring in the wax and they would know oh this is a message from the king. It’s the same thing. When God puts his signet ring upon you you cannot be touched. Now it’s not protection from all harm. We’ve covered that and we’ll cover it more. The kind of harm that God is keeping his people from in the end times is the kind of harm that has a finality to it.

Suffering, pain, martyrdom for God’s kingdom. We see that throughout human history. We see that present day and we certainly see it in times, don’t we? And that kind of suffering that we talk about all the time it gives way to eternal life. It gives way to eternal joy. When we hear about a Christian school being targeted when we hear about Nigerian churches slaughtered it’s not for nothing. It’s for something. God is allowing those things to happen to draw us closer to grow our faith to make us look onward. God didn’t overlook Nashville. The angels weren’t on a union break. They weren’t elsewhere. He’s in control of the hurt and the death of our dearly loved ones. But this is different because this kind of destruction that’s coming to us today it’s a kind of destruction that’s not for discipline either if you want to think about it positive discipline where God allows things to happen because He’s growing us or negative kind of consequence because we do something wrong and we need a holy spanking and we all need one of those. That’s not this. This is the kind of judgment that’s coming on planet earth because they’re being judged. It’s the kind of wrath and judgment that God unleashes in Revelation and it’s eternal and this kind of pain and suffering it’s crushing. It’s crushing. God is in control of both kinds of suffering, friends. Whether He’s allowing evil to do its work and it thinks it’s winning yet God’s using it to grow us or if it’s God’s own hand of judgment coming upon the earth. And I want you to think about how in control God is of your pain and your suffering. Where’s the one place that you and I can go to? Where’s the one place that I can look and see it looked like God and Jesus were impotent. It looked like Satan had won. It looked like death and sin had won. It looked like following Jesus just meant suffering and death alone. Well, the cross. Because when we look at the cross we see what gosh it sure looks like following this Jesus just leads right into a grave and it does. But following Jesus right into that grave leads us to get right back up out of that grave victorious. Jesus’ cross is proof that all suffering is on purpose by God and when we suffer for Christ following His way that kind of suffering will always bring redemption in the very end. So we can be sure that the judgments of the trumpets and the bowls and all that we see happening in Revelation in the end that’s something that we can that’s something that God is keeping us from not pouring out on us additionally onto the lost world. And friends, if that’s the case if I can really believe God you keep me through all suffering and whatever suffering I experience is never accidental it’s never just because it’s never because you didn’t care but it’s always a part of your plan for me I think that should allow you and I to say you know what I’m okay I’m okay if God wants me to live an uncomfortable life. Because my life’s not about me. I’m okay if my life ends up looking in a way that I didn’t want it to look. I wanted to have this job I wanted it to go that way but God said no you’re going to go over here and do this thing. It’s okay if it’s uncomfortable it’s okay if it causes suffering because I know in the end it brings me to life and it brings me to glory where Jesus is. I would love for providence to shrink because someone says I’ve got to go to China you know we pray for Nigeria all the time I can’t keep praying for Nigeria I’ve got to get on a plane and go to Nigeria I’ve got to go somewhere I can’t keep trying to figure out how I can live the most comfortable life I can live for the Lord I can’t keep hoping God will send someone else I need to go to the uncomfortable place knowing that there is any suffering and pain that can undo me all it can do is prepare me more and more for the day of glory. And friends that’s even true locally if you’re not called abroad there’s no cause to live timid for Christ now if we really believe God is present and God is presently in control.

You and I tend to have spiritual amnesia don’t we? When something hard comes right? And life brings some really hard things we tend to think uh oh I think God’s forgotten about me. We tend to think about suffering like what if this happened would God show up if that happened? The potential of suffering is enough to make us shake in our boots. How strangely forgetful we are of the witness of scripture that God never let one of his servants in the Old Testament or in the New Testament down from Joshua to King David to the apostles how forgetful we are of our own past experiences of God giving us victory over trial and sin of God showing us deeper levels of who he is of overcoming spiritual doubts that we’ve had of God providing for this need or that need or he showed up in this special way or he provided that money when I didn’t think it was going to come or he brought this person into my life and I needed someone at that time. God has never failed you.

Jesus says in John 6 this is the will of him who sent me that I should lose nothing of all that he’s given me but what I need raise it up on the last day for this is the will of my father that everyone who looks on the son and believes in him should have eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day. Do you believe that? And we said this a few weeks ago no one in God’s army is a nameless faceless foot soldier. Continue on in verse 4 there in chapter 7 it says and I heard the number of the sealed 144,000 sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel 12,000 from Judah Reuben Gad Asher Naphtali Manasseh Simeon Levi Issachar Zebulun Joseph and Benjamin now that seems like we’re talking about ethnic Israel there and I don’t believe that that’s what we’re talking about at all if all we were talking about was ethnic Israel like you’ve got Jewish blood in you I think this is an entirely not irrelevant but not nearly as exciting of a passage because it doesn’t have to do with the majority of people in the world or the majority of people who will be alive in the end times but I want to read what Robert Mount says because I think that it’s very helpful he says this interpretation seriously complicates the book of Revelation by bringing in racial distinctions that no longer exist in the New Testament purview it disregards the historical fact that 10 of the 12 tribes disappeared in Assyria and the remaining two lost their separate identity when Jerusalem fell in AD 70 the number is obviously symbolic 12 the number of the tribes is both squared and multiplied by a thousand a two-fold way of emphasizing completeness it refers to that generation of faithful believers about to enter the final turbulent period that will mark the end of human history that there are 144,000 12 from each tribe of Israel is a symbolic way of stressing that the church is the eschatological that means in time people of God who have taken up Israel’s inheritance their being sealed does not protect them from physical death but ensures their entrance into the heavenly kingdom so there’s comfort here for you church because God is saying he knows the complete number of those that are his in the end times and be it Jew or Gentile they’ll be kept no one’s nameless no one’s faceless Paul tells us often in Galatians and in Romans if we have faith we’re true Israel if we believe we’re God’s people he says in Galatians 3 if you’re Christ then you’re Abraham’s offspring heirs according to the promise so take that as an encouragement what if we lived in the end times what if it was upon us God would be right here with us and he knows each of us by name and he knows exactly how he’s going to take care of us to make just a few more notes on the 144,000 a couple more reasons why it’s highly unlikely talking about ethnic Israel one Reuben’s not first in the list there are 18 variations of the lists of tribes in the Old Testament this

is the oldest he’s not Judah is put at the head of the tribes which makes sense giving the New Testament revelation of Jesus as the Lion of the tribe of Judah the second difficulty would be this Ephraim is not present in the list so Joseph is represented in the list by his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh well Manasseh is represented but Ephraim is not so in that sense Joseph represents Manasseh and then Manasseh also represents himself in Ephraim is not there that’s very odd I think one way to solve that would be to recognize the tribe of Dan is not there at all so we’re missing Dan where is Dan Dan in Judges and then we get to see in 1st Kings they seem to have given themselves to idolatry and paganism more than other tribes Judges 18 we read the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves and Jonathan the son of Gershom son of Moses and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land so they set up Micah’s carved image that he made as long as the house of God was shallow and then other places mentioned Dan’s paganism as well so it seems like what’s a popular view is Dan essentially removed themselves from the list when they chose to throw in their lot with paganism early on however rest assured God knows his people God is in control and God is present there’s a scene in Pilgrim’s Progress and there’s one of my favorite scenes in Pilgrim’s Progress when Pilgrim’s being shown a vision and the vision on the front side is a man dumping water on a fire and he’s dumping water on a fire and it seems as though you think the fire would go out but on the back side of the wall the interpreter takes Pilgrim to the back side of the wall behind this fireplace and

pouring the oil and so friends when it seems like how could God be here it looks like my passion my fire for Jesus is gone it looks like the devil is winning the devil is pouring out all his water on my fire and I’m going to lose Jesus is behind the wall he’s always behind the wall he’s always pouring the oil the fire is going to burn whatever it seems

no one can be against us friends if these things are true it means true life real life begins at death

God is presently aware and God is in control God is allowing all things to come to pass can you believe that can you believe that you’re sealed in the spirit and God is keeping you and I think if that’s true you’re not going to have courage you’re not going to have courage to go we can have courage to be a witness we can have courage to speak the truth because we have nothing to fear in this life I was really grateful and thankful we were at soccer game Saturday Darcy ran up in a panic to me and she said dad do you have one of those tracks in your pocket I was like to my shame I did not have one of those tracks

she said this girl’s parents won’t take her to church and she’s not allowed to read a bible I need one of those tracks and I said I don’t have one and I felt so ashamed of myself and I thought there’s the kind of passion we should be living with is I gotta go preach this message and live through this king because he’s coming back and I’m on the winning team period I want the passion of a child that says I’m on team Jesus I’m on team Jesus we grow up and we get all adult like and start thinking about things foolishly don’t we it’s with the faith of a child I believe God is right here and I can do his work and I want to do his work so grab some tracks on your way out today and share Jesus this week invite him to church invite him to Easter Sunday be a light where you go have courage have peace have joy Jesus is with you whatever you’re going through Jesus loves you Jesus has a plan Jesus knew it was going to happen if Jesus is the ever present God that means that the picture on earth is he’s in control and we are a people protected but now we’re going to change the scene to heaven if we change the scene to heaven not the players not the characters we’ll see that God is a God of salvation worthy of worship and we are a people at rest change of scenery not of characters verse nine after this I looked and behold a great multitude that no one could number from every nation from all tribes and peoples and languages standing before the throne before the lamb clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands and crying out with a loud voice salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the lamb and all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures and they fell on their faces before the throne and worship God saying amen blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever amen verse nine says after this after this something had happened on earth but there’s this definite scene change after this here’s a word I’m going to throw this word out at you it’s going to seem like a big fancy word the word’s proleptic proleptic I’m going to read you the definition of proleptic proleptic means to describe a future act as if it presently exists or is accomplished proleptic means a future act as if it presently exists or is accomplished you understand John is not being shown pictures of what might be what could be he’s not he’s not seeing images of some supernatural fairy tale that’s just encouraging if you can find the principle John is seeing something that God is showing him that’s proleptic in other words it’s so sure that that thing is going to happen you can go ahead and start living like it already happened right now

we’re challenged to live we’re challenged to enjoy the reality of what has not occurred because we’re so sure our God will bring it to pass in the future when you go to war you hope your odds are good you strategize and you hope you don’t know if you’re going to win when a loved one gets a chronic illness you hope the treatment’s going to work you pray it’s going to work you don’t know for sure you don’t know for sure yet yet yet as soldiers in God’s army we’re given this morale boost God says look here’s what it’s going to look like in the end it’s definitely going to happen you can go ahead and live your life right now as if it did if you want after this after this something better is coming and that takes faith doesn’t it it takes faith when you and I are in deep dark narrow valleys it takes faith when we have crushing burdens on our back of life and sin and the world to believe and have joy in a proleptic sense it takes faith I believe not because of me but I believe because of God

and this image is of a great multitude numberless even and it’s not some folks it’s every nation tribe people languages it’s all those who believe from all across the globe God didn’t miss one of them he saw every single one of his in the great tribulation and guess what here they are it says that they’re standing they’re standing in victory before the throne they’re clothed in white white would have been the color that a general would have wore on his way back in to be celebrated they’re wearing white they’re victorious and they have palm branches in their hand now don’t let it be lost on you what’s today? Palm Sunday Palm Sunday now this is significant for two reasons that they have palm branches if we go all the way back to Leviticus chapter 23 says and you shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees branches of palm trees boughs of leaves of leafy trees and willows of the brook and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days you shall celebrate it as the feast to the Lord for seven days in the year it is a statute forever throughout your generations you shall celebrate it in the seventh month you shall dwell in booths for seven days all native Israelites shall dwell in booths that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt I am the Lord your God so when Israel was in the desert God said hey y’all are going to do something you’re going to do this every year when y’all came out of Israel because remember or out of Egypt remember I was the only one who saved you like I’m the only one that did anything I saved you I’m the one that dropped bread from heaven I’m the one that brought water from the rock I’m the one that defended you with the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night remember how I did all that he had them dwell in makeshift booths in the desert and those makeshift booths shelters were a sign that God was the one alone who had protected us and protected them and sheltered them when they had no one else to take care of them it was just God God told his people in ancient times you make booths every year and you go live out in those little booths to remember the faithfulness and the protection of your God and then we come to the New Testament and we read in John 12 that they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him crying out Hosanna blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord even the king of Israel who is it that is your and my true shelter who is it that protects you ultimately from sin and death who is it that is over you and goes before you and guards you from behind it’s Jesus it’s Jesus friends from the Old Testament all the way to Jesus riding on a colt Jesus is your spiritual shelter from the storm of God’s wrath Jesus is your spiritual shelter from the greatest woes that hell could throw against you it’s just Jesus and here they are in heaven waving these palm branches to celebrate what are they chest bumping we did it we did it guys look look at us we made it look at these white robes we’re awesome we made it through that hard time we made it through the tribulation no no they’re waving those palm branches to the king and to the lamb saying God you did it you brought us through you gave us the strength you sustained us from the evil one Jesus you did it on the cross and it’s the power of your empty grave and your spirit that brought us from death to life Jesus it’s you they’re worshipping the father on their throne they’re worshipping the lamb who was slain

in verse 11

the angels are there and the angels are there and the elders and the four living creatures we looked at those a few chapters back and it says in verse 12 they amen it amen those same angels that have been working throughout human history to help God and to assist the saints in their you know arriving safely home here they are and the angels say amen and amen all blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to who be God forever and ever amen and God did this this work of salvation for his people for his glory friends it’s for his glory it’s such a different picture isn’t it from the one we see on earth but it’s the same people and it’s the same glorious God in control ever present working for our salvation to bring us to eternal rest

in verse

15 I’ll just kind of close with what they say it says therefore they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence they shall hunger no more neither thirst anymore the sun shall not strike them nor any scorching heat for the lamb and the man in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd and he will guide them to springs of living water and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes so Jesus friends he’s the shepherd of God’s Old Testament saints in Psalm 23 he’s our shepherd in the spirit right now in this present age and Jesus will be our shepherd in the age to come forevermore giving us rest and life and joy and peace for his glory can you believe that and can you let it inform the way you live for God now if we can we can have joy in the face of hardship perseverance when we’re tried really hard and we can worship God when defeat seems inevitable we can thank God for the victory before it’s ours this is the ever present God and he’s in control and he’s working all things for our joy and his glory there’s a old hymn called farther along I’ve always loved the chorus the chorus says farther along we’ll know all about it farther along we’ll understand why cheer up my brothers don’t worry and live in the sunshine we’ll understand it all by and by I think that’s encouraging friends we can’t understand it all now seems veiled things are confusing why is this happening what if that happens Jesus says cheer up don’t worry live in the sunshine right we’ll all understand it by and by in glory with the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ let’s pray

Heavenly Father it’s your working it’s your power it’s your grace it was your Son who defeated Satan and sin and death it’s your Spirit that keeps us it’s your Spirit that comforts us Lord let us not even for one moment look in the mirror

and think that we deserve some bit of praise or we have some bit of energy or wisdom or wit to give God we know that it all flows from you through you and back to you for your glory Lord help us to take our eyes off of our fears help us to take our eyes off of our fears off of our shortcomings help us to take our eyes off of our sin and look to Jesus and finding Jesus strength power to overcome find our life Jesus we just want to look at you we just want to believe upon you and upon your finished work and that’s our prayer Amen