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[0:00] Come together to see the Lord's people exercise their giftedness and talents for his glory. Take your Bibles. We've been looking through the Gospel of Luke this morning. We looked in Luke chapter 24.

[0:10] If you were with me this morning, you're not turning to Luke because you know I said we won't be there. Go with me to the book of Revelation, Revelation chapter 5. As I was praying through where I thought the Lord would want me and I was going through it, really the sermon just began to lay out.

[0:26] I know it's not your typical Easter passage. I was thinking through and praying through it and I had this feeling. So this morning I went and asked Brother Mike. I said, Brother Mike, where are you teaching at? He said, Revelation 5.

[0:36] And I think I'm going to do my reading before the prayer in Revelation 5. And just so you know, I don't let our elders know. I don't ever say, hey, I want you to read this verse before you pray. We gave them full liberty.

[0:48] We just want you to read the Word and to pray with the congregation. So we leave it up to the Lord's timing. And I rejoice in that. Some of you say, well, I've already looked at this passage this morning. And some of you are saying, we've already heard from this passage this morning.

[1:00] Well, the Lord has given us a three-peat, right? So we ought to really pay attention to this passage this morning. But we are in the book of Revelation, Revelation chapter 5, continuing our theme, our Easter theme that we've been looking at.

[1:13] We've been looking at the Lamb. And so we started just several weeks ago and we saw the presentation of the Lamb when He came in on public display on what we call Palm Sunday.

[1:24] And He was putting Himself on display for that Passion Week for the world to examine Him, going all the way back to the book of Exodus when God commanded that they would bring the Lamb into their home four days before they would offer it as the Passover sacrifice.

[1:40] And they were to do that so that they could observe the Lamb. They could watch the Lamb. They could behold the Lamb. And they could know that what they were presenting to the Lord on Passover day was something absolutely perfect, without spot, without blemish, without defect of any means.

[1:57] And Christ did that very same thing for so much of His public ministry. He would draw away, pull away. He would go away from the crowds. He would pour into those around Him.

[2:08] But not so on that final week. He presented Himself. It is there that we see the questioning of the Lamb. We see so many people, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Herodians, the scribes, even the people outside of Israel coming and asking questions of the Lamb.

[2:25] And each one, we find this resonating theme. They could find no defect or fault within Him. So we come to this day knowing that He is the perfect Lamb.

[2:36] And then we saw last week when we came together the preparation of the Lamb. The coming together for the Lord's Supper as He interceded. He poured into those people around Him. He drew them close to Him because He knew full well of all that was about to take place.

[2:51] And then this morning, early this morning, we came together and we looked at Luke chapter 24 and we saw the power of the Lamb. How the empty tomb testifies to the power of the Lamb. This is not something that you and I can find out nor figure out on our own, but it is something that is revealed to us by the very Lamb of God Himself.

[3:10] Our eyes are opened. Our ears are made attentive. And it completely changes the way we see life. We see the power of the Lamb. And now we come to Revelations chapter 5.

[3:21] And this morning, I want you to see the purpose of the Lamb. So if you're physically able and desire to do so, would you join with me as we stand together and we read the Word of God. We'll read the entire chapter found in Revelation chapter 5, starting in verse 1.

[3:37] The Word of God says, I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book, written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?

[3:52] And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. That I began to weep greatly, because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it.

[4:05] And one of the elders said to me, Stop weeping. Behold, the lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.

[4:16] And I saw between the throne with the four living creatures and the elders a lamb standing as it slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.

[4:30] And he came and he took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

[4:44] And they sang a new song, saying, Worthy are you to take the book and to break its seals, for you were slain and purchased for God with your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

[4:57] You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth. Then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, and the living creatures and the elders, and the number of them was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.

[5:23] And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard them saying to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.

[5:36] And the four living creatures kept saying, Amen. And the elders fell down and worshiped. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day. We thank you for the worship we've already been able to express to you, how we've been able to lift our voices to you in praise.

[5:53] We've been able to extend our hands and fellowship. We've been able to give to you as a sign and display of our love and affection. But Father, now as we come to the time where we worship you through the reading and hearing of your word, we pray that by the power and presence of the Spirit, you would speak to every heart, every mind, and every individual.

[6:12] Lord, that you would penetrate every distraction, that you would cut to the very depth of our being, and that by the truth of Scripture, that it would change us, that it would mold us, that it would conform us to be more and more like you.

[6:23] And may it be for your glory, Lord Jesus, and yours alone, for you are worthy. And we ask it all in your sweet name. Amen. You may be seated. This morning we see the purpose of the Lamb.

[6:38] As we look at the book of Revelations, I know that it is an odd place to be, possibly on an Easter morning. But as we saw this morning, and we will see again here, it is not just one part nor portion of Scripture which testifies to the resurrection.

[6:54] As a matter of fact, it is all the way back in the book of Genesis that we have this need of a Lamb introduced for us. We have seen recently on Wednesday nights and Sunday nights how God called Abraham to go offer up his son Isaac on a mountain in Moriah which he would show him.

[7:11] So it wasn't a mountain that Abraham could choose, but rather he was to go to the land of Moriah, and the Lord God himself would show him the mountain. We go through the portals of time, and we see that because of David's sin of numbering the people of Israel, the disciplinary hand of God comes down, and 70,000 people fall.

[7:29] And yet the angel of the Lord stands over a mountain outside of Jerusalem, and it is God who sends the messenger to tell David to go on that mountain and to build an altar and to offer up a sacrifice, and he goes to the threshing floor of Orunah the Jebusite, and he buys from him the hill that is on the threshing floor.

[7:47] It is not until we get over into the book of Chronicles that we realize the hill that David purchased to offer the sacrifice was Mount Moriah. And it is there where David made the proclamation, this is the house of God.

[8:01] And that would be the very place where Solomon would build the temple. And so now we have went from the book of Genesis all the way to the time of Chronicles, and Solomon builds the temple on that hill. And if you remember, going all the way back to the book of Genesis, it tells us that in the mount of the Lord, it will be provided, for the Lord himself will provide the lamb.

[8:22] And yet when we read scripture over and over again, we see many sacrifices. We see many offerings being carried up this hill. We see many things being brought into the temple.

[8:33] We see many things being laid upon the altar. But the one thing that we notice is that each and every one of them were brought by someone else. Each and every one of them were carried there, brought there nor purchased there to be laid upon that altar.

[8:45] It is not until Jesus walks into that very same place, now he was walking into Herod's temple, and he says he is the lamb that is slain before the foundation of the world. All of a sudden we see there is the lamb that will be provided in the mount of the Lord.

[9:01] And now on Mount Moriah, Jesus walks out on that last and final day, and he says the glory has departed, and he leaves the temple. The next time we see him, we see him on Calvary's mountain.

[9:12] He's hanging on a cross. They take him down from the cross, and they put him in a new tomb in the garden. But he doesn't stay there long because then we meet him again, and he's on another mountaintop, and he's commissioning and sending out the disciples.

[9:25] See, the lamb came for a purpose. It was a purpose introduced for us in the book of Genesis. And we don't fully comprehend the purpose until we get to the end of the book, to the book of Revelation.

[9:36] I told you I was gonna be fast this morning, right? It's okay. And when we get to the book of Revelation, we understand that he had a reason for coming. I don't often read long quotes, but there is an individual named Hodge, Charles Hodge, who wrote a three-volume book on systematic theology.

[9:53] And once it has been defined real well, there's no need in redefining it. Sometimes you just have to reread it. And Charles Hodge's book of systematic theology does a really good job of laying the foundation of the deity of Christ, that Christ is fully God.

[10:07] And then after laying the deity of Christ, he lays the foundation of the humanity of Christ. Not only is he fully God, he is fully man. And then he poses this question. Why then did he come?

[10:19] Listen to the response of why Christ came. And it's a lengthy quote, but I wanna read it to you. Listen to this. According to the scriptures, the incarnation of the eternal son of God was not a necessary event arising out of the nature of God.

[10:33] It was not the culminating point in the development of humanity. It was an act of voluntary humiliation. God gave his son for the redemption of man.

[10:44] He came into the world to save his people from their sins, to seek and save those who are lost. He took part in flesh and blood in order by death to destroy him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and to deliver those who through the fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

[11:04] He died the just for the unjust, that he might bring us near to God. That is, the reason he came was not because he lacked something and not because we needed to see what perfect man looks like, but rather we needed to be made perfect.

[11:25] He came for you and I. Notice just three great truths from the book of Revelation chapter five of the purpose of the lamb. Number one, we notice he is the fulfillment of the word.

[11:38] He is the fulfillment of the word. If you were with us this morning as we look through the gospel of Luke, Luke chapter 24 and the 24th chapter, there are three resurrection appearances.

[11:51] There is the appearance of the angels in the garden tomb. The women are there, they're looking for him and they see the two angels, but they can't find him. And we have this new name of Jesus that is the Lord Jesus being expressed for the first time in all of scripture.

[12:06] He is not called the Lord Jesus until after the resurrection. And they're looking for the Lord Jesus and the angels say, he is not here for he is risen. And they proclaim, as he told you, that is, as he had said.

[12:19] And then we meet the disciples on the road to Emmaus. And as they're going along and they're sad and downtrodden, they're disheartened and they're talking to this stranger with them.

[12:29] The stranger that we know is Jesus, but they had no idea. And it says, and he began to expound and to open up to them everything recorded in scripture about himself. And he began to proclaim from Moses until the prophets how Jesus had to die and be raised again.

[12:46] And then we see at the end of that chapter, his appearance to the apostles and disciples gathered in the upper room who cannot comprehend for the joy and the amazement of the resurrected Jesus standing before them.

[12:58] And then he began to tell them how all of scripture said it must happen this way. We've seen the reality already that it is the word of God that over and over again repeatedly tells us that the death, burial, and resurrection of the Savior had to take place.

[13:15] But notice here, even in the book of Revelations, there is the book that is presented, the book that no one can grab a hold of, the book that no one understands.

[13:26] Many people, many Bible scholars have said, what is this book? Well, we know what happens when this book is opened. We can read the book of Revelation and find out, right? We know that with every opening of a scroll, there's a different thing.

[13:37] All of a sudden, you get to this one and then the trumpet sound. You get to this one and then the bowls come. And we understand all the unfolding. So if nothing else, we know that this book is the introduction of the last days.

[13:48] Many believe, and I think accurately so, that this book is the very deed book of the world because it's very common practice in Roman society of that time to roll up their deeds and to seal them in seven different layers.

[14:01] And we see that all the way going back to the book of Jeremiah where Jeremiah had a deed to land given and the deed was sealed and the deed was hid until the time would come later. And see, the word of God is consistent and it tells us.

[14:14] So here we have the deed of the world. Who owns this world? Well, who is worthy to open up the book is the one who owns this world. And John says, I began to weep.

[14:24] I began to mourn because no one was found worthy. And I love it. The elder looks at him and says, stop crying. Stop crying. Just because the angel is asking the question and just because no one has answered yet doesn't mean all hope is lost.

[14:40] Don't weep. Don't mourn. But look at how he introduces. He says, stop weeping. Behold, now we would like to say he would say the lamb. It was John the Baptist who said, behold the lamb which takes away the, finish this the right way, sin of the world.

[14:57] He doesn't come to take away your sins. That is, he doesn't come to take away the bad things you do. Men and women, young men and women, listen to me. Jesus doesn't come to take away the bad things we do.

[15:08] He did not come to remove your sins with an S from you. He came to take away the bad person we are. He came to take our sin nature and to give us a new nature.

[15:22] Someone says sanctification is not only freed from the guilt but also the filth of sin. To be sanctified is not just to be free from the guilt of it but to be freed from even the stain of it that is no longer there.

[15:38] See, you're made new in Christ. He is the one who takes away the sin of the world but that's not how he's introduced. He says, but behold, what does he say? The lion from the tribe of Judah.

[15:50] Where do you have to go to get that? You gotta go back to the Old Testament. You gotta go back to the book of Genesis. You gotta go back even to the book of Numbers, right? You gotta go back when he came in his birth and we ask the question, how do the Magi, the wise men, know to come from the east?

[16:04] Well, they had a book in the shelves of their libraries and one of those books was the book of Numbers and they could open up the book of Numbers chapter 24, read in verse 17, it says, I behold him but not yet, I see him but not now, a lion shall arise out of Judah and the scepter shall never depart from his hands.

[16:21] When he's introduced in heaven, he says, behold, the lion from the tribe of Judah, all of creation has been looking for him and here he is and he is the root of David.

[16:31] We gotta go to the book of Isaiah, the prophet of the coming king and we see the root of David. Do you see what's going on here? He says, he is the one that all of Scripture has been pointing to.

[16:42] He is the one that all of the Word of God has been pointing to. He is the fulfillment of the Word. Why did he come to fulfill the Word? He is the one that fulfills the proto-evangelium, the first message of evangelism.

[16:58] That is, that the serpent shall bruise his heel but he, the seed of a woman, will crush his head. There's only one seed of a woman. Every one of us that are in here are seed of men. There's only one who's ever been the seed of a woman and that is Jesus Christ.

[17:14] He is the fulfillment of the Word. Absolutely, completely, 100%. There's not one aspect, not one part, not one jot, not one little mark of Scripture that he has not fulfilled.

[17:28] Why has he come? He has come to be the fulfillment of the Word. Look at what he says. Behold, the line from the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.

[17:42] You know, I love the Word of God. I love the consistency of the Word of God. I love the accuracy of the Word of God. And friend, listen to me. I even love the narrowness of the Word of God.

[17:56] Have you ever noticed that God in His Word paints Himself into such a corner that there's only one way that it can come about? That is, there are not multiple ways that it can be fulfilled, but there is only one way that it can come about.

[18:14] There is only one that could ever fulfill every one of it. We get to the genealogy of Christ and we've looked at it around Christmas. Why all these names? Why all this listing?

[18:25] Why do we have two genealogies of Christ found in the New Testament? We can't even pronounce half their names. That's because by the time we reconcile it with the Old Testament, we know that we need both of them.

[18:36] We need one that has a legal right to the throne and we need one that has a spiritual right to the throne. God always paints a narrow way. For broad is the path that leads to destruction, but narrow is the way that leads to eternal life.

[18:51] There's only but one that can fulfill the Word and that one is Jesus Christ. He came, the purpose of the Lamb, came as a fulfillment of the Word. Number two, He came for the completion of the work.

[19:08] He came for the completion of the work. The redemption and salvation of mankind is not a response of heaven to the problem of mankind.

[19:21] And the reason we can say that is because before the foundations of the world were lain, God had already appointed the Lamb to be slain.

[19:36] Before the world was ever created, before Adam and Eve were ever formed and fashioned, before man ever took from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and sinned in rebellion before a holy God, God had already set into order the plan for our redemption.

[19:56] God didn't respond to our sin. God counted on our sin. Now that's a big difference because if we have the tendency to think that God responds to our sin, then we are concerned that maybe His response would not be what we would want it to be.

[20:19] Maybe today our holy, heavenly Father is a little impatient. Maybe I've pushed His patience a little too far. Maybe today He won't give me the forgiveness that I so desperately need.

[20:31] Maybe I've sinned too much or sinned too greatly. But when we realize that before we sinned at all, God had already appointed His Son to be the substitutionary price for our sin.

[20:47] Now all of a sudden we see that what we have before us is the work of God and not the work of man. Listen brothers and sisters, friends, salvation is not dependent upon you.

[21:02] For if it was dependent upon you, none of us would ever attain to it. For none is worthy, no, not one. For all of us have gone astray, each and every heart is desperately wicked.

[21:13] You say, oh pastor, you're not making me feel good about myself. Well, neither does the word of God make me feel good about myself. It tells me that my mouth is a brood of vipers. It tells me that my heart is as black as the deepest pit.

[21:27] It tells me that there's nothing good within me, no nothing at all, that there is none righteous, that all of my righteousness are like filthy rags. I remember going into a church.

[21:38] We were doing work in this church and it was in the kitchen. We were doing mission work there and there was a bucket there and in that bucket they were wanting you to throw all of the dirty towels, the dish towels and the towels you used to clean up tables and on the bucket it was labeled self-righteousness.

[21:56] It's a pretty visible illustration of all of my righteousness is like filthy rags. It's done me no good. But before I had messed it up he had already ordained the work to be accomplished and Jesus Christ has come to complete the work.

[22:14] This is why when he's on the cross he can loudly proclaim it is finished. It does not mean our work is finished. I don't know if you've caught this or not in the gospels that where his work ended our work began.

[22:29] Since his work has finished as believers in Jesus Christ he has commissioned us to tell others about what he has already done. But look at what the word says and I saw between the throne and with the four living creatures and the elders a lamb standing as if slain.

[22:51] The wording there is very intentional. We have a lamb that is standing and yet this lamb has been clearly slain. Not as if he was.

[23:04] The wording in the original is he clearly had already been slain and yet he's standing. A standing lamb that has already been slain having seven horns and seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God which is just the fullness of authority the fullness of wisdom the fullness of power and they begin to sing this new song that brother Mike shared with us earlier this song that says were there you to take the book to break its seals for you were slain.

[23:35] That's the work right? You were slain. Look at what it says and purchased for God with your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation and you have made them to be a kingdom and priest to our God and they will reign upon the earth.

[23:52] Why is he worthy to take the book? Because he has finished the work. He purchased with his blood. Do you notice it? He is the only one worthy because he is the only one who has completed the work.

[24:08] He is the one that was slain and yet is standing. He is the one that is there. We read the book of Revelations. He fights the battle and we go in the white robes of the saints.

[24:20] We wear white to the biggest battle that's ever been fought. Why? Because we do no fighting. They are slain with the sword coming out of his mouth which is the very word of God and yet we see this reality that because he has completed the work he has purchased or you've been redeemed by the blood of the lamb for those of us that know him.

[24:43] He has come as his purpose to purchase. It says from every tribe and tongue and people and nation and not just to purchase them. Listen he purchases them because he's going to do something with them.

[24:57] Look at this and you have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God and they will reign upon the earth. Friend do you know salvation is so much more than just heaven.

[25:08] You've been purchased and redeemed. Now I don't know maybe at your house you have a little bit more freedom to do this but very seldom at our house. I don't purchase things just so I can say I have things. I don't say well I'm going to get it and never use it.

[25:20] I don't do that. We kind of have a theme at our house that is if we don't use it we don't keep it. Things have to have a purpose. They have to have a reason for being there. For one we don't like it being cluttered around. Now sometimes I have to hide my stuff.

[25:31] They have a very limited purpose but that's neither here nor there. But you know we say it has to be used. And so when we purchase something we purchase it for a purpose. And when the lamb purchases you with his blood it is for a purpose.

[25:46] We sang a song about it. Why should I gain from his reward? What is that gain? To make you a kingdom and a priest to the Lord our God and to reign upon the earth.

[26:00] He reigns in heaven we reign on the earth. What a glorious way. See he has completed the work. Third and finally not only has the lamb come to fulfill the word not only has he come to complete the work he has come so that we may know the exaltation of his worthiness.

[26:21] He has come that we may understand the worthiness. One thing that we need to wrap our minds around is that God doesn't have to have our praise.

[26:41] It tells us in scripture that he is surrounded by myriads and myriads and thousands upon thousands who daily praise his name. God doesn't need our praise.

[26:54] Remember that quote Christ did not come because of something that was lacking in God. God has no lack. He has no need. He's all sufficient.

[27:07] All that he needs is found within himself. He needs nothing outside of himself. He needs nothing other than himself. He is jealous in a good way.

[27:18] But he has come that we may know his worthiness. We need to know that he is worthy to be praised.

[27:28] Why? Again go back to the book of Genesis. What's the purpose of man? We want to see the purpose of the lamb. What's the purpose of man? Man was created that they may love the Lord their God and serve him and to worship him.

[27:40] We were created to worship. There's no other creature in all of creation that has such a longing to worship. The animal's kingdom doesn't do it.

[27:50] Nothing else around us does. They have a purpose. They fulfill their purpose and they go on. They move by instincts. They move by natural causes we would say. They move according to their design.

[28:01] But man, mankind has a desire to worship. There's never been a people group ever discovered that does not worship something. Have you ever noticed that? Never in all of human history has there ever existed a people group that does not worship.

[28:17] All men of all places of all times worship something. It may be animistic worship where they worship the animal kingdom. It may be nature worship where they worship the trees and the stars.

[28:28] It may be heavenly worship where they worship the sun and the sky and the moon. But all people in all places and all times worship something. Sometimes it's atheistic worship where they worship their own intellect or their own selves.

[28:40] But man is worshiping something. Why? Because God said eternity in the heart of man. Ecclesiastes chapter 3. So that we know there's a longing other than us and apart from us something greater than us.

[28:51] And this intrinsic desire to worship is something inside of us that we have no answer for. And yet the lamb has come. And the lamb has come so that we may know who it is we should worship.

[29:02] The lamb has come so that we may say worthy is the lamb. Because no matter where you look my friend listen. You'll never find anything greater than the lamb.

[29:17] What has the tree done for you? What has the sun in the sky done for you? Are the moons done for you? What has anything around you done for you? What has any other man done for you? That would even get close to touching the helm of the garment of what the lamb has done.

[29:36] Worthy is the lamb. He has come that we may know his worthiness. Because we were created to worship.

[29:47] And all of the heavens cried. And all of the earth and all that was under the earth and all that was in the sea and everything and all things said to God and to the lamb be the glory.

[29:59] He is worthy of every exaltation that we could lay upon him. He is worthy of every praise that we could ever express to him. He is worthy of every act of devotion that we could ever commit to him.

[30:12] And we see the worthiness of the lamb. May we be like the four living creatures that kept saying amen. And may we be like the elders who fell down and worshiped.

[30:26] For we say worthy. Worthy is the lamb. Here's the purpose of the lamb. He has come to fulfill the word.

[30:38] To complete the work. And to display his worthiness. So that we may commit our lives to him for his glory and his alone.

[30:49] We gain from his reward. But it's not about our gain. It's about his worth. We're going to pray. We'll have a song of invitation.

[31:01] We're going to be able to take the Lord's Supper together. Father. As always we ask for your patience as we take the Lord's Supper trying to ensure that everyone in here and everyone in the back has the opportunity to take it.

[31:13] But may you use this time of invitation as it tells us in the word of God to search our own hearts and search our own minds. Understanding his worthiness that we may not partake of the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner.

[31:26] Would you pray with me? Father we thank you so much for this day. So thankful. That we have the opportunity of gathering together.

[31:38] Thankful that we can come before you through the blood of the Lamb. And we can proclaim your worthiness. Lord Jesus. Thank you for the cross.

[31:51] Thank you for the empty tomb. And thank you for the hope that it is offered and extended to a sinner such as I. May you be magnified to the remainder of our time together.

[32:03]  And we ask it in Christ's name. Amen.