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No claims of absolute originality are made for this material. As one man said, "I milk a lot of cows, but I churn my own butter." Please use these sermons as the Lord leads, but nothing on this site may be used for profit without my expressed, written permission!
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Back To The Future – Sermon #20 A MULTITUDE NO MAN COULD NUMBER Intro: As we continue to move through the book of the Revelation,
we are in the middle of a parenthetical passage. Chapter seven is inserted into the narrative to allow us to catch a
glimpse of the grace of God at work during the most horrible time earth has
ever known. In
our last study, we saw the Lord redeem 144,000 Jewish men. These men were sent
out into the entire world to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to all nations.
In this passage, we will see the fruits of their preaching, as a vast multitude
is brought to faith in Jesus Christ and is delivered out of the Great
Tribulation. It
comforts my heart to know that the Rapture of the church does not spell the end
of people being saved. I praise the Lord that He intends to redeem a multitude
that no man could number during the dark years of the Tribulation Period. This
passage reveals the heart of our great God. It is in His heart and plan to save
sinners, and He is going to do just that during the Tribulation. The
Bible is clear that Jesus Christ came into this world for the sole purpose of
saving sinners from their sins, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all
acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I
am chief.” Let’s
go back into the heart of the tribulation period and rejoin John in his vision
of that terrible time. In these verses, we are going to learn about a vast
multitude of redeemed saints, and we are going to get a glimpse into glory as
the curtain is pulled back just a little. So, let’s take these verses and
consider the subject: A Multitude That No Man Could Number.
I want to share some facts about this precious group of saints that are
presented in these verses.
A.
v. 9 How They Are Shown – Reading John’s description of this
multitude reveals a number of things about who these people are. 1.
Their Number – They are
described as “a multitude which no man could number.” They are a group of
people so vast that John makes no attempt at all to declare their number. What
a wonderful image of the grace of God. On
the Day of Pentecost, 3,000 souls were saved, All
of these great demonstrations of the powerful, saving grace of God pale in
comparison to what He will do during the Tribulation Period! God will save a
multitude that will number in the multiplied millions! Praise God for His
grace! 2.
Their Nationalities – We are
told that they come from “all nations, and kindreds, and people, and
tongues”. Here is a multitude that knows no racial, economic, social,
or national distinctions. The Gospel has been preached worldwide, without
respect to any people group and a vast multitude is saved. They are Gentiles
and they have been saved by grace. In the first none verses of this chapter,
God dealt with Jews. Now, He extends His grace to the Gentile nations of the
world. (Note: I praise the Lord that the Gospel of grace is a
message that applies to all people everywhere. We have our prejudices and we
judge people by the color of their skin; by their ethnic background; by how
they were raised; and by many other foolish, ignorant standards. God, however,
holds no such prejudices! He will save any soul that will come to Him by faith!
I praise God that it is that way. After all, if Jesus was a racist, us white
folks would be in trouble!) (Note: I would also like to remind us that the Gospel message
is not a Baptist message either. You may have heard the old story about a wall
in Heaven, and behind that wall there was a group of people just shouting and
praising the Lord. One fellow, who was new to Heaven, asked another fellow what
was going on behind that wall. The man answered, “Oh, that the Baptists, they think
they are the only ones up here!” There
are some Baptists who think that way! I have been accused of being so
narrow-minded that I think only the Baptists are going. Well, I am even more
narrow-minded than that! I don’t believe that all Baptists are going! I
praise the Lord that it isn’t just the Baptists that are going to Heaven! Any
person who will believe the Gospel, anywhere in this world will be saved and
will go to Heaven. But,
I still praise the Lord that I am a Baptist! If someone asked me what I would
be if I was not a Baptist, I would reply that “I’d be ashamed!” I don’t
think the Baptists are right about everything, just most things! I am a Baptist
because I think they are closer to the truth than any other group on earth. I
know that being a Baptist won’t get me to Heaven, but it will let me go there
in still! The difference between being a Baptist and being anything else is the
difference between driving a Yugo and a Rolls-Royce. That was a public service
announcement. Now, back to the message.) 3.
Their Natures – Some people
look at this multitude and see the church. This multitude is not the church! First,
they are “standing”. When the church is shown in Heaven, they are
sitting, Rev. 4:4. Second, this crowd
was saved out of “Great Tribulation”, v.
14. The church will be saved from that terrible time of wrath and judgment,
a.
They Are Virtuous – They are
“clothed
with white robes”. This is always a picture of righteousness in the
Bible. These people are saved by grace and they have been rendered righteous.
That is the promise of God to all who will come to Jesus Christ by faith, (Note: I praise the name of the Lord that the blood of Jesus
is able to reconcile us to God. When Jesus died, the wall of separation that
had been erected by sin was forever torn down and now, we can be reconciled
with God, Eph. 1:6-7; Rom. 5:10; b.
They Are Victorious – These
redeemed saints have palm branches in their hands. Palms are a symbol of
victory. The crowds waved palm branches and placed them in the road as Jesus
entered Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, B.
v. 10 What They Shout – These saints lift their voices in an
anthem of praise to their Redeemer for His redemption. They know that they are
in Heaven for one reason and for one reason only. They are there because of the
grace of God and the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. They praise Him for
His great grace! (Note: If there was ever a reason for praise, it is the grace
of God and the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins! His salvation is the one reason
for praise that all saints share. Our circumstances may change and we may walk
through hard places in life, but if you are saved, your name is written down in
Heaven and it always will be. That is a reason for praise, for shouting, for
singing, for testimony, for all the glory we can render unto our great God, C.
v. 11-12 What They Stimulate – When the angelic host around the
throne of God witness the unbridled praise of this redeemed multitude, they
join their voices with them in praise to God. The shouts of the multitude
inspire the angels to praise the Lord too. Can you imagine the sound of
millions and millions of voices joined together in an anthem of praise? Now,
the angels lift their voices and cry “Amen!” Thus, they add their
agreement to the praises of the redeemed. They add a seven-fold statement of
glory to God and praise Him for Who He is and for what He does. They know what
they have said is true, so they close their statement of praise with another “Amen!” The
angels cannot praise God for salvation, for they have never known the depths of
sin. But, these angels have seen the love of God in action as He went about the
business of saving lost humans. They marveled as they watched as their Creator,
the Lord Jesus, died on
I. The Description Of This Multitude II. v.
13-14 THE DELIVERANCE OF THIS MULTITUDE ( A.
The Ministry Of Their
Deliverance – John is told that these are people who “came
out of great tribulation.” These people have been living through the
horrors of the Tribulations Period. But, even during that time of intense wrath
and judgment, there is a ray of light as the amazing, boundless grace of God
reaches down to touch a vast multitude of lost souls. B.
The Method Of Their
Deliverance – These people were saved the same way people have always
been, and will always be, saved: by grace through faith, Eph. 2:8-9. We are told that they “washed their robes, and made them
white in the blood of the Lamb.” This simple statement reveals a
profound truth: God only knows on method of salvation. Whether
it was Adam and Eve in the Garden; Abel with his sacrifice; Abraham and his
ram; Those
of us on this side of the cross are saved by looking back to what Jesus did at
the cross and realizing that His death and resurrection are all that is needed
to our salvation. When we trust Him by faith, we are eternally saved,
I. The Description Of This Multitude II. The Deliverance Of This Multitude III.
v. 15-17 THE DESTINY OF THIS MULTITUDE A.
They Are Destined To A
Heavenly Presence – We are told in verse
15 that this multitude finds themselves at home in Heaven in the presence
of Almighty God. Their days of suffering and sorrow have ended and they have
arrived in glory. They are no longer separated from the Lord by distance, by
sin or by time. They are home with Him and they are there to stay! Notice
where they are! Because they have been redeemed and cleansed, they are allowed
to stand in the presence of God! This was unheard of in Bible times. In the When
Jesus died, the veil in the Their
present condition must make Satan livid with rage! Verse 14 tells us that they “came out of great tribulation”.
These people are in Heaven because they were martyred for their faith in Jesus
and for their refusal to embrace the Antichrist and their king and as their
god. It is possible that these precious saints are the same crowd we saw
praying from under the altar in Rev.
6:9-11. Now, their prayers are answered, they are home and judgment is
being handed out upon the earth. The worst thing Satan could do to these people
was to kill them, and it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to
them. They gave up the pain and sorrow of a world gone made for the safety and
joy of an eternity in the presence of God! B.
They Are Destined To A
Heavenly Profession – The Bible says they will “serve Him day and night in His
temple”. This joyous, redeemed multitude is in the presence of God and
they are at the beck and call of God. They will spend their eternity carrying
out His will as they serve Him, worship Him and bask in His presence. (Note: By the way, never think for an instant that Heaven
will be a boring place. We will not twiddle our thumbs, bored stiff while
eternity passes us by. We will be busy serving the Lord. There will be plenty
to do. I am convinced that just our praise and worship time will be enormous.
We will rest from our labors, but we will not rest from our service to Almighty
God. He’s got a job for you over there! By
the way, there’s no place to quit over here either! Oh, you might step aside
and let someone else do a job. There comes a time when it is time for a change.
There comes a time when it is time for “new blood” in some offices. However,
there will never come a time this side of the grave when you can rightfully sit
down on God and quit. As long as He leaves you here, He has a work for you to
do. Get before Him, find out what it is, and get to it!) C.
They Are Destined To Heavenly
Provisions – Now, remember, these saints were saved out of the
Tribulation Period. They had been saved, but they had also suffered with
everyone else on earth. Just because they turned to the Lord does not mean that
they were sheltered from the horrors of those days. In fact, their faith in
Jesus Christ might have made their lives even more miserable here on earth. Remember,
the book of Revelation is not in chronological order. We are seeing people who
are martyred throughout the years of Tribulation. We are told several things
about their past and about what they can anticipate in Heaven. ·
They will hunger no more – Remember the famines we talked
about in Rev. 6:5-6? We are also
told that Antichrist will require people to wear a mark in their bodies before
they can buy or sell, Rev. 13:16-18.
Because of their faith, they will refuse the mark and will go hungry. The Bible
also says that their refusal to wear the mark will be a death warrant to them, Rev. 13:15. But, we are told that in
Heaven, the Lamb will feed them! There will be no more hunger in glory. They
are home and they will be well cared for! ·
They will thirst no more – We are told that the waters of
the earth will turn to blood and be unfit to drink during the Tribulation, Rev. 8:8; 11. As a result, the people
of earth will be thirsty. But, in Heaven, they are led to fountains of living
water by the Lamb. They are satisfied there. ·
They will suffer no more – The references to the sun and the
heat remind us that the Tribulation Period will be a period of intense physical
suffering, and the redeemed saints of God will not be immune from the effects
of God’s judgments upon nature. In Rev.
16:8-10, the intensity of the sun will be greatly increased causing
dehydrated men great pain and suffering. They will literally chew their tongues
in their pain and agony. But, in Heaven, none of the things that hurt them on
earth will be allowed to follow them there. ·
They will weep no more – Imagine all they have seen and
suffered because of their faith. Their hearts have been broken and their eyes
wet with tears even as they gave their all for Jesus Christ. But, the Lamb of
God will wipe away the tears of their suffering and sorrow. He will comfort
them and give them rest, peace and blessing. ·
By
the way, these blessings are ours as well, Rev.
21-22! Conc: I praise God that He is a soul-saving God. I praise Him that He
reaches down in grace to call lost sinners to Him that He might save them. It
comforts my heart to know that He is coming to continue to do this even during
the Tribulation Period. We ought to praise Him for His saving grace and power. As
I think about this multitude today, I know that neither I, nor anyone in this
room, will ever be a part of that number. If you are saved, you will see them
one day and watch as they shout their praises unto the God and the Lamb. If you
are not saved today and Jesus comes back, you will never have another
opportunity to be saved. So,
here is the invitation: ·
If
you are lost and would like to be save, come to Jesus today and let us show you
how you can come to know Jesus. ·
If
you are saved, but there are issues between you and the Lord that need to be
addressed, you come and make it right. ·
If
you want to thank Him for His grace and blessings in your life, you come. ·
If
you would like to pray from some lost people on your heart, you come. ·
If
there are other needs, this altar is open.
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Copyright 2003 by Alan Carr |
