The Mediation of Christ: Reign and Worship Ps Khabane Chabedi

Bible Reading And Prayer

So before saying anything, let me pray for us, and then we can go together to God’s Word.
Morena, we thank you this morning. We thank you that you’re a good and a gracious God. Paul says, “It is in you that we live, move, and have our being.” And for this, we want to thank you and bless you.

We are always thankful for your Word, for indeed your Word says the entrance of your Word brings light and gives understanding to the simple—and that’s us. And thus, even as we are about to enter into your Word, we are always thankful for your grace. For it is only in your grace that we are able to have our minds illumined, that we might fully understand what your Word truly says.

And even as I speak, all that I ask for—help me not to seek for an Oscar, but to give clear, pure understanding to your Word through the power of your Spirit. Make it such that it’s so simple that all of us can understand it. We are always fully reliant upon you alone, Holy Spirit. And for this, we want to thank you. It’s in Christ’s name. Amen. Amen.

If you hear me use these words, “bayaena.” “Bayena,” it just means—because I remember I was in another church—there’s this old lady who was also Zulu, and every time she heard me use this word bena, she’s like, “Yini bayena? Yini bayena?” All it means is bazalwane, or “saints.”

Please open with me to the book of Revelation.

Don’t worry, I won’t read the whole text. I’ll just give the first four, and we will run through each and every one of those. We’re going to do both Revelation 4 and 5. Open with me in the book of Revelation, chapter 4.

If you’re there, just say amen, then I will continue.

And I read:

“After these things I looked, and behold, a door was standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance, and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.” (Revelation 4:1-3)

God Is In Control

I heard this from one man in days past: there is no renegade atom in the universe. One of the smallest elements that you can think of is an atom. An atom does not do what it pleases. It is still under sovereign control of the true living God.

And thus, if you know that there is a power that holds all things, it is the only true living God. Now let me ask you—even from when we start—why do you think that your circumstances are not under someone’s hand? Why do you think that everything that you are going through, there is no God who’s in control?

Why is it that whenever you are facing difficulties, you and I think that we are all alone? It’s as if God does not care. It’s as if God does not see, because that’s what we pray.

Why is it that some of us, because of the past theologies that we heard, Satan is the one that we seek to speak to? Why do we think that we have power and control to bind? That’s what you were taught—a theology that says you need to bind things.

Observe with me now as we go into the text. First, when John writes, he writes that after these things. Which things? You have to ask. The things that he had already seen.

If you go with me to chapter 1, it says in verse 1—observe—it is about the revelation of Jesus Christ. The whole book of Revelation is about Christ. And all that you are to know about the book of Revelation is this. One man says it so clearly: it’s about knowing that you and I need to come and play, but the game is already won.

Meaning what you and I read is what is going to happen in the future. So you and I are sitting at a vantage point. We already know what is going to occur. You and I know.

And look at something else. What you also need to observe is this: everything is about Christ.
And therefore look at verse 19. What he also says in verse 19, he says, “Therefore, write these things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things.” (Revelation 1:19)

So when John writes, he’s being told about the whole gamut of what’s going to happen in time.
So what he has seen—what is he saying? It is just a witness.
But he’s not just a witness. This is an empowered witness.

And observe again: when he speaks of these things, then you know there are these messages, which are chapters 2 and 3. Because what you can see—this is a letter written by Christ to the church. And these letters—it’s not seven letters; these are seven messages. Whenever you look at these, they are seven messages to every church.

And after He has spoken, then He starts off now in chapter 4 with this one: after these things. Those are those things.
And look again. Look at the text. It says, “After these things… and behold.” This word is very important. You need to understand it. This is a significance marker. Anytime you read in the Bible and you see the word behold, it means everything that is going to come after there is very significant. Don’t take it lightly.

Observe the text again. Observe with me. Sorry, brothers, what you are going to hear—we are going to be looking at the text. Look at the text. He says, “And behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard, like the sound of a trumpet, speaking with me…” (Revelation 4:1)

All that he is saying to us is this: the One that he had seen before—now this message is coming through again. He has been spoken to.
Observe something: he is having a vantage point into heaven. He is saying there is an open door. God is not closed off.

Hence, let me tell you what my message title is: The Invitation to Witness the Universal Worship of the Reigning God and His Lamb.
Long title, but it says what is there: The Invitation to Witness the Universal Worship of the Reigning God and His Lamb.

God reigns.

The Invitation To Come And See

Let’s go back to our text. Observe something. He says he has heard—meaning it is a previous… But look at verse 1b. He says, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” He is being told about what is coming. And when he says, come up, what is that? That’s the invitation.

John is being invited to come and observe these things. And where is he seeing? He is now being invited—where? To heaven.
So everything that I need you to understand in chapters 4 and 5—the vantage point—everything is in heaven. Everything.

And when he says, “Come up here,” and he says, “I will show you,” he is saying there is this certainty. When he says, “I will show you,” he is saying there is this certainty. There is this certainty. It is as real, it is as genuine as can be. What John witnessed—it is not make-believe. It is something that he genuinely saw.

And look at what he saw. He says, “And I will show you what must take place.” So when he says come up, he has been called into the presence of God. And when he is called into the presence of God, you need to observe: God is not going anywhere. He has been called in.

And observe: “I will show you.” This one who is a witness is receiving an invitation, and what he is going to see is God’s unfolding plan throughout history. So there is a plan in place. There is a precision in place. It is a comprehensive plan.

Observe again: when he says, “I will show you,” what is he speaking? He is speaking that it will be revealed to you. You and I need divine revelation.

And you don’t need a voice. You need to go to the Word. Stop looking for the small voice—go to the Word so that you can understand it. You can’t practice what you don’t know. But that’s why we are here—so that we can look at it.

Look at the text again. The One who says—don’t worry, we won’t go through everything like that—but I want you to see something. He is speaking in the first-person pronoun. He says, “I will show you.” This One is independent.

Observe that. He is not dependent on anyone else to come and bring this. I will show you.

Observe also: because He is independent, it means that He has total freedom. And because He has total freedom, He is unhindered in His plans. He is unhindered in His purposes. No one can thwart His plan. No one can stop His plan—not you, nor I, nor Satan, nor any other powers that we shall also observe in the text.

Meaning there is no circumstance that He does not know about.

Observe also: because He says, “I will show you what must take place,” it means this One is the sovereign One. Sovereignty means independent—He does what He pleases.

God is sovereign—brothers. Two things: He does what He wants, and He allows certain things. And there’s no third option. Please note it—no third option. He does it or allows it. There is no other option.

Let’s go back to the text. He is the sovereign One, meaning He’s got all power vested in Himself. And because He’s got all this power, He’s got the power to accomplish the plans that He wants, with no one stopping Him.

Meaning everything that He does consists in Himself and in Himself alone.
Observe: when He says, “Come, I will show you,” this is the One who is speaking. Who is speaking? This is the kingly plan that you are going to observe. This is the sovereign plan that is about to be fulfilled. He says nobody is going to hinder Him, because this One is the One who is in control of time and history. And it means that all of His purposes will prevail over all of His creation.

So what you are seeing in chapter 1—what he is going to uphold—is for you to understand this One who is the sovereign One, and how then He is worshiped in heaven. He’s worshiped because He’s the King. He’s worshiped because He does whatever He pleases.

But let’s go now into the text. He says, “After these things…”—the invitation. And look, after the invitation he says, “Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and someone was sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance, and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.” (Revelation 4:2-3)

So what does it mean for you to enter into the divine presence? What do you need? You need grace. You have to be invited in. You just can’t come in. You can’t barge in. You need God’s grace to be able to come into His presence.

Observe again: the one who has been given that plan, the one who has been given the gracious invitation—what else also? He is empowered. How do you know that? Look at the text. He says, “I was in the Spirit.”

Meaning the Spirit is the One who provides agency. The Spirit is the One who provides certainty. Agency is the ability to be able to do something.

Meaning when he says, “I was in the Spirit,” don’t miss this. He’s also speaking—if you know something about this—he’s recalling words from the book of Ezekiel, Ezekiel chapter 1. And when he speaks of this, he’s saying to you that what he’s seeing and witnessing—between himself and Ezekiel—what they write are all coming from the Spirit of God. There’s no difference. That’s what he means.

And whatever he is going to write has authenticity about it. Whatever this written account is, is as true and as genuine as can be—just like the prophets. No, no—not the modern ones, right? Not the modern ones.

Oh, but we speak around them, brothers, they don’t go to prophets, right? Until when your child becomes sick, right?
Hey—it’s business to go. Go to a prophet.

“Let’s go to papa.” Modern-day things. We go to church and people are called papa.

Let’s go to the text again. He says this one who has been given personal certainty—meaning when he says, “And behold the throne,” it means what he saw, he personally heard, he personally saw. Meaning he is about to find divine revelation. And because it is divine revelation, it is not human invention. It is not human conjecture. This is not a man thinking and saying, “These are the things that I want to see.”

And because it is from the Spirit, you need to understand that all of us need the Spirit of God to understand, or to enhance, our understanding of God’s Word. Because human ability on its own is impotent—meaning it has got no power. No power.

And because we don’t have this—because human understanding—that’s why you and I need to understand that when we come to the Word of God, we need prayer for the Holy Spirit to help us. So that we don’t fall asleep when we are reading the Bible.

I’m speaking to those who understand, right? Oh, you don’t fall asleep, right?

Daytime—2:00—you are watching television, and then it’s like, “Ah, let me just…”
Like a train—and there you are. You are trying to open your eyes. You’re doing this and like this. Or it’s even worse at night, right?
And I’m talking to those who say, “You know, I’m a night person.” You know the night people. And then they open the Bible—it’s worse even when it’s on your tablet or on your phone, right? It falls on the floor.

But you were watching television two minutes ago. Because then there is a power behind that, seeking for you not to. That’s why you need prayer.

But here’s another thing: when we read the Word, it is not just about information. We come to the Word so that we can enhance the relationship. It’s not about facts. It’s about spending time with God.

That’s why you need prayer. That’s why even when the eyes are like this, you stop and you pray again: “Lord, help me. Help me. Help me. I don’t understand this.” So that we can be in the Spirit.

And observe now, going back to the text. It says, “There was One on the throne…” But observe something first and foremost: all of this—chapters 4 and 5—is centered around the throne. One throne in heaven. And on this throne, someone is sitting.

And this someone who is sitting—it tells you that this throne exists. This throne is real. This throne, I said, is going nowhere.

And observe again: when he spoke, you saw that word behold, that marker that says everything that he’s going to say is significant. Meaning this One who is sitting on the throne—because He occupies it—means one thing alone: He has unfettered authority. No chains on Him, on His authority.

And because this authority is established, this One who is sitting reigns. And He reigns unhindered. He reigns unopposed. He’s sitting.
And where does He reign? He reigns over the whole universe. He’s in heaven.

And what he says, because He’s sitting on the throne—that’s why we are sure that there is only a single ruling authority.
What you are to see—observe this—this is also what Isaiah saw in Isaiah 6. That’s what John wants you to bring to your understanding.
I like how one man says it. He says you need to observe this: when John writes all of these things, he’s a man who is well acquainted with the Scriptures, and he’s able to use the Scriptures for his—for our benefit.

How well are we?

I was telling the people at church—let me just take a shortcut, just a shortcut. I was saying there are 1,189 chapters in the Bible, right? And because there are 1,189 chapters in the Bible, if you take 365 days and you divide it into this, you just need to read about three and a half chapters a day. Only three and a half chapters. If you start today, next year this time you have read the whole Bible.

The whole Bible. Three chapters.

But let’s make it practical for you, right? When you have the time, read six. Read six.
Look at the brother—he says this, right? Because then the following day he’s in a hurry. He says, “I want to read three chapters,” but he doesn’t have the time. So what he has done—when you’re reading six, you are forming a buffer for the day when you are unable to come and read. You only read one.

That’s all.

If you read any of the books or the letters—the epistles—it should take anything between 25 to 50 minutes if you read all of it. You’re reading because, remember, when we read, that’s how we form biblical theology. That’s how we are able to place things in the Bible. Suddenly you have read this, and then later on—months later—it’s like, “But man, it looks like I read this somewhere,” because it’s being repeated. Now you know how to read the Bible, right?

God’s Universal Reign

Let’s go back to the text. Because all that he’s saying is He is the One who is seated on the throne, and the throne exists over the whole universe.
Look at what he says in Psalm 47:8: “God reigns over the nations; God is seated on His holy throne.”
Psalm 103:19 says, “The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.”
Meaning there is divine, eternal, divine majesty—the rulership of God over all things.

Let’s go back to the text and see how this majesty is manifested. Because we have looked at the One who is seated, but look at how this majesty is manifest. He says, “And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone…”

And all that he’s talking about this, he’s saying: “Look at the majesty of God, the One sitting on the throne.” And when he speaks about this, he’s displaying to you the glory and the power and the excellence of God. You can’t explain Him. If you were to see Him in His glory, this is unmistakable.

What you are seeing in verse 3 is this One has an essence that is indescribable. You cannot describe Him. Not only can you not describe Him, He has this radiance around Him—this glory around Him.

And observe something also. It says there was a rainbow. You know what a rainbow is, right? Not the one that has been hijacked.
There’s the one that has been hijacked—the way we are looking at it. There’s a rainbow that’s been hijacked, because now people… there’s a word that we used to have. And by the way, I’m not denigrating.

When I was growing up, there was this word that meant happiness. If you were happy, you could use this word—that “I’m gay.” That’s what gay means: happy. But now it’s been appropriated for something else.

And not only did they appropriate it, they also appropriated the rainbow. Oh, now you understand. The rainbow has been taken. But what do we know about the rainbow? The rainbow is just God’s marker to say to us: there is mercy, there is grace given to the whole universe—no rain to come.

That’s what he means: that this One who is sitting on the throne has got what? He’s got grace. He’s got mercy.
And observe something, brothers. I need you to hear something here—just to show you. Let’s go to Daniel.
Let’s go to Daniel 7. Reminds me back home now—I’m going to be in trouble.

Look at verse 9. Daniel 7.

Daniel, writing—he has this vision, and you’ll see what this vision is like. He says, “I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took His seat. His vesture was like white snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames; its wheels were a burning fire.” (Daniel 7:9)

The One whom John saw is the same as the One who is the Ancient of Days in Daniel. This is God the Father.

And observe something: this One who is the Ancient of Days, in context, He’s the One who reigns amongst other ruling sovereign humanity. In context, because He is the One—He is saying He’s the One who rules, and He oversees time.

Not only does He oversee time, He’s the One who rules the universe despite all the transient kings who are there temporarily. Because all our kings and all our presidents are what? Finite. They are temporal.

That’s why I echo the words that were said here: we can’t blame our lives on politicians.
I said to church once—get this by now—politicians are always in election mode. After they win elections, now they start working for the next election, and the next election, and the next election. And they’re making us human for… oh yes, let’s continue.

So what he’s saying is that even in Daniel is that time and universal governance belongs to God alone.
Let me speak to you as a believer with this truth. I’m saying you and I can have an undeniable hope based on the fact that, despite what we are going through, we can have comfort during any time and any season that we are going through—because time is also governed.
Because we know this, this is the truth that must fortify our faith.

Because once you know that God is indeed sovereign… or we can do it, we can stand straight. Let me see—I’m not sure if I’ll finish.
That’s why even I remember when I used to be in the other church that I was in, we were told that when you are going for evangelism, a person must make this prayer of commitment. And if this person does not make this prayer of commitment, you have not done your job.

But until you understand the sovereignty of God—that God is in charge and in control—all you can do is pray. We can speak to twenty people and none hear us. None. Or they hear us, and then the following day—they go back.

God’s Presence

Let’s go back to the text. I’m saying this is what happens.

Let me speak to an unbeliever, if you are here. An unbeliever lives in a world of uncertainty. An unbeliever lives in a life of discomfort and despair, because you don’t have answers. You don’t.

Because the universe has got no authority. You then take authority and give it to whomever says they’ve got the power.
And others, because we live in this world, there are those who say we give power to the universe. “The universe is God.” That is a fallacy of reification.

The universe has got no personality. The universe can’t do anything.

“Oh, me—I believe in the God of the universe.” No, the universe can’t do anything because it’s created. There’s only one God—not the universe.

“But I believe in the universe.” No. No—fallacy. Wrong thinking. Because why? Because the universe has got no throne. Because the universe is centered around a single throne.

But I want you to observe something—we will rush through. Now you’ve got this throne, and on this throne what John wants you to see, there are things that he wants you to realize.

Look at verse 4: around the throne.
Look at verse 5: out of the throne.
Look at verse 6: before the throne.

So everything is throne-centered.
And because everything is throne-centered around the throne, he says there are twenty-four elders. Look at that. He says they are sitting, and they’ve got what? They’ve got garments—white garments. They’ve got crowns on their heads.

What he’s saying is this: these enthroned elders are ruling. And they are not ruling… they are ruling holy authorities.
And what you see is that they’ve got proximity to the throne. They are not on the throne. And observe also: because they are wearing white garments, that means they’ve got purity that they exhibit.

But look—out of the throne; there comes flashes of lightning, sounds and peals of thunder, and there are seven lamps.
All it says is that when you are seeing this, this is emanating out of the throne—meaning it comes from God Himself. And if you have the picture, this is Exodus 19, when God’s presence comes and inhabits Mount Sinai. Those are the exact words: the presence of God.

And recall, this is not just any presence. This is a judgmental presence too. Because anyone who came before the mountain did what? Whether you were an animal or not—you died. Because now, wherever God occupies, that place becomes holy—set apart. What it means; set apart for God. Thus, you cannot just come.

I can give you an example if you don’t understand this. There’s this example of this man called Uzzah. When they are transporting the ark of God, it’s not transported in the proper way. Then the cattle stumble, and it’s on a cart, and Uzzah reaches out his hands—and what happens? Struck dead—God’s holy, judgmental presence.

All it says is this: if you are seeing what it’s speaking of out of the throne, it tells you about even all these spirits. It says this: you need to understand it. When it speaks of seven, that word seven is about holiness. It’s about sanctification. It’s about purpose. I’ll say perfection.
But let’s go on. It says before the throne. What he says before the throne is this: though this God is majestic, He cannot just be approached. He is set apart. He is transcendent. He’s not like you and I. You can’t just come. You can’t just come.

And then observe also—we are going back—and it says, “And before the throne there was something like a sea of glass.” (Revelation 4:6) Meaning God is separate, separate from even His own creatures.

And observe those—these are four living creatures. And then he goes on and he explains them in verses 6 and 7, because they’re full of eyes. And all that you are seeing is these creatures have got closer proximity to God, unlike the elders.

And why four? Because this is the One who rules over the universe. But observe something: when now he explains them, he combines both the vision of Ezekiel and the vision of Isaiah.

But look at verse 8. Additionally, look: “And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings.” He says before these creatures—these living creatures—he says each one of them, meaning comprehensively, this is what they’re doing. Not one is excluded.
And look again: they are saying day and night. Meaning they have this unceasing activity that they are involved in.

And not only this—these angelic beings—they say these things, and then they do what they say:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” (Revelation 4:8)

Their worship is not silent.

Worship Of God

How’s your worship? Remember, we said worship is not just on Sunday or today. Your worship is every day.
Take care of them who are worshippers on Sunday, and then Monday to Saturday we can’t distinguish you from the world. You love what the world loves. You aspire for what the world aspires. Everything that the world wants, you want too. And all that you give—you give it a veneer of respectability.

Respectability on Sunday.

You know what a veneer is, right?

We have these countertops, and these countertops are made out of a certain wood. And then over the wood there’s this material that they put over the wood—that’s a veneer. So that’s what we do. Day to day we live like this, and then on Sunday we come and want to put a veneer of holiness.
But when they are speaking, they are saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God the Almighty, who was and who is.” And all that they are doing—they are extolling God’s perfection.

And because He is holy, holy, holy, this is emphatic holiness. And when they say Almighty, this is the omnipotent God. And the One who was and who is—this is the One who is eternal. That’s the One who’s sitting on the throne. And the One who is to come.
What you need to understand: when you come to worship, genuine worship always must respond to revealed glory. Your worship must follow what God’s Word says. You cannot make up worship.

“I worship God in this manner.”

No—God has revealed Himself in how He has to be worshiped. That’s why I open the Book. You learn worship.
And observe again: when the living creatures give glory, they give honor to the One who sits on the throne. He says—plus to this eternality—this One who is living, He is unceasing. He’s got non-temporal existence. He lives forever.

Because He lives forever, He will never die.

And because He will never die, this is what gives you and I confidence and assurance in our faith with Him.
In the church I used to be in—let me give you an example. There was this older man who was a boxer. And because you want to win your bouts, right? This man said that if anybody knows Soweto because I’m from Soweto.

In the old days there was a busy intersection there in White City. These people would give you difficult assignments: go to the crossroads at that busy intersection at 12 midnight for him to win his bouts. And because you want to win, you want to do it.

But this old man—when I met him—he said, “I kept on doing this until one day I had a bout. And then I’m coming to this old man to come and get my powers.” And I’m seeing a tent. And when I’m seeing a tent, I see…

In the old days, for those who know what I’m talking about, right?

And all this because we used to—those who don’t understand—we used to take ash when there was a funeral and smear it on the windows, and it signified to say there’s a death here. So this old man comes, and when he sees the ash and the tent and everything else, he’s like, “I’m looking for this old man…”

But there’s ash. He’s dead.

Not God. Not God.
Because even when they speak, they not only see Him—because this One must never die. We find this, and they also express what? They are thankful to Him. They give what? They are grateful. Because why? The One who sits on the throne—because He does not change. He is immutable.

And I said, because He does not change, His purposes, His promises, and also His judgment do not change. Because remember, this vision is about judgment. His judgment does not change.

We are told—what is the Holy Spirit for? Why is the Holy Spirit sent? Because we must know about righteousness, right? We must have faith in what? In judgment.

And it’s amazing that when we go evangelizing, we don’t tell people about judgment. Because we don’t want to get on their bad side. We don’t want to tell them that they’re already under God’s judgment and wrath – already.

You know, preaching sometimes… let’s continue.

And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks, they say this to the One on the throne. And look at them—during this time, when they are doing this—then the twenty-four elders fall down before the One who sits on the throne, and they worship Him who lives forever and ever. And they cast their crowns before Him, saying, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things.” (Revelation 4:11)

Therefore, when the twenty-four elders say this in response to what they are hearing, what do they do? They worship. They join the creatures in worship. And their posture—what do they do? They fall down. This is obeisance. This is falling down and saying, “We give worship and honor to You.”

And why? Though they are ruling, they understand that they only have delegated authority. Because the church only has delegated authority. We do have it. Pastors have authority, but it is delegated authority.

I wish I could go to some churches and remind them that that papa is not the final person. You can disagree with papa.
Anyway, that’s what I told my children. You can disagree with me anytime—but please let it be Word-based. Disagree with me. Show me the Word and say, “You said this, but the Word says this.” Or if there’s an inconsistency in my character, it’s fine. I’m not Jesus.

Certain churches—Jesus is there, right? No. There’s Jesus, and there’s others, and there’s us. Even some of us here—that’s how we think when we think of pastors. There’s Jesus, there’s pastors, and there’s us.

And I always say: no pastor goes to the Pick n Pay and says, “I choose to be a pastor.” If you are a chosen—you chose yourself—then the results will follow you. And what are the results? We know them. Money and a skirt. The ladies in the church are finished. That’s what I mean. Because of the pastor. The pastor loves…

Let’s move on.

Let’s go back, brothers, I want you to finish. Look—it says that they are giving glory and honor to Him, to the One who is the Creator. But look at the reason why they do so. They say it is because “they exist and they were created.” Meaning their worship reflects the worthiness of God daily.

Meaning their thoughts, their deeds, their conversation reflect God’s worthiness.

What is worship? Worship means nothing else but total dependence. Total.

And if God has got—if you are totally dependent on Him—it means that God then becomes the ultimate source for everything in your life.
You depend on God even when you have failed.

When you fail to live like a Christian, you’re still a worshipper. When you have been caught, you can always come back to the ultimate source, because He is a gracious and merciful God.

Because you do so, you always acknowledge His authority. And because you are totally dependent on Him, it means circumstances—whether good or bad. I’m saying to you: worship is a full-time occupation.

It’s not a once-off. And because it’s a full-time occupation, it is independent of your feelings. It is independent of your comfort. It is independent of your discomfort. When your boss is giving you trouble, you’re still a worshipper.
You don’t have to say, “I told him. I told him.” The only word that didn’t come out—I didn’t have it.

And this is a worshipper. And when you have failed like that, you come again. You come before Him. You repent, ask for forgiveness, and go to your boss and ask for forgiveness—because you’re a worshipper.

Parents, when you have done wrong, go to your children and say, “Please forgive me. I did wrong.” How then will your children know that indeed you’re a true worshipper and you’re dependent on God? How will they know?

Because if you sit on your throne, you don’t want to come and apologize.

Husbands, when you have done wrong—because you are a worshipper—you come and you ask for forgiveness.

Oh, wives. You are a worshipper. Please forgive me. Don’t sit on your high horse. Because we sit on a high horse and say…

I’m talking to those who are married. If you are hearing this and you are not married, you have a problem because…

Let’s go back to the text. But these are not worshippers.

I’m saying, despite comfort or discomfort, because worship is from the heart. Worship is from here, because this rules everything that you do. Because if it is from the heart, it means it must be permanent. It will not be transitory. It must be fulfilling instead of unfulfilling. It must be genuine, or it will be short-changed.

God’s Worthy Lamb

But brother, I’m left with ten minutes. Let me see if I’ll be able to rush through chapter five, because He’s still on the throne.
Observe something—I’ll show it to you. Look at this. Look at how verse 1 starts. He says, “I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and outside.”

Meaning this vision is now ongoing. It has not stopped. That’s why chapters 4 and 5 go together.
And the One who is on the throne—because He has the right hand—has sovereign power and authority. We know who that is. That’s the Ancient of Days. That’s God the Father.

And because there is a scroll, the scroll is a legal document talking about God’s universal plan of judgment. Because in heaven, God is always worshipped. God is given His due essence for who He is. On the earth, it does not occur—because of Adam.
And because it is sealed, it means that this judgment, whatever plan God has, it is a complete, comprehensive, purposeful plan. And it is foolproof. God’s judgment upon the world—this universal plan—is not going to change. That’s what he’s saying.

Because God wants to establish His kingdom.

And look again. He says, “And I saw a strong angel…” Meaning this strong angel is the one who is now making a public announcement. When he is proclaiming, there is a public announcement. And what is he doing? Proclaiming the worthiness that reveals this divine plan.
And furthermore, what does he do in verse 3? He says every creature was spiritually importent—look—“in heaven and on the earth and under the earth…” (Revelation 5:3) there was no one. Meaning there is no one worthy. No one worthy.

And when he speaks about all of this, he is saying everyone is spiritually impotent to open God’s plan in all the realms—whether in heaven, whether on earth, and even in the place of the dead.
Underneath the place of the dead.

That’s why we said: you can’t go… You can go and put up a tombstone, but that’s it. We don’t go back there and seek stuff. We are told they have no power. There is only One.

No one—no one could open. None of this.

And when he says, “Then I began to weep,” this is his response. When he hears that there is no one worthy—no one worthy at all. (Revelation 5:4)

This is a sign of despair, because he sees that there is a limitation in all the realms regarding who then can reveal this plan of God.
And he becomes hopeless, because he says that when there is no one who can open this plan, it means the only one who can open it must be holy and righteous enough to open this plan.

So what is he seeing? He is seeing that the world is under the misery and judgment of God, because there is no one who qualifies.
Meaning there is no confidence, there is no assurance for the plight of humanity. That’s what sin has done for us. We are all under sin, under the misery and the judgment of God because of what we have done.

I like how one man says it. He says, “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 3:23) What are wages? Payment. God pays us through death because of our sins. That’s why we are all going to die.

And one of the elders—look at it—in addition, these are the ruling worshippers. And they said to me, “I need you to observe this.” He hears. And what does he hear? He is given an instruction: “Stop weeping.” (Revelation 5:5)
Meaning, because it is a positive command. When it’s a positive command it means stop it. Stop it.

When? And, you see the marker again—what’s the marker? Behold. What must you look at? The Lion that is from the tribe of Judah and the Root of David. What has He done? He must overcome.

What it means is that these are titles for the Messianic One, because the Messianic figure is the God-like figure who must then come. And that’s what they thought, because this is the Davidic One.

And these titles are not just titles. These are titles of conquest. These are titles of military power. That’s why, when you look at David, he is the type of Christ.

But again, look—He has overcome. Meaning this One has defeated all of God’s foes, all of God’s enemies. They have been—look—He has triumphed. He has vanquished the foe. He is a victorious King, this One.

And look at verse 5c. So as to be able—His purpose, His victory—it says that He can then be able to open the scroll and talk about the judgment and the redemption that has now been fully accomplished.

This King has won. He’s won.

And not only that—understand—He has overcome all of the world’s evil. Satan has been defeated, because God’s righteous demand for holiness has been met. Justice has been done. And because of that, everyone who believes in His finished work is then ransomed.
He is bought back.

Because this One—what He does—He becomes a substitute. He takes away the sin, and in return He gives you God’s own righteousness. But that righteousness—I need you to understand this. I need you to understand this.

Why are you going to heaven? Not because you are in contact with Jesus. But in coming to Jesus, what did you receive? You received the righteousness that belongs to God. You are as right as can be, the way that God wants you to be.

That’s why you will go into heaven. Not because you raised your hand. Not because you walked to the front. But because, upon you receiving Christ, in return God gave His righteousness. That’s why He justifies you as if you had not sinned.
So this One who opens the scroll—he says He has eviscerated, comprehensively, any other power that is there.

And verse six—this is the key verse. Look at this: “And I saw between the throne with the four living creatures and the elders a Lamb standing.” (Revelation 5:6)

What are you observing? The position and the status of this One who is standing. But observe something: His victory is not a military victory. His victory is the One who was slaughtered. His victory is achieved by His death on the cross.
Thus this King, this King reigns not because He has superior military strength, but because He has died His death.

Meaning, when you look at Him, His sacrificial death on the cross is the only one that conquers. And observe again: because He is standing, it means He has been resurrected.

When God resurrected Him, He says, “This man is truly a righteous man.” That’s why—that’s what He says in Galatians—because this man is truly righteous. That’s why He had to be raised.

But observe also—we were told yesterday—because He is the worthy One. His death was like a lamb slaughtered, like when on Yom Kippur. One going on Yom Kippur.

Observe something. This One who sits on the throne has—I’ll use this word—imperial, absolute ruling authority. How do you know this? What does He say in Matthew 28:18? “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” That’s His imperial, absolute ruling majesty.
But I want you to observe: earlier on, John, when he wants to write about John the Baptist, he says that upon seeing Jesus he told them, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)

Meaning there is a focal point of salvation. Where is the focal point of salvation? It is on the Lamb.

Salvation is in no other name except the name Jesus.

But we know what the word name means. It talks about status, right? It talks about behavior. It talks about authority. That’s what the word name means—not just saying, “In the name of Jesus.” What you mean is because of the status, because of what He does, because of who He is. That’s what you mean: in the name of Jesus.

And observe: when John looks at Him and says He is the focal point, he is saying that through Christ redemption has been availed. He is the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world. Therefore, salvation is available universally.

Because Jesus is not a white man—we were told.

And I like this. Jesus never left that place. When people tell us—I don’t remember Jesus ever leaving Palestine and going to Europe. Do you agree with me? He’s never been there. He lived all His life in that one single geographic location.

And again, we know that salvation came to Africa before it went to Europe—the Ethiopian. So you are able to tell a long time—maybe you have not read the Bible. Let me inform you. Salvation came to Africa before it went to Europe, by the plan of God.

Reconciliation With God

But hear this: Christ’s death for all mankind means there is a certainty that He says sins are forgiven, and reconciliation with God is possible.
Remember, theologically, what reconciliation means. God reconciles you to Himself. You don’t come to Him.
He brings you to Himself.

That’s what it means when you’ve been reconciled, because you had no relationship with Him. Now He has brought you in, right? And because of that, it means whatever sins that you have, you have the ability to deal with your sin.

Because remember, the power of sin in your life has been broken. And remember, with sin you only do two things: you are either sinning against people, or people are sinning against you. But you have the ability to deal with it.

Don’t be like, “I love him with the love of the Lord,” you know—when they are there, you are sitting here; when they are standing with that group, you are sitting there—because you have never learned that sin is dealt with through what? Forgiveness and repentance. Repent. That’s how we go on.

An unbeliever—Christ conquering death. I’m saying to you unequivocally, emphatically, unmistakably: sin is dangerful for you. There’s a word like that.

It is deadly for you. It will kill you, and it needs your earnest attention today. You can hear about this conquered foe, but you don’t have the power to do it. And every time when you are hearing them say, “You need to come and be reconciled to God through this one reigning King,” you say, “I’ll do it tomorrow. I’ll do it tomorrow.”

Because you don’t understand the criticality of the moment—of you coming to Christ today. What if you don’t make it tomorrow?
I don’t have the stats, but I heard that in America 54 million people die a day. That’s a lot of people. Was it a year?Yeah, I’m not sure. I’ll look it up. You can come back to me. I’ll give it to you what the proper figure is.

And look at—now we are going to finish. This One who reigns—that’s why He is worthy. No one could be worthy. But look: He is worthy because He has conquered.

And He came. He took the scroll. Meaning He is now the worthy King because of His victory. Because He is worthy, He is now worthy to judge. We don’t have time—you can read it in John and in Daniel 7:3–14.

And when he says He has taken the scroll, it means salvation is certain and ultimate victory over death is sure. That’s why we no longer fear death.

And I want you to look at the response. Look at verse 8. There is a response. All he says is this:
“And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and they sang a new song.” (Revelation 5:8-9)

Observe: they are saying that He is worthy to be worshipped. Where? In heaven. Every heavenly creature is now saying this One, who is the ruling King, is worthy to be worshipped. The same way that the One who is on the throne is worshipped—none any way lesser.

He is worthy. Look—they are saying He is worthy. And because He was slaughtered, He was crucified, He brought redemption universally.
And look at this—there are those who are beneficiaries. He says, “You have made them into a kingdom and priests to our God.” (Revelation 5:10) They have a new identity. You have been given a new identity as a Christian.

That’s why you don’t have to worry about the past. I argued with another man who is very close to me. “No, you know, we come from the same family.” I’m going like, “Ah—whom the Lord has made new, I am new. I’m a new creation. New creation.”

And what does new mean? Not there before.

My dad has got no issues over me, because why? I walk in the new light. I walk in the light of God’s grace.
Look at this—observe their beneficiary status. It has been granted to them. They didn’t work for it. That’s grace. There’s no merit on their part that they can become this kingdom of priests.

And look at this—it means they have been spiritually transformed because they have been made into a kingdom. And they have been what? Observe also—they have now been elevated. They are now priests.

They can come before God on their own. That’s why we say Christianity—it’s a religion of priests, because there is only one High Priest. That’s why there is the priesthood of every believer.

That’s why you can come and pray before God. Even when your pastor is sick, you can come and pray, because he hasn’t got more power than you in the eyes of God.

That doesn’t mean there is no authority in the church. Hey—hey—let’s go back.

“And they will reign upon the earth.” (Revelation 5:10) What is this? That’s the plan that God had from the beginning. Remember when Adam was made—that original plan is now done, complete. You cannot go to the original plan without being restored to Christ. You can’t.
And observe—so he says, “Then I looked, and I heard voices.” (Revelation 5:11) What’s happening now? You are now seeing the worship that is in heaven. The very same creatures—but it’s not only this. It’s like even the myriads of angels. Every heavenly spiritual creature is doing what? Giving honor and wealth and might and glory and blessing to what? To the ruling, majestic Lamb.

The same glory is being offered to Him—the same glory that is offered to God. The same worship. No difference.

And they are saying, “Worthy is the Lamb,” because now—why is He worthy? He is worthy to be worshiped because why? He’s the ruling King. That’s why He’s worthy to be worshiped.

Remember, what is their worship? It is not forced. They are seeing His work, and they worship.

The day that you realize that—you can know God. You don’t need Papa. “Why do we go and evangelize? Evangelize so that we can make people worship us?” No, because without Christ, you don’t know how to worship, because you don’t have the truth.

Conclusion

We’re going to finish. And he says, to Him who sits on the throne—everywhere, everything that’s created on the earth, under the earth—and they’re all saying to Him who sits on the throne, the Lamb: “Be blessing, honor, glory, forever and ever.” (Revelation 5:13)
What are they saying? They are saying it to the Ancient of Days who rules with the Lamb. See that? It is not just the Ancient of Days—it is the Ancient of Days with the Lamb. That’s why they give Him honor, glory, and dominion forever.

And because they do so,brothers, it says even on the earth—this is now the universal worship of Jesus Christ across the whole universe.
Now, what you are seeing: because of the unfolding plan, because of Him winning and being the King, now the worship that could only be in heaven is now down on earth. That’s why He’s worthy to be worshiped. That’s why He’s worthy that you worship Him.

And you don’t have to force yourself, because you know what He has done for you. You could not save yourself. No one else could. Only the worthy Lamb.

And look again: the four living creatures were saying, “Amen.” They are affirming. And the elders—they fall down, and what do they do? They are worshiping.

The ones who were worshiping the One who’s on the throne are worshiping the One who’s on the throne and the Lamb equally, because Jesus is God. His mediation as King. Now you know why He’s the King—because He won through His death on the cross.

Now let me ask, as I close: why are you cast down?

Christ is your King. Why are you cast down? Because He reigns. Does He not have the power to answer all your prayers? Doesn’t He? Every prayer of yours—even a “No”—is an answer. Three answers, right? Yes, maybe, and no. “No” is still an answer. I don’t have time to teach you the full truth

But I’m saying to us, because He’s the ruling King, that’s why He says His army does what? More than us. His army conquers—but they don’t conquer militarily. They conquer spiritually. That’s why they’ve got the full armor of God, so that they can be able to conquer.

This is what God has given for you. You are able to conquer in all of your circumstances—(and I close) even the circumstances induced by your sin.

Father, we thank You this morning. May You alone be glorified and magnified—that indeed there is a ruling Majesty who’s worthy of worship, Christ our King. We bless You and honor You this morning. Amen.