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2:12Well, the same can be asked about the ongoing issue of life in the United States. Where were the Christians when abortion on demand became normalized? Well, a year ago or thereabouts, you're looking at the calendar. You realize that something unexpectedly happened. Something happened. A decision was passed down from the Supreme Court that effectively ended abortion on demand in the United States, returning it to the States, where the States themselves would have to address the issue. And so I bring this up this morning just as a way to remember, to remember the plight of the unborn. If you can remember, just last week, the whole world was captivated by the thought of this little capsule, this deep sea exploring capsule that descended to view the wreckage of the Titanic. And as you know, those who are following the story, it was horrifying, the thought that they had been cut off and that there were these souls there in this capsule plunging to their depth. And unless there was some intervention, they would surely be crushed at the pressure of the deep sea. Well, you know how the story turns out. You know how the whole crew was lost. But it's interesting to know how that captivated the world. There's something within us that understands the horrifying plight of these individuals. And unless there was some intervention, their lives would certainly be lost. And so I submit to you today that there are millions today. Who are in a very similar precarious situation. We don't think of them as much, but they are in the most dangerous place in the world. Statistically, the womb is the most dangerous place in the world. It is the place of the most casualties. And so I bring this up this morning just as a way to remember. Inevitably, when issues like this come up, I know I will be criticized for maybe saying too much. My intention is not to make a person who maybe has had an abortion or maybe who has cast their vote in with those who perform abortions. It's not to bring shame, it is to awaken you to the situation that we have a cross. We have a cross for our sins. We are to be a people who are actively proclaiming the gospel, and we know that we are forgiven in Christ, no matter who you are or your background. Inevitably, I'll also be criticized for saying too much and not saying enough. The issue is so, so dreadful. Then I know I'll be criticized for perhaps even not being consistent. Why this issue. And not the other social issues that are facing our country. The church is certainly not commissioned to deal politically with all of the social ills of our society. But fundamental to making disciples is the right to life. We are called to make disciples, to bring about worship where worship is not. And so, inevitably, that means we need to remember, we need to defend, we need to call those to account who would deprive a person of a right to a breath of air. And so I say all that for the purpose of calling attention to remember, to remember those. This is a stunning change that happened a year ago.

7:00The fight is still going on, and to remember those who are deeply engaged in that fight, to remember those who are in a very precarious place, needing intervention, or else their life will be taken out. Remember the women who are carrying the light. Remember everybody involved in this. Remember. And pray. It's only the gospel that's going to change the hearts. That's why we continue to do what we do. So remember, stay focused. Let us not become like those who turn a deaf ear and drowned out the noise.

7:56Please stand for the reading of God's Word. Psalm 139, beginning of verse 13. You formed my inward parts. You wove me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in secret and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth. Your eyes have seen my unformed substance, and in your book were written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them. How precious also are your thoughts to me, O God. How vast is the sum of them. If I should count them, they would outnumber the sands. And when I awake, I am still with you. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we bow our hearts to you this morning, thanking you for life in Christ's name. Father, that you are the author of life. You are the author of physical life. You are the author of spiritual life. Father, and it is because of your good news that we can come before you as the vilest offenders, those who have profaned your name, harmed others, and wronged on so many levels the inhabitants of this earth.

9:41And yet, Father, we can come before you in truth, knowing that you are the God who justifies, you are the God who cleanses. Though we are sinners, yet you still love us. Father, and it is in this good news that our hearts awaken, that we become alive. And so, Father, it's because of this and because of the work of your Son that we stand before you this morning. And, Father, we thank you for life. We thank you for giving us life. We thank you for giving us days. Help us, Father, to be those who, in return, that because we have been loved by you, help us to be those who love others. Because we have been specially cared for and nurtured by you, help us to likewise show that same kind of care and concern for others.

10:30Father, I thank you for those in this country who stand up for truth, who are standing up for life. We thank you for the work of the church. We thank you for the work of all those organizations that have stood on this fundamental principle, recognizing that you are the creator of life and we are not. And so, Father, I pray that you would strengthen them and all of their efforts, Father, and that you would bless this body of believers here, that we will become a people excited, enlivened by the good news, excited to demonstrate your love to all those around, inside these walls and outside these walls, because of the great love that you have shown us, because we've experienced that. Father, help us to live that out in whatever way, shape, or form that may call us, or whatever duty that may call us to. We thank you for life. May you be worshipped this morning here in the lives that you have made. For it's in Christ's name. Amen.

11:43Amen. Well, once again, good morning and welcome. Please turn in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 14. Revelation chapter 14. I'm happy to be in chapter 14 today. It's such a bright spot. We get to have a vision, a vision of the first fruits. And it's in a chapter where we get to see a lot about the heart of God as we do, the heart of God and really the harvest of the earth. Let me go ahead and just read the first five verses. Chapter 14, verse 1. Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000, having his name and the name of his father written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of a loud thunder. And the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been purchased from the earth. These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb, and no lie was found in their mouth. They are blameless. Well, Just to give you an idea of where we are, if you look back at chapter 11, verse 15, then the seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in heaven. So we're going through those trumpets. We've gone through the seals. We've gone, open up the seventh seal, the seventh seal becomes seven trumpets. And then we've looked at the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth trumpet. And then in chapter 11, verse 15, the seventh trumpet sounds.

14:05But if you'll notice, nothing, the bowls, the seventh trumpet turns into seven bowls. Well, that doesn't happen until chapter 16. So in this interlude, in this period between the seventh trumpet or the blowing of the seventh trumpet and the pouring of the first bowl, you have a lot of background and overview information being given about this final conflict between good and evil. Look at chapter 12. Chapter 12 informs us that this final conflict isn't new. It's an ancient conflict between good and evil. You've got the dragon who's making his last and furious stand, last rage against God, against the one sitting upon the throne and his lamb.

15:00Chapter 12 is about the woman, depiction of national Israel, her child, the Christ who is to rule the nations, and the dragon's attack against first the child, the woman, he's expelled from heaven. And so his last stand is that of a general in retreat. This final conflict between good and evil that will manifest itself in the final days is really a general in retreat. It's an emotional rage. It's one last spite against heaven. And chapter 13 then informs us that this last stand upon earth, or the last stand, is number one, it's upon earth, and it will have a political component. That is the beast that comes out of the sea, the Antichrist. There will be political control over the world, but it will also have a religious control. I want to also control the way one thinks about God. And the two go together, and that's the beast from the earth, the false prophet. And so in chapter 13, you see this picture of the negative side of the conflict. You see the dragon in all his power, the beast.

16:30The beast from the sea and the beast from the earth in all their powerful heyday. It will last 42 months. And they will even have a seemingly victory over the saints. 13:7 said, It was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. So even the saints are going to be worn down. But then you come to chapter 14, and this gives us a whole different vision of the conflict. It gives us the other side of the coin. As you see, evil raging and all of its conspiring against heaven and against his anointed, and specifically against those who follow him. Then you see in chapter 14 the positive side of this conflict. It tells us how it's going to turn out before going into the specifics of the bold judgments that begin in chapter 16.

17:32And what's evident as you go through these verses in chapter 14 is who's in control. Though the dragon rages, it is that, it is a rage, it has a shelf life, but that God is in control. The Lamb is in control. It is to him. The obedience of the nations is ultimately given. But what's happening is that all these satanic attempts to control the world politically and religiously, all these attempts to pervert the faith of the saints will come to nothing.

18:24And so, as I've looked at chapter 14, I've divided it into two major sections: the heart of God and the harvest of the earth. I'll begin looking at the heart of God this morning. The heart of God and the harvest of the earth. Part one. Today we get a vision of these first fruits. We get a unique glimpse into the heart of God, specifically as it relates to the protection of his people, the vindication of his people, his reign with his people, his desire to fellowship with his people. We get this vision this morning, and just sufficient to rest our minds and hearts and be encouraged from what we see in these verses this morning. And that's what I want us to do. I just want us to look upon this vision of the first fruits. It's something that John saw, then I looked, verse 1, and behold, something he saw. It's even something he heard, verse 2. I heard. So it's something he took in by sight and by sound. And I want us to look upon this and just spend our morning upon it to encourage us to be faithful in the times we face. We're not the 144,000. They have their unique time and place.

19:52And as we look upon them and their faithfulness and their protection and their vindication, I hope that it will encourage you to be faithful in the times that you face. So, first of all, I just want to look at this vision of the first fruits. First, as the first fruits, and these are, this comes from verse 4. They have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. These are the first fruits.

20:29And first of all, it's evident from verse 1 that they will, as first fruits, reign with Christ. Verse 1. Then I looked, and behold, I took in a scene. I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000, having his name and the name of his father written on their foreheads. I looked, and behold, the Lamb. Standing. The verb is literally the Lamb having taken his stand. That's the idea. The lamb, he was there in his God-given stand. He had taken his stand. Despite all the raging that is happening in chapter 13, with the rise of the Antichrist, the rise of the false prophet, there he is. John looks up and behold, the lamb has taken his stand upon Mount Zion.

21:36Remember Psalm 2. Very reminiscent. Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us. He who sits in the heavens laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. Then he will speak to them in his anger and terrify them in his fury, saying, But as for me, I have installed my king upon my holy mountain, upon Zion, my holy mountain.

22:20You will have the nations as your inheritance. You will break them with a rod of iron. Discernment, O kings. Worship the Lord. And so there he is. He sees them standing on Mount Zion. And this is literal Mount Zion. This isn't some spiritual counterpart in the heavenly Jerusalem. The dragon has already been cast out of heaven. His rage is happening on the earth. The focus is in Jerusalem, as chapter 11. He has been cast out. The scene is Jerusalem.

23:01And besides all this, the Lamb is already established in heaven. He is on his throne. No, this is something unique. Literally, Mount Zion, there in Jerusalem, the vicinity of, there is the Lamb having taken his stand there, despite all the political upheavals and control and religious control of the Antichrist, his beast, and powered by the dragon. There is Christ standing, having taken his stand. But notice he's not there alone. And behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000.

23:51Who are they? Well, it's the same 144,000 that we've already met in Revelation chapter 7. Do you remember in that interlude? Between the opening of the sixth seal and the seventh seal, I'll just read it. Revelation chapter 7:1. After this, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God. And he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bondservants of our God on their forehead. And I heard the number of those who were sealed, 144,000 sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel.

24:53So, in contrast to those who took the mark of the beast, you have these who are marked with the seal of God. And they bear the Lamb's name. They bear the Lamb's father's name written on their forehead. By the way, it's clear that this is not the church, this 144,000. They are clearly not the Old Testament saints. This is clearly not a reference to the church, and it's not a reference to the Redeemed of all time, as many suggest. To take them as such destroys the first. Fruits analogy. The whole first fruits analogy is that these 144,000 are just a first fruits, implying there is more to come. It speaks of the quality, but also the abundance. Jesus Christ, you remember, he was the first fruits from the dead, speaking qualitatively of who he was. He was uniquely the first one that came out, resurrected body.

25:59He is the firstborn from the dead. 1 Corinthians refers to him. The first of many more. That's the whole analogy. And these 144,000 are a special group of people who endure the greatest challenges to pervert the faith in church history or in human history. There is systematic persecution. There is institutional deception. There is great social pressure to pervert the faith. And yet they remain loyal to Christ. What is being brought forth or showcased about these individuals is their incorruptible loyalty. That's the character.

26:45And more like these, yet distinct from these, are going to come. And so it's certainly first fruits. Another question asked about these hundreds. 144,000, are they martyred or not? Some suggest that they were all martyred. Some suggest they all survived. But sometimes I think we pose the wrong question. Because if you look at verse 13, 10, it says, If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes. If anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and faith of the saints.

27:30I think the emphasis is not upon whether or not they were martyred, but upon their refusal to be unfaithful to Christ. They're going to be faithful to Christ no matter what. And some may be martyred. Some may have to watch those they loved be martyred. Some may have to endure captivity. Some may have to endure who knows what else. But this 144,000, the emphasis isn't so much whether all of them were martyred or all of them were not martyred. It seems that some of them at least were getting worn down, that there was power given to the beast to overcome them. We see that the two witnesses in chapter 11, even they are going to be killed by the beast, and they are going to be resurrected in the sight of everyone. So certainly it stands to reason that many of these died.

28:27I don't know if it's necessary that they all die. But again, the emphasis here is not so much upon Satan trying to kill as many as he can, but to pervert their loyalty. And that's what Satan is about. He is about perverting your loyalty to Christ. Just like he will be with these people about perverting their loyalty to Christ, so he is very much active today seeking to pervert your loyalty to Christ. And he does it through fleshly temptations. He does it through vain pursuits. He does it through social pressures. He does it by causing you to be ashamed of his word, neglecting his word, all these kinds of things.

29:13But these 144,000 are devoted to him, and they will reign with him. So who are they? Well, the answers have already been given to us. They're specifically from the nation Israel. God remembers all of his promises. In fact, in Romans 11, 25, Paul says this, for I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery, so that you will not be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved. Just as it is written, the deliverer will come from Zion. He will remove ungodliness from Jacob. This is my covenant with them when I take away their sins. And certainly, if you look at chapter 9 and verse 21, what happens? After all these trumpets are blown, seals are opened, trumpets are blown, there's a great multitude coming to Christ. These are from all the different nations. And then in chapter 20, or at chapter 9, verse 20, it says, The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons and the idols of gold and silver and of brass and stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murderers, nor their sorceries, nor their immorality, nor of their thefts. So by the end of chapter 9, it seems like we're getting close. If not the full number of the Gentiles has come in, you have a shift of focus then, beginning in chapter 10 and specifically chapter 11 on Jerusalem and the change, the removal of the ungodliness from Jacob. So who are these first fruits? Well, it's already told us they're from the nation of Israel. They are the firstfruits of a repentant Israel, those who have the ungodliness removed.

31:26But they are also the firstfruits of all those who will. Reign with Christ. Not just a picture of that one nation and how God's going to rule and through whom Christ is going to rule, but it's also a picture of the first fruits of all those who will reign with Christ. There will be many nations. So, first of all, it's clear these first fruits from verse 1 is that they will reign with Christ. There they are with Him. After all the attacks and efforts, there they are, and they will reign with Him. Second, as first fruits, they will sing a unique song.

32:16And I love this. Look at verse 2. And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of loud thunder. And the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. John hears a voice from heaven. So, again, in contrast to earth, indicating that this Mount Zion is, he's seeing this from an earthly perspective. Then, out of heaven, he hears this voice. And the voice is clearly not the 144,000, but it's that of angels in unison. It's a voice. It's like, remember in Revelation 1, 5:11. 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 upon thousands, innumerable about, but John refers to them as one voice. I heard the voice of many angels, not the voices of many angels. I heard the voice of many angels. It is the voice. I heard a voice from heaven, a voice of unison. And look how he describes it. Three remarkable comparisons. Think about this voice.

33:41Like the sound of many waters. Ever heard the sound of many waters? Been in a waterfall? It's powerful, it's full, it drowns out everything else. You have to shout to be heard. Like the sound of many waters. Also, like the sound of thunder. Think about thunder. Boom. Loud. Striking. Captivating. It's noticeable. It's unavoidable. The sound of many waters booming. But at this point, there's a third description. Like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. So it's beautiful. It's. A melody.

34:33So if you put all this together, it's an awe-inspiring, melodious harmony of voices that drowns out everything else. That's the sound that he hears. That's the voice. But as we keep reading, we learn that it's a song. It's a new song. Look at verse 3. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been purchased from the earth. So he's hearing the song. That's another evidence that it's not the 144,000 because 144,000 are the learners of the song. Humanly speaking, only the 144,000 can learn this song.

35:30They are the learners of the song. And the reason why they are the only ones who could learn this song is they're the only ones who went through what they went through. They are purchased from the earth. So you get this throne room scene. We've seen the throne. We've seen the elders. We've seen the living creatures. We've seen the myriads and myriads singing in unison. Sing all that. So, here with this view, it's like this: there's John. He sees the Lamb there with this 144,000 followers, and then all of this huge chorus.

36:16It's a very live and vivid and exciting and joyful and worshipful scene. See, the goal, they had been purchased from the earth. Literally, they had been bought, they had been redeemed. And you can be sure that one of the goals of redemption is worship, is to worship Him to them, to this group. It's clear it's a unique song. No one else, humanly speaking, is able to learn this song. You know why? Because it was given to them to magnify God with a unique song. A song that can only be learned out of their unique times, out of these unique circumstances, and God's deliverance through it all.

37:08That's how they come to be a singer. A singer. They can learn the song. They can worship God with this voice. A new voice, a new song, because of what they have gone through and what they have experienced. In fact, you remember Moses' song. After the deliverance from Egypt, his song was about redemption. His song was about deliverance. And it came out of his unique time and his unique place. Listen, we all have a song to sing.

37:46We all have our God-given, unique times and places. We have our unique opportunities to magnify God with the voice that He has given us, to magnify Him in our situation, in our circumstances. I don't care who you are. You have a unique time, a unique place, and it's given to you so that you may magnify God with a new voice. You can sing the song that only you can sing. Just like these. It's clear that others are going to participate in the song of redemption. We all, in one shape or form, have been redeemed. I mean, we've all been redeemed, but in one shape or form, we're going to sing our own unique song, add our unique strain to the full orchestra and chorus of heaven, proclaiming how great God is. And let me tell you what he did in my circumstances. Let me tell you what he did. Oh, yeah, let me hear what he did in yours. Let me hear. And so the same is true about these 144,000. But they're going to sing a strain, a verse, a song of that greater song of redemption. That is unique to them because it comes out of their unique circumstances.

39:06They were purchased by Christ, and they will worship Him for His redemption and deliverance in their unique circumstances. And this is certainly a unique time in history. So, as first fruits, they will reign with Christ. Second, they will sing a unique song. And third, they will be singularly devoted to Christ. They will be singularly devoted to Christ. You know, when God redeems a person, He also has a place for that person. When He saves us from something, He saves us for something.

39:54We were purchased by Christ, but we're also purchased for Christ. Just like these men here. These men were not only purchased by Christ, they were purchased for Christ. One thing is clear about these men: this is a unique class. They will prove to be loyal to Christ in the most satanically controlled political and religious environment in Earth's history. They are singularly devoted to Christ. And their devotion to Christ stands out in three areas. Look at verse 4. First area is their sexual purity. Look at verse 4. These. Literally, these ones. And that's going to say it three times. These ones, these ones, these ones. These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. They're going to be a big contrast to their society. They prefer Christ to any form of fleshly indulgence, especially that in view here is that of sexual perversion. And at a time when sexual perversion is mainstream, even more so than our times now, they choose to imitate Christ.

41:30They will live in a time when there are Proverbs 7 women everywhere. But they are skilled in keeping them at a distance. Notice that it's passive. These are ones who have not been defiled. In other words, they have not been stained. They have not been polluted by the sexual pressures of their time. That's looking out for them, that's trying to find them. They're like, no, they have learned the skills. In keeping the Proverbs 7 women away, keeping them at a distance. They are very skilled at that.

42:11So as to not allow them to be polluted. Allow the women to pollute them. Now, it's important that we do not read into this, meaning that legitimate sexual relationships within marriage defiles a person. It doesn't. Hebrews 13:4 makes that very clear. Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled. So the marriage bed is expected to be undefiled. For fornicators and adulterers, God will judge. So we're not talking about legitimate sexual relations within marriage. That doesn't defile a person, and that's not what's being said here.

42:58What it is saying is that these men are not the kind of men who are engaging in illicit sexual practices, just like those I just read in chapter 9 and verse 21. They didn't want to repent of their murders or their sexual immoralities. And there's usually an association between the two. Murder and sexual sin often go together, especially in the case of unwanted children, but in others as well. You take away the sexual perversion. I just wonder how much of the murder left in this would be left. It would certainly be reduced.

43:41But what it is saying about these men is that they're above reproach in the area of sexual purity. And perhaps there's a word here. They have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. The word could be chaste, like in terms of sexually pure, which may give an indication they could be married, or it could also be translated virgin. They had kept themselves virgin. They may be like Paul or Jeremiah, because of the distresses of the time, feel that it's good not to marry and to be singularly devoted to Christ. And that may very well be the implication here.

44:34But one thing is very clear. Either way, they are sexually above reproach. They are singularly devoted to Christ in the area of sexual relationships. And I realize that as we look at our times and men of our times and women of our times, for that, many people struggle in this. Area. I want you to look upon these men for just a moment. They don't have any resources other than what you and I have, and yet they know how to keep themselves sexually pure. They know how to keep the distance, keep the Proverbs 7 women. They know the accesses, they know the doors and the places, they know where her corner is, and they know. They learn.

45:30So, the first area of devotion that stands out with these people, they're sexually pure. Second, they go wherever He goes. They want to go wherever He goes. Look back at verse 4. These ones, again, these are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These, these ones have been purchased from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. You know what following Christ means? Following Christ means to adhere to His instructions and to promote His cause. That's what basically being a follower of Christ is: to adhere to His instructions and to always be about promoting His cause. That is a description of these men. There were no, they allowed no rivals alongside Him, they have no refusals to Him, and there is no restraint in their dedication to Him when He needs them. To speak on his behalf. They speak. They speak without flinching. They speak regardless of the sacrifice. They are not ashamed of his words. They go wherever he goes, wherever he leads, whatever he instructs and whatever promotes his cause, they are there, singularly devoted to Christ and his cause. That's who these men are.

46:55They followed him on earth during the worst of times. And here we see a scene where they will accompany him in the best of times. They are gifts. They are gifts to Christ. Like the mighty men given to David. You know, if you're going to have a kingdom and you're going to need to set up rule, you're going to need some loyalty in your ranks. And here's the gift: like the mighty men given to David, these 144,000 from the nation of Israel seem to be this loyal, administrative, priestly entourage that serve him throughout the millennium. They go where he goes.

47:43It's interesting to me how many people want to replace the 144,000s, the 144,000 with the church. No, this is really the church. Or they somehow feel like there's a blessing given to this 144,000 and they want it for themselves. So they many want to replace the 144,000 with themselves or the churches, the benefactors. It's like there's this theologically coveting going on of their blessings. No, this is a unique group. Firstfruits, might I add? First fruits, more to come. We're included. May not be uniquely them, but blessed among them.

48:29Listen, I don't have to sit at the head of the table to enjoy the meal. I've enjoyed doing a lot of weddings this last month. I just yesterday, part of a great reception afterwards, I didn't have to sit right next to the groom in order to enjoy the fellowship around the table. I don't have to be first in heaven to be able to enjoy heaven. Listen, I look at these 144,000, I see this vision, I think about what the Lamb has gone through, and I am thankful that God has given him mighty men like this. He deserves it.

49:12I'm happy for the 144,000. I don't have to replace them with myself or somehow covet what they have. I can be excited for them. I can be excited for the nation of Israel that they will have gifts like this. Given to them who will lead them in righteousness, I can be thankful. I don't have to covet what they have because I know these are first fruits. I know that there is no partiality with God, and I know that He is good.

49:46And they're servants. They're going to set the table. Listen, just being in the room is proximity enough to the greatest blessings of all time. What I do want to learn from these 144,000 is I want to be like them. I want to be faithful in my times as they are faithful in their times, and I know I have the same resources that they have. So I can look at them as an encouragement. But there's a third way that they are devoted. Not only do they devotion to Christ stands out in the area of sexual purity, and they go wherever He goes. Third, they walk in truth. Look at what it says in verse 5. And no lie was found in their mouth, they are blameless.

50:48Nothing deceitful, no pseudo-truth can be found in their mouth. They always tell the truth. Number one, and they always proclaim the truth more importantly, but their speech reflects their heart. They're not ashamed of the truth, they love the truth more than they love their own lives, and they don't have to give in to pseudo-truths. They always tell the truth, you couldn't find it in their mouth. Blameless. I'm happy for Israel that such leadership is in their future. I'm happy for the nations, I'm happy for Christ.

51:51I'm happy for the church. They're good. This vision is so beautiful. Despite all the raging, there he is, having taken his stand. He sits in heaven, he reigns, and that rain will take its stand upon the earth. That's why I'm optimistic about the future. It's because I know who holds the future, not just individually, but for the whole planet. Well, As first fruits, they will reign with Christ. As first fruits, they will sing a unique song.

52:40As first fruits, they will follow Christ wherever he goes. They will singularly be devoted to him. This vision, we're not the 144,000. But this should encourage us to see men who are faithful in the most difficult of times. It should encourage us to be faithful in the times that we have, to sing our unique song, to rejoice. It's the same heart, the same heart of God is being revealed here. As he vindicated and protected this 144,000, he will protect and vindicate you and I.

53:28As Christ desires to reign in fellowship with this 144,000, so he desires to reign in fellowship with all of his people. Does so then, does so now. And with this, we can rejoice and be encouraged today to magnify God with a new song that rises out of your circumstances. Regardless of what you're facing, may you be like these men who reign with him, who sing a unique song, who go wherever he leads now and later. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we give you thanks for these eternal truths that you have written, that we might look upon these words and be encouraged and be fed and be inspired to live for you in our times, regardless of what you call us to do. What a joy, what a privilege. Thank you, Father. In Jesus' name, amen.