Bro Gary Sunday AM 3/20/11

Bro Gary Sunday AM 3/20/11

Revelation 4:6-7 KJVR

(6)  And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

(7)  And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.

This text shows four living creatures, (better translation than beast), that represent the Church of God standing on the sea of glass, the Word of God.  It shows the same picture in Revelation 15.  

The church is a calf and an ox in the thought of a sacrifice of labor.  

John was on the isle of Patmos and was an old man at this time.  This was a very deserted island and kept strictly for prisoners.   He was exiled there but he wasn’t deserted by God.  We’ve all found ourselves in places where if we had our say we would never have to be.  Events in life can be very awkward.  If you are in a place like this, you are there for a specific purpose don’t mess it up by grumbling and complaining.  

I don’t know how long John was on the isle of Patmos but while he was there God gave him this recording that he wrote in the Revelations.  In the fourth chapter, we see where John looked up and saw a door opened in heaven.  This is encouraging to me because I believe God still wants to open up the door in heaven to us today.  In Malachi God left us the promise that He would open the windows of heaven and perform His promise if we would do what He asks us to do.  God knows how to open the windows and the door of heaven so that we can hear from Him.

However spiritual you feel you are today, you haven’t arrived yet, come up a little higher.  

Revelation 4:1-2 KJVR

(1)  After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

(2)  And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.

I don’t know what the year was that the wonderful song was written, “God is still on the throne.”  But God is still on the throne.  

Revelation 4:3-4 KJVR

(3)  And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

(4)  And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

This scripture is written to show you and I that God is of most value, a red diamond, a beautiful sight, on His throne.  There was a rainbow around the throne.  God wants us to see Him on His throne, and the rainbow, a glowing rainbow in sight like an emerald, surrounding the throne.  There is something about the way God created things on earth, as beautiful as a rainbow is, the pictures we take of it are never quite as beautiful.  We don’t know how to capture the glow yet.  God wanted John to see, for our benefit, God on His throne surrounded by the rainbow.  The rainbow represents the promises of God.  God keeps His promises.  

John saw heaven opened, God on His throne, the glowing rainbow.  There are promises of God in the 66 books of the bible and when you find them, they will be alive and glowing and speak to your heart.

He saw representations of individuals from the Old Testament and from the New Testament and they were clothed in white, the garments of salvation.  These are representations of all that looked forward to the messiah coming to be the perfect sacrifice for their sins (Abraham’s faith was accounted as righteousness.) and all that experienced the wonderful salvation given to us by the blood of Jesus Christ.  

In the Old Testament they were not able to get a new heart and a new spirit, but they looked forward to the messiah and this was counted to them for righteousness.  In the New Testament times, we can get rid of the old rags of sin and be clothed in righteousness, the garments of white through the coming of Jesus Christ and His death on the cross.

You may be in a quandary this morning but salvation has five meanings: deliverance, help, safety, victory, and health.  Faith is the victory that overcomes the world.  We are all challenged this morning, and we don’t want to be satisfied with anything less than winning the battle and gaining the crown of gold.  

Revelation 4:5 KJVR

(5)  And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

We each know when God comes near to us.  The way to be closer to God is to be still before God.  This is one of the greatest challenges in my life, getting all the voices of humanity silenced.  There are a lot of voices in the world today.  There are a lot of pressures in the world today.  

The voices that we really need to hear today are the voice of God and the voice of the Holy Spirit of God; this is the thought of thundering.  The thought of lightening is the thought that through the word of God, He brings light to our understanding.

49 men gave their lives to translate this Word of God from the Hebrew and Greek into the English Language.  This word of God has been the same all my life and yet when I go back and begin to study, things that I have read many times before are newly revealed to me.  It was there before, I just needed the lightening of God to show me His truth.

The seven Spirits of God - All through the Gospel Day, the Holy Spirit has been there working with souls.  The Gospel day is divided in the Revelations into seven dispensations of time and the Holy Spirit was there even in the darkest of these times.  Also in this last dispensation of time, God’s Spirit is still here working with men’s souls today.

The book of Hebrews shows us the Word of God as a mirror.  We read in the Word of God and it shows us ourselves.  It expresses our exact need to us.  As most of this audience knows, this last week Karen and I have been faced with different needs than we have ever faced before.  David wrote a psalm, “When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock which is higher than I.”  That rock is Christ.  

The thought of thunder and lightning and voices is not strange to those that study the word of God because it happens all the time.  When we stand on the Sea of Glass mingled with fire, the Word of God, we experience this all the time.

The church is compared to a lion in the thought of boldness.  We may have a personal boldness, but God wants us to have a different kind of boldness, the boldness of God.  

There is a scripture that talks of the young lions lacking, a lion has a characteristic of having an aggressive desire.  God wants us to desire His ways, His truth.  It is wonderful to hear the Word of God preached, but better yet is for us to dig around in the Word of God and receive that first drink from the Word.  Nothing against the teaching and preaching of the Word of God, it is only designed to cause us to be thirsty to study more.

The Church is to also be as a calf or an ox.  

Malachi 4:2 KJVR

(2)  But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

I’m happy this morning for each that is here.  When the sun arises, its beams cover the whole earth in a matter of 24 hours.  The sun of Righteousness, Jesus Christ, is designed to arise and the rays of light of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ are designed to reach into the hearts not only of those that are saved but to all men.  

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.  Ps 119:105

The enemy will set snares for all of us.  Recognize that we need His word shining on our feet.  A snare is something hidden, it doesn’t look like it is a trap.  They don’t place snares where the prey will not be.  I wouldn’t place a snare on the rocks to try to catch a beaver.  The enemy of my and your soul will set the snare where we are likely to be.  He will set the snare on the path that we are likely to travel.  The devil is a pro at setting snares.  This is good for every one of us to know.  

The trap is not designed to scare you it is made to look attractive. The snare is designed to trap you and to stop you.  It is designed to catch you and hold you captive the rest of your life.  A snare has a cable or something that cannot be chewed in two and it is attached to something secure.  When something gets into the snare it will be there until the trapper comes back.  

The devil is the one setting snares for men and women today.  He sets snares to trap and to keep us back from making any progress.  We’re just traveling on the pathway of life and we come into contact with many things that we don’t see anything wrong with yet they can turn into being a snare for us.  We need the light of God and His Word shining on our feet and on our pathway so that we don’t fall into any snares.  

The scripture says that “They shall grow up as calves of the stalls and go forth.”  The snares are set to stop us.  As servants of the most High God, the enemy will set snares to get us and anyone else that he can set a snare for.

If you have the attitude that you don’t want your prayers to be hindered, that you don’t want to grieve the Holy Spirit of God and his presence, as you’re walking along you need the light of God on your pathway.

The trapper will use scents to attract the prey.  There are things that we like to smell, we like to imagine things.  We like to think of having good times and there is no sin in that.  We need the son of Righteousness shining so that He can witness to our heart, “Be careful son or daughter.”  

We can take the part of a lawyer, “There is nothing wrong with that.”  But we need to look where it will lead; will there be something there that will ensnare me?

To you that fear God, stand in awe of Him.  The Son of Righteousness will arise.  There is something about the Word of God shining in our hearts that moves us to go forward for Him.  

Grow up as calves of the stall.  Not just the preacher and the Sunday school teacher, but we all need to let God keep our plate full of spiritual things for us to eat that will be beneficial for our spiritual health.  How do we keep our stall or plate full from God?  

Matt 5 teaches us that we are blessed if we hunger and thirst.  If we don’t hunger than we will have leftovers on our plate.  It will not be long and the leftovers will be stale, sour.  Don’t shy away from what God has put in your stall or on your plate; God knows what we need and God knows what He is doing.  

God specializes in just the right portions of servings for every one of us.  They will not be bigger than you can digest and they will not be smaller than what will satisfy you.  

We are to be laborers as a calf or ox, laboring servants of God.  Romans 12:1 says, “I beseech you therefore brothern by the mercies of God that you present your bodies living sacrifices, holy, acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service.”  

God is not asking an unreasonable request.  He knows what each of us is capable of and that is what He will place upon our plate.  He’s asking that we present ourselves a living sacrifice, “God here I am.”  

When we do this, we take the strings off of what we can do or can’t do.  We just say, “God here I am.”  God asks us a reasonable service.  There are times when our lives get so full and we hear the voice saying, “You know I’m asking a reasonable service, and if you will lay your way aside, you will find real joy.”