Greetings, this is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church with a moment of truth where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and faith. And today, I want to challenge you to think through the issue of who is worthy to take the scroll from the hand of the Father seated upon his throne, that seven-sealed scroll that we looked at last week. And we indeed saw that there was one worthy to take that seven-sealed scroll, which we've seen is the inheritance of the Father to the Son. A scroll with seven seals in the ancient world was unmistakably a last will and testament.

And that's precisely what the Lord offers from his throne in this majestic scene of heaven, isn't it? There is one that we find worthy to take that scroll. Well, before we commence with our understanding of this text in Revelation chapter 5, we're in Revelation here on this radio program, but we're also in the book of Revelation in a community Bible study. And I want to encourage you to join us for this community Bible study. It's been going on for now four or five weeks.

I'm beginning to lose track of just how long we've had this Bible study. It's been so fun. It's been a really good effort on everyone's part to be able to fellowship around the scriptures, around the text, the book of Revelation. And both myself and Pastor Mike Gillia are leading this Bible study. And it's on Thursday nights, begins at 7 p.m. at Starbucks on 17th Street in Idaho Falls.

And we've been rendezvousing there with a number of people, anywhere from 8 or 9 to 15, 16 people. And we get some coffee and sit down around a big table. We've been having fun fellowshipping together. And Mike and I have been taking turns leading the group. And we just encourage you to come and join us as well, if you'd like.

If you've never been to New Geneva or if you're not familiar with Pastor Mike Gillia of Share the Sun Ministries, then this is a good time to come out and meet us in a friendly atmosphere, not behind a church door or church walls, but at the friendly confines of Starbucks on 17th Street. Thursday evenings at 7 p.m. And we run to about 8.15. We try to end at 8.15 promptly. You can get out of there and get back to your families. But we encourage you to come out and join us.

Friendly atmosphere and time to relax and discuss. Let your hair down and interact with others on their understanding of the book of Revelation. So we encourage you to go ahead and do that. Well, let's get back then to our text. I'm excited about chapter 5 of Revelation because it unfolds for so much of the church's worship and reasons for worship and styles for worship, suggestions for worship, in fact, guidance for worship.

The early church plumbed the depths of Revelation to shape and form her worship. We're intended to do so. So let's get to it, shall we? Revelation chapter 5 verses 6 through 10. And for context, I'm going to begin at verse 1 and read right on through verse 10 if you want to follow along.

Revelation chapter 5. I'm going to talk about 6 through 10, but read 1 through 10. Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals. And no one in heaven or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it.

And I began to weep loudly because I found worthy to open the scroll or look into it. And one of the elders said to me, weep no more. Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the tribe of David, has conquered so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals. And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a lamb standing as though it had been slain with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.

And when he had taken the scroll, four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song saying, worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals. You were slain by your blood. You ransomed the people of God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And you have made them a kingdom and priest to our God and they shall reign on the earth.

Oh, what a powerful text, isn't it? And we saw last week that it was the lion of the tribe of Judah initially found worthy to take the scroll. And John turns to see the lion of the tribe of Judah. And what does he see? He sees among the four living creatures and the elders.

Now we saw this cast of characters, didn't we? Two in weeks past and how important they are to the presence of the Lord God Almighty seated upon the throne with that scroll in his hand. And among the four living creatures and the 24 elders, John sees a lamb standing as though it had been slain with seven horns and seven eyes. And those are indeed the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Now we unpacked this pretty carefully last week that indeed the seven sealed scroll of the father is a will and testament by which he who can open it inherits all of creation as his possession.

This is what's at stake. And we see now it is the lamb then who receives the scroll because he is the one who is worthy. He is the one who has died the death of the testator. And he is the one who is worthy to open those seven seals. It's counterintuitive that a lamb should inherit, that a lamb should conquer, is it not?

But not in God's world, not in God's theology. Indeed, it is the lamb who is worthy to do so because he died the death of the testator. Centuries of preparation for the lamb to inherit. All through the worship, the temple, you have the sacrificial lamb at the altar preparing the hearts and minds of the Jews and Israel and God's people and all the world, really, the reality of the sacrifice of the true lamb, that is the Lord Jesus Christ, in his sacrifice upon the cross for the sins of his people. And by this, he has bought people as the hymn sings, right?

You are slain and by your blood, you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. Oh, we ended then last week looking at verse seven in which then, uh, he took the scroll from the right hand of him who's seated on the throne. Jesus dies the death of the testator. That is the one who made the will and testament, but he is also the inheritor at the same time. In the same way, he is the lion and the lamb simultaneously.

So as we reprise the Agnus day in our worship services, and in fact, the early services, the worship services of the church, the portion of, uh, the worship service dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ is called the Agnus day. That is the lamb of God in Latin. And in our worship, we acknowledge and teach the power and the sovereignty and the worthiness then of our Jesus Christ in this portion of the service, the Agnus day. Well then what does verse eight have to say to us?

Verse eight, and of course reads, and when he had taken the scroll for living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowl full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And verse eight then of the Agnus day tells us that our Lord Jesus Christ elicits organically as the lamb of God, the reverence prayers of the stewards creation. The first narrative action that's taken right after the lamb's liturgical action of taking the scroll from the father. What is that? There is a narrative action that is taken right after the lamb's liturgical action of taking the scroll from his father.

What is that? The first narrative action taken after this inaugural liturum is that of worship. Yes. When he'd taken the scroll, the four living creatures, the 24 elders fell down before the lamb, each holding a harp and bowls full of incense, which are theirs of the saints. These mighty beings in order closest to the throne of God, so close to the throne of the almighty, they begin to take dominion of his inheritance with one of the weapons of our warfare to worship.

Yes, brothers and sisters, our worship is indeed a weapon in the arsenal of the people of God as we take dominion of all of creation. Indeed, we are a kingdom of saints, are we not? We are kings and priests to our God, and we shall reign on the earth. That idea of reigning is here and now. We take dominion now.

Dominion is our destiny, brothers and sisters. And one of the weapons of our warfare, it's not carnal, is it? None of the weapons of our warfare are carnal, but spiritual and strong, as the apostle Paul would put it. And one of those weapons of our worship is that of worship. Ah, these mighty beings so close to the throne of the almighty symbolize this weapon of our warfare, this worship symbolized so beautifully in the two objects of worship as warfare.

Number one, harps, right? Harps with which we hymn the praise of God. Dear brothers and sisters, we are given instruments of the church, are we not, in order to make music unto the God. And when we do, it is a sweet savor in the nostrils of God of all the universe. He takes a light in our worship.

Underestimate this, brothers and sisters. If you think you have a cranky, tenured voice, then I would suggest you sing gustily. Nevertheless, sing with a full-throated voice and don't let anyone steal your voice, brothers and sisters. Don't be too self-conscious of your singing voice, but indeed, raise your voice in song to the Lord your God, because the Lord your God takes delight in your worship. He takes delight when you sing and when you make music.

Those of you who are in praise bands, perhaps, or you accompany in the life of the church, you have a vital, vital function in the worship of God's people. And so I encourage you, whether you're clanging a cymbal or whether you're playing a guitar or playing a piano or an organ, whatever instrument you play, do so unto the Lord and do so with great love and reverence, because the Lord takes delight in your accompaniment. And you will hear those words, well done, good and faithful servant, when you come into the Lord's presence, as you make music unto the Lord. It's one of the great weapons of our warfare. It delights the people of God.

It lifts up our hearts and spirits to the Lord God, but it also, make no mistake about this, it also strikes terror into the hearts of the evil. It also indeed brings defeat to Satan and his minions, because we take more and more ground every day and every time that we worship, brothers and sisters. It's one of the weapons of our warfare. And then with bowls of incense, too, offering up bowls of incense, they do here in verse 8. And these are told to us to be the prayers of the saints.

Indeed, all worship for millennia. This idea of the prayers of the saints, of being offered up in worship, was prepared in the temple worship, when the priest would bring incense then to the Holy of Holies at the altar of incense. And that beautiful recipe given in Exodus for the incense of the church, when all of that was blended and then burnt, it had a sweet, sweet savor that would walk its way up through the temple. And there was always a discreet opening at the top of the temple, through which the smoke of the incense being burnt representing the prayers of God's people.

And then the smoke from the burnt sacrifice, the rich smell of burning meat, in other words, would also waft up through that opening in the top and drift symbolically towards heaven then and towards God himself. And he would then take sweet delight in the sweet savor of the sacrifices and of the incense, the prayers of his people. And we have that reality now in the heavenly temple, where God takes our prayers, hears the prayers of the saints, and takes delight in them too. So in your worship, another weapon of our warfare, in worship, brothers and sisters, which we take dominion right now.

We don't have to wait for some imagined, supposed literal thousand-year kingdom that's supposedly coming. The kingdom of God is already here. We submit to you. And we take dominion here and now. We have a kingdom here and now.

And we take ground. We defeat the enemy. We take further and further dominion in this kingdom every day and every time that we worship. Just remember, out of the mouth of babes and sucklings, God has ordained strength because of his enemies in order to still hit the enemy and the avenger, the psalmist says. So even your children, out of the mouths of babes and sucklings, God has ordained strength.

So your children even are mighty conquerors when they are in the worship service singing, perhaps, or saying the Lord's Prayer, or reciting one of the texts of the Bible, all of these things. More and more, your children and everybody in the worship service is taking further and further dominion in our worship. The principle of the church fathers when they were crafting the early worship services was that heaven inaugurates worship. Very important principle to understand. Heaven inaugurates worship.

That of ours on earth must reflect the pattern of heaven, not the other way around. Heaven is this, dear brothers and sisters. It's not necessarily worship with soft lighting and crooning soloists and Bonob, the MC-type pastors. No, it is worship in which all the congregation participates in prayers and in the singing. The life of the church.

That is very much a part of what verse 8 is telling us. Well then, how about verse 9? We are in Revelation chapter 5, and we're looking at verses 6 through 10, and we are up to verse 9, where they sing a new song. They sang a new song, saying, worthy are you to take the scroll and it seals, for you are slain. And by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.

Oh, this is a determining verse that's going to cast its shadow long over the rest of the book of Revelation. So we must understand this verse very clearly. Verses 9 and 10 then tell us, in the worship of Agnus Dei, the Lamb God, our Lord Jesus Christ is hymned majestically as the Lamb of God for the chief reason He reigns over all creation. Verses 9 and 10. The idea of a new song.

It is a covenant term, brothers and sisters. It has to do with a covenant order. God is a covenant-working God. He works in covenants, not dispensations. And the covenant term, new song, indicates a turning point in redemptive history.

New term, that, I'm sorry, this term, the idea of a new song. It indicates a turning point in redemptive history. For example, the Song of Moses in Exodus, commemorating the deliverance at the Red Sea for 15, the Song of Moses. It was a new song as well. That is a turning point in redemptive history.

The Psalms of David, commemorating God's covenant made with David, promising a king to reign perpetually upon his throne, is a new song as well. Praise the Lord. Sing to the Lord a new song. Sing his praise in the assembly of the godly, the psalmist declare. Because, indeed, it was a turning point in redemptive history.

Well, here, indeed, with the inheritance being taken, we have a turning point in redemptive history, as the son will begin to conquer and subdue the creation that's been ceded to him. That which is so beautifully hymned is the ancient testimony in this new song, a turning point in redemptive history. And that which is so beautifully hymned is the ancient testament ceremony, where the son would break the seals to open the scroll and receive the promised inheritance. That's what we're seeing unfolding before us.

The ancient testament ceremony, where the son would break the seals to open the scroll and receive the promised inheritance of his own, the very presence of the seven witnesses who sealed it. That is, the seven spirits of God, right? They are also here with us before the throne. The whole personhood of the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, all represented here before the throne at this great ancient testament ceremony. Arise, O God, judge the earth, Psalm 82 says.

Psalm 82, verse 8 anticipates the ceremony, where Psalm 82, 8 says, Arise, O God, judge the earth, for you shall inherit all the nations. Here we have that ceremony being undertaken, where indeed God will judge the earth and inherit all the nations. This is that time. Psalm 111, verse 6 says, He has shown his people the power of his works in giving them the inheritance of the nations. Here's that inheritance now forecast, foreshadowed in the Psalms.

That ceremony now inheritance ceremony now transpiring before our eyes here in the book of Revelation. Oh, he's shown his people the power of his works in giving them, that is us, his church, his people. He gives us the inheritance of the nations. That this is true and coherent with our thesis is sung then by this heavenly chorus in three different sections. We see that right here.

First of all, we have the declaration of authenticity. That is the lion and the lamb is declared to be the authentic son to receive, to open, and take the contents of the scroll. He says it when they sing, worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals. That's the declaration of authenticity. And then the second part, we have the declarations of the grounds for this authenticity.

Why is the lamb worthy to receive his inheritance? The text says for, right? Now that little preposition indicates that what follows serves as the ground for what went before. For you were slain, that is the death of the testator has happened, which then inaugurates the inheritance that brings the will into effect. But this was no ordinary death either.

You were slain, right? It was also an efficacious death. That is, it accomplished something. That is, Christ died a vicarious death. That is, in place of someone.

That is, in place of ourselves, in place of us, the church. Just as the blood of a lamb ransomed the firstborn for God at Passover, so the blood of this lamb ransomed the universal people for God. Universal, that is, from every tribe and language and people and nation. Oh, what a marvelous, expansive thing has happened. And this is really the only basis for true unity, brothers and sisters.

We need to bring this to the world in a fractured, divided world. True unity comes in the body of Christ, in no other. Well, as a direct consequence of his dying in our place, he has then dominion over us. That is, we are his. Always, the one who pays the ransom owns that which he ransoms.

And that's us. And oh, what a benevolent owner we have. An owner that loves us, right? Even as Ruth was ransomed, so we have been ransomed by the Lord Jesus Christ. But he is not a tyrant, is he?

He is certainly not a tyrant. Because in number three, we see the declaration of co-heirs. We indeed are co-heirs with Christ. We are co-heirs with him. And if children, as Paul says, if we are his children, then we are heirs.

Heirs of God, as Paul says. Heirs of God. And fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him, in order that we may also be glorified with him. In Romans 8, 17, he declares that we are heirs of God, fellow heirs with Christ. Will, that will be opened here in the Testament, it will detail that Christ has made us kings and priests with him.

Not in some future kingdom, but in the kingdom right now. We are reigning now with Christ. We are priests now before his God, now with him. That's been a consistent theme all through Revelation, and it's going to continue to be a theme all through Revelation. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us kings and priests to his God and father.

To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. That established then in worship will become fact on the ground. We're going to see this in the book of Revelation. The kingdom, the thousand year reign of Christ is not in the future.

It is happening now. We are kings and priests now. We are taking a kingdom now. Dominion is our destiny, and it has begun already. And don't be behind the curve on this, brothers and sisters.

We need to get up to speed and begin taking dominion in our own world, too, with the weapons of our warfare that have been given us, including worship and prayer and the blood of the saints and the word of God. All of these things that established in worship here in our text before us will become fact on the ground all through the book of Revelation. It cannot be thwarted. It will transpire. It will be.

Do you see the power of worship, dear listener today? Do you see why the apocalypse oscillates between heaven and earth? We see the worship of heaven and its great power and glory, and it is so here on the earth as well, as meager and as unimpressive as it may seem to us. Your voice, for instance, may not be the most beautiful and glorious, singing like a lark, but nevertheless, you need to sing. Give it your best in your worship services, because indeed, God takes delight in your worship, and you take dominion when you do.

Do you see why the fathers and the reformers as well modeled their worship after heavenly liturgy? Oh, it's a weapon of our warfare. Well, dear listener, I would just encourage you to join us on Sunday morning worship here at New Geneva, too. We'd love to see you. We'd love to have you worship with us and participate in our glorious worship, although it may not always seem so glorious and sounds so glorious.

Nevertheless, the Lord takes delight in our worship. We meet for holy worship on Sunday at 10 a.m. at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard. I'd love to have you cross our threshold. In thinking about it, we'd love to have you, love to see you. We'd also then love to have you join our community Bible study, too.

Don't forget about that. That's been a delight as well. We're learning of these things. We're discussing these things and getting perspectives on these things, too, in a great time of fellowship at our community Bible study on the book of Revelation. Revelation, understanding of the apocalypse.

It meets at Starbucks, 7 p.m. on Thursday evenings. Come and join us for that community Bible study on the book of Revelation, 7 p.m. at Starbucks on Thursday evenings. And also, come and join us. New Geneva meets for holy worship Sunday, 10 a.m. at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard. Call us for more information at area code 208-523-0196. That's area code 208-523-0196.