Louie Giglio - The Song That Consumes All Other Praise
What do we see when we look at Revelations 5? Well, the first thing we see is what John saw. He saw that, «In the right hand of Him who sat on the throne, there was a scroll, and it was written on both sides with seven seals». Now, a few things about this that I think are important. The scroll, and this scroll represents what is to come. And most scholars and I believe that these seals are already been broken and we are already in the domino of what is written on this scroll, which is the predetermined plan of God for how things are going to end. «In His right hand,» that’s power and authority. That is sovereign rule. Not on His lap, not under His arm, but in the sovereign right hand of the Almighty God is a scroll written on both sides.
Why is that important? Because it’s not like He wrote on the front and someone else could come along and add to it on the back. No. It is written, and it is done. It is finished. And everything God intends to do is on the scroll. There is no room left for you to add anything, or for me to add anything, or any ruler to add anything. God has already written, and it is done, and it’s sealed with seven seals. But notice what happens next. An angel speaks up and says, «Who is worthy to open the scroll»?
Now, I want us to absorb every word in this today. Not who is able to open the scroll, not who is skilled to open the scroll, not who has the right technique to open the scroll, but who is worthy to open the scroll. In other words, there’s gonna be something that we see later linked to someone’s person and their actions that makes them not skilled or technically able but makes them worthy. Can you just say, «Worthy,» with me? Make them worthy to open the scroll. «But, sadly, no one in heaven was worthy. No one on earth was worthy. No one under the earth was worthy, so they couldn’t open the scroll or even look inside it».
And at the reality of this, John now understands this is not good, and he wept and wept. He didn’t shed a tear. He didn’t get misty-eyed. He started sobbing at the thought of the fact that no one in heaven, no one on earth, and no one under the earth is worthy to open the scroll and pull the lever if you will, that sets in motion God’s final plans. «But an elder,» there’s 24 of them, «One of them said to me, 'Do not weep! See, '» All through Revelation, all through this collection of talks, we’ve talked about how important it is to look. This is the key action in Revelation, look.
And so, this elder says, «Look or see,» perceive, «The Lion of the tribe of Judah». Sorry, I feel like I’m getting a little loud here, but I’m really excited about this. «The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David,» now, these are two key prophecies from the Old Testament about the Messiah, «Has triumphed». So, don’t weep because someone won, someone triumphed, someone overcame. There is a Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David. Who’s he referring to? The Messiah. Who is he talking about? Jesus. Who is he proclaiming? The one who was, and is, and is to come. He said, «Don’t worry, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Look at Him».
And so, he says, «Okay». And he turns to look to see the lion. He wants to see the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the overcomer, the triumphant one. And he looks, «And I saw a,» what? «A Lamb. I was told to look to see the Lion, but when I looked, I saw the Lamb. And not only just a Lamb, a Lamb looking as if it had been slain». This is the kingdom of God. The Lion is a Lamb, and the Lamb is a Lion. This is God’s kingdom. When Jesus was on the cross nobody thought He was a Lion, nobody thought that he was triumphant, no one thought He was overcoming, no one thought that’s the one who’s gonna stand in the middle of the throne of God and take the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sits on the throne.
They didn’t know He was a Lion. They thought He was a Lamb. Do you know why? Because He was a Lamb, but they didn’t know the Lamb was a Lion, and the Lion was the Lamb. «He was standing in the center». Can you say, «Center»? Where is Jesus right now? In the center. Where is He in eternity? In the center. Where should He be in your thinking? In the center. Where should He be in this church today? In the center. Where should He be in Atlanta, Georgia? He should be at the center of Atlanta, Georgia today. «Jesus is standing in the center of the throne».
Now, I don’t know how you be seated on the throne. He’s at the right hand of God, we saw that earlier, and now be standing in the center of the throne. But this imagery is that in all of this glory, «In the center of it is a Lamb looking as if it had been slain. He had seven horns». This is where a lot of people go, «Ah, I think I might go back over to Philippians. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me». «He had seven horns and He had seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth».
The first thing I want us to see today is that God uses the foolish to confound the wise. The seven horns, and I don’t know what this exactly looks like, and I don’t think John knew. He was like, «It’s a lamb. That looks like it’s been slain, and it has seven horns and seven eyes, that are the seven spirits sent out in all the earth». What does that mean? Well, we’ve seen already that seven means completion. It’s the fullness of everything that God intended. And so, seven horns, the horn represents strength. In the Old Testament it says that God is the horn of our salvation. He’s the strength of our salvation. The horn represents strength.
So, this Lamb is the perfection of strength, the eyes are wisdom. They’re sent out through all the earth. They see everything. They know everything. They understand everything. There’s nothing in this room hidden from the seven eyes. Nothing in the world hidden from the wisdom of the seven eyes. First thing that I want you to understand is that God uses the foolish to confound the wise. It was the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus that allowed Him to triumph. They killed Him. He killed sin. They killed Him. He gained the right to take the scroll, to break its seals, to pull the lever, and to set in motion God’s plan for ever, and ever, and ever. That’s what was at stake when He knelt down in the garden of Gethsemane and said, «If it’s possible that this cup pass from me, let it work out that way. But nevertheless, not My will but Your will be done».
He wasn’t just saying if it’s possible for these people to get saved another way then do it another way, if it’s possible for sin to be forgiven another way. He was understanding that in this cup is not only the payment for sin, but in this cup is the right to take the scroll, and to break its seals, and to open it.
If He passes on the cup, then not only does it not matter to you and me because we are destined to separation from God forever, but if He passes from the cup, there can be no unfolding of the fullness of God to the very end of time where sin is done away with, and darkness is done away with, and where the righteous live free forever in a place where there is no tear, there is no suffering, there is no deaths. And He said, «Not My will but Your will be done». And that prayer in that garden probably looked like weakness to men, but it was the most powerful triumphing prayer that’s ever been prayed.
The second thing I want us to see in this picture is that God stores our prayers as the aroma of heaven. «He came and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb». But to our knowledge, He hasn’t opened it yet. He hasn’t broken the seal yet. He hasn’t shown anyone what’s in it yet. He’d just taken it. Somebody could take it. And when He took it, they fell down and worshiped.
For us, sometimes I feel like it takes God doing a certain miracle, or coming through in a certain way, or our favorite worship song, or whether we’re on a good mood, or we’re feeling it today to fall down and worship. But all He had to do was take the scroll and they fall down and worship. I wanna be like that. I want to be sensitive to who He is, and what He’s done, and to His majesty and might. «And each one of them, they had a harp, and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of Saints».
Check this out. These 24 elders have a harp in one hand and a golden bowl in the other hand. These 24 elders who circle the throne of God have harps so there is some kind of a melodic worship going on and they have bowls that are creating incense and an aroma for the throne of God. So, it smells good around the throne of God. There’s a constant aroma going on around the throne of God. And do you know what the aroma is? It’s the prayers of the Saints. Not St. Bartholomew, and St. Jerome, and St. Ann, and these, you know, famous Saints. The Saints are those redeemed by God righteous in Christ, who are the only ones of God in Christ. So, if you’re saved, you’re a saint. And if you’re praying, your prayers aren’t just bouncing off the ceiling.
People say that all the time, «I’m praying but I don’t see God doing anything. I don’t know if my prayers are making it past the ceiling». I’m telling you, not only are your prayers making it past the ceiling, your prayers are going right into the throne room of God into a golden bowl in the hand of an elder, and they are creating the aroma and the incense that God dwells in. The third thing that God wants us to see is that the glory and grace of God fuel the worship of heaven.
Now, it’s obvious that the glory and grace of God fuel our worship right now. It’s obvious that we’re gonna gather today and we’re gonna worship because of who God is. «He’s Holy, Holy, Holy». Revelation 4. But we’re gonna also worship Him for what He’s done. He’s worthy, worthy, worthy, the Lamb who was slain. It’s obvious that in every gathering here we want the cross to be central. At every gathering here we wanna go up Mt. Calvary as we call it. And every gathering here we wanna remember the price that’s been paid for us. But I want us to know today that that’s not only true of worship on earth, that’s true of worship in heaven. In heaven the worship is both fueled by God’s glory and by God’s grace.
The song of heaven sung in Revelation 5 is all about the grace of God, the finished work of God, the cross of Christ. «They sang a new song». And I just wanna emphasize that. We love the old songs. Amen. Can I get an amen? We love the great hymns of faith. But God’s not opposed to singing a new song. So, don’t try to get in a debate with somebody about the old songs and the new songs because in heaven, they sang a new song. Worthy are you, so there’s our word we were looking for. Not able, skilled, but worthy.
«You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals». Why? What made Jesus worthy? Wasn’t He worthy just because He was Jesus? Wasn’t He worthy just because He was God? Wasn’t He worthy because He was the triune God, Father, Son, and Spirit? No. He was worthy because… And this conjunction tells us what made Jesus worthy to take the scroll, to open its seals, to set in motion the unfolding of the end of time according to God’s already predetermined plan. «Because you were slain and with your blood you purchased men,» people, all of us, «For God». Didn’t just purchase us from sin, «Purchased us for God. From every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them,» Third thing He did, «To be a kingdom and priests to serve our God».
And as a result of that, they will reign on the earth. How is Jesus worthy. Why is Jesus worthy? What made Jesus worthy? He was slain. He purchased, He made and now, we reign. And that’s what made Him able and worthy to take the scroll and break its seals. What is the centerpiece? It is the sacrifice of Jesus which is the grace of God. And He looked as though He was slain because He was slain. So, somehow, though Jesus is in glory, seven horns and seven eyes, seven spirits going out through all the earth, He still looks like He was crucified. His scars are still in the story even in glory. «Why don’t we just airbrush out the scars»?
The same reason God doesn’t wanna airbrush out your scars. And I wonder if we’ll still have some of ours in heaven just like Jesus has His in heaven. Because they will be our eternal testimony in glory that God brought us through, and we overcame. He was slain for who? He was slain for people from every tribe, every language, every people, every nation. Somehow, right at the drop, God wanted us to know this fourth thing that the song of heaven is a global song. Come on, somebody. I’m sorry. I don’t know. Maybe we just all leaned in real hard. It’s a global song. Jesus was slain not just for people who look like me and you who speak English, live in America, live in the west. He was slain for every tribe, for people who speak every language on this planet, for all people on this planet, and for people from every nation.
And that is not country, that’s ethnos. It’s every ethnicity, every unique people group on earth created by God for God was redeemed by Christ for God. And He made people from all of those to be a kingdom and priest to our God. This is what we anchor in at Passion City Church. In 1 Peter 2, this is what we find. It says, «But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness and into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God».
So, from all languages, all tribes, all nations, all people, He’s making new people. He’s making God’s people. So, this is beautiful. We gotta embrace this. So, my ethnos is important but what’s beautiful is through Christ, my ethnos gets upgraded to now I am a person with an ethnos, but now I’m a person who’s God’s person. I’m one of the people of God now. My prize in heaven is that with this great gathering of Saints from every language now we are are a kingdom, and we are priest to God. We’re God’s people. «For once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy».
Praise God. This is the gospel, and this is what God has done. He’s made us to be a kingdom and priest. What does that mean? It means that you don’t have to go through anybody now. You have direct access to Almighty God through Jesus Christ. You don’t need any man or woman to stand up and say, «I can help you come through the veil». No, Jesus brought you through the veil so you can be the priest of your home. You can lead your family. You can lead your own life. You can lead your spouse. You can lead people to God.
If someone at work comes up to you and says, «Hey, I noticed that you’re a follower of God and a follower of Christ and I really respect that and I want that. Okay? Can you help me to God»? You don’t have to say, «Well, I don’t know. I’ll call a holy man and we’ll see if we can get somebody in here that can help you to God». No, you’re a priest now, been made a priest through the righteousness of Christ and you can lead your coworker right to God. If your neighbor comes over and says, «Hey, everything is falling apart. We need help. Can you help us get to God»?
You don’t need to say, «Come to church with me Sunday. There’s some people there, some holy people there, and they can help you get to God». You can say, «Yeah, right here in your den I can help you get to God 'cause been made a kingdom and a priest to God because of the slain Lamb of God who purchased me with His blood and made me to be a kingdom and a priest unto God». What does that mean? It means my primary function right now in life is to serve God. It’s not like I serve me and serve my plan and have God on the side. My primary function is that I am a kingdom and a priest to God.
The work of Christ, the slain lamb of God, the one standing in the center of the throne made it possible for me to now serve God. And heaven is gonna be this global gathering. I think a lot of people that live in America are pretty convinced that when we get to heaven the primary language is gonna be English. It wasn’t even the language that John heard holy, holy, holy in. This stuff just gets in my head. He did not hear, «Holy, holy, holy,» and he did not hear, «You are worthy».
He heard, «Hagios, hagios, hagios,» and he wrote it down as he was instructed. And they said, «Hagios, hagios, hagios». That was his language, Greek. It was only later that English speakers translated John’s Greek into, «Holy, holy, holy». Hello. No. Hello. Anybody… You say, «I don’t care». Well, you should. Because this is a global thing that we’re a part of.
And lastly, I close, the worship of heaven consumes all other worship. Let’s just read down to the end. «And then I looked,» so, the four living creatures and the elders, they fell down. They sang a new song, «Worthy is the lamb who was slain». «But then I looked and heard the voice of many angels». So, the angels are like, «We’re getting in on this». «Numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. And in a loud voice».
You say that with me, «In a loud voice they sang, 'Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, '» third time, «To receive power, and wealth, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and praise. And then I heard every creature in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing». Heaven is about singing. «'To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise, and honor, and glory, and power, for ever and ever! ' And the four living creatures, they said, 'Amen.'» They got these angels going earlier, «Holy, holy, holy».
Now, you got elders and creatures falling. They got harps and prayers rising. They got a throng of angels singing. And now, you got every creature. And now, the living creatures again come back and say, «Amen». And when the elders hear, «Amen,» the elders fell down and worshiped. You got a hundred million angels. You have the seven-fold completeness of worship and it’s exclusive, notice, «To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb». Don’t you want it to say, «And to me»? No, just to Him who sits on the throne and just to the Lamb. For how long? Forever. How big? Hundred million angels and you. What kind of praise? Perfect praise. Complete praise. Seven-fold praise.