Chase: Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll? But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept, because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, Do not weep. See, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals. Then I saw a lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He went 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. Each one had a harp, and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God's people. And they sang a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain. And with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth. This is the word of God. Praise be to God. Friends, you may be seated. Thank you, Beth. The famous story of King Arthur begins with a simple mistake. King Arthur is just a young boy, no, not king yet, but he is in need of a sword. So he runs past a sword that is weirdly, but in his situation, conveniently stuck into a stone. And because he has great need of the weapon, he goes without even thinking and pulls the sword out of the stone. And this is how everyone begins to bow down and call him king. And he's like, wait a minute, what is going on with this? I just need a sword. But the story, the Arthurian legend, teaches that in those days Britain was disunited, broken, warring. Everyone was looking out for themselves, and that someday a king would come along. Who was worthy to pull Excalibur from the stone? And the one who was worthy is the one who could unite the Britons together. This is the legend of Arthur. This is how it begins: with the sword and the stone. Today I want us to focus in on one key word: worthy. Worthy, worthy, worthy. What does it mean to be? Worthy of the task at hand. We have been in a study for the summer through the book of Revelation. I keep joking about it and people keep showing up. Then I'm like, let's talk about the most controversial book in the world, not just the Bible, but the book that gets the most attention when things go bad. Have you ever noticed that when the economy is going up? And that everyone has a job and all of a sudden houses are affordable, that no one's talking about the book of Revelation. Have you noticed that? Everything's running smoothly. Like, is this a sign of the times? And you're like, no, it's always the opposite. When everything's falling apart, like we need the Bible now. So we're kind of in a season right now where everyone is wondering what is going on in the world. Is this a mark of the times? Is this a sign of the times? So what does the Bible say? And as we said in the very beginning, and what does it not say? So we are taking a tried and true biblical historical approach to understanding these words given to us from Jesus, written down by the Apostle John, while he was exiled on the island of Patmos. So, as we talked about last week, we went through the seven individual churches that this scroll was written to. It was sent to these seven churches to be circulated around Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey, and each of these seven churches had different ⁓ messages from Jesus, but they followed the same formula: an introduction from Jesus, why he has the authority to say these things, what that church is doing well, what that church is not doing so well, and then ultimately the promise. For all those who remain faithful to Jesus and endure to the end what is promised to them. So that's the pattern of the seven churches, but in many ways it is supposed to be an example to say, where does our church fall? Where does our city fall? Where do we fall? Are we lukewarm like Laodicea? Or are we small and mighty but Philadelphia? Are we doing well like Ephesus or Sardis? You know, like where do we? Fall in that area. It's so it's meant to be kind of a wake-up call saying, okay, the test isn't the metrics that we typically look at in the world to see if a church is successful or not. The metric is, are you faithful to Jesus Christ? That's what he's looking for. And that's what's being examined in these seven letters. And then the beginning at the as the letter to Laodicea wraps up, it just completely changes the scene. And it is the hardest scene transition ever. It goes literally from earth to heaven. I can't think of a bigger transition than, ⁓ we're leaving the planet. Yes, we are. So now we're going to heaven. So this is the beginning of chapter four, verse one. After this, all the seven, I looked and there was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, Come up here, and I'll show you. What must take place after this? So Jesus is his tour guide. Pretty good setup. At once I was in the spirit, and before me was a throne in heaven. So the first thing he sees, a throne, with someone sitting on it. Pause right there. We take for granted this idea that there is a king in heaven sitting on a throne. Like, like to most people, we're like, like most church goers, we're like, God's on the throne, he's sitting in heaven. Think about what comfort that is. Because not every religion believes that. Not every religion teaches there is a God sitting on a throne, holding everything together. That is great comfort in Christianity to say, okay, God, who's high, lifted up, sitting on a throne, holding the world together, okay, so he's in charge. He has power, he has authority. This is very, very, very, very, very good. Very comforting. So what's the throne like? What's he like sitting on it? The one who sat there had the appearance of Jasper and Ruby, a rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. Keyword circle it. It'll help you in your mind. Encircled the throne, not a half rainbow, a full one. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white, had crowns of gold on their head, and the throne came flashes of lightning, rumbling, peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. In front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass that was crystal clear. Okay. 24 Thrones. That's what we're gonna focus on. All the other stuff is very interesting, very important. But our goal for this series is to follow a simple pattern that we want to hit the broad strokes on Sunday and then During the week with our podcasts, we're not just trying to do this because we're trying to fill time. It's that we can get into the nitty-gritty details of Revelation. And if you've ever read the book of Revelation, you know we have a lot of choice with nitty-gritty details that we could get into. So we're trying to save it for that. So again, this is a shameless plug to follow the podcast because this is where sometimes we can get tripped up on the details. How good was that? Tripped up on the details, Satan. You trying to mess with me, so but here let's talk about the broad strokes, okay? Here's one of the most important details that we do need to talk about is that you have the scene in heaven, and who's front and center? God. God is filling the atmosphere with his presence in heaven. And then around his throne are 24 other elders. Just kind of an aside as an example, they believe. That it's 24 to represent the 12 tribes of Israel, the 12 apostles together, Old and New Testament brought together. You could think of it like that: 24 encircling the throne of God. So, what do these elders do as the angels are singing? It goes in and talks about these four creatures. One looks like an ox, one looks like an eagle, a lion, the face of a human. Again, such interesting stuff. Do not have time to talk about it right now. But all of these heavenly creatures. And these elders are worshiping God, that every time they sing out, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. The elders, the exalted ones, those who are around the throne of God, take their crowns off and throw it at his feet, saying, You're the only one worthy to wear a crown around here. That means there is no power struggle in heaven. It is crystal clear who's in charge. It is crystal clear. There is one who deserves to be worshipped in heaven. And if you really pause and think about it and go back to the beginning of the story, why is there a snake in the garden? Because there was also one who decided, nah, I deserve worship. I deserve praise. The pride, the sin, the first sin, the first fall was from an angel who fell to become the devil because he refused to worship the only one worthy of worship. Imagine that. A creature. Refusing to worship the Creator. Hard to imagine, isn't it? Not so hard if you try. But this is the original sin. This is what cast Satan out of heaven. Refusing to bow down and worship. It's almost like if he was sitting on one of those twenty four, the other twenty three are throwing their crowns and he's like, it'll be my turn soon. I'm just waiting my turn. Until I can sit on the throne, until I'm worthy of praise, until I'm the one who's center of attention. This is just mind-boggling to think about. You're in the presence of God. There is no power struggle in heaven. Why does that matter? If there's no power struggle in heaven, it is crystal clear who's in charge, crystal clear the one who's worthy, the one who's worthy of praise. If all the heavenly beings say, No, we're not gonna compete with this king, with this God, let me ask you. What chance does any earthly power have of taking on the power in heaven? What chance does any president have, any king have, any prime minister, any emperor, any Caesar, what chance do they have to try and take on the power and authority that's in heaven? What we should take from this scene, among other things, is that Jesus Christ is the great power of the universe. Every other power on earth, under heaven, Is nothing more than like building a sand castle and saying, There's my kingdom, and the tide's coming in. Enjoy it while it lasts. Nothing will last. Only the king of heaven is the one who will last for all eternity. So this is why we are respectful citizens. Yes, we do our duty, and we're gonna talk about that more in a minute, but we don't pledge allegiance to any higher authority than Jesus Christ. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the one who will outlast it all. He is the one who is the creator. We throw our crowns down at him and no one else. Now, there is in a fascinating part of Christianity that was very, very prominently talked about in the early church, is called Christus Victus, which means Christ's victory from Latin. We don't really talk about it much directly in modern church, but we sing about it a lot. God, you've won the battle. You have triumphed, but we don't really break down what that means very much, and we should, and we're going to. So, what is happening to say this God, this one on the throne, has authority over all other powers? Like, how do we understand why that's the case? Paul writes this to the early church in Colossians chapter two. It's probably one of those sentences you've read. And we're like, I don't fully understand what that means, so I'm gonna break it down, and then you won't read it the same. Colossians chapter two, verse 15. Paul is talking about the f spiritual fullness of Christ, what it meant that he conquered death and the grave. It says, and having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. That because of what Jesus did on the cross. Every other power and authority in the universe lost their power and authority and were exposed as pretenders. I love how the message version puts it. So I'm gonna read this because it's a very vivid vivid image. Here's what Eugene Peterson writes in the message to translate it. His power extends over everything. We're all like, yes, praise be to God. God brought you alive right along with Christ. Think of it, all your sins are forgiven. The slate's been wiped clean. That old arrest warrant has been canceled and nailed to Christ's cross. He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority on the cross and marched them naked through the streets. I don't know about you, but that's about as embarrassing of a defeat as you can have. That's what it says Jesus did on the cross. Every time you hear someone challenge, whether it's a human being or a movement, or you hear of a spiritual force trying to mess with you, the enemy or one of his minions, yeah, but yeah, but no, no, no. They have been stripped and exposed, and now they've been seen as frauds for what they are. That Jesus Christ is the only one with power and authority. Why? Because he's the only one who laid down his life willingly, took the punishment of sin, death, and evil, and then his life was given back to him, conquering the grave. That there is now no power in the universe stronger than Jesus Christ. This is why he has the authority to do these things. So why would this in the context have been a big deal? Again, we said this was written in the first century to Christians who were enduring persecution by the Roman Empire. What would have caused the persecution in the first century? If you had to guess, what why do you think the Romans were were mad at them? Maybe, maybe Christians, when they gathered on Sunday, they said, Hey, we don't belong to this kingdom, so let's not pay taxes. And so they didn't pay taxes, so they're they're they're freeloaders. ⁓ yeah, that'd get the government mad. Is that what Christians did? No. Because Jesus Christ Himself said, give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and give to God what is God's. So actually, Christians had, on average, a much higher tax payment than the average Roman citizen. Because they saw it as their duty to be good citizens of the empire by paying their taxes. Was it that Christians were like, we're gonna take over by any means necessary and we're gonna riot in the street and be violent? Did that happen? No, they actually were nonviolent. No, no, no. You can hit me and beat me and I won't return it. Okay, that doesn't seem very bad. Was it that Christians were like not taking care of their own family members, and so it was like a big drain on the Roman Empire? No, the opposite. Christians were the ones who took care of who no one else wanted to take care of. They took care of women, they took care of widows, they took care of orphans, they took care of the slaves. What the Roman Empire wouldn't do, Christians would do out of their own pocket. They wouldn't even say, well, I already pay my taxes and that counts. They'd say, No, no, no, you come into my home and I'll take care of you. So what's the big deal? These people sound pretty great. Sounds like this is what you'd want in your empire. What's the threat? One threat. What made? Christians, the target was they refused to say one phrase. Caesar is Lord. They wouldn't say it. Caesar is Lord. Every home was supposed to have an image or an idol of Caesar, and you were supposed to light incense to that image, and Christians wouldn't do it. They wouldn't do it privately, and they wouldn't do it publicly. They would not say, Caesar is Lord. Now, why is this a big deal? Emperor at the time was greeted with a processional, a military processional, all the soldiers coming out, all of his generals, all the military officers, and all in one voice, we have it on the screen behind me. They would all shout out, Worthy are you, our Lord and God. That's what they would shout to the Emperor. The Christians would stay silent. You're not my Lord. You're not my God. I'll pay your taxes, I'll take care of your citizens. I will not ride in the streets, I will not cause violence, but I will not say, You are Lord. And that was enough to get them bound, cast into the gladiator pits. Like they kept upping the ante, and Christians wouldn't break. They would not do it. They wouldn't break. This is what's happening. This scene in the throne room would have been so hope-infusing that they would have said, Wait a minute, Caesar's pretending to have all the power, but he's only allowed to operate because our God allows him to operate. And we might not know all the details of why, but we know who ultimately sits on the throne. And therefore, we will not say Caesar is Lord. That was the big fight among the Roman Empire and the Christians. So, what is God doing in the throne room? What is God doing in heaven right now? Because this is an image of what's happening in heaven today. This was happening before you woke up. This was happening yesterday. This will be happening tomorrow unless Jesus comes back. This is what's happening in heaven. What is God doing? Is he just sitting on the throne waiting for the next chorus to sing and the next time that he gets, you know, more th crowns thrown at his feet? And he's like, hey, Angel Michael, maybe we'll play some backgammon to kind of like. Past the time a little bit, like I'm just kind of getting bored waiting up here. What is happening? What is going on? First off, God is not wasting time, just waiting for the world to get to a certain place, and he's like, I guess I'll do something now. That's not happening. That's not what's going on. Instead, he and the heavenly council and all the heavenly beings are working to rescue the world from sin, death, and evil. How do we know this? Apostle Peter. It's second letter chapter three, starting in verse eight. This is what he's saying to those under persecution. Do not forget this one thing, dear friends. With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Do we have any impatient people in the house today? The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise as we understand slowness. It's not about your timing, it's about his timing, and his timing is always perfect, and his plan will be fulfilled at the right time. Our job is to trust his timing rather than our own. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. Sometimes People ask the question: why is it taking God so long to answer my prayers? Ever wondered that? If you haven't wondered it or said it out loud, I really don't know what you're drinking. Because that is like every human's experience. And a better question would be: why is God also so patient with us while we do evil and sin and cause suffering in the world? For the same reason. In order. For everyone to come to repentance. What is repentance? Repentance is recognizing the problem in the world. And the problem in the world is not Republicans or Democrats or people on the other side of the world. It's not the rich or the poor. The problem in the world is not this superpower or that superpower or this internet movement or that. The problem in the world is sin and death and evil. That's the problem in the world. Because the problem is God created everything and it was good. But when we rejected the ways of God, we fell into sin and became much like Satan. If this is your first time at church this morning, happy Father's Day to you. We're so glad that you're here. But the Bible is trying to get us to wake up and realize we didn't want to do it God's way, we wanted to sit on the throne and do it our way. So, how can God be a God of justice and goodness? He is the perfect judge. So, how can he deal with evil and pain and suffering without destroying the one who does evil and pain and suffering? How would God fix this? How this is the problem. Do you see the problem? How can God destroy evil without destroying the evildoer? How how can this be? Achieved. So God withholds his wrath from what we deserve to experience in order for an alternative to come, for a rescue plan to come. As Paul says, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. So how how, how, how is God gonna get us out of this situation that we've made? The solution is. We were all called to be perfect, to live perfect lives, but we couldn't and we didn't. So instead, he sends one to live a perfect life and takes the punishment that we deserve that was withheld, as 2 Peter just talked about, in order that all of us who fell can say, Jesus, I know what I deserve, but if you really say that you took it for me, then I fall at my knees and welcome you into my heart. That is the gospel message. Friends, do you know that bad people don't go to heaven? We all know this, right? This isn't complicated. Bad people don't go to heaven. This is the part where Americans get tripped up. Good people don't go to heaven either. It's not what the Bible says. Holy people go to heaven. Well, how can you be holy? You can only be holy, even though you have fallen into sin and death and done evil, harmed yourself, harmed other people, broken the laws of God. You can only enter in when you've been clothed in Christ. When you bring Him into your heart. And say, I know what I've done. I fall to my knees and say, because you died for me and took the punishment that I deserved, I will live for you. That is the entrance to heaven. Wait a minute, Pastor, you're saying if but I've done more good than bad. So they cancel out and I've got a little bit of excess, right? Like I'm at fifty-one forty-nine and that two percent's what gets me in. ⁓ no, it doesn't. Sorry. That's what America says, that's not what the Bible says. Instead, it's you are more broken than you realized, more in need of a savior than you realized, and more loved and accepted and filled with grace than you can imagine. And every one of us is invited to that. Wait, wait, wait, wait. I just lived an okay normal life. You're saying I have to receive Jesus to go to heaven? Yes. Explicitly, yes. Absolutely. But wait a minute, does that also mean the guy on death row can receive Jesus and go to heaven? Yes. Explicitly, yes. It doesn't matter how you died and got to that place. What matters is are you in Christ and forgiven or not? He cannot out you cannot out sin his grace. This is why it is good news. And we don't compare sin, we just simply say, thank God. He cleansed me of mine. This is the work that Christ is doing. He is going throughout the world, sending his church, sending his spirit, sending people to say, come, come. Come to Jesus. Come find new life. Come and be set free. Lay it all down. Even if you don't think you fully need it, you do. You might not realize it yet, but you need it more than you think. Or you think you're too far gone. Those are always the two options. I'm either too far gone, or I don't really think I need it that bad, because I'm not as bad as that person. Both need Jesus equally. That's the gospel message. Now, who is worthy to do this work? We already know the answer. It's the same Sunday school answer we give every Sunday, right? Jesus. Jesus is the only one to do this work. And when we fully and finally see that Jesus Christ is the only one who can save us from our situation. And it's not a better job, it's not more money, it's not a better family situation, it's not better friends, it's not more influence, it's nothing the world can give us. It's only that Jesus is our savior through and through. Plan A, that's it. Once we get there. Then we know the peace of Christ. Then we know the fulfillment of Jesus alone. Charles Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, put it like this: He says, You will never know the fullness of Christ until you know the emptiness of everything else but Christ. Jesus and Jesus alone. Until you know the giver and his goodness, none of his gifts will ever be fulfilling enough. You must know Jesus. You must throw yourself fully at him. How do we know that John is giving us this insight into the wonder and the beauty and the majesty of Jesus that's beyond imagination? Friends, look at his words. Did you see his monologue in chapter five that was read? I didn't either. Did you see his list of questions that he had for Jesus? I didn't either. In fact, you kind of forget John's even in the scene until he starts weeping. You kind of forget he's there. Friends, who here has questions for Jesus? When you get to heaven, when we all die in like 135 years from now, And we get to heaven, you're like, I got my questions, I've got some stuff I'm trying to figure out, I gotta work through this, that, you know. I mean, you got questions for Jesus. We all got questions for Jesus. That's good, that's okay. You ask your questions here, you can ask your questions up there. Here's the thing: I started really teasing this out, and I was like, I bet John had some questions. I bet John had some serious questions. Because not only John had questions because of what his life was. But if you could also think of the life that John lived, John had like a different kind of access to Jesus than you and I did. Like John was called by Jesus from being a fisherman to follow him. John was the only one who stayed at the crucifixion. So if there was ever a human being to walk into heaven and say, hey, I know the big guy. Yes, yes, yes, Savior, Lord, God, God, God, it, God, but he's also like my bud. And this is like a reunion, it'd be John. Like John can have that ability to say, Hey, good reunion, good to see you again, Jesus. And he would have questions, don't you think? I bet he'd have questions like, Hey, Jesus, thank you for visiting me on Patmos. This is awesome. So glad to spend this time with you. ⁓ wish you'd shown up sooner when they threw me in a cauldron of boiling oil to try and boil me alive. Why'd you let that happen? Don't you think that'd be one of his questions? Do you think one of his questions might be, hey, my brother, James, part of the inner three, ⁓ was killed weeks after the spirit came on Pentecost. What was with that? Hey, Jesus, why'd you let Peter get crucified upside down? Hey Jesus, all 12 of us got killed. I'm the only one left. And they weren't like nice in our bed. All of us were humiliated and martyred in horrible ways. Hey Jesus, it wasn't just us. Do you know what Rome's doing right now to children who call on your name? Do you know what's going on, Jesus? I think he'd have some questions. And yet Nothing. It seems to me that when we get to the throne of God, we will be unwilling, unable, unworthy to say a single word. The only thing John does in this scene is weep. He just weeps. That's it. Doesn't ask a single question. Nothing. It seems to me that the goodness and the beauty of God, when we are fully in his presence, even our most burning questions, even the deepest pain we've endured, even if our heart has been broken beyond what we thought was possible, it seems that none of that would be able to come out of our mouth in the presence of Almighty God. That's his goodness. That's how holy set apart he is, that all we could do is weep in silence. Why does John weep? John weeps because he sees in the scene that we read in chapter five that, okay, the one sitting on the throne says, the plan is ready. It's time to go. Let's heal the world. The only problem is who is worthy of. Begin the process? Who is worthy to carry this out? Who is the worthy one to open the scroll? And they look high and low, they search heaven, they search earth, it says, and they can find no one to even look inside it. So that's when he weeps. And one of the elders says, Do not weep. See the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals. Then I saw a lamb looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures, and the elders, and the lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of g which God sends out into the earth. So who is worthy? Who is worthy? Who is worthy? Is what everyone's asking. They can find no one worthy. Who is worthy to carry out God's rescue plan? Who is worthy to heal the world? Who is worthy to destroy evil forever? Who is worthy to make every battered, broken, bruised heart new again? Who is worthy? And they can find no one until the Lion of Judah shows up. And it's so, so critical. John hears Lion of Judah. He turns and he sees the lamb who was slain. How many of you all, this is what your experience with Jesus has been like. He's all powerful, he's holy, he's set apart, he's king of the earth, holy. These are all true about him. And then the first time you truly look with the eyes of your heart and you see Jesus, he's gentle, he's kind, he's beyond imagination, he's peace like a river. He is beyond my imagination. He's nothing like I thought he was, and yet he's both. This is our God. This is Jesus Christ. This is what qualifies him because he has all the power to be the king of the kingdom. And yet he lowers himself to be the lowest of the low in order for all to come forward and experience his goodness. This is who Jesus is. Jesus Christ is not worthy to open the seals because he pulled a sword from the stone. Jesus is worthy to open the seals because he was the one who was pierced by the nails. Jesus is worthy because he is the one who was pierced by the crown of thorns. Jesus is worthy because he was pierced with the whips. Jesus is worthy because they pierced him in the side with the spear and blood and water flowed out to Telestai it is done. This is why Jesus is worthy. This is what qualifies him. Jesus, the Lamb of God, receives worship of heaven because his precious blood of the Creator ransomed even the enemies of God like me and you. We are only whole, healed, and holy because he is worthy to do this work himself and him alone. This is what Jesus Christ has done for each one of us. And as I really stop to ponder on that truth, it really makes me realize. He has already done infinitely more for me than I ever deserved. Infinitely more. If Jesus Christ never answered one more prayer of mine, never showed up one more time for me, it would have been enough. What he did, what he saved me from, what he saved you from, we dare not reduce him to a genie to give us the comforts of the world. We fall at his feet and say, You saved me from hell. You saved me from destruction. You gave me peace beyond understanding. And you gave me new life and forgiveness that I can stand before the judge after my years are over and be declared innocent and live forever with you. That's enough. That's enough. Is it enough for you? We must dwell on this. Let this sink into your heart like salt in a stake, rub it into your heart. This is truth. That even when it feels like he is slow in the way we understand slowness, he has already done infinitely more than even the best of us deserve. Especially the worst in us. He has set us free. This is why he is worthy. Friends, if that doesn't mess with your heart, I don't know what will. Before we stand and close in worship this morning, I want to point out the beautiful truth of the emerald rainbow. The emerald rainbow, it says, encircles the throne of God, which is a quite an interesting detail because on our side of eternity, we see half rainbows, do we not? And one way to understand this is that we only see half the promise. In the fullness of God, we see the full picture. We may not understand everything God is doing in our world right now. You may have questions for Jesus, and you should, and you ask them. Go boldly before the throne of God, as Scripture says. That's the authority you have as a son or a daughter of God. But when you get there, you'll see the full picture. You will see that this world is half of the puzzle piece. And when you fix your eyes on Jesus, you start to see the other half, and you hold the two together, and you say, Now I've got a clearer picture. And I can navigate this present moment and I can navigate this world today because I see only half of it with my eyes, but I see the other half of it with my spirit, seeing what God is doing may be up to at some point, because this is timeless truth for every person. So I just have a theory that if any one of us were John and spent two seconds fully in the presence of Jesus Christ, completely revealed, complete in his glory and his majesty, as if trying to walk on the surface of the sun for two seconds, none of us could come back the same. None of us could come back the same. Each one of us would be so wrecked in our spirit that we would say, I can live no other way, other than knowing who. God is. Friends, you are invited to that moment. You are invited into the throne room by the Spirit of God. You have heard the line of Judah. You have seen the Lamb who was slain. You know the one who is worthy to heal you in all of creation. He's the one who dwells inside your heart. As we stand to pray and sing, would you sing out, worthy is the one to open the seals. This is Jesus. This is our God. I invite you to actually stand as we close in prayer and the band comes forward. So would you stand as you're able? For the only one who is worthy. Let me just read truth over you from scripture. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being. You are worthy to take the scroll and open its seals because you were slain, and with the blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priest, to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise. Worthy are you, our God, of everything we have. There is no treasure in this world that will ever compete with you. Worthy are you, Jesus. We throw everything at your feet. Worthy are you. Worthy are you. All God's people said. Amen. Friends, would you sing along to the one who is worthy this morning? Do you feel the world is broken?