Lathem Postell: I want us to go ahead and jump into our our scripture for today. It comes to us from the book of Revelation. We're gonna be reading from chapter 7, verses 9 through 17. Let us join together as we hear God's word this morning. This this beautiful image given to us here in Revelation chapter 7.
It tells us this. After this, I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count from every nation, tribe, people, and language. Standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands and they cried out in a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the 4 living creatures.
They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God saying, Amen. Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen. Then, one of the elders asked me, These in white robes, who are they and where did they come from? I answered, Sir, you know.
And he said, These are they who have come out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. Therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple. And he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. Never again will they hunger.
Never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd. He will lead them to springs of living water and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Will you pray with me?
Loving and Gracious God, we thank you for that picture, that that image, that vision of the future. Lord, we ask that you you do it now. That what's happening above us in the heavens, Lord, You make it happen now. That we worship You in the fullness of Your presence. Lord, speak to us as they reveal Yourself to us, that we might come to look more like Your Son, Jesus.
For it's in His name that we pray. Amen. So I'll tell you, I learn a lot from my 2 year old, and if you have young kids, you might understand this a little bit. I never would have thought, me being so much older, right, and so much wiser, I'd like to think that I could learn something from a 2 year old, but I do. I learn something every day.
I know more about Disney princesses now than I ever thought I would have. I've taken a good education on that. I've learned, I didn't know this until recently, that there's no limit on the number of stuffed animals that you're allowed to sleep with at night. You can have as many as you want to, or at least you you want to have as many as you you can. I've learned to relish the little things, like enjoying the planes as they fly overhead.
Did did you know how many planes fly over our head every day? Evie doesn't let us miss one of those. I I I, of course, I've learned that she already knows more than I do. She tries to remind me of that actually a lot, even only being 2. But she taught me something recently I want to share with each of you.
A new lesson that I've learned here in just the past month past month or so. What she's taught me is how beautiful it is to read the same story over again. Than once. Every night, Cammie and I, as we're getting heavy ready for bed, we like to read a story or 2 with her. She's got lots of books.
We've got this bookshelf right next to her, kind of reading corner in her room. And we've got all kinds of books to choose from. Right? It's fall, so we tried to read some of the fall books. There's a Charlie Brown one.
What is if you give a mouse a cookie, there's a fall themed Halloween story there as well. But it didn't matter how many stories we offered or how many stories are on the shelf. She always seems to pick 1 or 2 to read over and over again. This fall, it was a very special book. If you ever heard of Sandra Boynton, who's a kid's author, we love her stories.
She has a book called Spooky Pooky. I don't know if that means anything to you. It it means a lot to our family now. It it's it's quite a cute book. But but every time we'd sit down to read, we'd try to get her to read something else, but she'd always come back to spooky pooky.
She if she were up here, she's a little shy when she gets in front of folks, so she might not would do it. But but she could recite it for you almost word for word. It wasn't because she forgot the story that she wanted us to read it over and over again. In fact, I think it's because she knew it that she wanted us to to read it. We we would begin to read it and she would say the words with us.
She would smile because she would know the funny parts. She'd wait for the end when spooky puts on or Pookie puts on this this costume and and scares her mom, and and and the mom thinks it's a ghost, and she goes, no. It's just spooky pooky trick or treat. I mean, that's how the story ends. Again, written for 2 year olds.
It's good though. I promise. I I just couldn't understand why do you want to read this over and over and over again. And eventually, it clicked for me. That there's something beautiful in reading the same story more than once.
In fact, reading it over and over and over again. In a world of chaos and uncertainty, right? Especially for a 2 year old, you think about how much they're learning and and even within their routine, everything's so new and so different every day. In that world of chaos and uncertainty, there is peace that comes in knowing how the story ends. There there are peace in knowing where things are headed.
And if we're honest, we do the same thing as adults. It's not just 2 year olds. You probably have a favorite novel that you like to read and you've maybe read it more than once. We watch the same movies over and over again because we get that same piece. There's comfort in seeing that a good story ends like it should end.
That's what today is all about. So special because it's an opportunity for us to be reminded of how the story ends. Much, right? This gospel message, this old, old story as we hear it proclaimed other places. There's power in this repeated story Because it gives us, just like for a 2 year old, in the midst of our chaotic and uncertain world, it gives us a foundation upon which we can actually stand.
In the midst of the shifting sands of the world and our culture, it gives us a foundation that never moves. Something that we don't have to worry about, because we worry about everything else. Something we don't have to fret about. Something we don't have to be concerned about. No.
We have a solid ground. God himself, the saving story of Jesus. That's the picture of Revelation chapter 7. It's the end of the story. It's getting there at least.
It's a fast forward in time for us to the end of time. It's a picture of where our lives are headed. To this place of incomparable glory. A place for God's people of every tribe, tongue, and nation. Right?
A place where people are brought together cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, so that they might worship forever. It's a place without hunger, a place without thirst, a place where the scorching heat of the sun cannot hurt us. It's a place where we drink from these living waters. It's a place ultimately and this is why it's so beautiful of an image. It's a place where God is at the center.
All of those things that describes are only possible because we are eternally sheltered by the presence of our good shepherd. I couldn't I couldn't help and and and I'm going off the rails here, so I hope you'll come with me. As we sat and sang holy forever, I'm a invite the band up. We're going really off the rails here. I mean it.
If you'll come back, please, because you don't want me singing. I I I that's it. That's it. That's it. Today is such a beautiful day because God gives us a glimpse into what forever will be, every now and then.
His holiness, that that forever that we sing about, it starts now and it goes on and on and on and on. We're gonna sing that song again. I don't know where we're going. We're gonna sing it again. Because I I I think that's what today is about.
It's about reminding ourselves in in word. Right? We read it here in Revelation chapter 7, and and hearing it in song, saying it in other ways, that this is what we believe. I love the beginning of it. I'm not good at remembering stuff like that.
It talks about all the nations bowing down before God. That that's what Revelation 7 describes. I love this day because it's a reminder. Look, we got 13, really 14 candles here. What we sing about, what we read about in Revelation, for them, it's no longer a future promise.
For them, it's reality. For them, it's right now, right this second, in the throne room of God, they are singing holy forever, forever and ever, holy is Christ. We get to be reminded that, sure, that's a future promise for us, but we can live it right now. This isn't something we have to wait for. Their lives show us.
Their lives demonstrate for us what it means to believe in Jesus Christ. Look, I don't I don't I don't know what God's doing. He's moving something in my spirit. Maybe He's moving it in yours, but but we're gonna sing it again. I want you to sing it for for however long it is, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes.
It might as well be for eternity. The beauty of this day is that as we sing this song, we join not just with the folks in this room, not not just with the folks across the world who are worshiping at 9:45 Eastern Time. We sing it with every single saint that has gone on to glory. You are a part of a heavenly choir. Whole bunch of others that are doing it too.
Worship. Holy is God forever. Let's pray together. Loving and gracious God, Lord, You are in this place. We feel Your Spirit now.
Lord, I ask that You give us an extra dose. That on this All Saints Sunday, You overwhelm us with you. That you remind us that there's a reason we get to say we live for you for eternity. Is it because eternity is something that can start now, not tomorrow. Lord, you are holy forever.
You're a holy yesterday. You're holy today. You will be holy tomorrow. Fill us with that holiness. Fill us with your holy spirit.
Fill us with your power. Fill us with your presence. Fill us with what we need and empty us of everything we don't. For 5 minutes, Give us a glimpse of forever. For 5 minutes, let us bow before your throne.
Not worried about what our neighbors gonna think if we lift our hands. Lord, the image we get in Revelation chapter 7 is laying down on our knees before the throne because we cannot compare to the glory that is in front of us. Glory. I I don't I don't think that's something we have to wait to do. Free us for 5 set for for 5 minutes.
May Heaven come on Earth. May You stand before us and may we bow before Your presence. God, You are holy. We are not, but You are making us new. You were calling us to be new creation.
Invite us into your throne, oh God. Invite us into your presence. Break down our walls. Break down our hearts. Soften us, Lord.
Remind us that we don't need anything but you. That that's what your saints have found out, Lord. This hope that we hold for tomorrow, for them it's today. Give us that same faith and trust, waiting not for something to happen in the future, Lord, but claiming Your truth now. Renew us, God.
Fill us as we worship You. You are holy now and forever. Through your son Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen.
Let's stand and and worship together.