The Lamb is King

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. (Revelation 5:6-7)

God the Father holds a scroll that unveils Jesus as judge and king. Only Jesus is worthy to break the seals. He is the slain lamb who stands. The little lamb with all the glory. The greatest angel in heaven bows before him. The elders bow before him. The angelic host bow before him. Mankind great and small bow before him. Every being bows before him. What is the unanimous chant? “Worthy is the lamb! To him be all honor and glory! Worthy is the lamb!”

Can we read such a passage and not realize what all this is saying to us today? What it’s saying for your life? My life? Our nation? Our community? Our church? The dramas of life, good and evil, life and death, heaven and hell? All of it, everything, every being, every moment today and forever, is unveiling the infinite glory and majesty of Christ. This is where this whole thing is going. The universal worship of Jesus’ majesty, his redemptive work, his obedience to death, his love, his power, his mercy and love, everything truly is all about him.

Here is the help and the danger of pithy little truth statements – they can remain long after the zeal and heart for it has gone.

A few months ago I walked through the Reformers square in Geneva, Switzerland (above). It has huge statues and monuments to great Christians with giant engraved letters of Christian teaching. It was built by the city of Geneva. You would think, Surely Geneva must be a great Christian city. It used to be, but today it is an immoral and godless city.

This is our 16^th All About Him weekend and weekends like this are a waste of time unless the glory of our Savior truly is the passion of our heart and our church. Look what happens when we are crushed under our unworthiness and sin. But when we truly believe he is worthy, we have energy! Worship! Unity! Passion! Nothing else is worthy of him. A passion for the glory of Christ brings people together.

That is the goal of Bethel Church, to be a church that treasures Christ as our everything. There are so many things that threaten to draw our attention away – good and important things – some new program or doctrinal distinction or whatever. All those things are important and may God bless all of them. But the bottom line is Christ and his glory and his gospel. That’s where this whole thing is going as decreed by God the Father. That is his purpose. Is it ours? Is it yours?

We want to be a church aflame with passion for Him and expressing in every dimension of our church and lives, “Worthy is the Lamb! Worthy is the Lamb! Worthy is the Lamb!”

©2012 Steve DeWitt. You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author, (2) any modifications are clearly marked, (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, (4) you include Bethel’s website address (www.bethelweb.org) on the copied resource.

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