Introduction

Revelation 5:1-14 ESV  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.  (2)  And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”  (3)  And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it,  (4)  and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.  (5)  And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”  (6)  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.  (7)  And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.  (8)  And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.  (9)  And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,  (10)  and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”  (11)  Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands,  (12)  saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”  (13)  And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”  (14)  And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Last week we spent time going over Revelation chapter 4, a scene of awesome heavenly worship.

John was taken to the throne room of God, and there He saw God the Father sitting on the throne, Glorious and highly exalted.

God had the appearance of radiant scarlet gemstones.

Wrapped around Him was a beautiful emerald rainbow.

Sitting around Him were 24 elders on 24 thrones each wearing a golden crown.

Flying around Him were 4 heavenly creatures, with seven wings each and different kinds of faces and they were covered in eyes.

There were peels of thunder and flashes of lightning…

And the elders and the creatures never ceased to worship God.

We spent time talking about the awesomeness of this scene… that God is awesome and mighty to be praised.

Now in Chapter 5 we continue with this scene of heavenly worship.

And during the worship, and the thunder and the lightning, John notices a scroll or a book in the right hand of God…

Revelation 5:1 ESV  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.

• This scroll then becomes the focus for the next few chapters…
  • What is this scroll? Well to understand that we have to go all the way back to the book of Ezekiel, when the prophet was prophesying about the end of the current world as we know it.

Ezekiel 2:9-10 ESV  And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it.  (10)  And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.

• In fact There are even more references to a scroll like this one, possible the very same one, in the end time prophesies in Daniel chapter 1 and 12 and Isaiah chapter 29.
  • So we know this scroll in God’s hand is for the end of times.
  • We also know that it is a scroll of judgments, of lamentations, of mourning and woe…
    • In other words, it’s not a happy-fun-times document. We will see that in detail in Revelation six when we start going over what is actually sealed inside of the scroll or inside of the book. Spoiler alert, as each seal on this scroll is broken a mighty plague or judgment is released on the earth.
• But for now, let’s not focus on the wrath of God that will be poured out as these seals on this scroll are broken, instead let’s focus on what is in front of us, which is this question of worth:

Revelation 5:2 ESV  And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”

• You see, this scroll in not just any scroll, but it’s opening ushers in the end of the world as we know it. With each seal that is broken, history advances and we get closer and closer to the new heaven and the new earth, a time when God re-creates the earth and the heavens and we live in perfection with God.
  • Now some people believe these seals are broken over a very long period of time, and that many of the seals have already been broken, and we are only waiting for the last few.
  • Others believe these seals will be broken one after another in relatively quick succession.
    • Either way, they mark the end of the era, and as such it is only one of great worth and power who is aloud to open the seals… because doing so controls the events of the future.
    • Therefore the question must be asked, and was asked, “Who is worthy to control the future?”

Who is Worthy? That’s what we are going to be talking about today… Who is worthy?

Point One – You Are Not Worthy (No Created Being Is)

Revelation 5:2-4 ESV  And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”  (3)  And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it,  (4)  and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.

• The question is asked in a booming voice by a mighty angel “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break the seal” in other words “Who is worthy to control the future?”
  • And then there comes no reply… silence in heaven. Not a single creature, nothing created in heaven above or earth below was found worthy to open the scroll.
  • And John began to weep loudly, why? Likely because John so badly wanted the end to come and New Heaven and New Earth to be established… John was DONE with this life and wanted to live forever in the next… but if no one is worthy to usher in the future, then are we simply doomed to live this life and that is it?
    • It’s a harrowing thought to think “There is nothing I can do to change the future”.
• But this is the thought the Christian MUST wrap his mind around… YOU ARE NOT WORTHY.
• You know there was a woman in the book of Samuel who understood this fact. Her name was Hannah.
  • Hannah was sad because she was baren. Because she couldn’t have children.
  • She was mocked by others because she was baren.
    • So she cried out to the Lord and the Lord gave her a son, Samuel, and then she said this prayer:

1 Samuel 2:2-8 ESV  “There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.  (3)  Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.  (4)  The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength.  (5)  Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn.  (6)  The LORD kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.  (7)  The LORD makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts.  (8)  He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, and on them he has set the world.

• Look at the words of this prayer… it starts with “No one is like the Lord, non is holy like God”
  • Then it goes into talking about how the strong are made weak, and the poor are made rich… and the dead are made alive…
    • But she attributes all of this to GOD. It is God who makes the poor wealthy. Or the wealthy poor.
    • It is God who brings the dead to life.
    • It is God who gives and God who takes away.
    • God is the only one who is holy enough to be counted worthy to control these things.
  • Jesus himself reiterates this fact in the second part of Mark 10:18

Mark 10:18b ESV  …No one is good except God alone.

• If you are not perfectly Holy, then you have no right to control the future. YOU ARE NOT WORTHY.
  • But somewhere along the way in American culture we have taught this hyper-self-esteem-everyone-gets-a-trophy nonsense that teaches the opposite of what the Bible teaches.
    • It teaches that you are good.
    • That you are enough.
    • That you are worthy and in control.
    • That you can be whatever you want to be if you just put your mind to it.
      • No, I can’t be whatever I want to be.
      • I am 33 years old, out of shape, and only have one Kidney…
      • I WANT to be a UFC fighter, but no amount of work will ever get me there, I am disqualified because I only have one kidney.
      • If you are 5 foot 2 and clumsy, your not going to be an NBA star.
      • If you are 45 and out of shape, your never going to be an NFL player.
  • But the world teaches us YOU HOLD YOUR FUTURE. No you don’t…
    • Tell that to the MANY people I know who were the best player on their team… they were getting recruited…
      • Then they broke their back.
      • Tore their ACL.
      • Got into a car accident…
      • Or whatever… ending their career… That wasn’t their fault… they just weren’t nearly as in control of their future as they thought.

James 4:13-17 ESV  Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—  (14)  yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.  (15)  Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”  (16)  As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.  (17)  So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

• Your Job is NOT to control your future. Your job is to trust the only one who is worthy to control your future… God alone, Christ alone.
  • Trust Christ, obey Him, and follow Him… let him control the future.
  • The best thing you can do for your future is to read the rules for life and follow them… in other words, open your Bible, Read it, and do what it says!
• Man I could go on and on about this… if you really want to feel it, go read God’s rebuke to Job… “Where were you, Job, when I created the heavens and the Earth… did you measure out the seas and tell the mountains where to rise… no? Then you have no say in how things work! YOU ARE NOT WORTHY JOB”.
• I will end this point with this proverb:

Proverbs 19:21 ESV  Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.

• That brings me to point two: Jesus is worthy!

Point Two – Jesus is Worthy

Revelation 5:5-7 ESV  And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”  (6)  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.  (7)  And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.

• The only one found worthy, the only one found worthy enough to control the future… to usher in the end of time… to open the scroll and break the seal was Jesus Christ.
  • JESUS IS WORTHY.
    • Not you, not me, not Billy Grahm, and certainly not Elon Musk.
    • It was not a created being that was found worthy.
    • But the creator Himself, Jesus Himself, who was found worthy.

John 1:1-3 ESV  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  (2)  He was in the beginning with God.  (3)  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

• Of course Jesus is worthy, He is the creator… who is the created to try to control the created?

Romans 9:20 ESV  But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?”

• No! The Pot does not control it’s own existence, the potter who made the pot is in full control.
• The mountain doesn’t dictate where it will rise up.
• The river doesn’t decide where it will flow.
• The tree doesn’t decide when it will fall.
  • God is in control of these things.
    • Jesus is the one worthy to be in control of these things.
    • Is He not the only one worthy to control your life?
    • YES! HE IS WORTHY!
• AND THAT IS WONDERFUL NEWS!
  • Because Jesus is FAR better at controlling your future then you ever would be.
    • When I see people’s lives go from ruin to fortune… it is because they obeyed Christ and allowed Him to be in control.
    • When I see peoples lives go from stable to despair, it is because they tried to control things on their own, they tried to hold the future, they disobeyed the only one worthy enough to shape the future.
• Christ Created us, so  He is worthy to control our future.
• Christ Created the earth, so He is worthy to control the future of the earth.
• Christ Created the heaven so He is worthy to control the future of the heavens.
• So when the scroll the ushers in the final events of this current world needs to be opened, there is only one who is worthy to open it, the one who Created this world in the first place.
  • But MORE OVER, as a Christian Christ is DOUBLY worthy of controlling your future.
  • Not only did Christ create you, form you, mold you, breath life into you…
  • But Christ also PURCHASED YOU… Sin took you away, Christ’s blood brought you back.
  • Satan kidnapped your soul, Christ ransomed you back.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV  Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,  (20)  for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Revelation 5:9 ESV  And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 

• Now that brings us into our final point before our conclusion, and I will keep point three short, then we are going to conclude in song…
  • Point three is this: Jesus Gives you your worth.

Point Three – Jesus Gives You Your Worth

Revelation 5:6-10 ESV  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.  (7)  And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.  (8)  And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.  (9)  And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,  (10)  and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

• Just because you are not worthy, doesn’t mean you don’t have worth, saints…
  • If you are a born again believer than you have GREAT worth in the kingdom of God.
  • It’s says right here in verse 10 that you are a KINGDOM of PRIESTS and that you shall reign on the earth!
    • That’s a lot of worth.
    • But you did not get that worth on your own, it was Jesus who gave you His worth…
  • So how much, exactly, are you worth? That is an easy answer to question… because I know what you were bought for…
• Let me explain…
  • When I was working hard to find a church building to buy there was often a question that would come up “How much is this building worth”.
    • Sure people ask all sorts of prices for buildings… but just because someone puts a building up for sale for a million bucks does not mean it is WORTH a million bucks.
  • And through this I learned a very important lesson, and I learned this from both our bankers and lenders and from our realtors… they all said the same thing when asked about the worth of a building.
    • A building is worth exactly how much someone is willing to pay for it.
      • Not a penny more, not a penny less.
  • You can say your building is worth 10 million dollars… but if no one is willing to pay that much for it, it’s not worth that much.
  • IN FACT, the bank told me the number one factor a commercial appraiser takes into account when appraising a commercial building is, by far, how much the building was purchased for.
    • Because things are worth what people are willing to pay for it.
• So when the question comes to your worth, dear saint, the answer is this… You are worth the blood of the Son of God.
  • You are worth the breaking of the Son of God.
  • You are worth the DEATH of the Son of God.
    • Because that is what God paid for you.
• If you are a Christian, you are not worthy, but you are also not worthless.
  • You have GREAT worth in the Kingdom of God.
  • But your worth is only truly valuable when you let the only worthy one be in control.

Conclusion

We are going to sing a special song, “Is He worthy” by Chris Tomlin.