Around the Throne

Transcript

How are we doing this morning? My name's Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. We're finishing up. Today is the last week of our Home Sweet Home series where we've been looking at the church and how the church ought to organize, how the church ought to act in some ways, what makes for a healthy church. And so we're going to be in the book of Revelation today.

And in the book of Revelation, we're getting a picture. It's where we're going to be reading. And in a lot of the book of Revelation, we're getting a picture of future events. We're getting a picture of some things that haven't happened yet that are going to happen. And I got to thinking about it as we were going to study this passage today. I got to thinking about that this is real.

Like this is our actual future for the church. This is a real picture of what's going to happen in the future. And I just got to thinking about how that ought to affect us. And so you ever watch a movie where it shows a clip of the ending at the beginning of the movie? So it's like the heroes walking out of a building.

It's blowing up behind them. They're smoking a cigarette. And it's like they're scuffed up, but they're still like good looking. Like I don't know how they did it, but it's like something dramatic has happened, but they're okay. And then it'll be like, it'll just change. And they'll be at an office at their desk at their computer wearing glasses.

They weren't wearing glasses a second ago. Somehow over the past couple of weeks, whatever, their eyesight got better or the future weeks, whatever. And it says like two weeks earlier. And it's like, so, you know, what I just saw was a picture of the end. And now what I'm looking at is pre-adventure version of this, this person. And so I got to thinking about like, what if in life you had a moment?

I don't know how it worked. I don't know how you got to see this, but you got to see three weeks from now. This is you. You're smoking the cigarette. You're walking out of the exploding building. Like, what have you got to see that?

And you knew this is how this ends up. And then when this adventure starts, like when this thing happens, when you get called by the CIA, they pick you up in a limo. And they're like, we need you to quit working at your desk and to come on a secret mission. Like you would think, okay, I saw the end of this. Like I know, like, and I got to think about how that would make you act, like how that would make me act. So my first thought was that would make me excessively, aggressively lazy.

Because I would think, I don't, I don't really have to do anything. The building blows up. I still have my cigarette. We're going to be okay. Like I know how this ends. Like I would think it doesn't really matter how all this plays out because I know how the end, like that was my first thought.

And then I got to thinking about it. And I really got to thinking about it. And I think actually, knowing that that's how the story ended, it would have the exact opposite effect on me. I would do the craziest stuff I could come up with. Because I knew two weeks from now, I'm still standing. I got, I got a two week window where all of the action hero stuff works.

That's what I would think. So when the CIA said, we need you on a mission, I would have said, because I'd just be so absolutely confident. Usually I'd be freaking out, but I'm so absolutely confident because I know the end, I'd be like, you came to the right guy. Like I would try to do, I would go buy sunglasses and cigarettes. I don't smoke, but I'd have to smoke for the next two weeks because I've got to have a cigarette at the end of the explosion. Like the biggest, baddest dude would come walking out.

Like he, he would look like the Russian that Rocky had to fight in Rocky four. And I'd be like, I got this. And the reason was I saw my face. It wasn't smashed in. I was still walking. I don't know how this is going to go down, but I know I'm going to walk away from it.

I'd be like, don't, don't even worry about it. And I'd just walk out and I'd be like, I don't know what's going to happen, but it's going to be great. I might would start the fight just by kicking his shin. Cause I can. I might say something derogatory about his family members on my way over there because I can. Like I know how this is going to work out.

There would be times where I probably would have just been, everyone would be hiding and I'll be like, I'll handle this. And they'd be like, do you need a gun? And I'll be like, no, just to freak them out. Cause I don't need a gun. Cause I know how it ends up. Like I get to walk out of the exploding building.

Like this is what I got to thinking about. And I spent way too much time thinking about it. As you can tell, I got really excited. That's the picture we're getting today of the church. We're getting this picture of where we end up. We're getting this picture of the church walking out of the exploding building, uh, still intact.

We're getting this picture in the book of Revelation of where we're headed. And it is a real reality in the future for us. And I think we're going to go through the same process, which is at first we're going to think, oh, this will make me excessively aggressively lazy. But I think it's meant to have the opposite effect that God gave us this picture to have the exact opposite effect on our hearts and our souls. It's to help us see this is where it's going to end up. So you can have the bravery, the courage, the energy to, to accept the call that Jesus has placed on his church.

So let's go to Revelation five. Now, uh, there, if you've been around the church for a while and you hear we're going to be in the book of Revelation, maybe you've read the Bible. So maybe, you know, very little about the Bible, but there's a little bit of like, oh, Revelation, like this is about to get interesting. There's going to be a lot of crazy things. And in some ways there are, there are some things in the book of Revelation that are hard to understand. The book of Revelation is the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

So you've had people walk through the book of Revelation and they want to talk about all the crazy imagery and the pictures we were met with in the book. Uh, but it's, it's the, the point of the book is to reveal Christ to point to Jesus. And so, uh, what we have in the book of Revelation is John, the apostle. So who followed Jesus around, he's been exiled to the isle of Patmos. He's worshiping God and Jesus shows up and basically is like, I'm going to show you some things. And then John writes them down through the leadership of the Holy spirit.

John pins the book of Revelation. And I think, uh, it's very helpful for us that this was funneled through John, that John has shown these images. And he writes them down as best he can, because John's going to explain them to us in a way we can kind of understand. There are places in the book of Revelation where John says things like, uh, he said this and his voice sounded like a waterfall. And it's because John was doing his best to describe. It's like if a waterfall could talk, that's what it sounded like.

There's times where he's like explaining these pictures and he's just writing down as best he can. This is what it was like. And, and instead of having all the right words for it, I think he has all the words that God designed to be right for us to be able to understand. So there are some parts in this passage that we're going to read where it's like, what does that mean? I don't know. But we're going to apply a pastor named John Piper.

He has a rule that he calls the law of least meaning, which means when you come to a text in the scriptures, there are times where you're not going to understand completely what it's saying. But if you can understand something that it's saying, then that was worth understanding. Like that was good. And so what we're going to do is there's some stuff that's really crystal clear in this passage. And there's some stuff that's really confusing. We're going to kind of just go past the confusing parts because we want to see the part that's crystal clear.

And that's the part we're going to, we're going to take out of this. And so as we get to look at this picture of future us, I just, I'm going to pray that God would reveal himself to us in it and that he would use it to embolden us as a church and as his people. So let's pray real quick. God, we thank you for the images that we have in the book of Revelation. We thank you for you giving us this glimpse into your presence, into eternity, into the future of your people. We pray, God, that you would use it to equip us and embolden us today to accept the mission you've called us on.

We love you and we praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. Revelation chapter 5 is on page 665 if your Bible looks like this. If you don't own a Bible, this is our gift to you. Take it home with you. Then I saw, so this is John, he's writing down this vision that he's seeing.

Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne, a scroll written within and on the back and sealed with seven seals. Okay. He's in heaven. He sees someone sitting on a throne. Kings sit on thrones. That's God.

So he sees God and in God's right hand, he's holding a scroll. It's rolled up parchment written all over it. So it's not just parchment that would be written in the middle part. It's written all over it and it's sealed with seven seals, meaning that this is a very important parchment. This is a very important scroll. We find out as we continue to read that this scroll contains the end of human history.

It contains how the earth plays out. It contains some of God's wrath and God's judgment on the earth as they begin to undo these seals. So what we see, we're met with this picture of God sitting on a throne, holding human history in his hand. That's what John is seeing and writes it down. Verse 2. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?

So this angel asks, who can ascend to the throne of God and take something from his hand? Who can come up here? Who has the audacity? Who has the worthiness? Who has the glory to walk up to the throne of God and remove something from his hand? Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?

And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or look into it. And I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. This angel stands beside the throne of God where God holds human history in his hand. And he says, who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals? And there is dead silence. No one in heaven.

No one on earth. No one under the earth. No one. No one. No one. No one.

No one. No one. Worthy. And the silence is broken by the loud weeping of John, whose heart and soul have just been crushed. As he stands before the throne of God and realizes no one's worthy. No one can ascend to God.

No one. No one can open the scroll. No one has the glory or the weight or the value. No one. You just made a cameo in the story. I'm going to read it to you again.

No one. No one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or look into it. I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or look into it. You're going to be in one of those three places when this call rings out in eternity. You're going to be in heaven, on earth, or under it. You didn't pipe up.

No one's worthy. That's all of human history. No one's worthy. That's every king, every astronaut, every scientist. That's every loving, gracious, wonderful person you've ever met. No one gets to say, I can walk up to the throne.

No one gets to say, I can walk up to the throne. No one gets to say, I can walk up to the throne. And in this moment, John's heart breaks. Because we have nothing to offer. Humanity has no ability to approach God. And it's crushing.

And John, I love that John says it this way. And I began to weep loudly. John didn't write. And tears began to roll down my face. John said, I was a blubbery, snotty mess by the throne of God. Because I had no worthiness.

And no one else did. I couldn't catch my breath. I was doing the... Like, I made a scene in heaven. An angel, a mighty angel spoke. There's dead silence.

And then I went... Like crying, embarrassing, sobbing in front of the throne of God. Because nobody can approach Him. And one of the elders said to me... These are some men, elders that are around the throne. 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. That's reference to Old Testament prophecy. The lion of the tribe of Judah and the root of David are talking about the same person. And that's Jesus who came in the line of David the king. Who came out of the tribe of Judah. Who was the lion of the tribe of Judah.

And He has conquered. He is worthy to open the scroll. So an elder looks at John and says, you don't have to weep. You don't have to be heartbroken. You don't have to be crushed by this. I want you to hear that as declared to all of us who were found unworthy.

He says, you don't have to be crushed. There is someone who is worthy. There's someone who can go in our place to the throne. There's someone who can walk to God on our behalf. He doesn't just say, yeah, you should keep crying, but this guy is worthy. No, He says that His worthiness lets your weeping stop.

His worthiness unbreaks our heart. And between the throne and the four living creatures. Those are some big scary angels around God's throne. And among the elders, I saw a lamb standing as though it had been slain. John's told to look at the lion of the tribe of Judah. And he says, I looked for a lion and I saw a lamb.

I looked for the one who's conquered. And I saw someone who looked like they had been conquered. I looked for the one that has the glory and the worthiness. And I see a lamb who's been crushed. I see a lamb who's been slain. Jesus Christ went to the cross so that our unworthiness, so that our weeping can stop.

Jesus was slain. And in His death on the cross became ultimately worthy to ascend to the throne of God. In His sacrifice for His people, He bought our worthiness and represents us to the King. That's our hope that we have this morning. 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.

I want you to see that. God of the universe holds the human history in His hand. And Jesus Christ walks up as a lamb who was slain, as the root of David, as the lion of the tribe of Judah. And on humans' behalf, on all of heaven and all of earth and everything under the earth, He walks up and He takes history from God's hand. Because He's worthy. Because He was slain.

And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 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. And you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth. They said, By your blood you have ransomed. We don't use that word ransomed as much as they did in their culture.

We still use it. It still means the same thing. Recently ISIS captured a journalist, and they asked for $132 million in ransom. Ransom is a price paid to retrieve a hostage, or to retrieve a slave. And they say, Jesus is worthy because by his blood he's ransomed a people for God. The church was held hostage to sin.

The church was in slavery to our enemy, was in slavery to our sin, and Jesus, by his blood, bought us. By his blood he ransomed a people for God. And it says he ransomed them from every tribe and language and people and nation. And you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth. When Jesus walked to the throne, and he grabbed history out of the hand of God, because he was worthy, he was worthy through his sacrifice on the cross, and he was worthy on behalf of all the people he's ransomed. He was worthy on behalf of the church.

That's why John can stop weeping. That's why you don't have to be crushed by your sin and your unworthiness. Because we have one who ascends the throne on our behalf. Flip over a page. I want us to see the picture of what he's accomplished for us. I want us to get to see this clearly.

So I just, we're going to spend some time here, and I want us to clearly see. We're in chapter 7 on page 666. We're going to look at verses 9 and 10. So some more things begin to unfold in this moment in heaven. The seals begin to be opened. There begins to be wrath and judgment poured out on the earth.

It begins to be the unfolding, the unraveling of human history. And then John says this. Verse 9. That's a celebration of purity. None of those people wear those outside of Jesus' sacrifice. They get to enter heaven dressed in white because Jesus entered heaven dressed in blood.

Clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands. And crying out with a loud voice, salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. Salvation doesn't belong to good work. Salvation doesn't belong to our effort. Salvation belongs to God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. So we're wrapping up our series on what the church is, on who the church is.

We started the series by saying the church is the people made the people of God by Jesus. That's the church. The people throughout all time and history, all space, all geography, all nations, all borders. It's the people made the people of God by Jesus. And then we walked through and said, okay, what happens to a person when Jesus makes you one of his people? What happens to you when he becomes king?

We said, what does a church look like? How do we organize? What are some practices we ought to have? Like we walked through this and now we're finishing up. Last week we said that Jesus told the church, go make disciples of all nations. Go make disciples of all ethnicities.

It's ethne in the Greek. Go make disciples that aren't Jewish is what he was saying to them. That's one of the ways they would have heard it because he had been working and discipling Jewish men who had the Old Testament and understood these prophecies and these promises. And then he says, go make disciples that aren't Jewish. How many Jewish brothers and sisters do we have in this room right now? Thank you, Jesus.

That it wasn't to a certain type of people, that it wasn't to a certain type of language, that it was, that he fulfilled this promise that they listened to him and did what he said, which was to take the gospel to people who weren't Jewish. So I was, with this picture in mind of us getting to see what heaven looks like, I just want to point out a few things to us. I was hanging out with my cousin, Bumi. My grandparents were missionaries to Nigeria, West Africa. They adopted my uncle, Abel. He married my aunt, Abike.

I have three first-generation Nigerian-American cousins. My uncle's been in the family as long as my mom has. He is blood to me, even though not really. And I was hanging out with my cousin, Bumi. This is last year around 4th of July because he comes down a lot and helps us sell fireworks. That doesn't have anything to do other than that's why he was here.

I help run a firework store. So if y'all like to buy some fireworks, Aiken, South Carolina. I'm just kidding. So he was down helping us do that and he and I went. He loves local, good restaurants. I took him to Rivera's Food, which is a very good Mexican food place over here in West Columbia.

And I took him over there and we were eating. I was introducing him to some different things there that I really like there. While I was there, I ordered horchata, which is delicious. It is cinnamon rice milk. And I ordered one and I'm used to, like when you order like a milkshake, you get that one. So I'm sitting there, we're talking, hanging out.

The guy walks by with a pitcher and goes, more horchata? And like I just stared at him because fuses had blown in my brain because I did not realize I could just have them give me more. I drank like three giant glasses of horchata. Now, I'm going to advise you on something. Rice milk is different from milk milk. I found this out later in the day when I had like a sloshy bowling ball in my stomach.

I was like, I feel terrible. It was worth it. I can't move. I'm going to die. After we ate there, we went by, I was showing him another place I like, which is a Mexican bakery. And I won't try to say the word that's listed on the front, even though I really want to because I would butcher it and I might just say a different Spanish word.

But it's a Mexican bakery. They don't speak English. You have to, you just got to, you know, fumble through at the end. I walked in. I was looking stuff up on how to say things in Spanish and I was like, point at ones because, you know, they might have cream inside and I had to figure out how to say, con crema. And she'd say, you know, no, whatever.

And I'd say, okay, okay, like I want this one or whatever. So we order. I'm eating a churro. Then we walk over to the little, like Tienda place, like store there and got aloe drink. Did y'all know you can drink aloe? Like I only had ever rubbed it on my pasty skin after sun had assaulted me.

It's the only thing I'd ever used aloe for. I saw this thing and it was like aloe. It looked about the same. It was just a little more liquidy. And I thought, I'm not sure you can drink that. But you can.

It's apparently an edible thing. Maybe y'all knew that. I didn't know this. And so I was hanging out with my cousin and we were talking about stuff. And then it just dawned on me as I was eating this churro and drinking aloe drink, which again, should not have been chasing a gallon of horchata. But I went for it.

And I looked at him and I said, dude, my version of heaven has been really racist. And I didn't know it. Whenever I had pictured heaven, I had known that it would be this fulfillment of God's glory on earth. So I was just transferring a bunch of white things there. Like I know biscuits are in heaven. I know barbecue is in heaven.

Like I know they're there. I knew that. I was eating a churro. I had just drank horchata. I'm hanging out with my first generation Nigerian African-American cousin and I'm thinking, this stuff's there too. Horchata is there.

My aunt and uncle's achara is there. Like it's going to be there because look at this picture. John's looking in heaven and what does he see? A great multitude that no one could number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages standing before the throne and before the lamb clothed in white robes. we don't become some sort of generic human form in heaven. He sees tribes, ethnicities, languages and peoples before the throne. He sees everybody makes it.

That declaration that the angel's saying in Revelation 5 which is he's ransomed by his blood people from every tribe and language and nation. John turns around and in two chapters says, I saw them and they still came from that tribe and they still had that language and they still had that nation and they all gathered before the throne of God to praise his name because God is the God of all humanity and he made all the peoples and in every culture there's stuff that lines up with what God designed it to be in every culture there's stuff that is absolutely sinful and broken and there is no right culture before God because all of the cultures belong to him. And I had inadvertently made America some form of heaven. There will be some stuff from the U.S. there.

I mentioned a few biscuits is one of them. but it's going to be so much more miraculously beautiful than that. There's going to be so much more depth and richness than that and I know in my limited human version God had to meet me on my love language which was food particularly that day things made out of cinnamon to tell me that he had much more in store not only for then but for now. I want us to see something here and I want us to talk about this. I got on Joshua Project the International Mission Board has some different statistics but both of them kind of reveal the same thing. Joshua Project studies people groups so does the IMB International Mission Board.

To tell me that he had much more in store not only for then but for now. I want us to see something here and I want us to talk about this. I got on Joshua Project the International Mission Board has some different statistics but both of them kind of reveal the same thing. Joshua Project studies people groups so does the IMB International Mission Board. Joshua Project though we're going to just look at their statistics Joshua Project

Says that there are 16,510 people groups so this is languages this is locations 16,510 different types of people groups unreached people groups meaning people from them there's no significant amount of Jesus followers among them sometimes it means nobody as far as we know has even made it to them no Bible has been translated no gospel has been preached in their language they may have never

Even heard the name of Jesus 6,672 people groups no gospel no followers of Jesus that means about 40% of the people groups on earth no gospel no Bible no proclamation of the hope that we have they don't have an elder looking at them and saying weep no more just sin just brokenness no hope

Let me do it by population because you might would say as I would say hearing that statistic yeah but I'm sure a lot of those people groups are really small there's about 7.29 billion people on earth according to the Joshua Project population of unreached people is 3.07 billion that puts about 42%

Of the humans on the globe no gospel no Bible no Jesus no hope no weep no more now I want us to with crystal clear vision see that the angels said Jesus had ransomed from every tribe from every

People from every language from every nation people for his own possession Jesus has bought them and I want us to see with crystal clear vision that John says they make it John

Says I saw before the throne people from every tribe and every language and every nation praising Jesus we know the cross happened we know that Jesus has purchased by his blood worthiness on behalf of his

People and we know that there's this moment in time where an angel stands up and says who is worthy and Jesus with audacity walks to the throne of God and we get to weep no longer and there's a time when we stand before

The throne of God among our brothers and sisters proclaiming that Jesus owns salvation and that it belongs to the God who sits on the throne and we're placed in the middle with a call that says proclaim the gospel how does

God count people groups how does God count languages and tribes and nations is it the same way that Joshua Project does I doubt it Joshua Project and IMB don't even do it the same Jesus

Hasn't come back yet the job is not finished so we don't have to get caught up in that I don't care if they're off by a miraculously high number and it's only two billion people the job isn't

Finished we're still sent I want to push us here for a second and this may feel like I just want us to see something in heaven your family includes people that don't look like you in the eternity

As a Christian that you will spend before the throne of God your brothers and sisters aren't going to have the same skin tone same language same background same social economic standing right now

And if statistically in the US I think it's 90 ish percent nine out of ten of your friendships for everybody are same race generally same look the same as you same background

Same race I just want to push us here a little bit if that is the case for you that all of your relationships friendships look exactly like you do I'm not saying you're wrong it may have to do with the job

You work the neighborhood you're in I'm saying you might be wrong because it may have to do with the fact that that's easier because you think about things the same your backgrounds the same you talk about

Things the same it's an easier connection I know that within 10 10 minute drive of this building there's 70,000 people you got in your car anywhere you could drive in 10 minutes some of

You are like I drove 20 to get here yes there's a lot more people in that circle 10 minutes 56% of them are white 31% of them are black 8% of them are Hispanic 4% of them are Asian and Pacific

Islander but for some people that means you live in an apartment complex I know one family in our church family lives in an apartment complex that about one third of them are from India just in their apartment complex

I know of an apartment complex that we try to do stuff on a regular basis that's 50% Hispanic even though they make up only 8% of that 70,000 and God's told the church go to everybody

I'm not I'm not fussing at us I don't mean that at all I think in a lot of ways our church is very open to everybody I am saying that going to everybody will take more intentionality than going to the

People it's easiest to talk to and I am saying that this is what the church has been tasked with and I am saying that one

Day it's realized and we get to participate in that now we get to make our church look and feel as much like heaven as Jesus will allow us right now that's one of the reasons

We repent of sin it's one of the reasons we do all the things we do it's why we gather and sing to Jesus we've only read two bits of chapters they sang a lot already we get to gather

Around his throne and make much of Jesus and we get to as intentionally as we can be as a church family go out of our way to build relationships with everybody in your neighborhood at your office at your Job where you work

In your school in your classes we know the crosses happen we know this moment in history happened and rather than looking at that and going oh they all make it I don't have to do anything I think the more

We see this moment the more it has the opposite effect on us which is they all make it we get to go for it there are unreached people groups part of the reason they're unreached is because they're very hard to get to and when

You get to them they don't like you that's one of the reasons they're unreached if you can't if you just hop on a plane walk over there and they were like oh Americans we love you those people

Are reached the reason a lot of these Numbers are so high is that when you show up they kill you but here's the promise that's been given to the church we can keep going and they can keep killing us somebody's coming out we can keep going

They can keep killing us and at some point somebody from that tribe from that language from that people group will stand next to you by the throne and proclaim as loud and as violently as they can

Salvation belongs to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb we can keep going because we're going to make it you can right now go home pick a people group off of the Joshua

Project look at heaven and tell Jesus I'll go to them if you want me to and I'll die if you want me to because I know for a rock solid certainty that one day somebody

From that unreached people group will be there and they'll be my brother or my sister because you've bought them and I don't know if it'll have anything to do with me but I know you've called us and I

Know they'll be there and if I get to get that started I'll go some of you that's what you're supposed to do you're supposed to have us bring you up on stage and say we're going to

Lay hands on this sister we're going to lay hands on this brother and we're not telling you where they're going because you can't know where they're going because the people they're going to can't know they're coming and we're

Going to pray for them we're going to ask God to use them and if they get to come back praise Jesus and if we don't ever see them again praise Jesus because at no point was that not worth

It and at some point we'll stand before a throne and as loud and as violently as we can declare we'll say salvation belongs to our God and to the Lamb

Some of you you're supposed to go plant a church in a place that still speaks English you're supposed to go with a team we're going to take you to our

Pastor training process you're going to go to Atlanta you're going to New York where Chris Romalia says there's unreached people groups in New York

We're going to bring you up on stage we're going to pray for you we're going to stand and say a lot of you need

To leave and go with them they're moving to Atlanta you need to move to Atlanta and go with them they're moving to San

Diego you need to go with them some of you need to stay because staying is your version of going because God has already

Sent you you live in an apartment complex with an unreached people group some of you are going to stay in apartment complex in

South Carolina even though you want to get a house because 96% of the people in apartment complexes in South Carolina are not a

Part of a church 96% of people in an apartment complex in South Carolina are not a part of a church and God has

Already sent you you live there because God said I want my church here because I want that person around my throne some of

You are in the class you're in because Jesus has blood bought people in that class and he has infiltrated that class with you

Some of you picked the major you picked you prayed about it and you were like I guess just this one I don't know

Randomly some of you that was the worst interview I ever had they at the end they said we'll call you if we've decided

We're going to consider you for the Job and I responded I'll call you for the consideration of the and then I just trailed off

Because that sentence didn't make any sense and I walked out and I'm crying in my car and you got the Job because God

Has blood bought people at that Job and he sent you I don't know where you're supposed to go I don't know to whom

You're supposed to go I know you're supposed to go and I know I know that wherever God sends you your destination is with

Every tribe and language and people and nation around a glorious throne staring at a glorious king and as loud as we can proclaim

It salvation belongs to our God and to the lamb there's cards in front of you and there are cards on the seat beside you if

You're in the front row I want you to grab one and I think there are enough pins to go around if not I

Want you to share it's very heavenly and I just want you to for a second I want you to if you're a Christian

I want you to prayerfully ask where and who I want you to sit and listen who has God put you around already who

Has God let you not quit thinking about who has he just brought to your mind right now you've never even heard of I

Want you to ask where and I want you to ask who and I want you to sit for a second I want you

To sit and listen I want you to write down what you think and if you think something and you think no that's crazy

I want you to write it down I'm going to pray for us as we do this God we know that your son has purchased a people

You've ransomed them from sin some of them are still held hostage we know God that you've bought people from every tribe and language

And nation God I pray that right now through your Holy Spirit you would lead Christians to write down names to write down places

To write down businesses to write down schools to write down friends to write down neighbors and neighborhoods to write down nations and peoples

That you might begin something today with one of your followers that there might be more followers of you I ask for you to

Speak I want you to take very seriously whatever the Lord led you to write down band's going to come back up here we're going to spend

Some time singing as we will one day do as brothers and sisters around the throne of our king and I pray for us

That God will forever keep us situated fully between the cross and the throne so that we'll never forget what matters I pray that he will sear in our

Minds this image of us as his people with his people before his throne so that we will forever have the courage and the boldness to have awkward conversations to fight

Through friendships that shouldn't have been friendships but we wouldn't go away to to go to places that no one in their right mind should go to carry a message that no one in their right mind can believe

Outside of the gracious power and presence of the king through his holy spirit redeeming and calling people to himself I pray that among our

Church there will be more church plants there will be more missionaries there will be those who are found worthy to bleed and sweat

And cry and die for the king I pray that there would be so many people who live their life as if a cross

To a throne to gather as many people as they possibly can to one day stand beside and with everything we have to declare

Salvation belongs to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb let's pray God I pray that you would give us courage

And boldness to accept your call that as we see what the end looks like we would be able to say yes to the

Mission now that you would use this church to take very seriously sin and the gospel that this would be a group of people

Who believe and know for a certainty that we have no worthiness outside of the lamb that you've ransomed us by your blood and

That you're going to bring all your people there we love you and we praise you in Jesus name amen