The Great Tribulation Harvest | Revelation 7:9-17 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

When the Lord Jesus taught about the last days and what is commonly known as the Olivet Discourse, he made an extraordinary promise concerning that time to come. In the middle of his teaching, Christ said in Matthew 24 verse 14, and the gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. What a remarkable declaration. You see what Christ is saying here, when you consider the surrounding teaching around this promise is that the rise of false teachers and deception, global upheaval, rapid cultural decay, and the unprecedented persecutions of Christians will in no way hinder the spread of the gospel. Somehow, some way, the saving message of Jesus Christ will permeate the four corners of the earth.

Furthermore, what this verse reveals is that although there will be mounting judgment in that brief period of time, Christ assures us that he will give the nations a final opportunity, a final invitation to receive salvation before that door is closed forever, Which means that while the tribulation period will bring an escalation of judgments, it also guarantees an amplification of the preaching of the gospel at the same time. And this is undeniably a demonstration of the incredible mercy of God. As he carries out his most visible and fierce sequence of judgments, he will also make a way for people to hear the truth that can save their souls for eternity. Now last week, we discussed, if you were here, Revelation seven in the first portion, as we witness God's initial fulfillment that he would save the nation of Israel. The budding of that promise was made known in the first few verses.

And I wanna tell you today that the confirmation of God's trustworthiness will only continue in the rest of this chapter, because now we are going to discover as we get a future glimpse of how the Lord will keep his word from Matthew twenty four fourteen. That the gospel will indeed go to all nations before the very end of all things unfolds. So let's reach it and read it together in Revelation seven beginning in verse nine. Revelation seven beginning in verse nine. We will read together attentively down to verse 17.

John says, after this I looked, and behold 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 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. And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God saying, amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen. Then one of the elders addressed me saying, who are these clothed in white robes and from where have they come?

I said to him, sir, you know. And he said to me, these are the ones coming 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. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore.

The sun shall not strike them nor any scorching heat. For the lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Father, we ask, as always, with a complete awareness of our need for your help, that you would lead us so faithfully, so clearly, so powerfully through these truths. We need you, Lord.

Open our minds. Burn in our hearts. And may this transform us. In Jesus' name. Amen.

As I was meditating on this passage, the phrase that came to mind was the great tribulation harvest. And there's so much more to learn from this passage than seeing it as an expansion of what Christ taught in the gospels. I want us to consider at least three things with you from this glorious scene. The first thing is the people described in this vision. The people described.

There's so much about this people that we have to consider. From the people described, we must look at the praise that was given, The praise that is offered to the throne and him who sits on it and the lamb. And lastly, I want us to look at the promise that is given. This promise that is given to those people that are described and those who follow in their direction. So let's look again at verse nine as we look at the people described.

At first glance, we read it. This may seem like a description of all believers from all ages. Right? But that assumption is quickly clarified by one of the elders who taught John, and John teaches us by the spirit that these are the innumerable group of people who will come out of the great tribulation. This is speaking about a future group of people.

And so this is not speaking about all believers from all time. And what this shows us right away is that there is a coming move of God on the earth that will result in a reach and a rescuing of souls unlike any other time in human history. This should excite us. This should thrill us. And as exciting as it sounds, you may be like me in one ring, how is that going to happen?

Especially up to this point when we have considered all the things that the world will endure, the tragedies and the tumultuous events and the problems and the wars and all these things will come crashing upon the earth, and yet we read that there's gonna be an uncountable amount of people who will be saved. And I believe in this very same chapter, we get our clue. I want to present to you today the possibility that the reason why we will see this and why we're seeing it now is because of the direct ministry of the 144,000. Look again at verse three of chapter seven. The 144,000, which we've established to be the Jewish people who will be saved, a remnant, a revival among these people, are called servants of our God near the end of that verse.

Showing us that this ceiling, this spiritual application is not just a way of marking these people for salvation, but for extraordinary service. They're being set apart to perform something, to serve the Lord in an incredible fashion during the tribulation period. Besides that, we also see something else, that this unique mark that will be placed upon each of these Jews will also provide a unique level of protection against the things that will transpire following this. The the growing escalation of problems and of judgments. This will shield them.

How do we know that? Because the Lord told the four angels of the earth to hold back any further punishment until they were protected. And why are they being protected? I think the answer that makes the most sense is so that they can carry out their gospel mission more effectively, that they would be able to do what God has set them apart to do, and that is present the gospel of Jesus Christ to the rest of the world as things are coming to an end. I think these suggestions are possible.

I think this is more likely than one might think because it is totally in concert with the rest of the scriptures. Here's what I mean. Were you here last week when we talked about Romans 11 briefly, and how Paul taught that ethnic Israel will know a national revival in salvation, that at one point, they will acknowledge that Jesus Christ of Nazareth is indeed their prophesied messiah. Well, I want us to revisit Romans 11, and I want us to see the fruit of the salvation of the Jewish people, the growing fruit as the number of salvations increase among this particular people group. Let's go to Romans 11 and let's look at verse 13.

Romans 11 verse 13. There's that sound again. I pray that that sound will never go away. Hear what the spirit of God says through Paul. Now I am speaking to you Gentiles in as much then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry.

So he wants to he wants to comfort the Gentile believers. Look, I am an apostle to the Gentiles. I don't think less of my ministry. But let me tell you why. One of the reasons why I magnify my ministry, verse 14, in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them.

In other words, I'm going to preach the Hebrew scriptures. I'm gonna show how God is relatable, how he's personal. I'm gonna show him how we are enjoying the fruit of the message of their prophets. And my prayer is that as a Christian, as a leader in the church, that the Jewish people watching from a distance would be stirred, not with an unhealthy evil envy, but a pure holy jealousy to say, I want what you have. I want the assurance.

I want the comfort. I want the joy. I want the peace that you have. Are you saying that your faith is rooted and grounded in the Hebrew scriptures? Yes.

So Paul says, I wanna magnify my ministry so so I can serve some of these Jews to be saved. But notice what he goes on to say, this brilliant point in verse 15. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? Do you see what he's saying here? Paul's reminding this gentile church.

Do you understand that it was the denial of the Jewish people in terms of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, that led to the world being blessed by the gospel? Their rejection of the gospel made it more available for the Gentiles to hear and receive the truth. But he doesn't stop there. He adds to that. If their rejection, their vehement, denial of Christ benefited us in such a way, what will happen to the world when they accept the truth?

It's an amazing line of reasoning. And he gives us the answer. Life from the dead. Now there's debate about that passage. What does he mean life from the dead?

Some think it's a spiritual revival that will take place, but it's more likely that Paul's actually making a connection, a link between the salvation of the Jewish people and that triggering and ushering in the glories of the world to come. Because as we're gonna see in Revelation, Israel's salvation will immediately precede the return of Christ. There's a you can't separate those realities. That's why having an understanding of Israel is absolutely foundational for your eschatology, a fancy word for your understanding and study of the end times. It will determine everything in terms of the order events and why things happen and how prophecy works.

And Paul understands here that if their rejection of the gospel has brought riches to the world, what it what will happen when they embrace Christ? That's why I magnify my ministry. That's why I preach to the Jews. That's why I pray for them. One thing is very clear about Paul's message.

The world will experience spiritual riches in proportion to how the Jewish people accept the gospel. Look at verse 12 of Romans 11. He says it more than once. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean? It's very plain.

Is it not? If the world was blessed because they denied Christ, what will happen when they are fully gathered into the fold of the truth? There's no separation between the Jewish people and their relationship with God and how that impacts the globe. Now why do I bring all of this up? Because it complements what we see in Revelation seven.

What do we see in Revelation seven? Again, let me remind you. You have a revival among the Jewish people, a 144,000, who are set apart and sealed as servants of God. And immediately following that, what does John see? An innumerable amount of Gentiles who are saved.

The visions of Revelation seven agrees completely with Paul's teaching about the future of Israel and how that will impact the nations. Now this is something for us to really rejoice in, especially with all the supposed controversy with the Jewish people. Us believers need to be very careful to not allow arguments and ideas to persuade you away from the love that God has for them. The love that the apostle Paul had for them, and the desire for them to be saved. There's so much confusion of how Christians should relate to the people of Israel.

Let me make it very simple. You desire them to be saved. You pray that their eyes would be open to see Christ and that they would bend their knee to the true Messiah. We are not to be caught up in politics. Our mission is a heavenly one, and our desire ultimately is that they would be saved.

That's your priority and mine. And don't let anybody convince you otherwise. Study this verse, study this passage carefully, and understand God's heart for the Jewish people. Not what some popular pundit says. Not what some famous pastors may say.

What does the Bible say about this people? And align your heart with God's so that you can be more in the will of God. Now there's more to say about this people described. Come back here in Revelation seven. We're still in verse nine.

Very familiar attributes made known to us, but there's something that stands out. There's something met mentioned that never showed up before. Look here at the end of verse nine. They were holding palm branches in their hands. Is that significant?

If you believe details in the Bible are, yes. Palm branches throughout the Bible are always connected to celebratory events, joyous occasions. Maybe your mind is going to where it went for me when Jesus came in triumphantly into the Jerusalem. Right? The people received him and they quoted the Psalms with palm branches in their hands, but the history of palm branches goes further back.

Israel was given seven feasts by God to celebrate on a yearly basis. And the very last feast is known as the Feast of Booths. But in Exodus, it's also known as the Feast of Ingathering, of ingathering. Why? Because it was recognized at the very end of the harvest season.

And God had given them many instructions of how they were to bring offerings during that feast, but one of the most unique instructions was that the Jewish people were to make booths or tents and to live in them as long as that celebration endured for various reasons. Mainly to remember their forty year wilderness journey and how God had provided and protected them during that process. They were to almost relive that experience as they recollected how God's presence among them in that desert shielded them as they lived in these transportable shelters. But it was also recognition of the moment that God was faithful to provide for them in that year and that he has come through yet again. It's really putting into focus their present and their past.

But I want you to see one of the instructions of how they were to make these tents. Go to Leviticus 23 in verse 40. Leviticus 23 verse 40. The Lord says to this people, and you shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees, and bows of leafy trees, and willows of the brook. And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.

Now if you're a note taker, when you go to Nehemiah eight, you'll see that these branches that were called to be collected were actually the material for the tents. And in Leviticus 23 is the very first appearance of palm branches in the bible, And as we mentioned, they are so associated with jubilation, excitement, thrill, delight with the truth of God and for the truth of God. So Israel was to take these palm branches, make these tents, live in them for that week, and realize God at this final moment of the harvest season has come through for us. And it didn't just happen this past year. God has always been for us.

God's presence has always met us and always provided and protected us. It's a wonderful thing, a wonderful climax to their celebrations. And now we come to Revelation seven and we see the redeemed from all nations, all tribes, brought before the throne of God, coming out of the great tribulation and they're celebrating with palm branches in their hands. What are they doing with those? Could it be that they are celebrating for the same reason that they would have in the Feast of Booths?

A little bit different though, because this group now represents the final gathering, not of produce, not of fruit, but of souls. That as we are approaching the end of time, God is now bringing in more people to add to the number of the redeemed, And this harvest out of the great tribulation is recognizing that, that as we are coming to the end of all things in the same way that the feast of booth signaled the end of that year, we're part of the harvest. We've been gathered in. We're saved. God is faithful.

Moreover, are they not also recognizing that they are now eternally provided for, protected by the unfiltered presence of God? That God now is tabernacling with us. He is dwelling with us. We are with him forever and ever. I believe so.

Even in this, do we see a wonderful connection with the rest of scripture? Small details, the palm branches can have so much richness to it. These are the people described. I'm sure we can go over every single thing that's mentioned, but we have to now go on to the praise that is provided. Look again at verse 11 of Revelation seven.

As the people of God from all nations and tribes and tongues are rejoicing, the angels and the heavenly hosts now spontaneously join them. And I want you to see how, yes, verse 11 describes them, but you come to verse 12 and you see the attributes that they ascribe to the Lord. There's several of them. Look again at verse 12. Saying amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever.

Amen. Now does this refrain sound familiar? It should. Because we've seen it before earlier in Revelation. And when you compare this similar refrain, you'll learn at least two things about praise.

Look back at Revelation five, when the same heavenly host offered their praise to the Lord before any of those seals were broken. When the lamb received the scroll from the father's hand, the people broke out and praised these creatures in another realm. And look at verse 11 of Revelation five. John says in verse 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, 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. Two things to learn about praise.

Here's the first. Almost identical wording. Right? Different order. Different order.

Compare it. And that's intentional. That's intentional because if these worshipers repeated the very same words in the exact same way, we might be left with the impression that heavenly praise is a monotonous routine. There are already people, Christians, who think that worship in heaven eventually is going to get stale. I mean, how much variety can you come up with?

It's just gonna become this tedious repetition. But I find something instructive about this subtle hint when you compare these two refrains. That praise in heaven will always be fresh. That praise in heaven will always be zealous and meaningful and responsive to the revelations of who God is as those revelations will be unfolding throughout eternity. And before you and I get to our heavenly home, I believe we also have to be making the effort to keep our praise dynamic and heartfelt now.

Even now. The Lord is not interesting in interested in a sacrifice of praise that just repeats words off a screen that don't spring from the depths of your soul. And if you're a person in here who struggles to sing, singing is very important to the Christian faith because it's important to God. But if you struggle, many people do, I wanna encourage you. The Holy Spirit is here to help you.

Because one of the outcomes of being filled with the Holy Spirit according to Ephesians five is that one will make melody to the Lord from where? From their heart. Not just here. Not just here. From here.

The depths of who you are. One of the ways you know that you're filled with the spirit is that you can sing from your heart. You mean it. You delight in it. It excites you.

And as one preacher said, the Holy Spirit is able to help us hear an old song as though it was new, or to open our eyes and our hearts to a completely new song to add to our list of praise. It will always be a special thing to sing to God in heaven. But there's a second thing to consider, and that is the placement of the praise. So in Revelation five, as I mentioned, the people are singing to the Lord, worshiping the Lord, falling on their face the moment that the lamb took the scroll into his own possession. But when you go to Revelation seven, they're singing similarly when the seals on the scroll are near its completion and they're opening.

What's the lesson? That in every season, God is worthy of praise. That's the truth. That no matter what he is doing at this moment, he deserves glory with praise always. So in Revelation five, they are rejoicing together in what Christ is about to do.

Revelation seven, they are singing about what Christ has already accomplished. You and I must do the same. When we come here together, we're looking forward to what the Lord will do and we sing about it, but we also come to celebrate what he's already done. It's a wonderful instruction about how praise works in God's economy. But now we come to the longest part and the most important in terms of this message being conveyed to the hearts of God's people for this time, and that's the promise.

There's a promise that is made. Look at verse 13 of Revelation seven. As this heavenly choir is crowning the Lord with their worship, one of the 24 elders turns and asks John a question. Verse 13, then one of the elders addressed me saying, who are these clothed in white robes and from where have they come? I said to him, sir, you know.

And he said to me, these are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. So the elder, one of them, looks at John and he says, do you know who this group is? And he says, sir, you know. That's just another way of saying I don't.

You know. I don't know. Now, you would think that the answer was obvious. Right? I mean, any Christian can look at this scene and say, these are believers who have been saved.

Why does John not know? Let me give you an idea. Because you look back and you realize that he saw what? A great multitude that no one could number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages standing before the throne. I think the enormous size and the diversity shocked John to the point where he didn't really know how to identify them.

Remember, we're we're talking about the same John who early in Revelation was used by Christ to minister to a handful of local churches who, most of them, were experiencing great persecution. He was living at a time when Christianity was under severe attack. And so now he's transported into this vision from ministering to these believers who are suffering in their own way, suffering externally, even internally in terms of faithfulness to truth. And then now he sees the sea of people that he can't even number. Are these really Christians?

Are they really among those who are called to the narrow path? He couldn't register it. And so the Lord uses one of the elders to confirm it. These are those who've been saved by the blood of the lamb. Now, he describes in two ways.

The first is that they are coming out of the great tribulation. We saw that earlier. These are the ones coming out of this period of time. And we understand this to mean that the followers of Christ here are those who will proceed the second coming, but we also see something here about the believer today. Even though this is describing something to come, it says something about every believer every age.

That a true Christian is someone who will go through many tribulations and make it. They will endure until the end. That's true for any person who claims to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Not the absence of troubles, but the endurance in them and through them. They are coming out.

Not that they've escaped, but that they have succeeded in responding to these problems that came their way. And that is the mark of a true Christian. But we see something else here. This quality of devotion, right, this faithfulness until the end is the result of a saving act of faith. What does he say about them?

Yes. They have come out of the great tribulation, but they have also washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. That was the cause of the faithfulness. It's not their faithfulness that made them worthy. It's not their faithfulness that made them clean.

It's not their faithfulness that erased their sin. They were faithful because they've been washed. Don't you think it's a strange image to say that these robes had been made white by blood? Blood stains. So this is clearly symbolic, and this is a very powerful message.

Strange to the new reader perhaps, but not strange to the Christian who understands what the blood of Christ can do. What this shows is that the worthiness of this people standing before God without fear, with complete joy, is because of something outside of themselves that has cleansed them. They have not been made white because of what they've produced in themselves. It's something outside of them that has enabled them and extracted these things. And that is something to consider.

Because the gospel message that will save them then is the same gospel message that saves people now. There's not gonna be a different gospel in the tribulation period. It's gonna be the same truth that will reel in souls that are open to being under the lordship of Christ. Now here's what's amazing. In the average mind, being religious is about doing your part over a lifetime to scrub away the sins that have stained your life, the sins of your own actions and your own attitudes.

And so they work hard, and they try to remove those stains, and they try to remove all their past, and they try to remove all their habits and their reputation so that they can be more acceptable, they can be more attractive to God. But a true Christian is someone who hears Christ say, I alone can make you clean. And you take your heart that is stained with sin, and you joyfully give it to him and allow his blood to make it all white. That's a true Christian. Doesn't perform in their garments, but removes them and lets Christ take them and wash them and do with them what no man can do for you.

But notice how the elder says what? They have washed their robes. Who did it? God? Did God force them to wash their robes?

No. Christ has done his part by shedding his blood. They made the conscious choice of taking their robes, acknowledging the cleansing force of that sacrifice, and allowing that agent to do the work. So it's really up to you. It's up to every person to recognize what the Lord has done and then to respond to it.

No one can blame God for their unbelief. No one can blame God for them not having the chance of being saved. They have washed their robes. Have you? That's the question today.

Have you? A lot of churches are filling up these days because of recent events and I'm glad that's happening. And I think it's one of the greatest evangelistic opportunities of our time. So as much as we're teaching through Revelation, I can't help myself but preach the gospel and use this to perhaps point out anybody who is in unbelief, who has not said with confidence, yes. I made the conscious choice to be washed by his blood.

You can do it today, and it's up to you. So I my my desire really is that you can walk out of here with absolute assurance that even if heaven testifies against you, they can say he or she has washed their robe in the blood of the lamb. And you can have that confidence by the spirit if you truly repent and believe. They have done it. Now here's what's amazing.

He now goes on to give the promise that awaits the person who has done this. It's not just for this group in the great tribulation. It's for any person who has followed their example in washing themselves in Christ's love. Forgiveness and cleansing is just is just the beginning. There are three main future pledges that are described here that I want us to consider before we close.

Three things that are guaranteed to you believer if you can say I'm clean because of his blood. Three things. The first one might be the most surprising. Number one, this is your promise. We will serve him.

What do I mean by that? Look again here at verse 15. Therefore what is therefore therefore? As a result of them being cleansed by 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.

This is more than just a description of the activity that will happen in the world to come. It's phrased in a way to stir up anticipation. You have to remember, only Levites were permitted to serve God in the temple in the Old Testament. Right? Not every Jew.

Even among the Jews, only one specific line from one particular tribe were permitted to serve God in that capacity. And what is now God saying here about those who've washed their robes and above the lamb? They are before the throne and serve him day and night in his temple. Now it's access to everybody. Now it's made available to all tribes and all tongues and all nations.

Now we all have been given that privilege to serve God. That's true today and that's true for the world to come. In in in what way? What's the full nature of serving God in heaven? I I'm not sure.

But I'm sure it includes some realization of what we do here on earth though imperfectly and in weakness. I find it amazing that one of the promises for us is that we will serve God. Serve God. I'm not sure how many Christians see that as a heavenly thing, but it but it is. And if heaven is associated with heavenly bliss and eternal delight, then obviously the equation is that there's something about serving God that unlocks that kind of joy and delight.

And I want to challenge any believer here who may not be actively serving God, who may not be serving him intentionally, consciously. You're just kind of consuming Christian content and messages, but you're not exercising your faith. Notice something here. If you want to make your life more heavenly, then you have to imitate heavenly activity. And part of that is that with all your limitations and all your responsibilities that you seek God and you say, Lord, what is it that you want me to do to serve you now?

What is it that you want me to do now to actually honor you in this way? And I assure you based on the inside of this verse, if you tap into that, then you will know a deep other worldly contentment because you were created for it. You were made to serve God. Imagine this, we will serve God in the world to come. And so you and I can know something about the fragrance and the the light of that world to come if you seek to imitate the activity that is presented to us here.

We will serve him. That's a promise. And for those who serve God now, that should be exciting because you know the joy of honoring God in that way. But secondly, we will be safe with him. We will be safe with him.

Look at here at verse 16. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore. The sun shall not strike them nor any scorching heat. So you have the the fears and the heartaches and the discomforts of this life. The things that we are all vulnerable to will suddenly come to an end.

They will no longer threaten you and I. Listen, even the very environment of heaven will be pleasurable, will be cooperative. There there won't even be a hint of anything making us uncomfortable in that kind of an atmosphere. The sun itself will always be to our contentment and our joy, not like the unpredictable elements of this life. And there's something here about the contrast between what is provided in terms of shelter and what is promised to the wicked even in the tribulation period.

Notice what's mentioned here. Water, the sun. Go to Revelation 16. This is describing the bold judgments, the last sequence of judgments that will be poured out on the earth. And notice what happens early in those series of executions.

Revelation sixteen four. The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. In other words, they weren't able to drink it anymore. It was poisoned. Look at verse eight.

The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. Do you see the comparison? Our future is much different than the future of the wicked. And you've heard this many times before. For us, this world is the closest thing to experiencing hell.

But for the wicked, this is the closest thing that they will ever know of paradise. We won't thirst. We won't hunger. The sun won't burn us. When it comes to Revelation 16, the wicked, their future is much different.

They can't drink. They will scour for food, and the very sun will torture them. For all of eternity, we'll be unharmed. We will be the safest that we've ever been. And lastly, my favorite, not only will we serve him, not only will we be sheltered and safe with him, but we will also be satisfied in him.

Look at verse 17 of Revelation seven. For the lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. What an amazing reminder of the manifold beauty of Christ. Read your Bible slowly, would you? We're being told about the lamb who's also a shepherd.

How does that work? Lamb and a shepherd. Do you know why that's being described to us in this way? To show us that Christ is all in all. No matter what you need, you can find it in him.

He is the ultimate sacrifice that can save us. He's the lamb. And at the same time, he's the strong shepherd who can guide us and shield us and protect us all the days of our lives up into eternity. He's everything. No matter what your soul needs, you can tap into it and taste it in Jesus.

And notice how this the springs of living water that he will lead us to is not in the singular, but in the plural. It's not a spring, it springs. And you might have a different translation that reads fountain, but even if you have that, it doesn't say fountain, but fountains referring to the abundant, unending, overflowing provision that fulfills the deepest longings of the human heart. And you can't miss how we can have access to this eternal reality. It can't be an it can't be known apart from what?

He will guide them. That's the middle of verse 17. He will guide them. Only when you put your hand in the hand of him can you be led to this kind of experience that will never be interrupted. And here's the thing, Christ is the only road map to that promise, and it's true even today.

This is not just speaking about what's gonna be known in the world to come. You and I can sample on that living water day by day now. There are some miserable Christians, and some of you might even be here. Miserable, joyless, frustrated. You know sin is wrong, but for whatever reason in your mind, you think that it actually tastes better than what Christ has to offer.

That is not what Christianity is about. Yes. This this flesh does tempt us. It does lie to us. It does remind us of some of the things that we know knew before we came to Christ.

But all that is being described here is experiential. It's real. It can be owned and it can be known. And I want to tell you this, the way to claim it is no different. Here we're told that in eternity, he will guide them to these living waters, and he's willing to guide you now.

But you have to stop leading yourself. And you you have to stop chasing all these different options, all these different avenues, all these different things, and just give yourself to his leadership completely. How do I do that? You come to what his word says you do and you do it. You just do it by faith with desperation.

You don't give up. You say, Lord, if if this is possible, I wanna know it. I'm I wasn't planning to end here. Let's end here. Go to first Peter one, And look at verse eight.

Because I want I don't wanna give the impression that everything that we just read there about how we will serve him and how we will be safe with him and how we will be satisfied in him, it's just something that we have to wait for. Yes. It will be on a level that requires glorified bodies to endure. But look at this, verse eight of first Peter one. Though you have not seen him, you love him.

That's a miracle in itself. How do you love somebody you've never seen before? It's because you're more than just flesh and bones. You're a spirit being. And when you get saved, your spiritual eyes open to who Christ is and you fall in love with him.

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him. It doesn't stop there. And rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. You can ask different people today what makes them happy, but there is a level of happiness that you can't even explain and it's only in Christ.

Inexpressible. I have no expressions to tell you the joy I feel for someone that I've never seen before. For someone that I just believe and trust in because he's given me his word. Do you have that joy? And I know it fluctuates, and I know it gets difficult at sometimes.

I know sometimes it's it's this paradox of rejoicing but suffering. I get it. But but do you know it on any level? Can you hear Peter and say, I know what that's like. And if you don't, take the instruction from the end of Revelation seven.

Let Christ guide you there. Ask for it, and watch him lead you to it. Brothers and sisters, although we are looking at a great tribulation harvest, the truths here are for us today, and I hope you will take it to heart. Lord, we thank you for these truths, and we ask, oh God, that we would be able to, by your grace, know again this joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory. If anybody here is not born again, please, Lord, hear our prayers on their behalf that they would be saved, truly saved.

And for the believer here who is struggling, barely made it to the service today, may their future home and their present promises at their disposal deliver them from despondency and discouragement, and may they actually know a new strength as they follow you. Thank you, oh God, that you are a faithful king. What you've said, you will perform. And you've shown us here more than once how you are dependable. We love you and we honor you and we sing to you from our hearts.

In Jesus name we pray. Amen and amen. Can we stand together?