Let us bow our heads and offer ourselves to You.
Lord, how wonderful it is that we are reminded this morning that You give Yourself to us. You are indeed a Father who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all.
Lord, we thank You that You have also given us the Holy Spirit today. Not like the old days, when Your laws were written on stones, but now, Lord, Your law is written in our hearts. By the Holy Spirit, Lord, we can come to know You. We can come to know You.
Lord, that is the cry from our hearts, as the chorus said: to know You. There is no better thing, you know.
So, Lord, we pray that in this short time together, You may reveal Yourself to us. Lord, that we will truly know You; that we may truly know, Lord, Your great love for us; that we may truly know, Lord, what is the secret behind Your victory; and that we may truly know, Lord, that calling of Yours—to follow the Lamb wherever He goes.
Lord, we want to commit this time unto You. Unless You work, unless You come with Your presence, Lord, our gathering means nothing. So, Lord, we pray for the Holy Spirit to work in the midst of us, to reveal Yourself to us.
Lord, enlighten us by the power of Your Spirit, Lord, to touch our hearts, that indeed, at the end, we may be like You. Oh, Lord, we thank You for Your great love toward us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Good morning, dear brothers and sisters.
I do want to apologize. Last time, it was like I did not finish. I apologize to the brother who was scheduled to speak today. I am not quite sure who was supposed to speak, but I will hold that back for another time.
Let us begin with Revelation. I like what Jerry mentioned time and time again concerning Revelation 1:3:
Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy,
and heed the things which are written in it;
for the time is near.
I am sure that, at this day, we sense that the coming of the Lord is so urgent. It is so close. The time is so near. As our brother Jerry always said, there is that much more urgency to read His words.
I think here it means public reading, but of course, in this day, you can read for yourself. And also, we are to hear the words—not just hear by the ears, but hear by the ears of the heart—and to heed the things, to really pay attention to what the Lord says, what is written in this Book of Revelation, because the time is near.
It is so critically important, even at this time, to know the Lord. There is our strength.
Last week, we shared on two points. I will give an introduction and try to refresh my memory concerning what was said. But let us go to the word on which we will concentrate today: Revelation 17:14.
These will wage war against the Lamb,
and the Lamb will overcome them,
because He is Lord of lords and King of kings;
and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.
Then we will go to Ephesians 1:19-21:
And what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.
These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might
which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead
and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
far above all rule and authority and power and dominion,
and every name that is named,
not only in this age but also in the one to come.
That is, in the eternal ages.
Finally, Revelation 14:1-5:
Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion,
and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand,
having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.
And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters
and like the sound of loud thunder,
and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps.
And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders;
and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand
who had been purchased from the earth.
These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste.
These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes.
These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb.
And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless.
The verse on which we want to concentrate is this: “These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes.”
Last week, I mentioned that when you read the Book of Revelation a couple of times, then stand back and look at the whole book, what impresses you? At least, what impressed me was this: the Lord seems to take on the title of the Lamb.
Beginning in Revelation 5:8, the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Then the last mention is in Revelation 22:3, where it speaks of the throne of God and of the Lamb. From Revelation 5 to Revelation 22, the Lamb is mentioned thirty times.
I think that should be significant. Maybe the Lord is telling us, reminding us, of something concerning the Lamb.
There are only two other occurrences of “the Lamb” in the Gospels, and they are in the Gospel of John. When John the Baptist saw Jesus coming, he said:
Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Then the next day, when he saw Jesus walking, he said:
Behold, the Lamb of God.
Last week, we shared mainly from the latter portion of Revelation 13. We did not take the whole verse, but only the last portion, which mentions the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
There are actually two renderings. I tend to accept the second one, in which “from the foundation of the world” is associated with the Lamb rather than with the book.
When you consider that together with what we spoke of concerning the eternal purpose in Ephesians 1, and also consider that God gave us His Son and Christ gave His life to the church, we see that giving is an expression of love.
We have to see that, way back before time began, in that eternal counsel of God—speaking in human terms, when They met together—there was a decision. God the Father desired to give everything to the Son.
Of course, They foresaw man, the man They were going to create. And the Son, because He loved the Father, gave Himself to the Father to become the Lamb. So we have this expression: the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world.
It is hard to grasp, in a sense. But I think the Lord can reveal to us its importance, because I do feel that we will not really understand the love that God has for us unless we come to comprehend the love between the Father and the Son.
As the brother prayed this morning, in all the things that happen, whether good or bad, there is love behind them.
A lot of times we speak of the eternal purpose of God. Sometimes, at least I feel, that this thing can seem kind of cold unless you go behind it and ask: What is behind the eternal purpose of God?
You will discover that it is love.
The apostle John knew that, and he said, “God is love.” That is the essence. That is what is behind creation. That is what is behind redemption. That is what is behind the Father giving His Son.
So we summarized last time that the heart of the Lamb is love. Hopefully, that is something we can remember. That is something, at least, I can remember.
From eternity past, we can fast-forward to when the Son of God came incarnate, and we know Him as Jesus. He walked for over thirty-three years in this world.
What characterized His purpose? What drove Him? What was the single purpose He had in His life? It was the Father’s will. That was it.
If you read the Gospel of John, it is always mentioned that whether the Lord did something or did not do something, He said, “My time has not come.” Then at another time, He said, “Now is the time.” He was communing with the Father, really waiting for the Father’s time.
Especially, we can see this in the prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane. Three times He asked the Father to remove the cup. But at the end of those prayers, He always said:
Not My will, but Yours be done.
That guided every step of our Lord Jesus through His thirty-three and a half years in the world. That was the way He walked, and that was the way He lived.
We have a term for it: He walked the way of the cross.
Sometimes we have very different ideas of what the cross is, and we do need the Holy Spirit to explain that to us. It is really very simple. The simple term is: “Not my will, but the Lord’s will be done.” That is it. That is the way of the cross.
Today, I really want to finish up with one more idea, one more point the Lord put in my heart.
As we move very fast through the years and come to the end of the Lord’s life on earth, we know that He was different from us. He was different from every human being.
We all recall that before His public ministry, the Lord was tempted. It is recorded in Matthew 4:1-11. But Jesus came out triumphantly. He did not fail. He did not fall into temptation.
This was very different from our forefathers, Adam and Eve. In the Garden of Eden, Satan, the enemy, came in. They were tempted, and they fell.
So we know that the life of Jesus was very different from the life in Adam and Eve. Jesus was on different ground.
Now we come to the last moment, when the Lamb was actually slain. Before time began, the Son essentially gave Himself to the Father. Now, in actuality, the Lamb was crucified and hung on the cross.
After He died, He was in the tomb. At the entrance of the tomb was a great stone. Matthew 16:4 speaks of a great stone. It was a great stone. It was a great problem.
When the disciples saw all this, they would have said, “Now everything is lost. Everything is lost.” As far as the disciples were concerned, it was the end.
But as we read in Revelation 17:14, we see a different picture. We see this Lamb, and it says He will overcome. He is King of kings, and He is Lord of lords.
Sometimes I put it humorously. I wonder who had the last laugh. I am sure that when Jesus was lying in the tomb, the enemy said, “I won.” But little did the enemy know the power of God.
If you look at the Book of Revelation very roughly, chapter 3 ends with the letters to the seven churches. We can say that this is really the high-priestly ministry to His church.
Then chapter 4 begins with heaven opened, and John saw that magnificent heaven. Then you come to chapter 5. In the Father’s hand, in God’s hand, there is a scroll.
At least it was explained to me, and I accept that explanation, that this scroll is the title deed of the world, of the universe. In Revelation 5, everyone in heaven is looking: Who is worthy to open the scroll?
People would expect that it had to be a lion—the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David. That was the prophecy. Because He had overcome, He was worthy to open the book and its seven seals.
When John looked, he might have expected a lion. But what he saw was a Lamb.
When we look at all the references to the Lamb in Revelation, it speaks of a small, young lamb, a weak lamb. Not merely a lamb, but a Lamb that was slain.
Not only that, this Lamb is standing in the midst of the throne. That is Revelation 5:6.
We have to stand back and really ask the question. On one hand, we see this Lamb as weak and slain. He seemed to be finished, in that sense. But on the other hand, this is the Lamb who overcame. He is alive, and He is King of kings.
What is the secret of overcoming? What is the secret of overcoming?
I think when a sister read Isaiah 53 this morning—I am not quite sure who—it spoke of the suffering of Christ. Especially in Isaiah 53:7:
He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
yet He did not open His mouth;
like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
so He did not open His mouth.
That is the Lamb. And I would say that is the secret of overcoming.
When the Lord was crucified on the cross, was it really finished? Obviously, the answer is no. Otherwise, we would not be here.
In the Gospel of John, John 19:30, the Lord said:
It is finished.
The work was done. Redemption was finished. The recovery was done, as far as God was concerned.
And also, according to Luke 23:46, the last word of Jesus was:
Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.
The Lord’s work was done, and He committed Himself—He gave Himself—back to the Father. This is not defeat. This is a triumphant cry of victory.
The Lamb’s work was done, and He returned to His Father. On one hand, maybe the Lord was dealt with, but He had won. On the other hand, if we look with our human eyes, we may say, “Where does the victory come from? Where does the overcoming come from?”
I do feel that the Lord led me to Ephesians 1:19-21, which we read earlier.
There it speaks of the surpassing greatness of His power—the power of God that raised Jesus from the dead. There is no power in this universe greater than the power of God.
Now, link those two together. On one hand, the Lamb was slain. He was willing to lay down His life. On the other hand, God raised Him up. That is the secret.
The secret is that the Lamb, Christ, was willing to be weak—weak to the point that He was crucified. Not only crucified; He was put in a tomb. Of course, death could not hold Him, and the Father, with great power, raised Him from the dead.
How is that related to us? Sometimes we ask that question. In our day, do we need that power? Number one, do we need to overcome?
I think all of us know that when we are born again, we are born into the kingdom. And in this universe, in this world, there are actually two kingdoms. There is the kingdom of God’s love, as we read in Colossians 1:13.
But we are not only born into the kingdom; we are actually born into battle, because there is an eternal conflict between these two kingdoms. We are born into battle.
That battle can be on the inside. I mentioned two weeks ago that there are times when the battle really comes inside. It is called civil war, and that is mentioned in Romans 7:23.
There are also times when the battle is on the outside. Before the Lord left, in His encouragement to His disciples in John 16:33, He said:
In the world you have tribulation, but in Me you have peace.
So, if we belong to the Lord, there can be battles. And we need the strength to overcome, because the Lord has overcome.
Where does that power come from? We are going to appropriate that power of God. It is really the power of God that overcomes, not us.
These things may seem to be merely knowledge, right? So I would like to give some examples. I think the Lord does not want this to be just theoretical. The Lord wants to make it very practical—up close and personal, you might say.
I am going to give several personal experiences. Do not take them as the rule, because everybody’s experience is unique. But the principle is universal. It is the principle that explains the experience, not the other way around.
I just want to give some examples that might touch some point and give understanding concerning the finer points.
I am from the old school, obviously. In the old school, we were taught that if you apply yourself, there is no limit to what you can accomplish. We hear that somewhere these days, do we not? It is called humanism, actually.
You apply yourself and work hard, and indeed, by myself, the more I did, the more successful I became.
Do not underestimate the power of the soul. But I will give you an example recorded in Genesis. Not too far from the fall of Adam and Eve, in Genesis 11:1-9, it speaks of the Tower of Babel.
At that time, men came together and decided to do something. They said:
Come, let us build for ourselves a city,
and a tower whose top will reach into heaven,
and let us make for ourselves a name;
otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.
Think about those early days. Here were these people trying to build a tower all the way to heaven. Can you imagine that?
I somehow joke about it, because I think about what we can do these days. We spend billions and billions of dollars trying to get to a piece of rock somewhere in the sky. But these people—we may think of them as primitive—were determined to build a tower that would reach up to heaven.
Of course, God looked at all this and said, “What foolishness of man.” We know what happened. God came, confused their languages, and scattered them around the earth.
It is really the same way when I say that if I apply my soul to something, there is no limit to what I can do. God says that is a foolish statement.
None of us knows until God puts His finger on it. You see, we are always pursuing something. We are always trying to apply our best to become successful—until God puts His finger on it.
How does God put His finger on what I am doing?
Brothers and sisters, you all know that I have this little problem in my bone marrow. I shared with all the brothers and sisters here. It has really been two and a half years. It seems to be a long time.
On the outside, I appear very normal. Everybody says, “Well, he looks good.” I think I am quite a normal person. Again, I thank the Lord for the prayers offered up by my brothers and sisters. I thank the Lord truly for His mercy to keep me the way I am.
But that is only on the outside. On the inside, it is kind of different. I often go to the doctor and ask, “Can you fix me up?” He says, “No, I cannot do that. I do not know what to do.”
It is just the nature of the illness. It progresses very slowly until, at some point, something is triggered, and then it deteriorates very rapidly. That is the nature of the disease.
So it has been going on inside. Sometimes I put down here that it is really a bad thing to be sick, because you find there are things you used to do and you cannot do anymore.
But then, is that really a bad thing? It is only a bad thing when you stop at that point. It is not a bad thing when, even though there are things you cannot do anymore by your own strength, you turn around and ask, “Lord, I cannot do it anymore. You have to supply the strength, but I need to move on.”
You discover another source of strength. It is not of you, and it is not of this world. It is of God.
Is that not our principle? A lot of times we feel that we have to do everything. But brothers and sisters, please, do not depend on your own strength. Look to the Lord.
I can tie that experience to a principle. We all remember Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9. Paul had this thorn in the flesh, and he asked the Lord three times to remove it. The Lord said, “Paul, I am not going to do it, but there is one thing I give you”:
My grace is sufficient for you,
for power is perfected in weakness.
You see, God gave Paul another solution. He did not take care of his thorn first. But He said, “Just be weak. Depend on Me. I will give you power to overcome.”
Paul’s response was:
Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses,
so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
That is marvelous—to discover something that is not dependent on you, to rely on this other source of strength that is of God.
I just want to tie those together and give an example: sickness is not always a bad thing. The Lord enables us to discover some principle He has. In this case, there is His strength in us.
The second thing I want to share is baptism. We all know baptism. I was baptized twenty-some years ago. It is crucifixion, burial, and being raised in newness of life. We all know that. We have heard that many times.
But does that really have any effect in your life? That is always the question. Does God make that real in you?
The second thing about being sick is that, on more than one occasion, I have thought about this. I do not know whether it is natural or not. Things go through my mind, and I wonder, “What should be inscribed on my tombstone?” It is a strange thing.
Sometimes I wonder, “What would other people say about me?” At other times, I think, “How is the family going to be taken care of?” All these thoughts come along.
Sometimes when you are sick, especially when you have something the world does not know what to do about, these thoughts come along. But the Lord seems to say, “All these things you are thinking about—this self-consciousness, this ‘what do I do?’ kind of thing—you know what? I took that to the grave.”
The Lord says, “When I went to the grave, I took you also. So why are you so self-conscious? I took your self-consciousness to the grave. Now, when I was raised up, I told you: you were raised up with Me.”
So it is really the principle of death and resurrection. Sometimes we hear that very often, but it has to work in our life to be real, to be practical.
You all know that I actually do not like to stand here and speak. At work, I always try my best: “Do not send me there. I am not going to speak. Send someone else.” It worked most of the time.
But this time, I just feel that even though I do not like to stand in front of you, because I really feel that I am not qualified—there is that inadequacy within, concerning the speaking of God’s words—the Lord says, “Just do not be self-conscious. I took that to the grave too. Just rely on the life within you, and be faithful in what I gave you. Leave the rest.” That is it.
You see, death and resurrection are the principle here. Really, when the Lord opens that up in simple terms, I think we will embrace it. But there are times when the Lord has to tell us through circumstances, to make us understand what that is.
Again, in this matter of power and overcoming, it is really the principle of death and resurrection. They are two sides of the same coin. You enter into death, and you come out on the other end with resurrection.
If you are willing to be weak, there will be the power of God. No question about it.
The problem is, I think, with me and probably with others: we just do not like to be weak. We do not like to depend on God. We like to depend on our own source of power, our own source of strength.
It becomes that we are too strong to rely on God. That is always the issue. That is why the Lord works so hard in us to bring us to a place where we are weak—maybe to a point where there is no way out. Then the Lord has a way out.
That is why I want to share that the matter of overcoming, the basis of overcoming for the Lamb, is really based on death and resurrection. It is okay to be weak. It is okay not to consider your own strength, but to rely on the Lord Himself.
Now I want to briefly touch on one more point. As we share concerning the Lamb, there are three things: the heart of the Lamb, the life of the Lamb, and the victory of the Lamb.
When the Lord reveals, He always expects a response. When the Lord reveals, there is a response.
When I read the Book of Revelation, there is one thing you discover: in heaven, there are many groups of people. I only want to share about one group of people that we already read about in Revelation 14.
When we read these things, we tend to ask, “Who are they? Is it so-and-so? Is it this group? Is it that group?” But I do not think that is the right way to approach what the Lord is trying to explain to us.
I wrote down five points here.
First, we need to settle in our hearts that all that is written in the Bible is the revelation of Jesus Christ. So when we read these verses, the first question we want to ask is: How does this reveal Christ?
Second, Revelation 14 speaks about this group of saints who follow the Lamb. I just want to mention that following the Lamb is not an option. We might think the Lord gives us a choice to follow Him or not follow Him, but if you read the Gospel, the Lord tells His disciples to follow Him. So following the Lamb is not an option.
Third, the brother mentioned two weeks ago the life of Joseph. Where is Joseph? Is it enough to be only second to Pharaoh? No. If you read the context, where does the follower end up when you follow the Lamb? Where is the Lamb? Of course, the Lamb is in the midst of the throne. So the follower is also in the midst of the throne. That is where they are.
Fourth, following and beholding actually come hand in hand. For us old folks, sometimes we do not like technology, but if you try to go someplace and only one person knows how to get there, what do you do? You form a caravan. One car knows where to go. It leads, and you follow.
How do you follow? You had better keep your eyes on the car in front of you. Otherwise, you are going to get lost. The point I am trying to make is this: if you want to follow the Lamb, you had better behold the Lamb. Otherwise, there is a big contradiction there.
Sometimes we try to follow, but we have a tendency to put our following on autopilot. That autopilot mode does not depend on the Holy Spirit. It might depend on our emotions: “I know how. I know where to go.” Or it might depend on anything in the natural realm.
I want to share a story with you. I think it is strange, actually. This past weekend, we went to New Jersey to visit my side of the family. When we turned from New Jersey heading south, we usually took the route through the Eastern Shore—Route 13 through Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. That is the way we go.
We were on the highway and drove for a while. Then we came off the highway and went onto a local road, and the GPS said, “Turn right. Take Route 13 North.”
Wait a minute. North? We wanted to go south. On our previous trips, we always took Route 13 south.
You see, it is very problematic. It is kind of dangerous if you tend to rely on something mechanical. But following the Lord is non-mechanical. It is a communion inside. You need to have fellowship with the Lord so that you can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.
I have one more point, and then we can go. The fifth point is this: beholding the Lamb is something you have to do.
In Revelation, as I mentioned, the Lamb occurs thirty times. There are two instances of “a lamb.” One is in Revelation 5:6, where John saw a Lamb in the midst of the throne, and that refers to Jesus Christ.
But there is also a mention of “a lamb” in Revelation 13:11, and that lamb refers to the beast:
Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth;
and he had two horns like a lamb,
and he spoke as a dragon.
So, behold the Lamb. When you know the Lamb, then you will know that even though something looks like a lamb, it is not actually the Lamb. It is the adversary. It is the enemy.
Especially in these days, as we come to the end of the end times, John warned us in his letters and said that even now many antichrists have appeared. From this we know that it is the last hour.
Someone may not appear as Christ, but he looks like Christ. So how can we distinguish? How can we discern between the real and the deceivers? By beholding the Lamb. Then you know.
With that in mind, I think we can quickly look at this group of people, this group of saints, in Revelation 14:2-5.
Remember what I said before: we have to think, “What does this say concerning Christ? What does this say concerning the Lamb?”
First, John heard a single voice—one voice. But you remember that in verse 1 there are one hundred and forty-four thousand. It is a large company, but a single voice. What does that mean?
To me, it speaks of the unity of the Head and the Body. The saints are one. They have been so worked by the cross that they actually have one voice.
Then in verse 3, it mentions that they have a new song, a song that nobody else knows, that nobody else can learn. It is a song that expresses the experience of following the Lamb wherever He goes and yielding to the work of the cross.
Through that experience, they have one song, praising the Lord Himself.
Then in verse 4, it speaks of first fruits. We all know that Christ is the first fruit to the Father.
We remember the story in John 20:11-17, where Mary saw Jesus. Mary tried to cling to Jesus, and Jesus said:
Stop clinging to Me,
for I have not yet ascended to the Father;
but go to My brethren and say to them,
“I ascend to My Father and your Father,
and My God and your God.”
Christ had to ascend to heaven first as the first fruit to the Father. We all know what first fruits mean: first fruits guarantee the harvest.
In the same way, these saints who follow the Lamb wherever He goes are also first fruits offered to God and to the Lamb.
Then verse 5 mentions that no lie is found in the mouth of the saints who follow the Lamb. In the same way, we know that in the Lord Himself there is no lie found in His mouth.
The cross has worked deeply in their lives so that whoever follows the Lamb also has no lie found in his mouth.
So we find a company of saints in heaven. They are so united as a single voice. They have a special song. They are first fruits to the Lord Himself.
My question is: are they not lamb-like? Are we jealous for that? Are we like that way?
I think this is really an encouragement: in a sense, we are called to be followers of the Lamb wherever He goes. In that following, at the end, we will be like Him. We will be lamb-like.
Very quickly, the first point is this: the heart of the Lamb is love. We have to remember it. We have to settle it in our hearts. Otherwise, it is very critical—we will not understand the whole Bible. We will not understand Revelation.
When we read Revelation, we will be in fear. But we have to know, and settle in our hearts, that all these things that happen—what we call tribulations, disasters, and chaos—have, behind the scenes, a heart of love.
He is working all these things out, as we mentioned at the Lord’s table. He is working toward the end: His goal, His Bride.
He wants to present her ready, with no spot or wrinkle, fresh, just like the Lamb. She is called the Bride of the Lamb. He is working toward that hour of His love.
So there is actually nothing to fear when you settle in your heart that there is love behind everything.
The second thing we shared is that the way of the Lamb, the life of the Lamb, is the way of the cross. There is no choice. That is the way the Lamb walked, and that is also the way whoever follows the Lamb will go.
But the good news from the Lord is that He says, “I have a way out. All you need to do is put My yoke on you. Be willing to accept My will.”
And He says:
My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
It is not heavy. We make it heavy. I do not know whether we make it heavy, or whether our conception of the way of the cross is really heavy, but the Lord says it is not.
Why do we find it heavy? Why do we find it difficult? The reason is that we just do not like it.
The Lord told Paul that it was difficult because he was kicking against the goads. We make it difficult.
The third thing we discussed is that the secret of overcoming is really to let go of our strength and discover this new strength, something that is of God: life in death and resurrection.
When you give up your own life, allow the Lord to take that to the cross, take that down to the grave, and allow Him to raise you up in newness of life. It is just as natural as that.
At the end of the day, when you talk about all this, you say, “What is the bottom line?” That is the way I speak.
I believe it has to be love. At the end of the day, it has to be Christ’s love that constrains us. There is no way we can go the way of the cross. There is no way we can let go until that love grows in our heart and constrains us so that we walk that way.
So I pray that the Lord will let us see the greatness of this Lamb, and that we will be captured. Comprehension leads to apprehension.
Beholding, comprehension, apprehension, transformation, and conformation—all these go together. It is amazing.
There is a verse in 2 Corinthians 3:18 which says that when you behold with an unveiled face, what happens? You are transformed from glory to glory. That is beholding and transformation.
When the Lord comes, I do not know what you expect. Do you expect a Lamb? If that is the case, are we prepared for it? Are we lamb-like? Is that character being developed and built in us?
I really want to close with one exhortation. We know Paul. When he was a young man, his name was Saul. He loved God, but he went the wrong way. He persecuted the Way. The direction was wrong, but the heart was right.
We all remember the story where the Lord appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus:
Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?
I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.
Do you remember what Paul said? He said:
What shall I do, Lord?
I think Paul meant it. At that time, his lordship was surrender. He surrendered to Christ and said, “I am no longer my own lord. You are my Lord. I no longer want to do my own will. I want to do Your will.” That was it.
After that, for more than thirty years, we see from Paul’s writings that he went through all kinds of afflictions. He was beaten many times. A couple of times he was beaten with thirty-nine stripes. He went through all kinds of persecution.
How did Paul get through? How did Paul not change his mind? It was his surrender at the beginning. Paul was captured, and his sole purpose was to do the Lord’s will.
The song we sang is from Philippians. Even at that time, Paul was old. Philippians 3:13-14 says:
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet;
but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind
and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal for the prize
of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Even at that time, after thirty-some years, Paul was in prison. I just want to draw your attention to one thing: Paul said, “But one thing.”
Simple enough: one thing. Paul had one focus. He was single-eyed. He had only one focus, and his focus was on the Lord Himself.
Paul was a man of undivided heart, beholding, pursuing, and following the Lamb.
So that is the way I want to close this time: Are we like Paul? Do we really have a single eye, focused on the Lord, pursuing the Lamb?
These are a few things that came to my heart. I pray that they could be helpful in beholding the Lamb and following the Lamb wherever He goes.
Do not take these as knowledge. Do not store them away in your notebook. Ask the Lord to make them real in your life. May they be life-changing.
And at the end, we will arrive at that end, in the midst of the throne. May the Lord show us more.
Lord, we do want to give this to You. Truly, it is the Father’s heart to reveal the Son in us.
Lord, I just want to pray that You may take these words. Lord, they are meant to encourage our brothers and sisters to press on, to go after You, to behold the Lamb, and also to follow the Lamb wherever He goes.
Lord, I just want to pray that You would use these words however You like, Lord, but to encourage one another so that we can press on together, Lord, to follow You.
Lord, we do thank You for this word. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ.