Our First Glimpse of Heaven - Part 2 - A Throne Was Set In Heaven

Temple Baptist Church - 8-2-2020

Revelation 4:1-2

 

Introduction:

 

A.  In chapter 4, the Rapture has taken place and we have been changed.

 

1.  We are in our new body, one that is perfectly designed for eternity.  Our sinful body has been changed, our sinful nature eradicated, and our spiritual eyes open to behold the scene set before us.

 

2.  The reality of what we shall behold can only be seen in its perfection and beauty when we are finally home, but the Bible gives us some details that excite us.

 

B.  Our first glimpse of heaven is that of the Throne of God.  The picture that the Holy Ghost inspires is incomprehensible to the human mind!  John, a type of the assembled Church of the God, is now standing in the very presence of the Sovereign of the Universe, the Ancient of Days, the Jehovah God of Israel, the thrice holy Elohim of Genesis 1:1, the Creator, Sustainer, and Owner of all things in heaven and earth.

 

C.  We live in a world that, from our earthly perspective, has the appearance of being out of control but our vision of God on His Throne shows the heavenly perspective.  God is still sovereign and in complete control of heaven and earth!

 

D.  The world, like a rug, when viewed from underneath is often a jumbled mess of interwoven string but, when viewed from the top, the pattern of the rug is seen.

 

E.  The Throne Room of God. 

 

1.  The Place of the Throne.  A Heavenly Place.

 

Isaiah 6:1-5  In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.  (2)  Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.  (3)  And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.  (4)  And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.  (5)  Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

 

Ephesians 1:19-23  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,  (20)  Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,  (21)  Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:  (22)  And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,  (23)  Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

 

2.  The Position of the Throne.  A Prominent Place.  The Throne of God is the first thing that we will see.

 

1 Kings 10:18-19a  Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold.  (19)  The throne had six steps …

 

Psalms 108:3-5  I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.  (4)  For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds.  (5)  Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth;

 

Psalms 113:4  The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.

 

Isaiah 6:1a  In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up …

 

Isaiah 57:15a  For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place …

 

Ephesians 1:20-21  Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,  (21)  Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

 

3.  The Power of the Throne.  A Powerful Place.

 

Genesis 41:39-44  And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:  (40)  Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.  (41)  And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.  (42)  And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;  (43)  And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.  (44)  And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.

 

Psalms 2:4-6  He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.  (5)  Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.  (6)  Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

 

Matthew 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

 

4.  The Description of a Throne.  A place of great Beauty.

 

Revelation 4:3  And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.  (The Rainbow: the unchanging mercy and grace of God.  The Emerald Stone: The Wedding Stone of Israel: the promise of God’s grace and mercy.)

 

Genesis 9:12-16  And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:  (13)  I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.  (14)  And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:  (15)  And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.  (16)  And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

 

Revelation 4:6  And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

 

1 Kings 10:18-20  Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold.  (19)  The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays.  (20)  And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom.

 

Revelation 22:1-5  And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.  (2)  In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.  (3)  And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:  (4)  And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.  (5)  And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

 

5.  The Character of the Throne.  A place of great Glory.

 

Revelation 4:9  And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,

 

Isaiah 6:1-4  In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.  (2)  Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.  (3)  And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.  (4)  And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

 

6.  The Judgment of the Throne.  A place of Reward or Retribution.

 

Psalms 9:7-8  But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.  (8)  And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.

 

Psalms 89:14  Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.

 

2 Corinthians 5:10  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

 

Revelation 4:4  And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.  (The rewards of the saved.)

 

Revelation 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.  (The retribution of the unsaved.)

 

Psalms 89:13-14  Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.  (14)  Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.

 

7.  The Perpetuality of the Throne.  God’s Throne is Eternal.

 

Psalms 45:6  Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.

 

Psalms 93:1-2  The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.  (2)  Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.

 

Psalms 47:8-9  God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.  (9)  The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.

 

Revelation 21:5-6  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.  (6)  And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

The Valley Of Miracles

Temple Baptist Church - 8-2-2020

Joshua 10:12-14

 

Introduction: 

 

A.  Over the past months, we have studied many valleys in the Bible that are pertinent to the Christian experience.  Valleys are a type of hard places or times of trouble, pain, suffering, persecution, sickness, and death. 

 

B.  No one likes the valleys as they travel through them, but we have learned that they are essential for our spiritual growth and faith. 

 

1.  This morning, we will study another great valley in which we find a man of God—a spiritual and physical giant—who needed both acts of human strength and divine miracles.

 

2.   Joshua was a Worshipper.  Exodus 33:10-11  And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door.  (11)  And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.

 

3.  Joshua was a Minister.  Exodus 24:13 And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.

 

4.  Joshua was a Warrior.  Exodus 17:8-10  Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.  (9)  And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.  (10)  So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

 

5.  Joshua was a Leader.  Deuteronomy 1:37-38  Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither.  (38)  But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.

 

C.  In this valley, we find that all things are possible with God and He can make a miracle happen just when you need them most. 

 

D.  A miracle can be defined as: a phenomenon that cannot be explained outside the realm of supernatural intervention. It is an event that supersedes natural law.  I want to look at two classes of miracles that we find in these verses:

 

1.  There is the manifestation of supernatural judgment of God upon the wicked.  I will not go through the Bible and list every example but here are a few.

 

                    a)  Noah’s flood that destroyed the world.

                    b)  Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction by fire.

                    c)  Nadab and Abihu destroyed by the fire of the Lord.

                    d)  Korah and his followers swallowed up by the earth.

                    e)  Herod’s death with worms eating his flesh.

                    f)  Ananias and Sapphira dying before the Lord.

 

2.  There are the gracious and mighty intercessions of God on behalf of His people.

 

          a)  The Ark that bore Noah and his family.

          b)  The angels who removed Lot and his family.

          c)  The plagues of Egypt.

          d)  The parting of the Red Sea.

          e)  The manna from heaven and water from the Rock.

          f)  The New Testament is full of them.

 

E.  Gibeon’s deception of Israel.  When Joshua’s army crossed the Jordan River, great fear fell upon the inhabitants of Canaan.  Gibeon heard of the destruction of Jericho and Ai so they sent men dressed in worn out clothes and carrying aged water bottles, etc. to deceive Israel about who they were.  Gibeon was near Ai and was possibly the next target of Israel’s military campaign. 

 

F.  Israel made peace with Gibeon and, therefore, came under their protection.  The other nations of Canaan feared that Gibeon, a highly respected nation with a large army, would help Israel, so they came to destroy Gibeon.  Gibeon sought the help of Israel.

 

G.  In our story, we find that Joshua brings Israel’s mighty army—which is at Gilgal—to aid Gibeon.  Joshua’s army destroys the armies of this great nations with the help of God through various miracles.

 

H.  There are times in life’s valleys when we need a miracle from God! 

 

THE FOUR MIRACLES OF JOSHUA’S VALLEY

 

1.  The Miracle of Strength.  Verses 7-10, 13.  Joshua’s army had been up all day, marched all night, fought all day, and then fought another night and day.

 

a.  The Strength of the March. 

 

1)  Gilgal was in the Jordan Valley while Gibeon was in the Central Highlands, and elevation difference of app. 3,300 feet or like climbing a mountain. 

 

2)  The march from Gilgal to Gibeon was app. 20-22 miles, close to the length of today’s Marathon of 26.2 miles.  Our best conditioned Marathon runners train all year, rest for days prior to a race, practice carbohydrate loading, and are completely exhausted at the end of the race. 

 

3)  Marathon runners wear little and carry nothing in their hands.  Joshua’s army was armed for war: shields, swords, spears, bow and arrows, probably water and a certain amount of food

 

4)  Joshua’s army covered 20+ miles through rough terrain (app. 3,300 foot climb to get to Gibeon), an 8-10 hour forced march that took all night to accomplish.

 

b.  The Strength for the Battle. 

 

1)  Verse 10 - Israel began the battle at daybreak with no time to eat and rest after the horrific forced march through the night.

 

2)  Israel fought in hand-to-hand combat all day and then chased the opposing army for about 2 miles (distance from Gibeon to Bethhoron). 

 

3)  Israel then re-engaged the enemy and fought again from Azekah to Makkedah.

 

4)  Verse 13 – Israel had force marched all night up a mountain, engaged the enemy at daybreak, fought all day, then fought through the next night and another day.

 

5)  A miracle of strength and endurance for mortal man.

2.  The Miracle of the Great Hail Stones.  Verse 11 – There are two striking things about these hail stones.

 

a.  One – Their Size – occasionally, a person will be killed by a hail stone, but the death was wholesale upon the enemy.  We find another example of “great hail” in the New Testament that will shed some light on the possible size of these hailstones.

 

Revelation 16:21  And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great. (a talent of silver was app. 100 lb while a talent of gold was app. 200 lb.)

 

b.  Two – Their Aim – the enemy was destroyed and not one of Israel’s men died.

 

Exodus 11:7  But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.  (God protected His people.)

 

3.  The Miracle of Joshua’s Faith.  Verses 12-13

 

a.  Joshua’s Confidence in the Lord.  “Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel” 

 

b.  Joshua’s Command to the Sun and Moon.  “Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.”

 

c.  God’s Obedience to Joshua’s Command.  Verse 13.

 

Isaiah 45:11  Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.

 

d.  Man may tamper with you clock (Daylight Saving Time), but no power on earth can stop the sun and the moon in their courses!

 

4.  The Miracle of the Sun and Moon Standing Still.  Verses 13-14

 

a.  “And the sun stood still … So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day”

 

b.  “and the moon stayed” – God used this to keep the moon’s orbit around the earth synced with the stopping of the earth’s orbit around the sun.

 

c.  “So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.  (14)  And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel.”

 

Conclusion:  Sometimes, even the strongest of God’s children need divine intervention!

 

1)  Israel found out who God was in the Valley of Miracles - Psalms 46:1  God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  (A God of help when you need Him most, He is always there.)

 

2)  Israel found out what God was in the Valley of Miracles - Proverbs 18:24  A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.  (A God can be confidently counted upon in times of trouble.)

 

3)  Israel found out what God could do in the Valley of Miracles - Luke 1:37  For with God nothing shall be impossible.  (He can turn impossibility into possibility.)