Series: Revealed – Living Ready in Unsteady Times
Title: The One Who Rules. The One Who Wins. – Living Ready Because God Rules and Jesus Wins
Text: Revelation 4–5 (NLT)
The Throne Above It All
Revelation 4:2–3 (NLT)
“And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it. The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow.”
John sees not chaos but a throne. Heaven is not in panic — heaven is in worship. The throne means authority, order, and sovereignty. Everything in Revelation 4 flows from worship at the right throne.
The Twenty-Four Elders
Revelation 4:4 (NLT) — “Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads.”
The elders represent the complete family of God — the tribes of Israel and the apostles of the Lamb. They are clothed in white, symbolizing Christ’s righteousness, not our own (Revelation 3:5). They wear crowns of victory, promised to the faithful (Revelation 2:10). Yet they cast those crowns down before the throne (Revelation 4:10-11), showing that every victory belongs to God.
Living ready means clothing ourselves daily in His righteousness, walking in faithfulness, and preparing to lay every crown at His feet.
The Four Living Creatures
Revelation 4:6–8 (NLT)
“…four living beings, each covered with eyes… The first … like a lion; the second … like an ox; the third … a human face; and the fourth … an eagle in flight… Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty — the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.’”
Daniel saw beasts devouring (Daniel 7). John sees creation worshiping. Earth’s power, justice, love, and wisdom are corrupted — but in heaven they are perfected and balanced.
Descriptions
Irenaeus: royal power, sacrificial justice, humanity, and the Spirit.
Augustine: strength, patience, humanity, and divinity.
Aquinas: fortitude, justice, wisdom, and contemplation.
Summary
Lion → Power • Ox → Justice • Man → Love • Eagle → Wisdom
In heaven, love is never weak, power never cruel, justice never delayed, and wisdom never blind.
Living ready begins with worship, not worry.
The Scroll and the Tears
Revelation 5:1–4 (NLT)
“Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who was sitting on the throne… no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll… Then I began to weep bitterly…”
The scroll represents God’s plan of redemption and history. John weeps because no one can open it.
Romans 8:22–25 (NLT) reminds us that creation groans, believers groan, and we wait with hope for full redemption. Our groaning is not despair — it’s longing for the fullness of God’s governance to come.
The Worthy One
Revelation 5:5–6 (NLT)
“Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah… Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing…”
Victory is revealed through sacrifice. Isaiah foresaw the Lamb led to slaughter (Isaiah 53:3–7). Revelation shows that same Lamb standing alive, holding history.
History bends to the Lamb who was slain.
The Worship of the Lamb
Revelation 5:9–10 (NLT)
“You are worthy to take the scroll… For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And You have caused them to become a Kingdom of priests for our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
The Lamb’s blood doesn’t just forgive — it forms a kingdom. The redeemed don’t just survive — they reign with Him.
Living Ready Response
Revelation 5:12–13 (NLT)
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered — to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing… Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.”
Living ready means joining heaven’s chorus now:
• Worthy → My worth is in His wounds, not my wins.
• Power → I release control.
• Riches → I hold resources loosely.
• Wisdom → I seek Him daily.
• Strength → I walk by His Spirit, not striving.
• Honor → I give recognition back to Him.
• Glory → His story, not mine.
• Blessing → Every gift becomes worship.
Our worship is the noise our lives make.
Governance Now / Sound Mind
2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”
The throne John saw has always existed. The Lamb didn’t create the throne — He opened the way for us to share in it. Redemption restores us to live under God’s perfect balance of love, justice, wisdom, and power.
A sound mind means I am governed by God’s love and power so I can govern my life, family, and world under His rule.
What Did the Lamb Win?
• Redemption — restored to the Father.
• Authority — restored ability to live under His governance.
• A Place — seated in His kingdom.
The throne rules. The Lamb has won.
The throne reminds us God has always ruled.
The Lamb reminds us Jesus has already won.
Together they remind us that we belong now under His perfect governance — living ready with sound minds, ruled by love and power in harmony, as subjects of His kingdom today.
Faith Declaration
I declare today…
• The throne has always ruled.
• The Lamb has already won.
• Because of Jesus, I am redeemed back to the Father.
• I live under God’s perfect governance of love, justice, wisdom, and power.
• I have not been given fear, but love, power, and a sound mind.
• I will govern my life, my family, and my calling in the balance of His character.
• I am living ready — a subject of His kingdom today.
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