“God’s Saints” (Rev. 7:9-17) Series A, Nov. 6th, 2011—All Saints’ Day Observed

1. Please pray with me.  May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.  What does it mean to be a saint of God?  That’s what we will answer today in our message from God’s Word in Revelation 7:9-17.  The message is entitled, “God’s Saints,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ. 
2.             One of our Lutheran missionaries to South America told an interesting story about how to get the stains from some red muddy soil out of his pants. He was visiting for several days at a small town in eastern Paraguay. It was a fairly new farming town that had sprung up. The soil was very rich in this area, but it was bright reddish-orange in color. It had rained a lot that week, and as he walked around the muddy streets, splashes of the red mud stained his khaki pants.  Someone from the village told him, “You have to be sure to wash those slacks here, with water from a well around here, before you return home, because only water from around here will wash out those red stains. If you try to wash them when you get home, they’ll never come clean.”
3.             You know what? They were right, because he said that he did get those pants washed when he was there, and all the red stains came out. But he said he had another pair of pants that he didn’t have time to get washed there and, you guessed it! For the rest of the time he owned those pants, those red stains never, ever came out, even after many, many washings back home in the U.S.  Only water from that area, where the red mud spots came from could wash out those stains. This is similar to being washed in the blood of the Lamb. Only the blood of the Lamb, the Son of God our Lord Jesus, who came to live right here on earth, among us, at the source of all our stains, blood shed on the cross, can cleanse us from the stain of our sin and make us pure. Nothing else will wash us clean. As John said of the saints in heaven in our first lesson, “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” (Rev 7:14).
4.             That’s what we understand about being a saint of God on this day we observe All Saints’ Day.  Our Lord Jesus didn’t come into this world to make bad people good, no, he came to this earth to make dead people live.  For that is what we once were.  We were dead in our trespasses and sins deserving of nothing but eternal death and punishment in hell for our sinful disobedience to God our heavenly Father.  But, you have been washed, you have been cleansed by the blood of our Savior Jesus Christ that He shed on the cross of Calvary to make you clean and holy in His sight.  And what’s even better to make you a part of that great multitude that worships Him in His heavenly kingdom as we see here in our text from Revelation 7 today.
5.             You may have heard it said often enough that there are two kinds of people in the world. Sometimes they're described as "saints and sinners." Maybe a better description would be sinners that think they are saints, and saints that know they are sinners. Sinners it seems often shy away from claiming the title "saint." Yet today we’re remembering the saints who lived among us, and though we may not think of ourselves as saints, I would like each one of us to leave here today knowing that they are God’s saints. But in order to do that, we need to know where we fit in. Are we saint or sinner? St. John gives us a good description of saints so that we can answer the question: WHO ARE THE SAINTS OF GOD?  First, they are people whose sins have been washed clean by the blood of Christ, and second, whose faith brings them through tribulation into heavenly bliss.
6.             Earlier here in Revelation 7 we see that the angel seals God’s people, you and me.  They bear the seal on their foreheads.  They are marked as those belonging to our Lord Jesus Christ.  The number sealed is 144,000, a symbolic number representing the full number of believers from the Old and New Testament eras.  You too are sealed.  You’re included in the 144,000.  It happened in your baptism.  You received the sign of the cross upon your forehead and on your heart as a visible reminder of how you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.  You didn’t choose the seal.  You didn’t earn this seal.  This seal was placed upon you.
7.             And that’s not all.  Not only have you been sealed, you have also been clothed.  Clothed with the white robe that has been washed in the blood of the Lamb.  It’s a paradox.  Blood is one of the most difficult stains to remove from clothes.  But, washing these robes in the blood of Christ has made them pure white.  It’s the cleansing power of His blood.  Since you are baptized, you are clothed with a blood washed white robe.
8.             And since you are sealed and clothed with your blood washed white robe, you will stand before the throne of God.  What John witnesses in his vision is your future.  You will be numbered among that great multitude from every nation.  You will be in the presence of God.  You will never hunger or thirst.  Jesus, both the Lamb who was slain for you and your Good Shepherd, will lead you to springs of living water, and God will wipe every tear from your eyes. 
9.             This brings up another part of what it means to be a saint of God. Saints are those whose faith brings them through tribulation into heavenly bliss. This means that those who have believed in the cleansing power of Jesus' blood retain that saving faith throughout their entire lives, or at the very least they have it when they die. That faith must endure because without it no one will or can be saved. As Jesus says, ". . . but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned."(Mark 16:16 NASB) 
10.             And faith is a living and growing thing. It either lives or is dead; either grows or it dies. God sees to it that our faith grows by sending us challenges, trials, problems, and sometimes even pain and sorrow. But these are merely tests to temper our faith, to point us back to God, to force us to lean on Him for our salvation – and for everything else for that matter!
11.             So far we've seen that saints are first of all sinners and that they have their faith tested throughout their lives. So what is the outcome? St. John now gives us his great "THEREFORE" that is, the result of remaining faithful, he writes in Rev. 7, "For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes." 
12.             In other words, finally the faithful are taken to heaven. This is fitting.  Because God created them to be with Him forever, and now they will be. And what an existence it will be! Look again at that description. We will be always in front of God. No longer will He be only the God above us, but the God before us. We will see God, and speak with Him. We will serve Him, saying an everlasting "Thank-you!" for saving us from Hell. He will protect us; nothing bad will ever happen to us again, not even anything unpleasant will come near us. Jesus Himself will guide us in the joyful study of His Word, and all God's marvelous works. We will spend eternity learning the riddles and wonders of the universe, knowing things that only God can tell us and marveling at His power and glory. Finally, we won’t even remember the bad things that happened to us. The best thing is that we will not even remember the sins we committed. There will be no need to remember sin, it will be forgotten once and for all, not only forgiven but never brought to mind. Oh, what peace and comfort!! Surely this is a place for saints. This is where God's saints are right now. This is where we’re heading!
13.             You do not need to wait until you stand before the throne of God to participate in this heavenly worship.   You are sealed and clothed with Christ.  You are numbered with those who have inherited life.  You’ve received the salvation won for you by the Lamb who was slain.  Our response as the Church on earth is the same as that of the Church in heaven—to give our Lord Jesus the worship and praise He deserves.  Salvation is yours.  Heaven is your future.  And with the angels and saints in glory, you gladly join in their unending hymn of praise as God’s saints.  Amen.