Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

3rd Sunday of End Time, Saints Triumphant, 11/16/14
Revelation 19:1-9


Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
I. You will praise him in heaven.
II. You can praise him now.


Our society has created certain phrases that are inseparably connected with certain events. We’re about to launch into several of them.

Two weeks from now Black Friday will already be under our belts. You will see and hear more information than you ever needed about how long the lines were outside Best Buy, how long people camped outside Walmart, how early shoppers woke up just to save a few bucks. And the prognosis for the 2014 Christmas shopping season will be announced. All because of Black Friday (and what is now being called “Gray Thursday” formerly known as Thanksgiving Day. Give me a break!).

Such terms are common in the world of sports as well. A two-word phrase—March Madness—calls to mind the frenzy of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Millions of brackets will be completed by fans. Watching one game at a time is no longer enough. Many fans feel the need to be able to watch every game on multiple screens.

So, what word or short phrase would you connect with the greatest event you’ll ever experience in your life—the experience of heaven? Maybe you’ve never thought about it. Then again, perhaps you have and you’ve been frustrated—frustrated because you couldn’t find words to express it. You resorted to stating what is isn’t rather than what it is: no more death or mourning or crying or pain. But think about it for a moment. What word or phrase would you connect with the eternal event that is heaven?

St. John has a suggestion for us this morning. He repeats it several times in these nine verses of our text. Did you catch it? You probably did. It’s “hallelujah!” That word is familiar to us because we use a form of it in our worship—alleluia. In fact, it’s so familiar to us that you might be surprised it appears only four times in the New Testament—all of them in the first six verses of Revelation 19. The word “hallelujah” means “praise the Lord.” That’s what John heard all the believers in heaven shouting and he heard your voice in that crowd of voices. That’s right—when all is said and done, you live victoriously with Jesus in heaven. So “Hallelujah!” Praise the Lord! What an appropriate response that is to the victory you’ll enjoy as one of the saints triumphant!

Part I.

The story is told of a pastor who spent the greater part of his sermon one particular Sunday describing what heaven will be like. While he included things such as living with Jesus and seeing the apostles, the major portion of his description revolved around singing eternally. As he greeted his parishioners at the end of the service, one of his longtime members looked rather glum. When he asked her why, she replied, “Pastor, I don’t like to sing.”

If you feel the same way, then you’ll be pleased to know that in his vision of heaven before us this morning, John doesn’t mention singing. But he does see and hear us and all of the saints praising God. Listen again to what he wrote, “After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.’ And again they shouted: ‘Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.’” Just what in the world are the saints talking about?

In his previous visions John has seen all the troubles and tragedies that God’s people would face. Specifically, he saw two sources of trouble. One was world powers. Just look at the damage world governments down through history have done to the church on earth. They have used policies, practices, laws and even military force to discourage and harass Christianity. We see it all over the map in our own day.

The second source is even more deadly—it’s the apostate church. By that is meant any religion, including “Christianity” that teaches we are saved by our own efforts, our own good works. Billions upon billions of people living and breathing today believe that lie to their eternal damnation.

But that’s over now. It’s done. John sees all those perpetrators of evil condemned. God has judged them. The smoke from their punishment rises continually. And God’s people exclaim, “Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!”

And the flip side of that judgment is our rescue. The saints triumphant praise the Lord for “salvation and glory and power belong to our God.” Our God used his power to rescue us. He has sustained us through all of life’s atrocities. He has brought all the trouble in our lives to an end. Most importantly, he used the life and death of his Son to pay for our sins and to win eternal victory for us. Our sins should have condemned us along with the great prostitute, but our God rescued us and brought us safely into his eternal presence to enjoy glory everlasting.

There’s only one fitting response to what our God has done for us. “Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!” Our lives in heaven will be spent praising him for all the wonderful things he has done for us. Instead of doubting his wisdom and questioning his ways as we do here on earth, we’ll be compelled to proclaim “true and just are his judgments.” We’ll agree with everything he says and does.

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! You will praise him in heaven.

If you’ve ever travelled a long distance with children, then I’m sure you’ve been asked, “Are we ever going to get there?” The long journey dampens their confidence. As adults we have days like that, too. There are times when life is so cruel, so hard, so depressing, so frustrating and empty that we wonder if we’ll ever get to heaven. Do you know what I’m talking about? And then we look inside us and it gets worse. All my failures, my shortcomings, the way I’ve made a mess of things—why should God let me into heaven? I don’t deserve to be there. Exactly! That’s what salvation is all about. Jesus rescued you. He gave his life so you could spend life with him in heaven. And John sees you there. In this vision John hears and sees you in heaven. You are one of the saints triumphant. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord. You will praise him in heaven.

Part II.

I’ve never fought in a war and, because of my age, I probably never will. But some of you have. And I’m going to guess that you fought in that war thinking that you would win, but I’m sure there was always that nagging doubt that you might not. Or, perhaps you feared die while fighting to win. Imagine the difference then, if you went into war in which the outcome was victory guaranteed. That’s hard to imagine, isn’t it? There are always unknowns and uncertainties in everything we attempt.

But not when it comes to your spiritual war with evil. Not when it comes to the victory of heaven. That’s a victory that’s guaranteed to you because it was won for you by your Savior, Jesus Christ. Listen again to what John saw, “Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: ‘Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.’” John sees the wedding of the Lamb. It’s a picture Jesus referred to repeatedly in the Gospels. The groom is none other than Jesus himself. He’s done everything so that you can spend eternity with him. Think about it. As much as you want to be in heaven with him, even more so he wants to live with you. Boggles the mind, doesn’t it?

And you are his bride. Everyone notices what the bride is wearing at weddings here on earth. Take a look at what you’re wearing for your wedding to Christ. It’s his righteousness—the holiness he won for you and gives to you by faith in him. Don’t worry that the stains of your sins will mar what you wear when you stand before Christ. They’ve all been washed away by his blood. He has made you what he wants you to be—holy and blameless.

Husbands, do you remember when you saw your bride standing at the back of the church on your wedding day? Do you remember the joy that filled your heart as she made her way up the aisle to stand by your side? That’s the way Christ looks at his church. That’s the way he looks at you.

So now we’re free to praise him. Don’t wait until you get to heaven. Shout your hallelujahs today. And not just here while you’re in worship. Praise the Lord with your life lived for him. Praise him at your place of employment in which you complete your tasks, not just to get a paycheck, but to the best of your ability to the glory of your Lord. Go about your responsibilities as a spouse or parent knowing that you belong to Christ forever, that he loves you with an everlasting love, and he wants you to reflect that love to your spouse and children. That’s praising him. In fact, live your life in such a way, proclaiming your daily hallelujahs, that you draw others to Christ, so that they will one day join you in praising him eternally in heaven. Let your life now and forever be a hallelujah to him. Praise the Lord, saints triumphant! Amen.