Rev 12:10+11, And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night.” And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death. 
	Our time together with this passage has come to a close. We have spent quite a few weeks looking at Christ in the two-fold picture presented to us as the Victor and as the Lamb. In our most current view of Him, as the Lamb of God, we have seen how the angelic hosts praise Him in the perfection of worship. We, as His Church, should join our hearts with the angels in our every worship of God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our worship should be coming more and more in line with the heart of those who have gone before us, already seated around the throne of God. They celebrate the reality of Who Jesus is today! This is not simply something that we can cast aside as useful in the future. We should find our hearts affected by the detailed majesty and splendor of God vested in His Son, the Victor and the Lamb. That vision should bring forth the desire, today, this moment, to honor Him. We should be offering Our Almighty and Magnificent and Majestic God all tribute and praise and adoration.  
	As we continue this morning, let that be at the forefront of our hearts and minds. Let the reality of Christ evidence Him in the manner in which His Word, written especially for us, His Church, should cause us to want to so cherish Him this very day. 
As a dreadful aside, putting myself at the forefront of this observation, I fear that we are too complacent in our estimation of Christ, the Victor and the Lamb. We are satisfied with what God has done and is doing in our lives to a point. We are settled in the truth that we are Christians, that we are members of His Church, that we are part of the called of God. Because we are safe in our salvation, we are becoming too comfortable in that position within the family of God. We are not finding ourselves filled with an insatiable desire to go forward into all the fullness of Christ. 
	Maybe we are inwardly afraid to utter the necessary prayer that the Lord use whatever means to take us on in Christ. Rev 2:8-11, "And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this: 'I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 'Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.' 
	Maybe we feel too tired and too stretched out by those things that we have already faced in the Lord. Rev 3:1-3, "And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars, says this: 'I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 'Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. 'Remember therefore what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. If therefore you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you. 
	Maybe we are too lazy, more willing to just ride with the ebb and flow of the currents of our salvation, not really wanting to move ahead. Rev 3:14-19, "And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this:  'I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. 'So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. 'Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. 'Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous therefore, and repent. 
	The crux of this entire Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ is to encourage us to move ahead in Christ. We need to be those overcomers, setting aside our feelings, our fears, our laziness and pushing on into the full course of what our living and personal relationship will establish His sake and His testimony and His glory on this earth. This is the focal point of the entire matter, after all. The simple truth is that we can no longer look at the costs, the tribulations, the effort required, the trials, and the means used by God in terms of ourselves. We must realize that we are no longer the object or the focus of our deepest concern and worry and anxiousness. To overcome, to be the witness that God requires on this earth, means that we count ourselves as nothing, and Jesus Christ as everything.         
	Rev 7:13-17, And one of the elders answered, saying to me, "These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and from where have they come?" And I said to him, "My lord, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. "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 shall spread His tabernacle over them. "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; neither shall the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne shall be their shepherd, and shall guide them to springs of the water of life; and God shall wipe every tear from their eyes." This is the vision that should fill our hearts and minds. Not what we need to go through, but what He will receive as a direct result of our expressed and living manifestation of love for Him.  
	The Lord is very specific as to what is required of those who are willing to set aside everything for His name and for His sake on this earth. This is not at all without cost. As a matter of fact, it will mean the absolute exhaustion and elimination of everything of earthly value for the sake of His testimony. This is not the easy road of Christianity. This is not the way that will make everything trouble-free, uncomplicated, and pleasurable on this earth. It is the very path of warfare, death-to-self, and implicit poverty of being. Very many, well-meaning Christians, try to avoid this road at all costs. They are not willing to face the loss of everything for the sake of gaining Christ Jesus.
	This is an intense lure of this realm. We see the power of this world bringing forth every means to subjugate the Church of Christ and to draw her heart away from her first love. Rev 13:7-10, And it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them; and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints. This battle will seem to overcome those who refuse to bow down to the beast and the dragon. The overcomers will face all the fiery wrath of this age’s pressure to submit. They will bear the brunt of all animosity and hatred as the true Church holds firm in Christ.
	Then, as we read in Rev 14:1-5, the Lamb will come forth and claim His own, who hold on to the very end. And 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. 
	All the nations of the earth will recognize the true source of power and might and majesty as the Lamb of God is revealed. The Church will find her glory in her Savior, her Beloved husband. Rev 14:6-12, And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he said with a loud voice, "Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters." And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality." And another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or upon his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. "And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name." Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
	Notice, throughout the Word given to us, the focus is on the Lamb of God. It is on the One who was slain and Who purchased for God those men and women who hold true to Him no matter what. Rev 15:2-4, And I saw, as it were, a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had come off victorious from the beast and from his image and from the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God. And they sang the song of Moses the bond-servant of God and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and marvelous are Thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Thy ways, Thou King of the nations. "Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? For Thou alone art holy; For all the nations will come and worship before Thee, For Thy righteous acts have been revealed." God is the One to receive the Glory and Honor for what He has done. It is not the saints, but the Lamb, by Whom those saints are rescued, Who receives the recognition and tribute. 
This is where some of us get it terribly wrong. We think that we will be honored for our endurance and our faithful adherence to the things of God as we understand them. The reality is that we endure and are faithful because of His life at work in us. Our every testimony is but another expression of His work and His life. This is why we will be faced with the great challenge of our walk on this earth. 
If we think that we deserve any recognition, any accommodation, any reward, or any acclamation, we will be sorely disappointed. Ours is not to hold on to the end in hope of deliverance. We are to stand firmly rooted in the reality of the Victory of the Lamb for His glory and not for our own. Rev 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." We are victorious because we serve the Lord of lords and King of kings and for no other reason. 
All that is brought forth in our lives is God’s work in progress to prepare us for our placement as the glorified Bride of Christ. We face everything in the assurance and the knowledge that it makes us ready to be presented to our Beloved Husband for His Glory throughout all creation. Rev 19:4-9, And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, "Amen. Hallelujah!" And a voice came from the throne, saying, "Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great." And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude and as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready." And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. And he said to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'" And he said to me, "These are true words of God." 
	This is why we must, today, decide to worship Jesus with all our heart and mind and soul. As we are being prepared, there should proceed forth that recognition from our hearts of the extreme estimation with which we regard our Beloved Husband. This is not for some nebulous future time. Christ should even this instant be considered as completely glorious in His victory. He is the Lord of lords and King of kings as all creation will one day recognize. We present that reality today in the manner in which He lives forth from our lives.
	As well, we need to regard Him as the Lamb of God, slain for our salvation and incorporation into His Church, His beloved Bride. This is the tremendous reality that we must not take for granted. Let us join our hearts with all the angelic hosts in praise to God Almighty. As Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, all worship and honor and glory and adoration and power and thanksgiving and blessing belong to Him, Alone! Amen! So be it!
And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night.” And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death. Amen.
	This morning’s benediction is Heb 13:20+21. Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.