Seating for One

Well, hallelujah. Hallelujah. You're kind. And I know what we do in these moments: the guy's coming to the podium, somebody clap your hands so it's not dead silence. And I appreciate that, and you're being kind to me, and I thank you. But there's only one name in this entire house that matters tonight, and it's the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Would you honor Him tonight? Hallelujah.

It is a profound honor and privilege for me to be back here with you again, in the district that has afforded me life's greatest blessing outside of the Holy Ghost. I snatched her away and delivered her from all the sunshine and palm trees, and took her up to the land of snow and ice. But my wife Michelle is with me, and I honor her tonight. I love her very much. And she is a Floridian — she is a Floridian, as evidenced by the fact that she's cold about ten months of the year where we live. Amen.

So great to be with you. Love this district. You've been so kind to me. I really haven't checked exactly, but I probably have stood in this pulpit as much, if not more, than one on any campground anywhere in our fellowship. You've been very kind to allow me to come again and again. And maybe that's just because you're merciful, and you say, "Give the guy another shot. It's got to get better." And I will do my best tonight. But it is really a great blessing to be here. I love your leadership. Brother Boyd is a very kind friend of mine, and I love you much, sir. I want you to know that — but you know that. And you humor me just a moment: I can't not acknowledge that a very special friend of many years is your former superintendent, or bishop, or whatever you call him. Brother Williams, I love you very much, sir, and I honor you. You're special to me. I thank God for you. Amen. To the district board and all the leaders here who have been so gracious to me, I thank you.

I want to read tonight from Revelation chapter 4 and verse number one. Revelation 4, and beginning in the first verse of that chapter. I will do my very best just to get to my point tonight and make it repeatedly, and probably loudly — just giving you a fair warning. Revelation 4 and verse one, the word of the Lord says this: "After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne."

My message tonight is this: Seating for one. Seating for one. Amen. You can be seated. God bless you richly tonight.

It is but a sparse piece of rock protruding from the Aegean Sea. You can give me the first image, if you would please. Off the west coast of Turkey, Patmos is hardly impressive. It rises less than 1,000 feet above the water at its highest point and encompasses a mere 13 square miles. For perspective — just to give you an idea — the city limits of Ocala encompass about 48 square miles. So the whole island is barely more than a fourth the size of the city limits of Ocala, Florida. But on the nose of this one particular seabed mountain, an elderly apostle languishes, bearing the festering wounds, according to tradition, of having been boiled in oil. But there he has a divine encounter unlike any in his life. It was not in a beautiful facility like we enjoy tonight. There were no lights, no PA, no air conditioning, no praise team, no musicians. He did not enjoy the fellowship of a collective worship of a thousand other believers. No — this historic spot is thought to be but a barren cave that you can still visit, if you were to make the investment to travel there. But in that grossly pedestrian place unfolds one of the most majestic moments in Scripture. In that routine place, on a day that is never routine — the Lord's day — this happens.

Revelation 1:10: "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet." Verse 12: "And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man." And you want to hear what John saw? "Clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength."

And when I saw him — I fired up the acoustic praise band, and we all clapped a little bit and sang "I Am a Friend of God." And when I saw him, "I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not" — you don't have to be afraid of me, but you better revere me. Let me introduce Myself to you. He said: "I am the first and the last. I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."

All I'm telling you is, John saw something that would do good for us to see tonight. He got a glimpse of just how majestic and how awesome and how powerful and how glorious and how transcendent this God that we serve. And when he saw Him, it changed everything about his response. No longer did someone have to have a bass and a drum and an organ and three people doing calisthenics to try to induce worship out of a bunch of spoiled, overfed Pentecostals that think Jesus is just their heavenly buddy. When he saw Him, he fell on his face.

I would to God tonight we'd get another glimpse of Jesus, and understand just how holy, just how wonderful, just how majestic. If we saw Him, I couldn't stop you. I couldn't preach. I couldn't shut you up, if we ever got a glimpse of exactly how righteous the Holy One of Israel is. I have but one purpose tonight: I have come to magnify the Lord Jesus Christ — to challenge folks who have served Him perhaps for decades to see Him afresh this evening; to refine our perception of Him, and understand that He is much more than our glorified buddy; that He is far greater than some kind of divine home shopping network that we contact every time we need something; that He is far more glorious and magnificent than our response sometimes indicates that we recognize; that the glory of His presence demands more than we oftentimes offer Him.

This church — His church — does not exist for our pleasure. It exists for His. He didn't buy this church to give you something. He bought this church to give Himself something, that He might present it unto Himself. Hey, I don't know how to break this to you, but you are not a gift to the church. And the church is not a gift to you. The church is a gift to our Bridegroom. The church is a gift to Himself, who for the joy that was set before Him — He didn't do this to make you happy. He did this to make Himself happy. So I don't care if you like the song or don't like the song: Jesus still needs to be pleased. I don't care if it's too warm or too cold: Jesus still needs to have a smile on His face when the service gets done. I don't care if somebody took your seat. I don't care if somebody took your parking place. It doesn't matter at all. It's not about us. It's about Him.

And if we just see Him one time, our worship would be revolutionized. How to break it to you — but He doesn't stay awake at night worrying about how to keep you happy. He challenges us to live in manners that please Him. He does not build His church for our glory. He builds it for His own glory.

And so tonight, while it is right that we give honor where honor is due — and it is perfectly in order to afford due respect to ministers, pastors, fellow saints, those who serve in some kind of capacity within the framework of your local church, or even in your district, or within the organization — nothing wrong with that. But I'm going to preach tonight and tell you that everyone who receives such had better keep it straight: we may give, and should give, honor to those that deserve it, but we only give glory to One. And I don't care if you've got a fellowship card in your pocket or not: it's not about you. It's about Him. We may give you honor, but we don't give you glory. Glory only goes to One. There is a throne, and there is one throne, and it does not have a multitude of occupants, and it doesn't bear any of our names on it. It is occupied neither by a triune God nor a collection of human egos. Come on, church: it was, and is, and will forever be occupied by One, and One alone. And that One will not share His glory with another.

So here we go. We'll see if you caught what I've said. For everything He has ever done in our lives, and in our families, and in our churches, and in our cities, and in our district, we offer up praise to only One tonight. For there is but One who sits on the throne as the sole recipient of glory this evening: the Lord of all lords and the King of all kings, the First, the Last, the Almighty, the One who bears a name higher than any name that is named. So for just a few minutes, before we progress with anything further in our prepackaged program, I present this evening, for your exaltation, His holy majesty, the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh — holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy.

We need to see Him again. We need to see Him again. I'm afraid there's a danger of His becoming just a little too common to us. If we ever get a glimpse of His transcendent splendor, it will change everything. When you hear a voice that sounds like many waters, no amount of lavish worship seems excessive. When you look into eyes of flame like fire, no degree of holy living seems like a burden. When you see seven stars in His hand and a sharp two-edged sword in His mouth, and a countenance that shines like the sun in his strength, I find it hard to contemplate some kind of happy-clappy, shallow, feel-good, self-serving, perfunctory praise. Anything other than bowing myself before Him in humble, awe-filled worship feels like an irreverent slap in His face. And I don't care if it's Wednesday night at camp or Friday night of camp — He's just the same.

Let me try it this way. I don't really care — well, better be careful. I started saying, I don't care who you voted for in the last election. I probably care. But regardless of which candidate you voted for in the last election, if that dude walked in that door right now — if Secret Service agents came parading in, a parade of black SUVs, and they came in the door — and whichever one, I don't care, whoever you voted for, it don't matter if it's the one you didn't vote for — walked in here tonight, you know what we'd do? Everybody in this house, we would stand. Nobody'd have to beg you to. Nobody'd have to say, "Somebody get on the organ, give us some help. Come on, man, the President came in. Come on, drummer, get with it, work them up — the President came." And when you left here, you'd tell everybody you know. You wouldn't even get out of here before you'd be posting on social media: "You ain't going to believe who just showed up — the President just walked into camp meeting in Florida." We'd be taking pictures and getting selfies. And he doesn't know your name, and he don't care about you. And he ain't going to come to you in the middle of the night when you're sick. And he's not going to meet your needs when you're alone. And he's not going to dry the tears out of your eyes. And he's not going to be there when your baby's in the hospital. And he's not going to be there when the doctor looks at you and scares you. But watch this: "Where two or three are gathered together in my name..." Do you understand who is here tonight? His sovereign majesty, the King of kings, the Lord Jesus Christ, has put His feet down in this house tonight.

I pray to God we get shaken to our core tonight, to realize exactly what it means to stand in the presence of holy majesty — to stand here in the presence of the King of kings.

I've been here so many times, I don't remember what stories I've told you. So if I told you this, don't act like you ain't heard it before. I had a pastor in our district come up to me one day, and he said, "Brother Graham, I had something happen Sunday that just really shook me." He said, "I walked out in church that Sunday morning, walked out on the platform. On the front row there was a lady sitting there. She didn't come to anybody; she's just a guest. Nobody knew her. She just drove in off the street and showed up." He said, "That beloved lady cried through the whole service." See, I mean, she was crying when I walked out on the platform. She was crying during pre-service music. Said she cried during the worship set. She cried during the announcements. I said, "Well, I cry during the announcements sometimes. That's all right." Said, "She cried during the offering." I said, "Yeah, I got some of those folks too. I understand." He said, "She cried while I preached. She cried when I got done preaching." So when I gave the altar call, she's the first one to come up, out of her chair, up in the altar. He said, "I stepped around there to her, and she's just trembling, with hands shaking, tears just running. I didn't know a person could cry that much. She said, 'Preacher, you got to help me. You got to help me.' He said, 'Well, sure, dear. What's wrong?' She said, 'What's wrong? I got eyes. Look at me. I'm having some kind of breakdown. I don't know what's going on. I wasn't this way in my car, but when I walked in this place, I just started trembling. I can't stop shaking. I got tears. I can't stop. Something's wrong. I'm having a breakdown. You got to pray for me.' He did what you and I would do — not literally, but verbally. He kind of patted her on the head. He said, 'No, no, sis, you're okay. You're not having a breakdown. That's just the presence of the Lord you're feeling.' She looked at him and said, 'If that's the presence of the Lord, why am I the only one crying?' He said, "'Cause I had to look back at her and say: 'Cause we've gotten so used to feeling this, it doesn't move us anymore. We've gotten so used to being in this atmosphere that we don't even notice Him anymore."

I pray to God — we Pentecostals, who are so spoiled by great music and great preaching and great church — I wish we'd throw our heads back tonight and say: "I don't care if it's a cave on a mountain. If I could just see Him — I just want to see Him. I just want to see Him. I just want to see Him."

Do we understand who is in this place tonight? The same God that was in such majesty in a cave on Patmos is resident on the Florida District campgrounds tonight. Not some other version of God. That same God — not some lesser rendition of God. That same God, the only God, the One who sits on the circle of the earth, is here. The One who makes heaven His throne and earth His footstool is here. The One who lives in eternity is here. The One who exists from everlasting to everlasting is here. The One who, the psalmist said, the hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, the presence of the Lord of the whole earth — He is here. Hey, the One for whom the heavens rejoice and the earth is glad, and the seas roar, and the field is joyful, and the trees of the wood rejoice — that One is here. And I'm sorry: sometimes you just got to come down and get on your face. Sometimes you got to forget about protocol and say, "I don't care if you stand or sit. It doesn't matter. I see Him. I see Him. I see Him. I see eyes like fire, a mouth that has a sword. I've got to respond to the God that I see."

No — don't just follow a crowd. I want you to follow One. Don't just follow a crowd. Don't just move because somebody moves. I want you to follow One tonight. I'm going to preach a little more, but we've got a second to take a break to acknowledge that the sovereign Master of all that is — the One who is Jehovah Rapha, and Jehovah Shammah, and Jehovah Jireh — He is here. How dare we let our program supersede our reverence? How dare we let protocol take the place of being prostrate? There comes a point that you just have to say, "I care about one thing: I want to honor and magnify and glorify the One that sits on the throne." He's bigger than my diagnosis. He's bigger than my problem. He's bigger than the devil that's fighting me. He's bigger than my backsliding child. He's bigger than my depression. He's bigger than my problem. He's bigger than my financial need. I will not magnify my obstacle. I will magnify my King.

The heavens declare the glory of God. Step out on a dark, star-filled night and see the wonders of the universe unfold above you, and understand: He unfolded all that with His fingers. Understand that He did all that — it's just the work of His fingers. I tell you tonight: He is greater than everything you've ever faced. He's greater than everything that's in your way. He's greater than what is an obstacle to you. He's greater than what the devil tries to tell you. Let's see Him again tonight.

Hey, there comes a time you've got to walk into church and not say, "Hey, preacher, wow me a little bit. Tell me something that entertains me. Give me something to excite my feelings." It's not about what you feel. It's about who He is. I don't mean to be ugly tonight, but the reason that some of you have a moment of praise is because you're just responding to what you feel: "Well, when He makes me feel good, I'll respond. When I feel Holy Ghost dance, I'll respond. When God gets to moving up and down my spine, I'll respond." I tell you tonight: it's not about what you feel. It's about who He is. There is One on the throne, and God does not share His glory with another.

Because we fall into this trap of saying, "Well, if I feel a little something, then maybe, for everything He's already done for me, I'll give Him a couple of moments of praise, because He just might bless me some more before I go my way satisfied." No — I'm sorry, Pentecostals, that's not enough. Hear me: if He never does another thing for me, if I never feel His touch again, if I never feel another Holy Ghost doodad, if I never have another moment of tingle — He's already been so good to me. He's already so much — "Though the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation." I plead with you, Pentecostals — everybody in this place, from the front to the back: if I never feel another thing, I still choose to say, "Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen."

Forgive us, O God, for our irreverence. Forgive us, O Lord, for being so spoiled that we just take for granted every time we're together in Your presence. Forgive us, O God, for every time we feel so put upon by being asked to respond to You. Forgive us, O God, for every time we just go through the motions. Forgive us, O God, for every time we know how to do it just right in church — because, after all, if I miss this chance, I'll have another chance next week; if I don't touch Him today, I can touch Him next week. And I miss the fact that You don't owe us a visit. I miss the fact that we are blessed to have You here. I miss the fact that You are sovereign and we are not. I miss the fact that everything about You is holy.

Do you understand what's happening here right now? Because that transcendent God that existed from eternity past incarnated Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. In that manger outside of Jerusalem was the brightness of God's glory and the express image of His person. "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." That sovereign Savior, Jesus Christ, is the One who sits on the throne tonight. He is the only One on the throne. "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power."

The disciples may not have understood it theologically, but when He calmed that storm, they knew there was something different about Him. It says, "What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!" And His enemies had to admit it — when they went out to take Him into custody and came back empty-handed, they said, "Why didn't you bring him back?" They said, "Never man spake like this man." There's nobody like Him. There's nobody that's His equal. There's nobody that's His rival. There's nobody that is His opposite. There's nobody that challenges for His position. Jesus Christ is sovereign King of kings.

They could try — okay? They could try to deny it. They could try to shrug it off. The authorities of the day could try to ignore it. And they can try to do the same thing today. They can try to say that God is not God, and we're God instead, even to attempt to redefine the creative order. But God will have the final say. "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." You can do it today, or you can do it later — but every knee is going to bow, and every tongue is going to shout to the heavens: Jesus Christ is God. Jesus Christ is Lord. Somebody better get excited about this. He's not just a God. He is the God. Every being which is worshiped as God will one day acknowledge Him as God. Muhammad will bow, and Buddha will bow, and Confucius will bow, and nature will bow. He's not just a king. He is the King of kings. Every world dictator will fall prostrate before His majesty. Every despot, every ruler of man, every governmental official, every potentate, every king, every emperor will declare that Jesus Christ is Lord. And He's not just a lord. He's the Lord of lords. Every business mogul, every CEO, every billionaire, every military general, every celebrity, every sports star is going to line up and, one by one, say, "On my best day, I don't hold a candle to Him. There's no one like Him. He reigns without rival. He rules without counsel. There are no challenges to His position. He is not one path out of a multitude of paths. He's not one out of a thousand. And He's not one out of three. He is God alone. And He alone is God." Hallelujah.

I wish everybody would lift your voice right now and act like you just saw Him in a cave on Patmos. How can a God that big be scared by an X-ray? How can a God that big be scared by a balance sheet? How can a God that big be intimidated by what hell has to say? How can a God that big be intimidated by a pagan culture? How can a God that big be intimidated by the evil world we live in? I tell you, our God is so great. He is not challenged by our day. He is not challenged by our circumstances. He's not intimidated by what we feel. He's not intimidated by our fears. I wish somebody sitting about two-thirds of the way back right now would pick up your fear and say, "Come on, I'm taking you down here to a cave. I'm taking you to Patmos, so you can see what I see." You want to know why you can't keep me up at night? Because that God — "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" I wish you'd grab your problem and say, "Come on, we're going down to Patmos. Because I'm going to show you why I'm not backsliding. I'm going to show you why I'm not quitting. I'm going to show you why we're going to have revival in this church. I'm going to show you why we're going to have God do something special in our family. Because I see Him. I see Him." When I walked in here, all I could see was that doctor's countenance. But now I see Him. When I walked in here, all I could see was hell laughing at me. But now I see Him.

All right, stand with me. Let's do this. There's a lot of words we use to describe Him, and many of them, to one measure or another, can be applied to others as well. He's kind — but there are people here that I know are kind. He's merciful — there's people here I know that are merciful. He's good — there's good men here. A lot of those adjectives that I apply to Him, I can apply to others. But there's one word you can't use about anybody else, because by its very definition it is exclusionary — and that word is sovereign. Because that word "sovereign," by definition, means exercising authority without constraint. You don't answer to anybody. Sovereign, by its definition, means nobody can tell you no. Hallelujah. That word doesn't apply to anyone else.

But when I'm in a cave on Patmos, and I'm feeling the wounds of what I've been through, and I'm facing the fear of an uncertain future, and all of a sudden I see that One — I fall on my face and say, "I ain't scared of nothing. Because You don't answer to anybody." Somebody hear what I'm about to preach to you right now: He's in control when I understand Him, and He's in control when I don't. He's in control when I get the answer I wanted, and He's in control when I don't get it. He's sovereign in my healing, and He's sovereign in my sickness. He was sovereign in Job's life when the tragedy came, and He was sovereign in Job's life when the restoration came. He's sovereign when I'm on the mountain, and He's sovereign when I'm in the valley. He's sovereign when I'm weary, and He's sovereign when I'm strong. He's sovereign when I feel Him, and He's sovereign when I can't. He's sovereign when we're all together. And He's sovereign this coming Tuesday night, when I'm laying in my bed all alone and the devil comes up and says, "Now what?" Just go back to that cave and say, "I'll tell you what: He's sovereign. He's sovereign. He's sovereign. He reigns. He reigns. He sits on the throne of His own righteousness. He holds the scepter of His authority. He wears the crown of His majesty. He rules by the word of His power." And when I see Him like that, then I humbly reach up and remove any crowns that I have dared to wear.

You know why we don't get crowns here? Because we'd wear them. When I see them over there, they throw them off. Down here, I tend to want to wear them. But when I see Him, I reach up with trembling fingers, and I tear off those crowns of compliments. And I tear off those crowns of ego. And I tear off those crowns of entitlement. And I tear off those crowns of pride. And I tear off those crowns of position. And I cast them at the feet of the only One who is worthy. And I bow in worship as I declare that there is a throne, and only One sits on that throne.

And so maybe tonight, as we close out, we should just practice now for what we'll do on that day. Let me tell you what your agenda will be on that day — Revelation 7:9: "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen."

Florida District, why don't we practice for just a minute? Blessing and honor and glory and power and wisdom and might and dominion be to our God forever and ever and ever and ever. Not for just 30 seconds at the close of a sermon, but daily in my life. Receive glory in the way I dress. Receive glory in the way I talk. Receive glory in the way I sing. Receive glory in the way I give. Receive glory in the way I'm faithful in dark seasons. Receive glory every day.

They're going to sing; I'm going to quit. I dare you to get your problem by the proverbial hand and drag that fear, kicking and screaming, down that aisle, down into this altar, and say: "You can like it or not. It doesn't matter to me. I'm a worshipper tonight, because I see Him." Grab your discouragement and drag it down to this altar and say, "You, Mr. Discouragement, are going with me to a cave I was at. I saw Jesus. I saw Jesus. I saw Jesus. I'm going to make you stare at Him. I'm going to make you see how great He is. Then you'll understand why I can make it. Then you'll understand why you can't defeat me. Because I see Him." No — no, you're waiting on them. You're waiting on them. I don't want you to wait on them. Drag your pain to an altar and say, "He's my healer." Drag your discouragement to an altar and say, "He's my joy." Grab your fear, drag it into an altar and say, "He's my peace." Grab your need, drag it into an altar and say, "He's my provision." I see Him. I see Him. I see Him. I see Him.