How Long O Lord
- Details
- Sunday Morning Service
- Pastor James Richards
- Copalis Community Church
- 28 September 2025
- Revelation 6:9-11
Of the seven seals. And I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, come. And I looked, and behold a white horse. And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him. And he came out conquering and to conquer.
When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, come. And out came another horse, bright red. This rider was permitted to take peace from the earth so that people should slay one another. And he was given a great sword. When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, come.
And I looked, and behold a black horse. And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, a quart of wheat for Denarius and three quarts of barley for Denarius. And do not harm the oil and wine. When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, come.
And I looked, and behold a pale horse. And its rider's name was Death. And Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth to kill with a sword and with famine, with pestilence, and by the wild beasts of the earth. And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw the altar.
I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, o Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. When he opened the sixth seal, I looked. And behold, there was a great earthquake.
And the sun became black as sackcloth and the full moon became like blood. And the stars of the sky fell to the earth as a fig tree sheds its winter fruit. When shaken by a gale, the sky vanished like a scroll that was being rolled up. And every mountain and island was removed from its place. And the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful and everyone slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.
For the great day of their wrath has come. And who can stand? Let's pray. Father, we just grateful for your word. And God for the instruction it gives to live life in this world, but also for revealing what we're going to face in the future.
And Lord, I pray that by your spirit, you would open each one of our hearts to hear what you are saying today, that it would impact our lives and prepare us to stand before you one day. And so we lift up this word and ask you to work in it. Lord, I know there's many with prayer needs and sicknesses going around and just pray that you'd be working in lives and bringing healing and the people who need that. We thank you for the progress in the community of cleaning it up and pray that that would continue, that our community would be a beautiful community that people would be attracted to. Thank you again for calling us together to worship you in Christ's name.
Amen. You may be seated. Well, I've been working on two messages the last week or two to give this morning, and I'm not going to give either one of them.
I just feel like the Lord has put something in my heart that I would just kind of like to comment on and a little different than normal preaching. I think we're all aware of the events that have been happening the last couple of weeks, especially Charlie Kirk and the assassination turning point. In my mind, Charlie Kirk has been the most effective ambassador for Christ in the last 10 years in our world. And I believe that even with his death, that. That the organization that he started is going to reach a lot of people for Jesus Christ.
And so we give thanks to God for his life. We pray for his family. Obviously the heartache of losing a husband and a father and a son, and we grieve over that. Another event that happened, and this probably doesn't mean much to any of you, but a man named Vadi Bauckham. Vadi Bauckham.
Anyone heard of him?
Yeah, a couple people. He's probably one of the most gifted, strong, spiritual men I've ever listened to. Sandra and I had an opportunity to listen to him in Kentucky and also in Florida. He's big black guy, played football. Rice could have played pro football, but got saved.
His. His mom was a single Buddhist mother and he was running wild in the streets of Los Angeles. And Lord got a hold of his life and he became an amazing ambassador for Jesus Christ. But he died suddenly at the age of 56. 56.
And this is a man that was very physical. He won the Pan American Brazilian heavyweight Jiu Jitsu championship in his 40s. And that's quite a feat. And then a little Closer to home, we know that I've had a heart attack a little over a week ago, and on top of my congestive heart failure. Just what you need, you know, I did everything wrong.
I'm sitting there in the chair, and I got this pain in my chest. What is this? I think I'm having a heart attack. And so what do I do? I'll just sit here and see what happens.
After a while, I gave Sandra a call. Bible said, I think you need to come home. And she did. We drove up to St. Peter's and my heart's hurting. And I'm thinking, you know, this is really stupid.
We just drove by two hospitals, but got up there. They found a blockage, did a stent. And then this last week, I went to my normal cardiologist appointment, and she's listening to my heart, and she's going, I'm worried. I'm worried. I'm worried.
Just what you want to hear, you know, when you go to the doctor. And so I ask her, well, you know, what's the next. What's the scenario here? What happens next? Your heart stops.
Oh, okay, guess what? I'm not worried. I'm not worried because I know where I'd go if it does. But then, on top of this, we had a huge event this week. And I don't know if you're aware of or not, but Jesus was supposed to come back on Tuesday, and he missed the appointment, you know, and there were thousands of people quitting their jobs and selling their homes.
And I don't know what they were going to do when it came, you know, with the money they got from that. But obviously, he did not come back. Okay? Now, on top of that, thinking about Charlie and thinking about Vadi Bakam and even think about my own life. The women are studying heaven, one of their Bible studies.
And there's kind of a question, what is heaven like now before Christ comes back? And there's not a lot that we're given, but we are given something about heaven in this passage I read this morning. And so that's what I want to look at, because that should be the goal of every one of us, to spend eternity in heaven with the Lord. And if you're not going to spend eternity in heaven, where are you going to spend eternity? Well, the Bible says hell.
Jesus talks more about hell than anyone else. It's a reality, and it's something that no one wants to go to. So what I want to do is take a look at this fifth seal. And again, there's seven seals. It begins the tribulation.
And most people believe it's a seven year period at the end of the age where there will be an Antichrist who will try to get everyone on earth to worship him, to turn away from God. Two kingdoms. Jerusalem, the heavenly Jerusalem. On the one side, those who worship God no matter what, Babylon, the worldly Babylon. The other side, those who do everything possible to save their life and do not come to Christ.
And so want to take a look at that. And so I encourage you to open your Bibles to Revelation chapter six. And let's just look through this a little bit. I'll read that sixth seal again in verse nine. When he opened the fifth seal, when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.
They cried out with a loud voice, o sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? Then they were each given a white robe and told the rest, a little longer until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. And so again, we've seen these first four seals. There's conquest, there's war, there's famine, there's death. And this is obviously Satan bringing wrath, his wrath on the world.
And one of the things he does is he kills believers who are faithful to Jesus Christ. And so we get a little picture of what heaven is like now before Jesus Christ comes back. That's going to change when Jesus Christ comes back. But you and I are concerned about now. If we die now before Christ comes back, what happens to us?
So just notice a few things. First of all, he says, I saw under the altar the souls, the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness. And even though it mentions those who have been slain, it's really referring to everyone who has died in the Lord. If you're a believer, you died in the Lord. It's talking about you and your soul.
The absence from the body is to be present with the Lord. It'd be better to be with the Lord. But it's our soul. We're still waiting for the redemption of our bodies. And that will not happen until Jesus Christ comes back and he gathers his saints.
First the dead in Christ, and then we who are alive will join him in the air to be with him. And so that remains to happen at this point in the tribulation the fifth seal, the rapture has not happened. It did not happen before it started. And to me, that is clear. The second thing we see about them, we see that they're under the altar.
And you think about that. How many millions and millions of Christians have died in the last 2,000 years? And Sana and I were joking, maybe God has to shrink wrap us in order to get all under the altar, you know, and then when Christ comes back, you know, pour the water on, and we're all, no, the altar here refers to the blood of Jesus Christ. We're under the blood. If you're a believer, you are under the blood.
You're saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. And it says that that's where they are.
Third, we see that they are waiting. They're conscious, conscious of their situation. They know that they've died. They're with the Lord. They know that the world is still under the influence of Satan.
They're asking, how long, how long before you take care of this God? You know that there's justice and all of those things. And so they are waiting. And then we see what they're waiting for. It's interesting.
The next seal, the sixth seal, you see the wrath of God finally coming. That's what they're waiting for. When Christ comes back, he will bring all of us to himself. And then God's wrath will be poured out on unbelievers who have rejected Jesus Christ. And then the last thing that I want to notice, they are told to wait a little longer.
What are they waiting for?
For the rest of us to be killed.
That sounds like good news, doesn't it? Why would God do that? Well, he's not going to bring judgment on the world. He is purifying his saints to see who really believes in him or not. And the only way you can know is to go through trials and tribulations and hardships.
And do you stay faithful to the word of God? And I have to comment sarcastically, this does not sound like your best life now, does it? Your best life now. And I'm not going to go into that. I could.
But the thing is, is God is going to allow trials and tribulations that come into our life to test our faith. And in the midst of that, we're going to be just like these souls under the altar and we're going to cry out, how long, O Lord? How long? I believe that's the cry of humanity. I know I've experienced that some nights when I'm sitting there trying to breathe.
Richard's going through that. And you get, how long do I have to go through this? We can go on and on. I think of the wars that are going on and the senseless destruction of nations just because a dictator decides he wants your property. And you cry out, how long before something is done about that?
I believe that even now, Charlie Kirk and Vadi Balcom and everyone else who is under that altar, they're crying out, how long before our deaths are avenged and all of that. How long, O sovereign Lord? And even the creation. It says over in Romans, chapter eight, if you want to turn over, there is crying out, it says in chapter eight, verse 18, it says, for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that has been revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
The creation was subjected to futility not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now, hope that is seen is not hope.
For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with patience. And I believe that's the cry of the heart of every Christian. How long, Lord? How many of us have dealt with those secret sins in our life?
And we struggle and we battle and we do everything we can. And it seems like God, I'm not getting victory over that. How long before I get victory over that sin that's bringing destruction in my life? Many of us struggling with sicknesses and the threat of death. And we wonder, how long, Lord, before I either feel better or I go to bed with your Lord?
And I believe it's the cry of the heart. In fact, I believe it should be the cry of every Christian's heart. How long, O Lord, until I see Jesus? How long, Lord? And we want to live and we enjoy life, but the goal of the Christian is to see Jesus Christ face to face.
There'll be no more sickness, no more death, no more disease, no more hardship, no more war, no more pain. You go on and on with those things, and that's not going to happen. That's not going to be changed until Christ comes back. And that should be the goal, the. The cry of every human heart.
How long until I see Jesus? And, and, and then the fact is, if you've surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, you know him as your Lord and Savior. There should be this desire in your heart to see Jesus. It's not just about being saved from the problems in this world and, oh boy, life's great and all of those things. And that's nice.
We don't discount that, but it ultimately is about seeing Jesus Christ. I mentioned my cardiologist. Said she's worried. Okay. And worried once would have been bad enough that four times she said she's worried.
And I guess I should have responded. I'm not worried because if that heart stops, I'm going to be with the Lord forever. And all that pain, that suffering, trying to breathe all of those things, that's all in the past. And we'll see Christ face to face. And whatever rewards I'll have, I'll have.
It doesn't mean we don't want to live as long as possible for our loved ones and for whatever ministry God has. But not worried. I know who I've believed in. I'm convinced he's able to guard that which I've entrusted to him. And guess what?
Even in the middle of the night when you can't breathe, God, I know there's something better. You know, I don't know how long this will last, how long it will last, but I have a future in Christ. And that should be the cry of every human heart. And what that takes is the reason that so many of us as Christians aren't crying out, how long before I see you is. We really don't know Christ very well.
We're so caught up with the things around us that we've lost sight of him and how great he is. And we can't even begin to imagine how great he is, how great his love that he would come into the world the sinless Son of God, and take our sin upon himself, suffering hell for you and I, so that we wouldn't have to. And that should cause us to love him with all of our heart. And so I want to mention one more. How long?
One more. How long?
And I'm wondering how long will it take before some of you surrender your life to Jesus Christ? How long will you wait? Will you take a chance? Roll the dice that I've got a lot of time. No one knows their day or their hour.
If Christ had come back on Tuesday. Guess what? Yeah, you'd be with the Lord. But if you didn't know the Lord, you'd be in hell. If you had loved ones who didn't know the Lord, they would be in hell.
And that's why God is waiting to come. Because there's still people he wants to see come to salvation.
And I just marvel sometimes, people, they believe the truth. They really do. I know Jesus is God. I know that he died on the cross for my sins. I know he wants me to surrender my life to Him.
But I think I'll wait. I'm in no hurry. I've got things I want to do. I got things that are important. And we put it off.
And sadly, many have put it off too long and they have missed the Lord. I mentioned the Rapture this week, and it made the news. Not. Not because it happened, because it didn't happen. This is an article in the Seattle Times.
And David Horsey, he writes, he does those political cartoons. And he's got here a lady, she's got a sign, I'm out of here. And then she's asking what happened. The Rapture was supposed to happen this week. And another lady is making a remark.
I can't see what it is. But he ridicules Christians because they have this escapist mentality. Yeah, those people go to hell, but at least I won't have to be here anymore to see it. And that's not God's purpose. God wants everyone to be saved.
He doesn't want anyone to perish. He is waiting for people to respond to the Holy Spirit's invitation to come to Jesus Christ and to worship Him. And so when people make a big deal out of things like the Rapture, which no man knows the hour or day, all of a sudden, like the lightning in the sky, God will appear and every eye will see and they'll know that God has come. Those who belong to him will be gathered up to Him. Those who are not.
It says they're going to hide in the caves and ask the rocks to follow, hide us from the wrath of God. And so when we make a big deal out of something that's not scriptural, I think we hurt the cause of Christ. They've ridiculed it. As a result of that, we've been hearing this over. I don't know about you, but I've been studying the last days for the last 50 years.
And I can't even begin to tell you how many people have made predictions and all of these things. And of course, we're still here. It hasn't happened. And every time somebody does that, there's more. I don't believe it.
And we want to be careful in that one more lasts. How long? If someone does not surrender their life to Jesus Christ to make him Lord and Savior, they are going to end up in hell. And you know what? They're going to be crying out, how long do I have to suffer this torment and agony?
How long, O God?
And God's answer is forever and forever and forever. Because you rejected my son. I gave him up for you so you would not have to be here. And you didn't accept him. And it breaks God's heart that he's given the best he has for us and we chose something lesser and not realizing the eternal consequences of that.
And I can't even begin to imagine. I mentioned with the congestive heart failure, you often can't breathe. So you're, you're laying there in bed, how long before I get to sleep? You know, and you get up and abuse your medication, take a pill you're not supposed to, you know, hope the doctor didn't find out about it. Doctors get mad when you don't do the medicine, right.
Every time I've gone to the hospital, I take my medications with me, you know, and they come in and we're going to do this, we're going to do this. And I'm going, well, what about, you know, no, no, no, we're going to do this. And I think, aha, I got my pills in my pack.
They found out about that. Oh, they were upset. They locked them up. You don't get them until you leave. But how long?
And nothing in comparison to eternity. And what are you trading for in this life? If you're not walking with Christ, then you're walking with Satan. And guess what? He comes to steal, kill and destroy.
And he is good at it. And he's got willing subjects. We go, oh, that would be fun, you know, and then we're hooked. And how do I get out of that? And even as Christians, people spending lifetime trying to get out of the consequences of their sin.
And how long? Well, with Christ we can ask that question. And he says, wait, he's got work to do, work in us. He's changing me day by day. Thank God for that.
I'm thankful for the extra years he's given me because he's still changing me. And I believe he'll change me some more. And that's exciting to see those kind of changes. But he's also got to make changes in this world. He's waiting for sin to reach that place where he has to judge it and we're not there yet.
I don't think we're seeing the Rapture today or tomorrow because sin has a long ways to go, you know, and it will get worse. It will get much worse. Especially get much worse for Christians because it says when Satan realizes his time is short, he's angry, and he goes after the rest of God's children who hold to the word of God and he's a powerful being. And so we better make sure that we know that we have eternal life with Jesus Christ and just kind of close with that. How long will you resist the Holy Spirit's work in your life?
The danger that your heart can be hardened? You think, later, you know, when I get old, I can't have fun anymore. Maybe I'll give my life to Christ. Then no heart gets hardened and you can't respond. Today is the day of salvation, and I would just like to challenge and hopefully every one of us here is saved and knows the Lord.
That would be exciting. But the fact is that's probably not true. We may think we are, we believe in Jesus, but we never really come to that place of surrendering our life to Christ. We're still holding on to our own desires and the things that we want in life. And maybe later, when.
But I don't have any other choices. No. Today is the day of salvation. So I'm going to close and pray and I'm not going to ask for anybody to come forward or to stand because I know people can be manipulated that way. All that matters is what happens in your heart.
Have you decided that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, and that you want to follow him? And if you don't know that for certain, you can do that. Whether you do that here this morning, church, or whether you go home and you. And you contemplate and meditate on what was said. And it comes down to a choice.
I want Jesus in my life. I want Jesus more than I want life because he is life eternal. Everything here is passing away. I can guarantee you that one of these days my heart is going to stop. That's a certainty.
Unless Jesus comes back. And I guarantee yours will too. Okay. I don't know if you'll live to 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90. My stepmother is 101, you know, but she wishes she was home with the Lord, you know, and so let's go to prayer.
And I just invite you to be contemplating, to really be asking, Lord, am I yours? If I'm not yours, I want to be yours. Do that work in my life. Let's pray.