Sermon – Heaven – A Place of Worship
- In our progression through the Heaven series, we’ve
looked at who would not be there; what would not be there; that Heaven is a
place prepared for believers; and that Heaven is a place of rest. Today, we will look at worship in Heaven and
how that should impact us; and this morning, our order of worship is different
just to make sure we aren’t just going through the motions.
- Revelation 4:1-11 (NLT – Worship In Heaven) … Then
as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had
heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast.
The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen
after this.” (2) And instantly I was in
the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it. (3) The one sitting on the throne was as
brilliant as gemstones – like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne
like a rainbow. (4) Twenty-four thrones
surrounded Him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold
crowns on their heads. (5) From the
throne came flashes of lighting and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven torches
with burning flames. This is the sevenfold
Spirit of God. (6) In front of the
throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal. In the center and around the throne were four
living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back. (7) The first of these living beings was like
a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth
was like an eagle in flight. (8) Each of
these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with
eyes, inside and out. Day after day and
night after night they keep on saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the
Almighty – the One who always was, who is, and who is still to come.” (9) Whenever the living beings give glory and
honor and thanks to the One sitting on the throne (the One who lives forever
and ever), (10) the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the One sitting on
the throne (the One who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne
and say, (11) “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and
power. For you created all things, and
they exist because you created what you pleased.”
- If you go further in Revelation …
- Chapter 5
- Jesus (Lamb of God) – is worshipped because He was
the only One able to open the scroll.
- Jesus (Lamb of God) – is worshipped because He was
the only One able to open the scroll.
- Chapter 6
- The souls of the martyrs (prayerfully) call for divine justice.
- Greek “krazo” means to utter a cry – to exclaim –
cry for vengeance – cry in supplication
- Chapter 7
- A vast crowd shouts with a great roar
- The four living creatures and the elders sing
- Chapter 8
- There was silence in Heaven for about half an hour
before the trumpet blasts
- There was silence in Heaven for about half an hour
before the trumpet blasts
- Chapters 18 and 19
- Judgment is proclaimed and celebrated
- The book ends with the New Heaven and the New Earth
– with God living among the people – with there being no need for a temple or
the sun – then eternity with God in worship and work.
- John (the beloved – the apostle) was looking into
Heaven – and observes some amazing things … God on His throne … the amazing
brilliance of His glory … various creatures, angels, elders, and people
worshiping … multiple senses are used – sight, hearing, smell; and full body
worship.
- The throne is the focal point of Revelation 4 (if
not the whole book). Depending on
translation (and wording), it appears in this chapter around a dozen times and
the book around 40 times. The action,
respect, submission, and worship are focused on the throne and toward the One
who is seated upon it – the King – the Lord God Almighty.
- The One seated on the throne is the center of
attention. He is the audience. He is the One that is being honored, praised,
and worshiped. He rules and reigns; and
has a Will to accomplish.
- God is on the throne; and each person has to decide what to do with that truth. Either you accept it, respect it, and submit to Him; or you spend your life living in opposition to Him.
- If God is not your Lord and Savior and the One
sitting on the throne of your heart; then something else is; and that something
else will just lead to destruction.
- The rainbow is God’s glory. It recalls the radiance of God’s throne in
Ezekiel. We read that it was brilliant
like jasper and carnelian and glowed like an emerald. The Lord God is enveloped by this glow; and
nobody – other than Jesus – has the Father in all His glory.
- “iaspis” jasper precious stone of various colors, such as purple and green
- “sardion” carnelian a reddish, precious stone
- “smaragdinos” emerald a green gemstone
- Normally, we see a rainbow after a storm; but here
it appears before the biggest “storm” ever was to be unleashed … (soon after, judgment
is issued – seals are broken – bowls are emptied)
- The 24 elders could be a specific creation – like
the four living creatures … they could represent both the OT and NT (12 from
each) … they could be symbolic of all of God’s people … they could be who we
are to emulate … they can include both Jew and Gentile (all the redeemed of the
Lord).
- The elders wear the victor’s crown and are clothed
in white.
- They worship with their bodies and voices … they lay prostrate and cast their crowns down … they tell God how worthy He is just because of who He is and what He has done (Creation)
- There are seven torches – the sevenfold Spirit of
God. He illuminates our way; and we are
to follow His leadership in worship. The
people of Israel were also led by a pillar of fire at night. The Holy Spirit fell like tongues of fire on
the day of Pentecost.
- The crystal sea highlights both the magnificence and
holiness of God.
- The four living creatures point back to Ezekiel and
Isaiah … they saw cherubim and seraphs … they repeatedly chant about God’s
holiness. They remind us of our need to
worship and praise God.
- They are symbolic of God’s other attributes …
majesty and power (lion) … faithful (ox) … intelligence (human) … sovereign
(eagle) … God is all those things; and more.
- The worship that is described in Heaven should
impact how we see worship on earth and prompt us to worship God with all we
are; and above all else – remember, HE is your audience and focus!
- We Should Worship In Humility – the angels, who haven’t
sinned, covered their faces. As majestic
as they are, they view themselves as small before God.
- True worship takes place in an atmosphere of
humility. We can’t worship God if we
think we are better than Him or if we don’t think He is worthy; and just going
through the motions isn’t taking God, His worth, His holiness, or His grace
serious enough. Yes, having order is
specified in Scripture; but we must think about why we do things and give it
our best or it doesn’t matter.
- We Should Worship In Reverence – God’s main
characteristic is repeatedly chanted before Him … all other characteristics
come from that – faithfulness – justice – compassion – love – grace.
- To approach God with reverence, we must take our sin
and His holiness seriously. We can’t
approach God with unrepentant sin in our lives.
We must remove anything that hinders or causes us to not have a godly
fear.
- In Hebrews 12, the readers are exhorted to worship with reverence and godly fear.
- Job 38 says the angels were there during the
creation and the sons of God shouted for joy.
- We Should Worship Unceasingly – God is praised all
the time – the living creatures do not stop!
- Worship should characterize our whole lives; and it
shouldn’t matter if we are alone or with other people – worship is an
outpouring of all we are, all we do, and all we have … God deserves worship.
- As humans, we will worship things – the best choice
is to worship (and serve) God with all we are but sadly, people choose hobbies,
sports, stuff, careers, and a variety of other things in which to make an idol
and put on their heart’s throne – again, that leads to destruction.
- We Should Worship Enthusiastically – those in heaven
used their voices and instruments; and were loud … God is your audience and
focus, not your neighbor … block everything else out and give Him your best …
if we are excited about a game; and will cheer, clap, and clap; then why not
for God?!
- We Should Worship In Unity – the praise and worship
in Heaven is united … one voice saying the same things and praising the same
One … they were in agreement that God was to be worship and that He was the
only One worthy to be worship based on who He is and what He has done … we
should gather and want to gather with fellow believers to praise, worship,
study, pray, and give.
- This morning is different – things have been flipped; but at times, we need reminders like this … we need to never go through the motions; and we should always leave a service better than we came.