Eschatological Worship {part 4}

ESCHATOLOGICAL WORSHIP {PART 4}

Rev. 22:8-9; Rev. 15:1-4; Matthew 21:1-11

Big Idea: Worship that embodies a lively eschatology empowers the church to live triumphantly in the present.

NOTE: This sermon was preach on Palm Sunday and dovetailed with the worship theme of Jesus as King.

MATTHEW 21:1-11

1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

5 “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest!”

10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

REV. 15:1-4

I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed. And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

REV. 22:8-9

8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. 9 But he said to me, “Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”

INTRO

For the last three weeks we have been discovering the potential that good worship has to impact the understanding of ourselves and our God. Thus far we have discovered seven dynamics that can (will) take place when worship takes on a future-looking element.

They are:

1) Worship Turns Chaos into Order

2) Worship Gives Courageous Hope

3) Worship Transports Us Forward

4) Worship Energizes Mission

5) Worship Transcends Time, Culture, Language and Affiliation

6) Worship Transforms the Marginalized and Suffering

7) Worship is Validated Through the Deeds of the Church

Eschatological worship, as we are calling it, is worship that takes God’s intended and certain future into account. It is worship that looks beyond the present, reaches into the future to get a broader understanding of God’s love, character and work and then brings those truths back to the present to reorient the here and how. Eschatological worship offers the church new perspectives, new understandings, and new interpretations of reality.

When an understanding of God’s determined future and certain promises are embedded within our worship, they impact, embolden, strengthen and transform us in ways that cannot be calculated.

In other words, Worship that embodies a lively eschatology empowers the church to live triumphantly in the present.

8) ESCHATOLOGICAL WORSHIP HAS ALLEGIANCE-SHAPING POWER.

I think it is appropriate to conclude this series on Palm Sunday since my last observation is that: ESCHATOLOGICAL WORSHIP HAS ALLEGIANCE-SHAPING POWER. Matthew’s account of the triumphal entry is a perfect illustration of eschatological worship. The worship celebration with King Jesus entering Jerusalem is based upon the certain destiny that Christ would bring. This is a foreshadowing of His return when we will meet Him in the air and accompany our King and the New Jerusalem to earth.

The worship celebration in Matthew is based upon hope. Hope that God would bring about his promised destiny. The worshippers believed that God’s will would be done on earth as it is in heaven.