Rev 4:6-11; 5:6-14
It is good to come here and worship the Lord as a family AMEN.
A man was awakened by his wife one Sunday morning and she told him he needed to get up and get ready for church. I’m not going he said. Well we are all ready she said and if you can give me 2 good reasons why you shouldn’t go then you can stay home. 1. It’s boring. 2. nobody likes me. Well, I will give you two good reasons why you should go to church, 1. You have gone to church your whole life and it’s to late to stop going now. 2. You’re the preacher.
If we are uncomfortable here on earth singing praises to God we have better get over it because it is something that we will be doing for all eternity if you plan on going to heaven.
Some people think that praising God would get old and boring. But, what is your other option. To me it is like getting to go see your favorite band, or your favorite team play, or your favorite NASCAR driver race. You would be super excited. You would show up early so you can get the closest seat. Some would even pay more to get back stage passes or pit passes. Yet we come to church and …
When we think of scriptural worship do we ever think of doing it the way we see it done here?
What would happen to the church today if we were to get as excited and be as committed to the cause of Christ as avid sports fans are to their teams? The idol of the football game receives more praise from earth sometimes than the throne of glory. Why? Who is worthy to receive your praises? Are you looking for competition? Look no further than heaven and hell’s competition for the souls of men. Are you looking for a championship victory? Look no further than the hosts of heaven who defeat and destroy Satan and his hellish hoard.
Aren’t you glad to be on the Lord’s side! Isn’t the victory of Jesus over sin and death worth celebrating with joy and praise! Is not his glorious redemption of your soul worthy of joyous exaltation and shouts of “Hallelujah?” (Read Rev. 19:1-7).
Singing is a wonderful way of worshipping God. The first time the word “sing” occurs in the Bible it is a victory song. God had just rescued Israel from the Egyptians by parting the waters of the Red Sea and then when Israel had passed through and were safe on the other side, God caused the waters to come together again and defeat the enemy, the Egyptians who were right on their heals.
In Deuteronomy 32 Moses teaches Israel a song that God gave him as a witness song. It demonstrates that God knows their future. He describes there rebellion, punishment and how He will eventually atone for them.
Judges 5 is written Deborah’s song of victory. These songs were for instruction as well as worship. No wonder in the New Testament we are told to teach one another with Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Eph. 5:19 and Col. 3:16.
1 Chronicles 15 records where David brought up the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. Verse 15 tells us that this time they were careful to carry the Ark according to the prescribed way. Notice how they celebrated loudly with dancing and singing as King David led the procession. Verses 16-25 describe how the singing was organized. After the Ark arrived in Jerusalem and was placed in the tabernacle, chapter 17 describes how special singing ministers were set up to continually offer praise and thanks to God daily. The worship was to be continual, much like what we read in Revelation.
God is showing us how all those nearest to Him respond to Him and to the Lamb. Does this have an impact on your heart as you reflect on it? We live in a world that has not seen the glorious presence of Almighty God. We hear the praises of the world and see what is worshipped in our world. Human beings are designed to be creatures who worship, but when people do not know God nor see the Lamb, their objects of worship are but worthless temporal things. Oh, how God wants us to open our eyes to see Him and open our mouths to proclaim His praises.
1 Peter 2:9-10 says it perfectly:
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
I hope that you have seen that our God is a God that is worthy of all our praise and thanks and song. Part of being a healthy church is knowing all these things and acting on them in our worship. A healthy church is one that worships God with all their heart. A healthy church is one that worships God with all their strength. A healthy church is one that worships God with all their mind. How do we go about doing that?
Let’s look at Revelation 4:6-11
One of the first targets we must aim for in our worship is to be in the Spirit. Notice verse 2 of Revelation 4! John was not taken to see the throne room of God until he was in the Spirit. True worship is a very spiritual thing even though you may be using your mouth to sing or your hands to praise. I think of John 4:21-26 when Jesus tells the Samaritan woman that, “true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.”
* Commit yourself to worship with God not only with your body, but with your spirit as well
* Cultivate listening to the Holy Spirit in your life
* We need to realize that we will not be able to worship until we surrender to the Holy Spirit of God.
Another target that we aim for should be to come to the throne of God in holiness. Those twenty-four elders that are surrounding the throne of God are not described as “being clothed in white” for no reason. It is mentioned because we must understand the fact that to be in God’s presence we must be holy.
* Commit yourself to living a holy life
* Make the Lord’s Table each Sunday a time when you renew yourself with God and clear away all that stains.
Read Revelation 5:6-14
In his book called “the final quest,” Rick Joyner describes a scene in which he is in this throne room in heaven…
At a reception honoring musician Sir Robert Mayer on his 100th birthday, elderly
British socialite Lady Diana Cooper fell into conversation with a friendly woman who
seemed to know her well. Lady Diana’s failing eyesight prevented her from recognizing her fellow guest, until she peered more closely and realized she was talking to Queen Elizabeth! Overcome with embarrassment, Lady Diana stuttered
and stammered, "Ma’am, oh, ma’am, I’m sorry ma’am. I didn’t recognize you without your crown!"
"It was so much Sir Robert’s evening," the queen replied, "that I decided to leave it
behind."
When we come to worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we need to humble ourselves before the Lord. But for a lot of people pride gets in the way and they won’t bow before the Lord because their crown might fall off.
Through this last month on Worship we have covered.
1. How worship is more than just singing.
2. How we should be enthusiastic about coming to Worship.
3. Last week we discussed the benefits of Worship.
4. Today is the Worship we will be doing in heaven.
If your worship hasn’t been in spirit and truth, then I want to encourage you to humble yourselves and sing to the Lord to show yourself as one who is thankful for what he did for you.
If you don’t have the hope of getting to worship the King of kings and the Lord of lords then come forward today to receive that hope that will change you life forever.
