IS YOUR LORD LARGE ENOUGH?
Revelation 4.1-11
S: Change
C: Worship
Th: Choose the Fire
Pr: WHOLEHEARTEDLY FOLLOW AND WORSHIP GOD.
?: Why?
KW: Reasons
TS: We will find in our study of Revelation 4 three reasons why we should follow and worship God.
Type: Propositional
The ____ reason is GOD’S…
I. POSITION
II. POWER
III. PERFECT
PA: How is the change to be observed?
• I need God to be the center of my life.
• I need to allow God to be at work in my life.
• I need to approach God’s person with humility.
Version: ESV
RMBC 18 May 08 AM
INTRODUCTION:
On the screen is something that is familiar to most Americans – Mount Rushmore.
The Decker family was privileged to see this tremendous sight many summers ago.
Finished in 1939, it is located in South Dakota and it is quite a work of art.
Many of you know all four faces – the first being our first president George Washington; the second – the main author of the Declaration of Independence – Thomas Jefferson; the last is Abraham Lincoln – considered by many to be our greatest president.
But the third is not as well known – Theodore Roosevelt.
He became president in 1901 when William McKinley was assassinated here in Buffalo.
So, Roosevelt took his first oath of office for the presidency, not in Washington DC, but on Delaware Ave, here in Buffalo.
1. What gets your attention?
I just finished reading The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt – a very interesting book, and one of his characteristics is that he knew how to get people’s attention.
There is a story of when Roosevelt was governor of New York, there was a parade in New York City.
It was full of dignitaries – the most important men of the time – including the widely popular president in is first term, William McKinley.
But there was one man that received the wildest reception – Roosevelt.
The thunderous roar of the crowd was heard blocks away, as he came down the avenue on his horse.
The man never failed to get attention, and turned out to be one of our finest presidents.
Why did he get such attention?
There was something about this man that made him different than others.
Some have concluded that there was an intrinsic greatness about him, and people either loved him or hated him.
Which brings us to this truth, that…
2. We have a choice when we encounter greatness.
We see that is what happened to Jesus when He came to this earth.
People either followed Him or hated Him.
Once you met Him, it was hard to stay neutral about Him.
We have been talking about choosing during this series of messages.
Our theme has been “Choose the Fire.”
And fire has represented many different things about the person of God – including truth, power and purity.
Today, we turn to the book called the Revelation of John.
And in the fourth chapter, we are challenged by the example of the activity in heaven to…
3. WHOLEHEARTEDLY FOLLOW AND WORSHIP GOD.
Now Revelation is a different kind of writing called an apocalypse that was familiar in New Testament times.
Literalists have to be careful with Revelation because it is a symbolic type of literature.
But we can say this with confidence…
Revelation was written to encourage Christians.
It is a description of the struggle between God and Satan.
The description is of ugly, painful, and difficult times.
But there is good news at the end.
God wins.
Satan is destroyed.
God is victorious.
Satan is crushed and rendered powerless for eternity.
The description of this struggle begins in Revelation 4 where we learn that we are to follow and worship God.
And here is why…
OUR STUDY:
I. The first reason is GOD’S POSITION (1-4).
After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads.
Hundreds of years ago, men argued whether the universe was heliocentric (revolving around the sun) or geocentric (revolving around the earth).
John settled the argument 2000 years ago; it is neither!
It is theocentric.
At its center is neither the sun nor the earth, but the throne of God.
1. God is the center of heaven.
What a picture is painted here!
It is of dazzling beauty.
It is of spectacular color.
And it all centers around God…the emerald rainbow, the twenty-four elders on their thrones, and the four living creatures.
Everything in this chapter is described first by its relationship to the throne.
They are before the throne.
They are around the throne.
They are in the midst of the throne.
John sees many wonderful things that tax his ability to describe.
But nothing can cause him to take his eyes off the throne.
God on the throne…He is the center of everything else.
It is God exalted above everything else.
It is God in control of everything.
There is a lesson here…
2. We need God to be the focal point of our lives.
This is an important question to ask of ourselves, isn’t it?
Is God at the center?
Is God at the center or have I placed myself there?
Is it God’s will that I desire or is it my will?
Is it my prayer that God’s kingdom come or the one of my own making?
As one continues to read the revelation of John’s vision, it describes what happens to those that do not have God at the center.
It is not a happy ending for those who do not acknowledge Christ as King.
Again it is an important question…
But for those who truly follow and worship, it is God at the center.
II. The second reason is GOD’S POWER (5-6).
From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.
1. The throne is the seat of strength and authority.
The picture that is described here reminds us of God’s self-revelation at Mt. Sinai.
You may remember that we studied that earlier in this series.
God’s awesome power is demonstrated through the thunder and lightning.
It is a logical precursor to the storm that is coming.
Our world has experienced much of God’s power over the past month as it is demonstrated in nature.
Tornadoes in the Midwest…
Cyclones in Myanmar…
Earthquakes in China…
All had devastating loss of life.
You know…
We are never to underestimate God’s power.
There is another picture of fire here – the seven torches – representing the fullness of the Spirit.
This completes the appearance of the Trinity as well, for it is God the Son who has brought John to heaven.
He has observed God the Father at the throne, surrounded perfectly by God the Spirit.
There is an application here that we need to take note of, that is…
2. We need to cooperate with God’s work in our lives.
We are dealing with an awesome God.
We are in relationship with a God whose power is without limit.
We are connected to a God whose strength cannot be overcome.
But how much of it do we see at work in our lives?
If we are not experiencing this power, the problem is not God.
It is us.
For how much control does God have?
We can experience God at work if we will cooperate with Him.
This means yielding to His will.
We limit His ability to work through us when we keep control of our own lives.
But watch out!
When we yield, when we wholeheartedly follow and worship Him, the possibilities are endless.
III. The third reason is GOD’S PERFECTION (6-11).
And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!”
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”
The four living creatures are described in this passage.
Throughout Scripture, four is the number of the earth, so in some way, these represent the creation and its response to God on the throne.
One creature has the likeness of a lion, suggesting courage and majesty.
The second creature has the likeness of an ox, suggesting strong, faithful service.
The third creature is the likeness of a man, suggesting intelligence and morality.
The final creature has the likeness of a soaring eagle, suggesting its readiness and swiftness.
All these creatures and their characteristics declare their subservience to God by revealing His most essential characteristic.
For…
1. God’s most essential character is revealed at the throne.
It is holiness.
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!”
God is perfectly just.
God is perfectly righteous.
He can do no wrong – ever!
The trouble is, when we see that and understand it, we know that we are in trouble.
We are immediately confronted with our sin.
For we are not perfectly just, nor righteous.
We are infinitesimally small in comparison.
In fact, there is no comparison, period.
This is why…
2. We need to approach God with humility.
The twenty-four elders (which I believe are the twelve sons of Jacob and the twelve disciples, minus Judas, including Paul) teach us a great lesson here.
These are some of the greats who understand.
They fall down before the throne of God, casting their God-given crowns back to Him.
They are saying, “You did it, Lord; it’s all You!”
They yield all they are and have to Him.
Do you have that same approach to God?
Do you come before Him with humility?
Do you offer grateful praise for His love, grace and mercy?
For these are reasons to follow and worship God.
CHALLENGE:
Throughout history, there have been men who ascribed to themselves a godlike authority.
When John reported this Revelation, the Emperor Domitian ruled Rome.
He arrogantly had adopted the title Dominus et Deus, meaning Lord and God.
He demanded worship, something the Christians refused to do.
In retaliation, Domitian unleashed a flood of persecution against the believers, including exiling John to the island of Patmos.
How encouraging it must have been to John to see the eternal throne of God, exalted high above the fleeting thrones of men.
He found that His God was large enough!
He saw that God gets what is due Him.
He gets the glory.
Let me ask you this question…
1. Who gets the glory?
Who gets the glory in your life?
If you are like me, I tend to take credit for things that I have no right to take credit for
For all that we have is not ours.
Our homes, our vehicles, our income, our families, our spouses, our children… none of this is ours.
It is all God’s.
We own nothing.
But yet we think it’s ours.
We think we can do what we want with it.
It’s our money to spend.
It’s our time to waste.
It’s our gifts and abilities to use however we want.
But God says: “No, actually, it’s all Mine.”
ILL Provision (S)
How many people here have ever taken your children to MacDonald’s? You have taken them to the golden arches, you’ve forked over some of your hard earned wealth, received your dinner and now you have retired to one of the tables to indulge yourself in these culinary delights.
You notice a problem when you realize that you’ve only ordered one large fries, now if there is only one thing that MacDonald’s does extremely well it is their fries, and so you reach over to your child’s side of the table and help yourself to one of the fries. When suddenly his hand is upon yours and he looks deep into your eyes and says, “Don’t eat my fries”.
His fries? His fries?
And you think. . .
Who earned the money for the meal? Who drove the car to get to the golden arches? Who ordered the meal? Who paid for the meal?
His fries?
Been there, done that? Sure you have.
Dennis Guptil
But how often do we refuse to give God some of our fries?
After all isn’t He the great provider of all our French fries?
Everything belongs to Him and is from Him.
How important our perspective of God is, for…
2. When we get God right, we get it all right.
When we see that He deserves the glory…
When we refuse the credit…
When we understand that our greatest act is taking any glory, our crowns, and laying them before Him…
Then the world is as it should be.
This is when we are tune with the design with which God has created us.
It all begins to make sense.
The final statement is one of our core values.
It is our goal to have the final on these to you at the annual meeting in a few weeks.
We keep adjusting wordings here and there as you have been giving us input.
These core values are important to us because they are convictions that direct us to a better present and future.
Here it is…
3. WE WILL WHOLEHEARTEDLY WORSHIP THE EVERLASTING GOD.
I like this word wholeheartedly.
We worship with our whole heart.
We do not hold back.
As we gather together, we gather as a community, not to entertain ourselves and feel good, but to worship the everlasting God.
After all, don’t we serve a great God?
Don’t we serve a merciful God?
Don’t we serve a righteous God?
And don’t we celebrate a gracious Savior?
Don’t we celebrate a glorious Lord?
Don’t we worship a Lamb who is worthy to follow and worship with our whole hearts?
For Further Study: Exodus 19.16-20; Psalm 29.1-11, 77.16-20, 148.1-14; Isaiah 6.1-7; Ezekiel 1.22-28, 10.1; Daniel 7.15-18; I Corinthians 3.8
COMMUNION:
Take what you have just seen on the video and meditate on these words for a few moments…
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!”
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”
So it is very appropriate for us to come with an attitude of worship.
So, if you know Jesus today, you are invited to share in the elements of the table.
You do not have to be a member of our church, but we do ask that you know Jesus and have a relationship with Him.
We practice “communion” because we are to remember the death of the Lord Jesus.
We take the bread to remind us that it was by the body of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died in our place.
He became our substitute.
We take the cup to remind us that it was by the blood of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died for our sins.
He became our sacrifice.
PRAYER
The apostle Paul writes, "The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
PRAYER
Again, the apostle Paul writes, "In the same way, after supper he took the cup saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
BENEDICTION:
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
RESOURCES:
SermonCentral
Borst, Troy Healthy Church: One that Worships
Cook, Pat Getting Crowned
Fry, Rodney The Throne of God
Fuller, Tom What Is Heaven Like?
Jenkins, David Glimpse of Heaven
Linkous, Keith Casting Down Your Crown
Simala Grant, Steven Our Constant Focus
Strite, Jeff The Power of Praise
Zimmerman, David God Rules
Other:
Bible Knowledge Commentary: New Testament. Cook Communications Ministries, 2000.
Keener, Craig S. The Ivp Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993.
Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary: New Testament. Colorado Springs: ChariotVictor Publishing, 1989.
