[Begin with lights up]
Happy Day [C]
Hallelujah to My King [F]
[People sit]
Pat:
In chapters 2 and 3 of the Book of Revelation, Jesus instructs John to write letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor. The last of those letters, the letter to the church at Laodicea, ends with these familiar words:
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
Revelation 3:20 (NIV)
Although we often use those words in connection with evangelism, the words were actually written to believers and they are an invitation from Jesus to His followers to come to His table and to worship Him. It is the very same invitation that Jesus extends to us tonight.
In the following two chapters – chapters 4 and 5, John records his vision which gives us a glimpse into the throne room of God where that worship takes place. In his book Reversed Thunder, Eugene Peterson identified the five parts of worship that are revealed to us there:
• It centers our attention
• It gathers people together
• It reveals truth
• It makes us sing
• It affirms
Tonight we’re going to use those two chapters of Revelation as our guide to help us experience all five of those aspects of worship as a body of Christ followers. As we encounter these five aspects of worship, we encourage you to express your worship in whatever manner will give the most glory to God. Feel free to sit or to stand, clap, raise your hands or bow your head, maybe even kneel at the appropriate time. Most people find that it is much easier to sing while standing, so during the times that we are singing, we encourage you to stand as much as you are able.
Although this is a corporate time of worship and we need to be careful of not being a stumbling block to others as they worship, we also need to remember that our only audience here tonight is God, so we shouldn’t be encumbered in our worship by worries about what anyone else might think.
[Turn lights down]
Worship Centers Our Attention
Pat:
At the end of the letter to the church at Laodicea, Jesus promised that His faithful followers would be given the privilege of sitting with Him on His throne. And as chapter 4 opens, John’s vision gives us a view of that throne:
Greg:
1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this." 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne.
Revelation 4:1-3 (NIV)
Revelation Song [F#]
Before the Throne of God Above [C]
Pat:
In his book, Reversed Thunder, Eugene Peterson writes these thought-provoking words:
Christians worship with a conviction that they are in the presence of God. Worship is the act of attention to the living God who rules, speaks and reveals, creates and redeems, orders and blesses. Outsiders, observing these acts of worship, see nothing like that. They see a few people singing unpopular songs, sometimes off-key, someone reading from an old book and making remarks that may or may not interest the listeners, and then eating and drinking small portions of bread and wine that are supposed to give nourishment to their eternal souls the same way that beef and potatoes are sustain their mortal flesh. Who is right?
That question is answered at the beginning of chapter 4, when as soon as the door to heaven is opened, we see a throne. That throne becomes the central object in the remainder of John’s vision because that is where God is. In worship God begins by centering our attention on Himself as he reigns from His throne.
True worship begins and ends with God. As I’ve shared with you before, worship can be described as an ongoing rhythm of revelation and response. God reveals, we respond. God reveals, we respond. God reveals, we respond. And in this never-ending cycle, God is at the center. True worship requires us to see the truth of God and then adjust our lives to match what He reveals about Himself and His purpose, plans and ways. Anything short of that is not really worship. And without real worship, we are doomed to live the kind of unfulfilling lives that we’ve seen over and over in our journey through Ecclesiastes. As Peterson writes:
People who do not worship are swept into a vast restlessness, epidemic in the world, with no steady direction and no sustaining purpose.
The time that we spend here together tonight is not about us, it’s about God. Don’t just take my word for it. Listen to the words of the Psalmist:
Susan:
Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.
Psalm 115:1 (NIV)
Not to Us [G]
The Heart of Worship [D]
Worship Gathers People Together
Pat:
The second thing that worship does is that it gathers people together. Let’s see all of the creatures who are gathered around the throne in John’s vision.
Jordan:
4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. 6 Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle.
Revelation 4:4-7 (NIV)
Pat:
All of the creatures are gathered around God upon His throne. First there are the 24 elders, also seated on thrones. They represent both the old and the new – the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles of the church. Although they maintain their individual identities, they come together in worship for one common purpose- to express their faith in Jesus and give glory to God.
They are joined around the throne by four living creatures who symbolize all aspects of creation. The noblest, the lion; the strongest, the ox; the wisest, man; and the swiftest, the eagle are also centered on God. They, too, are there for only one purpose – to glorify God.
True worship has a way of breaking down all barriers as we gather together before the throne of God. As Peterson writes:
The act of worship gathers into its centering rituals and harmonizing rhythms every aspect of creation. Worship does not divide the spiritual from the natural, it coordinates them. Nature and supernature, creation and covenant, elders and animals are all gathered. Worship that scorns creation is impoverished.
All Creatures of Our God and King (#33) [D]
For the Beauty of the Earth (#64) [G]
Worship Reveals Truth
Pat:
Worship begins by centering our attention on God. It gathers his creation together around His throne. The third aspect of worship is that it reveals truth. Jesus confirmed that as he spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well:
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
John 4:23, 24 (NIV)
We see this aspect of worship described at the beginning of Revelation 5.
Lorraine:
1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals." 6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.
Revelation 5:1-7 (NIV)
Pat:
To the first century Christian, the mention of a scroll would immediately bring to mind the Scriptures, which were not in book form like we have them today, but rather were written on long scrolls. These scrolls, which were normally kept in the synagogues, were respected and valued because they contained the words of God. In fact, this is such an important aspect of worship that Jesus began his public ministry by taking and reading from the scroll of Scripture.
Steve the Younger:
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor." Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
Luke 4:16-21 (NIV)
Pat:
In John’s vision, he weeps because the scroll is sealed and there is no one who is worthy to break the seal and reveal what is written in God’s Word. But when Jesus arises to open the scroll, the weeping ceases and, as we will see in a moment, the next sound that is heard is a great hymn of redemption.
Without the truth of God’s Word, there is no real worship. Once again, let’s listen to how Peterson describes the role of truth and God’s Word in our worship:
Without preaching, no matter how splendid the throne and how numerous the elders and creatures, there is no assurance that I am included and so the consequence is despair, enough to make a person weep. It is not enough to see the glorious throne, hear the wondrous songs and realize the vast inclusions. If I do not discover they include me, I will not praise, but weep…
It does little good to know that God is holy if I am excluded from the holiness. Personal existence is called into question before the majesty and holiness of God; preaching answers the question…Preaching presents the personal word that invites participation in the adoration. Preaching rescues the word from its captivity in the sealed scroll and leads it out...It makes plain that the great act of redemption includes each person in the glory…
It is the truth of God that reveals that Jesus is the God who is mighty to save.
Mighty to Save [G]
Your Name [Bb]
Worship Makes Us Sing
Pat:
Once the scroll is opened, heaven breaks out in song.
Zach:
8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." 11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" 13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!"
Revelation 5:8-13 (NIV)
Pat:
This is one of only two places where the Bible records that angels sing. The only other time that the angels sang was at creation (Job 38:7). But from the time of the fall to the final redemption of man, the angels refrain from singing. But here on earth, we are given the privilege of worshipping God with our song. So right now we actually get to participate in worship in a way that not even the angels get to experience.
Peterson describes how our worship is transformed into song:
During the act of worship something has been happening to the worshippers: minds are cleared; perceptions come into focus; spirits are renewed. As this takes place, ordinary speech, impatient of pedestrian prose, dances – is condensed into poetry and then raised into tune. Worship sings. Singing is speech intensified and expanded. Song takes the natural rhythms and timbre of speech and develops its accents and intonations into music.
There comes a point in our worship where we can all relate to the words of the song, “How Can I Keep from Singing?” When we see the greatness of God, it is our nature to break out in song.
We’re really privileged to have some very talented musicians here in this body. I’m not one of them. But I get up here and sing and play with them each week, not because I need something else to do or because I want to be up front, but because I believe that it is an essential part of my preparation for preaching each week. And somehow, in a way that I can’t explain or understand, God has brought me to the place where just preaching was no longer enough – my heart wanted to sing. About the same time, He was doing the same thing in Steve Ponzo’s life. So tonight we want to ask you to join us in singing a couple of those songs that God has put on our hearts.
You’re More [G]
Saved By Grace (The Great I AM) [G]
Worship Affirms
Pat:
The heavenly worship ends with one simple, but powerful word.
Steve the Elder:
The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped.
Revelation 5:14 (NIV)
Pat:
The last word in worship is “amen”. Saying “amen” is the act of saying “yes” to a God who has already said “yes” to us. The Hebrew word ‘amen” is an interesting word. It is the same word frequently used by Jesus when he literally said “Amen, amen I say unto you” sixty three times in the gospels. Our English translations usually render it “verily, verily” or ‘truly”. When a second generation of Christians tried to translate the word into Greek, they found that the corresponding Greek word lacked the meaning of “amen”, so they just used the Hebrew word. When we say “amen” we are saying something like “Yes before God I agree with that, I believe that to be true, I want that to be so.”
“Amen” is our affirmation to God that we are no longer the center of things, as sin would lead us to believe. It is the acknowledgement we are offering our lives to God, the creator and redeemer of life, on His terms, not ours. It is, as Jesus demonstrated in His model prayer, praying for God’s will to be done in our lives here on earth in the very same way that it is done in heaven.
As It Is in Heaven [E]
One Pure and Holy Passion [Bb]
[Turn lights back up]
Pat:
Tonight, we’ve gathered here to do what God has created us to do. Together, we have centered our attention on God, gathered together, focused on the truth of God’s Word, sung, and affirmed God. We have worshipped Him because you and I were made to worship.
Closing Song – Made to Worship [G]
