This week, we have been
answering the question “Does worship really matter?” by looking at two
different passages that are recorded for is in a letter in the Bible called the
book of Psalms. Wednesday, we saw, in Psalm 96, the psalmist commanding
humanity to worship the Lord by bringing humanity back to the definition of
worship, which is a life that is lived in a way that is focused on and that
responds to God’s character and activity in the world so as to value the Lord
supremely.
The psalmist then revealed the
reality that, just as we saw in Psalm 19, the creation worships and makes much
of the Lord as a result of the awesome acts of God’s activity in the creation
that will come to fulfillment upon Jesus return to earth. At the end of God’s
story here on earth, Jesus will return to usher in the kingdom of Heaven in its
fullest sense and to judge with justice all of humanity. Today, we see this
reality revealed for us in a section of the very final letter that is recorded
for us in the Bible called the book of Revelation. Let’s look at that together,
beginning in Revelation 4:1:
After these
things I looked, and behold, a door standing
open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with
me, said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after
these things." Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was
standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius
in appearance; and there was a
rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon
the thrones I saw twenty-four
elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.
Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder.
And there were seven lamps of
fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God;
Here we see John, who is the author of the book of
Revelation, begin this section of his letter by trying to explain all that he
saw when he was given a glimpse of what it was like to be in the presence of
God the Father in the throne room of Heaven. As John saw God the Father sitting
on His throne in Heaven, he struggled to describe what he saw. John explained
that the glory, splendor and majesty of the God who dwells in unapproachable
light could best be described by the brightest of gems. Around the throne of
God were twenty four elders.
While there have been many views and suggestions as to
who this group of Elders are and who they represent, most likely, based on what
these Elders say and do throughout the book of Revelation, the elders are a
special class or group of angelic beings of high authority that assist is the
execution of God's divine plan and purposes. The angelic beings holiness and
royal role in God’s story was described by the white garments that they wore
and the crowns that were on their heads.
In addition, John explains that he witnessed the presence
of the perfection, splendor, and majesty of the Holy Spirit, which he described
as the seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven
spirits of God. After describing the scene that he was witnessing, John
described what happened in the throne room of Heaven in verse 6:6:
and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in
the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front
and behind. The first creature was like
a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face
like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each one
of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night
they do not cease to say, "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO
COME." And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to
Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four
elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him
who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne,
saying, "Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor
and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed,
and were created."
Now the first question that arises here is “who are the
four living creatures?” The four living creatures, who form an inner circle
closest to the throne, as are the cherubim that are described in a section of a
letter that is recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible called the
book of Ezekiel. These four living creatures are an exalted order of angelic
beings that are consistently engaged in the worship of God. John then explained
that these four exalted angelic beings, at all times, for all eternity,
proclaim "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS
AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME."
Now can you imagine what that must have looked like? Can
you imagine what that must have sounded like?
"HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE
LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME."
John then explained that as the cherubim proclaimed their
worship of the Lord, the twenty four angelic beings fell before the Lord casting
their lives and their role in God’s story before the Lord as an act of worship
that proclaimed the Lord as being of supreme value: "Worthy are You, our Lord and our God,
to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because
of Your will they existed, and were created." These angelic beings
proclaimed that the Lord was worthy of a life that is lived in a way that is
focused on and that responds to God’s character and activity in the world so as
to value the Lord supremely.
And it is here that we see revealed for us the timeless
reality that we are wired for worship because worship
matters to God. You see, the answer to the question “does
worship really matter?" is that worship really matters to God because
worship simply put, is a response to what we value most: Worship is a life that
is lived in response to what we value most. Worship is a lifestyle that is
lived in a way that is focused on and that responds to the Lord’s character and
activity in the world so as to view the Lord as being of supreme and ultimate
value and worth.
Now a natural objection that could arise here is “Well
Dave, God sounds arrogant. God sounds needy. It sounds like God is just running
around like ‘worship Me, worship Me, worship Me’. It sounds like God is He is
full of Himself”. If that question and objection is running through your mind,
I just want to let you know that is a fair question and objection to have.
And if we were able to have a conversation, here would be
my response: You are absolutely right. God is all about God. Because this
morning, if you were God, who else would you be into? If you were God, would
you be into you? I don’t think so. If you were God would you be into me? I don’t
think so? God is into God. God is totally into Himself. God is full of Himself.
God is totally into Himself because for God to point you
to something that was less than the best would mean that God did not know what
was truly best, which would mean that God was not really God. You see, God is
totally full of Himself because there is no other being other than God that is
deserving of our worship. There is no other being that is all powerful, all
knowing, ever present, everlasting, never changing, perfectly right and just,
perfectly merciful and loving. So, who else would God point you to when it
comes to living a life in response to who or what is most valuable?
And that is why worship matters. Worship really matters
because we were wired for worship. We were wired for worship to live a life in
the relationship with God that we were created for. We were wired for worship
because we were created to live in a way that is focused on and that responds
to the Lord’s character and activity in the world so as to view the Lord as
being of supreme and ultimate value.
And worship matters because when we live a life that
values something other than the Lord as most valuable, we are settling for less
than the best. Worship matters to God because we matter to God. And while God
is nor lacking for worship, when we refuse to worship Him, we are lacking
because we are living a life that has settled for second best.
So who or what do you worship? Who or what do you leverage your time, your
affection, your energy, and your loyalty towards?
No comments:
Post a Comment