WORSHIP IS TERMINAL. (vv 1-8)

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1 PHBF TEXT: Revelation 5 SCR. READING: Rev 5:1-14 Words for kids: worship, Lamb, God, cross SERIES: The Story of PHBF: Who We Are and What We re About INTRO Adolescent experience: Light from a window (or lamp) blinding my eyes and awakening me from sleep to reality a few scenes in the Bible do that for us, awaken us from the dream of this life that seems so real to ultimate reality in the world beyond. Revelation is a book that does that; chapters 4-5 do it best. The book s opening line is important for our expectations about what it contains: The revelation of Jesus Christ (1:1). It s called a revelation i.e., a disclosure. The contents of this book are intended to reveal something, not conceal or confuse. Reveal what? Verse 1: the revelation of Jesus Christ. This book reveals a person, not a timetable or a movie plot or even a series of end-times events. It s about Jesus. And as such, it has a lot to teach us about how to worship Him. Four points from chapter 5: worship is terminal, communal, Godcentered, and cross-centered. WORSHIP IS TERMINAL. (vv 1-8) By that I don t mean worship is fatal. Worship is terminal in the sense that it is worship is an end in itself the noun is terminus. Chapter 4 is dominated by one item: the heavenly throne. It s the first thing John sees (4:2). Everything that follows has reference to the throne: who is on it (3a), the colors and figures around it (3b-4), the sounds and sights from it (5a), the heavenly items before it (5b-6a), the creatures surrounding it (6b) The praise songs of the creatures and elders draw our attention to the figure on the throne: Revelation 4: 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!" 9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 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, 11 "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 point is clear. Revelation pictures a terrible conflict raging on earth between God s people and a demonically empowered civilization. It s an earthbound picture of the even more fearsome conflict taking place in the spiritual world between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. But lest the readers turn away prematurely in fear, the book opens with a reassuring portrayal of God, enthroned and ruling in his universe. No matter how uncontrollable or fierce the forces of evil on earth may seem to be, they cannot change the fact that behind the scenes, God is on His throne, governing the universe. Not one plague comes, not one demon howls, and not one martyr dies apart from an order from this throne. In chapter 5, the focus shifts from the throne and the One sitting on it to the object in His hand. Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll (5:1). Whatever it contains, its location held in the right hand of the one on the throne (1a) indicates it all depends upon and is sourced in Him. It has writing within and on the back (1b), an unusual practice in ancient times, restricted to Roman deeds and wills. It s sealed with seven seals (1c), probably placed progressively through the document rather than all on the outer edge, since the contents are revealed progressively as each seal is broken (ch 6). But its most important quality is this: the scroll s refusal to open to anyone who is less than worthy. Verse 3 tells us that a thorough search of heaven and earth and the realms beneath the earth turn up no one worthy to open the scroll. And John, the narrator, weeps (v 4). Interpreters have offered a dozen different options as to what the scroll represents: The New Covenant, The Lamb s Book of Life, The Title-Deed to the World, or a cosmic Last Will and Testament. Whatever it is, the effects of opening it are clear (ch 6): judgment comes to God s enemies and a kingdom to His people. No wonder John weeps the church s Page 2

2 hope of vindication and victory stands in jeopardy unless someone worthy is found to open the scroll and bring history to its close. But he doesn t weep long. One of the elders announces: The Worthy One has been found! Weep no more! The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals (v 5). John turns in the direction of the elder s outstretched arm, and sees through his tears, not a Lion, but a Lamb, standing in the midst of the 4 living creatures and 24 elders around the throne. The Lamb bears in its body the marks of death, but it is very much alive (6a). It is standing (6b), not slumped in a bloody heap as we would expect a slain lamb to be. In fact, the Lamb in crouched in Lion-like readiness, prepared to pounce on His enemies; and in the next scene, He does. The Lamb is omnipotent, symbolized by 7 horns; He s omniscient, symbolized by 7 all-seeing eyes; and He s omnipresent, symbolized by the 7 spirits that cover the whole earth. What captures John s attention here, though, is that the Lamb is omniworthy. He approaches the throne with no sense of hesitancy and takes the scroll from the right hand of God. And at that exact moment, heaven and earth explode with songs of exultant praise: Worthy are You. Worthy is the Lamb! Blessing and honor and glory and might to God and to the Lamb forever and ever! Two points I want to make here: 1) what worship is and 2) what worship does. What worship is: Worship is a felt response to the worth of God and His Christ. Why are these creatures praising the Lamb? What motivates their worship? They have just beheld the Lamb of God and seen that He is worthy. Worship is a God-given response to something we see in God, not a self-produced offering we bring to God. It is reactive, not proactive. It is us responding, not us initiating. This means that where feelings for God are dead, worship is dead. Worship is a felt response. Jesus said: These people honor me with their lips but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me (Mt 15:8). God rejects worship that is not heartfelt. God is not pleased when we go through the motions. Page 3 APP: Strive and plead and pray for a glimpse of the glory of God that produces feelings of genuine worship. What worship does: It brings every other Christian activity to its proper end. The worship of God is the desired aim for everything else we do. We engage in mission in order to produce more worshipers of Jesus. As John Piper wrote in the oft-quoted opening line of his book on missions: Missions exists because worship doesn t. We preach and teach and memorize the Bible to inspire your worship. We do care groups and call you to serve each other to enhance your worship. We press for social justice in hopes that the whole world will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea (Hab 2:14). What motivates your worship? Do you worship as a ritual, as a way to keep your conscience quiet, as a means to some other desired end? No! Worship is not a means to an end like, we worship to feel close to God or we worship to draw a crowd or we worship to fulfill our duty to God. Worship is the end of everything we do. Worship is ultimate because God is ultimate. What worship is: a felt response to the worth of Jesus. What worship does: it culminates our Christian experience. Unless and until we embrace this understanding of worship, our gatherings will be fatally plagued with the empty lip-service of formalism, the self-righteous efforts of legalism, and the damnable deadness of ritualism. Heaven was desperate to find someone worthy. He appeared. Worship happened. WORSHIP IS COMMUNAL. (vv 9-14) In verses 9-14, three concentric circles erupt in praise around the throne. First, it s the four mysterious creatures and twenty-four elders (vv 8-10). Then, the next ring joins the song (vv 11-12): myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands of angels. And finally, every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that is in them (vv 13-14). Page 4

3 Can you imagine the volume and intensity of this song? Loud at first, ear-splitting when the angels join, literally earth-shaking with the added voice of every creature on earth and in heaven. Private, individual worship is essential but it is not enough to express and enjoy the full glory of God. We know and enjoy God better in a group than we can alone. CS Lewis illustrates why this is and how it works. For several years, he enjoyed a mutual relationship with two close friends, Ronald and Charles. When Charles died, Lewis expected he would have more of Ronald than he had before. What he found, however, was exactly the opposite: In each of my friends there is something that only some other friend can fully bring out. By myself I am not large enough to call the whole man into activity; I want other lights than my own to show all his facets. Now that Charles is dead, I shall never again see Ronald s reaction to a specifically Caroline joke. Far from having more of Ronald, having him to myself now that Charles is away, I have less of Ronald. (The Four Loves, p 61) A worshiping community works the same way. We see more of God s glory, different facets of His splendor, by the light of others, especially others who are quite different from us. In our text, the worship of these angels, for example, shows God s glory and power in a way that the worship of people wouldn t. Angels are not chubby, rosy-cheeked and bare-bottomed. There are no puny or silly creatures in heaven. John is so struck by angel s power and splendor that twice he falls down before one in worship and has to be corrected (19:10, 22:8). But as great and powerful as they are, they all bow in humility and adoration before the Lamb on His throne. Heavenly worship is communal. You will know God better as you come to know Him in a community, preferably one with as much diversity as possible. WORSHIP IS GOD-CENTERED. (vv 9-10) Imagine one more verse in the chapter, verse 15. And after about half an hour, the songs ended, heaven s halls fell silent, earth s canyons Page 5 ceased echoing, and John said, Those songs weren t my style. That sermon didn t apply to my life. These people aren t friendly to me. I didn t enjoy myself. This worship scene suffers from none of the self-centered sickness that constantly afflicts our hearts. Heaven s praise is radically God-centered. Notice even the purpose of redemption centers on God, not on people: Revelation 5:9-10 by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, Even our rescue from hell is through Him, because of Him, and for Him! Friends, do you realize that God delivers His people, not because of us and our worth, but because of Him? It is so common to hear well-meant songs or remarks that mention the gospel but distort its meaning. They distort the cross from a display of God s worth into a display of our worth. But according to the Bible, the salvation of the saints and the damnation of sinners are both designed to magnify the glory of God (Rom 9:22-23). Isaiah 43:25 I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Psalm 25:11 For your name's sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great. Isaiah 48:9-11 For my name's sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. 10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. 11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another. Ephesians 2:4-7 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have been saved- 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Romans 9:22-23 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath Page 6

4 prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory We are not the ground of our own salvation; His own name is. If God fails to value His own name, no one will be saved. When we walk into the worship center on Sunday morning, we need to remember what is really happening at this moment. We are gathering with the people of God. We have come to worship God Himself, and He will be present by His Holy Spirit. We are not gathering like an audience at a show; we are a congregation who is gathering before the Audience of One. APP and ANNOUNCEMENT: Change in order on Sunday morning: refreshments at 9:15, Bible study at 9:45, worship gathering at 10:45 (no refreshments in between) Please move right from SS to the auditorium so we can start on time, but also so you can prepare your heart to hear from God, praise God, see God, and be satisfied in God Please honor this time with attentiveness, participation, and respect. Please don t leave unless you have to. It s a distraction, but it s also not good for your soul. If God is important, worship matters. And if worship matters, you and your kids won t walk out. The quality of your Sunday morning depends on the intentionality of your Saturday evening. Prepare ahead of time. The cross is the motive for our adoration Jesus is worthy precisely because He was slain. The creatures and elders and angels are infinitely impressed with the Son of God, but what captures their attention the most is His death on the cross to redeem a people for God. Do we worship Jesus as Creator? Yes. Sustainer? Yes. Provider? Yes. Guide? Yes. Comforter? Yes. Rock and fortress? Yes. Satisfaction and joy? Yes. But what should inspire our worship most deeply and quickly is this: that Jesus of Nazareth is our Savior. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain! The cross is the means of our access There is no such thing as unmediated worship. It all comes to the Father through the work of the Son. We do not draw near to God through prayer, through songs, and especially not through the mediating work of a skilled worship leader. We draw near through the cross. Hebrews 10: Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. The cross is the ground of our acceptance WORSHIP IS CROSS-CENTERED. (vv 9, 12) Notice the centerpiece of the songs: Revelation 5:9 Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain Revelation 5:12 "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain Friends, heaven never gets over the cross, and neither should we. Why not? Page 7 Ever feel far from God on Sunday morning? The answer is not to hype up your emotions or get a little more base on the guitar. Yes, your feelings matter, as we tried to establish in point 1. We want to encourage strong emotions toward God, but at the same time we want to distance ourselves from the postmodern assumption that feeling is everything. To feel is to know. No! We want to stir your affections, but we want to do it with objective truth. Our felt sense of acceptance is developed by faith in the gospel. Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Page 8

5 Heavenly worship is a response to objective truth. This is why we have been putting the praise at the end of our meeting. We don t assume that you ve come with the gospel firmly in your mind. We don t assume that your heart is primed to express worship to God. You re a sinner. The accusations of your conscience are correct. You aren t worthy, and you don t deserve to be here. Nothing you can do will change that. My job and the job of our other worship leaders is to say, Weep no more. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered. And then, when God opens the eyes of our heart to see the Lamb, standing, as though it had been slain, we will fall down before Him and sing "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" Copyright 2010 by Joshua Waltz Page 9