Do you worship? Some say they do; others not so much. Some might claim not to worship at all. As I heard a minister say lately, worship is alive and well in this nation; just look at Sunday afternoons, evenings, Monday night, and Thursday night. What about the internet, twitter, and blogging? Often we give these our full attention and would do anything in order not to miss them. That sounds a lot like worship to me. This should not surprise us because according to the Bible we are created to worship. It is the object of our worship that should concern us.
John, the disciple who held a special place in Jesus’ life and ministry, had been exiled for his faith to the Island of Patmos. He was about ninety years old with possibly not much more than a stone on which his body and head could rest. His wardrobe and diet were pretty meager; only what friends could supply, but he maintained his faith and worship of God. One Sunday (the Lord’s Day) he was caught up into heaven and witnessed the awesome goings on there.
When he saw Jesus dressed in fine linen and a golden sash, he fell down as if dead, but He restored him with his right hand. He had feet of bronze and the light that shown about him was dazzling. There were seven candles on seven lampstands. He was invited in to the very throne of God and saw twenty-four elders holding bowls of burning incense which was the prayers of the saints.
There were seraphim flying around the throne crying out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was, and is, and is to come!” (The same words — except for the last phrase– that Isaiah witnessed in his vision about eight hundred years earlier.) In Revelation the predominant theme is God’s holiness and related to that is his righteousness. John falls down in Jesus’ presence; the elders fall down and remove their crowns to worship God when the seraphim cry out, “Holy, holy, holy…” The elders, the tens of thousands of angles, and vast multitude of people bow down and worship the Lamb of God, Jesus, when he alone was able to open the seals of the scroll. Contrasted to this in John’s vision is the worship of the people of earth who worship the Anti-Christ and his false prophet. While on earth Jesus cautioned his disciples of trying to serve two masters — the things of this world and the Holy God. We cannot do it because true worship requires all of us, not just some part that we want to give.
For a great song and video depicting John’s vision go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUpZSbOkuBw . It helps us to understand better the depth of worship for the follower of Christ. The video closes with a prayer for God’s blessings to fall and shows the marriage of the Bride (the Church) and the Lamb. Be blessed.
Question: On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the highest) how would you rate your worship experience? This is not a question to evaluate the job your church may or may not be doing. It is to be an honest evaluation of your personal preparation and experience. What might you do that would raise that level?
Tell the Next Generation 