Called Up to Heaven Pt. 4

How overwhelming it must have been for John to be taken up to heaven. Look at Revelation 4:1

Revelation 4:1 KJV 1900

1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

In this verse John is still on earth, he hears a voice, while on earth that must be the voice of Jesus (Revelation 1:10 “10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,” )

Then in verse 2 he is transported into heaven, into the very throne room and he is overtaken by the sights, just the sights…imagine them if you will:

The Throne and God seated on it

The Elders representing the church

The sea of glass

The lightnings and thundering

The living creatures

These are things which he is seeing. The sights alone would be enough to thrill his heart, but what about the sounds? Its not until verse 8 that John records anything that he heard, and he tells us the first thing he heard was the living creatures giving praise and glory to God!

The closing section of this chapter is a glimpse of what it will be like to worship God in heaven. We have the wrong idea today about worship. If you ask any christian to describe the worship in their church and you will get one of the following responses:

A. Traditional

B. Contemporary

C. Blended (some of both)

None of these are adequate descriptions, in fact they only focus on the musical preference of the church. Music is an important part of worship, but worship does not start and stop with music! Music is simply an aid to true worship. I want to point out that in this closing scene of Revelation 4 there is no record of music, but there is plenty of worship! Read with me: Revelation 4:8-11

Revelation 4:8–11 KJV 1900

8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. 9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, 10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

The average Christian is going to be in for serious culture shock when they get to heaven, not because of the sights, but because of the worship that will take place.

The average Christian does not rightly understand what true worship of God is! Jesus said, John 4:24

John 4:24 KJV 1900

24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Someone once said “Worship is your reaction to God’s revelation of Himself.” In Revelation 4 we see demonstrated for us what true worship is. We are to worship God because he is...

Holy v. 9

Notice the worship in heaven is not accompanied by music but it is demonstrated by raised voiced. The four living creatures rest not day or night but continually shout the praises of God because of His holiness! Church, if for no other reason on earth, God deserves our worship because He is holy! Notice some truth about this word holy:

Its Meaning -

Sacred, pure, morally blameless

Let me point out that God did not become holy or sacred by some act performed

He did not become holy, because the creatures speak of His eternal nature

“Which was, and is, and is to come”

God is not more holy today than yesterday.

God will not be more holy 10,000 years from now than He is today

God is holy because He is God!

I’m glad too that His holiness is so great that He can impart it to us the moment we trust in Jesus!

That’s reason to worship Him right there!

When God saved you He wiped away all your sins.

When God saved you He purposed in His heart that He would never look on your sins again, but instead on the holy blood of His Son!

Because God is holy, you can be holy! Let me share another truth about the word holy, notice...

Its Implication

Three times the creatures declare the holiness of God

“Holy, holy, holy”

I believe this is in direct reference to the Trinity!

God the Father is Holy

God the Son is Holy

God the Holy Spirit is Holy!

Not only do they declare all three members of the Trinity equally holy, but they declare them equally God!

“Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty!

Singular, not plural!

How can this be?

One God three persons?

I have no idea. Someone once said, “Try to understand the Trinity and you will lose your mind. Deny the Trinity and you will lose your soul.”

Somethings are not for us to understand, but for us to accept.

God deserves your worship, if for not other reason than He is holy! Right here, right now in this place we are in the presence of a holy God. Let that sink into your heart and get into your soul.

God is holy. Worship Him. Not only should we worship Him because he is holy but because He is...

Worthy v. 10-11

The 24 elders did not attribute their salvation to themselves, but to God and to God alone! They would not take credit for anything, but gave it back to God! Notice the Bible says, “the four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne and worship him...”

We are looking at worship and the reasons we should worship God. Worship means many things to many Christians and many churches, but what does the Bible say. Let us define worship:

Worship = to kiss, as a dog licks it’s masters hand. To prostrate oneself.

Illustration: Isabelle and Zoe. Zoe waits on Isabelle, depends on Isabelle, loves Isabelle. Isabelle cares for her, cleans up after her, feeds her, nurtures her, loves her. And Zoe knows it.

The reason these elders fell down and worship God is becasue He is worthy!

Worthy = deserving.

Church when you worship God you MUST do so from the stand point that you are worshiping a God who is deserving of your very best! He is worthy to recieve:

Glory - the word tells us He is worthy of our praise and our worship!

Not just one hour a week either

He is worthy every day to receive ALL our praise and all our worship!

Honor - the word means, literally “value”

He is rich.

How rich? Rich enough to pay for every person who ever lived, sins.

If something is valuable to you, others will know it.

Power - the word is all powerful

Church, God is worthy of your worship. Do you want a simple, practical definition of “worship”? “Something you add or attribute ‘worth to”.

How much worth do you attribute to God daily? Does your family know you love the Lord? What about your friends? Your coworkers?

Do you act one way at church and another at home, or at work? You cannot worhsip God in public, if you do not worship Him in private. You cannot put God in a box on Monday and then take Him out on Sunday. He is worthy of your worship seven days a week!

One final reason we are to worship God, because He is...

Sovereign v. 11b

Some have taken this word to mean that God has predestined or pre-chosen every event, every choice, every possible outcome and that men have no choice but to obey. That is not what the word sovereign means. It means, quite simply, that God rules, or better yet, God overrules.

The closing words of this verse are striking, in fact they give the very reason why we should worship God: “…thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”

He has created ALL things. They were created for His pleasure, the word literally means “by choice”. God actively chose to create this world, He actively chose to create you! For this reason we should bow before Him in worship.

Conclusion:

You say, “What does worship of a holy, worthy, sovereign God look like? Depends. The way you worship may not be the same way I worship. When the Spirit of God stirs in your heart you may say Amen. You may shout hallelujah! You may raise your hand. You may cry tears of joy. You may be shout. You may get up and run around the building. You may fall to the floor on your face. Just make sure you are responding to the moving of the Spirit.

You say, “Pastor, I’m not comfortable doing any of that.” Well, you’ll be in for a rude awakening in heaven. Heaven is going to be a place of worship, of praise, of joy, of shouting, of fellowship, of serving. You may want to get used to it now.

May I say something before we dismiss?

One day, everyone, and I mean everyone, will bow before Him. One day, everyone, and I do mean everyone, will proclaim Him to be Lord. Today you have a choice, when that day comes you will no longer have one. Today you can respond to the calling of God and put your trust in Jesus and be saved, owning Him as your Lord and Savior.

In that day you will simply acknowledge that He was Lord and Savior all along, because then it will be too late. See, when the rapture happens the church will be taken out of here. After that every person who has heard the gospel and rejected the message of Jesus will be left to endure the tribulation, but that is not the worst part. The worst part is they will not be able to be saved. God will send them a strong delusion and they will believe the lie of the Antichrist.

You only have this life, and it may soon be over, to acknowledge Jesus as your Savior. You say, “I’m in no hurry. I have plenty of time.” Proverbs 27:1 “1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”

Just two weeks ago we lost Miss Wilma Ray Kivett. Last week, I saw the passing of at least five people that were affiliated with FCS in some way. The truth is today may be the last day any of us has on this earth. Don’t waste anymore time. Turn to Jesus right now.

You say, “How can I be saved?” Admit your sin, believe Jesus died for you, call on Him for forgiveness, and you will be saved.