Heavenly Worship

Revelation 4:1–11 ESV

After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. 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!” And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 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, “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 view of the Throne - why study this?

because it’s more than just “bonus knowledge”

what you believe and know about the Lord changes the way that you live.

one example - “restore unto me the joy of my salvation!”

understanding the fullness of your “salvation” (which is far more than just “i go to heaven when I die”) changes your disposition towards the world, and thus, changes the way in which you live.

and impacts your fruitfulness, your life here.

but there’s more than that here today - as always - and we’ll get there in a bit.

First thing of note here - we should start to notice a pattern.

there’s a throne, the seven lamps, the living creatures, the sea of glass, the elders.

think of OT temples w/ me.

the mercy seat - the lampstand - the cherubim - the bronze sea - the priesthood assembly rep. the people.

It’s the same, but this is NT… this is the heavenly temple.

IOW - God has a particular order for his worship. He is God - he gets to decide - and he has.

he is, as the angels here say, who was and is and is to come

(which is actually just the greek rendering of “I am who I am” - YHWH)

the church gathered around - submitting - worshipping - casting their crowns - and at the center of it all - GOD

and it’s all happening on?? Rev 1:10 - The day of the Lord - Sunday :)

So let’s take this opportunity to do a deep dive on Biblical Christian Worship...

Rev 7:9-12 “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.””

So it’s not just the 24 representative elders in worship - there is also the multitude.

like Israel in their gathering. covenant and federal heads.

this is what the throne room looks like on the Lord’s day.

note - this isn’t the perpetual state of human history after the consumation of all things. but rather, worship services will continue.

the rhythm of eternity will continue.

6 days of work - sabbath.

Heb 12:22-24 “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”

this is every Lord’s day for worship - we gather in the throne room.

This is why formal calls to worship are given - and honestly why we should do one.

FIRST - it’s A reminder - we’re entering into heaven.

“but preacher that’s weird for visitors”

bruh we talk about Jesus’ sacrifical death every week and eat bread and wine to memorialize it - then we give away 10% of our income - and we sing songs to God, the creator of all things.

we’re already weird.

also - the church service isn’t an assimilation strategy - it’s to worship the living God.

more on that later.

and this reminder - Sundays change us - NOT JUST IN “I learned something new” - but in SUPERNATURAL ways...

Remember moses - being called up to ascend the mountain and enter the presence of God - he had to be hidden in the cleft of the rock

and from his meeting w/ God he was empowered to do the work God had before him.

and we see that same exact thing in the NT

2 Cor 3:18 “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

we are transformed through the gathering. through the great assembly.

this is why we leave Sundays strengthened, invigorated, reminded and equipped.

the Spirit works to change us

this is why to miss a Sunday isn’t just a small thing. It’s a big deal.

that’s why when your Sundays are spotty you feel distant and weaker - like youre removed a bit from the mission.

That’s why when, if your heart isn’t focused up on Sundays, the same thing happens.

There is a supernatural event that takes place on Sunday mornings. Be a part. And we need to remember what we’re really doing.

and Jesus would desire it to be so.

John 17:24 “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”

Lets keep digging and thinking through.

SO THE PURPOSE OF SUNDAYS

isn’t an assimilation pipeline for nonbelievers. (that’s YOUR LIFE)

the purpose of sunday - isn’t to stir your emotions - to get you in the right headspace to worship the Lord - that’s your job before you get here.

the purpose of Sunday - isn’t to give you a good environment for meditation or self introspection - that’s sounds more like a therapy session and still self-focused.

the purpose of Sunday? The throne.

God is the center of it. We serve him, and we are served by him.

how many do we hear of that leave churches with critiques of the worships service or the services provided.

music - ministries - color schemes - lighting...

honestly - some of the most powerful moments of worship in history were in pretty gross places.

a stable, an attic, literally the public streets full of animal droppings.

AND if worship is about God and not us - then we don’t just preach the texts that poll well. We preach the WHOLE COUNSEL.

WORSHIP IS ALSO - CORPORATE

the ASSEMBLY

but our modern churches want worship to be - indivdualistic.

that’s part of the idea with having worship in a warehouse with no windows and turning the lights down.

it’s an intimate, individualistic setting.

Just you and the Lord. - eyes closed, swaying side to side...

that might be more like yoga, honestly.

but since worship is CORPORATE.

Lights on, faces seen, babies loud!

speaking of babies - children have been a part of corporate worship since the OT. The great assembly included kids. They didn’t drop them off at kidz church so mom and dad could get a break. They are a PART of the body, of the assembly, just as much as you are.

the BIble makes it explicit - don’t hold the kids back. They’re a part of this.

Covenant kids.

and we also have order.

and order implies planning. thought through. not off the cuff.

that’s evolutionary in mind “we’re just gonna get together and see what happens” - we plan and we think.

and in that spirit - close out w/ three things to plan through real quick in your worship disposition.

Physical - body language posture

is the way you carry yourself communicating that God is worthy of praise and your attention?

and when you clap - why are you clapping? To the Lord? Or the musician?

Verbal

do you sing? pretty simple question.

out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

if you refuse to worship the Lord in song, or if you’re one of those mumble singers - what are you really doing?

“you matter more”

believing you matter more. your personal preference is more valuable.

Theological

do you know the God to whom you sing?

if we don’t know him, we often settle for good feelings or a worship experience.

if we know him, we want to exalt him and worship him the way HE wants to be worshipped.

and we know him through his… words.

the whole counsel preached, and read, and studied.

SO

don’t sleep on Lord’s day worship.

It matters.

The way we do it matters.

Not only is there a proper way that God desires it to be done, but when done rightly it changes us.

from glory to glory.

and equips us for the work he has for us to do.

and all of it is grace.

He created all things - when we rejected him he pursued us - and he sent his son to die for all our failures.

all of those things - we deserve none of them.

Even now, he is stooping over us the way a father does over his children.

He teaches us. He doesn’t wipe us out immediately for our failures and mis-steps.

He graciously helps and instructs through his word.

and so we - as his children - lift our faces to him and listen.

We cast our crowns to his throne. We lift our voices with joy.

And we enter into worship, together, with the church universal in the heavenly throne room.