Worthy Worship

Introduction

Worthy worship. What is this? How do we discover whether we are worshipping God in a worthy manner? Do we know this at all, or is it something we just pray on and hope we are doing it correctly?

These are all important questions. They speak into something that I am sure many struggle with. I know that I do sometimes.

The answer, though, is not all that far from us. We can know how we are to worship. We can know if we are worshipping correctly. We can know if we are doing it worthily.

I have a quote from a Dallas Willard book, Life Without Lack, that may be of assistance.

Willard is quoting a man named Paternus:

“First of all, my child, think magnificently of God. Magnify His Providence; adore His power, pray to Him frequently and incessantly. Bear Him always in your mind. Teach your thoughts to reverence Him in every place for there is no place where He is not. Therefore, my child, fear and worship and love God; first and last, think magnificently of Him!” (Willard 24).

I know that this was just a man writing this but it has some force behind it. It speaks into us about a passion to have. This advice is something we all need to take to heart as we prepare to worship God.

To worship God is much more than singing. It is much more than a sermon. It is much more than prayer. It is all of these but so much more.

Singing is great it opens us up to God. It makes us turn our hearts to God. It sparks an emotion in us and we open our hearts to God.

Sermons spark something in us. They make us look at ourselves and see us for who we are. They make us to be open to God. Whether for good or bad.

Prayer is how we communicate to God and deliver what we feel. It is also how we ask for strength and wisdom. We go to Him because He is worthy to go too. We go to Him because we are not worthy to go too.

When we have ourselves in the proper place and God in His, we will worship Him and nothing else. This is worship. It is us bowing our hearts, and selves, before an all holy God. He is so much more than we are. He is so far above us. He is the creator all-powerful God. It is He who is worthy of everything we can give and so much more than we cannot.

He is the mighty one from everlasting to everlasting. He is the one who formed you. He made you and all other things around us. We must give Him the honor due Him. And this honor is not just a few songs and a short message once a week.

No, it is so much more than all of this. It is more than what Paternus said. It is all of that, plus more. We must center and focus completely on God. We must always place Him in His rightful place. He is all-powerful, but He is all-loving. He is the one who created you. He created you, let that soak a moment. You are here because of Him. You, He created. This means He wanted you here. You are no accident. You are no mere chance. You are here because God the Father wanted you here.

This is worthy of praise and heart bent worship. Not only this but He sent Jesus the second person of the Trinity the Son to die for you and me. Again, not only this but Jesus has gone to prepare a place for all who have believed upon Him (). He has not only created you but sent Christ to die in your stead not only this but now Christ is preparing a place for you. This is amazing and worthy of so much more than we can ever give. This is amazing grace. This is unfailing love. This is why we worship. It is this amazing glory that God has offered us. This amazing gift He has offered to all.

Let us turn now to and see this amazing place, those who are there, and what they do.

(READ ).

The Why of our Worship:

(Verses 1-3; 5-6a)

In these first three verses we see the why of our worship. It is because of the place. Not just that of heaven But that of God’s place. His place of authority above all things.

We see His authority when He says “Come up here” and John was “at once” there in the Throne room of God. There was no “I will be there in a minute.” No, it was immediately. He was there as soon as the words were said. It does not matter that it was in the spirit what matters is that it was immediate. Although, him being the spirit there shows forth the authority of God even more. He summoned John there in the spirit. He made the inner man of John be present and not the physical man. This is true power and authority.

No man or thing on earth can do this. It is only God who can. Only the one true living God can make you be at once before Him. He and only He can summon you to be before Him and you are there regardless of your thoughts.

Not only do we see this power exerted but we see other indicators.

Look at the stones and the throne and the rainbow. The flashes of lightning and thunder. The seven spirits of God. The see of glass that is like a crystal.

What do all of these have to do with God and His worthiness of worship?

Everything.

The throne symbolizes God’s absolute authority.

The stones symbolize great wealth—God owns all the riches of the entire world. These gemstones were the most pure elements known at that time—and God transcends even these.

Life Application New Testament Commentary Worshiping God in Heaven / 4:1–11

The throne symbolizes God’s absolute authority

Life Application New Testament Commentary Worshiping God in Heaven / 4:1–11

he stones symbolize great wealth—God owns all the riches of the entire world. These gemstones were the most pure elements known at that time—and God transcends even these.

Simply, God alone is sovereign.

This is John describing the Glory and Majesty of God. He depicted it as closely as he could. He gave descriptors that the people then would understand. At this time Caesar was the ultimate authority on earth. He sat on the earthly throne. He was the ultimate. John is writing this to show that God is above all of that.

God alone is sovereign. He alone is surrounded by this majesty and glory. He is because He created it all. None of it exists without Him. It is to Him that glory is to be given.

Basically, “It is first of all important to note that this is a throne in heaven, a reminder of the sovereignty of God who is far removed from the petty struggles of earthly government. Here is the true picture of the universe as being subject to the dominion of an omnipotent God.” (Walvoord 100).

It was such an awe inspiring thing before God’s throne. John appeals to imagery here. The lightning and thunder are descriptive of God’s authority. God’s voice is said to be thundering or like thunder in many OT passages and in several more in this book (8:5; 11:19; 16:18).

It is definitely speaking of the majesty and awe inspiring view of God John beheld.

I can speak of the terrifying beauty of lightning and thunder.

I was working on the ORO Ranch in Prescott Arizona on the fall wagon. We were camped on a side of a rocky mountain at their Triangle N camp. A massive storm blew in that night, it was September 19 2004 that is how much it impacted me. It was the most brilliant display of God I had ever seen. It was amazingly beautiful but also amazingly terrifying. I had no where to go, nor did the other nine men. We all stayed huddled in our canvas and metal poled Tee Pee’s until it passed. That took until around 3 am and needless to say everyone was up for the night.

It was terrifying yet amazingly beautiful at the same time. This is what John was saying here. That God is so much more than we can imagine. He is very beautiful and at the same time terrifying. He is all-powerful and He is God. He is the one we worship. He is all of these things and so much more. He is perfectly pure as the sea of glass like a crystal demonstrates.

This comes from the bronze sea (the bronze laver) before the alter. This sea is what the priests cleansed themselves in before performing their priestly duties. This sea is like a crystal before God. He is perfectly pure as is anything that is before Him. No one has to cleanse themselves anymore because if you are in this place you are pure and cleansed. This is the throne room of God, not to be confused with the judgment thrones later on. At those the people may not be worthy so this is not depicted before them.

It is clear that to be before God’s throne is to be in perfect purity. He is the perfect being and from Him is perfection. He is perfectly holy and pure. He is the supreme authority and it is to Him that one must give glory, honor, and praise.

The Extent of Worship

(Verses 4, 6b-7)

Now, in this text we see those who are present. They are described as the twenty-four elders seated on twenty-four thrones clothed in white garments with golden crowns.

It is not only the elders but four living creatures. It is an interesting lot of people and things before the throne. There is a lot of imagery here. But lets not get lost in the imagery. There are some important things seen here.

The twenty-four elders on thrones are apparently well worthy of ruling with God. There are many differing views on who these elders are, but the most prevailing is that they represent the believers of all-time. They are on thrones in the throne room of God. They are clothed in white and have golden crowns. They are very dignified and worthy to serve with God. Although they are worthy, they do not regard themselves as on equal worthiness. They will in a minute fall before God in worship (V. 10). They not only do this but cast their crowns before Him.

Before we look into that let us examine the other creatures.

These creatures are the cherubim. They

We see the four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind.

Later we see that they have eyes all around and within. These eyes represent the all-knowingness of God. He is all-seeing. He is not without knowing. He is God. Yet, it also has a creation element to it.

These creatures are all-seeing a demonstration again of the power of God. He is all-knowing because He is all-seeing. There is another interesting tie in with the description of the creatures.

One is a lion. A lion is the king of the jungle a mighty and powerful animal. This would have been known by the people there as they would have known a thing or two about lions. It was a king.

The other is an ox. An all important animal of that time. The ox was used to work the ground and to transport goods in carts. It was a servant.

The third is a man. Man was the greatest of all God’s created beings. Man was the only thing created in the image of God. Man is what Christ took the form of when He came. Man is also seen as intelligent and rational.

The eagle is the greatest among birds. It was known amongst the people in this time. God depicts many things in the Old Testament as taken the people on the wings of an eagle. It is an animal that is beyond many others.

What is clear is that The cherubim in some way represent all of God’s created species (Patterson 156).

It also tells us , why the four living beings represent the whole of animate life. They are performing the function that all creation is meant to fulfill. That is, all things were created to praise God for his holiness and glorify him for his work of creation. 5:13 bears out that this is not only the ideal purpose for all creatures but also that someday this purpose will actually be fulfilled, not only in heaven but also on earth, since it is an anticipation of the consummation. (Patterson 156).

It does not matter if you are a king, a servant, an intellectual, or an independent above most creatures; you worship God. These creatures tell us that all are to worship God. From the lowest to the highest. Nothing is beyond worshipping God.

How do we know this?

How we are to Worship:

(Verses 8-11)

In these verses we are shown the method of which these creatures worship. Not only them but the twenty-four elders.

Not only do we see the how but the reason for the worship.

The living creatures it is shown “day and night never cease.” They are constantly saying, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,

who was and is and is to come!”.

God is triple holy. He is beyond just holy. God is forever. God is beyond time. He transcends time. He is ever present. He is God and no one else and nothing else is God. Only God is God. Only God the Father can be called Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty. God is the only being worthy of this praise.

What is amazing in this text is that the worthy of sitting on thrones, clothed in white, golden crowned elders fall before God in worship and cast their crowns before Him. They fall from their thrones as unworthy servants. They cast their glorious crowns before God. They worship God with everything.

(Read verse 11)

If nothing else stands out from this section of Scripture this verse should.

God is worthy of our never ending worship. He is worthy because it is because of Him that anything that is: is. As this verse says all things were created by God and they exist because of Him.

What a glorious message. What a wonderful reason to worship God. God is worthy of this type of worship and so much more. He is worthy, Nothing else is.

One may think that they have something that is worthy of worship, but it will let you down. Only God is worthy.

We will have things that will try to intrude and take God’s place. These things will try to interrupt our precious worship with the one true God.

Take a child for instance. They will have certain things that are theirs and theirs alone. They worship that thing. It is theirs. They love and adore it. They will not allow anything to come between them and their precious item. Whether this be a toy or a stuffed animal, whatever it is it is theirs and they will not allow anyone to take it from them.

This is their item of worship and adoration. It is worth more to them than anything else around. They have to have it to sleep, eat, play, and any other thing they do. It is theirs and they keep it with them daily. They never let it go and if they do accidentally forget it; they will not let you forget it until it is retrieved for them. They crave this item they desire it they need it to live. It is theirs and they will not let anyone steal it from them. It is their joy their desire their love. It is theirs.

This is how we should be about worship. God has given us so much more than we deserve. He not only created us and everything else around, but He has sent to us a savior. This savior came into the world and died for us.

As a great hymn from Charles Wesley says;

He left His Father’s throne above-

So free, so infinite His grace-

Emptied Himself of all but love,

And bled for Adam’s race:

‘Tis mercy all, immense and free,

For, O my God, it found out me!

Amazing love! How can it be, That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

That is an amazing love that He has for us. It is to this we worship this amazing God. A God that is worthy of so much more than we can ever offer back. God has freely given us this great rescue. He has blessed us tremendously. He is our God. He has created us. Nothing else in this world has done this for us. Only God has. Only God has died for you. Only God has given you this amazing option of life everlasting with Him. Only God has left His glory to come into this fallen world and offer you salvation. Nothing and no one else has done this.

As the apostle Paul wrote, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:6-8)

This is worthy of worship. Christ died for you. He died so you could live. He suffered so you could have eternal bliss. He left glory so you could enter glory. He gave it all for you.

God is worthy of our never ceasing worship. He is worthy of us falling before Him. He is worthy of us sacrificing everything for His name. He is worthy, He is worthy, He is worthy.

Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,

who was and is and is to come!”

Worthy are you, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honor and power...

He is worthy of all of this and much more.

Conclusion:

Worship is so much more than just music, prayers, and a sermon. Worship is a way of life. Worship is honoring God in every act of life. Worship is knowing that God is God and that nothing else is. Worship is having a love and passion for God that nothing and no one is going to take away from you.

English Standard Version Chapter 4

Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,

awho was and is and is to come!”

and by your will they existed and were created.

English Standard Version Chapter 4

Worthy are you, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honor and power,

for fyou created all things,

and gby your will they existed and were created.

He is your God and He is worthy of more than a few songs and prayers. He is worthy of a 24 hour a day love and zeal for Him. He is worthy of your never ceasing worship.

I think the words of Paternus are fitting once more:

“First of all, my child, think magnificently of God. Magnify His Providence; adore His power, pray to Him frequently and incessantly. Bear Him always in your mind. Teach your thoughts to reverence Him in every place for there is no place where He is not. Therefore, my child, fear and worship and love God; first and last, think magnificently of Him!” (Willard 24).

It is not much to be ever mindful of God. To have your mind on God always. It is not going to make you too heavenly minded to be any earthly good. No, it will make you be of extreme earthly good because you act in a manner that is worthy of God because your mind is ever upon Him.

Oh that we would always have our minds upon God and show Him the love that He deserves. Oh that we would fall before Him always. Oh that we would cast whatever we hold as our crowns before Him. He is worthy because He made all that we hold dear. He is worthy because He sent His Son to die for Us. He is worthy. Because He and only He is HOLY, HOLY, HOLY! He and only He is The LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.

Be mindful of Him always. Treat Him as if your a a child and He is your prized possession. Let no one take that from you. Cling ever so tightly to Him. But unlike the child and their prized possession, be willing to share Him with others. That is true worship. You are giving away the most precious gift anyone could ever give.

If you are not carrying this amazing gift offered by God, it is not too late. God has it extended to you right now. He desires you to believe. He wants you to believe. He has sent Christ to die for you. Just believe upon Jesus for everlasting life. Jesus can and will save you. He can be your savior. And you too can be involved with all believers in worship and praise to God.

Let us pray.