Sermon Tone Analysis

What fills you with awe and wonder?

My two kids, Hannah and Levi, fill me with awe and wonder, captivating me with their imaginations and discovery.

Very few things hold my complete attention longer than when my daughter sits me down to tell me a story, or when my 16-month-old son, Levi, wants to play catch.

How about you?

What fills you with awe and wonder?

Let me guess... does it begin with: M - i - c - k - e - y … I know for a fact that Disney fills many of you with awe and wonder!

May I make a total Dad confession?

I’m not that much of a Disney guy.

I appreciate good story-telling, but I’ve never quite understood the ‘magic.’

So… last January, my wife and I decided to see the magic with our kids while they could still go for free.

Of course, we went to the Magic Kingdom.

Our very own Pastor Desi MANDATED that my family arrive at 8am - a full hour before rope drop - so that we could find our place as close to the castle as possible for the “Let the Magic Begin” show at 8:55am.

Do you know how hard it was for my wife and me to get a 3 year old and 1 year old to the Magic Kingdom at 8am?

You owe me one, Pastor Desi.

But we did find the perfect spot in front of the castle, and began the countdown from 30 to start the show.

At that point, all of my attention shifted to Hannah.

How would she respond to this? Would she be scared?

Upset?

Would we soon be making our getaway because she hated it?

What do you think happened… She sat through the next 5 minutes in total awe and wonder…Her little mind exploded like a magical firework with every moment she experienced.

At the end of the day, I don’t mind telling you that I shed a single dad tear.

My heart filled with awe and wonder for the joy we shared together as a family.

What fills you with awe and wonder?

What draws you outside of yourself?

Find that moment in your memory.

How far back do you need to go to get it?

It seems that children experience awe and wonder daily.

Everyday children discover something new.

Their entire worldview exists beyond themselves.

Their very survival depends completely upon someone else.

Whereas for mature adults like us, we can do anything by our hand and quite literally go a day, a week, a month, a year, even multiple years for some people without experiencing life beyond your own worldview!

If you and I chose to do so, we could seemingly - although not entirely - go long periods of time with little to no reliance upon another person.

Thus why moments of awe and wonder become fewer and farther between as we mature.

Our desire for discovery diminishes as the world around us becomes more defined.

Companionship lessens as self-sufficiency advances.

Our belief in God even risks becoming less reasonable over time as we become more and more self-reliant.

Why would I need God if I can do whatever I want?

We put a lot of stock into pithy truisms that swirl through our culture: Be all you can be.

You only live once.

Get everything you can.

No limits.

Keep working, keep striving, keep producing.

Does this resonate with you?

They certainly do with me.

Every day, I live in this tension between living for myself and living for the one who created me.

It is the central narrative of our present culture, as well as the origin of sin itself: “You will be like God…” (Genesis 3:5).

At the heart of every temptation lies a desire to build your own magic kingdom apart from God.

I wrestle with this.

More than likely all of us do.

I want my own way on my timetable and how I desire it.

I want to sit on my throne and reign over my 3-foot kingdom.

But living for the sake of your magic kingdom is only a parody of true power.

It’s not the real thing.

Ruling your world might benefit you for a while.

You may even feel awe and wonder for a time over what you can do and accomplish on your own, but ultimately, it doesn't satisfies.

And how do you know that?

Because it’s never enough.

“My motivation is this ghost I’m chasing.

The ghost that played in Chicago,” said Lebron James to a Sports Illustrated reporter.

I appreciate his honesty.

All of us chase down myths of what we want to become.

But when you get it, if you ever do, how often do you feel satisfied?

How much did you have to give up?

How many bridges did you have to burn to get there?

Building your kingdom promises satisfaction, but it only leads to isolation.

So we shouldn’t feel surprised why we’ve lost our sense of awe and wonder.

We've made our 3-foot world first priority, and it never provides us with what we want, which ironically, is what all of us seek: realand true satisfaction.

We want to know that our needs will be met.

That we’ll find love.

That we’ll be able to contribute to something bigger than ourselves.

Every generation confronts this tension.

Even the early church strayed away from its mission to make Jesus Lord.

The church still does today.

But rather than God smacking the church around, God proved his extraordinary character of mercy and grace once again, a pattern we witness constantly throughout the letters of the Old and New Testaments.

The disciple John - now old and exiled on the island of Patmos - recorded in his book of Revelation chapters 4 and 5 a moment in time when God opened the door to heaven to give us a glimpse... into his throne room… for two reasons: first, to demonstrate that God is in control of the world and all within it, not us – though it may feel that way… we may want to… others may even put pressure on us to do so… we’re not God - and secondly, God opened his throne room to show himself trustworthy.

Like a good chef who offers tours of her kitchen to prove herself trustworthy, God opened the door of heaven to his throne room, his very place of character and power, to do the very same thing!

That’s a WOW Factor!

What better antidote to redirect the selfishness of our present than for God to allow us a glimpse into his awe and wonder of eternity.

ForGod knows a wonder-filled life leads to a wonderful life.

I want to read to you what God revealed from his throne room in its entirety, but keep in mind that within the genre of apocalyptic literature everything means something.

A good definition for this big phrase ‘apocalypticliterature’ is a type of writing that invites us to use our imagination through bizarre word pictures, so take care to not interpret everything as it appears.

The Bible is just as much a question book as it is an answer book.

Use your imagination.

Some of it seems strange, but I hope as we read it together, these passages become less-confusing and more awe-inspiring.

John begins in his observation in chapter 4, verse 1.

Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast.

The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” 2 And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it.

3 The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian.

And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow.

4 Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them.

[[[ Each representing the 12 tribes of Israel and 12 disciples of Jesus, standing for the fullness of God’s people and the church ]]]

They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads.

5 From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder.

And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames.

This is the sevenfold Spirit of God. 6 In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal.

In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back.

7 The first of these living beings was like a lion [[[ the chief of all wild animals ]]]; the second was like an ox [[[ the chief of all domestic animals ]]]; the third had a human face [[[ chief of all creation – us - made in God’s image ]]]; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight [[[ chief of all winged creatures in air and sea ]]].

8 Each of these living beings [[[ who represent the fullness of creation!

]]] had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out.

[[[ Kinda reminds me of that old tune, “I only have eyes for you” In his throne room, everything God created sees him perfectly.