What Does Worship Really Look Like?

Revelation 5:13-14

13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" 14 And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Think about the passage above. "Every creature in heaven and on earth". Wow that is an astronomical number of creatures, every angel, cherubim, and seraphim. Every human, dog, cat, rodent, lizard, bovine, equine, bird, monkey, and sloth and countless other creatures that I can't name. And this is just the tip of the iceberg, he goes on. "And under the earth and in the sea", every worm, ant, mole, beetle, fish, shark, whale, octopus and squid. How many other things can you name? The sheer vastness of this passage blows my mind and yet the writer goes on. "And all that is in them saying". Wow not only are all these things together in worship but every fiber of their being is focused on the worship.

Now let's talk about the perspective of this to the writer, John. John is in the spirit (Rev 1:10) seeing this as a vision. He sees all creation (everything) in a complete state of worship. Let's think about this for a second. I am moved literately to tears sometime when I see 50 people from a little church in true worship. This would have been life altering for John, think about that, life as you know it being changed from the way that you sleep to the way that you eat to the way that you share your faith to the way that your very thoughts are processed (everything about you changed). But was it only the sheer magnitude of the event that did the changing? I don't think so.

Let's look at the worship. "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" Every part of all the before mentioned creatures screaming out this phrase reveling in the wonder that is our triune God giving Him glory by enjoying Him forever.

So what does worship really look like? While the multitude of creatures in this state is indeed a life changing event. In my mind it is the individual that has come to this point that embodies the picture of worship.

Oh Lord, no matter what it takes, help me to get to the point where everything that is in me cries out "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" until then let your servant do a work for you that is totally disproportionate to who I am. In Jesus name Amen!

A detailed plan that He may receive such a little thing.

Think about this.

God creates the world and everything in it including man, we find that in Genesis.

For awhile everything is great. Then man decides that he knows better than God, does exactly what God told him not to do and eats the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

In response God in love tells man that he has to leave the perfect garden that He (God) has created for him (man). I say that this act was in love for 2 basic reasons.

1. 
   
   God now knows that man can't be trusted to be obedient. This is a problem because the tree of life is also in the garden. God desires a perfect relationship with man. Now that man has disobeyed, God has to set about repairing the relationship and man can't be trusted not to eat of the fruit of the tree of life (which would by the way cause him to live forever in the sinful state he is in.) God in love did the only thing he could do to make repairing the relationship a possibility, He told man to leave the garden. (It is interesting how this will change you view of death. I don't want to live forever in my sinful state.)


2. 
   
   The picture of Genesis 3 is not the picture of an angry father it is the picture of a disappointed but totally loving Daddy. Look in Genesis 3:21

21And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

God took skins, made cloths and clothed them. He didn't throw skins on the ground and snap get dressed. He didn't leave them naked. He killed one of His animals and tailored clothes and then dressed them. That is not the picture of an angry father but rather that of a loving Daddy.

Now on with the story.

God give man the law, the Ten Commandments. Sadly for most of the world this is not much more than a list of do's and don'ts. If this is your view, I am sad to inform you that they are not this at all. You see I have already broken all of the commandments. Yeah you read right, all of them. The Bible tells us that everybody has broken at least some of them. Look at Romans 3.

The commandments were given that we might be able to see our sin. For us to compare ourselves too. They are God's perfect standard. They are there to show that we are sinful and that we can't get that perfect relationship with out a Savior, a perfect Savior.

Remember that God desires a relationship, it has to be perfect and that He has set forth on repairing that relationship. The next piece of the plan is that God sent a perfect Savior. Look at John 3:16. Jesus Christ came to earth as an infant born of God through the virgin Mary so that He was not born into sin, lived a sinless life, gave His life as a sacrifice on the cross and rose again after 3 days of being dead. Therefore defeating death and having been raised from the dead by God, proving that He was the perfect sacrifice that ended the need for any other sacrifice. Look at the whole book of John for a more beautiful rendering of this story.

Now there is a way that we can have that perfect relationship with God. You see in John 14:6 Jesus said

6Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus also said John 3:16-18

16"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

If we believe in Jesus, what he did, and who He is, we will have the perfect relationship with God. This is what that belief looks like.

Romans 10:9-11

9because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame."

Those of us who are adopted in this way are heirs of the kingdom of God. Look at Epheasians 1.

This is truly an amazing plan that He may receive such a little thing. The same thing that you (no matter who you are) desire, yet so many of us, Christians included (Christians aren't perfect) simply refuse to give it to him.

He wants a relationship. He wants to have a conversation, to hold you when you need it, and so much more.

He loves you more than you can possibly imagine, literally.

If you want to know more go to www.findithere.com or call 1-888-Jesus20

Lord Humble Me!

It occurred to me the other morning in prayer, that it is easy for me to exalt myself above another in that I may be better in any given thing than them. However it is hard to humble myself and teach them this given thing so that they may become better than I. It is my prayer that the Lord would help me to always choose the hard and humble path.