The Loveliness Of Jesus

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Transcript

This morning as we look at and listen to the fourth chapter, let us listen to the choirs of angels as they, in numberless circles, surround the throne. Let us note before that glassy sea and its throne, the worthiness of the praise to the Creator and to the Redeemer. Let us listen as those eternal creatures, as they endlessly chant, Holy. Holy. Holy. And by faith, sigh, let us see with John that band, which no one could number, and listen to their songs of adoration and praise that thou, oh Lord, are worthy.

This morning, I would invite you to stand with me for the reading of God’s Word. And as you stand, we’re going to do something a little different this morning if you’d like. We’re going to be playing the Scripture over the sound system, a dramatized version. But when Bonnie and I did that this week, she said it sounded so much better when I closed my eyes. So, if you don’t want to follow along and just listen, close your eyes now. Don’t, you know, hold the pew, don’t tip over. It gets a little exciting with the thunder and everything.

And then in this passage that we’re reading, there is one of the many popular worship songs. In fact, Don mentioned there are 11. Holy, holy is one of them. Thou art worthy is the last few words. That chorus of this chapter tonight at the Lord’s Table, we’re going to sing Worthy is the Lamb. Those are just three of the 11 songs of worship that are in Revelation that most of you will recognize. But listen, as the Scriptures read, and then we’re going to sing a chorus from this passage that you hear, and then we’re going to pray. So, let’s let the Word of God minister to us. Listen to the fourth chapter of Revelation, Revelation 4.

After this I looked and there before me was the door standing open in Heaven, and the voice I had first 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 there before me was a throne in Heaven with Someone sitting on it and the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow resembling an emerald encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were 24 other thrones and seated on them were 24 elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads.

From the throne came flashes of lightning rumblings and peels of thunder before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. Also, before the throne, there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center around the throne were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion. The second was like an ox. The third had a face like a man. The fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around. Even under his wings day and night, they never stopped saying, Holy. Holy. Holy. Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to Him who sits on the throne.

Oh, Father, we thank You for Your Word transporting us to that place of inexhaustible peace to the quiet haven, the refuge of the universe. We think about what’s ahead of us in the book of the Revelation. We think about the carnage, the bloodshed, the den of warfare, the dreadfulness of the pestilence, the scorching sun, the demonic hordes screeching from the pit and causing havoc and horrors upon the Earth, malignant sores.

On the throne, and before You rises, endless adoration as You, the awesome Sovereign, sit upon the throne. And before You, the awesome scene of thunder and lightning and the colors of the rainbow and brilliance. And the awesome song of the redeemed before Your throne, as the bowels of prayer are poured out. And as the voices of the saints rise before You, we long to join that day, that scene, that moment, that wonder, but sometimes it seems so far away.

I pray that this morning Your Spirit would minister to our hearts to make us realize that every one of us are only a heartbeat away from eternity and we should get ready. It could be today that You come for us gloriously or call for us through the door of death. Nobody is in good enough health to escape death. None of us know for sure we’re going to be alive tomorrow. No matter how many plans we’ve made, how many commitments we’ve set up. I pray that this moment would be a time of preparation and that You would stir our hearts to worship, that You would prepare our souls for that awesome scene before Your throne, and that You, worthy Lamb, Creator, and Redeemer would be filling our hearts. Open our eyes to behold wonderful things today. Thank you for letting us join in Your worship this morning. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

You may be seated as you’re seated, the fourth chapter of the Revelation is where we’ve gone. We’re in the second division of the book. We’ve been looking at the Church, but now we’re looking at the Lord Jesus Christ conquering back the cosmos. 4 and 5 are kind of like a little window. One, two, and three, we’ve seen Jesus on the Isle of Patmos giving a message to John. When we get to 17 onward, we see the wonder of Jesus Christ unrolling His beautiful Heaven. But in 4 through 16, there’s a lot going on. Let’s just think about it as we step into the worship center of the universe through this chapter.

Let’s gaze at the one seated on His eternal throne. And by the way, the word throne occurs 14 times in this little chapter. It’s a big part of the chapter, and that’s what God wants us to focus upon as we focus upon the One seated upon the throne. The One who is seated there, who is the focus of our hearts overflowing worship as we join the countless legions of angels surrounding the thrones standing in concentric circles around that throne by the billions. It says that there are hundreds of millions of hundreds of millions. They’re countless and they’re just standing surrounding the throne. The throne with their heads bowed. Then they rise and worship, and then they revere before Him.

And as we join them, we listen still knowing it is God. Watching exalting God in our spirit, joining the endless praise that ascends around His throne, adoring the One who invited us to come, the lovely Lord Jesus. I hope that you’ll see the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ as we worship Him, who alone is worthy of all worship and all praise. Our duty, our purpose of existence is to worship Him. The Father in Heaven seeks only one thing, and that is that we, His creatures, might worship Him the Creator. And as we worship Him, we ascribe to Him honor, praise, glory, and majesty, which He alone is worthy, a true worth ship as we worship Him.

We are standing by way of this fourth chapter in the vestibule. We’re peering through the door into the chambers of the most high God. We’re seeing things that are inexpressible, indescribable, but yet John tries to give them to us so that we can join in that worship. And as we join in that worship, we see that the worthy Lamb that was slain is to be praised this day by each one who owes them their eternal existence. And that’s each of us who know Him this morning.

There are really two parts that I’d like to share with you this morning. Number one, adoring the loveliness of Jesus all the way through this chapter, and we’re just going to go through every word, every verse, just walk right through it. Secondly, we’re going to just sketch, adoring the loveliness of Jesus all the way through the book, because the whole book is the unveiling the revelation of Jesus Christ. We’re going to focus on one chapter, but then we’re going to step back and kind of enjoy it, kind of like after a long day of working in the yard. You like to just step back and kind of see what you did. Well, we need to just step back and see what God has done in the whole book and see the loveliness of Christ.

Three parts to this chapter. If you want to look, the first 4 verses actually one through three and a little bit of verse 5, talks about the awesome sovereign as He sits on the throne. Then starting in verse 4 and then skipping on to 6 and 7, we see the awesome scene around the throne what’s going on all the time right now in Heaven, kind of exciting, so different than Earth. And then finally, we’re going to listen to the awesome song that’s before the throne and kind of tune and calibrate and get our hearts to be lifting the same song, to be getting ready for what we’re going to do forever.

Let’s look at the awesome sovereign on the throne verse 1. After these things, I looked and behold, a door was standing open in Heaven. And that little after these things is a key. If you want to look back at chapter 1 in verse 19, he says this in the outline of the book. Remember, this is one of the few books that has a divinely inspired outline that isn’t in your study Bible per se. It’s actually in the Bible itself. And this is kind of neat, it says in verse 19, write the things which you have seen, that’s chapter 1, the things which are, that’s chapter 2 and 3, and then look at this, the things which will take place. After this, now look back at chapter 4 verse 1, after these things, I looked and behold the door was standing open in Heaven, and the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, come up here. Now here’s that key phrase from verse 19. I will show you the things which must take place after this. God’s saying, hey, do you remember what I told you? Things you see, things which are, the things which are going to take place after this. You’re in the after this part, and you are now by the inspiration of God’s Spirit looking into the future. Kind of an exciting thing when you see the projections and predictions of the future that that are in the tabloids, you can just almost be sure that they’re not going to happen, but you can bank your eternal life that this is going to happen.

And so, we see the awesome sovereign on the throne, and what we see is that worshiping the loveliness of Jesus is at God’s invitation. Notice what he says. He says, come on up. Come on up. Join into this. Did you know worship is not a right and it’s not something that we should take lightly. It’s a privilege that God invites us into His presence and a lot of people couldn’t get into His presence. In fact, what I think is that John could get into his presence anywhere.

Where was John right now? Do you remember? We studied that so long ago. He’s on this island. He’s a prisoner. In fact, he’s either one of two things. There were salt mines there. There were also rock quarries. So, we don’t know whether they were making him break rocks up and help him cut imperial stones for imperial pagan temples or whether he was down digging salt out to pay the Legionnaires because they paid them in salt because salt was such a valuable commodity in the ancient world. But whichever thing he was doing, he was a prisoner. He was in exile. He was in austere and suffering conditions. He was in a time of great distraction. He was in a time of physical weakness. He wasn’t with surrounded by friends. He was surrounded by people that could care less if he died. In fact, their job would be easier if he did. And so, in that kind of a setting in a very deprived setting, in a very much very uncomfortable setting. John’s worshiping God.

You know what I see is we can worship the Lord anywhere. Remember when we started out, that was our theme as we started into this study. That you can worship God anywhere, anytime, anyhow, no matter how our life is going. And I hope you’ll catch that worshiping the loveliness of Christ is by invitation only, and God will invite us from when times are rough and when we feel very at the end of ourselves at the extremity. He will invite us when we’re enraptured with joy, when the music is just right, the way that really hits us. And no matter which end of the spectrum you’re at, God, the whole time is inviting you.

Remember Robert Boyd Munger wrote that classic about 40 years ago? It’s called My Heart, Christ Home. And he compares being saved to Jesus taking over your house. And Jesus starts, cleaning out the closet and everything. But what the chapter I like in that book is the dining room where Jesus sits every morning at the table and He sits there every noon, he sits there every night and he invites us to come and eat with Him like we saw last week. Behold, I stay at the door, knock. If you’ll let Me in, I’ll sup with you. I’ll linger along over a meal. We see Jesus inviting us to come into His presence. He invites us.

And what Munger said was in this allegorical little book. He said that on his way to work, and he used to run by and he’d look in the dining room and there was Jesus sitting. He’d go, oh, hi, ha, I’m too busy today, but I will see You later. And then at night, he’d be so busy, he’d go, I’ll get You tomorrow. And there was the Savior waiting, inviting, and he was too busy. Well, this chapter is God, Himself, saying, I’m waiting. I’m inviting you anywhere in life, anytime. No matter what’s going on in your life, I’m inviting you to worship My loveliness.

Look at verse 2. Immediately I was in the spirit. Worship is Spirit energized. It is a spiritual activity. It is not a carnal activity. It’s not something we can pump up. It’s not the idea that, I heard somebody like, I can’t worship unless my favorite worship band that’s going. No. It’s not a physical carnal thing. It is a Spirit generated thing. And look what it says, I was in the spirit and behold, a throne, all worship will focus on God, not on the worship leader, not on the earthly, not on the human level. But worship is a spiritual activity that lifts us out of the mundane and focuses us into God’s presence.

But specifically, look at the end of verse 2. A throne was set in Heaven and One sat on the throne. Remember I said throne is a big deal? 46 times in this book, you’ll count the word throne in the book of Revelation. 46. 14 of them are in this chapter. That’s very, very crucial. This whole chapter is focusing on the throne room of God, the throne, and all. That it embodies the power of God. The authority of God are very evident. And this chapter says that worship must acknowledge God is in charge. And we can’t worship God if we’re trying to run our life. And remember, anything that’s out of control is not under His control. And so, if there’s a part of our life, if our emotions are out of control or our appetites are out of control, or our kind of anger is out of control or some. Part of our life and our family is out of control. Our finances are out of control. That means we haven’t put them under God’s control.

And you can’t worship unless you acknowledge God is in control. See, the whole focus here is it’s a spiritual activity. Worship. It’s focused on the throne in Heaven. And there is Someone sitting on the throne and He just wants us to acknowledge that. And you can do that anywhere. You can do it right here, anytime. Driving home at work, anytime, anywhere, anyhow. God is in charge.

Look at verse 3. And He was sat on the throne, was like jasper. Most of us don’t carry jasper around. It was a clear gemstone. But look what it says, and sardius, that’s kind of a very interesting stone. It’s red and it looks like flames. So, there’s a clear throne, a clear gemstone with red going through it. And it says there was a rainbow around the throne, an appearance like an emerald. And what’s amazing is in our dimension, because we live on a planet, a rainbow, and it goes like this, but actually a rainbow is 360 degrees and we’re up in eternity. And so, we’re talking about something looks like Saturn going this way in a circle like the rings around the planets and it looks like an emerald and it’s probably spherical. It’s like a complete ball that looks like emerald just kind of in color around this way. And the Saturn, the throne looks like red with a clear crystal with red going through.

So, I don’t know what does that mean? God’s not a rock and he’s like a rock, but he’s not a rock and then going this way. Look what it says. The, it goes out this way and from the throne proceed lightnings and voices. And there are these lamps, verse 5, before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. And then it says in verse 4 it says, 24 thrones. And on the thrones are 24 elders sitting. So going out this way is this glassy sea with these thrones on it and stretching out are the concentric circles of these angels and the redeemed are in there and up this way. Is this emerald? It’s just beyond our understanding.

But that’s the center of the universe. And what’s wonderful is that the awesome God is sitting on the throne. I put in my Bible that worship is beautiful. Can you imagine dazzling emeralds? Someone gets a little emerald in their ring, a little square cut one, kind of it’s expensive. Can you imagine the endless of days, Ancient of Days, seated on a throne surrounded by a 360-degree spherical, emerald gem? It’s just boggling. See, in God’s world, everything that’s precious to us, He makes it big. Pearls the size of gates, et cetera, et cetera.

Well, just for a second, turn back to Hebrews chapter 12. That’s just a couple books back it goes Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2, 3 John, Jude, Revelation. So just go back about seven or eight books. Hebrews chapter 12, because it says here in verse 4, they’re all seated there. And 3, He’s up on the throne. But in verse 5, it says, there are lightnings, thunderings, and voices and worship flows when we heed the holiness of God. And I want you to see that in chapter 12. And first of all, verse 14, which if you haven’t got it marked in your Bible, would be a very important verse to mark because it is a warning in our very, very lax society.

Okay, verse 14 of Hebrews 12 says, pursue peace with all people and holiness without which no one will see the Lord. You want to see that emerald rainbow? You want to see the jasper and sardine Ancient of Days sitting on the throne? Pursue holiness and peace. Nobody who does not pursue holiness will ever see God. Remember what Jesus said? Blessed with a pure heart, they’ll see God. You know what He’s saying? The impure heart will never see God. They will not see Him to know Him. They will see Him before He consigns them to eternal destruction, but they will not see Him and know Him. And what we see here is one of those great warning passages that without holiness, no one will see the Lord. Period.

But look at verse 18. It says this, for you have not come to the mountain that might be touched, and that burned with fire into blackness and darkness and tempest. What’s he talking about? He’s talking about Mount Sinai when the Law came down and there was this flame at the top of the mountain and Moses was up there and the people were scared to death, and it says there were earthquakes and it scared him. That’s what the writer of Hebrews is talking about. Verse 19 to the sound of a trumpet, it, and the voice of words so that those who heard it. This is Exodus 19, where this occurred in the Old Testament, begged that the Word should not be spoken to them anymore. God’s voice was so powerful. It scared them. They were frightened. They were afraid that they were going to disintegrate because God was so awesome.

Verse 20, for they could not endure what was commanded. And if so much as a beast touches a mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow. God says, I am so holy and you are so unholy that if your animals even get near, they put a big fence around Mount Sinai should they get near kill them. And if you get near, I’ll kill you. Not the welcome mat that we would be used to with God? He’s saying stay away. In fact, that’s what the whole Old Testament legislation God was saying, stay away from me. You’re unholy. Look at verse 21. And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I’m exceedingly afraid and trembling.

Now, look what Jesus did. That’s the loveliness of Jesus. Look at verse 22, but you, that’s us in Christ. We have come to Mount Zion and we have come to the city of the living God. We have come to the heavenly Jerusalem. We have come to an innumerable, remember we talked about the endless concentric circles of angels, this company of angels, and here we are, verse 23, to the general assembly, the Church of the Firstborn who are registered in Heaven. And I hear a lot of people say they’re going to Heaven. It’s hard to witness, isn’t it? In Oklahoma, everybody’s Christian, at least they think they are. But I say, have you made your reservations? Are you registered? Have you ever gone to a hotel and tried to check in and they messed up or you messed up and they don’t know you’re coming and it’s full? Did you know that’s going to be the horrible experience of a lot of people in churches this morning around the country? They’re going to get there. And the Lord will say I’m sorry. Could you, angels, could you check over there in the book of life, I don’t think you’re registered. No, you’re not registered. And it’s too late to register.

And that’s when it says a Revelation 20 that an angel will pick those unregistered gate crashers up and hurl them into the Lake of Fire. Why? Because look at what verse 22 says. It says that when you come to the city of the living God, verse 23 says, you have to be registered before you come because then you come to God. Verse 23 continues. The Judge of all and to the spirits of just men made perfect. Isn’t it wonderful that we can be made perfect by the grace of God in Heaven, never to sin again? That’s what those registered in Heaven are there saints by the grace of God.

But here’s how it all happened. Verse 24, to Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant to the blood sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. What did Abel’s blood do? If you read, this is another harkening back to Genesis 4, Abel’s blood cried from the ground and cried, murder, murder about Cain. And so, the blood of Abel cries out for judgment and murder and sin committed. You know what? The blood of Jesus cries out grace and mercy and forgiveness and everlasting life. It’s a beautiful passage.

See that you don’t refuse, verse 25, He who speaks. If they did not escape, who refused Him, who spoke on Earth much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him, who speaks from Heaven, whose voice then shook the Earth, but now He promised saying, yes, once more. I’ll shake not only the Earth, but also Heaven. This is in the Tribulation time in the cosmic earthquake. Now, this yet once more indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken as of that are made. But the things which that are made cannot be shaken, they’ll remain. What it says is it’s kind of like panning for gold. God said, I’m going to shake everything up and everything that’s shakable is going to get shaken up and tossed out but the stuff that can’t be shaken is going to remain, and that’s from me. So, what should we do? Verse 28, therefore, since we’re receiving a Kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace by which we may serve God acceptably. How do we serve God? With reverence and godly fear. Why? Because our God is a consuming fire and He hates sin and He wants us to be holy.

Back to Revelation chapter 4. Let’s pick up because we’ve seen the awesome Sovereign on the throne and worship flows before His holiness. It’s beautiful. He invites us into His presence. But now let’s look at the scene around the throne and what I see, if you look at verse 4, and then we’ll look at 6 and 7, around the throne it says, are these 24 thrones. And on the thrones are 24 elders. And even before I got to preach this morning, someone came up to me because they read this and they’re getting ready in the car and they said, what are the 24 thrones? I said, I’m so glad you asked because it’s so interesting. 24 is a big number in Scripture. There were 24 courses of priests in the Old Testament. If you look at 1 Chronicles sometime in about 23 or so, it means the 24 courses of priests. And God says, I want priests always. I want an everlasting, constant priesthood before My worship in the Tabernacle. I want ceaseless worship. So, 24 speaks of priests offering ceaseless worship.

But also 24 speaks of the 12 Old Testament tribes and the 12 New Testament tribes, the gates and the foundation stones of Heaven, the old and new people of God, the redeemed of all time, the Old Testament saints, the New Testament saints merging together into the people of God that offer worship to Him. So, 24 elders. I personally believe it’s the speaking of the two groups God’s saints, the tribes of Israel, the Apostles of Christ.

But look at verse 6. They are before the throne, the redeemed of all the ages, meet at the feet of Jesus. And verse 6 says, before the throne, this awesome scene, there is a sea of glass like crystal. I don’t about you, but the children washed my car yesterday and this morning in the light, as I looked through the windshield, I, it didn’t look like a sea of crystal. It looked like a sea of fingerprints, but they really worked hard. It was really precious. But here, there is perfect crystal clear. And in the midst of the throne and around the throne are these four living creatures full of eyes, front and back. Doesn’t sound very good to us. Creatures with eyes? This hearkens back to Ezekiel and what Ezekiel saw. As Ezekiel looked and saw these, well, it’s like this. Ezekiel saw what Moses saw at Mount Sinai. When God is around, the writers of Scripture try to describe the indescribable and portraying the presence of God. They see an unbelievable display of power. They see a place that’s filled with thunder and lightning, with blinding light, with sparkling and dazzling arrays of color, and that’s what they see. And going through all this thunder and lightning and this display of color are these creatures.

Now these creatures are interesting. They seem to be a hybrid of the cherubim of Ezekiel, and the seraphim of Isaiah. Seraphim means the burning one. The cherubim are the living ones and these living burning ones with these four faces.

And let’s look at those faces. The first creature, verse 7, was like a lion that speaks of royalty. The second living creature, like a calf, which is servanthood. The third living creature had a face like a man, the image of God. The fourth living creature was like a flying eagle, divinity. And you know what I wrote? Worship will always reflect the attributes of God. Do you remember when God came down and expressed Himself in an image? What did He look like? Jesus Christ. He looked like us because we’re in the image of God and Jesus Christ, and by the way this we can’t do it, but this might get you going, there are prophecies of Christ called the Branch prophecies. There are four of them in the Old Testament.

And it’s interesting that Jesus has prophesied to be the branch the root of David, which speaks of His royalty and royal kingship. And then it says that He will be My servant. That’s the calf deal. And then it says, He will be My perfect man. And that’s this face of a man. Then it says He will be God. And what’s interesting in the Old Testament, there are four different prophetic portraits of Jesus Christ. And they are that He would be a king. That He would be a servant. That He would be a perfect man. That he would be God. And how many Gospels are there? Four. And what are the themes of the four gospels? Matthew, the perfect king, the Jew, the descendant of David. Mark, the perfect servant, Jesus Christ, who was always serving. Luke the perfect man. John, the divine one, God in human flesh.

And so, these cherubims seem to be tied in with the whole revelation of God, that God has revealed Himself in Christ as the King of the universe, as the Servant, the suffering Servant, as the perfect man who came down to fulfill all righteousness and to impute to us His righteousness and is God in human flesh. But these creatures reflect God’s attributes and how we should adore Jesus as the King, as a suffering Servant, as the perfect human that died in our place, and His deity.

But now let’s look in verse 8 at the awesome song before the Throne. And what we see there, and in verse 8, is the four living creatures each having six wings. Do you remember that Isaiah told us that with two they covered their feet and with two they covered their face, and with two they flew? Speaking of the total submission before God, the total humility and seeking of holiness and the total service never ending, they served, they worshiped, and they humbled themselves. Just an amazing lesson for us. But look at this. They each had six wings and were full of eyes within and around, and they don’t rest day or night. Do you see it ceaseless worship? But they say this, holy, holy Lord, God Almighty, who was and is to come. And worship, if it’s true worship, will always focus totally on God and solely upon God and not on anyone else.

And I think that we should do that this morning. I told you that there’s songs all the way through. We sang one of them. A second one, if you want to grab your hymn book is number 262, and don’t lose your place in your Bible, but let’s just sing to the Lord. Holy, holy, holy Lord, God Almighty. And I want you with this in your minds and your hearts to think about the scene, think about the thunder, the lightning, the Ancient of Days on the throne. [Song removed in video]

Isn’t that good? You may be seated. We got to keep preaching. Okay. We haven’t finished the book. And so, night and day, they focus solely upon God, His holiness. Remember that anytime you repeat something three times in the Hebrew way of communicating, it’s the utter emphasis and God’s holiness, as we just sang of is emphasized. Almighty is used nine times in the book of Revelation. It’s used a lot in the Old Testament, but in the whole New Testament it’s only used 10 times, nine of them right here in this book. Once in 2 Corinthians 6. And do you know what that passage is about? Come out from among them and be separate said the Lord, and you’ll be My sons and daughters. You see, God has said there’s the law of exposure.

And God says, if you want to enjoy My presence and if you want to enjoy worshiping Me, and if you want to be able to lift your hearts and lift your voices, you must choose to not expose yourself to that which will diminish. Last Sunday night, I told you that someone wrote a great song. Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face, and the things of Earth will grow strangely dim as you look at the glorious wonders of His grace. But God says there’s a law of exposure that if you turn your eyes upon the world and look longingly and seek for its embrace, the things of Christ will grow strangely dim in the light of the world’s allurements and enticements. There’s a law of exposure. What are you exposing yourself to? This book? The ones seated upon the throne. The Almighty. And does your heart long to join in to the worship of the Ancient of Days, or is this kind of a boring thing?

I remember when we used to work in the mill towns in South Carolina and we’d go to those places where the men would get paid at the mill and the bars had a great convenience. The bars, the alcohol dispensing bars, they would cash your check for free. In fact, they wouldn’t even look at ID, they’d just cash your paycheck, give it to you in cash. They’d set it on the counter in front of them, these guys from the mill, and they’d get their whole week’s pay. And their families lived in these shanties with a lot of them, no bathrooms, just holes you could see through into the ground below, just planks. And the men would march from that mill and they’d march right to Ramcat Alley where the bars were to cash their checks. And most of them never got anything back home. They spent it all.

And I remember our team, we used to get there early enough when the mill got out and we’d stand at the foot of the hill as the men were marching down with their lunch buckets and those checks, and we would talk to them and we would say, can we walk you home before you go down there? Why don’t you go home, and see your family? Maybe they’d feel sorry for them, wouldn’t spend all their money. You know what we found out after a whole year of doing that? That those men did not enjoy the presence of God’s saints. They did not want to be hearing about Christ. They did not want to be singing about Him. They did not want to be worshiping Him. They wanted to get to the bar, and that was their place, and that’s where they found their worship. Those of us that witnessed to them, we would’ve been very much out of place in that bar. The darkness, the suggestiveness, the immoral overtones, the drunken condition.

What God gives us what we really want. I don’t imagine those men, very many of them, would’ve enjoyed the scene of these creatures singing, holy, holy, holy, or chanting it. And I don’t think that those of us sings would enjoy the presence of the devil and his angels forever in Hell. And so, God gives us what we want. And if you’re on Earth, you don’t want God’s presence, you won’t have it forever. But if you’re on Earth, you hunger and thirst for God’s righteousness and you want His presence and His holiness. And you separate by not exposing yourself to the world and you separate the law of exposure, you separate yourself to expose yourself to God. He’ll give you what you want, and that’s what this chapter is all about, the loveliness of Christ.

Look at verse 9. Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor, and thanks to Him, that sits on the throne who lives forever. And by the way, worship will always honor and glorify God and be focused on Him.

Verse 10, the 24 elders will fall down. And these are our representatives, the representatives of the old, new people of God. And they will fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him. And notice the three elements here. Number one, falling down. Number two, worshiping. Number three, they cast their crowns before the throne.

Now, I believe as the popular notion that the casting of the crowns is we’re going to give our rewards to the Lord. But that’s not what John, that’s a modern, great preaching element of servants that get a crown so you can cast it before the Lord. But that’s not what it meant to John. And remember, the most important thing to understand this book is not what does it mean to me, but what did John mean and what did the people that read it understand it to be. It’s the first law of interpretation. What did the primary audience, the people that received the letter and the one that wrote the letter, what did they mean and what did they hear and listened to? What did they get? What did you know in the 1st century, when the Roman Empire was approaching its zenith that as they conquered the then known world, that they would have these triumphal processions?

And on the field when they would conquer a king, the conquering general or emperor would put his foot on the neck of the king, he’d have to throw himself down the ground and he put his foot right, his hobnail boot right on his neck. And what he was saying is, I could break your neck right now, but I’m not going to yet. That’s what he was saying. Then they would take him and haul him home to the triumphal procession into the forum at Rome. And there would be all the citizens and there would be all the soldiers and all the booty on wagons, all their gold and silver, they plundered and all the captured soldiers with rings and chains. And they’d be walking like this. And then the last of the chariots would be the conquering general. And he would have all the glory and splendor of Rome. And when he got to the center of the forum before the emperor, the conquered king would be brought in and thrown down in the ground. And that conquering king on his knees, that conquered king, would take his crown, they’d put it on his head briefly, and he would throw it at the feet of the conquering general. And what he was saying is, you conquered, you are the lord, you are in charge. And then they’d kill him, the guy that lost. Much better scene for us.

Look at this. We’re not marched in chains. We are coming before the Lord. And what we’re doing is we’re saying You don’t have to put Your chastening foot on our neck. You don’t have to drag us in chains. We willingly, longingly, lovingly want to serve You. And what we say is king of my life. That song’s a little better for this passage, I crown thee now. I don’t want the crown. I’m not in charge of my life all that I am. Do you know that chorus we sing? All that I am, all that I have, all I’ll ever be, I give it to You. That’s what’s going on here.

And these elders keep falling down and they’re saying, you have conquered, you are the one before we fall. And you are the one that deserves all that we are, King of my life, I crown Thee now,Thine shall the glory be. That’s what worship is all about. Worship is about me getting out of the driver’s seat and me getting out of the glory soaking up business and giving it to the Lord. Our worship demands total submission to God.

Now, verse 11, You are worthy, oh Lord, to receive glory and honor and power. For You created all things, and by Your will, they exist and we’re created. And worship is our purpose in even being. Let me just give you this, it’s in your notes and then we’ll sing and go. If you look at your sheets, the backside of the sheet says, adoring the loveliness of Jesus fills the entire book of Revelation. And I hope that you’ll take some time this week to warm your heart and hold on and look through the rest of the book of Revelation and see the focus in chapter 4 begins with the worthiness of Jesus. He’s the eternal Creator, and that’s what the fourth chapter talks about. For Thou has created, has all things created, and all the angelic hosts worship Him and all of the redeemed, the 24 elders in verse 11, worship Him.

But when you get to chapter 5, where we’ll be tonight. You’ll see Jesus as the redeeming Savior. He is worthy of worship. And He is in chapter 7, He is the life-giving One. In chapter 11, he is the conquering warrior as He conquers the Earth. He is, in chapters 12 to 19, the One who crushes Satan. And He is the one who is our Bridegroom, our coming Emmanuel.

And as your notes say, so, we see Him as a multifaceted diamond in eternal, cascading glory as each one of these divine descriptions echoes through the celestial realm. We live to thee, O Christ, our praise, our honor, our glory, our worship that Thou might as count us by the blood of Thy Son to walk worthy of an invitation to worship. They soon, with that multitude, for truly Thou art worthy. I hope that’s your heart’s desire. {Song removed from video]

I remind you that the greatest act of worship that ongoingly has offered in the Church is the celebration of the remembrance of the only Person that ever died in your place, Jesus Christ. And tonight, we celebrate that death in our place. Some of you have rarely been to a Lord’s table. Now many of you have never been to a Lord’s table that is couched in the fifth chapter of Revelation. That’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to cover the whole fifth chapter, the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And then when we get done looking at it in the book, we’re going to actually hold pictures of Jesus. And what a joy to hold a picture of Jesus in our hand. A picture of His body, a picture of His blood, and to sing the song we sing so often in context. The fifth chapter contains, worthy as the Lamb that was slain. Worthy as the Lamb that was slain.

I invite you to come tonight and come and with the fifth chapter of the Revelation before your eyes, to worship Jesus Christ, the worthy Lamb. Let’s go In the grace of God, worshiping Jesus Christ. God bless you as you go.

Open to Rev. 4.

• Step with me into the worship center of the universe.
• Let us gaze at the One who is seated on the Eternal Throne.
• As we watch, exalt God in your spirit as the endless praise is ascending around His Throne.
• Let us be still and know who it is before whom we stand.
• And then Adore the loveliness of Jesus as He is at the center and focus of my  worship.

To worship Him Who is worthy of all worship and praise is our duty and purpose of existence.  The Father seeks only one thing, and that is that we might worship Him.  To truly worship Him is to ascribe to Him that honor, praise, glory, and majesty that He is worthy of – a true “worthship.”  This day, join me as we stand in the vestibule and peer through the door into the chambers of the Most High.

Through the eyes of that faithful and true disciple of love who alone remained, heir of the apostolic band-and with his pen, tried to capture that which when Paul saw it, said it was inexpressible.

• Let us listen to the choirs of angels in numberless circles about the glassy sea and its throne as they say His worthy praise.
• Let us listen to those eternal creatures chant “Holy, holy…holy,” and by faith’s eye let us see with John that band which no man could number and listen to their songs of adoration and praise.  Do you know Him, Christ the Lord, Who merits such praise.
• Let us see Him now—worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to be praised this day by us who owe Him our all!

Adoring the loveliness of Jesus fills the entire 4th chapter

• The Awesome Sovereign on the Throne (v. 1-3, 5)
• The Awesome Scene around the Throne (v. 4, 6-7)
• The Awesome Song before the Throne (v. 8-11)

The Awesome Sovereign on the Throne (v. 1-3, 5)

Revelation 4:1-11

v. 1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”

Worshiping the loveliness of Jesus  is at God’s invitation.

v. 2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.

Worship must acknowledge God is in charge.

• The THRONE is 46 times noted in Revelation; 14 of these times is in Chapter 4.
• The Throne and all the authority and power of God are very much evident throughout this special chapter.

v. 3 And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.

Worshiping god is utterly beautiful.

• Like Saturn the Throne of God is ringed.
• Vertically like a 360 degree arch, a rainbow surrounds God’s Throne.
• Horizontally like a vast plain the saints are gathered at the foot of God’s Throne.

v. 5 And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

Worship flows when we heed the holiness of God

• Ezekiel saw what Moses saw at Mount Sinai, when God came down to give the law, thunder and lightning accompanied Him (Ex. 19:16).
• The seven lamps connote completeness and symbolize the Holy Spirit of God (Rev. 1:4; note also Ezek. 1:13).
• The writers of Scripture, seeking to describe the indescribable, portray the presence of God as an unbelievable display of power filled with thunder and lightning, blinding light, and a sparkling, dazzling array of colors and rainbows.

The Awesome Scene around the Throne (v. 4, 6-7)

v. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.

Worship unites The redeemed of all the ages meeting at the feet of Jesus.

• The number 24 suggests many Biblical ideas.
• There were 24 courses of priests in the service of the Tabernacle and temple (I Chr. 24:3-5).
• There are also two groups of 12 that represent God’s saints: the 12 Tribes of Israel and the 12 Apostles of Christ’s Church.

v. 6 Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.

Worship is unceasingly offered in the presence of God.

v. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.

worship is to reflect God’s attributes: Jesus kingship, servanthood, humanity and deity.

The Awesome Song before the Throne (v. 8-11)

v. 8 The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying:

“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”

Worship focuses solely upon God.

• Almighty is used 9 times in revelation; 31 times in Job. The only other time in New Testament is II Cor. 6:18.

v. 9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,

Worship honors and glorifies God.

v. 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:

Worship demands our total submission to God.

v. 11 “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”

Worship is our purpose in being.

Adoring the loveliness of Jesus fills the entire book of Revelation

• Let us look in chronological order at chapters 4-22 and see Christ, the Lamb in exaltation, both that of the faithful angelic hosts and that of the redeemed saints.
• Hold on now!  There are 11 songs that make up the background music to the story. They are songs of worship and triumph.. We DISCOVER WORSHIP AS THE BACKGROUND MUSIC OF GOD”S KINGDOM.
• So that is where we have arrived. By way of the snatching away, we join the redeemed of all the agea around the Throne. The atmosphere is celestial! What do I mean?

In Revelation 4 the focus is on God as the Creator, and He is on the Throne. Salvation starts with the ackowledgment of God as Creator. Acts 14:15 and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them,

• Acts 17:24 “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.
• Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
• In chapter 5 the focus is on Jesus the Redeemer, and God’s Son is before the Throne. In 5:13 the worship goes to Father and Son which affirms Christ’s deity.

Worthy of worship is Jesus the eternal Creator (Chapter 4) 2 Corinthians 4:6  For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

1. All The angelic hosts worship him (v.8) – “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who is who was and who is to come” = eternity.
2. The 24 elders worship him  (v.11) – “Worthy art thou our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou didst create all things, and because of thy will they existed and were created.” = Creator see Ezk 36:26 and II Cor 4.6.

Worthy of worship is Jesus the redeeming Savior (Chapter 5) Titus 2:14  who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

1. The 24 elders worship him.  v. 9-10 – “Worthy art thou to take the book, for thou was slain and dost purchase for God, with thy blood, men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.  And thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God…” = Redeemer from the slave amrket of sin.
2. The innumerable angelic hosts and all creation worship him (vv. 12-14) – “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing…forever and ever.” = Savior

Worthy of worship is Jesus giving  life (Chapter 7) (John 14:6 and Acts 5:20)

1. The innumerable multitude cries out in worship. “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne”

• This is salvation from death’s power.
• Eternal  life liberates us to see we are only temporarily in this body!

    2.  All the angels and creatures fall and say (v.12), “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and
thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever.”

• He is worthy of all praise. Everyone has a god and they look more like who or whatever it is every day.

Worthy of worship is Jesus the conquering Warrior (Chapter 11) 2 Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

1. A.     A voice from Heaven (v.15) – “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever” –

• Jesus is Conqueror of all kingdoms.

2.  The 24 elders (vv. 16-17) – “We give thanks, O Lord God, the almighty, who art and who wast,
because thou hast taken thy great power and hast begun to reign”

• Jesus is reigning over all.

Worthy of worship is Jesus  crushing Satan (Chapters 12-19). 1 John 3:8  He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil..

1. The voice from Heaven (12:10-12) – “Now the salvation and power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down…and they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb”

• Satan is defeated.

2. The victorious tribulation warriors (15:3-4) – “Great and marvelous are thy works O lord God, the
almighty; righteous and true are thy ways, thou king of the nations”

• His saints sing songs of victory.

The angels of the altar, waters, and the earth all say (16:5-7; 17:14), “Righteous art thou who art and wast, O holy one, because thou didst judge these things…they deserve it…and the Lamb will overcome him because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with him are called and chosen and faithful”

Creation echoes the majesty of His  worthy  judgment and sacrifice.

3. The multitude of the redeemed and the 24 elders (19:1-5) – “Hallelujah!  Salvation and glory and
power belong to our God, because his judgments are true and righteous.  And they fell down and
worshipped.”

• They fall before their just Judge, to Whom they submit.

4. The multitude in unison cry out to the Lord in exultation (19:6-7) – “Hallelujah, for the Lord our God,
the Almighty reigns; for the marriage of the Lamb has come”

• This is the shout of anticipation for unbroken union with the King of the Universe.

Worthy of worship is Jesus coming as the Bridegroom, our Emmanuel(Chapters 21-22).

1. The voice from the throne (21:3-4) – “Behold the tabernacle of God is among men, and he shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God himself shall be among them.”

• All praise for Emmanuel
• God is now with us as He promised (Matthew 1:22).

2.  The Voice of Jesus calling all who are thirsty to come to Him. (22:16-17) “I, Jesus, have sent My
angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the
Bright and Morning Star.”17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say,
“Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

So we see Him as a multi-faceted diamond in eternal cascading glory as each one of these divine descriptions echoes through the celestial realm.

• Our Eternal Creator,
• Our Redeeming Savior,
• Our Giver of life,
• Our conquering Warrior,
• Our Crusher of Satan,
• Our  just Judge and
• OurBridegroom Emmanuel.

We lift to thee our praise and honor, glory and worship, that thou mightest count us by the blood of thy Son to walk worthy of an invitation to worship thee soon with that multitude -–for truly, thou art worthy, O Lamb of God!