Revelation 4 – What Worship Should be Like

[0:00] I've never had intro music before. That's great. So if you don't know what you want to do,! I want to extend my thanks to those guys who brought that.

[0:34] I think we can all agree that was such a valuable time. So, it's a bit delayed, valuable time, but it was a valuable time. So I just want to give my thanks for that.

[0:48] And just to remind us that we're going through both Mark and Revelation, verse by verse, chapter by chapter. And so the next time we'll be in Mark will be, I think, mid-February.

[1:01] Looking at Jeff. That's a yes. So mid-February sometime. And so I would say just start reading ahead, but don't read ahead too far because we won't get out of chapter 9.

[1:13] But, you know, it's just good, isn't it? The Gospel of Mark is all about the authority of Jesus and the servanthood of Jesus and how those kind of collide. And when we talk about Revelation, we tend to kind of like picture a different side of Jesus.

[1:30] And so I, you know, just encourage you to read ahead in Mark, read ahead in Revelation. We're going verse by verse, chapter by chapter. If you don't have a Bible, you can just raise your hand where you are.

[1:42] We'll get you a Bible or use your phone to flick through to Revelation. And so let's pray and ask God to help us. And then we'll launch into our text this morning.

[1:53] Father, we come to you and we just want to say thank you for your word. Lord, we'd be lost without you. Lord, we'd be lost without your direction and your help. Lord, we need your Holy Spirit this morning to help us.

[2:08] Lord, we want to confess, Lord, that we don't always come to your word with excitement and fresh eyes and eagerness to hear what you have to say, Lord.

[2:18] But we want to say this morning, Lord, that we're ready to hear what you have to say to us. So, Lord, would you speak, Lord, through your spirit? Lord, this is about you.

[2:30] Lord, and so, Lord, we want to give you this time. Lord, give us a readiness. Lord, not just to be, Lord, hearers of your word. Lord, but we want to be doers.

[2:42] Lord, we want to put this stuff into action. So, Lord, help us. Lord, help us not to get hung up in some of the difficulties of Scripture.

[2:57] Lord, keep our eyes on you. In Jesus' name, amen. All right, so as we look at this chapter, chapter four, I want to start by asking a question.

[3:10] And the question is about worship. And so the question is about how are we doing?

[3:22] How are you doing when it comes to your worship? And particularly what I mean by worship, if I can narrow it down, what I mean is, is your singing, your praise, your adoration.

[3:35] I know that we can do a whole bunch of things as worship. I get that. Normally, we use that as an excuse because we're not very good singers or we're not very good at praise and adoration where we're like, well, everything's worship.

[3:48] Right? But actually, what we're talking about this morning is when we gather together as a people of God, whether it's here, whether it's in our life group, whether it's your friends, in other places, how is our worship?

[3:59] How do we do with that? And I think the question is really important because I think the question this morning is kind of set before us as this is what true worship is going to look like.

[4:16] Like this is what worship is going to look like. If you've ever struggled, and I'll tell you, worship is hard sometimes, isn't it? Like as a musician, like my brain, I know some of you are the same because we've had conversations about this.

[4:32] I'm like, what kind of chord is that? Or what kind of chord is that? It's the other way, right? What is a chord?

[4:45] Exactly, right? So some of us really, really struggle with worship for some really, really strange reasons, some obvious reasons. I want to focus our hearts and minds today on what is true worship going to look like and what can we do about it today?

[5:06] How can that help our thinking today and help our worship today? Now, probably the first thing we should probably mention is that we're created as people to worship God.

[5:19] I mean, that's super clear. Genesis chapter 1, Genesis chapter 2, we're created for worshiping God. That's why now, you know, we spend so much time seeking the presence of things that are greater than us.

[5:37] I mean, think about how often we do that. I mean, if you've ever been to the Alps, it's such a glorious thing to do. Why is it a glorious thing to do? Because we're in the middle of a mountain range and all we're doing is looking up going, wow!

[5:52] Or you've been to the Grand Canyon. Or let's just bring it home. You've been out to the forest at night and you're looking up. And it's the one day of the year where there's no clouds.

[6:04] And you're seeing the stars. And you're blown away by how great it is out there and how small you are down here.

[6:19] There's something about us. There's something about human beings that we love to be in the presence of greatness. And it feels good.

[6:30] It feels right. Because in that moment, our souls sing because we're made for glory. We are made to behold greatness. And we know that.

[6:43] We get that. But listen, there's a struggle with that too, isn't there? Because the Bible also says that things right now aren't what they are supposed to be. They aren't how they are supposed to be.

[6:56] And so Genesis chapter 3, and we do this a lot, don't we? We go back to Genesis chapter 1 and 2. This is how it's supposed to be. Genesis chapter 3, this is what happened. How do we end up as we are now? So Genesis 3 talks about something called the fall that brought terrible, terrible consequences and problems and struggles and challenges every single moment of every single day.

[7:16] And our worship is impacted greatly. And so the problem with our worship now is that our worship is self-centered.

[7:30] Our worship is temporary. Our worship is based on circumstance and preference. I mean, just think about it. We all do this. I do this.

[7:41] I like this song over this song. I like this style over this style. I like this person leading over this person leading. That's not anybody in this church just to outline that.

[7:54] It's temporary. It's based on circumstance. I've had a tough week. It's been hard. I feel like, I don't feel like, I don't feel like worshiping.

[8:06] Right? All of that stuff is just genuine, isn't it? It's just a genuine problem that we all have. Right? You know, my kid's been sick for four years. I'm like, you know, they've had a cold and they're passing it around the family.

[8:21] Or even some even deeper things like, you're sick. You're really sick. Or you've been made redundant from work. You're wondering where you're going to, you pay for this or pay for that.

[8:34] Or all of these different things that come and our worship is affected. Our worship is affected because of all of the circumstances around us. And we marvel, don't we? We marvel at Christians when we hear those stories coming out of North Korea and Ukraine.

[8:47] And those places where we see Christians able to worship in amongst the most extreme difficulties. And we say, how do they do that? Because we struggle to haul ourselves out of bed at 10 o'clock on a Sunday morning and come and worship.

[9:03] And again, that's no one here. I'm just throwing it out there. Right? So in this chapter, we get to see, convictingly, I think, but also encouragingly.

[9:15] Because we could all say, okay, we're not there yet, but one day we're going to be there. Amen? Right? One day we're going to be there. And we're going to be worshiping perfectly. But in this chapter, we see worship as it's supposed to be done.

[9:30] So here's what John says. He says, Now look, we've seen this phrase, in the spirit before.

[9:56] And we saw it in chapter 1, verse 10. We see it here. And we see it in chapter 17, verse 3. And in chapter 21, verse 10. All of that to say is, this is significant because this phrase each time marks a significant thing or movement in John's experience.

[10:15] All right? He's not just saying, oh, by the way, I was in the spirit. All right? He's indicating to us something's about to change. Each time something's significant.

[10:26] And here, the significant thing is that John is moving in his vision from earth to heaven. That's the significant thing.

[10:39] So before, in chapter 2 and 3, he's receiving letters from Jesus. He's writing to these churches. He is clearly on earth somewhere. Right? Here, not only the scene changes, and that is key.

[10:54] The scene changes like now he's in heaven. But where he was previously writing in the present, and we talked about he was writing to seven churches, real churches, historical churches that actually existed in John's day.

[11:06] That potentially John had visited before and potentially knew people at those churches. Here, he's not only moved scene, he is now in heaven, but arguably he's viewing the future.

[11:20] So this is not present in John's day. The voice that he heard says, come up here. Notice, I will show you what must take place after this.

[11:34] Future. Future. Now, this term after this, if you guys are taking notes, it's the Greek phrase, metatauta. And it's the same phrase that he used in the outline that was given to us in chapter 1, verse 19.

[11:51] Here it comes on the screen. So John is given this divine outline of this book, where John is told to write the things that you have seen.

[12:03] Write the things which are, and then write the things which take place after this. And so the things which he has seen, chapter 1, is all about the ministry of Jesus on earth.

[12:14] The things which are, is the life and ministry of Jesus through the Spirit on earth. Think about that. You know, this book is all about Jesus, right? It's all about what Jesus is doing and what Jesus will yet do.

[12:27] It's the unveiling of Jesus. The revelation of Jesus. And chapter 2 is really about the life and ministry of Jesus through the Spirit in his church. And then the things that take place after these is the life and ministry of Jesus from heaven towards the world and specifically Israel.

[12:48] And so John is shifting our attention now to the things which take place after these things. And notice the first words that John hears. Come up here.

[13:01] Now look, we're going to get into a little bit of theology, but we're not going to stay there for very long because we're talking about worship this morning. But I believe that this verse is a future depiction of something called the rapture of the church.

[13:16] Now we as Christians, so the rapture of the church, what does the rapture of the church mean? Simply, when Christians leave earth and go to heaven, right?

[13:27] That's it. Rapture of the church. It doesn't need to get any more complicated than that, actually. Right? We might disagree on when the rapture happens, but Paul clearly teaches that it does.

[13:41] So, 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 16. Paul says, For the Lord himself will to sound from heaven with a cry of a command, with a voice of an archangel, with the sound of a trumpet of God.

[13:53] And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.

[14:04] Therefore, encourage one another with these words. Rapture. It's when Christians leave the earth and go to heaven. Or in Paul's words, Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord.

[14:19] And interestingly, when that event takes place, John sees both a command to come up here, and it's accompanied by a sound of a trumpet.

[14:30] Just like Revelation 4, verse 2. Come up here. Sounds like a trumpet. Paul says, Hey, there was a command and a trumpet. And he actually says it again in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 51.

[14:45] Paul says, I'm going to tell you a mystery, which is kind of like, I'm going to tell you something that hasn't been revealed in the past, but now is being revealed. We're not all going to sleep. Like, we're not all going to die.

[14:58] And that doesn't mean, like, you have a newborn baby and you're like, you're not going to sleep. Right? This is, you're not going to sleep. You're not going to, you're not all going to die. But we'll be changed.

[15:10] When? In a moment. In a twinkling of an eye. At the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable and we shall be changed.

[15:22] Now look, you can't really get away from the idea that this idea, the rapture, is a biblical idea. It's just the timing that some disagree with. And look, the amazing thing to me is, is that lots of people want to ask about the timing of the rapture.

[15:40] When's it going to be? But Jesus said in Matthew chapter 25, what's there for? You don't know when the day of the hour is. Now look, seriously, it still amazes me how many people still claim to think they know.

[15:54] Or spend hours and hours and hours trying to find out. Like, I just think that if Jesus himself says, you don't know, you probably can conclude that he's right and we're wrong.

[16:09] I think there's a certain amount of humility there that's needed. Now, I think we can have an idea of what the scriptures say. I think we can place it in some kind of ballpark arena.

[16:22] But just humbly accept when Jesus says, you don't know. Spend more time living for Christ and off of YouTube.

[16:40] Here in Revelation, it seems to me that John is seeing the rapture of the church. When Christians leave earth and go to heaven. He's immediately transported, it says, in the spirit.

[16:52] And look, the first thing that captures John's eye. And notice this. If you're taking notes, note this. The first thing that captures John's eye. And the first thing that we should note about worship is there in verse 2.

[17:05] He says, behold. And boy, do we need this phrase today, right? Behold, a throne stood in heaven and one seated on the throne. Like that's a sermon just right there in that verse, isn't there?

[17:19] Like that is an encouraging verse. There is a throne standing. Thrones are mentioned 196 times in the Bible, 45 times in this book alone.

[17:33] 14 chapters of the 22 in Revelation speak about a throne. Right? And you can look at this book. And you can look at this book.

[17:45] And you can divide the book into the scenes that are in heaven. And the scenes that are on earth. And you see that the scenes that are in heaven. What you see is glory and majesty and worship.

[17:58] And love and adoration and forgiveness and peace. Which doesn't equate to quietness in heaven. We'll see that in a minute. And then earthly scenes which depict chaos and war and injustice and strife and death.

[18:13] And all of the problems are where on earth. And all the solutions are where in heaven. That's why we kind of titled our series through this book as a war of the worlds.

[18:24] It's not about men in black. It's not about all of those fantasful ideas. This is about the struggle that each of us face in this chapter with worship.

[18:39] Right now. There's a war. It's a battle between the heavenly realm and the earthly. But look what John sees about this throne.

[18:50] He says, I saw, literally it's, I saw a throne standing, says John. There is a sense of permanence about that, isn't there? I saw a throne standing.

[19:04] There is now a throne that cannot be moved. There's a throne standing that can't be moved. Look, despite all of the comings and goings of prime ministers and leaders and kings and queens, there is one throne standing.

[19:24] That's a good reminder. Before the horrors of what come in chapter 6 onwards, firstly, John calls our attention to the throne.

[19:36] The psalmist in Psalm 93 says, it's a throne that has stood from the beginning. I like how the NET version puts it. It says, your throne has been secure from ancient times.

[19:47] You have always been king. And it's good for us to remember this. And I think that, you know, it's good for us when we think about when it comes to corporate worship as a church and our own worship.

[20:01] I don't think it's just good for us to remember. I think it's crucial for us to remember. Because worship is firstly a reorientation of our minds to acknowledge that there is a throne standing and one seated on it.

[20:17] And that involves humility and it involves surrender. Like, for example, just skip down to verse 10 in your Bibles.

[20:29] You see 24 elders. We could argue about who those elders are. I think they're just high ranking angels. But look at what they're doing. Because I think that's probably more important.

[20:40] They're taking off their crowns. And they're throwing their crowns before him. They're taking all their victories. They're taking their victories and they're throwing them before Jesus.

[20:53] And as glorious and as spectacular as those creatures probably are, six times we will see them fall before the one on the throne.

[21:07] Actually, that's what worship is. It means to lay prostrate, to fall down. They take their crowns and they throw them.

[21:19] And you know, somewhere along the way, we have lost the sense that there is a throne in the middle of our worship and we are not on it. Right?

[21:30] We are not on the throne. There is a throne. But it's not our throne. And humility before God is an absolute if worship is going to be what it should be.

[21:47] You cannot truly worship God unless we are willing to surrender everything you are and everything that you have, including your victories. One of the reasons that so many people never experience authentic worship is because they insist on holding back or keeping things from God which belong to him.

[22:11] So this is not just a material possession. It means surrendering your agenda. It means surrendering your future, your hopes, your reputation. It means trusting him with your children, with your business, with your time.

[22:25] Look, without him, you would have nothing and would be nothing. Everything you are and have is because of him.

[22:38] And you cannot worship him if you don't trust him. And I think the first thing that we see here about worship, the thing that I just want you to think about and take away today, is that the worship of God requires from us repentance.

[22:59] And repentance is just changing our mind. Like it's not like some massive, like big deal. It's about changing our mind about there is a throne and we're not on that throne. It is God's throne and he's on it.

[23:11] It's a fundamental change of our minds to see that all of the things that trouble us, all of the things that trouble us need not trouble us because there is a throne standing.

[23:26] It's a change of mind from the ways our minds get contorted to think that worship is about me and my preference. That is the war that is going on, right?

[23:38] The war of the world, the war of the earth, if you like. The earthly way is like, well, your preferences matter. Your preferences are the biggest deal. I can't believe they sung that song in a key that you can't reach.

[23:51] That's just whenever I lead worship. That's, I know what you're thinking. It's not about my preferences. No, obviously, we want to help people lead people into worship, don't we?

[24:04] Of course we do. And our worship leaders here are great with that understanding. That's what we want to do. But worship, the worship of God is fundamentally, requires repentance.

[24:18] A change of mind from the ways our mind get twisted and contorted by this world. Think about that. Here's the second thing.

[24:33] If you didn't like that one, you're not going to like this one. The worship of God requires or is something to be experienced. Let's look at verse three.

[24:48] So the worship of God is something to be experienced. He who sat there, and this is the one who sat on the throne. He who sat there had the appearance of Jasper and Carnelian.

[25:02] And around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were 24 thrones. And seated on the thrones were 24 elders, clothed in white garments with golden crowns on their heads.

[25:17] And from the throne came flashes of light, rumblings and peals of thunder. And before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God.

[25:27] And before the throne, there was, as it were, a sea of glass like crystal. And around the throne, each side of the throne were four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind.

[25:40] The first living creature was like a lion. The second like an ox. The third had a face of a man. And the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. Like if there's verses in the Bible that don't excite you about heaven, those should.

[25:58] Like I don't know what half of those mean, but I don't care. Like the rainbow of emerald. It just sounds cool.

[26:10] It sounds great. It sounds otherworldly and it's supposed to. I think, you know, somewhere along the way, we have lost the sense of awe which accompanies true worship.

[26:25] Like I sometimes think that, you know, when you read the Old Testament and you read the Ark of the Tabernacle and you read the temple, like those guys had it right.

[26:36] Like that's just, sometimes I just think that. Like I think there's probably a lot of stuff they didn't have right. But I think like, you know, there was something, there was awe-inspiring about worship. There was this sense that people were going to go and meet with God.

[26:52] They would sing all the way. You know, the Psalms of the pilgrims singing as they were going up to Jerusalem.

[27:02] Don't get me wrong. I think there's a danger in pushing experience. But that's not what I'm talking about. I think that when we are found worshipping, we know it.

[27:19] Like I think we just know, like that we've been worshipping. I think there's something tangible about true worship. I think that some will be surprised when they get to heaven and find it quite loud and full of lights and smoke.

[27:37] Like, please don't make that alarm you when you get there. You're like, I didn't sign up for this. So can someone ask them to turn the PA down? Like I'm sure that we're not going to think that because we'll be perfected by then, right?

[27:53] And I get that sometimes music is too loud. Like for some really old people.

[28:12] And again, look, I'm not advocating that we get the smoke machine out. Like please don't get worried. That's going to start to be a thing, right? But equally, I'm not advocating.

[28:23] Someone say disappointed. You guys disappointed with that? Okay. But equally, look, I'm not advocating the kind of dull, dreary hands in our pockets singing that Paul would say has only the form of godliness but denies its power.

[28:41] Sometimes we get so scared with the experience of worship that we run completely the other way. And I guess sometimes we get so concerned about worship not being something that we run the other way.

[29:04] Think this about when we worship. Are we loving God with all of our hearts, minds, and soul? Our heart, the seat of our emotion, our soul, the seat of truth, with our mind, the seat of our understanding.

[29:23] Look at verse 8. John says that there were four living creatures and each of them had six wings. Full of eyes all around within.

[29:36] Day and night, they never cease to say, stop there. Because look, let's talk about these guys really quickly because I know that would be like, yeah, but what about those guys? Look at Isaiah 6, chapter 1.

[29:53] Just read this with me. So we are questioning, who are these guys in verse 8? Isaiah 6, 1. Who are they in Revelation chapter 4?

[30:31] You might conclude they're the seraphim. And so there's clearly some resemblance here in Revelation 4 to those creatures being the seraphim who are the highest ranking order of created angel.

[30:48] I don't know whether you know this, but angels aren't just angels. And also angels aren't little chubby kind of like guys with wings who sit on clouds, play harps, and eat marshmallows. That's not what a seraphim is.

[31:01] Seraphim are these mighty beasts, mighty creatures. But check this out, Ezekiel chapter 10. Ezekiel is recording a similar experience.

[31:15] He says to the man clothed in linen, go in among the whirling wheels underneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from between the cherubim and scatter them over the city.

[31:26] And he went before my eyes. He says in verse 14, Wait a second.

[31:53] Are they seraphim? Are they cherubim? So in Ezekiel, they look like cherubim. Cherubim are the guys that you find in the Garden of Eden in chapter 4, or chapter 3 or chapter 4, where they are sent with a flaming sword to keep Adam and Eve from eating the tree of life and living forever in their fallen state.

[32:15] So whoever these are, look, whoever these are, they are high ranking, high order of angels. They might be seraphim. They might be cherubim. They might be completely different, unnamed.

[32:30] So, so far we have the 24 elders. We have the seraphim. We have the cherubim. We have other ranking angels that we see in the Bible. We have archangels by Michael and Gabriel.

[32:40] Possibly these four creatures, again, is a different order of angels again. Based on 1 Corinthians, or excuse me, Colossians chapter 1, we have thrones, dominions, rulers, authorities.

[32:51] Paul says that they were all created through him and for him. So possibly again, angels of a different kind of order. But look, whoever they are, could you notice what they are saying?

[33:05] They never cease to say, and I want us to notice four things that are spoken around the throne of God, night and day, for all eternity. These four things are going to be on the screen for you.

[33:20] They are, they are all about this idea of worshipping God for God himself.

[33:35] And the thing I want to say is that worship, and we'll see this, worship is fundamentally theological. And by that I mean that those who know him best worship him most.

[33:50] It is impossible to worship God if you don't know God. And since true worship is a response to knowing God, the more that you can know about God, the better you can worship.

[34:03] Right? That's the scene that we're presented here with the elders, the four living creatures. They know God far better than we do. Would you agree? And the depth of their worship is directly tied to their knowledge of God.

[34:16] And what this means is that if we really want to worship God, you've really got to know God. And it's possibly also true that the reason that we struggle so much sometimes with the worship of God is because we haven't taken the time to really know God.

[34:36] We're often in such a rush, aren't we? I mean, particularly on a Sunday morning. Like, I feel it. I know you guys feel it. Like, you've got to be here.

[34:46] You've got to set up. You've got to do your thing. You've got to get the kids ready. You've just got to get yourself ready. You're praying all the time. Just, please, no traffic. Please, no traffic. And we rush around.

[35:00] And look, too often we see worship as a thing that we do on a Sunday, as a warm-up to the sermon, when in reality, worship is about knowing God and then responding personally to that knowledge.

[35:13] I mean, that's why for years, didn't we? Do you remember? For those of you guys who are here, we would have our sermon first and then our worship. Why? Because the knowledge of God helps us worship.

[35:28] So let's note the things that I said about God because they contain several profound theological statements about God.

[35:38] They help us to worship Him. And the first is about the holiness of God. So firstly, worship God. Why do we worship God? How do we worship God? We worship God for His holiness.

[35:50] Look what they say. It's the same thing as the seraphim were saying there in Isaiah. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God. What are they saying about God?

[36:02] Well, look, they're saying that He is completely different or unique. That's what holy means. Well, in what way is God holy?

[36:14] Well, in many ways that we don't have time to even cover this morning. But let's make a start. God is self-existent. No one or nothing created Him. He is self-sufficient. He needs nothing from no one or nothing.

[36:28] He is sovereign. He never needs permission, approval, or acceptance from anyone or anything. He is inexhaustible, infinite, and matched by no one or nothing.

[36:43] We worship God because of who He is. He is holy. Now, let's understand this. I talked about this a few weeks in our life group where sometimes I have the habit of saying things and everybody's like, what?

[37:00] And it's like, time to go. So it was kind of like a, it wasn't a mic drop. It was a bombshell. It's like a grenade. Here you go. So look, I said that if you come to God only for the things that He can give you, no matter how wonderful and needful those things are, to you, He is not God, you are.

[37:31] Let me say that again. If you come to God only for the things that He can give you, and you're not coming to God for God, you're coming to God for the things that He can give you, all of a sudden, God is not God in that equation.

[37:46] You are God in that equation. You are using God to get something for you. Now let me say, God is the giver of good things, amen?

[38:01] And He's not only the self-existent, self-sufficient, sovereign, inexhaustible, infinite, and unmatched by anything, He is also the giver of good things that we need.

[38:14] But didn't Jesus rebuke those who came to Him only because they wanted bread? And He replied to them, I am the bread. It's me that you need to seek.

[38:28] It's not what you get from me, it's me. And if you're coming to God because He can give you life and peace and joy and happiness, then my friends, you are God in that relationship.

[38:46] Seeing God for who He is inspires us to reorientate our minds and worship God because He is God. And when we seek Him first, all those things will be added to you.

[39:02] And so these four creatures are singing and proclaiming worship that is fundamentally theological. Holy, holy, holy. Three times, you are unique, unmatched, unparalleled.

[39:15] There is no one, nothing even comes in ballpark to you. Like when was the last time we came into our worship and we had that heart?

[39:28] Here's the other thing that they cry. Not only they worship Him because He is holy, but they worship Him because He is almighty. Mighty. They worship Him for His greatness.

[39:41] They sing their hymn of praise and they recognize the sovereignty of God over everything. They have a view of God that sees Him for who He is, the Lord of lords and the King of kings.

[39:53] He is almighty. There is nothing outside of His dominion. No one will escape His judgment. He is almighty God. He is not only limitless in His power and His might, but He possesses all kinds of power and all kinds of might.

[40:10] Almighty. The psalmist declares in Psalm 91, this is beautiful, if we get a picture of almighty God, the psalmist declares in Psalm 91 that it's possible to live in His shadow under His caring protection of the almighty.

[40:28] Almighty. They worship Him for who He is. But not just because He is holy and He is almighty, but they worship Him because of His eternal nature.

[40:43] Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty who was and is and is to come. His eternality not only references or refers to the fact that He's, He's, He's, there has never been a time where He was not.

[40:58] It means that time itself, and this might hurt our heads on a Sunday morning, time itself is not subject to Him.

[41:12] Right? He's not waiting around in heaven kind of like, God, we said get on with it. Time is, He is not waiting around for Him. It means that time itself is subject to Him.

[41:26] He's outside of time. He created time and He exists outside of time. Psalm 90 verse 2, before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.

[41:43] God. This is why often the writers of the Bible compare God's eternal being and God's eternality with His unchanging nature.

[42:00] Because time is not uniform. Like, I know we think it is. Like, we set our alarms in the morning and it pings and it goes off every time the same day, but it's not true.

[42:11] Time just doesn't happen like that. Time changes with mass and acceleration and gravity. But God does not.

[42:24] God doesn't change. God is not subject to any of those things because He created those things too. And so the emphasis of their worship here is on the reality that God is holy.

[42:39] He is almighty and He is eternal. But then in verse 9, whenever the living creatures give glory, bear in mind, whenever is always.

[42:51] Right? So whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who is seated on the throne and lives forever and ever, the 24 elders, these guys are around the throne, sitting on those thrones, what do they do?

[43:05] they fall down before Him who is seated on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever. My question is, do they ever get back up? Like, that's a genuine question, right?

[43:17] Because like, for always, forever and eternity, these guys would be going, holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty was and is who is to come. Whenever that is said, these 24 elders face plant the floor in worship, prostrate in front of God, but it's always been holy, holy, holy, holy, holy.

[43:34] They're either boom, up again, boom, up again, boom, up again, boom, for all of eternity or they just go, I'm not going to get back up again, I'm on my face forever, which I think is probably more true.

[43:48] And notice what they say, verse 11, worthy are you, our Lord God, to receive glory and honor and power for you created all things and by your will they existed and they're created.

[44:07] So worship God for his worthiness. They realize that he alone is worthy of worship. Why? Because he alone is of utmost value.

[44:22] He's the most prized thing in all the universe. There is nothing that comes close. Nothing can be compared. He's unmatched. He's unmatched. Value.

[44:35] Why? Because he is the source of all things. He is the creator of all things and the very reason all things exist is because of him. You're not here by accident.

[44:48] You are here by the specific will and design of the holy, almighty, eternal creator God. And he created you and he created me in his image for a specific purpose.

[44:59] you're created. He had you in mind. And because of that, there is no one like him worthy. Here is someone you can trust your life to.

[45:15] Here is someone you can commit your soul to. He is not a lesser God in a rank of all other gods. He doesn't sit as number one amongst all of the other gods.

[45:30] He alone is God. He is not a demigod who is subject to the whims of his own creation. He is holy.

[45:42] He is almighty. He is eternal. He is the creator. We are his creations. These are some deep theological things about God.

[45:56] And so much of our modern day Christianity is superficial and is centered on man rather than centered on God. But Paul said this in Colossians chapter 3 and I'll leave you with this.

[46:08] If you have been raised with Christ, which literally just means if you're a Christian, seek the things which are above where Christ is. seated at the right hand of God, set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

[46:27] Like, I think just the extent to which we know and understand those two verses will revolutionize our worship. May God help us to do that. Let's pray.

[46:38] Father, we come to you. We want to acknowledge again, Lord, that you are on the throne. It is your throne. Lord, we want to say that we are so sorry for all the times that we have thought, grumbled, complained about worship not being according to our preferences, our desires, our ways.

[47:10] Lord, we want to acknowledge again, Lord, that you are holy. There is none like you. Lord, you are almighty. Lord, there is nothing that you cannot do.

[47:25] Lord, that you are eternal and yet you chose to exist with us. Lord, we thank you, Lord, that all things come from you and are all heading to you.

[47:37] Lord, we worship you for you, because of you, because you are all those things and more.

[47:54] And even in your majesty and might, you give good things. And Lord, we want to say sorry for all of the times we have approached you and sought the things that come from you before we have sought just you.

[48:17] And so, Father, we come and we sing. Lord, may these words be true. May our worship be authentic.

[48:32] Lord, may you inhabit our praises. may you be well pleased with our hearts. Lord, we want to give you glory and honor this morning.

[48:43] In Jesus' name, Amen.