Heavenly Worship

Listen to me, ladies and gentlemen, the throne in heaven is occupied. Can I get a witness? It's not empty. God is on his throne and he's governing the affairs of men and women. It may seem like chaos down here, but God has got it in control. And when you read in Revelation about the throne of God, it's a reminder that while chaotic events are taking place on Earth, we must never lose sight of the fact that God remains on his throne in heaven.

And it may appear that no one is in control of the events, but God is in control. And the throne of God is neither abandoned, nor is it vacant. It is occupied. I like to think about that. The throne in heaven is occupied. Thank you for watching Turning Point.

Here is Dr. Jeremiah with his message, Heavenly Worship. For many years, Wheaton College was led by Dr. Ray Edman. He was a kind and a godly man who was well respected by the students and his faculty. In 1967, he stood in chapel and he gave a message on worship.

And as he spoke, he told the students about this opportunity he'd had to meet the king of Ethiopia. And he said it was a formal event and he described to the students what he had to do to get ready for that meeting. He was instructed to wear certain things and how he was to speak and how he was to act.

And he reminded the students that if that's what it takes to approach an earthly king, how much more care should we take when we come into the presence of the King of kings? Our worship, he said, should reflect the greatness of the one that we're worshiping. Then, something remarkable happened.

Right in the middle of his message, Dr. Edman collapsed and died right in the middle of a sermon. One moment he was preaching about worship and the next moment he was standing face-to-face with the Lord he had worshiped his whole life. Many people said that his transition to heaven must have been one of the smoothest ones anyone could ever have imagined.

He had spent so much time worshiping God that it must have felt natural to enter into worship there. Today, we're going to look at a passage in Revelation chapter 4, verses 1 through 11. It is a powerful picture of what worship in heaven looks like. I want to talk with you first of all about the context of worship in heaven.

Chapter 4, verse 1, John wrote, "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.'" From his place on Earth, he was suddenly able to see through that open door and into heaven itself.

And he saw something no one had ever seen before. From the Isle of Patmos, in the middle of exile and isolation, John witnessed the worship that was taking place around the throne of glory. Can you imagine that? I mean, I can't begin to find the words to describe what it must have been like.

On the Isle of Patmos, old and alone, and then all at once, heaven is opened and before him, in all of its glory, is the biggest worship service that had ever taken place. Notice the center of worship in heaven. Verses 2 and 3, we read, "And immediately I was in the Spirit and behold a throne set in heaven.

And one sat on the throne, 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." The key word in this chapter is the word throne. Whenever you see that word, you can just assume that it is a reminder of the sovereignty of God.

Listen to me, ladies and gentlemen, the throne in heaven is occupied. Can I get a witness? It's not empty. God is on his throne and he's governing the affairs of men and women. It may seem like chaos down here, but God has got it in control. And when you read in Revelation about the throne of God, it's a reminder that while chaotic events are taking place on Earth, we must never lose sight of the fact that God remains on his throne in heaven.

As John looks at the throne, he tries to describe what he sees, but it's not easy because the focus of the throne is God himself, and the Bible says no one has ever seen God and lived. So, John describes this in symbolic terms. Verse 3, he says, "He who sat there was like a jasper and sardius stone in appearance, and there was a rainbow around the throne in appearance like an emerald."

The jasper we would call a diamond, a beautiful, many-faceted stone that sparkled and glittered in the light. And John said that as he looked upon the throne, all he could see was the brilliance of the diamond. And the diamond was accompanied by a sardius or carnelian stone, which is the same as our ruby.

And around the throne, there was a rainbow, and that rainbow was created out of an emerald. And as he gazed at the majesty and beauty of his creator, John could only comprehend that it was like a brilliant diamond, like a brilliant ruby, like an emerald on the throne.

What an amazing experience that must have been. And then we come to the chorus of worship in heaven. Verses 9 through 11 give us a little bit of the lyrics of some of the music. "Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the 24 elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the '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.'" John was allowed to witness heavenly worship.

And what he saw, he tried to put into words. He gives us just a glimpse of the majesty and awe of what it will be like one day when we're part of that great assembly worshiping God in the heavenly choir. He noticed something important. Around the throne were 24 other thrones.

Sitting on them were 24 elders dressed in white and wearing golden crowns, and these elders represent the church, the redeemed people of God. And in the very next chapter, verses 8 through 10, John tells us, "Now, when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

And they sang a new song saying, 'You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God, and we shall reign on the Earth.'" I wish I wish we could hear what John heard.

I wish we could see what John saw. It's breathtaking, overwhelming, absolutely glorious. The angels and the church together lifting up endless praise to the God of heaven. Then we come to the crescendo of worship in heaven. Do you know what a crescendo is? Basically, it means to start small and end big.

In the worship songs in Revelation, there is an obvious crescendo. I don't know if you've ever seen this before, but this is really cool. This is a an amazing fact. There is in Revelation chapter 1 and verse 6, there's a twofold doxology. Here's what Revelation 1:6 says. "To him be glory and dominion forever and ever."

Glory and dominion. Two doxologies. Then in chapter 4, verse 11, there's a threefold doxology. "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power." And then in chapter 5, verse 13, there's a fourfold doxology. "Blessing and honor and glory and power be to him who sits on the throne."

And when you get to chapter 7, verse 12, there's a sevenfold doxology. "Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen." The worship grows as you move through the book. A crescendo of worship to the Lord.

When the church choirs do that, they start soft and simple and end loud and complex. It's not only beautiful, it's biblical cuz this is the way it will be in heaven someday. And there's another aspect of this that I want to point out as we live in this generation where we worship God.

It's as if the crescendo of worship to God escalates in accordance with the timeline of God's purposes in the world. In other words, the farther along you get in the book of Revelation, and the more you move toward the consummation of history in the coming again of the Lord, the more wonderful the worship becomes and the more prominent becomes.

And if that's true, if what I'm suggesting is true, and I believe it is, this crescendo of praise and worship we are experiencing is in accord with his timeline because we're getting close. We're getting close to the coming of the Lord. The crescendo of worship, how important that is, and what an illustration in the book of Revelation.

And then there's the contrast of worship in heaven. One of the things that we notice when we study this passage of scripture is the contrast between what's going on in heaven and what's going on on earth. John was allowed to experience two realities. On the one hand, he was isolated and separated from his friends and worried about the persecution of the church by Domitian, the Roman emperor.

John was facing discouragement, and yet in a moment of time he's ushered out of that reality through an open door into heaven, and he sees the Lord seated on a throne, the picture of sovereign control. He sees the elders bowing down and worshipping. He sees the beauty and majesty of heaven.

God gave this experience to John to encourage his heart. Worship took him from the loneliness of his discouragement right into the control room of the universe, where he could see God and his plan for the entire universe. This is one of the great byproducts of worship. It lifts our eyes off the struggle and places them on the sovereign and gives us perspective.

I don't know if you've ever had moments like this. I don't get discouraged very often. I do believe that it's one of the tools that Satan can get me if he wants to, and had plenty of reason recently uh to deal with that. But when that happens, I find some great worship music, and I get alone.

I remember we used to have a singer that came here, and I used to tell her, "You don't sing to us, you sing through us." Worship music doesn't play for you, it plays through you. And when you listen to it, and you realize that it's about the great God we serve and his plan for us, somehow the things of earth grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.

I encourage you to experience that. That's what worship is. Not just to bring praise to the Lord, the byproduct it does for us. And it takes our eyes off of the troublesome things that are going on around us and remind us not always going to be this way, friends.

God's got a plan, and we're a part of it. It's as if Jesus is saying to John, "John, things are not like they seem. Let me show you how they really are. Step into the throne room, and I will show you true reality." And here's what John saw.

Things are not out of control. Satan has not won. Evil has not triumphed. God is on his throne. Hallelujah. So, I want to give you four things to take away from this sermon that you hopefully won't forget. I hope these will stick in your heart and in your soul.

First of all, worship is not about us, it's about him. Look through the worship songs of Revelation, and you will be struck by the centrality of Christ in each one of them. He's described as holy, almighty, eternal, worthy, glorious, powerful, honorable, and strong. Worship is about seeing God high and lifted up.

When we get our eyes off of him and onto the styles of our worship or to the presentation of our worship, we miss the core value of New Testament worship. God is actively seeking those who will make him the focus of their lives in both their work and their worship.

Listen to me. I hope you never forget this. It's not about you, it's about him. All right? Number two. Worship is not about here, it's about there. One of the main purposes of worship is to get our minds off the things of this earth and onto the things in heaven.

Only as we're able to do that can we ever hope to function with integrity even in this life. Listen to what Paul wrote to the Colossians. He said, "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.

Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth, for you died, and your life is hidden with Christ and God." Do we do that? Do we set our mind on things above, not on things on this earth? It takes an act of the will and conscious determination to do that.

More so now in this culture where we are embroiled with all kinds of impulses coming at us, to take time to put Christ first, to put God first in our lives. Worship is not about us, and worship is not about here, it's about there. Here's another one. Worship is not about now, it's about then.

Paul challenged the Corinthian believers to leverage everything that was going on in their lives against the promise of the future. In 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, there's a classic passage where he does that. I'm going to read this to you and then point out these things. Therefore, we do not lose heart, even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Notice, the outward man is perishing, the inward man is being renewed. The Bible says that while we're kind of falling apart outwardly, we can come together inwardly because the word of God renews our inward spirit. As we get older and we walk with the Lord, the reality of who he is in our lives becomes more and more meaningful.

While we're falling apart outwardly, we're actually getting stronger inwardly. And then he says, "We have a light affliction for today, but we have a weight of glory for tomorrow." You might be going through some bad stuff, but let me tell you something. Whatever you're going through, it doesn't compare with the glory God has for you in the future.

Whatever it is you're experiencing right now, it doesn't even compare. There's no way to put it on the same page. And then he says, "The things which are seen cannot be triumphing over the things which are not seen." There is a reality that is unseen. Did you know we haven't seen the Lord face to face?

Yet we know him as surely as we're sitting here. One day we shall see him, and we shall be like him, but right now we don't see him face to face. We see him by faith through the scripture. And then he said, "Our affliction will be for a moment, but our glory will be forever, for eternity."

You see what he's doing? Paul is taking these two worlds, the world of heaven, where he's now been able to see the worship of glory, and he's leveraging it against what's going on right now. Now he's saying, "Things down here may not be what you want, but just remember, whatever this is going on here, God's got something great ahead for you."

It could not be clearer. Worship is the corridor through which we make the exchange of heaven. It is the avenue that leads us from the emptiness of this world to the fullness of the next. It's the street that leads from decay and discouragement to renewal and glory. When we fail to worship, we confine ourselves to the despair of this life.

So, when you come to church, don't come with a sour attitude about worship. Worship is not about us, it's about him. Worship is not about here, it's about there. Worship is not about now, it's about then. And worship is not about one, it's about many. Now, I want to get off on this a little bit.

I have a pet peeve that I'm going to let you know about. After COVID, we've had a bunch of people who say, "I don't need to go to church. I can worship the Lord in my own bedroom, watching on television with a cup of coffee in my hands."

God bless you. That is not scriptural. The Bible says we're not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some, but so much the more as the Lord's appearing draws near. The Bible says that as we sense the Lord is coming back, we shouldn't go to church less, we should go to church more.

And we should be with God's people more. Now, I know I know, men and women, you can worship the Lord alone, just you and your TV. But biblically, that idea is completely out of context. In the book of Revelation, for every one time you see an individual worshipping, there are five examples of massive corporate worship.

Crowds gather together around the throne praising God. I do not believe we are in the will of God if we decide, "I'm never going back to church again. It's too hard." It's hard for all of us. But church is where God does his best work, and church is where God says we should be.

We're together together. You can't gather together by staying home in your living room. There's no such thing as isolated Christianity. I've told you many times that the word saints in the Bible is always in the plural. It's never just about one believer doing life on his own. So, another strong reminder of the brothers and sisters in your local church.

When you read Revelation, you can't miss it. Heaven is filled with great gatherings of worship. Corporate worship is not just important, it's a glimpse of heaven. When you worship and you have a full heart of worship, it's like being in heaven for a short time. Here's what Revelation describes as the worship of heaven.

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures and the elders, and the number of them was 10,000 * 10,000 and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing."

And Revelation 19:6 says, "And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, the sound of many waters, and as the sound of mighty thunderings saying, 'Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigns.'" So, I want to ask you this, if choirs and orchestras can elevate us to such heights of enjoyment here on Earth, what in the world will it be like when we hear the celestial choirs accompanied by heaven-trained orchestra players?

In heaven, there will be thousands upon thousands, 10,000 * 10,000 worshipers. I don't know where you go and find an arena big enough for that, but all of heaven will be the arena, and worship will be the atmosphere in which we live every day. If you have never taken the step to believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can do that today.

If you will allow us, Dr. Jeremiah would like to send you two resources that will help you. The first is a booklet called Your Greatest Turning Point, which will help you as you begin your relationship with Christ. And the second is our monthly devotional magazine Turning Points, to give you encouragement and inspiration throughout the year.

These resources are yours, completely free, when you contact Turning Point today. ((music playing)) Thank you for being with us today. Join Dr. Jeremiah next time for his series, The Promise of Heaven, here on Turning Point. ((music playing)) ((applause)) ((music playing)) ((applause)) ((music playing)) ((applause)) ((music playing))