11-8-2024 Many people consider the book of Revelation difficult to understand because of the language, strange symbolism, undecipherable action and location and time period(s). Yet, Revelation has some of the richest worship scenes that exist anywhere in the Bible.
For example, in Revelation 4:8, heavenly creatures continually circle God’s throne singing “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” And the 24 elders who earned heavenly crowns bow before Almighty God and take off those crowns they worked so hard to get and lay them at God’s feet. The worship in Revelation shows us what true worship looks like.
Imagine an athlete today training for years, making sacrifices that the average person will not. They rise before dawn to practice alone, knowing that most people are asleep, often wondering if it’s worth all the hard work. Then finally that athlete qualifies to race in the Olympics and wins the gold medal. With medal in hand, the athlete steps off the winner’s platform and lays that medal at God’s feet. That means that living in God’s presence is worth more than all the years of sacrifices, pains and scars, achievements and defeats, and even the coveted gold medal. That is what worship in Revelation tries to teach us. Your hard times and good times do not compare to experiencing the true presence of God. Revelation shows the type of worship possible for us on earth because the Bible is an instruction book for believers on earth. The Bible is not an instruction book for heaven, although it gives us a few clues.
Revelation chapter 4 also reminds us that our job is to give all glory, honor, and power to the Lord our God. It reminds us that God created us and it is only by God that we have our being, or exist (Rev. 4:11). Every breath we take, heartbeat, sunrise and sunset, every morsel of food, every tear and smile are all because God gave them to us. Everything we have or achieve is from God. We wake up every morning only because God gently calls our name. All—the good and the bad—is a lesson and gift from God.
And we thank God for those gifts. Yet, the greatest gift is the One who gives those things to us. And he watches to see if we will figure out that he, God Almighty, is the greatest gift. That is where worship comes in. By all means desire and ask God for the “things” you need and want. But above all, talk to God through worship. Talk to the true Gift about how wonderful he is. Worship God as though your life depended upon it because your life and peace always depend upon it. True promotion is worshipping God. O Believers, worship, the True and Living God! Worship God now!
