The Seat of All Power (#9) - October 14

we are in the midst of a very hotly contested election cycle we have congressional seats up for grabs we have senate seats up for grabs and we certainly are in the midst of a very contentious presidential election and whereas we all have our preferences and ideas about who we believe is best suited to lead our country or to represent our district or our state and on and on it goes ultimately it comes down to who will be in control who is going to have the power to run our country to run our state our district in which we live the cities of which we're apart but what i want all of us to understand is that the source of all power and he who has all power vested in his character and person is almighty god and no one else and i want all of us to realize that no matter what the outcome of any political contest here in america whether it is on a local or regional or national level or no matter who is ruling in the country where you may live i want everyone to hear me say tonight that god almighty is on his throne he is in full control and he is never up for election no votes are cast in electing him to be the sovereign of the universe it is who he has always been it is who he is and it is who he will forever be so i want us to take heart tonight that god occupies the seat of all power and that's the title of the message tonight the seat of all power we're going to turn to revelation chapter 4 and as we turn to revelation chapter 4 i just want to give you a little bit of a review before we look into the verses of revelation 4 by going back to the first chapter and you don't need to turn back there but on the screen you'll see revelation chapter 1 verse 19 where john was told write the things which you have seen and the things which are and the things which will take place after these things and many of you remember that because we refer to that as the verse that gives us the interpretive grid for dividing the book of revelation and if you just take those three phrases that john was given and we turn them into an outline for understanding the book of revelation it looks like this section number one taken from chapter 1 and verse 19 the things which you have seen and that included jesus christ depicted as he was and recorded in the words of john just as he saw him in his glorified state in heaven the second division would be he was told to write the things which are and that was the trivia question a moment ago chapters two and three the church age so the things which are are the letters to the seven churches that represent the church age in which we currently exist and then the third division from chapter 1 and verse 19 is to write the things which will take place in the future so that's chapters 4 through 22. so what you need to know is tonight we're making the transition into the final section the third and final section of the book if we take that outline from chapter 1 and verse 19 so we are shifting towards the futuristic aspect of the book of revelation now in chapter 1 and verse 19 as he was told to write the things which will take place after these things you can see i have underlined after these things the last three words of verse 19 of chapter 1. but as we begin in chapter 4 tonight you can see how verse 1 begins with those same three words after these things he says after these things i looked and behold there was a door standing open in heaven and the first voice which i had heard like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me said come up here and i will show you what must take place and there are those same three words after these things so the reason i'm pointing this out to you is because that english phrase after these things translates two greek words metta tauta which means after metta and tautai means these things we believe that is a dividing line between what has been what is and then what will take place after these things meta so the the current state is the church age chapters two and three now we're crossing this huge threshold into chapter four and the remainder of the book of revelation because from this point forward it is not about the past it is not even about the present but from verse 1 of chapter 4 through the last verse of chapter 22 it is all about future things things that have yet to take place and they are the things that will take place after these things which are past and present so hopefully you understand we're crossing this significant dividing line now chapters 4 and 5 really comprise an introduction to this final section concerning the future they establish what some have called the heavenly backdrop for the earthly events that are going to take place in the future that is why the scenery is beginning in heaven in chapter 4 and and chapter 5 and then we will see all of the catastrophe and judgment that ensues on the earth but we start in the right place at the throne of god in heaven which is what chapter 4 is devoted to now many people believe that it is here there between chap the last verse of chapter 3 and the first verse of chapter 4 that there is an implied rapture of the church it is not stated explicitly but rather it is something we assume from various contextual indicators and some other things that we can infer interpretively why is the rapture something that is so important to our understanding of how the church gets from earth to heaven when jesus appears why would the rapture that important doctrine not be mentioned specifically if it takes place here between the end of chapter three and the beginning of chapter four well one of the reasons is because revelation is not concerned with the future of the church necessarily although the church ends up in heaven the bulk of the content of revelation has to do with god's judgments that are poured out on the unbelieving earth those in the world who are rebellious and who reject god's rule in their lives and who reject the claims of jesus christ so when we think of it that way revelation the the the lion's share of it is devoted to a time when the church is no longer on the earth revelation we know is ultimately about the revealing of jesus christ as the king of the universe but here's what is missing starting in chapter 4 and verse 1. the church is missing some people have looked at verse number one and they have seen indicators of a rapture and others have argued that it's a stretch to see these things but for instance if you looked back in verse number one where john says i saw an open door it could be that it is through that open door that jesus left heaven appeared in the clouds and was prepared to call his church from the earth so he could gather them back to heaven but he also says there in verse number one if you were reading it when we looked at it a moment ago he said i heard a voice like the sound of a trumpet that was speaking with me and we know if he's saying i heard a voice like the sound of a trumpet according to first thessalonians 4 16 the apostle paul talked about that the trumpet of god would sound and the dead in christ would be raised and then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up so you have an open door to heaven you have john hearing a voice that sounds like a trumpet and we know that paul says a trumpet will sound when the church is raptured and then you hear the the instructions that say come up here come up here could symbolically refer to the lord saying come up here my church it is time for you to leave the earth so that god's judgment can be poured out on the earth after you vacate it and then the reference to i'm going to show you the things that will take place after these things so the church is removed and then after these things which refers to all the future events takes place but the removal of the church was the prerequisite now as i told you this isn't universally accepted as a translation some people as an interpretation some people believe it is too much of a stretch but i will tell you this after chapter 3 the word church does not appear again in the entire book of revelation until chapter 22 and verse 16. so isn't it interesting that you have in chapters two and three of revelation you have these mentions of the church each of these seven churches gets its own letter dictated from the lips of jesus to the heart and pen of john and so you have church church church church church church church and then when you cross the threshold into chapter 4 no more mention of that word church it goes from feast about church to famine of the very mention of the word church surely this is not merely a coincidence surely the fact that the church disappears from the vocabulary of the book starting in verse 1 of chapter 4 is more than just something that is to be understood as a possible interpretation another thing that's interesting to remember if you remember at the end of the letters to each of the churches the lord said he who has an ear to hear let him hear what the spirit says to the church is well the next time that expression he who has an ear to hear appears in the book of revelation it's in chapter 13 and verse 9 where it says simply if anyone has an ear let him hear so notice in chapter 13 verse 9 it simply says if you've got an ear listen but the last time that expression was used was when it was found at the closing of each of the seven letters to the seven churches and it was always used in reference to the churches he who has an ear to hear let him hear what the spirit says to the churches revelation 13 same verbiage is used what what is missing is any reference to church that's just another one of the contextual indicators that the church is no longer on planet earth beginning in chapter 4. now as we progress forward what i'm going to do tonight is just kind of walk through each one of these verses so we've started in chapter one where john hears a voice like sound of a trumpet says come up here now does he literally literally leave the earth in a bodily way no i believe that even though he was told to come up here if you were watching john while he was perhaps sitting on a on a on a stone there on the rock quarry island of patmos if you were watching him when he was receiving this revelation i don't believe his body would have moved i think what happened here is he had an out of body experience where his spirit was elevated to the heavenly realm so his body stayed put on planet earth but in the spiritual sense god transported him to a place beyond the the earthly universe it's a place that i believe we could um equate with what paul called the third heaven it's not just the sky and atmosphere and it's not just the universe beyond the earth's sky and atmosphere but it is that third heaven which is beyond the material universe which is the dwelling place of almighty god so he says in verse number two of chapter four immediately i was in the spirit right after right after he heard the words come up here he says i was in the spirit and behold a throne set in heaven and one sat on the throne so isn't that neat that he says immediately something happened to me in the power of the holy spirit and the next thing i i went from looking at a rock quarry and boulders on this island in the aegean sea and the next thing i saw lifted out of my body in the realm of the spirit i saw a throne he is definitely in heaven now this is just for those of you who want to take it a step further in understanding another way that the book of revelation can be divided we looked at chapter 1 and verse 19 as giving us a three-fold outline of the book of revelation that has more to do with chronology another way the book of revelation could be divided has to do with a literary way and and it's a division a system of division based on the expression that we find in verse two in the spirit and the bible scholar the late dr merril c tenney uh i think i've referred to him one other time he wrote the little volume interpreting revelation he caught this reference to in the spirit and how it appears four times in the book of revelation you can see on the screen there the times that that expression is used we saw it in chapter 1 and verse 10 when the book began john told us i was in the spirit on the lord's day and now in chapter 4 and verse 2 he says immediately i was in the spirit and then in chapter 17 and verse 3 john says and he carried me away in the spirit and in chapter 21 and verse 10 same reference and he carried me away in the spirit now only reason i'm showing you that is because at a later time we'll come back and kind of look at that division and the significance of what follows each one of those expressions john uses in the spirit as they're found in those four different places but let's move to this idea of there being a throne that john is now seeing in verse two of chapter 4. this is a wonderful reminder for all of us tonight that there is a throne in the center of heaven and it is god's throne there is no one else worthy to to to occupy to sit upon that throne this throne represents the authority of god this throne represents the sovereignty of god and this throne represents the complete dominion of god the omnipotence of god that god is above all and through all and in all and you know if you don't hear anything else i say whether it's the three divisions of what was and is and shall be after these things meta taltah are the four references to in the spirit listen if you miss all this these prophetic insights here's what everybody needs to take away from tonight's message and that is this while we're down here biting our nails about who's going to win the elections and whether we're going to get another justice on the supreme court who believes in religious liberty and interpreting the constitution as it was written not like european courts tell us we should interpret it and and on and on we could go we need to know there is no nail-biting on the part of him who is seated on the throne god is not biting his nails god is not swinging down maylocks or mylanta god is not in a state of panic or worry god is seated on his throne of power and no earthly election no government authority no foe of hell can pry god from off his throne so i want you to say it with me tonight god is on his throne will you say that god is on his throne now the question is you said it do you really believe it well hallelujah i believe it and i pray i i just i can see so many ways in which god orchestrated our studying this book at such a chaotic time when people on all different sides of issues and political struggles are realizing that it's down to the fight of a lifetime but god in heaven is seated on his throne be encouraged by that oh how i praise him that he still has all power and all sovereignty so john says i saw this throne there in verse number two and he says there was one who sat on the throne let's go now to verse number three and he who sat there was like a jasper and a sardia stone in appearance and there was a rainbow around the throne in appearance like an emerald so i want us to break this down because he says in verse number two there was one who was on that throne which must be god but then rather than describing him as appearing to be a man or in ways that we would understand which would be in human terms he describes god by using stones and we're going to look at this in just a moment now this is a little bit of a technical explanation but as we know that not until the son of god became incarnate in jesus of nazareth could god be described in in with the attributes of of a human of a man because the bible teaches us that god is spirit so when you're studying the bible unless there is a reference to the literal bodily jesus christ who took on humanity when he came to the earth 2 000 years ago and still occupies a glorified human body in heaven the father god is without form he is spirit in essence so when the father god is described in human terms we we use an expression when we're studying the scripture and we refer to it as an anthropomorphism now let me just show you the etymology of that word it comes from the combination of of the greek word for man and the word morphe which means form and so anthropomorphism means describing something with the attributes as though it is human so you find this kind of anthropomorphic language throughout the scripture when it talks about the arm of the lord is not too short that it cannot say when it talks about jesus being seated at the right hand of god when it talks about the eyes of the lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth we could go on and on finding scriptures where god is said to have human attributes those things we would associate with the human body so i just wanted you to know that that here in describing the one who is seated on the throne which is god there is no anthropomorphic language there is nothing describing his head or his eyes or his mouth or his chest or his arms or his feet instead john uses precious stones to describe him who occupies the throne which is god and he starts by talking about jasper now the jasper stone is actually clear just like crystal it's referred to in later on in the book of revelation so he starts with jasper then he mentions the sardia stone did you see that and the the the whereas jasper is clear as clear as a diamond and some have even argued it could be the same stone as a diamond the sardius stone was read like a ruby now if you've ever studied the old testament you may remember that the high priest of israel would put upon himself over what he wore a breastplate with 12 stones in a setting on that breastplate and of course you know that each one of those 12 precious stones represented one of the 12 tribes of israel so when the high priest would go before god the tribes of israel embodied in those 12 stones symbolically they were on his heart but it was a reminder that as he went before god he was going on behalf of representing all of the people who belong to the 12 tribes the people of israel you can read about this in exodus chapter 28 verses 17 through 21. now here's what the reason i'm bringing that out is because in exodus 28 where it describes how that breastplate was to be constructed with the layout of the stones guess what the jasper stone that john mentions first here describing god it was the first stone in the breastplate and the sardia stone which is the second stone that john mentions here was the last stone in the breastplate that was worn by the high priest so you have the first of those 12 jewels in the breastplate and the last of those 12 jewels and so what this what this means is that this jasper stone and sardia stone perhaps it's collectively referring to god's unique covenant relationship with the people of israel in other words that even though john has been transported in the spirit realm into heaven he describes god with these two stones which take us back to the breastplate on the high priest of israel certainly this is no coincidence then he describes there being a rainbow now it's not the multi-colored rainbow it it is simply a circle that is described as being emerald green in coloration so when you when you look at that you see the jasper stone the sardius stone hearkening back to god's relationship with the the 12 tribes of israel by the way one thing i fail to mention is that that first stone the jasper stone was for the tribe of reuben who was the eldest and the sardius stone represented the tribe of benjamin who is the youngest of the 12 sons of jacob so all of this has such meaningful imagery we could delve into literally for hours but we have to press on the reason that i want to call attention to the jasper the sardius and to this uh emerald green rainbow that he mentions is because later in the book of revelation when john is describing the different precious stones that were that comprised the foundation for the walls around the new jerusalem you've heard of the new jerusalem will eventually get there but i just want to put it on the screen to show you that in revelation 21 19 the foundations of the wall of the city in this city was the new jerusalem were adorned with all kinds of precious stones and the first was jasper and when you go on down you can see the fourth was emerald and then in verse 20 the sixth was sardius so the very precious stones that are used to describe god in symbolic terms on the throne here in chapter four those very stones are among the ones that appear in in the description of what is the foundation for the walls of the new jerusalem okay so moving on god is on his throne he's described here symbolically through these precious stones or jewels so as we move through this one of the things i want you to notice is the use of prepositions in john's description of this throne room of god so starting with the preposition on uh there's no other person this could be than god god is on his throne but what we're going to see now is another preposition is around the throne and let's look um in uh verse number four around the throne were 24 thrones and on the thrones i saw 24 elders sitting and they were clothed in white robes and they had crowns of gold on their heads now the question is this when you look at verse 4 and it says there were 24 thrones and 24 elders seated on those thrones the question is who are these 24 elders who are seated on these thrones all right so one question is this in the same way that the the jasper and sardius hearken us back to the breastplate worn by the high priest of israel could these 24 elders that are surrounding the throne of god each of whom is seated on on a respective throne could this be the redeemed of israel the reason that this is a possible interpretation is because thinking back to the priestly system in the old testament there could be several thousands of priests who were active back in the priestly days when the the priestly system operated among the people of israel but what those priests were divided into were 24 orders of priests 24 different groupings of priests and so the head of each one of those 24 orders was a priest himself so when they would gather together the 24 orders of priests would be represented by their priestly head of each order and there would be 24 of them gathering together now i don't particularly believe that these 24 elders represent israel and no one else and i'm going to explain to you why a little bit later but it's interesting that there were 24 orders of priests and there are 24 elders that john sees around the throne of god so is it israel another question is are these 24 elders symbolic of the church because if as we have interpreted that the church is raptured out implied there beginning in verse 1 of chapter 4. could this circle of 24 thrones and 24 elders on those thrones could this symbolize the the church the reason that some have speculated that it could be the church is because he said there in verse number four that they that these elders are clothed in white robes and they had crowns of gold on their head so when you think about white robes and crowns of gold on their head for a moment i want us to reach back into the seven letters and to the church at smyrna in chapter 2 of revelation in verse 10 jesus gave this promise be faithful until death and i will give you the crown of life so there you see it there is an overcomer or a crown for the faithfulness of believers that was made to the church at smyrna and we can by placing ourselves in the church age we understand that we too will receive crowns as rewards remember these elders all have a crown on their heads so some reach back and say well since overcomers get a crown these 24 must be the church but remember they were also these elders john describes are also clothed in white garments when you look into chapter 3 the words of jesus to the church at sardis this is what jesus promised them he who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments so when you look at it understanding that that what is promised to one church can be claimed by everyone who's part of god's church we all understand that if we are truly saved we will persevere to the end there will be reward for faithful overcoming and perseverance crown on our head white robes then surely this could be the church these 24 elders that's all we're trying to decode now i want to say a word about crowns before we go forward because there are several greek words that are translated by the english word crown and um you know i know i've been using a lot of greek tonight and i usually don't do that but i just i think this is all interesting for us one of the greek words that is translated crown is diatoma are there different ways to pronounce it but we get our english word diadem from it the crown of a ruler or king which is a crown of authority you you might have remembered the song all hail the power of jesus name and one of the lines in that song says bring forth the royal diadem and crown him lord of all so the diadem is the royal kingly crown of sovereignty but then there is another greek word that is translated crown and it is the greek word stefanos from which the word stefan or stephanie that we use uh when when we name our children and stephanos is the woven crown of leaves that was placed on the head of the winner in the athletic games the victor in some type of athletic contest which we know came to us from the greeks it was the victor's crown well when you're reading the english bible diadem can be translated crowned and stephanus can be translated crowned and you wouldn't know which greek word lies under that english word well in this passage where these elders are said to have crowns on their head it is the word stephanos these elders are not wearing crowns of sovereignty kingly royalty oh no these elders are are wearing woven wreaths around their head made of gold nonetheless but they are the victor crown the the crown given to overcomers so we know the these crowns are the rewards that have been placed upon the heads of these 24 elders okay so stepping back we asked the question are these 24 elders exclusively israel are these 24 elders exclusively the church because they're wearing white linen robes and they are wearing the stephanos the victor's crown that jesus promised to the overcomer or are these 24 elders symbolic of all the redeemed from israel and the church age and what i want to present to you is that is what i adopt as the proper interpretation because when you think about it those who have died prior to the time of christ and then those who have died during the church age and those who were raptured out when when christ appeared in the clouds the redeemed of israel the redeemed of the church age gathered around the throne and stop and think with me for a moment there were 12 tribes of israel and then do you know the foundation for the church the bible says were the 12 apostles of christ so when you take the 12 tribes add that to the 12 apostles israel church 12 12 you have 24. so i believe the best interpretation is to see that circle of 24 elders as representative of all who were saved by the grace of god from the the time of israel before christ to those who were part of the church age who were saved during the days of the church so that's fun to talk about now we've talked about who was on the throne god was on the throne the second preposition was who was around the throne the 24 elders representing the redeemed of israel the redeemed of the church now we want to to talk about what john saw before the throne and in verse number five he says from the throne two prepositions from the throne and before the throne from the throne proceeded lightnings thunderings and voices seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne which are the seven spirits of god so you see there god is on the throne the elders are around the throne there were things the the sounds and phenomena that were coming from the throne and then there were lamps of fire that were burning before the throne so you've got to underline those prepositions as we're following them now did you see that that from the throne proceeded lightnings thunderings and voices now if you have been part of this study you remember me telling you that revelation is one of the most thoroughly old testament books in the new testament and we have seen that at every turn here we see it again thunderings and lightnings proceeding from the throne of god which lets you know this is a sober moment this isn't a time to be flippant or careless or haphazard or irreverent thunderings and lightnings i don't know about you but when it is thundering and lightning i'm paying attention but imagine being transported to the throne of the living god and feeling the clap of thunder and seeing the bolts of lightning but do you know another time when the bible describes those same phenomena as taking place it was when moses was on mount sinai and god was giving him what would become the law the law that that embodied the covenant between god and the people of israel and in exodus chapter 19 and verse 16 it says it came to pass on the third day in the morning that there were and notice what i've underlined there thunderings and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and the sound of the trumpet was very loud so that all of the people who were in the camp trembled so you see this is parallel with what john describes as manifesting from the throne of god now these phenomena associated with with the throne of god and the fact that those things happen when god was giving moses the law this lets us know that judgment is about to take place when the law was given the law was given from a holy god and from from that time until this time when john sees these phenomena and here's these phenomena what god is saying is i am about to judge the world i am a holy god and i reserve the right to judge and what the basis of god's judgment is going to be is the law of god the moral principles that are laid down the imperatives the mandates that thou shouts the thou shalt nots god's law at which time it was given there were thunderings and lightnings and now as time the whistle is being blown on time in chapter 4 of revelation god says listen to the thundering and watch these lightning bolts because the same holy god who gave the law that mankind has rejected for all these years this holy god is about to bring doom upon the earth so there's no coincidence here this takes us back to mount sinai now when we were reading verse number five john says he saw these seven lamps of fire burning before the throne of god which are the seven spirits of god remember when we talked about the seven spirits of god in chapter one we established that there aren't seven different holy spirits but that seven being the number of completion is simply a figurative expression for the the singular holy spirit there aren't seven spirits of god there is just one spirit of god with seven distinct ministries so the number seven simply embodies the third person of the godhead the father the son and the holy spirit what we see in chapter four is the father seated on the throne and then the seven lamps of fire representing the holy spirit we see the father and the spirit in the throne room when we get to chapter 5 we will see the son of god and we will have all three members of the holy trinity represented in this throne room scene into which john was invited for this holy spirit empowered out of body experience to be honest with you the thought i just had when that came out of my mouth is it makes me want to reach down and take my shoes off you remember what god told moses he said take your shoes off your feet because the ground on which you stand is holy ground i'm telling you when we are before the throne of god here in chapter 4 we are on holy ground we are on holy ground now let's go on to verse number six 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 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 so before the throne this sea of glass obviously it is a placid sea and undisturbed sea some interpreters have seen this as reaching back to the wash stands at the entrance to the tabernacle and later to the temple we're really left to speculation about the significance of this sea of glass before the throne of god it could also symbolize the stability of god's character i want you to think about it for a moment in the previous verse john has heard these thunderings and seen these flashes of lightning and yet he goes on to describe in the midst of the rumble in the midst of the upheaval indicating god's holiness and judgment this sea in front of god is undisturbed it means that we're not that john is not to let the phenomena of lightning and thunder and the voice like a trumpet cause him to think that there is chaos at the throne of god no to the contrary god is god of order not chaos and god is a resolute god not a fickle god and so this placid sea of glass could be indicative of the fact that god is resolved in his holiness what will be will be and that is he will be vindicated through his wrath being poured out on planet earth during the tribulation now who are these living creatures there are four of them and some have interpreted these four living creatures that john describes as being symbolic of four attributes of god himself for instance in verse number six it says that uh there were four living creatures and they were full of eyes in front and back well what does it mean to have eyes everywhere in front and everywhere and back it means there are no blind spots and and the implication there is that of omniscience that eyes in front and back suggest those who see and know all and of course that would be true of each member of the godhead also it says that these four living creatures in verse six are in the midst of the throne and it's already described god as being seated on the throne well i i don't know that i believe they are particular representations of of god's characteristics but another interesting interpretation is this is that each of those four living creatures symbolizes a particular way in which christ was was was depicted by matthew mark luke and john when each of those men penned their gospel accounts of the life of jesus for instance the the face of a lion in matthew's gospel written primarily to jews jesus christ is presented as the king of israel and we know he is the lion of the tribe of judah in the gospel of mark jesus as is presented as a sacrificial servant and one of these four creatures the second is he has the face of a calf and a calf is that sacrificial animal that was given in innocence on an altar to pay for the sins of the guilty a precious innocent calf in the gospel of luke luke presents jesus as the son of man and it's no coincidence that the third living creature has the face of a man and then in the in the gospel of john john presents jesus as the son of god and this fourth creature is like that of a flying eagle and the eagle is the greatest of all birds soaring above all others and so it represents the sovereignty of christ so that's another possible interpretation you can see how these interpretations could keep on going another view is that these four creatures are actually angels with different facial features or they could simply be a type of created being to which ezekiel the prophet actually refers in his prophecy but i'm going to tell you whoever they are whatever they look like this is what we know that they do they worship god look in verse number eight these 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 now in function these four living creatures that john sees there in the throne room they are remarkably similar to the creatures that are referred to as seraphs or seraphim in that exalted passage in isaiah where he saw the lord high and lifted up in isaiah chapter 6 beginning in verse 2 isaiah says above the throne stood seraphim each one had six wings and that same six wings attribute was mentioned by john in verse eight each one of the seraphim had six wings with two he covered his face with two he covered his feet and with two he flew and one cried to another and said holy holy holy is the lord of hosts the whole earth is full of his glory so i want you to notice the the remarkable parallel between these four living creatures in revelation 4 and these seraphim which are described in isaiah chapter 6. whoever they are and whether they have a counterpart anywhere else in creation this is what we know they are devoted to one thing and it says they do not rest day or night and that is worship and look at their song of worship they cry out holy holy holy lord god almighty who was and is and is to come now i want you to underline that in your bible because holy holy holy by repeating it by stating it three different times holy holy holy he is the threefold holy god some have called him the thrice holy god the fact that holy is stated three times tells us that holiness is god's greatest attribute not only that but they they say lord god almighty and the reference to him being lord and god and almighty three distinct words once again describes the scope of his power so he is holy he is sovereign and all-powerful but notice when they worship him they call him the god who was that's past who is that's present and who is to come that is future and what this means is in his essence he is eternal he is without beginning and without ending he always has been he always and forevermore will be now that is rich and meaningful worship taking place in heaven well now don't forget about the 24 elders because john says those 24 elders are watching these four living creatures and they're listening to the four living creatures make their pronouncements of god's holiness of god's power and of god's eternality and what do they do when they see worship and when they hear these proclamations of worship well verse 9 tells us whenever these 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 those 24 elders they worship him who lives forever and ever and they cast their crowns before the throne and this is what they say when they worship they say 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 now do you see what they do they fall down before the throne as their act of worship and if these 24 represent the redeemed of israel and the redeemed of the church age why would they prostrate themselves down before the throne of god it is because they are acknowledging that god alone is worthy of worship and that it is only by god's grace that they have been given an entrance into heaven as their home they are bowed down to the ground and then he said they cast their crowns the stephanos victor overcomer crowns they were given the crown as their reward of faithfulness but what do they do with their crown they take it off their head and lay it before the throne of god it's their way of saying thank you for the reward you gave us for our faithfulness but apart from you we would not have the strength to have been faithful the only crowns worn in heaven should be worn by god and they remove their crowns and place those crowns before god's throne what they're saying is the stephanos crown is the victor's crown but they're saying the only true victor is god himself because our victory comes only through the power that god gives us what an act of worship and by the way i want to tell you something you know dr stanley talk talks a lot about kneeling in prayer and the importance of the posture of kneeling but i'm going to tell you something else i've seen him doing something that i tried to do and something i want to ask you to consider doing i want to ask you to consider trying this if you've never tried it to prostrate yourself before god i'm talking about your belly to the earth your face it pressed to the carpet where you lay yourself out before god it is one of the most humbling positions you can take before god god is pleased when we pray standing up he's pleased when we pray sitting down he really knows we mean business when we get on our knees and we pray but when we prostrate ourselves it is one of the greatest expressions of worship we can ever give god and that is what these 24 elders did and after they cast their crowns before the throne of god prostrate their bodies before the throne of god they cry out us a hymn of praise to god and and it's in verse number 11 and i want to summarize it and then i'll pray number one god is worthy they say you are worthy how many of us would say that to him tonight oh god you alone are worthy the second thing they said you created all things they are saying god it is you that has made us and not we ourselves you are the creator god responsible for all things and i want you to know something this idea of thundering and lightning proceeding from the throne that is indicative of god's judgment that is about to fall one of the last songs of praise uttered to god in the throne room before his judgment is a reminder that god created all things and when you think about that that means he created the world he created all plant life all animal life and he created one man and one woman and god defined marriage all of our moral fabric is bound up in god's act of creation and when you pull one thread out of that tapestry it falls apart darwinian evolution has led us down this road where we are today and part of our worship of god is to accept what the book of genesis teaches us that god is our creator we didn't come from some big boom we are not the product of some evolutionary process we are the special creation of almighty god and these redeemed saints in heaven cry that out to god and the last thing they say is this by your will everything exists and everything has been created which means that nothing would exist apart from god's will in having created it it is god's power and will that sustain all things now i'm telling you you and i we've been transported in the spirit tonight to a worship service that is truly out of this world the four living creatures never rest day or night crying out holy holy holy is the lord god almighty who was who is who is to come the 24 elders cast their crowns down before the throne prostrate themselves and cry out you alone or are worthy you have created all things and by your pleasure by your will they are and were created that my friends is worship around the seat of all authority father how we praise you tonight that you have allowed us to be transported into heaven and to see these creatures engaging in worship and these 24 elders modeling for us true worship before you and your holiness and i pray that we will always come back to this passage to be reminded of the way in which we should approach you when we worship to you be all the glory in jesus name amen you

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Published: Wed Oct 14 2020