Sermon Tone Analysis

Revelation 5:1-14

Worship!

Our Eternal Occupation!

 

/Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals.

And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?”

But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it.

I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.

Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep!

See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed.

He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” /

/Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the centre of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders.

He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.

And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb.

Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

And they sang a new song:  /

/“You are worthy to take the scroll /

/and to open its seals, /

/because you were slain, /

/and with your blood you purchased men for God /

/from every tribe and language and people and nation.

/

/You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, /

/and they will reign on the earth.”

/

/Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand.

They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.

In a loud voice they sang:  /

/“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, /

/to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength /

/and honour and glory and praise!” /

/Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:  /

/“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb /

/be praise and honour and glory and power, /

/forever and ever!”  /

/The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped/.

| !

W

|

orship is the labour of heaven.

Throughout eternity, the redeemed will worship.

The prospect of eternal worship necessarily strikes terror in the unredeemed heart.

Those who are casual Christians, who consider their Faith as simply a liturgical act which can be restricted to a few moments on a Sunday morning, must consider this vision of Heaven as a form of torture.

Far too many of the saints of God are unprepared for worship—in fact, have never worshipped!

Consequently, the prospect of eternal worship strikes them with terror since it is tantamount to entering into the unknown.

If you will prepare for Heaven, you must discover worship here on earth.

Worship (a Definition) — Throughout the weeks leading up to this message, I have endeavoured to provide a theology of worship.

We have examined worship as presented in the Word of God.

Several truths have emerged which need to be iterated to ensure that we worship acceptably both as individuals and as a congregation.

One such truth is that worship, though capable of being offered on an individual basis, has a corporate character which is too frequently ignored among the professed saints of God.

It is more likely that the congregation united will worship then that an individual will worship.

As a church, we must encourage corporate worship.

This will require each of us accepting responsibility to prepare ourselves to worship through praying for God’s gracious presence at each service, asking that our fellow worshippers receive His blessing and that we make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit.

Another truth which we have uncovered is that worship is not defined emotionally.

Worship is not described by an emotional state.

Neither does worship demand a particular emotion, though worship will necessarily affect the emotions.

Accordingly, we must guard against any effort to manipulate the emotions or to “create” a worship atmosphere.

If we seek God, making every effort to meet Him on His terms, we will likely worship.

We must eschew all artificial efforts designed to worship.

We anticipate worship through preparing ourselves to meet the True and Living God, but we do not control worship.

We are called to prepare ourselves to worship through confessing known sin, through refusing to submit to the mindset of this dying world, and through seeking to be holy and righteous.

Having prepared ourselves for worship and having planned for worship, we are nevertheless surprised by God as He reveals Himself in our midst.

Discovering God’s presence, we worship before Him.

Worship is the spontaneous response of the creature to the presence of the Creator.

As the character of God is progressively revealed through the written Word and through the preached Word, we marvel and wonder before Him.

Worship is most often associated with a sense of awe, as we are astonished by the grace and beauty of our God.

One common term for worship is the Greek word proskunevw.

Proskunevw, used absolutely speaks of sharing in public worship, or of the offering up of prayers.

Examples of this use is found in *John 12:20* and *Acts 8:27*.

In *Revelation*, proskunevw denotes a particular kind of prayer, namely a prayer of adoration.

Its characteristic features find expression in the various hymns of adoration found throughout *Revelation* [e.g.

*Revelation 4:8-11*; *5:8-10, 12-14*; *7:10-12*; *11:15-18*; *12:10f.*;

*15:3 f.*; *16:5-7*; *19:1-7*].

Such adoration is addressed to God himself or to Jesus Christ.

[1]

Another term which is translated by the English term *worship* is the Greek verb latreuvw.

All twenty-one cases of latreuvw in the New Testament are used in a religious sense, including the worship of strange gods.

In the main, however, the term latreuvw (and derivatives of latreuvw) speaks of service to God.

For instance, the priests in the Temple served God as they carried out the rituals prescribed by Moses; and their services were an act of worship.

The people, as they carried out the various prescribed rituals, served God and thus worshipped Him.  /How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may *serve* the living God/  [*Hebrews 9:14*; cf.

*Hebrews 12:28*]!

However, service to God is not restricted to these prescribed acts as is evident from various passages.

Only the conscience which has been cleansed and brought to life by Christ, only the one who has been received into the true and eternal community of God can worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.[2]

You have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God.

You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven.

You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks.

If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?

At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”

The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire”

[*Hebrews 12:22-29*].

Service as worship [leitourgiva] must not be ignored.

Serving God, we worship.

Paul considered his ministry an act of worship [cf.

*Romans 15:16*; see *Philippians 2:17*].

In a similar manner, as you serve God, whether through teaching the Word of God or through witnessing of God’s grace to another, whether through praying or through the reading of the Word, you worship.

Your service to God is an act of worship.

As parents read the Word of God to their children, the family worships.

As families conduct devotions together, they are worshipping.

As we offer up our prayers, especially as we seek good for others, we enter into worship.

As we gather and participate in the conduct of the services of the church, we worship.

Focusing on our text, we discover that worship is concerned with God’s being (not with his gifts as in thanksgiving) and with his works in a world-wide context.

In one hymn, we see God praised because of His work of creation [*Revelation 4:8-11*].

In other hymns He is honoured because of His rule [*Revelation** 15:3 f.*; *16:5-7*].