The Heart Of Worship:
Have you ever had to walk through an open door without knowing what might be on the other side? Were you scared? Curious? Or feeling a sense of adventure?
“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.””
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Can you imagine seeing the door to heaven standing open and having someone call to you to come inside? If I sit and think about it a while I might over analyze my decision if placed in this same situation, but John wasn’t given time to think. He was instantly in the spirit and present in the throne room of heaven. What sights he beheld as he stood, I’m certain overwhelmed, and took note of everything around him. His descriptions were compared to precious stones and I wonder if these were simply the most beautiful earthly things he could uses to describe the treasures he gazed upon. Until I get there and see it for myself I can only wonder about the details.
(Disclaimer: Though I hope no one would make assumptions, I would like to clarify that I am not a licensed pastor or preacher. My blog studies are meant to be thought provoking, inspiring, and relatable in every day life. They are not a complete breakdown or verse by verse teaching of the word but instead a way of simple daily application for Christian women.)
While my imagination is easily distracted with replays of vivid, colorful sky-scapes complete with a sort of castle in the sky fantasy realm backdrop, the point of this chapter is the Holiness and Majesty of God. John’s descriptions may take my mind to a place of fantasy as he describes the creatures and the colors around him but the center of all these things is the presence of God and how those around His throne are there to worship Him. Did you know that God created humans for the purpose of worship and fellowship? We can learn from this chapter just how important worshiping our Creator really is.
“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. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads. And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.”
The worship of those in heaven is described as “lightnings, thunderings, and voices.” I can only imagine the sound. There is a song called the heart of worship that I learned as a teen while singing on the worship team at our church. I never quite understood the part that says, “I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I have made it.” Even as a young member of the worship team I was unsure what the songwriter had made worship out to be and why it bothered him so much that he needed to apologize. Over the years I wondered if he/she simply hadn’t been putting their heart into the worship. Perhaps considering it a requirement that was an expected part of the service. It’s easy for any musician to pick apart a worship team or complain about the way things are run or the way that song is sung, but, do we have the right to do this?
“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. The 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!””
As I study through this chapter, I find that a complacency with the way worship is done in many churches is not the problem. It’s the way I worship that needs to change to the way God intended us to worship Him. When I read verse 8 again… “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” …I remember that there is no me or my opinion in the verse. Only God! My focus on the way worship is done, the way the team is run, the way this person or that performs a song is all an earthly perspective. Colossians 3:16 tells us to worship Him with grace in our hearts. I cannot be critical and have grace in my heart at the same time.
“Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: “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.””
Worship should be more than the thirty minutes before service on Sundays. It should be a way of life for us. Living our lives in a way that pleases and bring attention to our God is also a form of worship. By living in a constant state of thankfulness to my creator and savior for all that He has done for me, I am worshiping Him with my actions. Worship should flow from our bodies like a river that never runs dry. No matter the circumstance of my life today, I should be worshiping my God and praising His name for my salvation. He didn’t have to have a plan to save us from ourselves and He doesn’t have to show us mercy but He does.
I pray today that we will worship God with a pure heart and a desire to please Him not ourselves. Have a blessed day little sparrows.
-ScriptureSparrow
#Blessings #Hope #heaven #Revelation #encouragement #womensdevotions #Biblestudy #endtimes #lastdays #worship
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