Revelation 5:7-14
Worthy is the Lamb –
Part 2
Read…
Phil. 2:9 Therefore God
also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
Phil. 2:10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in
heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
Phil. 2:11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Pray
Introduction
√ Worship
In the last few weeks we’ve learned that much of what goes on in heaven is worship...
Worship of…
God the Father – chapter 4
God the Son – chapter 5
In our study last week we learned that Jesus is worthy of our worship because…
Because of What He’s done – Redeemed us
Because of Who He is – Almighty God
Because of Where He is - Heaven
This morning we continue our study of chapter 5 and find that Jesus is also worthy of our worship because…
Because of What He does – Redeems the Earth
Because of What He has – All power, authority, glory, & honor
Worthy is the Lamp!
Because of what He does (vs. 7-10)
Rev. 5:7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
Rev 5:8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
Rev 5:9 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,
Rev 5:10 and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth."
√ Because of what He does
Jesus is worthy of the worship of heaven because…
…He took the scroll!
That is, Jesus demonstrates that He has the power and the authority to claim the title deed to the Earth and it's inhabitants in that He is able to take the scroll!
Note that when Jesus takes the scroll - the weeping ends and the worship begins!
They worship Him for all the reasons we've mentioned so far, because of…
What He’s done for us in the past – redeemed us from sin & Satan
Who He is - God, Lion of Judah, Lamb of God, etc.
Where He is; the center of Heaven
Now we find the host of heaven worshiping Jesus because of What He does for us in the future…
…He takes the title deed of the Earth thus beginning the fulfillment of His Plan to reclaim the Earth for His children!
√ Look at who is worshipping Jesus...
The 24 elders – a picture of the redeemed
The 4 living creatures - the cherubim
Saints – those singing the song of the Redeemed
Very significant because ONLY God can be worshipped!
Another proof text that Jesus is God!
Rev 22:8 Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.
Rev 22:9 Then he said to me, "See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God."
Therefore, if we find angels, the elders in heaven and all the saints worshipping Jesus…
…Whom must Jesus be?
√ Listen
Listen to the words of their worship as recorded in vs. 9-10...
"You are worthy" - they ascribe worth to Him
"You were slain" - they recall His sacrifice
"You redeemed us by your blood" - they acknowledge His atonement.
"Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation," - they acknowledge the unity of His Body – the Church.
"Made us a kings & priests - reign on earth" - they acknowledge the fulfillment of His promises.
So, we find all of heaven’s host worshipping Jesus – the Son of God because of what He will one day do…
…take the scroll (title deed of the earth) from the Father and take possession of the earth.
Because of what He has (vs. 11-14)
Rev 5:11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,
Rev 5:12 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!"
Rev 5:13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!"
Rev 5:14 Then the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.
√ Because of what He has
Take a moment to get a hold of the picture that John is painting for us...
...as John looks on his vision moves from those immediately surrounding the Throne of God to take in an innumerable host of angels along with the entire universe as they break forth in praise and worship of the Father and the Son!
How awesome is that!
Think also of the incredible irony of this scene! John had ministered with Jesus when He walked in Galilee as a humble carpenter.
Yet, now John sees Jesus in all His glory…
He was born in weakness, and He died in weakness.
Yet now He is the recipient of ALL power!
He became the poorest of the poor (II Cor. 8:9)
Yet now He owns ALL the riches of heaven and earth!
Men mocked Him and called Him a fool.
Yet now He is culmination of ALL wisdom!
Men clothed Him with a mock robe, a crown of thorns and bowed before Him with laughter.
Yet now ALL creatures in the universe bow before Him and acknowledge
His honor and glory!
The point is that Jesus deserves our worship because He has all…
Power
Authority
Glory
Honor
…as made evident when Jesus took the scroll, the title deed to the Earth signaling the fulfillment of God's eternal plan to set everything right again in His creation.
Thus, the last word spoken by the Cherubim is…
"Amen" - "so be it"
That is, the host of Heaven is longing for this Day – the Day promised by God to set all things right once more.
Ap. Heaven on Earth
John has given us a view into Heaven. How then do we bring Heaven to Earth…
…by making worship, the central theme of Heaven, the hallmark of our life!
Ex. The word worship
The word “worship” in Greek is… proskuneo, which means…
“To lean toward to kiss”
It’s a picture of submission to a sovereign king.
Worship then is more than singing, more than an activity reserved for 30 minutes on a Sunday morning.
Rather, worship as it is done in Heaven is the daily, moment by moment activity of choosing to submit my life and my will to Jesus.
The extent to which I do so is the extent I will experience Heaven on Earth!
Ex. Joy in my life
Joy is the product of doing His will in place of mine.
Worship is expressed when I bow my will to His.
While I may resist that submission I find that when I do things His way – Joy is my experience!
So, the extent to which I experience a taste of Heaven here on Earth is ultimately my choice!
Close
√ Jesus deserves our worship
Because of what He’s done – Redeemed us
Because of Who He is – Almighty God
Because of Where He is - Heaven
Because of What He does – Redeems the Earth
Because of What He has – All power, authority, glory, & honor
Make the worship of Jesus a regular part of your life!