Worshipping Him Who is Worthy, Part 1

No more the name of the name of Jesus. No more the name of the n of Jesus. Welcome to Living Word, the broadcast ministry of Christ Community Church. Each week at this time, it's our privilege to bring you Pastor Lance Sparks as he opens the living and abiding Word of God. I invite you to join us as we explore the highly symbolic yet very significant series on the book of Revelation. Tonight as we continue our study in Revelation, we begin to see how the scriptures unfold to us what worship is going to be like once we go to be with the Lord.

But we can't wait to get there to worship God because the Bible says in John chapter 4 that the Father seeks true worship.

The Father is seeking people who will worship him in spirit and in truth. The Bible says in Philippians chapter 3, verse number 3, these words, which, by the way, is the best definition of a Christian in the Bible.

If you want a verse that gives you a definition of a Christian, it's Philippians 3, verse number 3. It reads as follows: For we are the true circumcision. In other words, we are the marked ones. You know that we are marked by God because of this. We are the true circumcision who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. That's a Christian. That is the Christian. We are the marked ones. Who are the marked ones? The ones who worship God in spirit. Those who know what worship is, those who know how to worship are the marked ones.

Because the Father seeks true worship. So, those who come to him become the true worship of the God and whom they serve. We live to worship God. I wonder if you understand that. So many times we forget what the Lord God said all the way back in Exodus chapter 20. And when he said this in verse number 1, then God spoke all these words, saying, I am the Lord your God. Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery? You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above, or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth.

You should not worship them nor serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate me.

But showing loving kindness to thousands, to those who love me and keep my comm. As God began to give forth his commands, To his people, he wanted them to understand that his concern was that they grasp real, true worship. That their lives were to be consumed with him. Their lives were to be preoccupied with God al. And God says, if you don't worship me as I set forth worship in Scripture, then you demonstrate the fact that you don't love me.

That you're not interested in keeping my commands. In fact, you treat me as if you don't even care about me. And if that's the way you're going to be, because of your unwillingness to worship me, because of your unwillingness to put me first.

Because of your unwillingness to have all your affection and devotion given to me, then I will visit that iniquity upon your children. Your children's children and their children. We wonder why things are so bad in America. We wonder why things are so bad in the world. You want to know why? It's because we don't understand what worship is all about. If we knew worship, if we knew the God and whom we were to worship. Then the Bible says, I will show loving kind to thousand of generations.

It's important for us to understand that if we're ever going to worship God, there needs to be a recognition of his person. We need to somehow know who he is. In Revelation chapter 4, we see God the Father. In Revelation chapter 5, we see God the Son. And the only one you are to bow down to is God Himself, which proves that Jesus Christ is God. And they would bow before him in humble submission. Worship is the human response. To divine revelation. Revelation chapter 5. That's where we are. Three things we want to cover.

First, the preamble to worship. Number two, the person of worship. And number three, the particulars of worship.

And no, we will not finish that outline this evening. Need you even ask. But first of all, the preamble to worship.

That which precedes the worship that John sees in Revelation 5. That which sort of introduces everything. And four things I want you to see: one is the vision. Two is the proclamation. Three, the lamentation. And four, the consolation. That is the preamble to worship in Revelation chapter five. The first is the vision.

And it says in verse number one, and I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven se.

John had a vision. He's still in heaven. He's there. And from Revelation chapter 4, he's still there. And there's something he sees. It says again in verse number 2: And I saw a strong angel. Then again, down in verse number six, it says, And I saw between the throne with the four living creatures and the elders a lamb. And then again, over verse number 11, and I looked and I heard the voice of many angels. We're familiar with John's visions, with John looking and seeing something. The text also says that he heard something.

He heard the voice of the strong angel. Talk about that in a moment. He heard the voice of one of the 24 elders. But the thing I want you to see is what he didn't see in heaven and what he didn't hear in heaven. This is important. I touched on it last week. And I didn't want to offend anybody, and I don want to offend anybody this evening. But you'll notice that nobody welcomed John to glory.

John, it's good to see you. How are things down there, by the way? You keeping everything together? And when he got there, he wasn't looking for anybody in particular, was he? I wonder where Peter is. Wonder where James is. Or how about Andrew, Nathaniel? Where are all those guys? Anybody seen them? Why is that? Because heaven is all about God. It's about God. I have heard so many sermons about what we're going to do and see in heaven that are so wrong, it makes me ill. Now, will you see your loved ones there?

Yes, you will. Will you recognize your loved ones there? Yes, you will. But understand, folks, you're not going to heaven to see your loved ones. You're not going to spend eternity with those in whom you adore today. And I know that's hard for us to understand. And it's hard for us to grasp. I know that. When my first wife died, I really thought that I couldn't wait to get to heaven to see her again.

And I got to tell you something. God had to do some spiritual slapping at the side of my face to wake me up as to what heaven was all about. It's not about going and seeing someone you loved on earth. It's about going and seeing the one who loves you uncond. It's about going and seeing the one in whom you worship, the one you say you adore. So when you get there, when John got there, the things he saw and the things he heard, nobody was talking to John. About what was going on around down here. Nobody was talking to John about what they'd been doing up there.

Those who talked to John talked about what and who God is and what He is going to do. Please understand that. John says, in his hand was a book, a scroll. But I saw it. It was sealed with seven seals. And then in verse two, it says, And I saw a strong angel proclaiming. With a loud voice. We'll stop right there. There's a proclamation. From the vision comes a proclamation. Now, a proclamation by nature is a loud Herald. When you proclaim something, you do it with a loud voice. When you add the word loud to it, it accentuates the no factor.

So not only was this a proclamation that would be given as if one was speaking loudly, it was a loud proclamation. And John hears the proclamation. He hears the urgency behind what is there by this strong angel who says, Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals? The proclamation says, who was worthy? Who was worthy? Who has the character? Who has the virtue? Who is the one who qualifies as the rightful heir to whom belongs the inheritance? And then down in verse number three, it says, and no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it.

It lets you in on a little hint there that not only does this one have to be worthy, this one has to have the ability to do it. The worthy one must be the able one. And the able one must be able to throw out Satan, to obliterate sin, to wipe out demons. To reverse the curse on animals, plants, and humans. The strong angel. Who's the strong angel? Doesn't tell us. We read of a strong angel in Revelation 10, 1, Revelation 18, 2. In Daniel 8:16, Gabriel communicated to Daniel about future events, and Gabriel's name means strength of God.

So maybe Gabriel is a strong angel. You can't be dogmatic on that, but maybe that's the case. But there is a strong angel, and the strong angel makes a proclamation: who is worthy to break the seals? Who has the character? Who has the virtue to open the book, to break its seals? And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. Can you imagine the scene? Here is John in heaven, and we'll see where there is myriad upon a myriad of angels. That means there are millions of angels in heaven at this time.

There are the 24 elders that are representative of the church. There are the four living creatures. And this loud voice comes along. Who is worthy? And there is complete silence in heaven. Nobody mo. Nobody says anything. Nobody because there's nobody in heaven. There's nobody on earth, and there's nobody in the earth who is worthy or who is able to look into the book and to break its seals. And some will inevitably say, Well, what does that include? Well, that includes everything: the heavens, the earth, and under the earth.

Nobody who is worthy. And so from the proclamation comes the lamentation. And I, verse number 4, began to weep great, because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it. John says, I began to have such weeping about me. It's a word that means unrestrained emotion. Same word used of Christ in Luke 19:4, where he wept over Jerusalem, and Peter in Luke 22, 62, where he wept after betraying Christ. Now, inevitably, somebody comes to me and says, Well, wait a minute, Pastor, I thought there weren't any t in heaven.

Let me remind you: John is a visitor in heaven. He is visiting. At this point, he is not a permanent resident in heaven. And so he begins to weep profusely. Michael can't open it. Gabriel can't open it. None of the four living creatures are worthy or are able to open it. Peter, James. None of the disciples are worthy to open it. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Paul, Daniel, Isaiah. None of them are worthy to open it. And John looks around and says, We got a problem. We got a major problem. Because the future of the world is in the right hand of Almighty God, and there is nobody worthy or able to open it.

We have such a problem that that means that the way things are on earth are going to continue the way they are. The churches that he had just written to are going to remain in their poor, wretched state. Satan is still going to reign and rule. Demons are still going to fly around and do whatever it is they do. Sin will still run rampant upon the earth, and that would cause him to weep bitterly. Wait a minute, what about all the promises that you promised us, God? Romans 8 talks about how all creation groans and even we as believers have an inner groaning as we await our day of redemption.

And John says, if there's no one worthy to open it, If there's no one worthy to break the seals, then we will remain as is forever. And he begins to weep bit because of the condition of man. It was W. A. Criswell who said these words. John's tears represent the tears of all God's people through all the centuries. Those tears of the Apostle John are the tears of Adam and Eve, driven out of the Garden of Eden as they bowed over the first grave.

As they watered the dust of the ground with their tears over the silent still form of their son, Abel. Those are the tears of the children of Israel in bondage as they cried unto God in their affliction and slavery. They are the tears of God's elect through the centuries as they cried into heaven. They are the sobs and tears that have been wrung from the heart and soul of God's people as they looked on their silent dead. As they stand beside their open graves, as they experience in the trials and sufferings of life heartaches and disappointments indescribable.

Such is the curse that sin has laid upon God's beautiful creation, and this is the damnation of the hand of him who holds it, that usurper. That interloper, that intruder, that alien, that stranger, that dragon, that serpent, that Satan devil. And John wept audibly. For the failure to find a Redeemer meant that the earth in its curse is consigned forever to death. It meant that death, sin, damnation, and hell should reign forever and ever, and the sovereignty of God's earth should remain forever in the hands of Satan.

So John would weep. That's the lamentation. But there comes a consolation. A cons. Verse number five. And one of the elders said to me, Stop weeping. Don't do that. We don't do that here. This is heaven. St weeping. It's inappropriate, John. John wanted to see the end of sin, Satan, evil, and death. He feared he'd never see the end of it. He wanted God's kingdom to come to earth. From his perspective, everything was bad. And yet, one of the 24 elders said, Stop weeping. Do you remember in Luke chapter 7?

The widow's son at Nain, who died, and the procession was coming out of the city, and Jesus and his men were coming to the city. And everybody was weeping. The widow was weeping over her only son that was lost. And Jesus said, stop weeping. You go on a little further in Luke, the eighth chapter. In the 52nd verse, it was Jairus' daughter who was sick. It's said that she died. He goes into the house. Everybody's wailing and weeping. And Jesus says, st.

Weep. Why? Because of what he was about to do. He raised the widow's son at Nain. From the dead. He raised Jair' daughter from the dead. Stop weeping because I'm about to do something. That you've never seen before. The elder says, stop weeping because of what God's about to do. What he's about to do is unlike anything you've ever seen before. You no longer need to weep. God's in control. He's going to handle it. Weep was not fitting for John because of what Jesus Christ was about to do. He was about to open the se sealed scrolls.

Stop weeping. Behold, he says. Behold. There's that word again. Stand amazed. Be astonished. What is about to take place is going to be so magnificent, so incredible, John. You're going to wonder why you even shed one little tear. Over what was said from the strong angel, behold, the lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the root of David. Has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals. There is someone. There's the lion. And there's the lamb. And when you understand the lion and the lamb and who he is.

You fall down and worship him. Because what he's about to do is unlike anything the world has ever seen. Folks, I want to let you know something. When you recognize Jesus for who he is, You can trust him to do that which only he can do. You can trust him to do that which probably you have never seen before. Because you have truly, from your heart, worship the Son of Man. Worship is the human response. To divine revelation. Why is it we spend so much time in the Word of God? Why is it when you come on Wednesday nights, we spend 60 minutes in the Bible?

Most people, you know, are bored with that. They don't have time for too much time, too much sitting, too much listening. And I've said it before: it's a hard act to follow. I mean, in the video age, I'm telling you. It's hard to follow when you got a commercial every 8. 5 minutes on television because people got to get up and go to the bathroom and get some popcorn and get some soda pop because they're too tired of sitting. It's hard to keep people's attention. My job is not to keep your attention.

My job is to give you the word of God. And why is it when you come together on Sunday morning, we spend 55 minutes, spend five minutes longer on Wednesday nights than we do on Sunday morning. But why did you spe 55 minutes in the Word of God? People come and they're used to those 20-minute sermons, those sermonettes for Christianettes, and they, I just can't sit in that church all that time. It's just too long. We give you the revelation of God's Holy Word because if you don't know God, you can't worship God.

We've got to spend time studying God, open the Word of God so you can see Him. So, you can learn to prostrate yourself before him because you have recognized who he is, folks. This is what we're going to do in heaven. We're going to keep falling down before God Almighty and worship Him. We live to worship him. Therefore, we need to understand true worship. Can you imagine what all this is going to be like? I mean, this is the way it's going to be. There's this continual rejoicing. Over in Psalm 95, it says this: in verse number one: Oh, come, let us sing for joy to the Lord.

Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving. Let us shout joyfully to him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God and a great king above all gods. In whose hand are the depths of the earth? The peaks of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for it was he who made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship. And bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker, for He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His ha.

Pray together. Thank you for joining us today. If this broadcast has been a blessing to you, take a moment right now to drop us a line. It's only through the encouragement of your faithful donations that we're able to bring these broadcasts to you. Because Living Word is an edited version of Pastor Lance's sermons, be sure to get the complete fifty minute message by calling us today. Our phone number is six two six nine six zero forty four forty four. Christ Community Church is located at 1432 West Point on the corner of Sunset and Point Avenues in West Covina, and our Sunday morning services are at 9 and 10.4 a.m.

Currently, Pastor Lance is preaching through the book of Genesis. We'd love to have you visit our church. We especially want to invite you on Wednesday evenings at 6:4. While children are learning God's Word in our Aw program, Pastor Lance is teaching through the book of Revelation. Be sure to join us each Sunday at this time as Pastor Lance brings a message from God's Word. It will enable you to grow and glorify Him. Of the L and name the name of Jesus is worthy of the king and wor of all God. And I'll be a power and go.