"the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne..."
It is fascinating that these twenty four elders, whoever they might be, are given crowns. Whether these are literal crowns (Ps 21:3; Rev 4:4) or crowns of glory (1Pe 5:4) and righteousness for having completed the race (2Tim 4:8) or the crown of life (James 1:12; Rev 2:10) or perhaps even crowns of people ("For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy." 1Th 2:19) it does not matter much. The interesting thing is that these crowns are given so that they may be laid at the feet of He who sits on the throne as an act of worship.
So it is that the earthly realm was made to reflect the heavenly realm where worship is an eternal reality that all things given on earth are to be used to worship God just as it is in heaven. If God has granted you riches, than worship God with riches. If he has given you rags, then worship Him with rags. Worship God with whatever God has given you for those who receive crowns from God are those who are willing to give them back in worship and humility.
Showing posts with label worship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label worship. Show all posts
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
Psalms 22:3
"Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel."
Psalm 22 starts out with a cry for help. It is the same cry Jesus called out before he breathed his last on the cross. "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" These words have been a mystery to scholars for centuries. Did God temporarily abandon Christ on the cross? But if you realize what Jesus was quoting, you realize that his last words were song lyrics. Reread Psalm 22 as if it were Jesus speaking on the cross and you will understand why he started to recite this song, why he started to sing.
It is because the LORD, the LORD, the holy God of Israel, is enthroned on the praises of his people. The King James translates that he inhabits the praises of his people. God is made king by praise and worship. It is while we are in worship that God is most present to us for he inhabits our praises. Jesus sang God's praises, and his Father was right there with him as he lay dying. As Jesus sang, he knew God would deliver him.
And in your times of trouble, praise God all the more. When you are weak, praise God. If you are near death, praise God. No matter what your situation is, praise God, and he will be given all authority in your situation. He will inhabit your praise and he will be with you until the very end of the age.
Psalm 22 starts out with a cry for help. It is the same cry Jesus called out before he breathed his last on the cross. "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" These words have been a mystery to scholars for centuries. Did God temporarily abandon Christ on the cross? But if you realize what Jesus was quoting, you realize that his last words were song lyrics. Reread Psalm 22 as if it were Jesus speaking on the cross and you will understand why he started to recite this song, why he started to sing.
It is because the LORD, the LORD, the holy God of Israel, is enthroned on the praises of his people. The King James translates that he inhabits the praises of his people. God is made king by praise and worship. It is while we are in worship that God is most present to us for he inhabits our praises. Jesus sang God's praises, and his Father was right there with him as he lay dying. As Jesus sang, he knew God would deliver him.
And in your times of trouble, praise God all the more. When you are weak, praise God. If you are near death, praise God. No matter what your situation is, praise God, and he will be given all authority in your situation. He will inhabit your praise and he will be with you until the very end of the age.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Isaiah 55:1
"Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price."
What does it cost to get into heaven? What must I do and how should I worship? These are the most common questions people ask about heaven to which the most common answer is "be a good person". The answer is wrong simply because the questions are also wrong. Heaven is absolutely free to get into. It was bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ and you simply need to believe in the message of Jesus Christ. Simple right?
Actually, it absolutely is. God needs absolutely nothing from you. He's GOD, he doesn't need anything because everything is already his. Heaven is already yours if you believe what God has said. He has already done everything for you so you need not do anything.
However, if you truly believed in God, we can expect certain reactions: Thanksgiving and worship of God, faith in what he has done, living a full life according to God's word, and lastly testifying in love and truth to the graciousness of our God. None of these things buy salvation because salvation is free and because it is free, these things are sure to follow those who believe it.
So how do you get to heaven? Don't do anything but rather respond to what has already been done!
What does it cost to get into heaven? What must I do and how should I worship? These are the most common questions people ask about heaven to which the most common answer is "be a good person". The answer is wrong simply because the questions are also wrong. Heaven is absolutely free to get into. It was bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ and you simply need to believe in the message of Jesus Christ. Simple right?
Actually, it absolutely is. God needs absolutely nothing from you. He's GOD, he doesn't need anything because everything is already his. Heaven is already yours if you believe what God has said. He has already done everything for you so you need not do anything.
However, if you truly believed in God, we can expect certain reactions: Thanksgiving and worship of God, faith in what he has done, living a full life according to God's word, and lastly testifying in love and truth to the graciousness of our God. None of these things buy salvation because salvation is free and because it is free, these things are sure to follow those who believe it.
So how do you get to heaven? Don't do anything but rather respond to what has already been done!
Monday, June 6, 2011
Hosea 2:23
"I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one' I will say to those called 'Not my people', 'You are my people' and they will say, 'You are my God'."
Originally this verse is taken in the context of the election of Israel over all other nations, however now all who were non-elect have access to this God who takes for himself a people to worship him eternally because Christ. God's purpose for us, then, is for us to realize the glory he has given us in causing us to be elect in Christ.
And this realization is not a "choice". We don't choose to recognize if our houses are on fire or not. We could deny the reality but our houses will burn down regardless. Our job as Christians is to tell of this glory and grace that all might recognize the world as it truly is.
Everything God does is so that he might be revealed to us as God. God has, throughout history, revealed himself through Human instrumentality. He has revealed himself through the history of the Jewish people as preserved in the Old Testament and through the humanity of Jesus Christ, the image of the invisible God, and now through his Church, the Body of Christ in the present age. He lifted us up out of our sin. Once you realize the totality of the grace you have been given, you will be brought to faith by God.
Originally this verse is taken in the context of the election of Israel over all other nations, however now all who were non-elect have access to this God who takes for himself a people to worship him eternally because Christ. God's purpose for us, then, is for us to realize the glory he has given us in causing us to be elect in Christ.
And this realization is not a "choice". We don't choose to recognize if our houses are on fire or not. We could deny the reality but our houses will burn down regardless. Our job as Christians is to tell of this glory and grace that all might recognize the world as it truly is.
Everything God does is so that he might be revealed to us as God. God has, throughout history, revealed himself through Human instrumentality. He has revealed himself through the history of the Jewish people as preserved in the Old Testament and through the humanity of Jesus Christ, the image of the invisible God, and now through his Church, the Body of Christ in the present age. He lifted us up out of our sin. Once you realize the totality of the grace you have been given, you will be brought to faith by God.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Leviticus 20:7-8
“Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy."
The mere fact that there exists a God in heaven necessitates the existence of a holy people, a people called and separated from the world for the Lord's purposes. Israel exists and on a larger scale the Church exists because God exists. The mere fact that the Church is alive today in face of sin and adversity pays tribute to the fact that there is one creator God who makes us, saves us, and sustains us.
He is also the God who sanctifies us, "the Lord who makes us holy" because God alone is holy. God is holy because God is. Holy is his identity so that all might confess, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty". God's holiness is not an incomprehensible abstract quality but rather is bound and made manifest in his relation to Himself as the holy Trinity and to us who are made in his holy image.
And God's holiness opposes those who do not respond appropriately to Him, i.e. bearing the fruit of life through the reflection of that which is Life (God), worshiping in Spirit and in Truth. Anything short of this reflection of God in us is a denial of God's glorious reality and thus a denial of our own humanity. To worship God in obedience is to be fully human. It is to truly live.
The mere fact that there exists a God in heaven necessitates the existence of a holy people, a people called and separated from the world for the Lord's purposes. Israel exists and on a larger scale the Church exists because God exists. The mere fact that the Church is alive today in face of sin and adversity pays tribute to the fact that there is one creator God who makes us, saves us, and sustains us.
He is also the God who sanctifies us, "the Lord who makes us holy" because God alone is holy. God is holy because God is. Holy is his identity so that all might confess, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty". God's holiness is not an incomprehensible abstract quality but rather is bound and made manifest in his relation to Himself as the holy Trinity and to us who are made in his holy image.
And God's holiness opposes those who do not respond appropriately to Him, i.e. bearing the fruit of life through the reflection of that which is Life (God), worshiping in Spirit and in Truth. Anything short of this reflection of God in us is a denial of God's glorious reality and thus a denial of our own humanity. To worship God in obedience is to be fully human. It is to truly live.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Acts 3:6-8
"Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God."
True worship is a response to what God has done. True worship can only come from a recognition of God's presence and character through an intimate encounter with a wholly other God. No matter how many songs we sing, how many people we convert, and no matter how long our prayers, if it isn't in reaction to a Divine God, it isn't worship.
True worship is impossible for us alone. Who among us has come to God where he dwells in Heaven? Rather, if not for the revelation of God himself to unto us, who could worship? But praise God that he has revealed the fullness of his glory to us through his Son, the word become flesh, Immanuel, God with us, crucified on the cross and displayed for all to see.
It is through radical encounters with His Holy Spirit that anyone can say they worship God. It is a direct response to the power of God. Let this crippled beggar be our model for true spiritual worship.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Mark 14:26
"When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."
Did you know that Our Lord sings?
This is our Lord who is able to make the blind see, the dead live, walk on water, cast out demons, rebuke storms, feed thousands with just a few fish and loaves of bread, and mighty and able to overturn kings and kingdoms at the sound or command of his voice and yet with this same voice Our Lord sings.
Do you remember what happens at the last supper? Judas goes out to betray Jesus into the hands of the Pharisees. Jesus knows what is coming, that he will not live to see the end of the week and that in two days he will be beaten and crucified, and still he does not neglect to worship God. He does not forsake his duty to give God praise and glory and honor for He knows His scripture:
"Sing, O daughter of Zion;
Shout aloud, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O Daughter of Jerusalem!
The LORD has taken away your punishment,
he has turned back your enemy.
The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.
The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."
(Zephaniah 3:14-15,17)
The Fourth Day of Holy Week.
Did you know that Our Lord sings?
This is our Lord who is able to make the blind see, the dead live, walk on water, cast out demons, rebuke storms, feed thousands with just a few fish and loaves of bread, and mighty and able to overturn kings and kingdoms at the sound or command of his voice and yet with this same voice Our Lord sings.
Do you remember what happens at the last supper? Judas goes out to betray Jesus into the hands of the Pharisees. Jesus knows what is coming, that he will not live to see the end of the week and that in two days he will be beaten and crucified, and still he does not neglect to worship God. He does not forsake his duty to give God praise and glory and honor for He knows His scripture:
"Sing, O daughter of Zion;
Shout aloud, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O Daughter of Jerusalem!
The LORD has taken away your punishment,
he has turned back your enemy.
The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.
The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."
(Zephaniah 3:14-15,17)
The Fourth Day of Holy Week.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Genesis 11:6-7
"The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."
It seems God had made us too well. He made us too perfectly so that when we worked together (like at the tower of Babel) nothing was impossible for us. Imagine what man would be capable of if we were not so limited by cultural barriers?
However, collective omnipotence (defined as the ability to do anything you set out to do) is not something that fallen man can handle. God has formed us and set us a little below God himself, made in his image. Whereas God is bound by his very nature (Good, loving, just, righteous, etc.), we have proven ourselves not bound to it. Some of us serve one master, the Serpent, and those who are redeemed serve the Risen Lord.
Indeed, we were banished from the garden for the same reason: that we might not become more powerful and more like God by eating from the tree of life. If we became gods, we would not need God or worship God, which indeed is the entire point of our creation. So God is using the very thing he used to drive us apart so that together we might rely on God to do the impossible and change this world for good.
It seems God had made us too well. He made us too perfectly so that when we worked together (like at the tower of Babel) nothing was impossible for us. Imagine what man would be capable of if we were not so limited by cultural barriers?
However, collective omnipotence (defined as the ability to do anything you set out to do) is not something that fallen man can handle. God has formed us and set us a little below God himself, made in his image. Whereas God is bound by his very nature (Good, loving, just, righteous, etc.), we have proven ourselves not bound to it. Some of us serve one master, the Serpent, and those who are redeemed serve the Risen Lord.
Indeed, we were banished from the garden for the same reason: that we might not become more powerful and more like God by eating from the tree of life. If we became gods, we would not need God or worship God, which indeed is the entire point of our creation. So God is using the very thing he used to drive us apart so that together we might rely on God to do the impossible and change this world for good.
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