Worthy of Worship

 Well hello. Good morning to everybody. I'm so glad to see you. If I haven't met you yet, my name is Jerry, one of a bunch of different pastors that are here at The Chapel. You may be watching us either here at the CrossPoint campus in this room or the East Worship Center. You may be watching us at one of our other campuses at Lockport or Niagara Falls or Cheektowaga. You may be listening to us on WDCX Radio. You may be watching us from space. I have no idea. Are there astronauts watching? What's happening? You may be watching us online. So glad to see you this morning on this beautiful, beautiful spring day in Buffalo. So grateful to be alive in this moment. I don't know how many of you were alive and conscious in the 1990s. That was a twofold question. I don't know how many of you were alive and conscious in the 1990s. Some of you are younger. Some of you were born earlier than that and you remember the 1990s. If you do remember the 1990s, as I do of course, then maybe you remember a famous "Saturday Night Live" sketch called Wayne's World. Anybody? Anybody, Wayne's World? Okay, yeah, cool. I'm really disappointed in that number of people knowing that for some reason. So you know Wayne's World, right? Mike Myers and Dana Carvey are in there, and they're Wayne and Garth, you know. "Party on, Wayne." "Party on, Garth." You know, it's all of that. Well, they made famous a particular phrase. If you're young and you don't know, you're like, "I don't know what you're talking about, old guy. "You've got gray hair, you're talking about the 90s. "I have no idea what Wayne's World is." Maybe you do because they made famous the phrase, we're not worthy. And if you put a GIF in your phone, if you just wanna look it up, this is what you'll find. It'll be the very first thing that you'll find, these two dudes just bowing down going, "We're not worthy; we're not worthy." So if you're young and you didn't know what that was, then there you go. Now what they did when they were doing that, obviously it was a parody. They're crazy. It's goofy and stupid. But what they were doing is when they would be in the presence of somebody that they felt like was incredible or awesome, they would say, "We're not worthy to be in your presence," and then they would act as if they're worshiping. They would bow down and do those things. I think in the movie, although I didn't see the movie, I think in the movie, just saying, again, I didn't see the movie, but I think in the movie that when Alice Cooper showed up that that's what happened with Wayne and Garth. They just were bowing down and they were like, "We're not worthy; we're not worthy." And they're doing all that. It sounded pretty good, didn't it? That impression was actually spot on. Let's just be honest. Let's be real right now, it was perfect. Though I didn't see the movie, I still have a really good impression to be able to offer you. And they were just, "We're not worthy." And so they would do that. I just wanna come back to that 'cause that was so good. That impression, it came outta nowhere. I didn't do it in the first gathering and here I am just spank doing some new stuff for you. So I'll be here all night. Feel free. There's a tip jar in the back. So feel free to leave something. Here's what's impressive about that. These guys knew something inherently. I know it was a parody. I know it was silly. I know it was ridiculous. But they knew something inherently that there are either people or things, at least in their conception, that they're not worthy of but that they deem worthy of something. So they were ascribing worthiness to something outside of themselves. And it was really an act of worship. When somebody's bowing down and doing this kind of stuff, that's an exercise of worship, right? That word worship in the English language is really kind of a twofold word. It means worth ship. The idea is that someone or something is ascribed great worth or great value. And that's a big deal in our context. Because if you heard me starting this series last week when I was talking about the idea of worship, everybody worships something or someone. Everybody does. And that's where you and I have to make sure that we're careful because what can happen really easily in our lives is that we allow something or someone to become more preeminent than God. Because the writers of scripture would actually teach us that the only one worthy of ultimate worship, for there to be ascribed ultimate worth, is God Himself. That that is the only being to whom ultimate worth should be ascribed. But, unfortunately, in our lives, sometimes we can get confused about that and we can allow other things to enter in in that regard, even good things, by the way. As someone has said, "When good things become ultimate things, "that's when you develop idols in your life." Idolatry happens. One of the most dangerous idols that we actually face in our own lives is maybe surprising to all of us when we think about it, 'cause you're thinking: Well I don't worship any other person and I don't worship any other thing. Pause for just a second. Because the way that we live our lives sometimes is a reminder that the greatest idol that we have is ourselves, that we become the great standard of everything, that we are the arbiter of everything. And really what we're doing is we're ascribing ultimate worth to ourselves. It is the great danger in the cultural context that we live in because everything appeals to ourselves as the final authority on everything. Last week, we were looking at this idea of worship and we had the opportunity to go behind the veil a little bit and see a glimpse of a vision of God in His throne room when we touched on Isaiah in Isaiah 6. We got to join Isaiah and look and see what Isaiah saw when he had this vision from God. And today, what we're going to do is from that moment in Isaiah, we're gonna fast forward about 800 years to the time of John. Now, John is one of the apostles of Jesus. And John is the one that was called the loved one of Jesus, right? He was one who followed after Jesus, who knew Jesus, who was with Him when he walked with Him in His ministry, saw Him after his resurrection. And John had now been preaching the gospel in a variety of different places and he got in trouble for it. And he got exiled to an island called Patmos. Patmos is a Greek island that's in the Aegean Sea which is right off of the coast of what we would know, right off the Western coast of what we would call Turkey these days. That's right where Patmos is. And John was exiled there. There was a lot of prisoners that were exiled to Patmos 'cause when you got a Roman Empire, they can do what they want, however they want 'cause they're basically ruling the known world. So he was preaching Jesus, and that didn't go so well in their minds, the Roman Empire minds. And so they exile him to Patmos. And that's where John receives a revelation from Jesus about things that are and things that are to come. It's what we call the Book of Revelation in our Bibles. Now if you have a copy of the Bible, I really wanna encourage you to turn there. There's some in the seat backs if you're in this room. Cheektowaga as well, you can find some there. Or if you've got a digital copy. Maybe you can open it on your phone, that's great. 'Cause we're gonna be looking in Revelation 4 and 5. You shouldn't be confused as to where the Book of Revelation is. It's the very last one. So just turn to the back and work left. That's how you get there, all right. Revelation 4 and 5. So last week, we got to see Isaiah's vision. And this week, we're going to be able to see John's vision that he now has of God. And it's going to inform us to some degree of what worship really is. And in Revelation 4, as this vision begins to unfold for John, what happens is at the end of Revelation 4, you hear this great statement of praise that comes flowing out from these living creatures and 24 elders that are around the throne. And I want you to hear carefully what it is that they say. It's in verse number 9 through verse 11. It says, "Whenever the living creatures "give glory, honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne "and who lives forever and ever, "the 24 elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne "and worship Him who lives forever and ever. "They lay their crowns before the throne and they say, "'You are worthy, our Lord and God, "'to receive glory and honor and power, "'for you created all things, and by your will "'they were created and have their being.'" You see, what we see here is that they are calling out that God is worthy. And the interesting question is this. When we hear them making a statement about God's worth or God's worthiness, we would ask the question: Well, what is God worthy of? Well, God is worthy of our worship, the laying down of our whole lives, right? I lift my hands up, lay my whole life down before you. That what God is worthy of is our worship. And if He is worthy of our worship, it's because of who He is. Now, there is a lot of things we could say in the scripture, and the apostles and the New Testament writers teach us about this, but I'd like us to look just in Revelation 4 and 5 for reasons as to why God is worthy to be worshiped. You see, if we talk about this idea of worship, we are ascribing worth to someone. We are ascribing ultimate worth to God. And we don't do that blindly. We don't do that just because it's like: Well, when I grew up and I went to church, I didn't really pay much attention, but they told me this is what I was supposed to do. So that's what I do. You know, right? Or it just becomes some religious ritual for you. You know, you show up, you sing the songs, you listen to the guy, you take off, you leave. Good Sunday, check the box. No, no, no. This is about our whole lives as an act of worship because He's worthy of that. And no one else is. So we ask this question or make this statement that God is worthy of our worship because He is, first of all, ultimate power. God is worthy of our worship because He is ultimate power. Now we're gonna see that as the vision begins to unfold in chapter number 4 and we walk through this. You're going to see a number of different reasons why God is worthy of our worship. And we see the fact that He demonstrates ultimate power in verses 1 and 2. Here's what it says. John says, "After this I looked, "and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. "And the voice I had first heard speaking to me "like a trumpet said, 'Come up here and I will show you "'what must take place after this.' "At once I was in the Spirit "and there before me was a throne in heaven "with someone sitting on it." See what we're introduced to here in this vision, the very first thing that we're introduced to is a throne and someone sitting on it. You see, a throne in the ancient world was a symbol of power and it was a symbol of authority, right? This was back in the day when there were such things as kings and kingdoms. In our day and age, we don't quite understand things the same way. We grow up in the United States or in Canada, if you're watching, and it's a little bit different at that point, right? But here, it was like thrones and kingdoms and kings and power and authority were all tied up in this picture of a throne. You see, anybody that was in the ancient world that would've been reading this kind of verbiage, seeing throne and being circled around the throne, you know, living creatures and 24 elders, would've gotten the sense of the Roman Empire. 'Cause in the Roman Empire, you would have a Caesar that would be seated on a throne. And around him would be a variety of different assistants and/or senators in the way that they were set up. And so, their imagination would go to that really quick. But what's interesting is in this vision that John has, he sees a throne and one seated on it with living creatures and 24 elders that are around the throne. And in perspective, it makes every other kingdom or empire look small and insignificant. That's a really good reminder for us in the day and age that we live in because there is only one who rules the universe. It is the one who is seated on the throne in the heavenly realms. I've got a great reminder for everybody that there is a throne in heaven and it is occupied. And God has not stepped away. He's not concerned or worried about what's going on in the world as if somehow it is going to thwart His purposes for what He's working out in the world. Because no matter what empires there are and what they look like and how powerful they are, there is only one who runs the universe, just one. For us in the day and age that we live in, we see empires and countries and nations that are powerful, and some that exert their force. And in the Old Testament, we would see that, whether it was a Syria or whether it was Babylon and God having to remind his people, Israel: Hey, I know this is what you're seeing, that they're super strong and they've got chariots and they've got horses and they've got spears and they've got bows and they've got arrows. And I know you're freaked out by all this 'cause you've just got rocks, right? And I know you're freaked out by this, but I need you to understand something. I am God Most High. There is none like me. Nothing is going to thwart my purposes in the world. So don't worry. Don't freak out about everything that's happening because I see, I know, I rule, I'm sovereign. So whether that's a Syria or Babylon in the Old Testament, or whether that's in the time of John where you've got the Roman Empire that was ruling with an iron fist and this was really encouraging to him to be able to see this vision and be like: Ahh, God is on the throne. All this other stuff is happening and it gets us all freaked out, right? So whether it was then or whether it's now, whether you look at Russia and what they're doing, whether you look at China and what they can do, or you look at the United States and what it can do with its power, just know this. No matter the size, no matter the scope, no matter the power of any nation or any empire on earth, they are all temporary. They will come and they will go. And there will always be, and there always is one who sits on a throne who is above it all, who runs the entire universe. You see, that is really what ultimate power looks like. But around this throne, interestingly enough, at the foot of this throne, we see something that also reminds us of the ultimate power of the one who is seated on the throne. Notice what it says in the beginning of verse number 6. It says, "Also in front of the throne, "there was what looked like a sea of glass, "clear as crystal" A sea of glass, clear as crystal. You know, when you see the term sea or when you look at the term sea, S-E-A, in the scripture itself, sea as a metaphor when you're reading in the New Testament and the Old Testament really stood for chaos and violence and danger. You would see it all of the time. It's used in ancient literature because the sea was kind of a foreboding place, right? It kind of reminded people of chaos and scariness and all those things. I mean, John is writing from an island separated by a sea to where all of his loved ones are. All the people that he was pastoring and leading and loving, he's separated by a sea. It's a reminder of the chaos and the violence and the danger of the world. In fact, if you were to continue reading in the Book of Revelation, what you would see in Revelation 12 is that where the beast that's personified in the Book of Revelation, the beast came up out of the sea, right, a reminder of chaos and violence and danger. Or if you went further to Revelation 13, you would see that believers are delivered from the beast through the sea. They're coming out of the chaos and the violence and the danger. And then if you went all the way to the very back end of the Book of Revelation, in Revelation 21, you would see that in the new creation when all things have been made new, there is no longer a sea. Why? Because violence and chaos and danger are a part of the old order, not a part of what is new. So isn't it interesting here that John sees a vision of the throne of this ultimate power, and before the throne, he sees a sea? But listen, it's like glass. Anybody ever water skied? Anybody? Just me. Okay, a few. In Buffalo, you're like, "We've got like six days to do that. "Why are you asking me this question?" Snow ski, yes. Water ski, when it melts, right. So I grew up in Georgia. Water skied some. And you know what's interesting? You go out on the water and you begin to ski. Maybe you're going out and you're passing by another boat. And you're just kind of, just kind of driving real slowly, kind of idling down your way. And they'll yell out, "How's the water?" And if it's really good, they'll say, "It's like glass." It's like glass. What does that mean? Calm, no turbulence there, right? It's like glass. Isn't it interesting that the sea, which is a picture of chaos and violence and danger, it's glass. And it's also, the scripture says, "clear as crystal." Isn't that remarkable? It's translucent. You can see through it. You may understand this. Like if you go out into like one of the Great Lakes or you go out into the ocean or whatever, it can be a little hairy because you can't see stuff, right. You just can't, right. You're convinced if you go out in the Pacific Ocean, you're just swimming out there for just a minute and you're like: I know for a fact Jaws is underneath me. I know it; I know that. And if it's not Jaws, it's 'cause he's tagged up with Orca and they just decided who's gonna eat me today, right. Cause you can't see. It's very difficult. I did a triathlon years ago 'cause I'm a stud. It's why, kidding. I did a triathlon legitimately. Not because I was a stud, because I just did. Because my friend made me. And it was a start and we had to swim in Lake Ontario. Lake Ontario's not warm. Just a heads up. Just a heads up, not warm at all. And we did it in February. No I'm kidding, it wasn't February. So he told me, he said, "I want you to prepare yourself for this. "You're gonna freak out at some point "during this race on the swim." And I'm like, "Why, I'm a good swimmer?" And he's like, "Well you've been training in a large pool. "And you can see all the way to the bottom "and you get to touch the ends, you know, " and push off and all that stuff." He said, "So you're not gonna have anything to touch up on. "And you can't see anything below you. "Trust me with this, you're going to freak out." "Dude, do you know who you're talking to?" What do you think happened? 100% freaked out. Absolutely freaked out 'cause I couldn't see underneath me. And I had nothing to grab hold of, right? There's something about that. But do you know what the picture is here? The picture is a sea: chaos, violence, danger, but it's glass. In other words, no worries. And it can be seen through. Because God, the one who sits on the throne, He's not intimidated by anything that's happening in the world. He has ultimate power. No matter what we think is going on, as far as God views this, He's not stumbling around heaven going, "What am I gonna do? "What am I going to do?" That's not happening because He has ultimate power over everything. That's why when we read that verse at the end of Revelation 4:11, it says this, "You are worthy, our Lord and God, "to receive glory and honor and power, "for you created all things, and by your will, "they were created and have their being." He is the maker, and everything has been made by His hand. That, my brothers and sisters, is ultimate power, the one who's seated on the throne. Why is God worthy to be worshiped? Because He has ultimate power, ultimate power. Secondly is that He's ultimate beauty. I'm sure you're going: Huh? That's an intriguing thing to say. Well, I'm actually giving that to you because as the passage unfolds, we begin to see it. Notice what verse 3 says. It says, "And the one who sat there "had the appearance of jasper and ruby. Now, you and I both know that everyone is attracted to beauty, right? When you have family members that live out of state or you have friends that are out of state that visit you and they're like, "I wanna go see Niagara Falls." And you've been like five bazillion times, but you take them and you look at their face when they finally get there and they see it just like your face was when you finally got there to see it. And your mouth is agape looking at one of the wonders of the world. Or maybe if you have seen the Swiss Alps and you're just enraptured by the beauty that you see. I was in Les Diablerets, Switzerland, a number of years ago. And we went to the top of this massive, I don't know, it was 11,000, 14,000 foot glacier. We had to take this cable car all the way up there. And I mean, it was one of the most beautiful places on earth that I've ever been. I felt like I was on top of the planet. It was pristine. It was gorgeous. I could look through this little scope and I could see the Matterhorn in the Alps. I mean, I was just going: What? This is unreal. Like this is unbelievable. We absolutely love and are attracted to beauty. Same could be said about people. How many of you are married? Okay, that's a bunch that are married, right? Some of you are not, but you've been in a relationship before or whatever. I mean I still find my wife beautiful, because she is. It's not just the seafoam green eyes that I really love. And it's not just about the physical side, even though I find her beautiful. I mean, you don't generally marry people that you go: Nah, nah, nope. Uh-uh, phew. You just don't do that, right. It's not what you do. You're attracted to them, right. But it's the Christlike spirit that is in her too. It's the whole, right. And I'm attracted to her. She's beautiful to me, just as your spouse is beautiful to you. But at the end of the day, like neither a place nor a person are worthy of our ultimate worship, even though it can be a temptation, right, that we can be tempted toward that if we're not careful, particularly in relationships. You may or may not know this song. I mean, it's a country song. And sometimes country songs have some interesting theology: some of it good, a lot of it horrible. But there is a song, and it's by an artist named Kane Brown. And the name of the song is "Worship You." He's actually talking about a woman. He's married so he may be talking about his wife. At least I hope so, or he probably isn't married anymore after that song came out. The song's called "Worship You." And it talks about, you know, it uses all these phrases about how divine. And it's using all these spiritual phrases about a woman. And in the chorus, he says, "Don't get me wrong. "I'm a God-fearing Christian man. "But if you were a religion, then darn," he didn't say that but I'm saying it, he's says, "I don't know what I'd do. "Yeah, I might have to worship you. "I might have to sing your praise. "I might have to go to church, yeah, "every single night and day. "Yeah, I might have to hit my knees "cause you lay it on me like the truth. "And you love me like hallelujah, "I might have to worship you. "I might have to worship you." Now, I'm not here to try and critique the song. I don't know Kane and I don't know the song writers and I'm not here to critique the song. What I am here to do is to remind you of how honest a lyric that is. People can find themselves in that spot. 'Cause that's just ultimately idolatry, right, if we're worshiping someone other than the one who is deserving ultimately of our worship. Now it's not a wrong thing to praise beautiful things, things that are praiseworthy and beautiful. There's everything right about being able to say that's praiseworthy and that's beautiful. That's a wonderful thing to be able to do. But beauty for us is so attractive that it can lure us into wrong spaces because we so much want to envelope the beauty that we see and that we experience. C.S. Lewis said it this way. When he was contemplating beauty, he said, "We do not want to merely see beauty. "We want something else which can hardly be put into words: "to be united with the beauty we see, "to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, "to bathe in it, to become part of it." That's a longing that we all have. And later, Lewis actually ended up saying, he said, "Do you know where all my longing is? "My longing is wanting to find the place "where all the beauty came from." Have you ever had that gnawing inside? Sometimes, we look at an object or a thing and we allow its beauty to so mesmerize us that we don't think deep enough, that that beauty came from somewhere. Where is the source? Where did beauty come from? See, that's where John, he's looking. And he sees a throne. This picture of ultimate power with one who is seated on it. There before him is a glassy sea, right? It's calm and you can see through it and it's a reminder of His power. But then he says, "And I looked and the one who sat there "had the appearance of jasper and ruby." You see for John, he sees someone so beautiful, a vision so beautiful that he doesn't quite know how to conceive of it. So he grabs for the things that are most beautiful that he can use as some kind of metaphor to describe this: precious stones. And he says it's like jasper and ruby. Now it wasn't accidental that he chose those two precious stones, and let me tell you why. Because when the high priest in ancient Israel would minister before the Lord, he would wear this ephod. And on it would be a breastplate. And in the breastplate would be 12 precious stones. And the first and the last stone placed in were jasper and ruby. It's as if what John is saying to us is that what I'm seeing here is the beginning and the end of beauty. I am seeing the source and the completion of beauty. John is not only reminding us that God is worthy to be worshiped because He's ultimate power, but he's reminding us that He is also ultimate beauty. He's the place from which all beauty comes. But He's also worthy of our worship because He's ultimate faithfulness. Let me show you what I mean. In the second part of verse 3, it says, "A rainbow that shone like an emerald "encircled the throne. "Surrounding the throne were 24 other thrones, "and seated on them were 24 elders. "They were dressed in white "and had crowns of gold on their heads." So in this vision that he has, he sees a throne. He sees one who is so beautiful, he only can describe Him in precious stones, a reminder that He is the beginning and the end of all beauty. And He is the beginning and the end of all power. And then what he sees is a rainbow encircling the throne. Now, for those of us that have a biblical memory, we understand that the rainbow is a picture of what God did in His promise. When He judged the world in the time of Noah and flooded the world in the time of Noah, He sent a rainbow and said "Out of my mercy, "I'm not going to judge the world in this same way again." And He gave the rainbow as a promise that He would be faithful to do what He said. And He has. You see, this is a reminder that the merciful God that sits on the throne has always been one to keep His promises. He has been faithful to that which He has said He would do. But not only do we see the rainbow, we also see the 24 elders that are dressed in white and have a crown on their heads. Who are the 24 elders? Well, just do the math real quick. 12 and 12 is 24, right? You've got the 12 tribes of Israel and you have the 12 apostles of the Lord Jesus that are bringing together the full complement of the people of God pictured as the 24 elders. We have this picture of the people of God from both Old and New Covenant that are brought together, whether Jew or Gentile, by faith in the Lord Jesus. It's a new people of God, the 24 elders. And what is happening with these 24 elders? They're dressed in white with crowns on their head seated on thrones. What in the world is that? It's a fulfillment of the promise that we read about all through the New Testament that you and I who have put our faith in the Lord Jesus and have been reconciled to God, we will one day rule and reign alongside of Him. Not in place of Him. We don't do that on our own. We do His bidding. But He has enabled us to be able to do that. That's what He's promised, that we have this kind of inheritance, that we are joint heirs with Jesus who get this opportunity. This is an incredible promise. And only the one who is ultimately faithful can make good on all of His promises. And we're seeing it when we see the vision. You see, brothers and sisters, every single one of us, every single one of us has failed on promises we've made, every one of us. God has never failed in any promise He's ever made for any reason. Do you know why? Because even when we are faithless, He is faithful because that's who He is. He is ultimate faithfulness. That's why He should be worshiped. You know what else? He's ultimate otherness. We touched on this last week. You're saying, that's kind of a weird statement, Jerry. What do you mean by that? Well, look with me in the text. In verse number 6, it says, "In the center, around the throne, "were four living creatures "and they were covered with eyes in front and in back. "The first living creature was like a lion, "the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, "the fourth was like a flying eagle. "Each of the four living creatures had six wings "and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. "And day and night, they never stopped saying, "'Holy holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty "'who was and is, and is to come.'" You see, these symbols that we're seeing here with the ox and the eagle and the lion and the man, these are symbols that align with a vision that Ezekiel had in Ezekiel 1. And also, some of these are consistent with what we read last week in Isaiah 6. Without going into detail of all that, I want to pull out something that's common between Isaiah 6 and John's revelation. And that is the phrase: holy, holy, holy. There's only two times that that phrase is used in this way in the entirety of the Bible. And both of them are when there's a vision into the throne room of God. And what you hear in both scenarios is holy, holy, holy. So whether it's in the Old Testament or whether it's in the New Testament, here's what we know. God is the same. He is completely and utterly holy. That means that He is other than us. We are not like Him. He is His own being, completely other than everything else and everyone else that has been created in all of the universe, in this universe or any of the universes, in however many there are. He's completely other. He's the ultimate other. And that's why He should be worthy of our worship. Because as the one who has no beginning and no end, right, the scripture says He's the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. But He's also without beginning and without end. He is the only being in the cosmos that is completely and totally self-sufficient. He's the only one. He's the only self-existent, self-sufficient being in the entire cosmos. And anyone who ever is even ascribed eternal life is only happening because He has dictated it to be so. Because only He holds within Himself in His very nature the essence of eternality. In fact, that's what the angels are saying. They are crying out, "Holy holy, holy is the Lord God almighty," listen to it, "who was, who is, and who is to come." In other words, time is irrelevant to the eternal. He has always been. He has never been created. He always is and He always will be. He lives in the eternal now. If you don't worship that being, I don't know what to tell you. Ultimate otherness. But there's a fifth. God's worthy of our worship because He's the ultimate savior. I'm gonna show you what I mean here. Because as we transfer from Revelation 4 into Revelation 5, the theme of His worthiness continues. Watch how the vision continues to unfold in Revelation 5. It says, "Then I saw on 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. "And I wept and wept because no one was found "who was worthy to open the scroll or to look inside." Are you seeing this vision that John is having? He's looking and he sees that now the one that's seated on the throne has a scroll in His right hand. That means, the right hand is the right hand of power and the right hand of authority. And because the scroll is in the one who is seated on the throne's hand, it means it's His. And there's writing on both sides and it's sealed with seven seals. Seven is the number of fulfillment or completion or perfection. That means it is completely and totally sealed up. And the question is, who's worthy to be able to open this? Because what He's holding in His hand is the title deed of the unfolding of the eternal kingdom of God on earth. And He's holding it in His hand. But yet, it seems as if there is no one worthy to be able to open the scroll and to know its contents. 'Cause just anybody can't do that. You can't unseal something that's perfectly sealed. Who's worthy to do that? And John says, I didn't see anything, I didn't hear anything. And so all I did, all you're hearing in this vision now is John weeping, until the voice of an elder. Listen to what it says. "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 at the center of the throne, "encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. "And the Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, "which are the Seven Spirits of God "sent out into all the earth." Are you seeing this? John is weeping. And an elder says, don't, don't, don't cry. Look, the Lion of Judah, the Root of David. Here's what's so interesting. John hears Lion, but he looks and sees Lamb. And it is a Lamb as if he had been slain talking about the death of the Son of God on our behalf, the only one who is worthy. But did you hear it? Did you hear it in the verse? "Looking as if He had been slain, "standing, "standing in the center of the throne." This is about the resurrected Son of God, the one who laid His life down on our behalf and the one who got up from the dead. He, my friends, is the only one who is worthy to open the scroll, to unfurl God's eternal kingdom on earth. You see, friends, every single one of us is unworthy. We have to be like Wayne and Garth when we come into the presence of God. We recognize we are not worthy. We are not worthy. But Jesus is. The Bible says, "In the beginning was the Word "and the Word was with God and the Word was God. "And the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. "And we beheld His glory, "the glory of the only begotten of God, "full of grace and truth." You see, the Son of God knew that we were all in an impossible scenario, that all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You do not get a pass on that. You do not get an exception. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And we have failed. Can you imagine the degree of our failure in the presence of a God who is completely holy, who dwells in unapproachable light, who is all things beautiful and all things powerful and who must judge sin? Because He is holy and He is just and He is righteous, and He can't just wink at it and go, "Eh, nevermind." He can't do it because of who He is. And yet all of us, every single human being ever born, ever will be born has sinned and come short of the glory of God. We are in an impossible situation. We are on the other side of a chasm that cannot be crossed. But God in His mercy showed us such grace that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, who has always been a part of the Godhead, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, has existed in perpetuity in eternity past. And Jesus knew our need and our impossible situation. And He took on flesh being born of a virgin, not because Joseph was the dad with Mary but because the Holy Spirit was. And Jesus took on flesh, lived a sinless life, preached the Kingdom of God, and then went to a cross to satisfy the justice of a Holy God so that sin could be judged. But Jesus, the sinless one, determined that instead of you bearing the wrath of that which you could never uphold and would leave you separated from God in a place the Bible calls hell, that instead, He in His sinlessness as the worthy one would willingly take it upon Himself so that you and I now by faith in what He's done through His death and His resurrection could now be reconciled to God, our sins forgiven and gone. And now by faith in Jesus, us being reconciled to the Father, this is the glorious news of the gospel. And this is why Jesus is worthy of our praise. Listen, when we talk about His worthiness, it's because there is no one, no one that can do it except for Him. It's just Him. And when we glimpse into the heavenlies, as we do with John, that's what we see. And in fact, what we see is the worthy one taking the scroll and everybody declaring how worthy He is. Look at verse number 7. "Jesus went 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 24 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 God's people. "And they sang a new song saying, 'You are worthy "'to take the scroll and to open its seals "'because you were slain, and with your blood, "'you purchased for God persons 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 I heard the voice of many angels, "numbering thousands upon thousands, "and 10,000 times 10,000. "And they encircled the throne "and the living creatures and the elders. "And in a loud voice, they were saying, "'Worthy is the Lamb who was slain "'to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength "'and honor and glory and praise.' "And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth "and under the earth and on the sea "and all that is in them saying, "'To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb "'be praise and honor and glory and power "'forever and ever.' "And the four living creatures said, 'Amen,' "and the elders fell down and worshiped." Why? 'Cause He is worthy. That's why. He's worthy. He's worthy because He is ultimate power. He is ultimate beauty. He is ultimate faithfulness. He is ultimate otherness. And He is the ultimate savior. And just like the living creatures would magnify the word holy three times over for emphasis on the glory of who God is, we can do the same. And we can cry holy, holy, holy. But do you know what else we can cry? Worthy, worthy, worthy. Why don't we? When I say: Is he worthy, you just answer, "He is." How about we do it three times? Is he worthy?

- [Congregation] He is.

- Is he worthy?

- [Congregation] He is.

- Is he worthy?

- [Congregation] He is.

- He's worthy. We need to convince our hearts that that's true. Because when we understand that He's the one who is worthy of everything, then for us, the response is that we lift our hands up, we lay our whole lives down. That's what we do. And if you're here and you've never before entrusted your life to Jesus to experience forgiveness of your sins and reconciliation to the Father, I want you to know something, that Jesus, the worthy one, said that He is "the way, the truth, and the life. "And no one comes to the Father except through Him." Hear this again. No one comes to the Father except through the worthy one: Jesus, the Son of God. There are not many roads that lead to God. There's one. It is the narrow way of the Son of God, the sinless Son of God who gave His life, died on a cross for the sins of the world rose from the grave on the third day, ascended to the Father, and who has made a sufficient sacrifice on our behalf so that by faith in Him, we can have our sins forgiven and be reconciled to God. It is the only way to God. These are the words of Jesus, the worthy one, the truth teller, the faithful one, the promise keeper. And if you've never before turned from your sin and put your faith in Jesus for the salvation of your soul, then I want to encourage you when we dismiss in just a moment that you'll come straight across the atrium. There's a room, it's clearly marked. It's called the Fireside Room. There's some pastors and some other prayer partners in there. They'd love to just take a moment and pray with you, send you home with something that's gonna help you in your journey of faith. You're not signing up for anything you don't wanna sign up for. It's none of that. There's no hook. We just wanna serve you. But it is the singular most important decision you'll make in your entire life. 'Cause the stakes are eternal. Who we choose to worship, who we choose to believe in, who we choose to follow, that has eternal consequence. And God has done everything that He needs to do to be able to remind you of His love for you, His desire to rescue you and to save you through the gift of His Son. So I hope that you'll come by and let us make an investment in your life by faith. Father, thank you for every, every reminder of your worth. We saw a handful of those in Revelation 4 and 5. And we can read through the scripture to find so many more. You are worthy of our very lives. You're worthy of our surrender. You're worthy of our obedience. You're worthy of our assets. You're worthy of our time. You are worthy. And you alone can we ascribe ultimate worth to. May our lives reflect that truth. May we not settle for lesser things that we look like we're worshiping, whether it's money, power, success, relationships. But may it be you, and may our lives be shaped as a result of that? I pray in the strong and matchless name of the Lion of Judah, the Root of David, the Lion who is the Lamb, our Lord Jesus. Amen.