DAY 301 - Worship and See

Revelation 5:6-14 (RSV)  ⁶ And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth; ⁷ and he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.  ⁸ And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints;    ⁹ and they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy art thou to take the scroll and to open its seals, for thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, ¹⁰ and hast made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on earth." ¹¹ Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, ¹² saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" ¹³ And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all therein, saying, "To him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might for ever and ever!" ¹⁴ And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" and the elders fell down and worshiped. 
 

John says in Revelation that you and I need to see that the future is in the hands of Jesus, the Lamb who was slain. Until we see it, the message about Jesus holding the future is mumbo-jumbo, or wishful thinking, or a bit of pure fantasy put out by well intentioned but stupid people who refuse to face the hard reality that the future is either under our own control or headed nowhere. Until we see it. How do we see it? And the twenty-four elders fell down and sang a new song, “worthy art thou to take the scroll and to open its seals” … and thousands upon thousands said with a loud voice, “worthy is the lamb who was slain.” John is describing worship. The basic definition of worship is “to ascribe worth.”

When we think about the future, how many of us find ourselves asking questions like “How am I going to make sure that this doesn’t happen? Am I doing enough? Am I going to have enough money to be happy? Am I going to have the right opportunity?” These are questions that are never answered by asking them. They are questions that get settled when our focus is on Jesus and His will for our life today.

Worship helps us to see the truth about the future. Sometimes the events of our lives cause our thoughts about who is holding the future to get a little distorted and we lose sight of the fact that Jesus is the key to our future. When worship is offered rightly and rightly entered into, this kind of re-focusing, and re-seeing of the truth should take place. Worship helps us to see again and again that who we are and what we have are gifts and all is to be used in faithfulness to the Lamb who was slain. Worthy is the Lamb. Worthy is the Lamb who made us to reign and to serve. In worship, this is the truth that should come back to us again and again. And this is the truth that should lead us into the future.

 

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope April 30, 1995

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell (Broyles)