Good morning. I pray that you are ready to celebrate your faith in worship today. Every day provides an opportunity for worship, for whenever we fall to our knees before our Lord in praise and obedience it is an act of worship. But there is no doubt that Sunday is a special day. It is a day set aside for the worship of our holy and awesome God. It is a day that provides the opportunity to gather together, and to enjoy an extra boost in our worship because we are joined in worship with our brothers and sisters of faith. So, enjoy the day, worship well, allow yourself to become spiritually connected to the Body of Christ.
When John the apostle of Christ was very aged the Lord blessed him with the opportunity to see heaven. Think of that. It was an absolutely unique experience, one that God has never provided for any other person. Why did God bring this about for John? Because He wanted John to write down the details of his experience, and in writing them down it was God’s intention that what John was blessed to witness would be shared with all mankind from that time forward.
In Revelation we read of John’s experience in seeing his Lord and Savior Jesus in His true, heavenly form. When Jesus walked among men, He called John His friend. It was to John that Jesus entrusted the care of His mother after He would die. It was John who referred to himself as “the one whom Jesus loved.” It was John whose relationship with Christ was so dear and personal that when the question arose as to who would betray Him, the disciples immediately asked John to be the one who would ask for more information. John thought he knew Jesus, and he did, as long as we are talking about the Jesus from Galilee who walked upon the earth. But the Jesus of heaven is different. The description given in Revelation 1 tells us that this Jesus of heaven is awesome, incredible, and terrifying. When John sees this Jesus, we read: When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. Revelation 1:17-18
As we read the book of Revelation, we are given a record of John’s experience. John says that he doesn’t even know if he was there in the flesh or if it was entirely a spiritual experience, but John tells us that this distinction is unimportant. The truth is that his experience was absolutely real, and we understand that for him, in this one moment in time, God had removed the division between the physical and spiritual realms. Was he there in body or in spirit? The answer is…yes, or one or the other, or from God’s view: “What’s your point?”
John experiences the reality of heavenly worship. It is bold. It is loud. It is unrestrained in every way. It is natural, as though the beings of heaven can not stop themselves from worshipping the Almighty when they are in His presence. And that is a lesson for us.
When we celebrate God and lift up His glory, is our worship intended to be anything less? “Well,” we might say, “but these heavenly beings are in God’s immediate presence. Of course they are going to worship this way.” And what does the Lord tell us? We read in Matthew 18:20 “For where even two or three will gather in My Name, I am there with them.” When we gather in worship the Lord is present. The only question is whether we will invest our spirits to join with Him so that we, like the heavenly beings, are able to experience Him.
This intimacy with God is described for us by John in another place as well. He writes in 1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
Jesus came to us that we may know Him (God). As He tells His disciples in his (John’s) gospel when they request a clearer vision of God: Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? John 14:8-9
Draw near to God through your personal and intimate relationship with the Son, our Savior Jesus. When you have truly drawn near to Him, worship is inevitable, remarkable, and wonderful.
Worship well today!
Vern