How earthly worship prepares us for heaven
Have you ever wondered what heaven will be like? Although Scripture does not give us many details about what our daily life will be like (or even if there are days, as God works out of our understanding of time), we are given a picture of what it will take to place there in Revelation 4: 1-11.
The Spirit of God carries John into the same throne room as God. John describes its beauty and brilliance: shades of emerald, sardius and jasper stones, a sea of glass, a rainbow that completely surrounds the throne, lightning and thunder. God is not alone in his throne room; around him are twenty-four elders seated on thrones, dressed in white and with golden crowns. Additionally, there are seven lamps of fire and four unusual creatures that add to the ongoing and Spirit-filled worship service that takes place.
Perfect, heavenly worship
If we were to describe heaven in one word, it would be worship.
The four creatures (most likely seraphs or angels) have jobs and do it all the time. They never cease to say: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come". The twenty-four elders (representing the redeemed of the ages) fall before the throne of God, throw their crowns at His feet and raise a hymn of praise:
“You are worthy, our Lord and our God, to receive glory, honor and power; for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created ”(Revelation 4:11).
This is what we will do in heaven. Eventually we will be able to worship God in a way that will please our soul and we will honor Him as He should be honored. Any attempt at worship in this world is a dress rehearsal for true experience. God allowed John to give us an idea of what to expect so that we can prepare. He wants us to know that living as if we are already before the throne will lead us to the throne victoriously.
How can God receive glory, honor, and power from our life today?
What John observed in the throne room of Heaven reveals what it means to worship God. It is to give him back the glory, honor and power that belong to him. The word receive is lambanō and it means to take with the hand or grasp any person or thing to use it. It is taking what is one's own, taking for oneself or creating one.
God is worthy to grasp the glory, honor, and power that belong to Him anyway, because He is worthy, and to use them, to conform them to His will, purpose, and intentions. Here are three ways we can worship today in order to prepare for heaven.
1. We give glory to God the Father
"Also for this reason, God highly exalted him and bestowed upon him the name which is above every name, so that in the name of Jesus every knee will bend, of those who are in heaven, on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father ”(Philippians 2: 9-11).
Gloria [doxa] primarily means an opinion or an estimate. It is the recognition and response to the display of His attributes and ways. We give glory to God when we have the correct opinion and understanding of his character and attributes. God's glory is His reputation; recognizing who he is, we give him back the glory he deserves.
Romans 1: 18-32 describes what happens when humans reject God and refuse to give him the glory that is due to him. Instead of recognizing his character and attributes, they choose instead to worship the created world and ultimately themselves as gods. The result is a descent into depravity as God hands them over to their sinful desires. The New York Times recently ran a full-page advertisement that declared in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, it was not God who was needed, but science and reason. Rejection of God's glory leads us to make foolish and dangerous statements.
How can we prepare for heaven? By studying God's character and His infinite and immutable attributes described in Scripture and recognizing and declaring them to an unbelieving culture. God is holy, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, just and righteous. It is transcendent, it exists outside our dimensions of time and space. He alone defines love because it is love. It is self-existent, it does not depend on any other external power or authority for its existence. He is compassionate, long-suffering, kind, wise, creative, true and faithful.
Praise the Father for what he is. Give glory to God.
2. We honor the Son, Jesus Christ
The word translated as honor refers to a valuation by which a price is set; it is a price paid or received for a person or thing bought or sold. Honoring Jesus means giving Him the correct value, recognizing His true value. It is Christ's honor and inestimable value; it is His preciousness, as the precious cornerstone (1 Peter 2: 7).
“If you address yourselves as Father, the One who judges impartially according to each one's work, behave in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your ancestors, but with precious blood, as of a spotless and spotless lamb, the blood of Christ "(1 Peter 1: 17-19).
“Not even the Father judges anyone, but he has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him ”(John 5: 22-23).
Because of the great price paid for our salvation, we understand the value of our redemption. We value everything else in our life with respect to the value we place in Christ. The larger and more accurate we “evaluate” and understand His value, the less valuable all other things will be. We take care of what we value; we honor him. We appreciate the sacrifice that Christ made in our behalf from the depth of the holiness of our life. If we do not value Christ, we will misjudge the depth of our sin. We will think lightly of sin and take grace and forgiveness for granted.
What is it in our life that we need to reevaluate, weighing it against our desire to honor Christ above all? Some things we might consider are our reputation, our time, our money, our talents, our resources and our fun. Do I worship God by honoring Christ? When others observe my choices, my words and my actions, do they see a person who honors Jesus or would they question my priorities and values?
3. Empower the Holy Ghost
“And he said to me: 'My grace is enough for you, because power is perfect in weakness'. Very gladly, therefore, I will rather boast of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me ”(2 Corinthians 12: 9).
This power refers to the inherent power of God residing in Him by virtue of His nature. It is the effort of his strength and ability. This same power is seen many times in Scripture. It is the power by which Jesus performed miracles and the apostles preached the gospel and also performed miracles to testify the truth of their words. It is the same power with which God raised Jesus from the dead and will one day resurrect us too. It is the power of the gospel for salvation.
Giving power to God means allowing the Spirit of God to live, operate, and exercise His power in our lives. It means recognizing the power we have by virtue of the Spirit of God within and living in victory, power, trust and holiness. It is facing uncertain and "unprecedented" days with joy and hope because they bring us closer and closer to the throne!
What are you trying to do in your life on your own? Where are you weak? What are the places in your life that you need to allow the Spirit of God to work in you? We can worship God by seeing His power transform our marriages, family relationships, and educate our children to know and love God. His power allows us to share the gospel in a hostile culture. Personally, we allow the Spirit of God to rule our hearts and minds by spending time in prayer and studying God's word. The more we allow God to transform our lives, the more we worship God, paying attention and praise to His power. .
We worship God for what he is, giving him glory.
We adore Jesus for his preciousness, honoring him above all else.
We worship the Holy Spirit for his power, as he transforms us into visible manifestations of God's glory.
Prepare for eternal worship
"But all of us, face uncovered, contemplating the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are transformed into the same image of glory into glory, just as by the Lord, the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
We worship God now to prepare for eternal worship, but also so that the world can see who God truly is and respond by giving him glory. Making Christ a priority in our lives shows others how to honor and value Jesus as their most precious treasure. Our example of a holy and obedient lifestyle reveals that others too can experience the regenerating and life-changing power of the Holy Ghost.
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer of any use, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and give light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men so that they can see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven ”(Matthew 5: 13-16).
Now, more than ever, the world needs to take a look at the God we worship. As followers of Christ, we have an eternal perspective: We worship God forever. Our nation is full of fear and chaos; we are a people divided on many things and our world needs to see who is on the throne in heaven. Worship God today with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, so that others also see His glory and desire to worship Him.
"In this you rejoice greatly, although now for a while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various tests, so that the test of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even if tested by fire, may it turns out that it gives rise to praise, glory and honor to the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen him, you love him, and although you do not see him now, but believe in him, rejoice greatly with an inexpressible and glorious joy ”(1 Peter 1: 6-8).