He is All Things

 Rev. 4:11
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Revelation reveals Christ in all of His glory. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end of all things. “And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.”(Col 1:17). He is our all in all. All things for every circumstance in life. We wake up in the morning and breathe in all that Jesus has given us. We go through our day and submit our will to the one who will work all things for good so that He will receive glory, honor and praise. We end our day with thanksgiving for all the things He has done and will do. He is worthy today and into eternity to be praised and glorified. Who can stand before Him and not bow the knee and worship Him? We worry about many things in life. He knows our frame, that we are weak and need Him to make the impossible happen. We can do all things through Christ, who gives us the power to do what is needed. In return, we give Him all the glory for all the things He has done and will do. We don’t have to wait till we get to heaven to cast ourselves before Him as John saw the 24 elders do. We live each day knowing that He is in control of all things in our lives, and we give Him praise. He is worthy as we lift our voices to Him in praise. We are His creation and worthy of our worship in word and deed.

They Saw His Star

 

Matt 2:2,11
“For we have seen His star ...(Magi) fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures...”

Twas the night  before Christmas, the Magi followed the star to find the promised Messiah. The night before Christmas, they went to King Herod to inquire, but the influencers of that time did not have a clue of any star in the sky. As the Magi continued their quest, the star appeared once again to guide and direct them. The timeline of their journey was about a couple of weeks after the birth of Jesus, but at last the star stood still, and they arrived to find Mary and Joseph in a house where Jesus was under their care. God’s gift of Love had arrived, and the Magi’s hearts were stricken with praise and adoration. They recognized that this was the Son of God who would change the world. They fell down on their knees, no doubt, lifting their voices to the heavens and gave thanks to the new born king. The Magi opened their treasures and presented them to the Son of God. The gifts were symbolic, recognizing the significance of His coming. Gold as a symbol of kingship on earth, frankincense (an incense) as a symbol of deity, and myrrh (an embalming oil) as a symbol of death. He, the God man, will die, shed His blood to set men free, but will rule the world as King and Lord for all eternity. As the Magi fell down, so will every knee bow and confess that He is Lord.  Let us give Christ the treasure of our hearts. May we open our treasures and give them all to Jesus. He gave His life for us, let us give our heart to Him in full surrender to His will and desires. Let us bow the knee now and worship Him, for He is worthy. 

He is Worthy

 Rev 5:9

Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

The book (scroll) with the seven seals contained the prophecy of God’s judgment of mankind who refused to submit to the sovereignty and Lordship of Christ. There was no one on earth that was able to break the seals and open the scroll for all men have sinned and come short of being worthy. But, there appears one with authority and able to break the seals. He is worthy because He was the lamb who  paid the price. He is worthy because He was without sin, and came to earth to give His life to redeem us from our sins, that we may now come boldly to the throne of God. Like the 24 elders, we bow down before Him, worship and adore Him. He will send judgments, those who have rebelled against Him and have denied His grace will see the wrath of God displayed. For those who have bowed the knee in this life will stand with Him on the last day and reign with Him forever and ever. 

Your Whole Heart

Psalm 111:1 Praise ye the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.

With my whole heart, and everything within me I give myself to God in praise. The whole heart does not hold back, does not share its affections. The whole heart is committed 100% to the things of God. In time of worship, the whole heart puts away the things in life that weigh heavy on our mind. The heart is focus on Jesus, His love and grace. His mercy that endures forever. With our whole heart, we give thanks to God for all that He has done and will do. We enter into His house with thanksgiving and praise because He is worthy and holy. There is no other God like our God. Praise Him not only in the place of worship, but praise Him at home, work, school, and wherever you go. Let others know that you have given your whole heart to God and He alone is worthy of our praise.

I Will Praise Him

Isaiah 25:1 O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

We praise Him not because we feel like it. Praising the Lord and exalting His name is not necessarily a cause and effect action. Yes, He is good and does wonderful things and for this we praise Him, but praise is an attitude of the heart. Even when things are not going so good we praise Him. Even when life seems to be given us lemons and nothing appears to be working out. With purpose and will, we make the choice to praise Him in spite of all that is happening. We praise Him because He is God and is worthy of our praise. I don’t claim to understand all the workings of God, and I certainly don’t have all the answers to the “why” and “why nots” of life, but this one thing I know, God is love and He is all that I need to make life complete. For this, I will praise Him.

Sing Unto The Lord

Psalm 98:1b, 4 O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things:…Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.

Worshiping God is demonstrated in many ways. We enter into the house of God expecting Him to meet with us. We express our love and faith by giving Him praise. He is worthy of worship and it is only right that we make a joyful noise, rejoicing by singing praises to Him. True worship of God is more of an attitude of spirit than a physical demonstration of emotions. We can sing with gusto and lift our hands toward heaven all we want, but if our heart is in rebellion against God, then we worship in vain. For to obey is better than sacrifice, or giving lip service by speaking words of praise. God is pleased when we recognize His holiness, His majesty, His greatness, but coming to Him with a song that has been places there by Jesus Christ is what He desires. Let us enter into His gates with thanksgiving in our heart, and worship Him for who He is and what He has done in our lives. 

Worthy The Lamb

Revelation 5:6-14

On an island, apart from the world, John finds himself a prisoner for Christ. It is on this isolated island that the Revelation of Jesus is made known to this man of God. It is here that John is given to know the mysteries of things to come. Christ is the theme that runs through the whole book. He is the one that in found worthy to reveal all things. All the host of heaven and all who have been redeemed fall to worship Him is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Sealed Books- book…sealed up with seven seals

• The use of metaphors- Is there actually a book-scroll in heaven?
• The Revelation- Things to come
• Unfolding of events- scroll within a scroll each is sealed

Strong Angels – I saw a strong angel

• Not even a magnificent and powerful angel could open the book
• Proclamation- Qualification for breaking the seals

Sorrow and Weeping – I began to weep

• Why does John weep?
• Trapped on a Island- What will become of him and others
• Prevented from seeing more of the mind of God
• Humanity of John- This is the end? Unfilled desires

Slain Lamb – Stood a lamb as been slain

• Jesus is referred to as a lamb through out the Bible
• He was the perfect lamb- sacrificed for all of Adam’s race
• Standing- Alive! Yet his appearance identified Him as the one.

Seven Horns and Eyes –till he establish-arms of His strength

• Horns- Represent the might and power of the lamb

• Eyes- Represent the all knowing, all seeing knowledge

Song of the Elders – And They sung a new song

• Who are these elders? - The Redeemed of the earth
• The swelling of joy- took them to their knees
• Harp & Vail = Praise and Prayer in worship
• The Song- sacrificial death, redemption man, and authority given by Christ to the redeemed.

Shouts and Praise- I heard a voice of many angels

• The heavens join in the praise of the redemption of man
• Power, Riches, Wisdom, Strength, Honor, Glory, Blessing.

Sitting on the Throne Be unto Him that sits on the throne

• Deity of Christ
• Attributes of God are given to Christ
• He is the eternal God- Always was, is, and forever will be.