Sermon: Worship: The Central/Ultimate Activity of a Believer

Bible Passage: Revelation 4:1-11

I. Around the Central Throne, there were many important things and people

1. Twenty-four thrones and twenty-four elders (4:4)
2. White clothes of the elders (4:4)
3. Crowns (4:4)
4. Flashing of lights (4:5)
5. Roaring and crashes of thunder (4:5)
6. Flaming torches (4:4)
7. Sea of glass (4:5)
8. Four living creatures (4:5)—lion, ox, man, and eagle

II. With all these spectacular things in the heavenly scene, God, the One Who sits on the throne, becomes the centre

1. The One Who is seated on the throne (4:2)—the King
2. The One Who sits on the throne cannot be described in words—He is only described in comparative terms of His majesty (4:3)
   • Like Jasper
   • Like Carnelian

III. A large diverse congregation is involved in ceaseless worship (4:4-11)

1. Four living creatures
2. Twenty-four elders with white-robes

IV. The attributes of the One Who sits on the throne

1. Holy (4:8)
2. Powerful (4:8)
3. Eternal (4:8)

V. The One Who is seated on the throne is worshipped only in humility

1. The four creatures with all their beauty give glory to the One Who sits on the throne (4:9)
2. The twenty-four elders threw themselves on the ground and worshipped the One Who sits on the throne (4:10)—absence of human pride
   • The twenty-four elders cast their crowns before the One Who sits on the throne (4:10)
   • The twenty-four elders confessed the One Who sits on the throne

VI. Lessons of Worship

1. True worship involves a realization of who we are (Rev 4:10; cf Isa 6:5)
2. Worship begins when God touches one’s life
   • The elders were wearing white robes
   • The Sovereign Master cleansed Isaiah in the palace where the defiled king lived
3. Therefore, only a born-again person can offer true worship to the Triune God
4. Worship—a believer’s response to God’s revelation of Himself in History that is recorded in the Scripture
5. One’s worship can only be proportionate to one’s understanding of God revealed in the Scripture

TAKE AWAY

1. Do not compromise in life-situations of today
2. Cleanse your soiled clothes with confession and repentance and join with the Four Living Creatures and twenty-four Elders in worshipping the One Who is sitting on the throne in humility