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
- Twenty-four thrones and twenty-four elders (4:4)
- White clothes of the elders (4:4)
- Crowns (4:4)
- Flashing of lights (4:5)
- Roaring and crashes of thunder (4:5)
- Flaming torches (4:4)
- Sea of glass (4:5)
- 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
- The One Who is seated on the throne (4:2)—the King
- 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)
- Four living creatures
- Twenty-four elders with white-robes
IV. The attributes of the One Who sits on the throne
- Holy (4:8)
- Powerful (4:8)
- Eternal (4:8)
V. The One Who is seated on the throne is worshipped only in humility
- The four creatures with all their beauty give glory to the One Who sits on the throne (4:9)
- 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
- True worship involves a realization of who we are (Rev 4:10; cf Isa 6:5)
- 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
- Therefore, only a born-again person can offer true worship to the Triune God
- Worship—a believer’s response to God’s revelation of Himself in History that is recorded in the Scripture
- One’s worship can only be proportionate to one’s understanding of God revealed in the Scripture
TAKE AWAY
- Do not compromise in life-situations of today
- 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