“Worthy Are You, Our Lord And God, To Receive Glory and Honor and Power

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”       – Revelation 4:11

 

Imagine living in the first century after Christ — or even in the 19th century, for that matter — and trying to explain a 2024 smartphone. You describe how you can instantly speak to someone half a world away, play games or listen to music, read your Bible, take pictures of your family and store them in a cloud, and soon employ artificial intelligence in your communications. You would have to resort to otherwise common images to make yourself understood and, even then, your explanation would be confusing. Now put yourself in John’s sandals as the apostle relates what he has seen in Heaven: the setting, the characters, and the very throne of God. Even as a 21st–century observer, with learned teachers and a better understanding, the Book of Revelation can confuse you.

 

What is not confusing in today’s verse is the extent and depth of worship. God is absolutely the center of all attention. Warren Wiersbe said, “When we get to heaven, we will realize in a new way that all praise belongs to God and God alone.” He also notes, “Spiritual worship is perhaps one of the greatest needs in our individual lives and our churches.” To worship is to ascribe worth. God is worthy of worship because all that you are and have is because of all that He is and does.

 

Worship is far more than meeting one day a week to sing praise songs, hear a sermon, and go to lunch with friends. In Amos 5:23-24, God warned, “Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps, I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Check your heart so you are not numbered among the people of whom Jesus said, “These people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8). Worship includes what you do from Sunday afternoon to Saturday evening. Worship is being obedient to God’s authority over every part of your life. Ask the Holy Spirit to help develop a deeper heart of worship in yourself and in your church family.