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Three Ways to Worship The Lamb | Revelation 5:8-14 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Revelation Bible Study Series) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  Please meet me in your Bibles in Revelation chapter 5.
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  And we're going to begin by reading verse 8 down to verse
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  14. The Word of God tells us here in
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  verse 8 of chapter 5 of the Book of Revelation.
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  And when he had taken the scroll, the four living
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  creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb, each
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  holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the
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  prayers of the Saints. And they sang a new song,
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  saying, Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its
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  seals. For you were slain, and by your
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  blood you ransomed people for God, from every tribe and
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  language and people and nation. And you have made them a Kingdom
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  and priest to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.
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  Then I looked and I heard around the throne and the living
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  creatures and the elders, the voice of many angels, numbering
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  myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud
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  voice, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and
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  wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.
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  And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under
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  the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying to
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  him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and
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  honor and glory and might, forever and ever.
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  And the four living creatures said, Amen.
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  And the elders fell down and worshipped.
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  Father, we ask that you teach us about worship.
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  Guide us, lead us and make us true worshippers, for this is
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  what you are looking for. We trust that you will do that.
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  In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
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  The main thought of this final section in Revelation chapter 5
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  is worship. It's the very last word found in
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  the very last part of chapter 5. Look at it again in verse 14.
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  And the four living creatures said Amen.
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  And the elders fell down and worshipped.
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  I'm aware that last week you heard from Pastor Benda's
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  message and in that message included a few very important
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  thoughts pertaining to worship and what true worship entails.
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  And I believe in God's Providence.
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  He wants us to explore this further.
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  You know, in the Book of Revelation, the word worship or
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  worshipping appears around 22 times.
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  I don't know about you, but that reflects how Christ wants us to
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  really meditate and understand the importance of worship,
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  considering the fact that this is the final book of the Bible.
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  So here you and I are in the final book of Scripture, and
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  what you find repeated among many things is worship, Worship,
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  worship, worship, worship. So with this in mind, we're
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  going to begin by answering a very simple yet imperative
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  question. What is worship and following
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  that, what does it mean to truly worship God?
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  I think a helpful place to start is to understand the definition
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  of the most commonly used word for worship in the New
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  Testament. It is a word prosecenaeo.
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  Prosecenaeo is the most common word for worship in the Greek,
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  and what it means is very simple to kiss toward, not as an act of
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  affection or endearment merely, but as a token of reverence, as
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  a symbol of allegiance. A very familiar illustration
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  might be what you would find commonly in history when
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  somebody would approach royalty in ancient times.
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  They would bow down and they would kiss their hand or even
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  kiss their feet to express their honor and devotion toward the
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  king. And so with this word, proscaneo
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  is also the posture of bending down, sometimes even prostrating
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  yourself. And that's why some people are
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  more comfortable of defining this word as to bend down.
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  So if we work with that definition, then we have our
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  understanding of what worship means.
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  It is a visible outward expression of 1's honor and
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  devotion towards someone, and I think that's what most
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  Christians believe worship to be.
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  But we run into a problem. The problem, which is a good
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  problem, is found in Jesus teaching because he deepens and
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  he challenges our understanding of worship.
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  If worship is purely just me externally demonstrating
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  something of appreciation or allegiance, then how do we make
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  sense of Jesus's words and Matthew and turn with me there?
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  Chapter 15, verse 8 and 9. You know this very well, where
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  Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees and he tells them in
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  Matthew 15-8 and nine, this people honors me with their
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  lips, but their heart is far from me.
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  In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the
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  commandments of men. Notice that Jesus is confirming
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  that the spiritual leaders of his day honored God with their
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  lips. Would you agree that that is a
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  very clear demonstration of outward honor?
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  Yes, it is. It's audible.
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  It's it's visible, It's seen, it's heard.
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  They honor me with their lists. Well, isn't that worship?
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  Well, no, he clarifies, and he actually denounces it as vain
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  worship. How?
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  One crucial reason, the outward expression did not match an
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  inward conviction. It's as simple as that.
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  That's why he says, but their heart is far from me.
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  So based on this, worship according to our Lord Jesus is
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  far greater than bodily postures, is far greater than
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  external acts. It's more than just audible
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  expressions. Worship includes those displays
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  of reverence and adoration. But that's not the essence.
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  The essence of true worship is a matter of the heart.
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  It is an inner experience. It is an inner reality.
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  Christ is not after our lips saying things if our hearts
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  don't believe them. Christ is not looking for us to
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  bend our knees of our hearts are not completely surrendered.
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  Christ is not satisfied with you and I offering acts of devotion
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  and even expressions of adoration weekly in a designated
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  location. If we don't carry that
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  allegiance and that affection in our hearts outside of those
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  meetings, what worship is according to Jesus is an inward
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  delight in God that recognizes Him as supreme over all things.
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  That's true worship. And Jesus Christ elaborates on
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  this another very famous passage, and we'll turn them
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  together in John chapter 4. And notice what he says here in
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  verse 23 and 24. But the hour's coming, and now
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  is here, when the true worshippers will worship the
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  Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such
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  people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who
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  worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
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  This sounds almost cryptic to some people.
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  What does it mean that God is looking after those who worship
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  in spirit and truth? Here's the essence of what
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  Christ is getting at. True worship is informed by the
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  truth of who God is, it must be informed by who God truly is,
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  and it must impact and influence the deepest part of who you are,
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  your spirit. So true worship includes being
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  informed by who God truly is and that impacting my spirit, the
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  deepest part of who I am. Listen carefully now.
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  If I am familiar with truth, divine truth, but it does not
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  affect my spirit, it will never lead to true worship.
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  And if I have ideas and conceptions about God, but they
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  are not grounded in truth, no matter how strongly I feel about
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  those perceptions, no matter how much passion is behind them, it
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  will not lead to true worship either.
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  It needs to be informed by the truth, and it must impact the
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  deepest part of who I am. That's true worship.
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  Let me say it one more time. True worship is a heartfelt
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  response to the truth of who God is, one that continually
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  recognizes with absolute delight that God is supremely better,
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  more glorious, more satisfying than anything else.
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  And once that conviction is settled in your heart, the Lord
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  in His grace gives us guidance of how we can then express that
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  worship in a way that further glorifies Him.
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  So if I bend down, if I serve, if I sing, if I do anything but
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  my heart is not impacted or impressed or is convinced or
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  settled that He is indeed supreme over all things.
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  It's vain worship. Do you see?
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  This is what Christ is truly after.
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  And I want to bring this up to you because what we find in the
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  text that we read in the opening of this message, I trust, is a
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  wonderful example of how we can now then offer worship to God
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  once it is chained around your heart and you're convinced He is
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  above all things. We now receive instruction even
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  in the passage that we just read, how then we can worship
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  Him. Here's the message today I want
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  to present to you three ways that we can worship the Lamb who
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  is Jesus. Three ways, because we have an
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  example laid out by us and for us with the worshippers who are
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  in heaven. So let's come back to our text
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  in Revelation 5, and the main focus will be verse eight.
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  Look at it again. And when he had taken the
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  scroll, that being Jesus, the four living creatures and the 24
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  elders fell down before the Lamb highlight that they first fell
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  down. Following that, we're told that
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  each was holding a what a harp. I wonder what that means?
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  And finally, golden bowls full of incense, which are the
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  prayers of the Saints right there.
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  You know what I see three ways I can worship Jesus after I
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  determined He is my All in all in here.
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  More importantly, I can express it in these ways.
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  In fact, I must express them in these ways.
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  Three ways #1 the way that I am called to worship Jesus Christ
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  is with my body, with my body. That's symbolized here by the
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  fact that these elders with the four living creatures fell down
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  before the Lamb. You know what's so interesting?
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  The four living creatures and these elders who fall down
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  demonstrate something that you find most commonly in the Book
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  of Revelation and the Gospels. In other words, for creatures
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  and for humans to fall down before Jesus appears the most in
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  the four Gospels and the final text of Holy Scripture.
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  Why do you think that is? Why do you think that the most
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  frequent records of this response to Jesus is in those
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  two places? Because Christ is most visible.
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  His presence is most real in the Gospels as He took on flesh, and
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  here as we find Him in heaven in glory.
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  His purity and His power demands such a response.
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  The weightiness of His glory even in His humanity called for
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  people to helplessly fall down before Him.
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  But that bodily response is not emphasized in the Epistles.
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  There is a different thing that is stress concerning our worship
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  with our bodies, and this is something that is familiar to
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  you. The priority that is placed on
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  these physical frames and how they should respond to the glory
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  of who Jesus is, is in practical holiness.
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  Practical holiness. Not to say that I can't express
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  my worship by bending down or even laying on my face, but
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  that's not the mandatory posture in the letters to the churches.
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  You know what it is your body in holiness.
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  Paul tells us in First Corinthians 624, You were bought
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  at a price. So glorify God in your body, in
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  my body. And the Bible can't be any more
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  clear than that. When Christ redeemed you and he
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  paid a price for you, what's included in that ransom is your
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  body. Every part of it belongs to Him.
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  He owns your body, not just your soul, not just your spirit, your
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  body. I'm sure you're like me and
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  wondering, I've never doubted that.
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  But what does it look like for my body to worship Him?
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  What does that look like? And I believe it means two
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  things. It includes what you do with
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  this body and what you don't do. 2 main categories that you find
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  throughout the Bible. How I glorify and worship God
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  with this body is what I do with it and what I don't do.
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  It's positive and it is negative.
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  It advances and then it refrains.
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  There's offense and there's defense.
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  There's go and there's no. And let me give you an example
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  of that dual emphasis in the New Testament.
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  Let's go to the book of James. Let's go to chapter 1 and let's
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  look at one verse, James 127. James says in chapter 1, verse
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  27, religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father
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  is this to visit orphans and widows and their affliction and
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  to keep oneself unstained from the world.
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  Do you see the positive and the negative?
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  You see the offense and the defense.
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  You see the go and the no. So here's what this means.
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  We're after this right? Pure religion, pure worship,
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  glorifying God in a pure way. According to James, whenever I
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  sacrifice my time, my energy, my focus, waking up early, for
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  example, earlier than usual, traveling longer than I prefer,
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  attending to somebody else's needs, even at the expense of my
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  own, every time I do that in the name of Christ, in service to
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  others, that's worship. That's worship.
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  An example that James gives us is this.
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  Picking up your feet, choosing rather to go outside instead of
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  lounging at home, maybe even putting in your hands a plate of
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  food or some take out that you buy with your hard earned money
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  so that you can spend the evening visiting a lonely widow
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  or an overlooked orphan. When you do that, my brother and
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  my sister, according to James, you're worshipping.
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  But this is not the only thing. It's not just in what we do.
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  And again, this is just one example of many ways that we can
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  worship by what we do. It's also in what we reject and
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  to keep oneself unstained from the world.
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  I'm not sure if you've ever seen it this way, but every time you
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  and I deny the temptation to indulge the flesh or to conform
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  to the patterns of the world, that also to God is worship.
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  So when I'm with a group of people and a name comes up and
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  that person is not in that circle and there begins to be
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  backbiting and the tearing of that person's reputation.
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  And here I am now, because it's a consensus.
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  Everybody's saying the same thing and sharing the goods.
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  And I feel that urge to to say something or make a comment or
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  contribute my own silly observation about a person's
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  person's way of life that that really may not even be true to
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  begin with. But I choose to instead reject
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  it and keep my mouth shut, or even more than that, speak up to
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  their defense. That's worship.
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  That's worship. Or when I have been tired after
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  a long days of work and my mind now is being pulled by the ropes
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  of lust to imagine things and fantasize things that I
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  shouldn't be fantasizing about. And I begin to now come up with
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  a personal appointment with my screen to visit websites that I
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  shouldn't be visiting. And instead I canceled that
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  appointment. That's worship.
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  That's worship. Or here I am now on a Saturday
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  evening, no plans. There was no clean up day at
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  church, no basketball event, no volleyball, no BBQ, no nothing.
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  My phone is quiet. But hey, I get a text from some
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  friends, family friends actually, but they don't know
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  Christ. And they say, what are you doing
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  tonight? Let's go to this place.
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  And you just read the name and you Google the maps and you see
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  it. OK?
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  This is not a place that's going to help my testimony.
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  If anybody finds me there, that's going to be trouble.
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  And surely there's going to be opportunity to sin there more
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  than if I stay home. And So what you do instead,
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  though you're bored out of your mind, you kindly decline.
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  And more than that, you say you listen.
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  Since you reached out to me, what are you doing?
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  Tomorrow, let's go to church together.
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  That's worship. That's worship.
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  And here's what that means for you and I.
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  That true worship toward Jesus Christ is totally achievable by
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  any of us. Common acts, small sacrifices,
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  private appointments, visitations.
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  A simple call to encourage a weary soul.
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  Things that you don't think are really impactful or monumental,
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  like denying thoughts and denying actions and refraining
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  yourself from evil, wicked company.
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  All of that is worship and it's achievable.
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  Can you imagine? So we fall down, yes, not
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  physically, but even, as we heard last week, internally.
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  I surrender my body by what I do and by what I don't do.
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  That's a fragrance to Jesus. But we move on.
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  We come back to Revelation 5A and what do we see?
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  That they didn't just fall down before the Lamb.
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  They were each holding a harp. Now there is no need to over
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  spiritualize. There is no need to allegorize
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  this detail. Remember, context is king.
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  Context will keep you safe. Every time you see the word harp
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  mentioned in the Book of Revelation, every single time
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  it's accompanied by singing. It's here in Revelation 58.
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  You find in Revelation 14 two, Revelation 15 two, Whenever a
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  harp appears, right after, there's going to be some
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  singing. So what do we find here?
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  It's so obvious that Christ is worshipped in our praise.
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  Christ is worshipped in our heartfelt singing.
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  Not just our bodily sacrifice, but what we do with our lips.
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  And here's the part that moved me the most about this detail.
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  How many of them held harps? Each of them, every single one
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  in attendance had a harp. And I don't think it means that
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  every single one of them were musically gifted.
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  This is symbolic. What it does mean is that every
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  single one we're called to praise.
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  It wasn't optional. Praise is not optional.
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  We're all called to it. But my person, I know your
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  personality. It's OK, I'll tell you.
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  The Spirit will help you because Christ is worshipped when you
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  praise. Now here's so something so
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  significant. We can spend a great time
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  exploring this, but I want to offer one reason, just one
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  simple reason why praise is a glorifying form of worship.
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  What is it about praise that Christ wants for us?
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  To me we sang it. Praise the Lord.
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  Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
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  You find it throughout the Bible.
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  But why does he want it? Because it publicly acknowledges
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  God. This is just one reason.
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  There are many reasons why we praise, but let me give you one.
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  It publicly acknowledges God as the source of all good with
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  passion and joy. It's a testimony.
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  You are testifying. And we went to James, right?
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  Let's go to James again. Look at James 5, James 5, verse
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  13. James, as he's wrapping up his
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  epistle, gives some final exhortations to different
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  members of the churches who might have different heart
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  conditions, and he gives words of wisdom by the Spirit.
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  Notice what he says in this one verse.
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  Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.
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  Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.
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  Two questions I have. Why does James exhort Christians
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  who are suffering to pray? Because there's a tempting
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  alternative. When we're suffering, what is it
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  to complain, to murmur, to maybe even contemplate vengeance?
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  Depending on the source of your pain, it's easily possible for
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  those who are enduring any kind of affliction to preoccupy their
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  efforts and their energy. Their knee jerk reaction is to
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  spew out all their problems to another or even to themselves.
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  And genius saying no, no, reserve that energy and go
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  before God. Pour that out before the Lord.
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  OK, that's settled. Why does he tell those who are
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  cheerful? Now, what does he mean by
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  cheerful? The context suggests those who
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  are not weighed down by discouragement, those who are
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  not trying to fight off anxiety, those who are essentially happy,
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  those that you would ask, how are things going in your life?
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  Wonderful. I mean, no matter what sphere,
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  look at it, everything seems to be going smooth there.
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  There's so much ease. It's, it's wonderful, it's
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  great. Those kind of Christians, why
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  does he tell them to sing praise?
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  You know why? Because in the same way that
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  those who are suffering will forget God in prayer, those who
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  are cheerful tend to forget God in their happiness.
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  And so you need to praise when you're cheerful.
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  What does that mean? Here's what it means.
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  Praise repositions us every single time.
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  Praise has the ability, because it's designed by God, to give
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  Him the ultimate credit for whatever good that you are
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  enjoying in that season. Praise points your heart toward
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  heaven. Now one might say this, and I
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  can see why somebody might ask or wonder, well, can I just give
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  God glory and thanks in plain speech?
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  Thank you, Lord, for all the good that I am enjoying.
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  I recognize that you are the one who authored all of this.
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  Can I just do that? You can't do that.
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  But there's something unique about praise.
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  It weaves melody, it weaves rhythm into your words, and it
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  has a way of reorienting your emotions so that they are now
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  targeting the Lord and giving it towards God.
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  It brings the cheerfulness to its rightful place.
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  That's what praise has the ability to do, more than just
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  simple words. It caused you to tap into
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  something deeper in the human heart, the human experience, and
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  it associates the joy and the delight with beauty, melody and
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  rhythm and says, Oh Lord, you are the one.
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  All these good feelings that I'm feeling, it sanctifies your
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  emotions. All the things that you're
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  knowing here, all the things that make your step lighter, all
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  the things that make your day easier.
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  What praise does, it gathers all that up and says this is because
• 27:04
  of God, this is because of him. Praise contains the power to
• 27:12
  take all the cheerfulness that you are knowing and to lay it at
• 27:17
  the foot of God's throne and saying this is because of you.
• 27:22
  Now, we would make a great mistake if we think that James
• 27:24
  is teaching that we can only offer praise when you're in a
• 27:27
  good mood. Anyone cheerful, sing praise.
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  If you're not cheerful, well, you don't have to sing.
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  You think that's what James really saying?
• 27:35
  Absolutely not. Scripture would tell us
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  otherwise. All he's doing here is simply
• 27:40
  addressing those who might miss the opportunity to worship God,
• 27:45
  especially when all is well. So those who may be in a
• 27:51
  cheerful state and not know, how do I give glory to God in this
• 27:54
  way? James says.
• 27:55
  Sing praise, be intentional, come ready to offer that
• 28:01
  sacrifice, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
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  And perhaps you're somebody who's convinced that praise
• 28:08
  isn't really all that important, or again, like I said earlier,
• 28:11
  doesn't really fit your personality well.
• 28:15
  If you're serious about worshipping God, I trust, and I
• 28:17
  charge you actually, to ask God to see the wisdom, the beauty,
• 28:22
  and the honor that comes from giving him praise.
• 28:24
  Each one of these creatures and elders held harps in their
• 28:28
  hands. One more thing, we worship God
• 28:33
  with our bodies. We worship God with our praise.
• 28:36
  Lastly, we worship God with our prayers.
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  Not only were there harps, but lastly in verse 8 and golden
• 28:43
  bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the Saints.
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  This part minister to me deeply. Do you know why?
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  Because if you've ever doubted that your prayers are
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  significant. If you've ever feared that your
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  prayers go unheard, look where they find themselves.
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  Look what happens with your prayers.
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  Be set free from those lies. God collects every supplication,
• 29:14
  every intercession, every utterance of Thanksgiving, and
• 29:19
  places them in golden bowls. Where?
• 29:24
  In the backroom? No, near His throne.
• 29:29
  It's a perfume to him. It's an aroma to him.
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  What is your prayers? Now, here's what's amazing.
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  He doesn't say the prayers of world leaders.
• 29:41
  He doesn't say the prayers of influential thinkers.
• 29:44
  He doesn't even limit it to prayers of those ministers who
• 29:47
  shaped and redirected nations. What does it say in verse 8?
• 29:51
  The prayers of the Saints. That includes the weakest of the
• 29:58
  Saints, the feeblest of the Saints, dare I say even the
• 30:04
  inconsistent St. All the Saints who had enough
• 30:08
  faith to believe that God hears them when they cry out them.
• 30:12
  God bottles up those prayers and he blends them in these golden
• 30:17
  bowls and he keeps them there with high honor.
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  And that's really the take away from this.
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  No matter what you think about prayer, if you think it's
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  important or not, whatever your deep understanding of it is in
• 30:30
  Scripture, here's one thing that you can leave with.
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  God honors our prayers. God is pleased with our prayers.
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  It brings the light to Him. Or else why use this kind of
• 30:39
  imagery? Now, if prayer is an act of
• 30:44
  worship, how does that work? If this scene again demonstrates
• 30:50
  robust worship, how does prayer fit into that?
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  And I want to present you at least two ways.
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  First, prayer has been given by God to make communion with God
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  possible. It's only through prayer.
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  I said this so many times before.
• 31:06
  When you look at the Tabernacle with all the different
• 31:08
  furnishings in it, the closest article to the glory of God
• 31:13
  behind that veil is the altar of incense.
• 31:17
  There's so many things that means, but one practical point
• 31:20
  is this. The closest that you can get to
• 31:23
  God is in prayer, and prayer has been given by God to make
• 31:29
  communion with him. Though yes, on this side of
• 31:31
  eternity it's invisible, it's still very much real.
• 31:36
  Prayer says, Lord, my heart yearns for fellowship with you.
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  And if you've given me prayer as the doorway to know the closest
• 31:46
  communion with you, then I will designate time.
• 31:50
  I will get away from all distractions and I will sit at
• 31:53
  your feet and I will open my heart in my mouth and pray,
• 31:59
  believing and showing you that I want to be with you more than
• 32:03
  anything else. So prayer is worship in that it
• 32:08
  demonstrates to God that you truly want to know Him, not just
• 32:14
  theologically but experientially, not just with
• 32:17
  head knowledge and head pursuit, but heart knowledge and heart
• 32:20
  pursuit prayer. But secondly, the way prayer
• 32:25
  becomes worship is that it invites God to intervene in such
• 32:31
  a way that the testimony it would produce would grant him
• 32:34
  greater glory. Prayer is the invitation of
• 32:38
  God's intervention into my situation.
• 32:42
  That's what prayer is, and that's what we find here with
• 32:46
  these prayers that are symbolized as incense.
• 32:49
  It's not the last time it shows up in Revelation.
• 32:53
  Go to Revelation 8. Notice where they reappear in
• 33:00
  Revelation 8, verse 3 and verse 5.
• 33:03
  What to verse 5? Notice what John describes.
• 33:07
  And another Angel came and stood at the altar with a golden
• 33:10
  censor, and he was given much incense to offer with the
• 33:14
  prayers of all the Saints on the golden altar before the throne.
• 33:19
  And the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the Saints
• 33:23
  rose before God from the hand of the Angel.
• 33:27
  Then the Angel took the sensor and filled it with fire from the
• 33:30
  altar and threw it on the earth. And there were peels of Thunder,
• 33:35
  rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
• 33:38
  So much can be said about this. We're approaching Revelation 8.
• 33:41
  I'll keep the extra Jesus for that someday.
• 33:44
  Here's the main take away. The prayers of God's people that
• 33:47
  were stored in heaven don't stay there.
• 33:53
  God gathers them and he returns them to the earth fulfilled.
• 34:00
  That's what happens to your prayers and mine.
• 34:01
  As beautiful as it is to imagine that my prayers go up to heaven
• 34:05
  and God gathers them and collects them into golden bowls
• 34:07
  of incense as a sweet smelling aroma, the principle is here
• 34:13
  that he can't take those prayers and launch them right back into
• 34:17
  the world in a way where when you witness the answer, you go,
• 34:20
  this is God. This isn't coincidence and
• 34:22
  nobody can argue. Prayers are designed to come
• 34:27
  back into the world and make such a mark that God would
• 34:30
  receive glory from it. Do you remember what Paul told
• 34:32
  the Corinthians when he beckoned them to pray for him and his
• 34:34
  ministry team? Let me remind you, in 2nd
• 34:37
  Corinthians 111, you also must help us by prayer so that many
• 34:43
  will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us
• 34:47
  through the prayers of many. Oh, Church of Corinth, pray.
• 34:52
  And I said this before too. The Corinthians, were they like
• 34:55
  the most exemplary of Christians?
• 35:00
  You thought whatever church you were a part of had issues.
• 35:04
  This church had problems and yet Paul the apostle says, would you
• 35:08
  guys pray for me? Why would he say that unless he
• 35:10
  believed that God would even hear their prayers?
• 35:14
  Pray. Why?
• 35:15
  What's what's Paul's heart? Yeah, I want to be delivered
• 35:17
  from this, but pray so that many will give thanks on our behalf
• 35:22
  as a result of the prayers of many.
• 35:24
  I want God to be glorified and answered.
• 35:26
  Prayer. That's how it becomes worship.
• 35:28
  It becomes worship when I commune with him and God says,
• 35:31
  like Paul, behold, he is praying.
• 35:34
  And it also becomes worship because it's an invitation for
• 35:36
  God to crash into the world and for people to say there is a
• 35:39
  living God and he answers prayer.
• 35:43
  Let me give you a final thought before we conclude here.
• 35:45
  As precious as individual prayers are to God, as personal
• 35:51
  communion is a calling for each of us, the Bible doesn't say in
• 35:54
  Revelation 5A that those bowls had the prayers of the Saint or
• 36:00
  a St. the Saints, plural. There's something especially
• 36:08
  special when we give our prayers to God as a church, when we
• 36:14
  combine our voices together and cry out to the Lord that to him
• 36:22
  is a sweet aroma with all our backgrounds and all their
• 36:25
  different testimony. And this is just real.
• 36:28
  All their different ages, right? All their different history with
• 36:32
  God. When we when we come
• 36:34
  collectively and designate time to now unify our voice and bring
• 36:38
  it before him, I see something here that's especially special
• 36:43
  to God. So how do we worship God as a
• 36:46
  church? Not just on Sunday for an hour
• 36:48
  and a half, two hours. You can come on Wednesday too.
• 36:52
  And that also becomes worship to him.
• 36:53
  With one voice, we glorify the Lord.
• 36:55
  The prayers of the Saints. Yes, this means the prayers of
• 37:00
  the Saints throughout history, but also I'm sure, means the
• 37:03
  prayers of God's people when we come and combine our voices
• 37:06
  together. Why do we worship?
• 37:10
  You just heard three ways of how we can worship, but is there any
• 37:13
  indication of why? What should stimulate me to
• 37:17
  worship with my body, to worship in my praise, to worship in my
• 37:21
  prayers? Revelation 59 and 10, they sang
• 37:24
  a new song saying where they are you to take the scroll to open
• 37:27
  its seals. For you are slain, and by your
• 37:30
  blood you ransom people for God from every tribe and language
• 37:33
  and people and nation, and you've made them a Kingdom and
• 37:36
  priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.
• 37:38
  Why? Why?
• 37:39
  Why? Because he died because he shed
• 37:44
  his blood. Why should I give up my body, my
• 37:49
  rights, my impulses? Why should I consecrate that to
• 37:51
  the Lord? Both.
• 37:52
  Both positively negative. Because He bought your body.
• 37:58
  Why should I praise? How can I praise when my faith
• 38:01
  is clouded by unbelief? When I'm trying to weather this
• 38:06
  tornado of turbulence and trials?
• 38:09
  Well, let me give you one reason to praise.
• 38:11
  He died for you. He forgave every wicked thing
• 38:16
  that you've ever done. Well, why should I pray?
• 38:21
  How can I pray? What can motivate me to actually
• 38:24
  make time for that? Well, do you realize the high
• 38:26
  price that he paid to make communion possible?
• 38:30
  That God, because of His Son, makes your heart his new home.
• 38:36
  And now no matter where you are, you can pause and you can give
• 38:39
  intentionality to your communication with Christ and He
• 38:43
  hears you as though he was face to face.
• 38:45
  Why not pray when he shed his blood to ransom people for God
• 38:50
  and he did. It doesn't discriminate.
• 38:52
  Every tribe, every language, people and nation.
• 38:56
  No matter where you're from or what you've done, He's purchased
• 38:58
  you. Surely he deserves my body, my
• 39:01
  praise, my prayers. I don't know if you caught this,
• 39:07
  but in closing here, there is actually an order of worship
• 39:12
  that's laid out. Did you notice it?
• 39:15
  There's actually a pattern of concentric circles of worship
• 39:18
  described in this chapter. Look at it again with me in
• 39:21
  verse 8. And when he had taken the
• 39:23
  scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell
• 39:28
  down before the Lamb. Pause.
• 39:29
  Who? Who are we seeing falling down
• 39:30
  before the Lamb, the four living creatures, and the 24 elders?
• 39:34
  But it doesn't stop there. You come down to verse 11.
• 39:37
  What do you find? John says.
• 39:39
  Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living
• 39:41
  creatures and the elders, the voice of many angels, numbering
• 39:45
  myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands.
• 39:47
  Now we go from the elders, the creatures, to innumerable angels
• 39:53
  who are now joining them in worship.
• 39:55
  Does it end there? It doesn't.
• 39:58
  Verse 13. And I heard every creature in
• 40:02
  heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and
• 40:07
  all that is in them saying to him who sits on the throne into
• 40:10
  the Lamb. Pause.
• 40:12
  Show me in the Bible where Jesus is worshipped.
• 40:14
  Right here. Jesus is an exalted, created
• 40:20
  being. Millions believe that.
• 40:23
  Oh really? So why isn't He on the side of
• 40:25
  creation, worshipping God? Why is He on the side of the
• 40:29
  throne being worshipped by every creature?
• 40:32
  Remember that? Remember that to Him who sits on
• 40:37
  the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and
• 40:41
  might, forever and ever. Jesus Christ is being worshipped
• 40:45
  by who now? Absolutely every living thing
• 40:48
  that has breath. What's the point of this
• 40:53
  observation? Well, the obvious 1 is that He
• 40:55
  is worthy of such worship and he will receive all honor.
• 41:00
  Here's the practical inspiration.
• 41:02
  What happens with worship in the scene?
• 41:04
  Is it growing or is it diminishing?
• 41:07
  It's growing. Is it for you?
• 41:14
  Is worship with my body growing? Is it becoming stronger?
• 41:18
  Is it becoming weaker? Is my praise becoming more
• 41:22
  authentic or more artificial? Is my prayer life deepening or
• 41:26
  am I drifting further from intimacy with God as it is
• 41:30
  growing here? Apply it to your life, my dear
• 41:32
  brother and sister, and ask yourself this.
• 41:34
  Is worship growing or is it weakening?
• 41:41
  Is it permeating more and more of my life for other things
• 41:45
  being worshipped more and more instead of Christ?
• 41:52
  The instruction here has made it grow.
• 41:55
  May it take over every part of who you are.
• 41:58
  You know one of the most fascinating things about the
• 42:00
  Christian life among the hundreds of things that we can
• 42:03
  talk about. Can I leave you with one?
• 42:05
  God says your body is a temple. Your body is a temple.
• 42:11
  What happened? The temple worship.
• 42:16
  When do you ever escape your body?
• 42:18
  You don't until you die. You know what that means?
• 42:20
  If my body is a temple, then I'm called to give worship all the
• 42:23
  time. How well you heard it.
• 42:27
  I hope by what I do, but I don't do with opportunities to praise,
• 42:33
  especially when I'm cheerful. I'm not going to forget God as
• 42:37
  the source of my gladness and my prayers.
• 42:40
  Oh Lord, if you treasure my prayers in this way, then let me
• 42:43
  offer it up to you. I want to express that I love
• 42:45
  you and I adore you. I want to fellowship with you
• 42:48
  and Lord, here's this problem, here's this need, here's the
• 42:50
  situation. There's a way.
• 42:51
  We're child, there's my church. I'm going to pray and ask that
• 42:54
  you come through so that when you do, you're glorified and you
• 42:57
  are worshiped. May we worship.
• 43:01
  Lord, We thank you for the service.
• 43:03
  We thank you that the Father is seeking after such worshippers,
• 43:08
  and Lord, we praise you that in this church there are many who
• 43:12
  worship in spirit and truth. May it be a growing reality in
• 43:16
  each of our lives. Help us worship You, Lord.
• 43:21
  Help us imitate this site that we just witnessed in heaven.
• 43:26
  We love you with all of our hearts, and Lord, before any
• 43:30
  external act, we want it to be more true in our hearts.
• 43:34
  Inspire it within the Lord so that it would be real when
• 43:37
  people see and hear it. And when you see and hear it,
• 43:40
  more importantly, we give you thanks and we worship you in
• 43:44
  Jesus name, Amen. Let's stand and let's fulfill #2
• 43:51
  Let's praise him. Let's praise him.