Revelation – Jesus is Coming Back!
In the hustle and bustle of getting a family ready for church our minds are on all the tasks at hand. As you gather everyone and begin to open the door to the car, the baby decides to eliminate that morning’s breakfast into a fresh diaper, the middle toddler has no shoes, and the oldest has pajama bottoms on under her dress. It is no wonder moms and dads and kids have a hard time preparing to worship the God Almighty in praise with others. But it can happen. It has happened to me. All of the above description of going to church.
In the hustle and bustle of getting a family ready for church our minds are on a checklist of tasks of getting there. As you gather everyone and begin to open the door to the car, you notice the baby decided to eliminate that morning’s breakfast into a fresh diaper, the middle toddler has no shoes, and the oldest has pajama bottoms on under her dress. It is no wonder moms and dads and kids have a hard time preparing to worship the God Almighty in praise with others. But it can happen. It has happened to me. All of the above description and more of going to worship God with others…called church.
I am awestruck this morning with the beginning words of John’s next vision. “Then I looked, and oh…” We have to stop and look, really see. Even without kids at home we are still easily distracted and miss Him. We need to take deep breaths before each day of true worship of laying down our lives, our plans, our thinking, our wants and LOOK to Him. When we come to corporate worship with others, we need to LOOK to God and listen for His quiet voice that speaks to a heart that is His. Look past the decorations and presentations and with our hearts, look up and listen.
What follows is deeper worship of God. “…a door opened into Heaven. The trumpet-voice, the first voice in my vision, called out, ‘Ascend and enter. I’ll show you what happens next.'” John responded, “I was caught up at once in deep worship and, oh!…” Then John describes a scene in heaven of pure worship.The worshipers were all eyes, seeing around and within, singing a chorus of:
“Holy, holy, holy
Is God our Master, Sovereign-Strong
THE WAS, THE IS, THE COMING.”
As a monumental action of worship the beings took off their crowns and threw them at the foot of the throne. This is deeper worship still with recognizing that He is GOD and we are not. “Take the glory! the honor! the power!” This is acknowledgement that glory, honor and power belongs to the Creator and we are merely His created who love Him back and worship Him with heart, mind and soul.
Revelation 4, The Message
Then I looked, and, oh!—a door open into Heaven. The trumpet-voice, the first voice in my vision, called out, “Ascend and enter. I’ll show you what happens next.”
2-6 I was caught up at once in deep worship and, oh!—a Throne set in Heaven with One Seated on the Throne, suffused in gem hues of amber and flame with a nimbus of emerald. Twenty-four thrones circled the Throne, with Twenty-four Elders seated, white-robed, gold-crowned. Lightning flash and thunder crash pulsed from the Throne. Seven fire-blazing torches fronted the Throne (these are the Sevenfold Spirit of God). Before the Throne it was like a clear crystal sea.
6-8 Prowling around the Throne were Four Animals, all eyes. Eyes to look ahead, eyes to look behind. The first Animal like a lion, the second like an ox, the third with a human face, the fourth like an eagle in flight. The Four Animals were winged, each with six wings. They were all eyes, seeing around and within. And they chanted night and day, never taking a break:
Holy, holy, holy
Is God our Master, Sovereign-Strong,
The Was, The Is, The Coming.
9-11 Every time the Animals gave glory and honor and thanks to the One Seated on the Throne—the age-after-age Living One—the Twenty-four Elders would fall prostrate before the One Seated on the Throne. They worshiped the age-after-age Living One. They threw their crowns at the foot of the Throne, chanting,Worthy, O Master! Yes, our God!
Take the glory! the honor! the power!
You created it all;
It was created because you wanted it.
ONE LAST THOUGHT…
“It was created because you wanted it.” God created us because He wanted us! He wanted us to love and be loved by Him. Why wouldn’t we worship the One who created us? He is perfect and oh, so good.
LOOK…into His Word for a glimpse of Who He really is.
“Then I looked”…and now I’m singing in worship…He IS the King of my heart.
Let the King of my heart
Be the mountain where I run
The fountain I drink from
Oh, He is my song
Let the King of my heart
Be the shadow where I hide
The ransom for my life
Oh, He is my song
‘Cause You are good
You are good, oh oh
You are good
You are good, oh oh
You are good
You are good, oh oh
You are good
You are good, oh oh
And let the King of my heart
Be the wind inside my sails
The anchor in the waves
Oh oh, He is my song
Let the King of my heart
Be the fire inside my veins
The echo of my days
Oh oh, He is my song
‘Cause You are good
You are good, oh oh
You are good
You are…
Dear Heavenly Father,You are God and we are not. You are good, merciful, gracious and powerful. To you be all glory, honor and praise. Thank you for allowing us a glimpse into what is to be. Help us to look and listen for you today as we worship you with every thought and activity. Oh, you are good.
In Jesus Name, Amen
Evangelist Tony Campolo once said, “The world is so complacent that we don’t even sin with passion. We are so lukewarm as a church we are not letting anyone see Christ in us.” 
15-17 “I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’ oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless.
Is that our relationship with God? Are we good as long as we know He is looking? We have a very immature idea of who God is if we think we will get by with bad behavior that treats others unkindly, loves only those who love us back, or holds back blessings to others because of our own selfishness. Like our kids’ view of things, we think we can hide from God things displeasing to Him. But that is not Truth. “…watch as I take those who call themselves true believers but are nothing of the kind, pretenders whose true membership is in the club of Satan–watch as I strip off their pretensions…” Yikes! Our behavior must match what we say we believe…not matter what. God is watching. Always.
10 “Because you kept my Word in passionate patience, I’ll keep you safe in the time of testing that will be here soon, and all over the earth, every man, woman, and child put to the test.
When we say yes to more than we ought to in the church, are the motives the same. Are we just trying to be and look busy to look good? And for whom? Each other? The church at Sardis seemed to have reputations for “vigor and zest” but were judged by Jesus to be dead inside. Yikes! Jesus does not look at our busyness as a sign of holiness. He looks at our heart. 
“I see right through your work. You have a reputation for vigor and zest, but you’re dead, stone-dead.
4 “You still have a few followers of Jesus in Sardis who haven’t ruined themselves wallowing in the muck of the world’s ways. They’ll walk with me on parade! They’ve proved their worth!
What do we learn?
The church at Thyatra was impressive to Jesus, “I see everything you’re doing for me. Impressive! The love and the faith, the service and persistence. Yes, very impressive! You get better at it every day.” BUT…this church allowed sin to enter and camp there. How many churches look impressive until you find out the world’s ways are mixed in with God’s ways to keep people coming through their doors. Jesus will always and continually question our motives for being and doing anything for Him. “I x-ray every motive and make sure you get what’s coming to you.” Yikes! Take a look…
20-23 “But why do you let that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet mislead my dear servants into Cross-denying, self-indulging religion? I gave her a chance to change her ways, but she has no intention of giving up a career in the god-business. I’m about to lay her low, along with her partners, as they play their sex-and-religion games. The bastard offspring of their idol-whoring I’ll kill. Then every church will know that appearances don’t impress me. I x-ray every motive and make sure you get what’s coming to you.
THINK ABOUT IT…
“I see where you live…”, says the Lord of all. God knows where we come from and where we are going. That’s why he hates our prideful statements and actions as if we had anything to do with our being and doing, our plans or our final destination. It’s all about Him. All we have to do is accept Him, believe in Him, rely on Him, trust in Him and live for Him. Jesus knows we all need help to grow in Him. He knows we need His help to not give in to the world’s complacency about Him or direct opposition to Him. “I’ll be with you soon” John is told in his revelation vision. This is our Jesus. This is our hope. Yes, don’t give in, don’t give up. Jesus IS coming back!
16 “Enough! Don’t give in to them; I’ll be with you soon. I’m fed up and about to cut them to pieces with my sword-sharp words.
Revelation 2, The Message
“Don’t quit, even if it costs you your life. Stay there believing. I have a Life-Crown sized and ready for you.
It is easy to say yes to as many ministry tasks as we can possibly fit in to one day and completely disregard God’s will for us. Why? We have audacious egos. Satan feeds on prideful egos. We feel we must do this or that because we feel good doing it. Did you get that? It makes US feel of value, important and even puffed up with pride.
The Remedy:
2-3 “I see what you’ve done, your hard, hard work, your refusal to quit. I know you can’t stomach evil, that you weed out apostolic pretenders. I know your persistence, your courage in my cause, that you never wear out.
8 The Master declares, “I’m A to Z. I’m The God Who Is, The God Who Was, and The God About to Arrive. I’m the Sovereign-Strong.”
“It was on a Sunday…and I was praying…” What a statement that catches my breath this morning. Will Jesus find us praying, in His Spirit, when He comes? 
The Bible ends with a flourish: vision and song, doom and deliverance, terror and triumph. This is the work of the makeover in and through us as God’s church! The rush of color and sound, image and energy, leaves us reeling. But if we persist through the initial confusion and read on, we begin to pick up the rhythms, realize the connections and find ourselves enlisted as participants in a multidimensional act of Christian worship.
1-2 A revealing of Jesus, the Messiah. God gave it to make plain to his servants what is about to happen. He published and delivered it by Angel to his servant John. And John told everything he saw: God’s Word— the witness of Jesus Christ!
