Revelation 5:1-5

January 12, 2020

Lord’s Day Worship

Sean Higgins

The sermon starts at 17:05 in the audio file.

Or, Worship of Him Who Opens the Scroll

Timing matters. When an event happens may not always be the most important thing about the event, but it frequently matters a lot. Sex after making marriage vows brings glory to God, but sex before marriage damages souls and relationships. God gives His beloved sleep, but not through harvest time. Men with guns pay no attention when you pay your taxes early, but missing the deadline may earn you a visit. Timing matters.

The timing of Revelation 5 matters on a couple levels. The acknowledgement of the worth of the Lamb, and the worship of the Lamb by a multitude in heaven, occurs before everything is made right. As we’ll see, the initial problem in the chapter is that no one anywhere is worthy to open the scroll that is on the hand of the One sitting on the throne. That scroll contains the righteous judgments of God against the evil on earth, judgments that start in chapter 6 and aren’t finished until chapter 20. The kings of the nations and the unfaithful cowards, the beast and Babylon’s prostitute have not been defeated yet when the choir of heaven sings to the Lamb. Worship is the end for which God created the world, but worship is also a call to get started before the end.

On a more immediate level of history, the timing of Revelation 5 matters because it was the first Scripture I preached on our first Sunday as a congregation. We celebrate our nine year anniversary as a local body today. Many who are here this morning assembled on the second Sunday in January 2011 and, whether you remember it or not, the sermon was titled “Every Eye on Him.” The message that day, still applicable today, is that amidst broken things, heavy things, unfinished things we need to behold the Lamb. We need to worship first.

How do we look up when we’re down? Where do we find stable footing on an iffy floor? Can wobbly faith become firm? Can heavy hearts also be hopeful? Is it even possible for heavy hearts to help others be hopeful, too?

Christians have answers to these questions. We are Christians. We are those who believe God. We are made stable amid changes and made hopeful amid challenges when we keep our eyes on the worthy One.

Seeing the glory of the Lord is how we are transformed into glory. Praising the sovereignty of the One sitting on the throne leads to more of His sovereign will being brought about. We sing because He has saved, we sing because He isn’t finished saving, we sing because He is the Savior.

So it is fitting for our little local church to worship the Lion and the Lamb again, both as part of our ongoing series through the Apocalypse and also as part of our annual series on liturgy and worship.

Liturgy is like a pit stop in the race of worship. The point is to run the race, wherein the race is a life of obedience and worship to the Lord. We are living sacrifices, and there is no time off. The meeting of the church on Sunday is not like putting the car in the garage, up on the lift, for major overhaul. We are still in the race, and if the liturgy works the way it’s supposed to, our empty tank is filled, the worn tires are retread, minor realignments made, and bugs wiped off the windshield. Most of the time you don’t really need to think about all the things happening in pit stop, you just know that afterward you can drive again, maybe even a little better than before. That said, the pit crew chief better know what needs to happen, and a driver would be benefited by learning more about it himself.

We are worshippers, when we gather and when we scatter. It isn’t if you are or not, it’s what kind are you? Are you a living sacrifice pleasing to God? Or are you looking to put as little of yourself on the altar as possible?

This morning we’ll start our look at Revelation 5. The chapter has[...]