Revelation 5:6-10

January 19, 2020

Lord’s Day Worship

Sean Higgins

The sermon starts at 17:50 in the audio file.

Or, Worship of Him Who Opens the Scroll

When it comes to worship there are two categories that must be distinguished and must be taken together. If worship is a bookcase, it must have two shelves or the whole thing will fall apart. The shelves are not just corporate and individual, let alone formal and casual. The two categories are comparative and integrated.

I remember reading about these categories for the first time in a book titled The Things of Earth. In some ways I had been trying to live according to these categories, but naming them was very helpful.

Comparative worship asks the question: Who or what do I love the most? As Christians, we know that the first and greatest commandment is to love God, and that our affections for Him should not only abound still more and more, but our affections should also abound above everything else. “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you” (Psalm 73:25). Love Him with all you’ve got. Nothing compares with Him; “To whom will you liken Me and “make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike?” (Isaiah 46:5)

Integrated worship asks the question: How does He want me to love Him the most? As Christians, we know that once we’ve loved Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Matthew 22:37-38), He still makes another loving command: love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39). And husbands, love your wives (Ephesians 5:25). And love your enemies (Matthew 5:44). And love righteousness (Psalm 45:7). When nothing compares to Him, then we’re ready to be thankful for His gifts without fear that we love the gifts more, and we’re ready to do our work as stewards without fear that we’re trying to be our own lord.

Comparatively, nothing is more necessary than gasoline for an engine to run. Integrated, gas in the engine gets you somewhere. Comparatively, having a heart beat is crucial for life. Integrated, if all you have is a beating heart, that’s not much of a life. Comparatively, the only one worthy to take the scroll and open the seals is the Lamb, and every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea will sing His praise. Integrated, worship of the worthy One in heaven precipitates His kingdom come to earth.

We are taking a break from our study through the book of Revelation in order to renew our minds on worship proper, as in, on the shape of and shaping power of our Lord’s Day liturgy. And also we are getting help in that renewal from Revelation 5, partly because Revelation 5 was the preaching text in our very first church service, and largely because Revelation 5 keeps our eye on the Lamb. He will set things straight.

Chapter 5 can be seen in four things John says he saw: a scroll (verse 1), a mighty angel with a heralding question (verse 2), the slain but standing Lamb (verse 6), and a multitude of worshippers (verse 11).

Last week we considered the seven-sealed scroll on the hand of the One sitting on the throne, the same One who occupied our attention in chapter 4. Then the mighty angel announced his question: “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” None could answer this classified, causing John to weep loudly, but weep too quickly. An elder told him to stop his crying because the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David “has conquered, so that he can open the scroll.”

The Lamb (verses 6-10)

This paragraph is obviously in the center of the chapter, but in it is the center of history, the center of redemption, the center of worship.

John heard the elder refer to the Lion, but when he turned back to the throne he saw a Lamb. And I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a Lamb standing as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven e[...]