“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 that you are living in the first century after Christ — or even in the 19th century, for that matter — and you are 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, do your Bible reading, take pictures of your family and store them in a cloud, and how you will soon employ artificial intelligence in your communications. You would have to resort to otherwise common images in order 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 better understanding, the Book of the 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 to God alone.” He also notes, “The spiritual worship is perhaps one of the greatest needs in our individual lives and in 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, “This people honors 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. Pray that your worship will be so contagious all week long that others will want to know your reason.
Today’s Verse: Revelation 4:11
“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.”
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Recommended for further reading: Psalm 96
Oh sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth!
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.”
11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the Lord, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
