All

DEVOTION

THE REVELATION

ALL

Rev 7:11-12

11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!"

NIV

Once again these angels that are standing all around the throne and he who sits upon it, the number of which is uncountable were giving praise to God. But this time they all fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God. Once again seven words, Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. We have already dealt with these words before so we need to see if there is another lesson for us here in this scene that John is viewing on the scroll. We have to remember none of this has happened, but it will someday, it is only what John is viewing of things that are now and are to come. In some sense we do have to think what is it that is now in compared to that which is to come. What would have been happening now as John was in his later years and being banished to an island? What would be happening now that he was in the Spirit and was carried into the presence of heaven? Of course we know that the Lamb was opening the seals on the scroll and John was told to come up and see what was on the scroll. That was happening in the now. What John described are both scenes in heaven and on earth. Maybe the scenes he describes as in heaven are actually happening, but then the multitude in white robes are people from earth, who will we actually find out more about. It appears they are not really there yet, but are that part which is to come. Nevertheless what John tells us here is about the way and to the extreme of how God should be worshipped. If the angels do and say all they do and say, why shouldn’t we? If anyone knows the majesty of God it should be the angels, who are in his presence all the time. Yet we seem not to worship in any similarity to how these angels worship him. Perhaps we should take a lesson from these angels. Sure we may not fall on our faces, especially in church, that would be just too weird. Some think those churches filled with believers that talk in tongues, or dance in the aisle, or even raise their hands are weird. Some believers have become so stoic in their worship it might be said God is not even being worshipped, at least how he is both worthy and accustomed to. Have we joined those ranks of the stoic or have we openly worshipped him with all our heart, all our mind, all our spirit and all our strength? Are we willing to be considered weird for the sake of God? The least we could do would be to raise our hands as we stand in the congregation singing with all we have in worship to him. He has saved us. He has given us eternal life. He has provided our daily bread, which we could see as Jesus, the bread of life. But he has also provided for our material bread. He has healed us. He has done everything for us. In him we have our being. Why should we allow what others think of us when it comes to worshipping our God? Some might say if we are too animated in our worship we give Christianity a bad name, but it is those who have become sedated in their worship who actually give Christianity a bad name. Have we allowed the world to infiltrate our style of worship? We should be flat out living our faith out loud, with full and complete worship of God. We should be giving him all praise, all glory, and all honor, all power, all wisdom, all strength and most of all, all thanks.