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Posted: 6/20/03

LifeWay Family Bible Series for June 29

God's holy Lamb is worthy to be worshipped

Psalm 100:1-5; Revelation 5:1-10

By Tim Owens

First Baptist Church, Bryan

One way the church shows itself to be a community of God's grace is by worshipping God. This is the very reason God forgives and transforms people–to ignite the hearts of people to express their love and obedience to God.

Many people worship their own self-interests–their money, possessions, leisure, family, etc. They do not acknowledge God as worthy of their praise and obedience. They may attend services of worship, but their attendance may be nothing more than a routine void of a personal encounter with God.

In Psalm 100, the psalmist calls on God's people to express their praise, thanksgiving and love to God.

Little children have a limited perspective of what it takes to provide food, clothing and shelter. For them, all the necessities of life just seem to appear. One of the first signs of maturity on the part of any child is when, without prompting, the child spontaneously comes to say, “Thank you, Mom and Dad, for what you have done for me.”

It also is a sign of spiritual maturity when, as a way of life, the believer says to God, “Lord, thank you for who you are and what you have done for me.” This is the heart of worship–expressing praise, love and thanksgiving to God.

One of the distinguishing marks of Psalm 100 is the frequency of commands. The psalmist commands God's people to shout, serve, come, know, enter, give thanks and praise. Worship is not based on emotion. God is worthy of worship, whether the worshipper feels like worshipping or not. Worship is commanded, and when Christians worship, God is honored and glorified.

This is the chief end of worship–not for Christians to feel better about themselves, but that God is honored and glorified. Notice the object of one's praise: “Shout for joy to the Lord. … Serve the Lord. … Come before him” (Psalm 100:1-2). The focus of Christian worship is always on God and what he has done for the believer.

The picture of Psalm 100:4 is the gate to the temple of God. It is as if God is saying, “Do not come into my presence without expressing praise to me.” As God's people worship him, they cannot do so without praise and thanksgiving. It is always right for the corporate worship of God's people to be reverent, but it is unforgivable for it to be dull. The psalmist says: “Serve the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. … Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name” (Psalm 100:2, 4). The most dominant characteristic of God's people as they gather to worship God is their expression of joyful praise and adoration to him.

What motivates this kind of worship? First, the goodness of God motivates the worship of his people. The psalmist says: “For the Lord is good” (Psalm 100:5). In worship, Christians affirm that God in his very nature is good. Regardless of circumstances and feelings, they confess that God is the very essence of goodness.

Second, the faithfulness of God motivates the worship of his people. The psalmist says: “His love endures forever” (Psalm 100:5). God's love never wavers. God loves, not because there is something in the object that is loveable, but because it is his nature to love. His love never changes. God's love is the same today as it was for the psalmist and as it was when it was poured out on the cross of Jesus Christ. There is absolutely nothing anybody can do that would ever diminish God's love toward his people. This is the basis for the church worshipping together.

Revelation 5 details John's vision of heaven, where Christ is pictured as ruling, triumphant and therefore worthy of the worship of the people of God. John is writing to Christians who are struggling for their lives. They were being forced to worship the Roman emperor, and if they did not worship him, they faced death.

The scroll being sealed up represents the uncertainty of the final outcome. John and his fellow believers longed to know both their own outcome and the outcome of their persecutors. John wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll. John's weeping ceased when, in Revelation 5:5, Jesus steps forward. Who is worthy to open the scroll? Jesus Christ is worthy. Why is he worthy? He is worthy because he is the triumphant one.

In John's vision, Jesus is seen standing in the middle of God's throne, but John also can see the scars and wounds on the Lamb of God. The Lamb, Jesus Christ, triumphed through his perfect life, his atoning sacrificial death for the sins of the world, his bodily resurrection and his ascension back to the right hand of God. The Lamb has triumphed, and because he has triumphed he is worthy to open up the scroll.

The outcome of all human beings is determined by their response to the Lamb. He holds the keys to eternal life or eternal death. This brought joy and assurance to the persecuted Christians, knowing that their ultimate destiny was controlled and secure in their Lion-Lamb Savior, Jesus Christ. Therefore, they worship the Lamb.

John's vision closed with the thrilling scene of the triumphant saints and an adoring universe giving praise and worship to the triumphant Christ. This was to bring courage to the hearts of John's first readers, as it should today.

Question for discussion

How do we make sure our worship is worthy of Christ?