Attention and Participation – Week 3
We are in week three of the Hope in the Dark series. This past Sunday, Pastor Vijay led us into a closer look at power. We have come to know that power corrupts and the only way to wield power in a life-giving way is to be in service to others. In fact, this is what Jesus did for the world.
If you haven’t watch it yet, here is a fantastic video on how to read apocalyptic literature. It’ll give you a lens through which to read the book of Revelation.
For our daily reading this week, we will be reading chapter four and five of the book of Revelation. There you will find the pinnacle of human and supernatural beings’ history – and that is, to worship the One who holds power in the most elegant and sacrificial way, Jesus, the Lamb forever and forever.
Let’s dive in to see what the Lord has in store for us through these two chapters of Revelation!
Day 1
Take two minutes to be in silence before the Lord.
Read Revelation 4:1-3
After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne.
St. John, he saw a door. The door was not closed but was opened. And it was “standing open in heaven”. The door was an entry into heaven.
Last week we read about Jesus knocking on the door. Today we see a door that is opened.
“Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this” A voice like a trumpet said to John, the writer of Revelation.
In order for us to see Jesus, to love him, to know more of him, we need to be led, to be shown.
First the door was opened, and then from the voice came an invitation to enter in.
John decided to enter as he was led by the Spirit. There he saw One who sits on the throne in heaven.
Imagine yourself seeing the door and hearing the voice of invitation.
That is the call of the spiritual life: First, to discern God’s voice, and second, to say “yes” to God.
What would you do? Would you accept the invitation to enter through the door and be shown what God wants to show you?
Take a moment to pray to God and tell God what your thoughts are regarding his invitation to you. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you more of Jesus, who he is, what he has done, and what he is worth.
Day 2
Sit in silence before the Lord for 2 minutes.
Read Revelation 4:4-8
Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:
“‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,’
who was, and is, and is to come.”
Can you imagine a time and a space where God is being worshipped constantly? Where every second of the minute, and every minute of the hour is an outpouring of adoration towards Jesus the sacrificial Lamb? It’s a kind of never-ending, ever-flowing stream of celebration and exaltation of Jesus. It’s hard to imagine, I know.
Eugene Peterson once wrote, “worship is an act of attention to the living God who rules, speaks and reveals, creates and redeems, orders and blesses.”
In other words, you give your attention to what and who you worship. You acknowledge the object of worship as a source of power that fully deserves your time, energy, and focus.
During the past months of lockdown, we are getting used to watching the Sunday service online in our own homes. Would you say that you were able to give your full attention to the worship of God? What changes might you want to put in so you can give more of your attention during that time?
Take a moment to go back to the passage, what are some of the things around the throne that suggest the One on the throne is worthy of praise and worship, worthy of giving power to?
Conclude by reading out loud the following passage and offer it as praise to the Lord::
“‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,’
who was, and is, and is to come.”
Day 3
Take two minutes to be in silence before the Lord.
Read Revelation 4:9-11
Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
“You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.”
Try imagining yourself there around the throne.
Can you see yourself being there as one of the participants of the action taken place?
What and who do you see there?
Are you one of the participants?
Or are you an observer?
How far away are you from the throne? Are you miles or metres away from it?
What emotions go through your heart, mind, and body as you see yourself standing in the midst of the worship? Are you excited, joyful, hopeful, or entirely feeling something altogether different? Pay attention to that by naming the emotion(s) before God.
I was struck by how much the act of worship is about participating rather than spectating. It is the created and the living creatures responding to the Creator and the Living God.
It is important that we not just watch, but we participate. We sing, we pray, we journal, we reflect as we worship the Lord.
I invite you to participate in reading out loud the following passage, the same one St. John witnessed the twenty-four elders saying:
“You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.”
Day 4
Sit in silence before the Lord for 2 minutes.
Read Revelation 5:1-10
Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.”
What caught my attention with this passage was John’s weeping. Scripture says John “wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.” He must have felt helpless, that there is nothing he nor anyone else could do to open the scroll and the seals.
So what’s with the scrolls and seals that John so desperately needs to be opened? Well, if you recall from chapter four, John was to be shown “what must take place after this”. That’s what the scroll and the seals are about: what will take place!
But hold on a minute, while the focus seems to be on the scroll and the seals and the unfolding future-history that is contained in them, Scripture doesn’t just jump right to it, it will come later in chapter six. Right now, there is something, or someone more important. The content of the scroll and the seals will soon follow, but our eyes must first turn to the One who has the power to reveal what was impossible to reveal.
The Lamb who gave his life for many is now in focus!
A song breaks out, and this time, pointing to the scope of those receiving God’s magnificent salvation: they are “persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.”
The price Jesus paid is for the world. God’s love is for you, me, and the world!
Read the following passage out loud in worship of the One who is worthy to open the scroll and the seals:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.”
Day 5
Take two minutes of silence before the Lord as you begin.
Read Revelation 5:11-14
Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”
Just like the living creatures, the twenty-four elders, and thousands upon thousands of angels did and still do, Jesus-followers must learn to orient our lives around the One who exercised his power by humbling himself and giving us his life. We are to be open to his way of living, being sensitive to his guidance.
There is something about following Jesus in this lifetime that sometimes obscures our purpose – and that is, that one day we will spend eternity worshiping Jesus, in the presence of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Let that sink in – as God’s people, we will spend eternity with Jesus.
The problems of today seem so immediate and troubling that we lose sight of the end. However, one day there will be no more trouble. The truth is, you don’t have to wait til then to start, you can start spending time now to give your attention to Jesus.
How about we do something different today? Listen to the song “Worthy is the Lamb” and turn the song into your prayer as you listen and give praise to Jesus, the Lamb who is worthy.
May you be filled by the love of Jesus.