Rev 5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
Rev 5:12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
Rev 5:13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. [Call to worship]
Rev 5:14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever. [Response]
Ultimately all will worship
Worship ultimately belongs to God-all holy Angels, the four beasts, the twenty-four elders and all creatures in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, join together in worship of the Lamb and Him who sits on the throne. Worship is due to the Lamb because all things are His, not just by the power of creation, but by right. He had claimed the authority to receive all power, riches, wisdom, strength, honour, glory and blessing. All these seem to be what men pursue on earth but they are in the hands of the LORD, the Lamb of God.
While God is seeking worshippers today, in the end, the worship of God will not be compelled- it will flow naturally when we all see His worthiness. The controversy about who to worship is about who is worthy? It may take years for some to conclude who is worthy of their heart’s worship. This is the reason for Missions. “Missions exist because worship does not“. Peoples have given their hearts to gods who are not worthy of their affection and appreciation. How will they find the One who is worthy unless someone is sent to preach that they may believe and call upon Him?
What Christ has done
Again, let us consider the work of Christ here by which He has inherited all things. By His blood, shed on the cross, He died for all, to ransom mankind from the bondage to sin. He died in our stead because of the wages of our sin is death. The punishment that should have been laid on us He took in His body. But death could not hold Him neither could hell. His resurrection is the testimony to our justification, salvation and glorification. Halleluyah!
Conversing with an artisan who seemed dissatisfied with his religion. According to him it was forced on him because he was born in the family. He did not have any option at the time. He seemed to be open to another way. I shared with him about the ‘option’- based on what assures and what Christ has done. What did Christ do? He demonstrated His love for us by laying down His life when we were yet sinners. That is something! That is grace! And He also declared, “I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except by me.” That is assuring! No one is worthy of following who does not assure in this manner and has not done as Christ did. It is not a one-time trust and worship but for all-time.
Expressions of worship
The parable of the two debtors (Lk 7:41-50) described effectively the work of Christ. Two debtors owed certain sums to a money lender. Both debtors could not pay what they owed- just as we could not pay our debt of sin, thus we were held in the prison of sin and death. The creditor promptly forgave them of their debts- the first, five hundred silver coin, the other fifty. The became debtors of affection and gratitude. Who would not be? Yet, they responded differently in degrees. Our expressions of worship may not be the same. Some may fall on their faces and knees in worship while others sit with crossed legs, it is all about the depth of understanding, appreciation, and affection. Certainly, there are depths of worship that we can attain in the pursuit of our knowledge of God and of the Lamb. May we go deeper in the knowledge of Him. Amen.