What a blessed morning I have had basking in the glory of the presence of God! He is kind beyond measure to me. His Word is living and active and speaks into my heart of hearts with a power that cannot be described but must be experienced. He is gracious to let His glory pass before me giving me a sweet reminder that He is the Pearl of great price that is worth my life.
I’m in a season in which God is weaving together pieces of His Word to give me a broader perspective of His salvation plan and of His grace. I wish I could repeat this experience at will, but it seems to be something that God brings at times to remind me of how much there is yet to learn about Him. It also serves to strengthen my desire for Christ, which is always welcome! I want to share something with you that God revealed to me through His Word just a few minutes ago. I also hope that this serves as a reminder to me when I am weary that God is infinitely good to me all the time.
I’m going to use a large part of Revelation 21. I pray that it gives you renewed excitement for the Day of Christ and what God has promised to bring about at the end. I will point out a few things that have blessed me this morning and brought tears to my eyes as I worship my Lord. One of the greatest realizations that I have come to recently is that my very act of worship is not possible apart from God’s grace through Jesus Christ. Paul speaks of this in Philippians 3 when he says that he desires the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. It is Christ’s righteousness and our faith in His work on the Cross that allows us to worship God in spirit and in truth. “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.”
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
And He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also He said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be His God and he will be my son.
Revelation 21:1-7
These words, the very words of God, are trustworthy and true!
Revelation speaks of two things very clearly and abundantly. It speaks of the wrath of God and the judgment that will be brought upon those unregenerate men who have failed to bend their knee to Jesus Christ, the supreme Authority of all creation. But it speaks of something so marvelous that John fails to capture it. It speaks of worship. Time and time again, John describes scenes of worship. The angels worship. The living creatures who fly around the throne worship. The 24 elders fall from their thrones, throw their crowns at the feet of the Lamb, and worship. The great multitude, which no one can number, from every tribe, nation, and tongue, worship the one true God and Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord.
We were made to worship God. God created us to worship Him. God created us to delight in Him. Nothing will be right until we can do this with our whole being! And that can’t happen until sin is done away with and death is cast out of God’s great city. Christ hung on a cross to speak of God’s plan to save a people for His possession. Christ’s resurrection speaks of God’s satisfaction with Christ’s sacrifice for our sins. Christ promises to come again and restore all of creation to the way God created it before sin came into the world through Adam.
Try and imagine the day when you will not be hindered by this fallen world and can worship God the way that He created you to worship! Try and imagine the day when every tear will be wiped from your eyes and you behold Jesus Christ face to face. Try to imagine an existence without pain, suffering, tsunamis, earthquakes, violence, greed, or hate. Jesus is coming back to make this glorious hope a reality!
Imagine being in the presence of God before the throne of the Lamb and hearing the words, “It is done!” Imagine the energy of billions of others in united worship of Jesus Christ!
If your faith is in Jesus Christ, you have this eternity to look forward to! Let it encourage you and build you up when these light and momentary afflictions threaten to drag you down into the pit of despair.
God’s dwelling place is with man! And we will be with Him to behold His glory forever because of Jesus Christ.
As sons of God made new by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, we will someday fall down and worship Jesus Christ…and it will be the greatest experience we will ever know.
“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
Revelation 7:10-12
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