Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.northharris.freechurch.org/sermons/47626/16923-communion-saturday-evening-meeting/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] All you teachers look towards you, for their food to be supplied.

[0:21] Won't you give them to any other, with your goodness satisfied? When you hide your face there in the Lord, life has made me turn to learn.

[0:42] When your life comes from your spirit, to earth's midst you give rebirth. May the Lord's majestic glory always last and never fade.

[1:04] May the Lord rejoice and triumph in the works that he has made. When he gazed on creation, earth begins to shake in the end.

[1:25] Artists touch the mountains tremble, smoke and flames of fire appear. To the Lord who art my lifetime, to my God I will sing praise.

[1:46] May my head in vision please him, as to him my song I praise.

[1:58] But may sinners free me for him, and the wicked be no more. Praise be to the Lord Almighty, O my soul the Lord adore.

[2:23] Let's bow for a moment of prayer. Lord, we hear in that psalm that sinners should flee from you, and the wicked be no more.

[2:37] And we know that a day will come when that will be true, for those who are without Christ when they meet you. For those of us who are in Christ, sinners we are, and we flee towards you.

[2:53] And we know that you will remember our iniquities no more. We bless you, Lord, for the truth of the gospel message.

[3:05] And we ask, O Lord, that tonight, as we focus on a portion of your word, that you yourself would be our leader and our guide into the truth.

[3:16] Will you open a way for your word to fill our mind, our heart, our soul, in such a way that we will be full of you and your truth.

[3:32] Come, we would pray, in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Revelation, then, and chapter 4.

[3:44] My normal practice would be to focus in on a few verses.

[3:58] Pretty much last night I took a whole chapter. Today I'll take a whole chapter. Tomorrow morning I'll take a whole chapter.

[4:10] And maybe tomorrow evening, depends. It's not my usual style, but I think the theme that we're looking at demands that we actually look at the whole of this chapter.

[4:24] The book of the Revelation, as Mark said, in my view, is like the book of Daniel. Daniel is probably the most encouraging book in the whole of the Old Testament.

[4:37] And the book of the New Testament. And the book of the Revelation is easily the most encouraging book in the whole of the New Testament. It's a wonderful book.

[4:49] A book that will help us to be encouraged, as we heard in prayer. And it's a book designed to be of wonderful help to us. In a world full of difficulty, discouragement, fear.

[5:05] In a world so full of trials and temptations. What is it that you would want to fill your mind with? That's what the book of the Revelation is about.

[5:15] Enemies abound everywhere. And yet, we have the most wonderful hope that can never be demolished by any weapon formed by man.

[5:28] That's what the book of the Revelation is about. And we want to focus tonight on chapter 4. How are you going to cope?

[5:43] How are you going to cope with coming to the Lord's table tomorrow? That might be what's in the mind of some. When I was a younger Christian, it certainly was something that filled my mind.

[5:58] Strangely, as you get older, coming to the Lord's table in our generation seems to be a much easier thing to do. And there's a sense in which that is absolutely right.

[6:12] Because it's a place for sinners to come to. But I want us to think about how we come to the Lord's table. What should fill our minds as we come to the Lord's table?

[6:28] Whose name should be imprinted on our hearts as we come to the Lord's table? The name is God.

[6:46] The name is God. Very important that we should stress that. God is the one that we worship.

[7:00] He's the one whom we approach. He is the one who is at the centre of the Bible. In the Bible, the opening words are to do with God.

[7:14] In the beginning. God. When you come to the book of the Revelation, God only speaks twice. And each time he says, I am the Alpha and the Omega.

[7:30] He only speaks twice. But he's at the very centre of this book of the Revelation. God is what the Bible is all about.

[7:41] And this God is a God that we know so much about. I wish I knew more about my own father.

[7:52] I loved him. He loved me. And yet, being a man of the islands, he didn't always bear his soul or tell me all that I would like to know about him.

[8:04] Then death happens. And you think of all the questions you would love to ask to find more of an insight into this man. And that door will never open.

[8:18] But God, he actually goes ahead of us. And he reveals himself. He is there. And he is not silent.

[8:29] And the reason we know he's there is because he is not silent. He has spoken. He has told us he's there.

[8:40] And he's told us what he is actually like. And the way in which God is described in the book of the Revelation is fascinating. God doesn't describe himself as he is in himself for himself.

[8:57] He describes God in ways that mean something to us. So even that little phrase, I am Alpha and Omega, that's not because God is an Alpha and an Omega for himself.

[9:16] It's because he is our Alpha and he is our Omega. He's the beginning and he's the end. Everything he says about himself is in terms that are meaningful for us.

[9:33] And we are meant to take all of this on board. And you'll see in this chapter, when you come down to the last verse, There's a group of people here who say, Last night we were talking about the unworthiness of the sinner.

[10:17] I am not worthy to be called your son. That's what he thought of himself. Tonight I want us to think about God and how worthy he is to be worshipped.

[10:33] Because these folks here in Revelation chapter 4, they were absolutely convinced about how worthy he was to be worshipped.

[10:44] You are worthy. Tomorrow we'll be looking at the worthiness of the lamb.

[11:11] But he's not separate. It's God and the lamb. And we'll explore that, God willing, in Revelation 5 tomorrow morning.

[11:25] But I want us to be taken up with the worthiness of God tonight. I wonder if at times we forget God.

[11:37] Is it possible to forget God? I hope not. But look at the people who worship here in this wonderful chapter. So you've got this picture.

[11:49] Behold a door standing open in heaven. Remember I said to you, God's the one that goes ahead of us. We want to know. No, no. God says, here's a door open in heaven.

[12:01] And then there's a voice that says, come up here. Whose voice says, come up here? It's the first voice which I heard speaking to me like a trumpet.

[12:13] You go back to Revelation 1. And that voice is the voice of the Son of Man. The voice of Jesus. And he's the one that invites John up to see things in heaven and the world and the ages from heaven's point of view.

[12:32] Come up here and I will show you what must take place after this. At once, he says, I was in the spirit. He had to be in the spirit in order to see what he would see, to hear what he would hear and to understand.

[12:51] And it happened like that. He didn't need to go into a course at ETS. He didn't need to read a whole library full of books. At once, he was in the spirit.

[13:03] And he saw. And the first thing he saw was a throne. Behold, a throne stood in heaven. And then there's one seated on the throne.

[13:15] Isn't that something you need to be reminded of? That there is a throne over this universe. In heaven. And it impacts everything on this earth.

[13:27] There is a throne. And there is one seated on this throne. We know that person to be God. And I want you to have your minds filled with the idea of God tonight.

[13:42] And notice first of all that this God who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. And round the throne was a rainbow that the appearance of an emerald.

[13:56] I'm not sure I understand the choice of these precious stones. Or the choice of these attractive colours. You certainly have red. And you do have this beautiful diamond-like structure.

[14:11] And you have the greenness of the rainbow. I'm not sure I understand everything about the colours. But I know this. It's not black and white.

[14:23] It is colour. There's something so attractive about this God. Who is seated on this throne over the universe. John would have been amazed at the sheer beauty.

[14:39] The attractiveness of the one who was seated on the throne. Emerald stones. Carnelian stones. Jasper stones. These crystal, diamond-like structures.

[14:52] You would be struck as you saw this. And round the throne was that rainbow. Like the appearance of an emerald in its green colour.

[15:03] Not multi-coloured there. But green from beginning to end. And I'm no doubt. As with much of the book of the Revelation. You're meant to know your Old Testament.

[15:15] To understand it. And when he saw the rainbow. He knew of Noah's rainbow. And he knew of the God who was able to judge.

[15:27] And the God who was able to save. The rainbow was there. Speaking of a judgement past. And of a salvation.

[15:38] That had begun. And a new phase going forward. Well here's the God. At the very heart of this. And he is circled by this rainbow.

[15:50] On the throne. And then you're told that around the throne. Were 24 thrones. And seated on the thrones. 24 elders.

[16:01] Clothed in white garments. With golden crowns on their heads. 24 thrones. Around the throne of God. 12 plus 12.

[16:15] 12 tribes of Israel as it were. Old Testament church. 12 apostles. New Testament church. So here you have symbolically. The church.

[16:27] Gathered around. The throne of God. And what are they wearing? They're wearing the most beautiful. Spotless.

[16:39] Plain. White garments. They're absolutely beautiful. They don't even look out of place. Next to God.

[16:50] That's how beautiful they are. Aren't you beautiful? Not in your own eyes you're not. You're saying. I am unworthy.

[17:02] And then you come to Christ. And then in Christ. You are cleansed. As we shall see tomorrow. And you get clothed. In the most beautiful.

[17:14] White garments. When you come to the Lord's table tomorrow. I want you to have your mind filled. With the thought of God.

[17:25] And that you're in the presence of God. And you're pure. In his eyes. You could not be more pure.

[17:36] You could not be more justified. You could not be more. You are accepted. In the beloved. And there's the picture.

[17:47] The church. In its perfection. Around God. And they don't feel out of place. And they've got crowns.

[17:58] Golden crowns. I mean who wears crowns? It's those who reign. Those who are on top of things. Those who are in charge.

[18:09] Those who have power. Those who are able. To control things. You and I feel anything bad. We don't know.

[18:21] What the next hour is going to bring. Who's going to be next in the ambulance. Going to the hospital. Who's going to receive the phone call. To say. That you've got a bad diagnosis.

[18:34] Or your son's a drug addict. Or your daughter's run off with someone. You don't know. You don't know. You don't know. You don't know. You don't know. You don't feel on top of things.

[18:45] And there are times when you think. Well. In that situation. You think you're just going from day to day. Trembling along. No.

[18:56] No. John says. You're on the winning side. You're crowned. And you reign. You reign.

[19:08] Alongside. God. No one. Less. Than God. God. Himself. His throne. And then the 24 elders.

[19:21] Around that throne. White. And crowns on their heads. They worship God.

[19:35] And then. You've got more. From the throne. Came flashes of lightning. Rumblings. Peals of thunder. And you think.

[19:46] Well. Surely that's going to disturb. The comfort of those on the thrones. Because after all. When thunder comes in this world.

[19:57] We tend to stand. And stop. And maybe shake. And when the rumblings come. When the peals of thunder. And the flashes of lightning.

[20:10] Accompanying it. You think. Well. Surely that's going to put us out. Of our place. Not at all. Not at all.

[20:21] You see. The thrones are there. The 24 are there. The church is there. But God is God. He doesn't change.

[20:31] He doesn't say. In order to draw you near to me. I'll have to change. I'll have to. In some way. Cease being so holy. Cease being so active.

[20:43] In my holiness. Cease being so impressive. No. Lightning. Rumbles. Peals of thunder. God makes his mark.

[20:56] He makes his mark. Throughout this book. On the world. But the church. The church survives. And before the throne.

[21:09] Were burning. Seven torches of fire. Which are the seven spirits. Of God. Here we find the Holy Spirit.

[21:20] Described. He's the seven fold. Spirit. Of God. And how is he described. Burning.

[21:32] With seven eyes. Seven torches. Of fire. He is blazing. He is somebody. Who's burning.

[21:44] With seal. Before the throne of God. God. This. Is a picture. Of the Holy Spirit.

[21:56] Of course. He's comfortable. In the presence. Of God. He's God. God. What's amazing. Is that the church.

[22:06] Is so comfortable. In the presence. Of the Holy Spirit. The seven fold spirit. Matching the seven fold church.

[22:17] In Revelations 2 and 3. The whole church. In the world. Seven spirits. Seven churches. Wherever the church. Of God is.

[22:28] The Holy Spirit. Is there. He brings. The presence. Of God. To them. And he brings. Their needs. To God's throne. The eyes.

[22:40] The burning. He. Is there. But the church. Survives. Indeed. More than survives.

[22:52] The church. Thrives. In the midst. Of these burning. Seven torches. Of fire. Before. The throne.

[23:05] And then. Before the throne. There was. As it were. A sea of glass. Like crystal. You'll find this. Referred to later on.

[23:16] In Revelation. Chapter 15. Associated. With the song. Of Moses. Remember. Pharaoh. And his army. Were chasing.

[23:26] The people. Of Israel. Ready. To destroy. Them. Just as it looks. Throughout history. As if the church. Of Jesus Christ. The church.

[23:37] Of God. Is about. To be destroyed. It seems. To be. So tenuous. In his hold. Of life. And you think. It's not going to survive. In Harris.

[23:48] Or in Lewis. Or the west coast. Or the north coast. Or wherever. The 21st century. Will see. The finish. Of the church. Of Jesus Christ. How many times.

[23:59] I'm in company. And people say to me. Listen. The best days. Were in the past. And now. We're doomed. To look.

[24:10] To the past. For our comfort. And we dare. Not look. To the present. And we certainly. Dare not look. To the future. Why? Because we've forgotten.

[24:23] The Holy Spirit. Of God. Who makes all. The difference. He is present. With his church. And he represents.

[24:33] His church. At the throne. Of God. And he is the one. Through whom. God will. Vanquish. All the enemies.

[24:43] Of his people. Pharaoh. And the armies. Came right up. To the people. Of Israel. What did God do? What did the creator do?

[24:56] He just put. His own presence. Between them. And darkness. And they couldn't. Penetrate. The darkness.

[25:08] And then. He opened. A way. Through the sea. There was a sea. In all its waves. And he just. Parted the sea. One of my favorite.

[25:18] Verses in scripture. When I'm feeling down. And I think. How can I find. A way ahead? How can I stop. Weeping. And crying. Over situations.

[25:29] And then. I remember. God. Makes. A way. Through the sea. He makes. Dry land. To appear. And he did that.

[25:39] For the Israelites. They walked. Through. In dry land. And once. They were all. Through. Then the sea. Came back. Over.

[25:50] Their enemies. Flat. Calm. Like a sea. Of crystal. Like a sea. Of glass. And it was.

[26:01] So transparent. You could see. What was happening. He. God. Had shown. His might. In delivering.

[26:12] His people. From their enemies. The sea. Like glass. Like crystal. Well that. Was before. The throne.

[26:23] Reminding. John. It's okay. It's okay. There will be. A way. Opened. To my. Presence.

[26:34] For all. Of these. Twenty four. And there. Will be. Judgment. And there. Will be. Salvation. You are. Safe. And then.

[26:46] You find. Around. The throne. On each. Side. Of the throne. All. Four. Sides. Are. Four. Living. Creatures.

[26:57] Full. Of. Eyes. In front. And behind. The first. Living. Creature. Like a lion. The second. Living. Creature. Like an ox. The third. Living. Creature.

[27:07] With the face. Of a man. And the fourth. Living. Creature. Like an eagle. In flight. And these. Four. Living. Creatures. Have six wings.

[27:19] Full of eyes. All around. And within. And day and night. They praise God. These.

[27:30] Four. Living. Creatures. The very fact. That there are four. Of them. Tells. That they're connected. To the world. That's how they thought.

[27:41] Of the world. The four corners. Whichever direction. You went in. Whichever direction. The four. God. The living creatures.

[27:53] Were there. They're definitely. Associated. With the world. But they're very also. Much. Associated. With God. And I think.

[28:05] They are angels. Angels. They are angels. The picture. That you find here. Is very similar. To what you find. In Isaiah. Chapter six. Where you find.

[28:17] These seraphim. That's how these. Burning ones. Are spoken of. In Isaiah six. The year. That you saw. I died. That great king.

[28:28] Isaiah. Saw the Lord. High. Lifted up. And he's seated. On the throne. And the train. Of his robe. Fills the temple. And then he sees.

[28:40] Around. This throne. These seraphim. These angels. Who are ready. To do. God's bidding. In any part.

[28:51] Of the world. Any part. Of the universe. Any direction. Wherever his people are. Wherever they need help. There you find.

[29:01] The living creatures. There you find. The angels. You've got the same picture. In Ezekiel. In chapter one. We won't go into it tonight.

[29:14] Isaiah six. Ezekiel one. Old Testament passages. To help you to understand this. And these four living creatures. They're certainly related to the world.

[29:27] Related to God. Around his throne. Related to the animal world. And all that takes place. And related to man. The third one.

[29:38] Had the face. Of man. This is not telling. What they are. It's telling. What their responsibilities are. They are.

[29:50] Ruling. On behalf of God. Bringing the help. Of God. They are ministering. Spirits. Spirits. Sent. To help those.

[30:01] Who are heirs. Of salvation. As Hebrews one. Would put it. There's. There's the picture. Now we come to the worship.

[30:14] Who. Worships. God. Who worships God. In this picture. God is worship. But who worships him.

[30:25] Certainly. You find. These angels. These living creatures. They are worshiping God. Look at what they say. Holy.

[30:36] Holy. Holy. Is the Lord. God. Almighty. Day and night. We're told. They never cease. To say. Holy.

[30:48] Holy. Holy. Is the Lord. God. Almighty. Who was. And is. And is to come. They are clearly.

[30:58] Praising him. We're told. In verse 9. The living creatures. Give glory. To him. They give honor. To him. They give thanks.

[31:09] To him. Who's seated on the throne. Who lives forever. And ever. We'll come back. To all of these phrases. In a moment. So these four living creatures.

[31:21] These angels. They. Worship God. We know there's a group of angels. Who refuse to worship God.

[31:32] They fell from their first estate. They fell. They rebelled. And they followed Satan. And they do not. Worship God.

[31:43] They look upon this world. As their playpen. They want to roam. As we read in Job 1. Like Satan. Roaming back and forth. On the earth.

[31:54] Not to do God's bidding. Not to look after God's creation. Not to look after the land. Not to look after the animals. Not to look after the people.

[32:08] And certainly not. To look after. The Christian population. No. There are evil spirits. There's a God of this world.

[32:19] As Paul tells us. And he is. So much at work. He's blinding people. He's deluding people. And we have to say.

[32:30] That the vast. Vast. Vast majority. Of people. Not only in the world. But in the Isle of Harris and Lewis. Are under his delusions.

[32:42] Of course. There are these angels. Who do not worship God. And they will never be saved. They will never be saved.

[32:55] They will never be rescued. Nobody will ever be sent. To die for their sins. They're sealed. In judgment.

[33:07] In damnation. And nothing. Can be done. To help them. And you know what. In a sense. They don't care.

[33:19] They know. There's torment coming. They don't know the time. But they won't stop their evil. There's no repentance.

[33:30] But this group of angels. They've never fallen. They are around the throne. They love God's purposes.

[33:42] They love God's will. They're ready to go in any direction. Of the four. And they're ready. To rule in God's name. Over the creation.

[33:52] Over the land. Over the animals. And over the people. And over the people. Humanity. And to minister. Especially. To God's people.

[34:04] They worship. God. Think of the angels. Tonight. In heaven. And millions of them.

[34:15] Possibly on earth. At this very moment. And who. Fills their mind. What is their mind.

[34:25] Filled with. God. God. Fills their mind. And then.

[34:37] You also have. The church. The church. In verse 9. Whenever the living creatures. Give glory and honor.

[34:47] And thanks to him. Who is seated on the throne. Who lives forever and ever. The 24 elders. The church. Old and New Testament. Fall down. Before him.

[34:57] Who is seated on the throne. And worship him. Who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns. Before the throne. Saying. Worthy are you.

[35:08] Our Lord and God. To receive glory. And honor and power. For you created all things. And by your will. They existed. And were created. The church.

[35:21] The church. Worships. God. Not the whole of humanity. It's the 24. It's the tribes of God.

[35:34] It's the people of God. And they. Worship. Him. They delight in him. They delight in his throne.

[35:46] They delight in being near him. They delight in praising him. We'll come back to that praise in a moment. The angels worship God.

[36:00] God fills their mind. The church. Worships God. Their minds are filled. With the conception of God.

[36:11] And the sevenfold spirit. Demands the worship of God too. See that spirit.

[36:24] These. Before the throne. The seven torches burning. Which are the seven spirits of God. There at the throne. And there's the angels.

[36:36] In worship. There's the church. In worship. What do you think. The sevenfold spirit. Is doing in that. Scenario.

[36:49] Is he hindering the worship. Not for a moment. Is he encouraging the worship. You can be sure of it. And notice.

[37:01] Notice these seven. Spirits. The way they're described. These are seven spirits. Who have. The strength.

[37:12] The seven horns. The seven horns. As we shall see. They have seven eyes. Precision. And understanding. Everything is so detailed. So perfect.

[37:23] In the way. In which. They address. All of the people. Who are worshipping God. God. So who worships.

[37:34] The angels. The church. And the sevenfold spirit. We understand. Demands. And. Makes that worship possible. Now we come.

[37:47] To the most important question. Of all. Why. Worship. God. Why. Worship.

[37:58] God. We're told in verse 11. You. Are worthy. Second person singular. Direct.

[38:09] Address. To God. You. Are worthy. You deserve it. The prodigal son. Deserved nothing.

[38:21] He had lost. Everything. He came empty. To God. He had no rights. He had nothing. For which he could be praised. He had nothing.

[38:32] To his credit. He was absolutely. Empty. Of good. And full. Of evil.

[38:44] But God. He is. Worthy. The scales. Are filled. To overflowing.

[38:56] With reasons. Why he is worthy. Of our worship. The first reason. Let's just take them. As they come. His holiness. Look at what the living creatures say.

[39:09] Holy. Holy. Holy. It's the Lord God Almighty. Why should you worship God? Because he is. Holy.

[39:20] The thrice. Holy God. Of Isaiah. What does it mean. To say that God. Is holy. It's to say.

[39:31] That he's not man. He's one of a kind. There's nobody. In his class. He is. Singular. He is.

[39:43] Holy. He is. Who he is. To perfection. He is. What he is. To complete. Excellence. He is set apart.

[39:56] And there is no one else. In his class. At all. He is. Holy. Do you. Really. Believe that. That God.

[40:07] Is holy. That there's no one. Like him. Nobody. Righteous. Like him. Nobody. Perfect. Like him. He is holy.

[40:18] Morally. He is holy. In his being. He is holy. In every. Adjective. You can use. To describe him. He. Is. Holy.

[40:29] He's not. Like you. He's not. Like me. He. Is in a class. All. Of his own. He. Is holy.

[40:41] And I don't want us. To bring God. Down. To our level. That's not. What God wants. Even when the father. Hugs.

[40:51] The prodigal son. And loves him. And embraces him. And kisses him. And assures him. Of his love. Nevertheless. He will still.

[41:02] Be his father. Who should be honoured. By his son. Who has returned. And God. When he brings. The people. To himself.

[41:13] Through Jesus. He still. Remains God. Don't ever think. Of your salvation. As God. Coming down. To your level. Becoming.

[41:25] Like you. Lowering. His standards. So that you. Could somehow. Be brought. Into his presence. And cuddled.

[41:36] So that you're never. In reverence. Or in. Any trembling. That you can always. Laugh and joke. In his presence. You can't.

[41:47] We're talking. About God. Here. Why. Does the world. Mock God. Obviously. They don't believe. In him. But why.

[41:59] Does the church. Go along. With this. Why. Do they allow. His name. To be misused. His day. To be forgotten.

[42:11] His word. To be left. Unread. He is. Holy. He's holy.

[42:22] The second thing. Is. His glory. His glory. The living creatures. Give glory. To him.

[42:33] The church. Says. Worthy. Are you. Lord. And God. To receive. Glory. What's glory. This is something.

[42:44] You think. We give. To God. Strangely. In the Greek. Actually. He takes it. We ascribe it.

[42:55] But he takes it. Because it's his due. You can imagine. The prodigal son. When he's given the ring.

[43:08] And the robe. And the sandals. Somebody put the ring on his finger. He would never have done it himself. Somebody would have clothed him with the robe.

[43:20] And with the sandals. He would never have sat down and put them on himself. He would have felt too unworthy. But God. Oh God.

[43:30] You give it. You ascribe. Praise and glory to him. He'll take it. What does glory mean? The idea of course is weight.

[43:43] Impressiveness. Take a stone. Drop it on the sand. It leaves its mark. Stone has weight. God has weight. God leaves his mark upon people.

[43:56] When God created the angels. He left his mark upon them. And they've never forgotten it. And they praise God for his glory. When you are saved.

[44:09] When you are rescued. When you're brought back. Like the prodigal to the father. You see the glory of the father. You see the glory of God in Christ.

[44:20] And you're so impressed. It leaves a mark on you. And it comes out in your praise. And it comes out in your prayers. And it comes out in your lifestyle.

[44:30] And your choices. You give glory to him. David Wells. One of the most wonderful theologians.

[44:42] In my mind. Of the 20th and the 21st centuries. He wrote about God. Dwelling. Too. Inconsequentially.

[44:54] Upon the church. The weight of God. But you look at the way the church worships. The way Christians live. As if there were no weightiness.

[45:07] Of God at all. God rests. Too. Inconsequentially. Upon the church. We don't want that. No.

[45:19] The glory of God. In a sense. It's indescribable. In another sense. It's so attractive. It's red. It's diamond.

[45:29] In its clarity. It's emerald green. Everything you see. In the opening verses. Describing God. On his throne. Are really God saying.

[45:40] Look at me. Feel my presence. See the weight. Of my glory. What do you think. Of me. His glory.

[45:53] Do you see. The glory of God. Supremely. In the face of Jesus Christ. I trust you do.

[46:06] But if you do. You're changed. You're changed. And you'll never be the same again. I want you. To see.

[46:18] The glory of God. In the face of Jesus Christ. But notice what I'm saying. I want you to see. The glory of God. In the face of Jesus Christ.

[46:32] I want you to talk of God. I want you to talk of God's glory. It may be something to do with language. But today.

[46:43] When I was. When I was at the. In the festival there. And hearing. My brothers. Welcoming people. And talking to me. Two of them. Spoke in Gaelic.

[46:55] About. Ingru here. The creator. And that's. Doesn't come out in English. As often as I would like. But in Gaelic.

[47:07] I was taught to. Pray to God. Through here. The creator God. And we'll come to that. In a moment. But we need to have this sense of God.

[47:18] Third thing. Honor. Why should you. Worship God. Holiness. Glory. Honor. Who should receive.

[47:30] The honor. And there. There are 24 elders. Elders. Seated. Around. God's throne. On their thrones.

[47:43] All of them. Are crowned. And you think. How long can this last? They're comfortable. In the presence of God.

[47:56] But once they hear. The angels. Praising God. What do they do? What do they do? The 24 elders.

[48:07] Get off their thrones. And they fall down. They can't stay standing. And they take their crowns. And place them.

[48:18] Literally. Almost throw them. Cast them. Before the throne. It's their way of saying. We are in your presence. We are honored by you.

[48:32] Oh. But you. Are greatly honored. You alone. Are God. And we'll take off our crowns.

[48:43] Because. We don't want anyone to make the mistake. We. Worship. God. We worship God. And then.

[48:57] Another reason for. Worshiping him. His power. His power. The four living creatures said.

[49:07] In verse 8. Holy. Holy. Holy. Is the Lord. God. Almighty. In Greek. The pantokrator. Most lovely word.

[49:19] The Lord. God. Almighty. God. And the 24 elders. Having cast their crowns. Before the throne. They say. Worthy are you.

[49:30] Our Lord. And God. To receive. Glory. And honor. And. Power. This word. Pantokrator. This is the same.

[49:41] As the Lord of hosts. In the Old Testament. He's unrivaled. God. No army. No army. Is greater than his army. No army.

[49:52] Is greater than his army. When David. Went out. To face Goliath. Goliath. Never stood a chance. Why? Because.

[50:02] David. Had somebody. With him. The Lord of hosts. The pantokrator. The almighty one. Why should we worship God?

[50:16] Because of his power. Have you forgotten. That you've been converted? Have you forgotten. That you've been born again?

[50:28] You were dead in sin. You've been made alive. Have you forgotten. It took. God's power. To save you.

[50:38] And it's taken. God's power. To sanctify you. What sins. Have gripped you. Since you started. Following Christ.

[50:50] What sins. Still. Continue to lay hold on you. Ah. Every one of us. Deep in our hearts. We know. That we are battling.

[51:02] Daily. With the lusts. Of the flesh. And the spirit. Is there. And he is. Encouraging us. To battle. I remember.

[51:14] One particular time. Feeling so. So sinful. And. Came across. The words. The beautiful words. Jehovah. Is all things.

[51:26] To me. The Lord. Jehovah. Is it. Can you. The Lord. Our righteousness. Is all things. To me. I said. You're Nangus.

[51:37] Who are you kidding? All things. To you. And I broke down. And I asked the Lord. Rescue me.

[51:49] And how often. We do that. In the Christian life. We cry out. To God. For rescue. Not just at the beginning. it's not just at the beginning that you experience the power of God no, you experience this power day by day by day unless you choose to be taken up with something as silly as Netflix or caught up with some of the bigger issues supposedly in the world but if you spend time with God you'll remember his power he's not weak why should we worship God?

[52:34] his holy his glory his honour his power his eternity do you notice that the four living creatures, the angels and the 24 elders are in agreement here whenever the living creatures gave glory and honour and thanks to him who is seated on the throne who lives forever and ever they're giving thanks to him who lives forever and ever and what do you find that the 24 elders do?

[53:17] they do the same the 24 elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever isn't it brilliant that God is alive?

[53:33] isn't it amazingly beautiful that he will never ever die he lives forever and ever and ever literally he lives to the ages of the ages can't go further and further and further without knowing God will always be there yes yes he's the God of our glorious past yes he's the God of revivals in Harris and Lewis yes he's the God of revivals in Keithness where I live in the past yes but he's also the God of today he's alive and he's the God of tomorrow he lives forever and ever and ever and we worship him because he lives isn't it amazing how we forget God and we think only of our own lives or our family's lives or the lives of others who maybe are our enemies we think of Putin we think of the leader of the North Korean nation but who lives forever ever and ever well the angels know the 24 elders they know and they worship this eternal God and that's where the thanksgiving comes in you see they give thanks to him who's seated on the throne who lives forever and ever don't you feel like doing it thank you Lord for being alive forever and forever why worship God he was he is and he is to come holy holy holy holy holy holy is the Lord God Almighty the Pantocrator who was and is and is to come he is in total control now how did you get here all the yesterdays were no accident

[56:17] God was and he's the coming one he's on the way to bring it all to fulfilment he was he is he is to come he's here now all our yesterdays were no mistake none of the sickness none of the suffering none of the tears none of the joy all was in God's plan to this day and all that happens in the future will happen because he's on the way why worship him because he was and is and is to come you can look back in the past that's God's past he was you can look at everything that goes on in the present this is God's present and I'm happy to be involved in this church and the future is God's future he's got it all under control in terms of salvation and judgement and the rest of the book of the revelation makes that beautifully clear he is the I am from the past the present and the future he is

[57:50] Yahweh he's the Lord past present and future more amazingly he is our I am past present and future just think how beautiful that is look at what they say worthy are you our Lord and God he's ours this amazing holy glorious honourable powerful eternal God he's ours of course of course you want to worship him of course you want your mind to be filled with him your prayers to be filled with him and then finally he's the creator worthy are you our Lord and God to receive glory and honour and power why for you created all things by your will they exist and were created he is the creator the angels they know he's the creator the church they know he's the creator and the creator as we shall say tomorrow is our saviour that's brilliant but he's the creator it takes a lot of power to create but it takes no effort on the part of God he creates out of nothing effortlessly

[59:45] I mean you can imagine the calmness on the throne of God in the face of the might of the Roman Empire ready to destroy the church not a chance not a chance he's the creator of all things he's the God of Noah when God's judgment came and went in the days of Noah the creator was ready there to bring a new world into being all from Noah the rainbow is the creator's rainbow and when the creator saves what wonderful possibilities lie before us now I worry like I said earlier on it grew here we were taught to address God as creator not only in Gaelic but also in English

[60:54] I worry that we don't speak about the creator enough we don't think about the creator enough we've been dazzled by science we need to remember the creator Professor John Lennox I was watching something of his where I had a few moments to spare he's just had a stroke I think but he was speaking and there's one there's a man who's got this wonderfully bright mind lovely Christian Oxford mathematician from Northern Ireland and here is somebody who knows the science inside out but he knows the creator and he's got no problem holding science but he talks more about the creator than the science and we need to talk about the creator we need to talk about the creator why because our worship has God as creator at its centre at its centre it's not

[62:14] God the redeemer it's not God the redeemer it's God the creator who redeems it's God the creator who redeems what do we look forward to when we bury our Christian loved ones on the ground we talk about the sure and certain hope of the resurrection who's going to bring about the resurrection it's not the redeemer it's the creator who is our saviour and we must talk about him so that we can worship him well the prodigal son I am unworthy to write that's our story and if you're still unworthy you come but when you come come to a

[63:19] God who is worthy of your worship come to a God who is worthy of your worship he demands it but you have the privilege come and worship the creator God he is worthy let us pray oh our heavenly father we do pray that you would be at work deep in our hearts our minds our souls oh lord impress yourself upon us the words that we've read the words that we so often sing oh lord may these bring your own weight upon us may we learn lord just how glorious you you you you really are our creator god who saves lord we pray that you would fill our hearts and minds with yourself as we come to the table that you asked your son to set up for us tomorrow we ask it in jesus name amen let's close now by singing to god's praise from psalm 103 verses 1 to 5 psalm 103 verses 1 to 5 and this is in the scottish psalter i think psalm 103 verses 1 to 5 oh thou my soul bless god the lord and all that in me is be stirred up his holy name to magnify and bless do you ever speak to your own soul you're asking your soul bless god the lord all that in me is be stirred up his holy name to magnify and bless verses 1 to 5 to god's praise oh thou my soul bless god the lord and all that in me is be stirred up his holy name to magnify and bless bless my soul the lord thy god and not forget will be of all his gracious benefit he hath bestowed on me all thine iniquities to god most most graciously forgive who thy diseases all and pains doth heal and be relieved who doth redeem thy life that thou do with his not go down who thee with loving kindness doth on tender mercies crown who with abundance of good things doth satisfy thy mouth so that he not he will stay renew

[67:21]  it is thy youth now may the grace of Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all Amen