Habakkuk 2

Then the Lord replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

He is Worthy!

Tuesday, June 17, 2014, 9:09 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put the song in mind, “Give God the Glory.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Revelation 4-5 (quoting selected passages in the NIV).

By His Will

“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.” ~ Rev. 4:11

Jesus Christ, God the Son, is not only our Savior and Lord, but he is the one who created us, and it is by his will that we were created and that we have our being. In other words, we were created by God/Jesus Christ for a purpose. We didn’t just happen because two people got together and made a baby. We were uniquely designed by God. Even before we were knit together by God in the wombs of our mothers God had a plan for our lives; for who we would be, or had the potential to be. Certainly we have a free will to choose to follow him or to not believe in him, but that does not negate the fact that we are not here randomly, or by accident, nor by the will of a man and a woman. We are alive because God wanted us to be alive. And, he wants us to trust him with our lives and with our futures.

He is Able!

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.”
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!”
The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Amen! He is worthy because he is God! He is worthy because he left his throne in heaven, humbled himself by taking on the form of human flesh, and was willing to suffer all the things we humans suffer, including temptation to sin, though he did not sin, and the suffering of physical pain, disease (perhaps), rejection, persecution, hatred and death. He is worthy because, although he was/is God, and he could have chosen not to do this, he willingly went to the cross, died a horrible death, and took upon himself the sins of the entire world, taking our punishment for sin upon him. He is able because he was resurrected from the dead, triumphant over death, hell, Satan and sin. He conquered sin in sinful man so that we could go free from the control of sin over our lives, and so we would be free to walk daily in his holiness and righteousness in the power and working of the Spirit within us. There is not anything beyond his power to do so, for he is God!

He is worthy, not just because he died for our sin, but because of the effect that has had on human lives. In other words, he didn’t die just so we could go to heaven one day. He bought us with his blood so we could be set free from slavery to sin, and so we would be separate from the world of sin and set apart unto him and to his service. Jesus Christ died so that we would no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave his life up for us (See 2 Co. 5:15). His grace teaches us to say “No!” to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled and upright lives in this present age (See Tit. 2:11-14). He died so we would die with him to our old lives of living for self and sin, so we would be transformed in heart and mind, and so we would walk in his Spirit, in his holiness and in his righteousness (See Ac. 26:16-18; Ro. 6-8; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 4:17-24; & 1 Jn. 1-5). This was his plan and his purpose for our lives! We are supposed to be different from the world, not like the world.

He is worthy, as well, because, by his death and resurrection, he made his followers to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God. Serving God, though, does not mean merely following a set of guidelines or rules. It is not merely being “good deed doers.” It is also not necessarily serving in some capacity within the institutional church. It is not just doing what we feel like doing for God, either. He is not interested in the things we are willing to sacrifice for him while we hold on to what we don’t want to yield to him. He wants our obedience, not to a set of rules, but to him, to his teachings, to his leadership, guidance, direction and purpose for our lives. He wants us to say, “Here am I. Send me!” He desires that we be living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him, which is our true and proper worship of him, no longer conformed to the ways of this sinful world, but being transformed in the renewing of our minds so that we can approve what the will of God is – his good, pleasing and perfect will (See Ro. 12:1-2). He wants our all on the altar. That is why he died!

Give God the Glory

From the very beginning of creation God has put within mankind the knowledge of God. God made himself known through his created works. When we look at the sun, the moon, the stars, the heavens above us, the trees, flowers, birds of the air, the sea, and man, we can see God, not that God exists within all of his creation, but rather that his creation reveals his divine character, being understood through what he has made. We see all his beauty, his love and his power, etc., so that mankind is without excuse, even though he may claim he did not know there was a God who created all this. It is not that mankind does not know, but rather that he chooses to suppress what he does know about God, exchanging the glory of God for an image in the form of corruptible man, etc. (See Romans 1:18-23 NASB)

So, the heavens above proclaim to mankind that we must give God the glory, and we must honor his name as holy. He has given man a free will to choose him or to not choose him. If we choose to live in the image of corruptible man, in which we were born into sin, we will die. But, if we choose, by God’s grace, through faith, to exchange the corruptible man for the glory of God, i.e. to accept God’s invitation to his great salvation, then we will live. He will light our lives with his righteousness, give us his wisdom, refresh our souls, and give joy to our hearts through his pure and enduring word, which is more precious than gold. When we keep his word, we receive great spiritual rewards. So, we should pray that we would continue in Christ, in keeping his word, and that we would not allow sin to rule our hearts ever again, so that we may walk in all of his ways from this day on and forever more.

Give God the Glory / An Original Work
Based off Psalm 19 / March 10, 2014

All of creation now proclaims:
“Give God the glory; honor His name!”
Each day the stars in heav’n above
Show forth His wisdom; tell of His love.

They do not speak. They have no voice.
Yet, they declare we have a choice:
“Worship the God of heav’n above;
Believe in Jesus; trust in His love.”

God’s word is perfect, just and good,
Refreshing souls who trust in the Lord;
Makes wise the simple; radiant -
Lighting our lives with God’s righteousness.

Joy to the heart His words now speak;
Pure and enduring, now we seek.
They are more precious than our gold;
Sweeter than honey; never grow old.

Keeping the word brings great reward.
By the word Jesus speaks and He warns,
Convicting hearts of all their sin;
Forgiving all who call upon Him.

Praying You keep me, Lord, from sins.
May they not rule my life again.
Then will I walk in all Your ways,
Following Jesus all of my days.


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