Rev 4:1-2
After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.

John saw a throne that was sat in heaven. The vision of the throne shows heavenly worship to us. The Lord wanted John to record this heavenly worship so that we can reflect and examine whether our worship on earth is like that in heaven. John recorded 7 instances of the heavenly worship. If we combine these 7 instances of heavenly worship recorded in Revelation, a perfect form of worship is pictured.

There are a few points we ought to learn and pursue based on the heavenly worship recorded in Rev 4.

1. See that a door has been opened in heaven
2. Be lifted up to the Lord

(Points 1 and 2 were covered in part 1 of this sermon)

3. Focus and be able to see God who sits on the throne

Rev 4:3 John saw that He who sat on the throne was like a jasper and sardius stone in appearance. We know that God cannot be seen with our human eyes, and God’s glory cannot be described by mere words. Therefore God uses precious stones we’re familiar with to describe His glory and holiness.

Today there’re people in church who are proud and arrogant; they do whatever they want in church. This is because they do not see the glory and holiness of the One sitting on the throne. If they were like Isaiah who saw the glory and holiness of God, they would definitely react like Isaiah who said, “Woe is unto me for I am a man of unclean lips!”

Therefore in our worship we must see the glory and holiness of God. Only then can we worship God with a heart of reverence and piety.

John also saw a rainbow around the throne. The rainbow represents God’s mercy and faithfulness. After God delivered the household of Noah, he made a covenant using the rainbow promising never to destroy the world with water again. The rainbow hence represents God’s faithful deliverance and mercy. In our worship today, we should be able to see the faithfulness and mercy of God. Only then will we not give up because of our sins and draw further from God. Rather we would draw nearer to God to ask for forgiveness and acknowledge our sins.

Exo 34:6-9
And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. Then he said, “If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance.”

When the Lord proclaimed He was a merciful and gracious God; keeping mercy for thousands; forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin; we see Moses making haste to bow his head in worship. On one hand, he thanked God for His great grace. On the other hand, he prayed for forgiveness sins. Man needs the grace and mercy of God to be forgiven of transgressions. If we were able to see our iniquities today, and since we know now is the period of grace God forgives us of our sins, we should all the more make haste to draw near to God to repent. Then we will receive God’s grace, mercy and forgiveness of sins.

John also saw 24 elders surrounding the throne, 4 living creatures, and a multitude of angels. But what caught his sight immediately was the One who sat on the throne. This is the heavenly worship - seeing God who sits on the throne in heaven. Today our worship should be that we immediately see God who sits on the throne.

People come and worship God and attend services. But the focus of their worship is on Man and not God. They’re concerned whether the service is conducted in the manner pleasing to men. But they’re not concerned whether the service pleases God. To attract more people to come for services, they make major changes to the manner of worship; to let people think attending services is something relaxing, interesting and casual. So there’re some services that have turned into a recreational event. Instead of leading the congregation to worship God, they’re more concerned whether the service is pleasing to men; instead of being concerned whether the words spoken are what pleases God, the sermon speaker starts coming up with new teachings. The listeners also choose the sermons they would like to listen to, shutting their ears up to other sermons. Many of us use our handphones to read the Bible today. Doing so is not problem per se. The problem is that we can be easily distracted by our phones to do other things. We’re worshipping God but we’re not receiving the word of God; we’re doing other things. God is looking at us but we don’t see that He is looking at us, because in our worship of Him, He’s not in our minds. Would God be pleased with such a worship?

Some members may not use the phone to look at other things, but their thoughts wander elsewhere to other things. They’re also in the midst of worshipping God, but don’t think about God. Therefore our worship today should be like that in heaven. See God who sits on the throne. Think about the abidance of God. Think about the word God wants us to receive. Then we would be able to worship God with a heart of reverence and a singular mind. This is something we ought to learn and pursue. May our worship on earth be like that in heaven where we see God sitting on the throne.

4. Recognise that there’s a sea of glass before the throne

Rev 4:6
A famous author once said, “I do not love the great sea. There’s no way for me to love it. It’s such a vast area but no one can step on it. The land is already overpopulated in many places. There is less and less land area for Man to live. The sea mass is larger than the land mass but it doesn’t allow Man to dwell on it. How can I love it? Furthermore, the sea looks calm and peaceful. But when there’s a storm, it becomes extremely terrifying, like a volcanic eruption able to destroy an entire city. Man is truly minute and helpless when standing before the great sea. That’s why people describe life like a bitter sea. There might be peace and tranquility one moment. But in the next, storms arise.”

But to a Christian, our Lord is our shelter. Because the Lord is able to turn this bitter sea into a sea of glass. When Peter was sinking in the sea, he cried out to Jesus to save him and Jesus immediately stretched out His hand to save him, enabling him to stand on the sea with the Lord. We see the bitter sea become a sea of glass, allowing Peter to stand on the sea, and even walk on it.

Psa 18:6, 16
6 In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.
16 He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.

When calamities come upon us, we call upon the Lord in our distress. The Lord sent from above took us out of many waters. We might be floating helpless in the bitter sea. Let’s learn from Peter to call out to the Lord to deliver us. The Lord will have mercy on us and pull us out of the water.

Let’s note what’s written in v6. He heard my voice from His temple. It doesn’t say: He heard my voice from heaven. Therefore let’s not be too clever to say: It’s good enough for me to worship God in my heart or at home. I don’t need to go to the temple of God to worship Him since He listens to me from heaven. But here says God hears us from His temple. If we do not listen to the instructions of God to come to the temple to worship Him and think doing so is unimportant and a waste of time, only calling out to God to deliver us when calamity comes, do you think God will be pleased with our prayers? In normal times we ought to listen to the word of God to come to the temple to worship Him.

Today we cannot go to church to worship God. We have to worship from home. How many of us long to gather back in church for worship? Or have we fallen in love with having online services? Online services are casual and free. It saves time and trouble. When the service ends, we are already at home! We can also choose speakers from all over the world. If we’re tired of the Singapore speakers, we can listen to speakers from other countries! Online services allow us to choose from international speakers. It’s not surprising if we have fallen in love with online services.

But the saints of old tell us.
Psa 84:5-7
Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Whose heart is set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, They make it a spring; The rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; Each one appears before God in Zion.

The saints of old worshipped God at home in the past. But they would still willingly make their way down to the temple of God according to His command to worship God. This was because they were commanded to worship God at the place where God’s name is made. The temple was where God’s name was made as the ark of the covenant was there. So they all made the effort to travel down to the temple. Even though they had to go through the valley of Baca, which means having to go through sorrows, they relied on God to come before Him to worship Him. Such a man who has this desire to come before God is blessed. God will help him and add to his strength that he might be able to come before God to worship Him. Even if it might be troublesome, we ought to make the trip down to church to worship Him. Even though the church is built with physical materials, but to us, this physical building has been offered to God for worship. It’s a place that belongs to God. It’s a place God’s place is named. More importantly, this is a place where God’s commanded rituals ought to be performed. Therefore God’s children should be happy to come to church to worship Him. It’s not just a normal building, it’s been offered to God for worship. On one hand we ought to come before the place where God’s name is named to worship Him. On the other hand, this expresses our desire to receive God’s help and blessing. Therefore no matter how tired we may be, we ought to come to this place to worship God.

John also saw the sea of glass was like clear crystal. The sea of glass has no storms. The crystal is solid and firm. The sea of glass like crystal means when we come before God, we experience peace and tranquility. We’re not affected by the things in the world. Through the eyes of John, God wants us to see the throne in heaven is like a sea of glass like crystal. When we come before God to worship Him, are our hearts peaceful and serene?

Today many people sit quietly when they come for worship. But their hearts are like that of Martha, troubled by many things. They aren’t able to quieten their hearts to receive His word. But there’re some people who’re like Mary. They put aside their worldly anxieties and quieten their hearts to receive His word. Their worship is truly like the heavenly worship. Because they see there’s a sea of glass like crystal before the throne. It is peaceful and in tranquility.

Isa 43:1-2
But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.

God tells His people not to fear. He reminds them of two great miracles that takes place in history. While they were fearful, they ought to think what God had done.

The first is when you pass through the waters, I will be with you. This was when the Israelites crossed the Red Sea. Everyone was fearful except Moses. Why was Moses not fearful? Because he saw God. But the Israelites saw the Red Sea in front and the pursuing armies of Pharaoh behind. When calamities befall us and we only see how terrifying it is, we would naturally be anxious and afraid. At this point in time we ought to see the presence of God just like Moses. Then God will open a way for us and lead us through the waters.

The second is when you walk through the fire, you will not be burnt. This is the miracle that happened to the three friends of Daniel. To keep their faith, they didn’t bow down to the image of gold (Dan 3). For that, they were to be thrown into the fire. In the eyes of men they were destined to die. The king even told them to consider again, saying, “Will your God be able to deliver you from this furnace of fire?”

They answered, “O King we do not need to reconsider because we have already considered carefully. Our God will deliver us. Even if He doesn’t, we won’t worship your image of gold, because even if He doesn’t deliver our physical bodies, He’ll deliver our souls into the Kingdom of Heaven.” They remembered God as they were to be thrown into the fire, so they had no fear.

Today we might be in deep waters or hot fires. If we don’t see the presence of God, we’d surely be afraid. Therefore we must believe in God’s abidance and deliverance, then we will be quietened in our hearts. Especially in these pressing times where COVID-19 is spreading rapidly. Many people are very anxious like a bird startled by the coming of a boat. We stay home and only go out when necessary. But we still fear. God tells us not to be afraid because He has delivered us and we belong to Him. This is a very important reason God tells us not to be afraid. He delivers us and we belong to God. Do we truly belong to God? This is true! God has redeemed us with His blood and this is testified by the witness of the Holy Spirit. We’re truly the children of God. We belong to Him, and this is such a great grace. If that’s the case, why should we be so worried and anxious?

The Lord Jesus reminds us that the Heavenly Father takes care of the birds in the air. Are we not more important than them? Of course we are, as we are the children of the Heavenly Father. But do we believe in Him and entrust our lives into His hands? Therefore let us not be afraid or anxious. We must trust in God.

A bird stood on a tree branch. It had never been afraid of the branch breaking because it didn’t believe in the strength of the branch, but in the wings God had given it. The environment we are in may be like the branch of the tree. The faith we have in God are like the wings of the bird. Do we trust in the strength of the branch or in our wings? No matter how strong the branch may be, it can be easily broken in a storm, but the wings of our faith can allow us to soar and overcome these calamities. Even though we may pass through many waters, or fire, the Lord will lead His children onwards.

Sing hymn 442: God Leads Us Along

We ask God to have mercy on us. Presently, it’s hard for us to predict tomorrow. There’re many educated specialists and people with power who may predict what may happen tomorrow and plan for the future. But the coronavirus has destroyed all our plans. However, we’re not afraid because we see the throne in heaven. We see that before the throne is a sea of glass like crystal. Even though there may be storms on earth, the sea of glass in heaven is peaceful and calm.

We ought to learn from the birds of the skies; we’re not afraid that the branch may be broken but we’re afraid that our wings of faith will be injured. Many Christians’ wings have been injured and are unable to soar and hence they’re struggling on the earth and crying for help. This is a time for us to reflect on our faith so that we can reestablish our faith towards God. Let us entrust our lives into the hands of God. In our prayers, we ask God to help and have mercy on us so that we may endure through this troubling time by faith. We ask God to bless each of us.