What is worship in Heaven going to be like? We hear all the time about how God's throne room is full of worshipers, who never cease in worshiping Him. For us, that can be overwhelming to understand. And in the book of
Revelation, we're actually given a small glimpse of what worship will look like in Heaven. For a lot of people, reading the book of Revelation can be confusing. Many argue that it is a lot of symbolism. I personally believe, as I hope you all do, that the word of God, the Bible, is the complete and absolute word of God, without error. If that's the case, then when John speaks of the Elders and the creatures that he saw in his vision, we must believe that there are going to be these things in Heaven, just as they are written. Can you imagine seeing these things! But here's what gets me... of all the things that God has EVER created, He tells us that we are His most prized possession. So, though we may be in awe of seeing these things, can you imagine what they think? They get to live in God's Heaven already. They've been there for all eternity. What, then, do you think they think of us, when they see us.... God's most prized creation. That should make you think about how you live your life. It should make you think about how you worship. There are these beasts, with like six wings, with a bunch of eyes on them, who do nothing but sing praise 24 hours a day, without ceasing. And as spectacular as they are, they cannot measure up to what we were created for.
So my question is this. If that's the kind of worship that is going on in Heaven right now, how are we measuring up? We have to live our lives in constant worship of Him. What are you doing to make that happen? What are the things that we can do as a team to encourage each other to be living a life worthy of the grace that we live under?
Love you all.
I believe that our earthly worship will be nothing compared to heavenly worship. There it will be perfect, with no outside thoughts to invade and interrupt our time with Him.
ReplyDeleteDuring worship, I have to keep up with the words on the computer screen, so I often sing along just to keep time. Being in the back, in the dark, where no one (except Jon and Jason) can hear me, I feel much more free to sing, whether I'm on key or not. (Sorry, guys!) Still, other thoughts invade my mind, but it's easier to just focus on the words and the music.
In heaven, I think our worship will be perfect. I'm not sure if we will be aware of the other people there because that will be a distraction. Maybe heavenly worship is just you and God...
I think it's obvious that we aren't living up 100% to the worship that is going on in Heaven right now, as described from the book of Revelation. I can't say I'm living up to it even 50% of what the description taken from that looks like. I make a conscious effort and am continuously talking to God both silently and vocally, both through every day conversation and through song. I'm in constant conversation with my children and my husband praising God and asking him what I can do to better serve him in this area, but don't feel that I am anywhere near "there" yet. I think we are on the right track as a group, with the rehearsals, accountability partners, and even the time we spend putting our thoughts into this blog. Every bit of that "moves the message" and hopefully strengthens our desires and need to be in constant worship of Him.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great topic becasue it fits right in with a question that was asked at the Mt. Juliet campus on Sunday. The question was "Is there sex in heaven?" I think we all wonder what it will be like when we reach heaven and what our eternity there will be like. Misty and I were talking about that while driving the other day. We discussed things like, do you have jobs in heaven? I mean this is the place where you will spend eternity right? Will you get bored? What is the sense of time like in heaven compared to life on earth? Deep deep questions that quite frankly I wont even claim to have a clue about. As far as worship goes, there is no way we can ever equate to what goes on in God's presence. I don't the A/V team has enough watts to get there and I certainly dont have enough talent to even make it past a video audition :) (ok that's my bad humor for today) I think it all comes back to what God sees in your heart. He sees how we are worshiping and the effort we put in to advancing his kingdom and the good deeds we put in. In our limited abilities its what in our hearts that counts the most.
ReplyDeleteI wonder a lot of times what heaven is going to be like. Yet I know I let things of this world get in the way of truly letting go and praising him. I say I completely owe him my life but while I have it I don't give him all I owe. In heaven there are no limitations on worship. Then I think, why should I let this happen in my life when there are no reasons. I know I need to work hard and remove restraints. Let go and worship him as they do in heaven and blank this world out. Just think, if we could all do this as a team with no limatations, how powerful that would be.
ReplyDeleteDanny, you've hit on a key thought that I was trying to pull out of you guys! There are no limitations on worship in Heaven!!! So why then do we limit ourselves here on Earth? My prayer is that we would unabashedly worship God all throughout our week, but especially on Sunday. Our church desperately needs to see its worship team engaged with our Father to a point that, it's almost like they are not there, and we are truly performing for an audience of one! I don't know what that means for you all, but I encourage you to find it, if you haven't already. There shouldn't be anything that stands in the way of us worshiping on Sundays. And I believe that, through that, we will see our church begin to drop the walls and let go, themselves. I can sense, every Sunday, that there are people out there who are still afraid to let go, because of what someone might think if they sing too loud and off key, or raise their hands to reach out to Him. Part of us "leading" them, is to show them how to worship. When they see us in that place where we are truly before God, stripped of ourselves, and in the middle of pure worship, they will want that desperately for themselves. That, I believe, is what worship in Heaven will be like!
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts guys! Thanks Danny for hitting on that.
I will be the first to admit its hard to let go sometimes and let the holy spirit lead me during worship. I have been singing in church since I was 16 which was a long long time ago and I have always held something back. I think part of it is human nature to "not get out of hand" because quite honestly there have been times at my other churches that were VERY charismatic, that I saw some uncomfortable looks on people's faces when they didnt understand how the spirit was moving people. I for one was never embarrassed for them, I always envied them. I wanted to have that kind of boldness about me. I wanted people to look at me and wonder what I was feeling when the spirit took hold, but I know He can't move unless I do. I know worship in Heaven will be perfect. How could it not be? I think it will be sweetest songs anyone could imagine that will make you weep from the joy your heart feels when you sing them. The thing is I have songs that do that for me now and I hold back. Im not sure why. I want my praise and worship to be as perfect here as it can be. How can I call myself a worshipper and give less than my best? Robbie has said it over and over that while it's cool that we get to play good music and sing, it doesnt mean anything if our hearts arent focused on the real reason we do what we do. I need to remember WHO I am singing for and let all the other stuff go.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever had one of those 'life altering" worship moments? The ones where everything around you truly disappears because your heart has found the connection to God and is completely spilling over with joy? I wish every Sunday could be like that, but unfortunately I am human, and things get in the way. This is no excuse, but our hearts carry a lot of baggage from our lives, our family situations, and lots of other things we encounter along the way. I believe in Heaven those things will not exist. We will have those singular moments with God where we are deeply and intimately connected while worshipping, which are the most fulfilling and emotional!
ReplyDeleteI'd like to think the heavenly form that the beasts in this passage ahve taken, being covered in eyes, is so they won't miss a moment! I can only hope that I am covered in eyes in heaven so I can constantly take in the wonder and glory of God!
This passage is pretty exciting. Personally, I take a lot of Revelation more metaphorically and not literally. This does not mean I do not believe that unearthly beings will exist in Heaven, I just think that some of these images have deeper meanings. That said, I am blown away by the continual worship- "day after day and night after night" their praise to God was continued. How awesome!! I think this kind of echoes a past post in which we talked about how we are to worship in everything we do, not just on stage and with music. I believe worship in Heaven will be totally unashamed and will be taken to a whole new level as never before experienced one earth because everything will finally be without flaw. This past year I have experienced worship like never before and have been drunk in the Spirit at least twice, and it is crazy. It is wild how God can move through us when we forget our surroundings, cease to let the criticism of others impact our praise and worship with full abandon. I think in Heaven we will be in constant awe of God, as we should be now, though I confess I am not always in awe of God. I think it is this constant awe and reverance that will floor us and take worship to an entirely different level. How awesome that our God transcends the things of earth- that He would open up man's eyes to see a piece of Heaven and that we may read and only begin to wonder as to the glory that awaits us in eternity.
ReplyDeleteHmm... I remember thinking about a church I went to back in the day that had a really loooong worship service. The music was average and I would get very sleepy after an hour. I thought I can't imagine doing this all day every day. All I could think about was a cheesburger that I was going to get post service.
ReplyDeleteI was then reminded about how all we do in life is worship to God. Service in itself can be worship. I think worship can look so different.
Also I do think the word of God is Truth, but I wonder what John means when he says an animal LIKE a lion and so on. I wonder some times for instance when he sees the future and says something like a flying scorpion that he may mean a plane. He just hasn't seen one before. I could be wrong, but just a thought.
I can't fathom what Heaven will be like. My little human mind wonders if we would get bored repeating over and over, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty who always was, and is, and is to come." 24/7 worship? I don't think we'll ever experience this while we're still on this earth. Like Philip said, there's too much baggage and distraction. I only wish that I could keep my mind and heart in that place when we're leading worship on Sundays or every moment, for that matter.
ReplyDeleteI think all we can do is continue to seek after God and ask Him to help us get to a deeper place with Him. Those times in my life when I have truly felt God's spirit and had one of those one-on-one moments with Him- they have left a lasting impression on my heart. It's almost like a teaser of what will be and a reminder to me that living in the glory with God will never be boring!
Jess- interesting take! I like that.
ReplyDeleteIt's so exciting to think about Heaven and that I will be able to worship God with no distractions! I loved what Philip said about that, the baggage concept was such a good visual. I always envisioned Heaven as a place with brightness everywhere and we all walk around meeting people from the Bible and, yeah worship God, but it never really sank in what it truly is. I am in awe that we will actually be worshipping right to God, I feel so unworthy. I know Robbie was saying we are His prized possessions, but I can't even fathom the day I stand in front of Him and worship. I'm excited about it, but I just think of how many ways I don't even come close to deserving Him. I think that's my main problem with worship, I don't feel like I'm a good enough singer, or Christian daughter, or, the list goes on. I know this is satan whispering lies, but I truly have a hard time letting go of myself. I know that's what God calls me to do, but as a human I don't want to let myself go. I don't want people to see me at my worst, a broken human, who is a weak Christian. So many times, I put that front up, and I even start to believe it myself, that God and I are just as close as ever. But in reality, maybe I didn't read my Bible that day, and I've lost touch with Him. This just makes it difficult for me to worship, when I know I've messed up. I know God forgives me, but I mess up so much it just feels like I'm not even teachable. Well, pretty much, I'm a broken human who has Christ but lacks the discipline to everyday sacrifice myself, and it affects how I worship Him, and how far I'm willing to go to worship Him. So I can't wait until I get to Heaven, let it all go, and just worship!
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