For the past seven weeks we have been preparing ourselves for the Easter celebration that we had last week. Last week, we looked at the importance of the resurrection. For the weeks that are between Easter and Pentecost, we want to take a look at the book of Revelation. This is a series that I have contemplated even before I was preaching. Singer/songwriter Michael Card wrote this and this is what got me thinking about this series.
In the course of preparing a series of recordings on the book of Revelation, I made a surprising discovery. I had set out to analyze what I have always referred to as the “hymn fragments” in the book. I had outlined their position in the text as well as their various themes. Long after I had thought my analysis was done, it occurred to me to look at the statements which prefaced the “hymns.” The purpose being to determine what kind of treatment they would receive musically (choral, solo). To my surprise, most of the fragments were prefaced not by, “and they sang” but simply by “they shouted in a loud voice” or simply “said.”
Out of the 13 or so “hymns” (depending on how you count them) only two of them are said to have been sung, one by the elders in chapter five, the other by those who are described as “victorious” in chapter 15.
If we were to adopt the worship pattern from Revelation, only one in six songs would be sung in our congregations. The others would be acclamations. They would be said in unison or more often “shouted” together.
Eugene Peterson, in his book, Reversed Thunder, describes Revelation as a book of worship. If he is right, then once again the Bible has stretched our narrow definitions. All to often we settle for songs, when the Word would have us sing, say, even shout to God, all in the process of offering ourselves to Him as living sacrifices. So don’t be afraid to shout at God!
At end of that quote is a familiar phrase for us, living sacrifices, from Romans 12:1-2. This, I believe has been a key phrase for us this year.
Michael Card got me to thinking about the “hymns” of Revelation. Many years ago while in college, I was the worship leader for Chi-Alpha, our college age ministry at the church we were attending. On night, we put together a set of songs we called heaven’s worship. Holy, Holy, Holy was part of the songs we sang for that set. There were others that were all drawn out of the book of Revelation. These “hymns” have been the basis for many scripture songs over the years.
· Thou Art Worthy
· To Him Who Sits on the Throne
· Salvation Belongs to Our God
· Agnus Dei
What I want us to do over the next few weeks is take a look at some of these hymns that are found in the book of Revelation. Before we go any further, we need to define what a hymn is. Let’s start with the dictionary. A hymn is a song of praise or thanksgiving to God. So, any song of praise or thanksgiving to God is a hymn. Believe it or not, this even stretches my imagination when it comes to songs being called hymns. During this season following Easter, we are going to take a look at the Lordship of Christ, his ascension, and his Kingship. Turn with me to Revelation 1:4-8. In honor of the risen King, let us rise as we read the Word this morning.
This letter is from John to the seven churches in the providence of Asia.
Grace and peace to you from the one who is, who always was, and who is to come; from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne; and from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world.
All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us. He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen
Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see him—even those who pierced him. And all the nations of the world will mourn for him. Yes! Amen!
“I am the Alpha and Omega—the beginning and the end.” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and the who is still to come—the Almighty One.
This hymn opens with a strong Trinitarian feel. All the members of the Trinity are represented; the Father, God; the Holy Spirit, and Jesus Christ. We are given a blessing of grace and peace in the name of God; this is an act of adoration. We are reminded of the character of God.
Did anyone notice that God is twice referred to as the one who is, who always was, and who is to come? Not only that, he is referred to as the Alpha and Omega. These are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. God is God in the beginning and God is God at the end. The scripture states that God always existed, he IS the beginning. The scripture states that God always will be, he is the ending. God is unchanging. God is eternal. Have you every tried to put your thoughts around that idea; that God always existed, that God will always be; forever and forever? When I think of it, it makes my head hurt, but not in a bad way. God has always been around. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. The fact that God has always been and always will be is great, but I like the fact that God’s name is I AM. He is right now. He is right now, and now, and now, and will continue to be in the now. God is a contemporary God. That is a source of great comfort in the time of trouble. That’s why the book of Revelation was written; to comfort the Christians who were undergoing intense persecution at the hands of the Roman Empire. God is a right now God – He always was – He is – and He always will be.
The Holy Spirit is next. He was promised as a counselor, as a helper to believers. He was promised to be our comforter. It is the Holy Spirit that guides our lives as believers. It is the Holy Spirit that dwells within us to empower us to live the life that Christ has called us to live. Paul writes that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Because the Holy Spirit exists, we can live the lives that Christ has called us to live. Without the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives we are hopeless.
Last, but certainly not least Jesus Christ is mentioned. All three were from the beginning and to the end. Jesus even calls himself the Alpha and Omega in Revelation 21:6. Jesus is the witness to the counsels of God. He was the first to rise from the dead. Without Christ’s resurrection from the dead, there is no resurrection from the dead as we looked at last week. No only is Christ the firstborn of all who rose from the dead, but He has been given authority over all the kings of this world. Christ is the ultimate authority. There is none who reigns over him. This is a common theme in the scriptures. We sang part of an old hymn this morning before prayer….every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
The scripture again declares that Christ loves us; he has freed us from our sins by shedding His blood for us. This is a common theme in John’s writing. John writes in his first letter, “(Jesus) is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and not only ours but also for the whole world.” Or he is the one who turns aside God’s wrath, taking away our sins. Matthew Henry writes, “Sin leaves a stain of guilt and pollution upon the soul. Nothing can fetch out this stain but the blood of Christ; Christ shed his own blood to satisfy Divine justice, and purchase pardon and purity for his people.” This sacrifice made us priests in His Kingdom. It is not a Kingdom of flesh and blood, but a heavenly Kingdom. As such Henry continues, “they overcome the world, mortify sins, govern their own spirits, resist Satan, prevail with God in prayer, and shall judge the world. He has made them priests, given them access to God, enabled them to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices, and for these favors, they are bound to ascribe to him dominion and glory forever. Did you know that you are a priest in Christ’s Kingdom? One of the great things that happened in the Reformation is that Martin Luther re-established the concept of the priesthood of all believers. The playing field is level. Each believer is responsible for being a priest. It’s every person on the playing field. Kingdom building is not a spectator sport. When we are His priests and we are doing His mission, we give glory and honor and power to God. The Old Testament designation of the Kingdom has been applied to the Church (the holy, apostolic, universal church; the Bride of Christ.) Again the question is, “What is our mission?” The answer – to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them everything that Jesus has taught us. I said last Sunday at the early service, “Jesus did not call us to baptize in the name of Preston Wesleyan, or Pleasant Grove Christian, or Mt. Bethel United Methodist. Jesus called to baptize in the name of His Father, himself and the Holy Spirit.”
This is our mission to go and make disciples; to teach them the things of Jesus. Why? because Jesus is coming back again – look at what John writes, “Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven, and everyone will see him—even those who pierced him. And all the nations of the world will mourn for him. Yes! Amen!” As I’ve said before, we don’t know when he will return. We need to make most of the time Paul says. We need to be concerned more about building the Kingdom than when Jesus is returning. Here is my opinion on this. There are many making predictions on Christ’s return. Some have spent many years of study on this. Some make the study their full time job. Just think if all the time they spent trying to figure out what Jesus told us we couldn’t figure out had been spent building the Kingdom; making disciples. This idea of Kingdom has been weighing heavily on my mind lately; that along with being a missional people; being people of the Great Commission. Do I consider myself to have it figured it out? No, I am just beginning to realize what it means to be missional; to direct all resources to Great Commission ministry. Frankly, it scares me, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. We serve a great God. He has given us a great job to do. It is our mission. We must fulfill it. We have no other choice. Why? Souls hang in the balance. He is returning…
Our hymn this morning concludes with God’s words again, “I am the Alpha and Omega – the beginning and the end. I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come – the Almighty One. All things come from Him and for Him. He is the same eternal, unchanged One. If we are to be numbered among the saints in glory everlasting, we must now willing submit to Him, receive him, and honor him as Savior.
He is over all. He is above all. He is worthy of our praise. He is worthy of glory. He is worthy of honor. We honor him when we submit to his authority. We honor him when we work his mission. We honor him when we do his purpose.
