As I have lead Brentwood Baptist Church through a study of Revelation, many were surprised to discover John wrote the letter to the seven churches as a book of worship.
Think about it. Revelation is written IN worship, BY a worship leader, TO worshipping communities, ABOUT whom to worship.
For the seven churches in the Asia Minor who were named by John in this letter, the issue of worship was the most significant question before them. The pressure from the Roman Empire to declare “Caesar is Lord” had ultimate consequences for the believers listening to John’s vision. So, John wrote to the churches of the Empire to keep their worship focused on Jesus despite being stalked by dragons and beasts who sought to destroy them. The faithful would be rewarded, John promised. Those who persevered would indeed wear the crown of victory. They needed to make sure Jesus and Jesus alone was the center of worship, because worship has eternal consequences.
For most of us, worship is a time on Sunday morning where we gather with other believers in a sanctuary to sing songs of the faith and hear the Word proclaimed. In truth, worship is much, much more than that. Biblically, worship is the person’s statement of ultimate value and desire. Worship is toward an object or person held in highest esteem.
Here’s why this matters.
Worship is the choosing of our destination, the selection of the ultimate aim for our lives.
You wouldn’t begin a journey without choosing a destination.
You wouldn’t fire a rifle without first selecting a target.
And you can’t live your life without choosing a focus of worship.
Whether you intend to or not, all of us will choose an object or person to worship. Jesus pointed out we can’t serve two masters. Implicit in that teaching is this hard fact – we will serve some master. That’s why worship matters. It’s the moment we choose which master we’ll serve.
And in making that choice, we make other choices.
The object of our worship ends up defining us as persons.
We take on the characteristics of what or who is the focus of our worship.
We choose our life path by finding which road to best take us to the desire of our worship.
That’s why John was so focused on worship for his churches in Revelation. For the same reason we have to hold each other accountable in making Christ, and Christ alone, the focus and center of our worship.
Worship matters for who we determine to worship ends up determining the kind of person we become.
