At the Threshold of Glory in the book of Revelation, eternal praises resound to our Lord and Savior, Jesus! He is the Lamb who was slain, now risen, victorious and seated at the right hand of God our Father! Around Him, all the angels worship, day and night!
Today may be a work day for many of us, but we're also going to continually focus on honoring and worshiping our Lord. Again today, with all the angels and all of creation, we also burst forth in song and sing "Holy, Holy, Holy." We look forward to the song of triumph "Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty (Rev. 15). We are called, given the privilege to bow down and sing "Worthy is the Lamb, that was slain. To Him alone be all blessing, honor, glory, power and strength!"
Our work days are worship days, too, with a constant soundtrack of praise being brought to our Lord.
As I was listening to the book of Revelation last week and cooking dinner, this song came to mind from Revelation Chapter 15. It hasn't left as I keep hearing it and desiring to be part this glorious worship for our Lord. The cathedrals and sounds of choirs certainly have their place in reflecting the expansive grandeur of the Lord. This is only an earthly depiction of the heavenly song. I think you'll hear what I mean.
Worship our God! Great and marvelous are His deeds! He deserves everything! Every sacrifice. Every declaration of praise and truth. Every effort for purity we can muster.
Here's a blessing worth considering and pursuing: When we gather for worship as a people of God each week, we are entering heavenly places. We are part of an unending, eternal adoration of the Lord.
As our God dwells with us, He allows us to be part of heaven here on earth. We are declaring again with all the saints that our God is worthy of all that we have and all that we are. O, that we would grasp this and pursue that life and reality of worship day in and day out. So often we pursue the lesser things of this world. We forget the majesty, glory and holiness of the Lord God Almighty. We forget we stand at the Threshold of Glory as His children, aliens and strangers in this world. We forget that we have been saved to worship daily in the presence of God!
The Threshold of Glory is a holy place. It's a place to be in complete reverence and awe. Before our God, without Christ Jesus, who could stand? When we approach the throne of God, Lord help us to be so very careful.
In Ezekiel 8-10, we're reminded of the importance of approaching and living for our God with a holy fear and care. As the heavens were opened up to Ezekiel in a vision, and as the sins of God's people were revealed, God began to move toward judgment.
To execute judgment upon the sins of the people, God's glory went up from between the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Because of the sins of the people, God's glory left the temple. Judgment was rendered. The glory Ezekiel saw was for correction and renewed purity around the throne of God.
In Ezekiel's vision, the Lord our God was not accepting our worship any longer. With all His overflowing love, He is also a God of judgment and holiness.
For me, this is such a sobering reminder of my own need to continually check my heart and ways. We have choices to make in order to please God and gloriously reflect His image as He deserves.
Romans 12:1-2 reminds us that we are to be living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. This is our acceptable form of worship unto the Lord.
All of us fail to do that perfectly. I know I have. But Hallelujah! Jesus has paid for our sin and dressed us in pure white garments of righteousness and praise! Through His death, payment for our sin, burial and resurrection, He enables us to stand in the presence of our God by being our righteousness.
What strikes me is that as we consider coming to the Threshold of Glory where God dwells, we must ask ourselves, "Have we abandoned all other gods and are we focused solely on Him?"
Especially for those of us in worship ministry, and those of us coming into corporate worship, before we plan a song or begin to sing it, let's first be in prayer, personally and corporately. Let's first be unified in Christ, saved and restored at the cross with one another. Let's first walk in the Spirit, feed on His Word, set our minds on heavenly things, and surrender our lives to God's glory. Then, and I would propose, only then, let's sing together with complete joy, freedom and confidence in Christ, as He, by His grace holds all things together for His Father's glory (Col. 1:17; John 17)!
Lastly, Second Chronicles 5:13 is a time when the Lord was pleased with the worship He was given by the people. And His glory descended and filled the temple. In this passage, God's people humbly brought all of themselves and they are focused on the Lord above all else with thanksgiving and praise! Together they dedicated themselves and the temple to God's holy purposes. We can learn so much from our brothers and sisters generations ago.
What a remarkable scene that we also anticipate each time we come together before our great and glorious God! He's so good, and there's nothing on earth we desire except Him! His love endures forever!
Each week, when we gather together in corporate worship, after the Lord has done His work in each of us and together in us, let's burst into jubilant song, for we do stand at the Threshold of Glory! Our eyes ARE focused on You, O Lord! Hallelujah! Fill your people with the cloud of your presence.
Our Lord, You have given us the songs of salvation! And we sing them around your heavenly throne with all the saints! We rejoice that the Cross has spoken restored, resurrection lives over us. We worship You at Your Threshold of Glory! We surrender our lives to you and shout for joy! May we not pursue the lesser things around us. For Your Glory, O Lord, be pleased to receive our living sacrifices of praise, Amen!
