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Worthy Is The Lamb
A little over a year ago, Ariel Sharon took a walk on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem where a mosque now stands, and has stood for many years. A riot erupted as Muslims saw this as a deliberate desecration of what they regard as their third holiest site on earth. The riot spread and became a low grade war which continues to this day.
Why should Sharon’s walk on what he regards as the site of what should be the Jewish temple create such havoc?
Why is it that even 20 centuries ago when the disciples pointed with pride to the glorious temple standing on that same site, Jesus said, “It’s coming down. There won’t be left here one stone upon another”?
The disciples asked, “When?” and Jesus started talking about war and upheaval.
It seems whenever there’s disruption up there on that mount, chaos breaks out all over the place. What is it about that mound of rocky land that has caused it to be a barometer of approaching storms from ancient times down to this day?
In the very near future international pressure on Israel and the Palestinians will be so great that they will have to settle on some kind of peace that will include, without a doubt, a Palestinian state.
But there will be one open sore that will not heal: that Temple Mount.
Some Christians believe that before the end of the age, a Jewish temple will be built on that site. Maybe. Maybe not. But one thing is for sure. One day, something greater than any temple or any mosque will be standing on that site.
I’m not talking about a building. I’m talking about a person. When that person stands on that mound, there will be no riots, no wars, no terrorists. It will all be over.
Because that rocky mound doesn’t belong to any nation or to any religion.... Muslim, Jewish, or Christian. It belongs to him. To that man who is more than a man.
There will be no peace on that mound or on this earth until that man stands on the site where the temple once stood and receives the kind of worship here on earth that he already receives in heaven.
“Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!’ “(Revelation 5:11-12)
Worthy is the Lamb. This man who is more than a man. The Crucified and Risen One is the replacement for that Temple.
You want to meet the God of the universe and hear what he has to say? You don’t go to a building on that mount or anywhere else -- you go to this man!
Remember the time Jesus turned over the tables of the money changers up there in the Temple? “By what authority are you doing this?” they asked. “Show us a sign to prove that you have a right to do this.” Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”
But Jesus was talking about the real temple. The new, perfect, indestructible place to meet God. He was talking about Himself.
So while we watch the news with fascination and fear, and while we marvel at how the Temple Mount in Jerusalem remains in the spotlight of unfolding history, we need to remember where the real temple is.
What is a temple? A temple is a place where the Spirit of God dwells.
The Jews went up to the temple to worship because God’s Spirit was there.
There behind the veil hovering over the mercy seat was the presence of Jahweh, the God of the universe.
So holy was that place behind the veil that no one entered it but the high priest once a year armed with the blood of a sacrificed animal.
But the day Jesus was crucified the veil was torn in two from top to bottom and the Spirit departed from the Temple.
Three days later the Spirit raised Jesus as the Final Temple, the new, perfect, indestructible place to meet God.
“And when they saw him, they worshiped him.”
For 40 days every time Jesus showed up it was the same thing. They were awed.
Even when they didn’t recognize who it was at first, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and as he opened to us the scriptures?”
Then Jesus left this earth. Now what are they going to do? Where’s the temple now? Where do you worship God now?
They had been told to wait -- so they waited until the Spirit fell on them and they became the Body of Christ on earth. They became the Temple, the dwelling place of God’s Spirit. They spoke as the Spirit gave them utterance. They praised the Lamb! They proclaimed the wonderful works of God!
So that now, whenever followers of Jesus come together and truly offer themselves up to God in worship, there is the New Temple where God’s redemptive power is at work.
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”
That’s the kind of worship going on at the headquarters of the universe right now. And that’s the kind of worship we owe him here on earth.
We owe him because he alone is worthy.
How do you worship him here in this new temple? We worship him in three ways. And this threefold worship is not an option, it’s what we owe to him who redeemed us by his blood.
First. We worship him by presenting our bodies to him as a living sacrifice. Our physical bodies. They don’t belong to us anymore. They belong to him. Our bodies are the temple of his Spirit.
Every time we gather we are renewing this commitment, “Here is my body, Lord. Use it for your glory.” You’re not just taking his body and blood. You’re giving your body and blood.
Every morning when we get up, we renew this commitment. “Here is my body, Lord, my mouth, my hands, my feet, every organ, send it forth for your purpose!”
Secondly. We worship him by praising him with our mouths. This is not an option. This is an essential part of worship.
The most important function of the human tongue is to give God praise.
“And when he saw that he was healed, the Samaritan
leper turned back, praising God with a loud voice. And he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet giving him thanks.”
Don’t just think it: say it. Don’t just mumble it: sing it.
If the angels in heaven are worshiping the Lamb with a loud voice, it’s time for us to loosen up and give him the sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
Finally. We worship him by becoming servants of one another in his name. Our worship doesn’t end when we leave the assembly -- it goes right on. Now we begin to express our praise to God by serving one another. And by serving the ones out there who are still stumbling around in that spiritual Twilight Zone.
“Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!’ “(Revelation 5:11-12)
That’s the kind of worship going on at the headquarters of the universe right now and that’s the kind of worship we owe him here on earth.
We owe him because he alone is worthy.
We present our bodies to him as a living sacrifice. We praise him with our mouths. We serve one another in his name.
And as we do,
We become a manifestation of God’s final Temple until the day of his return.
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