How Earthly Worship Prepares Us for Heaven

If we had to describe heaven in one word it would be worship. 

The four creatures (most likely seraphim, or angels) have one job, and they do it continuously. They do not cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” The twenty-four elders (representing the redeemed of the ages) fall down before the throne of God, cast their crowns at His feet, and lift up a song of praise:

“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created” (Rev. 4:11).

This is what we will do in heaven. We will finally be able to worship God in a way that will satisfy our souls and honor Him as He ought to be honored. Every attempt at worship in this world is a dress rehearsal for the real experience. God allowed John to give us a glimpse of what to expect, so that we can prepare. He wants us to know that living as though we were already in front of the throne will get us to the throne victoriously.

How Can God Receive Glory, Honor, and Power from Our Lives Today? 

What John observed in Heaven’s throne room reveals what it means to worship God. It is to give back to Him the glory, honor and power that belongs to Him. The word receive is lambanō and means to take with the hand or lay hold of any person or thing in order to use it. It is to take what is one's own, to take to one's self, or to make one's own. 

God is worthy to take hold of the glory, honor and power which belongs to Him anyway, because He is worthy, and to use it, to conform it to His will, His purpose and His intentions. Here are three ways we can worship today, in order to prepare for heaven.

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“For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).

Glory [doxa] primarily signifies an opinion or an estimation. It is the acknowledgement and response to the exhibition of His attributes and ways. We give glory to God when we have the correct opinion and understanding of His character and attributes. God’s glory is His reputation; by acknowledging who He is, we give back to Him the glory He deserves.

Romans 1:18-32 describes what happens when men reject God and refuse to give Him the glory due to Him. Instead of acknowledging His character and attributes, they choose instead to worship the created world, and ultimately themselves as gods. The result is a descent into depravity as God turns them over to their sinful desires. Recently the New York Times carried a full-page advertisement that declared in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, it was not God that was needed, but science and reason. Rejection of God’s glory leads us to make foolish and dangerous statements. 

How can we prepare for heaven? By studying God’s character and His infinite, unchanging attributes described in Scripture and acknowledging and declaring them to an unbelieving culture. God is holy, almighty, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, righteous, and just. He is transcendent, existing outside of our dimensions of time and space. He alone defines love because He is love. He is self-existent, not dependent on any other outside power or authority for His existence. He is compassionate, longsuffering, kind, wise, creative, true, and faithful. 

Praise the Father for who He is. Give glory to God.

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The word translated as honor refers to a valuing by which a price is fixed; it is a price paid or received for a person or thing bought or sold. To honor Jesus is to set the correct value on Him, recognizing His true worth. It is the honor and inestimable value of Christ; it is His preciousness, as the precious cornerstone (1 Peter 2:7).

“If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:17-19).

“For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him” (John 5:22-23).

Because of the great price paid for our salvation, we understand the value of our redemption. We evaluate everything else in our lives in comparison to the value we set in Christ. The greater and more accurately we “assess” and understand His worth, the less valuable all other things will be. We take care of what we treasure; we honor it. We value the sacrifice Christ made on our behalf by the depth of the holiness of our lives. If we do not value Christ, we will improperly estimate the depth of our sin. We will think lightly of sin and take grace and forgiveness for granted. 

What is it in our lives that we need to re-evaluate, by weighing it against our desire to honor Christ above all? Some things we might consider are our reputation, our time, our money, our talents, our resources, and our entertainment. Do I worship God by honoring Christ? When others observe my choices, my words, and my actions, do they see a person who honors Jesus, or would they wonder about my priorities and values?

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“And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

This power refers to the inherent power of God which resides in Him by virtue of His nature. It is the exertion of His strength and ability. This same power is seen many times in Scripture. It is the power by which Jesus performed miracles and the apostles preached the gospel and also did miracles to attest to the truth of their words. It is the same power by which God raised up Jesus from the dead and will one day also raise us up. It is the power of the gospel for salvation.

To give God power is to allow the Spirit of God to live and work and exert His power in our lives. It is to recognize the power that we have by virtue of the indwelling Spirit of God and live in victory, in power, in confidence, and in holiness. It is to face uncertain and “unprecedented” days with joy and hope because they are bringing us ever nearer to the throne!

What in your life are you trying to do in your own strength? Where are you weak? What are the places in your life that you need to allow the Spirit of God to work in you? We can worship God by seeing His power transform our marriages, family relationships, and in raising our children to know and love God. His power enables us to share the gospel in a hostile culture. Personally, we allow the Spirit of God to have rule over our hearts and minds, spending time in prayer and studying God’s word. The more we allow God to transform our lives, the more we are worshipping God, giving attention and praise to His power.

We worship God for who He is, giving Him glory.

We worship Jesus for His preciousness, honoring Him above all things.

We worship the Holy Spirit for His power, as He transforms us into visible manifestations of the glory of God.

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“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

We worship God now to prepare ourselves for eternal worship, but also so that the world can see who God really is and respond by giving Him glory. Making Christ a priority in our lives shows others how to honor and value Jesus as their most precious treasure. Our example of a holy, obedient lifestyle reveals that others can also experience the life-changing, regenerating power of the Holy Spirit.

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:13-16).

Now, more than ever, the world needs to get a glimpse of the God we worship. As Christ-followers, we have an eternal perspective: we get to worship God forever. Our nation is filled with fear and chaos; we are a people divided over many things and our world needs to see who is on the throne in heaven. Worship God today with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, so that others will see His glory, and desire to worship Him too.

“In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:6-8).

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