A Whole New World ~ Revelation 5:11-14 ~ Third Sunday of Easter

Chances are, if you are at least my age or younger; or you have children or grandchildren—you’ve seen the Disney animated classic Aladdin.

But if you haven’t: Aladdin is a small-time thief who comes into possession of a magic lamp.  He rubs the lamp, and out comes a monstrous-but-jolly-and-fast-talking genie who grants Aladdin three wishes.

His greatest wish is to become a prince, so he can marry the enchanting Princess Jasmine.  He gets his wish, and, in one of the most spectacular scenes of the movie, he takes Jasmine on a magic carpet ride.  He shows her “a whole new world,” as the theme song from the movie goes…

You could say that John (the author of Revelation) is on “a magic carpet ride of sorts.”  The Holy Spirit snatches John up from the earth and shows him “the whole new world” that is soon to be.  He’s now in the throne room for the seat of power in the universe—and on the throne sits none other than the Lamb who’s been slaughtered.  We know this Lamb as Jesus who is the Christ.

Surrounding the throne are thousands upon thousands of angels, elders, and living creatures—bowing down and singing their worship.

If the words of their chorus sounded familiar to you, there’s a reason for that: we sing them every week in the canticle of praise which we know by name This is the Feast.

This is the future: in the world that is to come, all creation will be united in everlasting praise for Christ.  So if you’ve ever asked the question, “what will we do in the next life?”  Revelation gives us the answer: WORSHIP!

Worship is what happens when any living creature gets swept up into the saving grace of God’s Holy Lamb.  When Christ’s love reaches into our existence, we are radically transformed.  (1) We are born again into Christ.  Sin and selfishness melts away into love and forgiveness and mercy.  (2) Fear is transformed into hope.  (3) Instead of Jesus being some far-off, distant divine, Jesus becomes present with us.  Jesus fills our being: we hear his voice as he speaks from the word; his commands and promises challenge our minds; our emotions are stirred as the word comes to us in music.  His presence warms our hearts in the company of our fellow believers.  We taste his goodness in the bread and wine that are his body and blood. 

Whenever we worship Jesus Christ, the world as we know it disappears.  The Holy Spirit snatches us up out of the doldrums of our earthly existence to transport us to the world that is to come—where suffering and pain will not even be a memory, and when nothing stands between us and the Savior who loves us. 

Is that how you experience worship?  Are you lifted up into a whole new world?  Or are you like me?  Do you wish that your experience of worship was this powerful, but you struggle?

How wonderful it would be to truly be able to stop all the world and just be in the presence of Christ; with no worries, no fears to weigh us down, no distractions, no barriers; just Jesus.  But it isn’t that easy.  The sad truth is that our “baggage” has a funny way of following us into God’s house.  Worship demands energy and focus that we sometimes don’t have.  It’s not hard for worship to feel like a “going through the motions.”  It is so tempting to give up on worship—because we can’t get into the spirit.  We get nothing out of it.

But God does not bring us to worship for “what we can get out of it.”  God uses worship to get you out of it—to lift you up from your pain and your weariness, so to join you to the living Christ.  So if you come here today empty and broken, even with no faith to speak of, you have come to the right place and the right time.  Worship begins with surrender.  We come before God as empty vessels; tired, worn, weary; stained by the iniquity of our sin.  And Jesus gives us what we need:  eternal life…  The forgiveness of our sins…  And hope for tomorrow…

Christ is meeting to you today in this time of worship.  So be here in the presence of God; participate in the singing and the hearing—and the receiving.  Come here to be bold and defiant against everything that is working against your faith.  Then rest assured—the risen Christ will meet you.  You will be lifted up in faith; strengthened in hope; formed in love.  Worship will pour forth from you because you are in Christ.

And finally today, challenge yourself with these two questions: what about our worship in this church brings you the joy of Jesus?   And, is there something new or different that would help me experience his joy more fully?  The most important work we do as a church is creating for you and for all an encounter with the living Christ in our worship together—and this is one area where there is always room for growth.  Think about it, pray about it, and let us know what you need, so that we can make sure that the gifts God has given this congregation build you up in faith in the best way possible.  Let us pray…