There is only one worthy.
Revelation 5 tells us of a scroll of which nobody “in heaven or on earth or under earth” was found worthy to open and read it. John wept when he realised this, with a deep and holy sadness. But as we read on, we find out that Jesus Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah “has triumphed” and is worthy to open the scroll and its seals. At this, the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb and they sang a new song:
“Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals,
because You were slain,
and by Your blood You purchased for God
those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation…”
Revelation 5:9
We were purchased by the blood of Jesus to be righteous and blameless before God, free of all guilt, shame, and condemnation, to be holy and spotless. Our deep, guttural response to this truth is what we call ‘worship’.
In the Old Testament the Hebrew word “Shachah” is used, and in the New Testament the Greek word “Proskuneó” is used, both words mean exactly the same thing: ‘to bow down’ or ‘to prostrate oneself’. If this is not the best picture of true worship, I don’t know what is.This act was used to show deep respect and submission. We shared with the young people last week that worship is about aligning our hearts with God’s, submitting ourselves before Him in order to learn His will for us.
You can see the parallels here between the biblical words ‘shachah’, ‘proskuneó’, and Romans 12:1-3. In the act of bowing down before the Lord, submitting ourselves to Him, offering our bodies as a living sacrifice to Him, He speaks to our hearts and reveals His will for us and His world. As Sami has often said, “worship leads to mission”, because we offer ourselves to Him and in turn, He moves our hearts to devotion and service.
In light of all this, our desire for SJB is that we all would respond in kind to the worthiness of Jesus Christ and His purchasing of us with His blood. We encourage you to use our times of sung worship at church to bow before God, prostrate yourselves before Him whether physically or in your heart, and submit yourselves to Him. This is not about singing songs, this is about the posture of our hearts towards the only one of is worthy. Daniel and Grace, Worship Team Leaders
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