Worthy – The Savior’s, Sinner’s and Saint’s position

Recently, while listening on the radio, the song “When the stars burn down (Blessing and Honor)” by Philips, Craig & Dean, I started describing to Reuben, our beloved six year old son, that it is highly likely that the song is based on the events that transpire in heaven as described in book the Revelation in the Bible. Revelation chapter 5 records the account of how Jesus, the Lamb of God (Agnus Dei), who took away the sins of the world (John 1:29), was the only one, worthy to open the book that was sealed and in the hands of God who sat on the throne. Jesus takes the book from the hand of God and the 24 elders that sat around him fell down and worshiped him.

Points to ponder:
The Savior’s position before a Holy God is “Worthy; Only He is Worthy” (Revelation 5:9,12).
The sinner’s (our) position before a Holy God is “NOT Worthy” (Genesis 32:10).
And when we believe in the worthiness of Jesus Christ for he has prevailed in being the acceptable sacrifice of God (Hebrews 10:10-12), we are imputed his righteousness (Romans 4:24; James 2:23) and changed from sinners to saints.
The saint’s position before a Holy God is “To Walk Worthy” (Ephesians 4:1).
As saints, we are called to be ambassadors of him (2 Corinthians 5:20), declaring his worthiness and commanded to Walk Worthy of his calling.

Ascribing one’s worth by honoring and giving glory is to worship and we ought to ascribe to Jesus, The Savior, his worth.
In other words, we ought to worship Jesus because we are NOT worthy and only He is Worthy and we can worship him by our walking worthily, in Him (Ephesians 5:8).
Are we?

Revelation 5:1-14 (KJV)
¹ And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
² And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?
³ And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon
⁴ And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
⁵ And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
⁶ And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
⁷ And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
⁸ And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
⁹ And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
¹⁰ And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
¹¹ And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
¹² Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
¹³ And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
¹⁴ And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

Genesis 32:10 (KJV)
¹⁰ I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; …

Ephesians 4:1-3 (KJV)
¹ I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
² With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
³ Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Why is the Bible called the Holy Bible?

The Bible is referred to as the ‘Holy’ Bible but have you  ever wondered as to what makes a book distinct as being ‘Holy’? The Bible is called the Holy Bible, because the author (i.e. God) is Holy (2 Timothy 3:16; 1 Peter 1:15-16) and it is written so that the readers (i.e. you and me) can be sanctified by internalizing it and become Holy as well. God commands each of us to be Holy, for He is Holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). Each book in the Bible paints the story of a Holy God who sent his Holy Son (Mark 1:24;  1 Peter 2:22), to die for us, an unholy people, so that His Holiness may be imputed on us, when we believe in his Son. In fact, there is no other way for us (readers) to become Holy, except by believing in the Holy Son of God and the ‘Holy Bible’ teaches us that.

Points to ponder:
God requires for us to be Holy for he is Holy. Are you? Am I?
In other words, have you believed in Jesus Christ, the Only begotten Holy Son of God.

1 Peter 1:15-16 (KJV)
¹⁵ But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
¹⁶ Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Understand and stand up(right)

From Daniel 10, we learn that when Daniel was earnestly praying in humility for understanding, an answer to his request was sent, but the angel with the answer was delayed due to an invisible war that ensued in the spiritual dimension, between the forces of evil (prince of Persia and later the prince of Greece) and the forces of God (the angel with the answer and Michael, the archangel). When the angel with the answer, finally arrives after 21 days of warfare, Daniel is helped to his knees (Daniel 10:10) and asked to understand the words that he was spoken to and to stand upright (Daniel 10:11).

Daniel sought to understand and he was asked to understand God’s message. Daniel was also asked to stand upright. Ecclesiastes 7:29 informs us that God hath made man upright but they have sought out many inventions which means that God created man(kind)/people upright (in his own image) but man has chosen his own downward path (NLT) (from and since his rebellion and fall in the garden of Eden). God want us to be restored, to stand up and stand upright (faultless) before God. This is only possible if we understand the message that God has sent to us; the message of God’s inseparable love, in the form of His Only begotten Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16). Jesus Christ is God’s message to mankind. He is the answer to the question – “How can man stand upright?” for it is only Jesus Christ, the only wise God and Savior, who can keep us from falling and present us faultless (upright) before the presence of God’s glory (Jude 1:23).There is no other way to righteousness, to standing upright.

Point(s) to ponder:
1. We must be on our knees (not feet) in order to stand before God!
2. We must believe in the Word of God (Jesus Christ), standing up on our knees in humility accepting His Lordship, so that He can make us stand up(right) before God.
In other words, We must Understand God’s Message to Stand Up(right)!

Ecclesiastes 7:29 (KJV)
²⁹ Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

Daniel 10:10-12 (KJV)
¹⁰ And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.
¹¹ And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.
¹² Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.

The Symbol of Righteousness!

One of the names of the Lord is Jehovah-tsidkenu. This means the Lord our Righteousness.

Interestingly, the Chinese word yi, which means righteousness is comprised of two characters, one on top of the other. The character yang which means lamb is placed on top of the character wo which means me (or self or I). When the lamb is placed on top of self, righteousness results.

Our righteousness are akin to filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) and so on our own merit, we stand no chance. Thankfully, it is not our righteousness that matters. But praise be to God the Father, who made a provision for us to inherit eternal life. When we place our trust in the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29) we are imputed righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Corinthians 1:30). When we place our self underneath the Lordship of the Lamb of God, Righteousness (that matters) results.

Afterlife :: Free from evil

According to the ancient Egyptian belief on afterlife, it was believed that as part of judgment, the dead person addressed forty-two deities by name, declaring to each that he/she was innocent of a specific fault such as murder, theft, lying, blasphemy, and stealing of offerings from the temples of the gods. This was known as the protestation of innocence. Following the protestation of innocence, the dead person’s heart was weighed against the ‘Feather of Truth’ to see if it was pure. If the heart was heavier than the feather (with lies), it was eaten by the devourer (an organism that supposedly had a crocodile’s head, a leopard’s front legs and the back legs of a hippopotamus) and that person ceased to exist forever. In order to live forever, the dead person had to  convince the gods that they were free from evil.

Unlike this belief, where eternal life is dependent on the person’s own ability to convince the gods of his or her righteousness, the Bible states that it is NOT an individual’s personal efforts in this life or the next that purifies the heart and makes on right (without falsity or lies) before God. It is by faith in Jesus Christ and not by our own works that one can be saved (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is only by belief in Jesus Christ that righteousness is imputed on us and this makes us free from evil, and creates in us a clean heart (Psalm 51:10) that can be weighed on any judgment scale and comes out not only light from evil desires, but also right before God.

James 2:@3 (KJV)
²³ And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

Romans 4:20-24 (KJV)
²² And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
²³ Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
²⁴ But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;
²⁵ Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Watching and Listening God

Psalm 34:15, 17  reflects some of the character of God.

Verse 15. which reads “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry” reflect that God is watching and that God is listening.

Verse 17. whcih reads “The righteous cry and the Lord heareath, and delivers them out of all their troubles” accentuates that fact that God is listening and attentive.

However it is imperative to recognize that God’s eyes are ears are focused on those who are righteous. The Bible also states that “our righteousness are like filty rags”, so is God’s eyes and ears on us?
When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and believe in Him, we are imputed righteousness. This righteousness is the righteousness of God.

So the real question is not, are we righteous, but have we accepted and believed, in the only begotten son of God, Jesus Christ, which will impute righteousness in us, turning the face of God to look on us.