Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for August 2, 2015
“A Glimpse of the Throne” Revelation 4:1-11 Bible Study 08/02/15
This morning we turn our attention to one of the most powerful and comforting passages in Scripture. Writing to Christians in crisis for whom persecution and suffering for their faith were realities, John provides a desperately needed perspective. He conveys a vivid portrait of the living God on His throne and in absolute control. In our text, a door is opened for John to get a glimpse of the very throneroom of God. Heaven is real! God is in control and will prevail. Because the Lord is on His throne, experience comfort and express worship.
I. Think about the throne 1-8a
-on the throne
* occupied
* appearance
-around the throne
*rainbow
* 24 thrones
* 4 living creatures
-from the throne
* lightning, sounds, thunder
-before the throne
* 7 torches
* sea of glass
II. Observe the worship before the throne 8b-11
-the object of worship
* holy
* sovereign
* omnipotent
* timeless
-the expression of worship
* prostration
* presentation
* praise
III. For further reflection
-“If you have been resigning yourself to the thought God has left you high and dry, seek grace to be ashamed of yourself…Such unbelieving pessimism deeply dishonors God…The Shepherd does not lose His sheep.” -J. I. Packer
-“To regain her lost power, the church must see Heaven opened and have a transforming vision of God…Not the utilitarian God who is having a run of popularity today, whose chief claim to men’s attention is His ability to bring them success in their various undertakings…The God we must learn to know is the Majesty in the heavens…He it is that sitteth upon the circle of the earth who stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain…who bringeth out His starry host by number and calleth them all by names through the greatness of His power, who seeth the works of man as vanity, who putteth no confidence in princes and asks no counsel of kings.” A. W. Tozer
-“Failure to worship consigns us to a life of spasms and jerks, at the mercy of every advertisement, every seduction, every siren. Without worship we live manipulated and manipulating lives. We move in either frightened panic or deluded lethargy as we are, in turn, alarmed by spectres and soothed by placebos. If there is no center, there is no circumference. People who do not worship are swept into a vast restlessness, epidemic in the world, with no steady direction and no sustaining purpose.” Eugene Peterson
