Throne Room of Heaven - Part 1

God first with the comic when committing to encouraging you to put God first, while viewing life through the window now only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob left doing fine. See Thomas for today's message greetings God First Family. It is an honor to be with you again this week for anyone that is joining me for the first time a name is Brian Thomas I greet you today in the name of our wonderful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

And as always we honor to the one and only true God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God of the Bible. What today we are beginning a new series within the book of Revelation and we are looking at worship you ever wonder what heavenly worship is like your wonder what God's throne is like will begin today by looking at worship and look at what is taking place in heaven around the throne of God and we think about worship a lot of different thoughts can come to mind your your thinking about church settings and what is happening in churches you see a lot of different practices a lot of different styles. A lot of different preferences there some churches that are very loud there very animated and very boisterous when it comes to worship. I've been a part of those churches where people are running around the church and so people wouldn't so it sort of lightheartedly described as rolling in the aisles you see that, worship, I've heard of churches in which, as people are entering the church service. The ushers of the greeters are handing out earplugs because the music is so loud and then I've been a part of church service in which there is the smoking is dark and you have the smoke and lights like a concert, so that's on one in of the spectrum. Then, on the other end of the spectrum, you can have the very ceremonious type of worship service to where everything is very liturgical. You're being told what to do and what to say in how to act there some people to say. Well that doesn't seem genuinely doesn't seem like is really coming from your heart. As far as giving worship to our Lord and not here today to debate or to talk about whether that is the case or not but those are the opposite use of the spectrum, and then you know you have was in between the majority of people usually fall somewhere in the middle, but we see a lot of different preferences. A lot of different styles when it comes to worship as we go to look today at heavenly worship. What is going on around God's throne were coming from Revelation chapter 4 verses one through 11 and what we find is that when the apostle John. When he finished pinning the letters to the seven churches that we saw in Revelation chapter 3. The next thing that he sees is a door open to heaven in Revelation chapter 4 verse one it reads after these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven and the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me saying come up here and I will show you things which must take place after this. Again, the first thing to happen to John.

After describing the seven churches is he's being taken up into heaven. Now don't believe that this is a coincidence, John. He is the last remaining of the apostles. He was a member of the universal church and what I believe what we have here is a picture of the rapture. A picture of the rapture the church. This invitation comes from Jesus Christ himself and we see the same terminology used in Revelation chapter 1 verse 10 in which it states I was in the spirit of the Lord's day and I heard the house behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, and we see here in Revelation 41 John hears this voice and the voice was like a trumpet speaking with him saying come up here and I will show you things which must take place again. I think this is a picture of the rapture the church because we look at John chapter 14 verses two through three. This is a great verse a great passage of what our Lord promised us those who put our faith and trust in him. He said in my father's house are many mansions if it were not so I would've told you.

I go to prepare a place for you in if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also. That is was so great about our Lord. He came to the earth became part of mankind. Yes Jesus Christ was God. He was God in the flesh, God the son he came out of the perfect heaven all the luxuries all the splendors all the wonders of heaven, but he came to this earth because he knew that mankind needed a Savior. He saw that CN had came in corrupted mankind and that mankind was eternally destined to heal because of the fact that will there has to be a sacrifice for sin has to be payment for sin. But the thing is, it takes a perfect sacrifice and no human being could fulfill that because no human being is perfect.

Never has been or ever will be, except for the one the man Jesus Christ. And yes, he was fully man, but he was also fully God and the great thing about it is. He made away when he came to this earth. He died for us to sacrifice his life, but then he rose from the dead before he ascended after rising from the dead. He said that I am going to prepare a place for you. He says I am going to come again and receive you where I am that you may be also see the great thing is that when a Christian dies, the soul and spirit go to heaven to be with Christ in the father's house. The body remains in the grave until the resurrection which happens at the rapture of the church for Christians that some out there who would teach soul sleep. They say that when a person dies that their soul is just in the state of sleep that they are not conscious with the apostle Paul stated to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. I don't see any other way to look at that that when we close our eyes on this side of life. When we die physically. We immediately open our spiritual eyes into the presence of Jesus Christ that you bring so much comfort to people who have lost a loved one, especially for ones who are parents and who lost the young child you're grieving for that child.

Are you wondering about that child.

Where are they, how they're doing and what are they doing will you can rest assured that young child that they've not yet reached the age of accountability that the day they died when they close their eyes.

The next moment they were in the presence of Jesus Christ in all his splendor in all of his Majesty there, standing there in all see in Jesus Christ face-to-face, and that is the case for all who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ and so at the rapture. The body is going to rise from the grave and be reunited with soul and spirit that is coming down out of heaven with our Lord and I believe that this rapture takes place before the tribulation. There are different beliefs out there. There are some who believe it happens in the middle of the tribulation saw at the end. Some in the middle of the rafter just before the wrath but either way the rapture is going to take place and I believe we see here is a picture in which our Lord is calling the apostle John. He took him in the spirit to the Lord's day to the future he saying come up here as John sees this door open as we look at chapters 4 and five of Revelation, we see a vision of heaven we come to chapter 6 we see the introduction to the tribulation and I believe that the Bible is shown is here that John is a symbol of the church being taken away before the tribulation begins.

Revelation 310 says because you have kept my command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth. See, for those of us will put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. We are not to be here during this hour of trial. We are not to be here during this time of testing in which the world is going to come unglued and wish demonic spirits are going to run rampant spiritual warfare will be to a level that we've never seen before