Words Worth Repeating

Last week in one of Kay Arthur's lecture's she asked the question, "Are you living without knowing Who God is?" And if we know Who God is, are we living according to Who He is? Are we living a life worthy of Who God is?

Revelation 4:11 "Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created."

This song of praise comes from the four living creatures (lion, calf, face of man, eagle) who stand before God's throne and cry "Holy, holy, holy". Saying holy twice gives it emphasis but saying holy three times moves into the SUPERLATIVE. The lion is the king of the beasts. The ox/calf is a symbol of strength. The face of man is he who is above the other creatures, with the ability to communicate. The eagle is the majestic one, who when he is ready to die anchors himself on a rock and looks straight into the face of the sun until he dies.

Revelation 4:8 "And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within: and day and night they do not cease to say, "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY , WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME."

Is God Worthy? Those who have been closest to Him, who have been there from the beginning, cry out that God is "HOLY" or set apart, without taint, a Being of total and absolute perfection. "Holy" sums up all of the attributes of God. Those that hear every decree from the throne, who see how He rules and reigns , cry "Holy, holy, holy." Why? Because He is worthy.

Worthy means inherent value, the value that is within not because of what God has done but because of Who He is. God has INHERENT VALUE. His worth doesn't come from something apart from Himself.

Revelation 4:11 teaches that God is to receive glory, honor, and power. Glory (doxa)means to recognize, to have an opinion. So when we give God glory, it means that WE RECOGNIZE HIM FOR WHO HE IS. Honor (time) which means reverence, proper esteem. We revere God by FEARING HIM. Power (dunamis) means to be able or capable. He is capable of performing everything we see in the Word of God. Why is He capable? Because He has created all things. Nothing in life happens apart from God's intention/will/purpose. God is saying that we exist because He willed us to exist. And yes God willed the devil to exist but not the devil's choice to desire to be like God.

"Will" (thelema) comes from thelo which means "to will". The "-ma" on the end means the result of His will. It is NOT the result of demand but it is an expression of DESIRE, and expression of PLEASURE.

God wants you to know that HE HAS CREATED YOU FOR HIS PLEASURE, to bring Him joy. So when THELEMA is used of God, it indicated what God did of His good pleasure.

Colossians 1:15-16 "And He is the image of the invisible God, the First-born of all creation. (This does not mean Jesus was created but that He was there before creation.) For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created by Him and for Him.

So why were you created? You were created for God, for His good pleasure. Are you living for His pleasure or for your own pleasure? Are you living according to Who He is? Are you living according to the fact that He is worthy to receive glory and honor and power?

~Kay Arthur