What the 4 Living Creatures Around God’s Throne Can Teach Us About Prophetic Worship

We continue our study with Revelation 4:9-11:

“When the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and worship Him, who lives forever and ever. Then they cast their crowns before the throne, saying, ‘You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.'”

Here, we see that even the highest authorities in heaven, the 24 elders, cast their crowns before the Lord. Who could presume glory or authority in His presence? The four living beings and the highest elders all worship Him, giving Him glory and honor because all things exist by His will: “In Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28a). Even those who do not acknowledge Him cannot draw a breath without Him.

Because we were created for His pleasure, there is nothing more fulfilling or exhilarating than worshipping Him. Before His throne and glory, it is impossible not to worship Him. This is meaningful to Him, but it can be even more meaningful when we go through this life against the opposition of the hordes of hell. We only see Him by faith, but we still worship Him. Therefore, our worship here in this life can touch Him more than it can in heaven where we cannot help but bow before Him. So do not waste your trials, but rather worship, constantly offering the thanksgiving and praise that He so deserves. When we do this while facing all that we do here, it becomes a witness, even to principalities and powers over which the Lamb prevailed.

We are called to not only see His throne as we obey the voice to “come up here,” but we are also called to sit with Him on this throne (see Eph. 2:6 and Rev. 3:21). This begins with seeing His throne by the Spirit, but how do we go from seeing to occupying? Seeing the Lord—who He is and where He sits—can bring about the greatest single change in our life. However, this is not supposed to be a one-time experience. We are called to “sit” with Him there—to abide in His authority. This must be real and practical, like all biblical truths that have become life to us.

Psalm 78 is an overview of Israel’s history with God, how they experienced His goodness and yet turned away from Him over and over. In verses 41-42 (NKJV) we are told:

“Again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember His power: the day when He redeemed them from the enemy.”

Consider that they “limited God.” How could anyone do that? We do it all the time. We do it the same way Israel did, by not remembering His power.

The Lord is the Almighty and all-powerful. As far as power is concerned, He can do whatever He pleases. He has purposely limited Himself in some ways, requiring that we have faith in Him before He will move on our behalf. It was said of Jesus that He could not do many works in His hometown because of their unbelief. So we limit God when we do not believe in His power, and we release Him to use His power on our behalf when we believe in His power.

So we should continually seek to see Him—who He is and where He sits—on His throne that is above all other powers or authorities. We do this by seeking to see Him in everything that we’re doing, and including Him in all parts of our life.

When the Lord was asked His name, He said that it is “I Am.” His name was not “I Was” or “I Will Be,” but “I Am.” It is a good thing to know the history of the Lord’s dealings with men and how He came as Jesus of Nazareth. But He is no longer Jesus of Nazareth—He is the Lord of glory, who sits on a throne of authority above all others. It is a good thing to see Him as the coming King, but the way we must see Him today is who He is today. That’s why we are exhorted by the Scriptures, “Today if you hear His voice” (Ps. 95:7, MEV) and “now is the accepted time; look, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2).

How would our lives be changed if we remembered the Lord’s power when facing every challenge that comes to us, and prayed with faith for His intervention? What would happen if we stopped limiting God by not remembering His power, and started releasing Him and His power into the earth by always seeing Him as He is now, where He sits now, and even began to sit there with Him? We would begin to live one of the most extraordinary and powerful lives ever. That is our calling. {eoa}

Rick Joyner is the founder and executive director of MorningStar Ministries and Heritage International Ministries and is the senior pastor of MorningStar Fellowship Church. He is the author of more than 40 books, including The Final Quest, A Prophetic History, and Church History. He is also the president of The OAK Initiative, an interdenominational movement that is mobilizing thousands of Christians to be engaged in the great issues of our times, being the salt and light that they are called to be.

This article originally appeared at morningstarministries.org.