Worship Together On Earth As It Is In HeavenSample

God Wants The Nations To Worship Together

Revelation 7:9-10 describes a heavenly “crowd that no one could number ... from every nation, tribe, people, and language. They were standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They wore white robes and held palm branches in their hands. They cried out with a loud voice: “Victory belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” That's the kind of multicultural worship that will take place eternally in the kingdom. 

In this scene, no one in the crowd seems upset that they are standing or not kneeling. They are content wearing white robes and holding their palm branches high. Not one is complaining about standing next to a Korean or an Italian or a South African. If German and Mexican worshipers are nearer the throne than their Kurdish brothers and sisters, no one takes offense. We do not know if their cries of praise are in a single divine language or if thousands of earthly languages are being used all at once. No matter, it is music to Jesus' ears, for it reflects the loving hearts of His people. God's people are together with Jesus at the center.

This is the kind of “together” worship Jesus longs for on earth. He opened the door for this to happen by uniting the nations at the cross. All people are equal at the foot of the cross as we are all sinners. Jesus' death made the way for relationship with God and with one another, with no separation. Now we can come together and worship as one, diverse but unified in Jesus.

The early church learned to embrace God's view of unity. At Pentecost, they saw God reach across cultural lines as men “from every nation under heaven,” who were living in Jerusalem, heard God's truth in their own languages when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples (Acts 2:1-6). Practical decisions had to be made by the church to ensure that the needs of their multicultural congregation were met equally (Acts 6:1-7). Later, God confirmed to Peter that salvation was for all people, not just the Jews (Acts 10:1-48). 

Jesus desired the Temple in Jerusalem to be “a house of prayer for all nations” (Mark 11:17). Are you willing to make your church a place of worship where all nations feel welcome?