Everyone seems to be concerned with what they deserve, with what is fair. People are self-centered and often feel that they are not getting what they deserve in life. What about God? Is he getting what he deserves from you?

Are you serving him out of obligation? Too often Christians drag themselves to church, forcing themselves to serve others, but their heart is not in it. They are attempting to live Holy because that is what you are supposed to do. For them, worship and service have just become burdensome and joyless.

What can change this? Getting a reminder of who God is, what He has done, and what He deserves. Once you get ahold of those things, service is no longer a burden but a joy!

After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.
And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. -  Revelation 4:1-11

He is Eternal

The Lord deserves your worship because he is eternal. God transcends time, Deuteronomy 33:27 says that he is our eternal refuge. He is not just a temporary refuge but is our permanent refuge.

He operates outside of time

Time does not constrain God:

Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.
For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. - Psalms 90:1-4

He existed before time began (John 17:5). He spoke time into existence; before God created the Heavens and the earth, time did not exist.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. - Genesis 1:1-5

He will exist at the end of time. One day the Heavens and the Earth will be replaced (Revelation 21:1), but God will still be there. We operate on a linear timeline; we view time as being linear. In other words, for us, time must have a past, present and a future, but time doesn’t constrain God, he created it, and he will still be God at the end of what we call time:

 I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations.
Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. - Psalms 102:24-27

His benefits are eternal

Since God is eternal, all of his benefits are eternal as well. You don’t need to worry about the blessings of God wearing down, or running out. If someone has made you promises, those promises are only good for as long as that individual can guarantee them. In the case of the benefits of God, since he is eternal, so are all of his benefits. We sing a song that encourages us to count all of our blessings, but I would submit to you that is an impossible task. His benefits are without number; however here are just a few:

• Mercy (Psalms 106:1)
• Love (Jeremiah 31:3)
• Power (Psalms 66:7)
• Righteousness (Psalms 111:3)
• His word (Isaiah 40:8)
• Promises (Isaiah 55:3)
• Gifts (Romans 11:29)
  • Namely the gift of Eternal Life (John 6:47)

He is your creator

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. - Revelation 4:11

God deserves your worship, just because he is the creator of:

• Heavens (Isaiah 40:21-26)
• Sun & Moon (Jeremiah 31:35)
• Land & Sea (Isaiah 40:12)
• Plants (Psalms 104:14-16)
• Animals (Job 12:6-10)
• Man (Isaiah 45:12)

Not only does He deserve your worship for being the creator, but He deserves your worship because he is active in His creation.

• He holds it all together (Colossians 1:16-17)
• He provides for all plant life (Leviticus 26:4)
• He controls the weather (Psalms 135:7)

It would be enough of a reason to worship him for being the creator, but he also deserves your worship for staying active and involved in His creation. He did not just set the creation up, and leave it to itself, and he does not intend to leave you to yourself either. He wants to have a relationship with his creation, which brings us to our next point.

He is your Redeemer

And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?
And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. - Revelation 5:1-10

You need a redeemer. Everyone thinks that they are good, they are pure in their own eyes (Proverbs 30:12, Proverbs 16:2). Stop trying to be good enough to gain favor with God. Your goodness cannot save you. Gods law was given to us, to show us the fact that we need a redeemer:

But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster - Galatians 3:22-25

You are a sinner

You were born a sinner; you didn’t just become a sinner the first time that you did something wrong, you were born in sin. You cannot do anything to change this fact, that is why you need a redeemer.

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: - Galatians 3:13

Jesus redeemed you from the slave market of sin. He purchased you out of that slave market for a price (1 Corinthians 6:19), and that price was Gods own blood (Acts 20:28). He sacrificed himself so that he could sanctify you (Hebrews 10:14), and to justify you:

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. - Romans 5:1-9

Source of your justification

The source of your justification is Gods grace. You can’t justify yourself; there is nothing that you could do that would satisfy the justice that your sin deserves.

Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: - Romans 3:24

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9

Grounds of your justification

The grounds of your justification is Gods blood. The shedding of your blood would not be enough for justification, because your blood is tainted. It took Gods own blood to justify you and to free you from your sin:

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:8

Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. - Acts 20:28

 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? - Hebrews 9:11-14

Conditions of your justification

Before you can be justified, there is a condition that you must meet; That condition is that you must believe.

But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. - Romans 4:5

Justification is offered to every person, it does not matter who they are, where they come from, what they have done in the past. If they put their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, he will save them from their sin.

Belief is not just believing the facts that surround the Lord Jesus Christ, or just believing in God. The devil believes in God (James 2:19), a simple belief that God exists, or just a belief in the facts of his life will not save you. You must apply what you know.

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. - Romans 10:9-13

Have you worshipped God out of obligation? Or have you worshipped him for being:

• Eternal
• Your Creator
• Your Redeemer

Have you accepted the justification that he is offering as a free gift? If not, please make today the day of your salvation, by merely putting your faith and trust in the finished work that he did in your place on the cross of Calvary.

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. - 2 Corinthians 5:21