Glorifying God, requires us to connect with Him and to understand His holiness and character, and the significance of these things in a believer’s life. Exalting God’s glory is indeed one of the core goals of our salvation. We are made to glorify and enjoy God forever. His infinite perfections, His greatness and worth are the manifest beauty of His holiness that set Him apart and He has them in superabundance. His glory is more than a mere reputation; it is a solid, substantial quality. An embodiment of His essential nature that exists independent of anything else. His splendor is the essence of who He is. The infallible beauty of His spirit. These are the qualities of our God that the Bible talks about when reference to His splendor is mentioned. And we are called to do more than envision or form a mental picture of it; we are meant to experience this beauty. You know, if you read the descriptions of the people in the Bible who beheld this beauty, it is always a description of something surreal. A beauty out of this world that even the writers seem to struggle to find befitting words for it. John the revelator says in Revelation 4:2-3: At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. John, here, describes the majestic form and appearance of the Lord and the emblem of His glory and universal dominion. Symbols of the divine and excellent nature of our God. Emblems of His wondrous justice and eternal covenant. If you have read the parts of the scriptures written by John, you notice that he is always very particular with his descriptions of what he saw and experienced. There is barely anything that is lost to him. He is totally engrossed in his experiences. He takes in every sight, every expression, like a man looking straight into heaven. You cannot be this involved in an experience and ever forget its details. If you behold God in His throne like John did, that is an experience that is permanently impressed on you. Whatever experience you may have after that moment, however difficult your trials might be, you will always remember that the heavenly throne is not empty. It is rightfully occupied and the one who sits on it reigns supreme over everything. This is the fundamental truth and the essence of the divine experiences that God exposes us to. To give us assurance that He is our God: That we are not orphaned. This is the reason He invites us to His throne room. For us to behold the self-evident truths of His glorious existence, and to remind us that He is at the center of everything. To elevate us to a new level of confidence and conviction in our faith. You know, this text carries on further evidence to what we have talked about in the past two days: That everything about and around the Lord testifies to His nature. John says that the one that sat on the heavenly throne was like jasper and ruby. Jasper especially the green one is one of the gems regarded as being both beautiful and agreeable to the eye and is therefore considered a symbol of divine consolation. The fiery color of ruby communicates both judgment and the dazzling appearance of the Lord and so the divine nature of God in His glory, justice, holiness and righteousness is represented in John’s vision. John witnessed the radiance of the glory of God and the setting of His throne as the center of sovereignty, power, and glory. He beheld the covenant of mercy. A testament that God limits Himself by His promises. That He is not man that He should go back on His word. John tells us so much about the character, the nature and the splendor of the glory of our God in just two verses. And, yes, we may not see jasper and rubies and rainbows when we approach the throne of God in our worship but we sure are invited to the most beautiful of experiences. This is exactly what we sign up for when w --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pastor-lucy-paynter/support