The True King is in the Invisible World 

Worship Message No. 21_January 25: Revelation Chapter 4 

[Title] 

Sermon Title: The True King is in the Invisible World 

Scripture: Revelation Chapter 4

Introduction

Good morning, everyone. My name is Tabata from Kurobe Charis Agape Church. Some of you might be visiting the church for the first time today. 

Welcome. 

When living in Kurobe, Toyama, you feel the changes of the seasons very clearly, don’t you? 

In the snowy season, you wake up in the morning, look out the window, and check, “How much has it piled up today?” or “Are the roads okay?” 

When spring comes, you feel relieved seeing the snow melt on the mountains. 

We live while always worrying somewhere, looking at the sky, mountains, and sea, thinking “Is today, okay?” or “What will happen next?”

In your 40s and 50s, it’s not just about the “weather” anymore. 

In the morning, you open your smartphone and look at the news. 

News about the economy, rising prices, talk about pensions, news about wars. 

In your notifications, company emails and LINE messages keep coming in. 

And somewhere in your heart, you might think: “Is it really going to be okay in the future? 

My job, my family, my old age… what is going to happen to this country and the world?”

At this age:

• Responsibilities at work become heavy, and you have to look after subordinates.
• At home, children grow up, and parents start to get old.
• You start worrying about mortgages, education costs, caring for parents, and your own health. You don’t say it much to others, but don’t you ever wake up at night and find yourself brooding while staring at the ceiling? 

“I’ve worked hard in my own way up to this point, but can I really keep going from now on?” 

“If I lose my job, if I lose my place, who will I become?”

We try to work harder to fill that void. 

We try to save more money. 

We try to get more recognition and produce results. 

But strangely, the harder you work, the more “peace of mind” doesn’t necessarily increase. 

Somewhere, you might feel like: 

“It’s like I’m being made to run a marathon where I don’t know where the goal is.”

In the last book of the Bible, called the “Revelation of John,” a somewhat unexpected scene appears. 

It is not a scene of “the earth full of anxiety,” but a scene of “another world.” 

There, a “center that never moves” is depicted, different from the world we see every day in the news or on social media. 

Today, from Revelation Chapter 4, I would like to look at a scene of that “invisible world” together. 

There, the Bible tells us, is the True King—not a “distant God” who doesn’t know your life, but a King who knows your anxieties, your failures, and even your hard work up to this point.

Let us read Revelation Chapter 4 from the Bible.

Connecting text immediately after reading (Introduction to the main points)

“We have just read a scene from Revelation Chapter 4. After talking about earthly reality (troubles and battles) in chapters 2 and 3, in chapter 4, the perspective is suddenly lifted in a ‘vertical direction.’ (If you are interested, please watch the Revelation series. It will feel even more realistic.) 

It might have been a slightly mysterious scene, like something out of a movie. 

What John saw was ‘a door standing open in heaven.’ 

This is an invitation to be released from earthly gravity and update your life with a ‘perspective from above.’

The first thing John saw in heaven was the ‘throne’ behind the system and ‘someone sitting on it.’ 

Our lives seem to be moved by coincidence, luck, or someone’s ill will. 

However, the Bible declares. At the center of the world, there is a ‘chair that is not vacant.’ 

And around it, day and night, never-ending worship is being offered. 

Furthermore, there was a scene where people holding their own crowns were casting their crowns before the King.

This is not just a ‘religious fantasy’ or a ‘scary end-time scene.’ 

Through this vision, the Bible is trying to teach us 

‘a reality that is invisible but actually exists.’ 

From here, I would like to think about three things together. 

First is ‘The Invitation to Change Your Perspective.’ 

An invitation to look at the ‘world above’ rather than just earthly anxieties. 

Second is ‘Placing Your Own Crown Before the True King.’ 

That is, stepping down from a way of life where you are at the center. 

And third is ‘That King is Jesus Christ.’ 

Whether you can welcome this person as the King of your life.

First, let’s look at the 

‘Invitation to Change Your Perspective’ contained in this vision.”

① “Invitation to Change Your Perspective” Intro Part 

“The first point is the ‘Invitation to Change Your Perspective.’ 

At the beginning of Revelation 4, John was in the midst of earthly reality. 

The church was small, there was persecution, and looking only at the situation, it didn’t look like there was much hope. 

To him, a voice was heard saying, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this’ (4:1).

This doesn’t mean ‘Run away from reality.’ 

Instead, it is an invitation to update: ‘Stop judging by looking only at the earth, and try looking at life from a “perspective from above,” from God’s side.’ 

We, too, usually live with a ‘perspective from below.’ 

We judge our value based on our company’s situation. 

We calculate future security based on the balance in our bank accounts. 

Our mood for the day goes up and down based on people’s evaluations or reactions on social media. 

Of course, those are all practically important things. 

However, if you live only with that ‘perspective from below,’ your heart will be shaken every time the things you see shake.

The God of the Bible, just as He said to John, is inviting each one of us: ‘Come up here.’ 

‘Don’t judge your life just by news, numbers, or evaluations. 

Look at your life once more from the perspective of the One who sees everything, for there is a throne in heaven.’ 

Faith is not ‘not looking at reality,’ but a way of living where you ‘look at God first before looking at reality.’ 

By reviewing your work, money, family, and old age from the premise that there is a throne in heaven and a True King, a mysterious peace flows in.”

② “Placing Your Own Crown Before the True King” Part “

The second point is ‘Placing Your Own Crown Before the True King.’ 

In Revelation Chapter 4, people called ‘twenty-four elders’ appear. 

They were ‘clothed in white’ and had ‘crowns of gold on their heads’ (4:4). 

In other words, they each had their own ‘honor,’ ‘achievements,’ and ‘rewards’ recognized before God.

We in our 40s and 50s also have our own ‘crowns.’ 

The career we’ve worked hard for. 

The money we’ve accumulated so we can live without want. 

Our family, our children, the home we’ve protected. 

Trust from others, reputation, pride. 

None of these are bad things. 

Rather, I think they are ‘treasures’ that we have built up with all our might in the life we were given.

However, the Bible describes what those elders did as follows. 

They ‘fall down before him who sits on the throne’ and ‘lay their crowns before the throne’ (4:10). 

It is a picture of them confessing: 

‘Everything I have was given to me by You. The one who is truly worthy is not me, but You alone.’

Before we know it, we live as if ‘I am the King.’ 

‘I got this by my own strength.’ ‘This is mine.’ 

‘I’m not satisfied unless things go my way.’ 

Such a heart is in everyone. 

But as you get older, more things come up that you cannot control. 

Illness, accidents, restructuring, family problems… 

No matter how hard you work, a moment comes when ‘your own throne’ wobbles.

That problem you are desperately trying to control, and are exhausted because it’s not going well. 

Actually, there is a ‘Chief Executive Officer’ who thinks more deeply about it than you do and governs it perfectly. 

That person does not panic; He is sitting firmly. 

Revelation Chapter 4 shows one way there. 

It is the way to stop ‘continuing to be the King yourself’ and to ‘place your crown before the True King.’ 

It means to offer up: 

‘God, please use what I have been clutching for myself until now for You.’ It is to confess: 

‘I choose Your will to be done over my plans or pride.’

Becoming a Christian is not 

‘starting some new religious rules.’ 

At the deepest level, it is ‘stepping down from the throne yourself and having the True King sit there.’ 

There is only one ‘throne’ in your heart. 

Who is sitting there now? 

Is it yourself? 

Or is it work? 

Is it money? 

Is it social standing? 

The elders in Revelation 4 fell down before that throne and placed their crowns before the King. 

In the same way, we can pray: ‘God, I step down from a self-centered way of life. 

Please, you become my King.'”

③ “That King is Jesus Christ” 

“Then, who specifically is that ‘True King’ on the throne? 

The Bible tells us that person is Jesus Christ. 

Jesus Christ is not just a religious figure or a person who gave great teachings. 

The Bible says Jesus is the ‘Son of God,’ the ‘One who is the God who created heaven and earth, but became human.’

The One who is the True King left His position and glory and came to this earth as a human being with the same weaknesses and pain as us. 

Why? 

It is to bring us—who are living without God, acting as our own kings—back into a relationship with God. 

On the cross, Jesus bore all our sins, selfishness, pride, and unbelief, and offered His life, saying, 

‘I will take your place.’ 

And the Bible says He rose on the third day and is now sitting at the right hand of the throne in heaven.

Therefore, on the throne in Revelation 4, there is not a cold God who doesn’t know us, 

but Jesus who knows your pain, weakness, loneliness, and even those ‘regrets you couldn’t speak of.’ 

Jesus said: 

‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11:28). 

This is not an invitation to ‘well-behaved people.’ 

Rather, it is an invitation to those who feel, ‘I can’t do this with just my own strength anymore.’ 

Those of you who have run with all you might into your 40s and 50s might be carrying feelings somewhere in your heart like, 

‘Actually, I wanted someone to support me’ or 

‘Actually, I wanted to show my weakness.’

Jesus Christ knows your true feelings and says: 

‘You don’t have to keep carrying that burden alone. 

Step down from your throne and welcome Me as your King. I will carry your life with you.’ 

Becoming a Christian is not becoming a perfect person or becoming religiously upright. 

It is ‘handing over the steering wheel of your life to Jesus, the True King.’ 

It is deciding in your heart, ‘Jesus, I want to walk with You from now on.'”

[Conclusion: Looking Up at Heaven from Kurobe] 

…The scenery of Revelation 4 that I spoke about today is not a story of the distant future. 

It is the ‘truth’ that even at this moment, the God who loves you is at the center. 

When you climb to the peak of the Tateyama Mountain Range, the bustle of the world below looks small, and the clear sky feels close. 

This chapter 4 is our spiritual hiking trail. 

Kurobe Charis Agape Church is a place for you to set down that heavy crown for a moment and touch the ‘Grace (Charis)’ and ‘Love (Agape)’ of the One on the heavenly throne. 

This Agape means unconditional love. 

This concept is: ‘Just as a parent loves their child unchangingly even when they fail, something even greater than that is directed from God to you.’ 

It is a place where you can emerge from the fog of life and touch the famous pure water of peace flowing from the throne of heaven.

The gate of heaven is open. God desires for you to stop trying to do everything by yourself and to entrust that burden to Him. 

Today, in this worship, if there is anyone who wishes to 

‘end a life lived by clutching my own crown’ or 

‘step down from a way of life where I am king and welcome Jesus Christ as my King,’ 

now is the time to take that step.”

[Invitation to Decision] 

“I would like you to quietly close your eyes here. 

This is not a religious ritual, but a time to look at the true feelings of your heart before God. 

If you feel, 

‘I want to entrust my life to Jesus Christ’ or 

‘I want to welcome Him into my heart as the True King,’ 

please try to pray the words I am about to pray in your heart as your own words. 

Let us pray: 

‘God. 

Until now, I have lived with myself at the center. 

I did not know You and relied on my own thoughts and strength. 

Today, I heard about Jesus Christ. 

I believe that You, the True King, died on the cross for my sins and rose again. 

Now, I place my “crown,” my self-centered way of life, before You. 

Please forgive me. 

And Jesus Christ, come into my heart and become my King. 

Let me walk the rest of my life with You. 

In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.’