Address—N. Simon
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If we could begin this afternoon by singing.
The first 2 verses only of #150 Thou art the everlasting word, the Father's only Son. God manifest, God seen and heard the heavens, beloved, 1 worthy, O Lamb of God, art thou that every knee to thee should bow Just verses one and two.
Thou art the Merlot City work.
See, I remember.
Just look to the Lord for his help.
So the subject that I have in my heart this afternoon is the subject of worship.
And I realize that it's a subject that to speak on, there are certain dangers.
And perhaps I will touch on that at the end, but I think it's a necessary subject.
Because I believe that we live in a day not unlike the day of Malachi. And so I just wanted to look at a couple of verses in the book of Malachi in the first chapter.
Malachi chapter one and verse six. The son honoured his father, and a servant his master. If then I be a father, where is mine honour? And if I be a master, where is my fear? Saith the Lord of hosts, unto you, O priest, that despise my name, and ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
You offer polluted bread upon Minolta, and you say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say the table of the Lord is contemptible or of no value.
A thing to be despised, I believe. In the first chapter of Malachi we have especially brought before us the subject of worship.
In the third chapter where it speaks of tithing, we have that which pertains to service. But here in the beginning of Malachi we read that they brought their lame their their broken to offer us sacrifices contrary to the law. They didn't show a reverence to God as their master and I believe we live in a day where there is a lack of reverence for God.
And a lack of a sense as to what worship really is.
Rick Warren in his book A Purpose Driven Life, which is I believe probably long fallen off the bestseller list for Christian literature, he writes in there that anything we do that brings pleasure to God is worship. I would suggest that is quite false. That is not worship, that is service. But that's our nature, that's our hearts, that when we lose that first love.
When we lose that affection, then we want to make up for it by service.
But then when the service becomes drudgery, we give that up as well. You know Moses, I mean not Moses. Abraham in the Genesis 22.
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It says and we you don't need to turn to all these verses. We know the story well. He went to offer a burnt offering and we know that his obedience certainly brought pleasure to God. The Word of God tells us so, but he went to worship. It wasn't the going itself that was worship, but the ultimate sacrifice that He was to offer.
That was worship.
And just why were there? It's an interesting point to note. Of course, we know that he didn't have to offer up his Son. God says my son, God will provide.
Himself a lamb. It doesn't say that God will provide Abraham a lamb, but God provided himself a lamb, and indeed, God did provide himself a lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. So what is worship? Well, I believe worship is that adoration that flows from our heart when we think upon the glories and the perfection and the beauties of the Father and His who we know.
Through the Lord Jesus Christ.
When we exalt his Son and bring him before God the Father, and that is worship. Worship is really occupied with who God the Father is and His Son rather than what they have done.
It's an occupation with who they are.
That that response flows forth from our hearts and we'll look at some of these things as we go through the word of God and look at.
Very briefly.
Some subjects in connection with worship. So let's turn to John chapter 4.
John, chapter 4, the woman at the well, we know it quite well. A little background is helpful. The woman was a Samaritan. And who were the Samaritans? Well, you can hold your place in First John, and I'll just turn back to First King, Second Kings, the 17th chapter.
And there we find that the king of Assyria came and took the northern 10 tribes captive, and as was common in those days, he placed into the land peoples that he had taken captive from other countries. The reason they did that is it completely destroyed the social fabric. So the people were less likely to rebel. They weren't organized. Everything that they had known was destroyed and broken up, and they were deposited in this foreign country.
And we find there in verse 24 of second king 17 the king of Assyria.
Men from Babylon, from Kuta, and I won't go through it for the sake of time. And he brings these people into the land of Israel, the northern part of the Kingdom.
And we find that there was trouble in the land and they said.
Well, it's because we don't know the gods of the land in verse 28. Then one of the priests whom they carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel and taught them how they should fear the Lord.
Rather striking that a priest from the I presume that he was from that what he was he whom they had carried away from Samaria. Priests from those northern 10 tribes would even have any knowledge of how to worship Jehovah, since Jeroboam has set up a false religion which those people had continued to worship throughout their history.
But notice in verse 32 it says so these people who became known as the Samaritans, they feared Jehovah and made unto themselves of the laws of them priests of the high places, which sacrifice for them in the House of the high places. They feared Jehovah and served their own gods. That was the character of Samaritan worship. They feared Jehovah and worshipped their own gods. And so here we have in the fourth of John a Samaritan woman.
Oh again, I won't go for the sake of time, go through the full story, but she is in conversation with the Lord Jesus. Of course she did not recognize him. She did not know who he was. And the Lord touches a little close to her own personal life. So she quickly changed the subject to a religious one. And she says in verse 20 of John four, our fathers worshipped in this mountain and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
And Jesus said unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father. Ye worship. Ye know not what we know, what we worship. For salvation is of the Jews. For the hour cometh. And now is when true, the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.
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And this few simple verses spoken of all things.
To this woman whose moral life was anything but exemplary.
We have unfolded to us some very important principles in connection with worship.
You know, the Samaritans had a copy of the law, and we have it to this day. It's called the Samaritan Pentateuch. And in the Samaritan Pentateuch it says that Mount Gerizim was this place. Whether they were to worship, we know that was false. And throughout the history of man, he has taken that which God has given him and falsified it to suit his own.
Desires and and wants.
To justify what he does. And so the Samaritans actually had a holy writing that confirmed what they believe, but it was, as I said, false. And so the Lord makes it very clear to her. She says, he says to her, woman, believe me, sorry, verse 22, ye worship, you know, not what they did not have a revelation from God and what they had had been tampered with and falsified.
But then the Lord begins to contrast what was in Judaism with what we now have in Christianity.
And there are four important points.
The Lord says about the hour cometh. You see, it wasn't present then, but the hour cometh. And now is when the true worshippers shall worship #1 The Father. This was completely new. A Jew worshiped God. He had been revealed to him as Jehovah, the Eternal One. That was his knowledge of God. And the Jew most certainly had a revelation from God.
And then?
It says.
You worship the Father and then in spirit again in connection with Jewish worship. It was not spiritual worship. It was a worship characterized.
By robes and by ceremonies, by that which was appealed naturally to man. It was not a worship in spirit and then finally in truth.
In connection with the Jews, as I said, they had a revelation from God, so it could be said of them that they worshipped in a degree of truth according to the revelation that they had received.
There was one other point. There's the four points. The first one actually is back in verse 21 where it says.
Woman, believe me, the hour cometh when you shall neither in this mountain nor yet in Jerusalem worship the Father. So Christian worship is not centered at Jerusalem as was Jewish worship. So the four things, just to recap.
Christian worship, in contrast to Jewish worship, is not at Jerusalem. Secondly, we worship God as Father, not as Jehovah.
Thirdly, our worship is in spirit, not in outward forms and ceremonies.
And finally, we worship in truth and the truth in which we worship is a much fuller revelation, the fullest revelation that we could have of God as Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. And we've been brought into a place of untold privilege that a Jew never knew, that you never even knew that the assurity of his own salvation. And you just need to read through the Psalms and you can see that reflected. There are many practical lessons in the Psalms and, and, and many things that we can enjoy.
Christ certainly appears in the Psalms, as we read in first Peter one. The Spirit of Christ speaks out in those Psalms, and so we can relate to them as a Jew never could relate to them. But for us to take up singing the Psalms as Christian hymns is to misunderstand who they were directed to, and is not to worship in truth the truth, the revelation that we have received. But I'd like to go back first of all, and talk a little bit about the place.
Now, I have been reminded recently that there are those that are offended by the notion of one place.
I also had a brother tell me recently that we are referred to as one placers. You know, if an expression is not scriptural and it causes offense, it should not be used.
If an expression happens to be scriptural but is confusing and complacent and conveys little helpful information, it should be used with caution.
But when we have an expression that is simple enough and I believe is scriptural and we are offended by it, we should be challenged by that. We shouldn't shut our ears and say, I don't want to hear it. You know, you can find examples in the Gospels very readily that says the Jews were offended.
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By him, because of his sayings, essentially you're covering your ears and saying I don't want to hear this.
I am certainly not desirous of offending anyone this afternoon.
Believe me, I am not.
But to upfront say I don't want to hear something because it's offensive. It's a dangerous position to take. You know, I recently read a book.
And it was written by a man who was an atheist, and he was challenged to read the gospels.
And he read the Gospels, and what he expected to find was moralistic mythologies.
The man. Some of you may figure out who he is as I talk. He's a He's a fairly well known figure, an author and speaker.
But anyway, he started reading the Gospels and he discovered as a detective that what he was reading were very reasonable eyewitness accounts by the apostles and and the other Luke and Mark who were not apostles. But the question naturally arises, what did you do about the miracles? The natural man doesn't receive miracles. And he said as a detective he learned that if you shut out possibilities up front and refuse to accept them, you.
Going to come to the wrong conclusions. And so, dear brethren, if you shut out certain truths as being offensive because you don't want to hear them, you will end up going down the wrong path.
You know, back, let's turn back to Deuteronomy. Well, first of all, let's make it clear that in Christianity we are most certainly as we go through this, we'll discover that in Judaism there was something that was.
Very material and very natural in nature. In Christianity we have a counterpart, but it is spiritual. And so in Israel there was a physical alter. In Christianity we have an altar, but it is spiritual.
And so let's make it very clear that when we speak of one place, it is not one physical place like the city of Jerusalem, but it is Christ himself. And so let's start with that in Hebrews 13 before we go to Deuteronomy.
In verse 13 says, Let us go forth therefore unto him, without the camp, bearing his reproach.
There are so many things that I wish to cover at this point I'm not sure I know or feel my way through them in a logical order, but bear with me.
There were certain sacrifices.
Well, in connection with the sin offering Leviticus chapter 4, there were two where the sacrifice was taken without the camp.
And in Leviticus 4 it begins with if the priest that is anointed through sin according to the sin of the people and that.
Goes through talking about the sin of the high priest and ends at verse 12. And in verse 12 it says even the whole Bullock shall he carry forth without the camp unto a clean place. And then in verse 13 it speaks of if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the things that be hid from the eyes of the assembly and so forth.
And you read on down and verse 21. And he shall carry forth the Bullock without the camp. I believe, if I'm not mistaken, that these were the only two in connection with the sin offering that were taken without the camp. The principle is, is in the case of the high priest having sinned, or the case of the congregation having sinned, the camp was seen, the camp of Israel was seen as being defiled, and it was necessary for the sacrifice to be separated from it.
Taken without the camp, and you go back to Numbers 11, and you see an instance with a Tabernacle was pitched without the camp. Similar circumstances, defilement had come in, and it was necessary to move without the camp. Well, Christ has suffered without the gate.
And.
Again, these things are so interconnected. I'm afraid that I'm going to.
Confuse everyone, but we'll get back to this as we talk about the other three points there from John chapter 4 but.
It says there in Hebrews 13.
That we have. Let me read it.
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We are in verse 10, we have an altar whereof they which, wherefore they have no right to eat which serve the Tabernacle. I just want to emphasize here before we get back to it, how completely separately Christ separated himself from that Jewish system and has gone outside the camp and we are now to go unto Him without the camp and those that continue to serve the Jewish altar had no place.
With the Christians who who went unto Christ without the camp.
And so we too have a place of gathering, and that place is Christ, as I said, no longer a physical place. It is a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so then the question naturally arises, well, can there be multiple places, multiple gathering points? Can the Spirit of God gather different believers separately and, and?
In division from each other, I think the answer again is something that.
Scripture gives us quite clearly and plainly, and in First Corinthians chapter one it says in verse nine, God is faithful by whom you were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. We do not create fellowships. It is His fellowship and we are called unto it. There is one Christ, there is one fellowship. And so it says in verse 13, is Christ divided? And the answer is no.
In Speaking of these things.
I think it's helpful to recognize the confusion of the day in which we live, and I don't deny it.
But when John wrote his epistles, and John's epistles were, and the Revelation were the last of their the last of the New Testament Canon, I suspect, to be completed.
He wrote in a day when already error was creeping in to Christianity. Thoughts contrary to the concerning the person of the Lord Jesus Christ was creeping into Christianity, and if one looked around on the practice of things, it would have been a confusing day. And so when John writes, you might have often heard it spoken of in assembly meetings. He speaks abstractly.
That is to say, he gives the essence of the thing.
And not a particular example. So if I was to draw an abstract picture of a house, I would draw a square with a triangle on the top and a couple of squares for Windows and a door. You would all know that I'm describing a house.
But you probably wouldn't say, is that your house? It's a house. So to understand these things, and I'm not, I don't have time to go into the subject deeply this afternoon because a, what's in my heart is really the subject of worship.
Is you need to get an abstract picture that is to say the essence of what the church should look like and not what you see round about you. I don't know how many times I've heard a young person say to me, well.
Everyone has some truth, but they all have some error and apparently that means it doesn't really matter.
If you were trying to find your way through a forest and you looked about, you could see some people headed on a path that way and some people headed on a path that way. You could just join yourself to a group and hope you get to the right place.
Alternatively, consult a map, but you would certainly never say, well, everyone's probably a little bit right and probably a little bit wrong, so it doesn't matter. That's nonsensical. And so I just want to emphasize you need you and I need to get a clear picture of what the church is from a biblical perspective without reference to anything around you, without anything, any.
Quite apart from.
Who we want might be or what you might have heard someone say. You need to get a clearer picture of what the Church of God looks like from God's standpoint. I did want to turn to Deuteronomy 12. That time is going by so quickly. When Israel entered the land, they were told that the nations that worship there worshipped under on every hill and under every green tree, and they were told most emphatically.
That's not the way that you are to worship Jehovah God. There will be one place where I will set my name, and it's unto that one place that you are to go and to worship.
When we get to the dividing of the Kingdom in First Kings.
13, I think it is. We had it actually yesterday and I again, I'll just go over it very quickly.
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Jeroboam separated the 10 tribes from Judah and Benjamin and the Levites, and because he was concerned that his people would go back to Jerusalem to worship and their hearts be turned away from him, he established a false center.
Of worship, And he set a calf up in Dan, and a calf up in Bethel, and he established his own religion.
His own priests, his own feast days, and so on and so forth.
And in a situation like that, you might say, well, that's very clear. Clearly Jeroboam system of worship was false. It was contrary to the word of God.
And those places that he set up to worship were not a divine center at all. But in the history of Judah, things weren't always so clear either. Things get murky. And so if we turn to Second Chronicles chapter 29.
In the days of Ahaz, we find something that answers to the present day in which we live.
Second Chronicles 28, actually.
And in verse 22 it says in the time of his distress that he did trespass yet more against the Lord, that is, that is that king Ahaz.
That's what defined him, for He sacrificed unto the gods that the masters which smote him. And he said, because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, therefore I was sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him and all, of all Israel. And as gathered together the vessels of the House of God. And he cut in pieces the vessels of the House of God, and shut up the doors of the House of the Lord, And he made him alters in every corner of Jerusalem.
While it was still Jerusalem, wasn't it?
It didn't matter. You could go to the Church of your choice on whichever corner you wanted to. There was an altar there.
But this was contrary to the instruction that God had given his people in his Word. And so if you turn over a page as it is in my Bible or a couple of pages.
You'll find in concern with Hezekiah in the 30th chapter and they arose and took away in the 14th, sorry, Second Chronicles 30 and verse 14. They arose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for incense took their way and cast them into the brook. Kedron once again, if we want to know the path that God has laid out for us.
We need to put blinders on, as it were, to what's going on around us in Christianity.
And see and get a clearer picture of things as presented in the Word of God.
There is one place and that is in the presence of the Lord. We go unto Him, and if we are gathered unto Him by the Spirit of God, we will not be found in division. Just again, my little illustration of those trying to find their way through a forest. You consult a map and you're going to have to come to that witch.
Not that you're comfortable with, but that which that you feel assured of by the Spirit of God. And I guarantee as you look up from your map, you'll see, oh, there's someone else that's headed on that path too.
You don't have to tell everyone else they're wrong. That's not your job. They likewise have a guide.
But we are called upon to walk according to His word, guided by the Spirit of God, by faith.
Again, I'll stop this part of the discussion at this point, but Second Timothy chapter 2 gives clear guidance as to that subject.
But the last three things in connection with worship, the first one was the place no longer a physical city, but a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. The second was that we worship God as Father. I won't say a whole lot about that. I trust that you're all comfortable with addressing God as Father. The Spirit of God leads us to cry ABBA Father. That is a close relation. That is the nearest of the relationship into which we have been brought.
And you can just read through John's Gospel chapter 14, for example.
And the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Son, has revealed to us the Father. This was something that no Jew could speak of. He could speak of God as the Father in a very general way, as being the Father of mankind, as having created man, but he did not know God as Father.
I just make one comment in that connection. Sometimes we use the expression Heavenly Father and it's not wrong because there are times when scripture does it.
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To distinguish between our earthly fathers from our Heavenly Father's spiritual Father. But I would suggest that when we address our Father in prayer, we don't need the heavenly bit in front of it as if he is at some great distance. No, we have been brought into a nearness as near as the sun is. Himself is the nearness of the position that we enjoy as believers.
But then it says that we are to worship in spirit and in truth.
And what does that mean? You know, I spoke briefly about the camp and how that in Israel of old, when definement came into the camp because of sin, the sacrifice had to be taken outside the camp and Christ suffered outside the camp.
Well, to take anything from Judaism, as it were, outside the camp and bring it into Christianity must be a tremendous.
Sorrow to the Lord Jesus Christ, or as it were, to take the Lord Jesus Christ and bring him back into the camp.
You know, I don't think in the day in which we live, we're sensitive enough to these things.
And like those in Malachi's day, we say, well, wherein have we offended or what do you mean?
You know, I was speaking to someone recently and they had attended a a church for a brief time. They had, they were in the assembly, they had left, attended a church and the individual said, well, I didn't see anything doctrinally or morally wrong there. I didn't ask him this, but I would be, I'm almost certain of the answer.
Did they use musical instruments in their worship?
Why is it so offensive to use musical instruments? I did not start the hymn.
This afternoon for a very good reason and you all can thank me.
When we go back to my home city of Adelaide in South Australia, we enjoy fellowship with a couple there from Bhutan and there's only six of us. They know fortunes and I am left to start them.
From a natural standpoint, I could very well do with the crutch that a musical instrument would provide. But that is what music is. It is a crutch when our worship falters.
Modern Christian worship and I speak abstractly. I'm not pointing my finger at this group or that. I'm speaking solely abstractly. Modern Christian worship is about producing a feeling in me and not about adoration flowing from me. It's about producing a feeling in me. And most certainly music will do that. I am as as although I'm I'm not completely deaf.
To music.
I appreciate it, I enjoy it, I know the power it has over the human spirit and it most definitely produces feelings of awe. And I love choral music. To hear all those voices is impressive.
You know what day it is today?
In Australia, we didn't have Thanksgiving and Christmas was sort of the substitute when families got together. As a child, I appreciated hearing music publicly. Installs on the radio and you don't hear it so much these days because what they play is.
Commercial rubbish, but the old Christmas carols that spoke of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am moved by those things as much as anybody.
But being moved by music is not worship. I was recently writing something.
And I just pick music as an example.
Umm, nowadays.
If you depending on where you go to so-called worship, there will also be flashing lights, there will be bands, there will be.
Even going back hundreds of years, there were choirs that actually sung on your behalf because they did actually sing much nicer than the rest of us.
So when I speak on music, I'm not necessarily picking on music specifically, but using as an example to show what man has done to provide a crutch for his worship. You know, they offered in Malachi, they those things that were laying. What is something that's lame? What do they need? They need a crutch.
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But I was writing something the other day in connection with the Spirit of God.
In particular, in connection with the baptism of the Spirit and being filled with the Spirit. Pentecostalism. Again, I'm not pointing my finger at this person or that person. They publicly teach this. This is their doctrine and so I am perfectly within my right to compare what they teach with what the Word of God says without being found fault with for being critical. I should.
Investigate these things if I have the need to, but they say something along the lines that we can experience a baptism of the Holy Ghost whenever.
And they make it essentially equivalent to being filled with the Holy Spirit, which is certainly something that we agree that an individual can be filled with the Holy Spirit. The only time the two are connected, I believe is in Acts chapter 2 That they have Pentecost, which is when we actually do have the baptism of the Holy Spirit and they were filled with the Spirit. But if you just go to Google and type in their spirit filled worship.
You'll come up with lots of examples of churches advertising.
That they offer spirit filled worship.
One of them went on to say, and I wrote it down. It just so struck me, we seek a weekly celebration of our music to feature it boldly and to build upon it. That, I'm afraid, is not spirit filled worship.
That is entertainment.
You know, turning to Ephesians chapter 5, there's an interesting verse there is Ephesians 5 verse 18. It says be not drunk with wine, wherein is access, but be filled with the whole with the Spirit. Why would a connecting drunk with wine with the Spirit? You know, that's exactly what they accused the disciples of on the day of Pentecost, that they were drunk with wine. Now I don't want to suggest at all that a person filled with the Spirit acts like a drunk person.
In fact, it tells us in First Corinthians 14, and it says there the spirits of the prophecy subject to the prophets, in other words.
And I'll talk about this in just a minute. It reminded me of something. But we one of the characteristics of the Spirit of God is self-control. It's not, it's not about being out of control. It is self one of the characters of the Spirit of God, one of the IT says fruit, not fruits. So, but anyway, in the within the fruit of the spirit, self-control is one of those things.
But I would suggest that being drunk with wine is a substitute.
To being filled with the Spirit, wine brings joy to the heart. It's a substitute, it's a counterfeit. And I would suggest that that's what music provides in modern Christian worship, a counterfeit to that which is real, being filled with the Spirit of God. And as I said, that reminded me of something. Or in Ephesians 10 to Ephesians chapter 3.
It says in verse three there Ephesians sorry what am I saying? Philippians 3 verse 3.
For we are the circumcision which worship God in the Spirit and and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. Christian worship is spiritual worship.
Go to First Peter chapter 2.
First, Peter chapter 2, verse five. He also has lively stones to build up a spiritual house. So Israel had a temple or a Tabernacle, a physical building and a physical location. As I said, we have the counterpart in Christianity, the principles, the pictures we see in the Old Testament, they give us illustrations of that which we find in the new.
And now we find that we have built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to OfferUp spiritual sacrifice acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
Turn to Hebrews 13.
Hebrews 13 says in verse 15 by him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. That is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. So again our offerings are spiritual in nature, not physical offerings. And so when I said in the beginning that worship is that adoration that flows from our hearts when we think especially on.
The Father and the Son, and as we think upon the Son, what is it?
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That we naturally return back to it is of course the cross.
And so I want to speak briefly about the remembrance of the Lord, because I don't see how we can speak of the cross without bringing in the remembrance of the Lord. And so First Corinthians 11 and again this was read this morning.
You know, if you had been rescued out of poverty.
And perhaps it was a rich man's son that found you and brought you into his father's home.
And you met the Father one day. What would you talk about?
Would you talk about your poverty?
Would you talk about your filthy clothes that you had to wear?
There is a place I suppose.
To reflect on those things. But I think when you met the Father, you would tell him everything you knew about the Son. That's what worship is. We lift up the sun before the Father. We had it so beautifully this morning from Genesis.
And I'll go back to Genesis and Joseph in just a minute, but we're here in First Corinthians 11, and here we have.
In verse 23, I read exactly what was read this morning, for I have received of the Lord which that also delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was portrayed took bread. When he had given thanks, he'd break it and said take, eat. This is my body which is broken for me. This do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also He took the cup which yet when he had stopped saying, this cup is the New Testament in my blood. This do ye as often as you do it in remembrance.
Of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you deserve the Lord's death till he come.
You notice it does not say this due to Remember Me. Now I fully recognize that in the remembrance of the Lord we do remember the Lord, and I don't want to set that aside or belittle that, but the remembrance of the Lord is not about me and my recalling to mind what He has done. It is a remembrance or what's the difference?
November 11Th is Remembrance Day in many countries. On that day, we honor the fallen soldiers that began from World War One.
11Th was Amethyst Day when World War One came to an end and from that day forth there was a memorial. It was to honor the fallen soldiers. And so the remembrance of the Lord is something where we honor what the Lord has done. You do show forth, as was said this morning, you know the world got rid of the Lord Jesus Christ. They hoped that was the last they saw of Him, the last they ever heard of Him. Have you ever thought that every time we break bread we show forth His death in a world that.
Nothing to do with him. That is your privilege and mine to do that. What an honor, what a privilege.
Let's turn back to Genesis chapter 40 and the story of Joseph. I so appreciated that being read this morning. It wasn't Genesis 40, it was 46. I believe in Genesis 40 and verse 14 it says, but Joseph is speaking. But think on me when it shall be well with thee and show kindness. I'll read that from the new translation says only bear remembrance with thee of me when it goes well with thee and.
I pray with me and make mention of me to Pharaoh. That's what worship is, making mention of the Lord Jesus Christ to the Father.
And what he means to each one of us. Now supposing the the the in verse 22, verse 23, it says, yet did the chief Butler yet did not the chief Butler remember Joseph forgot him? We don't know that's what he did. But supposing the Butler periodically in his duties hesitated and paused for a minute and thought.
That Joseph in prison was a mighty fine man.
Then he went on his way again. That would have been nice.
But that's not what Joseph was hoping for. I know it's a natural story, and he naturally hoped that the Butler would mention his name to Pharaoh and he would be delivered from prison. But there is a principle here that the Lord Jesus, his desire is that we would remember him before the Father. Now I'd like to suggest.
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That in remembering the Lord, we don't remember the Lord is not a sacrifice. Let's make that very clear. The Roman Catholics believe, and again, I'm not picking on them, it's a doctrine that they teach and I have every right to judge it according to the word of God, believe that it is a sacrifice, and so they sacrifice the Lord over and over again.
It is not a sacrifice, it's a remembrance. It's a memorial. But the character in which we recall the Lord I would like to suggest in worship.
Should really be the character of the burnt offering and not the sin offering.
By nature I am selfish, and the first thing that comes to mind is what the Lord has done for me, I said at the beginning. There are certain dangers in speaking on the subject of worship, and one of those dangers is that I'm going to make someone in this room afraid to worship a young person.
Worship is not a gift.
It is not a gift, it is that adoration that flows out of your hop.
And to OfferUp worship that is maybe a little self-centered is not the same as what we found in Malachi chapter one. I'll get to what it is in just a minute in Leviticus 1.
And so it is very natural for me to begin my thoughts of worship with what God has done for me.
And I would suggest, don't be afraid of that. We all grow and need to grow and need to be exercised about these things. But that's a very good place to start with worship. But the true character of worship is the burnt offering. And the burnt offering is not about God, the Lord Jesus Christ as my substitute.
But rather, the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world is that which is God would.
It is that which is propitiatory in character is not about me. There is something far bigger than me that Christ has done. He has perfectly cleared the name of God. He has addressed forever the question of sin. Sin, as it were brought a stench into this world that was odious to the nostrils of God. And what the Lord Jesus Christ has done is completely.
Settle that in the sight of in in in the before God.
In Hebrews 10 that was read this morning.
It mentioned that when the the priests offered up the sacrifices of old, there was remembrance of sins time and time again again in Christian worship.
In the way that we worship, we shouldn't. That should not be our focus.
To bring up those sins again and again in our worship, but rather our focus again is on the person.
And the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. But going back to Leviticus 1 where it speaks of the burnt offering we find there, and it was read this morning how that it was a sweet savour.
Unto the unto Jehovah a sweet savour, and the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross was a sweet savour, not a stench anymore, but a sweet savour unto God.
It does speak of atonement in connection with the burnt offering.
It says that in verse four, and he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering, it shall be accepted before him to make atonement for him. But again, I would suggest that it's in his propitiatory character which is not limited, which is not limited.
Substitution, we might say, is limited to those that accept and lay hold upon who believe what the Lord Jesus Christ has done. But we do not believe in an unlimited atonement.
The Lamb of God which taketh away the sin. It's an abstract statement. It's not will take away sin not has taken away sin, but the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin the world John one again it was read this morning not talking about individuals, it's talking about sin.
And so in the and with the burnt offering, it's the only offering, I believe where we read and that that it uses a particular word for burn. And I believe it's the only offering where we have a sweet savour unto the Lord, except perhaps, and this is where my memory is not so good as some of yours, the fat in connection with the sin offering. But that aside, but I said earlier, young people, I do not want to discourage you from worshipping.
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I do not want to discourage you from worshipping.
And so when we worship, in fact, you can go through our hymn book and there's hardly a hymn in there that doesn't. And we sung them this morning and there was nothing wrong with it. That's touched on my sins being washed away.
But when we get to the turtle dove as the burnt offering, we find that there was that which the priests separated, and it was the crop. You notice that in Leviticus chapter one.
And in verse.
14 And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the Lord be a fowls, and he shall bring his offering of the turtle doves of the young pigeons, and the priests shall bring it under the altar, and ring off his head, and burn it at the altar. And the blood there are shall be wrung out of the sight of the altar. And he shall pluck away his crop with his feathers, and cast it beside the altar in the east part by the place of the ashes. So the crop, that which speaks of me, of myself, my pride, whatever the case may be, God.
The high priest took and he's took it and separated.
And I would suggest that in our worship to God takes that and sets it aside, which is of self.
And so don't confuse what we have here in connection with the turtle dove with the offering that we had in Malachi Day where they offered up the lame and that which was broken. And, and, and I would, and I would suggest the counterpart. And Christianity is to offer that which is a crutch, that which is counterfeit, that which fills me with.
Fills me with emotion and not the outpouring of what I have by the Spirit of God to God himself. I'd also just make a note in connection with spiritual worship. It doesn't mean that we all leap up and wave our arms in the air or cut each other off. Going back to what we have in First Corinthians 14, the spirits of the prophet are subject to the prophets. It's a small S.
We spiritual worship is worship that is guided by the Spirit of God. It's not me individually jumping up with my own individual thought.
And so if you paid attention to the hymns that were sung this morning, there seemed to be a common thread running through them of the Lamb of God.
Sometimes that may happen.
By natural means, I don't deny that.
But when we have a sense of the leading of the Spirit of God, it's beautiful. Now to wrap up or to finish up, I should say, because it's not a wrapping up. I just want to turn to the Deuteronomy 26 because you might say, I come on Lord's Day and I don't really feel like there is anything in my heart, an outpouring of worship.
In Leviticus I mean Deuteronomy 26.
It says, And it shall be when thou art come unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possesseth it, and dwelleth therein, that thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth which thou shalt bring of the land, that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shall put it in a basket, and shall go under the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his.
Name there and then. Verse 10. And now, behold, I have brought the first fruits of the land which thou, O Lord, has given me.
And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God. You know, if through the week we haven't filled up the basket, we will show up at that place where the Lord has placed His name with an empty basket, and we won't have anything in our hearts to pour out in worship.
You know, if I feel empty inside, it's not a loss to come to meeting. It's not a loss to come to meeting. Be there. The Lord is there. You will not leave in the same state that you arrived unless there is truly a hindrance in your heart that is unjust.
But oh, that we might through the week just at least pick up some thought in connection with the Lord Himself, to be able to bring it and offer it up in worship to Him. And there's nothing that we have that we haven't received from Him. You notice it says, Behold, I have brought the first fruits of the land which thou, O Lord, has given me.
There is nothing that we can bring that he hasn't given us. And remember, what is it that we offer up?
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It's to and it was what was read this morning in Genesis 46. I think it was. Don't turn to it, but Genesis 46.
45 Rather it's Genesis 45, verse 13. Ye shall tell my Father of all my glory.
Can we bring just something, a little something that's touched our hearts, which we can tell the Father something of His glory? I just want to make one further comment in the dangers of speaking on worship. The dangers of speaking on saying things such as the character of the worship should pattern the burnt offering rather than the sin offering, for example, is that we will sit in judgment of our brethren.
In morning meeting.
Let me suggest that that is more disruptive to the worship meeting than a young brother giving out a him that is perhaps a gospel in character, but touches on one line, touches on something beautiful in connection with the Lord himself.
That will be far less of a disruption than the individual that sits in judgment.
On that.
Now I fully realize that we can give out things.
That are from self, that are not spirit LED.
But let's leave those things to the Lord. Judge ourselves, not our brethren.
The meeting time is showing me there is over. Let's just close in prayer.
How God and Father we have spoken on worship, and perhaps it would have been far more profitable to speak.
On the one.
And thee, our garden Father, whom we worship, and thy beloved Son.
The one who died there on Calvary's cross, who has brought us into that relationship whereby we can worship.
But Lord, we know the state of things around us and we just pray that we might each be individually exercised, that we might be exercised to bring a basket that is not empty on Lords day, but something to offer up in worship to the Our Garden Father, to recall something of thy beloved Son, the one in whom was all thy delights, the one that perfectly glorified thee in his walk. Walk.
And at the cross and has forever settled that question of sin, we just.
Pray Lord again, that we might be exercised and led by Thy Spirit. And certainly Lord, if I have offended anyone in this room, I pray that they just might take a step back and say if these things are so.
The word of God will tell me and they would have open ears and open hearts to receive what it says. We just pray this in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.