That Which We Bring to God

The Church as the Pillar and Ground of Truth

0:04 Will you follow, please, in your own Bible as I read from Paul's letter to Timothy, 1 Timothy, chapter 3, and verses 14 and 15. The apostle has left Timothy in the area of Ephesus, giving him minute and varied directions concerning the ordering of the churches in that area, directions that touch purity of doctrine, proper church order, the recognition of church officers, elders, and deacons.

0:48 Now he gives, as it were, a rationale for all of these directions in verses 14 and 15. These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly. In other words, my writing is a stopgap measure before I come and personally implement the things that I've touched upon in my letter. These things I write unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly.

1:11 But, if I tarry long, he had no direct revelation from God on this matter. He was left, as we are often left, to his sanctified judgment about where he should go, when, and how. And in the light of that, he says, this is what I hope to do, but it's in the hands of God. I don't control these things.

1:30 If I tarry long, that thou mayest know how men ought to behave themselves in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of the truth.

1:46 Now, it is not my purpose to give a detailed exposition of this passage. It is my purpose to extract a principle that is stamped upon the very face of this passage. The apostle says that he is deeply concerned about these matters of church order, these matters of what constitutes property, these matters of proper church activity, when the people of God gather, that they should pray, that men should take the lead in that praying, that women should take their proper place, that there should be duly constituted teachers and leaders and overseers and servants, and all of these things.

2:27 He said, my great concern that lies behind these details of church order is what the church itself is. I'm concerned about behavior. Behavior in the church, that is, the house of God, because of what it is. And you'll notice he describes the church as the pillar and the ground of the truth.

2:52 In other words, the apostle is saying that the gathered church, functioning by the rule of Scripture, is the primary depository of those means ordained of God for the establishment, and maintenance of true religion in the earth. Now, that's a profound concept.

3:18 If true religion is to be maintained in the earth, the apostle says it will be maintained by means of the church, for it is the pillar and the ground of the truth. And therefore, I say, the principle in this text is that the gathered church, functioning by the rule of Scripture, this is not the church universe, but is the purpose of the church. And the miracle of the church, that which the Father has Его, that there was no bread, where the earth had extremely much abundancy, and the east had simply repeating, grainy, desolate.

4:03 It's basically said in a metaphor that the earth was a droplet of oil, and God was a raining out of Jerusalem, or a clear and clear symbol thereof. So this, this and this, this is the truth we can speak about. is the primary depository of those means ordained of God for the maintenance of true religion in the earth. Now because that is true, the enemy of true religion, the devil himself and all his cohorts, has sought throughout the history of the church to attack the visible church.

The Enemy's Attack on the Church and Worship

4:37 He seeks to destroy the existence of the gathered church. And he does this by raising, by infusing, as it were, into the hearts of leaders raised up of God such an open opposition to the church that it becomes politically and civilly illegal for the people of God to meet. Now where he fails in destroying the existence of the gathered church, he will then aim all of his guns upon corrupting the purity of the gathered church. And so he seeks to corrupt the purity of its doctrine, the purity of its life, or the purity of its worship.

5:12 Now if he fails in that, you know what he does? He seeks then to destroy the life and vigor of its life together. And this has been his pattern throughout the history of the church. Knowing that the gathered church, functioning by the rule of Scripture, is the primary depository of those means ordained of God for the maintenance of true religion, he attacks the life and vigor of the church.

5:42 Knowing that then he will corrupt its purity. And if possible, ultimately destroy its very existence. Now that being so, we, as the people of God, cannot be too anxious regarding the maintenance of the existence, purity and power of the gathered church. And in particular, we must be concerned with the maintenance of the existence, purity and power, of its corporate public worship, since it is in that context that most of the worship of the gathered church have a habt.

6:14 Let me finish here. the means are exercised. Those means that God has deposited in the gathered church, most of them are exercised in that which we would call those seasons of corporate public worship. It is there that preaching is carried on. It is there that the sacraments are administered.

6:36 It is there that the people of God with one heart and one voice cry to God. It is there that discipline is exercised, both formative and corrective. It is there that the people of God interact in their life together. And I'll not go into the details, but God used my having to be in silence last week and to sit and not be able to open my mouth even to sing the psalms and hymns to convince me that we as a congregation need to wrestle with this whole matter of what it is to worship God as we ought. And as I introduce

7:12 this series, I want to set it in this life and death context. The maintenance of the power and vitality of biblical worship is a matter of life and death to the Church of Jesus Christ. For if we lose the life and the vigor of biblical worship, it won't be long before we relinquish the purity of biblical worship. Because we will seek innovations to somehow fill the aching void.

7:47 And when the Church has been most vigorous in spiritual life, it has been most simple in its form of worship. And in direct proportion to the loss of its life has been the increase of its form and its ceremony. And frankly, dear people, I saw things and observed things last week sitting there in silence that filled my pastor's heart with holy dread that the

8:23 seeds of death were in our worship. And unless they are neutralized by the spirit of life, it's only a matter of time before the purity of worship will cease. So as a pastor who longs that we maintain the vigor and life of true worship to the end, that there will be the maintenance of true religion in our own hearts and in our own community, I seek to address you for the purpose of this sermon. And I ask you, dear people, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask them in the comments below.

Defining Public Worship: What We Bring to God

8:57 Now, to think our way through this vast subject, what I propose to do is first of all today to set before you a working description of what constitutes public worship. That's all I hope to do today, to give you a working biblical description of what constitutes public worship. And then, God willing, in the following studies, we shall deal with the agent of

9:39 public worship, and then we'll deal with hindrances to rendering God-honoring public worship. First of all, then, a working description of public worship. Now, public worship, as ordained of God, can be viewed in terms of two major categories of service. First of all, it is a spiritual activity. And I don't believe there is one legitimate

10:03 expression of public worship that does not fall under one of these two categories. So the outline should be very simple for even the youngest child to remember. What constitutes public worship? Number one, those activities in which we bring something to God. And secondly,

10:22 those activities in which God brings something to us. What we bring to God, what God brings, to us. All right? This morning, that which we bring to God in public worship. Or perhaps

10:38 I ought to say, that which we ought to bring to God. Or to state it even more emphatically, that which we are commanded to bring to God in every context of public worship. Now, the passage that must set the framework of our thinking is 1 Peter, Chapter 2. And perhaps there is no point in looking at it in a different way than by looking at it in portion in all of the New Testament, apart from John 4.24, that is more pivotal in seeking

11:11 to think biblically concerning the whole subject of the public worship of the gathered church.

Believers as a Holy Priesthood Offering Spiritual Sacrifices

11:21 Of course, the John passage is, the Father seeks people to worship him in spirit and in truth. Now, Peter's word, 1 Peter chapter 2, having exhorted the people of God to put away the sins that would clog up the heart and mind and keep it from receiving the word with profit,

11:43 he says in verse 5, ye also as living stones, having referred to Christ as the great living stone in verse 4, ye also as living stones are built up a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer up. These are spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Now, do you catch the mixing of the images in the words of Peter?

12:19 He says, as true believers, you have come into contact with that great living stone chosen of God, even the Lord Jesus Christ. And having been brought into union with him, you now share his life. You are not a dead stone, you are a living stone. And in union with Jesus Christ.

12:39 You, the people of God, are built up into a living sanctuary, a spiritual house. You have become a temple of God in the language of Ephesians chapter 2. You are builded together to be an habitation of God through the Spirit. Now that's what we are sitting here this morning.

13:02 To the extent that we are living stones in living union with the living head, Jesus Christ, the living cornerstone. The cornerstone of the church, to stick with the building imagery, we are constituted a living sanctuary. There is a pulsing, breathing, living entity called the church of Christ. But now if you've got a sanctuary, you've got to have a priesthood, to use the Old Testament imagery.

13:27 And Peter says, we have a priesthood. And he says, you're not only stones, but you're priests. Look at it. You are built up as living stones, a spiritual house.

13:38 To be a holy priesthood. You mean we have a priestly function? We draw near to God? And the priest, you see, has to have something to present to God?

13:51 And Peter says, Yes. You are not only stones in this living temple in which God dwells. You are priests within that temple. It is no temple without a priesthood.

14:02 It has a priesthood, but the priesthood does not reside in the lineage of Erim, or the sons of Levi. nor does the priesthood is it comprised of some special class who can trace their succession back to Peter no, no here he's writing to common saints scattered throughout that section of the Roman Empire and he says every one of you who's been made a living stone in the temple has also been made a priest and as a priest what do I do? well he says you do what any priest does you offer up sacrifices look at it you are made a spiritual house a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices

14:44 all of which find acceptance with God only through Jesus Christ now the point of tremendous importance for our study this morning what is involved in biblical public worship well the great concern should be with reference to Peter's language what does it mean to offer a spiritual sacrifice and what constitutes the sacrifices I am to offer for the passage makes plain that the offering of the sacrifice is the conscious activity of the priests

15:28 only the priests can offer the sacrifice so you see immediately if we think biblically about public worship we do not think in terms of what do we get from the one who leads the worship, but we think in terms of what do I bring in the context of that worship. For there is no proxy priesthood in this spiritual temple. In the old economy, in the tabernacle or in the temple, the priest was the one through whom your worship was

16:09 mediated to God. He took the blood of your sacrifice and presented it. He took your offering and presented it. God says now that's all done away with. There is one great high priest

16:21 through whom the worship of all of the people is now mediated to God, and there is no special priest to bring your sacrifice to God. Only you can offer it. And God in Jesus Christ has so clothed you with His righteousness, so endowed you with His Spirit, so suffused your heart with motives and desires. As to make you fit to be this spiritual priesthood who may offer up acceptable sacrifices to

16:56 God. Now, the fact that they are spiritual sacrifices does not negate the reality of the offering. You see, if I bring something material, if God required in the New Testament that no one should come to the public worship of His name without some material object, you would know that the only way to fulfill that requirement would be to seek out that object, to bring it in your hands or in your pocket or in your purse or in your shoulder bag or something, and then materially and physically to present it to God. But because

17:34 that which He requires is not material and physical, we tend to think it is not real or that the offering of it is not a conscious, deliberate act. And that will not stand in place until we work for that purpose. There was some newspapers that said that the Bible and 13 the scriptures went to the devotion of Christ for the Scripture of the world, logging the tying of the linear deficiencies between the spiritual Fraternity of Christ and the relatively perfect偽al 드문 of Christ. And I think yet the day has come when you will know how very well Jesus and the Knights

18:17 are in communion. sacrificial sacrifices unto God, sacrifices which I have laid my hands upon, which I have brought into that living temple, and which I and I alone can offer to the living God.

The Sacrifice of Praise and Anticipation

18:36 And one other passage that points in the same direction, Hebrews chapter 13. The language again bristles with Old Testament imagery. Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 15. Through him you see the emphasis again upon Christ as the great medium through which we offer our praise and our sacrifice. The great mediator perhaps is a better word than medium. Through

19:11 him let us offer up. Now you see, the offering is real. We must do it. We must be conscious that we are doing it. Let us offer up. Not a sacrifice of a bull or a goat or a cow or

19:28 a turtle dove, but let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually. That is the fruit of lips which make confession to his name. You see, there is this dimension of what we bring to God in our spiritual worship that is our responsibility, which only we can perform and which we must perform.

19:58 What are the spiritual sacrifices that we are to bring to God in our public worship? What are those sacrifices which he has fitted me to bring by making me a living stone in his temple, making me part of that royal priesthood of which Peter speaks later on in this epistle? Well, as time permits this morning, I want to give to you seven specific things that you and I are obligated to bring to God in every single moment of our lives. I want to give you a single experience of public worship. And those of you who come here regularly know

20:35 that I am very careful, very careful about binding the consciences of God's people beyond the warrant of the word of God. And when I say that there are seven things that you are obligated to bring to God, I am choosing my words very carefully knowing that I have no right to intrude upon the authority of Christ over the conscience of anyone. So I am using my words guardedly. I am using them carefully. I am using them deliberately.

21:03 Number one, every time you gather with your fellow priests to make spiritual sacrifices, you are first of all to bring to God the joyful anticipation of an expectant heart. The joyful anticipation of an expectant heart. And all of the things that I give to you will be in terms of something to do with the heart. And the first is the joyful anticipation of an expectant heart. Now why do I say that?

21:40 Well, we have the words of our Blessed Lord of Matthew, words which are spoken in the context of church discipline. And surely if they are true, in what we might call the heavy, searching exercises of discipline how much more are they true in the glorious of public worship and corporate praise to God.

22:08 Here is our Lord's word in Matthew 18 and verse 20, for where two or three are gathered together in my name,

22:19 where two or three or ten or twenty or fifty or five thousand gather as those who are attached to me as disciples, they gather together because of my authority over them. I have commanded them not to forsake the assembling of themselves together. I have commanded them to be fed by under-shepherds and overseers, where they gather in my name, that is, because of their attachment to me, because of their submission to me, gathering as my disciples, where two or three are gathered in my name,

23:00 there am I in the midst of them.

23:07 Now, is he not with us everywhere? Did he not say at the end of this very gospel, Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age? Are we not taught in Hebrews chapter 13, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee? Does not the hundred and thirty-ninth psalm teach us if we ascend up into heaven, he's there if we make our bed in hell, he is there if we take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost part of the sea, he's there, yes.

23:37 But he speaks. He's speaking of a special presence that is pledged in the gathering of his people as his people. Now, let me ask you something. Suppose one of you young men had set your eyes upon a young woman and she has given you reason to believe that she's looking at you, at least as something other than just a nice brother.

24:01 You don't know quite what more is involved, but you've got reason to believe there's a little bit more involved. And you begin to cultivate that relationship and begin to spend time with her. And you begin to spend time with her. And you begin to spend time with her.

24:11 And you begin to spend time with her. And you begin to spend time communicating and talking. And then it becomes serious courtship. And then the time comes when she breaks her heart to you and tells you that she loves you.

24:20 She believes there is developing a biblical love and you reciprocate. And then you haven't had a chance to see one another for four, five, six days. And then you've made an appointment. You've made a date.

24:33 You've agreed. You've contracted upon a time and place when you will meet. What would you think if after meeting you asked the question and said to her, now dear, tell me, as you thought of this day and as we've had six days and we haven't been together, what were your thoughts?

24:50 How would you feel if she had to say to you, well, to really be honest, John, I didn't have many thoughts at all. Never occurred to me. I never really looked forward to our being together. I must be honest and say that I really didn't get too excited even driving here or knowing you were coming.

25:10 Now you put yourself in John's place. What happens to his heart? Well, you say it's a stupid question, and, Pastor, everybody knows why. Why?

25:24 You say, if there's any love, surely there would be some degree of joyful anticipation at the pledge of his presence.

25:39 And that would be right.

25:42 Can you claim to love the Lord of glory who bled and died upon a Roman cross, who drank into his soul the pangs of hell and come tripping into this like you're going to a boxing match and not spend anticipation? That Christ will be...

26:17 You let your conscience do its work. I don't need to drive home the application any further. Your own conscience within your breast is your Nathan.

26:30 Frankly, as I sat here last Lord's Day morning, I think I was almost too shocked to weep.

26:37 As I watched people come in, carelessly sit down, many just look around. While the hymns were being sung, look around. While the precious word of God was preached, are they here to meet your dear son? Are they here to meet your dear son?

26:56 conscious expectation that Christ is here?

27:02 Oh, I do not scold you, my dear people.

27:07 Press the word to your conscience this morning. Do you bring to public worship that spiritual sacrifice of expectancy? Christ is going to be here. My Lord is going to be here.

27:30 My Redeemer, the One who loved me and gave Himself for me, the One who intercedes for me, my great prophet will be there to teach me. Oh, God, prepare my heart to hear His word. My great priest will be there to take my worship and make it acceptable to the Father. Oh, Lord, may I fix the gaze of my soul upon Him in all the glory of His mediatorial work.

27:57 My great King will be there to put forth His scepter to subdue my lusts and my passions and to subdue my lusts and my passions and to subdue my lusts and my passions and to subdue my lusts and my passions and to subdue my lusts and my passions

28:10 I say, dear people, we are to bring to Him, first of all, the joyful anticipation of expected hearts because He's promised to be here. And it's not a matter of you sitting back passively hoping to feel His presence. It's a matter of coming actively in the expectation of faith to acknowledge His presence.

28:38 Well, there's a second thing that we are to bring to Him and to give Him support and supplication. And that's the second thing we are to bring to Him and to give Him service. And it is this, the praise, adoration, and homage of glad hearts. Not only the joyful anticipation of expectant hearts.

28:53 In public worship we are to bring to God praise and adoration and homage of glad hearts. And I would rest the whole case for this if there were no other verse in the Bible or no other passage upon Psalm 100. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness.

29:23 Come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord, He is God. It is He that hath made us, and we are His. We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture enter into His gates with thanksgiving.

29:41 Oh, if we could just catch the vision of it. We don't just pass through the darkness. We're passing through the doors of a school auditorium. Passing through those doors to be the gathered people of God.

29:51 We're entering the very gates of Zion, dear people. We're entering Zion, city of God. We're entering the living temple. God Himself is here.

30:03 And when He's present, what are His people to be doing? There to enter His gates with thanksgiving. There to enter His courts with praise. There to give thanks unto Him.

30:16 Bless His name. Why? For the Lord is good. His lovingkindness endureth forever.

30:22 And His faithfulness unto all generations. You and I are to offer up in the language of Hebrews the sacrifice of praise. That is, we are to prepare a sacrifice. Prepare it of meditation and reflection upon the goodness and the mercy of God.

30:42 Prepare that sacrifice by contemplation of all that He is. In Himself and all that He is to us as His people. And we'll go into more of that in a subsequent study. But suffice it now just to touch upon it.

30:56 That we are to prepare that sacrifice. We're not to hope that it will drop in our arms when we come under the exit sign.

31:05 Just as an Israelite had to go out into his flock and seek out that lamb. And prepare it for sacrifice. We must by meditation and reflection seek out a lamb. Of the sacrifice.

31:18 The sacrifice of praise. And see that its legs are comprised of God's mercy. And its ears of God's lovingkindness. And its tail of God's tenderness.

31:28 And its torso of His patience. And as we see all that He has done and is. There's a sense in which we'd want to run to that temple. And offer up that sacrifice of praise.

31:42 And yet I say again. Sitting many times. Here and standing. And seeing how little holy enthusiasm.

31:49 There is in the singing of these glorious psalms and hymns of praise. There are times dear people when I have almost shouted out in the middle of a song. Be silent.

32:02 Honor God. With the crippled maimed sacrifice of half-hearted praise.

32:10 It's an insult.

32:13 What would happen to a cheerleader. Hired by the Dallas Cowboys. Who stood in the sidelines with her pom-poms. And just said yay cowboys.

32:22 Wouldn't last one week.

32:27 She used to be out there waving her pom-poms. And making a fool. Of herself. Why?

32:32 There might be the contagion of enthusiasm. For the football team.

32:39 Is the living God worth less than that? Is He?

32:46 No. We are to bring the sacrifice of praise. Of adoration. Homage.

The Sacrifices of Confession and Prayer

32:52 Of glad hearts. But then thirdly. We are to bring the sacrifice.

32:59 Of prayers. I'm sorry. Confession. Humiliation.

33:02 Humiliation and contrition of broken hearts.

33:07 We are to bring the sacrifice. Of confession. Humiliation and contrition of broken hearts. And where do we learn that?

33:15 We learn it from Psalm 51.

33:21 David is considering what it is. That he should bring to God. Upon the thought of his sin.

33:28 And he says in verse 16. Thou delightest not in sacrifice. Else would I give it. Thou hast no pleasure in burnt offerings.

33:38 The sacrifices of God. Are a broken spirit. And a broken spirit. A broken and a contrite heart.

33:46 O God. Thou wilt not despise. You see David recognized. Even in the midst of the old temple worship.

33:54 Or the old tabernacle worship. That the thing that God really sought. Was not the broken body of a lamb. But the broken heart.

34:03 Of the one who brought the lamb. The sacrifices of God. Are a broken and a contrite spirit. Well you see dear people.

34:11 We are to bring that spiritual sacrifice. Every time we gather for public worship. Jesus has taught us. In what we commonly call the Lord's prayer.

34:20 That there is never to be. Any lengthy period of time. When the people of God do not forget. That they are sinners.

34:27 Part of their daily prayer exercise. Is to be the prayer. Forgive us our sins. As we forgive those who sin against us.

34:35 And surely when we come. As New Testament priests. To gather up our New Testament. And spiritual sacrifices.

34:43 One of them must be. That of confession. Humiliation and contrition. Of a broken heart.

34:52 Now where are you going to get that? By sitting up till 11 o'clock Saturday night. Watching TV. Flop into bed.

34:58 Stumble out in the morning. With no sense or sight of the glory. And majesty of God. And the vileness of your own heart.

35:06 And just come tripping into church. No. A thousand times no. There must be time spent in the.

35:15 Contemplation. Of a passage like Isaiah 6. As that holy man of God. Thinks of the majesty.

35:22 And the exaltedness. And the holy otherness. Of God. In his holy burning majesty.

35:30 And he says. When I saw him. I cried woe is me. I'm undone.

35:41 And he offered up into the presence of God. The sacrifice of a broken and a contrite heart. But my friend that sacrifice isn't going to. Drop in your lap.

35:49 When you walk through the day. Walk through the doors. You've got to seek it out before you ever come here. It's your responsibility to do so.

36:01 It's mine. No amount of praying or preaching publicly is an excuse for me. That's where I've got to start. That's where I've got to get my sacrifice.

36:09 I'm not exempt. I may be up here leading. But in a sense I sit with you offering. And there is a fourth thing.

36:21 That we are required to bring. In true worship. We are to bring the prayers supplications. And intercessions of believing hearts.

36:29 That's no little part of our public worship. You've already thought of the passage. We are to bring the prayers. Supplications and intercessions.

36:37 Of believing hearts. First Peter chapter 2. Sorry first Timothy chapter 2. In this very passage.

36:45 Where the apostle is giving directions. For the ordering of the churches. In the area of Ephesus he says. Verse 1.

36:53 I exhort therefore first of all. This is to take a place. Of prominence. I exhort therefore first of all.

37:01 That supplications. Prayers. Intercessions. Thanksgiving be made for all men.

37:09 Then he gives specific directives. For kings and for all that are in high places. Then for the progress of the gospel. And this emphasis comes through.

37:17 Again and again in the epistles. And I remind you that those letters. Were read to churches. And were primarily directives.

37:25 For the life of the church. The apostle says to the Ephesian church. Praying with all prayer and supplication. In the spirit and for me.

37:33 That boldness may be given to me. He is giving directives. For church prayer. And oh I believe we have only begun.

37:42 To catch something. Of the tremendous potential. When all the people of God are gathered. And they have a promise like this.

37:50 As is given in Matthew 18. If two of you shall agree. On earth is touching what they ask. It shall be done.

37:58 Of my father which is in heaven. Dear people do you have any idea. What God might begin to do. In answer to our relatively.

38:06 Brief seasons of prayer. In public worship. If every single one. Who is vitally joined to Christ.

38:14 Was genuinely offering up. That sacrifice. That perhaps is being framed. By the words of another.

38:22 But in a sense we lay our hands. Upon the head of that sacrifice. Of prayer and supplication. This whole souled agreement.

38:30 Of an entire body of God's people. I believe we'd see answers. To prayer that would astound. And I believe if the majority of you are honest.

38:39 You'll confess that you just bow your head. And you shift your mind into neutral. Until you hear the amen. Or if there's something that is of particular concern to you.

38:47 You may enter in. But there is no real symphony. Of affection and yearning. And desire.

38:55 For when there is. Anyone with any discernment. Or understanding of heart. And the spiritual energy.

39:03 Of that corporate pulse of desire. And longing. And will be caught up into the presence of God. You've sensed it and touched it.

39:12 Sometimes here. And there are times when I say amen. I have to think where am I? I've forgotten that we're here.

39:21 As I've sensed the sympathy. Of your own heart. As I've been helped by the spirit. In articulating the needs of the congregation.

39:29 And you've entered in. Not a half dull mind. Lulled into neutrality. And dullness.

39:37 By excessive TV watching. By inordinate entertainment. Saturday night. And too much socializing.

39:45 But you come with all your faculties alert. We've got the silly notion. You see six days you labor. And seventh day you rest.

39:56 No, no. The Sabbath is a different kind of labor. That is in itself glorious rest. But there's a different kind of labor.

40:04 You see that in the subsequent thing. But I must touch upon it. This is all so tied together. I think the great problem with many of us.

40:12 Is we've got the idea. On the Lord's day you come. Shift into neutral. And all this stuff is floating by.

40:25 And you hope somehow there'll be a holy zapping. And something will sort of. I don't mean to be nasty. But I fear that we haven't caught hold.

40:33 Of this biblical concept. We come individually. And you're not alone. I mean not entirely.

40:41 But we are all in it. And we are all in it. But it is fundamental. That we come apart.

40:51 And we are all in it. We are all in it. And is the salvation of the world. Is what's going to happen to us.

40:59 What's going to be our salvation. Is our salvation. Is our salvation. You see.

The Sacrifices of Giving, Teachableness, and Responsiveness

41:10 If they had to make a trip to the treasurer's house and that was the only way they could do it, they'd do it because they give out of principle. But according to Philippians 4, verse 18, our giving is one of these spiritual sacrifices.

41:27 The Philippians had responded to Paul's material needs.

41:33 Now he says, verse 18, But I have all things and abound. I am filled. Having received from Epaphroditus the things which came from you, an odor of a sweet smell, that's language from the Old Testament, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God. Isn't that beautiful?

41:58 Paul says, you know, when you took of your substance and you gathered it together and put it in the hand of Epaphroditus and he came, he says, you know, God smelled that and said, that smells good.

42:11 An odor of a sweet smell. A sacrifice acceptable to God. What kind of a sacrifice? Not a carnal sacrifice, but the spiritual sacrifice offered up by these New Testament priests in the form of gifts and offerings from grateful hearts.

42:31 And surely is not that the teaching of 2 Corinthians, chapters 8 and 9? And I quote just two texts from those chapters full of principles on New Testament giving. 2 Corinthians 8 and verse 5, And this, not as we had hoped, but they first gave their own selves to the Lord and to us through the will of God. You see, there was the glad reaffirmation of their own self-giving to Christ and acknowledging that all that they were was the Lord's, they joyfully took a portion of what he put in their hands and gave to his servants who in turn distributed it for the needs of the poor saints.

43:16 And how does God respond to this? Well, chapter 9 and verse 7 tells us, Let each man do according as he purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loveth a cheerful giver. You see, God wants no gift that doesn't start in the heart. If it only starts with the checkbook and it only starts with a legalistic notion, well, if I don't, God will crack the whip on me.

43:43 So I must, or else, no, no, he says the giving starts from the heart and that's what makes it a spiritual sacrifice. So I say the fifth sacrifice we offer to God is that of gifts and offerings that come from grateful hearts. But then there is a sixth, and it is this, the teachableness of a cleansed and submissive heart. The teachableness of a cleansed and submissive heart we must bring to God, we must offer to God as a spiritual sacrifice in our public worship.

44:15 And where do I get that? In that language, turn please to Peter again, 1 Peter chapter 2 and verses 1 and 2. Putting away therefore all wickedness and all guile and hypocrisies and envies and all evil speakings as newborn babes long for the spiritual milk which is without guile that ye may grow thereby.

44:48 You see, Peter says there are conditions placed upon a growing by means of the Word.

44:58 It is not an automatic thing that because you sit under good preaching you'll grow. If there is not some vigorous activity in your own heart before you come to the Word, you'll receive no profit from the Word. And what is that activity? And the preacher can't do it for you.

45:16 You must put away all wickedness, all guile, all hypocrisies, all envies, all evil speakings. Then he says, in that condition, a spiritual system cleansed of the poisons and the viruses of sin, long for the spiritual milk that you may grow thereby. Or James, the parallel passage, chapter 1, we have a similar emphasis, verse 21, wherefore putting away all filthiness, and overflowing of wickedness, receive with meekness the implanted Word.

45:59 You cannot receive it if the heart is all filled with these other things. And so I say, if we're to render acceptable public worship to God, we must bring the sacrifice that I've described as the teachableness of a cleansed and submissive heart. Then we'll be like the Bereans. They receive the Word with the readiness, the readiness of mind, searching the Scriptures daily to see whether these things be so.

46:28 And then finally, we must bring the sacrifice of the responsiveness of a believing and a trusting heart. The responsiveness of a believing and a trusting heart. Luke 24 and verse 25, Jesus said, O fools and slow of heart to believe.

46:49 You sit there under preaching and say, Oh, that's too marvelous. I just can't seem to grasp that. Why is there weakness in your faith? Because you haven't brought a prepared heart.

46:59 You've brought a slow heart, a dull heart, an unbelieving heart. And so the Word does not profit you. These people had Christ Himself to teach them and they weren't profiting. Why?

47:09 They were foolish and slow of heart to believe. Or in Hebrews 2, 4, it says, The Word preached did not profit them. Why? It was not mixed with faith.

47:20 And who has to mix it with faith? The listener. And again I say, And I don't want to be overly unkind, dear people, but the way I watch some of you listening to sermons, I'm not surprised you don't receive profit. Rightly to listen to a sermon involves, as we'll see in a subsequent study, the engagement of the most intense concentration of all your faculties of mind and of body and soul.

47:48 But we're so dulled by being bombarded with TV programs and the mass media that we no longer have caught hold, or we never did, if we have caught hold, we've lost a grasp upon what it means to give ourselves with all of our faculties to laying hold of the Word of God in a responsive and believing and trusting heart.

The Mandate: None Shall Appear Before Me Empty

48:16 Now I say these are the things required of us, things we are privileged to bring to God. Now you know what God said to an Old Testament worshiper? I want you to look at this passage this morning. In Exodus 23, and I hope the Holy Spirit will rivet this text to our minds.

48:40 And I even toyed with the idea of having it printed up and somehow hooking it over those doors for a while when we come in to drive it home. God says in Exodus 23, verse 14, three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep seven days. Thou shalt eat unleavened bread as I commanded thee.

49:05 Now notice this. And none shall appear before me empty.

49:14 God says part of the rubric of public worship is your mails going up to the central place of worship three times a year. And he says this. When you come, you better bring what I told you to bring. Now can you imagine a worshiper coming up from one of the tribes to Jerusalem or to wherever the center of worship was?

49:35 And the priest says, where is your sacrifice? He says, well, Mr. Priest, man, you know, there were extenuating circumstances had a rough night, you know, night before I left and I just forgot to bring my lamb.

49:47 Well, I really forgot to bring the first fruits. Well, I'm sorry, I forgot to bring the meal for the meal offering.

49:53 You see, Mr. Priest, you just got...

49:55 God says none shall appear before me empty. He says you better not only be where I tell you to be at the time I tell you to be, you better be there with what I told you to bring.

50:06 And oh, that God would stamp this upon our hearts that when we rise, our first conscious thought every Lord's Day morning will be this. None shall appear before me empty.

50:18 None shall appear before me empty.

50:23 We, as it were, will come through those doors with our arms laden with the spiritual sacrifices that we've prepared to bring to God.

50:33 We come with that spiritual sacrifice of holy expectancy. Christ is here. We come with that spiritual sacrifice of a glad heart prepared to praise Him. A broken heart prepared to old, prepared to own its sin and its failure.

50:49 We come with a heart that by His grace is set to believe what He has said, to lay hold upon Him in believing prayer. A heart that is cleansed and submissive and ready to receive the Word that we come not empty before Him. None shall appear before me empty.

51:12 And here I want to introduce John 4.24. Jesus said the hour is coming when true worship is to come. True worshipers will not go to a certain place, but they will worship in a certain way.

51:23 The emphasis will be upon the manner, not the place. And He says the Father seeks worshipers to worship Him how? In spirit and in truth. Now follow me closely.

51:34 One of our great problems is, and I alluded to this earlier, is that because something is spiritual, we tend to think it's not real.

51:44 If you knew God would not accept your worship unless you came here with a block of wood, two by four by six, you'd do anything necessary to get yourself a block of wood two by four by six inches. If God had put in another chapter in Ephesians, say we had a chapter seven, and it said, every time you appear in public worship, come with a block of wood two by four by six inches, you'd get yourself a block of wood and you'd do whatever was necessary to make sure that you never came to public worship without your block of wood, wouldn't you? I hope you would. Well, you see, because God is requiring things that cannot be placed on a shelf, that cannot be put in our pocket

52:27 or in the trunk of our cars, we tend to think, well, either the requirement is not quite so stringent or the commodity is not quite so real. But that's not true. In fact, the emphasis of the Bible is, the demands upon us because of the spirituality of the worship of the New Testament are even greater than those upon the Old Testament carnal worship.

52:50 He that died under Moses died under Moses. He died a certain way, the writer to Hebrews says, of how much sorer punishment shall he be worthy who disregards the directives of the New Covenant. And it's interesting that in Hebrews 12 we are told this, receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have grace whereby we may serve. And that's the classic word for religious worship.

53:17 Let us have grace whereby we may worship with reverence and godly fear for our God is a consuming fire. Now, dear people, God requires of us in the worship of the New Covenant these spiritual sacrifices. Since He requires them and has made provision in the New Covenant that we may have them, it is inexcusable to appear in His presence without them. And I conclude now with just two points of application.

Application: Only Prepared Children of God Can Truly Worship

53:50 Number one, it should be evident from what we've seen this morning that only a true child of God can truly worship. Only the person whose heart has been touched, by the life-giving power of the Spirit, can truly worship. That's why Paul describes Christians in Philippians 3 in this language. We are the true circumcision who worship by the Spirit.

54:16 And my dear friend, if you do not have the Spirit, you're not a Christian. And the only way to have the Spirit is to embrace the Lord Jesus as He's offered in the Gospel. You get the Spirit by having dealings with the Son of God. Until you see your God, until you see yourself as God describes you, lost, undone, deserving of His wrath, no claims upon Him, and flee to Jesus Christ as God sets Him before you in the Gospel, you'll never be a worshiper.

54:47 Though you may attend 10,000 worship services, you'll never worship until you have the Spirit, and you'll never have the Spirit until you embrace the Son of God. That point of application should be clear. But now the second and main burden of application is this. Only a prepared child of God can truly worship.

55:07 Only a prepared child of God can truly worship. These commodities, these spiritual sacrifices are not automatically deposited, as we said, when you come through those doors, any more than an Israelite going up to the temple empty-handed would have a lamb drop out of heaven three feet away from the priest. He had to seek out his lamb, and he had to present it to the priest, and you and I have got to seek out these spiritual sacrifices. They're not going to be dumped in our arms when we walk up the front steps of the Grover Cleveland Junior High School.

55:46 Furthermore, we've got to take time to seek out these sacrifices. He who is so indifferent and lazy as to bring nothing to the worship of God should not be surprised that he receives nothing from the worship of God. You can't pull these commodities out of the cupboard. They come to us by meditation, reflection, and prayer.

56:18 And if you've blown it or if there have been extenuating circumstances, certainly you would seize those five or ten minutes before a public service to get away from people and talking with friends and come and sit and say, Lord, help me. Forgive me that I allowed myself to oversleep. And Lord, I feel I'm coming empty-handed, but You've said, none shall appear before me empty. Lord, give me even in these moments a sense of Your glory, a sense of Your majesty, a sense of holy expectancy, an awareness of my sin.

56:51 Lord, I don't want to come to worship as a priest who has nothing to offer. Frankly, I don't understand why some of you stand in the hall and talk till the very minute before the Word. You must have really spent a long time gathering up your sacrifices that you don't need those moments. And no one can do this for you.

57:19 It can't be done by proxy. As the Lord day dawns, may we begin in a new way to cultivate the mentality. Let our first thought be as the alarm clock goes off or as we're awakened by whatever means we're awakened, let the first thought be as surely as Jesus rose from the dead on the first day and the shriveling disciples gathered and Jesus appeared in the midst, He's going to be there in our midst today. Let that be your first thought.

57:55 And then discipline the time to have at least a few minutes to get alone and reflect. What shall I bring to Him? What lamb of praise shall I seek from the flock this week? What lamb of a broken heart?

58:08 What have been my sins that I should mourn in His presence as we gather a spiritual priesthood? Let the mind be active and reflect and let the spiritual hand seek out the meal offering of praise and that, sacrifice of the broken heart and all that as we come in this place we may come with our arms laden with those sacrifices that we would present to our God. What is true worship? Well, it involves, first of all, what we bring to God.

58:49 If necessary, write yourself a checklist. You may have to do that to discipline yourself to think this way. We're so lazy. We're bombarded, you see.

58:59 We sit passively and watch. And listen and see. And the whole element of the activity of the mind and the spirit. Surely, everything can find acceptance only through Christ.

Warning Against Polluted Worship and Call to Repentance

59:10 And it's all by the help of the Spirit. Yes! But it's all by the Spirit as we consciously engage in the work of offering spiritual sacrifice. I shall close by reading without comment, though it will be difficult.

59:27 I must in the interest of time. Malachi 1. Verses 6-9. Here is the complaint that Jehovah has with his people.

59:47 A son honoreth his father. Malachi 1.6. Last verse.

59:54 Last book of the Old Testament. A son honoreth his father and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is mine honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear, saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name?

60:15 And ye say, Wherein if we despise thy name? You priests, you New Testament priests, you have despised my name. And we say, what do you mean? I go to a sound church where there is sound preaching and where there is pure worship.

60:30 How have I despised your name? Here is the answer. Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar. And ye say, Wherein if we polluted thee?

60:41 In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible. And when ye offer the blind for sacrifice, it is no evil. And when ye offer the lame and the sick, it is no evil. Present it now to thy governor.

60:56 Will he be pleased with thee? Or will he accept thy person? Saith the Lord of hosts, May God smite our hearts and drive us afresh to Jesus, the Mediator, the New Covenant, who died to forgive the sin of bringing us back from polluted priestly worship. His blood cleanses from the wicked sins of robbing Him of His due in worship.

61:27 And may God find us this day seeking out a place to pray and confessing to God the sins of the sanctuary, the sins of the sanctuary, that we have not rendered to Him His due. And may we not be driven to despair, but driven to the fountain open in uncleanness, and spend every possible moment gathering up our sacrifices and come here this night prepared to offer them. Who knows what glory might fill this place as this kingdom of priests brings to Him His rightful due.

62:12 Let us pray. O our Father, our hearts are filled with shame. We say with the man of God of old, we blush and are ashamed to look up. We are grieved that we have, as these priests in Malachi's day, offered to You the lame, the bruised, the deformed sacrifice of unprepared and half-hearted and indifferent praise.

62:56 We have put our hands out to place an offering on the plate without our hearts being engaged. We have sat and listened to Your word without mixing faith with its utterances. Lord God, have mercy upon us as a people. Cleanse us of these sins of the sanctuary.

63:16 And oh, make us to be a kingdom of priests who find their great joy in whole-souled engagement in the offering of these spiritual sacrifices. Teach us what it is to worship You in our corporate life together, that Your name may be praised and that true religion may be preserved in the earth. Hear our prayer for the honor of Your own beloved Son. We ask in His name.

63:50 Amen.