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Main point summary

Do not come to God in profanity furthermore set Him apart and obey as the Lord has commanded.

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editing

OT

Leviticus 10:1-7

esv

Now y Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, z each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered a unauthorized 1 fire before the Lord ,

which he had not commanded them.

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And fire b came out from before the Lord

and consumed them,

and they died before the Lord .

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Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said:

‘Among c those who are near me d I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’”

e And Aaron held his peace.

And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of f Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them,

“Come near; carry your brothers away

from the front of the sanctuary and out of the camp.”

locative

So they came near and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said.

And Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar his sons,

g “Do not let the hair of your heads hang loose, and do not tear your clothes,

lest you die, and h wrath come upon all the congregation;

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but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning that the Lord has kindled.

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i And do not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting,

lest you die,

j for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.”

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And they did according to the word of Moses.

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Final Outline

Introduction: Read Leviticus 10:1-7 How are we to worship God? Does it even matter how we worship God? Should we do what we want as long as we are worshiping God? (Restaurant menu) Or should we do what God wants? As long as we are worshipping God, do whatever. End justifies the means. If we have high attendance this way then do it. I believe this passage answers those questions and points to 1) who/what has authority in our worship 2) how we are to approach our worship 3) why we worship Brief Background/Context Slavery Egypt - years learning a wrong lifestyle, wrong theology, wrong worship God saves them. Glory of God filled the tabernacle. Now we approach Leviticus Book is written by Moses. To sum up the book, it is the instruction manual for the people and priests in order to be holy for God. God is holy therefore my people will be Holy (Leviticus 19:2; 1 Peter 1:15-16) God desired.... (Exodus 19:6) The people need this due to years of wrong worship and lifestyle. Need a teacher/representative. Breakdown from 1 to 7 The first 7 chapters were the sacrifice laws. 1:1 up to 6:7 instruction for the layman person 6:8 up to 7:38 instruction for the priests Breakdown from 8 to 9 God sets apart Aaron and His sons for the office of Priest (ch.8) Priesthood Institution introduced. First sacrifice is given by Aaron and accepted by God. As a result when the blessing was given the people shouted with joy. (Ch.9) Now we enter 10:1- "Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, ..." *We come meet Nadab and Abuja. Who are these guys? * They are the sons of Aaron *Nadab is the oldest; heir of the priesthood *Well known; respected; renowned; honored men *They were among the 70 elders and Moses and Aaron in Exodus 24 to see God, eat, and drink. *God also called these men out by name in Exodus 24 and set them apart for the office of priest in Lev Ch. 8 *What are priests? * They were the teachers of the law to the people so the people can follow/understand to satisfy God’s expectations. *They were also intercessions between the people and God. *They represented as the people before God. And God before the people. *They performed sacrifices/worship before God. *They were responsible for the place of worship or the tabernacle. This is great. We are set for success. Future is bright for the people. Right men for the job. Right men for the people. Rejection of God's authority/command Man's sin But……. “each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded.” *Nadab and Abihu brought strange fire before God. *Brought something from the outside/foreign to God and His commands. *No one knows what the strange fire was. *But the point is….these men completely disregarded God’s authority and command and followed their own way thinking. They thought their own work would please Him and make an improvement. *What do you think the result of denying His command will be? *Many people and even professing Christians believe that even the smallest sin does not deserve eternal damnation. *Say you key a car at a junkyard. You might get punished because the car is already junk or you’ll get fined. But say you key a Lamborghini and someone famous owned it. You’ll definitely get a more harsh sentence due to the value of the object that was sinned against. *You and I sinned against the Creator of the Universe. One who is of utmost in value. No one is like Him. And he pumps our heart every millisecond of life we get. He Himself is life and sustains life. He is also just, true, and righteous. You and I have spat in His face. We deserve the utmost severe punishment because He himself is beyond more valuable than anything you and I can imagine. No words. *But isn’t His mercy beyond any height or depth? Oh yes. But his judgment is beyond as well. Which we will see….. From Triumph to Tragedy Result due to sin. "And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord ." * 1)God has authority over worship * This is the same fire which the Lord brought to consume the sacrifices in ch 9 , but this is not in mercy and blessing, rather in judgment and anger. * God did not threat them. *God did not give them time to beg for mercy. *God was quick in his judgment. *God had his arrow bent steady and struck them down that very moment. (Ps. 7:11-13) * Way God sees it the judgment is suitable for the crime. Pharaoh = water. Nadab and Abihu = fire. * You do not mess with God's authority in your everyday life and in worship. * You do not live your life however you want. * We as a church are not to order our worship however we want. * If you love your wife, you seek a gift she would approve. * If you love God, you will seek to do what He wills for you to do. * If great men such as Nadab and Abhiu couldn't venture off in their own will in worship, what makes us think we can do the same? Even their own status did not save them. God did not care about their status or their position. He cared about His glory. He cared about His name. Other examples of false worship/rejection of His commands: Cain's reject offering (Gen. 4:3-8), Golden calf (Exodus 32), Saul's sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22), Uzzah touched the ark (1 Chronicles), and 50,070 men died by looking at the ark. (1 Sam. 6:19) Annias and Sapharia (Acts 5) God desired the tabernacle to built according to His pattern and when they built it according to the Lord's will the glory of the Lord dwelt in the tabernacle. Aaron followed according to the will of God with the sacrifice presented and God consumed the sacrifices then the people were filled with joy. - We are not to worship according to our own commands. (Matthew 15:9) v1-14 Jesus rejection Pharisacial worship according to the tradition of the elders. - Isaiah 29:13 2) How are we to worship? How are we to approach Him? (Attitude) 1) Only regenerated heart can worship God; worship comes from God 2) adoration; reverence (Hebrews 12:28-29) God promised He would bless the church only through 1) The reading of the word (1 Tim 4:13) 2) The preaching of the word (2 Tim 4:2) 3) The singing of the word (Eph. 5:19; Col 3:16) * Psalms * Songs that center around on development on the Redemptive History of the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. 4) The praying the word. (Matt. 21:13) 5) The seeing of the word through the Lord's Supper and Baptism. "Visible words" (Matt. 26:17-29; Acts 2:38-39; 1 Cor. 11:23-26; Col. 2:11-12) This is final. (They did not need a choreographer or a director/producer at the temple neither are we commanded to do it now) We are not commanded to dance in the worship service. We are not commanded to create a drama to bring about the gospel in the worship service. We do not need pastors floating in the air at a service Or puppets giving us a lesson Or water guns used in a illustration Or special singing while rest of congregation sits and watches you perform. We are not to worship graven images. We are not to do feet washing or even lent. We are not commanded to favor singing more than preaching. We are not commanded to give up preaching repentance to make the congregation feel comfortable in their seat. We are not commanded to us smoke machines or crazy lights in worship service. We are not to have sappy drawn out altar calls using playing fifty million verses of "Just as I am" rather invite them to the Lord's table with bread and wine/grape juice. *Too many are respond to inventions made by man than the message God promised to save people by which is the gospel ( Romans 1:16 ). *We are not to be seeker sensitive to our secular culture. We are not to set up a flippant jokey cool atmosphere so we can reach the secular community. No secular people will tolerate true gospel worship. We are seek Him and His glory. * Richard Baxter said, "Remember the perfections of that God whom you worship, that He is a Spirit, and therefore to be worshipped in spirit and truth; and that he is most great and terrible, and therefore to be worshipped with seriousness and reverence, and not to be dallied with, or served with toys, or lifeless lip service; and that He is most holy, pure, and jealous, and therefore to be purely worshipped; and that He is still present with you and all things are naked and open to Him with whom we have to do." * If He has not commanded it and promised to bless it. Do not make up your own way of worship. * If you take something out of its own nature for worship and think it will please God then you better see if He has commanded and promised to bless it. * Or you will fall under superstition. * We are under His authority not our own. * Do not think because He is patient with others therefore He will be patient with us. * Aaron brought about the false worship in Exodus 32 and lived. But His boys didn't get another crack at it. * God is a consuming fire. It is a terrifying thing to be in the hands of God. * Humble yourself. Love Him. Sins are on the cross even your false worship. Believe that. Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” And Aaron held his peace. * Moses did not say "Be content!" * Moses and Aaron are hurt. full of grief. and sorrow. * Moses sought to stay Aaron's heart which was swaying violently full of emotion. *Moses sought to apply God's word. Showed reverence for God and His word when Aaron son's did not. * Do you remember? * Basically saying...."Whoever comes to me will set me apart, treat me as holy, with reverence. Or I will set myself against them in ways of judgment for I will appear holy before the people. And I will have glory for my holiness." Other example of setting himself apart in judgment (Ezekiel 28:22) * A father may let their child off the hook a couple times but not God. * We are to glorify God and His name above all else. More important More value than anything. God sees Himself above all. As He should because He is God. *Jeremiah Burroughs quote As if Moses said " Aaron, though I confess that the hand of God is heavy upon you this day, yet it is fitting for you to submit to God. This is fitting God is glorified. You are dear to God, but God's name is more dearer to Him than you are. Whatever lives your sons were, yet it is fitting that God should be honored and his name sanctified, whatever comes on your sons or your comforts, therefore stay your heart. You had great loss and affliction, but God has glory. God has glorified Himself." * Aaron had no words to say. God's judgment results in fear and obedience And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near; carry your brothers away from the front of the sanctuary and out of the camp.” 5 So they came near and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said. 6 And Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar his sons, “Do not let the hair of your heads hang loose, and do not tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning that the Lord has kindled. 7 And do not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses. * Think God would be gracious to give them proper burial? Ohhh no. * Treated as worthless animals, something foreign * They contaminated my sanctuary therefore they are out! * They buried outside of the camp along with the other scum of the earth. * Do not mourn because you represent me before the people. But let the people mourn over what I have done against them. * Command then obedience. * This act by God produced fear and obedience right away on the people and even Aaron. (Lev. 10:16-20) * Take worship seriously. Respect the God's authority over worship and act according to His will. * Be willing worshipers. Not will worshipers. * "Remember the perfections of that God whom you worship, that He is a Spirit, and therefore to be worshipped in spirit and truth; and that he is most great and terrible, and therefore to be worshipped with seriousness and reverence, and not to be dallied with, or served with toys, or lifeless lip service; and that He is most holy, pure, and jealous, and therefore to be purely worshipped; and that He is still present with you and all things are naked and open to Him with whom we have to do." Lastly, Remember the Why? 3) * The drive for the people was the salvation displayed in Egypt; need for mercy due to their sin; pointing to our great need for Jesus. * Jesus Christ is the reason why we worship. * He is the better priest * The better teacher. * When you see Jesus, you see the Father. * He is God. * He stood in our place. * He came and offered His life as a payment for all our sin. * He suffered/died outside the camp under the full force of the Father's flaming arrows due to us. * The Father saw His Son as us. The Father sees us as perfect and righteous as His Son. * "No condemnation now I dread; Jesus, and all in Him is mine! Alive in Him, my living Head, and clothed in righteousness divine; Bold i approach the eternal throne and claim the crown, through Christ my own. Amazing love! How can it be? That Thou my God shouldst die for me!" (And Can it be? Hymn) * Let this be the gas in our tank to worship Him under His authority in our heart and obedience. Flee from false worship. Humble yourself and seek His will worship.