Bruce, chapter 12. And I'm going to start reading at verse 25. Read through the end of the chapter. The writer has, throughout this book, as we'll see, been bringing before our minds the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. One of his desires is for Christians to have reinforced to their minds that when they come to public worship, they don't just appear before men. but they have dealings with God in Jesus Christ. So, right at this verse, he uses the word Him. He's talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. In particular, he is saying that when we hear the word of God, we are having dealings with Jesus Christ. Notice how he puts it. See that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape, when they refused Him who warned them on earth? How much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven? And His voice shook the earth then. But now He has promised, saying, Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven. This expression, yet once more, denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. Let's seek God once again and ask for his blessing on his word. Father, as our pastor has led us in prayer, we do rejoice to be among your people and to offer you our heart's worship. We desire now, as you have promised to give your spirit, give your Holy Spirit to us, instruct us, Grandfather, that your word may indeed find good soil in our hearts, and we may bear fruit thirty, sixty, a hundredfold. Establish your church stronger upon the things which you have delivered to her. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen. When you read the words of our text, perhaps you thought that they are remarkably relevant for our day. It wouldn't surprise me This text speaks about God shaking the nations, shaking created things. This text tells us that one day God is going to shake all of heaven and of earth. And then, when He does that, only one kingdom will remain. In our days, God is doing something very obvious that He has been doing for all of history. God has always been shaking the nations. That's what He's been doing. He raises up and He puts them down. And in our days, it seems that God has accelerated the work of shaking the nations. We see tremendous calamities which affect millions of people. Thousands of people have died in the last year because of natural, what they call natural calamities. God is shaking the world. There has been unrest in nations and financial trouble in nations on a global scale. There have been strong men who have had an iron rule over nations. Suddenly, in a matter of weeks, the rain has been shaken and some of them have been removed. God is shaking the nations. Most people will not understand what this means and what we should do about it. You won't hear on the network news that God is shaking the nations. You won't hear advice about what to think and what action to take. But God has told us here what this all means and what we are to do about it as the people of God. This little shaking of the nations now points us forward to the day when God is going to bring an end to all earthly kingdoms, all natural kingdoms. And that day, only one kingdom will remain. Christian, this is your kingdom. This is the kingdom that you, as a Christian, have been given. You're part of that kingdom. That's what we are to think when the nations are shaken. When our own nation seems to tumble from one problem to another. We are to think, I am a citizen of this kingdom, but there is a greater kingdom. This kingdom will be shaken. It will be shaken. The other kingdom will remain forever. That's what we're to think. What are we to do in the light of all of this? Well, there are many things that we should do, but the text highlights one thing in particular that we should do in the light of these things. What does the text say that we should do? Since we have received a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace. Let us have gratitude by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe. What should we do? What we're doing right now. What we've been doing this morning in this place. We should worship God with gratitude. The realities that we see, the realities we read about, we see the videos on the internet and on our TVs, they should cause us to worship God. I'm very grateful to worship God with you here from time to time and in our sister churches because I know what you think about worship. I know that the things that you do in this place are a conscious determination to worship God. And I believe that the kind of worship that we offer to God pleases Him. But in case you don't know it, and you might not be as aware of it as you could be, there is a crisis in the worship of God among Christians. There is a crisis in worship in our day. There are many people who call themselves Reformed, who are confused about worship. What they are called to do by these events, they don't really know how to do. And I'll go a step further and say there are people who call themselves Reformed Baptists who are confused about worship. Very confused. And it is my purpose this morning not to unconfuse you, because I don't think that you're confused. but it is my purpose to reinforce your convictions and to inoculate you against the spreading disease that is threatening the true worship of God. It's happening. Generally, Christians understand something about worship. We are Christians. The Bible is divided into two periods, the Old Testament, or the Old Covenant, and the New Testament, or the New Covenant. And we worship under the New Covenant, as New Testament Christians. And most Christians understand that New Covenant worship is different from Old Covenant worship. In the Old Covenant, there were animal sacrifices which God appointed for His own worship. The Old Testament people of God were called to worship God by sacrifice. In the Old Covenant, there were two groups of people in worship services. There were the priests, who offered the sacrifices and did most of the hard work of worship, in one sense. And then there were the rest of the people, called the laity. The priests were go-betweens for the people of God, who worshipped with the aid of the priests. There were some things the priests could do that the laity could not. And these things, we understand, have all changed. Worship has changed now, because we are all a kingdom of priests. We're all priests coming to God with worship. So it's different, isn't it? Now, some have said, that we have a different atmosphere in our worship in the New Covenant. The Old Testament had a certain atmosphere to it. The New Testament has a different atmosphere. And there's an element of truth in that, and there's an element of error in that. That's one of the problems. It is said that we have greater liberty in worship, and there's an element of truth in that, and there's an element of error in that. It is said that God regulated worship more closely in the Old Covenant. His worship was more regulated in a more detailed and strict way in the Old Testament and not in the New Testament. And there's an element of truth in that, but there is also a very serious error in that. What we will see in the Scriptures this morning is that there are important similarities between New Covenant worship and Old Covenant worship. There are great differences, but vital similarities. I hope you will see more clearly than ever what New Covenant worship is supposed to be like. And when you come here, you will say to yourself, perhaps next week or at the end of this service or this evening when you gather, that's why we do it that way. This is it. I want to refresh you and strengthen your convictions. I would urge you, as we think about worship, remember, We come to our Bibles to know how we worship God. You must believe not what I say or any other man says. No matter how popular he may be, what does the Bible say about worship? That's the great question. So, we need to look. to the Word of God. None of us gets to decide what worship should be like. Based upon our own opinions or our own preferences, we look to the Word of God. I tell you first of all this morning, my first point, having introduced you to the subject of worship, it grows out of the things that are happening in the world. We are called to worship God with gratitude. We want to worship God according to His Word. First of all, New Covenant worship is similar to Old Covenant worship in certain ways. I've told you that the crisis in worship today is due to the fact that people overemphasize the differences between Old Testament worship and New Testament worship. But to put it in a different way, Old Covenant worship and New Covenant worship. If I say Covenant, it's Testament, same thing, different word, but same basic meaning. I'll probably slip back and forth between them, but my purpose is to correct some of the problems that face us by underscoring this fact. New covenant worship is similar to old covenant worship in certain ways. And I have two things in mind. First, New Covenant worship is to be thought of as service and sacrifice. New Covenant worship, New Testament worship, our worship as Christians, is to be thought of as service and sacrifice. Now, this is denied by many people in our day. They realize that this was the way that the Old Testament was described. It was called service. Paul says that one of the privileges of the Old Testament Jews is that they had the service. And that was the way in which Old Testament worship with the priesthood and the sacrifices was described. The service. We call our worship by the same word, don't we? We say we have a worship service. That's rooted in Old Testament language. It's service to God. Now, the people who I'm speaking about, who make the mistakes about worship, say that, well, we don't describe, we don't think of worship the same way as the Old Testament believers did. Why? Well, animal sacrifice has been done away. That's a fact. It has been done away. And we should no longer think of worship as a sacrifice. Now, that's very interesting, isn't it? It's very interesting, because this writer knew what those people know. They also knew, the writer also knew that Old Testament sacrifice was done away. He knew that it was fundamentally faulty. Turn to Hebrews 10 for a moment, and see how the writer describes the sacrificial system of the Old Testament. It was ordained by God, but it was faulty. And notice how he puts it. He admits it right up front. He says it's not what we do. It's not the same. He says, for the law, that's the Old Testament laws regulating worship, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of the things, can never by the same sacrifices which they continually offer year by year make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered? Because the worshippers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? But, in those sacrifices, there is a reminder of sins year by year. Why? For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when He, Christ, comes into the world, He says, Sacrifice an offering you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for Me. in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, behold, Christ is speaking, I have come in the scroll of the book it is written of me to do your will, O God. After saying above, sacrifice and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you have not desired, nor have you taken pleasure in them, which are offered according to the law. That's what Old Testament worship is all about, sacrifice of animals. Then he said, behold, I come to do your will. He takes away the first Old Testament sacrifice to establish the second God's will. So the writer to Hebrews understands that things have changed. He understands that the Old Testament sacrificial system was faulty and was done away. It could never accomplish what Christ has done. So he knows that. I know that. You know that. But isn't it interesting now that the writing to Hebrews doesn't throw away the terminology of service and sacrifice. Turn to Hebrews chapter 13 for a moment. Very interesting. With all that he says in chapter 10, this inspired writer is unafraid to describe new covenant worship in these very terms. Not only does he use the term service in chapter 12, but notice what he says in 1315. Through him then, that is through Christ, he's now our great high priest. He has made atonement for sin. What are we to do? Let us continually offer up a Sacrifice. A sacrifice not of an animal, but a sacrifice of praise to God. That is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. What is our worship to be marked by? It's to be offering praise up to God. And what is the character of that praise? That is a spiritual sacrifice. There's no blood. There's no animal, it is praise, but it is a sacrifice nonetheless. And he goes on to talk about our giving. This morning we were led in worship and we gave our offering. Isn't it interesting? We call it an offering. Not just because we're giving something, but that's Old Testament terminology once again. He says, and do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices, God is pleased. The writer knows that the New Testament worship is different. He knows that things have changed. Yet, he is unashamed to use the word sacrifice to characterize the worship of the people of God. And he's not the only one. Look over at 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter 2. Here, Peter uses the same kind of language Striking just how close Peter comes to using the same words that this writer uses. Inspired by the same spirit, considering the same subject. He says this, 1 Peter 2.4, And coming to him, that's Jesus Christ, as a living stone, he's the living stone, which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also as living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, for a holy priesthood. He says, you become like Christ. When Christ gets hold of you and you lay hold of Christ, you become like Him. He's the living stone. You become living stones. He's the great high priest. You become a spiritual priesthood. That's Old Testament language once again. Old Testament language of worship. And what's this spiritual house and priesthood doing now as it meets? To offer up Spiritual sacrifice is acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. That's what we are. We are God's temple. This place is not God's house. This is the house for God's house. The people of God gathered together, they are the house. They are the temple. They are the priesthood. And we offer up spiritual sacrifices. You see, there are some ways in which Old Testament worship and New Testament worship are very similar. Both they and we are offering sacrifices to God. Different kinds, granted, but they're still sacrifices. Now, that's one way in which the Old Testament and the New Testament have the same kind of worship. New Covenant worship is to be thought of as priestly service and sacrifice. But there's a second way in which the New Covenant is similar to the Old Covenant in its worship. Both Old Testament worship and New Testament worship are thoroughly regulated by God. I say thoroughly regulated by God. What you and I do when we worship God is not left up to us. It's not left up to what we like, what we think it should be. It is determined by God Himself. Did you notice? Here's a little riddle for you. I like riddles. That there was one word that occurred in Hebrews 12, describing our worship, that occurs in 1 Peter 2. One word. Not service. Not priesthood. It's the word acceptable. Let us offer acceptable service with reverence and awe, and here we offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. That's the one common word between these two texts. Now, this is a word which refers to something that meets the standard someone has set for it. Suppose you are building a computer, and you have a lot of electrical wiring, a lot of electrical components, and you read in the instructions that there is a tolerance The amount of electricity that passes over into a certain port must meet certain standards. It must be more than this, less than this. There's a tolerance. And in between that, it's acceptable. It'll work. It's good. Same thing if you have a kitchen. You're starting a business. You're going to have a cooking business. The Department of Standards, the Department of Health is going to come in and they're going to measure the cleanliness of the kitchen. They have a standard. If it falls within their range of cleanliness, it is acceptable. You see, what is acceptable always involves a standard that must be met, and there is one with authority that sets the standard. We don't decide, we don't say, well, I look around my kitchen, I think my kitchen is clean enough, and I hope that people like the stuff I make. No, it's not what it's about. This particular word, acceptable, is carried over from the Old Testament. That's why I keep on saying it. Old New Testament worship is similar to Old Testament worship. You have the language of sacrifice, you have the language of service, you have the language of acceptable. Turn for a moment to Leviticus chapter 19. Leviticus chapter 19. We could turn to a lot of different passages in Leviticus But this is one of the places where this term, acceptable, comes from. Leviticus 19, verses 5 to 8. God is giving the law of sacrifice. He's telling the Old Testament people what they are to do. And He says this, now when you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it up so that you may be accepted. That's your aim in bringing sacrifice to God. You want to be accepted. It shall be eaten the next day you offer it, and the next day, but remains until the third day shall be burned with fire. So God's giving rules. God's giving a standard for the peace offering. What if you don't meet the standard? Notice the next verse. So if it has eaten it all on the third day is an offense. It will not be accepted. Everyone who eats it will bear his iniquity. For he has profaned the holy thing of the Lord and that person shall be cut off from his people. You see the concept of accepted? God has a standard. It has to be done this way. If it's not, it's not acceptable. Turn over to chapter 22. I'll give you another instance of this. This is a very important point. This is one of the points at which worship is being attacked. People are saying, we do our own thing, we make up our own rules, what seems good to us. But God says, what's the market? Acceptable. Acceptable to whom? Not acceptable to me, acceptable to God whom I'm worshiping. In chapter 22, starting in verse 17, notice how God lays out the laws once again. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to Aaron and to his sons, and speak to all the sons of Israel, and say to them, If any man of the house of Israel or of the aliens in Israel who presents his offering, whether it is any of their votive or any of their freewill offerings which they present to the Lord for a burnt offering, for you to be accepted it must be a male without defect from the cattle, the sheep, or the goats. Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer it. It will not be accepted for you. When a man offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord to fulfill a special vow or for a free will offering of the herder of the flock, it must be perfect to be accepted. There shall be no defect in it. And you can continue on reading in the chapter. We're not going to. But you have two instances, there were many other instances. What does acceptable mean? Acceptable means according to the rule that God sets down for His worship. It's what pleases Him, what He desires to see. And both the writers of the Hebrews and Peter say, when we offer our worship to God, we are aiming to offer acceptable service with reverence and awe. We are offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. It's explicit. It's not us. We don't determine what we do. God determines what He does. Very interesting. As you think about the letters of the New Testament, the letter called Hebrews is the one that focuses more attention on our worship than any other. And it focuses more attention on the differences between Old Covenant and New Covenant than any other letter of the New Testament. Here is where we are told that there is a similarity between Old Testament and New Testament worship and that our worship is sacrifice and service and it must be acceptable service. So, I trust that you see my first point this morning New Covenant worship is similar to Old Covenant worship in these two ways. But now I want to take another step in strengthening your hands for the work of worship with this point. I have stressed the similarities. Now I want to point to the great difference between Old Covenant and New Covenant worship. And I put it in this way. The work of the Lord Jesus Christ has greatly transformed worship and has made it what it now is. The work of the Lord Jesus Christ has greatly transformed worship and has made it what it now is. This is one of the primary themes of the book of Hebrews. The writer introduces the Lord Jesus Christ as soon as he can. It's very interesting the way he does it. Turn to the beginning of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 1. See this. The writer is fixated on revelation. He's fixated on God making his mind known to his people through the various means that he does. And notice how he starts. God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers and the prophets in many portions and in many ways, that's how God made the Old Covenant known, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He made the world. He said He used to make His ways known, His mind known this way, now He's made it known through His Son. And He goes on to describe His Son. He is the radiance of His glory, the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. And now, look at what He does. He talks about Christ as the Great High Priest, and His central work of salvation. When He, Jesus, had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High. Here's my point. The writer is interested in getting us to think about Jesus in connection with knowing the mind of God, and he gets to Jesus in connection with worship as soon as he can. Right away, he's bringing us into the thoughts of Jesus Christ as our great High Priest. Because this is the central theme of his book. He wants us to understand what Jesus Christ has done for us and what Jesus Christ is for us now in the New Testament. From this point on, He writes about His excellency as the Son, His role in the purposes of God. He explains the reason why the Son of God had to become man. Look at chapter 2 and verse 17. Chapter 2, 17. He says, therefore, he, Jesus, had to be made like his brethren in all things. Why? So that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of his people. Again, he is bringing this truth of the incarnation of Christ to our attention in the light of his role as the great High Priest. That's his concern, you see. From this truth, he quickly urges his readers to focus their attention on Jesus. Very interesting, isn't it? He's mentioned the fact that he became a man so that he could be a High Priest. And notice 3.1. He says, Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling. Consider, fix your attention upon Jesus, the Apostle, the one sent by God, and the High Priest of our confession. Again, He's bringing us into the orbit of worship. He's bringing us before Jesus Christ, who is now our great High Priest. And what He does from this point, is He begins to show the danger of not listening to our Lord, not regarding our Lord as we ought And then he comes to chapter 4, verse 14. You see, we're taking this brief survey, hitting the highlights of the writer's thought here. He says, therefore, 4.14, since we have a great high priest who is passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Again, he's bringing us into our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. What He has done, how it affects our worship. For this drawing near to Jesus to find mercy and help in time of need is part of our worship. It's part of our spiritual sacrifice. And He's urging us, look, you have Jesus Christ. What should you do? We have to draw near. We must draw near. Well, the writer comes to the high point of his teaching in chapters 9 and 10, where he brings to our attention in a concentrated way the activity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at 10, 11 to 14 with me for a moment. A very pivotal text about what Jesus has done and how it affects our worship. In Hebrews 10, 11, Again, the writer's drawing a comparison between Old Testament priests and our Great High Priest. What they did, what he has done. He says every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices which can never take away sin. That was the character of Old Testament worship, but Jesus has changed it all. But He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made the footstool for His feet Notice 14, notice this language, brethren, this is about us. This is what Jesus did to change worship forever. For by one offering, he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. The work of Jesus Christ as our sacrifice has done something to us. He has perfected us. He has done something to us in our inner man which changes worship forever. That's what he's saying. He has perfected us. This is the main statement of this particular part. Something has been accomplished in us. Who has he done it for? Who has he perfected? He perfects those who are sanctified. How has he done it? He says, by one offering. And he tells us that there is a final change. This is an accomplished work. He has done it once for all. He has perfected those who are sanctified. So the writer tells us, he emphasizes the fact that some great change has been made by the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has made the contrast. Again, with the Old Testament sacrifices, they were repeated again and again. Why? Well, you might think that the sacrifices were repeated because the people kept on sinning. And that's true, because God said that, right? When you sin, if you sin this way, you bring this sacrifice. So when you sin, you bring this one. And if you sin again, you bring this one. And you keep on sacrificing because you keep on sinning. But the writer says that wasn't the only reason. As a matter of fact, he says there's another reason why the sacrifices were repeated so much. Look back. Remember what we read in chapter 10, verse 1, a little while ago? For the law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of the things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer year by year, make perfect those who draw near." Notice that word? Make perfect. Make the great change that will change their worship. What has Jesus done? He's made us perfect. You see? And he says, otherwise, if they were able to affect what sacrifices should have affected, verse 2, otherwise would they not have ceased to be offered? Because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sin. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. The sacrifices were intended to say to the people of God of old, that change hasn't yet come. Sin has not yet been dealt with in a way that is truly and eternally effective. Your conscience calls for repeated sacrifice because the great sacrifice has not occurred. But when Jesus appears, He does something to sacrifice His good. He offers such a sacrifice of such efficacy with God, that it pleases God and it cleanses the conscience perfectly. We don't need another sacrifice, because Jesus' sacrifice not only pleases God, it perfects our conscience. Notice back in chapter 9, verse 11, But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come. He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood. He entered the holy place, once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, that's all it did. It made people ceremonially clean, so God wouldn't kill them when they drew near. How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit, offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works, to serve worship language, to serve the living God? This is the point that Jesus Christ provides the sacrifice that is effective with God. And when it is brought to us and it is our sacrifice, it does something to us. It perfects us. It washes the conscience perfectly clean. The conscience says, I need nothing else but the Lord Jesus Christ. I need no other sacrifice. Now my sins are wiped away. Now I can worship God acceptably. I have peace with God. When I come, I'm not wondering. I may have a guilty conscience at times. I may. I may indeed come with a sense of my unfitness for worship. But there's an answer at the right hand of God. An answer of one who sat down because the sacrifice is done. And it's effective. It pleases God. It cleanses us. It's perfected us, brethren. It's perfected us. That's why there's no more sacrifice. And by the way, that's why Jesus is sitting. I remember hearing this From dear Pastor Martin, when he was preaching at Trinity early on, he made that point about Jesus' sacrifice. He said, Jesus did something the Old Testament priests never did. They always stood. Doesn't the writer say that? They stand continually, making the same sacrifices. Their work's never done. That's why they're standing. But he sat down. You sit down when you're done. When I'm done, I'll sit down. Right? Jesus sat down. Eloquent testimony to the completion of his wonderful work. It must have had an impact on the Old Testament worshipper. He must have had a sense. What can this animal sacrifice do for me? How can it forgive my sins? It's not equal to me in dignity. How can it wash away my sins? But now, you see, with the Lord Jesus Christ, it addresses our conscience. An adequate sacrifice has been made for us. And that's the wonder of our Lord's sacrifice and death. When we draw near to God through Him, the great problem of how can we sinners approach Him has been thoroughly DEALT WITH!