I'd invite you to turn with me this morning to Leviticus. The past couple of weeks we've been considering this topic of worship. What it is we do when we gather together on Sunday mornings and why it is that we do it. Worship is that activity that is both public and private, an activity in which we come together before our Creator God and give to Him our praise and prayer and adoration out of a sense of gratitude for what He has done for us, thankfulness for what He has done for us and for who He is. We enter into His presence each Lord day as a covenant re-commitment, reminding us of the covenant that God has made with His people, that He is our God and that we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Last week I mentioned that dialogue that Jesus had with that woman at the well, that woman from Samaria, in which He said to her and reminded her in that one little phrase in there that salvation is from the Jews. What we do today, what we do every Sunday, has its roots, its basis, in what God's people did then, yesterday, in the tabernacle, in the temple, setting that pattern for our worship. Our worship, though, is certainly transformed, and we'll see here very soon that we should be glad that it is transformed. By the coming of Christ, who is, and said, the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For such people, the Father seeks to be his worshippers. See, even today we cannot determine how we are to come into God's presence. He tells us, he defines that method that approach for us. It's true that we don't use blood sacrifices to prepare the way for our entrance into the Holy of Holies, but the principles of sacrifice are the same today as they were then, during the time of worship in the tabernacle and the temple. The spiritual world is the same now as it was then. principles governing our worship are the same now as they were then. See, what God expects of us and offers to us in the work of worship remains the same now as it was then. With that in mind, let's look at Leviticus chapter 1, verses 1 through 9. challenge you as we read these nine verses this morning to really engage your mind, your imagination, if you will, and understand these words almost as if you were there participating in these actions that the writer of Leviticus describes for us. Then the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, When any man of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of animals from the herd, or the flock. If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer it, a male without defect. He shall offer it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord. He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf. He shall slay the young bull before the Lord, and Aaron's sons, the priests, shall offer up the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the doorway of the tent of meeting. He shall then skin the burnt offering. and cut it into its pieces. The sons of Aaron, the priest, shall put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. Then Aaron's sons, the priest, shall arrange the pieces, the head and the suet, over the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar. Its entrails, however, and its legs he shall wash with water, and the priest shall offer up and smoke all of it on the altar of a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma." to the Lord. The grass withers, flowers fade and fall, but the words of our Lord endure forever. Heavenly Father, Almighty God, we humbly enter into your presence, hearing your word, knowing, Lord, that you are gracious and a good God whose love endures forever. who desires his people to worship him, to come into his presence, to bow down and adore him. And yet we're reminded, Lord, that we cannot come into your presence without offering sacrifice, holy and living, presented to you, that our offering might be pleasing in your sight. O Lord, then it was the blood of an animal, now it is the blood of the Lamb of God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May these words weigh upon us as we seek to understand, O Lord, how worship is work. Father, we pray in Christ's name. Amen. in the context of Leviticus. A book, to be honest, most of us in this room probably began reading our Bibles in Genesis and get to this book of Leviticus and very quickly skim through Passover and probably don't even consider the words of this book in our Bible. We have a scene that is described here in these first nine verses that an organization known as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, PETA, or PETA, however you want to pronounce that, would have a field day with. Here is the tabernacle court full of people milling around bringing animals into the court, the temple, the tabernacle. These animals are agitated because they sense what is going on. The sight and the smell of so much death. Bleeding animals being dragged to the place where their throats are going to be cut. Rivers of blood flowing and if you have a very good imagination, you can imagine what's going on as these animals' jugular veins are cut, their throats are cut. This blood isn't just dropping to the ground, it's spurting out. The blood's flowing across the ground, being washed away by the priests, who are everywhere, busy going about doing their work, emptying basins of water to clean up the blood. Here's a vivid picture in these nine verses of the work of worship. The sacrifice that is involved with coming into God's presence. The work of sacrifice that ultimately points to that one perfect sacrifice of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. But also reminding us that worship is work involving sacrifice. It involves our sacrifice. It involves the sacrifice of the one who brings the sacrifice. It involves the worshipper himself. In the first five chapters of Leviticus, We see regulations that are relating to five great sacrifices that God has told his people that they must participate in as they come into his presence. These sacrifices in chapters 1 through 5 are repeated in chapters 6 and 7, but they are repeated with a different emphasis. Five chapters. There's the burnt offering and the green offering. The peace and sin and guilt offerings. These are described from the standpoint of what is required of the one who is bringing those offerings. The one who is offering the sacrifices. The one for whom the sacrifices are being given. The offerer. The worshiper. If you want to put yourself in that context, you. offering these sacrifices, me, the one whose sins need to be atoned for. The second time these five sacrifices are mentioned is from the standpoint of the requirements of the mediator, the priest, the one who is officiating at the temple and the tabernacle over the offering of the sacrifices that you, the worshipper, are bringing. As we look back at those verses, those first nine verses, I ask you to pay particular attention, to put your sanctified imagination in those verses as we read it. Pay particular attention to it. And hopefully with the reading that I did for you as we listened together, You would have heard the emphasis there, and you can go back and look on that word, that pronoun, he. He shall offer a male without defect. Which doesn't say that he must select the animal. Who is this he? It is the offer of a sacrifice. He must bring it to the entrance of the sanctuary. However long that distance may have been, he must bring that animal carry it to the entrance of the sanctuary. He has to lay his hands upon the sacrificial animal at the appointed time in this ritual. He then is required to kill the animal, slit its throat, bleed it dry. Then he had to butcher the animal. No easy task when you stop and think about where this is taking place in that hot, near-eastern sun. And then finally, he had to wash the entrails as the animal was opened up and slaughtered. He had to wash the inside of the animal and the hind legs to make sure that the last part of the animal to be put on the altar was clean. Who is doing this? It's not the priest. It's the worshipper, the one who brings this offering into the presence of God in order to be able to come into God's presence. He, you, the worshipper, is offering this animal, is slaughtering this animal, is washing the insides of this animal so that the priest can then take your offering and give it as a whole living sacrifice. Who's doing all this? It's the worshipper. It's you. It's me. Worship for the people of God, you see, then was not a spectator sport. You didn't sit back and watch the minister do all the work. The priest do all the work for you. You were involved. The one who came into God's presence was actively involved in worship. For him, worship was work. The worshiper of God, we might say, is an actor. Giving his performance, offering his performance before an audience of one. Who's that audience? It's God. Always doing something. Even listening. I mean, the Westminster Divine said that we are to come into God's presence to listen to a sermon and to listen actively, consciously. So even now you're involved, participating in worship. To be sure, the priests, had something to do as well. They didn't stand by and watch all this being done. It didn't mean that the worshipper was passive, though. Here is one going, in a sense, to church. And a few minutes later, he's up to his elbows in blood and gore. Now, I haven't slaughtered an animal. Some of you have. And you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's messy business, isn't it? Run. Yes. And others who have seen this and participate in it. The worshipper worked in worship. Then the priest did his thing. And the worshipper had more to do. Then the priest did his little bit in worship again. And together, what did they do? They presented this work of worship to God. Together, they completed their offering of asking for forgiveness, of faith and love and thanksgiving. Thanksgiving that this animal that's being slaughtered is not me. As they entered into God's presence, throughout Christian history, There has been a persistent temptation, and often it's been successful, to take worship out of the hands of the worshipper. To take worship out of the mouth of the worshipper. As the priests take over and the ministers lead worship. That is so wrong, because everywhere in Scripture, everywhere in the Bible, worship involves active participation on the part of the congregation. The congregation's voice is heard in song and in prayer, and as we might expect, but also in response to God's Word. The congregation moves. You came in, you sat down, you got up. You sit down, you get up. In some congregations, there's even a place to kneel if you so desire to kneel in prayer. The congregation gathers before the Lord to offer its gifts, to declare its loyalty and its covenant faithfulness, to await on God's Word as He speaks through the reading of the Word and the preaching of the Word. The Reformers said that even the preaching of the Word is the Word of God. We gather together here once a month to fellowship around the table. An important part of that covenant recommitment we make before God. And all of this is done not just by the minister or the priest, but by the congregation. You participate. It isn't my relationship with the Lord, you see. It's our relationship with the Lord. that is being renewed and restored and purified and cleansed. It's not the minister's work, although it is work, it's the congregation's work. God cares how we worship Him. He cared then, at the time of Leviticus, and He cares now. You consider all the details that are laid out in just these nine verses. God tells them where to slaughter the animal. He tells them where to put the blood. He tells them how to divide it or how not to divide it. He tells them where the worshiper is to put his hand. And what all of this was for, it's for atonement. He goes into minute detail here. Why? Why does He do that? Because God cares about how His people come before Him to worship. Those who worship Him must worship Jesus said, in spirit and in truth. Having a right attitude, understanding that the power of Christ's Spirit enables us to commune on a level with God that otherwise we can't, and we come in truth according to God's instruction, according to His Word, through the living Word who is truth. See, we can't meet with God and draw near to Him and worship Him any old way we please. And so many people today are trying to do just that without God's command, doing things, placing things in worship that is not intended to be in worship. Worship is about the Word, about listening to God's Word, about responding to that Word, and then listening again and responding again. We must come before God on his terms, not ours, actively participating, offering a sacrifice and understanding that no man comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment of this sacrificial system that we see here. He is the way. He is the truth. He is the life. See, God accepts and communes with those who come into His presence through the death, it says here in these verses, of an atoning sacrifice. Notice concerning that sacrifice, verses 3-9 here. This is the very first of the sacrifices of these five that are mentioned. And because it's first, it is the most important. It's a burnt offering, often called the Holocaust offering. Coming from that Hebrew word, olah, that refers to this burning, the smoke of this offering going up, being a pleasing aroma to God. This is the only one of these five great sacrifices that is wholly given over to the Lord. See, the other sacrifices have parts of those sacrifices that are held back, that are kept back for the priest, or even shared with the one who is bringing the sacrifice. But this sacrifice is wholly given to the Lord, completely offered over to them, totally consumed before the Lord. And it is clear that this sacrifice indicates that no one can approach the Lord. No one can approach this covenant God. No one can be acceptable to this God. without a substitutionary sacrifice, without atonement, without shed blood covering sins. The sacrifice is total. The body of the sacrifice is given. The blood of the sacrifice is taken. Where's the life? It's in the blood. Without blood there is no life. Writer of Hebrews tells us that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. Without blood there is no activity. Draining the blood out of the animal assures the death of the animal. So every sacrifice involves the shedding of blood and the giving of a body. The writer of Hebrews once again tells us that not all the blood of beasts on the Jewish altars slain could give the guilty conscience peace or wash away sin. And in those words we hear those words of Jesus. Even on the night that he was betrayed, associating his body and his blood with these sacrifices. This is my body, he says, which is given for you. How many times have you heard me say those words as we come to the Lord's table? This is my blood of the covenant, which is shed for many, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sin. Jesus is speaking of himself. and about his death in terms of these two constituent parts of these Levitical sacrifices. Parts of the Old Testament. Levitical sacrifices of the burnt offering. The body and the blood. Jesus is explaining his death and the significance of it to his disciples in terms which are unmistakable. if you have read and understand the words of Leviticus. See why it's so important not to skip over this book? Those who enter into God's presence do so as they lay their hands in a figurative, in a real way, upon that Lamb. The Lamb of God who takes away our sin. entering into the tent of meeting. When the worshipper does so, what does he do? He is, in essence, transferring those sins. He's transferring himself to that sacrificial animal, to that lamb. That animal is then being slaughtered. Who's doing the slaughtering? You. Me. the one offering his sacrifice. So we can't step back and simply watch it being done. We do it. In effect, saying, if I break this covenant, what is done to this animal will be done to me. I will pay the penalty. I will pay the price. So we transfer our sin Ourselves, wholly and completely to that animal. That animal is sacrificed. That blood is shed and that body is offered up. It's a whole burnt offering before God. In effect saying, that's what I will do. The worshippers. Symbolic substitute is that animal. We are offering ourselves symbolically through that animal to God. Paul, the Apostle Paul, words in Romans chapter 12 verses 1 and 2 says to present your bodies, holy and living sacrifices which is your spiritual act of worship acceptable to God. Paul is drawing there in Romans on this very language that we read in Leviticus, language that describes this covenantal sacrificial system to tell us that worship is work. It's not a spectator sport in which we come and attend and you listen and you leave. Our worship here at Covenant Reform is intended to get you involved in the work of worship. And even then, we could do a much better job. But our form of worship here is something that maybe some of you have not even seen before. Because worship these days has become a type of activity in which you go and you just watch. You don't participate. We gather together in our worship, and there is a call to worship coming from God's words, drawing our attention to who He is, to what He has done for us. We sing praises to Him with our voice. Some of us make joyful noises with our hearts. There's an invocation asking for God's Spirit to be among us in mighty and powerful ways. We sing again as God hears our praise. There's a Psalter reading in which we hear God's Word, that living Word. We come before Him confessing our sins with prayers of assurance and intercession. We worship by giving our tithes and offering sacrifices. Some churches don't even have that in the context of their worship. They have it at the end, after the pastor has done his preaching. And if you like what he said, you can put money in the basket. If you don't, well, you just walk out the door. But you see, that's not what giving is all about. God has given to us, and we can be thankful that He has, and we give out of hearts that love Him. We hear God's Word in the message of the Word. And even in the context there, we have prayers. And we close with a hymn of commitment and trust, singing back to God the praise that we have heard from His Word. And then we close with a benediction, which in effect, the pastor, God through the pastor, is placing His hand upon your head as you leave with His Word and His benediction. There's other liturgies that bring maybe even more activity in the context of our worship service. Worship is work, reminding us that in order to come into God's presence, we must be covered with blood. As we read in Leviticus, those worshipers were covered with blood. But we're covered not with the blood of bulls and goats. It's impossible for that blood to take away sin. We enter into worship covered with the blood of the Lamb of God. Shed for many for the forgiveness of sin. This coming Thursday is Thanksgiving Day. Let us remember as we enjoy that fellowship around those tables. We have much to be thankful for. Not only the blessings that God has poured out upon us, but thankful that this work of worship that is too often today becomes so sanitized. We've gotten so far away from seeing the real picture of what the work of worship was and is that we forget that it was really work. We can be thankful that through the work of Christ, through His work of sacrifice on our behalf, making atonement for our sin, that we would have nothing. I hope that after today, if you have never thought about it before, that coming to worship, you'll put on your work clothes, you'll gather together as we come, God's people, together to worship, to work before Him, through the One who is the completion of our work, Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father, Almighty God, we can't help having read, hopefully understood, this passage in Leviticus. and all that it points to than the work of worship. Lord, we cannot enter into your presence without a sacrifice, without shed blood, without that body that is burnt on that altar of burnt offerings, totally consumed. That offering that is lifted up, it's a soothing aroma. to you. Father, we understand that as Christ has come, that sacrificial lamb, that all of those regulations, all of those sacrificial systems described and outlined in great detail in the Old Testament have been abrogated, have been fulfilled and put aside. We no longer need to do those things that are prescribed there. And yet, the sense in which those sacrifices pointed to, the reality that they pointed to in Jesus Christ is still real and present with us today. Lord, we may not physically see that blood shed, that body offered. Our arms and our hands may not be bloodied by that sacrifice in reality. But it is still real, nonetheless, in the One who has come, offering His body and His blood on behalf of the worshiper. Father, what a good God You are. Your love does endure forever. And we look forward, O Lord, to that time that we will rejoice in all eternity in the new heaven and the new earth with you and with Christ our Savior and with all those who profess faith in Him as we worship you. Even then, O Lord God, understanding that worship is work. We thank you, Lord, for what you have done in Christ. that our work is fulfilled and complete in Him. Father, we pray in His name. Amen.