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ThThe Danger of Unauthorzed Fire

One of the best books I ever read is by the Old Puritan Pastor Jeremiah Burroughs called GOSPEL WORSHIP. I would encourage every Christian to read it. There seems to be a loss of reverence in our comtemporary worship services. Much of what is done focuses more on us than on God. The bible is clear God must be worshipped in Spirit and Truth. God tells us how to worship Him. We are not permitted to offer worship to God however and whatever we desire and think it is acceptable. Many say as long as you are sincere it doesn’t matter. This poses a problem because there is the danger of being sincerely wrong. Worship is for God, not for us. Sadly, that simple statement is foreign to our day. This is not to say we or not benefited in worship. God is to be glorified and we are edified in doing so.i believe we are enriched greatly by worshipping God, but it must be on His Terms.

Leviticus 10:1–3 (ESV)

 

1 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, 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 them. 2 And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. 3 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.

This passage gives evidence and validity to the fact that God is serious about how He is worshipped. People of God don’t take worshipping God as some casual thing. He is Holy and He must be reverenced.

Puritan pastor Jeremiah Burroughs masterfully gives guidelines to facilitate the reader to move closer to God in worship. Through 14 sermons, Burroughs carefully explains the right manner of worshipping God in the three great ordinances of hearing the Word, receiving the Lord’s Supper, and prayer. Burroughs shows that true worship is reverent, focused upon our Holy God.

In a sermon Burroughs wrote on this passage three things he highlighted that I think we should take heed to. He says;

1. That in worshipping God, there is a drawing nigh unto Him.

2. That when we do draw nigh to God, we should take heed to ourselves that we sanctify God’s name. (Treat His Name as HOLY)

3. If we do not sanctify God’s name in our drawing nigh to Him, then certainly God will sanctify His own name upon us.

On the first point Burrough says, “That in God’s worship, there must be nothing tendered up to God but what He has commanded. I call this, “No Use of Unauthorized Fire”.

All that we do in worship must be consistent with the Word of God which is the Will of God. I must ask myself am I acting upon what God has prescribed or am I acting upon what I desire?

Aaron’s sons offered fire that God had not commanded. This means we must have a warrant for the worship of God. If I do not have Scripture to warrant me, I am acting insubordinate. We must all be willing worshippers, not will-worshippers.

If you would worship God, you must have a commandment of God for the worship. If there is no command from God then you worship in vain (Matthew 15:39). We can’t use Unauthorized Fire!

I will pick up more tomorrow with Privilege and Positions Are No Protection.

“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

John 4:24e Danger of Unauthorzed Fire

One of the best books I ever read is by the Old Puritan Pastor Jeremiah Burroughs called GOSPEL WORSHIP. I would encourage every Christian to read it. There seems to be a loss of reverence in our comtemporary worship services. Much of what is done focuses more on us than on God. The bible is clear God must be worshipped in Spirit and Truth. God tells us how to worship Him. We are not permitted to offer worship to God however and whatever we desire and think it is acceptable. Many say as long as you are sincere it doesn’t matter. This poses a problem because there is the danger of being sincerely wrong. Worship is for God, not for us. Sadly, that simple statement is foreign to our day. This is not to say we or not benefited in worship. God is to be glorified and we are edified in doing so.i believe we are enriched greatly by worshipping God, but it must be on His Terms.

Leviticus 10:1–3 (ESV)

1 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, 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 them. 2 And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. 3 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.

This passage gives evidence and validity to the fact that God is serious about how He is worshipped. People of God don’t take worshipping God as some casual thing. He is Holy and He must be reverenced.

Puritan pastor Jeremiah Burroughs masterfully gives guidelines to facilitate the reader to move closer to God in worship. Through 14 sermons, Burroughs carefully explains the right manner of worshipping God in the three great ordinances of hearing the Word, receiving the Lord’s Supper, and prayer. Burroughs shows that true worship is reverent, focused upon our Holy God.

In a sermon Burroughs wrote on this passage three things he highlighted that I think we should take heed to. He says;

1. That in worshipping God, there is a drawing nigh unto Him.

2. That when we do draw nigh to God, we should take heed to ourselves that we sanctify God’s name. (Treat His Name as HOLY)

3. If we do not sanctify God’s name in our drawing nigh to Him, then certainly God will sanctify His own name upon us.

On the first point Burrough says, “That in God’s worship, there must be nothing tendered up to God but what He has commanded. I call this, “No Use of Unauthorized Fire”.

All that we do in worship must be consistent with the Word of God which is the Will of God. I must ask myself am I acting upon what God has prescribed or am I acting upon what I desire?

Aaron’s sons offered fire that God had not commanded. This means we must have a warrant for the worship of God. If I do not have Scripture to warrant me, I am acting insubordinate. We must all be willing worshippers, not will-worshippers.

If you would worship God, you must have a commandment of God for the worship. If there is no command from God then you worship in vain (Matthew 15:39). We can’t use Unauthorized Fire!

I will pick up more tomorrow with Privilege and Positions Are No Protection.

“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

John 4:24

I am reading the Book of Ephesians. I had to stop after chapter 1 and meditate and reflect on what i had read. As I carefully reflected. I concluded tat the Lord was maturing me greatly by increasing my understanding of my salvation. All I can do is Rejoice and Praise Him!

This is a Great Hymn of God’s Amazing Grace.

In Ephesians 1:3-14, there are 202 words in 12 verses that actually make up one sentence. Wow! Many english teachers would say this is grammatically incorrect. However, I have concluded everything grammatically correct is not always theologically powerful. The sentence structure may not fit our standards, but the theological teaching will transform our lives.

Paul is Praising God! He is praising God for the Blessings that are ours in Jesus Christ. There is great wealth and richness in Jesus Christ. It is awesome to fully comprehend and realize all that we have in Jesus Christ. we have been blessed (Past Tense) with EVERY spiritual blessing that we could ever possess. this makes me shout with JOY UNSPEAKABLE! But there is More.

We have been chosen in Christ before the foundation of the World. this means God set His Affection upon me before I Existed, therefore without my Permission. He loved me before I ever existed. This means being in Christ is not about My Behavior but God’s Benevolence, which definitely impacts my Behavior. His Action toward me is the primary cause of My Action toward me. I love Him because He first loved me. I searched through this Doxology and I could not find one single thing we did to contribute to our salvation.

In this Great Work God is DOING the DOING. It was God the Father’s Plan to bless in Christ and choose us in Christ. “If God had not chose some heaven would have none”. There is more!

After He Blessed and Chose us, He Adopted us into His Family. It is one thing to be Blessed and Chose into a Kingdom, but it is unbelievably amazing to become a member of the Royal Family. Blessed, Chose Adopted, then Redeemed by God the Son. Purchased by the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. Released from the Bondage and Brutality of Sin!

There is more! Sealed by God the Holy Spirit, which He is the Guarantee of my getting a FULL Inheritance. The small phrase “In Christ”, has very weighty Implications. In Christ actually implies three thing:

In ChristImplies Three Things;

1. The Believers United RelationshipIn Christ
2. The Believers Deep Intimacy In Christ
3. The Believers New Identity In Christ

Now I better understand why Paul used 202 words in these 12 verses which make up 1 sentence. He couldn’t stop praising our Thrice-Holy God for such a A Great God and a Glorious Salvation!

All who are in Christ, should Praise God as well!

So today Christian, take your mind off of what you  don’t have Materially and Praise God for the Wealth of Riches you have Spiritually IN CHRIST! Today take your eyes off our your Problems and Praise God for your Privileges IN CHRIST!

Hallelujah, What a Savior!

 

Have you ever wonder why the doors of your church are still open? Why are we not Shut-Down!

Some say because of the faithful few in the giving of their time efforts and resources.

Some say it’s the prayers of the church.

Some say the faithfulness of the Preacher.

I stand firm without the fear of successful contradiction.

The doors of the church remain open because of Election. God’s Electing Grace!!! Halleluah for the LAMB!!!

Think about it. If God didn’t chose some heaven would have none.

The functions and orders of life is because of God’s Choosing not ours. this is Glorious News!

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, [2] not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being [3] might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him [4] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

God has Selected the Rejected to Shame the Respected that the chosen’s boasting would be in the LORD.

Many of the Spiritual Battles we lose in life are often caused by a lack of Spiritual Preparation. In any battle fight or competition preparation is critical. Most of us love to perform but we hate to prepare. I can still hear the words of NBA superstar Allen Iverson, “PRACTICE.” Paul warns the church of its need to be prepared for Spiritual Warfare. Paul calls the church at Ephesus and believers of all ages to be spiritually prepared to fight in the war against the enemies of our faith and practice.

In Ephesians 6:10-13, He starts with A Command – Be Strong in the Lord. Which is a command to have our Dependency Properly Aligned.

A good soldier must know where their strength resides. Our strength is not in ourselves nor our efforts for we are no match for the devil and his demons. Nor is our strength in our gifts and abilities. It is in the Lord.

After telling us what to do Paul then tells us how to do it The Method, “Put on God’s Armor.”

Our Strength for battle is found in our obedience to Paul’s word. This command is in the middle voice, meaning the subject is to do the action and actually benefits from the action he does. This places the responsibility on us.

David knew he could not beat Goliath with Saul’s armor. So he refused it for he had never used it and it was never designed for Him it was designed for Saul.

God has specific armor that is tailor made for His people to do battle with our enemies.

Paul gives us the Command the Method and then the Reason – In order that you might be able to STAND against the schemes of the devil.

We must understand that the devil doesn’t have any new material. He uses the same schemes and strategy to try to defeat us.

He knows he can’t Condemn us so he tries to Corrupt us.

Paul Conclusion – Put on God’s Full Armor in Order to Stand.

Paul restates a previous command, we are to be fully prepared for the attacks of the devil.

The goal is for us to Perform by STANDING and we can only Stand by PREPARING.

May God give us the grace to see the necessity of our need of HIM in the Spiritual Battles we will face. (Phil. 4:13)

II Kings 4:8-9

I Perceive he is a Holy Man of God.

Elder DJ Ward was the very humble Pastor/Teacher of the Main Street Baptist Church in Lexington KY. He was a very Loving, Fiery and Gifted Man of God. (seen in picture above)

His influence and impact upon my life is for another day, but he was the first preacher I heard expound upon this passage. Wow! Great explanation and application of the text. Now I will make a feeble attempt to share with you.

Holiness will never be appreciated from ones lips if it hasn’t become to pursuit of one’s life. Word and Witness are directly connected and are inseparable. There must be a nobility in the Preacher in order for there to be nobility in his preaching.

John 1:1, Jesus is identified as God’s Son the Divine Logos, or Word. By identifying his Son as his Word, God reveals that his message and his person are inseparable. The Word embodies him and He embodies the Word.

Although they are not inspired, Aristotle’s classic rhetorical distinctions can be helpful to a preacher to consider your basic responsibilities. Aristotle contended that every persuasive message is made up of at least three components.

The first is called Logos historically. What does logos mean in Greek? It means “word.” It is the words, it is the verbal content. Logos is the verbal content of the message. It includes not only the words used but also the argument used, its craft, and the logic of the message. What is the verbal message? That is the logos part of the message.

A second major component of any message is Pathos, which is the emotive content. Pathos is the passion, emotion, or feeling with which something is expressed.

The final component of every persuasive message is Ethos. Ethos is the perceived character of the speaker. What is the key adjective there? “Perceived.” It is not the actual character of the speaker. You may say, “Well, I know I am not like that!” Well, how are you being perceived? Ethos is the perceived character of the speaker.

That is one of the reasons logos and pathos are so important.

What is your character perceived to be if you are disorganized? It seems that you do not care.

What is perceived about you if you do not speak with passion? It is perceived that you do not care. You may care very much! But by not giving careful to logos and pathos, ethos is damaged.

What everyone has known throughout the centuries, if you were evaluating the importance of these three—logos, pathos, and ethos —which is the most important for persuading people? Ethos, the perceived character of the speaker.

People listen to character, and the character becomes part of the vehicle for hearing the Word of God. That is why the apostle would say, “We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that we don’t discredit our ministry.”(2 For. 6:3)

It is our character that we recognize as part of the means by which people hear the Word of God. The path of the Gospel is the Word. We would recognize that the Word of God is what convinces. But somehow the listener has to get into contact with the Word because of the Speaker. Therefore, we tell the meaning of the Word—that is logos, the verbal content. But if we have heart feelings, passion that does not show, if our manner contradicts our message, that becomes a barrier to people hearing the content of the Word. And of course, if our character does not reflect the meaning of the Word, then people will say, “What you do speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you say.” Therefore, character becomes part of the point as well.

Fruitful ministry comes when people have the proper perception of you. Elisha was a Mysterious man not an Ordinary man. This woman’s perception of Elisha came from what she saw in his character. His living before God prepared him to be Speak for God. He became known in the street before he was known in the pulpit. I’m not talking about the perfection of a man but the proper projection of the man.

Be careful about Clutter in your life. Clutter can be a hindrance to Productivity.

MAY GOD GRANT US THE GRACE NEEDED FOR OUR PURSUIT OF CHRIST-LIKENESS

A Sound Word

Philippians 3:14