Our Heavenly Pattern of Worship

[0:00] Chronicles. We're going to start off reading from chapter 5. 2 Chronicles chapter 5.

[0:28] I'm trying to find a way to stand so that you don't hear the wind so much. It means you can tell me if you need me any time midway to switch over. All right, so we're in 2 Chronicles chapter 5.

[0:40] We're going to read from verses 7 through 14. I'm okay with it being off-centered if you are.

[0:52] This seems a little better. 2 Chronicles chapter 5. Let's start reading at verse 7. Let me give a little bit of context or else you might not have any idea where this is going.

[1:05] Uriel read from us from Hebrews chapter 9. He was describing how the Lord had a pattern for heavenly worship in heaven. What was happening at the command of God in the tabernacle was a copy or a figure of that heavenly pattern of worship.

[1:21] So we're going to fast forward now in the history of Israel. This is not Moses. This is King Solomon. And you're going to hear Solomon dedicating the temple of the Lord.

[1:33] And they hold a massive worship service for the dedication of the temple. So as we read these few verses and then we're going to walk through about three chapters together, Lord willing, if we can.

[1:43] Keep in mind, Solomon stands as the king over the people of God. Solomon is a picture of Jesus Christ ruling over God's people. So imagine that as you go.

[1:54] You're back in ancient Israel. This glorious temple has been built. And it had been lost. And so David and Solomon have recovered what had been lost. They've searched out very carefully the instructions that God gave Moses.

[2:07] And they've done their best to implement that now for the people of Israel. So as I read from 2 Chronicles chapter 5 starting at verse 7. Remember this is God's inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear and sufficient word.

[2:22] It's God's very own word for you, his people. So when I'm done reading these verses, I'll say this is the word of the Lord. And if you believe it is, then you say thanks be to God. All right, we're starting at verse 7.

[2:35] And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.

[2:47] For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above. Verse 9. And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle, but that they were not seen without, and there it is to this day.

[3:09] So he's describing the ark of the covenant. We'll talk about that in a bit. That had to be brought in by the priests into the holy of holies. And no one could see inside, but you could see that it was in its place.

[3:20] Verse 10. There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel when they came out of Egypt.

[3:36] What are on those two tables? Kids, you know this. It's the Ten Commandments, right? This is the covenant document, the moral law of God written on tables of stone under the old covenant.

[3:48] Are we at verse 11? And it came to pass when the priests were come out of the holy place, for all the priests that were present there were sanctified and did not then wait by course.

[4:01] Verse 12. And the Levites, which were the singers, all of them, of Asaph of Haman and Judithan, with their sons and their children, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them and 120 priests sounding the trumpets.

[4:28] Can you hear that great sound? And they're standing at the east of the temple. That's the way the entrance to the temple faced. So the people of God were spread out behind them, and these representatives, professional musicians, came forward.

[4:39] How many trumpets was that? 120 trumpets blasting, calling God's people to worship. Verse 13. It came to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord.

[4:58] And when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and the cymbals and the instruments of music, and praised the Lord, they said, here's what they were singing. This is the lyrics they sang.

[5:09] For he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. That then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord.

[5:23] How do you know if this was worship pleasing to God? Look at verse 14. So that the priest could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord had filled up the house of God.

[5:38] This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God indeed. You may be seated. The Bible tells us that the grass withers and the flower fades, but it's the word of the Lord that endures forever.

[5:57] Let's pray. Father, will you teach us the type of worship that pleases you?

[6:09] We exist to glorify you and to enjoy you. Teach us what that means, Lord. Even as a church, as a congregation, as we gather according to the pattern of heaven.

[6:20] We pray that your word will be clear, that your word will plant itself deeply in our hearts, but any word that's not of you, any word of man, will just fall to the earth and pass away.

[6:33] Thank you for each one that's here, Father. We pray that your word will minister, that you will edify, and that you will cause us to behold your glory. We ask this for Christ's sake today.

[6:44] Amen. Well, beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, my goal today is to walk you through these three chapters of 2 Chronicles and show you this pattern that God gave Moses.

[7:00] And it's the pattern we're told in Hebrews, the pattern of worship in heaven, and it's put on display in the Old Testament. And there's something for us to learn here. That's my prayer. We're going to get right into it.

[7:11] I'm going to first try to define worship. What is it that we're talking about when we say the heavenly pattern of worship? So we're going to define worship, and then we're going to illustrate it, and then I want to try to defend why I think that this sermon text is appropriate, even for us as a New Covenant church.

[7:29] That's setting it up. Then we're going to walk through 11 elements, or 11 steps in that heavenly pattern of worship. So what is worship? Jerry Bridges defined it this way.

[7:40] Worship is the act of ascribing to God the glory, majesty, honor, and worthiness which are His. So worship is not a style.

[7:53] Worship is when sinners are called to encounter the living God. Worship is when sinners can approach the living God that is holy, and you approach Him on His own terms.

[8:10] You're worshiping. Worship is when the Lord God calls you to Himself, and He paves the way for you to be able to approach Him. Worship is just that.

[8:23] It's entering and abiding and dwelling in the holy presence of God Himself. Look back at our sermon text. Look at 2 Chronicles 5, verse 13.

[8:42] Did you catch what happens as they follow this pattern God gave them? Verse 13 says, This illustrates what it is to worship.

[8:55] In verse 14, this cloud was so intense. It's the glory presence of God. It was so powerful that the priest could not stand to minister because of the cloud.

[9:06] For the glory of the Lord filled the house of God. Isn't that what we long for? What we desire every time we worship? Every time we gather as God's people?

[9:16] We desire nothing less than that, that His presence will be with us, His people, that we will know He is pleased and accepts us, and He is with us. That's what we desire.

[9:28] The Old Testament uses the Hebrew word Shekinah, and this is referred to as the Shekinah glory of God. Shekinah means to dwell. So it's the glory of God who is spirit.

[9:40] He doesn't have a body, but His spiritual glory, His essence dwells, and it rests in the middle of His people. The holy God dwelling with His people.

[9:54] Isn't that what you desire? Sinclair Ferguson said that where God is at the center, worship inevitably follows.

[10:06] We've also been to gatherings that there was no true spirit of worship, haven't we? We've probably all been to times where we felt like, I, in good conscience, I need to walk out of here, walk out of this place, whatever it is, because they might be worshiping a different God, a lesser God, maybe an idol.

[10:23] It's not the Lord God of the Bible. Sinclair Ferguson says, when the spirit of God is not with His people, that means God has been displaced. Something else is being worshiped.

[10:36] He says that spirit worship does not chase emotions. It's not a feeling or a worshipful atmosphere. Jesus says, worship in spirit and in truth.

[10:46] We worship in spirit when the spirit of God dwells with His people. That's what it means to worship in spirit. It's that God Himself dwells and is at the center of our worship. And to worship in truth means that it's not a made-up God.

[11:00] This is the God of the Bible. This is the God who we know is true because of how He's revealed Himself to us. So Ferguson says, worship is theological. It's never something man can work up.

[11:12] It is something that God must bring down to us. Something that flows from the character of God Himself. Jesus said in John 4.23, the hour is coming and is now here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him.

[11:38] That's what Jesus came to reveal. The Father wants you to worship Him. And He doesn't want you to worship Him on your own terms. He wants you to approach Him the way that He has provided.

[11:50] And it's only through the mediation of Jesus Christ. He says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. So when we talk about worshiping according to the pattern that is of heaven, it's Jesus Christ.

[12:05] It's Jesus Christ through every single element. And I believe that this is what we're told to do. We're supposed to go back and read the Old Testament and to see Jesus Christ held out to us with each one of these steps.

[12:21] Some will maybe say, well, we can still, we're in the New Covenant. We can approach God any way we want now. I want you to reflect if that is the biblical pattern ever. Think of Cain.

[12:32] Abel followed what his parents trained him to do. Slayed a sheep through the shedding of blood. He worshiped and the Lord was pleased with Abel's sacrifice. Cain tried to offer the work of his own hands.

[12:44] And God did not accept it. The priest Eli. This is how close we can be to the true worship that God calls for. The sons of Eli approach God with a strange fire. They rejected what God had made clear to them.

[12:58] And they were found dead, entering the Holy of Holy on their own terms. And that's not just an Old Testament pattern. Jesus Christ himself said, many will do signs and deeds in my name.

[13:11] And I will tell them, away from me, you evildoers, for I never knew you. So you and I worship in spirit and truth. We do it by studying God's word and submitting to what God has revealed.

[13:25] We learn from all of God's scripture. And God calls his people in Romans 12 to be transformed. How? By the renewing of your minds.

[13:36] So to worship God in a way that pleases him, we must know God's will. Okay, worship defined. Next, let me defend why it's appropriate for us as a new covenant people to learn from this pattern that God showed Moses because it reflects heaven.

[13:53] And why can't we turn to 2 Chronicles and see a heavenly pattern of worship even for the church today? We read Hebrews 9, but Hebrews 8, 5 says that Israel, under the old covenant, they served a copy and a shadow of the heavenly things.

[14:09] For when Moses was about to lift up the tent, he was instructed by God saying, see that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain.

[14:22] What this means is the New Testament is interpreting what God did. Moses was called up onto the holy mountain of God and God revealed to him the worship of heaven. God showed him in heaven the pattern of worship that pleases God.

[14:36] And then Moses was to come down and teach the people and set up through the Mosaic law the heavenly pattern. So we really have like a triangle. In the new covenant, where we are as a church, we don't just look back to the Old Testament and try to imitate or bring Old Testament law that's been abrogated.

[14:55] It's faded away. We saw that in Hebrews 8. And that was part of this series as well. We don't just look there and try to translate over. What we do want to do is look to what God did through Moses and then it got lost.

[15:06] And so David and Solomon brought it back and we want to see what was reflected in the pattern of heaven from this. And then we want our worship to be following that same pattern of heaven now through Jesus Christ in the full revelation.

[15:20] So in Exodus chapter 25, it's where the Lord God called the people of Israel and through Moses standing as the mediator and he called them to the base of the mountain and we see a worship service there.

[15:33] My sermon text is not Exodus 25, but we'd see that same pattern there. If we go to the book of Revelation, you see the same pattern. And when we think about our order of worship, our liturgy, it's the exact same pattern that follows.

[15:46] So I want to invite you to even look and try to figure out as we're going through 2 Chronicles, where are we in our order of worship, in our liturgy? The other reason I think 2 Chronicles is appropriate for us is because this pattern of worship that we are trying our best to follow, this is the consistent pattern from the second century of the church all the way to the 17th century.

[16:09] Consistent pattern. It was lost in the Middle Ages. That's why the Reformation was so powerful. But also consider your experience. This pattern has been lost again now. And we need another reformation of the church returning to heaven's pattern of worship.

[16:23] And Hebrews 10, 1 says that this pattern was a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities. Jesus Christ is the substance.

[16:35] And the substance is what casts a shadow back. It was foreshadowing the finished work of Christ. So we need to uphold Jesus Christ and trust that through Christ, what we're told in 2 Timothy 3 is right, that all of Scripture, even 2 Chronicles, is profitable to the church for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training up in righteousness.

[16:57] We need to see Jesus Christ foreshadowed in every element of the worship pattern of Israel because it's patterned after heaven. All right, we've defined worship.

[17:09] I've tried to defend why this text of the Old Testament is still good for us today. So now we're ready for those 11 movements. You're going to need to really keep your eyes on your Bible as we go through this.

[17:19] Let's start off with 2 Chronicles 5, but let's go back to verse 2. We read in verses 2 and 5 that the king had to finish his work so that the people could worship God.

[17:35] Now, in this text, it's Solomon. Solomon is the king. But fulfilled in Christ, Jesus Christ, the king, is who Solomon is standing as a representative of. We read that all the work that Solomon did for the house of the Lord was finished.

[17:54] Solomon brought all the silver, all the gold, all the vessels that David and his father had dedicated, and he stored in the treasuries of the house of God. He brought it out into the new temple now and put everything in place according to the details and instructions that God revealed to Moses on the mountain.

[18:11] The king had to make sure the preparations were made and that all the work to reflect the pattern of heaven was finished. Do you see Jesus Christ in that?

[18:24] Before we go straight to Christ, let's touch base on one other minor prophet on the way. Haggai. Haggai told the people of God, you know the glory. You've heard legendary stories about the worship in the tabernacle at the mountain.

[18:39] You've also heard about the temple under Solomon. And even after Ezra and Nehemiah came back and built that temple, it was nothing compared to the former glory that we just read about.

[18:50] In Haggai, in chapter 2, he says, who is left among you this generation now that rebelled against God who saw this house in its former glory? See how legendary this event would have been for all of the history of God's people?

[19:05] And in Haggai, he reads that the prophecy of God to his people is this. God says, I am with you too. He declares the Lord of hosts, according to the covenant that I made, fear not, fear not, there is an hour coming.

[19:24] And I will shake the world. And our Lord Jesus Christ, on the cross, there was an earthquake. And there was darkness. The hour had arrived.

[19:36] Hebrews 9.23 says that these were copies of heavenly things. These copies under Solomon, all the work that King Solomon did to finish and make the temple ready, it still needed to be purified, according to Hebrews 9.

[19:50] So how did Jesus Christ purify these copies of heavenly things? Our Lord Jesus Christ gathered up the treasures that the Father commanded.

[20:02] The Father had a moral law that He needed His Son to accomplish. Each act of Christ's obedience in the flesh was in the place of those He would redeem.

[20:15] Our Lord Jesus Christ brought all that His Father had set apart for Him to do. Just as Solomon took all that David, the man of war, had set apart as sacred to the Lord, Solomon came and arranged it and presented it back to God as worship.

[20:32] And Jesus presented His righteousness to the Father on behalf of the people He came to redeem. Our Lord Jesus Christ, then He declared from the cross, It is finished.

[20:48] All the work that King Jesus did for the house of God was finished by Him. We sing this, It was my sin that held Him there until it was accomplished.

[21:05] His dying breath has brought me life. I know that it is finished. You get to worship God because King Jesus finished the work His Father gave Him to do so that you could dwell in His glory.

[21:27] And He dwells in you now, His holy temple. That's the first one. Here's the second one. The King summons God's people to worship next. Look at 2 Chronicles 5, verse 2.

[21:41] Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers' houses of all the people in Israel in Jerusalem. The King sends out a proclamation, a royal decree.

[21:55] All the leaders, all the representatives of every tribe and household must gather at the temple of God. The King orders you to gather as His people, as the people of God so that you can worship.

[22:08] You are called and summoned by the King to worship. You see what this means? If the head of a household or the leader of a tribe refuses to worship the King, not the King, but the King's order to worship God, that man stands committing treason.

[22:28] If the Creator calls all to worship Him and He summons all His people to worship and dwell in His glory presence, anyone who refuses that call is rebelling.

[22:40] They're committing treason against Jesus Christ, the King of kings. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the King and He summons, He summons you. He summons every nation, tribe, people, and tongue.

[22:54] He summons the leaders, the fathers, the husbands. He summons every soul to bring your people before the Lord and worship Him. The Bible teaches that all creatures, O God, that worship do His name.

[23:08] Why? Because He's the Creator and He's the King and Ruler over all that He created. But the problem is that ever since the fall of Adam, no cursed sinner may approach the holy, holy, holy God except by God's own gracious provision.

[23:29] A sin-damaged creature like me and you may not worship unless God prepares the way, unless God through Jesus Christ, the only mediator between God and man makes it possible.

[23:44] So the King finished the work. The King summons the people to worship. Number three, the King makes sure that the sin of God's people is atoned. The King makes sure that the sin of those called to worship is paid for.

[23:59] And what it requires according to the pattern God has given is a penal substitutionary sacrifice. Penal means punished.

[24:10] The sin we've committed needs to be punished because God is just. You don't want to worship an unjust God. But it's gracious because God will accept a sacrifice.

[24:23] Look in 2 Chronicles chapter 5 verse 6. Sin must be addressed. At the dedication of the temple, the people of God under the command of the King, they sacrificed so many sheep and oxen that they could not even be counted or numbered.

[24:42] The greatness of the sacrifice reflects the greatness of their sin. This is a people repenting. Now, it was limited. It was only a shadow and a copy.

[24:53] Hebrews 9.9 tells us that the gifts and sacrifices that were offered, they could not perfect perfect the conscience of the worshiper. So the people of Israel could not have a clear conscience.

[25:07] They could not have an assurance of pardon like we just had. For the Holy Spirit ministers the righteousness of Christ in your place. Hebrews 10.4 says, it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

[25:24] Those are only gracious substitutes that are pointing to the heavenly pattern of the only acceptable blood that God would receive.

[25:34] And that's the blood of His very own Son being God in the flesh. Like we sing, behold the man upon the cross, my sin upon His shoulders.

[25:51] Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers. But Hebrews 10.12 says that our Lord Jesus Christ offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins.

[26:06] Then Jesus sat down at the right hand of God the Father. A priest never sat down until all their work of atoning for the sacrifice of the sin of people was completed.

[26:19] And Jesus one time sacrifice sits down because there's no more need of substitutes. He is the only substitute to save sinners.

[26:31] That's why we can worship today with a clean conscience if you are in Christ. Because our worship is possible through the life, death, resurrection, ascension, and then the session of Jesus Christ.

[26:45] He sits on the throne ruling over all of his creation. We may worship because Christ has obtained this better ministry for us as our everlasting priest.

[26:58] That's what we read in Hebrews 8. I love how Puritan Pastor Jeremiah Burroughs put it. He said, every time we approach God and worship, it's Jesus Christ who takes you by the hand and brings you into the presence of God so we can worship Him.

[27:18] That's the work of Christ as our mediator and as our everlasting priest. Well, we've seen four of the steps in the pattern. Let's go to number four next.

[27:32] Number four. The priests must present the ark to God before the people can be in God's presence. So the ark of the covenant had to go in first.

[27:45] It had to be carried by the priests because they had been consecrated, set apart for that purpose. Only then could the nation and the people approach God to worship as well.

[27:56] Look at 2 Chronicles chapter 5 verse 7. Then the priest brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house of the most holy place. Verse 10 says there was nothing in the ark at this time except the two tables that Moses put there.

[28:17] The ark of the covenant is a picture of Jesus Christ. This is an ark. It's a vessel that could hold these tables of the covenant. And it could be transported.

[28:29] In a time of war when the ark of the covenant was with God's people God's power made them victorious in battle. When the ark of the covenant was not with God's people they were cursed.

[28:43] The ark of the covenant had to be carried in by those who were cleansed. They had to usher in this representation of the heavenly presence of God with his people.

[28:53] And what is it that could contain that could hold the ten commandments? What is it that could have inside actually holding the ten commandments except for God himself the only one who can keep his moral law?

[29:10] Our Lord Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the ark of the covenant this copy this shadow this figure because God's moral law was hidden inside of Jesus.

[29:21] he was the only one who could bear to hold the perfect law of God. Jesus was full of the law of God and it played out in everything he did.

[29:33] Jesus was so held by the moral law that he could not sin against God though he was tempted like every man. The priests present the ark to God before anyone can approach the holy presence of God.

[29:49] Well who are the priests now fulfilled in Christ? Who are these priests that present Christ himself? Revelations 1-5 answers that question.

[30:01] Our Lord Jesus Christ loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood. Verse 6 says Jesus has made us church Christians a kingdom and priests to God and our Father.

[30:16] We are the priests who carry Christ. We usher Christ in. And we call the nations that are sinful to follow this procession into the Holy of Holies.

[30:26] Christ himself the only one who can give access to the Holy of Holies. But we are the priests now. Every single one who is united to Christ is cleansed. We are his kingdom and we are his priests.

[30:38] We minister Christ to the lost. In Revelation I mentioned the book of Revelation has this same pattern. And you know the part in Revelation where the Apostle John is weeping.

[30:52] Why is he weeping? He is weeping because there was no one worthy to open the scroll except for the Lord Jesus Christ himself. In Revelation he is depicted as the lion lamb.

[31:05] He is a lion and he is a lamb. He is the lion lamb the mediator. He fulfills this pattern that we are given in a shadowy form in 2 Chronicles. That's why the Puritan Thomas Watson said in every part of our worship we must present Christ to God in the arms of faith.

[31:26] That's what we're doing when we gather when we worship. We're saying Lord it's only through Christ. He must be the one that draws us into the holy of holies and we long to communion with you not because the moral law is kept by us externally but because it's possessed by Christ and it works its way in those who are united to him.

[31:47] Number five having been called gathered and forgiven God delights in the grateful singing of his people.

[31:58] Look at 2 Chronicles chapter 5 verse 11 when the priest came out of the holy place verse 12 says all the Levitical singers stood on the east that's the entrance facing the ark of the covenant the holy presence of God with his people gathered in the temple.

[32:15] Verse 13 says it was their duty to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. I said worship is not a style but listen to some very specific descriptions of what godly worship should feel like.

[32:33] What did they sing? They sang he is good for his steadfast love endures forever. In these verses we see that the people of God singing in gratitude they sing loudly because it says they were to be heard and they sing together because they sing in unison as one voice.

[32:53] They sing with thanksgiving and what are they thankful for? They're thankful for God's character he is good his steadfast love endures forever. God's people testify I know and you know that God is good.

[33:10] We're singing it to each other and to God it's directed upward and outward God is good. Every time we're singing we're declaring that we're reminding one another we're strengthening each other in the faith and how do we know that God is good?

[33:24] Because we know his steadfast love endures forever. We know that from the scripture look at his faithfulness to his covenant look at how everything he's done was reflecting a heavenly pattern that Christ fulfilled and we get to be part of this.

[33:38] That's why we know that God is good that's why we know his steadfast love endures forever from heaven Christ ministers it to it to those on earth who belong to him. The Lord was pleased we know he's pleased because of what happens next look at verse 13 the house of the Lord was filled with a cloud verse 14 the priest could not stand to minister because of the cloud and the glory of the Lord filled the house.

[34:09] This is what we should pray for this is what we should imagine when you think of worship that's it. This is this same reference is going to come up in chapter 7 when this entire worship service is done and to me that signals two things the Lord is very pleased when we recognize Christ and our need for him in atoning sin but the worship service isn't over we just saw 5 out of the 11 and at the end once the final complete work is done and pushed out and the people are blessed as they go back to their homes the Lord is pleased he's pleased with the whole thing but especially in the work of Christ's son.

[34:48] So number 6 what we see next is that the king proclaims God's covenant promises to his people. The king preaches a law and gospel sermon that's exactly what Solomon does.

[35:00] I'm just going to read one verse turn to chapter 6 2 Chronicles chapter 6 verse 4 King Solomon stands up and he says blessed be the Lord 2 Chronicles chapter 6 verse 4 blessed be the Lord the God of Israel who with his hand has fulfilled what he has promised.

[35:26] King Solomon is standing like a preacher and he's declaring to the people of God you saying that God's steadfast love is forever I'm testifying that this is true look at what God has done he's given us peace on every side he's brought wealth and prosperity from all the other nations to tiny little Israel why has God done this?

[35:46] It's because he is faithful to his covenant what Moses could have never dreamed would have happened before the people entered the promised land look where we are now people of God that's what Solomon is declaring in this sermon that's number 6 the king is the one who preaches a law and gospel sermon and through the words of saved sinners members of our congregation regular men that you know we're the ones you guys are playing softball we're doing all these other things that regular guys do it's through vessels like that that the foolishness what seems to the world foolishness we're preaching the law and gospel we're testifying to the faithfulness of God just like Solomon did number 7 the king prays a prayer of intercession for his people King Solomon preaches and then he prays to God on behalf of his people look at chapter 6 verse 12 then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and he spread out his hands we should we should be willing to do these same things here stands the king before his people declaring God you are the king of your people and then verse 13b

[36:59] Solomon kneels down on his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel the king kneels down before the true king and he spread out his hands toward heaven again and look at what he prays in verse 14 oh Lord God of Israel there is no God like you in heaven or on earth keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart he's praising God he's interceding on behalf of these sinners who need God's grace and thanking the Lord for showing that grace to them see we read in Hebrews that our Lord Jesus Christ lives to intercede for his people he is the king who prays prayers of intercession prayers lifting you up your needs to the father and as Christ prays for you and for me he conforms you he reforms you he reshapes you to obey what God desires for you that's why it's a joy to let God change us it's a joy to be more and more conformed not to the patterns of the world but being transformed because Christ is praying that that will take place in our life and our response when we realize it's Christ who's praying to change me it should be like

[38:25] William Perkins he said love keeps itself to the word and the will of God things done without a word from God are not out of love for love is the fulfilling of the law according to Romans 13 10 so the king prays for his people number eight God's glory then dwells with his people after his wrath consumes the substitute for their sin turn to chapter 7 and let's look at verse 1 2nd Chronicles chapter 7 verse 1 we read that as soon as Solomon finished his prayer do you follow what they've done so far he preached he prayed thanked the Lord as soon as he was done praying which is proof that God is listening closely when we pray to him because as soon as Solomon was done praying fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices and the glory of the Lord filled the temple chapter 7 verse 2 says that again the priest could not enter the temple because the glory of the Lord filled his house doesn't it make you wish you could have been one of those priests even to try to imagine or describe how would you describe that why couldn't you go into the temple

[39:57] God is spirit why couldn't you go in there this is a mystery and it is a mystery how this is a pattern in heaven but I think we get some light from the New Testament on this shadowy description of what God did and that comes from 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 17 God also had given Paul glimpses of this heavenly reality this heavenly pattern of worship and Paul says there is an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison what is the Shekinah glory of God Paul described it as an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison so don't even try to bring in earthly creaturely examples it's beyond comparison the love of God is an all expulsive love

[41:04] God is love God is spirit God is concentrated glory and it expels anything less when you have the love of God in your hearts Jesus Christ it expels anything it burns up it refines like a fire anything that's less that's the eternal heavenly unending transcendent unchanging glory of God you can feel it you physically cannot approach it it expels anything that is less that's the weight of the glory of God Sinclair Ferguson said we might say that worship is simply theology going into top gear instead of merely thinking about God we tell God in prayer in praise in song in preaching how great and glorious we believe we experience him to be that's what worship is

[42:12] God's glory dwells with his people after his wrath consumes the substitute for their sins number nine when God's people behold the justice and grace of God they sing his praise again they see his justice because the fire of God consumes the sacrifice he hates the sin but he consumes it there's nothing left there's nothing to go pull through and try to pull out and be reminded of or have it hanging over you there's no sin left God's holy loving presence his glory consumes it like a fire see his justice and his love that's the glory of God look what they do then in chapter 7 verse 3 when all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshipped and give thanks to the Lord and they sing that same refrain again for he is good and his steadfast love endures forever our

[43:30] Lord Jesus Christ leads his church in the ministry of worship and Jesus Christ himself fulfills what God said he would do in Zephaniah 317 which is this the Lord your God is in your midst a mighty one who will save he will rejoice over you with gladness he will quiet you by his love he will exult over you with loud singing the Lord himself in your midst singing over his people he's praising God for you the gift that God gave him the ransom the bride so would we sing to God in worship Jesus Christ himself in our midst is our worship leader number 10 the king hosts his people in a magnificent feast what they do next it's not it's not a sacrifice to pay for their sins that's already happened remember the fire that consumed it all this is what

[44:35] God told Moses to do as peace offerings and the peace offerings weren't burnt it was a communion meal the peace offerings come after the forgiveness of sin the communion with God is now possible and it's a delight look at chapter 7 verse 5 this peace offering included 22,000 oxen I just imagine what that would sound like and it included 120,000 sheep verse 8 of chapter 7 says at that time Solomon held the feast for seven days it could have been longer but seven is a number of completion you see what this is foreshadowing the king will feast and host his people for the complete fullness of time and all of Israel was with him in a great assembly children what part of our weekly service do we celebrate that shows us this same thing we look forward to this same feast what is it yes it's the

[45:54] Lord's supper King Jesus will host his people 2 Corinthians 2 15 says that we are the aroma of Christ to God we have been saved who are perishing now we are the aroma and as you picture seven days the entire nation with so much delicious food maybe you've been to the best type of steakhouse that there is which is of course the Brazilian steakhouse and you've seen them grilling the mutton or the lamb and they come around with that lamb and just shave off that crispy outer edge the aroma of this feast and the oxen that would be like probably a gamier cow is probably what it would taste like maybe some of you have tried it but for Israel this is a picture of the best feast you could imagine you're going to eat a pretty simple basic diet for most of the year but when you get to be part of a celebration like this the king himself is hosting you and it's the lavished generosity given to you things you would have never been able to afford on your own the king invites you to his table you're feasting together in the presence of the king and that's what we do with the

[47:09] Lord's supper because it's preparing us for the great wedding all eternity the fullness of time and time without end that brings us to our last one the number 11 after this glorious feast you wish it could just continue and never stop but while we're on this earth and our faith is not by sight we do get sent back home we get sent back into the world back to our workplaces but we don't go like we were before we came we go as changed people the Lord is changing us by his love love so the 11th one is this the king sends his people back home in peace they have peace with God this is their benediction they have beheld and experienced God's glory now look at chapter 7 verse 10 the king sent the people to their homes and how were they as they traveled back they were joyful filled with joy from heaven itself they were glad of heart for the prosperity that the

[48:15] Lord had given them they got to taste it they got to celebrate God's goodness in their midst if you're one of the priests who is that close to the Shekinah glory you might have not even had an appetite you don't even want this delicious lamb you want heaven you're so close to God and this life is so short we're almost home but what a foretaste this is where heaven's pattern that God gave us very clearly in numerous places of the scripture where his pattern is not followed in the gathering of his people on earth we cannot expect his glory he might surprise us of course he's God he'll do whatever he wants praise God when he does but as his light of scripture reforms our thinking we need to be aligning ourselves to what God has shown and when we focus on Christ at the center we try to align what's happening on earth with what happens in heaven debates about style fade away when our pattern of worship is conformed to the heavenly pattern the result is that our lives are being transformed to the heavenly pattern of Christ by the glorious power of God with us ministering to us as his people our flesh creeps in we're so weak we need the help of the whole church to do this well don't we and we ask God together

[49:40] Lord be thou my vision oh Lord of my heart high king of heaven my victory won may I reach heaven's joys oh bright heaven's sun thou my best thought whatever befall still be my vision oh ruler of all that's what we're asking every time we worship so may Christ our mediator our worship leader our king himself dwell in you his covenant people richly and may his steadfast love abide with us as we worship him in the heavenly pattern he's given us in his word would you pray with me oh our Lord Jesus we ascribe to you all the glory the majesty the honor the worthiness which are yours for you are good and your steadfast love endures forever glory be to the father glory be to the son and glory be to the spirit amen to you know and