Dennis Tuuri

Please stand for the reading of God’s word from Matthew 5:23 and 24. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Let us pray. Father, we do thank you for this word. We thank you that you have called us to come to the altar before you and to bring gifts before you and to be in fellowship when we come. We ask that you would help us to better understand this passage and its application to us and to worship and to our lives. We ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

You may be seated. As I was thinking about what I wanted to preach on today, I thought, well, you know, I had to preach on something that I’ve been looking at and I’m interested in and it’s kind of close to my heart at the moment. And so I chose this because one of the things we’re involved in—I’m involved in, of course—is Kings Academy. And I’m not really going to talk about Kings Academy today, but you know, the Academy is a theonomic school, and just what does that mean? What does it mean that man is worshiping God and how does that apply to the school in particular? So that’s kind of what I’ve been thinking about, what fostered this particular sermon.

In a recent newsletter for Kings Academy, Dennis wrote an article about theonomy. And in it, he talked about something that he’s often talked about here: the fact that when we come to worship, we bring a tribute offering, we bring our tithe. And that demonstrates that God expects us to be productive, that he desires us to bring a portion of that produce—whatever it is—to our service and to offer it to him. And this verse then is kind of a follow-on to that. What happens when we bring it? We bring it to God. We bring it to the altar as an offering. And this verse puts a few qualifications on that offering. And that’s really what I want to talk about today.

So the title of my sermon here is “Preparation for Worship.” What is it that needs to happen before we come? What kinds of things go on that make our offerings and our gifts acceptable? And I’m not in any way implying that we work something up or we manage to do something on our own that pleases God. Certainly we have lots of excellent teaching here about the fact that our worship informs us during the week. It’s here. We learn about a variety of things. We take them home. We put them into practice. And that’s kind of what this is about. We put it into practice. And when we have done so, we come back better prepared for worship than we were the week before—or at least here it’s outlining some of the things that are important in our coming before God as far as worship goes.

So that’s kind of the reason for this particular topic and the connections to some of the other areas that I’ve been interested in. Well, the passage here that we just read speaks of an act of worship—of bringing a gift before the altar—but it plainly states that simply bringing the gift is not enough. That there’s more to our being prepared, more to worship than simply bringing a gift. Acceptable worship requires that we walk rightly before God in our daily lives, most especially in our relationships to our brethren.

In many churches in our day, you know, this simple fact is often overlooked. The phrase “Sunday only Christian” sort of speaks to that. And I note that, you know, when you go your own way and you do your own thing and you forget God on Sunday, there’s something not quite right about that. And this passage is speaking to that.

So this sermon today deals primarily with the subject of worship and how we approach it. There are two points I really want to talk about. One of them is the centrality of worship in our relationship to God, and the second, the need to be prepared for it. You know, if worship itself is unimportant, then there’s really not any reason to come prepared for it. And you know, we’re very good here, very strong on the importance of worship in our lives, and God expects and requires us to participate in worship. But I want to talk about that a little bit.

The importance of worship partly comes from the fact that I came from a Baptist background, and in our particular church certainly it was expected that we were there every week. But the emphasis was just not the same, you know. There was just more of a, you know, it’s nice if you can make it, and we really would like you to be here, and if you’re not here, well, you know, we sort of understand you got things to do and maybe other places to be and whatever. And there wasn’t much looking into it. If we missed worship, you know, very often, maybe you had—maybe if you went a long time, you might get a call—but it was just kind of presumed, you know, it’s your thing. You and God, if this is good, you do it. And I’m overstating here a little bit, but that’s sort of the sense of it that we had.

Here, you know, we know what’s important. We come weekly, and after a while we miss it greatly if we’re not here. We find that’s the case when we’re traveling or wherever—even for myself, if I go and preach somewhere else, you know, I miss being here. This just is—this is home. And there’s something about our worship here in so many ways that we seek to please God in so many aspects of it—it’s so very directly, self-consciously—you just miss that sometimes.

Well, as we look at the Scripture, where do we go to understand worship? So that’s what I want to start with. You know, we could start at the beginning of the book of Genesis, work our way through looking at how worship began, how it’s developed in the covenants, how it’s transformed and moving to the new covenant, what our Lord had to say about it, how the apostles understood it, and so on. And this is very fruitful, and we do a lot of that here—looking at that and tracing the transitions and the changes that have occurred along the way as God has revealed and developed his covenant with his people. And so I am not going to do that today.

I would note, however, that I think the heart of worship appears at the end of the book, in the book of Revelation. And here, the entire Bible, I think in some senses, prepares us to understand the worship aspects of Revelation. Yet at the same time, reading the book of Revelation gives us understanding and insight to the entire Scripture.

I want to begin today with kind of a survey of Revelation—only not the usual sort of survey. When I was a dispensationalist and we went through Revelation, it was always this bowl of wrath and this scorpion turning into a helicopter and whatever it was. And you know, that was the kind of stuff we did. It was always these sorts of specifics of how what was going on today, what war it was going to be, and what was going on in the Middle East and all that sort of stuff. And somehow it wasn’t until I came here and I started reading more Reformed material and started looking at worship materials that I discovered that the book of Revelation is set in the throne room, and it’s about worship—and that’s the center of what’s going on.

So I would like to look at that. I’ll spend a little bit of time looking at that. Now I know this will be review for some of you—hopefully not everybody—but I know that for many of us who’ve come in recent years and haven’t been exposed to all of the wonderful teaching here, some of this will be new for some of you.

So what I’d like to do first is to read a fairly lengthy passage from Revelation, chapters 4 and 5. Now, if you like, you can follow along. I’ll be reading from the New King James, but I’d like to suggest for some of you who can stay awake that you put your Bible down, close your eyes, and visualize what this is describing. Visualize this scene that’s described in these two chapters of Revelation. Okay? So just promise you won’t go to sleep. Okay? And if your neighbor’s sleeping, give them a nice nudge there. Okay? So let us begin then.

Chapter 4. After these things, I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” Immediately I was in the spirit, and behold, a throne set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance. And there was a rainbow around the throne in appearance like an emerald. Around the throne were 24 thrones. And on the thrones I saw 24 elders sitting clothed in white robes, and they had crowns of gold on their heads. And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.

Before the throne there was a sea of glass like crystal, and in the midst of the throne and around the throne were four living creatures, full of eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion. The second living creature like a calf. The third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. The four living creatures each had six wings, were full of eyes around and within, and they do not rest day or night, saying, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.”

Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the 24 elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “You are worthy, O God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and by your will they exist and were created.”

And I saw in the right hand of him who sat at the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look at it. So I wept much because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”

And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders stood a Lamb, as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. Then he came and took the scroll out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. Now when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals. For you were slain, and have redeemed us to God by your blood, out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God, and we shall reign on the earth.”

Then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures and the elders, and the number of them was 10,000 times 10,000 and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing,” and every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying, “Blessing and honor and glory and power be to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.”

Then the four living creatures said, “Amen.” And the 24 elders fell down and worshiped him who lives forever and ever.

Now, there’s an example of worship. You know, this passage cannot possibly depict more than a tiny fraction of the majesty and the glory present in the throne room and the entourage there. The personages, sights, and sounds there surely defy the imagination. Yet the passage portrays a majesty that only the word of God could hope to convey. Here we begin to glimpse true and genuine worship. Here we see a small example of the proper honor and glory due our God, not just by mere men, but by representatives of all the heavenly host.

If this were the end of the story, it would be sufficient. But it is only the beginning. And I want to take a quick tour through the book of Revelation—basically ignoring all those parts that are about wars and rumors of wars and all that sort of stuff—because we have a picture of the throne room setting here, but I want to talk just a little bit about what’s going on there.

What’s going on in this setting? So next comes the opening of the first six seals in the throne room by the Lamb. Each signaling the beginning of judgments on the inhabitants of the earth. With the opening of the fifth seal, we learn of an altar underneath which are the souls of those who have been slain for the word of God and the testimony which they held. They cry out asking how long till their blood is avenged. They are given white robes and told to wait a little longer until their number is full.

Then attention is turned to a great multitude from all nations standing before the throne and the Lamb in white robes with palm branches crying out, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.” And who were these? They are those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. And God has said to them God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

When the seventh seal is opened, seven angels with seven trumpets appear. Note, this is still in heaven we’re talking about. We’ve got the opening of the seals here, and now we’ve got seven more angels appearing in the throne room. Okay? Seven angels with seven trumpets appear and an eighth angel with a golden censer with incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which is before the throne. Then six angels sound their trumpets, each sending forth another judgment on the earth. And before the seventh sounds, another angel appears with a little book and proclaims, “In the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as he declared to his servants, the prophets.” John eats the little book and is told he must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.

Then the seventh angel sounds, and there are loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” And the 24 elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, “We give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the one who is and who was and who is to come. Because you have taken your great power and reigned, the nations were angry and your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that you should reward your servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth.”

Then the temple of God was opened in heaven and the ark of his covenant was seen in his temple, and there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, and earthquake and great hail. Well, we’re clear up to chapter 11 now, and the throne room is still the center of events along with the golden altar and now the temple of God. Next comes narratives of the woman and the dragon, of Satan thrown out of heaven, his war against the people of God, the victories of the saints, the beasts of the sea and the earth, and the 144,000. Another—then another—flying angel in the midst of heaven has the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell in every nation, saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea, and springs of water.”

Stories begin to move to a close here. One like the son of man comes on a white cloud with a sharp sickle, and he reaps the harvest of the earth. In chapter 15, John speaks of the final seven angels in heaven who have the seven last plagues. He sees those who have victory over the beast singing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. Then he sees the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven opened, and the seven angels dressed in pure bright linen come forth and dispense the final seven plagues followed by the fall of the beast and of the harlot and of Babylon the great.

As the end nears, a great multitude in heaven rejoices. And John reports in 19:6, “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thundering, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice and give him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”

Then Christ himself leading his armies on a white horse, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, goes forth to finish the battle. When the battle’s done and the victory is won, loose ends are taken care of and the heavens and earth are renewed. And John declares in chapter 21, “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also, there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men. And he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them, and be their God, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’”

The marriage of Christ and his church concludes. A brief description ensues concerning the New Jerusalem, the Bride of the Lamb. Verse 9, then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. And he says, “I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. But there shall be no means enter it anything that defiles or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

Few closing comments are made—one by an angel to John. John falls down before the angel and the angel says, “Do not do so. I am your fellow servant and of your brethren, the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” And Jesus in chapter 22 says, “Behold, I’m coming quickly. My reward is with me, to everyone according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and whoever loves and practices a lie.”

Well, I spent a lot of time on that, but I wanted to note that this is worship as it’s pictured in its purest form. And this worship is in the throne room of heaven. It is done by all sorts of beings—angels and creatures. And the Lamb is there, and elders are there, and thousands and thousands are there. It is a majestic event, to say the very least.

And what is going on there? What’s going on there is we have all these angels coming in and the seals being opened and each one—from Christ himself who opens the seals flows to angels. From the angels flows judgments, from the judgments flow to mankind and the earth. And that’s the events that are going on there. It’s very appropriate.

You know, I think of the verse that says judgment begins in the house of God. We tend to apply that to mean we need to clean our own house, but you know, this puts a whole new sense of it. Judgment begins in the house of God. Because that is certainly what’s happening here in Revelation. This judgment of mankind and of the earth is beginning here in the throne room of God.

So we come to the end of this book. We but sampled its riches. It abounds with accounts of praise of the one who sits on the throne, of the Lamb who opens the seals and of the Spirit. It testifies over and over to the righteous judgments of God and to the abundant grace given to his people. It is an awesome and grand tale of the salvation and vindication of God’s chosen people—those who abide by his word and show their wholehearted love of him. It leaves no middle ground. Either we love and worship God or we suffer his wrath.

Its events flow from the throne room bathed in worship, and it ends with a new temple in God and the Lamb, a temple where only the righteous may enter. Now, this is not just a spiritual story about spiritual events in heaven meant to maybe lift our spirits or depress them depending on who you are and where you stand in relation to God. God truly desires that we understand the depth and breadth of our worship of him.

As we look to the development of his covenants, we see his prominent instruction in the area of worship. The Mosaic system of worship clearly is meant to mirror many of these heavenly realities. The sacrifices teach us of the sacrificial work of Jesus, the Lamb of God. The blood speaks of the end of earthly life and the beginning of heavenly life. The animals without blemish foreshadow the sinlessness of Christ. The substitutionary role informs us of Christ dying in our place. The high priest prefigures our new high priest. The white robes speak of the necessary righteousness of those who would approach God. The public nature of the sacrifices tells us worship is not a private matter but a bold witness of heavenly things. The annual feasts illustrate that God desires corporate worship of his body of believers. The sacraments unite the corporate body as one before God. The death and destruction of the animals show God’s wrath against sin.

And of course, Hebrews talks about these things in the shadows and goes through a similar list, which I’m not going to do. I assume you all know where to find that and are familiar with that. This list is by no means complete, but shows plainly that the Mosaic worship indeed shadows the things that are going on in heavenly worship. The great many details of the sacrificial system illustrate a great many aspects of worship and in detail the aspects of Christ’s work on our behalf. But in the end, the Mosaic worship has passed away. For the light of God’s revelation in Christ could not but put an end to the shadows.

Now, what are we to say of New Testament worship? Is it a whole new thing? After paying so much attention to detail in the Old Covenant, was there nothing of lasting value? To answer that, we have to go back to the foundations. The reality of which the sacrificial system is but a shadow. Has the heavenly worship ended? Not likely. Has the corporate body been disbanded with everyone worshiping as they please? By no means. And quite in fact, quite the opposite is true.

Perhaps a little more should be said about this, since so many in our day seem to think church membership is unnecessary. We might ask: does the New Testament continue church organization and structure? If not, then why does it spell out the qualifications for elders? Why are the saints commanded to obey the elders? Who decides when doctrine is false, especially if no one listens? Who throws out the ravenous wolves when there is nothing to throw them out of? Why do we have deacons? Who are they to serve? And what of church discipline? Who would judge the matters of discipline? What threat is it to be removed from the body of believers?

When Paul writes to the churches, who is he writing to? A few friends? When Jesus writes to the seven churches, who listens? You know, these are just a few topics I think that should be sufficient to answer those who want to know the truth and obey. The New Testament is full of passages that can only be understood by recognizing they apply to an organized body of believers. They define structure and authority and all sorts of things, and these make no sense if there is no organized church.

God has not changed his mind. Certainly in this situation, I think as a reformed people, we stand on solid ground saying that which comes from the Old Testament passes into the new unless specifically altered. And so here we have alterations: with the sacrificial system passing and Christ being that one and only complete sacrifice for all time. But still the substance—the gathering of God’s people, the worship of God’s people together, and the structures associated with that for caring for and protecting God’s people—are meant and designed to be eternal, to stay in place.

A few verses along those lines that begin to talk about the change into the new covenant. Hebrews 13:15-16: “Therefore, by him, let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. But do not forget to do good and to share. For with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”

Or another familiar one, Romans 12:1-2: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Or Hebrews 9:13-14: “For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

There are certain things that have carried over from the Old Testament that are mirrored in the shadows, that carry through to the New Testament. And we’ve looked at these things. The genuine praise of God, the fruit of our lips, the doing good, the sharing with others—these are sacrifices well pleasing. Not being conformed, being renewed in our being, renewed in our mind, to prove that which is good and acceptable and perfect will of God, to have our consciences cleansed from dead works to serve the living God. These are the things that God desires.

We do not wear spotless robes, but rather we are to come before him without spot or wrinkle, without sin. We no longer come before an earthly altar, but before the heavenly throne of grace. The curtain has been rent and our sins washed away.

With an increase in transportation and communication, and change from cities to agrarian societies and so on, we no longer come together but a few times a year. Rather, we come together weekly according to the weekly pattern established in creation. Further, we now pattern our corporate worship more along the heavenly themes. And this list I’m going to read here—five things—mirrors our worship service, our five C’s and our liturgy. We come together as one body. We confess our sins. We hear and obey the word. We share in the marriage feast. And we go forth to bring judgment and salvation to lost souls in the world.

Our worship is bathed in conversation with God and with praise and thanksgiving for God’s greatness. No, we have not abandoned corporate worship. God has rebuilt it on more sure foundations, upon the chief cornerstone, the rock cut by no human hand. The outward fleshly rituals have been replaced with more spiritual ones. The shadows have been dispelled by the light from above. Worship has assumed an even more prominent role in the lives of God’s people.

I mention again that Elder Tuuri often speaks of the role of worship in informing our daily lives. It is here we focus on the heavenly and spiritual realities. It is here that we see how they mold and structure our lives. It is here that we learn and practice these actions and attitudes that please the Lord God. And this is as it should be. But I should like to spend a little time looking at what God expects of us now as we come to worship.

We’ve seen that worship is the reality of eternal things. We’ve seen from Revelation, in several places—and I didn’t quote them all by any means—that God commands us to worship him. We’ve seen that it’s not an option, it’s an essential matter in our lives. We’ve seen that the Old Testament taught a great deal about it with shadows. And we’ve come to the New Testament. We’ve seen that God is now creating within us the realities of those things which were evidenced by the rituals and the sacrificial system of the past.

Mark 11:25, much like the verse that I opened with today for my sermon, says, “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

God is love, and he expects us to be maturing in our love for one another. One cannot live as if there is no God during the week and expect him to be pleased when we come together to worship him.

Consider what God says in Hosea 6:6: “For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” You know, the Old Testament echoes these transitions and points to them in numerous places, particularly in the prophets. You know, we cannot bribe God. We can’t buy his favor. He desires that we obtain genuine knowledge of him and that we sincerely practice what we know.

Or again, from the prophet Micah: “With what shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, 10,000 rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”

James echoes some of this: “Faith without works is dead.” And back to Hebrews, Christ himself speaks of this and practices it. Hebrews 10:5-7: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin, you had no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come. In the volume of the book it is written of me to do your will, O God.’”

The fellowship we share, founded upon our Lord and Savior, prepares us for worship. Indeed, as we walk in fellowship with our Lord and our brethren, we are a spiritual temple, holy priests offering spiritual sacrifices. First Peter 2:4 says it well: “Come to the Lord Jesus, the stone that lives. The people of the world did not want this stone, but he was the stone God chose, and he was precious. You also are like living stones, so let yourselves be used to build a spiritual temple, to be holy priests who offer spiritual sacrifices to God. He will accept those sacrifices through Christ.”

True worship begins here in fellowship and communion with God and one another, being built together into a glorious temple. This temple is not to be broken as we go out into the world. We don’t have the builder construct here and work and build us together and make a glorious structure and then we go out in the world and we start tearing it down stone by stone. No, that’s not the way it’s supposed to work. This temple is not to be broken as we go out, nor as we return, but rather it is to be maintained—yes, even improved.

This requires diligence and care: keeping our relationships pure and holy, restoring relationships when they are broken, instructing others when necessary, and humility when we are wrong. Loving our brother is necessary to true worship.

First John 4:20 says, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.”

When we understand this, we see how important worship is. And we understand Jesus when he said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Returning then to our opening passage, we see that worship is important and that right relationship with our brethren prepares us for worship. Let us consider well what the Lord teaches us as we worship him. Then let us make it the rule of our daily lives, not being hearers only of the word, but doers, that we shall be truly prepared to enter fully into worship each Lord’s day.

Let us pray. Father, we do thank you for your word. We thank you for so much detail of what goes on in heaven, so much excellent teaching in the shadows of the Old Testament, and so much in the New Testament that calls us into pure and holy spiritual worship of you. Not setting aside that which has been taught in the past, but building upon it, knowing, Father, that you are indeed building us into a living temple, a place for you to live, as we saw at the end of Revelation—ultimately in you and in the Father. We ask, Father, that you would help us to be your people, to live as you have called us to, in fellowship with you and with our brethren. We ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.