INTRO … Informing Our Liturgy
…Last Week we sought to gain some better insight about the relationship between what the Bible/We call “OLD”
and that which is “NEW”.
— We saw that the Old was going to be “Set Aside”—
— We also saw that the Old has a “Teaching” function—
Heb 8:1-5
v. 2 …tells us about the “True Tent” that the Lord Set up, not man— This “Tent/Temple” is in Heaven. It exists
now, it existed before the Mosaic Covenant, it will exist for eternity.
v. 5 …the earthly version is a “copy and a shadow” of the heavenly.
…Consider some “Insights” gained from the Copy/Shadow—Heb 9
Heb 9:1-12
v. 1 … “NOW” even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. …v. 6 These
preparations have thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual
duties.
…This “copy/shadow” contains: “regulations” (a ‘right way to do this’) …a “place of holiness” (a
location that is set apart uniquely) …”preparations” …”performance of ritual duties” (creatures
are assigned ritual activities)
Curious & Informing Description—Isaiah 6 (Isaiah Sees in Heaven!)
Isaiah 6:1-7
…There is a “Holy Place”— a Heavenly Temple (an actual place that’s not perceived ‘everywhere’)
…There are “rituals and routines” and a “right way to worship God” …there are created beings “attending”
to their assignment to God!
Seraphim are angelic beings, made by God to attend him in his heavenly court. …These are
beings which have never sinned. You might think that puts them on a moral par with God. But not
sinning is just the negative. What God also possesses are the positive attributes of holiness and
purity. And he possesses them with such intensity that the seraphim, even though they have
never sinned, must expend two-thirds of their energy simply on protecting themselves from
God’s holiness. —Tim Chester, “Isaiah for You”
“And he is not just holy; he is “holy, holy, holy,” each word boosting the force of the previous one exponentially. No other threefold adjective appears in all the Old Testament. It takes a unique linguistic contrivance to convey meaning beyond its meaning as the seraphim strain at the leash of language to say that God alone is God. He is not like us, only bigger and nicer. He is in a different category. He is holy. —Kent Hughes, “Isaiah”, PTW Series
…There is a “way to approach God”— Isaiah is aware of his sin, he is confessing, he recognizes his need for
cleansing …there is atonement and purification of sin here! …He’s NOT a Sinless Seraphim!
— This sounds understandable to Isaiah and to us—Why?
— BUT …this scene is NOT Earth—It is Heaven!!
— Rev 5 …there is SINGING!! …Praise is Proclaimed!—Well, thought out considerations
of worth, glory, uniqueness!! …it’s a “Worship Service”!
*THERE IS RITUAL & ROUTINE-IN THE OLD, IN THE NEW, IN HEAVEN!! *
…When we move from the Very Detailed & Exact Elements described in the Tabernacle—Do we Move to Some
State of “Abstract Nothingness” or “Casual Convenience” …as though what Jesus did in His Messianic Mission—
Means Nearness to God Contains No Holiness or Majesty or Worship??
Concern… …Man & Modern Church doesn’t enough resemble settings of “Nearness”!
Rev 8:3-4
Rev 4:5
A LITURGY OF HEB 9
…The Teaching Points of the Tabernacle Furnishings (Image)—Meaningful Illustrations, Actions, & Attitudes!!
• a LOCATION to which you came …a Special Place!
• The Bringing of an Offering (The Presenting of Oneself to God) …Planning, Forethought, Value & Assessment!)
▪ Lev 1 …You were told to carefully select your offering from the flock! …Mal 1:8 …they are
rebuked for their casual, uncareful selection!
Rom 12:1-2
▪ This is “Offering Language” still applied! …How does the N.T. Christian Get this—
Because He Learned it from Leviticus!!
▪ You & I PRESENTED Something To God This Morning!!
• Laying Guilty Hands on the Innocent
• The Substitutionary Sacrifice that Brings Forgiveness
• The Laver of Cleansing (touches the “Common” & the “Casual”)
LITURGY APPLIED…
Heb 10:19-23 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the
new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a
great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts
sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession
of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
…Understanding that is filled with “entering” … “drawing near” … “hearts sprinkled” … “bodies
washed” … “confession of hope”
A SUNDAY MORNING LITURGY
Quote: Sunday Matters, Paul Tripp, (from Introduction)