THE FIRSTS AND THE LAST

This was the 4th message of the Heart of Worship Series.
There is a very interesting corrolation between the first time things appear in the Scripture and the final fullfillment of those things in the New Testament. This is where I was firguring out that it seemed every story in the Bible had a connection to the story of worship.
This series of messages was not only new for me in preaching, but also taught me more than I can remember learning in a series of messages in a long time.


THE FIRSTS AND THE LAST
The Stories of Worship continue

NO, it’s not a misprint. There are some firsts (plural) that come into the stories of worship today from the Scripture; and all of those firsts have something or someone that will eventually complete what was once started. These stories of worship teach us some important principles about our life worship today.

Please turn in your Bible to Genesis 14: The first book of the Bible and chapter 14.

The First person to do something is pretty significant:
1. Who was the first reigning Queen of England?
· Mary Magdalene
· Bloody Mary
· Queen Mary II
· Mary the Queen
Answer: Bloody Mary, also known as Queen Mary I – 1553

2. Who was appointed the First Postmaster General in America?
· Peter Postmaster
· Edward Young
· Benjamin Franklin
· Bob
Answer: Benjamin Franklin – August 10, 1753

3. Who was the first unanimously elected US President?
· George Washington
· Thomas Jefferson
· Abraham Lincoln
· Al Gore
Answer: George Washington – The first and only US President elected unanimously; and of course, our first President – 1789.

4. Marquis d’ Arlandes and Pilatre de Rozier were the first:
· Recorded divorce in France
· Olympic champions in archery
· Humans to fly
· Siamese Twins
Answer: In Paris, on November 21,1783, they were the first humans to fly. They were airborne in a hot air balloon for 20 minutes.

5. Sam Patch was the first person to:
· Have an invention named after himself
· Hold a US Patent
· Reach 110 years old in America
· Survive a jump off of Niagara Falls
Answer: In 1829, Sam Patch was the first person to survive a jump off of Niagara Falls

6. In 1872, Victoria Woodhall was the first woman to:
· Run for President of the United States
· Have surgery to become a man
· Win an Olympic Gold Medal (Tennis)
· Burp out loud at the dinner table
Answer: She was the first woman to Run for President of the United States

7. In 1911, Ray Harroun was the first:
· To Coin the Phrase: World War I
· To create a food called Spam
· Winner of the Indianapolis 500 car race
· Woman to be named Ray
Answer: Ray Harroun was the first winner of the Indianapolis 500 car race, with an average speed of 74.59 miles per hour, finishing in 6 hours, 42 minutes and 8 seconds. Some of you go faster than that on the highway.

Some of the firsts broke barriers of gender or race. Some of the firsts made a lasting impact on generations to follow. Some of the firsts are interesting, but don’t matter to us at all. But, this morning, we are going to look at some firsts that broke some worship barriers, and these do impact us today.

We are studying the stories of worship throughout the Scriptures; and some of the things we need to take note of are the firsts of worship. Today, we begin to take a look at some firsts: the first priest, the first father of a nation, the first chosen people, the first King of Israel, and the first prophets. It is important to see how each of these started, because they are crucial to understanding the biblical story of worship. Eventually, all of these are fulfilled in a person and a people; and they have implications for our worship today.

Last week, Paul Foradora gave us an idea of what many people consider a Priest to be; and how important he is in some religious traditions, standing between the people and God. The Scripture tells us that all believers are now priests, able to go directly to God, without going through any man; and we offer sacrifices of praise – in particular the every moment of every day sacrifice of our lives.

But, it is important to point out where we are first introduced in the Scriptures to a Priest; and to respond accordingly. Some of the descriptions of these stories come from: The Adventure of Worship by Gerrit Gustafson. We are in Genesis 14. This chapter tells us of:

“…an ancient battle in which five tribal kings rose up against Kedorlaomer, the king of Elam, and his allies. Kedorlaomer’s forces prevailed, thanks in part to tar pits in the battlefields of Siddim, which became a snare to their enemies. And so it seemed that the victory belonged to Kedorlaomer that day, except for one little glitch. His armies had taken captive a young man in Sodom named Lot, who happened to be the nephew of Abram the Hebrew, a man who walked with God. Taking Lot captive was a big mistake. Within hours of Abram hearing of Lot’s capture, an army of 318 trained men born in Abram’s household was in pursuit of Kedorlaomer, who thought the fighting was over.

Genesis 14:14-16 – “When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people.”

What does this have to do with worship? It provides the background for one of the most incredible events in all the history of worship: The father of worship meets the first and greatest of all priests. Last week, we learned that we all are priests, those of us who know Jesus Christ; and we are learning of the first Priest ever.

Genesis 14:17-20– “After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) and he blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand! And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.”

SO WHAT does this first Priest have to do with me?

Be patient. Consider what else the Scriptures tell us about the significance of this:
Turn back to Genesis 12 with me for a moment. We need to back up here and recognize the promise of something new (A First) that God had revealed to Abram:

Genesis 12:1-3 – “Now the LORD said to Abram, Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

We have a first – God is promising to make Abram the father of a nation; and to bless Him and all who bless Him. In Genesis 17:5, we read that God changes Abram’s name:

Genesis 17:5 -
“No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.”

So, this father of a new nation (in the future) meets up with the King of Salem, who also happens to be the first Priest of the Most High God. This Priest, as God promised, blessed Abraham. And Abraham, in response to coming into this King and Priest’s presence, gave an offering – a sacrifice of worship – 10% of what he had with him. Hmmmm….

But, we read more in the Scripture about Melchizedek that affects us. We will get to the story of David (a future King of Israel) in more detail later, a very significant figure in biblical history; but he comes into play here. Listen to what God says to David, that also looks ahead to a LAST, a person to fulfill all.

Psalm 110:4 – “The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

I don’t know if you know this, but David’s Kingship was very important. This is the line of Kingship that God promised would never end. There would eventually come a King to fulfill all kingships. David is also seen here as a Priest, having a line of Priests that would also never end. And notice, it is not after the order of Aaron, Moses’ brother, whom most think of when they think of Priests of Israel. This was not a Levitical Priest. But, instead, he was a priest in the line of Melchizedek, this very first priest of the Most High God. And it is no coincidence that Salem, where Melchizedek was from, became known by another name: Jerusalem.

But, that’s not all. Notice the connection between being a King and a Priest. Melchizedek was a King and a Priest. David was said to be a King and a Priest. And, one day, someone came who was the ultimate King and Priest. He is referred to, in connection with Melchizedek, in:

Hebrews 6:20 – “Where Jesus has gone as a fore-runner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

Hebrews 7:1-3 – “For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.”

Melchizedek had no record of family or record of birth or death. In fact, he was a picture of the One who would come Last, to fulfill the kingship and Priesthood: Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And it is no mistake that the titles: King of righteousness and King of Peace are associated with Melchizedek and eventually would be titles given to Jesus Christ.

Do you understand the importance of the first Priest and its connection to worship?
This all points to Jesus Christ, who as our High Priest, offered the greatest sacrifice of all: Himself on the cross, to save us from our sins. And if we are willing to go through that High Priest, trusting in Him alone for our salvation, with no works included, then we have eternal life. So, now, we are all priests, going directly to God with our sacrifice of life. And, we also know in the future, we will celebrate Jesus Christ, who will be the last King, reigning as King over the Universe. And it all began with the first Priest, breaking a barrier of worship.
Please turn in your Bible to Genesis, chapter 18.

We now further consider the issue of sacrifice as it relates to a first in worship.

“After being fired by Ford Company, Lee Iacocca was forced to rethink his motives and answer some gut-level questions regarding his reasons for hanging on so tenaciously to his job at Ford. His confession of greed is not hidden. Face it, it’s tough for anyone to turn his back on almost a million a year, plus perks! A guy who has white-coated waiters available at the snap of his fingers and a chauffeur to and from work finds it extremely difficult to put on the brakes. In a moment of vulnerable honesty Iacocca admitted that of the seven deadly sins, greed is by far the worst. Hear him as he quoted his Italian-born father: My father always said, Be careful about money. When you have five thousand, you’ll want ten. When you have ten, you’ll want twenty. He was right. No matter what you have, it’s never enough.”

Lee Iacocca had a difficult time letting go of his position at work. Sometimes children have a hard time letting go of their favorite toy that someone else wants to play with. The biblical story of worship continues with God asking for a man to let go of the greatest gift in life he had been given. Letting go of what we prize the most is a huge issue in worship.

The biblical story of worship continues with a man who desperately wanted a child with his wife. In fact, this man was Abraham and his wife was Sarai. But Sarai was barren and not able to have children. God had promised, beginning in Genesis 12, that Abraham would be the father of many nations. He tried to complete that promise himself by having a baby through one of Sarai’s servants, an Egyptian girl. But, that was not God’s plan. His plan was revealed more specifically in:

Genesis 18:15-17 – “And God said to Abraham, as for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her. Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”

And the answer to both of those questions is the same: YES! Turn over to chapter 21:

Genesis 21:1-3 – “The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac.”

Wow! God did a miracle. He promised to give Abraham and Sarah a son, and he did, even at their age! He had begun a new nation through them. What a time of celebration. This was great. Everything was wonderful. What an awesome future lies ahead. Nothing could take the joy away from this proud daddy. But wait: The same incredible God who promised and delivered, came back 12 years later to ask Abraham to give him something in return. You’re not going to believe what it was (unless you already know the story). Please look at chapter 22.

Genesis 22:1,2 – “After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham! And he said, Here am I. He said, Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

What did you just say God. Could you repeat that, maybe a little slower this time? Did you just say that you wanted me to offer my son as a sacrifice – spill his blood as I would an animal sacrifice? What? Let me get this straight – you fulfilled your promise to give me a son in my old age, to begin to fulfill a promise you made about making me the father of many nations; and now you are asking me to sacrifice the very one who will make that happen? We can imagine that these might be the questions going through our minds if God asked that of us. But, in the biblical text, this is what we read about Abraham’s response to this worship test:

Genesis 22:3-8 – “So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose, and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, My father! And he said, Here am I, my son. He said, Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? Abraham said, God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son. So they went both of them together.”
No doubt, Abraham was dying on the inside; but we are told here that he obeyed God and set out to sacrifice his son.

Repeat after me: shaw-khaw shaw-khaw
Again: shaw-khaw shaw-khaw

Did you know what you just said? You cursed in Hebrew! Not really. But you did say a Hebrew word. It is a Hebrew word that is translated in our Bibles as the word “worship.” In fact, here where it is used in verse 5, is the first time this word is used in the Scriptures. We have another first here. The Hebrew word for worship, used for the very first time, in this context: Abraham saying that he was going with his son to worship and then would return. Of course, at that moment, only Abraham knew what the sacrifice was supposed to be!

What God was asking for was for Abraham to sacrifice the most precious thing to him at that time – his son. This brings us back to the working definition we have for our message series: The Heart of Worship. Does anyone know it? Let me get you started:

“Worship is responding to who God is and what He has done by giving ourselves completely to Him.”

Worship is a response to God; and that response is, primarily, the sacrifice of our lives to God, including all that we are, and all that we have.

So, what happened with Abraham and Isaac? Perhaps you already know, but let’s make sure: Abraham takes Isaac and lays him on the altar. He lifts his hand with the knife and is ready to bring it down. At that very moment:

Genesis 22:11-13 – “But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham! And he said, Here am I. He said, do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.”

A gigantic sigh of relief from Abraham and all those who love their own children. Some of you who are cynics might say: Oh, come on, Abraham wouldn’t really have sacrificed his own son. He was just pretending. He couldn’t have done it. Really? That’s not what the Bible says. In fact, we get more insight to what was going on in Abraham’s heart and mind in another place in Scripture:

Hebrews 11:17-19 – “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, through Isaac shall your offspring be named. He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead…”

Do you remember what we brought up last week? God is looking for worshippers to give sacrifice through faith. Just to go through the motions of sacrifice without faith is not an acceptable sacrifice to God. What Abraham did, in offering up his son of promise to God, was to show that he had a heart of faith; and that was what God was looking for. He never caused Abraham to follow through with that sacrifice, but He wanted to know that Abraham would act in faith. He did.

Not only that, we also learn what Abraham was thinking. Did you notice it? “He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead…” Abraham was willing and ready to sacrifice his son. He would have done it. But, with the heart of faith, and believing in God’s promises to be fulfilled through his son, he figured God would simply raise his son from the dead. God could do it. All Abraham had to do was follow through with what God asked. He was doing it, when God stopped him and provided an alternative sacrifice.

SO WHAT?
This teaches us a lot about God’s expectations of our life worship, doesn’t it? This was the first use of the Hebrew word for worship in the Scriptures. This was the first father of a nation with the first promised son, getting ready to offer the first sacrifice of its kind – his son. We can certainly make the connection that one day, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to take our place on the cross, giving us the opportunity for eternal life and a personal relationship with Him.

1. Faith precedes the acts of true worship
Don’t get focused on the specific acts of worship, such as coming to church, reading your Bible, giving, and serving, without first considering the heart of faith you have. Abraham did what he did because he already had a heart of faith, trusting God knew what he was doing. If you have faith in the God you cannot see, and are diligently seeking and trusting Him, then whatever you offer from your life of worship will be acceptable. Start with your heart of faith. God may very well test it.

2. Give back to God what is already His.
Abraham was simply offering back to God what he received from God in the first place. Every penny you have comes from God. Every breath you take is from God. Every child you have is from God. Everything you enjoy is from the hand of God. So, when we give joyfully, voluntarily and sacrificially, we are just giving God back some of what he has already given us.

You probably don’t expect God to ask you to sacrifice your first born son. And, it is unlikely He would ask any of us to do that. So, how could this specifically apply? Let me give you some examples and you respond in your heart and mind to test your willingness to worship by faith:

· Let go of your children. This is a tough one. God may ask you to be willing to allow your children to go far away and train for ministry, when you would really like for them to stay close to home and pursue a career to make a lot of money. God may ask you to allow your children to go on a missions trip or get involved in service here; and you may desire to keep them home and keep them safe (atleast that is what you think); and you are not willing to let them go serve, if it means they won’t make money or won’t be a sports hero or won’t meet the goals you have for them. Letting God do whatever He desires with our children is a tough test of faith.

· Let go of your money. This is another tough one. God may not ask you to give all of your money away, as He did the rich young ruler in the Bible. But, we do know God asks you to worship by giving back to Him, atleast a 10% tithe of what He has already given to you, plus any other offerings He asks of you. For many of us, that is terribly painful and we have a major struggle to allow God to have our money; or to even consider how He would want for us to use it. He asks us to give joyfully, voluntarily and sacrificially. Are you willing to allow God to control your checkbook. That is a test of faith in worship.

· Let go of your preferences. This continues to remain very personal and tough. Let’s just think about what that means in terms of our corporate worship here. We all have our preferences. We have preferences on temperature in the worship center, what to wear to church, what style of music to use in church, what instruments are acceptable in worship, what version of the Bible to use, what style of preaching to listen to, and the list goes on and on. The question is: Are you willing to sacrifice your preferences with a heart of faith in worship? Is there any preference you would struggle with God over, not willing to give it up?

You do realize, don’t you, that some people struggle so much with this, that if their preferences on any given Sunday morning are not met, then they refuse to worship (at least in their heart). And if it bothers them enough, they will even leave the church over it. These are not unbiblical things, just preferences.

To preview what is coming next in the stories of worship, consider what else took place in this same spot where Abraham offered up his son Isaac.
· Here, on Mount Moriah, where the word worship was first used, King David built an altar and offered a sacrifice that turned back a plague
(II Chronicles 3:1).
· It was here that David as quoted as saying: “I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” (II Samuel 24:18-25)
· It was here where Solomon built an amazing Temple, and offered sacrifices to God (II Chronicles 7:12)
· And it will be here that the man of lawlessness will make a final attempt to be the object of worship.

This is a place where many struggles and victories in worship have taken place.
So, we now come to the specific question you and I need to answer, based on these stories of worship. What are you holding on to, with respect to your life worship, which God may be asking you to give to Him? I believe every one of us has at least one thing we hold on to very tightly and struggle with God to give to Him.

A few years ago, that is the way I felt about the pastoral ministry. I had wanted to be a pastor most of my life and had been a pastor for many years. When I thought I may need to give that up to God, my fingers wrapped around it and my fist clenched. I wasn’t giving it up without a fight. But, God humbled my heart, and I can honestly say today that I have given my ministry to God. It is His ministry anyway, and I am His servant. If He wants to take this ministry from me at any time, I will give it up – sadly, but willingly. I no longer hang on to my pastoral role as though it is mine. How about you? Can you identify anything or any position or any relationship, which you would have to admit is held tightly in your heart, and you’re not sure you are willing for God to take it and use it as HE pleases?

Whatever comes to your mind in answering that question is probably your specific application for today. Give it to God. Do it first in prayer in a few minutes. Then, take the needed steps that He would guide you to take. And if you need help thinking through those things, then seek out a pastor or someone you trust here who will listen to you, give some advice and pray with you.

And the story of worship continues.

Please turn over one book to the book of Exodus and chapter 8.

We pick up the story years later. Two men, dressed as commoners, are standing before a great king in the royal courts of Egypt. One of them speaks: “The God of our fathers – His name is Yahweh – has spoken to my brother – he motions to the one standing next to him –“ in the wilderness concerning these people who are your slaves. The message is that you, Pharoah, should let them go so that they can make sacrifices to Him in the desert.”

The Pharoah glances toward his counselors, who seem amused by the request. “I don’t know this God of whom you speak, so why should I obey him? Who does He think he is that He commands the king of Egypt? No, I will not let these people go make sacrifices in the desert.”

After the request, hardships increase for the slaves. They are accused of being lazy and of using their religion to get out of work. Their Egyptian masters double their load and become even more cruel and oppressive. All of these slaves are descended from the twelve sons of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son whom Abraham loved and Sarah nursed in her nineties.

Those twelve sons came down to Egypt during a drought in Canaan. At first they were friends of Egypt, but as they grew in number, the Egyptians became fearful of them and enslaved them. It has been four centuries since the days when Abraham first heard the promise of a great multitude of descendants, but now his twelve great-grandsons have become as many as several million men, women and children.

One of those twelve sons of Jacob was Levi. The two brothers meeting before the king were Moses and Aaron, descendants of one of Levi’s sons. Forty years before, Moses had left Egypt, and his family had lost touch with him. They were surprised to hear that he had come back to Egypt, and even more surprised to hear that God had sent him to lead them out of slavery and into their own land.

Some of the Hebrews were still fond of the stories of how god had spoken to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And as their hardships grew, the stories were the only thing that kept them going. Because of this, they tended to believe what Moses was saying. Others had become so discouraged that they gave up on the hope that the stories held and resented any talk about them. Instead, these folks said, Forget about a land of milk and honey; get used to the bricks and mortar.

The meeting that Moses and Aaron had with Pharaoh that day was the first of many. Most people who know the story of the Exodus remember the miracles and the plagues that God used to display his power and verify his message. And miracles and plagues there were. But do we truly understand the message that the miracles were to verify? I’m reading from the New International Version:

Exodus 8:1 – “Then the LORD said to Moses, Go to Pharaoh and say to him, this is what the LORD says, Let my people go, that they may worship me.”

Exodus 8:20 (last half) – “This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.”

Exodus 9:1 – “Then the LORD said to Moses, Go to Pharaoh and say to him, this is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews says, Let my people go, that they may worship me.”

Exodus 9:13(last half) – “This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.”

Exodus 10:3 – “So Moses and Aaron went to Pharoah and said to him, this is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me.”

Exodus 10:7 – “Pharoah’s officials said to him, How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the LORD their God…”

And Finally:

Exodus 12:31 – “During the night Pharoah summoned Moses and Aaron and said, Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the LORD as you have requested.”

Did you get the main message God was sending as He urged Moses and Aaron to urge Pharoah to let His people go?

Let…them…go…so…that…they…can…WHAT?
WORHSIP ME!

In fact, even the frustrated leaders of Egypt figured that out and said to Pharoah: Listen, our land is getting desolated by these plagues from God. Just let His people to go and worship Him!

This is what God was after. His people would be released from bondage for one primary purpose: TO WORHSIP GOD. The first chosen people of God enduring their first captivity, are set free to do one thing: TO WORSHIP GOD

But it is not just about them, as they were released from bondage. It is about every believer. Listen to what the Apostle Peter said to all believers:

I Peter 2:9 – “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, so that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

He says: Do you know who you are, believers? You are a special, set apart, group of priests. And… do you know why are those things? So that you can declare His praises – So that you can worship God! You have been released from the bondage of sin for one primary purpose. TO WORSHIP GOD. And that worship is not just about an hour on Sundays or about music. It is about our every moment of every day worship.

This is your time to talk with God. Respond in your heart to what He has had to say today to you about your worship. What are you holding on to? What do you need to give over to Him? What do you need to do today, this week to worship Him with your life? If it is true that He has redeemed you so that you will worship Him, how will you do that this week?