151: Peter King - Exhortation: Worship

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

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   Welcome to Good Christadelphian Talks. I'm Levi. And I'm Chris. And I'm Brian. Thank you for joining us this week. On this podcast, we select one talk a week to help us get the Bible in our daily news feed. We post a new episode at the start of each week, with a short intro beforehand to kind of set the stage for the talk you're about to listen to.

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   And now, let's talk more about this week's talk. Hello, everyone. This is James DiLiberto, coming to you for the last of our four-part series for July with the GCT podcast. We really hope that the team had a good break, and we cannot wait to hear what they have for us in August. As I had mentioned, this is the last of our accents that we'll have. This time, it's a British accent.

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   It's Brother Peter King. We've had him on the podcast one other time. This time, it's an exhortation that he gave, unknown date and location, simply entitled, Worship. But it's from quite a long time ago. We had to really clean up the audio on this one. It's clearly from some old analog tape, which I'm sure many of our listeners don't even know what that was.

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   But we have digitized it, we have restored it, and we have Peter King in all of his amazingness. It's always great to hear an older brother use a modern word. You'll hear him in the beginning of this podcast use the word bogus, which I thought was great. But in all seriousness, he's talking about the worship of our Lord Jesus Christ, and this exploration of the ideas of worship he uses from the gifts brought to the Lord Jesus at his birth.

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   And he makes, as he always did, some amazing observations, introspective reading of the record, every fine detail in the gifts are offered. He gives exposition, devotion, just classic Peter King, which is always so welcome to listen to and very encouraging. And you will just love it. I think my favorite thing was where he's talking about beauty.

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   Where there is beauty, there is God. Oh, that was like an amazing devotional idea. I just had to like stop and write it down. So that and many other amazing things, very practical application at the end. And I'm sure you're just going to absolutely love it. So thanks to the GCT team for having me in the month of July.

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   I hope everybody is enjoying their summer or winter, wherever you are. So from lockdown, Melbourne here. Love to all of you. Please enjoy Peter King. Worship. My beloved brethren and sisters, we are come to worship our God. And as we bow our head in prayer, and as we sing the hymns, and as we listen to the wonder of the word being read, this is our worship.

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   What do you understand by worship? I suggest to you that there are degrees of worship, as indeed there are degrees of prayer. Worship even from an unbeliever can be accepted. As prayers from an unbeliever, that is to say someone not in covenant relationship with our God, can be accepted. Of course there is a limit to what they can say in their prayers.

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   And my suggestion is there is a limit to how much they can worship also. But before we take the bread and wine, we bow our head in worship.

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    There have, I suppose, always been true and bogus worshippers. We accept the wise men of whom we have read as being honest worshippers, but class Herod of whom we have also read as a counterfeit. We say the wise men were genuine, and Herod was bogus, although they both used the same word. And they both said, let us find him, because we want to worship him.

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    We claim to come to worship, Lord, when we meet to worship thee. Sometimes we sing. But the word of God shows clearly defined lines for worshippers, and sincerity, although a vital ingredient, is not by any means the only one. Sincerity in worship is not enough. Sincerity in worship. What do you think of the gifts brought to the infant Jesus by the wise men?

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    Strange, weren't they? Gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. I mean, what did Mary say? These are strange gifts, even stranger to a child. What did Mary say when they brought them and presented them? Here is a casket of myrrh. Used almost exclusively in the days of Jesus as an embalming agent. And they're giving it to a two-year-old child.

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    What did she say? Gold. Well, I suppose that this is always a welcome addition to a family, or bordering on the poverty line, as Jesus' family probably were. It has been said that maybe the gold that was given to the master was used later to purchase the scrolls of the law, the Psalms and the prophets.

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    We have no evidence in scripture, but it's a lovely thought to take away. That the gold that was given by the wise men was used wisely by his mother.

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    Frankincense. A perfume. A most exquisite perfume. Probably the best smell this world knows. But for a two-year-old boy. Strange gift. Strange. Unless these wise men were a little wiser than we sometimes think they were. We say these three wise men. There is no way, brethren and sisters, the three wise men would have travelled across a desert with treasures in their bag.

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    We are talking about probably upwards of twenty men journeying to find the Lord. I put it to you that they had other things in their possession. Because we find that they searched as to what they should give him. And when at last they rummaged through the rich wood carvings of which this part of Arabia is still famous.

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    The casting of the silver. And they rummaged through their treasures to find what they must give him. Of necessity they felt they must give him gold. And frankincense. And myrrh. Note this. If we come to the time when a child is born. And we go to visit the parents of the child. And it is our custom to take a gift as it sometimes is when a new arrival appears.

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    It's a time of joy. We give the gift to the parents. And we say when the child grows up. Maybe he will appreciate this. But these gifts were given to Jesus. They had nothing to do with his stepfather Joseph. And nothing whatsoever to do with Mary his mother. These gifts were exclusively for Jesus.

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    And the record says. They presented them to Jesus. Strange. Strange. Until we recall the origins of these wise men. I put this to you as well. Do you think. That they could possibly have been descendants. I underline the word descendants. Not relatives. Do you think they could have been descendants of those wise men who succeeded Daniel?

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    They certainly came from that area. And if they had access to the writings of Daniel. They would not only know where to look. But they would know when to look. For he that should come. Wise. Wise men indeed. But mark this. My beloved brethren and sisters. If Jesus was say two years old.

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    And he may have been about that. When these wise men found him. Then they were two years behind the shepherds in locating the Lord. Wise men indeed. All wise men will seek Jesus. But a university degree is no guarantee of finding him any more quickly than a man of no education.

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    That's the truth of the matter. Indeed. A university degree can sometimes be a positive hindrance to finding the Lord. And the humble men of no education were there first. As a man of no education. I find that extremely encouraging.

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    To determine what is true worship. I believe that we are helped by these wise men. Because. Their worship was accepted. They came before the master. And they bowed down. And they rummaged through their treasures. And they found what they wanted to give him. With thought. They presented it to him. And they went on their way rejoicing.

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    I put to you. I put to you that their worship must serve as a guide. To all who will come to offer worship. Which is to be acceptable. Gold then, frankincense and myrrh. These they brought to Messiah. Fulfilling the words of their own original wise man. You will not need to turn to these scriptures.

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    If anybody would like chapter and verse afterwards, I will give them to you with pleasure. But if we can just listen to the word of God, I think we shall gain greater benefit.

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    The original wise man men, from whom perhaps these wise men were descended, certainly from his race. Because Balaam, you will recall, was offered gifts by Balak on three occasions. I will not press the numbers. And on the last occasion, this was said. Balak has come and he has besought Balaam to curse this wretched people.

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    Who are like grasshoppers over my land. The might of them is great and their numbers are terrifying. And Balaam says, won't you come and curse them for me and I'll give you a reward.

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    And Balaam says, I mean brethren and sisters, just imagine that you are the king. And you have a fat reward in your hand. Ready to give to the prophet. Who at your instigation is about to curse your enemy. And now at last, he's had two attempts which have been majestic failures. He comes now to have another attempt at cursing.

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    And with the reward almost being handed over to Balaam, you hear him say this. Third time. I shall see him. But not now. I shall behold him. But not now. In other words, I won't see him at this moment. And he won't be at this spot. There shall come a star out of Jacob.

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    And a scepter shall arise out of Israel. And shall smite the corners of Moab. And destroy all the children of Sheth. And Edom shall be a possession. Seah also shall be a possession for his enemies. And Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall he come that shall have dominion. And destroy him that remaineth on the city.

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    What a fabulous prophecy of the Lord. Given by the wicked prophet. At the instigation. Of a wicked king. And from that moment onward. From the moment Balaam said. I shall see him. But not now. I shall behold him. But not now. There shall come a star out of Jacob. And a scepter shall rise out of Israel.

32. 13:22

    Wise men of that area. Had their eyes looked at the heavens. To the star that should come. The one that should bear the scepter. The star that should come. Looking for him who would come to them. Who would have the capacity. To destroy them. I wonder if. When David came to the throne.

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    They thought they had found him. And David measured Moab. And he smote them. Measured them with a line. Casting them down to the ground. Even with two lines measured he. To put to death. With one. And to keep alive with the other. So. The Moabites became David's servants. And brought him gifts.

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    It was common. For a subject. Recognizing the might. Of a king. To bring a gift. So these men of Moab. Possibly the area. From which the wise men had come. Brought gifts to David. Believing him perhaps. To be the star that should arise. The one holding a scepter. Who would beat them small.

35. 14:40

    They weren't far out were they? They had his relative. They were a few centuries adrift. But they were on the right lines. Strange that you can often find. Some wisdom. And some understanding.

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    Outside the camp of God. They are after all. Only doing what their own. Wise men spoke. Wise men spoke of. Many years before. Gold then speaks of. Precious things. Whether wrought or cast. It is of great value. Gold. Is the oldest currency in the world. Gold. Speaks to us of pureness. It covers wood.

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    Which speaks to us of corruption. The use of gold in the tabernacle. In the temple was extensive. And always speaks of God's purity. Covering man's corruption. Only special items. Were ever made of solid gold. Of which one was the mercy seat. No corruption you see. Speaking of Jesus. It couldn't be. Wood covered gold.

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    It had to be solid gold. If it speaks of Jesus. Because there is no corruption in him. To obtain frankincense. The bark of a special tree. Has to be cut. Possibly the best of all odors. In the whole world. Whether dried or burned. It gives off. A most attractive smell.

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    The Lord said unto Moses. Take unto thee sweet spices. Stacti. Onica. Galvanum. These sweet spices. With pure frankincense. Of each there shall be a like weight. And thou shalt make it a perfume. A confection. After the art of the apothecary. Temper together pure and holy. And thou shalt beat some of it very small.

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    And put of it before the testimony. In the tabernacle of the congregation. Where I will meet with thee. It shall be unto you most holy. As for the perfume which thou shalt make. You shall not make to yourselves. According to the composition thereof. It shall be unto thee holy. For the Lord. Whosoever shall make the like unto that.

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    To smell thereto. He shall be cut off from among his people. So this confection. Of which. Frankincense was 25%. Performed the basis of the incense. Which the high priest used. On the burning coals of his incense.

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    It was used. Extensively. During the. The worship of. Of Israel. Of their God. And. This. Is an important quotation. The Lord said. Unto Moses. Speak unto Aaron thy brother. That he come not at all times. Into the holy place. Within the veil. Before the mercy seat. Which is upon the ark. That he die not.

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    For I will appear in a cloud. Upon the mercy seat. And when he comes. He shall take a censer. Full of burning coals of fire. From off the altar. Before the Lord. And his hands. Full of sweet incense. Beaten small. And bring it within the veil. And he shall put the incense. Upon the fire.

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    Before the Lord. That the cloud of incense. May cover the mercy seat. That is upon the testimony. That he die not. Strange isn't it? That the very presence. Of the God. Whom he had come to seek. Should be obscured. By the cloud. Of incense. Of which frankincense. Was part. And on the great day.

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    Of atonement. Which was the only day. Now when Aaron. Was allowed to go in. Previously. Before. His error. And the error of his sons. He could go in. Whenever he wished. Now he is barred. From the most holy place. And can only go in. On the great day. Of atonement. Elbowing aside the veil.

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    With a censer. Of hot coals. In his hands. And a handful. Of the incense. He goes into the veil. Sprinkling the incense. On the hot coals. As he does. And it ignites. Not in flame. But in smoke. And a fabulous perfume. Fills the most holy place. God is always surrounded. As we have won.

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    As we have noticed. This week. God is always surrounded. By beautiful things. Where there is beauty. There is God. And the high priest. Stands. Before the ark. Confessing his sins. And worshipping.

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    Thanking sense. My brethren and sisters. Was used in another area too. When a man brought. A free will offering. Of meal. Or a meat offering. That is to say. Flour and oil. Mingled together. He could bring it. To his God. As a free will offering. There were many free will offerings. Which he could bring.

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    If a man had met. All the requirements. Of the law. And yet he was so joyous. In his heart. As we are. Perhaps now. In this evening hour. If he wanted to say. Thank you to God. For general blessings. Then he brought. A free will offering. But if he was a poor man.

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    And he couldn't run to. An animal. Or even a bird. Then he was told. He could bring something. That was in his house. Which was inexpensive.

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    Least of all. This one. He would take flour. And pour oil upon it. And mingle it together. He would bring it to the priest. And he would say. Would you offer this to the Lord. For a free will offering. And the priest would take frankincense. And apply it. To the doughy mixture. Part of it would be burned.

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    And the part with the frankincense on. Would be given to the priest. Christ. You see. The beauty of this. Is that everybody could afford it. There was no excuse. For not bringing. A free will offering. If God had said. You can bring. A free will offering. But it must be a bullock. That would have removed.

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    Ninety eight percent. Of the population. From bringing. A free will offering. But God said. I'll take. What you have. And the bullock. Which might be brought. As a free will offering. By a wealthy man. Was no more acceptable. And the poor man's. Meal offering. Which he'd taken out of his pantry.

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    The one was equally accepted. With the other. Another thing. My brethren and sisters. When a man. Brought. His free will offering. The flour and the oil. Didn't have to be measured. If you were a wealthy man. You could bring a barrel. And if you were a poor man. You could bring half a cup full.

55. 21:15

    And because it was your best. It was accepted. But only accepted. When frankincense was added to it. Myrrh. Again comes from. A tree. Rather like you. You might see. People collecting. Rubber. In some of the American countries. The band around the tree. And in the incision. And a cup underneath. So that the myrrh.

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    Will bleed into it. The Lord said unto Moses. Take thou also unto the principal spices. Of pure myrrh. Five hundred shekels. And of sweet cinnamon. Half so much. Even two hundred fifty shekels. And of sweet calamus. Two hundred fifty shekels. And of cassia. Five hundred shekels. After the shekel of the sanctuary. And of oil.

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    Olive. And hin. And thou shalt make it. Into an oil of holy ointment. Anointment compound. After the art of the apothecary. It shall be an holy anointing oil. And thou shalt anoint. And he runs on to say. What must be anointed. And the holy anointing oil. Was put on the clothes. Of the high priest.

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    At his consecration. Never on the man. Used to wonder why this was. Why doesn't the oil actually go on the man. When he's being consecrated. And it's tipped over his bonnet. And runs down his clothes. Even to the hymn.

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    Because this. Brothers and sisters. It's not the man that is being hallowed. It is the office. It is not the man that is being exalted. It is his priesthood. That's why. It is the man that is being exalted. And so gold. And frankincense. And myrrh. Are totally unique. As you will by now have realized.

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    In this one way. All three commodities. Bring us beyond the veil. Into the most holy place. Without gold. It is no holy place. Without frankincense. There is no incense. And without incense. We cannot come into the most holy place. And without myrrh. There is no holy anointing oil. And therefore no high priest.

61. 23:55

    To bring us into the most holy place. They bring us. To these three commodities. Into the very presence of God. It was not luck. That's what I'm trying to say. That's what I'm mithering to find. It was not luck. That caused. These wise men. To give gold. And frankincense. And myrrh. They didn't pick them out.

62. 24:15

    With a pin. From the list of gifts. Which they had. They recognized. That he was a king. And they gave gold. They recognized. That he would be a priest. And they gave him frankincense. And they recognized. His death. And resurrection. And they gave him myrrh. And he was two years old. At the time.

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    Wise. Wise men indeed. Now you just take away. Any of the commodities. That we have mentioned. And we have removed. Access. To the presence of God.

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    The man using them. Therefore. Must recognize. And appreciate. The holiness of them. And understanding this. Can worship. Because true worship. If we want to worship. In sincerity. And truth. We must come before. The throne of God. The equivalent for Israel. Was to come within the veil. And stand before the ark. The equivalent for us.

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    To that. Is to stand before. The presence of God Almighty. Of whom the angels trembled. And we come with boldness. Before the throne of God. Enable. Recognizing that our worship from there can be accepted.

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    You see, all must come to Jesus. All wise men will find Jesus. Sometimes they come with hardship. Sometimes from vast distances. Sometimes with great difficulty.

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    All men who come to Jesus must recognize that he is able, through the gold and frankincense and myrrh, and that which they represent, is able to bring us into the very presence of God. And without them we are lost. We must see in our Lord his kingship, his work as a priest, and recognize that he died and that he rose.

68. 26:22

    All men who come to Jesus must look into their treasures and give of their best. That's the lesson of the wise men. They gave the best they had. All who come to Jesus must hear the word of God as the wise men did and be prepared to change the direction of their lives as they were.

69. 26:47

    They were wise men. And they heard an exhortation and their worship had been accepted and they said, We will go back this way. And the spirit said, Do not. That is the wrong direction. You must go back this way. So they went home by a different way from that which they had come.

70. 27:10

    All wise men who come to Jesus will hear the spirit voice and if necessary will change the direction of their lives. This is worship. It's not a frivolous term, you see. It doesn't trip off, at least it shouldn't trip off our lips. We are going to worship. When your neighbor sees you get into the car and you drive off on Sunday morning toward your ecclesial hall, do they understand if you say to them, We are going to worship today?

71. 27:47

    In kindness they do not. We must be sure that we understand it is not a frivolous term. Now we come to worship. We have been prepared by word of excitation. But by reading.

72. 28:08

    We are brought in to worship through our king and our priest who died and who rose again and who ascended and who is therefore permanently in the presence of God to receive us. The hymns are silenced. The speaker mumbles over his last sentence or two. And we come to worship.

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    What has he done for us? More to the point. When we say Amen in about 20 minutes time or thereabouts what will he have meant for us then? The wise men were strengthened when they worshipped knowing that their worship was acceptable and they went on their way rejoicing. Please God that might be said of us.

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    For having had our worship accepted and having been completely washed clean having had every trace of sin washed from us we come and we worship by God's grace we are accepted and we go on our way rejoicing. Amen. Thank you for listening to the Good Christadelphian Talks podcast. We hope this talk helped you in your walk.

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