turn with me to Leviticus chapter 10. Having spent the last several weeks talking about the meticulous very detailed instructions concerning the various offerings prescribed by the Lord to be made by the Israelites through the priesthood of Aaron and his sons. We now come to this 10th chapter where we learn just how seriously God takes obedience to his commands read with me beginning at verse 1. Here Moses writes. Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord." In case you weren't aware, Nadab and Abihu were Aaron's oldest sons. Needless to say, they would have done well to pay more attention when Moses was reciting all of these instructions that God had given him. regarding how the priesthood was to conduct themselves and how God was to be worshiped. Instead, for reasons that remain unclear, whether their issue was pride, whether it was ambition, impatience, we can't really be sure. But whatever the case, Nadab and Abihu took it upon themselves to worship God in a way that God had not prescribed. That said, we do have a possible hint down in verse 9. In verse 9, the Lord speaks to Aaron saying, do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you when you come into the tent of meeting so that you will not die. This could be the very issue that we're seeing here in the strange fire that was offered by these two men, Nadab and Abihu, who could have shown up to make their offerings in an inebriated condition. According to some scholars, this is possible, but again, we can't really be sure if that was the case. or not. The Lord's warning to Aaron might have just been a reminder that when you do come, make sure that you don't come in a condition that might compromise you in terms of your being able to do what you've been instructed. Again, very meticulously to do in service to me." So, what was it exactly about their offering that classified it as a strange fire? According to one scholarly opinion, the infraction may have involved any of the following or a combination thereof. Using coals from someplace other than the burnt offering altar, that is, they might have used unauthorized coals. Remember, the Lord was very specific that the coals that were to be used were to be those that came from the burnt offering. They couldn't just go to another fire and bring that to the Lord. That would indeed constitute a strange fire. So had they done that? We really don't know. Number two, using the wrong kind of incense. Exodus 30 verse 9 provides us a regulation against offering strange incense on the incense altar. There's also a possible connection to Exodus 30 verses 34 through 38 there. So it could have been that they offered the wrong kind of incense, again, a violation of the precise instructions that they had received from the Lord in that regard. Number three, performing an incense offering at an unprescribed time. Could have been that they just disregarded the official time for the offering and they instead just showed up late, showed up early, showed up at a time that wasn't prescribed by the Lord to make this particular offering. That's just another suggestion. Or, number four, entering the Holy of Holies at an inappropriate time. It could be that they conducted the fire ceremony on the right time, but they actually went into the Holy of Holies at the wrong time. I mean, there's speculation about that as well. The cross-reference there is Leviticus 16, verses 1 and 2. Now, I've got a fifth option. that might constitute strange fire, at least as it regards the entire ceremony, and that might be that they came with the wrong heart attitude. We've already seen this play out in Cain and Abel. For Abel's sacrifice, God had great regard. Abel obviously followed the Lord's instructions, and he brought from the fatlings of his flock and offered those to the Lord. As you'll recall, Cain brought grains and vegetables and offered them before the Lord, and we're really not sure Whether that scenario that resulted in the Lord's rejection of Cain's offering, we don't know whether that was based on content or attitude. But we do detect a little of both, perhaps, even then. The whole thing here is that Nadab and Abihu could have come to the Lord and made all of these mistakes. They could have come with such disregard for the way the Lord Himself had instructed them to worship Him that the Lord killed them on the spot. And I think this is a, again, it's a cautionary tale even to us. And we'll talk about that more in just a minute. Verse 3, Now that sounds like a fairly strange response to the death of Aaron's two oldest sons, but I think Moses is trying to get Aaron to realize that God has spoken and God says, I will be honored. So whatever they did was not just a slip up. It wasn't just an oops moment. It was actually something that would displease God so highly that he would put them to death. They had dishonored God in some profound way. Obviously. And so Moses is reaching out to Aaron and saying, look, look, the Lord told us that he is to be honored among the people. The Lord told us the ways in which he is to be worshiped. Don't be surprised, Aaron, because your son's messed up. Don't be surprised that the Lord killed them. This is how seriously God takes these things. I'll have more to say about Aaron's response to Moses' explanation in just a minute, but I think we would all do well to just pause here for a little bit of practical application. Needless to say, God takes the worship of his people very seriously. And this is one of those things that sadly the byproduct of God's grace extended to sinners in saving us and Christ's taking the punishment for our own disobedience on himself. These things have actually led to license among believers today. We don't really see God in the same light as he's presented here. Surely God wouldn't put someone to death for failing to worship him appropriately. And in a sense, that's true. He doesn't put us to death anymore for worshiping him inappropriately because Christ himself took on the penalty, the punishment for that particular sin. But it's not as though you're getting away with it. You're still sinning when you don't worship God in an appropriate way. It's just that God has reserved His final judgment, in your case, until the day of judgment. And oh, by the way, any sin that we commit while we're attempting to worship Him has already been covered by the blood of Christ. But again, I think that has a negative effect sometimes. I think it can cause us to think, well, you know, I can just do all these things. God's not going to punish me like He did Nadab and Abihu. And so we must have this freedom to worship God any way we choose to worship Him. That's not true. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God's standards are the same. He never changes. And so God fully expects that we will worship him according to the dictates of his word. We refer to this once again as the regulative principle of worship. We've talked about this several times throughout our studies, but let me just remind you of what Derek Thomas had to say about this. He gives us a really nice definition of this principle. He says, put simply, the regulative principle of worship states that the corporate worship of God is to be founded upon specific directions of Scripture. On the surface, it's difficult to see why anyone who values the authority of Scripture would find such a principle objectionable. It's not the whole of, or is not the whole of life itself to be lived according to the rule of scripture. This is a principle dear to the hearts of all who call themselves biblical Christians. To suggest otherwise is to open the door to antinomianism and license. John Calvin expressed it even more succinctly. He said, God disapproves of all modes of worship, not expressly sanctioned by his word. And of course, our own 1689 London Baptist Confession has something similar to say about the regulative principle of worship. Simply put, God does not take pleasure in any form of worship that he himself has not prescribed in His Word." Now, does this mean that we are not free to worship God in certain ways that are not prescribed particularly in His Word? No, that doesn't mean that at all. There are plenty of things that we do that the Bible simply doesn't speak to. I've told you before how we collect the offering. what time we meet, all these things, what the church looks like in certain ways, these things aren't regulated by Scripture. But there are enough things regulated in terms of our worshiping God that we should be able to do a job that is pleasing to Him in terms of our corporate gatherings and our worship. Now, I say this because there are so many people out there in the world, even this morning, who are offering strange fire to God. They're worshiping Him in ways that even if you just go to the motive of their expression of worship, we can see that many people are worshiping the Lord this morning as a self-serving endeavor. Many people are going to churches this morning so that they might be entertained. They're going to churches so that they might get their cup full of feel-good theology that they can use throughout the rest of the week. It's all about them. It's all about their feelings. It's all about their ability to express themselves. It's all about how it makes them feel as though they've been elevated to a higher place. All of those things are Really wrong in terms of the attitude that we should come to worship God with. We come here, why? Why do we worship God? Do you come here every Lord's Day because it makes you feel better? That might be a byproduct, I'm not denying that. But do you come here for yourself or are you coming for Him? Are you coming because you're checking a box or filling a square or are you coming because he is worthy? It's a question we all need to ask ourselves. Why am I here this morning? Have I come to receive? You know, have I come to feed off of the gifts of everyone around me so, again, I feel better about everything in my life? Or have I come, regardless of how I feel, have I come to ascribe to the Lord the worth that He is due? Remember, worship, the Middle English word for worship is worth-ship. We've just simply made it into worship, but it's an expression of how much we consider God to be worth on the basis of what He has done for us, in us, through us, by way of Christ's atoning work and by way of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Ask yourself again, am I here for Him? And if you're not, then you have a lot of work to do in terms of realigning your priorities. and beginning to understand what it is that we're called here to do and why. Derek Thomas went on here, he says, it's important to realize that the regulative principle as applied to the public worship frees the church from acts of impropriety and idiocy. We are not free, for example, to advertise that performing clowns will mime the Bible lesson at next week's Sunday service, yet it does not commit a church to a cookie cutter liturgical sameness. So we do have freedom, but we're not free to do the absurd. How many of you have ever been to what you would consider a fairly absurd church service? Right. I'm from Appalachia, so this happens all the time. you know, snake handlers and people running and jumping and shouting and all that goes with that. But there's still a lot of crazy things that go on in the name of worship even today. We've talked before about pastors who come down zip lines onto the stage. You know, there's a church in Houston, I believe, that had a helicopter, a real Apache helicopter on stage. And the whole premise was the pastor's going to Preach on fighting your battles. Do you really need a $30 million helicopter in your auditorium? And think about how much money it took to get it in the auditorium. Do you need all the bells and whistles? You know, there's a church down in, I think it's Galveston, that has a replica of Noah's Ark for a children's ministry. Think about how many hungry mouths that might feed. in terms of the money that was spent to build that thing. There are all kinds of pragmatic means that churches employ to keep people coming, to keep them attracted, to keep them entertained. But again, that's all about me. Where does he come into play? That should be our main question when we come into this place again. Are we coming here offering Him the worship that He has prescribed for Himself? Or are we perhaps guilty of offering strange fire of our own? And let me just say this, you might be guilty of offering strange fire again if you come with the wrong attitude. You know, just as the Lord loves a cheerful giver, That just doesn't mean money. It's not just a reference to what you put in the offering plate. The Lord loves a cheerful giver in all respects. The Lord also loves it when you come cheerfully to give of yourself to him. The Lord loves it when you come to commit the worship that he is due to him from a genuine place of wanting to be here. wanting to serve. The Lord loves it when we serve one another selflessly. The Lord loves it when we consider one another is more important than ourselves, and we are willing to sacrifice on their behalf in order to meet their needs. Check your attitude. Every time you come into this place, you need to ask yourself again, why am I here? And will the Lord be glorified? by my contribution to worshiping him. Now, I said we'd get back to verse 3 regarding Aaron's response to Moses, so go back there. When Moses says to Aaron, it is what the Lord spoke, saying, by those who come near me, I will be treated as holy, and before all the people, I will be honored. In effect, he's saying, again, Aaron, the Lord has warned us repeatedly about what would happen if he was dishonored in any way, and your sons are now, sadly, object lessons with regard to that truth. And it's true. Let me give you just a couple of examples of this elsewhere in Exodus 1922. Exodus 1922, here's where we read about the warning that was initially given. I'll give you a chance to turn there, Exodus 19. Here we read, and also let the priests who come near to the Lord consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break out against them. They were to consecrate themselves. That is, they were to set themselves apart as distinct from those to whom they ministered. They were to have the right heart attitude. They were to be physically without spot or blemish, yes, in order to be qualified for the priesthood. You had to meet certain physical qualifications, but you also had to meet certain temperamental qualifications, certain attitude qualifications. When you consecrated yourself to the work of the Lord, you did so as a whole body approach, body, mind, and soul. I'm going to do what the Lord has instructed me to do in this regard in this particular ministry, and I'm going to do that understanding that if I don't, the Lord might very well break out against me. Leviticus 8.35 also gives us some insight here. Moses reminded them. At the doorway of the tent of meeting, moreover, you shall remain day and night for seven days and keep the charge of the Lord. Why? That you may not die. for so I have been commanded." So when Moses lovingly and patiently reminds Aaron of these prior warnings in light of what just happened to his sons, how did Aaron respond? Well, we're told very simply that Aaron therefore kept silent. This is another huge bit of practical application. I'm going to talk about it again, even though I hadn't intended to talk about it this morning, but we are a people who love to complain. Have you noticed that? How many of you would admit that you're a complainer yourself? I've told you only recently and Pastor John and I were talking about it very briefly this morning. If we understood the heinousness of the sin of discontent, we would be well on our way to greater heights of sanctification. We complain because we're discontent. We complain because this, that, or the other thing that, by the way, has come to us via the providence of this God that we are to worship. Whenever we complain, we are casting doubt on God's ability to provide. We're also casting doubt on God's wisdom. We're casting doubt on God's timing. Do you understand that? you and I will be far less inclined to complain the moment we wrap our brains around the fact that, as I always say, whatever my God ordains is right. Whatever predicament you're in this morning, whatever your problems are, whatever you are going through at this very moment, your response is not to respond in discontent You see what the church needs, what the country needs. Do you not think God knows what we need? No, but He hasn't provided it. Well, who are you to answer back to God? Much better that we simply roll with the punches We accept what is our current reality in light of a providential God. And I would just say this as kindly as I can. Most of us would do much better to accept God's providence and shut up. Moses explained what had happened to Aaron. Aaron kept silent. Now what could he have done? He could have lashed out against God. He could have lashed out against Moses. Moses, you weren't very clear on that point. If you had been, I would have warned my sons to be more careful. But because you weren't careful enough, Moses, in your explanation of these things, it's all your fault. Aaron chose to remain silent because he was humbled even by the dark providences of God. Aaron at that very moment, and no doubt by the power of the Holy Spirit, was able to say, whatever my God ordains is right, even if it cost me my two eldest sons. Matthew Henry is helpful here. He said, the most quieting considerations under affliction are fetched from the word of God. What was it that God spoke? Though Aaron's heart must have been filled with anguish and dismay, yet with silent submission, he revered the justice of the stroke. When God corrects us or ours, our loved ones, for sin, it is our duty to accept the punishment and say, it is the Lord, let him do what seems good to him. Whenever we worship God, we come nigh unto Him as spiritual priests. This ought to make us very serious in all acts of devotion." I've told you before about Horatio Spafford. He's the man who wrote, It Is Well With My Soul. Many of you recall that Spafford had sent his family to England ahead of himself. He was going to go. He had something, some business to take care of in Chicago. He ended up not going with him, but as they traveled across the sea, the ship went down. His wife, was it three daughters? Two daughters. I think she was the only survivor in that family. She went on via rescue boat to England, he followed and as they crossed the place where the ship had gone down, the captain of Spafford's ship stopped so that people could pay their respects to those who had perished. And it was as Spafford sat leaning against the rail of the ship, looking down into the very ocean that had just claimed the lives of his loved ones. It was at that moment that he began writing what is perhaps one of the most well-loved hymns of all time. It is well with my soul. Can you imagine? What could Spafford have done had he not been consecrated unto the Lord, had he himself not prepared himself according to what he knew the scriptures taught about such things. What could he have done? He could have just wailed and moaned and complained against God how unfair you are, God, how horrible it is that you would take the lives of these precious little ones and leave me all alone to mourn and to be in such a pitiable state. No. No, instead, he decided to write one of the greatest hymns of praise, especially as it regards God's providence, one of the greatest hymns ever written. When peace like a river attends my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, you have taught me to say. It is well. Could you do that? Or are you so locked into complaining mode that you can't see the hand of providence right before your very eyes? Are you so quick to bemoan your circumstances and complain and be discontent that you can no longer see the Lord in all of it? Good question. What saddens me most of all, I think, is that many of the most popular ministries that are attracting so many people, and again, I'm not bashing young people, but it seems to be attracting young people, people have made a business, people are making an entire ministry out of discontent. Be careful. Young and old, be careful that the people you're listening to are not just rabble-rousers getting you more and more angry about things that they can't change, about things you can't change, about things only the Lord himself can change. You want to pray for change? Pray that revival might sweep this land. Even better, pray for the return of Christ today. But don't fall into this trap of complaining. Oh, this country's not what it needs to be. It is. You know that? It is. This entire universe is exactly as God has ordered it to be. And that's true today, that'll be true tomorrow, that'll be true a hundred years from now. Whatever God ordains is right. Be silent. Isn't that counsel from the Lord Himself? Be still and know that I am God. Let me just ask you another question. I really want you to think about this, especially as you prepare your hearts and minds for the corporate worship that we're about to engage in in the next hour. Will you approach the Lord in worship this morning with a sense of fear and awe that demonstrates just how much you value him, what he's done for you through Christ? Or will today be like any other Lord's Day where you'll just have to check your box Get armed for the week to come so that you'll at least feel better about yourself. Again, let me caution you. Because this is important. When the Lord says, by those who come near me, I will be treated as holy. And before all the people, I will be honored. He's not just talking about Aaron and his sons as priests. He's talking about you and me. Anytime the people of God gather together in his name, and especially when we come together to worship him, to hear his word preached, and then to go out and attempt to apply that word in our lives each and every day, he expects us to do all that we do in a manner that is befitting of his honor and glory. As I thought about this, I was immediately brought to Psalm 95. Go ahead and turn there, Psalm 95. Verses 1 through the first part of verse 7. If you want a good motivation for your worship this morning, let this reverberate in your minds. Here the psalmist says, oh come let us sing for joy to the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving. Let us shout joyfully to him with psalms, for the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods, in whose hand are the depths of the earth. The peaks of the mountains are also his. The sea is his, for it was he who made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord, our maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand." And what follows here in our text this morning is even more proof of the sustaining power of God, even in the midst of such unimaginable grief as that which was being experienced by Aaron. Verse 4, Moses called also to Mishael, Elzaphan, the sons of Aaron's uncle Uziel, and said to them, come forward, carry your relatives away from the front of the sanctuary to the outside of the camp. So they came forward and carried them still in their tunics to the outside of the camp, as Moses had said. As one commentator said, they were commanded to carry the dead bodies, not just outside of the tabernacle, but also outside of the camp. This command showed that Nadab and Abihu's sin not only made them unworthy of serving as priests, but also of belonging to the people of God. They were not truly God's people because their sin amounted to rejecting Jehovah's covenant and open rebellion against God. This incident was the first evidence that even after the renewal of the covenant that followed the rebellion of the golden calf, not all the Israelites truly committed themselves to God. It was a sad commentary on how many in Israel gave lip service to the covenant when two out of the first five priests were rebellious and still not truly believing. I think this could be a foreshadowing of what will ultimately happen on that great day of judgment. I would dare say that there are many, even in this room at this very moment, even though you have dutifully come to church, even though you have come here perhaps with the intention of learning something that might help you in your life and your current predicament, whatever the case might be, I would dare say that there are some here, and perhaps even a greater number than we might imagine, who are not known by the Lord Himself. I know that's hard to hear, but we have become so conditioned to believe that our relationship to the Lord is based on our performance. We just do this, and we do that, and we do this, and we do that, and we don't do this, that, or the other thing, and that's what keeps us in a right relationship with God. Well, if that's what you believe, then you're no better than the Jews of old who believed that their salvation was rooted in works. We come here and we strive to worship in spirit and in truth. We strive to worship God in a way that He is truly worthy of being worshiped because we acknowledge that we can't get there on our own. Again, I'm asking you to check your motives for being here. If you think that your being here this morning merits favor with an eternal thrice holy God, you couldn't be more sadly mistaken. It does glorify Him. It does please Him when you are here. But don't make the illogical connection that your being here somehow gives you more of God's favor. That's not true at all. All the favor that you will ever have with God is rooted in the Lord Jesus Christ. And unless and until you come here fully clothed in the righteous robes of Christ, acknowledging your own unworthiness, your own filthiness, your own ineptitude, your own inability to ever be reconciled to God, the moment you put it all together and realize, I am what I am by the grace of God alone, then you'll be well on your way to being able to worship him as he's to be worshiped. And this is the whole thing that's being, the point that's being made here. Nadab and Abihu looked the part. No doubt. They had on their priestly garments. They conducted themselves in all the right ways, which by the way, the Pharisees did too. The Pharisees love to be a spectacle out in the market and people fawned over them and people admired them. They looked the part. But as Jesus said, they were really just whitewashed tombs. They were pretty on the outside, but filthy on the inside. What about you? I've said before, I'll say it again, you can fool each other, you can fool me, but you can't fool him. And again, it's quite alarming to consider the fact that some people in this room this morning will fall right into the trap that's described in Matthew chapter 7. Matthew 7, 21 through 23, Jesus says, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. But he who does the will of my father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name cast out demons and in your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. You looked the part, you played the part, you said all the right things, you went to church as you were directed to go to church. Everything in the external realm was a-okay. And yet there will be many who stand before him on that day and the Lord will say, I don't know you. Depart from me, you workers of iniquity. In other words, he's ascribing evil to their motives. But Lord, we prophesied in your name, and we cast demons out in your name, and we did this in your name, and we did this, and we did this, and we, we, we, we, we, all the way home. The Lord says, only one thing's missing. You thought yourselves to know me, but I never knew you. And yeah, that's scary. Unless, see, it need not be scary. When you give God all the glory, and this goes back to my statement earlier about discontent. I don't mean to stand on a soapbox and lecture you, but this is where it all comes to full fruition. Any sign of discontent in your life about anything puts you in danger. Because guess what? It's not all about you. Do you realize that something could be happening to you that is for Steve's benefit? Something might be happening to him that's for John's benefit. John might be going through some really difficult time so that he's able to minister more effectively to Ian. You see how that works? It's not all about you. It's not all about me. The most important thing is not to know Christ, but to be known by Him. I've told you before about that kid's song that we used to sing, Jesus loves me, this I know. I think that should be changed. Parents, start teaching your little children. I don't care if it rhymes or not. But the more correct Him to place into their little minds of mush Jesus knows me, this I love. Teach your children. Teach them to know Christ, yes, but also teach them the importance of being known. How do they do that? They do that by the power of the Holy Spirit who compels each of us in whom he dwells to relinquish ourselves and to yield only to him. to resign everything to His wisdom, to His grace, to His mercy, to His providence. And the moment you begin doing that, you'll feel a closer connection to the Lord Himself. You know, it's hard to be full of the Spirit when you're full of yourself. It's hard to let the words of Christ dwell in us richly if there's so many other things seeking to compete with the word of Christ? More on that in the next hour. Here in Matthew 7, we have another warning against the danger of just playing the part. And again, you might say, well, these things are kind of unsettling. These things are really, they kind of bother me. I mean, now you have me doubting, Pastor, whether I'm the genuine article or not. Well, that's good. That's good. Paul says it's good. Peter says it's good. We're told in Scripture to work out our salvation with what? Fear and trembling. We're also told to make our calling and election sure. How? Well, it begins by yielding to the authority and the veracity of God's Word. If you're not doing that, again, I'm going to say, check yourself. You can finish that. But we would all do well to check ourselves and to ask ourselves. You know, this is what David prayed when he said, Lord, search me. Know my heart. Reveal to me any hidden faults. Well, sometimes your pastor can reveal your hidden faults to you. If you're discontent, if you're a complainer, there's a problem. Learn to trust him. And more importantly, learn to obey him out of that trust. How seriously does he take infractions against his expressed will? Very seriously. And the fact that he doesn't kill you today, that's no reprieve from that day on which you will be judged. My prayers that each of us might know the Lord and be known by him. Well, Lord willing, we'll pick up next time at verse six.