Isaiah 66 verses 1-4, these are God's words. Thus says YHWH, heaven is my throne and earth is my footstool. Where is the house that you will build me? And where is the place of my rest? For all those things my hand has made, and all those things exist, says YHWH. But on this one will I look on him who is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at my word. He who kills a bull, as if he slays a man. He who sacrifices a lamb, as if he breaks a dog's neck. He who offers a grain offering, as if he offers swine's blood. He who burns incense, as if he blesses an idol. Trust as they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations. So will I choose their delusions, and bring their fears on them. Because when I called, no one answered. When I spoke, they did not hear. But they did evil before my eyes, and chose that in which I did not delight. So far the reading of God's inspired and inerrant word. This is passage in which the Lord offers on the one hand or speaks in the one hand about looking with favor upon people. In verse two, this one, I will look and the implication is look with favor. But on the other hand, giving people over to their delusions and bringing their fear on them, verse four. So will I choose their delusions and bring their fears on them? And the difference between the two in these verses is not, that the one is attending worship and offering worship, participating in the worship services that God has given Israel and the other is not. The difference is in the purpose and the heart, the manner in which they are attending upon the worship. So for you, this is a good reminder that there were those who, were sacrificing a bull or a lamb or offering a grain offering or burning the incense or offering the incense to burn. Verse three, all of these things that the Lord had commanded, but it was just outwardly. It was the same as if they were slaying a man or breaking a dog's neck or offering swine's blood or blessing an idol. And the big difference was they were worshiping the way they were worshiping because it pleased them, because they chose it. And this meant that they, first of all, the things that they were offering that were supposed to be from God were not really from God. It was according to their own desires, their own ideas. And when that's the case, of course, you don't stop at what God has commanded, you add to it. And so, It's not just that the things that they added were man-made religion. When they came with man-made religion as well, when they added to the worship of God or the religion of God, they showed that even when they were offering worship that was outwardly according to God's word, It was according to their choice, just as they have chosen, verse three, they chose that in which I do not delight, verse four. And so God rejects their worship and he rejects their worship not just because therefore they have a wrong idea of worship. That's true. They were treating worship as the bringing of whatever they thought to bring, whatever they chose to bring. But their wrong idea of worship was due to a wrong idea of God and a wrong idea of themselves. A wrong idea of God as if God was needy or greedy or maybe one of these false idol gods that is unreasonably upset and needs to be placated and you find out what this irritable God wants so that you can calm him down. Any one of these ideas, of course, is blasphemous, wicked, but we, can fall into thinking this too, as if we are bringing, reading, or praying, or singing, or preaching, or the Lord's Supper, because that's the stuff that makes God feel better, or that's the stuff that God really needs. or that's the stuff that increases God's glory. God has no needs. His glory is never diminished, never increased. And there is this wrong idea of offering. In fact, the way people think of the word offering is largely affected by the inclusion of the money collection. in worship services as well. But the way people think of the word offering is supplying or providing or performing or giving to God that which He needs, lacks, or at least requires. But what we've seen in the origin of that word offering, the idea of karav or korban, Korban is the word that the Pharisees were using, the Hebrew verb is korav, to draw near. That worship and even in these different offerings were a way that the loving and generous God who needs nothing was giving even to sinners to be able to draw near to him. And not because those things could atone for sin, or those things could bring us near, or those things could make us safe in coming near, but because he was atoning for ourselves in the Lord Jesus. And the Lord Jesus could bring us near. And the Lord Jesus could bring us near in grace and safety, rather than as those with our sins still on us to be consumed by the wrath of God. So they had this wrong view of God. And they had this wrong view of God, even to the point where they thought they had built him this amazing house, exactly the opposite of what Solomon actually said at the dedication of the temple. When the temple had been built and he's dedicating and he's saying, heaven and the highest heaven cannot continue, how much less this little house that I have built. But the wrong view of God, which is impressed with us and not with him, thinks, oh, isn't our God blessed to have us, that he could get such a big, nice temple as this one. And that's where he comes in the first one. He's like, heaven is my throne and earth is my footstool. And I actually don't have a place of rest. I stoop down to make my glory known in heaven and in earth, let alone in this little house. Where's the house that you will build me? And so wrong view of God and the wrong view of self. Right view of self is the one that he brings us to and he's looking upon us favorably. And he says, on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and he trembles at my word. In other words, when we realize that we deserve only wrath from him, we have nothing, we have nothing that we can do that's good enough or that could make up for what we have been in Adam and in ourselves and what we have done from our original sin from ourselves. We are poor, impoverished, penniless before him spiritually. We cannot make up for our sinfulness or our guilt. And so we tremble at his word, not only because we know what we are before it, but We tremble also at the greatness, not of what we have done for him, but of what he has done for us, that he has brought us near in Christ. And so the dreadful thing about drawing near with our lips and our hearts being far from him and teaching his doctrines, the commandments of men, the man-made worship or coming according to our own ideas instead of according to his ideas, isn't just that the worship itself is offensive and deserves wrath, that's pretty dreadful, but that it exposes that we have a wrong view of God. We have a wrong view of ourselves and God responds to that in fury. Whereas when he brings us to a right view of him and a right view of ourselves and therefore to be amazed that he mercifully brings us near and coming only in the way that he has chosen because What could we add to that? Except that which would defile it. When he brings us to a right view of him and a right view of ourselves, he looks upon us with favor. How great is his mercy in true worship. So when you come to the public worship services especially and you're getting ready and we're gonna read and pray and sing and hear preaching and take the Lord's Supper, but you ought to be remembering before Him, preparing your hearts. And don't just use the few seconds, you can use the entire time we're doing all of the non-worship stuff right before the worship service. And remember before Him who we are and how poor we are and how He's given to us Christ in whom to draw near to Him. Remember before Him how great He is and that heaven and earth cannot contain him, much less a worship service at the Hopewell ARP in Cullioca. but that He of this glory and holiness is bringing us near to Christ. Remember those things before Him. And as you think of each part of the worship service in advance, and as you go through each part of the worship services, as we are worshiping, marvel, tremble, be amazed that the living God is bringing you near through this in His Son. that Jesus is leading it and that the living God is bringing you near in His Son, in the Lord Jesus. And receive the favor of God, be amazed. Here you are a sinner, but the Holy God is bringing you near in safety for blessing and to worship Him. Worship really is the great gospel exercise, drawing near to God and Christ. So let's pray that God would help us in that. Our Father in heaven, we know that we have within us the potential and have even sinned in these ways, just doing outwardly, the parts of worship as if it was because we had chosen it, not because you had chosen it. And so we thank you for your mercy and we ask for your forgiveness. And we thank you for Christ who is atoned even for that. And we pray that your spirit would remind us of who you are and who we are, and therefore what your worship must be. For we ask all these things through Christ, amen.