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Let's turn our Bibles to Leviticus chapter 1 and we'll read verses 1 till 9. In Leviticus chapter 1 till 7 we have some of the different kinds of offerings, and Moses gives those laws, God gives those laws to the Moses, and he records them before the inaugural of the tabernacle. All these laws were given, or laws of offerings were given, before the inaugural of the tabernacle, and tabernacle is not yet inaugurated. And after that we see the consecration of the priests. But what's happening here is it's summarized in chapter 7 verses 37 and 38. So yeah, so we're going to look at chapters 1 till 7, very briefly, a very high level overview.
For that we'll begin chapter 1, verses 1 till 9. “The Lord called Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, ‘Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of livestock from the herd or from the flock. If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish. He shall bring it to the … that he may be accepted before the Lord. He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.”
“Then he shall kill the burnt offering, then he shall kill the bull before the Lord, and Aaron's sons, the priests, shall bring the blood and throw the blood against the sides of the altar that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. Then he shall flay the burnt offering and cut into pieces, and the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. And Aaron's sons, the priest, shall arrange the pieces, the head and the fat and the … on that wood that is on the fire on the altar. But its entrails and his legs he shall wash with water, and the priest shall burn all of it on the altar, a burnt offering, a food offering, which is, sorry, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.” As we have seen last week, the story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation
from the Garden of Eden to till the Exodus chapter 40, and from there till the new creation, is a story of God dwelling among his people, or you know, a story of God preparing a dwelling place with humans. As we reach to the close of Exodus, God fulfills this promise by dwelling in the midst of his people through the tabernacle. It's like a recreation of the Garden of Eden. But as we come to Exodus chapter 40, we see a problem. There's a problem of approaching God. But the all the story of tabernacle started at Exodus chapter
25. In chapter 25, if you can turn your Bibles to Exodus chapter 25 and verses 8 and 9, it says there that let them — the Lord gives them the commission to build the build a tabernacle — he says, “And let them make a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.”
And from Exodus chapter 25 to 40, God gave detailed instructions to build the tabernacle. And the structure was erected on the first day of the second year. That in Exodus chapter 40 verse 17. And it contained three primary sacred places or sacred zones. The first place is called the most holy place — we see all this in Exodus chapter 40 — it's called the most holy place or the Holy of Holies, and it contains the Ark of the Covenant with the two tablets or two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, a golden jar of manna, and also Aaron's rod, which was placed later in, we see that in Book of Numbers.
And we also see the mercy seat above the ark, which was flanked by two golden cherubim with outstretched wings, and separated from the holy place by a thick veil. We see that in Exodus 40 and verse 21. And the outer sanctuary is called the holy place, and it's a, it has a golden table with 12 loaves of showbread, one per tribe, and it replaced weekly. And you also see there a golden lampstand of seven branches hammered from a single piece of pure gold, and golden altar of incense where fragrant incense was burning each morning. And out, outside this, there's an outer court
where we have the bronze, and they have the bronze altar for burnt and grain offerings, and a bronze basin for the priestly washing. And a serious Israelite would always be filled with awe over this structure, and primarily because God's presence there. Now you read the Psalms, you will see their amazement, their longing, right? And yet a stunning paradox emerges here. Even Moses, was with God in his presence on the mount, and the Bible records in Book of Numbers that he is the meekest man on all of the earth, was not permitted to enter into the tent of meeting. And
God's own people were locked out of his dwelling place. And but that is how the book of Exodus ends, and that's how Leviticus begins. The central question is, how can a holy God dwell among sinful people without destroying them? It was an awesome thing there, that the tent was, the tent of meeting was pitched in midst of the people. There were multiple tents around that. And these people couldn't approach that. They know that the presence of the Lord was there. The question is, how can we approach that and not be consumed by the holy presence of the Lord? The book of Leviticus answers this question.
And God's glory is not just an abstract concept. No, God is a consuming fire. At Mount Sinai, his glory descended as fire. The mountain shook to its foundations. And now that same glory dwells in the tabernacle among his people. And the stakes could not be higher.
Approach wrongly and you die. Approach rightly and you live in fellowship with the Living God. You cannot do as you like, you cannot do whatever you like, you cannot walk in whenever you like. You know, in Leviticus chapter 10 records of the story of the sons of Aaron who were destroyed because no of the strange fire. And human reason and intuition couldn’t have devised this way. God must reveal himself. God revealed a way of approach, and that way is through the offering. If you look at Leviticus chapter 1 verse 2, it talks about the offering, and the Hebrew is called a korban. And God’s
answer to the problem of approach begins in the very first word he uses for sacrifice the hebrew word for offering is korban which is built from another Hebrew word it's a root word called Kareeb which means to draw near right korban and draw near are from the same words Leviticus 1 to uses both of these words no four times in the in a single verse you see there in verse 2 when anyone of you brings it should be read as actually or brings near or draws near it's karib there which is a root word for offering so whenever when anyone of you brings or draws
near or comes near with an offering, that is korban, to Yahweh, “you shall bring,” again qarab, “your offering,” that is korban. So from the very outset, sacrifice is defined as an act of drawing near to God. So offering is a means of drawing near to God, that’s a point here. And the tabernacle with its entire sacrificial system and priesthood was a divinely ordained pathway to the divine presence. It was not a system of human invention. It was God’s own provision.
And chapters 1 till 7 prescribe God’s answer in five distinct types of sacrifices. And chapter 7 verses 37 to 38 serves as a summary statement. If you look at chapter 7 verses 37 to 38, it says that, it gives a summary of all these offerings. “This is the law of the burnt offering, of the grain offering, of the sin offering, of the guilt offering, the ordination offering and of the peace offering. Which the Lord commanded Moses on Mount Sinai.”
So in the first seven chapters we see five sacrifices of Leviticus. The five Levitical sacrifices are instituted by God. Each addresses a specific dimension of the sinner’s relationship with God, and each found its ultimate fulfillment in Christ Jesus. Firstly, we’ll look at the burnt offering. We see that in Leviticus chapter 1 and also in Leviticus chapter 6 verses 8 till 13. The burnt offering means it’s an offering that goes up. It’s also called the ascension offering. It was the most fundamental and frequently offered sacrifice and it formed the daily foundation of Israel’s worship.
We see that in Exodus chapter 29 verses 38 till 46 as well. So this ritual has few elements. First, the presentation. The worshipper brought an unblemished male animal. It could be bull, sheep, goat or a bird. This is based on the economic status of a person. A rich person cannot come with a bird. A rich, a very wealthy person should come with a bull, right? A poor person is allowed to bring a pigeon or some bird that is described there, and they should come with this offering to— And then the ritual also includes hand leaning. The worshiper pressed his hand heavily on the animal’s head, identifying himself with the sacrifice.
Then the slaughter. The worshiper himself killed the animal before the Lord. Then there is the blood manipulation, which means the blood dashing on the altar. The priest took that blood, dashed the blood against the altar on all the sides. Then the burning, the entire animal except the skin was burned on the altar, rising to God as a pleasing aroma.
What is the significance of this? Unlike every other sacrifice, no part of the animal was to be returned to the priest or the worshiper. Everything was entirely burned to God. This made it a supremely costly act of faith requiring the surrender of one’s own wealth. Whenever a person has to grow, go, sorry, go to give an offering, he has to bring an animal, some kind of animal, to the slaughter, and he has to bring it from his own house. And the worshiper who had to press his hand heavily on the animal’s head in identification, it means that the animal is me, he’s identifying with the animal and he’s saying this animal is me, and watched his own substitute rise to God as pleasing aroma. Gordon Wenham captures the theology behind it very beautifully. He says, when he, “What he does to the animal he does symbolically to himself. The death
of the animal portrays the death of himself. The animal is a substitute for the worshipper. Its death makes atonement for the worshipper. Its immolation on the altar quietens God’s anger at human sin.” Sin is not merely a series of individual acts but the condition of a fallen humanity. Because no person can fully obey God’s law, regular atonements were required to sustain fellowship with God. And these sacrifices were not meant to earn redemption. But for maintaining the covenant relationship with God. Because God has already established a covenant with the house of Israel.
But the burnt offering points forward. To the one final complete sacrifice of Jesus Christ. like the required animal as we see in first Peter chapter 1 verses 18 till 19 he has to be a male without blemish and I going to Romans chapter 8 verse 32 he gave this sacrifice our Lord Jesus Christ gave himself up entirely to the father on the cross and they're going to Ephesians chapter 5 verse 2 his death was a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God and according to Hebrews chapter 10 verse 12 unlike repeated animal sacrifices he offered himself once for all and then in Hebrews chapter 9 verses 11 till 14 we see that he carried his own blood or his
His sacrifice, his offering into the heavenly places, into the heavenly holy of holies, securing eternal salvation. Paul draws on the language of burnt offering and applies it to us. In Romans chapter 12 verse 1, when he calls believers to “present your bodies a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God,” he calls for total surrender. When the the worshiper lays his hand and the on the animal and offers it, he offers it wholly, completely.
And Paul borrows that language and applies it to us. And he urges the believers to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable. And this offering should be whole. Right? And so the total surrender is the standard of devotion in both the testaments.
Secondly, we see the grain offering. Look at chapter 2, verse 1. Chapter 2, verse 1. “When anyone brings a grain offering as an offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour.” The grain offering is a tribute gift. Typically it is typically accompanied with burnt offering. Fine flour mixed with oil and frankincense was offered to the Lord. The priests required a so he retained a portion, while the remainder was burnt on the altar. And the significant significance of this is this: its function was not primarily atonement, but it is a celebration, it is thanksgiving. Having experienced now reconciliation to with God through the burnt offering, having surrendered his life to the Lord, and that offering was a sweet and fragrant aroma to the Lord, the worshiper, as a tribute, as a act of thanksgiving, he
brings this tribute of grain as an act of grateful, no, uh, acknowledgement. He, in effect, in in effect he’s saying that, “God, thank you for accepting this burnt offering. Thank you for receiving me.” And the in the agricultural economy Israel, grain represented the fruit of labor and the gift of God’s provision. The offer to offer it was to return God’s own gifts to him with a heart of gratitude. But leaven and honey was strictly prohibited from the altar. Salt was mandatory on every grain offering because it preserved added flavor, but above all symbolized the binding indestructible nature of the covenant.
The grain offering, therefore, stands as a reminder that true worship does not end with being forgiven. It overflows into thanksgiving. Right? Thirdly, the peace offering. We see that in Leviticus chapter 3 and also in Leviticus chapter 7 verses 11 till 36. Leviticus chapter 3 verse 3 says, “And from the sacrifice of the peace offering as a food offering to the Lord, he shall offer the fat covering the entrails.”
The peace offering was the only purely voluntary sacrifice. While the other offerings address sin and consecration, peace offering expressed joy that came with the uh when a prayer had been answered, or a vow fulfilled, or simply when the worshipper’s heart overflowed with joy and gladness because of God’s mercies. And the significance is this: most remarkably, the peace offering was the only sacrifice in which the worshiper could eat the meat. The fat and the organs, the richest parts presenting the worshippers in a devotion, were burned for God. The remaining meat was shared in a communal feast before the Lord, eaten with family and friends in very premises of the tabernacle or the tent of
the meeting, you know, in that tabernacle. And it was, it was a meal of fellowship in God’s presence. Through class to through Christ’s sacrifice we have peace with God and fellowship with him. Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 13 and 14, “But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ, for he himself is our peace.” He was offered for our peace. And in Romans chapter 5, verse 1 says, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” So through Christ’s sacrifice, we have peace with God and fellowship with him.
And in this, we rejoice. And at the Lord’s table, we not only commemorate a Lord’s sacrifice on our behalf, but also celebrate the blessings that we have in Christ because of his sacrifice through a meal. Right? And the fourth offering is the sin and the purification offering. We see that in Leviticus chapter 4 verse 1 and onwards till chapter 5 verse 13, and also in chapter 6 verses 30, 24 till 30. The sin offering is also called as a purification offering. It dealt especially defilement and unintentional sins. The ritual, it varied depending on who sin. If the high priest sin, the whole congregation’s in the process was little different. If the ordinary person sin, the process was different. Right? If you look at the ritual there, um, animal was presented, hand leaning was there, and slaughter was there, and the blood
manipulation was the critical element, and burning of the fat portions on the altar, and the disposable of the uh disposal of the remainder grinder was also there, usually burnt outside the camp. What is the significance of this? The blood manipulation here was the most significant element in peace offering, sorry, in the in the sin offering. For the high priest or the whole congregation, blood was brought into the holy place, sprinkled before the veil seven times, applied to the horns of the incense altar, and poured at the base of the bronze altar. For individuals, blood was applied to the horns of the bronze altar, which is in the outer courtyard, and poured at its base.
And the pattern is clear. The blood cleanses the sanctuary from the pollution of sin. John Hartley, he says in his commentary that under the old covenant sin defiled the temple. In the new covenant believers are the temple where God dwells through the Holy Spirit. Wrong behavior or attitudes defile the temple and grieve the Spirit. This includes making rash promises. And he also says that churches often make emotional appeals, prompting members to make unthoughtful commitments, risking pledges beyond their ability to fulfill. It’s better not to pledge than not, than to pledge and not. Instead of many promises, believers should focus primarily on living a holy life, a pure life, avoiding harmful sinful thoughts, avoiding improper attitudes
and immoral actions. And if one defiles their life through these things, even hasty promises, hasty commitments brings defilement. If one defiles their way, they can turn to Christ's sacrifice for cleansing. So we have also the fulfillment in Christ. Jesus is a perfect purification offering. He knew no sin, because there was no—he never sinned, but he became sin for us. He bore our sins in his body on the tree. His blood purifies us from all sin, and it cleanses our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. What the blood of bulls and goats could never accomplish, that is the removal of sin and cleansing of our conscience, Christ's blood accomplished perfectly once for all. The purification offering covered only unintentional
sins. Christ's blood covers even deliberate, premeditated sins if we repent and confess. It's not if we repent—if there is a premeditated sin, deliberate sins, unintentional sins, we should repent. And when we repent and confess, the Lord forgives and he cleanses us. And the final offering is the guilt offering. We read that in Leviticus chapter 5 verses 14 onwards till chapter 6 verse 7, and also in chapter 7 verses 1 till 10. The guilt offering addressed sin understood as indebtedness. Both to God and to neighbor. When an Israelite sinned against the holy things of the Lord. For example, failing to tithe, misusing God's name, misappropriating sacred property.
or even defrauding a brother or neighbor. He was not merely guilty, he owes a debt. So the guilt offering or the reparation offering paid the debt, requiring not only a sacrificial animal, but also literal financial restitution if he has defrauded his fellow neighbor. And the defrauded amount plus 20% of penalty written to the one wrong. This offering frames sin in the language of debt and satisfaction. In Isaiah chapter 53 verse 10 it says that “it was the will of the Lord to crush him, he was put to grief, when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring.”
Jesus paid that ultimate sacrifice of our guilt, of our sins against God and also sins against our fellow brothers and sisters. Jesus made full restitution for our sins. He paid what we owed, not merely the principal, but infinitely more. His sacrifice reconciles us to God, enables us to be reconciled to one another.
In Christ, all debts are canceled, wrongs are righted, and relationships are restored. And doesn't mean that if you have sinned against your brother, you're just left alone. You need to make restitution as well with your fellow brother. Because Christ has made restitution for us, we are now called to be the ministers of reconciliation.
Seeking to make things right in our relationships. Pursuing justice and mercy. Extending forgiveness and also for—and also, uh, you know, uh, just as we are forgiven. And when we have sinned against your—our brother or sister, your repentance should be genuine and heartfelt. And we must not ignore the sins that we have committed against each other. We should not simply say that, “Okay, I prayed a prayer to the Lord, the Lord will deal with that.” No, you should be humble enough to reach out to your fellow brother and sister and seek their forgiveness. Confess your sins personally to your fellow brother and sister. You should say—you should confess when you have sinned against your fellow
brother and sister. Let there be genuine repentance and seek for genuine restitution. Jesus himself reinforces this principle in Matthew chapter 5 verses 23 and 24. He says that “leave your gift at the altar, first reconcile with your brother.” First reconcile with your brother. Many times we take this aspect for grant—for granted, reconciliation with our fellow brothers and sisters for granted. We don't seek forgiveness for many months and years. We want God to immediately forgive us, but we don't take that step towards our fellow brothers and sisters. We don't want to forgive them when they repent. We don't want—we want to harbor bitter
thoughts for days and months and years, right? Like, we are eager to receive forgiveness, we should also be eager to give forgiveness. And also we should also seek forgiveness from our fellow brothers and sisters. So Leviticus 1 to 7, it presents the sacrifices in an instructional order. Teaching their distinct meanings. But in Leviticus chapter 9 verse 22. At the inaugural service.
Of the tabernacle. The functional order was different. In Israel's liturgy. In Leviticus chapter 9 verse 22. First there was sin offering. Then the burnt offering accompanied with the grain offering, which is a thanksgiving offering. And then the peace offering with a fellowship is the goal and the crown of all the offerings.
The sequence here in Leviticus chapter 9 verse 22, it tells a story, a theological story. Before there can be consecration there must be cleansing from our sin. Before we can wholly consecrate ourselves to God, we need to deal with our sins. We need to surrender our sins to the cross of Jesus Christ, and then there can be whole consecration. And whole consecration is a mandate. You cannot have portions to yourself. You should let God govern the whole aspect of your life, your entire lives. So before there can be consecration, there must be cleansing. And before there can be fellowship, there must be consecration. There cannot be meaningful fellowship with God without full consecration. So that's the liturgical order in Israel's
worship, sin offering, burnt offering which is consecration, and then the peace offering which talks about the fellowship. The goal was never merely about legal standing but living communion with living God, a vibrant communion with. We shouldn't just be satisfied that our sins are forgiven. We shouldn't just be satisfied that there's an offering which will cleanse us from all sin. Yes, we should be satisfied, we should rejoice, but that's not the end goal. The end goal is fellowship. And this is a grand story, and uh Michael Morales makes it really beautiful in his book Who Shall Ascend to the Mountain. If you can, you have
to read that book, that's a good book in the NSBT series. That's a wonderful book on Leviticus. And he says this: the dwelling place becomes the meeting place. The dwelling place becomes the meeting place. God dwelt in the tabernacle, and eventually God will dwell in the among the humans in. We see that in Revelation chapter 12, but his dwelling is with the humans, says Revelation chapter 21. It is for the fellowship. The aim is fellowship. So the dwelling place is also the meeting place with God, right? So there are four implications from this. The sacrificial system of Leviticus is not an artifact of
ancient religion. It is a shadow of the substance that is Christ himself. And its logic structures Christian discipleship to this day. First one, the first implication is that we must be cleansed. Our sins must be dealt with. They must be atoned for.
removed. You cannot, you cannot, we cannot harbor sin in our hearts and still expect to have fellowship with God. There is no approach to God apart from the blood atonement. There is no approach to God apart from the blood atonement of Christ Jesus. We should deal with our sins daily. We should bring our sins daily to the cross of Jesus Christ. And the final sacrifice—the one toward which every bull and goat pointed, the one that achieved what every prior offering merely foreshadowed—was given by the Father himself. John chapter 3 verse 16 has this language of offering: “For God so loved the
world that he is that he gave his son, that he offered his only son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” God himself provided the offering. He made a way to approach him. That way to approach him is through the very offering of Jesus Christ. The eternal God who took on human nature. He came down into this world through a virgin woman. He lived a sinless life and was the only one worthy to become an offering for our sins. He was free from any sin.
And he went to the cross. And our sins were laid on him. And God punished Jesus for our sins on that cross. And God shed Jesus’ blood for our sins, for the remission of our sins. And Jesus died. He rose again on the third day, ascended to the right hand of the majesty, now seated as the great high priest and the eternal and as eternal God now intercedes as the eternal high priest. He is saving his people. He's building his church. He's preserving his church. And he's saving people from all kinds of, all tribes and tongues. He's bringing them together, and he is building a beautiful dwelling place for God, for the triune God, to dwell with his people. Dear people, if any one of you are not yet cleansed, only Jesus's blood can cleanse you from your sins. Only He can
make you whole. Repent and believe this gospel, this good news of Jesus Christ. Turn from your sin. Trust in Christ's sacrifice. Come to God through the blood of Jesus. Come to God through the blood of Jesus. And as a believer, do not take your sins for granted. Bring your sins daily to the cross of Jesus Christ.
with your heart. Be merciless with your own self. Deal with your own sins. Your sins may be dear to your heart. You may nurture your sinful habits, sinful thoughts, but if they are, they grieve the heart of God, they grieve the Spirit of God, that breaches your relationship with God. Don't take your sin for granted. Every time you sin, trust in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for cleansing.
He is powerful. His sacrifice is powerful to save you from any sin and every sin. And the second implication is that we must be consecrated. We must be consecrated. Forgiveness is not the final destination. It is the doorway. We must be set apart. We must be transformed. We must be made holy. The fire of God must sanctify the sacrifice completely. The fire of God must sanctify us completely. Picture the faithful Israelite leading his finest bull into the courtyard. He presses his hand on his head, saying that this animal is me. He slaughters it. He watches it die. He watches every last piece, hundred percent of it, rise to God in flame. It does not do this to earn his redemption. He does this because he has been redeemed. This is
the worship, this is obedience. We must consecrate ourselves to God because we are redeemed. We are redeemed, so we must consecrate ourselves. There is no option. Every believer, every redeemed believer should consecrate holy to the. You cannot live part of your life for God and part of your life in the world. You cannot love sin for a few days and love God on Sunday. That will not happen. We should all the days of our lives, 24-7, surrender our lives wholly to God, live in perfect obedience to God by His grace. Yes, we will fail. Yes, we will fall short.
on him. We seek his grace. We cry before him for more grace so that we will live by his holy standards. There is, there is no option, dear brothers and sisters. Christian life is not, you know, an easy life. We need to carry our cross daily and follow after the Lord. It's not easy, but we can live that because God gives us grace. You know, Paul says in Romans chapter 12 verse 1, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, by the mercies of God, to present yourself your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual
worship.” Which is your reasonable worship, which is acceptable worship. Our acceptable worship is not singing good theological songs. Are acceptable, yes, we need to good sing good scriptural songs, theological songs. Yes, they are important. That is the, a regulative principle, yes. But prior to that we should surrender ourselves completely to the Lord, wholly to the Lord, fully to the Lord. Our life should be acceptable to the Lord. By his grace we should do that, then sing our songs to the Lord. That will be pleasing aroma to the Lord. Without a sanctified, surrendered life all our songs fall flat to the floor. They will not
rise up to God is not pleased with our singing. Only when we surrender ourselves fully daily to the cross of Jesus Christ and present ourselves to God as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, only then our service for him will be accepted. Not 80%, not 95%. Everything. Your body, your time, your relationships, your ambitions, your marriages, your children, your money, your possessions, everything belongs to the Lord. The he is Lord over everything. Not because you have to, because you get to, because this is an opportunity to serve the Lord holy. Because we have seen, we have seen from the
scriptures that he is worthy. He is truly worthy. He is worthy of our devotion. He is worthy of our devotion. So we give ourselves to him. How? By trying to understand his purposes from his word and ordering our lives according to his word, and so that our lives are pleasing in his sight. We do everything the word says. We fall, yes, we rise up. We seek his grace. We plead for his mercies. Everything. Now every aspect of our life, our career, our marriages, our money, our relationship is to be lived from the vantage point of the scriptures. We cannot spend as we like. We cannot
buy whatever we like however we like. We cannot spend as we like, right? We can, we cannot marry anyone we like. You shouldn't, otherwise you'll face the music. You cannot do, you cannot have healthy relationships with everyone, right? We should do everything from the vantage point of God's script, God's Word. God's Word direct, should direct us how we should build our marriages, how we should lead our careers, how we should lead our families, how should we bring kids, how should we spend our money. Everything should be ordered by God's Word. That is the
second principle. Third principle is, we may then enjoy communion. The goal of entire sacrificial system was not merely legal acquittal, but a right relationship. God desires fellowship with his people. And through the sacrifice of Jesus, that fellowship was made possible and permanent. At the Lord's table, we remember that Christ is our peace offering. We eat and drink in his presence in fellowship with the saints. We celebrate the reconciliation he achieved. And this is not mere ritual. It is covenant communion.
Fourthly, our fellowship must be regulated. Our worship must be regulated. The entire book of Leviticus demonstrates that God is not indifferent to how he is worshipped. He prescribed the system in exacting detail. To approach God wrongly was not merely inappropriate, it was deadly. Leviticus chapter 10 shows that. Next week, God willing, we'll see that. No, wrong worship is deadly. You cannot worship God as you like. The 1689 London Baptist Confession says, “declares the acceptable way of worshiping the true by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will.” You cannot do in the church as you like, what you like. You cannot put no fire in your service. No, you can, you cannot do whatever you like. It should be regulated by the scriptures. We should do what the scripture says. God has revealed already to us
what we need to do. We shouldn't do a new thing at some crazy and end up doing some crazy thing, as many people do. We should regulate our services by the Word of God. When the church gathers, we do what God has appointed. We read the scriptures. We preach the scriptures. We sing the scriptural songs. We pray corporately, baptize people, and observe the Lord's Supper. These are not optional preferences. They are the God-appointed means of corporate approach to the living God. Every aspect of corporate worship is important. So coming on time is also important. It's not trivial. It's important.
It is an expression of our reverence to God. You might get angry because I'm telling this every Sunday, but I'm not tired. We should come on time. We should come on time. Because every aspect of worship is important. It's important. And we have seen last week also that, in Hebrews chapter 10 verse 25, that it is a habit of some to neglect the gathering of the church. Because I have a marriage on Sunday, should I go to marriage or gather with the church? What is more important? What is prescribed in the scriptures? Gather with the churches prescribed in the church, in the scriptures, not marriage. So don't marry on a Sunday, right? Tell your friends not to get married on a Sunday. If they are believers, ask them to marry on another day. It's, it will be still valid, right? So yeah, so don't do these
things on a Sunday, right? Yeah. So you're sick, there's a major emergency, that's fine. We are not asking you to drag your bodies to the church when you're sick. Don't do that and, uh, and spread that sickness. But yeah, it's understandable. It's understandable. But there are emergencies. There are times that we travel. That's fine. But our heart is that we should not neglect the gathering of the saints.
And in conclusion, I want to read this. Psalm 84, verses 1 and 2. “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts. My soul longs. The courts of the Lord, my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.” This is an Old Testament saint writing this hymn. He’s longing for the courts of God. He’s longing for the temple so that he could go there. Brothers and sisters, God has prescribed ways for us to worship.
And we should seek the Lord through those prescribed ways. Through His word, through His prayer, through the prayer, through the church gathering. And in the church gathering, we seek the word, we pray. Those are the means by which we worship God. These things that the New Testament saints. Because only through these means we will get to know God. Only through these means we receive grace. Only through these means we grow. You cannot live in isolation and grow. You cannot hop churches and grow. You, we all should be committed to one particular local church. It’s weak, but God brings the growth. It’s weak, God brings growth. There is a light saying this with longing about a tent, about a physical structure. There, a type, a shadow. We have the substance, Christ himself. The veil has been torn.
The way into the most holy place stands open. Consecrated by the blood of Jesus. If the Old Testament saint fainted with longing for the courts of the Lord. How much more should we who have seen the fulfillment of every type and shadow in the face of Jesus Christ.
Shouldn’t that overflow from our hearts? How much more should we overflow with devotion, prayer, meditation, and passionate fellowship? Do you have that longing throughout that week, throughout your week? Do you seek God with passion? Do you have the longing to know God, to see and behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, which is revealed in the scriptures? Do you seek him by searching the scriptures? Are you hungry for the word? Are you praying the word? Are you praising when you’re reading the word? Are you spending time in the word? Are you taking back the word, church, and again searching, studying and applying those scriptures to your life and your family? Are you doing that? Where is that passion? Where is that passion, brothers and sisters? We should have that longing, that devotion, no, and that meditation. The blood has been shed. The way has been open. Draw near with confidence.