All right, if you wish to follow
along, turn to the third book of Moses called Leviticus. Leviticus chapter one. I'll give
you just a moment or two to turn there. Leviticus chapter one. My text this morning is brief.
You may wish my message was as brief once I'm done. That's tongue
in cheek. Unless you just get up and walk
out, you're stuck here one way or the other. But before I read
my brief text, I want you to consider something. You ever
thought about these two big oak trees out here in the yard? I
mean, they're massive oak trees. For those who may later hear
this message or see this message on TV later, you've never been
here. I suppose, I would just guess,
I'm figuring these two oaks are probably around 100 years old,
if not even older than that. I mean, they are two massive
size oaks. But think about those oaks, both
of them, at one time started as a little bitty sapling. Just
a little bitty sapling. Now, had you and I been around
when those two oaks germinated and sprouted up into little saplings,
And we've been looking in that direction and the sun been shining
in its brightness and shine against that little sapling or two. And
you see that shadow from that sapling, but you don't really
see the sapling. You just see the shadow. You
probably wouldn't have known whether that was a tomato plant
or a squash plant or an oak tree or a walnut tree. Would you? Would you? You just see the shadow,
you wouldn't know. You wouldn't know, but now, these
decades later, if you were to walk out in that yard and the
sun began to shine in its strength and you still don't see the tree,
you still don't see the tree, but you see the shadow that is
cast by that tree, you'd know it wasn't a tomato plant anymore.
Wouldn't you? You'd know it wasn't a tomato
plant. You see, Genesis and Exodus give us shadows and types and
figures. But often, they're like that
little oak sapling. You know it's a shadow. And you
probably don't know the name of what's casting that shadow.
But you could tell this is a shadow of something. But Leviticus,
on the other hand. In Leviticus, the shadow explodes.
The shadows, the figures, the type, they explode like a bomb
going off. Now, it's still just shadow,
but I know Leviticus is no free will message. I know Leviticus is no fallen
son and daughter of Adam message. In Leviticus, we are instructed
and told that even the high priest himself, Aaron being the first
one, when he approached God once a year in the Holy of Holies,
he could not approach his own way. It wasn't get in there however
you can. It is you must come in God's
prescribed way. way. And you don't dare do it
without blood. Blood. Now, historically, Exodus
continues Genesis' chronology. It's just like one big book. You go through Genesis, where
Genesis stops Then Exodus picks up right there and just keeps
on going with the history. Now remember, Genesis and Exodus
are far more than just historical books. They are filled with the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. But Leviticus, on the other hand,
takes a pause. Leviticus stops in a period of
time. As a matter of fact, in the book
of Leviticus, there are only two actual historical events
recorded. Out of some, what is it, 47 chapters,
whatever it actually is, there's only two actual historical events
recorded. You'll read of them if you wanted
to read later in chapters eight, nine, and 10. They are historical.
Then when you get to chapter 24, verses 10 through 23, you'll
find out they're historical. But the rest of the chapters
are appalls. And it's though time stops and
stands still. And then God says, here are the
particulars as to how you approach me. Is that not true? Now, I know most of you, I text
you and told you my text. It was Leviticus 1, 1 and 2.
That's not much to read. So I let you off light, but I
hope you actually read more than Leviticus 1, 1 and 2, but be
that as it may. Think of it, the remainder of
the book of Leviticus, other than about three and a half chapters,
the remainder of the book of Leviticus is instruction. In some cases, it is precise
instruction. And as I said last week, if we
don't think too wholly of ourselves, some of it could be very boring
instruction. Because one thing is, we are
removed from that time. We know nothing about this as
far as experience. For these people, it was probably
a little different, maybe a little exciting, but it also, also should
be very eye-opening. God begins to give Israel precise
instruction, even on certain clothing to be worn by the priest,
of certain ways to make incense to burn upon a certain made altar. But here's the question. Leviticus
is mainly instruction, but instruction in what? Instruction in what? I'm sure it could be said better
by other more able men, but I'm gonna try to sum up the book
of Leviticus. Leviticus instructs me. Leviticus instructs you in type,
in figure, in shadow, here is how I must approach God. I can approach God no other way. Even more, I dare not. You hear me? I dare not approach
God any other way. So, what God says, according
to this book in my text, what God says is vital. Now, Leviticus chapter one, verse
one. and actually just the first part
of verse two. And the Lord called unto Moses
and spake unto him. That's vital. When God speaks, men ought to
listen. Sadly, by nature, we never listen,
apart from God Almighty's grace conquering our hearts and minds.
But when God speaks, men and women ought to listen. The Lord
called unto Moses and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of
a congregation saying, speak unto the children of Israel and
say unto them. And then you find, I didn't go
back through it and try to count it, you find this phrase or its
equivalent repeated throughout the book of Leviticus over and
over and over and over over it keeps saying and the Lord said
speak unto the children of Israel and Say unto them This is my
title speak unto the children of Israel Hear me Speak unto
the children of Israel. I don't have two main points
this morning. First of all, here's number one Now some of you know
I've actually said this before Every once in a while, I like
to pull out a grenade, pull the pin, and just throw it out there.
Because you'll find out who really wants to stick by the stuff when
that grenade hits the floor. Now listen, here's my first point.
God's word. When I say God's word, I mean
the scripture. The scripture was being written at this time
historically. They probably already had some
writings of Moses. And all these things were being
recorded by Moses, Mason at some time or another. I know that
because here it is. We have the first five books
of the Bible, which even Christ himself lets us know Moses wrote
these first five books. But God's word, scripture, before
I go any further, if a man or a woman tells you God said to
me, and they didn't get it out of this book, they are a liar. They are a liar. The only way
God speaks to men and women now is in Jesus Christ by this book. By this book. Now, he will use
earthen vessels. He will use pastors and teachers. He will use evangelists. He may
use other, just believers witnessing to other people. But they, if
they are speaking for God, they will be speaking God's word from
this book. But now here's the grenade. God's
word. And remember, I'm talking scripture. God's word is not the ultimate
authority. Anybody running? God's word is
not the ultimate authority. God's word is the only authority. Did you hear what I just said?
God's Word's not the ultimate authority. Well, I'll read what
so-and-so said about the Bible, and then I can understand the
Bible. No, you will not. No, you will
not. God may well use, again, a clay
pot to give you enlightenment concerning Scripture, but that
clay pot must be speaking what this has already said, or that
clay pot is not speaking for God. God doesn't need me to explain
to you what the scriptures mean. You don't need me to explain
to you what they mean. I am here to enforce what they
say. I am here to proclaim what they
say. And that's basically it. Think about it. God's word, that
is the scripture, is not the ultimate authority. It is the
only authority. Consider this. directs and governs all, to all
God-fearers. You hear what I said again? It's
a little convoluted. Scripture directs and governs
all things to all God-fearers. Turn to 2 Timothy chapter three,
and you're aware of this verse. 2 Timothy chapter three. Now I realize there are men today
Well, I'm sad to say even women, but that's another message. There
are men today who think that especially the
epistles, but the Bible in general, but especially the epistles are
written to everyone in the world, but they're not. The epistles
specifically are written to individual churches, local assemblies, made
up of men and women called by God by the gospel of Jesus Christ. And listen to what Paul says
about the scriptures. 2 Timothy 3 verse 16. All scripture, so how much scripture?
Not certain parts of scripture, but all scripture. And somebody
says, well, prove to me what books are the scripture. Don't
have to do it. It's been done for hundreds of years now. We're
not even going back over that one. That's been settled long,
long ago. All scripture is given by inspiration
of God. Now that may be like a big word
to some folks, but it means this scripture, the word. I'm not
talking about the ink and the paper and the binding and the
leather. I'm talking about the word here. The very thing, this
is the mind of God expressed to men and women. It is, as some
say, and it's a proper translation of the word inspiration, it is
God breathed. It's God's breath, the very heart
and thought and mind of God expressed in human language. All scripture
is given by God, is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for what? Everything. Everything. Now that's a paraphrase, but
it's everything. For what? For doctrine? That's
what we believe. For reproof? That's for correcting
us when we don't believe the right way. for correction of
course, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works. And yet today you
can go to most any Bible bookstore and everybody wants to give you
a book on how to walk in good works and there's very little
Bible in it. But it is all philosophical and
social mumbo jumbo. And folks, I'm not trying to
be mean, that's just a fact. That's just a fact. This book
tells us as believers how to walk because what's it for? It
is inspired. Now it's inspired whether an
unbeliever hears it or a believer hears it. But who's it for? Who's
it instruction to? The man of God. The person who
believes that God is God. the person that's been called
by the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's who it's for.
So again, I say scripture directs and governs all to all God-fearers. This book tells me what to believe,
who to believe, how to walk, how ought to think, both private
and public. That's right. This book is not
just for when we gather together as a local assembly and put on
some of our finest and get ourselves all dressed up and try to put
on a good show for men and women. This book is for your bedroom
as well as this public assembly. Now do you hear what I'm saying?
All scripture is given by God's breath and it's profitable for
what? Everything. This book will thoroughly
equip you for your sojourn in this world. Judge all other thoughts
and writings of men and women based upon the authority of this
book. Secondly, scripture is more sure
than words. It's more certain than even miraculous
historical events. Did you know that? 2 Peter, we
turn into 2 Peter chapter 3. This book, that is the scriptures,
is more sure than even Miraculous, historical events. Now, you know
as well as I do, I'm not lying on people. Today, men and women
love to hear about these great experiences someone had. Well,
this was a miracle, and God showed me this, and God showed me that.
And if you watch the TV, you will see it plastered everywhere.
Discovery Channel even picks it up, right? The History Channel
even picks up things like this. But listen to what Peter said.
Peter was a man who could speak by experience because the illustration
Peter gives us here concerning the absolute finality, the absolute
authority, that is the only authority of God's Word is far above anything
else in this world. Peter was allowed to go up into
a mount, he, James, and John, with our Lord, and he visibly
seen our Lord transfigured before their very eyes, did they not?
So much so that Mason, it says, Christ's clothes shone with the
brightness of the noonday sun. And God verbally, God the Father
verbally spoke from heaven, and Moses and Elijah appeared And
I take it to be in even resurrected form. Can't explain that, but
that's just the way it was because Peter recognized it. I can't
even explain that. And here they are. Most of us
think if only I could go through one of those, if only I could
get one of those, I'd have it. I'd believe God, boy, I'd have
the words, I'd just have it, I'd have it. Not so, Peter says. Look at what Peter says. 2 Peter,
did I say 2 Peter? It is 2 Peter. I'm in the wrong
place, not you. 2 Peter chapter one, he is speaking. He spoke about that experience
he had in the mount. Did he not? You can go and read
it. But then look at what he says. Verse 19. We have also
a more sure word of prophecy. Now that's saying something.
He's saying more sure than that experience I had in the mount.
We have also a more sure word of prophecy, where unto ye do
well that ye take heed. And if I didn't know this was
the inspired word of God, I'd say that's the understatement
of the day. But God meant him to say it exactly like he did.
You do well that you take heed as unto a light that shineth
in a dark place until the day dawn and the day star arise in
your hearts. All right, Peter, I understand
that, but what are you getting at? What are you talking about? Knowing this first, that no prophecy
of the what? Scripture. You see it? No prophecy of the scripture
is of any private interpretation. I've heard many different explanations
of that, but it basically means this. When a man was moved by
God to write the holy scripture, it wasn't his take. Now, his
character may be revealed in the way he wrote, everything
may be there concerning that man's humanity, but this wasn't
this man's take. This is what God Almighty intended
men and women to know about what took place. It's of no private
interpretation. Four, the prophecy, what's that? This, the scripture. For the prophecy came not in
old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as
they were what? Moved by the Holy Ghost. That's saying something right
there. In other words, again let me say, scripture, this book,
the words in this book, is more sure than any miraculous historical
event. And let us be warned, remember,
Satan, it is said that Satan and his emissary Antichrist,
and his minions, they can work lying wonders and deceit. Is that not true? There are people
today who think somebody walks some aisle, they got a little
limp, some preacher does some mumbo-jumbo religious thing over
them, and all of a sudden now they don't have a limp anymore,
and they say that proves this man must be of God. That's not
necessarily so. That's not necessarily so. If
a man's preaching this book, that's where it's at. I don't
care whether it's the Apostle Peter, the Apostle Paul, or whether
it's Balaam, an apostate. If he's preaching the truth of
God, you better listen to what they say. Thirdly, thirdly, anyone
who ignores, belittles, contradicts or rejects scripture have two
great problems to deal with. First of all, their first great
problem is they do so, that is that they ignore, they belittle,
they contradict, or they reject the scriptures, they do so at
great peril to their own soul. That's what Peter says, 2 Peter
3, verse 15 and 16. Just turn over a page, probably,
and you'll be at it. 2 Peter 3, verse 15. An account that the long-suffering
of our Lord is salvation. Even as our beloved brother Paul
also, according to the wisdom given unto him, hath written
unto you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of
these things, in which are some things hard to be understood,
which they that are unlearned and unstable rest, as they do
also what? Not just now, it's not just other
epistles. but Peter qualifies Paul's epistles as what? Scripture. Scripture. As they do also the
other scripture, but look unto their own destruction. So I said, well, you believe
the Baptist way. I hope I believe far better than
the Baptist way. Well, you believe the Presbyterian
way. I hope I believe far better than the Presbyterian way. And
I'm not downing those great denominations, but those denominations and all
others are not the authority. This word is the authority. I
remember years ago when we had to leave a certain I was going
to say a local assembly. I guess it was a local assembly,
but I don't even like calling it a church. But we were in no
uncertain terms asked to leave. And we left and began to gather
together as a really small handful of people in a home. And Joe
and myself and Roy Jr., I'll just have to tell on us, we decided
we'll sit down and write us some articles of faith. And we just
won't settle this thing. And here's where we are and here's
where we stand. Well, it happened by chance. No, it wasn't chance. The phone rings at Roy Junior's.
Ring, ring, somebody picks it up. Roy Junior, Linda, someone
picks it up. This is Earl. Where's Earl at, or where's Walter
at? I can't get a hold of him. Well, Walter's right here. Joe's
here. Oh, what are y'all doing? So I'm on the phone with Earl,
and I said, well, we're drawing up some articles of faith. And
there's a pause for just a few seconds, but it felt like an
eternity to me. And he said, Walter, you got
a Bible with you there? I said, yeah, that's what we're using.
He said, Walter, you already got your articles of faith written
out for you. Don't waste your time. They're right there. He's right. He's right. Now don't, I'm not criticizing
when many great congregations did. Sometimes they did this
because the political authorities were coming down on them. But
that in itself is not a justification. All of those things, they're
not an authority. This book is not just the ultimate
authority, it's the only authority. And we cannot educate people
into the kingdom of God. And just putting all the points,
even in their correct order, and having it all stated out
clearly will never give sight to a blind eye. Only the spirit
of God will do that. Only the spirit of God will do
that. So remember, anyone who ignores, belittles, or contradicts
or rejects scripture, they do so at great peril to their own
soul. But it's even more important
than that, did you know that? Because man's soul's not the
most important thing. Did you hear what I just said?
Man's soul's not the most important thing. Now it's important. Don't
you kid yourself. What shall a man give in exchange
for his soul? You lose your soul, you've lost everything. But there's
something more important than my soul and your soul. That's
the honor and integrity of God Almighty. And those who ignore,
belittle, or contradict, or reject scripture. Now you can reject
my opinions, and I've given a few opinions. You can reject those,
but you best not reject this word. Because if you do so, you
do so at great peril to your soul because you insult God. That's right. And I'm not gonna
read it, but John puts it this way in 1 John 5 verses 9 and
10. You can go back and read it.
You're calling God a liar if you don't believe the what? The
record God gave, not his giving, but the record that God gave
of his son. Pastor, what is that record?
It's right here in this book. And we've seen thus far, we started
in Genesis 1-1, and we've seen Christ all the way through it
thus far, haven't we? To some degree or another. And
all of a sudden, here we are in Leviticus, and the shadows
just explode. They just explode. So Leviticus
declares in no uncertain terms in one great historical example. Now turn to Leviticus chapter
10. Go back and find Leviticus again. and turn to Leviticus
chapter 10. Leviticus declares, there are
two historical events. The first one is telling. It
begins by simply talking about Moses actually, the clothing
for the priest being prepared, and then going through all the
ceremony of having the clothes. But then it ends in this way. Leviticus declares in one great
historical example, You approach me only as I have commanded,
or I'll destroy you. Now you hear what I'm saying?
Leviticus tells us in one great historical example, you approach
me in any other way than the way I have commanded, I will
destroy you. That's the God of Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob. That's the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ. That's who he was back then,
that's who he is now. And let me say, that's who Jesus
Christ is, because the Father and the Son are one. One, listen
to what it says. You'll see, go back and you'll
read chapter eight, chapter nine, you'll see all this historical,
they're putting on the clothes, they're doing all this thing
when it comes to the priest. And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of
Aaron, took either of them his censer. Well, they're supposed
to have a censer. They got some orthodoxy here, don't they? They
got a censer, and they put fire therein. That's what they're
supposed to do, right? Looks like some good sound orthodoxy
thus far. That's what they were commanded
to do. And put incense thereon. So let's get the picture. They
had some kind of censer. It was a little container. May
have had a handle or a ring, something on it. put these coals,
these live coals of fire, these red coals, down in that censer,
and they would put incense on top of that, and then it would
smoke. That smell of that incense would
come up, and they would do certain things. Sometimes they'd go through
and wave that incense. Now here's Maydab and Abihu. They got their censer, they put
fire in it, and they put incense there on, and they offered what?
Here's the problem, strange fire. Now some people think, well,
what's that talking about? It means they got the live coals
from the wrong place. The live coals were supposed
to come from the brazen altar and the brazen altar only. Now
where they got it from, somebody said, well, where did they get
it from? That way I know I don't get it from there. Anywhere else
other than the brazen altar is the wrong place. So it don't
matter where else it may have been from. It wasn't the brazen
altar. And all they did wrong, all they did wrong, they got
their censor, but they got the live coals from the wrong place. And look at what it says. They
put incense thereon, offered strange fire before the Lord,
which he commanded them not. And there went out a fire from
the Lord. I can only imagine this, it was
like, There went out a fire from the Lord and devoured them. And they died. And here's the
sad part. Everybody dies. Everybody dies. Apart from our Lord returning.
Everybody dies. Every one of us is gonna die.
We're gonna die. But look, they died how? Before
the Lord. That's bad. That's bad. And Moses said unto Aaron, These
were Aaron's boys. I got no reason to believe Aaron
was some egotistical, hard-hearted cynic. I'm just going to serve
God and it don't matter what. Everybody else can be damned
to go to hell around me. If we ever get that attitude,
we're wrong. Because God called us out of darkness just like
the darkness there. But look, then Moses said unto Aaron, this
is that. The Lord spake, saying, I will
be sanctified in them that come nigh me. You're gonna do this the way
I say, because you're going to honor me, or I'll devour you. I'll destroy you. I will be glorified. And I'm gonna be glorified before
everybody. If it means I gotta kill you to do it. I'm gonna
uphold my integrity, God says. I'll uphold my justice. And here's
where we all, oh God, and Aaron, be hard to do, don't you think? Impossible to do apart from God's
grace. And Aaron hailed his peace. If you see God destroy somebody
you care about, and you know they were in rebellion against
God, hold your peace. Hold your peace. This is God's
business. And this is serious business
because remember, they didn't just die before Moses and Aaron,
they died, how? Before the Lord. Number two,
let me move on. Number two. Approach God as God's commanded
or you'll perish. That's what I'm trying to warn
each and every and I don't care I've been preaching trying to
preach for 30 some years Some of you have been here been with
this group even longer than I've been with this group But don't
take that as your way to God If you've ever Approached God
you had to approach him the way God commanded and you'll have
to continue to approach God the way God's commanded You can't
look back on the laurels of the past and say, well now, I'll
do what I want to do. I've served the Lord long enough.
Now I'm gonna serve self a little bit. He may devour you. He may
devour you. Think about it. Here's the second
thing. God's way of approaching him
is substitutionary offering. And Leviticus screams it to the
top of human lungs. The whole book of Leviticus says
you will come through the merits of another or you will not come
to me at all. That's what it says. No one,
again I say, no one, even the high priest Aaron was allowed
to approach God as he wanted to approach God. And he killed
his two boys to prove it to Aaron. This is how it's going to be.
You do the same thing, you'll die in a blast furnace as well. Folks, this is serious business.
And yet we as men and women glibly go to church every Sunday morning. and we read our passages, and
we pray our prayers, and we sing our songs, and we do it just
knowing that when we leave that building, we still got on the
same old heart and mind we've always had, and I'm gonna live
my life like I want to live my life, and I'll serve God like
I want to serve God, and it don't work that way. And you hear me
on TV, if you ever hear this, it don't work that way. You will
approach God through a substitutionary sacrifice, and you'll do it in
honor of the sacrifice. You hear what I said? You'll
do it in honor of the sacrifice, or you'll die before God. That
incense was a offering in its own right. That incense was.
All they had to do was put the wrong fire in it. I'm gonna tell
you, somebody said, that sounds severe. It is severe. Paul is
clear, yes, God is good, but God's also severe when it comes
to his holiness and his justice. And there are people today that
think holiness has to do with not smoking a cigarette and not
drinking a can of beer. You know that? They really do.
Not going to a picture show. Well, unless it's maybe a Disney
movie. Well, some of the Disney movies are as bad as the rest
of them anymore. Don't try to approach God that
way. You may find that blasphemous. Approach God through Jesus Christ
and Jesus Christ only. And approach God through Jesus
Christ as Jesus Christ is revealed in this book. Or you got the
wrong Jesus. You got the wrong Jesus. And
I used to hear that in religion. I even, I read it. There will
come other Christ. I had no idea what he's talking
about now. Until I realized I was following one of them. and the Christ of God revealed
himself to me. And Paul Pelton and I began to see, I didn't
even see my sin, but I began to see the holiness of God revealed
in the fact that you'll come to me. There's one God between,
there's one mediator between God and man, just one, the man,
Christ Jesus. Approach God any other way, you'll
perish. Approach through the wrong Jesus,
you will perish. Moving on. Never in the book
of Leviticus is anyone ever told, just approach me however you
can. Are they? Constantly warned, here's my
word, here's my command. Approach this way and this way
only. And the amazing thing is it took
hundreds of shadows in the book of Leviticus. I mean hundreds
of shadows in the book of Leviticus to even just shadow the glory
of the person and work of Jesus Christ. You hear what I'm saying?
Think about it. Man-centered religion, they see
shadows, and they'll look at the book of Leviticus, and they
always start pointing us to ourselves. Well, where's the bread on the
table? The show bread, 12 loaves. Now wait a minute, wait a minute
now. Yes, it was 12 loaves, but it was all one bread. It wasn't
some banana bread on one, and some wheat bread on the other,
and some Betsy Ross gay nineties on the other. It's all one bread,
and they baked it into 12 separate loaves. That lets me know my
only hope is in the one bread of God. As the chosen people
of God, as those 12 represented in the 12 separate loaves, it's
still only what? One bread. You didn't make the
bread out of whatever you wanted to make it out of. You made it
according to God's prescription. And you baked it in 12 loaves
and you put it there on what? The table of showbread. Who's
to be shown forth? Jesus Christ is. And when you
listen to religion, whether it's in person, in a so-called local
assembly, or whether it's on the radio, whether it's on TV,
they're constantly, constantly talking about man, man, man. How important is man, man, man? And they rarely ever mention
Jesus Christ. Now they may have the orthodoxy.
They may say, he's born of a virgin. And they'd have my, my, who had
the censors. They may say, well he died on
Calvary. and Abihu had the incense. But if they don't believe he's
an actual substitute, that actually atoned for sin, and that actually
brought sinners to God, and in communion with God, in himself,
when he died, then they're preaching a false Christ. Peter makes that
clear. How did he bring us to God? Being
put to death in the flesh. That's how he did it. He didn't
die so he could later bring us to God. He brought us to God
when he died. And he, by bringing the spirit
and the gospel to us later in time and giving us life, he converts
us by that truth and we begin to believe my salvation took
place in God, by God in Christ 2,000 years ago when Jesus Christ
died on that tree. And God purposed that before
the world began. No, Leviticus screams out Christ,
Christ, Christ, Christ, everything. There are times when Leviticus
will speak of the people of God, but it's all centralized in one
man. One man, that's Jesus Christ.
Leviticus shadows offerings, offerings, and they are called,
according to Hebrews 8, verses one through three. Go back and
read it sometimes. These offerings are called sacrifices and gifts. We'll look at some of the sacrifices
and gifts. Some offerings were not sacrifices,
they were gifts. Some gifts were not sacrifices. And back and forth, some sacrifices
may have been gifts as well. When you have the burnt offering,
you have three different possibilities for burnt offering, do you not?
Did you read that? You could have a cow, or you
could have a sheep, or you could have a turtledove. But it's all
burnt offering. Think of it, I'm trying to stress,
think of all the shadows, the examples, the types that it took,
just as a shadow, to define the one-person work of Jesus Christ. Mason, that lets me know there's
more to him than meets the eye. There's more to him than meets
the eye. Man-centered religion knows nothing of Christ's life
and death as burnt offering, as a meat offering. as a peace
offering, as a sin and trespass offering. They know nothing of
Jesus Christ's life and death as a drink offering. As a matter
of fact, the drink offering had to do with wine. Most folk ain't
gonna, wine, that's of the devil, is it not? And yet the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Lord of glory comes on the scene and his first public
miracle is what? To make wine, some good wine
for a marriage feast. A drink offering. Priestly consecration. Leprosy deliverance. Leprosy,
mind you. There's still no cure for leprosy.
You know that? Still no cure for leprosy. Unless
it's spiritual leprosy. Unless it's spiritual leprosy.
Or unless it's physical and Jesus Christ decided, just go, I will.
Be thou clean. I will be thou clean. Leprosy,
a scapegoat, a day of atonement, and on, and on, and on, and on. These things teach us. Not Jesus
Christ died for all. God loves all. No, sir, he didn't
love Nadab and Abihu. He burned them alive. Now, you
hear what I'm saying? He didn't kill them, then burn
them. He burned them to death. Do you think about that? Mason,
he didn't let them go lay down on the bed and die, and then
come down and consume their tents and their bodies. He burnt them
boys alive, evidently while they were still doing this. Our God is love. He is love,
but he is also a consuming fire. He is both. And we're all sinners,
and it's up to him how he wants to deal with us. He'll either
deal with me, in myself, in my sin, and he'll consume me with
the fires of his judgment, or he dealt with me and the person
of his son, Jesus Christ, and I'll know mercy and grace and
compassion. Now I'm not a big advocate of
man's choice by any means, but I ask you, choose you this day
who you'll serve. Choose. You gonna approach God
like God says? Or you gonna say? And whether
you say it with the actual words, I'll take my chances and I'll
do it my own way. Then go ahead. But I pray God
stops you in your tracks. I pray God brings you down. Think
about it, the shadows in Leviticus are particular. And go back and
read it again. I know it's kind of a long, it's just over and
over with these minute details, is it not? minute details, so
much so that just the wrong coal fire can burn you alive. This is serious. The shadows are as particular
as the gospel is. You know why? Because the shadows
speak of him who is the gospel, Jesus Christ. And I will sum
up Leviticus this way with a New Testament passage, and I'll quit.
Hebrews chapter one. I'll sum up Leviticus. Hebrews chapter one, God, who
at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in time past in
the fathers by the prophets, and Leviticus, we're gonna read
it, so we've seen it in Genesis, we've seen it in Exodus, we're
gonna see it in Leviticus. But look what it says, hath in
these last days spoken. So that means he's not speaking
anymore like that. You see what? Hath in these last
days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of
all things, by whom also he made the worlds, who being the brightness
of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding
all things by the word of his power. Now here it is, here is
Leviticus summed up. When he had by himself purged
our sins, If you brought an offering, whether
it was a burnt offering, meat offering, peace offering, sin
offering, trespass offering, drink offering, no matter what
it was, you didn't bring it to God. You brought it to the priest.
And the priest presented it to God. And Hebrews is clear, we
have a high priest, his name's called Jesus Christ. when he
had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of
the majesty on high. So if you say you believe the
gospel, when do you believe Jesus Christ purged your sins? Before
he sat down or after he sat down? It's that particular. Now do
you see what I'm saying? Most people are taught he died
so you could have sins purged once you do this, once you do
that. And they argue about what are you supposed to do, right?
Am I lying on them? Some say believe I'd be baptized.
Some say believe only. Some say believe baptized and
live holy. Whatever it is, they argue and
they fuss. Either you believe sins were purged when he died
before he sat down or you believe sins were being purged after
he sat down. That's the difference between the gospel and a false
gospel. Just those few words. He purged
sins and then he sat down at the right hand of the majesty
on high. Let's stand and sing number 328. 328.