Open our Bibles again to Leviticus
22. Leviticus 22. In our text, the title of the
message will come from verse 21. Here we read at the end of
verse 21, it shall be perfect to be accepted. it shall be perfect to be accepted. The ceremonial law called for
those that would worship God to come before him with great
carefulness. There was a due order in which
men, the priests, were to approach God. Nadab and Abihu, They came before the Lord with
strange fire. The fire came out and consumed
them. The Lord killed them. They came with strange fire. There were specific laws and
ordinances concerning the priest. Any number of things could defile
them. Back in Leviticus 21, we read
this, we read, No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron,
the priest, shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the Lord
made by fire. He that hath a blemish shall
not come nigh, shall not even come near to offer the bread
of his God. And those blemishes, a flat nose,
a broken arm, broken leg would prevent them from coming before
a holy God. There was to be no mark of any
blemish. They were to approach God with
great carefulness. As I was reading and preparing
and thinking about the message today, reading about that due
order, that manner in which men were to approach God, that carefulness
in which men were to approach God, I begin to kind of wonder
about myself as we come into this house, as we come together
as a church to worship Him, how we approach the worship service.
You know our day, our day is a day of leisure. That's probably
a good word. In driving here recently, I seen
a sign and this building had a time for their worship service
and then they even had a time for casual worship. And as painful as that is, I
ask myself, is it a casual Is it a casual worship service for
us? You know, how often do we just,
and I speak to myself. I'm not being critical. I speak
to myself. How often on a Sunday morning
or a Wednesday night do we just load the kids up and hop in the
car and drive to the service? truly takes for granted the privilege
of worship. We come before God. We come to worship a holy God. A holy God. We're not here to
play church. Listen, we've gathered in His
name. Mike, you've seen it. We come
into this house, the little ones sing. We've come into this house
and we've gathered in His name to worship Him, worship Almighty
God. And again, I don't say these
things to be critical. I examine myself, but I fear that there are times
that we fail to realize the privilege that we have gathering together,
the responsibility of gathering together as his people, as we
gather together to sing hymns of praise, singing, not just
number 112, but songs of praise to our God, to read his word,
to read his holy word, that which he's preserved all these years,
for His people as we pray unto Him, as we pray unto Almighty
God, and as we hear His Word, as we hear His Word preached. Those children of Israel, can
you imagine what had to go through their mind when Nadab and Abihu
struck the fire, all because they came to God with a strange
fire. They didn't approach Him by that
due order. And again, I just say these things
that we would be mindful, that we would be mindful when we come
into this house, we come before Almighty God. He said where two
or three, two or three are gathered in my name, He said, I'll be
in the midst of them. We approach unto God. Now, here
in our text, here in Leviticus 22, verse 21, we read, it must
be perfect. It must be perfect to be accepted. And my outline is very brief,
very brief. I have two points. Two points. The first is this. on this subject. It must be perfect to be accepted. This statement should remove
every false refuge that we have. It must be perfect to be accepted. A few weeks ago, we were at Abby's
grandpa's, and he needed some trees trimmed. And some of them
were up a little higher than I could reach. So Brady and I
went out to the garage and we found a ladder. And that ladder,
to my eyes, looked to be like brand new. And that ladder looked
to be sturdy. I took it out and I set it up
underneath the tree and I began cutting the limb. And it wasn't
but a short amount of time that that ladder was out from under
me and my feet were above my head. I had thought that it was solid. I had thought that it was sturdy.
But it became clear real quick I wasn't standing on a good foundation. And with that in mind, with that
in mind, many men have stood on what they
thought was a firm foundation. only to find out that it wasn't,
that it was a false refuge. And there are a number of places
that men in our day look and they consider a good refuge,
a solid refuge in God's gospel. He's pleased to If he's pleased
to save a man, he'll reveal that all those things, all those things
are like that flimsy old ladder that's not going to hold you
up. Might hold you for a little while,
but it's not a sure foundation. It's not a tried foundation. Men look to their natural lineage.
Men look to maybe the church that they were raised up in or
the fact that Maybe grandpa knew the gospel, or dad, or brother,
or sister, and therefore they think, I'm safe, I'm secure. Turn over to John 1. John chapter 1. But beginning with verse 11, He came unto His own. His own
received Him not, but as many as received Him, to them gave
He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe
on His name, which were born, not of blood, not of a blood
lineage, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, They
were born of God. Born of God. It must be perfect. It must be perfect. Our blood
is tainted with sin. That natural lineage, if you
follow it, I remember Dale saying this, you follow that family
tree back so far, you're going to find a limb that you're not
happy with, right? Well, we trace that all the way
back to the root. back to Adam, sin. Well, how about my works? How about my self-righteousness? That's what, among false religion,
turn your TV on, or don't turn your TV on, but if you do, that's
what you'll hear. Live a righteous life. Live a life of good works. False religion speaks highly,
highly of man's works. They can't say enough about it. But what does God's word say?
What does God's word say about our works? Isaiah 64, or in Isaiah
64, 6, we read this, we are all as an unclean thing. And all
of our righteousness, all of our righteousnesses, gather them
all up, put them all together, all of them combined together,
there is filthy rags. There is filthy rags. Everything
we do, even our best works, as we would call them, are tainted
with sin. All our righteousnesses are as
filthy rags. They're unclean. What's the scripture
say? It must be It must be perfect
to be accepted. What about just being a good
person? What about that? Typically, you hear that when
a person dies. Oh, he was a good man. She was a good woman. Me and
the boys, we mow a cemetery out in the country. And I've not
seen this marker for a while, but I remember the first time
I seen it, it about fell off the lawnmower. It said, here
lies a good man. Is that my hope? Is that my rest? Is that my refuge? Here lies a good man. Over in 2 Kings, turn to 2 Kings. Here was a good man. 2 Kings
chapter 5. 2 Kings 5, beginning with verse
1. Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria. He wasn't
just a good man, he was a great man. He was a great man with
his master and honorable because the Lord had given deliverance
unto Syria by him. He was also a mighty man in valor. You know, that sounds like the
kind of guy you'd want to hire to work for you. That sounds
like the kind of guy that if you had a daughter, you'd want
your daughter to bring home. Oh, he was a great man. He was
an honorable man. He was mighty in valor. But read
on there. Naaman was a leper. Naaman was unclean. Naaman had a lot of good qualities. But none of those things could
overcome his sin. That leprosy, it's a picture
of sin. But what's our scripture reading?
It must be perfect. It must be perfect to be accepted. There can be no blemish. They say when they examine those
sacrifices, if one of them even had a bad kidney, it's not just
the outward appearance like we tend to look on. It must be perfect. No blemish. Not one. Not one. Naaman was unclaimed. Naaman
was a sinner. Well, in every one of these,
every one of these false refuges, there's a blemish. There's sin. There's sin. Isaiah 59 verse
2, your iniquities Your iniquities have separated between you and
your God. Your sins has hid His face from
you that He will not hear. Now back to our text. It must
be, here in Leviticus 22, it must be perfect to be accepted. That should remove every false
refuge. My second point, consider the
perfection of the sacrifice. That perfect sacrifice that's
required can do but one thing and that's shut us up to the
Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ. Consider
the perfection of the Lord Jesus Christ. God's work speaks of
the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish
and without spot. He's perfect in His nature as
God and man. In Luke 4, we read that when
Christ was 40 days tempted of the devil, turn over there, turn
to Luke chapter 4. Chapter 4, let's begin reading
in verse 1. And Jesus, being full of the
Holy Ghost, returned from Jordan, was led by the Spirit into the
wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in
those days he did eat nothing. And when they were ended, afterward
he hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son
of God, command this stone that it be made bread. Jesus answered
him, saying, It is written that a man shall not live by bread
alone, but by every word of God. And the devil, taking him up
into a high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of
the world at a moment of time. And the devil said unto him,
All this power will I give to thee, and the glory of them,
for that it is delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will
give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all this shall be
thine. Jesus answered and said unto
him, Get thee behind me, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt
worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. And
he brought him to Jerusalem, and he set him on a pinnacle
of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God,
cast thyself down from thence, for it is written, He shall give
his angels charge over thee to keep thee. In their hands they
shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against
the stone. Jesus answered and said unto him, It said, thou
shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And when the devil had ended
all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. Tempted. Our Lord Jesus Christ
was tempted. Tempted in all points. All points. Yet without sin. It must be perfect. perfect to be accepted. He's
perfect in his motive, in his love for his people. Consider
this, that he came to save his people from their sin. He died. He died as our substitute. Over in John 19, Pilate himself,
he said, I find no fault in it. It must be perfect, perfect to
be accepted. He's perfect in his obedience. Turn to Philippians 2. Here we read of His obedience.
Perfect in His obedience. Philippians 2 verse 7, He made
Himself of no reputation, took upon Him the form of a servant
and was made in the likeness of men and being found in fashion
as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient. Obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. The Lord Jesus Christ
is perfect in His obedience. He's perfect He was perfect in His obedience
in the death of the cross. He was perfect in His obedience
to the moral law, the ceremonial law, to magistrates, and obedient
on that death of the cross, the painful and shameful death of
the cross. And there, He bore the law. He was made a curse for us. He that knew no sin was made
sin for us, that we might be made the very righteousness of
God in Him. It must be perfect. It must be
perfect to be accepted. He was perfect in His sacrifice.
He was tortured. He was mocked. He was spat upon. Turn to Matthew 27. Matthew 27. It's one thing for someone who
would be a common criminal to be treated in such a manner. But this was the Lord of Glories. This was God in human flesh.
And look in Matthew 27 beginning with verse 29. This treatment. Look beginning with verse 28. They stripped him and put on
him a scarlet robe. And when they had plaited a crown
of thorns, they made a crown of thorns and they put it on
his head and put a reed in his right hand and they bowed the
knee before him and they mocked him saying, Hail, King of the
Jews. And they spat upon him. And they took the reed and they
smote him on the head. And after that they had mocked
him, took his robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him,
and they led him away to crucify him. As they went, they came
out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon. Him they compelled
to bear his cross, and when they had come to a place called Golgotha,
that is to say a place of the skull, they gave him vinegar
and drink mingled with gall, and when he had tasted thereof,
he would not drink, and they crucified him. And they parted
his garments, casting out lots that it might be fulfilled that
which was spoken of the prophets. They parted out My garments among
them, and upon My vesture did they cast lots. And sitting down,
sitting down, they watched Him. They watched Him there. And set
up over His head His accusation written, This is Jesus, the King
of the Jews. And there were two thieves, two
thieves with Him, one on the right and the other on the left.
And they that passed by, not just the soldiers and not just
the They that pass by reviled Him, wagging their heads and
saying, Thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it again
in three days, save Thyself. If Thou be the Son of God, come
down from the cross. And likewise also the chief priests,
the leaders of that day, they mocked Him along with the scribes
and the elders, the religious folks. And they said He saved
others. Himself He cannot save. If He
be the King of Israel, Let him now come down from the cross,
and we'll believe him. He trusted God. Let him deliver
him now, if you'll have him. For he said, I'm the son of God.
And the thieves, those thieves that hung there beside him, which
were crucified, they cast the same in their teeth. They said
the same things. In the sixth hour, there was darkness over
all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour,
Jesus cried with a loud voice saying, Eli, Eli, lamasabachtha,
that is to say, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And yet we read, he was brought
as a lamb, a lamb before his shears. So open he, not his mouth. He was perfect, perfect in his
sacrifice. This man, This man, after he
had offered up one sacrifice for sin, not sacrifice after
sacrifice after sacrifice, one sacrifice for sin, he sat down. He sat down at the right hand
of God, the majesty of God. Well, it must be perfect, perfect to
be accepted. He hath perfected forever them
that are sanctified, them that are set apart. Quickly, turn
with me to Mark chapter 5. I believe there's an illustration
of this in Mark chapter 5. And then we'll close. Mark chapter
5, beginning with verse 25. Again, it must be perfect to
be accepted. Every false refuge has to be
removed. We must be shut up, shut up to
Christ and Christ alone. Look beginning with verse 25.
Here we read of a certain woman, a certain woman, one of God's
sheep, which had an issue of blood 12 years. Now her disease
would have made her unclean. unclean before the Lord. She
was blemish, okay? A picture, a picture of sin.
Verse 26, she had suffered many things of many physicians and
had spent all that she had and was none better. Rather, she
was worse. She was seeking help in the wrong
place. These false refuges had to be
exposed. Isn't that the case with those
who know something of their sin? Those who know something, how
long were we ignorant of the cure? Ignorant of God's way of
salvation. We looked to our works of righteousness
We look to our obedience. Maybe we look to our family tree
or the church or to a profession. We look to many ways and methods. And we don't get no better. In
fact, we get worse, don't we? That's what happened to this
lady. She said she got no better, she just got worse. But listen,
look at verse 27. When she heard of Jesus, she came in, pressed behind him,
and touched his garment. For she said, I may but touch
his clothes, and I'll be made whole. This one that's unclean,
she heard of Jesus. She had tried, she had tried
every cure. I'm sure her neighbors probably
said, well, you know, so-and-so had this, and this is what they
did, and just went through the whole line. And all these physicians,
again, every false refuge, it must be exposed. They have to
be removed. And now, there's but one cure. She heard of the Lord Jesus Christ.
She said, if I just touch the hem of His garment, If I just
touch the hem of His garment, I'll be made whole. She'd spent
all of her money. She had spent all of her strength.
She'd spent all of her time for no purpose. For no purpose. Again, she only got worse. And if we're left in our sin,
despite any effort, any amount of money, any amount of whatever,
Our condition can only do one thing, and that's get worse,
that's get worse. She heard, she heard of Christ. She'd been to many physicians,
but now she sees a great physician. She sees Christ and Christ alone. Let me ask you, let me ask myself,
have I seen something of my sin? Has the Lord revealed something
to us of our sin Have you been brought to the point? Has He
brought us to the point to where there's no other refuge? There's
no other refuge. To the point to where we realize
every other refuge is a false refuge. No hope. No hope. My friends, we have but one hope. One hope, and that's the Lord
Jesus Christ. Him and Him alone. And we read
He's able to save, He's able to save to the uttermost them
that come to God by Him, seeing He ever liveth. He ever liveth
to make intercession for His people. Well, look at verse 29. In straight way, she touched Him. Straight way. The fountain of her blood was
dried up And she felt in her body that she was healed of that
plague, that which had plagued her those many years. She knew something was different,
didn't she? She felt in her body that was
gone. The forgiveness of sin through
the blood of Christ, it brings forth joy. It brings
forth comfort. It brings forth hope, rest. Let's read on. Let's read on
in our text. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that virtue
had gone out of Him, He turned, turned to Him about
the press, and He said, Who touched My clothes? Now, He knows. He knows. And His disciples said
unto Him, Thou seest the multitude thronging Thee, and Thou sayest,
Who touched Me? The disciples give me much comfort. Any doubt that the Lord knew
who touched him. And they had to know that He knows all things,
yet they say, Lord, all these people, you're asking who touched
you? And he looked around about to
see her. He saw her that had done this thing, but the woman,
fearing, trembling and knowing what was done in her. It's a
work in us. Came and fell down before Him
and told Him all the truth. This thing that was done in secret,
she thought was done, it can't remain a secret. If the Lord's
pleased to show mercy to a sinner, it's not going to be a secret
for long. It can't be. There's a new man there. People
are going to see that, and that person's going to, in time, they're
going to want people to know, the Lord did this, the Lord healed
me. And confess Him in baptism. And He said unto her, Daughter,
what a tender term. Daughter. You're my daughter. Thy faith hath made thee whole.
Go in peace. and behold, behold of thy plague. I pray the Lord this morning
would use his word to teach us, to teach us that it must be perfect
to be accepted. There can be no blemish. That
takes away every false refuge. And that shuts us up to what?
It shuts us up to the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me read one more
scripture and we'll close. Turn to Colossians chapter 2. Let's begin reading in verse
6. As ye have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him, rooted and built up
in Him and established in the faith as you've been taught,
abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware, lest any man spoil you
through philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men, after
the rudiments of the world, not after Christ. For in Him dwelleth
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete in
Him." That word complete, perfect. Perfect. You are perfect in Him. I pray that gives us great reason
to rest only in Him. Only in Him. Take away all those
false refuges and let us rest in our Savior. Let us rest in
Christ and Christ alone. All right. I pray God will bless
His Word. Brother Mike.