Book of Leviticus

Celebrating the Feasts of Israel

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Feasts of Israel

Book of Leviticus Chapters 23 and 25

The Church must understand that every time the Church gathers together it is a special occasion.

Remember we are to gather in the name of Jesus Christ!

Mat_18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

If we do not gather in the name of Jesus Christ, then the Lord Jesus will not be there.

The festivals in a sense were similar. If they were not done according to the Word of God, then God would not show up in peace.

These festivals to be celebrated by Israel, were appointed by God.

These festivals were to never be secular or worldly, they were for worship with a joyful celebration of Jehovah God.

We should understand that the primary focus of Jehovah God is salvation!

God wants us all to be saved.

Joh_3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Act_2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Do not listen to the liberals there is no other way to be saved and join the Lord in Heaven!

Act_4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

After our salvation then and only then can we worship our Savior and celebrate our salvation!

God created all humanity to live eternally with God, but most have chosen to ignore these things.

Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

We should understand that these “feasts” of Israel had two main points:

1) These feast and festivals focused upon the salvation and the redemption of man and the worship of the One True God.

2) These feast and festivals painted prophetic pictures of the salvation, the salvation that God was bringing to humanity through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

These events also show a believer how he is to walk day by day throughout his lifetime!

*Lev 23:4 These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.

That word convocation means assembly.

These feasts were to be Holy Assemblies.

Without holiness there is no need to gather!

These feast and festivals also served to unite this new nation of Israel and cement them together as one people, one nation under the direction of our Holy God Jehovah.

This is still a great lesson that the Church needs to learn today.

The Word of God should unite the Church under one cause and that cause iis Jesus Christ.

*Lev 23:5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD’S passover.

The Passover:

The Passover was to be a celebration of God’s great deliverance from Egyptian slavery.

The Egyptians had become brutal and savage and full of immorality and because of these things, they fell under the “judgment of God” and this “judgment” would be severe.

It is in this “judgment” upon the Egyptians that we see the “Angel of Death” who operates under the authority of God.

It was this “judgment” that brought Pharaoh to his knees, and he released the children of Israel, and they became a nation.

The nation of Israel first began to see the power of “faith” by trusting in the sacrificial lamb.

That sacrificial lamb that God provided was that “substitute” with the blood applied to the door of their homes in the shape of a “Bloody Cross”.

They had to take a lamb without blemish and put it to death and smear its blood upon the doorpost of their homes.

When they did this thing, it showed God that family trusted His Word and His “Substitute” to take their place.

The “Judgment” of God would “Passover” those believers, but not those who rejected the truth of God.

The Passover is a celebration of the greatest event in the history of Israel!

The Passover is a symbol, a type, of the Lord Jesus Christ who was sacrificed as our Substitute for our own sin.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect fulfillment of the sacrificial Lamb!

Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isa 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
Isa 53:8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

The Passover Feast was celebrated on the 15th day of the first month of the ecclesiastical year which was the seventh month of the civil year and it lasted seven days.

These seven days would include the festival of Unleavened Bread which in type represented the complete removal of sin.

Leaven is a type of sin in the Bible.

We could say that these Feasts instructed these children of Israel all about “faith”, trusting in the Word of God.

We should be able to see that our faith will bring us to the giving of thanks for all the things that God provides for us.

There was the Feast of the First Fruits.

*Lev 23:10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:
Lev 23:11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.

We should understand that it is not the soil, nor the rain, nor the sun, nor the dews, nor the skill of the farmer that we need to thank for our food.

We must see God as our Provider because He is our Provider!

This is the lesson from the Feast of the First Fruits.

Surely, we must thank God for our farmers but more important we need to thank God for providing the fruit from all crops.

It is the harvest of crops that provide food that gives life and for this reason this is a “type” of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

When the Lord Jesus Christ rose from that grave, He brought eternal life to all believers!

A sheaf is a small bundle of stalks gathered from here and there in a crop.

This would be done the day after the Sabbath which places it on a Sunday.

This bundle would be waved before the Lord. After the wave offering the priest would approach God for atonement through a special Burnt Offering.

A grain offering is twice as much as the normal amount.

The aroma of these offerings ascended up symbolizing God’s acceptance of the offering.

The one thing was they were not to eat of any of the harvest until the First Fruit offering was given to God!

This was a permanent law through all generations to come no matter where the Israelites called home.

1Co 16:1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.
1Co 16:2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.

As believers we owe to the Lord the first of our harvest!

Today this would mean the first of our income for most of us.

We would call this our tithe for the tithe belongs to the Lord!

It is God who has given to us all that we have, no matter what it is!

If our jobs are due to the Lord, then our health is due to the Lord!

We are to give our first fruit to support the Church and the ministries of the Church and the Gospel must continue making its way around the world.

God will reward us for doing this thing as commanded.

Mal 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

Then we have the Feast of Pentecost.

*Lev 23:15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:
Lev 23:16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.

The festival of Pentecost, also call the Feast of weeks because it was celebrated seven weeks after the second day of the Passover.

It was also called the Festival of Harvest.

The intent of this festival was to offer thanksgiving to God for the harvest, but also to dedicate your life anew to the Lord. A rededication.

On the Day of Pentecost, just after the Lord Jesus ascended to Heaven there was a great harvest of souls when the Holy Spirit came just as the Lord Jesus had said.

Act 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
Act 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Act 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Jesus said:

Joh 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Joh 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

On this day of Pentecost we see a direct answer to the prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This day of Pentecost took place exactly 50 days after the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ!

The Festival of the First Fruits celebrated the resurrection of our Lord Jesus.
The Day of Pentecost also celebrated the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Since their escape from Egypt the nation of Israel had celebrated these two prophetic days never realizing the true meaning of those celebrations.

The Passover symbolized God’s salvation plan.
The Festival of Unleavened Bread symbolized the need to separate from this evil world. Recognizing our sin.
The Festival of First Fruits symbolized the hope of each believer in our walk toward the Promised Land and the day of the Rapture of the Church.
The Festival of Harvest (Pentecost) symbolized the momentous day the Holy Spirit came to live in each believer and taking the salvation message of our Savior to the world.

God’s plan of salvation is seen throughout all the Scriptures!

It does not stop here.

*Lev 25:11 A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed.
Lev 25:12 For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field.
Lev 25:13 In the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his possession.

We must understand that when we know God, we know that He is sovereign over all His creation and all His creation belongs to Him to do with as He pleases.

Whether we realize it or not God does as He pleases at all times and His great plan is working every day to reach the conclusion, He has chosen Himself!

If we pay attention, we can see the plan of God unfolding right before our eyes.

When God allows us to own any part of His creation then we must be obedient to His rules as in all our life.

Lev 25:23 The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.
Lev 25:24 And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land.

It was important for the children of Israel to realize this!

Canaan land was to be divided among the twelve tribes of Israel and each tribe would then divide that portion among all the families of each tribe.

God gave all of this land to Israel as a gift, and it was to remain in their care throughout all generations till the end of time.

Even when God removed them from that land, it still belonged to them!

Canaan Land was a sacred, holy gift given to the nation of Israel!

For this reason, each family was to never sale the piece of land that was assigned to them.

The land they owned was to be passed down to the next generation.

What do we know? We know that the love of money is the root of all evil.

1Ti_6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

There is always the tendency for the rich to increase their riches at the expense of the poor, and this will not change until the end of the Church Age.

Mat 26:11 For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.

We immediately see that it is not God who makes people poor!

Those who are rich will not help the poor even though they are the cause!

God is always concerned with the poor of this earth because they are often mistreated and abused.

There are always some of these who are poor because they are lazy and irresponsible.

In the Word of God you will not find that God says to help these in any way other than sharing the Gospel with them.

It is those who are poor because of the actions of others that we are to help!

God wants complete freedom and complete liberty for everyone where the only laws are the Laws of God!

As far as the land given to the nation of Israel, any person who obtained land belonging to someone else was to return that land to the owner to whom it was originally given him at the Jubilee.

We should see that in typology because as believers we are just visitors here on earth and our home is in Heaven and our Heavenly home can never be taken away from us even though many of us have not been called home yet.

1Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1Pe 1:4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
1Pe 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Among the Jews, every fiftieth year, being the year following the revolution of seven weeks of years, at which time all the slaves were liberated, and all lands which had been alienated during the whole period, reverted to their former owners.

In creation week God rested on the seventh day.

The seventh day was to set apart as a special day. A day unto the Lord. A day for rest and worship.

Seven weeks after the first day of Unleavened Bread came Pentecost.

After seven years the land was to be given a year of rest. The Sabbatical Year.

The land was to be lie unplowed, untilled, undisturbed.

It is from this passage in the Bible that farmers learned how to rotate crops to preserve the soil and allow the land to lay fallow for a year.

The Sabbatical year taught people to trust the Word of God and to depend upon Him.

For 490 years these Jews failed to keep the Sabbatical year.

The nation of Israel did not keep it for 490 years, and God removed them from the land for seventy years so the land could lay fallow.

2Ch 36:21 To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.

When God gives us extra time of rest it is for us to get closer to Him!

This was the purpose of those 70 years in captivity!

If we waste this time God will bring “Judgment” upon us.

So comes the Jubilee. The Jubilee is to set aside for a celebration of liberty, freedom, and redemption.

All slaves were to be set free.
The land was to be returned to the owners.
All debts and financial obligations were to be written off.
Even all labor obligations were to disappear.

Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
Isa 61:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

Jer 34:8 This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them;
Jer 34:9 That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother.

Jer 34:13 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying,
Jer 34:14 At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear.
Jer 34:15 And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name:
Jer 34:16 But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids.
Jer 34:17 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.

We see that God is profoundly serious about these things!

What do these things mean for us today?

We know that the Lord Jesus Christ has fulfilled the prophetic meaning of all these festivals.

The principles behind these festivals are things we must apply to our lives today!

We are to always remember our salvation through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ!

We are to remember to give our tithes!

God gives us all these things and He only ask for ten percent in return.

This should include ten percent of our time!

We are to love one another as we love our Savior and not oppress anyone especially our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The Church is also God’s Chosen people, and He expects us to be good stewards of the things He has given to us, actually loaned to us.

The world is watching to see if we are genuine Christians.
The world is watching to see if we have that saving faith.

So let us show the world the Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen

Separated To the Lord

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Separation of Israel

Book of Leviticus Chapters 11:44; 18:2 through 5; 20:22 through 26

The most important thing we need to know after our salvation are the desires of God.

It is called being in the will of God.

The most important and certainly the safest place we can live our lives is being in the will of God!

This begins when we know the difference between clean and unclean in the eyes of God.

We should understand that God knows things that we cannot know!

What does God expect from His children?

Joh 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Joh 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

This was the Lord Jesus Christ speaking directly to His disciples and future Apostles, who were to give this same message to give to all believers.

The truth is, God expects us to live in a certain way!

God expects us to live far different from the ways of this world!

The world should be able to see the differences between the people of God and the people of this world.

The thing much of the Church have forgotten is, that God’s people are to live Holy “lives” and there are no exceptions and no compromises!

This means taking care of our bodies as well as our spiritual life!

Christians are to bear a strong testimony that they follow the lead of the Holy Spirit and obey the commandments of a Holy God!

*Lev 11:44 For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

What were these children of Israel to do?

1) They were to sanctify themselves. They were to avoid uncleanness because we serve a Holy God and they belonged to God.

We know that God does not ever change, and this is the same for the modern Church of today.

Uncleanness today means to avoid the filth of this world and we live in a filthy world around filthy people.

Just look at the trash that is deposited along our roads, in our lakes, and in our oceans for one example.

In this day of Israel, Egypt was the land of idolatry and animal worship, and the world of today is still full of idolatry.

It can be said that the only way to be in communion with God is by holiness.

Rom 6:19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
Rom 6:20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
Rom 6:21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
Rom 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

We must not defile ourselves!

We defile ourselves when we commit any type of sin. All sin is an abomination to the Lord.
We defile ourselves when we have a filthy heart.

Eze 43:8 In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger.

Jas 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

Mat 15:18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
Mat 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
Mat 15:20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

Just because we live in this world does not mean we are to act like we are part of this world!

*Lev 18:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 18:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God.
Lev 18:3 After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances.

Notice how God presents Himself here. He says, “I am the LORD your God”.

God is saying “I am Jehovah” I am Yahweh, your One and only God.

The Lord our God then says, “You Must Live a Life of Separation from this wicked world”!

It has been obvious for us to see that the “moral” foundation of our societies is crumbling and pushed by our governments to do so.

If you challenge this, you are labeled a bigot and a racist.

Immorality weakens a person.
Immorality brings down desires to the level of wild animals!
Immorality corrupts humanity to live on the level of animals when God has made us to be far more than just animals!

Once relationships between people are destroyed, unkindness, abuse and lawlessness become the rule of society and we see these things are increasingly happening every day.

In fact, we could call Chapter 18 of the Book of Leviticus, “The Laws That Govern Sexual Behavior”.

The Children of Israel were taught and told not to behave as the Egyptians nor the Canaanites which were immoral societies in that day of Moses.

When we call ourselves Christians, we are saying that the Lord Jesus Christ is our God, and it is He and Jehovah and the Holy Spirit who are the three persons of the Holy Trinity. Not three separate persons but One God. The Lord our God!

In this instance Egypt and Canaan are placed in the category of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Israel had just left Egypt and were about to enter Canaan Land.

Three times in these five verses we see God proclaim, “I am the Lord your God”.

He wants us to be clear on His stance on immorality!

All through the lands of Egypt and Canaan Land, disgusting sexual activity took place including sodomy, bestiality, and homosexuality in illicit, unnatural acts of depravity.

We see an entire world returning to these ways today and it is demanded that we accept it!

As Christians, we will never accept these things and nor should we.

We should believe God!

We must never sink to this level of abomination!

God tells this new nation of Israel in that day and all Christianity in our day, that we must avoid this lifestyle and be obedient to the Word of God.

1Pe 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
1Pe 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
1Pe 4:3 For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:
1Pe 4:4 Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:
1Pe 4:5 Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.

It is a fact that the world thinks we are strange to not agree with them on these matters.

These things do not concern freedoms, these things concern the absolute rebellion to the Word of God!

God does not give us a choice; He absolutely demands that we avoid the lifestyle of the world around us today!

*Lev 18:4 Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God.
Lev 18:5 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.

If you are a Christian, you must comply with all the Word of God.

God will keep His covenants with us only if we are obedient to the Word of God, all the Word of God!

As our Savior who washed us in His blood, He has every right to make such demands!

We should understand that we must live a life of separation and obedience to the Word of God.

We must certainly not seek some perversion of the Word of God that would allow such things as these which in fact should be obvious that God would never permit such things to be part of Christianity.

We must never follow the immoral and perverted practices of this world!

Joh 15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
Joh 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
Joh 15:20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
Joh 15:21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.
Joh 15:22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.

We must always obey the laws and the decrees of God, but just because we hate those things, we are never to show hatred to those who do such thing.

They are our enemies, but God says to feed our enemies and besides food we need to feed them the pure Word of God.

We must live moral, sexually pure lives before our Righteous God!

We must understand that God is always obedient to His own Words!

God will never deviate from the things He has written down in the Scriptures and it would be wise for us to get a translation of the Scriptures that come from the Received Text and not those that come from the “already perverted” Catholic Text.

Joh 8:51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.

Rev 22:10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
Rev 22:11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
Rev 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
Rev 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
Rev 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

God gave all nations a guide to ensure fairness in laws. It was called the Ten Commandments, the moral law.

Many nations once based their own laws upon these Ten Commandments for centuries, but in this day these Ten Commandments have become too burdensome for most of them.

These Ten Commandments are just as important today as they were to the nation of Israel as they entered into Canaan Land.

We must understand that “justice” must be executed upon this earth.

Without “justice” all forms of lawlessness, violence, and sexual perversion would run wild throughout the earth.

Well guess what, we see it happening right before our eyes!

We see little true peace.
We see little true security.
We see much selfishness.
We see much immorality.
We see a world where rogue nations are allowed to kill and maim innocent people.

We see these things have ripped the moral fabric of most all nations.

We see that the family has taken such a beating that most of them are ripped apart just because of these things.

Drug and alcohol abuse run rampant.

Robbery, theft, assault, and murder are daily in every nation and every county in these United States and our government does not seem to care because our government wants it this way so it can step in with Communism and Socialism as is happened in Europe.

Today we live in a world of false religion.
Today we live in an Immoral Age.

There is still only one thing God’s people can do!

*Lev 20:22 Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out.

We have to obey God in order to escape God’s Judgment!

We must keep all the statutes of God!

A statute in the Bible is a law that comes directly from God.
A law that He mentions Himself.

We must keep all the judgments of God!

A judgment in the Bible means God has examined the facts and God has decided which way leads to the truth and that is the way we are to follow.

A judgment can also be the sentence that exist for breaking God’s Law.

God knows those who do the truth of the Word of God!

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

It should be obvious that if you are child of God, Born Again by the Blood of Jesus the true Messiah, we should live a life of separation from this wicked world!

God condemns those who do not obey His Word!

Jas 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

We must live our lives separated from the wickedness of this world!

God spued most of the residents of Canaan Land out of their countries to make room for the nation of Israel.

God may spue many of the residents of the United States out because they live and allow wickedness to continue.

This Covid Plague may be part of that spewing.

*Lev 20:23 And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.

There is no clearer message than this one how God feels about immorality and the gay lifestyle.

Abhor means extreme hatred.

Abhor means to despise.

Canaan Land was full of this sort of immorality, and it was for this reason God allowed for the destruction of its people.

God had given these nations four hundred or more years to repent of their wickedness.

Gen 15:16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

God hates the things that are going on in the United States at this time and going on in most European Countries, yet people still ask God for His blessings.

There is only one way to obtain the blessing of God!

2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

The Church must avoid involvement in these practices and certainly not compromise on the Word of God.

If God abhors something, then the Church should also hate these things.

God could give our land to someone else!

*Lev 20:24 But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people.

This is why God gave all the land of Canaan to Israel and there should be no question about it today.

Who judges Israel these days? The nations that allow these same things to go on in their own nations and many of the Arab nations that are descendants of Ishmael, Esau, and the sons of Keturah.

Israel had to be obedient to Jehovah before He allowed them to take Canaan Land and they never completed this task because of a lack of faith.

We that call America our home could see this change in our lifetime.

America was also a land that flowed with milk and honey, but there are no reasons for God to bless America today.

As Christians we must be able to discern between clean and unclean in our day-to-day behavior!

*Lev 20:25 Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.

This was the way given to Israel to escape the “Judgment” of God.

God had given Israel specific food laws that governed clean and unclean animals.

They could only gain physical cleanliness by eating the right foods!

In that day of Moses without ways to preserve meats, these food laws offered protection from diseases and unhealthy bodies.

These things also showed the world that they were separated to God.

Obedience to these things were key to their relationship with Jehovah God.

In fact, obedience to the Word of God is still the key to our relationship with our Heavenly Father!

This new nation of Israel had to obey those food laws to teach them the difference of clean and unclean, but the Church does not have to obey those food laws, but we must obey all the Word of God, “rightly divided” and still know the difference between clean and unclean.

1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1Co 2:15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
1Co 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

If we cannot be holy in the eyes of God, then we are failing in our relationship with Him!

*Lev 20:25 Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.
Lev 20:26 And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.

We must live a holy life to escape the “judgment of God!

Why because God is Holy, and we have the mind of Christ.

God called us to set us apart from this world.

The Church is God’s special possession!

We belong to the Lord!

We are a member of God’s household!

We must never bring disgrace unto the family of God.
We must never bring shame to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

We must live holy lives while we live amongst those who live in the damnation of God.

2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2Pe 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
2Pe 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
2Pe 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
2Pe 3:14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

Why would we not want to be more like the Lord Jesus Christ?

Amen

Becoming One of God’s Priests

/ Bobby Mayfield / 1 Comment

The Priests of Israel

Book of Leviticus Chapters 8 and 9

We should understand that God calls and also ordains every true preacher, or pastor, or priest or whatever the leaders of the Church are called today, just as He calls every Christian.

Rom_1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, “called to be an apostle”, “separated unto the gospel of God”,
Rom_1:6 Among whom are “ye also the called of Jesus Christ”:

We must be called and that first calling comes by the Holy Spirit for our salvation.

We may at that time, or some other time be called into a special ministry, but all the ministries of the Church must point to the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

If they are not called of God and ordained of God, they will never know how to lead the Church and are subject to damnation!

God does not take kindly to imposters!

No one can understand the truth of the Word of God without being filled with the Holy Spirit, who comes to live in every Christian!

Ordination means to be appointed by the Lord to serve in the ministry of God.
Ordination means to be called, set apart (sanctified) and consecrated to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you have not been called of God, you should not be leading a ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Joh 15:14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Joh 15:15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father “I have made known unto you”.
Joh 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, “but I have chosen you”, and “ordained you”, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father “in my name”, he may give it you.

Aaron and his sons were called of God.

Every true Christian has been called of God!

Not every true Christian has been called into a special ministry.

In fact if we are not already busy about the work that the Lord Jesus gave us to do, God will never call us into a special ministry!

*Lev 8:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 8:2 Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread;
Lev 8:3 And gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

Aaron and his sons had been called and appointed by God to the priesthood.

A priest, a pastor, or any such others are called to minister to God’s people.

The goal of these ministries is to bring us all into one accord and not to cause division in the Church.

That ministering must be of the Lord Jesus Christ, or it is not a true ministry of the Church!

The ordination of these men should make a lasting impression on God’s people.

Just as these things were completed at the entrance into the Tabernacle, every Christian should make a public profession of faith.

All such as a pastor or evangelist, are to never forget their calling and appointment.

When such a man of God is called and show it, they will have the respect of the Church as Aaron did have with the Children of Israel.

When a Church needs a new Pastor, then the selection of that person should be visible and not done behind closed doors!

Here, in the Book of John, we see that it is the Lord Jesus Christ who does the calling so at this time Moses would be considered to be a “type” of Christ Jesus.

It is of critical importance that our Church leaders be called by the Lord.

One of the problems in the modern Church is that the leader of that Church was not called of God and are not God’s chosen!

They will only cause havoc in the Church!

*Lev 8:4 And Moses did as the LORD commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Lev 8:5 And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the LORD commanded to be done.

Why would someone enter the ministry?

1) Some like the idea of serving and ministering to people.
2) Some like the professionalism of the being the pastor, the idea of leadership and being recognized in the community.
3) Some like the idea of teaching and speaking on a regular basis.
4) Some like the prestige and the image of respect shown to the men of God.
5) Some just like the money in a big church.
6) There may be many other reasons.

The truth is, no one should serve in the ministry unless they are called and ordained of God to serve God’s people!

Every Church should verify the calling of their church leaders and teachers.

That person should spend a lot of time in the Word of God and in prayer.

1Ti 3:1 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
1Ti 3:2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
1Ti 3:3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
1Ti 3:4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;
1Ti 3:5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
1Ti 3:6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.
1Ti 3:7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Just because someone went to a Seminary does not mean they are taught of God.

In fact, many seminaries ruin what would have been a good Pastor.

Let us look at the calling of the Apostle Paul:

Act 26:14 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Act 26:15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
Act 26:16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
Act 26:17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
Act 26:18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

The Apostle Paul was a Jewish Pharisee and knew most of the Word of God by heart, but even Paul had to spend some time with the Holy Spirit.

Gal 1:15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,
Gal 1:16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:
Gal 1:17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.
Gal 1:18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.

It could be said that no man of God should be leading a Church until, that man of God has been trained by the Holy Spirit for at least three years.

The Holy Spirit will only teach the things of Jesus Christ.

All those who lead people away from Jesus Christ are not called of God and should be removed until they repent and get saved and then trained in the works of Christ!

Obviously, the Holy Spirit is in charge of every called man of God!

A man called of God will teach the things of Jesus Christ!

Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

The Holy Spirit will never lead that ordained man of God away from the Lord Jesus Christ nor the Blood of Jesus Christ!

2Co 3:4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:
2Co 3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
2Co 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

A Church is not a Church unless it teaches the truth of Jesus Christ!
A Preacher is not a man of God unless, he teaches the truth of Jesus Christ, The Gospel.

2Co 3:4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:
2Co 3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
2Co 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

Any works doctrine or any way of man cannot reconcile you to God!

Eph 3:7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.

It is only by the “Blood” of Jesus Christ that we can be cleansed of our sins.

1Pe 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
1Pe 1:20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
1Pe 1:21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

It is only by the water of regeneration of the Holy Spirit that we become the chosen of God!

Tit_3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

*Lev 8:6 And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.

Remember Moses is a “type” of Jesus Christ.

No one can be cleansed without the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Psalmist wrote:

Psa 51:2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
Psa 51:3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
Psa 51:4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
Psa 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Psa 51:6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
Psa 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Moses, God’s mediator, took those to be ordained and washed them in water.

You see, it is only God’s mediator who can do the washing and the cleansing.

Jesus Christ is God’s true Mediator!

This washing with water is a “type” of being Spiritually cleansed!

No one can cleanse themselves and no one can be cleansed but by God’s Mediator!

This is the truth of the Scriptures!

God can only cleanse us of our sin.

The Lord Jesus Christ, He is God!

Joh_10:30 I and my Father are one.
Joh_17:22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

We should notice that this washing and cleansing with water took place right before the putting on of those white linen priestly clothes.

These clothes in type represent the righteousness of God.

As sinners we must be cleansed from that sin before we can put on the righteousness of God!

1Co 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

It is only after this cleansing and this ordination that the true man of God can be a servant of God!

*Lev 9:23 And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people.
Lev 9:24 And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

God met these children of Israel in this unique way, only because they had sought Him through the substitute sacrifice.

They had prepared themselves for the presence of God.

God has not ever changed!

That substitute is the Lord Jesus Christ.

We must be called, we must be chosen, and we must be cleansed, to ever be in the presence of God and the Holy Spirit does these things.

The Church has the truth for this ungodly world!

These children of Israel are still blind to this truth!

2Co 3:12 Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:
2Co 3:13 And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:
2Co 3:14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.
2Co 3:15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.
2Co 3:16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
2Co 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
2Co 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

There is no other way to be saved but by the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ our substitute.
There is no other way to be cleansed and regenerated, but by the Holy Spirit.
There is no other way to meet God our Heavenly Father, but by obedience to his Word and His Son.

Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Rev 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

Won’t you look to Christ today and be cleansed from all your sin?

Amen

Teaching About Our Lord Jesus Christ

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Offerings of Israel

Book of Leviticus Chapter 16

Some fifteen hundred years before the Messiah came, Moses led the nation of Israel, called the Israelites, out of Egypt and a new nation was born.

Jehovah led them to Mount Sinai and then God gave to Moses the first five books of the same Bible we have today.

The Israelites were given the Civil Law, the Moral Law (The Ten Commandments), and the Ceremonial Law, in all 613 commandments.

We should remember that the Lord Jesus taught us that all those 613 laws could be reduced to two laws if we were to be sincere in our love for one another and our love for Him.

Mat 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

We should remember these words of Jesus and let them guide us throughout all our lifetime!

We should consider that all these laws expressed the “righteous and the holy Character of Jehovah God”!

Even though these laws contained the standard for righteousness, without which no one could stand before our Holy God, no one could keep all those laws and God knew this and in reality, it was never expected.

These laws were our schoolmaster to teach about the Messiah and God’s Grace.

In the end these laws served their purpose, and this purpose was to teach us that we all need Jesus Christ to be reconciled to our Heavenly Father.
These laws were intended to reveal our sin and bring this entire world to the knowledge of guiltiness before a Righteous and Holy God.

Jas 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

Gal 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

Even though the Law spoke primarily to this new nation of Israel, it also bore this message to the entire world and especially the Church.

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

We must never be confused. The Law never offered salvation to anyone!

The Ten Commandments of Moses and those other 603 laws only offered condemnation and damnation!

We might ask ourselves, why then as New Testament Christians, would we study this old book of the Old Testament.

The pure fact is, we can find the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, in the Old Testament and we find that in the Book of Leviticus, that all those worship services revolved around the Lord Jesus Christ and how He sacrificed Himself for us.

The greatest lesson of the Old Testament is that it teaches us the character, the love, and the Grace, of our Holy God!

We know that the Book of Leviticus is so named after the tribe of Levi who were the priests for the nation of Israel, just as every child of God is to be a priest and member of the Church after our salvation.

The sacrificial system in this great book points to our Savior and would fulfill every picture through His death on the cross on Mount Calvary.

When the Tabernacle was prepared, according to the Word of God, God began explaining how the worship by these Jews would lead them to the Messiah.

The first seven chapters of Leviticus will teach us about these things.

1) The burnt offerings gave prayers and praise to God the Father.
2) The meat-offering was a pleasing aroma to God the Father as are our prayers.
3) The peace offering demonstrated fellowship through sharing a meal.
Salvation is all about our renewed fellowship with our Heavenly Father and with each other. Every child of God will one sit at the table with Jesus Christ at the marriage supper of the Lamb.
4) The sin offering was all about the atonement for our sins. The Lord Jesus atoned for all our sin on Mount Calvary!
5) The trespass-offering was about providing compensation for our trespasses against our Holy God.
We have nothing of value to offer God for our sin. He sent His Son to do this for us!

Gen 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

6) All animals were required to be without blemish as was our Savior.

2Co_5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Eph 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

Why? God never enjoyed the slaughter of animals!

Heb 10:6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.

God does not take any pleasure in the slaughter of animals!

We must understand that our Holy God required a blood sacrifice, but it was never about those animals.

It was always about the Messiah!

This place called earth was created for humanity. In fact this entire universe was created for humans to show us the glory of Jehovah God.

Heb 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Heb 9:23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Heb 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
Heb 9:25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
Heb 9:26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

You see, there must be a forgiveness of our sin though we are not worthy of forgiveness!

There must then be a reconciliation to God, for our trespasses which we do not deserve!

Finally, we begin to see a picture of God’s Grace.

So let us begin:

*Lev 16:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died;
Lev 16:2 And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not “at all times” into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.

We must understand that no one can approach our Holy God but according to His rules!

Someday into the future, God will show His wrath to this world, but He has provided a way to avoid seeing His wrath.

All people and even some angels will face the “Judgment” of God!

This is why we need to be reconciled to our Holy God before our death comes, and none of us have any idea when that day will be!

Col 1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled

Rom 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

You see, it is only Jesus Christ who fulfilled God’s holy requirement!

Sin has separated us from God, and it began with Adam and Eve!

Yes, we all have a sin nature! Even that newborn babe!

We learned from the Book of Romans that our Holy God forbids us to continue in sin and He provided the only means of reconciliation and this by His Son, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Many are still looking for a messiah, but there could be no one else who could fulfill God’s own requirements as was the Lord Jesus Christ.

You see, it was the Lord Jesus Christ who is the fulfillment of all Scripture!

John said Jesus was the Word of God in the flesh!

We see, in a very harsh manner, Aaron had seen that there is a wrong way to approach God and we should all be aware.

Aaron’s two sons tried to approach God through self-righteousness, but we have no righteousness of our own and God killed them instantly.

Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

There is only one way to become righteous in the eyes of God and it is by the “Grace” of God!

Rom 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Rom 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
Rom 3:26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

There was only one time each year that the High Priest (Aaron) could enter the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was located, but these two sons of Aaron felt they could enter the Holy of Holies at any time, and it cost them their lives.

We must be able to see that Aaron the High Priest could only enter the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement.

The Lord Jesus Christ was sacrificed on the day of Atonement, and it is by His death that our sins are forgiven.

This is such an important day that God would never allow it to be abused by those who did not take it seriously!

There is a right way to approach God and there is a wrong way, but we have no righteousness of our own! No one did until the Messiah came!

Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
Heb 10:20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
Heb 10:21 And having an high priest over the house of God;
Heb 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

*Lev 16:3 Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.
Lev 16:4 He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on.
Lev 16:5 And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
Lev 16:6 And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house.
Lev 16:7 And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Lev 16:8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.
Lev 16:9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.
Lev 16:10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

In the Old Testament there was a specific preparation to be observed by the High Priest.

Today, the Holy Spirit prepares every Pastor and every child of God, in the study of the Word of God and Prayer after our salvation.

We also know that the High Priest of the Old Testament were to be a symbol, a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We know that when it came time the Lord Jesus Christ did not back away from His role as High Priest to the Church.

In this passage we see these sacrifices pertain only to the High Priests of the nation of Israel.

1) He had to be prepared to offer the right sacrifices! Any deviation could cost him his life!

A young bull for the Sin Offering.
A ram for a Burnt Offering.

We know the Lord Jesus had no sin and did not have to make a sacrifice for Himself.

It was the Day of Atonement that our Lord Jesus was sacrificed upon that cruel cross!

2) He had to wash himself and he had to wear the right clothing. Note washing never sanctified anyone. It was only a picture of the regeneration by the Holy Spirit.

He had to remove the beautiful clothing of the High Priest and put on a special clothing, and it is the High Priest where we first see britches in the Bible and there was a specific reason for this.

This white linen clothing represents the righteousness of our Savior!

All the Jews wore robes!

The Hight Priest was never to have the appearance of sin and when the High Priest climbed the stairs to the Altar of Sacrifice then we see a robe could reveal a little too much and nakedness was considered a very great sin since the time of Adam and Eve’s sin and their sin was covered by the sacrifice of a lamb.

Today, God tells each of us to never have even the appearance of doing evil.

This clothing of the High Priest was made of linen and symbolized righteousness.

To stand by God each priest had to project sinless righteousness!

Linen was made from the flax plant, but it can also be made from hemp.

Maybe, this is the true reason God gave us the hemp plant and not for the drug effect.

3) He had to prepare the right sacrifices for the people!

He had to get two male goats for the Sin Offering and a ram for the Burnt Offering.

One goat to be sacrificed.

The other goat would be taken deep into the wilderness to be set free.

This is a picture of our sin being removed from us forever.

Mic 7:19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

4) Aaron had to be prepared to offer sacrifices for himself and his household.

He had to offer a bull for his own Sin Offering.

Note: Christ our High Priest had no sin and did not have to make an offering for Himself.

Heb 9:7 But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:
Heb 9:8 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:

Heb 7:27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
Heb 7:28 For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.

5) Aaron had to always be prepared to offer the right sacrifice for the people. The casting of the lot insured that man did not choose so the results would have to be the choice of Jehovah.

Pro 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.

The lot was always resorted to by the Jewish Priest with strictest reference to the interposition of God, and as a method of ascertaining the divine will, and in serious cases, of doubt.

Hence it was also the method used to determine chances or preferences, or to decide a debate.

The decision by lot was often resorted to among the Jews, but always with the strictest reference to the interposition of God.

The High Priests had to always be ready to present that chosen scapegoat to the Lord!

The High Priest was to be a symbol or a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Two goats were used in the Sin Offering because no single picture can fully demonstrate what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us!

**The goat that was sacrificed symbolized the sacrifice of Christ, the ransom price He paid to set us free from sin.

**The goat that was set free was sent alive bearing the sins of the people, symbolized the removal and the taking away of sin, no more visible to our Holy God.

We know the Lord Jesus took all our sin to Hell the place designed for sin and the father of all sin the Devil.

This is a picture of what our Savior has done for us!

He paid our Sin Debt that we could not pay and has made us free from sin forever!

We must understand that the Lord Jesus Christ was our Substitute!

Jesus Christ died for my sins, so I do not have to die for them myself!

2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

This was the only way we can obtain the “Righteousness” that is required to stand before God the Father.

He bore all our sins, all the sins of everyone who has ever lived in this entire world!

1Pe 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
1Pe 2:25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

The doctrine of “Substitution” is important in that through the Lord Jesus Christ’s death, the righteous demands of our Heavenly Father have been met!

This was a legal transaction, which means, it was God’s own requirement to deal with the sin problem of all humanity in this wicked world.

It is by this action of our Savior, that we have been redeemed and are now the servants of God!

1Co 7:23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.
1Co 7:24 Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.

Since we are bought by the blood of Jesus, then we are truly His slaves!

Slaves to the world is a terrible thing, but being a slave to our Savior is a wonderful thing!

We have been removed from the curse of this world!

Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Gal 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

What was the blessing of Abraham?

Gen 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

We are bought by the blood of the sacrifice of our Savior and now have hope!

1Pe 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
1Pe 1:20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
1Pe 1:21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

1Th_1:3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

We have become a special possession of our Savior!

Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

This is why the true Christian is so noticeable to this world and why the world hates us so much!

We that believe have been reconciled to God!

The barrier that was once between us and our God, has been removed!

Col 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
Col 1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
Col 1:22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

These are all things we can learn from the Book of Leviticus and the books of the Old Testament.

It was humanity that moved away from God, and it is still happening!

It is humanity that needs to be reconciled to God to renew our fellowship with our Holy God and then God will heal our lands.

2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

As Christians we are the people of God.

The one thing God expected from the Jews and now expects from the Church is for us to represent Him accurately to the world.

We cannot do this if we refuse the study of the Word of God including the study of the Old Testament!

Amen

Pleasing God Requires Obedience

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Pleasing God Requires Obedience

Our Text: Leviticus chapters 25-27

As we finish our lessons in the Book of Leviticus we must realize we have only touched on the importance of this book. This book is one of the most quoted books in the New Testament.

Being a “separated” people to the Lord is the theme of this great book and the church is also to be a “separated people”.

2Co 6:17  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, [and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,]

We most always read this verse and understand that we are to come out of the ways of this world but we seem to not read the second part of this verse.

We are admonished as the “Body of Christ”, to not only come out of this world we live in but God says to not even touch anything that is unclean.

Unclean means “anything that is immoral in the eyes of God”, anything that is of the devil!

*****The Greek for unclean is “akathartos” which means immoral, impure, demonic or lewd.

We have skipped over much in the Book of Leviticus to get to this chapter 26, where we finish our short study in this book.

Even though there some spiritual lessons here as in all the Bible, we also have the history of the Nation of Israel “before” they went into the land of Canaan.

*****We can see the word “IF” nine times in this chapter.

This chapter gives us some of the details of the “covenant” God had made with Israel. That word “If” means that this was a two party covenant with both sides having to meet certain requirements.

Each side of the agreement had certain responsibilities. This was a conditional covenant.

There are also some unconditional covenants in the Bible that we should study!

*****In this same chapter God says “I Will” 24 times!

God says “He will act and react to Israel’s response to those “ifs”!

In other words, there is a great emphasis on being obedient to the Word of God and there is still a great emphasis on being obedient to the Word of God!

What we will see is that even what we call the laws of nature, are under direct control at  the hand of God.

1.) Rainfall is mentioned.

2.) Bountiful crops are mentioned.

3.) Famine is mentioned.

4.) Drought is mentioned.

5.) Living safe from their enemy is mentioned.

We should take note of all these things because, Our God never changes. And He will certainly keep His side of every covenant!

God loves His Church and wants to shower us all in His “Blessings”.

BUT!

1.) When we try to remain neutral in the ways of this world.

2,) When we remain in sin after we are saved.

3.) When we refuse or reject God’s Will in our lives.

Then, we will see the other side, of Our God of Love!

We cannot hide behind our sinful ways and expect the Blessings of God!

The Nation of Israel is still learning this lesson!

And so is the Body of Christ!

And so am I!

*****Our Text:

Lev 26:1  Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.
Lev 26:2  Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.
Lev 26:3  [If ]ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;
Lev 26:4  [Then I will] give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
Lev 26:5  And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.
Lev 26:6  And [I will] give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and [I will] rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.

God first describes His Blessings.

These first two verses sum up the first part of the Ten Commandments, without which there can be no relationship with Our God!

These things were essential for the nation of Israel to stay in the land of Canaan. The land was given to them for them to enjoy and have a home and to have a home land.

The saying ” that there is no place like home” is very true for most people.

What were the conditions [ what were the “ifs”]?

1.) They were to make no idols:

What does that word “Idol” mean?

That word “idol” means a nothing, a vain thing.

It is hard to make a friend out “of a nothing”!

When we place any vain thing in between ourselves and Our Lord we are making “a nothing” out of our relationship with our Savior!

Anything that takes the place of God is “a nothing”!

We would call a Totem pole or anything else of wood a standing image.

We would call any monument of stone a carved image.

The cross could be considered a standing image but we are not to worship the cross nor worship before the cross.

There are some who worship the cross as an “idol”.

WE ARE TO WORSHIP, CHRIST OUR LORD WHO HUNG ON THAT CROSS!

2.) The Nation of Israel were commanded to keep the Sabbaths.

They were to set aside one seventh of their time for the Lord weekly but also all special days and feasts on their own Jewish calendar.

This commandment was not given to the church, the Body of Christ. The veil is torn, we can worship everyday and we are commanded to do so.

I still believe God wants us to give Him at least, one seventh of our time in certain things But we are to be 100% dedicated to the Lord!

3.) The Nation of Israel were to “Reverence” the Sanctuary.

Spending time with the Lord and worshipping and reverencing the Lord at a place He has placed His name is also commanded of the Church, the Body of Christ.

To “reverence” is to have a godly fear, and be mixed with respect and affection!

We must not forget when we are saved our bodies become the “sanctuary” of God and we must be careful to use our bodies for His glory.

The Holy Spirit lives within us, we must not “grieve” Him.

Eph 4:30  And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

*****Why are we to do these things?

God says: “I AM THE LORD”

That title LORD as used in this verse means “JEHOVAH” your “ELOHIM”, your Almighty God!

*****In can be said that idolatry is having thoughts about manmade things. Those thoughts should be shown to the Lord Our God.

There are those that worship vain things in their lives but, the worst of all are those that try to worship their idols in the Name Of God!

This is turning a reality into an illusion or, truth into a deception and this will lead to the destruction of the Church.

*****Again why are we to do these things?

It’s called “blessings”!

We can then say that our blessings depend on our “Ifs”!

If we obey, then God will bless!

The Nation of Israel is still struggling with the “Ifs” in this passage but we know that this will change after the Rapture of the Church and Israel comes back to the Lord God Almighty.

Amo 9:13  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.

Joe 2:23  Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.
Joe 2:24  And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.

We can see that these words of prophesy began in the Book of Leviticus and have not been fulfilled as of yet, even though Israel is in blossom, they have not done so completely because they still do not have peace. In fact there is no real peace in this entire world. Every place, and every nation live under the threat of “Terrorism”!

*****Our Text:

Lev 26:14  But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;
Lev 26:15  And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:
Lev 26:16  I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
Lev 26:17  And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.

Again the Lord begins with the “if’s”.

God now describes His chastisements. 

Chastisement will mean the things God will use to correct by punishment and this is painful most of the time.

The Bible says God whips us as an act of love and this is true.

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
Heb 12:8  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

We also see that there are some in this world that seem to never be punished for their actions BUT this same scripture says that they are not God’s children.

Those that are not God’s children are the children of the devil!

A wise man wrote:

Pro 3:11  My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:
Pro 3:12  For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

It is a great privilege to serve Our Lord but this privilege also brings a responsibility for us to act like the children of God.

This chapter in Book of Leviticus tells us about six periods of chastisement of the nation of Israel. They suffered five times while they were in their own land but the sixth judgment caused them to be dispersed from their land.

What are these things mentioned:

1.) Great distress
2.) Great terror
3.) Disease
4.) Drought
5.) Famine
6.) Defeat at the hands of their enemies
7.) Death from war
8.) Fear of animals
9.) Plagues
10.) Destruction
11.) Exile
12.) The children would suffer because of the actions of their forefathers.

All these things have happened to the Nation of Israel.

We have seen that the cycle of prophesy is in reverse now as Israel did become a nation again on May 14, 1948. The land is blossoming again but many other things are still in the future.

Four times in this chapter God says “I will punish you seven times for your sin”

Each period of chastisement has been completed except for the last one.

Seven is God’s number of completeness.

*****Our Text:

Lev 26:23  And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me;
Lev 26:24  Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.
Lev 26:25  And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.

What we have seen is that Israel took some steps with God that we should learn from and avoid:

1.) The first step:

Israel stopped listening to God’s Word.

The Bible is God’s Word of truth. When we do not listen to what God has to say, WHO ARE WE LISTENING TO?

Rom 3:3  For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
Rom 3:4  God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

2.) The second step:

Israel refused to keep the commandments of God.

Mat 22:38  This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

The Bible tells us:

Pro 14:12  There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

3.) The third step:

Israel actually hated and despised the Laws of God.

Heb 10:28  He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

Any nation that has no laws will destroy itself.

4,) The fourth step:

The Nation of Israel completely broke their covenant with God.

This covenant nation no longer had a covenant with God BUT God will always honor His side of every covenant.

God promised there would come trouble in disobedience!

When God is against us, then there is absolutely no one that can help us!

*****Our Text:

Lev 26:40  If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;
Lev 26:41  And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:
Lev 26:42  Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.
Lev 26:43  The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes.
Lev 26:44  And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God.
Lev 26:45  But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.

Let’s look at how God will forgive:

The most important thing we can see in this passage is that the “Land of Israel” will always be the ‘Land of Israel”.

When this nation repents God will honor His covenants He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
This is before the time of David and we will see that God will honor that covenant also.

*****God gives His requirements for them to stay in the land:

1.) They must obey Him!

2.) If they do not obey then they must leave the land.

(God will not have them utterly destroyed)

3.) They must repent to get back into the land.

(The land is always theirs to come back to)

While they were off their land the land enjoyed her sabbaths:

That word “enjoy” as used in this verse, means “to satisfy a debt”:

Lev 26:34  Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies’ land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.
Lev 26:35  As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.

The Bible says:

2Ch 36:20  And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia:
2Ch 36:21  To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, [until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths]: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.

The History of Israel in captivity can be proven. From the time of King Saul to their captivity was about 490 years. (490/7=70)

They stayed in captivity until they were released by the Persians who had conquered Babylon.

This was prophesied by God to take place!

Not only here in the Book of Leviticus but listen to what Jeremiah said:

Jer 25:11  And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

Jer 29:10  For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.

Daniel realized the truth of God’s Word and Daniel offered up a prayer of repentance to God:

Dan 9:3  And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

God loved Daniel and God heard his prayer:

Ezr 1:1  Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
Ezr 1:2  Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 

Cyrus, King of Persia came under conviction of the Lord.

Not only was this prophesy fulfilled in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, we know that there is still a future prophesy to be fulfilled:

Zep 2:5  Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the LORD is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.
Zep 2:6  And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks.
Zep 2:7  And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: [for the LORD their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity].

Daniel wrote:

Dan 9:25  Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem(Ezra1:1-2) unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
Dan 9:26  And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
Dan 9:27  And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

This where we are today:

Daniel reveals that one week (or seven years) remain in order the seventy weeks (490 years) to be fulfilled.

This information allows us to know that the coming tribulation period will be one week(or seven years).

Those seven years will be divided into two parts” of 3 and 1/2  years apiece.

This gap we are in now is what is called the Church Age!

It may be mistaken to think that the Tribulation Period(the seven years) will begin at the Rapture of the Church though it could.

Daniel says the Tribulation Period will begin when the  Nation of Israel confirms a covenant  with the Anti-Christ. (Verse 9:27 confirm  the covenant for one week)

All the way back to the Book of Leviticus we can see that even before Israel first went in to Canaan Land, God has a plan for Israel that has not been fulfilled but only in part.

If we say we believe the Bible then we must believe this part also!

Just as Adam brought judgment upon the whole world with his sin, Israel has brought judgment upon Palestine.

I believe that on May 14,1948 when Israel again became a nation we saw a great sign that we are in the end times, and nearing the end of the church age!

God looks down through the ages to see these things happen but we must realize that no matter if God’s people keep their promises:

GOD WILL ALWAYS KEEP HIS WORD!

Moses could not save Israel!

There is only One Savior!

Joh 1:17  For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

God may punish His people but He will never reject them nor cast them away!

To not be chastised is to obey the Word Of God!

Let’s Pray!

Walking With God Requires Separation

/ Bobby Mayfield / 2 Comments

Walking with God Requires Separation

Our Text:

Leviticus Chapters 11-24

Our Focus:

Leviticus 11:43-45; 19:1-4; 20:7, 8, 22-27

There are many that ask, why do we study the Old Testament, if we are the New Testament Church?

First, we should realize that all the Bible is for our instruction:

2Ti 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17  That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

When we look into the Old Testament we should be searching for the “spiritual principles” that teach us the right conduct for “spiritual growth”.

Our God never changes!

Mal 3:6  For I am the LORD, I change not;

We must realize that it is our personal conduct that the world sees and judges us by.

I personally am offended every time some news broadcast uses the title “Christian” when someone that may go to some church is implicated in a serious crime. Not every place called a church is a House of God and not everyone that attends a House of God is a Christian.

The title Christian means to be like Christ. If we are truly like Jesus Christ we will not break God’s trust by doing truly evil things. This does not mean we can be perfect while we live on this earth and it does not mean we will not make mistakes.

And it does not mean we will not ever run afoul of the law but that should be at the last resort for strictly godly reasons!

It does mean that our goal should be to try to live a perfect life!

Remember we are to be “transformed in the ways of God” NOT conformed to the ways of this world we live in!

We are not being very smart when we try to find out why God made certain rules!

We are being smart when we accept that God’s Word is the truth:

Rom 3:3  For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
Rom 3:4  God forbid: [yea, let God be true, but every man a liar]; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

*****In our places of assembly of today we make false distinctions between what is sacred and what is called secular.

Some Christians even think “gossip” in the church can be sacred if it is done in the right way and prayed over but that only gossip outside the church is truly evil.

God does not make any such distinction of gossip. It is all evil in His sight!

*****The biggest thing we can learn in these chapters is that, God is real interested in the details of our lives!

There is nothing in our lives that are to big for God to handle!

But, there is also nothing to small in our lives that God does not want to help us with!

God does not want us worrying about anything!

We may not understand why God says some foods were clean and others unclean but there is proof in history that God had a reason for what He taught Israel through Moses.

During the Black Plagues of Europe, most every practicing Jew escaped infection and because of this they were then considered to be a part of the evil behind those plagues. How ridiculous people can be somtimes.

In fact, in all times of worldwide diseases, the practicing Jew have suffered far less than any other group of people!

Israel has also produced more Nobel prize winning scientists for her size than any other nation.

Today, there are not as many practicing Jews, so they have become as prone to disease as any other people in every other nation.

As Christians, we are to take care of our bodies and not abuse them just as much as we are to care for our spiritual side!

To the New Testament Church, God has not told us to stick to any such diet as the Jew!

Book of Romans Chapter 14

Rom 14:14  I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

There is no spiritual value in eating or not eating certain foods!

IN FACT WE CAN FALL INTO “SUPERSTITION” WHEN WE THINK THAT WAY, WHICH IS AN ABOMINATION  TO GOD!

1Co 8:8  But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse.

1Co 6:13  Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.

1Co 10:31  Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

To over indulge in any thing is wrong for our bodies and can become a health issue and this is what God is teaching!

*****Self-control, with the help of God, is a commandment of God!

Let’s begin:

*****Our Text:

Lev 11:43  Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.
Lev 11:44  For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Lev 11:45  For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

We are to be separated to God in our “personal conduct”!

If you read chapter 11 you will be able to see that God mentions the word “unclean” 32 times. God uses the word “abomination” 10 times. What God says is unclean must then be an abomination in His eyes.

God tells us:

Isa 5:20  Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

God says “woe” to them that have moral standards that completely oppose the Bible!

We just do not take this serious enough!

What we see in our world today is that governments, religious groups, and all non-believers, are trying to reclassify sin and make it acceptable in society, when ALL sin is really an abomination to God!

God gave the Nation of Israel 613 laws concerning sin.

God told Adam that a certain tree was off limits but Eve decided that the fruit looked good enough to eat!

We live in a society that rejects God’s moral absolutes and promotes a lifestyle where morals do not exists.

The Bible says:

Jdg 21:25  every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

We live with a government that cannot change every law so they twist some of them to mean something new and society has learned from that error.

It is a shame that a doctor can be sued for malpractice if they diagnose wrong, But, a judge, or a professor, or a news reporter, or a voted official of the people, or even a liberal preacher can excuse sin and defend immorality, [while being applauded by those that are guilty], and suffer no consequences.

God tells us the truth of mankind:

Jer 17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

This is where we are headed with no end in sight!

Most every Preacher will preach that we the people cannot find God because we are not looking for Him!

God tells us again:

Joh 3:19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and [men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil].

This is the truth of the Bible!

The Bible also says of modern day Preachers:

Jer 8:11  [For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly], saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

We are blessed here at Gethsemane, but most preachers will not preach that the ONLY remedy to this world is the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

This world can never be cleaned, until it is washed in the blood of Jesus!

The Bible also says:

Jer 5:31  The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; [and my people love to have it so]: and what will ye do in the end thereof?

Most of the people sitting in the pews do not want to hear the truth of God!

**Every creeping thing was unclean because they represented the serpent and the fall of man. Remember that serpent was cursed to crawl on it’s belly until the end of time.

Why would God ever consider them clean for His people!

These Jews had to remind themselves every hour of every day that they belonged to Jehovah God!

This is the lesson we must learn from these texts!

We are to remind ourselves every day that “A Savior named Jesus”, came down from Heaven to pay our sin debt so we could spend eternity in God’s presence one day soon in Heaven.

There is only one true and living God and He is the “I AM” of the Bible!

God told Moses:

Exo 3:14  And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
Exo 3:15  And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: [this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations].

This is where we get the title “Jehovah”!

No child of God is to walk like other Gentiles walk:

Eph 4:17  This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
Eph 4:18  Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

The church is placed in the world for a reason and a purpose and part of that purpose is to not allow the world into the church!

We are to take great care trying not to defile ourselves and we must not be intimidated by those that call us foolish and narrow minded!

The Bible says:

Psa 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

When the Word of God lights our path, WE WILL NOT STUMBLE OVER SOME CARCASS OR SOME DEAD THING, IN THE DARKNESS OF THIS WORLD!

*****Our text:

Lev 19:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 19:2  Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.
Lev 19:3  Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.
Lev 19:4  Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.

**We are to be separated from the world in our “Worship”!

To be “holy” is not a theory in the Bible, it should be a FACT in the life of a Christian!

No law and no human effort can make anyone holy!

We can only approach holiness after we are filled with the Holy Spirit of God.

This happens the very moment we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior!

It is only Our Lord, Our God, who can draw the line between what is right and what is wrong!

We all accept that God is Holy! Yet when it comes to our own conduct we don’t seem to see the importance of holiness.

Let’s go back to the Book of Genesis for a moment:

Gen 1:26  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness

Now we know God is Holy so, to be created in the image of God was to be created in holiness.

That holiness was lost by the “sin” of Adam and Eve!

The Bible says:

Rom 8:29  For whom he did foreknow, [he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son], that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

God has a plan to restore holiness to all that believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Bible says:

Col 3:10  And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge [after the image of him that created him]:

If we do not put on the “new man”, being “born again”, we can never be in the image of our Holy God!

If God is Holy then, We Must Be In His Image to be Holy!

God expects holy conduct because He is Holy and He will never change from being Holy!

1Pe 1:15  But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
1Pe 1:16  Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

As the Apostle Peter preached to the early church, he made direct reference back to this very scripture in the Book of Leviticus.

God expected Israel to be holy and God expects the Body of Christ to be holy!

That word holy means: sacred, clean, saintly and moral but we can also say that word holy means “to be set apart for God’s use” and “being in the whole image” of Jesus Christ Our Lord!

To be saved is to be joined to Christ, not to Adam, not by any Law, not by any legal system, But Only By The Holy Spirit.

The Son of God wants us to reach a higher plane of existence than we have here on this Earth and we can only do that if we are in His image, and remember that He is Holy.

This is the image we seek to fulfill!

There is nothing in this world, beyond the Word of God, that can make us a holy people in the eyes of God!

*****We should not be amazed that to learn holiness, it must begin in the home.

The very first thing God instituted with humans was the family. A Mother and A Father.

The Bible does not recognize the gay lifestyle as being a family.

There must be a Husband and a Wife!

There must be a Father and A Mother!

God expects “Holiness” to begin at home!

God’s Word has not evolved to mean something else in the days we live in now!

*****God told Israel they must keep the Sabbath. We have already learned that there was no Roman calendar in that day and the Sabbath was every seventh day on the Lunar calendar that Israel used.

In other words the Sabbath did not mean Saturday!

We should also understand that God has some minimums:

1.) God expects the minimum of one seventh of man’s time!

2.) God expects the minimum of one tenth of man’s possessions!

3.) Only after these two conditions are met can it be said we are making an offering to God!

*****The Sabbath is bound up in many ways in the Old Testament:

a.) The Sabbath

b.) The Year of the Sabbath(every seventh year)

c.) The Jubilee(The fiftieth year after seven Jubilees)

It is said that seven is God’s perfect number and this may be true but, the number seven is certainly God’s number of completion in the Bible.

There are over 650 occurences of the number seven and it’s uses(seventh, sevenfold, seventy) in the Bible.

Some examples are:

1.) The word “created” is used seven times in connection with God’s created work.

2.) Aaron and his sons were consecrated seven days before they could be priests.

3.) On the Day of Atonement” the “Blood” was sprinkled seven times on the Mercy Seat.

4.) We should also realize that the Number seven occurs in the Book of Revelation 54 times and “This the Book of Completion in the Bible”.

*****The nation of Israel refused to give God a seventh of their time and most of them hated the Sabbath and the Year of the Sabbath and the Jubilee:

Amo 8:4  Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,
Amo 8:5  Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?
Amo 8:6  That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?
Amo 8:7  The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.

They preferred to keep the poor, poor.
They preferred to treat the Sabbath just like any other day.
They preferred to be able to sell their wares on the Sabbath just like any other day.
They preferred to be deceitful rather than to be honest.
They preferred to treat themselves like they were better than all others in the world.

You would think Amos was writing about America.

*****God told Israel He would never forget this!

Do we actually think God will be any different here in America?

The Lord Jesus Christ told us that all laws could be summed up in two commandments:

Mat 22:37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38  This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

When we obey these two laws:

1.) There will be no room for our meaningless idols.
2.) There will be no room for false worship.
3.) There will no room for the rituals, and pageantry we see in some religions of today.
4.) There will be no room for deviating from the Word of God!

We will worship as a holy people should worship:

Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

*****Our text:

Lev 20:7  Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.
Lev 20:8  And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.

**We must be separated from the world in our “Obedience”!

There are many that say, we cannot sanctify ourselves, we cannot make ourselves holy and this is true.

“Jesus said without Him we can do nothing”(John 15:5)

The word “sanctify” in this verse means, we must separate ourselves from the world.

This is exactly what the Holy Spirit said through the Apostle Paul:

2Co 6:17  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

The Lord will not receive us if we are unholy!

We absolutely cannot take part in the evils of this world and call ourselves the Body of Christ.

Just as every boat will sink if water gets on the inside, the Christian will sink if the world controls their actions.

Also the Church will sink. The Church is like a ship sailing into this world bringing the good cargo of Jesus but the Church will sink if the world is allowed into the ship.

We must separate ourselves from the evil things of this world!

**There are 15 offenses listed in these chapters where capitol punishment was required by God.

Notice verse 1, God was speaking to Moses here. Moses was the government to these children of God. Moses was the Law-Giver!

To Israel “the Law of God was also the Law of the Land”!

We must separate ourselves from all the people that commit these offenses!

This does not mean we should not witness to them, we are all sinners!

*****Lev 20:3 And I will set my face against that man

God is real serious in what He expects of His children!

The Bible says:

1Pe 3:12  For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: [but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil].

If anyone brings these things into the Church, it will defile the Church!

*****Lev 20:6  And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.

God is real serious about separating our selves from false worship!

This is false religion in it’s most evil state!

Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
Rev 13:5  And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
 
Mat 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

There so many “cults” and “isms” and “scisms” in our world today that are promoted by those that are demon possessed.

2Co 11:13  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

We cannot be surprised that there are people, false preachers and teachers in this world that seem to possess powers that seem to be not from this world.

These people will bring death to the unbeliever, and downfall to the Body of Christ!

God said to the nation of Israel, these people must be put to death before they cause eternal death from the face of God.

God’s people are to be holy, set apart from any of these things.

**To commit such things or allow such things without reporting it is committing treason in the Army of God!

All God’s statutes and laws have a serious reason behind them!

Our God is real and what He says is to be taken seriously!

*****Our text:

Lev 20:22  Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out.
Lev 20:23  And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.
Lev 20:24  But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people.
Lev 20:25  Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.
Lev 20:26  And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.
Lev 20:27  A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.

God would put the Canaanites out of this land and give it to Israel because the Canaanites were guilty of all these sins.

God warns Israel that He would do the same to them in verse 23!

God is no respecter of persons even His own children and we should not think other wise!

God later brought Israel into the Babylonian captivity for seventy years because they had not been obedient to His Word.

God tells them in verse 24 that they can only be a separate people if they obey His Word.

This has not changed! We can only  separate our selves from this world by obeying the Holy Word of God, and that only, will make us Holy!

Up to this point God has shown us that He truly hates evil.

We are more tolerant of the evil that goes on around us than God ever has been!

God warns us over and over again to come out from all this evil.

This world defiles and profanes Our Lord Jesus. This is not going to change!

God requires us to sanctify ourselves (be a separated people) and be obedient to Him(obey the Word of God)!

***God gave Israel two reasons to do this:

1.) They were to be different from other nations!

2.) They were owned of God and needed to act like it!

God gives His Church, the Body of Christ, these same to reasons:

1.) God says:

Psa 1:1  Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Psa 1:2  But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Psa 1:3  And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Psa 1:4  The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
Psa 1:5  Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
Psa 1:6  For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

2.) The Church belongs to Our Savior:

1Co 6:20  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

1Pe 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

We owe it to God to be a separated people, after all Our Father is Jehovah God, The Creator of this world!

Gen 1:1 still says:  “In the beginning God”

Let’s have our beginning by serving Our Lord God daily.

Let’s Pray!

Fellowship With God Requires Sacrifice

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Fellowship With God Requires Sacrifice

Text: Book of Leviticus Chapters 1-10

Focus: Chapter 9 and if time allows part of Chapter 10:

Today we will begin a three week study of the Book of Leviticus. This not near enough time to cover this great Book of the Bible.

We know this world we live in today is seeking more about “Happiness” and  not much about Holiness”.

We all want Jesus to solve all our problems and we want Him to carry all our burdens.

BUT We simply do not want Him (Jesus) to control our everyday lives!

But, The truth is, that to be a Holy People is God’s goal for us!

**The Book of Leviticus uses the word “Holy” 91 times.

8 different times, the Bible tells us to be Holy because Our Lord is Holy.

If we want to learn about Holiness then a good place to start would be the Book of Leviticus!

In God’s Heaven, Holiness is not a luxury, IT IS A NECCESSITY!

Any soul that could possibly slip into Heaven unholy, would immediatly perish at the presence of God because GOD IS HOLY!

God tells us we must be Holy!

This is not a request, it as a command! 

It is not for us to decide amongst ourselves!

The Bible commands us in the Book of first Peter:

1Pe 1:15  But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
1Pe 1:16  Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

**God has a plan that will make each one of us holy, if we will trust in Him.

This is called “Faith” and without “Faith we cannot please God.(Hebrews 11:6)

The Book of Leviticus also tells us how to lead clean lives.

The word clean is used 71 times and God uses the word “unclean” 128 times in this one book.

This book may have been written for the Jewish Priest and we must rightly divide the Bible but guess what, every child of God is then a priest if we have “Faith”:

1Pe 2:5  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, [an holy priesthood], to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

1Pe 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, [a royal priesthood], [an holy nation], a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
1Pe 2:10  Which in time past were not a people, [but are now the people of God]: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

There is not a better verse in the Bible that tells us who are the true people of God than this verse!

**God wants us all to be happy but He tells us we will never be happy until we are Holy!

This means as we grow to be more like Jesus our happiness will increase proportionately!

The Apostle Paul tells us:

Act 20:24  But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, [so that I might finish my course with joy], and the ministry, [which I have received of the Lord Jesus], to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

You see, even our joy, and even our happiness, comes from The Lord Jesus Christ!

Believe it or not the Book of Leviticus is referred to in the New Testament at least 100 times.
 
And we know the Bible tells us that:

2Ti 3:16  [All scripture] is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17  [That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works].

This verse could have said “that the true people of God may be perfect, furnished unto good works”.

This describes a Holy People!

We need to study the Book of Leviticus, just as we should study all God’s Word, to know more about Jesus, because we can see Him in this book to a far greater extent than we know.

1.) What does the word Holiness mean:

First, we know that our God, is a God of love and the Bible is God’s “love letter” to all that believe “But” the main emphasis of the Bible is “Holiness” even more than “love”!

We should get one thing straight:

God told Moses:

Exo 33:20  And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

John the Apostle said:

Joh 1:18  ([No man] hath seen God at any time); the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

Any “love” without “the holiness of God” would be harmful to the “body of Christ”!

When we apply this to human beings we should see that:

Holiness is purity of heart!

Holiness is being set apart from those that are lost, in this world we live in!

Holiness is being affectionate toward all, especially toward our brothers and sisters in Christ!

Holiness is moral goodness, Holiness is not having immoral lives!

Holiness is being in love with Christ Jesus!

BUT, Holiness it is “not” the act of being perfect!

We can never be perfect as long as we live in these bodies of flesh!

The word “Holy” as used by Moses means, “that which is set apart”!

We are to live at a higher standard, than we did when we were lost!

The New Testament tells us all:

2Co 6:17  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
2Co 6:18  And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
 
This is an act of Holiness!

This where we begin our walk with the Lord!

If we cannot come out from our old sin nature we had before we were saved then, WE HAVE NOT BEGAN OUR WALK OF HOLINESS, WITH THE LORD!

Just as God is the Holy One of Israel, Our Lord Jesus is the Holy One of the Church!

We begin our walk of holiness when we walk in the shadow of Jesus being “cleansed” from all sin with His Blood!

The Apostle John wrote to us:

1 John 1:7 [But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light], we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

Jesus is our only advocate in Heaven:

1Jn 2:1  My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, [we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous]:
1Jn 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Jesus Christ is our High Priest:

Heb 8:1  Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: [We have such an high priest], who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;

Jesus is our Lawyer, our Advocate in Heaven:

Rom 8:34  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, [who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us].

We see in the Book of Leviticus, only a shadow of what we as Christians will see, in the Bright Light of Jesus our Lord.

As Christians we must know what to be Holy really means!

We must know what it is to be clean!

We must know what it takes to defile us!

Charles Spurgeon a preacher from our past wrote these words:

He said [An unholy church is of no use to the world!]

He said [Hell laughs at the unholy church!]

He said [The church is a nuisance when it is unholy!]

And he said [The worst evil which have ever come upon this world where brought upon it by an unholy church!]

We can see the truth of this everyday. All we have to do is watch the six oclock news and see that so called Christians are doing unholy things!

We just recently witnessed a so called Baptist Church protesting the burial of a fallen soldier. Their signs said “God Hates”.

We know God is a God of Love, so where do they get their doctrine?

Most men of God that preach the truth would confirm that Our God is a God of Love and a God of Holiness even in this day live.

This is what the Word of God is saying!

This is the truth of the Bible!

We live in the “Age of the Laodicean Church” spoken about in the Book of Revelation, and if we open our eyes we can see this is also true!

**Our Sunday School lessons do not go as deep into the Book of Leviticus as we should but we all know we need to study our Bibles.

*****Our Text:

Lev 9:1  And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel;
Lev 9:2  And he said unto Aaron, Take thee a young calf for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the LORD.
Lev 9:3  And unto the children of Israel thou shalt speak, saying, Take ye a kid of the goats for a sin offering; and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, for a burnt offering;
Lev 9:4  Also a bullock and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD; and a meat offering mingled with oil: for to day the LORD will appear unto you.

It should be obvious, as we study the Book of Leviticus, that God is closest to those that are obedient!

We have to offer up our faith in Jesus Christ, to be acceptable to God!

Heb 11:6 says:  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Without our faith we have no sacrifice acceptable to God to offer!

And it should also be obvious, that God does not ordain His priest to be idle!

Aaron and his sons immediately began the priesthood after they were ordained.

The child of God should begin his priesthood immediately after being saved!

Preacher Sam always says, God did not give us the Holy Spirit for our “enjoyment” but He gave us the Holy Spirit for our “employment”.

It is Jesus our Lord that laid out the work we must do:

Mat 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

This does not mean we are all to be foreign missionaries. This means our mission field is the place and the surroundings God has placed us and the family that we love!

Aaron and his sons had obeyed God’s commandments, up to this point, so when the week was over they were ready to serve the Lord at the altar on the eighth day.

To all those that want to pin down Saturday as the day of the Sabbath, this eighth day would be Sunday by the calender that we use.(The Roman Calendar)

In actuality the Jew did not use the Roman calendar until they were forced to by Rome when they were defeated.

The Sabbath was just the seventh day and the next day was just the eighth day BUT it was on the eighth day that Jesus rose out of that grave.

This is why the early church chose Sunday as the day to assemble to worship.

What ever day that has been chosen to assemble is the day we are to be with our brothers and sisters and to worship Our Lord!

But, Every individual is to worship the Lord daily the Church, the Body of Christ, is not to be pinned down to one day of worship!

**Aaron and his sons had to first offer up sacrifices for them selves before they could offer up sacrifices for the children of Israel.

They offered up a bull calf.

Their sin was sent off in a male lamb. (The Scape Goat)

They offered another lamb and a RAM for a burnt offering.

Only After this, could they offer burnt offerings on the altar every morning and every evening.

The Bible says:

Exo 29:39  The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even:

Exo 29:42  This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee.

What we see is that, every day had to begin and end with a total consecration to the Lord!

As New Testament Christians, we should begin our day and end our day with the Lord!

Our sacrifices are our prayers of faith and our bodies, for a living sacrifice,like that (scape goat)!

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

The Lord Jesus only had to give of Himself one time for our sin and His sacrifice is credited for our sin forevermore!

The Bible says:

Heb 7:27  Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.

Jesus is therefore, our eternal High Priest!

If Jesus Christ were on this earth today He would not be our High Priest.

He is our High Priest in Heaven in the Tabernacle not made by hands but made of God.

While Jesus is at the right hand of God, it is the time of the Church Age!

This time will soon end at the “Rapture” of the Church and that will be the end of  the Church Age!

If Jesus were on this earth today He would be King, the King of this World, and a Warrior King to bring peace by “the rod of understanding”!

Pro 10:13  In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.

In Heaven we have a perfect and complete High Priest and because of this He is the author of eternal salvation unto all(whosoever will) that believe on Him!

We come to the Lord empty of righteousness and full of sin!

We hold out our hands and He removes our sin and fills and seals our emptiness with His Holy Spirit!

Aaron and his sons had to offer sacrifices for the people, a goat for sin offering, a calf and a lamb for burnt offerings and also a bull calf and a ram for peace offerings.

God would never sanctify His priest without having a sanctified people!

Israel was to be different and they needed a daily reminder of their sin and how to maintain a continuing relationship with God!

This what those sacrifices were all about!

Today, our High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, by His “grace” has provided a means of sanctification, a way of forgiveness, a way of dedication, and a way of fellowship, to all that believe on the Lord Jesus Christ!

*****Our Text:

Lev 9:5  And they brought that which Moses commanded before the tabernacle of the congregation: and all the congregation drew near and stood before the LORD.
Lev 9:6  And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commanded that ye should do: and the glory of the LORD shall appear unto you.
Lev 9:7  And Moses said unto Aaron, Go unto the altar, and offer thy sin offering, and thy burnt offering, and make an atonement for thyself, and for the people: and offer the offering of the people, and make an atonement for them; as the LORD commanded.
Lev 9:8  Aaron therefore went unto the altar, and slew the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.
Lev 9:9  And the sons of Aaron brought the blood unto him: and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar, and poured out the blood at the bottom of the altar:

What we see is:

1.) Aaron went to the altar and slew the calf for a sin offering for himself.

2.) Aaron’s sons brought the blood to him and he dipped his finger in the blood and put it up on the horns of the altar and poured the remaining out at the bottom of the altar.

3.) The fat and the kidneys and the caul were burnt upon the altar.

[For those that ask, the caul is the membrane in the stomach that separates the stomach from the liver and the intestines].

4.) The flesh and the hide were burnt outside the camp.

In order for God to appear, these things had to be carried out in a precise detail!

The sin offering was made first because we cannot approach God with sin in our hearts!

To be quite honest this is the only part we play in being saved!

We provide God a body of sin, for Him to save!

This is the thing which must be settled first:

Eph 1:7  In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

We should not forget that all the nations that were around Israel at this time also had priests and also made sacrifices.

They also prayed to their gods but they were not seeking salvation, they were only seeking their own  good fortune.

But none of these had never seen the glory of God, in fact they had rejected Him and glorified Him not as God and built idols.

God hates idolatry because it robs Him of the glory that is due Him and it robs God’s people of the blessings that He will share with us.

When Aaron had completed all the sacrifices, he and his sons and the people of Israel were forgiven and wholly dedicated to the Lord being able to have fellowship with Him!

**The lesson we should learn here, is that we must first deal with the sin in our lives before we can dedicate ourselves to the Lord!

The Bible still says:

Psa 66:18  If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

*****Our Text:

Lev 9:15  And he brought the people’s offering, and took the goat, which was the sin offering for the people, and slew it, and offered it for sin, as the first.
Lev 9:16  And he brought the burnt offering, and offered it according to the manner.
Lev 9:17  And he brought the meat offering, and took an handful thereof, and burnt it upon the altar, beside the burnt sacrifice of the morning.
Lev 9:18  He slew also the bullock and the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings, which was for the people: and Aaron’s sons presented unto him the blood, which he sprinkled upon the altar round about,

The ritual for the burnt offering was followed in precise detail, the High Priest had to offer for himself first!

Only then could the sin offering and the burnt offering for the people be presented!

This whole scene is a picture of Christ Jesus and the Cross!

The Prophet Isaiah wrote:

Isa 53:10  Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

The Apostle Paul wrote:

2Co 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

It was Christ Jesus that was the sin offering and He was made sin!

Christ Jesus had all the sin of the entire world pressed down upon Him at one time!

1Pe 2:24  Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
1Pe 2:25  For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

The meal offering followed the regular ritual and the same went for the peace offering.

Aaron [as a type of Christ] and “the advocate” of the nation of Israel, presented these sacrifices before the Lord through the shedding of “blood” of these innocent and unblemished animals.

God accepted these actions for Israel for only one year then it had to be done again.

God blessed Israel when this Day Of Atonement was done properly!

God would not allow the rituals of this day to be done improperly!

That word “Atonement” means that the sin of Israel was covered up, removed from God’s sight.

AND, A true judge will judge innocence, only when there is no evidence of guilt!

Our “Day of Atonement” is the day we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as Our Savior, and for the work He did on the Cross on Calvary’s Mountain!

*****Our Text:

Lev 9:22  And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings.
Lev 9:23  And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people.
Lev 9:24  And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

We see that one of the privileges of the High Priest was to bless the people.

We can know that our own High Priest, Jesus Christ, also considers it a privilege to bless His Church!

**This blessing came immediately after the sacrifices.

Let’s read the blessing as Aaron said it:

Num 6:24  The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
Num 6:25  The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
Num 6:26  The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

And God said:

Num 6:27  And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.

This is a reminder to all that believe that there could have been [no blessings without the Cross and the shed blood of Jesus]!

The Apostle Paul wrote to the beginning Church:

Eph 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Eph 1:7  In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

There was also another blessing which happened along with Moses who was now the Spiritual leader of Israel.

The glory of the Lord appeared to all that were there that day:

The lesson we should learn here is that we must be in fellowship with the Lord before we are a blessing to each other!

Our Lesson does not cover chapter 10 but let’s take the time to look at this “Strange Fire” that caused such a wonderful Day of Atonement to end in tragedy.

*****Our Text:

Lev 10:1  And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not.
Lev 10:2  And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

What we can see is that the holiness of God is set forth at the beginning of the “Age of Law” by this incident.

We can recall a similar incident that showed the holiness of God was set forth at the beginning of the “Church Age” by the incident concerning Ananias and Sapphira in the Book of Acts chapter five.

We must remember our God is Holy and we can never stand before Him if we are not a Holy People!

Our Righteousness that we need to be Holy comes only through the Lord Jesus Christ!

**And we need to understand Our God is not sitting on His throne ready to deny us into His Heaven but He does say in Hebrews:

Heb 12:28  [Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved], let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
Heb 12:29  For our God is a consuming fire.

The Bible also says:

2Co 5:11  Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord,

We should see that we still have to have a godly fear of the Lord!

We need to have a clear understanding of what God says in His Bible!

Heb 12:25  See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
Heb 12:26  Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.

We cannot refuse or reject any part of the Word of God!

1.) These two men Nadad and Abihu had witnessed all these instructions of Moses, yet they did not light the incense with the coals from the Altar, “they did things their own way”.

Remember, this ceremony was the “Day Of Atonement”. This was the only day all year that the High Priest could go inside the Veil of the Holy of Holies.

This was the day when the sacrifices were for the sin of the people and their sin forgiven for that whole year. There would be no blessing to Israel without this “Day of Atonement” until a full year had passed!

What is the “Day Of Atonement” to the Church?

My “day of atonement” was the day I Got Saved!

That word “atonement” still means——At-One-ment or “at one” with Christ!

“At-0ne” with God!

**That Brazen Altar is a “Type” of the Cross.

**That Incense that was to be burnt was a “Type” of the Sinners Prayer.

Lev 16:12  And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail:
Lev 16:13  And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:
Lev 16:14  And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.

1.) The High Priest had to take the Blood of the Sacrifice,(in type,The Lord Jesus’s Blood),
2.) The coals from the Altar, (in type, The burnt flesh of Jesus)
3.) Those were the only coals that could be used to ignite the incense (in type, The Sinners Prayer in the name of Jesus)
4.) Only then could the High Priest go before the veil. (once a year, Jesus would be only sacrificed one time because He can never die again)

The Bible says:

Heb 9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

God will not accept any deviation from His plan of salvation!

Anyone that tries to have their sins forgiven in any other way will perish!

“Nadad and Abihu tried wanted their plan and in their own way”!

THIS IS STRANGE FIRE!

This the Doctrine of “Strange Fire” that is being taught in our world, that there is more than one way to get to God’s Heaven!

Salvation can only come by God’s Way!

2.) The timing of Nadad and Abihu was out of step with the God-given ritual!

**God had consumed what was left on the Altar in a show of fire.

These two boys wanted God to put on another show.

GOD IS NOT ABOUT ENTERTAINMENT!

It is God that sits on the throne and it is He that is in control!

BUT, We cannot make OUR OWN demands on God!

AND, We must be humble in our approached to God!

Before Aaron went inside the veil, he had to remove his beautiful priestly wear and put on some humble linen garments!

3.) When we do not respect the written Word of God and be doers(obedient) of the Word, we then expose ourselves to God’s wrath.

The Bible says to the Church:

1Co 11:30  For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

There is a sin unto death and it is our physical death!

1Jn 5:16  If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.

Every child of God is Not condemned with the lost of this world But, WHEN WE WORSHIP ANY WAY WE THINK IS THE RIGHT WAY  BY, OUR OWN WILL, we will find out that God detest this kind of worship!

We can go boldly to the throne but we better come humbly and with a sincere heart!

There is still a difference in Holy and Unholy!

There is still a difference in Clean and Unclean!

There is still a difference in Godly and Ungodly!

The Apostle Peter wrote:

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

The Bible says the path to those Pearly Gates are narrow and only few will find it!

It is an absolute privilege to be forgiven by God’s Grace!

We have no right to try to change the worship of God into something that is by “by our own will”.

God will not allow us to do this!

There is only one way to worship the Lord!

Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

There can be no “strange fire” in the Church of the Living God!

Anyone that does not preach the entire Word of God as the truth is using “Strange Fire”!

Let’s Pray!