SERMON: BLOODY MESS
INTRODUCTION: Sin Offering Act as though the High Priest training others preists: Lev 4:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD [concerning things] which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them: 3 (the priest that is anointed . . .according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for . . . sin, . . ., a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering. 4 And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD; and shall lay (the hand of the transgressor) upon the bullock's head, and kill the bullock before the LORD. 5 And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock's blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation: 6 And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, before the vail of the sanctuary. 7 And the priest shall put [some] of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which [is] in the tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which [is at] the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 8 And he shall take off from it all the fat of the bullock for the sin offering; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that [is] upon the inwards, 9 And the two kidneys, and the fat that [is] upon them, which [is] by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away, 10 As it was taken off from the bullock of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall burn them upon the altar of the burnt offering. 11 And the skin of the bullock, and all his flesh, with his head, and with his legs, and his inwards, and his dung, 12 Even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn him on the wood with fire: where the ashes are poured out shall he be burnt. TRANSITIONAL-STATEMENT: How would you have liked this occupation? Well, guess what? You do! You are called to visit this sacrificial significance everyday! You called to be a part of this bloody mess!! Offering Options Le 1:3 If his offering [be] a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD. 4 And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. 5 And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that [is by] the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 6 And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces. 7 And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire: 8 And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that [is] on the fire which [is] upon the altar: 9 But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, [to be] a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD. 10 And if his offering [be] of the flocks, [namely], of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish. 11 And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar. 12 And he shall cut it into his pieces, with his head and his fat: and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that [is] on the fire which [is] upon the altar: 13 But he shall wash the inwards and the legs with water: and the priest shall bring [it] all, and burn [it] upon the altar: it [is] a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD. 14 And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the LORD [be] of fowls, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves, or of young pigeons. 15 And the priest shall bring it unto the altar, and wring off his head, and burn [it] on the altar; and the blood thereof shall be wrung out at the side of the altar: 16 And he shall pluck away his crop with his feathers, and cast it beside the altar on the east part, by the place of the ashes: 17 And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, [but] shall not divide [it] asunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that [is] upon the fire: it [is] a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD. Regardless of the options, it was gross. It was a bloody mess! The offering up of sacrifices is to be regarded as a divine institution. It did not originate with man. God himself appointed it as the mode in which acceptable worship was to be offered to him by guilty man. The language and the idea of sacrifice pervade the whole Bible. Sacrifices were offered in the ante-diluvian age. The Lord clothed Adam and Eve with the skins of animals, which in all probability had been offered in sacrifice (Gen. 3:21). Abel offered a sacrifice "of the firstlings of his flock" (4:4; Heb. 11:4). A distinction also was made between clean and unclean animals, which there is every reason to believe had reference to the offering up of sacrifices (Gen. 7:2, 8), because animals were not given to man as food till after the Flood. The same practice is continued down through the patriarchal age (Gen. 8:20; 12:7; 13:4, 18; 15:9-11; 22:1-18, etc.). In the Mosaic period of Old Testament history definite laws were prescribed by God regarding the different kinds of sacrifices that were to be offered and the manner in which the offering was to be made. The offering of stated sacrifices became indeed a prominent and distinctive feature of the whole period (Ex. 12:3-27; Lev. 23:5-8; Num. 9:2-14). Sacrifices were of two kinds: 1. Unbloody, such as (1) first-fruits and tithes; (2) meat and drink-offerings; and (3) incense. 2. Bloody, such as (1) burnt-offerings; (2) peace-offerings; and (3) sin and trespass offerings. As I have reflected on the chapter as a whole, two impressions predominate. The first is that this is a very bloody chapter. The one topic which overshadows the chapter is the proper practice of the Israelites as pertains to the handling of blood. The blood of the sacrificial animals must be sprinkled on the altar of burnt offering by the priest. The blood (implied) of all other sacrifices must not be poured out anywhere other than the altar. Church was a bloody mess! The blood of no animal can be eaten, and since the blood of an animal not slaughtered by man is not poured out properly, eating the meat of this animal makes the person unclean and requires washing. You would be ever reminded and impressed upon the terribleness of sin. The second impression is that penalties prescribed are “tough.” Any violation of these regulations brings very severe consequences. Think through the chapter with me and see what I mean. The transgression in most of these violations is identified as “bloodguiltiness”89 . This is the expression which is used of murder. Thus, the consequences for such a violation can be expected to be serious. Failing to slaughter a domestic “sacrificial” animal as a fellowship offering at the tent of meeting brought the sentence of being “cut off” from his people as did offering a sacrifice anywhere other than at the tent of meeting or eating. Being “cut off” meant death. As if matters could not get worse, there is something about the punishment which is even more frightening. The violation of some of these “blood” regulations brings the direct involvement of God in the matter: “‘And any man from the house of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people’” (Lev. 17:10). It is bad enough to think of suffering some natural consequences for sin. It is even worse to have to face your countrymen. But when God promises to “set His face against” the violator so as to personally “cut him off,” that is a most sobering thought. You would truly have the fear of God in sin. The impact of these regulations of The wrath of the omnipotent and omniscient God being directed particularly at yourself of all people, and being certain to strike at you with unforeseeable force and intensity any day of the year and any minute of the hour, was a load too heavy for a believer to bear. But what was the impact of these regulations intended to be? What was God trying to accomplish in the lives of His people by their obedience to these regulations? Negatively, they must have created a sense of ominous danger, for a failure here could well be fatal. Keeping these regulations (and who would dare to violate them?) would, of necessity, keep the Israelite from sinning. It would also greatly restrict the Israelite’s social intercourse with the compromising, and not observing such scruples regarding blood. These regulations are the basis for the Jews’ practice of eating only Kosher foods, that is meat which is killed in such a way as to comply with the blood-draining requirements of the Law. The greatest significance of these blood regulations was in their declaration of the preciousness of blood,due to the interrelationship between life and blood, and consequently the preparation of the Israelites for the atoning work of Messiah in a day yet to come. It is only in the light of the death of Christ that the significance of these blood regulations can really be grasped. Blood-guiltness is due all mankind! We have made God’s creation a bloody mess! COMMUNION Lev 5:1 And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and [is] a witness, whether he hath seen or known [of it]; if he do not utter [it], then he shall bear his iniquity. 2 Or if a soul touch any unclean thing, whether [it be] a carcase of an unclean beast, or a carcase of unclean cattle, or the carcase of unclean creeping things, and [if] it be hidden from him; he also shall be unclean, and guilty. 3 Or if he touch the uncleanness of man, whatsoever uncleanness [it be] that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth [of it], then he shall be guilty. 4 Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with [his] lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever [it be] that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth [of it], then he shall be guilty in one of these. This is about being connected to sin, not actually sinning. We need to keep clear of evil surroundings influence, and we need to keep repentance alive and well in our lives. As well as intercession for one another!! Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21 And [having] an high priest over the house of God; 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. 23 Let us hold fast the profession of [our] faith without wavering; (for he [is] faithful that promised;) 24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some [is]; but exhorting [one another]: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. 26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, This connects our fellowship with keeping from evil/backsliding!! Blood of Jesus has made us family under God our Father. We need to, as a family, be there for each other! The blood of Jesus not only makes peace between God and man, but is proven now by making peace between His children! Communion is not only for us with God, but with each other! A friend I knew in Calgary was someone I wouldn’t have hung with without the Lord. When he left I remember telling him ‘In the world we wouldn’t have even been friends, but in the Lord we are brothers”! Let the Bloody Mess of repentance keep you close to your family, it is a reason He died! SHADOWS Heb 9:9 (The O.T.) [was] a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; We learn from the Epistle to the Hebrews that sacrifices had in themselves no value or efficacy. They were only the "shadow of good things to come," and pointed the worshippers forward to the coming of the great High Priest, who, in the fullness of the time, "was offered once for all to bear the sin of many." Sacrifices belonged to a temporary economy, to a system of types and emblems which served their purposes and have now passed away. The "one sacrifice for sins" hath "perfected for ever them that are sanctified." 10 [Which stood] only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed [on them] until the time of reformation. 11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption [for us]. 13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? All that bloody mess in the O.T. was to temporarily sustain grace until God’s plan was ready. It was to be example of sin’s horror and consequence. Christ has fulfilled what those animals could never. And we are benefiting from Him and will forever! He is the light that shines past the shadows of the O.T., and is the light that delivers us from all our shadows!! Heb 9:21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. Heb 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission of sins. 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. For us to be having church today, never mind communion, this alter should be a bloody mess. So as to purify it from our sins and satisfy God’s justice! For Sin not only angers God and deprives him of his due, it also makes his sanctuary unclean. A holy God cannot dwell amid uncleanness. The purification offering purifies the place of worship, so that God may be present among his people. This explains the rituals of blood sprinkling. Hebrews10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, [and] not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. . .4 For [it is] not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. . . 8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and [offering] for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure [therein]; which are offered by the law; 9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. 10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once [for all]. The sacrificial system would have come to end eventually for it could only satisfy the covering of sins in the flesh, in living people. It could not cover them in the spirit or in death. So all the world would have been doomed if it was not for the One who could deliver eternal forgiveness. But He had to obedient as a Lamb for slaughter!! CONCLUSION:REPENTANCE Repentance means to have a revelation of wrong in you and a heratfelt zealous desire to change it to God and holiness. Literally: to turn from. Sin! It brings agonizing sorrow over sins consequences to you, others, and God and relates the fear of God’s justice. That was the reason for the O.T. sacrificial system. Let me ask you if the O.T. system is disturbing to you? Was it horrible? Was it fearful? Would repentance have reality? How many glad we don’t need it now? So tell me is sin still that way? Does your sin disturb you as much? Is it as horrible and fearful? How sincere is your repentance? Saying sorry doesn’t cut it. Repentance is our key to valuing God, His Son’s sacrifice and our relation to each other. Let sins consequences dig in so you truly repent and turn to God fully. Let sorrow in and hope as well. Matt5:4 Blessed are those that mourn for they shall be comforted . Mourn for your sin and God will comfort with victory! Heb 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission of sins. When you think of sin, especially your sin, think of Jesus and the bloody mess He was for you!! Today is Communion - Let your repentance be this deep and evaluating, let God shine in those dark crevices. Ask Him to help you to truly repent and see sin as He does. See it as awful as the O.T. sacrifices portrayed, and Christ’s does as well. Cry your way to victory over sin!! Let Christ’s bloody mess clean up yours!You are called to visit this sacrificial significance everyday! Your called to be a part of this bloody mess!!
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