Burnt Offering

Let us read in the first chapter of Ephesians, please, Ephesians and chapter 1. For those of you who are young and studying your Bible, it is a very necessary thing for you when you are going to consider an epistle to read it through and try to find out why is it being written. There has to be a main point of emphasis here. There has got to be something that is in the mind of the Spirit of God and through the pen of the Apostle he is teaching, and all of it is going to circle around the great theme of that book.

When we come to the Ephesian epistle, he is going to tell us in chapter 1. And right in chapter 1, he is laying a platform for the teaching of this book, which is going to become very practical in our lives, as we have been hearing, not only negative but very positive as to the practical character of our life as those who have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. And we are only going to read one verse in chapter 1, and we will get back to the other chapters in a moment or two. Verse 6, please.

In chapter 1, what you are going to find, let me just speak of this for a moment before we read our little verse together, he is going to speak of himself along with the Jews who are saved. He is going to say, we, we, we, we. And then he turns and he says, and you, you Gentiles.

So I can see right away something the Apostle is wanting to do in this epistle is teach us the unity that we have in Christ. And that being the case, the background of Jew, the background of Gentile has to be put away. We are something new, something the world never saw before.

It saw different dispensations of divine government amongst men. But here is a new one, and it's amazing, it's a mystery, something that God kept to himself until the time of the Apostles beginning in chapter 2 of Acts. So that's one of the great things he's wanting to teach them, and the results of that, that we are something that's totally different.

Do you want a title for it, he says? Do you know who we are? We are Christ-like ones, Christians. And being a Christ-like one, that's not a badge, that's a nature. Therefore, to be a character and a reputation, and that's what he's going to deal with in the epistles of the Ephesians.

We're only going to read the one verse here, and then I want to go back with you to the Old Testament for the type that is given to us of this truth. Verse 6, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved, graced us with all the acceptableness of the Beloved. Now go back, please, in your Bible to Leviticus chapter 1. And again, may I say, I hope, helpfully, for those who are studying their Bibles, when you come to the five offerings and sacrifices that we have in the first part of Leviticus, they are not offerings for salvation.

They are for the maintenance of fellowship, and the expression of fellowship of a people who have been redeemed by blood. On the day of atonement, Leviticus 16, there were two goats. One died, his blood was shed, and sprinkled upon the mercy seat, upon the throne, where the presence of God dwelt.

God's righteousness satisfied. The other little goat bore the uncleannesses of the people away, and they watched it taken away. And that's what is spoken of concerning the Lord Jesus in John 1 and 29.

Behold, the taker away of the sin of the world. And that is the answer. But now, there's the experience of life, and it begins with the burnt offering, which is very, very devotional, and it's very costly, and it's very real, and it means something very special to God, because the whole offering was for God.

Save the hide that was taken off, and that was given to the priest that did a lot of the work. So we're going to read a little concerning what it means to be accepted in the beloved, and how that is expressed in the life and fellowship of the person, the believer, who is accepted, graced with all the acceptableness of the beloved. Verse 1 of chapter 1, And the Lord called unto Moses, and spoke unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering... Now notice, first of all, that it is an offering, and that is a very significant point to be made, brethren.

This is something of the man's choice. He is a worshiper, and he's wanting to give expression to the heart of God what he knew would be just for God. He wants God to receive that pleasure.

So he's bringing an offering, and it's costly. As you'll notice in the passage, he's going to bring a bullock. He mentions in that passage, You shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd and the flock, and 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. 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. That's a lovely verse.

I love that. And you know, every time, every day of the week in Israel, twice a day, the priest repeated that statement. When the little lamb was taken as a burnt offering and laid upon the altar in Israel, 6 a.m. in the morning, 6 p.m. in the evening, our time, that's when it would have happened.

And the little lamb is laid on that altar, and he turns, and he says, It shall be accepted for him from God, brethren. There is a man at God's right hand today, and he is our acceptance. We are accepted in him.

Now, that's the beginning of this very beautiful offering. It means so much more to God than we can comprehend, but it is giving as an offering. This man is bringing it as an offering to God, and he lays his hand upon it.

Let me digress just for a moment again. I know I'm not going until 5 o'clock, just 4.30. Don't get scared. But anyway, there were three ways that they laid their hands upon the offerings, and that was very significant.

God required them to lay their hand on the head of the offering. On the burnt offering, they leaned on it. They were giving expression to the fact, I'm totally dependent upon this beast.

It shall be accepted for him. Ah, brethren, what a precious opportunity it is for us as worshipers to lay our hands upon the head of our beloved Lord and lean on it. Let God see we appreciate that we have an acceptance in the Lord Jesus.

We do not have the ability to comprehend its fullness, but you, young sister, and you, young brother, have the same acceptance as the older brother and the older sisters. It's the same. You're precious to him, dear sister.

You don't grow into preciousness. You are accepted in the prophet. I hope that will bother your heart.

And you'll lay your hands on his head before you go to bed tonight and lean hard, brethren. Tell God the appreciation of your heart for your acceptance in the beloved. And notice what he's going to do with it in verse 6. And he shall flay the burnt offering and cut it into his pieces.

And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall put fire upon the altar and lay the wood in order upon the fire. And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the pots, the head and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar. But as inwards in his legs shall he wash in water, and the priests shall burn all on the altar to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire of a sweet savor unto the Lord.

Now you can see the picture has changed. Now we see the animal and it's cut into pieces. And we're going to ask the priest and the high priest, why are you cutting this into pieces? Why not just offer the whole animal? That's what they did, of course, with the lamb in the first thing in the morning.

But this is the offering that is brought by the worshipper. So, dear brother, younger brother, you've got to learn how to handle this animal. Younger sister, God wants you to take a good look at the head, and the fat, and the heart, and the legs of this animal.

Because that's what you are offering unto him, because of your acceptance. That's a marvelous thing that God is accepting from our hands, our appreciation of the person of the Lord Jesus, and our acceptance in him, what it means to me, and what it means to him. And I hope that, well, I'm going to turn you back to Ephesians now, if you will look back again in that epistle, and you will read a few verses in chapter 3 and chapter 4. Because, don't forget, this animal that is brought to God as an offering is not in order for the man to be saved.

It's an appreciation of his acceptance in the Lord Jesus, and as he looks at that animal, he's looking, first of all, brethren, if you had eyes to see, had a comprehension of it, I don't know how many Israelites did, but you have. God wants you to see the Lord Jesus in it. And as you see that, that's what he's looking for you to bring to the altar of yourself.

That's Romans chapter 12. That's what leads us up to Romans 12. In the epistle to the Romans from chapter 4 onward, he's beginning to take a hold of us by grace.

And he's going to develop us until we come to chapter 12. And what does he do in chapter 12? I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, an act of worship. And that's what we have in this passage.

Let's look at the, in chapter 3, if you will, please, of Ephesians. And we'll look, first of all, at the heart. We read about the inward, the heart and the legs.

We read about the fat. Fat, of course, is the energy and the motivation. That's the character of it, to be seen by typology.

And the head, of course, is the mind. Now look in verse 16. That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.

Verse 1 of the next chapter. I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Look over to verse 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. Verse 1 of chapter 5 reads, Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children 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 sweet-smelling savour. That's the burnt offering.

So in chapter 1 we have it shall be accepted for him and in chapter 5 we have the parts of the offering giving pleasure to God. Now dear brethren and dear sisters, we've been hearing much truth today. We've been hearing statements regarding what people believe and what we should be occupied with in our lives.

But let me say kindly to you, you've got to get to know the heart of the Lord Jesus. You've got to look at his mind. You've got to take a good solid study of his feet.

How he walked, where he walked, when he was active and the activities of his energy, the constancy of it, the consistency of his pathway. You've got to take a good look at that because that's what's going to help you to bring yourself in your prayer unto him to the altar and be able to say from the depth of your heart All for Jesus. All for Jesus.

All my being's ransomed powers. That's the burnt offering. Now let us go back in our thinking and look back to chapter 1 of Leviticus.

Let me ask you dear younger brethren and you younger sisters as well as the older ones. I don't address the older ones too much because I'm old myself and I don't want to think about it like this. But I'm not young anymore.

I like that better. It sounds better. The reason I'm not leaving you out is because you have learned these truths and what the younger brethren and sisters are doing are watching you.

Are you still coming to the altar? That's where you begin dear younger brother and sister. Not just once forever but every time you worship. God wants you to be occupied like that man.

He's bringing his offering. Three things are said about his attitude when he brings his offering. You notice in chapter 1 the word offering.

We're going to notice the meaning of that word. The idea of the offering there is take it Lord and I won't take it back. It's entirely given.

It's the same thought that's used about the wave breast and the heave shoulder. And it's just giving the expression that it's entirely for God. It's going to be to his pleasure.

It's for thy pleasure oh God. Oh brethren. May that be the breath of our souls.

May it be the very attitude of our manners as we've been hearing about manners very much today. This is the motivation to generate it. To be able to see it's all for God.

I didn't go to meeting because of how it pleases me. I'm going to go to meeting to please him. That's the difference.

He is to have the forefront, the preeminence in all things. The second word that I want you to notice is he's bringing it of his own voluntary will. Now you'll have to change that word voluntary just a little for the idea really means that he's bringing it because he knows he should.

He's got to bring this. I've got to bring an offering for God. Not compelled but he must because of who God is.

That's the idea of the offering. So the voluntary nature of it is it's a must to my heart. God must have this offering.

So with my life. So with your life brethren, sisters. In your business, in your schooling, in your home dear younger mother, with those dear children be sure you pray Jesus loves me this I know into that tender little heart.

Even before they understand what it means, let the seeds be sown. The reality of understanding that it's got to be for God entirely. The third word that's used there is the word bringeth.

If he's going to bring from. And that word there means he's making a choice. Not so much, well he'll make a choice of whether he's going to bring a bullock or a ram.

But he's making a choice among the bullocks and among the rams. What's he looking for? He's looking for the ram or the bullock. That he would say to himself, I'd truly like to keep that boy.

I want him to sire others. I want others like him. That's it brethren.

That which is the person of our Lord Jesus is incomparable. There is none like him. And that is what God wants us to be occupied with.

The wonders of the singular honors that belong to my Redeemer, who bled and died upon a wooden tree for an unworthy sinner. That's why I bring the offering, the boat offering for I am graced with all the acceptableness of his beloved. And therefore he is bringing this offering.

Now in that picture we have three people. We have a worshiper, a Levite, and a priest. And actually as we look at those types you and I, we are the worshiper, and we are the Levite, and we are the priest.

We're born into the priestly family. We're born into the heretical tribe. We are Levites, we are priests, and we are worshippers.

So each of the characteristics that you're going to be seeing of the man that brings, he's bringing from his heart. He has made a choice, and he's giving it with gladness. It's got to be just for God's pleasure.

Then the Levite, he makes the choices. He gets out a knife. He knows how to cut that animal.

He knows how to separate the parts. And brethren, that's what happens when we read the Holy Scriptures. That's what happens when we're reading divine truth.

It teaches us the principles. Take for example the very commonly commonly read passage in Philippians Chapter 2. We're going to be studying this week in the Bible readings. Philippians Chapter 2. Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus.

Now that's not just a random statement. The first four verses of that chapter is a mind that needs a change. It needs refocusing.

And that's where you get the right focus. Look upon the mind of the Lord Jesus. That's what we read in the Ephesian Epistle that you may be able to comprehend.

Two things. Comprehend what it means, this mystery. Now that doesn't mean mysterious.

The mystery is you have acceptance in the beloved. All believers of equal value and of equal preciousness unto God. Get a hold of that.

That's what helps create the unity. And he says whatever you do make sure you don't let anything disrupt that unity when it comes between you and other believers. It was made by the Spirit.

You maintain it. But then he speaks as well in Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 let me just close noticing with you the other parts. When it comes to not only the head but it comes to the fact that goes with the head that's the two.

Our energy our motives and as we read in that passage we read concerning the effectiveness of that. That you will strive. That you will keep.

He uses that word three times. That you're going to keep it. Hang on to it.

Guard it. Don't let it slip away. Make sure that you're offering and you're bringing unto your God it's going to be consistent in your life.

It's not just a one time. Not just a conference weekend. But it's going to be an offering of worship unto the Lord Jesus.

Unto the Father. Because of what you have and are in Him. And he speaks of the legs.

The walk. Now the idea for a walk is very comprehensive as you know. It's behavior.

Now he says don't behave like the Gentiles. Now he's saying that to Jews and of course they don't like the Gentiles anyway. They look upon the Gentiles and say oh rascals they didn't even have a Bible.

What do they know about anything? We're the people with the Bible. Now he says look. You've got to get away from that.

That's what I told you you should comprehend. They're equal to you. You're the same Bible.

And don't forget that brother. You are no better than anyone else. There's no one superior to another amongst God's people.

Some are gifted in different ways than others. Just like members of your body. Every one of you are essential.

Every one of you can be of use and will be and God wants you to realize in your behavior be like the Lord Jesus. So what did he do? He came to the altar and he offered himself unto God a sacrifice. Now the word sacrifice is different than offering.

Offering is the presentation. And the real offering sacrifice is the knife and the blood and the altar an identity that's lost. An identity that is linked with the altar of Calvary.

You have a new identity brethren and sisters. God help us to appreciate acceptance but to look at the details of our blessed Lord and I trust it will help us to understand the greatest privilege of my life is to be able to give to God a likeness to the Lord Jesus because of what he has been given to me.