Sacrifices

INTRODUCTION

Good morning, family! I’m Andrew one of the pastors here and I'm excited to dive into the Word with you today. Family and friends, joining us online. Welcome. Happy Birthday Dad, the first man who taught me how to be a pastor.

Today, we are kicking off the next sermon series on Leviticus as we go through the bigger sermon series of the entire bible.

Before I get into the sermon I want to remind everyone we have a great reading plan/study guide to go with the series (shameless plug) on the app (also have copies), and feel free to bring up any questions to me, pastor David, or even your small group leader (great resource for you).

So today I am covering Leviticus 1-7. The passage of scripture that we will be focusing on today comes from [Leviticus 1:1-9] So if you could please stand for the reading of God’s word. (As this is one of the ways we practice our house habit here that “participation is better than observation”)

When Sabrina and I first got married, everything was PERFECT!. Ok, Sabrina was perfect, but God had to do some work on me. No in all seriousness we were both a hot mess. We would argue about the simplest and stupidest of things. Because we were two people becoming one.

One of those arguments came from what was being prepared for dinner. I grew up with my momma making three meals a day you come home from school open the fridge (not that we gone do anything in there) and say “Ma whats for dinner?” And she was always going to say something and it was going to have three parts to it. A meat, a starch, and a vegetable.

Well I married a Puerto Rican woman, and the meat was Chicken, the starch and vegetables was rice and beans.

Sabrina made chicken a thousand different ways but the sides never changed rice and beans. Now DONT me wrong the food is delicious. But I was getting tired of the rice and beans. So one day I said babe why dont you fix a vegetable with dinner like my moma….. (Uh Oh)

Newly married people and people hoping to get married dont compare your spouse to your parent. Wrong thing to say, NEEDLESS to say I created alot of hurt, missed some unspoken expectations, and it created a long night of arguing.

For us this was one of many areas where we hadn't stated the ground rules/ expectations yet for what our marriage would look like.

And just like I assumed Sabrina knew my expectations, Israel assumed they knew how to relate to God. But God doesn’t leave His people guessing—He lays out exactly how they are to worship Him.

After God rescues his people out of Egypt they sinned in the wilderness. But what does God do? He invites them to meet with Him, in spite of their sin. (Thats a different thought of God who we think is always casting us off)

While God speaking to Moses about plans for a tabernacle so he could dwell amongst his people (as we talked about last week); guess what those same people were doing at the foot of the mountain where they were supposed to meet God. You guessed it - committing sin and worshipping something else.

BUT God doesnt stop trying to dwell with his people so he commands Moses to finish the tabernacle. In the last verses of Exodus after Moses finished constructing the tabernacle, Moses was left standing outside the Tent, which had been engulfed by the glory of God. This is where we pick up with Leviticus.

Where a Holy God has created a mechanism and vehicle for him to dwell amongst his people who seem bent on going the opposite way.

So God begins to give the guidelines for his people to come into his Holy presence. The sacrificial system which would become the invitation for people to meet with Him. (God wont change for he is holy) but we need to change.

So to help us explore this idea i have 3 points: (1)Sin is Serious, (2) Sacrifice is Necessary, and (3) Jesus is our Atonement

Sin is Serious

If you have ever tried to read through the bible, you often times get stuck and stop at the book of Leviticus, because we go from incredible stories and excitement to instructions and rules and you guess the it the emphasis on our sin.

And it would be reasonable to ask if God really wants to dwell with us, why ALL the rules, whats the big deal?

The big deal is Sin. Disclaimer: If you are new here, I am going to say “sin” alot today. Probably break the record on the amount of times we have said sin in a sermon, but promise me you want tune out. Promise me that you will stay with me to the end.

Because I believe if you take this journey with me there is good news for us all in this sermon.

So If you are uncomfortable about the word, you should be. Truth is none of us should be comfortable with sin.

Sin is any action, thought, or disposition that violates God's holiness and breaks our relationship with Him. It is both an offense against God's righteousness and a rebellion against His authority, and (guess what) it leads to death

Sin is not about our preference and what we think is bad its about God’s standard and what he has said is bad.

Now every sin—great or small—has deadly consequences.

It puts us in debt to God for violating his covenantal agreement. But just like unpaid debt—it doesn’t just disappear because we ignore it. Sin works the same way. It needs to be dealt with.

And I believe this is why God built in “fail safe” to not only draw us back to him but to deal with it. A check engine light (if you will) to let you know the car needs maintenance. A mechanism to kick in when we go astray.

And that mechanism is guilt. The thing that we feel when we know we have done bad.

Romans 2:14-15 says this 14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them

And I believe this is what kicked in when Adam and Eve sinned, they knew they had messed up, they felt the guilt of breaking God’s law. But instead of taking themselves back to God the manufacturer, who could have fixed them up, they tried to solve the issue themselves.

They tried to cover up their actions. But God doesnt want to just put a rug over the dirty spot; he is looking to clean it completely.

When we first moved into the house we live in now, we were just beginning to enjoy the space - you know getting comfortable in it.

Well about a month in I go into the basement and it looked like a tornado and run through it. So its a new house what do I make the boys do - clean up.

And this time I’m managing it because they clearly arnt living up to my standard of clean. So I move the toy bins from the wall, so they can clean under stuff and not just around it. AND low and behold what do I see in the wall of my new house? A hole. (Ready to kill my children they was going to be sacrificed that day - im sending them back to you lord)

Come to find out my boys had kicked a hole in my wall in the first week of being in the house, but didnt tell me because they were afraid they were going to get in trouble. So they hid what they done, but it didnt fix what they had done.

Similarly This is why we need God’s solution—because our own efforts fail to take care of severity of sin.

This is why we need atonement - because God is Holy (completely set apart). Completely distinct from sin and darkness (for God is light and in him their is no darkness at all - 1 John 1:5-7)

Atonement removes the guilt of sin, restores the broken relationship between humanity and God, and satisfies God’s divine justice against sin.

The only way to get completely cleaned is through God’s atonement.

Sacrifice is Necessary

In the Old Testament atonement was made through the sacrificial system outlined in chapters 1-7 of Leviticus.

Each of the sacrifice reflects an essential truth about our worship of God and His atonement:

NOW because sin isn’t one-dimensional—it affects our devotion, our gratitude, our relationships - our need for forgiveness had to be multi-dimensional.

Each offering wasn’t just a random ritual. It pointed to a spiritual need—that needed to be made right with God in every part of life.

Ok Ps. Andrew the multifaceted part of our life makes sense, BUT Why did the sacrificial system involve death? (that seems agressive)

First of all, from the beginning of creation God laid down a universal and unalterable truth—sin leads to death. God said to Adam and Eve about the forbiden fruit (before the first sin was committed.) in (Gen 2:17)“On the day you eat from it, you will certainly die” . Proving that Sin/ OR rebellion against God leads to death—not sometimes, but every time.

The sacrificial system that was instituted in Leviticus was to visibly demonstrate sin’s seriousness and the need for substitution.

So lets get into each of the sacrifices briefly

The First Offering - THE BURNT OFFERING

This is the one we are going to spend the most time on because all of the other sacrifices build off of this one.

This sacrifice Symbolized Complete Surrender and Devotion to God

Leviticus 1:9 says 9 but its entrails and its legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall burn ALL OF IT on the altar, as a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

Nothing was supposed to be left in this offering. Everything means everything/ completely.

The burnt offering was a whole animal sacrifice, entirely consumed by fire, representing the complete surrender of the person offering it to God.

It was a sign of devotion, acknowledging God’s holiness and the worshiper's need for reconciliation.

It was a sign of FULL SURRENDER!!!!

Our struggle is not giving up stuff its about giving up ALL of the stuff.

You see the burnt offering WASN’T half of the animal. It WASN’T most of the animal. It was the WHOLE THING, fully consumed by fire.

That’s the picture of true devotion—not pieces of surrender, but COMPLETE SURRENDER.

Family its time to surrender God. And if you’re serious about change, if you’re serious about transformation, you can’t keep playing around with it.

You can’t negotiate with sin. You can’t say, ‘I’ll just cut back’ when God is calling you to cut it off.

Because here’s the truth: Whatever you don’t surrender will control you. And whatever you hold back from God, the enemy will use against you.

We say we have given something to God, but if we’re honest… we still have a grip on it. We lay it on the altar, but the moment things get uncomfortable, we try to pull it back.

Some of us are struggling to move forward in life because we are still chained to unforgiveness. The person who hurt you has moved on with their life.

But you’re still replaying the pain, holding onto bitterness, and calling it 'justice' when really, it’s a prison of your own making. If thats you hear this: forgiveness isn’t for them—it’s for you.

Some of us feel stressed and unfulfilled at work because we’ve attached our peace to things we can’t control. The company is making changes to the staff, your boss is difficult, the workload increased—but you can’t change a thing about what’s happening to you. So why are you still trying to carry it?

The offering fixes this problem. Because once you offer it to God, it’s gone forever. The fire consumes it completely. What if we lived like that? What if we stopped taking back control of what we surrendered and left it in God’s hands?

What if you offered your plans to God as a burnt offering?

What if you offered your financial security, and trusting in his provision instead of where your next paycheck would come from?

What would happen if the people of God actually surrendered their bodies like Romans 12:1 calls us to? (where it literally says present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God)

Woah now, Pastor—let’s not get too hasty! (lets take to literal what the bible says)

But really—what if?

What if we started each day praying, ‘Lord, not my will, but Yours be done today’?

What if we made choices based on God’s priorities, not just our own convenience?

What if we surrendered what we consume—on social media, TV, and conversations—and instead asked, ‘Does this glorify God in my body?’

If we lived like that, we wouldn’t just talk about worship. We wouldn’t just attend worship. Our lives would become worship.

So my question to you is: What’s still on the altar that you keep trying to take back? (relationship, financial security, protection) What’s God asking you to fully surrender today?" Whatever it is “Let Go and Let God”

The 2nd Offering - THE GRAIN OFFERING

The grain offering was an act of thanksgiving and tribute to God for His provision. It symbolized a person’s dedication of their labor (the first fruits of the earth) to God.

Now firstfruits is risky business. I don't know about yall, but when I first started giving, it felt like my sacrifice was greater than the people in the bible. Like God dont you know if I give this money, I want have nothing left over.

But the OT people had similar worries. Worshipers gave the first of their harvest even before seeing what the rest of the harvest would yield.

This could be considered risky because the land might not yield much more produce, OR ol’ bessie might not give birth again.

The principal of the firstfruit was to teach us ALL to trust God with our resources NOT ourselves.

So are we giving God our best, OR are we just giving what’s convenient or what we feel comfortable with?

I believe many of us need to lean into the principle of the grain offering. To put more trust in the Lord.

Like Jessica preached during the giving series, that we need to trust him that when we give its not going to run out. (To Trust Him) That God can provide for me better than I can provide for me. (To Trust Him) That if I take this step of faith, he wont let me fall.

Now I know I have been super serious in this sermon, because sin is serious, But on a funnier note, I love the description of this offering, because I believe it reveals something about a funnier aspect of who God is. Heres what I mean by that.

God likes to enjoy good food. He literally says DONT bring me no food that aint been seasoned. He said AND use the best ingredients, make sure you put some salt on that thing, put some frankincense on it, and dip it in some Oil.

Now there was a reason for the Salt other than flavor.

Salt was to always be included in sacrifices because:

It was pure (salt stays pure as a chemical compound).

It was enduring (salt keeps things preserved and endures).

It was valuable (salt was expensive).

Therefore our worship should be pure and life-giving, not selfish and corrupted by sin.

So lets go to 3rd offering- THE PEACE (FELLOWSHIP) OFFERING

The peace offering was made to celebrate and restore fellowship with God.

It was a shared meal, a symbol of restored fellowship between the worshiper, the priest, and God.

It pointed to something greater; which is the reconciliation that the gospel brings. THAT Through Christ, we have been reconciled to God, but that reconciliation doesn’t stop there—it extends to our relationships with others.

True worship isn’t just about lifting our hands to God—it’s about extending them in peace toward others.

The fourth Offering was The Sin Offering.

The sin offering was made to atone for unintentional sins. The blood of the animal covered the sin and removed the barrier between the people and God, restoring fellowship.

Again its not just the big sins that separate us from God like murder and stealing, but anything that rebels against the way of the Lord.

Its for your “God you gone have to forgive me tonight because she looks too good not to” and “God forgive me because she finna learn today try Jesus and not me because I throw hands”

But also for the four letter words we let slip when get cut off in traffic or hit our toe. God takes all sin seriously. BUT Are we taking our own sin seriously?

Heres are a couple of ways we excuse our sin:

Number 1- Comparing Ourselves to Others

One of the easiest ways to dismiss sin is to say (“At least I’m not as bad as them.”)

In Luke 18:9-14 – The Pharisee (religous expert) justified himself by looking down on the tax collector (sinner), but Jesus said the humble tax collector who was justified in his eyes.

God doesn’t grade on a curve—He calls us to His standard, not our own. So instead of looking down on other people’s sin pray: “God, reveal where I need to repent.”

Thats why the church has lost alot of its say becuase we are so busy pointing out the sins in others that we can see, but REFUSE the address the sins inside the church we dont wont nobody to see.

2nd way we excuse sin is- Thinking Our Sin Only Affects Us (“It’s my life; it’s not hurting anyone else.”)

BUT King David’s private sin with Bathsheba led to death and destruction in his family.

Even hidden sin affects your walk with God, your family, and your church.

Family, Repent and remove hidden sin before it grows into something greater.

The 3rd way is Justifying It as a Weakness

We excuse sin by saying, “That’s just how I am.”; “I just have a temper.”; “I’ve always struggled with porn.”

To say “This is just who I am” is to reject the who God says you are AND denies the power of the Holy Spirit to transform AND change you. (Romans 6:6-7 – We are no longer slaves to sin but called to new life in Christ.)

Because Jesus didn’t come to affirm our sin nature —He came to transform our sin nature.

✅ Ask yourself: What areas of your life have you excused as unchangeable? What areas of your life have you said this is just how I am?

Now as you might have noticed through the Sin Offering section, Confession and Repentance is a crucial part of atonement (you can see this in Leviticus 5:5).

Why? Because acknowledging sin is the first step toward dealing with it."

We often want to skip over confession and jump straight to forgiveness, but there’s power in admitting, ‘I was wrong.’ For 1 John 1:8-10 says

8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

True atonement requires us to acknowledge and confess our sins to God and allow him to make us right again.

Now The fifth offering was THE GUILT OFFERING

The guilt offering was made to address specific wrongs where there was an offense against God or others. It dealt with situations involving defilement or when someone had violated sacred property or had wronged another person.

The worshipers in this offering were required to make restitution if the offense involved a wrong to another person, paying back up to 120% of the value that what was taken or damaged.

BUT the reality is that none of us can afford to pay the price for our sin, without the intervention of God himself.

If we were to look at the sin in our life, some of us would be flat out broke from trying to pay it back, BUT GOD.

One last thing about the sacrifices; The worshipers in these rituals would have to lay their hands on the animal, identifying with it before they killed it.

REMINDING them that atonement requires personal identification with the substitute—just as we must personally receive Jesus atonement.

Imagine watching an animal die in your place that you just placed your hand on—wouldn’t that change how you see your sin?

Imagine watching Jesus die in your place for every sin you have ever committed and ever will - shouldn't that change how you see your sin?

The Sacrifices were not about religious rituals—it was about the salvation we would personally receive in Jesus as our atonement.

Jesus is our Atonement

All of what I have talked about today leads us to the good news of Jesus Christ.

For us today, Jesus is our unblemished sacrifice. God humbled himself in the form of a baby entering into this sinful world. He lived in this world just like we do, yet did not sin - therefore spotless.

It was Jesus blood that was shed for us. So we must personally identify with him as our substitute, For scripture says that life is in the blood, so his was given up so that we might live.

We no longer need the sacrificial system today, BECUASE Jesus is the sacrifice and the high priest. Jesus enters into the holy of holies for us to make us right with God as it says in

Hebrews 9:11-12 – “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.”

That’s the foundation of the gospel—the good news. God loves and chases after his sinful people to make us right again, so he can dwell with us.

All of rules were never about perfect practices of sacrifices, but to point to the one who would become the perfect fulfillment of every sacrifice:

JESUS is the Burnt Offering who fully surrendered to the Father in (John 6:38).

He is the Grain Offering and provision for life, as he is the Bread of Life.

He is the Peace Offering who reconciles us to God and to each other.

He is the Sin Offering who takes away our sin.

He is the Guilt Offering because He pays our debt and put us in right standing.

Jesus is our Atonement!

Unlike the Old Testament sacrifices, that only covered sin temporarily (Hebrews 10:4), Jesus' sacrifice will completely removed the stain of sin (Hebrews 10:10-12).

Unlike the old sacrifice system, where you would have find another bull, another goat, another turtledove to die in your place over and over again because their atonement wasnt permanent.

But Jesus sacrifice is a once and for all sacrifice’. Again Hebrews 10 says that Jesus, ‘after offering one sacrifice for sins forever (as he hang up on that cross to eventually utter the words “it is finished”), he sat down at the right hand of God, proving there was nothing else for him to do. An amazing call back to the beginning after he created the world he rested.

So what else is there for you to do, but to surrender and let God?

If you are here today as an unbeliever, or struggling believer

You don't have to do anything to earn the good news of Jesus Christ. You dont have to wait until you fix yourself up again so God will take you back.

That’s the good news of the gospel, that Jesus has already paid the price. That he took us back before we even knew he was the best thing we should have never left.

We didn’t earn our atonement. We didn’t fix our sin. God fixed it.

So if your still trying to figure out how to deal with the mess of your life.

Still trying to atone for your past mistakes

You dont have to problem solve any more, the answer is Jesus. He is the final and perfect sacrifice.

You don’t have to carry your sin anymore—come to Him today!

Yes its that easy, AND thats why the invitation of Jesus is come walk with me, because you can figure out the rest on the way.

He knows your still in that messy relationship; come and let him heal you

He knows you havent stopped drinking yet; come and let him set you free

A life of walking with Jesus is one step of surrender at a time. Surrender today, knowing that atonement is finished in Jesus!

Lets Pray:

If you want to give you life to Jesus today, I want you to identify with your sacrifice today by raising your hand.