Morning and Evening

Introduction

Open your Bibles to Romans 12:1-2.

There is a time tested and much loved devotional written by Charles Haddon Spurgeon called “Morning and Evening.” The devotional is designed so that for each day of the year there is a morning and evening meditation. The Psalm we read for our call to worship on Sunday said that the righteous man meditates Day and Night on the law of God. The word in Hebrew that we translate meditates, means to mumble or speak. Meditating on the word of God is not sitting there thinking about how good the idea of the the word of God makes you feel. Rather, the biblical concept of meditating on the word is the picture of filling up your mind with the word so much that you cannot help but speak it. Jesus said, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45, ESV). The last few weeks we have looked at how Christ perfects our worship. We have learned that worship is supposed to be continual. Like the fire that the priest were never to let go out.

To night lets more deeply consider what is our worship?

Paul says in

Romans 12:1–2 ESV

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Paul says offer your body as a living sacrifice, and we offer our bodies by knowing what is “what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Ro 12:2, ESV)

Turn to Leviticus 6:19 We will be starting in verse 19 and going to verse 23.

The concept of sacrifice is central to all of God’s revelation about how he redeems his people. Just think about some of the ways we have explored this over the last 2 weeks.

Burnt Offering

Grain Offering

Continual offering of praise

The priesthood of believers.

Christ's Offering for us.

Everything that is done by God’s people, and even more God elect priests is tuned to worship.

Lets Read In Leviticus 6 starting in verse 19.

Leviticus 6:19–23 ESV

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “This is the offering that Aaron and his sons shall offer to the Lord on the day when he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening. It shall be made with oil on a griddle. You shall bring it well mixed, in baked pieces like a grain offering, and offer it for a pleasing aroma to the Lord. The priest from among Aaron’s sons, who is anointed to succeed him, shall offer it to the Lord as decreed forever. The whole of it shall be burned. Every grain offering of a priest shall be wholly burned. It shall not be eaten.”

Lets Pray

Transition

The text start off just like the last two weeks. The LORD said, and then follows instructions for worship. Look at verses 19 and 20

Body

Morning and Evening (1)

Text

Leviticus 6:19–20 ESV

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “This is the offering that Aaron and his sons shall offer to the Lord on the day when he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening.

Explanation

The Day They are Anointed

This has not happened yet, the day Aaron is anointed come later in Chapter 8.

This is just one of the sacrifices happening on the on the day of anointing. There are many sacrifices happening on that day.

Later we will see that this sacrifice takes work.

An ephah is about 2 liters of flour

Important later

Morning and Evening

None Stop

This reminds the priest that his service to God is all day.

Application

God order worship again

The LORD said to Moses

The 1689 say in Chapter 16 article 2

“Good works are only such as God has commanded in His Holy Word, and not such as without the warrant thereof are devised by men out of blind zeal, or upon any pretense of good intentions.” [1]

The offering is spread throughout the whole day.

Like the devotional by CH Spurgeon, in the morning and the evening

Like the Righteous man in Psalm 1

My day is not begun without worship to God and it is not ended until my work for him is completed. Not just any work for Him, I cannot just worship any way I want, but work for Him prescribed by Him

Loving my Neighbor as myself

Offering my body a living sacrifice

Transition

These offings are pleasing to God. Take a look at verse 21.

Pleasing Aroma to the LORD (2)

Text

Leviticus 6:21 ESV

It shall be made with oil on a griddle. You shall bring it well mixed, in baked pieces like a grain offering, and offer it for a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

Explanation

Mixed well

Lots of work to mix 2 liters of flower.

Cooked

before they can bring it to the alter it has to be mixed and prepared.

Remember all the other things going on that day.

Pleasing aroma to the Lord.

The purpose is pleasing God. That is why God says, “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” (Hosea 6:6, ESV)

Application

Work on the priests part

Pleasing to the LORD.

And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, 4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. (Rev 8:3-4, ESV)

Revelation has many pictures of the ways God pours out judgement on the world. Right in the middle of the judgment is God being pleased with the offering of his saints.

Transition

I think that point three is the main thing for us to night. This point is to wrap up our time in Leviticus and it is summed up in the words “The Whole of it Shall be Burned.” Look at verse 22 and 23.

The Whole of it Shall be Burned (3)

Text

Leviticus 6:22–23 ESV

The priest from among Aaron’s sons, who is anointed to succeed him, shall offer it to the Lord as decreed forever. The whole of it shall be burned. Every grain offering of a priest shall be wholly burned. It shall not be eaten.”

Explanation

Anointed again

"wholly burned” x 2

It shall not be eaten.

The reason the priest were not allowed to eat of their own offering is to forestall pride.

Calvin said, “The fact was that God was unwilling that the priests should indulge themselves in vain ostentation, which might have been easily the case, if the oblation had been preserved for their use …” [2]

Application

Jesus was wholly burnt for God

Are you surprised I am in my fathers house. (Luke 2:49)

I have not come to do my will (John 6:38)

Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are Gods. (Luke 20:25)

This is not some instruction on tax paying. Jesus uses the evil to trap of the Sanhedrin to teach wonderful truths.

What is Caesar?

What is God’s

All of you.

All your money

All your time

As Paul said in Romans 12, your body.

Lets put that another way. Your whole life.

What percentage of your time is supposed to be spent sending a sweet aroma to God?

What present of your money belongs to God?

What percent of your marriage belongs to God?

Unfortunately, we life in culture that tends to make Christian's want to time share God.

God you can have my Sundays and Wednesdays and 10% of my money but the rest is mine

This is simply not what God as revealed as his calling for us.

Transition

You might ask, okay Aaron I get it. It all belongs to God but how does that fit in with our sermon series. The golden thread.

Conclusion

Well, in conclusion tonight lets talk about that a little bit. What is the purposes of God’s redemption? Or I can ask it like this, what are you saved for?

The 1689 says in chapter 16 article 2,

These good works, done in obedience to God’s commandments, are the fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith; and by them believers manifest their thankfulness, strengthen their assurance, edify their brethren, adorn the profession of the gospel, stop the mouths of the adversaries, and glorify God, whose workmanship they are, created in Christ Jesus thereunto, that having their fruit unto holiness they may have the end eternal life.[3]

Paul said in

Ephesians 2:8–10 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

In Christ you were purchased, you are a new creation, for Good works. Just like the levitical priests that could not eat of their own offering, your offering of good works are all God’s work, your don’t get to claim them. God has in Christ redeemed a people to offer a continual sacrifice of praise that is perfect by our high priest and it a sweet smelling incense to our God.

Benediction

Romans 15:5–6 ESV

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Go in Peace or Stay and Fellowship

References

[1] R. C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), 2485–2486.

[2] John Calvin and Charles William Bingham, Commentaries on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony, vol. 2 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 213.

[3] R. C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), 2486.

Bibliography

Calvin, John, and Charles William Bingham. Commentaries on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010.

Sproul, R. C., ed. The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition). Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015.