Latest / truthunedited / Leviticus 1 Has a Secret About Getting Close to God_(M4A_128K)

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Leviticus 1 Has a Secret About Getting Close to God_(M4A_128K) · truthunedited

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Speaker 1: You think Leviticus is just about old rituals and outdated rules.
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You've probably skipped it or skimmed it like a confusing
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manual from a different religion. But what if the very
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first chapter holds the key to understanding how close God
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wants to be to you. In Leviticus One, God doesn't
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ask for leftovers. He asks for the whole animal, burnt, consumed,
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nothing held back. Why Because when God calls someone near,
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he doesn't ask for just a song or a Sunday
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or an hour in the morning. He asks for the fire.
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For what cost you, for what breaks you, for what
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you wouldn't give unless you truly believed he was worthy.
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This is not polite religion, This is not half hearted faith.
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This is worship that hurts, Worship that surrenders, Worship that
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leaves ashes where ego once stood. And that's why most
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people avoid this chapter because as deep down they know
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what it's saying, they sense the danger of it, the
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rawness of it, the unspoken terror of standing before a
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holy God who doesn't just want something from you, but
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wants you completely. But hidden in this ancient fire is
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a truth more intimate than most Christians have ever known.
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God gave these instructions not to keep his people distant,
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but to bring them near. The fire wasn't a punishment,
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it was a pathway. By the end of this message,
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you won't just understand the burnt offering, you'll understand what
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it means to lay everything down. You'll see why blood
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had to be spilled, why fire had to fall, and
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most importantly, how every ounce of it was a shadow
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pointing to Jesus Christ, the true offering, who gave everything
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to bring you home. If you're watching this may be
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something in you is tired of surface level faith. Maybe
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you've sensed this more and Leviticus just might be the door.
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That's why we're diving into these forgotten passages because they're
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not irrelevant. They're revealing. They show us what God's heart
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has always been. Before we go deeper, Please like and
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share it. We've covered other powerful topics on this channel,
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from the Book of Romans to Psalms forty six to
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the Trinity, and each one connects to the next. You
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can watch all of our teachings completely add free on
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our website, and if you want to go deeper, many
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of our most popular videos have been turned into downloadable
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ebooks for study and reflection a deep Bible stories. Our
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mission is simple, to help you go beyond information and
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into transformation, to bring you back to the voice of
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God in the pages most people avoid. If that's your
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heart too, then everything you need is in the description below.
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Let's dive back in. It doesn't begin with thunder. It
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doesn't begin with plagues or parting seas or laws written
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on stone by the hand of God. It begins with
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a voice, a whisper maybe, but not from a mountain
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this time, not from fire and cloud like Sinai, not
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from the terrifying distance of heaven. No, this time God
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speaks from within a tent. The Lord called to Moses
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and spoke to him from the tent of meeting. Leviticus
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one one. That one sentence changes everything, because if you
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remember Exodus, you know the story. Israel was redeemed by blood,
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rescued from Egypt, brought through the sea into the wilderness
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to meet with God. They saw lightning, heard thunder, trembled
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at the base of Sinai, and then after idolatry, golden calves,
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and intercession, they built a tabernacle, just as God had
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commanded a dwelling place a tent. But when the tabernacle
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was finished, when the glory of the Lord filled it, Moses,
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the friend of God, the man who once stood in
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the cloud and fire couldn't go in. Exodus ends not
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with an open door, but with a shut one. Glory
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too holy, fire, too pure, presence, too weighty to enter.
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And that's where Leviticus begins. God doesn't abandon the people,
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he doesn't lower his standard, but he does provide a way,
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and that way is sacrifice, not sentimental, not symbolic, not optional.
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A bull, a lamb, agoat a bird, blood poured out,
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fire kindled, smoke rising. This is how a sinner approaches
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a holy God, and the first offering, the burnt offering,
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is where it all begins. No part of the animal
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is eaten, nothing is saved for later. The entire thing,
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skin stripped, body quartered, entrails washed, is placed on the
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altar and burned until nothing remains but ash. Why because
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this isn't a casual visit. This is a re entry
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into divine presence. The threshold is sacred, and to cross
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it you must come on God's terms. In Hebrew, the
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word for burnt offering is ola. It means that which
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goes up, not just fire rising, but worship ascending. This
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isn't a death for death's sake, It's an offering of
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the whole life, given up, consumed and lifted to God.
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The man brings the animal, he lays his hand on
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its head, presses down, transfers himself into it. Then he
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watches as it slaughtered, watches as blood runs, watches as
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the priest prepares it piece by piece and sets it
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on the altar. Then he watches the flames. The cost
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is undeniable, the smell unforgettable, the silence unbearable. But something
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happens in that moment. The man knows this is what
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it takes to come near. Not a token, not a gesture,
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but a total giving up its worship with weight, and God,
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speaking from the tent, receives it. Not because he needs
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the meat, not because he's bloodthirsty, but because in that sacrifice,
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something holy is being restored, something broken is being healed.
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The fire on the threshold is not a barrier. It's
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an invitation, a terrible, beautiful invitation to return. And here's
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the miracle. God meets them there in the smell of
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smoke and death, in the quiet horror of substitution, in
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the giving up of what was once alive, he draws near.
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This is the mystery of Leviticus. Not a book of ritual,
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but a map to presence, not a record of ancient rules,
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but a door flung wide, a voice calling from the tent,
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and not stay away, but come closer. You didn't just
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bring the animal, You brought yourself. That's what most people
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to day don't understand about sacrifice, especially the burnt offering
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of Leviticus one. It wasn't a transaction, it wasn't a
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quiet donation. It was identification. When the worshiper led his
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animal to the entrance of the tent of meeting, he
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wasn't just obeying a rule. He was walking into the
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presence of a holy God, knowing that he didn't belong there,
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and God knew that too. But then came the moment
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no one could avoid, the moment of the hand. He
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is to lay his hand on the head of the
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burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf
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to make atonement for him Leviticus one four. That's the
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moment that breaks you. That's the moment the ritual becomes reality.
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The Hebrew word here for lay is not soft. It's sammach,
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to lean, to press, to push down. This is not
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a gentle pat on the head. This is the full
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weight of the worshiper's hand on the animal's skull. Why
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because he's not just saying this animal is mine, He's
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saying this animal is me. The act is stunning. You
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can feel the tension. The priest looks on. The fire
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crackles near by, The animal shifts nervously, and there you are,
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pressing your hand onto the creature's head, confessing what you've done,
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worse who you are. You feel the warmth of the
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scared breath in its nostrils, the life that is about
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to be taken. You're not a spectator, You're not distant.
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You are bound to it now because you are transferring
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your guilt, your failure, your very self. In that moment,
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you admit something horrifying but true. I deserve what's about
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to happen to this animal. This is where the concept
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of substitution is born, not as a cold doctrine, but
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as an emotional, physical reality. Imagine the horror of watching
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it happen next you, still kneeling, still pressing down and
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the priest, swift and practiced, slits the throat. The animal convulses, bleeds, slumps,
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The blood spills bright red, impossibly warm, And as the
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life drains out, so do your illusions. You thought sin
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was a private matter, You thought guilt was just an
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internal feeling. No, this is what it takes to come
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before God, not because he's cruel, but because he's holy,
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and holiness cannot be approached without death. But it's not
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just sin being transferred, it's also surrender. The burnt offering
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wasn't always about specific acts of guilt. Sometimes it was
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pure devotion, an offering of the whole self. That hand
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said this is all of me, my life, my worship,
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my allegiance. Take it, and in return the smoke rose.
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God accepted it, not because he needed the animal, but
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because he saw the heart underneath the hand. And that's
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what's been lost in modern faith. We've reduced Christianity to beliefs,
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ideas emotions. But Leviticus doesn't give you that option. It asks,
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have you laid your hand on the sacrifice? Have you
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identified with it? Have you admitted what you are without it?
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Have you said with your life this death should be mine?
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Because that's what makes the gospel so shocking. When Jesus
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went to the cross, he didn't just carry a generic punishment.
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He carried you the full weight of your shame, your secrets,
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your double life, your lust, your pride, your unforgiveness. And
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the hand that pressed upon his head was not just
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from Roman soldiers or a thorny crown, It was yours.
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Isiah said it this way, the Lord has laid on
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him the iniquity of us all Isaiah fifty three, Colon six.
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The same word, the same action. God leaned the full
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weight of humanity sin unto his son and slaughtered him
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at the altar of justice. So now the question remains,
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have you truly laid your hand on him, not just believed,
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not just admired, but transferred, prest owned the weight of
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what you are and handed it over to the only
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one who can bear it. Because until you do, the
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sacrifice remains distant. But the moment you do, it becomes personal.
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And what dies is not just in what dies is
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you and what rises this something new. Some offerings in
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the Old Testament could be shared. The peace offering, you
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could eat part of it, the grain offering, a portion
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would go to the priests. But the burnt offering, not
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a single scrap remained, no bones, no skin, no meat.
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From horn to hoof, it went up in smoke. The
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entire thing was consumed on the altar. Why because God
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wasn't asking for a gesture, He wasn't asking for a donation.
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He was asking for everything. Leviticus one repeats it with
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piercing clarity. The priest shall burn all of it on
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the altar. It is a burnt offering, a food offering,
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and aroama pleasing to the Lord Leviticus one nine, all
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of it. This wasn't waste, it was worship. The burnt
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offering ola in Hebrew, wasn't about feeding God. He doesn't
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need food, he doesn't need smoke, he doesn't need anything.
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That's what makes this so staggering, because God was commanding
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total surrender, not for his benefit but for ours. The
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burnt offering taught something that modern worship often forgets. God
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wants the whole you, or he wants none of you
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at all. We try to negotiate. We give him Sunday mornings,
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but not Friday nights. We give him our lips, but
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not our scrolling. We give him our songs, but not
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our secrets. We lift our hands, but keep our hearts.
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But the fire of Leviticus doesn't accept part time disciples.
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It devours everything placed on it. Because God doesn't bless
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partial obedience, He doesn't inhabit divided altars, and he doesn't
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share his throne with idols. We pretend not to see.
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That's what makes the burnt offering so confrontational. Imagine stand
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there after the priest finishes arranging the pieces, the head,
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the fat, the legs, all separated, all exposed, nothing hidden.
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Then it's all lifted onto the fire, one flame, one altar,
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one act of total abandonment. It's a picture of what
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worship really is, not performance, not appearance, but a life
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completely surrendered, peace by peace to the God who deserves
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it all. And here's the terrifying truth. The burnt offering
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wasn't just a sacrifice. It was a mirror because as
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the animal was skinned, washed and cut open, the worshiper
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saw a reflection of what God requires, not just on
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the altar, but in the heart. Take the skin off,
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no more masks, wash the inside, no more pretending, lay
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the pieces bare, no more division, nothing hidden, nothing reserved.
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Is that how we worship, or have we become experts
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at offering God just enough to feel spiritual while keeping
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enough to stay in control. We sing I surrender all,
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but really mean I surrender enough. But in God's economy,
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enough is never enough, not because he's greedy, but because
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he's holy, and holy fire doesn't compromise. That's why the
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fire was never to go out Leviticus six thirteen. It
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was to burn continuously day and night, consuming every offering
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in full, because it symbolized something eternal, the unending worth
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of God and the unrelenting surrender he deserves. And yet
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he didn't just demand it. One day he would become
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it because when Jesus came, he didn't just suffer. He
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didn't just give part. He gave all. He didn't keep
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his skin, he didn't withhold his blood, He didn't save
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a portion of himself for comfort or safety. He was torn, exposed,
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bound to the wood, and lifted onto the altar of
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the cross. No part was spared. That's why Paul says
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Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as
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a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God Ephesians five, column two.
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That language fragrant offering is Leviticus language. Jesus didn't just
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die for sin. He died as worship, as total devotion,
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as the only truly whole, burnt offering ever made by
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human flesh. So now the call comes full circle. Not
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just do you believe in Jesus? But have you become
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the offering Paul again in Romans twelve one offer your
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bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.
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This is your true and proper worship, not your words,
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not your intentions, your life. We weren't save to admire
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the altar. We were saved to lay down on it.
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So the question hangs in the small have you given
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him everything or just enough to feel safe? Because the
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fire is still burning and it still consumes everything placed
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upon it. You didn't just sing a song. You didn't
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close your eyes and sway to soft music. You brought
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a knife, You brought a body, You brought a life.
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Worship in ancient Israel was not quiet. It wasn't private,
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it wasn't tidy. It bled. Imagine approaching the tent of
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meeting with your offering a bull or a lamb, or
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a bird alive, breathing, aware this wasn't something purchased with
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a credit card. This was something raised, nurtured, fed, touched,
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something you owned, something that cost you. The moment you
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crossed the boundary of the camp and stepped into the
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sacred perimeter, everything changed. You were on holy ground. The
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priests stood ready, The altar blazed, The air reeked of
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burnt flesh and cinge fat. Smoke coiled up into the
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sky like a pillar of testimony. You heard the crackle
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of fire, the bleating of animals, the shuffle of sandals
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on sand. But the center of it all was blood.
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You walked past the bronze basin where priests washed their
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hands and feet, and approached the place of slaughter. You
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laid your hand on the animal's head. You whispered your guilt,
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or maybe you said nothing, because what could you say.
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Then the blade was handed to you. Yes, you not
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the priest, He shall slaughter the young bull before the
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Lord Leviticus one, Colon five. This wasn't a spectacle to watch.
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This was a death you had to cause. The priest
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caught the blood in a basin and splashed it against
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the sides of the altar. Then the skin was flayed.
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The carcass was cut into pieces, the entrails washed, the
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limbs arranged, and as it all burned, the scent of
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death and offering filled your lungs. This is what worship
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looked like. You didn't leave that tent the way you
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came in, because the smell stuck to you. The memory
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haunted you. You saw what sin costs, You saw what
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holiness demands. You saw what surrender looks like. It was loud, messy, unforgettable.
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And God designed it that way. Why because he knew.
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We forget what we don't feel. We forget that sin
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isn't a small mistake, it's a death sentence. We forget
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that God's presence isn't casual, it's dangerous. We forget that
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forgiveness isn't cheap, it costs blood. Every sense was baptized
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in truth. You saw the blood, you smelled the smoke,
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you heard the cries. You touch the offering. You tasted
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the fear and the grace. And though the fire devoured everything,
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you walked away alive because something else died in your place.
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There was no illusion here, no room for shallow religion.
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You couldn't fake this. The altar exposed you worship confronted you,
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and the memory marked you. That's what we've lost. We've
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made worship safe, predictable, a playlist instead of a sacrifice.
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We've removed the blood and replaced it with branding. We've
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swapped the altar for a stage and forgotten what it
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meant to bring our whole selves trembling before a consuming fire.
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But if you wonder why God would command such visceral worship,
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the answer is simple, because he wanted to tattoo the
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truth into our senses. He didn't want you to learn
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about holiness. He wanted you to feel it, to smell it,
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to carry it out of the tent, on your skin
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and your soul, because you couldn't smell the burnt offering
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without remembering the mercy that met you there. And isn't
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that the cross? When Jesus died, it wasn't clean, It
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wasn't hushed, it wasn't polite. It was public, brute, humiliating,
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blood poured, flesh, torn, bones pulled from socket. He cried out, gasping, suffocating, bleeding,
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And we've made it a necklace. But at Calvary, the
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full horror of Leviticus came alive and was fulfilled, the
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once for all sacrifice. The fire of wrath absorbed the sin, transferred,
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the smoke of love rising to heaven. And he didn't
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hand you the knife, and he took it. So now
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worship isn't a slaughter. So but it should still leave
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you speechless, still leave you marked, still leave you changed,
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because the cost hasn't gone away. We have ebooks available
21:42
on our website to help guide your deep Bible studies,
21:46
from Leviticus to Revelation, from Psalms to the Prophets. Some
21:51
of our most powerful videos have been converted into written
21:54
format for personal study, group discussion, and spiritual transformation. You'll
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find them linked below. The offering was gone, the smoke
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had risen, the blood dried on the altar stones. But
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even after the body had been consumed, one thing remained,
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the fire. The fire on the altar must be kept burning.
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It must not go out. Every morning, the priest is
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to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the
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fire Leviticus six twelve. This wasn't suggestion, it was command.
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God didn't just ask for an offering. He asked for
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a continuing flame, a fire that never died, even when
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the camp slept even when no one was watching. The
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altar was not a place of occasional devotion. It was
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a place of perpetual presence, day and night. Priests stoked it,
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fed it, guarded it, not for show, not for tradition,
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but because that flame represented something more than heat and light.
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It was the very symbol of God's holiness, dwelling among
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his people, his consuming nature, his constant readiness to receive worship,
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his unchanging desire to be near on his terms. This
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fire was covenantle It marked Israel as different. They weren't
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a people who worshiped when they felt like it. They
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weren't called to offer when it was convenient. Their entire
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community was shaped around the rhythm of this flame. When
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the fire roared, they knew God was among them. When
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it flickered, the priests trembled because this wasn't just about
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the altar. It was about relationship, and relationships require consistency.
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That's the deeper meaning of Levitica's six. You don't just
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sacrifice once and walk away. You don't burn today and
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go cold tomorrow. You keep the fire alive. That's what
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holiness costs. Constancy, vigilance, obedience, where no one is watching,
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and this is where so many fall short. We give
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God a moment, a day, an event. We burn bright
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in seasons, but let the flame die in silence. We
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think of worship as an experience, but in Leviticus it
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was a duty, a lifestyle, a priestly burden. And here's
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what's even more radical. In Christ, you are now the priest.
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You also, like living stones, are being built into a
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spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices
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acceptable to God through Jesus Christ of First Peter two five.
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So if the fire never went out under the old
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Covenant when only a few were chosen to tend it,
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how much more should it burn now when God has
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made his altar inside of you. That's what Paul meant
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in Romans twelve when he said, offer your bodies as
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a living sacrifice, a living sacrifice, a walking altar, a
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breathing flame. This is not about one emotional moment of surrender.
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This is about day dying, constant yielding, waking up and
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saying again, Lord, take all of me. And it's hard
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because it's not just about passion, it's about persistence. Holiness
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is not the flash of a spark. It's the endurance
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of coals that burn beneath the surface, through the cold seasons,
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through the dry wood, through the long night. But here's
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the beauty of it. When the fire stays lit, God
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stays near. That's what the altar teaches. That's what Israel
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learned in the wilderness, that holiness isn't about checking boxes.
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It's about keeping flame alive. And when the fire burned,
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they knew they were his. But when it went out,
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when the altar grew cold, they forgot who they were.
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They compromised, they wondered, And the same is true for us.
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You can tell a person's spiritual temperature by one thing,
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how they treat the flame. Are they casual with its sporadic,
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occasional or do they live like Leviticus six, tending it
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every morning, guarding it through the night, refusing to let
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it die. God's presence is not sustained by emotion. It
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is sustained by sacrifice. So ask yourself, has your fire
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gone out? Have you treated your altar like a moment
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instead of a mission? Have you assumed holiness will happen
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without the cost of consistency? Because the altar still stands.
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The call is still active, the fire is still waiting.
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The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously.
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It must not go out Leviticus six thirteen. Don't let
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it die? Why sacrifice? Why blood? Why fire? Why death?
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Was God appeased by gore? Was he a deity like
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the pagan gods needing to be fed, bribed, or placated.
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That's the lie we project onto Leviticus when we read
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it through hue human eyes. But scripture doesn't begin with bloodshed,
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It begins with presents. In the beginning, there was no altar,
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no death, no sacrifice, only Eden God walking with man
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face to face, breath to breath. They heard the sound
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of the Lord God walking in the garden Genesis three eight.
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That's how the story starts, with communion, not carnage. But
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we know what happened. One act of rebellion cracked the peace.
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Sin entered, and with it came shame, fear, and separation,
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and the very first sacrifice. It wasn't offered by man,
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It was offered by God. The Lord God made garments
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of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them
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Genesis three twenty one. Clothing from skin from death. The
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covering required blood, and from that moment on God was
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initiating a way back. Fast forward to Sinai. The mountain
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trembles with fire, smoke swirls. The voice of God thunders,
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but the people don't draw near. They beg to stand
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far off. Speak to us yourself and we will listen.
28:16
But do not have God speak to us, or we
28:18
will die. Exodus twenty nineteen. The gap remains, so God
28:24
gives them something shocking. A tent, a tabernacle, not a palace,
28:29
not a temple of gold, a tent, mobile accessible, simple
28:35
design for a people still wandering. Why because God wanted
28:40
to dwell among them, then have them make a sanctuary
28:44
for me, and I will dwell among them Exodus twenty
28:48
five eight. But holiness is still holiness. He cannot be
28:52
approached without cost. So in the very heart of the tent,
28:57
past the curtains, past the laver past, the altar was
29:00
the most holy place, the ark, the throne, the glory,
29:04
but no one could enter unless there was blood. Sacrifice
29:08
wasn't just about sin removal. It was about proximity. A
29:12
God was carving out a space in a fallen world
29:16
where he could be near his people without consuming them.
29:19
Every drop of blood, every burnt offering, every ascending smoke,
29:24
it all whispered the same thing. I still want you.
29:28
In a world where people shake their fists at God
29:31
asking why he's distant, Leviticus is his answer. He wasn't
29:36
content to rain from heaven. He descended into the dust,
29:39
surrounded himself with wandering rebels, and said, build me a place,
29:45
bring your offering. I'll meet you there. This is what
29:50
sets Yahweh apart from every other so called god. The
29:54
gods of the nations demand its sacrifice to push humans away,
29:59
to remind them how unworthy they were. But Yahweh demanded
30:03
sacrifice to bring humans close, to make a way. And
30:08
it all pointed forward. Because even the tent was temporary,
30:12
the fire, the priests, the blood, they were shadows of
30:15
a better presence to come, one not limited to a
30:18
structure or a system, one that would step into skin.
30:23
John says it best. The word became flesh and tabernacled
30:27
among us. John one fourteen literal translation, Jesus was the
30:32
final tent, the walking sanctuary, the living fire, and his cross.
30:38
It was the true altar. The burnt offering became flesh,
30:42
not so God could punish, but so he could come
30:44
near the curtain tore the fire of wreath fell, and
30:48
God didn't just step into our world. He stepped into
30:52
our sin and burned it down from the inside. That's
30:56
why sacrifice matters, not because God is obsessed with blood,
31:00
but because he is obsessed with presence, and blood is
31:04
what it costs to bring rebels into glory. Leviticus is
31:08
not a manual for legalism. It's a road map back
31:11
to Eden. It's a story of fire clearing a path,
31:15
smoke rising in the dark, and a God who refused
31:19
to be distant, even if it meant death. So if
31:22
you've ever wondered why God asked for sacrifice, don't stop
31:26
at the altar, look behind it and see a father
31:30
building a doorway into your heart, one offering at a time.
31:34
It was never about the animal, the bulls, the lambs,
31:38
the doves. They were never enough, not really. The fire
31:42
never stopped burning because the offerings never stopped falling short,
31:46
one after another, year after year. The altar devoured sacrifice
31:50
after sacrifice, but it never said enough. And that's the point.
31:55
The burnt offering wasn't the solution. It was the signal,
31:58
a shadow of some thing coming, a pointer towards some
32:02
one greater. Hebrews ten shatters the illusion. It is impossible
32:07
for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore,
32:12
when Christ came into the world, he said, sacrifice and
32:16
offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared
32:20
for me. With burnt offerings and sin offerings, you were
32:23
not pleased. Hebrews ten four to six. The writer is
32:27
quoting Psalm forty King David's prophetic confession that ritual alone
32:32
could never satisfy the heart of God. What God was
32:36
after was not blood on an altar, but a life
32:40
fully surrendered. And Jesus said, here I am think about it.
32:45
The burnt offering had to be mailed without blemish. It
32:48
had to be brought voluntarily. The one offering it had
32:52
to press their hand upon its head, identifying with it completely.
32:57
Then it had to be killed, cut, burned, nothing held back.
33:04
Jesus was the only one who ever fulfilled that offering perfectly.
33:09
He didn't just give something valuable, He gave himself, not
33:14
in part, but in whole. From the moment he stepped
33:18
into human flesh, the fire had begun. Every act of
33:22
obedience was wood laid on the altar. Every temptation resisted
33:27
was a spark. Every word of love, every tear of compassion,
33:32
every drop of sweat in gathsemone, it was all part
33:35
of the flame. And then came the cross. Isaiah had
33:39
seen it long before. He was led like a lamb
33:42
to the slaughter. And the Lord has laid on him
33:46
the iniquity of us all Isaiah fifty three six seven.
33:51
The hand was pressed, the sin was transferred. The fire
33:55
of divine wrath fell not on a bull, not on
33:58
a goat, but on the sinless son of God. And
34:01
here's the mystery. Jesus was not just the sacrifice. He
34:06
was also the priest, the altar, the temple. He was
34:10
the fulfillment of every part of Leviticus one he Brews
34:14
ten continues. And by that will we have been made
34:18
wholly through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ,
34:21
once for all he Brewis ten ten, Once for all.
34:26
No more daily fires, no more rivers of blood, no
34:29
more trembling priests, because the flame that consumed him was final, perfect, complete.
34:35
The altar didn't just accept Jesus, it welcomed him. He
34:39
was the burnt offering God had always wanted, not just
34:42
because he died, but because he died in perfect love
34:46
and obedience. And now something shifts. The altar is no
34:50
longer at the edge of a tent. It's at the
34:52
center of your soul. Not a place of death, but
34:56
a place of access. Because of Jesus, we don't have
34:59
to slaughter anything to draw near. But make no mistake,
35:03
worship still requires fire. The Cross wasn't the end of sacrifice,
35:10
it was the beginning of ours. Paul understood this when
35:15
he said, I have been crucified with Christ, and I
35:18
no longer live, but Christ lives. In me Galatians two twenty,
35:25
do you see it. We are now the offering, not
35:28
to atone for sin Jesus did that once for all,
35:32
but to express devotion, love, total surrender. That's the real
35:37
power of the burnt offering, not in its ash, but
35:40
in its prophecy. Every animal burned was a whisper of Christ.
35:45
Every ascending flame was a shadow of Calvary. Every trembling
35:49
hand on an innocent head was pointing to a future
35:52
where a holy hand would press down on the lamb
35:55
of God and slaughter him. For us. So no, it
35:59
was never about the animal. It was always about the
36:02
greater flame, the one who burned with love so fierce
36:06
he let himself be consumed, and in his ashes we rise.
36:12
The cross was not a random execution. It was an altar,
36:16
not a Roman tragedy, a divine fulfillment. And Jesus was
36:22
not merely a martyr. He was the whole burnt offering, consumed,
36:26
not by accident but by design. From the first chapter
36:30
of Leviticus, God was preparing his people to understand what
36:34
real worship costs and what real love looks like. The
36:39
burnt offering was the highest form of devotion. Nothing held back,
36:44
no portion spared, every part laid upon the flame. Total surrender,
36:50
complete sacrifice. That's what Jesus brought to the cross. He
36:55
wasn't just killed, He was offered. Christ loved us and
36:59
gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and
37:02
sacrifice to God. Ephesians five, column two. Do you see
37:07
the language. It's Levitical, its altar language. The cross wasn't
37:12
just the place of atonement, it was the fulfillment of
37:15
the burnt offering itself. Jesus gave himself entirely, not just
37:20
to suffer for us, but to glorify the Father in us.
37:24
When Jesus said it is finished, he wasn't just ending suffering.
37:28
He was completing a pattern that began in the wilderness.
37:32
The lamb had been slain, the fire of wrath had fallen,
37:36
the smoke of divine acceptance was rising. God smelled the
37:41
aroma and was pleased. This is the mystery of the Cross.
37:44
It satisfied both justice and love. Justice because sin was
37:49
truly punished, Love because the one punished was innocent and willing.
37:54
Unlike the animals of Leviticus, Jesus knew what he was doing.
37:59
The bull had no choice. The lamb didn't understand. But Christ.
38:04
He stepped forward, knowing full well what the fire would
38:08
feel like. No one takes my life from me, he said,
38:12
But I lay it down of my own accord John
38:15
ten eighteen. He wasn't seized, he surrendered. He didn't flinch
38:19
from the knife. He walked into it. He didn't just
38:22
bear our punishment, he became our worship. That's what makes
38:25
him the true burnt offering. He Brews nine fourteen says,
38:29
how much more then will the blood of Christ who
38:32
through the eternal Spirit, offered himself, unblemish to God, cleanse
38:36
our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that
38:40
we may serve the living God. Catch that through the spirit,
38:45
he offered himself not just as a substitution, but as
38:48
a sacrifice of perfect obedience. He lived the life we
38:53
could never live, loved the Father with undivided heart, fulfilled
38:58
every shadow of Leviticus, not to abolish the altar, but
39:02
to complete it. And because of that, the fire didn't
39:05
destroy him, it revealed him. The sun wasn't rejected on
39:10
the cross, he was received. That's the shocking truth. The
39:14
cross wasn't just God's wrath poured out. It was God's pleasure,
39:18
fulfilled not in the pain, but in the offering. Jesus
39:23
sacrifice rose like smoke, wholly whole and pleasing. Not because
39:28
he was broken, but because he was willing. He gave everything.
39:33
That's what worship has always been about. And now because
39:36
of him, we don't worship to be accepted. We worship
39:40
because we are. The fire that once kept us away
39:44
has now welcomed us in. The altar is open, the
39:48
offering has been made, the way is clear. So why
39:52
do we still hold back up, Why do we still
39:55
live as if God is distant, cold, waiting for us
39:57
to measure up? The cross says something else, as the
40:01
cross says, you are loved, you are covered, You are accepted,
40:05
not because of what you've done, but because Jesus climbed
40:09
onto the altar and stayed there, and the fire that
40:12
should have consumed us consumed him instead. So now when
40:17
God looks at you, he doesn't see sin. He sees smoke, worship,
40:23
a life consumed by grace because Jesus, the true burnt offering,
40:28
was not only accepted, he was beloved, and now you
40:32
are too. The animal is gone, the fire has done
40:36
its work. All that's left on the altar is ashes,
40:40
no form, no strength, no resistance, just the remains of
40:45
something that was once alive, completely given, completely consumed. That's
40:51
what the burnt offering left behind. And that's exactly what
40:54
true surrender still looks like. We're not called to bring
40:58
bulls anymore. The altar is made of bronze and wood,
41:01
and the fire isn't literal, but the call it hasn't changed. Therefore,
41:07
I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy,
41:11
to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and
41:15
pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship
41:20
Romans twelve one. A living sacrifice, not symbolic, not poetic,
41:26
not hypothetical. You not just your beliefs, not just your intentions,
41:32
not just your Sunday morning routine, Your body, your thoughts,
41:36
your schedule, your bank account, your comfort, your pride, your wounds,
41:41
your dreams. Placed on the altar. Not one time, but
41:44
every time, every day, every hour, you choose to say,
41:47
not my will, but yours. Every moment you silence the
41:52
voice of self and respond, here I am Lord, burn
41:57
away what's not of you. But here's what we don't
42:01
like to admit. We want resurrection without ashes, we want
42:05
glory without flame. We want to follow Jesus without laying
42:09
ourselves down. We say God, I surrender, but we're still
42:14
holding on to control. We sing, I give you my heart,
42:18
but we're still clinging to our idols. We whisper have
42:22
your way, but we still expect him to follow our plan.
42:26
And so the fire comes and we run from it.
42:30
We resist the altar because deep down we know what
42:33
it means. It means death. Not physical death, but the
42:38
death of self, the death of entitlement, the death of
42:42
our carefully curated image. But here's the secret no one
42:46
talks about. Only what dies on the altar can be raised.
42:50
The life you're trying to protect is the very life
42:53
God wants to transform. But first it must burn. The
42:57
ashes aren't a sign of defeat. There proof that the
43:01
offering was real, that something costly was given, that worship happened.
43:07
In the Old Testament, ashes were sacred. Priests would collect them,
43:11
carry them outside the camp, and place them in a
43:14
clean place Leviticus six' ten through. Eleven they weren't swept
43:20
away like. Trash they were honored because those ashes meant
43:24
something holy had touched the. Fire what about? You what
43:27
are the ashes in your? Life and now their? Dreams
43:30
god asked you to lay down. Relationships he told you
43:34
to release. Sins he called you to crucify what in
43:39
you has burned under the weight of. Obedience don't resent the,
43:43
ashes don't hide. Them they are evidence that you've been
43:46
to the, altar that you've worshiped with your, life that
43:50
something in you is being. Remade and let this be your.
43:53
Comfort god never leaves the altar. Empty whatever you Surrender
43:57
he will transform whatever you, lose, oose he will redeem
44:02
whatever you. Burn he will, resurrect but only after the.
44:07
Fire so ask, yourself HAVE i truly laid everything? Down
44:11
is my faith still? Alive or has it settled into cold?
44:15
Ritual DO i want the presence Of god more THAN
44:18
i want the Pieces i've held? Back because the truth
44:22
is we don't Follow jesus from a safe. Distance we
44:25
follow him into death and we rise with him into.
44:29
Life so come back to the, altar let the fire fall,
44:32
again and if all that's left of you is, ashes
44:35
then Bless, god because that's how every true sacrifice, ends
44:40
and that's where every holy life. Begins the, fire the,
44:44
blood the, smoke the. Knife to the outside, world it
44:48
looks like, brutality ritual gone. Mad the ancient sacrificial system
44:54
is often marked as, primitive, violent. Unnecessary even believers sometimes
45:00
whisper why so much? Death but that's only because we've
45:05
forgotten what was at. Stake this was never about gore
45:08
For gore's, Sake this Was god's cry for. Closeness sin
45:13
didn't just make people, guilty it made them. Distant In,
45:16
Eden adam didn't Say i've broken the. Rules he, SAID
45:21
i was, afraid SO i. Hid that's what sin. Does it,
45:26
separates not just, legally but. Relationally it puts a chasm
45:31
where intimacy once. Lived it makes suns into. Strangers it
45:36
turns worshipers into. Wanderers And, god who is wholly beyond,
45:41
comprehension refused to lower himself into sin's. Pollution but neither
45:46
did he abandon his people to. Isolation, instead he made a,
45:51
way a, terrible beautiful. Way he, said come, near but
45:55
bring a. Sacrifice not to shame, you but to show
45:58
you that the cost of new illness is, real that,
46:01
love true, love always bears a. Price that, relationship if
46:08
it's going to be, restored must pass through the. Fire
46:12
leviticus is the record of a Holy god doing everything
46:16
he can to close the. Gap he didn't wait on
46:20
a mountain high and. Unreachable he descended into a, tent
46:24
into the, dirt the, camp the, noise right in the
46:29
center of their. Mess he gave them, instructions not to scare,
46:32
them but to invite. Them, yes blood had to be,
46:37
shed but that blood wasn't. Rejection it was. Invitation it,
46:42
said come, back be, covered be. Clean it was always about,
46:48
Presents that's why the sacrifices had to be. Personal you
46:51
didn't send a servant to do it for. You you
46:54
brought the animal, Yourself you laid your own, hand you
46:58
watched the priest take it into the. Flame because relationship
47:03
With god can't be, Outsourced it must be. Owned and
47:08
when the smoke, rose you knew something just died so
47:12
THAT i could live near to. Him that's not cold,
47:15
richel that's intimate. Mercy and When jesus, came he proved
47:19
it once and for. All he didn't just walk into the,
47:22
Temple he became the. Temple he didn't just offer a.
47:26
Lamb he was the. Lamb and he didn't wait for
47:30
you to get. Clean he came to you in the.
47:32
Dirt the cross is not the story of a distant
47:35
deity finally losing. Patience it's the story of a loving
47:40
father stepping into the fire so that nothing would separate
47:44
him from his children. Again and now the veil is,
47:48
torn the altar is no longer, guarded the blood has
47:51
already been, spilled And god isn't whispering from the back
47:55
of the tent. Anymore he's calling from within your, heart
47:59
draw near to. Me not because the rules have, changed
48:02
but because the price has been. Paid this is what
48:05
every burnt offering pointed, to not a religion of, routine
48:10
but a relationship of fire born. Love so if your
48:14
walk With god feels, cold if your faith feels, mechanical
48:18
if your prayers feel, empty maybe it's time to remember
48:22
what this was always. About not, duty not, fear not,
48:26
tradition but, nearness, real, costly, holy Intimate. God you sacrifice
48:32
not to push you, away but to prove how far
48:34
he would go to bring you. Close he still wants that,
48:37
closeness not, once but every, day not from behind a,
48:41
curtain but face to. Face and the only thing standing
48:45
between you and that intimacy is whether you'll come back
48:49
to the. Altar the altar still. Calls it doesn't look
48:53
like it used, to no bronze, horns no temple, veil
48:56
no priesthood in linen. Robes but it's still, here still,
49:00
burning still demanding a. Decision because the fire Of leviticus
49:06
never truly went. Out it moved from the tabernacle to the,
49:10
temple to a hill Outside, jerusalem to A roman cross
49:15
where blood poured, freely not from a, lamb but from
49:18
the sun Of, god not to cover sin, temporarily but
49:22
to remove it. Forever and now that fire burns in
49:26
the heart of every believer who dares to say what
49:29
the burnt offering once, DECLARED i am not my. Own
49:34
we've walked the whole journey, together through the ritual and the,
49:37
reality through the shadow and the. Substance we've seen the
49:41
worshiper bring his, best not his. Scraps we've watched him
49:45
press his hand on the head of the. Innocent we've
49:48
seen blood, flow fire, rise and ashes. Remain we've felt
49:53
the trembling awe of coming near a Holy. God and
49:57
we've seen how every one of these, moments every, sacrifice every,
50:01
flame every, tear was reaching forward To. Jesus he is
50:06
the better, offering the greater, flame the truer, priest the
50:10
altar that welcomes all who will come and die to
50:13
self so they can finally. Live so now the question
50:18
is no longer what DO i have to? Bring the
50:21
question is will you hold anything? Back because the altar
50:25
isn't asking for an, Event it's asking for your, everything your,
50:30
thoughts your, relationships your, ambitions your hidden, habits your hurts
50:35
and your, hopes your, comfort your, Control god doesn't want your.
50:40
Performance he wants your, surrender not, some not most, all
50:45
because what he offers in return is not just forgiveness
50:48
but fire born, fellowship not just, mercy but presents not
50:53
just a clean, conscience but a new, heart burning with
50:56
the same love that once lit the tabernacle. Sky so
51:00
let's return to the altar. Together let's kneel and pray
51:04
and bring it. All, Father we come before you with trembling,
51:08
hearts reminded of the, fire the, blood the. Sacrifice you are,
51:13
holy more than we've dared to. Admit but you are
51:16
also near closer than we could have. Imagined we thank
51:20
you for the. Altar we thank you for the. Offering
51:23
we thank you For, jesus the one who laid himself,
51:27
down not in part but in, whole the one who
51:30
burned in our, place the one who rose from the
51:33
ashes bearing scars of. Love teach us to offer ourselves in,
51:38
return not half, way not when it's, easy not with
51:42
one hand still on the, world but. Completely let the
51:46
fire of your spirit consume what is, false burn away
51:49
what is, divided strip off what is, shallow and make
51:53
us living sacrifices wholly. Acceptable aflame with. Awe we repent
51:59
of giving you. Scraps we renounce the lie that you're
52:03
content with, pieces and we return now to the, altar, saying,
52:07
HERE i am all of. Me burn what you, must
52:10
but let me be. Yours receive, us not because we are,
52:13
worthy but Because jesus, is and in his name we. Pray.
52:18
Amen if you made it to the end of this
52:21
teaching on the burnt, offering thank. You it means you're
52:24
not just, curious you're hungry for the, truth and that's.
52:28
Rare our hope is that this didn't just inform, you
52:32
but awakened something inside, you a, reminder a, warning or
52:37
maybe an invitation back To. God if this blessed you,
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