Leviticus 9, Begin Your Priestly Ministry
1. Prepare For The Lord To Appear (v1-6)
2. Maintain Your Walk With God (v7-14)
3. Help People Connect With God (v15-21)
4. Express God’s Blessing To People (v22-24)
Leviticus 9, Begin Your Priestly Ministry
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And ready to journey together through Leviticus Chapter 9.
It's the portion that we read today as we work our way through the Bible in three years, and so we'll be considering this chapter and the things that the Lord has for us through it.
Let's get started just by reading verses one through 6 here in Leviticus Chapter 9.
Here's what it says.
It came to pass on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the Elders of Israel.
And he said to Aaron, take for yourself a young bull as a sin offering and DRAM as a burnt offering without blemish, and offer them before the Lord and to the children of Israel.
You shall speak, saying, take a kid of the goats as a sin offering and a calf and a lamb.
Both of the first year without blemish, as a burnt off.
Ring also a bull and a RAM as peace offerings to sacrifice before the Lord and a grain offering mixed with oil.
For today, the Lord will appear to you, so they brought what Moses commanded before the Tabernacle of meeting, and all the congregation drew nearer, and stood before the Lord.
Then Moses said, this is the thing which the Lord commanded you to do.
And the glory of the Lord will appear.
To you.
Here we get to kind of jump into the next segment of something.
We looked at a few weeks ago in the Book of Exodus, where we looked at the consecration ceremony or the dedication ceremony for Aaron and his sons, the priests.
And as we looked at that we we kind of really began a series that.
Wasn't intentional, but over the past several weeks, the Lord really just focused on that theme of service unto the Lord.
And so it was that preparing to serve that we saw in the chapters escaping me as Exodus 23 or maybe 30.
Two, when we when we looked at that, it was a few Wednesdays ago, but we saw the the description of the dedication ceremony there that God gave to Moses for Aaron well yesterday in Leviticus chapter eight we saw the carrying out then of that ceremony and so Chapter 8 of Leviticus feeds into Chapter 9.
And at the last seven days, Aaron and Moses and Aaron sons have been engaged in this dedication service.
This consecration of Aaron as high priest and his sons as the priest.
In preparing them for their next segment of their lives and that was to live out as priests of the Lord.
And so now we get to see in Chapter 9 the beginning of their ministry.
And so I've titled the message this evening as we consider it for ourselves.
Begin your priestly ministry.
And I want to encourage you to consider that and think about that this evening that you like Aaron like.
Aaron Sons have a calling that is a priestly type of ministry.
Now obviously you know I'm not suggesting that we have the exact same min.
History we are not under the old covenant any longer.
The covenant has changed right?
And so there are some differences.
And yet there are some similarities as well.
We know that Paul tells us in first Timothy Chapter 2 verse five, there is one mediator between God and men and that is Jesus Christ, and so we need to be very careful as we think about the priestly ministry, not to, you know, kind of apply to that.
Some of the other concepts of.
Priests that are, you know, in various types of religions and such.
But the idea of a priest was really, to you, represent God to people and represent people to God, not as a mediator in the sense of you know, there is no access to God except you know that you come through us that that's not the kind of priestly ministry that God has given to us.
There is one mediator that's Christ and and every believer has direct.
Access to the father through Jesus Christ every believer has direct access to Jesus and to the father through Jesus, and so we don't need to be priests in the sense of you know that kind of.
Access to God, but at the same time we have the opportunity to minister in a priestly style or priestly type ministry, and so I would put it this way.
Every believer has direct access to God, but also every believer gets to participate in the spiritual life or the spiritual growth.
Of others.
Now Peter refers to this in first Peter Chapter 2, verse nine and 10, and I've quoted this a couple of times over the past couple weeks because we've been looking at these things and serving the Lord in this.
First Peter Chapter 2, verse nine.
Peter says you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, who were once not a people but are now the people of God who had not.
Obtain mercy, but now have obtained.
Mercy and Peter here is drawing the contrast.
We were in darkness without mercy, but God has called us out and so now we have this new identity in Christ, and we are a chosen generation, and part of that means that we are a royal priesthood.
You can tie that into some of the passages there in the Book of Revelation, where you have the 24 elders and and they you know have the songs that they sing that refer to themselves as kings and priests of the Lord, which represents the church you know in heaven before the Lord and and so we have this opportunity as this.
Chosen generation has chosen people that that we get to serve the Lord and to serve others in a priestly type way.
We are a royal preset and and what does that priesthood involve?
Well, he goes on to say there in verse nine that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light.
Part of our.
Priestly ministry is to proclaim the plate the praises.
God declare what he has done, declare how he has brought us out of darkness and into light.
Now maybe another way to look at this is the way that Paul says it in Second Corinthians, chapter 5 verse 20, he says we are ambassadors for Christ as though God were pleading through us.
We implore you on Christ behalf, be reconciled to God.
And so there is this idea of priests ministry.
There is this idea of ambassador.
You know you can kind of look at it from a couple different angles, but understand there is this relationship that we have with God and relationship with others around us where God desires to work through us.
To minister to people in our lives, and so every believer has direct access to God.
But also every believer gets to participate in the spiritual life and the growth of others.
And so again, this evening, I want to encourage you to begin your priestly ministry and really engage in this opportunity and this role that God has.
For you and so we'll look here in Chapter 9 and see four steps to get started in this priestly ministry.
Maybe you have started and you're down the path.
Always some good reminders here, and these things are really a cycle, not just you know four steps, and then you're done, but you know you get to step forward.
Then you start over back at step one and spend some time there and then work your way through again and so these are things that are important for us as we seek to serve the Lord.
And ministered to people around us.
Well, the first thing to consider found here in verses one through 6.
Here's step one.
Prepare for the Lord to appear.
Prepare for the Lord to appear.
What I found interesting here in these first six verses is that there was some preparation that had to be done before the actual you know, practical visible ministry could take place.
There was some instructions that had to be given.
Notice again a verse one it says, and it came to pass on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the Elders of Israel.
Now just to stop and reflect on the timing for a minute, it came to pass on the eighth day.
So again, Chapter 8 records for us, the seven days of consecration, and that whole ceremony that God had prescribed for the priests to begin their ministry, and so for the last seven days.
Aaron and his sons have been in the Tabernacle compound. They have been in God's presence. They've spent time in active obedience. They've spent the last seven days obeying God staying put.
Offering, you know their their time to the Lord in this way and their time in God's presence. I would suggest was a time of preparation for them for the ministry that it was about to take place, that the time in God's presence over the last seven days was at work in their hearts and preparing them.
As they were receiving this and obeying in this and so you can look at the active obedience that they were engaged in for the past seven days.
But also the the time in God's presence as things that were necessary steps for them to prepare them for what was about to happen today, and the rest of the chapter is all what happens on that eighth day, and so they spent seven days doing nothing in one sense, right? And then day eight now comes, you know, all of the work.
All in one day that they were to do that day in their priestly ministry.
And so it was the the seven days of consecration that led up to this time that so that they were prepared for and ready for the ministry that God had set for them.
Now Moses goes on to give them instruction first of all, to Aaron.
It says in verse two he said to Aaron, take for yourself a young bull as a sin offering, and here am as he burnt, offering without blemish and offer them before the Lord.
The actual offering of this.
These animals will see in a few verses down.
But the preparation part here is Moses tells Aaron, go get.
A bull as a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.
The instruction was for Aaron to physically move his body go, you know, to the corral or wherever they kept.
You know those animals?
Lasso one perhaps?
And you know, pull him in and and and to bring these two animals to the Tabernacle.
For the purpose of being sacrificed before the Lord.
And so again, I I see this as a, uh, a practical preparation thing.
They they spent seven days doing nothing.
But now before they can actually do the work of the ministry, there's some practical things to do.
They gotta go get the animal and bring it so that they can offer it as a sacrifice and and similarly Israel has.
Some preparation as well in verse three and four, he says to Israel, you shall speak, saying, take a kid of the goats as a sin offering and a calf and a lamb.
Both of the first year without blemish has a burnt off.
Offering also the bull, a bull and a RAM as peace offerings to sacrifice before the Lord and a green offering mixed with oil for today, the Lord will appear to you and so the people were given similar instruction.
Get to work making all this preparation.
Couple animals for a sin offering.
Find it right.
Remember the the sin offering.
Things well, all of the sacrifices had to be, you know, without blemish they had to be examined.
They had to be checked out again.
It's very practical what's about to happen here?
The people are going to go inspect some animals, find the right one, bring it, you know to the Lord for the sin offering.
Then for the burnt offering they were to find these two animals, inspect them, make sure there's no spots.
Which is they're, you know, taking these steps, then for the peace offering they had to inspect the animals.
Make sure there's you know nothing wrong with them, that they meet the standard that God had prescribed, and then bring them, and then the grain offering.
And it doesn't say exactly.
You know what green offering they're going to offer, but we saw last week in Leviticus Chapter 2.
It could have been just a bag of flour.
Or it could have been something baked, something prepared, something cooked, and so you know would ever form that took place and we don't know for sure.
But but there was the preparation, the grinding of flour that the gathering of these materials, and it caused me to stop and think and just kind of consider.
I wonder how much preparation for these sacrifice happened on the way to offer the sacrifice.
Right 'cause of course we know the sacrifices.
You know we're not so much about the animals as far as the Lord was concerned, right?
It was about the the heart of the people and their relationship to God.
And so I'm just kind of picturing myself, right?
If if you're in that environment and that's kind of a, you know you're seeing that you're you're you.
What's that called?
There's there's a word for it that I can't think of, but you know you care for flock and cattle, your shepherd, your you know, cattleman or ranch or whatever, right?
You're in that scene, right? So this isn't like some strange thing to them. Go get a RAM. It's like, OK, yeah, I know how to do that. I've done that 1000 times before. I've taken care of her dad, Rams, you know and and brought them about to where I needed them.
To be no problem, it's it's something that I've done many times, and yet at the same time there's something special about this one right?
Because because you're going with the mindset, even if it only takes you 10 minutes.
You're going with the mindset, alright, that's the yeah, that's the ram I want to offer to the Lord that he checks out he's good and and so you're thinking about.
The offering the sacrifice even before it gets to the altar.
There's some preparation that happens in your heart and in your mind in in the gathering of the materials, and then in the bringing forth of them.
You know that takes time to transport the animal from.
You know, wherever your corral is to the Tabernacle, right?
And so the idea here that I'm that I'm just kind of visually visualizing and picturing here is, is this preparation that would happen is the people would go to prepare their sacrifice, prepare their offering, and there's preparation that's happening in their mind and their heart as they're thinking about.
The sacrifice or thinking about what it means, and they're bringing that before.
The Lord and it was, after all, the preparation was done.
After they gathered together all these things Aaron gathered together the animals that he needed.
Israel gathered together the animals that they needed, and then in verse five so they brought what Moses commanded before the Tabernacle of meeting and all the congregation drew nearer and stood before the Lord.
After all, the preparation was done.
Then they gathered.
They they did all of the preparation.
They gathered everything that they need to everything was in place and then they gathered together.
And and as I was thinking about this and meditating on it, it really just reminded me of the importance for us thinking about these things today to prepare for the Lord to appear.
That you know, sometimes it's easy for us to.
Show up
At the Tabernacle.
Having not spent 10 minutes preparing our minds and hearts thinking about the sacrifice that we're about to offer, having not spent some time thinking about, you know, the different things that are needed in our relationship with the Lord.
Having having not spent time preparing.
For the gathering, but but here we see that in a very practical way there was preparation physical things.
You know things to do, and then they would gather together and and Moses tells them in verse six this is the thing which the Lord commanded you to do, and the glory of the Lord will appear to you.
And so there is this promise of the appearance of God and the glory of God.
The presence of God is promised, and and it's attached to this preparation that happens beforehand.
I I would just encourage you to consider that for a little bit.
You know, sometimes we can walk away from a gathering together of belief.
Rivers and be somewhat unmoved by what took place you know.
And maybe it doesn't feel like there was an appearance of the Lord.
Maybe it doesn't feel like the Lord met me.
Maybe you know there wasn't that glory of the Lord.
Now I'm not saying that every time that we gather has to be some supernatural event and like the end of the the chapter fire comes down.
From heaven, right?
But at the same time, if if we're always gathering but.
But there's no glory if we're always gathering and and the the Lord's not appearing, and we're not, you know, knowing the Lord in a greater way, we're not encountering the Lord in in some in some capacity, then, then I would kind of step back to here and and say, hey, maybe there needs to be a little bit more preparation on our parts.
In advance of the gathering that that in order for the Lord to appear in glory that we need to prepare our hearts and our minds to receive from the Lord.
Again, I would suggest to you that every believer has direct access to God, right and and yet at the same time, well, we need to take advantage of that access to God that we have and we need to approach God and.
And sometimes, although we have access to God, we don't actually approach God in a similar way as we have the opportunities to gather.
Sometimes we gather but, but we're not actually approaching.
God, we haven't prepared ourselves.
We haven't sought to know the Lord to worship him and to spend time with him in his presence.
And as we gather together as believers, again, every believer has direct access to God, and every believer gets to participate in the spiritual life of others.
As we gather together, there's a meaningful part that we play.
There's an opportunity that we have.
To be a part of one another's lives, and you know I'm saying this to a camera and to a couple of people in the room, right?
So you know this, perhaps you know, requires a little bit of prayer on our part.
For those of you who are watching online or unable to attend.
Or, you know, those kinds of things.
There are ways for you to engage with the body of Christ.
That there, you know is definitely opportunity for you to continue to participate in the spiritual life of others.
But but it comes back to it starts here.
Step one is is preparing for the Lord to appear.
And I I think it starts with really believing that God will reveal himself as he promised.
You know the Lord said that as we gathered together two or three right?
He is there in our midst that we are in the presence of the Lord as we gather in his name.
And so first of all we we need to believe that and we need to believe that as we gather together as we devote these times for the Lord, and, and whether that be you know.
Our services on Sunday, Wednesday, or you know a Bible study that you might have on a different day or a different time, but you know, gathering together of some sort in in seeking the Lord whenever it might.
Be that there is the opportunity for us to prepare in advance, not to just show up, and then you know expect the Lord to show up, but, but to show up in advance, having prepared our hearts again.
Here the.
The priest Aaron and his sons spent the last seven days.
Preparing and and just spending time in the presence of God so that when the gathering happened they were prepared for what it was that God wanted to do, and so time in God's presence is important. Before we gather not just when we get.
Their time in active obedience throughout the chapter and really the whole you know book of Leviticus you'll see as the Lord commanded as the Lord commanded as the Lord, commanded that there was this, you know, active obedience to what the Lord said.
That prepared the people for the work that God was going to do well, preparation.
Or preparing for the Lord to appear.
I think, similarly, can take some just real practical steps for us.
As they would just, you know, go grab a rope and you know rope up a RAM and pull it.
You know, and bring it to the Tabernacle, very practical physical thing, right?
In a similar way, we can prepare ourselves for the appearance of the Lord.
And perhaps one way to do that, I'm just going to give out some different examples, but there's much more perhaps that.
The Lord would lead you in preparation of, but perhaps one way for you to prepare practically is to have a pen and paper prepared and ready for when you gather with God and with his people.
Pastor Dillon used to always encourage us in that that you know if I show up and I'm expecting God to speak well.
Then I should be ready to receive and to capture what it is that God is going to say, right?
And and so there is that opportunity to take notes now.
Maybe it's not a pen and paper.
Maybe it's you know a notebook.
Maybe it's learning how to use a note system you know in your mobile device or something like that, but but some practical preparation?
To write down, this is the instruction of the Lord.
This is the word of the Lord.
This is what God saying, because I'm expecting God to speak and I want to follow through with what he says to me and meditate on what he puts upon my heart.
Practical steps to take might be to show up.
And yes, we have the great opportunity to you know, live stream and for some that they need right?
For some that is an important thing, and the Lord wants you to be live streaming, but for some of you live streaming is just kind of the easy substitute.
For actually.
Getting dressed, getting in the car, driving to church and participating and engaging with the Lord in that way and and perhaps there's some practical steps to take to just show up and to assemble together.
Preparation for Sunday morning.
You might want to consider it might start Saturday night.
In that you know, maybe I change my schedule or I say no to some things so that I can have a good night's rest so that I can be ready in the morning to be awake enough to hear from the Lord during service.
I know that can be a challenge.
Your son and so maybe you know Saturday evening is really the beginning of the preparation, and perhaps that's something the Lord would want to speak to you.
Now maybe God does have you watching online streaming streaming from home.
I would suggest you the same thing applies that there.
There's probably some practical things that you need to do to prepare for the Lord.
To appear and maybe at home, there's some different challenges and different steps to take.
Maybe it's a little bit more important because.
You know, in your own home you can be more easily distracted, right?
There's a lot more things to get your attention.
So in the middle of the time of worship, you know that you're drawn out of or pulled out of the time of worship.
Because there is this, you know other thing happening and so maybe you need to take some practical steps to protect against.
Those kinds of distractions.
I, I think watching from home.
It's more easy to be disengaged, you know.
Hey, you can show up for service.
I can show up for service and be, you know, just here in body and our my mind is you know completely somewhere else and I'm just, you know, getting through it and you can do the same thing at home.
So I'm not saying, you know one is only happening in one place or the other, but.
But you know, at the home I you know, I can imagine for me personally, if the TV is on, I usually have another device in my hand and I'm doing something else right?
And and I could see myself.
Although I'm teaching the service so I'm not able to experience it from home right but but the idea is I could understand I could see, you know, having something on the screen and it be just easy for me to.
To be hearing it to be watching it to be listening to it but but also to not be that really engaged, and so maybe some practical steps need to be taken for you to really engage and be part of the service as we're gathered together.
Now I'm spending a lot of time talking about services and and that's because of the gathering that happened here with the congregation, but I I would encourage you to take this beyond those things and and just just stop and think about and allow the Lord to speak to you about things that you need to do to prepare.
As you're looking forward to as God is calling you to or gathering.
You together you know, giving you times and opportunities to spend time with.
What are the things that should take place for you to prepare for the Lord to appear?
And so something to consider in order for us to begin our priestly ministry, there needs to be some preparation.
There's going to be some practical things to do to get things ready so that we can be in a state in a in a condition where we are ready to meet the Lord to serve the Lord and to see his glory.
Well, continuing on verses 7 through 14.
We get the second step for beginning our priestly ministry tonight.
And that is to maintain your walk with God.
Even though we're talking about this idea of a priestly ministry that we have and the opportunity to represent God to people and and to be part of the the growth in the spiritual life of others.
Well there also needs to be and we can never forget that importance of maintaining our own.
Walk with God that that we need to minister to ourselves first.
In a sense, not in a selfish way, but in the sense the idea that hey, if I'm not right with God, I'm going to, you know, really mess things up when I try to help you.
Be right with God.
Administer to your needs.
Check out verse 7 here of Leviticus 9, Moses said to Aaron, go to the altar, offer your sin offering and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself and for the people.
Offer the offering of the people and make atonement for them as the Lord commanded.
Verse 8.
Aaron therefore went to the altar and killed the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.
Notice the first thing that Aaron is called to do now up to this point again.
Referring back to Leviticus chapter 8.
There's been some sacrifices already that have been happening as part of this consecration process and Aaron beginning his ministry.
But up to this point, Moses has been the one offering the sacrifices.
And so now this is Aaron's turn and his first sacrifice.
His first offering.
Is for himself.
And I think that speaks to us about an important priority that we need to have.
The first sacrifice needs to be for ourselves and again not in a selfish way and and don't try to take that and you know, give it license to disobey something that God's putting upon your heart.
But but the idea is that we need to maintain and care for our own spiritual health, that that there is no.
High Priest, who you know was ever in a place where they did need to have these sacrifices for them themselves.
This wasn't the last time that Aaron is going to be offering these sacrifices either.
This was going to be ongoing.
He was going to be offering sacrifices for himself.
And then he would be able to offer sacrifices for the people.
Again, in Verse 7, Moses tells Aaron go to the altar, offer your sin offering and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself.
Aaron, there needs to be that atonement that happens for you before the Lord.
You need that Aaron.
And so he offers.
The sin offering in verse 8.
And that's interesting to consider.
It points out it's very clear at the end of verse eight which was for himself, right?
God makes it very clear.
This sin offering Aaron says it's for me.
The sin offering was for myself.
The sin offering was because I need to offer a sin offering.
I need to make atonement because I need to make atonement right?
Aaron here is confessing really his sin?
By offering these sacrifices to the Lord, admitting that he still.
Needs a sin offering.
That he still has sin issues, and to think about this in an interesting way, you know the last seven days they've been living in the Tabernacle.
It's been seven days of consecration.
And yet, at the end of that, he needs to offer a thin offering and make atonement for himself.
Not suggesting that you know Aaron was in outright rebellion or partying or doing something wrong, but testifying to the fact of our sinful nature that even in the best circumstances in the best conditions, you know we can be living, you know, at the the place where it seems like there's no temptations, you know, no difficulties, no challenges of for flash, right?
Seven days of consecration we can have with the Lord.
And yet at the end of it we still need to maintain our walk with.
And offer us in offering and be washed in cleanse because we have a sinful nature and hearts and minds that are distant from God.
Pastor David Guzik puts it this way, even though Aaron just spent the prior week in special dedication to the Lord, there was still more to give.
And I jumped ahead a little bit.
I was talking about the sin offering point done field.
OK now the burnt offering.
Now he offered a sin offering and a burnt offering.
That's what Guzik is talking about, and the burnt offering was again that giving of yourself completely and entirely to the Lord, and and again Aaron.
For the past seven days has been doing that.
He's been in the presence of the Lord.
He's been at the Tabernacle.
He's been giving himself to the Lord for the past seven days, and yet now.
There's still the burnt offering to offer, and so Pastor David Guzik saying is there's still more to give. This was an important experience of dedication. The idea of consecration had to be ongoing in the life of Aaron and all God's priests.
This wasn't the last burnt offering that Erin would offer.
Erin would continue to offer throughout his ministry sin offerings and burnt offerings, as well as you know, any of the other offerings that were appropriate and you know the Lord would put upon his heart as he was walking with the Lord.
But but the idea is, even though he's in this role of high priest seven days.
In the Tabernacle.
Well, there's still that burnt offering to offer.
There's still that opportunity and the need to express once again, here is an animal on the altar.
That's me God.
I'm devoted to you.
You know, I'm all yours completely turned over and and as I consider that it speaks to me again about our own.
Walk with God in and the maintenance that's required.
You know, we say things like I gave my life to the Lord, right?
And we refer back to you know that time where we were converted and born again, and had that opportunity to to receive the gospel message.
But in reality, that giving my life to the Lord needs to happen on an ongoing basis, not one time.
You know, back in 1978 when Jerry was born that I offered my, you know, life to the Lord.
But but every day really needs to be a, uh, giving of my life to the Lord that that burns.
Offering where I'm still.
Giving myself because well as often has been shared.
I think I showed it last week.
Or perhaps it was Sunday that living sacrifices the problem with them is that they keep getting off the altar.
Right, you and I we give ourselves to the Lord and we put ourselves on the altar.
So to speak, right we we give ourselves to the Lord, and then we see this other situation that's happening over here.
And we're like, oh, look, I'll be right back and we get off the altar.
I just gotta go take care of this real quick, right?
I I can handle this load and so we get off the altar.
We we go handle things or we go chase after things and and we need to come back to oh I gotta get back on the altar right the the sacrifice, the living sacrifice.
Keeps getting off the altar and and that's us.
You know our hearts are prone to wander.
We we are prone to wander away from the things of the Lord, and we need to continually come back to this idea of maintaining our walk with God.
Coming back to the sin offering all of my sin is forgiven in Jesus.
That's established that's done past, present and future.
His sacrifice upon the cross.
Pays for all of it.
But I still need to come and confess to the Lord my sin.
And because I do sin because I am sinful, there is always that opportunity, and there's that need for me to not stop doing that.
Now listen, this is important because you know it is possible for any one of us to find ourselves distant from God, far from God.
Because we stop maintaining our walk with him, even though we've believed in him, even though we've received, you know, his offering and sacrifice, even though we know all the right things.
We, you know, memorize the scriptures.
We know the scriptures we teach, the scriptures.
That doesn't mean that we are close to God or where we're at or where we need to be at in our walk.
With God, and so there needs to be this development of our spiritual life.
Maintain your walk with God.
God continue to bring your confession before the Lord confess your sin.
Allow God and invite God to work in your life in the area of sin and to bring about a a revival in your heart.
In those areas where you need it.
And continue to offer the burnt offering to give yourself over to the Lord.
As we were singing earlier, you know all of the dreams, all of the rights, all of the hopes.
Everything that I am right just continue to give that 'cause there's so many times I'm taking those things back, so I need to come again to this place of oh man, I forgot I took that back.
You're right, OK, I need to give this to you, Lord, I I want to give my life over to you completely.
And holy.
And so the sin offering the burnt offering we continue to maintain our relationship with God.
So the Priestly ministry, first of all, starts out with preparation, preparing for the Lord to appear and getting things together, putting you know ourselves in a good place to be able to receive from the Lord.
Hear from the Lord and it begins also with us, then maintaining our walk with God and staying close to the Lord and offering.
Ourselves to the Lord once again.
Well, the third thing step, #3 now as we continue on in verses 15 through 21 is help people connect with God.
Help people connect with God and and this is the other part right of the priestly ministry that the part of the priestly ministry was with the Lord, that maintenance, that time with him, that devotion to him.
But but now, connecting with the people that got us placed in our lives.
Check out verse 15.
It says that he brought the people offering.
And took the goat, which was the sin offering for the people, and killed it, and offered it for sin like the first one.
Here in verse 15 now, after Aaron has offered his own sacrifices, now he's in a place.
Where he can help other people in their relationship with the Lord, and so then it says at the beginning of verse 15.
Then he brought the people offering and it's really important not to get those that order mixed up right?
It's it's not offered the people offering and then you know if there's time then I'll work on my relationship.
God no, it's I need to be close to the Lord.
I need to have my life right with the Lord and walking with the Lord.
And then I'll be able to.
I'll be in a place where I will be able to help others around me and their relationship with the Lord.
And so after his maintenance was done.
After his life was In Sync with the Lord's, then he brought the people offering.
And you could probably tell him I'm not going into every verse and all the details here.
We kind of looked at these already a few times as we've been looking at the the sacrifices.
But but here he brings the people offerings, and there was four types of offerings that God had instructed the people to bring on this occasion.
Now we talked about the sacrifices on Sunday.
Two of them were mandatory, right?
The sin offering the trespass offering.
The others were freewill offerings, but in this case the Lord instructed them bring all these offerings, so all of these were mandatory.
God said bring all of these, and so they brought all of these and so we looked at the sin offering and the trespass offering.
On Sunday chapters, four and five and and this speaks of, you know, the forgiveness from God.
And then they were to offer a burnt offering in verse 16 says he brought the burnt offering and offered it according to the prescribed manner.
And again the the burnt offering speaks of that all consuming devotion to God, and so the people here were expressing their sinfulness and inviting God, asking God for forgiveness.
They're expressing to God there.
Their devotion to him and giving their lives to him in the burnt offering, and so Aaron is administering that and helping the people express that to God and give their lives to the Lord.
In that way they brought a grain offering in verse 17.
He took a handful of it and burned it on the altar.
As we saw the instructions for that last week.
Back in Chapter 2 and so they're expressing their gratitude.
They're offering, you know of what God has provided for them, and they're serving the Lord in that way.
And so Aaron is helping them, administering the grain offering, and then the peace offerings in verses 18.
Year 21 it describes the different peace offerings and all the different details of the things that he would do is he would take apart the animals and and offer them to the Lord.
But again, the peace offering was not to attain peace, but to enjoy peace, to have fellowship, and to enjoy and celebrate the fellowship that we have.
With God, and so these offerings to the Lord were things that the people were bringing to the Lord because he instructed them.
But also things that the people are bringing to the Lord because, well, this is what they wanted to express to the Lord.
And this is what they needed to express to the Lord.
They they needed to connect with God.
And all of these different weights and to receive from God the ministry that he had for them in each of these different sacrifices, and Aaron as the priests and his sons as the priests.
They get to help these people connect with God.
In this way, they get to administer these sacrifices, which means they get to be part of the process.
They're not taking the place of God, and they're not, you know, in a sense, like being the mediator in that you know they're the ones who access God and the people access them now.
They're helping the people to connect to God.
They're helping the people to to offer to the Lord these sacrifices and express these things that they mean to the Lord and receive from the Lord as a result.
And I, I think this paints a really good picture for us again, every believer.
First of all, has direct access to God.
But also every believer gets to participate in the spiritual life of others.
And so there's people in your life.
I've showed this so many times and yet we we need to be encouraged and refreshed in it again as the Lord has us here in these things.
That God has placed in our life those that he's called us to make disciples.
God has placed in our lives people around us that we would train them and teach them and help them to know the Lord and to walk with the Lord.
And so we have a priestly ministry to make disciples to help people connect with God and and.
And you know, maybe it takes different forms.
In fashions, depending on our spiritual gifts, our role in the body of Christ, you know our relationship to the people that God has placed in our life.
This isn't trying to explore every possible method that this is accomplished.
But the idea here is for you to think about and consider the people that got us place in your life and how can you help them connect with God in these different ways.
You know, sometimes someone comes to you and and you need to spend some time with them to help them understand and receive forgiveness from God.
And as a priest you get that opportunity.
As one who was called to make disciples, you get that opportunity when the Lord sent out his disciples, he says if you forgive the sins of anyone, they're forgiven.
Now, it's not that he was actually, you know, giving Peter the authority above everybody else. To, you know, forgive people's sins. But but they were authorized to speak on behalf of the Lord.
And so when they understood yes, you've confessed Jesus as Savior and Lord, you know you've confessed your sin to the Lord and turned from that.
There was the authorization from the Lord to say your sins are forgiven.
Not that Peter could forgive their sins, but Peter could communicate on behalf of God and say, hey, your sins are forgiven.
And and there needs to be sometimes in our lives.
This expression of forgiveness to others on behalf of God, that that we would help them to offer the burnt offering.
And bring their sin before the Lord and receive forgiveness from God that God gives us opportunities to help people understand what forgiveness is and and what right relationship with him looks like.
Or maybe it's the burnt offering you know, and there's a conversation.
Perhaps that's happening.
There's a personal one on one ministry that's happening, and.
And you realize that the Lord is bringing about this opportunity for you to help this person offer a burnt offering.
To help them in their conversation in the discussion, understand that they need to surrender themselves completely to the Lord.
And to bring a burnt offering in and you get to engage in helping them.
Maybe praying with them, maybe you know, encouraging them in some practical preparation, things you know, maybe helping them to to to move forward in that in some way.
The fellowship offering or the peace offering.
You know, there are so many people who feel disconnected from God.
Feel out of sync with God.
Feel that God is upset with them and angry with them and so they don't approach him.
They don't know how to walk with him.
They don't know how to pray.
They don't know how to spend time with him.
They don't have devotional lives.
There's a lot of people who believe in Jesus.
But but they don't enjoy the fellowship with God that is afforded to us by Jesus.
And so there there is the need for others around them to come alongside and to help them offer a peace offering and learn how to fellowship with God and learn what that means and and to demonstrate what that looks like.
The grain offering service unto the Lord.
There's need for people around us to be encouraged and edified and built up.
It's part of what God is designed us to be as the body of Christ, and it's part of the Ministry of the Holy Spirit to anoint us to help others right, of course.
Ephesians Chapter 4 it talks about the the different roles in the body of Christ and there were specific roles that were given to.
Equip the Saints for the work of ministry and so of course you know those roles, but again, we've all been called to make disciples, and so there is an opportunity for us as well to come alongside people and help them discover their spiritual gifts and express their gratitude to the Lord in service unto the Lord.
Now those are, you know, kind of looking at some personal one on one kind of encounters, but this could take a lot of different shapes.
Your role in the body of Christ.
May focus on one area more than the others, perhaps, and so if you have the gift of evangelism and and so you know you're going to be working a lot with the the the sin offering, right?
And the the forgiveness from God and working on the that gospel message and and focused on that.
But if you're in the worship ministry and you know.
That's your calling, and that's the way that you serve the Lord.
Well, there's a priestly opportunity there, and as hopefully I demonstrated a little bit this morning, I understand, but not this morning.
But this.
Evening you know my the time of worship when I'm leading it's it's just the bag of flour, right?
It's not fancy, it's not amazing but but hopefully I demonstrate a little bit for you.
Worship leaders out there that that you can, you know, take the the different concepts here that are important and necessary in our relationship with the Lord and embed them.
And entwine them and help people.
That's our job as worship leaders is to help people connect with God in these different ways that that we need and sometimes.
I remember Pastor Damian Kyle sharing this one time that you know as a new believer the worship time was so impactful for him because it taught him to express things to the Lord.
That number one he didn't know that he needed to express.
But but that number two, that he was able to express things to the Lord, that he didn't know how to express and and that can be really important and helpful.
And so the worship ministry can engage in all of these things.
For those of you who you know, perhaps your primary ministry that God given to you is that of prayer that there is a component of these different aspects of you know other people in their relationship with the Lord and your prayer for them that are at play and your opportunity then to come alongside them in that way.
Or maybe your ministry is.
Exhortation that is a spiritual gift that you have.
And again there's that interaction.
Maybe it's teaching, like you know, in this kind of environment, and so there there's all of these different opportunities.
And the focus may be different and change week to week or time to time.
Or it might be a focus.
You know that really, you know God, given you that Ministry of Fellowship with God, right?
And and you just are on a mission every conversation, every time you're engaging with believers.
That that's just what the Lord has put upon your heart.
You think about Pastor Chuck Smith, right?
He had the ministry.
Of the grace of God, and it was just like all throughout his ministry all throughout his life all the time.
He was.
Preaching, you know, he taught a bunch of different things.
He talked through the whole Bible, but the overarching theme really of the ministry was the grace of God, right?
And so, in a similar way, you might have that kind of focus from the Lord, and you know, embrace that.
Embrace that focus and you know be the fellowship with God, person, and and everywhere you go.
Encourage people, help people.
Understand and experience the fellowship with God.
Throughout the New Testament, we have those one.
Another commands we're commanded to Minister to one another.
We're commanded to be interacting with one another with one another and be part of each.
Others lives in this way.
It's part of our priestly ministry now.
One other thing I want to say on that and that is that the priests could not force.
The people.
Aaron could only offer what the people brought.
So we can come alongside people and help people who want to offer a burnt offering right and give themselves to the Lord.
And maybe they need some help.
You know, understanding that and understanding what that looks like and how to do that.
And you know what that means and how to pray that and so on and so forth.
But at the.
Same time we can't come and say you need to give yourself over.
Completely, you know like smash their face in it and and make them be a burnt offering like that doesn't work right?
We we it's not our job to change people.
It's not our job to be the Holy Spirit to bring about conversion right?
It's our job to come alongside hey, you know I would love to I want to help.
You in you know this offering and knowing the Lord this way, expressing these things to the Lord.
But but we can't be trying to make these things happen.
Aaron could not, you know, go get the animal and offer it on so I offered it on the altar for you, you know, so you know whether you like it or not, you're a burnt offering and you know like that.
That's not the way that.
It works, we can't force God, doesn't force them. He gives them the opportunity. He invites them and we need to carry forth that ministry as well. Well, finally, verses 22 through 24. Here's Step 4.
More of our earth of our priestly ministry, and that is to express God's blessing to people. Let's read these verses, verse 22 says.
Then Aaron lifted his hand toward the people, bless them, and came down from offering the sin, offering the burnt offering and the peace offerings.
And Moses and Aaron went into the Tabernacle of meeting and came out and blessed the people.
Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people, and fire came out from before the Lord, and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar.
When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell.
On their faces.
Here we see as Aaron and his sons are bringing about this service of ministry.
These sacrifices to the Lord Aaron in his you know first.
Opportunity here to sacrifice on behalf of the people in verse 22.
It says he lifted his hand toward the people and blessed them.
He blessed them.
Not that Aaron was actually able to bless, right?
But but he is representing God.
And expressing blessings from God.
He offered the sin offering the burnt offering, the peace offerings, and he's up there on the altar and.
And there is like steps up to the altar, and he's so he's offering any turns around.
He can see the whole congregation.
They're gathered, and.
And he blesses them.
Now what does it mean?
That he blessed them?
It's likely that he spoke the blessing that God had instructed for him to speak.
In numbers chapter 6.
Now I understand numbers Chapter 6 in our Bibles, you know, comes after Leviticus Chapter 9, right?
But that doesn't necessarily mean that the Lord didn't give it to them before that, and so numbers chapter six.
We have the priestly blessing.
Here's the the blessing that Aaron was commanded to speak to the children.
Of Israel, he says this is the way you shall bless the children of Israel, say to them, the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord, make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.
The Lord, lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.
This was the.
Or the manner in which Aaron was to bless the children of Israel.
And you'll notice all of the source of the blessing is the Lord right?
Doesn't say Aaron bless you and keep you right.
It says the Lord bless you and keep you so when it says Aaron blessed the people, I would suggest he's saying the Lord bless you.
That's how Aaron blessed the people by saying.
The Lord bless you, and again, it's Aaron's opportunity here to express to the people.
That God has received their sacrifice.
The Lord bless you.
He's on your side. He's with you. He's for you, the Lord, bless you and keep you the Lord's gonna protect you and preserve you.
The Lord's going to work in your life and and and preserve you and keep you in the place where you need to be.
The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May you see.
The glory of the Lord.
Again, Moses said earlier today you're gonna see the glory of the Lord, right?
The the glory of the Lord is gonna appear before you.
I mean the grace of God abound in your life.
Again, what Aaron is expressing here this blessing is speaking on behalf of the Lord and speaking. You know the Lord's desires upon them and into their lives. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
And so they would give you peace and grace, the Lord preserve you, the Lord, protect you, and do good to you. He was able to speak on God's behalf as he ministers this offering.
To the Lord on their behalf.
In verse 23, it tells us Moses and Aaron went into the Tabernacle of meeting and came out and blessed the people and so double blessing twice, blessed.
It is being offered here and given to the people and and here again for us this evening as we wrap this up, we have the opportunity to express God's blessing to people.
To express hey gods with you, and God is going to keep you.
God going to preserve you and take care of you, and God is going to be gracious to you and shine his face upon you, that that we get the opportunity as we ministered to people and help come alongside them in their offerings and their sacrifices and their hearts that are, you know, getting right with God.
That we get to express the Lord's blessing he the lids pleased. You know with that desire he's pleased with what it is that's happening there and and he desires for you to know that.
And so we have this incredible privilege and opportunity to engage in a priestly ministry where that royal priesthood as believers in the Lord, and so we can get started now.
By preparing preparation for the Lord to appear, preparing to gather together, preparing for our times with the Lord and with one another.
We can.
Begin our priestly ministry by maintaining our walk with God, staying close to the Lord, drawing nearer to him, continuing to come before him with confession and giving ourselves over to him completely.
And then we can help people.
Then we're in a position where we can come alongside others and help them connect to God and express all of these different things that we need to express before the Lord.
Represented by these different offerings and and we get to engage and help them connect to God in all these different ways.
And then we get to be God's blessing to people, to just announce his blessing, announce his promises, announce his goodness and his grace toward them. Begin your priestly ministry. Let's pray, Lord, we thank you for.
Your word and the examples given here with Aaron and his sons, Lord and the priestly ministry.
Although it's part of the old Covenant and not exactly the way that you've called us to relate to you.
Lord, there's so many things here that you have built in Lord that symbolize and point us to you, but that we might know you.
That we might understand you, that we might receive from you to a greater degree, and Lord.
There's also so many things here that you want to speak to us to show us how we can live out the life that you have set before us and called us too.
And so, Lord, I pray that you would help us to see and understand.
Help us Lord to understand the role and the ministry that you've given to us.
Lord, that we might step forward in it, help us to be diligent and faithful.
To seek you to give ourselves to you, or that we might be equipped and prepared to serve one another.
I pray this in Jesus name.