Will you please turn to the book of Leviticus? Leviticus, chapter 1, the first two verses. Leviticus, chapter 1, verses 1 and 2.
And the Lord called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tent of meeting, saying,
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When any man of you bringeth an offering unto the Lord, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd and of the flock.
Chapter 19 of the same book, the first two verses.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.
Chapter 23, verses 1 and 2.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, The set feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are My set feasts.
And chapter 27, verses 1 and 2.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall accomplish a vow, the persons shall be for the Lord by thy valuation.
Shall we pray?
Dear heavenly Father, we are in Thy presence, and we do ask Thy Holy Spirit to open Thy Word to us, that we may not only understand, but may be led into Thy truth. In the name of our Lord Jesus, amen.
This morning we are in volume three of the Pentateuch, the books of Moses. In Genesis, we see the will of God, which is man—the Man Jesus Christ, and the corporate man, the Christ. Then in Exodus, we see the work of God. It is redemption.
Now this morning we come to Leviticus. It speaks of the ways of God, which is worship.
Now, this book of Leviticus, in the Hebrew Bible, takes its title from the first word in the book: “And He called.” God speaks out of the tent of meeting to His people, and He calls them to come, to worship and to serve Him.
This book of Leviticus is a book of law, but it is the law that governs worship. Sometimes it is called the handbook of the priests. Of course, we know the priests are those who worship and serve, and this is a handbook for the priests.
Now, the word Leviticus is taken from Levi. We know that Levi is a priestly tribe. They are set apart to serve God in the tabernacle, and later on in the temple. So, all in all, you find that this book of Leviticus is concerned with this matter of worship and service.
Now, of course, we know there is no way to separate worship and service. You know, in Romans 12:1, with which we are all familiar, we are told to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service. Some versions say, “which is your spiritual worship.”
Because worship and service are the two sides of one thing. When we think of worship, we think more of the inward reality, the spirit. When we think of service, probably we think more of outward activities. But what are outward activities if there is not an inward spirit? And if you have that inward spirit, surely it will come out in outward activities.
So actually, you find worship and service are one and the same thing. We worship and we serve. As we serve, we worship; as we worship, we serve. These are the same thing. Here you find we are all called to worship.
In 1 Peter 2, we are as living stones, being built up together as a spiritual house, a holy priesthood. So, dear brothers and sisters, today every believer, every child of God, is a priest. It is our calling, our vocation, to come to worship God and to serve Him.
Now, we know that Leviticus is volume three of the five-volume Pentateuch. It is a continuation of Exodus, because in Exodus, when you come to the end of the book, you find that the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, is set up, and the glory of God fills that place.
Now, you find in Leviticus that God has taken possession of that tabernacle. His glory has come. He has entered into His dwelling place, and now He speaks out of the tent of meeting.
Timewise, Leviticus does not cover much time. We find that on the first day of the first month of the second year after the children of Israel came out of Egypt, they set up the tent—that is, the tabernacle. Then in Numbers 1, on the first day of the second month of the second year, God numbered His people.
So when you take these things together, in between you have Leviticus. Timewise, Leviticus covers approximately a month of time. But spiritually, you find that it covers a great deal.
You know, in Exodus, it begins with sinners. The children of Israel were in bondage. But in Leviticus, it is a people already delivered, and they are here to hear what God has to say to them.
In Exodus, God speaks from Mount Sinai and gives the moral laws governing our relationship with Him and with one another. In Leviticus, God speaks out of the tabernacle, giving us the laws governing worship. So you find that Leviticus is actually a continuation and an advance upon the book of Exodus.
We are called to worship.
Now, in this book of Leviticus, which is a book of laws governing worship, of course, the Old Testament is type and shadow. The reality is found in the New Testament.
The children of Israel were called to worship and to serve, but they worshiped and served in a physical way. We are called to serve and to worship in spirit and in truth.
You remember in John 4, it says that the Father is seeking true worshipers, those who worship Him in spirit and truth. It is no longer a matter of place—where? It is no longer a matter of time—when? It is no longer in Jerusalem, nor in this mountain. It is a matter of spirit and truth.
This is only possible because Christ has come, and He has accomplished everything for us, enabling us to be true worshipers of the Father. Then why do we study Leviticus? We are not to offer sheep and goats and cattle to God.
Well, the form is different, but the spiritual principle is the same. Therefore, we can learn much from the book of Leviticus, because this book is given to us for our admonition, to teach us how to worship God in spirit and truth.
This book begins with offerings. From Leviticus 1 through Leviticus 6:7, we find five offerings. Then from Leviticus 6:8 through chapter 7, we find the laws of the offerings.
Now, why is it that in the very beginning of this book, it is offerings? Because we know that our God is a righteous and holy God. Whoever is to approach God has to approach God through these offerings.
In other words, there is no way for us to draw near to God on our own ground. God is holy, and we are sinful. God is righteous, and we are defiled. There is no way for us, on our own ground, to approach God. If we do, we will be smitten to death immediately.
The only way that people can draw near to God is through these offerings. In other words, all these different kinds of offerings are the various aspects of Christ—what Christ is and what He does for us. It is only on the ground of Christ that we are able to come near to God, to worship Him and to serve Him.
Christ is the way to God. There is no other way.
If we want to worship God and serve God, we have to come through Christ, in Christ, with Christ, and by Christ. It is Christ. He is the offering by which we are able to come and worship.
There are five offerings. First, the burnt offering. The burnt offering speaks of our Lord Jesus, who offered Himself spotless to God through the eternal Spirit, to purify our conscience from dead works that we may worship the living God. That is Hebrews 9:14.
You know, a burnt offering is a whole offering. That is, the offering is going wholly, completely, to God. It is a voluntary offering. It is a love offering.
Here you find our Lord Jesus. Because of His love for the Father and His love for us, He voluntarily gave Himself up to be the whole offering to God for us.
If you want to know the spirit of that burnt offering, you have to go to Philippians 2. There you find our Lord Jesus, who, being equal with God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, and yet He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant. Being found in fashion as a man, He further humbled Himself and died on the cross for us—a burnt offering to God.
The thought of the burnt offering is more of acceptance than atonement. If you read Leviticus 1, you will find that it touches upon atonement—atonement meaning a covering of sin—but basically the burnt offering is for acceptance.
That we may be accepted by God in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:6 says that we are accepted in the Beloved. Accepted simply means that we are taken into His favor. We are put in a position of grace and favor.
Brothers and sisters, you will find it is all because of our Lord Jesus. Today we are accepted by God. He is our burnt offering.
Then the second offering is the oblation, or meal offering. It speaks of the life of our Lord Jesus on earth. He is the grain of wheat that falls into the ground and dies. John 12:24.
He is the grain of wheat. He is ground into fine flour. Every aspect of His life is holy, pure, fine, and sinless. Yet you find He is made into a cake and baked. In other words, our Lord Jesus has gone through the cross, the suffering of the cross, so that He may be food to God and food to us.
You know, in the meal offering, you find frankincense, salt, and oil always with the meal offering. Frankincense speaks of an open fragrance. It is not inhibited. Salt always speaks of permanency, and oil speaks of the Holy Spirit.
Look at the life of our Lord Jesus. There is always that open fragrance. You cannot hide it. It is there wherever He is, with whomever He is in contact, and in whatever He does. There is a fragrance coming out. You cannot help it.
There is that permanency in Him. Everything He does and says is eternal. It is in the power of the Holy Spirit.
In the meal offering, there are two things prohibited. One is leaven; the other is honey. Leaven speaks of wickedness and corruption, either in teaching, doctrine, conduct, or manner. Honey speaks of natural sweetness. It is not natural sweetness; there is a supernatural, divine sweetness in Christ Jesus.
A meal offering is for God’s pleasure. Therefore, when our Lord Jesus was on earth, heaven was so pleased that heaven opened and said:
This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
For pleasure—for God’s pleasure. Dear brothers and sisters, is that not wonderful? Not only was our Lord Jesus, when He came into this world to be a man, a pleasure to God in His whole life; actually, the whole creation is for God’s pleasure.
You remember in Revelation 4 that all things were created for Thy pleasure. We are created for God’s pleasure, but we gave God much sorrow. Yet thank God, through Christ Jesus, we again become a pleasure to God. Is that not marvelous? The grace of God!
Then the third offering is the peace offering. The peace offering speaks of Christ as our peace.
Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:1.
Christ is our peace. He has not only made peace between us and God, reconciling us to God, but He has made peace among us. He has brought the Gentiles and the Jews together and taken away the middle wall of partition, that we may be brought into one new man, having peace and approaching God together.
Christ is our peace offering. You know, in a peace offering, the fat of that animal is taken out and completely burned to God for God to consume.
Fat in Scripture speaks of inward abundance, the abundance of inward life. Now, today we do not like that word, but it actually means there is so much life that it becomes fat and is stored within you. It speaks of abundance of inward life and energy.
In the abundance of His inward life and energy, Christ satisfies God. Because He has satisfied God’s righteousness, therefore He has reconciled us to God.
In the peace offering, not only does God have His part; the priest has his part, and the offerer and his family have their part. Even the strangers and neighbors have a portion of it. In other words, it speaks of communion, of fellowship.
The peace offering speaks of fellowship: how we can have fellowship with God and fellowship with one another. The basis of such fellowship is Christ, our peace offering.
Then the fourth offering is the sin offering. I think this is very clear. He who knew no sin, our Lord Jesus, was made sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God. That is 2 Corinthians 5:21.
Christ has borne our sins in His body on the tree, that, being dead to sin, we might live unto righteousness. When we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. It is because of His death, of His blood—the blood brought into the holiest of all to atone for our sins—that our sins are all forgiven.
Christ is our sin offering.
Then the fifth offering is the trespass offering. The trespass offering speaks of not only once for all Christ dying for us and cleansing us from our past sins, but of His daily cleansing.
That is in 1 John 1:7. If we walk in the light, as God is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus the righteous.
Whenever we fall into sin in our daily life, we become defiled. But we find that there is Christ Jesus, our trespass offering. He is cleansing us day by day, that our fellowship with God may not be interrupted.
So here you find, in these five offerings, the foundation and basis of worship. It is through Christ.
When we see Him as our offerings, when we appropriate Him as all this, then you find there comes forth from within us praise and worship.
You know, worship actually means worth-ship. In other words, worship simply means He is worthy. Because we see He is worthy, therefore we worship Him. We praise Him, we appreciate Him, and we love Him.
Here you find that the ground of worship is Christ—all that Christ is and all that He has done for us.
Then you come to Leviticus 6:8 through chapter 7, which is the laws of the offerings. The offerings speak of worship. The laws governing the offerings speak of the worshipers.
In the offerings, you find the sacrifice; but in the laws, you find the offerers—what the offerers should do, what they do with these offerings, what participation they have in them, and what part they have.
Mainly, you find in the laws of the offerings identification. First of all, the offerer is identified with his offering. Whenever something is to be offered, you put your hand on the head of the animal, to show that you are identified with that thing.
Brothers and sisters, we become worshipers because we are identified with Christ. He is the reason for our worship. We appreciate Him. We have proved all that He is to us, and that makes us worshipers.
Then you find in the law that there is participation. These offerers participate in the offerings. In the burnt offering, all is for God; there is nothing for the priest. But in the meal offering, a portion is burned to God, and the priest eats the rest.
In other words, we share. We enjoy what Christ is to us with other offerers. There is participation, there is sharing, and there is communion. These are the laws of the offerings.
I cannot go into detail, because I have to go on.
Now, from chapter 8 to chapter 10, we find the consecration of the priests. Then from chapter 11 to chapter 22, you find the separation of the people.
Now, brothers and sisters, let us remember that we are God’s people as well as God’s priests. In the Old Testament, you find these divided. The reason why they are divided is because of their sin.
When God delivered the children of Israel and brought them to Mount Sinai, you remember in Exodus 19, God said that if they would keep His commandments and His covenant, they would be a peculiar people unto Him, a people of His possession, and a kingdom, a nation of priests.
In other words, they were not only people, but they were also priests. So today, through the finished work of Christ, which is complete and perfect redemption, brothers and sisters, we are both God’s people and God’s priests.
To us, there is no more such division. In the Old Testament, you have the division: priests are priests and people are people. But today you cannot divide the people from the priests. There is no priesthood and laity anymore. Every believer is a priest as well as one of the people of God.
Therefore, we put all these chapters together, and you find that there is one thing that stands out. Whether it concerns the priest or the people, there is one word that stands out over all things, and that is holy. Holy. Separate. Consecrate.
All these give you the same thought. What must be the character of the worshiper? God is seeking true worshipers who worship in spirit and truth, but in order to worship God, you have to have a certain character.
What is that supreme character that God requires of His worshipers? It is holiness—separation.
The Lord says, “Ye shall be holy: for I am holy.” There must be a sameness, a suitability, between God and the worshiper. As a matter of fact, you find it is always true: whom you worship gradually characterizes you.
If you worship an idol, gradually you will find you become like that idol. If you worship the living God, gradually you become like God. You take up His character.
That is the reason why, in worshiping God, the character of the worshiper is very, very important. If we want to be true worshipers, God requires that we be a separated people, a holy priesthood.
The reason for holiness is very simple. Again and again, you find this throughout these chapters: “I am the Lord thy God.” That is the reason. Because He is our God, He is the One whom we worship. Therefore, He demands that we worship Him in holiness.
“Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” That is what the psalmist said. We have to worship God in the beauty of holiness. Otherwise, our worship will not be accepted. It will bring reproach to God, and God will not be pleased.
You know, the opposite of holy is not sin. The opposite of sin is righteousness. The opposite of holiness is commonness—to be common.
God wants us to be special. He said, “You are My peculiar people.” He has separated us from the world. Separation: that is what God demands. We need to be separated from the world.
We need to be separated even from the religious world. We need to be separated from ourselves, the old flesh. We need to be separated from anything that is not of God, so that we can be dedicated to God.
You know, separation or holiness has two sides. One side is separated from, and the other is separated unto. We are set apart from all that is not of God, and we are set apart for all that is unto God. That is holiness.
So it requires that all those who worship God must take upon themselves the character of holiness.
Again, we say the only reason why we must be holy is because God is holy.
With the children of Israel, it is more of an outward separation. There are certain things they should not do, and certain things they must do, and that separates them.
They are separated from the world because of what they eat and what they do not eat. If you read the book of Leviticus, you find that there are unclean things which they should not eat, and that separates them. That is the reason why they considered the Gentiles as dogs, because we eat all these unclean foods.
With the children of Israel, it is more of these outward things that govern their separation. But, of course, with us today, our separation is an inward matter.
In other words, what separates us is the life of Christ in us. As the life of Christ begins to grow in us, then our separation becomes more and more distinct.
It is no longer a matter of outward things alone. Of course, it will overflow into outward things, no doubt about that. But it has to begin with the inward life.
Gradually, we take upon ourselves the character of Christ. As Christ is being formed in us, then you find the wall of separation from the world and from anything that is not of God grows higher and higher, until finally, in the New Jerusalem, you have never seen such a high wall in the whole world—complete separation.
Holiness is most important to the house of God.
Then you come to chapters 23 through 26. You find the set feasts. Worship is more than just a personal, individual thing. There is a personal, individual side of worship, but worship is also a corporate thing.
The children of Israel had set feasts. At certain seasons, they were called together to assemble, to draw near to God, to worship God, and to serve God together as a nation. These are the set feasts.
So, dear brothers and sisters, let us remember that our worship to God is not only personal, but it is also corporate. True, we do not try to worship God only corporately without an individual, personal life.
Today, the problem is that many people make worship merely a corporate thing. So on Sunday morning, you go for worship; but during the rest of the week, you never worship. Now, that is not worship, because worship is a life.
True worshipers worship God in spirit and truth. In other words, it is no longer a matter of time and space. It has transcended time and space. Whether you are at home, in the office, or working—wherever you are—your whole life ought to be worship unto God.
That is what worship is. It is no longer limited to a certain place and a certain time. Unfortunately, many people are still doing that, thinking that Sunday morning is worship and Sunday afternoon is recreation. They divide worship. They put worship in a hole.
Yet, in one sense, we realize that worship is corporate, and that is good. Unfortunately, there are people who do not worship with others anymore. They say, “Well, I worship God—God and me. I do not need anybody else.”
So they stay at home and worship. Some turn on the radio or television and worship. They do not meet with people anymore; they do not assemble anymore.
Brothers and sisters, the Word is very clear. Worship is personal, but it is also corporate. It is the will of God that we shall come together from time to time to worship God together corporately.
With the children of Israel, you find these set feasts. Set feasts simply mean fixed times to draw near to God together. They have holy convocations.
In these feasts, you find something very interesting. In Leviticus 23, the Sabbath is mentioned first, yet it is not listed among the set feasts that follow. Actually, Sabbath is a set feast, no doubt about that, but it is not grouped with the seven.
Why is that? It is because Sabbath is the basis of all the other feasts. In other words, Sabbath gives the nature to all the other feasts.
Now, what is Sabbath? Sabbath is rest. How can you rest? Because the work is done.
Here you find the spirit: when God’s people rest in the finished work of Christ, because the work of Christ is already finished, then we are on the ground of the finished work of Christ. Then we come together to celebrate. That is assembly together.
Assembling together is not just trying to come and get something in order to pacify you or put you to rest. Actually, we all come with a Sabbath spirit. We have already rested in Christ, and so we all come and celebrate. We come to glorify God.
So Sabbath is the basis of all the set feasts. These set feasts all speak of Christ and what Christ has done for us.
Passover—I think we are pretty clear about Passover. In 1 Corinthians 5:7, it is Christ our Passover. Christ is our Passover.
It is because of Christ, because of the blood that is shed and the blood that has been sprinkled—that is, we have accepted the blood of the Lord Jesus—that the angel of death passes over us. We are out of death into life, and it is because Christ is our Passover. Thank God for that.
Immediately following, or in connection with, Passover is the Feast of Unleavened Bread. We have to celebrate this feast, not with leavened bread, with the leaven of wickedness and malice, but with unleavened bread, with sincerity and truth.
In other words, brothers and sisters, once we accept Christ as our Passover Lamb, then there begins that Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days, and seven speaks of fullness.
After we are saved by the blood of the Lamb, from then on our whole life is living in the Feast of Unleavened Bread. We are celebrating, we are living, we are working. Our whole life from then on, personally and corporately, is a Feast of Unleavened Bread.
There should be no malice and no wickedness, but all sincerity and truth. That is the way we should live before God.
Then, of course, the third feast is the Feast of Firstfruits, the wave sheaf. When it comes to the barley harvest, which is at the beginning of the Jewish year, they take a sheaf and bring it to the temple and offer it to God. They celebrate the Feast of Firstfruits.
When you apply this to New Testament times, of course it speaks of resurrection—the resurrection of our Lord Jesus.
In 1 Corinthians 15:20 and 23, Christ is raised from the dead, the firstfruits of them that are fallen asleep. He is the firstfruits of resurrection, and after Him, those who believe in Him.
So, brothers and sisters, we thank the Lord that our Lord Jesus has not only lived a life of purity, and not only died on the cross and become our Passover, but He has been raised from the dead. Because He is raised from the dead, therefore one day we all shall rise.
Then it is followed by Pentecost. Of course, Pentecost refers to Acts 2. When Pentecost had come, the one hundred and twenty gathered in the upper room praying. Suddenly there was a rushing, mighty wind, and it filled the house. They were filled with the Holy Spirit.
That is where the church begins. The one hundred and twenty become a body of one hundred and twenty members. This body continues to grow until one day, when it is fully grown, Christ will come back and receive it as His bride.
So, brothers and sisters, the first four set feasts happen at the beginning of the year. Then you find there is a lapse of time until the end of the year.
First, you have the Feast of the Blowing of Trumpets. On the first day of the seventh month, the priests blow the trumpet. Now, of course, that has an application to the Jewish nation; that is true. But this morning we would like to apply it to Christ and to us.
Probably the blowing of the trumpet speaks of the time after the church began on the day of Pentecost in the first century. The church continued on and on and on, and gradually the church lost its testimony. The church sank into the world.
Then awakening begins. Historically speaking, the blowing of trumpets probably refers back to the Reformation. During the time of the Reformation in the sixteenth century, there was a blowing of the trumpet. There was a great awakening among God’s people, and this has continued on and on.
Then, on the tenth day of the seventh month, there is the Day of Atonement. It is a great day, a day of repentance, a day of humiliation before the Lord, and yet a day of great importance because this is the atonement.
What can we apply this to? Probably it refers to the last days, when God’s people begin to appreciate more and more the work of our Lord Jesus. They begin to see more and more of God’s purpose with His people.
Because they begin to see God’s eternal purpose with His people, how it humbles them! How they repent before God! Dear brothers and sisters, the more we see God’s purpose, the more we are humbled. Why? Because we find ourselves not in that right place.
How we need to repent before God. Because of this repentance, you find that by the grace of God, there arises a remnant; there arises an overcoming people that will answer to God’s heart. So probably that speaks of the Day of Atonement.
Finally, there is the Feast of Booths. The children of God again live in booths, and it is a time of great joy because they are reminded of what God has done for them through the years.
Probably that refers to the kingdom age. One day the kingdom shall come, and when the kingdom shall come, God’s people can really rejoice. Today is the day of our humiliation, but one day there will be a day of glory, when Christ shall be glorified and He shall lead many sons into glory.
So, brothers and sisters, in all these set feasts, there is corporate worship: we come together to appreciate the Lord together, to celebrate, and to worship Him.
Then finally, you find chapter 27. Chapter 27 is concerned with vows of devotion, and that is a very fitting end to the book of Leviticus.
In the book of Leviticus, you find it begins with the offerings, and that speaks of Christ. The end of Leviticus speaks of the people who are so touched by the mercies of God, so affected by all that God has done for them in Christ Jesus, that they make vows of devotion.
In other words, they want to devote themselves to God—not only their things, their houses, and their lands, but even themselves. They want to devote themselves to God.
That is surely the right thing to do. Brothers and sisters, when we realize how much God has done for us, when we realize what Christ is unto us, and as we are gradually maturing in the Lord, is it not the most spontaneous, natural thing for us to do—that we want to devote ourselves to Him? We want to give ourselves to Him.
The love of Christ constrains us. If One died for all, then all died; and now we live for Him who died and rose again for us. So here you find people wanting to devote their lives to the Lord, to give themselves to the Lord.
As a matter of fact, worship is a life of devotion. That is worship.
Worship is simply this: you devote your life to the Lord. You live for Him. You let Him live in you. You allow Him to do whatever He wants with you.
You give up your rights over yourself and let Him have the rights over you. It is not what you want to serve, or what you want to do for Him. No. It is what He wants to do with you. That is worship.
How can we say we worship Him when we want to do what we want to do? How can we say we serve Him when we do what we feel is good?
It is only in a life of devotion, a devoted life, that He has full right over us. Anything devoted to God, you lose your right to it. The right belongs to God. He can do anything He likes. If He wants to throw it away, fine. If He wants to use it, good. It is up to Him. It is devoted to God.
Yet you find that even in devoting their lives to God, there is a graduated scale of value.
When I devote myself to God, then the priest checks with me and says, “How old are you?” Now, if he finds that I am over sixty, well, the price, the value, goes down.
In other words, the usefulness is diminished. But when you are twenty or thirty, you get the highest estimation. It is all according to the shekel of the sanctuary.
Now, brothers and sisters, we all need to be devoted to God, but not all devotion is the same in value. It is according to the shekel of the sanctuary.
That speaks of spiritual growth. How we need to grow in the Lord. Paul said, “I am what I am by the grace of God.” How do we grow? We grow by the grace of God, of course. Take grace away, and we are zero.
But the grace of God is always sufficient, abundant, and never-ending. The grace of God is toward us day by day, and we ought to grow continuously, continuously.
Unfortunately, sometimes we waste the grace of God. We despise the grace of God. We step out of the grace of God. When we do that, brothers and sisters, we do not come up to measure.
Our devotedness will become low in measure. In other words, God does not have us as He should have us.
Is this not something for us to consider before God? Do I have worth to God? Christ is worth everything to me, and that causes me to worship Him. But after He has done all that for me, do I have worth to Him?
Am I of some value to Him? Some value to His kingdom? Some value to His purpose?
This is what God is looking for in His people: that we may be of great value to Him.
But remember, whatever value we have is by His grace. There is nothing to boast of. “I am what I am, by the grace of God.”
So this is the book of Leviticus. Shall we pray?
Dear heavenly Father, Thou art seeking true worshipers, those who worship in spirit and truth. Oh, how we praise and thank Thee for all the provisions that Thou hast provided for us in Christ Jesus, that we today may be worshipers—true worshipers.
We do desire to be true worshipers. We do want to worship Thee in spirit and truth. So, Father, we do pray that Thou wilt use these few words, if Thou please, to touch our hearts and bring us into that place where we can truly worship Thee and be true worshipers.
Oh, how we praise and thank Thee for Thy Word. We do want to be worth something today, and it is all for Thy glory. We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.