[0:00] Stay with me as we read Leviticus 5, starting in verse 1, and we go down to the 13th verse, and then we'll pray. So let's read together.
[0:11] Now, if a person sins after he hears a public adjuration to testify when he is a witness, whether he has seen or otherwise known, if he does not tell it, then he will bear his guilt.
[0:22] Or if a person touches any unclean thing, whether a carcass of an unclean beast or a carcass of unclean cattle or a carcass of unclean swarming things, though it is hidden from him and he is unclean, then he will be guilty.
[0:37] Or if he touches human uncleanness of whatever sort his uncleanness may be with which he becomes unclean and it is hidden from him, and then he comes to know it, he will be guilty.
[0:50] Or if a person swears thoughtlessly with his lips to do evil or to do good, and whatever matter a man may speak thoughtlessly with an oath, and it is hidden from him, then he comes to know it, he will be guilty in one of these.
[1:03] So it shall be, when he becomes guilty in one of these, then he shall confess that in which he has sent. He shall also bring his guilt offering to the Lord for his sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat as a sin offering.
[1:21] So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf for his sin. But if he cannot afford a lamb, then he shall bring to the Lord his guilt offering for that in which he has sent, two turtle doves or two young pigeons, one for a sin offering and the other for a burn offering.
[1:35] He shall bring them to the priest who shall offer first that which is for the sin offering, and shall nip its head at the front of its neck, but he shall not sever it. He shall also sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, while the rest of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar.
[1:50] It is a sin offering. The second he shall then prepare as a burnt offering according to the ordinance. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf for his sin which he has committed, and it will be forgiven him.
[2:02] But if his means are insufficient for two turtle doves or two young pigeons, then for his offering for that which he has sent, he shall bring the tenth of an effa fine flower for a sin offering.
[2:14] He shall not put oil on it or place incense on it, for it is a sin offering. He shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful of it as a memorial portion, and offer it up in smoke on the altar with the offerings of the Lord by fire.
[2:28] It is a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin which he has committed from one of these, and it will be forgiven him. Then the rest shall become the priests like the grain offering.
[2:42] Leviticus 5 verses 1 through 13. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you so much for this evening. And God, we praise you for the opportunity we have together around your word and to sing your praises and to proclaim your name.
[2:56] We praise we have opened up the truth of the New Testament, Lord, that we would see them, that we would understand them, and we would be gripped by them to draw closer to you.
[3:07] Lord, may our fellowship with you grow sweeter as the night goes longer, and we ask it all in Jesus' name. Amen. I know this seems a little tedious, and the text doesn't seem to give us very much to go on, but we will see it, hopefully, by the time we're through, as it really is, that which is kind of giving us a glimpse into our life.
[3:31] Tonight I want us to see maintaining fellowship with the holy in spite of our sin problem. I know that's a very cumbersome and long title, but it's really the only way we can describe it.
[3:43] How to maintain our fellowship with the holy in spite of our sin problem. Leviticus 4 introduces for us this problem.
[3:56] You may remember Leviticus 4. It's been a couple of weeks since we've looked at it, or you may not. But one thing you have to remember from Leviticus 4 is that in that chapter we see very clearly every segment of mankind's sins.
[4:11] We see the guilt offering being offered if the priest sins unintentionally, if the leader sins unintentionally, if the whole entire congregation of the people sin unintentionally, or if the common man sins unintentionally.
[4:29] We saw from the priest who enters the holy of the holies all the way down to the common man, even including the entire nation, that it was quite possible, not even possible, but that it was absolutely certain that they would sin unintentionally and therefore be at disfavor with God.
[4:49] And God in His love and in His grace and in His mercy had entered into a covenant relationship with the nation of Israel. And God's desire was to be their God and He would be His people.
[5:04] Everything that we're reading in Leviticus, all right, keep this in mind, because when we read Leviticus, we see all these details, we see all these cumbersome do's and don'ts. Understand this, every bit of this flows out of a relationship, not in order to gain a relationship.
[5:22] This is so important. When you read Leviticus, you are not reading the instructions God gave His people to obey so that they could be in relationship with Him.
[5:33] He is giving them instructions because of their relationship with Him. Very different. God had entered into that covenant relationship in the book of Exodus.
[5:44] He had redeemed His people. He had called them to Himself. He had went and dwelt in the midst of His people. And now a holy, grateful, not grateful, graceful God is giving us these details.
[5:56] When we say this is holy and merciful and graceful because of this, God is holy. He is holy, holy, holy, right? Thrice holy, which means utterly holy, completely holy. He is greater than anything else ever created.
[6:10] And in His holiness, He cannot be in the presence of sin. But God in His holiness came to dwell in the midst of man in their sinfulness. He did not ask sinful man to come up to holy God.
[6:21] Rather, holy God came down to sinful man. That's amazing. They built a tabernacle and boom, He went into it. His Shekinah glory, you say, oh, He didn't go into it. I understand that.
[6:32] He manifested His presence in their midst. He had already been there, but then all of a sudden His Shekinah glory fell there. God says, now I want to keep this relationship going.
[6:44] But the problem is you have a sin issue. The first three offerings that we find in Leviticus are not tied to our sin. They're just tied to our worship. They're tied to we adore Him.
[6:55] We love Him. The first one we offer just because we want to. And then we offer because we have peace with Him. They are worshipful sacrifices. The last two are sacrifices as a result of our sin.
[7:07] And He stops in the middle of them and says, this is what we're doing here, okay? I want to show you what's going on. I love you. I love the relationship I have with you. I am your God and you are my people.
[7:20] But I'm holy. You're not. And I want us to maintain this relationship. And I want you to maintain fellowship with the holy, even in spite of your sin problem.
[7:32] And this is how we're going to do it. Now, guys, as we look at this, I want you to understand something. The blood of bulls and goats and lambs and turtle doves and pigeons, the blood of all these sacrifices never has and never will wash away the sin of man.
[7:55] Hebrews chapter 10 makes it very clear. The blood of the bulls, the blood of all these sacrifices, God never intended it to be that which would wash the sin of man away.
[8:09] They are types. They are pictures. They are pointing to someone else. Not something else. Someone else. Namely, Jesus. But the sacrifices. Remember, the psalmist cries out, The blood of bulls and goats you do not desire, but a broken and contrite heart.
[8:24] That is what you desire. Psalm 51. This is what David says. Right? You want me. What we see in these sacrifices is God is concerned about the heart of the worshiper.
[8:36] And the reason he has so much shedding of blood is because how do you get to the heart of man until you give him a visible representation of what's going on?
[8:48] And making man slay the animal he's bringing, spill the blood in his place. And he's dealing with the heart of the worshiper. This is why it was quite possible. And it happened very often in the nation of Israel.
[9:02] You get to the book of Malachi. And guess what? The temple is there. The altar is there. The priests are there. The sacrifices are there. And God says, but I'm not there. You're going through all the right motions.
[9:13] You have the right animals on the altars. You're even offering them in the right way. But you're not offering them in the right way in your heart and your mind. You're going through it physically. But you're not doing anything internally, spiritually. You're not giving me what I desire.
[9:25] Your hearts. He says, shut the doors of the temple. I don't want this. I want you. So what we see in these 13 verses, hopefully, are three things that is going on.
[9:37] Is how man maintains fellowship with the holy in spite of his sin problem. What must happen? And it's the truth that transcend Old Testament.
[9:48] Really, they run right into the New Testament. They show us. Number one, we see the reality of sin. You cannot read the book of Leviticus and not understand man has a sin problem.
[10:00] And I know you say, well, we keep saying this. We keep talking about this. And we keep beating this dead horse. Well, it's not a dead horse. It's a very alive horse. It is something that is running rampantly in all of our lives daily.
[10:11] It is the reality of sin. And God here, God is speaking, right? These are, if it was the words of God were in red, then this would be red letter.
[10:24] Starting in Leviticus 1.1. And God said from the tabernacle. And he hasn't been quiet yet. This is still God speaking, right? God gives three examples of the reality of sin.
[10:36] And we look at them in their simplicity and we go, oh man, woe is me. You know, when we get to the book of Revelations and we're reading through this. And we're going to come to that section at the end of the book of Revelations. And we will see those that are cast into outer darkness.
[10:48] Those that are going to the lake of fire in the book of Revelations. And you know, there's a listing of those who are going, who are on their way to the lake of fire. And I'll be honest with you, as we read that list, many of us will be like, yep, they deserve to be there.
[11:00] Yep, man, they deserve to be there. The fornicators, the adulterers, the, you know, the manslayers and all those others. And there's this list. And then right at the end of that list, there's this one word that I wish wasn't there.
[11:14] It's the unbelievers. Which means you may not be doing all this bad, evil, wicked stuff. But it's just simply unbelieving. So that includes all mankind, right?
[11:26] That includes all those who have not professed Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior. What God has a way of doing is pulling back our hearts and showing us the reality of sin. That's what he does in these three examples. The first example he gives is this.
[11:38] He says, if a man is called on to testify. He says, now if a person sins after he hears a public adjuration. That means he'd been summoned. He'd been called.
[11:49] Now they didn't have courts of law. They didn't have this, right? They're very tribal still. And Moses would have still been there. And you'd have had the leaders. And you had all this other. But if he'd have been called to testify. Because on the testimony of two witnesses, right?
[11:59] A matter was settled. And we understand this. So if someone was called on, summoned to testify. There has been an adjuration to testify. And he is a witness, whether he is seen or otherwise known.
[12:11] So what we have here in the wording is, this is someone who knew the truth. But he didn't want to testify. He just said, no, I'm not going to say. What does the scripture say?
[12:21] Then he has sinned. One who was called on to testify, who was called to be a witness. And the reason he was summoned to be a witness is because everyone knew he saw what happened.
[12:32] But he said, I'd rather not say. He has sinned. We can bring that application very quick, right? If we know the truth and don't talk about the truth, then guess what?
[12:45] The reality of sin is very present in our life. And by the way, we have all been called and summoned to testify.
[12:58] It is the Great Commission. We are not waiting on some special divine revelation. People say, well, I'm just waiting on that call to missions. Well, that was a command. Missions is a command, not a call.
[13:09] And God never issues a call where he is already given a command. God doesn't have to call you to love your enemies. He has already commanded you to love your enemies, right? And God doesn't have to call you to proclaim the gospel.
[13:21] He has already commanded us to proclaim the gospel. God has already issued a summoning that if you know what happened, testify to what happened. This is why when we see Peter says, whether it's right for you to obey man or God, you determine, but we cannot help but speak of the things we have seen.
[13:39] And Paul would write later that I must preach about the things I have seen, those things I know. Why? Because if I don't, if I know the truth and don't proclaim the truth, then guess what?
[13:50] The reality of sin is there. So we see in the first example, the witness who was called on, who said, I'd rather not testify right now. This is not a good time for me.
[14:00] You know, I don't think everybody really wants to hear what I have to say. He said, well, there's sin. The second one is this, the one who touches something that is unclean. Now we're not going to get into what is clean and what is unclean right now, because we'll get into that later on through the book of Leviticus in great detail, really.
[14:14] And we're really not here to say why. I mean, why were pigs unclean? Why did God say this animal, not that animal? God wasn't showing favoritism. God was setting people apart.
[14:26] That's all he was doing, right? He was setting his people apart, not being mean, not being, you know, just kind of unfair. He was just setting them apart. He had reasonings for doing it. But it's not for us to say, well, God, that's not fair.
[14:39] What right does the pot have to say to the one who makes it, right? The clay cannot proclaim to the potter, don't make me this way, because he's the potter. He can do whatever he wants to. And God had so determined with the nation of Israel, these are clean and these are unclean.
[14:52] And don't touch this and do touch that. This is what he told them to do. Now he says, for the one who touches something unclean of animals, even if it's hidden from him, sin, and if he touches something that is unclean from the human side of things, and even if he didn't intend to do it, once he touched that which is unclean, sin is there.
[15:12] There's the reality of sin, which means you didn't even have to intentionally seek out a dead animal carcass, like, you know, Samson did.
[15:22] Samson saw something that was dead and reached into something that was dead, the dead line, remember that, and took from the honey and ate of it. By the way, as soon as he did that, he broke his Nazarite vow, the vow of a Nazarene.
[15:35] His hair may still be long, but he also wasn't supposed to touch anything dead. He did that, right? It's amazing that he is in what we call the heroes of the faith in Hebrews chapter 11. When we look at the life, why?
[15:47] Because he wasn't perfect, but praise be to God, he's there, and the reason he's there, so can we be there, right? So what we see here is you don't have to intentionally, if you touch a dead animal and didn't, like, oh, I didn't know I was leaning on that, well, guess what?
[15:58] The reality of sin. Or if you walk in and you touch something that is unclean from a human, and you weren't looking out for it, but you did, the reality is that you have sinned. There's the reality of sin. Here's the observation we get from this one in particular is you don't have to search out the unclean to become defiled by the unclean, because sometimes you just fall into it.
[16:20] But that doesn't mean that sin is no less real. The reality of sin. The third example he gives of the reality of sin is this, and I'll just be honest with you, this is the one that has broke me all afternoon, and it continues to break me, and this is one that I'm so guilty of, and I'll go ahead and confess my guilt of it, and I'm reminded of how sinful I am of this.
[16:40] And I'm not saying that lightly, because as we get through the passage, hopefully you'll hear me. This is my confession, and also hopefully my admit it so that I can repent from this, and this is something that I really struggle with.
[16:52] Look at what it says. Go on down in verse 4. Or if a person swears, I'm not talking about swearing the way you're thinking about swearing. Or if a person swears thoughtlessly with his lips to do evil or do good, in whatever matter, many may speak thoughtlessly with an oath, and it is hidden from him, then he becomes annoyed.
[17:11] He will be guilty of one of these. What does this mean? If he makes a vow to do something and then does not do it, the reality is, is he has sinned. Even if it was something good, and it's not like he didn't do it on purpose, the Bible says, what?
[17:27] It's better to not vow and not do something than it is to make a vow and fail to fulfill that vow. And this is just, I mean, this has beat me up all afternoon.
[17:40] God really wants us to be people of our word all the time. Even in the smallest matters.
[17:53] And the reality is, if we say we're going to do something and we don't do it, it just testifies to the reality of sin.
[18:03] The first way we deal with this maintained fellowship with the holy in spite of our sin problem is we acknowledge sin is real.
[18:19] Sin is real. And it's there. And there's no denying it. It's not just there with the wicked. It's also there with the righteous. It's not just there in the bad times.
[18:29] Sometimes it's there in the good times. I said I was going to do something good and I didn't do something good. I can apologize. But the reality is, as soon as I didn't do what I said I was going to do, even if my intentions were good, Erwin Lutzer once said that Satan is not bothered by your good intentions.
[18:45] The reality is, is that is sin. Harsh, isn't it? But it's also real. Wow. We're trying to maintain not just our fellowship with one another.
[18:57] We're maintaining the fellowship of the holy. Okay. So the reality of sin. Number two, the consequences of sin. The consequences of sin.
[19:12] Someone wrote a book in 1973, and his name escapes me. And no, I have not read the book. And it was a book which consists of the removing of theology and the removing of right and wrong in American culture.
[19:29] And it was a psychologist, I believe, who had penned this book and said that what theology used to call sin and bad, the sciences have now labeled a disease and a problem.
[19:42] And in 1973. And in 1973, he made an observation that no American president had used the word sin in a speech since 1953.
[19:57] The best I can tell by the author I was reading is that is a trend that has continued. So the author of this book says, So 20 years ago, our nation stopped sinning, literally.
[20:15] 20 years ago, our nation no longer had a sin problem because we quit talking about it. And since as a nation, we no longer sin.
[20:25] And since as a nation, we no longer sin. Now as people, we no longer sin. And since as people, we no longer sin. Now we just have a problem or a disease or an issue. And science is trying to fix our feelings when God is trying to fix our consequences.
[20:44] And we begin to see that science deals in the realms of feelings, which means if something makes you feel bad, then quit doing it. Or if something doesn't, if something feels good, then keep doing it.
[20:56] And let's not say that that's a sin matter. Let's say that's a disease or let's say it's this. And that is so distinct from scripture.
[21:07] We're talking about the consequence of sin. As soon as I say the word consequence of sin, we say, well, that's very clear. The Bible tells us in the book of Romans, the Romans says, for the wages of sin is what? Death. But the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
[21:20] We're saying, well, the wages of sin is death. That's good. And that's right. And it's absolutely doctrinal. And it's true. Have you ever asked the question why? Because there's a word we skip over.
[21:33] The word we really don't like to say. That this scripture repeats over and over again. That if a man is called on to testify and he does not testify, then he is guilty.
[21:47] If a man touches an unclean thing and he touches this thing that is unclean, even when he does not know, when he is made aware of it, he is guilty. If he touches the uncleanness of a human being and he does not know of it, as soon as he is made aware of it, then he will be in his guilt.
[22:03] If one professes to say something or says he's going to do something, or if one makes a vow, whether evil or bad, and does not do it, as soon as he realizes it, he is guilty.
[22:16] Here's the word we tend to gloss over so many times. The consequences of sin being real is that we are individually guilty.
[22:27] And the guilt is what deserves the penalty, which is death. The consequences of our sin is we are guilty.
[22:42] When sin is real in my life, and it is, the consequence of that real sin is that I am really me, myself, I am guilty.
[22:57] I don't have a problem. I don't have hurt feelings. I am guilty. And I stand in the reality of my guilt.
[23:09] And therefore, since I am guilty, I am deserving of that punishment. And since I am guilty, I am not deserving of his favor or his grace or his mercy or, for that matter, anyone else's favor or grace.
[23:29] I mean, think about this just for a minute. Let's just go to the one that I confessed. What if I told you that I was a lying, misleading person who never kept my word?
[23:44] And no matter what I told you I was going to do, I would not do it. I may try to do it, but if it inconvenienced me, I would not do it. But you should like me anyway. I haven't done anything wrong.
[23:57] What am I doing here? I am glossing over my own guilt. The only reason as human beings we can offer forgiveness to one another and the only reason as human beings that we can get along with one another is that we're all guilty.
[24:10] We're all equally guilty, right? So my guilt and your guilt is essentially the same. So I really have nothing to judge you on on your guilt. Paul says, what do I have to do with judging the world? I have nothing to do with judging the world.
[24:21] I don't judge those that are of the world. I'm not their judge. There is a judge. But I do judge those that are inside the church. It's a whole other sermon series, but it's not judging for casting aside. It's bringing love and fellowship and rebuilding, right?
[24:32] So we're not getting into that. But what we do see here is the guilt that must be accepted. We have a major problem in our culture.
[24:43] The culture that has removed sin, the culture that no longer talks about sin, the culture that tries to gloss over sin and the results of that sin and try to redefine it apart from scripture is also, and I do not think that it is coincidental, a culture that no longer accepts their own guilt for the wrongs they do.
[25:05] And it is a very hard thing as individuals to own it and to stand up and go, you know what?
[25:20] I was wrong. I am guilty. One of the things that I shared this morning in Tom Rainer's investigation into churches that were dying or were already dead is that there was no longer, no longer a concerted, set-aside, ongoing time of corporate prayer.
[25:55] There's a great book by Leonard Ravenhill called Why Revival Tarries. It's a great book. And in the book, Leonard Ravenhill says that the prayer meeting has become the handmaid of the church.
[26:13] The handmaid of the church. No one wants to talk about it. No one wants anything to do with it. Everyone wants to just act like it's no longer there. That the church literally rises and falls on its corporate prayer.
[26:31] Jim Cimbala, who is the pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, super excited. He's supposed to be preaching at the Southern Baptist Pastors Conference this year in Orlando. By the way, it's something you can pray about.
[26:42] The Southern Baptist Convention ought to be very interesting this year. There are some people who are real mad about the lineup of speakers they have for the Pastors Conference to the point of the Southern Baptist Convention is like, we're not going to support that anymore.
[26:55] And the pastor, David Youth of First Baptist Orlando, says, well, we're still keeping them there. And then it's going to be fun. For some reason, every time it's in sunny Orlando, the convention is really, really fun.
[27:06] But anyway, so Jim Cimbala, who preaches the Brooklyn Tabernacle, is a great preacher. He has great books, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, all these great books of the Holy Spirit.
[27:17] And we all know about the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir led by his wife. But what many people do not know is that the strength of the Brooklyn Tabernacle was not founded on that choir, nor was it founded on Jim Cimbala's preaching.
[27:31] As a matter of fact, the Brooklyn Tabernacle, when he went there, long-tenured pastor, by the way, when he went there, was in a dilapidated building that was falling through, and he desperately needed a building. And a lot of things that were going on there.
[27:42] So he began to call a Tuesday night prayer meeting. And the people began to pray, and corporately praying there in downtown Brooklyn. And the Tuesday night prayer meeting is the one thing that has led and sustained the growth of that church.
[27:59] As a matter of fact, up to a few years ago, and I'm not 100% sure it's still going on now. I'd love to go there and see. But up at least until about five years ago, people would stand in line up to two hours before the doors opened to get into the Tuesday night prayer meeting in downtown Brooklyn.
[28:20] You know why? It's because everybody in that place was coming in with guilt that they needed to tell somebody about. And people were praying and acknowledging one another's guilt and pouring their hearts over.
[28:37] And he's got a great book. And in that book, you read some of the stories of those who came in. I don't care where you're at in denominational lines, but the stories of people who came into those prayer meetings, burdened with guilt, knowing they were guilty.
[28:54] And God setting them free from burdens and chains. Why? Because they would be willing to stand up and say, I'm guilty. You know why the prayer meetings are dying in our churches?
[29:07] It's because we don't like to talk about how guilty we are anymore. And the people we don't want to think that we're guilty is the people that we're supposed to be the closest to, which is our brothers and sisters in Christ.
[29:22] Unfortunately, we want them to think we're okay. Because we don't get to real praying until we get to real consequences. And the consequences is, I'm guilty.
[29:37] So I need somebody to pray for me. I'm guilty. I need somebody to pray for me. I'm guilty. I'm guilty. I'm guilty. I'm guilty of this. I'm guilty of that. I'm guilty of this. Next thing you know. Wow. The consequence of sin.
[29:49] Sin is real and sin has a consequence. And yes, the wages is death. But the consequence is this. You and I are guilty. Okay, settled. Third and finally.
[30:01] Not only do we see the reality of sin, the consequence of sin. Three. We see the forgiveness of sin. Why? Because God's given us this window between the two sin offerings to show us this is how you maintain fellowship with the Holy in spite of your sin problem.
[30:15] God is not saying do these things. He is saying have your heart right. And the first way you have your heart right is to acknowledge the reality of sin. It is to accept the consequence of sin. Because I have yet to find a true repentant sinner who did not say I am guilty.
[30:33] That's just the reality of it. Okay. Yes, I have sin. I am guilty of this. I'm broken over the guilt of my sin. Now all of a sudden God's got someone he can deal with. And it is the forgiveness of sin.
[30:44] God gave these truths. By the way, did you realize this? These things were being done unintentionally. And the scripture says when he becomes aware of it or when he knows it, then he is guilty.
[30:57] Which means the revelation of sin always produces the reality of guilt. When we say search me, oh God, try me, know my desperate thoughts, show me the wickedness inside of me.
[31:07] What we're saying is God show me where I have messed up. And when he shows us where we messed up, the reality is, is then all of a sudden we become guilty. Because now we know, right? And now we know.
[31:17] I'm guilty. I stand condemned. And God says, now I've got someone I can work with. This is the good news. This is the gospel found in the book of Leviticus. And it is the forgiveness of sin. God reveals so that guilt can be present.
[31:30] So that guilt could lead to repentance. And that repentance is found in the forgiveness. In these verses, we see three aspects of forgiveness. Three key aspects of forgiveness.
[31:42] That if they are present in Leviticus, they are assuredly present in the New Testament. Because the New Testament is the fulfillment of the pictures we find in the book of Leviticus. The first one may surprise you.
[31:55] Because we don't think of this as a very much biblical concept. Especially not an Old Testament concept. But look at this, okay? Verse 5. The first aspects of forgiveness.
[32:07] So it shall be when he becomes guilty. Now how do you become guilty? Well, go back to verse 4. It says that when he comes to know it, he will be guilty in one of these things. So when God shows us what we have done, so it shall be when he becomes guilty.
[32:22] That's the consequence. In one of these things, whatever they are. Look at this. The word confess is used three times in the Old Testament.
[32:39] Three different ways. Not three times, but used in three ways in the Old Testament. One way, it is used a number of times to confess God, to praise God.
[32:51] It is used to be a praise and adoration of Yahweh. Very few times it is used to confess man or to praise man and to talk good of man.
[33:02] Both of those times are public declarations. Which leads us to assume, and rightfully so, that the way it is being used here also means a public declaration.
[33:22] What God is saying is that when we are made aware of our sin, and therefore the consequence of our sin is that we are guilty. Then the very first thing we do when we're taking our animal, we walk up to the priest and publicly, vocally, audibly confess our guilt.
[33:44] I have sinned and this is what I have done. And it is at that point, people say, oh.
[33:56] I remember a number of years ago, we were going through preparation. Not here, but it was another place that I was at. And we were going through, and it was a really small group of people. We were meeting in homes, and we were meeting, and we were praying. And I was like, okay, we will go through this book.
[34:08] A gentleman by the name of Frizzell wrote this book called Returning to Holiness. And we will go through this. And everybody is, oh, this is great. Yeah, I want to be holy. I want to be holy. And some people read ahead, and they looked, and there's this week of confession.
[34:20] You know what happened? Nobody showed up at that prayer meeting. Why? Because confession is awkward.
[34:34] It's vulnerable. And it's hurtful. It's painful. People look at us differently when they see us differently. Well, then they have the problem, not you, right?
[34:45] But God says, forgiveness for sin starts with confession. This, by the way, is not an Old Testament principle. James says to confess your sins one to another and pray for one another.
[35:01] Wow. And if we can't trust our church family, then maybe we need to ask God to help us in our church family. Right?
[35:13] Confession. Forgiveness. Always. It's always been God's point. Dealing with the sin problem. You want to have a good relationship with me, then let's confess it. Let's let somebody else know about it.
[35:24] Why? Because this is what I have found. When I say something, and I confess it, and I try to preach open book. At least sometimes I'm a little too transparent. I understand that. And that's okay. I don't ever want to be on a pedestal.
[35:35] And I don't ever want to be exalted. And all these things. And I definitely don't do it so that somebody can come up to me and go, oh, I'm so sorry. That's nothing. There's no hidden agenda of pride in that. I don't want that. I really don't.
[35:47] The reason I do it is because when I stand up here and say it publicly, it's a lot harder for me to go out there and do it privately. God does something in that moment. He puts it out there and he holds me, right?
[36:00] And we don't ever want to make much of our sin. We don't want to exalt our sin. We don't. We also don't want to make much of ourselves by painting ourselves up like we don't have sin.
[36:11] So we see he says, confess. Say it. Proclaim it. Share it. The glory of loudness. Right? Loudness, I don't even know if it's a word.
[36:24] But God operates in the light. Satan operates in the dark. And he says, put it out there. Shine some light on it. Let people see it and all of its ugliness. By the way, there's nothing you can tell me that would make me look at you worse.
[36:41] And there should be nothing I could tell you about me that would make you look at me worse. You know why? Because we've all read the scripture. The scripture says every one of our hearts are desperately wicked.
[36:53] None of us are righteous. No, not one. And that's the beauty of transparency. But he says, confess it. So there's confession. We'll find forgiveness of sin with confession. It says, then he would bring and he will confess that in which he has sinned.
[37:06] And he shall also bring. Here's the second part of it. There has to be a sacrifice. There's confession. There's a sacrifice. He shall bring his guilt offering to the Lord for his sin, which he has committed. A female from the flock or a lamb or a goat is a sin offering.
[37:18] So there has to be a sacrifice. What is so good about this passage is from verse 7 on down to verse 12, God makes an allotment for those who cannot afford an animal sacrifice.
[37:34] Okay? So what he is saying is I'm going to have forgiveness for sin is going to be available to all. If you're so poor you can't afford a lamb, bring me two birds. If you're so, so poor that you can't bring me, if you can't bring me two birds, bring me some flour.
[37:48] Okay? You have to bring me as much as you can, but I'm going to give everyone the opportunity to bring what they can. Now some of you say, and I almost said it too, well that doesn't make sense because flour is a bloodless sacrifice.
[38:01] So God cannot, you know, he cannot accept that as an offering for sin. But then thankfully someone pointed it out to me and I read the rest of the passage here. Where do they offer that sacrifice?
[38:11] They offer it on the altar with the other burnt offerings, which by the way are blood sacrifices. So it's not offered by itself. It's offered in connection to the blood that is already being offered on the altar.
[38:23] But we see here what he's doing is he is making an allotment for anyone and everyone to have a sacrifice to bring him. He wants all to find forgiveness of sins.
[38:34] Right? So there's the confession. There's the sacrifice. Here's the third aspect of this forgiveness. Mediation. Which means they had to have somebody else. There's mediation. He says you bring your sacrifice to the priest.
[38:46] Right? You give it to the priest. He's going to put it on the altar. And this is the beautiful picture. You confess. You bring your sacrifice. You give it to the mediator who is the priest. He puts it on the altar.
[38:57] And then we read in verse 13. So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin. That which was real. That which had brought about guilt. His sin. Which he has committed from one of these.
[39:10] And it will be forgiven him. Forgiven. Confession. Sacrifice. Mediation. Forgiveness. You know what's so good about this?
[39:21] Jesus Christ fulfills all three requirements for forgiveness. We confess Jesus Christ as our Lord.
[39:35] And through the presence of Christ we confess our sins to one another. And in the spirit of his acceptance and his mercy. We have the ability to confess one to another. So that we can pray for one another.
[39:47] Jesus is the sacrifice that was slain before the foundation. Of the world. Everyone can afford that sacrifice. Because it's offered free of charge. It is not a matter of position.
[39:59] Or money. Or authority. It's not a matter of trying to go out and find it. It is there. And it is offered. There is a sacrifice. One for all. Worthy of all. And it is a blood sacrifice.
[40:10] Who is Jesus Christ? And this is probably the best part of it all. He is the mediator of that own sacrifice. He is that which we confess. He is the sacrifice which we offer.
[40:21] And he takes himself as the mediator to the altar in heaven that was not prepared by hand. And lays it before the father and says I'm here on behalf of that one down there. And there will be forgiveness.
[40:33] He fulfills all three requirements for the forgiveness of sins. He is our confession. He is our sacrifice. And he is our mediator. And those are the three that are needed.
[40:46] And God says now. We can maintain fellowship with the holy. Even in spite of our sin problem. Because sin is real.
[40:58] It leads to guilt. But praise be to God. Forgiveness is offered. And it's there. It's available.
[41:09] But it can only be there if you get to the first two. Sin has to be real. Guilt has to be present. And then all of a sudden we're desperately crying out for forgiveness.
[41:21] And it is there. Let's pray. Amen. God I know. On a Sunday night. Where there's just a few of us gathered.
[41:35] Lord this message seems to be one more fit for. Maybe more evangelistic times. Maybe. Our flesh would say greater crowds.
[41:47] But God I'm so thankful you gave it to us tonight. I'm so thankful you gave it to us. That we could hold on to these glorious truths. So that you could let each and every one of us.
[41:59] Be the one who takes it. Outside these doors. To share with others. So God I pray that you would take. The truth. As we've seen it in your word.
[42:12] And you would work it out in each of our hearts. God I confess where I fail you. I confess where I have not always been a person of my word.
[42:24] And I confess where. I have fallen in different areas of my life. And God I pray that. You would help me to walk faithfully for you.
[42:37] Lord I am guilty. You are holy and you are faithful. So God thank you. Thank you oh God. For the opportunity to have fellowship with the holy.
[42:51] And Lord may that fellowship be that which drives me. Through the everyday of this week ahead of me. And we ask it all in Jesus name. Amen. God bless you.
[43:15] Thank you.
[43:45] Thank you.
[44:15] Thank you.
[44:45] Thank you.
[45:15] Thank you.
[45:45] Thank you.
[46:15] Thank you.
[46:45] Thank you.
[47:15] Thank you.
[47:45] Thank you.
[48:15] Thank you.
[48:45] Thank you.
[49:15] Thank you.
[49:45] Thank you.
[50:15] Thank you.
[50:45] Thank you.
[51:15] Thank you.
[51:45] Thank you.
[52:15] Thank you.
[52:45] Thank you.
[53:15] Thank you.
[53:45] Thank you.
[54:15] Thank you.
[54:45] Thank you.