February 21, I am forgiven! Lev. 1:1-17, 6:8-13,Num. 28:1-8, Lev. 17:8,9, 2:1-16, Lev. 6:14-23, Num. 15:1-21

Leviticus 1:1-9

Amplified Bible (AMP)

1 The Lord ^[a]called to Moses out of the Tent of Meeting, and said to him,

² Say to the Israelites, When any man of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of [domestic] animals from the herd or from the flock.

³ If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it at the door of the Tent of Meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord.

⁴ And he shall lay [both] his hands upon the head of the burnt offering [transferring symbolically his guilt to the victim], and it shall be ^[b]an acceptable atonement for him.

⁵ The man shall kill the young bull before the Lord, and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall present the blood and dash [it] round about upon the altar that is at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

⁶ And he shall skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces.

⁷ And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar and lay wood in order on the fire;

⁸ And Aaron’s sons the priests shall lay the pieces, the head and the fat, in order on the wood on the fire on the altar.

⁹ But its entrails and its legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall burn all of it on the altar for a burnt offering, an offering by fire, a sweet and satisfying odor to the Lord.

Footnotes:

1. Leviticus 1:1 The first step toward understanding the message of Leviticus is to appreciate its viewpoint indicated here—“The Lord called to Moses out of the Tent of Meeting,” and talked to him. Before this a forbidding God had spoken from the burning mountain. But now the tabernacle is erected according to the God-given pattern, and the God Who dwells among His people in fellowship with them talks with His servant Moses “out of the Tent of Meeting.” The people, therefore, are not treated as sinners alienated from God, “but as being already brought into a new relationship, even that of fellowship, on the ground of a blood-sealed covenant” (J. Sidlow Baxter, Explore the Book).
2. Leviticus 1:4 To render the self-sacrifice perfect, it was necessary that the offerer should spiritually die, sinking it as it were into the death of the sacrifice that had died for him, so that through the mediator of his salvation he should put his soul into a living fellowship with the Lord and bring his bodily members within the operations of the gracious Spirit of God. Thereby he would be renewed and sanctified [separated for holy use], both body and soul, and enter into union with God (Karl Keil and F. Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament).

   Leviticus 1:10-17

   Amplified Bible (AMP)
   ¹⁰ And if the man’s offering is of the flock, from the sheep or the goats, for a burnt offering, he shall offer a male without blemish.

   ¹¹ And he shall kill it on the north side of the altar before the Lord, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall dash its blood round about against the altar.

   ¹² And [the man] shall cut it into pieces, with its head and its fat, and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire on the altar.

   ¹³ But he shall wash the entrails and legs with water. The priest shall offer all of it and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, a sweet and satisfying fragrance to the Lord.

   ¹⁴ And if the offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, then [the man] shall bring turtledoves or young pigeons.

   ¹⁵ And the priest shall bring it to the altar, and wring off its head, and burn it on the altar; and its blood shall be drained out on the side of the altar.

   ¹⁶ And he shall take away its crop with its feathers and cast it beside the altar on the east side, in the place for ashes.

   ¹⁷ And he shall split it open [holding it] by its wings, but shall not cut it in two. And the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire; it is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, a sweet and satisfying odor to the Lord.

   Leviticus 6:8-13

   Amplified Bible (AMP)
   ⁸ And the Lord said to Moses,

   ⁹ Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering: The burnt offering shall remain on the altar all night until morning; the fire shall be kept burning on the altar.

   ¹⁰ And the priest shall put on his linen garment and put his linen breeches on his body, and take up the ashes of what the fire has consumed with the burnt offering on the altar and put them beside the altar.

   ¹¹ And he shall put off his garments and put on other garments, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place.

   ¹² And the fire upon the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be allowed to go out. The priest shall burn wood on it every morning and lay the burnt offering in order upon it and he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings.

   ¹³ The fire shall be burning continually upon the altar; it shall not go out.

"It is tragic that so many believers do not enjoy the power and virtue of the blood of Jesus. Scripture makes it clear - it is important for us to know how the blood has been sprinkled on our hearts. This is done in two ways:

1. The blood is sprinkled on us by the Spirit of Christ, who dwells in us.

Jesus sprinkles His own blood on us when, by faith, we receive His finished work at Calvary. This isn't a physical sprinkling; rather, it is a legal, spiritual transaction. He sprinkles the blood on our hearts in response to our faith. And until we truly believe in the power of His sacrifice at Calvary, the blood of Jesus cannot produce any effect upon our souls! "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation [a reconciliation] through faith in his blood..." (Romans 3:25).

Churches around the world partake of communion regularly. Yet, Paul warns us not to "drink [the cup] unworthily." This doesn't mean merely partaking of a communion service after we've failed in some way; we know that if we repent of our sin, Jesus will forgive us and cleanse us of all iniquity.

No - I believe Paul is saying we are to discern Christ's body properly. He's talking about coming to the Lord's table, drinking of the cup symbolic of His blood - and yet not believing in the power of that blood! It has to do with sitting in condemnation and fear - not believing that Christ's blood has justified and sanctified us in God's sight.

Many believers are condemned out of the wonderful experience of the Lord's table, because they do not come to the blood in faith. Paul is saying, "No wonder so many are sickly among you. You are left weak because you do not believe in the total victory of Christ's blood!"

Such Christians are saying, in essence, "I know it's wonderful to be justified through the blood of Jesus Christ. But I still have trouble believing the Lord reckons me righteous. After all, I still haven't arrived. I still struggle."

Beloved, the truest evidence of faith is rest! If you believe with all your heart, it brings your conscience and soul into rest. And when you come to the Lord's supper and partake of the cup, you can say, "I believe I am saved, forgiven, healed, because I believe in the blood. I trust in it!"

2. The blood of Jesus is sprinkled on our soul through Holy Ghost preaching.

When you hear Christ and His blood being exalted in Holy Ghost preaching, you can know the blood is being sprinkled!

When Philip preached the gospel to the eunuch, that man's heart was ravished by the Word. Immediately, he begged to be baptized. Philip said to him, "...If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest..." (Acts 8:37).

Likewise, every time you take to heart Holy-Ghost-anointed preaching, crying, "Lord, please, give me all Your truth" - you are being sprinkled with Christ's blood, by faith!

At this point, you may be wondering, "How can I know whether the blood has been applied to my heart?" Here are three ways you can know if you have been sprinkled by the blood:

1. If you are now willing to walk in the light and allow the Holy Ghost to expose all darkness in you, you can know you've been sprinkled.

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).

John is clearly talking about someone who is in love with the Word, unafraid of reproof - who says, "Lord, shine Your Holy-Ghost light into every crevice of my heart. I want to walk in the light." If you love the light, it's a sure sign you've been sprinkled!

2. If you call on the power and authority of Christ's blood when you're under enemy attack, you can know you've been sprinkled.

When those who have not been sprinkled are in trouble, they call their best friend or a counselor, or they wallow in fear and condemnation. But those sprinkled with blood immediately stand on Jesus' blood!

We often hear the phrase "pleading the blood" used in Christian circles. But that is not a Scriptural term. The word plead here means "argument"; it suggests begging, beseeching. And that is a defensive mode.

I believe our attitude must be stronger than that. We are warriors - blood-bought, blood-saved, more than conquerors through Jesus Christ! We are not in a courtroom with the devil, pleading a case. No - we are victors! Jesus has won the victory for us; His blood has prevailed. And I believe our battle cry should be, "I proclaim the victory of the blood of Jesus! I am blood-washed, blood-bought, blood-justified, blood- safe, blood-ransomed. And I proclaim the victory of the blood of Jesus!"

3. When you are so secure in the cleansing, justifying power of the blood that your conscience no longer condemns you, you can know you've been sprinkled.

Your conscience does an evil work when it does not wake you or stir you to obedience to the gospel. It does evil when it unnecessarily condemns you, accuses you, constantly reminds you of how you failed God, causes depression and fear.

But when you fully rest in the cleansing, justifying power of the blood of Jesus - when you take command of your conscience in the Spirit - your conscience is no longer an accuser, but, rather, does its work properly. When the devil rises up with an evil accusation, your conscience proclaims the victory of the blood!

"Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience..." (Hebrews 10:22). A peaceful, purged conscience is a sign of being sprinkled with His blood!"  (David Wilkerson)

"Dear Jesus Thank You for Your precious blood! I want my heart to be continuously sprinkled every day all day! Cleanse me continually from every evil thought or action, Oh Lord. Expose my sin and purify me. You gave Your ALL. I give my ALL back. To You be ALL glory and ALL honor. I pray this in Your name, Jesus. AMEN"