Keep the Sacred Fire Always Burning, Pt. 1 (01/13/2002)

We have a full house today, that's wonderful. There's a spirit within each of us, the new man, which wants to praise and worship the Lord and fellowship together. There's energy in that. The Lord provides the ergs, remember that lesson we did a while back?

So the more of us that are in the room, the more ergs there are, and I'll try not to call you ergs anymore, that doesn't sound very good, does it? Welcome, brothers and sister ergs. But there is an energy, there's a spiritual power that God places in your heart.

The Church’s Energy and the Call to Worship

The Bible says that Jesus sings to the Father in the church, isn't that an amazing verse? So you're either a vessel or you're not for that. Let's go to Leviticus chapter 6 this morning. Brother Otis taught a marvelous Sunday school lesson this morning, if you can be here at 10 o 'clock, you'll be blessed, but he was in Hebrews chapter 9 and pointed out that worship must always come before service.

Worship must always come before service, so true, such a wonderful lesson, we just need more than one hour for it, we need more time to think and study. Well we've been talking about duties of the believer priest in recent days.

To find out what the duties of the believer priest are, you can go into the Old Testament and see what the duties of the earthly priest were, for they were types and pictures of what we should be and what the Lord Jesus Christ is as our high priest.

So much is there to be seen, we've talked already about offering the sacrifices, obviously the first duty we would think of for a priest. To us in the New Testament it says in Hebrews 13, 15 that praise from the lips of our mouths, our sacrifices to the Lord that we can offer, that giving of our substance, what God gives us, giving it back into his work and to needy brothers and sisters is another way to offer sacrifices.

And in Romans 12, 1 says that the giving of our very bodies as a living sacrifice is certainly a duty of the believer priest. And then secondly, we talked about keeping the charge of the tabernacle. And we noticed how sometimes that the priest and the Levites would not do what they were supposed to do and the tabernacle would get in disorder, sometimes it would be in disuse and then a good king would come and set it all back up and have them clean it out.

They would go to the very innermost parts of it first and carry the corruption out to the outer courts. The priest's job was to do that and then the Levites would take that and dump it in the Kidron River which has happened to pass right by the garden where Jesus prayed and sweat blood that night and passes right by the old temple mount and so much is pictured there.

The Third Duty of the Believer Priest: Keeping the Sacred Fire Burning

Well today we begin a new thought, a third duty of the believer priest is to keep the sacred fire always burning. So let's have prayer and we'll begin. Father we ask you to transport us, continue to transport us from this earthly realm to the very heavenlies this morning for unless we can attain presence with you we can learn nothing and father we talk about you coming down upon this place but better than that we want to come up to your place in Christ and be seated in the heavenlies with you this morning and to learn at Jesus' feet may your Holy Spirit teach us from your word and we ask it so that we might be equipped to worship and to serve in Jesus' name amen.

In Leviticus chapter 6 read verse 12 with me and verse 13 and the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it, it shall not be put out and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning and lay the burnt offering in order and I want you to notice the phrase in order there is a certain order in which the sacrifice was placed upon the altar, lay it in order upon it and he shall burn there on the fat of the peace offerings the fire shall ever be burning upon the altar it shall never go out as believer priests if we ever allow that fire to go out we are in sin and we are not only in sin but every time we're in sin we get off the path and we waste precious time that we can never gain back but there's much to be learned in this passage and also in Leviticus chapter 1 so we'll look at several verses to learn now we cannot cover all this in one session this morning we will primarily cover the different animals that were offered and what they picture and that's about as far as we'll get this morning and the next time we'll continue and complete this study.

There are a couple of types of sacrifices that we'll mention today we'll primarily be studying one of them and each type has at least a couple of subdivisions. More than that really but as far as what we'll mention today just to get you thinking along the lines of what the sacrifices were and what they pictured first of all we have the non sweet savor offerings that would be now notice it's non sweet savor offerings.

A couple of those would be the sin offering and the trespass offering. Now usually when we think of the sacrifices we think of the sin offering but that's not normally what we're seeing. Many many many times we're seeing the sweet savor offerings which is the second type and sometimes they're called burnt offerings or freewill offerings.

So not all the offerings that we see in the Old Testament are sin offerings. Some of them are a sweet savor offerings which are burnt offerings freewill offerings. And that's primarily what we will be discussing and looking at today.

Now you can turn to Leviticus chapter 1 with me and you'll have to have a little marker there because we're gonna go into the New Testament many times and back into this passage and I want you to stay in the scriptures and looking at them and reading them with me if you would please let's read the first four verses of Leviticus chapter 1.

And the Lord called unto Moses and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation saying speak unto the children of Israel and say unto them if any man of you bring an offering unto the Lord you shall bring your offering of the cattle even of the herd and of the flock.

If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the of the herd let him offer a male without blemish. He shall offer it of his own voluntary will. That's where this gets the name freewill offering at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord and he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him.

Put parentheses around at your Bible. That phrase accepted for him. That means accepted in his place to make atonement for him. Now let's stop there a moment. Let's talk about the different kinds of animals that could be used in these offerings.

First of all the bullet it's mentioned from the cattle. It could be an ox a bullet or an ox. And I want us to stop and think for a moment what these animals picture. Just use your common farm instincts.

Okay. How many of you either spent time on a ranch or been on a ranch before and you know something about animal farm animals. Raise your hand up high where we can see him. Hallelujah. This is Texas. Alrighty.

Archie doesn't know anything about it. Just chickens. Right. No I know there's more chickens out there but uh think about it for a moment. The Bullock or the ox pictures endurance and obedience and in a way patience.

The Bullock or Ox as a Picture of Christ’s Enduring Obedience

Now we're gonna stay here in Leviticus 1. So don't lose that one but turn over to John chapter 8 verse 28. We're gonna look at a couple of passages in the New Testament that show us these traits in our Lord.

Now remember we are the believer priests. We are supposed to keep the fire of the altar burning the altar is that place on which these sacrifices were burnt unto the Lord supposed to keep it going. Otis.

Brother Otis has been excuse me teaching in Sunday school. One of the things that he pointed out last week and focused on is the fact that those priests had a continual work. They never stopped. We talked about it at coffee too.

They just it's as if the Lord required them to be so busy about their work that you just see ceaseless work offering these animals all the time never stopped. And yet when Jesus came he offered himself once and sat down.

The priest could never sit. And I think brother Otis point out that one the picture that he passed out Sunday school. There are a couple little things sometimes when they draw these things they're not theologians and they miss.

They miss a couple. But they they put benches out there around the labor. I don't imagine those were there because I don't think they ever sat down. But Jesus did because the work was finished in that beautiful.

Now think about this Bullock or ox as it pictures our Lord Jesus Christ. John chapter 8 verse 28 it pictures patience endurance and obedience. Chapter 8 verse 28 of John then said Jesus unto them when ye have lifted up the Son of Man then shall you know that I am.

I imagine several of them picked up stones at that point because every time he said I am he was saying the name of God that God told Moses. When Moses said well what do I call you. The people won't follow me.

They don't even know what to call you. He said call me I am. And the Jewish mind knows what this means every time he hears it. And so Jesus said then shall you know that I am and that I do nothing of myself.

But as my father hath taught me I speak these things you see the perfect obedience in the Lord Jesus Christ. He says I do nothing of myself. And then verse 29 and he that sent me is with me. The father hath not left me alone for I do always those things that please him.

And the only reason the father ever leaves us alone is when we get out of that mode and we get in the flesh. Because in the flesh we cannot please God is impossible to please God in the flesh. And when we choose to be in the flesh then in a sense he leaves us now not in the sense of the indwelling permanent dwelling Holy Spirit but in the sense of fellowship he leaves us.

So a mature Christian gets the place where he doesn't need rules anymore doesn't really need law for the sake of keeping his flesh in line because the mature believer can make this choice make it very simple.

He can say do I want him to leave me or not. And you make your choices based on your answer to that question. Do I want to be in sweet fellowship with the Lord Jesus right now. Or do I want to do the self thing.

And you make the choice. And based on that choice either you avoid the sin and you stay with him in sweet fellowship or you break that fellowship. And you go into the sin. But you see the Lord Jesus never made the choice to break the fellowship.

He never sinned he was tempted in all points even as we and yet without sin. And he says he hath not left me alone for I do always those things that please him. As he spake these words many believed on.

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him. If you continue in my word then you are my disciples. Indeed there's probably no greater symptom of salvation than a newborn love for the Word of God.

A true believer there are many many in the Bible belt will tell you I'm a Christian. But how many of them are in the word. Ask yourself the question. I'm not saying you got to be overly judgmental but I'm saying when it comes to deciding who you're.

If you're young person in here today and you're thinking about who you're gonna marry someday. And you know that you're not supposed to be unequally yoked with unbelievers. And so you go up to them and you say are you a Christian.

Yep okay great we can get married. Is it that easy. You better kind of just watch them and see if they're in the word. Do they love to talk about the word. Are they studying it. Are they in it. Do they have new things and old that they gleaned from it.

Great symptom of salvation. Jesus himself said if you continue. If if you continue in my word then are you my disciples. Indeed you realize how many people there are who are the stony soil. You remember what the stony soil is.

The stony soil is soil that's thinly distributed on top of rocks and the seed is cast upon the thin layer of soil and it comes up quickly. And yet when the Sun comes out which pictures persecution and trials that come because of the word.

The Bible says it dies for it hath no what no root. Who is the root. Jesus. So they're not really born again. They're just a false profession. You know what it is that tells the difference to God's people to us when the Sun comes out that says the persecutions that come from and trials that come from the word now.

I've always thought that was a strange phrase. But that's how its phrase. It is the Word of God that makes the difference. Jesus said it very plainly if you continue in my word then are you my disciples.

Indeed every one of us should check out our salvation from time to time. Do you love the Word of God this morning or do you have to be told to read it. That's okay. If it's the Holy Spirit telling you read it then are you my disciples indeed and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.

You know why. It'll place you on a higher plane above everything you'll be seated in the heavenlies in Christ above the flesh above the devil above the law above the world system in Christ. It'll set you free.

So that first animal the ox pictures patience endurance and obedience or enduring obedience that the Lord Jesus Christ had. The second type of animal they could bring was a sheep or a lamb of the flock.

This pictures unresisting. And I put this phrase you want you to think about it very carefully because it doesn't sound good but it makes sense. Unresisting self-death. Now only Jesus could lay down his life.

No man could take it from him. This is pictured by the little lamb or the sheep. The little lamb or the sheep will just lie there while you cut his throat. He won't fight and he'll bleed to death without fighting.

I don't think you farmers can show me any other animal that'll do that all right. Now it pictures unresisting self-death. Go to John 12 23 with me. There's much to be learned by understanding one key Greek word in this little passage and I want to teach it to you this morning.

Some of you been around for a while have heard me teach on this. Some of you have not. But I want you to get this. It's a great key to a mystery that Jesus gives us about how to have wonderful abundant powerful Christian life.

And it's found in one Greek word John 12 23. And Jesus answered them saying the hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Verily verily I say unto you except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die.

It abideth alone. But if it die it bringeth forth much fruit. Now the key word is found in the next verse. He that loveth his life shall lose it and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

If any man serve me let him follow me where I am there shall also my servant be where I am. Where Jesus is the servant is there in him. If any man serve me him will my father honor. Now let's look at this.

He that loveth his life shall lose it. He that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. I want to talk to you about the little word is in the Greek language it comes from the word how to sounds like how to.

So maybe we can remember that one. How about remembering it this way how to have abundant life. The Greek word how to means himself herself or itself. And it comes from a the Greek word hat out to which means himself herself itself themselves.

But it all comes from the little root word altos which means self. Now I want us to take that word and insert it into English. And let's read verse 25 together. He that loveth self life shall lose it and he that hateth self life in this world shall keep life unto life eternal.

You see it. Now this is what the little sheep in the lamb picture. No self no self totally unresisting. Giving over of the will to the father. It was father's will that the sheep be crucified. You hear what I almost said.

It was the father's will that these sheep be crucified. And so in the keeping of his will the self had to die. But it was it had to be dead already. And in Christ there never it never was alive. Self was never alive in his life.

He was in temp. He was tempted in all points and yet without sin. Why. Because the self life was crucified long time before his body was crucified. Now let's look at another one. What about the goat. Isn't that strange that they offer goats.

We ever thought about that. Because what does it go picture. You can tell me what the goat pictures in Scripture sin. And even the devil he's pictured is the old Catholics used to always draw him with little goat horns up here saying that's how he looks.

I'm saying that's how the Catholics picture him. I think he looks more like a preacher. Not this preacher but a preacher. The goat pictures being numbered with the transgressors. Now let's look at some scriptures.

I'm gonna come back into the New Testament. You don't need to turn to this one but listen to it. Isaiah 53 12. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great and he shall the he shall divide the spoil with the strong.

Because he hath poured out his soul unto death. And he was numbered with the transgressors and bear the sin of many. That's our Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus as pictured bearing our sins with our sins in his body is pictured as a goat.

Luke 23 33. And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary there they crucified him. And the male factors one on the right hand and one on the left he was numbered with the transgressors.

Galatians 313. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us in our place being made a curse for us. For his written curse it is everyone that hangeth on a tree. 2nd Corinthians 5 21.

For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 1st Peter 2 24. Who his own self bear our sins in his body on the tree the goat. John chapter 3 verse 14.

Nicodemus is puzzled. He says. Well how can a man go back in his mother's womb and be born again. This Jew couldn't figure it out. He knew the Scriptures though. And Jesus knew that he knew the Scriptures.

So Jesus used the Scriptures to teach him. He went all the way back into Numbers chapter 21 in verse 8 and brought that before Nicodemus memory now to a Gentile as we first baby Christians read this they don't know this.

But later as they study they learn that this is what the Jew was thinking. As Jesus taught he said in John 3 14. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness he's trying to picture for the Jewish man how he can be born again.

And he says even as it means this is a type this rod with the serpent on it was a type or a picture of me Jesus said. And as Moses just the same way that Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.

And Nicodemus is thinking what does this mean. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

And here Nicodemus is thinking about what did they have to do to not perish. Well in Numbers 21 8. And the Lord said unto Moses make thee a fiery serpent. The serpent pictured sin also picture the devil just like the goat pictures the devil.

And he had the fiery serpent and set it upon a pole. And it shall come to pass that everyone that is bitten remember God had sent a curse of the snakes the serpents in and they were biting the children of Israel they were dying.

And when he looketh upon it he shall live if he's bitten by the serpent. And he looks upon this pole that has the serpent on it he shall live. That's faith. Just look and live. Jesus said whoever so ever beholds the Son of God shall have everlasting life.

And Moses made a serpent of brass and put it on the pole. And it came to pass that if a serpent had bitten any man when he beheld the serpent of brass he lived. So we see this go just like the serpent of the Old Testament the goat pictures all of our sins placed on Christ on the cross.

Now there's one other little animal that they've spoken of there in chapter 1 or chapter 6 the turtle dove or the pigeon. If a person didn't have the money or and sometimes their cattle was their money.

So if they had no money they didn't have cattle they didn't have sheep or goats to offer. Then they could bring a turtle dove or a pigeon. Now we think the only reason that that was provided was for the poor people.

Think again because the pigeon and the turtle dove picture something about our Lord mourning innocency. Or it could picture being poor in spirit. Or it could picture the fact that he became poor that we might be made rich.

2nd Corinthians 8 9. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich yet for your sakes he became poor that ye through his poverty might be rich. Philippians 2 6 who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant little dove innocent dove.

The Turtle Dove and Pigeon as Emblems of Poverty and Innocence

So we see these different animals that are used in these sacrifices. Now we're instructed as the priest to keep the fires burning on the altar. And they had to keep the sacrifices coming every day all the time.

Keep the fire burning because the sacrifices had to keep coming because they atoned for the sins they covered the sin as brother Otis said in Sunday school this morning they rolled the sins forward for another year until the time of Christ when they were all rolled upon him.

And that's what all of this pictures. The sweet savor offerings which were burnt upon this off of this altar. The free will offerings. The burnt offerings typify Christ in his own perfections his devotedness to the father and his willing sacrifice.

Now let's go into this just a little bit more. In chapter 1 of Leviticus look at verse 3. I want to show you some aspects of this offering. First of all it says about the middle of the verse of his own voluntary will.

So first of all this is a free will offering. This is something that the people gave because their heart wanted to give it. This was not the sin offering that we're speaking of. Now this was a free will offering.

Now in the second part of verse 3 notice this. It says of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord. So this offering had to be given before the Lord or in other words in the Lord's presence or it's futile must be given in his presence.

And then look at the first part of verse a very important to understand everything we've just studied about these little animals and what they picture for a. And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him or in his place.

In other words the burnt offering is sacrificed instead of the person. And it goes on and says to make an atonement for him and he shall kill the bullet etc. Now think about this a moment. What are we picturing here.

It's a free will offering. It is done only in the presence of the Lord or to have any efficacy at all. And thirdly the hand of the sinner is placed on the head of the perfect sacrifice thereby identifying him with the sacrifice that pictures faith in our day the saving faith that causes us to receive the Lord Jesus Christ and be baptized into Christ spiritually and to be in Christ and therefore identified with Christ the sacrifice.

And then notice that the hand being placed on the head pictures substitutionary death substitutionary. It had to be that way. It has to be that way. Now as we view ourselves as priests believer priests not letting the fires cease thinking about the true finished sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ we must realize the fact that the father placed his hand on our head and then placed his hand on the head of the Lord Jesus thus transferring our sins to him.

Our sins were imputed to him while he was on the cross that day. And when he looked up and he said my God my God why hast thou forsaken me. It's because your sins were on him. I'm talking to you. Our sins were on him.

I want you to think. I want you to think individually though your sins were on the body of Christ the moment he made that statement the father was nowhere to be found by Jesus the man. Christ Jesus contained all of your sins past present future and the sins of all of God's people throughout all of history of humanity.

And at that point he was our substitute had to be had to be that way. The very patience and endurance and obedience of the ox that is pictured picturing the Lord Jesus Christ it is his efficacy that God is pleased with.

And only by the placing of the hand upon the head of that sacrifice by faith by receiving him as your personal Lord and Savior. Can you have that endurance and that obedience only by walking in Christ.

Can you live with endurance and obedience enduring obedience to our Lord. We cannot do this in the flesh. It is Christ that has it and it is him in us that causes us to have it. What about the resisting self death death of the self life.

The only way that we can have abundant life. Is that possible for us in and of ourselves. It's not possible. It's only by the identification of us with Christ and by ourselves being placed in Christ that we can have this.

What about this idea of the goat without blemish yet being numbered with the transgressors. Well that one's interesting. Because if it weren't for the fact that the hand was placed upon us and upon the head of this goat then we would have had to be punished for our own sins.

We would have become the goat for all eternity in hell. And yet he died for us as our substitute. So as believer priests keeping the fire burning has a couple of meanings. The first and most important meaning is that all of these sacrifices pictured the Lord Jesus who died once and then entered into the heavenlies and presented the blood once and then sat at the right hand of the father.

He actually was set there at the right hand of the father. But it also brings to mind that we are in Christ. We're his this morning. And being in Christ the keeping of the fire burning on this side of the cross.

What do you think the sacrifices would picture when you go off into the millennial period. And they're doing the sacrifices again. Why are they doing it as a memorial. Not for salvation. No one this side of the cross would do that for salvation if they knew the Word of God at all as discussed in Sunday school this morning.

But it can be done as a memorial. It can be done to picture what Jesus really did and it shall be in the Millennial Kingdom. Now why does that need to be pictured to a human mind. Because we're forgetful.

Why is it we come together and study same stuff we're talking about this morning. We've studied this before. Why are we doing it again. Because we're humans we're forgetful. And God always uses pictures physical pictures to picture a spiritual thing.

And so as we picture ourselves keeping this altar burning and the sacrifices the the ox and the sheep and the goats and the little pigeons bring brought and put on this continual fire. It should picture the fact that not only did Jesus one time offering suffice and it is continual to us in the sense it is a continual washing or removing of our sins.

Our sins don't have to be atoned for they're gone but they're continually gone. And in that sense it's as if we would picture in the human realm those priests working all the time. Jesus finished work works all the time but doesn't have to work because he's resting now he did it once.

On the other hand as we picture ourselves as the believer priest keeping the fire burning we should realize and that in experience in practice in our life we should exhibit patience and enduring obedience.

We should exhibit death to the self-life. We should exhibit the fact that in Christ we are crucified which was pictured by the goat. And we should exhibit this being poor in spirit and not thinking we know more than the other and always being poor in spirit humble before the Lord.

The only way we can accomplish this ladies and gentlemen is by our spiritual oneness with the Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of Christ only by a and a spiritual attachment only by our spirit being one with his spirit.

Can we exhibit any of these things. And it'd be real and pleasing to the Lord. But that's what it means to picture yourselves keeping the fires burning. Don't let the fire go out. Don't let yourself go into the flesh as the Jew did in the Old Testament when he just let the fire go out let the candlesticks go out and he just ignored the tabernacle.

He ignored God and he went about in his own flesh doing things. We are not to do that in the spiritual realm. And that's what all of this pictures. We must keep the fires the altar burning all the time.

In other words continue to always think about the finished work of Jesus and what it's accomplished what it means to you make it precious in your heart. From time to time during the week think about this altar picture it burning in little animals and realize they're only a picture of what Jesus Christ did for you on the cross which will never comprehend.

We'll never comprehend what it means for that goat to be sent into a place of wilderness which is where his soul went with our sins on it. Somehow we'll never understand all that he accomplished when he died on that cross both in reconciling man to God but also in propitiating God's justice so that God can have a loving fellowship with his children all of that picture.

So when you picture that little altar burning picture yourself keeping the fire on it from day to day and you'll stay in this area of fellowship with Jesus. Let's stand in that prayer together. Father we thank you so much for the types and that you've given us in the Old Testament.

But we thank you most of all for the antitype which you gave us when Jesus came into this world and how he answered every type in the Old Testament every type in the whole Bible. He answered it all with his life with his ministry with his death in his resurrection and presentation of the blood in the true holy of holies.

And he is now said at the right hand of the father. The work is finished. In that pictures our true rest our Sabbath. It's all pictured in your son Jesus. And we thank you so much that you placed us in this world at a time when we can look back and see these great mysteries that the prophets of old study couldn't quite see.

You've allowed us to see them. Father of all generations we should be the most zealous. We should be as pictured by the fat that's burned on the altar. It burns up more quickly than any part of the animal.

It pictures the zeal of a Christian. We should have more zeal than any other generation. We should have more power than any other generation. Father help us to have the death to the self-life so that you might dwell with us and fellowship continually as you did the Lord Jesus our brother and that we might be fit to accomplish your work in these last days.

Lord we ask you to go with us into the time of fellowship and to bless the meal we're about to have together. We ask it in Jesus name.