Scripture referenced
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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Leviticus 1:1-9 read aloud as the primary text for the Olah offering
1 Yahweh called to Moses, and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying,
2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When anyone of you offers an offering to Yahweh, you shall offer your offering of the livestock, from the herd and from the flock.
3 “‘If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without defect. He shall offer it at the door of the Tent of Meeting, that he may be accepted before Yahweh.
4 He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.
5 He shall kill the bull before Yahweh. Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall present the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
6 He shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into pieces.
7 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 that is on the fire which is on the altar;
9 but its innards and its legs he shall wash with water. The priest shall burn all of it on the altar, for a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Keep this verse
Luke 17:17-19
the ten lepers, one returns to give thanks as a parallel to the free will offering
17 Jesus answered, “Weren’t the ten cleansed? But where are the nine?
18 Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this stranger?”
19 Then he said to him, “Get up, and go your way. Your faith has healed you.”
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
John 12
woman breaks alabaster jar over Jesus's feet, Judas objects to the waste, Jesus defends her total offering
1 Then six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, who had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.
2 So they made him a supper there. Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with him.
3 Mary, therefore, took a pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.
4 Then Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, one of his disciples, who would betray him, said,
5 “Why wasn’t this ointment sold for three hundred denarii, and given to the poor?”
6 Now he said this, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and having the money box, used to steal what was put into it.
7 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She has kept this for the day of my burial.
8 For you always have the poor with you, but you don’t always have me.”
9 A large crowd therefore of the Jews learned that he was there, and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead.
10 But the chief priests conspired to put Lazarus to death also,
11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.
12 On the next day a great multitude had come to the feast. When they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
13 they took the branches of the palm trees, and went out to meet him, and cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!”
14 Jesus, having found a young donkey, sat on it. As it is written,
15 “Don’t be afraid, daughter of Zion. Behold, your King comes, sitting on a donkey’s colt.”
16 His disciples didn’t understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about him, and that they had done these things to him.
17 The multitude therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him from the dead, was testifying about it.
18 For this cause also the multitude went and met him, because they heard that he had done this sign.
19 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “See how you accomplish nothing. Behold, the world has gone after him.”
20 Now there were certain Greeks among those that went up to worship at the feast.
21 These, therefore, came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”
22 Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn, Andrew came with Philip, and they told Jesus.
23 Jesus answered them, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
24 Most certainly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.
25 He who loves his life will lose it. He who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life.
26 If anyone serves me, let him follow me. Where I am, there will my servant also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
27 “Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this time?’ But for this cause I came to this time.
28 Father, glorify your name!” Then there came a voice out of the sky, saying, “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
29 The multitude therefore, who stood by and heard it, said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
30 Jesus answered, “This voice hasn’t come for my sake, but for your sakes.
31 Now is the judgment of this world. Now the prince of this world will be cast out.
32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
33 But he said this, signifying by what kind of death he should die.
34 The multitude answered him, “We have heard out of the law that the Christ remains forever. How do you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up?’ Who is this Son of Man?”
35 Jesus therefore said to them, “Yet a little while the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, that darkness doesn’t overtake you. He who walks in the darkness doesn’t know where he is going.
36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become children of light.” Jesus said these things, and he departed and hid himself from them.
37 But though he had done so many signs before them, yet they didn’t believe in him,
38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, “Lord, who has believed our report? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
39 For this cause they couldn’t believe, for Isaiah said again,
40 “He has blinded their eyes and he hardened their heart, lest they should see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, and would turn, and I would heal them.”
41 Isaiah said these things when he saw his glory, and spoke of him.
42 Nevertheless even of the rulers many believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they didn’t confess it, so that they wouldn’t be put out of the synagogue,
43 for they loved men’s praise more than God’s praise.
44 Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me, but in him who sent me.
45 He who sees me sees him who sent me.
46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in the darkness.
47 If anyone listens to my sayings, and doesn’t believe, I don’t judge him. For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
48 He who rejects me, and doesn’t receive my sayings, has one who judges him. The word that I spoke, the same will judge him in the last day.
49 For I spoke not from myself, but the Father who sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
50 I know that his commandment is eternal life. The things therefore which I speak, even as the Father has said to me, so I speak.”
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Romans 12:1
Paul urging believers to give their bodies as a living and holy sacrifice
1 Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Brian brought the fifth (or seventh, depending on who's counting) message in the long-running Leviticus series, this time focusing on the Olah offering described in Leviticus 1. The congregation worked through the text together, and the discussion kept circling back to what it actually costs a person to give something to God. The message landed on Romans 12:1 and an invitation to lay everything, not just a corner of it, on the altar.
What was said
The series has been running longer than Brian planned. Every time he thinks the Holy Spirit is done with Leviticus, another thread surfaces. He acknowledged that spending seven weeks in Leviticus is not exactly a crowd strategy, but said these conversations come out of obedience to what he believes God wants to work through in the church, not from what might bring people in or what the congregation most wants to hear.
The congregation reviewed the earlier weeks before moving into chapter one. Past messages covered Leviticus as a blueprint for holiness, the idea that God is a consuming fire who never trades holiness for love, how the blood of sacrifice draws people closer to God rather than merely buying off an angry deity, and the fellowship offering where the worshiper brings most of the meat home and is required to eat it with others that same day.
The Olah offering is different. Working through Leviticus 1:1-9 together, the congregation noted several details: the animal must be the worshiper's own, from their own herd or flock; it must be without defect, meaning the very best available; and the entire animal goes onto the fire. Nothing is taken home, nothing is shared, nothing is sold. The whole thing is consumed.
A thread the congregation kept returning to was the laying of the hand on the animal's head. One person pointed out how intimate and even frightening that act would be, particularly looking an animal in the eye knowing what is about to happen. That detail opened a larger conversation about what it means to bring an offering that actually costs you something, versus the reflex apology you give a sibling when a parent forces you to, heart not in it at all.
The conversation moved to why verse 8 specifically calls for the head to go on the altar. Brian connected it to the idea that if you surrender the hardest thing first, everything else follows. He drew on a moment from his own life, years after becoming a Christian, when he said he stopped being a Christian and became a disciple, because he was finally willing to put the thing he was most attached to on the fire. The head on the altar is a picture of that moment.
Brian pointed to the woman with the alabaster jar in John 12 as a parallel. Judas calculated that the perfume could have been put to better use. Jesus disagreed. The fragrance filled the house. The Olah offering follows the same logic: the very best, entirely consumed, and God finds it a pleasing aroma.
The message closed with Romans 12:1, Paul's plea to offer your body as a living and holy sacrifice. Brian drew a line from the Garden of Gethsemane, where the hardest work of surrender was done in Jesus' heart before the cross, to the invitation in front of the congregation. The argument was that the walking it out becomes possible once the surrender has happened at the altar. The call was not to identify one area to give God, but to throw the whole thing on the fire.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Brian talked about how some people picture God as always angry, always disappointed, always ready to punish, and said that mentality misses what the book of Leviticus is actually showing us. Where did that picture of God come from for you, and how has it changed or stayed the same?
- The text says the animal brought for the Olah offering had to come from your own herd or flock. Brian pointed out that a husband cannot stand before God and say his wife brought them to church. What does it look like in your own life when you let someone else carry the spiritual weight that is yours to carry?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Read the full transcript 6,497 words
Welcome to Tribe's podcast. Hey, we just wanna say thank you for making this message a part of your week. Our prayer is that these messages will inspire you to make the name of Jesus famous in your life and to the uttermost bounds of the earth. If you're ever in Jackson Hole, we'd love for you to visit our Tribe fam in person. To learn more about us, you can find us online or at Facebook by searching tribejh.com.
Welcome to Tribe's podcast. Hey, we just wanna say thank you for making this message a part of your week. Our prayer is that these messages will inspire you to make the name of Jesus famous in your life and to the uttermost bounds of the earth. If you're ever in Jackson Hole, we'd love for you to visit our tribe fam in person. To learn more about us, you can find us online or at Facebook by searching tribejh.com.
Depending on how you're counting, this is either week five or seven of a series that series of conversation. Have you ever spent this long in the book of Leviticus? No. Have you ever enjoyed the book of Leviticus as much? No.
Do you want us to keep going with this series? No. So, so I do I I when I plan out series of conversations to have, you something will stick out to me, and I'll be like, oh, that's that's that's good. And sometimes, as I develop it, it's like what we would call a one off. It just stands alone, and it's one message, and okay.
Awesome. Great. We're conversation. Other times, as I'm developing the conversation, I quickly find like, oh, this needs to be split into two conversations. And sometimes two conversations develops into four conversations.
Okay, four weeks. And sometimes I get to the and I'll do what I just call series notes, and I kinda on a on a document, I'll just put the big points that I feel like the lord wants us to hang out on to unpack and develop. Okay. And then I'll I'll I'll go back and, like, develop those, and I know where the series is going unlike the TV show Lost whereby, like, season five, like
Or severance.
Some Wednesday severance. Your any really likes this series of conversations that we're having in the book of Leviticus. And every week, I think, like, okay. I think that I think that we have mined all of the gold out of this series of conversations that we have, and I always ask the Holy Spirit, you got anything else? And for the last three weeks, he's been like, oh yeah, I got one more thing.
Alright. Let's develop that. And then I get to the end of that. I'm like, okay. I think we're good.
Do you have anything else? And he's like, yeah. But have you seen this? I'm like, oh, that's so good. We gotta talk about that.
And so this particular series of conversations, we've been in the book of Leviticus for most of the winter now. A good portion of the winter, I mean so if you only count my conversations, we're on week five. If you count the amazing conversation that Renee facilitated, we're week six. If you count the amazing conversation that Justin facilitated just last week, we are in week seven. So week five or seven, depending on how you're counting.
The last time that I was here, I said that we were going to specifically look at two different we're going to look at two different types of specific offerings and the last week that I was here, we covered one type of specific offering and this week, we're going to look at another specific type of offering. So, let's just do a quick review for so that you can you can jump in. If you remember week one, we talked about how Leviticus is a divine blueprint for holiness, showing Israel how to create a sacred environment where god can dwell among his people. And I hope that as we've gone through this series of conversations, you have been able to move beyond getting hung up on this idea of why are we spending so much time in Leviticus? Like, we're under the new covenant.
We're in the New Testament. Why are you spending so much time in the book of Leviticus? Like like, why do we even need that book? Well, hopefully, this series of conversations is helping to answer that question for you. There is so much beauty in the book of Leviticus.
You kinda have to look past or look through all the blood and fat on the altar and and mold on the walls and all kinds of various fluids that are like god's got thoughts and ideas on and all of these things but there's some real beauty in the great links that god goes through in order for us to have right relationship with him. Week two, we talked about how the god of the Bible is a consuming fire who will never compromise holiness for love. Week three, we talked about how the blood brings us closer to god. The sacrifice of an animal the sprinkling of blood on the altar is not just to make an angry god to buy us a little bit of time with an angry god. Like, he's always mad at us.
He 's always disappointed. He's always upset. He's always like poised, ready to fling a lightning bolt from heaven to strike us down for our ocean of iniquity but if an animal is killed, he's like, You're off the hook. You're lucky this time. You know, like the belt was undone and he was about to pull it out, sacrifice an animal.
Okay, you're lucky. You're not getting the belt. That's not how god operates at all. If you if you have that mentality and it's a human mentality to have, you're missing the book of Leviticus which is probably why the Lord has us in this series of conversations for so long. Just so it can really sink in and penetrate.
It is the blood when our life essence is transmitted to this animal, this animal surrenders its life and then through the blood, we get to go into the presence of the lord and feel like, wait, what? Then, you should listen to week three. The blood brings us closer to the lord and then, week four, according to my counting. We talked about how when and a certain type of sacrifice is brought to the lord, the idea is that some of the parts of the animal are laid on the altar that is as it's burned up, the smoke rises and ascends to the lord. But in this particular sacrifice, a fellowship offering, the idea was that you take most of the meat home with you.
But what was that unique condition about bringing most of the meat home with you? You have to doesn't say you have to throw a party. What does it say? It doesn't say that. You're just jumping too far ahead.
Try again, You gotta what? You gotta eat it all when?
First day.
That day. Yeah. On the third day, it's bad. You have to eat it all on the first day. But if you don't, you can eat some on the second day.
But on the third day, it's no good. And the purpose for that, Chris, there we go. You gotta throw a party. And so that was one of the specific offerings that we talked about the last time I was here. This week, we are going to talk about a different type of offering.
And to help supplement what we've been talking about and going through, Lissa, on the text blast, sent out a link to a podcast series on this topic. How many of you got the podcast? I don't dare ask how many of you open and started listening because that just breaks my heart. How many of you got the text? Okay.
Alright. Good. Good. Good. Good.
So, here is here is that podcast series. It's done by Bible Project and just like with anything, you have to eat the meat and spit out the bones As they were going through the scroll, they're so they're I don't know if they're Seattle or Bend or Portland or something. And, like, some of that, like, super West Coast vibe kind of comes through, and you're like, but it's easy. You just pick out that bone and spit it out. It was also right about I think maybe during the time of COVID.
So, like, some of that like gets in there but easy enough like pick out those bones, spin them out because there's so much great, great meat that they they talk about. So, by chance, has anybody, like, clicked on that link and started one of those podcasts? Yes, of course. Oh, my heart's so happy. Yes.
Yes. My heart is happy. My heart is happy. So, I really encourage you. I'm not saying thus saith the lord but I will say this, this, this, and this is what the god of the Bible whom you claim to follow and pledge allegiance to has for us as a tribe family.
I'm not saying the lord says you better listen to the podcast because, like, if I have to do that, like, blech. Ain't nobody like that. But he has us on this series for a long time for a re I this is not me. I'm not like, what would be really good and fun? I know.
Let's really like have people beating down the doors to the church by spending seven weeks on the book of Leviticus. That's going to really bring em in. No. No. No.
I I really I really when it comes to ministering unto the lord, I could I could care less about y'all. I could care less about your approval of my series. I'm always open to feedback, gentle, sweet, loving feedback. But I'm not preaching the we're not having these conversations for me. We're not having these conversations for you.
Like, what what do you want to hear? These series of conversations are out of obedience to what the lord wants to do in his church. Does that make sense? Mhmm. And to supplement the series of conversations that we're having, this podcast series is really good.
With that in mind, thank you. With that in mind, you can write the title of this morning's conversation that we're going to have. This is, we're going to talk specifically about the Olah offering. And if you have your Bible with you this morning, would you turn to the book of Leviticus and click on chapter one? How about that?
We're back in chapter one.
Back in. We'll go through it yet again.
Or
the sixth apparently Alright. Leviticus chapter one and interestingly enough, we're going to start in verse one and this is the very first specific type of offering book of Leviticus. Adam has the mic in the room. Quick shout out to Connor. When I was gone last week and Justin was speaking, the mic was going around the room.
The livestream audio was captured beautifully, and so I got to be one of those people that we talk about every week. If you're not here, we have a lot of family and folks that are traveling, and they still get to tune in and participate with the conversation through the livestream and the podcast. So Connor, great job on audio and capturing this. Adam, great job running that mic around. So it's important whenever we have something to contribute, use the mic so that we all get to get the goods from it.
Leviticus chapter one, would somebody please read verses one through nine? And you can you can bite off the whole thing or you can just read some and pass it on. Verses one through nine.
Now the lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting saying, speak to the children of Israel and say to them, when any one of you brings an offering to the lord, you shall bring your offering of the livestock, of the herd, and of the flock. If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish. He shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the lord. Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. He shall kill the bull before
feel like he gave it to me.
He shall kill the bull before the lord and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. I'm just looking for it. And he shall skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces. The sons of Aaron, the priest, shall put the parts, the head, and the fat in order of wood that is on the fire upon the altar. But he shall watch wash its entrails and its legs with water, and the priest shall burn all on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire a sweet aroma to the lord.
Woah. Okay. Quick question. As you look at this passage here, would you say from our growing knowledge of the Aaronic priestly sacrificial system, would you say that this is a sin offering or a free will slash love offering? Sacrifice.
This would you say this is a sin sacrifice or a free will sacrifice? Same?
Ill, blameless, the washing, the way they laid them out. The you know, we've we've learned about the priest putting his hand on the head of the bull, and that takes away the sins of the people once a year. So that's what I thought of.
Great. So this this is a commonality among all of the sacrifices. It needs to be male, and it needs to be perfect and blameless, the very best from the flock or the herd. So that that happens all the time. This particular instance that you're noticing, the giver of the sacrifice places his hand on the head of the animal, his hand on the head of the animal.
Okay. So, yep, that tends that kind of does sound like a a sin offering, but there's some clues that might give you conflicting or contradictory idea. What do you see, Gretchen, and here comes the mic.
Listen. I have different versions, and hers doesn't say this. But in chapter three, mine says
Oh, chapter three.
Sorry. Verse three.
Sorry. Of what we do
for I haven't finished my coffee yet. It where is it?
Yeah.
Oh, yeah. It says if his burn if his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a meal without blemish. He shall offer it of his own free will.
There. There.
But Lissy's doesn't say that.
What does yours say? I I love everybody's eyes are either in their phone or in their bible. This makes pastor Brian so happy.
New King James and I have NLT. Verse three says, if the animal you present as a burnt offering is from the herd, it must be a male. No defects. Bring it to the entrance of the tabernacle so you may be by the lord.
Correct. So in this particular verse, your translation brings out with a little more clarity or vibrancy, the type of offering that this is. So, Amanda, yes, you are right. There are some characteristics of a sin offering, laying the hands on them. Interesting, okay?
But we see from reading plainly that this is an offering, a free will offering of your own free will from prior conversations that we've had? Can you think of the type of instance or scenario that would trigger a person bringing a free will offering to the lord? What might the occasion be? What do you think? To bring a free will offering, this type of offering.
Yeah. Okay. Birth of a baby. Check. Free will offering.
Bam. What else? What? Fasting. Fasting.
At the end, the completion of a vow. Free will offering. Bam. On the grill. What else?
And and all of these can be summarized. Celebrations. There you go. There you go. Celebrations of gratitude to the Lord out of your own free will.
I want to bring this sacrifice to the lord. Out of your own free will. Now let's look at some of the specifics about this type of offering. And we don't need to, like, draw any spiritual conclusions. We don't need to, like like, jump in super deep, but I would like us to take note of some of the specifics in this offering.
What are some what are some of the steps or specifics about this offering? And I'll just tell you this. The reason why I want you to look and to discover these things for yourself is so that when we connect some dots, when we extrapolate some deeper spiritual meaning from this, My goal is that you would go, woah. That's amazing. And it was right here in the text all along.
And if if if old PB could pull this out of the text, what's what could be in chapter two that the Holy Spirit would show me out of this? If he can show that big dummy, what could he show me? And then you you you scratch a little deeper in chapter three. Scratch a little deeper in chapter four and we first start by looking at the surface level. What are some specific details or aspects that you notice about this particular offering?
You can say it. Gotta a Gotta be a Yep. No defects. No defects. So no defects, you can substitute either out in your margin of your bible.
You can make a note or you can just have in your mind. It has to be the very best. Your very best pair of skis, your very best outfit, your very best whatever tool or resource you use for work, your most favoritest thing, the very best. Okay? What else do you see?
The animal are laid on wood in order. Everything is in
order. Parts of the animal are in order. The wood is laid out in order. This is interesting. Perhaps it's because we're just getting into the book of Leviticus, but there's only one other place, which we're going to talk about next week, where it specifically talks about the ordering of the wood.
Most of the time, the sacrifice has to deal with just the animal, what to do with the animal, how to bring the animal, how to prepare the animal, what gets laid on the altar, what gets taken outside of the camp. But this particular instance, and I think it has to do with because it's in the first chapter. We have some instructions about the wood. Next week, we're gonna talk more about the wood on the fire. Can't wait.
Yes. Let's do the mic.
Any clarification before we before I move on in my break. Are you saying that a free will offering can't be one that atones for sin? Are you thinking them mutually exclusive? Or
Not necessarily. Okay. Not necessarily. So, again, I am I am a baby student in in these offerings, and this podcast series helps so much.
Sure. I I this is only one sentence, if I may read. This is from the Blue Letter Bible. It's saying the Septuagint translated the adjective without blemish. In that verse with the word, Peter employed the same Greek adjective to refer to the death of Jesus as an offering of the lamb to atone for our sin in first Peter.
Well, that's where we were going with the message today. So if you would just close your bible while the worship
team clarifying. You may continue, but I in my head, I have to know. I think it means both. I mean, you can bring a free will offering, sorry, to atone for your sin. I I think I don't think they're separate.
Yes. They don't have to be.
So there are some sacrifices that are mandatory, that there are certain instances that trigger a compulsory sacrifice. This happened, so now this must happen sacrificially. Sin, guilt, the high priest going into the holy of holies one day a year, the day of atonement. There are other sacrifices that happen out of there's no particular thing that that mandates or necessitates it, a free will offering, if you will. Admittedly, this passage looks like it combines elements of both.
But what triggers this offering is, as Brian mentioned just a moment ago, out the fulfillment of a vow celebration, thank you. And so in this particular instance, the text appears as though it's a free will offering out of you the own volition of your heart as a way of saying thank you, and I love you. And as an added bonus, it purifies us and and gets that person back into right standing with God. So would you be satisfied with my answer of both and?
So, my mind hopped to, Luke 17 when Amanda asked that question when Jesus said he'll heal the 10 lepers. It's verse Woah. 17, and Jesus Jesus asked, didn't I heal 10 men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?
And Jesus said to the man, stand up and go. Your faith has healed you. And and so he had healed the other nine. And then yet again, he said, your faith has healed you. And so he brought forth that volitional.
He had to walk back to Jesus and thank him, and he brought back that offering of not only having fun with the priest and being healed, but he chose to go back to god and offer out of his own free will gratitude.
Was that a footnote in your bible or a hyperlink? Hyperlink. Okay. I need a pen because I'm gonna write that in in my bible as a hyperlink. Oh, where was that?
Luke 17
Wow. 17 through 19. Luke.
The result is.
Yeah. That did mean the other nine were in sin. Right? Wow. Wow.
Yeah. So
good. Okay. Other details about this offering? Do you what do you notice about similar to what Gretchen said, there's an order to this. And the the reason why we we spend time to, like, let's really look and consider consider the details.
It's because when we notice the details, it's like that's what creates the opportunity in our hearts to bite into that juicy, fruit filled center. The good stuff is in the details. What are some other details that you notice about this offering? I love that you're looking and considering.
Okay. What stands out to me is the fact that it's at the entrance of the tent. The offering is offered at the entrance before anybody goes in. And the the one that I listened to today of the bible project, they talk about the transferring by the laying on of the hand. So by an act of will, somebody puts their hands on an animal.
By an act of will, somebody even brings the animal in the first place. And I feel like Jesus is the pure and spotless lamb who died to take away the sins of the world. However, it requires something from us to receive it. And I've been debating on whether or not to even bring it up because then we're talking about Arminianism, and we're talking about Calvinism, and we're talking about universalism. Like, Jesus died once all for everyone's sins.
Mhmm.
But it doesn't mean that everyone automatically gets into the tent.
Agreed.
So that's what I see.
A detail that I notice is look at the end of verse two. Whose herd or flock flock does the sacrifice come from? Whose herd or flock does the sacrifice come from? Yours. Not your moms, not your dads, not your youth pastors, not your pastors, not your husband, not your wife, your flock.
It must be it must cost you something. How many husbands will stand before god in judgement and be like, My wife and I read the Bible together every morning. My wife took us to church every week, on and on and on. And the lord's like, yeah. But what did you bring from your herd, from your flock?
What other details stand out to you? Let's look at verse eight specifically. Jay, you might have something unrelated to verse and then let's look at verse eight specifically.
It really stuck out to me laying laying your hand on the head. That just seems like such a, like, intimate thing. Like, I know, like, some of us might have, like, pets at home, and we touch them all the time. But, like, for me to, like, put my hand on my wife's head or, like, or, like, a kid or, like, I think about, like, approaching, like, a large animal. Like, if you hunt, like, after you shot something, like, when you approach it, you're, or, like, or even, like, a horse.
Like, I remember, like, touching a horse. You're just, wow. Like, like, it's a very, like, intimate thing to do, and I just see that that's such, like, a integral part of the sacrifice. This is, like, a really intimate and maybe even, like, scary thing to do sometimes. Woah.
That's really good.
Yeah.
Alright. Instead of me connecting that dot for a spiritual meaning, Jay, you connect those those dots or two for a deeper spiritual meaning. We have the instructions. Lay your hand on the animal's head. Okay.
You're seeing you're you're you're seeing that detail, and you're on your way to extracting the the the really good, meaty, spiritual point that the lord has for us. So tell us a little bit more. Connect those dots for us.
Yeah. I just think whatever whatever we're offering needs to have a bit of that fear or intimacy to it. I remember my parents would always force me to apologize to my siblings after we did something, and your knee jerk reaction is, I'm sorry. You're like, whatever. And your heart's not really in it.
Me, specifically, I would oftentimes need a little bit of time to actually be really repentant and actually mean my apology. And so same same thing, like, with the Lord. Right? Like, I think it's so important that it is this intimate thing, that it is something that is hard for us to do. It might be, again, scary or, like, yeah, difficult to do, but we gotta mean it.
We gotta mean it. Brian, imagine looking into the eyes of the animal that's about to die that you selected and brought forward.
I think when you say that, it makes me think of Jesus in the garden when he was so I don't wanna call him stressed, but he was sweating blood. And that seemed like a very scary situation or something that he you wouldn't want to voluntarily go through. But then I also when we're talking about the transmission of sin, it makes me also think of the other garden, the Garden Of Eden when man was cursed, and one of his curses was that he would have to toil and sweat. And you talked earlier a few weeks ago about the life being in the blood, and Jesus sweat blood in a different garden. And I just, I'm not I don't think I fully fleshed out all of that idea, but I just feel like God was purposeful in that demonstration or in that.
Yeah.
Garden, toil, something has to die.
Jesus became curse for us when we were cursed, and here, we are we in this time, we're giving offerings and transferring these these sins, and it's making us right with God. And Jesus the curse that was brought upon us, Jesus gave his blood, but it started in the garden when he dripped the blood from his brow. Sorry. This is all new to me.
I just said alright. This
is good. This is good. The Bible says in the Old Testament, cursed is anyone that hangs on a tree. The Bible says in the garden, as a result of Adam and Eve's sin, part of the curse that was pronounced was that the ground would produce thorns. Jesus on the cross took the symbol of that curse and had it smashed into his forehead what the enemy thought would be gloating and triumphal to to crown the head of the king of the universe with the filthiness and the iniquity of man's sin embodied in thorns and stickers and if you've ever been running barefoot in the grass just like being a kid again and then you step on a thorn or a goat head, like, and the enemy intended that to be mockery and shame.
And the harder the enemy pressed that curse into Jesus, the result was blood flowing that purified man from his sin. You lose dirty devil. Verse eight. What body part is specifically Yeah. Verse eight.
What did I say? Verse eight. What is what part is specifically mentioned in verse eight? The head. You ever burned the head of an animal?
I haven't, but can't be good. Why the head? It represents the head. Right? Well, this looks like a good business idea.
Well, I think that I want to do this. Well, I have seen this, and I want to go there. I want to do that. I want that. If you put the head on the fire and it's burned up, everything else will follow.
Start with that which is most challenging and difficult to give. I remember after I got saved, I was a Christian for a number of years, and then I went to a youth event where I heard the speaker talking about going all in. And at that event, I stopped being a Christian, and I became a disciple. And I was like, you can have it You can have it all. You can have it all.
And, you know, tears, and it was awesome and the music and everything. And then I go home, and I'm not like a teenager at this point. Like, I'm like I'm like a young adult. I was married. And and, like, the next morning, he's like, I can have it all.
And I was like, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Sure. Yeah.
Yeah. And he's like, let's start with all of your Beastie Boys CDs. And I was like, oh. Anyway, it's CDs at that point. And long story short, big stack of CDs and one and one sledgehammer later.
That was a lot of shards of plastic to clean up off the driveway. But but, like, start there with that that that locust, that that center of what was occupying a place in my heart that it shouldn't have and then, everything else was so much easier that followed after that. The Bible says in verse eight, put the head on the altar. It's a picture of surrender. Then, in verse nine, if we we kind of read some of these things together, what else is placed on the altar?
The fat. The head. Wash the entrails, the legs, and then put it on. Let me ask you this. From the text, what parts of the animal are not put on the altar?
From what you can read of the text, what parts of the sacrifice are not put on the altar? K. So it does say to skin it. It says to wash the organs. Now we're playing anatomy.
Yes or no? Baxter. That belongs to the priests, brother. Alright. The end of verse nine gives you the answer.
Other parts of the animal specifically mentioned, we gotta wash some things. We gotta do some things. But then the last part of verse nine is conclusive on what parts of the animal go on the altar. What do you see? There you go.
Say it again, Chris. The entire animal goes on the altar. Various parts of the animal are given for different types of sacrifice. Last week that I was here, we talked about how just some of the animal was placed on the altar and its blood was sprinkled for a thing, and then you take the entire animal. And you gotta eat it all in one day.
And if you don't, well, you you get a second day. But the idea is for you to have a feast. In this particular instance, with the Allah offering, how much of the animal is intended to be consumed by the flames? The whole thing. The entire animal.
What is the the what is the caliber or the condition of the animal that's intended to be brought? The very best. The very best. The breeding stock. The one that would win the Eukanuba prize, the four h grand champion on the fire.
The entire animal is intended to be consumed by the flames. The Like, that doesn't seem to be the most the the wisest use of the very best. Don't beat yourself up for thinking that way. That's actually good, reasonable economics. That's good thinking.
Why not sell the very best for breeding stock? Why not wait and do the the block party barbecue sacrifice? But there is a type of sacrifice that the Lord finds particularly pleasing when we take the very best of fill in the blank, your time, your talent, your treasure, whatever, and allow it to be consumed on the altar to be burned up. And if that sounds like, like, I don't know if that that's really the best use. You're not a bad person.
You you're you're thinking, and I like that you're thinking. But we saw Jesus address this mindset. You don't need to turn there. But remember in John chapter 12, when the woman breaks open the alabaster jar,
she pours it over the
feet of Jesus, and then Judas, who is in charge of the money and the finances, was like, you could have done 10 different better things with that expensive jar of perfume. But Jesus didn't didn't chastise her. In fact, he turns to Judas and is like, you've missed the point. The point is this woman gave everything. She laid it all at my feet.
I have received this offering, and it's a pleasing aroma. And we know how this story plans out. The Bible literally says that the fragrance filled the house. Here's the last verse. I'll put it up on the screen.
Really bring this home. Romans twelve one. Paul is talking and he says, so, friends, beloved, dear ones, people who I'm investing my life in, people who I want the very best for, dear, treasured, precious, honored. Brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all that he has done for you. And let them be a living and holy sacrifice, the kind that he will find acceptable.
This is truly the way to worship him. In that garden that Brian mentioned, he said, Lord, if it be possible to skip this cup of suffering, can we find another way? But then he's being human acknowledging that this is gonna cost a lot. And then he said, nevertheless, not my will, but your will be done. And he laid his life down in that act of surrender so that the walking it out and in Jerusalem, you can go and see that.
There's a a they call the Via The La Rosa. On the way to the cross. The walking it out was was the easy part. The hard work had been done in his heart in the garden. Today, the invitation is for you to think about and consider would the Lord be inviting you to make an Olah offering of your life?
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You're a Christian. Awesome.
These were Israelites. Yes. You have told him before. But what about today To bring an offering of our life. That we would lay our bodies on the altar and give our bodies to God.
And what's the reason why? Because of all that he's done. He held nothing back from you. So here's the invitation, and it's okay. The LifeGene camera can just stay right there, but the invitation is for you to take a moment, consider, and I almost gave you an easy out by saying, if there's an area or an aspect of your life that you're being called to surrender to the Lord, breathe, no.
Just just throw the whole thing on the fire. To do healing onto the Lord. Altar. I'm Lord, I give you everything. And you might be saying, I give you everything all over again today.
It's okay. But here's how I would like you to respond to the Lord's invitation to lay everything as a living sacrifice. Just whenever you're ready, if you just slip out of your seat right where you are and you get on your knees and you turn your chair into an altar where you can meet with the Lord. Just right where you are. Okay?
So listen, consider, count the cost. As Jay said earlier, look that animal in the eye and then lay it on the altar. Would you stand up and could I pray for you? Lord, may the sacrifice of our lives be a pleasing aroma in your nostrils. And don't be mad I'm talking to you guys, not the lord for a second and don't be mad when on Monday morning, he reminds you, Don't reach your hand onto the grill.
You've already laid that down. Help us, Lord. Help us. Help us. Help us to leave what we laid on the grill.
Help us to leave it there. I command a blessing over each and every member of our tribe family here today. We pray these things in Jesus name, the strong son of god and everybody said, amen. I love you guys so very much. Have a great week.
Hang in there. Winter can't last forever and remember, you got this.
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