Rabbi Schneider - God's Response to Sacrifice

TOPICS: Worship the Sacrifices and the Priesthood, God's Presence, Sacrifices, Glory of God

In this series we're looking at the worship, the priesthood, and the sacrifices that were offered up to Yahweh in the tabernacle. Because the tabernacle wasn't an end in and of itself beloved, it was all that surrounded the tabernacle that gives us the full picture. And so, the Lord called his children to the tabernacle to approach him, to be near him, to offer up sacrifices to him, and to worship him. So we're looking now at, once again, how God was worshiped in the tabernacle, and through studying this we can prophetically learn how it is that we can have intimacy with God today.

Now, on my first broadcast in this series last week, I talked about worship, and I talked about the Hebrew word for worship "Sha chah", is actually an action verb, it's something that we do. We talked about the fact that worship, beloved, is about making the Lord, making Yahweh the center, rather than making ourselves the center. And we really need to understand, beloved, that the culture in which we live has greatly influenced the way that we approach God. We live in a culture today, beloved, that's very selfish, and that's very mankind centered. The culture that we live in today, even in Christianity, in many circles has made man the center rather than God the center. But when we study the tabernacle, we find that the way that the Israelites approached the Lord was much different than the way we approach the Lord today.

In the tabernacle the Israelites approach God very reverently. One of the meanings of the word "Worship" is to prostrate oneself. And so, when the Israelites came to the tabernacle, they weren't coming to the tabernacle to first receive something, they weren't coming to the tabernacle to first be blessed. Beloved, they came to the tabernacle, listen to this, not first to receive, but rather first to bless Yahweh and to worship the Lord. How much different is that than the approach that many have today, when they come to church not first to worship God, but think about it, many of you that are watching, if you really think about this, when you go to your services, wherever you attend church, if you attend somewhere, do you first go there for what you'll receive, hoping it's going to be a good sermon, hoping it's going to be a stimulating for you? Do you go there with that attitude, rather than going with the attitude first and foremost that you're going to worship God, to bless God, that it's not first about you, but it's first about him? Haven't we replace making him the center with making ourselves the center?

You see, beloved, true worship, and the pattern for true worship, and the principles of true worship which are revealed in the tabernacle, the priesthood and the sacrifices, very clearly teach us that it's not us that's the center when we go to worship, it's Yahweh that's the center when we go to worship. Do you think that those priests came to the tabernacle, and they said, "You know I like this priest, but I don't like this priest", and you know... No, they went humbly, they went prostrated, they went to present Yahweh a sacrifice. And the word sacrifice, as I taught on last week's broadcast, comes from the Hebrew word "Korban", and it means to come close, to draw near. And so when the Lord was showing the Israelites the way to be close to him was to come to him with a sacrifice. Beloved, this idea of the sacrifice wasn't just that they were giving something up, but it's rather that they were giving the sacrifice, listen now, so that they could come near to him.

And sometimes when we think about making a sacrifice, all we think about is giving something up without recognizing that, beloved, the principle of operating in sacrifice is what brings us near to him. So, for example we think in the New Testament about the woman that washed Yeshua's feet with their tears, and the one that anointed him with the costly bottle of perfume, and just loved him so much. And how that act of worship Jesus said would be remember and read about for all the ages to come. She wasn't coming to the Lord, beloved, first to receive something from him. She was coming to the Lord, beloved, to worship him, to give something to him, to thank him for all he had done for, making him the center, beloved, of our life. And I believe that you and I need to get back, beloved, and realigned, to really recognizing what worship is, and making God the center, rather than making it about us. We need to be delivered from a man-centered Gospel.

Remember Yeshua said (Matthew 24:5), "Many will come in my name, and will mislead many". And if you listen to the preaching today, it's all about what God's going to do for you, but it's not about what you are doing for him. If you listen to so much of the preaching today it's how God can make you wealthy, how God can make you great, how God can help you to to achieve the great American Dream. But where where's reverence for a holy God, coming prostrate before him, making him the center, worshiping him, reverencing him? Not first for what he can do for us, but because of how great he is, because he's the center of everything. Because from him, and to him, and through him are all things. Psalm 150, "Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord". Praise the Lord. When are we going to lift up Messiah, that's in the center of the throne, and make it about God, hallelujah, rather than about us? Lord, deliver me, deliver us all, in Yeshua's name.

Secondly, beloved, we studied, we began to look at the priesthood that operated inside the tabernacle. And we talked about how the role of the priesthood has changed over the years. And I shouldn't say, actually say the role of the priesthood, but what I'm actually saying here is: those that were functioning as priests has been changed over the years. And so we find that, at one time it was the firstborn in every Israelite household that was kind of the possession of the Lord, of the priest of the Lord. And then it was transferred to the Levitical priesthood. But today beloved the priesthood is operating in the life of every child of God, that's been redeemed, hallelujah, by the blood of the lamb, that you are a priest. Get that again: you are a priest. You want to find out who you are? Don't go to some self-help guru to find out who you are, don't go to the library, and just read a bunch of self-help books. I realize there could be value in these things, but if you want to know who you are, beloved, go to the Word of God. The Word of God tells us who we are.

The Word of God tells us you deed, beloved one, in revelation 20 verse number 6, as well as many other places in the Word of God, that who you are, and who I am. The identity the father has given us, beloved, is that of a priest. Among other things we're called sons. And by the way, when the Lord calls us sons, as a bit of a side note here, it's not about gender. Sometimes women have a hard time thinking, "Well, what do you mean I'm you know, that the Lord's calling me a son". The scripture says, "As many as received him, to them he gave the right to become the children of God, or the sons of God". But but when the Lord calls a "Sons" beloved, it's not about gender, it's not about a woman that suddenly becomes a masculine, and her identity.

Sonship, beloved, listen to this now, it implies inheritance, and it implies identity, that you're born of the father. The identity that the father has placed his name on you, and the name is carried on through the son. So when the Lord calls us his sons, it's not about gender, but rather it's about inheritance, and identity. And when the Lord calls us men, the bride of Messiah, that's not about becoming more feminine. But when the Lord calls us the bride of Messiah, what the Lord is speaking about there is not gender, but rather it's speaking about intimacy, and it's talking about relationship. So, the scripture calls us the bride of Messiah, sons of God, but listen, the scripture also calls us, listen now, a kingdom of priest. That the Lord has purchased us by his own blood, beloved, to be a kingdom of priest for him.

So if you want to know who you are, ask the scriptures, what the what they say about who you are. If we want to know who we are, let's look to the Lord, the one that created us, to find out who we are. And the Lord says "I have saved you to be a priest". I want you to just repeat after me, insert your name here, "I", and insert your name, "Am a priest of the Most High God". Insert your name, "I am a priest of the Most High God". Say it one more time, insert your name "I am a priest of the Most High God". That's who you are.

And what is a priest? As we study scripture, beloved, we find that the priesthood of the Lord, the role of the priesthood was to do three things. The first privilege and blessing, and right of one that's called to be a priest, and that means you beloved, is that you've been granted the privilege, and the right, listen now, of drawing near to Yahweh, of drawing near to God. Jesus said, "No one comes, unless the father draws him". You beloved, as a priest, as a chosen child of God, that's been given the inheritance of the priest, you've been one that God has called, listen now, to draw near to the divine presence, to draw near to himself, to come boldly before the throne of grace. You've been called by Yahweh, beloved, to draw near to him.

The second role of the priest after one that is called to draw near, listen beloved, the second role of the priest is: that he has called, that you are called, man or woman, that you are called beloved, listen now, to offer a sacrifice to him. As we study the priesthood throughout all the Hebrew Bible, as we study the priesthood, beloved, and as we study the life of the patriarchs, and their relationship with God, when God called them near to himself, he called upon them as they drew near to him, listen, to present to him a sacrifice. And we're going to be looking at the different types of sacrifices: the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering. And now all the time the priesthood was administering these five offerings, these five sacrifices to the Lord in the tabernacle.

But I want you to get this now, listen, I want you to get this divine pattern, that you've been called to be a priest. Insert your name in there once again, "I _____ am called and chosen to be a priest of the Most High God through the Lord Jesus, and his purchasing me by his own blood". We're a priest. You've been called, beloved, to intimacy. You've been called to draw near to him. And you've been called, beloved, to offer him sacrifices. Remember, the tabernacle is the pattern for intimacy. And what we find is, as the priest offered the Lord sacrifices in the tabernacle, as Abraham offered sacrifices, as Isaac offered sacrifices, as Jacob built an altar, as David offered sacrifices, as Solomon offered sacrifices, listen, the Lord responded to those sacrifices. It's not just about raising our hands in a church service, and saying that we're we're sacrificing. A sacrifice, beloved, is something that's costly. David said, "I will not offer to the Lord that which costs me nothing".

When we really offer the Lord a sacrifice because who he is, because how great he is, because he's worthy of nothing less. When we really give something up to honor him, because of our love for him, beloved, God responds to that, listen now, and he draws near to us. So get the pattern: the priest is called to draw near to Yahweh in the tabernacle, to offer him a sacrifice that cost him something, giving up something because of his reverence and all, and it felt like nothing to give that up, it's not like God is taking something from you, and you're losing something. You're giving something up, and you're gaining something. Remember the apostle Paul said about his life, he was born the tribe of Benjamin, circumcised the eighth day, as to the law of blameless, and yet he gave all that up, he said he countered it, listen now, but rubbish, in order that he might gain Messiah, and the fellowship of his suffering and the hope of his resurrection. He gave up everything that he had, his whole former life, all his credentials, all his ethnic pride as an Israelite. He gave that all up as a sacrifice to the Lord. He said he counted it, but rubbish, in order that he would gain Messiah.

So when you and I offer these sacrifices to the Lord, just like that woman that poured out that bottle of perfume that was worth a year's worth of wages, it wasn't that she lost something, but she gained everything. And so the word sacrifice once again means korban, and it means to draw close, to draw near. That the Lord uses the presenting of these sacrifices unto him to bring us close, hallelujah, to himself. So what I'm going to do now is I'm going to take you on a survey through the scriptures here, and I'm going to show you the incredible way we find here that the Lord responds, hallelujah, to sacrifices. This is such an awesome study in the Word of God.

I want to first of all go today to the book of Leviticus, and I'm going to be reading now several scriptures. And so we're going to be seeing a lot of scriptures here coming up on your graphics, but I really want you to see this in the Word of God for yourself. This principle of how the Lord responds when we offer him sacrifices. And I'm not talking about beloved something little, I'm talking about something that really counts for something, something that hurts, something that is truly giving up something unto him because of our love for him. I'm going to read now from the book of Leviticus, and I'm going to be reading in the ninth chapter, several selected verses. "The grass withers, and the flowers fade, but the Word of God abides forever".

Hear the Word of God. Leviticus 9:1-2, "Now it came about on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel: and he said to Aaron "Take for yourself a calf, a bull, for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering". And so first of all we see the sin offering, and the burnt offering, being offered up to Yahweh in the second verse. Now, I'm going to skip to the 16th verse, "He also presented the burnt offering, and offered it according to the ordinance. Next", listen to this, "He presented the grain offering", and we're going to be studying all these, we're going to be studying the burnt offering, and the grain offering. "Next he presented", in verse 17, "The grain offering, and filled his hand with some of it and offered it up in smoke on the altar".

Now, we're going to go down to verse number 22, "Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people", after he had given all these sacrifices to the Lord. "Then aharon lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them". That's the third role of the priest: to bless the Lord. The first role of the priest is to draw near. The second is to offer up sacrifices, and the third is to bless or minister to the people on behalf of the Lord. And that yet indeed is your role as a believer and a priest in Yahweh today: to draw near to him, to offer up the sacrifice of your life to him, completely, and then to be used of him to bless others.

Again in verse number 22, "Then aharon lifted", and no more this man-made Gospel, beloved, about making man the center, about achieving the American Dream. God hasn't called you and destined you to achieve the American Dream, he's called you to be a son, and to be a priest for the building of his kingdom. "Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he stepped down after making the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out and blessed the people", listen up, all these sacrifices were offered, all the sacrifices offered, the sacrifice offered, and offered and the sacrifices kept being offered. Now, listen what happens in verse 23, "And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out and blessed the people, the glory of Yahweh appeared to all the people. Then fire came down out from before the Lord and consume the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar: and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces".

Do you see the pattern here? Remember, the tabernacle is the pattern for walking with God, for having intimacy with him. Exodus 25, "Build me this mishkan, build me this tabernacle, that I might dwell with you". And what do we see beloved, that inside the tabernacle, the priest offered the sacrifices. And in the offering of the sacrifices Yahweh responded beloved, and he drew near to them, the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Then fire came out of heaven, hallelujah, and consumed the sacrifices. That means that the Lord accepted the sacrifices, Yahweh accepted the sacrifices, and he received it as a love gift from the people, and it brought him pleasure, and he manifested himself to them, because he was so pleased with the people coming before him, and reverencing him, and being low before him, and offering him sacrifices not for what they could get, not so they could achieve the American Dream, but because he was Yahweh, and he was worthy, because he was made beloved, hallelujah, the center. And that's what needs to happen in your life and my life today.

Now, I'm going to go to the book of shemot, the book of Exodus chapter number 40, and we're again going to see this same principle being read. The grass withers, and the flowers fade, but the word of Yahweh, beloved, the Word of God, the word of Yeshua Mashiach, bless his holy name, abides forever. The principles beloved remain the same. You may not be called upon to offer up an animal, but God is calling you to turn over your life to him, to make decisions that cost you something, but you do it because you make him center.

The book of Exodus 40:17-35, "Now it came about in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was erected. And Moses erected the tabernacle", and he's putting the whole tabernacle together. And now, beloved, I'm going to go to verse number 32, "When they entered the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. And they erected the court", and again the finishing work on it. And then it says there in verse number 34, "Then the cloud cover the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle". This place, beloved, for offering up, hallelujah, all the sacrifices.

It says here in verse 29, "He set the altar a burnt offering before the doorway of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting", listen now, "And offered on it the burnt offering and the meal offering, just as Yahweh had commanded". And then in verse 34, "Then the cloud cover the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord fill the tabernacle". You want the Lord to come to you, and reveal himself to you, and make himself known to you, and fill you with the spirit? Then offer him your life, beloved, as a sacrifice! And get away from wrong teaching that makes you the center, rather than God the center. God does not exist to make you and I rich in this world, and to help us achieve the American Dream. Not that God doesn't bless us, but that's not the foundation in the center beloved of walking with God. He is the center. He is the center. That's why Yeshua said, "If you lose your life for my sake, you'll find it".

Listen what happened with David in the book of second Samuel, hallelujah, 2 Samuel 24:24-25. Second Samuel, the life of king David, David Melech. Yeshua said he was the offspring of David. Listen what happens here: David was going to buy this offering for the Lord, and David says in verse number 24, "I will surely buy it from you for a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which costs me nothing". David wasn't going to take this offering off of somebody's hands for free. David said, "No, I'm not going to take this from you for free, and then offer to the Lord that which cost me nothing. I'm going to pay for it. I'm going to show God how precious he is to me, by paying a costly price for whatever it is I give to him".

God isn't pleased with our little bit. And Ananias and Sapphira, beloved, that were consumed, because they didn't give God their all. Listen again, "I will not offer the Lord", David said in verse 24, "'I will not offer burnt offering to the Lord my God which cost me nothing'. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for 50 shekels of silver". And then in the 25th verse, "David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings", now listen to this, "Thus Yahweh", listen to this, "Thus Yahweh was moved by entreaty for the land, and the plague was held back from Israel". The Lord was moved by David's sacrifice, and he responded to it by stopping a plague that was about to come upon Israel.

Beloved, I don't want a plague coming on my life, I want to be blessed by the Lord. And you know what? If we will offer ourselves to him in spirit and in truth as living sacrifices, not determining what we want for our lives, but making him the center of our lives, it affects how we treat people, it affects what we watch on television, it affects how much money we give towards the work of the Lord, it affects what music we listen to, it affects every area of our life, because we've made our whole life, beloved, a living sacrifice to him. This is what we're called to do. Romans 12:1 says, "This is our spiritual service of worship". Yahweh, I ask to offer you my whole life right now, come and consume me, and all those that are in agreement with your fire".