SEEKING THE THINGS OF GOD

6 Drawing Near with Sacrifice

• Sacrifice defined; to purposely incur a loss with assurance that one will gain more than he lost.

No one should sacrifice to God who does not believe in Him

No one should believe in God who is not willing to sacrifice

“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When any one of you brings an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of livestock from the herd or from the flock. “If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer

a male without blemish. He shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, that he

may be accepted before the LORD. (Leviticus 1:2-3 ESV)

A man's gift makes room for him and brings him before the great. (Proverbs 18:16 ESV)

Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.” And Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young

goat and sent them by David his son to Saul. (1 Samuel 16:19-20 ESV)

“Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me. You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. As I

commanded you, you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of

Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. None shall appear before me empty-handed. You shall keep the

Feast of Harvest, of the firstfruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. You shall keep the Feast of

Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor. Three times

in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord GOD. (Exodus 23:14-17 ESV)

Not appear before a King empty-handed

Burnt “Offering”, from Hebrew; Qorban• Mark 7:11, transliterated, Corban• Translated; to draw near to God with sacrifice• Implication is one of dedication, commitment

It wasn’t enough for a Jew to …• Profess belief in Jehovah• Show up for the occasion• Be circumcisedSacrifice was the way to draw near to the King

Consider the Different SacrificesThen he shall flay the burnt offering and cut it into

pieces, and the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. And

Aaron's sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, the head, and the fat, on the wood that is on the fire on

the altar; but its entrails and its legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall burn all of it on the

altar, as a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD. (Leviticus 1:6-9 ESV)

A sacrifice dedicating one’s heart to God

Consider the Different SacrificesThe LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and

his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin offering. In the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the

sin offering be killed before the LORD; it is most holy. The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. In a holy

place it shall be eaten, in the court of the tent of meeting. (Leviticus 6:24-26 ESV)

A sacrifice of atonement, seeking forgiveness

Consider the Different Sacrifices“If his offering is a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offers

an animal from the herd, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD. And he shall

lay his hand on the head of his offering and kill it at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and Aaron's sons

the priests shall throw the blood against the sides of the altar. And from the sacrifice of the peace offering,

as a food offering to the LORD, he shall offer the fat covering the entrails and all the fat that is on the

entrails, (Leviticus 3:1-3 ESV)

A freewill sacrifice of thanksgiving, sharing, and fellowship

All sacrifice had the goal of

drawing near to God in

forgiveness, dedication, and

thanksgiving

God STILL wants us to seek and draw near

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be

added to you. (Matthew 6:33 ESV)

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy

and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16 ESV)

God STILL wants us to seek and draw near

(for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced,

through which we draw near to God. (Hebrews 7:19 ESV)

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God

through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25 ESV)

God STILL wants us to seek and draw near

…let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled

clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:22)

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify

your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:8 ESV)

God STILL wants us to seek and draw near

“Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread,

at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the

LORD empty-handed. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the

LORD your God that he has given you. (Deuteronomy 16:16-17 ESV)

God STILL wants us to seek and draw near

The Burnt offering is an acceptable gift, offered completely up to God

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into

his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as

Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of

life. (Romans 6:3-4 ESV)

God STILL wants us to seek and draw near

The Sin offering is an acceptable gift with atoning blood and body taken outside

For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest

as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate

in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. (Hebrews 13:11-12 ESV)

God STILL wants us to seek and draw near

The Sin offering is an acceptable gift with atoning blood and body taken outside

For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest

as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate

in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. (Hebrews 13:11-12 ESV) Therefore

let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. (Hebrews 13:13)

God STILL wants us to seek and draw near

The free will offering is an acceptable gift shared with all, eaten in the Lord’s house

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of

lips that acknowledge his name. (Hebrews 13:15 ESV)

Praise, prayer, & singing are peace offerings

God STILL wants us to seek and draw near

The free will offering is an acceptable gift shared with all, eaten in the Lord’s house

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to

God. (Hebrews 13:16 ESV)

Doing good and sharing are sacrifices that please God

God STILL wants us to seek and draw near

The free will offering is an acceptable gift shared with all, eaten in the Lord’s house

The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that

we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are

many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel: are not those

who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? (1 Corinthians 10:16-18 ESV)

One who offers shares meal with all

The Point of this Study?

• To demonstrate that God is only approached in HIS way

• To see that we have a desperate need for Jesus

• To understand that God loves us so much He has provided the way through His Son