EXODUS & LEVITICUS

Last night I was able to preach behind my own pulpit at Grand View Baptist Church and I enjoy preaching at home more than any place else.  I love our church and it's people.  I missed writing a day on my blog, but I did not skip over those chapters, I wrote about them which put me a day behind on my blog, so today I will cover more ground. 1) DUMB gods! - Of all things... Aaron takes gold and makes a golden calf.  Now in Egypt they worshiped cows and calves, but how quickly they forgot what happened to all of Egypt's cattle.  In Exodus 9:6 God sent a murrain that killed all of the cattle!  Why pick a god that is killed off by disease?  Dumb gods!  In Exodus 32:8, Aaron said: "These be thy gods, O Israel."  Even stranger is the gods men chose today.  Sports become some people's god.  Fame, Money, Boats, Cars, Homes, popularity, etc.  Dumb gods!  The LORD God alone is worthy to be worshiped!  Don't find yourself serving dumb gods of man's creation. 2) WHERE IT ALL STARTS- How does God chose someone to be in His service full time?  Where does it all start?  In Exodus 33:11, we see that God speaks to Moses "face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend."  Afterwards, Moses returns to the camp from the tabernacle, but one man remains... Joshua.  It says of him: "Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle."  It all begins with a thirst for God... a hunger to know Him and spend time with Him.  We see that hunger with ones delight to be in the house of God, or the church!  When a young man loves church and serving God, that is a young man that God may be calling to serve Him full time one day!  Teach your children to have that hunger for God.  Don't be so concerned about getting them in bed early that you do not let them spend lingering minutes at the house of God.  These are the ones God will be looking for! 3) LEVITICUS OFFERINGS- The first several chapters of Leviticus talks of the different offerings and how they are to be offered.  We see the Burnt Offering in chapter one, The Meat Offering in chapter two, the Peace Offering in chapter three, the Sin Offering in chapter four, the Trespass Offering in chapter five.  The offerings are talked about until chapter seven.  4) AN OFFERING YOU CAN OFFER- In chapter five of Leviticus, for a sin offering you were to offer a bullock, but if you could not afford that, you could bring two turtledoves, and if you could not afford that you could bring two young pigeons, and IF you could not afford that, you could bring a handful of fine flour.  In other words, God made a provision for everyone!  AND, in the New Testament, you just have to trust Christ as your Savior, and your sins are forgiven!! 5) OVERVIEW OF LEVITICUS- Chapter 8 is the anointing of the Priest; Chapter 9 is the offering by Aaron; Chapter 10 is the strange fire offered by Nadab and Abihu, and their death; Chapter 11 is the clean and unclean animals described; Chapter 12 is the purification after childbirth; Chapters 13, 14 is about the laws concerning leprosy; Chapter 15 is about the laws concerning uncleaness; Chapter 16 is about the Day of Atonement; Chapter 17 is about special sacrifices; Chapters 18-20 is about Person Conduct, Sexual Mis Conduct and the penalties for doing so; Chapters 21,22 is about the sanctity of the priesthood and blemished animals; Chapter 23 is about the feast; Chapter 24 is about the items in the tabernacle; Chapter 25 is about Sabbath and the year of Jubilee; Chapter 26 is about blessings and curses; and Chapter 27 is about Tithes and vows made to God. 6) Sabbath Year and Year of Jubilee- Chapter 26 covers this.  Here is the teaching... every seventh year, the land is to rest for the whole year (no planting or reaping); and after the seventh seven year period (the 50th year) the land is to rest again (two years in a row) and revert back to the previous owners who sold you the land so that it stays in their families possession!!  If you want it back, you must buy it after the year of jubilee.  So... here is the question:  "How did they make it going two full years without sowing and reaping?"  They asked the same question, and God had an answer.  In Lev. 25:20,21- "And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase:  Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years."  God gave a harvest that would last the 48 year, the 49th year, and the 50th year!!  He had it all planned out.... they just had to obey!! 7)  BUT THEY DID NOT!  Israel forsook the Sabbath years for 490 years, so God took them back when they went into captivity for 70 years!!  The land lay still for all seventy years!!  God doesn't gloss over disobedience.... that is a good lesson for us to learn!! Well, that is all I have to write today... two days worth!!  PASTOR MIKE MUTCHLER