Sing Talk—Tim Harkins
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Well, let's look to the Lord for his help before we start. Our God and Father, we thank thee for thy goodness to us. We thank you for the mercies of the day today. And we just, uh, commit this little time that we can. I word to thee for thy health and thy blessing. We, uh, own our weakness and recognize our dependence upon me. And we thank you that we can count on me for.
Thy uh, undertaking for the word and uh, we just pray that, uh, it would be an encouragement and help to those that are here and to the speaker as well.
We just ask these things now in the Lord Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Well, umm.
First of all, I'm sorry for, uh, being the one that's up here speaking because that is the manifestation of my irresponsibility because I didn't find somebody to, to do it, but the Lord has laid something on my heart and so we trust that, uh, maybe he can use it for blessing. So what I have on my heart tonight is peace offerings.
It's something that as a young person, I didn't really have a, a great deal of understanding about. And, uh, umm, I expect that most of the young people that are here probably knew, probably know more about it than I did when I was your age. But it's actually a, uh, a really remarkable offering and it's very significant and special. And I would like to speak about it for a few minutes this evening, primarily to the young people.
Umm, and maybe it's some that are older that, uh, it might pertain to as well.
Umm, the peace offering is, is kind of, uh.
The name peace offering is, is kind of it. It sends people down sometimes the wrong road and understanding what the peace offering is because when we think about the peace offering, a lot of times, umm, people just jump to the conclusion that it has to do with peace with God. That isn't what the peace offering is about. That's the sin offering is an atoning sacrifice that gives us peace with God and the ability to.
Into the presence of God. The peace offering has to do with the peace of God. And it's an outflow of appreciation for one that has an understanding of the blessing that they've been brought into in God. Isn't that? Isn't that cool? And so the peace offering, I'm gonna read in Leviticus a couple of different passages about the peace offering in a very condensed form. But as we read it.
I want you to pay attention to a couple of things. The first thing is, is that it was, uh, an, an offering of Thanksgiving and it was a free will offering. It wasn't mandatory. I mean, you didn't, nobody was saying you had to do this or something bad is going to happen. It was simply an opportunity for someone to come and give thanks to God.
For what he had done for them, OK.
And there was a portion of the offering that went to God, there was a portion that went to the priest, which speaks of Christ. And there was a portion of the sin offering that went to the sons of the priest, which speaks of the Saints of God. And so it really speaks of communion. And it really correlates well to the remembrance meaning that we have on Lord's Day morning. So with that in mind, let's turn to Leviticus chapter 3.
OK, so Leviticus chapter 3 and verse one. And it says, And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offered of the herd, whether it be a male or a female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the Tabernacle of the congregation and Aaron's sons, the priest shall sprinkle the blood.
Upon the altar roundabout, and he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace, offerings and offering made by fire unto the Lord.
The fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the call above the liver with the kidneys, it shall he take away. An Aaron's son shall burn it on the altar.
Upon the burnt sacrifice, which is upon the wood that is on the fire. It is an offering made by fire of a sweet savour under the Lord. OK, let's turn to Chapter 7.
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Leviticus Chapter 7 and verse 11. And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the Lord. If ye offer it for a Thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of Thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, an unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil of fine flour fraud, besides the cakes he shall offer for his.
Offering leavened bread.
With the sacrifice of Thanksgiving of his peace offerings, and of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation, for in heave offering unto the Lord, and it shall be the priests that sprinklethe the blood of the peace offerings, and the flesh of the sacrifice of His.
Peace offerings for Thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered. He shall not leave any of it until the morning. But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offereth his sacrifice, and on the Morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten.
But the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt with fire. Well, we'll just stop there for now and just talk about this peace offering a little bit more. So this was an offering that was intended to be made, Umm, and it was a fresh offering that was needed. It needed to be eaten on the first day.
Or if it was a vow on the second day, but anything that remained on the third day.
Was to be burnt with fire and that really speaks of fresh communion. A continuous, umm, a a continuous.
Freshness that was associated with communion. It wasn't something that you'd enjoy for a long time and until it got old. And still it was fresh continuously. And that's important. And that's why I believe we have the privilege of remembering the Lord Jesus in his death for us every Lord's Day. And there's a need for that remembrance to be fresh and new every day, every Lord's Day. It's not something that umm, you know, unfortunately there are, umm.
There are places of worship that do it, umm, on a quarterly or by annual basis. And, uh, and there's a tendency to forget what the Lord has done for us when there is a long period in between the times that, umm, that remembrance is, is given. And so, umm, another thing about the peace offering.
Was is that, uh, umm again? It was.
An offering of Thanksgiving, and it was a voluntary offering like we spoke about before. Well, umm, again, this correlates very, very directly with, uh, the Lord's Supper and umm, the communion that's associated with that, the communion that it shows with, umm, with God and with our Lord Jesus and with each other as Saints together.
But it is an offering, umm, of Thanksgiving to the Lord for what He has done for us and umm.
You know, if we turn back to Luke chapter 22, I just would like to read a few verses there that the Lord spoke to the disciples that are really touching and and very telling. Umm Luke chapter 22 and verse 14 it says. And when the hour was come, he sat down and the 12 apostles with him.
And he said unto them with desire of desire, to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
For I say unto you, that I will not anymore eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.
And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this and divide it among yourselves, For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the Kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread and gave thanks, and break it.
And gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you. This do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the New Testament in my blood.
Which is shed for you? And then let's just turn to the verses in First Corinthians Chapter 11 That we know so well.
First Corinthians Chapter 11 and verse 23.
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For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, you break it and said, Take heed, this is my body which is broken for you.
This due in remembrance of Me. After the same manner also he took the cup when he had sat, saying, This cup is the New Testament in my blood. This Dewey, as OFT as ye drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, eat his show, or proclaim the Lord's death till he come.
So the Lord, when he was here, looking forward to his being offered at the cross for our sins, he made a request.
To you and to me.
And that was that. We would not forget the sacrifice that he gave there at Calvary for us. And he instituted a supper that was very clearly laid out. It wasn't complex, it was very simple, but it was also very profound.
And he asked us to proclaim and to remember his death with Thanksgiving, with that supper. My question to you young people is, have you answered that request?
And if not, why not? It is a simple request that the Lord Jesus gave.
For you to be able to render appreciation and Thanksgiving to Him for what He has done for you.
It doesn't seem like too much to ask. You know, in Luke chapter 17, it talks about 10 lepers that needed to be cleansed and the Lord cleansed them. And out of the 10, only one return to give Thanksgiving to the Lord for what he had done. And his question was, were there not ten?
That were cleansed. Where are they not? Where are they not?
And I don't mean to be negative in this, but I just would like you to be exercised about your position. You know, if I had a birthday, umm, if I had a 40th birthday or something like that, that was coming up. And unfortunately I'm older than 40, but that seems to be a fairly common birthday that is celebrated and I somebody.
Uh, and if I were to say you know who, it should be nice.
If on my birthday we could have a party at this place and we could celebrate it in this way.
What what would happen if either nobody came, or if they went to a completely different place and did it a completely different way?
Would that be of any blessing to me? Not at all. And there would be a loss on the part of those that that came to that party because there wouldn't have been an opportunity for communion with me.
And so the Lord has given us a way in which we can render thanks for what he has done. And the question is simply, have you, have you, umm, responded to that request by asking for your place at the Lord's Table? And like that peace offering that spoken of, it says a picture in the Old Testament of the Lord's Table and that offering, uh, that remembrance, meaning that we could have there, it was a free will.
Right. And it was, it was fresh and new and, uh, there was exercise that was associated with it and it was a rendering and outpouring of Thanksgiving on the offers part to God. For what? For the peace that they had experienced in, umm, receiving God's blessing. Isn't that sweet?
Well, I'll just close with that. And I just would ask that as young people.
You would.
Solemnly consider where you stand with us. It doesn't seem like too much to ask. The Lord didn't ask much of us, but that's one thing He asked, and it was a tremendous thing that He accomplished for us at Calvary. The least we can do, I think, is to respond in kind. It says in First John chapter 4 that we love Him because He first loved us well. How can we manifest or display our love to Him?
It's by obeying his request of remembering him in his death, in the way that he asked us to remember him.
For the older ones, unless I speak to myself too, there's another part of of the peace offering that comes into play. And it was and it was necessary that it be fresh and not be stale.
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And then First Corinthians Chapter 11.
There's after those verses that I just read. It says umm in verse 27. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily or in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
You know, umm, there's two ways that that can be applied.
The the interpretation of that verse is that if we come in a way that is.
Uh.
Where the Lord's Supper does not have a distinct meaning to us and it has just become a tradition or a ritual in which we are participating without any exercise. That is what it's talking about when it talks about coming and eating of the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner. I had always thought that it had to do with coming and parti participated in the Lord's Supper having.
Been involved in some evil and certainly there's that application.
OK, but the actual rendering of that verse has to do with us coming and remembering the Lord in a way in which it's not real to us. It's not meaningful. We don't have our hearts engaged in it.
And anyone of us can find ourselves on a Lord's Day morning preoccupied by other things. And that's why it says, let a man examine himself, and so let him eat. And so that we can we kindle a fresh in our heart, that appreciation for the Lord and what he has done, and then respond in an appropriate way with our hearts focused on him.
That's something to remember. On the third day, the sacrifice that wasn't consumed, wasn't eaten, was to be burned, and it was offered afresh again.
A few things to meditate on for myself as well. Let's just commend ourselves. Our God and Father, we just thank Thee for Thy word. We thank Thee for these things that speak to us of Thy beloved Son. And we just think of that marvelous sacrifice that our Lord Jesus accomplished there at Calvary. We just pray that umm, each one of us would be exercised as to our position.
Before him, uh, and how we respond and give thanks for what he has done for us. We pray that if there is one here that does not.
Uh has not yet taken their place at the Lord's table and answered the Lord's request. Our God and Father, we just pray that thou wilt umm.
Warm thy heart, warm their heart afresh with thy love, and just help them to consider afresh what thou hast done for them in the blessing that they have been brought into, that they might respond with Thanksgiving and with a willing sacrifice, umm, in the way in which our Lord Jesus laid out. And so we just commend this evening. Today we ask for thy continued help. We pray for Marina and Emma and any others that may not be feeling well tonight. We thank you for.
To them we just would also give thanks for the refreshments. The following. We thank thee again for thy goodness to us in Jesus name, Amen. Amen.