November 12, 2006
Scripture:
Let’s go back to Isaiah 53. Actually, it is sort of unfortunate that the chapter division is where it is; it would be better at the end of chapter 52:12. In Isaiah 53, we have the Lord’s sufferings—from man, for man, and by man. But before we have the sufferings, let’s read v. 13 of chapter 2: “Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.” Instead of “extolled,” the Darby translation says, “lifted up.” This verse reminds us of what the Lord is brought into: glory—but the path was through death. He must go through suffering before God highly exalted Him, as we had in Philippians 2, or before He sat down at the right hand of God, as we saw in Hebrew 1. In Revelation 5, we were reminded of that chorus of worship that will ascend to Him. Our occupation with Him has been a foretaste of Home. He is seated at the right hand of God, and He is, as we were singing, worthy. How precious our portion this morning, to find ourselves in his presence and giving Him what He rightly deserves. These expressions give way to our sweeter song in glory. Oh, glory to the Lord!
EG Hymn 342 – Jesus came from heaven Prayer • Today I want to go on to the meat, or meal, offering. One thing that was prominent in the burnt offering is the blood. Take note of how much blood we hear about in this offering. Leviticus 2:1–16 • How much blood did you hear about? This offering is one without blood. That was one of the things that characterized Cain’s offering; that is why it was not accepted. But this offering without blood is a sweet savour offering, most holy. It is a type of the Lord’s life, not His death. The life of the Lord Jesus Christ was like fine flour, with no lumps or blemishes in it. Read John 6:33. Flour is important for bread. The Bread of God is the Lord, giving life to the world. Read John 12.24—the inside of the grain of wheat is the flour. If you plant that grain, it will grow and bring forth much fruit. That fruit is you and me. Next, in Leviticus, we read about oil. Oil is a picture of the Holy Spirit. The Lord was born of the Holy Spirit and He had the Holy Spirit descend on Him at His baptism. When you mix the oil with the fine flour, it will mingle together; the Lord’s life was all of the Holy Spirit. Then we have frankincense, which pictures the graces of the Lord Jesus. Here is a list of a few of those graces. The Lord was … 1. Perfect in Obedience 2. Perfect in Dependence 3. Perfect in Meekness 4. Perfect in Kindness 5. Perfect in Sympathy 6. Perfect in Humility When they put the frankincense on the offering, is shows the graces of the Lord’s life. When God looked on His Son, He saw all theses graces. Now that we are in Christ, God sees these graces in us, too. Yet we cannot always see them in each other; the world especially notices our old nature. This behooves us to act like Christians. I am out of time, so I will have to continue the meal offering next time, Lord willing.
Hebrews 12:1–7 • This is a chapter that brings the Lord before us: looking unto Jesus. We saw many notable examples of faith in chapter 11, but the Lord is an example in every area—a perfect meat offering. In Isaiah 53, we hear about the arm of the Lord, who grew up out of a dry ground. Although Israel was dry when the Lord was here, He received His strength to live such a life from above; and then He went to the cross with the joy set before Him. What was that joy? It could be three things: 1) the joy of obedience, 2) the joy of glorifying God, and 3) the joy of affection for God. Yet it is nice to think that part of it might have been the joy of having us there with Him. He expressed this is John 17:24 and 13:1. In I Peter 1:11, it mentions “the glory that should follow” the Lord’s sufferings; that is what he wanted. Yet it is a comfort that we will be to his glory when we get there. He would have to go to the cross, but He would return to His glory: it is striking to realize this. In Philippians 2:8, we read of how, “he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” The Darby translation says, “Emptied himself.” He came from Godhead’s highest glory, but He laid all of it aside and died. But in His resurrection and ascension, he takes up everything that He had and was before. He endured crucifixion, the worst death possible, in obedience to the Father’s will. In v. 3, we have the words “consider Him.” This is not the first time they appear in Hebrews; they also come in ch. 3:1: “consider Christ Jesus.” In that verse, we are considering His position. Here, we are considering what he did. This is occupation with Christ. Another word that comes many times in Hebrews is lest. In our chapter it comes in vv. 3, 13, 15, 16, and so on. And it seems as if these exhortations are given to help us overcome or avoid certain pitfalls. “lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.” Have you ever had a faint and weary mind? We are told to “let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” There is a battle for the mind. Many things are out there—both weights and sins—to bombard us. If we are not looking unto Jesus, we will easily get weary or faint; the enemy wants us to be distracted. We must be continually abiding in Christ. This doesn’t mean we do not have a job to do or other necessary things; if you are in love with someone, even though you may be going on with your normal routine, you will find that person always in your thoughts. Are we not in love with the Lord? “Contradiction of sinners”—do we have any of this? It is getting worse every day. Books titles like “The God Delusion” show us this. Articles about “God vs. Science”; well, if God created it all, how can it be contrary to Him. Yet the enemy wants us to grow weary. EG Hymn 92 – Have you any room for Jesus, Prayer