Acceptable Sacrifices / Huseah Wu

Audio http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m1ANy3JFVY

           Our new book is for our acceptance. but our consecration is for His acceptance. Now that is to me it’s very crucial. Now in our experience we know we all accepted but we have to be honest not all of us live a life that is acceptable to him. So that is what the Lord is really after, our total acceptable to Him. Now I’m just going to have an over view of some of the books we find in the Bible. Now we are not going to go to the specific chapters or verses and just have an overview.

Exodus, the first fifteen chapter of Exodus is for our acceptance. Just like the book of Romans from chapter 1 to chapter 11 is for our acceptance. So if you read some of this more contemporary translation, for example, the word justification or the word reconciliation. They are translated as we are now acceptable to Him. We are justified because we are now acceptable to Him. We are accepted before Him. And then from chapter 12 onward, it is all about our being acceptable to Him because to know what is acceptable to Him, we need to live a consecrated life. As for those two verses we find in Romans 12,

Romans 12:1~2:

1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Being accepted and being acceptable are the two ends of one thing. From this end is our being accepted. But the other end is our being acceptable. Now between accepted and being acceptable there is a process. Supposed we are wrong in the process, but we are now in a process we are not in between the process between the two ends. By now we know we are now accepted and God is working in us to make as acceptable to Him in the end. When we are accepted to Him then God's heart will be delighted. That will give pleasure to His heart because we are all created to be acceptable to His heart.

So the first 15 chapters of the book of Exodus, those chapters are for our being accepted. But from chapter 25 onward it is for our being acceptable in His sight. Because on chapter 25 on we see that there are people who are totally consecrated totally to the Lord. They offer themselves out to God for God to work that acceptability into them. And from chapter 25 onwards all the furniture’s all the utensils all everything above the tabernacle, to be acceptable to God everything must be done according to the pattern. And so we see here God’s standard for acceptance is none other but Christ Himself. Everything must confirm to Him. Anything less than Himself God will not accept.

 

And so at the end of the book of Exodus and when everything was finished, all the works were finished, you notice Moses examined each piece of those furniture everything in detail was examined thoroughly. He makes sure everything has come to what God has revealed to him in the mountain. There is no deviation it must be exactly the way he saw it on that mountain. And when God examined each piece of this furniture, He found it perfectly patterned as he the pattern he saw in the mountain. And so after Moses put them all together and he sprinkled blood and he sprinkled oil, it cleans and the Holy Spirit came in. The Holy Spirit is represented by the oil. The Holy Spirit can’t come to us unless there is there is something corresponds to Christ. And so when everything was put in place God’s glory fill that tabernacle.

Now how do we know that was acceptable to God? The glory of God was there. So when there are two stability before God there is God's glory. What is acceptable to God reflects what God longs for. So after the tabernacle was erected and God’s presence came down and filled that place. And we’re told that the priest could not even enter into the tabernacle in the temple to minister. Because if God is truly satisfied there is no more work to be done. If God is happy .. means the work is done and that is what God is looking for.

Whether it is spiritual house or spiritual priesthood or the sacrifices that we offer, they must be all through Christ. There must be Christ and God’s glory will fill that place. Now that is not the end so let’s look at the book of Leviticus. Now the tabernacle is all in place now the tabernacle is properly fit together. And God comes in and took His residence in that tabernacle. Now we heard God’s thought is to dwell among His people as when everything was properly fitted together according to the heavenly pattern, God comes in and take up his residence. Now God takes his bow now in the tabernacle and in Leviticus God is calling people to come to commune with Him and to offer sacrifices acceptable to His sight.

So let’s read couple of verses chapter one of Leviticus. So when you found God is with His people now. He is now dwelling in their midst and now God is speaks to them not in heaven not in Mount Sinai but right in their midst. Now it is a blessed thing to be found when God can speak to us in our midst. That is a rich blessing.

Leviticus 1:1

1 Now the LORD called to Moses, and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting

Now He is not speaking from a distance, He is speaking from the midst of His people. As He speaks to the Israel saying,

 

2When any one of you brings an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of the livestock—of the herd and of the flock.”

 

Now we find there are people now that are acceptable to Him. It’s when we are fully acceptable to Him then we can offer a sacrifice that is acceptable in His sight. So here we see the man, the offerer, is more important than the thing he offers.

 

Now I have to confess, because when I was reading these two books, Leviticus and Numbers, I have to confess I have to readjust my understanding of these two books. Because God is now in the midst of His people and he is calling them to offer sacrifices that are acceptable to His sight. What could be more beautiful than that? When you read through these two books, there are many chapters devoting to cleansing and purification and all these things. At what we can eat what we can’t eat. What we could do what we can’t do. So when I read these two chapters, you know we already found outside in that perfect place relationship to draw Himself. He is already in our midst that we are made acceptable before Him and he even speaks to him, “Now offer up sacrifices that would please me”. And many chapter devoted to the cleansing the purifying and what not to do, what not to eat.

So there is a lesson here. We can never be more acceptable than we are already accepted or acceptable as the Lord Jesus Christ before God. That was good, let me speak and say it. We can never be more acceptable to God than the acceptable in us that in Christ Jesus. You put it in that way, we can never be more acceptable to God than the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Folks listen we have the option to be much less than what we ought to be. That is our problem, there is no way we can surpass the acceptability before God in Christ. But we all have the option to become less in what we are in His eyes. And we all have the tendency because we are living in an unacceptable world and we easily to go on the way of the world. We’re easy to pollute ourselves again. We are easily fallen from where we are ought to be. And so there are chapters devoted to cleansing to and purification and all these things is simply to maintain us, keep us in that state of acceptability to Him.

So folks we need His cleansing. We need His purification. We need to live a separated life because that is the way we can’t be trapped from being polluted because our being acceptable to Him is precious in His sight. Because if we lose that it is also be lost. So God wants to preserve that for Him. He is doing all for us to maintain in that state of acceptability. So we can come to conclusion, our being acceptable to Him is more important to Him than it to us. And that is why He goes to all the deep hells to keep us and make us always acceptable in His sight.

Now I just patch a little bit that we all need to grow to the Lord. Now especially in the book of Numbers it is their journeying from the worthiness in the Promised Land. To be moved to station to station. Progressively they move towards the Promised Land but along the way the Lords hand is heavy on them on many occasions to expose their flesh. If the flesh is not exposed there is no true deliverance. So when our flesh is being exposed it’s not for Him to condemn us, it is for Him to deliver us from it so that we can maintain that state of acceptability before Him. And so we find all the dealings of God along the way. Now we can now apply on ourselves. Now it’s the journey for our growth and it is for making us more acceptable to Him along the way.

Now there are all dealings unnecessary. So now why all the dealings? Ok why do all the breakdowns and why all the emptying? It is simple meant grown for Christ. So the more Christ in us, they will be great measure stability into Him. As supposed now we know why all the dealings. So growth is not for us the growth is what to be the delight to Him. So I just want draw your attention to one chapter as very meaningful to me recently.

Turn to the book of Numbers chapter seven. We will read from verse one.

 

1 Now it came to pass, when Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle, that he anointed it and consecrated it and all its furnishings, and the altar and all its utensils; so he anointed them and consecrated them. 

2 Then the leaders of Israel, the heads of their fathers' houses, who were the leaders of the tribes and over those who were numbered, made an offering. 

3 And they brought their offering before the Lord, six covered carts and twelve oxen, a cart for every two of the leaders, and for each one an ox; and they presented them before the tabernacle. 

4 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 

5 "Accept these from them that they may be used in doing the work of the tabernacle of meeting; and you shall give them to the Levites, to every man according to his service

Now let’s read verse 10.

10 Now the leaders offered the dedication offering for the altar when it was anointed; so the leaders offered their offering before the altar. 

11 For the Lord said to Moses, "They shall offer their offering, one leader each day, for the dedication of the altar." 

12 And the one who offered his offering on the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, from the tribe of Judah.

 13 His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; 

14 one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense.

Now this chapter is one of the longest chapters and the same thing repeated twelve times, each day the same thing offer, exactly repeated for twelve days. Now why would the Holy Spirit fix details to cover all this twelve days? This is quite interesting for twelve days they offer the same things. Now because it is repeated twelve times it must be very important to God. Now with that statement maintinence that is what God’s real purpose behind. Now when they offered all this things they were not prescribed by the Lord but their hearts where moved they gave it voluntarily.

Sometimes we want to weight and know what is prescribed in what we offer. But there are times when we are so moved by God, we offer lovingly. And so when they offer all this gifts the Lord through Moses accepts. So brothers sometimes you do not have to wait until what is prescribed before you offer. But when there is true love you’ll offer in willingness anything that would satisfy God. So if there is love, you don’t have to wait and until God ask you offer. So when He did not ask, somewhat in love we give and that touches Him. And so God to Moses He said accept.

 

Now it’s not a small thing for God to accept something from us, it’s a big thing. I’ll say a couple of things. So vessels, now the size of the vessel were not mentioned but the weight was mentioned. God’s satisfies for what is real in us when we offer to Him. It is not the volume that we offer but it is the quality that we offer. So silver speaks of redemption. So what is of redemption is acceptable to God and of course we know the vessel must be purified. And also it must be shaped to be a vessel, a proper vessel. And that is what God is doing with all of us. We are all redeemed but a processe of making us acceptable to Him, we need to go through a process. We need to be purified. We need to be refined and we need to be formed into the proper vessel that will give Him glory. That is what God is looking for.

We may not all called to be Levites but in love we can all offer something that is acceptable in His sight and God pleasures that. And so we find this chapter, all this twelve days, it’s the same thing mentioned. Why repeat twelve times? It’s because they are very important in God’s sight. May we all be those vessels in His hand and most of it because the vessel is more important than the things that we offer up to Him. He is after the vessel. He is not so much what we can do, what we can give to Him.

If the vessel is right, the content will be right. And supposed with this chapter recently it touched me deeply because the offer is not prescribed in the scripture. What they offered is without prescribed by Law of Moses. But offer their love, pure love for God, God accepts. And so supposed God is not after what we do so much for Him. He is after our heart. If the heart is right all the other things are all right. If the heart is wrong nothing is right. And so we find in the book of Leviticus and Numbers all the dealings, all the purifications, all the cleansing, all the things that we need to avoid, it is to keep us in a state that we could be acceptable in His sight. And this acceptableness must be in the constant increase. Because when we come to the 28th chapter of numbers besides the regular offerings there are more about the additional offerings.

So the more Christ we have the more we back price to offer back to God. And that is what God is after. We are created for the purpose of being acceptable to Him and He will not accept anything less than that. And that is why he is dealing with us; reduce us as for His increase so that Christ may be all in all. And when Christ is all in all, then we know we will be fully acceptable in His eyes.

(Let me just share a couple of scripture you might need. Let me just find my notes.)

Galatians 4:19 this are some very familiar verses.

19 My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you,

What was the object of Paul’s ministry? You know I know some workers, the size of their gatherings is very important to them. So to them their success or their being acceptable in Christ is measured by the size of their gathering. But that was not Paul’s way.

Paul’s ministry, Paul’s offering of himself in the work of God is to, I’ll read here, until Christ will be formed in you. Put it in the way we are sharing tonight .Paul has the heart of God. Paul one those who minister to in Christ they will be acceptable in God’s sight. Is that the object of our love for the Lord? Let’s look another verse.

 

Colossians 1:28-29, Paul said,

28 Christ we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. 

Paul’s ministry always has God's end(goal) in view. That is what he said, “I want to make everybody every man perfect in Chris Jesus”. “My teaching, my warning is to make you perfect in Christ Jesus tha God’s standard for us. That is God’s standard for us. Without that God will never accept us. His standard is absolute. And then 2nd Corinthians 11:2 the last half

2That I may present you as a chaste virgin of Christ

Paul’s ministry is what God wants for himself. Because Paul wants to serve in such a way that the fruit of his labor will be acceptable in Christ sight. Now that could be the plan to our local gathering. It is to be applied to our individual growth. Why do we grow is what to be acceptable in his sight. Why do we gather when we gather? We want our gathering to be acceptable to Him. If we can’t accept it is shame to us. May the Lord have mercy on us.

And finally Ephesians 5 27

If we are all faithful to God whether individually or corporately, whatever we do we have this desire to satisfy His heart. Whatever we do we’ll be found acceptable in His sight. And in the end, we’ll find this in Ephesians 5:27, the end of our sacrifices, the end of our work, the end of our love for Him or for each other is that He may sanctify. It is so that He may present herself to Himself. He may present her to Himself with the church without having some.

27 That He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

It was all unto him it is all for Him and so in the end, He might present her to Himself, a perfect bride as perfectly acceptable to Him.

So this is for tonight. I think this is enough and if the Lord willing first thing in the morning that will share the ways that we can be acceptable to him. Because what He wants He also provides the way. And so let us pray.

Father we thank you for your presence with us. We had to confess human words are so inadequate we pray that you’ll speak beyond human words and speak to the depths of our hearts. We pray that after this week we will come to discover that we are all made to be acceptable to you. And then we’ll be willing to give ourselves totally Him. That you may accomplish your work and your heart will be satisfied. We give you all the praise. We want to walk with our God and we know when you really accomplish it. And we give you all the glory.

In Christ name we pray AMEN.