{"id":18213,"date":"2021-10-29T22:00:27","date_gmt":"2021-10-30T05:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/leviticus_16_1-34-copy\/"},"modified":"2021-10-29T22:01:33","modified_gmt":"2021-10-30T05:01:33","slug":"leviticus_17_1-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/leviticus_17_1-16\/","title":{"rendered":"You Need to Belong to a Local Church"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leviticus 17:1-16 \u00a0\u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Leviticus 17:1-16.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Leviticus 17:1-9 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0LORD\u00a0said to Moses,
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘This is what the\u00a0LORD\u00a0has commanded:
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Any Israelite who sacrifices an ox, a lamb or a goat in the camp or outside of it
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0instead of bringing it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to present it as an offering to the\u00a0LORD\u00a0in front of the tabernacle of the\u00a0LORD–that man shall be considered guilty of bloodshed; he has shed blood and must be cut off from his people.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0This is so the Israelites will bring to the\u00a0LORD\u00a0the sacrifices they are now making in the open fields. They must bring them to the priest, that is, to the\u00a0LORD, at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and sacrifice them as fellowship offerings.
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The priest is to sprinkle the blood against the altar of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and burn the fat as an aroma pleasing to the\u00a0LORD.
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0They must no longer offer any of their sacrifices to the goat idols to whom they prostitute themselves. This is to be a lasting ordinance for them and for the generations to come.’
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Say to them: ‘Any Israelite or any alien living among them who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0and does not bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to sacrifice it to the\u00a0LORD–that man must be cut off from his people.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-9:\u00a0\u00a0In Leviticus 17, some of the Israelites were no longer going to worship with their Israelite brothers and sisters at the Tent of Meeting.\u00a0 Instead of bringing their worship sacrifices to the Tent of Meeting where they could worship together with other believers and priests, some Israelites may have thought, “Well, isn’t God everywhere?\u00a0 Let’s just do all of our sacrifices here in the open fields from now on (See Leviticus 17:1-4).\u00a0 Who needs to go to the Tent of Meeting to worship?\u00a0 Aren’t we all God’s people?”<\/p>\n

Likewise, today from time to time you might meet someone who says, “I am a Christian, but I don’t belong to any local congregation.\u00a0 I am part of God’s universal Church, so there’s no need for me to belong to any particular local church.\u00a0 I can just worship God in my own home or at a park or by the beach if I want to”.<\/p>\n

That position sounds spiritual, but it’s unhealthy, dangerous, and unbiblical.\u00a0 It is true that every Christian is part of the larger Church, the universal body of Christ, consisting of Christians everywhere around the world.\u00a0 But\u00a0God also wants you to be part of a local community of Christians with whom you can gather regularly to worship together, pray together, grow together, serve together and share the Gospel together.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every child needs a real, physical family to grow up in and belong to — not just a birth certificate or an abstract idea that “yes I have relatives somewhere\u00a0out there”.\u00a0 The same goes for you spiritually. We need others to help us grow.\u00a0 Without plugging yourself into a local church, you’re like a child without a family\u00a0and you will not be a healthy Christian.<\/p>\n

By cutting yourself off from a local church, you will be extra vulnerable to false teaching and a self-centered spirituality that is the opposite of how God intended you to be.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0For example, in Leviticus 17:7, we find that those Israelites who refused to worship at the tent of meeting began sacrificing to goat idols and were getting further and further away from worshiping the one true God.<\/p>\n

By refusing to belong to a local body of believers, it’s like a child who says, “I don’t need to spend time with my immediate family in town because I am part of a much bigger family with relatives all around the world whom I never meet and don’t know personally”.<\/p>\n

It’s no wonder God came down harshly against those Israelites who took the position that they didn’t need to worship with others at the Tent of Meeting (Leviticus 17:1-5).\u00a0 Verse 5 suggests that the Lord did not accept the offerings the Israelites made in the open fields, and that bringing the sacrifices “to the Lord” meant bringing them to the Tent of Meeting.\u00a0 When God said that such people \u201cmust be cut off from\u201d the rest of the community (v4), it was like saying, \u201cWhen you refuse to worship God with a local body o believers, like a severed arm or foot you\u2019re cutting yourself off from the body that you belong to.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0By not worshiping with the rest of the community and rather sacrificing by themselves elsewhere, they were \u201cguilty of bloodshed\u201d (v4) in part because they were doing harm to the body of believers they belonged to.\u00a0\u00a0In other words, for God,\u00a0where<\/em>\u00a0you bring your offering is important, not just what offering you bring.<\/p>\n

So never take the local church for granted.\u00a0 Every Christian needs to be part of a good local church. We can’t fully live out our callings as followers of Jesus without the local church.\u00a0 As Hebrews 10:25 says, “Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another”.\u00a0 We do that by belonging to a local body of believers and worshiping Jesus together.<\/p>\n

Leviticus 17:10-14 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“‘Any Israelite or any alien living among them who eats any blood–I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people.
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Therefore I say to the Israelites, “None of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood.”
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“‘Any Israelite or any alien living among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth,
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, “You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 10-14: Why was God so firm about the Israelites not eating blood?\u00a0 That’s because in God’s eyes blood represents a creature’s life (verse 10).\u00a0 Blood is what God used to make atonement for the people’s sins (verse 11).\u00a0 As Hebrews 9:22 says, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness”.<\/p>\n

How should Christians apply Leviticus 17:14 which prohibits the eating of blood? Is it wrong to eat a steak cooked medium rare since it still has some of the blood of the animal in it?\u00a0 Didn’t Jesus declare all foods clean (Mark 7:19)?\u00a0 Or is there still an exception to be made when it comes to consuming blood (Acts 15:29)? \u00a0 There are different schools of thought on this issue.\u00a0 I personally like my steaks medium rare, but I would hesitate to eat or drink much more blood than that!<\/p>\n

In the end, the best way we can honour God’s Word and what it says about respecting blood is to drink the blood of Jesus.\u00a0 In John 6:53, Jesus says “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you”. \u00a0\u00a0To drink the blood of Jesus is to believe that Jesus shed His blood for you and that new life comes through Christ’s shed blood.\u00a0 Cherish the blood that Jesus shed on the cross to pay for all our sins.<\/p>\n

Jesus’ blood is not just precious in general.\u00a0 It’s precious\u00a0to me<\/em>\u00a0because by His blood I am alive, all my sins are atoned for, and I am made new.<\/p>\n

Leviticus 17:15-16 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“‘Anyone, whether native-born or alien, who eats anything found dead or torn by wild animals must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be ceremonially unclean till evening; then he will be clean.
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But if he does not wash his clothes and bathe himself, he will be held responsible.'”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 15-16:\u00a0\u00a0Here again we see an emphasis on washing with water and keeping clean.<\/p>\n

Jesus, thank You for Your precious bled shed on the cross for me, and thank You that I can belong to a local body of believers where I can give You my worship and my offerings.\u00a0\u00a0May I never take Your blood or the local church for granted.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Leviticus 17:1-16.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Leviticus 17:1-9 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0The\u00a0LORD\u00a0said to Moses,
\n2\u00a0\u00a0“Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘This is what the\u00a0LORD\u00a0has commanded:
\n3\u00a0\u00a0Any Israelite who sacrifices an ox, a lamb or a goat in the camp or outside of it
\n4\u00a0\u00a0instead of bringing it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to present it as an offering to the\u00a0LORD\u00a0in front of the tabernacle of the\u00a0LORD–that man shall be considered guilty of bloodshed; he has shed blood and must be cut off from his people.
\n5\u00a0\u00a0This is so the Israelites will bring to the\u00a0LORD\u00a0the sacrifices they are now making in the open fields. They must bring them to the priest, that is, to the\u00a0LORD, at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and sacrifice them as fellowship offerings…….<\/p>\n

On verses 1-9:\u00a0\u00a0In Leviticus 17, some of the Israelites were no longer going to worship with their Israelite brothers and sisters at the Tent of Meeting.\u00a0 Instead of bringing their worship sacrifices to the Tent of Meeting where they could worship together with other believers and priests, some Israelites may have thought, “Well, isn’t God everywhere?\u00a0 Let’s just do all of our sacrifices here in the open fields from now on (See Leviticus 17:1-4).\u00a0 Who needs to go to the Tent of Meeting to worship?\u00a0 Aren’t we all God’s people?”<\/p>\n

Likewise, today from time to time you might meet someone who says, “I am a Christian, but I don’t belong to any local congregation.\u00a0 I am part of God’s universal Church, so there’s no need for me to belong to any particular local church.\u00a0 I can just worship God in my own home or at a park or by the beach if I want to”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18215,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18213"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18214,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18213\/revisions\/18214"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}