Do You Love Much

[00:00:00] Good morning. I would like to greet each one in Jesus' name this morning. I want to challenge each of the children. You're doing a good job. Especially the boys. I had a thought this week. Something was said on the radio about a date in 89. I said that was 20 years ago, and it occurred to me that we've been attending church here for, September was 20 years, and now I am a minister here. [00:00:35] How many 9-year-old boys are there here today? I was 9 years old when we started coming here. Another thing that I thought of, I'm finding it to be very true in my life. My children are still quite young, but there really is no greater joy than to know that your children walk in truth. [00:01:05] There's just, the other day, Jeffrey and Adrian came to me, they had shot the little bow, they shot the arrow out into the wheat field, and Jeffrey gave me a compliment, he said, we'll get dad, he looks good. But we started looking for the arrow And just matter of fact, the Adri said, yeah, we stood right over there and prayed that we would find the arrow [00:01:39] And we did And so we prayed again, thanked the Lord that we were able to find the arrow It's just precious to see children growing up and serving the Lord My sermon this morning is, it may not be proper English, but do you love much? And then, do you see the wonder of it all? The key, the reason I say do you love much, Luke 7.47 says, well why don't we turn to that, let's turn to Luke 7.47. [00:02:15] That will be our starting point for what we want to look at. Luke 7.47 Jesus said, Wherefore I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven. For she loved much, but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. Do you love much, and do you see the wonder of it all? [00:02:56] Just a few thoughts I had. How much, there's the word again, have you been forgiven? Do you feel, maybe subconsciously, that you've never really done any of the really bad or big sins, and so it wasn't really all that hard to save you? I've been thinking about the fact that we are so unworthy of God's favor, and yet so welcome to come and have fellowship with Him. Two weeks ago I spoke about the importance of spending time with God, but how often do we even think about the fact that according to the law, the Old Testament, [00:03:32] We were not even allowed to come into His presence. That was the priest could go into the Holy of Holies. Do we really grasp the difference between the old way and the new? I believe grasping that concept can be the key to maintaining our zeal for serving God. Walter Beachy talked about it's wonderful to see first generation Christians. They've been delivered from that bondage. [00:04:04] They go to these countries where the gospel isn't prevalent. They haven't heard. And they're, you know, maybe a 60-year-old man or an 80-year-old man or any age. But for the first time, they hear about the gospel of Christ and they are transformed and they are just excited about what God has done for them. Part of our problem, or not everyone here, but a lot of us here have been raised in Christian homes. We've heard all our lives that God loves us, that God can save us, that Jesus died for us. [00:04:41] After a while it becomes what Grandpa did, or Great Grandpa did, Grandpa, Dad, Mom. It's just how it's always been and it's kind of just old hat. And it is a natural tendency to forget what Christ has done for us. That we weren't just kind of bad and God had to save us, or God saved us, but we really weren't that bad to start with. How does God see us? Romans 5, 10 [00:05:13] For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. If, when we were enemies, do we see ourselves as having been enemies of God? And this applies to everyone. It doesn't matter how big or how little a sin you've made. Why? Because of sin. Our sin. Let's turn to Romans 3. I'd like to read Romans 3, 20-23. [00:05:51] Romans chapter 3, 20-23 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe. For there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. [00:06:28] We all have sinned. There is none of us that are good enough or that were almost good enough and Jesus had to just save us a little bit. We are all sinners. We are all responsible. We all deserve death and hell. We may say here again, I know I'm a sinner, but not a much sinner. Are we? Maybe we should focus on what it took to deal with sin in the Old Testament. By looking back, we see where we would be without Christ. [00:07:02] We can get a picture of just how awful sin was and how much it took to take care of sins. Galatians 3.24, a couple of verses here just to show us that it is good to look back. The old law does serve a purpose. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. A schoolmaster teaches, the law teaches us that we needed Christ. Romans 7 verse 7 [00:07:33] What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law. For I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. I'd like to look at what was to be done. When sin happened, what did it take to take care of sin in the Old Testament? I'd like to read Leviticus 16, and I'd like to read the entire chapter. [00:08:05] And it can be kind of boring reading. It can be kind of monotonous, a ritual, but I guess that's the point I would like to bring out, just how it was and the difference now. Leviticus 16, I'd like to read the entire chapter. And the Lord spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the Lord and died. And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark, that he die not, for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. [00:08:49] Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place, with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering. He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen miter shall he be attired. These are holy garments, therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on. And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself and for his house. [00:09:26] And he shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord To make an atonement with him and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself [00:09:59] And shall make an atonement for himself and for his house And shall kill the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small and bring it within the veil and he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony that he die not and he shall take of the blood of the bullock [00:10:30] and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring his blood within the veil and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. And he shall make an atonement for the holy place because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel and because of their transgressions and all their sins [00:11:03] and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness. And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place until he come out and have made an atonement for himself and for his household and for all the congregation of Israel. And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the Lord and make an atonement for it and shall take of the blood of the bullock and of the blood of the goat and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. [00:11:35] And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times and cleanse it and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel. And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place and the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel and all their transgressions and all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness. And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities [00:12:08] unto a land not inhabited and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness and Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation and shall put off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the holy place and shall leave them there and he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place and put on his garments and come forth and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and make an atonement for himself and for the people and the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar and he that let go the goat The goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp. [00:12:44] And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp, and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung. And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp. And this shall be a statute for ever unto you, that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country or a stranger that sojourneth among you. [00:13:17] For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. It shall be a Sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls by a statute for ever. And the priest whom he shall anoint and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's stead Shall make the atonement and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary And he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation And for the altar [00:13:48] And he shall make an atonement for the priest and for all the people of the congregation And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the Lord commanded Moses. There was a lot that went into taking care of the people's sin. Even the cleansing of making an atonement for the temple and for the tabernacle because unclean people had come into that. [00:14:19] Can I get a glass of water, please, from someone? Now, I guess what I want us to grasp is what it took to take care of our sins. Notice several times in verse 1 it says that the Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron when they offered before the Lord and died. And in verse 2, it says Aaron needs to do this, that he die not. [00:14:57] There were certain things that had to be done each time, and this only happened once a year. That the priest could actually come into the Holy of Holies and offer for the people. And in Exodus 28.35 it says, And it shall be upon Aaron to minister, and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the Lord, and when he cometh out, that he die not. Leviticus 16.13, well we already read that, verse 13. [00:15:28] And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not. This was not a candid thing that he did. This was a very serious thing. Thank you. There was a very real possibility when this priest went into the Holy of Holies that he would be struck dead. [00:16:00] Because he was going before an awesome and holy God. And if he was coming with any uncleanness, he would die. He had to do it the right way. And then in the last, in verse 34, it points out, I already mentioned it. He did as, and this shall be an everlasting statute unto you to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. [00:16:32] This wasn't something he could do every day or every other day or once a week or once a month. It was once a year. Now I'd like to contrast that a little bit with Hebrews 10, 19 and 20. I feel like I'm kind of following Harold around here. I actually had another subject picked out, but this is what I kept coming back to. I guess I felt this is what I was, what the Lord had me to share this morning. [00:17:06] Hebrews 10, 19 and 20. Remember we just went through all this about all the rituals and all the cleansing and the sprinkling of blood that had to be done. And now we go to Hebrews 10, verse 19 and it says, Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh. [00:17:39] There were a lot of things that happened when Christ died. I mean, at that time, there was a lot going on. The earth was darkened and whatever. But one real significant thing was that the veil was split in half. Suddenly, we had access to the Father. We no longer had to go to a priest. We have Jesus as our high priest. We are still every bit as unworthy as we ever were. [00:18:14] And another aside to that, when you're reading Leviticus, that is to the Jews. We are Gentiles. We had even less right than the Jews did to go and be presented before a holy God. But now, in verse 19, we can enter in. We are seen as worthy of coming before the mercy seat. Christ's death opened the way for us to come to our God and receive forgiveness. [00:18:48] Before it was come to the priest, and the priest would go to God He's always been our God, but now he is accessible God is our Abba Father And I don't want to take away, this morning the lesson was about Moses being called But part of the lesson was on his, when he approached the burning bush He was told to take off his shoes, you are standing on holy ground And I don't want to take away from the awe that we have before God The reverence we had before God. [00:19:20] But when Esther came to the king, if he didn't extend that golden scepter, she would be put to death. When the priest went into the Holy of Holies, if he didn't do everything just exactly as he was supposed to do, he would die. But the minute that the king extended that golden scepter That doesn't mean that the queen lost respect for him [00:19:51] That he was no longer king That he was no longer her authority But at the same time she could maybe relax a little bit Knowing everything was okay She was not going to die She had been given permission to come before the king And I think that is a good type of when that veil split Now we have access, we still have reverence, we still see God as being our God, our authority [00:20:21] But we are welcome to come before God That word boldness, that word is also translated assurance, confidence, freely, openly, and plainly Those words are all translated from the same parhiesia, I think is how it's pronounced. But we can come to God, we come, let's see, in verse 19, [00:20:54] having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest. We come into the holiest with assurance, with confidence, freely, openly, and plainly. If that isn't enough to make you want to love the Lord for what He's done for you, then maybe you still think that you've been forgiven little. I guess that's something that's just really, and it's something I've had to deal with. [00:21:31] I was never one of the real bad kids in the youth group or whatever. Never, I never, you know, I never was into a lot of things that other people got into. But I needed the Savior just as much. There are no, Paul talks about the chief sinner and whatever, but I think you know what I'm saying. There are no big sins and little sins. All sin is worthy of death before the Lord. Matthew 27, 51 gives us the verse where it says, [00:22:07] And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent. Another aspect of this is, in Hebrews 10, is 26 and 27. 7. Christ, in John 3.16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. If there's anyone here that doesn't truly understand what it means to be born again, if you're not sure, if you have questions, please ask someone, talk to someone. [00:22:48] Any of us of the ministry team would be glad to talk to you, or your parents, or someone. Please make sure that you have an understanding of what it means to be born again. The flip side is Hebrews 10, 26-27. God has made a way for us. But, 26 and 27 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth [00:23:20] There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins But a certain fearful looking for of judgment And fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries There's that word again, the adversaries, the enemies of God God loves us with an unbelievable love But when we willfully sin, turn our back on God, we become His adversaries, His enemies. Is it any wonder, after all this, if we choose to live in sin, we choose to be God's adversaries? [00:23:58] God has made it so easy for us, so, I don't want to say easy in the way of Accept the Lord and everything in your life becomes immediately better or all your problems go away. But so accessible, every one of us has access to the throne. Every one of us can come to our high priest and know that he is interceding for us with groanings. It's just amazing to think that God and God's Son are willing to save all of us. [00:24:36] Are we living in the wonder of it all? And do you love much? I would like to close with that. We are planning on having a meeting with Bible school, everyone helping with Bible school afterwards. So I will not be at the door to greet you. But I just would like to challenge everyone to love much. To realize we all are sinners. We all had to be saved. [00:25:09] It took as much blood to forgive me as it did the worst sinner. Let's stand for prayer. Lord, I just want to thank you for what you've done for us. For the reality of knowing you, knowing we have access to you. Realizing that we were all sinners All utterly helpless and lost without you We want to thank you for what you've done for us [00:25:41] For making a way through the veil That we can come to you I just pray right now Lord for anyone here this morning That is struggling or that is not sure of their salvation Not sure of being able to come before you boldly Lord, I pray that you would work in their hearts, that you would just make yourself clear to them, give them the strength they need to say something to someone. I ask, Lord, that you go with us and keep us, bless us today and help us to honor you and be what you'd have us to be. [00:26:17] Thank you, Lord, for what you do, for all your blessings. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.