Weekend of May 25/26, 2013 Leviticus 26:3-13, 40-42, 45 Blessings of Holiness Weekend of May 25/26, 2013 Leviticus 26:3-13, 40-42, 45

What will we cover today? God has set us apart for holy living. As we live in this world, God encourages us to separate ourselves from all unbiblical aspects of our culture.

What’s This Sermon About? God promises blessings in response to living a holy life. And even when we have wandered away from God, He promises the blessing of restoration when we repent and return to Him.

God’s Fruitfulness Leviticus 26:3-10 3 "'If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, 4 I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit. 5 Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land.

God’s Fruitfulness 6 "'I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove savage beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country. 7 You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. 8 Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.

God’s Fruitfulness 9 "'I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you. 10 You will still be eating last year's harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new.

God’s Fruitfulness When the children of Israel follow the Lord abundant blessings follow: There would be good seasonable weather; The land would produce a rich harvest; The fruit trees and vines would produce an abundance of fruit;

God’s Fruitfulness This is difficult to appreciate because of our abundance of food; Highest poverty rate of any industrialized nation; The most number of people, especially children, who go to bed hungry; Could be that since this country no longer follows the Lord, that He is beginning to withhold these blessings?

God’s Fruitfulness God also promised the Israelites that they would live in peace and security; This was peace and security against other warring nations; It was also peace and security against wild animals, like bear and lion; Surprised? Judges 14:5 “Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached a young lion came roaring toward him.”

God’s Fruitfulness As Christians, we very similar promises: 2 Kings 2:24 “Elisha turned around, and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD, and two bears came out of the woods and mauled them.” As Christians, we very similar promises: Matthew 6:33 “Seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Philippians 4:19 “God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”

God’s Presence Leviticus 26:11-13 11 I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. 12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. 13 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.

How similar this building God’s Presence The words “dwelling place” really mean “tabernacling” with people; The Old Testament house of worship was called the “Tabernacle;” This was that special place where God and people fellowshipped; This was that special place where sin was dealt with in a proper manner; This was that special place where God expressed His loving relationship; How similar this building we call “CHURCH”

God’s Presence God says to the people of Israel, “God will walk among you and be your God.” How reminiscent the fellowship God had with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden; How sad that sin destroyed that close and intimate fellowship; Thankfully, in the coming of Jesus Christ, who walked among us, He removed sin’s stain, and re-established that close and intimate fellowship;

God’s Presence God again reminds Israel that her obedience to Him was a response to His rescue from Egypt; Since their rescue, the people respond in thanks by living as God’s people; This is the same pattern for us: Since God rescued us from the slavery to sin through His Son, Jesus Christ; We respond thankfully by living as God’s people;

God’s Presence God told Israel, “I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.” A yoke was a piece of wood pairing two draft animals together to perform some work; The bars of the yoke was what was connected to the plow or wagon; Whoever controlled the bars, controlled the yoke and thus the animals;

God’s Presence Jesus Us Jesus will use this same picture to describe He and us, for we are yoked with Jesus; Matthew 11:28-30 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Jesus Us

God’s Restoration Leviticus 26:40-42, 45 40 "'But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their fathers--their treachery against me and their hostility toward me, 41 which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies--then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin,

God’s Restoration 42 I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, … 45 But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God. I am the LORD.'"

God’s Restoration God’s guidelines for dealing with sin: There needs to be ownership of wrong doing; Not justification or rationalization; Not blaming others or circumstances; There must be some kind of restitution or payment given to God for the wrong committed; For every sin we commit, we owe God a debt; Thankfully, our debt of sin to God has been paid by the suffering and death of Jesus Christ;

God’s Restoration There must be acceptance that God will restore His forgiven people; 1 John 1:9 says it this way, that when we repent of our sin, “God is faithful and just to forgive them and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Our sin stains are wash away; Our hearts are new and fresh to now live for God’s glory;

How do I know that? No way! God’s Restoration Ever felt that your sin has damaged your relationship to God beyond repair? Despair Not! God is in the business of restoring broken relationship; Fear Not! God will never reject anyone who turns and returns to Him; Look how God has kept His promise to: To Jacob, and before him to Isaac, and before him to Abraham; God has been faithful! Will He suddenly stop now? How do I know that? No way!

You can live on that truth! You can die on that truth! God’s Restoration This is the truth of the Gospel message we have in Jesus Christ, as Paul says so wonderfully: Romans 8:31-32, 39 “ If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 God did not even keep back his own Son, but offered him for us all! [If] He gave us his Son—will he not also freely give us all things?...[Therefore] 39 there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.” You can live on that truth! You can die on that truth! Amen? Amen!