Inside Out Living

"I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was." - Muhammad Ali

"I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest." - Muhammad Ali

"It's hard to be humble, when you're as great as I am." - Muhammad Ali

Have you ever wondered why people are constantly concerned with who the greatest is? As I thought about the disciples discussion about which one of the them was the greatest, I couldn't help but think about the outlandish quotes from Muhammand Ali about his greatness.

It really does say something thing about human nature that we are constantly concerned with who the greatest is. In our conversations we are always debating who the greatest athlete, or politician, or actor is. We compare and evaluate peoples lives based on their accomplishments and accolades.

I think this is one of the greatest, pardon the pun, teachings that we have from Jesus about how God really views our lives. Life isn't about who the greatest human being is, because from God's perspective we are all but dust. We cannot impress God with how great and powerful and successful we are, because in reality all that we have comes from Him, and we only live because of the common grace that is extended to all of humanity.

I think that oftentimes our conversations and statements about success and significance deeply grieve our heavenly father.

What would your life look like if you actually believed Jesus words that "Anyone who wants to be the first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else." (Mark 9:35)?

How would you treat people differently? How would you speak to your spouse when you get home from work? How would you treat your secretary, your bus driver, your coffee barista?

If you cannot remember the last time that you served someone else without gaining anything from it (no publicity, no recognition) then I think you might want to reevaluate how you are living your life. I am now going to go home and eat my words and make my family some lunch.

Why was God so concerned with having centralized locations for worship? I think that there were two main reasons for this. First, the sacrificial system foreshadowed the coming sacrifice of Christ and having the sacrifices performed in a central location made it less likely for changes or variations to take place which would cause it to lose this great meaning.

Second was the role of community. Having a centralized place for worship brought an aspect of community that would be lost if everyone was able to worship at their own home.

Community is important for us as well. While Jesus declared that there is no longer one and only one place for worship (John 4:21), the need and value of worship in community is still present (Hebrews 10:25). Without community we risk isolation and discouragement in our Christian lives. We also miss out on the biblical instruction and correction that comes from our elders and the accountability that is present in community. Are you valuing the community of faith and its role in your life?

God’s justice is not often talked about in our churches. We would much rather talk about His love and mercy and grace. The story of Korah, Dathan and Abiram is a vivid reminder that our God is a just God who cannot let sin go unpunished. These men were challenging the leadership of Moses and Aaron, and worse, they were in rebellion to the Lord.

For me, the difficult part of this passage is that the families were punished as well. This is an illustration of God’s very own description of himself in Exodus 34:7, “I will show unfailing love to many thousands by forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. Even so I do not leave sin unpunished, but I punish the children for the sins of their parents to the third and fourth generations.”

As unfair as it may seem we see the impact parental sin has on children lived out every day. Some will walk away from the Lord because of the sins of their parents. To those who are living with the impact of a parent’s sin, know that there is grace available in Jesus to break that bondage of sin.

The report from the spies truly tested if Israel trusted God for their protection. Already struggling with the level of sacrifice expected of them, they decided the prospect of engaging the inhabitants of the Promised Land wasn’t worth it. The people ignored the fact that the Lord was with them (Num. 14:9).

You might find it easy to criticize their lack of faith as I often have. The harsh reality is that we do the very same thing sometimes. We size up a situation and decide the cost is too great and, instead of trusting in the Lord’s protection and provision, we make a fear-based decision and miss out on God’s blessings.
Why are we prone to fear? The Apostle John tells us that perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18). As broken yet redeemed people our love for God is being perfected. As this process continues fear is diminished and love will increase. As God’s faithful love continues to work in our lives, our love for Him grows, and our willingness to sacrifice and follow Him grows as well.

I have overseen a few short term mission trips with teenagers, and am preparing for the next one right now. It has been my experience that the most important rule for keeping the group together and focused is that there is no complaining. Anytime you choose to follow the Lord’s leading there will be some form of sacrifice associated with it. Whining or complaining communicates an unwillingness to make that sacrifice.

It is obvious here that many of the Israelites and the foreigners who were with them had reached their limit of personal sacrifice and had begun to complain. They were prepared to return to slavery in Egypt because the sacrifice was too great.

Returning to slavery may sound silly to us. Personal freedom is worth the sacrifice, isn’t it? While this may be true, how often are we tempted to return to being slaves to sin because the sacrifice of following Christ is too great? As you follow Christ, remember his sacrifice, and what he gave up to secure your salvation.

The Nazirite vow was a special way for an Israelite to dedicate one’s self to the Lord, and he knew that it came with certain restrictions. We even see this practiced by the Apostle Paul who shaved his head because of a vow (Acts 18:18).

Not every Israelite would make a Nazirite vow, but every believer who is indwelled by the Holy Spirit is already dedicated to the Lord. We do not operate with a list of restrictions like one who has taken a Nazirite vow. In fact, we operate with a higher standard. Romans 12:1 says that we are to be a living and holy sacrifice. We show our dedication by not copying the ways of the world. We are then to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This is different than being the same person with some additional rules. It is a change of the entire person. When we come to faith in Jesus it is more than a ticket to Heaven. It is dedicating our whole life to the Lord. Have you truly dedicated your whole life to the Lord?

In the instructions that the Lord gave to Israel through Moses, purity was greatly stressed. There were a number of reasons for this, and the one given in this passage is because the Lord dwelled in their camp.

Praise God that we live under a covenant of grace and not one of law as the Israelites did. And yet, even though we are called to grace, we cannot ignore the need for purity. God demanded purity because he dwelled among Israel. God now, through His Spirit, dwells in the life of every believer and in the community of believers as a collective whole. His expectation is still purity in the lives of believers and in the community of believers. As a new creation, we are made pure by the blood of Christ, and we maintain purity by confessing our sins (1 John 1:9). Unfortunately, some within the community of faith stop practicing personal confession and knowingly and willing engage in sin, thus defiling the church. As with Israel, the church must take action to remove those who defile the community (1 Cor. 5:5). However we must not forget that once purity is restored, through forgiveness and grace, fellowship is also to be restored.

As I reflect on the responsibilities given to the Levites I am rather overwhelmed. Could you imagine being responsible for taking care of the one place where the true God could be worshipped? Wow! Then I think about the fact that they didn’t aspire to this, but that the Lord chose them and they were born into it. Their whole purpose in life was the proper care and operation of the tabernacle.

Now this is not all that different than for us today. Like the Levites, we have been chosen by God and then given a purpose in life. We do not inherit this based on our genealogy, but we are born into it, for every believer is born of the Spirit (John 3:5). The Levites were instructed as to what their purpose was – they didn’t get to choose. In the same way, God directs and gives each believer significance and purpose. This is what I mean by sacrificing our freedom. As chosen people, we are not free to declare the purpose for our life. Our purpose, one that will bring real meaning and significance, comes from above.

The theme for this week is sacrifice. This week we are going to explore what it means for us to sacrifice. One of the key verses that will be brought up this week is Romans 12:1-2:

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice — the kind He will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.”

May you, as you read this week, ponder the ways in which your life can be a living and holy sacrifice.

The last chapter of Leviticus is concerned with redeeming that which was dedicated to the Lord. The act of redemption was a major part of life for the Israelites. For the 21st century Christian it is not something we often think about. When is the last time you heard someone talk about redeeming. If anything, we use the word to speak of getting even which isn’t the biblical meaning.

Redemption is an important concept for us though, because if you are in Christ then you have been redeemed (Titus 2:13-14). You may have noticed the cost involved with redeeming in this chapter. If someone or something is going to be redeemed there is always a cost.

So if we are redeemed and if there is always a cost associated with redemption, then how are we to pay the cost? Fortunately, for you and I, Jesus paid the cost for our redemption (1 Peter 1:18-19). It is a cost far beyond what we could afford.

There were numerous types of sacrifices in the Old Covenant system of worship. In our modern mindset, we might wonder why all these sacrifices were necessary. It is difficult for us to relate to and understand this system of worship and forgiveness that God had ordained. However, there is a connection between their receiving of forgiveness and our receiving of forgiveness, and that connection is Christ.
Leviticus 1:4 says that a man was to “lay your hand on its head so the Lord will accept it as your substitute, thus making atonement for you.” Why would killing an animal while placing a hand on its head atone for sins?

As people, we generally want to make up for our mistakes. We also want to attempt to earn God’s favor and forgiveness. However, this is impossible for we cannot repay the debt we owe to Christ. Forgiveness is only received by a willingness to believe according to God’s system, whether that is belief that God would forgive based on an Old Testament sacrifice, or if it is trusting in Christ’s sacrifice for us today.

Over the course of twelve days the twelve tribes of Israel gave their gifts of dedication for the tabernacle. You probably noticed that all twelve gifts were identical. To me this is a remarkable thing. Bible Commentator Matthew Henry notes that this points to the “equal share” that each tribe had in the tabernacle and altar. I am sure that it was tempting to those tribes with greater resources to out-give the other tribes. And yet none of them did.

Under the Old Covenant, all people came to God through the system of sacrifices. Today, under the New Covenant, all people come to God through the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ (John 14:6).

The tribes gave their dedication offerings in recognition of the importance of the tabernacle. So what is an appropriate offering for us to give in recognition of Jesus? Romans 12:1-2 says that we are to give our whole life as a “living and holy sacrifice.” Now that is an offering that truly shows we all have equal share in the sacrifice of Christ for our salvation.