Passage: Leviticus 2:1-16

God commands us to give burnt offerings and grain offerings. Those are part of the salt covenant. (Leviticus 2:1-16) This scripture is very important. We shouldn’t miss this message. What is the book of Leviticus? Most people don’t really like this book of the Bible because it’s mainly about offerings and laws and rules. But Leviticus shows us how we can show our love to God. It teaches us how to give Him offerings. It teaches us how to meet God, how to show Him our heart and our love.

Burnt offerings and peace offerings used to go together, until Moses’ time. Before Moses, burnt offerings and peace offerings were kind of lumped together to take care of everything. But after Moses, these offerings were separated. Now we give burnt offering to God to take care of our sin and peace offerings to fellowship with one another and the Lord.

Burnt offering is giving 100% to God. Burnt offerings must be given according to His Word. In the New Testament, the widow giving her last two mites was a form of giving a burnt offering.

Mark 12:41-44
41 Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. 42 Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. 43 So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”

God sees the burnt offering different than we see it. He doesn’t see the total amount, but the percent of your money that you are giving to God. Jesus saw that the widow gave all, even though it was only two mites.

The burnt offering is given wholly to God. The whole offering is burnt and given to God. It is a 100% offering.

You can say that you love God and follow God, but if you don’t give 100% of yourself to God, you aren’t really changed. When you give 100% of what you have, you are giving a true offering to God.

The grain offering has to be prepared for a long time. Grain must be harvested and then dried. Then it must be ground up, carefully, so that everything is even. The grain offering must be finely ground. This process takes a long time.

When you grind the grain, you break it down piece by piece. The grain offering includes sacrifice.

Part of the grain offering goes to God as a memorial for what He has done. The rest of the grain offering goes to priests. They use it to make a living. This shows us that those who serve God full-time should be taken care of by the congregation.

The offering in the New Testament of the woman who broke her alabaster and brought her costly oil oil to Jesus is like the grain offering. She had been preparing that oil for a long time and brought it to Jesus.

John 12:3-7
3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
4 But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, 5 “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.
7 But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.

Why did she break the alabaster? That kind of oil bottle can’t be opened, only broken. This also shows us that God accepts a broken heart. We must break ourselves before the Lord.

When you give something to God, you are investing into your future, your children, your grandchildren. It is never wasted. When you give to God, your bloodline shall be blessed. Your descendants will be blessed, from generation to generation. Giving to God is never a waste.

Even if you give money to a church and you feel that they are misusing the funds, it’s not a waste. God will honor your giving and take care of your future.

The tithe and offering that you bring to the church on Sunday morning is a grain offering. It comes from the seed that you’ve planted and the work that you’ve done. It is best to prepare this offering at home, before you come to church, so that everything is ready and in order. Put your thought and time into giving to God.

God saw the widow’s giving as a true offering. God saw the breaking of the alabaster as a true offering.

God wants His church to bring true offerings to Him. Bring the offering of alabaster. Give your last two mites. Break yourself before God. Give all to Him. We worship God through the giving our of burnt and grain offerings. When you give your burnt and grain offering, you meet God.

Romans 12:1-2
I 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.

Many people say that they want to meet God and see God. This is how. If you want to meet God, bring your offerings to Him. Give of yourself. Give 100%. Don’t give your leftovers. Give your firstfruits.

Meet God through giving and worship. Giving is worship.

When you give a peace offering, you give God the oil, but you eat the meat, sharing it with the priests and with your family. When you fellowship with other believers over a meal, you are actually giving a peace offering. When you give your time to make food and share food with people, you give a peace offering to God and grow closer to God and to one another. Peace offerings are very important because they bring us closer to the Lord and to others. That’s why it’s also important for families to eat together. When they eat together, they share in each other’s lives. They share love. They grow together as a family.

Meet God by breaking yourself down piece by piece. You must become the grain offering, prepared and ground fine. You must become the burnt offering, given wholly to God. If you want to meet God, give all to God.

God bless you,
Pastor Sun East