Sorry, you must have Windows Media Player 9 or higher.

ENACTED PRAYER

02-13-11

(Rom 12:1,2)  I beseech [Gk: implore] you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to [the same pattern as] this world: but be ye transformed [Gk: metamorphoo; changed] by the renewing [Gk: renovation: restoration] of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

(Exo 40:33-35)  And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work. Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

THE BURNT OFFERING (ENTIRE SELF-SURRENDER)

(Lev 1:1-4)  And the LORD called unto Moses [the mediator between God and man], and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock. If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD. And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.

1.      Commentary: The Pulpit Commentary = There are five classes of sacrifices instituted or regulated in the first seven chapters of Leviticus, each of which has its special signification: the burnt offering, the meat offering, the sin offering, the trespass offering, and the peace offering. The burnt offering, in which the whole of the victim was consumed in the fire on God’s altar, signifies entire self-surrender on the part of the offerer. The burnt offering typifies the perfect surrender of himself, made by the Lord Jesus Christ, and exhibited by his life and death on earth; and it teaches the duty of self-sacrifice on the part of man.

2.      offering = Heb: qorban, kor-bawn'; “corban” [Mark 7:11]; something brought near the altar [and also brings the bringer nearer to the altar], i.e. a sacrificial present:--oblation, that is offered, offering.

3.      burnt sacrifice = Heb: a step or (collect. stairs, as ascending); usually a holocaust (as going up in smoke):--ascent, burnt offering (sacrifice), go up to.

4.      holocaust = Dict: 1. great or wholesale destruction of life, esp. by fire. 2. an offering or sacrifice devoted wholly to burning; a burnt offering.

5.      atonement = Heb: kaphar, kaw-far'; to cover; fig. to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel:--appease, make (an) atonement, cleanse, disannul, forgive, be merciful, pacify, pardon, to pitch, purge (away), put off, (make) reconciliation.      

THE BURNT OFFERING OF THE HERD (enacted prayer)

(Lev 1:5-9)  And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And he shall flay [Heb: strip off (the skin of)] the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces. And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire: And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

THE BURNT OFFERING OF THE FLOCKS (enacted prayer)

(Lev 1:10-13)  And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish. And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar. And he shall cut it into his pieces, with his head and his fat: and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: But he shall wash the inwards and the legs with water: and the priest shall bring it all, and burn it upon the altar: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

THE BURNT OFFERING OF THE FOWLS (enacted prayer)

(Lev 1:14-17)  And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the LORD be of fowls, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves, or of young pigeons. And the priest shall bring it unto the altar, and wring off his head, and burn it on the altar; and the blood thereof shall be wrung out at the side of the altar: And he shall pluck away his crop with his feathers, and cast it beside the altar on the east part, by the place of the ashes: And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

A poem of love extracted from “Kept for the Master’s use,” a small collection of works posthumously published in England and written by Frances Ridley Havergal, 1836-1879.

“Take my life, and let it be

                                                            Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.

                                                            Take my moments and my days;

                                                            Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

                                                            Take my hands, and let them move

                                                            At the impulse of Thy love.

                                                            Take my feet, and let them be

                                                            Swift, and ‘beautiful’ for Thee.

                                                            Take my voice, and let me sing

                                                            Always, only, for my king.

                                                            Take my lips, and let them be

                                                            Filled with messages from Thee.

                                                            Take my silver and my gold:

                                                            Not a mite would I withhold.

                                                            Take my intellect, and use

                                                            Every power as Thou shalt choose.

                                                            Take my will and make it Thine:

                                                            It shall be no longer mine.

                                                            Take my heart; it is Thine own:

                                                            It shall be Thy royal throne.

                                                            Take my love: My Lord, I pour

                                                            At Thy feet its treasure-store.

                                                            Take myself, and I will be

                                                            Ever, only, ALL for Thee.”

(Rom 10:14,15)  How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Amen