Leviticus Bible Study List

Introduction

Good day to all. Starting this week, we will embark on a study of the Book of Leviticus. Leviticus is a rather difficult book to study. Why study this book? Recently, I've come to feel that studying Leviticus will have a positive impact on the healing and deliverance work we do. The content of Leviticus mainly talks about how to be a priest, or how a priest should serve God.

If you were to ask me what theme I would set for the study of Leviticus, I would probably set it as: Set apart and consecrated to God! Why this theme? In fact, the two most important things in a person's life revolve around blessings and curses. We once studied Deuteronomy, and the textual material was quite extensive. We divided it into two volumes called Blessings and Curses. Deuteronomy speaks of blessings and curses, the two most important things in a person's life.

Where is the root of solving the problem of blessings and curses? It lies in this Book of Leviticus. Leviticus mainly talks about being set apart, that is, dedicating something to God is called being set apart, dedicating yourself to God is called being set apart. So the word holy, what is dedicated to God is called holy. What is unclean? Everything that does not belong to God is called unclean. So I think the concept of being set apart in Leviticus is the most fundamental concept for healing and deliverance. This time, I want to give an overview of Leviticus. From next week, we will study Leviticus chapter by chapter.

Regulations for Offering Sacrifices

Leviticus can be roughly divided into several sections. The first section talks about the regulations for offering sacrifices, that is, people should offer sacrifices, and how they should be offered. Are these regulations for offering sacrifices still relevant today? In fact, they are still relevant today. Among Christians, the issue of offering sacrifices, such as tithing, has a wide variety of teachings; the teachings on thanksgiving offerings are diverse; the teachings on building temple offerings differ greatly... And besides these, there are others, such as prayer. Prayer is actually similar to offering sacrifices.

Today, we don't offer bulls and sheep, nor pigeons or young birds. Today, we offer prayers. Although the offering of sacrifices has been simplified to the point of prayer, many Christians today cannot even maintain prayer, let alone meet the cumbersome requirements of the Old Testament.

Why do Christians today face many difficulties? Prayers for healing are ineffective, spending a lot of money in hospitals, and then asking God, God! Why don't you heal me? Sometimes we often ask, God! Why don't you heal me? Why not ask, Oh, did I not get the offering of sacrifices right? Some full-time co-workers and pastors in churches, when they encounter many difficulties, feel that they are not at fault at all. But I tell you, God will not make mistakes, nor will the demons make mistakes. It is we ourselves who often make mistakes!

In the regulations for offering sacrifices, how should they be offered? Do we implement them according to the teachings of Jehovah God? Offering sacrifices is a very important matter. In the process of offering sacrifices, there are burnt offerings, grain offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, and trespass offerings, a whole bunch of things to talk about. Did Moses get it wrong in the Old Testament? Or did God get it wrong? Actually, neither did. It should have been like this from the start.

It was only later that Jesus Christ became the sacrificial offering for us, becoming our sacrifice. Our Lord Jesus offered Himself to God, and in fact, He opened up a higher way, which is to offer our whole being, our bodies, as a living sacrifice to God. In fact, the standard of the New Testament is much higher than the standard of offering bulls and sheep in the Old Testament. That is to say, the central idea of the regulations for offering sacrifices has not changed, but today's Christians have changed it. If you think that God has suffered losses after the change, God has not suffered losses. It is these Christians who have suffered losses.

Chinese Mingding Destiny's teachings in various aspects actually have many differences and changes from the teachings of traditional churches, whether in quantity or quality, they are quite obvious. Is it good or bad to have high requirements for Christians? Of course, it's good! Many brothers and sisters are actually suffering losses in churches with low requirements. Why? Because they cannot get healing through prayer when they are sick, and they cannot deal with anything. Because in the entire regulations for offering sacrifices, they have made a serious mistake!

What I am saying about offering sacrifices, in the final analysis, is that we cannot lower the requirements for offering sacrifices all at once. In fact, the requirements of the New Testament are higher than those of the Old Testament, aren't they? What is the New Testament? It is Jesus Christ offering Himself as a living sacrifice! I ask you, should Christians offer themselves? It is not a matter of killing a bull or a sheep and then being cleansed, no! It is a matter of consecrating yourself to Jehovah, and then you become a priest of Jehovah God, and you must fulfill the responsibility of a priest for others, and then offer sacrifices, pray, and serve. These are the regulations for offering sacrifices.

The Responsibility of a Priest

Chapters 1 to 5 are the regulations for offering sacrifices. What is talked about in Chapters 6 to 8? It talks about the responsibility of a priest. Are the pastors in churches today priests, or are the Christians today priests? If you ask me, I tell you that every Christian is actually a priest! But today, Christians push the responsibility of a priest completely away. You can't even ask them to do it. If you ask, they leave the church!

So in our church, whoever wants to leave can leave. I still ask! Why? Because the Bible is originally like this. The Bible originally says so. If everyone wants to simplify being a Christian to: Ah, I have been baptized, I have been saved, I have already done this and that, and that's it? I tell you, it's far from enough! I also want to tell you that you are still far from Jesus' standards.

I also want to tell you, can your attitude of believing in the Lord really bring you into blessings, or will it bring you into curses? In fact, if a Christian does not conform to God's heart in the matter of offering sacrifices, in the responsibilities we bear, let alone blessings, it's good enough if there are no curses. So the problems of Christians today are very difficult to solve. And the identity of a Christian is actually a high-risk identity. Should we wake up again? What about the leaders among us, the pastors among us, how well are they really doing in bearing the responsibility of a priest? In fact, it's really far from enough.

Recently, I've been quite agitated. What am I agitated about? Because many people among us are still just muddling along. It's easy to fool people when being a priest. You just move your lips and say a bunch of nonsense, and it's okay. But the problem is that we bear the responsibility of a priest, we offer this sacrifice, we offer that sacrifice, there are regulations for offering sacrifices, aren't there? Especially Chapters 6, 7, and 8 talk about the responsibility of a priest. Having talked about the responsibility of a priest, have we really implemented it according to the responsibility of a priest?

Some people say, Oh, the Old Testament is just a shadow of the New Testament! But the problem is, if you can't even compare to the shadow, can you compare to the real thing? So, today don't think that the Old Testament is merely a shadow of the New Testament, and that the New Testament is the only real thing. If the New Testament is the only real thing, wouldn't the New Testament be more real and have higher requirements than the model in the Old Testament? Today, you have become a Christian, have you fulfilled the responsibility of a priest? If you have not fulfilled the responsibility of a priest, then shouldn't you think about where your future lies? Even if you are not a person with a destiny, you should still care about your own future!

Some time ago, when I was preaching, I criticized a brother. What did I criticize this brother for? Because his grandmother was in pain all over, but he didn't care. If you say he didn't care at all, I would be wronging him. If you say he cared, his grandmother was in so much pain, but there was no effect. If there is no effect, don't we need to think about why our service is not effective?

After I finished speaking, the following week, he called me and said that he wanted to leave the church. Then leave if you want to leave, isn't it? Today, Christians must not push away their responsibilities completely. If you say that I just want to be an ordinary Christian, and I don't want to be a priest, is that okay? It is definitely not okay. Because a Christian is a priest, you can't say that I don't want to be a priest, I just want to be a Christian. When you get to heaven in the future, I will be a janitor. I tell you, there is no such thing. What sanitation are you going to do in heaven? Even cleaning on earth, you can't beat a robot.

Moreover, I tell you, some of our pastors can't even do the work of sanitation well. Don't they need to repent? I said, clean up the dirt in this corridor, this place. When I came back to check, oh my goodness, the ground was painted like a Chinese painting. He didn't do less work, and he worked hard. When I scolded him, he felt wronged. But the fact is that this is the result. Why? Because we didn't take on this responsibility. It's not just about sweeping the corridor. The key is whether the result of your cleaning is clean or not.

If you finish cleaning and it's dirtier than before, isn't that fatal? You are a priest, if you serve, offer sacrifices, and after you are done, you make the entire temple of God smoky, I ask you, will God not hold you accountable? If God holds you accountable, what can I stop? I can't stop anything. Many people like to say, Pastor, please pray for me quickly! I said, how can I pray? The disaster that God has added to you, what can I do? I can't go against God, right? Therefore, being a priest requires taking on the responsibility of a priest.

I am just giving an overview of Leviticus. First, the regulations for offering sacrifices, do not lower God's standards; second, the responsibility of a priest. I ask you, if you offer sacrifices according to the regulations for offering sacrifices, of course, before the regulations for offering sacrifices, there is also the construction of the tabernacle. If there is no tabernacle built by Moses, Moses went up the mountain to meet God face to face and received how to build the tabernacle. After it is built, shouldn't there be sacrifices?

After it is built, there is a whole bunch of regulations for offering sacrifices, and then there is the responsibility of a priest. Even if you have built the tabernacle according to the revelations Moses received, and then you don't do a good job as a priest, what will happen? That is playing with your life! Being a Christian either receives blessings or suffers curses, either receives many times more blessings or suffers many times more curses than ordinary people. You ask me how many times? Seven times! The punishment received, seven times! This is why I often say that being a Christian must be a resounding Christian, don't just wander around there.

Offerings according to what Jehovah commanded

If you implement everything according to what Jehovah commanded, then what will happen? The fire of God will come down from heaven. The fire of God will come down from heaven, meaning that the prayers in this place are answered by God, there is the presence of God in this place, and there is the manifestation of God's glory. Do you understand? So, in Chapter 9, it talks about the fire of God coming down from heaven. Don't you think that building a church with God's presence is a very wonderful thing?

Don't you think that building a church with God's presence, and then all the brothers and sisters in the church, all the Christians in this church, are priests of the Living God Jehovah, our prayers are answered by God, the fire of God will come down from heaven, and miracles and wonders will follow us, how wonderful that would be! As a priest, we can bless the people, and the glory of God will be revealed to the people, and fire will come out from the presence of Jehovah, consuming the burnt offering and the fat on the altar, and when the people see it, they will shout for joy and fall on their faces. That is a church where prayers are accepted and answered. Do you want this? Of course, you want this! I hope that everyone desires to become a priest of the Living God, to build God's church according to the regulations for offering sacrifices and according to the responsibility of a priest, and to offer the sacrifices we should offer to God.

Chinese Mingding Destiny has high requirements for offerings, whether in terms of time or money. I really don't care if people leave because my requirements are high. Some people always say, Ah! I am very busy with business! What are you busy with? Is being busy more important than offering sacrifices? Is being busy more important than serving God? I tell you, some of us always say that they are very busy and need to take leave. Everyone must know that I can really boast about one thing in front of everyone. I am so busy with work that I am dying, but I have never delayed serving. Why? Because being a priest is my responsibility! I know I need God, I know I don't need that job, I don't need to please my boss, I don't need to please my clients, but to please my God. As a result, God lets me not be afraid of harm even when I pass through the valley of the shadow of death.

I'll just say this, but don't call me next week and say, I'm leaving the church because the requirements of your church are too high. The problem is not whether the requirements are high or low, the problem is whether we can live out the glory of God! In this place, the requirements are high, you can live out the glory of God, and your prayers are accepted, isn't that much better than not having your prayers accepted? This place has God's blessings and God's presence, isn't that better than those without God's presence? You save all your time, the requirements are very low, and you mess around there, and you get sick all over, then what are you going to do? How many of us came here with illnesses? Don't forget as soon as you get better. Many people forget as soon as they get better. After they get better, they start being busy with this and busy with that. Then you can just keep being busy to death.

Our responsibility is to be priests of the Living God. Our responsibility is to bring God's blessings down from heaven and bless the people. Our responsibility is to bring the sins of the people, the sacrifices of the people, to God and offer them to God. Whether this is intercession or not, we will not discuss this matter for the time being. If you have confusion, we can slowly explain it when we have the opportunity. When we offer sacrifices, we will see God's presence. This is a victorious church. A victorious church is built according to what God has commanded. Don't pat your head. Patting your head and coming up with something is useless. This is the third point. Offering sacrifices according to what Jehovah has commanded results in God's presence.

If you do not offer sacrifices according to what Jehovah commanded, you are playing with your life.

If you do not offer sacrifices according to what Jehovah commanded, what will happen? That is called offering strange fire. After offering strange fire, fire will come out from Jehovah, not that there is no fire, there is fire, and then it will burn them to death. This sounds cruel.

And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. (Leviticus 10:1-2)

This passage of scripture is written very cruelly, but today, whether it is a Christian or a pastor, is there such a situation that you find puzzling after reading it? A good pastor, serving God with love, but a lot of problems arise. It seems that it is not demons that are dealing with these pastors and Christians, but God! There is fire coming out from God, and then it burns Nadab and Abihu. Did Nadab and Abihu know the responsibility of offering sacrifices? They knew it. Did Nadab and Abihu know the regulations for offering sacrifices? They knew it, but when it came to doing it, they did it blindly. So in Chapter 10, we see that fire came out from God and burned Nadab and Abihu to death. Then, this is what Jehovah said: I will be sanctified among those who are near Me.

And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace. (Leviticus 10:1-3)

If you want to treat being a pastor as a job, you can't do it. Why? Disaster will come upon you. Why? Because you are a person who offers strange fire. So today, brothers and sisters must know that someone told me later, and I haven't even counted it myself, that among the pastors I know, there are many who have cancer! The proportion of pastors who have cancer is more than twice that of normal people.

Some time ago, a sister came among us. This sister was very interesting. She was actually a very devout sister in her local church. When she served in the church, she hid behind the leader in the front. This leader served very enthusiastically every day, but later she developed a serious illness, an incurable disease, and it is not known what the outcome will be.

Later, another brother rushed up and replaced the leader in front. The leader in front stepped down because she needed to recover. The person in the back rushed up to be the leader and took charge of the church. As a result, before long, this brother had a stomach hemorrhage. Later, this brother also came among us to pray. We served him, and later his stomach hemorrhage was cured. But the problem is, did he really understand the regulations for offering sacrifices? Did he really understand the responsibility of a priest? It seems that he didn't quite understand.

Later, they said to this sister, come and be the leader. As a result, this sister said, Forget it, I won't do that. She was a little smart, so she came out of that fellowship and then came among us. After she came among us, did she become a priest of the Living God Jehovah? In fact, although she had a heart that loved God, she lacked that ambition. But recently, she has started to adjust well, after a lot of tribulations, hard work, very hard work.

I hope that all the brothers and sisters among us will always remember these two names: Nadab and Abihu. Nadab and Abihu are the ones who offered strange fire before Jehovah, the ones who served God according to their own ideas. Jehovah did not command them to do it, but they did it blindly, and that is called playing with your life. Therefore, serving God and being a priest is an extremely glorious destiny, and it is also a position with extremely high risk.

If we neglect such a great salvation, how can we escape punishment? This salvation is to enable us to obtain the keys to the kingdom of heaven, to trample on snakes and scorpions on earth, to trample on the enemies of the devil, to trample on the power of the underworld, and to release the captured souls. This is a power greater than the power of a nuclear power plant and a nuclear bomb!

If we neglect such a great salvation, if we serve carelessly, carelessly, and do not adhere to it, isn't that playing with our lives? Yes! So you must know that God wants to be holy among those who are close to God. You cannot serve God without holiness. How can you become holy? Set yourself apart and consecrate yourself to God. So don't blame me for not warning everyone. If I didn't warn everyone, the sin would be on me, but I have told everyone, and if you don't listen, the sin is on yourselves, and it has nothing to do with me, so you have to think clearly about what kind of situation you are in.

Do we have anything more important today than blessings and curses? No. Yes, I know you are very busy, we are all very busy. Some people think I'm not busy, but they are wrong. I get up early and work late. If I'm not busy, what am I doing? In fact, I am using all my heart and strength to serve my God, and I also hope that our brothers and sisters can know that serving God in this way is a matter of course.

Therefore, you must know how to be a priest, and never offer strange fire. This is what was said earlier. First, the regulations for offering sacrifices; second, the responsibility of a priest;
third, priests must offer sacrifices according to what Jehovah commanded;
fourth, if you do not offer sacrifices according to what Jehovah commanded, you are playing with your life.

Regulations Concerning Food

The matter of being set apart and blessing is closely related to what goes into a person's mouth. Therefore, the fifth point concerns regulations about food. God stipulated what is clean and what is unclean, what can be eaten and what cannot. Do not think this is a lesson in biology. It is not. It is a lesson in the spiritual realm.

Let me ask you a question: Man is made in the image of God, but in whose image are animals made? Animals are also made in the image of the spiritual realm. So, if there are celestial horses in the heavens, there are terrestrial horses on earth. If there are eagles in the heavens, there are eagles on earth. If there are lions in the heavens, there are lions on earth. If there are cows in the heavens, there are cows on earth. If there are sheep in the heavens, there are sheep on earth. Are there crabs in the heavens? Are there snakes? Are there earthworms? Indeed, there are many more.

I tell you, everything on earth is made according to the pattern of heaven. We are humans on earth because God made man in His image. Then, God created all kinds of things on earth according to the various images in heaven. So, I ask you, does the snake on earth, which God made according to the image of an evil spirit, have any connection with Satan? Satan is the ancient serpent. Does the snake on earth have any connection with Satan? Yes, it does. So, among the animals God created, the snake is the most cunning. Is the snake on earth? Yes, it is. According to what was the snake created? It was created according to the spirit of the snake in the heavens.

Therefore, the regulations concerning food state that this can be eaten, that can be eaten, this cannot be eaten, that cannot be eaten. Why? Because God is speaking about a spiritual matter. These things have spiritual meanings. I have a deep understanding of this. Why? Because I often see things and like to connect them. For example, an 18-year-old boy encounters misfortune and is accidentally killed. The parents are in great pain, very great pain.

Later, reporters went to their home for an interview and filmed the boy's room. In this boy's room, a rope was stretched from one corner of the wall to another, and many things were hung on the rope: snakes, scorpions, and many other animals. I cannot remember the details clearly. But when I saw these things, I made an association: Is there a connection between this and the boy's being killed? I think there should be. Keeping a whole bunch of things devoted to destruction at home is just asking for trouble.

So, I later discovered that the relationship between many animals and humans is a spiritual one. There is an interesting event: A little girl once loved the Lord very much, but then suddenly changed and started raising a large python at home. How frightening! Raising a large python at home requires buying a lot of things to feed it. As a result, no one could touch the snake. If anyone touched it, the child would fight them to the death. Do you think this behavior is strange? It is! Later, this girl became increasingly rebellious and very difficult to handle.

Therefore, regarding the regulations concerning food, various images of animals are mentioned, and these images actually carry a kind of revelation from the spiritual realm. You must know that God is holy, not because eating these things will cause something to happen, but because God is not pleased when these things are eaten. Why shouldn't we please God? Pleasing God is very important. That is to say, when we are set apart, we really need to understand some things that God dislikes.

Childbirth is a Very Spiritual Matter

Sixth, childbirth is a very spiritual matter. Why is childbirth a very spiritual matter? Because Leviticus states that after a woman gives birth, she will be unclean for a certain number of days. Why is a woman unclean after giving birth? A woman is not unclean because she gave birth, but because, in God's eyes, this period after childbirth is considered unclean.

In other words, being unclean makes one more susceptible to attracting demons. Know that the human reproductive system and eating are very spiritual matters. Not being able to have children is also a very spiritual matter. This is the sixth point. The fifth point is food, the sixth point is the reproductive system. Childbirth is also spiritual.

Skin Diseases, Mold in Houses, are Very Spiritual

Seventh, skin diseases, mold on clothing and in houses, are all very spiritual. As we are discussing this, many things may require us to return to Leviticus for examination when we are performing healing and deliverance. It records what causes skin diseases, discusses a lot about what causes mold on clothing, and then discusses what causes mold in houses.

So, today, you need to look carefully. If you have mold in your house, see what it says. A certain stone in the house needs to be dug out, discarded, and then the wall needs to be replastered. If the mold returns after replastering, then the house must be torn down and rebuilt.

Why? Because there is an evil spirit in that place. For example, living in a haunted house. What is a haunted house? A haunted house is a place where evil spirits are. These places easily grow mold, and people living in them inexplicably suffer from calamities and illnesses. These types of houses are considered unclean in the spiritual realm.

If the Priest Sins, He Must Offer a Sin Offering

We come to the eighth point: If the priest sins, he must offer a sin offering. That is to say, if a Christian sins, the offering is different from that of an ordinary person. If a priest sins against God, there is a regulation for atonement. For example, Aaron should offer such and such. If a priest sins, he cannot enter the veil of the sanctuary at any time, before the mercy seat on the ark, lest he die.

Therefore, if the priest sins, he must offer a sin offering. This is described somewhat mysteriously: two male goats, one for Azazel and the other for Jehovah. When we read this, we really do not quite understand what Azazel is. However, many commentaries say that one is for the devil. A priest sinning is a serious matter. The goat offered after a priest sins is called a scapegoat.

Blood is Very Sacred

The ninth point is that blood is very sacred. Everyone must know that blood is closely related to life; life is in the blood.

Sexual Immorality

The tenth point is related to sexual immorality, sins closely related to human sexual organs are called sexual immorality.

Our Interactions with People

Eleventh, our interactions with people should be based on fairness and justice. Holiness is closely related to life. If you want to be set apart, it must be demonstrated in your life. If you frequently covet others' things, deliberately stir up trouble, and do many strange things, that is not being set apart.

A series of principles for holy living must be implemented in our lives. If you violate the basic principles of holy living today, I can tell you, you will still be cursed.

Dealing with Rebellious People

Twelfth, how to deal with these rebellious people? If you violate God's word, how to handle it? How to handle this, how to handle that? For example, how to handle people who do not honor their parents? How to handle those who honor their parents? Of course, we must not misunderstand these things. Sometimes, elderly people are not sensible, and you need to discipline them. Is that still honoring them? Yes, it is still honoring them, because they also need discipline.

Regulations for Holiness

Thirteenth, regulations for holiness. What is holiness? What is sacred? How does a person become holy? Because they are consecrated to Jehovah, because God is holy, so we must be holy. This is a very simple principle.

Time Must Be Set Apart

Fourteenth, time must be set apart. It talks about observing this festival, that festival, observing the Feast of Tabernacles, the Sabbatical Year, the Day of Atonement, Pentecost, and so on. Why are people unwilling to set aside time for God? Because time is money. People love money more than God, so there is not enough time. They work hard to make money, resulting in many curses and a body full of illnesses. Only when they are seriously ill do they think of praying. But prayer is useless, because those illnesses come from people violating God's word.

Finally, when we examine this, we will discuss many details. Ultimately, if you carefully keep and follow God's word, you will surely be blessed; if you do not carefully keep and follow it, you will surely be cursed and punished! This is not being cursed, but being punished. If a priest violates God's statutes, ordinances, and commandments, he will be punished, and sevenfold. God will bring sevenfold disaster upon those who violate His word, because they are God's priests.

So, we must be careful and learn to set ourselves apart. Setting ourselves apart is the highest principle of our Christian life! We really need to know what it means to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength! If you love God, you will not find being a Christian troublesome. If you still find it troublesome, that is okay. Wait until you endure the sevenfold disaster, and see if you find it troublesome then! I am not scaring you; this is what God said.

Conclusion

Therefore, brothers and sisters, if we are living in the sevenfold disaster that God has brought, we need to turn back to God. If you are a priest and you encounter some things, you need to know that it is God who is punishing you. If you think you are Job, you need to know that Job's situation does not happen often. Even for David, what he encountered later was all because of the sins he committed. Today, we brothers and sisters need to know that God will forgive Christians who sin, but there is a price to pay for sin.

Although God will keep His covenant, we must still fulfill our Christian responsibilities; that is the key. Set yourself apart to God, serve Him alone. This is what we in Chinese Mingding Destiny refer to as destiny. What is our destiny? Our destiny is the destiny that Abraham inherited, to be a blessing to many people. Do not think that being a blessing to many people is just talk. It is truly putting God's word into practice so that we can be a blessing to others!

May God bless you all!