I want you to turn with me tonight to Leviticus chapter 6. Leviticus chapter 6. Leviticus chapter 6 and verse 8 specifically. Leviticus chapter 8 and verse 6. If you are following along in the Pew Bible, this is found on page 116. Leviticus chapter 6. Page 116 in the Pew Bible. Follow along in your copy of God's word as I read Leviticus chapter 6 verses 8 through 14. shall put on his linen garment, and his linen trousers he shall put on his body, and take up the ashes of the burnt offering which the fire has consumed on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. Then he shall take off his garments, put on other garments, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place. And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it. It shall not be put out. The priest shall burn wood on it every morning and lay the burnt offering in order on it, and he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. A fire shall always be burning on the altar. It shall never go out." And this is the word of the Lord. While on the Deputation Trail when we are raising support to come to Toronto to plant a church, I actually came to develop a good friendship with a church in Michigan. In particular, I really hit it off with the pastor of that church in Michigan, and then having had a meeting with them, I came to develop some friendships with the people in that church, and it was a church that I really enjoyed. As we continued our raising of support, that pastor, unfortunately, began to enter a time of doctrinal decline. He began to hold less and less to the doctrines of the historic Christian faith, and eventually came to the place where he, before the congregation, honestly told them, I cannot stand before you and preach these things. that you have hired me as a pastor to preach." So this church was devastated. Their pastor had left, and in their search for a pastor, the very first person that they contacted was me. And I was a little bit flattered, but I was also very tempted to go to this church in Michigan. There were a lot of things that were very positive things. For one thing, it was a church that lined up with where I lined up with theologically. Even on more minor matters, such as the end times, we held the same views. The same views on the doctrines of grace. So there's a lot that we had in common. There was also an older pastor nearby that I had developed a friendship with also on the deputation trail. And the idea of ministering closer to this man that had a history of faithful service and held to the same doctrinal convictions that I held to was actually very tempting. But I often would say on the deputation trail that these opportunities come And sometimes these opportunities are meant to change our direction, and sometimes they're meant to test our resolve. And I ended up turning down that opportunity to pastor at that church. Fast forward a few months, I think it was about six to eight months, and I was actually scheduled to go and preach again at this church in Michigan, and I was looking forward to it. in spite of the fact that I knew that they were currently without a pastor. They had a couple of men that were there that were that had been voted in as elders even before the former pastor had left and these men seem to be doing a good and faithful job and so I came to that church and I was expecting a very joyful reception but a dark cloud of sadness hung over the church. And afterward, I spoke with the people that I was staying with, and I was like, I couldn't help but notice everyone was just absolutely devastated and sad tonight. And they said, well, there was a reason for that. Just a few months ago, Pastor Toby left because he no longer held to the doctrines of the Christian faith. And just this week we found out that Kenny, who was one of the elders of the church, Kenny disqualified himself from being an elder of this church. And as this man told me what the twisted, messed up moral disaster was, it was horrible. One pastor, of course, had left because he no longer held to those doctrines, but another elder had to be removed because of carrying on an affair with someone. The person that he was carrying on an affair with was the former pastor's wife. And so this church went through, first, a doctrinal decline and departure of one pastor. and then the moral disaster of another of their pastors and elders in that church. The aftermath of that was absolutely devastating on that church. The man who had come as an interim pastor ended up leaving because the whole church was just blown apart by it and people stopped coming. There was a young lady in the church named Hope, and Hope had been a very joyful Christian, and she had been very close, or so she thought, to the former pastor's wife, and she had also developed a relationship with this elder, Kenny, and Kenny's wife, and they had had her over to their house many times, and she looked to them as spiritual parents. And after the doctrinal decline of the pastor, and the moral disaster of this elder, she left the church. And she said, I don't know if I'll ever go back to church again. This sad story reminds us of a truth that is also set forth in this passage. And the truth is this, the service and sanctification of God's ministers must help people enter into fellowship with God. The service and sanctification of God's ministers must help, and we could add to that, must help and not hinder people to enter into fellowship with God. As we come now to chapter 6 and verse 8, we find God giving instructions to the priests He's now going to talk about all of those offerings that have been previously talked about in the chapters before this. In the chapters before this, the instructions were primarily for the people of God. Now we come to the instructions specifically for the priests. The offerings are actually going to end up being in a different order as these instructions for the priests go on. And the reason for that is that these instructions are given to the priests in the order of the frequency of the different offerings. The first offering, both that God gave instructions to the laity and to the priests, is the burnt offering. And you might remember that as we looked at the burnt offering, the truth behind the burnt offering was that man can enter into fellowship with God. only on the basis of a bloody substitute sacrifice. Now God gives instructions to His priests, to His ministers, about that very burnt offering. There are two things that stand out in these instructions, and they are the title that I've chosen for this sermon, Perpetual Fire and proper garments. Those two things stand out. As you look at, and as we read earlier, God repeatedly tells the priests that the fire must not go out. So if we were to go back to Leviticus chapter 1 and see the instructions for the burnt offering, the killing of that animal, and then the removal of the awful, but then the placing of the animal on the fire, this was an offering that would have happened over and over again, many times in the course of one day. That fire had to keep burning so that the next offering could be offered, and the one after that, and the one after that. In addition to that, they would have to clean the ashes of the previous animals. Otherwise the fire would simply go out because it would be overwhelmed by those ashes. So the ashes had to be taken away to another place. This is an interesting, it's interesting when we look at this instruction that the fire has to keep burning. Because the fire hasn't even started burning when God gives these instructions. What's going to happen is that God is going to give all of the instructions for the offerings and then for the priests as they minister with the offerings. And then God's fire is going to fall on the first sacrifice. And it is that fire that had to be kept burning. It had to always be burning so that people could bring and offer the burnt offering. which was their way symbolically of entering into fellowship with God or renewing fellowship with God. Imagine for a moment that if that fire went out, the people would be unable symbolically to enter into fellowship with God. Thus the fire had to always be burning. But there's another theme that runs through this passage and that is the proper garments of the priest. We see it there in verses 10 and 11. The priest shall put on his linen garment and his linen trousers he shall put on his body and take up the ashes of the burnt offering which the fire is consumed on the altar he shall put them beside the altar then he shall take off his garments put on other garments and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place. The clothing had to be worn and it had to be changed. That clothing symbolized the vocational and personal holiness of the priest. You might remember reading the book of Exodus that God gave instructions about all of the different parts of the garments but the capstone as it were for all of these garments which summarized the purpose of these garments was that plate of gold that was then put on a blue cord and put on the turban on the front of that turban and that said holiness to the Lord. That was the garment of the high priest but that signified what the garments were intended to signify about those priests. There was a holiness, there was a setting apart of that vocation. To this day, in some circles, there are particular garments that are set aside for people who are in the ministry. And we don't have those today in Baptist circles. But you look in the Roman Catholic Church, and there is a particular kind of vestment that they wear. Even in some other Protestant denominations, they will have the clerical collar. And that is a signal that this person has been set apart for Christian ministry. But that particular garment was not just about their task, but who they were to be personally. So it is with the priests of the Old Testament. Those garments said this person is holy to the Lord in the fact that he has been set apart to that ministry. And it said this person should have been holy to the Lord in his own personal conduct. You might remember The story of Eli and his sons. Eli's sons made themselves vile and Eli did not restrain them. And you look at the abuses of Eli's sons, what did they do? Well, they wanted the choice cuts of the meat when the sacrifice came. They were sleeping with the women that came and ministered at the temple or even came to serve at the temple. They were messed up morally while they were carrying on the outward performance of the priesthood. Perpetual fire. That fire must always be going. People must always be invited into fellowship with God. And the priest must always be holy. That is what is signified in God's words to the priests. If the fire was not kept burning, the people could not enter into ceremonial fellowship with God. If the garments were not worn properly, the people's view of God would be affected. How so? Well, everyone knew that the priest had a responsibility to wear certain garments in doing certain things in the service of God. And if the priest just decided, well, I'm going to do my own thing, you know, God's rules aren't that important. It's okay if I decide to change things up a little bit or not change my clothes when I'm supposed to. That would have given people an impression of God that was inaccurate. They might have not even recognized their need to enter into fellowship with God at all. recognizing or failing to recognize God's holiness. The applications for those who minister are immense. So for a moment, I'm going to preach primarily to me and Ryan. The rest of you, hang on. Your turn is coming in a moment. But let me preach primarily to myself and to Ryan. We need to think, brother, first of all about perpetual fire in the nature of ministry. We are called to help and not hinder people entering into fellowship with God through Christ. Our ministry should always be encouraging people to come to God through Christ. Nothing that we do should detract or distract from that. We have other things to do, but this is of first importance. We must, therefore, preach God's Word. 2 Timothy 4, verses 1 and 2 says, I charge you, therefore, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His Kingdom, preach the Word. Be ready in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and teaching. But as we preach the Word, we must preach Christ. You and I know, brother, that Christ is not in every passage, but there's a sense in which He can be seen from any passage. As we see Where this fits in the timeline of God's big picture, we must preach Christ. I think about what Paul said to the Galatians. He said to the Galatians that Christ had been clearly portrayed among them as crucified. And thus, their spiritual defection was on them. There was no deficiency in Paul's ministry. He would say, who has bewitched you? That you would not obey the truth. before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified. So we preach Christ and we preach Christ crucified. This is what the perpetual fire teaches us about the nature of our ministry. But the proper garments have much to teach us also. Because the proper garments teach us about the nature of holiness. And this is an absolute requirement and this is something that we must remember Our holiness or lack of holiness can be a bridge or a barrier to people's fellowship with God. Can we lead people where we are not? For a while, we might be able to put on a show. For a while, we might be able to fake it. For a while, we might be able to pretend that we are something that we are not. But ultimately, God requires us to be vessels for honor. 2 Timothy 2, verses 20 to 22, Paul says this, in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the master, prepared for every good work. And the very next thing that he says, brother, and you know this as well as I do, the very next thing he says after saying, you have to be a clean vessel, is flee youthful lusts. Flee youthful lusts, but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with all those who call with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. We, brother, must be pure in heart. Paul had already told Timothy in the previous letter to Timothy, 1 Timothy 4 and verse 16, take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. And that is a good summary for the perpetual fire of proper garments. Take heed to yourself. Make sure those garments, as it were, are proper. First of all, of course, that your garments have been washed in the blood of the Lamb, that you are indeed saved. But in an ongoing sense, we need to be people who are pure and holy. We need to be people who are right. We need to take heed to ourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. But there's a message for all of us, not just for myself and Ryan here. In light of these very sober requirements that God has for His ministers, I would ask you, members and adherents, friends, pray. Pray for us. Hebrews 13 verse 18, the author of Hebrews will say, pray for us. For we are confident that we have a good conscience in all things desiring to live honorably. Pray for us. We have a good conscience now, pray that that will continue. Pray that nothing will damage that reputation, that nothing will come between our soul and the Savior. Pray that we would be that vessel that is fit for the Master's use. Pray for us. Sometimes people ask me, what can I do? I've heard people even say, it seems like all I can do is pray. All you can do is pray. What do you mean all you can do is pray? That's massive. Pray for us. Pray for us. I wonder how many churches have suffered because they have not lifted up their ministers in prayer. I wonder how many churches have struggled and failing to pray. Yes, we must pray for you, but you must pray for us. Second, encourage. Encourage us. And I would say specifically encourage us in the ministry and in our own holiness. We need a lot of Barnabases. We need a lot of Sons of Consolation, a lot of Sons of Encouragement. The Church needs those kind of people. And there's a reason why when you say something kind to me, I respond, thank you for your encouragement because I really am grateful for it. I usually say two things, praise the Lord and thank you for your encouragement. We need those who would be like Barnabas, would be people of encouragement. As I was preparing this message, I came across a passage in 2 Chronicles 30, Whereas Hezekiah is bringing reforms to the people of God. I read this verse, and Hezekiah gave encouragement to all the Levites who taught the good knowledge of the Lord. He gave encouragement to all the Levites who taught the good knowledge of God. What a great thing to be a people who would give encouragement to those who teach the good knowledge of God. Pray for us, encourage us in the path that God has for us. Third, brothers and sisters, enter into that path of fellowship that we set forth. If we are being faithful in our task, we are setting Christ forth before you and we are telling you, come to Jesus. Have you not trusted Christ? Are you yet lost? Come to Christ. Are you wandering? Come to Christ. Return to Him. All of your needs are met in Christ. And I would encourage you again, enter into that fellowship that we set forth before you. I think about John's words, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. That is the greatest joy that a minister of the gospel can have. That those that they have proclaimed the truth to are walking in the truth. Enter into that fellowship, that burnt offering. Remember, it symbolized fellowship with God and fellowship with God can only be entered into on the basis of a bloody substitute sacrifice. Christ has been offered for you. Come to God. through Christ. The author of Hebrews would say it this way, Hebrews 10 verses 19 to 23. Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he consecrated for us through the veil that is his flesh, and having a high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. So pray for us, encourage us, and enter into that fellowship which we set forth before you in Christ. But there's another message for all of us. Because Peter tells us in 1 Peter chapter 2 that all who are in Christ are a spiritual house and a holy priesthood. And that we are then called to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. So there's a message for us as ministers and for you in helping us as ministers, but there's a message for you as a kingdom of priests. You also must be holy. As those proper garments signified the vocational and personal holiness of the priests, so you are called to be holy, and it's more than just the kind of clothes you wear on a Sunday morning or a Sunday evening. 1 Peter 1 verses 14-16 says, As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct. Because it is written, Be holy, for I am holy. You, brothers and sisters, we, brothers and sisters, are called to be holy. Holiness is not just a requirement for the people that lead the people of God. It is a requirement for the people that lead the people of God. But it's a requirement for all of the people of God. You are called to be holy. You're called to be separate from sin, separated to God. Friends, this world is not our friend. Our flesh is not our friend. The devil is not our friend. Be holy. Be careful of counterfeit holiness, which is about the visible and the externals only, without looking at that hidden man of the heart. Remember, brothers and sisters, in your pursuit of holiness, yes, man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the hearts. Be holy. Second, we also all not only must be holy, but as a holy priesthood we must also serve God acceptably. We must serve God acceptably. Hebrews chapter 12 verse 28, therefore since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, Let us have grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. Yes, we need God's grace to serve acceptably. But with every grace that He gives us, we must use it to the utmost, serving God with reverence and godly fear. Are we a reverent people? Do we recognize the holiness of God? Do we worship Him in Christ, in spirit and in truth? Or do we have some low view of God? That God is just like one of us? Do we have that godly fear? That we see God for who He is and see ourselves for who we are and then live in light of that reality. That's how we serve God acceptably. We must be holy. We must, by the grace of God, serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. And then, brothers and sisters, we also must help people enter into fellowship with God in Christ. We all must help people enter into fellowship with God and Christ. Sometimes in a church, people think that evangelism is only the job of the pastor. And that if someone needs to be witnessed to, you get the pastor to do it. And pastors should be willing to witness to people. If you have a pastor that doesn't want to share the gospel, that's a problem. But as I look at scripture, I am reminded of the great commission that is given. And we know that this great commission is not just for the apostles. Not just for those who are in some kind of spiritual authority. Some of you know it already, but Matthew 28, 18 to 20, Jesus says, all authority, all power has been given to me in heaven and in earth. Go therefore and make disciples, teach is the word in the King James, but the meaning is the same thing, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I've commanded you and lo, I am with you always. even unto the end of the world, the age. That word world there, in the thinking of that day, there was the world in terms of time-space, and there was the world in terms of space and matter, and there was the world in terms of time. And Jesus says, I am with you until the end. So we know that this is not just for the apostles. They passed away, but the Great Commission continues. We must help people enter into fellowship with God in Christ by the sharing of the gospel. And that's not just for the hired guns, so to speak. It's not just for the pastors, it's for all of us. That's one of the blessings of having the Bible study that we had over the last several months where Brother Ryan was encouraging us and providing for us different, even resources with which we could reach out to friends and neighbors and acquaintances and people that we meet to share the gospel. We must help people enter into fellowship with God in Christ by evangelism, but also by exhortation. You and I, at times, get weak. You and I, at times, are tempted to be wayward. We need one another. The Christian life is not meant to be lived in isolation. It's meant to be lived together. We are to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. But so much the more as we see the day approaching. We are called, brothers and sisters, to exhort one another daily. To exhort one another while it is called today, lest any of us be hardened through unbelief. We need to be encouraging one another in our walk with the Lord. Encouraging one another to enter into fellowship with God and Christ. For those of us that seem to be doing well, encouraging one another to keep on going. Wow, we need that encouragement today. It seems in so many areas that God's moral standards are just being trampled in the dust and even the name of Christ is reviled in some places. We need that encouragement to keep going. We need that encouragement when we are tempted to stray. We need that encouragement when we begin to stray. Let me put it this way. When I hear that one of you are walking in a way that I believe is sinful, I reach out to you and contact you. I try to talk with you about it. But there's a sense in which people kind of expect that, right? That's the pastor's job. And it is an important part of my role, that when the sheep, as it were, begin to wander, I need to seek those sheep. But there's also a vital role that you can play in one another's sanctification. Those words in Hebrews that we're to exhort one another daily, that we are to try to help one another lest we be hindered through the deceitfulness of sin was not just given to the leaders of that church. It was given to all of us. So all of us must help people enter into fellowship with God and Christ through evangelism but also through exhortation. I think about that church often and even this week as I was preparing this message I went online. That church no longer has a website. It was developing one years ago. I did find that church on a Facebook page and I looked at the pictures on the Facebook page and I didn't recognize anybody. The church has changed dramatically and I wonder I wonder about those people that once were a part of that church, that once were strong pillars of that church. I wonder, why are they not there anymore? It's possible that some of them have gone to glory, because I know that some of them are older. But I look, and I look at those pictures, and there's so many that I don't recognize anybody, and I'm wondering where did everyone go? I think part of the answer is that that church was so devastated because there was a lack of perpetual fire and proper garments. Brothers and sisters, let's keep that fire burning and let's wear the right kind of clothes. Amen. Well friends, our hymn of response I think is an appropriate one in light of what we've