His peace offering to the Lord shall bring his offering to the Lord from the sacrifice of his peace offering. His own hands shall bring the offerings made by fire to the Lord. The fat with the breast he shall bring, that the breast may be waved as a wave offering before the Lord. And the priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast shall be Aaron's and his son's. Also the right thigh you shall give to the priest as a heave offering from the sacrifices of your peace offerings. He among the sons of Aaron, who offers the blood of the peace offering and the fat, shall have the right thigh for his part. For the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering I have taken from the children of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and I have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons from the children of Israel by a statute forever. This is the consecrated portion for Aaron and his sons, from the offerings made by fire to the Lord on the day when Moses presented them to minister to the Lord as priests. The Lord commanded this to be given to them by the children of Israel on the day that He anointed them by a statute forever throughout their generations. This is the Law of the Burnt Offering, the Grain Offering, the Sin Offering, the Trespass Offering, the Consecrations and the Sacrifice of the Peace Offering which the Lord commanded Moses on Mount Sinai on the day when He commanded the children of Israel to offer their offerings to the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai. And this is the Word of the Lord. Thank you. You may be seated. Some of you may not be familiar with the process that missionaries go through called deputation. But essentially what that means is that the missionary and his family will travel from church to church and will present their burden for their ministry, the proposed ministry that they believe the Lord has laid upon their heart. They will present this ministry to different churches. in hopes that those ministries will catch their burden and join them in praying the Lord of Harvest that he would work in that area of the harvest field, but also that they would contribute financial support. Now, our family went on deputation We began, I believe it was the year 2000, the end of the year 2002, and we were on deputation for some time. I was not good at deputation. I was bad at deputation. I did not find it very easy to ask people for money. Now I have known missionaries that said they loved deputation. That it was the highlight of their ministry life. And I can say with all honesty that was not the case with us. I really didn't like to ask people for money. And in a way, that's probably only right. Because if you encounter a minister that loves to ask people for money, that might be a problem. If you encounter a minister that loves to talk about giving, you might want to be careful. especially those ministers that say, give your money to the Lord, and then they give you their address. It doesn't always fit, right? And there's a lot of people, I'll just say this as a warning, brothers and sisters, there's a lot of people that are lifted up as spiritual heroes and have a lot of air time today, and that's their play. They're almost always asking for money. Greed, by the way, is the mark of a false teacher. I mentioned this morning Jude verse 11, as I talked about Balaam. One of the marks of a false teacher is that they have gone greedily in the error of Balaam for profit. And so we need to be careful, all of us, when you see ministers that are greedy for gain. But just because a minister should not always be talking about giving money for ministry, does not mean that a minister should never be talking about giving money for ministry. And so, this passage brings me to a topic, and I will grant a sub-topic that I would not naturally gravitate to. And that's again an argument for preaching through a book of the Bible because it forces you to end up in passages that you might not want to or might not naturally choose anyways. If I were to be preaching through a book of the Bible and then I were to jump over some difficult passage like say, Hebrews 6, and go on to Hebrews 7, you would notice that right away, right? So we're going to keep on going, and we are at Leviticus chapter 7, verse 28, which talks about how God provides for His workers. God has given us this passage, and indeed every passage of His Word, for our profit. And I believe that this passage is for our profit this morning. To those who, like Ryan and myself, are in vocational ministry, and to those who are not, but make provisions for those in vocational ministry, there is a powerful point, I believe, that this passage communicates. And here is the point it communicates. God's ministers must neither be unjustly neglected, nor unwisely exalted. God's ministers must neither be unjustly neglected nor unwisely exalted. Well, let's take the first half of that together. God's ministers must not be unjustly neglected. The plain principle of this passage is that ministry should provide for ministers, or it is God's plan to provide for God's workers through godly worship. God's plan was that as the children of Israel brought various of these offerings, specifically mentioned here the peace offering, that when these offerings were brought that there was a portion of that that was given specifically to the priests that offered and to the priesthood in general. Now we know as we read all of Scripture and we compare Scripture with Scripture that this was not God's only means of provision for His priests. After all, there was a tithe that was given, and that was to support the priests and the Levites and their living. But a very important means of provision, particularly provision of food for the priests, was through the offerings themselves. Notice that when the peace offering is given, the breast is to be for Aaron and his sons. We could say that this portion is for the priesthood. The right thigh, then, is given specifically to the officiating priest, and we could say this portion was for the priest himself. They are consecrated. They are holy and set apart for the priest. Of course, God gives these kinds of instructions throughout this chapter. It's not the first time we've seen about God providing for His priests through the worship of the people. We see it elsewhere in the book of Leviticus, both previous chapters and future chapters. God, though, seems to put a particular point on it here, because we're coming to the end of a section of the book of Leviticus. We read how this is really the end of this section that talks about all of these offerings that God commands Moses on Mount Sinai. In chapter 8 we're going to move forward into the consecration of Aaron and his sons, but this sort of is the punctuation mark at the end of that long sentence that is the discussion of the sacrifices. Remember that these sacrifices are discussed first from the perspective of those that offer them, and then the perspective of the sinner who offers, the worshipper, the laity, and then from the perspective of the priests. And now God brings it all together with this note on the provision for the priests. And of course, this demonstrates the gracious wisdom of God. gracious wisdom of God that he desires that his ministers be provided for, and he makes a way for that to happen through worship. He desires for his ministers to be provided for, and knows, as he knows human nature, that some worshipers might be reluctant to make adequate provision. I am thankful that this church is a kind and generous church to us. But sometimes you hear about churches that seem to have this attitude toward their ministers, we'll keep them poor and we'll keep them humble. And God, it seems, knows that there is a stingy tendency within the human heart, not just toward Him, but toward those who represent Him. And so He builds into their very worship structure. provision for His ministers. He desires that His ministers be provided for, and He makes a way for that to happen through worship. He knows that, He desires that His ministers be provided for, and He knows that some people might not naturally be generous, so He builds that right in. He desires His ministers be provided for, And I would say as well, he knows his ministers, he desires his ministers be provided for, and he knows that some ministers may be reluctant to bring up the topic. And that's, again, probably a good thing. And so God Himself brings it up. The Old Testament principle that is revealed here is repeated in the New Testament. I'm having some eye problems tonight, so please forgive me if I misspeak or stumble a bit. But the Old Testament principle that we see here is repeated in the New Testament. In 1 Corinthians chapter 9 verses 13 and 14, which is a passage we looked at already in the book of Leviticus, in our study of the book of Leviticus, do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple? and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar, even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel." And there's a principle that God has placed in Scripture, in the Old Testament and the New Testament, that those who labor in the gospel should live from the gospel. Now Paul himself was one of those ones that was probably reluctant to bring it up, because he would talk to the Corinthians and say that he did not want to be burdensome to them, and so he really didn't place these kind of demands on that church. Now, we think about those who preach the gospel should live of the gospel, this is referring to material things, but the principle extends beyond that, I would say. that the ministers of the gospel should not only be unjustly neglected in material things, but also in spiritual things. Now where am I going with this? Those who minister the Gospel find themselves, or I could say we who minister the Gospel, at times find ourselves tired, worn out, discouraged, and just plain needy. And if you yourselves recognize the times where you need encouragement, remember that those who minister among you also need encouragement. And so God's ministers should not be unjustly neglected, not only in the material things of life, but in those emotional and spiritual matters of care. It is a great encouragement for a pastor to know that his people are praying for him. It's a great encouragement to know that the people stand with Him and want what's best for Him, pray for Him and pray for His family. So this first principle, God's ministers must not be unjustly neglected, I think is communicated very effectively in this passage. But there's another point to this passage, and that is that God's ministers must not be unwisely exalted. God's ministers must not be unwisely exalted. Now you might wonder, where in this passage are you getting that? Where do you find that? Well I believe it's found not only in this immediate passage, but in the preceding passage. Even as the priest offered the sacrifice and received his portion from the sacrifice, there was a part of it that belonged to God and God alone. Remember in the previous verses, the fat and the blood were not to be eaten. The priest could not take the fat and the blood, those belonged to God alone. That passage powerfully tells us that God demands our life itself, the best and our very lives, represented in the fat and the blood. And again we see that in this passage, where There is the blood offering and the fat. They offer that, they cannot take that. They can have the right thigh, they can have that shoulder, but they cannot have the blood and the fat. And I think that this is obliquely stating another very important truth. The man is God's minister, but He is not God. And this truth might seem obvious to us. But we can simply look around the world today and recognize that it's not as obvious as it should be. Cults proliferate powerfully. Religious personalities are growing. They demand ever more fawning obedience, not just to the Word, but to themselves. You can see this on TV and YouTube, you can see it everywhere, and people seem to follow their words without discernment. But only God is God. And even as the minister offers the sacrifice, there is that portion that is only for God, and he cannot touch it. It's a reminder that the minister must not unwisely exalt himself. I think about when Peter met Cornelius. Remember, Cornelius comes running, he falls down on his feet and worships him. And what is Peter's response? He lifts him up. He says, stand up, I myself am also a man. Even when we, pardon me, Even when we as ministers of the Gospel urge you to follow us, Hebrews chapter 13, 7 and 13, 17, we urge you to follow our faith. Paul would say in 1 Corinthians 11, chapter 1, or chapter 11, verse 1, imitate me just as I imitate Christ. You don't imitate the minister for the sake of the minister, but you imitate that minister as he imitates Christ. I mentioned this morning that for a time I was a pastor on an interim basis at a little church called Bell Uart Baptist Church. And I began to notice within myself a kind of pride and glory seeking that wasn't good. Here I was preaching to a congregation. If we had 20 people on a Sunday, that was an amazing Sunday. But I began to find within myself this glory-seeking, that I wanted more people to recognize me, and I wanted more people to hear me, and I wanted more people to appreciate my sermons. It didn't help that one day a guy that I knew, an older man, walked with the Lord for many years. It didn't help when he came by when I was in the midst of this struggle. He came by and visited our little church. And this is a man that had walked with the Lord for many years. And he said to me, don't worry. I can tell that one day you'll be a pastor of a big church. That did not help. That only hurts. And I know he meant it as an encouragement to me, but that was the last thing I needed to hear in this moment of my life where I was wanting more recognition. And in my devotional time, I was reading through the book of Isaiah. And I came across Isaiah 42 verse 8, which says, I am the Lord, I am Yahweh, that is my name, and my glory will I not give unto another, neither my praise to graven images. And I remember after reading that, and knowing the struggle of my own heart, in that church building, as you walked out the door, just to, from the perspective of the pulpit, just to the left of the doorway, there was a bulletin board. I was one of a couple bulletin boards in the church and it was used for announcements and other things. I took all of the announcements off that bulletin board and moved them to a different bulletin board. And I put in on that back bulleted board, I put Isaiah 42 verse 8a. I am the Lord, that is my name, and my glory will I not give to another. So every time I stood up to preach, every time I was tempted, hey, look at me, look at how good a message I've put together, I would look back and I would see the very words of God Himself. I am the Lord. That is my name. My glory will I not give to another. So as I mentioned this morning, I began, at that point, not only to be convicted, but also to grow. And I try, going forward, I mentioned this in conversation, and I've also mentioned it from the pulpit before, that when someone says, thank you for your message, I will try to say two things. First, praise the Lord, because His is the glory. And thank you for your encouragement, because I'm not trying to be rude to anyone. Praise the Lord, thank you for your encouragement. All glory goes to God, and we who minister in the name of Christ must not unwisely exalt ourselves. We must not seize the fat of the offering for ourselves. It's good for us as ministers to be reminded of a few things. Chiefly, of course, that we are not God, but specifically that we are not omnipresent. We can't be everywhere. Sometimes that is hard for not only the pastor and the minister to remember, but also the people of the church. Again, I do not speak of that with respect to you, but sometimes there are people in churches that want the pastor to be everywhere at all times. We're not omnipresent, only God is. It's good for us to remember that we're not omnipotent, only God is. We don't have all the power. There are problems and struggles, and we can't fix those things in our strength, but we rely upon an arm that is stronger. We sing, and we need to take to heart The arm of flesh will fail you. You dare not trust your own. The minister also needs to remember, as he remembers that he's not God, is to remember that he's not omniscient. I don't know everything. I won't know everything. Sometimes people will ask me a question and I'll say, this is my best attempt, but I'm not sure. There are things that go on and I don't know, and sometimes I hear about things long after I should have heard about them, and I can't go back in the past and change things. But I don't know everything. I can't know everything. Only God is God. God's ministers must not be unwisely exalted. Specifically, the minister, the servant of the Lord, must not unwisely exalt himself. The second and attending point with this is that worshippers must not unwisely exalt the minister. The best of men are men at best. That's the reality. I was raised in a church on the edges of a movement that regularly exalted preachers unwisely. There was one particular minister that I remember that we would have and unfortunately at times I think that there was the wow factor this pastor has a big church and so we want him to come and preach at our church sort of thing. And I remember one particular pastor that came, and he had been able to achieve an almost unquestioning obedience of the people in his church. That he could do virtually anything, or tell them to do virtually anything. This was a preacher that would say, I remember hearing him say this, I'm not the head honcho, I'm the only honcho. I'm not the big cheese, I'm the only cheese. And when he went through a time where he was beginning to, some of his faults and sins were beginning to be discovered, I remember actually visiting a youth conference at his church, and there were people that were going around selling t-shirts that said, 100 percentiles. 100% loyalty. In the sense that there was nothing of that person that could ever be scrutinized. And the sad thing was that this man was demonstrably disqualified from the ministry. And yet he continued. Back then, I don't know if in your context growing up, but back then it was kind of a thing to have your Bible signed by famous preachers. And I remember having a Bible signed by quite a few of these luminaries. And it's kind of funny, it took me a while, it took me until writing this message that I put two and two together. I just put it together because in my freshman year of Bible college, I had this Bible stolen. And I thought, how in the, why in the world would someone at Bible college steal a Bible? And now I look back on it and I had some of these, you know, some of these top tier preachers that all signed the front part of my Bible. Maybe it was a collector's item to them, I don't know. It's probably for sale on eBay somewhere now. I remember later hearing about a guy at a conference and someone went up with their Bible and asked this guy, will you sign my Bible? And this preacher said, man, I didn't write that thing. I'm not going to sign it. There are dangerous temptations to exalt people beyond what they should be exalted. Here are some passages for you to consider in your relationship to God's ministers. First of all, 1 Thessalonians 5, 12 and 13. Here's a good one for you. And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their works' sake. And be at peace among yourselves. There to be esteem not simply for their personality's sake, or for their success' sake, whatever criteria that might be assigned, but for their works' sake. They are truly over you in the Lord. They do truly admonish you, but you esteem them very highly in love for their work's sakes." They are servants. Servants of the Word and the ordinances. Servants of the flock. Another brothers and sisters passage for your consideration is Acts 17 and verse 11. Acts 17 verse 11. Some of you may know the context for this. Paul's missionary journeys, he comes from Thessalonica to Berea. He preaches to a Jewish synagogue there in Berea and says, those were more fair-minded or noble-minded, your King James might say, than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness and searched the scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. So when the word was preached, they looked into the word. Is this what is being said? Rather than dishonoring the minister, that actually is true honor. And true honor to not only the shepherd, but to the chief shepherd, Jesus. A portion that we did not get to in this morning's message, which we will, Lord willing, next week get to. Hebrews chapter 6, verse 12. The author of Hebrews says that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who, through faith and patience, inherit the promises. And again, in Hebrews, now chapter 13, Hebrews 13, 7, remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. Worshippers must not unwisely exalt the minister. Yes, esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. Yes, search the scriptures. Yes, imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Yes, remember those who have the rule over you. Yes, Hebrews 13, 17, obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls. But God's ministers are not God Himself. And when you start giving honor to the minister that is due only to God, there is a line that has been crossed. Be careful. It's not good for you and it's not good for that minister. A minister unnaturally exalted in that way will face temptations and snares of a kind that he would not otherwise have faced. And so this principle from this passage, and we will end a little early tonight, which is okay, because my voice is ending a little bit early tonight too. The principle of this passage is that God's ministers must neither be unjustly neglected, nor unwisely exalted. If God's ministers must not be exalted to such a status, who should be exalted? Well, of course, to God alone the glory. Soli Deo Gloria. To God in Christ alone the glory. His is the glory. Colossians 1.18 tells us of Jesus that He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He might have preeminence. And so I end this by saying, God's ministers must neither be unjustly neglected nor unwisely exalted, but you cannot exalt Jesus too highly. all glory be to Christ, Amen.