Video to come.
Morning Message Text: Leviticus 19: 9-18
9 “ ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.
10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God.
11 “ ‘Do not steal. “ ‘Do not lie. “ ‘Do not deceive one another.
12 “ ‘Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
13 “ ‘Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. “ ‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight.
14 “ ‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the LORD.
15 “ ‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.
16 “ ‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people. “ ‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the LORD.
17 “ ‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt.
18 “ ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
Morning Message:
When choosing my scripture readings for worship I find that God doesn’t always give me the same direction of thoughts. What I mean is, sometimes the first scripture reading has little or no connection to the morning message text. Sometimes they fit together like they were meant to be preached that way. Other times, like today, they are in sharp contrast to each other. Our reading from Revelation is a message about our future glory in heaven, a description of what heaven will be like for God’s people. It is a glorious message of a fresh new heaven and earth created for all believers in Jesus Christ to enjoy for eternity. There are no signs or rules to follow, just a wonderful, glorious existence with God. Just the wonderful thought that we no longer have to think about right and wrong, good or evil, this must be what Jesus meant every time he said, “Peace be with you.”
Our morning message text brings us back to our current reality. Back to what was said long ago; warning signs to show us the way and remind us when we go the wrong way. I found this in one of my devotionals. Everywhere we go, we’re surrounded by warning signs, and some of them are a bit much! One said: “Caution! Heavy Pedestrian Traffic,” with a drawing of a rather large man. Another said, “Free Range Chickens Drive Slowly.” One sign in a rural town said: “Touching Wires Causes Instant Death. $200 Fine.” Most caution signs are well- intended and clearly marked, and that’s the way the Lord cautions us in scripture. The Bible includes warnings, cautions, rebukes, and dangers to avoid. Sometimes we’re headed down the wrong path without even knowing it. But God’s Word warns us of the dangers ahead. In 1Corinthians 10, for example, Paul reminds us of how the Israelites set their hearts on evil things, engaged in sexual immorality, grumbled, and indulged in too much revelry. The Lord judged them, and they are a warning for us. As you study the Bible each day –wait a minute –you all do study your Bibles every day, don’t you? If you do; when you do, don’t just underline the promises and sing the psalms. Highlight the warnings too, and grow in daily holiness before the Lord. Now listen! Are you listening? Can you hear me now? Listen. God’s holiness and purity give birth to his righteous anger when we do things He doesn’t want us to do. God…. doesn’t want us to take sin lightly. Tell the truth now. You are in church. Do you ever take sin lightly?
Today, we are going to contrast the wonderful vision of what God has created for our future with the way we are called to live here and now. So, let’s start with this. When you reap your harvest do you reap to the very edges of your fields? Do you gather every dropped grain for your own use? Okay, maybe this will make more sense for you. When you pick the grapes from your vineyards do you make sure you pick up every grape for your own use? You look confused. Oh, I know, none of us are farmers. We don’t have vineyards. We don’t harvest our own food. We have never picked grapes for a living. There is a much deeper point here, and it’s not difficult to figure out how this applies to our lives. Let me say it plainly. Don’t be selfish! Don’t try to hang onto everything that you perceive to be yours! Things are different today, but the concept is the same. In biblical days at harvest time, the owners of the fields were commanded not to be selfish and try to take everything for themselves that God had provided. It wasn’t all provided for them. God provided an abundance so that there would be enough for everyone, even the poor, if the people did what they were told to do. If they followed the Word of the Lord. It is no different today, except that the harvests are in our bank accounts and may be more difficult for us to let go of.
We don’t like to read the “Do Nots,” in the Bible. Sometimes we are like the little child who played hide and seek and just stood in the middle of the yard with his eyes closed. If we can’t see God, then he can’t see us. He sees us. We act like if we just avoid reading what God doesn’t want us to do that will be okay. It’s not okay. Out of sight, out of mind, only leads us down a path of unholiness. Do not steal; do not lie; do not deceive one another. Easy enough, right? These three go together, and they are not as easy to avoid as you might think. You could accomplish all three of these just by doing your taxes. A little white lie becomes stealing, and you quickly realize that you are deceiving someone, but it’s just the government and they have too much money anyhow. Then we can compound our sin when someone questions us about it by saying, “I swear I thought it was right.” God says, “Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.” Did you know that as a person who claims to be a follower of Jesus, when you swear to something, it is a reflection on Him.
Now we can go through all of these one by one, but I don’t think that is necessary. I am not pointing these out to make us feel guilty. I simply want to remind us, all of us, me included, that it is important for us to read these scriptures and be reminded of how God views things. We get so caught up in the way the world views things that, without even realizing it, we are going the way of the world instead in the direction of our Savior. We are reminded in many of these do nots that God hears the cries of those who are taken advantage of. God takes care of those who have trouble taking care of themselves. The deaf, the blind, the worker that has been unpaid or cheated, those who seek and need justice. I could go on for hours, but you get the point. God simply says, “Fear your God. I am the Lord.”
This scripture from Leviticus is so rich and so important for Christians to pay attention to. Too often, we just skip over the book of the laws of God. Leviticus is not easy reading, but it is so instructive. I guarantee that you can find things in here that you need to improve upon in your Christian lives, but you must read it. As I said, I could preach this for hours, but I know that it will only make a difference in your life if you truly want to hear it. Just remember this one thing. If you forget everything else, you heard today remember: God doesn’t take sin lightly and neither should we.
In Christ’s Love and Peace,
Pastor Bob
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