These are notes on the sermon, Secrets Of The Peace Offering, preached by Pastor Joseph Prince on Sunday, 29 August 2021, at The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore. We hope these sermon notes will be an encouragement to you!
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In 1 Corinthians 1:23–24, the apostle Paul says that the message of Christ crucified was “to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness.”
The Jews didn’t understand how getting a revelation of Jesus and His death could give them the miracles they needed and the Greeks didn’t understand how it could give them the wisdom they wanted.
But preaching Christ and Christ crucified results in both the power of God (which ministers to the area of need for the Jews) and the wisdom of God (which ministers to the area of need for the Gentiles).
The Bible says that this is the hidden wisdom of God through the centuries. In the Old Testament, it was hidden, but it is now revealed to us that God would justify us through the blood of His Son whom He loved. God sent His Son to die on the cross for us so that we can receive His righteousness and be washed from all our sin by the precious blood that Jesus shed at the cross (1 Cor. 2:7–8).
Logically, this does not make sense because this does not speak to our mind or intellect but to our spirit.
As we’ve learned previously, you are a spirit made in the image of God, but you live in a body and you have a soul (thoughts and emotions). The spirit is where we commune with God and where our intuition exists in the form of being led by the Holy Spirit.
We are called to walk in the Spirit and as we walk, led by the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Gal. 5:16 KJV).
We are continuing our study on the offerings found in the book of Leviticus.
There are five offerings found in the book of Leviticus in the Old Testament. All these depict the multifacetedness of the one single sacrifice of our Lord Jesus at the cross. As you have a greater understanding and revelation of Jesus, you will be able to receive more of His blood-bought blessings in your life.
Today, we are looking at the peace offering in depth:
“The flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering for thanksgiving . . . But if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow or a voluntary offering . . . ”
— Leviticus 7:15–16 NKJV
The peace offering is not an offering you give to receive peace. It is an offering you give to celebrate or to enjoy the peace that you have already received from God. It is not given to atone for your sins. After you have received forgiveness through the sin offering, it is given to show one’s gratefulness toward God.
Today, we get to enjoy the blessings that come with the finished work of Christ. Understanding the peace offering will help us better understand what it means for us to enjoy those blessings.
The peace offering
The phrase “peace offering” is in plural form. The Hebrew word for “peace offering” is “shelamim,” and it means “peace in all its completeness.” It encompasses more than just peace of mind, but includes peace in your relationships, peace in your emotions, and peace manifested as health and wholeness in your physical body.
When you offer the peace offering, you receive that “shelamim” in every part of your being—spirit, soul, mind.
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”
— Romans 5:1 KJV
Someone who has already been forgiven and is already righteous by the burnt and sin offerings then offers the peace offering.
Many times, we fail to realize that peace is not something we obtain just because we have put ourselves in a special posture (e.g. we have meditated long enough or have gone somewhere tranquil and peaceful). Peace is not something that you have to achieve but something you simply receive.
Jesus Himself said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you” (John 14:27 KJV).
The peace that Jesus gives is not dependent on your circumstances because it is not given by the world but by Jesus, who is not affected by the circumstances of the world. The same peace that allowed Jesus to sleep in the midst of a tumultuous storm is the same peace He leaves with us today.
Jesus has already given us peace, and the way we enjoy it is to “let not your heart be troubled” (John 14:27 KJV). No one else can do that for you except yourself.
Pastor Prince encourages us to do this week: Every time you find your heart getting troubled or anxious by a piece of news you read or see, say and remind yourself, “Let not your heart be troubled.”
Let not your heart be troubled and neither let it be afraid. These are two different things. Being troubled usually happens before fear sets in.
Jesus has provided the antidote to both those things—His “shalom” peace.
“When his offering is a sacrifice of a peace offering, if he offers it of the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord. And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of meeting; and Aaron's sons, the priests, shall sprinkle the blood all around on the altar. Then he shall offer from the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire to the Lord. . .”
— Leviticus 3:1–3 NKJV
“he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering” — As with the burnt offering, the laying of hands in the peace offering is a picture of identification.
“without blemish before the Lord” — The animal sacrifice being without blemish is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Right now, as we are studying the peace offering, we are actually looking at Christ crucified (1 Cor.1:23–24) because these offerings depict the finished work of Christ on the cross.
Sometimes, instead of the immediate breakthrough you are praying for, God gives you wisdom that will bring about that breakthrough. For example, maybe you are waiting for a breakthrough in your health. God can give you wisdom to know what foods to eat or to avoid, and when you follow that, you will see your health improve.
As we are studying the offerings in the book of Leviticus, we are looking at Christ crucified, and the wisdom and power of God are being imparted to you!
When we look unto Jesus, we are looking away from everything else that distracts us and looking only at Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Heb.12:2).
To look unto Jesus is actually to put faith into action. When you simply look unto Jesus, you are operating in faith without you even trying to.
The more you see Jesus in worship or in the Word, you are being transformed into the same image of Jesus from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Cor. 3:18).
How can we be more like Jesus if we do not know more about Him and what He is like?
“sprinkle the blood all around on the altar” — The altar represents the holy claims of God on our lives. This is a picture of how the blood of Jesus—our perfect offering—has fully met and satisfied those holy claims of God’s righteousness and holiness.
“The fat (‘cheleb’ – riches, best) that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove; and Aaron's sons shall burn it (the fat) on the altar upon the burnt sacrifice, which is on the wood that is on the fire, as an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.”
— Leviticus 3:3–5 NKJV
“The fat” — The key feature of the peace offering is the fat of the animal. In Hebrew, “fat” is the word “cheleb,” and it refers to “riches” or “best.” When Jesus died on the cross for us, God’s best died on the cross for us.
When someone brings a peace offering to the priest, the priest will have to cut into the offering and carefully separate the fat from the other organs. The fat represents the inward riches and preciousness of Jesus.
Jesus is beautiful inside and out, and everything about Jesus pleases and satisfies God the Father.
“upon the burnt sacrifice” — This is the fat of the “shelamim” (the peace offering) that is put upon the burnt sacrifice. We established last week that the burnt offering speaks of the righteousness of God. The altar is a place where God’s claims are made.
It is also where you give God His food:
“and the priest shall burn them on the altar as food (‘lechem’ – bread), an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma; all the fat is the Lord's.”
— Leviticus 3:16 NKJV
“burn them on the altar as food” — The peace offering is food for God. The Father finds His satisfaction in the obedience of His Son. No one brought joy and delight to the Father the way Jesus did. Today, all that delight and acceptance have been imputed to you because of the finished work of Christ. When God looks at you today, He sees the perfection, beauty, and obedience of Christ.
When we were still sinners, Christ died in place of us (Rom. 5:8). Jesus died for us, but He also died as us (He died as the old “us” who was always subjected to temptations and the curse of the law). Jesus also rose from the dead as us so that today, we can look at Jesus and say, “That is who I really am.”
What is true of Jesus is also true of you today (Rom. 6:10–11). It is as if you accomplished what Jesus accomplished. As He is, so are we in this world (1 John 4:17).
While our present circumstances may not always look that way, our circumstances do not define us because our true reality is found in Jesus. The truth of who we are in Him will outlast our present circumstances.
The more we behold Jesus, we are transformed by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Cor. 3:18). We do not see change in our lives by trying or striving harder, but by beholding Jesus.
As we have learned last week, all the riches of that peace, health, wellbeing, and completeness are predicated on the righteousness of God. When we understand and believe that we have been made the righteousness of God in Christ, we can expect to enjoy this all-encompassing peace in every area of our lives.
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have (‘echó’) peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”
— Romans 5:1 KJV
“we have peace with God” — The word “have” is the Greek word “echó,” which refers to an active holding onto or seizing upon the peace that we have with God.
It is essential that we continue to meditate on this word because it is so easy for us to forget. Occupy your thoughts with Christ and you will be transformed into His image.
“For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,”
— 2 Corinthians 2:15 ESV
“we are the aroma of Christ to God” — Today, we are a sweet aroma to God because of Jesus’ finished work at the cross.
When you draw near to God, you don’t have to be conscious of your sins. Instead, be conscious of the fact that every time you approach God, He smells the sweet aroma of His Son on you, which brings Him great delight and pleasure.
Knowing this truth will change your prayer life and the way you come to God!
“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'He who offers the sacrifice of 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.”
— Leviticus 7:28–30 NKJV
The key feature of the peace offering is the fat of the various parts of the internal organs of the animal sacrifice that is brought to God. It signifies how God looks into Jesus and sees the beauty and holiness of the thoughts and intents of Jesus.
“The fat with the breast” — The breast is a picture of the love and affection of Jesus. Here, it is the breast of the animal that will be sacrificed, not the breast of the offerer. It is the love of Christ—our perfect offering—that we are to bring and to focus on, not our own love for God.
We don’t come to God boasting of our love for Him. We cannot feed on our love for Jesus, Jesus can’t feed on our love for Him. But there’s nourishment in His love for us. So, boast in the Lord’s love for you!
Jesus’ perfect love can be seen in His sacrifice in these two ways:
It is not about how much we love God but about how much He loves us. We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19 ESV). When we enjoy being loved by Jesus, we cannot help but love those around us.
Jesus finds His nourishment in loving you.
In the story of the woman at the well, it is written that Jesus “must needs go through Samaria” (John 4:4 KJV). This was not a “must” of necessity or convenience, but it was a “must” of love.
After Jesus had ministered to the woman at the well, His disciples found Him and brought food to Him. When they had first left Him, He had been tired and hungry. But when they saw Him after He had spoken to the woman at the well, they could see He was refreshed. Jesus told them, “I have meat (food) to eat that ye know not of” (John 4:32 KJV).
Jesus’ food was in loving and ministering to the woman at the well. Jesus Himself said that His “meat (food) is to do the will of him that sent me” (John 4:34 KJV).
Jesus finds His satisfaction and nourishment in loving you. If God can be recharged and refreshed, it is by loving you. When you take from the Lord, He doesn’t get depleted. In fact, the more you take from Him, the more He is refreshed and delighted.
The nature of God is to love.
Say, “Father, I receive right now, your love for me. I thank You that perfect love casts out all fear, heals my body, and prospers all my relationships. Your perfect love evicts every fear from my life. I receive Your love right now.”
When you worship the Lord, come to Him conscious of His love for you.
“And the priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast shall be Aaron's and his sons.”
— Leviticus 7:31 NKJV
“the breast shall be Aaron's and his sons” — The breast of the animal is a picture of the love of Jesus. Aaron is the first high priest of Israel and he is a picture of Jesus, our high priest (Heb. 4:14). Aaron’s sons are a picture of us, who are royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9). The breast of the animal belonging to Aaron and his sons represents how Jesus is nourished by His love for us, and we are also nourished by His love for us.
The Lord feeds on the fact that He loves you. His food is to love you. He enjoys loving you so much that He went to the cross with the joy of loving you set before Him (Heb. 12:2).
As royal priesthood, our portion is to receive Jesus’ love for us. It is our rightful inheritance. Receive His love today!
Jesus did not come to serve as an example of moral excellence. Jesus came to save us from our sins and that we might feed on His love for us. And that is how we are transformed from the inside out—bad habits fall away and we produce the fruits of the Spirit.
How do we feed on His love for us? By continually beholding Jesus crucified and finding out more about Him. This also results in us growing and being strengthened by His Spirit (Eph. 3:16b KJV).
The Spirit strengthens us to be patient and longsuffering with joy and not reluctance:
“Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;”
— Colossians 1:11 KJV
“patience” — This refers to persevering through difficult circumstances.
“longsuffering” — This refers to longsuffering and patience toward people.
Both of these fruits come by feeding on the love of Jesus!
Jesus finds His food, His satisfaction, His delight, and His joy in loving us. And we find our delight and enjoyment in His love for us too.
When we feed on the Lord’s love for us, we will experience His power working on our behalf.
“And the priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast shall be Aaron's and his sons’. 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 (the power of God) for his part.”
— Leviticus 7:31–33 NKJV
“the right thigh” — The right thigh is where the strongest bone of the body is found. It is a picture of the strength and power of God.
“He among the sons of Aaron, who offers the blood . . . and the fat, shall have the right thigh” — We are among the sons of Aaron. Those of us who “offer the blood and the fat” (which is to value the preciousness of the blood of Jesus and what He has done for us) will “have the right thigh” (experience the power of God)!
Here we have:
These two things are a picture of the holy Communion—the bread and the wine. When you partake of the Communion with an understanding of the value of Jesus’ finished work, you are partaking of the Communion in a worthy manner.
We feed on His love for us through the Word of God but also through the holy Communion. We are to partake worthily not with a consciousness of our sins but with a consciousness of what the Lord has accomplished when He died on the cross to put our sins away (Matt. 26:28). When we partake of the Communion in this way, we will do it with an attitude of thanksgiving!
“For the breast of the wave offering (love) and the thigh of the heave offering (power) 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.”
— Leviticus 7:34 NKJV
“to Aaron the priest and to his sons” — The love and the power of Jesus are to be enjoyed by Aaron the high priest (a picture of Jesus) and his sons (a picture of us).
The word “sons” does not exclude women. As we see in Leviticus 10:14, the breast and the thigh are for Aaron, his sons, and his daughters to enjoy.
In the wave offering, the breast of the animal sacrifice roasted in fire is waved side to side. In the heave offering, the thigh of the animal sacrifice is heaved up and down. When you put the wave offering and heave offering together, they form the image of the cross.
“This is the portion of the anointing of Aaron, and of the anointing of his sons, out of the offerings of the Lord made by fire, in the day when he presented them to minister unto the Lord in the priest's office;”
— Leviticus 7:35 KJV
“This is the portion of the anointing of Aaron, and of the anointing of his sons” — This is the key to the anointing of God in your life: being conscious of, feeding on, and finding joy in the love and power of Jesus every day.
One way you can feed on the power of God every day is by praying prayers like this: “Lord Jesus, as my family and I go out into the world today, I thank You that Your power keeps us safe. Your power keeps us from every sickness and disease. Your power keeps us from all manner of evil.”
To be conscious of this is to flow in the anointing of God. Where the anointing is, there is a supernatural ease and lightness.
It is so important for us to feed on Jesus’ love for us every single day. Pastor Prince encourages us to take time each day to spend time with the Lord and to feed on His love for us.
Through Jesus’ finished work at the cross, we can enjoy both God’s love and power. We need to have both the love of Jesus and the power of Jesus in our lives.
In Matthew 14:14, we see Jesus being moved with compassion (love) for the multitude and healing their sick (power). It was a demonstration of both Jesus’ love and power.
Today, the Lord is compassionate toward you, and He is moved to help you with His power.
Pastor Prince prays for the following conditions:
“Heavenly Father, I thank You that You love me and sent Your Son to die for my sins on the cross. I thank You, Father, that You have raised Him from the dead. I thank You for loving me, Father. I thank You for my Lord Jesus Christ. He is my Savior. Jesus is my Savior and my Lord now and forever. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
“This coming week, the Lord Himself protect you by His power, guard you, keep you and your loved ones from every sickness, from every disease, from every danger, and from all evil in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Father has delivered you from the authority of darkness and He has translated you into the kingdom of His dear Son. Amen. The Lord favors you and throughout this week, may you see the manifestation of His favor in everything that you touch, in everything that you look at, and in everything that you relate to. May you see the favor of God abounding. May you be conscious of that favor throughout this week. And when you feed upon the breast of the Lord Jesus throughout this week, enjoying His love, His love for you, His love for your family, and see the power of God executed on your behalf in every area of your life. In the name of Lord Jesus Christ, and all the people said, Amen.”
God wants you to live life enjoying His shalom peace, wholeness, and completeness in every area. If you are facing a challenge today or if you find yourself in a situation that seems contrary to the promises of God, the answer to experiencing the peace of God that surpasses understanding and brings comfort, strength, anointing, wisdom, and power for your breakthrough is simple: feed on His immense love for you.
No matter what you are going through, it is your portion and inheritance to enjoy the Lord’s love for you daily. When you receive His love, you will find nourishment for your soul and see His power flow into areas of need.
This week, begin each day by spending your first few moments remembering that the Lord loves you. Say to Him, “Lord, I receive Your love for me. I thank You that Your perfect love casts out all fear, heals my body, and prospers all my relationships. I receive Your love today.”
Throughout the day, every time you feel your heart being troubled or fear starting to creep in, put your hand on your heart and say, “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). Remember that because the Lord loves you, His power is for you and working on your behalf!
We hope these sermon notes blessed you! If they did, we encourage you to get the sermon and allow the Lord to speak to you personally as you watch or listen to it.
© Copyright JosephPrince.com 2021
These sermon notes were taken by volunteers during the service. They are not a verbatim representation of the sermon.
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