by Charles Green, Jr.
Our Ministry as High Priest
I Peter 2:4-10
The scriptures
tell us God was in Christ reconciling the world to Him, which literally
means God used Christ to change our relationship with Him from hostile to
peaceful. God changed His relationship with us by placing our sins on
Christ and once we believe in Christ, God makes His righteousness ours and
we become the Righteousness of God. As God’s Righteousness we receive the
call into His Ministry of Reconciliation (II Corinthians 5:12-21).
We have been
chosen to raise up a Nation of Priest and Prophets to draw the world to
God and draw God back to the earth (usher in His Glorious Presence-
James 4:8). In the Old Testament God anointed and appointed
Prophets and Priest to be His representatives before His people and to
represent the people before Him. The problem with their ministry was it
didn’t satisfy the requirements for true reconciliation, so God sent
Christ to be our High Priest and Prophet to restore us back into our
rightful place and position in God (Colossians 3:2-4)
Scripture tells us
Christ was the first of many (Romans 8:28-29)
and Jesus tells us the works He did we would do and GREATER (John
14:12-14).
His ministry as High Priest has made every born again believer Spiritual
High Priest able to enter into God’s Presence and offer up Spiritual
Sacrifices on behalf of the world (Hebrews 4:16; 5:1-4).
Again, in the Old
Testament, only the High Priest was able to enter into the Presence of God
to make atonement for his sins and the sins of the people and only once a
year, but as New Testament Believers we have DIRECT access to the Throne
of Grace, by way of Christ Jesus our Lord (John 14:6). Oh,
what a wonderful revelation to grab hold to…through Christ we have become
the Temple, the Priest and the Sacrifice (I
Corinthians 3:16; Hebrew 13:15-16) and we can fulfill these roles
and responsibilities in and through Christ (Philippians 4:13).
In John 17: 1-26 the Word
says Jesus told his disciples what the Father told Him to tell them, and
He did what the Father told him to do; His entire life was driven to
fulfill the mission given to Him by God the Father in heaven past, and he
denied himself completely on this earth; giving up every desire to do or
say anything that was not part of the plan and purpose of God; He gave up
His life so the Life of God could be lived out in Him.
Christ took off His heavenly glory,
clothed Himself in human flesh, made no reputation for Himself, but became
a SERVANT, to fulfill the will of the Father (Philippians 2:5-8).
This is our example to completely die to ourselves, and become the
Spiritual High Priest to offer up Spiritual Sacrifices (Prayer & Praise)
to glorify God, edify of His people and horrify the devil and set him to
flight (James 4:7-10).
Section Three
Introduction
A Life of Continual Prayer and Praise
Colossians 4:2-6
“…Continue earnestly in prayer, being
vigilant in it with thanksgiving…”
Hebrews 13:15-16
“…By Christ let us continually offer
the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving
thanks to His name, but do not forget to do good and to share, for with
such sacrifice God is well pleased…”
The Sacrificial
System of the Old Testament Priesthood was God’s way for them to Minister
to HIM on behalf of His people (Exodus 29:1). They were
anointed by God with Spiritual Power and appointed to perform Spiritual
Service and God said this would be the Priesthood’s perpetual statute or
their position throughout all time (Exodus 29:9). Although
the Old Testament sacrificial system is obsolete (Hebrews 8:13), we are to
offer spiritual sacrifices, which include our prayers, our praise, our
possessions and even our life (Romans 12:1-2).
The ministry of
the Old Testament priesthood was one of continual service unto the Lord.
Christ ministry as our High Priest before the Father is one of continual
intercession. As God’s Royal Priesthood and Ambassadors for Christ we to
have been consecrated and need to continually consecrate ourselves for the
work of the ministry of the Lord, which we are able to do through a life
of continual prayer and praise.
Ephesians 6:18
“…praying always with all prayer and
supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all
perseverance and supplication for all the saints…”
We are commanded
to pray everywhere, for everyone and in all times and seasons. General
prayer and specific petitions should be offered up for all on all
occasions and in order to do that we must patiently persevere in
prayer. The Lord Himself said, “People should always pray and not lose
heart” and prayer is simply our way of communion and communicating with
our heavenly Father. Prayer is sending and receiving of messages and we
are told we can boldly approach the throne of grace and enter into the
presence of a holy God through prayer (Hebrews 4:14-16).
It is in His presence that we find help, healing, hope and are able to
walk in health for every area of our lives (III John 2).
Psalm 34:1
“…I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth…”
David and Paul
where both determined to praise God for His goodness and mercy toward
them. We too should be driven, determined and devoted to continually
offer up the sacrifice of praise and to give thanks in all things for this
is the will of God for our lives in Christ Jesus our lord (Ephesians
5:20). We are to clothe ourselves in the praise of the Lord for
the scriptures tell us he has given us the garments of praise for the
spirit of heaviness (Isaiah 61:3). Oh it is when we lift
Him up from the earth in praise that He will in turn lift our hearts and
lives above all that would hinder His power and our service.
It is through the
privilege of prayer that God hears and answers, but it is through the
power of praise that God is moved on our behalf (II Chronicles 20:18-30).
Prayer and praise is God’s will for our life for it is in prayer that we
dwell in His presence and it is through praise that He dwells in our midst
(Psalm 22:3). Know and understand just as Aaron and his
sons were consecrated for service, we are set apart through the privilege
of prayer and by the power of praise (Exodus 29:29)
It is through the
persistent practice of pressing in to God’s presence through prayer and
pushing forward in ministry through praise that the glory of the Lord will
rise upon us that others will see the glory of God in us and on us (Exodus
28:1-4) and be drawn unto our glorious Father (Matthew
5:14-16).
Creation is filled
with evidence of the importance of numbers and mathematical figures in the
whole of life. Numbers and mathematical figures in the Bible have great
spiritual meaning and significance and if we seek God for understanding,
there are treasures of wisdom and knowledge in numbers (Proverbs
25:2) This section is divided into 5 devotions, with each part
representing 1 week (5 weeks for God’s grace and mercy towards us and
the life we have in Christ Jesus). Each week set aside time and space
to read the devotion, study the scriptures and prayer, to help you form
a habit of devotion to reading, hearing and applying God’s Word to your
heart and life. Take the week and allow God to speak to you about
practical ways you can apply His word daily to your heart and life.
Enjoy the Journey
Devotion One
Stirred Hearts & Willing Spirits
“Whoever is of a willing heart, let him
bring his gift as an offering to the Lord”
Exodus 35:5
“The spirit indeed is willing, but the
flesh is weak”
Mark 14:38
“I remind you to stir up the gift of
God which is in you”
II Timothy 1:6
Stirred Hearts & Willing Spirits
Exodus 35:20-21
We must know and
understand God has called us by name and filled us with wisdom, knowledge,
understanding and all kinds of workmanship for His service (Exodus
35:30-31). We must never forget that to be chosen and called is a
thing of great honor. He chose us before the foundations of the world to
bring about change in this world through the sacrificial system of
Christ. The New Testament sacrificial system is made up of our gifts and
talents to draw all people unto God that He may draw near to them (Matthew
5:14-16).
If we are to see
God’s glorious Presence and Power released in the earth we, as the Body of
Christ must come together, bring all our gifts and offer them to God for
the work of the ministry, to bring about unity and build up His Kingdom
here in the earth. In Exodus Moses commanded the people to take up an
offering but only from those whose heart and spirit was willing…it says
both men and women came from all around the camp and brought MORE THAN
ENOUGH for the work of the service, so much the craftsmen ask Moses to
tell the people to bring no more (Exodus 36:4-7).
Everyone came with
what they had and not everyone had the same thing to offer, but what they
had they gave as a FREE WILL OFFERING. Some were called to make
the furnishing, others the fragrances and others the garments and
coverings. Then there were those who were called to serve the priests
through the up keep of the tabernacle and the priests were called to
minister continually before God in the tabernacle on behalf of the
people. Again, if we are to be effective in our ministry as High Priest
we must come together and bring our talents, and gift as an offering and
present our lives as living sacrifices to God (Romans 12:1-2).
If ministry is to
be effective we must find out what our gifts are. We have to know what
God is requiring of us in building the Kingdom. In Ephesians 4:1
Paul exhorts us to WALK WORTHY OF OUR CALLING, but can we if we don’t know
what it is…well Paul tells us WE ARE TO DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO KEEP THE
UNITY OF THE SPIRIT THROUGH THE BOND OF PEACE.
What is your part
today in keeping the unity of the Spirit? What gift can you present that
will bring about unity in your home, workplace, society, and especially in
the Body of Christ? Night is coming so we must be more vigilant about
presenting our gifts, offerings and working the work God called us to do
while there is still daylight, cause when night comes no man shall work (John
9:4). Our works will soon be revealed and rewards released (I
Corinthians
3:11-15). Is your heart
stirred and is your spirit willing for the work of the ministry???
Devotion Two
Treasure in Earthly Vessels
“The potter made it again into another
vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make”
Jeremiah 18:1-4
“The Lord said to him, go, for Saul is
a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name”
Acts 9:15
“This is the will of God…that each of
you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor”
I Timothy 4:12
Treasure in Earthly Vessels
II Corinthians 12:7-10
…I delight in weakness, hardships, difficulties…”
Paul rejoiced about his weakness, for
he realized God’s grace was enough for him to endure the painful and
humiliating experience of being buffeted by the enemy. He not only
rejoiced through his trails, test & tribulation, but it says he took
pleasure in them, which means he thought good thoughts about them. Paul
came to understand when he was weak within his humanness God’s strength
and power was made perfect within him.
II Corinthians 4:7-12
“…we have this treasure in earthen vessels…”
God placed the light of His Word &
Spirit in the heart of believers so it will shine throughout the world and
draw people unto Him (Matthew 5:16)
and Paul said we have this treasure in earthly vessels. We
are clay pots formed from the dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7).
You and I both know clay pots are very fragile. They crack and break
under the slightest pressure or force. Why would God entrust us with such
a precious treasure within our earthly bodies??? So the life of Jesus can
be manifested in our natural lives (II Corinthians 7:11).
As believers, we will face many trails,
test and tribulations. But we must remember God controls and uses them to
strengthen His people. God’s glory is manifested through broken vessels,
through those of us who are willing to endure troubles by relying on His
power and still offering to Him the sacrifice of praise (Psalm
107:22). In this life and walk of faith we will constantly face
death of our humanness so our life in Christ can be clearly seen.
What we need to understand is our
suffering is not about us all the time, most time it is about someone
else. It is only through our breaking experience that we will be able to
understand, relate and minister to the brokenness within the lives of
those God sends us to (Luke 22:32). Jesus’ death and
resurrection should be a model for our service to mankind. In our
suffering, we participate in Jesus’ suffering and death and just has He
brought eternal life through the things He suffered, we to bring life to
others through ours (II Corinthians 7:12).
Finally my friends, although you may be
hard-pressed on every side, God will not allow you to be crushed; although
you may be perplexed and can’t see a way out, God will not allow you to be
hopeless; though you may be enduring persecution, God will never forsake
you and though you may be struck down, God will not allow you to be
destroyed (II Corinthians 4:8)!!!
Know and understand regardless of the
weapons that form against you God will not allow them to succeed (Isaiah
54:17), for He knows His thoughts toward you…thoughts to keep you
healthy and prosper you in all that you do for Him. Remember to praise
Him through your process of being broken, for God is at work bringing the
Light of His Word & Spirit into the world through you…His Earthly
Vessel!!!
Devotion Three
God’s Honey Pots
“Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem: may
they prosper who love the Lord”
Psalm 122:6
“Those who trust in the Lord will
prosper”
Proverbs 28:25
“It pleased the Lord to bruise Christ
and Christ will prosper in bringing pleasure to the Lord”
Isaiah 53:10
God’s Honey Pots
James 3:6-8
“…the tongue is set among the body that
it can defile the whole body and is able to influence the course of life…”
James said our
tongue is the most unruly member of our body for with it we praise God and
curse man and that’s like a spring that brings forth fresh and bitter
water. We need to remember God created us in His image and Christ said
when we do to the least of people we do it to Him. If we praise God yet
put down those around us with what we say are we truly giving praise to
God??? Are we really yielded to the Word and Spirit that lives within
us??? (Romans 8:4-8)
Luke 6:45
“…a good man out of the good treasures
of his heart will speak good things…
We need to
understand what we say when under pressure is a direct reflection of who
we have yielded our hearts and lives to. Jesus used a tree and its fruit
as an example of determining the condition of ones heart, by what comes
out of their mouth. He said out of the abundance of the heart the mouth
speaks (Matthew 12:33-34).
A vessel yielded to the will of God is FILLED with good treasures and
produces good things. Jesus told a group of religious leaders, who begin
to judge the disciples for not washing their hands, it’s not what goes
into us that defiles but what comes out of our mouth (Matthew
15:1-11).
Now remember
scripture warns, God will discipline all who defile His temple, which we
are (I Corinthians 3:17)
and when God afflicts it’s always to purify the hearts and refine the
lives of His people (Proverbs 17:3). Now when we allow any
thing to fill our heart and come out of our mouth and defile God’s holy
vessel He will send us through a breaking process so He can make us over
again into a vessel He can use (Jeremiah 18:1-4).
Scripture also warns us our hearts are deceitful, full of wickedness and
we can’t really know it’s contents (Jeremiah 17:7-10) so
there will be times when God will send pressure and pain just to reveal to
us what dwells in the chambers of our hearts (Zechariah 13:9).
Ephesians 5:18-21
“…be not drunk with wine, but be filled
with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs…
One of the
outcomes of being filled with the Holy Spirit is that of singing and
making melody in our hearts to the Lord, but Paul exhorts us to speak to
one another in three categories of praise offered to God. In
Colossians 3:16
he says we should allow the Word of Christ dwell richly in us and teach
and admonish one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
There are 150
psalms and other psalm like poems throughout scripture, hymns where
addressed directly to God and spiritual songs are songs about our
Christian Journey (Philippians 2:5-11). We offer praise and
worship to our God in heaven by how we chose to speak to one another in
this world (Colossians 4:5-6).
Psalm 19:7-11
…the Law of the Lord…is sweeter than
honey and the honeycomb…
David celebrates,
with poetic praise, the purity and power of God’s Word. He says God’s
Word should be desired more than fine gold and it’s sweeter than honey and
the honeycomb. In Proverbs it says “pleasant words are like a
honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones” (Proverbs
16:24).
Remember scripture tells us we have become the Vessels of God (II
Corinthians 4:7) and if we keep our heart and mind clean we become
vessels useful for Kingdom Building (II Timothy 2:20-22)
God has placed His
Honey (Christ the Living Word) and the Oil of His Presence (the
Holy Spirit) down on the inside of His earthly vessels (the Body of
Christ) to bring healing and health to the world through what we say
and do (Psalm 107:20). We have to remember what we say will
cause ones soul to be sweet and strong or bitter and bruised.
We have the power
to bring life or death to hearts and lives by what we allow to come out of
our mouth (Proverbs 18:20-21).
We have all heard it in one form or another…”You have what you say”…now
is the time for us to chose life and begin speaking positive, hope filled
words of faith, that find their foundation in God’s Word, over our lives,
our families, our communities and our world (Ecclesiastes 10:12).
Devotion Four
The Reason Why We Sing
“Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous!
For praise from the upright is beautiful”
Psalm 33:1
“Be thankful to God, and bless His
name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth
endures to all generations”
Psalm 100:4-5
“Oh, that men would give thanks to the
Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men”
Psalm 107:31
The Reason Why We Sing
Deuteronomy 10:20-21
“…praise the Lord your God for you have
seen Him do great and awesome things…”
When we reflect on
the goodness of God extended to us in and through Christ Jesus, it should
lead us into a place of praise and worship and into a posture of love and
obedience. When we are filled with the Spirit and the Word of Christ
dwells in us richly it results in singing and making melodies in our heart
to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19).
Moses and Paul both agree that this
Christian journey can be summed up like this…we are to commit everything
we do and say to Christ and continually give God thanks and praise in all
things. Singing and music are very important aspects of a believer’s
personal life and in the ministry of the Church. In a since the Music
Ministry plays the role of the priest, who offered up sacrifices of praise
for themselves and the people of God (Lev. 7:12; Heb. 13:15).
The music ministry sets the tone for a
worship service, invokes the move of God, reveals the knowledge of God,
brings every one in unity, helps us receive the Word of the Lord and does
Spiritual Warfare. There are quite a few things singing and music does
within the Ministry of Christ so lets just take a look at a few.
Isaiah 35:10
“…come to Zion with songs and joy…and
sorrow and sighing shall flee away…”
The Prophet Isaiah
said God has given us the Garment of Praise for the spirit of heaviness (Isaiah
61:3). When we become weak, weary and worn we can offer up the
sacrifice of praise and God will give us a song and turn our sorrow into
laughter. When the Lord brought the Children of Israel back from
captivity scripture says their mouth was filled with laughter, tongue with
singing; those who sowed in tears, reaped in joy and they came with
rejoicing (Psalm 126).
Psalm 76:1
“…In Judah (praise) is God known…”
Judah,
which means I will praise the Lord, was the name Leah gave to her
last son (Genesis 29:30-34) and became the city that was the
center of worship and celebration of God. Psalm 76 is a
psalm of praise celebrating God for His kingship and love for the city of
Jerusalem. It is a celebration of His victories and an exhortation for
God’s people to offer reverent praise and worship to their Creator and
Redeemer for all that He is and has done (Ps. 48:1-4).
There is a
spiritual principle within the above verse of scripture…when we lift up
the name of the Lord in praise we open our hearts for Him to reveal more
of Himself to us and in turn others will come into a greater knowledge of
Him and magnify His name with us (Psalm 34:1-3).
Jeremiah 31:12
“…they shall come and sing in the
height of Zion, flowing together into the goodness of the Lord…”
Oh, when we come
together to magnify the name of the Lord for Him being our Redeemer and
Ransom, we will experience the restoration of the blessing of God’s
goodness, which is life in abundance and bountiful provision for every
need and good work (Psalm 107:32).
This verse of
scripture causes an old song of praise to swell up in my soul…”when the
praises of God are going up, then the blessing come down”. If we want
to see God rain down bounty and abundance into our hearts, homes,
communities and world we need to send up an abundance of praise and
worship to magnify His name (I Kings 17:1; 18:41-45).
Hosea 10:11
…Judah (praise) shall plow and Jacob
(to take the place of another by force or trickery) shall break his clods
(dull, or insensitive person)…
Hosea calls the
people to repentance, reminding them that the decision could not be
delayed and that God’s blessing could be restored. Israel’s rebellious
spirit necessitated harsh disciple which was compared to a farmer binding
his calf to a yoke and forcing it to do hard labor. Notice if you will he
says Judah will plow and Judah means “now I will praise the Lord
(Genesis 29:35)”.
I believe there is
a revelation in this verse of scripture that if we would return and
restore reverence to God through genuine praise and worship, God will plow
the stony places in the heart and lives of men and women all over the
world and release revival like this world has never known (Joel 2:23).
Plowing (praise and worship) and planting (speaking God’s Word)
are the necessary first steps for producing a harvest (adding souls to
the Kingdom), which will bring forth good things when God sends rain (end
time revival).
Devotion Five
Where the Lord Dwells
“God You are holy, enthroned in the
praises of Israel”
Psalm 22:3
“Great is the Lord and greatly to be
praised in the city of our God, in His holy mountain”
Psalm 48:1
“In Judah is God known”
Psalm 76:1
Where the Lord Dwells
Psalm 149:6-9
“…Let the high praises of God be in
their mouth and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance and
punishments…to bind kings and nobles in chains and fetters of iron…this is
the honor of all God’s people…”
The psalmist
proclaimed that God’s Word and His praise should be in the mouth and hand
of every believer to engage in spiritual warfare against the enemy’s of
God (I Timothy 1:18).
The high praise of God and His spoken Word will move God to bind our
enemies and to remove every obstacle out of our way. The war that the
enemy has launched against us is within our mind and is why we are
exhorted to renew our minds by God’s Spirit and Word (Romans 12:1-2).
Paul said our
fight is not against flesh and blood (humans), but against the
spiritual forces of darkness (Ephesians 6:12).
Our real battle is not with our fellow man, but with demonic forces
working through them, which most time our human opponents don’t realize
they are being influenced against us. Jesus intercede for those who put
Him to death because He understood they did not really understand who He
was (Luke
23:34) and His example
was followed by Stephen when he prayed for his executioners (Acts
7:60) and should be followed by us today to intercede for our
enemy’s (Matthew 5:43-48).
Paul told the
Corinthian believers that the weapons of our warfare are not the weapons
of this world but God’s mighty weapons of praise, prayer and proclaiming
His Word (II Corinthians 10:3). Paul used the
image of the fortress that sat on a hill 1, 857 feet high over looking
ancient Corinth, to illustrate the spiritual warfare that we are engaged
in. He said with the weapons of God we are able to destroy spiritual
strongholds, cast down spiritual towers, and take spiritual captives. He
goes on to explain what the spiritual strongholds, towers and captives
are; they represent the inside and outside arguments, thoughts, plans,
rationalizations that oppose our knowledge of God and our obedience to
Christ (II Corinthians 10:4-6).
See our fight is
against our old nature and the war that rages on within us, is against the
flesh and the spirit of man (Romans 7:14-25).
Paul gave us his strategy, and he was successful, which was to discipline
his body and bring it into subjection (I Corinthians 9:24-27)
and James tells us if we can tame our tongue we can tame our entire body (James
3:2). It is through the weapons and tools of continually praise,
prayer and proclaiming God’s Word that we will have power over the works
of darkness (Luke 10:19-20).
II Chronicles 20:20-27
“…they began to sing and to praise, the
Lord set ambushes against there enemies…”
This testimony in
Chronicles has to be one of my all time favorite accounts of God
delivering His people from the hands of their enemies. It begins with
King Jehoshaphat (unsure of what to do) recalling God’s goodness toward
His people in delivering them from their enemies, as 3 or 4 armies were
coming to battle against them (II Chronicles 20:1-13).
Scripture records
the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel, who was a member of the Asaph
division of the Levites (I Chronicles 6:39)
and was most likely a musician, told them not to be afraid for the battle
was not theirs it was the Lords. He told them they would not have to
fight in this battle, but they appointed singers and musicians to go
before the army singing to the Lord, and praising the beauty of His
holiness (II Chronicles 20:14-21).
Before the army of
Judah (the army of praise) could even get to the battle field, the enemy
armies begin to fight against themselves until they were utterly defeated
and destroyed. See we need to know and understand that whenever we offer
up the sacrifice of praise, our battles God will fight and the outcome
will be certain (II Chronicle 20:22-27).
Psalm 22:3
“…God you are holy, enthroned in the
praises of Israel…”
As you dedicate
time and space to push forward in life, love and the liberty you have in
Christ Jesus, always remember God sits in the midst of those that will
offer to Him the sacrifice of praise. Always remember God has given us a
great collection of poems, prayers and praise to instruct us as it
concerns our worship of God through singing and music. The studying of
the Psalms will help bring understanding and clarity to the importance and
purpose of worship in a believer’s life. Praise and worship should become
a natural response with those of us who have been cleansed by God’s grace
and renewed by His Spirit and God should always be the audience of our
worship (Psalm 34:1-3).
Acts 16:25-28
“…at midnight Paul and Silas were
praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to
them…
Several great
things happened in the account of Paul and Silas offering up the sacrifice
of praise in the midst of being in prison. There praise caused God to
move the foundation of the prison and open all the doors, but what I
thought was the sweetest thing was it says the prisoners were listening to
them. The word listen in the Greek means “to listen with
pleasure,” as if listening to beautiful music that soothes the savage
beast within.
One can see,
through the testimony of scripture, that singing songs and playing music,
in personal and corporate worship play many important roles. The use of
singing and music in praise and worship become like a forerunner, making
our pathway straight as we enter into God’s presence (Isaiah 40:3).
Music in our
personal devotion and corporate worship breaks up the stony places of the
hard hearted, for the Word to be planted and also it invokes the presence
of the Lord to move in our heart and the worship service to meet the needs
of His people. Praise, Prayer and Proclaiming God’s Word are the most
powerful spiritual weapons we have and when we continually offer up the
sacrifice of praise God will cause us to walk in victory and abundant life
(Joshua 6:1-20; 5:13-15).
Epilogue
His Kingdom, His Power & His Glory
Matthew 6:7-13
“…Yours is the Kingdom and the Power
and the…”
As we bring our
gifts and sacrifices for the building of God’s Kingdom we must never lose
focus of Him. In Matthew 6 Jesus teaches on the importance
of our motives when praying. For our motives will determine our method
(the habitual practice of orderliness and regularity) and most believers
don’t realize the importance of order in prayer, praise and proclaiming
God’s Word (Psalms 100:4; I Corinthians 14:40).
Remember through
prayer we come boldly before the THRONE of God and in the Old Testament
the priest had an order they had to follow when entering into the Temple
(Presence of God). We must never forget God is the First and the Last,
Alpha and Omega and all things in between. All things are about Him, for
Him and through Him so everything we bring and do to build up the Kingdom
must be to accomplish His will, doing it His way and
according to His Word (Colossians 1:16-19).
God’s will is for
the earth and her people be restored back to Him. His way is by
sacrificial love and service and His Word is seen and fulfilled in the
Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ (John 3:16).
As we are building we must always check our motives for God warns the
heart is devious and no man can know what lies in the chambers of his
heart (Jeremiah 17:9-10). We must be sure our motive is
MINISTRY NOT MONEY AND NOT MAN!!! Let it not be said we have built
anything on the foundation of Jesus and it not be about serving God
through serving the needs of others.
Let’s not be
deceived and distracted by the LOVE OF MONEY (I Timothy 6:10)
and APPROVAL OF MAN (Matthew 6:5)!!! Not only do we need to
check why we are praying and praising; building ministries and business,
we must check WHAT we build and if it doesn’t GLORIFY GOD, EDIFY HIS
PEOPLE and REPLENISH THE EARTH WITH HIS GOODNESS it not for God. More
importantly we need to check HOW we are building upon the foundation of
Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 3:9-15).
The Lord said we
are to come to Him and learn of Him and He said He is MEEK and LOWLY. If
we are not humbling ourselves through sacrificial service to others, the
gifts and sacrifices being offered are not being offered to God. If we
are not willing to become everything to everyone, then it is not the
Ministry of Christ (Matthew 11:28-30).
As we are praying
for God to use us to create ministries and business to build up His
Kingdom, we must not forget Christ’s teaching about the motives and method
of our prayers. He says the Kingdom we are building belongs
to God, the Power we use to build belongs to God and the
Glory that is and will be revealed belongs to God and He
promised if we would seek first the Kingdom then everything else will be
added to us (Matthew 6:33).
Peace & Blessings,
Brother Caleb
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