The Word of the Lord to His people:
"Yea, dearly Beloved, I have drawn you together in this hour that you might indeed learn of Me. I have set you in a time frame of great and mighty glories that are scheduled to take place in this final day. I've called you from the highways and the byways and the hedges. Sometimes you have chosen to lag behind. Sometimes your ear has been dull and your senses not alert to what I have spoken to your heart, but yea, I continue to call you for I am calling My messengers to My message. I am equipping you for this very day that you might do exploits in My Name. I am weaving into the very fiber of your being, if I could express it that way, the wisdom and knowledge that I have come to set you free. I'm giving you a life, yea, that is out of death. I've given you time to understand and know its quality. I've written a Word so indelible into the framework of My plan that you will know the truth because My Truth shall surely set you free. So now I say unto you, bestir yourself and shake yourself like one who would shake her skirts to shake out the things that would attach themselves to you to hold you back. I say unto you, be mindful of what you give yourself to for this is a day when the enemy comes like a false face. He comes in great deception. He comes to try to pull you in to areas where you are deaf, where struggles are hard and wrestling is a great and mighty battle. For yea, I say unto you, what I have allowed I have allowed the wrestling of this day brings the Divine Order into your life. I schedule you to know that you wrestle unto victory. You wrestle and your opponent is the death realm, satan, the devil and all that is equipped in him. I say unto you, I have equipped you that as you wrestle, you wrestle unto victory for in this hour, My hand is outstretched and My people are encouraged. I brought you out to bring you in. I've set your feet in a large place. Scarcely have you even scaled the height or scratched the surface of the truth for My Word in you will cause you to stand against every fiery dart of the evil one. Yea, I strengthen your being in truth, like a tonic vitamin to bless your body in the natural. I, the Lord, bring you into such a time that you will be strengthened in your inner man. Your spiritual being will stretch the muscles of authority, dominion and discipline, and yea, you shall walk out this victory in such a time as this. So let your eyes be looking unto Me, saith the Lord. Let your ears be cautioned to the sound of the trumpet, the last day, the calling of the Lord. The sound to come out of the harlot system of the death realm and be ye separate. For yea, I come quickly, saith the Lord, and I make sure My house. Yea, those that dwell in Me shall know the sound of the battle cry, the victory march, coming into the Truth, saith the Lord. There is a sound that the world will tremble when they hear the victory of My choice one as they shout unto the glory of God. What I have spoken unto you, ponder in your heart. Let it be a light, expectant illumination, drawing you closer. Be encouraged in the knowledge that your battle is Mine and what you thought was devastation, is Me calling you forth to come on. Yea, I have rung things from your hand in the past that you thought you had to have. I have called you by name to set you in such a day as this so that your glory in Me is satisfied in the Truth of the resurrection power. Your life is hidden in My Word, for yea, I cover you in the time of transgression. I cause your bruise to be healed, and I cause you to stand as children, as a people, My family, saith the Lord, who shall know Me from the smallest to the greatest of it, joined unto Me, saith the Lord."
The twelve sons of Israel each had a name that expressed their image and fleshly characteristics. Revelation 7:4 says, "Out of every tribe of the sons of Israel; there were a hundred and forty-four thousand sealed." One hundred forty-four is twelve times twelve. Twelve is the number of God's discipleship, His Divine government and completeness. Therefore, twelve times twelve speaks of fullness. The work has been done.
Twelve thousand were sealed from each of the tribes:
1. Reuben means, "behold a son." We cannot look any more at the images of this world and the gods of paganism and their unclean practices. We must look to THE SON.
2. Zebulun means, "dwelling in," symbolic of the fullness of dwelling in the Lord. Not resting Monday through Saturday, but living in the Spirit daily.
3. Simeon means, "he who hears" the truth and obeys.
4. Napthali means, "wrestling, struggling unto victory." We are going to win the battle in this last day.
5. Judah means, "praise," giving glory and honor to our God.
6. Asher means, "happiness." There is a joy in living out the fullness of who you are in Jesus.
7. Joseph means, "increase." We are going to increase in the things of God.
8. Issachar means, "rewarded." There is a reward for him who overcomes. "He who overcomes and is victorious, I will make him a pillar in the sanctuary of my God and he shall never be put out of it or go out of it, and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem which descends from My God out of heaven, and My own new name. (Revelation 3:12)
9. Manasseh means, "forgetting the toil of my father's house." The sin from generations passed will no longer be a bruise in our flesh man.
10. Benjamin means, "Son of the right hand."
11. Gad means, "a troop." God's army will be victorious over the world.
12. Levi means, "joined" together as a royal race, a holy priesthood.
These twelve tribes were the fostering generation of Jesus Christ in this last day. They were the lineage of Joseph, who protected and nurtured Jesus as He grew up before the Lord as a tender plant, like a root out of the dry ground. Jesus Christ, the only begotten of the Father. The table of shewbread, also called the bread of the face, had a loaf of bread for each tribe it. This was the expression of Jesus Christ's humanity in the glory of the characteristics of the twelve tribes, the family of God.
The process of flour making explained the humanity of Jesus. The pounding and blending preparation after the wheat has fallen to the threshing floor and had been winnowed. In that process of gathering and making the bread, we begin to realize the glory the Lord has prepared, joining together a many-membered Body. Twelve fresh loaves were placed on the table every Sabbath, or every seven days, symbolic of the finished and completed work of God. Flour, baked in the oven, prepared to be set before the Lord. Bringing together twelve nations of people whom the Lord would entrust to foster His only begotten Son. In the perfection of His glory, He would' set free every person who would receive and believe His name and message.
The sons of Israel never drove all the enemies out. They cohabited and lifted up the high places, worshiped idols, and became paganistic in the land of promise. We are living in a day when this cup of idolatry is full to the brim. However, God is calling a Levitical priesthood company to usher in the Body.
The priesthood is being all you can be for the Lord. It is understanding the richness of God's plan as He separated unto Himself ministers who would minister unto Him and unto His people. The word priest in the Hebrew means, "one who is officiated, to meditate, to draw near, one who stands for another and meditates in his cause." The priests were to come from the tribe of Levi, meaning "joined, to be fastened to, to be devoted to, to be attached to, to be united or to be knotted." Levi is being joined unto the Father as with the heirs of Jesus Christ. This speaks of unity and oneness between us and the Lord.
When Levi was born, I am sure Leah was thinking as she named him, "Now I am joined to my husband because I have produced him a son." She longed for the Divine Order, and the joining and knitting together with her husband.
Jesus Christ is symbolic of that heavenly Levi or royal priesthood. He is the Son of God, the Priest and King. He is all we need. He is our Mediator, Advocate and the Author and Finisher of our faith. Jesus is the reigning Monarch whenever one who is born to be a King. He is sovereign in His dominion. No other dominion, power, or principality can usurp the authority of Almighty God. That is exciting because we know Jesus has given us His inheritance. What He is, so are we. We are being made ready into that glorious priesthood. Jesus, our heavenly Levi, stands between heaven and earth and between God. As His Bride, in that union of being in Him, we are being blessed because God's plan is working in this hour.
Exodus 19:1-6 says, "In the third month after the Israelites left the land of Egypt, the same day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. When they had departed from Rephidim and had come to the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped there before the mountain. And Moses went up to God and the Lord called to him out of the mountain, "Say this to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will obey my voice in truth and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own peculiar possession and treasure from among and above all peoples; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation [consecrated, set apart to the worship of God]. These are the words you shall speak to the Israelites." With our spiritual glasses on, we realize that we are that kingdom of priests whom God is grooming in this last day. The Lord has called out a people who are chosen out of this earthly order. We are birthed a new generation man, a last Adam, so the image and likeness of Jesus Christ is seen in each of us. We are all changing and we are being changed to become like Jesus.
This is a great and mighty calling. The ministry of the priesthood today is going through deliverance and being set free. It is breaking the bondages and chains of this flesh manifestation that has caused us to be visited with the bloodline bondages of generations past.
There are conditions that must be met and understood in our being for this last day. We look at the shadow and type of Israel leaving Egypt and we see ourselves in the sin principle. We see the birthing process as we were born again through the covenant blood of Jesus Christ. Like Egypt, which means "bondage," we were bound in our trespasses and sin. Like a word picture to humanity, we begin to see this awesome wilderness that every one of us is groping through.
There are circumstances, crisis, and situations that take up our time, that must be addressed. We can no longer look in the other direction and think things in this natural realm will matter. We must overcome every obstacle of this death realm and live in God's eternal purpose, which is life out of death. Out of death, life has begun and we are that life in this earth. We are the pattern, the example, the dwelling place of Jesus Christ and He doth make His abode in the midst of His people.
We begin to understand this priestly calling as we examine God's purpose in this last day. He has called us to minister to His Body, just as the priests in the Old Testament were to minister unto Him. The conditions have not changed. The Lord said in Exodus 19:5, "If you will obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you will be My own peculiar possession." It is only as we meet God's conditions that we become "a kingdom of priests," as Exodus 19:6 says.
Beloved, the world does not know anything about you. You have been bought with the price of the blood of Jesus. To try to turn around and go back into that death realm and think you would be at home is folly. We belong to Jesus. We have been born of the Spirit and we are the possession and treasure of God. He comes to dwell in the midst of this human containment.
Continuing in verse six, "You shall be to Me (to the Lord), a kingdom of priests, a holy nation [consecrated, set apart to the worship of God]." When we worship the Lord, we are dedicating and giving ourselves unto Him as kingdom priests do. We too will realize the blessings of worship as we give ourselves unto the Lord.
Isaiah 61:4-6 says, "They shall rebuild the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations and renew the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. Aliens shall stand [ready] and feed your flocks, and foreigners shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers; but you shall be called the priests of the Lord; people will speak of you as the ministers of our God. You shall eat the wealth of the nations, and the glory [once that of your captors] shall be yours." These priests of the Lord will have the Spirit of the Lord upon them because, as verse one of this same chapter says, "the Lord has anointed and qualified me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up and heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the [physical and spiritual] captives, and the opening of the prison and the eyes to those who are bound..."
Continuing in Isaiah 61:7, "For your [former] shame you shall have a twofold recompense; instead of dishonor and reproach your people shall rejoice in their portion..." The priests received a portion of the sacrifice and waved it before the Lord as an acceptance, a sweet savor, a blessing of God, and in recognition the Lord has fed His people.
We have been eating this Lamb for two thousand years. His Name is Jesus. That Lamb Light that comes forth from the sacrifice covenant has been changing humanity in every generation. We have been chosen a generation to stand in the equipment of kings and priests. You and I, in this latter day, will do exploits in the Name of the Lord.
We are pulling down strongholds, breaking up mixtures, and casting out demonic forces that have been rulers in our life that have tried to keep the priesthood ministry from flowing in our life. We have been swallowed up by many circumstances that have bruised us until we could not see, hear, understand, or know this priesthood anointing. God has this priesthood anointing ready for the vessels that have washed themselves and made themselves ready to contain the glory of God. The Word says in verse seven, "Therefore in their land they shall possess double [what they had forfeited]; everlasting joy shall be theirs."
Jeremiah 6:16 says, "Thus says the Lord, Stand by the roads and look, and ask for the eternal paths, where is the good, old way; then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls." This is a day when we must commit ourselves to the plan of God, like the highway of holiness, and "ask for the eternal paths." We must ask the Lord to show us what He wants. Serving the Lord is not a guessing game, or hoping we will hang on till the end. If we stand, look and ask, we will find rest for our soul. However, the rest of the verse says, "But they said, We will not walk in it!"
We are living in a generation with a church system of people who are not willing to walk in the pathway of the just. They are not willing to stand and expect God. They will not let the Lord order their lives in His covenant presence. They are not willing to look at the eternal. Eternal means, "to know God and His tasks in this earth. " We are going to stand, look, and ask, if we are to be a kingdom of priests unto the Lord.
Revelation 1:5-6 says, "And from Jesus Christ the faithful and trustworthy Witness, the First-born of the dead [that is, first to be brought back to life] and the Prince (Ruler) of the kings of the earth." That tells me that the old death realm we have walked in, where the tangible man of sense and feeling has thought, is ripe to disappear. Why? Because Jesus Christ, the first-born of the dead is bringing this last Adam man out of this death realm. That is you and me, praise God!
"To Him Who ever loves us and has once [for all] loosed and freed us from our sins by His own blood, and formed us into a kingdom [a royal race], priests to His God and Father..." This is what is happening today. He is forming us into this kingdom priesthood by causing us to understand, we are separated from the world and we have been bought with the price of the blood of Jesus. When we go through deliverance and get set free, we become Kings and priests. Deliverance for us is coming before the Lord to wash ourselves as the priest had to do before they could enter the presence of the Lord. Ex. 29:35-37.
The priests were all members of Aaron's family. Aaron was the first high priest and he was succeeded by his son and so on, generation after generation. Only one high priest held the office at a time. The only reason for the change was his death.
Exodus 28:1 says, "From among the Israelites take your brother Aaron and his sons with him, that he may minister to Me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, Aaron's sons." The meanings of Aaron and his son's names show the use of the five-fold ministry necessary to bring forth this office of the priesthood.
1. Aaron means, "the light bringer." He was like the apostle ministry, showing forth the Truth of God.
2. Nadab means, "the willing one." He was like the prophet who was willing to be used of the Lord.
3. Abihu means, "God is Father." He is like the evangelist who brings the ministry of father nurturing and understanding and growth as a father looks at his children for growth and maturing.
4. Eleazar means, "God is helper," like the pastor who is always aware of the needs of his people. He is not seeking his own, or building up kingdoms. He is always willing to pour out, to help the people, so they can stand.
5. Ithamar means, "the land of the palms." The palm tree is symbolic of victory. It grows successfully in very dry places because it has the ability to put its roots deep enough to find the hidden springs of water. This is the teacher who is rooted in the Truth of the Word of God.
This precious anointing of the high priest cannot be handled loosely. When Moses was commanded to anoint Aaron and his sons for the priesthood, the Word says, "They stood before the congregation and Moses washed them." Nothing in the natural realm could keep them from being prepared to minister to the Lord.
We do not want people to see us as we really are. We do not want them to see that we have a mole, or any other imperfections. We would not want to have to stand up and get washed before the people before we could minister unto the Lord, but the priests did. The priests were washed in the brazen laver, which was made out of brass. The looking glasses of the women of Israeli were used so there 'would be a reflection as the priests washed themselves. Not only did everybody see this washing, or cleansing, of making themselves ready to serve the Lord, but the priests got a glimpse of themselves also.
We see this in the natural, but let's think on this in the Spirit. In the Spirit, they would not have wanted any other experience other than the cleansing and making themselves ready to minister before the Lord. They would not want to stand before the Lord with any part unattended to that would interfere with coming into the great and final glory of the Lord that would be revealed. We are being formed into this kingdom, this royal race of priests, and "to Him Jesus be the glory and the power and the majesty and the dominion throughout the ages and forever and ever. Amen, so be it."
We must stop thinking of the kingdom of God with our natural comprehension of sense and reason: We must begin to think of the kingdom priesthood of our God by the Spirit, in the Spirit, and through the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Ghost. Let Jesus write His Word upon your heart so you know God has prepared in this last day, a kingdom, a royal race, a people who are ready to rejoice through the ages of eternal glory. Let 'us not depart in any measure from what the Lord would speak unto us and miss so great a glory.
What is happening in this separating? We are getting honest before the Lord. That is like Aaron and his sons being washed before the congregation. 'We stop letting pride keep us from getting ready. We stop letting our dignity keep us from doing what God wants to do in our life. We stop letting our flesh man control our thinking, how pious, religious, clean, and pure we are. No, we get ready before the Lord by being washed, cleansed, and made ready to be a priest and king "throughout the ages and forever and ever. Amen, so be it."
Hebrews 7:21-24 says, "For those who formerly became priests received their office without its being confirmed by the taking of an oath by God, but this One was designated and addressed and saluted with an oath. The Lord has sworn and will not regret it or change His mind. You are a Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. In keeping with [the oath's greater strength and force], Jesus has become the Guarantee of a better (stronger) agreement - a more excellent and more advantageous covenant. [Again, the former successive line of priests] was made up of many, because they were each prevented by death from continuing [perpetually in office]; but He holds His priesthood unchangeably because He lives on forever."
We are kings and priests after the order of Melchizedek. He was the King of Salem, which means "peace." He was the King of Righteousness and the priest of the Most High God. Understanding his order and rank, we understand this guarantee of Jesus Christ, a better and more excellent covenant.
Psalms 110:3 says, "Your people will offer themselves willingly in the day of Your power, in the beauty of holiness and in holy array out of the womb of the morning; to You will spring forth Your young men who are as the dew." As we come unto the Lord and make our commitment unto Him, we come seeking His Truth so we might be all He intended us to be. We are not talking about preachers and people who stand in pulpits and speak to the Body, even though they are included. We are talking about the perpetual office of the priesthood that has been bequeathed to us as the joint heirs of Jesus Christ. How do we know this to be true? Romans 8:14 says, "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God." The leadership of the Holy Spirit, that sonship confirmation, is given unto us.
To be like Jesus and to have that priesthood authority, we are realizing there is a call for holiness in the vessel of each one of us. To be like Jesus is to turn away from the powers and controls of the world that would take our time and rule our day. These things only bring us to defeat and manipulation through the power of the death realm. Jesus has given us the authority of His Name to come into that glorious inheritance so we can be made into His image and His likeness.
Changes are taking place. His Name is in affect and we are commanding our being to His attention. In His Name we are casting out devils and commanding our being to line up with His Word. The changes that are taking place are producing a whole nation, a priesthood, a glory in this last day.
Beloved, the world is waxing worse and destruction is on every hand. This is only going to get worse before it gets better, but there is a Body that God is grooming for this last day. God has not changed His plan. He is calling a people out of death to live in Him, forever in a priestly glory and holiness unto Him who owe their life, in the kingdom, to the Lord God Almighty.
There is a great gulf between us and the world. The things of the world will grow dimmer and dimmer. Out there, the powers and struggles of the death realm will not have any part in the Body of Christ. Beloved, we will pass the test. As this dust man lines up with the Glory of the Spirit life that lives forever, the changing and the renewing of glory in the Truth of the Word of God will bring forth victory in our lives. We will walk in a victory that is like the sound of the trumpet, the certain sound in the land today. There is a people that know that their life is hidden in Christ. There is no drawing, or pulling of the world. The Lord God has given a people a chance of entering into that Holy Place to minister unto Him.
I Peter 2:2-5 says, "Like newborn babies you should crave thirst for, earnestly desire - the pure (unadulterated) spiritual milk, that by it you may be nurtured and grow unto [completed] salvation; since you have [already] tasted the goodness and kindness of the Lord. Come to Him [then, to that] Living Stone which men tried and threw away, but which is chosen [and] precious in God's sight. [Come] and as living stones be yourselves built [into] a spiritual house, for a holy (dedicated, consecrated) priesthood, to offer up [those] spiritual sacrifices [that are] acceptable and well pleasing to God through Jesus Christ." As priests, we come to the Lord to praise, honor, and magnify His name. We come to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. We come into His presence to hold nothing back, like one who would stand naked before the Lord. We would not hold back our words of praise and adoration of Him. We come in that moment of priestly authority, giving ourselves unto the Lord, Jesus Christ.
Jesus is our example, our pattern, God's plumbline. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Our desires are to be pleasing unto the Lord. There should be nothing in us that would have to be tested because we had not met the requirements of the priesthood of His kingdom. We are the heirs of salvation, joint heirs with Jesus Christ, living stones to a hurt and dying world.
In Zechariah-6:12, Zechariah burst into the realm where the Word was stored. He saw visions and marveled at the mysteries and secrets that were waiting to come into this earth, but were not yet ready to be revealed to the mind of man. God's covenant was preparing just such a people. The charge was given to Zechariah, "And say to him, Thus says the Lord of hosts: [You, Joshua] behold - look at, keep in sight, watch the Man [the Messiah] whose name is the Branch; for He shall grow up in His place, and He shall build the [true] temple of the Lord." That is what we do when we study the Word and get deliverance. We have been overcoming the satanic forces that have bruised, maimed, torn, and misshapened our being in this last day. These things have caused us to be out of step with the kingdom glory - a nation of priests before the Lord.
This kingdom of priests will enter into that covenant glory and know that as a living stone we are part of the true tabernacle, the Branch, the Messiah. God has come to build the true church in this last day. We are to be a living example. We are the dwelling place of the Most High God and he doth come to rule and reign in us, His treasures in earthly form.
The Word of the Lord to His people:
For the Lord has called you out and He doth set you in a place of great and mighty learning in this hour. He has caused you to recognize what is precious and what is vile. He has given you a vision. It is a containment of what He would do in this last day as you come boldly before His throne and address Him as King, Lord, Savior. He has emancipated. He has set free a people, heirs of Kingdom Glory, heirs of the throne of God, joint heirs of Jesus Christ.
The authority, dominion, and rulership of Jesus Christ is in you and me. What you do with it is very, very important. You cannot continue to be that same old hum drum that you were yesterday, or the day before, or the day before that. You cannot neglect your time in the presence of the Lord. You run to and fro and keep yourself so busy that you do not have time to praise and magnify Jesus. Beloved, this cannot happen anymore. We are on the countdown of the coming of the Lord. Gross darkness and abominations are upon us. We live in a day of sorrow and we see woe on every hand approaching.
Something mighty is stirring. Something wonderful is about to take place. There are changes taking place in this last day. You cannot sit by and let it pass on unattended to any longer. This is a quick work. The Name of Jesus in your mouth pulls down the strongholds, commands the enemy to loose you. The name of Jesus in your mouth causes every abomination thrown from your pathway because you know how to worship as a priest and a king. We cannot let our days be stolen by letting the enemy come in like a flood and put all kinds of things in our pathway to take our attention.
We are living stones, being built up into a spiritual house. We were not an accident or a coincidence that just happened this way. God's plan is being fulfilled in this last day in you and me. Deliverance is God's simple, precious, wonderful plan that brings separation from the powers that have held us in death, so that we can qualify for this priestly calling. In the Name of Jesus, we are loosed to bloom forth in the fullness of the priesthood of the glory of God. A priestly kingdom and nation is brought forth that will stand and magnify the Lord.
Beloved, we are a chosen generation. You must remember that. You are not an accident going somewhere to happen. You did not just happen to stumble into this understanding. You did not just happen to become discontent in all the orchestration of the signs of the time and the churchianity that is going on in this day. No, you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood. God has given you the authority and dominion of Almighty God to command creation to be set free. God is equipping and has equipped us for this last day.
We are peculiar, as far as the world is concerned. We are not going to look into that gray faced power of the death realm any longer. We have been chosen, out of death, into life so we might live forever in Jesus Christ, a royal priesthood.
Zechariah said in verse twelve of chapter six, that we are to "look at, keep in sight, watch - the Man [the Messiah] whose name is the Branch; for He shall grow up in His place, and He shall build the [true] temple of the Lord." This temple is not made of brick and stone. This is not a high building with many towers, but this is THE TEMPLE. Beloved, God has chosen you and me to be His temple. He knows all the faults, weaknesses, and things we have fallen err to. He knows every stumble, hurt, pain, and wound we have been through. But Beloved, He also knows the power of His Son's perfect blood and His covenant promise to you and me as the joint heirs with Jesus Christ. We have been designed to rule and reign with Him. We must understand that, in order to understand this priesthood the Lord has called us to.
Matthew 21:42-43 says, "Jesus asked them, Have you never read in the Scriptures, the very Stone which the builders rejected and threw away has become the Cornerstone; this was the Lord's doings, and it is marvelous in our eyes? I tell you, for this reason the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce the fruits of it." In the Name of Jesus, this perpetual kingdom of glory, this priesthood covenant anointing, is bringing a realization of the fruited nature of the overcomer who is living in the Spirit as the sons of God. This first fruit company who are the joint heirs with Jesus Christ are a holy nation, a consecrated people, a royal race, and a kingdom of priests.
Continuing in verse forty-four, "And whoever falls on this Stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed to powder, and it will winnow him, scattering him as dust." We must understand that we are not going to stay that same old proud flesh man. When I see a person going through a crisis with hurt, pain, and tears, I get ready to shout because I know God is molding and making a son. He is calling you and separating you from the death realm, Beloved. I thank the Lord for the things He has wretched out of my hand that I thought I had to have. Praise God, He had something better in mind for me.
Beloved, when you can trust and have faith in the Word of God, He will bring forth a great and mighty time of glory priesthood understanding in your vessel. Our prayer should be, "Oh, Lord let there be nothing in me that You have to test." Jesus spoke to His disciples just before He went to Calvary. He said, "I will not talk much with your further, for the prince of this world cometh, but he hath noting in Me." Jesus is our priestly example. The washing of regeneration's perfect blood would make us His heir and therefore make this all possible.
This old flesh man with its generational bondages that has bruised and kept us captive and fettered us to the death realm, has got to go. We are not our own. We have been bought with the price of the blood of Jesus. Getting real with God and getting honest before Him is a requirement in this last day that cannot be neglected any longer. You cannot be half hearted in your service to the Lord. You cannot be careless in the way you handle His Word. The Word says we are a HOLY nation. The Word says that without holiness, we will not see the Lord. Beloved, I want to see Him as He is.
The Word says, "Whoever falls on this Stone will be scattered as dust." This old dust man is ripe to disappear. All our hurts and preconceived ideas of what we have got to be like will be "crushed to powder." There is a crushing process, a process of overcoming that is sweet, wonderful and glorious. You have to stop being afraid of the fire and get in the refining process. In the tangible realm, we are afraid because it burns. By the Spirit, we are delivered and set free and the glory of God is revealed.
Beloved, we must submit to that winnowing process in our life. Revelation 14:15 says, "the crop is fully ripened." This great and mighty angel stood and put his sickle into the wheat and there was a great and mighty mowing down. The tares have grown up right beside us and we thought they belonged. Every one of us have been full of the mischief of the death realm. We have given ourselves to that darnel consciousness over and over, but we have been called to the threshing floor, Beloved. We have been called to that winnowing process, and when it is finished, we are going to be like Jesus.
In Jesus' Name, the great commission will be fulfilled through us officiating as the High priest in the earth. This is done by asking the Lord to show us to us as we make our petitions before Him. We must not remain this way any longer. We must determine to come by seed birth unto Him, like that germinating process of the seed that falls into the ground and dies. This old death realm man that has controlled us for so long, must die. The Adamic nature of our bloodline namesake, must be dealt with.
Out of that death comes a birthing process and eternal life understanding. The glory of God is revealed in us. The seed of salvation nurtured is flourishing and growing up as a root out of dry ground, into a tender plant. A generation is emerging, a chosen race, a royal priesthood. The blood of Jesus has delivered and set free. The plan is working. We are a part of that plan because we are willing to be washed, cleansed, and made holy before the Lord so the King of Glory may come in.
When the King of Glory comes into His people, the glory of worship and praise can be real. It will not be false and full of vainglory, man pleasing, and just lip service. When we come into the presence of the Living God, we bring the sacrifice of our being, as a tabernacle that is holy unto Him.
According to Deuteronomy 10:8, there is a three-fold purpose in the priesthood. "At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister to Him, and to bless in His name, unto this day." In the tabernacle of Moses, the priests were to bear the ark and carry the covenant. Beloved, we are the covenant. We are the dwelling place of the covenant that will never change in our behalf. God has chosen ministry, not machinery. The church does not need another method, it needs the good news, the covenant gospel, the blood of Jesus Christ. Anyone could have picked up the ark and carried it in that day, but God chose a holy priesthood who were willing to serve the Lord. According to Isaiah 9:7, Luke 1:33, and John 3:1-17, the ark is a type of God's government.
The second purpose of the priesthood was to stand before the Lord and minister unto Him. (Exodus 28:1) God gave this commandment so man would minister unto Him. God made the high priest's garments, sacrifices and offerings sacred unto Him. God gave the glory and man responded by ministering unto Him. God gave Moses the anointing oil in Exodus 30:30 to be poured over Aaron. God also gave the understanding, the building and the equipping of the tabernacle into a kingdom of priests, a royal nation.
The Hebrew word for minister is SHARATH. It means, "to attend to as a worshiper." To minister unto the Lord means, "to attend unto the Lord as a worshiper, to contribute to His Body and provide service as a servant, to wait on the people and by doing so, to bless the Lord." So, the third purpose of the priesthood is to serve the Body.
The Tribe of Levi wore the priestly garments. Exodus 28:2 says, "And you shall make for Aaron your brother sacred garments [appointed official dress set apart for special holy services] for honor and beauty." The priests were not allowed to just run in there and do their own thing. Holy reverence is making yourself ready and meeting the qualifications of God before you enter in to minister unto Him. God selected the priests to minister unto Him, and He has not changed His plan. We are to minister unto Him as the Levitical priesthood today, and in the same manner.
The Levitical High priest wore the breastplate which contained twelve stones symbolic of the twelve tribes. Just as the twelve loaves laid on the table of shewbread, so too, the twelve stones adorned the breastplate of the priests. The breastplate was about nine inches or so, and it was tied with a blue ribbon. Also in the breastplate was the Urim and Thumin. These were stones that no one knows very much about. They were consulted to get the message, or the Word of God for the people.
Every stone was representative of a tribe. The gemstone for the tribe of Levi was the carbuncle, or as it is commonly called, the garnet. The garnet is a stone that is deep red in color. Right away our mind thinks it symbolizes the shed blood of Jesus who became our sacrifice. If we look in the natural at the process it takes to become a garnet, we will gain a fuller understanding of its spiritual meaning.
The garnet is formed under a scale of pressure over a period of time in the earth's surface. It takes time and pressure to make the stone transparent and illuminous. Through the pressures of time and force, this stone continues to change until it reaches the hardness of a nine. Then, and only then, is this stone transparent and precious. Just like this stone, we are being formed under the sensitivity of pressure. So many times we have said, "Boy, did I have a rough day." We have all had problems and pressures, but what the Lord is doing in shadows and types is symbolically forming a stone. This is a living stone that he will make transparent until the illumination of pure light will shine forth when it is exposed to the light.
The name garnet comes from a Latin word which means, "pomegranate." The skin of the pomegranate has an orange glow to it, speaking of the divine nature. When you open it up, there are hundreds of purple seeds with pulp over them. This is symbolic of the union, unity and the drawing of the Body of Christ together. The dictionary says the pomegranate has its origin in Babylon, but it was successfully transplanted, and grows well in Jerusalem. Praise God, can you see what the Lord is saying here? The pomegranate is a fruit that is closely related to the priesthood of being joined together in the union of being one in Christ Jesus. The many seeds, symbolic of fruitfulness or righteousness, make the use of the garnet stone for the tribe of Levi more understandable and beautiful. In that transparency, it is going to illumine the process that brings unity as we are joined together in Christ Jesus.
The pomegranate was on the hem of the priestly garments. A bell and a pomegranate were alternately embroidered on the skirt. The priest wore no sandals, because the Lord wanted him to understand that what he stepped on was holy. The purity of walking before the Lord is awesome. Like all the nerve endings built into the bottom of the foot, the priest would be conscious that he was ministering unto the Lord. God is calling forth His foot company of priests, in this last day, who will bring the Body of Christ in. We are this last day people, Beloved. We are ushering in the millennium. We are a many-membered Body. We are the joint heirs with Jesus Christ. He is the head and we are the Body.
When Jesus came, the law was ripe to disappear and the age of grace was ripe to appear. There was a thirty-three and a half year overlap, and His Name was Jesus. As the age of the millennium is ripe to appear in God's eternal plan, there is an overlap and His Name is Jesus, ministering through His many-membered Body. He is the head of His Body. We are the generation, as the joint heirs with Jesus Christ, who are ushering in the kingdom of glory. We are walking out in the holiness of that priestly understanding that we are ministers unto the Most High God.
We will meet the requirements that the laws of God set in motion so our being will be refreshed, cleansed, and holy before the Lord. When we come before the Lord, we must examine ourselves and hold nothing back. We will prostrate ourselves in His presence and deal with every circumstance that would cause our mind and heart to be weak and faint. When we come to do the ministry of the Lord, we come in holy boldness. We enter His throne room and command, in the Name of Jesus, those things that have bruised us, to loose us. The Word says that the Lord makes our enemies our footstool. There is a seated place in Him that has been prepared for us as "heirs of the Father."
Without feet, the priests could not walk. The same principle applies to you and me. We can begin to see the importance of the ministry of these last day priests. Just as the thumb print is an identity mark, so too, is the heel print. Before a baby leaves the hospital, their foot prints are placed on paper as an identity mark so no one can steal your baby. That identity mark assures you that baby belongs to you.
We have this identity mark on our feet and what is that old sly fox, the devil trying to do? He is trying to change our identity. Genesis 3:13-14 shows us this very thing. This is a conversation between the Lord and the beguiling that has come against Eve after she and Adam have eaten of the fruit. "And the Lord God said to the woman, What is this you have done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled (cheated, outwitted, and deceived) me, and I ate." That word beguiled means, "bewitched, deceived, divination." They were pulled into that divination power of the enemy.
Continuing in verse fourteen, "And the Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed above all [domestic] animals, and above every [wild] living thing of the field; upon your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust [and what it contains] all the days of your life." Now hear with ears what I am about to say. The Lord said to me; "Do you think that serpent disappeared when I cursed him to the dust of the ground?" And the Lord said, "No. What are you made out of?" I said, "Dust, Lord." He said, "Yes, do you see?" Can you see what the Lord was saying? That old beguiling, bewitching, cheating spirit has been coming after mankind through every generation.
What is satan trying to do? He wants to change our identity. The identity we have now through the blood of Jesus Christ makes us joint heirs and sons of God. That old sly fox, the devil, is trying to make us illegitimate. He is trying to make you think that you do not belong by trying to put curses upon you that separate you and me from the Truth.
The Lord said in verse fifteen, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring." Enmity is "ill will." "He (the woman's offspring) shall bruise and tread your head under foot, and you will lie in wait and bruise His heel." He is trying to change your identity because he does not want you to be known, even as you are known, by the Word. Satan wants that bruise to be seen.
To bruise, according to Webster's Dictionary, "is to injure without breaking the skin, to crush by pounding." Jesus Christ has fulfilled, through His victory over satan, this wonderful promise. The Hebrew word for bruise is AQUAB. The primary root, according to the Strong's Concordance means, "to seize by the heel." That is what the enemy is trying to do. He is trying to catch us unaware and change our identity by putting us through depression, frustration, hatred, and anger, generation after generation. Not understanding this, we have thought, "That's just the way I am. I'm just like my daddy, or mamma, or my Aunt Susie." Beloved, that may be the way it is, but you do not have to stay that way. We have the power, authority, and dominion of God's government in our life.
God's laws are our protection. When we are disciplined and obey the laws of God, we take on the identity of supernatural glory. We are going to march out as a sure-footed child of God in this last day and be victorious in this race that is set before us. We will do exploits, in the Mighty Name of Jesus.
A further meaning of the Hebrew word for bruise is "to seize by the heel as if tripping you up by the heels, to hold up by the heel." The enemy says, "See there, you are so full of these things from your generations past, and you will always be that way." He does not want you to know the power and authority of the Name of Jesus Christ in your mouth. This bruise causes a tripping sensation. It has another meaning, "to track, like the rear of an army." It is like an imprint left in the earth if you are walking, barefoot in the sand. It is like your personal characteristics being seen.
I was a Porter before I married, and my mother was a Manning. People that knew us, knew certain things about us because our generation man left an impression in the sand, so to speak. On the Manning side of the family, they were great singers and musicians. The Porter side of the family had an anger like you would not believe. They were full of superstitions, frustrations, and had all kinds of temper tantrums. So here I am, a mixture of all of this. I have the song of the Lord, yet I also got some of my daddy's bad temper, and Beloved, they do not go together. When I met Jesus, I found out I had to be like Him. I found out that Blanche cannot get it the way she is. Who has got to change? Blanche does. Why? Because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I am glad of that because when I command my being to be like Him, a holy priesthood, a kingdom of priests, answerable to God, and ministering unto Him, springs forth. Why? Because I am dealing with those bruises in my life, like the washing of water at the brazen altar. The anointing of the Holy Spirit is showing me to me. We have got to take "a bath," in this last day. Someone said, "The heat's on the feet," but I am saying, "The feet have got to get washed."
We are on the count down, Beloved. We are running a race. We are entering in to that Holy Place. We will bring in the Body, just the way God planned it, and right in the very second that He said it would be. The glorious part about all this is, you and I are going to be ready.
We have an identity mark, an impression left in this earth. Just like the serpent that crawls through the sand, it is a continuous mark. Every generation has their problems with the situations that the last generation never dealt with. We have received Jesus and we are a people who are understanding the mysteries and secrets in God's Word kept for this last day.
There is an unfolding, a revealing, an understanding of the power and dominion of His Word. That old serpent is laying in wait. He wants to change our identity. He does not want us to know and understand that we have the authority to bring in the Body, this last generation. There is a bruise left in this last generation. The skin has not been broken. You can still tell I am a Porter and a Manning, but Glory to God, if you look close, you are going to see Jesus. You are going to hear Him in my voice, and you are going to see Him in my actions because I am longing to be like Him. The identity of Jesus Christ is being seen in me because I keep saying, "Lord, be in me all You want to be."
There is some changing taking place. This man-child company is standing in the authority of the Name of Jesus Christ, casting out the defeated weaknesses of the personality bondages that has held us in the death realm of sense and feeling. You do not have to keep that bad temper. You do not have to walk in depression. Just because someone else in your family was weak-minded, you do not have to become that way. Because someone in your generation man died of cancer, you do not have to die of cancer. The Word says, "By His stripes, we are healed."
When you speak and command in His Name, that old sly fox, the devil, cannot change your identity. He cannot make you weak, clown trodden, depressed, and bruised with the identity of the death realm for long. We have the strength, the praise, and the joy of the Lord because the Word says, "we are joined unto Him." Taking the authority of the name of Jesus in your mouth as the kingdom priests, will bring deliverance in your vessel. No longer can we use the excuse, "Oh, that is my flesh."
The Lord wants us to know that the divination power that satan has so cleverly beguiled the world with, has no power in our life when we recognize and remove it, in the Name of Jesus. We no longer fall heir to that death realm any more. No matter how good it sounds, no matter how great the person is that people are worshiping and following, if it is not Jesus, you are going to fall short of His glory. Beloved, there are conditions that must be met for these great and mighty people who are joined together, to come forth in the power, authority, and dominion of "His dear Son."
God told Moses in Exodus 29:1, "This is what you shall do to consecrate - set them apart - that they may serve Me as priests. Take one young bull and two rams, all without blemish..." You could not go into the presence of the Lord and be disqualified because of areas in your life that were not ready. We are saved and we are being saved. Salvation means, "deliverance."
They were to take unleavened bread - no leaven in it, no uncleanness, no perversion. This bread is symbolic of the humanity of Jesus Christ. These unleavened cakes were mixed with oil, symbolic of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The cakes had to be made from "fine flour" that had been pounded so long that there was no identity of the kernel of wheat left. There will not be any big "I's" and little "U's" in this glorious company of people in this last day.
Continuing in verse three, "You shall put them in one basket and bring them in [it], and bring also the bull and the two rams; and bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tent of meeting [out where the laver is] and wash them with water." The laver was the brazen altar that was made out of the looking glasses of the women of Israel. The laver was made out of brass, symbolic of judgement. It was filled with water which they were to wash with. This is symbolic of "the washing of water by the Word," according to Ephesians 5:26.
Continuing in verse five, "Then take the garments, and put on Aaron the long and sleeved tunic and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the skillfully woven girding band of the ephod. And you shall put the turban or mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the turban. Then take the anointing oil, and pour it on his head and anoint him." Beloved, we cannot come and handle God's Word loosely in this last day. All of these areas were symbolic of obedience and discipline. This Levitical priesthood understanding of being joined together, must be in discipline and obedience before the Lord. We must be willing to cleanse our vessel, like the priests looking into the brazen altar. Jesus said it this way, "All matter of judgment has been given unto Me." How do we judge ourselves? By looking at the attributes of this glorious pattern set before us - Jesus, the pattern Son. We are commanding our being to line up with that patterned glory so that in Him we "might move and dwell and have our being" in this last day. As the washing of regeneration is taking place in our being, we are being washed, cleansed, and made holy before the Lord by judging ourselves by the pattern laid out before us.
All of the priest's garments were symbolic of the covering of Truth, the protection of God's Word and His blessings. The turban was made of white linen, symbolic of righteousness. Your mind cannot run after the things of the world and wear the righteousness of Truth. We cannot wear man's hats, so to speak and think we are going to have the blessings of God in our life. You cannot run with the world and expect the glory of God to fill your being.
The priests were anointed with the blood and the oil. This was the consecration to fill the hands with able ministry. The blood was sprinkled on the ear of the priest for his hearing (Psalms 40:6). The blood was put on his thumb, symbolic of service - the giving of the apostle. (Galatians 1:10) The blood was placed on the toe, symbolic of the consecrated walk and being led by the Spirit. Romans 8:14 says, "All who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God." Ephesians 4:1 says, "I therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to and beg you to walk (lead a life) worthy of the [divine] calling to which you have been called - with behavior that is a credit to the summons to God's service."
The Levitical priesthood had blood sprinkled on their garments, symbolic of the consecrated office. (I Timothy 1:5-9 and I Timothy 3) We are not going to be "a lone ranger." We are going to be a many-membered Body, joined together. That anointing is going to bring in the fullness of Jesus, as spoken of in Colossians 1:26-27. Can you see how great this calling is, Beloved?
Hebrews 5:1-6 says, "For every priest chosen from among men is appointed to act in behalf of men in things relating to God, to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to exercise gentleness and forbearance toward the ignorant and erring, since he himself also is liable to moral weakness and physical infirmity. And because of this he is obliged to offer for his own sins as well as for those of the people. Besides, one does not appropriate for himself the honor [of being high priest], but he is called by God and receives it of Him, just as Aaron did. So too Christ, the Messiah, did not exalt Himself to be made high priest, but was appointed and exalted by Him Who said to Him, You are My Son, today I have begotten You; As He says also in another place, You are a Priest [appointed] forever after the order (rank) of Melchizedek."
The call of God unto priestly ministry was evidenced in and by the anointing. (Luke 4:18, Acts 10:38, Hebrews 1:9) Jesus was Prophet, Priest and King and He is calling a covenant forth. Beloved, we cannot go any further until we have washed the moral filth and decay of this death realm out of our being. We do it in the Name of Jesus. He has already given us the authority of salvation, yet it is up to you and me to receive this authority.
Jacob's well was used to water the flocks of Israel for thousands of years. When Jesus sat down at that well, that was symbolic of the new generation to come, anointed with the living water of the Holy Spirit. So what do we do as this new generation? We put off that old man and put on the new, like the garments of salvation, and we begin to walk in the Spirit of Truth.
Romans 13:14 says, "But clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and make no provision for [indulging] the flesh..." We are commanded in Ephesians 6:11 to put on the whole armor of God. I Corinthians 15 tells us to put on immorality the garments of the priests. This speaks of being clothed with life - everlasting life, and living a life before the Lord.
These scriptures are talking about a people who are being made ready to live in the glory of His covenant promise. A people who are expecting victory, not defeat. A people who are going on with God because He stands in victory. This is a people who are looking, not at the natural circumstances, but at the supernatural power and glory as God opens and closes the doors and prepares our way. God has called us forth. When He speaks His Word, the changes that are needed in our vessel come.
We are not our own. We have been bought with the price of the blood of Jesus. He has no day by day necessities. We are in a weakened place when we are thinking in the realm of day by day necessities. "To whom much is given, much is required." You do not need a stock pile when you have an endless supply. God's hand has never failed. He never takes a prisoner, He always sets man free.
Jesus is our example of the priesthood in this last day. We are living in the eternity of the eternities. I John 3:2 says, "It doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is." Beloved, we are changing. Things we thought we had to have, we are finding they mean less and less in our day.
This priestly understanding of holiness, purity, perfection, and living in the Truth, requires us to deal with the frustrations and angers that belong to the death realm. In that realm, defeat, depression, and the powers that are there, seek to take over the mind. This is a day when seduction, beguilement, bewitchment, and counterfeits are being exposed. People are following after the signs and wonders, rather than the signs and wonders following after them. People are following men, rather than the Word that God has spoken.
The church knows little about what the Word says. In that soulish realm, the tangible realm of sense and feeling, they follow dying men, looking unto lying wonders and miracles that lead to defeat and divination destruction. The Lord has not changed His plans. It is still, by His stripes that we are healed. It is still, He was wounded for our transgressions. His wound has not stopped its affect. The bruise that He was bruised for because of our rebellion, has not changed His plan, His finished work. It still remains there for each of us, till this day.
Hebrews 7:27 says, "He has no day by day necessity, as [do each of these other] high priests, to offer sacrifice first of all for his own [personal] sins and then for those of the people; because He [met all the requirements] once for all when He brought Himself [as a sacrifice] which He offered up." That glory of priesthood understanding is given unto us, Beloved.
God has chosen, like the nation of Israel, a nation of priests. Israel means, "him who seeks or contends with God." God chose the tribe of Levi to be joined together in union with Him. God would give them cities and a part of the territory of the promised land so they might build up the people and offer the sacrifices of atonement.
Remember how they cleaned up the sanctuary after they had forgotten God? They had become so idolatrous; but when it came to Hezekiah's day, they began to clean out the Holy Place. Beloved, there are things in you and me, who, as that tabernacle of God, need to be removed in order to stand and minister before the Lord.
One time the Lord said to me, "Blanche, this junk has got to go. You cannot bring this junk in and sit in My throne room. It has got to go." Who has to change, Beloved? We do, if we are to stand before the Lord.
I Samuel 2:11 gives an account of the child Samuel, ministering before the Lord. "Elkanah and his wife Hannah returned to Ramah to his house. But the child ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest." So many times we come into a meeting where people gather in the name of the Lord, yet they are so full of discord, anxiety, frustration, and defeatism. We have been hurt and wounded by someone's words and it is difficult to put our mind on Jesus, much less to minister unto the Lord. Beloved, that is why the washing before we come into God's presence is so important. They washed their hands, for their service, and their feet, representative of their walk before the Lord. When the priest finished washing, he went into a closed chamber for seven days, the number of completion. There he prayed, repented and examined himself before the Lord. At the end of that time, he put on his priestly garments because he was ready to go in and make the sacrifices before the ark of the covenant. We are that holy nation of priests. Just like the priest of the Old Testament, we are dealing with ourselves by cleansing and making holy our being before the Lord.
In Exodus 28:3-4, God gave the commandment for the sacrifices and offering, symbolic of His covenant and the shed blood of Jesus. God always gave His glory to that sacrifice. When man met God's conditions, he met God. When you and I come in this last day as a nation of priests, we come and meet the Lord. He is changing us, winnowing us, perfecting us, and showing us our weaknesses.
In Exodus 29:43, God gave the glory. God gave the anointing oil and how it was to be fixed and kept in Exodus 30:30. Beginning in Numbers 3:31 and 18:2, God gave the articles for the tent of meeting where, in the presence of the Lord, the three-fold purpose of the priesthood could be walked out and every believer could have their place in the Lord.
We are going to minister unto the Lord in a place where we are seen. A place where the world is going to know that you have been cut out of that old death realm and given the power and glory of eternal life. This is a day of choices. It is like a path or a road. One road goes to Babylon, which means, "confusion." The other road goes to Jerusalem, which means, "the threshing floor of peace." The church is standing in the fork of the road and it is time to make choices.
In that Babylon, harlot system, there is a religious spirit of ritual. In Jerusalem is Mt. Zion, the highest point of that city. Yet, also in Jerusalem is the threshing floor. We come to Jerusalem and we make up our minds to lie down on that floor where the grains are poured out. Like the sickle put to the wheat, we are being gathered in, in this last day.
We are born out of death into life. We are a resurrection people and Jesus Christ is the first-born of the dead. He is the pattern and the example of resurrection. We stop living to die at the moment we receive Him and make Him, Lord. We begin to live in His eternal plan, ministering unto the Lord, a holy calling, a separation time, the priesthood of believers.
The church is like a man on a teeter totter. The death realm still has a lot of controls on us. We are still pulled by circumstances and symptoms that gratify our flesh man. There is something deep within us that is sweeping us into the glory of an excitement of searching out the things of God. There is something in our being that is not satisfied by where we are. We are saying, "I want more. I want to know what You are saying, Lord. I know You are coming soon."
There is an energy in the midst of every one of us that is the drawing of the ministry. To minister unto the Lord, to contribute unto Him, to make ready for His second coming. We must know what it is to wait on God and to serve Him in all of our being. To know that every circumstance will be settled and searching out what our priorities are. What are you giving yourself to? Who are you seeking to please? This is a condition of ministry that must be understood by the Body, today.
Mark 7:1-6 says, "Now there gathered together to (Jesus) the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, for they had seen that some of His disciples ate with common hands, that is, (with hands defiled and unhallowed, because) they had not [given them a ceremonial] washing. For the Pharisees and all of the Jews do not eat unless [merely for ceremonial reasons] they wash their hands (diligently up to the elbow) with clenched fist, adhering (carefully and faithfully) to the tradition of (practices and customs handed down to them by) their forefathers - to be observed. And [when they come] from the market place, they do no eat unless they purify themselves; and there are many other traditions - [that is] oral, man-made laws handed down to them, which they observe faithfully and diligently - washing of cups and wooden pitchers and wide mouthed jugs and utensils of copper and beds. And the Pharisees and scribes kept asking [Jesus], Why do Your disciples not order their way of living according to the tradition handed down by the forefathers to be observed, but eat with hands unwashed and ceremonially not purified? But He said to them, Excellently and truly - so that there will be no room for blame - did Isaiah prophesy of you, the pretenders and hypocrites, as it stands written: This people (constantly) honor Me with their lips, but their heart holds itself off and is far distant from Me."
To minister unto the Lord is not just lip service. It is not just going through the motions of what we think people expect of us when we gather together. To have that priestly anointing, there is a washing responsibility. We must make ourselves ready to contribute all of our being to the ministry of the meeting, as we come together before the Lord. We come, not in the traditions of men, but we come boldly before the throne room of God to lift up the Name of Jesus.
Acts 17:16 says, "Now while Paul was awaiting them at Athens, his spirit was grieved and roused to anger as he saw that the city was full of idols." Many are worshiping ignorantly. A lot of people go through a lot of forms and ritual, yet they do not know what they are doing. They just do it because everybody else seems to be doing it. To minister unto the Lord you cannot minister ignorantly. There is such a thing as soulish ministry and worship. This is when we worship with our will, or when we command our being to do what we think is the way it is suppose to be.
Colossians 2:19 says, "And not holding fast to the Head, from Whom the entire body, supplied and knit together by means of its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God." We cannot be a "one man band," or "do our own thing" and think we are going to have the blessings of God in our midst. A lot of people want God, but they want Him on their terms and that cannot continue. We have got to get honest before the Lord. We have got to get before Him and desire His way and learn of Him. The Word says, "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God."
So many people have succumbed to the different kinds of ministry that belong in the soulish realm. Beloved, God is calling a people to identify the soulish worship for what it really is. The soulish worship operates in the realm of divination, seduction, beguilement, and bewitchment so your mind and being can be held captive from the Truth of the Word of God.
Colossians 2:23 says, "Such [practices] have indeed the outward appearance [that popularly passes] for wisdom, in promoting self-imposed rigor of devotion and delight in self-humiliation and severity of discipline of the body, but they are of no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh - the lower nature. [Instead, they do not honor God] but serve only to indulge the flesh." There are a lot of people going on starvation diets and they are calling it fasting. Their motive and attitude in wrong. When you come to the Lord in holiness, your eye is single towards Him. Your entire thought is to please Him, to become like Him, and to do what He has for you in His way and in His time.
There is a bondage in the church that is causing the people to be anemic, or dwarf in their stature before the Lord. Such practices have got to be exposed. We need to ask the Lord to guide and direct our understanding and our thought processes. We do not want to make decisions that would hinder, bruise, or dwarf the body of believers. We are to bless the people and the Lord in our ministry to the Body.
Luke 24:50-51 says, "Then He conducted them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up His hands He invoked a blessing on them. And it occurred that while He was blessing them, He parted from them and was taken up into heaven." To bless in the Name of Jesus is to give ourselves in worship and praise. There is a lot of people labeling themselves a lot of things, but you will recognize the true priests by the anointing. When the Word of God is spoken, "signs will follow them that believe."
I Peter 2:4-9 says, "Come to Him [then, to that] Living Stone which men tried and threw away, but which is chosen [and] precious in God's sight. [Come] and as living stones be yourselves built [into] a spiritual house, for a holy (dedicated, consecrated) priesthood, to offer up [those] spiritual sacrifices [that are] acceptable and well-pleasing to God through Jesus Christ. For thus it stands in Scripture: Behold, I am laying in Zion a chosen, (honored,) precious chief Cornerstone; and he who believes in Him - who adheres to, trusts in and relies on Him shall never be disappointed or put to shame. To you then who believe - who adhere to, trust in and rely on Him - is the preciousness; but for those who disbelieve [it is true], The [very] Stone which the builder rejected has become the main Cornerstone, and a Stone that will cause stumbling and a Rock that will give [men] offense; they stumble because they disobey and disbelieve God's Word, as those [who reject Him] were destined (appointed) to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God's] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." The world is going to look for you, but they will not find you. What they are going to see is Jesus in you because we are a "special people."
In Isaiah 48:4, God is speaking to Jerusalem. He said, "You have been stiff necked and obstinate. You have gone your own way and you have been full of idolatry." Because of this, God said, "My wrath has been kindled against you.
Isaiah 48:18 says, "Oh, that you had hearkened to My commandments! Then your peace and prosperity would have been like a flowing river; and your righteousness [the holiness and purity of the nation] like the abundant waves of the sea." Beloved, God has conditions in His Word. We must "hearken unto His commandments" in order to receive His blessings. The same was true for the priests.
Leviticus 21:17-21 describes several things that would disqualify the priest from "coming within the veil," or "near the altar of incense." "Say to Aaron, Any one of your sons in their successive generations who has any blemish, let him not come near to offer the bread of his God. For no man who has a blemish shall approach [God's altar to serve as priest], a man blind or lame, or he who has a disfigured face or a limb too long, or who has a fractured foot or hand, or is a hunchback, or a dwarf, or has a defect in his eye, or has scurvy or itch, or scabs or skin trouble, or has damaged testicles; No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a blemish and is disfigured or deformed shall come near [the altar] to offer the offerings of the Lord by fire; he has a blemish; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God."
We are understanding now, when Gods' laws are broken, many things take place. When there is godlessness and faithlessness, Deuteronomy 28 tells us the results are sores that will not heal, blemishes, scabs, tumors, and all kinds of problems of sickness and disease. These blemishes are because of the sin principle in the generation man. Incest produces mental retardation in the seed that springs forth. If this mental derangement continues, there will be children born who have no hands or feet. We have all seen this before.
How can we say that these problems will disqualify a person for the priesthood? Because God's laws were broken in the generation and the blessings of God could not flow. It produced a blemish in humanity in that generation namesake.
The priests were to offer the bread, symbolic of the sinless Body of Christ that would be broken for us. They could not stand there in that blemished condition and offer what was perfect healing. It says in II Corinthians 11:28, when you take the holy sacraments of communion, you are to examine yourself. What do we examine ourselves by? We examine ourselves by the laws of God. The Word says when we do not examine ourselves, "That [careless and unworthy participation] is the reason many of you are weak and sickly, and quite enough of you are fallen into the sleep of death."
We are to be a generation delivered, which according to Matthew 15:26, is "the children's bread." In the Name of Jesus, we are casting out demons. We are being cleansed and made holy. We have received salvation and we are taking our salvation seriously because salvation means, "deliverance." We are commanding our being to the attention of Jesus, and in His Name, we are casting out those areas that have bruised our namesake. In Jesus' Name, we are delivered, cleansed, made whole, and made ready for this last day priestly glory.
Only the perfect blood of the Lamb can remove that taunt of the blemish of the death realm. That blemish is in each one of us because we "have sinned and come short of the glory of God." This sin principle has caused a lack of understanding of our liberty and freedom, and the fact that this curse of sin has bruised our identity. The curse of sin has pounded, crushed, and bruised our generation man, like a serpent crawling through the dust, the imprint is left in the earth.
"No man who has a blemish" could serve the Lord because at that alter where Jesus Christ would sprinkle His blood, that principle of sin would be dealt with, once and for all. When we believe in the work of Calvary, and the authority of His Name, we are set free. We are being set free. We are cleansing our tabernacle. We are His Body and we are being joined unto Him because the blemish and bruise has been exposed so we can put it under our feet. When we bruise the head of that serpent, he is no longer allowed to push and pound on us because we have understood our salvation.
We need to look more carefully at the things which disqualified a priest for service unto the Lord, and apply these things spiritually to our own life:
1. Blemishes - spotted with sin - Jude 1:23, Revelation 1:5-6, Hebrews 9:22.
2. Blindness - not born again, no vision - I Corinthians 4:4-6, Acts 26:18.
3. Lameness- an unsteady walk, not upright before the Lord - Hebrews 12:12-13, Ephesians 6:13-15.
4. A disfigured face, or a flat nose - no discernment, no ability to discern the things that need to be dealt with - Malachi 3:18, Matthew 16:3, Hebrews 5:14.
5. A limb too long - out of balance, being a see-saw Christian - Proverbs 11:1.
6. A broken hand or foot - spiritually disabled, unable to minister - Luke 9:62.
7. A crooked back, hunchback, or dwarf - perverted or twisted attitudes that cause spiritual deformity, stunted spiritual growth - II Corinthians 7:1, Luke 13:11, I Corinthians 3:1-3.
8. A blemish in the eye - no new revelation, looking at men or the enemy, rather than keeping eyes on Jesus.
9. Scurvy or itch - impulsiveness, reacting easily, moves in presumption, rather than faith, getting ahead of God.
10. Scabs or skin trouble - no covering or protection, easily offended, full of self pity, insecurity, and inferiority.
11. Damaged testicles - no power to reproduce, not able to bring forth, according to our kind, the glory of God in other people's lives.
God put linen britches on the priests so his nakedness would not be seen when he bent over to serve the Lord by presenting the sacrifices and ministering in the Holy of Holies. God had a plan. He meant everything He did and said to bring forth a maturity and a growing process in His people. None of man's reproductive ability could be seen because you cannot add anything to God's plan. Neither can you take away what God has ordered. We are going to do things God's ways.
Remember the two sons of Aaron that sent up strange fire, which was strange incense before the Lord? They got so excited. They thought they could improve on God's plan, but what happened? Immediately they were struck to death.
Beloved, corruption will not be a part of good flesh that is holy and cleansed before the Lord. There is a corruption in the church that has putrefied generation after generation. The seed of man is so full of guilt and uncleanness that he has a limit in his knowledge of the Word. The church is trying to "do his own thing," but that corruption will not bring forth anything but more corruption.
God is grooming a kingdom of priests who will stand in the holiness and the washing of regeneration. This is a people who will agree to cleanse themselves before the Lord and be delivered in the Name of Jesus by casting out devils and being healed. According to God's Word, they would pick up a serpent and it would not harm them. In the Name of Jesus, we must know that this is not a guessing game. This is not a time to lift up our own being. It is a time to seek and humble ourselves before the Lord so we will experience the joining of ourselves unto our Father. We are joined unto Jesus Christ as a many-membered Body and as the sons of God. Beloved, "all creation is waiting and standing on tiptoe to see the manifestation of these sons." Thank God for this end-time day when the people are being called to be that nation of priests and kings.
We give ourselves to You, Lord, so we might be changed into your glorious image. When we give ourselves to You, You give us Your glory. We march into this last day in a great and mighty victory because we have heard the Word of the Lord. Lord, we lay aside every weight that has beset us. We come for a washing. Wash it with Your Word, Lord. We realize this is a day of preparation so we may come into the priesthood You have called us to. Build Your true church, Lord. Come into the midst of our being to make us into those living stones, that heavenly tabernacle.
We are overcomers, and yea, we are coming over. We are scheduled to dwell in the sanctuary of our God so we can rest in Him. We are a people dedicated, consecrated, and given unto Him. We are the "chosen generation" who has been called out to be the priests unto the Lord God Almighty.
"He who overcomes (is victorious), I will make him a pillar in the sanctuary of My God; he shall never be put out of it or go out of it, and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem which descends from My God out of heaven, and My own new name. He who can hear, let him listen to and heed what the Spirit says to the assemblies (the churches)." (Revelation 3:12-13) In Jesus' Name, amen, so be it .