Fifth vital component of true worship (part two)

The way of sanctification under the old covenant we are told; “was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience ---concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.”

The animal sacrifices were insufficient to sanctify the worshiper in that, they were a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. If they were sufficient to sanctify the worshiper, then they would not have ceased to be offered! For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins.

But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year: For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins” (Hebrews 9: 9-10; 10: 1-4).

And so when Christ came into the world He said; “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, 'Behold, I have come ---In the volume of the book it is written of Me ---To do Your will, O God.' "Previously saying, "Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them" (which are offered according to the law), then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God." He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10: 5-10).

This once and for all, signifies that, once and for all there is an offering which can present the worshiper perfect, sinless, blameless, and irreproachable in the presence of God. Remember, if animal sacrifices could present those who approach the presence of God perfect, they would not have ceased to be offered. But because they could not, God took away the first, which were the animal sacrifices and established the second, which is the body and blood of Jesus Christ, and by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

One important thing that has eluded the minds of many professing believers especially those who do not follow the protocol for true worship is that, God’s dealing with the children of Israel was symbolic a shadow and copy of the reality: When Moses was about to build the tabernacle the Lord instructed him saying, “And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain” (Exodus 25:40).

And the apostle Paul echoed a similar sentiment with regards to the new priestly service, for he wrote; “For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this One also have something to offer. For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, "See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain" (Hebrews 9:3-5).

What we are to learn from that is, the necessity to appear before the Lord at His appointed time is still relevant and has not become obsolete, but has rather been reformed as confirmed by Jesus Christ when He came into the world, and said; “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them" (which are offered according to the law), then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God." He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:8-10).

So, instead of animal sacrifices, burnt offerings and offerings for sin God prepared a body for Christ as replacement or the real offering for the atonement of sin, and so, when the Lord spoke to Moses saying: “Command the children of Israel, and say to them, 'My offering, My food for My offerings made by fire as a sweet aroma to Me, you shall be careful to offer to Me at their appointed time' This real offering is the body and the blood of Jesus Christ, which is in essence what Jesus Christ means when He says; “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (Numbers 28:2, John 4:6).

It is therefore imperative that we have a clearer and deeper understanding of what Jesus Christ meant when He said; “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” and how to practically apply this principle in order to get to the Father.

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Lucius Joseph

Fifth vital component of true worship (part one)

 

5.       Bring an offering and come before His courts

What is the rationale for bringing an offering when appearing before His courts? The answer is quite simple and straight forward; it is the main objective for having a holy convocation in order to sanctify the worshiper and grant him/her access to the throne of grace to serve the Lord.  For we have been instructed saying; “These are the feasts of the LORD which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day -- besides the Sabbaths of the LORD, besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings which you give to the LORD” (Leviticus 23: 37-38).

It is also the medium by which members of the body of Christ become one with one another and have fellowship with the Father and the Son as alluded to by the apostle Paul who wrote; “I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread” (1Corinthians 10:15-17).

Therefore, bringing an offering is the pass to the presence of the Most High  or the prerequisite to the presence of God as alluded to by the apostle Paul who wrote ;“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, ,by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:19-25).

This prerequisite is also the formula by which one becomes holy and acceptable before the Father, for this is what the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ' By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.' "(Leviticus 10:3).

Now the way one regards the Lord holy is by being holy themselves, for we have been duly admonished saying; “as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy” (1Peter 1:14-16).

Now, the process by which one attains holiness is through the same process that the Lord ordained for the children of Israel. One should not forget that the Lord’s dealing with the children of Israel was simply a shadow or copy of the reality, but now what is in effect is the reality itself which includes the tabernacle, the priesthood and the sacrifice being offered.

And so, under the new covenant, in the heavenly sanctuary, we have been instructed saying; “But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:11-14).

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Lucius Joseph

Fourth vital component of true worship (part two)

Now, what is the rationale for the Sabbaths! How do they ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name? The rationale for the Lord's Sabbaths is that they commemorate significant events which the Lord performed for the salvation of man.

See for example how much effort, money, time and sacrifices people exert in commemorating events such as, D -Day, Labor Day, independent day, mother’s day, father’s day and all other national, global and personal events such as birth days and anniversaries which are all pale in significance to what the Lord has performed.

For example, the Lord's Sabbaths and appointed times which the Lord has ordained for His people to appear before Him and offer to Him the food for His offerings and show and express their gratitude and appreciation to Him for what He has done consist of the following:

·        Morning and Evening, known as the regular offering as the Lord instructed Moses saying: “Command the children of Israel, and say to them, 'My offering, My food for My offerings made by fire as a sweet aroma to Me, you shall be careful to offer to Me at their appointed time.' The rationale for the morning and evening offering is as described by king David who wrote; “It is good to give thanks to the LORD, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night” (Psalms 92:1-2).

·        The seventh day weekly Sabbath commemorates the creation of the world, and glorifies the Lord as the Creator. It is also the sign to confirm when the end of the week is and that the following day is the first day of a new week. Therefore, it is a perpetual sign to indicate when the end of a week is and when is the beginning of a new week. By disregarding, rejecting or alerting this basic principle is a major cause for dissensions and confusions allowing everyone to walk after the imagination of their evil heart and doing what seems right in their own eyes. So, do not be surprise when sooner than later, Monday be regarded as the first day of the week instead of Sunday.

·         The New Moon according to the law which governs the universe commemorates the beginning of a new month, a law and practice that will be upheld even when the new heavens and the new earth will be established as we have been admonished saying: “For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before Me," says the LORD," So shall your descendants and your name remain. And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me," says the LORD” (Isaiah 66:22-23).

·         The Passover and days of Unleavened bread, commemorates man's deliverance from sin and death, and glorifies the Lord as our Redeemer and Savior.

·         The Feast of First-fruits/wave sheaf offering, commemorates the ascension of Christ to heaven after His resurrection, to present Himself to the Father on our behalf, and glorifies Him as the Resurrection and the life.

·         The Feast of Pentecost commemorates the arrival of the Holy Spirit, and glorifies the Lord as our Helper, Comforter. Teacher and Guide.

·         The Feast of Trumpets commemorates the giving of the Great Commission to go and make disciples of all nations, and glorifies the Lord as our Conqueror and Deliverer.

·         The Day of Atonement commemorates Jesus Christ as our sin bearer, and glorifies Him as our High Priest and Advocate

·         The Feast of Tabernacles commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, and glorifies Him as the King of kings, and Lord of lords.

·         The Eighth Day commemorates the circumcision of our Lord, and glorifies Him as the Eternal God.

It is important to be reminded at this juncture that the true worship of God is not out of compulsion, coercion or legalism, but something perform from one’s own volition as we have been duly admonished saying; “One person esteems one day above another, another esteems every day alike: Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it” (Roans 14:5-6).

It is something one does out of love, gratitude and appreciation for what the Lord did for humanity on that particular day which far exceeds in significance the worldly and personal anniversaries that we esteem so dearly. And the sad thing about it is that, there are very few people who knows about them, and even those who knows about them are paying little or no respect to them.

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Lucius Joseph

Fourth vital component of true worship

 

4.      Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name

The way one ascribes to the Lord the glory due to His name is by observing His Sabbaths. For thus says the Lord; “You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord”. It is for a fact that there is no other God but One; but it is also the fact that, other nations have their own gods; and therefore, we have been instructed saying; “there is no other God but one.  For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live” (Leviticus 19:30; 26:2; 1 Corinthians 8:4-6).

Now the only way one makes a clear distinction between worshiping the one true God, and the one Lord Jesus Christ from the many other so called gods and lords, is by observing His Sabbaths, which glorifies Him as the Lord, and ascribes to Him the glory due to His name. For this is what the angel (messenger) with the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people has been instructed to say; "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water" (Revelation 14:6-7).

 Now the way the One who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water instructed us to worship Him is as follows:-

·         Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it” (Exodus 20: 9-11).

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: 'Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people” (Exodus 31:13-14)..

Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them...I am the Lord your God: Walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them; hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God” (Ezekiel 20:12, 19-20).

 " If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken" (Isaiah 58: 13-14).

“For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before Me," says the Lord, "So shall your descendants and your name remain. And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me," says the Lord” (Isaiah 66:22-23).

Appearing before the Lord on days other than the Lord's Sabbaths is an abomination, for thus says the Lord; “When you come to appear before Me, Who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts? Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies --- I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood” (Isaiah 1:12-15).

And to ignore them, is profanity. For thus says the Lord; “Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them” (Ezekiel 22:26).

No wonder Jesus Christ said; “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath." And remember that, Gentiles are to glorify God with His people, because, “Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: " For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, and sing to Your name." And again he says: "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!"

And again: "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!" And again, Isaiah says: "There shall be a root of Jesse; And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, In Him the Gentiles shall hope.” Therefore, the instructions given to the children of Israel are applicable to the Gentiles as well (Romans 15:8-12).

Now, what is the rationale for the Sabbaths! How do they ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name? The rationale for the Lord's Sabbaths is that they commemorate significant events which the Lord performed for the salvation of man.

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Lucius Joseph

Seven vital components of true worship (part 2)

Having covered the two prerequisites for true worship which are, to worship the Father in spirit and in truth, let us now look at the other five components of true worship which describes the prescribed manner or the protocol for true worship. 

3.      Sing to the LORD, bless His name; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

 When one considers the fact that everything one has and everything one is has been gifted to him/her expressing love and gratitude is a debt that we all owe to Him who gave us all things. We should therefore, learn a vital lesson from the apostle Paul who wrote; “Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Corinthians 4:6-7).

We have been further reminded saying; “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore He says:" When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men" (Ephesians 4:7).

Now the way one expresses his/her gratitude to God for what He has done is through praise and worship as alluded to by the Psalmist David who wrote; “Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works! Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD!” (1 Chronicles 16:8-9; Psalms 105:1-3).

David further states; “Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, bless His name; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the LORD made the heavens: Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary” (Psalms 96:1-6).

Although one may not know in full details what he/she is required to do, but one should at least have the basic knowledge and understanding of why they are doing whatever it is that they are doing. This is termed knowing the rationale, objective or significance of what it is one is doing, one should avoid doing things simply because of customs and traditions, it is important to know the significance of what one is doing and if possible the origin, especially when it comes to worship since there is one who is vying to be worshiped in the place of God.

So the importance for singing when appearing before the Almighty is to express our gratitude and thanksgiving to Him for His majestic powers, as it is written; “But I will sing of Your power; Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; For You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble. To You, O my Strength, I will sing praises; For God is my defense, My God of mercy” (Psalms 59:16-17).

And despite of His awesome power He is also very merciful and so we express our gratitude and thanksgiving to Him for His tender mercies and faithfulness as we have received the consolation saying; “I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations” (Psalms 89: 1).

And of course not forgetting His righteousness as demonstrated by David saying; “Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips and my mouth shall show forth Your praise” (Psalms 51:14-15).

And so, as one can clearly see, singing praises to God especially when having a holy convocation is an offering of praise that should be offered to the Lord as long as we live, as we have been admonished saying; "I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.” “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!” Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name” (Psalms 104: 33; 150:6; Hebrews 13:15).

The apostle James in the New Testament encourages us by saying; “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.” And so, the main reason for living is to worship the Lord; because this is the way by which one expresses his/her gratitude and thanksgiving to God and the means by which the Lord is glorified.

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Lucius Joseph

Pre-requisite for true worship

1.      Worship the Lord in Spirit

Jesus stated categorically, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:23-24).

To worship the Father in spirit denotes that the motive, the rationale, the objective for worship must originate from the intent of the heart out of love, out of passion and not out of compulsion, coercion or legalism, just like the analogy Jesus Christ gave concerning committing murder and adultery when He said; “You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.' But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” And, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:21, 22, 27, 28).

Therefore, worshiping the Lord in spirit is to be fully convinced in one’s mind the rationale for the occasion and out of one’s own passion and volition gives to the Lord the honor and the glory due to His name, but it does not invalidate the practical and literal aspect of worship that of presenting oneself before the Lord at the appointed times.

For the word of the Lord states categorically; “‘the feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts. And. “These are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. Therefore, when it comes to worship God in spirit it does not forsake the assembling of ourselves together in holy convocation.

2.      Worship the Lord in truth

 Worship the Lord in truth denotes exactly what it says; truth is ascribed to five things viz.

b.      God’s law

For we have been duly admonished saying; “Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,

And Your law is truth.” The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever” (Psalms 119:142,160).

c.       Jesus Christ

Jesus said clearly, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

d.      Holy Spirit

With regards to the Holy Spirit the Lord says; “If you love Me, keep My commandments. and I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:15-17).

e.       God’s word

As alluded to by Jesus Christ in His prayer to the Father who prayed and said; “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth” (John 17:17-19).

f.       The Gospel

As confirmed by the apostle Paul in his defense of the gospel who wrote; “to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, "If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?” (Galatians 2:5, 14).

Therefore, any teaching, customs or practices that are not in compliance with the law, the teachings of Christ, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, God’s word and the gospel should not be associated with the life of a believer because, everything that are associated with truth remains the same yesterday, today and forever, For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. (John 17:17; Hebrews 13:7; Psalms 100:5).

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 Having covered the two prerequisites for true worship which are, to worship the Father in spirit and in truth, let us now look at the other five components of true worship which describes the prescribed manner or the protocol for true worship.

To be continued, stay tuned

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

 

Third main reason why true worship is so vitally important

 

1.      Because of man’s limitations and dependencies

  One thing we should try never to forget is that the main reason why man has been given life is to worship God.  First and foremost it is in Christ we all live and move and have our existence. Man has absolutely nothing that he/she can call his own as we have been duly admonished saying; “For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7)

Whatever gifts, talents or abilities we have, they are all given to us by God for to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift for it is by grace we have been saved through faith, and that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. And so, in the finale analysis all we owe is a debt of love, gratitude and appreciation for what the Lord has done for us and this is manifested and demonstrated in our praise and worship to Him but it must be done in accordance to His ordained plan since there is another being vying for this honor and glory.

We must all come to the realization that man is not an independent creature; one is either a slave of God or righteousness, or a slave of sin or disobedience which originated from the devil. For we have been duly admonished saying; “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness” (Romans 6:15-19).

As this passage of scripture clearly points out our freedom from not being under law does not invalidate obedience to the law, for the scriptures again states; “Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law” (Romans 3:31).

And so, although we are not under the penalty of the law which according to the word, is death and death comes as the result of transgressing the law, nevertheless, the law is what teaches us how to live and having been set free from being a slave to sin, we now have become a slave of obedience to righteousness. We are not independent creatures; we are either a slave of disobedience or a slave of obedience.

Again the apostle Paul made this very clear by stating; “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, "You shall not covet…Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good” (Romans 7:7, 12).

We should also note carefully what the apostle Paul said to Timothy, he said; “But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust” (1 Timothy 1:8-11).

So why is the law not made for a righteous person? Simply because the righteous person is already living within the confines of the law and therefore, the law has no jurisdiction over them just like a driver who is in compliance with all the traffic regulations, the traffic officer has no power over him as compared to the driver who is not in compliance to all the traffic regulations.

If there is one thing we who profess to be believers should always bear in mind is the admonition which states; “,Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's” (1Corinthians 6:19-20).

Since we are not our own and we are ether a slave of righteousness or a slave of sin and principally, having the adversary vying to be worship just as the Lord is worshiped it is incumbent upon us to serve our master in the way He has ordained and not in accordance to the customs and traditions of men because this will be vain and false worship.

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Lucius Joseph

Second important reason for true worship

 

1.      Because of the adversary

The second reason why true worship is undoubtedly very important and should under no circumstances be overlooked it is because there is an adversary who opposes everything that gives honor and glory to God and he is hard at work trying to redirect all manner of worship to himself, a quest which he has even before the re-creation of this world when he was in Eden the garden of God, when he said in his heart; “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High' (Isaiah 14:13-14).

Even after forfeiting his fame and beauty he never relinquished his quest to be worshiped just as the Almighty is worshiped as we have been duly instructed saying; “You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you.” By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within, and you sinned; therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God; and I destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones.

“Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings that they might gaze at you." You defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trading; therefore I brought fire from your midst; it devoured you, and I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you. All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you, you have become a horror, and shall be no more forever." (Ezekiel 28:15-19).

 Despite of Satan’s degradation, he has not relinquished his quest to be worshiped just as the Lord is worshiped and therefore, one ought to be very attentive as to what one does in relation to worship because, there is true and false worship, it is therefore imperative that we be sober, be vigilant; because our adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, we are to resist him, steadfast in the faith, any form of worship that has not been ordained by the Lord is vain and useless.

For thus says the Lord; “When you come to appear before Me, Who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts? Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies --I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood." Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil” (Isaiah1:12-16).

The truth of the matter is, God has ordained specific times when people are to appear before Him and worship for this is what the Lord spoke to Moses saying: “The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.” And, 'These are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times” Leviticus 23:2,4).

As clearly seen the Lord has ordained specific times for humanity to come and appear before him to worship, anything contrary to that is a lie and all lies originates from the devil as we have been admonished saying; “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44).

 Satan’s quest to be worshiped is not something that one should take lightly, this is the root cause of the massive divisions that exist in community of believers imagine Satan a creature whom the Lord created taking his very creator up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'you shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve” (Matthew 4:8-10).

Consider this for a moment, if Satan had the audacity to ask the Lord who created him to fall down and worship him how much you think he desires feeble mortal man to worship him? Have you tried typing the name Satan with a small “s” the computer will quickly correct it to a capital “S” or indicate that the spelling is wrong; so much is the quest for Satan to be worshiped just as the Lord is worshiped, hence the reason why we are to be very mindful of what, when and how we worship and so I repeat, any holy convocation that is not in accordance to the times the Lord says; “these are My feasts holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times” is unfortunately not being directed to the Father, but to Satan the devil

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To be continued

with brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Three important reasons for true worship

 

I perceived that when comes to worship, everyone has an opinion, everyone has a song, everyone has an interpretation, and everyone has an understanding. Thanks be to the word of consolation where Jesus Christ says; “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."

Despite the fact that the Lord warned His people saying; “When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.'

You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.” They still delight in worshiping God in ways He has not ordained, and neglecting to do things which He requires (Deuteronomy 12: 29-32).

As human beings the most important responsibility we all have is that of worship and it is not any type of worship but true worship and this goes to everything that has breath. Now, there are three important reasons why true worship is so vitally important especially to those of us who profess to be believers in Jesus Christ.

 

1.      Because of His Majesty

 

Because of the Lord’s dignity and power He deserves our worship as we have been admonished saying; “For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary” (Psalms 96: 4-6).

It is again clearly stated that, “Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord; nor are there any works like Your works. All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name. For You are great, and do wondrous things; You alone are God” (Psalms 86:8-10).

Therefore, in order to avoid worshiping God in vain or worshiping a false god it is imperative that we obey His instructions regarding worship which is stated as follows; “The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.” And again the Lord says; “These are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times” (Leviticus 23:1, 4).

So then, there are definite days which the Lord has appointed for His people to come and appear before Him to worship Him and since there is an adversary whose quest and desire is to be worshiped just as the Lord is worshiped, one has to be mindful of the fact that, if the day or the occasion we come together to worship is not the day or occasion ordained by the Lord we are advertently or inadvertently worshiping a false god.

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To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

When is the beginning of a new day (part four)

 

Let us now look at a few examples from the New Testament to prove whether or not a new day begins either at sunset or at midnight, but before delving into the New Testament let us look at one more example in the Old Testament.

 4. The Manna

 The Lord instructed Moses saying; "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily" (Exodus 16:4-5).

For forty years we are told that the children of Israel gathered this manna on a daily basis, and the children of Israel ate manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan,”  (Exodus 16:35).

Please note carefully that the collection of the manna was on a daily basis and the duration was only for one day as they were instructed by Moses saying; "Let no one leave any of it till morning." Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted” (Exodus 16:19-21).

So then, the duration of the manna was for one day, but at what time the day started! Was it from sunset! Was it from midnight! Or was it from morning? It was from morning, for this is what is written; “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the LORD your God.' "So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground” (Exodus 16:11-14).

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5.      The crucifixion

.Let us take for example the time Jesus Christ died on the cross. It is clearly stated that; “Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit” (Matthew 27:45-46, 50).

I then beg to ask the question, what time of the day is the sixth to the ninth hour of the day? Is it not from twelve to three O’clock in the afternoon? So how can day begin at either sunset or midnight? Since there are 24 hours in a day and the ninth hour of the day is at 3.00pm, when does a day begin? Is it not at 6 am?

6.      The tomb visit

It is clearly stated that, the ladies who followed Jesus Christ and saw how His body was laid, came to the tomb to anoint Him. For thus it is written; “Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.” And, “Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb (Matthew 28:1, John 20:1).

If while it was still dark and it was dawning towards the first day of the week that the women went to the tomb, what does that signifies! It simply means that, it was not yet the first day of the week, it was dawning towards it. So I beg to ask the question again, how can a new day begin at sunset or midnight?

7.      Pentecost

If on the day of Pentecost the people were accusing the disciples of being drunk men, “But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day” (Acts 2:14-15).

So when is the third hour of the day! Is it not nine O´clock in the morning?  And what does the scripture says of those who get drunk? It says “For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night” (1 Thessalonians 5:7).

So here we have seven  biblical examples that a day does not begin either at sunset or at midnight, we have the creation, the Passover, the manna, the Day of Atonement, the time of Christ/s death, the visit to the tomb and the Feast of Pentecost all proved without any shadow of doubt that a new day begins at sunrise.

These times of ignorance God has overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because both light and darkness represent two diametric kingdoms known as the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness, therefore this particular situation is not as trivial as most of us believe, but the big question is, who do you believe?

The only thing I will say is that , if we have the anointing from the holy One we should be able to differentiate the truth from the error because, the anointing which we have received from Him abides in us, and we do not need that anyone teach us; but as the same anointing teaches us concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught us, we will abide in Him" (1John 2:20,27). 

Now for further proof as to what is right or wrong we have been duly admonished saying; "For since the creation of the world His (God's) invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse" (Romans 1:20).

So let us allow the natural phenomenon  and the anointing of the Hoy One to teach us and stop allowing ourselves to be deceived by every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting especially by those who have changed times and laws. The choice however is ours to make.

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

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When does a new day begin (part three)

 

Now, let us look at some other biblical examples to prove without any shadow of doubt that a new day does not begin either at sunset or at midnight.

2.      The Passover

The instructions that the Lord gave to Moses regarding the Passover was as follows; “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight” (Exodus 12:5-6).

Please note carefully that at twilight when the Passover sheep or goat was killed it was the twilight of the fourteenth day, meaning that, the day light period which preceded the twilight was already the fourteenth day of the month and not the beginning of the fourteenth day. So the Passover lamb was killed at twilight, at the going down of the sun on the fourteenth day of the first month. The Israelites were also instructed saying; “You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire” (Exodus 12:10).

Signifying that the whole night was still part and parcel of the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month of the year, because the Lord further instructed them saying; 'For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD” (Exodus 12:12).

The people were further instructed saying; “And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning.” And it came to pass at midnight that the LORD struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock.” (Exodus 12:22, 29).

I therefore beg to ask the question, since all these things happened on the selfsame day, how can a new day begin either at sunset or at midnight?

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3.      The Day of Atonement

The Day of Atonement is another undeniable proof that a new day does not begin either at sunset or at midnight, because this is what the Lord instructed Moses saying; “Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God.”

“For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people. And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. You shall do no manner of work; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your Sabbath" (Leviticus 23:27-32).

 Please note carefully that, the Day of Atonement is on the tenth day of the seventh month, but one is instructed to begin afflicting their souls (fast); “on the ninth day of the month at evening and from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your Sabbath.  I therefore beg to ask the question if a new day begins at sunset or at midnight, why the evening before the Day of Atonement which is on the tenth day of the seventh month be considered the evening of the ninth day and not the beginning of the tenth day?

I would like to point out also the phraseology “from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your Sabbath” is applicable only to the Day of Atonement and should not be associated with the other Sabbath days because no such requirements are related to the other Sabbath days. The rationale for beginning the celebration of the Day of Atonement from the evening of the ninth day when the Day of Atonement itself is on the tenth day, it is to avoid the consumption of food and water on the Day of Atonement and so, one has to begin afflicting the soul from the evening before.

To be continued, stay tuned

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph