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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To be continued, stay tuned
With brotherly love
Lucius Joseph
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