4. Seek
the face of the Lord
The fourth pre-condition
of assuring that God will hear us from heaven, and will forgive us of our sins
and heal our land is by seeking His face; and the way one seeks the face of the
Lord is by taking delight in appearing before Him at His appointed times. For
according to King David; “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! Seek the LORD and His strength; seek His face evermore!”
“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! Seek the LORD and His
strength; seek His face evermore! (1Chronicles 16:8-11; Psalms 105:1-4).
Nevertheless, one
has to respect and reverence the sovereignty and majesty of God and should
appear before Him at His appointed times. For thus says the Lord; “These are
the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their
appointed times” (Leviticus
23:4).
Seeking the face
of the Lord at a time He has not appointed is both an abomination and
profanity, for thus says the Lord; “Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of
Sodom; Give ear to the law of our God, You people of Gomorrah: "To what
purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?" Says the LORD: "I
have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight
in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats.’
“When you come to
appear before Me, (seek my face) 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 1:10-15).
To seek the face
of the Lord is to seek an audience with Him, have fellowship with Him and seek
to be instructed by Him by following the established protocol as we have been
instructed saying; “Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to
the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
For the LORD is
the great God, and the great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep
places of the earth; the heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for
He made it; and His hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow
down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the
people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand” (Psalms 95: 1-7).
So to seek the
face of the Lord our God and finding Him, one has to seek Him with all their
heart and with all their soul and obey His voice which has only been heard by
the children of Israel, for thus it is written; “For ask now concerning the
days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man
on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether any great
thing like this has happened, or anything like it has been heard.’
“Did any people
ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have
heard, and live? Or did God ever try to go and take for Himself a nation from
the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, by war, by a
mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all
that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? To you it was
shown, that you might know that the LORD Himself is God; there is none other
besides Him. Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct
you; on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the
midst of the fire” (Deuteronomy
4:32-36).
Remember the Lord
our God has only revealed Himself to the children of Israel and all other
nations are to glorify Him according to the instructions He gave to the nation
of Israel, for we have been instructed saying; “Now I say that 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!" (Romans
15:8-11).
Therefore, for anyone to seek the face of God, they will have to follow the instructions and protocol which the Lord gave to the children of Israel through the reformation process, for on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and un-profitableness, for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. And this better hope is through the blood of Jesus Christ which gives us boldness to enter the most holy place, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh and Himself being the High Priest to intercede on our behalf.
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To be continued, stay tuned
With brotherly love
Lucius Joseph
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