The root cause of our present dilemma (part two)

The reality is, we are spirit beings imprisoned in a physical body with the potential of becoming the adopted sons of God for which of course Satan and his demons will do any and everything to thwart the plan which God has in store for us and for this reason we have been duly instructed saying; “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour: Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world” (1Peter 5:8-9).

Therefore, the crimes and violence that we are experiencing now worldwide is Satan’s wrath against humanity especially knowing that he has but a short time as we have been forewarned saying; “Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you having great wrath because, he knows that he has a short time" (Revelations 12:12).

What most professing believers have not seriously and literally taken into consideration is the fact that, once we have believed and accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we should give thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:12-14).

And although we have been duly instructed saying; “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.” And are reminded: “to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men” (Romans 13:1-2; Titus 3:1-2).

Nevertheless, since our citizenship is in heaven and we are ambassadors of the Kingdom of light we represent the kingdom of God here on earth and therefore, we ought to obey God rather than men and therefore our personal lives ought to be governed by the laws of God and not by the customs and traditions of men especially when it comes to the worship of God, for this is what the Lord says; “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Matthew 15:7-9).

What we all need to know, understand and believe is that, from the first Adam we received the breath of life which is temporary, but from the last Adam we received the gift of life which is the absence of death and our responsibility whilst we still have the breath of life, is to construct our human body as our permanent dwelling place so that what is mortal and corruptible will become immortal and incorruptible.

Now the way this is done is by imitating the life of Jesus Christ so that the nature of Christ can be formed in us as we have been duly admonished saying; “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1John 3:1-3).

We have been further instructed saying; “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world” (1John 4:17).

It is by trying to imitate the life of Jesus Christ that we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2Corinthians 3:18).

And finally at the resurrection there will be different degrees of glory just like “there is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead” (1Corinthians 15:41-42).

Our resp

onsibility therefore in the midst of all what is taking place around us is to be co-workers with Christ, building our spiritual house with enduring materials like gold, silver or precious stones which will be able to endure the test by fire so as to receive a reward in the final analysis.

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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph 

The root cause of our present dilemma

Apparently no one seems to have a solution for the widespread crime and violence that are being committed worldwide and I do not believe that anyone is capable of averting it due to the fact that this was already prophesied to happen as we have been duly instructed saying; “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” And, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2Timothy 3:1-5; 12-13).

Let us therefore do not expect things to improve or get any better because the whole world in on a collision course and the best we can do is to follow the instructions from the apostle John who said he heard a voice from heaven saying; "Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities” (Revelation 18:4-5).

The crux of the matter is, even the majority of those who profess to be believers in Jesus Christ are not dealing with the root cause of this dilemma but are attempting to deal with the effects of the problem and not the very source of it due to their perception and belief in Jesus Christ which is based simply on a sort of emotional, sanctimonious sentimentalism and regarding some basic principles as metaphors and not taking them literally.

The root cause of what is happening worldwide, is due to what is happening in the spirit realm, first and foremost we have been duly admonished saying; “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled” (1Corinthians 10:3-6).

Because of this spiritual battle we have been admonished again saying; “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil: For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:10-12).

The irony of truth is, we have not been taught the truth as to whom we really are since the advent of Jesus Christ, many people still regard themselves as the old man who existed before the advent of Jesus Christ the last Adam, despite the fact that we have been duly instructed saying; “Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:16-17).

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To be continued, stay tuned

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

 

Why is spiritual worship of such great importance (part three)

 

3.         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 all 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 which is also a slave of righteousness, or a slave of sin which is disobedience to the laws of God and originated from the devil. For we have been duly admonished saying; “What then? Shall we sin (transgress the laws of God) 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 due to Jesus Christ Who paid the price of sin in our stead, the law nevertheless 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 to the way of life the Lord has established by which man should live.

Again the apostle Paul made this abundantly clear 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

Why is true spiritual worship is of such great importance (part two)

2.         Because of the adversary Satan the devil

The second reason why true worship is undoubtedly very important and should under no circumstances be compromised under estimated or 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 and said in his heart; “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars (angels) 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 Satan 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 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 and cognizant 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 to 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 the 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).

So let us 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 Satan’s quest 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 convocation that is not in accordance to the times the Lord has ordained which states; “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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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Why is true Spiritual worship of such great importance?

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 as ordained by the Lord 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 Sovereignty and Majesty

Because of the Lord’s Sovereignty dignity and power He deserves our worship as we have been duly 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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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

 

Why the disunity in the church, the Body of Christ?

Why is the church the body of Christ so divided when there are these seven stipulated guidelines by which we all should have fellowship with the Father and the Son and with one another? Just to reiterate the seven stipulated guidelines:

1.      Worship the Father in spirit (John 4: 23-240.

2.      Worship the Father in truth

3.      “Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples” (1Chronicles 16:23-27; Psalms 96:1-6).

4. 4 “Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, give to the LORD glory and strength. Give to the LORD the glory due His name” (1Chronicles 16: 28-29; Palms 96:7-8) 

    5. Bring an offering, and come before Him” (1 Chronicles 16:29; Psalms 96:8). 

     6. “Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness!” (1Chronicles 16:29; Psalms 96:9). 

     7. “Tremble before Him, all the earth” (1Chronicles 16:30; Psalms 96 9).

We should all note carefully that these principles are addressed to all nations, all peoples and all the earth but unfortunately people rather hold on to the customs and traditions taught by men instead of taking delight and stand in awe of the directives the Lord gave to His people and the only sign He gave to distinguish His people from the rest of the world. For thus says the Lord; “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.” And, “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).

Remember, Jesus Christ said unequivocally, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled” (Matthew 5:17-18).

Therefore, the Sabbaths, the seventh day including the annual Sabbaths are perpetual sign God ordained to distinguish Himself and the people who are sanctified. Moreover, in our new dispensation as free moral agents, 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.

Nevertheless, this does not give anyone the license to disregard the Lord’s appointed days and choose other days which the Lord has not appointed. Observing the Lord’s appointed days is simply a matter of love, appreciation, respect, adoration and taking delight in Him who loves us and for what He did for us, which by the way is how we fulfill the first and great commandment.

Truly, these times of ignorance God has overlooked and now commands all men everywhere to repent, the onus is on each individual, for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account of ourselves.

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Lucius Joseph

 

The seventh integral component of true spiritual worship

 

7.         Tremble before Him, all the earth.

The seventh integral component of true spiritual worship is to tremble before Him, or take delight in Him meaning that, we are to stand in awe of Him and have the rightful fear by being obedient to His word, for thus says the Lord; “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist," Says the LORD. "But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word” (Isaiah 66:1-2).

The reason why we are to tremble before Him or take delight in Him it is because the church being similar to the captives of the children of Judah and Israel to whom the Lord said; “I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me. Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it” (Jeremiah 33:8-9).

Remember, Jesus Christ is the Lord God of the Old Testament who created the heavens and the earth, for it is written; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that were made: In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it’, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1-5, 14).

It is further stated in scripture that; “He [Jesus Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence” (Colossians 1:15-18).

Now it is a common belief and a biblical statement that, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” And when He came into the world He said; "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath" (Hebrews 13:8; Mark 2:27-28).

Since Jesus Christ is Lord of the Sabbath, the summons to attend the holy convocation at their appointed times is a directive from Him, and when obeyed we are demonstrating our reverence, glory and honor to Him as “LORD.” For thus says the LORD, “You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:30; 26:2).

Similarly, when one disregards or hold in contempt the days which the Lord has summoned them to appear before Him and choose to appear before Him at a time He has not summons them to appear before Him is profanity: 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).

Having fellowship, in the breaking of bread was the community spirit that prevailed in the New Testament church when it originally started, when Peter said to them, "Be saved from this perverse generation." Then those who gladly received His word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles” (Acts 2:40-43).

The Christian church, the children of God, and the Philadelphia church are all characterized in whole and in part by these seven distinctive marks or attributes, and it is the formula by which the church which is presently so confused and divided can obtain its objective and be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

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Lucius Joseph

The six integral component of true spiritual worship

 

6.         Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

The six integral component of true spiritual worship is to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness which denotes worshiping God in the absence of sin, and the way one becomes holy is stated as follows; “Then Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. They shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them; but an outsider shall not eat them, because they are holy” (Exodus 29:32-33).

Those who do not regard themselves as priests of the New Covenant should not be present during a holy convocation for it is stated quite clearly, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy” (1Peter 2:9, 10).

Those who stumble are those who are being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed, because our main duty as priests is to offer to the Lord the food for His offerings, for it is written; “They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy” (Leviticus 21:6).

For this reason the church is duly admonished saying; “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?'

“And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God as God has said: "I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people." Therefore " Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty" (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).

It is also for this reason why the apostle Paul in an epistle wrote; “not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner --- not even to eat with such a person” (1Corinthians 5:10-11).

And the crux of the matter is, God has absolutely no fellowship with darkness and since a little leaven leavens the whole lump one has to be careful with whom we have fellowship for according to the apostle John; “this is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all: If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1John 1:5-6).

So I am truly flabbergasted when I hear people categorizing the church as a sanctuary for sinners and inviting people to come in as you are when in effect, the come in as you are is in the outer court where we conduct our bible studies, crusades, where we go out and preach the gospel and those who gladly receive the message should be baptized and be worthy of partaking of the food for the Lord’s offerings.

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To be continued, stay tuned

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

The life which draws us near to the Father

 

•           Jesus is the life

Jesus is the life, the living way to the Father through His shed blood on the cross which is represented by the cup of the New Covenant which came into effect on the night He was led to be crucified when He took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to His disciples and said, "Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:27-28).

The cup of blessings represents the life of Jesus Christ as we have been duly admonished saying; “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.' And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission” (Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 9:22).

In our New Testament dispensation, the blood of Jesus Christ is represented by the cup of the new covenant and this is what purifies and cleanses the worshiper and presents him/her holy, blameless and irreproachable before the Father as we have been duly admonished saying; If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1John 1:6-7).

We should all note carefully that the cleansing which is done by the blood of Jesus Christ when we have fellowship with the Father and with one another is not something of the past but it is an ongoing process that takes place during the fellowship service. Furthermore, we have been duly admonished saying; “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness: If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1John 1:8-10).

This therefore signifies that Jesus Christ has given us His flesh to eat and His blood to drink in the form of the bread and wine as the medium to present us holy, blameless and irreproachable before the Father, with Himself being the High Priest and Mediator pleading and making intercessions on our behalf, and so we have the consolation saying; “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” (Hebrews 10: 19-22).

And so the formula by which one becomes holy remains the same as in the past with the exception of the change of substance, from the symbolic, shadow, or copy of the reality to having the real substance. The substance by which our atonement is made in our new dispensation is through the body and blood of Jesus Christ which is represented by the bread and wine: Which we have been duly instructed 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” (Numbers 28:2).

This has been God’s ordained plan for man even before the foundation of the world as alluded to by the apostle Paul who wrote; “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence” (Ephesians 1:3-8).

The sad reality is that, the majority of us who profess to be believers in Jesus Christ are too self-righteous, we believe that we can approach the presence of the Father without bringing Him His offering when His word stated quite distinctly to bring an offering and come before His courts and the main objective for having a holy convocation is to offer the Lord the food for His offerings: Truly, these times of ignorance God has overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent.

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To be continued, stay tuned

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

The truth which draws us near to the Father

•           Jesus is the truth by which we draw near to the Father

When Jesus in no uncertain terms said; “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” The medium of truth by which we come to the Father through Jesus Christ is through the office of Jesus Christ as our Mediator and High Priest, because He is the Word or truth of God Who became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. He took on flesh so that, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.: For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.'

“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 2: 17-18; 4: 15-16).

Like every high priest Jesus Christ is appointed to offer sacrifices for sin for it is written; “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." But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises” (Hebrews 8: 3-6).

As High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek, which is an eternal priesthood, the offering has always been bread and wine because, long before God made the everlasting covenant with Abraham who is the father of all the faithful, and to whom the promise is made, we see that, “Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand." And he gave him a tithe of all” (Genesis 14: 18-20).

Now this Melchizedek we are told is, “King of Salem, Priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated "king of righteousness," and then also king of Salem, meaning "king of peace," without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils” (Hebrews 7: 1-4).

In addition to this we are told that, “Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: "You are My Son, today I have begotten You." As He also says in another place: "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek"; who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, called by God as High Priest "according to the order of Melchizedek" (Hebrews 5:5-10).

 Jesus Christ is the truth the One and only Mediator between God and man Who, mediates and officiates as High Priest, interceding on our behalf to the Father thus making it feasible for us to present ourselves in the presence of the Father in a holy, blameless and irreproachable state, because according to the apostle John; “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all: If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1John 1:5-6).

And so, since the Most High God is light and in Him is no darkness at all and neither does He co-exist with sin, in order to have fellowship with the Father and the Son and with one another it is imperative that we have a High Priest to offer an offering and make intercessions on our behalf.

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To be continued, stay tuned

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

 

The new and living way to the Father

The new and living way to the Father is what God intended even before the foundation of the world 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 because, there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” (John 14:6; 1Timothy 2:5-6).

And so, the practical application of Christ’s statement which states, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me,” and His position as the One and only Mediator between God and man is as follows:

•           Jesus Christ is the way to the Father through the body of His flesh

We have been duly instructed saying; “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight” (Colossians 1:21-22).

The way we are reconciled in the body of Christ according to the apostle Paul, is by the breaking of bread. For thus he wrote; “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”.

It is also by partaking of the bread which represents the sacrificial body of Christ that one becomes holy. For this is what the Lord instructed Moses saying:  “Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. They shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them; but an outsider shall not eat them, because they are holy” (Exodus 29: 32-33).

According to the apostle Paul, the breaking of bread is the new and living way to the Father, For thus he 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, an/d 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” (Hebrews 10:19-22).

The bread represents the broken body of Jesus Christ which He instituted on the night before He was crucified when He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." and this became effective after His death since it is stated clearly “For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator: For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives” (Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 9:16-17).

This bread has replaced the food for the Lord’s offerings which we are to be careful to offer to Him at the appointed time. 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' (Numbers 28:2).

There are different types of offerings such as the regular daily offering, which is to give thanks to the Father for His loving kindness in the morning and for His faithfulness in the evening, there is also the offering for the Sabbaths which is called a peace or a fellowship offering, there is the New Moon (monthly) offering which is to commemorate the beginning of a new month and there is the sin offering for the forgiveness of sins. The crux of the matter is, regardless of the occasion the bread which represents the sacrificial body of Jesus Christ is the food for the Lord’s offerings.

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To be continued, stay tuned

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

 

Bring an offering and come before His courts

5.         Bring an offering and come before His courts

The fifth integral component of true spiritual worship is to bring an offering when appearing before the Most High and the spirit or rationale for bringing this offering is simply stated as follows; “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).

As simply stated, the rationale or main objective for having a holy convocation is to offer an offering to the Lord and this offering is besides or in addition to observing the Sabbath and it is besides or in addition to any gifts, vows or freewill offering one may desire to offer to the Lord. This offering is the gateway or the prerequisite by which one can have access to the Most Holy place in the presence of God

This offering is the practical fulfillment of Jesus’ statement when He said; “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” This statement was endorsed 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” (John 14:6; Hebrews 10:19-25).

This offering is the medium by which the worshiper is sanctified and granted access to the throne of grace to serve the Lord in righteousness and true holiness and it is also the medium by which members of the body of Christ become one with each other 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 your-selves what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion (fellowship) 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).

This offering is also the formula by which one becomes holy, righteous, irreproachable 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.' Now the way one regards the Lord holy is by being holy themselves, for this is what 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” (Leviticus 10:3; 1Peter 1:14-16).

Now, the process by which one attains holiness and righteousness 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).

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 by stating; “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 and bring Him the food for His offerings is still relevant and in force and has not become obsolete, but has rather been reformed, and the truth, which is the word of God and represents Jesus Christ Himself endures forever, does not change and remains the same yesterday, today and forever. 

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To b continued, stay tuned

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph