Be transformed by the renewing of our mind

3.  Be transformed by the renewing of our mind

The third important thing the apostle Paul exhorted us to do in order to prove what is that good and perfect will of God is that we be transformed by the renewing of our mind. There is what is called the carnal mind and there is a spiritual mind, these two are diametrically opposite to each other The carnal mind is said to be in enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be so then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

This carnal or natural mind does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. This means that the individual who has been transformed by the renewing of his/her mind and is now spiritually minded has a mind that is diametrically opposite to that of the carnal or natural mind and it is friendly and subjective to the laws of God and indeed will always be and can indeed please God. It also means that they are now able to receive the things of the Spirit of God.

And so the admonition to those who are spiritually minded is; “Set our minds on things above, not on things on the earth. We are to put to death our members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. We also are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of our mouth. We are not to lie to one another, since we have put off the old man with his deeds.

And instead, we are to put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created us, Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, we are to put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave us, so we also must do. But above all these things we are to put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

And let the peace of God rule in our hearts, to which also we were called in one body; and be thankful. We are to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord. And whatever we do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:12-17).

The examples that Jesus Christ gave us on how to live, if we study the word carefully we will find that it is diametrically opposite to how we live our lives today and what is being promulgated by the majority of  the so called prosperity and sowing a seed doctrines.

After affirming the fact that we cannot serve God and mammon, Jesus said, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?”

According to Jesus Christ the kingdom of God and His righteousness takes precedence over the cares and concerns of this life. We are not to worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble (Matthew 6:25, 33-34).

We have been admonished by the apostle Paul to withdraw ourselves from the, “Useless disputes of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain, because godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing with these we shall be content” (1Timothy 6:5-8).

To those who are fortunate to be rich in this world the apostle Paul gives the following instructions, “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life” (1Timothy 6:17-19).

This is the type of transformation that needs to take place in our minds, a different perspective on how to evaluate wealth, and how to use it, not placing it before the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Jesus Christ gave an example of an unjust steward who asked his master’s debtors to record and pay less than they actually owed, and despite of this he was highly commended by his master, for he had dealt shrewdly, and demonstrated that the sons of this world are shrewder in their generation than the sons of light.

Therefore the Lord’s admonition is, “I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteousness mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations” (Luke 16:9).

The Lord’s perspective of wealth is diametrically opposite to the world’s perspective of wealth. To the elect few the Lord says, “Do not fear, little flock, for it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches or moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:33-34).

To be optimistic about the future and prove what is that good and perfect will of God we must not be conformed to the system of this world, we are to be transformed by the renewing of the mind, by learning how to become a servant of God and not be a servant of mammon because no servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

Another transformation that needs to take place in our lives is that of imitating the life of Jesus Christ for we have been duly admonished saying; “But 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” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

These are the basic transformation that has to take place in our minds if we are to prove that good and perfect will of God which somehow goes contrary to the secular modern day prosperity and breakthrough doctrines, but I pray that the Holy Spirit will open the eyes of all those seeing God with a sincere heart to be able differentiate truth from error.

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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

 

Do not be conformed to this world (part2)

As believers therefore, although we are living in the world, we are however not of the world, not of the system and should not be conformed to it by practicing its customs and traditions and so we have been duly admonished saying; “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world --- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life --- is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1John 2:15-17)

Seeing what is happening around the world today especially in Ukraine should be a good testimony for those of us who love this world and placing the physical life and the material things above the spiritual and ignoring the admonition which the greatest Teacher of all taught us when He said; “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:24-25)

He further admonished us by saying; “Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:31-34).

The apostle Paul also admonished us by saying; “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content” (1Timothy 6:6-8).

He also gave instructions to those who possess the worldly things, he admonished them by saying; “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life” (1Timothy 6:17-19).

Jesus Christ instructed us on how to handle the physical material things of this life He said; “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much: Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own? (Luke 16:9-12).

Please note carefully that, regardless of how much of the material things one possesses it is considered as the least and this should act as a good platform for us in differentiating a false teacher from the true one, because covetousness which is an excessive or inordinate desire for wealth, possessions or power is one of the hallmarks of a false teacher as we have been duly admonished saying; “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber” (2Peter 1:1-3).

Today, the most common teaching one will hear in most of the churches is that of the prosperity and get rich messages and the wrong perception of the tithe.

To be continued

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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

 

Do not be conformed to this world

 

1.      Do not be conformed to this world.

The second important prerequisite to prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God it is not to be conformed to this world meaning that, we are not to live and do things similar or identical to how the world does things. 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.

For rulers are not terrors to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same: For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience' sake.” Nevertheless, when it comes to doing anything which is contrary to the will of God we have to take a stand like Peter and the other apostles did when they said: "We ought to obey God rather than men” (Romans 13:1-5;Acts 5:29).

 The crux of the matter is that, the whole world is under the sway of the devil, the system by which the world governs and operates is that of Satan. He is the god of this age who has blinded the minds of those who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

One important thing that we should bear in mind is that, the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Therefore, when God said; "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." This is irrevocable,

But unfortunately, Satan seized control of the world from Adam, when he deceived Eve, and she fell into transgression and supported by Adam. God again reinstated the ruler ship and dominion of the world to man through a dream by king Nebuchadnezzar and a vision by the prophet Daniel. With Nebuchadnezzar's dream he dreamt of an image whose head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay, which Daniel interpreted to represent four ruling kingdoms on earth, until the stone struck the image and became a great mountain, representing the kingdom of God and filled the whole earth.

Now in the case of Daniel´s vision, he saw four great beasts coming up from the sea, each different from the other: Those great beasts, which are four, he said, “are four kings which arise out of the earth”, and with regards to the fourth beast Daniel said, “The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces” (Daniel 7:23).

Now it is clearly stated that; “The dragon (Satan the devil) gave him (the fourth beast) his power, his throne, and great authority”. Now history shows that this fourth beast or kingdom is the Roman Empire because, the first ruling empire was the Chaldean or Babylonian Empire ruled by king Nebuchadnezzar, the second was the Persian Empire; the third was the Grecian empire and the fourth kingdom beginning from 2oo BC is the Roman Empire with its many rise and falls.

When Jesus Christ was led by the Spirit into the wilderness being tempted for forty days by the devil who took Him to a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time and said to Him, “All this authority I will give you, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if you will worship before me, all will be yours.”

Note carefully that the Lord did not refute or disprove Satan's claim of ruler ship but simply responded by saying; “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only you shall serve” (Luke 4:5-8).

On three occasions Jesus Christ confirmed the fact that He is not the ruler of this world (age). On the first occasion when the time had come for Jesus to be glorified, He said to the people, "Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself." On the second occasion when Jesus Christ promised the disciples the Holy Spirit He said to them, "I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me" (John 12:31-32; 14:30).

And on the third occasion Jesus again promising the disciples the help of the Holy Spirit said to them, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged" (John 16:7-11).

But there is good news in that, the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.' Therefore, our admonition is to “Come out of her (the system), my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues” (Revelation 18:4).

Jesus Christ In praying on behalf on His disciples said, “I have given them your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world" (John 17:14-16).

To be continued

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With brotherly love 

Lucius Joseph

 

Why is the Lord's supper such an integral part of Worship service (continued)

It is therefore incumbent on each one individually to come to the knowledge and understanding of how to maintain and develop the new nature in which we were created as we have been duly admonished saying; “and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24).

When we speak about true righteousness it does not refer to man’s own righteousness which is regarded as filthy rags before God, nor does it refer to righteousness by the deeds of the law by which no flesh will be justified in His sight, but refers to the righteousness which is from God by faith, the righteousness which when practiced, one becomes righteous even as Jesus Christ Himself is righteousness as we have been duly admonished saying; “Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous” (Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:20; 1John 3:7).

This righteousness together with holiness is derived through the righteous act of Jesus Christ who through His death gave the free gift to all men, resulting in justification of life. The gift of righteousness and the state of holiness is attainable and sustainable only through the body and blood of Jesus Christ: And so, whenever we eat the bread and drink the cup, which represent the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ we are proclaiming or publicly declaring and reemphasizing the purpose, the rationale, the objective for the Lord's death till He comes and by this we are nourishing and sustaining the new man which was created in righteousness and in true holiness.

Hence the reason why Jesus Christ duly admonished us by saying; “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is (real) food indeed, and My blood is (real) drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven --- not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever" (John 6:53-58).

The question is, how often should a person feed his/her physical body in order to remain strong and healthy? Remember, we have absolutely no excuse because we have been duly instructed saying; “For since the creation of the world His 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).

Proclaiming the Lord’s death until He comes which is manifested by the regular partaking of the bread and the wine is a responsibility given to the church, for we have been duly instructed saying; “to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him” (Ephesians 3:10-12).

Like under the old covenant which was a copy and shadow of the reality and a pattern of what is taking place in the heavenly tabernacle in order for one to attain holiness one had to eat of the things by which the atonement was made as Aaron was duly instructed saying; “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).

In our New Testament dispensation the things with which the atonement was made in order to consecrate and sanctify us and which an outsider should not eat, is the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ represented by the bread and wine.

It is very important for one to note that, if animal sacrifices were able to present those who approach the throne of grace perfect they would not have ceased to be offered signifying that it is obligatory to offer this sweet smelling aroma before approaching the throne of grace, and so, when Jesus Christ came 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 phenomenon unfortunately has many people bamboozled not understanding that, this once and for all simply means that, once and for all there is now a perfect offering that can present the worshiper holy, perfect, blameless and irreproachable in the presence of God thus fulfilling the second established will of the Father which includes a perfect, sinless eternal High Priest and a heavenly tabernacle not made with hands.

And this is why Jesus Christ quite emphatically said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

The way to the Father is through His body represented by the Unleavened Bread, the truth is through Himself our eternal High Priest sitting at the right hand of the Father and interceding on our behalf and the life is through His blood represented by the wine: For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and God has given it to us upon the altar to make atonement for our 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).

Therefore, the blood of Jesus Christ represented by the wine is the medium by which we have our sins forgiven, for in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14).

God has overlooked these times of ignorance and now commands all men everywhere to repent.

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To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Why is the Lord's Supper such an integral part of worship service

The reason why this offering is so vitally important when having a holy convocation it is because, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him (God the Father), 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. 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 1:6-10).

Please not carefully that it is while we are having fellowship with one another and walking in the light and partaking of the blood of the covenant that, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. This cleansing is current, something which takes place whilst having the fellowship service and it is made possible through the cup of the New Covenant which Jesus blessed and gave to His disciples saying; “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).

Therefore, in order to fulfill the Apostle Paul’s urgent and fervent plea to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service; one must avoid defiling his /her body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit and cleanse one’s self from all unrighteousness because, God the Father chose us in Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. In Jesus Christ 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

The earnest plea from the apostle Paul to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service is not a yearly, quarterly, monthly, or weekly phenomenon as practiced by some but one that is required on a daily basis, because God’s desire is to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life (Luke 1:74-75).

To serve the Lord without fear, in holiness and righteousness necessitates that we follow and practice the formula or the protocol which produces holiness and righteousness on a daily basis because, nature teaches us that in order to maintain the state of beauty, pristine and cleanliness of any physical object it must be cleaned on a regular basis and the spiritual aspect of things are no different: For since the creation of the world God’s invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that we are without excuse.

To be continued

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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

 

Urgent plea to all believers (part 3)

 

 

The church is ordained to offer an offering to the Lord whenever there is an ordained holy convocation for 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.” There are specific times when we are to offer to the Lord the food for His offerings: For example, morning and evening as a thanksgiving offering for the Lord’s lovingkindness in the morning and His faithfulness in the evening, on the weekly seventh day Sabbath to commemorate and give thanks to the Lord for His creation, on the New Moon to commemorate the beginning of a new month and on the annual festivals to commemorate what the Lord did for humanity on the particular occasion (Numbers 28:2; 1Chronicles 23:30-31; Psalms 92:1-2).

This offering which should be offered whenever there is an ordained holy convocation is termed a peace or a fellowship offering and it is the medium by which members of the body of Christ have fellowship with one another and with the Father and the Son, because according to the apostle John; “that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1John 1:3).

And what grants us this fellowship is explained by the apostle Paul who wrote; “therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 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 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 10:14-17).

What classifies us as a church is when we come together to partake of the Lord’s Supper at the appointed times. The apostle Paul had to chastise the church in Corinth because of the manner they partook of it, He said to them; “For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you.

Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you” (1Corinthians 11:18-22).

Please note carefully that, the chastisement was not for partaking of the Lord’s Supper when they came together as a church, which is the protocol and the rationale for having a holy convocation, but the chastisement was due to the manner in which they went about partaking of it and despising the church.

To be continued

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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Urgent plea to all believers (part 2)

Now since God and His laws are immutable and God is impartial and shows no favoritism the same way Aaron and his sons attained holiness by eating of those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and sanctify them which was the copy and shadow of the reality, in like manner, in order for us to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, we have to eat of those things with which the atonement was made which is in reality, the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

I think that the apostle Paul made it abundantly clear when 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, 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” (Hebrews 10:19-23).

Partaking of the body and blood of Jesus Christ at His appointed times; with Jesus Christ serving as our High Priest is the new and living way by which we can draw near to the Father. People often quote the scripture which reads; “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”, but fail to understand the practical application of this scripture. Jesus is the new and living way to the Father through His flesh represented by the unleavened bread, He is the truth, as the Word of God Who is now seated at the right hand of the Father interceding for us, and He is the life through His blood. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and God has given it to us upon the altar to make atonement for our souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:11).

It is also imperative to note that, the main objective for having a holy convocation is to offer the Lord the food for His offerings for this is what gives us access to the throne of grace, as we have been duly admonished 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).

Please note carefully that, the main objective for having a holy convocation is to offer the Lord His offering which is besides or in addition to any other gifts or offerings one would like to offer to the Lord and it is the new and living way by which one can draw near to the Father.

To be continued

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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

 

Urgent plea to all believers (part 1)

Urgent plea to all believers

In this day and age in which we live I wonder how many of us who profess to be believers in Jesus Christ are giving considerable thought to the apostle Paul’s urgent and fervent plea which states; “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).

Here the apostle Paul is humbly beseeching the brethren to do three things in order to prove what that good and perfect will of God is and they are as follows:

 1  To present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God

Since God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:4-9).

Nevertheless, we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them and one of the good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in is that of presenting our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God which is termed to be our reasonable service.

What we must first and foremost know, understand and believe is that, our human body is the pinnacle, the most successful point, the culmination of all of God’s creation as alluded to by the Psalmist David who wrote; “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?

For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen --- Even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!” (Psalms 8:3-9).

But not only has God given man such dominion over His creation, He also created man’s physical body as His temple, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit and so we are to continually reminding ourselves of the apostle Paul’s admonition which says; “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are” (1Corinthians 3: 16-17).

We have been further admonished by the apostle Paul saying; “Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 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 6:18-20).

And so, in order to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service, we have to avoid defiling our body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. And if sexual immorality defiles the temple of God and God will destroy the one who defiles it, what about the one who defiles the temple of the Holy Spirit with aborted fetuses with stem cells from all sorts of unclean creatures in a so called vaccine? Food for thought, the choice is yours.

Apart from avoiding the defilement of our bodies in order to present it a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, there is also a practical way by which our bodies can be presented as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God by applying the principle God ordained and instructed Moses saying; “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).

Please note carefully that, it is by eating those things with which the atonement was made that one becomes consecrated and sanctified and remember that, the Old Testament temple rituals were a copy and shadow of the reality, they were serving 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 8:5).

To be continued.

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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph