Luciusministry

Friday, December 19, 2025

The six integral component of true spiritual fellowship (part2)

There is definitely a clear distinction between the holy and the profane when comes to the worship of God. An individual or group of people like the church, is considered holy, not because of their own doings, but because of the seed of holiness, and righteousness which we all received from Jesus Christ, when we were all begotten by him at His resurrection, and by nurturing and growing the seed by practicing the way of holiness.

Our new man is created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness; and the growth and development of this nature is attainable by practicing righteousness and holiness. As it is written; “Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray, he who practices righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous” (1John 3:7).

Remember, we have been called with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to God's own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. The purpose of this calling is to; serve the Lord without fear in love and righteousness before him all the days of our lives, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.

This state of holiness is ascribed only to those who; “As obedient children, are not conforming themselves to their former lusts, as in the time of their ignorance, but as he who called them is holy, they also are to be holy in all their conduct” (1 Peter 1:14-15).

This way of holiness and righteousness is God's way of life in which we were created as the new creation. It represents Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth, the life, and our righteousness. Our conformity to this way of holy living makes us God's chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that we may proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.

According to the apostle Paul; “I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh, for just as you present your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.” And, “Now having been set free from sin, and have become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end everlasting life” Holiness is the fruit of righteousness (Romans 6 :19 ;22).

The church in the true sense of the word refers to “All who have been Redeemed,” Or groups of Christians assembled for worship. The basis on which most churches operate, it is quite apparent that they have not conceptualized the huge separation that exists between the church and the world, and between light and darkness.

Christian Worship should not be a haphazard, unplanned, unprepared religious social activity in the name of God. The main form of preparedness that is required is that of consecration, because worship is coming in God's presence, and having fellowship with Him and with His Son Jesus Christ.

It is no longer to a temple made with hands, but to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the first born, whose names are written in heaven, to God the Judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood (of Jesus) that speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel.

To be continued

With brotherly Love

Lucius Joseph

Sunday, December 14, 2025

The sixth integral component of true spiritual worship

6..Worship the Lord in the beauty of Holiness

The Holiness and Sanctification of Worshipers are of paramount importance. To some people this might sound blasphemous and sacrilegious, but this is the message which we have heard from the beginning and that has been declared to us, “If you walk in the light (in truth, free from sin) as He (Christ) is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin” (1John 1: 7).

Real fellowship is in progress only when all participants are walking in the light, otherwise our glorying is in vain, for one little leaven leavens the whole lump, one spoil apple spoils the whole bunch. God will in no way co-exist with sin/darkness. It is for this reason believers are duly admonished saying; “I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortionist, not even to eat with such a person” (1 Corinthians 5:8-11)

Because of the believer's call to holiness, and to worship God in the beauty of holiness; which signifies being consecrated to God and being free from sin, they are duly instructed 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 (agreement) 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, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6: 14 -18).

When comes to the worship of God, there ought to be a clear distinction between the holy and the profane, there are those who should, and should not be admitted to the Temple. The Lord in a vision, spoke to the prophet Ezekiel, and said to him “Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears, all that I say to you concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord and all its laws. Mark well who may enter the house and all who go out from my sanctuary.”

“Now say to the rebellious, to the house of Israel; Thus says the Lord God: 'O house of Israel let us have no more of your abominations. When you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary to defile it – My house – and when you offered my food, the fat and the blood, then they broke my covenant because of all your abominations. And you have not kept charge of my holy things, but you have set others to keep charge of my sanctuary for you. “Thus says the Lord God: “No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter my sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel” (Ezekiel 44: 5-9)

To ascertain that the church maintains its state of holiness, the Lord has given to the church the responsibility to judge its members; and so, it is written; “For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges: therefore. put away from yourselves that wicked person” (1Corinthians 5:12-13).

Failing to distinguish the holy from the profane is a violation of the laws of the temple, and the holy things of God. For thus says the Lord; “Her priests have violated my law and profaned my holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them” (Ezekiel 22- 26).

Jesus Christ gave instructions as to how we can maintain our state of holiness before presenting ourselves to the Father. He said; “Moreover, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear you, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church, but if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and tax collector. “Assuredly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18: 15-18),

The apostle Paul wrote; “If we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged, and even when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world” (1 Corinthians 11: 31 -32).

To be continued

With brotherly Love

Lucius Joseph

Friday, December 5, 2025

The fifth integral component of true spiritual worship

5. Bring an Offering and come before His Courts;

Bringing an offering before the Lord on His appointed holy convocation is the main objective for presenting ourselves before Him. As a matter of fact, it is stated quite categorically; “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 (Leviticus 23: 37).

This offering which we are to offer to the Lord whenever we present ourselves before Him, regularly, on every festival and on holy convocation is known as the burnt offering; with its grain and drink offering. This offering is so special and of such intrinsic importance, that it is, known as the food for the Lord's offerings.

And so, the Lord spoke to Moses saying; “All who are native born shall do these things in this manner, in presenting an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord. And if a stranger sojourns with you, or whoever is among you throughout your generations, and would present an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord, just as you do, so shall they do. One ordinance shall be for you of the congregation and for the stranger who sojourns with you, an ordinance forever throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord. One law and one custom shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you” (Numbers 15:14-16).

Now that appointed time to offer the Lord the food for His offerings is as follows:

• As a Thanksgiving Offering to God.

Before Christ was led to be crucified, He said to His disciples, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. And He took a cup and when He had given thanks He said, ‘Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes:’ And, “He took bread and when He had given thanks He broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:15-19).

Bread and wine are the designated thanksgiving offering attributed to the Melchizedek Priesthood from inception, because after Abram returned from rescuing his nephew lot, “Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and He blessed Abram saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand” (Genesis 14:17-20).

To Moses the Lord said, “Give this command to the Israelites and say to them: See that you present to me at the appointed time the food for My offerings made by fire, as an aroma pleasing to Me.” Say to them; this is the offering made by fire that you are to present to the Lord: two lambs a year old without defects, as a regular offering each day” (Numbers 28:1-3).

The rationale behind the morning and evening thanksgiving offering is explained by David, in the psalms and in his last instructions to the Levites. In the psalms he wrote; “It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your loving kindness in the morning and your faithfulness at night, to the music of the ten stringed lyre and the melody of the harp, for you make me glad by your deeds, “O Lord. How great are your works, O Lord, how profound your thoughts! The senseless man does not know, fools do not understand, that though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed” (Psalms 92:1-4).

And in his final instructions to the Levites, David instructed that; “They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord. They were to do the same in the evening and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the Lord on Sabbaths, and at New Moon festivals, and at appointed feasts” (1Chronicles \23:30-31).

· As a monthly offering

For we have been duly admonished saying: “'At the beginnings of your months (which is at every New Moon) you shall present a burnt offering to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year, without blemish; three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with oil, for each bull; two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with oil, for the one ram; and one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with oil, as a grain offering for each lamb, as a burnt offering of sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. Their drink offering shall be half a hin of wine for a bull, one-third of a hin for a ram, and one-fourth of a hin for a lamb; this is the burnt offering for each month throughout the months of the year. also one kid of the goats as a sin offering to the LORD shall be offered, besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.

· On the Sabbaths

On the Sabbaths, whether the weekly Sabbath or the annual Sabbaths we are to offer to the Lord the food for His offerings. The rationale for offering to the Lord the food for His offerings is to enable us to present ourselves before Him in a holy, blameless and irreproachable state for we have been duly instructed saying:

“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. 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: 5-10).

Please note carefully that, the cleansing from all sins in order to have fellowship with the Father and with one another is through the blood of Jesus Christ which cleanses us from all sin and this cleansing, is not of the past but rather something which is current which takes place during the worship service. We should also note that, it is n Him (Jesus Christ) that we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14).

This redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ is manifested through the cup of the New Covenant which represents His blood as we have been duly instructed saying; “Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, 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 27:27-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25).

This part of worship service is of such great importance yet, it has been neglected and mis-applied by almost all religions despite the fact that the Lord commanded 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).

The only difference between the time that Moses received these instructions and now is that, Moses and the Israelites were following the copy and shadow of the reality but we now have the real offering, the real tabernacle and the real everlasting Priesthood. And as a nation of priests we are to offer to the Lord the food for His offerings at their appointed time.

To be continued

With brotherly Love

Lucius Joseph

Saturday, November 29, 2025

The fourth integral component of true spiritual worship

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name

The fourth integral aspect of true spiritual worship is to ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name and this we do by presenting ourselves before Him at His appointed Feast days for thus says the Lord; “You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:30; 26:2).

Every Sabbath ascribes to the Lord the glory due to His name for what He did for humanity on that particular day for example:

The weekly Sabbath (Saturday)

This day ascribes to the Lord the glory due to His name as the Creator. For thus says the Lord; “Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed” (Exodus 31:16-17).

Passover and days of Unleavened bread

On the Passover and the days of Unleavened Bread we ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name as our Redeemer and Savior, thus expressing our joy, gratitude and thanksgiving to the Lord for delivering us from sin.

The Feast of First Fruits

This is the Sunday which falls during the seven days of Unleavened Bread, on that day we ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name as being our resurrection and the life. This is the day that Jesus Christ ascended to heaven and presented Himself to the Father on our behalf after His resurrection.

This is not to say that Jesus Christ resurrected on a Sunday because we have been duly instructed saying; “Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it” (Matthew 28:1-2).

Meaning that, when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb, it had just begin to dawn towards the first day of the week, meaning that it was not yet the first day of the week and at that time Jesus was already reason.

On the Feast of Pentecost

On that day we ascribe to the Lord the glory and honor due to His name as our Helper, Teacher, Healer, Provider and commemorating the arrival of the Holy Spirit.

On the Feast of Trumpets

On that day we ascribe to the Lord the glory and honor due to His name as being our Deliverer and Conqueror.

On the Day of Atonement

On that day we ascribe to the Lord the glory and honor due to His name as being our Atonement and High Priest;

On the Feast of Tabernacles,

During this festival we ascribe to the Lord the glory and honor due to His name as being the King of kings and Lord of lords and also commemorating the date of His Birth.

On the Eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles

On that day we ascribe to the Lord the glory and honor due to His name our Circumcision especially Gentiles as we have been duly admonished saying; “Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh --- who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands ---that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2: 11-13).

This day also ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name as being the Eternal God.

To be continued

With brotherly Love

Lucius Joseph

Wednesday, November 26, 2025

The third integral component of true spiritual worship

Worship God in truth

To worship God in truth denotes that we worship Him in accordance to His word for we have been duly instructed saying; “The entirety of Your word is truth.” And, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” And, it is clearly stated that; “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 was made” (Psalms 119:160; John17:17; John 1:1-3).

Truth therefore, is nothing less than Jesus Christ Himself and the words spoken by Him, for thus He said; "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

Therefore, when it comes to worship the One and only true God if the day and occasion that is being celebrated has not been ordained by Jesus Christ then this is absolutely vain and idolatrous. For thus says the Lord; “This people 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. For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men” (Matthew 15:8-9; Mark 7:6-8).

Remember again the Lord said to the prophet Isaiah; “When you come to appear before Me, Who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts?” Therefore, one ought not to trample the Lord’s courts unless specifically ordained by Him. For thus He said to Moses; “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” (Isaiah 1: 12; Leviticus 23:2, 4).

So as one can clearly see, the Lord has ordained specific times for His people to come and appear before Him. Therefore, no one is excusable for thus says the Lord; "Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: 'Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you…”It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed” (Exodus 31: 13; 17).

And; “Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths (plural), to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them…hallow My Sabbaths (plural), and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God” (Ezekiel 20:12;20).

I am therefore personally amazed and bewildered as to why some professing believers are so passionate in observing the seventh day weekly Sabbath and show little or no respect and regards to the observance of the annual sabbaths when they are all specific times which the Lord ordained for His people to appear before Him to worship. What a paradox?

To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Monday, November 24, 2025

The second integral component of true spiritual worship

Worship God in spirit

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

Now, to worship God in spirit constitute the following:

a. “You shall have no other gods before Me. " You shall not make for yourself a carved image --- any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments” (Exodus 20: 3-6; Deuteronomy 5:7-10).

b. "Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, lest you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure: the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth or the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground or the likeness of any fish that is in the water beneath the earth. And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the LORD your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage” (Deuteronomy 4:15-19).

Worshiping God in spirit refers also to the mindset, the rationale, the objective, the purpose for presenting ourselves before Him, what is the occasion and what are we focusing our minds on when we present ourselves before Him.

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 (prayer) 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).

Please note carefully that, the New Moons, the Sabbaths and calling of assemblies which the Lord hates are not the ones that He ordained and gave to Moses saying; “These are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.” But those which have been established through the customs and traditions of men.

These festivals are recorded in the 23^rd. chapter of Leviticus and to anyone who believes that these festivals are meant only for the Jews, this is what the scriptures say; “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!" And again: " Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!" (Romans 15:10-11).

According to the word of God; “One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you." And, “there is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another? (Exodus 12:49; Numbers 15:16; James 4:12).

To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Friday, November 21, 2025

The first integral component of true spiritual worship

Delight yourself in the Lord

The first integral component of true spiritual worship is to delight oneself in the Lord. God loves a cheerful giver, and as The Father and Master He deserves our highest honor and reverence, and we ought to present to Him the best that we have. If we offer to Him the blind, the evil, the lame and the sick, we will not be favorably accepted. The only acceptable offering we can offer to God is what He has sanctified and set apart as holy. To enable us in taking delight when appearing before Him, the Lord has established a principle, which if obeyed, will ensure our joy continuously in His presence. This principle is designed to supply our needs, by which we will be able to present ourselves before Him at His appointed time and to rejoice before Him.

We are not to present ourselves before Him because of legalism, cohesion or trying to please others. For we have been duly instructed saying; “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord, he does not observe it” (Romans 14:5-6).

So worshiping God is not something one does out of compulsion, cohesion or legalism, but from a cheerful and willing heart and expressing this delight by following this principle which states; “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. For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is also 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 gladness are in His place” 1Chronicles 16:23-27; Psalms 95: 1-7; Psalms 96:1-7).

And so, we have been duly admonished saying; “Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful. Praise the LORD with the harp; Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy. For the word of the LORD is right, and all His work is done in truth” (Psalms 33:1-4).

Therefore, one should take delight and pleasure in presenting him/herself before God at the times and occasions which He has ordained.

To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Wednesday, November 19, 2025

The seven integral components of true spiritual worship (part two)

When it comes to the worship of the One and only true God, the mood and atmosphere before the throne is one of praise and worship, it is a glorious company, for it is written, “For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned. The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear” (Hebrews 12:18-21).

But rather, “You have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God, and to innumerable angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the first born, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (Hebrews 12:22-24).

The meeting place before the throne is on a sea of glass like crystal. This place is reserved only for those who have the victory over the beast, over his image, over his mark and over the number of his name. They stand on the sea of glass with harps and sing the song of the Lord saying, “Great and wonderful are thy deeds, Lord God Almighty, just and true are your ways, O king of the saints! Who shall not fear and glorify thy name, O Lord? For you alone are holy. All nations shall come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed” (Revelation 15:2-4).

Those who worship the beast are not permitted to enter Mount Zion, the city of the living God. There should be no ambiguity as to who the beast is, because the Prophet Daniel wrote quite emphatically; “Those great beasts which are four, are four kings (kingdoms) which arise out of the earth, but the saints of the Most-High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even for ever and ever” (Daniel 7:17-18).

The beast therefore is a ruling kingdom to whom the dragon (Satan) has given his power, his throne and great authority, the mark and number of the beast pertain to economic and social activities instituted by the beast which unless one becomes a part of, will not be allowed to buy or sell. The image pertains to a symbol of worship which the beast has substituted in place of the true symbol of worship, and whosoever has laid aside God laws regarding worship and substitute it with the symbol the beast has established, are not permitted before the throne of God, because by observing the substitute rather than the reality, they are inadvertently worshiping the dragon who gave his authority to the beast.

The rationale for all this was for Israel to consider in their heart, that the Lord Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; and that there is no other besides Him.

However, in order for God to distinguish Himself as the One and only true God, and distinguish His people from all others, He made a conditional covenant with them, so that if obeyed, they shall be a special treasure to Him above all people, for all the earth is His. They are to Him a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Those who obey the covenant are described as, “A chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that they may declare the praises of Him who called them out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once they were not a people, but now they are the people of God; once they had not received mercy, but now they have received mercy” (Exodus 19:5-6, Leviticus 19:30; 26:2; 1Peter 2:9).

Therefore, as a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation a people belonging to God to declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness to His marvelous light there is a protocol or a rule of conduct as to when and how we should approach the throne of grace. So, here are seven integral components of true spiritual worship.

To be continued