The fifth integral component of true Christian fellowship

5.    The Sabbaths were designated as a time for the earth to tremble before the Lord

This process is accomplished by hearing the word of God and tremble at His word. To tremble at the word is part and parcel of true act of worship as illustrated by the prophet Issiah who wrote; “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 Sabbaths were ordained by the Lord as a time for His people to be instructed in His word and allowing the word to discover our condition as we have been duly admonished saying; “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4: 11-13).

If all believers would know, understand, believe and apply the basic principles of the first great commandment and take into consideration the huge disparity that exist between the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man and the part which Jesus Christ the only Mediator between God and man played and continue playing we would all be speaking the same thing, and there would be no divisions among us, but instead we would be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

The sad reality is, the same mechanism which God established to keep the church and families perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment so that all could speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among them but has blatantly ignored, it is the same mechanism that Satan will use to bring humanity together under one banner to honor and worship him.

The Lord established His festivals for the unification of the church and families as He unequivocally stated 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; 14).

Because the intent, the purpose, the rationale, the objective for the Lord’s festivals is for the church and family members coming together to commemorate and to express their gratitude, reverence, love, respect, appreciation and adoration to the Lord for what He did for humanity on that particular day and thus perpetuating it from one generation to another as we have been duly admonished saying: “You shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your gates, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are among you, at the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide” (Deuteronomy 16:11).

To make His name abide is to perpetuate it from generation to generation and ascribing to the Lord the glory due to His name and therefore to ignore this basic principle and instruction is irreverence and observing other days instead of the days specified by the Lord is blatant idolatry and this is the root cause for the disunity and discombobulation that exist in the church.

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Lucius Joseph

 

The fourth integral component of true Christian fellowship (part 2)

 

·    We are to walk in the light as Jesus Christ is in the light and then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

So, at what point that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin? Please note carefully that the cleansing from sin is something current and not something from the past and there is only one source by which we receive forgiveness which is through the blood of Jesus Christ as illustrated by the apostle Paul who wrote; “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).

·       No one can say that they have no sin, or have not sinned

Now, since “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. And, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him (God) a liar, and His word is not in us.” And God has absolutely no fellowship with sin how can we then have fellowship with God if our sins are not forgiven and cleansed?

It is therefore conclusive to say that, in order to have fellowship with the Father and with one another it is imperative that we have our sins forgiven and cleansed and this can only be done through Jesus Christ the One and only Mediator between God and Man interceding with the Father on our behalf and offering His body and blood in the form of the bread and wine as the redemption price for our sins, otherwise our worship is vain, useless and idolatrous and hence the reason why we have been duly admonished saying:

“Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves 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 (fellowship) 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).

Unfortunately, the majority of professing believers do not take the word of God literally they used them as metaphors and show little or no respect to the holiness of God which is diametrically opposite to the sinfulness of man which has absolutely mothing in common.

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Lucius Joseph

 

The fourth integral component of true Christian fellowship

4.      The Sabbaths were designated as a time to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness

So, what does to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness denotes? To worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness denotes that, we are to be free from sin when having fellowship with one another and with the Father and the Son. And the way that this is possible it is by heeding the message which we have heard from the beginning which states; “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).

It is imperative that we understand the prerequisites for having fellowship with one another and with the Father and the Son otherwise, our fellowship will be vain and useless therefore, we are to be mindful of the following:

·       We are not to walk in darkness which is synonymous to lies and sin but rather we should be walking in the light which is synonymous to truth and obedience to the laws of God.

And so, we have been 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).

We have also been duly admonished saying; “I wrote to you in my epistle 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 5:9-11).

The eating that we are forbidden to eat with anyone named a brother who is sexually immoral or an idolater is not the ordinary physical food but the spiritual food for we have been duly admonished saying; “Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore, purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened” (1Corinthians 5:6-7; Galatians 5:9).

 To be continued

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Lucius Joseph

The third integral component of true Christian fellowship

3.  The third integral component of true Christian fellowship is to bring an offering and come before His courts.

It is very important to note that, to bring an offering and come before His courts is the most important reason for having a holy convocation on the days which the Lord has ordained as we have been duly instructed saying; “These are the feasts of the LORD which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day.”

One should know that, since the reformation the body and blood of Jesus Christ in the form of the bread and wine replaced all animal sacrifices with their food and drink offerings. And this offering is of such great importance that it is besides or in addition to observing the Sabbaths of the LORD, besides our gifts, besides all our vows, and besides all our freewill offerings which we give to the LORD” (Leviticus 23:37-38).

This offering is the gateway or access to the Father as illustrated by Jesus Christ who said; “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” The way to the Father is through the body of Jesus Christ represented by the bread, the truth is through Jesus Christ the Word of God as our High Priest interceding on our behalf and the life is through the blood of Jesus Christ represented by the wine.

The apostle Paul echoed a similar sentiment 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” (Hebrews 10:19-22).

Unfortunately, most believers have not been able to grasp the significance of this ritual some disgracing it as “a piece of bread” despite the Lord’s command which states; “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).

We should also consider the fact that the food for the Lord’s offerings is the medium by which the members of the body of Christ (the church) are integrated and becomes one as we have been duly instructed saying; “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves 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 (fellowship) 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).

This offering is of such great importance that without it one is unable to fulfill the fourth integral aspect of observing the Sabbaths.  

 To be continued

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Lucius Joseph

Second integral component of True Christian Fellowship

1.     The Sabbaths were designated as a time for a Holy convocation to ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name.

We give to the Lord the glory and honor due to His name by presenting ourselves before Him on the day He has ordained and expressing our love and gratitude for who He is and what He did for the benefit of humanity on that specific day and occasion as we have been duly instructed saying; “You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:30; 26:2).

So by observing the Sabbath/s one expresses his/her gratitude to the Lord as being the Supreme Lord God Almighty and also ascribing to Him the glory due to His name as to what transpired on that particular day as we have been duly admonished saying; “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts. 'Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings’ (Leviticus 23:2-3).

Every God ordained Sabbath is a memorial of what the Lord did for humanity and by observing it one expresses love, gratitude and appreciation for what the Lord did for humanity for example:

• On the weekly Sabbath (seventh day) we give glory and honor to the Lord as the Creator,
• Passover and days of Unleavened bread we give to the Lord glory and honor as our Redeemer and Savior.
• The Feast of First Fruits which is the Sunday which falls during the seven days of Unleavened Bread we give glory and honor to the Lord as the resurrection and the life.
•  On the Feast of Pentecost, we give glory and honor to the Lord as being our Helper, Teacher, Healer, Provider and commemorating the arrival of the Holy Spirit.
•  On the Feast of Trumpets, we give glory and honor to the Lord as being our Deliverer and Conqueror.
• On the Day of Atonement, we give glory and honor to the Lord as our Atonement and High Priest;
• On the Feast of Tabernacles, we give glory and honor to the Lord as the King of kings and Lord of lords and commemorating the date of His Birth.
•  On the Eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles we give glory and honor to the Lord as our Circumcision (especially Gentiles) and give glory to the Lord as the Eternal God.

For 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).

The Eighth day is also the day that we give glory to the Lord as and the Eternal God and commemorating the day He received the name Jesus as we have been duly instructed saying; “And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb” (Luke 2:21).

This name as we all know is one which is above all other names as we have been duly instructed saying; “Therefore, God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father’ (Philippians 2:9-11).

Every Sabbath therefore, commemorates something that the Lord did for humanity on that particular day and should be celebrated, commemorated and perpetuated for future generations just as we are commemorating and perpetuating certain events such as Independence and Emancipation Day etc.

To be continued

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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

 

Protocol for true Christian fellowship

Since most believers are not literally and practically applying the word of God with regards to worship the One and only true God because they believe that, they can have fellowship with God at any time and anyhow may not even be aware that there is a protocol on how we ought to worship and have fellowship with Him which is stated as follows: “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; Bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth” (1Chronicles 16:28-30; Psalms 96:7-9).

1. The Sabbath/s were designated for family reunion and rejuvenation

First and fore-most we see that the Sabbaths were designated for family reunion for we have been duly instructed saying; “Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, give to the LORD glory and strength.” The Sabbath/s is therefore a time designated by God for families to get together to rejoice give their testimonies and sing praises to the Lord as we have been duly instructed saying; “And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion nor inheritance with you” (1 Chronicles 16:28; Psalms 96: 7; Deuteronomy 12:12).

It is important to note that, from the beginning of creation the Lord set apart this day for the rest and re-union of the family for it is written; “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your        cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. There-fore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:8-11).

Now the Lord who created the heavens, the earth, the seas and all that are in them is Jesus Christ whom we are told is the same yesterday, today and forever and does not change ordained the Sabbaths as a perpetual covenant for His people because we have been duly instructed saying; “For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before Me," says the LORD, "So shall your descendants and your name remain. And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me," says the LORD’ (Isaiah 66: 22-23).

The Sabbaths therefore is a perpetual covenant between the Lord and His people and so the admonition is; “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.  Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.” (Hebrews 4:9-11),

Now despite this clear unambiguous statement some deceivers want to place the emphasis only on the spiritual aspect of our rest in Jesus Christ and totally ignore or disregard the physical aspect of this rest despite the clear wording which states; “For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.”

Our spiritual rest in Jesus Christ meaning having our faith, belief, trust and confidence in Him has not nullify the physical aspect of this rest because we are to cease from our own works just as God did from His, and so the question is, how did God cease from His works?

The way God rested and ceased from His work is simply stated as follows: “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made”,

Therefore, not only are we to enter His rest but we also have to cease from our own works just as the Lord ceased from His. So, what is so difficult or perplexed in this simple instruction that all believers cannot be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment?

 To be continued

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Lucius Joseph

The sin of irreverence (part five)

It is imperative for believers to know, understand and believe the fact that Satan the devil wants to be worshiped just as God is worshiped. Remember that when Jesus Christ was led by the Spirit to the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, the devil took Him 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" (Matthew 4:8-9).

The sad reality is that, most believers are very naïve and are a bit too casual when it comes to worship, they are not taking into consideration the fact that Satan seeks to be worshiped just as God is worshiped and therefore, when one fails to appear before God on the days, He has specifically ordained and choose rather to come before Him on days that He has not ordained that they are automatically worshiping the devil.

Because this is what the Lord said; “You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the LORD.” Now, the Lord did not leave us ignorant as to when we are to appear before Him for this is what He said; “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 19:20; 26:2; 23:2,4).

As one can clearly see, the Lord has designated and ordained specific days for His people to appear before Him to worship. To appear before the Lord on days He has not ordained is unacceptable to Him for this is what He said; “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 appointed feasts which the Lord’s soul hates are not the Lord’s ordained festivals because it is clearly stated; “When you come to appear before Me, Who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts?” And it is; “Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them.” So clearly these are not the Lord’s appointed feasts but what has been established by man.

Even when one has been granted the freedom to observe or not to observe the day, if they choose to observe a day, they have to observe the day which the Lord has ordained and not any day as one chooses for thus it is written; “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 (not a 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 why observing the day and not a day so important? To understand the significance of observing the day and not simply a day it is important that we understand why are we observing certain days such as, independence and emancipation because as it is written; “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).

So, if we are able to grasp and understand the rationale and significance of why are we observing days such as independence and emancipation for example then we should be able to grasp and understand why we are to observe the Lord’s Festivals. We observe these days to commemorate and express gratitude and thanksgiving for what transpired on that particular day and perpetuating it for future generations and this is exactly the reason why we are to observe the Lord’s festivals.

But there is more to observing the Sabbaths than simply commemorating and perpetuating them, there is a protocol, a prescribed manner on how they should be observed and this is another area which needs to be addressed otherwise disunity will continue to disrupt the church for, can two walk together unless they are agreed? 

To be continued

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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

 

The sin of irreverence (part 4)

But thanks be to God that there is definitely a code of conduct, some basic principles that is assigned to perfectly joined all believers together and having them to be of the same mind and in the same judgement all speaking the same thing and that is, the commandments of God which Jesus Christ condensed into two great commandments and state as follows; “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40).

Now since all the law and the prophets are hanged on these two commandments how do we distinguish or differentiate the first great commandment from the second great commandment? This is very important to know because love towards God is expressed by keeping the commandments as Jesus Christ emphatically stated; “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).

The crux of the matter is, the root cause of the divisions that exist in the body of Christ (the church) is disobedience to the first and great commandment resulting in the sin of irreverence and self-righteousness. The constitution of the first great commandment is stated as follows: “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." You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”

" Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore, the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:3-11).

So why is the first great commandment so important and why it holds the key to the unification of the body of Christ? The first great commandment holds the key to the unification of the church (the body of Christ) because it differentiates true worship of the one and only true God from false gods and gives us guidelines and the code of conduct on how and when to worship and give honor and glory to the One and only true God.

The crux of the matter is, God has established specific rules and guidelines as to when and how we are to appear before Him and ascribe to Him to honor and glory that is due to Him and we should also be aware of the fact that, Satan the devil seeks to be worshiped just as God is worshiped.

To be continued

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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph