Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness

5. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of Holiness

The sixth integral component of true spiritual worship is that of worshiping the Lord in the beauty of holiness. What should be foremost in our minds when it comes to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness is the fact 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.” It is only if we walk in the light as He is in the light, that we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1John 1:5-7).

Now since no one can say that, I have no sin, or I have not sinned, it is imperative that, one’s sins be confessed and forgiven before they can have fellowship with the Father. For we have been instructed saying: “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 a liar, and His word is not in us” (1John 1:8, 10).

Therefore, our access to the presence of the Father at the appointed time is made possible under one condition and that is, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Please note carefully that the cleansing that takes place by the blood of Jesus Christ is done currently, at the time of having fellowship with one another, which is also with the Father and the Son. This cleansing comes as the result of the instructions which says, “Bring and offering and come before His courts.”

It is this offering that grants us access to the throne of grace as confirmed by the apostle Paul who wrote; “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:19-25).

It is the offering that we bring which is the main objective for having a holy convocation that cleanses us from all sins and gives us access to the throne of grace, for this reason we are to; “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” And so, we have been admonished saying: “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. (Hebrews 12: 14; Matthew 5:23-24).

https://www.amazon.com/author/luciusjoseph

To be continued, stay tuned

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

The rationale for bringing an offering

 

Bringing the specific offering of the body and blood of Jesus Christ is the new and living way by which we now draw near to the Father and there are specific instructions as to when it should be offered because the Lord spoke to Moses saying; “Command the children of Israel, and say to them, My offering, My food for My offerings made by fire as a sweet aroma to Me, you shall be careful to offer to Me at their appointed time.'

It is this offering that grants us access to the presence of the Father, because it is through partaking of this offering that the worshiper becomes holy as confirmed in the scriptures stating; “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 dispensation, the things with which the atonement was made in order to consecrate and sanctify us is the sacrificial body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, which is now the new and living way by which we are to draw near to the Father. This is what the saints being a holy priesthood offer to the Father as a spiritual sacrifice acceptable to Him through Jesus Christ.

This is also the food which we have been instructed saying; “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him." Jesus Christ confirmed the literal and practicality of this spiritual food 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).

Unfortunately, our education system does not teach us anything about the real life, their teaching is based specifically and principally on the temporary breath of life which is the life that is in accordance to the flesh, teaching us how to earn a living in order to sustain the physical life, but does not teach us how to live in accordance to the Spirit.

Even when it comes to worship, the sustenance of our spiritual life is unfortunately administered in accordance to the flesh as envisioned and documented by the prophet Isaiah saying; “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?" Says the LORD. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats.

"When you come to appear before Me, Who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts? Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies --- I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood” (Isaiah 1:11-15).

The New Moons (beginning of a new month), the Sabbaths and appointed feast days were rejected not because God does not require them, but are being rejected because they are observed not in accordance with the way of life in the spirit which is based in accordance to the commandments of God, but they were being observed in accordance to the customs and traditions of men which are all vain and useless. Spiritual worship is in accordance to the word of God as verified by Jesus Christ who said; “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).

Therefore, any form of worship regardless of how sanctimonious, charismatic, dynamic and pleasant to the eyes, they may appear to be, as long as they do not conform to the instructions which states; “These are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times,” are all vain and useless, because God has ordained these times specifically for His honor and glory which He does not share with any other.

These appointed times will continue into the future. "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 freedom to observe or not to observe does not give anyone the license to choose for themselves when and how to worship, it is not he who observes a day observes it to the Lord, but rather, it is he who observes the day, a specific day which the Lord has ordained. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent.

https://www.amazon.com/author/luciusjoseph

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Bring an offering and come before His courts

1. Bring an offering and come before His courts

The fifth integral component of true worship is that of “bring an offering and come before His courts.” I wonder how many people have come to the understanding that the main reason for having a holy convocation is to offer to the Lord the food for His offerings 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.”

Unfortunately, this offering has not been taken seriously and literally as it should be taken, because this offering, which in our new dispensation is the sacrificial body and blood of Jesus Christ is said to be besides or in addition to, 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 main objective for having a holy convocation, this is what grants us access to the inner court in the presence of the Father; it is the pre-requisite for having fellowship with one another, which is also with the Father and the Son. As explained by the apostle Paul who wrote; “I speak as to wise men; judge for your-selves what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion 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” (1 Corinthians 10: 15-17).

This is the new and living way by which we are able to draw near to the Father as indicated by the apostle Paul who wrote; “For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and un-profitableness, for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God” (Hebrews 7:18-19).

This better hope by which we are able to draw near to God is stated as follows; “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, 'Behold, I have come --- In the volume of the book it is written of Me ---To do Your will, O God.' "

Previously saying, "Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them" (which are offered according to the law), then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God." He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10: 4-10).

The apostle Paul further endorsed this point by stating; “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:19-25).

The offering of the body and blood of Jesus Christ is the gateway to the Father; it is the literal and practical meaning to Christ’s statement when He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” The way as explained by the apostle Paul is the body of Jesus Christ represented by the bread, the truth is Jesus Christ Himself the Word of God who is now seated at the right hand of the Father interceding on our behalf as our High Priest and the life is the blood of Jesus Christ represented by the wine. 

https://www.amazon.com/author/luciusjoseph

To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Lucius Joseph

Sunday worship does it ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name

 

Since the Lord Sabbaths ascribe to Him glory and honor that is due to His name, what glory and honor does Sunday weekly worship render to the Lord? Is there any justification for worshiping the Lord on Sundays?

We know without any shadow of doubt that the rationale for worshiping God on the seventh day of the week it is because the Lord said plainly that, “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 20:11).

And the admonition for the saints is; “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His (the Lord’s) 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. 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” (Hebrews 4:9-12).

I therefore, beg to ask the question, what is the rationale for resting from our works on the first day of the week instead of the seventh day? Who effected the changes and what is the justification for doing it? Does not being under law but under grace a justifiable reason for not observing the seventh day Sabbath! If not being under law a justifiable reason for disregarding the seventh day Sabbath as the day of rest, why replaced it with Sunday?

Not being under law but under grace therefore is not a justifiable reason for not observing the seventh day Sabbath and replacing it with the first day of the week because, the scripture states clearly; “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!  Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law” (Romans 6:14-15; 3:31).

It is no secret that it is the beast, the Roman Empire to whom the dragon (Satan) gave him his power, his throne, and great authority in conjunction with the whore (the false church) who is riding the beast that changed the Lord’s seventh day weekly Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, so this has nothing to do with not being under law but under grace.

Another form of justification is that of the resurrection of Jesus Christ which some people claimed to have taken place on a Sunday, but was Jesus Christ resurrected on a Sunday? The gospel of Matthew states the following; “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.

His countenance was like lightning and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen as He said. Come; see the place where the Lord lay” (Matthew 28:1-6).

Please note carefully the time the women went to visit the tomb was, “as the first day of the week began to dawn” meaning that, it was not yet the first day of the week. Now to those who believe that a new day begins at sunset or midnight it is your God given responsibility to prove all things and to hold fast to what is good.

Yet another form of justification is that of the arrival of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. The feast of Pentecost is no justification to change the weekly Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day of the week because, have always been celebrating Pentecost from the day the Lord instructed man to observe it and so the disciples were observing the Feast of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon them as confirmed by the scripture which states:

“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2: 1-4).

Sadly, there are some people who are holding tenaciously to the observance of the seventh day Sabbath but have distance themselves from observing of the Feast of First fruits which is the Sunday that follows the resurrection of Jesus Christ when He presented Himself to the Father after His resurrection and the Feast of Pentecost when the disciples were imbued with the Holy Spirit.

Both these festivals falls on a Sunday but they are no justification to change the Lord’s seventh day Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday and since we must worship God in spirit and in truth, what is the rationale and truth about changing the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday and who are we honoring?

https://www.amazon.com/author/luciusjoseph

To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name

 

1. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name

This integral part of worship is fulfilled when we appear before the Lord at His appointed times. For thus says the Lord; “You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:0; 26:2).

The glory due to the name of the Lord is ascribed to Him when His Sabbaths are observed, because His Sabbaths honor and glorify Him for what transpired on that particular day, for example: The seventh day weekly Sabbath honors Him as the Creator, the Passover and days of Unleavened bread honors Him as the Redeemer and Savior; the feast of First Fruits which is the Sunday that falls during the days of Unleavened Bread honors Him as the Resurrection and the life;

Pentecost which is fifty days after the feast of first fruits which is also on a Sunday, honors Him as our Helper, Comforter, Teacher and Guide; the feast of trumpets which is the first day of the seventh month, honors Him as our Conqueror and Deliverer, the Day of Atonement honors Him as our Mediator and High Priest, the Feast of Tabernacles honors Him as the King of kings and Lord of lords, commemorating the day of His human birth, the day we received our permanent dwelling and the Eighth Day honors Him as our circumcision and the Eternal God, the day Gentles became no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.

Each appointed time therefore, ascribes to the Lord the honor and glory due to Him for what He accomplished for humanity on that particular day and serves as a memorial throughout the generations.

https://www.amazon.com/author/luciusjoseph

To be continued

Wit brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Declare His glory and wonders among all nations

 

When it comes to the worship of God, not only must He be worshiped in spirit and in truth, but there is also a protocol or a prescribed manner by which He is to be worshiped. Saints should no longer be like children who are being tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.

Saints should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles, walking in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. Saints should be able to differentiate the gospel of truth from the gospel of error. Not because one is charismatic and attracts many followers that they should be followed blindly.

Now, the protocol for true worship in conjunction with the worship of God in spirit and in truth consists of the following procedures:

1. Declare the glory and the wonders of God among all nations

True spiritual act of worship is illustrated by the Psalmist David as follows; “sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, bless His name; 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 to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary” (1 Chronicles 16: 16-23; Psalms 96: 1-6).

Please note carefully the clear unambiguous distinction between the great God who is greatly to be praised and to be feared above all gods and thus making all the gods of the people’s idols is that, He is the One who made the heavens. And the only sign He gave to identify Himself as the one who made the heavens is the seventh day Sabbath.

For thus says the Lord who created the heavens and the earth; “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, or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or 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 20:8-11).

Now, to those who may have been misled in believing that the only sign the Lord gave to differentiate Himself from the other false gods is no longer in effect let us hear what the apostle Paul had to say in this regard. The apostle Paul wrote: “Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: "So I swore in My wrath, ' They shall not enter My rest,' " although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all His works"; and again in this place: "They shall not enter My rest. “Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, again He designates a certain day, saying in David, "Today," after such a long time, as it has been said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts."

For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. 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. 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” (Hebrews 4:1-12).

Please note carefully that the only sign God gave to distinguish Him-self as the One and only true God is His Sabbaths; for thus says the Lord; “Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them…hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God” (Ezekiel 20: 12, 20).

The Sabbaths therefore, is the sign that differentiates the One and only true God from all other false gods when it comes to worship and regardless of how much and well one sings, dances and praise God, if it is not at the appointed time it is all useless and vain.

https://www.amazon.com/author/luciusjoseph

To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Worshiping God in Truth

 

1. It must be in truth

Worshiping God in truth denotes exactly what it says; it means worshiping God in accordance to the word of God as confirmed by Jesus Christ who said; “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6).

Truth therefore, is Jesus Christ who is the Word of God and the words spoken by Him as confirmed by King David and Jesus Christ respectively who wrote; “The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.” And Jesus Christ in His prayer to the Father said; “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17).

One should take into consideration the fact that, truth which is the word of God is synonymous to Jesus Christ, for; “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.

 He is the same Word who became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Therefore, to worship God in truth is to worship Him in accordance to His Word.

Now, when it comes to worship the Lord has set aside specific times for His people to appear before Him, not because He has given us the option to observe or not to observe and allow everyone to be fully convinced in his/her own mind that we can ignore the stipulated times and follow the customs and traditions of men; for thus says the Lord. “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. 'These are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times” (Leviticus 23:2-4).

Therefore, there is absolutely no truth in having a holy convocation on a day or an occasion that is not in compliance with those the Lord has designated and called them My feasts. Furthermore, the Lord is being honored by the observance of His Sabbaths, for thus sys the Lord; “You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:30; 26:2).

Please note carefully the word Sabbaths (plural) signifying that, it is more than one and it is by observing the Sabbaths that we give honor and glory to the Lord as being the Creator of the universe who rested on the seventh day from all His works and 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).

Therefore, appearing before God to worship on a day He has not ordained His people to appear before Him is blatant disobedience because, the Lord clearly stated that, “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."

Therefore, regardless of how sanctimonious, enchanting, charismatic, appealing and satisfying to the flesh these services may appear to be the crux of the matter is, they are all hypocritical,  useless and vain, for according to Jesus Christ, "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men ."

Because, although sin shall not have dominion over us, for we are not under law but under grace, nevertheless, what then? Shall we sin (transgress the laws of God) because we are not under law but under grace? The logical answer is, Certainly not!

https://www.amazon.com/author/luciusjoseph

To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph