WORSHIP IN THE KINGDOM: The FIRST One to come into the Temple was God. Thereafter, His door was shut, to be used only by Him. ("flesh and blood cannot inherit".. 1 Co 15:50) Any MINISTER who is a man-pleaser could not come into God's presence without forsaking their idols. Yet, God will have mercy on them and allow them to minister to PEOPLE. The ZADOK priesthood (king-priest of Rev 1:6, 5:10) were to DRAW NEAR TO THE LORD. Zadok was the priest who was the FAITHFUL PRIEST to David. He separated himself from Saul. His name means "righteous" and he is clothed from head to toe in white linen. This is a ministry by the Spirit. (no sweat of self-effort) They taught the people the difference between secular and holy by their lifestyle example: like that of the Nazarites. They kept their hair short, didn't drink wine, did not marry any but a virgin, and discerned between clean and unclean. They also abstained from the presence of death, they acted as judges, and God is their only inheritance! Why is this to important? This is the priesthood God is calling us to!
"BUSINESS" IN THE KINGDOM: God gets the first portion of the inheritance; the Zadok priesthood and "the prince" shall share it. Who gets what is determined by God, not by force or manipulation.
RESPONSE: So! God does watch what goes on in church! Those who use their positions to get what they want, are judged. The faithful ones are those who have pressed close to God. They didn't take offense at not having their "sacrifice" taken seriously! We SAY we want God to use us, and then when someone does use us, we get mad! God always uses us to minister to someone else, not just to keep our hands clean in a public "ministry"! We are called to live distinctly different from everyone else. To be an example. We are no longer self-sufficient or self-preserving - our lives revolve around God. This is hard work (to keep on believing). We have to form new habits. We have to repent all the time. We have to go against the flow of life around us. We have to fight against our own minds and our own appetites. But Jesus makes it worthwhile because He is with us. When we live "apart" from the flow, we can draw near to God.
1 PETER 1:1-12
Again, the Holy Spirit protected the book, the word order,
and the book order. This is another book
in the series, "All About Faith".
Hebrews tells us that faith
is the "evidence and substance" of an unseen, spiritual realm, and
causes us to live as tho God is present and visible. Faith's goal is "Rest" - which is a
condition of being connected to God and trusting Him for our outcomes. It is a God-centered life. James
explains the mental struggle with staying in rest, or "in faith", and
how to settle the struggle. The bottom
line in James is how to live a God-centered life, rather than being
self-absorbed and self-centered. Now 1 Peter and 2 Peter show us how faith is strengthened and grown in us. The first thing to keep in mind is that
faith is not for getting rid of trial, but for staying in rest, connected to
God. Our faith is in THE PERSON,
JESUS, it is not a concept or something we use to get something from God. The things that keep us from being in faith,
as James teaches, are our flesh and our
obsession with "things". Nothing keeps us
from faith's goal (rest) more than self-preservation and self-pity. God has a happy, joyful, carefree life for
us, if we just press for it. And
even the "pressing" is joyful and carefree.
Luke 22:31-32 tells us the most important thing to know
about the author of 1 Peter: "And the Lord said, Simon, Simon,
behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I
have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted,
strengthen thy brethren."
Notice that Jesus did NOT rebuke Satan so Peter wasn't
sifted; neither did Jesus pray for Peter to "make it". Jesus prayed that Peter's "faith fail not". Peter's faith was tested, found weak - but he got it back. Now he is the expert on how to stay strong in faith. You see, Jesus did not free us from suffering or from pain; he
freed us from self-preservation and self-pity - and right in the middle of the worst suffering, He gives us "joy
unspeakable and full of glory"!!!
Jesus
warned us, " Here on earth you will
have many trials and sorrows; but cheer up, for I have overcome the
world." John 16:33 TLB 1 Peter tells us about personal pressure to
cave in to trials; 2 Peter tells us
about the pressure to cave in to "political correctness" -
"going along to get along". We are all going to have our faith
tested. No one escapes. It is how God frees us and weans us from being
enslaved to self-preservation. We die
to self thru tests. If we avoid tests,
we become stunted, unhappy, frustrated and codependent on others. Worse yet, we stay selfish and can't live a
God-centered life because we are still bound up in self-interest.
1
Peter is NOT about "heaven-or-hell salvation", but about "the salvation of your souls"
(1:9). The "end or goal of your
faith" is "the salvation of
your souls", which verse 10 and 13 say comes with "grace". Grace, in
turn, comes "at the revelation of
Jesus Christ".
Let's
untangle this: When I was born again, my
dead spirit was resurrected inside me. My
soul was not involved in being born again; my soul is where my flesh lives,
where all my personal problems originate, and is made up of mind, will and
emotions. It is the part of me that is in
need of being rescued and changed. I'm sure that is what so fascinated those
prophets and angels who saw what glory could be produced in believers in
Jesus. This change begins in the mind
with believing (faith). My part of the change process is to
believe. God's part of the change process is called "grace". Grace is God's
power, God's strength, and God's sufficiency.
It is God's inward enablement - rather than some outward enforcement
(legalism). Grace is increased for a specific test "at the revelation of Jesus Christ"
(1:13) .
Hope comes alive as we see Jesus as He really is: a glorified,
fully able, completely sufficient Sanctifier. The "sanctification of the Spirit"
and "sprinkling of the blood of
Jesus Christ," give us the hope of the "salvation of your soul".
My part is to believe. Believe what?
Believe that Jesus is enough. He is all I need. He has "finished". This give me "joy unspeakable and full of glory".
RESPONSE: I remember the day
I got my first real revelation of
Jesus Christ. I had been a Christian for
over 45 years and had never really experienced that kind of joy for a prolonged
period. I had had snatches, mostly at
church. I moved to Minnesota to help my
aging mother. I live in the next small
town - 17 miles from my door to hers. I
was driving to her house almost every day: cleaning, cooking, practical cares,
trimming Mom's toenails, washing her hair, etc.
Every time I put my coat on to return home, she would beg me to stay
longer. My answer? "I want to go home. I have a life, too, you know." This particular day, as I got on the highway
heading home, a voice in my heart asked, "Why would you say that you have
a life? I thought you died and Jesus
lives in there now!" What a shock! If that were true, then all I can say that I
really HAVE is Jesus! What if that isn't
enough to make me happy? What if that
leaves me feeling neglected, used, insecure, stupid, misunderstood,
unimportant, unfulfilled?
John 3:30 says "He must increase, but I must decrease." I had always understood that. But now, revelation came that it must ALL
JESUS, and NOTHING OF ME. When I truly
saw it that day, I didn't know it, but God's grace came into me to enable me live
that out. Then the test came: later, mom broke another hip and had to move in
with me!
PSALM 119:17-32:
PROVERBS 28:8-10
Wealth that is gained thru
ruthless dealings will end up in the hands of someone generous. The "law"
in the OT refers to instructions from
our loving daddy. It does not refer
to outward and external restrictions. We want to know what pleases God,
what gives Him expression in the earth. We love the Word of God because it
connects us to God. If we choose to turn our backs on God's instructions,
rebelling against Truth, our prayers are a form of idolatry (abomination)
because they are hollow.
A deceiver does not escape punishment. A deceiver of the upright does not even gain
his object!
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