Gospel Christ or Righteous Christ

Matthew 16:17
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 16:23
But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Peter hears from our Lord one of the highest compliments and the harshest rebukes almost the one right after the other.

It provides us with a warning that walking with Christ must be done diligently and with care moment by moment. Not that Peter could have lost his salvation; it is obvious that his relationship with Christ continues, and that unaffected, but that closeness, blessedness of daily rejoicing in Christ must be tended to. Satan is ever diligent to throw us off track. We must be therefore so much more diligent to watch the track.

And see where Satan threw him off: on the doctrine of the Gospel. Satan's message through Peter was that we do not need the Gospel Christ, only the righteous Christ. We do not need, so said Satan, a substitute, we only need an example and an encourager. If only we had Jesus as a leader, says Satan to man, we would not need a Saviour.

May God helps us to always see and be happy to hear rebukes that lead us back to the Gospel.

Balaamism II

Numbers 24:25
And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place: and Balak also went his way.

The story of Balaam is a sad commentary on what happens when one who walks with God compromises with the world. Balaam enters into a relationship with Balak that was contrary to the will of God. He knew it, but chose to enter into it anyway because God didn't kill him for doing it.

But watch his frustration and misery throughout chapters 23-24. He appears to be trying to get Balak to obey the Lord. He gets Balak to offer sacrifice after sacrifice, he hears the message of God and returns it to Balak, but what does he get in return?

• Balak chides him
• Balak berates him and, in the end
• Balak disappoints him

When it is all said and done Balaam has nothing bettered anything.
• He has not converted Balak
• He has not honored the Lord (though he did bring the Lord's message)
• He has not been promoted

It all sounds like worldly Christianity today. There is such an attempt to convert the world by joining the world. But what has been the result? We have so called churches filled with false professors and a handful of frustrated believers who think that by putting up with the worldly they will somehow reach the worldly.

In the end,
• God will not be honored through these efforts
• The lost will not be truly converted by these efforts and
• The compromising believers will lose rewards in heaven because of these efforts.

Balaam would have been much better off joining the camp of Israel. And we will be much better off coming out of this world and clearly identifying with Christ.

Balaamism

Numbers 22:5
He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me:

Scofield's Notes have some very insightful things to say about "Balaamism."
"Balaam is the typical hireling prophet, seeking only to make a market of his gift. This is "the way of Balaam" (2Pe_2:15) and characterizes false teachers. The "error" of Balaam" (Jud_1:11) was that he could see only the natural morality -- a holy God, he reasoned, must curse such a people as Israel. Like all false teachers he was ignorant of the higher morality of vicarious atonement, by which God could be just and yet the justifier of believing sinners (Rom_3:26). The "doctrine of Balaam" (Rev_2:14) refers to his teaching Balak to corrupt the people whom he could not curse; (Num_31:16); (Num_25:1-3); (Jam_4:4). Spiritually, Balaamism in teaching never rises above natural reasonings; in practice, it is easy world-conformity."

• Watch Balaam as he hears the message from God and struggles with obeying the Lord or accepting promotion.
• See him as he makes a vain show of piety, insisting he cannot but speak what God has said and yet
• Notice that in the end, it is man, not God he really serves
Is this not exactly what we see in so much of Christianity today?

I think we could call much if not most of Christianity today Balaamism. There is a show of seeking God and there is access to God in many of the churches today, but there is no real intention to obey and follow Him.
• They salve their consciences with the fact that they have a show of worship and
• They justify what they do by reasoning God did not forbid them from doing it but
• They cannot see the real truths of atonement.
• They press for a worldly morality, not able to see a higher morality that is in Christ and
• They choose the easy and the worldly road.

Is there an answer to modern day Balaamism? Of course there is because in Christ there is always hope. The answer must always be in an absolute surrender to Christ and a coming out of the world. No portion of this world will ever be pleasing to God. No amount of reason and justification will make compromise with this world acceptable to God. No sort of apparent success will ever be proof enough that a worldly course is within the will of God. Only absolute surrender to Christ will reverse the course of Balaamism in the churches of today.

Marching On!

Numbers 21:22
Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn into the fields, or into the vineyards; we will not drink of the waters of the well: but we will go along by the king's high way, until we be past thy borders.

A similar story is recorded in chapter twenty with these significant differences:
First in the case of Edom, Moses emphasizes that they are brethren. Though generations had drifted the families apart Moses never forgot the relationship. Obviously Edom did

Second in the case of Edom, Moses went around rather than fighting. He did appeal twice but on the second refusal he departed.

Third Aaron died between Edom and Sihon.

Scofield says that the wanderings of Israel ends with Aaron's death and it is from there Israel marches to the Promised Land. It is not difficult to see a new spirit in Israel as they become warlike right away, defeating Arad, Bashan and Og. This is the Lord's doing but it is something to seek the Lord for; we need to be a people on the march and not merely a people who are wandering.

• We need to be a people of purpose and direction, not just a people who survive the day.
• We need to be a people of victory and backbone and not really a people who back away from standing for Christ.

Clean for Unclean

Numbers 19:9-10
And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin.
And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever.

A man that was clean was instructed of the Lord to minister on behalf of the congregation in a manner that would make them unclean.
At first thought I considered the work of the missionary who leaves homeland to try to reach souls for Christ, or I thought of the witness, who steps into a risky place sometimes because he longs to see souls saved.

But though each person is needed in the ministry it is not a true type of the minister because the New Testament counsels that as we try to reach these people we do so with fear "hating even the garment that is spotted by the flesh." we are not to make ourselves unclean in our desire to see another become clean.

This man is rather a type of Jesus Christ, who became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Christ alone became unclean that we could be made clean. Then for three days and three nights He was separated from His Father in the grave before He arose victorious over sin and death.

I am clean because He became unclean for me.

Moses

Numbers 17:10
And the LORD said unto Moses, Bring Aaron's rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not.

The text does not tell us how Moses was to take away their murmurings, unless it was in the saving of Aaron's rod as a testimony against the rebels.

What the Bible does say is that Moses did as the Lord said. What an example Moses is of humility and faithful service to the Lord. These are a people who had
• Forfeited the Promised Land
• Challenged Moses and Aaron's authority and
• Murmured against them when God caused the earth to swallow Korah Dathan and Abiram.

These were a people who had caused that Moses himself would not go into the Promised Land (though I am not discounting Moses' own sin and the waters of Meribah) and he spent the rest of his life ministering to people who would wander until they died. Still Moses consistently ministered to them for their good.

I sometimes believe that we are living in such days when the majority of mankind have forfeited the grace of God upon themselves. Sin, humanism and pride have so swallowed up men that I wonder if we aren't just wandering around until this one last generation has passed.

Even if that is the case the task of the believer today is to serve God by attempting to be a blessing to men.

May God help me to be a blessing.

They Didn't Spoil God's Plan

Numbers 15:2
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land of your habitations, which I give unto you,

In chapter 14 Israel is sentenced to wander in the wilderness for 40 years as a result of their unbelief at Kadesh Barnea. It is worth taking note though, that immediately following the sentence God gives them instructions about what to do when they do enter the Promised Land.

Though they have forfeited their own entrance God wanted them to know they could not forfeit His promise for all of Israel and for all of time.

Our own sins may cost us. The consequences may be severe, but God's promises are sure and eternal and inviolable by men. What God has said is true and sure regardless of men and no man, or generation of men, is able to spoil His promise.

The Work of Love

Matthew 9:2
And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.

It is easy to see in this account, that the purpose of the Lord was the forgiving of sin.

The faith of this man's friends caused them to bring him to Jesus and brought Christ to forgive his sin. Any other blessing, any other work the Lord would do was secondary to that work and was meant only as a sign that He had done this work.

If the chief characteristic of Divine life in us is love and its work of blessing men then the chief blessing is to bring to them, not the message of healing, or prosperity or of peace with others; but to bring to them the message of peace with God because of forgiven sins.

And this work is meant of the Lord to bring good cheer. Jesus did not say, "be of good cheer, you will walk again." but "be of good cheer your sins are forgiven."

I note that the multitudes were impressed with the healing and not the forgiving of sins. But the multitude also forsook Jesus over His hard sayings. It is the forgiveness of sins and the word of eternal life that will keep us next to Christ. It is that message that we must bless men with.

Don't Tell!

Matthew 8:4
And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

As He was coming down from preaching His Sermon on the Mount there came a leper to Christ who believed Christ, if only he were willing, could make him clean. Christ was willing and he was healed. And then Christ gives this man a remarkable commandment, don't tell. He had received such a miracle in his body. The change was
• Immediate
• Complete and
• Thoroughly life changing.Yet Jesus' command to him was not to tell anyone what Jesus had done. He was supposed to obey the Mosaic instructions for a leper who had been healed and everyone who knew him would immediately see he was healed. But he was not to set out to purposely tell.

I have wondered at these many times in the Word where Jesus told men not to tell. There are some other times, as in the case of the possessed man of Gadera, that he was specifically instructed to go and tell. We have our explanations of course, but all of them are speculations because the Bible doesn't tell us why some were to tell and others were not (with the exception of when the reason was that Christ's time was not yet come).

It seems to me that the lesson is that
Everyone telling is not Christ's will.
Some should not tell because the Lord has some other purpose for them. Others should not tell because their testimony is not right. I know some so called Christians I wished would not call themselves such.

The one who has been truly converted will need no command to tell.
His very life will be a more powerful testimony than any words could ever be. Others speaking about what Christ has done in him will be much more effective than anything he can personally say. No doubt there is a Bible mandate to be witnesses. But the sort of witness we are in these days is to be called into question. We have changed witnessing into a science that needs neither the filling of the Holy Spirit upon the witness or the calling of God upon the "witnessee" to be successful and it has turned Christianity into one of the biggest sources of derision in the world today.

What Is Your Fruit?

Matthew 7:16
Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
The Lord said we could know the authenticity of the prophet by his fruit. It should not be difficult then to see whose ministry is of the Lord and whose is man made. It is just a matter of examining the fruit. And herein lies some of our trouble.

First, we ignore obvious fruit.
We see things that are in contradiction of the Word, but because we don't want to rock the boat or perhaps we like the prophet, so we ignore fruit of the wrong sort.

Second we look for the wrong things as right fruit.We think of
• Excitement
• Enthusiasm
• Largeness and the
• Impressive
as the right fruit. We have plugged in worldly values as spiritual fruit.

Genuine fruit, on the other hand, would be things like
• Humility
• Christlikeness
• A sojourner's mentality
• Meekness
• Concern for the glory of God and
• Etc.

We will know them by their fruit but we must know how to find fruit!

Trust

Matthew 6:27
Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
Just as a man has no power to add to his height or physical presence, our Lord suggests we not add to our financial stature through human means. It is sure that a person may hedge himself toward a more prosperous future through education and through earnest pursuit. But that focus is not the most valuable one.

Our Lord says it would be better to pour ourselves into knowing the Lord and trust the Lord to care for us.

It is still a matter of the heart; where our treasure is, there will our heart be also.

My purpose in life is to be to follow after Christ. He will provide and care for me as I do that. He always has. I am confident He will continue to do the same.

Righteousness

Matthew 5:20
For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

The focus of the Sermon on the Mount is the matter of the heart. The righteousness we must have for heaven is a righteousness that stems from the heart.

And in order for the heart to have righteousness it must be made new; it must possess Christ. No man can make himself have a new heart. It is impossible to will ourselves to love a person or a thing. This must come of God.

Love may be won. A man may win the love of a woman for instance and the Bible tells us that God wins our love by first loving us.

When we suffer for righteousness' sake it is suffering for Christ and not for doing the right thing.

Angels

Matthew 4:11
Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

The book of Hebrews tells us the angels also minister unto us.
• How real
• How helpful
• How substantial
this ministry must have been for our Lord. He had been so sorely tried and it had been such a real struggle, though it was a spiritual struggle. Now the devil left him and the angels came. The angels did not come while the devil tempted him, but after.

Perhaps the ministry of the angels is not to support us in our times of temptation but to refresh and heal and lift us up after the battle is over. Or perhaps they had been battling in the unseen realm and, when the battle was over gathered around our Lord.

The ministry of the angels is real, it is substantial and I want to accept it is fact and rest in that ministry.

Fifty

Numbers 8:25-26
And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof, and shall serve no more:
But shall minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charge.

The Levites were to wait upon the service of the tabernacle from twenty five years old until they were fifty. After fifty they were to cease from the service and from then on minister with their brethren in the tabernacle. Because of some other texts I believe that means they changed from the physical labor of the ministry to more spiritual and mentoring type ministries.

Being now fifty two years old I am aware that in my younger years I did not know very much though I did think pretty well of my accomplishments. But I also know, now that I am over fifty, that I still don't know much. Perhaps I am more unsure of what I know than any time previous in my life. I am certainly not qualified to be a mentor. Further, I am not sure I know anyone that I believe does know any more than I do. I am fearful of men who presume to teach because I see so little that I perceive to be of God.

May the Lord guide and help us!

Wise Men

Matthew 2:3
When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

When the word of the wise men, that He who was to be king of the Jews had been born, the Bible says that Herod was troubled.

We know, of course, why. He was troubled for his job. A rightful king, whether really from God or just perceived to be by the people, meant problems for his own reign. Loss of power, problems managing the people and associated troubles with the Romans, would be the only results to these claims so far as Herod could see.

But the Bible says that all of Jerusalem was troubled with him. I can assume some of those troubles are related. If Herod was troubled that in itself could mean trouble in Jerusalem. That the man was violent is obvious from his future actions in Bethlehem. Jerusalem would have known what he was capable of before Bethlehem and it would certainly have troubled them. But the testimony of the Jews reveals that they were not on a whole honestly seeking the King of the Jews. Christ came to them but they received Him not. Religion has a way of becoming its own movement and losing its sole function of bringing men to Christ. Jesus can Himself become a problem for the religious man. He disturbs the plans men in religion have set in motion.

The wise men seem to have been a different sort. Though we think of them as kings, wealthy and powerful what they really are is a dispossessed and sojourning people, probably few in number, they gave what was valuable to Christ and left homes, society, properties and what would have been considered worldly successes just to find Jesus. So willing to follow the Lord were they that when they left Israel, at the warning of the angel of God, they went another way. What they were used to, what was their custom, was abandoned to be honest followers of the Lord.

May that also be my testimony.

All Man and All God

Matthew 1:1
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

The key characters so far as the plan of God for the Christ are Abraham and David.
• No mention is made of Isaac and Jacob, though their roles are vital.
• No mention of Judah, whose tribe the Messiah was to come. There is also no mention of Solomon whose family genealogy this is. (Though Christ's blood is not in Solomon)

The characters that sum up the line of the Saviour are David and Abraham.
Abraham represents and establishes the humanity of Christ. As the father of the Jewish race and the father of those that believe, Christ was born into that line.

David represents the kingly aspect of Christ. Though He is all man, he is also royalty, Sovereign and all God. Though David was only human, the Bible makes it clear that this son of David would not see the physical corruption David's body did.

He is God.

The Beginning and the End

Revelation 22:1
And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

Revelation 22:3
And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
The throne of God and of the Lamb...
This throne seems to be as opposed to the throne of David that was the promise of Israel. That promise having been fulfilled the eternal plan has gone on to better things.

Israel is no longer the people of God, in fact in this eternal vision people don't seem to be the focus at all, but God and the Lamb. There are, of course, people there, but they are where they really always belonged, in the background.

The Bible doesn't end on the note of mankind. It ends on the note of God.

May my days begin and need in God.

A Refreshing Future

Revelation 21:6
And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

"I will give unto him that is athirst" there is a unique element in these words in that John has been translated into what is still future for us but his message comes back to those of both his and our present.

What God will do is intended to refresh those who keep the future in our minds. God's consummated plan comforts the far sighted child of God perhaps more than small blessings today.

John Saw

Revelation 20:1
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Revelation 20:4
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Revelation 20:11
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

The emphasis in this chapter is on what John saw.

One of the lessons I see is all we will see when we get to heaven.

Some of those things John saw will still be even future even for us.
• All of the victories of the Tribulation,
• Satan's binding and
• The first resurrection

What thrilling sights will be ours.

What A Name

Revelation 19:11-16
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

Verses 11-16 give us Jesus coming from heaven and a subject emphasized is all His names:
• called Faithful and True,
• a name that no man knew but He Himself,
• His name is called the Word of God,
• a name written KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
Philippians 2:10-11
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
nd that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
What a name is Jesus!

Put My Name Upon Them

Numbers 6:23-27
Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,
The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.

These are words that God Himself instructed the priest to pronounce upon the people and so put God's name upon them.

I know I am no priest but this is a practice I want to have, every so often putting God's name on my congregation thus.

These are also the words of prayer I want to place upon my sons and upon their families frequently; seeking that the name of the Lord would be upon the and that God would indeed bless them.

The Lamb Shall Overcome

Revelation 17:14
These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
The phrasing of this passage connects it with chapter 19 and tells me that the war of which it speaks is the battle of chapter 19.

One of those things I must always remember is that the Lord is victor. Sometimes things look pretty sorry, but that is only because I am looking through mortal eyes. Eternity has assured me, the Lamb shall overcome them.

It is more than a truth about fleshly battles against Jesus too. Those battles of the soul and spirit are equally put to the silence under Christ.

Get up today and charge into life. The lamb shall overcome.

By Their Names

Numbers 1:17
And Moses and Aaron took these men which are expressed by their names:

Every one expressed by name.

Out of the multitudes of people in Israel God personally named twelve to assist Moses and Aaron in numbering the people.

God not only sees His people, He sees them by name; well enough that He expresses them by name.
• He not only numbers the hairs on our head, He expresses us by name.
• He not only causes that men would identify and record the names of others, God Himself expresses them by their names.
These were men of renown and leaders in their ranks, or they became men of renown because God expressed them by their names. God is personal. He is working out a plan for the ages. But in the midst of that He is working just for me.

The Temple of The Tabernacle of the Testimony

Revelation 15:5
And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:
This is quite a descriptive name and takes in everything of the Old Testament types of the tabernacle and later the temple.

A temple is a permanent structure while a tabernacle is a tent. Israel used a tabernacle for four hundred odd years before their temple was constructed.

A tabernacle is mobile, a temple is not.

In heaven the temple reminds us of the tabernacle. It was after the pattern of heaven that the tabernacle was made.

The Old Testament speaks of the Ten Commandments as God's testimony. In heaven this testimony is still remembered. God, in our text, is about to pour out His vials of wrath upon the Tribulation world. It is appropriate that those vials are poured out before the background of that which represents holy worship and His unalterable Word.

For I Am

Leviticus 26:44
And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God.

It is obvious, when reading Leviticus 25 and 26, that God knew what would happen with Israel and Babylon.

This is a thousand years before the fact but God already pronounces what would happen if Israel did not give the land it's Sabbath rests.
• He pronounced they should accept the punishment of their iniquity
• He pronounced they would go in to another land and
• He pronounced that even there He would not utterly forsake them.

Learn the timelessness of God. It is not just that He accurately predicts the future but He is in the future and in the past as they are His present. He may be fully trusted. Nothing is a guess for Him.

Cursing

Leviticus 24:23
And Moses spake to the children of Israel, that they should bring forth him that had cursed out of the camp, and stone him with stones. And the children of Israel did as the LORD commanded Moses.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary says,
"This offender was the son of an Egyptian father, and an Israelitish mother. The notice of his parents shows the common ill effect of mixed marriages. A standing law for the stoning of blasphemers was made upon this occasion. Great stress is laid upon this law. It extends to the strangers among them, as well as to those born in the land. Strangers, as well as native Israelites, should be entitled to the benefit of the law, so as not to suffer wrong; and should be liable to the penalty of this law, in case they did wrong. If those who profane the name of God escape punishment from men, yet the Lord our God will not suffer them to escape his righteous judgments. What enmity against God must be in the heart of man, when blasphemies against God proceed out of his mouth. If he that despised Moses' law, died without mercy, of what punishment will they be worthy, who despise and abuse the gospel of the Son of God! Let us watch against anger, do no evil, avoid all connexions with wicked people, and reverence that holy name which sinners blaspheme."

There are times when we are called upon to obey difficult things. I am thankful we no longer punish evil doers n this manner but I do wonder when men decided we could be different? When was it ever decided that we could allow profanity and blasphemous language to be so commonplace and to go unchallenged?

I do not believe I have ever heard that these sorts of things were a part of the constitutional discussion for America. I have read that the framers of our constitution considered blasphemy as a disqualifier for public office, but never that the man who cursed would be stoned.

So I am not calling for a revival of this practice, but I do believe we ought to have a revival of the sense of offense at blasphemous language.

Hallowed

Leviticus 22:32
Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I am the LORD which hallow you,
I am the Lord which hallow you.

• It is God who selects His people.
• It is God which separates His people and
• It is God which sanctifies His people in the earth.

This is the work of the Lord among us. It is also marvelous to behold. It is not all people who respond to the working of God, but among those who do respond there are marvelous doings in their lives.

Israel had notable rebels and renegades among them. But they also saw mighty men of God with them too. It will be a remnant, the smallest number of the people who become sanctified to the Lord, but among them we will see that God has indeed hallowed them.

Is The Lord Our God?

Leviticus 19:37
Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the LORD.

Throughout this chapter God repeats the declaration, "I am the Lord" and "I am the Lord your God." and throughout the chapter are commands to God's people such as,
• "be ye holy"
• print no mark on your body,
• use just weights,
• do not avenge
• nor bear a grudge.

Here is where the rubber meets the road; we will obey these commands if we accept that He is "the Lord our God."

The fact that our people, for instance, have almost completely taken on tattooing is evidence that the Lord is not our God. At on time even the unsaved saw the rebellion and wickedness of such an act. Soldiers, almost as an act of defiance against death would get them; but few else. Now it is so common I wonder if there will be any unmarked bodies in the next generation.

No. The Lord is not the God of America. It is time we confess it so that we might see God heal our land.

Not Like the Past Not Like the Future; Like the Lord

Leviticus 18:3
After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances.

God instructs Israel that they are not to do as the Egyptians did, which they had just left or as the Canaanites do, whom they were about to approach.

The people of God are a unique people on the earth.

We are to forsake those things we have already learned in the world and ignore and avoid those things of the world that we will be exposed to in the future.

We have all been exposed to the worldly things.It is a fact of life on this planet. We must confess it and forsake it. Denying the truth of it serves no good purpose at all

But we must also be aware that new exposures will face us daily.
Being aware of that danger we will be better able to ignore and to avoid that exposure.


So what are we supposed to do if we do not conform to those things we have learned or fit into those things that are around us now?
We submit to and follow after those things God teaches in the Word of God.
We are to be a totally different sort of people, in the world but not of the world.

He Ever Liveth

Leviticus 16:20
And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat:

An interesting thing on the Day of Atonement; The High Priest actually entered the Holy of Holies two times. First, the blood of the bullock was sprinkled to make an atonement for the High Priest and his household. Secondly the blood of the goat was sprinkled within the vail to make atonement for the holy place and the tabernacle and the altar.

All of these are typical of Christ.
• The High Priest was a type of Jesus Christ, the great High Priest.
• The Holy of Holies contained the mercy seat which is a type of Christ, the fulfillment of the Old Testament Law (contained in the Ark and covered with the mercy seat. The blood sprinkled upon it represents the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross.
• The tabernacle of the congregation represents man's access to God through Jesus Christ and
• The altar represents the means of that access, through the death of Christ.

Once the offerings were made, the priest received the live goat. He lay his hands upon that animal and confessed the sins of the people and the animal was set free, representing that our sins have been removed.

The live goat that was let free is the one that carries away the sin of the people. That goat was sent away, "by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness." It typified the absolute removal of sin, never to be remembered again.
Hebrews 10:17
And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

Psalms 103:12
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

Micah 7:19
He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

Christ's death was meant to pacify God's holiness. His resurrection is what sets us free. As long as Christ is alive, we have proof our sins are forgiven.

And the Bible affirms He is alive.
Revelation 1:18
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Hebrews 7:25
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

A term similar to intercession and thus relevant here
1 John 2:1
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

• He ever liveth, to be my Advocate and to intercede in prayer before the Father for me.
• He ever liveth to hide myself in His righteousness

He ever liveth. And so long as He liveth my sins are carried from the presence of God; never to be an offense to Him again.

Silence!

Revelation 8:1
And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

Silence half an hour.

An appropriate response to the Lord's presence is silence.
• When the heavens open, silence.
• When God manifested Himself, silence.
So much of what we see in the way of Christianity is loud and gaudy.

There are times when it is right to jump and leap and praise God. But it is also more than right to bow in utter stillness and silence.

Perhaps we have too much of the first and not enough of the second.