Greetings to God the Father, Son and Spirit, the blessed, wonderful angels (hi angels) and to all the saints in Christ. We saw in Matthew 16: 24-26 that Jesus killed His own natural desires to save His body in the following statement – “if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Have you experienced the fellowship of His sufferings as a means of kiling the flesh? We talked about the sufferings of His life and the denial that He had to make of His own personal desires, including the one to escape the degrading death of the cross. Let us examine the checklist. First, the same crowd that followed Him into Jerusalem, hailing Him as king, was the one that shouted “give us Barrarabas”. How fickle can people become. How can people be so easily swayed by the popular opinion? Have you experienced this. Secondly, He had to celebrate His death and burial in anticipation of the event. Can we give up personal ambitions knowing that it will cost money, popularity, fame, comfort? The celebration of the Lord’s Supper in heaven will be a jubilant, exciting event, similar to the one LFT celebrated in Bensalem recently. Was this the atmosphere of the supper before the crucifixion, or was it dreary and solemn? HE had to celebrate His death and burial as if we had already gained its victory. This is a lesson. Can we celebrate the victory that will emerge from our sacrifice? Ccan we eat the supper (figuratively) in the presence of
those who betray us, already forgiving them in anticipation of new and further betrayal? Can we worship with betrayers, loving rather than hating them for what they do and will continue to do to us? Will we rejoice or sorrow at their suicide, knowing that the lowest pits of fire are their damnation? What about when they appear to prosper in spite of their actions? Will we curse God and die or worship Him? Will we become bitter or pray “father forgive them, they know not what they do?” JEsus was forsaken by the disciples when the crowd took Him by force. Have you ever been forsaken or put in a lonely place where no one appeared to understand? Have you had to bite your tongue and avoid conflict even when the right was yours? He repaired the servant’s ear in His example. Will you curse your Peters for denying that they know you or will you just look around lovingly? Will you restore your Peters when you raise from the dead? What about when people sell you out for a few pennies, like Judas? Have you ever been sold out? They falsely accused Him and He answered not a word? They mocked Him? HE had to carry a heavy cross destined for Barrabas or take the shame that was destined for another? Have you ever been the fall guy or woman? More to come.

Greetings to God the Father, Son and Spirit, the blessed, wonderful angels (hi angels) and to all the saints in Christ. As I reread yesterday’s blog, I asked the Lord to make me more like Him, because His example is the only way that I can become the daughter of God that I was designed to be. We saw in Matthew 16: 24-26 that Jesus killed His own natural desires to save His body in the following statement – “if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” He challenges the believer to follow His own example by denying himself. In His case, it was denying His desire to live and escape the humiliating death of the cross. Therefore, if we save our lives, keep our way, walk after our own desires, we will lose the eternal life and spiritual revelation, fullness of sonship that He has in store for us. We may be saved, yes, but by the skin of our teeth, as in 1 Corinthians 3: 15. Yesterday we saw how He killed the flesh and He also avoided futile disputes in order to fulfill prophecy spoken of Him (Mt 12: 9-15). We learnt that He focused on pleasing God and not man (Mt 6: 31-34). He killed the flesh by preventing the demons from exposing His identity. This may thrill some of us, but like the demon that drew attention to Paul, Jesus realized that the demons could easily have become the focus of attention. He did not need the praise of devils. They believe and tremble but do not repent (Mk 3: 10 – 11). He also killed the flesh by withholding certain thrilling information from the general public that would have caused them to crown Him as King of the Jews. For example, He forbade the disciples to speak of the transfiguration in which Moses and Elijah, the most respected Jewish prophets, appeared to Him (Mk 9: 1-9). In other words, He could have used His affiliation with these Jewish heros to get ahead. However, being crowned as king was not His purpose and furthermore, (sic) He did not need this association to prove who He was since He existed long before any of them (before Abraham was, I am – Jn 8: 58). Have you ever been faced with a personal situation such as this? This is how you know who your true friends are. The people who God aligns you with in your time of adversity (I am not talking about those who align with you to kill you, like Judas did) are most likely the ones who will stick with you through thick and thin. Beware of the crowd that wait to follow closely when you become rich, famous and popular. Blessings and more to come!

I spoke to some extent about principles related to the fasting diet found in the scriptures. We are chastening, killing or crucifying the flesh so the spirit can become more active, more alert, more responsive to God and purged of impurities. In so doing, we follow the example of Christ who was empowered in His death to undergo warfare in another dimension (pits of hell) that would set us free from the power of darkness. Therefore, people who fast would find that they live more in the realm of the Spirit of God, which Paul calls walking in the Spirit in Romans 8. It seems to me to be interrelated because the walk in the Spirit requires the subduing of the flesh. This is the state where all things become possible to him that believeth (help me Father to walk the talk!). I thought that I should return to this practical component of fasting because some people prefer not to eat at all. Every one must follow his or her personal conviction. However, for practical purposes some intake may be necessary for prolonged fasts (remember a fast is a hunger strike). When the body is deprived of nutrients, glucose, fat, then protein stores are used for energy sources. The end products of some metabolic processes can be harmful (e.g. ketones which are acidic products from fat metabolism) and for this reason some authors recommend juice fasts while others recommend fruit and/or vegetable fasts. Raw foods (derived from plants) are living things (see how they grow when they are cut down) that supply enzymes that catalyze body functions, nutrients, water for cell hydration and oxygen. I found an interesting recipe for “green lemonade” which the author claims would supply the chlorophyll, digestive enzymes, minerals, vitamins, water, energy and oxygen needed for cell cleansing and hydration (NB I have not tried it yet, but it is similar to others that I have tried) – 1 head romaine lettuce, 5-6 stalks kale, 1-2 apples, 1 whole lemon (organic), 1-2 inches fresh ginger. This should be juiced and used on an empty stomach and a total of about 12 ozs taken daily. The lettuce and kale could be replaced by other greens such as cucumber, spinach and dark, green leafy vegetables (Rose 2005). In her book, “the raw food detox diet”, Rose (2005) also encourages the elimination of processed foods and the increased intake of fruits and vegetables. There are other wonderful books whose authors also advocate the benefits of juice fasting and/or the benefits of the raw food diet e.g. The Maker’s diet by Jordan Rubin. To end, some years ago I read an interesting book on “the release of the spirit” by Watchman Nee (available on Amazon.com) and would recommend it for readers who are seeking greater spiritual communion with God. Blessings and remember, this is the greatest year of your life (Love Fellowship Tabernacle’s 2007 theme).

The Day of  Atonement

Today we will focus on the symbolism revealed in  The Day of Atonement as we continue to discuss Tishri, the seventh Jewish month.  According to the law, the Day of Atonement was to be observed on Day 10 of month 7. It was a day of rest, convocation and affliction of the soul.

Modern Jews observe Ten Days of Atonement:

Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD (Leviticus 23: 27)

And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God (Leviticus 23: 28)

What is atonement?

Kippur (H3725), the Jewish word for atonement, occurs 8 times in 8 verses in the Hebrew concordance of the King James Version of the Bible. The direct usage shows reveals elements of an atonement under the law:

• offering for sin
• animal sacrifice
• shedding of animal blood
• cleansing with blood
• anointing after the cleansing
• sanctification after the cleansing
• atonement money – Exodus 30: 15 & 16)
• recompense to the Lord

Further understanding of the atonement by the root word

However, I had to examine kaphar  (H3722) in order to fully understand the doctrine of atonement. God commanded Israel to make atonement with animal sacrifices and financial gifts or offerings in order to:

• pitch or cover over sin (Genesis 6: 14)
• appease God (Genesis 32: 20)
• receive forgiveness and pardon of sins (Leviticus 4: 20, 26, 31 & 35)
• be consecrated and sanctified or set apart as holy to God  (Exodus 29: 33 & 36)
• purge sin (1 Samuel 3: 14).
• receive pardon from God (2 Chronicles 30: 18)
• to pacify God (Proverbs 16: 14)
• receive mercy and forgiveness from God (Deuteronomy 212: 8)

Be merciful, ^H3722 O LORD, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel’s charge. And the blood shall be forgiven ^H3722 them

• to disannul  sin

And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, ^H3722 and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it (Isaiah 28: 18)

The mediator of the atonement

A human priest was the mediator of the atonement, standing between God and the people, and presenting their sin offerings to the Heavenly Father. If the offering was pleasing to God, a reconciliation would be made

the priest shall make an atonement ^H3722 for her, and she shall be clean (Leviticus 12: 8)

And the priest shall make an atonement ^H3722 for him before the LORD: and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he hath done in trespassing therein (Leviticus 6: 7)

And he slew it; and Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation ^H3722 upon it (Leviticus 8: 15)

And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement ^H3722 for the children of Israel: that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary (Numbers 8: 19)

And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement ^H3722 for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun (Numbers 16: 46)

What happened on the Day of Atonement?

On this yearly event, the High Priest was commanded to enter into the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle in order to seek pardon for his sins and those of his household and the nation (Leviticus 16).

Requirements:

• special robes
• a young bull as a sin offering, and of a ram as a burnt offering.
• two goats for a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering on behalf of the nation
• fire
• sweet incense

The procedure

The High Priest would first offer the bull as a sacrifice for his sins and that of his household.

He would then take two goats for a sin offering and present them to the Lord at the door of the tabernacle. He would cast lots over the two goats and offer the Lord’s goat as a sacrifice and let go the other one, or scapegoat, into the wilderness.

He would then enter behind the veil of the Holy of Holies carrying incense and a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar.

Once inside, he would put the incense on the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy-seat that is on the Testimony, lest he die.

He first offered an atonement for his and his family’s sins by taking some of the blood of the bull and sprinkling it  on the east of the mercy-seat. He then sprinkled the blood seven times at the front of the mercy-seat.

The High Priest would then kill the goat of the sin offering. He would take the blood into the Holy of Holies via the veil and repeat the procedure on behalf of the sins of the nation.

The High Priest then went out to the altar that is before the LORD, and made an atonement for it by sprinkling some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat. He also put blood on the horns of the altar as an atonement.

The High Priest then laid both his hands on the head of the live goat and confessed over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions and sins,  putting them on the head of the goat. He then sent it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man.

The bullock and the goat slain as sin offerings were burnt outside the camp.

How the Day of Atonement is a picture of Christ

The blood of the atonement – there is no remission of sins without the shedding of blood. A life must be given for a life. Jesus shed His blood on the Cross and gave Himself as a substitute for the sins of the world. God then cleanses the spirit of those who seek pardon and forgives them from all unrighteousness

.

The tabernacle – represents the Holy Tabernacle in heaven, not made with hands.  There is a Holy of Holies in that tabernacle into which Jesus entered after His resurrection and laid down His blood as an offering for the sins of the world:

Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens

a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man

For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this One also have something to offer (Hebrews 8: 1 – 3)

Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people (Hebrews 8: 8 – 10)

For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second

But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance

the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing…

But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation

Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption

For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh

how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9)

The High Priest – Jesus is the sinless High Priest who offered Himself once for the sins of world. He laid down His blood on the altar of heaven. The earthly Jewish high priests were subject to possible judgment and death if they were displeasing to God. They had to wear bells on the hem of his garments in the event that they died in the Holy Place:

For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens

who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself

who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself

For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever (Hebrews 7: 25 – 28)

Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these

For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us (Hebrews 9: 23 & 24)

The sacrifices – the blood of bulls and goats cannot become an eternal substitute for sins. Jesus came to fulfill the law and His blood cleanses us from all unrighteousness as we read in the previous texts.

The incense – represents the prayers and sweet smelling savor of the believer’s life (Revelation 8: 4).

The sprinkling with blood

Represents the sprinkling with the blood for spiritual purging and cleansing. The picture that comes to mind is the sprinkling that the priests did with hyssop:

God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and His Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1: 2)

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin (1 John 1: 7)

And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood (Revelation 1: 5).

The scapegoat and the sin sacrifices – Jesus is sacrifice who took punishment for our sins. The scapegoats are those who escape when they believe in Him for salvation and confess that with their mouths. He was crucified outside the camp at Golgotha for the sins of the planet:

For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp

Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate (Hebrews 13: 11 & 12)

And he is the propitiation (atonement) for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2: 2)

More coming on  The affliction of the soul and  The sanctification that follows atonement. Angelic blessings and prosperity.

RELATED READINGS

Melchizedek

More On The Priesthood Of Christ

Fasting and the High Priestly Ministry of Christ (for the Jews especially)

My friend Polly Olliver asked me to give a fifteen minute presentation on worship at a  retreat being conducted for final year students of the Jamaica Theological  Seminary. They are pursuing a Bachelor of Sciences in Social Work and one of the courses is Formation.  Topics in the retreat include Prayer and other spiritual disciplines such as fasting.

Thank you Archangel Michael for instructing me on the presentation. I received new revelation and blessings.

Please click this link to read   worship

1. Introduction

I began to write about the parallels between the temptation of Jesus and that of Adam and Eve in the post  “Parallels – SatanParallels – Satan Tempted Jesus In All Points, Like Adam And Eve.”  Scripture teaches us that Jesus was tempted “In all points/`ummah <sup>5980</sup>” like humans.  We discovered that  that  In all points/`ummah ⁵⁹⁸⁰ meant that Jesus’ temptation was PARALLEL WITH, CORRESPONDING TO, EXACTLY to that of humans. 

Was Jesus’ temptation parallel to that of  our Adam’s?  To discover this, we need to examine the elements of Lord Jesus’ temptation in order to determine if there are any parallels.  Today’s writings will show that both Adam and Jesus were tempted to satisy the desires of the flesh rather than obeying the Word of God.

2. The  Parallels

JESUS – Was almost 30 years old when He was tempted  (Luke 3: 23)

ADAM – was tempted before he was 130 years, which was the time of  Seth’s birth (Genesis 5: 3).

JESUS – was tempted  to satisfy a natural desire of the flesh rather than obeying the Word of the Father to fast. The Father had commanded our Lord Jesus to  go to the wilderness and to fast from food for 40 days (Matt 4: 1).Satan tempted him during those days of fasting to eat by speaking to a stone and commanding it to become bread:

             If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.

            And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God (Luke 4: 3 & 4).

We learn from the cross reference that the  Father was testing Jesus to see what was in His heart and to see if the Lord would obey the Word of the Father and no one else:

 God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou    wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

 He humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD (Deuteronomy 8: 2 & 3).

ADAM AND EVE succumbed to the temptation to obey the desires of the flesh and the word of satan rather than the Word of God:

           And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden

But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die

          And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die

 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat (Genesis 3: 2 – 6)

RELATED READINGS

God used manna to teach Israel His Word

God Used Manna In The Wilderness To Humble Israel And Teach Them His Word

God Used Manna In The Wilderness To Teach Israel Discipline & Test Their Obedience

The Temptation And Fall Of Adam And Eve

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I mused this morning about the spiritual deposits that were made into me by two key people. They are my mother and Bishop Sonny Williams.  My mother gave me to the Lord before birth and continued through my upbringing to put faith into me by sharing testimonies of her life and by the demonstration of praise and faithfulness to God.

I was about 11 when I had my first encounter with Bishop Williams. He was the Youth President of the Soldiers For Christ, the youth group of the Lowmans Hill New Testament Church of God.  He taught the youths the following spiritual disciplines in theory and practical.  My life was forever impacted as I independently applied them to my life through the years :

1. Integrity and Honesty
2. Fasting and Prayer
3. Seeking God for the baptism of the Holy Spirit
4. The will of God and seeking God for His Will for our lives
5. Evangelism – the youths held Open Air Meetings in our immediate and adjacent communities and walked for miles on  Sunday evenings to fulfill the mission

I give thanks for the spiritual deposits that were made in my life by these two important individuals. I often observe youth groups and discern that the youths are quite gifted but do not seem to be connected to Father God.

I hasten to tell you that our youth group had a lot of fun. The programs were planned around the Social, Mental, Spiritual and Physical development of the individual and we were well-balanced.

I challenge parents and Youth Leaders/Pastors to ask what legacy you are leaving for those under your charge and to fulfill the mission given to you by God.

Blessings, peace, angelic prosperity and protection.

RELATED POSTS

My own experience – training in ministry

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