In Hebrews chapter 5, I thought we should
speak a little about the making of a
priest.
Paul tells us in Hebrews 5 the qualifications
of a priest.
Speaking of Christ, of course, I know in
times past when we read many things about
the Lord Jesus, I always felt a great
barrier there.
That's Him, that Holy One, that Perfect One,
that Lord from Heaven.
And though I knew the Scripture that He
was our example, somehow it never seemed right
to me that He could be my example
or a forerunner because He was so far,
so high beyond it.
So I'd be more inclined to think of,
you know, the wonderful example we have in
Paul, some of the apostles, some of the
saints through the church age, some of the
saints from the Old Testament, but the Lord
Jesus was our example.
So how could this be?
How could the Almighty One be our example?
For the simple reason that He came down
right into our likeness.
For every high priest taken from among men
of their gain and foreman, and then pertaining
to God, that He may offer His gifts
and sacrifices for sin.
Every high priest is taken from among men
and foreman.
What a wonderful thing to know that.
You know, in this world, it's dominated by
many gods, and all various religions have many
gods, many austere gods, cruel gods.
And you see some of the things that
people will do in the name of their
gods, treacherous gods, cruel gods, gods of hate,
gods of vengeance.
What men won't do in the name of
their gods.
But our high priest was taken from among
men and foreman, so that the mighty God
of the universe literally took upon Himself a
human form, that He, the exalted God, might
reveal Himself in the midst of mankind, taken
from among men and ordained foreman.
And I know that even in the Christian
church, we don't have, we have not yet
seen that expression of the heart of God.
Oh, we've seen it, I know, in history
and all that, here and there, a little,
perhaps, in the earth.
But we've yet to see that full expression
of the heart of God as was revealed
in our great high priest, who is now
in the heaven.
I start out to say that somehow, I've
always looked upon our Lord Jesus as someone
exalted and lifted up and apart from us.
What He did was wonderful and the life
He lived was wonderful, but here we are
now without Him.
And how we thank the Lord for that
revelation of truth, that when He went away,
He went away because He said, it's better
for my disciples in the earth that I
go away, in order that the spirit that
I have, the spirit that is in me,
the spirit of truth that walks in me
might be revealed in the earth and might
walk in my many brethren in the earth.
The same spirit.
I'm not talking about God having 10,000
high priests in the earth.
I'm saying there's one high priest in the
heavens, but that this one who is high
priest in the heavens has taken unto himself
a body composed of many men in the
earth who are to be one with him.
One high priest, but he has taken unto
himself a body.
Through this body he might continue to manifest
this priestly ministry in the earth.
And before we go back to the Old
Testament to consider some of the various things
that pertain to the priesthood in type and
shadow, let us just notice briefly the qualifications
of God's priesthood.
He's four men, but it says in verse
2, he's taken from among men and has
ordained four men and things pertaining to God
that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices
for sins who can have compassion on the
ignorant and on them that are out of
the way.
Who can have compassion on the ignorant and
let's look at that word as it is
really intended here.
We use the word ignorant in the sense
of, oh, you're stupid, you're so ignorant.
But he's not saying that.
He's saying that this high priest must have
compassion on those who just don't know.
They just don't know God or they don't
know God's way.
They just don't know.
And so we don't accuse anyone because he
doesn't know.
If he doesn't know, he doesn't know.
But we have a compassionate high priest who
manifests his compassion on those who are ignorant,
those who don't know.
There's so many things we don't know.
There are many people in the earth who
just don't know God.
They don't know anything about God.
God would reveal his compassion on such.
But not only on the ignorant, but on
them that are out of the way, those
who have missed the way, those who started
along the way and missed it, those who
have erred.
This high priest must have compassion on them
all.
And God is going to raise up a
priesthood in the earth that is going to
be the expression of a high priest in
heaven.
The expression, the same spirit that is in
the high priest is going to be in
this people in the earth.
I know we have this spirit and there
are multiplied thousands of God's people in the
earth who have this spirit.
But I'm not talking about just all receiving
of his spirit in a moment of time
and that's the end of it.
I'm not talking about one experience.
I'm talking about a people who having learned
God's ways have partaken more and more of
the spirit of Christ, the spirit of love,
of truth, of holiness, of meekness, of humility,
of gentleness, of kindness.
All these things which are attributes of the
spirit of God and which God would bring
forth in these people.
And so these people will, like the great
high priest in heaven, have compassion on those
who are ignorant, who just don't know God
or don't know his ways, and compassion on
those who have erred.
For that he himself also is compassed with
infirmity.
We too are compassed with infirmity.
And how we look upon our infirmity at
times.
What shall I say?
Humility, brokenness.
Not only that, but we despise ourselves sometimes
because of our infirmity.
Terry read the prayer of Hannah.
After God had heard and brought her into
a place of beauty and strength in the
Lord, a place of fruitfulness, how she could
look back and rejoice in the God who
giveth grace to the humble, who lifts up
the poor out of the downhill and causes
them to sit with princess, who breaks the
bows of the mighty man and girds the
weak with strength.
So we discover that God leads the people
in areas that will bring to brokenness, to
humility, to frustration, to desolation of one kind
or another because God must have a priesthood
in the earth that can have compassion.
God must have this kind of a priesthood
in the earth.
Oh, there's so much of the dictatorial in
the earth.
Dictators everywhere.
And we're fortunate to live in a democratic
society and we're thankful for the form of
government that we have.
But even in our land, oh, there's so
much of the dictatorial in the name of
freedom.
Men are trying to dominate others all in
the name of freedom.
Freedom of, you know, to do as you
wish.
Doesn't matter if you injure somebody else, you've
got freedom to go your way.
And our much bonded freedom has brought about
so much bondage in the earth.
But in the church, there's this spirit of
the dictator.
Very strong.
All in the name of religion.
All in the name of church order.
And you can find scripture for it, of
course.
Obey those that have the rule over you.
But those that have the rule over God's
people, those whom God has ordained to have
rulership in God's house, they're going to be
a people who are priests.
They're priests before they're king.
I know God has a kingdom in the
earth and in the kingdom of God there's
righteous judgment and righteous government.
There's righteous government in the church.
But we see so little of it because
men have that desire to manifest authority and
power and their strength.
All because they're kings.
But they're also priests.
God has made us to be kings and
priests.
But before God ever established a kingdom in
the earth, he established a priesthood.
And before God establishes the kingdom of God
in the church in power, he must establish
the priesthood in the church.
We have people who can have compassion on
weakness and on them that are out of
the way because we ourselves also are compassed
with infirmity.
God chooses a people who are compassed with
infirmity so that when he girds them with
strength, their strength will be tempered with their
weakness.
And they will discover that they are strong
because they are weak, not because they've overcome
their weakness.
And now they can forget the infirmities and
the weaknesses of the past because they've overcome
and now they're strong and mighty.
But their strength will be mingled with their
weakness.
And their strength will be tempered with their
weakness.
And they will learn what the apostle Paul
learned, that when I am weak, then am
I strong.
We want to do away with the weakness
and be mighty and strong.
God's going to raise up a people who
are going to discover that when they're weak,
that when they're dying, that's when they live.
That as they walk in meekness and in
humility, then it is that the Lord clothes
them with his power and with his honor.
People who can have compassion.
But a person can't have compassion unless somehow
he can identify with those who need that
compassion.
And that's why God is choosing people from
all walks of life.
That in every area of human need, God
will have a compassionate priesthood of people who
can say, yes, I identify.
I identify.
I know your needs.
I know your problems.
I was there.
So I don't have to go out and
try and identify with every person on the
earth who has known brokenness and devastation, one
kind or another, because every person who is
disciplined with the Lord has been so led
of the Lord and disciplined with the Lord
that he can identify with others in the
earth.
And he's having a body.
He's preparing a body that that body will
be able to identify with every human need.
And all men are in need.
All men are equally in need.
We're inclined to look upon the down-and
-outer, the man down in the gutter as
being in greater need, but actually he's not.
All men are equally in need, but all
men don't equally know and recognize their need.
And so it is that even in the
Church, the Laodicean Church was just as needy
as the Church of Sardis or the Church
of Ephesus or the Church of Pergamon, the
Church of Thyatira, all of which had great
problems and great needs and evil forces working
in their midst.
The Church of Laodicea was equally in need,
but they didn't know it, and therefore they
were harder to reach.
God says, you're in need.
They said, we are rich and increased with
goods and have need of nothing.
God looked down and said, you don't know
it.
You're wretched, you're blind, you're naked, you're poverty
-stricken.
You don't know it.
Naturally in the sight of God, the down
-and-outer is easier to reach than the
upper class.
He knows his need, but he's so downtrodden
he doesn't, can't believe that there could be
a God that could help him.
But when this priesthood comes, he can have
compassion, he can bring to him the riches
of Christ.
What's it going to take for those who
feel rich and increased with goods, for those
who feel, I'm spiritual, I've got a great
and mighty ministry, and I'm powerful and mighty,
what's it going to take for them to
partake of the heart of a priest?
So that I see God raising up in
the Church of this last age people, a
humble people, people who don't have an ecclesiastical
background or a background of success in ministry.
And God is going to use them because
they recognize their need.
He's going to come to them with gold
tied in the heart, with white raiment, with
eyesight, that their eyes might be anointed, that
they might see.
How we need to see with that eyesight
that the Lord has provided.
How we need that eyesight that we might
see, see in the Spirit, see spiritual things,
see spiritual truth.
And I believe that God is going to
anoint the eyes of His people that we
might see, that we're prepared to recognize that
we are blind.
There's a danger that increased understanding and revelation
of the Scriptures is a danger that that
might cauterize to the point where we come
to the place where we feel we've got
understanding, we can see danger that we could
filter, we can see, others don't.
We see.
Pride will blind the eyes, but every increase
of truth and knowledge and understanding that the
Lord gives us, and we know that the
Lord gives it, we're assured of it, let
us seek the Lord earnestly that with every
increase of knowledge and revelation there'll be an
increase of humility and meekness before the Lord.
Because if there isn't, if there's an increase
of knowledge and no increase in grace, we
too will blind our eyes and go on
with the revelation that we have, satisfied and
contented with superior knowledge and fail to have
that and compassion for the priest, for those
who don't know, and for those that are
overweight.
There are always dangers in going on with
the Lord.
In partaking of those attributes of God which
you know appeal to us, attributes of power,
glory, wisdom, knowledge, revelation, and sidestepping those other
attributes which are equally important, equally beautiful in
the sight of God, and equally necessary if
we're going to be a people coming forth
in the image and likeness of Christ.
So our Lord Jesus, when he came down
to earth, he set before us the way.
I used to ponder a lot that scripture,
John 14, I am the way, the truth,
and the life.
I don't think I really had understanding of
it for many, many years.
Just sort of a nice scripture, you quote,
the way, the truth, and the life.
And of course, you know, I just took
it to mean that he pointed us in
the right direction.
But suddenly I began to realize Jesus is
the way.
Not that he just says go this direction,
but he's the way.
So that as we travel this way it
must be the way of the Lord himself.
And if we recognize that, all we have
to do is to read the account of
the life of Christ here on earth.
I set forth in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
John in any situation that comes up.
If you want to go a certain way,
you can probably find a scripture for it.
But if you want to go God's way,
you have to ask him to search your
heart.
But inherent in the hearts of all of
us are certain desires, and we'd like to
get God to approve of it.
And God grant that we might ask the
Lord to search our hearts out early, lest
in that desire we have for God to
go our way, someone comes along, shows us
a scripture, or gives us a prophecy that
will confirm the way we want to go.
Rather than saying, Lord, search out my heart
that I might go your way.
And don't let any evil thought linger there
that would so prevail before you that you
might relent and let me go your way
because I've insisted upon it.
Because God often does that.
He insists on going a certain way, God
might say, all right.
And then he might bless us.
And we take his blessing to be a
confirmation of the way we've gone.
Didn't he bless Saul?
Anointed him?
Gave him a gift of prophecy?
Gave him victory over his enemies?
But it wasn't God's way.
People required it.
They insisted on it.
God reminded them that it wasn't his way.
They said, nevertheless, we want it.
We want a king.
God gave him a king.
Gave him a sorcerer, false prophet.
Nevertheless, even with that evil heart he had,
was able to receive mighty prophecies from God.
And when the king of Bala came to
him and said, I perceive that you've got
power.
When you bless the people, they're blessed.
And when you curse the people, they're cursed.
I want you to come with me.
There's a people that are terrifying me.
They're pretty close to my borders and I'm
afraid of them.
I want you to come and curse them.
He said, I'll ask the Lord about it.
And the Lord said, don't go.
They're not to be cursed.
They're a blessed people.
So he came back and told Balak, I
can't go.
And so the messengers went back home and
told the king and he sent more messengers,
more nobles than the others.
Offered greater gifts.
Please come, you've got to come.
Balaam said, well, I'll ask the Lord again.
It's a pretty serious thing when the Lord
makes his way known to you and I
and we're assured of it, then we ask
him to change his mind.
As if God repents.
As if God tells you something and you
know it's God.
I'm not talking about areas of uncertainty where
you're asking the Lord about something and you're
not sure and so you keep asking.
I'm talking about those cases where God makes
it clear this is the Lord's way.
And then you keep on asking the Lord
if for chance he can change his mind.
God didn't really change his mind.
But when Balaam asked him a second time,
he said go.
And so there are many illustrations we could
use how that heart that is perverse might
continue on serving the Lord with a perverse
heart and with God's blessing he'll be out
of the way.
We don't say these things to frighten people
that God forbid that any teaching of the
scripture should be so devoid of the sword
of the Lord.
There's nothing left but the oil of kindness.
The sword of the Lord must pierce and
cut asunder if we're going to truly know
the ways of the Lord.
It must cut asunder soul and spirit because
with our natural mind our soulish mind we
do not understand God.
He's given us spirit.
He's renewed us so we have the mind
of Christ.
The fact remains that there must be an
ongoing work in our lives that God might
cut asunder that soul and spirit.
Part of the spirit is life to our
spirit but we still have the soul to
contend with.
God wants to change our souls.
He wants to save our souls.
I know that.
He wants to renew our minds.
But that's an ongoing work.
And in this ongoing work God help us
to know what a soul and spirit is.
We don't, just because we're born again necessarily
know the difference.
But there's an ongoing work of the spirit
in our lives and it should be in
our assemblies when we come together that the
word will go forth as a sharp sword
that will pierce and cut asunder soul and
spirit.
So that which we thought to be right
and had no compunction with conscience concerning the
things we used to do suddenly the sword
cuts and we say, I can't do that
anymore.
That soul and this spirit until the time
comes when there's been such a distinct cutting
asunder of soul and spirit that we know
the difference.
It's not a case of banishing the soul
or putting it out of existence but this
is strictly in the realm of the soul.
Eating, drinking, enjoying the things of this life
which have to do with our five senses
all of which are legitimate in themselves but
to try and make spirit out of them
to try and make eating and drinking to
be part of the kingdom of God.
It doesn't belong there.
The kingdom of God is not eating and
drinking.
Nothing to do with us.
That is fine of our natural desire that
God does bless us with the good things
of this life but it's nothing to do
with the kingdom of God.
It's something we need for our natural existence.
The kingdom of God is none of that.
The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and
joy in the Holy Spirit.
This message that we are teaching that many
are teaching in the earth has been called
by many names and I don't really use
those terms but you hear it and also
he believes in the kingdom message.
He believes in the sonship message and he
believes in the end time truth and all
kinds of phraseology which I very seldom use
and if I do, I use it guardedly
because truth is truth in any age or
any disposition.
Jesus is the living truth.
I do recognize of course that coming to
the end that when we come to the
end of any order in God there's a
change.
There's a new manifestation from the heart of
God.
We're constantly confronted with those facts in the
scriptures that coming to the end of an
old order God brings in a new.
It was there in the heart of God
from the beginning but the time hadn't come
for it to be unfolded.
So we call it new truth but it's
just the unfolding of that truth that is
there.
It's the unfolding of Christ in the hearts
of his people.
So God does do new things according to
the work that he would bring forth and
he's doing new things today and he's going
to do a new work.
Many resent that.
They reject it.
God doesn't do anything new.
God is always doing new things.
His mercies are new every morning.
Every day is a new day.
Every season is a new season.
Every year is a new year.
And so when the time comes for God
to move afresh and come into some new
revelation of his heart to his people he
says, Remember not the former things neither consider
the things of old behold I will do
a new thing.
Now it shall spring forth shall ye not
know it.
God is doing a new thing today because
we've come to the end of an old
order.
Whenever we come to the end of an
old order and God brings in a new
there are new things that he does fresh
from his heart.
The manna was new every day.
Same word.
Same truth.
Same provision of God but new every morning.
Truth should be new every day.
Same Christ but continual unfolding of his person
of his glory of his love of his
truth.
Continuously flowing out from the heart of God
in new ways new expressions new aspects of
his being that we've never known before.
And I've never heard anyone talk about a
priesthood message.
Kingdom message sonship message we're going to be
a people of power before we're going to
be kings exercising power in the earth we're
going to come into a priesthood that has
compassion.
So God said to Israel when he got
them out of Egypt and into the wilderness
that place of discipline got them into that
place where he was going to deal with
them talk to them to their heart change
them change their attitudes prepare them for the
land of Canaan God worked can I use
the word subtly with them got them out
of Egypt told them he was bringing them
into the promised land didn't tell them too
much about going through the wilderness got them
out of Egypt into the wilderness and then
closed the Red Sea behind them got them
right where he wanted them and the reason
God didn't tell them was because they would
probably major on the fact that God said
I'm going to take you to the wilderness
instead of majoring on the hope that lay
before them and let's not major on the
wilderness and we talk a lot about it
I know the simple reason we find ourselves
there and God's people need to know that
we are in a wilderness and God's got
something better and there are others of course
who major on Canaan and try and convince
God's people that are there in Canaan and
the Canaan to them has become well the
man that comes from heaven the water out
of the rock and they come to realize
that there's no manna in Canaan there's no
water flowing out of the rock in Canaan
it's a different realm and so when after
the manna they feel the drought and the
heat and the devastating experiences well then they
tell the people that's the devil you know
Canaan this is a life of total victory
this is a life of prosperity and triumph
and so they labor under that delusion for
many months or maybe years until they finally
realize no this I guess this isn't Canaan
after all so we don't want any of
God's people to be deluded in the matter
he's brought us out of Egypt he's leading
us into the place of his inheritance the
place which his own right hand has established
the sanctuary which the Lord has ordained as
a place where he himself might dwell and
that was part of the victory song when
they came out of Egypt so God's people
have to know that the experiences that we're
going through are part of the discipline part
of the preparation intended to prepare us for
this Canaan life in the spirit that he
has for us and so when he got
them there in the wilderness he led them
in a few places to test them and
to try them finally got them down to
Sinai where they were to camp for almost
a year to come to know their God
to know his ways to learn of his
holiness to learn of his righteousness to learn
of his righteous requirements to prepare a temple
to prepare a tabernacle in which he might
dwell in the midst of his people they
were going on to Canaan to a place
of battle a place of conquest but before
they could go there they had to come
to know the holiness of their God I
think by and large the church knows that
it's a day of battle the church has
always talked about warfare but what they fail
to realize is that the battle is not
ours but God's and that the weapons of
our warfare are not carnal but spiritual so
by and large the church has become involved
with politics with the betterment of our economy
you know with gimmicks with earthly tools earthly
weapons carnal weapons fleshly weapons satanic weapons many
times because we've got to defeat the enemy
so Satan can use these things why can't
we?
you know Satan can get our young people
you know with rock and roll and all
this stuff so if we just Christianize it
a little we'll get them back Satan could
realize that before the people could go into
Canaan they had to partake of God's holiness
and His fire so when they left Sinai
they went forth with the fire of God
to consume their enemies that's what the fire
of God was for to consume their enemies
and they were to partake of that fire
there at Sinai when they built the tabernacle
and the holiness of God was incorporated into
their whole way of life they became a
holy people then they would go forth to
conquer by the holiness of God in the
realm of deliverance and warfare and I think
it's so in scripture God is going to
have His people are going to overcome evil
and it's good and so all this area
in the earth it's full of evil hate
lust and warfare and oh what are we
going to do to try to conquer it
well God has set forth the pattern of
victory so clearly we overcome evil with good
we overcome hate with love we overcome deception
with truth that's how we overcome and so
they say well come yes we know we've
got to we've got to come into these
things but in the meantime let's go and
fight the battle and we can't fight the
battle unless we're called to power with priestly
guns so Paul talks about the breastplate and
the breastplate and the helmet and the shield
and the girdle and perhaps perhaps he was
looking at this Roman soldier and saw all
these things and so he said get on
that arm you know but it's the breastplate
of righteousness it's the shield of faith it's
the helmet of truth salvation it's the sword
of the spirit it's the shoes of the
preparation of the gospel the girdle of truth
so this becomes our our weapon and Paul
talks about the day of the Lord being
at hand because the night is far spent
the day is at hand therefore he says
let us put on the armor not wings
to get away from it all but on
the armor what kind of armor armor of
light basically the whole whole world system is
spoken of as darkness the area of darkness
the prince of darkness for the simple reason
that everything that is not of God is
darkness God is light the truth of God
is light in him is the light of
life and so basically everything that is not
of God of Christ is darkness how are
we going to overcome how are we going
to penetrate that darkness that holds dominion over
people over the church how are we going
to do it only one way the armor
of light God wants the people to simply
walk in light that light will dispel the
darkness darkness isn't some kind of substance there
that you can just somehow get out there
and dispel it and shovel it out of
the room the room is dark turn on
the light gone negative lucifer light bearer when
he said I will cut myself off from
God it became dark because in God is
light I sever my connection with God and
there is darkness so the armor is the
armor of the spirit the armor of righteousness
it's that clothing of the priest and so
when the priest was ordained to minister on
behalf of God's people in Israel Moses was
instructed to make for them garments for Aaron
and his sons for glory and for beauty
God's purpose for Israel was that they should
be a holy nation with a people and
a kingdom of priests kingdom of priests kingdom
message yes a kingdom of priests and as
a nation they never became a kingdom of
priests because of failure and we won't go
into that but nevertheless God would have a
priesthood and so instead of choosing instead of
every man in Israel becoming a king and
a priest God says I'll just choose the
one tribe the tribe of Aaron that will
be the priestly tribe and Aaron and his
sons will be the priests this is a
temporary provision but God looked forward to the
time when his people would become a kingdom
of priests Peter tells us that you're a
chosen generation a royal priesthood a kingly priesthood
kingdom message yes a kingdom of priests a
people that have compassion a people filled with
love a people filled with truth so we're
not going to we're not going to pursue
the type of the clothing of the priest
too much this morning but we have in
the clothing of the priest the armor Paul
talks about the helmet of salvation the priest
had to put on a mitre on his
head the priest had a breastplate the priest
had a sword as it were in that
breastplate there was the wisdom and the knowledge
of God which would somehow bring forth a
word that was clear authoritative powerful God is
going to restore you I know it and
I wouldn't get so frustrated sometimes you know
you get into an argument and someone brings
up this doctrine you say yes but it
says this and you say yeah I know
it says that but it says this and
it's not going to continue that way when
Urim and Thummim begins to come forth in
the house of God that's going to put
an end to the game set going to
put an end to it but in all
these things you see I believe we have
to cherish the vision of it before we're
going to enter into it to believe for
and expect it to
that's going put an end to
the game to it and
expect come house of that's going
to we're to
to come house of put an to put
an end
to the to put an
and expect come house
of that's to come house of that's going
to come
Acquainted with all of the sisters we've
behind them before and we And truth
cannot be just something.
It becomes in our inner man, truth and
wisdom.
Your faithful soul.
Not only in sending truth and knowledge and
understanding but also because of your great love
for your people.
In the trial.
We'll be thankful to all the faithful people
who send truth.
I'm sorry if you leave us all the
way that you will not let us.
It's a very precious gift.
Take it for a test.
Give it that endurance and patience.
We all need it.
Having done the will of God, we received
the call.
Thank you for your faithfulness, Lord.
Thank you for what you do.
Many times of energy.
It starts from you.
But you can continue to hold her over
as long as you do.
Grant that there might come forth good in
their lives for your honor and glory.
Bless our friends, Lord, for their good faith.
And for that desire, Lord, that is in
their hearts to continue to be people.
Travel many, many miles with the Lord.
Lead out to them the portion that they
need.
Praise Him along the way.
That, Lord, that that fear might be at
hand, and there will be that joint force
of the greatness of your power and your
might in the midst of your people.
This Lord might be revealed, Lord.
The army of God might arise.
Strong in the Lord and in the power
of His name.
Be this, Lord, we pray.
Days that lie before us, we know are
days of uncertainty.
And there will be many days of perplexity.
Lead us, keep us in the heart of
you.
In Jesus' name, we pray.
Amen.