BY HAROLD LEE
I’d like to ask you to turn over to Revelation chapter 19.
As we look around us, we’ve all completed the initial part as we consider God’s Holy Days to be His plan that’s revealed through them. And, just having come through the Spring Holy Day Season, Passover, of course those that are baptized reconfirming the commitment to God and to Jesus Christ, all of us that have made when we repented and we accepted that sacrifice, and we have considered that, we have thought about it. And we’ve recommitted ourselves to that. We’ve observed The Seven Days of Unleavened Bread, which, hopefully, included us taking note of the Wave Sheaf Offering that started the countdown to Pentecost during that period of time. I know it was mentioned on a couple of occasions.
And The Seven Days that we tried with some degree of success to refrain from leavened products and to keep them out of our homes, but also to take in of the unleavened bread. And, of course, I will have to tell you I think we’ve all that have been around know that we might today think we were successful only this winter to put a hand in a coat pocket and pull out a cookie that has been there since last winter. Sorry Clay! To lift up a turkey [laughter] and find the bag of bagels under it! And there are lessons. To be sure there are lessons to be learned from those failures.
We also understand that every one of us at some point we start our journey. And we understand that even the timing for that is not our choice, but God’s as He calls us, as He opens our minds, allows us to see that we have a need of Him in our lives. And we personally need to have that sacrifice cover what we have done, our actions, the sins that we have committed, and the mistakes that we’ve made. Even in that we know that we’re blind to our real spiritual condition unless God intervenes and opens our eyes and our ears to see.
Revelation 19 verse 5. This is a Scripture that I have read a number of times to introduce my sermons. It says Revelation verse 9,
Revelation 19:5. Then a
voice
I’m sorry! Revelation 19—I’m sorry—verse 5, it says,
Revelation 19:5. Then a
voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and
those who fear Him, both small and great!”
Here we are given a glimpse into the future to a time after the firstfruits have been resurrected and are about to be married to Jesus Christ and inducted into that position in God’s Family.
Verse 6,
Revelation 19:6. And I
heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters
and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7) “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him
glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself
ready.”
We understand very well that God is the one, as a potter, that’s shaping us as a potter would shape clay. But we also have a part in it and that is to respond and submit to that process. As was mentioned in the sermonette, which I appreciated very much, our calling is not just to be patient and wait, but it is to be active and it is to participate.
Notice it refers to the actions on her part as we continue reading that helped her prepare for this new role. Continuing on,
Revelation 19:8. And to her
it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine
linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
If you want a title for today’s sermon, it is The Righteous Acts Of The Saints.
Verse 9,
Revelation 19:9. Then he
said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage
supper of the Lamb!” And he said to me,
“These are the true sayings of God.”
Go back to Revelation 1, Revelation 1.
We also know that our function in God’s Family is not one of just being a figurehead. We’re not to be just a “trophy wife.” But there is a function and there is action that’s required. The Bride is going to be involved and will be fulfilling duties and responsibilities and positions.
Revelation 1 verse 3, it says,
Revelation 1:3. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the
words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the
time is near. 4) John, to the seven churches which are in
And, as a result of that, continuing on,
Revelation 1:6. And has made
us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Before we get into the, I’m going to call it “the meat,” I want to introduce a concept here and then tie it back into it. So hold that thought about being made kings and priests and we’re going to come back to it.
Turn over to 1 Corinthians 13. We know the Corinthians were spiritually speaking initially very immature. Paul in his epistle was very strongly correcting them for this immaturity trying to get them to understand the more abstract and intangible concepts of love and mercy and patience. Let’s read a summary of the verses about this discourse in 1 Corinthians 13:9. Notice he says,
1 Corinthians 13:9. For we
know in part and we prophesy in part.
In other words, he was saying, “We currently have this imperfect view and concept of what’s in store, what’s ahead for us.”
1 Corinthians 13:10. But
when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done
away.
In other words, when the realization of what’s ahead for us, what has come, when it is here, the speculation or the lack of understanding will no longer exist.
I don’t know if you’ve ever had a friend that you’ve maybe known for years. You’ve talked to them on the phone. You maybe e-mailed, but you really have not ever met them and you don’t have a face to put with a name or with even a relationship or a friendship. And then, once you meet them, it may or may not be or what the person might not be what you imagined. But after that, every time you communicate to them, that comes to mind. Before you met them, it was speculation of what they looked like, where they lived. I know I’ve been to people’s houses after that. I’ve talked to them a lot on the phone. And then once you go to their house and you see their office and their phone, then after that when you talk with them you picture them sitting at the desk and talking on the phone. In other words, you have a mental picture.
And it’s the same with us with the future. Right now we have a glass we’re looking through darkly, but when the realization comes we’re going to have that clear picture.
Then he says,
1 Corinthians 13:11. When I
was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child;
but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
And the definition of “childish” is the indication of a lack of maturity, infantile behavior, a lack of self-control. In other words, childish things are let’s say impulsive rather than contemplative. In other words, you do things based on impulse versus thinking through things. Decisions and actions are made based on impulse rather than values.
Verse 12,
1 Corinthians 13:12. For now
we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know
just as I also am known.
Paul in this area was telling them that they needed to take a more deliberate, more mature approach and he relates to putting away childish things. And the reason I want to bring this up is I want to differentiate between being “childish” which means a lack of sound decision making and behavior control, and “childlike” which means to be teachable, which means to have an innocent approach. And this is not a behavior that we put away. Rather it is something that we put on.
Look over in Mark chapter 10. And I think it’s important that we consider these two approaches. Mark 10 verse 13, it says,
Mark
You see, Brethren, a childlike approach is a requirement for being in God’s Kingdom. Childlike is teachable. It’s pure in heart. It’s trusting in the parents. Childish is very different and it’s something that we should not espouse. I hope as we move forward we can see the difference because one is to be avoided, one is to be matured beyond, one is to be outgrown, and the other is to be espoused and inculcated into our relationship with our “Daddy, Father” and our Brother Jesus Christ.
We’re going to make just one more stop in bringing the two concepts together, and then we’ll move forward.
This relates to how a child learns. All of you that have children or grandchildren can relate to this. But a child learns primarily by imitating the behavior of those that they want to be like. Girls like to play dress-up and have dolls and tea parties. They like to put on mom’s clothes and stand in front of the mirror. They comb the doll’s hairs. They put on the doll’s clothes. Young boys like to take hammers and saws and build things. Sometime it’s on the kitchen table or the couch that they like to use them. They like to take their toy lawnmower and follow dad around the yard. They help change the oil in the car and on and on. A child learns their roles in life by the example of the parents. And, Brethren, I might add this is a proper and a godly way of training.
1 Corinthians 11, 1 Corinthians 11 and verse 1, notice this!
1 Corinthians 11:1. Imitate
me, just as I also imitate
Christ. 2) Now I praise you, brethren,
that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I [have]
delivered them to you.
Now, as I previously said, Paul in 1 Corinthians was
strongly correcting the
The Greek word translated “praise” is epaineo. It’s Strong’s
1867.
And it means to commend, to laud, to praise.
At first glance it seems to be praise for past behavior, but notice the context. It’s encouragement for future behavior as well! He was encouraging them to positive behavior. And in this case, it would be proper to also translate this word as “encourage.”
Now let’s put this together. We understand that our future is to be in God’s Family and the firstfruits are to function with our Husband as kings and priests. Here is the question: How do we as limited human beings start now to prepare for that role? Let that roll around. Are there conscious deliberate actions and activities that we can do right now today to prepare for that? We know that the white robes are the righteous acts of the saints and I’ve covered that in previous sermons. There are activities that we must do. And in this case, I believe there are very definitive definite activities that we can and must do to prepare ourselves for these functions. I want to spend some time focusing on those.
We, like children, learn by imitation, by practicing the activities of the roles that we’re ultimately to fulfill. In our limited childlike—not childish but childlike way—we should be now practicing to be kings and priests.
Now I want to first discuss what these activities are not. Practicing to be a king is not putting on expensive clothes, sitting on a throne, and barking orders. It’s not getting your dog and going, “Roll over, Rover!” or whatever. Brethren, that’s not what a king does in God’s Family. In the case of a priest it’s not to put on a linen turban, a breastplate of Urim and Thumin, and playing dress-up, and telling people what God’s telling them to do.
I want to take these examples one at a time and examine and see how we today as children prepare to be kings and priests. We’ve just come through a time in the Passover and I will remind you that a major lesson of the Spring Holy Day Season and specifically the Passover is that we are to follow Jesus Christ’s example of service and of humility. He set us an example.
Turn over to John 13. He set an example as their God and their Master as to how they were to behave. John 13 and verse 12. Every one of you have heard this, read this. I just want to bring it to your mind.
John 13:12. So when He had
washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do
you know what I have done to you? 13)
“You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 14) “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your
feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15) “For I have given you an example, that
you should do as I have done to you.
Brethren, we understand very well that whatever we do in God’s Family will be in the form of service. We’re called to service.
Look over in Mark chapter 10, Mark 10 and verse 42. It says,
Mark
And you can read in the context that they were talking about the disciples.
Mark 10:42b. to Himself and said to them, “You know that
those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their
great ones exercise authority over them.
43) “Yet it shall not be so among you;
In other words, their governors, their kings, their magistrates, they make them tow the line. They like to have them look up to them. He said, “That should not be among you.”
Mark 10:43b. but whoever
desires to become great among you shall be your servant. 44) “And whoever of you desires to be first
And that’s the Greek word protos. It’s the same word
that when it talked about Christ being the firstborn. We would say today, “Whoever wants to be ‘numero uno.’”
Mark
And I’ll just add my words:
Mark 10:44b. [The very Creator of all that exists] did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
As we move forward, keep this principle in mind, because our preparation must be from a position of service in both functions as kings and priests. Let’s take these one at a time. And the first one, of course, is kings, and then we’ll move to the priests.
Look over in Isaiah chapter 11.
What is the function of a king? You know millennial prophecy when God’s government will be set up and become a standard. Let’s look at what a king will do. And remember God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He’s not going to desire one thing at one time and something different.
But notice this prophecy, Isaiah 11 verse 1.
Isaiah 11:1. There shall
come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his
roots. 2) The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of
wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of
knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
If we really dug down into this verse, we could spend the remainder of the sermon tying wisdom and understanding and knowledge and fear directly to God’s commandments. I could show you Scriptures that directly tie each one of those to God’s commandments. Multiple Scriptures perhaps! And maybe that would be a good Bible study for someone to take these attributes, which were attributed to Christ, and see that they’re all based on God’s law and the application of God’s law.
Verse 3,
Isaiah 11:3. His delight is in the fear of the Lord, and He shall not judge by sight
of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
Now this is the Creator. It’s saying He’s not going to just look at outward.
Isaiah 11:4. But with
righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of
the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the
breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
Brethren, a king judges in civil and criminal and in the case of a theocracy, which God’s government will be when God is set up, it will also judge in matters regulating worship with God as well.
Verse 5,
Isaiah 11:5. Righteousness
shall be the belt of His loins, and faithfulness the belt of His waist.
We read about righteousness and faithfulness being as belts worn by Christ in these functions. Remember the purpose of a belt is to decorate and to cover. But I want you to think about the fact that a belt completely encompasses, it completely encircles someone. They’re surrounded by that and it’s very close to them. If a belt wasn’t very close to you, your pants would fall down, men! So a belt, it likens righteousness, it likens faithfulness to a belt, something that is encompassing and something that is very close to someone. It is to Him and that should be our desire.
Don’t turn there. Ephesians 6:14, it says,
Ephesians 6:14. Stand
therefore, having girded your waist with truth,
Truth should be a belt that we wear. It should gird our waist. It should be very close to us and it should surround us. It should encompass us.
We also know Moses was a type of Christ and I personally
believe that this will be the pattern in what God’s government will be in the
Millennium. This form was extant all the
time that God was
They had hearings and they decided issues based on God’s law. The kings were required to write, to handwrite God’s law and His statutes. They had their own personal copy that they wrote. And, of course, we should have our own personal copy, but it should be written in our hearts. We write God’s law just like the kings wrote God’s law. Only with us it should be in our heart. We understand very well that Christ when He returns with His saints to set up a government is going to rule using God’s law as the very core of it.
Now what very specific things can we do today to prepare for it?
I really appreciated, as I mentioned before, the sermonette. Clay talked about Romans 15:4 that what was written before was for our learning. God gave us a template. God gave us an example. I also thought it was interesting that he brought up the fact that even our forefathers, when God made a promise, they tried to fulfill it themselves.
We know there’s activities and I look back at, as he was saying that I was thinking about this this morning and relating it. Remember He made the promise to Abraham and Abraham trusted God and knew God was going to fulfill it. What did he do? “Well, I’m going to help God out. I’m going to—here’s Hagar and we’ll have a child by that. And that’s going to allow God to fulfill His promises.” That was not what God had in mind.
Moses, you know Moses, I believe, grew up knowing his destiny. He knew he was drawn out. It’s interesting. He was forty years old. He knew God was going to lead him out and he started on his own! Remember? He killed the Egyptian. “Well, I’m going to free these people.” It was his—he knew God was going to do it, but he tried to do it on his own time. Forty years later, it was time—it was God’s time to do it. And God kept His promise. But Moses tried to do it.
Brethren, you can go through Joshua. They came to the Promised Land the first time. Twelve went across. And what an example, I think of what we do! Twelve went across. They all witnessed the vision of God’s promise. Right? There they were. They came back and only two of them clung to that promise. All the rest said, “Man, there’s giants there! They’ll chew us up and spit us out!” Joshua and Caleb were given the vision. They espoused the vision. But it was forty years later when it happened.
We, God’s Church today, and I again I’ve got to be careful with dates and times. We tried to do it—Christ is coming back in ’72. Brethren, it’s almost forty years later!
God’s going to fulfill His promises, but it’s not going to be when we think. It’s not going to be because, “Well, I’ve got to help Him fulfill this promise. I’ve got to get out here.” Yes, I do have a part in it, but it’s not in trying to do God’s part. It’s doing and preparing myself.
Joshua 14:7—don’t turn there, but it says Joshua was forty years old. Just like Moses, he was eighty when he crossed over into the Promised Land.
Do a study on the book of Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Corinthians, 1 and 2 Kings for the term forty years. It was the periods of rule and reign and they seemed to center around forty years. Othniel, Deborah, Gideon—forty years! Saul, David, Solomon—forty years!
Let me just digress for a moment. During Unleavened Bread, I covered the
incident of how the children of
Where are we today? Most of us are about forty years into our journey. And again, it’s a time of testing. It’s a time of trial, but I would maintain that we sort of kind of to look to how long we’ve been around. There’s a lot of gray hairs here. We’re about forty years.
And after forty years, let me tell you how a human thinks of it. We’re mature, well tested, strong, stable. Excuse me ladies, but the men-hairy-chested [laughter], gray hair, no hair, whatever. But I want to tell you something and hearken back to Romans 14. Brethren, we are especially vulnerable if we miss that point.
What era of the Church is in the most danger? Is it the first one or is it the last one? The Israelites were most vulnerable at the end of their journey, not the beginning! And those that wandered had as their elders people that had the vision. They stood right on the shore and twenty-three thousand died and didn’t cross over. Brethren, we in God’s Church are most vulnerable right now, right before—I believe—things are going to start moving forward. And again, don’t try to count dates. Just look at the patterns. Brethren, we need to be especially vigilant.
Okay, back to our question. How do we prepare to be a king today? What do we practice on? Maybe in business you’re a manager and you have people. Well, is it the employees that you practice on? Maybe we’re a husband. Is it our wife that we practice on? Wife, is it your children? Is that how we learn to be kings? Not all of us have the same opportunities there. Maybe we’re unmarried. Who do we practice on? Do we have to go out and get a little Fifi dog so we can boss Fifi the dog around or whatever? Maybe we’re an employee and nobody works for us. Is God fair? Brethren, if you consider it, we’re all given the most difficult task. In fact, a task if we try to do it, we’re going to of ourselves fail. We’re given the most difficult task there is.
Look over in 2 Timothy chapter 3. The very strong warning that Paul gave to Timothy was in regards to this very thing. 2 Timothy verse 3 and we’ll just pick it up in verse 1. It says,
2 Timothy 3:1. But know
this,
And I want you to notice the setting for what he’s writing.
2 Timothy 3:1b. in the
last days perilous times will come:
2) For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money,
You talk about prophecy that jump off at you!
2 Timothy 3:2b. boasters,
proud,
Notice pride! And Brethren, let me just tell you as we read through all of these; let’s not leave ourselves out of this. The biggest mistake we can make is to think it’s talking about “them.”
2 Timothy 3:2 cont. blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
Don’t think it’s “them.” Don’t think it’s the world. What it is, Brethren, we are especially vulnerable because we are in the last days and we are very affected by this.
2 Timothy 3:3. Unloving,
unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control,
In other words, the inability for a person to rule over themselves, to control their own lust, and their own passions.
2 Timothy 3:3b. brutal,
despisers of good, 4) Traitors,
headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5) Having a form of godliness
In other words, we’re not talking about a godless society. We’re talking about a society with a religious façade, if I will.
2 Timothy 3:5b. but denying
its power. And from such people turn
away!
We could go in there because remember he’s saying other places, “I’m not talking about the world. You’ve got to live in the world. I’m talking about Brethren.”
Brethren, who is our greatest enemy? Is it the Russians? Is it the Taliban? Is it Al-Qaeda? How about that nasty boss that we have that’s got it in us? Look over in Romans chapter 7. Let’s answer it. Satan is mankind’s enemy. We know that. If I said, “Who was our greatest enemy?” it would easily come up Satan. But is he the greatest? Ask yourself here, as you turn, this question, because I think you already know the answer. If Satan were completely removed from the scene, as we know he will be at sometime, will all the problems go away? Or is there even a greater enemy that we battle against? Romans 7 verse 22,
Romans 7:22. For I delight
in the law of God according to the inward man.
23) But I see another law
And where is that?
Romans 7:23b. in my
members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity
to the law of sin,
Where is it?
Romans 7:23. in my
members.
Paul, when he looked at the battle, did he see the greatest battle as external? Was it those that sought to kill him and to silence him? Or did Paul see his greatest enemy as inside?
Who do we have to practice putting God’s government and His laws and His statutes on? Brethren, God is fair and He gives every one of us, every one that He calls, a chance to have someone that they can practice on, that they can learn how to apply those laws, to apply that government in real life situations.
What’d Paul do? Continuing on verse 24,
Romans 7:24. O wretched man
that I am! Who will deliver me from this
body of death?
See he knows of himself he’s unable to defeat his greatest enemy.
Romans 7:25. I thank
God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the
law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
Let’s continue on. See after Paul acknowledged his frustration in being unable to defeat the enemy, he still understood that he had to stand in battle. And that the victory would not be his efforts, but it would be given to him by Jesus Christ. Chapter 8 verse 1, continuing on,
Romans 8:1. There is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh,
That word “walk” I think I’ve talked about this before, Strong’s 4043, peripateo. And Brown, Driver and Briggs’ says, “To make one’s way, to progress, to regulate one’s life, to conduct oneself, or to pass one’s life.”
So he says, “I don’t walk according to the flesh.” Now we know he sinned. But he’s saying, “My walk, my path, my direction is not that.” That we should walk just as Christ walked. There is our example again.
If you took a thin slice out of any person’s life, you could see a person that has sinned grievously. In your own mind, think back, if somebody took a slice out. That’s what Paul was saying about his wretchedness and his inability to regulate his life. But if you take a person over a period of time, there should be a direction in their lives and their walk.
Just hold your finger there. Go back two chapters to Romans chapter 6. Again, keep your finger there in chapter 8. Romans 6 verse 4, it says,
Romans 6:4. Therefore we
were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised
from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should [Notice!] walk
in newness of life.
Our lives should reflect a godly direction. Even though we will slip up!
I’m sorry to do this. I’ll apologize. But while you’re holding your finger there in Romans 8, look over to 1 John chapter 2. You can turn loose of Romans 6. 1 John 2.
I know one of my friends out there is right now chuckling. I’m not going to mention his name, but he said, “Harold, how many fingers do you think we have? You keep telling us to put a finger there and turn over.” He said, “We run out of fingers!” So you know who are and I apologize for that.
1 John 2 and verse 3, it says,
1 John 2:3. Now by this
we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
Now right on the heels of that, he says,
1 John 2:4. He who says, “I
know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not
in him.
I want you to notice the truth is not something you know. It’s something you do! It’s not knowledge alone. Rather it’s knowledge leading to a modification in one’s behavior from the internal understanding and the strength that God gives us with His Spirit and His mercy and forgiveness when we slip.
Verse 5,
1 John 2:5. But whoever
keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are [of] Him.
So who do we compare ourselves to? Is it against one another? Do we use our neighbor as a benchmark?
1 John 2:6. He who says he
abides
Verse 6,
1 John 2:6b. in Him ought
himself also to walk just as He
And notice the “He” is capitalized, speaking of Jesus Christ.
1 John 2:6 cont. just as He
walked.
That’s our example.
Okay, back to Romans 8. It says,
Romans 8:1. There is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but
according to the Spirit. 2) For the law
of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and
death.
In other words, he’s not going to die an eternal death. It doesn’t mean the law is done away with. It means the penalty—it’s not that it’s been done away with—it has been paid by the death of Jesus Christ.
Romans 8:3. For what the law
could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,
on account of sin: He condemned sin in
the flesh, 4) That the righteous
requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who [Notice!] do not walk
according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5) For those who live according to the flesh
set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6) For to be carnally
Which, again, we just read, that means to set your mind on things of the flesh.
Romans 8:6b. minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7) Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.
Let me read that out of The Revised Standard.
Romans 8:7. For the mind
that is set on the flesh is hostile
to God;
Brethren, when we set our mind on the flesh, we raise ourselves above God. We put ourselves in the place of God.
It says,
Romans 8:7. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, indeed it cannot; (RSV)
Romans 8:8. So then, those
who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9) But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit
of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does
not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. (NKJV)
God has allowed every one that He has called a chance to learn to apply His laws. Brethren, every one of us has ourselves to rule and to learn to rule. Every one of us regardless of our situation, we have to learn to put God’s laws into practice, to learn how to decide. Every one of us has someone and that’s inside us.
Look over in Proverbs 25, Proverbs 25. How could we—how could we rule others if we can’t even rule ourselves and get understanding? It won’t be perfection. It’s a walk. And we’re going to, just as Paul did, slip up. Proverbs 25 verse 28,
Proverbs 25:28. Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without
walls.
In other words, a city that’s going to crumble; a city that’s going to be conquered; a city that’s going to be pillaged and plundered and destroyed.
Proverbs 25:28. Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without
walls.
Now to be sure, there are instructions in the Bible for husbands, for wives, for children, for ministers, for elders, which tell them how to behave. But, Brethren, there’s as much instruction for us who maybe fall into some or many of those categories. But even for those that don’t, there is much more instruction for us learning to rule ourselves. Every single one of us has our own lives, our own selves and we must learn to rule ourselves by applying God’s laws.
1 Corinthians 11, 1 Corinthians 11 and verse 31, it says,
1 Corinthians 11:31. For if
we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32) But when we are judged, we are chastened
by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
The only way that we are not condemned with the world is if we judge ourselves, if we take and apply God’s laws. Brethren, I hope we can clearly see that God has given every one of us a situation where we can learn to be a king by learning to internalize His laws, which we’re going to be administering in the future. And I hope we can see that we do that on a daily basis.
Turn over to 1 Peter chapter 2. In the epistle of 1 Peter, he was writing to
the scattered Churches in
1 Peter 2:9. But you
And I’m going to just say, “You scattered abroad and persecuted daily.”
1 Peter 2:9. But you are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim
the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
In addition to being kings, we are also given the responsibility in the future to function as priests. What is a priest and what do they do? The most concise definition I could find is “A priest is one consecrated to the service of the sanctuary and more particularly to the altar.” There was the Levitical priesthood which had many different responsibilities. The Aaronic line was to provide the high priest which served as a direct representative to the people of God. And, of course, one of the most important functions of that was to bring the atoning sacrifice once a year before God. And, of course, Jesus Christ displaced the Aaronic priesthood with the Melchizedek priesthood and also provided the atoning sacrifice.
Look over in Hebrews chapter 7. We are very aware just having commemorated that Christ offered Himself. He brought His own blood before God. At the time of His death, remember the temple veil was split top to bottom. The Melchizedek priesthood replaced the Aaronic priesthood. Hebrews 7, let’s start in verse 11. It says,
Hebrews 7:11. Therefore, if
perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people
received the law), what further need was
there that another priest should rise according to the order of
Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron? 12) For the priesthood being changed, of
necessity there is also change of the law.
And it’s previous to that. Remember it was just physical law, to include the physical and then Christ added the dimensions of the spiritual. He became—because it went to the Melchizedek priesthood. It was not just a physical priest at this point. It was a spiritual.
Hebrews 7:13. For He of whom
these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has
officiated at the altar. 14) For it is evident that our Lord arose from
I always find it interesting. If you look, John the Baptist who announced
Him was from the Levitical and he said, “There’s One coming who’s greater than
I.” And Christ, of course, his cousin,
was from the tribe of
Hebrews 7:15. And it is yet
far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another
priest 16) Who has come, not according
to the law of fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless
life. 17) For He testifies: “You are
a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
In chapters Hebrews 5, 6, and 7 have a lot of detail. But, Brethren, the priesthood that we’ve been called to ultimately is the order of Melchizedek under Jesus Christ as High Priest. And remember our function as a priest is one consecrated to the service of the sanctuary, and, more particularly, at the altar.
Look over in Revelation 3.
I personally—as you’re turning there—I personally believe that as a Bride our positions are going to be forever. God gave us marriage and that marriage is only split by death. And when death is done away, I don’t see an end to it. It’s not like, “Okay, we’ve been together three million years and okay, it’s over.” I really do think, and that’s again, that’s forever. Christ is going to be a High Priest forever and He’s going to have a Bride forever.
Chapter 3 verse 12, Revelation 3:12, it says,
Revelation 3:12. “He who
overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go
out no more.
I know when I read that as humans I tend to think of the dimensional aspect. It’s almost as if we’re never going to set foot outside the temple. We’re going to be in the temple. Those of you who remember the “fairy tales,” what was it, Rapunzel that was locked up in the tower? And couldn’t get out! It’s almost like, well, we’re going to be locked up in the temple and we can’t get out.
But consider this: It’s not a spatial, but it is as a period of time. Consider that “going out no more” means the length of time we’re going to be serving in this capacity as priests.
Revelation 3:12b. I will
write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New
Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I
will write on him My new name.
With all of that I just want to, if I could—somebody said,
“You got to do in a single sentence summarize every sermon that’s given since
the Feast of Tabernacles.” Here’s the
way I would try to summarize that—and I don’t mean to take away from everything
that was said—but here’s the way I would summarize it: We are the
Not only is it, Brethren, are we the
In some of the sermons that were given there were different parts, the basins, the showbread, the lampstands, and the spiritual significance. I want to focus on one aspect just because of time. I want to focus on one aspect that I believe is an essential function of a priest that we need to be practicing today.
Turn over to Luke chapter 1. Luke 1 verse 5, it says,
Luke 1:5. There was in the
days of Herod, the king of
I just referred to this a while ago. I forgot I was going to read it later.
Luke 1:5b. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her
name was
So again, John the Baptist was, he was pure Levitical Aaronic stock.
Luke 1:6. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
Verse 8, skip down.
Luke 1:8. So it was, that
while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, 9) According to the custom of the priesthood,
And notice when they did their orders—and we’ve talked about this before—they would get together, kind of have an organizational meeting. And some of their duties were determined by drawing lots. They would say, “Okay.” I don’t know. “Who gets the short straws does this and the medium,” again I don’t know how they did it. But notice!
Luke 1:9b. his lot fell to
burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
So again, it specifically talks about one of the tasks of the priest was to burn incense. And it was important that there was an assignment. It wasn’t just left, “Okay, some of you guys do the incense. Some of you guys do the showbread.” It was very specific because it was very important.
Luke 1:10. And the whole
multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. 11) Then an angel of the Lord appeared to
him,
And notice “the hour of incense.”
Luke 1:11. Then an angel of
the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
So the incense, of course, was a big part of the priestly
functions and that was to burn the incense.
I think Al in his sermon and some of the items in the tabernacle and
later in the temple. One of them was the
altar of incense. And it’s described in
the early part of Exodus 30 and the latter part of Exodus 40 and we’re not
going to turn there. But God was very
specific as to the ingredients that were used to make incense. And you can read it yourself, Exodus 30:31
through 37, the instructions for the oil and the incense. And God did not allow anyone to possess or to
make any for themselves. And anybody
that did that was to be cut off from
Turn over to Revelation chapter 5 and verse 8. It says,
Revelation 5:8. Now when He
had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell
down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which
are the prayers of the saints.
Now skip forward to chapter 8 and verse 3.
Revelation 8:3. Then another
angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should
offer it with the prayers of all the
saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4) And the smoke of the incense, with the
prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand.
Any profane use of incense in ancient
Don’t turn. Numbers chapter 7 shows that the priests were to offer the incense on behalf of the others. Numbers 7 is just full of the leaders coming before and bringing the incense with them and the priests would then offer it. The leader of each of the twelve tribes was to bring their offering to the priest and the priest offered it with the incense to God.
One of the Jewish publications that I read—again, it’s not in the Bible—said that they would compound the incense once a year and they would make a pound of incense for each day of the year and then four pounds for Atonement. So that was sort of a composition or how much that they had made. But again that’s just secular tradition if you will.
But we as future priests, Brethren, we should be offering
incense which is our prayers on behalf of spiritual
Look over in James chapter 5. James 5 verse 16, it says,
James 5:16. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
Notice it doesn’t say, “That they may be healed.” It says, “That you may be healed.”
It says,
James 5:16b. The effective,
fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
I just find that interesting how it’s worded. You almost would think it should read, “Pray for one another that they may be healed.” We are certainly to pray for one another and to pray for one another’s healings. I think I said in a previous—it was just a side comment, which I intended to go in later—I don’t think that we can learn how to pray for ourselves until we learn how to pray for one another. And, Brethren, and I’m including myself in this. If there’s a place that perhaps we fall the shortest, that is in our prayers for one another.
Having gone through—and I’ll just give you my personal example with my illness and my grandchildren’s illnesses and the sicknesses of some of you and seeing the miracles, it tells me that it’s not just one person. It’s the incense that we bring to God on behalf of others. And in doing that, in asking God to bless and to heal and to restore one another, God is also going to bless us. And we’ll see this very clearly.
James 5:17. Elijah
Verse 17, it says,
James 5:17. Elijah was a man
with a nature like ours,
We think about Elijah calling fire down from heaven; not going to rain, it’s going to rain.
James 5:17b. and he prayed
earnestly
Remember like nature. We see Elijah at his best and we see Elijah at his worst. “God, I’m the only one left. Here I am.” And God still honored him.
James 5:17. Elijah was a man
with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it
did not rain on the land for three y ears and six months. 18) And he prayed again, and the heaven gave
rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
Consider Elijah’s prayer was not for himself! Remember his prayer for it not to rain was to show God’s sovereignty and to point people to God. Remember the name Elijah means “The Eternal, He is God.” After three and a half years, his prayer was to restore the rain and provide due season for food and sustenance to people that were probably starving to death. It was for them. It wasn’t for him. “God, let me just.…” Remember what he said, he said, “I want you to understand that God is sovereign and He has sent me to tell you this.” There wasn’t any greatness in him. “Let me tell you what I’ve figured out in 1 Hezekiah 3:4,” or something. He just said, “God told me to tell you this. And He’s the one to look to. He is the One that’s sovereign.” God was feeding Elijah. I doubt that he was getting filet mignon every day. But he wasn’t starving. God was taking care of him. So the prayer for rain was for those other people. It was for the ones that were not being fed, the people who were starving.
Have you ever considered that your prayers for your well-being might not be answered until you have prayed for the well-being of others? Turn over to Job chapter 42. When this was brought to my attention, I was just astounded. You know the story and I have to tell you the book of Job to me is an incredible book! It is so multidimensional. As you’re turning over there, ask yourself, “When did God restore Job’s health and his possessions?” Well, we know he repented. But I think the answer might surprise you. It did to me, because that’s not when God restored Job’s possessions. Look over in Job chapter 42 and down to verse 7. Remember Job had already repented and now at some period later,
Job 42:7. And so it was,
In verse 7,
Job 42:7b. after the Lord had spoken these words to Job,
that the Lord said to Eliphaz the
Temanite, “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have
not spoken of Me what is right, as My
servant Job has. 8) Now therefore, take for yourselves seven
bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt
offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you
have not spoken of Me what is right,
as My servant Job has.” 9) So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the
Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite
went and did as the Lord
commanded them; for the Lord had
accepted Job.
And notice this!
Job 42:10. And the Lord restored Job’s losses when
he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had
before.
See it wasn’t just his repentance. It was when he prayed, when he offered up incense to God, an offering to God, not for himself but for them. God says, “I’m the same today, yesterday, and forever.”
Brethren, God’s people today are sick and scattered and in dire straits. Many different circumstances!
Look over in Matthew chapter 6.
I know I’m not going to have time to go into this as deep as I wanted to. I don’t know. I don’t want to do a Part II on this. Perhaps maybe I’ll take a part of it. But it is so important that we understand the need we have to pray for one another.
Matthew 6 verse 5, it says,
Matthew 6:5. “And when you
pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites.
For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of
the streets, that they may be seen by men.
Assuredly I say to you, they have their reward. 6) “But when you pray, go into your room, and
when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place;
The priest offered the incense on the altar. This was in a semi-private place.
Matthew 6:6b. and your
Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7) “And when you pray, do not use vain
repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for
their many words. 8) “Therefore do not
be like them. For your Father knows the
things you have need of before you ask Him.
9) “In this manner, therefore, pray:
Now let me just tell you, as we read this, there is not a “me” or a “my” in this prayer.
Matthew 6:9b. Our Father in
heaven, hallowed be Your name. 10) Your
kingdom come. Your will be done on earth
as it is in heaven. 11) Give us [Not give me!] this
day our daily bread. 12) And forgive us
our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13) [And notice this!] And do not lead us into temptation, but
deliver us from the evil one.
There’s no “me.” There’s no “my” in this prayer. It is “Your” in addressing God and it is “we” and “us” when making the petitions. And, Brethren, I’m not saying all we need to do is change the “me’s” we’ve used into “we’s”. I think the priest offered incense on behalf of others. And our prayers, which are a petition to God, should be made on behalf of others.
Have you ever considered that to degree that God blesses you might be the degree that you fulfill your current duties as a future priest in offering up prayers for those that need God’s intervention? Job received twice that he had previously had after he had prayed for his friends.
Look over in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. 1 Corinthians 12 and verse 25, notice it says,
1 Corinthians 12:25. That
there should be no schism in the body, [And this is important!] but that the members should have the same
care for one another. 26) And if one
member suffers, all the members suffer with it;
or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. 27) Now you are the body
of Christ, and members individually.
Brethren, we are! There is not one of us can be spiritually healthy if we aren’t praying for the well-being of each other. And let’s remember that our calling as a firstfruit of God is to an existence of service to others.
I personally believe true happiness in both the physical and the spiritual is in serving others. I think for a person to be truly happy, they have to be serving others. And God’s called us to that service. Every one of us has been given everything that we need that God expects of us to prepare for our future. As a future king adjudicating God’s law, we have ourselves to judge and to correct and to grow. And as a priest, we have each other to offer up that incense of prayers to God. And if we truly see ourselves as a body, then none of us can be spiritually healthier than the collective welfare of that body, primarily spiritual but also physical.
Brethren, let’s consider the tremendous calling and the responsibility that we’ve been given. Let’s remember that our calling as firstfruits is to serve. We have been called to that service. If we truly, Brethren, see ourselves as a body, then the health of the body is a collective of how we have concern for one another. Let’s consider the tremendous calling, the tremendous responsibility that God has placed on us, and the blessing He’s given us. As future kings and priests, He’s given us a means whereby we can today as children learn how to apply that, how to be a king, how to be a priest. He’s given us ourselves. He’s given us His Spirit. He’s given us His mercy and His forgiveness. Let’s realize that our future to be kings and priests, and as our perfect Example said during His brief tenure on this earth, if we really realize that, Brethren, then all of us, “Let’s all be about our Father’s business.”
Transcribed by kb