JESUS WANT TO HANG OUR WITH YOU.

Ex. 25:8, “And let them make me a sanctuary; 

that I may dwell among them.”

The title of this series is “Dwelling with God.” The title of the blog that this series is a part of is “From God’s Heart to Yours.” I need to share some of God’s heart on this topic before finishing up the teaching with a review of the applications of the priest's uniform.

Let’s start with some Scriptures that mostly clearly express God’s desire for what our heart’s desire should be. 

Psalm 84:1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

2   I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God.

3   Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near your altar, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God!

Psalm 27:4   One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple.

Psalm 63:1   O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.

2  So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory.

3  Because Your loving kindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You.

While my wife was doing most of the driving down to and back from Florida on our Christmas trip to see our son and his wife, I had time to lay back and pray, and as I did the Lord stirred up a heart cry, “God send us people to disciple who will in turn make disciples.” After I cried out to God for awhile I asked the Lord about what steps we, as a church, may need to take, or be prepared to take as HE answers that prayer? The following 6 things came to mind.

1)
Be a people who spend time alone in His Presence. We follow the words of the old song, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus until the things of earth grow strangely dim." Disciples must, above all else, practice the Presence and hear from God personally.

2) Walking in the Spirit while in the world, we also practice the Presence. This practice in all parts of life we consequently lead others by that example.

3) We need to have a powerful prayer life so that people know we are a people of prayer and seek us out when they face the stuff of life and realize they need prayer. I’m not necessarily talking about mature believers. May we have such an experiential understanding of our role as priests of God that people will seek us out for help.

4) We experience God’s Presence as the power and experience Him so that others are provoked to do likewise.

5) As we stand in the gap for people we eventually will see them get connected to Jesus. Then we step into the role of the great commission and take the opportunity to make disciples.

6) The Lord sending us “fresh fish” may require us to change our routine, to alter our time priorities, perhaps make changes in our church services. We need to be willing to do whatever the Lord leads us to do when He leads us to do it. Jesus is Lord and works all things together for our good.

Let’s pray for, and expect, that after a few months of the Evangelistic Crusade type meetings with Peter Kumar every 1^st Friday, we will see this happen. Let’s make every effort to invite the people that need to hear the message of salvation, healing and deliverance and that they experience Jesus. May God give us more and more opportunities to share our testimonies and brag about Jesus to those outside the church.

Meaningful results of any outreach requires that the intercessors be faithful to saturate things in prayer.

Exodus 19:6   And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ …

As we review the teaching on the priests’ uniform, let’s keep what I just said in mind. Everything I’ve taught about the Tabernacle all leads to our role in God’s process of building His church.

God’s Call of the Priesthood:

Heb. 5:4   And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was.

5   So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: "You are My Son, today I have begotten You.” (NKJ)

Likewise, we are children of God.

God’s Purpose for the Priesthood

Heb 5:1   For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.

2     He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also beset by weakness.

Moved with compassion, Jesus did miracles. We should follow His example and see Him do things beyond our human capabilities.

https://blogs.bible.org/impact/hal_warren/

gods_heavenly_pattern_for_our_spiritual_transformation

_-_part_vi_the_priestly_garments

God’s Purpose for the Priests Uniform:

Exod 28:2      "And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. (NKJV)

Psalm 132:16   I will also clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints shall shout aloud for joy. (NKJV)

This calling is to a joyous lifestyle of loving others more than ourselves. It’s is so rewarding and liberating.

As we looked closely at this uniform, we saw things that apply to how we conduct ourselves as a nation of priests unto God. It is like when you dress up in a fancy dress or suit, you are more mindful to watch your manners and are acutely aware of why you are dressed up. It is also like a solder dressed in full battle gear, ready to use everything he (or she ) is wearing.

Ø The clothes are a constant reminder of the dignity and responsibilities of the office the Lord has called us to. We are Christ’s ambassadors. Our lives reflect Him to the world. We should conduct ourselves in such a way that people see His love and holiness in us, without hypocrisy, without grounds for accusation.

Ø These clothes were for beauty and glory. God sees us, His bride, as beautiful. He invested His Glory in us - Christ in us, the Hope of Glory.

Review of the NOW applications of various parts of the uniform

Ø the Golden Crown of Aaron,
 

o   Would you live your life any differently if you wore a hat or tee shirt that said Holy to the Lord on it?

Ø The Ephod, a fancy embroidered over garment held together at the shoulders with stones engraved with the names of the 12 tribes

o   WE CARRY THE NAMES OF OUR LOVED ONES ON OUR SHOULDERS

o   Sometimes we may experience this weight as a burden to pray.

 

Ø The weight on the shoulders was increased 

because also hanging from the them was the 

Breastplate of Judgment:

o   9” square plate holding 12 engraved stones is hanging from the shoulders and fastened around the body, held close to the heart. Each stone was big enough for the name of a tribe to be on it.

When we are empowered by the Spirit, even the heaviest of these burdens is

   light because Jesus is the burden bearer.

o   Exodus 28:30 Insert the Urim and Thummim into the sacred chest piece Aaron will always carry over his heart the objects used to determine the Lord’s will for his people.

    

Hear the still small voice of God directing your steps.

Bells on the bottom hem of the blue robe

Ex. 28:33   "And upon its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, all around its hem, and bells of gold between them all around:

35   "And it shall be upon Aaron when he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he goes into the holy place before the LORD and when he comes out, that he may not die.

The fancy embroidered pomegranates could have been symbolic of the sweetness of God’s Holy Presence. The bells were a signal to everyone within earshot that the priest was going into the Holy Place; it was a call to prayer. Thank God it’s no longer an annual ritual.

Conclusion: Experiencing the Shekinah.

History changed when the Tabernacle was completed. Everything was in place.  Then suddenly, like on the day of Pentecost, God did the unexpected and started something marvelous in motion.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/strange-physics-trick-lets-people-create-a-cloud-in-their-own-mouth-10476817.html

Ex. 40: 34 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

35 And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

All the Hebrew and Greek words translated as Tabernacle refer to a dwelling place, a booth or a covering. Just as the cloud covered Israel in the wilderness, and the fire held enemies at bay and provided light at night, the Shekinah enters our room. Because they followed the cloud & the fire, they became bearers of the Presence.

Psalm 65:4   Blessed is the man You choose, And cause to approach You, That he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Of Your holy temple.

Psalm 85:9   Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, That glory may dwell in our land.

The Almighty dwelling with man, showing us His glory can be such an awesome demonstration of God’s great love There is nothing in life as fantastic as experiencing the Shekinah, God’s Manifest Presence in such awesome power. It causes you to just fall in love with Him, intensely. Things happen when the Lord shows up in His power. Lives are changed. Miracles, healings, deliverance, Divine callings are realized. The chains of the power of sin and of the enemy of our souls are broken. Our emotions react to Him, tears may flow, hysterical laughter may break out, bodies may shake, people may dance and sing – all spontaneously.

Let me repeat what I said in my opening of this sermon find an altar,  to do this and pray for whatever specific needs you may  have. Please, don’t leave still carrying burdens you came in with. 

You can send your prayer requests as a MESSAGE from the Glad Tidings Tabernacle facebook page  

https://www.facebook.com/gladtidingstabernaclegreersc/

Let’s pray for and expect that after a few months of the Evangelistic Crusade type meetings with Peter Kumar every 1^st Friday, we will see this happen. Let’s make every effort to invite the people that need to hear the message of salvation, healing and deliverance and to come to Glad Tidings Tabernacle, that they experience Jesus. May God give us more and more opportunities to share our testimonies and brag about Jesus to those outside the church.

STORY TELLING: WHAT SEED DO YOU SOW AT HOME?.

Gentlemen, as the old saying goes, “If Mama ain’t happy, nobody’s happy.” WE CAN save a lot of heartache IF WE DO IT RIGHT!!! 

So many Christian men get the cart before the horse. Doing so will always have a negative effect on everything at home, at work, in ministry, or anything a married man tries to do. Ladies are welcome to read this and click the comment word at the end of the blog, but please pass this along to your husband, your friend’s husband, and any guy you know who aspires to be a husband. Understanding God’s principles about the role of husbands, as portrayed in this week’s characters and scripture verses, will save a lot of heartache.

Husband “A”

Joe has hard a killer day at work. The pressure has been on to get his project in on time and

“Murphy’s law“ has been in effect all week. The customer has called to check up on his progress. Joe’s boss is constantly asking for progress reports. It just doesn’t look like his usual great work is going to be accomplished with the perfection expected by the due date. Exhausted, stressed out, he pulls the car into the driveway and hears the kids screaming. It sounds like utter chaos coming through the walls. Joe’s blood begins to boil, he angrily mutters to himself, “Why can’t that women keep those kids in line and she better have dinner ready because I’m starving!!” Joe grabs his laptop, opens the door as the kids come running to him, all loudly battering him with a string of complaints about each other.

Joe’s wife Ann emerges. She is a mess, her hair uncombed, some liquid spilled on her blouse, no make-up and her glasses on crooked. She hands him the baby who’s diaper is rather in need of changing and says, here, he’s yours. I know you want me to start cooking dinner while you change that stinky diaper and spend time with the kids. Joe loses his cool at this point, yelling at her, “Ann, you knew when I would be home and that I expected dinner ready. What have you been doing all day? I know other guy’s wives who don’t work from home and they get it all done!!.” If you were the submissive wife you’re supposed to be than you would have judged your time all day in order to meet my expectations of dinner ready, the kids calmed down, ______ (fill in the blanks yourself) when I got home!!”

Ann yells back, “they’re your kids too!” and tearfully goes to the kitchen. Walking from the refrigerator to the stove she stops and cries to the Lord, “What happened to that sweet caring guy I married 10 years ago?”

§  Was there heartache in this home?    Considerable

§  Was Joe the kind of dad he would want his future son-in-laws to be?   No way.

§  Was the atmosphere of Juan and Susanna’s bedroom what they wanted?   

Husband “B”

Juan also has a high pressure job, owning and managing a construction company. Dates for sub-contractors to be there and materials to arrive were on a very tight schedule because the customer needed to move quickly. The weather didn’t cooperate, causing a week delay on getting the shell up. A sub-contractor finished late and did a horrible job. It didn’t look like it would be possible for his client to move into the new offices on time and that would cause penalty fees to kick in. Juan was tempted to be worried. The stress was high but was learning to deal with it, trusting in the Lord.

When Juan got home, his wife Susanna was with him. She was the logistics coordinator. They worked in the same office so she was well aware of the stress her husband was under. Susanna’s mother watched the kids for the few hours between school and when Juan and Susanna got home each night. Juan had no expectations of dinner when he got home so he ate a snack in the afternoon knowing it would be a while until he had a meal. This couple determined not to talk about work on the way home so that the stresses there would not adversely affect the peace they desperately wanted at home. When they got home Juan thanked his mother-in-law for watching the kids. When she left he spent time with the kids while Susanna washed up and got ready to fix dinner.

·         Where Juan & Susanna perfect?     No.

·         Did they lose their tempers sometimes?    Sure.

·         Did they have disagreements and heated discussions?    Of course.

·         Did Juan open the door for his wife?     Most of the time.

·         Where Juan’s expectations of his wife reasonable, taking her side of the story very seriously?    Most of the time.

·         Was the atmosphere of Juan and Susanna’s bedroom what they wanted?   

Lessons to Learn

A few verses prior to this following verse women are instructed to be submissive to their own husbands. Their having this condition of heart however, almost never happens unless their husband grasps the ramifications of Eph. 5:25-28 and, with God’s help continuously, works at becoming this kind of a husband. The Message Bible beautifully paraphrases these verses:

Eph. 5:25-28    Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They’re really doing themselves a favor—since they’re already “one” in marriage. (MSG)

The need for all of us husbands to grow to become like this transcends all times, nations and cultures. Being a Christian involves a daily death to the “self” life, living for God instead – Jesus is Lord of all and we are included in the word “all.” We continually exchange our old dying existence on the planet for His eternal and wonderful life. Once we get married, this principle gets kicked up to a whole new level.

·         Is it easy? Now way!

·         Is it possible? Absolutely!

·         How long will it take? Your whole life on Earth.

·         Don’t worry about dazzling white silk, most of us could never afford that. Just make sure she’s clothed nicely

Test yourselves Gentlemen:

1.    What seeds are you sowing in your relationships at home?

2.    Do you care for your wife as a garden needs continual care?

3.    Does your wife know to wait for you to open the door for her?

4.    Are you the kind of husband you would want your daughters to marry?

If you feel like you can’t pass this test that’s fantastic. It brings us to dependence on Jesus to help us. We can’t earn salvation and neither can we work ourselves into who we are not – That’s God’s job and all it takes is continual surrender. He loves His Bride (the church) and gave Himself for her. My life and 39 years of marriage to Johanna is a testament to the possibility of making the transition from Husband A to Husband B.