Sermon
Manifesting the Kingdom of God pt. 5
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Hi there, welcome to NECF. We're excited to share
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today's message with you. Don't go anywhere,
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stay with us till the end for some valuable resources
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to enrich your faith. Here's today's sermon.
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So today we're going to continue in the manifestation.
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The kingdom of God. And we're going to be looking
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at priesthood. Manifestation. The kingdom of
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God. And we're going to be looking at priesthood.
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Priesthood. Numbers chapter 18. Numbers chapter
Numbers 18 chapter mention Numbers 18 chapter mention
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18. Proverbs 1 to 7. Then the Lord said to Aaron,
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you and your sons and your father's house. with
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you shall bear the liberty related to the sanctuary,
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and you and your sons with you shall bear the
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liberty associated with the priest. Also bring
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with you your brethren of the tribe of Levi,
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the tribe of your father, that they may join
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with you and serve you while you and your sons
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are before the tabernacle of goodness. They shall
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attend to your needs and all the needs of the
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tabernacle. But they shall not come near the
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article of the sanctuary and the altar, lest
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they die. They and you also. They shall be joined
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with you and attend to the need of the sabbatical
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of meeting, for all the work of the sabbatical.
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But an outsider shall not come near to you. Praise
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the Lord. And he said, You shall attend all the
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duties of the sanctuaries and the duties of the
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altar, and that there may be no more rods on
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the children of Israel. Praise the Lord. Verse
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6 now said, Behold, I myself have taken your
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brethren, the Levites, from among the children
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of Israel. They are a gift to me, a gift to you
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given by the Lord, to do the work of the tabernacle
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of meeting. Therefore you and your sons with
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you shall attend to your priesthood for everything
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at the altar and behind the veil, and you shall
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serve. And I give you priesthood. to you as a
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gift for service. And the outsider shall not
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come near. Sorry, the outsider who comes near
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shall be put to death. Praise the Lord. Manifesting
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the kingdom of God. Praise the Lord. So we see
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here that God was giving Aaron and his sons the
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facts of the priesthood. He gave them to be people
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who would serve God in the sanctuary, in the
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tabernacle, in the altar. These are the people
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responsible to do the things of God, him and
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his sons and his brethren. They are particular
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people. They are not from the tribe of Judea.
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They are not from Manasseh. They are not from
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any other tribe in Israel, but particularly these
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people. This is who God has saddled the responsibility
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of taking care of the altar, of bringing sacrifices,
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of sacrificing to God and doing everything. related
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to the altar. This is what God has restored on
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them. Praise the Lord. They will serve the needs
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of the sanctuary. They will perform the duties
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that is their real. And an outsider shall not
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come near what they do. And the outsider here
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is not talking about somebody who is not of the
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tribe of Israel. He's talking about a different
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tribe. Somebody else from another tribe cannot
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come and do the responsibilities. That they are
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doing. Praise the Lord. They cannot come and
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do this responsibility. If not, they are going
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to die as a result. The disobedience of that
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would mean that they are not going to be alive
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anymore. So why did God commit this priesthood
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to these people alone? Why did it? Is it God's
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intended plan for his people that a tribe would
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become a priest to him? Is it his intention from
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the beginning? Is that what God has ordained?
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Or is that what he has desired? Praise the Lord.
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So let's look at God's plan on signing priests.
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Were they particular people? Is he going to just
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be a tribe? Or is he going to be the whole nation?
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Or is he just going to be a man? Praise the Lord.
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Exodus chapter 19. So the children of Israel,
Exodus 19 chapter mention
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having gone through Egypt, have come out and
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they have seen many... miraculous things that
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God has done. God has delivered them with a strong
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hand. God has defeated their enemies. They have
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seen the hand of God. They have been fed in the
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wilderness. They drank from the rock. They have
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eaten manna and God has fed them from food from
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on high. Their clothes were not worn out. They
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have seen the greatness of God. They have seen
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that which God has done for them. And so when
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we come to Exodus 18, from verse 3 to 6, it says,
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then you shall be a special treasure to me above
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all people. For all the earth is mine, and you
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shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy
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nation. These are the words which you shall speak
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to the children of Israel. Praise the Lord. So
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the intention of God from the beginning was that
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the entirety of Israel would become a nation
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of priests. They would become a holy nation to
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God, a treasure to God. They will become a people
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that God treasures. Because he said this thing
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to them, not after something else has happened,
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a lot of things have gone wrong. But immediately
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as they are coming out, God made it clear what
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his intention was for them. That they are going
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to be a special people above every other person.
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That the nation will see them and know that truly
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this is the people of God. Praise the Lord. This
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is the people of God. And he says to them that
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if they will obey his voice, if they will hear
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him, if they will believe the thing that he's
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saying, they are going to be a treasure to him.
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They are going to be a nation, a holy nation,
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and a kingdom of Christ. Praise the Lord. So
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Manasseh is supposed to be a kingdom of Christ.
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Judah is supposed to be a kingdom of Christ.
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They were supposed to be, they're supposed to
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be a kingdom of Christ too, where God dwells.
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Praise the Lord. So in other sense, God was seeking
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a relationship with everybody. Praise the Lord.
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God was seeking a relationship with every one
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of them. He didn't just want Levites. He didn't
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just want the tribe that Aaron came from or Moses
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came from to be these people who will stand before
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him perpetually. But it should be that people
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of every tribe or the tribe of Israel will become
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a nation of priests. A holy nation to be with
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special people. to priests. But then why did
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we see that he then gave instructions to Lubach?
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Why did he particularly then speak to Aaron and
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his brethren consigning priests to him? He wanted
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them to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
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That was his intention from the beginning. So
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he made it clear to them, I want to have a relationship
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with you. I want to have an interaction with
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you. I want to have fellowship with you. That's
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my intention. I didn't just want one person or
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Moses to just come before me. I want everybody
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to come before me. I want everybody to hear my
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voice. I want everybody to understand my ways.
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I want everybody to see the things that I will
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show to them. Praise the Lord. So God's original
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plan was for his people to be a kingdom of Christ,
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to be a people of Christ and an only nation to
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him. But then we see, so... We see, and a good
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example of that we can see from also Genesis,
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where this type of priesthood that God was seeking
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to have with these people came about. Genesis
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chapter 14, verse 18. Then Meshizedek, king of
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Salem, brought out bread and wine, and he was
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a priest. of the Most High. And he blessed him
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and said, blessed the Abraham of the Most High,
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possessor of heaven and earth. Praise the Lord.
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He said, blessed be God Most High who delivered
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your enemies into your hand and has given and
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he gave him a sight of all. Praise the Lord.
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So we see also that this king was an example
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of what God was intending. for his people to
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become like. He said he's a priest of the most
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high. Praise the Lord. He was royalty. He was
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a special person, right? But also somebody who
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has the ability to perform the duties of a priest.
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Praise the Lord. So he was not just somebody
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who was going to take instruction from the priest
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and then do as a king or execute. But he was
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somebody who knows the intention of God and has
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the power to execute. Praise the Lord. He was
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somebody who knows. The intention of God. He
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knows the things to do. He knows what God demands
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from these people. And so he also has the power
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to execute because he's royal. Praise the Lord.
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So we see example of that. The king of Salem,
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right? He's described as a chief ruler, right?
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Somebody who is a principal officer to execute
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the things of God. Praise the Lord. So we see
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that this priest has the ability to bless the
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people, right? He has the strength to bless Abraham.
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He blessed him because he has royal power. He
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can give blessing. Praise the Lord. So God's
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intention was to make them a nation of priests.
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So why didn't that happen? Why is it that we
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now see that it was Levi that he was talking
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to? Exodus 23. So Exodus chapter 20, we see that
Exodus 20 chapter mention
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the children of Israel have gathered underneath
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the mountain and God was going to give them instruction.
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God came to have this fellowship. Praise the
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Lord. Remember, we read 19, where God declares
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His intention consigning what He wanted. He wanted
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them to be a kingdom of peace. He wanted them
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to be a holy nation, a treasure to Him. So in
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verse 20 now, we see that they have come to have
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this fellowship. They have come to interact with
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this God. They have come to start the thing that
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God intended for them. Praise the Lord. And so
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God then begins to speak. And then from verse
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19, sorry, from verse 18, we begin to see. He
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said, Exodus 20, from verse 19, from verse 18.
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He said, when the people saw the thunder and
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the lightning, And they heard the trumpet and
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saw the mountain in smoke. They trembled with
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fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses,
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Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But
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do not have God speak to us or we will die. Praise
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the Lord. So we have seen that God has desired
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that these people should come. And when they
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came, they started making a different confession.
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When they had the voice of God or when they came
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to God, they started to have a different, they
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started making different choices. So in a sense,
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they didn't want to have this interaction. They
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didn't want to have this relationship. They wanted
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somebody to be between them and God, somebody
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who they would listen to because they didn't
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want to hear God for themselves, but somebody
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who would mediate for them. And that's what Moses
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was for them. Let him hear and speak to us. Praise
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the Lord. And say, for we will die. But God had
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called them to the mountain, or God had called
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them to come underneath the mountain, know that
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they were not going to die. Praise the Lord.
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So there was, God's intention was clear, but
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the people decided this is what they want to
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do. We don't want to have this interaction with
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you. We don't want to have this type of relationship
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with you. So God desired a fellowship from them,
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but then they desired something else. They refused,
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we saw in the studies that we did. They refused
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the proposal of God to have a fellowship with
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them. They refused the proposal to have that
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fellowship with them. We saw that in the gospel
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in Deuteronomy. They refused this invitation
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to have fellowship. That's why we see then that
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the children of Aaron and his brothers have now
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taken the responsibility to be ministers, to
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be people. who would carry out the responsibilities
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of God. Praise the Lord. So this is too much
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for them, what they have seen. It's so thunder,
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it's so lightning. It was much for them. It was
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something that they cannot bear anymore. So they
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appointed Moses. They said to Moses, you speak
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to us and we'll listen to you. Become our mediator.
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Become that person who will stand between us
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and God. Praise the Lord. And I imagine that,
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and according to the studies that we have done,
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We know that the people that have stayed with
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God or the people that stay with God are people
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that become like God. Praise the Lord. People
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that stay with God are people that become like
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God. We saw that in Matthew chapter 18, right?
Matthew 18 chapter mention
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Where because of the revelation of Christ, Peter
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knew who he was. Praise the Lord. So the people
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that stay more with God, the people that interact
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more with God, are people that become more like
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God. So if you're somebody who has decided that
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you want to be studying the Word of the Lord,
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if you're somebody who has decided that you want
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to be praying, you want to seek the face of God,
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the more you become like God. If you're somebody
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who decides that somebody else should speak on
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behalf of God to you, you will never grow. Praise
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the Lord. You will not know the intention of
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God. Because Moses went to the mountain. Praise
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the Lord. Remember how he's experienced, how
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he started his own. He saw a burning bush, right?
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He was scared at first, but he received an invitation
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and he accepted it. And since then, he has gone
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and he has interacted with God. How is it that
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he hasn't refused that? So it wasn't too much
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for Moses. So it's not too much for anybody who
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stays with the Lord. It's not too much for anybody
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who stays in the place. A fellowship with God.
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Because they will know that God is not trying
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to kill them. Because they will know that God
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has good plans for them. Because they will know
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that in this fellowship would make me the thing
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that God expects me to be. Praise the Lord. So
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they appointed Moses to be a mediator, to be
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somebody who would be between them and God. So
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then we see that then the Levite were appointed.
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Moses also is on the tribe. of Levi. So, we see
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that the Levi then were appointed to negate to
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the people who would perform or who would be
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ministers of God because they have given that
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responsibility to Moses and God respected their
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decision. We saw from our studies, right, that
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God respected the decision they have made. So,
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they gave the Levi to serve at the altar. I will
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begin to see some of the services that they render.
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Some of the services that a priest renders. Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy 20 chapter mention
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chapter 20. Deuteronomy chapter 20, verses 1
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to 4. He said, When you go out to battle against
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your enemies and see horses and chariots and
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people more numerous than you, do not be afraid
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of them, for the Lord is with you, who brought
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you up from the land of Egypt. So it shall be,
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when you are on the verge of battle, that the
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priest shall approach and speak to the people,
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and he shall say to them, Hear, O Israel, today
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you are on the verge of battle with your enemy.
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So this is the thing that the people are missing,
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right? Because a minister or somebody who is
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a priest is somebody who is saddled with that
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responsibility to give assurance, to tell the
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people. of the promises of God, to remind them.
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So when there's trouble, the priest comes and
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he tells them that God is with you. How does
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he know that God is with them? Because he has
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been with the Lord. He has been in the service
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of the Lord. So the priest will come and encourage
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them. The Lord is with you. So the priest speaks
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to the people. They speak life to the people.
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When there's fear, they come and they speak to
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them so that they are encouraged. They strengthen
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the people. It reminds the people of the presence
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of God. That God is not far from them. Praise
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the Lord. That God is not far away from them.
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That their troubles are not too big for God.
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That the thing that they're facing is not above
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God. He said, God is with you to save you. Praise
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the Lord. God is with you to save you. So these
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are the duties of what a priest does. He's there
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to strengthen the people. He's there to give
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them assurance. of the promises of God. He's
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there to encourage them. Praise the Lord. We
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see also in Malachi, Malachi 2, verse 7. Praise
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the Lord. So the priest also is somebody who
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keeps knowledge. He keeps knowledge. The people
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come to him to seek for... The Lord. You see,
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he's a messenger of the Lord. So the priest speaks
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the word of the Lord. Praise the Lord. The priest
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speaks the word of the Lord. A messenger of the
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Lord. He speaks the counsel of God to the people.
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He's a messenger of God. So the original plan
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of God is that his people become a kingdom of
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priests. Praise the Lord. So when they go to
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battle, they will not need somebody else to come
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and tell them. The presence of the Lord is with
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you. They will know that the presence of the
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Lord is with them because they have been in fellowship
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with this God. Praise the Lord. So that they
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will not need somebody to monitor them. Oh, did
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I do this wrong? Or did I not do that wrong?
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Because they know because they have been in fellowship
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with the Lord. His intention is for them that
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they are well aware of the things that He has
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desired. Not that somebody else will come and
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tell them. If that person didn't say it, they
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will do something else. Praise the Lord. So they'll
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therefore need somebody to keep chasing after
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them, to keep running after them, to keep telling
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them, that thing is wrong, this is wrong, because
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they have no idea. Praise the Lord. So his intention
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is that all of them know, all of them have fellowship,
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all of them have interaction with him. Praise
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the Lord. We see also that David, although he's
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not from the tribe of Levi, he did minister.
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Praise the Lord. So if the plan of God was not
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that the people should... be a kingdom of priests,
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then something would have happened to David.
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He gave, he did sacrifices to the Lord. We see
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in 2 Samuel 6, verse 12 to 20. 2 Samuel 6. We're
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going to read verse 13 and 17. 2 Samuel 6, verse
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12 to 20. We're going to read verse 13. So it
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was when those who bear the ark of the Lord had...
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So they brought the ark of the Lord and set it
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in the place of the tabernacle that David had
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erected for it. Then David offered burnt offerings
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and peace offerings before the Lord. And when
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David had finished offering burnt offerings and
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peace offerings, he blessed the people in the
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name of the Lord of hosts. So we see here that
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David, as a king, he did this sacrifice. He did
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the work of a priest. So we see that that is
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the intention of God. Because if that is not
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the intention of God consigning them, something
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would have happened with him. Praise the Lord.
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So let's see this priesthood in the New Covenant.
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This priesthood in the New Covenant. So as we
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saw, the king of Salem had come, right? Who was
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somebody that was greater than the tribe of Levi
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or somebody who was greater than Aaron. And he
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came in the order of a royal priesthood. He came
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because he was a king and a priest. Somebody
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who was greater than what Aaron was. Because
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Aaron was just a priest. But we see that Jesus
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served or came as a greater high priest. We see
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that in Hebrews chapter 6. Hebrews chapter 6
Hebrews 6 chapter mention Hebrews 6:20
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verse 20. So Jesus served as a greater high priest.
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Hebrews chapter 6 verse 20. Where the four runners
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have entered for us. Even Jesus having become
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high priest forever according to the order. of
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Melchizedek. Praise the Lord. So he served a
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greater purpose as a greater high priest that
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will be reconciled to God. So he mediated between
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us and God. Praise the Lord. And that mediation
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was not one that he would make us continually
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need, but he would have, he sought that he came
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to create or to bring back that relationship
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or the original plan of God. So Jesus, the work
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of Jesus, or the priesthood of Jesus, eclipses
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the Aaron's priesthood. Praise the Lord. So the
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work of Jesus has brought us, as we saw in John
John 3 chapter mention
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chapter 3, right? He has brought us the dominion
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of God, right? It has brought us the royal power
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of God. It has brought us the forgiveness of
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sin. It has brought us the power of righteousness.
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Praise the Lord. The ability to be reconciled
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to God. to be one with him, to be one spirit
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with him. He has brought us to the kingdom of
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God. Praise the Lord. So this is what Christ
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has done for us. In John chapter 3, we see that
John 3 chapter mention
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we're able, because of the work of Christ, we're
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able to experience the kingdom of God. We're
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able to see the kingdom of God. We're able to
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see the power of God. We're able to see the salvation
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of God because of the work that Christ has done.
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In John chapter 3. Proverbs 3 to 8. Right? We're
John 3 chapter mention
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able to see that the work of Christ has brought
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us the ability to experience the kingdom of God.
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Praise the Lord. So did Israel's failure stop
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God's plan? Did their failure or their refusal
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to His proposal of fellowship stop the intention
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of God? Praise the Lord. No. Because of what
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Christ has done. Because of what Christ has done,
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we're able to be To be brought back to that original
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intention of God. That is to be a nation of priests.
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To be a royal priesthood. To be a treasured people.
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To be a holy nation. 1 Peter chapter 2, verses
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4 to 5. Come to him as to a living stone rejected
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indeed by men and chosen by God and precious.
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You also as living stone are built up a spiritual
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house, a holy priesthood to offer up. spiritual
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sacrifice acceptable to God through Jesus. Praise
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the Lord. So because of what Christ has done,
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we're able to offer a spiritual sacrifice. We're
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able to offer a spiritual sacrifice through him
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that is acceptable to God. So the failure of
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Israel or the failure of the people of Israel
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has not, didn't stop the intention of God. Did
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not stop the intention of God because of what
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Christ has done on the cross. Verse 9. He said,
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but you are a choosing generation, a royal priesthood,
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a holy nation, his own special people, that you
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may proclaim the praises of he who called you
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out of darkness into his marvelous light. Verse
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10. Who once were not a people, but now the people
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of God, who had not obtained mercy, but now have
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obtained mercy. Praise the Lord. So the original
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plan and intention of God did not stop because
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Israel had seen or Israel had refused to accept
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the invitation of fellowship. Praise the Lord.
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Because of Christ, that initial arrangement is
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still present. Because of Christ, that initial
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intention of God is possible for the children
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of God. Praise the Lord. Because he said the
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same thing that he was saying to them. that there
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will be a people that are a treasure to him.
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And he says, you are a special people. So that
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has not stopped the intention of God. Revelation
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chapter 5, verses 9 to 10. But he sang a song
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saying, You are worthy to take the scroll and
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to open its seal. For you were slain and have
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redeemed us to God by your blood out of every
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tribe and tongues and people and nation. He said,
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you have made us kings and priests to our God
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and we shall reign on yet. Praise the Lord. See,
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he has called us. Can we go back to the previous
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verse? He said he has redeemed us by his blood.
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It's out of every tribe, right? Out of every
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nation. So you see, there's no longer limitation.
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It's not just the children of Levi. It's not
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just them that have that access to God. Out of
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every tongue and every nation and out of every
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people, you see, he has made us king and priest
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to our God. Praise the Lord. He has made us.
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So this is not, this speaks of an identity. Praise
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the Lord. This speaks of an identity. He has
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made us kings and priests to our God. Praise
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the Lord. He has made us royalty to our God and
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we shall reign on the earth. So in the sacrifice
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and in the things that Christ has done, every
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of God's people have received this polytheism.
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to be kings and priests on the earth. Praise
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the Lord. Because of what Christ has done, we
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have received this calling. This is not if I
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accept it or I reject it. Praise the Lord. As
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long as you are in Christ, this is a calling
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that is upon your life, to be king and priest
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on the earth. Praise the Lord. So God's initial
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plan was fulfilled in Christ. You are now royal
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Christians. It's the people that now can serve
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and manifest. The power of God. The presence
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of God. Praise the Lord. We can serve and manifest.
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We can serve and execute. Below the intention
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of God, we can execute. Praise the Lord. We have
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the power to execute. We have the power to execute
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the will of God on the earth. We have the power
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to be a blessing to people. Just like Mashiach
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said, to bless people. To say you are blessed.
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Because we have that power to bless. To teach
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people the word. We saw the duties and the roles
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of priests. He said that they keep knowledge.
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Praise the Lord. They give instructions to the
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people. We have that power to teach. We have
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the ability to teach. We have the ability to
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bless people on the earth. To remind people of
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the promises of God. Praise the Lord. To remind
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people of the promises of God. To strengthen
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those who are weak. Praise the Lord. To strengthen
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those who are weak. To preach the gospel to the
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lost. Praise the Lord. To preach the gospel.
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So this is the thing that we have in Christ.
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He has made us kings and priests on the earth
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because of what Christ has done. Praise the Lord.
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So his original intention of fellowship has been
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restored. Praise the Lord. His original intention
-
of promise has been restored in Christ. We have
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the ability to fellowship. We have the ability
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to approach his throne of grace. Praise the Lord.
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There will no longer be fear. There will no longer
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be, oh, we heard the sound of thunder and we
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are afraid. There is a strength now to approach,
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to stand before him. Praise the Lord. To speak
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with him, to fellowship with him. We are a royal
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Christian. He said a chosen generation. And a
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lot of us know the song. We are a chosen generation.
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We run with it. And we dance with it. And we
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move around with it. But sometimes we like the
-
idea of being special. We're not actually acting
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specially. We like the idea of, oh, I'm not part
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of these people. There is a higher calling. There
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is a higher something. There is a higher dimension
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to my life. But then, we don't know how to then
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execute this higher dimension in our day -to
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-day life. Praise the Lord. He said, you're a
-
chosen generation. A people that are set apart.
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A people that once did not know God, but now...
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have obtained mercy. A people that understand
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the intention of God. Praise the Lord. A people
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that understand the intention of God. We're royal
-
priesthood not because we are singular. Right?
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We're royal priesthood because it is who we are
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and the manifestation should be clear. Praise
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the Lord. The manifestation should be clear.
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So what is stopping us from fulfilling these
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realities? These things that we have said. And
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he said he has made us kings and priests from
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yet. To execute his judgment, to execute his
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intention. Praise the Lord. To serve, to bring
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deliverance to people, to be a blessing. God
-
is stopping us from this fellowship. So God wants
-
us, he wants this fellowship from us. Praise
-
the Lord. He has made us. So we shouldn't refuse
-
this fellowship by how we behave or how we live
-
our lives. Praise the Lord. We shouldn't refuse
-
this fellowship of the Father. It's a fellowship
-
with the Father. John chapter 1, verse 1 to 4.
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which was from the beginning, which we have had,
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which we have seen with our own eyes, which we
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have looked upon, our hands have handled, consigning
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the word of life. The life was manifest and we
-
have seen it and bore witness. and declare to
-
you that eternal life, which was with the Father
-
and was manifest to us, that which we have seen
-
and had, we declare to you, that you also may
-
have fellowship with us. And truly, our fellowship
-
is with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
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And these things I write to you, that your joy
-
might be full. Praise the Lord. It's a true fellowship,
-
it's that we have fellowship with God. and Jesus
-
Christ. Through fellowship is that we have fellowship
-
with God and with Jesus Christ. So we're just
-
going to look at mediators. So as the people
-
refused the proposal of God, they made Moses
-
the mediator between them and God. So somebody
-
who would speak on their behalf. Somebody who
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is in the middle to say what their intention
-
is. what the plan of God is and declare it to
-
them. Praise the Lord. So somebody will speak
-
to God, conciling them. But because of what Christ
-
has done, we are able to speak to the Father.
-
Praise the Lord. We are able to speak to the
-
Father. We are able to speak to the Father. We
-
can now approach the throne of grace where we
-
can speak with God. Hebrews 4, verse 14. It's
-
a saying then that we have a great high priest
-
who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the
-
Son of God. Let us hold fast to our confession.
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For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize
-
with our witness, but was at all points tempted
-
as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore
-
come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may
-
obtain mercy and find grace. and find grace to
-
help in times of need. Praise the Lord. So we
-
are able to come to God. We are able to come
-
to God because of what Christ has done. So the
-
mediation of what Christ has done for us allows
-
us to come to God. The mediation of Moses did
-
not allow the people to come to God. Praise the
-
Lord. There was a block. There was something
-
that was blocking. them from having fellowship.
-
But the mediation of what Christ has done is
-
that we can now come boldly to God because of
-
what he has done. So it therefore means that
-
we can hear God for ourselves. Praise the Lord.
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It therefore means that we can hear God for ourselves.
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It therefore means that the intention of God
-
is that your pastor teaches you the word, shows
-
you the things of God, but he should not be your
-
mediator. Praise the Lord. He should not be The
-
one that hears God for you. Praise the Lord.
-
God intends that at some point, with understanding,
-
you are able to hear Him. You are able to fellowship
-
with Him. Praise the Lord. You are able to fellowship
-
with Him. That you are able to come to Him. There
-
are some people that only know what their pastor
-
says. My pastor said this, my pastor said that,
-
my pastor said that. But there is no fellowship.
-
You don't know what God says concerning your
-
life. You don't know what God says concerning
-
your situation. You don't understand. the things
-
of God, because you have refused to fellowship.
-
You have refused to take advantage of that which
-
has already been given to you. He has made us
-
kings and priests. So are God to reign on the
-
earth. Because you have refused to take advantage
-
of fellowship, you will always seek to hear God
-
from your pastor, or from a brother, or from
-
somebody who sees you on the road and says, hey
-
you, I see this, I see that. Baby, you don't
-
fall on your knees and start crying. Praise the
-
Lord. I remember some time, some years ago, when
-
they are giving the word, I'd be asking, is that
-
not a word for me? Why is it that somebody here,
-
they're giving word to this person, that person?
-
How is it that somebody is not giving me nothing?
-
And a few occasions, I do receive the word, but
-
why is it that it's only this person that receives
-
the word? They are praying and they pass the
-
CIA. This is what God is saying concerning your
-
life. I'm going through a lot. Pastor, hear something
-
for me. Praise the Lord. But that's not the intention
-
of God. God intends that you hear Him for yourself.
-
That you are the person that hears Him for yourself.
-
It means that you take the responsibility of
-
fellowship. You take the responsibility of fellowship.
-
That you see that something is going on, you
-
pray about it. Praise the Lord. You pray about
-
it. There is a strength that comes from corporate
-
prayers, right? We're able to pray from now,
-
from morning till evening, most of the time because
-
we are here all together. Praise the Lord. But
-
God wants you to hear Him for yourself. He wants
-
a one -on -one interaction with you, that you
-
also know Him, that you know how to pray concerning
-
your situation. Praise the Lord. That you know
-
how to pray concerning your situation. That you
-
know how to pray concerning your situation. When
-
you see that something is going on in your environment,
-
you pray about it. You study the word of the
-
Lord about it. Because in doing that, you will
-
be able to execute His plan and purposes on the
-
earth. That you will be a priest to your family.
-
Praise the Lord. That you will be a priest to
-
your family. Some of us, if our parents know
-
what some of us know now, our life maybe will
-
be far better. We have not gone through the levels
-
that we are born through because they committed
-
us to pastor. You teach my type. Praise the Lord.
-
Or they committed us to schools. Schools teach
-
my children this, teach them that. We don't know
-
the teachers are going through a lot. Praise
-
the Lord. And they have many other children that
-
they will take care of. Right? You don't pay
-
attention to them. So that you be a priest in
-
your family. Praise the Lord. That you be a priest
-
in your family. You're the one that hears God.
-
If you are not yet hearing, you are hearing.
-
Praise the Lord. God, there is a crisis you are
-
looking for, which is important with you, by
-
the way. But you also know how to pray. Praise
-
the Lord. And we saw prayers the other time.
-
And we said that the first thing that prayer
-
does is that it helps you, you as a person. Your
-
challenges used to come and go. If you think
-
about it, they come and they go. The biggest
-
one you have faced, Right? It has come and it
-
left you. Praise the Lord. But you were still
-
there. So it changes you. No matter how difficult
-
the challenge is, it's that you take the time
-
to have fellowship. You take the time to seek
-
the face of God. Because in that, you are able
-
to execute the plans of God concerning your life.
-
Praise the Lord. You are able to hear the plans
-
of God concerning your life. So the people feared
-
because... He saw thunder and lightning. The
-
more you fellowship with God, the more fear will
-
go away. Praise the Lord. The more fear will
-
go away. I remember one time, the house I was
-
staying, there was a problem. Somebody was, I
-
don't know whether he was sick or he was seeing
-
something. He was in his room. He seemed to be
-
seeing things. Praise the Lord. And he was panting
-
too much. They called everybody. Everybody was
-
running. All of that. They came and called me
-
downstairs. I came up. I said, what's going on?
-
I saw somebody in the room. Logically, I was
-
asking you, how did you come to this room and
-
somebody started having problems? What happened
-
between them? But I saw the guy. He was really
-
going. He was not breathing properly. So many
-
things were happening, right? And he was seeing
-
things. I don't know what he was seeing, but
-
he was seeing things and moving around, right?
-
The first thing that will enter my head is, I've
-
seen this movie before. You have watched it in
-
Nigeria, right? And you see that somebody is
-
seeing things. Praise the Lord. So I thought
-
about it, thought about it. They fear, what can
-
I do? I started to pray, right? I start to pray.
-
I start to pray. I start to pray. And I prayed
-
and prayed and prayed and prayed. We needed to
-
take him to the hospital. How frightening it
-
was that the people don't want to help. They
-
were like, that is in that building. I called
-
him. I said, look, this person is not breathing
-
properly. We need to take him downstairs. But
-
the situation was looking like, if you touch
-
this guy, maybe what is following you will follow
-
you. Right? So they didn't want to come at all.
-
Like, there were boys there. They didn't want
-
to come. And this guy was like me. We need to
-
take him downstairs. Right? It was ladies that
-
helped carry him down. Praise the Lord. It was
-
the ladies in that house that helped carry him
-
down to the car. Right? He did. They had to take
-
him to Nigeria, but he was fine. Praise the Lord.
-
At the end of the day. So, there's so many things
-
that will come and will happen. You will not
-
understand it. Right? You will even, you would
-
fear about it. But when you know that, what else
-
do I know? I'm not a doctor. There's nothing
-
that I know. I cannot diagnose anything. I just
-
have to pray. Praise the Lord. I just have to
-
pray because that is what I understand. That
-
is what I know. Praise the Lord. That is what
-
I know. And there's so many people they could
-
have called. There's so many people they have
-
called, right, that refuse to go there. So the
-
more we fellowship with God, the more fear will
-
go away. The more you fellowship with God, the
-
more fear will go away. The more you know God,
-
the revelation of God is the revelation of you.
-
You find yourself in God. We saw that in Matthew
-
16 -19. And then to the people that are priests,
-
he says that their portion is the Lord. In Numbers
-
18 -20, he says that God is their portion. Praise
-
the Lord. It means that God will take care of
-
them. The people that work in that office, that
-
God takes care of them. That God is their portion.
-
He takes care of them. So what is stopping you
-
from manifesting? Your priest, what is stopping
-
you from manifesting that which is given to you?
-
Is it fear? Is it your lack of fellowship? There's
-
very little that we will be able to do or somebody
-
can be able to do for you, even in terms of prayer
-
and all of that. But if you learn how to fellowship,
-
you will discover that as somebody is saying,
-
there's a problem here, you'll be hearing, for
-
me, this is what God is saying. I've had this
-
thing clearly because you have prayed. Praise
-
the Lord. You have prayed. You have prayed. There's
-
some issues in your life that I'm sure you know
-
that God has not revealed it to any pastor. And
-
you know. Because he's telling you that you have
-
to deal with it. You have to pray. You have to
-
study. You have to seek my face concerning this
-
issue. You need to stand up and begin to act
-
like that which you have. Praise the Lord. So
-
our priesthood is restored in Christ. A kingdom
-
of priests to serve. our God, to execute His
-
judgment on the earth, in our lives and the people
-
that are around us. Praise the Lord. Let's just
-
open our mouth and just begin to bless the name
-
of the Lord. If today's message was a blessing,
-
share it with a friend. Till next time, be blessed.