Peace and grace in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Revelation 21:12 21:12 Also she had a great and high wallwith twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:The wall of the New Jerusalem was great and high. It refers to the majesty, glory, and authority of the heavenly bride.
1 Peter 2:92:9 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;The heavenly bride consists of the living stones or the holy priests and kings so that they can testify and glorify the name of God.
We celebrate Good Friday, namely Jesus' death.
Exodus 29:1 29:1. "And this is what you shall do to them to hallow them for ministering to Me as priests: Take one young bull and two rams without blemish,In the past, the Israelites slaughtered the offering animals. Its blood was used to purify the descendants of Levites, so they could be appointed as the priests and kings of God.
Revelation 1:5-61:5. and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood
1:6. and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.Jesus sheds His blood to the point of death on the cross. The power of His blood is as follows:
- [verse 5] Washing us from our sins.
- [verse 6] Making us kings and priests.
We celebrate the Good Friday, so we can become the holy priests and kings to glorify God until we are glorified with Him forever.
The three functions of Christ's sacrifice for the church of God are as follows:
- The sin offering.
Leviticus 4:3
4:3. 'if the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, then let him offer to the LORD for his sin which he has sinned a young bull without blemish as a sin offering.
Leviticus 5:7
5:7. 'If he is not able to bring a lamb, then he shall bring to the LORD, for his trespass which he has committed, two turtledoves or two young pigeons: one as a sin offeringand the other as a burnt offering.
In the Old Testament, the sin offering was bull, lamb, and pigeon.
John 1:29
1:29. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
In the New Testament, all of animal offerings have been fulfilled by Christ's sacrifice on the cross.
Christ's sacrifice on the cross is the only offering of the innocent Man, so He can take away the sins of men in the world and set them free from the punishment of perdition in the hell. It means saving the sinners.
We must repent, so we are forgiven. Do not sin anymore after being forgiven! We live in righteousness, so we are saved and blessed.
As a result, we can be used by God as the priests and kings to serve others who are sinners, so they can be saved.
Do not become like Judas Iscariot! He insults or trades in Christ's sacrifice. It means keeping committing sin because of the worldly thing, so the forgiveness is canceled and the punishment happens up to perdition.
Psalm 119:9
119:9. BETH. How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.
John 15:3
15:3. "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
We must keep hearing Jesus' Word or the true teaching Word, understand, and believe in it, so it becomes faith in our heart. As a result, we do not sin anymore. We keep living in righteousness, so we are saved.
Faith is like "a brake" preventing us from committing sins and "a gas pedal of vehicle" encouraging us to do right things.
Psalm 119:105
119:105. NUN. Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
The Word is a lamp to our feet, so we do not stumble in sin. It is like "a brake" preventing us from committing sins, so we live in righteousness and holiness.
The Word is a light to our path, so we are not lost. It is like "a gas pedal of vehicle" accelerating us to go to the New Jerusalem.
As a result, we have the guarantee of salvation, righteousness, and God's blessing until we reach the New Jerusalem.
- The offering of consecration.
Exodus 29:1
29:1. "And this is what you shall do to them to hallow them for ministering to Me as priests: Take one young bull and two rams without blemish,
In the Old Testament, the offering of consecration was bull and rams.
In the New Testament the offering of consecrations have been fulfilled by Christ's sacrifice on the cross.
The requirement of becoming the priest and king who minister to God is holiness by Christ's sacrifice.
The three kinds of the offering of consecration are as follows:
- The young bull. It refers to the atonement offering.
- The first ram. It refers to the offering of self-surrendering.
- The second ram. It refers to the offering of consecration.
Now, it has been fulfilled by Christ's sacrifice.
Insulting or trading in Christ's sacrifice means as follows:
- Ministering to God only to seek for physical things.
- Ministering to God according to his own will, not God's.
- Not being faithful up to leaving the ministry.
- Not willingly ministering although he has been redeemed by the blood of Jesus. If it continues, he cannot minister anymore, so he is destroyed forever.
ad. a. The atonement offering.
Exodus 29:14
29:14. "But the flesh of the bull, with its skin and its offal, you shall burn with fire outside the camp. It is a sin offering.
The treatment to the atonement offering is that the flesh of the bull, with its skin--outside--- and its offal--inside--must be burnt outside the camp.
It means as follows:
- Jesus must willingly suffers physically and spiritually outside the gate of Jerusalem. He dies in curse on the cross to bear our sin.
Hebrews 13:11-12
13:11. For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp.
13:12. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.
- We must experience the reconciliation physically and spiritually, so we can minister to God.
Hebrews 13:13
13:13. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.
Colossians 3:5-7
3:5. Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication(1), uncleanness(2), passion(3), evil desire(4), and covetousness(5), which is idolatry(6).
3:6. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,
3:7. in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.
It is the six sins in our outward man.
Colossians 3:8-9
3:8. But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger(1), wrath(2), malice(3), blasphemy(4), filthy language out of your mouth(5).
3:9. Do not lie to one another(6), since you have put off the old man with his deeds,
It is the six sins in our inward man.
All must be burnt or confessed by the encouragement of the Word that shows our sin. We confess our sin to God and others although we are insulted. We are set free from the sins in our outward and inward man. The fact is not lying anymore. We experience peace, so all thing become easy and light.
So, the purpose of celebrating Jesus' death is that we are set free from the twelve sins in our outward and inward man until there is no more lie. Our life becomes easy and light. We can minister until the finish line.
As long as we lie, our life will experience weariness, heavy burden, toil, and tears.
ad. b. The offering of self-surrendering.
Exodus 29:18
29:18. "And you shall burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the LORD; it is a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD.
The treatment is that the whole ram must be burnt to produce sweet aroma. It means that we must surrender our whole life to God. We do not use our own mind, feeling, and will. We can receive Jesus' mind, namely obedience until the flesh does not speak anymore [Philippians 2:5-8].
Matthew 7:21
7:21. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
As a result, the doors are opened, namely the ones in the world up to the ones of heaven.
Obedience is the beginning of success and victory.
So, the purpose of celebrating Jesus' death is that we become obedient until the doors are opened.
Matthew 7:23
7:23. "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'
Disobedience is the same as practicing lawlessness, so the doors are closed. It means total failure, nakedness, and perdition.
ad. c. The offering of consecration, namely self dedication to be used by God.
Exodus 29:19,22-23
29:19. " You shall also take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram.
29:22. "Also you shall take the fat of the ram, the fat tail, the fat that covers the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, the two kidneys and the fat on them, the right thigh(for it is a ram of consecration),
29:23. "one loaf of bread, one cake made with oil, and one wafer from the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD;
The treatment is offering the fat and the right thigh or the right shoulder.
The fat is the best part of the animal. It refers to the possession of God, namely the tithe and special offerings.
Leviticus 3:16
3:16. 'and the priest shall burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma; all the fat is the LORD's.
The priest must offer the tithe and special offerings that belong to God, and then he can present his whole life. As a result, God will give the best thing for us.
Judas had stolen the possession of God, so he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out. His life was not beautiful up to perdition.
The offering of the right thigh or right shoulder refers to the faithfulness and responsibility to God.
So, the purpose of celebrating Jesus' death is that we become the servant of God who is faithful, obedient, and responsible to God in the true ordination.
Exodus 29:24
29:24. "and you shall put all these in the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his sons, and you shall wave them as a wave offeringbefore the LORD.
As a result, our position is like a wave offering. It means that we are hugged and moved by God. We are used in the ministry of the building of the body of Christ, starting from marriage, shepherding, inter shepherding until the Israelites and Gentiles become one perfect body of Christ.
- The pigeons offering.
John 16:7
16:7. "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
Jesus goes away. It means that He dies, but He is risen and ascends to heaven to pour out Holy Spirit.
It starts from Jerusalem for the Israelites, and then for the Gentiles.
Acts 10:44-45
10:44. While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.
10:45. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.
We celebrate Jesus' death, so we are anointed and filled up by Holy Spirit.
The usefulness of Holy Spirit is as follows:
- Holy Spirit changes the Gentiles from being wise as serpents to being harmless as doves.
We are not on the side of others but God's or the true teaching Word's.
Those who are harmless will be filled by the Word, so they become strong and of good courage. It means not getting desperate and disappointed as well as leaving God in facing anything but keeping ministering to God. We trust and hope in God. We rely on God more than anything.
- Holy Spirit givesthe extra power to make the mountain a plain.
Zechariah 4:6-9
4:6. So he answered and said to me: "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts.
4:7. 'Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of "Grace, grace to it!"'"
4:8. Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying:
4:9. "The hands of Zerubbabel Have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it. Then you will know That the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.
The mountains of problem, challenge, obstacle, and sins up to the peak are finished by God. The mountain of arrogance is changed to become lowly in heart. We just confess that we are the hard stone, namely having the hard heart. Holy Spirit changes us to become the living stones, namely the priests and kings who are holy and used by God.
- Holy Spirit makes us faithful and fervent until the finish line.
Romans 12:11
12:11. not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
Holy Spirit changes us up to perfection. We become the wall which is great and high.
God blesses us.