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LETTERS TO AARON Part 4 This is the fourth in a series begun January 1, 2011. Philip, Aaron's father, was a mail carrier for 42 yrs. and wanted to express his heart to his son and ultimately to all his family. May these installments be a blessing. If so, you may email Philip at ggayle1977@yahoo.com. Hebrews 11: 13 shows that saints, of all ages, have considered themselves to be "strangers and pilgrims on the earth." In Hebrews 12: 18-24 it says, "We have not come to the mount that might be touched…but we have come unto mount Sion." Our true Temple, back home, has been built on mount Sion not on the temple mount in Jerusalem, not on mount Zion. This is part of the Hebrews letter intended to open further a window into the unseen realm. We must begin seeing ourselves doing what the Levites did and walking in the pattern they walked in. There are many interpretations of "Where there is no vision the people perish (Proverbs 29: 18)." Most often this verse is used by ministers to persuade their people to join with them to further their own vision for ministry. This may be a fine way to use this verse, but that can only be determined by knowing the heart-motive of the particular preacher. I have always believed that using only this interpretation, although valid, does not help believers assign a higher meaning to this verse. This letter is not about a vision for all ministries, but a vision of our ministry. As the choice to present our bodies a living sacrifice and stand before the Lord to minister unto him is an individual thing, so is the vision we have of our ministry in the unseen Temple. The extent and proportion of our vision of the things of God, including this area of our priesthood, will either sustain or hinder our progress into higher things. Hebrews 11: 29 illustrated this point by saying Moses, during those years in the wilderness, "endured, as seeing Him who is invisible". In order to see our ministry in the invisible Temple, we must see the Levite's ministry in the visible tabernacle. So let's take a walk with them through the tabernacle during a routine morning. Upon entering the outer court, they approach the laver and wash their hands and feet as a part of putting on their priestly vestments (Exodus 30:17-23). This washing cleansed a priest from those things that defiled him in his life in the world outside of the place of worship. He was to be cleansed of the unseen filth of this world, from where he had been and what he had done while he was outside of the tabernacle. We have not been taught about the washing and investiture of a priest prior to his entering his ministry in the place of worship. We should remember the high priest, Joshua, to understand just how crucial this first of these steps are as we come into the tabernacle (Zechariah 3). As we go further into this pathway of the priest, it will become clear that most of have not seen any deeper into this pattern than this next point of ministry. After drawing lots, to discover where he would minister, the priest would advance to the brazen altar of sacrifice. As I have already said, most of the Church people have now learned to approach this altar. Few have gone any further into the tabernacle than this point on a regular basis. Psalm 141: 2 talks about the lifting of hands and by extension, all that is today called worship and praise is associated with the brazen altar. Although praise and worship would occur at other places in the Tabernacle the brazen altar was the primary place for this activity. The Levites did not halt after putting on their vestments and beginning to offer the morning sacrifice on the brazen altar. Other priests would proceed into their appointed places within the tabernacle. (Casting of lots to determined place of ministry has been superseded by the leadership of the Spirit.) On any particular day and at any given time, He decides His ordained place for each of us to minister individually in the invisible Temple. Being led of the Holy Ghost in worship is not an option for most Christians, since they have no idea of what they are to do within the frame work of the pattern of the tabernacle. The appointed place for one priest may be the brazen altar in the outer court to offer the morning sacrifice (Exodus 29: 38-46, Psalm 141: 2). His duty is to begin the days worship by offering the first sacrifice of the day. A sweet smelling savor will come forth from many other forms of sacrifice later on but only after the morning sacrifice is offered. Sacrifices continue until the last one of the day, the evening offering. When the flames of this last sacrifice have subsided, its sweet smelling savor will continue to waft up before the Lord until its last ember has died. No wonder David said, "let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting of my hands as the evening sacrifice" (Psalm 141: 2). The sweet smelling savor rising from the altar drove out the stench of this fallen world and replaced it with an aroma more like that of Heaven, thus welcoming the Almighty into the tabernacle. This is why David said, "But thou art holy, o thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel (Psalm 22:3)." Exodus 30:1-10 lays out the construction of the golden altar and what incense should be burned there morning and evening. This altar was the counterpart of the eternal altar of incense in Heaven (Revelation 8:3-5). David probably did not have the revelation about this altar that the apostle John (of Revelation) had because John saw into the invisible Temple. John mentioned the same elements of earthly service were also being used in the Temple in Heaven. Sweet holy incense along with fire from the brazen altar was to be ministered in the tabernacle The accounts of John (in Revelation) include golden vials full of the prayers of saints as being part of the mix used at the heavenly altar of incense (Revelation 5:2, Revelation 8:3-5). It is remarkable that David understood this in his day. He said, "let my prayer set forth before thee as incense". Another priest goes to his appointed place this particular morning to burn incense at the altar of incense. To the Lord this priest is standing before him to offer up the prayers of the saints. The cloud that emanated from this altar was not only an offering of prayer, but the fragrance which went out to drive the odor of fallen man from the tabernacle. Incense ushering forth from the golden altar and combining with the sweet smelling savor are both ministered from the brazen altar. While in the outer court, both sacrifices are considered by the Lord to be part of the praises of His people. (He desires to dwell in the midst of His people.) Now He instructs the priests on how to make offerings to one so holy as Himself. They must provide a suitable atmosphere for Him to dwell among them (Psalm 22:3). By the time of the ministry of John the Baptist's father there seems to have been additional allotments during the day for a priest to approach the golden altar. And remarkably the incense was offered there at 3:00 pm which was called "the time of prayer (Luke 1: 8-10, Acts 3:1)." Both David and John saw in the realm of the spirit, that prayer is comparable to the incense that was offered at the golden altar in the tabernacle. On the morning of the Sabbath, another of the Levites was to perform the weekly task of setting twelve newly baked loaves in their places. He was to set the loaves in a specified order on the table of shew bread, one loaf for each of the twelve tribes of Israel and he was to pour select frankincense over them. These loaves were of the purest ingredients and anointed with a very costly fragrant oil which was to stand as a memorial of the covenant before the Lord (Leviticus 24: 5-9). Later I will share more on the remarkable significance of the shew bread. Now one final task remains for the service of the Lord. Yet another priest is to dress the lamps of the menorah and fill them with oil, in order to be relit at the time of the evening sacrifice (Exodus 30: 7-8). Evidently the menorah did not continue to burn until morning. This played a part in the circumstances in which Samuel heard the voice of the Lord. The prophet Samuel, as a child, was given to the Lord by his mother to serve under the high priest Eli. She prayed for this child because she was barren, which was a shame to any women in her day. In Hannah's prayer she promised to give Samuel to the Lord after he was weaned. One evening after his mother fulfilled he promise to give Samuel to the Lord, he and Eli the high priest laid down. This evening, for the first time in his young life, God spoke to Samuel. This occurred prior to the lamps of the menorah ceasing to burn (I Samuel 3: 3). In the Temple in Heaven the lamps of the candlestick never cease to burn, because in Heaven the oil will never stop its flow. Now in our day, the Lord has finally opened a door for all who will walk through and enter into the Tabernacle. Through great effort, the Holy Spirit has largely brought the Church to the brazen altar (to the place we call worship and praise). One may look at church billboards while drive around and see evidences of this change. On every brand of church one could imagine you will see things like, "Traditional Service 9:00, Contemporary Service 11:00". Especially in the contemporary service there will be opportunity for much outward demonstration (such as dancing, jumping for joy, and the lifting of hands [Psalm 141: 2]). All of this is much like the Spirit filled meetings I was in when I first came among the charismatics over 35 years ago. To some denominations, which were once called God's chosen frozen, this change seems to be revolutionary. But to the Lord, it is just the first step in bringing his people into the invisible place of worship as priests. The Father desires this (John 4). The Lord is working through the Holy Spirit to take the Church into all that our Father has planned for us. It has taken him about 100 years since the revival at Azusa Street to restore much of what the Church has lost over the centuries. He has brought back such things as healing, the baptism of the Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues and the five fold ministry, including the apostle and the prophet. Most of this still stirs up various levels of controversy. But we have come to at least have some agreement about what in the eyes of God is just the beginning of true worship. I wonder how the Lord must feel to exert so much effort just to get a foothold. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus was speaking to the church at Laodicea. Many scholars say that the seven churches that the Lord spoke to in this part of Revelation represent the Church ages. Laodicea was the last church that the Lord spoke to and if scholars are correct it represents the day we live in. To this last church Jesus said, "Behold I stand at the door, and knock: if any man will hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in." The Greek text for the word "knock" comes out more like this "I have been knocking for a long while." He has truly been knocking for a long time and now He has had to open the door Himself. The time is short before he returns. We are about to shift into a time when the free will of man will have to be displaced, to a great extent, by the sovereignty of God. There are things that have been prophesied for these last days that the Almighty will fulfill His word with or without mans permission or help. This door into worship has been opened sovereignly. The tabernacle is a place of "spirit and truth". To enter there, thinking our intellect is sufficient, will limit what our human spirits are capable of--when they are equipped with the things of the Holy Ghost. The Lord has restored these things to the Church not only to enable it to function successfully in this fallen world, but also to be able to properly worship in spirit and truth. The natural thinking of those who reject tongues and the gifts are concerned with how this "Pentecostal stuff" looks to the world and to their peers in other parts of the churches. Those who object the manifestations of the Spirit may know these things are scriptural and could have themselves at one time experienced them. This so called "Pentecostal realm" seems to be out of order and unruly to the human mind. Actually, it is not the Pentecostal realm, it is the realm of Spirit. What happens in true worship happens in the realm of the Spirit. The Lord has been getting the Church ready to move on into its place in the Tabernacle. Some have taken in everything the Lord has restored to his Body. The time for preparation is over. It is show time. Those of us who have paid attention and are prepared will be used of the Spirit to help the ill equipped and those that are new to the Kingdom. Worshipping the Father in Spirit and truth is the business at hand. Those of us who are ready to go in will offer help to those who are not prepared. If there is resistance from them as we are coming along side to offer our help, we will have no choice but to be about our Fathers business with or without them. Aaron, earlier in this letter I described the diagram of the tabernacle of the congregation. And in this part of the letter I have drawn a picture of the ministry of the priests in the morning sacrifices. Now it is time to go deeper into this pattern. As I just said, worshipping the Father in Spirit and truth is the business at hand. The more complete our picture is, the better prepared we are for the Spirit of God to take us on into this place we were redeemed to occupy. Now I will simply layout what the Lord has revealed to me in an assurance that it will be of a help to you as it has been to me. (At this point I must add what is called a disclaimer. Just because the Holy Ghost has been unfolding worship to me for years is not reason enough to take everything I have said or will say as the Gospel. He has been guiding me in my worship primarily using the pattern of the tabernacle. What I'm writing comes from a combination of His opening up the scriptures to me and the revelation and experience. Every thing is based in the scriptures. Please understand that there should always be a different weight placed on what the Bible says and on someone's personal revelations and experiences say.) One thing about it, there is no controversy in that we have barely scratched the surface of what is reserved for those who enter into the Father's gates to minister unto Him. In the light of the disclaimer, please consider that this letter is being written so that your office as priest and your place in the Temple will be real to you. Now, the second reason for my writing this letter is to help you fulfill your call to make these things clear to the body of Christ. Let's start where a priest must begin which is at the laver. He is to wash, as a part entering into his ministry and put on the robes of his office (Exodus 30:17-21). The laver is the only one of the furnishings of the tabernacle for which Moses was given no dimensions. The Lord gave the measurements for building the massive sea which replaced the laver in the Temple, but not this laver. In addition, the Temple had 10 lavers for which no dimensions were issued (II Chronicles 4: 2-6). Since the tabernacle had to be mobile, there was only one laver in the tabernacle. Entering into worship, we are to do as the Levites did and wash our hands and our feet as we put on the vestments of our office. Few have ever even considered that this is part of worship according to the pattern of the tabernacle. But we are entering into our reasonable, priestly, service that takes its ways from what occurred in tabernacle worship (Romans 12:1). Remember in the book of Zechariah, the filthy garments of Joshua, the high priest, gave Satan access to the Throne of God. When Joshua's garments were changed Satan was no where to be found. As we enter the outer court and approach the laver we should at the very minimum, wash our hands of what we have done and our feet from where we have been. Even if we are very watchful while we walk in this world there is no way for us to remain completely clean from the filth that pervades every corner of the world outside of the Temple. Some have such defiled consciences that as they enter these gates they may be led of the Spirit to remain at the laver to wash themselves. These might find it necessary to wash and wash again, not only their hands and feet, but their entire being, until they know within that they are clean indeed. If this were to occur during a time of corporate service, others could pass the saint with the defiled conscience as soon as they have washed themselves and put on their robes to go on whatever place within the tabernacle the Spirit might lead them. But for those who with a real need to know that they are clean before God, they might quietly remain at the laver during an entire church service, for that is the setting for this time of worship. What I am saying is in no way intended to discount the blood of Christ for our cleansing. But that is a different subject than I am addressing here. The blood of the Lord may also need to be brought into the picture when it comes to our being clean before the Lord. The Holy Spirit is fully capable of telling in which way God desires to make us clean. This day the Holy Ghost may have something quite different in mind for yet another of God's children. As soon as he has washed his hands and feet and donned his robes the Holy Spirit might direct this one to remain at the laver and wait until the water has become still. The waters of the laver then become a mirror, where the picture that meets this saint eyes is exactly the image the Lord has of him. There also in the water he beholds--an image of himself, robed in the splendor of the vestments of his office as priest unto the Almighty, unto the Most High. In those moments, the image he has of himself and of his office is expanded, transformed, and renewed in his heart by the Holy Ghost. Often the priest has continued to come before the Lord more out of habit and obligation than anything else. The mundane and the routine vanish in the mirror of his priesthood and of the Fearful One he is coming to worship and stand before. Maybe he came to the tabernacle alongside the world. Perhaps he has listened to the world's opinion of him. The Lord does not have the same image and opinion of his children as the world and some undiscerning Christians. During this appointment, the Lord might say to him, "You are my child and this is how I see you. Disregard any other opinion of yourself, except mine. I see you robbed in the garments of my royal priesthood." Once we learn to worship him, we will soon discover that not only do we come to minister to Him, but that He desires to touch us and deal with us, as He deems necessary. If we come only to minister unto Him we will leave not having experienced the transformation that only comes as we stand in His presence. Only as He shows us His opinion of us will He be able to dislodge the malformed image we had of ourselves. We became His child. Worship is a serious matter. But to God it is a precious commodity, because His children have been redeemed from the hand of the enemy and now they are free to have fellowship with Him. This pleases Him. He is our Father. We are highly prized in His sight. Any father wants to hold and touch and talk with and nurture his children. When we come to minister to Him and to bless Him we could very well be the ones being ministered to and blessed. This is a family and in its proper setting it is not disrespectful to say that He is our Daddy. (If you are around this and have not discovered the true nature of your Father, maybe you have never worshipped him.) The rest of these illustrations are about things that can occur on the points within the place of worship where various pieces of holy furniture are located. Our priestly garments are obviously not part of this furniture. But those garments are what place us in our office of priest and what gives us access to the tabernacle. The steps of putting on our vestments, like first going to the laver, has been omitted in a wholesale fashion--probably because it has not been known and therefore not been taught. This is likely a consequence, which seems to be true of most subjects, of falsely thinking. We think we already know all that needs to be known. But this is the initial step and it closes the door on the world when we enter into the manifest presence of the Lord. The vast majority of the Church up to this point has only learned to barely enter into the beginnings of worship. It is no wonder that our practice has been to bypass the laver and put on our vestments and to go directly to the brazen altar and enter into the worship and praise and the lifting of hands (Psalm 141:2). In our ignorance, we have thought as we stood there before the altar of sacrifice in the outer court, unwashed and unrobed, that if the worship reached a certain level then we had come to the Throne of Grace. But the Throne of Grace is set above the mercy seat that is upon the Ark of the Covenant in the holy of holies. The unseen brazen altar is set in the outer court, not in the holiest place. In this scenario, we could not yet possibly come to the Throne of Grace, where the Lord manifestly sits. We have only just entered the outer court and come to the altar of sacrifice. God is Spirit (1 John 4:24) and He always inhabits the praises of his people (Psalm 22:3). By coming to a particular place in the Temple and having Him enter into the heavenly atmosphere of our ministry will produce quite a different thing than our coming before the very throne of God. This likely seems to be nit picking on my part. The fact is, that based on Psalm 141:2, our worship occurs at one place in the pattern of the tabernacle and prayer at another. The Lord has ordained different things to happen at different points within His Temple. It is obvious that the brazen altar of sacrifice is not the golden altar of incense and that neither of them are the mercy seat. Consequently, as ordained of Heaven, what happens at the brazen altar is not what normally happens at the golden altar of prayer. And what occurs at those two places is not what occurs at the Throne. This would be like saying that you were in Paris when you were really in New York. If you really believe you are you are in Paris, you might not like it when some one tells you the truth--which is, you are in New York. Either way you are still in New York. As I go along I'll go into what I have found in the scriptures and what I have learned as the Holy Spirit has led to take my seat beside the Lord in the Holy of Holies. Seated with Him in His Throne is the only place where we learn to truly be a king and priest. As we observe the goings on and as He instructs us as those who have been born of royal blood, we learn. We learn to worship Him at the brazen altar. Also, we learn we have been raised up and made to sit together with Him as He sits and rules upon His throne and is a priest upon His throne (Ephesians 2:6, Zechariah 6:13). Within the outer court of the tabernacle, along with the laver, is the brazen altar, where the priests offer sacrifices to the Lord. As I have already said, our sacrifice or praise with the lifting of our hands is the equivalent place in the invisible Temple (like the morning and evening sacrifices Psalm 141:2, Exodus 29:38-42). The covenant we operate under has changed, but our Lord has not. For our worship and praise to be acceptable before Him, it must meet the same spiritual standard that would have applied to an animal sacrifice that was offered on the altar of sacrifice. Our sacrifices of praise must be pure, holy, unblemished and presented to Him in faith and love and total dependence. We are to enter knowing we are not to bear the care of our burdens. He has invited us to bring the care our heavy load to Him (I Peter 5:7, Matthew 11:28). We are not to come as is often the case in some groups who primarily come to hear the latest songs and experience "worship" much like you would at some concert. The excellence of the music and the energy of the crowd can easily become our purpose for entering in. With motive like this, we may not know it, but we are entering the edge of the psychic realm not the realm of the Spirit. The power of the psychic emanates from the fallen human flesh and soul and is therefore under the dominion of Satan. The power of the Spirit comes from the Spirit of the Lord flowing into the spirit of man and is therefore under the authority of God. The quality of the music is not the issue. In Heaven, the music is so excellent and pure that no music on earth can be compared to it. We are able to approximate the music of Heaven only at the times when the Lord interjects the anointing and atmosphere of Heaven into our worship. We are to place our offerings before the Lord that are poured out of pure hearts. Only then will it release a sweet smelling savor for His nostrils. The sacrifices offered on the brazen altar and the incense that was burned at the Golden of incense were meant to be presented before the Lord in such proportions as to drive the stench of fallen man from the place of worship, that He might inhabit the praises of his people Psalm 22:3). If we come to this altar and even partially draw on the energy of the crowd and the excellence of the music, we are at the very least mixing true worship with a form of psychic force from the crowd and the music. Our purpose is to clear the air of the smell of fallen man and thus be able to close the distance that the fall has put between him and us. Having us walk close to him was the ultimate purpose of man's creation. From our side of this equation our worship brings us closer to the voice of the Lord and further away from the voice of our enemy. If the energy from the crowd and the music is mixed in with our praise, all we are doing in worshiping with that human force we can hardly provide a proper atmosphere for the Almighty come close and touch his children. We have offered an atmosphere that is pervaded not with the smell of this world but with one like that of Heaven. The presence or absence of fine music and large numbers is not the issue, our reason for our approaching God is. Those who approach the Lord at this altar having a doctrinal stand against speaking with other tongues and the gifts of the spirit inter at a disadvantage. The unseen tabernacle is a place of"spirit and truth" The apostle Paul addressed the subject of tongues and the gifts in I Corinthians 12 and 14. In I Corinthians 14:14-15 he wrote, "For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the spirit also". How can we enter a place that is a place of the spirit thinking that we are fully equipped to function there using only one part of our being, namely our understanding? We are three part beings: spirit, soul, and body 9i Thessalonians 5:23). Since singing is an integral part of what is intended to happen at the brazen altar, we had better follow Paul's lead. He said, "I will sing with my spirit also". I will concede that any Christian could have divine utterance in song and prayer coming out of their spirit at times. But those on the other side of this argument will have to concede that the only way to allow our inward man to constantly be available in things of the spirit is to be able to speak and sing in tongues at will. The Lord's responds to the pure sacrifices of praise that have rises from the heavenly brazen altar. When Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises in prison and an earthquake was sent from the Throne. The prison was destroyed, the chains of the prisoners fell from them, But not a soul in the prison was harmed (Acts 16:25-40). An army of Israel with the priests in the forefront of the formation singing praises to the Lord and he sent ambushments against their enemies (II Chronicles 20:22). Our purpose to go before the Lord can be to obtain deliverance as in the case of the army of Israel, But Paul and Silas were motivated to praise God because he is worthy of praise. A pure attitude of the heart makes our praise acceptable in his presence and when appropriate it causes his delivering hand to be seen in our situation. The lifting of our hands as a part of our worship has its counterparts. One of these comes as we read of Moses having spoken to by God at the burning bush that burned but was not consumed (Exodus 3:2). Another of these is shown in the flames that leaped upward from the offering made by fire at that altar in the outer court of the tabernacle. Yet another example is the cloven tongues of fire that appeared upon the deciples on the day of Pentecost and that when they spoke with other tongues they were heard in other languages speaking forth the praises of God. These examples lead us to the conclusion that our lifted hands in our worship are as flames of fire leaping from the burnt sacrifices we are offering upon this altar. Our praise and the lifting of our hands are to be offered to the Lord with the fire of God out of a pure heart. |
