Wholly The Lords!
Notes
Transcript
Reading:
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,
9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,
Introduction:
There were a lot of arguments among believers after the resurrection of Christ.
As people began digging into scripture they were confronted by truth’s that they didn’t know how to reconcile.
There were questions questions about Jesus’ deity.
How His humanity His Godly nature could be in one person.
This would spark the beginning controversies about the Trinity, and a doctrine called: Hypostatic Union.
To quiet the disputing and find the truth of the matter there had to be some kind of agreement amongst all believers about these doctrines.
Constantine enters the picture and proposed:
That Christianity, in order to move forward, needed to have “dogma’s” defined so that all who believed in Christ would adhere to these never changing teachings from Jesus and the Bible.
There was a council created, ecumenical in nature, meaning that every leader who held different views would be at this meeting to represent their stance in an effort to conclude the matter and have 1 solid viewpoint as scripture teaches, which would be the dogmatic truth for all of faith in Jesus.
In A.D. 325 the Council of Nicea met and reconciled the doctrine about the Trinity.
The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit all equally God, yet separate.
Without heading into the deep history, we might have a question:
How is the trinity and the council of Nicea from A.D. 325 going to make it’s way into my life today?
When your talking with people about God you will at some point be asked about the Trinity.
Some may confront it like this: If Jesus was not God then His sacrifice wasn’t worthy to atone for sin.
That was one danger of misunderstanding the Doctrine.
When your asked could you pose an argument with substance to prove that the trinity is a biblical doctrine?
It’s not quite as easy as you think.
Other than scripture it is good to use illustrations.
You could use the Egg. It has a shell, an Yolk, and the white; yet it is still one thing: an egg.
There is another one that points to humans.
We are one person, yet we exist in Body, Mind, and Soul.
We are three distinct parts that are 1.
Our whole being is something God is addresses in Exodus 30.
God wants our whole being.
He doesn’t want our faith to be a mental exercise or an mental achievement.
He doesn’t want our faith to be only a knowledge of Him and what He has written.
He wants belief because we trust Him and have faith in Him.
Chapter 30 provides an overall theme.
Whoever is consecrated to the Lord their whole being is given and set aside to Him for His purpose.
We find the first consecrated thing brought up is the:
Altar of Incense (1-10)
Altar of Incense (1-10)
1 “You shall make an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood.
2 A cubit shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square, and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it.
3 You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And you shall make a molding of gold around it.
4 And you shall make two golden rings for it. Under its molding on two opposite sides of it you shall make them, and they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it.
5 You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.
An Altar has a purpose: sacrifices, including this one.
It would be elevated.
It would be similar to a pulpit, with four horns , overlaid with Gold.
It would have incense offered on it.
Notice it is overlaid with gold, not bronze which sets it apart from the bronze altar outside the Holy Place.
The altar of Incense would be located right in front of the veil between the Holy of Holies and the Holy place.
6 And you shall put it in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat that is above the testimony, where I will meet with you.
[Picture]
[Picture]
It’s the last piece of furniture before entering the presence of the Lord.
The wonderful smell would fill the Holy place which is before the Lord.
Illustration:
Did you know there are jobs in marketing just for smells?
Not perfume, an actual science of smells.
Most advertising utilizes the sensory systems of us.
Touching it makes it more appealing.
Seeing it makes it more appealing.
Even with the tiniest details where certain fonts are more pleasant than others.
The arrangement and structuring of pictures and words can be more pleasant than others.
The marketing industry also honed in on smell.
When I was younger I could smell the cinnamon rolls as I walked through the mall.
Maybe some of you will remember this phrase is:
“the best part of waking up is....”
When you drive by or walk into a McDonalds it isn’t a coincidence that you smell the food.
They pump the smell of their restaurant into the air so you spend money.
Cinnabon strategically places their ovens at the front of the store so you constantly smell cinnamon rolls.
Starbucks pumps the smell of fresh brewed coffee through the store.
It works.
The science is there, listen to some statistics about it.
Our sense of smell is the strongest of the five senses and the one most tied to memory and emotion.
75 percent of all emotions are generated by scent.
We are 100 times more likely to remember something we smell over something we see, hear or touch.
There is a 40 percent improvement in mood after being exposed to pleasant scents.
Our sense of smell is a big contributor to things we purchase.
Memories being attached more to smells than any other sense is amazing.
Here is altar of incense.
Imagine what the people thought as Aaron began the morning by burning incense as he prepared the Golden lampstand to burn all 7 lamps.
They could smell the moment God was accessible to them.
7 And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it,
8 and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the Lord throughout your generations.
In the new testament and other places do you know what incense we are offering that smells great in the nostrils of the Lord?
Our prayers.
8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
Every prayer you spoke to the Lord is in those bowls, they are your incense to the Lord.
3 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne,
4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.
Other than this moment in Exodus, the O.T. confirms and agrees with our prayers being a pleasing aroma.
2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!
Speaking to the Lord, whether public or private we offer incense.
One pastor said this: “God is pleased by our much praying” and made the point:
“Every utterance of dependency is delightful to the Lord.”
When the ingredients are right He is pleased.
What are the ingredients?
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
There is a plea submitting yourself at the feet of the Lord.
It must be in desire for His will not our own.
2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
When Jesus was asked by the disciples to teach them to pray He didn’t provide them one to recite; He gave them an outline to approach Him with.
Your dad, and all associated with someone being your father who loves, cares for, and wants the best for you.
In heaven, His location that cannot be attained and is much higher than our position and authority.
Hallowed be your name, His Holiness and perfection is who we are approaching.
Your kingdom come, is our desire for His sovereignty in our situation.
Your will be done, We sacrifice our will in favor of His.
Are you hearing the correct formula?
Nothing about us; only Him in each scenario
Whether on behalf of others of for ourselves.
What could happen when we don’t follow the formula?
9 You shall not offer unauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it.
Nadab and Abihu - death.
Similar to the observance of communion.
If we have any impurity we are to be cleansed or to make right any problems we have with others, or we could bring sickness.
The Altar is to be consecrated by blood and set aside for God’s use.
10 Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the sin offering of atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”
Our prayers are to be consecrated through faith to the special purpose of pleading on behalf of others and sometimes ourselves.
As we pray we recognize a closer connection to the Lord, similar to the closeness of the altar before the veil.
When we aren’t praying we are holding back our worship!
They are told to collect a fee from everyone and called it:
Census or Temple Tax (11-16)
Census or Temple Tax (11-16)
11 The Lord said to Moses,
12 “When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them.
This shows that every persons is to be personally involved.
How much each year should they give for themselves?
13 Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the Lord.
14 Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the Lord’s offering.
15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when you give the Lord’s offering to make atonement for your lives.
The tribute was half a shekel, or about 15 pence for the annual temple tax.
Which was in weight of silver at about 8 grams.
Today that’s about $5 per. person.
Notice: everyone’s tribute is the same.
Rich or Poor it doesn’t matter as the Lord reveals that everyone is equal in His eyes.
34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality,
19 who shows no partiality to princes, nor regards the rich more than the poor, for they are all the work of his hands?
Everyone’s souls were ransomed to the temple at the same price, and not according to their ability.
Did Jesus pay the temple tax?
24 When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?”
25 He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?”
26 And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free.
27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”
The payment wasn’t just for Himself, it was for Peter too.
There was a specific time the temple tax was taken and from who:
12 “When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them.
Only when the census was taken.
You’ll also notice who's included in this:
14 Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the Lord’s offering.
Apparently in this passage we learn that it is 20yrs old, at least during the wilderness, is the age of accountability
The tax was important; but it seems God cared more about their obedience .
The Census was only to be taken when the Lord told them to.
2 Samuel provides a good picture of this obedience or lack there of.
1 Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.”
There’s an example of God instructing David to number them.
1 Chronicles 21:1 shows that David numbered Israel but it wasn’t God who instructed him this time.
1 Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel.
Joab even resisted David’s order to number Israel; but David insisted.
David’s motivation to number Israel was to measure his military might against other armies.
David’s trust was in his military might, not in the Lord who was fighting for them.
Here in Exodus 30 God shows that He wants their faith not their logic.
God doesn’t need numbers to accomplish His will.
God desires our faith and that we trust in His will to do it.
While trusting Him we offer from all we have to give:
Time, Talents, and Treasures for His use.
Doing so is meeting the needs of people in the church, in the community, and caring for the buildings entrusted to us.
Our offerings are no different than they were in the O.T.; they are given by faith.
That is only possible if we are clean; which brings us to the:
Bronze Basin (17-21)
Bronze Basin (17-21)
17 The Lord said to Moses,
18 “You shall also make a basin of bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it,
19 with which Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet.
20 When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn a food offering to the Lord, they shall wash with water, so that they may not die.
21 They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die. It shall be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his offspring throughout their generations.”
This is the last furniture outside the tent.
It’s to be fashioned out of bronze.
Interesting connection:
Where did they get the bronze for the construction of this basin?
Later when Moses records the building of the items we find where the bronze for the basin came from.
8 He made the basin of bronze and its stand of bronze, from the mirrors of the ministering women who ministered in the entrance of the tent of meeting.
In principal, it seems like the people were following the teaching that God is more interested in our purity than our vanity.
It’s a cleansing Lavar and the ladies gave preference to how the priests appeared before the Lord over how they appeared before one another.
How many times a day do we think about how the Lord views us?
We can do better, by maintaining an tender heart for the Lord and conscious acknowledgement of being an ambassador for the Lord.
Jesus addresses our cleanliness in John 13.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?”
7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.”
8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”
9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”
10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.”
They weren’t bathed, their feet needed cleansing periodically.
Jesus cleansed us at salvation; but we need to choose how we walk in this world.
The Lord provides exact ingredients for:
Anointing Oil and Incense (22-38)
Anointing Oil and Incense (22-38)
22 The Lord said to Moses,
23 “Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, 250, and 250 of aromatic cane,
24 and 500 of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil.
25 And you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil.
26 With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony,
27 and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense,
28 and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the basin and its stand.
29 You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them will become holy.
30 You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests.
31 And you shall say to the people of Israel, ‘This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations.
32 It shall not be poured on the body of an ordinary person, and you shall make no other like it in composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you.
33 Whoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.’ ”
34 The Lord said to Moses, “Take sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense (of each shall there be an equal part),
35 and make an incense blended as by the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy.
36 You shall beat some of it very small, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting where I shall meet with you. It shall be most holy for you.
37 And the incense that you shall make according to its composition, you shall not make for yourselves. It shall be for you holy to the Lord.
38 Whoever makes any like it to use as perfume shall be cut off from his people.”
The use of these are only Holy.
Set apart to the Lord not for personal use.
(This perfume couldn’t be sold it was set aside for God)
In the details it says there is to be no imitation anointing only God’s anointing.
Do you think this is a problem in our modern age? I do.
Illustration:
Have you ever been a church orphan? (how did you find one to belong to)
Sometimes people choose churches based on lies, instead of truth.
What are some lies?
Music
“feel”
What it has to offer them
But we should be asking: what do I have to offer this church?.
We find in the details that God keeps a consistent expectation for our faith and our worship of Him.
Conclusion:
A huge part of our worship is our prayers, when we approach Him on His terms, He values our prayers and stores them up.
Our sacrifice is speaking with our dad all the time, it shows dependence on Him.
Each one of us makes an account for ourselves to God.
We find ourselves in these statements in Romans 3:23
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;
God wants our faith, not our logic, not justification by works.
The priests had a daily and regular cleansing instituted, we should maintain a daily cleansing too.
Cleanse our minds through the truth of the Word.
Cleanse our hearts by being soft and moldable to God’s will.
Cleanse our bodies through being the living sacrifice for His will.
When we are consecrated by Jesus’ blood we are set aside for His special purpose.
Be careful what you give yourself over to for use.
Whether it is entertainment, work/success, money, leisure, etc...
Present yourself to the Lord for His use!
-Pray!
