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God shows us a picture of our journey towards this “more
excellent way” when we observe the Tabernacle of Moses. This was the
tabernacle that was built in the wilderness after God delivered His people
from Egypt. We journey into the tabernacle as the priest of God. The day
you accepted Jesus Christ into your heart and decided to follow Him, you
at that instant found yourself in the tabernacle of God – IN CHRIST.
White walls that represented the “Righteousness of God in Christ”
surrounded the tabernacle. You are the righteousness in Christ Jesus as
the New Testament declares, whether you act like it or not does not change
this fact, however, following the “more excellent way” of God will
cause you to walk in this fact. Why is it a reality and yet so hard to
walk in? Because our inner man (spirit man) became righteous by faith in
Jesus even though the soul man was still quite the same as the day before.
The soul man still knew little of God’s way, of God’s mind and how to
yield to that which is within. Christ made his home in our heart yet there
are many areas of that home we have not allowed Him into, let alone
allowed Him to become master of those areas.
The Tabernacle is composed of the Outer Court,
The Inner Court (Also called the Holy Place), and the Most Holy Place
(Also called the Holy of Holies). The Holy Place and the Holy of Holies
are both covered under the same tent, which is called the Tent of
Testimony or Tent of the Congregation. This symbolizes those who abide in
the Inner Courts of God who will become a true testimony with true unity
in brotherly love. Inside this TENT is where God wants every part of your
life! There cannot remain one area that stays undealt with, for God’s
word goes forth to bring all areas into subjection. Every area of your
life must become a testimony. Every area of your life must reflect the
unity we have with walking with God in His garden – in a relationship
that we have chosen even though we were tempted to choose the things that
separate us from relationship.
No matter where we are today in our spiritual
WALK, no matter what court we are in, we should progress to this “more
excellent way”. We should not be content to abide outside of the
tabernacle where the world congregates. We also should not be content to
remain in the Outer Court of the tabernacle. The Outer Court should be
viewed only as a “passing through” area. When we enter the Holy Place,
we see the great veil that divides us from the Holy of Holies. The Holy
Place is somewhat glorious; the Holy Place will bring you to a place of
unity and testimony, yet we know that behind the veil is where we see God
– FACE TO FACE. The veil was torn when Jesus died and yet we act like it
is there. We know that we are not separated from God in the spirit and yet
our mind seems so earthly. Our walk still seems so unlike the walk of
Jesus in Love, Power and Wisdom. The Holy Place caused us great victory,
the Truth set us free and yet we know we must proceed through this veil to
the Holy of Holies. A revelation of WHO Jesus is
- will bring you behind the veil. Seeing the plan of the Father concerning
His Son and the church - will cause you to continually abide beyond the
veil. A life that abides in the Holy of Holies is a life that walks in
FULLY RIPENED FRUIT - HABITUALLY. Walking in total obedience to the will
of God and His Word will mature you to become edible fruit. This is a
fruit that shall be permanent. Defining the difference between these
courts will be given in a multiple amount of pictures throughout this
book, especially the difference between the Outer Court and the Holy of
Holies. There is a much greater contrast between these two areas of
service to God because one
symbolizes a baby who ALWAYS NEEDS and the other represents a father that
ALWAYS GIVES.
Paul continues this teaching about the “more
excellent way” in the chapter that is commonly called “THE LOVE
CHAPTER” (1 Corinthians Chapter 13). The priests who entered into the
tabernacle wore a priestly skirt. At the bottom fringes were bells and
pomegranates. The bells represent the gifts of the Spirit and the
pomegranates represent the fruit of the Spirit. Both the gifts and the
fruit represent the manifestations of the Spirit; but the fruit of Love is
the greater. God wants us to be a testimony in Love that reveals His
power. The natural man will sometimes pick and choose the
manifestation, however, the spiritual man receives from His Father all
good things and it is the spiritual man that will abide in the life of
Jesus that causes growth.
God is Love. We are taught a “more excellent
way”, which is a walk of life where we exhibit to the world the God on
the inside of us and more specifically - His Love NATURE. A temptation may
come to pursue the “more excellent way” of love and to refuse His
gifts. It is the gifts however that edifies us – to love. Love without
gifts; will cause a lack of the power of God that is required of us. Why
do we need power? Power is a characteristic of the nature of God. Jesus is
called Power in 1 Corinthians and the next time the world sees Him - it
will be in Power! Paul writes in 1 Corinthians that the kingdom of God
consists of Power and not just mere words. The gifts of the Spirit
exercise His power and cause us to be heard of the world; even as the
world heard it in the New Testament when the POWERFUL WORKS of Jesus and
the apostles got the attention of the world and turned it upside down.
Jesus said that the greater works would be seen in the church.
2 Cor 4:7
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the
excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
“Excellency” literally means – BEYOND
MEASURE! Jesus Who is Love – Who is Power - is in us and we are in Him.
Jesus is the treasure of 2 Cor 4:7 and we must choose Him in regard to
manifesting His love and His Power. We must choose to exhibit Jesus to the
world – in gifts that can cause a miracle in another’s life and in
sacrificial love that shows compassion – BEYOND MEASURE.
On the other hand if we possess gifts without
love, it is like having bells without the pomegranate fruit on the bottom
of the priestly skirt. It will clang and it will grieve God when we try to
enter behind the veil and the world will hear a sound of reproach. Both
gifts and love are written about in 1 Corinthians, one right after the
other and both gifts and love are REQUIRED for the “more excellent
way”. Gifts are NOT the more excellent way but God ordained that they
would help GET you there. We sometimes see gifts demonstrated and
think the vessel that God used is spiritual, the gifts make NO ONE
SPIRITUAL, - they only make him fortunate. Fortunate that he found FAVOR
with God - UNMERITED! However they will help both him and others GET to a
place of spiritual maturity, to a place of Love - God's very Own Nature.
Exod 28:34-35
A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a
pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about. And it shall be upon
Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in
unto the Holy Place before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he
die not.
With the bells on our skirts as God’s priest
in this day, we enter His holiness not casting away fruit or gifts. We do
not neglect that gift within and we choose to stay abiding in the vine
that causeth growth. Today’s priest shall go forth from God’s Holiest
with Life. Many in today’s church have refused gifts for usually two
reasons. First, men taught us so, these men were used by the enemy to
EXCLUDE us from that, which fulfills the unity of the body and its
edification. Secondly, many witnessed or were the victim of an abuse of a
gift and because of the hurt decided to reject it categorically. When we
are hurt we protect that hurt by disallowing FUTURE HURTS. However, we
must choose God’s way and proceed past false doctrines and hurts.
Ø
Some of us CHOOSE to live
in the Outer Court (not much past our starting point).
Ø
Others choose to walk and
abide in the Holy Place and are HEARD of God.
Ø
But God has an inheritance
in store for those who will allow the Light of His Presence to fill the
eyes of their HEART – IN THE HOLY OF HOLIES.
A walk that consists of this “more excellent
way” must be chosen. It is a choice that commits to the plan of God no
matter what the cost. It is a hope that stays in Christ Jesus even though
other Christians and ministers are content with a “less excellent
way”.
The
Light of the Holy of Holies
Ø
The only light in the Holy
of Holies is God Himself. Jesus says, “I am the Light of the world”.
Ephesians 1:18
{I pray that} the eyes of your heart may be enlightened,
so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the
riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, (NAS)
My heart cry for you is that your eyes will be
flooded with Light and that you will be changed by the Truth - that you
may see and experience the Person of Jesus. What is your heart cry? What
hope are you clinging to this day? Is it to see Jesus and His desired
calling for you? I pray that we may see Jesus and no longer dwell in an
Outer Court that is filled solely with natural light. That we may instead
see Him Who calls Himself the Light of the world, that we may see Him Who
is called Wisdom.
Ø
Paul says the Wisdom of
God is a mystery.
Ø
It is a secret to be
revealed.
Ø
To who?
1 Cor 2:10
For to us God revealed {them} through the Spirit,
for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
1 Cor 2:14
But the natural man receiveth not the things of
the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Ø
Do you want to see His
mysteries?
Ø
Then you must spiritually
discern them! You must SEE the SON!
These mysteries or secrets are hid in Christ.
Every mystery that is revealed is simply an unveiling of Jesus to you in a
personal relationship. All the plans of the Father are in the Son. This
particular message is an unveiling of just part of the Father's plan, a
revealing of just part of the “brightness of Jesus’ image”.
God is revealing His plan concerning our place
of maturity. There WILL be a last generation of believers that will abide
in this maturity, which is represented by the Holy of Holies. We have
probably begun the last forty-year generation that shall end in a people
that abide in God's Power and God's Love - in completion. This is the HOPE
that you are called to in Ephesians 1:18. Our hope must always stay
centered in Him Who redeemed us.
God uses the tabernacle of Moses to give us an
analogy of His plans and to reveal to us the PERSON of Jesus Christ. God
gives us a more descriptive analogy of His plans represented by the Temple
of Solomon. Whereas the tabernacle pointed more to the Son of God, the
revelation of the Temple of Solomon points more to the body of the Son of
God – The Church.
Every one in the body of Christ is in the
Lord's eyes - His temple. Jesus is the Headstone of this temple and He is
also the foundation upon which it is built. He is both the beginning and
the ending of this building project that shall erect the great House of
God. Every stone laid upon Jesus, Who is the Foundation, must be rightly
fitted to conform to His image. God is building a temple and He will not
REST until the temple is finished and full of Glory. Jesus is the
Headstone of a COMPLETELY BUILT TEMPLE. Jesus is the Head of a MATURE
body. Jesus is the branch of a vine FULL of fruit. God started this work
and He fully intends to have it finished. Even as Zerubbabel was the
governor of the rebuilt Temple of God, Jesus is our Governor today in this
building project. When God is in complete control of us, He becomes our
Governor. Jesus must become in us the Governor that we surrender our will
to, this is a dedicating of our lives to Him Who must control this great
project.
Zech 4:7-9
Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall
bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace
unto it. Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, The hands of
Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also
finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me
unto you.
Zerubbabel was an Old Testament temple
builder. As our life abides in Christ, we also are God’s Zerubbabel for
this hour. We are God’s temple builders when we allow “Jesus the
Governor” to have His way in HOW and WHERE to lay the stones and mortar.
A temple builder is a minister of God who edifies the brethren in Christ.
They do not operate on their own authority. They minister on the authority
of the Name of Jesus, even as Jesus said:
John 12:49-50
"For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the
Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should
speak. "And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever
I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak." (NKJ)
This scripture is one of the most important
truths given to us who believe, it sets the stage for all that we must
learn, it is the place we must by His grace get to. This is simply a place
where we are only speaking with our lips what we have heard from God. We
are speaking only on His initiative to speak, on His
authority. We only DO because He has decided already that we do anything.
We DO because we SEE Him DOING!
John 5:19-20
Jesus therefore answered and was saying to them,
"Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself,
unless {it is} something He sees the Father doing; for whatever {the
Father} does, these things the Son also does in like manner. "For
the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is
doing; and greater works than these will He show Him, that you may marvel.
(NAS)
Adam acted on his own authority; those who
follow Jesus are those who act on Jesus’ authority. It takes all the
dealings of life to submit to this Way of God. This is what the project of
God consists of – His ability which builds
through you to others. We can study man and know all about the inner
workings of a man, how he thinks, his personality, his life’s history
and yet we are unable to speak one word that can edify Him unto eternal
life, even by quoting scripture to him. There is none of us who are
intelligent enough to help another, nor are we able to rescue him from the
pit, but if the Spirit gives you just one word, He is the One Who changes
that man unto life eternal. In your past, when you truly ministered life
to another, it was only because you learned it from the Spirit and by the
Spirit’s prompting you shared it with another – it resulted in
building. God’s desire is that all our words become life.
Also notice that Jesus said that the greater
works were about to be performed. Was it because Jesus wanted greater
works? Was it because Jesus knew how to release the greater works? Not at
all, Jesus tells us that He simply waits on the Father to show Him. If the
Father is doing the works then Jesus does them and if the Father does
greater works then Jesus does even greater works. Before Jesus’ ministry
time there were no works performed by Jesus towards the people. Why?
BECAUSE THE FATHER WAS NOT DOING THEM! Meditate on that. No matter how
much revelation you have, no matter what your past is, no matter how holy
your walk is – you can only do what the Father is doing. If God is not
doing miracles, you cannot do one miracle in His Name. The same is true
with any work of God. You can manufacture a work and it may look like God
to others – but no secret shall be concealed. On the positive side, if
God is doing a great work and you SEE HIM DOING IT – it shall be done
through you at that point. Faith at that point is not a “shot in the
dark”; instead it is performing works from SEEING GOD DOING. I am not
saying that all that are used in gifts have “seen God doing” but I am
saying that the greater works will be seen when we “see God doing”.
This is the more excellent way of maturity. This is an intimate place of
covenant where God wants us.
The main point is on “seeing” as we
progress. Are we close enough to God to see what He is doing? Jesus had a
lifestyle of relationship with His Father. Is your lifestyle considered a
relationship with Jesus? Many things will crowd out relationship, but only
relationship will get you to a place of seeing. We many times want someone
to lay hands upon us so that we can receive a gift imparted to us. We want
a special word prophesied over us concerning the greater works God will
perform through us. This has its place but it will never happen no matter
how many “impartations” or “prophesied words” you receive until
you SEE HIM DOING. To see you must be close, to see you must be intimate.
Temples
of God
The Bible gives a view of different temples. A
temple is a HABITATION OF GOD among men. Much of the church is focused on
current or future revivals, but God's plan is focused on us becoming His
habitation. Revival is defined as that which causes the building up of
that habitation. Revival is not the end or completion to building it. When
revival occurs it is not finished by any means and many times it relates
to the foundational activity in this building project. Where man focuses
on revival, God focuses on laying down your life. Where man focuses on
stirring up the inner man via signs and wonders, God focuses on habitually
overflowing with the gifts and fruit from a life that has matured. God
focuses on you becoming a habitation from the revival that brought
His visitation.
different
temples OVERVIEW:
The Temple in Heaven - This is that Temple in
heaven, in reality, it is that which is eternal. It is the original and
the pattern for all other temples on the earth. Earthly temples are but a
shadow of this one.
The Tabernacle in the Wilderness - This is the
tabernacle that Moses built while the Israelites wandered in the
wilderness and it continued some years in the Promised Land. The
tabernacle pointed to the more permanent stone habitation.
The Tabernacle of David - This was a pitched
tent in Mount Zion for the ark of the Lord until Solomon erected the
actual building.
The Temple of Solomon - Our main focus is on
this temple which is properly called the "House of the Lord" in
scripture. This temple thrived at a time when Israel was in its prime.
The
Temple of Zerubbabel
- This temple is the rebuilt temple after the seventy year Babylonian
captivity. Restoration is the key element. This temple closes out the Old
Testament period.
The Temple of Herod - The temple after it was
defiled and plundered and then cleansed and restored, except there was no
ark as Solomon’s Temple had. This was the temple that was erected in
Jesus’ day.
The Temple of God in Christ - In John 2:19-21
Jesus refers to Himself as the True Temple of God. The fullness of the
Godhead bodily dwells in Him.
The Temple of the Holy Spirit - The church,
defined as those who are born again by the Holy Spirit and have taken up
their cross to follow Jesus, are individually and corporately referred to
as the temple of God. These are those who abide in Him - Who is the True
Temple, and they are joined to Him. This body of ours is the outward
expression of that Glory within. We are spiritually - "a
temple", and we also have a physical temple.
2 Cor 5:1-4
1
For we know that if the earthly house of our tabernacle be
dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands,
eternal, in the heavens.
2
For verily in this we groan, longing to be clothed upon with our
habitation which is from heaven:
3
if so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
4
For indeed we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened;
not for that we would be unclothed, but that we would be clothed upon,
that what is mortal may be swallowed up of life.
On the inside of every one of us there is a
groaning - to unclothe ourselves of this earthly temple of our physical
body and put on our glorified, our redemptive body. A hope, an inward
desire to have this tabernacle exchanged for the heavenly one. To discard
this weakly, this deteriorating body and obtain one attached to the
Perfect Head - Jesus. You can't get more intimate than that; we shall be
joined together with Jesus in body. There is a health that God has
reserved for us here, but there is also a decay that reminds us that this
is the temporary house. We should never groan for this physical body to be
perfect - here! We groan for the one reserved for us when we have finished
our course.
Other temples in the Bible are worth
mentioning. The “Temple of Ezekiel's vision”, and the “Temple of
Revelation”. There are many debates as to what these signify, but their
base meaning can be found in the Temple of God in Christ and the church.
The Bible also mentions the “temple of the antichrist” and temples of
idolatry.
Wheat
and Tares
We should keep in mind the principle, that in
end times things will get lighter and darker at the same time. As the
temple of God is being completed, Satan's own building project is going on
to completion as well.
As
the wheat grows up to maturity and is ready for harvest, so are the tares
grown up to maturity and ready for their harvest.
Ø
One harvest for
righteousness and one harvest for wickedness.
Ø
One observation to make
about wheat and tares is that they “grow together” and they look
similar until they fully mature.
Ø
The tares are uprooted;
then the wheat is harvested and gathered together and bundled as ONE.
No doubt this is a picture of those who are
cast into the lake of fire (tares) and those who are joined to the Lord
Jesus (wheat), however these pictures do not have exclusive meaning for
this certain event. We will observe many pictures in the scripture that
have application for truth you can walk in today as well as a more final
and complete truth reserved for a future event. Concerning wheat and tares
we will observe in our OWN HEARTS, places that have been dealt with by the
Holy Spirit and have become wheat, yet the areas that have not been dealt
with remain as tares which are destined to be burned. God is the separator
even as He separates the wheat and the tares in your own heart; He is also
faithful and longsuffering to do the same in the lives around you.
As you mature in Christ, these areas we call
tares will become obvious to you – for the purpose of uprooting! When
you look back to the first days of your salvation in Christ Jesus you can
recall different areas of your life that were not pleasing to God, they
were tares, by God’s grace we saw them and uprooted them. But as you
grew in Christ some of these tares grew up along with the wheat and even
matured. I recall how I grew in Christ and God matured wheat in my heart,
great strides in the spirit were made, and yet at the same time I had a
tare in the form of a “critical spirit” that matured as well. My
critical spirit continually found fault with others in the body, but God
continually matured other areas of my life concerning Jesus - He still
allowed the wheat to grow up. This is what confounds most of us in our
walk, we observe our life maturing so we think all is well but the whole
time there is the “tare in our heart” that stays undealt with and
matures as well as the “wheat in our heart” matures. God will bring us
to a place in our maturity where the tare must be dealt with, now you
recognize it, now is the day to uproot that tare. I finally saw my
critical spirit and laid my heart on God’s holy altar to be divided,
burned, and uprooted.
James 3:9-18
9
With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse
men, who have been made in God's likeness.
10 Out
of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not
be.
11 Can
both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?
12 My
brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither
can a salt spring produce fresh water.
13 Who
is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by
deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
14 But
if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not
boast about it or deny the truth.
15 Such
"wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly,
unspiritual, of the devil.
16 For
where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and
every evil practice.
17 But
the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then
peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit,
impartial and sincere.
18 Peacemakers
who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. (NIV)
Wheat and tares represent today’s church and
ministry that are a MIXTURE. In the last days God is by His Spirit -
UN-MIXING! If your tares are growing – you must possess God’s wisdom
and humility and then demonstrate deeds of wheat. This scripture in James
addresses the confusion of the problem in our heart and the problems in
the heart of other Christians that disappoint us. “This should not
be”, but they are a Christian reality. It is a contradiction that God
will not allow to exist in the last day’s church. It will be dealt with
by the methods that God has ordained. Our first step is to receive this
heavenly Wisdom that can only come through humility. Religious pride,
selfish pride or ministry pride will always exchange this type of wisdom
for human wisdom that is independent from the authority of God.
Verse 17 gives you the yielding of God’s
wisdom so that we can tell the difference between His wisdom and our
unspiritual wisdom. It is first pure; this enables us to SEE GOD. If we
see God then the result is a seven-fold characteristic that demonstrates
real wisdom. The first is peace. Why does God’s wisdom come with peace?
Peace is the opposite of bitter division. Selfish ambition that you
manifest will divide and alienate others from God’s righteousness. Peace
that comes from His wisdom will join together those who are separated from
God’s righteousness. Finally, the tares are uprooted through this
spiritual wisdom and it will be replaced by sowings of peace resulting in
“wheat of righteousness”.
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