Ministering To The Lord

     As you know, I've been settling in to the Book of Acts for some time now. My spirit is inspired by the boldness and determination of the Apostles and disciples of Jesus to establish a believing Body that could walk out the teachings and commandments of the Lord. We tend to think that they had it all "together" on that Day of Pentecost; that they knew exactly how to advance this new "Kingdom" to which Jesus was calling them. But they were relying on the Holy Spirit to guide them into this new realm and new life, just as Jesus had. They ministered to the people, to each other, and to the Lord.
     As I was reading in the 13th Chapter of Acts, it was just prior to Paul's first missionary trip. Scripture tells us that "While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them' ” (Acts 13:2). I was struck by those words ... the believers were ministering to the Lord.  What did that mean, and what did it look like? Other translations read "serving the Lord" or "worshipping the Lord". But I sense that "ministering to the Lord" is more accurate, with a deeper significance for us. As the modern Church, or Body of Christ, we are certainly aware of the need to minister to people. Their needs are so obvious.  And the Lord certainly doesn't need us in order to be God; after all, He is self-sufficient, right? 

     Further study revealed that this idea of ministering to the Lord is apparent throughout the Old Testament. Deuteronomy 10:8 tell us that after giving the Torah at Mount Sinai, God set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord to stand before the Lord to minister to Him and to bless in His name, to this day.  And the whole design of the early Tabernacle, and later the Temple built by Solomon, was intended for ministering to the Lord; to minister to His Presence in the Holy of Holies. 
    What did this ministry to the Lord look like? We get an idea in 2 Chronicles 31:2 ... And Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and of the Levites, division by division, each according to his service, the priests and the Levites, for burnt offerings and peace offerings, to minister in the gates of the camp of the Lord and to give thanks and praise. Here, ministering to the Lord involves the giving of thanks and praise.
     But then there is the ministering to the Lord in Joel, chapters One and Two ... Put on sackcloth, you priests, and mourn; wail, you who minister before the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you who minister before my God ... Let the priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the portico and the altar. Let them say, "Spare your people, Lord." Here, the meaning is obviously about interceding on behalf of the people of the Lord.
     Ultimately, I think that ministering to the Lord is centered on ministering to His heart.  As modern-day priests, we come before the Lord giving Him the praise and thanksgiving He is due for His abundant Goodness, as well as fasting and interceding on behalf of His people from our broken and burdened hearts. Both facets of ministering to Him touch His heart. 
     However, the more I studied all the examples in the Word of ministering to the Lord, the more I became convinced that there is another important component to this concept -- that ministering to the Lord should take precedence over ministering to the people. In other words, we must be careful not to get so caught up in doing the work of ministering to the people, that the work becomes our focus.  We must never forget that it is the power of our Lord that allows us to do the work. 
     I don't want you to misunderstand me -- I believe God honors our desire and obedience to minister to people's broken hearts. But I think He desires something deeper between us and Him.  We must not become consumed with the excitement that comes with ministering in this realm. We must never lose sight that God desires that we minister to Him in His realm; through our praise and intercession, revealing our trust, confidence, and dependence on Him. 
    So, I find myself more aware of how I perceive this ministry that God has called my husband and I to.  Have we made it all about the work we do for the Lord, or are we mindful that our priority is to attend to our Lord? To exalt and glorify Him, seeking to be in touch with His heart? It is through these efforts to minister to Him that our ministry to others will bear more fruit. And that is why my prayer has become, "Father God, I want to enter into Your Presence, connecting my heart to Your heart. I want to make You my priority; praising you and giving you all the glory for my Kingdom work. I want my ministry to You to overshadow my earthly ministry. I want to be ever mindful of pleasing You first, and of being worthy to be set apart to do Your work. Lord, help me, Your humble servant, to be a blessing to You and others". For me, that is what ministering means. 

Revelation 1:6   To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood and made us a kingdom, priests to [minister to] His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

The Holy of Holies In Our Temple Of God

     I know there are differences of theological opinion when it comes to discussing the Temple of God in modern or future times.  There are those who are focused on the rebuilding of the physical Temple in which the Antichrist sets up "an abomination of desolation" in the Last Days.  They wait with anticipation for signs that this Temple is about to be constructed, because they know the return of our Lord is near.
     While I do not discount the importance of this final Temple being built, I have been seeking ways to press into Him within the temple that is my human body.  You see, I am fully aware of all that Scripture tells me regarding the truth that I am the Temple of God. Yet I still find there are times I struggle to enter the Holy of Holies in my spirit.  I can read in 1 Corinthians 3:16, Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?  Or 2 Corinthians 6:16, For we are the temple of the living God; or 1 Peter 2:5, You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 
     When God instructed Moses to build His Tabernacle, it was because He desired a place to meet with His people.  His presence was with them.  The Tabernacle, or Temple, included the Outer Courts, the Inner Courts, and the Holy Place (where the golden candlestick, the table of showbread and the altar of incense were place).  Behind the altar of incense was a thick veil that separated off a small area called the Holy of Holies. Inside the Holy of Holies was the ark of the covenant, upon which rested the mercy seat and the cherubim. God’s presence rested on the mercy seat.

     This is where God's attribute of Mercy was displayed.  Sin is a deadly serious matter to God, because it is what separates man from God. Therefore, sin is an issue that man must acknowledge about himself and reckon with. The mercy seat represented where sins were acknowledged and forgiven.  And because God is Holy, and man is unholy, the meeting place in the Temple, the Holy of Holies, was a restricted area.
     But that is no longer true.  Because we are now the temple of the living God, we have access to the Holy of Holies in our heart because of Jesus's sacrifice on the cross.  Scripture tells us that the very moment Jesus gave up His spirit, the veil [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51).  Man now had access to the presence of God and was no longer separated from Him.  And to make sure we understand this, Scripture confirms it in Hebrews 10:19-20, Therefore, believers, since we have confidence and full freedom to enter the Holy Place [the place where God dwells] by [means of] the blood of Jesus, by this new and living way which He initiated and opened for us through the veil [as in the Holy of Holies], that is, through His flesh.
     But how many of us have instituted new veils that keep us from His presence?  How many of you struggle with knowing there is more to receive from your relationship with God, but you just can't get past some impediment that keeps you from the Holy of Holies in your heart?  Is it something you covet in your flesh, or perhaps some sin you can't quite forgive someone [or yourself] for?  How many want to see in the spirit, but there is a dirty veil that keeps you from getting that breakthrough?  Or you want to hear from Him, but there is a soundproof barrier that keeps you from entering your Holy of Holies?
     And how many have only been able to press into the Inner Court of your heart, while others are still stuck in the Outer Courts?  You don't even feel worthy to enter into the Holy presence of your God, even though you desperately long for that connection.  I have a feeling that for many of us, we find ourselves navigating in and out of these Courts and the Holy Places.  Why can't we enter into His presence and maintain that peace and love and power that defies description?  Who doesn't want to experience communing with the Spirit of God and meeting with our Living Lord?
     It is a serious matter and undertaking to seek and find God in our Holy of Holies.  It is a matter of pressing in, acknowledging His Holiness, and seeking Him diligently until we break through whatever new veils have been erected in our hearts.  But it is worth the effort because it is a sacred place; it is our personal meeting place with God where we experience His presence and receive instruction to move from glory to glory in our redemptive journey. Praise Him for our opportunity to spend a lifetime in His presence, and then seek Him with all your heart.  Press in until every shred of those human veils are eliminated and you bask in the revelation of His glory!

Ephesians 2:21   We are carefully joined together in Him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.

      

You Know Jesus As Your Savior ... Do You Know Him As Adonai?

     Christians are able to identify Jesus as their Savior because [they will tell you], He died for their sins. I'm not sure they all recognize the enormity of that statement, or the concept that because of the Divine Nature of God, and who He is, we all deserve damnation and death for sinning against our Holy God (Romans 1:32 and 3:23). Therefore, Jesus "dying" for our sins means He took the punishment of all God's Creation who rejected Him.  That is a debt we can never repay, either independently or corporately.
     And the New Testament gives us a very clear picture of Jesus as our Savior in Acts 5:31, God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior and Deliverer, in order to grant repentance to Israel, and [to grant] forgiveness of sins.  This grace through faith is also extended to us because we are grafted in as God's sanctified people.  But Jesus is worthy of an additional title, if you will, as expressed in Luke 2:11, For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
     It is common for Christians to refer to Jesus as their Lord.  But there is a more accurate description of who He is in the Hebrew ... Adonai.  The title Lord for Jesus comes from the Greek Kurios, a translation of Adonai. And this word "Adonai" means Lord, Master, Owner.  It is also important to see that Jesus's name in Hebrew, Yeshua Ha-Mashiach (Jesus Chist) is YHWH "come in the flesh".  So, to say that Jesus Christ is Lord is to declare that He is YHWH (Adonai), Himself. 
     But Adonai is more than a name or a title.  It essentially speaks of the relationship we have with YHWH.  It is God's total possession of my life through my submission (surrender) to Him. We get a good picture of this in the Bible with the relationship between Abram and God. In Genesis 14, God has delivered Abram through the War of the Kings and he (Abram) announces to the King of Sodom that it is El Elyon (the God Most High) who has given him the victory. It is then in Genesis 15:2, that the name Adonai first appears.  Abram addressed God as Adonai or Master, understanding that the Master has the right of possession, and the one possessed is charged with submission to God, his Master. The Bible affirms this in Genesis 15:6, Then Abram believed in (affirmed, trusted in, relied on, remained steadfast to) the Lord (Adonai); and He counted (credited) it to him as righteousness (doing right in regard to God and man).
     Abram understood this Master/servant relationship.  He knew that the Servant depended on the Master to be faithful in provision, protection, and direction (guidance). We can see this concept reflected in the New Testament with the idea of believers as bondservants. This is a reflection of Jesus as Lord or Master.    

     But I have a question ... Do we in the 21st Century still walk in that identity?  Do we acknowledge that Jesus is our Lord and Master and Owner?  The Biblical relationship that "Adonai" signifies means that Jesus has mastership and ownership over us; and it indicates that God is the owner of each member of the human family, which gives Him the authority to claim the unrestricted obedience of us all. 
     Unfortunately, our American history has stained this idea of a master/slave relationship.  But human history need not sully the spiritual portrayal of God's relationship to us as Adonai.  From a Biblical perspective, Pastor Kenneth Hemphill explains it best: "The relationship of slave and master in the Bible was more often one of love and allegiance. In the Jewish relationship, a slave had more privileges than the hired help. A slave could participate in the Temple sacrifices and was a member of the household. The hired help was excluded from these privileges. The servant is assured that his Master has the resources and ability to care for him. As a member of the master’s household, the master provides for all the servant needs. The servant need not worry about his basic provision. The servant is assured that help and resources are available for him to carry out his duties as a servant. The master provides what is needed, not only for basic needs, but also for the fulfillment of the tasks assigned to the servant. The servant has the privilege of calling upon his relationship with the Master to get the help he needs. Access to the Master is guaranteed, and is only a prayer away". 
     To some, it may seem that this look at Jesus as Adonai is simply a mundane word study, but I believe the acknowledgement of this concept of Jesus as our Lord, Master, and Owner has great implications for the Body of Christ today.  For far too long, the Church has allowed the culture to dismantle the identity of Christ. As I stated in a previous post, I am concerned that we no longer fear God. And I see Jesus relegated to an equal with other gods, while the Holy Spirit has largely left the Western Church. 
     Sadly, too many Christians don't read their Bible with any hunger to know the Father or the Son.  And if you don't know Them, how can you have a relationship with Them, let alone in the proper perspective?  I want to see and know and declare Adonai as Abram did! And it starts today!  
     Yes, Jesus is my Savior, and I know the eternal gift of salvation that He has afforded me!  But I also know Him as Adonai -- my Lord ... my Master ... and He owns me! I acknowledge that I am His servant. And I acknowledge that, as Adonai, Jesus is Owner of all, and we are all stewards who have been declared worthy by Him to serve -- and we all count it a privilege to serve. 
      I understand and declare that as Adonai, Jesus is my Master and can supply all my needs, including supernatural empowerment enabling me to serve God.  And, finally, I recognize that I can do anything and all that Jesus, as Adonai, commands me to do. There is no doubt or fear or unbelief in His authority and power -- or mine to carry out His commands! 
     Yes, I know Jesus as my Savior, and I truly honor His sacrifice and the gift of eternal life that is mine.  But I never want to diminish His role as Adonai; as my Lord and Master.  Nor do I want to refuse the challenge to live my life as a demonstration of His Lordship in it.  On that day when I stand before Him, and say, "Lord, Lord", I want Him to smile and say my name, acknowledging that He has known me. And I will cry out, as King David did, "You are my Adonai. I have no good besides You."

Thanks to the website, Precept Austin, for their references on the meaning and concept of Adonai.
     
Malachi 1:6    A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is the [reverent] fear and respect due Me?’ says the Lord of hosts...