This is the day the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!
I hope everyone had a good week and I have been praying for you all.
God is good.. all his ways are righteous and all his works are holy! (Psalm 145) We are casting all our cares on Him for he cares for us Amen!
Resurrection Sunday is coming quickly. We read as Jesus was preparing his disciples, he said many things that they later remembered. We not only remember what Jesus said, but we also read and understand what ALL the scriptures say concerning the Messiah and the Saviour of the world. Jesus spoke of the new temple here in the Gospel of John... John 2:19
Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
21 But he spake of the temple of his body.
22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.
You remember the parts of the Old Testament Temple... The altar in the most holy place was where the Priest met the Spirit of God...
The court, the Laver, the table of showbread, the incense, the altar
God appointed all the materials for his service, God himself instructed the making of it, God purposed all its utensils, services, and ceremonies and nothing about it was not of man.
We read about the tabernacle in the wilderness, the temple Solomon built, the reconstruction, all the holy places built by man, the sacrifices, the prayers of incense, the blood of goats and lambs, the altars etc. but all that disappears in the New Testament...
The Lord Jesus Christ, in the sacrifice of himself, has become the ALTAR of the church in the New Testament!
Jesus is the "lamb" offered on the altar of the Old Testament!
Jesus is the Lamb offered upon the altar of God which taketh away the sins of the whole world! Amen!
If there is no sin, there is no needed sacrifice; if there is an altar, there must be sin to necessitate the institution(building) of that altar.
1 John 1:8
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The bible tells us that "without shedding of blood there is no remission of sins." We must present ourselves to God with his ordained sacrifice.
Remember its all God's way... His design, His making, His order, His plan
Do you remember what Jesus said to the Pharisees concerning the temple and the altar...
Matthew 23:16
16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! 17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? 18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. 19 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? 20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. 21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. 22 And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.
This makes Jesus both the gift and the altar!
Hebrews 13:10 reads, "We have an altar..."
We have an altar with all its provisions and blessings.
Remember Jesus said "I am the living Bread which came down out of heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever," etc. (John 6:51-58).
"This is My body, broken for you." "This is the new covenant in My blood."
Christ is the glorious altar that sanctifies the gift.
Christ is the living heart of the gospel. Christ is our altar and final atonement(payment) for sins. We HAVE CONTINUAL ACCESS to God by Christ Jesus!
The Day of Atonement in the Old Testament is replaced by the Day of Atonement at Calvary! Praise Jesus forever!
We may have a personal "altar" somewhere that we like to get alone with God and pray... we may only like to go to the mourners bench at church and pray, but we all have the same altar, the Lord Jesus Christ...
I know I've been to the altar(to Jesus feet) a lot lately. I worry and I stress over things I have no control over. My High Priest hears my prayers and he hears your prayers as well.
Do you also remember what was present there at the altar when the sacrifice was made in the Old Testament...?
It was the fire.. Today its the same fire of the Holy Spirit of God abiding within every twice born child of God! Empowering you and I to be strong in these uncertain times we live in today. Encouraging you and I to be faithful and trusting even when we don't understand.
Church Family... make your way to the altar today and you'll be glad you did!
In the altar with you... Pastor Brian
