Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #10238 - Anointed and Spiritually Cleansed Lives - Exodus 30

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#10238 - Anointed and Spiritually Cleansed Lives - Exodus 30 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the study of God's Word with pastor and author Ed
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Taylor, recorded live at Calvary Church in Aurora, Co.
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To learn more about the many resources available through
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Abounding Grace Media or to tune into our live stream services,
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visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church or download our free
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Calvary Church app. Now here's Pastor Ed to take us
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into our study. Amen.
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Take your Bibles, open them to Exodus chapter 30, Exodus
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chapter 30 of entitled Our Bible study, Anointed and spiritually
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cleansed lives. Anointed and spiritually
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cleansed lives. As we studied through this
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section of the Bible and this section of Exodus in particular.
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I don't want us to forget the mind and the desire of God.
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It hasn't changed. He hasn't changed.
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He wants a hard relationship with his people.
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Not just rituals. I mean, go back to the very
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beginning of God dealing with man in the Garden of Eden.
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You'll remember in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 8 it says
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and they heard the sound of the Lord walking in the garden in
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the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from
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the presence of the Lord among the trees of the garden.
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Adam and Eve chose not to join God that day.
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Why? Because of sin.
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Sin separated them as their sin had separated them from deep
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closeness and deep intimacy. They chose to move away from God
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and God pursued them. Where are you?
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He asked the question that wasn't a question of knowledge
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like he didn't know. It was a question of revelation.
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They didn't know they were learning the damage of their
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disobedience. And yet God is still calling
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today. Where are you?
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Where are you? You say, well, I'm sitting in
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church. That's physically.
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How about spiritually? Where are you?
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Where's your heart, your lips? The Bible would say they praised
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me outwardly, but your heart far from me.
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And what a dangerous place to be.
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Some today are hiding behind their good works and their
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religious effort, their rituals, the home, the religion they were
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born into. Some are hiding from that voice
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of the Lord, running and running and running.
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Now when it comes to Exodus chapter 30, we have God and a
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nation pressing in. We have a nation pressing into
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the things of God, and they are being given definitions of
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relationship. They're being laid before them
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how to relate to God. They don't know.
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They're just days away from being slaves.
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They had in their mind, you know, this thought and this
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desire and this hope, but it wasn't formalized for them.
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It was just in their imagination.
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And really most of their life was to cry out to God for
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deliverance. And now that they have it here,
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they are walking forward and God is defining for them what it
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means to relate to Him. And these rituals they've been
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given, these worship services, these celebrations, the
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Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, the lid, the mercy
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seat would only be tools to draw them closer to the Lord.
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They were never intended to replace the heart connection.
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They actually, we're learning all of these things.
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They're learning now are pointing to the coming of
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Messiah to keep their eyes on deliverance.
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Every material, every measurement, every corner points
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to the one who became flesh and dwelt among us.
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But see, that's the danger we all face.
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The danger we all face is we missed the One.
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And we replace the one with great rituals and religious
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activity. We develop rules and regulations
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and hypocrisies and become Pharisees ourself, as we see in
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the New Testament and later on, the children of Israel.
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Will do this. They would take these.
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Definitions of ritual and religion and relationship with
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God. And they would go through the
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motions. And we see that today.
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Certainly some of you could give a testimony to a season in your
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life where you went through the motions, but your heart was far
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from Him. Where you gave the outward
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expression so that you can minimize the questions and
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minimize the probing, but in reality your heart was far from
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Him. Just lip service jotted down in
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Isaiah chapter one in verse 11 the Bible says to what purpose
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is the multitude of your sacrifices to me, says the Lord.
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Imagine that you come here to worship today.
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You come here with hands lifted up singing the songs.
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And then the answer to God is that what are you doing that
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for? What?
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Why are you worshipping me? Why are you going through that
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that outward? Why are you singing the songs?
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Why do you have your Bible? And here he says, Hey, why are
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you giving me all these sacrifices?
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I've had enough. God says in Isaiah one of your
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burnt offerings of Rams and the fat of fed cattle.
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I do not delight in the blood of bulls or of lambs or goats.
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When you come to appear before me, who has required this from
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your hand to trample my courts? Bring no more food, futile
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sacrifices. Incense is an abomination to me.
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The new moons, the Sabbath's, the calling of the assemblies.
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I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.
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I mean, that's heavy in and of itself, all the outward
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activity, but really? When it comes down, you're doing
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it with sinful hands, sinful hearts, outward, not inward.
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God wanted them to bring the sacrifices, but with a heart of
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worship. He wants us.
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I mean, today. What would that look like?
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Why are you in church? Why are you studying the Bible?
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Enough of the iniquity. It's like, I know, know what God
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would say to us today. I know no one else knows what's
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happening, but I know what's happening.
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I know what. Your life is like.
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And enough of it. I want your heart, I want your
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sacrifice, but I don't want, and as he says, I cannot endure
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iniquity and the sacred meeting. They don't go together.
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Well, pick up with me now as we see this unfold.
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Verse 1, Chapter 30. The altar of incense.
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You shall make an altar to burn incense on, and you shall make
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it of Acacia wood. A cubit shall be its length and
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a cubit its width. It shall be square, and two
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cubits shall be its height. Its horn shall be of one piece
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with it, and you shall overlay its top, its sides, all around
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its horns with pure gold, and you shall make for it a molding
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of gold all around. 2 gold rings you shall make for it under the
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molding on both sides. You shall place them on its
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sides, and they will be holders for the poles with which to bear
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it. You shall make the poles of
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Acacia wood over they them with gold.
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You shall put it before the veil, that is, before the ark of
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the Testimony, before the mercy seat, that is over the.
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Testimony where I will meet with you, Aaron.
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Verse 7 Shall burn on it sweet incense.
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Every morning when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on
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it. And when Aaron lights the lamps
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at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual
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incense before the Lord throughout your generations.
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You shall not offer strange incense on it, or a burnt
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offering, or a meal offering, nor shall you pour a drink
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offering on it. And Aaron shall make atonement
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upon its horns once a year, with the blood of the sin offering of
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atonement once a year. He shall make atonement upon it
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throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.
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So this altar, 18 inches squared, 36 inches high, where
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the burning of the incense would take place just inside the holy
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place before the Holy of holies. The incense speaks to to us of
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the prayers of the Saints, and it would have an aroma there.
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It would remind us of the upward.
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The prayers of the Saints go upward, not outward.
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That's why you never need to worry.
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About. And I just want you to know as
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you gather together and you're learning as a church how to pray
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together, one of the things that most disturbs believers is to
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pray publicly and say things out loud because you're just so
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concerned and wondering if you're going to do it right,
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wondering what people are going to think.
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Don't worry about it because your prayers go to God.
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They go upward. They, they don't go to the
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person in the, in the circle with you or in the chair in
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front of you. We get to share with you.
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We get to agree with you. We get to go with you.
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But your prayers always go upward, not outward.
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And you can use the language that you have and you can
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express yourself as you are. God hears your prayers.
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And on this altar, notice it was very precise.
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It was for incense, not verse 9, strange incense.
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It says don't offer strange incense or a burnt offering or a
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meal offering or don't pour a drink offering on it.
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It's very unique and we've already learned a couple studies
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before. The two of Aaron's sons offered
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profane fire on the altar. A strange fire.
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And they were wrong. They offered something loathsome
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and estranged. The Hebrew word describes like
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friends parting ways, and we looked at that.
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We don't know exactly what it was, but it was enough to lose
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their lives over. We know that they did it
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wrongly, and there's always a price to pay.
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When something is done wrong, there's always a consequence.
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We hope that it would be minimized.
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We hope we don't have to feel the full weight of it, and that
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while God has forgiven us of our sins, He doesn't remove the
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consequences. There are natural consequences
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to sin that are often confused with the judgement of God, when
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in reality they are the natural outcome of your rebellion
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against God. When he's rewarned us and told
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us and commanded us don't do it, and we do it anyway.
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I remember with the children, you know, you're trying to teach
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your kids as they're growing up. And it's just something very
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simple. It's actually not that big a
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deal. It makes a lot of sense.
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Don't touch the stove. I mean, it's simple like, well,
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why not? Well, I don't need to explain
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that to you. I don't need to explain anything
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to you. But trust me.
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Let's sit down. Let me just tell you, it's very
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hot. If you touch it, it'll burn your
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hand. You'll get you hurt.
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Really. We might have to take you to the
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hospital. Just don't touch it.
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And what do kids do? I got to find out for myself.
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I got to touch it. Now I saw recently something
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that reminded me of being a kid myself of things when I was
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growing up and I was warned not to do and kids today don't know.
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This, some of you don't even know this because you're too
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young, but in cars years ago, there was a cigarette lighter.
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You guys remember a cigarette lighter that you pushed in and
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it heated the coils. And my parents, they chain
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smoke, you know, they would one after another, and they use that
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thing a lot. And I don't know why.
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And I do not do this, but I don't know why, but so many kids
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were tempted to feel with your thumb what that was like.
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And you would get this big burn mark like it hurts.
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You could hear your skin singe because I think was red, glowing
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hot, and you'd be warned, you'd be warned, you'd be warned.
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And in life that's like as a pastor, as a leader, his
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parents, we're warning, we're warning, we're warning, we're
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pleading, we're asking, we're pointing.
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And yet something in US has to find out for ourselves.
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We have to learn by example. We don't.
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We don't want to learn by example.
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We want to learn by. Practice.
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But learn nonetheless. And Aaron's sons, they offered
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this strange fire, disobedient possibly, if you want to tie it
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together, we could get a little hint that perhaps the strange
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fire that was offered by Nedab and Abihu was a disobedience to
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verse 9. They did something wrong with
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this altar here. And the question again is often
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asked why? We don't know why, but haven't
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you found not to be the truth in your life?
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Some dumb decision, some bad decision, and then somebody asks
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you inevitably why? And your answer is like, I don't
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know, I'm dumb. Like I know better.
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I was warned. I, I, I know better and you
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know, I was in the flesh or I made a mistake, whatever it may
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be. There was preciseness of how to
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use this altar, and there's a preciseness in how to worship
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God. It's just not something you can
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make up along the. Way he's prescribed it for us.
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The reality of knowing what? God.
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Wants. That's really true in any
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relationship, isn't it? The more time you spend with
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someone, the more you go through trials.
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You learn together what the other person likes and dislikes.
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You learn together what that other person enjoys and doesn't
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enjoy. And in real friendships and real
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relationships, you find you get closer because you begin to do
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the things you both enjoy and you begin to avoid the things
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that upset one another. That's just what friendships
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are. And you learn, not the hard way.
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Sometimes you might say something, you might do
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something as oh, that didn't hit or that didn't work well.
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And you learn, you apologize and you keep going forward.
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You keep going forward. You learn from God what He
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desires. You go.
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You know what that just makes? For a peaceful.
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Life I think of how many are among us today listening live on
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the radio online. I think of how many are together
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and just because, and I know you, we take it for granted
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sometimes or don't even pay attention to it, but just
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because we have, we have set our life towards seeking God through
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Bible study. There is a natural benefit to
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that. Now in a in a culture that just
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demands everything right away, right away, I got to see the
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benefits right away. You know as well as I do, we
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don't always see the benefits right away.
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It takes time. Seeds are being planted.
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They're being watered. A lot of the work that God's
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doing in your heart is unseen and unknown until it's time.
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And when it's time, you'll see it and you'll know it.
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You'll be ministering to someone, you know, tomorrow, on
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Friday, 3:00, on Friday, somebody comes into your life.
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You begin to speak with them and what happens the Holy Spirit
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brings to your remembrance. You know, there's a, there's a
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right way to do that. You may not go all the way Bible
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study on them, but you might step back and you know there's a
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right way and a wrong way. And right now I just, it sounds
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like you just made a bad decision.
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How can I pray for you? And already like, wait a minute,
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where did that come from? Well, in the beginning of Exodus
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30, what do we learn? There's a right way and a wrong
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way, and there's always the pathway of blessing for
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obedience and consequences for disobedience.
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Another thing I've learned as it comes to those decisions of
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obedience and disobedience is that I would much rather, I
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would much rather have the consequences of obedience than
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the consequences of disobedience.
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And I certainly would much rather have the blessings of
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obedience than the fake blessings of disobedience.
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That's what they are, right? It's just pleasure for a season.
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It's like the enemy, the enemy of our souls.
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Our culture has talked. Us into destroying ourselves and
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enjoying it at the same time. That's what sin is, just destroy
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your life, but enjoy it at the same time until you don't and
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it's just fake. And here the altar of incense
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reminding us of the incense that will be going up every morning,
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every evening, evening. The smell, the joy and worship
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is defined by God. Listen, even though there are
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different expressions, I know I don't have time to develop this.
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We've done this in other Bible studies, but a lot of times we
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only refer to worship as song. I can't even use that.
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When we think of worship, we think of somebody singing up
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here and leading us and that that's an element of worship.
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But our whole life is worship. You know that everything we do,
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it's a worship under the Lord. But stepping back and saying,
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OK, in our worship of God there are different expressions and it
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does make sense and bring great character if we just apply that.
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To music for a moment. Many expressions of worship in
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song. I mean, some of you.
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Go way back. You like the the hymns, some of
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you you, you like some of the more modern stuff, everything in
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between. Some of you write songs and you
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like the songs that you write. Some of you make up songs in the
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shower. You think you're singing it, but
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you're actually not. That's your own deal.
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But you're enjoying the Lord. You're just worshipping the
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Lord. There are different expressions
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as we worship God, but don't forget this because again, we
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live in a culture that emphasizes self-expression and
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self autonomy. And you can do anything that you
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want whenever you want and you don't need to worry about it as
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long as you're not hurting anyone.
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On and on those lines we've been given in culture.
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But listen this when you worship God, you're not the center of
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worship. God is.
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We are worshipping in all of our lives to an audience of 1.
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So whether that applies to prayer and you don't need to
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worry about your prayers, they're going up to God.
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Don't worry about it. And even if you walk away from a
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prayer meeting and somebody criticize you, don't listen to
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it, don't receive it. Somebody criticizing you for
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your prayer, don't even receive it.
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Just pray for that person. It's like, hey bro, I know you
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didn't like my prayer, but I'm going to offer another prayer.
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You don't like to pray for you, man.
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You got a bad heart. Like I'm just praying.
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I don't know what to say. And then somebody, well, you
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know, really the way you need to pray is thou art God from the
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King James. It's like I don't even own a
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King James. I just want to talk to God.
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I just want to pour my heart out that we have somebody up on the
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stage telling us some direction. That's what I want to do.
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I want to learn how to pray and I want to be myself.
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We're in singing. You know, you may have an
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expression you you may have something that hits you better
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than others or hits you closer or is attached to a moment or
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nostalgia. But be.
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There are all sorts of expressions that are acceptable
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to God and He still defines it. And that isn't any expression.
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What matters is that we worship God heart to heart, or as He
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said, Jesus taught us in spirit and in truth.
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He wants your heart. He's not super concerned about
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the tone of your voice or whether you can keep a a tune or
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melody or whatever those things are, or even if you have the
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right words. He just wants you.
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I had a brother recently reach out to me.
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He wanted to some tips on fasting and he has some
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questions to answer and I thought that was an interesting
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question. I need to think about it a
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little bit before I answered him.
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But ultimately my summary and my answer to the brother was, hey,
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prayer and fasting, God just wants you.
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And whether you get the answers to your prayers or not, whether
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he answers in the days prescribed, it's OK.
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It's OK if you walk away from your time of prayer and fasting
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still wanting answers to your questions.
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You know why? Because you got more of the Lord
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and you find that the questions in life fade in the background
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to a heart that's connected to God.
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What's the future hold for me? I don't know so much about the
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future, but today I get to worship God.
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Today I get to open His Word. Today I get to reach out to
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someone. I get to answer.
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I get to serve. I get to pray, I get to plan.
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I get to serve God with my heart.
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This incense is that picture of prayer.
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Going up to the Lord and you might ask, well, Ed, where did
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you get that? Here's a couple places.
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Psalm 141 in verse 2, Let my prayer be set before you as
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incense. Revelation chapter 8, verse 3.
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Then another Angel, having a golden censor, came and stood at
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the altar, and he was given much incense that he should offer it
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with the prayers of the Saints upon the golden altar, which was
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before the throne. We have that wonderful open.
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Door of offering our prayers, and every time you'd walk by the
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Tabernacle, the Tabernacle would remind you of the presence of
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God and the incense would remind you that that's a God who wants
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to hear your prayers every time. Notice verse 11.
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Now in Exodus 30 it says, then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
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When you take the census of the children of Israel for their
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number, every man shall give a ransom for himself.
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To the Lord then you number them, that there be no plague
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among you when you number them. This is what everyone among
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those who are numbered shall give 1/2 shekel.
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According to the shekel of the sanctuary, a shekel is 20
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gueras. The half shekel shall be an
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offering to the Lord. Everyone included among those
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who are numbered from 20 years old and above shall give an
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offering to the Lord. The rich shall not give more,
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and the poor shall not give less than 1/2 shekel.
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When you give an offering to the Lord, you to make atonement for
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yourselves, and you shall take the atonement money of the
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children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of
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the Tabernacle of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the
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children of Israel before the Lord to make atonement for
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yourselves. This ransom money interesting
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the census taking goes back as far as man can count.
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History censuses, the counting of people within a nation within
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a community, were normally used for military and taxing.
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Purposes. But notice now this census was
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taken for the sake of being numbered among the people of
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God. They aren't among Israel or
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Egypt any longer. They are now numbered as the
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people of God. And in this numbering they were
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then to give this money for the atonement.
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And I want you to notice, I thought this was interesting in
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how it was given and what was given.
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First of all, notice the rich couldn't give more and the poor
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couldn't give less. And what does that say to us but
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that every man and woman is equal in the sight of God?
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God shows no favors to the rich or to the poor, and no matter
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where a person might be financially, God looks at us on
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equal levels, drawing us into His presence and inviting us
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into worship and forgiveness. In Romans chapter 2 verse 11, it
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says there is no partiality with God.
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We live in a very divided culture, so we know all of our
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differences. It wouldn't take much.
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If you looked around the room, you'd see differences.
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You'd see male, female, you'd see different colored skin,
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you'd see young, you'd see old. You would see a lot of
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differences. It's just how we've been
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ingrained to see differences. But that's not how God sees us.
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And with the eyes of God, we can lay down these differences for
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the sake of being one in Christ. Because I think, you know, we,
23:31
we do have a tendency to take these differences and apply them
23:36
to other people this way. For example, you know, in our
23:38
family of churches, Pastor Chuck Smith's a very important man.
23:41
But if you're not careful, as many are today, they're not
23:44
careful. They will elevate Chuck Smith to
23:47
like being more important than anyone else.
23:49
And he's not. He's a guy just like you and me.
23:53
He was living his life honoring Jesus.
23:55
He heard the voice of the Lord, and he obeyed, and God used him
23:59
greatly. Isn't that what you want for
24:00
your life? But we're no, he's no greater
24:03
than us, and we're no greater than him.
24:06
Or how about someone more familiar to you?
24:07
You think of Billy Graham, she's like, oh boy, look what Billy
24:10
Graham has done. Hey, Billy Graham is no greater
24:13
than you, and you're no greater than him.
24:17
He was a man seeking after the things of God, and he answered
24:21
the call. And this was God's will for his
24:24
life. Can I ask you this?
24:26
Has God called you to be Billy Graham?
24:27
Yes or no? No.
24:29
Why? It's very easy.
24:31
You're not Billy Graham. Has God called you to be Chuck?
24:34
Smith. No.
24:36
Why? Well, you're not Chuck Smith.
24:39
But you know, if I asked the question for each of the names
24:41
here, because God knows you by name.
24:42
He's numbered you. He knows you.
24:45
I said, has God called you to be so and so?
24:47
He's Oh, yeah, of course he has. That's who I am.
24:50
And you can be a woman, you can be a man listens for the voice
24:53
of the Lord. And when you hear him, you
24:55
follow and you will be exactly what God has called you to be.
25:01
You will produce the fruit that God has asked you and commanded
25:04
you to produce that He does through you.
25:08
I don't ever want you to think of someone even in this church
25:10
and within the context of this church, because.
25:13
Of my role in the church, I get attention, I get focused.
25:16
I'm the voice that God uses to teach us.
25:19
But don't ever think that I'm more important than anyone in
25:21
this church. I'm not more important than
25:23
anyone in this church. I'm no better than you.
25:25
You're no better than me. If I'm to be faithful and what
25:30
God has called me to, then I'm going to do what God has called
25:32
me to do. Pray and study the Word,
25:34
equipping the Saints for the work of the ministry.
25:37
And when I cease to do that, then I cease to live according
25:40
to the calling of God upon my life.
25:42
That's my calling. Have you been called to be me?
25:45
No, you don't ever need to worry about that.
25:49
You've been called to be you. I like this.
25:51
When you're giving like the rich, the rich needs to do this
25:55
and the poor needs to do this. The offering according to verse
26:00
16. Notice the atonement money,
26:03
verse 16 of the children of Israel.
26:05
You shall appoint it for the service of the Tabernacle of
26:08
meeting. What does that mean?
26:09
That this half shekel was to be given for the upkeep of the
26:13
Tabernacle. It was to be.
26:15
Given so that the Tabernacle was taken care of, the community of
26:19
believers shared in the upkeep and the care of the Tabernacle.
26:23
Together they were strong. And that's why I just think the
26:27
enemy works overtimes, trying so hard to divide us from one
26:31
another internally, externally, trying to divide churches
26:35
against churches, trying to divide churches, trying to
26:38
divide families, just taking us in a place where we're thinking
26:42
about each other as an enemy instead of as a friend.
26:45
And you get a little division there, you get a little
26:47
contention there, you get a little condemnation there.
26:50
And before you know it, everybody's fighting one
26:52
another. And the enemy's moved on.
26:55
He's not here. He's like, you're not fighting
26:56
the enemy anymore, you're fighting each other.
26:59
We're standing up so much for ourselves instead of dying to
27:03
ourselves. So this ransom money was to be
27:05
given 1/2 shekel. It was an offering, even though
27:08
it was for the upkeep of the Tabernacle, upkeeper of the
27:12
Tabernacle. I want you to go back and mark
27:14
this. You can even ride a little
27:15
arrow. You can even ride a little star.
27:17
However you want to do this. In verse 13 it says this half
27:21
shekel shall be an offering to the Lord, but in verse 16, verse
27:25
13 it's to the Lord. But in verse 16, it was for the
27:30
upkeep of the Tabernacle. It was to the Lord.
27:32
So all of our giving is to the Lord, but there are purposes.
27:36
In the use of God's money as we give it to the Lord.
27:40
And that's why, you know, some listening to me, they've,
27:42
they've given an offering, they've been ripped off by some
27:44
televangelists on TV or they've been ripped off at a church to
27:47
maybe some of you, I might be speaking to you, you came from a
27:50
church where they just totally ripped you off.
27:52
And it took you a while to understand that what that guy
27:55
was doing, he was lying to you, taking advantage of you and
27:59
offering. You know, we need this offering
28:01
and this offering and you know, offer this and you'll get a
28:03
thousandfold return. And you're just giving, giving,
28:05
giving, because that's all you knew until the Lord broke
28:08
through and said, no, don't give them.
28:12
And you don't even be in that church anymore.
28:15
But you know what, there was a part of you where you did give
28:18
that offering to the Lord. So you don't need to worry about
28:20
it. You don't need to beat yourself
28:22
up. You don't need to.
28:23
You know, sometimes you just. Think now, what was I thinking?
28:26
There was probably a lot in your thinking.
28:27
You were worshipping God to the knowledge that you had.
28:31
And then as the Bible opened up or you listen to someone on
28:34
radio, somebody gave you a book, you go, oh, I have new
28:36
knowledge. Now that's not the kind of
28:38
offering to, you know, the enemy of our souls will prop up people
28:42
to take advantage of you spiritually because deep down in
28:46
your heart as a born again believer, you do want to honor
28:49
God. You do want to honor him with
28:51
your money and with your time and with your talents.
28:55
Of course you do. And so I love that it was an
28:58
offering to the Lord, but there was a purpose for it.
29:00
Notice verse 17. Now then, the Lord spoke to
29:05
Moses, saying, You shall make a believer of bronze with a base
29:09
that's also a bronze for washing you.
29:13
Shall put it between the Tabernacle of meeting and the
29:16
altar. Now a labor is just a basin.
29:19
It's just a big tub. You shall put water in it.
29:22
Verse 19. And Aaron and his son shall wash
29:25
their hands and their feet in water from it.
29:27
And when they, when they go into the Tabernacle of meeting, and
29:31
when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering
29:35
made by fire to the Lord, they shall wash with water lest they
29:38
die. And so they shall wash their
29:40
hands and their feet, lest they die, and it shall be a statute
29:44
forever to them, to him and his descendants throughout their
29:48
generations. So Aaron and his sons were to go
29:50
through ceremonial washing of their hands and their feet.
29:54
It was between this brass bronze labor was between the Tabernacle
29:58
of meeting and the altar. And every time they were to
30:01
perform something, they had to be constantly cleansed.
30:05
When they went outside and came back, they were to be cleansed.
30:08
And this becomes a picture for us today to live a cleansed life
30:12
to, to really bring our lives before the Lord and receive a
30:16
continual cleansing of the filth of this world.
30:19
I mean, it is a filthy, disgusting world that we live
30:22
in. I don't know any other words.
30:23
I guess I could use stronger words, but we're in church
30:27
teaching a Bible study. It's just a filthy, disgusting
30:30
world. That's why it just makes no
30:32
sense for us to get caught up in it all and to jump into it.
30:36
The things that we were delivered from, party scene, the
30:39
club scene, the drunken scene, all that stuff.
30:42
Man, we were delivered from most of many of us.
30:45
We were delivered from that stuff.
30:46
It was filth and darkness. Disgusting.
30:51
The world's inventing new ways to to perpetuate evil and and to
30:55
harm children and women and on and on.
30:59
And men like the world is filthy.
31:01
Can I get an Amen on that? Yeah, I you you like if that's
31:05
all you leave here with. Today is that you need a
31:07
continual cleansing because you live in this world and we work
31:12
in this world and we take in the media of this world.
31:16
Even the most committed person that says I don't watch much TV
31:20
and then we say we commend you, but you still live in the world.
31:24
Remember when a a Jewish man was to enter into a house, they were
31:28
to what? Clean off the dust of their
31:30
feet, because if you were to walk in a dirty world, your feet
31:33
would get dirty in those sandals.
31:35
Naturally. You didn't have to do anything
31:37
except walk you. Didn't even have to try to get
31:39
dirty. You didn't have to roll around
31:41
in the mud. If you just walked in the dusty
31:43
world with open sandals, your feet were going to get dirty.
31:46
And when you walk into someone's house, you're going to cleanse
31:50
your feet, you're going to clean them up.
31:51
Then remember Jesus took a towel and he began to wash the
31:54
disciples feet. And then like, hey, Peter came
31:57
to that place so you can't wash my feet.
31:59
And I'm paraphrasing. And Jesus said, no, no, if I
32:00
don't wash you, I have no part of me.
32:02
He goes oh then wash me all. I think he has a little bit of
32:05
this in mind. Wash me all.
32:06
I need to be cleansed. I need my mind cleansed.
32:10
I need my thinking. I need my behavior.
32:13
Just constantly washing in, washing out, washing, worship,
32:18
washing. It's almost like speaking to
32:21
another. Part of our lives where we need
32:23
to come prepared in some respects to worship maybe just a
32:27
little moment in the parking lot saying Lord, you know what a
32:30
messed up day it was, but I'm going into your house.
32:33
Just cleanse me. I want to receive from you.
32:36
Just forgive me. We and our DeVos today as a team
32:38
pastor Randy had shared with us a very familiar passage.
32:41
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us
32:46
of our sins and what cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
32:52
My pastor always refer to that as the Holy Spirit soap first
32:56
John 19. But we just need to be cleansed
32:59
by the Holy Spirit as we confess our sins.
33:03
He immediately goes to work the power of cleansing and
33:07
confession and repentance. I love that how how much we need
33:12
to be cleansed verse 22. Moreover, the Lord spoke to
33:16
Moses saying, Take for yourselves quality spices, 500
33:19
shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much sweet smelling cinnamon,
33:23
250 shekels, 250 shekels of sweet smelling cane, 500 shekels
33:29
of cassia according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a
33:32
hen of olive oil. And you shall make from these a
33:35
holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art
33:40
of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing
33:44
oil, and with it you shall anoint the Tabernacle of meaning
33:48
and the ark of the testimony, the table and all its utensils,
33:52
the lampstand its utensils, and all the altar of the incense,
33:55
the altar of the burnt offering, with all its utensils and the
33:58
labor in its base. You shall sanctify them, that
34:02
they may be most holy. Whoever touch whatever touches
34:05
them must be holy. Verse 30.
34:08
You shall anoint Aaron and his sons and sanctify them, that
34:11
they may minister to me as priests.
34:14
You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, They shall be
34:17
a holy anointing oil to me throughout your generation.
34:22
It shall not be poured on man's flesh, nor shall you make any
34:25
other like it. According to its composition.
34:27
It is holy, and it shall be holy to you.
34:30
Whoever compounds any like it, whoever puts any of it on an
34:34
outsider, shall be cut off from his people.
34:37
Now, oil, we've learned already so often speaks of the Holy
34:41
Spirit in the Bible, and in ancient times, before anyone can
34:46
enter in the presence of a king, oil was poured over that person.
34:51
So these priests, according to verse 30, would need the
34:54
anointing oil on them to go forward in the service of the
34:58
Lord. So you've got that cleansing to
35:01
go into service and then you have that anointing.
35:04
Of the. Holy Spirit to go into service.
35:07
It couldn't be copied, it couldn't be poured on anyone
35:10
else, and especially couldn't be born poured on an outsider.
35:14
It was special and consecrated, a very precise formula.
35:20
Now there is a word I think today is misused and it's this
35:23
word here in Exodus. 30 anointing you hear that a lot.
35:30
And I don't know that it's always misused, but often it is,
35:33
especially in the 21st century church in the Western church.
35:37
But around the world, you'll hear that word among Christians.
35:40
And you know, just. Talk about they have the
35:43
anointing and you're expecting them to take off their code and
35:47
wave it around you or something where they have now said I am
35:53
someone more special than you because I have.
35:57
The anointing and you don't. And I want you to listen for
36:02
that. I want you to be.
36:03
Careful of that. I want you not to follow men or
36:07
women that use the word that way.
36:11
You have these guys, you know, familiar.
36:15
They're still around. They're like in 150 years old
36:17
and they're still doing the same thing.
36:19
I don't know how they do it, but they're waving there.
36:21
You know, they can move everyone and everybody falls back and
36:24
it's so convenient because they fall back to pre placed catchers
36:28
that are behind them. You're like, what are you doing?
36:31
What, what, Why would what? Where is in the Bible that says
36:33
the anointing is going to gather a group of people, swing
36:36
everything and knock everybody down and take an extra offering
36:39
from them. Where is that in the Bible?
36:41
Like, where did you get that from?
36:43
I'll tell you where they got it from.
36:44
The flesh. The flesh.
36:48
They treat the anointing like it's some special curious power
36:53
that only they have and that if you give them enough and you do
36:59
enough and you call precisely the right 800 number or you go
37:04
to just exactly the right website, that somehow they will
37:08
share their anointing with you in some small way.
37:12
Although if you give more, you will give get more anointing.
37:17
And then they sell you these little vials of Crisco oil and
37:23
call that the anointing. They buy them by the millions.
37:27
They get shipped in on containers from China and there
37:30
they are, the anointing oil of God.
37:35
I wouldn't even cook my eggs without oil man.
37:38
It's nasty, rancid stuff. Today it's not the oil, the oil.
37:46
This oil only pointed to the God of the oil.
37:51
It was precise and specific, but I want you to know it wasn't
37:54
used to take advantage of people.
37:57
It was used to set apart the priesthood.
38:00
It was used to show the power and the presence of God among
38:05
the people. The anointing oil couldn't be
38:10
copied. Did you notice you couldn't use
38:13
it any way you wanted? You couldn't formulate it and
38:17
try to copy. The formula, you couldn't use it
38:22
by imitation or trickery. And so today you wonder, well,
38:28
what is the anointing of God? First of all, we believe in
38:32
every born again believer has received the anointing of God.
38:35
You have the Holy Spirit in you. If you ask for the baptism, Holy
38:39
Spirit, the Holy Spirit comes upon you.
38:42
You have all the oil, You have all the oil.
38:47
I believe that the anointing of God is just simply His hand upon
38:50
you as a sister and a brother in Christ.
38:54
It transcends your natural abilities.
38:57
The anointing of God moves in the giftings of.
38:59
God and his supernatural power in your life that so many times
39:05
is unexplainable. It makes you different and
39:08
unique in your workplace. It makes you different and
39:10
unique in your family. It makes you different and
39:12
unique even in the body of Christ.
39:14
It's not something you can give away or sell.
39:17
Can you imagine if you tried to do that?
39:19
Like you just, you know, you're not on TV, you're not on a
39:21
televent, and you're just like, you know what?
39:23
You wake up 1 morning. I think I'm going to sell my
39:25
anointing. I am an anointed brother and I'm
39:29
going to create a ministry where I'm going to sell my anointing.
39:32
I'm going to include some sweat clothes like Paul because he
39:35
did. So I'm going to catch my sweat
39:36
and I'm going to sell my sweat. I'm going to sell the oil that I
39:39
have in the It's just, it's just so foreign to the biblical text
39:46
and to the heart of God, but unfortunately not so foreign to
39:51
the church today, to the mixed multitude, to gatherings that
39:57
are filled with believer and unbeliever alike.
40:00
The anointing of God can't be sold.
40:01
It can't be bought. You don't make money off of the
40:05
anointing of God. You serve him.
40:08
It's his power, God. Is concerned that we do his work
40:13
his. Way.
40:14
With pure motives and hearts and I get that.
40:17
I use that word myself when I just think of the anointing of
40:20
God. I just see it.
40:21
I and what I'm saying, if I see a brother and I go man, I just
40:23
see the anointing of God. What I'm saying with that is
40:26
that it's very, very clear that God is using you.
40:30
It's very clear. It's very clear because I know
40:32
you and I've known you for a while and it's very clear this
40:34
is not you. This is God's hand upon your
40:37
life. That's a powerful like you.
40:40
You walk by the priest and you would know the priests were
40:42
different than others, not just by their clothing and not just
40:45
by their service, but they would smell differently too.
40:48
They would have this beautiful smell about them.
40:50
The whole offering of the service, everything, everything
40:53
that was supposed to be poured on notice in verse 26.
40:58
Anoint that Tabernacle, so that's going to smell good.
41:01
Anoint the ark of the testimony that's going to smell.
41:03
Good. The table, all its utensils, the
41:05
lampstand, the altar. Sanctify them, that they might
41:08
be. Whoever touches them must be
41:11
holy than anoint Aaron and his sons.
41:15
There's that familiar smell among us, the smell of the
41:19
presence of God in this case was very clearly this special
41:24
beautiful smelling anointing incense and oil that's going to
41:28
be all around there, which notice now in verse 34, as we
41:32
close, the Lord said to Moses, take sweet spices, stock day and
41:37
ancia and galbamum and pure frankincense with these sweet
41:42
spices. There shall be equal amounts of
41:44
each and you shall make of these an incense, a compound according
41:49
to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure and holy.
41:54
You shall beat some of it very fine and put some before the
41:57
testimony in the Tabernacle of meeting where I will meet with
42:00
you. Don't get confused by the
42:03
smells. He says don't get confused by
42:05
the oil. Don't get confused by the
42:08
clothing. Don't get confused by the
42:11
Tabernacle, by the tent. Don't get confused by the arc of
42:14
the testimony or the labor or the water or the cleansing.
42:17
He says don't let all that get in the way.
42:19
I just want to remind you over and over.
42:20
You can count it. I didn't, but quite a few times.
42:23
He just says this is where I'm going to meet with you.
42:25
This is where I'm going to meet with you.
42:27
This is where I'm going to meet with you.
42:28
It's going to be a beautiful, set apart thing, different than
42:30
anything of the dusty, dirty, smelly desert.
42:35
It's going to be special. There's an anointing taking
42:38
place, set apart, holy, sanctified for God, he says, at
42:44
the universe. 36 It says, You shall, it shall be most holy to
42:48
you. But As for the incense which you
42:50
shall make, you shall not make any for yourselves according to
42:53
its composition. It shall be to you holy for the
42:56
Lord. Whoever makes any like it to
42:58
smell it, he shall be cut off from.
43:01
His people. So there was a special recipe
43:03
for this incense. And you can't make it for
43:06
yourself. You can't copy the work of God.
43:09
You can't duplicate the work. Of God, it's forbidden here.
43:12
That's from God, but it's also you can't do it.
43:15
It's not only forbidden, but it's impossible.
43:19
You and I, we can't copy what only God can do, even though
43:23
it's been tried and even though that we'll learn in Galatians,
43:27
he's as we have already learned. Have you, are you so foolish?
43:30
Having been begun in the spirit, you're going to try to be
43:32
complete in the flesh. It can be attempted to copy, but
43:36
it's forbidden and. It's impossible.
43:40
Don't take any incense home. It doesn't belong to you, it
43:42
belongs to the Lord. You can't just do things your
43:45
own way. You can't just take what is mind
43:48
God says and just do whatever you want with it.
43:51
And for them there is strict swift judgment.
43:54
According to verse 38, they're going to miss out on the
43:57
fellowship of others. And so now with the plans of
44:00
God, the plans that came directly from God, Moses in the
44:05
coming chapters is going to raise up of people that will be
44:08
used by God to build the Tabernacle collectively.
44:13
And one of the exciting things that I get to see in ministry is
44:15
watching ordinary people raised up to do extraordinary things.
44:20
Someone today in our prayer as a in a staff in our staff prayer
44:23
today was just talking about how this land was that we're on
44:27
right now. Worshipping God was just
44:30
tumbleweeds and and dirt and snakes and whatever else was
44:34
here for so many years. The neighborhood behind us, they
44:38
were promised that this would be a park.
44:40
They're all 10 acres here. And instead they sold it and we
44:45
bought it from a hospital because they were going to put a
44:48
urgent care here on the corner. And they're the ones that put
44:51
the land up for sale. And I thought, isn't that just
44:54
the Lord? There was an intent for this
44:56
piece of property to be used to bring physical healing, but that
45:00
wasn't far enough because God's will for this piece of property
45:03
has always been that there would be spiritual healing here.
45:05
It's just so cool. To think of what God has done.
45:09
But then as we were praying and talking about, the thought that
45:11
this brother had shared is that even though you would drive by
45:14
this piece of property, God already knew what He was going
45:17
to do with one family that would move here from California.
45:21
Now there were other families already here, gathering and
45:24
worshipping together and praying.
45:26
For a church to start. But the catalyst that God used,
45:30
the final catalyst was just one family, one man, his wife, and
45:35
three kids. God already knew what he wanted
45:38
to do with one man and one woman and three kids that He wanted to
45:44
touch your life. Now here we are 25 years later,
45:48
that God had you in his mind on this little piece of property.
45:51
Are you guys on the radio or watching somewhere?
45:53
God had in his mind what he's going to do with just one man.
45:57
So I'm not just shocked, and I mean not shocked in that way,
45:59
but exciting for me. Like it's just so beautiful to
46:02
see God use ordinary people, but I'm one of those ordinary
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people. It doesn't make me any special
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or anything better than you, except that I'm an example that
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you can follow. Is that you obey the.
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Lord, now will you do that perfectly?
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No, no, no, none of us can. Nobody's asking you to shoot for
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perfection except that when you abide in Christ, that holiness
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of God becomes yours. And the longer you abide, the
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more you enjoy. But God uses men and women.
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With faults and failures and mistakes and mishaps.
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I think of the men and women with problems and pass.
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And what has struck me so much in my own life personally lately
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as I am traveling and teaching, is that I was just going to be a
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statistic. I was just going to be another
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number of some kid that threw his life away in high school,
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teenage pregnancy, either go to prison or die some early death,
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or even worse, hurt someone else in the process.
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Just a statistic. I could tick many boxes of how
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this world eats people up like me, destroys young people like
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me with alcohol and with drugs and with pride and arrogance.
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You can't just blame the world, you know We participate in sin
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willingly, head over heels. But you know, that's not God's
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heart. It's not God's heart.
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It wasn't God's heart for me. And it's not God's heart for you
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either. God has a plan and a purpose for
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you as you align yourself with him.
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Yeah, but Ed, I'm just so I'm just so filled with failure.
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Perfect. And I just this past, you want
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to, you want to understand? Well, you know, hey, I want to,
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I want you to know that maybe your past can limit you in some
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ways, but it will not limit you by being used of God.
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Certainly there are consequences.
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We can't work on those consequences sometimes.
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But like, you don't need to let your past hold you back from
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serving God. Yeah, but, Ed, you don't
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understand. I mean, my life is filled with
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problems right now. You're perfect.
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Do you remember and jot it down. First Samuel, chapter 22.
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You should read that chapter tonight.
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But I looked it up just before we came in.
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It describes those men that were drawn to the leadership of
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David. They, they, they came to David
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at a time where they needed help the most.
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And the Bible says that they were in debt and and that they
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were distressed, that they were just, they were so in over their
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head with difficulties that they gathered to David and made him
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their king. And.
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We have a greater than David today, friends.
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We're here. We are all beat up and
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distressed and in debt and we got so much going on.
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But what is God doing? But he's making us David's
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mighty men. That's who they become.
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You know, David's mighty men. And these brothers went through
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a lot. They went through a lot.
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I don't want you to sit here today and say I'm not good
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enough because God is with you. And I don't want you to say I'm
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not smart enough because God is with you or I'm not perfect
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enough. I mean, join the club, but
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instead say here I am, Lord, anoint me, cleanse me, and use
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me for your good purposes. God chooses imperfect men and
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women and it's just so it's so wonderful to watch God raise
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people up and anoint them and cleanse them and draw out their
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giftings and then through service, just simple service,
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just the heart of Jesus. Do you want to excel in your
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spiritual growth and follow Jesus?
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According to Mark chapter 10, verse 45, it says Jesus came not
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to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for
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many. So let the verbs of Jesus be
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your verbs, serve and give as the anointing in the cleansing
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that you would change your mind and allow the Spirit to use you.
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Amen. Amen.
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Lord, thank you for all that you have in store for us.
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We don't know it yet. We don't see it yet.
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Some of us were even living out what you're doing in our lives.
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But I just I I. Pray over this.
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Church in a season of new beginnings.
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Oh, how exciting to be a part of a church that's been around for
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so long and yet you're doing a new thing.
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Thank you God for the freshness of Your Holy Spirit, for the
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anointing, for the sweet smelling aroma of the incense of
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our prayers and the anointing upon our lives.
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I pray for those that have been taken advantage and been hurt by
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charlatans and tricksters and hucksters that try to sell
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anointing and try to make merchandise of people.
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Lord, even some in our own church.
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God that you would just, you would just free them, that they
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might begin to give you freely and not with any.
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Guilt because you'll deal with the.
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Charlatans and the hucksters, that's not our business.
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Our business is to worship you, to come to you, to bring what we
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have in these last days and to give Lord, the rich, the poor,
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we're all the same. And we're so grateful for your
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faithfulness in our life tonight.
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Just as we think about the Tabernacle, just looking at
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furniture, furniture tent. But there's so.
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Much that we get to learn from the furniture to the furniture,
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the tent, because you are above them all and in them drawing
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people to yourself even as you are today, in Jesus name, Amen.
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We pray that you've been encouraged by this Bible study,
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delivered live from the sanctuary of Calvary Church.
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For prayer, call us at 87730 Grace that's 877-304-7223.
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To listen to this message in its integrity or to join us for our
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live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church
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or download our free Calvary Church app.
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Be blessed as you worship Jesus this week.