Jonathan Moore
Exodus 10:24-25, 27
Finally, Pharaoh called for Moses. “Go and worship the Lord,” he said. “But leave your flocks and herds here. You may even take your little ones with you.” “No,” Moses said, “you must provide us with animals for sacrifices and burnt offerings to the Lord our God....
....But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart once more, and he would not let them go.
If you're attempting to 'negotiate' with God, there is a strong possibility that 'hardness of heart' is at the root of your problem. Deal makers are always trying to avoid paying the full price for a costly result. You're at a disadvantage when bargaining with the Almighty! If He has it 'All', how much leverage do you have? Yield, surrender, obey. Save yourself a heap of trouble and unintended consequences!
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DAILY LECTIONARY READING
Gospel Reading John 1:19-28
19This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.” 21And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23He said,
“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’”
as the prophet Isaiah said.
24Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25They asked him, “Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” 26John answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, 27the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.” 28This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
Sadly, Christians have been trying to lay brick and mortar around God ever since He tore that veil.
Remember what Stephen said to the religious rulers who had rejected Jesus and demanded worship to continue inside the temple- where they could control it.
“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do you.” Acts 7:51
I challenge you to think about that when you gather with your church inside your buildings tomorrow, and you find yourself tempted to call it “God’s House.”
Ken Ham
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Does your church and pastor use words like temple and altar as they talk to the congregation in the context of their church?
We do have to be careful how we use such terms so people do not misunderstand. I’ve found that many non-Christians who don’t understand Christianity often think that Christians should be obeying all the Old Testament laws.
Sometimes, I think the church has used terminology that has given them that impression.
Is the church a temple? Since the cross, the definition of the word “temple” for the church has drastically changed. When Jesus cried, “It is finished” (John 19:30), the entire work of the substitutionary atonement for sin had been completed. Jesus had taken the full brunt of the wrath of God for our sin upon himself. He had always planned to do this, and every aspect and activity of the tabernacle and temple pointed to this event.
God’s presence in the midst of his people had changed. No longer did the temple signify the dwelling place of God with his people. Our access to God had radically changed and the temple was no longer necessary for sacrifice. We no longer need an altar to sacrifice animals.
As a result of Christ’s work on the cross, “The curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom” (Mark 15:38), which signified that our access to the Father had been directly given through the Son. The place of ongoing sacrifice of bulls and lambs had been replaced by the once-and-for-all sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Jesus.
The book of Hebrews provides great confirmation that the temple was a shadow or copy of the heavenly things. In other words, the temple foreshadowed the true substance that we have in Jesus Christ.
Through his work on the cross, Jesus fulfilled and thus replaced the sacrificial system—the temple system of worship and the very dwelling place of God. Our body is now considered a “temple,” a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit.