Tonight I want to talk about being a nation of priests unto the Lord. We are approaching the Holy Week in which there is much emphasis in Guatemala regarding the suffering and passion of Christ. Christ was our sacrifice for our sin but he also is our perfect High Priest who was the only one qualified to offer the eternal sacrifice once and for all time. In the Old Testament God established the nation of Israel as he had promised to Abraham in Genesis 12. When the nation was liberated from Egypt, God set in order the laws and the sacrificial system that would prepare the nation to receive the Messiah when he arrived.

The nation of Israel had a high and holy calling to represent God as his royal priests and a holy nation. The entire nation was given this privilege and responsibility.

Exo 19:3 while Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel:

Exo 19:4 You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.

Exo 19:5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;

Exo 19:6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel."

Exo 19:7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him.

Israel was a people holy to the Lord. Holy means separated for service to the Lord. When God drew the Israelites out of Egypt he had to establish a counter culture that was ruled by a new set of standards that would identify them as his people and be a reflection of his character and nature. His laws were given to protect the people, to establish a moral code and a system of justice and to prepare the generations to come with knowledge of the need for a sacrifice for their sins that would be accomplished through the Messiah.

Israel was God’s special treasure. His love for them was demonstrated from the very beginning when he chose them because of his love for them. He chose the nation of Israel to be a special people who would represent him to the pagan nations and through which the Messiah would come. He chose them not because they were a great people but out of his love for them and to honor the covenant he made with Abraham, he set them apart and gave special revelation of his nature and character.

Deu 7:6 "For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

Deu 7:7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples,

Deu 7:8 but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Deu 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,

Deu 7:10 and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face.

We like Israel have been chosen by God’s grace to be his holy people, to represent him on the earth. God has a holy calling on each of our lives. He calls us to be separated unto service to him. Our lives are not our own to do as we please but we are hand picked by God to labor in his Kingdom. We are the people God has chosen and separated unto himself. He chose us because of his love for us and we are his treasured possession. When you understand the tremendous love God has for you it will transform your life.

God loves you not because you are valuable; you are valuable because he loves you. God’s love for you is beyond your understanding, his love is beyond our comprehension because his love is infinite and our understanding is finite.

The prophet Hosea stated

Hos 11:1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.

Hos 11:2 The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols.

Hos 11:3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them.

Hos 11:4 I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.

These verses reveal the tenderness of God toward his people. The illustration God uses is one of a parent teaching their child how to walk, lifting them up by their arms to embrace them, leading them with cords of kindness and bands of love wrapped around them, easing their pain from mistreatment, lowering himself to feed them as you would a child. Many people claim the God of the OT is different from the God of the NT seen in Christ but this picture of God shows his great love, compassion, patience and care for his people in spite of their rejection of him. Do you see God like this in your life? You are his treasured possession and he delights to show his tender love toward you.

Too often we judge our value and worth by what other people say or think about us. We allow them to be our judge and often we are put down because of our imperfections. God wants us to let him be the one who judges our value and worth. The fact that he loves you makes you infinitely valuable. God did not create you to just live a short time on earth and then disappear. His love for us is eternal and we were created to live with him and experience his love for eternity. Human love often falls as we see marriages terminated for reasons that seem insignificant. Fidelity in spite of changes that may happen is not honored by all but when it is it reflects God’s love for us and his commitment to us.

Last week I mentioned the fidelity of a missionary and university president, Robertson McQuilken, to his wife Muriel. I came across a similar story that also reflects committed love in spite of difficult circumstances as told by a nurse in hospital.

Nurse: "It was a busy morning, approximately 8:30 am , when an elderly gentleman, in his 80's, presented to have stitches removed from his thumb. He stated that he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am . The nurse took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would be able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch. While taking care of his wound, we began to engage in conversation. I asked him if he had a doctor's appointment this morning somewhere else, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I then inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer Disease. As we talked, and I finished dressing his wound, I asked if she would be worried if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now. I was surprised, and asked him. "And you are still going every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?" He smiled as he patted my hand and said. "She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is." I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, "That is the kind of love I want in my life."

http://kmgarcell.blogspot.com/2011/04/kind-of-love-i-want-in-my-life.html

God’s love for us is even more committed than the highest form of human love. He is eternally committed to us to always love us with a love that will never change or fail. We are God’s special treasure and he has decided to pour his love out to us and allow us to represent him to a world that has a very warped image of true love.

God invited the entire nation of Israel to be his priest but because of the fear the people had of the Lord they asked that Moses represent them on Mt. Sinai. When the laws were given to Moses, God required the people to wear a special tassel on their garment to remind them of his Word.

Num_15:38 "Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner.

Num_15:39 And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after.

Num 15:40 So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God.

Num 15:41 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the LORD your God."

As God’s representatives on earth we have a responsibility to walk according to his ways. The Israelites had a visual reminder every time they saw the blue cord and tassel that they were to obey the laws of God which separated them from the nations. As believers today we have the written Word of God and the Holy Spirit residing in us to keep us walking in God’s ways. We have an internal guidance system within us that will keep us on track but we have to develop ears to hear the voice of the Spirit. As God’s special people we have been given His Spirit to guide us and teach us. The people in the world do not have this available to them but we do. Our lives should be very different from the world because we have the Holy Spirit residing and directing our lives as we allow him access to us. We can hinder the work of the Spirit by acting in arrogance, pride and selfishness or we can give way, yield ourselves to the Him by humbling ourselves and submitting to him. The Holy Spirit knows the mind of God and he can communicate God’s thoughts to us. As we learn to hear and recognize God’s voice we will have wisdom and understanding that is not available in the human realm. God will speak things to you that you would have never thought on your own. He will give you ideas, visions, dreams, words of knowledge, words of wisdom and discernment that will help you make decisions and give counsel to others. Often these messages comes as impressions, gentle thoughts and at times even loud words to help guide us. A pastor I who spoke at my church a couple of weeks ago told of a time he was driving his car and he heard a voice tell him to stop at a certain house and share the gospel with a person in it. He looked at the house, did not recognize whose home it was and continued driving. The voice again told him to stop and go to the house but he continued to drive away. Finally the voice came through loud and clear and said stop your car, turn around a go to the house. This time he obeyed and went to the house. He knocked on the door and a woman came to answer it. She had a pistol in her hand which startled him. The pastor introduced himself and said God had spoken to him that he was to stop at this house and share the gospel. He told the lady “I don’t know what you are going through but I know someone who can solve any problem you may have.” The lady broke down in tears and told him that she had the pistol in her mouth and was ready to pull the trigger when she heard the knock on the door and decided to see who was there instead of blowing her head off. She received the message of the gospel and gave her life to Christ and continues to follow after him today. As you grow in intimacy with the Lord you will learn to hear his voice and experience supernatural ministry.

The priesthood established by God had three groupings: Levites, priests and High Priest.

The LEVITES were the appointed servants of the court, but they were excluded from the holy Place on pain of death. All priests were Levites but not all Levites were priests.

The PRIESTS executed the ministry of the Holy Place but were as solemnly prohibited from entering beyond the veil into the Holy of Holies. The Priests were responsible to:

• Teach the people. (Leviticus 10:8-11)

• Serve as judges to resolve controversy. (Deut. 21:5)

• Offer sacrifices. (Exodus 29:38-42)

• Assess impurity. (Leviticus 13-15)

• Burn incense. (Exodus 30:7-8)

• Bless the people. (Numbers 6:22-27)

• Bless God (Deuteronomy 10:8)

• Keep the tabernacle. (Numbers 3:38; 4;16)

• Take care of the altar (Leviticus 6:8-13), the lamps, and the

showbread (Leviticus 24:1-9)

• Prepare the holy things for each days journey. (Num. 4:5-15)

• Continue the sacred fire. (Leviticus 6:12-13

• Blow the trumpets. (Numbers 10:1-10)

As a priest hood of believers today we have the responsibilities of

• teaching others how to be a disciple of Christ (Mt. 28:19-20);

• judging controversies according to God’s Word even as Paul reprimanded the Corinthian church for not judging among themselves but going to a public judge (1 Cor. 5:12, 13);

• Offering our lives as living sacrifices unto the Lord (Rom 12:1, 2);

• Keeping purity a priority (1 Jn 3.3);

• offering prayers on behalf of others (1 Tim 2.8);

• being a blessing to others through our works and words (Heb. 10:4);

• caring for our bodies that are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 3.16,17)

• keeping ablaze in the Spirit, being filled with the Holy Spirit daily (Eph. 5:18) and

• sounding the warning when danger is present (2 Cor. 13:2, 2 Thes. 3:15).

A final aspect of the priesthood is that God has placed us in a community of believers. God knows how much we need each other and how important it is for us to be a part of a loving community. People who are not linked to a body of believers separate themselves from the very environment that will produce the most growth in their lives. Through our involvement and participation in a body of believers we grow spiritually and become a visible force on the earth to carry out God’s will. There is tremendous potential when we are unified as a body. When you read about the construction of the tower of Babel you begin to understand the dynamic of a unified group.

Gen 11:1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.

Gen 11:6 And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.

God recognized the power of unity and he had to break up the culture by diversifying the languages because they were using the power for a wrong purpose. When we as a group of believers are unified to carry out God’s plans there is a tremendous amount of power released to accomplish it.

Jesus prayed for unity among all the believers.

Joh_17:11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.

The power of unity is seen in every institution and movement to bring change. I watched the video “Kony 2012” which began in the mind of one man, Jason Russell, who is trying to bring to justice the despot leader of the Ugandan group called the Lord’s Army. The leader, Kony, is not a Christian so the terminology of “the Lord’s Army” falsely represents the Lord as he abducts young children to be his sex slaves and soldiers. Efforts are now underway throughout the world to find Kony and bring him to justice to stop all the atrocities he is guilty of committing. You may or may not agree with this story or the motivations of Jason Russell but the main thing we can all agree upon is the power of bringing people together to accomplish a mission.

As I watched this video I was reminded of how much power we have as a body of believers to bring changes that God desires on the earth. This is the challenge we face as a group of believers is to be united to carry out God’s work on the earth. Too often we are individually trying to make changes or are only a small group of people trying to make a difference and we are seeing some success. But I believe we will see greater changes as we unite with other believers to truly become the Lord’s Army in this hour. We have to be united as a true body, removing walls of separation that hinder the progress of the gospel message. We have to declare war on the real enemy and unite our efforts to destroy his works. God has blessed us with technology that can be used in a positive way to accelerate his work but if we are unwilling to cooperate and unite ourselves with other believers our work will be hindered, delayed or discredited. A united church is a powerful church as it submits itself to Christ as its head and each believer submits one to another for the purpose of achieving unity. I once lived in DeRidder, LA a town of 12,000 people that had 23 churches from the same denomination in the city. This did not take into account all of the other church denominations. Are the differences so great that unity is unachievable? How much more could be done if we truly were united in the main purpose of the church of evangelizing the lost and making disciples of all the nations.

Find your priestly purpose and mission and unite yourself with other believers who are dedicated to bringing changes that God has place in your heart. Be a part of God’s plan of action to see his Kingdom come and his will be done through a community of believers united in love, willing to sacrifice and committed to the work. Don’t be on the sidelines, get in the game and give yourself wholeheartedly to work and you will see God do amazing things.