Wednesday, February 6, 2019        Day 37

Exodus 37-40            THE MERCY SEAT

To understand the topic better, let us conceive these few scriptures in our heart first.

Exodus 33:19 “And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.”

Hebrews 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

John 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

John 1:17 “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”

The peak of our walk with and enjoyment of God is grace; the out pour of grace.that was the reason the scripture says there was GREAT grace on the Apostles. That grace should be the pursuit of the children of God (not power) because grace supplies the power.

Acts 4:33 “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.”

 Looking at the last quote (John 1:17), it clearly shows that Moses was just a vessel that could be fired or disposed at any point in time. He was not the law, but just to write down what he heard. To even have the ability to hear was the grace he, himself, was privileged to have. He was just used to convey the law. His case is like the bottled water. The most important of it is the water in the bottled. The bottle was made from plastic pellets (earth), molded to shape and cleaned (sanctified), and set apart for the purpose of being filled with water (consecration). It could have been used for another liquid, but this time around, for water. And the liquid to fill it determines the thickness of the bottle wall. Now, the most important thing of this package is the water itself. Once the water is used up, the bottle is discarded into the trash and you don’t even remember the bottle again. This is exactly what happens when the new earth comes to be after this age. We shall not remember the things of this world anymore.

Isaiah 65:17 “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.”

Going back to our analogy. what the bottler wants to get to you, the consumer, is the water, which signifies the grace from God.

Moses never made the law, he was just a conveyor. His duty was to deliver as it is. And that was what he did. When he went into error, he was removed. He was not weak in activities nor did his old age affect his work; just a little defect affected his service. This is not to downgrade his relevance, but to emphasize his humanity, frailty and dispensability as a vessel.

The first quote, Exodus 33:19, makes us to understand that GRACE and MERCY belongs only to God’s discretion. And these are our satisfactions. No one can give these to us, except God. A man of God can tell you, “your sins are forgiven” after confession because His word says He is faithful and just to forgive us when we confess. But no man of God can proclaim mercy and grace on anyone, except Jesus Christ who was full of grace and truth.

Our discussion is the MERCY SEAT. The first mention of it was in Exodus 25. Please, note the underlined for emphasis.

Exodus 25:16 “And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.”

Exodus 25:17-22 “And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. 18 And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. 20 And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. 21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. 22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.”

The Law was the core of Moses’ calling and that is the reason John 1:17 says. “the law was given by Moses,…” It was to prepare the people to meet God because their spirit was dead to receive from God. The environment of meeting was designed by God, and the pattern given to Moses. Each time, God referred Moses to what He showed him on the Mount.

Exodus 25:9 “According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.”

That pattern must be strictly followed. This is why we must all be submissive to the vision carrier in any ministry. If you are not comfortable with the agenda, politely excuse yourself and your disengagement must be mutually cordial.

Hebrews 13:1 “Let brotherly love continue.”

Any disengagement that is void of this, is not accepted. But if they refuse to honor your polite disengagement, tell God to give you direction. That aside.

Not only was the design shown to Moses, the type of material for each instrument together with the precise measurements were given to him. There should not be any mis-match. To avoid this, God ensured He filled some people with the spirit to do the craftwork in line with the pattern. God’s work cannot be done in the flesh; it must be by His spirit. Attempting to do it according to the zeal of the flesh is what causes sickness, frustration, envy, jealousy, rivalry and anger. For instance, no one could contest Bezaleel, rather, he taught some people. And he was not in rivalry with any one. May the Lord fill us for purpose.

The tabernacle has two major courts; the inner and outer courts. In the outer court was the altar of burnt offering, while the inner court has the altar of incense. The inner court consists of two apartments; the holy place and holy of holies. The altar of incense was in the holy place together with the table of showbread and lamp stand. The holy of holies is the main thing of this tabernacle and all that was in it was the ark of testimony bearing the mercy seat; i.e. the mercy seat was laid on the ark of testimony in such a way that you will not know they were two different entities. This inner court is very important in our discussion because we are going to apply it to our spiritual lives eventually.

The Ark of testimony bore wheels made from four golden rings which made it to be able to be moved to anywhere. If it was to be moved, it must be covered with veil. The material for ark was wood overlaid with pure gold in and out, Exodus 25:10-12. The ark was to hold the testimony of God, which is the law as given to Moses.

Deuteronomy 31:26 “Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.”

The ark of testimony is the same as the Ark of the covenant. Please have the following in mind, the Ark was;

1. Made of wooden material.
2. Overlaid with pure gold
3. Having golden rings as wheels to move
4. Designed to hold the Book of the Law.

Which means, it was a mixture of wooden material and pure gold.

The mercy seat, on the other hand, was made of pure gold and two cherubs wrought one on each side of the mercy seat facing one another. This was placed on the Ark of testimony. It had the same base perimetral measurement as the Ark upon which it sits. The mercy seat and the ark of testimony are the most important of the holy of holies.

Exodus 25:21-22 “And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. 22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.”

Attached to each end of the ark was a cherubim facing each other. The mercy seat has no mixture of wooden material with it; just pure gold and nothing else. Purity is the content of the material used for the mercy seat. This was God’s demand in the building of the mercy seat. If it was short of God’s specification, He wouldn’t come down to speak with Moses above it. This means, the mercy seat was the element to receive God between two cherubs whose wings were over the mercy seat. God will not commune in the Ark of testimony; it was meant for another thing. Only the MERCY SEAT receives God. These two entities, the Ark of testimony and the Mercy Seat must meet God’s specification or standard. As soon as the work of the tabernacle was completed, the glory of the Lord descended on it to the extent that none could enter the tabernacle.

Exodus 40:33-34 “And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work. 34 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.”

Please note that it was the cloud that covered the tent of the congregation while God’s glory filled the tabernacle. It is important for us to note this. (cloud represents the presence of the Lord and the glory is the grace that fills us.). They never moved until the glory and the cloud departs and this was usually after they had received instructions for direction for the walk and work with God.

What is the implication of this in our Christian walk and work with God? We need to break it down for us to understand this.

1. Outer court: representing our body
   1. Altar of burnt offering in the outer court represents out religious work outside our body. Sacrifices for our sinfulness
2. Holy place: representing our soul
   1. Altar of incense in the holy place represents our religious obligations such as giving and worship to God in our soul.
   1. Lamp stand is the written word of God, Psalm 119:130/ Matthew 5:15
3. The holy of holies
   1. Ark of testimony/ covenant is our heart; an aspect of our spirit which receives revelation, vision and the spoken word from God.
   1. Mercy seat is our spirit; an organ in man that receives God and communes with Him. Jesus says true worshippers worship God in spirit and in truth.
   1. Cherubs is our faith; faith is a spiritual factor and it is a gift of the Holy Spirit.
   1. Glory of God is the out poured grace; only through God’s mercy
4. Cloud represents God’s presence.

The heart of man is not the same as the spirit of man. The spirit is the organ that receives the Spirit of God; that organ is what we use to commune with the Holy Spirit. When it was dead, we were dead spiritually and couldn’t receive from or communicate with God. But through salvation the spirit was revived. This spirit sits on the aspect of man called, the heart. The heart bears or carries the spirit of man and it is meant to hold the light (or revelation) received in the spirit of man. The spirit doesn’t store, the heart stores the revelation. In most cases, it was confused with the spirit of man, just as the mercy seat has the same base perimetral measurement with the ark of testimony. It has a mixture of wooden material and pure gold. The wooden material is a representation of our vulnerability. It can be attacked. Just as termites attacks wooden materials, so demons attack our hearts.

Psalms 24:4 “He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. 5 He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”

It is expected that the heart of man must be as pure as gold for genuine revelation, void of deceit and vanity; the hand not engaged in vain things and the heart not devising deceit.

That aspect of life is what demons go for to confuse us. Deep deliverance should aim at the heart. The best weapon of deliverance when it gets to that stage is the word of God. The Spirit of the uses the written word of God as sword for deliverance.

Mercy seat is, therefore, the spirit of man upon which God pours our His grace. This grace is the one that supplies power and light to the world. What we should cherish as Christians is grace. It comes by ensuring constant fellowship with God. Our relationship must be intact. This is what Christianity is all about. The mercy seat is the throne of grace. It is a spiritual thing; we worship in the spirit and fellowship in the spirit. We must first obtain mercy to find grace. Without mercy, there is no grace. Grace is the supply to meet our needs.

Hebrews 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

May the Lord give more of His grace in the name of Jesus Christ. AMEN

Supo Abayode

MFM, Delaware, USA

Monday, February 5, 2019 Day 36

Exodus 34-36            THE SIN OF AARON

The first person to be consecrated after exit from Egypt in God’s holy order of service was Aaron and it was a ceremony. That was favor. He never prayed for it, neither did he fasted for it. It was the Lord’s choice. Technically, there were other people who were filled with the Spirit of God. They were only filled for the construction of the Tabernacle and not for the holy order. Such as Bezaleel who was assigned the construction work and others assigned to make the consecration garment, Exodus 28:3. But Aaron was filled with the spirit of the assignment of the holy order in service to the Lord as a covenant to his generation. Not one could do the work and be accepted before the Lord, except Aaron and his sons. Any other person will be regarded as a transgressor of the law and abomination to the holy order. It is therefore a wise thing for us to remain in that which we were called and not deviate.

1 Corinthians 7:20 “Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.”

There is one thing we must know. Whatever God initiates will require the Spirit of God to interpret it. This includes your destiny. Your destiny is God’s blueprint for your life and you will need to have the Spirit of God in you to be able to read the blueprint. The devil will make serious efforts to debar you, but with the Spirit of God, you will win; Joseph won his own battle against the antagonists of the blueprint of his destiny by the spirit of God. He was the first person to bear the evidence of that Spirit after He was mentioned at creation in Genesis 1

Genesis 41:38 “And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?”

You may receive prophecies upon prophecies concerning your destiny, you will need the Spirit of God yourself to realize it. You must be born of the Spirit to receive the grace to be led.

Aaron was under pressure from the children of Israel. He suggested how to make the gods to them, Exodus 32:1-6. This grieved God for Aaron to use the grace given to him to raise an altar and addressed the molten image as the LORD. More grievous was the FEAST TO THE LORD. The origin of the FEAST TO THE LORD was God Himself. He initiated it as an ordinance at the Passover and to be kept as a memorial.

Exodus 12:14 “And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.”

Therefore, Aaron sinned in these wise:

1. He was consecrated to the holy order after the construction of the Tabernacle, but he started earlier without the priests’ garment and without being commissioned.
2. He attributed an idol to God
3. He transferred the feast of the Lord to an idol.

Exodus 32:5 “And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.”

Exodus 32:35 “And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.”

Aaron was in trouble of the wrath of the Lord for leading the children of Israel to error. God wanted to destroy him, but the intercession of Moses saved him.

Deuteronomy 9:19-20 “For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also. 20 And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also the same time.”

You will be committing the sin of Aaron if you:

1. Have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and still hallowed other gods as equal to the living God.
2. Celebrate feasts to other deities.
3. Make sacrifices which you are told to do by some fake prophets.
4. Counsel the young in faith to error.
5. Minister out of the jurisdiction God has given you.
6. Visit any shrine and bow before any unholy deity.
7. Eat food sacrificed to idols.
8. Do not follow the leading of the Holy Spirit; but you follow the voice of the people.

Luke 8:8 “And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit a hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

Revelation 2:7 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”

May the Lord open our inner ears for us to hear what the Spirit says in the name of Jesus Christ. AMEN

Supo Abayode

MFM, Delaware, USA

Keep the fire of prayer burning on the altar of LOVE.

Monday, February 4, 2019 Day 35

Exodus 31-33            CONSECRATION

After exiting Egypt and crossing the Rea Sea, God wanted to set up His holy order for the children of Israel; a manner in which they had to serve Him in an acceptable. We should remember that the request from Pharaoh was that they should serve him.

Exodus 8:1 “And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.”

Sequence of events was as follows

1. God proved Himself as the all sufficient God. The request of the body was met to prove them.
   1. Quenched their thirst, and
   1. Satisfied their hunger.
2. They were sanctified.
3. The law was given; laws about
   1. Making an altar
   1. Servants
   1. Property
   1. Personal actions
   1. Sabbath
4. Covenant affirmation
5. Preparation for building the tabernacle and offering
6. Design of the tabernacle and its components
7. Design for the priest’s garment and consecration
8. Consecration of priests

Consecration is an event of transfer of nature. In explaining this, let’s look at an Airplane. It is designed with lots of functions in it. There are series of systems running in the plane. The co-working of these systems makes it to be its design. But the truth is that, not until the pilot sits and activates the systems and instructs the plane, even though passengers are seated in it, the plane will remain itself and go nowhere. In essence, the mind of the pilot is expressed through the systems and functions to make the plane perform the desire of the pilot. The pilot cannot fly by himself in the air; he needs the plane. The plane, on the other hand, cannot go anywhere by itself, it needs the mind of the pilot. The plane is, therefore, a vessel to convey the intention of the pilot. If the plane is faulty, the pilot will not fly. And if the pilot is not available, the plane remains dormant and inactive. But the pilot’s intention makes the business. The plane should be ready at all times. Readiness is what the pilot accepts before flying. The systems and functions are just like the desires and intentions of a man; they must be ready. In the case of the airplane, they are subject to the pilot’s directives. Everything about it is submitted to the will, intentions and desires of the pilot and it must continue, otherwise, they fall apart, Amos3:3. With this simple analogy, we can now talk of consecration.

Consecration is a service and not until one realizes he or she is a vessel, consecration becomes vague to such.

Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”

Our consecration starts with us realizing that we are just earthen vessels, just like the airplane. Though we have desires, intentions and wills, consecration changes the use of these attributes of us when they are submitted. Our submission for use is the personal consecration. As vessels, what occupies us gives value to us on earth. When God consecrates, He fills, occupies the vessel with His Spirit and expresses Himself through the vessel. What Spirit? The Spirit of the assignment; God’s assignment. By this His nature is transferred into us. As earthen vessels we have the right to live here on earth. But God, as Spirit, will need an earth vessel to operate and express Himself here on earth. The vessel is a sacrifice and, therefore, all the desires, intentions and wills must be laid on the altar and totally submitted for the use of the spirit filling us. Every consecration has its own basic and specific assignment.

Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”

You may desire to be a pastor, for instance, and you start attending pastoral classes. And after graduation, you are giving a degree and decorated to wear collars and minister. The truth of it is that, you are only fulfilling your desire; it is not the same as consecration. You desire can change on the face difficulties or the hardship that follows answering the call.

Luke 14:26-33 “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. … 33 So likewise, whoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”

It is not by your desire, but by readiness to follow the will of the God who fills with the spirit of assignment. Do we say it is wrong to be a pastor? No! it is not wrong to be a pastor; the desire or motive may the wrong. The God who consecrates has the decision of what He wants to use you for. What then do we do? Good question. Readiness to make your walk with God perfect; build a genuine relationship with God.

Genesis 17:1-2 “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.”

The interaction between God and Abram was not based on Abram’s desire, intent and will but based on the fact that He wanted a vessel for His own desire, intention and will to be realized. And from the scripture, God demands Abram to submit all of him to His ways. Abram probably wanted to be something else in life. Jeremiah wanted to be something else in life. Moses wanted to be something else in life. But God has work to do and needed a vessel to get the work done. The qualified vessel must submit all of him/her to His will. He then fills the vessel with the spirit of the assignment. Abram was even ready to let his long-awaited son, Isaac, go, just to keep his relationship with God; he cherished that relationship so much as to be ready to lose everything to maintain it.

Hear this, beloved, whatever qualifies you for consecration must be retained to sustain you in the consecration, 1 Corinthians 7:20-24. If it is praying and bible study, you must continue in it after consecration experience. If it is charity work, continue in it. The most important thing is for you to continue in the consecration. In case of Abram, for instance, God said Abram should continue the maintenance of the consecration; he should not disconnect. The moment he starts to feel okay and treats the consecration with levity, he will begin to fall away.

Aaron and his sons were consecrated, not by their desires, but by divine ordination and sanctification. The basic purpose of consecration is to be set apart for specific work for God. Since it is void of your personal desire and wish, it means your relationship with God is the key to consecration.

Exodus 29:42-44 “This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee. 43 And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory. 44 And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest’s office.”

It is a continual sacrifice to the Lord. arguably, consecration is, therefore, the filling of a vessel with the spirit of the assignment.

Exodus 28:3 “And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.”

Exodus 31:2-3 “See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: 3 And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,”

That spirit of assignment is the treasure that adds value to the earthen vessel.

2 Corinthians 4:7 “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”

Everything we do after genuine consecration must be of the Lord. He must be expressed through us and not us displaying our ability which leads to unacceptable rivalry, envy, jealousy and intimidation. Our pride, ego and arrogance must go and be replaced with submissiveness, humility and obedience. Everything that will draw us back from the course of the consecration must go.

The rich man asked Jesus what it takes to enter the kingdom of God. Jesus told the ruler of the conviction behind the ruler’s question or belief; obeying the commandments or, better put, his religion. But Jesus told him, that is good, but the real requirement was to do away with his pride, ego, self-confidence and other distractions and follow the Lord’s leading on daily basis. He was not ready to do that.

Matthew 19:21 “Jesus said to him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”

Here, he had a desire. But the desire changed its route when an instruction was given to him. A man of desire cannot receive consecration. It is for a man of submission and obedience to divine leading. This is the more reason God instructed Moses that the Levites should have no allotted plot and that God is their inheritance. No distraction.

Deuteronomy 18:13 “Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.”

Beloved, the best grace is to be filled with the spirit of the assignment. This is the highest level of divine favor. Joseph had it which Pharaoh saw in him; no struggles.

May the Lord’s mercy advocate for our consecration in the name of Jesus Christ. AMEN

Supo Abayode

MFM, Delaware, USA

Keep the fire of prayer burning on the altar of Love

Sunday, February 3, 2019   Day 34

Exodus 28-30            THE PRIEST AND HIS OFFICE

A Priest is an appointed person who has been officially conferred or granted the right to perform holy orders. The responsibilities of a priest are great. It will require a right (authority) to the office before this could be done, otherwise death is the risk.

Exodus 28:35 “And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he die not.”

The right to:

1. The holy place
2. The holy things
3. The holy responsibilities

Holiness is God’s attribute and cannot be compromised. Because of the fall off man, sin and iniquity have been the wall between man and God’s presence. In Exodus 19:22, before the receiving of the Ten Commandment, the priests were requested to sanctify themselves before they could come before the Lord. As at that time, they operated without an office. All they did was to sanctify them; no ordination or consecration. For these to take place, God had to give Moses divine order to follow; an office had to be created. The symbol of authority is the garments and the inscription. That inscription acts as the identification card chip to access the holy of holies.

Exodus 28:36 “And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.”

An office is a position given to a person to carry out a service with authority.

The responsibilities of a priest as given to Aaron are as follows:

1. To minister before the Lord, Exodus 28:1
2. To occupy and function in the capacity of errand boy to the prophets
3. To bear the names of the various groups of the congregation for a memorial, Exodus 28: 12.
4. To bear the judgment of the congregation upon his heart, a burden to pray for, Exodus 28:30.
5. To bear the iniquity of the holy things which are hallowed in their gifts. In other words, receive all the different offerings and make sacrifices of them; burnt offering, sin offering, etc.

Their garment is to be made by God had filled with His Spirit also so that they could bear the authority of heaven.

Exodus 28:2 “And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.”

That heavenly authority is the glory of their calling. That is what secures them. Without that, any function in that capacity could result in dangerous venture. It becomes the mark on them to warn the rage from the dark kingdom.

One may have the zeal to minister before the Lord, the glory makes the difference between the zealous and the consecrated. The garments are referred to as holy garments. The holiness makes it to be a spiritual garment. Some have these spiritual holy garments on them even though they have not been ordained by man. Heaven still backs their services up in their humility.

Regarding priesthood, a priest can be,

1. Called by man
2. Call himself
3. Called by the congregation.
4. Called by Satan.

They can send priests out for assignments; the glory of the Lord makes the difference between the one having the heavenly approval and others.

Numbers 17:8 “And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds.”

May the mark of the Blood of Jesus Christ be upon us for favor and protection in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

Supo Abayode

MFM, Delaware, USA

Saturday, February 2, 2019 Day 33

Exodus 25-27            OFFERING: GOOD MOTIVE ADDS VALUE

The blessing of the Lord is unquantifiable, invaluable, immeasurable and inestimable. It is not an element of happiness but of fulness of joy. It elates the spirit of man. It is a thing of the spirit with enduring physical evidences. It outlives the recipient. It adds value to material possession. It affects all aspects of live. Money cannot be used to quantify. The greatest experience of this blessing in internal peace. This is the reason the way of the blessing should be taught appropriately without any selfish ambition.

Exodus 24:12 “And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.”

The children of Israel have their role to play and the priests have their responsibilities in the covenant. The prophets also have their part to play.

In Exodus chapter 24, you read of the levels of leadership set by God.

1. The Prophet
2. The Priests: Aaron, Nadab and Abihu
3. The minister
4. Elders of Israel

Though they all saw the glory of God, but it was from afar. Only Moses, the Prophet could get nearer. Seeing a glory is not the same as hearing His voice. One could be on the mountain, but not hear the Lord. the priests did eat and drink, but Moses was engulfed in the cloud of God.

Moses ran some courses or subjects in God’s classes. These are:

1. Types of offerings
2. The architectural design of the Ark
3. The design of the Table
4. The design of the candlestick
5. The design of the Tabernacle
6. The design of the Altar
7. The design of the court of the Tabernacle
8. The use of oil
9. The design of the priests’ garments
10. Consecration
11. The altar of incense
12. How to conduct Anointing service
13. Human resources; appointment of workers such as Bezaleel
14. The Sabbath

All in the space of 40 days and 40 nights. Each subject was well detailed, and it will take a great deal of patience to receive it; this is the type of spirit that is useful to the Lord. a meek and gentle spirit.

In the school of the Almighty, orderliness and sequence is the pattern. This is a thing the called must first realized. As for Moses, the first subject was the offering. in this subject, the first topic was, “WILLINGNESS”

Exodus 25:1-2 “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.”

Willingness is a disposition or inclination of the heart to do something without any expectation attached to it. That is, not compelled to give for reward. For instance, if an influential man came to town for business and I offered him a room in my house, my gesture, though kind, could be influenced by the personality of the man and a motive rooted in personal gain in hosting such. On the other hand, if I saw a homeless man on the street, and I am inclined to get the man comfortable. This is might not be motivated for any gain, but just to see him of the street. The rich man could get a room for himself in the hotel. My gesture towards the rich man cannot weigh equally with that towards the homeless man. That of the homeless man weighs more. Holy Willingness is weighed by motive. Our offering is weighed by the motive behind it.

Jesus practical explained it in the synagogue whilst He walked here on earth.

Luke 21:1-4 “And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. 2 And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. 3 And he said, Of a truth I say to you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: 4 For all these have of their abundance cast in to the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.”

The widow, unlike the rich men, regarded her offering as a faith obligation. The rich men wanted fame and recognition; that was there reward. Their gifts were not accepted before God.

God told Moses, my offering must be from a willing heart and not from a cajoled heart. In most cases, cajolery is used to maneuver an unwilling heart. It does not mean that the heart is of good spirit even after it has been persuaded. A good spirit is of a cheerful heart. This is what God wants when it comes to giving to him. A cajoled heart can end up being sorrowful; God cannot owe anyone.

Proverbs 15:13 “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.”

When a spirit is broken, such loses contact with God.

2 Corinthians 9:7 “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”

Listen, beloved, when a heart grudges after being compelled or cajoled into giving, such hearts send curses along with the gift. And sorrowfulness of heart is a concern to God.

Ministers must know that cajoling into giving makes offerings unacceptable to the Lord. Cajoling carries lies with it. It is deceptive. God is not a gambler as to be seen as one who wouldn’t bless unless you give money. What ministers need to do is to teach them of willingness and not to cajole.

He gave Moses the list of what could be brought into the house of God, Exodus 25: 3-7. And the purpose was to build a sanctuary for the Lord; not for riotous living like the prodigal son, Luke 15:13.

Exodus 25:8-9 “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. 9 According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.” God who gives the vision will always give the provision proportional to the vision. There is not any need for cajoling. Once cajoling comes into funding a vision, He removes His hand even though it still looks as if He is there. Those with willing hearts are those He has chosen. He chose Bezaleel by His Spirit

Supo Abayode

MFM, Delaware, USA