"AVENUES
OF GRACE"
From the beginning of the Hebrews recorded
history there has always been a priest unto God. From Melchizedec, who
ministered during the first years of Hebrew history, to the priesthood of the
Christian believer at the present time, God has always had His representatives
on earth providing "avenues of grace" for those to whom they
ministered.
This Melchizedec is a very interesting
character. He was the forerunner or type that our Lord Jesus would take on in
His ministry as The Great High Priest of all ages. "Thou art a priest
after the order of Melchizedec".
God pronounced this to the Lord Jesus in
Psalm 110, the Psalm of The Priest/King, regarded by many to be the pinnacle of
the Psalter. It is the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament quoted directly
by our Lord when He stopped the mouths of the Pharisees.
In the process He proved to all of the nay
saying critics of our time, proving that this Psalm is an authentic Psalm
authored by David. This usage of Psalm 110 by our Lord also adds unparalleled
credibility to the accuracy of the Old Testament narrative in Genesis 14:18-20.
Hebrews chapter seven also records this
significant ministry, the priesthood of Melchizedec. He
"Met Abraham returning from the slaughter of
the kings, and blessed him. To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all;
first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King
of Salem, which is King of peace; Without father, without mother, without
descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto
the Son of God; abides a priest continually."(Hebrews 7:1-3).
The Scripture goes on to further emphasize
the greatness of this mystical man, as he received tithes of Abraham and
additionally of Levi himself as he was represented physically and spiritually
in the loins of Abraham!
In contrast to the Levitical priesthood,
the Priesthood of Christ which is after the order of Melchizedec is far
superior. The Levitical priesthood was based on genealogy, it was weak and
unprofitable, it had a succession of many priests, it was only for one nation,
the high priest had to offer for his own sins, and it did not provide for a
clean conscience.
The Priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ is
based on the power of God, the power of His Blood is most capable, strong and
profitable, only One Priest is necessary, His Priesthood is for all
people/nations, our Priest the Lord Jesus Christ is sinless, and His Blood does
have the ability to cleanse consciences.
His offering Himself "without spot to God", "once in the end of the
world...to put away sin by the Sacrifice of Himself...to bear the sins of
many" is the great foundation Stone upon which we rest. The price has
been paid, the Sacrifice has been given, our sins are forever under the Blood
of our Saviour, this Great High Priest unto God, the Lord Jesus Christ!
Although these facts are very important to
the believer, there is much more on this subject of the priesthood, and
specifically the subject of the priesthood of the believer. Our Lord Jesus,
when He opened up the way into the presence of God for all His people,
established a new priesthood, a "royal
priesthood”… a "kingdom of priests", made up of each and every
person that experiences the new birth through faith in His Blood.
Yes, every person that is "born again
the Bible way" and becomes a member of God's kingdom, is given the
privilege and authority to minister to God and man at the very Throne of
Heaven! He automatically becomes a king/priest unto God!
God announced through Moses to the whole
nation of Israel, at the
foot of Mount Sinai, during their first
encounter with Him as a gathered nation to hear His Word, that they would be a "kingdom of priests" if they
kept the conditional command to "keep
My covenant". But, they did not! (Exodus 19:1ff)
It was not until our Great High
Priest/King the Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law, and offered up Himself for
our transgessions against the Law, did God again announce by the Holy Spirit
through the Apostle Peter, that there would again be a "royal priesthood" (I Peter 2:9), a "kingdom of
priests" (Revelation 5:10) as the Apostle John also penned.
Here then lies the basis for us as
"Born again the Bible way" Christians to claim our great, no not just
great, but it is our high and holy calling, to serve the Glorious King of Kings
and Lord of Lords in this consecrated capacity!!
This calling is unique, in that it can be
filled by each and every believer. It is within this calling that we find our
esteem, God's esteem. The value He places on His king/priests unto God cannot
be estimated! He loves us and gave
Himself for us, so that we could minister to Him in this far too significant
office of the King to just be called "great".
Why make such a fuss out of this one
simple Bible truth? Because the priesthood and the "Avenues of Grace" it supplies are
the missing ingredients we need to revive our spiritual lives, they are the
missing ingredients we must apply to revive the lives of others through
intercessory prayer, they are the missing ingredients necessary for the revival
of our local church, our local community, our own country! (II Chronicles
7:14).
Without this work of the priest unto God,
His Hands are literally tied without His instruments, His "Avenues of Grace", His
king/priests, the ones He has called into this powerful ministry, those that
provide Spiritual roadways for His power, His precious Holy Spirit to work in
the lives of the saved and lost alike!
Yes, it is important, to have the
privilege of spending quality time at the Throne of the King! It is an
awe-inspiring duty we as His chosen saints have, to receive from Him the orders
for the days march into the battlefields of the world where all authority is
His, where His Plan is being worked out through His king/priests, receiving
directions from Him as to who to pray for and when, and why, moment by moment
communion with the King! What could be better?
Yes, it's important, because it's an
INCREDIBLY important job to God! His only Son died to fulfill His calling as
the Supreme Sacrifice, becoming our Great High Priest in the process! He was
the only one Who could satisfy the righteous demands of His Father, in order to
atone, or pay the price for our sin debt, and the sins of all generations
past!
He, the Lord Jesus Christ was the only one
Who was an Acceptable Sacrifice, that would fulfill all the requirements of
God's Holy Character and all It's demands in dealing with the sin of mankind!
It was at the Throne of Heaven where the God Man Jesus offered Himself for the
penalty of our sin. And, this is where we as king/priests establish our daily
relationship with Him, at the Throne!
At the Throne it is easy, better say
easier, to "die to self", to "keep our bodies under", to
"crucify the flesh"! Yes at the Throne everything becomes
"easier" for we literally receive His strength, His power by the Holy
Spirit through faith, to tackle each days "battle orders" and then
"arise" and go on for Him!
Yes at the Throne of Grace, the Lord lets
us in on His Plan for our day, so that we might minister to Him with an all
encompassing effectiveness, executing His desires and not our own. It is at
this same Throne, where we receive mercy for our past failures, and grace for
our coming days orders.
It is at the Throne where we call upon God
and He sets up our Divine Appointments as it were for the day we are about to
enter! As king/priests unto God what more could we ask? So, as in all Spiritual
work for the Lord, we as priests unto God must meditate on our calling, putting
ourselves in the right frame of mind, recognizing the all important task we
have been called to fulfill, for there are jobs that we alone can fill,
requests that we alone have just the right capacity to meet the Lord's needs,
in each specific area He gives us to minister His grace.
Just think of all the lost opportunities
we have passed by in the years since we were saved. Better yet, think of all
the furture opportunities the Lord will give us, if only we are prepared to
meet them. Preparation! To some of us who might be consumed with the "real
quick" syndrome, also known as the "rush,rush malady",
preparation can be an "eleven letter word".
Yes, being a disciple of the King takes
daily painstaking preparation! But we must recognize the painstaking
preparation made by our Lord as He entered into the Holiest, with His Own
Blood, to come before the God of Heaven with His Holy Sacrifice! Our sacrifices
must also be determined by the Lord, if we are to please Him Who rules all
eternity! You might be saying "What is this, some legalistic, Old
Testament jargon?"
No, the Bible has complete instructions
for us as believers, to offer up spiritual sacrifices to God, preparing us to
enter His Throneroom:
1. The sacrifice of
righteousness (Psalm 4:5, 51:19) Our righteousness must
be found in Christ, not
"works of righteousness which have done"
2. The sacrifice of joy
(Psalm 27:6) Our joy will then also be found in Christ
(Romans 5:11)
3. The sacrifice of a broken spirit (Psalm
51:17) Humility must be present,
in the presence of the
King
4. The sacrifice of
thanksgiving (Psalm 50:14, Hebrews 13:15) "In
everything
give thanks"
5. The sacrifice of praise
(Hebrews 13:15) Continual Exaltation of the King
6. The sacrifice of doing
good (Hebrews 13:16) Actions of Kindness
7. The sacrifice of communicating
(Hebrews 13:16, Philippians 4:8) Giving,
Sharing in
Attitude/Actions
8. The sacrifice of uplifted
hands (Psalm 141:2, I Timothy 2:8) Blessing
the God of Heaven in
Solitary Worship
9. The sacrifice of the body
(Romans 12:1) The Reasonable Sacrifice
10. The sacrifice of martyrdom
(Philippians 2:17, II Timothy 4:6) The Only
Privileged Sacrifice
Some of these sacrifices can only be
performed once during the believer's walk with the Lord. However, many of these
are daily "rituals", and must be included in our "dying
daily" battle with the world, the flesh, and the devil!
If not daily, it would do us good to
remember just how our righteousness was "bought" with the Precious
Blood of Christ! Reviewing our testimony and what the Lord has done in our
lives will never "block the door" to the Throne-room of our
Sovereign!
As a matter of fact, it might be the only
way into "the Holiest" for some of us!
Remembering
His great, all encompassing love, and the overpowering grip our sin had on us
before we were saved could well bring us into His presence once again, at the
foot of the Cross! (Romans 2:4b)
This vision of our Lord in His darkest
hour, suffering for my sin, always seems to bring me to repentance, breaking my
spirit, causing me to rejoice in Him, knowing His righteousness is mine,
blessing the God of Heaven for His mercy to me, by sending Christ to die for my
sin! It is from this position that we go on to fulfill the other Spiritual
Sacrifices listed above.
These sacrifices precede our entering in
to commune with God at His Throne. The putting on of His armor, found in
Ephesians 6:10-18 must follow after this time of worship and instruction giving
by the Lord.
The putting on of the Armor of God is in
essence, the putting on of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are commanded to "put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
make not provision to fulfill the lusts thereof"(Romans 13:14). This
positive side of our daily entrance into the battlefield is a must if we are to
"get the victory" for Him!
These multiple "put-ons" we are
commanded to do,"put on the Lord
Jesus Christ", "put on the
whole Armor of God", "put
on the new man" can be accomplished by the Spirit through the Word.
Yes, faith is the victory and the avenue
by which we must apply this Armor of God, by faith putting on the Lord Jesus
Christ, putting off the old man and putting on the new, allowing the Lord to
walk within us, as He clothes our earthly "tabernacles", we put on
His Heavenly Tabernacle, giving Him the opportunity to accomplish the
supernatural work through us that only He can perform! Gideon in his
supernatural encounter with the God of Heaven was literally clothed by the
"Spirit of the Lord"
(Judges 6:34)
These seemingly complex and mystical
Truths,"put off...put on"
will become a "faith reality" when we allow the Word of God to saturate
our entire being, building the simple faith required to believe the simple
commands our Lord has given to us, allowing Him to do the work, while all we do
is simply obey His voice and expect Him to do the rest!
This simple childlike expectation is what
faith is made of! "The substance of things hoped for...", hope is expecting
God to do what He said He would! Just
like David, who with reverential boldness, expected God to "do as Thou
hast said" (II Samuel 7:25).
This kind of attitude concerning God's
promises on our behalf will not only bless the heart of God, but it will cause
our faith to grow in leaps and bounds. (To find the results of David's attitude
of boldness in prayer read II Chronicles 6:1-17, the reply of Solomon his son,
as he too reviews and expects God to continue to fulfill His Promises to his
father David).
This attitude of boldness, we as
king/priests unto God must have as we enter into the Throne-room of the God of
Heaven. Remembering our access into the Holiest was made possible by our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ, when He suffered and died shedding His Blood on the
Cross of Calvary!
Our boldness to enter must be based on
this most momentous event in the history of man! What an event! The most
spectacular, awe-inspiring event in the history of the world! The very first
thing to occur at the point of our Lord's death was the rending of the veil in
the temple, opening up the way for us into the Holiest! Can you see it? Outside
the city on Calvary's hill Jesus cries
"It is finished!"
Immediately the veil in the temple is
rent, torn from top to bottom, a thick multi-layered curtain made of animal
skins, was supernaturally torn open breaking down the "wall of partition", opening up the way for all who knew
Him as personal Lord and Saviour, and all of the saints to come, the great
company of priests who would follow for the next two millennia!
Imagine this scene with me, you are the
Roman centurion, It's totally dark, it has been dark now for almost three
hours, the sun has supernaturally been kept from shining, there is this Man
hanging there on the Cross, Who it is claimed by many to be the King of the
Jews, as a matter of fact there is a sign saying this very thing in three
different languages! There must be something to it?
And now He cries out, giving up the ghost,
commending His spirit to His Father, and the earth shudders and quakes with a
great convulsion, graves are opened, there are "dead men" walking,
making their way into Jerusalem, the city of God, and you, a Roman soldier
witnessing all of these supernatural phenomena, are being overtaken with these
literal earth shaking events exclaim:
"Truly, this was the Son of God".
You have now truly seen with the heart, the True Light, and you are
miraculously saved! What a testimony!
All of these amazing occurrences have
unfolded in the Holy Plan of God, His Only Son has just died for the sin of the
whole world, your sin, He was the Only Perfect Man, He died in your place, His
death provides you with eternal life in heaven, instead of the fiery torture of
an eternal hell!
You are now no longer just a centurion in
the Roman army. You have become in an instant a true soldier of the Cross, and
beside all this, you have been called to serve Him as a King/Priest in your own
right, yes, you now can serve this Great King of Kings, your Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ!
Also, included in this miraculous
transaction are all of the other benefits of His Magnificent Work on the Cross!
You now can have victory over sin in your life today! Because He lives! He's
alive! He is risen! This was the greeting used by the early Christians, and His
resurrection and exaltation at the Right Hand of the Father, supplies you with
unparalleled, unprecedented, spirtitual blessings in Heavenly places in Christ
Jesus. What a Saviour!
The major blessing we have received is our
calling into the priesthood of the believer, providing us with access to the
Father by the Holy Spirit! For it is this blessing from God to us that was
immediately evident at the death of His Dear Son! The rending of the veil, the
outward symbol of a magnificent Spiritual event, access to the King for all who
believe, access to the One Who controls the universe!
Oh, yes, this has got to be one of the
most significant if not THE most significant blessings we have received from
our Lord Jesus. He provided us with the office of priest/king, the office
formally held by, Melchizedec the King of Salem, Priest of the Most High God,
the only one in Biblical history to be a priest/king, until our Lord Jesus
Christ was seated at the Right Hand of the Father!
This is truly a marvelous privilege, for
us, as mortal men, to be ordained, placed into the ministry, called into an office
that can only be fulfilled by us, whereby we can earn, through this same type
of kingly/priestly ministry to the Lord and men, unsurpassed eternal rewards!
It's no wonder this caused "such a fuss"!
Yes, the "fuss" in the spiritual
kingdom of darkness definitely reached epic proportions, when the old
"dragon" learned that his best laid plans to put to "death"
the Son of God succeeded", but the deceiver himself was deceived!
He played right into the Hand of the One
Who holds the world together. I'm sure there was open bedlam in the halls of
Hades when Satan found out there would now be a company of armed soldiers, a
multitude of king/priests unto God, called out of the "mixed
multitude", orderly marching in rank to the drummer of the King!
Can you see it? Mortal men armed with all
of God's weapons of warfare, felling the spiritual giants, as David of old,
that once held them captive! Bringing them into captivity, each single enemy,
bringing them into submission through the authority of the King to the
obedience of Christ!
But, look again, these mortals are not
just capturing their own enemies, they are also giving support, on the left
flank and the right, in the battlefields of others who were held captive by him
at his own will! Glory to God!
Can what I'm seeing be true! Yes, I
believe it is, I've experienced this spiritual comradary myself! That's right,
without the ones who have opened up the avenues of victory for me, I would be
well nigh hopeless! Hallelujah what a Saviour!
So, it's time for us to put on our
priestly garments, let us enter into the Tabernacle made without hands, Yes,
let us offer the Spiritual sacrifices to the God of Heaven through the Lord
Jesus Christ Who Alone is worthy!
Let us recognize the "real
world" significance of our ministry to the Lord, showing His compassion to
those who have not heard the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ...But,
before we speak His Word to others let us be sure the "avenues of
grace" have been paved with our work of intercessory prayer, giving God
the opportunity to begin working on His behalf in the lives of others.
If my own wife, and my own brothers, and
my own mother, would have given up on the "Wolfeman" and had not
earnestly prayed for me to be saved, I would be just finishing up my 19th year
in hell!! That's right, it is about twenty-nine years ago that I was saved by
His grace while reading His precious Word! Just a short time before, I was
overcome by drugs and alcohol. Suicide seemed like my only way out of this
"world".
But God, through these "avenues of
grace" paved by those who loved me and interceded for my soul, reached
down from His Throne-room in Heaven, and spoke to my heart. "Jesus loves
you" are the three simple words I heard, I had sung them as a child, my
mother did what she could to raise me right, so Jesus loves me, were three
words I knew were true, and now, the fifteenth verse of the Gospel of John
underlined this vital truth I had learned as a child.
And God's still small voice said
"Jesus loves you!" My heart was flooded with joy unspeakable!
Laughter mingled with my tears of repentance as I realized Jesus was the answer
to the plight of my soul, but let us remember, it was all through His
"avenues of grace" that God had worked His marvelous work of grace in
my heart! YOU can be an "avenue" too.
Won't YOU, right now, pray to the Lord,
committing yourself to this one goal, interceding for those who are
"closest to hell" as a notable evangelist of yesteryear always
prayed. Plead with God, to bring them into the Kingdom of His Dear Son?
And then let Him lead YOU, and guide YOU,
as YOU witness for Him. It could be YOU are the only one, the only one who has
access to the Throne of the King of Heaven, YOU could be the only "avenue
of grace" for these poor lost souls to enter the "Free Way" to heaven!
Will YOU take this simple challenge from
the Word of God? Will YOU step by step by faith through memory and meditation
on God's Word begin to prepare your heart to walk with the Lord and enter into
the Throne-room of God so that YOU can fulfill your primary calling, your
ministry to Him?
Will YOU fulfill this high and holy
calling given to YOU when you were saved from sin, death, and hell? If YOU will,
YOU will be on God's list of saints who recognize their duty to not only
minister to Him, but to those He sends your way.
Those Divine Appointments! Those who need
YOU to minister to their lost souls! Those who need YOU to minister to their
hurting souls! If YOU say yes to Him, YOU will receive the "crown of
rejoicing" from the King, YOU will also be on His list of king/priests who
will have part in the first resurrection, the second death having no power over
YOU, as YOU reign with the Lord for a thousand years! (Revelation 20:6)
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