Despite Us,Grace

 

 

Lately, I have been keenly aware of grace.  Not only the saving grace from God through His mercy, but aware of the kind of grace that allows us to be used by God, despite us.

Despite our faults and bad habits.

Despite our lack of faith.

 Despite our weakness.

In one person, I saw how He gave incredible Bible teaching that changes lives despite decades of her unbelief of the power of His Holy Spirit. Yet, His Spirit breathed through her and brought great revelation into many lives whether she acknowledged Him fully or not.  Grace.

Another person used derogatory words over others that were behaving poorly, yet he could speak prophetic life-giving and affirming messages from the LORD of great power and good.  There was power in the God-given words from the same mouth that housed lesser words moments earlier. Grace.

One who nervously feared and doubted had incredible fulfillment in an area of leading, that when stepping back and looking at the results, it would appear that only the courageous could have done it.  Grace.

This grace is in any and every successful result of ministry no matter how big or how small.  Not a one of us carries the stuff of our own to do what God does.  Not a one is responsible for the result except that we carried what He was doing.  To be allowed to carry that good is a servant’s grace.  As a master provides for the foods that a server sets at the table, it is by that grace that one can carry such wonderful things to be received and given to bless another because of Him. 

Acts 6:8  And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.

2 Corinthians 9:8  And God [is] able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all [things], may have an abundance for every good work.

The apostle Paul saw this in himself and saw how God used him despite himself. 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 

 7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me-- to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9 And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.…

Walking in the awareness of this grace drops the weight of burden of believing we have to be in perfection to do any good for God. As God said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”  Power perfected is the evidence of God’s grace.  It isn’t our perfection, it is His.

Where His grace falls away is in pride.  How many super-stars in the faith have come to a humbling fall? Lucifer’s own fall from God’s graces was over his pride.  I beg the LORD to keep me humble through all that He does in me and He has come up with some creative ways to do that.

The first time I was going to teach with one of those cool microphones that goes over the ear was something I was looking forward to getting to use.  Not long before I was to teach, I grew this gross looking nub on the top of my ear.  It was the very ear that the audio-visual technician carefully hooked around the microphone and ear-piece over. I had to pull my hair back as he fitted me.  He didn’t say anything about the nub, but I’m sure he was disgusted and I felt my face blush red. Embarrassed and humbled, I took the stage.  A couple of weeks later, the nub fell off.

Our first time for me and my husband to go overseas to speak and teach was a thrilling time.  Not long before we were to go, another nub grew on the top of my ear.  About a week later, my husband asked me, “What is this?” He showed me his ear and there was a nub on his.  I exclaimed, “It’s the nubbin of humility!”  I shared with him what had happened to me before and how God used it.  He laughed a little.  We went on our trip to serve, nubbins and all, and when we returned, each of ours fell off.  It’s funny and definitely not normal, but I praise God for His incredible grace and His desire to keep us humorously humble in Him. 

God is able to do all sorts of good through the imperfections that we are.  We just have to say, “Yes,” to serve, be humble in Him, and He takes care of the rest despite us.  Grace. You’ve got nothing to lose but pride and everything to gain and accomplish in Him.

 

 



The Last and Greatest Day of the Feast

 

 

Today is a GREAT day to me... to all of us.

 It is the last day of the celebration of Sukkot.  The last and greatest day of the Feast.

 Sukkot is the Jewish celebration of living in “booths” or tents/temporary dwelling places, for seven days.  It is a festival to remember that God had dwelled with the Hebrew people after delivering them out of Egypt.  So as God temporarily dwelled among them, they dwell in temporary dwellings as God did when they celebrate each year.  God asked that they do this in Leviticus 23:39-43.

“But on the fifteenth day of the seventh month [the month of Tishrei], when you gather in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate the festival of the L-rd for a seven day period... and you shall rejoice before the L-rd your G-d for a seven day period... For a seven day period you shall live in booths. Every resident among the Israelites shall live in booths, in order that your [ensuing] generations should know that I had the children of Israel live in booths when I took them out of the land of Egypt”

That was a long time ago. What is so special about that, you may wonder.

God gave Moses exact instructions as to how to build the Ark of the Covenant where God’s glory and presence would dwell. 

He gave the instructions that the ark would be made out of Acacia wood and overlaid with gold.  Inside would be the components of the Testimony.  The lid would be solid gold and would be called the Mercy Seat or Seat of Atonement.  On either side, facing one another, were solid gold cherubim looking upon the Mercy Seat and between the two cherubim and above the Mercy Seat rested the presence and glory of God. 

Here’s where my incredible joy takes hold.

Everything about this speak s of God’s Presence as Jesus Christ!

The Acacia wood is from a tree whose roots has the incredible ability to reach deep into the waters far into the soil even in arid regions. It is also being used in portions of Africa to improve soil and production to agriculture through its nitrogen.  It offers shade and protection for the crops, too.  This tree can be representative of qualities of Christ’s life on earth as 100 % man on earth and God as the Acacia wood of the ark was overlaid with gold.

This is what Jesus does on the last day of Sukkot; the day the priests did the water ceremony.  This is a portion shared from Hebrew for Christians.

“The seventh (and last) day of the festival of Sukkot is called Hoshana Rabba (הוֹשַׁנָא רַבָּא). Hoshana (sometimes transliterated as "Hosanna") comes from the Hebrew phrase hoshia na (הוֹשִׁיעָה נָּא), meaning "save us now," combined with "rabbah," meaning "great," to refer to a great corporate plea for salvation. It was on this climactic day of the festival that the people gathered at the Temple for the water ceremony, waving lulavs and circling the courtyard while chanting "Ana Adonai - Hosiah na" (Psalm 118:25), "save us, we pray O LORD!"’

Jesus had stayed away from the festival of Sukkot until the last day of it. John 7:37-39  Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'" 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified

On top of the box of the Ark is the solid gold Mercy Seat where the priest would once a year take the blood of the sacrifice for the atoning of the sins of the people. At this time, God in His Mercy forgave.  Jesus came as the sacrifice and His blood was given for our sins.  The purity of Him as God was the blood perfect enough for the sins of the World that He gave out of love and mercy.  Solid gold. Perfection.  Only from what is of Heaven.

The two cherubim, also made of solid gold, face towards one another and their gaze is upon the Mercy Seat.  Eyes cast down as if looking from heaven and there between them rests the Presence and Glory of God. Both Old and New Testament proclaiming Christ and reflect His Presence, Glory, Salvation, Mercy and Grace.

The people cried out, “Save us!”  Yeshua, the Name of Jesus, is ‘Yahweh has become Salvation.’ Yahweh Saves!  Yeshua!

Within the Ark of the Covenant was kept what was called the “Ark of the Testimony.”  Testimony is the witness of something or the telling of events.  These incredible objects stored within the Ark and beneath the lid of the Mercy Seat at the Presence of God were the tablets of stone that had the Commandments engraved on them.  There was the gold jar of manna and there was the rod of Aaron’s. 

The Ten Commandments was the Law that God had given.  Only Jesus/Yeshua fulfilled all of the Law without sin.  A testimony of Him.

 Jesus says in Matthew 5:17  Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

A gold jar held the manna.  Manna was a word meaning, unknown.  It was an unknown food provided from God and heaven.  It came with the dew, the waters of His Spirit, and when it dried, the Manna was left; their bread of life.

Exodus 16:31-32  31 The house of Israel named it manna, and it was like coriander seed, white, and its taste was like wafers with honeyThen Moses said, "This is what the LORD has commanded, 'Let an omerful of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.'"

Jesus says in John 6:31-33  Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'HE GAVE THEM BREAD OUT OF HEAVEN TO EAT.'" 32 Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. 33 "For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world."…

Jesus, conceived through the Holy Spirit, like the dew accompanying the manna, was born in Bethlehem, which in Hebrew means, “House of Bread.”

John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

The next item in the Testimony is Aaron’s rod.  It signified that he would be the high priest.  It was his rod that budded.  Aaron’s rod and the others’ were placed together and God said that the one whose rod budded would be priest.  Not only did Aaron’s rod bud blossoms from that dead stick, but the blossoms flowered and turned into almonds. 

The symbolism is great.  As Yeshua died, shedding his blood on a dead piece of wood, His dead body came back to life.  After having risen from the dead, He breathed upon the disciples saying, “Receive my Spirit.”  The Holy Spirit came upon man, now saved, and made righteous so that the Spirit of God may dwell upon man and in him.  The Spirit bears fruit as blossoms bore the fruit of almonds.  Galatians 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

The rod of Aaron, the appointed high priest at the time of Moses, points to Jesus who becomes the great high priest. Producing all that Jesus does as Yahweh Saves. Yeshua.

Hebrews 4:14  Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

His presence at the Ark of the Covenant was the emblem of the Covenant Promise He made to Abraham as He in His glory rested upon the Mercy Seat; the lid over the Testimony of all He would do in Covenant Promise, as He dwelled and traveled in temporary dwelling places among His people.  Today, through Yeshua, we are the dwelling place of the LORD and today we rejoice for salvation and His Living Waters that He pours into us.

The joy of this day was amplified to me because I did not realize what day it was when I began it.  Over the last week, not considering the days between the first day of Sukkot, the LORD had placed upon my heart and mind the contents of His Testimony and the make-up of the Ark of the Covenant.  I have read, studied, researched and waited on Him as He revealed Himself more and more this week, completely without conscious thought to the timing.  When I realized today was the last and Great day of Sukkot, I was overwhelmed with joy for all He is and did in me through His Spirit this week.  I knew I would write it out this evening. 

 I sat in my car this afternoon in a parking lot. I looked out at this beautiful day; praising Him and listening to music. I saw a great blast of water shoot out of a five-story building.  It was firefighters training.  The water gushed and sprayed and fell to the ground. The music played and I praised Him for an overwhelming moment to see waters burst forth.  May His Spirit and His Word and His revelation of Him cause you to rejoice on this Great Day.  His loving mercy and His testimony is overwhelming.  Yahweh Saves.