I taught you in previous lessons that in the book of Genesis we see the seeds of understanding the king-priest ministry that eventually found its fulfillment in Jesus Christ and his body the church.
We have been using the tabernacle of Moses as a pattern to understand how to relate with the resurrected Christ. The physical temple was a copy and shadow of the heavenly things.
So that means if we want to touch the heavenly realm where Christ dwells, we can look at the pattern that God displayed through the tabernacle. It’s a simple pattern completely focused on the cruciform life.
I’m convinced that we have complicated Christianity to the point where so many people are tired, confused and discouraged with the life of faith. Simplicity is the key to a victorious life and that simplicity can only be found in the cruciform life. I’m in no way saying it’s easy because the command of Christ is to take up our cross and follow him. The cruciform life is a simple message about a life totally dedicated to the cross. It’s the message of sacrifice and prayer which is all about giving our hearts completely to the Father in surrendered communion through Christ our mediator.
Jesus taught us to pray that the kingdom and will of God would be done on earth as it is in heaven.
First of all, we are the earth that Christ wants to live as Paul said it’s to be us no longer living, but Christ living through us since our bodies are to be a living sacrifice. The Incarnation is what I call Christ in us and us by faith allowing him to live His life through ours. It’s learning to lean on the strength of another whom you cannot see, but who is our covenant partner. It’s the cruciform life of faith simply relying on the grace of Christ to lead you, strengthen you, protect you and provide for you along your journey. It’s all about fulfilling God’s will for our lives through vertically loving God with all of our hearts and horizontally loving others as ourselves. We have been saved so that Christ can live his life through us since we are his body on this earth.
Proverbs 15:8 says the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, But the prayer of the upright is His delight. God takes great pleasure when we pray to Him. In Revelations 5:8 we can see a heavenly viewpoint of prayer and it is seen as golden bowls full of incense which are the prayers of the royal priesthood. The sacrifice of prayer is a sweet aroma that pleases God. It’s a heart that is completely surrendered to Him and trusting that He will answer. Prayer is fellowship and asking requests from our Heavenly Father. As a holy priesthood we are called to come boldly before the very throne of grace for He takes delight in our spiritual sacrifices.
One of the main lessons in looking at the heavenly pattern of the tabernacle is our complete identity in Christ. If we don’t grasp that in Christ we have a completely new identity based on His death, burial, resurrection and ascension to the right hand of the father then our prayer will be ineffective and simply ritualistic legalism. The foundation of repentance from dead works must be securely grounded in our hearts or our prayers will be fruitless and powerless. Jesus said, when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
Prayer is a relationship with our Father who knows our needs. It’s not ritualistic, vain, repetitions of religious activity which is really unbelief wrapped in religious jargon.
We are to be a priest serving God born of the risen Christ demonstrating, displaying and showing forth the life of the coming king. God has made us to cultivate and keep our lives centered on Christ which is living from a place of rest in the finished work of Christ walking in the rhythm of the peace of God. It’s why the first doctrine laid down in Hebrews 6:1-2 is repentance from dead works. It’s turning away from our own works under the curse and turning to the sacrifice of the cross where we find peace, reconciliation and the sabbath rest in Christ.
The author of Hebrews in chapters 3 and 4 encourages us to enter into the rest of God. He is contrasting the children of Israel entering into the promised land by faith and those who failed to enter into the land because of their unbelief. He was contrasting it to those in his day who were tempted to return back to the rituals of the temple life in Jerusalem abandoning the heavenly temple and Christ the mediating new high priest. The author of Hebrews is writing to Jewish believers before the temple was destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans armies. He was showing them their greatest temptation was the temptation of unbelief to return to the old way of doing things under the law which would be rejecting the risen Christ who sits in the heavenly temple. It’s the same temptation the apostle Thomas had who needed to feel, touch and see the risen Christ to believe.
In the last lesson we address the issue of worship. I showed you that Jesus redefined worship from such externals as race, location and ritual to worshiping in spirit and truth.
Let me read from the book of Hebrews chapter 12 vs 18 thru 29. It is contrasting the view from the Torah Law to the view of the risen Christ. It says: "for you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.
Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I tremble with fear. But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem and to innumerable angels in festal gathering and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven and to God, the judge of all and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens.” This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
Prayer is about operating in faith. A faith that prays the prayer of Christ which is that the kingdom of God would come on earth even as it is in heaven.
Faith convinces us that the unseen God created what we can see, hear, feel, taste and smell in this created space we live in. It was all done through the creative power of His word when He spoke and it was done. The gospel of John chapter 1 verses 1 thru 3 says in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him and without him was not anything made that was made. This means what can be seen was made by something that could not be seen. It also means the spiritual reality of the kingdom of God is a more solid, stable and secure reality than the one we experience through our physical bodies.
God’s means of operation from the beginning has always been about faith because faith is the nature of God.
It’s how he created all things. Faith is learning to trust in the unseen God who reaches into this tangible creation to take care of those who walk by faith. It is an amazing reality that everything that we can see, hear, smell, touch and taste with our five senses was made out of what you can’t see. In the dimension beyond what we can physically see with our natural eyes is where the real action originates. Do you see radio waves or Wi-Fi running through your house? No, you don’t. How about 5g transmissions? No, because it moves by the power of the air beyond what we see with our eyes. Do you see the wind? No. Now you can feel and see the effects of the wind, but you can’t see the wind. We live in a spiritual world, but trapped in a physical body.
Faith is the channel by which we pull the unseen into the seen and it’s the unseen hand of God that heals, restores and provides for us.
It’s the river of grace flowing from the throne of the lamb and we just become the channel that the word of life flows through. It’s through faith that the unseen realm of the kingdom is breaking in upon this world like a river as we pray. You can’t see it with your eyes, but you see its effect in the heart of man. Hebrews 4:1 thru 3 says therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest.
The rest spoken of here in Hebrews chapter 3 and 4 is not a ceasing from physical activity or having a good nap. It’s a ceasing from our futile attempts to live this life in our own ability.
Hebrews chapter 4 verses 9 thru 11 says there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. Let me say that again. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest. It’s the message of the good news. It’s the basis of all that we do and Paul clearly articulated this message to the Galatians who also wanted to return to what they could feel, touch and see.
The message of the legalist is that you must do and work to be right with God. The message of the cruciform life is that you must die and find rest in the power of the risen Christ.
In Galatians chapter 2 vs 18 thru 21 Paul said for if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law, I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
If we want to be effective in prayer then we have to understand that it is no longer us praying, but simply the Spirit of God working through our lives.
Hebrews chapter 4 verses 14 thru 16 says we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Life in the modern world can be very disorienting and confusing. We have so many things grabbing for our attention to distract us from our purpose. The New Covenant is about the blood, water and spirit which is the source of an effective prayer life and how we fulfill the will of God in this age. It’s no longer us living, but Christ living through us by faith and working through love. Its living lives tethered to the cross and empowered by the throne of grace with the river of God’s Spirit flowing through us.
Now let’s turn back to the priestly ministry and his daily service of sacrifice in the Temple. In previous lessons we have talked about the Bronze altar which was the beginning place of entering into the Tabernacle of Moses. It was the place of blood sacrifice and symbolized the blood of Christ shed for us on the cross.
Once the priest made the blood sacrifice at the Brazen Altar they then came to the Bronze Laver. It was the place of baptism along with daily cleansing which is a complete identification with Christ through the water daily renewing our minds and building up the inner man.
Inside the tabernacle behind the first curtain was the Table of Shewbread, The Golden Candlestick and the Altar of Incense. The Table of Shewbread had 12 loaves of bread that were daily replaced and represented the diverse twelve tribes united together as one nation of Israel. As the priest daily partook of the loaves it was a demonstration of them being a living representation of the entire nation. In the same way we are to daily take up our cross by eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Christ identifying with the cruciform life of Christ living in us and live in unity with all those who partake.
The Golden Candlestick was daily filled with oil and gave light to the Holy Place and represented the need to rely on the Spirit of wisdom, understanding and his power for daily living. The Altar of Incense was right before the curtain entering into the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was placed. The Altar of Incense is about carrying the presence of God through prayer, praise and our lives dedicated to worshiping in spirit and truth.
The nation of Israel’s entire existence was to be centered around the temple with its sacrifices and lifestyle of worship. The priesthood of the believer is about the Holy Spirit working through our lives to perform works of service and the Spirit giving us wisdom to implement the will of God. It’s a very simple focus upon the grace of God connecting us to the throne of the lamb in holistic worship dedicating our whole lives to Christ living through us.
The sacrifice of prayer is how we daily walk in the ability of the Spirit.
Prayer is not an option for us as a part of the royal priesthood, but the very air that we breathe and how we are daily filled with the Spirit which lights our pathway to fulfill his will. The sacrifice of prayer is about discipline and consistency. Just as a runner must know how to breathe correctly, so we must learn how to pray. It must be a daily activity, just as the priest offered the morning and evening sacrifice so we must dedicate ourselves to a lifestyle of prayer setting aside time for this daily sacrifice. It’s why Paul declared that we should pray without ceasing which is having a heart communing with the Spirit throughout our day.
The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. He taught them to pray by both word and example. We must devote ourselves to prayer. Devoting ourselves to prayer is learning how to abide in the work of Christ.
All who have walked with God have viewed prayer as the main business of their lives.
The words of Mark say and in the morning, a great while before the day, he arose and went out to a lonely place and there he prayed. This stands as a commentary on the prayer lifestyle of Jesus. David was also an early riser starting his day with prayer and his desire for God broke the self-indulgent chains of sleep. Psalms chapter 63 verse 1 says, early I will seek thee. When the apostles were tempted to invest their energies in other important and necessary tasks, they determined to give themselves first to prayer and the ministry of the word which is in Acts chapter 6 verse 4.
Martin Luther declared, I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer. He held it as one of his sayings by declaring that he that has prayed well has studied well. John Wesley said, God does nothing, but in answer to prayer and backed up his conviction by devoting two hours daily to the sacred exercise. It is from a place of abiding in the finished work of Christ from which we must learn how to offer up the sacrifice of prayer. It’s a complete focus on the new life provided for us through the gift of Christ.
Paul told us in the book of Philippians that God is at work in us both to will and to work for his good pleasure. We then see in the book of Ephesians chapter 2 verses 4 thru 10 that God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. The life of faith is not easy, but it’s simple. It’s not based on anything that you can do, but it’s you learning to submit to the power of the risen Christ.
It is from a place of being seated with Christ that we must learn to pray. The sacrifice of payer is all about partnering with the Spirit of grace which is God’s ability working through us.
It’s about praying as Christ told us to pray, which is that the kingdom of God would come into our hearts from his throne of grace producing in us His heavenly fruit. It’s not working for God, but learning to partner with the Spirit from the throne grace. It’s why I’ve spent so much time laying the foundations of repentance from dead works, faith towards God and the doctrine of baptisms because it’s from this foundation that we pray.
The main word used for prayer in the Greek is Prosechomai. This word embraces all that is included in the idea of prayer. It means the giving of thanks, simply asking, personal devotion, the prayer of meditation and intercessory prayer. Now the prayer of personal devotion and meditation are closely linked together. It is these two forms of prayer that help us to develop the inward life of Christ learning to abide and grow in grace exercising our spiritual man through faith.
The ancient art of meditation and personal devotion has been lost in the modern world where we live.
It’s been replaced by instant sound bites and then 30 minutes later it’s the next instant sound bite where you are never grounded, but left tossed here and there living in the instability of our turbulent days. It’s the opposite of rest and it produces a tremendous amount of mental stress. People’s attention spans have been greatly reduced and it’s not a good thing because people don’t think things through anymore and are easily manipulated. It is exactly the reason so many suffer from anxiety and mental disorders in today’s culture.
The modern world has trained us to become creatures of passion and instinct living in the moment with no thought to what we are doing or what we are becoming.
Just like our natural body grows, develops and is healthy due to what we put into it and how active we are with our bodies so in the same way the spiritual man has to be developed. We have to feed our spiritual man good food and develop spiritual disciplines so that we are changed from the inside out. We have to understand the power of meditation. It’s one of the main keys to walking in the Spirit. It’s learning the ancient rhythms of the spiritual realm.
Whether for good or bad, we are molded in our personality and conduct by what we continually think upon.
The prayer of meditation and personal devotion are about learning to partner with the Spirit of Christ changing us from the inside out. It’s learning to daily discipline ourselves by offering up the morning and evening sacrifice of prayer. If we will consistently give ourselves to meditation and personal devotion to the Spirit of Christ then our hearts are transformed so that when we offer up giving of thanks, petitions and intercessory prayer it is from a pure heart.
The daily renewal of our minds through the habit of meditation is extremely important to develop because it’s where information warfare is waged.
If we want to pray effectively then our minds, emotions and wills must be fortified with truth. If we want to fulfill the will of God we must develop the daily discipline of renewing our minds and personal devotion which is asking for spiritual growth, communion with God and worship.
A disciple is someone who has committed his life to God’s word. Jesus said in John 8:31-32 if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. Freedom is living life from the inside out. It's a truth that has been internalized and has become a part of our lives. It’s learning to allow the word of God to be implanted securely into our souls. It cleanses the lens of our soul’s so that the interface of our hearts will display the fruit of God’s spirit.
Just knowing facts does not set us free. Belief is not faith it’s just knowing facts and many times it’s just wishful thinking.
It’s the kid that believes that Santa Klaus is real. It’s real in their heads and they believe it, but it’s just a fairy tale and actually produces unbelief in the truth. If as adults we live in this fantasy world of wishful thinking, then we are just delusional at best. It’s why right thinking is very important because the world in which we live is going to try to impose its thinking upon us and conform us to its corrupting view.
We are living in the age of information warfare and it's only through an intimate relationship with the truth which is going to give us the discernment between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Abiding in God’s thoughts which come from his mouth and allowing those thoughts to captivate our hearts brings true liberty. It’s faith that actually channels the unseen power of God into our hearts changing our conduct and causing us to fulfill the will of God.
James 1:21 tells us the type of attitude we must have as we approach the word of God. James says in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to deliver the soul. The enemy to our souls Satan fell because of pride and arrogance. It’s going to take great humility to overcome the great deception coming upon the world and that is what looking at the tabernacle of Moses teaches us.
It teaches us that we must be tethered to the cross. Tethered describes something that is tied up and restricted.
It’s complete surrender, humility and reckoning ourselves dead to this world, but alive to God. The cross brings liberty from sin yet at the same time brings restriction to the fleshly desires of the lower nature. Mercy, judgment and holiness meet at the cross.
The Greek word implanted is derived from two other words, En means a fixed position and pho which means to puff or to blow up or to grow. Jesus taught us that the word of God is like a seed planted in the ground. We must put a high value on the word of God. It must become more important to us than our opinions, feelings, what we can touch and see. If we want to see the word of God truly grow within us then we must have a high regard for it. It must be a treasure we daily seek through the prayer of personal devotion and meditation. As we do this on a consistent basis, our minds will be renewed, emotions stabilized and our determination will come into alignment with the very thoughts of God. In doing so we become yoked to the Spirit's ability working within us.
The thoughts of God must be intertwined with our thoughts so that our wills are subject to him and as we do this it will be the Spirit directing our prayer lives. It is an attitude of full surrender where Jesus is Lord over our lives.
The world we live in today is moving at such a fast pace it’s hard to keep up. We have so many opinions, ideas and persuasions coming at us daily and if you don’t have an inner strength that comes from being centered on Christ then you will be overcome by this world. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 14 talks about those who are tossed to and fro by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. It’s very easy to feel overwhelmed and we are many times pushed to conform to the norms of those around us.
The prayer of meditation and the prayer of devotion is learning to live by the ancient rhythms of creation and covenant. It’s teaching us how to enter into the Sabbath rest of Christ. It’s teaching us how to cease from our own self-effort. It’s slowing down to pray, contemplate and listen to the eternal unseen creator who very much lives in us by his Spirit and surrounds our lives if we will just slow down and pay attention. It’s about personal growth from the inside out and as I previously said it’s the foundation of our prayer life.
David the psalmist said that he meditated on God and devoted himself to his ways as he was lying in bed. Joshua was commanded to meditate on the word of God and was promised that it would bring success to his endeavors.
The prayer of meditation is taking the word of God and making it personal to your life.
Romans chapter 10 verse 8 says that the word of God should be in our mouths and our hearts. The word of God that we have studied must be put within our hearts and we should: MEMORIZE the word. CONFESS the word. APPLY the word. The prayer of meditation makes the word of God become our personal word to our everyday situations.
The prayer of devotion is a commitment to daily spiritual growth. It’s the prayer of growing in the grace of God daily and giving ourselves to the union of our covenant partner. The priest in the Tabernacle of Moses had to offer up the morning and evening sacrifice. As a holy priesthood we should find a time in the morning or night to offer up the sacrifice of prayer. When Jesus taught us how to pray, He told us to first of all acknowledge our Heavenly Father as part of what we call the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew chapter 6 verse 9.
Personal devotion is about having a personal relationship and experiencing fellowship with God on a daily basis. This is a time when we should be alone with God seeking His very heart and listening to His voice speak to our hearts.
Our time of personal devotion should be in a quiet place and preferably at the same time every day since the priest had a daily routine of sacrifice. Give yourself adequate time to spend waiting on the Lord. Keep a pen and paper in hand to write or an electronic device so that you can capture anything the Lord speaks to your heart while praying.
In this lesson we have covered the prayer of meditation and devotion. In the next lesson we are going to cover in more detail the prayer of supplication, intercession and fasting. Supplication is simply asking and requesting needs to be met for us and others. All of us face some sort of difficulty in life and Paul told us in Philippians 4:6 to "be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."
Modern life is full of pressures and stress. Prayer is the release valve that helps us to endure and overcome.
We can trust God for our every need. He desires to care for our personal needs, protect us and make straight paths for us to walk along. We just have to ask.
Intercessory prayer is making requests on behalf of others and through this form of prayer we are joining in and helping others. Jesus as our Great High Priest intercedes for us and we are called to stand in the gap praying for the will of God to be done in the church and in the nations of the world. Though people may be hundreds of miles away, through intercession people's lives can be changed. God has ordained intercessory prayer as the way of releasing His sovereignly ordained blessing into the nations, individual lives and ministries.
Now we need to use all the types of prayer to see personal growth in our own lives and growth to God's purposes because that’s what the sacrifice of prayer is all about. As Paul said in Ephesians 6:18 whatever the occasion, we need to do it with all prayer and petition, pray at all times. You cannot just think about praying, but you must take the time to develop an intimate relationship with your heavenly Father. This does not just happen, but you must give yourself to pursuing the heart of God. Any relationship takes time to develop.
Prayer is first of all a sacrifice, but as you give yourself to praying consistently it will become a desire.
The benefits of prayer are beyond description, but beyond the benefits, prayer is a necessity to our spiritual life.
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Next Lesson: Lesson 29 - Part II The Sacrifice of Prayer
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