Introduction

Good morning everyone. Today let us look at Exodus chapter 29. This is a very challenging book to study. Normally we just bypass this. But it is crucial to understand how serious it is to be a priest before the Lord. God revealed to all of us that being a priest means doing all this. And then the problem is whether we are consecrated when we have done all these. Consecrate means being holy, being accepted by the Lord. Are we supposed to do all these? There is a huge misunderstanding in the New Testament.

In the New Testament, people think they don't need to do anything because this is the time of grace, and we have all grace, so we don't need to do anything. Is that so? No! The Old Testament is the shadow of the New Testament. The New Testament is the real thing.

A lot of people misunderstand that the Old Testament has a higher standard than the New Testament. But the reality is that the New Testament has a much higher standard than the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, they sacrificed the bull, the ram and the pigeon. In the New Testament, we sacrifice ourselves.

Follow the consecration model

If we understand this in the New Testament, then we will know that God has a higher standard than in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, we laid hands on the head of the bull, and our sin was passed to the bull, and the bull would be slaughtered.

But in the New Testament, we sacrifice ourselves. What are we talking about in this chapter? In Exodus chapter 29, we are talking about the consecration path as a priest. This is the consecrated path.

In the New Testament, we're going to refer to the drawing just the same as the drawing you need when you build a property. They normally display the building models. So today we are talking about a model. This time we talk about it in the New Testament. We are serving our Lord, but we look at this model. This is the consecration path of being a priest. It's still relevant, but just a different way of doing things.

"This is what you are to do to consecrate them, so they may serve me as priests: Take a young bull and two rams without defect. (Exodus 29:1)

Can you hear that? You need to do this, but what are you supposed to do so they may serve as a priest? Let me challenge all of you.

In the New Testament, it says you and I serve as a priest, then what are we going to do? In the last chapter, we were talking about serving as a priest is the best job ever. But you have to prepare yourself to be consecrated.

"So I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. (Exodus 29:44)

Let me challenge all of us. Is it still relevant today? It's still relevant. You and I serve as a priest before the Lord! "I don't need to do anything! Our Lord Jesus Christ has done everything for us, and I don't need to do anything!"

We need to do it according to the drawing, the plan and the showroom, then we say, "this is supposed to be right."

Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. They will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God. (Exodus 29:45-46)

Have you ever been a priest? If you have ever been a priest, you would know one thing for sure God is not dwelling in the place. If God is not dwelling in the place, how are we going to fight the spiritual battles? You're not going to win the spiritual battles. A lot of people build a church with no presence of God but they believe the church should be like that. Trust is like this and that. Is that so? No! Once we do not see God dwelling among us, then that's a big problem.

In the New Testament, the churches, especially over the last thousand years, had no presence of God. This has become the norm! No presence of God in the church becomes a norm, and then the presence of God in the church becomes something unusual. That's very funny.

Therefore, I was questioning myself when I attended a local church as a lay believer. Then I read the Bible carefully and I have this question in my mind that I dare not ask the pastor.

"Is this the church?" "Yeah!" Even just like that. I attended church regularly and I was one of the very good believers. If they have a prayer meeting, I would be there. If they have a Bible study group, I would be there. If they have Sunday service, I would be there. But I have a very tough question for the pastor. "Is there God's presence in this place?" If so, then how come I did not see the presence of God? I have seen good fellowship but just no fellowship is with God. Then there is a big problem.

After becoming a pastor, I needed to set up a church, which became one of the yardsticks. What am I doing if I am to build a church with no presence of God? Am I building a club? An alumni club? Just like when we all studied together, spent four years in college or university, then we formed alumni. Some kind of relationship for you and I get to talk. It's Fellowship. Is that what we're going to do? No! If there's no God among us then I'm not going to do it as this is a waste of time.

Because if we fight battles in the spiritual world, you either win or lose. If you are not able to win this spiritual battle, then what are you doing here? It's just wasting all your time on all these things.

When I was serving as a pastor in the church, I had this idea that I need God to dwell among us, not just building a Tabernacle. There's a more important factor that being a priest needs to follow the consecration path. You're going to be consecrated by God.

Path of Consecration 1: Offering Ourselves to God

Let me tell you something. Number one: this is what you're going to do so that you may serve me as a priest. If you're not doing this, you cannot serve me as a priest. Do you want to be a priest serving God but God is not there? You are serving a building, serving a room, but God is not there. That is the sorrow of life. That's the main point we are going to talk about.

Do you know what I'm going to do? The number one thing they had to do was take a young bull and two rams without defects and offer them to God. This was the first thing you needed to do. Taking a bull, and two rams offered to God as sacrifices.

And from the finest wheat flour make round loaves without yeast, thick loaves without yeast and with olive oil mixed in, and thin loaves without yeast and brushed with olive oil. (Exodus 29:2)

Is God going to eat all these? I'm not so sure if God was going to eat, but one thing for sure is that you need to offer to God. This is what you need to offer to God and not only that, you're going to lay your hands on the head of the bull, after you slaughtered the bull, your sin would be imparted to it, so you get consecrated. So our sins passed to the bull. Today, we pass our sins to our Lord Jesus Christ. As we serve as a priest, we need to offer sacrifice to pass our sin to the sacrifice.

But in the New Testament, what do you need to pass on? What do you need to offer? Offer yourself as a living sacrifice! Then that is holy and acceptable to our God. In the New Testament, a lot of people thought tithing is enough. Tithing is the least required to be qualified to enter here to offer yourself.

But now we're going to know that we need to offer ourselves. But how am I going to offer myself? That's the kind of question people ask about. Do you know what kind of people ask these kinds of questions? They don't believe it. Offer myself? How am I going to make a living?

Remember that offering yourself to Almighty God did not just start in Exodus. It started about 400 years ago with Abraham and his son Isaac who offered himself.

From verse 10 onwards, it's talking about the details of how you are going to offer this sacrifice. And they mention a few important things.

Then take all the fat on the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, and both kidneys with the fat on them, and burn them on the altar. (Exodus 29:13)

Do you know what burnt offering is? If you know burnt offering, it's fully burnt and offered to God. It completely belongs to God. You don't take anything. But if you wave before God and after wave, they all belong to God. Then you take it home and eat it yourself. So this is the consecration. If you know, consecration needs offering a sacrifice. But in the New Testament, settlement no longer needs a bull or ram, we need to offer ourselves.

If you do not understand offering yourself to God, then you are not going to be consecrated. If you're not consecrated then you are not able to serve as a priest. If you insist I need to serve as a priest, I don't want to offer myself, then that is a disaster. Remember, as a believer of Jesus Christ and you do not want to offer yourself, But insist on wanting to be a priest, that is going to be a disaster.

That's why there are so many things happening among the believers and the churches. It's worse than not being a priest. So in my understanding, I have this ranking. God put some people on top and God put some people at the bottom. Do You know what kind of people is on top? The people who serve as a priest, then God will set them high.

The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. (Deuteronomy28:13)

What has happened because they consecrate themselves as a living sacrifice and they offer themselves as a living sacrifice and they serve as a priest and God dwell among us. Surely we will be the head, not the tail, and surely we will be above not underneath.

Do you know what kind of people to be the tail? The people who want to serve as a priest but they do not want to offer themselves, want to be a pastor, want to be a church member, want to be a Christian, yet they do not want to offer themselves. They will praise the Lord when their child gets a good exam result, then feel sad when a bad thing happens. There is a lot of confusion here.

In churches, we see a brother got cancer, another sister got cancer. How come this is happening? And how come this is a problem, that is a problem. All kinds of problems. Yet, when they can pick up a few good things, they praise the Lord and believe God is among us. Is that all? No, no that no God, God dwelling among us, they call a normal life.

Path of Consecration 2: Baptism is only a symbol

If you do not obey the instruction given to you, God will put those believers underneath. That is for sure. The number one thing is to offer yourself. The second one is that bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water. Wash them with water. Baptism means we died with Christ and we are resurrected with Christ. A lot of people are baptized, and yet they are not signifying dying with Christ but dying as a priest. Baptism is only a symbol. Number two.

Path of Consecration 3: Transform ourselves to look like Jesus Christ

Number three. take the garment, and dress Aaron in the robe of the ephod, the ephod itself, the breastplate, and the skillfully woven waistband. Put this turban on his head, and attach a sacrificial emblem to the band. We hardly use these sorts of words. This is to cover ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and we look like Jesus Christ. After we look like Jesus Christ, our inner being starts to be transformed, and our hearts and minds are going to be renewed, and inside out we are going to look like Jesus Christ. That is how it works.

Being a priest is so crucial. We have to put on our Lord Jesus Christ. Is that what the doctrine of destiny is talking about? First, we look like Jesus Christ, and later on, we transform ourselves to be like Jesus Christ. There are a lot of changes in the definition of putting on Jesus Christ. A lot of people are stuck at the level of "Put on Jesus Christ, that is all." No, we need to put on the salvation, and even that is just the beginning! If you read the book of Hebrews, you need to put in a lot more effort to pursue the way God wants to make you, to look like Jesus Christ inside out. That is the beginning of putting on Jesus Christ. We have to put on Jesus Christ all our life!

Serving Jesus Christ, and him dwelling among us and putting on Jesus Christ, and these are only beginnings. In the end, our hearts and mind will be renewed, and we will please God. In the eyes of God that will be something pleasant. So put on Jesus Christ.

On the 29th, I will talk more about being a priest before God in the New Testament.

Path of Consecration 4: Anointing is an appointment

Number four, Take the anointing oil and anoint him by putting it on his head. A lot of people have the wrong idea about anointing. Anointing is one of the most misunderstood concepts in the New Testament. Some person falls sick, and they pour some anointing oil on him. Is that what you are supposed to do? They get it all wrong. You see, people get it all wrong. Anointing started from this Aaron, he was anointed as a priest, it is an appointment, it is an anointing, it means to give a duty for what to perform. You need to perform, now you put on Jesus Christ, and now you sacrifice yourself as a living sacrifice. Now you are washed, and now you are anointed.

A lot of people thought that anointing brings power. No, anointing is an appointment. That is why we call it the doctrine of destiny, this is my destiny, I was appointed as a priest, and I was ordained as a priest so that God might dwell among us. God will dwell among us. That is destiny, what you are living for, and what you die for. This is given by the God Most High so that God will speak to us, he will talk to us, and he will lead us and will dwell among us.

When we come to Exodus, the army of God came out of Egypt. When they came out of Egypt, the number one thing they did was the tabernacle, to get the presence of God. Without the presence of God, yes, God was with the Israelites, all the way out of Egypt. But that is not the aim. God wants to dwell among us, that's why, when they came out of Egypt, the number one thing was, was to build a tabernacle. And it was to appoint a priest. You and I are appointed as priests, are we serving our duty? Are we consecrated? If you aren't consecrated, you do not carry this kind of destiny, serving God will be a disaster. Serving God when you are not consecrated, serving before God as a priest, is a disaster. Are we consecrating our minds, soul and heart? And this priesthood is a lasting ordinance. Then, you should ordain Aaron.

Path of Consecration 5: God has prepared a share for you

Number five. This is the most interesting part. A lot of the things offered to God are burned, but there are leftovers. These are portions for the priests. The priests must take a share. Then they take some from this share and offer it to God again. There is always a perpetual share from the Israelites to Aaron and his son. The Israelites must always give a share to them. This fellowship offering, after being offered, belongs to the priests. This is supposed to take this share, and the Bible mentions that they must eat this. They cannot say, "I don't want " or "I have my food." You come to the temple of God, and God says you have to eat this. This is the sacrifice offered to me, and it is consecrated. Now eat! "No, I bring my food and bread. I have prepared it for myself!" No, that is not consecrated. So as a pastor, or a church member, you must eat your share. God has prepared a share for you, does it come from nowhere? No, it comes from the people of God.

Do you know what that is called? The fellowship offering, the relationship offers. One day, a pastor came to visit me. This pastor was boasting that he didn't take a salary as a pastor. I looked at him and saw that he saw it as something to boast about. One day, I visited his house and saw that it was so messy, so dirty, and a lot of things were already worn out. The cabinet door and the hinges were broken, and a lot of it was in a mess. I said, "You have to change this, change that" You know what happened? You could not convince him, so I said, "You have to take a salary, it is a fellowship offering. You have to feed yourself on it." But he wouldn't listen. and he suffered in poverty.

I came across these kinds of cases s lot. I am not saying he joined a salary from the church, and the Israelites make tithing and offering and give to the church, and the church gives to the poor, that is not wrong. What I am saying is that the church needs fellowship. The people will serve God, and you must feed yourself on it. But some people say, "Pastor, I'm not serving in the church, but I am just a lay believer. I have prepared myself to be a priest, so do I need a full-time job to serve in the church?" No, you are just a lay believer. Income is a part of the fellowship offering as well. Your income is given by God, it is the same as the Israelites, some people serve God in this manner, and some in that manner, but God dwells among us. And that is the most important. And God's blessing is among us. That is not something to do whether you are full-time or part-time, that is something to do.

God is a wealthy God

They are serving in the church, and they also run a business outside, and they do not draw a salary from the church, let me tell you my observations. I have seen many of these cases, and they run into a big problem. It is just like the Old Testament. Aaron said I don't want to eat this lamb, I have my food. What do you think? That is not following the instruction of God at all, they thought that God is a poor God, and that is why they suffer in poverty. They thought that the church of Christ is very poor, and that is why God cannot provide enough money. You need to receive it, you need to follow the instruction. When you say it, you know God is a wealthy God. My God is wealthy, that is why I am not short of these things at all.

Do you know God is a wealthy God? Sacrifice to God. Serving as priests, you need to be a part of this, you need to take a share of this. You can only eat one that day, for any leftovers you must burn them. "Oh, how wasteful, I will buy a fridge, I will keep it in a fridge." No, God will not allow that. You cannot keep it in a fridge, you must eat it all. Let me tell you the secret of running the church. The church is not a place for saving money, it is a place for spending money. That is why you have to keep on expending the resources. It is like a training organization, there are so many members to be trained, and you do not have enough resources, and you want to save money for God, and that is why you suffer poverty. And the church is like in between the lines telling God that He is a poor God. "You are not wealthy, you are not rich, I will help you to save money".That kind of mindset is not good. Serving God, you need to have a rich person's mentality. The church is not meant to save money, invest, and put money in the stock market, and it is not supposed to do that. It is a place to let blessings flow.

The later part of this is to offer a bull and two rams and become a daily event. The priest serving in the tabernacle, Aaron and his son, cannot finish it at all, they must burn it and offer it to God. And people will say, how wasteful, why do you waste money? No, that is the instruction of God! God is not short of money, God is not short of bulls or rams, or anything. That is why as a Christian, you need to change your mentality.

Have a mentality of a rich man， not a mentality of slavery

That's why as a Christian you have to change your mentality to a rich men's mentality. If you do not have the mentality of a rich man, you will think God is poor. Actully God is not poor. You don't need to help him save money. Some pastors do not accept the salary because they think the church is poor. That is a big problem. That's not consecration.Do you want to consecrate yourself? Then you have to change your mind. If you want to be consecrated, you have to follow the instructions of God. This is what God revealed to us.

In the path of entering the Promised Land, the most important thing is to change your mentality. From a mentality of slavery, rather change it into a mentality of a free man and rich man mentality, that's how it works. Sacrifice a bull each day as a sin offering, which is not being wasteful. If you lay yourself down to the Lord, if you sacrifice yourself to God, it will not be wasted. What is your priority? Just making a living. No, it's not to make a living, you need to be consecrated as a priest before God. Whether you are a church staff, either part-time or full-time, you need to be consecrated, your mind, your soul, and your heart need to be consecrated, and you will feed yourself by the power of God.

If you consecrate yourself, God will speak to you!

Then in verse 42, God says he will meet you and speak with you. In the tabernacle, God will meet you and speak to you. You have to do all these, after you do all of it, you will be consecrated, and God will speak with you.

Some people say "I don't hear God!" Then I would say, "You'd better not hear God because even if you did, you would not obey Him. It will become a disaster". A lot of people want to hear God, but they can't. Every time I say that God speaks to me like this, they say "How come God speaks to you and not me? How come you can see and I can't see?" It's because I'm carrying the duty as a priest, if you serve God as a priest, God will surely speak to you. All these spiritual gifts are not for you to play, but for you to serve and minister to people. If you serve people and minister to them, God will speak to you. Not only that, God will fulfill what you said. That is so powerful. That is a fellowship because we are friends with God. It is like a salesman who promises something to the customers, then the boss has to agree with what you have promised. The company will fulfill what you promised.

This is the same, we are the priests of God. When we say something, God will help us fulfill it. So then God will reveal to us the future. If he does, you will get all the opportunities because God knows the future. No matter who you are, if you know the future of the stock market, you will make a lot of money. So God speaking to us is the most valuable element as a priest serving before the Lord.

Consecrate ourselves and God will dwell among us

"They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them, and I am the Lord their God." (Exodus 29:46, NIV)

Do you hear that? The God of the whole universe, the whole earth, the whole solar system! He is our God and we have a fellowship. And we serve as his priests, which is the best job ever. But it's also a high-risk job. If you are fired by God, then you will have a big problem.

After sharing so much with you guys, do you understand that you need to consecrate yourself? Do you understand that is a basic requirement that we need offer ourselves as living sacrifices before serving our God? Just because we are living under grace, we have to still do things, Jesus hasn't done everything for us yet. No, that is not the case. We still have to follow the consecrated path. That's the main requirement as a priest. You need to fulfill your job as a priest. Although this is a wonderful job, you need to be qualified. So

"I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God." (Exodus 29:44-45, NIV)

The church is consecrated by God. How do you know that? Because God is in us and is doing all kinds of things among us. So do we want to keep our own set of values? No, we can't keep it. You have to know that you are a priest. From now on the church, the pastor, and the church members are consecrated by God. All of us are living sacrifices.

Thank you everyone for listening to me, and I hope all of us understand the priesthood and the everlasting ordinance. We need to keep our minds, our souls, and our hearts to be consecrated before God. We have to put on Jesus Christ and have the image of Christ from the inside out.

May the Lord bless you!