Monday, February 1, 2010

Are Your Undergarments Clean?



Exodus 28:41
You shall put them on your brother Aaron and on his sons with him, and shall anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them so that they may serve me as priests.


My grandmother always told me to make sure I had clean undergarments on because "you never know when you could be in a wreck." Grandmother was trying to make sure we wouldn't be embarrassed if we ever had a crisis and the doctors could see what we had on underneath. As believers, we should always make sure we have on clean undergarments before we are in a crisis where everybody can see what we have on underneath.

The Apostle Peter reminds us in I Peter 2:9 that we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. It is interesting that in the Old Testament there was a certain tribe set apart as priests who would go in before God to offer sacrifices for the people, but in the New Testament, there is no curtain that separates the people from God and the people. When Jesus was crucified, the curtain that separated the lay people from the Holy of Holies was torn into and Jesus became our High Priest so that we could approach the throne directly and daily. The earth is the Lord’s sanctuary and we through the blood of Jesus are His priests. In the Old Testament, the priests had to be selected from the tribe of Levi in order to be put into service. Today, we also have to go through three stages to be activated for service

1. Anoint them. The anointing process was when Moses poured oil on the head of the priests to symbolize God’s presence. When we say people are “anointed” it’s because we recognize God’s hand, God’s signature on their vocal cords and evidence in the signs and wonders that follow their ministry. Jesus said, “My sheep recognize my voice and they will not hearken to the voice of a stranger. It’s the anointing that makes the difference and when we belong to Jesus His anointing transfers to us, the priesthood of all believers.

2. Ordain them. To ordain means to infer priestly authority. Jesus gave His disciples authority to cast out devils and to heal the sick. We should walk in our spiritual authority. Many times we walk around as if we are powerless to spiritual attack. We fight not against flesh and blood but against dark powers and principalities in high places. Our weapons are not carnal but spiritual for the pulling down of strongholds and taking captive every negative thought. We have authority!

3. Consecrate them. The priest had to wash before they put their priestly garments on. They had to put on special under garments from their hips to their thighs to cover their nakedness when serving. We should consecrate ourselves when coming in to serve. We can’t just walk into service any old kind of way, we need to make sure we are clean inside and out.

We are a royal priesthood and for that reason we should protect our anointing, walking in our authority and cleanse ourselves daily so that God can use us.

Dear God, give me a clean heart so that I can serve you better. Infer your authority over my life so I can represent you correctly. Anoint me afresh so my cup runs over, then I will be able to teach sinners your way even as I stay on the right track. Use me Lord, I’m available to you.

In Jesus Name,
Amen

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