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By Atim Bamgbose

Often times we wonder and think or even conclude that God is partial in the choice of the people He decides to use for His purposes. But, there are conditions, which He has expressly cited in Scriptures as to the reasons for His decisions.

Those of us who are members of the body of Messiah and are recipients of the “Renewed Covenant” in Messiah’s blood, are called a “royal priesthood.” We are going to “rule and reign” with Messiah for a thousand years and we are going to be rulers, or leaders, in his Millennial Kingdom.

1 Peter 2:9 declares, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;”

Revelation 1:6 “And has made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

Revelation 5:10 “And has made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”

What we often forget is that God wanted the entire nation of Israel to be a nation of “kings and priests.” He wanted them to be the leaders of the entire earth to rule over the other Gentile nations. Originally the priesthood was not meant for only the tribe of Levi, but it was intended for all twelve tribes:

In Exodus 19:6, we have the desire of God expressed, “And you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak unto the children of Israel.”

But now, under the “Renewed Covenant” under Messiah’s reign, every born-again believer is called to be a leader—in other words a king and priest in the order of Melkizedek!

John 2:21 “But he spoke of the temple of his body.”

“Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) which is in you, which you have from God? You are not your own” [1 Corinthians 6:19]

Our bodies are the Temple of God, and as kings and priests in the Melkizedek Priesthood, we should be perfect in order to serve Him! But many in the body of Christ are “disabled or “drunk” with the “wine of fornication” which includes false pagan doctrines and Gnosticism.

While I agree that there are some mysteries of God we may never understand until we see Him face-to-face, there are so many others that He is very willing to outline their understanding from the Scriptures.

Leviticus 21:16 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
17 Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God.
18 For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous,
19 Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded,
20 Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken;
21 No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God.
22 He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.
23 Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them.

In the Old Testament, this was a matter of physical appearance, but since the advent of Christ, it has become a matter of spiritual appearance and quality (John 2:18-21).

The priests to minister beyond the Veil must be free from the following blemishes:
1. Blindness. In other words, this priest must be very clear as to the vision of what the father desires. Without vision, my people perish the bible says.

“Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD’S servant?” [Isaiah 42:19]

At the Trial of Jesus, He stood right in front of Caiaphas, the high priest, but could not recognise the real High Priest. Caiaphas was a blind priest!

2. Lameness. The priest must not only see the vision, he must walk in what he sees. He must walk worthy of the high calling of God because he recognises that indeed it is a high calling.

Enoch was able to walk with God because he was not lamed in his feet. He had a testimony that he lived a life that pleased God.

“That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;” [Colossians 1:10]

3. Flat nose. This denotes a person who has no spiritual discernment. He cannot tell soulish or carnal activities from spiritual. This person clearly does not understand the divine operations of the move of God’s Spirit.

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” [1 Corinthians 2:14]

Zechariah-and-Gabriel

Zechariah and Gabriel in the Temple

4. Superfluity. Strong’s gives us the original Hebrew – śâra‛. A primitive root; to prolong, that is, (reflexively) be deformed by an excess of members: – stretch out self, (have any) superfluous thing. This describes deformity by an excess of members. For example, someone born with six fingers; spiritually this person must not be given to excesses in the spirit. The excesses usually originate from the carnal mind and stifle the presence of God both in the person’s life and in that of the Assembly of God’s people.

Ever heard or participated in things such as “soaking in the spirit”, Christian yoga, et cetera? These are the superfluity of the spirit.

5. Broken foot. There is a gospel of the kingdom that must be preached. This is very different from the gospel of salvation. A broken-footed person can’t walk straight. That means, he isn’t prepared to preach the gospel of the kingdom. Something has probably happened to him in life such that his walk with God has been damaged. You can’t tell from his spiritual work what direction his priesthood is going. It is like a maze on the sea – directionless.

6. Broken-handed. The hand is usually used for service. It is what you use for both nice and not so nice tasks. It is the hand that serves the deserving and undeserving people. A broken-handed person is helpless and hapless, rather than be effective to the body, he needs to be ministered to and get healed. This broken-handed person cannot minister in a consistent manner due to the injury of his hand. It cannot serve with the attitude of the bondservant that does all things from the place of love.

7. Crookbackt/hunchback. The original Hebrew, by Strong’s, is gibbên. From an unused root meaning to be arched or contracted; hunchbacked: – crookbackt. In the natural, this is a person with a curvature to the spine making it impossible to stand upright. It basically describes a person that does not have a backbone, they are tossed about by every wind of doctrine. This tells of a person that hasn’t taken time to hear from God so the result is they can’t stand for truth

8. Dwarf. This describes a person that has not matured spiritually. At a time when the Lord is looking for fruits, this person doesn’t have it like the fig tree (Mark 11:13). They have not grown to their full potential in Christ. They have not and are not moving on to perfection. The spiritual characteristics of a mature person are not evident in them.

melchizedek

Melchizedek – King and Priest

9. Blemish in the eye. The vision of this priest is impaired, he is looking but because of the blemish in the eyes, the images are distorted. It is a person with confused sight or we can call double-vision. Bible says a double-minded person is unstable. What we see with our eyes is linked to our mind. So the eyes of our understanding impinge on how we understand the purposes and will of God.

In 2 Kings 6:16, we have the account of Elisha’s servant: “And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?”

Not Elisha, for he prayed, and said, “LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”

10. Scurvy. In the natural this is caused by a lack of vitamin C in the diet. Without it the body is weak and breaks down, making it sickly. It is important that the gospel we minister is balanced. No over labouring of some truths and neglecting others. God wants us to minister the full gospel. Unfortunately, what we see today is the gospel of prosperity – no holiness, no consecration, no true or acceptable sacrifice upon the altar. What we see and hear is a gospel that gratifies the worship of mammon or self-promotion.

11. Scabs. The priest of God must not exhibit odious behaviour. In the natural, this speaks of a skin condition such as psoriasis and eczema. It is an internal problem that stems from the immune system, which breaks out.

That is why we must be careful not just to exhibit the gifts of the spirit but the fruit. The fruit ensures that we are not puffed up by the gift because we have come to realise everything we are or have is to display God, not ourselves. Unfortunately, many who refuse to deal with this internal or carnal odious personality has a spiritual scab.

12. Broken stones. In the natural, it means that such man cannot father children because he has lost his marbles.

Spiritually, this speaks of an inability to be able to reproduce the life of God in them that hear you. The words they minister only feed the intellect. It is just information no life. In some cases, today all we have are fables, cunningly crafted fables of men. So they and those that listen to these fables have no life of God in them. The bible says the word I speak to you they are spirit and life-giving.

God will help us identify the blemishes we have or may have noticed, and from his Word, we will receive instruction on how to deal with these blemishes.

We want to be people who have the Father’s nature written in our foreheads. We want to be among that sealed company of people spoken of in Revelation 14 verses 1-5. God is doing this elaborate cleansing but we MUST submit to it so that we can be MADE (Genesis 1:26) blemish-free.

In conclusion, Jesus reveals, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” [Matthew 22:14]

As you read this, you would either see opportunities to cry out to God to correct these blemishes for God is He who heals all our “diseases” (Luke 4:40) or you can, out of frustration and self-deception kick a fuss, then day shall come and you would be found out – naked.

If you have noticed any of these blemishes in your life, then all you need to do is submit yourself to the Gentle Healer who takes away blemishes (Luke 4:40).

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Brother John

My name is simply Brother John. Saved and delivered by Jesus Christ just before my 16th birthday, nothing better could have happened to me in my entire life! Read a little more about my encounter with Christ here: Satan Taught Me... https://brotherjohn.org/satan-taught-me-jesus-mastered-me/ .... When I see that something has blessed me in one way or the other, then I want everybody to hear it and get blessed as much, if not much more. I worship with other believers at the The Platts Road Fellowship. In the truest sense of it, BrotherJohn.org is now more than the personal blog of the person who started it, it has evolved into a TEAM of some world-wide believers, who prefer to remain anonymous. This blog has one purpose: give you practical steps in walking with God. The steps can be found in the fresh Letters From God.

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3 Comments

  1. Amoke October 19, 2015

    Father God, I submit myself to you. Take away every blemish in my life, that I may fulfill the purpose of my calling in the name of Jesus.

    Reply
    1. Brother John October 19, 2015

      Amen!

      Reply

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