that they may serve Me
in the wilderness”
(Exo. 7:16; 5:1; 4:23; 8:1, 20; 9:1, 13; 10:3):
had been usurped by Pharaoh
to serve as slaves
to carry out
the purpose of the Egyptians.
not only Satan
but also the self and the natural man;
our natural mind, will, or emotions
may be a Pharaoh
who rebels against God
or who bargains subtly with Him.
the wilderness
signifies a realm of separation;
in His dealing with Pharaoh,
God demanded such a separation
for His people.
that they may hold a feast to Me
in the wilderness”;
“let us go
and sacrifice to Jehovah”
(5:1, 17):
was not separation;
His goal
was that the children of Israel
would hold a feast to Him
and sacrifice to Him:
was to let the people
go a three days’ journey
into the wilderness
so that they
could hold a feast to Him
and sacrifice to Him;
this is
the enjoyment of God’s salvation.
we have been delivered
from bondage in Egypt
in order to serve God,
and we are now
in the wilderness
enjoying the feast
and offering sacrifice to God.
is to enjoy God with God
and to worship God:
indicate that when God’s people
are feasting,
He is happy;
their feasting
is to Him.
man can have with God
is to feast to God and with God.
means that we
feast for Him and with Him;
the more
we feast,
the more
enjoyment He has
and the happier
He is.
is dispensational worship,
that is,
worshipping God
according to
what has been dispensed into us.
were to sacrifice to the Lord:
parallel to hold a feast:
the feast was a feast,
but to God
it was a sacrifice.
there is nothing
to feast on;
what the children of Israel
were to feast on
was the very sacrifice
they were to offer to God.
is to offer something to Him,
and to hold a feast to God
is to enjoy with God
what is offered to Him.
The purpose of God’s calling
is to bring His chosen people
to the mountain,
where they may serve Him
and sacrifice to Him:
In Exodus 3:12
God says
that His people would serve Him
on the mountain of God.
The mountain of God
is where we
receive the revelation
regarding God’s purpose:
At the mountain
the children of Israel
received the revelation
concerning what God is
and concerning God’s desire
to have a dwelling place on earth.
Here on the mountain,
where the sky is clear,
we see
the vision of God’s economy;
here we come to know
what is on God’s heart,
and we see
what God desires
to have on earth today.
We realize
that God desires
to have a people
who walk
according to His statutes
and who build Him a tabernacle
so that He
may dwell among them.
We must serve God
according to the vision
of God
and of the pattern
shown on the mountain:
We need to see
a vision of God
in a transparent and clear heaven;
only when we
are in such an atmosphere
can we receive
the heavenly vision
of the building
of God’s dwelling place.
“According to all
that I show you,
the pattern of the tabernacle
and the pattern of all its furnishings,
even so shall you make it” (v. 9):
Before the tabernacle was built,
God showed Moses
the pattern of
the tabernacle and its furnishings.
In order to serve God,
we must see the pattern
shown on the mountain.
The pattern
shown on the mountain
is God’s plan;
if we do not understand
God’s plan,
it will be impossible
for us to do God’s work.
Because the church
as the mystery of Christ
was revealed
to the apostles and prophets,
the revelation they received
is considered
the foundation
on which the church
is built.
The blood of the covenant
enables the believers
to serve the living God:
The blood of the covenant
has made it possible
for God’s people,
as fallen and sinful persons
who have been
redeemed, forgiven, and cleansed,
to enter into God’s presence
and remain there
to be infused with Him.
The blood of Christ
makes it possible
for us to serve the living God;
through the redeeming blood of Christ,
we have life
and have been brought
into the presence of God
to serve Him.
The basis of our service
is God
as fire
from heaven:
The fire
burning out of the midst of the thornbush
was the Triune God,
the God of resurrection.
As those
who have been gained
and are being used by God,
we are a thornbush
according to our natural man;
however,
there is
a fire in us;
God has come to us
in the fire:
When the fire of God
was burning
in the thornbush,
it was God
who was burning.
The strength and brightness
of the fire
come from the fire itself;
the fire is
merely resting on us;
our purpose
is to express the fire.
Our service to God
must be based
on the fire
from the altar of burnt offering:
The fire that burned
on the altar of the burnt offering
came down
from the heavens:
After coming down
from the heavens,
that fire burned continually
upon the altar.
The divine fire,
the burning Triune God,
enables us to serve;
our service
must come
out of the burning of God’s fire.
The fire from the altar
is the genuine motivating power
of service.
The Lord
brought the children of Israel
out of Egypt
in order to make them
a kingdom of priests,
a kingdom
in which everyone
would be a priest,
one who serves God continually:
Exodus 29 reveals
that we were saved
so that we may be sanctified
to serve God
as priests:
The goal of God’s salvation
is to make all those
who believe in Christ
priests of God.
The Lord Jesus, the Priest,
brought us into the priesthood
through His redemption;
since we are priests,
we should be serving God
in whatever we are doing.
Christ,
who is
resurrection and life,
changes death into life
for the building of
the house of God;
our living as Christians
is a life of
changing death into life
for the building up of
the mystical Body of Christ.
The Father’s house
is a matter of the Triune God
—through incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection—
working Himself into the believers
in order to be fully mingled with them
so that He
may build them up
as an organism
for His dwelling and expression.
By the Spirit
and through His death and resurrection,
the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ,
is building an organism, the church,
which is
His Body and the Father’s house,
produced by
the mingling of the Triune God
with His chosen and redeemed people
for His corporate expression;
this is
the increase of Christ
for the building up of the church.
Hits: 1
7 replies on “Serving God”
Prophecy note, 18 September 2016
“Let My people go
that they
may serve Me
in the wilderness”:
The children of Israel
had been usurped
by Pharaoh
to serve as slaves
to carry out
the purpose of the Egyptians.
Pharaoh signifies
not only Satan
but also the self
and the natural man;
our natural mind, will, or emotions
may be a Pharaoh
who rebels against God
or who bargains subtly with Him.
Positively,
the wilderness
signifies a realm of separation;
in His dealing with Pharaoh,
God demanded
such a separation
for His people.
“Let My people go
that they
may hold a feast to Me
in the wilderness”;
“let us go
and sacrifice to Jehovah”:
God’s goal was
not separation;
His goal
was that the children of Israel
would hold a feast to Him
and sacrifice to Him:
God’s demand of Pharaoh
was to let the people go
a three days’ journey
into the wilderness
so that they
could hold a feast to Him
and sacrifice to Him;
this is
the enjoyment of God’s salvation.
Because of the Lord’s full salvation,
we have been delivered
from bondage in Egypt
in order to serve God,
and we are
now in the wilderness
enjoying the feast
and offering sacrifice
to God.
To hold a feast to God
is to enjoy God
with God
and to worship God:
The words
to Me
in 5:1
indicate that when God’s people
are feasting,
He is happy;
their feasting
is to Him.
The best and highest relationship
man can have with God
is to feast
to God and with God.
To have a feast to God
means that we
feast for Him
and with Him;
the more
we feast,
the more enjoyment
He has
and the happier
He is.
This feasting to the Lord
is dispensational worship,
that is,
worshipping God
according to
what has been dispensed
into us.
The children of Israel
were to sacrifice
to the Lord:
Sacrifice
is a word
parallel to
hold a feast:
To the children of Israel,
the feast was a feast,
but to God
it was a sacrifice.
Without the sacrifice,
there is
nothing to feast on;
what the children of Israel
were to feast on
was the very sacrifice
they were to offer
to God.
To sacrifice to God
is to offer something
to Him,
and to hold a feast to God
is to enjoy
with God
what is offered to Him.
The purpose of God’s calling
is to bring His chosen people
to the mountain,
where they
may serve Him
and sacrifice to Him:
In Exodus 3:12
God says
that His people
would serve Him
on the mountain of God.
The mountain of God
is where we
receive the revelation
regarding God’s purpose:
At the mountain
the children of Israel
received the revelation
concerning what God is
and concerning God’s desire
to have
a dwelling place on earth.
Here on the mountain,
where the sky is clear,
we see
the vision of God’s economy;
here we come to know
what is on God’s heart,
and we see
what God desires
to have
on earth today.
We realize
that God
desires to have
a people
who walk
according to His statutes
and who build Him a tabernacle
so that He
may dwell among them.
We must serve God
according to the vision
of God
and of the pattern
shown on the mountain:
We need to see
a vision of God
in a transparent and clear heaven;
only when we
are in such an atmosphere
can we receive
the heavenly vision
of the building
of God’s dwelling place.
“According to all
that I show you,
the pattern of the tabernacle
and the pattern of all its furnishings,
even so shall you make it”:
Before the tabernacle was built,
God showed Moses
the pattern of
the tabernacle and its furnishings.
In order to serve God,
we must see
the pattern
shown on the mountain.
The pattern
shown on the mountain
is God’s plan;
if we do not understand
God’s plan,
it will be impossible
for us
to do God’s work.
Because the church
as the mystery of Christ
was revealed
to the apostles and prophets,
the revelation they received
is considered
the foundation
on which the church
is built.
The blood of the covenant
enables the believers
to serve the living God:
The blood of the covenant
has made it possible
for God’s people,
as fallen and sinful persons
who have been
redeemed, forgiven, and cleansed,
to enter into God’s presence
and remain there
to be infused with Him.
The blood of Christ
makes it possible
for us
to serve the living God;
through the redeeming blood of Christ,
we have life
and have been brought
into the presence of God
to serve Him.
The basis of our service
is God
as fire
from heaven:
The fire
burning out of
the midst of the thornbush
was the Triune God,
the God of resurrection.
As those
who have been gained
and are being used by God,
we are
a thornbush
according to our natural man;
however,
there is
a fire
in us;
God has come to us
in the fire:
When the fire of God
was burning
in the thornbush,
it was
God
who was burning.
The strength and brightness
of the fire
come from
the fire itself;
the fire
is merely resting
on us;
our purpose
is to express
the fire.
Our service to God
must be based
on the fire
from the altar
of burnt offering:
The fire that burned
on the altar
of the burnt offering
came down
from the heavens:
After coming down
from the heavens,
that fire
burned continually
upon the altar.
The divine fire,
the burning Triune God,
enables us
to serve;
our service
must come
out of the burning of
God’s fire.
The fire from the altar
is the genuine motivating power
of service.
The Lord
brought the children of Israel
out of Egypt
in order to make them
a kingdom of priests,
a kingdom
in which everyone
would be
a priest,
one
who serves God continually:
Exodus 29 reveals
that we
were saved
so that we
may be sanctified
to serve God
as priests:
The goal of God’s salvation
is to make all those
who believe in Christ
priests of God.
The Lord Jesus, the Priest,
brought us
into the priesthood
through His redemption;
since we are priests,
we should be serving God
in whatever we are doing.
Christ,
who is
resurrection and life,
changes death
into life
for the building of
the house of God;
our living
as Christians
is a life of
changing death
into life
for the building up of
the mystical Body of Christ.
The Father’s house
is a matter of
the Triune God
—through incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection—
working Himself
into the believers
in order to be fully mingled
with them
so that He
may build them up
as an organism
for His dwelling and expression.
By the Spirit
and through His death and resurrection,
the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ,
is building
an organism, the church,
which is
His Body and the Father’s house,
produced by
the mingling
of the Triune God
with His chosen and redeemed people
for His corporate expression;
this is
the increase of Christ
for the building up of the church.
Day 6
John 11:25
Jesus said to her,
I am
the resurrection and the life;
he who believes into Me,
even if he should die,
shall live.
John 14:2
In My Father’s house
are many abodes;
if it were not so,
I would have told you;
for I go to prepare
a place for you.
In the dealing with the temple
in John 2,
the purpose of life
is shown.
The principle of life
is to change death into life.
The purpose of life
is to build
the house of God.
The principle of life
is for the purpose of life.
The changing of death into life
is for life’s building,
the building of God’s house.
Let us now consider
…the sign of
building up
the mystical Body of Christ
in John 2.
We need to realize
that the rebuilding
of the destroyed temple
has already been accomplished.
In Christ’s resurrection
we all have been resurrected.
Peter tells us
that we have been regenerated
through the resurrection of Christ.
This means
that in God’s view,
according to His accomplishment
in His economy,
the Body of Christ
has already been built.
The tense of the verbs
in the book of Revelation
indicates this.
For example,
the apostle John
does not say
that the New Jerusalem
will come;
he tells us
that he saw
the New Jerusalem
coming down
out of heaven
from God.
Approximately nineteen hundred years ago,
John saw
the New Jerusalem.
This shows us
that, according to
God’s way of seeing,
the Body of Christ
has already been built up.
Our living as Christians
is simply a matter of
the changing of death into life
for the building up
of the mystical Body of Christ.
The entire Christian life
consists of two matters:
changing death into life
and building up
the mystical Body of Christ.
This is
the proper, genuine, and complete
Christian life.
There is
no third item
in our Christian life.
Now
we are in this building
by our daily living,
and our daily living
is a matter of
changing water into wine.
We may summarize
our Christian life
by saying
that the Christian life
is the changing of
death into life,
water into wine,
for the building up
of the Body of Christ.
What is our living?
Our living
is the changing of death into life.
What are we doing here?
We are carrying out
the work of
building up
the church, the Body of Christ.
This is
our living,
and this is
our goal.
Our living is
the changing of death into life.
Our goal is
the building up of the church.
We have
a living of
the eternal life, the eternal zoe,
for the purpose of
building up
the mystical Body of Christ.
The first stage
of the Father’s house
was God incarnate, God manifested
in the flesh.
The second stage
is Christ
resurrected with
all His believers, the many sons
built up together
to be the church.
Eventually,
this church,
the second stage of the Father’s house,
will consummate in
the coming New Jerusalem.
It is
of vital importance
that we see
what the Father’s house is.
The Father’s house
is a matter of
the Triune God
—through incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection—
working Himself
into His believers
in order to be fully mingled with them
that He
may build them up
as an organism
for His dwelling place and expression.
This is
also for their dwelling place.
Therefore,
the sign of the Father’s house
points to
the mingling of the Triune God
with His redeemed people
to produce
a mutual dwelling place,
a dwelling place
for both God
and His chosen and redeemed people.
The Son of God,
the Lord Jesus Christ,
is not building a heavenly mansion.
On the contrary,
by the Spirit
and through His death and resurrection,
He is building
an organism, the church,
which is
His Body and the Father’s house.
This house
is composed of
the mingling of
the Triune God
with His chosen and redeemed people.
May we all
be nourished with the truth
concerning the mingling of God with us
to produce
a mutual dwelling place.
Day 5
Lev. 9:24
Then
fire came forth
from before Jehovah
and consumed
the burnt offering
and the fat portions
on the altar…
Exo. 19:6
And you
shall be to Me
a kingdom of priests
and a holy nation…
In the Old Testament
the priests
burned incense
before God.
The burning of incense
symbolizes the service
rendered to God
by man.
The fire
used to burn the incense
had to be taken
from the altar of burnt offering.
…Our service to God
must be based on the fire
from the altar of burnt offering.
After coming down
from the heavens,
that fire
burned continually
on the altar.
The incense
must be burned
by the fire
from the first altar.
Fire is
a source of energy.
Everything
that moves in the physical world
uses energy,
and energy
is produced through burning.
In order for our service
to be full of energy,
our service
must pass through
the fire on the altar.
This is
not strange fire,
which is
of man
and of the earth.
Rather,
this is
holy fire.
This fire is
of God
and of heaven.
Our service
must come out of
the burning of God’s fire.
This fire
should be
the energy, the driving force, the impulse
within us.
Then
our service
will be
out of God,
not out of ourselves.
The energy and the motivating power
for the New Testament service
began with
fire from heaven.
The fire
that descended upon the Galilean fishermen
became the energy and the motivating power
within them.
In order for our service
to have spiritual value
and be acceptable to God,
He must move through us
and serve through us.
This is
the purpose of the altar.
God is calling those
who love Him
and desire to satisfy His heart’s desire
to offer themselves
on the altar.
Exodus 19:6
reveals God’s purpose
in bringing the children of Israel
out of Egypt:
“You shall be
to Me
a kingdom of priests
and a holy nation.”
The Lord
brought the children of Israel
out of Egypt
in order to make them
a kingdom of priests,
a kingdom
in which everyone
would be a priest,
one who serves God.
Hence,
God’s goal
was to have
a priestly kingdom.
From Exodus 29
we see
that we
have been saved
so that we
may be sanctified
to serve God
as priests.
As revealed in this chapter,
sanctification includes
being washed and clothed.
It also
includes redemption,
which solves
the problem of our sinful nature,
and having our hands
filled with something
to satisfy God and ourselves.
This last aspect of sanctification
—feasting on Christ—
involves saturation and transformation.
Eventually,
we are saturated
by what we eat
and transformed
by it.
The priests
do not eat ordinary food.
Instead,
they have a priestly diet
and eat priestly food.
Their food,
as typified by the offerings,
is Christ.
Eventually,
the priests
were constituted of the food
they ate,
for we always become
what we eat.
According to the New Testament,
the goal of God’s salvation
is to make all those
who believe in Christ
priests of God.
Therefore,
if a person
is saved
but fails to become a priest
to serve God,
he cannot fulfill God’s purpose
or satisfy His desire.
In the last book of the New Testament, Revelation,
we see
that the redeemed ones
are all priests of God.
In Revelation 1:5 and 6
we are told
that Jesus Christ
has released us
from our sins
by His blood
and “made us a kingdom, priests
to His God and Father.”
Likewise,
Revelation 5:10 says
that we
have been made
“a kingdom and priests
to our God.”
The Lord Jesus,
who is the Priest of all priests,
brought us
into the priesthood
through His redemption.
The whole church
must now be the priesthood.
However,
this priesthood
has also been lost.
Therefore,
the recovery of
the church life
is the recovery of
the real priesthood.
It is
not a matter of
service, work, or activity.
It is solely
a matter of
the priesthood.
Day 4
Exo. 24:8
So Moses took the blood
and sprinkled it
on the people
and said,
Here is
the blood of the covenant,
which Jehovah
has made with you
in accordance with all these words.
Exo. 3:2
And the Angel of Jehovah
appeared to him
in a flame of fire
out of the midst of a thornbush.
And when he looked,
there was the thornbush,
burning with fire;
but the thornbush
was not consumed.
In our spiritual work,
many things are important,
and if we come short
in any of them,
our work
will lose
its spiritual usefulness
and not please God.
Of these important items,
the most crucial one
is “the pattern on the mount.”
The pattern on the mount
is God’s plan.
If we do not understand
God’s plan,
it will be impossible
for us to do God’s work.
Since the mystery of Christ
has been revealed to the apostles,
the revelation they received
is considered
the foundation
upon which the church
is built.
This corresponds to
the rock in Matthew 16:18,
which is
not only Christ Himself
but also the revelation concerning Christ,
upon which Christ
will build His church.
Therefore,
the foundation of
the apostles and prophets
is the revelation
they received
regarding Christ and the church
for the building of the church.
The church
is built upon this revelation.
In Exodus 24:6 and 8
the blood from the sacrifices
offered on the altar,
typifying the blood of Christ,
was for redemption
and for the forgiveness and cleansing of sins.
…This blood
also enacted the covenant
between God and His people.
Hence, the blood
is referred to here
as “the blood of the covenant.”
The blood
made it possible
for God’s people,
as fallen and sinful persons
who had been
redeemed, forgiven, and cleansed,
to enter into God’s presence,
that is, into God Himself,
and remain there
to be infused with Him
and thereby be constituted
pillars
as a living testimony,
a living portrait,
of what God is.
The blood of Christ
makes it possible
for us to serve the living God.
…There is
no way
for lifeless people
to serve the living God.
Praise Him
that through the redeeming blood
we have life
and have been brought
into His presence
to serve Him!
The thornbush
has a special meaning
in the Bible.
When the Sadducees
were debating with the Lord
concerning resurrection,
the Lord said,
“Concerning the dead,
that they are raised,
have you not read
in the book of Moses,
in the section
concerning the bush,
how God spoke to him,
saying,
‘I am
the God of Abraham
and the God of Isaac
and the God of Jacob’?
He is
not the God of the dead,
but of the living”
(Mark 12:26-27).
The Lord Jesus
referred to
the thornbush in Exodus 3
when speaking
concerning resurrection.
As those
who have been gained
and are being used
by God,
we are
a thornbush
according to our old, natural man.
However,
there is
a fire in us;
God has come to us
in the fire.
When the fire of God
was burning
in the thornbush,
it was God
who was burning.
Hence,
God does not use
what is in us.
The thornbush
was not the fuel
for the fire;
it was
merely a place
for the fire
to be expressed.
The fire
did not depend on the thornbush
in order to burn.
Moses
was used by God
according to this principle.
God’s fire of glory
was expressed
through Moses, a thornbush,
in order
for God
to deal with the magicians
and the officials of Egypt
and with Pharaoh.
Even though the fire
was burning,
Moses was not consumed.
We must see
that we are
but a thornbush
and that God
has come upon us
in resurrection
as fire.
He will do
what He wants to do in us,
but we will not be consumed.
He will not use
our capabilities or our abilities
to strengthen the fire
or to make it brighter.
The strength and the brightness
of the fire
come from the fire itself;
the fire is
merely resting on us.
Our purpose
is merely to express the fire.
Day 3
Exo. 24:10
And they saw
the God of Israel,
and under His feet
there was something
like a paved work of sapphire,
even like heaven itself
for clearness.
Exo. 25:8-9
And let them make
a sanctuary for Me
that I may dwell
in their midst;
according to all
that I show you,
the pattern of the tabernacle
and the pattern of all its furnishings,
even so
shall you make it.
Exodus 3:1
speaks of
the mountain of God, Horeb.
…In chapter 19
we see the children of Israel
at the mountain of God, Mount Sinai,
the place where God
could contact His people.
In 3:12
God said
that His people
would serve Him
on the mountain of God.
It is a very significant thing
to serve God.
The mountain
…is where the children of Israel
received revelation
concerning God
and concerning the tabernacle.
For hundreds of years
they had been
under darkness in Egypt
where there was
no light, no word, and no speaking
of God.
But now,
under the enlightenment,
they were to live
according to the revelation concerning God,
and they were to build the tabernacle
according to the pattern
revealed by God.
When they were
at the mountain,
the Israelites
received the revelation
concerning what God is.
Do not regard the law
simply as some commandments.
The law was
a testimony, definition, description, and explanation
of what God is.
By the law
we can know God Himself.
God required His chosen people
to live
according to this revelation of Himself.
Thus, on the mountain,
Moses received a revelation
both of what God is
and of the kind of life
the people of God
should live.
Because God is
holy, righteous, and loving,
His people should live a life
characterized by
holiness, righteousness, and love.
Chapters 20 through 24 of Exodus
reveal that God
is detailed in
His holiness, righteousness,
and other divine attributes.
His people
must live a life
that corresponds to
the detailed attributes of God.
Such a revelation
can be seen
only on the mountaintop.
Here on the mountain,
where the sky is clear,
we see
the vision of God’s economy.
Here we come to know
what is on God’s heart,
and we see
what God desires
to have on earth today.
We realize
that He desires
to have a people
who walk according to His statutes
and who build Him a tabernacle
that He may dwell among them.
In my fellowship with the Lord
I like to have a clear sky
and to see
a work of transparent sapphire
underneath Him.
I am happy
when there is nothing
between me and the Lord,
when there is
no cloud, shadow, or obscurity
and everything is clear.
Those who have had
a certain amount of experience with the Lord
can bear witness
to what I am speaking
concerning the vision of God
in a transparent and clear heaven.
Only when we
are in such a clear atmosphere
can we receive
the heavenly vision
of the building of God’s dwelling place.
It is on the mountain
that God’s people
can also see the revelation
of the desire of God’s heart.
Here we see
that God wants us
to live according to
what He is
because the desire of His heart
is to have
a dwelling place on earth.
The tabernacle was erected
as the temporary fulfillment
of this desire.
Before the tabernacle was built,
a detailed revelation
regarding every aspect of it
was given to Moses
in chapters 25 to 31.
The remaining chapters
cover the experience
of the children of Israel
at the mountain
and tell of
the building of the tabernacle.
In Exodus 25
God said to Moses,
“Let them make
a sanctuary for Me
that I may dwell
in their midst;
according to all
that I show you,
the pattern of the tabernacle,
…even so
shall you make it”
(vv. 8-9).
God’s desire
is to have
a dwelling place on this earth.
He has planned this;
He has a pattern,
a pattern according to His pleasure.
We must know this;
we must realize
that God’s intention in the universe
is to have a dwelling place
built among His people
and with His people
on this earth.
Day 2
And they said,
The God of the Hebrews
has met with us.
Let us go a three days’ journey
into the wilderness
that we may sacrifice
to Jehovah our God…
But an hour is coming,
and it is now,
when the true worshippers
will worship the Father
in spirit and truthfulness,
for the Father also
seeks such
to worship Him.
God is Spirit,
and those who worship Him
must worship
in spirit and truthfulness.
there are ordinances
concerning keeping feasts unto God.
The best and highest relationship
man can have with God
is to feast unto God and with God.
what the children of Israel
were doing inside the house?
They were eating
the flesh of the Passover lamb.
Exodus 12:14 indicates
that they were feasting.
…What does it mean
to have a feast to the Lord?
It means
that we
remain in the house
and enjoy
a full participation in the lamb.
In this way
we feast on the lamb.
However,
the Lord enjoys this feast
more than we do.
To have a feast unto Him
means that we
feast for Him and with Him.
…The more we feast,
the more enjoyment He has
and the happier He is.
However,
the more we endeavor
to do things,
the more displeased
He becomes,
for our endeavors
do not give Him
any enjoyment.
is dispensational worship;
that is,
it is
worshipping God
according to
what has been dispensed into us.
As we eat, drink, praise, sing, and rejoice
in the presence of God,
we hold
a feast unto Him.
As we shall see,
such a feast
is also a sacrifice unto the Lord.
To sacrifice
is to worship.
Dispensational worship
is worship
in which God
is dispensed into us
for our enjoyment
so that we
may feast in His presence
with Him and unto Him.
This is the worship
God desires.
This is
not only revealed
in the New Testament
but also implied
in the Old Testament.
a festival, a holiday, or a holy day,
a time for God’s people
to rest with God
and to enjoy God’s provision with God.
…This feasting
pleased the Lord
because it
was worship to Him.
According to the human concept,
people should always be working;
but according to the divine concept,
God’s people should put aside their working
for the times of festivals
to rest from their busyness
and to feast with God
in worship to Him.
that Pharaoh
allow the children of Israel
to sacrifice to Jehovah their God.
Sacrifice is a word
parallel to hold a feast.
To the children of Israel,
the feast was a feast,
but to God
it was a sacrifice.
Without the sacrifice,
there was nothing
to feast on.
What the children of Israel
were to feast on
was the very sacrifice
they were to offer to God.
The Passover
illustrates this.
The lamb sacrificed to God
was food for the children of Israel.
This reveals
that the feast and the sacrifice
are two aspects of one thing.
Whatever we sacrifice to God
spontaneously becomes
our feast.
This also is
dispensational worship.
This kind of worship
does not require
that we prostrate ourselves
before the Lord.
God did not say,
“Let My people go into the wilderness
so that there they
may prostrate themselves before Me.”
God does not want His people
to do this.
He wants them
to sacrifice to Him
and to hold a feast unto Him.
placed on Pharaoh
we see
a perfect, complete salvation
for His people.
This salvation includes
God’s rescuing His people
from the usurping hand of Satan
and bringing them
into the wilderness
in resurrection
so that they
can hold a feast unto Him
and sacrifice to Him.
What a wonderful salvation!
Moses told Pharaoh
to let the people go
so that they
might hold a feast unto the Lord
in the wilderness.
According to 5:3,
the people were to make
a journey of three days
into the desert
and there sacrifice unto the Lord.
To sacrifice unto God
is to offer something to Him,
and to hold a feast unto God
is to enjoy with God
what is offered to Him.
Day 1
And you shall say to him,
Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews,
has sent me to you,
saying,
Let My people go
that they may serve Me
in the wilderness.
But until this very moment
you have not listened.
…Moses and Aaron
came and said to Pharaoh,
Thus says Jehovah the God of Israel,
Let My people go
that they may hold a feast to Me
in the wilderness.
under God’s judgment;
they were also
under the tyranny of Pharaoh.
They had been usurped by Pharaoh
to serve as slaves
to carry out
the purpose of the Egyptians.
Hence,
the children of Israel
had two serious problems:
God’s judgment
and Pharaoh’s tyranny.
Although the Passover
was adequate to save them
from God’s judgment,
it was not effective
to rescue them
from the usurpation of the Egyptians.
In order to be saved
from Egyptian tyranny,
the children of Israel
needed the exodus
and the crossing of the Red Sea.
Pharaoh’s subtle bargaining.
Pharaoh signifies
not only Satan
but also the self and the natural man.
In addition,
our relatives or friends
can also be a Pharaoh
to us today.
Furthermore,
our natural mind, will, or emotion
may be a Pharaoh
who rebels against God
or who bargains subtly with Him.
the wilderness signifies
a place of wandering,
but positively
it signifies
a realm of separation.
When the children of Israel
entered into the wilderness,
they were separated
from everything Egyptian,
from everything worldly.
This separation
is related to
burial and resurrection.
Once we
were in Egypt,
that is, in the world.
But through burial and resurrection
we have passed
out of the world
into the wilderness,
where we
are separated to the Lord.
In His dealing with Pharaoh,
God demanded
such a separation
for His people.
…Separation, however,
is not the goal.
God’s goal
was that the children of Israel
would hold a feast to Him.
He wanted them
to be happy with Him
in His presence.
offer Christ to the Father,
the Father
is pleased, happy, and satisfied by us
through our sacrifice of Christ.
Therefore,
God’s demand of Pharaoh
was to let His people
go a three days’ journey
into the wilderness
so that they
could hold a feast to Him
and sacrifice unto Him.
This is
the enjoyment of God’s salvation.
to take a three days’ journey
into the wilderness.
…But Satan and the self
rise up
to deny God
and to refuse
to let us go.
Nevertheless,
because of the Lord’s full salvation,
many of us
have been delivered
from bondage in Egypt
and are now
in the wilderness
enjoying the feast
and offering sacrifice
to our God.
is to enjoy God with God.
Everyone who has truly been saved
has experienced
times of overflowing with joy
in the Lord’s presence.
Such times
are real holidays.
If you have not enjoyed
such a feast with the Lord
but have only been happy
when participating in worldly amusements,
then perhaps you
have not yet been saved.
Being saved
does not depend upon
having such an enjoyment. Nevertheless,
everyone who is saved
will have the experience,
at least once in his Christian life,
of holding a feast to the Lord,
of enjoying the Lord in His presence.
Sometimes
I have been so beside myself
with joy in the Lord
that it seemed
as if I were dancing before Him.
This is
not doctrine or theory
but a marvelous enjoyment
of our salvation.
Moses and Aaron
said to Pharaoh,
“Let my people go
that they may hold a feast to Me
in the wilderness”
(Exo. 5:1).
The feast
is in contrast with slavery,
with rigorous labor.
Jehovah was telling Pharaoh
to release His people from slavery
so that they
could hold a feast to Him.
The words “to Me” in this verse
indicate that when God’s people
are feasting,
He is happy.
Their feasting
is to Him.
It seems
that Jehovah
was telling Pharaoh,
“I am not happy
to see My people
under slavery in Egypt.
Let them go
so that they may feast
to make Me happy.
I like to see
My people feasting and rejoicing.
I am glad
when they do nothing
but eat and rejoice.
That is
a feast to Me.”