From: 	 heb_roots_chr@mail.geocities.com
Sent: 	 Wednesday, October 8, 1997 11:07 PM
To: 	 Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup
Subject: God's Sovereignty and Prayer




From:	 Mark Wilson
To:      heb_roots_chr@geocities.com
Subject: Kingdom/Tabernacle (part2)


             The Kingdom/Tabernacle (part 2)

In many other studies we have shown how the believer approaches God from
the first veil called the gate, or door.  He comes to the altar with his
sacrifice and kills it.  The priest catches the blood in a basin and
sprinkles it upon the altar and splashes the rest against the base of
the altar.  The person's sins are forgiven.  Then if the person was a
priest he stepped up toward the laver and his garments were removed.  He
was then washed all over in the laver.  Then priest's garments were put
on and he stepped up toward the second veil, called the door of the
sanctuary.  He was then anointed with the horn of the anointing oil.  It
was the anointing that qualified him to be a priest.   

EXO 40:15  Anoint
them just as you anointed their father, so they may serve me as priests.
Their anointing will be to a priesthood that will continue for all
generations to come."

The seventh outer court experience was the consecration offering.  

EXO 40:13 "And you shall put the holy garments on Aaron and anoint him 
and consecrate him, that he may minister as a priest to Me."

No priest could serve in the Holy place ministry who was not anointed 
and consecrated. The basic meaning of consecration is to forsake all 
else to do the whole will of God.  Once the priest had completed the 
consecration offering he could pass through the next veil which was 
the door of the sanctuary. Then he stepped into the Holy Place to 
minister as a priest, first to God, and then to the people for God.

In the Holy Place there were three distinct pieces of furniture( for
the lack of a better term).  On the left was the lampstand.  On the
right was the table of shewbread.  Straight ahead, directly in front of
the third veil, was the altar of incense.  It's smoke rose up toward the
Most Holy Place just beyond the veil.   The altar was in the Holy Place
but it was there to function for the Most Holy Place.  Since the Old
Testament priesthood had no access to the most Holy place it had to be
in the Holy Place in order to be serviced under the Old Covenant.  At
Calvary it was that third veil that was torn from top to bottom so the
altar is now directly before the ark of the covenant, the throne of God.

The explanation of the manifestation of the Kingdom of God begins at
the altar of incense.  Man participates with God to bring the Kingdom of
God to the earth at the altar of incense.  Since so few people, who are
saved, can really qualify for ministry at the altar because of a lack of
consecration, it is clear why this ministry is neglected.  Then it
should be clear why the gospel of the Kingdom is mistaken for the gospel
of salvation.  Salvation takes place at the bronze altar.  The Kingdom
functions at the gold altar of incense.  This then is the introduction
to our study on the Kingdom function of the church.

This study must begin with GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY.  We began with man's
dominion and God's eternal purpose in capsule form.  Other studies have
focused on God's sovereignty.  God Himself gave man sovereignty upon
this earth to rule over the earth in the character of God and to fulfil
God's eternal purpose.  It is at the altar of incense that the purpose
of God, the sovereignty of God and the dominion of man upon the earth
come together.  The sovereign God gave man dominion on the earth to
carry out and fulfil God's eternal purpose.

Man was given delegated authority, rulership and sovereignty upon the
earth, under God's sovereignty.  Man had no autonomous authority to act
on his own behalf.  All man's authority was subject to God's sovereign
authority and was by God's permission.  Man was to co-operate with God
in fulfilling God's purpose.  The place this happens is the altar of
incense.  God is not going to over step man's authority.  God
sovereignly gave it and He will wait for man to co-operate with God to
Do His will.  This is precisely why the consecration offering must
precede the Holy Place life and ministry.  The carnal prayer of an
unconsecrated believer who demands his own way and has no concern for
God's will and purpose will not co-operate with God to complete God's
eternal plan.  Therefore, even though there may be a level of prayer,
praise, thanksgiving and worship, no incense is burnt.  The incense is
for a sweet smelling savor unto God.  Incense is wholly for God.   The
priests were forbidden to make any for themselves for a perfume. 

EXO 30:34-38  Then the Lord said to Moses, "Take for yourself spices, stacte
and onycha and galbanum, spices with pure frankincense; there shall be
an equal part of each. And with it you shall make incense, a
perfume, the work of a perfumer, salted, pure, {and} holy. 
And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put part of it before the
testimony in the tent of meeting, where I shall meet with you; it shall
be most holy to you. And the incense which you shall make,
you shall not make in the same proportions for yourselves; it shall be
holy to you for the  Lord.  Whoever shall make {any} like it,
to use as perfume, shall be cut off from his people."

If the church understood this principle of prayer, praise, worship and
thanksgiving it would change it's attitude in praying to be heard by
people or to make an impression.   Praying, as a sweet smelling
fragrance for ourselves, is not the revelation of incense and is
forbidden by God.  The incense is to be salted, pure and sacred.  Salt
speaks to us of God's covenant.  The basis and authority of prayer is
given by God and is His idea.  God has designed the altar of incense to
complete His purpose.  God has made an agreement that is part of the
incense.  This incense is not to be used for ourselves!   It is to be
used for God!  This gives a whole new emphasis on prayer, praise,
worship and thanksgiving( the four elements of New Testament incense).
But how and why does it work?

First it works when these four elements are blended in equal parts and
in a perfumer's mixture and the fragrance arises up to God for His
benefit.  It doesn't work when man just pleads with God for more
blessing or provision.  Jesus said if we seek FIRST the Kingdom of God
and His righteousness ALL the necessary things will be added. Praying
for things is another subject and not part of this kind of prayer.  It
is not wrong but it is not incense.

Incense kind of prayer will never fail to be answered and will never be
irrelevant.  Most prayer is not related to incense at all and therefore
is sometimes irrelevant.  The purpose of this study then is to elevate
our prayer to the level of incense.

God's absolute sovereignty, God's eternal purpose, God's omnipotent
power and man's delegated authority to rule on this earth are the
motivation behind the function of the gold altar of incense.  It is at
the altar of incense that God brings man into the circle of His
sovereignty, to exercise man's delegated authority in order to complete
God's eternal purpose.  That is how man participates in the Kingdom of
God NOW.  It is by co-operating with God to establish His government in
us and then through us and around us.

Jesus Christ has been given all authority in heaven and in earth and He
must rule until He has put every enemy under His feet.  We can say"
praise God" and just relax until it happens.  The problem is this;
Jesus as head of the church, which is His body, has given authority to
use His name and to go in His authority.  He is ruling until every enemy
is put under His feet.  His feet are in His body.  Therefore Jesus is
ruling through His body until every enemy is trampled under the church's
feet.   ROM 16:20  The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your
feet.

Satan has been generally successful in confusing these issues and in
getting the church caught up in insignificant projects and work that
present no threat to his kingdom.  The church has been deceived like Eve
and kept powerless, helpless and without vision.  Satan will even
sacrifice a few souls to be saved to make the church think she is
successful.  Still that in itself is no threat to Satan.  He will permit
the church to evangelize but his evangelism far outshines the church's
evangelism.  He is winning more souls than the church.  One
reason God has given such authority to the church is because of God's
adversary and to cause His enemies and the revengeful to cease.  All
Satan has to do is hide this fact from the church and there is no threat
to his kingdom.

The church's real authority is exercised at the altar of incense.  This
is where the church steps into the circle of God's sovereignty and
begins to co-operate with God to rule.  It is at the altar of incense
that the church begins her apprenticeship training for the Kingdom of
God.

The church , over the years, has taught a very short sighted view of
God's sovereignty.  The concept crept in that God's sovereignty means
that God chooses and does whatever He wants to do.  God does not 
consult with man.  There is really nothing we can do to change God's
sovereignty.  While in a sense that is quite true, it is also true that
God does permit man to make decisions upon this earth.  We see Abraham
speaking with God and God relenting of the destruction He was about to
bring.  We see Moses pleading with God to spare Israel and God
relenting.   It is true that God is sovereign, but God's desire is to
bring man into the circle of His sovereignty and permit man to enter
into the decision making process of this earth.  That was God's original
plan and it is still God's plan.  In this way God lets man function
within His Kingdom government.  If God's sovereignty set aside man's
asking then why did Jesus speak so much about man asking?  Why pray for
God's Kingdom to come?  If God is sovereign, His Kingdom will come
whenever He determines it will come and there is nothing we can do about
it.  Unfortunately this has been the attitude of the church.  This is a
wrong concept of God's sovereignty.

Within God's sovereignty is God's power, His wisdom, His knowledge and
His judgement.  But all are directed toward carrying out His eternal
purpose for His creation.  Within God's sovereignty, He has given man
responsibility to rule over this earth and all that is on it.  Including
the Devil and the forces of darkness.  That is why if man does not pray
God will not act, except to complete His purpose.  God has not
relinquished His sovereignty over the earth but has agreed to bring man
into the circle of His sovereignty and to permit man to participate in
the decision making process for the earth once again.  Man cannot change
the course of this world by his own wisdom, power or knowledge!
Politics, demonstrations, lobbying and public outcry is not the way to
change things.  Now when it comes to this earth and what happens on it,
God has given responsibility to man.  But man is helpless in his own
power to change anything.  However, when man steps into" the circle of
God's sovereignty", all the resources of heaven are available to change
things to flow into God's eternal purpose.  When man has gotten a
glimpse of this, he has tried to use it for summer homes, Cadillacs and
prosperity, instead of for God's purpose.  We are not saying God does
not prosper His people, but His sovereignty is toward His purpose.  God
will always prosper us toward His purpose.  However, the cleaver man can
prosper himself toward his own purpose.  God has given man dominion so
He permits it, but it is very shortsighted compared to God's Kingdom and
His purpose.

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