Jehovah we praise Your Holy Name, we worship You, we adore You for You are so Wonderful, so Precious and so Kind to us. Great is Thy Faithfulness O Lord!
Thank You Lord for the blessedness of today, for indeed is going to be great, all the benefits of the day will be deposited into our bosom and no Satan will be able to stand before us, for Your banner over us is love and You surround us with broad rivers and streams that the evil of the day will not near us. Glory be to Your Name for ever and ever, Amen!
Beloved, we will be considering how we are expected to conduct ourselves as children of God. Sometimes, when we drop our guides or provoked, our ugly sides shows up. We tend to forget whom we are in Christ and what is expected of us or should be our response or reaction as the case may be.
Is no surprise why God want us re-examine our lives in line with His Word to be sure we are on track not committing a foul that will disqualify us from winning though a trophy but in form of a crown. Praise the Lord!
The two messages before us today leaves us with a choice of whom we ought to be. Come along with us to discover more:
“Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord.” Zechariah 3:1
In Joshua the high priest we see a picture of each and every child of God, who has been made nigh by the blood of Christ, and has been taught to minister in holy things, and enter into that which is within the veil. Jesus has made us priests and kings unto God, and even here upon earth we exercise the priesthood of consecrated living and hallowed service. But this high priest is said to be “standing before the angel of the Lord,” that is, standing to minister.
This should be the perpetual position of every true believer. Every place is now God’s temple, and His people can as truly serve Him in their daily employments as in His house. They are to be always “ministering,” offering the spiritual sacrifice of prayer and praise, and presenting themselves a “living sacrifice.” But notice where it is that Joshua stands to minister, it is before the angel of Jehovah. It is only through a mediator that we poor defiled ones can ever become priests unto God.
I present what I have before the messenger, the angel of the covenant, the Lord Jesus; and through Him my prayers find acceptance wrapped up in His prayers; my praises become sweet as they are bound up with bundles of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia from Christ’s own garden. If I can bring Him nothing but my tears, He will put them with His own tears in His own bottle for He once wept; if I can bring Him nothing but my groans and sighs, He will accept these as an acceptable sacrifice, for He once was broken in heart, and sighed heavily in spirit.
I myself, standing in Him, am accepted in the Beloved; and all my polluted works, though in themselves only objects of divine abhorrence, are so received, that God smelleth a sweet savour. He is content and I am blessed.
See, then, the position of the Christian—”a priest—standing—before the angel of the Lord.”
Let us also consider the next message to help us form an opinion on what ought to be:
“Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people… Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.” Leviticus 19:16,17
Tale-bearing emits a threefold poison; for it injures the teller, the hearer, and the person concerning whom the tale is told. Whether the report be true or false, we are by this precept of God’s Word forbidden to spread it.The reputations of the Lord’s people should be very precious in our sight, and we should count it shame to help the devil to dishonour the Church and the Name of the Lord. Some tongues need a bridle rather than a spur.
Many glory in pulling down their brethren, as if thereby they raised themselves. Noah’s wise sons cast a mantle over their father, and he who exposed him earned a fearful curse. We may ourselves one of these dark days need forbearance and silence from our brethren, let us render it cheerfully to those who require it now. Be this our family rule, and our personal bond—SPEAK EVIL OF NO MAN.
The Holy Spirit, however, permits us to censure sin, and prescribes the way in which we are to do it. It must be done by rebuking our brother to his face, not by railing behind his back. This course is manly, brotherly, Christlike, and under God’s blessing will be useful. Does the flesh shrink from it? Then we must lay the greater stress upon our conscience, and keep ourselves to the work, lest by suffering sin upon our friend we become ourselves partakers of it. Hundreds have been saved from gross sins by the timely, wise, affectionate warnings of faithful ministers and brethren.
Our Lord Jesus has set us a gracious example of how to deal with erring friends in His warning given to Peter, the prayer with which He preceded it, and the gentle way in which He bore with Peter’s boastful denial that he needed such a caution.
Under Cross Examination:
Where did you fall in the two messages we considered? A “High Priest” ministering on behalf of your brethren or “Talebearer” bearing it all without caution?
Is possible yours is not talebearer, is it anger, strife, malice, fighting and all such like which were told that those who practice them shall not inherit the kingdom of God (Gal 5:19-21). May God help us to discipline ourselves as such vices dishonors our Master Jesus Christ exemplary way of life.
Today, let us make a firm decision to tell others their faults in love devour of bitterness or with the aim of pulling down.
May God help us each day to live like Jesus, whom even when offended committed no sin but rather He rebuke them and restored sanity ( Matt 21:13; Lk 19:46; Jn 8:7; Lk 22:61; Jn 21:15-17;19).
Are ready to follow Christ? Peradventure, you are yet to receive Jesus as you Lord and personal Savior, please click here to do so now! But if you have already accepted Christ, please make a firm decision to always make it right and God will help you. But you must decide first to do it right then will the Holy Spirit takes you over and do through you what you cannot do for yourself. Praise Lord somebody!
Remain blessed in the Lord.
