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BACKGROUND
TABERNACLE - Eaton
TABERNACLE - Davis
ALTAR
ALTAR
LAVER (WASHING BASIN)
(TABLE OF) SHEWBREAD
(TABLE OF) SHOWBREAD
CANDLESTICK (LAMPSTAND)
LAMPS, LAMPSTAND:
THE ALTAR OF INCENSE
INCENSE
ARK
ARK OF THE COVENANT
The
full background to this teaching is available online at this link
Full Background Information on Moses Tabernacle here
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Online links to scriptures (New International Version [NIV] unless otherwise stated) are shown in blue
| ESTABLISHING GOD’S PATTERN FOR THE CHURCH |
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| A PATTERN OF PROGRESSIVE REVELATION |
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 Fear the new and untried? Love new challenges? Enjoy taking risks? No, no, and again no! Creatures of habit, aren’t we. Slipping into our routine provides a comfort zone. No need to make new decisions. Leaving things the way they are, the way we know they work. As we get older particularly, we place more value on experience than innovation. Let’s face it, we get lazy! That which was right, that which worked yesterday, is just fine for today too, thank you very much. And on, and on, and on, and on! How boring and comfortably predictable we become!
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 But God is not like us! He is a God of change! The single thing that displeases God the most amongst true Christians is not our obvious sin, our reluctance to evangelise or read the bible or even to pray! Rather it is our unwillingness to listen to what He desires to tell us and then do something about it, both individually and as ‘the Church’. Thinking about it, that is what these teachings are all about – hearing and implementing the word of God. While God is never changing, being the same yesterday, today and forever, we are not to be, until we have reached His realm of perfection, that is! Once we’ve arrived we can have a rest! I know I won’t be lying on my laurels for quite some time yet! Never - without God’s help! Good to have a goal though!
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| A CASE STUDY: AN OBSERVATION OF CHANGE |
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 We (and I include myself here) are comfortable amongst those we know, alongside those who think along similar lines to us. With those who worship in the same way as we do, those who sit in the same seats around us in church, week by week. Legendary stories abound of people sitting in other peoples “pews”. Most of us laugh at them but we shouldn’t, for the same patterns abound in our lives too.
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 It was interesting to observe what happened when our church of the time shifted into a new building. It was a special time for us, having met in rented premises for the previous 14 years. I must explain that ours is a radical, non-traditional Pentecostal fellowship, where long term seat reservation isn’t a custom that fits easily within our church culture! We were all really excited on the first Sunday, entering our new church that we had worked so hard to prepare for this occasion. Until it came to decision time of where to sit, that is. For decisions had to be made! Pastors and elders to the front - of course! Least committed to the back? Best to get lost in the middle? And the ‘biggie’! Left or right hand side?
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 We did sort it out and had a marvellous service of celebration for God’s goodness to us. By the next week, the precedent having already been set, seating decisions were a lot easier. By the third week we were settled, comfortable in our general positions within the auditorium. For we’re all creatures of habit, aren’t we? But habit quickly becomes tradition and tradition in turn, breeds intolerance towards those whose traditions are not the same as our own.
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| CHANGE IN THE CHURCH |
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 As Revelation 12:11 sets out the way of salvation, the walk for the individual, so the Tabernacle of Moses clearly illustrates God’s pattern for the church. It is a pattern starting at the entrance to the Outer Court, progressing through the Holy Place, to finally enter the Holy of Holies. I am sure that by now, you will be able to relate Revelation 12:11 to this pattern. Entry into the Outer Court through the blood of the Lamb, to the Holy Place by the word of their testimony (given by The Holy Spirit) and finally to the Holy of Holies through total submission to God the Father.
For there is but one pathway leading to God. As Jesus himself said,
John 14:6
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 If Jesus lied in this, can we believe anything He said? If He is telling the truth, shouldn’t we believe Him! Good people, Moslems, Buddhists, Hindus, people who have never heard of Jesus, as well as those who have heard and not believed, will not go to heaven. Seems unfair to our human understanding, but God is God! What a motivation to evangelise! To give these people a chance of heaven! For there is only one way to reach God, and that is through Jesus.
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 Before we look at the pattern in more detail, let’s have a brief look at how the “Church” has developed over the 1980 odd years since it was founded.
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| <i>NEXT WEEK:</i> 'POTTED' HISTORY OF THE CHURCH |
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 We are going to have a brief look at the establishment, growth, decline of the initial church, the Dark Ages, its restoration beginning with the Reformation until today, with a glimpse of what is to come.
This study will help you to understand your place in the God's church and hopefully, stimulate you towards to the place He desires you to be in Him. It's not about a particular church or denomination, but an offer to inherit His kingdom now.
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| A NOTE FROM DAVID |
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 Yes, we are creatures of habit! If we are truly honest, we would prefer God conform to our image, rather than we, to His!
But change is the 'name of the game' in God. He desires to take us 'from glory to glory'.
Are we prepared to join Him in the journey on the upward path?
People Around the Sea of Galilee
Galilee was heavily populated in the first century, especially around the sea. The remains of the area indicate that several villages and towns had populations of more than 5,000 people. Perhaps that is one of the reasons Jesus chose this location for His ministry.
Although the people living around the sea interacted to some degree, they tended to form groups. Each group had unique characteristics and lifestyles, which differed greatly from region to region. Jesus often tailored his teachings so that they would be meaningful to the people of the area he was in.
At Jesus? time, the people around the sea were generally divided into four groups:
- Religious Jews lived on the northwestern side of the sea, where the cities of Capernaum, Korazin, and Bethsaida were located.
- Zealots lived primarily in the town of Gamla, on the northeastern corner of the sea.
- Herodions lived on the western side of the sea, in the land of Tiberias.
- Pagans lived on the eastern side, in the region known as the Decapolis.
Source: http://www.followtherabbi.com
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So until next week.......
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD!
His servant and yours
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A DAVID'S DOODLING
213. United we stand, divided... God will wait upon another generation.
David Tait
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out the WWJ website for….
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