“We Are A Priesthood”
Introduction:
Around the world there are all sorts of problems that disturb me, but I think the church can make a difference. Around the church are all sorts of problems and I have seen that plainly. You hear of churches that are being led astray by false teaching. For example, there is a book that is popular called Velvet Elvis, by a man named Rob Bell. This book is sweeping across the nation. He says in that book, “
And what happens when one person’s definition of love and another person’s definition of love differ? Who is right? Who is wrong? Who decides who is right and who is wrong? Who decides if whoever made the decision made the right decision? So even a verse as basic as this raises more questions than answers....And that’s because the Bible is open-ended, it has to be interpreted.” (Page 46)
Well, I thought that Peter said, that no set of prophecy originated by the prophet’s own interpretation. And to answer this gentleman’s question about who decides who is right and wrong? God does, in his inspired, inerrant, infallible Word once and for all delivered to the saints.
Why do things like this spread? Why are there so many problems in churches? Why do you hear story after story of false teaching and immorality in both the world and the church? I will tell you why, it is because we that have been consecrated as priests have not done the job like we should.
Often times churches select a group of people and their job is to hire a minister. They tell him that his job is to preach, teach, perform weddings and funerals, visit hospitals, visit the members, counsel people, evangelize the community, study God’s Word, and pray. The people evaluate the minister by how they feel he lived up to those expectations. This is the way most churches operate today and sadly, this philosophy does not have one bit of Biblical support. The congregation many times would rather hire someone to do “ministry” and serve as the “clergy” than do the work themselves. They expect them to straighten things out. So while that takes place they sit back and observe, while their own gifts and talents begin to slowly die from lack of use. I have learned that we have certain expectations of certain people according to what their job is. We expect doctors to make us well again when we are sick, not to teach us how to make ourselves well. We want lawyers to give us legal advice, not to teach us how to do it ourselves. We want waiters to serve us, not show us where to get it, and many people want their preachers to do it for them and not train and equip people to do it for themselves. I as the “minister” of any congregation would not be doing any good for a congregation by doing it for people because I cannot intercede for people. I cannot make people right with God. I cannot repent of sin for people. I cannot take another’s place in serving the living God. A minister is not doing any favors being a hireling and doing it all for a congregation, rather a minister that wants the people in the congregation to be involved has the Kingdom as a priority and not just his job. Yes, I could do everything there is to do in the church, and some people expect the preacher to do everything. Some people expect the preacher to be in the office 24 hours a day, visit the sick and visit people’s home, and still have a strong family life. Well, the church is not honoring God by having one guy doing it all, even if he is doing the right things in the right way. I may serve as minister of the church, but I am no more a minister in the church than the elders who shepherd the flock, than the one’s who teach Sunday school classes, than the one’s who sit in the nursery, than the ones who clean the church building, than the ones that visit the sick and the elderly. We are all priests, we are all ministers serving a holy God. God’s plan for the church is for everyone to be involved in the ministry. I as an evangelist am not the “minister” I am a minister along with the congregation that I serve with.
We live in a world where people are consumer driven. They want to get something out of everything. This mindset carries over to the church. People come to church because they want something out of it and they never want to put anything in themselves. They like the idea of getting their fix, or eating and running. If people don’t get told what they want to hear when they want to hear it, if people don’t get the fix they need, if the preacher doesn’t fix their kids, fix their spouse and fix their problems they will just go down the street to another church. This is the consumer mindset of many Christians. I really do not think that you can have a God-honoring church with a congregation full of people that want to only take and never give back. I think that it is time that Christians took of their bibs and put on their aprons and began to serve God, we are a royal priesthood.
` In the Old Testament we learn that God established a system where the priests were the primary servants. When Moses was up on Mount Sinai, along with receiving the Ten Commandments, and information on the Tabernacle, he also received information on how the priesthood was to be set up. He was instructed in detail what the priests were to wear, how they were to be consecrated as priests, and what their duties were. Not every person had access to God. The Temple of that time was the place where God dwelt. If you wanted to worship you had to come to the Tabernacle or the Temple that was set-up in Jerusalem. Even then when you would bring the sacrifices and offerings prescribed under the Law, a priest would intercede for you. The priest would kill your sacrifice for your sins; the priest would mediate between you and God. If you were a follower of God during that time you would have no access to God and no right to serve Him unless you were of the tribe of Levi. God’s plan though was for everybody to have access to Him and everybody to be a priest. The Bible teaches us that in Christ now we are all priest with the expectation and the privilege to serve and come before God. Today, you don’t have to have a Bible College degree to understand and share the Word of God, you don’t have to be brilliant to be effective in the Kingdom, you don’t have to go to a preacher or any man to get to God, but you have access to the Almighty and Holy God. So the question that we are going to be answering in this message is what does that mean for us that we are priests.
Text: I Peter 2:4-10
Friends, as God’s holy priesthood, we have a burden and a responsibility. I hope that it is plain to you when I speak of priests, I am not just referring to church leaders, but that you are aware that if you are a Christian you are a priest. I want you to be aware of that responsibility. All throughout the Scripture we can see that those that have been endowed with such great responsibility have also been held to a stricter judgment. You remember Nadab and Abihu n Leviticus 10? They were sons of Aaron who were set apart as priests and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, they substituted for what God says. God struck them dead for that. What was the big deal? Well, it was because they knew better. I believe God really says what he means and means what he says, therefore, we need to rightly divide His Word. Do you remember Eli’s sons in I Samuel 2, who were wicked and treated the Lord’s sacrifice with contempt. In the same way woe to those who treat the sacrifice of Jesus with contempt by propagating false doctrines and undermining the grace and holiness of God. I want to tell you that if we would all take up our cross, and serve as priests we could impact the world. We have been consecrated as priests of the living God. Not because of our physical lineage, but because of our spiritual lineage and our spiritual birth into Christ. By the way check out in Leviticus 8:5-9 when the priests in the Old Testament were consecrated or made Holy they were washed, stripped of their old clothes and given new priestly garments. The blood was applied to their right ear, their right thumb and their right big toe, symbolizing being made holy by the blood. In the same way we are consecrated for our priesthood we must be washed and stripped of our old garments and clothe ourselves with Christ. We must have the blood of Christ applied to us to be made holy and clean in His sight. We are a royal priesthood in service to God.
I. We Are Priests Serving God
In the Old Testament God’s dwelling place symbolically was in the Temple. The Temple was divided into two part. The first was the Holy Place. Only the priests could enter into that area. The priests would perform various aspects of ministry in that area. A large curtain divided the Holy Place from what is called the Most Holy Place. Inside of that room sat the Ark of the Covenant, and that was where God symbolically dwelt. Only the High Priest could enter into that room one day a year on the Day of Atonement.
Hebrews 9:6-10
Did you catch what it said there? It said that the way into the Most Holy Place or God’s presence has not been disclosed. Jesus though tells us that he is the way, he is the truth and he is the life. If you remember when Jesus was on the cross, something happened in the Temple there in Jerusalem. The veil that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place split in two. This was highly symbolic, symbolizing that the priests who were formerly blocked from entering the Most Holy Place because of the veil could now come in. People during that time understood that they did not have access to God because God is Holy and they were sinners. Sin kept people out of God’s presence and prohibited them from have direct access to God. Any contact they had with God was done through a priest.
Hebrews 4:14-16
When the Hebrew writer said, “let us approach the throne of grace with confidence” what a statement that really was. He was saying you do not have to be afraid, you do not have to go through a priest because of what Jesus has done for you can come before the throne of God.
The Jews had certain days where they would come to worship, but remember they couldn’t enter into the Temple, they would bring their offerings and sacrifices and wait outside in the courtyard. Today, you can worship God without having to go to a particular place or building. You don’t have to go to a Temple, you don’t have to go to Jerusalem, you don’t have to go to a church, and you don’t have to have any person’s permission. You can worship God today because you are a priest, and one of the main duties of the priest was to present offerings before the Lord.
Numbers 28:3-6
Today, we are priests and we are always on duty, we too should worship on a daily basis. Each day the priests would bring two lambs before the Lord, and that was an act of worship. It said in that passage that we read that is was a pleasing aroma offered to the Lord. Our worship is pleasing to God. I believe God was pleased by the worship of the priests and those under the Law, but I believe there is one main difference. God prescribed and commanded when and how they were to worship. The people really didn’t have much of a choice, because God directed them in what they were to do, when they were going to do it, and how they should do it. Now by our own choice, we come to God on our own, not because we have to and have been commanded to, but because we want to worship God because we have access to Him.
Another one of the duties of the priest was to tend to the fire that was to be keep going in the altar. On the altar they would offer sacrifices for the forgiveness of the sins of the people, even sins that were committed in ignorance.
Leviticus 6:12-13
We have a duty also to keep the fire going, but the fire we are to keep burning is not the fire of the altar, but it is the fire of the passion that we have in our hearts. I want to key in for a second on verse 12 if Leviticus 6. Did you notice what the priest’s responsibilities were? He was to keep wood on the altar so the fire would burn and was to offer the fellowship offerings as well.
We must keep the fire going. When I preached my first sermon someone came to me and told me, “don’t worry you’ll loose that fire after a while”. Well, thanks for the encouragement. Others have indicated to me that the passion, zeal and fire I have for the Lord is because I am young. I want you to know that I have a fire in my heart not because of my age, but because of Jesus Christ. I feel like Jeremiah who in 20:9 said, i have a fire shut up in my bones, I am weary of holding it in indeed I cannot. That fire will always remain in me and the the volunteer fire department of the Church of Christ will never put it out because it must stay burning, will yours? I believe one reason why some preachers don’t have any passion and fire in their preaching is because they don’t have any conviction, they don’t stand for anything, they just fall for everything, it’s hard to have a fire when you don’t even sue the Word.
The priests had to make an intentional effort to keep the flames going. I think a lot of times we just expect our fire to keep burning or expect someone else to keep it going for us. Well, it is our responsibility to intentionally make an effort to keep the fire going. When we intentionally do something even when we do not feel like it that is called discipline. Sometimes we have to intentionally go to church where we can fellowship and worship. We have to intentionally study God’s Word and spend time with Him in prayer. We have to intentionally be in fellowship with God to keep the fire on the altar of our hearts going strong. Faith comes from hearing and hearing by the Word of God and sometimes we have to intentionally put ourselves in the way of the Word of God being taught so that we can keep that fire burning.
Priests had a duty to serve and they took their job seriously. I wonder what would happen if we took our duty as priests as seriously as the priests in the Old Testament. We are called to serve as well, and we have many opportunities to serve, but sadly many people in the church have no role in serving. I believe we are all expected to serve. We all might not have the same passions and talents, but we all need to find an area o service where we can be used. I do not believe that God is honored in our lives when we are mere spectators of a church service.
It reminds me of a cartoon showing a crazed man being led away from a church in a straitjacket. On the steps of the church building the preacher comments to another man “I’m going to miss Louis - he volunteered for everything.”
Well, we are not crazy for volunteering to serve. In fact there are many areas we could use your help serving. I want you to look at your involvement within the church and see what we are really doing. Do you have an area to serve? You are a priests in God’s service, therefore serving comes with the job.
By the way, we are as priests supposed to be Holy to the Lord. The priests used to wear a gold plate with the words inscribed holy to the Lord inscribed on that. In the same way our lifestyles should strive to be holy to the Lord.
II. We Are Priests Serving One Another
Not only did the priests minister in the Temple and serve God, but they also served the other people around them. What an example to us of how we as priests should interact with others.
Whenever people decide to serve as priests and take that job of serving seriously everybody wins. The person serving wins because it is a pure joy to serve others and to serve God. The person being served wins because they may receive help, love, and support from the person serving them. Also, God wins when he sees his people effectively serving and using their talents and abilities that he has given them to help one another.
a. A Faithful Priest Encourages
The priestly duties included many things, but mainly includes, taking care of the Tabernacle or Temple, the ceremonial and sacrificial duties they had and also pronouncing divine blessings on the people. They provided encouragement.
I heard a story of a man who one morning opened the door to get the newspaper and was surprised to see a strange little dog with our paper in his mouth. Delighted with this unexpected "delivery service," he fed him some treats. The following morning he was horrified to see the same dog sitting in front of our door, wagging his tail, surrounded by eight newspapers.
The priests realized that when you can encourage people in what they are doing they will go a long way. We too need to realize with a little encouragement people will do great things.
One of the main duties of the priest was to bless the people. Here is what the priest was told to say.
Numbers 6:22-27
This simple reminder of a spiritual truth had to be a great encouragement to the people, because I am sure there came times when it was not easy to see the love and faithfulness of God. Sometimes we get like that too, life will be a bit chaotic, we may be going through difficult times and we may have a hard time seeing God’s faithfulness. There is no way to measure how vital and important simple words of encouragement to one another can be. From time to time we get down and a word of encouragement, letting someone know you love them and appreciate them and all they do, writing a card, remind them of a simple Bible truth or just talking to them can be an encouragement that can give someone the strength they need to make it through a tough time. I am convinced there would be a whole lot less unfaithfulness, a whole lot more people serving, and many more people in the Kingdom if every priest too seriously their duty to encourage one another and remind each other of the love and grace of God
b. A Faithful Priest Confronts
Often times also we see the priests being used by God to deal with people’s sin.
II Chronicles 26:16-21
I want you to catch this. You remember that the priests were given certain duties that only they could perform, well Uzziah as King thought that he could go and do the priestly duty of burning incense. The faithful and courageous priests confronted that issue and forbade him and stood in his way. Imagine with me these men stood in the way of the King. The altar of incense the Scriptures tell us were symbolic of the prayers of the saints, the smoke would go over the veil in the Temple into the Most Holy Place, symbolizing the prayers coming before God, but this was only for the priests during that time. We as priests now have the privilege to be able to offer up prayer before God, but praise God for courageous people that stood up and confronted what was wrong in the world no matter who they had to stand up to. Wrong is wrong no matter who does it and we need to as priests stand up to the wrongs and the injustices we see and if we don’t then we will be held accountable before God.
Leviticus 5:1
Exodus 32:25-29
Often times we feel that we only need to worry about ourselves and what is going on in our life. As our culture floods us with a message of individualism we need to realize that we are a team and that we should be concerned about each other. We should be concerned about each others trials and struggles. We should be concerned when a brother or a sister is living in sin or not doing what they should. It should burden us because sin is a big deal, and sin has eternal consequences. Often times we just stay quiet about other people’s actions that we know are wrong, and though we might not show approval sometimes we do not show disapproval. There is a place for us to confront people’s sin. That confrontation is not just the job of the elders or the preacher, but we are to hold each other accountable to a high standard of living. As God’s priests there may come a time when we have to deal with people in the church who are living and sin and we may have to confront that.
Galatians 6:1
We see in the Old Testament that the priests were the mediators between God and man. They were the ones that could handle the holy things, they were the ones that could offer sacrifices in the Temple. They even wore garments that distinguished them from all other people. That didn’t give much hope to the other people, but today the Bible teaches that we are all priest now in God’s service. You have access to God. You don’t have to come through a man, you don’t have to go through a mediator, but rather you are invited to serve, to worship God, to pray to God, to know God, and to live for God.
Can you imagine church what would happen if every Christian really saw and understood that they were priest in service to God and one another and they were always on duty. Let me tell you what would happen...American would be changed and transformed. Lost people would be reached because Christians everywhere would have a burden to share their faith. Morals would change, we wouldn’t ever hear of abortion or homosexuality because the moral voice and outcry was great. Let us enlist for the priesthood and serve the Living God.
