A Consecrated Ministry

Praise God, good to see you this evening. I want you to turn to the book of Leviticus just one more time and we're continuing on this series, the blood atonement in Leviticus. As we said at the very beginning, atonement means at-one-ment.

It's that work of God that makes one between God and man. And there's only one way, it's blood. Saints, this is the very center and heart of all of Scripture.

If you go to any portion of Scripture, you'll always be led back to the blood, led back to the cross, back to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. So we're going to go to Leviticus chapter 8 tonight. And as you do, let me just give you an introduction here to lay the course of where we're going to go tonight.

Tonight, my message part four, I've called it a consecrated ministry. And I did have three parts to this particular message, but we're only going to do the first part. Part one was going to be a consecrated ministry, chapter 9, sorry, chapter 8. The second point was going to be a functioning ministry, chapter 9. And then point three, a failed ministry, chapter 10.

But we're just going to slow down here for a moment and go to Leviticus chapter 8 and deal with this subject, a consecrated ministry. But in order to take you there into Leviticus chapter 8, we dealt with seven chapters last week in summarizing those five offerings, which are a picture of Jesus' cross, of his death at Calvary. But before we just move into this chapter 8, I need to explain the connection between the book of Leviticus in the Old Testament and the book of Hebrews in the New Testament.

Hebrews is the key to Leviticus. It will open it up. Although there are no direct quotes from Leviticus in the book of Hebrews, there are 90 references at the very least.

In fact, the entire book of Hebrews in the New Testament, it builds solidly on Leviticus. You can't understand Hebrews unless you study Leviticus and know something of its basic teaching. All the teaching of Hebrews flows out of the Old Testament book of Leviticus.

We see this as well with the book of Daniel in the Old Testament and the book of Revelation. They are specially connected in a very unique way. You cannot understand Revelation, its symbols, its statements, its words, unless you know Daniel.

You've got to know Daniel. You've got to understand Daniel. We've got to teach Daniel, or you will never grasp the book of Revelation.

Well, it's the same in the New Testament. Do you realize that Hebrews, the book of Hebrews, predominantly above any other New Testament book, deals with mature Christianity, real, deep, biblical Christianity? The book of Hebrews, above any other New Testament book, holds forth a mature revelation of Christ, Christ in his fullness, Christ in his depths, Christ in his breaths. Saints, you won't find that in John's gospel.

If all you do is turn to the gospels and read Proverbs, you will remain very immature. It's not enough to know the Christ of Matthew and Mark and Luke and John. That is foundational.

That is about the cross. But Saints, Hebrews takes you into a very deep place in the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, and specifically as the high priest of our salvation. He's the one that prays for you.

He is your mediator. He is your advocate. He is your everything.

But I want to tell you, you cannot understand Hebrews without the book of Leviticus. It depends on it. And so, Hebrews depends heavily upon Leviticus for its doctrinal framework, its arguments, its statements, its promises, and all of its provisions.

Hebrews explains and shows the fulfillment of Leviticus. All its shadows, its pictures, its types, its promises, and its prophecies are fulfilled in Hebrews. What you see in Leviticus comes to pass in the new covenant in the book of Hebrews.

All of it applies in the New Testament. Hebrews shows that Christ was the fulfillment of the animal sacrifices in Leviticus. What we dealt with last week in Leviticus chapter 1 to chapter 7, the five offerings, Hebrews actually explains what that is, and it takes you directly into Hebrews chapter 10.

Hebrews chapter 10 is based on chapter 1 to chapter 7, literally based on what we dealt with last week. You've got an entire chapter in the New Testament speaking about those five offerings, but united now in one offering for sin never to be repeated again, a one-off sacrifice. And yet, Leviticus has spent six chapters speaking about it, giving you information on it, and you can't understand Hebrews without Leviticus.

You will not do it. It's the same with Hebrews chapter 9, the chapter before. You're not going to understand that without Leviticus 16, which is the day of atonement.

It makes no sense. It has no message. It doesn't come as a revelation.

But when you understand Leviticus 16, what it says, and then read Hebrews 9, suddenly a revelation of Christ's work on the cross comes to reality. So as we saw last week, Christ is the sacrifices. That is taught very clearly in Hebrews chapter 9, verse 11 to 12.

Christ, it is his blood. He is the sacrifice. But here's something else I want to minister to you here tonight, is that in Hebrews and in Leviticus, Jesus is not only the sacrifice, he's not only the blood, he is actually the high priest that offers and ministers it.

Listen for a second just before we read in chapter 8 here in a second. It says in Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 10, by the which will we are sanctified. It's talking about Christians, New Testament Christians, born again Christians.

It is saying we are sanctified, set apart, are made holy. How? Through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. A one-off act at the cross sanctifies, sets apart every single Christian for God.

And then it says, and every priest standing daily ministering, talking about the Old Testament priesthood, every priest standing daily ministering, an offering, oftentimes, many times, the same sacrifice. Those same five sacrifices over and over and over. A sin offering, a burnt sacrifice.

And so he's saying in normal priesthood, in the Old Testament priesthood, they are doing this over and over again. They are offering the same five offerings every single day. They're offering those five sacrifices over and over for the next 1500 years.

They are going to offer millions of sacrifices. The high priest is going to be raised up in Israel to minister for 1500 years. One dies, another replaces him.

Another dies, and a man replaces him. And also that high priest has to offer first a sacrifice for sin, for his own sins, before he ministers for you. Can you imagine your eternal forgiveness, your acceptance, your relationship with God? And not only yours, the entire nation of God's people all resting on one man, an imperfect man.

And you're watching him. He offers his own sins. He makes his own sins.

He is just a man. And yet here, he's having to offer a sacrifice for his sins before he ministers to you, for you, on your behalf, and gains you all the blessing of God, all the blessing of heaven. Can you imagine something that fragile? No wonder that it says in the New Testament, this is a better covenant.

The old covenant was of God. God made provisions, blessings. He moved on lies.

He forgave sin. He covered sin. But this is a better covenant.

Anything you get in the Old Testament is good, but it's better in the New Testament. It says, but this man, aren't you glad again for the scripture? But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever sat down at the right hand of God. I want to tell you that every single thing in the Old Testament is a type, a shadow, a picture.

Everything God ordained, everything he taught, everything he instructed, it's not just for that hour. It was a shadow for the New Testament church. We have something to learn.

Listen again, what it says in Hebrews, Hebrews chapter eight, verse five, who serve talking about all these things, who serve unto the example and the shadow of heavenly things. Do you know what he's talking about in Hebrews eight? The priesthood in the Old Testament, the tabernacle in the Old Testament, he's saying it's an example and a shadow to show you heavenly things, spiritual things as a Christian. There's some things you can't understand unless you know the tabernacle and are taught about the tabernacle in the Old Testament or the priesthood or the sacrifices.

If you're not taught them, there's some things you cannot know unless you have them in place. It says in Hebrews nine and nine, which was a figure for the time then present in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices that could not make him that did the service perfect as pertaining to the conscience. Hebrews chapter 10, verse one, it says for the law, that's the Old Testament Leviticus, the law having a shadow of good things to come and not the very image of the things.

Do you see that they didn't have the very image, they were a shadow. Do you know what a shadow does? It's not perfect. A shadow isn't perfect, but I could recognize you through a shadow.

I've often seen a shadow and I go, I know who that person is. Enough is revealed in the shadow. A shadow is when light shines on something, something is revealed, something of a pattern and an image.

Yet he said, it's not perfect. It's not a perfect image, but it is a shadow revealing things that are yet to come. And so in Hebrews chapter nine, 24 and in chapter 11, 19, the word figures is used.

It means symbols. The tabernacle was a symbol, all the ritual and sacrifices were figures. So as the high priest in Hebrews nine, when he uses the word pattern, it is talking about the pattern of things in heaven.

So let's go to this message. I just want to lay that in there because I want you to see the connection like Daniel is to revelation. Leviticus is to Hebrews.

The more we go into this, you need to understand where you find the teaching on the high priest going to Hebrew or sorry, Leviticus chapter eight, reading from verse one, just going to read a few verses here. And the Lord spoke unto Moses saying, take Aaron and his sons with him and the garments and the anointing oil and a bullock for the sin offering and two rams and a basket of unleavened bread and gather all the congregation together onto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Moses did as the Lord commanded them.

And the assembly was gathered together onto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Moses said unto the congregation, this is the thing which the Lord has commanded to be done. And Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water.

And he put upon him the coat and girded him with the girdle and clothed him with the robe. And he put the ephod upon him and he girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod and bound it onto him therewith. And he put the breastplate upon him.

Also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thunim. And he put the mitre upon his head. Also upon the mitre, even upon his forehead, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown as the Lord commanded Moses.

And Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein and sanctified them. And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot to sanctify them. And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron's head and anointed him to sanctify him.

And Moses brought Aaron's sons and put coats upon them and girded them with girdles and put bonnets upon them as the Lord commanded Moses. And he brought the bullock of the sin offering. And Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin offering.

And he slew it. And Moses took the blood and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger and purified the altar and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar and sanctified it to make reconciliation upon it. And he took all the fat that was upon the innards and the call above the liver and the two kidneys and their fat.

And Moses burnt it upon the altar. But the bullock and his hide, the flesh and his tongue, he burnt the fire without the camp as the Lord commanded Moses. Let's pray.

Father, I pray, Lord God, even here tonight, Father, that we have gained a desire, Lord God, to know a great high priest, to see him, to understand him, to see what the word of God says. Father, this is what we need. This church needs this.

We, as individuals, need the ministry of a great high priest. Father, will you stir even faith that we would look afar off, that we would take our eyes not for ourselves, so God, nor God, that we would gain a victory over sin, nor God, over the guilt of the devil, that we, nor God, would experience the full work of Calvary, nor God, not only in forgiven sins, but going straight through to the burnt sacrifice, the burnt offering, nor God, where we submit ourself and yield ourself and willingly give all unto you. Father, help us by your grace and mercy, raise up a mature people, nor God, who have not only benefited from the blood, but who arise as priests unto God.

In Jesus' name, we thank you for the blood tonight. In Jesus' mighty name. Amen.

When we come to the book of Leviticus, an emphasis is there on the words of God. 90% of it is direct speech. If it was a red-letter book, it would be saturated in red, and I don't like red-letter Bibles, okay? I don't like them.

But that's where you get direct speech from Jesus in the Gospels. It shows up as red. If they'd done that in Leviticus, it would almost be all red.

90% is just exact statements from God himself, and no other book comes close to that in the entire Bible, Old Testament or New Testament. This is the most directly quoted book in our entire Bible. All the books of the Bible are of God.

Every word is of the Holy Spirit, but I'm talking about direct statements directly from the mouth of God. I'm not just talking about inspiration. There's a reason why Leviticus is more quoted, more quoting God than any other book.

The statements like this, and the Lord speak unto Moses saying, or it might say, the Lord commanded Moses. You see, these weren't borrowed from paganism. They weren't affected by the culture around them, or blood sacrifices, or ritual, or priesthood.

This came directly from God. God gave the revelation of the blood, of sacrifices, of priesthood, and of a great high priest. 20 of the 27 chapters of Leviticus begins with this statement.

The Lord speak unto Moses. In other words, this is an entire book of instruction. Don't change my mind.

Do what I'm telling you. And the man Moses done it to the T. There was no man more faithful than Moses in the Old Testament. In fact, Hebrews uses Moses as a picture of Christ in the house of God.

And he uses Moses in the Old Testament and here in Leviticus as an example. He was a man who heard from heaven, received the word of God, didn't change it, didn't add to it, didn't take away. He just done what God said.

In Leviticus, it says 56 times, the Lord speak. The Lord speak constantly all through it. The Lord speak.

God is speaking to Moses. And he's saying, this is how I want my house to be. This is how I want the sacrifice to be.

This is how I want the priesthood to be. And this is exactly how I want the high priest to be. And so it's exact.

Chapter one starts with this statement, the Lord speak chapter four, chapter six, and so on all through it's got these clear statements. Last week we dealt with the five offerings that were to be on the altar, representing Christ's work on the cross. But listen to me, this is where I'm bringing to you to now we've covered seven chapters about the five offerings, which are about the cross of this book of Leviticus.

It is so detailed, so accurate. It has to be an order. This is the order of God.

Don't change it. Do it like this. For seven chapters, we've only heard about blood, sacrifices, the work of the altar, of animals dying, of how you to be accepted by God.

But in chapter eight, you read about ministry. Do you see here that you have seven chapters about offerings before you get to ministry? God doesn't mention ministry, talk about titles or speak about functions until the cross is in place. I wish that was the same in the church of our generation.

Do you realize how different the church of our day would be? The ministry, the preaching, the evangelism, the worship, all manners of things in the house of God. Can you imagine in your own life, you wouldn't minister in any capacity, either on a guitar, either behind a pulpit, on the high street, to children. You wouldn't do any of it unless the offerings are in place.

Since you would have this in place, and this is the emphasis of God. He's saying, put the cross in place. Then ministry comes out of it.

We've got all this wrong in the church of our day. The cross has to be in place first. It has to be operating, functioning.

It has to be central. In the house of God, the altar where all the sacrifices were made were at the center. Soon as you walked in the door, you can't even begin to minister in the house of God until you come to the brazen altar, which represents the cross.

The first thing you meet when you get in the house of God is the cross. Wouldn't it be wonderful if that was true of the church of Jesus in this hour? That every time a sinner comes in, they're confronted by the cross. Not just someone saying, God wants to bless you.

God's got a plan for your life. They're met with the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is how Leviticus begins.

Laying out the offerings. How to be right with God. How does God get out of your life? What he wants? Don't begin to talk about ministry until you've given God everything.

Have everything on the altar. Offer up the burnt sacrifice. We say, I'm submitted.

Everything is yours. I want you to be in control. Then you're in the right place for ministry.

It's powerful influence. The cross is to affect ministry. It's to affect the preaching.

It's to affect the songs. There was the biggest church, Pentecostal church in Ireland at one stage. I won't mention when.

Or someone be able to track it down. But at one stage, there was a worship leader came to me. He'd been in there three years leading the worship.

And he left after a three year period. He was there. And he was designated Monday morning, go down to local Christian bookshop and get the latest CD of the latest worship.

And have the latest songs in the church the following Sunday. You've got from Monday straight through to Sunday. Have the latest song every single week.

This is what he was doing. He had three years of this. Only a young Christian.

And they stuck him in worship, leading all of this. He came out of it. And I was speaking to him.

He said, do you know what? I never once sung a song about the blood during those three years. I didn't know any songs. I didn't sing them.

I didn't find them. I was bringing new song after new song after new song. I was only new Christian.

I wasn't living right. I wasn't maturing Christ. I didn't know the word of God.

And yet there I am affecting the worship of the biggest Pentecostal church in Ireland at that time. Saints, when you come back to scripture, you see this as the wisdom of God. This is the word of God, that the altar of brass was to be there impacting everything.

The teaching of the cross, the doctrine of the cross. It has to be in place. The order of God has to be in the church of God before men are put in ministry.

We shouldn't choose them. We shouldn't ordain them. They shouldn't be called to ministry unless the cross is in place.

The reason ministry is so bad in our world is because the cross is not in place. Don't look at the ministry and think there's something wrong with training. No, sir, the cross is not in its place in the church.

We wouldn't have all of this apostasy, all of this sexual immorality, all of this confusion, if we just kept the cross in place. We can't stop men sinning, but I'll tell you what, it would get dealt with very quickly in the church. You see, that's why Leviticus, it's all the word of God.

It is God speaking. It is God saying, God spoke to Moses. Don't change my mind, son.

And you know what? In the New Testament, Moses is called a faithful man over the house of God. You know who was greater in his faithfulness? Jesus Christ. See, Christ is over the house.

Don't change his mind because Christ hasn't changed anything. What the father told him to make this church, it's going to be. He gave all the qualifications, gave all the ministries, told you what the message ought to be.

Preach Christ and him crucified. Preach the cross, preach the blood, preach the word of God, preach Jesus. Saints of God, we need to come back to this again, put the cross in place, and we're going to have a purifying of the ministry.

In chapters one to seven Leviticus, the five offerings were for relationship, fellowship, worship, and a right walk with God. But now let's go to chapter eight. Chapter eight is about ministry.

But guess what? All ministry is based on the same sacrifices. All that you've read in the first seven chapters is the foundation of real ministry. You don't have a preacher.

You don't have a priest. You don't have any ministry. You have nothing.

You have no priesthood without the sacrifice. If you remove the blood, remove the altar, remove the cross, you have zilch ministry. I actually believe this is why we're in dire straits in this generation in spiritual ministry.

It's because something has gone wrong with the ministry. Let's go back again. Saints, let's pray for an outpouring of the spirit, a revival in the church again.

But it's going to begin here. It's not the numbers we're pursuing. We're pursuing the message.

We're pursuing the Christ of Scripture. We're pursuing the God of the Bible. Saints, I want to come back.

I want this church built upon Scripture itself. I want it to sift us and sanctify us and saturate us. I want it to search our hearts because you know without an emphasis, a right emphasis on the cross, we have no ministry.

But when it's in place, we're now ready to raise up ministry. Without an emphasis, focus, and concentration on the five offerings, the cross of Jesus, ministry is in serious trouble. We read in our Bibles about Aaron and the Levitical priesthood being raised up in four chapters of the Old Testament.

Only four. Two of the chapters are in Exodus just before Leviticus. In Exodus chapter 28 and 29, we have two chapters about Aaron and the Levitical ministry being raised up.

But we also have two chapters in Leviticus. That's chapter 8 and chapter 9. And that's where we are. I want to do these together, but we're not getting there.

I had to face reality. We have to stop at a consecrated ministry. And saints, if all you do is when I say amen and finish my message, you have a consciousness, an awareness of the vitalness of the cross to be in place and functioning and affecting you in order to minister to whatever you're called to, then I've succeeded tonight.

I want to tell you, let's put the cross back in place so that ministry can come. Here's my message, a consecrated ministry, chapter 8. Let me just go through. I'm not going to go through all of this, but I'm going to go through enough for you to see the principles, the teachings about real ministry.

We're focusing, and we want to get to Jesus as our great high priest. But I don't want to miss this, that this is talking about all ministry, God's ministry. It's a picture, a shadow, a type.

What is in place in the Old Testament, we should not have less than the New Testament. We ought to have things in order and things in place. I want you to first notice that everything God commanded was according to a pattern.

We're told in the Bible, Moses built the tabernacle. He'd done everything according to a pattern. He didn't change anything, didn't change any color, any material, any length, nothing.

Since we need that back in the church again, and I've labored for 35 years on this, don't change the word of God. This burns in me. Listen to me all through the years.

This is basic material here, but it's gone in the church of our day. Men change the word of God. They change the truth of God.

They change the order in the church. But listen, Moses, in raising up this priestly ministry, which we actually have to learn from, he didn't add to it, he didn't change it, nothing. He just done what God said.

And I'm telling you, things will start to go in place when you listen God's word, when you obey it in your marriage, in your relationships, in your workplace, in whatever it is, in evangelism, and seeking after God, and seeking the will of God, seeking a marriage partner. If you just walk according to the word of God, you will be blessed of heaven. Why would I change God's mind? Why would I try to do it a different way and force God to bless it? It will not work.

You see here in this chapter, God is now going to set apart, consecrate, and begin to raise up an entire family of priests, of people. He chose Aaron, the brother of Moses, to be the high priest of Israel. You don't call yourself.

See in ministry, in the church, you don't call yourself. Aaron didn't call himself. He didn't choose himself.

He didn't decide the task. He is called of God. We need to get back in the church again saying, what are you calling me to? Praying for the will of God, not your will.

You don't have the right either to run from the will of God. And you can run from the will of God. Jonah ran from the will of God.

John Livingston in Scotland, I told you about in 1630, he ran from the will of God. He was a young man, scared to preach. Well, God conquered him in one night.

He got on his knees, repented, went back and preached, and 500 souls in one sermon. You see, you don't have the right to call yourself. You don't choose the ministry or the task.

You don't say, I'm a pastor. I think I'm this. You'll get it all wrong.

You know what? These men were called by God. God spoke to Moses. Moses called them.

It was the word of God. You are being called to priestly ministry. The Levitical priesthood descended from one man.

Levi was one of the 12 sons of Jacob. He was set apart for priestly ministry. But listen to this.

That was never God's original intention. At Sinai, he wanted the entire nation to be a nation of priests so that they would all arise, that they would minister unto God and for God. But the people got scared and said, no, you go and minister on our behalf.

So God separated out the Levites. He separated out Aaron. But saints of God, it was meant to be the entire people of God.

You know what this tells me? Do you know what the New Testament tells me? All of you are priests unto God. All of you have a calling in ministry. I'm not talking about being a pastor, a teacher, a prophet, or an apostle.

I'm not saying that. I'm saying every born-again Christian has a call on their life. You don't get to choose over that.

You're born again. You're forgiven. You're meant to represent God on this earth and you're meant to stand before men at the throne of God.

You have a ministry, saints. Every one of you in this room has a calling. It came with salvation.

It came in the blood. It came at Calvary. When you're born again, when you're washed of your sin, made a new creature, you know what God is doing? He's adding to this kingdom a priest.

You're another priest in the house of God. Mary, you're a priest before God, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Her old priest would be shocked at such a statement.

If she went up to her old priest, says, guess what? I'm a priest. He's going to go, she's lost it. She's lost it.

We had no, she's got it. She's got it. The word of God says that you're called to be a priest.

So God was raising up a man primarily called Aaron. This man, the entire nation would depend upon him. He's the mediator.

He is the interceder. He is the advocate. He is the key man, the linchpin.

Everything rests upon this one man. Aaron is mentioned 80 times in the book of Leviticus. We know he wasn't a perfect man, but he was God's man.

He was in God's place. And it was on the basis of the blood, the offerings, the sacrifices, the Passover blood that he was brought in. Could you imagine God choosing him apart from the blood? Never.

It was because of the blood that Aaron was actually chosen for ministry, called to ministry. That and that alone, says in Exodus 29, 44, I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons to minister to me in the priest's office. And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God.

This ministry was being raised up so God could dwell in their midst. Why teach seven chapters on sacrifice, the blood, on offerings, on how to be accepted by God? Because God's raising up a priesthood who understand the blood. Can I ask you, do you understand the blood? Do you understand the cross? Do you understand what God is doing in this? Because this is to make us able ministers that God can dwell in our midst.

Do you realize all the provision of Calvary is to allow God to manifest himself in the midst of his people? This is God's will. Look at the beginning of this consecration onto ministry. God chose Aaron and his four sons.

He had four sons. There's also a bit of a picture and shadow of the five-fold ministry in Ephesians 4 and 11. Says that Jesus gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.

Five ministries Jesus put in the church. Moses also put five ministers in the church in the same family. Aaron and his four sons were placed in there in the house of God to raise up the entire nation.

They stood there representing God, ministering for God, gifted of God, called of God, put in place. But I want to tell you, your ministry means nothing without the blood, without the sacrifice. If the cross isn't central, if we don't emphasize it, what does ministry mean? Keep your apostolic ministry.

You know, I was watching, driving down the road last night, and I was listening to a bit of a video of John Paul Jackson, one of the American prophets, one of the greatest in the country, is a heretic, is a false teacher. And I can prove it. I've got, I was there in 94 in Edinburgh when he brought Toronto onto that platform, a dark spirit, other foreign false demonic spirits.

I want to tell you, there's lots of things I can tell you. We are running a school down here in Limerick. I got a phone call from a man saying, John Paul Jackson from America is here in Ireland.

Do you want him to come and speak in the midst of your school as you're running it? There's one of our ex-students. And he actually told me what he said. He's going to spend a couple of weeks at a new age conference here in Ireland to set up a little stall and to do dream interpretation, interpret people's dreams.

I said, no, thank you. He won't be coming into the school of Christ. We don't need him.

Do you know what you have? You've got men called prophets, and yet the cross is not central. They're into a different spirit. They don't minister Christ.

They don't minister the basic gospel. If a man's a real prophet, he ought to be preaching Christ, the new birth, the reality of holiness. That's what I look for.

Look at the first thing that Moses does as he's going to raise up Aaron and his four sons with them. The very first thing is in verse six of chapter eight. He washed them with water.

Now, notice that's the first mark of a consecrated ministry, to be washed with water. Aaron and his four sons being men, only men, they had to be washed. You know why? You're dealing with holy things.

You're going to minister in the house of God before he clothes them, anoints them, consecrates them, and gives them over to ministry. They've got to be washed with water. This is the first essential.

I believe this represents regeneration. If you go to Ezekiel 36, 25 or John 3, verse five and six, you see that water is a mark of the new birth, the born again experience. It's an inward work, being regenerate.

It says in Titus 3 and 5, not by works of righteousness, talking about being born again, not by works of righteousness, which we have done. But according to his mercy, he saved us by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. What the Bible teaches is there is a washing that renews you and makes you a new creature in Christ.

Saints of God, not only that, the water of the word speaks about being made right, being prepared, being made ready. It's time that we stop ministry that is not regenerate. I'm fully convinced many in ministry have never been born again.

Their testimony is not right. They have not had an experience of being washed. We ought to be checking people who minister to children.

Some of them, I've seen all over the church, give someone an instrument. They've never been washed, never been washed. They have no testimony.

Let them minister to the kids. After all, they're only kids. And you've got some teenager who's never been washed, has no commitment to God, isn't even faithful in the house of God, is going to minister to the children in the church.

No way. No way. Why would I ask you to minister to children if you're not faithful in the house of God? I don't care if you sing like a bird.

I don't care if you're one of the most gifted guitar players in the entire nation. Why would I care if you are not washed, if you're not regenerate? This is a basic of ministry, saints. This is the very, very basic of ministry.

They've got to be regenerate. They've got to be sanctified. They've got to be washed.

They've got to be clean. Why would I bring uncleanness into ministry? We want a right heart, a right spirit. That's the first qualification for ministry.

Now, we know that it's a bad shadow. Christ didn't need regenerated. He was washed.

He is clean. He is the perfect son of God. He was born sinless.

He is wider than the riven snow. He is clean. There's no immorality there.

Aren't you glad that we've got a great high priest, the supreme ministry in the church of Christ? It is sinless. No lies, no darkness, no shadows, nothing hidden, nothing that's going to shock. I will never be shocked with the Lord Jesus Christ.

He's a reliable ministry. And you know what? All ministry is associated with Him. We ought to look for ministers to be raised up, associated close with Jesus Christ, thinking like Him, believing His teaching, walking like Him, using the same words as He used.

We need ministry, and we need it in this church, saints. We need regeneration. We need to know the power of the new birth.

Have you forgotten what you've experienced? To become a priest in the house of God, and you are. You're meant a minister, and it's time we wake up church of God. You are called to ministry in this church.

You need to intercede. You need to fast. You need to pray.

You need to evangelize. We will allow the devil to crush us down, to steal our faith, to steal the call of God. You're regenerate.

A miracle has happened in your life. You're a creature. You've got a message for this world.

See, this is where ministry starts. You're called. You're being brought in.

You've got to be washed, renewed by the Spirit of God. A miracle has taken place in my life. Don't let the devil steal that from you.

This is the foundation of all priestly ministry in this church. We are called as a church of priests. We are to rise up.

Do you understand priestly ministry? Since you're called, you can't just stay in Leviticus 1 to 6, 1 to 7, going, keeping on going back to the sin offering, perpetually living at the sin offering every day, every week. There's more. Do you think he's just done that to deal with your sin on a daily basis? Many Christians get in the door, and they get stuck.

They don't realize this has meant to carry you. It's so dynamic, so powerful. It's meant to carry you into a place of ministry.

The offerings meant to move you from the sin offering to the burnt offering. So you move from going, it's me, me, me, to actually going, what can I do for you? If he gets you to the burnt offering, you're going to minister. Since you're going to get angry at the devil in this city, you're going to get stirred in your heart.

You're going to get tired of the devil running circles around you. You're going to begin going back and saying, there's got to be power here. Why am I playing with this? Either there's power here to make me washed in water, or else it's a game and I should leave it alone, one or the other.

But I've got to get angry. I've got to get stirred. And so this is how a consecrated ministry started, by being washed.

That's the one thing. Second of all, in verse seven to nine, they had to be clothed. Now we're going to begin to see more of our high priest's ministry.

We get all the clothing of the high priest here, and I believe every item of clothing flows over. It's not an accident it's there. Who created these? God.

Who wrote about it, decided it, designed it, chose it. Wasn't Moses, wasn't Aaron. Aaron's not going out to the shops going, well I like this style.

I don't really like what God has given me there. This is what the high priest is going to look like. His clothing was actually designed in a certain way to represent Jesus Christ.

They're not just old stories in the Old Testament. They're not just an Old Testament priest in the house of God. These are specifically designed, not for that day, but for our day and for this church.

When we start going through these, you're going to see who your Christ is. What his clothing is. See that priests all had to be clothed.

The high priest and all the priests had to be clothed right. Are you clothed right tonight? You're meant to be clothed right as a priest of God. First washed.

You have to get washed before you put the clothes on. If you're regenerate, then you're ready for the garments. Let's look just here for a second.

It says in Exodus 28 verse 2 concerning holy garments for Aaron, thy brother, for glory and for beauty. God speaking to Moses called them holy garments, sanctified garments, and he said they're for glory and for beauty. All of these clothes are for glory.

They're meant to be glorious and they're meant to be beautiful. Can I tell you something? When you begin to read the doctrine of what they represent, this is glorious and beautiful about your savior. So you're going to understand how does he minister for you as your high priest.

Do you know Jesus is your high priest right now? Your salvation depends on him. He better not fail. You better understand this ministry.

Your salvation, your forgiveness every day, your acceptance, the answer to your prayers all hinge on your high priest. In fact, the entire church worldwide in every single nation of the world, every preacher, every minister, every young person, their salvation, their future hinge on one person, the Lord Jesus Christ as their great high priest. So there's a revelation here.

Let's just go through this and you'll begin to see in verse 7 just concerning these instruments. First of all, you have the coat. The coat was put on and remember that the high priest, not talking about the priests around him yet, not talking about his sons, talking about the high priest.

First he has a coat put on him. In chapter 610 it says that this is a linen garment or tunic. It's a long coat that goes down to your wrist, down to your ankles.

It covers your nakedness. This is what covers your nakedness. This garment, this coat is absolutely essential.

It is a white linen garment that covers the natural nakedness of a man. It says in Revelation 19 and 8, the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. Do you know what this represents? Righteousness.

This is a white robe of righteousness and the high priest put a white robe on first. This is the first. You're washed, then you put the white robe on.

This represents the righteousness of Jesus Christ, his perfect righteousness. He wasn't gifted righteousness. It was his righteousness.

Our great high priest is clothed in perfect righteousness. He actually procured this for us. Where does our robe of righteousness come from? Our great high priest.

Your perfect righteousness depends on him. Saints, when we come to the New Testament, to Romans and elsewhere, we read about imputed righteousness. This white robe actually is the doctrine of being justified by faith.

You believe in the bleeding lamb. You believe in the work of the cross. What happens? You get clothed in the robe of Christ's righteousness.

It's not your righteousness. He gifts it to you. He imputes it to you.

Aaron's four sons don't clothe themselves. They don't purchase it. They don't buy it.

They don't design it. They actually get gifted this white robe of righteousness. It actually says about this robe that it's broidered, not embroidered, broidered, which means inside, not outside.

Embroidered is outside, but this is broidered inside. So you have an inward work of this white robe. There's something that you can't see on the outside.

It is inside. There is a work of God on the inside. It is imputed righteousness.

Guess what? Your high priest, Jesus Christ, he is the one that gives you a perfect righteousness. This robe of righteousness belongs to your high priest. He is clothed.

You can't even look at him without thinking his perfect righteousness. See, you're unholy outside of Christ, outside of him. You could never stand before him.

You'd be condemned into the ground tonight. The devil whisper in your ears, what about that sin? Even as you sing the songs tonight, you'll have thoughts come. What about that? You did this.

What about this word? The devil will tear you apart. If you're going to get raised up in the ministry, you need to know the robe of righteousness, and your preachers today, they're denying imputed righteousness. They're theologians, and I detest their writings and books.

I would burn every one of them if I could across nations. They're actually becoming popular, and they deny the imputed righteousness of Christ. They don't believe in justification by faith anymore.

I'm talking about some of the key, most influential men in this hour. They're heretics. They're dangerous.

So that's the first item of clothing. It's the coat. Second of all, the girdle that goes around your waist.

It holds everything together. It's the symbol of a servant. It actually aids you to stand.

It's something that holds everything in place, but it's the primary symbol of a servant. Aren't you glad that your great high priest, it's not just for his benefit. He is standing at the right hand of the father to minister for you.

He is a servant. Since he said, I want to help you. I want to help you.

He's not trying to catch out. He wants to help you. He wants to minister to you.

Do you know our high priest knows you right now? He knows what you're going through. He knows what you're battling and struggling with. And he says, I'm here to serve.

I'm here to minister as a high priest. This is an abusive ministry. This is one raised up of God to serve.

In Revelation chapter 1 and 13, in the vision of Jesus walking in the seven churches, listen to what it says. One like unto the son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot. I wonder what that was.

I think it was the robe of righteousness and guard about the paps or the waist with a golden girdle. Jesus has these two things. He's got the robe of linen and he has this golden girdle around his waist.

He is there in the seven churches. Yes. He deals with sin.

Yes. He says some very straight things, but he's there to help every individual. He's there to help the churches.

I believe he's here tonight. He wants to help this church. He's here as a servant.

He has actually come and ministering. Third of all is the robe. This actually depicts his office.

This is the great mark of his ministry. It was a blue robe and right on the end of it, at the hem of the bottom of this blue robe that he was wearing. If you went right to the hem and picked up the hem, on the hem, all along the bottom were golden bells and pomegranates.

Pomegranates are fruit. So you had a pomegranate, a fruit and a bell, fruit and a bell, fruit and a bell all the way around this blue garment. This is his ministry as high priest.

When you come over to the new Testament, you begin to understand this because in the book of Corinthians, the pomegranate represents the fruit of the spirit, but the bell represents the gifts of the spirit. Because when you lose the reality, remember what Paul said, he said, without love, without charity, without fruit, you'll be like a dinging bell. Empty.

Ding, ding, ding. It has to have both. So what the high priest is saying here, when you hear him moving, ministering in the church, as he did in the temple, in the old Testament, the priest went within the veil.

No one else could go in there. He's the only one that can go in there. Do you know what they used to do was tie a rope to his leg.

And if the noise stopped, if they couldn't hear anything, they could pull him out. That's in case their high priest went wrong and was struck down in the presence of God and died within the veil. So they could always pull him out because they'd be scared to go in there.

I'm not going in there. I'm not going to rescue him. They'd pull him out.

But do you know what our high priest, as he moves in the church, that mixture of gifts and bells, gifts without the bells is a terrible thing. Sorry, bells without pomegranates is a terrible thing. Without the fruit of the Spirit, ministry can be a terrible thing in the church.

Trying to prophesy to people, but there's no love. Trying to operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but there is no meekness or kindness. You are going to have real problems.

Next of all, you have an ephod. An ephod, David actually wore an ephod. Samuel wore an ephod, but only the high priest was to wear an ephod.

No one in the Bible was to wear an ephod apart from a very unusual and unique man. And yet our Bible says David and Samuel both had the ephod of God. That shows in the Old Testament, David and Samuel were unique men.

King David was a king, but here he is operating in the priestly role. He was a priest king. He had an ephod on.

You would get killed in the Old Testament if you tried to operate in the priesthood ministry when you weren't called to it. That tells me that David did have, he was a type, a picture of Jesus, and he had that ministry. This ephod is a beautiful thing.

It's embroidered with threads of scarlet and blue and purple and gold. It is a beautiful, stunning thing that comes down over your shoulders. On both the shoulders there are straps with two ankh stones, and on each of those straps are six names of the 12 tribes of Israel.

So here you have this ephod of ministry, and on the shoulders he is carrying the burden of the entire people of God. Do you know that that's what Jesus Christ does? He has the ephod on. He actually ministers on behalf of the entire church of Jesus Christ.

He carries the burden. He carries the weight. Do you think you're carrying the weight? You're not carrying the weight.

There is one, your great high priest who cares for you. He loves you, and he is carrying the weight of all the burdens of life. He also has a breastplate on.

This breastplate on his front is four square. It's a square right on his front. On that breastplate are three rows of four stones.

There are 12 stones on the breastplate. Each one of those stones represent all the people of Israel. This represents his ministry of intercession to the entire people of God.

Do you know he carries you on his heart? He literally carries the entire people of God. Connected to that breastplate, inside the breastplate was the Urim and Thurim. It was in a small pocket, and this is for guidance.

Two stones, one yes, one no, and this was used. The high priest was the means of guidance to the entire nation. Do you want to know who your guide is? Do you want to know what the secret of guidance is? Your great high priest, he is praying for you.

Do you know he's praying for you tonight? You're trying to find the will of God. You can't even find your tail. You'll go in circles and still not catch up on yourself, but there is one called your great high priest, Jesus Christ.

He is praying for you. He cares for you. He's carrying the burden of your life.

He's making intercession for you, since he is a faithful high priest, and he's in position. We also read that he has a mitre upon his head, verse 9, and upon the mitre, even upon the forefront, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown, as the Lord God commanded Moses. Do you know what's written on his mitre? Holiness unto the Lord.

Holiness unto the Lord. See, every time you look at him, you see holiness. He is the embodiment of holiness.

He is pure, and yet he's dealing with you. Guess what he's been raised up to do, saints of God, to minister the five sacrifices on your behalf. Jesus Christ, in Hebrews, is not only the sacrificial lamb, he is the high priest offering the lamb.

He is both the sacrifice and the high priest that is ministering. This is the entire ministry of Jesus Christ. He is ministering for you.

And so you have them washed, you have them clothed, you next have them anointed, verse 10 and verse 12. So Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle therein and sanctified them. And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times and anointed the altar and all the vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them.

And he poured the anointing oil upon Aaron's head. You know what the oil represents? The Holy Spirit. And to be anointed in the Old Testament meant you're set apart to ministry.

This is an enduement. This is an empowerment. This is an ability coming from God, where he sets the high priest, Aaron, aside.

Aaron is being anointed of the Holy Ghost. Only three kinds of men were anointed in the Old Testament. The high priests, the kings, and prophets.

They were the only three ministries. See, in the New Testament, the anointings poured out on every single member of the body of Christ. But saints, all ministry comes from Aaron.

Remember in the Psalms when it talks about unity, it talks about the oil coming down on the head of Aaron, down his beard, down his garment, right to the feet. It's meant to represent the entire body of Christ. Aaron, as a type of Christ, the anointing is on his head, and it begins to flow down the entire body.

But notice what it says as well in verse 12. And it says this anointing on Aaron's head to sanctify him. You don't often hear that about the anointing anymore.

See, the anointing oil in these chapters are specifically carefully made. Don't bring strange oil. Don't you decide the mixture.

It has to have certain ingredients. No strange oil, no strange fire, no strange ministry. We need the real anointing of the Holy Ghost.

Isn't there so many false anointings in the church in our generation? So many false revivals, false giftings, anointings, all of the rest. You'll know it by its holiness. You'll know it by its alliance with Scripture.

If it's an anointing that doesn't line up with the Bible, don't be scared of it. It's not the real Holy Spirit. You just reject it.

Don't be worried about it. And so you have here the anointing coming down on him. Then in verse 13, you have Aaron's sons are being clothed.

They now get set aside. They represent us. Guess what? They don't have all of the nice gear that the high priest has.

They don't have the ephod. They don't have the breastplate. They don't have the miter.

They don't have all these things because they're not the high priest, but they are called to priesthood just like you are. Guess what they get? They get coats. They've got to have the linen garment on.

They also have girdles, which means they're servants. And they have bonnets, white linen bonnets. All of this represents their holiness.

They've got to be holy, but they're not Christ. You know what? When we're raised up to minister with Christ, don't forget it. You're not Christ.

You don't have power. You see some people in ministry, you'd think they are the embodiment of some special person. I tell you what, we're all priests.

We're all called to this. We're all called to holiness. Saints, are you ministering in this church? Are you ministering in prayer? Are you ministering in evangelism? Are you ministering in edifying your brother? Are you encouraging one another? Are you fighting the devil? Are you watching over the souls of men? Are you actually coming in here looking, saying, how do I minister? How do I begin to pray through? I believe if we begin to spend time in Leviticus 8, we'll begin to understand how God's consecrates ministry.

One last thing here, the consecration of Aaron and his sons. In verse 14 to 17, Moses and they take the sin offering bullock. Remember what that's for? It's for your sin, for who you are.

Christ didn't need to do this. He offered himself as a sacrifice for sin once. But what Aaron and his sons did, they have to offer a sin offering.

Aaron was a sinner. He had a sin nature. He had been separated from God.

Before they begin to be put into ministry and offer effectually, they've got to deal with their own sin. Can I say, you need to deal with your sin in order to minister to others. You need to go right to the sin offering.

Since you need to get right down to the core of this, go back to the day you're saved. Remember the blood. Remember your conversion.

Remember the power of that offering. Jesus died for your sin, for who you were as a sinner, not just for your sins. That's the trespass offering.

But for you, the sinner, he died for you specifically, for your sin nature, for your condition. He died for you. Since that is the basis of all real ministry, I cannot have a guilty conscience and try to minister to others.

It will affect me. If I don't have boldness and confidence in the blood, how do I tell others, believe in the blood of Jesus Christ? How am I going to do that? How do I lead anyone anywhere that I'm not myself? I've got to emphasize this sin offering, Calvary, the finished work of the cross. Just by having this one thing in place, this sin offering, such power will come to your Christian life.

Since you need to minister this wide and far, that Jesus Christ died for our sins, then the blood is taken by Moses. First of all, before they killed the offering, they all lay hands on the sin offering. They kill it.

They cut it up. Moses took the blood and he brought the ram for the burnt offering. He went and took the blood, applied it to the horns of the altar, and then poured the rest out at the bottom of the altar.

And then he takes the blood and he begins to sprinkle it. There's power. Do you realize there's got to be a ministry of the blood of Jesus Christ? Then look what he does in closing here.

He takes the blood on his finger, dips it in the blood, and touches the right ear. Verse 24. This ministry has to hear from God, has to hear from heaven.

You need the blood. Since anointing doesn't work, gifting doesn't work without the blood. It's the blood that makes you right, not your good deeds.

You don't know God's with you because you feel him or God does a miracle. You have to be right with God because of the blood. The ear is the first thing.

Next of all, upon the thumb of the right hand, he applies it. And then I'm not going to take my shoe off, okay? On the big toe of the right foot, he applies the blood to the ear, to the thumb, to the toe. Why in that order? First, you've got to hear from God.

Your hearing has to be right from God. You've got to be washed in the blood in a way you can hear from God. Your hearing is open because of the sacrifice before you ever begin to work and do anything for God.

See, this is the order. First, you hear. Then you do.

Put it right in your own life. Then go walk and minister. When all these things are in the right place, in the right order, something beautiful begins to happen.

Since all this is true of vital ministry in the church, but this is what I want to leave you with as we close. Over in Hebrews chapter 2, 17 says, Wherefore, in all things, it behoved him, he was under obligation. He owed it.

He had a duty to be made like unto his brethren. That is you and I. Why? That he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. Do you know that he's a high priest to deal with your sin? He's not shocked about your sin.

He's not surprised by your sin. He knows every issue. He's been put in place to minister to your actual sins.

He has been made like unto a man to become a high priest that he can feel what you feel. He was tempted as you were tempted. To be made like unto means to assimilate, to be made similar, to identify with, to be compared with.

Why did he do that? So that he could be merciful. The word merciful here means compassionate, to have compassion. Do you think God cares about you? Do you think your great high priest tonight actually has a heart moved towards you? Does the devil make you doubted that your weaknesses and your battles and how you've got stuck in a rut and you're not moving? Don't you know your great high priest cares about that? Where you're praying about things and nothing seems to happen.

Don't you know he cares about that? He is a merciful high priest. It means he is compassionate, tenderness, bowels of mercy, that he is actively compassionate towards those in misery who are suffering, struggling, wrestling, needy, faltering or failing. Do you think he rejects you at that time? That's when you need your high priest.

You need him most when you're struggling in your mind or in your heart or your conscience or against sin. You need him there with their human nature. Are you struggling with your human nature or your sin or your circumstances or your burdens, responsibilities? What about your conscience? Is it bothering you? Do you feel guilty tonight? Do you know what this means? To have pity for you, concern for you, to help you, to aid you, to minister you, to deliver you, to preserve you, to keep you.

Not only merciful, he is faithful. The word faithful there means trustworthy, dependable, reliable, one who keeps his promises. All of this is stated.

Listen, we have so many beautiful things said in Hebrews, but it goes right back to Leviticus. He is an adequate ministry. He is a sanctified ministry.

He is a ministry prepared and he's looking to raise up priests in around him. Do you know why he's ministering? He's not just merely ministering to you as high priest. He's looking to raise up a household of priests to minister unto God the Father.

He is raising up an entire army of priests in an amazing and a remarkable way. It says in Peter that we have actually been called to be priests unto God. It says in Hebrews 4 and 14, seeing them that we have a great high priest.

Do you have him? The word have means ownership. That word have. Seeing we have such a high priest.

Ownership, possession. To have in the hand. Do you have a high priest in your hand? Do you have some rights to him? Is there some obligations? Has he redeemed you? Sanctified you? Did you get born again? Did you come in or out of this world? Do you think he leaves you at the hour that you need him? Absolutely not.

We have. I'm in relationship with him. I possess his ministry.

His ministry actually is mine by the grace of God. So it says we have a great high priest that has passed into the heavens. Jesus the Son of God.

Let us hold fast our profession. Have you been losing your grip? Grip him again. He's your high priest.

He's everything you need. He'll bring you through. He'll bring me through.

I'm preaching to myself by the way. I'm not preaching to you. I'm preaching to myself.

He'll bring you through. And you know what? You'll prove him. He'll reveal himself.

He is a faithful. He cannot fail. He has to be compassionate.

He is compassionate. That's his nature. When he sees you tempted.

Remember what it says? It says wherefore in all things have behooved him to be made like unto his brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest. And then listen to the next verse. For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.

He's able to help you. Saints of God, tonight I'm telling you the cross is in place to bring forth ministry. And without the cross, without the blood, without the sacrifice, we don't have ministry.

We don't have a calm. We don't have it's nothing. It all comes out of the finished work of Calvary.

And you have a great high priest. And he wants to so minister the reality of this to you, the forgiveness and the grace and the mercy and the help and the encouragement that we're going to arise, that we're going to be quickened and revived and stirred. And we're not simply going to be seeking to be ministered unto.

We are going to arise as New Testament priests in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are going to arise as a holy nation, the people of God, the church of God that pray in the spirit, pray in the Holy Ghost. We're going to stand in the gap for a city.

We're going to stand in the gap for a nation. We're going to stand in the gap for a world. We're going to stand and plead for the church of God, not victims, not worn down, not given up, not losing our grip.

But I tell you, laying hold of our great high priest, he is able to succor you. He's able to help you. You think you're beyond help.

Rubbish. No one can help me. Rubbish.

He is able to aid you because I tell you what, he knows you in a way that I'll never know you. If I stay here preaching until I'm a hundred, I won't even begin to know you the way your great high priest knows you and he's interceding for you tonight. Let's pray.

Father, we praise you. We worship you. We thank you, God, that in this book of Leviticus, oh God, you've got so much pure teaching.

Lord God, you're describing, oh God, the very clothes and the very calling, the very ministry of our great high priest. We're always before him. He's always in place, always faithful, always ministering within the veil.

He remembers us. Lord God, it's not Aaron that's our high priest, but it's the Lord Jesus Christ. Our entire future salvation, calling, ministry, everything depends upon him.

My eternity with my heavenly father depends on the Lord Jesus Christ. And thank you, God, that we've got such an assured, settled confidence in Jesus Christ, in Jesus' name.