Friday, August 22, 2014

Spiritual Sacrifices!! Oh Yes it's Imperative!!

Important  In the process of reading Leviticus this month. God's book for Levi Tribe, a rule book rather of how Israelites should perform sacrifices for atonement. The book really puzzles me, for the ceremonial killings of animals or birds for human sins, is something that really cannot comprehend well, and something that even hurts me, i should say! However, in respect of the Lord who commanded these rules, i choose to humbly read it, knowing He is just and that He has a reason for all that he gave as laws to Israel. 

Today, however, i did get a new enlightment. It was as if the Verses from various parts of the bible co-related together to help me understand one of the reasons behind Spiritual Sacrifices.

1. Leviticus 14: 2-8: “This shall be the law of the leprous person for the day of his cleansing.  He shall be brought to the priest, and the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall look. Then, if the case of leprous disease is healed in the leprous person, the priest shall command them to take for him who is to be cleansed two live1 clean birds and  cedarwood and vscarlet yarn and hyssop. And the priest shall command them to kill one of the birds in an earthenware vessel over fresh2 water. He shall take the live bird with the cedarwood and the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, and dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water.And he shall sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed of the leprous disease. Then he shall pronounce him clean and shall let the living bird go into the open field. And he who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes and shave off all his hair and bathe himself in water, and he shall be clean." 

2. Mark 5: 14-15: And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. 15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind.

3. This is why Jesus came and why He died, to become the ultimate and final sacrifice, the perfect (without blemish) sacrifice for our sins (Colossians 1:22;1 Peter 1:19). Through Him, the promise of life eternal with God becomes effective through faith to those who believe in Jesus. “So that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe” (Galatians 3:22)  


Here is how these Verses Co-orelate. First the Levite Priest was instructed to make a sacrifice for Sin, Atonement or cleansing. The Verse 14 relates to the cleansing of a leprous person. Two Turtle Doves, one to be killed in earthen vessel over fresh water (Death of unclean Leprosy) another to be let free in open air (Deliverance). Relate this to the man who was possessed with Legion. Legion means a greek word which means an army of 3000 – 6000 men. This was the plight of the man possessed with legion. He has over 3000 devil spirits inside of him and for him to be cleansed and be of right mind, the legion begged Jesus to let them loose into the Swine. Here we see that Evil, Sin, Curse or uncleanliness needs transfer of bodies, for the victim to be clean. The demon entered the swine and at that moment the victim was healed! So the Levite priest symbolically performed the ritual of cleansing, transferring the Human uncleanliness (Sin or disease or Curse) to the Animal or Bird, being instructed. This would mean bloodshed for atonement of human sins and diseases.  Finally, in this generation, we are no longer to follow the Levite Ceremonial cleansing for healing of our souls. Now, we have Jesus the Christ, who has paid the atonement for our sins and by his bloodshed we are made clean.  Remember the bible says, “eli eli lama sabachthani”, where Jesus Christ was so filled with darkness of our sin that Father could not see himon the cross???  He bore OUR sins and OUR Iniquities. Tough it may sound as a historical crucifixion, for those who have been cleansed of sins, sickness and diseases, known the Jesus’s bloodshed for an individual’s sin is uniquely for that individual to this day.  Yet through the Power of God Jesus Resurrected the Third day and rest goes on……. Somehow I was so excited to get this revelation from God. For me to be wholly cleansed I need to have a spiritual sacrifice. My Sins, Diseases, Iniquities, Cruses and bondages are real spiritual baggages, that pulls down my physical life and it’s happenings. Many a days, we are alive but soulfully dead. Zombie’s they say, To repeat happenings for a lifetime and yet have no life within. To have life within is more important than to stay alive. And for me to have life within, means my soul needs to be resorted back to where God’s has Started. Psalmist says “He resotoreth my Soul for His namesake,…” To restore a soul would be to be delivered from these very spiritual baggage that pull us down. That would need a Spiritual Sacrifice, which for us is Jesus Christ. “Who the Son sets free is free indeed” (John 8. 36). So here for us to claim our spiritual sacrifice (Truly and sincerely with all that is within us): Atonement through Blood of Jesus Christ and Deliverance through his resurrection!


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