18/11/11

Take your censer and burn incense

Numbers 16:17,18 - And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the LORD every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer. And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron.


In the church I was before, as a young boy I was an altar boy and being the head altar boy in that Cathedral I had would usually get the privilege to hold the censer. The best part for me was burning the coal and putting incense in the censer. The moment the incense fell on the burning coal there was a beautiful aroma that filled the air. All this I did without knowing what it meant and if these things did really please God.

But one day after I came into the Lord I was attending a service and the preacher there was explaining about incense and the formula which the Lord restricted for His use only. And as she was preaching the Lord was talking to me and opening my mind to some secrets of how the incense represented worship and in that formula was the secret of perfect worship which the Lord assured in His Word every time the formula was used His glory would be manifested.

I wrote about this in my teaching 'Worshiping in Spirit and Truth' which can be downloaded from following link http://www.savedbyfaith.info/Worshiping_in_spirit_and_truth.pdf

Every time I got myself to follow the formula I did experience the glory of God.

Incense was burnt in censers and the censer symbolizes our body. The perfect censer was one made of gold and gold symbolizes spiritual richness. So the perfect censer is a person who is led by the Spirit of God and filled with the Holy Spirit.

Coming to the fire inside the censer which represents the holy fire in us and this fire comes in us when we are baptized with fire (it is different from being baptized in water and Spirit). It is only when we have a passion for the Kingdom of God we have a fire in us. This fire grows when we start to carry our CROSS (purpose) in Jesus Christ.

We read in today's message when Levi's son Korah and his people rebelled against Moses and Aaron, the authority given to them by the Lord. Moses got angry and in his anger told them to take their censers and burn incense at the door of the Tabernacle. Moses was not told by the Lord to ask them to take censer and burn incense but was led by the Spirit of God to do that. But knowing what would happen when they did that, the Lord cautioned Moses why he wanted the others to suffer because few of these people, so the Lord told they to be separated from the others. As they were separated the ground below them open up and consumed them.

The message today is to both children of God and to those called to lead His children.

The message to the children is to make your bodies a holy vessel and worship the Lord with a passion. Let the passion for the Kingdom of God burn in you and the worship that comes is like sweet aroma that pleases God and lets His favour fall on you.

The message to those called to lead the children is if they become a vessels with an unholy fire in them, meaning a fire not for God's Kingdom but one that burns for one's own fame and glory, a fire which desires worldly things not spiritual things, then the Lord is first going to separate you from His people and then will remove the ground beneath your feet and consume you. I do not need to tell you in detail on this but will let God's Spirit do that.


[ Prayer Starter ]
Lord, we worship You to please You so that your Face shines on us, your favour is showered on us. It is your favour that shuts the enemy and glorifies us in You. Lord, we pray for those who are called to be vessels of your Sanctuary. Lord, make them a holy vessel with a holy fire. Cleanse these vessels Lord and ignite in them a passion for your Kingdom a passion for your people, for the precious things of which Heaven is made of...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.


[ Reference Scriptures ]
Numbers 16:15-35
15 And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the LORD, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.
16 And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the LORD, thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow:
17 And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the LORD every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer.
18 And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron.
19 And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation.
20 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
21 Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.
22 And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?
23 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
24 Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
25 And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.
26 And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.
27 So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children.
28 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.
29 If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me.
30 But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD.
31 And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:
32 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.
33 They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.
34 And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.
35 And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.

Exodus 30:34-38
34 And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight:
35 And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy:
36 And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.
37 And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD.
38 Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.

Hebrew 9:3-5
3 And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;
4 Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;
5 And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.

Matthew 3: 11 - I indeed baptize you in water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire:



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