Listen to the broadcast program. radio009en.ram (15 minutes)
The program outline is transcribed below.
This is based on a short article.
This is Doreen and Neville Palmer to welcome you once again to this radio broadcast "ComfortForToday.com" named after the website of the same name. My husband and I trust that you will enjoy today's message. We would love to hear from you. Our e-mail address is comfort@comfortfortoday.com.
The article which we shall be looking at today is #9 of the short articles on the website. This article tells of our need for Jesus to help us understand who He really is. Without the light of His Holy Spirit shining through our spiritual darkness, we humans just don't "get it."
As I was preparing this radio message, I realized that understanding Jesus' identity is a continuing revelation. We think we understand, then later we think "Oh yes, how could I be so blind"? I say this because I personally understand it better today than in 1985 when I first wrote the article.
Human reasoning would ask: "How could God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit possibly be one God? And how could God come to earth in human form? Those who don't understand call Jesus a prophet, a great teacher, but not the ONE and ONLY SON of the living God! They think He must be a son of Joseph because they cannot understand how God could create a human body inside a virgin without human sperm.
God knew that in the last days false prophets and teachers would abound, so he arranged a scene in history to provide pictures, or shadows, of what would happen later. By studying the Old Testament, these portraits of the future become ever more clear, especially to help us understand the identity of the Jewish Messiah, Jesus Christ. In other words, the events, people, and laws in the Old Testament portray a picture-message of the New Testament. They are like a schoolmaster to teach us about Jesus.
Today's article interprets one of these Old Testament pictures about Jesus. The positioning of the lampstands in the ancient Jewish tabernacle was very important because their light must shine directly on the loaves of bread. This bread was baked without yeast, or leaven, as leaven represented sin. This would not seem to be important in to us today - untilwe read the New Testament.
In the New Testament, Jesus said He was the Bread of life. Christians today break bread at their communion tables as a sign of Jesus' sinless body being broken to remove the sin of those who repent. The light which shone on the bread in the tabernacle is none other than the light of God's Holy Spirit revealing to us who Jesus is. In the Old Testament, it was the job of the priests to be certain the lamps were always filled with oil so that they could burn day and night. Oil represents God's Holy Spirit, and only God's Holy Spirit keeps the light of truth burning to constantly reveal more and more of who Jesus is.
Just as the lambs slaughtered for the Passover Feast had to be perfect and without blemish, Jesus who was slain during that Passover celebration was the sinless Lamb of God slain to take away our sin. The unleavened bread we eat and the wine (usually grape juice) which we drink at our communion services is to remind us of His death until He comes again.
Some of what I have said is repeated in the article I will read today, but I trust this repetition will be helpful to you. It is very important because His identity is what separates Christianity from all other faiths. All cults, most of whom claim to be Christian, have one common false assumption that Jesus Christ is not God! This lie has spawned a one-world religious system telling us that all religions are a pathway to the same God. But how could that be if Jesus Christ is God?
Jesus himself is the very Light we need to show us who He is!
I shall now read Short Article #9 on the website:
As the Israelites wended their way across the desert to the land God had promised to them, they built a tabernacle--a tent-like structure designed as a place of worship. Near the entrance, the priests offered animal sacrifices to God, usually lambs. These they burned on the altar, and their blood was sprinkled to free the people from their sins. The animal died in the place of the one who had sinned.
There were twelve family groups involved in this exodus from Egypt--the twelve "tribes of Israel." Within the tabernacle, on a table, were twelve loaves of bread, one to represent each tribe. These loaves were to remind the people of the covenant which God had made with them--that He would be their God if they would be His people. The bread was considered holy.
On the wall of the tabernacle opposite the table was a lampstand to provide light. It was the duty of the priests to see that the lamps were always filled with oil so that the light would not go out. The lamps were on a golden lampstand in a group of seven so that the light shone brightly toward the table where the bread was displayed (Exod.25:23-40).
Everything in the history of the Israelites crossing the desert represents some aspect of the Christian life. We, too, are on a journey in an unknown land with only God to guide us. The Old Covenant made between God and the Israelites has been replaced with a New Covenant where the blood of another Lamb, Jesus Christ, is used to cleanse people of their sins. He was the sacrifice of the New Covenant (Heb.9:26).
In the days of the Old Covenant, any leaven or yeast in the house must be swept out before each Passover celebration because leaven represented sin. For that reason, there was no leaven in the bread on the table in the tabernacle. Jesus Christ is that sinless Bread of Life whose body was broken for the sins of the world. Just as the bread was considered holy, Jesus' body is also holy. The twelve loaves represented the twelve tribes of Israel, and Jesus had twelve disciples to carry on His ministry. The tabernacle bread was considered holy, so also is the body of the perfect Lamb most holy.
Only the light given by the Holy Spirit enables us to see what is on the table as we celebrate our Lord's last supper with His disciples. Without light, we cannot see. As more and more of God's Holy Spirit is poured out upon the world today, more and more people are seeing the truths in the Bible. It was the duty of the priests to fill the lamps with oil so the light would not go out; it is the duty of all true Christians to keep the Holy Spirit flowing in their churches so that the truth of Jesus Christ will be seen by all. If they are faithful, the world too will see that Jesus Christ is the only Light who can save our dark world.
The perfect sacrificial Lamb is sitting at the table of shewbread in the tabernacle of the hearts of Christians. The Jews looked for a King to rule Israel, but got instead a King to rule over hearts which have been cleansed by the Lamb.
It is impossible to see that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God without the oil of the Holy Spirit. And when we do see it, we must keep our lamps daily filled with the oil. Otherwise the darkness of this world will overtake us.
"Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).
The following first verse of "Washed in the Blood" was recorded by Shaun Hayward at the Community Pentecostal Church, Beaverton, ON. Prayer: We thank you Lord Jesus for your great plan of redemption. We thank You for Jewish history which explains it all so well by using types and shadows of your life, death, and resurrection. We ask that You bless every home and every person listening to this broadcast today. We ask You bless your body of true believers around the world that they will be shown who You are. We ask You protect your people from all false teachings which are so rampant today. We also ask that many will accept You today as their Lord and Saviour, and find the cleansing power of your blood shed for us. Amen.