LEVITICUS – A HOLY PEOPLE’s ACCESS to The HOLY GOD – Chapter THREE & FOUR

Contributing commentaries by pastors Sonny Islas, Albert Lopez and James Fire

Complete Study of Leviticus by pastor Chuck Smith 

LEVITICUS 3 & 4: “ENJOYING A BBQ WITH GOD” – by Sonny Islas, Facebook video.

INTRODUCTION:
Today’s bible study title will make sense in a moment.
As we study through Leviticus, let’s keep in mind that as God’s people approached the Tabernacle to eagerly bring and joyfully give their offerings, whether it was for the forgiveness of sin or the sake of sheer gratitude towards God, God is there in their midst. In a very tangible way, His voice can be heard and His glory can be seen.

His divine and powerful presence is there in the awesome form of a fiery pillar by night and a cloudy pillar by day (aka The Shekinah Glory of God). And because God is Holy, He sets all the rules and regulations in which His people must approach Him, lest they die. Not because He wants them dead but because they cannot handle His nearness without Him making it possible.

In Psalm 99:7a, 8a King David reflects on this time (Moses’ time) in Israel’s history, and says, “He spoke to them in the cloudy pillar…You were to them GOD-WHO-FORGIVES (In Hebrew: EL NAHSAH).” 
[What’s so fascinating about this Hebrew word is that it not only means, He Who forgives, but also He Who bears (or carries). This points to the One Who would bear the sins of His people (ISAIAH 53), Who would carry His cross to Calvary – the LORD Jesus Christ by Whom we have forgiveness of our sin!]

For thirty other powerful names of GOD in the Hebrew, check out this listing! 

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LEVITICUS – A HOLY PEOPLE’s ACCESS to The HOLY GOD – Introduction, Chapter ONE & TWO

Contributing commentaries by pastors Sonny Islas, Albert Lopez and James Fire

Complete Study of Leviticus by pastor Chuck Smith 
LEVITICUS 1 & 2: “ ” – by James Fire, Facebook video. 

INTRODUCTION: We are witnessing the architectural genius of GOD in the building of His ‘cathedral of doctrine’ that we call the Bible. Laying the foundation that is GENESIS which begins the Bible with “beginnings”: the beginning of creation, of the fall of man and its consequences, the wiping clean the slate by way of the Flood and grace granted in a man of faith who obeyed GOD and built the ark; the beginning of institutionalized rebellion at the Tower of Babel, the beginning of languages and nations, the beginning of GOD’s relationship with one man He had chosen: Abraham, the model example of faith whereby the grace of GOD is demonstrated in the LORD’s heart: redemption. And demonstrated in a staged event between a father, a son, and a would-be sacrifice. A dress rehearsal for the Father of heaven and His Son’s performance of propitiation!

This is the beginning of a family of faith, with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.
With the foundation laid in GENESIS and the account of this family established, we move on to EXODUS which means “departure” and the family story has grown into the saga of a nation – it continues with deliverance from Egypt in grand display of redemption once the Passover Lamb was slain – in anticipation of the LAMB of GOD Who takes away the sin of the world.

Then there is the revelation of the Holy Law of GOD in EXODUS, as well as the plans and purposes of the Tabernacle, its various sacrifices and feasts, the priesthood, and the construction of all these things. We see greater revelation of GOD and His truth in EXODUS, and what we learn here is confirmation of what we learned about GOD in GENESIS.

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EXODUS – GOD’s MIRACULOUS DELIVERANCE of ISRAEL FROM EGYPT – Chapter THIRTYNINE & FORTY – The Conclusion of the book

Contributing commentaries by pastors Sonny Islas, Albert Lopez and James Fire
Complete Study of Exodus by pastor Chuck Smith 

EXODUS 39 & 40: “WHEN GOD DREW NEAR/THE GRAND FINALE” – by Sonny Islas, Facebook video. 

One overarching reality to keep at the forefront of our mind is that GOD rescued Israel out of Egypt - to be with them. To re-introduce Himself to them as the GOD of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And as the promise keeping Yahweh, as the GOD of extraordinary powers and wonders beyond human comprehension, and as the One true GOD who is HOLY, HOLY, HOLY. 

He has come to pick up where they left off 400 years ago and to continue to be their GOD – their Sovereign, their Savior, their Protector, their Provider, their King, their miracle worker, their Sanctifier and Heavenly Teacher (i.e. The Decalogue/Ten Commandments).
This is what the LORD has does for us; He rescued us from this world’s fallen ways and from Satan’s grip - to draw us near and make us His. To be for us all that we will ever need. He is our ONE stop eternal shop!

The Grand finale in Exodus 39 and 40 is that GOD DRAWS NEAR!
These last two chapters in Exodus focus on: The finished work of the priestly clothing and the tabernacle (The Big Tent of Worship).

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A TTUF Report: STRATEGIES as Outlined in WAR of the AGES by Dr. Gregory Reid – Part Five – from Chapter 9 to 24

By James Fire

It’s my express hope that by now, you the reader are captivated enough by these gems of wisdom as provided in the prior TTUF articles that document and elaborate on the strategies and battle tactics found in Dr. Greg Reid’s book WAR of the AGES; captivated enough that you want to get a copy of this book yourself  because from here on out, I will only provide a brief outline of what this book contains.

I’m concerned that some readers after having gone through this ‘Reader’s Digest version’ of WAR of the AGES, they won’t feel a need to get the book. Nothing could be further from the truth. You can’t know the struggle I had in what to include in this summary and what to leave out. I hope you’ll discover and appreciate for yourself the full scope of this work!

I hope to conduct an interview with Greg (printed or video or both?) on this immensely necessary text.

Imagine a General leading his troops into war without any idea of a battle plan in mind – just sort of wing it and trust to fate. What would his soldiers feel about that? I for one know that I don’t have the experience of spiritual warfare as Greg does, nor do I have the depth of insight that he has in these matters. It’s for this reason that I listen carefully when he speaks and take his words to heart once I confirm their validity in Scripture (which consistently happens).

This book is indeed a military manual for tactical superiority as revealed in Scripture, and I’m blessed to have it for learning and referring to as the needs arise – and I believe that as this culture has maliciously migrated away from biblical truth, the vacuum that it’s left is being filled with satanic influences, powers and strongholds that is inevitably leading to mass demonization which in turn will bring about a global society that will embrace the anti-Christ once he arrives on the scene - and such need therefore will become evident!

In the meantime, there will be those caught in these webs of wickedness and will cry out for deliverance. That is where you and I come in. Are you ready for this kind of battle, or do you feel yourself ill-equipped and intimidated by these malevolent and unseen evil spirits that lust after the destruction of humanity? You can gain such equipment by reading this book and conducting your own biblical study on this subject. We at TTUF have a series on Spiritual Warfare that you might consider useful. Once you understand the authority you have in Christ [link] there will be no need at all to feel intimidated!
So, without any further ado let’s go over the rest of this book in outline form:

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EXODUS – GOD’s MIRACULOUS DELIVERANCE of ISRAEL FROM EGYPT – Chapter THIRTY SEVEN & THIRTY EIGHT

Contributing commentaries by pastors Sonny Islas, Albert Lopez and James Fire

Complete Study of Exodus by pastor Chuck Smith 

EXODUS 37 & 38: “The Hebrew Doers of the Word” – by James Fire, Facebook video.

INTRODUCTION: Earlier in the book of Exodus, starting with Chapter 26, GOD described every detail of what the Tabernacle was to look like, and what to use in its construction. The same for all the furnishings of the Tabernacle as well as all of the priestly garb that Aaron and his sons were to wear while officiating in the Tabernacle.

It’s in these chapters we’ll be looking at here, as well as Chapters 35 and 36 previously, that we are seeing the actual construction of the Tabernacle and everything else that GOD revealed to Moses while he was on Mount Horeb (or Sinai).

It’s vital that we not only hear the Word of GOD and pay attention to GOD’s instructions and guidance but also that we obey GOD and do everything in accordance with His Holy will. Otherwise, we don’t get the blessings of seeing ‘GOD’s Tabernacle’ in our midst. Someone else will have the blessing to see this work of GOD, who will obey His Holy will, and we’re left out.
There are many valuable lessons of the spiritual sort we can perceive as we read about the construction of the Tabernacle, as we will, LORD willing, see in this teaching.

EXODUS 37 ~ ~ 

EXODUS 37:1-5
1 Then Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits was its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. 2 He overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside and made a molding of gold all around it. 3 And he cast for it four rings of gold to be set in its four corners: two rings on one side, and two rings on the other side of it. 4 He made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. 5 And he put the poles into the rings at the sides of the ark, to bear the ark.

As we saw last time, pastor Albert taught us that this man Bezelel, has an awesome name: “protected by GOD” or “in the shadow of GOD”. What does this mean ‘the shadow of GOD’ and how is this our protection?

People who lived in nomadic tribal communities (“tent dwellers”) understood what it meant to dwell under the shadow of other. It was the custom of people in those days, that if they had a visitor, who came under the shadow of their host’s tent, that the host would offer every hospitality to their guest, including personal protection.

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EXODUS – GOD’s MIRACULOUS DELIVERANCE of ISRAEL FROM EGYPT – Chapter THIRTY FIVE & THIRTY SIX

Contributing commentaries by pastors Sonny Islas, Albert Lopez and James Fire  

Complete Study of Exodus by pastor Chuck Smith 

EXODUS 35 & 36: “ARE YOU BUILDING FOR THE LORD?” – by Albert Lopez, Facebook video. 

EXODUS 35 ~ ~ 

EXODUS 35:1-3
Then Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said to them, “These are the words which the Lord has commanded you to do: 2 Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. 3 You shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”

These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do: These are words that always point back to whom we have to give account to, the One who’s eyes matter the most and whose opinion is above anyone else’s.

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