Yesterday Moderna released its initial results in its experimental mRNA covid – 19 vaccine development.
In this YouTube clip from January 2020 Moderna CEO, Stephane Bancel, discusses the new innovative DNA technology they use to develop RNA vaccines, including the Amazon cloud, economic viability in vaccines and the Gates Foundation involvement with them.
“Then he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, with his hands full of sweet incense beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil. And he shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the Testimony, lest he die” Leviticus 16:12-13
Old Testament Shadow
New Testament Reality in Jesus and the Church
On the Day of Atonement the High Priest brought a golden censer full of fire and a handful of incense into the Most Holy Place. He put the incense on the fire in front of the Ark so that the cloud of incense covered the mercy seat. He then sprinkled the blood of the sin offering upon the mercy seat.
The mercy seat is a picture of Christ Himself. The sprinkled blood points to Christ’s shed blood. The censer of incense is significant of Christ taking the prayers of His people within the veil to God’s presence, on the basis of His shed blood. Read also Revelation 8:1-5
Incense is simply an Old Testament shadow or type of prayer and intercession. God is no longer interested in the shadows or types, but rather in the eternal realities to which these shadows point.
He is extremely interested in the prayer and intercession of His Church. For the life of a believer to be truly saturated in prayer is well-pleasing to God.
“Pray always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.” Ephesians 6:18
Strange incense – speaks of false worship, ie trying to come to God in a way other than through Christ.
Strange fire – speaks of self-effort, works of the flesh. Holy fire comes from the Holy Spirit, it is from Him and initiated by Him – all other fire comes through the flesh. God Himself lit the fire on the altar in the Tabernacle of Moses.
“And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting, and came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people, and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.” Leviticus 9:23, 24
This fire on the altar was kept burning at all times and this was the fire that was used in the Golden Lampstand, the Golden Altar and the Golden Censer. Any other fire than the fire from the altar was “profane fire” and spoke of man’s efforts, something that man initiated rather than God.
Our prayer life and our work for God must come from the fire of the altar – that is it is through the power of the Holy Spirit as we put our faith in Christ’s finished work on the cross. We do not want to offer God profane fire. Lord we ask for a fresh revelation of the cross of Christ.
Lord we repent if we have ever offered You profane fire. Forgive us Lord. Help us to be led by Your Spirit and to pray in the power of the Spirit only. We love You Lord and want to lay down our lives on the altar as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable for this is our reasonable worship.
“You never have to advertise a fire. Everyone comes running when there’s a fire. Likewise, if your church is on fire, you will not have to advertise it. The community will already know it.” Leonard Ravenhill
May we be filled with the fire of the Holy Ghost !
The Western Church is so used to being hunkered down inside it’s four walls that this lockdown is not so different than what it’s become accustomed to.
(Apart from the tithes of course.)
In fact, it comes as a mild relief to have the excuse not to evangelize or minister at all. “Well what can we do, we are in lockdown??”
Cosy and comfy in our Christian bubbles we console ourselves that we can’t do anything anyway so why not turn on Netflix?
I had a fellow minister say to me today “Belinda, why are we the only ones who will still minister to people?”
And I’m sure we aren’t actually the only ones, but it kinda feels like it sometimes. I guess this is what we already knew – the church isn’t the buildings, it’s the living, mystical Body of Christ.
He’s also asked people to help him feed the baby Christians that had recently come to Christ in his ministry, but they’d also said no. No to bible study…because of the pandemic.
Listen, I’m not advocating for unwisely putting people in harm’s way at this time. I also understand that some people are genuinely fearful of the virus and of copping a fine for being out, and the fines are huge. But also- what the heck?? I can’t help comparing us with the apostles in Acts…what would those who “turned the world upside down” do right now?
“So one came and told them, [f]saying, “Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!”
Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, 28 saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!”
But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.” ….
And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for [j]His name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.” Acts 5
Tonight we sneaked out of lockdown to lead a man to Christ. Ssshhh don’t tell anyone…
This poor guy had been heavily involved in the occult and New Age practices. And as is the always the case with the occult, he was suffering greatly because of it.
If you fool around with the devil he will surely make you pay. Oppression, depression, anxiety, demonic presences and attacks. This guy had literally almost died from an attack.
People coming out of the occult recognize they’ve been deceived and because of the heavy deception they find it difficult to trust what you tell them is not just another deception.
You have to show them who the real Jesus Christ is- born of a Virgin, God in human flesh, lived a sinless life, died on the cross , was buried, rose again 3 days later BODILY. This is important because there are many many false Christ’s and false Jesus’ out there, especially in the New Age, and they always spiritualize Jesus and His resurrection.
There is often fear even to pray in Jesus’ Name because they don’t know which Jesus they are “invoking”. It’s a good idea to tell them at the beginning to pray in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. If they’re still unsure, like someone else I led to Christ had to do for a while, they can pray in the “Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth who died on the cross and rose again 3 days later.”
This is important to them because there is a lot of fear attached to pray to the wrong spirit.
You also need to show them the Ten Commandments, the first two especially, but all of them, and Deuteronomy 18 to expose the awfulness of sin and especially the sins of the occult, sorcery, witchcraft, necromancy, divination, idolatry etc.
I also show them the serpent’s lie in Genesis 3 that man can be as God. This lie is still relevant as most of the new age is seeking to attain to some sort of divinity/enlightenment/godhood.
Tonight this man knew he was a Sinner. He knew he had accessed the spiritual realm illegitimately. He knows he has demons. The demons are messing with him constantly.
But Praise be to God who always leads us in victory in Christ Jesus, once he saw who Jesus was he was willing to repent of his sins.! He came to the only true altar – the cross- and found salvation.
And I tell you as we knelt on the floor with him social-distancing was the last thing on anyone’s minds.
Then he was willing to renounce his occult activities, praise God. And the list was extensive. I know a little of occult activities but I’m always amazed at the stuff that people get involved in, stuff I’ve never heard of. The amount of occult stuff out there is unbelievable.
And Yoga and/or meditation is always involved , usually at the beginning of their dabbling because it’s considered neutral. But Yoga and meditation are not neutral. They are dangerous practices and are often gateways into serious occult practices. For example, every Yoga pose is a specific act of worship to a different “god“.
But how good is God my friends! He is mighty to save! His mercy is so great that He can reach down to save someone’s life , even someone who’d given himself to Satan , and bring him back from the point of almost death to save his soul.
God is truly loving , gracious and GREAT beyond words. And He is still moving right now even in lockdown.
Paul was under house-arrest in Rome for two years. Chained to a prison guard, he couldn’t leave his own home.
“The Rise of A.I.” acrylic and gouache
Sound familiar…?
During his home-imprisonment he asked the Church to pray for him :
“and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that in it I may speak boldly as I ought to speak” Ephesians 6:19, 20 (emphasis mine)
Paul couldn’t go to church, he couldn’t street-preach, he couldn’t go to Synagogue. Paul was physically restricted as soon as he arrived in Rome, and that’s how he stayed for two whole years. But in it, in this very situation Paul was asking for prayer to be able to speak forth the gospel boldly.
Do we think Paul’s situation caught God by surprise? Do we think He did not know that Paul’s arrival in Rome would be under hard circumstances? That His man would not be free to move about as previously? No – it was in to this very situation that God brought Paul, and thus the gospel, to Rome.
At that time Rome was becoming the centre of the world’s wealth. The art, the artists, the architects were moving there as it became recognised as the world’s most cosmopolitan city. This place was of diverse culture, containing many different beliefs and ideas. In some ways it was advanced, as in the case of women’s rights. It was to this worldly city that God chose to send His man, chained and bound to one small house.
God’s strategy to evangelise a whole city was through a man bound to his own home.
Paul may have been restricted, but never is the Gospel of Jesus Christ restricted!
Never will it be restrained.
God still used Paul, even chained to a prison-guard, unable to leave his own home. One man, in one house, but in that one house God brought revival to Rome.
“So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening.” Acts 28:23
Do we think this Covid-19 pandemic has caught God by surprise? Do we think He had no idea all the churches would be shutdown and outlawed? Of course He knew. And it is into this very situation that He has called us.
The gospel of Jesus Christ cannot be stopped, no matter if our church buildings are shut. The gospel will go forth.
The gates of hell will never prevail against His Church! It’s time to recognise that this is how God has chosen to use us for this season. God’s plans are not being stymied by the enemy, God is still Sovereign and from the Throne He has decreed that right now this is how His church will go forth.
Without high-tech sound systems, church buildings and programs, once again from the simplicity of our homes! Prayer with our families, Bible studies online, prayer in the closet. Could this be God’s plan…?
We have the internet, social media, telephones. We can walk around our neighbourhoods, dropping leaflets in letterboxes. We have many ways we can answer God’s call from our homes:
““Whom shall I send,
And who will go for Us?”
Who will join me in saying “Here I am Lord, send me!”
“Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.” Acts 28:30,31
My husband was on a business trip in the
USA when the World Health Organisation declared the coronavirus a Pandemic.
Things had already started to become strange up until that point but on that day everything turned and people went crazy here in Australia.
Just like that, toilet paper, pasta, hand sanitizer was stripped from the shelves and by the time I got there I couldn’t find any. I remember the anxiety as I walked into the shops to find bare shelves, three children to look after and my husband far away.
The burden of responsibility to look after my family lay heavily on my shoulders. At heart I am a homemaker, and when I couldn’t get the basics for my family it struck me much more forcibly than anything else. I wasn’t afraid of the actual virus, I still am not. But those bare shelves brought some fear up in me I never expected.
The Lord was so very kind to me. He began to wake me up every night in the middle of the night, in fact He is still doing it to this day. I would get up and go into my prayer closet.
just me and Him.
I would cry, sometimes just sob at His feet. It wasn’t just about the toilet paper. I felt something had shifted in the spiritual realm. I felt everything was different now. And boy did I want my husband home.
I’ve always been a pray-er but those times with the Lord at night became my lifeline, literally. Without them I would not have coped. He gave me the strength to meet each day. He taught me to trust Him in a way I never have before and He turned my mourning in to dancing.
I would go in with a heavy and burdened heart. And I would come out of my prayer closet rejoicing.
Truly in the presence of the Lord there is fullness of joy. Really .
The joy that Christ gave me in those times became my strength for the day ahead.
Now we are in lockdown here in Australia, have been for two weeks. All the churches are shut, even the small ones. We are not allowed to meet in groups of more than 2, apart from our own household.
What do we do in such a situation? How do we get through with faith intact, with hope and peace?
It’s only in the Lords presence – and I can testify to it.
Every night He, in His grace, wakes me up still. It’s the only time I am alone now with a husband working from home and 3 kids locked out of school.
”where else would I go but to the Lord”
He is our strength, He is our hope and deliverer. Our shield and the horn of our salvation. Trust in Him, He never fails.
Bless you my brothers and sisters in this difficult season.
It is the feast of Purim today. Purim is from the book of Esther.
In the book of Esther, Haman (the enemy of Gods people) made gallows to hang Mordecai, but because of Esther’s intercession, he was hanged on his own gallows. So we see the plans of the enemy were the cause of his own downfall.
So now,as the people of God, as we rise up in intercession, the plans the enemy tries to use against us will be the cause of his ultimate defeat! Hallelujah to the Lamb!
”So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai…” Esther 7:10
Ultimately this is a picture that points to Christ. For where else is it so powerfully displayed that the means the enemy, Satan, tried to use to destroy the Son of God at the cross, was the place of his ultimate defeat, and of Christ’s complete victory over the powers of darkness?
We have nothing to fear brothers and sisters, even from the Coronavirus, for the Lord knows the way , even if we don’t. And as we stay close to Him we are safe and in the place of victory.
Hosea 6:5: "Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth."
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