House of Prayer - Part 3 - Pastor Raymond Woodward

we are in part three of a little short series on the tabernacle called House of Prayer there are only two chapters in the entire Bible about creation but there are 42 chapters in the Bible about the tabernacle plan and that is because the tabernacle demonstrates God's original pattern for relationship and it also foreshadows everything else that would come later in the Word of God here's what God said to Moses he said let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them according to all that I show thee after the pattern of the tabernacle everyone say pattern so that's what we're talking about and the pattern of the instruments thereof even so shall ye make it so everything in the the tabernacle this building that was given by God God gave the instructions the dimensions the blueprints he gave all of that to Moses and the children of Israel everything in this building is a picture in fact the tabernacle is a fourfold prophetic picture and we've been making our way through this it's a picture of salvation and we talked about the salvation plan and how the tabernacle furniture is actually laid out in the shape of a cross and the long part of the cross if you start at the brazen altar and you go all the way through in a straight line to the Holy of Holies you have three pieces of furniture that actually have something to do with God's plan of salvation the brazen altar that's where blood was offered and shed the brazen Labour's where the priests immersed their hands to wash and the Ark of the Covenant behind the veil was where the Shekinah presence of God dwelled and so that pictures two things in the life of Jesus at pictures of course his death burial and resurrection and for us because we obeyed the gospel by applying that to our lives in us it represents repentance water baptism in the name of Jesus and the infilling of the Holy Ghost which is the glory of God Christ in you the hope of glory and then the horizontal beam of the Cross actually is what we call the Holy Place and there are three articles of furniture in there and they don't have anything to do per se with your salvation although everything relates to salvation but they relate to your sanctification they relate to how you live for God after you are saved the golden candle stick of course the main element there is light the altar of incense and the table of showbread that held the bread that the priests were allowed to eat and that bread was always on that table and that pictures of Jesus the light of the world of pictures Jesus our intercessor making intercession for us as incense would burn before the Lord and that Jesus was the bread of life and then in our life we're going to talk a little bit about this in a few minutes tonight in our life we are to be the light of the world we're to be a witness and we are to be intercessors as well it's prayer in our lives and then finally that we have a relationship with the word of the Lord now I want to move quickly into our subject matter tonight but one more time because not everybody's familiar with this Old Testament building with all this strange furniture in this very particular layout I wanted just one more time take a look just a video overview of the tabernacle for just a couple of minutes here so if you turn your attention to the screen [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] and so if you could take a bird's-eye view of the tabernacle out in the desert that's what you would have seen as Israel moved around now last week we studied how that tabernacle that building is actually a picture of Jesus but tonight I'm so excited to teach this to you the tabernacle is also a picture of you scholars have studied the tabernacle and all the layout and they've compared the arrangement of the furniture in the tabernacle to the arrangement of the human body and its organs there's several scholars that have done that some of them get really really detailed I did run across this they compared the tabernacle to the actual structure of the cells in the human body and it's so detailed and so intricate that it's kind of above my paygrade so maybe another series that's about ten weeks instead of four and we could do that even in giving Moses the dimensions of this building God used measurements of length that related to the human body he used the hand breadth that was one dimension he used the span from here to here that's another dimension and he used the cubit which was from the tip of the longest finger down to the elbow and those were the dimensions of length used in the tabernacle all to illustrate that the tabernacle is a picture of you and me in the New Testament you know this believers are called a tabernacle and they're also called the temple which was the later permanent structure with the same floor plan as the tabernacle let's take a quick look at some of those beautiful scriptures here's what Paul said to the Corinthians he said we know that if our earthly house of this Tabernacle were dissolved if we lose our life if we lose our body if we lose our earthly existence he said we have a building of God it is a house not made with hands it's eternal in the heavens so we have a tabernacle down here our human body but God has prepared us new body another Tabernacle in the heavens and Paul said for this we groan earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven so Paul said I'm groaning I'm longing for that day when I'll have my new body Peter said this he said yeah I think it meet I think it's necessary and beneficial as long as I am in this tabernacle as long as I'm here as long as I'm living and breathing and talking and preaching I'm going to stir you up by putting you in remembrance Peter had some kind of premonition given by God about his impending death he said knowing that shortly I must put off this my Tabernacle I will lose my life and he did even as our Lord Jesus Christ has showed me Peter said I'm going to some day put off this Tabernacle this body I'll go the way of all flesh and I will die and for Peter that was a martyrdom but Peter said while I'm in this tabernacle I'm going to do the will of God as long as I've got breath in this tabernacle I'm going to worship Him as long as I've got breath in this tabernacle I'm going to preach and share the gospel and be a witness I'm going to do that and then when I go to that Tabernacle I'll be happy about that - Paul said this to the Corinthians and now the image shifts only slightly because the tabernacle plan and the temple plan were basically the same except the temple was a permanent building and it had some auxilary rooms that were made it a little bigger so they shift the image very slightly from tabernacle the temple but it means the same thing Paul says to the Corinthians no he not that ye are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God used to dwell in a building in the desert and the Shekinah glory of God hovered over the Ark of the Covenant but now the Spirit of God dwelleth in you and so if any man defile the temple of God he's not talking about an Old Testament building he's talking about you in your body your life he said if any man defile the temple of God him God destroy for the temple of God you your body your life the temple of God is holy which temple ye are he said again to the Corinthians what know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you and you got that body from God God allowed you to live in that body on this earth in this life you have it of God you are not your own see the sing song of the world the theme of the world the Clarion cry of our culture is I'm my own man I'm my own woman I can do my own thing I have all my own rights I can do whatever I want I just do what I please but that's not how a Christian lives you have your body of God you are not your own you are bought with a price therefore glorify God in your body your temple your tabernacle and in your spirit because they're both God's and one more Paul says to the Corinthians by the way what agreement with the temple of God your body your life ever have with the idols of the world and idols are not graven images today for the most part anymore than you be in the temple means you're some kind of piece of furniture from an Old Testament structure you are a spiritual temple and an idol is a spiritual Idol today there are idols of pride there are idols of power and money and there are idols of Loess there are all kinds of idols in this world what agreement with the temple of God you have with idols for you are the Temple of the Living God as God has said you got to get this I will dwell in them he's going to dwell inside of us and I will walk in them and I will be their God and they shall be my people now I know it's Bible study and I know we're in a little series and I got that but can anybody just pause to thank God that you actually have the privilege of having the Spirit of God reside in you just as real just as literal as it was in the Old Testament Tabernacle you have the Shekinah presence of God living in you and it gets so awesome in this lesson tonight because just like the tabernacle was divided into three sections the outer court the holy place and the Holy of Holies just like the tabernacle was divided into three sections you are a three-part being and no I'm not talking about your multiple personalities you are a three-part being you see ordinary Israelites could enter this courtyard over here they could come into this part and they could bring their sacrifices to the brazen altar and they could come and watch the priest wash in the brazen Laver they could come in to the outer court of the temple they could come into the courtyard what they could not do was go in this building they were not allowed only the priesthood could go into what we call the tabernacle and so two thirds of this whole complex the outer courtyard was for everybody only the priesthood can enter into the other two sections the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies so 2/3 of that building was never seen by the average ordinary Israelite and in the very same way 2/3 of you is invisible to the rest of us we only see the outside of you but you are three parts not just one part you are a three part being you are a physical being you're also a psychological being and then you're a spiritual being your physical man gives you what we would call world consciousness you're conscious of the world around you that's your physical man your psychological man that gives you self consciousness you are aware of yourself your feelings you're aware of what you know and what you don't know you're aware of others it gives you self consciousness you're aware of your interactions and then you're so man is what gives you God consciousness this is why it's such a privilege to be filled with the Holy Ghost because your God conscious you see most of the world is not really God conscious they know something about God some of them even think he might be out there some of them think he doesn't care some of them think he doesn't exist but when you're filled with God's Spirit and you have a spiritual man you are God conscious you're walking outside and it's a beautiful day and somebody else looks up and sees the clouds but you look up and think about Jesus or a loved one in heaven or you feel the presence of God or you're in awe of the creator or you lift up your hands to worship and don't care who sees you or you talk out loud to God and don't care who hears you because you're God conscious it's a privilege you're you're you're amazing you're constructed by God you're a three-part being now this this is amazing there were five pillars that held this court curtain right here the curtain when you left the courtyard and you went into the holy place there were five pillars that held that curtain and they separated between the outer courtyard and the Holy Place and in the same way you have five senses not by accident and your five senses they connect your physical man your outer man they connect it to your psychological man your five senses seeing hearing smelling tasting touching your five senses are the five pillars that allow your physical man to communicate messages to your psychological man and so those five pillars are the dividing line not only in the tabernacle but in you as well and if you walk a little further there are four pillars that hold up the veil over here between the holy place and the Holy of Holies not five again only for this time and those four pillars they represent something about you because in your psychological man you have four faculties and these connect your psychological man your mental person they connect that to your spiritual man or your spiritual person your intellect your emotions your conscience and your will some people would call that your personality we typically call it your mind the Bible calls it your soul and those four pillars connect between your psychological man and your spiritual man now this is the most exciting part that inside that Holy of Holies there was a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night it was a supernatural manifestation and the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire that led Israel what some people don't stop to realize is it rested right over the tabernacle in fact it rested right over the Holy of Holies in fact it rested right over the Ark of the Covenant it went I don't know how high in the sky because three million Israelites could see it and follow it but it rested right over the spot where the Ark of the Covenant sat and in the very same way only the high priest could enter that place because it contained God's presence and in the very same way your spiritual life for every one of you is not lived out in this sanctuary it's not lived out where all of us see it it's not lived out by your reputation in a church your spiritual life has actually lived out in a secret place that only you and God have access to the Holy Ghost I cannot get away from this tonight the Holy Ghost literally rests upon your life the greatest part of you the most powerful part of you the anointed part of you the part that makes the devil tremble is the part that none of us see the devil's not afraid of your physical strength he's not afraid of your mental prowess he's not afraid of your intellect or your steady emotional state he's not afraid of any that but he is death five of somebody that has the anointing the Shekinah the glory of God the Holy Ghost resting on them in the secret place in the Holy of Holies that's what he's scared now here's the point for tonight there is no way to get from the outer Court to the Holy of Holies and the Ark of the Covenant there is no way to get from here to here without going through the holy place you cannot go from the Ark or the altar you cannot take a shortcut and come around the back to get from the altar to the Ark of the Covenant you have to go through the holy place that's the point for tonight because in the very same way that the tabernacle is constructed that way you are constructed that way there is no way to get from this physical realm where you put on your clothes and you brush your teeth and combed your hair and drove your car and walked in the building and Satana pew there is no way to get from that physical realm to the supernatural realm the spiritual realm without going through the psychological realm your mind you cannot get from physical to spiritual without going through the mind the soul and God has a plan for every part of you unless you think I'm far afield let me bring Paul in as an authority here and he says this and the very God of peace sanctify you wholly fully totally completely I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless under the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ just like God had a specific purpose and plan for every piece of the tabernacle furniture including its arrangement and its layout just like God had a plan for the three areas of the tabernacle the outer Court and the holy place and the Holy of Holies like that God has a plan for every part of you as well now some of you I don't want to lose you here cuz I know pastors really wound up about this so and you know I'm wound up so you're thinking like he'll calm down maybe by next week but but so I don't lose you let's put this in very clear simple Bible terms you are everyone say I am body soul and spirit or we could say body mind and spirit in the Greek language if you want to get technical its soma psyche and Numa now here's what we need to learn this will help you live for God your body lives every day over here in a physical world but you are also simultaneously trying to have a spiritual relationship a spirit relationship with God but the problem is there is no direct access from the physical world to the spirit world without going through the soul without going through the mind you cannot access your spirit in any direct way or any natural way you only can access your spirit through what you do with your mind or your soul and brothers and sisters that presents the biggest Bar None the biggest challenge in living the Christian life because these two worlds are totally separate the body and the spirit the flesh and the spirit the physical and the spiritual jesus said this to Nicodemus that which is born of the flesh is flesh can't do anything about it you can't change it it can't morph into something spiritual it's flesh that which is born of the Spirit is spirit and so there's a wall between you can't go from one to the other and it gets worse because Paul tells the Corinthians that your natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God I know you think you're a nice person I know you think you're religious I know some of you even think you're Pentecostal even when you don't act it you still think you are Pentecostal I got that but it doesn't matter what you think about yourself your natural man cannot receive the things of God it can't receive the things of the Spirit watch this they are foolishness unto Him have you ever stopped to think of course you have that's so many of the things we do in a Pentecostal church service are absolutely foolish to the natural mind and so if you get somebody that's natural carnal fleshly grumpy sneezy dopey whoever else if you get any of those people in here they think we're nuts because anything we do if we get loud that's foolishness if we run that's foolishness if we jump and get excited that's foolishness if we lift our hands if we say if we cry if we do all of that stuff that's foolishness why because they're a natural man the natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit they are foolishness unto Him neither can he know them he can think well I understand it but I just don't like it with the Bible declares he doesn't understand it he doesn't know them because those things are spiritually desert and it happens so often you've been in services where some preacher said let's all shout in your natural man pouts because you don't want to because you're too dignified but if you can catch that on the spiritual side the Spirit of God in you wants to shout because something happens when you put aside the flesh and you launch yourself into the spirit and so that's what happens it divides flesh and spirit they're there they're spiritually discerned these things the natural man he just thinks they're crazy see you can only get to your spirit by going through your soul or your mind and the problem with your soul or your mind is it surrounded by pillars it's surrounded by impediments on the physical side you've got your five senses and your five senses can tempt your mind they can tempt your soul so you've got that impediment on the physical side but then on the mental side you've got your four faculties you've got your intellect your emotions your will and your conscience and they can trouble you they could some people are just too smart for their own good and their intellect kind of educates them out of a move of God in their life some people are so emotionally crippled they're up and down and in and out and back and forth and so their emotions battle what God wants to do for them some people they just have a stubborn will and some people have a seared conscience and they just say I don't think that's wrong and I don't care what the Bible says and I don't care what you say and so your your literally your mind is surrounded by its own enemies your five senses the five pillars on the physical side and your four faculties the four pillars on the mental side and you've got people things your own self attacking you all the time it's it's really something else so in other words your mind is the battleground your soul is the battleground not your body you know I know there are things that can happen in your physical being that can really upset you and really hurt you and and really affect you I got that I'm not saying that's not true and I know there are spiritual attacks from the devil but the battleground is neither your body nor your spirit the battleground is your mind the battleground is what the Bible calls your soul it's the individual part of you it's the part that has your will and it has your conscience and your emotions and your intellect that is where the battle is spot and I've seen people that can walk out of a downright awesome move of God and talk themself out of what God did for them between the door and their car door because of their mind and and so the mind is the battleground every day and this is exactly why unsaved people act the way they do because there's no life over here in their spirit their spirit is empty when Adam fell this part of you that was suppose to be a container for God's Spirit when Adam fell through sin in the Garden of Eden that part emptied out what had been a chamber of life now becomes a death chamber and so every unsaved person you know every addict you know don't you judge them there but for the grace of God you could be walking down that street you could be laying in that gutter you could be addicted you could be bound you don't understand where you would have gone the only thing that's wrong with them is that part of them is empty it's a death chamber and so what's left in control their mind their soul that's what's left in control and within that soul the reason so many of them are highly resistant to the gospel of Jesus Christ is because within that soul their intellect and their emotions in their conscience and their will it's like they stand guard at the door to prevent the entrance of the Holy Ghost to prevent the entrance of God only when they surrender will that change but for those of us in this building we know what it is to surrender to God and find that God filled that empty place that was in us he filled that dead place that was in us he filled to overflowing that place that was controlled by so many evil things and what a privilege that is Paul writes to the Romans and he says in Romans chapter 8 to be carnally minded that's death somebody say death but to be spiritually minded is life and peace why because the carnal mind is enmity it's an enemy against God because your carnal mind is not subject to the law of God neither indeed can be I don't care if you've marinated in the Apostolic Church for a hundred and forty years your carnal mind is still an enemy of God it cannot be subject to the law of God that's why you need the Holy Ghost and you don't need the holy ghost on your spiritual birthday 85 years ago and never think of it again you need the Holy Ghost every day of your life you need to pray in the Holy Ghost you need to worship in the Holy Ghost you need to move in the Holy Ghost Paul said in him we live and we move and we have our bee that needs to be you and me every day Paul said the kernel mind is an enemy against God it's not subject to the law of God neither indeed can be so then they that are in the flesh cannot please God it's not that they will not that's immaterial it's that they cannot please God this is where religious people get all messed up because they think all I'm doing good deeds and I'm giving stuff to my neighbors and I'm kind and I'm compassionate and I go to church services and I do this and I pray there they're religious but but see the Bible says that they that are in the flesh cannot please God you can the flesh can do all kinds of good deeds but deeds done by the flesh whether good or bad do not please God you need something more if we took that verse right there and if we wrote it as an equation here's what the equation would look like carnally minded equals death spiritually minded equals life and peace so you just got to choose here's the problem is over here you've got flesh and over here you've got spirit and it still comes down to your mind every single day because the tabernacle is a picture of you and you cannot get from the outer courtyard of the physical realm to the Holy of Holies of the spiritual realm without going through this part of you the mental part the psychological part you cannot get there without going through the soul jesus said this in John 4:24 God is a spirit so they that worship Him they can't do it over here in the flesh they that worship Him cannot impress God with their mind they the worship him must worship him over here in spirit and in truth that's why every once in a while you just need to push that old flesh and whatever attitude you may have brought in or whatever problem you may be thinking about or whatever tragedy or trial you may be remembering right now every once in a while you just need to shove all of that stuff down and you just need to push yourself into the spirit realm because if you are filled with the Holy Ghost you have a get out of jail free card and you're the rest of you is a jail people live and die by the passions of their flesh and in the prison of their mind and never know this you have a get-out-of-jail-free card it's called the Holy Ghost every once in a while you just need to stir yourself up and just talk in tongues a little bit just because you want to just because you can just because it pleases God just because it irritates the devil just because every once in a while you need to take your right and take your advantage and take your privilege and jump yourself into the spirit realm and just do something of the Spirit so my I love this jesus said this it is the spirit that quickeneth the flesh profiteth nothing the words that I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life so what Jesus is telling us is there is no true life doesn't matter what you achieve accomplish what you own what you buy it doesn't matter who you know it doesn't matter who knows you there is no true life without the Spirit of God dwelling in your spirit but since your spirit please hear me your spirit cannot be touched with the five senses and since your spirit cannot be discovered through your four faculties you have to use something else to get from over here to over there and I'm glad to tell you that that something else is the Word of God you have to go through God's Word which is the owners manual for the human life and the human heart now James said it this way and I've told you before James doesn't play James grew up in a house with Jesus that was his older brother Jesus was virgin born but Joseph and Mary had other kids and James was one of them and James grew up his whole life for the perfect older brother and he is just tough as nails his mama told him every day Jesus always makes his bed and Jesus always eats his raisin bran and Jesus always cleans up his room and Jesus always puts away his toys and James has just had enough so James does not play he just tells it like it is here's what he says for if any be a hearer of the word and not a doer you listen in Bible study you listen on Sunday but you don't do it he is like unto a man who beholds his natural face in a glass in a mirror he behold of himself and he goeth his way and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was and that's like so many people you know they get up in the morning they look in the mirror and they try to get themselves ready for the day and and then they go away and it's pretty obvious they didn't spend a lot of time in front of that piece of glass or if they did they didn't put on their glasses before they would never mind okay you didn't get that okay so right but there somebody say there's another mirror but whoso looketh into the perfect law of Liberty the Bible see the Bible is a mirror whoso looketh into the perfect law of Liberty and continuous there in not being a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work this man shall be blessed in his deed now I'd like everybody to try something right now if you would for me it's okay would you look at your face and when you get a good view of your face would you lift your hand see you can't it is impossible for you to look directly into your own face you're not constructed that way it is physically impossible to do so so what do we do we look at our reflection in a mirror in a reflective surface and if you're smart you will look into a mirror that you trust if you've ever been to a funhouse where the mirrors add 10 pounds or make you look like a wavy piece of spaghetti you know what I'm talking about you see you look at a mirror that you trust to get a good view because you cannot look directly at yourself and know what you look like in the physical realm without a mirror without a reflective surface in the same way you cannot know what is in your spirit you cannot look directly into your spirit you may think you're such a good person you may think you got it all in control and your large and in charge but you cannot know what is in your spirit you have to look at your reflection in the mirror of God's Word only then do you get a true picture of how you're doing with God in the most important arena of life please hear me probably one of the biggest decisions you will ever make is choosing which mirror you're going to let run your life you're either gonna look in the mirror of the world you're gonna look in the mirror of culture you're gonna look in the mirror of your friends and your fun and your relationships you're gonna look in the mirror of prestige and position you're either gonna look in that mirror and feel good about yourself and be deceived or you're gonna look in the real mirror of the Word of God and get a true picture of who you are and how God looks at you and that is the only mirror that can help you that is the only mirror that can help you act the spiritual realm you got to decide what mirror you're gonna look into and what mirror you're going to trust now here's the scripture that really frustrates some people it's a really lovely scripture but people really don't like it because they think it doesn't work second Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 17 therefore if any man be in Christ we quoted all the time he is a what say it out loud he say old things are passed away behold all things are become new yea a wonderful scripture that's beautiful and a lot of people get mad because it doesn't work for them or they think it doesn't if I'm a new creature pastor Raymond and if all things are become new then where are the results you say I became a new creature when I was born again so where are the results you know in my body I had cellulite before I get saved and I was expecting it to disappear and it's still here carbs just blow me up like a balloon and I was expecting that to disappear and God to anoint me to be a lean mean carb eating machine after I got saved they didn't work I'm not a new creature I feel like the same creature and you know even in my mind it didn't seem to work either you know I had some fears and anxieties and I had some pressures and troubles I had a mean boss that gave me grief and I fretted about it all night every night some nights and that didn't disappear when I became a Christian so I don't feel like that verse worked if any man is in Christ he's a new creature old things are passed away I still got a lot of old things hanging around some of them have names all things didn't become new because I was hoping for her and him they become new didn't work pastor my physical problems and my mental issues are basically still the same as they were before I got saved so where in the world was that promise of the Bible fulfilled oh good answer in your spirit that's where it was fulfilled you became a new creature in your spirit all things passed away in your spirit all things became new in your spirit you say that's a cop-out no that's powerful because you are right now in your spirit everything God has ever decreed over you you are right now in your spirit everything God's Word has ever promised you could be you are right now in your spirit mighty you are right now in your spirit powerful you are right now in your spirit anointed you are right now in your spirit victorious that's not a cop-out that's awesome oh my goodness you have become a new creature in your spirit right now so here's your homework brothers and sisters that new life that new creature that anointing and power and authority has to work its way out down through your mind out through to your everyday physical life that is the challenge of the Christian life and the battleground is not your spirit Jesus lives in there there isn't any enemy that could take him on the battleground is not your spirit and although you have physical challenges and problems and issues the battleground is not your body it's not your physical life the battleground for every one of us is your mind it's that middle ground if you were talking in tabernacle terms the battleground is the Holy Place not the outer court not the Holy of Holies so you have to do this you have to get your soul somebody say my mind you have to get your mind in agreement not with your body oh my goodness what a failed experiment that would be you have to get your mind in agreement with your spirit and you don't do it once you do it everyday you sometimes have to do it multiple times a day some days you just need to never stop dragging your mind into the spirit realm and getting your mind your soul in agreement with your spirit see your spirit has to flow through your soul to get to your body it's kind of like your soul has this valve on it that will turn either way and it allows the flow to go either way either your spirit your relationship with God is going to affect your soul and flow out to your body your everyday life or if you turn that valve the wrong way you're gonna let your five senses your body this physical life all your issues and challenges and problems you're gonna let that trouble your soul your mind and then you're gonna let that affect your spirit you're the one that chooses which way that valve is open and which way that flow goes only you determine that not your pastor who may preach a good sermon not the singers who sing a nice song not the saints who worship all around you they did not determine what direction that flow goes in your life only you have your hand on the valve of your mind and you can say I'm gonna let everything I'm going through depress me I'm gonna let everything I'm thinking about trouble me I'm gonna be filled with anxiety and fear I'm gonna let my body affect my mind affect my spirit if you want to you knock yourself out but as for me I'm gonna try to get in tune with the spirit and I'm gonna let my spirit talk to my mind and lift me up and encourage me in the Lord and then I'm gonna walk out into my everyday life and I'll deal with my problems then some of you need to learn to tell your problems wait a minute I'm busy and you need to go connect with the spirit before you try to deal with all your junk before you call them on the phone and get depressed because they don't have more answers than you do before you do that you might find yourself in the Holy of Holies talking to God and let the spirit affect your soul instead of your body and your five senses and this world affect your soul your mind is your battleground nobody else controls that piece of real estate like you do you've got to get your soul in agreement with your spirit your minds the battleground this is what Paul is talking about in Romans very familiar Scripture I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies yea your everyday going to work raising kids paying bills your everyday life I beseech you that you present your bodies a living sacrifice holy acceptable to God which is your reasonable service how in the world would I do that when my flesh is so uncooperative with the spirit here's how you don't handle it out there you don't handle it in your five senses you don't handle it with your friends from the world you handle it this way and be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your body no by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God that's what you've got to do the battleground is not out here the battleground is here there are so many forlorn sad depressed people because they have literally made a choice in their mind that they're going to let their problems bother them and they're going to let people bother them I love all of you but I don't have the time of day to let you bother me I've got a god to serve and we got a church to build and we got a world to reach and I don't have the time of day to let you bother me and I hope you don't have the time of day to let me bother you but you don't make that decision in your circumstances you make that decision right here every day you know the kids are right when they sing those simple little songs you know take your frown turn it upside down sometimes I would like to they're right because it's not out here oh I got bad circumstances you and I both know saints of God in a hospital bed saints of God sick and body saints of God that had a joy in their soul and a praise on their lips it's not out here it's in here this is the battleground that either lets you live by the spirit or live according to the flesh your choice so okay pastor great hope you're just about done how do I renew my mind how do I do it you know Paul tells me I need to how do I do it well that's a great question and the answer is because the tabernacle is a prophetic picture of you you renew your mind in the holy place you remember the other week we talked about the three articles of furniture that have to do with salvation the brazen altar the brazen Laver and the Ark of the Covenant but in the holy place which is a picture of your mind your soul the soulless realm there are three other articles of furniture these three pieces of furniture in the Holy Place are a picture of our sanctification now salvation is your spiritual birth process we call it the new birth but sanctification is your spiritual growth process so there are three articles of furniture in the Holy Place which is a prophetic picture of you specifically your soul or your mind very quickly the first one is the golden candlestick Jesus was the light of the world and we are called to be his light in this world according to acts 1 and 8 you should receive power and you shall be witnesses but we cannot do that in our own ability do you know what fuel was used to light the flame of the golden candlestick it was pure olive oil which is a symbol in the scripture of the Holy Ghost and the anointing of God when you want to to be successful in living for God can I just tell you you've got to get yourself in the presence of God someway somehow somewhere by hook or by crook if you can't do an hour don't do an hour if you can't do a half-hour don't do a half-hour but don't let a day go by without getting your little self somewhere in the presence of God because you need that oil to flow in your life at the end of the first century when they were dealing with an onslaught of false doctrine and there's all kinds of errors and false teachers and people trying to creep in the church with all that trash John said wait a minute you have an unction from the Holy One and you know all things you don't need to be deceived by the false teachers you don't need to be pulled away by all the worldly junk you have an unction in you you have an anointing in you you have the oil of the Holy Ghost in you you know better than that that's what he's saying he said this he said if we walk in the light somebody say the light if we walk in that light the light of the candlestick if we get ourselves in the presence of God everyday if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin people do not backslide from the presence of God they backslide when they slip away from the presence of God and yes you can slip away from the presence of God sitting on a Pew in a Pentecostal church but nobody back slides out of the moving manifest presence of God if you are basking in his presence you are not backsliding in that moment you are being filled with the oil of the Spirit there's a privilege in being in God's prayer and we need the anointing and the illumination of the Holy Ghost not once a week we need it every day and you only get that by spending time basking in his light through worship oh you need to do this on your own but surely we could do it all together I wish you'd lift up your hands and give God worship you need to do this when you're not here you need to do this when we're not around you need to do this when Pastor didn't ask you you need to do this when there are no singers and no musicians you need to get yourself in the manifest presence of God every but I don't feel anything that's your flesh talking that's your mind talk and forget that get yourself in the presence of God and renew yourself in the spirit every day how do I renew my mind pastor how do I live for God you get yourself in that holy place and you get into the light of God's presence your worship every day there's another piece of furniture in there it's called the altar of incense and Jesus was our great high priest and he was our great intercessor and we are called to do likewise we are not just to speak to people on behalf of God that's witnessing we are to speak to God on behalf of people that's prayer and the spices that made up this incense they were to be crushed broken bruised and then burned that was not exactly a pleasant process for the spices but the beautiful fragrance that ascended before the veil was the end result of the agony of being bruised and broken and crushed and burned and that is what prayer does if you think prayer is easy number one I want to talk to you number two and I know we all have seasons in prayer and and and we all Instagram it you know we get our Bible I love those we get our Bible just perfect trees in the distance coffee cup take a picture spending time with the Lord hashtag blessed yeah give me a living break I know we all feel that once in a while but if you just have slide into that so easy everyday I really do want to talk to you and secondly you're lying so altar of incense it wasn't always pleasant prayer is not always easy prayer sometimes can be difficult prayer sometimes can be a challenge to keep your concentration while you're trying to talk to Jesus because I noticed he's invisible sometimes for us little finite human beings it's hard to focus on an invisible God sometimes oh I know there's times when we get lost in his presence and it's beautiful but it doesn't happen every day sometimes prayer is bruising and breaking and laying before an altar but it's worth it because it sends up the incense before the throne of God and your requests rise to his throne like incense psalmist said let my prayer be set for us be set forth before thee as incense and let the lifting up of my hands be as the evening sacrifice I know sometimes you come to church you've had a rough day bad week and it's a sacrifice to lift up your hands but it's always worth it let the lifting of my hands be as the evening sacrifice revelation three times in Revelation the prayers of the Saints all you people all of you wonderful people the prayers of the Saints are referred to as incense before the throne of God and another angel came and stood at the altar having a golden censer and there was given unto Him much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of All Saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne whose throne God's throne what are you saying John I'm saying there's never a prayer you've ever prayed that has been wasted there's never a prayer you've ever prayed that kind of filtered out of existence every prayer you've ever prayed has been gathered up in vials before the throne of God and the in sense of your prayers is still swirling around I got to tell you something there are some precious elders that we've sent on to glory from this sanctuary we had their funeral and we cried our tears and they've been gone for a while some of them their prayers are still swirling around this hilltop and this sanctuary and a service like this because they prayed for some of you and guess what you're here serving God because of their prayers they prayed some prayers for some people that aren't here yet but guess what before the rapture they're going to be here because there's prayers swirling around the throne of God no prayer you've ever prayed has ever died no prayer you've ever prayed has ever been wasted it is before the throne of God right now so every day you've got to get yourself into that Holy of Holies into that room solis row and you got to discipline yourself even if I don't feel it I'm going to talk to God because that's the only tool I've got to get me over here toward the spirit realm so every day I got to talk to God and there was one last item oh my goodness I feel that spirit that confirmation of prayer prayer can go anywhere God can go / can do anything God can do and your prayers outlive you you will die if Jesus terry's but your prayers are still going to be swirling around the throne so the command of the church it's still a good one pray without ceasing I got to move on we'll get out of here the third article in that holy place was the table of showbread Jesus was the bread of life and yes we need his word to survive there was always to be bread on that little table in that little room prayer is you talking to God but the Bible is God talking to you don't content yourself with these little fleeting impressions I'm not making fun these little fleeting impressions that you get in your mind while you're in church and that's God talking to you I'm not debating that's the case but you've got a much more authoritative Word from God than what you in your mind and it's this you need to get yourself familiar with this you need to get yourself into this you need to have a relationship with this because in opposition to everything you might feel or think or discern this word is forever settled and established at heaven you can take that to God's Bank every time it's right for you to ask God for your daily bread that's right your needs your daily bread but be sure you're also partaking of his daily bread your greatest need is not what you think it is well I need this I need a new job I need this your greatest need is not what you think it is your greatest need is a word from God because a word from God will keep you when the storms are raging a word from God will keep you when the devil is attacking a word from God will keep you when problems are mounting up a word from God that's why I'm in Bible study tonight I'd be here if I wasn't teaching because I need a word from God that's why I need to get my face in that book because I need a word from God jesus said it is written man shall not live by bread alone but by every word of God and last scripture which tells us how important it is and how critical it is for you to get yourself in that holy place the place between between the outer court your physical man and the Holy of Holies your spiritual man you need to get yourself in that holy place the soleus realm the realm of your mind every day you need to drag your mind before God Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 12 oh my for the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword piercing even oh my goodness to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints of marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart the Word of God is so powerful this is why you need Bible study this is why you need your personal Bible study this is why you need a relationship with the Word of God because about the time this world gets a hold of you and makes you think crazy thoughts and carnal thoughts and defeated thoughts and depressed thoughts see the Word of God is so sharp it when you get yourself into it and when it gets into you it can divide asunder between soul your mind and spirit the the individual part of you the intellectual part of you the emotional part of you it can divide between all that junk and the eternal part of you that is filled with the Spirit of God that's why you need a relationship with a word it'll make you think eternal thoughts it'll make you have God's perspective it'll make you think outside of the box of your depression and into the depths of the Holy Ghost that's why you need the word it's so sharp it can divide you from everything that's binding you it can divide you from everything that's troubling you how do I renew my mind pastor Raymond how do I have that relationship with God you're talking about you do it in that middle ground you do it in the holy place you do it with the candlestick and the incense and the showbread you do it with worship and prayer and the word every day not Sunday not Wednesday not Friday every day you owe it to yourself you're a Pentecostal for heaven's sake you're filled with the Holy Ghost of God you owe it to yourself to live in the spirit because when you walk in the spirit you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh and you can sail over the top of every opposition and every problem in every depression not because you're so smart no that's not the point because you're in the spirit because you have that relationship in the spirit but hear me the battle is not won in your spirit and it is not won in your body it is not won in the spiritual realm Jesus lives there nothing can tackle him it is not won in the physical realm we're all your problems and enemies and setbacks and trials are it is one in the mind the tabernacle is a picture of you and you cannot get there from here without going through this your mind is the battleground that's why the Bible says to pull down strongholds and cast down imaginations and take authority and that's why the Bible tells you to do that if there's something negative something defeatist that's attacking you right now this moment this day in your life the solution is not to come to church and get the perfect sermon the solution is not to be in the most spiritual prayer meeting of the year the solution is every day take yourself before worship and prayer and the word and say God I've got to have your word divide me from this carnal thinking I've got to have your word lift me I need to get in your presence so that your Holy Ghost anoints me and the unction of God falls on me and I need to pray and lift up my little life to you because that makes everything better I'm finished teaching I would like you to lift up everything you got at the end of this Bible study and prepare to leave here and go out into the world and it be a victor this week leave here and go out into your little life and be an overcomer this week leave here and go out into your day-to-day routine and take authority over the enemy and be a light for God and do something for the kingdom because you got it in you you are filled with the Holy Ghost you've got it in you you're anointed of God you've got it in you you are called and chosen and faithful don't let the devil tell you who you are or what you can't do let the Holy Ghost tell you who you are and what you can do I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me oh my I need you to lift up your voice in worship I'm done teacher we're not quite done sir

Channel: Capital Community Church

Views: 7,017

Rating: 4.9227052 out of 5

Keywords: capital, community, church, fredericton, nb, new, brunswick, canada, upc, upci, united, pentecostal, international, apostolic, christian, preaching, sermons, sermon, raymond, woodward, jack, leaman, matthew, bible, study, biblical teaching

Id: DTnDvnAMvoY

Length: 64min 46sec (3886 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 22 2020