Ezekiel 44:10-16
“….And the Levites who went far from Me, when Israel went astray, who strayed away from Me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity. 11 Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, as gatekeepers of the house and ministers of the house; they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them. 12 Because they ministered to them before their idols and caused[c] the house of Israel to fall into iniquity, therefore I have raised My hand in an oath against them,” says the Lord God, “that they shall bear their iniquity. 13 And they shall not come near Me to minister to Me as priest, nor come near any of My holy things, nor into the Most Holy Place; but they shall bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. 14 Nevertheless I will make them keep charge of the temple, for all its work, and for all that has to be done in it.
“But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer to Me the fat and the blood,” says the Lord God. 16 “They shall enter My sanctuary, and they shall come near My table to minister to Me, and they shall keep My charge.
Last week I re-read this passage with new eyes, but I have not been able to get it out of my mind. What I understood more deeply was that there are those priests who will only be ministers in the outer sanctuary and be gate keepers, and those who will be near God into the holy of holies and minister to Him! The former will never be able to have that intimate relationship with God, neither will ever enjoy the privilege of ministering to God! They will only minister to His people but not to Him. Whaaat?!
I started examining millions of the people who minister in the body of Christ – whether as elders, pastors, deacons, worship leaders, ushers, counselors etc. It is actually possible to miss the point. We can be busy working for God even way from Him?! Oh my goodness! This kind of work without God’s sufficient grace and anointing can be exhausting. No wonder there is a lot of kingdom work without much signs and wonders.
We are created first and foremost for relationship. God’s top love language is quality time. Here we minister to Him. We love on Him. We worship and revere Him. Our hearts become hearts after God’s own heart just like David’s heart was described. God first pursues a love relationship with Him that is personal, intimate and growing. Only thereafter will He invite us to join Him where He is working. This call requires us to crucify the flesh, die to self and be alive towards Him spiritually. This intimacy is what our hearts yearn for as the dear pants for the water (Ps. 42:1-2).
Only after establishing this intimacy does God involve us in what He is doing. He calls us to join Him where He is working. He has never wanted us to go off and do stuff for Him without Him. He wants us to walk alongside Him as He guides us along our purposes and towards our destinies.
So, it is possible to do stuff for God without God! Wow! How pathetic. This is working out of the soul-ish realm, using our own understanding with no passion and no genuine love.These works have no eternal value! The Lord one time gave me a revelation of what that looks like – a donut! You know how hollow a donut it at the centre! Compare it with a cookie that is whole and complete with no hollow spaces! I would like to operate as a cookie and not a donut.
Since the time I understood this principle, I decided that I was going to prioritize my personal devotion time with God over anything else. I will then engage for God as He will lead. I will not work for Him but with Him. I will work on being more than on doing. I want to minister to Him in the Holy of Holies! I want intimacy. I want relationship. I know the rest of my service to Him will flow from that divine romance.
…..so help me God….
