Malachi 3:17-18"They shall be Mine," says the LORD of hosts, "On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them As a man spares his own son who serves him." Then you shall again discern Between the righteous and the wicked, Between one who serves God And one who does not serve Him. The Lord is making up His jewels – and ‘jewels’ are ‘special possessions’. We have been purchased at a price to be those Special Possessions, – and that makes us ‘Precious Stones’ and ‘Privileged People’ —and as ‘pearl[s] of great price’, we are being prepared to be set into His crown – to rule and reign with Christ. And they shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts... But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. [1 Peter 3:4] That is what The LORD desires to see – a meek and quiet spirit – precious in His sight. Scripture has so much to say about jewels and precious stones – we can only skim the surface of that rich treasure here. Being a ‘Precious Stone’ in the King’s regalia is more than the opportunity to accept a privileged position at the King’s court. The crown is having the ‘mind’ of the King, while the Sceptre is a symbol of the king’s authority or government — of righteousness and of Christ. In Exodus 28:17-21 we see twelve jewels set into the ephod, or chest adornment, of the High Priest – remembering that Jesus is our Great High Priest after the order of Melchisedec, and therefore our source of all heavenly authority. This ephod was placed to govern the heart. The twelve stones speak, not only of the heart and qualities of God’s chosen, but of the life and truth in the heart of God, as revealed to us by Jesus Christ. You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created. [Ezekiel 28:13] Not only are we jewels for our Lord, but that precious stone nature has been ‘prepared in [us], on the day [we] were created’ – all that is needed is for Jesus Christ’s nature to be awakened in us for that to grow. ‘Every precious stone was [our] covering’. But as subsequent verses make clear, we must remain under that covering – under that government.* MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS1 PETER 2:4-6 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame." * Briefly the meaning of the twelve jewels in the ephod are (as described in Exodus 39:17-20): And you shall put settings of stones in it, four rows of stones: The first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald; this shall be the first row; the second row shall be a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold settings. [Exodus 39:17-20]
PRECIOUS MOMENTS (Instrumental) — written by Fanny J Crosby PRAYER requires FAITHOUR LORD, IN instructing the disciples in regard to prayer, presented them with three pictures (see Luke 11:1-13 and 18:1-8), and strangely puzzling pictures they are until we understand their meaning. They are the pictures of an unkind friend, an unnatural father, and an unjust judge. Like many of our Lord's answers, these pictures seem no answer at all at first; they seem evasions, but we find that in answering our inarticulate questions our Lord presents His answer to the reality discernible to conscience, and not to logic. [from ‘Christian Discipline, Vol 2’ by Oswald Chambers] LISTEN TO THIS MEDITATION BY CLICKING ON DOWNLOAD FILE BELOW
Below is a pdf (for download) of the original word brought to ‘Living Stones Christian Centre’ in June 2009, which we intend to edit and publish on www.write-the-vision.com. |
001_sun07jun09_precious_stones_privileged_people.pdf | |
File Size: | 277 kb |
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MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS…
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
PHILIPPIANS 4:8-9
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