Chapter 6
Apostolic Service: Priestliness 

 
   There is something special which God desires to express tonight, different from the previous nights, and yet altogether related, for without this nothing that has been spoken can be attained. In fact we would stand in a very peculiar danger of adopting yet another "religious vocabulary", just as we have been inducted into the "charismatic" now we can be inducted into an "apostolic" form of speaking - yet another phraseology to which, in the end, we have just been rendered technicians. This is the most horrible of all fates - that we should have taken these holy and absolute things and made of them yet another weary religious form. Something is required if we are going to be that "prophetic testimony", a vital church in word and deed and presence that is going to "unmask" and reveal the principalities and powers and fulfil the eternal purpose of God. The thing that will save us from being mere technicians is one thing only: the knowledge of the reality of God. Therefore we are commended to "consider Jesus" in Hebrews 3:1:

...."Therefore holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider Jesus, as the Apostle and High Priest of our confession"....

    Consider Him how? As the Apostle and High Priest of our confession! Talk about the mysteries of Christ! I do not understand it. My spirit is wiser than my mind, but this much I know: there is an inexorable connection between that which is "apostolic" and that which is "priestly". We might attempt some fulfilment of other ministries and callings without the necessity of having a high priestly center - although I doubt that - but there is something about that which is apostolic that is eternally joined to that which is High Priestly. There are certain things which we grievously lack as an apostolic church today. One of these is the awesome fear of God, the imminent sense of the soon-coming Judge. But another, is a lack of a "priestly-consciousness", for we have dismissed this as pertaining to some previous dispensation and have considered it "Old Testament". I pray tonight that the Lord is going to alter our understanding - because of His Son He says:

      ...."Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek".... Hebrews 5:6

     Not only is there a connection between "apostolicity" and "priesthood, there is also a connection between that which pertains to sons and that which pertains to priests. This mysterious high priest, this Melchizedek - not descended from the genealogy of Aaron - but a king of righteousness and peace, of whom it says in the Scriptures:

     	...."without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he abides a priest perpetually".... Hebrews 7:3

     	I tell you that this speaks to me of something that I desire for myself personally. It is a position a place that is a requirement for that which is "apostolic". It is above culture and time and language and nationality. It is without beginning of days or ending of life. It resembles the Son of God, a priest without interruption. It is exhausting even to consider this: the kind of priest who ever lives to make intercession for the saints. What is the source of His animation, His energy, His life? We are exhausted just to consider these possibilities yet God has called us to be such a church and such a presence, such a fulfilment of His eternal purpose, such an agency for a "Kingdom come". We are spent just walking through the days of this seminar. Session after session we are battered and moved side to side, but what kind of "priesthood" is this? This is something other than a professional ministerial posture, that is somehow appropriate behind the pulpit, but something other in the private life. This is true priesthood - a priesthood without interruption. We are told in Hebrews 7:16 that it is on the basis of an endless and indestructible life! Are you jealous to be this kind of a "priest"? Do you recognize except that this dimension be added to our being there is no way that we can consider Jesus the Apostle, no more than He Himself can fulfil His Apostolic dimension without also being the High Priest of our confession? So equally is it incumbent and required of us, a priesthood of this kind, not on the basis of "natural qualification", but in exact proportion as we resemble the Son of God. Priests without interruption above time and culture and nationality, without mother or father or ancestry, without beginning of days or ending of life, a continual flow out from the Throne of God Himself on the basis of the power of an endless and indestructible life. A Son who has been made a Priest forever. It says in Hebrews 7:27:

     ...."who has no day by day necessity"....

     I kind of like this. Not only one who is above culture and above time, but even above necessity. There is something about the nature of this "priestliness" of such an emancipated kind, little wonder that it can give itself perpetually to the purposes of God, for the basis of its energy is endless and indestructible! This type of ministry is seated at the right hand of God in Heaven, a minister in the holy place, the true Tabernacle which is not erected by man, but by God. I love the 4th verse of Hebrews 8:

     ...."Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all"....

      Am I bewildering you? Does this sound totally irrelevant or like some strange mystical reference - if He were still living on earth He would not be a priest at all - He is in another dimension in the heavenly place. Anything less than that would invalidate His priestliness. He has His true existence and reality in the heavenly sanctuary. This is a Priest who can come before God in the holiest place of all, and only the High Priest can. God has eternally fixed it. Therefore, in Exodus 25, it is interesting to read the description of that holiest place. God gives it to us in extraordinary detail. We know that the tabernacle of God like the temple which came later has the same essential architectural pattern and outer court that is open to the daylight without any covering, and thereby the place of entry is the bronze altar for sacrifice and the basin for washing, symbolic of our entry into the house of God through the atonement of the Blood of the Lamb, and then as we proceed further there is a second court and this is covered by skins and there is a veil and the priests "daily entered", not as many who trafficked in the first court in the heavy labour of sacrifice and fire and slaughter, but those priests whose function it was to light both morning and night the holy altar of incense and to place the shewbread on the table of the Lord, a room that is shut off from the natural daylight, but it has as its illumination a seven-branched candlestick and it is a much brighter light, not subject to the variables of the natural elements of weather and sunlight. It is a constant light and a brighter light, but there is yet a final and an ultimate place and few there be that have entered there. It is the holiest place of all! The Holy of Holies, and there is no daily traffic there. Only one can enter there in the course of an entire year - and that on the basis of the blood of a "pure sacrifice". In that place there is no seven-branched candlestick and yet it is the brightest and most glorious light of all. It is the Shekinah glory of God Himself. It is His presence and it is over the mercy seat and over the ark of the Law.

     	...."You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold....and you shall make two cherubim of gold, make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends. And the cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and facing one another; the faces of the cherubim are to be turned toward the mercy seat. And you shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I shall give to you. And there I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel"....                             Exodus 25:17-22

     	Paul cried out again and again, "Who is sufficient for these things?" Perhaps some of us have begun to emit such a groan in these days as we become increasingly conscious of the magnitude of what this "apostolic calling" is. How do we move from an institutional age towards the restoration of apostolic glory in the church? How do we communicate the dimension of things that has been lost in our modern church experience? How are we to restore the sense of urgency and imminency of the things that shall shortly come to pass? How shall we warn our generation that God has appointed a day in which He will judge all nations by Him whom He has raised from the dead? How are we to be fitted for such "apostolic confrontation"? Where is our courage and our boldness, our understanding and our sensitivity. And as we thread our way through all this in these painful adjustments and accommodation, turning from the power of tradition and the established and institutional ways of men to come to the formation of this "living church", this powerful, prophetic witness whose presence alone is a testimony to the principalities and powers of the air - who shall be sufficient for these things and where are we to find our answers? How are we to be led even in days like these in so holy a theme as apostolic foundations? 

     	...."There I will meet with you....and speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel"....(vs.22)

       This is the alternative to becoming mere technicians and adopting yet another brittle phraseology. It is to come into the holiest place of all, the High Priestly place that is open to those who come in the form of the Son of God without father or mother or beginning or ending of days. It is the source of the indestructible life, a source of inspiration and anointing of words that I will give you if we are to fulfil the mandate of God. I would like to ask you tonight where you are in the house of God? Where are you in that Tabernacle? Have you entered by the Blood of the Lamb and yet remain in that "outer courtyard" - the place of "initial" salvation and think that you have arrived, and in a much better condition then you were than when you were outside of that house and are you content to remain there as so many of God's people are? For the "fundamentalists" - those who know nothing more than the issue of the New Birth and continue to preach it Sunday after Sunday to the saved and do not know that there is a holy place beyond, and that there is an entry within that veil by the Holy Spirit symbolized by that burning incense on the altar which continually ascends up to God, a picture of the praise and worship which comes with the induction into the "fulness" of the Holy Spirit coming from the uncovered place to the covered place and introduced therefore with it into new concepts in God: the authority of God, the offices of God, the ministers of the Church, the concept of eldership and Church government, the submission to, and the authority of God - there is a "seeing" in a much brighter light new things beyond the issue of Atonement, beyond the initial issue of salvation and it is only in this place that they shall begin to see the issues of the Body of Christ, and the Kingdom of God. It is a tremendous place and a "charismatic" place of a new quality of worship and praise, and of seeing and relationship to the more serious and purposeful things of God, but there is yet a deeper place that admits only "High Priests", who are called also to that which is apostolic, and in there is a much greater light. Beyond the issues of Church government and order, beyond the subject of the Body of Christ and even the realities of the Kingdom, here is the "stewardship" of the mysteries, the mystery of the eternal purpose of God, Who created all things in order that through the Church, the manifold wisdom of God might be manifested to the principalities and powers of the air, and this is according to the eternal purpose of God (Ephesians 3:10-11).
       You never will glimpse this except in this light. You never will fulfil this except for the words that are given with inspiration and that are communicated with the intensity of the life that is transmitted in the holiest place of all - where God's presence abides, above the righteous requirement of His law in the place of mercy - "there I will meet with you...and give you words"....all that pertains to the sons of Israel, to command in authority out of My presence in the holiest place of all.
       I am speaking by faith tonight trusting for your faith. It is a really moot question of how well you are able to understand this message tonight. Have you been progressively brought from faith to faith up to this night? Because God's intention tonight is more than just a dissertation on the Tabernacle of God and the "holiest place". His intention tonight is an entering into the holiest place of all, without which there cannot be an apostolic fulfilment. Consider Jesus the High Priest and Apostle of our confession, you cannot have the one without the other. We will be rendered mere technicians and be victims of another hollow phraseology and God is bidding us enter into the holiest place of all, to dwell in that presence, for there He will meet with us and give us all "in commandment for the sons of Israel". I have waited a long time for such an entry, waiting spiritually to qualify. As much as I am at war with the secular world, something of its concept of evolution yet lingered with me that I had to "evolve" into a higher spiritual state, by virtue of which I would then be able to enter into this holiest place, but I stumbled upon a series of teachings that were entitled "Within the Veil" and something in my inner man went click and I could not rush fast enough to hear them. I put the first tape on with great expectations, something in my spirit rising to the mystery in this and I heard the first few statements and I was tempted to shut the machine off. Some "hillbilly" American was speaking, some coarse, ungrammatical redneck - not my style at all - but as my finger went to the eject button I hesitated, because something now began to reach me beyond and through this accent. It was beyond nationality, beyond culture, beyond time, beyond father or mother or beginning or ending of days and I continued to listen on, tape by tape, of a man whose frustration was much like my own in the risings and the fallings of the spiritual life, the good days and the bad days that rendered us incapable of saying with Paul, "You know what manner of man I was with you in all seasons".... (Acts 20:18), and I followed him in the Scriptures through the book of Hebrews and he showed that the Law was only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of those things, and that it could not make perfect those who draw near. He went on to explain that One came in point of time who could, One whose Blood was better than the blood of bulls and of goats and of sacrifices, One Who entered by His own Blood into the heavenly place and entered "once and for all".
     	Is it not remarkable how simple phrases elude us? In all of our impressive, spiritual "sophistication" we have not allowed these words to impact upon our souls - He entered once and for all and He bids us enter also and to enter boldly (Hebrews 4:16). Not on the basis of our natural qualification, for we are not to be descended from the Aaronic "priestly line". We must enter the holiest place by the Blood of Jesus. Do you want to know something children? The long and the short of it is that we do not appreciate the Blood of Jesus so much as the Father does! We have come to appreciate it in terms of our atonement, and indeed it is sufficient to wash away sin and guilt, but His Blood has done something more, it has opened a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil that is His flesh and since we have such a Great High Priest let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.
      I remember the night I heard the last tape. I was in bed. My Bible was open to these scriptures in Hebrews and he described in that last tape how he came to a Sunday morning service as a minister weary and defeated, in that kind of terrible monotony and predictability which our churches can so easily come to. But there was a woman that morning in the service who was a very bright light. She could hardly contain herself and she was waving her arm in the air for she had a "testimony" to give. "Yes sister", he said. And she said, "I just want to say that I have entered within the holiest place of all", and he was quick to correct her. "You mean to say that you hope to enter" - after all she was only a "housewife", he thought. "No, she said, I have entered". "By what means," he said? "By the Blood of Jesus and the veil that was rent by His flesh! I simply drew near with a true heart of faith and I confessed that right now, in Jesus' name, without any acknowledgment of qualification in myself, I do enter into the holiest place of all by the Blood of Jesus" and she said something happened - she had entered into a "new place" and it was visibly true of her. Before that service had ended, one by one, people were getting up in the congregation and making a simple confession of their "entering right now" on the basis of the Blood of Jesus into a new and living way. He himself entered, for which reason I was now hearing his tapes of a new kind of enablement that had come to him of an enhanced and deepened quality of "apostolic faith", of a fresh source of creativity and originality that he receives in a place of new communion with God in the holiest place of all. It was at about this point that I shut my tape machine off. I took my glasses off and thought for a moment in reflection of my years in Christ - the frustration, the rising and the falling, and I just simply breathed a prayer, flat on my back. I said, Lord, right now, not on the basis of any qualification, I do enter into the holiest place of all by the Blood of Jesus and the veil rent by His flesh. Amen.", and something in my deepest inner man went "click", and I believe I have been in that place ever since. Holding fast the confession of our faith, for it is certain that every power of Hell will seek to steal this from us. "O, this is only a play on words, just a kind of Biblical rhetoric, there is no real actual place of entry, this heavenly thing is only a vapour, it is an intangible thing, you have all that you need by virtue of your "New Birth", this is only a conceit on your part, God does not intend for you to have a conjunction of that which is "priestly and apostolic", look, you are still the same!" Hold fast the confession of your faith. I am just being obedient tonight as I have in every session of this seminar. I did not come with a single concept of how these days should be fulfilled, I know much better than you that the Lord Himself has been unfolding these messages time by time. He has set before us a standard this morning on apostolic character that took our breath away. Far beyond mere "Christian respectability", far beyond any kind of "nice-guyism", nothing less than the blamelessness of the apostle Paul himself. Consciences void of offense with God and with man. Instant, in season and out. "Knowing what manner of man I have been in all seasons with you, for your sake". You did not have to be spiritually acute to realize this: who is sufficient for these things? How can we attain this? How can we come into this "apostolic fulfilment" - the eternal purpose of God through the Church, not only in this age as enormous and demanding as that is, but in the ages to come also. Is God cruel to set before us such a calling and to think that we shall be able to fulfil it on the "paucity" of our own human enablement, even with the benefit and the blessing of the baptism of the Holy Spirit? There is yet a deeper place - an ultimate place - an absolute place - it is the holiest place of all and it is for all those who are called to that which is "apostolic" and "high-priestly". Consider Jesus as you have never before considered Him: the Son in whose image we also are called. For he who is joined to Him is one spirit with Him. Understand Paul better when he says, "I live and move and have my being in Him", that as He has entered we enter, for he has entered once for all. Where are you tonight and where do you desire to be, and where have you the faith to be? Do you desire an apostolic participation in the eternal purposes of God? Will you be able to stand against apostolic persecution and suffering, and where no "thing" matters to you and you count not your life as dear unto yourself? We have got to come into a certain priestly place without which there cannot be an apostolic fulfilment and He has rent the veil and bids us come, not on the basis of our qualification but on the basis of the Blood of Jesus, for the life of the flesh is in the blood and such a life, such a Blood, sufficient for our entry: "there I will meet with you" in the holiest place of all at the mercy-seat, above and between the cherubim and the ark of God and I will speak to you about all that I will give you, the grace that is given to preach the unfathomable riches of Christ and to bring to light that which has been hidden until now: that God has created all things in order that through the Church, to the principalities and powers of the air, the manifold wisdom of God might be demonstrated. Of all that I will give you in grace and in enablement and inspiration, in indestructible life, in commandments and in authority, for the sons of Israel".
     	Do you believe these things? Do you have a faith sufficient to enter? We have all to be in a different place of faith. Some sufficient to believe in certain doctrines, some sufficient to believe for healing, some sufficient to believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, by which there ought to be an "evidence" of such an entry. Have you a faith to believe in an entry into the holiest place of all that there might be an apostolic fulfilment in a "High-Priestly" way? This is the only thing that can save us from becoming mere technicians and being victims of the cruellest thing of all - to take the holy apostolic language and make of it yet another mere phraseology.
     	God is calling us to an unusual involvement and participation and in preaching these words to you tonight I have fulfilled my obedience. The words I have spoken to you came to me in that holiest place of all. Indeed, I was too exhausted, too spent, to conceive, or consider, out of my own mind, the "appropriate" thing for tonight. There is a High-Priestly place available for us as a life that flows and which is indestructible. You know what manner of man I was with you in all seasons, now it is up to you! Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Some of you in the mind-set characteristic of the French-speaking, will sweep this aside. You will say: "Some American evangelistic device, some fanciful play on words not to be earnestly considered". But there are others of you whose hearts are already burning and you can hardly be contained. You want to stand up and say what that woman said in that service - now, because faith is now, and the hour has struck and the time is short and God is requiring a fulfilment that can only come from this place within the veil. Have the faith to enter with a true and sincere heart in full assurance of faith. Can you hold fast a confession of faith and say, "Now I enter within the veil into the holiest place of all through a new and living way by the Blood of Jesus."

Let us close in prayer: 
     Precious God, I have only the most minimal Presense of the glory of this Mystery yet I know that it is true and that there is a place within the Taberacle of God that is ultimate: the holiest place of all, a place that has been opened to us by the Blood of Jesus and the veil rent by His flesh. I have discharged, my God, what You have commanded me to speak and now I ask you to hear every soul who responds by faith in the Precious Blood of Your Son Jesus, to enter and abide in the place of Your Presence, and there receive words and commandments and the grace to preach and to teach and bring to light that which is hidden, that they might fulfil the apostolic requirement of godly character and be blameless at the day of Your appearing. Hear those, my God, who will respond by faith, in Jesus' name.                                                  Amen .