the ministry of the priesthood in the new testament

The ministry of the ‘‘Royal

Mc Crossan

of the

Testament believer’

work,’’

people,’’ ‘’God’s instruments to do his work’’ and ‘’speak out for him,’’ to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you from ‘’nothing to something,’’ from ‘’rejected to accepted.’’.

This is a serious ministry that all Christians are called to; and has been overlooked by most Christians. I have coloured each segment in different colours to ‘’highlight its importance individually,’’ the first part is the word ‘’you. ’’ ‘’You’’ were the one ‘’chosen by God, ’’ anyone chosen by God has to be important to God, and it matters not what people of this world think of you, because you are important to God for he especially chose you.

Think about this seriously for a brief moment; or better still; ‘’keep saying’’ what God says about you; ‘’I have been chosen by God,’’ ‘what a privilege that is,’ me, little old me, has been ‘’chosen by God,’’ and not just chosen, but chosen for a ‘’high calling.’’- ‘’What’’- God has chosen me for a ‘’high calling,’’ yes a ‘’’high calling’’ of ‘’priestly work.’’

The word ‘’high’’ means an elevated, soaring, place to be in, it means an ‘’important, superior, grand, prominent place’’ to be called to.

The word

calling

means, a vocation, a profession, a mission, and a passion.

Words to God are important; he does not speak any idle words. If he says something then you have to take him seriously, for his words have life in them. The word ‘’holy’’ means, to be – sacred, consecrated, hallowed, sanctified, blessed, divine, righteous, celestial, and saintly

I was chosen to be a ‘’holy person,’’ ‘a holy people’ that’s me, ‘’Wow!’’ I have been set aside for a work of God; I am an actual tool in the hands of Almighty God; I am ‘’God’s instrument chosen to do his work,’’ called by Almighty God to speak out for him. Think of this, I have been chosen by God to actually ‘’speak out for him to this world what he tells me to say.’’ What an honour to be chosen to speak for God in this corrupt and sinful world, to speak out his divine word for a start and to speak out in prophecy or directly for God so others can hear him speak to them through me, this is indeed an honour.

I have been called, as you also have been called, for the privilege of ‘’telling others of the night and day difference having Jesus in your heart made in your life. Telling them how he made you a ‘’nothing person to be a ‘’someone,’’ ‘’something of importance;’’ from being a ‘’rejected human being to an

accepted

chosen son or daughter

a something,’’ and a person of importance.’’

2-Corinthians 5:18-Amplified Bible

But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself [received us into favour, brought us into harmony with Himself] and gave to us the

ministry of reconciliation

into harmony with Him

by

word and deed

we might

aim to bring others

This is the order of the calling of the priesthood, to ‘perform priestly duties.’ What are the calling and order of the priest in the New Testament?

First it is serving others not yourself. It is putting people before you every time; it is doing the same as Jesus did whilst on earth; it is loving others till you drop with exhaustion, it is a life of service, ‘’first to God’’ ‘then to mankind.’ It

is a life of telling others about Jesus, forgetting about healing as your main priority, and moving it to your secondary priority. The main objective in your life is telling others about Jesus and how much he loves them, and then telling them what he done for them not with the objective of getting them healed, but of getting them saved. Healing comes even easier when your main thrust is telling others of his finished work on the cross for them, and in speaking about whatever he places in your heart. The Royal priesthood is a ministry of reconciling people to God in any way we can.

This is the ministry of the ‘’heavenly calling to the priesthood.’’ This does not conflict with the calling you/ I are in right now, be it whatever ministry you are in at this moment; i.e. for me ‘’miracle and healing ministry,’’ but it prioritises your calling/ my calling, is to be a ‘’holy priest’’ first and foremost, then healing and miracle worker secondary.

1 Peter 2:9-10-The Message (MSG)

9 10 But ‘’you’’ are the ones ‘’chosen by God,’’ ‘’chosen for the ‘’high calling’’ of ‘’priestly work,’’ ‘’chosen to be a holy people,’’ ‘’God’s instruments to do his work’’ and ‘’speak out for him,’’ to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you from ‘’nothing to something,’’ from ‘’rejected to accepted.’’

The first thing I see in this scripture is that we were ‘’chosen’’ for the calling of ‘’priestly work. ’’ And part of our priestly ministry is to ‘’speak out for God’’ and that is saying, we have to ‘hear from him first’ before we can speak out, and that is easy in one sense; for we have his ordained word sitting in front of us every day. As I stated earlier in this little booklet the word ‘’high’’ means to be in an ‘’important, superior, grand, impressive, imposing, majestic, magnificent, splendid, luxurious, striking, ostentatious, prominent, outstanding, place;’’ so remember that you are called to that superior prominent, grand important place in Christ Jesus as his priest.

Everything we do for God is important, but it is when we realise that we are called to be something first of all, then attain that calling by accepting it with thanks and grandeur, knowing whom and what you are; this is not thinking of yourself more highly than you are, but being in awareness of what God has called you and made you to be; for after all you are made in his image!

Acknowledging what God done for you is not exalting yourself above anyone but actually humbling yourself before him in acknowledging this is what he done for me. He did it all, not you, not me, ‘’awesome!’’

We have to hear from him in what he tells us to say to others, and this is probably through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, in prophesy. This priestly gift is ordained as a special gift, because people need to be able to hear God’s direct word to them, instructing them in his work or actions or confirming his love for them.

1 Corinthians 14-Living Bible (TLB)

14 Let love be your greatest aim; nevertheless, ask also for the special abilities the Holy Spirit gives, and especially the gift of ‘prophecy,’ being able to ‘’preach the messages of God.’’

2 But if your gift is that of being able to “speak in tongues,” that is, to speak in languages you haven’t learned, you will be talking to God but not to others, since they won’t be able to understand you. You will be speaking by the power of the Spirit, but it will all be a secret.3 But one who ‘prophesies,’ ‘’preaching the messages of God,’’ is helping others grow in the Lord, encouraging and comforting them.4 So a person “speaking in tongues” helps himself grow spiritually, but one who ‘’prophesies, preaching messages from God,’’ helps the entire church grow in holiness and happiness.

5 I wish you all had the gift of “speaking in tongues,” but even more I wish you were all able to ‘’prophesy, ‘’preaching God’s messages,’’ for that is a greater and more useful power than to speak in unknown languages unless, of course, you can tell everyone afterwards what you were saying, so that they can get some good out of it too.

A priest is supposed to prophesise telling people what God is saying to them; he is supposed to enlighten them in the word of God explaining scripture through his gifts of the Holy Spirit, and he is supposed to speak in tongues worshipping the father in spirit and in truth.

1 Corinthians 14 22 Living Bible (TLB)

22 So you see that being able to “speak in tongues” is not a sign to God’s children concerning his power, but is a sign to the unsaved. However, ‘’prophecy’’ (‘’preaching the deep truths of God)’’ is what the Christians need, and unbelievers aren’t yet ready for it. 23 Even so, if an unsaved person, or someone who doesn’t have these gifts, comes to

church and hears you all talking in other languages, he is likely to think you are crazy.24 But if you ‘’prophesy,’’ ‘’preaching God’s Word,’’ even though such preaching is mostly for believers, and an unsaved person or a new Christian comes in who does not understand about these things, all these ‘’sermons’’ will convince him of the fact that he is a sinner, and his conscience will be pricked by everything he hears. 25 As he listens, his secret thoughts will be laid bare, and he will fall down on his knees and worship God, declaring that God is really there among you.

Those of us who are called to the Royal Priesthood are supposed to prophesy, this is a gift of the Holy Spirit that has been given to us with the entire gifts, not just one as most people believe; and we need to open our spirits up to this gift. We need to seek this gift from God like we were starving to death and needing a loaf of bread and some water to keep us alive.

Prophesy is preaching the word, and explaining it to the church believers. People need spiritual truth and this is prophesising explaining the word to those who need to hear it explained to them.

What an honour it is to be chosen by Almighty God our heavenly Father for anything, never mind the special gift of a ‘’Royal priesthood. Yes we know we are a Royal priesthood but we have a ‘’High Priest’’ in this Royal priestly ministry, his name is Jesus; and he intercedes for us in ‘’all things’’ as our ‘’High Priest,’’ so if this is what he is doing as our High Priest are we not supposed to do as he does.

9 10 But ‘’you’’ are the ones ‘’chosen by God,’’ ‘’chosen for the ‘’high calling’’ of ‘’priestly work,’’ ‘’chosen to be a holy people,’’ ‘’God’s instruments to do his work’’ and ‘’speak out for him,’’ to tell others of the night and day difference he made for you—from ‘’nothing to something,’’ from ‘’rejected to accepted.’’

This is not just something we can see and ignore; this is a special gifting from God our father given to us his own children, he has ordained us for something special or his word would not be saying this about us. We have been chosen by God, others have not been chosen, but we have been chosen so this is something special, chosen for a specialist work, the work of the royal priesthood.

9

“My plea is not for the world but for those you have given me because they belong to you. 10 And all of them, since they are mine, belong to you; and you have given them back to me with everything else of yours, and so they are my glory! 11 Now I am leaving the world, and leaving them behind, and coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your own care all those you have given me so that they will be united just as we are, with none missing.12 During my time here I have kept safe within your family all of these you gave me. I guarded them so that not one perished, except the son of hell, as the Scriptures foretold.

13

“And now I am coming to you. I have told them many things while I was with them so that they would be filled with my joy. 14 I have given them your commands. And the world hates them because they don’t fit in with it, just as I don’t. 15 I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from Satan’s power.16 They are not part of this world any more than I am.17 Make them pure and holy through teaching them your words of truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world,19 and I consecrate myself to meet their need for growth in truth and holiness.

20

“I am not ‘’praying

for these alone but also for the

future believers

who will come to me because of the testimony of these.

My

prayer

for all of them

is that they will be of one heart and mind, just as you and I are, Father that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me.

22

“I have given them the glory you gave me the glorious unity of being one, as we are 23 I in them and you in me, all being perfected into one so that the world will know you sent me and will understand that you love them as much as you love me.24 Father, I want them with me these you’ve given me so that they can see my glory. You gave me the glory because you loved me before the world began!

25

“O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me.26 And I have revealed you to them and will keep on revealing you so that the mighty love you have for me may be in them, and I in them.”

Jesus said 19 and ‘’I’’ consecrate ‘’myself’’ to ‘meet their need for growth in truth and holiness.’ Look at the awesomeness that this statement says; Jesus who is God has made a vow, by consecrating himself to pray to meet our needs for growth in truth and holiness. Do you think you will grow spiritually as Jesus prays for you? I would imagine I would, for whom better to pray for me than God himself, for he knows every need I have. And he then says; 20 “I am not ‘’praying’’ for these alone but also for the ‘’future believers’’ who will come to me because of the testimony of these. So he wasn’t just praying for his apostles, but

for us the future believers, and for other future believers also who come after us

If Jesus prayed for others should we also pray for others, it’s better than ridiculing them isn’t it. This is quite a long prayer for Jesus to pray isn’t it, but he leaves nothing out; he intercedes even for ‘’us the future believers, ’’ that’s ‘you and me,’ ‘now today.’ That prayer still has its affects on us; that prayer is still before the throne of God pleading on behalf of us, so that we don’t become stagnant Christians but become mobile ones, and not ones with a disability that hinders us from telling others the night-and-day difference he made for us, the disability of apathy etc; physical disabilities do not stop the spreading of the priesthood message.

Two

A specific instruction from Jesus

John 20Living Bible (TLB)

21

He spoke to them again and said, “As the Father has sent me, even so ‘’I’’ am sending you.”22 Then he breathed on them and told them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.23 If ‘’you’’ ‘’forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven.’’ If ‘’you’’ ‘’refuse to forgive them, they are unforgiven.”

There was a man in our healing service one night, and as Des spoke on the need to forgive others their sins, this man spoke up angrily and said, ‘’how can you just forgive someone who done terrible things on you, it’s impossible you can’t just forgive someone like that.’’ This man’s tone of voice was full of aggression and anger, and he was also crippled with MS and could barely walk.

It was no wonder that he was so badly crippled, because he was preventing the healing that Jesus acquired for him on Calvary to ever enter into his body; his anger and hatred of his parents was the cause of his Unforgiveness, he told us he hated them;’ for whatever it was they done on him growing up. ‘He loudly declared to us that ‘’no one but a priest can forgive sins.’’ He is very Catholic,

as you can imagine; and knows nothing of forgiveness, even when Des explained it was a ‘’decision not a feeling and emotion.

Jesus didn’t go by his feelings or emotions on the cross when he took our sins into his body. I can assure you there were worse sins on his body than the ones this man’s mother or father committed against him. But Jesus clearly and decisively overlooked the worlds sins committed against ‘him, and his Father’ in heaven, as he had those sins placed upon him by the Fathers hand, for all time, from the beginning till the coming end. But did you read that scripture carefully before you continued reading on till here? Let’s read it again slowly, realising that the words spoken are the actual words of the ‘’saviour of the world’’ whose sins of the world he was preparing to take upon himself, and in doing so forgave them every sin possible.

John 20Living Bible (TLB) 21 He spoke to them again and said, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”22 ‘ Then he ‘breathed’ ‘on them’ and told them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.23 If ‘’you’’ ‘’forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven.’’ If ‘’you’’ ‘’refuse to forgive them, they are unforgiven.”

Jesus spoke to them personally saying to them; ‘’as the Father has sent me, even so I am sending ‘’you.’’ ‘’Receive the Holy Spirit.’’ He delivered the Holy Spirit, the third person in the Holy Trinity to them via his breath. { you receive by the laying on of hands} Then he said, {now read this carefully} ‘’if ‘’you’’ ‘’forgive anyone’s sins they are forgiven.’’ If ‘’you’’ ‘’refuse to forgive them, they are unforgiven.”

What did Jesus just do? First of all he breathed his Holy Spirit on them so they now were ‘’filled with the Holy Spirit;’’ he gave the third person in the Trinity to them, and he came and entered into them, just as you now today received if you were baptised in the Holy Spirit, and when the Holy Spirit entered them they were given power to forgive sins because of him.

I want to ask you a question, ‘’who has the power to forgive peoples their sins,’’ a Catholic priest who received his ‘’gifting’’ from a church a religious order? No man has the power to forgive sins, only God, or to those whom God

gave the authority to through his own Holy Spirit can actually forgive someone’s sins.

How then did they get the power to forgive sins if it didn’t come from the Holy Spirits power in them? If you are not baptised in the Holy Spirit you are trying to forgive someone’s sins through religion.

This is a segment taken from Carm a Christian website

**[The context of John 20:23 is that Jesus was speaking to the disciples (v. 19). He breathed on them to receive the Holy Spirit (v. 22). There is nothing in here about priests having the authority to forgive sins. There is nothing here (or anywhere else in the New Testament) about apostolic succession that says priests have the authority to forgive sins and that it is passed down. The Bible does mention appointing elders (Acts 14:23, Titus 1:5) and that the disciples of Jesus had special authority (Matt. 16:18). It speaks of the laying on of hands to receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:19) as well as ordaining men to the ministry (1 Tim. 4:14, 2 Tim. 1:6, Titus 1:5). At best, the laying on of hands deals with ordination, not apostolic authority being passed down. After all, they were ordaining elders and not apostles, and it was the apostles who were given the authority by Christ to do miracles and write Scripture. Nothing is said here about apostolic authority being passed down.]**

And how do they get the Holy Spirit, they need to ask God for his spirit, for religion does not give power to man, only the Holy Spirit can. If a priest does not have the ‘’Holy Spirit’’ in him, operating in the power and affect of the Holy Spirit then ‘’all he has is religion. ’’ I know that the majority of Catholic priests do not have the power of the Holy Spirit in them for they associate it as part of the Charismatic renewal, and they shunned that, so they do not have the Spirit of God in them, they have a wonderful powerless religion in them, but no power from God, for Jesus did not come to start a religion but a way of life, and he gave us his spirit to help us live his life in power, and for power you need his Holy Spirit.

The only person’s who has the power to ‘’forgive sins’’ is those who have the anointing of the Holy Spirit, Jesus didn’t give this power to a church, but to ‘’his living body,’’ so if ‘’you’’ are baptised in the Holy Spirit then you have this

A QUESTION THAT NEEDS TO BE ASKED

Hold on there a minute; how come if Jesus took all our sins and destroyed them, how is it we have to forgive others their sins; sure it’s already done for them isn’t it?

Jesus took our sins that prevented us from getting into heaven and so we consider then that our sins are forgiven as he took them upon himself, and that is the truth for without his sacrifice there would be no forgiveness of sins; but Jesus took our sins, and by accepting forgiveness for our sins we get into heaven.

Jesus paid the price for the spiritual sin each of us has in our spirit; we were born with that original sin passed down to us by our parents and from Adam and Eve through the spirit, the sin they committed was a spiritual sin that got them thrown out of heaven and down to earth.

Genesis 3-20-Living Bible (TLB)

20

The man named his wife Eve (meaning “The life giving one”),[b] for he said, “She shall become the mother of all mankind”; 21 and the Lord God clothed Adam and his wife with garments made from skins of animals.

22 Then the Lord said, “Now that the man has become as we are knowing good from bad, what if he eats the fruit of the Tree of Life and lives forever?”23 So the Lord God banished him forever from the Garden of Eden, and sent him out to farm the ground from which he had been taken.24 Thus God expelled him, and placed mighty angels at the east of the Garden of Eden, with a flaming sword to guard the entrance to the Tree of Life.

1 Corinthians 15-21-Living Bible (TLB)

21

Death came into the world because of what one man (Adam) did, and it is because of what this other man (Christ) has done that now there is the resurrection from the

dead.22 Everyone dies because all of us are related to Adam, being members of his sinful race, and wherever there is sin, death results. But all who are related to Christ will rise again. 23 Each, however, in his own turn: Christ rose first; then when Christ comes back, all his people will become alive again.

This is the sin that separates man and women from God; this sin has passed down through the generations and stopped only when Jesus paid the price for it so that God could restore his children back to himself again. All who believe and accept what Jesus done receive this forgiveness, and are restored back into fellowship with their heavenly father. This is the sin that caused spiritual death, other sins are forgiven when Jesus took all sins upon his body on the cross, but because sin still exists in this world he gave us the power to forgive the sins committed in the flesh.

John 16-Living Bible (TLB)

8 “And when he has come

he will convince the world of it

of God’s goodness,’’

‘’sin,’’ and

and of deliverance from judgment.

of

the

9 The ‘’world’s

sin

is unbelief in me;’’

there is

righteousness

available because I go to the Father’’ and you shall see me no more; 11 there is ‘’deliverance from judgment’’ because the prince of this world has already been judged.

Most of the people living on this planet do not know their sins are already forgiven them; so our job as Royal priests is to explain that their sins have been washed away, and if they accept this, then they received salvation; but if they don’t believe this then their sins remain unforgiven; as they rejected their own forgiveness. Even though Jesus has taken their sins on to his body they refuse to believe this and so reject his love for them and retain their sins, and they will be judged for this sin at the end of the world, but Christians will never be judged for sins.

Three

Then why do we have to forgive others their sins against us.

Simply because of this, sin is still in this world even though the ‘’payment for sins was paid by Jesus;’’ people still sin, don’t they? Even Saint Paul said, ‘’why I do the things I don’t want to.’’ He acknowledged that even though he was saved he still sinned; he said he didn’t want to, but ‘’sin in his ~old ~ nature’’ still existed in ‘’his flesh’’ ‘’not his spirit’’ for ‘sin’ cannot touch the ‘’spirit of Jesus’ inside of you; ’’ so when Jesus forgave men their sins and took those sins upon himself it was the ~sins of the spirit ~ that he took upon himself, sins that caused us eternal damnation, those spiritual sins, the ‘’sin’’ ‘’of unbelief’’ as stated in the previous scripture.

We forget that we are made up of three parts; ‘’first part spirit,’’ ‘’second part soul,’’ ‘’third part flesh, ’’ and that’s the weakest part. The spirit will either go to heaven or go to hell, and that happens now whilst we are alive for it is in being alive that we make our choice ‘either for Jesus or reject Jesus’ and his forgiveness for that eternal sin. ‘’Only one sin sends you to hell; ’’ ‘’refusing to believe’’ what Jesus done for you and accepting what he done was for you to get you into heaven; it is ‘’unbelief’’ in what he did, and suffered for you by taking your sin on his body.

The body on the other hand, [the flesh] sins, and as a punishment for sins it dies and rots in the grave, the soul either goes to heaven or to the grave depending on the belief of the person involved.

Romans 7Living Bible (TLB)

15 I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I can’t. I do what I don’t want to—what I hate. 16 I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience proves that I agree with these laws I am breaking. 17 But I can’t help myself because I’m no longer doing it. It is sin inside me that is stronger than I am that makes me do these evil things.

18 I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn I can’t make myself do right. I want to but I can’t. 19 When I want to do good, I don’t; and when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway.20 Now if I am doing what I don’t want to, it is plain where the trouble is: sin still has me in its evil grasp.

It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love to do God’s will so far as my new nature is concerned; 23 25 but there is

something else deep within me, in my lower nature, that is at war with my mind and wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. In my mind I want to be God’s willing servant, but instead I find myself still enslaved to sin.

So you see how it is: my new life tells me to do right, but the old nature that is still inside me loves to sin. Oh, what a terrible predicament I’m in! Who will free me from my slavery to this deadly lower nature? Thank God! It has been done by Jesus Christ our Lord. He has set me free.

The sin of man is in his flesh, his lower nature; forgiven eternal spiritual sin is on the body of Jesus, and thank God that’s where my eternal sin is, and I will never be judged for that sin as it’s paid for by Jesus.

We all sin in the flesh and that is why God through Jesus gives us the ministry of the Royal Priesthood to forgive people fleshy sins. As Saint Paul said, ‘he is at war with his lower nature that is still in his flesh and blood body,’ his higher nature is spirit and is forgiven and renewed, and that is where the battle is fought between the higher nature and the lower nature, and the battle field is the soul {the mind} and it is a fight we will always be in, for the enemy does not want us knowing who and what we are in Christ Jesus as part of his new nature in us.

Jesus has laid on us the ministry of the priesthood, the gift of forgiving people who sin against us their sins. And it is simply because they sinned against ‘’us’’ that we forgive them. It is the flesh sins that we forgive not the eternal sin the one that sends you to hell

The devil hasn’t gone away you know he is still in this world causing people to sin and the ministry gift we have is telling them of the lord’s forgiveness for them. 2015 years ago Jesus died and paid for everyone’s sins; but still, now 2015 years later, people are still sinning against God, but the price for their sins is already paid, they just have to accept that payment was made and so they need to accept this as truth, and in accepting this salvation is theirs.

The worlds sin is this ‘’unbelief in me,’’ this is our ministry as a ‘’Royal Priesthood’’ to tell the good news, there is no need for the daily sacrifice anymore, for the sacrifice was Jesus nailed to a cross on Calvary. As a Royal

Priest we don’t have to offer any sacrifices for sinners for that sacrifice is a onetime act. But we do have to tell the world the good news.

Four

We have the power to forgive flesh sins not the eternal one!

In Mark 16 15 we are told go out into the world and preach the gospel. What is a Catholic priest supposed to do whilst on the altar; he is to he is supposed to preach the Good News, in his homily [sermon] telling everyone of Jesus sacrifice for them and telling them how easy it is to get into heaven, preaching the gospel in other words.

Do they do that is a question I would ask any Catholic who is born again, and sadly the answer is no they don’t. The Catholic Church does not preach the good news, of salvation, they have instead watered it down to say we are ‘’being saved,’’ and not

saved’’ as Jesus said we are if accepting his message and sacrifice.

If the Catholic Church [priests] is not preaching the truth of the Gospel then it is up to us the believer, the person anointed by God as a ‘’Royal Priesthood’’ to do our job as appointed by God as his Royal priest.

Many years ago I asked God how I can explain to other Catholics like me that they are saved, And God answered me by saying; ‘’if you fell into a river and were drowning and someone jumped in and pulled you out what would you tell people afterwards?’’ ‘’That you were saved or that you drowned.’’ I answered ‘’saved!’’ He then said to me, ‘’you were drowning in a sea of sin and I jumped in and pulled you out and I saved you.’’

Now what can I say when asked if I am saved or not, of course my answer is always, ‘’I am!’’

The power of the priesthood

Matthew 18 Living Bible (TLB)

18

And I tell you this whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven, and whatever you free on earth will be freed in heaven.

19 “I also tell you this—if two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask for, my Father in heaven will do it for you. 20 For where two or three gather together because they are mine, I will be right there among them.”

Whatever we bind on earth is also bound in heaven; bind up the strong man.

As part of your priestly duties binding and loosing are part of your authority

Mark 3-20-Living Bible (TLB)

20

When he returned to the house where he was staying, the crowds began to gather again, and soon it was so full of visitors that he couldn’t even find time to eat. 21 When his friends heard what was happening, they came to try to take him home with them.

“He’s out of his mind,” they said.

22 But the Jewish teachers of religion who had arrived from Jerusalem said, “His trouble is that he’s possessed by Satan, king of demons. That’s why demons obey him.”

23 Jesus summoned these men and asked them (using proverbs they all understood), “How can Satan cast out Satan?24 A kingdom divided against itself will collapse. 25 A home filled with strife and division destroys itself. 26 And if Satan is fighting against himself, how can he accomplish anything? He would never survive. 27 ‘’ Satan’’ ‘’must be bound’’ ‘before his demons are cast out,’ just as a ‘’strong man’’ must be tied up before his house can be ransacked and his property robbed.

As a Royal priest we have been given the keys of the kingdom of heaven and also the power to bind or to lose. We have also been given the power of

agreement, so if two believers agree concerning anything you ask for God will do it for us.

Matthew 16:19 King James Version’

And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever

thou’’

shall bind on earth’’

shall be bound in heaven:

and whatsoever ‘’thou shall ‘loose’ on earth shall be ‘’loosed in heaven.

Satan’’ ‘’must be bound’’ ‘before his demons are cast out,’ if two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask for, my Father in heaven will do it for you.

When you look at these three scriptures they seem to be saying the exact same thing but they are not there is an additive to them; they seem to be just referring to binding and loosing but look at them now carefully.

The first scripture says =after binding ‘’two agree’’=and then ‘’I shall give you the keys of heaven;’’ then it says ‘’Satan must be bound’’ before his demons can be cast out.

Matthew 18 Living Bible (TLB)

18 And I tell you this whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven, and whatever you free on earth will be freed in heaven. 19 “I also tell you this—if two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask for, my Father in heaven will do it for you. 20 For where two or three gather together because they are mine, I will be right there among them.”

In this scripture from Matthew it says whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven and whatever you free on earth is freed in heaven; but it continues on by Jesus saying I also tell you this ‘’ 19 If ‘’two of you agree’’ down here on earth concerning ‘’anything you ask for,’’ ‘’my Father in heaven’’ ‘’will do it’’ for you

Then it says in Matthew 16:19 King James Version

Mark 3-20-Living Bible (TLB)

Those scriptures are all part of the Royal Priesthood ministry of the believer.

Receive the Holy Spirit whose sins you forgive they are forgiven whose sins you do not forgive they are not forgiven. These things I have written about are all part of the ministry of the priesthood; binding Satan, the power to bind the strong man, receiving the keys to the kingdom, if two believers agree as touching anything, i.e. forgiving sins!

As I previously said we who have received the Holy Spirit are the only ones who can forgive sins, those who do not have the Holy Spirit in them cannot forgive sins, for these are the very words of Jesus regarding forgiving sins. Only Jesus can forgive the worlds ‘’sin’’ which is the spiritual sin that can send people to hell unless forgiven, for the worlds sin is this unbelief in me says Jesus.

John 20 Living Bible (TLB)

21 He spoke to them again and said, “As the Father has sent me, even so ‘’I’’ am sending you.”22 Then he breathed on them and told them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.23 If ‘’you’’ ‘’forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven.’’ If ‘’you’’ ‘’refuse to forgive them, they are unforgiven.”

Five

What a joy it is being able to forgive others their sins and wrong doings.

How often has a good Catholic gone to confessions to confess his or her sins only to walk back out of the confessional box feeling just as bad as when they went in. somewhere deep down in their spirit they know the priest cannot truly forgive them their sins for they know only God has that power, and so leave the confessional box still feeling guilty. I know that I have had this happen to me many, many times, but now when I look back to the times I went to confession, the priest that I felt forgiven from was a Charismatic priest, and he is the one who can truly forgive sins of the flesh, for he is baptised in the Holy Spirit and speaks in tongues, and lays hands on the sick.

That charismatic priest has the same power as those baptised in the spirit also, to forgive sins of the flesh, for remember only Jesus has the power to forgive the worlds sin, unbelief in him, for when that sin is destroyed then it is gone forever and we are restored back into favour with our heavenly Father. This is the ministry we Christians have been called into, to share with others the good news, of the forgiveness of this one sin that separates them from God, and this is a joyful ministry to be in, to see souls come back to God and receiving forgiveness.

Six

Sin and its affect on us

Christians still suffer from the affects of sins, even though they are forgiven and seated in that ‘heavenly place,’ and ‘standing in the place of highest privilege,’ they still feel guilty of sin, and some struggle desperately with this, and it cripples some even to the point of despair, feeling they done something so terrible they cannot be forgiven. This is a ploy of the enemy, to keep the Christian so focused on sin they are of no spiritually use, and I don’t mean they are no good, I mean they feel like they are of no use.

This is where the ministry of the Royal Priesthood comes in powerful affect in a great way; for when they see from scripture that you have the authority from God to forgive their sins, this gives them hope, for you the Royal Priest have the power to exercise their sins away from them using your ministry gift, and this is not used in the other churches except for the Catholic church who do not have the rights to forgive sins unless the priest has received the Holy Spirit,

so how screwed up does the devil have religion. The protestant churches don’t have forgiveness services, setting their congregations free from sins and their affects, and the Catholic Church has confession, but for the majority don’t have believing priests to minister forgiveness, let’s recap that scripture again and take it seriously.

John 20Living Bible (TLB)

21 He spoke to them again and said, “As the Father has sent me, even so ‘’I’’ am sending you.”22 Then he breathed on them and told them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.23 If ‘’you’’ ‘’forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven.’’ If ‘’you’’ ‘’refuse to forgive them, they are unforgiven.”

See Jesus said ‘’receive the ~Holy Spirit’’ ~ He is the one in you that forgives sins, not you as a human being, but through the power of the Holy Spirit within you; that power is there within you, ‘’he’’ is the forgiver of ‘’fleshy sins’’ and he has joined himself with you through Jesus Christ. All things are from God and are not mans plans, so God gave you ‘’his’’ Holy Spirit to demonstrate his love and mercy, and as a believer I know it is not by my power or authority or might, but by the power and authority of the Holy Spirit within me joined together as one in Jesus, that gives me and you the authority to forgive sins. This is where the power to forgive sins originates from, ‘’the Holy Spirit;’’ the wonderful, beautiful, loving Spirit of God, within us. God loves us his children so much that he desires to forgive us every wrong and sin, and he has forgiven us the ‘’original spiritual sin’’ that separates us from God, through Jesus; and has given us the Holy Spirit to continue forgiving peoples ‘’flesh sins,’’ using us as instruments of his love. For he says ‘’whose sins ‘you’ forgive’’ by the power of my Holy Spirit, ‘’they are forgiven,’’ and whose sins ‘’you’ don’t forgive’’ through the power of my Holy Spirit they are ‘’unforgiven.’’

There is more to the word of God than most Christians realise and more power given to his children

This is your ministry of a ‘’Royal Priesthood, ’’ for you have the ‘’king of life’’ within you ~Jesus~ and his powerhouse the Holy Spirit, and the Father also. So with the Holy Trinity within you the power to forgive fleshy sins is yours; ‘’whose sins you forgive they are forgiven’’ by God’’ and ‘’whose sins you do

not forgive they are not forgiven by God,’’ and someday they will have to give an account to God for those unforgiven sins.

1 Peter 2:9 King James Version

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

Seven

Jesus our high priest

We may be priests of the kingdom but we have a high priest in which we can turn to for grace and help in times of anguish.

Hebrews 3-1-Living Bible (TLB)

Therefore, dear brothers whom God has set apart for himself you who are chosen for heaven—I want you to think now about this Jesus who is God’s Messenger and the ‘’High Priest’’ of ‘’our faith.’’

2 For Jesus was faithful to God who appointed him ‘’High Priest,’’ just as Moses also faithfully served in God’s house. 3 But Jesus has far more glory than Moses, just as a man who builds a fine house gets more praise than his house does. 4 And many people can build houses, but only God made everything.

5 Well, Moses did a fine job working in God’s house, but he was only a servant; and his work was mostly to illustrate and suggest those things that would happen later on.6 But ‘’Christ, God’s faithful Son, is in complete charge of God’s house.’’ And we ‘’Christians are God’s house’’ he lives in us! if we keep up our courage firm to the end, and our joy and our trust in the Lord.

Can you see what it means to have a high priest watching over us and taking care of our faith; the ‘’High Priest’’ of ‘’our faith.’’ Jesus is overlooking our faith to see that it grows strong and healthy. See where Jesus lives? He lives in us, for we are God’s house.

Isn’t it awesome to have someone higher than ourselves helping us?

Reaffirming that we have been chosen for heaven and set apart, and we have Christ the high priest living in us to complete the work of God in us. This is the work that God has assigned to each of us to be a Royal Priesthood with the high priest of God dwelling inside of us all the time without end.

Hebrews 4Living Bible (TLB)

14

But Jesus the Son of God is our great High Priest who has gone to heaven itself to help us; therefore let us ‘’never stop trusting him.’’15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses since he had the same temptations we do, though he never once gave way to them and sinned. 16 So let us ‘’come boldly to the very throne of God’’ and stay there to receive his mercy and to find grace to help us in our times of need.

Jesus has gone ahead into heaven with the sole purpose in mind i.e. to help us; so that we can come boldly to the throne room of Almighty God and stay there until we receive mercy and find grace; to receive his help and grace to help us in our times of need, this is Jesus our high priest of which we serve as Royal Priests in his kingdom

Hebrews 6-19-Living Bible (TLB)

19

This certain hope of being saved is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls, connecting us with God himself behind the sacred curtains of heaven, 20 where Christ has gone ahead to plead for us from his position as our High Priest, with the honour and rank of Melchizedek.

Jesus is constantly pleading for us before the father in heaven making sure we receive that grace we need in times of trials and tribulations, what a God we have in Jesus, someone who loves us with such intensity.

Hebrews 7—1 Living Bible (TLB)

7-1 This Melchizedek was king of the city of Salem and also a ‘’priest’’ of the Most High God. When Abraham was returning home after winning a great battle against many kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him; 2 then Abraham took a tenth of all he had won in the battle and gave it to Melchizedek.

Melchizedek’s name means “Justice,” so he is the King of Justice; and he is also the King of Peace because of the name of his city, Salem, which means “Peace.”3 Melchizedek had no father or mother and there is no record of any of his ancestors. He was never born and he never died but his life is like that of the Son of God a priest forever.

Hebrews 7-20-Living Bible (TLB)

20

God took an oath that Christ would always be a Priest,21 although he never said that of other priests. Only to Christ he said, “The Lord has sworn and will never change his mind: You are a Priest forever, with the rank of Melchizedek.”22 Because of God’s oath, Christ can guarantee forever the success of this new and better arrangement.

23 Under the old arrangement there had to be many priests so that when the older ones died off, the system could still be carried on by others who took their places.

24 But Jesus lives forever and ‘’continues to be a Priest’’ so that no one else is needed. 25 He is able to save completely all who come to God through him. Since he will live forever, he will always be there to remind God that he has paid for their sins with his blood.

26

He is, therefore, exactly the kind of High Priest we need; for he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin, undefiled by sinners, and to him has been given the place of honour in heaven. 27 He never needs the daily blood of animal sacrifices, as other priests did, to cover over first their own sins and then the sins of the people; for he finished all sacrifices, once and for all, when he sacrificed himself on the cross.

Jesus is the great high priest and he has chosen us for the ministry of the priesthood and has given us power to act as priests in his stead, for his glory and for love of mankind; He himself has forgiven the world of the sin that separates them from God; and he has given us the power to forgive the remainder of mans ‘’fleshy sins,’’ ‘’not the original sin’’ but the sins man still sins in his or her flesh bodies, and this is another act of divine love. No one can ever take away the heavenly sacrifice that Jesus made for us, and it is a one off sacrifice and atonement gift he gave us, for he left the door open to us all to accept his forgiveness and salvation, for he is a good God.

Amen.

I have healing services and I have to tell people the gospel; explaining that Jesus took our sins upon his body and crucified them putting them to death on that cross on Calvary, but this is not part of my priestly ministry it is a part of it but not all of it.

(Revelation 5:9 10 NKJV)

And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, {10} And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”

2 Corinthians 5:18 Amplified Bible

But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself [received us into favour, brought us into harmony with Himself] and gave to us the

ministry of reconciliation

into harmony with

by

word and deed

we might

aim to bring others

We Christians have been given the ministry of reconciliation; reconciling people to God.

New International Version [Jesus Greater Than Moses] Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.

Psalm 132Living Bible (TLB) 16 I will clothe her priests with salvation; her saints shall shout for joy.

God has kept his promise and has done this for the New Testament believers

The role of the priest in the New Testament

What Is a Priest?

“A priest is one who is duly authorized to minister in sacred things, particularly to offer sacrifices at the altar, and who acts as mediator between men and God.”

A priest therefore serves the people, performing ritual acts and religious rites on their behalf to a deity, most often within a sanctified site or temple of some kind. The Levitical priests of Israel had four characteristics; a priest was (1) chosen of God, (2) the property of God, (3) holy to God, and (4) he offered gifts to God, and received gifts from God in return. 4 At the top of the hierarchy of the Levitical Aaronic priesthood was the high priest of Israel who was chosen to that position.

“For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way [those who are straying]; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. And no man takes this[priestly] honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.”

• Hebrews 5:1–4

YHWH has sworn, and will not repent, You are a priest for ever [for the age] after the order of Melchizedek.”

• Psalm 110:1 4 KJV

“Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

• Hebrews 4:14–16

This is the function of a high priest, to approach God, advocate for the people, and in the case of Jesus, to help us obtain mercy and grace when we need it most. Christ also mediates by representing His righteousness to God as our righteousness.

The “You” in verse 4 is the second “Lord,” the Adonai of verse 1. But let us look at this Melchizedek that David is referring to:

“And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest [cohen] of the most high God.”

• Genesis 14:17–18