PART 12. WHAT DOES GOD REQUIRE OF US AT THE BRAZEN LAVER?



The scripture in Exodus 30:18-21 states: Thou shall also make a Laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shall put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar and thou shall put water therein. For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: when they go into the Tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the Altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the Lord: So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.
The Brazen Laver or washbasin was made of brass mirrors donated by the women. A brass mirror when polished is used in looking at self .It was an act of great sacrifice to self for women to release their highly polished brass materials for the construction of the Brazen Laver, thus it symbolizes Dead to self. In Exodus 38:8 the scripture states: And he made the Laver of brass and the foot of it of brass, of the looking glasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
The Brazen Laver which symbolizes Dead to Self represents three essential areas of change we must experience in order to move from death to life.
They are Sanctification, Consecration and Baptism. As the High Priest and the Priests collect the blood of the bull at the Brazen Altar, they must wash their hands and feet at the Brazen laver because of the stains of the blood and the ashes of the burnt offerings at the Brazen Altar. The Lord has made it clear twice that the High Priest and the Priests must wash their hands and feet before they move into the Holy place to minister to Him else they die. It is at this position most men of God die spiritually first before they suffer physical death. This is because they failed to wash their hands and feet before going into the work of their ministry. The Hands here connotes ministry while Feet connotes spiritual walk with God.
Beloved there is no ministry in the outer court. The furniture in the outer court symbolizes judgment of sin and self. The brazen Laver has a basin with water at the upper side for the purpose of washing of the hands and the lower basin for washing of the feet. The water in Ephesians 5:26 speak of the Word of God. That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word. For those that the Lord has predestinated to be conformed to the Image of Christ must wash their hands (calling) and their spiritual walk with the word of God (water).
Unfortunately ministers of God in our generation are full of self, empty pride and deep appetite for leadership positions and flattering titles. They parade themselves with a train of guards because they have lost their heavenly protection. They speak with eloquence and high sounding words, well tailored and trained by their mentors in order to catch the unaware brethren. As far as God is concern these ministers as they cross into the Holy place to minister to the Lord they are struck dead spiritually. Whatever anointing they are using to preach and perform miracles is the anointing of the devil not of God.
The scripture in Matthew 23 well describes them as our modern Pharisees and scribes but verse 13 states: But woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
They become lords over God’s heritage contrary to the guidelines Jesus Christ laid down for us in Matthew 20 25-28: And Jesus called them to Him and said. You know that the rulers of the Gentiles, lord it over them, and their great men hold them in subjection tyrannizing over them. Not so shall it be among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you must be your slave. Just as the Son of Man came not to be waited on but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many( the price paid to set them free)AMPLV
Let this same attitude and purpose and humble mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus Let Him be your example in humility Who , although being essentially one with God and in the form of God, possessing the fullness of the attributes which made God, God, did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained, but stripped Himself of all privileges and rightful dignity so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave) in that He became like men and was born a human being. And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself still further and carried His obedience to the extreme of Death even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:5-8 Amplvs.
We also saw in Philippians 2:5-8 the Lord’s condescension called the KENOSIS meaning “The emptying”, revealing the downward steps our Lord took from heavenly glory to the earthly shame. He emptied Himself of every OMNI-quality. He emptied Himself of the God form, He emptied Himself of immortality, He emptied Himself of the Glory He had with the Father before the world began. John 17:5. He emptied Himself of omniscience. He emptied Himself of absolute equality with God stating that “My father is greater than I” (John 14:28), while we come out as ministers of Christ, professing to be in partnership with Him. ABOMINATION AND BLASPHEMY!
The Lord emptied Himself of absolute authority in heaven and on earth, relying absolutely on His Father thus made it clear that: I can on mine own self do nothing (John 5:30). The Lord absolutely surrendered His self will and walked in total submission to His Father, who sent Him (John 13:16).
The Lord said in John 20:21 after His resurrection: Peace be unto you: as my father hath sent me, even so send I you. Here we see the Lord pleading with us to follow His footsteps, as He followed His Father. Rather we see ministers of God demonstrating so much of self, with an unimaginable pride and hypocrisy in their heart like the Pharisees and scribes of old. We ought to walk in reverent submission to Christ thus to God because He is the Author and the finisher of our faith.
Please make a study of Matthew 23 and test all spirits in order to know who you are following whether they are of God or not. Jesus said by their fruit ye shall know them, not by what they preach for they preach and do not practice what they preach; not by their gifts for they perform miracles and sit in the Temple as Lords to be worshipped.(2Thessalonians 2:1-10).
Beloved, we needed to sit down and examine ourselves and our foundation whether we are following Christ or those who are following Christ by example. Jesus said in Luke 9:23 that: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me.
HOW DO WE ASSURE OURSELVES THAT WE ARE DEAD TO SELF?
There are three vehicles that have been assigned by the Holy Spirit to carry us into this realm of being dead to self: The vehicles of Sanctification, Consecration and Baptism.
SANCTIFICATION means to be set apart to God while Consecration means to a larger extent separation unto God from a carnal use to a sacred use. There are two known types of sanctification, Absolute and Progressive sanctification. In Absolute Sanctification, the works done by Christ Jesus on the cross of Calvary through the shedding of His blood restored us to God our Father. The scripture in Hebrew 13:12 confirms this thought:
Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate.
Also the scripture reveals that Christ had sanctified us by His Spirit. 1 Peter 1:2 states:
Elect according to the fore knowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
The scripture states in 1Cor.1:30:
….But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
As born again children of God, the scripture in 2 Thess. 2:13-14 reveals to us that from the beginning we were chosen of God and sanctified in Christ.
But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
At birth we are cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ, washed and sanctified. The scripture in Hebrew 2: 11 confirms this thought:
For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren.
Therefore we should not trample under foot the blood that sanctified us. This is also revealed to us in Hebrew 10:29 which states:
Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of Grace?
The Progressive Sanctification is a daily cleansing of our soul life with the word of God. In John 17:17 the Lord prayed: Sanctify them through thy truth thy word is truth. The food of the soul is the word of God even as our natural food is meant for our natural body. As we feed on the word day and night our minds are being transformed daily.
The scripture in Rom.12:2 states: And be not conformed to the world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. The word of God states that we should not be “conformed” to the world but should be “Transformed”. To be transformed is to be changed which is the same as to be transfigured, that is passing through a process of metamorphosis from the old nature to a brand new nature just as the nature of a caterpillar being transformed to the nature of a butterfly. The Holy Spirit is working in us to bring about this transfiguration as was revealed of our Lord at the mount of Transfiguration.
The scripture in Ephesians 4:23-24 states: And be renewed in the spirit of your mind. And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Also the scripture in 2Cor. 3:18 confirms this change that is about to take place in the lives of those whose minds are stayed on the Lord. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
CONSECRATION is the act of setting apart our whole lives only for the service of the Lord and not for any other use. Therefore we have to conform to the new and living way that Christ has consecrated for us through the veil that is His flesh. There are certain obligations which are binding on us as believers who desire to fulfill the demands of the brazen Laver. Firstly, we must be in conformity with God and His word daily and commune with Him. Secondly, we must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. God, as a researcher of our heart requires true worship led and directed by the Holy Spirit. Thirdly, we must in full assurance of faith lay aside doubts and sinful distrust of God’s word, for without faith it is impossible to please Him. Fourthly, we must cleanse our heart from guilt and evil consciences; then lastly, our bodies washed with the water of baptism to show before witnesses in the natural and in the spiritual that we have submitted to the cleansing of the Spirit and raised up to walk in the new and living way.
BAPTISM is the word coined from the word Baptizo which means immersion. It is an act by which the medium covers the recipient inside and outside. There are three levels of Baptism which forms one Baptism. These are (a) Water Baptism (b) Baptism in the Holy Spirit (c) Baptism into Christ Jesus.
Having a foreknowledge of the meaning of Baptism, we have to prepare ourselves to be immersed in water, the Holy Spirit and in Christ Jesus. For water baptism the medium is water and the Baptizer should be a born again, Spirit-filled anointed disciple of Christ. We should ensure that the baptizer qualifies else it becomes a mere formality and a phase for the transference of demonic spirits. In the case of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, the Baptizer is Christ Jesus. The Lord immerses us into the Holy Spirit and we are raised up completely surrendered to the Holy Spirit to be used for His work these last days.
The scripture confirms this in Matthew 3:11:
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worth to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.
The Baptism into Christ is often done by the Holy Spirit. Here we are buried in Christ Jesus no longer to be seen but Christ. We are no longer found in the outer court but in the Holy place, a realm we work in total obedience to the Holy Spirit. At this spiritual status we are meant to fulfill the demands of the Golden candlestick, the Table of Shewbread and the Golden Altar of Incense. A Believer who is not dead to self cannot be baptized into Christ Jesus. The following scriptures places believers in the Holy place of a higher spiritual status than those in the outer court thus they are either part of the Woman Company called the Church or they are of the Manchild Company called the Sons of God. The whole creation is waiting to see the Manchild manifest the ultimate power of God to bring about the deliverance of the whole earth. Please see diagram D
It is at this stage of spiritual growth we can safely say that we have fulfilled the scripture in 2Cor.5:17 which states:
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new. Beloved, the scripture in Rom. 8:1 reveals that in Christ Jesus we shall not suffer any condemnation or judgment.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 8:1KJV
Finally brethren: For the earnest expectation of the creature waited for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. Romans 8:19-23 KJV.

TO BE CONTINUED! LOUISADIKIBARASIKA BASSEY OKOKON