The Color of Worship - Purple

 THE COLOR OF WORSHIP - PURPLE 

OFFERING

Exodus 25:4 "And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair."

This verse is part of the offerings that The LORD told Moses the people needed to give willingly, from the heart (V. 2). The purple yarn was used to decorate the linen curtains as God ordained, according to His design.

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God Is one LORD. And thou shalt love The LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."

Mark 12:30 "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment."

Deuteronomy 10:12 "And now, Israel, what does The LORD your God require of you, but to fear The LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve The LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul."

Matthew 22:37 "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love The Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind."

     All worship must be from our heart to God's heart. It must be real. It must be sincere. It must be willing. And you cannot hide your heart from God, because that is where He looks when He is looking for worshipers. 

     When our hearts are filled to the brim with love and adoration for Him, we simply must praise and worship The LORD our God. We bring an offering of praise. We bring it willingly, lovingly, obediently; according to His Word.

RICHNESS, ROYALTY

       The seashell pictured here is a murex. The yellow liquid that is excreted from the seashell turns purple when exposed to sunlight and this purple is what is used to dye fabric purple, just as in early Bible times.  

Because small amounts only were able to be obtained in this manner, this purple dye, also known as Tyrian Purple, was extremely costly and only the very wealthy could afford to wear it.  

MAJESTY

On the breastplate of the high priest the tribe of Gad is represented by amethyst. Gad was the fifth son Leah gave Jacob through her handmaid Zilpah. It is the twelfth foundation of the wall around the new Jerusalem.

The worship we give to God will also be costly. Because the born-again believer's life is a life of worship, a life that is sanctified, set apart unto God, the life we live will be more than different. To the world around us, which includes our family and friends, we will be seen as crazy or extreme or fanatical. It is not that we exclude them from our lives, merely the opposite: they exclude themselves.

We who are living a different lifestyle after we get saved and Spirit-baptized know from our studies that we no longer 'blend in'. Now we have a target on our backs. This target keeps us near the throne of grace and close to God. What happens the closer we get to God? The more our hearts pour out in worship. We love Him and only desire to tell Him so. 

Every time we come to God we bring an offering of praise. An offering is going to cost us something, whether we purchase it from another to give to God, or whether we draw out of our own wealth to give it to God. But we know that Jesus paid the debt we owed to God, therefore to be in God's presence is to know and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord. 

And in order to stay there, for ever in God's presence, we need to know and acknowledge this fact now, while we still draw breath in this life. For after death it will be too late. Yes, you will still be able in death to know that Jesus Christ is Lord, but it will be too late to proclaim it. Now, today, is your day of salvation. 

“Weeping and gnashing” in Luke 13:28 describes the condition of those people who will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the prophets when they die, but they will not be able to cross over into their presence, because while they still lived, they did not believe. So those who will then know that the prophets spoke The Truth, but it’s too late for them will weep. And those who still do not believe The Truth will gnash their teeth in their struggle to escape the hell into which they have gone. 

A Pharisaical attitude and lifestyle will not save us. Nor will a Sadducee attitude. Only faith in Christ Jesus as Lord of All will turn a sinner into a saint. Both the Pharisee and the Sadducee attitude deny that The Messiah is Jesus Christ. While the first says Christ is yet to come, the second says there is no resurrection. Both of these ideologies are wrong. Jesus Christ is not only LORD, He is THE RESURRECTION, as well. 

What do you need to do to be saved? Acts 16:31- "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ."  And because we who have heard The Word spoken to us, we bring those within our households, both family and friends, strangers and foreigners, to Jesus, with the hopes that they, too, will believe after hearing this Word spoken. 

Worship God with our lives, lift Jesus up wherever we go and whatever we set our hands to do and every time we open our mouths. This worship sets apart from all other religions, as well. Because The Spirit of God is working on us, sanctifying us, making us holy, we will be outcasts in the religious atmosphere of our towns and cities and nations. 

This worship is rare and beautiful and glorifies God. 

The Color of Worship - Gold

Exodus 25 through Exodus 26

Gold signifies the holiness of God. It was used to adorn and cover items within the tabernacle:

The poles to carry the Ark of The Covenant were overlaid with gold and four golden rings were made to carry the poles. Exodus 25:10-16

The Ark of The Covenant was covered by the Mercy Seat, which was also covered in gold; plus it had two solid gold cherubim attached to the top, which faced the Mercy Seat. 

The poles to carry the Ark and the rings into which these poles fit were also covered with gold. Exodus 25:17-22

The Table of Showbread was completely covered in gold. In addition, the plates and dishes which sat upon it were also covered in gold. These rings and carrying poles were also overlaid in gold. Exodus 25:23-30

               The Lampstand, the last specific item designated for the inside of the tabernacle is also made of hammered gold. None of these items were fastened together, nor were they welded or mixed with anything to hold together. That took God-given craftsmanship: beaten, hammered out sheets or blocks of gold, seamless, to produce each of these specially-designed pieces. 

    God had given Moses the plans, blueprints, for each part of the tabernacle when he was on the mountain with God. And God gave each one involved in the making thereof special knowledge to create the items. 

    These, however, were not the only things made of gold or gold overlay. Exodus 26:6 'hooks of gold to hold the tabernacle curtains up'. Exodus 26:31-33 describes the veil which separated the room where the Ark of The Covenant would be and the outer room where the Table and the Lampstand would be. The curtain for the door required hooks of gold set in brass sockets, and the pillars of the door had to be covered in gold. Exodus 26:37. 

    Yet, these are not all of the gold items within the Scriptures that reference the holiness of God. The prophetic verses in Zechariah 6:11-13 tells us (11) Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest;  (12) And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaks The LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of The LORD: (13) Even he shall build the temple of The LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. 

    Isaiah 9:6-7

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over His kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore. The zeal of The LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.

    Isaiah 11:1-5

(1) Then a Shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit. (2) The Spirit of The LORD will rest on Him—The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and strength, The Spirit of knowledge and fear of The LORD. (3) And He will delight in the fear of The LORD. He will not judge by what His eyes see, and He will not decide by what His ears hear, (4) but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and slay the wicked with the breath of His lips. 

(5) Righteousness will be the belt around His hips, and faithfulness the sash around His waist.

    Revelation 19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a Name written, that no man knew, but He Himself. 

    In order for gold to be used purposefully, it first must be purified in fire. It must be tested until the refiner is satisfied with the result. Even when it is God's people who are being refined as gold. 

Malachi 3:3 tells us that the sons of Levi, the priestly lineage, will be refined like silver and gold. As God's people, we see this happen time and again in our lives: that God is testing us in various fires until we "come forth as gold" in His eyes Job 23:10. 

 Revelation 3:18 The Word of God is compared to gold: I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, white garments so that you may be clothed and your shameful nakedness not exposed, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. How do we buy from Christ that which we cannot afford? With out obedient faith in His Word, by trusting in His promises, and that He is, indeed, a faithful God. By believing that God is truly trustworthy: worthy to receive our trust in Him. 

    Unlike manmade gods, which have no value and cannot see, nor hear, nor eat, nor receive  what is presented to them by the people who made these metal or brass or wooden or silver or gold or bejewelled idols and icons. Psalm 115:4-8; Psalm 135:15-18; Isaiah 44:9-20; Jeremiah 10:3-5; Habakkuk 2:18-19; Jeremiah 2:27-28. 

    When we offer our hearts and surrender our bodies and our minds to God's service and kingdom, we present such--to us--unworthiness. Yet, in His time and with His love, God transforms the sinner into the saint by the power of His Holy Spirit. He breathes on us, empowering us to become more like Jesus. We are refined in the fires of tests that we might have a faithful testimony > The Lord delivered me from all of my fears, my doubts, my weaknesses. >The Lord saved me from a horrific death and punishment: the grave and hell. >The Lord lifted me up from the miry clay, the things which threatened to bring me down and keep me down. 

    With this knowledge and understanding, we bow our knees to King Jesus and praise His Holy Name now, while we till draw breath. For we know that the time is near when "Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." Romans 14:11; Philippians 2:9-11.

    

    

  

The Color of Worship - Blue

    

 I love the color blue, all shades. Blue represents the color of grace. The curtains in the tabernacle of God in the Old Testament were blue, purple and scarlet (Exodus 26:1). There were 10 curtains. Each curtain was 28 cubits long ( 1 cubit = 18 inches) and four cubits thick. {42' L x 6' D). The curtains which met in the middle had fifty blue loops on each edge and were attached to each other with fifty gold taches, or knobs.

Isaiah 53:5 & 6 He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Matthew 27:28-31 And they stripped Him, and put on Him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand: and they bowed the knee before Him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spit on Him, and took the reed, and smote Him on the head. And after that they had mocked Him, they took the robe off from Him, and put His own raiment on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him. Matthew 27:50 & 51 Jesus, when He had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;.

Wounded. Bruised. Chastised. Stripes. Beaten. Smote. Blood didn't just drip from His wounds: it poured. Blood ran down His face, oozed from His chest, matted His clothes to His back. Surely some of that blood was on His persecutors and tormentors. Some dripped into the ground where He stood, where He fell. Some blood seeped into the cross He was forced to carry after being beaten nearly to death. Some blood fell on the man who helped Christ to carry the cross. Some blood got on the men who nailed His hands to the cross and on the men who nailed His feet to the cross. Some blood splurted onto the men around Him as the cross was raised up, with Christ on it, and placed firmly into the ground, for all the world to see. Some blood fell on those who came near to see the worst criminal of all time: The Man who was given the title King of the Jews, The Man who claimed sovereignty as The Son of God. And some of that blood fell on me.

The wounding of Christ, the bruising, the chastisement (punishment), the whipping, the mockery of Christ was for us. He was wounded for our transgressions, our sins, our rebellious thoughts and hearts. For our blatant disobedience and disregard for The Word of God. God punished His own Son instead of you and me. Only The Son of God could take our place in that regard. He was a Man without sin. He was the firstborn, without blemish, without stain. When He died the veil, the curtains, in the tabernacle was ripped in two. Six feet of fabric was ripped like a piece of paper at the exact same time as Christ's last breath left His body. Instant access to the holy of holies was made available to everyone now. (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45)

Hebrews 10:19-21 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way opened for us through the curtain of His body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Romans 10:9 If you confess with your mouth (say it out loud) that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. Romans 10:13 For whosoever (anyone) shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.

 Every single person across the face of the earth has the opportunity through Christ to come into God's presence. He is the doorway. His bruises and His wounds, colors of blue and scarlet and purple created a permanent entryway into the throne room of God.

    

The blue gemstone in the wall around the New Jerusalem is Sapphire, Lapis Lazuli. Revelation 21:19 The foundations of the city walls were adorned with every kind of precious stone: The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald. 

This stone represents the divine presence of God communing with His people. Exodus 24:10; Ezekiel 1:26, 10:1. With this gem God’s plan of a permanent covenant relationship with His people is complete. For it is only through Christ, God’s redemptive plan of salvation, that we are able to commune with God at all. It is by grace, God’s grace, God’s mercy, God’s willingness to die for us, that we can be saved from eternal damnation and begin the holiness phase with which we will be equipped to make our entrance into God’s eternal, holy presence. 

Names of God & Christ - Genesis, Exodus

 

NAMES OF GOD & CHRIST

According to the Book in Which Found

OLD TESTAMENT STUDY

GENESIS

Genesis 1:1 ELOHIM

God

Genesis 2:4 JEHOVAH ELOHIM

The Lord God

Genesis 15:1a ANOKI MAGEN

I Am Your Shield

Genesis 15:1b SAKAR RABAH MEOD

Exceeding Great Reward

Genesis 16:13 El  ROI

The God Who Sees

Genesis 21:33 JEHOVAH OLAM EL

The Lord Everlasting God

Genesis 22:14 ADONAI JIREH

The LORD My Provider

Genesis 24:7 JEHOVAH ELOHIM SHAMAYIM

The Lord God of Heaven

Genesis 49:10 SHILOH

He Whose It Is

EXODUS

Exodus 3:14 HAYAH HAYAH

I AM THAT I AM

Exodus 3:15 JEHOVAH ELOHIM AB

The Lord God of Your Fathers (Elohim     Abraham, Elohim Isaac, Elohim Jacob)

Exodus 6:2 JEHOVAH

The LORD

Exodus 6:3 EL SHADDAI

GOD Almighty

Exodus 15:2 YAH OZE ZIMRATH

The Lord Is My Strength and My Song 

Exodus 15:3 JEHOVAH MILHAMAH

The Lord Is Warrior

Exodus 17:15 JEHOVAH NISSI/ADONAI NISSI

The Lord My Banner/Standard

Exodus 23:31 SHEM

My Name

Exodus 30:6 EDUTH

The Testimony

Exodus 34:6a JEHOVAH EL RACHUM

The Lord God Is Compassionate

Exodus 34:6b JEHOVAH CHANNUN

The Lord God Is Gracious

Exodus 34:6c JEHOVAH  AREK

The Lord God Is Longsuffering

Exodus 34:6d JEHOVAH RAB CHECED EMETH 

The Lord God Is Abundant In Goodness & Truth  

Exodus 34:14 QANNA

Jealous