A Pickled Priesthood

Two weeks ago at Pentecost, God asked us, "Do you want to get pickled (be forever changed) in the area of priesthood?" Did you accept that offer? If you think you did, then who have you been a priest to in the past 2 weeks?

The reality is, if Pentecost was just another event and you went back to your daily life, then you didn't get pickled and you have missed out on 2 weeks of harvest!!

In recent messages, God has been instructing us to reflect on identities and images. When you hear the word "priest", what image do you see? Do you see a certain denomination in robes? Do you see religious traditions? What is a priest to you? First, in order to be a kingdom of priests, we have to have the right image of what a priest truly is!

What is a Priest?

• A priest is a mediator, someone who stands in the gap, between God and man

  • (God ➜ Man) They hear from God for someone else

  • (Man ➜ God) They make intercession/supplication/petition on behalf of man to God

• A priest has the vision to see beyond the natural and their own circumstances

• A priest presents themselves as a living sacrifice for God to use as a vessel

How Are We A Kingdom of Priests?

In Exodus 19:5-6, God says, "IF you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant THEN you shall be a special treasure, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Notice that God says IF you will indeed obey His voice. Why? Because in order to be a priest, you must hear and obey His voice! A kingdom of priests is a nation full of people that hear and obey what God is saying, then they bring that to the other nations.

The hard truth is, if you don’t hear from God, then you aren’t a priest yet! You can’t be a mediator for man if you don’t hear from God. Also, you can’t be a mediator for God if you don’t go to man either!

3 Roadblocks Preventing You From Being a Priest

Roadblock 1 - The Battle Between The Spirit and the Flesh

The biggest roadblock is the flesh, this “mass of self”, that prevents us from operating as a priest.

Galatians 5:16 states, "I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." The MSG translation phrases it as, "Then you won't feed the compulsions of selfishness." The flesh is extremely selfish and only wants what pleases it. Humans are driven by what makes their flesh feel good. Modern Secularism thinks that feelings are the highest authority saying, “If it feels good, then it is right" (which is completely flesh driven).

Galatians 5:17 states, "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish." The MSG translation phrases this as, "so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day." Do you find yourself living however you want some days and other days you live for God?? This is inconsistency!

So, for this roadblock, what stops us from being a priest?

• Being so stuck on self that we can’t see others

• Living an inconsistent life of walking in the spirit one day and not the next

• Allowing the forbidden desires of the flesh to creep in and doing nothing about it or wasting time on it

Roadblock 2 - Spiritual Deafness

Hebrews 5:11-12 states, "of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food." Most of us in this body have had multiple opportunities to consume the meat being taught and many should be teachers by now (sharing what you have learned with your harvest field), but we have been dull of hearing and the word has not truly become "life in your life"

So, for this roadblock, what stops us from being a priest?

• Spiritual blindness and deafness

  • Not truly hearing what is being preached or what God is directly saying to you

• Not chewing (meditating) on the meat

• Not digesting (absorbing, “life in your life”) the meat

Roadblock 3 - Gluttony (Overconsumption in the flesh)

When we hear the word gluttony, we think of overeating, but God is saying it is not just limited to natural food, but it is overconsumption of anything in the flesh. Overconsumption of fleshly pleasures, tasks, and even the 7 mountains of influence.

In reality, we have not only been fulfilling the flesh’s desires, but we are being gluttons over it! No wonder we struggle spiritually and feel disconnected. We can’t hear God as clearly when we are overconsumed with the flesh.

So, for this roadblock, what stops us from being a priest?

• Overconsumption of the things of the flesh (which causes us to not hear God clearly)

A Warning For The Priests Who Just Feed Themselves

If you are stepping into the role of a priest, God also had a warning to give. In these scriptures God is speaking through the prophet Ezekiel to prophesy to the shepherds of Israel. A shepherd play a similar role as priests, they lovingly lead and guide the sheep.

Ezekiel 34:2 states, "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD to the shepherds: "Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?" If you are a priest in this house and you are feasting on the church sermons in the church, yet you are not feeding others, then you are in danger of being one of these shepherds.

Ezekiel 34:8 states, "As I live," says the Lord GOD, "surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock." God is saying that His shepherds did not SEARCH out His flock. If say you are a priest, but you are not searching for God's flock (evangelizing to the lost sheep), then God is giving you this warning.

How Do We Overcome These Roadblocks?

The number one way to overcome these roadblocks is by having a deeper spiritual understanding of when you are operating in the flesh vs when you are operating in the spirit. How? Fasting (specifically a fasting of food). I shared the testimony of how God led me to do a fast recently and the fruit that came from it!

Scenarios

Scenario 1: The Co-worker

• You have 1 hour of free time between 8pm and 9pm on a Tuesday evening. What do you do with that time?

• Choice 1

  • Choice: You watch TV (entertainment) for the full hour

    • Commit “gluttony” of the flesh's desires

  • Result: You go to work the next day and you can see that your co-worker looks like they have some stress. You ask God in the moment, but you don't hear anything for them, so you move on with the day.

• Choice 2

  • Choice: You spend time with God in prayer and study for the full hour

    • You hear from God what He is doing in your harvest field

    • You get a word for your co-worker that they are struggling with something and you should pray for them

  • Result: You go to work the next day with the objective of speaking to your co-worker. You can see that your co-worker looks like they have some stress, but you wait for a door to open to speak with them. You see that they have their office door open, so you approach and say, "I was praying last night and God put you on my heart. He instructed me that you are struggling with something and that I should come pray for you this morning." So, your co-worker is ministered to, you pray for them, and they get freed of the thing they are struggling with!

    
    

Scenario 2: Evangelism

• You have a free morning on a Saturday. What do you do with that time?

• Choice 1

  • Choice: You see there is housework and chores to do, so you decided that is the best use of your Saturday morning

  • Result: You feel spiritually weak and no one new comes to church

• Choice 2

  • Choice: You hear from God what He wants you to do with that time and He instructs you to go to the park to pray for people for that morning

  • Result: You feel spiritually empowered and encouraged that you prayed God’s will into people’s lives. Oh, and you also have a new friend that plans to come to church on Sunday!

    
    

First-Hand Accounts From The Harvest Field

The focus of the message was "First-Hand Accounts From the Harvest Field" and

I shared about a dozen encounters that I have had recently. It is really as simple as saying, "God, what are You doing in my harvest field?" and then you just obey! The result of these encounters in my harvest field caused 3 new people to come to BAM PA for this message!

5 Pieces Of Advice From An Early Bloomer

1. Spirit-led fasting

• Discerning when you are operating in the spirit vs in the flesh is very important!

2. Spend alone time with God (especially outside away from devices)

• Parts of this message came from just sitting outside listening to Him

3. Go to town and just walk around the streets or stores

• Pray and ask God to prepare the hearts of the people you are to speak with

• Be spirit-led in who to speak with and what to pray

4. Evangelism is not just an invite to church

• You are the church! Pray for them, edify them, love them

5. Just do it!!

• Be not just hearers, but doers! Take action!

• There is going to be a battle, the devil hates evangelism, but this is why you take the time to strengthen the spirit and spend intimate time with the Father!

Discussion Questions For Self-Evaluation:

1. Did you accept the call to be a "Pickled Priest" by getting into the throne room on Sunday evening/night?

2. What roadblocks are keeping you from being a priest to someone else?

3. How did the scenarios help you understand the impact of your daily choices?

4. What part of the word came alive to you from this message?