#1553. PRIESTS MAKE OTHERS HOLY (28/7/26)

Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional (currently posted on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) as we continue our series: I Will Dwell Among Them. 

Today, we reflect on the truth:

The priestly garments teach us about how to become holy to God. 

To watch this devotional, please select the link below:

I wonder if you know who was the most expensive player in the World Cup tournament? I did some research, and it appears Neymar transferred from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain (in 2017) for about £199 million at the time! That seems simply unbelievable! However, I use this illustration to point to the fact that holiness is to be chosen and set apart for God. Christians have been redeemed by God and we belong to Him. 

Our reading says: 

1. We are holy - set apart for God

I’m sure that you’ve seen people with various logos for expensive brands on their clothing or accessories. People really want you to know that their shoes are expensive and they do this by displaying a prominent logo. 

In our text we see that the priest wore a golden plate on his head with the inscription ‘‘holy to the Lord’. By doing so, as their representative, this is a statement that all Israel were accounted as holy. They were God’s chosen people. He wanted to dwell among them - they were chosen to know Him and glorify Him to the world. 

Likewise, let’s see that if we are Christians, we are holy - set apart to know and serve God. Too often we can live like God serves us as we pursue our ambitions and comforts. However, let’s see that we are to be holy - to seek to know God, know His ways, and walk in His will. 

2. We are made holy through sacrifice

The priests were made holy, and made the people holy through sacrifice. There was a cost to being holy. 

Today’s reading speaks of how the priest’s ministry brought others into God’s holiness. The plate of pure gold on the turban, engraved with ‘holy to the Lord’, meant that ‘“he will bear the guilt involved in the sacred gifts the Israelites consecrate, whatever their gifts may be. It will be on Aaron’s forehead continually so that they will be acceptable to the Lord.”’ 

We see that the sacrifices offered by the priests made the people, and even made their worship expectable to God. 

Likewise, it’s only through Jesus’ priestly ministry that we, and our worship and prayers, are acceptable and accepted as holy. In Hebrews we read:

Jesus’ sacrifice brings us into the holiness of God - His blood is the cost of our redemption. 

Response

The priestly garments teach us about how to become holy to God. 

God wants us to be his holy people. He doesn’t want us to make a turban with a gold plate on it. We don’t need to tattoo our bodies, or wear special clothes. We are holy because God has chosen us, and we are holy because we’ve received the death of Christ as our offering to God. 

Finally, let’s be encouraged that Jesus’ death for sin means that our imperfect lives, imperfect prayers, imperfect worship are accounted as holy to God. It’s wonderful and releasing to know that as we seek to simply do the best we can, God turns our lives and offerings into something holy and powerful. 

This year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of CCP; to watch our anniversary video, please select the link below:

Community Group Study

1. Notices

It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News. 

2. Icebreaker

How has God been speaking to you from His Word this week, and how has this helped you? 

3. Worship together

Let’s begin our time together by lifting our eyes and hearts to worship our great God. Perhaps you have readings and songs that you would like to use together. Let’s be open to the gifts that the Spirit wants to give in order to encourage one another.

4. Study and pray together

Balanced Time Allocation - Please ensure a balanced focus on discussion, SIV (Serve, Invest, and Invite), and prayer so that each section is meaningful and fruitful.

On Sunday, we continued our I WILL DWELL AMONG YOU series, reflecting on God’s design for the Tabernacle and how this speaks to us of how we are to seek to build the church. 

Please read Exodus 27:1–8; 30:1–10; 30:34–38 and discuss:

• Personal Reflection – What particularly encouraged or challenged you from Sunday's message? How did God speak to you through it?

• How do the altar of sacrifice, the bronze basin, and the altar of incense each point us to Jesus and His ministry on our behalf? (See Hebrews 9:11-14) 

• There is a deliberate order to these elements: first the altar of sacrifice, then the basin for washing, and finally the altar of incense. What does this sequence teach us about:

  • The way of salvation? (See Hebrews 10:19)

  • The pattern of our worship and prayer? (See Hebrews 13:15)

• The altar of incense symbolises our continual worship and prayer before God. What does this teach us about cultivating a life of prayer and wholehearted worship personally and together? (See, again Hebrew 13:15)

SIV (Serve, Invest, and Invite)

• Bringing people to the altar: Picture the journey of a worshipper entering the Tabernacle. Passing through the entrance (Christ), they first came to the altar of sacrifice (Christ's atoning death), then the bronze basin (our cleansing in Christ), before entering the Holy Place where the altar of incense represented continual worship and prayer. In many ways, this is the journey of bringing people to Jesus. How are we helping others take these steps? Where are we doing well, and where could we grow?

• Share Stories – Have you had any recent opportunities to Serve, Invest in, or Invite someone toward Jesus? Let’s encourage one another by sharing testimonies of God at work through us.

• Practical Next Steps – Who is God putting on your heart to reach? Are there any ‘people of peace’ (*see note) in your life—those who are receptive to you and spiritual conversation?

Let’s pray together: 

• Let’s pray for one another based on our study, and bring before God any other needs or requests for prayer.

• Pray for one another's SIV opportunities and boldness in following the Spirit's promptings.

• Pray specifically for the “people of peace” in our lives—asking God to open hearts and provide opportunities to speak life and truth.