14/12/2022 - FOREIGN APPAREL

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“And it shall be, In the day of the LORD’s sacrifice, that I will punish the princes and the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel                                                                                              Zephaniah 1:8

When the religious leaders handed Jesus over to the Romans to be killed, such an act laid bare the true nature of their ministry. For centuries they must have taught that the Savior would come, but they did not act wisely. Christ died to deliver us from evil and from the hands of the religious. When Jesus expired, he tore the veil of the temple that separated people from God (Mark 15.38), and, as a result, today we can enter the Holy of Holies (Hebrews 10.19-22).

The prophets were not silent, but spoke of this day in detail. Everything that Jesus would do and say was prepared by the Word of the Creator (John 1.1-14). The work was the greatest ever seen in the world: God became man, coming into the world to die in our place, suffering with our sicknesses, becoming sin with our errors, and separated from the Father in order to conquer our redemption by Himself (Isaiah 53.3,4; Romans 8.3; 2 Corinthians 5.21; Mark 15.34).

Yes, the captives need to hear the message of freedom; the sick must know that the Son of God has made Himself sick with their diseases, and the spiritually blind must see that the Scriptures give them the most perfect vision of Truth. We don’t have to accept the lie; to do so, we must put on spiritual reality. Jesus has delivered us from all evil; now all we have to do is believe and preach that Word. Then the captives of the devil will be freed.

The day of the Lord’s sacrifice has already occurred. Any oppressed person will be set free if they believe. The Bible says: Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him and by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:4,5).

The candidates to lead the faith in their regions, operating as princes of the synagogue, lost this status, because they were disqualified as priests of the Lord. Today, every saved person is a priest of God and a king at the same time (Revelation 5.10). After the opening of the Holy of Holies, God’s children received direct access to the Lord. There is no longer any need for someone to intercede for us. What a blessing!

The sons of kings, workers initiating in the work, thought they were very important, because having their father as a priest, they grew up with the feeling that they were untouchable and therefore, they did not prepare themselves to serve according to what was expected by the Omnipotent. Now, there is no longer anything to do as a son of the king, but as a king, by accepting Jesus as Savior and giving Him the lordship of your life. The Gospel brings us out of darkness!

Why do religious people wear unusual clothes, as if they were from another world? The New Testament presents the King of kings as someone humble, concerned about the people, and willing to act so that all would be servants of God. Jesus taught us how to please the Father by going everywhere to rescue the oppressed from the devil.

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares