Promise 7 from Leviticus 9:5-6

Lev. 9:5-6 - "So they took what Moses had commanded to the front of the tent of meeting, and the whole congregation came near and stood before the Lord. Moses said, 'This is the thing which the Lord has commanded you to do, that the glory of the Lord may appear to you!'" - After Aaron and his sons spent 7 days in anticipation waiting for the Lord to show up, then He appeared to them. At that point the congregation got to join in and stand in His presence and His glory. The Holy Spirit works in us individually and draws us closer to the Lord, but He also works through us corporately in drawing others to the Lord when we are obedient in relationship to Him individually, and we have "no issues." When there is nothing "pressing" to be dealt with between us and the Lord then the Power of the Spirit increases within us, which then positions us to draw others into His presence and glory. Bill Johnson from Bethel church Redding, CA says, "Public battles are won only after the private ones are." When there is nothing else left to distract us regarding our own righteousness before the Lord, then it frees us up to see clearer how the Lord is working in the lives of others. As we remain in His presence and glory, then others will be drawn to that as well. They will see the freedom that righteousness brings and the peace and joyful results that living in the presence of the Lord yields. Others will be drawn into His presence once we find a comfortable place in it ourselves.

Promise 6 from Leviticus 9:4b

Lev. 9:4b. - "For today the Lord will appear to you." - After Aaron and his sons waited, worshipped and prayed for seven days, they were told by Moses that on that 9th day the Lord will appear to them. I'm sure, by the 5th day in the tent of meeting that Aaron and sons were probably wondering if God even knew they were there, after all they were sitting in His "house" for all that time but they hadn't seen Him yet. After the instructed time was over (the 7 days) then the Lord shows up. Many people feel like God doesn't see them, hear them or care for them, when they pray to Him and nothing seems to happen. They don't hear His voice, they don't feel His presence and they don't see any results of their time seeking Him. This tempts many people to believe that either God doesn't exist or He doesn't care. To have faith in believing that He will answer prayers requires a prerequisite of faith to believe that He is who He says He is. It requires a belief that not only is He there listening to those prayers but He is also caring for what is being prayed, even though we don't see any immediate fruit of that prayer. To have faith in believing that God answers prayers requires the prerequisite belief that God is good All the time. It also requires that belief that the terrible things that happen are not caused by Him. So many people loose out on the blessings of God because they turn away in their blaming of Him. They accept an offence from God that should be an offence that belongs to the enemy of God. But people are deceived. Once people begin to truly believe that God is good all the time, and that He truly cares for them, the power of the deceit will fade away and the presence of the Lord will be seen. That is the promise.

Promise 5 from Leviticus 8:33

Lev. 8:33 - "You shall not go outside the doorway of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the day that this period of your ordination is fulfilled, for He will ordain you through seven days." - In the verse the word "ordain" literally means "fill your hands." After Aaron and sons were cleansed and their sins offered up, after they were consecrated into their positions as priests, then they were commanded by the Lord through Moses to not leave the presence of the Lord for 7 days, so that He may fill their hands. Way too often people in ministry go straight to work with empty hands thinking that the robe, tunic and accessories are enough. The identity of a true priest or minister goes deeper than what he or she is dressed in, true identity lives within the core of the heart. There is no way we can have any effectiveness and joy in ministry if we just walk into our positions wearing our robes and tunics representing diplomas and teaching and preaching experience. All that is just preparation for entering the tent, like to earn the ticket to get in the door. The best comes after the education, after the "doing" of church responsibilities, the best comes during the encounter, during the glory presence time with the Father. The best comes as we stop doing and just "Be" in His presence. That is when He speaks our identity into us, that is when He fills our hands with the Kingdom riches that are meant to be shared with those outside the tent. It is His desire to fill our hands, it is His desire to spend that precious time with us. How full are your hands today?

Promise 4 from Leviticus 7:34

Lev. 7:34 - "For I have taken the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution from the sons of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons as their due forever, from the sons of Israel." - For all those meat lovers out there, this verse should be encouraging. God set aside just for Aaron and family both white and dark meat. The breast and thigh of the sacrifice for the wave offering. Actually I'm not sure that it is really classified as white or dark meat because they would be from an ox or calf, however they are the choicest of meats, God has reserved for those who minister to Him. His promise to us is that He rewards His children, His servants, not with morsels but of the good stuff, the best parts of what is given. God is a rewarder to those who serve Him. He is a God of abundance, He doesn't hold back the very best from those who He anoints.

Promise 3 from Leviticus 6:18

Lev. 6:18 - "Every male among the sons of Aaron may eat it (grain offering); it is a permanent ordinance throughout your generations, from the offerings by fire to the Lord, whoever touches them will become consecrated." - The commentary in the New American Standard Bible, Zondervan 1999 edition says that, "The purpose for the grain offering is an expression of a voluntary act of worship; recognition of God's goodness and provisions; and devotion to God." God specifically instructed that every male throughout all the generations from the line of priests should eat of this offering of worship and adoration to God. And by doing so, the promise is that they will be consecrated, or (be dedicated or declared sacred, holy, set apart for Him). God said that this is a forever ordinance. When we step into (or touch) that offering of worship, when we are drawn into a climate and environment of worship, when we taste the worship and adoration and let it become a part of us then God's promise is that through the worship we become sacred, we become holy, we become set apart, lifted up and recognised by Him as His. God is pleased with our offerings and when we join other's offerings of praise and worship to Him.

Promise 2 from Leviticus 4:20c, 26b, 31c, 35d, 5:10b,13a,16b

Lev. 4:20c, 26b, 31c, 35d, 5:10, 13a and 16b - "So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf for his sin which he has committed, and it will be forgiven him." - The sons of Israel were instructed by God, through Moses, to bring their sin and guilt offerings to the priest so that he could bring he and she who has blame back to "oneness" with Him who is blameless, through the shedding of blood and the lifting up of a fragrance of that which is the sacrificial offering. There is a clear picture of the parallel between the animal sacrifices and Jesus' death. Jesus' blood was spilt and then He Himself became the fragrant aroma of sacrifice that rose up to the Heavenly Father, so that we who are at blame may become at "one" with Him who is blameless. I love the fact that God has always provided a way for His People to be restored to Him in righteousness. He made the way easy for man to be connected with Him. His promise has always been, "If you give yourself to Me, 'you shall be forgiven!'" He delights in being "at one" with His children.

Promise 1 from Leviticus 1:3

Lev. 1:3 - "If this is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer it, a male without defect; he shall offer it at the doorway of the tent of meeting that he may be accepted before the Lord." - God is speaking to Moses from the tent of meeting (vs.1), He is instructing Moses to tell his people that when they bring their burnt offering, to bring it straight to Him, to the tent of meeting. Up until this point the sons of Israel have had to stay at a distance; a distance from the mountain and a distance from the tabernacle, they would watch God interactions take place between Him and Moses from their tents. Without the sacrifice of offering themselves to holiness and righteousness, they couldn't approach God, but with the sacrifice in hand, God says, "Hand it to me, place it in my hands so that I can receive personally what you are offering to Me. I want to see your face as you offer yourselves to Me." Verse 3 doesn't say "so that the burnt offering will be accepted before the Lord". It says, "So he (the son) will be accepted before the Lord." It's easy to give things to God from a distance. It's easy to go to church, its easy to sing the songs, its easy to hear someone preach the Word, its easy to listen to others give testimony of what God has done in their lives and its easy to think that we've fulfilled our part by "showing up". God desires so much more from us. Staying in the fringes, outside the borders of His presence is not enough for Him. He wants to see us offer our hearts, our minds, our souls to Him. He wants us to put those things right into the palms of His hands so that He can look into our eyes, smile at us and say "Thank you." He wants us to be intimate with Him, to share that moment of giving and receiving one on one, just you and Him.