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Close to His Heart

Sunday, May 29, 2022
Pastor Jojo Ma

Weekly Bulletin | Worship Lyrics

Exodus 28:15-30

 

15 You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work. In the style of the ephod you shall make it --- of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen shall you make it. 16 It shall be square and doubled, a span its length and a span its breadth. 17 You shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row; 18 and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; 19 and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 20 and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold filigree. 21 There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes. 22 You shall make for the breastpiece twisted chains like cords, of pure gold. 23 And you shall make for the breastpiece two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece. 24 And you shall put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. 25 The two ends of the two cords you shall attach to the two settings of filigree, and so attach it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. 26 You shall make two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod. 27 And you shall make two rings of gold, and attach them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at its seam above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. 28 And they shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, so that it may lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, so that the breastpiece shall not come loose from the ephod. 29 So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the Lord. 30 And in the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron's heart, when he goes in before the Lord. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the Lord regularly.

Who should I marry? Should I take this job or stay where I am? Should I go to this university or go the junior college route first? Should I do the chemo-treatment? Should we adopt this dog? Life is full of decisions and sometimes very important ones.

I.          A breastpiece of beauty [v15]
II.        A breastpiece of love [vv29-30]
III.       A breastpiece of guidance [v15, v30]

I.         A breastpiece of beauty [v15]
15 You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work. In the style of the ephod you shall make it --- of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen shall you make it.

Ezek 28:13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings.

Rev 21:19-20 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.

As the high priest went about his duties, he was always representing the people before God. And God saw them as His treasured possession, these gemstones. The people were precious to God.

II.        A breastpiece of love [vv29-30]
29 So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the Lord. 30 And in the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron's heart, when he goes in before the Lord. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the Lord regularly.

The high priest held the people close to his heart which was a picture not only of his love for them in representing them, but also God’s love for them, close to His heart.

2 Cor 11:28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

He is our great high priest, the true and better Aaron, because he not only carries his people close to his heart but he bore our sins on that cross in his death.

Heb 7:25 ...he always lives to make intercession for them.

Have you trusted him for your salvation? Are your sins forgiven because of his atoning death on the cross? Will you believe on him today, turn from your sins, and know his love for you and that you are near to his heart? There is nothing in the world that can match this kind of love, acceptance, joy, and peace. Nothing at all.

III.      A breastpiece of guidance [v15, v30]
15 You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work. In the style of the ephod you shall make it --- of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen shall you make it…30 And in the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim.

Prov 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.

Num 27:21 And [Joshua] shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the LORD. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.

1 Sam 28:6 And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets.

1 Sam 30:7-8 And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the ephod." So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. And David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?" He answered him, "Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue."

Why do you think there is such a ferver for the occult and psychics and mediums and fortune tellers, all of whch are Satanically-rooted and empowered. People want control, they want to alleviate fears, and they refuse to simply trust God and wait.

Rom 8:29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.

1 Thes 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality.

1 Thes 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Focus on what God has told us in His Word. The rest of our decisions are sanctified common sense or adventures in faith or good advice from people we trust. But if you want the most important guidance, you need to follow the Guide.

As we are sanctified in the most important things, we will also grow in having sanctified common sense in the lesser things.