Blog In Audio:
Greetings,
I believe that God wants to remind us all that the foundation in each of our lives is Christ. The foundation of any aspect of ministry the comes out of our lives is also Christ. Anything that we build, must be built upon the foundation of Christ. Anything that we build that is not on the foundation of Christ will fall. Only the foundation of Christ can reveal the substance of Christ in the walls, the structure, and the fullness of every room. There is a great example in the book of Ezra concerning the rebuilding of the temple after Israel’s captivity in Babylon. I believe there are some significant prophetic truths revealed in the foundation of that temple.
Ezra 3:10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets…
When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets. The trumpet is a symbol of the prophetic sound, the prophetic work, and the prophetic purpose of God in our lives. In the Old Testament there were two types of trumpets. One is the shofar and the other is the silver hammered trumpet. The shophar, or the ram’s horn, is significant of death and resurrection. Just as the ram’s horn came from a once living animal of flesh and blood, we too were once flesh and blood, but now we are new creations in Christ (2 Cor. 5:14-17). The sound of God’s Spirit in our lives is a sound of His resurrection power, not merely a changed life of the flesh. The prophetic sound of God’s trumpet in our lives is the sound of resurrection life in Christ. Jesus was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world and when the wind of the Spirit blows through the ram’s horn, it declares the death of the flesh and the testimony of the resurrection life found in the Spirit. The second type of trumpet in the Scriptures is a hammered, silver trumpet. The hammered, silver trumpet is significant of our redeemed character in Christ. Silver signifies redemption, and a hammered work is the ability for Christ to be formed in us. It is not something added to us, but something formed in us. It is something we become, not something we receive. Christ in us will not merely give us life, He will also transform our character. When the wind of the Spirit blows through that trumpet it releases the sound of our redeemed character in Christ. It will demonstrate a changed life in Christ and will produce the fruit of the Spirit within us. The trumpets blown at the setting of the foundation of the temple were silver hammered trumpets.
What is the significance of the two silver hammered trumpets? Two is the number of witness. The sound of these trumpets is the sound that witnesses to our redeemed character in Christ and allows our redeemed character to be a witness to those that follow. The true witness of the foundation of Christ is the ability to see the character of Christ formed in our lives. Jesus came to give us back our original selves. Our original self was meant to be a testimony of the likeness and image of God and our original self can only be found in the character of Christ. It is by the character of Christ formed in us that we can lead as leaders. It is by the character of Christ formed in us that we can be the testimony of the unity of the body of Christ. As leaders, we must know who we are in Christ. We must lay hold of the prophetic sound of life, a sound of Christ’s redemption and formation in our lives.
Numbers 10:1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Make two silver trumpets for yourself; you shall make them of hammered work; you shall use them for calling the congregation and for directing the movement of the camps. 3 When they blow both of them, all the congregation shall gather before you at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 4 But if they blow only one, then the leaders, the heads of the divisions of Israel, shall gather to you. 5 When you sound the advance, the camps that lie on the east side shall then begin their journey. 6 When you sound the advance the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall begin their journey; they shall sound the call for them to begin their journeys. 7 And when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow, but not sound the advance. 8 The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets; and these shall be to you as an ordinance forever throughout your generations. 9 “When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies. 10 Also in the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be a memorial for you before your God: I am the Lord your God.”
It is not merely the resurrection life of Christ in our lives that qualifies to lead others. It is the testimony of the redeemed character of Christ that enables our lives to carry the sound that can be followed into life and the victory of life in all things. This is the testimony of not only being born again but being those who are being formed into the character of Christ in all things. This is the only sound that will empower us to lead others into the place of also becoming sons and daughters who stand in the character of Christ in all things.
Food For Thought,
Ted J. Hanson
Thank you to all who support House of Bread Ministry in prayer and in financial contributions. We are reaching the nations for the sake of the generations in God’s plan. Your prayers and support have partnered with us and we are reaching the people of Portugal, Bulgaria, Nations in Africa, Spain, Wales, England, Ireland, Netherlands, Canada, and the U.S.
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Thank You – Ted J. Hanson
