Lechem Panim #12 ”The Fragrance of Prayer” (Exodus 30:1-10) Pastor Cameron Ury

Exodus 30:1-10 (ESV) The Altar of Incense-- 1 “You shall make an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. 2 A cubit[a] shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square, and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. 3 You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And you shall make a molding of gold around it. 4 And you shall make two golden rings for it. Under its molding on two opposite sides of it you shall make them, and they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it. 5 You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 6 And you shall put it in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat that is above the testimony, where I will meet with you. 7 And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it, 8 and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the Lord throughout your generations. 9 Do not offer on this altar any other incense or any burnt offering or grain offering, and do not pour a drink offering on it. 10 Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering for the generations to come. It is most holy to the Lord.”

As we continue in our study of the Tabernacle of God, we come to this altar of incense, which was placed before the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, wherein lay the Ark of the Testimony, where the presence of God was (Exodus 25:22). And on this altar Aaron was instructed to burn incense every day, both in the morning and at twilight.

And in Scripture, incense is often associated with prayer. David prayed, “May my prayer be set before you like incense” (Psalm 141:2). In the book of Revelation, in John’s vision of heaven, he sees that the elders around the throne “were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people” (Revelation 5:8; cf. 8:3). As Zechariah the priest was offering incense in the temple in Luke 1:10, it says “all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.”

The altar of incense, then, is seen to be symbolic of the prayers offered to God by His people. And it is interesting, the incense was supposed to always be kept burning; which means also that just as it’s fragrance doesn’t wain, neither should the prayers of God’s people. We are to pray (as Luke 18:1) state, continually.

Early African believers were earnest and regular in private devotions. Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God. Over time, the paths to these places became well worn. As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect prayer, it was soon apparent to the others. They would kindly remind the negligent one, "Brother, the grass grows on your path."

It is easy to let the grass grow on our spiritual paths. And when we are confronted with questions about how faithfully we are walking with God and spending time with Him in devotions, we instantly come up with a whole list of excuses. And we instantly try to pass the blame onto someone or something else (like our busy schedules). 

But then we get upset when we find that we have an empty life. And sometimes people even blame God. They might ask, “God, why don’t I sense your presence. Why do you always feel so distant.” But you know I think God often responds back, “How much time did you spend reading your Bible this week?”
“None.”
 How much time did you spend in prayer?”
“None.”
You see, we have to realize that the responsibility for any spiritual dryness in our lives (not ordinary trials, but by dryness I mean a breakdown in the relationship); we have to realize that the fault is not God’s, but ours. He is always there, waiting to bless us. It’s just that often times we don't take the time to receive that blessing.

There is something about prayer that really tests our character. It is called a spiritual discipline because it requires just that: DISCIPLINE!!! You don’t always feel like praying. And in fact Satan doesn’t want you to pray either and will try to bring up every  distraction possible in order to keep you from praying because He knows there is nothing more dangerous to the gates of Hell than a Christian humbling himself/herself before the throne of God. Because when we pray, God moves.

Watchman Nee was a very famous 20th century missionary to China. And once he shared the story of when he and a group of others were ministering on [an island off the South China coast. There were seven in the ministering group, including a sixteen-year-old new convert whom he calls Brother Wu. The island was fairly large, containing about 6,000 homes. {However} …Preaching seemed quite fruitless on the island, and Nee discovered it was because of the dedication of the people there to an idol they called Ta-wang. They were convinced of his power because on the day of his festival and parade each year the weather was always near perfect.
"When is the procession this year?" young Wu asked a group that had gathered to hear them preach.
"It is fixed for January 11th at 8 in the morning," was the reply.
"Then," said the new convert, "I promise you that it will certainly rain on the 11th."
At that there was an outburst of cries from the crowd: "That is enough! We don't want to hear any more preaching. If there is rain on the 11th, then your God is God!"
Watchman Nee had been elsewhere in the village when this confrontation had taken place. Upon being informed about it, he saw that the situation was serious and called the group to prayer. On the morning of the 11th, there was not a cloud in the sky, but during grace for breakfast, sprinkles began to fall and these were followed by heavy rain. Worshipers of the idol Ta-wang were so upset that they placed it in a sedan chair and carried it outdoors, hoping this would stop the rain. Then the rain increased. After only a short distance, the carriers of the idol stumbled and fell, dropping the idol and fracturing its jaw and left arm.
A number of young people turned to Christ as a result of the rain coming in answer to prayer, but the elders of the village made divination and said that the wrong day had been chosen. The proper day of the procession, they said, should have been the 14th. When Nee and his friends heard this, they again went to prayer, asking for rain on the 14th and for clear days for preaching until then. That afternoon the sky cleared and on the good days that followed there were thirty converts. Of the crucial test day, Nee says: The 14th broke, another perfect day, and we had good meetings. As the evening approached we met again at the appointed hour. We quietly brought the matter to the Lord's remembrance. Not a minute late, His answer came with torrential rain and floods as before.
The power of the idol over the islanders was broken; the enemy was defeated. Believing prayer had brought a great victory. Conversions followed. And the impact upon the servants of God who had witnessed His power would continue to enrich their Christian service from that time on.]

God wants to move through our prayers. But our prayer must begin with belief. We have to believe in God’s character; that in His nature He is holy, righteous, just, and loving. We have to believe in His ability. And thirdly, we have to believe in His willingness to act on our behalf. And that is where many of us fall short, I think. We believe in God’s character (though sometimes that skewed); we believe in His ability (most of the time); but we don’t often believe in the willingness of God to help us; I think we often times believe Him to be too big or too far removed from us to care about our little problems; when the reality is that He WANTS to be involved in our problems; He WANTS to work miracles; He WANTS to right down to the tiniest circumstance, help you to live victoriously. All we have to do is take the time ask; to offer up our prayers.

Now another thing that we cannot miss about the altar of incense is that it had to be purified. The blood of the sacrifice had to be applied to it in order to atone for it. And in fact the fire itself was to be brought from the altar of sacrifice itself. So you have this remarkable connection between the altar of sacrifice and the altar of prayer. It is in and through the sacrifice of Jesus that our prayers have value and are effective. And it is in and through Christ that our prayers are considered acceptable to God. And not only that, but it is not only our prayers that are represented. It is also Christ’s prayers for us. 
As the altar of incense stood before the holy of holies where the presence of God dwelt, so also Christ stands before the Father, continually offering intercession on our behalf.

Romans 8:34 (ESV)-- 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

When I went to the Sea of Galilee, our guide pointed out to us, up on a hill Jesus probably had climbed many times, a secluded cave that overlooked the Sea of Galilee. Our guide told us that that may have very likely been one of Jesus’ lonely places; where He withdrew to pray. And I was in awe that I was looking at what very well could have been one of the places Jesus had His devotions; that quiet time with the Father. That may have been the place where Jesus looked out and saw the disciples struggling with their boat in the storm. Incredible!

But imagine that one day you climb that hill and find your Lord and Savior sitting there praying. He says, come join me. And you both kneel together and you quietly listen to Him pray as you both look out over the Sea of Galilee. How awesome would that be!!! Or let me me ask you this; would you ever be able to pray the same way again?

Robert McCheyne (a 19th century minister in the Church of Scotland) once said this: “If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me.” And we know that he is praying for us as well.

Today I want to encourage you to recognize the reality that Christ is praying for you. And if He loves you enough to pray for you, He is willing to answer those prayers you offer to Him that are in line with His perfect will for your life. Engage with Him in prayer today and He will be able to bless you and use you mightily. Amen.