By Bishop Fred Akama

To recap what we said last Sunday, God’s intention in creating man was for man to be a priest unto Him. God created man to minister to Him. You are a royal priest—a priest of the royal house.

The original priest is God. When man sinned, God acted as a priest. He took an animal, shed its blood, and used its skin to cover man. This was an act of priesthood.

The mandate of dominion that God gave man could only be exercised on the platform of priesthood. Life was not designed to be lived only physically or from a natural plane but with the help of the spiritual world. The things that are not seen influence the things that are seen.

2 Corinthians 4:18 (NKJV) “While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

This scripture admonishes us to keep our eyes on things we don’t see because they alter the things we can see.

When you see something changing or coming into being, its natural source is from things we cannot see. If you want to change an image, you don’t change the image itself—you change the source of the image. The source of what we see is in the spirit world.

Hebrews 11:3 (NKJV) “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”

The word framed means that they were made solid by the Word of God. Faith allows you access and the opportunity to manipulate that which you cannot see. The way man has been given to affect things that are not seen is through priesthood. Priesthood is the interaction of human beings with the spirit world.

There is a priesthood of darkness and a priesthood of light. The devil has his own structure of priesthood. Because God knew that to interact in the spirit realm, man would need access, He created man to be a priest. Our guide in the spirit world as believers is the Holy Spirit.

You can use your priesthood to interact with the Holy Spirit. As believers, we don’t want to interact with any other spirit apart from the Holy Spirit. A believer who is developed in his priesthood will have dominion here; a believer who has not developed his priesthood will be dominated by a non-believer.

Since words frame the world, words will also frame your priesthood. You will have to use words to interact with the spirit world. The Bible says in Hosea to take words with you.

Hosea 14:3 (NKJV) “Take words with you, And return to the Lord. Say to Him, ‘Take away all iniquity; Receive us graciously, For we will offer the sacrifices of our lips.’”

When we begin to exercise priesthood, words will be an important part of that. You cannot exercise priesthood outside of words—these are verdicts, confessions, and prayers. This is why, as a believer, your priesthood is developed through prayer. Take words with you and return to the Lord.

God’s plan was for Adam to be the priest of the whole world. But when Adam failed, God chose the nation of Israel. God’s plan for Israel was that the whole nation would become priests.

Exodus 19:6 (NKJV) “And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.

The Israelites failed to follow the commandments of God, so God took a tribe out of the whole nation of Israel—the tribe of Levi—and made them priests. However, the Levitical priesthood did not align with what God wanted to do.

God created a new priesthood based on an oath. The priesthood of Melchizedek was not based on lineage but on an oath that God made, and through that priesthood, God created the order of Jesus Christ. That is how we became priests and kings. Our essential purpose is to minister to God.

Revelation 1:6 (NKJV)”And has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

God told the Levites that if they fulfilled certain conditions, they would become priests. But for us, the pattern has changed. We are already priests. Through Jesus Christ, we are qualified to be priests and kings. Our priesthood does not come by genealogy but by the oath of God.

Hannah wasn’t from the tribe of Levi, but she received a revelation that there could be a priesthood that did not follow lineage but followed an oath. Hannah was mocked by Peninnah, and through that pain, God gave Hannah a revelation that enabled her to bargain for her son. It was by Hannah’s oath that Samuel was qualified to serve.

As a priest of God, when you minister to God, your need denotes a kingdom gap. There is always a parallel between the need you have and a gap in the kingdom.

James 4:3 (NKJV)”You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.”

The Bible says you ask and do not receive because you ask amiss. To ask amiss means to ask for selfish reasons, missing the fact that God has allowed that need to meet a kingdom need.

God has allowed that need in your life so that He can fulfill a kingdom need. God accomplishes two things at once—so that as you pray, He can use that need to fulfill His purpose.

When God places a need in your life, He intends to fulfill a kingdom need. This is a major key. God’s agenda for Hannah was not to make Peninnah feel bad; He needed to fill a kingdom gap.

If you align your need with God’s need, He will fulfill your need. Priesthood is an office that ministers to God. It is unwise to attempt dominion when you are not carrying God’s presence. Enter Zion, stay there until you come out with God’s fragrance.

The devil cannot stand in God’s presence. The presence of God cannot share you with demons. If you are carrying God’s presence, the dragon’s head will be cut off. Every place you dwell, you will carry the scent of where you come from.

Moses went to the mountain twice for 40 days, and when he returned, he carried the presence of God. Spend enough time in God’s presence. The priest’s job was to carry the Ark of the Covenant—the presence of God.

Deuteronomy 10:8 (NKJV)“At that time the Lord separated the tribe of Levi to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister to Him and to bless in His name, to this day.”

The Ark of God represents the presence and the covenants of God. Today, the presence and covenant of God are not in a box but inside you.

Ministering to God means going before Him because of who He is, not just for what He can do for you. Many people only approach God with requests. When you minister to God, you take time to enjoy His presence, setting aside your needs and exalting Him.

Acts 13:2 (NKJV) “As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’”

Your assignment in God is revealed when you minister to God. When you perform your function of priesthood, God is then in a position to talk to you about your challenges. The function of the priesthood is ministering to God—you must learn to minister to God. We must learn to minister to God because He knows our needs. He wants to press you into ministering to Him. God already knows what you need; He is waiting for you to align yourself with His need. He must find a way to move you from selfishness.

Matthew 5:8 (NKJV) “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.”

Some people have distilled their Christianity into one need. Hannah wanted a child, and God wanted a prophet. Until these things aligned, nothing changed. When you give God what He is looking for, He works and gives you what you need. If you give God what He wants, you will get what you want, but you must know what God wants.

God’s agenda is His kingdom. The whole Christian experience was not designed so that your needs could be met; rather, God designed Christianity to meet His need. God will stretch you until He ensures that what you are seeking will fulfill a kingdom agenda. The people who have discovered what God wants give God what He wants so that they can receive what they need.

Elijah went to the widow of Zarephath. She needed food. Elijah said to the woman, “It is good that you know what you need; give God what He needs. Go and cook as you have said, but before you eat, bring the food to me.” The widow said she had only a little flour left to eat with her children before they died.

Give God what He needs, and then He will release what you need. You can never outgive God in the giving equation. God is a debtor to no man. You must learn the works and rules of priesthood. The best way to put God in debt is through your giving—but He cannot owe you.

Why do people go to kings with gifts? It is to provoke the king to open the treasury. You can never go to a king, give him a gift, and leave without the king responding. No king wants to be outgiven. Whenever you give something to a king, and he values it, he will overwhelm you to show you he is a king. Those who understand priesthood understand this principle.

This is what happened with Herodias, the wife of Herod. She understood priesthood. John the Baptist had annoyed her, and he was scattered by a woman who understood priesthood.

Matthew 11:7 (NKJV)“As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?’”

Priesthood scattered a prophet. That is why, as a believer, you must understand the operations of priesthood. The children of Israel were saved because Moses understood priesthood. He knew what to do to exempt people from calamity.

1 Samuel 7:7-10 (NKJV) “Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. So the children of Israel said to Samuel, ‘Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.’ And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Then Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel.”

Israel had no army, but they had a priest who understood priesthood.

How Do I Align What I Need with What the Lord Wants So That I Don’t Ask Amiss?

Minister to the Lord with the aim of understanding His heart. You cannot enter priesthood without studying Moses. The first step to increasing your priesthood is that you must die. You must become a daily living sacrifice so that the Lord can begin to live through you.

First, you must die to things like money. Money cannot follow you until money is not your objective—until you are not moved by money. When you die to money, God gives you true riches.

Money is the only thing that has the capacity to rival God in your heart, and God wants your heart. You must kill His rival. Once God removes His rival, money will begin to follow you—because you are dead to it. When you die to money, God gives you true riches. True riches are what you can buy without money, which is called grace.

Romans 8:13 (NKJV) “For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”