Does this look familiar to anyone of a certain
age? What is this referring to? There was a trial
that was going on where a former famous football
player was arrested for allegedly murdering some
people and the trial was going on and it was
on all the news stations almost 24 hours a day,
time after time, wherever you looked. the trial
was going on. And it came down to October, and
finally the trial was going to be over, and there
was going to be a verdict. And it was October
3, 1995. And I happen to remember where I was
at this moment in time, because I was a student
at Southern. And at the time that the verdict
was scheduled to be announced, I was in class.
We were having class. We were disappointed because
we weren't going to be able to see the verdict
that people had been talking about for so long.
But someone in the class, you know, there was
a TV in the classroom used to show videos, probably
VHS tapes back then, and somebody had figured
that if you hit a couple buttons, it could actually
pick up one, maybe two stations over the air.
It was a little fuzzy, but as class was beginning,
someone in the class said, Professor, could we...
You know, there's a big verdict today. Could
we watch that verdict? And they're like, no,
we're here to learn. We're not doing that. So
we're going to learn. And so class went on. And
I forget the exact time of day that the verdict
was to be announced. But in the middle of class,
someone raised their hand. Yes, do you have a
question? Sir, the verdict is in about two minutes.
Are you sure that we couldn't? watched the verdict
here in class. And I don't know if maybe the
professor was curious himself. Maybe he just
wanted the students to simmer down about it,
whatever it was. But he relented and turned on
the TV, and we saw the verdict. Of course, it
was not guilty. Maybe surprising for some. But,
you know, a few minutes later, we carried on
in class. So let me just be clear. This story
is not about the O .J. Simpson trial. It's not.
It seems like it is, but it's not. The story
that I'm telling took place about two weeks later.
Because you see, as we were having class, after
a few minutes, one of the students said, I need
to use the restroom, and they went to the restroom.
And a little bit later, it came back, and nobody
thought anything about it. Until two weeks later,
the student newspaper at Southern, the Southern
Accent, I thought it was the next day, but I
actually went and found the issue. It's kind
of blurry because it was an online archive, but
it was dated two weeks later, and the front page
of the Student Accent was the Student Center.
And you can see there with blurry faces that
there's 50 or 100. Students in the student center
because there's a TV and they're watching the
verdict. And what you can't tell because it's
so blurry is that right front and center was
Tom. And he's the one who had raised his hand
and said, hey, I need to use the restroom. So
what he had done, he had left the classroom,
had run down the promenade, and went into the
student center, saw the verdict. ran back down
the promenade, and came back into class. No problem.
No one will ever know. Until two weeks later,
on the front page, his secret was out. You know,
what's the saying? Be sure your sins will find
you out. And that's exactly what happened in
this case. As we went back to class, a few weeks
later, front and center, there he was, and his
secret was revealed. And the fact of the matter
is that at some point in Earth's history, that's
going to be the case for each one of us. We might
try to do something that we think nobody knows
about, but our secret is going to be revealed,
at least to some. So we're going to look at a
couple of verses here. Let's go over to Matthew
chapter 12. We'll have these verses on the screen,
but as always, I encourage you to look them up.
Matthew chapter 12. And we're going to look at
verse 36. So Matthew 12 and verse 36. This is
Jesus speaking. And in Matthew 12, 36, he says,
But I say to you that for every idle word, men
or women, humanity may speak, they will give
account of it in the day of judgment. Whatever
we say, whatever we speak, even the idle words,
we're going to give account of it. At some point.
Let's look at another verse. Let's go back to
the Old Testament. Ecclesiastes. So you've got
Psalms and then Proverbs and then Ecclesiastes.
And we're going to look at the very last chapter
of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes chapter 12. And
it gives us almost the exact same idea. The very
last two verses of Ecclesiastes. It says, let
us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. This
is the end of the book of Ecclesiastes. Fear
God and keep his commandments, for this is man's
all. Or some would say this is the whole duty
of man. And then notice verse 14. It says, for
God will bring every work into judgment, including
every secret thing, whether good or evil. Everything
we do, everything we say, at some point, it's
going to be known. It's going to be judged. It's
kind of a scary thing sometimes to think that
you're going to be judged. If you're driving
down the road and a police officer happens to
pull out behind you, it can be a frightening
thing for a few minutes until you're sure that
they've gone on, that they're doing something
else. I have gotten a couple speeding tickets.
The very first speeding ticket I got, Someone
told me that if you go to the courthouse, if
you go to the trial, that maybe sometimes they'll
throw it out or at least reduce the fine. So
I thought, well, I'm going to give that a try.
So I drove from Knoxville all the way back down
to Cleveland. It was where I had gotten the ticket.
I went to the courtroom. It's a little frightening
to stand before the judge. How do you plead?
Guilty. Well, just pay the fine. What are you
doing here? So it didn't work. I still had to
pay the full fine. But there's been other times
since then where I've served on jury duty. How
many have ever served on jury duty? A few hands
have gone up. And as you sit there in the courtroom,
you know, there's 10 or 12, usually 12 people
on the jury, maybe some alternates. There's,
you know, a defendant. with some lawyers, there's
some prosecutors, and there's witnesses, and
there's bailiffs, and then, of course, there's
the judge, and there's a courtroom full of people.
It's a serious thing, and as I've observed sitting
there in jury duty, there's respect that takes
place, and those people need to respect the judge.
his decisions and the things that he's saying.
It is a solemn and serious event for judgment
to take place. And if you're the one being judged,
it can be a scary time. And believe it or not,
the Bible talks about times of judgment, a day
of judgment. Let's turn over to Daniel chapter
7. We're going to look at a picture that Daniel
gives us. As Daniel 7 is tracing down through
history the rise and fall of different kingdoms,
and it talks about a judgment that takes place.
Notice Daniel 7, and we're going to start in
verse 9. It says, This is a judgment scene here.
Would this be a scary, solemn place to be? It
says, was white as snow and the hair of his head
like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame,
its wheels a burning fire. And then it goes on
in verse 10, a fiery stream issued and came forth
from before him. A thousand thousands ministered
to him. Ten thousand times ten thousand stood
before him. The court was seated and the books
were opened. This is a solemn time here. This
is a judgment taking place with all of the universe,
it seems, observing and watching and listening
as the books were opened. And many people, when
they think of this moment, when they think of
this thing, it can seem very scary. It can seem
upsetting to think that they are going to be
pictured here, that they are going to be represented
here. It seems scary, but if we go just a few
verses down, down to about verse 22, the same
judgment scene as the way Daniel 7 is set up,
it tells the story and then it explains it a
little bit later. Daniel 7 and verse 22, it says,
until the ancient of days came. Well, I'll go
back to verse 21. I was watching and the same
horn was making war against the saints and prevailing
against them until the Ancient of Days came and
a judgment was made. Then notice that next line.
In favor of the saints of the Most High. And
the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.
So even though there's a judgment, it seems like
a scary time, and yet the Bible tells us that
it doesn't have to be something scary. It can
be good news because it says judgment is made
in favor of the saints. So what does all this
mean? Does the Bible explain it anymore? We're
going to dive into this as we're going through
our sermon, and we're going to go back to an
ancient... In the Old Testament, it describes
an ancient structure, a tent, a sanctuary, a
tabernacle, which would later be the pattern
of the temple that was formed. And in our scripture
reading, it says, I will also meditate on all
your work and talk of your deeds. And then notice
what it says. Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary.
Your way, O God. is in the sanctuary. Some might
say, who cares about this? That's a long time
ago. With all that's happening in the world,
is something, you know, some procedures, some
actions that were in the Old Testament, are they
still relevant? Well, God goes on and says, your
way, my way, is in the sanctuary. And believe
it or not, We're going to see that in our personal
life, in our walk with Jesus, every aspect of
the sanctuary, every aspect of the tabernacle
points to Jesus. Every single thing that goes
on is actually pointing down through history
and pointing to Jesus. Let's look at a New Testament
verse in John 1 and verse 14. John 1 and verse
14. John chapter 1 begins with that famous couple
of verses that says, In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. And so we understand that that Word,
who's that talking about? Jesus. The Word is
Jesus. And then you scroll down just a few verses
to verse 14, and it says, The Word, Jesus, became
flesh. That's the incarnation. That's Jesus leaving
the glories of heaven and coming to this earth.
The Word became flesh, and then notice what it
says, and dwelt among us. The Word became flesh
and dwelt among us. Another way to translate
that is the Word became flesh and tabernacled
among us. Because just as the glory of God was
in the midst of that sanctuary, in the midst
of that tabernacle, so the glory of God is in
the midst of humanity as the Word became flesh
and dwelt among us. And every single aspect of
that Old Testament structure and those symbols
and those things that they did, it pointed down
through salvation history to Jesus. So we can
take a couple minutes here. and just observe
what's going on. So if you were to walk into
the sanctuary, it's a tent, it's got two compartments.
What's the first compartment called? The holy
place. And then deeper inside, you've got the
most holy place. But before you get to that even,
you're going to come into a gate, into a courtyard.
And the very first thing you're going to come
to is... an altar of sacrifice. And that's where
every day, several times a day, offerings were
brought. Lambs or goats or cattle or different
animals were brought to be sacrificed. And of
course, we recognize that each one of those sacrifices
pointed down through the years down to the great
sacrifice that Jesus made. We've talked about
this verse before, John 1 .29, where John the
Baptist looks at Jesus and he says, Behold, look,
the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the
world. It was the death of Jesus that took away
the sins of the world. And then you go a little
deeper into the courtyard and there's a basin,
there's a tub, it's called a laver. And believe
it or not, that points to Jesus. You can look
in... For instance, John chapter 4, when Jesus
is talking to the woman at the well. And he says,
I need something to drink. And he tells the woman,
the water that I have to give you is better than
any water you can get out of a well. Because
the water that I have to give you is the water
of eternal life. And she's like, how can I even
get that water? You don't even have a jug to
draw it from. And Jesus is... looking at himself
as the water of life. And then as you go into
that first apartment, that first section of the
tabernacle, if you were to turn to the right
-hand side, you would see a table. And what would
be on the table? There'd be some bread on the
table, the table of showbread. And of course,
Jesus, later on in John chapter 6, he says, I
am the bread of life. He who consumes me, eats
me, will never hunger again, will never thirst
again. And as you're looking at the bread of
life, if you were to turn and look on the other
side, what would you see? Anybody remember? You'd
see some candlesticks. And of course, Jesus in
John 8, he said, I am the light of the world.
And that oil of these candlesticks can represent...
The Holy Spirit. And so you've got a table and
you've got a lamp stand. And then as you look
towards the veil ahead of you, there would be
another altar, a smaller altar. What's this altar
referred to? The altar of incense. And they would
take scented materials and crystallize them and
they would burn this incense upon this altar
of incense. And in Revelation, Chapter 8, verse
3, it clearly says that the smoke of the incense
is the prayers of the saints ascending to heaven.
As those prayers on that altar of incense go
over the veil into the most holy place. And what
was in the most holy place? Oh, I had that verse
on there. He was given much incense that he should
offer it with the prayers of all the saints.
upon the golden altar, which was before the what?
The throne. So on the other side of that veil,
it's called a throne here, but what do we usually
refer to it as? Inside the most holy place. The
ark, the ark of the covenant. This throne room
of God, as there's these two angelic models there
overlooking this golden chest. What was inside
that chest? There were three different things
at different times. There was a rod. Whose rod
was that? Aaron's rod. And it had budded. It
had grown buds, this dry stick, to show that
it was that family that God had chosen. And there
was a bowl of something, manna, to remind the
people that God was protecting them, that God
was sustaining them throughout their time in
the wilderness. And then the most... recognized
thing that was in there were two tablets of stone
what was on those tablets the ten commandments
and so there's this character of god inscribed
on stone but above that above that chest was
this golden um slab that we refer to as the the
mercy seat so before the law was this mercy seat
and that's where the glory of god Let's look
at a verse here. Let's go to Hebrews chapter
10. Hebrews chapter 10. And we see that this
sanctuary, this tabernacle, gives all of these
pictures of this plan of salvation. Hebrews 10
and verse 16, it says, This is the covenant that
I will make with them after those days, says
the Lord. I will put my laws into their... Their
hearts. And in their minds, I will write them.
It's not just about a list of things we're supposed
to do and not do, but it's about having God's
law, having God's character written on our heart.
And each part of this sanctuary service would
point to some aspect of the ministry of Jesus.
But also each section of this sanctuary service,
of this tabernacle, points to a different segment
of Jesus' ministry. For instance, think about
it. In the courtyard, you've got that altar of
sacrifice where when Jesus was on this earth
and he laid his life down on the cross and he
died for each one of us. But then as we read
through the Gospels, we recognize that after
Jesus died, then he resurrected. And where did
he go after a few weeks? He ascended back to
heaven. And we see that the next aspect of this
sanctuary, as you go inside, well, that was a
place that only priests could go. We're in Hebrews,
so let's go back just a verse here to Hebrews
chapter 7. Because believe it or not, Jesus is
the sacrifice, but Jesus also serves as the priest.
Look at Hebrews 7 and verse 24. It says, but
he, because he continues forever, has an unchangeable
priesthood. And it says in verse 25, therefore
he is also able to save to the uttermost those
who come to God through him since he always lives
to make intercession for them. What is Jesus
doing now? He's making intercession for us. He's
serving as our high priest. So we have that full
redemption of salvation as Jesus laid down his
life on the cross. We have Jesus serving now
as a heavenly high priest making intercession
for us. And another page or two back, Hebrews
4, verse 14. Hebrews chapter 4. It says, Therefore,
let us hold fast our confession. Jesus is our
high priest. What does that mean for us? Well,
verse 16 says, Let us therefore come boldly to
the throne of grace, boldly to that mercy seat,
that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help
in our time of need. And so we have this... segment
of Jesus's ministry where now he is serving as
our high priest, as a perfect high priest. He's
the sacrifice and he's the high priest. But of
course, there's one more segment of the tabernacle,
one more section that takes place. There's the
holy place where the priest would go on a regular
basis, but there's that most holy place where
the high priest could only go one time, one day
of the year. And so on a regular basis, the people
would go to the tabernacle with their sacrifice,
usually a lamb or something like that. And me,
the sinner, I would confess my sins over the
head of that lamb. And the priest would take
that lamb. What would he do to it? He would sacrifice
it. He would kill it. The blood would be shed.
I was the one that sinned, but the lamb died
in my place. And then the priest would take my
sin, he would take a bowl of the blood, and he
would carry it into the most holy place, and
he would sprinkle it before the veil, before
that altar of incense. And so my sin is transferred
in. And then maybe you come the next day, and
you've sinned, and you confess your sins on the
head of the lamb. What do they do to the lamb?
They kill it. They take the blood, which represents
the sin symbolically, and they take it into the
most holy place, and the sins are transferred
in. And then the next day, well, maybe I'm back
again. And I've sinned again, and I bring the
lamb, and I kill the lamb symbolically, the blood.
My sin is in that blood, and the priest takes
it in, and he sprinkles it. In the holy place.
And so all year long, the entire camp, we sin
and we confess our sins and the sin is transferred
to the lamb and the lamb is killed and the blood
symbolically transfers the sin into the holy
place until a particular day. The Bible calls
it the day of atonement or Yom Kippur. If you
look on a calendar now, There's still a Yom Kippur
on your calendar. It's in October this year.
It's usually in the fall. On that day, it was
a day of judgment. It was a day of cleansing
the sanctuary. And so it was a little different
this day. They would take two goats. They would
select a goat. They would cast lots, and one
goat would be the Lord's goat, and one goat would
be the scapegoat for Azazel. And the Lord's goat,
Well, what would they do to it? They would sacrifice
it. They would kill it. And they would this time
take the blood not to the holy place, but they
would go a little further into the most holy
place. And they would sprinkle that blood onto
the ark, onto the mercy seat. And that was their
way of symbolically once a year cleansing the
sanctuary. taking all of these sins and getting
rid of them once and for all. And so all year
long, these sins are filling up the sanctuary.
And then once a year, they would sweep it out
with this transfer of blood. They would take
these sins and get rid of them. They would cleanse
that sanctuary once and for all. It's kind of
like in our homes. You know, we have our trash
and we fill up our trash can. Maybe in the kitchen.
And then once a week, maybe we take that trash
can and what do we do with it? We take it outside
and we dump it in the bigger trash can. And then
again, maybe once a week we throw it in the truck
or take it to the curb and another truck comes
and they dump and they take it somewhere else.
They cleanse my trash can and they take away
all of that trash. And that's what happens on
this day of atonement. It's in Leviticus 16 if
you want to read all the details about it. A
solemn time of Israel. A time of judgment when
the Lord's goat was slain and the blood was taken
in to the most holy place. Now there's one more
goat. The scapegoat. What did they do with that?
They took it into the wilderness and they pushed
this thing out and said, get away from us. Get
far away from us. It's Satan that causes all
the sins in the world. And that goat doesn't
die, but that goat is left with the blame because
that's where the fault for the sin comes for.
It's the Lamb of God, the goat of God that dies,
and it's the scapegoat that is pushed out into
the wilderness. Someone else is ultimately the
source of sin. And that's what Satan is. Let's
look in Hebrews. And I think this might... Help
to make it clear here. Hebrews 9 and verse 26.
We don't have time today to look into the timing
of this, but in Hebrews 8, 14, it says unto 2
,300 days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
And I think that comes down to a time in the
1800s that that's already passed, where we are
living in this time of judgment right now. And
why do I think that? If you have some questions
about that, please ask me. But Hebrews 9, 26,
notice what it says. It says, Who's that talking
about? Jesus. Jesus came to this earth. He appeared
one time to put away sin. by the sacrifice of
himself. Then notice the next verse, verse 27.
It says, and as it is appointed for men to die
once, but after this, the judgment. So Jesus
came, he died, he was sacrificed. After this,
the judgment. Notice the next verse, verse 28.
So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of
many. To those who eagerly wait for him, he will
appear a second time. What's that say? Apart
from sin for salvation. And so Jesus died and
he became the sin bearer. But when he returns
again, the sin is going to be gone. The sin is
going to be wiped away. Jesus came once and he
died for our sins. And then there's this time
of judgment. And it says when he comes again
at the second coming, he's going to be apart
from sin. Why? Because the sanctuary. The sins
are cleansed. The sins are wiped away. Every
single aspect of this sanctuary, of this service,
every single aspect of it points to Jesus. And
the beautiful thing is, is that judgment is in
favor of the saints. Jesus is on our side. I
want to look at just a couple more verses. We
don't have to be afraid of the judgment. Let's
look at John chapter 5. John chapter 5. We're
going to look at John 5 and then 1 John. John
chapter 5 and verse 22. It says, The Father judges
no one, but has committed all judgment to the
Son. So who's the ultimate judge here? Jesus.
Jesus is the judge. With that in mind, turn over
to 1 John, way back by Revelation. 1 John 2.
Notice what it says, starting in verse 1. It
says, That's the ultimate goal, that we won't
sin. I write this so you may not sin. But then
it says, An advocate with the Father. Jesus Christ,
the righteous. And he himself is the propitiation.
He is the sacrifice for our sins and not for
ours only, but also for the whole world. Jesus
is the judge, but Jesus is also the advocate,
the attorney. That's a court case that you can't
lose. Jesus is the judge and Jesus... is the
attorney. We can't lose when we choose to have
Jesus on our side. There's an old story, perhaps
a legend, about a mayor of New York, LaGuardia.
There's an airport named after him. But in the
30s, during the Depression, he was the mayor
of New York. And from time to time, he would
go into a courtroom and he would tell the judge
to step aside, and he was going to rule over
the court cases. And the story goes that on this
particular day, there was a poor lady that was
brought in, and she was charged with stealing
a loaf of bread to feed her child. And the mayor
asked the shopkeeper, do you really want to charge
this poor lady who's just trying to feed her
child? And the shopkeeper said, oh, judge, this
is, mayor, this is a bad section of town. This
is the law. We've got to uphold the law. And
so Mayor LaGuardia said, well, ma 'am, you are
guilty. And the fine, the lowest fine we can
do is $10. You're guilty. Fine of $10. But as
he said that, he was reaching into his wallet
and he was pulling out a bill to pay the penalty,
to pay the fine. And that's what Jesus has done
for us. He says, you're guilty. The wages of
sin is death, but I died that death so that I
might pay you with that free gift of eternal
life. And that's what this... sanctuary reminds
us of each and every day that we are guilty but
jesus is a sacrifice for us jesus is a interceder
for us as the high priest and jesus is the one
who ultimately wipes those sins away once and
for all and if you will have him he's the best
lawyer that you could ever have he's never lost
a case and he's waiting to represent you Are
you ready to accept Jesus as your Savior, to
accept him as your high priest, to accept him
as the one who will wipe away your sins once
and for all? Let's bow our heads for prayer.
Dear God, what an incredible show and tell that
you give us. We're so grateful that we don't
have to sacrifice animals anymore. How tragic
that would be. But even more tragic is to realize
that the Son of God died for me. And God, I'm
grateful that you're a sacrifice. I'm grateful
that I can come boldly before the throne of grace
and have the mercy that only you can give. In
your name we pray, amen.