WEBVTT 00:00:02.890 --> 00:00:05.250 Does this look familiar to anyone of a certain 00:00:05.250 --> 00:00:10.210 age? What is this referring to? There was a trial 00:00:10.210 --> 00:00:13.130 that was going on where a former famous football 00:00:13.130 --> 00:00:17.890 player was arrested for allegedly murdering some 00:00:17.890 --> 00:00:21.449 people and the trial was going on and it was 00:00:21.449 --> 00:00:25.609 on all the news stations almost 24 hours a day, 00:00:25.769 --> 00:00:29.620 time after time, wherever you looked. the trial 00:00:29.620 --> 00:00:33.179 was going on. And it came down to October, and 00:00:33.179 --> 00:00:35.159 finally the trial was going to be over, and there 00:00:35.159 --> 00:00:37.979 was going to be a verdict. And it was October 00:00:37.979 --> 00:00:43.100 3, 1995. And I happen to remember where I was 00:00:43.100 --> 00:00:46.259 at this moment in time, because I was a student 00:00:46.259 --> 00:00:49.759 at Southern. And at the time that the verdict 00:00:49.759 --> 00:00:52.780 was scheduled to be announced, I was in class. 00:00:53.740 --> 00:00:58.100 We were having class. We were disappointed because 00:00:58.100 --> 00:00:59.719 we weren't going to be able to see the verdict 00:00:59.719 --> 00:01:02.399 that people had been talking about for so long. 00:01:02.560 --> 00:01:04.439 But someone in the class, you know, there was 00:01:04.439 --> 00:01:07.719 a TV in the classroom used to show videos, probably 00:01:07.719 --> 00:01:11.159 VHS tapes back then, and somebody had figured 00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:14.000 that if you hit a couple buttons, it could actually 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:17.400 pick up one, maybe two stations over the air. 00:01:17.519 --> 00:01:21.120 It was a little fuzzy, but as class was beginning, 00:01:21.319 --> 00:01:24.120 someone in the class said, Professor, could we... 00:01:24.519 --> 00:01:26.200 You know, there's a big verdict today. Could 00:01:26.200 --> 00:01:29.439 we watch that verdict? And they're like, no, 00:01:29.480 --> 00:01:33.060 we're here to learn. We're not doing that. So 00:01:33.060 --> 00:01:36.700 we're going to learn. And so class went on. And 00:01:36.700 --> 00:01:38.879 I forget the exact time of day that the verdict 00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:41.620 was to be announced. But in the middle of class, 00:01:41.920 --> 00:01:43.939 someone raised their hand. Yes, do you have a 00:01:43.939 --> 00:01:47.920 question? Sir, the verdict is in about two minutes. 00:01:47.939 --> 00:01:51.879 Are you sure that we couldn't? watched the verdict 00:01:51.879 --> 00:01:53.959 here in class. And I don't know if maybe the 00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:56.920 professor was curious himself. Maybe he just 00:01:56.920 --> 00:02:00.340 wanted the students to simmer down about it, 00:02:00.359 --> 00:02:04.319 whatever it was. But he relented and turned on 00:02:04.319 --> 00:02:09.520 the TV, and we saw the verdict. Of course, it 00:02:09.520 --> 00:02:13.819 was not guilty. Maybe surprising for some. But, 00:02:13.860 --> 00:02:17.580 you know, a few minutes later, we carried on 00:02:17.580 --> 00:02:20.780 in class. So let me just be clear. This story 00:02:20.780 --> 00:02:24.319 is not about the O .J. Simpson trial. It's not. 00:02:24.379 --> 00:02:28.900 It seems like it is, but it's not. The story 00:02:28.900 --> 00:02:32.280 that I'm telling took place about two weeks later. 00:02:33.379 --> 00:02:36.759 Because you see, as we were having class, after 00:02:36.759 --> 00:02:38.960 a few minutes, one of the students said, I need 00:02:38.960 --> 00:02:41.400 to use the restroom, and they went to the restroom. 00:02:42.189 --> 00:02:44.550 And a little bit later, it came back, and nobody 00:02:44.550 --> 00:02:47.169 thought anything about it. Until two weeks later, 00:02:47.370 --> 00:02:51.250 the student newspaper at Southern, the Southern 00:02:51.250 --> 00:02:54.229 Accent, I thought it was the next day, but I 00:02:54.229 --> 00:02:57.789 actually went and found the issue. It's kind 00:02:57.789 --> 00:03:00.150 of blurry because it was an online archive, but 00:03:00.150 --> 00:03:03.370 it was dated two weeks later, and the front page 00:03:03.370 --> 00:03:06.169 of the Student Accent was the Student Center. 00:03:06.370 --> 00:03:09.250 And you can see there with blurry faces that 00:03:09.250 --> 00:03:13.240 there's 50 or 100. Students in the student center 00:03:13.240 --> 00:03:16.060 because there's a TV and they're watching the 00:03:16.060 --> 00:03:18.439 verdict. And what you can't tell because it's 00:03:18.439 --> 00:03:22.240 so blurry is that right front and center was 00:03:22.240 --> 00:03:25.520 Tom. And he's the one who had raised his hand 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:29.500 and said, hey, I need to use the restroom. So 00:03:29.500 --> 00:03:32.580 what he had done, he had left the classroom, 00:03:32.860 --> 00:03:37.180 had run down the promenade, and went into the 00:03:37.180 --> 00:03:41.009 student center, saw the verdict. ran back down 00:03:41.009 --> 00:03:44.590 the promenade, and came back into class. No problem. 00:03:44.650 --> 00:03:48.289 No one will ever know. Until two weeks later, 00:03:48.409 --> 00:03:53.490 on the front page, his secret was out. You know, 00:03:53.509 --> 00:03:56.509 what's the saying? Be sure your sins will find 00:03:56.509 --> 00:03:59.729 you out. And that's exactly what happened in 00:03:59.729 --> 00:04:04.490 this case. As we went back to class, a few weeks 00:04:04.490 --> 00:04:06.849 later, front and center, there he was, and his 00:04:06.849 --> 00:04:10.030 secret was revealed. And the fact of the matter 00:04:10.030 --> 00:04:13.789 is that at some point in Earth's history, that's 00:04:13.789 --> 00:04:17.149 going to be the case for each one of us. We might 00:04:17.149 --> 00:04:20.170 try to do something that we think nobody knows 00:04:20.170 --> 00:04:24.110 about, but our secret is going to be revealed, 00:04:24.149 --> 00:04:26.829 at least to some. So we're going to look at a 00:04:26.829 --> 00:04:28.569 couple of verses here. Let's go over to Matthew 00:04:28.569 --> 00:04:32.189 chapter 12. We'll have these verses on the screen, 00:04:32.350 --> 00:04:34.790 but as always, I encourage you to look them up. 00:04:35.250 --> 00:04:38.220 Matthew chapter 12. And we're going to look at 00:04:38.220 --> 00:04:43.319 verse 36. So Matthew 12 and verse 36. This is 00:04:43.319 --> 00:04:47.360 Jesus speaking. And in Matthew 12, 36, he says, 00:04:47.480 --> 00:04:51.560 But I say to you that for every idle word, men 00:04:51.560 --> 00:04:55.300 or women, humanity may speak, they will give 00:04:55.300 --> 00:04:59.699 account of it in the day of judgment. Whatever 00:04:59.699 --> 00:05:03.139 we say, whatever we speak, even the idle words, 00:05:03.199 --> 00:05:06.959 we're going to give account of it. At some point. 00:05:07.180 --> 00:05:09.180 Let's look at another verse. Let's go back to 00:05:09.180 --> 00:05:12.920 the Old Testament. Ecclesiastes. So you've got 00:05:12.920 --> 00:05:16.199 Psalms and then Proverbs and then Ecclesiastes. 00:05:16.379 --> 00:05:18.519 And we're going to look at the very last chapter 00:05:18.519 --> 00:05:22.800 of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes chapter 12. And 00:05:22.800 --> 00:05:26.819 it gives us almost the exact same idea. The very 00:05:26.819 --> 00:05:30.500 last two verses of Ecclesiastes. It says, let 00:05:30.500 --> 00:05:35.540 us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. This 00:05:35.540 --> 00:05:37.620 is the end of the book of Ecclesiastes. Fear 00:05:37.620 --> 00:05:41.839 God and keep his commandments, for this is man's 00:05:41.839 --> 00:05:44.319 all. Or some would say this is the whole duty 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:48.399 of man. And then notice verse 14. It says, for 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:52.699 God will bring every work into judgment, including 00:05:52.699 --> 00:05:59.319 every secret thing, whether good or evil. Everything 00:05:59.319 --> 00:06:02.519 we do, everything we say, at some point, it's 00:06:02.519 --> 00:06:07.850 going to be known. It's going to be judged. It's 00:06:07.850 --> 00:06:10.990 kind of a scary thing sometimes to think that 00:06:10.990 --> 00:06:13.250 you're going to be judged. If you're driving 00:06:13.250 --> 00:06:16.069 down the road and a police officer happens to 00:06:16.069 --> 00:06:19.389 pull out behind you, it can be a frightening 00:06:19.389 --> 00:06:21.829 thing for a few minutes until you're sure that 00:06:21.829 --> 00:06:24.629 they've gone on, that they're doing something 00:06:24.629 --> 00:06:28.370 else. I have gotten a couple speeding tickets. 00:06:28.649 --> 00:06:32.370 The very first speeding ticket I got, Someone 00:06:32.370 --> 00:06:34.870 told me that if you go to the courthouse, if 00:06:34.870 --> 00:06:38.589 you go to the trial, that maybe sometimes they'll 00:06:38.589 --> 00:06:41.370 throw it out or at least reduce the fine. So 00:06:41.370 --> 00:06:42.870 I thought, well, I'm going to give that a try. 00:06:43.250 --> 00:06:45.509 So I drove from Knoxville all the way back down 00:06:45.509 --> 00:06:48.930 to Cleveland. It was where I had gotten the ticket. 00:06:49.089 --> 00:06:52.829 I went to the courtroom. It's a little frightening 00:06:52.829 --> 00:06:55.889 to stand before the judge. How do you plead? 00:06:56.870 --> 00:06:59.750 Guilty. Well, just pay the fine. What are you 00:06:59.750 --> 00:07:02.290 doing here? So it didn't work. I still had to 00:07:02.290 --> 00:07:05.529 pay the full fine. But there's been other times 00:07:05.529 --> 00:07:08.689 since then where I've served on jury duty. How 00:07:08.689 --> 00:07:11.250 many have ever served on jury duty? A few hands 00:07:11.250 --> 00:07:14.750 have gone up. And as you sit there in the courtroom, 00:07:15.170 --> 00:07:18.649 you know, there's 10 or 12, usually 12 people 00:07:18.649 --> 00:07:21.889 on the jury, maybe some alternates. There's, 00:07:21.889 --> 00:07:25.209 you know, a defendant. with some lawyers, there's 00:07:25.209 --> 00:07:28.790 some prosecutors, and there's witnesses, and 00:07:28.790 --> 00:07:31.029 there's bailiffs, and then, of course, there's 00:07:31.029 --> 00:07:34.430 the judge, and there's a courtroom full of people. 00:07:34.750 --> 00:07:37.790 It's a serious thing, and as I've observed sitting 00:07:37.790 --> 00:07:42.730 there in jury duty, there's respect that takes 00:07:42.730 --> 00:07:46.529 place, and those people need to respect the judge. 00:07:47.230 --> 00:07:49.509 his decisions and the things that he's saying. 00:07:49.610 --> 00:07:53.529 It is a solemn and serious event for judgment 00:07:53.529 --> 00:07:56.889 to take place. And if you're the one being judged, 00:07:57.209 --> 00:08:01.649 it can be a scary time. And believe it or not, 00:08:01.689 --> 00:08:05.170 the Bible talks about times of judgment, a day 00:08:05.170 --> 00:08:07.829 of judgment. Let's turn over to Daniel chapter 00:08:07.829 --> 00:08:11.730 7. We're going to look at a picture that Daniel 00:08:11.730 --> 00:08:15.910 gives us. As Daniel 7 is tracing down through 00:08:15.910 --> 00:08:19.420 history the rise and fall of different kingdoms, 00:08:19.699 --> 00:08:23.839 and it talks about a judgment that takes place. 00:08:24.420 --> 00:08:26.980 Notice Daniel 7, and we're going to start in 00:08:26.980 --> 00:08:32.679 verse 9. It says, This is a judgment scene here. 00:08:33.220 --> 00:08:38.399 Would this be a scary, solemn place to be? It 00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:50.159 says, was white as snow and the hair of his head 00:08:50.159 --> 00:08:54.399 like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, 00:08:54.600 --> 00:08:58.039 its wheels a burning fire. And then it goes on 00:08:58.039 --> 00:09:01.440 in verse 10, a fiery stream issued and came forth 00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:04.740 from before him. A thousand thousands ministered 00:09:04.740 --> 00:09:07.879 to him. Ten thousand times ten thousand stood 00:09:07.879 --> 00:09:11.879 before him. The court was seated and the books 00:09:11.879 --> 00:09:15.789 were opened. This is a solemn time here. This 00:09:15.789 --> 00:09:19.850 is a judgment taking place with all of the universe, 00:09:19.909 --> 00:09:23.429 it seems, observing and watching and listening 00:09:23.429 --> 00:09:28.210 as the books were opened. And many people, when 00:09:28.210 --> 00:09:31.090 they think of this moment, when they think of 00:09:31.090 --> 00:09:35.210 this thing, it can seem very scary. It can seem 00:09:35.210 --> 00:09:38.809 upsetting to think that they are going to be 00:09:38.809 --> 00:09:42.429 pictured here, that they are going to be represented 00:09:42.429 --> 00:09:47.690 here. It seems scary, but if we go just a few 00:09:47.690 --> 00:09:51.950 verses down, down to about verse 22, the same 00:09:51.950 --> 00:09:57.070 judgment scene as the way Daniel 7 is set up, 00:09:57.070 --> 00:09:59.769 it tells the story and then it explains it a 00:09:59.769 --> 00:10:04.649 little bit later. Daniel 7 and verse 22, it says, 00:10:04.730 --> 00:10:09.980 until the ancient of days came. Well, I'll go 00:10:09.980 --> 00:10:12.259 back to verse 21. I was watching and the same 00:10:12.259 --> 00:10:15.240 horn was making war against the saints and prevailing 00:10:15.240 --> 00:10:18.960 against them until the Ancient of Days came and 00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:22.320 a judgment was made. Then notice that next line. 00:10:23.080 --> 00:10:27.759 In favor of the saints of the Most High. And 00:10:27.759 --> 00:10:31.940 the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom. 00:10:32.879 --> 00:10:35.559 So even though there's a judgment, it seems like 00:10:35.559 --> 00:10:39.460 a scary time, and yet the Bible tells us that 00:10:39.460 --> 00:10:41.639 it doesn't have to be something scary. It can 00:10:41.639 --> 00:10:44.600 be good news because it says judgment is made 00:10:44.600 --> 00:10:48.299 in favor of the saints. So what does all this 00:10:48.299 --> 00:10:52.100 mean? Does the Bible explain it anymore? We're 00:10:52.100 --> 00:10:55.919 going to dive into this as we're going through 00:10:55.919 --> 00:10:58.600 our sermon, and we're going to go back to an 00:10:58.600 --> 00:11:02.500 ancient... In the Old Testament, it describes 00:11:02.500 --> 00:11:06.200 an ancient structure, a tent, a sanctuary, a 00:11:06.200 --> 00:11:09.360 tabernacle, which would later be the pattern 00:11:09.360 --> 00:11:12.860 of the temple that was formed. And in our scripture 00:11:12.860 --> 00:11:17.220 reading, it says, I will also meditate on all 00:11:17.220 --> 00:11:20.860 your work and talk of your deeds. And then notice 00:11:20.860 --> 00:11:25.940 what it says. Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary. 00:11:27.200 --> 00:11:31.659 Your way, O God. is in the sanctuary. Some might 00:11:31.659 --> 00:11:34.720 say, who cares about this? That's a long time 00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:37.700 ago. With all that's happening in the world, 00:11:37.799 --> 00:11:41.740 is something, you know, some procedures, some 00:11:41.740 --> 00:11:45.519 actions that were in the Old Testament, are they 00:11:45.519 --> 00:11:49.500 still relevant? Well, God goes on and says, your 00:11:49.500 --> 00:11:54.639 way, my way, is in the sanctuary. And believe 00:11:54.639 --> 00:11:58.250 it or not, We're going to see that in our personal 00:11:58.250 --> 00:12:02.590 life, in our walk with Jesus, every aspect of 00:12:02.590 --> 00:12:05.629 the sanctuary, every aspect of the tabernacle 00:12:05.629 --> 00:12:10.549 points to Jesus. Every single thing that goes 00:12:10.549 --> 00:12:13.330 on is actually pointing down through history 00:12:13.330 --> 00:12:16.450 and pointing to Jesus. Let's look at a New Testament 00:12:16.450 --> 00:12:22.730 verse in John 1 and verse 14. John 1 and verse 00:12:22.730 --> 00:12:27.330 14. John chapter 1 begins with that famous couple 00:12:27.330 --> 00:12:29.590 of verses that says, In the beginning was the 00:12:29.590 --> 00:12:33.570 Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word 00:12:33.570 --> 00:12:37.210 was God. And so we understand that that Word, 00:12:37.570 --> 00:12:41.409 who's that talking about? Jesus. The Word is 00:12:41.409 --> 00:12:44.289 Jesus. And then you scroll down just a few verses 00:12:44.289 --> 00:12:49.210 to verse 14, and it says, The Word, Jesus, became 00:12:49.210 --> 00:12:53.649 flesh. That's the incarnation. That's Jesus leaving 00:12:53.649 --> 00:12:56.929 the glories of heaven and coming to this earth. 00:12:57.009 --> 00:13:00.490 The Word became flesh, and then notice what it 00:13:00.490 --> 00:13:05.529 says, and dwelt among us. The Word became flesh 00:13:05.529 --> 00:13:08.610 and dwelt among us. Another way to translate 00:13:08.610 --> 00:13:13.429 that is the Word became flesh and tabernacled 00:13:13.429 --> 00:13:17.509 among us. Because just as the glory of God was 00:13:17.509 --> 00:13:20.429 in the midst of that sanctuary, in the midst 00:13:20.429 --> 00:13:23.830 of that tabernacle, so the glory of God is in 00:13:23.830 --> 00:13:26.870 the midst of humanity as the Word became flesh 00:13:26.870 --> 00:13:31.370 and dwelt among us. And every single aspect of 00:13:31.370 --> 00:13:35.429 that Old Testament structure and those symbols 00:13:35.429 --> 00:13:37.809 and those things that they did, it pointed down 00:13:37.809 --> 00:13:42.169 through salvation history to Jesus. So we can 00:13:42.169 --> 00:13:44.879 take a couple minutes here. and just observe 00:13:44.879 --> 00:13:48.139 what's going on. So if you were to walk into 00:13:48.139 --> 00:13:54.139 the sanctuary, it's a tent, it's got two compartments. 00:13:54.539 --> 00:13:57.740 What's the first compartment called? The holy 00:13:57.740 --> 00:14:00.580 place. And then deeper inside, you've got the 00:14:00.580 --> 00:14:03.539 most holy place. But before you get to that even, 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:07.580 you're going to come into a gate, into a courtyard. 00:14:08.340 --> 00:14:10.259 And the very first thing you're going to come 00:14:10.259 --> 00:14:14.740 to is... an altar of sacrifice. And that's where 00:14:14.740 --> 00:14:19.940 every day, several times a day, offerings were 00:14:19.940 --> 00:14:22.960 brought. Lambs or goats or cattle or different 00:14:22.960 --> 00:14:27.419 animals were brought to be sacrificed. And of 00:14:27.419 --> 00:14:29.879 course, we recognize that each one of those sacrifices 00:14:29.879 --> 00:14:33.279 pointed down through the years down to the great 00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:36.500 sacrifice that Jesus made. We've talked about 00:14:36.500 --> 00:14:39.539 this verse before, John 1 .29, where John the 00:14:39.539 --> 00:14:42.100 Baptist looks at Jesus and he says, Behold, look, 00:14:42.259 --> 00:14:46.240 the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:49.279 world. It was the death of Jesus that took away 00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:52.419 the sins of the world. And then you go a little 00:14:52.419 --> 00:14:55.740 deeper into the courtyard and there's a basin, 00:14:55.980 --> 00:14:59.620 there's a tub, it's called a laver. And believe 00:14:59.620 --> 00:15:03.519 it or not, that points to Jesus. You can look 00:15:03.519 --> 00:15:07.440 in... For instance, John chapter 4, when Jesus 00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:12.299 is talking to the woman at the well. And he says, 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:16.299 I need something to drink. And he tells the woman, 00:15:16.360 --> 00:15:19.620 the water that I have to give you is better than 00:15:19.620 --> 00:15:22.139 any water you can get out of a well. Because 00:15:22.139 --> 00:15:24.879 the water that I have to give you is the water 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:28.460 of eternal life. And she's like, how can I even 00:15:28.460 --> 00:15:31.259 get that water? You don't even have a jug to 00:15:31.259 --> 00:15:34.419 draw it from. And Jesus is... looking at himself 00:15:34.419 --> 00:15:38.600 as the water of life. And then as you go into 00:15:38.600 --> 00:15:43.299 that first apartment, that first section of the 00:15:43.299 --> 00:15:45.379 tabernacle, if you were to turn to the right 00:15:45.379 --> 00:15:48.000 -hand side, you would see a table. And what would 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:51.220 be on the table? There'd be some bread on the 00:15:51.220 --> 00:15:53.919 table, the table of showbread. And of course, 00:15:53.919 --> 00:15:57.440 Jesus, later on in John chapter 6, he says, I 00:15:57.440 --> 00:16:01.679 am the bread of life. He who consumes me, eats 00:16:01.679 --> 00:16:05.019 me, will never hunger again, will never thirst 00:16:05.019 --> 00:16:07.600 again. And as you're looking at the bread of 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:09.919 life, if you were to turn and look on the other 00:16:09.919 --> 00:16:13.820 side, what would you see? Anybody remember? You'd 00:16:13.820 --> 00:16:16.980 see some candlesticks. And of course, Jesus in 00:16:16.980 --> 00:16:20.559 John 8, he said, I am the light of the world. 00:16:20.899 --> 00:16:24.820 And that oil of these candlesticks can represent... 00:16:25.070 --> 00:16:27.809 The Holy Spirit. And so you've got a table and 00:16:27.809 --> 00:16:30.090 you've got a lamp stand. And then as you look 00:16:30.090 --> 00:16:32.429 towards the veil ahead of you, there would be 00:16:32.429 --> 00:16:37.750 another altar, a smaller altar. What's this altar 00:16:37.750 --> 00:16:41.750 referred to? The altar of incense. And they would 00:16:41.750 --> 00:16:45.750 take scented materials and crystallize them and 00:16:45.750 --> 00:16:48.789 they would burn this incense upon this altar 00:16:48.789 --> 00:16:53.110 of incense. And in Revelation, Chapter 8, verse 00:16:53.110 --> 00:16:57.389 3, it clearly says that the smoke of the incense 00:16:57.389 --> 00:17:00.950 is the prayers of the saints ascending to heaven. 00:17:01.210 --> 00:17:05.250 As those prayers on that altar of incense go 00:17:05.250 --> 00:17:10.470 over the veil into the most holy place. And what 00:17:10.470 --> 00:17:12.529 was in the most holy place? Oh, I had that verse 00:17:12.529 --> 00:17:16.430 on there. He was given much incense that he should 00:17:16.430 --> 00:17:18.670 offer it with the prayers of all the saints. 00:17:19.450 --> 00:17:22.410 upon the golden altar, which was before the what? 00:17:23.269 --> 00:17:25.910 The throne. So on the other side of that veil, 00:17:26.329 --> 00:17:30.029 it's called a throne here, but what do we usually 00:17:30.029 --> 00:17:34.549 refer to it as? Inside the most holy place. The 00:17:34.549 --> 00:17:38.309 ark, the ark of the covenant. This throne room 00:17:38.309 --> 00:17:43.470 of God, as there's these two angelic models there 00:17:43.470 --> 00:17:48.759 overlooking this golden chest. What was inside 00:17:48.759 --> 00:17:50.700 that chest? There were three different things 00:17:50.700 --> 00:17:53.920 at different times. There was a rod. Whose rod 00:17:53.920 --> 00:17:57.660 was that? Aaron's rod. And it had budded. It 00:17:57.660 --> 00:18:02.160 had grown buds, this dry stick, to show that 00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:04.500 it was that family that God had chosen. And there 00:18:04.500 --> 00:18:08.700 was a bowl of something, manna, to remind the 00:18:08.700 --> 00:18:11.359 people that God was protecting them, that God 00:18:11.359 --> 00:18:14.359 was sustaining them throughout their time in 00:18:14.359 --> 00:18:17.559 the wilderness. And then the most... recognized 00:18:17.559 --> 00:18:20.079 thing that was in there were two tablets of stone 00:18:20.079 --> 00:18:23.359 what was on those tablets the ten commandments 00:18:23.359 --> 00:18:27.200 and so there's this character of god inscribed 00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:31.579 on stone but above that above that chest was 00:18:31.579 --> 00:18:36.380 this golden um slab that we refer to as the the 00:18:36.380 --> 00:18:41.559 mercy seat so before the law was this mercy seat 00:18:41.559 --> 00:18:44.859 and that's where the glory of god Let's look 00:18:44.859 --> 00:18:46.880 at a verse here. Let's go to Hebrews chapter 00:18:46.880 --> 00:18:54.019 10. Hebrews chapter 10. And we see that this 00:18:54.019 --> 00:19:00.099 sanctuary, this tabernacle, gives all of these 00:19:00.099 --> 00:19:03.940 pictures of this plan of salvation. Hebrews 10 00:19:03.940 --> 00:19:07.519 and verse 16, it says, This is the covenant that 00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:09.759 I will make with them after those days, says 00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:13.859 the Lord. I will put my laws into their... Their 00:19:13.859 --> 00:19:17.099 hearts. And in their minds, I will write them. 00:19:17.240 --> 00:19:20.900 It's not just about a list of things we're supposed 00:19:20.900 --> 00:19:23.960 to do and not do, but it's about having God's 00:19:23.960 --> 00:19:27.140 law, having God's character written on our heart. 00:19:27.220 --> 00:19:31.559 And each part of this sanctuary service would 00:19:31.559 --> 00:19:35.160 point to some aspect of the ministry of Jesus. 00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:41.259 But also each section of this sanctuary service, 00:19:41.279 --> 00:19:44.900 of this tabernacle, points to a different segment 00:19:44.900 --> 00:19:48.940 of Jesus' ministry. For instance, think about 00:19:48.940 --> 00:19:52.400 it. In the courtyard, you've got that altar of 00:19:52.400 --> 00:19:55.079 sacrifice where when Jesus was on this earth 00:19:55.079 --> 00:19:58.420 and he laid his life down on the cross and he 00:19:58.420 --> 00:20:01.660 died for each one of us. But then as we read 00:20:01.660 --> 00:20:04.140 through the Gospels, we recognize that after 00:20:04.140 --> 00:20:08.599 Jesus died, then he resurrected. And where did 00:20:08.599 --> 00:20:14.009 he go after a few weeks? He ascended back to 00:20:14.009 --> 00:20:18.130 heaven. And we see that the next aspect of this 00:20:18.130 --> 00:20:22.150 sanctuary, as you go inside, well, that was a 00:20:22.150 --> 00:20:25.529 place that only priests could go. We're in Hebrews, 00:20:25.650 --> 00:20:27.589 so let's go back just a verse here to Hebrews 00:20:27.589 --> 00:20:31.769 chapter 7. Because believe it or not, Jesus is 00:20:31.769 --> 00:20:36.849 the sacrifice, but Jesus also serves as the priest. 00:20:37.369 --> 00:20:42.069 Look at Hebrews 7 and verse 24. It says, but 00:20:42.069 --> 00:20:47.410 he, because he continues forever, has an unchangeable 00:20:47.410 --> 00:20:50.970 priesthood. And it says in verse 25, therefore 00:20:50.970 --> 00:20:55.589 he is also able to save to the uttermost those 00:20:55.589 --> 00:20:59.269 who come to God through him since he always lives 00:20:59.269 --> 00:21:02.990 to make intercession for them. What is Jesus 00:21:02.990 --> 00:21:06.450 doing now? He's making intercession for us. He's 00:21:06.450 --> 00:21:10.690 serving as our high priest. So we have that full 00:21:10.690 --> 00:21:13.690 redemption of salvation as Jesus laid down his 00:21:13.690 --> 00:21:17.069 life on the cross. We have Jesus serving now 00:21:17.069 --> 00:21:20.529 as a heavenly high priest making intercession 00:21:20.529 --> 00:21:23.609 for us. And another page or two back, Hebrews 00:21:23.609 --> 00:21:39.230 4, verse 14. Hebrews chapter 4. It says, Therefore, 00:21:39.289 --> 00:21:43.410 let us hold fast our confession. Jesus is our 00:21:43.410 --> 00:21:46.190 high priest. What does that mean for us? Well, 00:21:46.230 --> 00:21:50.730 verse 16 says, Let us therefore come boldly to 00:21:50.730 --> 00:21:53.569 the throne of grace, boldly to that mercy seat, 00:21:53.650 --> 00:21:57.309 that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help 00:21:57.309 --> 00:22:02.720 in our time of need. And so we have this... segment 00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:06.519 of Jesus's ministry where now he is serving as 00:22:06.519 --> 00:22:09.700 our high priest, as a perfect high priest. He's 00:22:09.700 --> 00:22:13.259 the sacrifice and he's the high priest. But of 00:22:13.259 --> 00:22:16.380 course, there's one more segment of the tabernacle, 00:22:16.440 --> 00:22:19.819 one more section that takes place. There's the 00:22:19.819 --> 00:22:22.880 holy place where the priest would go on a regular 00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:26.160 basis, but there's that most holy place where 00:22:26.160 --> 00:22:30.339 the high priest could only go one time, one day 00:22:30.339 --> 00:22:35.000 of the year. And so on a regular basis, the people 00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:43.059 would go to the tabernacle with their sacrifice, 00:22:43.359 --> 00:22:46.539 usually a lamb or something like that. And me, 00:22:46.619 --> 00:22:49.720 the sinner, I would confess my sins over the 00:22:49.720 --> 00:22:52.059 head of that lamb. And the priest would take 00:22:52.059 --> 00:22:58.019 that lamb. What would he do to it? He would sacrifice 00:22:58.019 --> 00:23:00.579 it. He would kill it. The blood would be shed. 00:23:01.150 --> 00:23:04.410 I was the one that sinned, but the lamb died 00:23:04.410 --> 00:23:08.089 in my place. And then the priest would take my 00:23:08.089 --> 00:23:11.250 sin, he would take a bowl of the blood, and he 00:23:11.250 --> 00:23:15.329 would carry it into the most holy place, and 00:23:15.329 --> 00:23:17.609 he would sprinkle it before the veil, before 00:23:17.609 --> 00:23:21.410 that altar of incense. And so my sin is transferred 00:23:21.410 --> 00:23:24.109 in. And then maybe you come the next day, and 00:23:24.109 --> 00:23:26.569 you've sinned, and you confess your sins on the 00:23:26.569 --> 00:23:29.210 head of the lamb. What do they do to the lamb? 00:23:30.250 --> 00:23:34.029 They kill it. They take the blood, which represents 00:23:34.029 --> 00:23:37.549 the sin symbolically, and they take it into the 00:23:37.549 --> 00:23:41.750 most holy place, and the sins are transferred 00:23:41.750 --> 00:23:43.970 in. And then the next day, well, maybe I'm back 00:23:43.970 --> 00:23:46.569 again. And I've sinned again, and I bring the 00:23:46.569 --> 00:23:51.269 lamb, and I kill the lamb symbolically, the blood. 00:23:52.150 --> 00:23:54.990 My sin is in that blood, and the priest takes 00:23:54.990 --> 00:23:58.930 it in, and he sprinkles it. In the holy place. 00:23:59.170 --> 00:24:03.849 And so all year long, the entire camp, we sin 00:24:03.849 --> 00:24:07.769 and we confess our sins and the sin is transferred 00:24:07.769 --> 00:24:10.789 to the lamb and the lamb is killed and the blood 00:24:10.789 --> 00:24:14.309 symbolically transfers the sin into the holy 00:24:14.309 --> 00:24:20.710 place until a particular day. The Bible calls 00:24:20.710 --> 00:24:24.950 it the day of atonement or Yom Kippur. If you 00:24:24.950 --> 00:24:28.140 look on a calendar now, There's still a Yom Kippur 00:24:28.140 --> 00:24:31.440 on your calendar. It's in October this year. 00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:34.319 It's usually in the fall. On that day, it was 00:24:34.319 --> 00:24:39.400 a day of judgment. It was a day of cleansing 00:24:39.400 --> 00:24:42.920 the sanctuary. And so it was a little different 00:24:42.920 --> 00:24:46.400 this day. They would take two goats. They would 00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:49.740 select a goat. They would cast lots, and one 00:24:49.740 --> 00:24:52.119 goat would be the Lord's goat, and one goat would 00:24:52.119 --> 00:24:55.980 be the scapegoat for Azazel. And the Lord's goat, 00:24:56.589 --> 00:25:00.789 Well, what would they do to it? They would sacrifice 00:25:00.789 --> 00:25:03.750 it. They would kill it. And they would this time 00:25:03.750 --> 00:25:10.150 take the blood not to the holy place, but they 00:25:10.150 --> 00:25:13.430 would go a little further into the most holy 00:25:13.430 --> 00:25:17.049 place. And they would sprinkle that blood onto 00:25:17.049 --> 00:25:21.269 the ark, onto the mercy seat. And that was their 00:25:21.269 --> 00:25:24.970 way of symbolically once a year cleansing the 00:25:24.970 --> 00:25:28.509 sanctuary. taking all of these sins and getting 00:25:28.509 --> 00:25:32.230 rid of them once and for all. And so all year 00:25:32.230 --> 00:25:35.170 long, these sins are filling up the sanctuary. 00:25:35.450 --> 00:25:38.509 And then once a year, they would sweep it out 00:25:38.509 --> 00:25:41.849 with this transfer of blood. They would take 00:25:41.849 --> 00:25:44.750 these sins and get rid of them. They would cleanse 00:25:44.750 --> 00:25:48.029 that sanctuary once and for all. It's kind of 00:25:48.029 --> 00:25:50.029 like in our homes. You know, we have our trash 00:25:50.029 --> 00:25:52.910 and we fill up our trash can. Maybe in the kitchen. 00:25:53.250 --> 00:25:55.670 And then once a week, maybe we take that trash 00:25:55.670 --> 00:25:58.410 can and what do we do with it? We take it outside 00:25:58.410 --> 00:26:00.950 and we dump it in the bigger trash can. And then 00:26:00.950 --> 00:26:02.890 again, maybe once a week we throw it in the truck 00:26:02.890 --> 00:26:05.650 or take it to the curb and another truck comes 00:26:05.650 --> 00:26:07.789 and they dump and they take it somewhere else. 00:26:07.829 --> 00:26:11.069 They cleanse my trash can and they take away 00:26:11.069 --> 00:26:13.890 all of that trash. And that's what happens on 00:26:13.890 --> 00:26:18.559 this day of atonement. It's in Leviticus 16 if 00:26:18.559 --> 00:26:20.480 you want to read all the details about it. A 00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:24.619 solemn time of Israel. A time of judgment when 00:26:24.619 --> 00:26:29.339 the Lord's goat was slain and the blood was taken 00:26:29.339 --> 00:26:32.480 in to the most holy place. Now there's one more 00:26:32.480 --> 00:26:35.900 goat. The scapegoat. What did they do with that? 00:26:37.680 --> 00:26:40.460 They took it into the wilderness and they pushed 00:26:40.460 --> 00:26:43.460 this thing out and said, get away from us. Get 00:26:43.460 --> 00:26:48.390 far away from us. It's Satan that causes all 00:26:48.390 --> 00:26:50.970 the sins in the world. And that goat doesn't 00:26:50.970 --> 00:26:54.329 die, but that goat is left with the blame because 00:26:54.329 --> 00:26:57.490 that's where the fault for the sin comes for. 00:26:57.670 --> 00:27:00.750 It's the Lamb of God, the goat of God that dies, 00:27:00.910 --> 00:27:04.490 and it's the scapegoat that is pushed out into 00:27:04.490 --> 00:27:08.269 the wilderness. Someone else is ultimately the 00:27:08.269 --> 00:27:12.970 source of sin. And that's what Satan is. Let's 00:27:12.970 --> 00:27:15.730 look in Hebrews. And I think this might... Help 00:27:15.730 --> 00:27:19.390 to make it clear here. Hebrews 9 and verse 26. 00:27:19.730 --> 00:27:22.250 We don't have time today to look into the timing 00:27:22.250 --> 00:27:26.890 of this, but in Hebrews 8, 14, it says unto 2 00:27:26.890 --> 00:27:31.910 ,300 days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. 00:27:31.910 --> 00:27:34.349 And I think that comes down to a time in the 00:27:34.349 --> 00:27:37.509 1800s that that's already passed, where we are 00:27:37.509 --> 00:27:40.710 living in this time of judgment right now. And 00:27:40.710 --> 00:27:43.460 why do I think that? If you have some questions 00:27:43.460 --> 00:27:46.720 about that, please ask me. But Hebrews 9, 26, 00:27:47.000 --> 00:28:04.980 notice what it says. It says, Who's that talking 00:28:04.980 --> 00:28:09.099 about? Jesus. Jesus came to this earth. He appeared 00:28:09.099 --> 00:28:12.769 one time to put away sin. by the sacrifice of 00:28:12.769 --> 00:28:15.529 himself. Then notice the next verse, verse 27. 00:28:16.150 --> 00:28:19.170 It says, and as it is appointed for men to die 00:28:19.170 --> 00:28:24.109 once, but after this, the judgment. So Jesus 00:28:24.109 --> 00:28:27.990 came, he died, he was sacrificed. After this, 00:28:28.049 --> 00:28:31.289 the judgment. Notice the next verse, verse 28. 00:28:31.529 --> 00:28:35.970 So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of 00:28:35.970 --> 00:28:39.390 many. To those who eagerly wait for him, he will 00:28:39.390 --> 00:28:43.359 appear a second time. What's that say? Apart 00:28:43.359 --> 00:28:47.700 from sin for salvation. And so Jesus died and 00:28:47.700 --> 00:28:51.039 he became the sin bearer. But when he returns 00:28:51.039 --> 00:28:54.359 again, the sin is going to be gone. The sin is 00:28:54.359 --> 00:28:57.440 going to be wiped away. Jesus came once and he 00:28:57.440 --> 00:29:00.240 died for our sins. And then there's this time 00:29:00.240 --> 00:29:03.220 of judgment. And it says when he comes again 00:29:03.220 --> 00:29:05.920 at the second coming, he's going to be apart 00:29:05.920 --> 00:29:10.970 from sin. Why? Because the sanctuary. The sins 00:29:10.970 --> 00:29:14.990 are cleansed. The sins are wiped away. Every 00:29:14.990 --> 00:29:20.029 single aspect of this sanctuary, of this service, 00:29:20.109 --> 00:29:23.789 every single aspect of it points to Jesus. And 00:29:23.789 --> 00:29:26.970 the beautiful thing is, is that judgment is in 00:29:26.970 --> 00:29:32.269 favor of the saints. Jesus is on our side. I 00:29:32.269 --> 00:29:34.029 want to look at just a couple more verses. We 00:29:34.029 --> 00:29:36.750 don't have to be afraid of the judgment. Let's 00:29:36.750 --> 00:29:41.369 look at John chapter 5. John chapter 5. We're 00:29:41.369 --> 00:29:45.130 going to look at John 5 and then 1 John. John 00:29:45.130 --> 00:29:52.829 chapter 5 and verse 22. It says, The Father judges 00:29:52.829 --> 00:29:58.049 no one, but has committed all judgment to the 00:29:58.049 --> 00:30:03.529 Son. So who's the ultimate judge here? Jesus. 00:30:03.970 --> 00:30:07.619 Jesus is the judge. With that in mind, turn over 00:30:07.619 --> 00:30:11.799 to 1 John, way back by Revelation. 1 John 2. 00:30:13.140 --> 00:30:18.400 Notice what it says, starting in verse 1. It 00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:26.160 says, That's the ultimate goal, that we won't 00:30:26.160 --> 00:30:29.740 sin. I write this so you may not sin. But then 00:30:29.740 --> 00:30:39.150 it says, An advocate with the Father. Jesus Christ, 00:30:39.369 --> 00:30:42.910 the righteous. And he himself is the propitiation. 00:30:42.930 --> 00:30:46.390 He is the sacrifice for our sins and not for 00:30:46.390 --> 00:30:50.390 ours only, but also for the whole world. Jesus 00:30:50.390 --> 00:30:55.730 is the judge, but Jesus is also the advocate, 00:30:55.829 --> 00:30:59.450 the attorney. That's a court case that you can't 00:30:59.450 --> 00:31:03.220 lose. Jesus is the judge and Jesus... is the 00:31:03.220 --> 00:31:07.119 attorney. We can't lose when we choose to have 00:31:07.119 --> 00:31:11.920 Jesus on our side. There's an old story, perhaps 00:31:11.920 --> 00:31:15.480 a legend, about a mayor of New York, LaGuardia. 00:31:15.660 --> 00:31:18.259 There's an airport named after him. But in the 00:31:18.259 --> 00:31:20.740 30s, during the Depression, he was the mayor 00:31:20.740 --> 00:31:23.799 of New York. And from time to time, he would 00:31:23.799 --> 00:31:26.640 go into a courtroom and he would tell the judge 00:31:26.640 --> 00:31:30.019 to step aside, and he was going to rule over 00:31:30.019 --> 00:31:33.480 the court cases. And the story goes that on this 00:31:33.480 --> 00:31:36.859 particular day, there was a poor lady that was 00:31:36.859 --> 00:31:39.220 brought in, and she was charged with stealing 00:31:39.220 --> 00:31:45.640 a loaf of bread to feed her child. And the mayor 00:31:45.640 --> 00:31:48.019 asked the shopkeeper, do you really want to charge 00:31:48.019 --> 00:31:51.140 this poor lady who's just trying to feed her 00:31:51.140 --> 00:31:54.069 child? And the shopkeeper said, oh, judge, this 00:31:54.069 --> 00:31:56.450 is, mayor, this is a bad section of town. This 00:31:56.450 --> 00:31:59.690 is the law. We've got to uphold the law. And 00:31:59.690 --> 00:32:02.769 so Mayor LaGuardia said, well, ma 'am, you are 00:32:02.769 --> 00:32:06.549 guilty. And the fine, the lowest fine we can 00:32:06.549 --> 00:32:12.150 do is $10. You're guilty. Fine of $10. But as 00:32:12.150 --> 00:32:14.609 he said that, he was reaching into his wallet 00:32:14.609 --> 00:32:18.869 and he was pulling out a bill to pay the penalty, 00:32:19.049 --> 00:32:23.599 to pay the fine. And that's what Jesus has done 00:32:23.599 --> 00:32:26.259 for us. He says, you're guilty. The wages of 00:32:26.259 --> 00:32:30.299 sin is death, but I died that death so that I 00:32:30.299 --> 00:32:34.099 might pay you with that free gift of eternal 00:32:34.099 --> 00:32:37.690 life. And that's what this... sanctuary reminds 00:32:37.690 --> 00:32:40.869 us of each and every day that we are guilty but 00:32:40.869 --> 00:32:45.430 jesus is a sacrifice for us jesus is a interceder 00:32:45.430 --> 00:32:48.609 for us as the high priest and jesus is the one 00:32:48.609 --> 00:32:52.490 who ultimately wipes those sins away once and 00:32:52.490 --> 00:32:56.710 for all and if you will have him he's the best 00:32:56.710 --> 00:33:00.710 lawyer that you could ever have he's never lost 00:33:00.710 --> 00:33:04.549 a case and he's waiting to represent you Are 00:33:04.549 --> 00:33:07.230 you ready to accept Jesus as your Savior, to 00:33:07.230 --> 00:33:10.509 accept him as your high priest, to accept him 00:33:10.509 --> 00:33:12.890 as the one who will wipe away your sins once 00:33:12.890 --> 00:33:15.109 and for all? Let's bow our heads for prayer. 00:33:15.589 --> 00:33:19.769 Dear God, what an incredible show and tell that 00:33:19.769 --> 00:33:23.210 you give us. We're so grateful that we don't 00:33:23.210 --> 00:33:26.190 have to sacrifice animals anymore. How tragic 00:33:26.190 --> 00:33:29.849 that would be. But even more tragic is to realize 00:33:29.849 --> 00:33:35.109 that the Son of God died for me. And God, I'm 00:33:35.109 --> 00:33:38.470 grateful that you're a sacrifice. I'm grateful 00:33:38.470 --> 00:33:40.910 that I can come boldly before the throne of grace 00:33:40.910 --> 00:33:44.849 and have the mercy that only you can give. In 00:33:44.849 --> 00:33:46.490 your name we pray, amen.