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Our reading today is going to be from Exodus chapter 30 verse 1 to 10. Make an
altar of acacia wood for burning incense. It is to be square, a cubit long and a
cubit wide and two cubits high. Its horns of one piece with it. Overlay the top and
all the sides and the horns with pure gold and make a gold moulding around it.
Make two gold rings for the altar below the moulding, two on each of the opposite
sides to hold the poles used to carry it. Make the poles of acacia wood and
overlay them with gold. Put the altar in front of the curtain that shields the
Ark of the Covenant law before the atonement cover that is over the tablets
of the Covenant law where I will meet with you. Aaron must burn fragrant
incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps. He must burn incense
again when he lights the lamps at twilight so that incense will burn
regularly before the Lord for the generations to come. 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. 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 generations to come. It is most holy to the Lord. Thank you Florence.
If you keep your Bibles open to Exodus chapter 30 but also 28 and 29 just
before that we're going to be through that entire chunk but particularly
those 10 verses in Exodus chapter 30 but this sermon is titled The Priest, The
Way to Life with God. The way to life with God somewhere that would be
wonderful, somewhere that would be warm, somewhere that might make us
feel like we belong, somewhere that feels like home. So let me start by asking you
have you ever felt completely out of place? Maybe it's a party when you're
completely dressed in the wrong dress code or maybe it's when you're coming to
a different country and you're surrounded by people who speak a language
that you don't. Or maybe when it's when you come into a church and you don't
know quite where to stand or what to do or who to talk to and where to behave.
There are so many situations where you don't feel like you can belong. I'll
give you an example for me fairly recently, well fairly recently a couple
of years ago. So I lived in Newcastle before I came down to Manchester and
when I was up in Newcastle for uni my attention and time was spent engaging
with God but also flirting with a girl called Claire who was really lovely and
so all of my attention was drawn away from football until my friend said to me
would you like a spare two tickets to come along to the Newcastle United game?
Wonderful! Yes I'd love to come with you. My wife's coming you need to bring yours
too. Okay deal so we went along to the Newcastle United game. It's been a while
since I've seen a live game but I know how to behave at these games. I know that
there's a code of what you need to say, how you do, how you present yourself.
I've been there before I know how to belong. My wife hadn't and so we started
by, hi mate, great to see you, we're sitting there chatting away and and it
started the game. It's just at the beginning everyone's cheering and in
Newcastle they all do this chat where they go tune tune black and white army
and Claire is just brilliant and she wants to get involved so she goes tune tune black and white army!
So I go like what are you doing? No no no you're southern you can't say that you know
no more doing that stop shouting please just just get involved you can watch but
no talking please okay good so we carry on watching enjoying the game it's really
good but she's been told to be quiet now but it's Claire she's lovely she's so
people-oriented so the game calms down 15 minutes goes no one's scoring it's
getting a bit boring if I'm being honest with you so she turns to her friend and
goes so how's life? Tell me a little bit about it. You can't do that either we are watching the game there are
people around here that are twice the size of me I will defend you but I will
lose stop it okay quiet we belong around here so she's now being told you can't
chant you can't talk to your friend you gotta watch the game and she's not
enjoying it's kind of boring so she's watching the game 30 minutes into it
it's a bit more boring so she opens her handbag pulls out some yarn and just
starts crocheting and as I look around there are two guys who look twice the
size of me with arms as big as my head who are just going and I'm like I do not
belong here my wife definitely does not belong here and it was the most awkward
second half of football that I've ever experienced isn't that what we feel
sometimes maybe not in a big stadium with lots of people but we feel like we
don't belong at different points right and it's it's awkward it makes the hairs
on your back stand up it makes you feel tough in fact when I chat with so many
of you you'll say is we have 40 different nationalities in this church
and as you settle into Manchester so many of you will go I'm not sure if this
feels like home yet I'm not sure if I belong in fact it for many of you it
takes somewhere between three months and three years for this place to feel like
home for you to feel like you belong and it's not just me at a football game and
you may be with settling into church and us together the world tells us that
actually finding somewhere safe finding somewhere that feels like home is tough
in fact since kovat has happened and people are working from home more the
harvest business review tells us that more and more people are feeling lonely
and isolated in their own homes whilst they're working from there because it's
hard to feel like you belong when you're isolated and it's not just them the
generation our youngest generation is one that's been described as the most
anxious and lonely the Aviva UK health check report found that they all said
48% of them that they feel anxious and lonely and one in seven would suffer
from some form of mild panic attack we feel lonely we feel alone we struggle to
find where we belong and it's not just the young as well in fact age UK notes
that more than a million people go over a month without speaking to a friend a
neighbor or a family member as the NHS website says because it gives guidance
on helping people feel connected and together it is shockingly easy to be left
feeling alone and vulnerable and that's what all of us feel from time to time
isn't it and you might if you look around in the culture think oh I'll join
this group I'll get to chat with these types of people or if I if I if this
group of friendly people engage with me then maybe I'll feel like I belong maybe
I'll feel settled if I tried this job if I do this thing that's the way in which
I'm gonna suddenly feel safe and a sense of belonging and it's only the Bible
that gives you an answer to your desire to feel safe to feel settled and to
belong it's right here we see in Exodus 20 to 30 where the Israelites are
looking back they are looking back to the way in which you were made the Bible
tells us that we were made to feel like we belong and there was a sense in which
that was the case back in perfection when Adam and Eve walked with God in the
cool of the day doesn't that sound amazing the idea that you could be with
God in paradise walking with him engaging with him in the cool of the day
and it sounds like something wonderful and the Bible tells us that we were made
for that purpose but we all chose to sin against God as Sam so eloquently puts we
tell him to shove off God I'm in charge know to your ways and when we sin in that
way we have been put out of the garden for our actions it has been blocked
from us by a cherubim with a with a sword of fire and now we find ourselves
wandering around in something that feels like a desert going where do I go how do
I feel a sense of belonging where can I feel safe and that is the description
that we see from all of those stats around the whole world around us and
something that we all feel and what the Israelites in this passage chapters 28
to 30 we're feeling right now Chris told us last week God has come down to dwell
with the with them and yet because there is a couple of barriers God feels so
close yet so far away so we've got three points to answer that question of how do
you get a sense of belonging where can you feel safe our points are going to
be there's a problem there's a priest and there's a problem our problem our
priest and our promise let's go to point number one our problem turn with me to
chapter 30 verses 1 to 10 which lists very clearly that we have a significant
problem that being that we are incompatible with God the people in
Exodus knew that that there was a significant barrier between them and God
because they'd sinned because they chose to reject God and it is shown very
clearly in the structure in the architecture of the tabernacle because
if you look at the next picture which just lists out what the tabernacle
looks like you've got this entrance going in here with a table of showbread
a golden lampstand but there are two big barriers to you being with God in the
Ark of the Covenant one being an altar of incense described over here in the
first few verses and in a huge curtain in verse 6 two big barriers which say to
Israel I you can't be with God fully you're incompatible there's a barrier
there's two the first being an altar of incense and that altar if you read in
this passage is constantly billowing out smoke why is it billowing out smoke
what's it trying to show us in terms of a barrier of why we can't engage with
God well one thing that it's doing is it's saying that there is a barrier that
we can't go past so let's think about it back in the day with with COVID again
if somebody puts on a mask what they're showing you is there's something
dangerous potentially in them or in you we need to shield ourselves from each
other and in the same way this smoke is there to say you can't see God face to
face you can't interact with him in a way that is entirely vulnerable like
Adam and Eve walking with him in the cool of the day there needs to be some
form of a barrier which is why this smoke will billow out 24-7 all the time
to keep you away from God in some ways because you are no longer compatible
you have sinned you are no longer holy and God in his goodness and his holiness
would burn you up because there's something wrong with us that is a
problem that is a big problem but it doesn't just point to the problem in us
it points to our longing the other problem out there it points back to Mount
Sinai where people were up a mountain but God came down in the cloud of smoke
and when he came down he met with his people they were lost they were slaves
they were desperate for somebody to care for them and love them and what did God
do he met with them in amazing way and so when they see that pillar of smoke
they're going I want to be with God but I can't but what wonderful it is when
that happens and that's just one of the barriers the second one that we see in
there in verse 6 is a curtain hear me this is not the same type of curtain
that you have in your house which might be you know a fine little drape that
you know keeps a little bit of a heat and stuff like that this was nine
centimeters thick and it was solid it's the type of thing that those two big
guys that I described from the Newcastle football team they want me to lift it
it is massive and it is thick in fact it is something that was felt as solid and
along it we read in chapter 26 verse 1 was sewn in pictures of cherubim now I
just want to be really clear Valentine's Day is coming up lots of you will see
pictures of cherubim but they're not cherubim they're fat babies in nappies
shooting out arrows aren't they that's not a cherubim from description of the
Bible that's some sort of weird thing that doesn't seem to make sense to me
cherubim in the Bible would describe these things that would cause you
fright and fear we have a lot of cute toddlers some of them wander around in
nappies I don't see any of the parents or some people go it's just not what
happens but here in the Bible it describes something that will invoke
fear in fact the place where it's described to these cherubim is in the
Garden of Eden in Genesis when we are put out of paradise from God and where
a cherubim guards the gates the entrance to the garden with a sword of flame
what's that telling us there's a physical barrier between you and God
again because of your lack of holiness because of how you've behaved with God
but also it's pointing back to the garden not just the Mount Sinai but to
the garden to where we want to be we want to be with God we want things to be
okay we want to feel safe and secure and to have to chat with him and be open with
all that we think and have but we can't got a big problem because we have
chosen to sin every one of us if we were in the garden we've done the same thing
every one of us if we were at the Mount Sinai would have chosen to reject
God every one of us today have done the same thing which is why Beth led us
in a confession earlier we have got a big problem here we need to do something
about it so have the Israelites which brings us to the second thing that we see here
we see priests priests are there to help with this problem now I know I know we
live in Manchester we're part of an independent evangelical church they don't
talk about priests that much in fact I did a little bit of research this week
you can call it research and asked a bunch of you what do you think of when
you think of priests and the responses I got were robes okay halo theme tune I
don't know why that was a thing but there we go and Jedi's so I mean we
priest is a funny thing for us to get our heads around and particularly what
they do but can I say to you a lot of us feel comfortable talking about God as
our father God as our King God as our Savior maybe even God as a prophet who
tells truth friends if you don't catch that God is a wonderful priest who cares
for us then you're missing something deep about how good he is so let's just
delve into what priests do and how they help us well the first thing priests do
that we see is priests point back to the problem look at me with chapters 28 and
29 priests are going to sacrifice and offer atonement for the sins of Israel
and the sins of themselves as well but they also need to carefully clothe
themselves so in chapter 28 verses 1 to friend 1 to 30 we see them put an ethod
and a breastplate carrying God's people God's people's names and the tribes of
Israel there's pomegranates in there that's not something to be bougie and
look lovely but it's pointing back to the garden again and a desire to be back
with God and actually it gets a bit funny because at the end of chapter 28
there's a description of how they should wear their undergarments as well so that
and in that description so that they don't show their private parts towards
God and fall over and die now that to you as you look at that might be kind of
something that's a little bit funny like don't flash in those areas otherwise
you might kill over and die but actually it's showing something serious here about
our problem these priests need to carefully clothe themselves in all these
things they need to be incredibly careful about what they wear they need
to be incredibly careful about what they present before God because not because
it's a funny but because they cannot do what Adam and Eve could do they cannot
be walking with God in the cool of the day in fact Genesis 2 25 what does it
describe describes Adam and Eve as walking with God naked and unashamed
honest and vulnerable accepted as they were and that is a difficult thing for
us because we are clouded in sin which is why even for a priest to approach God
they need to acknowledge that they are impure they need to become ritually
pure they need to become spiritually in some sense is pure by going about things
in the right way and that involves all of this clothing and all of this
carefulness in which they're putting themselves together once they do that
though priests don't just point to the problem they offer a sacrifice and
atonement we see that in chapter 30 where they are making a sacrifice for
the people of Israel's sake the last thing that priests do is and this is the
one that you really want to remember priests lead people home priests led
the people of Israel to the place that they always wanted to go past the altar
of incense past the curtain into the place on the day of atonement where they
could be with God as they are carried on the breastplate towards God the Father
and to be able to engage with him and to be able to receive forgiveness to in
some senses not perfectly but in some senses have that moment again where they
are naked and unashamed where they are walking with God in the cool of the day
where they are accepted and loved by him where they receive forgiveness and they
enjoy God's affection and togetherness in there as they are being forgiven for
all that is going on isn't that a wonderful thing that we they could have
and actually priests help them see that so we have a problem we have the priests
lastly we have the promise the promise that if the priests interact and follow
the rules in this way if a sacrifice is given in an atonement is done in the
right ways that forgiveness can be it can be given to the Israelites but they
can somehow look forward to being with God forever but they can look forward
to even though they were in the desert being in the promised land and being
with God forever what a wonderful thing we can see the problem is huge the
priests are wonderful and the promised is great now that's all wonderful but
you might be thinking cool Eric now what I've learned some facts about a priest
I don't think they're Jedi's anymore it's not gonna change my life
significantly thank you for that that's that's wonderful what's that got to do
with me well haven't you heard as we've gone through Exodus again and again and
again we want to be careful because this is a story a true story but not
everything is applicable to us straight away now we are not going to start you
know wearing bells and all this other stuff but really the description of the
Israelites is us this is our problem and we need a priest and we need to hold on
to a promise this is our problem we need to hold on to our priest it's a hold on
to our promise what's our problem we have the same thing as the Israelites
right we sin and we choose to reject God but we have a different priest we have
Jesus this side of the cross he has given us a perfect gift of his sacrifice
of his blood Jesus gives us three things he gives us his blood Hebrews 10 chapter
14 for by one sacrifice he was made perfect forever those who would be are
being made holy the difference with his sacrifice is a one-time payment and we
get to be with God forever we get to enjoy access with him you know that
barrier that huge curtain that was significant upon Jesus death it is torn
in two we get to access God in a way we get the gift of his blood but we also
get the gift of his obedience Hebrews 4 15 for we do not have a high priest
who's unable to emphasize empathize with our weaknesses but we have one who was
tempted in every way just as we are yet he did not sin Jesus was fully God and
fully man meaning he knows what it's like to be tempted to sin he knows what
it's like to feel a sense of where do I fit in and yet he behaved perfectly for
our sakes and actually he gives us his obedience this is what field theologians
call the great exchange Jesus takes our sin and punishment and we get clothed in
his perfect actions we get given righteousness last gift that we get
from Jesus his blood his obedience we also get the gift of his care or is
interceding if you want to use a longer word Romans 8 34 who then is the one who
condemns no one Christ Jesus who died more than that who was raised to life is
that the right hand of God and is also interceding for us you've probably heard
the curtain being ripped into before and us being having been able to have
access to God join another picture of how Jesus loves us and he's wonderful
and he's good you remember I said there were two barriers one was the curtain
and the other one was that altar where smoke was billowing up all through the
time and there was a description of smoke back there in Sinai there's also
a description of smoke with Jesus later on because what happens to him he dies
and the curtain gets ripped in two then he raises from the grave he tells his
disciples the wonderful truth of the gospel and then he ascends into heaven
he passes up into the sky through cloud to heaven Daniel and Revelation tell us
that so he's actually passing through the smoke and leading us because he's
the wonderful priest home he's leading us to the way in which we get access and
he's not just sitting there in heaven twiddling his thumbs but he's actually
one who intercedes for us now he is praying for us he is calling to the
Father about how good we are and what do we see in this picture from 28 29 and 30
of Exodus the priest would wear a breastplate with the names of the people
of Israel Jesus has died he has been he has risen from the grave he is ascended
on high through smoke into heaven and for our sakes if we respond with faith
and repentance he carries our names on his arm isn't that wonderfully
encouraging isn't that something that we can hold on to so if you look forwards
towards the future this gets really applicable and really serious if you
look for to your future you cannot predict how strong you will be you
cannot be sure that you will be able to handle every difficult thing that
happens COVID has taught us that the rising cost of living has taught us that
the crisis has that caused that threat of war has taught us that but if Jesus
is reigning on high if he has passed through smoke to be with God the Father
if he has led the way into that Holy of Holies that we want that Israelites
thousands of years ago long for if he is there and he is interceding for us if
he is praying for us if he is to he is covering us with his good work and that
means that he will hold on to us as well he's good he is wonderful which is why
we get our problem our priest we also get our promise our promise is one of a
warm welcome just one more time that picture of entrance on the way in did
you see that it talked about a barrier smoke it talked about another barrier a
curtain but either side of that smoky altar were two things a table and a
lampstand a lampstand that was described in chapter 30 is always being on and a
table that you know if you've had the Lord's Supper before if you've accepted
God's forgiveness and you take often it's something that we enjoy with God we
feast on and we engage with him let me try and give you a bit of an example of
this my wife and I've just had a had a one month old baby and and it's just
really exciting to go to have a little kid again it's really wonderful and also
I consider life wonderful at the moment because I have a job where I get to
engage with you guys and spend time with you and we were just joking with each
other like we're waiting for life to be seen terrible because it's just so
wonderful at the moment like we enjoy our family and we enjoy our church
family and I'm just so grateful for for both it's wonderful but one thing that I
find tough is sometimes after a 630 service sometimes after prayer and
praise or equip or a members meeting I'm like it's late at night I gotta go home now and when I get home
because we've got three kids now it's dark there's no more warm welcome it
used to be that I'd get home and Claire'd be eventually be like hi love here I've
made some food for you let's hang out and just talk what's on your heart but
now we're three kids it is one kid the other kid third kid and my wife's like
sleeping quietly as well it's just slightly different there is no light on
there is no warm food waiting for me there is no greeting and an opportunity
to share my heart I make a cheeky pot noodle and nip upstairs I try to not
wake up my wife I stand on a squeaky toy everybody wakes up and I'm like oh this
is not warm anymore it's just different okay now hear me I'm not complaining I've
just said before life is wonderful and I'm incredibly grateful for it but that
is not the picture that we get here with God there is a table waiting for you
with food to engage with to commune with God it's almost you only you only use it
in Manchester language it's almost as God saying I'm waiting for you come let's
have a cup of coffee share what's on your heart with me I want to I don't I
don't just want to save you I want to commune with you I want to know what's
going on with you and there's a lampstand it is always on saying you are welcome to
come home you're welcome to engage with him the promise is not one of oh you've
messed up again work harder earn it there is a warm welcome our God is
delighted to hear about us and to engage with us our promise is also not just a
warm welcome our promise is that Jesus will keep us too
Hebrews 6 describes Jesus as our high priest and that we are be able to engage
with God because of the identity that he's given us as well that chapter
describes him as our anchor meaning that he will keep us he will hold us if he's
passed through that cloud if he's described as our anchor then no matter
what you do if you have responded with faith and repentance and you are trusting
in God and holding on to him if it's all about what he has done he will keep us
won't he Ralph described this really helpfully last week with the picture of
baptism the baptism is not something that we do we are passive and being
baptized but it is the one who dunks us into death and raises into life that
person is the one who will keep us he will sustain us he is the one that we
can trust in all of that what a wonderful promise that the Israelites get
what an even greater warmer encouraging promise that we get there and what that
means is today you are called into action the dangerous thing to think at
this point is Wow someday I'll get to be home with Jesus someday I'll get a sense
of belonging it is not some day I will feel that wonderful sense of belonging
it is today I have that sense of belonging can I say that one more time
it is today you will have that sense of belonging if you put your faith in
Christ and you respond with repentance because we do not just wait for Christ
in the future we have his spirit with us now which is why City Church talks about
living life to the fullest we do not talk about twiddling our thumbs and
waiting till we get to see Jesus there is a purpose and a meaning to everything
that we do right now and we get to enjoy and engage with God in that way do you
know that there were priests back then do you know that Jesus is our perfect
high priest final point do you know that we are described in one Peter as the
priesthood of all believers that means that all of us function in some senses
like priests all of us have access towards God like priest all of us have
a right to interpret scripture and carefully think through things and
hopefully want to apply them towards our lives it means all of us get to build
into this church family and get to love each other do you know my favourite thing
that I get to do in this wonderful job is it's not preaching I like doing that
very much it's not you know ringing the bell that's cool but you know it's not
that that's not my favourite thing to do my absolute favourite thing to do is to
watch somebody step out in faith and to minister to somebody else so often we'll
see people come up and chat to us and go my life is broken in this way things
are hurting in this way Sundays can be quite painful because and any given
Sunday there's just a bucketload of people whose lives are falling apart and
painful and it is gut-wrenching but it is beautiful and wonderful when somebody
else overhears that conversation and goes I've been through that do you want to
chat with me and and and you know what's wonderful when that happens the person
who's come to talk to me and going I'm struggling with I don't know my life
falling apart I'm struggling with miscarriage I'm struggling feeling
single I'm sure we're feeling lonely I'm something where if you know they don't
go I still want to talk to you that I disappear they talked out of a person
and there's almost a priest of all believers of ministering to each other
that's there but it's wonderful that is a picture of the church family so what
does this look like for us to live like priests who are full of the promise who
recognize our problem and to trust in our high priests well it looks like us
encouraging one another doesn't it so it means that we don't just look to one to
ones with Ralph or praying opportunities with Matt it looks like us engaging and
encouraging each other in book clubs when we meet with each other it looks
like church members remembering a difficult meeting for somebody else in
connect and praying for them maybe even texting them some level of encouragement
it looks like a student who is being mentored by somebody older than them who
looks like they have everything with life sorted stepping out in faith and
just doing a little bit of a challenge and encourage and a prayer and and a
steering for them as well sort of it is a two-way thing that is helpful friends
that's the wonderful thing if we believe that we are all priests before God
because he has called us to action now it means that all of us can step out in
action and no one's gonna go how dare you who do you think you are but rather
we're gonna say we are church family learning from each other and that's a
wonderful thing for us to do we stumble together trying to lean on God
independency towards him friends isn't that the picture we see here the smoke
is dissipated the curtain is torn in two the sacrifice is paid for and we can now
enjoy God forever even now today and our high priest is praying interceding to
God the Father for us right now and we are anchored to him by his good work and
we will be led safely home but right now right now today we have a place a purpose
and a sense of a call and a belonging before God and what a wonderful thing
to be involved in why don't we step out and doing that today later on as we see
each other let me pray and then the band are gonna lead us as we respond father
we recognize that our problem is significant we recognize that sin is
something that will pull us away from you it has done so for millennia of
people but Lord we thank you but we don't just have a problem we have a
priest a great high priest who has given so much towards us and because of that
we hold on to your promise not just for the future but for today as well Lord in
the meantime would you help us to not just look around and look at all the
ways that we can be tempted to feel like we don't belong would you help us to
realize that you will lead us home and right now you have given us a wonderful
home in church family we want to love that family we want to be involved in
that family and we want to point around to the world as well around us to bring
them in and tell them taste and see how wonderful our God is how great our
priest is as well it is in your name we pray