WEBVTT 00:00:00.260 --> 00:00:06.470 Well, sometimes when we study the Bible, we have we have a couple of different ways that we can approach this. 00:00:06.640 --> 00:00:14.520 And last week, a good example of how we studied Scripture together is we got very detailed and involved, particularly with what each word 00:00:14.520 --> 00:00:16.480 of the text suggested to us. 00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:18.540 You learned some crazy grammar last week. 00:00:18.760 --> 00:00:21.480 You guys are walking out still wondering this week what is indicative? 00:00:21.520 --> 00:00:22.340 Can I ever remember right? 00:00:22.780 --> 00:00:25.880 Talked about the indicative last week and it was good for us. 00:00:25.940 --> 00:00:33.240 It's great to just examine closely on what God's Word says, because God tells us that every word will come to pass, that every 00:00:33.240 --> 00:00:35.490 word is inspired of him. 00:00:35.620 --> 00:00:39.200 And so God intends for every word that exists within our Bible to be there. 00:00:40.520 --> 00:00:47.980 In addition to that, sometimes we while we study the detail of Scripture, we look right into the heart of what God's communicating. 00:00:48.420 --> 00:00:55.620 Sometimes it's healthy for us as well, just to take a step back and explore the landscape to get an overarching, broader picture of what God's 00:00:55.820 --> 00:00:56.720 communicating to us. 00:00:56.720 --> 00:01:03.260 That way, when we go and study in detail, we can see him more clearly through his overarching picture to us. 00:01:04.140 --> 00:01:06.600 And this morning, that's exactly what we're going to do. 00:01:07.220 --> 00:01:09.950 Last week we studied in detail, and today we're going to take a step back. 00:01:10.020 --> 00:01:17.080 And we're just going to explore the horizon and look at the landscape and the topic that we're going to be addressing this morning 00:01:17.080 --> 00:01:20.460 and we're going to make it relevant to us is the Tabernacle. 00:01:22.860 --> 00:01:29.660 You wonder how in the world we're going to make the tabernacle relevant to us, because the Tabernacle we don't we've never been there to worship. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:31.620 Israel doesn't even have it anymore. 00:01:31.640 --> 00:01:32.080 It was destroyed. 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:35.120 And so what does that mean? 00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:36.660 And what even is the tabernacle? 00:01:36.960 --> 00:01:42.740 If you're familiar with Jewish terminology on their structures in which they build there are a few different terms that use. 00:01:42.740 --> 00:01:47.380 You've maybe heard the word tabernacle or the word temple or the word synagogue. 00:01:47.400 --> 00:01:51.760 All were places at some point in history in which Jewish people would go to attend to worship. 00:01:52.320 --> 00:01:56.300 In fact, they still worship today, not in the tabernacle or temple, but in the synagogues. 00:01:57.160 --> 00:01:57.720 What are those? 00:01:59.440 --> 00:02:04.540 Well, synagogue, just for clarity's sake, a synagogue is what we would refer to today as Christians, as church. 00:02:06.060 --> 00:02:13.460 They kind of go with the basis that synagogues began somewhere between 500, 4 to 500 years before Jesus was 00:02:13.460 --> 00:02:14.080 on the earth. 00:02:14.900 --> 00:02:21.490 It was supposedly or thought to have been established by Ezra, who wrote the book of Ezra in your Bible. 00:02:22.380 --> 00:02:29.500 And Ezra was an individual who noticed that Israel had a temple in which they would go to worship in Jerusalem, but because not everyone existed around 00:02:29.500 --> 00:02:32.720 the city of Jerusalem, it was difficult for some people to get there to worship. 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:40.860 And so he thought to himself, let's establish these buildings outside of Jerusalem that people can gather and learn about the Lord together, and let's call them 00:02:40.860 --> 00:02:42.280 synagogues, okay? 00:02:43.220 --> 00:02:46.800 And today, even today, Jewish Jewish people still worship in synagogues. 00:02:48.620 --> 00:02:53.380 The temple and the tabernacle are actually the same thing. 00:02:54.540 --> 00:03:00.280 The tabernacle was a structure in which God gave to Moses to build in the desert. 00:03:00.340 --> 00:03:07.840 When the nation of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, God gave directions to the nation of Israel to build the tabernacle. 00:03:09.540 --> 00:03:16.680 When once Israel established themselves in the land of Israel, God made that tabernacle the mobile place of worship, 00:03:17.100 --> 00:03:20.980 a permanent structure in the city of Jerusalem, and they began to call it the temple. 00:03:22.680 --> 00:03:25.860 And today we're going to study the tabernacle rather than the temple. 00:03:25.880 --> 00:03:33.400 And the reason is because the tabernacle is a is a basic structure to what the temple represented. 00:03:33.900 --> 00:03:37.490 The structure of the temple remained the same as the tabernacle, but it was simplified. 00:03:38.060 --> 00:03:41.800 It was easier to look at and see the basic elements for which God had created. 00:03:42.900 --> 00:03:50.120 And when God built the tabernacle, and he allowed them then to take the tabernacle and turn into a permanent structure referred to as the temple, it's 00:03:50.120 --> 00:03:52.760 important to remember that Israel only ever had one. 00:03:54.640 --> 00:03:57.460 They had one temple in which they would gather to worship the Lord. 00:03:57.460 --> 00:03:58.640 It was located in Jerusalem. 00:03:59.180 --> 00:04:03.960 Jesus promises that one day in the book of Ezekiel, chapter 40, he will come back. 00:04:03.960 --> 00:04:07.040 He will rule in the Millennial Kingdom at this temple. 00:04:08.100 --> 00:04:10.060 If you don't know what the Millennial Kingdom is, Google that. 00:04:10.060 --> 00:04:17.079 If you want to structure, if you want to study the Tabernacle, which Jesus will rule and reign from, Ezekiel chapter 40 is the place to look. 00:04:17.440 --> 00:04:23.140 But in the future, there is only ever one temple in which Jesus or God calls his people to worship him. 00:04:24.740 --> 00:04:30.020 So here's the important question this morning why study the tabernacle? 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:34.120 God really begins to answer for that. 00:04:34.560 --> 00:04:35.400 Answer that for us. 00:04:35.460 --> 00:04:38.340 We're going to spend a lot of time in the Old Testament today, a little bit in the New Testament. 00:04:38.520 --> 00:04:42.720 But he begins to define for Israel after he goes through the book of Exodus. 00:04:42.820 --> 00:04:46.920 And he tells them in the latter half of the book of Exodus, starting in chapter 25, this is what I want you to build. 00:04:47.400 --> 00:04:49.850 And we read the entire story of the temple all the way to the end of Exodus. 00:04:50.200 --> 00:04:52.860 Like half of your Exodus book is about the temple. 00:04:53.880 --> 00:05:00.050 And then you get into the book of Leviticus, and he and he outlines the worship ceremonies which take place in the temple and how it's supposed to be conducted. 00:05:00.640 --> 00:05:03.000 And he gets to verse 20, chapter 26, excuse me. 00:05:03.300 --> 00:05:05.760 And he explains to the people his purpose for building the temple. 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:12.520 And he says this, I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. 00:05:13.560 --> 00:05:17.600 I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. 00:05:19.020 --> 00:05:23.940 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians. 00:05:25.160 --> 00:05:30.940 I broke the bars of your yoke and enable you to walk with heads held high. 00:05:32.960 --> 00:05:34.000 Why study the tabernacle? 00:05:36.320 --> 00:05:43.600 God's initial answer he says to us in verse 11 and 12, he just wants to put his dwelling place among 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:43.800 them. 00:05:45.420 --> 00:05:48.300 God's desire is to be made known. 00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:54.900 And God in the story, we understand that he's telling us that he just helped the Israelites escape from Egypt. 00:05:55.880 --> 00:05:59.740 And if you've ever heard the stories of Moses write, let my people go. 00:05:59.740 --> 00:06:03.100 He goes before the Pharaoh, and Pharaoh says, no. 00:06:03.200 --> 00:06:10.380 And so God brings plagues upon the nation of Egypt and the plagues as you begin to study 00:06:10.380 --> 00:06:10.680 them. 00:06:10.680 --> 00:06:12.360 You see, he brought ten upon the nation of Egypt. 00:06:12.780 --> 00:06:19.520 And every plague that God brought upon the nation of Egypt directly correlated against a God that they worshiped. 00:06:21.140 --> 00:06:25.980 There was a god related to every plague that said to the nation of Egypt, you think you're powerful. 00:06:26.200 --> 00:06:28.090 You think your God is powerful. 00:06:28.200 --> 00:06:30.620 Me, supreme God of everything. 00:06:30.620 --> 00:06:34.820 The only God will show you and demonstrate to you that these gods are nothing. 00:06:34.840 --> 00:06:36.760 These are idols in comparison to me. 00:06:36.840 --> 00:06:40.660 And God crushed their idols with the plagues that he brought up on the nation of Egypt. 00:06:42.640 --> 00:06:49.940 And God is saying to the nation of Israel, listen, I'm calling you out as a people, and I want to represent myself to this world through 00:06:49.940 --> 00:06:50.440 you. 00:06:50.460 --> 00:06:52.220 I desire to be made known. 00:06:53.720 --> 00:06:59.740 As a matter of fact, when the nation of Egypt wandered in the wilderness after they escaped from Egypt, they were disobedient to God. 00:06:59.760 --> 00:07:02.440 And the Bible tells us they wandered from Egypt to Israel. 00:07:02.440 --> 00:07:09.880 They spent 40 years just walking around, and God told them the way that they were to know where to go was this cloud of God. 00:07:09.920 --> 00:07:12.860 This representation of God would guide and direct them. 00:07:12.940 --> 00:07:18.520 It says in the Bible that it was a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day in Exodus chapter 40. 00:07:20.020 --> 00:07:25.540 God's presence was there and the people followed it. 00:07:27.620 --> 00:07:34.700 God saw that his presence before this nation and before this world was so significant that even when you get to the Book of Numbers, 00:07:35.640 --> 00:07:40.900 the Book of Numbers opens up talking about the temple every five books, first five books of the Bible minus Genesis. 00:07:41.500 --> 00:07:46.830 It just speaks amply about about the temple and in numbers, chapter two. 00:07:47.220 --> 00:07:54.240 In chapter three, it describes the nation of Israel, how they were to sleep exactly around this temple as it directed them through the 00:07:54.240 --> 00:07:54.860 wilderness. 00:07:54.860 --> 00:08:01.940 When it finally stopped and the people knew where they were to stop, and to seek God's face and to see his presence through this tabernacle in which they worshipped. 00:08:02.720 --> 00:08:09.820 They also had a design in which God had given to them to sleep around, literally suggesting to the nation and all nations around them 00:08:09.820 --> 00:08:13.040 that God was the center of their lives. 00:08:13.920 --> 00:08:16.220 God desired to be made known. 00:08:18.540 --> 00:08:23.020 And can I say, although we don't worship in a tabernacle and temple, I'll explain why in a little bit. 00:08:23.200 --> 00:08:30.800 But cultures have traditionally we just need a place to connect with God biblically. 00:08:32.580 --> 00:08:35.520 The temple was a big deal to Israel. 00:08:36.940 --> 00:08:44.159 As a matter of fact, when you read the books of the Old Testament, you can determine the health of Israel by the way it speaks about 00:08:44.159 --> 00:08:51.260 their attendance at the temple, how their worship was taking place, how their offerings before the Lord 00:08:51.260 --> 00:08:54.340 was taking place, the way that they were giving themselves to them. 00:08:54.380 --> 00:08:58.200 If Israel was in the temple, they were living a healthy life. 00:09:00.560 --> 00:09:08.060 The temple was significant to the health of Israel, and a place of worship has been significant to the health of cultures everywhere 00:09:09.680 --> 00:09:10.480 throughout history. 00:09:10.480 --> 00:09:17.520 When you study the early church, it tells us in the New Testament, right after the time of Christ, after Jesus was killed, the church went 00:09:17.520 --> 00:09:18.600 under tremendous persecution. 00:09:19.920 --> 00:09:24.240 Any time the church was under persecution, they didn't typically have a building to go worship. 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:25.680 It's like putting a target on your back. 00:09:26.260 --> 00:09:33.500 But the moment the persecution died, the church would gather together, place a central place within their community for the people to gather and worship the 00:09:33.500 --> 00:09:33.800 Lord. 00:09:33.800 --> 00:09:38.700 It was if they were stating to their to their legacy and to families and to community. 00:09:38.700 --> 00:09:45.720 If you want to know the biblical God, if you want to understand this God as he has revealed himself to you, we've created this place that he may 00:09:45.720 --> 00:09:46.560 be known in your life. 00:09:49.380 --> 00:09:54.700 I said this morning in Matthew chapter 18 and verse 20, it tells us where 2 or 3 are gathered in my name. 00:09:54.700 --> 00:09:56.160 There I am in their midst. 00:09:58.440 --> 00:10:04.260 You know, I always have quoted that verse as a believer, but there was one point in particular in my life I went to study it. 00:10:04.420 --> 00:10:06.700 And, I began to notice about this verse. 00:10:08.180 --> 00:10:11.840 Interesting thing about it is it's talking about church discipline of all things. 00:10:13.460 --> 00:10:16.340 There's a brother in Christ who's sending these people don't want him to send. 00:10:16.340 --> 00:10:18.420 They're gathering together to figure out how to encourage them. 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:25.720 And in the midst of discipline or encouraging this believer to get out of a life of sin, Jesus is saying, if 2 or 3 of you just get together, for that, I 00:10:25.720 --> 00:10:27.100 am present in your midst. 00:10:29.420 --> 00:10:35.560 How important and significant it is for us as a culture to have a place that communicates to our community. 00:10:36.920 --> 00:10:38.760 This is where you come to learn about God. 00:10:42.160 --> 00:10:44.710 How important it is just for us to think about knowing. 00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:52.600 Just around the corner, we have a building waiting for us that's standing as a pillar into our community to demonstrate the love of Jesus. 00:10:55.520 --> 00:10:58.160 The tabernacle was designed to reveal God. 00:10:58.340 --> 00:11:03.900 In addition to that, God tells us the tabernacle was designed so that people could find their identity. 00:11:05.560 --> 00:11:11.000 He says in verse 12, I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my what? 00:11:12.560 --> 00:11:12.820 People. 00:11:15.420 --> 00:11:17.960 You think about where Israel is at this particular point. 00:11:20.220 --> 00:11:21.380 They had just lost everything. 00:11:23.060 --> 00:11:26.440 Yes, they were slaves, but their identity was wrapped in that. 00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:29.960 And now they're walking out of the land of Egypt. 00:11:30.060 --> 00:11:30.730 They had rules. 00:11:30.760 --> 00:11:32.040 They had government, they had officials. 00:11:32.220 --> 00:11:33.900 They had a way that a system worked. 00:11:35.500 --> 00:11:37.130 And now they're thinking, now what do we do? 00:11:38.120 --> 00:11:39.630 Or now where do we find our identity? 00:11:39.680 --> 00:11:41.200 Or who are we as people? 00:11:41.400 --> 00:11:46.080 And God says, I'll help you define that because I've revealed myself to you. 00:11:46.240 --> 00:11:47.160 This is what I want to demonstrate. 00:11:47.620 --> 00:11:48.960 You are my people. 00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:51.800 Your identity is wrapped in me. 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:54.360 You've gone from slave to freedom. 00:11:55.080 --> 00:11:57.400 You've gone from lost to found. 00:11:57.400 --> 00:11:59.780 You've gone from aimlessness to direction. 00:12:01.120 --> 00:12:03.000 And you will be my people. 00:12:04.020 --> 00:12:05.780 I love what it says at the end of this passage. 00:12:06.760 --> 00:12:08.500 I broke the bars of your yoke. 00:12:08.800 --> 00:12:12.620 And I enable you to walk with your heads held high. 00:12:14.780 --> 00:12:22.020 When you find God, when you seek his face, and you understand that he has revealed himself to you, and he has called 00:12:22.020 --> 00:12:28.220 you his own, he gives you the opportunity to find direction in your life and to walk with your head held high. 00:12:30.020 --> 00:12:32.380 No longer is it aimless, but it's purposeful. 00:12:34.360 --> 00:12:42.040 The people wanted to know this God, and I love the way it tells us in Exodus 36. 00:12:42.100 --> 00:12:42.600 This wasn't. 00:12:42.760 --> 00:12:44.020 It's like a no brainer for them. 00:12:45.180 --> 00:12:46.200 We brought you out of Egypt. 00:12:46.440 --> 00:12:47.480 You're no longer slaves. 00:12:47.500 --> 00:12:52.140 You've seen me slaughter these gods that people have complained or said that are just so powerful. 00:12:53.500 --> 00:12:55.040 And the nation of Israel is thinking themselves. 00:12:55.320 --> 00:12:56.940 And yes, we want to know you. 00:12:57.800 --> 00:13:04.920 Anything that can get us out of slavery, anything that can get us into a land that that's just beautiful, any, any way, God, that you just want to communicate to us, 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:07.240 to reveal yourself and your beauty to us. 00:13:07.240 --> 00:13:08.380 God, let it happen. 00:13:10.080 --> 00:13:10.840 What will it take? 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:19.800 Bible tells us in Exodus 36 and said to Moses, God said to Moses, the people are bringing more than enough for 00:13:19.800 --> 00:13:21.720 doing the work the Lord commanded to be done. 00:13:22.460 --> 00:13:26.160 God begins to describe in 25 every thing that they need to bring to build this temple. 00:13:27.060 --> 00:13:29.360 And now God's telling Moses and the people have now done enough. 00:13:30.220 --> 00:13:33.460 And then Moses gave an order, and they sent this word throughout the camp. 00:13:33.460 --> 00:13:38.600 No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary, for the tabernacle. 00:13:39.860 --> 00:13:40.440 Tell them to stop. 00:13:40.800 --> 00:13:49.060 It's the first time in history a minister has ever said the people stop giving, right? 00:13:49.060 --> 00:13:56.220 But it's a beautiful picture of an understanding of what a building represents to 00:13:56.380 --> 00:14:03.600 people who desire to know God and what it communicates to a community, what it communicates 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:05.370 to the children of the next generation. 00:14:08.840 --> 00:14:14.720 And I know that we don't worship in temples and tabernacles, and I know, I know, buildings aren't the big deal. 00:14:14.780 --> 00:14:15.740 The people are the big deal. 00:14:15.820 --> 00:14:20.960 But there is something important about just establishing a place that communicates that we love our God. 00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:22.250 Amen. 00:14:23.480 --> 00:14:30.600 And I thought about just the comparison this week to this tabernacle and to us as a church, what it represents to build the first 00:14:30.600 --> 00:14:38.120 freestanding, mainstream Christian church in northern Utah County, the legacy that communicates 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:45.460 for us and what it says about our heart's desire with God and the people around this country who have just given 00:14:45.460 --> 00:14:47.400 to us as a church family to see this happen. 00:14:48.980 --> 00:14:56.100 What it says even to your young children, if they as they grow up older and they realize what's taking place here, that 00:14:56.100 --> 00:14:58.720 God is moving in us to see this happen. 00:15:00.820 --> 00:15:01.930 I got to tell you this week. 00:15:04.590 --> 00:15:09.900 If you guys weren't here last week, we signed the documents to put this building under contract. 00:15:09.900 --> 00:15:15.790 We're supposed to close on it November 2nd, but I went to the city this week because we're still going to be short. 00:15:16.020 --> 00:15:17.000 We'll build this building out. 00:15:17.020 --> 00:15:18.210 We're still going to be a little bit financial short. 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:24.680 There's going to be some ongoing construction until we get this place established, but we've got enough to get in and see us be able to worship there. 00:15:25.700 --> 00:15:29.360 And the city was going to hold these particular funds against us as a church family. 00:15:29.380 --> 00:15:32.360 And I've just seen God do this all along that we've pursued this building. 00:15:33.180 --> 00:15:40.260 But I go into the city and they tell me that they're going to hold a bond against us for tens of thousands of dollars until we get this building built, which means it ties up money 00:15:40.260 --> 00:15:43.180 from us to be able to build the building while they're holding our money. 00:15:43.760 --> 00:15:50.120 And so I started talking to them about about that to see if we can get into this place sooner, what the bonds were going to be. 00:15:50.560 --> 00:15:57.380 And they just they just said to me, we messed up on your paperwork and we can't hold any financial bond against you. 00:15:59.600 --> 00:15:59.920 Awesome. 00:16:02.040 --> 00:16:02.580 All right. 00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:05.530 So I went in with a monkey on my back, and I just left it there. 00:16:05.600 --> 00:16:12.980 I don't know what it did to the office, but there's I continue to stress out about the idea 00:16:12.980 --> 00:16:14.420 of taking something like this on. 00:16:14.420 --> 00:16:17.020 And every time there's a stress, it just seems like the Lord just lifts it. 00:16:17.200 --> 00:16:18.100 Amen. 00:16:18.100 --> 00:16:18.100 Amen. 00:16:18.540 --> 00:16:20.560 Like, for instance, we wanted to build this building. 00:16:20.560 --> 00:16:22.980 We had this desire to see this happen for our community. 00:16:22.980 --> 00:16:30.440 We knew how important it was, and we just told a few people about our desire, a few churches, and then the 00:16:30.600 --> 00:16:33.020 next week they come back and tell us, yeah, we're going to give 100,000. 00:16:33.920 --> 00:16:35.740 Well, who does that? 00:16:36.240 --> 00:16:37.880 Who is your uncle? 00:16:37.880 --> 00:16:39.200 Give me. 00:16:39.880 --> 00:16:40.240 Let me. 00:16:40.380 --> 00:16:41.740 I'll talk to him directly from now on. 00:16:43.340 --> 00:16:44.740 I don't know why I got off track on that, but. 00:16:45.100 --> 00:16:46.200 But the important part is. 00:16:48.740 --> 00:16:54.980 Just having a place of worship and the people to understand how significant this cause is. 00:16:56.500 --> 00:17:03.700 I mean, when you grab hold of God in your life and you see his importance and that he shapes your identity in 00:17:03.700 --> 00:17:09.480 him, and he gives you an opportunity to hold your head up high, that is something that you sacrifice for. 00:17:09.900 --> 00:17:11.540 That is something that you never let go of. 00:17:11.680 --> 00:17:16.660 That is something that you discover your identity in, and it's something that you just drive your life toward. 00:17:17.980 --> 00:17:19.380 God, why did you make me? 00:17:19.380 --> 00:17:23.680 And as you reveal yourself to me and you help me understand my the purpose of my existence. 00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:27.000 God, what can we do to get your name proclaimed in this place? 00:17:29.300 --> 00:17:36.340 The nation of Israel tells us, gave from their hearts, and blessed the Lord so much that he was literally told to Moses, 00:17:37.160 --> 00:17:38.240 just tell him to stop giving I. 00:17:38.520 --> 00:17:39.650 This is more than enough. 00:17:40.440 --> 00:17:43.840 And when you study the structure of the Tabernacle, I'll show you in just a minute. 00:17:43.880 --> 00:17:46.680 And the temple, this place was gold plated. 00:17:47.500 --> 00:17:51.280 And these people gave silver, gold, bronze. 00:17:51.280 --> 00:17:52.020 And it was decorated. 00:17:52.620 --> 00:17:53.390 It was amazing. 00:17:55.840 --> 00:17:58.760 So much so, God told him to stop. 00:17:58.940 --> 00:17:59.580 We. 00:17:59.580 --> 00:18:01.540 God reveals himself in the tabernacle. 00:18:02.620 --> 00:18:04.060 God shows us our identity. 00:18:04.100 --> 00:18:07.020 He showed Israel their identity through this place of worship. 00:18:09.600 --> 00:18:11.690 And in showing them his identity. 00:18:11.900 --> 00:18:18.900 What we discover in Scripture as you read the Bible is that even to the New Testament, Jesus himself was still gathering at the temple with 00:18:19.060 --> 00:18:21.980 the early church in the 12 disciples. 00:18:22.340 --> 00:18:24.260 Excuse me. 00:18:24.480 --> 00:18:25.260 They were to gather together. 00:18:25.400 --> 00:18:27.120 It was still a significant place to worship. 00:18:27.140 --> 00:18:32.780 And when you read your Bible, you see illustrations of the tabernacle and temple throughout all of Scripture. 00:18:33.660 --> 00:18:40.800 And unless you have a picture of what really happened around this tabernacle, it becomes difficult sometimes to understand what Scripture is talking 00:18:40.800 --> 00:18:40.900 about. 00:18:42.680 --> 00:18:48.660 As a matter of fact, when you study the first five books, Exodus, the whole second half of Exodus starting from chapter 25 is about the temple. 00:18:49.860 --> 00:18:53.260 Leviticus, when you open it up, it's all about the temple ceremonies and worships. 00:18:54.440 --> 00:18:57.380 The first seven chapters are the sacrifices that took place there. 00:18:58.440 --> 00:18:59.020 Numbers. 00:18:59.020 --> 00:18:59.660 Deuteronomy. 00:18:59.660 --> 00:19:00.840 It starts with the temple. 00:19:02.080 --> 00:19:06.520 You get into Israel being captured and coming back to their land. 00:19:06.520 --> 00:19:13.800 And it's all about building the temple we studied a year ago, the book of Nehemiah and Ezra and their 00:19:13.910 --> 00:19:16.400 desire to see the temple rebuilt in Jerusalem. 00:19:18.560 --> 00:19:22.150 Even King David I meditated on this psalm this week as a beautiful psalm. 00:19:22.360 --> 00:19:28.660 It's Psalm 84, he says, my soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord. 00:19:28.660 --> 00:19:31.420 He's talking about the inner courts with the altar of sacrifice. 00:19:31.760 --> 00:19:31.880 Was he? 00:19:32.220 --> 00:19:33.360 He just wanted to be there. 00:19:34.200 --> 00:19:36.560 My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. 00:19:36.560 --> 00:19:39.040 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. 00:19:40.060 --> 00:19:44.830 I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. 00:19:46.200 --> 00:19:49.900 David is literally saying, the lowest position you think exists in this temple. 00:19:50.020 --> 00:19:57.220 Just to get in that place to worship, I will take the lowest of seeds to just seek God's face in his courts. 00:19:59.100 --> 00:20:02.380 I thought about David related to this psalm this week. 00:20:02.540 --> 00:20:07.020 If you if you know anything about King David, King David was the second King of Israel. 00:20:07.060 --> 00:20:10.980 He was the one who was promised through his lineage the Messiah would come. 00:20:12.480 --> 00:20:18.220 But King David was told that he couldn't build the temple, that he had to continue to worship in the tabernacle. 00:20:18.500 --> 00:20:23.550 King David wanted a temple so bad in Jerusalem to worship, but yet he continued to worship in the tabernacle. 00:20:23.720 --> 00:20:31.360 He even began to gather all the necessary materials that his son Solomon, who would become the next king, would need to build the temple just 00:20:31.360 --> 00:20:34.480 to get it in preparation, even though God told him he wasn't the one to build it. 00:20:35.600 --> 00:20:40.350 His desire was just to see that permanent structure for the nation of Israel to communicate to all nations. 00:20:40.620 --> 00:20:41.940 This is where God's presence is. 00:20:44.060 --> 00:20:48.640 And just to hold the lowest position, to gather in the house of God and seek his face. 00:20:49.140 --> 00:20:50.780 God, may that be my position. 00:20:54.280 --> 00:21:01.480 Kind of makes us and provokes us to think about our own desire to come on Sunday morning and worship God. 00:21:01.480 --> 00:21:04.420 Is it better just one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere? 00:21:06.520 --> 00:21:13.740 God, is it so good to me that I would desire to take the lowest position to serve your church, to have the opportunity with this family to worship your name? 00:21:16.320 --> 00:21:16.320 Day. 00:21:16.320 --> 00:21:16.700 Excuse me? 00:21:16.780 --> 00:21:23.830 Paul even says in the book of Romans, I beseech you therefore, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, 00:21:24.300 --> 00:21:26.560 illustrating of the sacrifices in the temple. 00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:31.920 At the end of his life, Paul said, for I am already being poured out as a drink offering. 00:21:32.640 --> 00:21:34.980 The time of my departure has come. 00:21:36.860 --> 00:21:44.080 The understanding and the beauty of the temple and the Tabernacle illustrates itself throughout all of Scripture, and an understanding of what took place here paints 00:21:44.080 --> 00:21:47.140 a beautiful picture in our mind of what God talks about in His Word. 00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:56.220 Let's say the third is this though the tabernacle reveals to us who God is, it gives 00:21:56.280 --> 00:21:59.820 us our identity or helped Israel shape their identity in God. 00:22:01.140 --> 00:22:07.300 But the biggest point of the Tabernacle was that it was designed to direct us to worship Jesus. 00:22:10.200 --> 00:22:13.420 Do you know the word tabernacle literally means dwelling place? 00:22:15.040 --> 00:22:17.000 It's God's dwelling place. 00:22:19.040 --> 00:22:26.100 When you turn to the book of John, John opens up his story in a beautiful way, knowing he's talking 00:22:26.100 --> 00:22:32.700 about Old Testament saints. 00:22:32.700 --> 00:22:32.820 Jews. 00:22:34.480 --> 00:22:38.820 He starts this book of John drawing illustrations from the Tabernacle. 00:22:40.860 --> 00:22:42.900 It says this in John chapter one and verse one. 00:22:42.900 --> 00:22:45.540 In the beginning was the word, the words talking about Jesus here. 00:22:46.600 --> 00:22:50.300 And the word was with God, and the word was God. 00:22:52.020 --> 00:22:55.320 And the word became flesh and dwelt among us. 00:22:55.560 --> 00:23:00.480 And we saw his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the father, full of grace and truth. 00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:09.020 And watch John saying to us in this passage of Scripture, where the word dwelt in verse 14 literally means tabernacle. 00:23:11.940 --> 00:23:17.260 It's saying to us, this Old Testament people understood the significance of the tabernacle and the lives of the Jewish people. 00:23:17.620 --> 00:23:19.060 It's saying to us about Jesus. 00:23:19.400 --> 00:23:24.120 And now Jesus, who is God, has come and he's tabernacled with us. 00:23:25.780 --> 00:23:30.160 The purpose of the tabernacle was to direct us into worship of Jesus. 00:23:31.220 --> 00:23:38.500 The only intentions of the tabernacle and every element that existed in their worship was focused on Jesus, 00:23:38.560 --> 00:23:39.680 the Messiah who would come. 00:23:41.340 --> 00:23:48.460 In fact, it tells us in John 219, Jesus answered them, destroy this temple, and I will raise it 00:23:48.460 --> 00:23:49.820 again in three days. 00:23:51.020 --> 00:23:58.120 In Mark 14, some people quoted Jesus talking about this when they were putting him on trial, and they literally go on to say, Jesus said that he will 00:23:58.120 --> 00:24:01.720 rebuild it in three days and he's going to do it without human hands. 00:24:02.260 --> 00:24:02.820 How do you do that? 00:24:05.100 --> 00:24:12.300 Because Jesus, we understand as Jesus came and died, he's referring to himself in three days, his resurrection. 00:24:12.300 --> 00:24:13.360 He rebuilds this temple. 00:24:13.400 --> 00:24:14.680 The building is no longer important. 00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:17.420 Jesus is the intentions of the temple Jesus. 00:24:19.020 --> 00:24:26.920 And so it says in John four and verse 19, you know the story of Jesus going to the well and he discusses, eternal 00:24:26.920 --> 00:24:28.280 life, really with this woman. 00:24:30.080 --> 00:24:34.560 And she says to him, sir, the woman said, I can see that you are a prophet. 00:24:34.660 --> 00:24:35.400 That's a major understatement. 00:24:36.300 --> 00:24:41.980 And the guy says in verse 20, our ancestors worshiped, excuse me, she says, our ancestors worshiped on this mountain. 00:24:43.020 --> 00:24:44.710 The Samaritans, this lady was a Samaritan. 00:24:44.980 --> 00:24:47.000 They weren't accepted by the Jewish people because they weren't. 00:24:47.060 --> 00:24:48.100 They built a place of worship. 00:24:49.340 --> 00:24:51.420 So she says, our ancestors worshiped on this mountain. 00:24:51.420 --> 00:24:56.200 But you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem. 00:24:57.800 --> 00:25:04.940 And Jesus says, woman, believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the father neither on this mountain 00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:06.240 nor in Jerusalem. 00:25:07.120 --> 00:25:08.020 You Samaritans. 00:25:08.080 --> 00:25:12.060 Just to clarify which temple is right, Jesus says, you Samaritans worship what you do not know. 00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:16.560 We worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 00:25:17.640 --> 00:25:25.440 At a time is coming when the true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and in truth, for 00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:27.500 they are the kind of worshipers the father seeks. 00:25:30.900 --> 00:25:36.800 Jesus is saying to this lady, listen, lady, you're concerned about what temple or what place you're going to worship. 00:25:37.320 --> 00:25:43.260 And I just want you to know, salvation is here, and it's me. 00:25:44.040 --> 00:25:45.360 Amen. 00:25:45.740 --> 00:25:47.320 And you're to worship in spirit and truth. 00:25:47.420 --> 00:25:51.120 And it's not about a building, and you're obsessed about a building, but it's about connecting to me. 00:25:52.360 --> 00:25:58.630 You know, the funny thing about this story is this lady goes on and says, I called you a prophet, but there's a messiah coming who's going to tell us these things? 00:25:59.180 --> 00:26:00.820 And he says to her, that's me. 00:26:03.800 --> 00:26:04.560 The story goes on. 00:26:04.580 --> 00:26:05.460 The lady ran to the village. 00:26:05.460 --> 00:26:07.060 She gathered everyone and brought them all out. 00:26:07.180 --> 00:26:12.830 And rather than going to the temple, they went and met Jesus and they worshipped him. 00:26:14.100 --> 00:26:19.820 The Messiah had brought salvation, and he's pointing out to the lady, the significance about where you worship is an important. 00:26:19.820 --> 00:26:28.000 What's important is that you connect to me, be concerned with our salvation and 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:30.400 everything that God required. 00:26:30.400 --> 00:26:36.120 The nation of Israel to build in this tabernacle and or temple was intended to be fulfilled in Christ. 00:26:38.420 --> 00:26:41.630 It's important to get a biblical picture of the tabernacle. 00:26:43.680 --> 00:26:48.380 Just because someone might build any religious building and call it of God doesn't make it of God. 00:26:50.620 --> 00:26:56.080 God was very specific to the nation of Israel, to the exact structure he wanted this place built. 00:26:58.060 --> 00:27:05.380 He told them exactly where to put the elements, exactly how the elements should look, exactly the shape of the elements in which should be possessed in this tabernacle, 00:27:05.740 --> 00:27:12.920 and exactly the way he expected them to worship in this building, because it was important for him, for the people to understand and seeing illustrated through 00:27:12.920 --> 00:27:18.560 these ceremonies of religious practice who he was and what he was going to do through Jesus. 00:27:21.720 --> 00:27:24.780 Matter of fact, it tells us in Exodus 25 he describes it. 00:27:26.340 --> 00:27:29.580 He says, the Lord said to Moses, tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. 00:27:30.360 --> 00:27:34.820 You are to receive the offering for me from everyone whose heart prompts them to give. 00:27:34.840 --> 00:27:35.800 It was a freewill offering. 00:27:36.700 --> 00:27:39.460 If they desire to know me, then they're going to give to that cause. 00:27:39.480 --> 00:27:43.240 And if they give to that cause, then you're going to be able to have this building, which I can reveal myself. 00:27:44.260 --> 00:27:48.520 So he says in verse three, these are the offerings you are to receive from them gold and silver and bronze. 00:27:48.540 --> 00:27:55.660 This was a big offering blue, purple, scarlet yarn and fine linen, goat hair, ram skin dyed red and another type 00:27:55.660 --> 00:27:56.580 of durable leather. 00:27:57.060 --> 00:28:04.300 Acacia wood, olive oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense and onyx stones and other gems 00:28:04.420 --> 00:28:06.580 to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece. 00:28:07.540 --> 00:28:10.680 Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. 00:28:11.560 --> 00:28:17.700 Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I showed you. 00:28:19.560 --> 00:28:20.660 God didn't mess around. 00:28:21.980 --> 00:28:29.000 Matter of fact, it tells us early on that there were a few guys, a couple priests that went into this building, and they decided they would just make an offering to God, contrary 00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:29.830 to the way that God desired. 00:28:30.100 --> 00:28:31.840 And the Bible tells us that God immediately killed them. 00:28:34.360 --> 00:28:41.420 God takes his teaching of himself before his religious leaders, especially when the temple was just built seriously, and he wanted them 00:28:41.420 --> 00:28:44.180 to structure it exactly as he shared with them. 00:28:45.100 --> 00:28:51.180 You can kind of see that illustration to give an idea in our mind what this tabernacle or temple looked like. 00:28:51.860 --> 00:28:58.740 The courtyard, which is the fenced in area on the outside, was about 75ft wide by 150ft long. 00:29:00.040 --> 00:29:06.140 The poles that held this outer court together, the bottom of it was bronze, and the top of every pillar was silver. 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:14.460 Every hook that held on the material which went around the tabernacle was also made of silver. 00:29:16.860 --> 00:29:18.840 The beams itself were made of acacia wood. 00:29:20.220 --> 00:29:27.220 Moses was described to God or told by God to build it exactly how he desired, because God 00:29:27.220 --> 00:29:29.680 desires to be worshiped truthfully. 00:29:31.840 --> 00:29:38.900 And when you walked into this courtyard area, there was only one entrance, which was on the eastern side 00:29:38.900 --> 00:29:39.220 of the temple. 00:29:41.440 --> 00:29:48.540 And when you walked into this courtyard area, the first thing that everyone saw and the thing that would captivate your mind was 00:29:48.600 --> 00:29:52.760 the altar of burnt offerings, sometimes called the Brazen offer. 00:29:55.120 --> 00:29:57.820 But the altar of burnt offerings literally means in the Greek. 00:29:58.180 --> 00:29:59.680 The altar of Holocaust. 00:30:02.500 --> 00:30:06.600 And people would walk into this place in which God desires to reveal himself in. 00:30:06.620 --> 00:30:09.140 The first thing that they would see was death. 00:30:11.500 --> 00:30:13.820 Blood would literally pour around the altar. 00:30:15.720 --> 00:30:17.520 Animals lives were being taken. 00:30:20.320 --> 00:30:25.980 The intentions of the altar being at the very front of the building. 00:30:26.080 --> 00:30:33.220 Could you imagine just walking into this building with your young child and just the smell of death in the air? 00:30:35.440 --> 00:30:41.240 This God who desires to be made known in the first message he gives to us as people is death and sacrifice. 00:30:44.660 --> 00:30:50.380 And I just said to us, the purpose of this temple, every structure of this temple, its intentions are to point us to who? 00:30:51.880 --> 00:30:52.040 Jesus. 00:30:56.100 --> 00:31:02.450 God's message at that altar was very clear to the people, or it should have been clear to the people, I should say. 00:31:03.860 --> 00:31:06.900 Bible tells us that God is a holy God, and God is a just God. 00:31:08.420 --> 00:31:10.760 Means this that God's going to judge every sin. 00:31:11.680 --> 00:31:14.360 There is no sin that God will not uncover. 00:31:14.640 --> 00:31:19.300 And judge tells us in Romans 118, for the wrath of God is against all ungodliness. 00:31:21.920 --> 00:31:24.920 And Romans 323 all have sinned. 00:31:26.740 --> 00:31:30.620 And Romans 623 the wages of sin is what. 00:31:34.300 --> 00:31:41.360 You walk into the temple, and the first thing that you recognize is there is a just and holy God, and things are dying because the wages of sin is 00:31:41.360 --> 00:31:41.740 death. 00:31:41.860 --> 00:31:45.460 And the picture of these animals were to reflect and awaken within Israel. 00:31:45.600 --> 00:31:48.140 What's going to happen to them because of sin? 00:31:51.240 --> 00:31:56.320 Bible tells us in Hebrews 922, without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. 00:31:57.340 --> 00:31:59.760 Meaning there is a price to pay. 00:32:01.960 --> 00:32:09.200 And the Bible talks about without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins because it tells us in Leviticus 17, life is in the blood. 00:32:09.260 --> 00:32:14.000 And so when an animal loses its blood, or when an individual loses its blood, it is dying. 00:32:15.720 --> 00:32:21.660 And it's an illustration of our not just physical death, but also spiritual death thanks to sin. 00:32:23.160 --> 00:32:28.380 And the first message that God creates to Israel as he's revealed himself, is that there is a problem here. 00:32:30.140 --> 00:32:31.320 Wasn't difficult to see. 00:32:31.320 --> 00:32:34.000 Anytime you see an animal dying, bells go off. 00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:35.760 There is a problem here, right? 00:32:36.680 --> 00:32:38.670 I got this cat lady who lives next to me. 00:32:38.760 --> 00:32:38.860 And? 00:32:39.200 --> 00:32:42.720 And when we first moved into our house, she had, I think she had, like, 20 cats. 00:32:43.200 --> 00:32:47.320 But thanks to cars and diseases, like six of them died on my lawn. 00:32:47.480 --> 00:32:47.660 Right. 00:32:48.240 --> 00:32:50.150 And a few of them we caught in the middle of death. 00:32:51.320 --> 00:32:54.500 And being there at that moment, easily to register in my head. 00:32:54.800 --> 00:32:55.980 This is not right. 00:32:56.240 --> 00:32:57.700 There is a problem here. 00:33:02.580 --> 00:33:06.280 Sin reminds us about how horrible death is. 00:33:08.240 --> 00:33:13.460 And then when you get to the New Testament because the temple reflects Jesus. 00:33:15.240 --> 00:33:18.340 John the Baptist immediately sees Jesus walking on the Jordan River. 00:33:18.340 --> 00:33:25.620 It tells us along the Jordan River river in John chapter one and verse 29, and he says about Jesus as the crowds are gathered together, behold 00:33:25.620 --> 00:33:29.960 the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. 00:33:32.680 --> 00:33:38.320 Think about in Isaiah 53 it says, he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities. 00:33:38.340 --> 00:33:44.320 The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 00:33:46.900 --> 00:33:50.680 The sacrifice of sin and death was a picture for us. 00:33:50.680 --> 00:33:55.240 The wage that we would pay because of sin, or the wage that Jesus would pay for us. 00:33:56.180 --> 00:33:58.560 God is a just God. 00:33:58.740 --> 00:34:05.790 And can I tell you this morning we when we read about death in the sacrifice of these animals, sometimes we think it's how horrible is that? 00:34:08.460 --> 00:34:10.120 I think God wanted us to paint. 00:34:10.159 --> 00:34:12.780 I think God desired to paint that picture for us. 00:34:12.800 --> 00:34:17.000 And seeing the sacrifice of these animals, how horrible is death? 00:34:19.900 --> 00:34:24.080 For us to begin to question what is wrong with our relationship with God? 00:34:26.560 --> 00:34:33.719 But can I tell you this morning, if you find yourself in God's grace rather than under his justice, it is a glorious thing 00:34:33.719 --> 00:34:36.780 to think about a God who will bring justice upon this earth. 00:34:38.780 --> 00:34:45.780 As an individual, we experience sin and death and sickness and disease and things that are just done wrong to other people by 00:34:45.780 --> 00:34:46.320 people. 00:34:46.520 --> 00:34:49.540 And there's war and there's famine and it's just horrendous. 00:34:49.940 --> 00:34:51.820 And we just want rescued from all of it. 00:34:53.260 --> 00:35:00.340 And to think about a God who promises to bring justice upon all of that to those who find themselves in Christ, it is 00:35:00.340 --> 00:35:05.060 incredibly freeing to think about a God who wants to bring that glory for us. 00:35:05.240 --> 00:35:06.100 Amen. 00:35:06.780 --> 00:35:08.140 If we can get on the right side of justice. 00:35:11.600 --> 00:35:13.590 God promises to punish every sin. 00:35:15.720 --> 00:35:18.950 The question that we ask ourselves is, do you want to pay for it? 00:35:20.600 --> 00:35:22.480 Or would you let Jesus pay for it? 00:35:25.700 --> 00:35:28.480 By his wounds we are healed. 00:35:31.240 --> 00:35:36.080 This place was a place of reverence before a holy God. 00:35:38.200 --> 00:35:45.200 The Bible tells us in the first six chapters of Leviticus there were five offerings that the nation of Israel would even 00:35:45.200 --> 00:35:50.240 bring before this God to connect with him in relationship, thankful for a messiah who would eventually do it. 00:35:51.800 --> 00:35:58.900 It's the burnt offering, the grain offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, all illustrative of 00:35:58.900 --> 00:36:05.600 our relationship with Jesus and how it's broken through sin, but thankful it can be reconciled through a sacrifice. 00:36:09.060 --> 00:36:12.660 We worship through sacrifice that provides fellowship and forgiveness. 00:36:14.780 --> 00:36:21.180 You know this nation of Israel, when they gathered together to worship at the temple, they didn't go to the temple because they were worthy people. 00:36:23.140 --> 00:36:24.600 They went to the temple because they were unworthy. 00:36:27.060 --> 00:36:34.140 They went to the temple to make sacrifice for sins, to experience that reconciliation with a God who desired to make 00:36:34.140 --> 00:36:36.040 himself known to them. 00:36:37.960 --> 00:36:39.660 The temple is important to us. 00:36:39.660 --> 00:36:42.040 And you see, I haven't even talked about the back room yet. 00:36:42.040 --> 00:36:49.050 But this back place, this giant tent you see in the rear end is called the Holy, the Holy Place. 00:36:49.060 --> 00:36:49.220 Excuse me. 00:36:50.720 --> 00:36:54.140 This room was literally 15ft wide by 45ft long. 00:36:54.160 --> 00:37:00.960 And yes, I pulled out the tape measure today or excuse me this week, and it's almost the size of our room that we're in right now. 00:37:01.940 --> 00:37:07.840 If we put a marker in the middle of our sound booth to this wall, that's the distance of the length of the Holy place. 00:37:08.300 --> 00:37:11.940 And if we stopped with this wall that's shorter than the rest of the wall. 00:37:12.240 --> 00:37:15.040 The smaller wall back in the back, that's the width of the Holy place. 00:37:16.800 --> 00:37:24.060 You know the interesting thing about the Holy Place, this was the pinnacle and the focus point of the nation of Israel for that for which they worshipped, everyone 00:37:24.060 --> 00:37:27.140 would go into this courtyard, they would offer sacrifices. 00:37:28.000 --> 00:37:31.160 But very few people got to go in the holy place. 00:37:31.920 --> 00:37:39.720 Could you imagine building a building to worship the Lord, and then all of us gathering together just to stop in the parking lot and just praise God's name every 00:37:39.720 --> 00:37:40.140 morning. 00:37:40.140 --> 00:37:43.520 Every Sunday morning, we're in the we're pull up our cars and we just stand in the parking lot and we worship. 00:37:43.540 --> 00:37:48.120 And one guy walks in to the Holy place and does his thing, comes out and gives us a message for the day. 00:37:48.160 --> 00:37:49.300 That would be weird, right? 00:37:50.480 --> 00:37:53.330 But that's exactly what Israel saw in this tabernacle. 00:37:53.340 --> 00:37:53.550 Did you think? 00:37:53.820 --> 00:37:57.220 Wait a minute, God, we just gave all this gold, all this silver, all this bronze. 00:37:57.400 --> 00:37:58.360 We built this building. 00:37:58.360 --> 00:37:59.500 And you're telling me we can't go in? 00:38:00.300 --> 00:38:00.480 Yeah. 00:38:00.500 --> 00:38:01.940 And if you do go in, I'll strike you dead. 00:38:02.440 --> 00:38:02.680 What? 00:38:03.280 --> 00:38:04.380 What is going on here? 00:38:06.880 --> 00:38:08.570 Bible tells us into the holy place. 00:38:08.620 --> 00:38:12.160 That's where the priest went to conduct specific ceremonies before God. 00:38:13.760 --> 00:38:19.640 Nation of Israel itself couldn't go before the holy place, because the sacrifice for which would ultimately forgive their sins hadn't come yet. 00:38:19.840 --> 00:38:23.600 And so if they would go into this building, they would go in as unholy people before a holy God. 00:38:25.400 --> 00:38:32.520 And perhaps, maybe even the more interesting thing about this building that if you if you get into the latter part of the building, the back half of this building 00:38:32.520 --> 00:38:34.970 into the Holy place, there was a separate room. 00:38:35.100 --> 00:38:36.270 This was a two room building. 00:38:36.600 --> 00:38:39.120 And in the back of this room there was this place called the Holy of Holies. 00:38:40.640 --> 00:38:42.380 It was a 15 by 15 room. 00:38:42.440 --> 00:38:44.580 I don't know how far that is, but picture that, right? 00:38:45.600 --> 00:38:52.280 And inside of that, there was this element called the Ark of the covenant in which a priest would offer a sacrifice on behalf of the nation of Israel. 00:38:52.540 --> 00:38:59.820 And the interesting thing about this room is that all the people of Israel and all the people, all the priests that existed, only one 00:38:59.820 --> 00:39:05.300 person, the high priest, could go into this room, and he could only go into this room one time a year. 00:39:06.740 --> 00:39:08.230 It was called the day of Yom Kippur. 00:39:10.320 --> 00:39:12.360 Israel would sacrifice two goats. 00:39:12.360 --> 00:39:13.420 One they would call the scapegoat. 00:39:13.680 --> 00:39:17.870 They would place their hand upon it, place their sins upon them, and send them into the wilderness as if their sin were fleeing. 00:39:18.220 --> 00:39:19.640 The other goat would lose his life. 00:39:20.960 --> 00:39:24.860 They would take the blood of this goat, and the high priest would go one time a year. 00:39:25.320 --> 00:39:32.320 Hopefully he didn't have sin in his life because he would be struck dead immediately, but he would go behind this curtain and the description is he would he would have smoke veiling 00:39:32.320 --> 00:39:33.020 his presence. 00:39:33.060 --> 00:39:40.120 So even in the Holy of Holies, he couldn't see the beauty of God as Shekinah glory, the cloud by day by day, and the fire by 00:39:40.120 --> 00:39:42.010 night that hovered over this place. 00:39:43.040 --> 00:39:46.600 Smoke kept it masked. 00:39:46.640 --> 00:39:51.910 He would come before this mercy seat, and he would offer sacrifices for the nation of Israel once a year. 00:39:54.180 --> 00:39:58.520 The picture for Israel is that God is a holy God. 00:40:01.320 --> 00:40:04.740 And God desired to reveal himself to the people. 00:40:04.880 --> 00:40:11.440 But there is something seriously wrong with their relationship with him and its sin. 00:40:13.860 --> 00:40:20.960 These goats in the nation of Israel symbolically represented what Jesus would ultimately do, because the purpose of the Tabernacle was to 00:40:20.960 --> 00:40:21.740 point to Jesus. 00:40:24.180 --> 00:40:27.220 Last passage we'll look at this morning comes in Hebrews chapter ten. 00:40:29.120 --> 00:40:30.590 It says this about the sacrifices. 00:40:30.720 --> 00:40:37.780 If you're wondering how Old Testament saints, the Jewish people, were saved or born again or became believers in 00:40:37.780 --> 00:40:41.000 Christ, it wasn't because of the sacrifices that happened in the temple. 00:40:41.480 --> 00:40:44.520 It was about a promise of a future Messiah and placing their hope in that. 00:40:44.520 --> 00:40:45.600 And it says Hebrews ten. 00:40:46.100 --> 00:40:48.980 But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sin. 00:40:49.980 --> 00:40:54.080 It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 00:40:54.160 --> 00:40:56.660 They were just a picture of what Jesus would do. 00:40:57.420 --> 00:40:58.420 Day after day. 00:40:58.420 --> 00:41:02.000 Every priest stands and performs his religious duties again and again. 00:41:02.000 --> 00:41:05.220 He offers the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. 00:41:06.520 --> 00:41:12.900 When this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. 00:41:12.900 --> 00:41:13.520 It's talking about Jesus. 00:41:15.020 --> 00:41:17.840 And since that time, he awaits for his enemies to become his footstools. 00:41:19.580 --> 00:41:26.420 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. 00:41:29.400 --> 00:41:32.920 The interesting thing about the nation of Israel before they got out of the land of Egypt. 00:41:34.600 --> 00:41:40.540 The final plague that hit the nation of Egypt was the death of the firstborn. 00:41:42.960 --> 00:41:44.350 A picture of Jesus. 00:41:46.260 --> 00:41:52.750 And God told the nation of Israel, if you don't want to see your firstborn sacrificed under this plague, here's what I want you to do. 00:41:53.100 --> 00:41:54.190 I want you to take a lamb. 00:41:55.080 --> 00:42:00.420 I want you to shed its blood, and I want you to apply its blood over the doorpost of your home. 00:42:00.420 --> 00:42:06.900 And when the death angel comes to the nation of Egypt, if he sees the blood of the lamb over your doorpost, he will pass by. 00:42:11.740 --> 00:42:14.240 That message still rings true for us today. 00:42:17.000 --> 00:42:21.560 The Bible tells us some pointing to man wants to die, and after that comes your judgment. 00:42:23.140 --> 00:42:25.240 The wages of sin is death. 00:42:26.760 --> 00:42:29.080 The death angel will pass by your life. 00:42:31.220 --> 00:42:33.440 And the promise is to those who have applied. 00:42:33.440 --> 00:42:36.360 The blood of the lamb will be spared. 00:42:38.000 --> 00:42:38.710 You will be saved. 00:42:43.100 --> 00:42:44.880 Jesus is our hope. 00:42:47.380 --> 00:42:49.960 God used the temple to reflect his beauty to all of us. 00:42:51.380 --> 00:42:55.240 He revealed to us how to worship him through the elements that took place there. 00:42:56.800 --> 00:42:58.440 He made the slaves free. 00:42:58.460 --> 00:43:02.060 He gave Israel an identity and he shaped them in him. 00:43:04.280 --> 00:43:10.330 Because God is always interested in your worship, because God is always interested in the way that you connect to him through Jesus. 00:43:13.340 --> 00:43:16.780 You know, as a church, the thing I love about God is he really he. 00:43:16.860 --> 00:43:18.360 He shapes my identity in him. 00:43:19.380 --> 00:43:22.480 And I want to learn how to be a better husband in God's word does that. 00:43:22.580 --> 00:43:24.140 And I want to learn how to be better with money. 00:43:25.220 --> 00:43:26.940 And God's Word will teach me that. 00:43:26.940 --> 00:43:28.720 And I want to learn how to better love people. 00:43:29.360 --> 00:43:31.500 And God's Word will teach me that. 00:43:31.540 --> 00:43:33.030 He'll teach me how to fix my life up. 00:43:33.200 --> 00:43:33.600 And it will. 00:43:33.880 --> 00:43:34.620 It can look great. 00:43:34.640 --> 00:43:36.240 It may not always run perfectly, but. 00:43:36.460 --> 00:43:40.320 But God can just really show me those resources I need to do those things. 00:43:40.420 --> 00:43:45.620 But you know, the Bible says what profit is a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul. 00:43:48.340 --> 00:43:52.860 And the biggest message about the temple is not that God can fix your life here on earth. 00:43:54.460 --> 00:44:01.900 The biggest message about the temple, if we fail to miss it this morning is that there is something seriously wrong about our relationship 00:44:01.900 --> 00:44:02.760 with him? 00:44:03.760 --> 00:44:07.320 And if we don't get that right, we don't get anything right. 00:44:09.820 --> 00:44:11.520 It's everything about Jesus. 00:44:14.640 --> 00:44:21.680 I felt I felt kind of bad at the end of this week and I thought, man, we always give us something practical to hold on to something about our lives we can 00:44:21.680 --> 00:44:25.120 work on and change, and something we can do as a church family. 00:44:25.140 --> 00:44:28.420 And who cares just for a day? 00:44:28.480 --> 00:44:29.040 Who cares? 00:44:29.140 --> 00:44:30.290 This is about Jesus. 00:44:30.560 --> 00:44:31.700 That's what this church is about. 00:44:31.720 --> 00:44:32.610 It's about Jesus. 00:44:33.240 --> 00:44:40.240 And if we can understand the picture that God created here and everything that Christ has done and the sacrifice he has made for us, the best thing that 00:44:40.240 --> 00:44:47.300 we can walk out with this morning is to understand how a holy God operates for us as people, and we just stand thankful that 00:44:47.300 --> 00:44:49.090 he's given us his grace and mercy. 00:44:49.860 --> 00:44:52.490 God, thank you for Jesus. 00:44:54.090 --> 00:44:59.060 We consider the death of those animals and God. 00:44:59.060 --> 00:45:02.110 As much as you hate death, we hate seeing it as well. 00:45:03.800 --> 00:45:10.900 But God awaken within us a desire to just seek you in your holiness, to understand your hatred for sin and 00:45:10.900 --> 00:45:15.220 the need that we have as holy people, just to come before Jesus and cling to him. 00:45:17.340 --> 00:45:24.860 You know, Hebrews says to us, it has nothing to do with their sacrifices, nothing to do with our sacrifices. 00:45:24.980 --> 00:45:27.620 It's everything to do with Jesus's sacrifice. 00:45:30.980 --> 00:45:31.990 It's all about him. 00:45:34.380 --> 00:45:36.410 I love the way Isaiah nine six says it. 00:45:36.760 --> 00:45:37.750 I'll just end with this verse. 00:45:39.980 --> 00:45:44.740 Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. 00:45:46.300 --> 00:45:53.460 And he shall be called wonderful Counselor, all mighty God, Everlasting 00:45:53.460 --> 00:45:56.260 Father, and the Prince of Peace. 00:45:58.760 --> 00:45:59.860 God, thank you for that peace.