Please take your Bibles and turn with me to Hebrews chapter 9. Hebrews chapter 9. As you know, on this particular Lord's Day evening, as we gather together and spend some extended time in prayer together, I try to preach on something to lead us into that time of prayer, something that we should be praying about, something related to prayer to direct our time of prayer together. And so over the last several times of gathering together for corporate prayer, I've been asking the question, if someone said, I want to learn to pray, where would you, where do I start? How would you answer that question? And so I said, you start with God. Our understanding of prayer, how to pray, what to pray, is informed by and directed by our knowledge of God. Who is he? What is he like? What is his will? What has he revealed in his word? And so praying must be informed by and directed by the knowledge of God. And so we have considered prayer in the goodness of God, prayer in the holiness of God, and prayer in the sovereign power of God. Well, this evening, I want us to consider prayer and the work of Christ. Under holiness and prayer, the holiness of God in prayer, we considered a holy mediator, that we approach God through a holy mediator and savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We come into his presence clothed in a righteousness not our own. And so I want us this evening to consider prayer and the work of Christ as we're reminded that we are only able to come to him in prayer because of this mediator who has laid down his life for us. And I want us to do that by considering briefly this evening, Hebrews 9, verses 1-14. Follow along as I read Hebrews 9, verses 1-14. Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship in the earthly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand, and the table, and the sacred bread. This is called the Holy Place. Behind the second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies. Having a golden altar of incense, and the Ark of the Covenant covered on all sides with gold, and in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron's rod which budded in the tables of the covenant. And above it were the cherubim of glory, overshadowing the mercy seat. But of these things we cannot now speak in detail. Now, when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle, performing the divine worship. but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance." The Holy Spirit is signifying this. that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly, both gifts and sacrifices are offered, which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation. But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, he entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, he entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled those who have been defiled, sanctified for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, through whom the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Now obviously this evening we're not going to be able to go through all these verses in detail, but I want us to just glory in our mediator this evening as we come before the throne of grace. The book of Hebrews demonstrates the superiority of the new covenant over the old covenant. It has a superior priest and mediator, Jesus Christ, a priest according to the order of Melchizedek, not according to the Levitical priesthood. There is a superior sacrifice in the new covenant, the once for all time sacrifice of Christ. There's a superior place, not an earthly tent, an earthly tabernacle or sanctuary or temple, but a heavenly one as described here. There's superior worship in the new covenant because of the immediate access to the Holy of Holies that every sinner redeemed by the blood of Christ has. Now by saying the new covenant is superior to the old covenant, the writer of the book of Hebrews is not belittling the old covenant. He's not demeaning it. He's putting it in its proper place. When you speak of how wonderful marriage is, You're not disparaging your time of engagement. Being engaged to be married is a wonderful time, but being married is better. Engagement is a very important time, but it's not meant to be permanent. The old covenant was instituted by God, it was temporary, and it served particular purposes until the new covenant came. And therefore, the writer in the book of Hebrews acknowledges that there were divine commands and regulations from God for Old Covenant worship in the tabernacle and in the temple. It says in verse 1, Now, even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship in the earthly sanctuary. Regulations means commands and ordinances about service and worship in the tabernacle, and then later in the temple. God gave very particular commands and regulations, and they served a purpose. They were typological. They were symbolic. They pointed to something greater. They were types and shadows that had an ending and a fulfillment. And they were didactic. They were instructive. They taught something. The writer has just stated that the inauguration of the new covenant makes the old covenant obsolete. Back in chapter 8, verse 13, it says, "...when He said, A new covenant, He has made the first obsolete." but whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear. And then in chapter nine, he turns his attention to the tabernacle of the old covenant. The tabernacle was a portable tent for Israel prior to the building of the more permanent structure called the temple. It was a sanctuary, a place of worship, and it was the center of the worship of God. and God had regulations regarding how he was to be approached and worshipped there. And so the writer goes on to describe this earthly sanctuary called the tabernacle. Now, there was an outer court to the tabernacle, but the writer focuses his attention on two sections. the holy place, and then the most holy place, or the holy of holies. In verse 2 it says, for there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which there were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread. This is called the holy place. So that's the holy place. Then he says in verse 3, behind the second veil. So there's the outer one that we call the holy place, and then there's that which is behind the second veil, that's the most holy place, or the holy of holies. And he says there was a tabernacle prepared. It was constructed and equipped with various items. And then he begins to describe some of the items and the layout of this earthly sanctuary. Now, he doesn't mention every item, and he doesn't explain all the typology behind them, because he says in verse 5, but of these things we cannot now speak in detail. That's not his purpose here. He has a particular purpose. He wants to make a particular point. But he gives a general description which is sufficient for his point. And so in the outer tent, called the holy place, were the following items. In verse two, it speaks of the lampstand. This was on the left as the priest entered the holy place. And the lampstand had seven branches and was made of solid gold. This was symbolic. Light often symbolizes revelation and knowledge. And it's telling us that God reveals himself. The tabernacle and the temple in Israel that would be built in the future taught many things about God as the writer is explaining in this passage, but ultimately it pointed to Christ for He is the light. It says in John 1 verse 9 that there was the true light which coming into the world enlightens every man. And in John 1.18 it says, no one has seen God at any time. The only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, Jesus that is, he has explained him. He has revealed Him to us. And so Jesus is the light who reveals the Father. He said, if you've seen Me, you've seen the Father. And then He would say and proclaim, I am the light of the world. So Jesus is the prophet who reveals God the Father and He reveals the truth of God. Then there is the table and the sacred bread mentioned in v. 2. And so on the right was a table with sacred bread. And this table was made of acacia wood and overlaid with gold. It was three feet wide and one and a half feet deep and about two and a quarter of a foot tall. And every Sabbath day, 12 loaves of fresh bread were set upon that table. It's called sacred bread. And at the end of the week, only the priests were allowed to eat the loaves. Now this represented fellowship with God. But only the priests were allowed to partake in this symbolic bread. But then Jesus comes and he says, I am the bread of life. And he says in John 6, verse 33, for the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world. This bread is of heavenly origin. And this bread, the Lord Jesus, would lay down His life, be crucified, and reconcile sinners to God that they may have eternal fellowship with Him. Then it says in verse 2, this is called the holy place. So the outer part was called the holy place. It was set apart for various priestly functions and acts of divine worship before God. But then in verse three, he writes, behind the second veil, there was a tabernacle, which is called the holy of holies. So there's this innermost part of the sanctuary. This was the most holy place. And it contained various items as well, as he describes in verse four, there was a golden altar of incense. Now this technically, this golden altar of incense was technically not inside the Holy of Holies. However, there's a close link between the altar of incense and the Holy of Holies because of the placement of it. It barred entrance into the most holy place. And so along with the veil, which barred entrance into the Holy of Holies, the golden altar of incense reminded the priests of limited access that they had into the presence of God, except by sacrifice. This altar was also made of acacia wood and overlaid with gold, and it served as a place where sacrifices were made. And the aroma of those sacrifices would fill the tabernacle. Jesus, it says in the New Testament, laid down His life as a sweet-smelling sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5 verse 2, Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. And then inside the Holy of Holies, there is the Ark of the Covenant. This Ark is a box, so to speak, which contained certain items. It was overlaid with gold. And it contained a golden jar holding the manna, Aaron's rod, which budded, and the tables of the Covenant. So there's the manna. A reminder of God's provision for the people in the wilderness. Again, pointing to Jesus ultimately. You remember Jesus said in John 6, our fathers ate manna in the wilderness. He gave them bread out of heaven to eat. And he said, truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is my father who gives you true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world. And he proclaims there, I am the bread. He is the true manna that gives life. And then there's Aaron's rod which budded. It was a reminder of God's powerful work of redemption from Egyptian slavery. And there were the tables of the covenant. The two tablets of stone containing the Ten Commandments, the moral law of God, reminding them of the holiness of God and the holy standard for coming into His presence. And so all these things were a reminder of God's power, God's provision, and God's covenant with His people. It was a symbol of the presence of God, the most holy place, the holy of holies. It tells us in verse five, and above it, that is above the ark, were the cherubim of glory, overshadowing the mercy seat. Cherubim were angelic beings that were a reminder of the holy presence of God. No one can go into the presence of a holy God without a reminder of His glory. One commentator says this, the expression, the cherubim of glory is interesting because it does more than describe the cherubim as glorious. The glory symbolized the presence of God. The cherubim, therefore, were reminders of God. Their position overshadowing the mercy seat shows them as guardians of the majesty of God. So then there was the mercy seat itself, a place where propitiation was made, sacrifice, blood sprinkled, for no one could come before God without sacrifice for sin. And then it tells us in verse 6, now when these things have been so prepared, the priests were continually entering the outer temple performing the divine worship. So now he goes back to the outer part of the temple, the holy place, and he says there was activity there. It was full of Levitical priests, and they were continually offering sacrifices on the altar of incense as God commanded. And so this is happening continually. They're in and out performing divine worship. There was ceaseless activity in the holy place. But then that is contrasted with the second section behind the veil known as the most holy place. V. 7, but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year. not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance." The Holy of Holies, that inner sanctuary, was not a place of ceaseless activity. Only one person, the high priest, could enter there, and only one time a year, on the Day of Atonement, And it was a reminder that while there were priests in the outer temple, but not without sacrifice, that still access to God and to what you might call the immediate presence of holy God was limited. For sin keeps us from that kind of face-to-face relationship with God. And so he describes briefly this Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, where the high priest would enter only once a year and would first have to sacrifice for his own sins. And while the priests were usually, and especially the high priest, was dressed very ornately on this occasion, he would humble himself before God and be dressed very commonly. And he would make sacrifice first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. The blood of an animal was shed. It says, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself in the sins of the people committed in ignorance. Verse 8 says this, the Holy Spirit is signifying this. Signify means is declaring this, is making something clear. It's indicating this as the ESV says. The old covenant worship was a reminder that the way into the holy places, in particular, the most holy place was not yet disclosed and open. Access was limited and restricted because the one of whom all these types and shadows pointed had not yet come. But then in describing all of this, he makes a transition in verse 11. But when Christ appeared. Those are wonderful words. You can think of all the years of the shedding of the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of heifers and all the sacrifices that were made continually in the holy place and once a year in the Holy of Holies. But then he says, but when Christ appeared, all of this pointing to the coming of one. When Christ appeared as High Priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood. He entered the holy place once for all. having obtained eternal redemption." Christ appeared. He has appeared and He has fulfilled all the types and the shadows, and He has laid down His life once and obtained eternal redemption. And this is a reminder that now there's no more limited access, for through Jesus Christ, we've been reconciled and brought near to Him. Through Jesus Christ and His wrath-satisfying death, we have eternal redemption. And so in Ephesians 2, verse 18, it says, through Him, we both, Jew and Gentile, have our access in one Spirit to the Father. We have access. Remember, it was limited. And only the high priest can go into the most holy place. But now there's access. Ephesians 3 v. 12, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. That is, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, the glory of the New Covenant. The Old Covenant served its purpose. And it was good. And it taught many things about the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man and the way of salvation, but all the glory of the new covenant and the glory of the mediator of the new covenant. For all the types and shadows in the old covenant have now been fulfilled." They're no longer needed. They were pointers. But now Jesus has come and He has finished the work. I'm reminded that when he died, it tells us in Matthew 27, verses 50 and 51, that he cried out with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. One of the other Gospels tells us that he said, it is finished, and into your hands I commit my spirit. Matthew 27, 51 says that, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The veil was torn in two. This was a very thick veil, a very thick curtain. So this is a supernatural act of God saying, the one to whom all this pointed has come and now there's access into the most holy place through Him. This veil, this curtain was beautiful and elaborate. It was woven into the tapestry were cherubim, angelic beings of the highest order. And when Jesus died, the veil of that temple was torn in two from top to bottom, an indication that now there's access into the most holy place. This teaches us that Jesus did everything needed for sinners to be saved. And therefore, we rest in Him alone. What was needed? Righteousness. Sinners need righteousness. We have no righteousness of our own, but Jesus comes and He fulfills all righteousness. He obeys the Father completely. He fulfills the moral law of God completely. But we also need a substitute, a propitiatory sacrifice. And He came and laid down His life for us. And when that veil was torn in two, it tells us that Jesus did everything needed in order for sinners to come before Him. There is nothing that needs to be added. It is finished. It cannot be repeated. And it cannot be supplemented. And fate says, I believe that it is finished. That Christ accomplished it. And so we come to God through this holy mediator who has secured access before the very presence of God by His life and by His death. And so this evening, I want to remind us of these things so that we might rejoice as we come together. We need to make sure that we're not just doing this out of ritual. That we somehow have forgotten the means by which we come before a holy God. That we come through the Lord Jesus Christ. who is made a way into the most holy place. And now that place where it symbolizes the very immediate presence of a holy God. Only one, the high priest, could go once a year. Now we... we can come before God. And so we come confessing our sin. We come confessing that our faith is in the Lord Jesus, the one mediator between God and man. And we come rejoicing. that we are received as His children into His presence. He's not ashamed to call us brethren, as Pastor Ernest said. And so as we come this evening, we want to come rejoicing in these things. And so let's take some time and rejoice in this. Let's come and through prayer, come into the holy presence of a holy God. as those who come through a holy mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. And let us rejoice in these things. And then we'll transition to praying for one another, for praying for some of the things on your prayer sheet there. And let's just rejoice that we have been reconciled to God through our great High Priest, the Lord Jesus. Let's bow our heads together in prayer. Men, I would ask you to lead us in prayer. and to do so, to lift up your voices so we all can hear and agree with and say amen to the things that you're praying as we come to the throne of grace. Let's bow our heads together in prayer. Our Father in Heaven, we thank You for the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our great High Priest. And since we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens Let us hold fast our confession. For the scripture says, we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are yet without sin. Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Our Father in heaven, we come to you through the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for all the types and shadows of the old covenant that were pointers pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ and what He would do in fulfillment of all those things. He indeed is the light of the world. He is the prophet. He is the priest. who made a sacrifice for sin, but not a sacrifice of animals, but a sacrifice of himself. And Lord, we thank you that our Savior, the Lord Jesus, laid down his life once, for it was finished, and that sacrifice did not need to be repeated. And so, Lord, our faith is in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is not only our prophet and our priest, but our King, our Lord. And so we bow before him, for he is Lord. Father, thank you that we, those sinners we are, have been justified. by the work of Jesus, declared righteous, clothed in the righteousness of Christ that has been imputed to our account. And so, Lord, we thank you for your kindness to us that you call us to come before you. And I thank you that Times of prayer are reminders of the sufficiency of our Savior and what He has done that we might come into Your presence and it not be a throne of wrath, but a throne of grace. And so, Lord, as we come to You this evening and make petitions, we come to You as Your children who have been reconciled to You. You're our heavenly Father. And Lord, we pray, hallowed be Your name, for You are holy, holy, holy. but we also come to you as our Father, a good and gracious and kind Heavenly Father. And so Lord, we come before you reminded of our great Savior. Lord, help us even as we consider this morning to consider Christ and all His glory and His beauty. Lord, may we desire Him and His glory more than anything else. And may we love Him more and more, we pray in Jesus' name, Amen.