Proclaim your name. It's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. As we jump into Exodus this morning, we'll be in Exodus chapter 30 to start this morning. We'll be in Exodus 30. I don't know if you remember your first job. I'd like to kind of take you back to my first day at Chick-fil-A. Chick-fil-A is where I work, for those of you who don't know. And whenever I introduce myself and say that I work at Chick-fil-A, for some reason, people like me better when I say that. I think their love for Chick-fil-A just kind of transfers to me as an individual as well. No, you know what? I think I know what it is. They're trying to butter me up so they can get some of those free coupons or extra Chick-fil-A sauce. or some nuggets. But as I worked at Chick-fil-A, one of the things that was awkward, that was difficult, was I got the job, I got the position, and then all of these benefits started coming to mind of I'm gonna get to have free food, unlimited lemonade, or in my case, coffee. And another confession for you. I didn't like Chick-fil-A before I worked there. And the reason being is I was super frugal. They didn't have a dollar menu. So I wasn't going to go to Chick-fil-A. So I learned to love Chick-fil-A as I got there. But that was one of the benefits, is I would be able to get free food, unlimited drinks. But what was awkward is even after I was offered the position, It was that first time going behind the counter, because you're not supposed to do that. As customers, you're not supposed to come behind the counter. If you see me working at Chick-fil-A, don't come behind the counter. Somebody might tackle you. You're not supposed to be there. But I was. I was offered the position. I was given the uniform. The training was coming. I was supposed to be there. But it's weird to be on the other side of the counter. You're used to walking up, I'm going to figure out what I'm going to order, I've got to find out what table I'm going to go to, make sure I don't forget my sauce, make sure the kids are behaving. I've got to have all of these things in order, but being on the other side of the counter is completely different and it feels so awkward at first. In the same way, we're going to see similarly this morning as we continue in part two of the Lord being among you, the Lord being among his people, how he invites us to come to him, a place that we're not supposed to be, but a place that we're invited to be. How do we get to participate in a transition of something that we're not supposed to be participating in, but yet now we're welcome to? I wanna show you how we're gonna walk through the text this morning. We're gonna go backwards through the text. So we're going to start at the end of our text this morning, and we're going to wind up at the beginning of our text this morning that Karen had read for us. So you'll see a picture on the screen behind you. And what you'll see is a little bit of a funnel here. This was drawn by a renowned artist, myself. Last week, we started at the top of the funnel and we kind of moved our way in. And this is going to be typical in Hebrew scripture or in other teachings where you're going to see information pointing to a central point. And then after you reach that climax, it moves away from that. So it's a funnel or a chiasm. So part of what we worked on last week is we were working on the top part of the funnel here. And now we're going to approach that climax there. And we're going to move out. So what we're going to do is we're going to start on the outside. And we're going to work our way in. So this morning, as we look at part two, the Lord is among you. We're going to see how God's people are called and enabled to come to him. We will see two instructions for how sinners can approach the Lord in his holiness. So first, the Lord sets the standard for his people to worship him. The Lord sets the standard for his people to worship him. Last week, we got to see an overview of the tabernacle and we got to be introduced to a lot of its furniture. We got to be introduced to a lot of its rooms. We were talking about how each room and each piece of furniture is going to have different things that they're pointing to about who God is. Similarly to how you might set up your house, or how it may be on those shows on HDTV or Extreme Makeover Home Edition, how each house is going to reflect something about the individuals who live there. It's going to follow a specific theme. In the same way, the tabernacle is going to be set up this way as well. And we're going to be introduced to two new pieces of furniture in our text this morning. You'll see in chapter 30, verse 17, we're introduced to a bronze basin. And we are introduced to the altar of incense in chapter 30, verse number 1. I want to walk again through the tabernacle like we were in Israelite. So you'll see on the screen here. We have the tabernacle and where you would enter, the first thing that you would see would be the altar. This is a reminder for us that in order for us to be in the presence of God, the whole point of the tabernacle is the Lord says, I'm going to dwell among you. I'm going to dwell among you. So we walk into the courtyard of the tabernacle. The first thing that we see is the altar. What we are being told is that in order for you to be in my presence, sacrifice is required. However, the altar is not the only piece of furniture in the courtyard. Additionally, we're going to see a basin that is listed out here. And this basin is for the washing of the priests. This fits exactly within this theme, that in order to be in the presence of God, there is cleansing that must take place. That as sinners, sin cannot dwell in the presence of holiness. There must be a cleansing, a purification to take place in order to be in the presence of God. We continue on into the tabernacle and we enter inside. We're in the first room, the holy place. Last week, we got to talk about there is a table with bread, the bread of presence. There is a lantern that is in there. And now we are introduced to another piece of furniture, which is the altar of incense. We walk into this first room and we are reminded of the presence of God amongst his people. The table of bread is reminding us and showing us that we are called into the presence of God, sharing a meal with him, feasting with him, of his continued provision for us as his people. The light that shines forth from the lampstand. is reminding us of the presence of God. And now with the introduction of the altar of incense, both of these are to remain continually active. The light stays on the lamp stand. The incense is to be continually burning. So we constantly see light, we constantly see smoke. And as we're seeing both of these things, Israel's mind and our own minds ought to be drawn to where we have seen that before. As Israel has left Egypt, what has been guiding them through the wilderness? pillar of cloud, the pillar of fire, reminding them of the presence of God, guiding them through the wilderness in the same way we see this represented here in the tabernacle itself. And we would be remiss if we don't continue on and enter into the Holy of Holies with the Ark of the Covenant there. We enter into the Ark of the Covenant and last week we were showing how the tabernacle reflects what the Lord is restoring from Eden. What was originally broken that we could live in the presence of God without fear, commune with him, walk with him, talk with him, but that was broken because of sin. So we walk into the courtyard, we see sacrifices necessary, we walk into his presence, but now we walk into the Holy of Holies. and we're in the presence of God's holiness. What's the first thing that we see is the Ark of the Covenant with two cherubim, two angels, bowing over the Ark of the Covenant. And where was the last time that Israel has seen this? Where's the last time we've seen two cherubim? Standing guard at the edge of the Garden of Eden that no one may enter again into this paradise and into this presence because sin has broken it. But now, Now the presence of the Lord is in the tabernacle and he's inviting his people to come and be in my presence. No longer are you excluded, but now you are invited again to come. So as we're introduced to these new two pieces of furniture, we see a great hope that God has said, I have come to be amongst you, but we should also see a great problem. How can sinful people dwell in the presence of Holy God? How can the perfection of what we were designed for in Eden be restored? How can this be? And this question is going to linger. The section of furniture also includes two other sections for us, which is that of a tax, and that of recipes. There's a recipe for incense and there's a recipe for anointing oil. This tax is introduced to us in verse number 11 of chapter 30. And we see that the cost of half of the shekel is being placed on everyone for the sustaining of the worship of the tabernacle. There's no distinction that's made here between rich and poor. As a matter of fact, they're both called out and said, if you're rich, don't bring more. If you're poor, don't bring less. There's not greater responsibility that's being placed on those who are wealthy. There is not less responsibility on those who are poor. There is not more being put on those who would be considered religious elite, but this is for all, for everyone to come and participate in and to sustain the work of the Lord together. The Lord is no respecter of persons, saying that more ought to bring more or less. This also draws our minds back to the beginning of our text last week, where the Lord says, as you came out of the land of Egypt, I gave you silver. I gave you gold. I gave you all of these fine linens. Come and bring freely. so that the tabernacle might be raised up and you might see my presence amongst you. The Lord is inviting them freely to give of all that he's given them. And here the expectation is being placed on his people. If you're going to identify with me, participate in the worship of me together as people. The Lord in this recipe here, as he lays out this anointing oil and this incense, what he's doing is not revealing a secret for how we can become more acceptable in the eyes of God, that if we were to have this incense, if we were to have this anointing oil, that then we get some bonus VIP backstage access to the Lord. This is not the case. What we are seeing here is the Lord taking the simple and the mundane, the ordinary, and setting it aside for his holy purposes. There's nothing special about these ingredients. The Lord is taking what smells good and is setting it aside for the purpose of his worship. In the same way, he's doing this with the tabernacle. He's taking simple things, simple pieces of his creation, gold, fabrics, dyes, colors, wood. And he's taking these ordinary things, and he's putting them together on display to declare his glory. In this same way, as he lays out this anointing oil, and he lays out this incense, he is taking what is ordinary, and he is putting his glory on display. The Lord, as he lays out this tax, is showing that he is no respecter of persons. Whether you've been Christian for a minute or for a century, the Lord is extending to you the same invitation. Come, participate in my worship. Share together with my people as they come and worship my name. Whether you are rich, whether you are poor, whether you feel like you have all of the gifts of the Spirit or are barely hanging on to one, the Lord calls you in equal volume. Come and worship me. we're going to see an introduction to the construction of the tabernacle. Because so far, all the way up to this point, these have all been instructions that have been laid out. This is the tabernacle. This is what it's made of. This is how you're going to put it together. This is going to be how you are going to do all of these things. And I've provided all of the means for them. As you left Egypt, I gave you all of the riches. I gave you everything that you needed to be able to put this tabernacle together. I'm giving you everything that you need to follow through on all of these things I'm calling you to now. So we've got the what, but how are we gonna put it together? The Lord provides the men as well. Look with me in chapter 31, and we'll start in verse one. Exodus 31, starting in verse one. The Lord said to Moses, see, I have called by name, Bezalel, the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the spirit of God. with ability, with intelligence, with knowledge, and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, and cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, and to work every craft. The Lord provides Bezalel for the construction of the tabernacle. He sets aside this individual, and what does he do? What does he give him in order to be successful in the task? Look at verse three. I have filled him with the Spirit of God. The Lord gives himself. He gives Bezalel exactly what he needs because he gives him himself. And the results of this are going to be everything that he needs in order to be successful in the construction of the tabernacle. So remember, the Lord has provided not only the materials for the tabernacle in the looting of Egypt as the Exodus goes forth, but he now provides the people and he provides himself as he goes forward in the construction of the tabernacle. And we need to be clear, as we look through, the Lord puts his spirit on Bezalel. And the results of this are going to be what seem like mundane and ordinary skills. He gives him the skill of a master craftsman to be able to put together everything for the tabernacle. And we can wind up with such a narrow view of what the gifts of God look like in our lives. That if God is going to be truly glorified in my life, then I need to be doing the work of a preacher, of a missionary, of somebody that is doing these great and fantastic deeds. Bezalel would disagree with you. What we see in his life is him being perfectly equipped for the glory of God. through the construction of the tabernacle. The Lord has intentionally laid on these men the skills for the glorification of his name among his people and the onlooking nations." We need to understand that everything that Bezalel is going to do is for one end and one purpose, worship. He is doing all of this and gifted for all of this to the end of God's name being put on display. Without Bezalel, without his skills that the Lord has given to him, there is no tabernacle. There is no dwelling of the presence of God in his people. But the Lord has not only given the means and the gifts, he's given the man and he's given himself. Christian, it is no stretch for us to look and to see the story of Bezalel, to look and see how the Lord uses him, and to see how God uses us in the glorification within his own body, how he's intentionally orchestrating your skills and your strengths for his glory. We can't fall into the temptation of having such a narrow view of what worshiping God looks like. In the ministries that are happening today, right now, nursery is gathering together and we have volunteers that are caring for our children, that are changing diapers. Why? For the glory of God, that the glory of God might go forth in the lives of those children and the lives of those of you who are here now, in the lives of those that are serving. In the same way with our kids' church that's gathered now and with our Club 45, those who are gathered who are teaching, who are facilitating crafts, who are caring for our children and providing for their safety. Why? For the glory of God gathered together that the Lord's name might be lifted high in their lives and in yours. Are greeters coming together and helping those that are visiting for the first time or need extra assistance in seeing? What does it mean to come and worship together at Grace Life? Why? For the glory of God. The reason our deacons and elders serve in the way they do is not because of earning a position of prowess. but it is for the glory of God, serving and meeting needs amongst the body, ministering in the word and prayer. It's for the glory of God. The Lord gives us these gifts that we might steward them and use them to make his name great. The same thing happens not just in the walls of Grace Life and not just in the ministry that happens here, but this is intended to follow us Monday through Saturday in the lives that we live. Christian, we need to be reminded that work is worship. Work is worship. The Lord has equipped you in exactly the way that you have been equipped to carry out what he has designed you to do for his glory. We can be tempted to think that work is a part of the fall. It is not. When God created Adam, he gave him a task to do, bringing him glory, worshiping him as he labored in the garden. So whether you are a craftsman, a teacher, an engineer, an accountant, a mother, a father, whatever it is that you do, you have been entrusted with that responsibility. You have been gifted the skills that you have been given for one intention and purpose. The glory of God. Christian, we need to broaden our perspective on why we have been given the gifts that we have, why we have the responsibilities and the position in life that we have. It is for the glory of God. He intentionally places his spirit on Bezalel so that the presence of God might be amongst his people. He's intentionally placed you where you are. He's given you his spirit. He's given you your strengths so that you might bring him glory. Not only does the Lord provide the work and the workers, but the Lord provides the rest and the worship. Chapter 31 seems to end in an obscure way. As we look at chapter 31 in verse number 12, the Lord begins to speak to Moses about the Sabbath. And it seems like a really stark transition. Like we've been spending all of this time talking about build this, do this in this way. There has been all of this work up to this point. But the Lord concludes with the Sabbath intentionally reminding the people of his covenant provision for them. He's reminding them of the Sabbath. He's reminding them, you are my people. The Sabbath is honored in not doing work and in resting. So the Lord is concluding all of this instruction, all of this prescription, of build, design, labor, so that my name might be great. But don't forget who you are. Don't forget who I am. As you are laboring for this tabernacle and its construction, don't forget to rest and remember my covenant with you. Don't forget to rest and remember who I am and what I have done for you. If anyone denies this covenant identity, they're missing the point and they are inviting themselves to be cut off from the people of God. What the Lord is sharing here is that who you are is not in what you build. It's not in what you do. It's in who I have made you to be. It's in who I have called you as. I have called you out of Egypt as my people. Brother and sister, we need to remember this truth that our identity and our value and our worth is not in what we produce. It is not in how much you can bring, but it's in who you are because of what God has done. This is what God is reminding his people of here. Remember the Sabbath. As you are called out to build, do not abandon your covenant identity. I'm the one who has redeemed you. I'm the one who has come to you and chose to place my presence amongst you. Remember who you are because of who I am and what I have done. Next, we're going to see the instruction for how one can approach God, how they can approach the Lord. The Lord sets up an intercessor for his people to approach his holiness. We've mentioned this already, But the Lord has come to live amongst his people. This is a good thing and a terrifying thing. We need to remember the context of where this conversation is taking place. God is giving all of this instruction to Moses, but we need to go all the way back to Exodus 19 to remember the context of what's been happening up to this point. In Exodus 19, the presence of God descends on Mount Sinai, and that is accompanied with thunders and lightnings, great clouds, and a fierce warning. No one approaches the mountain. No one touches the mountain. If anyone enters into the presence of my holiness, they die. Whether that's an animal, man, child, they die. They set up this barrier to protect sinners from entering into the presence of God. So now the Lord giving instruction to Moses says, my presence is going to live in your midst. This is a great hope. We talked about last week how the tabernacle, it's a restoration of Eden. God is setting forth to undo the curse that's been laid because of sin. But this terrifying, because we still have sin. We still walk. in rebellion and in our flesh, and we are born into this. So this problem still lingers. But just as the Lord has provided the plans, the Lord's provided the materials, the Lord's provided the man, the Lord provides a way into his presence through an intercessor, an intermediary, a priest. Chapter 28 focuses on the priest's garments. There are three main garments that we're going to see with two main pictures that are being put before us. The first one that you'll see is on the screen behind us. You'll see the ephod that's being laid out there, and that is in chapter 28, verse number 15. Chapter 28, we'll start reading in verse 15. You shall make a breastpiece of judgment and skilled work in the style of an ephod you shall make it, of gold, blue, purple, scarlet yarn, and fine twined linen shall you make it. Verse 17, you shall set in it four rows of stones. And verse number 21, and there shall be 12 stones with their names according to the names of the son of Israel, and they shall be like signets, each engraved with his name. for the 12 tribes. So you'll see on this ephod here that there are four rows, and I don't know if you can make it out from where you're at there, but there are different inscriptions on each of these stones as well. Next, we're gonna go up to these shoulder pieces up here. That's in verse number six of chapter 28. Verse number six. And they shall make an ephod of gold and blue and purple scarlet yarns of fine twine linen skillfully worked, and it shall have two shoulder pieces attached to its edges so that it may be joined together. And jump down to verse number 10. Six of their names on one stone and the names of the remaining six on the other stones in the order of their birth. So here, we see in the ephod and we see on the shoulder connections that there are the names of Israel being worn on the high priests. As they enter in to serve in service, their names are on their shoulders and over their hearts as a representative of what their function is and what their purpose is. The last piece we're gonna look at is in chapter 28, verse 36 through 38, which is the golden headband. Read with me in verse 36 of chapter 28. You shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave it like the engraving of signet, and it shall say, holy to the Lord. You shall fasten it to the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban. It shall be on Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall be regularly on his forehead that they may be accepted before the Lord. One thing that I hope you notice as we look at all of these pieces of clothing here is how similar they are to the tabernacle itself. The construction of them is very similar to what we've already seen in the tabernacle. The colors, the linen, the gold, the preciousness, and this is intentional. Our minds are to be drawn to the fact that in order for one to enter into the holiness of God, one must be covered and clothed with the holiness of God. This is being pictured with what the high priest is supposed to be wearing. But he's also reminded of what his function is, of what his purpose is. That as he's wearing this ephod, as he's wearing these shoulder pieces and this headband, he's reminded, I'm a representative of the people of God before God himself. The headband is reminding him. and reminding the people of Israel that all of the sacrifices that they offer are still tainted with sin. They're not being offered in a holy fashion, for they themselves are sinners. They are coming into contact with their own sacrifices, tainting it with sin. And here Aaron, as he wears this headband, is reminding the people and representing before the Lord, accept these sacrifices as holy. Tainted as they are, accept them as holy. All of these pieces of clothing are serving to function as a representative before the Lord and before the people. I'll go back to my time at Chick-fil-A. Now I get to serve in a position where I'm the director of HR, and I get to focus on leadership development. One of my favorite things that I get to do is I get to see high school students come in, and sometimes it's their first job, and get to see them grow and mature as individuals in their time with us, and then go off and be successful in a career. That's not always the case. Sometimes I have to have hard conversations and difficult conversations, and in my position, There are many times I have to enter into a meeting with my boss, and I have a list of names, and I have to go in and justify why we aren't meeting our goals, why we aren't achieving what we're expected to be achieving. I bear the responsibility for the success and for the failure of my team. And that's one of the joys of the position that I get to do, but it's also one of the most difficult things that I get to do. And I get to go back and coach these individuals to help them move forward and to be successful. But in a much greater and in a much grander way, the priest, the intercessor, the go-between on the behalf of the people, is not bearing a performance review, but is bearing the sins of the people before holy God and saying, will you accept this sacrifice for the forgiveness of their sins? He's going before representing all of the nation of Israel on his heart and on his shoulders as he goes before the Lord. Christian, this calls to us that we, as sinners, are reminded that we need a holy representative before holy God. And this is a problem for Aaron. This is a problem for his children because they are sinners. How can they enter into the presence of Holy God? They themselves are still guilty. How can they go in? Chapter 29 is going to focus on the consecration and the ordination of the priests. This is the making holy, the setting aside of Aaron and of his sons. So let's look at how the Lord prepares a priest to go before him. In chapter 29, we see all of these sacrifices that are to take place so that Aaron can serve in this function, so that a priest can serve in this function. There is a sacrifice of wheat, of oil, but most notably, there is a bull and there are two rams that are to be sacrificed. And this process continues for seven whole days. Sacrifice after sacrifice, day after day. Aaron and his sons have much sin and much bloodshed is required to atone for their sins. But the sacrifices don't stop there. When Aaron and his sons are now set apart for the services of a priest, going and representing the people before God, the sacrifices are going to continue. These are still instructions that are being laid out. These are not being enacted yet. But God says, once they are set aside, they will walk in the service that I have laid out for them. And every day, this is what that's gonna look like. Morning and evening, you will sacrifice a lamb for the sins of the people. Morning and evening, every day, you will sacrifice a lamb for the people. Here we are seeing that their responsibility is going to be covering for the sins of the people each and every day. I want us to look at why the Lord is laying out these things here. Let us look at chapter 29, verses 43 through 46. If you only remember one passage from our text this morning, may it be this one. Exodus 29, verses 43 through 46. The Lord speaking says, there, I will meet with the people of Israel and it shall be sanctified by my glory. I will consecrate the tent of meeting in the altar. Aaron also and his sons, I will consecrate to serve me as priests. I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the Lord, their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them I am the Lord, their God. Look at what God is doing in these verses. This is the conclusion of the consecration of the priests. And there is all of this fear and trembling of how are we going to be able to live in the presence of God. Look at what God is doing and what he is drawing our attention to. He's saying, I will come to you. I will make you holy by my glory. I will make the tabernacle and the altar holy. I will make Aaron and his sons holy so that they can serve me on your behalf. I will dwell amongst you. I will be your God because I am your covenant-keeping God." The Lord is taking all of the responsibility on himself. He is taking all of the means on himself. There is no way that sinful man can make himself unsinful and make himself holy in the presence of God. We can't do it. You can't do it. I can't do it. Aaron can't do it. Moses can't do it. God himself is the only one who can correct the problem that all of mankind bears. Sin and rebellion against him. And he takes that responsibility. He takes it on himself. And he says, I'm going to live amongst you and I'm going to make it possible. I'm going to make it possible for you to be in my presence because I'm going to take the responsibility. I'm going to make a way for you to be holy. And I am going to be your covenant keeping God. What I've promised to you, I'm going to do. You are going to fail at it. I will never fail. We see God fulfilling the end goal of the whole point of the Exodus, the whole point of calling out his people, the whole point of what he had promised all the way back in Genesis. If you're going to remember anything from our text this morning, it is that God is going to bring about his own glory because he takes the responsibility on himself. We're gonna see how all of this clearly points us to Christ in Hebrews 7. If you'll turn with me to Hebrews 7, 1 and 2 Timothy, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews. We're gonna be in Hebrews 7. As you turn there, permit me to tell you a silly story. When I was a child, one of my favorite gifts that my parents got me was a... I don't even know what you would call it. It's like a puppet stand set thing. Basically it was a cardboard box that they had painted and cut a little square out so that my brother and I could do puppet shows. Puppets are cool and everything. You make them out of socks or you buy ones that are specially made. They're fun. They're neat. The ones that I think are really cool, even now while I'm an adult, is shadow puppets. When you can make shadows on the wall, basic level, you take a flashlight and you're doing a little bunny rabbit. I've kind of gotten to intermediate level, so I can kind of do a little dog here. You can't see it back there, but trust me, it's a pretty good looking dog. If you can do cooler ones than that, let me know. We won't make you come up on stage, but I will make you come to my life group and show us your shadow puppets. But what's really neat about those shadow puppets is not just the picture that they can create, but the fact that those hands can create that picture. Those shadows are intentionally pointing back to a skill of whoever is creating and telling that story. In a similar way, and what we're going to see in Hebrews is how the tabernacle, it's a shadow. The priest, it's a shadow. The sacrifices, it's a shadow. They're beautiful and they tell a story on their own, but they're pointing to the source, which is Jesus. So we're going to look at Hebrews chapter 7. I want you to read with me. We're going to read 15 verses. We're going to read from 7, 8, and chapter 10. I'd encourage you, if you have time, read this week, Hebrews 5 through 10, and see how Jesus, the whole Old Testament, all of what was given to Moses here is pointing to Jesus. We're just going to look at a small picture today. Hebrews 7, beginning in verse 23. We see how Jesus sets our eyes on him as our perfect priest. The former priests were many in number. because they were prevented by death from continuing in office. But he holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever. Consequently, he's able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need like those high priests to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins, and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests. But the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a son who has been made perfect forever. Chapter 8, verse 5. They, the tabernacle and the priests, serve as a copy and a shadow of heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, see that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain. But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is much more excellent than the old, as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises." Hebrews 10, starting in verse 19. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart, full of the assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and to good works, not neglecting to meet together as the habit of some, but encouraging one another. And all the more as you see the day drawing near. Brother and sister, last week we got to see how Jesus is the better tabernacle. This week, see Jesus is your better priest. He is better because he is eternal and undying. He is unsinning. He is already holy and needs no atonement. He is God himself. He does not need to fear entering the presence of God. He is God himself. And Christian, this is good news because we need a better priest. And Christian, you have a better priest in Christ. You do not need to go to a human priest to make confession and to make absolution for your sins. 1 Timothy 2 verse 5 says that there is one mediator between God and man, the Lord Christ Jesus. The perfect provision of Christ as your priest gives you confidence as you stand before God because he is sufficient and unfailing. The perfect priest of Christ gives you boldness. You can fight against weakness and against fear and against doubts because Christ is your unfailing rock. Christ is your eternal priest who gives you an enduring hope. You need not fear that he is going to fail, that he is going to die and he cannot continue in his duties. He is unfailing and eternally your advocate and priest before the Father. The strength of Christ gives you hope and help in your weakness. And friend, if you are here today wondering what it means for you to enter into the presence of God, wondering what it means for you to have a relationship with God, the only way you can deal with the evil that rages within, the only way you can deal with the darkness that overshadows you is to have a perfect representative before God himself, and that is Christ and Christ alone. Christian, this Jesus, Our perfect High Priest is worthy of the worship of your souls. This Jesus is worthy of the worship of your neighbors. He is worthy of the worship of Hockley and Waller and Cyprus and Houston. He's worthy of the worship of those in Turkey and Afghanistan and the Arabs in Tunisia. We gather together as a local church to put the glory of God on display, to proclaim the worth of our high priest, that we come together, not because of our worth, but because we have one who has given us worth, and that is Christ and Christ alone. He is our perfect representative, and this is why we want to see churches planted, because we want to see the glory of God put on display. We gather because of what he has done for us, and we plant because of what he has done for us. Christian, the Lord has come to dwell amongst his people. He's come to dwell amongst you, and he's made a way for his people to come to him and to live amongst him. Jesus is the only way for you to experience this reality today and unchangingly for eternity in greater ways. May our hearts be led to worship him. Let us pray.