Good things to look at. I want you to turn to Hebrews chapter 9. Hebrews chapter 9. Now, somebody has a question. Why, since we're New Testament, mostly Gentile Christians, should we even care about this? It's all gone. It's all past. It's all over. And I'm going to say, yes, but certainly, you're 100% right. But I'm also going to share with you that God spent an awful lot of time telling us how this thing is to be built and giving very exact instructions about what's supposed to happen to it. and then spit, and show you this, from here, 1500, all the way through the time of Christ, carrying the hell out. Living all that. There's a reason for that. There's biblical history behind that. There's things that we need to know about. These are things that are important to us. I think you'll see a little bit as we look through this. So let's look through Hebrews 9. We're looking for verses 1. Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service. And the earthly sanctuary. For a tabernacle was prepared, the first bar in which was a lampstand, a table, and the shogren, which is called a sanctuary. And behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the holiest of all, which had the golden censer and the Ark of the Covenant overlaid on all sides with gold. In which were the golden pot that had the manna, and the rubbed and butted, and the tablets of the covenant. And above it were the cherubim of glory, overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail." So you're not going to take the time to speak about that because there's something else you want us to know. Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle performing the services, but into the second part of the high priest alone. Once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people's sins, committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way of the holiest of all was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle There's something of the holiest of all ways that has not been given to us yet. We're still using this tabernacle thing. Now go further. It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered, which cannot make him who performed the services perfect in regard to the conscience. Conserved only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances opposed until the time of the Reformation. Now he tells us this. Just follow me on here. These things were symbols and pictures. And they were going to keep on, but they were temporary. He's letting us know these are temporary things. They were not permanent things. They were temporary. There's coming a reformation, he says, when all those things are going to be done away. But they are temporary. They were to be done just exactly like God sent them. But they couldn't make you perfect. They lacked something. They gave you the symbols, they gave you the understanding, but there was something they lacked. Let's see what it goes on to say, pick up verse 11. Let's read 11 through 14. But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood he entered the most holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of heifers sprinkled in the earth's sea, sanctifies for the pure blood of my people's flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works, and to serve the living God? So he's letting us know Jesus is, and the next verse you can tell them, that Jesus is a mediator of a new covenant. So there was a former covenant, that was a picture for us. There was something we were supposed to learn from that. That if we learned that, then we'd understand what the current work of Jesus is. As a matter of fact, we can't really understand the current work of Jesus unless we understand the previous work. Everybody follow along with me here? Now, this is an attempt to the Hebrews, and yes, it's for Hebrew people. Gentiles probably won't think much about it. But we have lost a lot by not looking at it and seeing what we've been supposed to learn from it. Remember this, the tabernacle was built by people under God's instruction. This is, as a matter of fact, let's take a look at a couple of things. I want you to see this as well. Turn to Exodus 25. Exodus 25. Exodus 25, 9. We'll pick it up in verse 8. And let them make me a sanctuary. That's this tabernacle. That I may dwell among them. Why does he want them to make that sanctuary? So he'd dwell among them, right? I don't know what he said. According to all that I showed you, That is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings just so you shall make it. Make it just like I'm showing you. That tells me something. There's another one someplace else. The one he's going to make is following a pattern. So Moses is going to be in the presence of God and God's going to show him something and tell him how to make it. And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown to you on the mountain. So, Moses is supposed to do it just like God said. He can't do it any other way. They can't modify it. They can't say, well, that's not the best building material. I think a little bit of it would work a lot better than this. And just so that they wouldn't do it, just like he said, look over to chapter 39. Now, from this point on, it's just instruction after instruction after instruction from each of the furnishings to what's going to happen to them. I'll make sure I have it right along, 39. Because, according to Paul, the Lord had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work. Then Moses looked over all the work, and indeed, they had done it. As the Lord had commanded, just so had they done it. And Moses blessed them. So, they were supposed to do it a particular way, and they did it that particular way. To make sure that they did it that particular way, let me go back to, I think it's chapter 36, just one more. and Moses said to the children of Israel, see, the Lord is called by name, Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Ur, of the tribe of Judah, and he has filled him with the Spirit of God. You didn't want that? He's filled him with the Spirit of God. Now, a lot of times people will say, well, we never hear about the Spirit of God until the New Testament. No, that's not true. Here he is, he is filling a particular person, a guy named Bezalel. He hath filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of workmanship, through design of artistic works, to work in gold and silver and bronze, in cutting jewels, for setting and carving wood, to work in all manner of artistic workmanship. And he hath put in his heart the ability to teach, in him an Aholiak, the son of Ishmaq, of the tribe of Dan. He has filled them with the skill to do all manner of work, be it graver, and the designer, and the tapestry maker, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and a believer, those who do every work, and those who design artistic works. And Bezalel the Holiad, a very gifted artist, in whom the Lord has put wisdom and understanding, to know how to do all manner of work, for the servant of the sanctuary shall do according to all that the Lord has commanded, so to make sure that he didn't mess up, doing it just like I showed you. He takes blessed people for himself, fills them with the Spirit of God, teaches them how to do the things they don't know how to do, and they do it just that way. So that the whole work is going to be done just like God said. Fair enough? So do you think he's kind of particular about what he wants done here? Yes. This is the threat of death. you do things differently for him. How do I know that? Because two of Aaron's sons decided that fire is fire and we'll just offer up anything. We'll create our own fire and take that and we'll do the tabernacle stuff with that fire and God will give them immediately. The fire of the Lord came down and killed them away. You are not going to come in and mess with the stuff I'm doing. You do it according to what I'm doing. Follow that? There's a pine fellow here. There's a pine fellow there, a pine fellow there. Now, we're going to be looking at these in just a moment. But let me share some of the main points about the tabernacle. God met with man in the tabernacle to mediate for priests. Remember that's what he said. As the people built this sanctuary for me, that I may dwell among them. So this was going to be, if you can understand where I'm coming from, this is the restoration of the Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden is where God and man met together. He's now creating a place where God, man, and the angels and all are going to be together. And it's going to be in that tabernacle. So, I think what I'm going to do now is go ahead and show you, I think this is the right one, I'm going to show you this particular oval scene here. I believe that you know the difference between this to a slight sound deterioration. 3,500 years ago, the Tabernacle of Moses was the first portable sanctuary forged in the world. When Moses was setting up Sinai, the world was very specific with regards to the patterns that needed to be followed in order to construct the Tabernacle, and it was very clear that Moses should not deviate from this pattern whatsoever. So what is it that we as believers need to study this pattern today? Is it possible that it could have any relevance for all these people in this day and age? And could it seriously give us any insights into our own spiritual world by studying this ancient form of worship? Our hope today is to answer these questions and more as we introduce you to the purpose, the plan, and the pattern of the Tabernacle. And thou shalt make the court of the Tabernacle, for the south side of southward, there shall be hangings for the court of fine fine linen, a hundred cubits long for one side, and the pillars thereof shall be twenty, and their sockets twenty, of copper. The hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver, Likewise, for the north side in length, there shall be hangings a hundred cubits long, and the pillars thereof twenty, and the sides twenty of copper, the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. And for the raft of the port on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits. the port on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits. The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits, the pillars three, and the sockets three. And for the other side shall be hangings of fifteen cubits, the pillars three, and the sockets three. And for the gate of the port shall be a screen of twenty cubits, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twine, the look of the weaver in colors, the tillers for, and the sockets for. All the tillers of the colt round about shall be fileted with silver, the hooks of silver, and the sockets of copper. And all the instruments of the tabernacle, in all the silvers thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the colt, shall be of copper. Exodus chapter 27, verses 9 through 19. Welcome to our introductory lesson on the Tabernacle of Moses. What we have before us here is a model of that tabernacle, that wilderness dwelling place from 3,500 years ago. And this model is five foot wide and about eight foot long. And we'll be using this over the next several lessons to help us understand this ancient tent or dwelling place. You'll notice that I'm dressed in not my pajamas. This would be similar to the garb that the ancient Israelites would have worn way back when they left Egypt and entered into the Promised Land. Our lesson is really just going to be an overview. In future lessons, we'll look at each piece of furniture. In the Tabernacle, we'll look at every part of this structure that helps us understand this specific pattern that Moses was commanded to follow. We'll look at the symbolism of the colors. We'll look at why things were positioned the way they were and where they were exactly in Now, some would say, why would you even want to study, even learn anything about such an ancient form of worship? That was way back when, that has nothing to do with today. Why would you even concern yourself with it? Well, one is in the Bible, and anything in the Bible is worth studying. However, this particular subject, the pattern that was laid out before Moses, commandments from God. This particular pattern has some interesting principles, and it's my opinion that if we understand these principles, we can better live out our own life here in the modern world. But some would say, really, that's still far removed from where we are. Well, let's look at a few things. The temple you know was built 3,500 years ago. Even Jesus did not ignore the Old Testament, the Tanakh, the Torah. He said some interesting things about it. He said, from the beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he, meaning Jesus, expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning Old Testament, the Torah, the Tanakh, you'll learn some things even about Jesus. You'll understand what he said and what he said, why he lived the way he did, even some of the arguments that he got into with the religious people. If we understand some of those things in the Old Testament, we'll even better understand him. So it's my belief that even Jesus himself knew a lot about the tabernacle. And as we see, as he grew up and ministered, he was found in what was later called Herod's Temple in Jerusalem. He was still around the place of worship. When Jesus was living and teaching, there wasn't a New Testament yet. All that was around was the Torah. the scriptures of the Hebrew people. But if we look to the New Testament, the Christian scriptures even tell us, he says this in his second letter, chapter 3, verse 16, all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for regroup, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. Now the Bible, only has about two chapters on creation, the creation of the world. But when it comes to the tabernacle, this structure here, there are at least 50 different chapters in the Bible. Your favorite snack comes with a snacking brand new love. So much, even more, but it always rises. Squishy, bumpy, crisp, not the ball of snack love. That's what you need too, if you're definitely comfortable. Are you self-employed or running a small business? Wouldn't it be great if it was easy to stay organized and on top of your finances? Then SkyDelta is for you. At SkyDelta, you can make professional-looking invoices, track expenses, and so much more. And everything is automatically organized. 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We get up to here, and we see somebody doing something, but we don't hear a teaching about it. We don't hear a law about it. Noah gets off the ark and the first thing he does, he gets different kinds of clean animals and he builds an altar and he is sacrificing them. What commandment did he have to do that? What about Cain and Abel when they were training? There's not a commandment there. There's a teaching about it. If you can learn a lesson. In other words, Cain brings something, Abel brings something. There's no commandment yet. Do you follow where I'm coming from? As a matter of fact, why are they bringing an offering? No commandment. There's nothing there. So why are they bringing an offering? Now, why has this got anything to do with us? Sunday morning rolls around. How do you know what worship is? How do you know when you worship? How do you, is there a guideline you follow if you do these things right here? Well, today we're finding there are people who say there's guidelines. It's this, it's this, it's this, it's, well it's hyped up, get yourself hyped up. Is that worship? All the while you say no, no, no, no, no, no, no. It can't be that. It's got to be formal classified. worship. Okay, where do I get that one? Okay, it's got to be acquired. The more verses, the better. And the more accompaniment you have, the better. Chapter and verse. You're right, there is a point. Okay, other than saying, no sir, it's southern gospel. If that southern gospel is being sung and you're starting to feel good about life, good about yourself, that's worship. I don't know, maybe a few years ago, but I watched, if any of you, I like Southern Gospel Music. I've followed that for years. And then I started watching a trend take place. Now, it's not about the song itself, it's not about the message, but did you hear this tenor? Nobody seems better than this tenor. Nobody can see deeper than this bass. Let's just get together and hear that bass player. What? We have such a tendency to change everything. You understand what I'm saying? To take that which is holy and bring it just as low as we possibly can. Why do you want to exalt the singer? Put that guy aside and let me hear what he has to say. But if it's all about him, honestly, that's what I didn't like about contemporary Christian music. I saw what was going on in the rock industry. And I saw the same thing being done in the contemporary Christian music industry. I said, I'm not interested in it. Exalting an artist? I don't even like it when we exalt preachers. You understand what I'm saying? It's Jesus that's supposed to be exalted, and our worship is of Jesus. Not an adulation of a preacher. That's not healthy. That's not healthy for them. That's not healthy for you. That's not healthy for God. Does that make sense to you? So, if God told us what we're supposed to do to worship, and that's why this is so important. Because there hadn't been anything up to this point. No teaching, no commandment. Now, he says, this is what's acceptable. This is what I will accept. And I'm saying, I've got to tell you, that worked pretty good until about here. Took us about 800 years to rule it. Because he's going to say right here with Isaiah, I am sick of your new moon festivals. I'm sick of your calves. I'm sick of your bulls. I'm sick of all of it. I don't want any of it. I hate your sacrifices. He didn't want to prescribe them. He hates them. Yes, because he missed the point. Because he missed the point. Just add the long way back, Cain and Abel. I mean, I have, in my own trying to understand, they weren't commanded to sacrifice. Right. was he knows their heart, or even their heart, and the difference between Cain's offering and the day he was offering his heart, is that... Sure, sure, but that's not revealed to us. What's revealed to us is how they reveal their own heart. What they brought. If I look at it, I'm saying, here's two guys that had an offering. What does it tell you about their heart? was having anything nothing we don't hear them offering anything at all we don't know they didn't we know they did we don't hear anything about at all if there was something that God want us to know about the way we worship wouldn't he have told us but we come to Canaan and Abel and we find something's something's right something's We'll get that when we come to Moses. And Moses is picking up on something that is clarifying what Noah already did. Noah didn't have a commandment for it, but he's off the ark and he's offering sacrifices. So, let me go back and look at this. If we look at Adam and Eve, and this is going to be in this morning's message, so you'll get the chance to hear it again. Adam and Eve. What sacrifice are they making for their sin? None. None. None. What did they know about doing that? Nothing. Nothing. What are they going to learn from what takes place there? Sacrifice. So we can see this. They were clothed in glory. People may question whether or not I'm correct in that. I think I'm 100% correct in that. They were clothed in glory. They did not know they were naked. They were clothed in such a way, they did not know they were naked. They were clothed in glory. That's the glory of God. How do I know that? Because they're in the image of God. You say, well... How do you... If I say it this way, that's where you're headed. That's where you're headed. That's what you're going to be clothed in. And how do I know that? When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall we also appear with him in glory. When Jesus is going to say to the three disciples, some of you standing out here are going to see this other man coming in his glory. They go up on the mountainside and Jesus is transfigured. John's later going to write, we don't know yet what it is that we're going to be. But we know this, when we see him, we are going to be like him. Paul wrote, look, our affliction goes on every day. But here's what we can know. We are being changed from glory to glory to glory. And that's after talking about Moses being in the presence of God. glory shining on him. So when Moses came down, he was glowing. Friends, that's where you're headed. That's why I think it's really too shallow to simply say, God saved you so you could go to heaven. No. No. God saved you so he could restore the creation that he had. You are going to be clothed just like Adam and Eve were. When they didn't believe God, they were undressed. And being aware of their undress, they clothed themselves in vegetation. And God re-clothed them with animal skins. Follow that? Now, it's God's sacrifice that was made. They didn't make one. You follow that? Why is He making that sacrifice? Was there anything they were supposed to do? They weren't re-clothed, and God didn't say, you know, I see what you've done, you really messed up, so let me get you your clothes back on again. He didn't re-clothe them in glory. Nope. He re-clothed them in skins. As a cover-up for their shame and disgust. It was an act of grace and love on God's part. What did He tell them to happen if they ate? They would die. Why did He not let them die? Instead of dying, He covered their sin, covered their shame, covered disgust, so that they are still going to be with Him. You follow that? What I want to know is, sacrifices were not a payment for sin. Sacrifices are a restoration of fellowship. It's a gift being made to restore fellowship. But you have to want that fellowship for it to happen. Everybody following that? You have to want that fellowship for it to happen. That's what we're doing for. All right, let me just go back over some of the things that I hope you got from that presentation there. And we'll look a little more into those things. God met with man in the tavern, I quote, through the mediators and priests. If worship is going to go on, it's going to be going on by somebody in your place. You follow where I'm coming from? It's somebody in your place. Let me just give you an illustration here. You can take a look at your drawings, that first page there. We're going to start on the outside. That's the farthest part from the tabernacle itself. We're going to start back there. So you are a worshiper. You have come down. And you have brought your offering. Today it's going to be a lamb. You brought your offering. And you can only come to the outside gate. You can't come inside. You're not permitted to be inside there. Okay? You're going to come to the gate. The priest is going to meet you at the gate. When he meets you there, you're going to put your hand on that lamb. You're going to hold that lamb. That is a way of you transferring you to that lamb. That lamb is becoming your substitute. Everybody follow me? So you transfer your sin, your life, your shame, your guilt. Now, you cut the throat of that lamb. And the priest is going to catch that blood. You've killed that lamb. That lamb has now died in your place. Follow that? Then the priest, you're done. That's all you're going to do. You can't go in. You can't do anything else. The priest is going to take it over to some slaughter tables over there. He's going to cut it up. The skin is going to go outside where it's going to be burned. The lamb is going to be cut up into pieces. He's going to then take those pieces and set them on the sacrifice. Everybody with me so far? That's what he's doing. He's coming in now. Now, do you suppose the priest got there and he's doing that? kinds of things happening here. So he's now got these parts, he's got them on the altar, and that's becoming now a sweet-smelling savor of God. There were parts, some offerings that were made, where parts of that animal was spared for him, and some parts were spared for the person waiting at the door. So you could eat that part of that sacrifice. Now once he's done the sacrifice, it's on there now, he's gotta go over to the laver. And he's got now to wash himself off. He washes his feet. He washes his hands. He cleanses any part of him. Because he can't go any further until he's done that. He can't go into the tabernacle until he's done that. Everyone with me? So now he's got that done and now he can go into the tabernacle. That tabernacle. is where he's going to get a chance to worship God. Now he can't go all the way in, he can only go to the holy place. Okay, go to the holy of holies. Everybody with me? So you've got your, you can see it there on the, let's see, take a look at the next one. The only way You can make an offering to the Lord as if you came. Now, Brandon, you can do the same thing if you want to do it. Or you can do the able thing. You brought your offering to the Lord. You're offering it to Him. Now, I'm going to tell you, not every time is it a flower offering. There are times you might bring a loaf of bread. There are times you might bring a flower offering that's got oil in it. It's all mixed together. And you're bringing that whole thing, and that's going to be burned. It is a way for you to say, thank you. I really appreciate what you've done for me again this year. So it's a thank-off. Again, it's not a payment for sin. And I want you to get the picture. Not every one of the sacrifices brought to the altar are a payment for sin. Now, I'm going to share with you why this is important. If everything we do we think is about payment for sin, then we're going to think that we're somehow forgiven because we made an offer. No, we didn't. They weren't forgiven, they were atoned. Covered. Why? It was all the way back here. Adam and Eve were atoned. Their sins were not taken away. They still had the consequences of their sin, everything's going to fall through, and they lost permission to be in their While they're outside the gate, they're living in the skins that God gave for them. God sacrificed for them. Are you following me here? Let me show you why this is important to you. You are not coming before God in your own righteousness. God has made his own sacrifice for you. And he didn't just cover your sins. He took them away. No animal could take your sin away. It could cover them until the time they could be taken away. But it couldn't. Watch what happens. You have received the sacrifice. You have come to the gate. And a sacrifice has been made by God for you. You're the devil. Your high priest is the Lord Jesus Christ. Is that crazy or what? He's the sacrifice, and He's the praise. So you're coming before Him, and He's doing all this in your behalf. Fair enough. He's doing this for you. You're coming before Him, but He's the one that's doing the work. And here's what He told you. That if I do the work for you, and you put your trust in Me, then I'm going to take away your sins. But not only am I going to take away your sins, I'm going to clothe you in glory and bring you back into my fellowship again. Get this, that didn't happen to any of them up to this point. You follow that? What they were doing was a covering over their sins. This is not taken away. They still have their sins. So what the Lord Jesus Christ did for us is fantastic. That's why you don't need another sacrifice. He didn't cover them. That's why they had to keep doing sacrifices every year. Because they were only covered. That's all that happened to Adam and Eve. That's all that happened to anyone up to this point. When Noah is making offerings, it's not a payment for sin. He is thanking God that he's delivered him from the grand judgment that just taken place, and he's still lying. And he's with God. No is through. So he's saying, what was it that happened to have me? Okay, God. All right, I'm going back to that. What did I learn about with Abraham? Okay, I'm going with that. So that's what he's learning. Everybody see where I'm coming from? So let me ask you this. What are you learning from it? Listen to what Jesus told us to do. Come before my presence with thanksgiving. Come before my presence with sin. Come before my presence in my name. Do you understand what you're doing when you're coming to his name? You are re-offering that sacrifice. You are saying, Lord God, the only reason I can sit here in this assembly this morning It's because I came to the gate, and at the gate a priest met me, he offered a sacrifice, that put me in a place where I can now go in and worship God. Is that making sense to you? I can now make an offering. I couldn't make an offering before. But he's made it totally possible. I now enter in. And as I get in, now I have the full flow of the menorah, the full flow of the table, the full flow of the incense, the full flow of that mercy seat. I've got all of it there. Because I've been restored to what Adam and Eve lost. And that didn't happen to anybody up to this point. That's why Jesus is so significant. He's coming to declare the Kingdom of God. What's the Kingdom of God? The bringing back of everything as it was intended in the first place. To dare to come back to that, not in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, is blasphemy. Does that make any sense? Just imagine if somebody had said, You know, I know that God doesn't like the blood of bulls and goats. So I'm not going to do anything with this. I'm going in and just walk into the tabernacle and say, forget all this high priest stuff. I'm going to see God. I need to talk to God right now. How far are you supposed to go to God? He can't even get to the holy place. Someone would have killed him before he got there, if not God himself. Does that make sense? That's why what Nahab and Abidin did was strange fire. Just because you happen to be in the right family and because I've anointed you to do the right thing does not mean you can offer strange fire. No, you can't. You offer what I am allowing you to offer. Is that making sense to you? That's why this tabernacle is so important. That's why knowing what God wanted from us is so extremely important. That's why I said some time ago, I don't think we've come to the point of worship yet. Now, I am saying it's possible. It's possible anytime during the day. Anytime that we've come to be in the assembly together. Worship could break out and know somebody right there. It could. If that person has the right attitude, the right heart about what he's doing, then I'm believing I'm only here because of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm only here because I have been anointed by the Holy Spirit. I'm only here because I'm clothed in the glory of Christ. I'm clothed in His righteousness. I'm not here as some sort of arrogant fool that's telling God, now that I've made a profession of faith, I just do anything I want to do. We're missing the point, kids. That's why I didn't understand years ago why John McArthur threw down the gauntlet in those strange fire conferences he had. I thought, what a waste of time. And spending all that time beating up on people who were, in his estimation, offering strange fire. Until I started studying, what is a strange fire? What did they do? Do you know Aaron was told you can't even breathe through your voice? Don't agree with them. They did wrong. They dared to approach me the improper way and not do what you agreed for. They were wrong. That's the attitude we're supposed to have about that. So I began to understand. OK, I understand now why this is a serious concern. Strange fire. If we're back in tabernacle days, I really get it. But we left all that. We're not in tabernacle days, right? So God doesn't care how we worship anymore, right? No. No, that's not true. So what I want to do is go through this with you. We'll look at each part of it, what it was supposed to do, what your ministry as a priest is, because here's what Jesus the High Priest did. He just made you a priest. So you're not standing outside any longer. You're there in evangelism to offer the sacrifices for the people who are outside, that they can be inside. Does that make any sense? That's what we're about. Questions? Comments? Anything? Yes, John. The Old Testament sacrifices not remove sin, but decode it. And that allowed the children to be forgiven and reconciled, didn't it? Yes. And also turned away God's wrath, didn't it? He wasn't always in it. He wasn't always in wrath. All sin does not make God wrathful? I'm just saying that when he's telling them what to bring, a sacrifice to bring, it's not about wrath. He's not speaking about wrath. Would there be sacrifices that need to be given because of his wrath? Yes. Let's go to Psalm 51. Psalm 51. This one starts out with a heading, this is not a verse, it's just part of it. It says, to the chief musician, a song was dated when Nathan the prophet heard of him after he had gone into Bathsheba. So, Nathan said, you're the man, you've created all kinds of problems for Israel, and for your family, and for everything, because of your adultery. He says, have mercy upon me, O God, according to your loving kindness. according to the multitude of your tender mercies. Blot out my transgressions, wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sins. For I acknowledge my transgression, my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done this evil in your sight, that you may be found just when you speak, and blameless when you judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and it sinned my mother to conceive me. That's not to say his mother was an adulteress or any such thing as that. That simply means he was born in the whole world of sin. Just in that sphere, okay? Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part you will make me know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me, I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones you have broken may rejoice. hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me." I want you to stop. Is wrath mentioned any one of the time here? Did you see the word wrath any place in here? No. Because it's not about wrath. It's about a broken relationship. David's outside right now. He's a covenant guy. He should have been with God. But he's outside of that right now. He's not in fellowship with God. So let's go on forward. Restore to me the joy of your salvation. Uphold me by your generous spirit. Then I will teach transgressions your ways, and sinners shall be converted to you. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise. Now watch this. For You do not desire sacrifice, for else I would give it. You do not delight in burnt offerings. I do those. The sacrifices of God are A broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, these, O God, you will not despise." Follow that? What are the sacrifices we got? Broken spirit. I'm broken because I'm out of fellowship, he writes that. Was David concerned about God's wrath? No, not the wrath. What he was concerned about is that he had taken God for granted and believed that he could do whatever he wanted to do willfully and he'd still be an exceptional man. David needed to get that relationship restored and he knew there's not a single sacrifice he could do to restore that relationship. Nothing. His sacrifice would have to be a broken and contrite spirit. Psalm 34, the Lord draws near to those who are broken hearted. Isaiah 57, see I dwell high and lofty places and with him who is of a broken heart. James 4, put away all your laughing and your carrying on and humble yourself before the Lord. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. It's not about wrath. are not going to pay for the sin. They can't. They will cover the sin, but they can't pay for the sin. It's only those who have had their sins removed who can offer up worship. Does that make any sense? It's those who are broken hearted. Let's take a look at the Demoni Act last week, a couple of weeks ago. It says that when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and fell down to worship him. What was he worshiping for? He knew who Jesus was. And he's humble. He's got a broken and transparent heart. He's broken because he can't do anything about this. He's been overtaken by these demons, there's nothing you can do to get out of it. He's, he broke it. Please, only you can help me. And Jesus did. Alright, any, any other questions here? If we would be then, what made it right with God was the sacrifices. It was their faith. Yes. Always remember that. What makes it right with God is not the sacrifice. The sacrifice is coming from the heart that says, I want to be restored to you. And it better come from that kind of heart, or he's dissatisfied with it. He does just like Cain did. I don't like your offering. Your offering's not what I want, because you're not remembering what I did. You're not remembering what restores fellowship. That's good. In Abraham's time, it was his faith that made him righteous. The first time we see Abraham offering a sacrifice is when God had told him that I'm taking you to a new land and he told him to stop. He said this is it, this is the land. So Abraham gets up, builds an altar, and offers his sacrifice. That's not a sacrifice for sin. He's not having his head in pain for her. He's showing gratitude to God that you have fulfilled your work. You told me to leave. I've left. I've come over here. This is the place. Hallelujah. I'm offering a sacrifice. This is a gift. A gift that's coming out of the fact that I believe you. So if I was one of the children of Israel, and I was hung, and I brought a sacrifice just as a ritual, Would it have been accepted at all if I came and brought this little lamb because I'm supposed to? But I ain't bringing it for forgiveness. But if I'm just bringing it because it's time to bring it. I hate you bringing those kinds of sacrifices. They don't mean anything to me. If you can see, I'm supposed to bring the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. That's what Hebrews tells me I'm supposed to do. I can't do that if I think that's what I'm supposed to do. Here's someone saying, what do you think you've done? If you volunteer, we're going to have this singing time here together. And if you think that, If you're offering something really special, because this is the song you're supposed to sing right now, then you missed the whole point. That song's supposed to be saying what's on your heart. And if it's not saying that, then it's just your heart being open to say, can I sing that? Well, if you're realizing that you can sing that, you don't sing it. But if you're singing it only because that's a part of the service, you didn't give any worship. You understand what I'm saying? It didn't go anywhere, guys. It wasn't a sacrifice. It has to cost you something. We got a lot more to look at. I think you're going to enjoy what we look at. Father, thank you so much for giving me this day.