All right, would you take the word of God and open with me to the book of Exodus and chapter 30. Exodus and chapter 30. We're going to begin reading in verse 17. Read a few verses here. If you remember, the chapter began with the altar of incense. And then we talked about the offering, the money for the redemption of the soul. And we talked about that. And now we're going to look at the last piece of furniture that is connected to the tabernacle and to the service of the tabernacle. We had mentioned that early on when all of the furniture was mentioned, we have it right here, if you remember. We began with the Ark of the Covenant inside the Holy of Holies. And by the way, we didn't begin with the layout and the tabernacle. We began with inside. Remember that this is the place of communion and fellowship with God. God says that from between the mercy seat, I will speak with you. And so God said that to Moses. So he began there and then we moved and we talked about the table of shewbread. the lampstand and the altar of incense here was not mentioned. And then we talked about the the curtains and there are four layers and We talked about the four layers there. I won't spend all the time. After that, we saw that the tabernacle was erected with the boards, again, of chitim wood overlaid with gold. Then we went and talked about the veil that separates the holy place from the holy of holies, the veil that separates the holy place from the outer court, and then the veil that separates the outer court from the camp of the Israelites. And then we spent some time talking about the brazen altar. And we're going to touch on this again tonight because there are only two items outside of the tabernacle. And they are both of brass, made of brass. And we'll talk about the significance of that. And then we went into the priest and the dedication of the priest and those chapters and how God wanted the priest to be dedicated. And we know there's a picture in that we have been made kings and priests unto God. And so we have a service for the Lord. And after the dedication of the priest, we talked about the altar of incense, and now we're going to look at the laver. Now, these two are left out because they concern the service of the priest. This is something that they're going to do continually. They're going to be at the laver and the altar of incense. The altar of incense, remember, is the place of worship and praise and thanksgiving. And so we talked about that, and we're going to see here, talk about the laver and its significance and its connection to, because the laver in the order comes before. In other words, if you were a priest, you would first come in to the altar core. First, you would pass the brazen altar. Then after the brazen altar, you would come to the brazen laver. Then you would enter and you would come and offer worship and praise to God. It's in that order. And God is specific to make things in that order. And we're going to talk about the significance of this particular furniture here, the laver. So let's look at our text here this evening, Exodus chapter 30, verse 17. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal. and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat. When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water that they die not. or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the Lord. So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not, and it shall be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations. I'd like to bring your attention to verse 18. He speaks of a laver of brass, and then the purpose of the laver is stated, to wash withal. So I'd like to preach this evening a message that I've entitled, A Laver to Wash Withal. A Laver to Wash. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank You for this time that we can consider the truth of Your Word. Specifically, the truth concerning the laver. I pray that you would help us to see the significance of this laver as it pertains to our life today as believers. Lord, help us never to live a life comfortable with sin and defilement, but help us to seek for continual cleansing that nothing might hinder our fellowship, our praise, and our worship. And we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. As we look at our text, I'm going to break it down in the following way. We're going to talk about, first of all, the purpose of the laver. And obviously, as we look at the text, we're going to make the immediate application as to what they would do. But then we're going to try to dive into what is the spiritual significance of this practice that the priest is going to engage in. So we're going to look at the purpose of the laver, then the picture of the laver. There's two elements. There is the laver itself that's made of brass, but then there's a second element and that is the water within the laver and what's the significance of the water as well within the laver. And finally, we're going to consider the position of the laver. Again, all of the details are important, but why is it in that specific position? Why is it a brass and try to bring all those elements together? So first of all, let's consider the purpose of the laver. The purpose of the laver is really repeatedly stated in the instruction that the Lord gave to Moses. And I think it's striking, maybe as we read, you maybe sense it's like, well, why does he repeat this again and again and again? It stands out. Verse 18, he says, "...thou shalt make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass," notice, "...to wash withal." Verse 19, "...for Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat." Verse 20, "...and when they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water." Again in verse 21, "...so they shall wash their hands and their feet." So do you see, we might say, well, there is no sense of repeating this. We know what they're doing with the laver. They're washing. But God is giving this detail to Moses. And he is showing Moses the specific purpose of this is clear. It's to wash. So with that clear purpose, the laver is to be used singularly to wash the hands and the feet of the priests who are daily ministering in the tabernacle. Another Bible word that we might attach to this whole idea of washing is the word cleansing. Sometimes, as a matter of fact, in the Word of God, they are found together. You'll be studying just in a few weeks about Psalm 51. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, cleanse me from all my sins. So we find that those words are often found in combination, the idea of washing and cleansing. And twice in our text, we come to understand the great significance of why this is to be done, because in verse 20 and 21, he not just repeats four times, wash, but twice he says, do this that you die not. So to me, that speaks of the significance and the importance of why God wants them to do this, and if they don't do this, they're not going to hold and portray the significance that it holds in the mind of God if they fail to do so. Verse 20 and 21, "...they shall wash with water that they die not." Verse 21, 20 and 21, "...they shall wash their hands and their feet that they die not." And so that remark testifies of how important it is to our Lord for the priests to wash before they do anything inside the tabernacle. And so the priests were to wash their hands and feet from, if you talk about the straight interpretation, it's obvious they ought to wash their hands and their feet from the defilement that comes from just living there. before entering into the holy place to conduct their service for the Lord. Now, we know at that time, because they didn't have shoes as we do today, they wore sandals and so their feet would be dirty everywhere they would go. The tradition, by the way, in the Jewish home, even at that time, is when they would enter their own tents. they would wash their feet and wash their hands. Why? Because that's just the defilement of the outdoors. And so when they would come into their tents, they would wash their hands and their feet. And here this is a practice that they already know about, but yet they're to apply this with regards to the service of the tabernacle of God. And so for us here, there is the picture here of the purpose of cleansing and washing. I think it's clear for us because according to the book of Leviticus in chapter 11, the Bible says, "...for I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. Ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy." The whole purpose is that God says, I don't want any defilement in my tabernacle. When you perform the service, and again, they're going to be handling different things, the partaking of the bread, at the table of shoe bread, lighting the lamp stand, and doing the incense, and He doesn't want their hands dirty. As they come in, He doesn't want their feet dirty at all. And there's a sense here that it speaks of the holiness of God and that the priests as they are to serve God, although they're washing externally their hands and their feet, it should communicate to them that God doesn't want any defilement. This is not just true of them in the Old Testament, it is true of us today also as believers. 1 Peter 1 15 says, But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation, because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy. 1 Peter 2 5 says that we are built up a spiritual house and that we are an holy priesthood. In this sense, we are to be clean. We are to be washed. Now, I want us to see, and we're going to see by the end of this, that this does not mean, he's not speaking here of salvation. Very important. And I'm going to make the distinction between the brazen altar and the brazen laver. You see, what cleanses at the brazen altar is the blood. But what cleanses at the laver is water. Two different things. And so we're going to talk about the significance of both of those things. So the laver here, the picture is not washing and cleansing in the sense of us getting saved. We've already been to the brazen altar. The priest has already been to the brazen altar. He's already been cleansed from his sin. He now is granted, because of the brazen altar, the blood of the altar has been sprinkled on his vesture, and he's about to enter into the holy place. That is where the, you could say, the basis of communion with God is found. But how do you maintain communion with God. You have it, but how do you maintain? Not in the sense that you can lose it, but in the sense that how can you come in and offer praise and true worship to God? Unless you first cleanse your hands and wash your hands from all defilement. So that's the purpose of the laver. Simply to wash, to receive cleansing from, you could say, the defilement of the world. the defilement of the outside. But let's now get into the details here of the picture of the laver. What is this picture for us? Well, there are two elements that are brought to our attention in the text for our consideration. First of all, let's consider the construction of the laver itself. Now interesting as we've seen of many of these other things, dimensions are given and all of those things, but there's no such things for the laver. You see, we only know of the material that is used for the laver. He talks about the laver itself and the foot of the laver. Now a laver you could think about Maybe if you have a sink, there's the place that receives the water. But when you think about the foot is what gives stability. Here, you can kind of see that the foot is wider maybe than the middle. And so just like many pieces of furniture, there's a wider foot. And so it is not just the laver itself where the water is, but the foot itself is also to be a brass. And so the emphasis here is that don't make something of different material that holds up the laver. It is all to be a brass. So there is the construction of the laver itself, but then there is the contents of the laver. And the content is very simple, it's water. So let's talk about those two things. It's quite simple, but the message, I think, is quite clear, as we're going to see in the Word of God. So first of all, let's consider the construction of the laver itself. Notice verse 18 tells us, "...thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot, the foot of the laver, also of brass." So, as a pattern, As we see here, and you see it displayed here, everything that is in the outer court is made of brass, right? The brazen alter, the brazen laugher. In contrast, everything inside the tabernacle I know is made of shittim wood, but it's all overlaid with gold. Every single piece of furniture. So he had brass on the outside, or copper, and then you have gold on the inside. So there's a significance here. You see, we already talked about the brazen altar and why it was made of brass, but the laver itself is also made of brass. So it's not just the brazen altar, but the laver also. and it stands in contrast to the furniture that is inside the tabernacle. So as we have already seen in Scripture, and I did a whole message on the brazen altar, so pardon me if there's going to be a quick overview of what we looked at, but it's a good summary for us to connect that to the laver. But as we have already seen, brass in Scripture is emblematic of judgment. If you remember, it was in Numbers chapter 21, when the people were murmuring and complaining, God sent serpents among them. By the way, that tells us what God thinks about murmuring and complaining. He doesn't like it very much. And so He sent serpents among them, and God made a way not just for them to be judged, but for them to be restored so that they would not die. And you remember that it was God that commanded Moses to make a serpent of what? Of brass. In other words, the people of God were being judged. We find throughout the Scriptures that brass is emblematic of the judgment of God. And so the serpent of brass was erected on a pole, and anyone who was bitten that looked on the serpent of brass lived. And anyone who did not look on the serpent of brass died. Well, Jesus Christ, when He comes on the scene, He's talking to Nicodemus in John chapter 3. And do you remember what He says to Nicodemus? As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, the brazen serpent, Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in Him, the Son of Man, should not perish, but have eternal life." And so here we have this idea of the brazen serpent, the judgment of God, then Jesus Christ connects himself to that brazen serpent and says, I must be lifted up in the same way. And we know what happened on the cross, that he suffered the wrath and the judgment of God. The cross is the place of judgment, where your sins and my sins was judged. That's what it is. By the way, it's in Galatians 3 when Paul refers back to Jesus Christ, specifically the cross. He says in Galatians 3, verse 13, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. For it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree." And so we see here, and by the way, there are many scripture, you have to, if you weren't there for the message on the brazen altar, go back and listen to it because we go through all the scripture that talks about how brass is emblematic of the judgment of God. We also know that brass, by way of reminder, is a metal that has the capacity to resist the heat of the fire better than gold or silver. And so we mention that with regards because we know that on the brazen altar, the sacrifice is to be burned there. And by the way, remember, it's to be burned continually. Ongoing. This burning is continuing to go and to go and to go. And so the metal that is used here is brass because that material has the capacity to resist heat as a metal. Brass is often also referred to in Scripture to its connection with having the ability to endure, to resist, to be sufficient against opposition. There is an interesting verse in Deuteronomy chapter 33 when God speaks to the children of Israel and says, I have made your shoes as brass. You remember the whole idea is that they walk through the wilderness wanderings and then their shoes do not wear out? So the idea here of brass, it's a picture, obviously, they didn't have little brass shoes. The point is that their shoes were able to withstand all of the obstacles and all of the walking that they did wandering for 40 years. God did that. And in that sense, it says that brass has the ability to endure through struggle. And so we saw in the brazen altar also that Jesus Christ is pictured with the brass, in the brass, as being able to endure the judgment of God and yet not be consumed. You see, that's important because if we come under the judgment of God, then we are completely consumed. But Jesus, who endured the judgment of God, not only was able to endure the judgment of God without being consumed, and pleased God in doing so while still judging our sins. And so the brazen altar is a picture of Jesus Christ Himself. Remember, all of the furniture, everything from the Ark of the Covenant, the table of shewbread, the lampstand, the boards, the veil, everything points us to Jesus Christ. the brazen altar itself. And we're going to see in just a moment the laver, and I'll talk about that in just a moment. I'm trying to contain myself from getting ahead of myself. And so Jesus Christ is pictured in the brazen altar as being able to endure the judgment of God and not being consumed by God's divine wrath. You say, well, wait a minute. The laver is not a place of fire. You're right. It's a place of water. It's the opposite, isn't it? So the question then is, well, wait a minute. You preach the whole message about the brazen altar and how God specifically chose that material. It pictures Christ, the ability to endure and to withstand judgment, wrath. But there is no fire at the laver. So why use the same material if that material is not really needed? Well, carry with you the idea that brass is emblematic of the judgment of God. And think about that for just a moment because we know, as I mentioned, all the furniture points us to Jesus Christ and so does the laver. But you know what Jesus said in John 5, verse 22? The Father, for the Father judges no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son. In John 5, 27, he goes on to say, "...and hath given him the son authority to execute judgment also, because he is the son of man." And so Jesus Christ Himself, when He comes on the scene, He says, the Father doesn't judge. I am the judge. Now there's two things. You see, Jesus Christ is pictured, now very important here, is pictured as being able to endure the judgment of God at the brazen altar. but at the laver he is the judge himself. You say, well, how can you come to that conclusion? I'm glad you asked me that question. Turn with me to Revelation chapter 1. Let's see how we see Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ in Revelation chapter 1. Now we know John sees the Lord and we have a full description of our Lord Revelation chapter 1. We could read quite a bit, but let's begin reading in verse 10. Just so that we get the context here, Revelation chapter 1 verse 10, Who is that? Jesus Christ. the first and the last, and what thou seest, write in a book and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia, unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me, and being turned I saw even or seven golden candlesticks and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the son of man notice clothed with a garment down to the foot and gird about with paps with a golden girdle his head and his hairs were uh white like wool as white as snow and his eyes were as a flame of fire and his feet like unto fine what brass Here's what it tells us. Jesus is coming, and when he comes, he comes as judge. Now, that's different than his first coming. Notice, as if they burn in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters. Now, hold that in your mind. Feet of brass, his voice as waters. We have brass and water together here. Notice he continues and says in verse 16, And he had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not, I am the first and the last. Remember back in verse 12 and 13, who is in the midst of the churches, Jesus Christ Himself. Do you notice how He is portrayed in the midst of the seven churches? Eyes as a flame of fire, feet like brass, from His mouth, notice He speaks as with a voice upon many waters. So, if you know here the context of Revelation chapter 1, The feet of Jesus Christ having feet of brass. He is in the midst of the seven churches. Isn't Jesus Christ, read Revelation chapter 2 and chapter 3, what is Jesus Christ doing to the seven churches? He is judging them. He is examining them. He is inspecting them. What does he keep saying to them? I know thy works. And He says, I know what you're doing. I know the areas where you are faithful in, and I know the areas where you have been unfaithful in. And so here when we read in Revelation 1, 2, and 3, Jesus Christ is in the midst of the churches. He has eyes of a flame of fire, and His feet are like brass, and He stands in the midst of the churches. And I ask you today, what is Jesus Christ doing in the midst of the churches? He is examining. He is judging. He is inspecting. That's what He is doing. You see, the laver made of brass is a picture of Jesus Christ who is continuing to judge His people and condemning anything that hinders communion with God. Now, at the brazen altar, Jesus Christ is pictured as being able to endure the wrath of God and not be consumed. In the laver, Jesus Christ Himself is the judge. where He is inspecting and judging His people. So that's the, we see here, when we think about the picture of the laver, the construction of the laver itself, it's made of brass, emblematic of judgment. But there's a second element which goes with it, and that is the content within the laver. Well, what's the content? Well, verse 18 tells us, at the end of verse 18, "...and thou shalt put water therein." Brass is emblematic of the judgment of God. The question then comes is, what is the water then emblematic of? What does it represent? Now, we know in the sense in the real world that when you wash yourself, you get in the shower, you use water, right, to make yourself free from defilement so that you don't stink up the room or stink up the workplace. And so you want all the defilement to go away. So there is the literal application. But the spiritual application for us, if you study a little bit the Word of God, you would find that water is often emblematic, specifically the ability of the water to wash and to cleanse, that the water is emblematic or is pointing us to the Word of God. Now you may already know this verse, Psalm 119, verse 9. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? Cleansing, where is that found? By taking heed, therefore, according to thy word. So here we connect this idea that there is cleansing, there is washing for the young man when he takes heed to the word of God. Now there are other references. Let's look at a few of them. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter 5. Ephesians chapter 5. in that chapter is talking about the wife and the husband. He talks about how the husband is to find his example in Christ. And then we think about Christ and his work towards the church. Ephesians chapter 5, notice verse 25, he says, "...husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it." Who is he referring to? The church. with the washing of water, by the what? How does Jesus Christ today, how does He cleanse? How does He wash? How does He sanctify the church? By the word. We could look at one more reference. Turn with me to to John chapter 15. Now, you are familiar with that. Jesus instructs his disciples on being the vine and the disciples the branches. But notice what he says to them. Again, speaking of abiding, but notice in John chapter 15. And verse 1, Jesus says, I am the true vine, and my father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now, ye are clean through the what? Oh, well, there it is. You are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Cleansing and washing takes place by the Word. Let's look at one more reference. Turn with me to 1 Peter 1, just trying to solidify the point here that water is emblematic of the Word of God. 1 Peter 1, and notice with me verse 22. Well, let's go back to verse 19. I think to put the blood and the water in contrast would help us here. 1 Peter 1, verse 19, But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, who verily was ordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God. Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another fervently with a pure heart." Notice the soul is purified, notice, by obeying the what? Truth. Purification through obedience to the truth. So When, let's bring those two together, the composition or the material of the ladder is brass, judgment. God is our judge and He judges us. He stands in the midst of the churches and He is judging, He is inspecting, He is examining. But do you know how He does that? By the Word. In other words, it's not something that's theoretical. Well, I don't know if he judges. I wonder, how does that happen? Well, the pattern is through the Word of God. By the way, we read that in Revelation all the way through chapter 2, all the way through chapter 3. So we see here, again, the picture of the laver, that Jesus Christ is judging, inspecting, examining us and He does so by His Word. But there is one more thing we consider here and that is the position of the lather. So we know what its purpose is. Its purpose is to cleanse, to make free from defilement. This cleansing happens when judgment takes place. and judgment practically takes place by the Word of God. I'm reminded of Stephen. You remember when he preached before the Sanhedrin Council? Preached a tremendous message. At the conclusion of the message, he says this, Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost, as your fathers did, so do ye. You see in that moment they were being judged. But they thought Stephen was judging them. But it was not Stephen. It was the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost was accusing them, was judging them, and they did not like it. And so they killed him. But he preached the Bible. He preached the Bible. Let's consider lastly the position of the lover. If you notice with me in verse 18, Now this is very important and there's a lot of confusion today world, specifically when it comes to salvation. And the mistake comes in where we, someone who claims religion, does not know how to distinguish between the brazen altar and the laver. And if you don't know how to distinguish between the two, you're going to go into false doctrine. You say, well, what's that doctrine? It's the doctrine of the fact that you can lose your salvation. And then you have to cleanse yourself so that you can regain your salvation. And then you lose your salvation and salvation returns. And it's a confusion or a merging of the brazen altar and the brazen laver, but those are separate. But the one that comes first is the brazen altar. It comes first. When we think about the distinction between the two, think about it this way. The laver is not about acceptance before God. Acceptance before God is found by what takes place at the brazen altar. That is where the blood is shed. That is where the blood is taken. That is going to go on the vesture of the priest by which blood he's going to gain interest into the Holy of Holies. The brazen altar is what gives man acceptance with God. Jesus Christ is the only basis where with we can be accepted of God. There is no other basis. for us to be accepted with God. It is not what we do. It is not how good we are. The only way that we can be accepted of God is based upon the righteousness of Jesus Christ and His righteousness alone. And that's it. You see, the brazen altar, at the brazen altar, we are washed with blood. But at the laver, We are washed with water. You see, we understand today that if you are a believer, if you are a Christian today, there is no need for any application of blood. It has already been applied. And we have to understand that. We have to make a distinction between the application of the blood and the application of the water. Turn with me to the book of Hebrews. If you're not convinced, I aim to convince you. Hebrews chapter 9. Let's see here if the application of blood is just a one-time thing. It is. Hebrews chapter 9, notice verse 26. Notice the word, once, in verse 26. The blood of Christ was shed one time. Verse 27, and as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment. So Christ also was once offered to bear the sins of many, and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. Go to chapter 10, verse 14, for by one offering he hath perfected forever. them that are sanctified. You see, the blood only needs to be applied once in your life. That is a one-time cleansing, but the cleansing that takes place at the laver is to be continual. And those are two different things. Romans chapter 8 verse 1, There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. There's no condemnation here if the blood has been applied. That is what he's talking about, our acceptance with God. But we're not here. We're here. This is not about acceptance. It's about maintained fellowship and communion. Our acceptance has been settled. Our fellowship sometimes may be hindered. God is not defiled, but we may be defiled. And so, you say, well, why do you spend time saying this? Well, to put it this way, and I would encourage you, and look, if you've said this before, trying to give us a biblical understanding, when you confess your sins, you don't need to say, God, would you apply, wash me with your blood? No. You've already been washed completely with the blood of Jesus Christ. You do not need to be re-cleansed with the blood of Christ. What we do need to be is washed with the water of God's Word. We are already accepted. When we confess our sin, it's not about acceptance, it's about fellowship. Now, we'll read in just a moment, 1 John 1, it's all about fellowship. So, we don't need to have the blood reapplied. That's the great mistake of those who believe that they can lose their salvation and regain it. What happens? They think that the blood is applied again and again and again, and the Bible says it's only applied once. And when you're accepted of God in the person of Christ, that's it. It's settled. So, the laver. Washing with water. The laver, just like the brazen altar, stood in the outer court, not inside the tabernacle. And that's an important thing because they're not to come inside with defilement. It was in the holy place, remember that the altar of incense is found, right before the veil that separates the holy of holies from the holy place. And remember when we talked about here this altar of incense, that is the place of worship, praise, and thanksgiving. That's what takes place here. But notice what comes before, the laver. In other words, the priest is never to come in and worship and praise and thank the Lord, unless he is free from defilement. So there's an order for us here. We are here, and we first come to the brazen altar. And at the brazen altar, Jesus Christ is pictured not in just the brazen altar itself, in his ability to endure the divine wrath, but in the sacrifice on the brazen altar in that he shed his blood for our sins. And it is based upon Jesus Christ that we are accepted of God. Period. There's no other way to be accepted of God. I hope you know that tonight. And we don't stand, we gather as a church, but nobody here believes that we are accepted because we're good. We're accepted because of Christ. Now that we are accepted, we recognize that as we walk in this world, we live and the world is controlled by the Prince of the Power of the Year. This world is filthy. And as we live and go through this world, we meet defilement. But before we have any opportunity to give praise to God or to worship God or to thank God, we need to remember that the way we approach God here is very specific. And it should be so in our mind that when we come to God, there ought to be a consciousness in our lives about the filament that comes in. There ought to be an awareness and there ought to be a sense in which we, well, I'm about to approach God or I'm about to come to church or I'm about to thank God, but any approach to God has to be first met with, hey, I'm about to approach to God, is there any sin in my life? Is there any defilement? Is there anything that would prevent me from having communion and fellowship with God? From, by the way, coming into the place where God can speak to me? Then there has to be a cleansing continual that takes place. By the way, it would be between the brazen altar and the entrance into the holy place. They are never to enter. The one thing that they are to do every single time It's cleanse their hands and their feet without exception. And this was so important to God that God says, if you don't do it, you'll die. That's how important communion and fellowship is to God. No defilement whatsoever. So it was in the holy place at the altar of incense that worship and praise was offered. No worship and praise should take place without first a cleansing. We read in 1 John 1, 9. Well, let's turn there and we'll, I'll read a verse here and then we'll read another one because I think this fits well with us as we observe the Lord's table. But in 1 John 1, if you notice with me, verse 6. Well, go back with me to verse 5. This then is the message which we have heard of Him and declare unto you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. That's where we begin. In other words, when we want to praise and worship and thank God, there should be a consciousness in us to say, there is no darkness in God. He is holy. He is separate from sinners. He is higher than the heavens. That's who He is. He is light and Him is no darkness at all. Verse 6, now if we say, that we have fellowship with Him, in Him in whom there is no darkness. And walk in darkness? We lie and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ has uncleansed us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. My little children, these things write unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." You see, The brazen laver is the place of judgment, but it is at the very same time the place of cleansing. It's both. It's made of brass, but there's water inside of it. Isn't that wonderful to know that Jesus Christ is not just the one who judges us, but he is also the one who cleanses us. He's not just the one that says, hey, you've done wrong. Seek for cleansing. God, I seek for cleansing. You're washed. He's both. Jesus does both. But we can lie to ourselves, he says. See, just as natural it would be for them, as easy it would be for them to come before they enter to say, all right, well, let's wash my hands and let me wash my feet. It is just that easy for us. 1 John 1, if we just confess our sins. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The question I have for us this evening is, if it is that simple and that easy, then why do we not do it? Perhaps, perhaps it is that we forget where we're trying to go. Remember how he started in 1 John? God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. Maybe our view of God is wrong. And because our view of God is wrong, then our view of our own sin is going to be wrong, and therefore we will not see cleansing. But if our view of God is right, and we know that He is holy and undefiled and separate from sinners, and we come and we want to give thanks and praise and worship to God, then when we have the right view of God, then we say, oh, well, I got to, before I approach God, I need cleansing. I need washing, because God is not, is free from defilement, and I dare not approach Him with a consciousness of my defilement and ignoring it. Isn't that what 1 Corinthians 11 is all about? We declare that we have communion with Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 11, verse 28 says, therefore let a man examine himself. And so we are to examine ourselves and not to, the whole idea is, right, if you partake of communion, by the way, communion is a reminder of what took place here. Communion is not what takes place here. But when we are reminded of what took place here, it makes us find cleansing from our sin today. See, communion reminds us that we have been accepted of God. But the participation of communion is saying is we are declaring communion. We are declaring fellowship. But we must be very careful not to declare by our participation to declare communion by our participation if there is any defilement. And so may the Lord help us to think about what is all pictured in this. That is the last item, and I'll leave you with this. Do you remember when the priest in chapter 28 and chapter 21 to 29, you know, remember they were washed at the dedication. But did you know who did the washing? It was Moses. Moses was God's mediator, picture of Jesus Christ. In other words, in that washing when they were dedicated, they didn't wash themselves. Moses washed them. And in the same way, when we become priests unto God, we are washed. We don't wash ourselves in salvation. We are washed by someone else. That's the Lord Jesus Christ. And remember, they had to pour the blood and all that had to be done at the dedication. That was the basis of them being made priests. And it is our basis of us being made priests. The washing happens on our behalf. It is done to us. But interesting that this is left to the end because that's what the priest must do himself. It cannot be done for him. Are you aware today that the washing and the cleansing continually from defilement of the world is not going to be done for you? You must do that yourself. You must seek for it. You must be persistent in it. You must recognize the preciousness that Jesus Christ now as a Christian is both the one who is judging you, judging you, judging you, but at the same time cleansing you and cleansing you and cleansing you. So let's do our best to seek for the washing and the cleansing by the water of the word of God. So that when that happens, we have the right mindset and the right spirit to say, now is a time of communion and fellowship with God. You see, what was it that broke fellowship between God and man? It was sin. And you remember what happened when the voice of God came in the garden? Adam and Eve hid themselves from the presence of the Lord. Let me ask you, are we hiding ourselves from the presence of the Lord? And there might be somebody here tonight who says, Pastor, you don't understand. There's so much sin in my life. God wouldn't want to have fellowship with me. You're absolutely wrong. You're absolutely wrong. He desires fellowship with you. And you know how we know that? Because He has provided the lever. You've already accepted of God if you met Him at the brazen altar. If you met Jesus Christ, you are accepted of God. But don't let the sin keep you from communion and fellowship with God. By the way, communion and fellowship with God is the place of growth. John 15, Jesus told that to his disciples. Without communion and fellowship with God, there will be no manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. That's the only place where we can grow. So is that simple as that? Just confess my sin and then grow? Yeah, that's a big part of it. And so, may the Lord help us as we think not just about the purpose, of the picture of the laver, but also the position of the laver.