Participants: Ivor Myers, Atonte Myers
Series Code: BOF
Program Code: BOF000022
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00:14 Welcome to Battles Of Faith.
00:16 We are your host Ivor and Atonte Myers. 00:19 On today's program we are going 00:22 to be talking about the sanctuary. 00:24 The Bible says in Psalms 77:13, "thy way oh God is" 00:28 "found in the sanctuary. " 00:31 Many of you may be thinking, isn't the sanctuary that 00:33 thing that Moses built in the wilderness? 00:35 I don't understand it, there are so many symbols and 00:39 this furniture goes there and this side all those 00:42 things, but really God's will for your life can be found 00:45 in the sanctuary. 00:47 We are so excited about this program because we know if 00:51 we learn more about the sanctuary, we can perfectly 00:55 fulfill God's will for our lives. 00:58 We want that for you. 00:59 That's right, the sanctuary is 01:01 actually a science, the science of salvation can be 01:05 found in the sanctuary. 01:07 To most people the sanctuary is like science, it is 01:11 difficult to understand. 01:13 We want to take this program to unfold the sanctuary 01:16 and show that it God's way, according to Psalm 77:13, 01:21 His way is actually and indeed found in the sanctuary. 01:26 Some people may, when they hear that term, the way, 01:30 they think of Jesus, Jesus is the way. 01:35 When you look at John 14:13, or rather verse 6 which says 01:41 Jesus is speaking here, "I am the way, the truth, and" 01:47 "the light. " 01:49 When you put those verses together some 77:13 and John 01:51 14:6, you come to the conclusion that Jesus the way is 01:57 actually is found in the sanctuary. 02:00 That's right, Jesus is all in the sanctuary. 02:02 That's right, He is present there and the science of 02:06 salvation is there, His work is there and we are going 02:09 to look at the sanctuary and understand that there are 02:12 many principles that reveal the blueprint to salvation. 02:19 To the way God saves and delivers His people. 02:24 The context of what we have been speaking about in terms 02:27 of how Satan is attempting to manipulate the environment, 02:32 and through science, falsely called, change the 02:38 characters of humanity. 02:41 We are going to see in this program that the sanctuary 02:44 actually lays out the method God uses in order to save 02:51 His people from the tricks of the enemy. 02:55 Right, and I know all of us are interested to know 02:58 exactly how God plans to save us because it is our goal 03:01 to be with Jesus and be in heaven. 03:04 That's right, in Exodus 25:8 the Bible says there 03:08 God is speaking to Moses and says, "let them make me a" 03:11 "sanctuary that I may dwell among them. " 03:14 We are going take a look at a couple graphics 03:16 that we have. 03:18 The sanctuary was a beautiful edifice that was 03:22 constructed in the wilderness. 03:25 As you look at some of these graphics you will see here 03:28 that the sanctuary was located directly in the center 03:33 of the camp of Israel. 03:36 He had the tribes on various sides and you have the 03:39 sanctuary building right in the center of 03:41 the children of Israel. 03:45 If we were to go into the sanctuary, or right into the 03:51 first door of the sanctuary, you have what you call the 03:53 outer court and inside the outer court are two articles 03:56 of furniture. 03:58 You have the bronze alter where animals were sacrificed 04:03 and if you go a little further into the sanctuary, still 04:07 in the outer court, you have what they call the laver. 04:09 The laver is where the priests would wash their hands 04:12 and their feet before they entered into 04:14 service for the Lord. 04:16 If you were now to go further into the sanctuary you 04:20 would have a second compartment, a smaller building as it 04:24 were, rather not a smaller building, there was the outer 04:28 tent, then you had the sanctuary proper. 04:31 Inside that sanctuary it was divided into two parts. 04:35 In the first part you have what was called 04:37 the Holy place. 04:39 In the Holy place there were three articles of furniture. 04:42 The seven branched candlestick which represented the 04:45 light of the sanctuary. 04:47 That was what kept the sanctuary lighted. 04:50 You had the altar of incense, which symbolized prayer. 04:53 Then you have a table of shewbread which represented 04:59 the word of God. 05:01 These articles could not just be placed anywhere in the 05:03 sanctuary, God gave Moses the instructions of where to 05:08 place them, they were not randomly placed. 05:10 Exactly how we are going to see the significance of that 05:12 as we go on. 05:13 When we moved further into the sanctuary you have the 05:17 second compartment, which was called the Most Holy Place. 05:21 Inside the Most Holy place, you have the Ark of the 05:25 covenant and God's presence in that compartment. 05:29 So this was the outline of the sanctuary and Atonte what 05:34 we are going to see is the process by which God saves 05:38 His people, the way of salvation according 05:41 to Psalms 77: 13 is actually laid out 05:44 in the sanctuary service. 05:46 So let's begin by looking at an example of the story 05:53 of the Exodus, this is when the children of Israel were 05:55 led out of Egypt and began their journey 06:02 into the promised land. 06:04 There was a way that was given to them to escape the 06:08 bondage of Egypt and enter into the promised land. 06:12 So what was the first thing that God instructed the 06:16 children of Israel to do to prepare to leave bondage? 06:21 The very first thing that He asked them to do was to put 06:24 the blood on the doorpost. 06:26 That is right, it was a sacrifice He had called them 06:29 to make, and if you look in the sanctuary service itself, 06:32 you will notice the first article of furniture 06:35 represented, was the bronze altar which 06:38 represented a sacrifice. 06:40 Interestingly enough, after the sacrifice takes place, 06:43 God then leads them, Exodus 12:14, you will find God 06:51 leading the children of Israel through the Red Sea. 06:55 This was a symbol or type of baptism. 06:58 When you look in the sanctuary you will see the article 07:01 a furniture found after the bronze altar was the laver. 07:05 The laver represented washing. 07:10 Immediately after they came through the Red Sea, what you 07:14 have in Exodus 16 is that they are now being tested on 07:17 God giving them manna, manna falls six days but on the 07:24 seventh day, rather five days but on the sixth day it 07:28 will fall twice as much and on the seventh day they were 07:31 not to go out and gather. 07:32 Well what you have here is that God is testing them with 07:36 bread, when you think of bread what are you thinking of 07:39 in the sanctuary? 07:40 You are thinking of the table of shewbread. 07:42 Interesting enough, as you move on through to Exodus 19, 07:47 God for the first time says to Israel, you will be My 07:55 royal priesthood, My royal nation. 07:58 That royal priesthood and nation was symbolic of the 08:01 seven branched candlestick when you remember Jesus saying 08:04 in the New Testament where Jesus you are the light of the 08:09 world, He was talking about the people of God were to 08:12 represent the light of the world. 08:14 In Exodus 19 He is declaring them as the light of the 08:18 world, in that same chapter Moses says to the people, 08:22 God is going to come down on Mount Sinai in a few days. 08:26 You are to spend the next three days in preparation 08:29 for God's coming. 08:32 Or for God coming down on Mount Sinai. 08:35 That represented a type, they were to be in a meditative 08:38 type or state of mind, they were to be praying and 08:42 searching their own souls which brings us to the altar 08:45 of incense which we said earlier represented prayer. 08:48 Then in Exodus 20 you have God coming down and speaking 08:52 the 10 Commandments, symbolic of the Ark of the covenant. 08:56 You see the way God led the children of Israel out of 08:59 Egypt to Himself, 09:02 the blueprint was found in the sanctuary. 09:05 That's right, and I think we can see for our own lives 09:08 that that is a very similar pattern because many of us 09:12 our caught in bondage by Egypt. 09:14 God wants to deliver us the same way. 09:17 My favorite author, when the children of Israel had to 09:21 cross the Red Sea, my favorite author talks about that 09:24 they actually had to step into the water, it wasn't that 09:28 the water was open when they were walking toward it, 09:32 but by faith they had to step into the water. 09:34 When God saw they had enough faith, that is when He 09:37 parted the Red Sea. 09:38 It is the same thing for us, God will do that, He will 09:40 deliver us from the things we are in bondage to if we 09:44 have faith in Him and He will open the Red Sea for us. 09:47 Exactly and another instance we can look at with the 09:49 sanctuary, is that the sanctuary was actually a blueprint 09:52 or a foreshadowing of the birth of Christ. 09:55 In Exodus 25:8 God said, "let them make me a sanctuary" 09:59 "that I may dwell among them. " 10:02 In the same way inside the sanctuary was the actual 10:07 presence of God. 10:08 So when Jesus is born in Matthew 1:23, I believe it is, 10:14 the Bible says that His name would be called Emanuel, 10:18 meaning God with us. 10:21 Jesus was God with us. 10:24 He was with us, His body, God was in Him and surrounding Him 10:30 and when Jesus came to dwell on this earth it was as 10:34 though He was a sanctuary in the midst of His people. 10:38 That is why He said in John 2:19 I believe it is, 10:41 "destroy this temple and I will raise it up again in" 10:45 "three days," he was speaking about 10:47 Himself as the sanctuary. 10:49 The sanctuary also points to Jesus, it points to the fact 10:52 that Jesus Christ is the presence of God with us. 10:58 Amen!, and again that is what we need. 11:01 Jesus came to dwell with us and we need to allow Him to 11:05 dwell with us and us with Him. 11:07 This is the science of salvation, Christ with us, 11:10 Christ in us. 11:12 The sanctuary not only points to the life of Christ, 11:14 rather a mean the birth of Christ, but it also points to 11:17 the life of Christ. 11:18 This is so beautiful Atonte because Jesus was born in a 11:24 Manger, a Manger with animals. 11:28 When we look at the sanctuary, where was the animals taken? 11:32 They were sacrificed on the altar of sacrifice. 11:36 In essence... that was the first step, that was the very first 11:40 thing... Jesus was born ready to die, He was born a living 11:44 sacrifice as it were, in the manger, among animals. 11:48 The very next thing we find in the sanctuary is the laver, 11:51 again representing washing or baptism. 11:53 If you look at the next significant, major significance 11:58 in Christ life, it was His baptism at 30 years old. 12:02 He was baptized at the Jordan and you will find there the 12:05 laver and the baptism. 12:07 The path, or the science of salvation being worked out in 12:11 Christ very own life. 12:12 Interesting enough Atonte, when you look at the sanctuary 12:16 you'll find that Christ, after His baptism, the Bible 12:19 says He was lead into the wilderness which would take us 12:22 into the Holy Place of the sanctuary. 12:26 How many times was Jesus tempted in the wilderness? 12:30 He was tempted three times. 12:31 He was tempted three times, how many articles of 12:33 furniture do we find in the Holy Place? 12:35 Three articles of furniture. 12:37 The first temptation, according to Matthew 4, the devil 12:42 came and said to Jesus, turn this stone into what? Bread. 12:47 I have a funny suspicion that Satan was well aware of 12:52 this sanctuary pattern that he had seen worked out so 12:57 often in the Old Testament. 12:59 The first temptation was to turn the stone into bread, 13:01 Jesus overcame that. 13:03 The second temptation, He was taken up into a high 13:07 mountain, or the pinnacle of the temple, and was asked to 13:10 throw Himself down and call out to God because 13:14 God would deliver Him. 13:15 It was symbolic of presumptuous prayer, throw yourself 13:18 down Jesus and pray to God and He will deliver you. 13:21 He was being tempted at the altar of incense. 13:24 Symbolically speaking, Jesus overcame that. 13:27 The third and final temptation was ... 13:30 I'll give you the world. 13:32 I know that you have come to save your people. 13:35 I know that You want Your candlestick, I'll give it to 13:40 You another way, You don't have to die. 13:42 I'll give Your people if You simply bow down 13:46 and serve me. 13:47 He was being tempted over the very people that He loved. 13:50 I'll give them to You if You will bow down and serve me. 13:52 But Jesus overcame that as well. 13:54 As He overcame these three temptations the Bible says 13:58 He returned in the power of God's Spirit. 14:01 He returned to magnify, not get rid of, but to magnify 14:06 the law of God. 14:08 Which is found in the Most Holy Place. 14:10 Again we see the sanctuary actually laying out the 14:14 process of Christ life which is the process of salvation. 14:18 You know when Jesus overcame, He was constantly saying, 14:22 "it is written, thou shall not live by bread alone" 14:25 and thus as far as all the temptations came. 14:28 We can have that same power in our life. 14:31 That is what God wants for us is to go through those same 14:35 steps in the sanctuary so we can have the power like 14:38 Jesus had power and overcame the enemy. 14:40 The sanctuary is a blueprint of salvation. 14:43 It not only reveals how He led Israel out of Egypt, 14:47 how He came to be God with us, how He lived His life 14:52 in accordance with God, but it also reveals the 14:54 depth of Christ. 14:55 If you take a look at the graphic once again you will see 14:57 that the sanctuary, the articles of furniture in the 15:00 sanctuary were placed in very specific places. 15:03 If you were to take a pen and outline the articles of 15:08 furniture, you would see there the shape of a cross. 15:12 You mean starting from the altar of sacrifice as the 15:16 post, and then going all the way up you will find the 15:20 shape of a cross. 15:21 Incredibly enough, thousands of years before Jesus came 15:25 the sanctuary revealed that he would die on a cross 15:29 for our sins. 15:31 Amazing, not only that but you look at the places where 15:34 the articles of furniture are placed, Jesus received a 15:37 wound in each one of those places. 15:40 In the feet, representing the bronze altar, each wound 15:46 in each hand, the candlesticks, the table shewbread. 15:51 He had a crown of thorns on His head representing the ark 15:56 of the covenant in the sanctuary picture. 15:58 He received a wound in the His side in which came out 16:02 blood and water, which represented the laver where the 16:05 laver was placed. 16:06 Jesus died actually of a broken heart. 16:10 He was rejected of man, 16:13 and supposed to be rejected of God. 16:14 So we see there that the sanctuary actually illustrates 16:18 or points out the death of Christ on our behalf. 16:21 I know that for young people out there who have never 16:24 probably found the sanctuary that exciting, when you see 16:28 Jesus all over the sanctuary it makes it very exciting. 16:33 When you see how He was able to overcome and how God 16:37 actually put this in the Bible years before Jesus was 16:41 even on the scene and actually had the victory. 16:43 It should be very exciting for you and for anyone who 16:47 was studying and we know that if you have watched these 16:50 programs you have heard things that probably challenged 16:54 you in your personal life. 16:56 Especially dealing with the entertainment industry and 16:58 things like that. 16:59 It is very difficult to overcome these 17:02 things on your own. 17:03 It is hard to stop listening to the bad music the pulls 17:06 you away from God. 17:07 It is hard to stop watching those television programs or 17:11 movies or things that are disconnecting you from God. 17:15 But if we follow these steps, God can definitely give us 17:19 the power and the victory to do so. 17:21 That's right, the science falsely so called is the 17:24 devil's attempt to pull us away from the true science 17:28 of the Scriptures. 17:29 As we look at the entertainment industry and see what it 17:34 is trying to do through principalities and powers, it is 17:38 really Atonte, trying to take our minds from the word of 17:42 God and make it difficult for us to even comprehend the 17:45 Bible, but as we apply ourselves to the word of God, 17:48 we will see that it is really not a boring book. 17:51 Hollywood cannot outshine this, their are so many 17:54 beautiful and wonderful things found in here that will 17:57 draw us continually closer and closer to Christ. 18:00 That's right, and the sanctuary is very important where 18:04 Psalms 77:13 says "thy way is in the sanctuary," really 18:08 it's Atonte's way, or your way, 18:10 you can put your name in that place. 18:12 Not that we should put our own way, but that God has said 18:16 that the way has been provided for each one of us and we 18:19 can make it personal, but it is always God's way. 18:24 Let's look at another illustration Atonte, 18:26 of the sanctuary, because it also illustrates, not only 18:29 the birth of Christ, the life of Christ and the death 18:31 of Christ, but it illustrates the work of Christ. 18:34 We know that when Jesus, when you look at the sanctuary, 18:39 the sanctuary actually began with a sacrifice of the 18:43 animal, and this is a very important lesson. 18:46 What it teaches us is that Christ's work of salvation began 18:51 with His sacrifice. 18:54 A lot people say that the sacrifice ended it all. 18:56 No! The sacrifice ended one part of it, but it was the 19:02 beginning of a new work. 19:03 Christ, when He died, began the work, or the process of 19:07 salvation and when you look at the next article of 19:10 furniture which represents the laver which represents the 19:13 washing of when Jesus was resurrected and He was as it 19:17 were ascended through the sky. 19:18 He was resurrected with a new body, in other words His 19:21 body was now glorified and was not bruised up as it had 19:25 been before, it was washed so to speak. 19:27 He ascended up to heaven and in Revelation chapter 1, 19:31 we find Jesus standing in the midst of seven 19:35 Golden candlesticks. 19:37 Where is He now? He is in the Holy place and then in 19:41 Revelation 11, our attention is shifted to the Most Holy 19:46 Place, the ark of the covenant. 19:47 What this process reveals Atonte, is that Christ has 19:51 ascended into heaven, according to the sanctuary pattern. 19:55 He didn't just die and go off and leave the sanctuary 19:59 pattern, no it was a process, the blueprint that He 20:02 followed even in heaven. 20:04 It reveals to us that we have a high priest now who 20:08 is on the right hand of the Father, 20:09 interceding on our behalf. 20:12 That's right, He is interceding for you and me and He is 20:16 asking Lord, help them as our prayers are extending to 20:20 Him and He is taking them to God and He's interceding 20:24 on our behalf and he is asking for the request and needs 20:27 of the things we need. 20:29 But always, things are never rejected and that is the 20:32 reason we are asking for grace and the power to overcome. 20:34 This is the one I really like Atonte. 20:38 The sanctuary reveals a process by which God will save 20:42 humanity as a whole. 20:44 Those who have accepted Christ at the bronze altar 20:47 while they were on this earth, who accepted the sacrifice 20:51 of Christ in their behalf and lived out His life. 20:55 When they do that, Jesus is going to come again and part 21:01 the sky as Moses parted the Red Sea. 21:04 Symbolic of the laver, we too will be washed and receive 21:09 clean new bodies. 21:11 Amen, we're going to go through that atmosphere as 21:14 though it were a sea. 21:16 We are going to go over into that seven branched 21:20 candlestick which represents the city, or the people, 21:25 of God, we are going to enter into that city. 21:28 When we enter into that city, notice we are following 21:30 the sanctuary pattern, when we enter into that city, 21:34 one of the first things we are going to do is sit at the 21:37 welcome table. 21:40 There is a popular song, I'm Going to Sit at the Welcome 21:41 Table One of These Days. 21:43 We are going to sit at the welcome table with Abraham and 21:45 Isaac and we are actually following the sanctuary pattern 21:48 of salvation. 21:50 The Bible then says in Revelation 20, we are going to 21:54 spend 1000 years with Christ as King's and priests. 21:58 Symbolically speaking that work of judgment, which took 22:02 place largely at the altar of incense, in the Holy Place, 22:06 the priest could not enter into the Most Holy place 22:09 without the incense. 22:11 For 1000 years God's people are going to be as priests 22:14 doing the work of judgment. 22:17 The work described in Revelation 20 as judging the wicked 22:23 while they are dead upon this earth. 22:25 Then at the end of the millennium the city of God 22:29 comes down, and the Bible says behold the tabernacle of 22:33 God is with men. 22:35 Now we will ever be with God as one, 22:39 forever and ever after. 22:42 The sanctuary even reveals the process of salvation for 22:47 the entire race of humanity. 22:49 You know Satan's plan, or his will for us, is to never 22:53 get into the word enough to see these beautiful promises. 22:57 Just talking about heaven, as we are talking about it 23:01 now, I'm getting excited and can even envision as God 23:05 will take us home to heaven and sit at the welcome table. 23:08 But you are so caught up in this world, and the problems 23:11 of this world, the things of this world has to offer 23:15 again, as the entertainment industry and those things 23:18 we don't even think about our final destination which 23:21 is our home heaven. 23:23 That is why Jesus came to die on a cross for our sins 23:27 so that we can be with Him forever. 23:30 The Bible speaks Revelation 14 of a special group of 23:35 people who are described as following the Lamb where 23:39 so ever, He goes. 23:41 Well guess what, the path of the Lamb is found in the 23:45 sanctuary, every person that is saved will be able to 23:48 trace their testimony Atonte, through the sanctuary. 23:52 There was a time where I decided that I had to give my 23:56 life to Jesus Christ and their symbolically speaking, 23:59 I did that at the altar of sacrifice, the bronze altar. 24:03 Now great, I've given my life to Christ, is it over? 24:06 No! Because I have to move on in 24:09 the process of salvation. 24:10 I have to now be washed and cleansed from the filthiness 24:15 of this world. 24:16 I have to give up the music and give up things that were 24:19 polluting, it isn't enough to just say I give my life 24:23 to Jesus, no I have to follow through and be washed from 24:27 this life, I did not know about the sanctuary then. 24:29 I didn't know that I was now walking through this step. 24:32 But God was leading me as I looked back now I see, wow, 24:35 this was the process that is laid out in the sanctuary. 24:38 Once we are washed and cleansed, but God then lead me 24:42 to the word of God. 24:45 The table of shewbread, you have to study to show 24:47 yourself approved. 24:49 He leads us to the seven branched candlestick, this is 24:52 to be a light unto the world. 24:55 You have to share what you have and be that shining light 24:58 in a dark place. 24:59 Then He says it is not enough to just study your Bible, 25:02 it is not enough just to shine, but you have to be in 25:05 constant communication with Me. 25:07 You need to learn how to pray, and pray, and pray, and 25:09 when those things are accomplished it is as though you 25:13 have entered into this presence of God relationship where 25:17 you and God speak, symbolically speaking as it were 25:21 face-to-face. 25:22 It is not a one-time thing, He didn't just give His life 25:25 to Christ 10 years ago, but this is a daily thing we have 25:28 to do daily, we have to die daily on the altar of 25:32 sacrifice and then God has to cleanse us more because 25:35 there is more things that we are finding out that 25:38 God needs to cleanse. 25:40 We have to study His word daily, pray daily, 25:42 and be a light daily. 25:44 We want to close the session now with a very special 25:47 message and it is found in Exodus 25:1-8. 25:50 God lays out these building blocks that are to be used 25:55 for the sanctuary. 25:57 We are going to put it up here on the screen. 25:58 We are just going to look at the articles and what they 26:02 are, they are to be: 26:23 Now Atonte, each one of these has a very special 26:25 significance, gold represents faith. 26:28 Silver represents the word of God. 26:30 Brass represents steadfastness and impenetrability. 26:34 There are Bible scriptures that actually explain, 26:38 you at home get your concordance out and look up these 26:41 words, what does gold mean? 26:43 What does faith mean? 26:44 What does brass mean in the Scripture? 26:46 What is it used to symbolize? 26:48 Atonte, from our studies we have found a beautiful 26:52 message in the very outline of the articles given. 26:55 If you were to put all these things together in a 26:58 sentence listen to what it would read. 27:01 It would read hear, or have faith, 27:03 in the word of the Lord. 27:04 Be steadfast and obey and He will make you kings and 27:09 priests through His righteousness. 27:12 Through His righteousness rather He will cover you. 27:15 By the sacrifice of His flesh, He will take our curse 27:19 upon Him and through His spirit, He will give light. 27:23 Anointed, He will intercede for us bearing us as precious 27:28 upon His mind and heart. 27:30 What a message to be found. 27:32 And that was through all the things that are represented 27:34 in the sanctuary. 27:35 That's right, I know we didn't have time to really get 27:38 into it this program, but beloved if you will search it 27:40 out you will see these things. 27:42 God has precious treasures for us in His word and they 27:46 are exciting, don't let what the world has blind you to 27:51 the beauty of God's word. 27:52 That's right, don't let with Satan is trying to offer 27:55 daily keep you from His word, because you can find these 27:58 treasures and jewels for yourself. 28:00 We are all out of time so until next time, God bless. |
Revised 2014-12-17