Participants:
Series Code: SSOS
Program Code: SSOS190002B
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00:01 Before the break, we were walking through the sanctuary
00:04 and discovering that every aspect of the sanctuary 00:08 pointed forward to Jesus Christ. 00:10 We said that the entire sanctuary structure itself 00:14 typified the incarnation of Jesus, 00:16 we said that Jesus was the access point into the sanctuary 00:20 and then, as we walked through the sanctuary, 00:23 we came to the Altar of Burnt Offering 00:25 and that is where we accept Jesus as our personal Savior, 00:29 we can have the assurance of eternal life 00:32 as soon as we walk into the sanctuary. 00:35 The next article of furniture that we come to is the Laver. 00:39 This was a wash basin and it was a... 00:42 a place where they had... 00:44 the priest would wash their hands and their feet, 00:48 so, you come into the sanctuary, you accept Jesus as your Savior, 00:51 and then, Jesus leads you to the basin. 00:55 Jesus leads you to a place of cleansing 00:58 so, first He covers you and then He cleanses you 01:03 and He does that in that order, 01:06 you accept Him as Savior of your life 01:08 and then He says, "Look, I want you to walk with me, 01:11 I want you to journey with me" 01:12 and He takes you to the cleansing Laver. 01:15 Now, if you find a baby in town that is naked and dirty, 01:22 and you cannot find the parents anywhere, you're looking... 01:24 the first thing that you're going to do to that baby 01:27 that is naked and dirty is cover the baby 01:31 and if you still can't find a place for that baby to go, 01:35 and the authorities are not around for you to take them, 01:38 you're going to take that baby home by the grace of God 01:41 and then you're going to give that baby a bath. 01:45 This metaphor typifies the way that God deals with us. 01:48 We are naked and dirty because of sin... 01:50 the first thing that God does is cover us... 01:53 that's salvation... He gives us His robe 01:56 and then He takes us to the Laver for cleansing. 02:00 So, the Laver... Jesus is our cleanser 02:03 in 1st Corinthians chapter 6 verse 11, 02:06 the Bible tells us, "But you were washed, 02:08 you were sanctified, 02:11 you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, 02:15 and by the Spirit of our God. " 02:18 The Laver points to the reality that Jesus is our cleanser. 02:24 Jesus is the person that makes us clean 02:27 and also keeps us clean 02:30 and notice what the Bible says here 02:33 in 1st John chapter 1 verse 9, 02:35 "If we confess our sins, 02:37 He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins 02:40 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. " 02:44 Now, the next article of furniture that you come to 02:46 is the Table of Shewbread and that points to the reality 02:50 that Jesus is our sustainer. 02:54 The Bible tells us in John chapter 6 verse 48, 02:57 "I am the bread of life. " 03:00 Now, when a baby is born, 03:03 the first thing that you do 03:05 is you get that baby some nutrition... 03:10 ideally milk... 03:12 ideally mother's milk 03:14 and we have, so many times in the Christian experience, 03:18 in which we celebrate the birth of a Christian, 03:22 a Christian being born again 03:24 which we should and praise God for 03:26 but then, afterwards, we just leave that poor baby Christian 03:30 and put him off to the side and give him no more nutrition 03:33 after the baby has been born, 03:36 here, we come into the sanctuary we accept Jesus as our Savior 03:40 He cleanses us which is symbolized 03:43 by the baptism process 03:45 and then He brings us to the Table... 03:47 to the Table of Shewbread 03:49 and Jesus said, "I am the bread of life. " 03:53 In other words, in the Courtyard we become a Christian 03:58 and in the Holy Place, we grow as a Christian 04:03 after we have been born again, 04:04 both parts are important, 04:06 it's not only important to be born again, 04:09 it's also important to grow up in Jesus Christ 04:13 and this only comes about with Jesus as our sustainer 04:18 and Jesus said, "I am the bread of life... " 04:20 and Jesus also said, "The words I speak unto you, 04:22 they are Spirit, they are life. " 04:24 In John chapter 8 verse 12 the Bible says, 04:26 "I am the light of the world... " 04:29 which brings us to the Lampstand, 04:32 the next article of furniture in the sanctuary, 04:34 you can see, right here to my right, 04:36 here is the menorah which was found in the sanctuary 04:40 it was the only source of light 04:42 in the Holy Place of the sanctuary 04:45 seven lamps of fire that were burning in that compartment 04:50 and Jesus Himself said, "I am the light of the world. " 04:55 Every article of furniture is pointing to Jesus Christ, 04:59 then we come to the Altar of Incense 05:02 which signifies Jesus as our righteousness. 05:06 Now, in the book of Revelation, 05:08 it indicates that the prayers of the saints 05:11 are ascending to heaven 05:14 and the incense typified the prayers of God's people. 05:19 Now, when we pray to the Father, we don't come in our own name, 05:26 we come because of the name of Jesus Christ. 05:31 We pray in the name of Jesus, 05:34 in other words, the only reason we can have access to the Father 05:39 is because of the merits and the blood of Jesus Christ 05:43 and as we continue through our Christian experience, 05:47 it's very easy for us to assume that even God working through us 05:52 "Hey, I'm a pretty good person, it's okay, you know, to... to... 05:56 sometimes think that we have some self-righteousness 06:00 but this is really not okay and the prayers of God's people 06:06 must always be in the name of Jesus. 06:09 In other words, it is because of the righteousness of Christ, 06:13 that our prayers are even acceptable to God. 06:17 So, the Altar of Incense points to the reality 06:21 that Jesus is our righteousness. 06:25 In Revelation chapter 5 verse 8, 8 verse 3 06:28 and Psalm 141 verse 2 06:30 reveal the mingling of this incense 06:34 with the prayers of the saints 06:35 and when we pray, we pray in the name of Jesus. 06:40 What does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus? 06:45 It means to pray in the spirit of Jesus 06:48 but even more than that, 06:49 it means to pray through the righteousness of Jesus. 06:54 As we go through the Christian experience, 06:57 this idea that the incense arising to God 07:00 signifies the righteousness of Christ, 07:02 is a reminder to us 07:04 that it doesn't matter how long we've been a Christian, 07:07 we could have been a Christian for 50 years 07:09 70 years... our whole lives 07:12 but it doesn't matter, 07:14 you still need to have the righteousness of Jesus Christ 07:19 and the Altar of Incense, signified this reality 07:23 that our prayers need the righteousness of Christ. 07:27 This is Review and Herald, June 18, 1896, 07:32 "It is our privilege and our duty 07:35 to bring the efficacy of the name of Christ 07:39 into our petitions 07:40 and use the very arguments that Christ used in our behalf. 07:44 Our prayers will be complete... 07:47 in complete harmony with the will of God. 07:50 Then it is that Christ clothes the contrite suppliant 07:54 with His own priestly vestments. 07:57 And the human petitioner approaches the altar 08:01 holding the holy censer 08:03 from which ascends the incense of the fragrance of the merits 08:09 of Christ's righteousness. " 08:12 See, the Sanctuary Motif is not about legalism... 08:15 quite the contrary... 08:17 it is all about righteousness by faith 08:20 and this Altar of Incense signifies 08:24 that as we come to Jesus just the way that we are, 08:27 He cleanses us and we grow up in Christ 08:30 that it doesn't matter how much we may have grown 08:33 and how far we may have come, 08:34 still, our own righteousness is not meritorious, 08:39 it is only because of the efficacy 08:42 of the righteousness of Christ 08:44 that our prayers are acceptable to God. 08:47 Going back to our screen here, we can see 08:51 that the sanctuary reveals the roles of Jesus Christ. 08:56 There are two important entities in the sanctuary, 09:01 one of them is the Lamb 09:03 and the other one is the High Priest, 09:06 these two entities are important for the sacrificial services 09:11 and the annual feasts and festivals 09:13 of the sanctuary annual calendar 09:16 to... to be made possible. 09:18 The Lamb... if it is not slain 09:20 the rest of the sanctuary service does not take place 09:23 but also, it was not the sinner himself 09:27 that brought in the blood into the sanctuary. 09:29 He was dependent on another individual... his representative 09:34 the Priest to bring in the blood... 09:37 provision that the Lamb had made on his behalf 09:41 into the sanctuary to apply it to his account. 09:44 We can see this in Scripture. 09:46 In John chapter 1 verse 29, the Bible tells us, 09:49 "Behold the Lamb of God 09:52 who takes away the sins of the world. " 09:55 This is John the Baptist... in his introduction of Jesus Christ 09:59 he looked at Jesus... 10:00 and this was the introduction of Jesus to the world 10:03 the purpose for which John the Baptist came 10:05 and he looked at Jesus and said, "There is the Lamb of God 10:08 who takes away the sins of the world. " 10:11 In other words, Jesus had come not as the typical lamb 10:17 but as the anti-typical lamb. 10:19 In other words, all of the sacrificial services 10:22 that had been pointing forward to Jesus to that point 10:25 had been fulfilled in the embodiment of Jesus Christ 10:28 when He came to this earth and died on the cross. 10:31 If the Jews had understood this, 10:33 they would not have missed the Messiah. 10:36 So, you can see that not only is the structure of the sanctuary 10:40 pointing to Jesus, 10:41 but the entities that were involved in the sanctuary 10:44 also point to Jesus Christ as well. 10:47 "Behold, the Lamb of God 10:49 who takes away the sins of the world. " 10:52 You see, the sanctuary is all about Jesus Christ. 10:55 Now we come to the other entity in the sanctuary... 10:59 Jesus as our High Priest 11:00 in Hebrews chapter 8 verse 1 and 2, 11:02 "Now, this is the main point of what we are saying is this: 11:06 we do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand 11:10 of the throne of the majesty in heaven; 11:12 who serves in the sanctuary, 11:14 and the true tabernacle, set up by the Lord, 11:18 and not by a mere human being. " 11:21 So, here's the other entity that points forward to Jesus Christ. 11:25 It's not only the Lamb... 11:27 but also, Jesus is our High Priest in heaven. 11:31 So, Jesus fulfills the function of the Lamb 11:35 but not only that, 11:36 Jesus also fulfills the function of the High Priest 11:41 and the Bible tells us that Jesus is our High Priest 11:45 in the heavenly sanctuary which man did not construct 11:49 but God constructed. 11:51 So, in review, we can see that every element of the sanctuary 11:57 points to Jesus Christ. 11:59 The structure itself is the embodiment of Jesus Christ. 12:03 Heaven came all the way down 12:05 so that they could dwell with humanity 12:08 through Jesus Christ... 12:10 Jesus Christ is the representative of the Godhead 12:13 that connects heaven and earth. 12:15 We can see that every article of furniture 12:18 is pointing forward to Jesus Christ as well. 12:20 Every Entity in the sanctuary... the Lamb and the High Priest 12:25 point to Jesus Christ 12:27 and when we look at the sanctuary, 12:29 it's important for us to remember 12:32 that it's not Jesus or the Sanctuary 12:35 but the sanctuary is all about Jesus. 12:38 Sometimes we get into this idea 12:41 that the sanctuary is an Old Testament relic 12:44 that passed away when Jesus died on the cross 12:47 but we can see in Scripture it... 12:50 according to Paul in Hebrews chapter 8 verse 1 and 2, 12:53 that the sanctuary is very relevant 12:56 for understanding the work of Christ, 12:59 past... present... and future. 13:02 The sanctuary helps us to understand 13:04 the work of Jesus Christ and what He has done... 13:08 is doing... and will do. 13:12 Won't you behold the Lamb today? 13:14 Won't you accept Him into your heart? 13:16 You can have the assurance of salvation today... 13:20 right now... 13:21 you can accept Him as Savior of your life. 13:24 Continue to journey with us as we study the sanctuary, 13:28 salvation and our Savior. 13:30 Music... |
Revised 2019-08-21