Participants:
Series Code: SSOS
Program Code: SSOS190003A
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00:01 Music...
00:25 Welcome back to our Series that we've entitled, 00:28 The Sanctuary, Salvation and our Savior 00:31 and we've been studying the relevance of the sanctuary 00:34 to understanding our own Christian experience 00:37 and walk with Jesus Christ 00:38 also, how the sanctuary reveals what Jesus has done... 00:42 is doing... 00:44 and will do. 00:45 The Bible tells us in the book of Psalms... Psalm 77 verse 13, 00:49 "Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary... " 00:54 in other words, if we want to understand the workings of God 00:58 in the plan of salvation, 00:59 we must look at the sanctuary. 01:02 The sanctuary is our model... 01:04 it's our lens for understanding the work and the ministry 01:07 of Jesus Christ. 01:09 The Bible tells us that Jesus is the Lamb of God 01:13 who takes away the sins of the world. 01:18 The Bible tells us in John chapter 1 verse 29, 01:21 "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward Him, and said, 01:25 'Behold, The Lamb of God 01:26 who takes away the sin of the world!'" 01:30 In other words, Jesus' ministry and life 01:34 can be typified by understanding the function of the lamb 01:39 in the ceremonies and the rituals 01:41 of the Old Testament sanctuary 01:44 and if the Jews had just understood 01:47 John's introduction of Jesus Christ, 01:50 as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, 01:54 they would not have missed the Messiah. 01:57 You see, the sanctuary is more than a doctrine, 02:00 the sanctuary is actually a lens an interpretive key... 02:05 a framework for understanding 02:08 the work and the ministry of Jesus Christ. 02:10 John is using the sanctuary more than just a doctrine... 02:15 he's using it as a hermeneutical key, 02:18 in other words, an interpretive key 02:20 for understanding the work and the ministry of Jesus Christ 02:24 and it's because the Jews did not use the sanctuary 02:28 as their interpretive key, that they missed the Messiah. 02:32 Now, the Jews believed in the sanctuary. 02:34 As a matter of fact, 02:35 the Jews would have died for their sanctuary 02:38 but they were not using the sanctuary 02:41 as their interpretive key 02:42 to understand the work of the Messiah. 02:45 They were using culture, they were using politics, 02:48 they were using anything but the sanctuary 02:50 to understand the work and the ministry of Jesus Christ 02:53 and here John is using the sanctuary 02:56 as his hermeneutical lens, as his reference point 02:59 for understanding the work and the ministry of Jesus, 03:03 and could it be today 03:04 that we're replacing the sanctuary lens... 03:07 the sanctuary framework for culture... 03:10 for another philosophical framework 03:13 for understanding the work and the ministry of Christ 03:15 and perhaps God is calling us back 03:18 to use the sanctuary to understand 03:20 what Jesus has done... 03:22 is doing... 03:23 and will do. 03:25 We noted in an earlier presentation 03:26 that not only did Jesus fulfill the work and the ministry 03:30 as the lamb but also as our High Priest in heaven. 03:36 This is the other entity in the sanctuary 03:39 and the Bible tells us in Hebrews chapter 8 03:42 verses 1 through 5... 03:44 "Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: 03:47 We have such a High Priest, who is seated 03:51 at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 03:54 a Minister of the sanctuary, 03:57 and of the true tabernacle 03:59 which the Lord erected and not man. " 04:03 So, Jesus did not only fulfill the function of the Lamb, 04:08 but according to Paul, Jesus is fulfilling right now 04:13 the function of the high priest, 04:15 not on earth but in heaven. 04:18 In other words, here Paul is using 04:21 the interpretive key of the sanctuary 04:24 to understand not only the work and the ministry of Jesus Christ 04:27 here on earth 04:29 as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, 04:31 but also, to help us to understand 04:34 what Jesus is doing right now in heaven. 04:36 What is Jesus doing right now in heaven? 04:39 Here Paul tells us that He is our High Priest in heaven 04:43 ministering in not an earthly sanctuary 04:47 but in an heavenly sanctuary 04:49 that was not constructed by Moses, 04:52 but was constructed by God. 04:54 This is an important point that we cannot miss. 04:57 The sanctuary is our framework... 05:00 it's our lens like eye glasses 05:02 to help us to understand what Jesus has done 05:05 is doing... 05:07 and will do. 05:08 Jesus performed the function of the lamb at the cross... 05:11 Jesus is performing right now according to Paul 05:14 the function of the High Priest in heaven. 05:17 Now, there is another quotation here on the screen 05:21 that I want to take our attention to 05:22 and it's from one of my favorite books, 05:24 it's the book, "The Great Controversy" 05:26 page 423 and it says, "The subject of the sanctuary 05:30 was the key which unlocked the mystery 05:33 of the disappointment of 1844. 05:36 It opened to view a complete system of truth, 05:41 connected and harmonious. " 05:43 Now, in a future presentation, 05:46 we'll unpack exactly what this is talking about 05:48 but in the Advent movement, the great disappointment of 1844 05:53 people assumed that the sanctuary was the earth 05:56 and that Jesus was going to be coming in 1844... 05:59 later on they discovered or I should say, rediscovered... 06:02 this idea that there is no reference in Scripture 06:07 to the earth being the sanctuary 06:09 rather, the Bible points out 06:12 that the sanctuary exists in heaven 06:15 so the cleansing of the sanctuary in heaven 06:18 and this idea and the motif of the sanctuary 06:21 opened to view a complete system of truth, 06:24 we go on in this quotation, 06:25 "Showing that God's hand 06:27 had directed the great Advent Movement 06:29 and revealing present duty 06:30 as it brought to light the position 06:33 and work of His people. " 06:34 In 1844... in the subsequent year, 06:37 people discovered this idea 06:39 that Jesus was engaging in the final work 06:42 of the Day of Atonement in heaven on our behalf. 06:47 So, let's back it up here, 06:48 according to the Bible 06:50 John the Baptist used the sanctuary 06:53 as the interpretive key for understanding 06:55 the work of Jesus Christ on earth. 06:56 It was this hermeneutical lens, the interpretive key 06:59 for understanding the work in Jesus Christ... 07:01 the work of Jesus Christ at the cross 07:04 and then in Hebrews chapter 8, 07:07 Paul uses the sanctuary lens again 07:11 as a hermeneutical lens 07:13 to understand the working ministry 07:14 of Jesus Christ in heaven 07:16 and then in 1844 and the subsequent years, 07:21 the great Advent movement 07:23 used the sanctuary as the interpretive key 07:27 of Jesus fulfilling the work of God in heaven 07:30 in the cleaning of the heavenly sanctuary. 07:33 So, the sanctuary motif... the sanctuary doctrine... 07:37 is actually a lens... 07:40 a key for understanding the work and the ministry 07:43 of Jesus Christ... past... present... and future 07:47 and there's a danger if we're not using the sanctuary lens 07:51 we will use another lens... we will use popular culture... 07:56 we'll use the teachers and the doctors of Theology of the day 08:00 which will replace this important hermeneutic. 08:03 Now, what is the cost of not using the sanctuary? 08:07 The Jews did not use the sanctuary lens 08:10 as a hermeneutical reference point 08:12 for understanding the Messiah, 08:13 and what was the result? 08:15 They rejected God in the flesh. 08:18 You see, not using the sanctuary as a framework 08:22 can lead to a costly existential or experiential result. 08:29 Not using this hermeneutical lens 08:32 can actually cause you to misinterpret 08:35 the work and the ministry of Jesus Christ on our behalf. 08:39 Now, as we go to the screen here, 08:41 this is a quotation from one of my professors 08:44 Fernando Canali, Professor Emeritus of Theology 08:47 at Andrews Theological Seminary 08:49 and he exhorts all leaders to use the sanctuary 08:52 as the interpretive key for understanding Christ. 08:55 Notice what he says, "Leaders, Administrators, 08:58 Pastors and Scholars 08:59 should be going back to Scripture 09:02 and using the sanctuary doctrine as the hermeneutical key 09:07 to understand the complete and harmonious system 09:12 of Biblical truth. " 09:14 Here's a scholar exhorting 09:16 people on every level of ministry... 09:19 Leaders, Administrators, Church Officers 09:23 to use the sanctuary as their hermeneutical reference point 09:27 for understanding the work and the ministry of Jesus Christ. 09:31 We are living in an age today 09:33 where people not only do not believe in the existence 09:37 of the sanctuary, 09:39 but we're living in an age 09:40 where people that even believe in the doctrine of the sanctuary 09:45 are not using it as their hermeneutical reference point 09:49 for understanding the work and the ministry of Jesus Christ. 09:53 Now, when we look at the sanctuary model, 09:56 you'll see that there is movement that is implied 10:02 by the very sanctuary structure 10:04 as we noted in our previous presentation 10:07 there is one access point into the sanctuary... 10:10 you come into the courtyard 10:12 and by implication, God wants to draw you 10:14 into the Holy Place 10:16 and into the Most-Holy-Place experience with Him. 10:19 Adam and Eve were here in the Most Holy Place... 10:22 a face-to-face encounter with God... 10:25 eyeball to eyeball... 10:27 a conversation with God because of sin, 10:29 the entire human race was placed outside of the gate 10:33 and God wants to bring us back. 10:36 The sanctuary idea... 10:38 the sanctuary notion 10:40 is this idea of God bringing us back 10:43 to that face-to-face relationship with God. 10:47 The theme of the sanctuary in actuality 10:50 is all about restoration. 10:54 It is God wanting to bring us back. 10:59 Now, this is one of my favorite quotations from book "Education" 11:01 the book "Education" points out 11:04 that the purpose of the plan of salvation, 11:07 is to restore in man the image of his Maker... 11:11 to bring us back to the perfection 11:15 in which he was created 11:16 to promote the development of body, mind and soul 11:19 that the Divine purpose in His creation might be realized. 11:22 This was to be the work of redemption. 11:26 You see, the plan of salvation is not just about forgiveness... 11:31 forgiveness is an essential part 11:33 and it's the first thing that you experience as a Christian, 11:36 but it's also about restoration. 11:39 God wants to bring us all the way back to Eden... 11:45 not only to the place 11:47 but to restore the person and the image of God in man. 11:52 That is the theme of the sanctuary. 11:55 God bringing us all the way back. 11:58 Now, in Eden, when Adam and Eve sinned, 12:02 there was an immediate physical change that took place, 12:06 remember the Bible indicates that they noticed 12:09 that there was a chill in the air 12:12 immediately after they ate of that forbidden fruit, 12:14 they could sense, the Bible says, 12:17 that they were naked 12:19 and what was their response to this sense of nakedness? 12:23 Immediately there was this emotional sense of shame. 12:27 Have you ever sinned before? 12:29 Have you ever made a mistake? 12:31 How do you feel after you've made that mistake? 12:36 There's an immediate emotional sense of shame. 12:40 And how do we cope with that sense of shame? 12:43 We attempt to cover ourselves 12:47 and this was the response of Adam and Eve. 12:49 They covered themselves in fig leaves 12:52 and this is the universal response when we sin, 12:56 you see, we can't look at our own ugliness. 12:59 We can't come to grips with ourselves 13:02 and so, I believe that all of us 13:05 as a coping mechanism, 13:07 try to live in the state of disillusionment. 13:11 We can't look at ourselves so we cover ourselves... 13:14 we cover our shame with fig leaves 13:17 and this is an example of us covering ourselves 13:20 with our own righteousness. 13:22 The immediate response... 13:24 the immediate feeling that we get to sin... is shame 13:27 and God is going to bring us back 13:30 and you'll notice that the first thing that God does 13:34 in the plan of salvation is that He covers us... 13:37 that's what He did for Adam and Eve. 13:40 He covered them and this was an example 13:42 of the Robe of Righteousness. 13:45 We're going to take a short break right now. 13:48 Stay with us 13:49 and when we come back we'll look at this idea 13:52 of God covering us and cleansing us. |
Revised 2019-08-27