Participants:
Series Code: SSOS
Program Code: SSOS190007A
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00:01 Music...
00:25 Welcome to: The Sanctuary, Salvation and our Savior. 00:29 I'm so glad that you joined us on this journey 00:32 as we study the relevance of the sanctuary 00:35 to our practical Christian lives... 00:36 also, how it points to Jesus Christ as Savior 00:40 in the sanctuary as the Lamb and our High Priest. 00:44 Today, for our presentation, I want to cite a study 00:48 from Michigan State University. 00:50 A team from Michigan State University 00:54 trained a dozen students 00:55 to inconspicuously observe and collect data 01:00 on handwashing behavior in restrooms in bars, restaurants 01:05 and other public places in a college town. 01:08 In all, 3,749 people were observed. 01:12 After using the bathroom, 01:14 95% of people failed to wash their hands long enough 01:20 to kill harmful bacteria. 01:21 A new Study finds, among men, only half use soap 01:26 and 15% didn't wash their hands at all 01:29 compared with 78% of women who used soap 01:33 and 7% of women who didn't wash their hands. 01:37 This is interesting because Charles Gerba, 01:40 Professor of Microbiology at the University of Arizona 01:43 swabbed close to 5,000 surfaces in several office buildings 01:48 with at least 3,000 employees 01:50 and one of the places that ranked the highest for bacteria 01:54 was the drinking-fountain button. 01:57 Now, you may ask, 01:59 "Why is it that the drinking-fountain button 02:02 is to be found one of the dirtiest places in this building 02:05 well, what did people do after using the bathroom? 02:08 They go to get a drink 02:10 and so, this microbiologist actually recommended 02:14 that you pushed the drinking-fountain button 02:17 not with your fingers but with your shirt sleeve. 02:20 Now, I want to recite this study some more... 02:23 the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention... 02:27 the CDC recommends that you wash your hands vigorously 02:30 using soap and water for 15 to 20 seconds 02:33 or the time it takes to sing or hum "Happy Birthday" twice. 02:37 "The CDC says handwashing is one of the most effective ways 02:41 to cut the spread of infectious diseases. 02:44 Dirty hands are estimated 02:46 to contribute to 50% of all foodborne-illness outbreaks. " 02:52 Now, today's study is not about personal hygiene, 02:55 though this is a good reminder especially around Flu Season 02:59 to wash our hands but this study today 03:03 is on the Laver which was the 2nd article of furniture 03:07 found in the sanctuary 03:09 and it was a place of washing. 03:12 The laver literally meant in the Hebrew, "to wash... " 03:16 so the priests... in their daily rituals and routines, 03:21 they would go to this place 03:23 and wash their hands and their feet daily 03:26 and likely, multiple times a day. 03:29 Now, the physical washing also had a deeper spiritual 03:35 significance in the symbology of the sanctuary. 03:39 In other words, this physical washing 03:41 represented a spiritual washing and cleansing from sin. 03:47 So as we look at this Laver, 03:49 we see that it's the second article of furniture 03:52 that you find in the sanctuary... 03:53 first you come into the door of the sanctuary, 03:56 you accept Jesus as your Savior, 03:59 and then Jesus takes you by the hand and says, 04:02 "Look, I want to bring you to the water for cleansing. " 04:06 Now, baptism symbolizes this cleansing process 04:09 but more than that... 04:11 in acuality the baptism rite and ceremony 04:15 is talking about a cleansing of the heart. 04:19 The water is a symbol of that cleansing 04:22 that Jesus wants to do for each one of us. 04:25 In John chapter 19 verse 34, 04:28 it's interesting that when Jesus was pierced on the cross, 04:31 one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear 04:33 bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 04:38 Blood and water flowed from the side of Jesus. 04:43 Blood and water are found in the sanctuary. 04:46 Both blood and water are required to cleanse us from sin. 04:50 So, you can see that God brings us into the sanctuary 04:54 to the altar... there is blood there... 04:56 then He brings us to the water for cleansing 04:59 and both of these are provided 05:01 because of Jesus Christ. 05:03 In 1st John 1:9, the Bible says, 05:06 "If we confess our sins, 05:07 He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins 05:11 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. " 05:15 This verse beautifully encapsulates this notion 05:19 and this idea that God's role in the plan of salvation 05:23 is to forgive... that's what takes place at the brazen altar 05:27 and to cleanse... that's what takes place at the Laver. 05:32 In other words, 05:33 God is not in the business of just covering us up, 05:37 He's in the business of cleansing. 05:40 Now, we've used this illustration before, 05:42 if you find a baby naked and dirty 05:45 and there are no parents around, 05:48 what's the first thing you're going to do? 05:50 You're going to cover that baby 05:52 and then by the grace of God, 05:54 you're going to give that baby a bath. 05:57 You cover and you cleanse. 06:00 In the same way, when we come to Jesus 06:02 just the way that we are, 06:04 He covers us with His robe of righteousness 06:06 and then He says, "I want to bring you to the water... 06:10 I want to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. " 06:13 Jesus wants to forgive and to cleanse 06:17 from all unrighteousness. 06:19 Jeremiah chapter 33 verse 8 says, 06:21 "I will cleanse them 06:23 from all the sin they have committed against me 06:25 and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. " 06:30 We are forgiven at the altar... 06:33 we are cleansed at the Laver. 06:36 God is about restoration, He wants to bring us all back, 06:39 first He covers... then He cleanses... 06:42 He forgives... and then He purifies us from all sin. 06:47 Now the question arises, 06:49 "What was the original Laver made from?" 06:52 Exodus chapter 38 verse 8, "They made the bronze basin 06:56 and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women 06:59 who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. " 07:03 It was a donation... 07:06 Moses called upon the people and said, 07:08 "Look, we want to make the sanctuary, 07:10 would you give sacrificially to make it possible?" 07:14 And these dear women got their precious bronze mirrors 07:17 and gave them to Moses to build the sanctuary. 07:21 It's interesting because 07:23 the mirror represents the Law of God. 07:27 The Law doesn't save us... the Law shows us our need 07:31 and it's interesting that at the Laver which is made by mirrors, 07:34 you also have water, 07:36 now, when you go to the restroom, 07:38 you'll find a mirror and you'll also find water. 07:42 A mirror provides a moment of self-awareness... 07:46 of self-reflection... it shows us our need. 07:49 I praise God for mirrors because there have been times 07:53 that I'd gone through my day and I think I just looked fine 07:58 and then, I looked in the mirror and I notice... 08:03 I remember in this one case, I had a big chunk of olive 08:06 stuck in my tooth, 08:08 and I went through that whole day 08:10 and no one told me, 08:11 I wish someone would have told me, 08:12 I had a big olive stuck in my tooth 08:14 but the mirror did not provide the solution, 08:15 you know, I put some water on my finger and took care of it 08:19 so, the mirror provides a moment of self-awareness... 08:22 of self-reflection... and shows us our need. 08:26 You know, there are times in our Christian experience 08:28 or I should say, prior to being a Christian 08:31 or even in our Christian experience, 08:32 that we can come to the place 08:34 that we don't know that we are in need of cleansing. 08:38 There have been times when I've done visitation... 08:43 I remember in high school, I went to school in Arkansas 08:46 and in this particular school, 08:49 we would go out and do Sunshine Bands and visit 08:52 and there were certain homes that we would go to 08:55 and in a particular home, I always knew 08:59 that before I entered that home, I would take a deep breath, 09:02 just ooofsssss... 09:04 because I knew that the odors and the aromas in that home 09:07 just would be something that would be just undesirable, 09:11 for lack of a better word... 09:13 and this person that lived in that home... I found out, 09:18 did not even sense the smell. 09:21 In other words, they had become so accustomed to it, 09:24 they didn't even know that their home needed to be aired out 09:28 and sometimes, we can become so climatized to sin... 09:33 we can become so accustomed to sin... 09:35 that when God says, "Look, I want to cleanse you.. " 09:38 we say, "Lord, I'm clean... 09:40 I have no need of cleansing... 09:42 I'm just absolutely fine... " 09:45 and it's only when we're brought to Jesus 09:47 and Jesus touches our hearts 09:49 and we're able to look into the Law of Liberty 09:53 which is like a mirror... 09:54 that we sense our need. 09:56 Now, the mirror is not like a bar of soap, 09:59 it does not clean us up, 10:01 but it shows us our need of a Savior. 10:04 So, what a beautiful metaphor here 10:06 that the Laver was made from the bronze mirrors 10:11 that the women gave to... to Moses. 10:14 Now, what was the Laver used for? 10:16 We mentioned this before but here it is from Scripture, 10:18 Exodus chapter 30 verse 18, "Make a bronze basin, 10:22 with its bronze stand, for washing. 10:25 Place it between the tent of meeting and the altar, 10:29 and put water in it. " 10:31 The priests would regularly wash their hands and their feet, 10:35 it was a regular form of cleansing 10:37 and this form of cleansing... physical cleansing 10:40 typified a spiritual cleansing as well. 10:44 Now, in Psalm 51 verse 2, David says, 10:47 "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, 10:50 and cleanse me from my sin. " 10:53 This was after David had committed murder... 10:57 killed the husband of Bathsheba 11:01 and then had committed adultery with her, 11:04 and in Psalm 51, he senses his need. 11:08 It was after Nathan came in before him and said, 11:11 "You are the man... " 11:12 and in this text, you can sense 11:15 that David knows that he is in need of cleansing. 11:20 He says, "Wash me from my sin. " 11:24 I pray that all of us can come to the place of a realization 11:28 of our spiritual uncleanness 11:30 and we can come to God just like David 11:33 and be accepted by Him and say, 11:35 "Lord, cleanse me, wash me from my sin. " 11:41 Have you ever sinned before and felt dirty? 11:46 I have. 11:48 Have you felt unclean after making a mistake or sinning? 11:53 Here Jesus provides the solution 11:56 but notice the order in which Jesus provides the solution. 12:00 He invites us into the sanctuary... 12:02 we accept Him as our Savior... 12:04 He accepts us just the way that we are... 12:07 but He loves us too much to leave us in that condition. 12:12 God wants to cleanse us 12:13 but that cleansing is not the pre-requisite 12:18 to God's acceptance, 12:19 I praise God that that Laver 12:21 was not placed outside of the tabernacle, 12:23 now that would have implied something very differently 12:26 than what we see here in the gospel. 12:28 If the Laver was placed outside of the sanctuary, 12:32 it would have implied, 12:33 "Look, before you come into the tabernacle, 12:36 clean yourself up... 12:37 before you come to Jesus, get yourself right... 12:40 take care of all these things, cleanse yourself... 12:43 and then, God will accept you... " 12:45 but the reality is, 12:46 that the Laver is the second article of furniture 12:50 not the first... 12:52 you come into the sanctuary... 12:53 you're accepted by God 12:55 and then He says, "I will cleanse you. " 12:59 Do you know that God loves you no matter your behavior? 13:05 Now, it breaks His heart when we sin... 13:07 this is not to say that 13:09 but there is nothing that you can do 13:12 that will make God love you more. 13:16 In other words, your condition and your uncleanness 13:20 is not something that is a pre-requisite 13:23 to earn the acceptance and the love of God. 13:27 God says, "Look, I love you even though you are unclean, 13:32 even though you are morally deprived, 13:35 I love you... I invite you into the sanctuary 13:38 to the Savior... 13:39 and then, I will cleanse you. " 13:42 We're going to take a short break 13:44 but stay with us and when we come back, 13:47 we will see the plan of salvation 13:49 and the cleansing process in the sanctuary. 13:53 Jesus washes us at the Laver. |
Revised 2019-10-14