Glorious Symbols (Part A)

This is here again. Philippians 215 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world as yourself in the workplace to you shine as a light in the world are you a bringer of that spirit Holy Spirit into your work environment or are you one that drains the spirit out. This is cross reference radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Hebrews. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching, but for now let's turn Pastor Rick in Hebrews chapter 9 as he begins his message glorious symbols.

Hebrews chapter 9 verses one through 10. Then, indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service in the earthly sanctuary or a tabernacle was prepared. The first part which was the lampstand table in the shewbread, which is called the sanctuary behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle, which is called the holiest of all, which had the golden sensor and the ark of the covenant overlaid all sides with gold in which were goal. The golden pot that had the manna, Aaron's rod that butted in the tablets of the covenant, and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. These things we cannot now speak in detail and when these things had been thus prepared. The priest always went into the first part of the tabernacle performing the services, but into the second part, the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people's sins committed in ignorance Holy Spirit indicating this at the way into the holiest of all, was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing was symbolic of the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him preform the service perfect in regard to conscience concerned only with foods and drinks. Various washings and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation. Now we did not go to verse 11 through 15 which would've contra begin the contrast to everything he was saying here in verses one through 10 is talking about Moses tabernacle in the wilderness and these going to contrast that with Jesus Christ and the new covenant. Of course that's where we've been going, and as has been necessary throughout discussion in Hebrews I have to give a little background.

For those of you who may not be up to speed on what's going on in this document.

This Hebrew letter. Here we have Christians in the first church, the first of in the beginnings of the church and they were coming out of Judaism and Christianity, and then they were beginning to slip back now into Judaism, for various reasons, much of it because of the pressure put on them and their culture and by their family members drifting backwards. And so the writer of of the Hebrew letter is now reasoning with them about the superiority of Jesus Christ and the inferiority of everything else that is out there and that if they take this fatal step back, it will be just that fatally will be spiritually fatal for them and so he's been holding up the beauty of Christ he's been contrasting it with the old system of the Old Testament all of its symbols, pointing to Jesus will Jesus has come now and he is to fill those things and so from verses one through 14. We have the contrast between the two covenants we're going to take verses one through 10 which summarizes the old system of worship. And if we get to verse 11 forward, we will summarize the new covenant. Looking back at chapter 8 the last verse, where he finished there. He said in that he says a new covenant is made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. So he had been talking about Jeremiah's prophecy, God speaking to the prophet, promising to bring in another covenant a new covenant to replace the old and so now the writer singlets happened in that old covenant is obsolete. We have the new covenant. According to the Lord.

Now we look at verse one of Hebrews 9. Then, indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary LOI look at this.

I think back when I was a new Christian, I didn't know what all of these things meant that I certainly didn't know about the symbolism behind him. Now I know little bit more about it myself in and enjoy it very much. It is is quite action-packed never have enough time to open up everything as much as we would like but I hope you get something out of this law as I mentioned the ref meaning the law of Moses, that system under Moses. Judaism.

It is a fading away, and it is unlike the finished work of Christ, which will never fade.

Paul wrote to the Corinthians in the second letter about this thing very thing he said, for if what is passing away was glorious. What remains is much more glorious is saying using the Old Testament was something you think it was powerful. It was his beautiful but Christ is gone beyond that is even more so more so wonderful and we as Christians and Gentile Christians, or a Gentile influence world would we enjoy so many freedoms that the law would prohibit us from practicing. That would've been impossible to upkeep in this present age go to Israel today and you find there making an effort to honor the Sabbath and they cannot do it for insisting on the elevators and they don't push the buttons for the floors because the rabbis of told him that's labor Nance was a laborer on the Sabbath, so the elevator stops at every floor. Whether you want to go there not an interview in a hurry. Forget about, but it's almost, it's a joke so you kidding me.

You see, you think that you have now overcome the word of God available. Anyways it's it's tangled up thing but Christ has brought us this freedom to love and to worship and to redirect all those energies into serving him, which I think we do a poor job of so often. For example love impatience with others were not so loving and patient with others. I know someone.

Someone gets under my skin. I'm ready to go to arms still after all these years. In Christ you think I would bless you my child/the work that is we are called to do as Christians with the superior faith is worth it.

It is worth the effort to continue going forward in it and so he says even in verse one, the first covenant had ordinances of divine services so exclusive with the rules that belong to Judaism that our Lord Jesus Christ, the maker of all the universe himself could not act as a priest. According to the line of Aaron and the Jewish Temple. Now he put that on himself. The writer of Hebrews talk about in the seventh chapter of Hebrews. In verse 18 said very thing but they have rules and how many Christians think there are no rules that were just freeing grace and we can have as much disorder as we want praise the Lord that's not accurate and is very dangerous and I hope that none of you have that attitude rules when they are wise when they are born out of care and obedience in order very health he says here that they served divine services.

He says ordinances of divine services serving the Lord and the earthly sanctuary. Now this, in contrast to the spiritual sanctuary in heaven. But here's an interesting thing.

Now we going to begin to dig into the the Mosaic tabernacle, the dwelling place. The tent that the Lord would meet his people at an in ancient times before, a flawless desert sand.

It was not you know travertine tile or something like that. It was the ground dirt reminding the priests always that this place temporary that the ministry last only one lifetime for them. In the event then they themselves will be in the presence of God a very significant factor that belong to the worship of the Jews, priest experienced in the people of certainly not as much because they weren't allowed to go in there. They knew about it because it was documented in the Scripture, but they could not go into the holy place of the holiest of holy places that belong with it.

So verse two for the tabernacle was prepared the first party in which was the lampstand, the table in the shewbread, which is called the sanctuary is not is not talking about Solomon's Temple that will come later, and is not talking about the temple that exist at the time of the writing reminder he's going all the way back to the days of Moses that first tabernacle and we the church we assemble, we worship in a in a building or wherever we find ourselves be out in the field when the central place of worship as the Jews did, the tabernacle was the place where your sins were dealt with, not the synagogues, synagogues, as was where the education took place and they came later, but going back to Moses. He says we have. We had a central place to come to God to have our sins dealt with and he's going to begin to tell them that we have something greater in Christ because when it's not locked into one place all the restrictions that blocked sinners from coming into the presence of God symbolically have been removed factually in Jesus, so the kingdom of Christ. No sacred days. No sacred seasons. Believe it or not, Christ did not lay these things on the lives of the early church began meeting on the on the first day of the week is that they Christ rose to begin to meet at sunrise because that's the time he rose, and it became up under traditional good one is not mandated by God. The only thing that was really mandated by the Lord as far as ordinances go, the communion table.

Do this in remembrance of me and the water baptism to a free many of the things that have crept into the church.

They are cumbersome, some a good summer bad and you not go to doing about it, but that exhibit the contrast is that we do not have these things laid on us as they had them laid on on the nation and so will the we in this freedom, no special sanctuaries. Why is that because Christ is everywhere.

He warned about this on a worn might be too strong, but he mentioned this before it happened. John's gospel chapter 4 Jesus said to her, woman, believe me the hours coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. Worship the father.

This will wash will not be centralized to Jerusalem will be expanded which the writer is is getting at with the people we have no priestly system to God we serve as priest in the kingdom of God. All believers do that is open for all of us to reach those who are lost to intercede for those who even are saved, we have no special class of servants as the Jews did, that the Levitical Lord of the ironic order we don't have that we are free from these things and we each one is is able to lead someone else to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

He says here in verse two to the first part, in which was the lampstand. Very dark in that old tabernacle with those coverings on it. No natural light. No natural light getting in the only light inside the sanctuary was from this lampstand. Have you had gone father into the inner sanctuary, the holy place that would've been the Shekinah, but you likely would not of gotten a look at that that was only for the priest. What high priest once a year, but will stay with this lampstand. For now, no, no natural light illuminated the work of the priest at that is the. The idea behind this only the lampstand and that was symbolic of God's enlightenment God's knowledge made available to men so that they could see where it what they should do and how they should go about doing it. Some 1828.

You will like my lamp Yahweh, my God will enlighten my darkness, we are told in the writings of the ancients amongst the Jews that they were more afraid of darkness then going without food. It was a big thing with. They felt that if your intent was not lit or your dwelling place did not have a light burning at night was sent a signal that it was unoccupied and that would invite trouble so they were very careful about keeping a light in their dwelling places so the writer of Proverbs, he praises his wife for this very thing. Proverbs 3118.

Her lamp does not go out by night.

She took care of business.

The important thing she did neglect meant to pick up the the you and although the oil for the lamb I forgot I had carried away on the Internet and that that was not edited it was another natural thing.

But the point is that she knew what was important.

She dealt with that of many of us have wives like that in many of you wives have husbands like that you're looking right.

That's enough of that anyway. The church church.

We as a priesthood of believers we are to bring light to lost souls. We should have an element of fear of darkness. Joe we should have to. We should understand what would darkness symbolizes in Scripture. Darkness in the sense of no light. We are to bring the light Philippians chapter 2 verse 15. Paul's wish for those believers that you may become blameless and harmless, how many of us are blameless and harmless member. The prayer of Jabez that I would not cause pain. It was unnecessary malicious pain.

He did not want to be guilty that he wanted to be blameless before God when you preach the gospel to those who don't want to hear it. You're going to cause pain, but that's on them. Nothing wrong with the message something very wrong with rejecting the message. He says that here again. Philippians 215 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. Ask yourself in the workplace to you shine as a light in the world are you a bringer of that spirit that Holy Spirit into your work environment or are you one that drains the spirit out and it is something that we should be very concerned with the never dismiss and never get used to it says the table of the shewbread literally in the Hebrew one when Moses was writing this law down the shewbread. That word meant the bread before the face of the bread and the presence the bread in the presence of God to stacks of six pieces of bread, one for each tribe of the Jews, so the lamp spoke of enlightenment, but the bread spoke of enablement. You know know can make steam without water. You gotta have fuel God is the one that supplies this we are the ones that are grateful for. He says, which is called the sanctuary now so you go into the ancient Hebrew temple. If you were a priest and you'd walk into the sanctuary and people allowed in there. Only the priest and the to your left a few paces forward midway up would be the lampstand and then straight across from that to your right would be that this table with the 12 loaves of bread in in in two different stacks and the utensils that went with it and straight ahead would be the golden altar where the incense was offered up representing the prayers of the people to God. If you took us a line and you drew from the lampstand across to the bread to the table at straight line and then you took another line from the doorway to the golden altar you would form across just saying works out that way. But there is another section will be going to be coming to that verse three and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle, which is called the holiest of all, he's not gonna dwell on any of these, he knows his audience understands what all of this means where the ones that may not understand because of the cultural differences and so that's why were talking about it, but he's not elaborated. He would never get done and he says that buddies as I would on time to get into is whether to take a little bit of the time so you walking to the first spot of the sanctuary and there was a lampstand, the table bread and the golden altar for the incense and then there was another curtain that separated the two sections while you were to go beyond that second curtain you would end up in the holiest of all, according to Exodus that's its name and that is where the ark of the covenant set a chest with a lid on top and the door on top of the lid with the cherubim facing each other. Those those spiritual beings and the articles within the chest will come to all of that in a moment but he says behind the second veil. No one could see that mercy seat back there. It was hidden behind the curtain.

That partition and it was the most holy place.

It is a type of Jesus is everything in this room is the lampstand, the bread Jesus and I am the bread of light.

I am the light of the world. The incense altar. All of these things easy E stands to make intercession for the saints continuously.

The prayers of the saints go up right so all of this speaks of him is hidden beauty. Occasionally occasionally men get a glimpse at this beauty of Christ, but the fullness of it that belongs to the Godhead, but it is shared to some degree, Matthew chapter 11 verse 27 all things have been delivered to me by my father and no one knows the son except the father, nor does anyone know the father except the son and the one to whom the son wills to reveal him is quite powerful. How everything fits in inscription everything makes perfect sense. How it makes sense because we can see if we can experience so much of these things did that come to us in our Bible, and yet outside these walls.

There are those that are worshiping the Lord. There are those that are bad mouthing him there.

Those that are indifferent about him. There are those that need the ones who were inside the walls to come outside and share the light and again I hope I don't stress it enough. All Christians should be praying for some lost souls to be saved and that God would bring someone into their life that they could be used by the Lord to shine the light. He says the the part of the tabernacle the bottom of verse three, which is called the holiest of all that is right out of Exodus 26 verse four now is going to continue with this Internet what's within the room and that inner sanctuary, which had the golden sensor in the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with golden which were the golden pot that had the manna at Aaron's rod that budded the tablets of the covenant.

Everything everything in that chest.

Aaron's rod the pot of manna the tablets. Everything had a story, a history behind having him in my office I have a little shelf and I've got also to things on their. Each one has a history about the people at the been involved in this ministry.

One of my favorites is just one little stickpin sizzle pin and it's just stuck there on the shelf. We had a young couple and they attend church here went off to the military. They got married they had to exit my thing so they were married by a chaplain. They wanted to be married also in the house of God with a worshiped, so they came back I performed the ceremony for the and when they came in my office.

He had a little flower is going to put on his appellant had these pins it to them on the workflow. Anyway, I took the pin and I put it on his lapel.

He didn't know what to do with this ad. I got the pennant at the final what next. Just add water well anyway they had the pin left over and I stuck it then. I remember this moment this powerful moment were so much that I want a man of God to marry to perform the ceremony in the house of God with the people of God come to worship God's house. I don't know how fully they grasp that but they grasp it enough in whatever they left out.

I put in wonder God we have more people in Christ. With that attitude marry me in the house of God that a man of God stand reading from the Scriptures giving me the valves my bride and I my husband and I well, God in his covenant ark of the covenant he had these items to be remembered also. They were to have impact on people. They were to influence the thinking they were had to have force behind them paren his priesthood was challenged. David and his group the ground would later open up and swallow up the rebels, you would think many Christians start trouble in church read that section of Scripture know what maybe we better not.

This might not be a good idea. You've been listening to cross reference radio the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick asked Calvary Chapel in Mechanicsville, Virginia. As we mentioned at the beginning of today's broadcast. Today's teaching is available free of charge at our website.

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