The Tabernacle, Pt. 4 (11/14/1999) | NOTE: Severe audio malfunction from 20:30 to 26:12

Brass not gold Covered with a brazen now. We know what that is again. That's judgment in Scripture the brazen serpent

So here it is wood covered by not gold anymore, but covered by The brazen material which is judgment also it was hollow

It was hollow and it was filled with dirt filled with dirt and the fire the amazing thing is

On the altar of incense remember I told you that every day Every evening and every morning the priest would come in and put incense on the coals

And they would stir the coals on this one. They never touched that that fire was miraculously kindled by God God kept the fire going all the time.

They it was dirt This was dirt down in here. They didn't put coals and things this was dirt down here was hollow and God Miraculously kept that fire going all the time

It stood at the door of the court declaring that once and for all The only way to God is through a sacrifice if you're going to go in there and talk to God Then you got to come in not on your own

But you have to go in by a sacrifice which we know to be the way of the cross now

It has a horn on each corner If you've noticed it has a horn on each corner indicating the four corners of the world meaning that anybody anywhere could get saved

Would make a difference, you know geographical location doesn't

Hinder God at all all the vessels were made of brass or brazen material

All these utensils and things that were used with it It was made of this case of wood covered with brazen materials

I said wood for humanity and brass for judgment And that's what the brazen material for judgment if you want to say that so what you got to get humanity the wood

And then you got judgment on humanity. That's what it's a picture of humanity being judged at that place

He bore our sins in his own body on the tree. So this was the place of Sacrifice for the sins of the people it was called the altar of burnt offering the altar of burnt offering is what it was called and the burnt offering became a sweet savor to the

Lord as our Christ himself is and The innocent bore the judgment of the guilty.

They would bring a lamb. They would bring a goat. They would bring a bull they would bring an oxen and they would kill it and That innocent animal which animals we know are sinless an innocent animal had to die

For the sins of these people and so is made by the hands of man, but it was made according to the heavenly pattern

Christ died by human hands But according to the heavenly pattern According to the will of God this stood at the entrance of the court as I've said and no

Israel I could get ceremonial absolution for saying just cause the Israel I came around and did these things

Didn't mean that his sins were forgiven He could not get a blessing from any priest until what till he came to that altar and brought a victim

He had to bring something that could be killed and only then Did he know his sins could be forgiven and only then with the

Aaronic priesthood blessing be upon him and As the Bible says apart from Christ, there is no approach from God Scripture says in Hebrews 9 22 and almost all things are the law are by the law purged with blood and without The shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin.

Why is that important to you and me? It's been taught by God for thousands of years yet there are churches all over this country and around the world who believe that if you get baptized or if you do this or if You do that your sins will be forgiven when the

Bible says no, no, no without the shedding of blood. There is no forgiveness See, we don't offer animals anymore because Christ has offered himself up once and for all it had two staves

For carrying it around wherever it was to go and to represent the gospel

Or which the cross has carried about two parts of the gospel death and resurrection If Christ died and only died then it really doesn't help us a lot if he was resurrected didn't die

What dimmers I make how could that be? And so death and resurrection both parts of the gospel are

Important to you and me he rose from the dead after he died Triumphing over death both of these days are essential for its moving

Neither one was essential or sufficient within itself yet have both of those days in there

And so he was delivered for our offenses. He died, but he also was raised for our justification both of those fit together

And that's the gospel the Apostle Paul preached When you study 1st Corinthians 15, you'll find that's exactly what

Paul said Isaiah 53 said he made his grave with a wicked and with a rich in his death.

We know he was buried in Joseph's tomb On the third day according to the scriptures We know he came out of the grave and that's the gospel of the brazen altar and those people knew that they came and offered

Sacrifice there and they'd go that labor of cleansing that their sins would be forgiven because God said so why because the priest

Was going to take that and he was going to go into the holy place Minister on their behalf and then once a year

Aaron would go in and we'll see in just a moment the beautiful high priest Which was the most important person there?

The Israelite brought his offering to the brazen altar and made his offering then the priest took over and then

Christ was made ours And he is our all in all now as I said, there is a gate

And then we'll stop for a moment the gate into the court as I said was a hundred the court was 150 by 75 feet and The gate was 30 feet wide and seven and a half feet high hung on four pillows

And it was the only entrance into the whole thing. So let me just do this before we look at the high priest

Then we'll take a brief break the brazen altar to give you how? Man to God starting out here and going back in the opposite direction

The brazen altar is first that speaks of the cross. It speaks of conversion salvation and justification

The labor is the next item and it speaks of the word the cleansing of the word separation from the world we've stepped inside now and Sanctification the show bread that bread speaks of fellowship with God.

It speaks of Bible study It speaks of communion the word the word and then the candlestick is a testimony.

It's a witness and Remember that the candlestick was one it was seven arms, but it's one piece so that speaks of Union and then the golden incense of altar prayer intercession and And then the veil total surrender

Satisfaction to go through that veil and total satisfaction and the mercy seat over the

Ark of the Covenant Perfect peace if you could ever get into the presence of God you'd have perfect peace Always and ever now

God coming back. What did we say? That's how we started God coming back

Christ is our propitiation at the throne of God the throne of grace

Christ is our intercessor We stop at the golden altar of incense Christ is the light of the world the golden candlestick

Christ is the bread of life the altar of showbread Christ is our cleanser washed in the blood in the labor of cleansing

Christ is our sacrifice on the brazen altar and Christ is our way

He would be the door the gate whereby you would come in to the inner court All of it refers to him and just remember in this tabernacle.

There are seven Great precepts that the tabernacle teaches it teaches redemption

It teaches regeneration It teaches sanctification it teaches remission of sin it teaches justification

Propitiation and glorification it teaches all of those things All of those things and when

I first began studying this and I saw these things in there I mean it just it's just really

See what God has done and how he did it and how he led those Israelites.

All right, let's take up Take a moment, we'll we're not we won't take this long on our next session perhaps, but if let's go ahead and David what you want?

five minutes ten minutes He's not to say it whatever He's in his garments of glory and beauty remember that the first high priest name was

Aaron The brother of Moses and he's a remarkable type as we say a picture of Christ our high priest and his sons

Foreshadowed the believer priest which we are his sons are kind of pictures of of us who composed the body of Christ in the scripture

We said that's the description of the tabernacle is Interrupted it goes through the tabernacle and the description of it in Exodus chapter 28 and 29 and in Leviticus chapter 8 and 9

We have in just stuck right in the middle of it the minute details of the dress of the priest

It tells about the priest how they were to dress How they were consecrated to their sacred office what had to be done for them to be the priest and they just you know certain ways

They were consecrated the food that they were to eat and then what their ministry was now

Hebrews 5 Interestingly enough Hebrews 5 1 through 4 gives us the qualifications and the functions of a

Levitical priest now political Levitical priests We're talking about Aaron He was a high priest and his sons the

Levites the Chordites the Meroites the Gershonites They were all priests.

They were the Levite family and Hebrews 5 tells first of all he had to be a man No women there was no woman who was ever a priest

No, he had to be a man. He had to be taken from among men. It'll be a man amongst men

It could not be an angel couldn't be a woman had to be a man And then also he had to be called of God.

He had to be called of God just as Aaron God had to put his Authority on it God had to put his approval on it and he had three duties he had to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins and The second thing he had to do is he had to have compassion on the ignorant and the error

I mean there were people you know that not everybody came around to hear everything they said and so someone said well

I didn't know that You know because they didn't have they didn't have things written out yet And so I said

I didn't know that so he had to be have some compassion He's that way you should run it ignorance of the laws. No excuse will zap you you know kill him stone him

And are those who made mistakes if they erred he dealt with them with compassion remembering that he himself

Had infirmities he himself had iniquity He also had to deal with these things and then he had to pray for the people before the golden altar of incense

That's what the priest did the priest remember they could go into the holy place But only the high priest could go to the

Holy of Holies on where the Ark of the Covenant was now Hebrews 5 verses 5 and 10 tells us that Jesus Christ had all those qualifications

He had every one of those to be a priest now We know the priesthood as I've said was a vital part of the law of Moses under the ordinances

Under the section called the ordinances that we looked at the very beginning And the law was a shadow of good things to come in Christ Jesus and so as our priest he ever lives to make intercession for us and and Stand against the accusations of Satan now

Aaron and his sons were provided with the same pure linen coat

Aaron and all the sons had the same linen coat that they had

Obviously all Christians are given the robe of righteousness That Christ's righteousness we say has been imputed or has been given to us that fits us for his presence but only

Aaron wore the robes of beauty only Aaron was dressed uniquely and Distinctly all of us have the robes of righteousness, but Christ Distinctly and uniquely has the glory he has the beauty and he has the perfections and all of Aaron's garments

And glory were a picture of Christ who is all together Lovely one, and this is the way

The high priest would basically look That may not look like a whole lot of work to you about what they had to do to make that thing

But it is astounding what that thing had to be he had seven pieces of clothing that he had to wear

Seven seven the number of spiritual completion. They were all of deep significance They had a breastplate and we'll talk about the breastplate ephod robe

Embroidered coat and breeches he had a miter he had a girdle in a plate or a crown all the other priests only had three

Things they wore that was the linen coat and they wore bonnets They did not wear a miter and they wore girdle around their waist now

Both Aaron and the sons had those three things in common. They all had a Cap or top they all had linen coat and they all had girdles around them

But Aaron had the other things that are significant in pointing to the work of Christ because remember he and he alone

Would go in behind that veil and enter into the very holy of holies So the breastplate is the first thing that we'll look at the breastplate is made of fine

Twine linen of gold blue purple and scarlet. It was nine inches by 18 inches

So he's got a breastplate. That's 9 inches by 18 inches when you formed it into a pouch

It made a pouch of 9 inches by 9 inches So 9 by 18 and it would form into a pouch 9 by 9

It was of the same material as the ephod and the front of the breastplate was set with 12 stones four

Rows of three stones each one for each one of the twelve tribes of Israel Now There is some question as to what the stones were

But as much as antiquity has been studied and people come up with all different kind of ideas

We know what the scripture says in the King James translation But you cannot be dogmatic that there might not have been a ruby or something of that nature

But the scripture tells us that there was the Sardis the topaz the carbuncle the emerald the sapphire the diamond

The Jason the agate the amethyst the beryl the onyx and the jasper now the breastplate was held in place over the chest

Over the heart it was put over the heart Twelve tribes of Israel and so be over his excuse me

Oh his heart by golden cords attached to the shoulders of the ephod and the curious girdle

Our belt which would be here and that's the way it was held the pouch

Now this the pouch that he had On here where this would fold in and become like a pouch the pouch

Carried what was called the urim and the thumen and nobody knows what they really were nobody really understands them they were called the lights and perfections the urim and the thumen and What he would do is he would pray and he would talk to the

Lord and the Lord would communicate to him Through the urim and the thumen and some people believe that these lights and perfections they would light up Or somehow they would change colors or something, but somehow and we just don't know it's a mystery

No one's ever been able to discover There's nothing that would tell us that through the urim and the thumen God would communicate to him not by lots but he would consult with the

Lord and he'd get answers from the Lord and Engraved it was with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel now

He carried the names of the children of Israel on his heart That's where the tribes were they were printed there

And they were over his heart and the breastplate speaks of the love of Christ for his children the onyx stones were on his shoulder

Up here, but these were over his heart the twelve tribes of Israel The best breastplate was named first in all the garments when you go to the

Bible It was named first and it was the most costly of all the vestments the other garments

They were a foundation and a background of this precious article But this is the one that points to Christ himself into the very heart of Christ The precious stones engraved with the names were chained to the high priest as we are bound to Christ By his love and we're bound him by cords of love and the precious stones again as I've mentioned on two

Occasions that Peter talks about us being formed in a habitation of precious stones He says you are habitation of precious stones and each person that belongs to God is a precious jewel and each one is different each one is different, so all the stones are different stones and As we are different now the breastplate spoke of Christ as the loving one

As Christ is the loving one because it's over his heart and it has the name God knows your name the

Bible says rejoice not that the demons are subject to you But rather rejoice that your name is written in heaven

So you are a precious jewel and then we come to the ephod the ephod was a long sleeveless tunic a

Long sleeveless tunic consisting of two parts front and back it's almost like you'd have a front nothing on the side

No sleeves and in a back it was held together by straps at the shoulder

It was clasped by two precious on its stones Engraved on each one of those stones was six tribes of Israel on each one of them

And it was tied about the waist with a skillfully wrought girder Around the waist with that skillfully wrought girder

This was the most beautiful of the priest's vestments and was made of fine twine linen gold blue purple and scarlet now remember that unless scarlet and Blue are present.

You cannot have purple You got to have scarlet and blue you can't have purple so if there's no blood and He didn't come from heaven

Then obviously he can't be our king Which is purple because we need a perfect person.

So without scarlet without blue You don't have purple now the onyx stones on the shoulders

Speaks of Christ our strength and Aaron carried God's people on his shoulders and on his heart

Christ carries us Upon his heart and bears our burden so he had their names up here where he would bear their burdens because he loved them in his heart and That's he had the onyx stones with the names on the shoulder and also the breastplate now the ephod

Was made of the same material as the breastplate, but it was never separated from the breastplate

Never never his love and strength what go together. It was composed of gold and white linen

It was embroidered in blue purple scarlet, and it was done by what the Bible calls cunning work

Very meticulous very careful and all of these attributes and graces are as the

Holy Spirit He does everything very meticulously and very carefully and sometimes wondrously and even mysteriously now the ephod was known as a garment of glory and beauty because it was very colorful and And Looking at it another way.

It was all gold Looking at another way. You'd see all white It depends upon the direction that you would be looking at this and has portrayed the fact that he was generally human as God You look at it see gold and then the other time you look at this white

So you could see gold deity and then the white would be the humanity We know that he was born of a woman a babe a believer

He worked sweated hungered thirsted shed tears and he died. He was human yet He was sinless holy virgin born miracle worker

Superior to the forces of nature forgiver of sins and he rose from the dead He was divine so the ephod speaks of him as the divine and human

Lord So the loving Lord and the divine and human Lord then next is chapter 28

You have but what is called the robe of the ephod the robe and that is the blue robe of the ephod

Was worn immediately under the ephod and was longer So it was worn immediately underneath it, but it was longer

Excuse me that and it had a fringe about the bottom and on the bottom here Golden bells and the pomegranate it was blue and told of his heavenly the position of Christ his office his character as he's our perfect high priest

The color symbolism is well known

Golden bells tell us of his gracious words and perfect speech and and it tells that now the pomegranates

Speak of fruitfulness of his ministry for us the fruitfulness of his love for his people now the two are perfectly balanced

All the way around The fringe of the road.

Why does that mean? Well, they are consistent They did not know whether God would kill him or not,

I mean, you know, God just says you come in there with blood But you know what? They assumed it was correct

The only way they knew that but he offered the blood ministry on their behalf

So the robe of blue stands for the heavenly the heavenly gracious one and then we have what the

Bible calls a broader Broader coat both

Aaron and the high priest Or Aaron the high priest and the priest wore the fine linen and broadered coat they all wore this

It seems to been woven in a checkerboard fashion It seemed to be in a some kind of a checkerboard or checker work

It was no more next to the body and it could have been we think maybe like an undershirt

A night shirt or something that with a deep skirt to it with a very deep skirt and with the coat there were breeches

Long white breeches all the way down to his feet legs Had to be covered all of them had to be covered and what that tells us both

Aaron and his sons Wearing these garments they went together the fine linen coat had to be put on before they could serve

God in the tabernacle It was the first thing they they put on and it was a symbol of a perfect modesty and the righteousness

Of the Lord since to me that the Lord everywhere you find in his life. He was always modest He was never out about he was always modest and everything

You read the light. It has very strict today.

It doesn't matter. I mean you got preachers Lord doesn't mean they can't serve the

Lord. They can do a lot of things It just that God takes that and he says don't not that they're better, but I want this clear

I don't want any contamination of it And so God has very strict things about that that signified two things that were essential one is there was righteousness and also modesty

Righteousness and Modesty and the fine linen coat spoke of the imputed righteousness of the

Lord Christ who's given to us and it's perfect Jesus never made a mistake

Ethically, he never made one. I mean, you know, you know what Amy Vanderbilt ethics? I don't know how they ate or whatever

But he always did the right thing at the right time No, I mean our Lord did he always did the right thing at the right time now these people

Unless he was properly dressed now, here's where we get this problem the priest the sons of Aaron They also had to have their three garments on and they are the ones that went into the holy place

He's going in the Holy of Holies. So they cannot come into the holy place without being properly dressed

They couldn't come in with something. They wore out in the wilderness They had to go in and put on those three garments in order to come in the presence of the

Lord That is why we say you don't have to wear a coat and tie to church.

Well, you don't know But a person neither unless you know, somebody was at work and I've invited people many times in meetings

I said look if you're just getting off work, come on Don't worry, don't worry about running home and you know, if you got a little oil on you, that's all right.

Stay in the back It's okay. If you got coveralls and grease all over you, it's okay I'm on it, but under normal circumstances

I Would not wear to the house of the Lord the same thing that I go play ball in I wouldn't come to the house of the

Lord wearing the same thing that I go to the disco in. You're gonna come there anyway But yeah, you just wouldn't

But people do People do and You've been reading about churches in the news

All of them mention the names of it, all kinds of problems, kids getting shot and things like that Anybody talks about it?

Well, let me tell you You go to that church On Wednesday night and Sunday night and you will find young marrieds as well as young people wearing shorts tank tops

With Bibles in their hand and I was a member there for a while. That was one of the reasons that convicted us

That we couldn't stay Now dear people, that's wrong That is just wrong.

Come into the house in the presence of the Lord wearing tank tops shorts tennis shoes

Just because you carry a Bible doesn't mean nothing Now I'm not saying if that's all the person had and they could convince me of that I'd go buy them something wouldn't you?

I'd go get them something. All I'm saying is that in order to come before the Lord I don't have to have a tuxedo, don't have to have a coat and tie

I can have holes in my pants, but I ought not to wear the same thing that I run the streets with I ought to show him some kind of a preference because if you were invited to Governor Bush's office,

I will promise you That's exactly what we'd do. That's exactly what we would do.

Or if we were, it doesn't even have to be him So the mayor doesn't even have to have the governor, city council, whoever.

We would make those preparations, but with God Somehow or other, we don't. And this is where they trace, we trace that back to.

Not the only place But that is one of the places. It's food for thought. It's interesting to me that Adam and Eve in the

Garden of Eden Whenever they sinned and realized they had sinned, what did God do?

God clothed them When you go into the New Testament, you find Jesus met the maniac of Gadara The first thing that maniac did when he got his straight mind back and the demons out of him

He went and washed and got clothes on He had some clothes. He'd been ripping them up, but he didn't wear the same thing.

He went and got him something else He went and washed. He went and changed. A nude and lewd generation can never serve

God. It cannot. It cannot. And so what I'm saying is the linen coat

In the wonder of its weaving and embroidery, in the perfection of its needlework Testified to me of the beauty of holiness in wrought with every fiber of Christ's human texture

He was a human being but within him there was a beauty of holiness and everything in the life of Jesus When to see him was to see that and the linen coat hidden beneath all the other garments

Speaks to me of the perfections of the inner life that I can't see and you can't see me.

It's inside It's inside, but the perfections of the inner life Because they're covered by externals, by externals

So the linen coat and the breeches spoke of Christ, the sinless one, inner perfection

He was sinless. He was sinless. Now, let's go to the mitre The mitre is a little different Than most.

I was reading this in the Encyclopedia Judaica the other day About 16, 17 volumes of Jewish encyclopedias that I have

And I just kind of Going back through a little bit of it and I was looking up a couple other things that someone had said to me

And I was just kind of running through and I found it very interesting that from this very day

All the way through history the Jewish people always wore a cap. They wore a Now the yarmulke, it's kind of As we were talking the other day, it's not very very old

But Jews have always, now there are some of them who didn't But by and large the religious ones have always, they'd wear bonnets, they'd wear turbans

When they first started out they wore turbans, almost like a turban, you'd think they were some kind of you know from over in the Middle Eastern area from which they lived, but you would you would acquit it with that and the mitre basically was a burton

Of fine linen, this fine linen, and it was round about The head to form the crown so it was wrapped

It was wrapped around and it was Aaron's crown and it typified the fact that the righteousness of Christ is our crowning glory and the word mitre,

M -I -T -R -E, means roll around it means to roll around and Excuse me, and so Aaron wore a mitre, all the other priests wore what they called bonnets they were

Sort of like a miniature turban, but they were actually called bonnets Although not bonnet in the sense that you know the woman wears a bonnet or something like that And so the covered head in Scripture typifies

Subordination and obedience today they wear a yarmulke, a kapel, you know the little skull cap

Jewish men do because it's a sign of subservience It's a sign of humbling and they do not believe that they should go into The presence of the

Lord without the covering. Remember Paul talks about that in 1st Corinthians He talks about the woman and he talks about how the woman's hair is the covering of her head now

There are some groups that the woman she'll wear a little handkerchief, a little lace handkerchief on her head when she goes into church

And and that's fine to me I don't I don't have a problem one way or the other But Aaron's covered head speaks of our

Subjection that man ought to be in subjection to Christ and we ought to be humble When we come into the presence of the

Lord and so in covering his head He announced his subordination and obedience to God and typified the subordination and obedience of Christ who yielded himself

He said I'm not coming to do my will so I've come to the will of fathers I've come to the will of him who sent me

Lord not my will but thine be done I mean submitted himself, although he was God in the flesh.

And so Aaron's covered head Represented Christ obedience unto death. It was a fine linen, which means white and pure though He was without sin

He was obedient to die and become sin for us in our stead and on the forehead as a part of Aaron's crown

Was a golden plate there's a golden plate up on the crown here and Excuse me

And it was a part of the mitre as the ephod and the breastplate went together

So the mitre and the golden plate always went together when he wound it Then he would always put that golden plate on there and never be without it

Now whenever you go to the scriptures, there is a prophecy in Ezekiel chapter 21 that speaks of the

Antichrist When the Antichrist comes he will seize the crown of royalty in the world and he will rule the world

Economically, he'll rule it and he'll assume the high priest mitre. Remember the Antichrist is gonna move into the temple of God He's going to present himself as if he is

God and he's going to man people worship him and he's going to assume the crown

For himself and he will become the civil head as well as the ecclesiastical pontiff of all the earth

Religiously and civilly Economically, he will rule all of that and he's gonna see civil and religious rulership at the end of this world so the primary meaning of the mitre as far as we're concerned is

Christ the obedient one because this showed subservience and it showed

Obedience and so he is the obedient one now then we come to the curious girdle the curious girdle and The Bible talks about it being curious the word curious simply means skillfully made that's what basically it means skillfully made and the girdle of the ephod was of the

Material as the beautiful garment of fine twine linen gold purple and scarlet

It was wound around the body and it served as a belt and the ends hung down to the ankles

You don't quite see it here, but the ends hung down to the ankles all the way down it served as an anchor on each side of the gold chains that held the breastplate and So come all the way down and the breastplate would be hooked here as she had it there

Then they would just hang down it's sort of an anchor and it's teachings are interesting the girdle is the constant symbol of serving

God as There are more the beautiful belt He taught that Christ came not to be ministered to but to minister and give his life a ransom for many

What did Jesus do you recall in John chapter 13? Jesus put a girdle around him and took a towel and washed the feet of the disciples

Why did he take a girdle? Why is it said girdle brothers? The girdle is a symbol always endeavor of service

Serving the Lord and he was a servant Revelation chapter 1 says that he wore a golden girdle in the midst of the golden candlesticks, which are the seven churches

Christ actually is in the middle of the body of Christ in what he serves in so many ways.

He's our intercessor He's our advocate. He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings But still he does so many things for us and anybody does anything for you basically serving you

And he is that And so he's now our high priest serving in the heavenly tabernacle and it says in Hebrews 8 2

He is a minister servant of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle. Come on Jesus. He's a minister of the true tabernacle

Now remember this was a belt of the ephod the colors and materials They were the same and it just simply teaches that though glorified

Christ is still the servant Even though he's Lord of Lords King of Kings He is still the servant

King and he carries out his glorious teachings that a person is at its very highest when he's serving

We don't come in this world to be served we come to serve In one of my sometimes in dealing with couples or family counseling or in a family

Retreats or something like that It really is interesting when you talk about love Immature love the bad kind of love the love that's childish

Says I feel loved when you give me what I want. I feel like you love me when you give me what

I want Huh? You hear that if you're a parent you've heard that or I feel loved when you let me do what

I want But mature love says I really feel loved when

I can do things for you I Feel most love when I can serve you

I feel most love when I can do things for you Good not give you what you want not let you do what you want, but just do for you

That's when I feel love. That's exactly what the Lord did. I Didn't come to be ministered to he said

I come to minister I come to minister a servant and so the priest knew that and he wasn't so the current colors of the girdle

They all have the same color types as we've talked about blue and scarlet and so the curious girl portrays

Christ as the serving one Loving one obedient one submissive one and yet he is also the serving one and then this golden plate or crown up there

It's the climax of all the vestments everything leads that sort of it's a climax of the vestments for Aaron It's called the golden plate and it's crowned

It's more like a tiara really that's attached to the to the turban that he's wearing and it has a

Blue lace that's put on the forward in front of the minor and only it's it's not here

But the inscription was holiness to the Lord. That's what they wrote. You see that in the scriptures and you read them for yourself

Holiness to the Lord is what he would write on that golden crown. It was a pure gold and it was put on a

Blue lace background and as it was attached Excuse me up on the minor and the primary teaching of course is that Christ is the believers holiness the crown bore witness that Aaron was the representative of God as The ephod and the breastplate and the onyx shoulder pieces bore witness that he was

Israel's representative And so he goes before the Lord and he's taking the names with him

Well here holiness unto the Lord he comes about ministers of the people Indicating that and it was on his forehead declaring that to be accepted of the

Lord There has to be holiness Hebrews 12 14 says without holiness. No man shall see the Lord Without holiness.

No man shall see the Lord And so as the girdle looked to the Gospels according to Mark our servant the crown looked to Matthew the gospel of the

King the gospel of the King So the crown was basically a reminder of Christ holiness and of his priestly

Ministry our Lord came to earth as the son of man. No question. We know that he used that term 80 times in Scripture He was the

Son of God. He also came as the suffering servant and one day he will come as the reigning

King Luke John and Mark already someday Matthew Luke Mark and John already.

He's already come as the suffering servant. He's already come as the son of man He's come as the

Son of God But one day he'll come as Matthew King King as Aaron wore this crown one day our

Lord will be crowned with many crowns Revelation 19 said I saw upon his head many diadems many diadems inscribed with the only writing in the whole

Levitical system The whole Levitical system of sacrifices Offerings things that we've talked about and the other things in the scriptures.

This is the only writing that you find No other writing. That's it holiness unto the

Lord That's the only writing in the whole Levitical system and these words set forth the essential holiness of our

Lord Jesus Which makes us accepted with him unto God. We are in Christ. How can God accept us because he's holy

And we are in him So therefore the holiness of the Lord and we can be accepted and it was the crowning pieces

I've said of all of Aaron's vestments and he presents Jesus as our holiness And so the golden plate holiness on the

Lord sets him forth as the Holy One Aaron the high priest was a picture of Christ our high priest

Aaron's sons the priests were pictures of us who are believer priest

Aaron would go into the very presence of the Lord and his sons would follow his leadership

Now these young men as I said as well as the priest there had to be a consecration I mean, they couldn't just say

I want to be a priest, you know, or or something They didn't have seminaries and those things But they were led they were to lead in the service

Lord the priest led in the service of the Lord They were already redeemed by the blood That was at the brazen altar they also were washed with water

You can find Leviticus chapter 8 verses 1 to 24 and you find that in verse 6 of Leviticus 8 water being the symbol of the word

Washing is the application of truth. Jesus said now you have cleaned through the word of our spoken So as we apply the truth it washes they were clothed in holy garments

Leviticus chapter 8 verses 7 to 9 So they had the proper clothes on so they've made sacrifice.

They've atoned they've washed and they've come now Aaron was clothed with holy garments of glory and beauty that are symbolic of the righteousness of Christ and Aaron was anointed with oil and we know that in verse 10 and 12 of Leviticus 8 that is symbolic of the

Spirit of the Lord And then in verses 14 to 24 the sanctifying blood was applied in Consecrating these redeemed leaders in God's service the blood of the ram was applied to the tip of his right ear the thumb of his right hand and The great toe or the big toe of his right foot.

So we got the right ear right thumb and the right big toe and of course the meaning is very simple in the ear is his hearing and And The service and the walk the thumb is his hand what he does and then the toe is where he walks and they were purchased by the blood so they had to be consecrated what they heard what they did and where they went was

Consecrated unto the Lord blood upon the ear how you and I ought to heed what we hear

We ought to pay attention to what we hear We are not let people tell us everything they want to tell us

It took me years to learn. I mean just years and years and years and I don't apply it a hundred percent, but I'm You know some people they think

I'm harsh and I really don't feel that I am they sometimes think I'm Cruel and I really don't think that I am

But I don't mind telling somebody You know, somebody come up says, you know, I'll ask you something

And I said, well, what do you want to ask me? Well, I would ask you about that. Well, no, let me let me tell you And then if I want to hear it, then

I hear and then they'll say what do you think about that? Then I'll just tell I said all right. I have an answer for you

Now if I give you the answer, would you do what I'm gonna tell you? Well, you know what they're gonna say. Well, I'll go pray about it.

I said no you should have prayed for you came Well, I'll go think about it. No, you should have thought before you asked me.

I don't have any time to play mind games You saw I don't want to talk to you That's why I don't well anything I'm rude because I don't know you're not obligated to give everybody an answer at once one

You're not obligated even hear a question There's no place in the Bible says you have to listen to everything somebody wants to tell you

I have a man one time. He said I have a right to my convictions. I don't care about your convictions. I Was calling a basketball game.

I used to be a referee not called basketball game Some guy understand jumped up and called me a communist. He's good Baptist call me you communist

After the games always I'm entitled my conviction. I know you're telling care much your convictions Get real get real, but you see we've been duped into thinking and we're not careful with our minds and some people will depress

Boy, you'll be having a great day. And don't you say Oh Lord, here they come You know what?

It's gonna be you just know what stop it Just say, you know, really

I don't want to hear it I Really don't want to hear it, you know, I just really don't know they'll get over it

You'd be surprised if you don't cause why you may be the only one that they don't do so there they'll keep coming around But obviously our hearing belongs to the

Lord and we ought to listen, you know And I know he made mistakes in his life, but Abraham you read that, you know, like in Genesis 22

He says Abraham said here am I he puts that boy up on the altar and he's about to kill this boy He gonna slit his throat just like they were normally do.

He says Abraham. Here am I I mean Abraham listened to the Lord our

Lord listened to the father Would Peter listen to the Lord what a difference it would have made as wonderful as he

Peter was and certainly he became and I'm Just saying we need to hear the things of the Lord the blood upon the thumb

Bids us to use our hands in his service I was thinking that you know, the older I get I Sometimes I get morbid and I just sit and I send a wife and I said, you know

Sometimes I just wonder how much more time the Lord's gonna give me but I want to serve him and It would not bother me if I was preaching when he decided to take

I had a friend They he's preaching away and had a hard time down just preaching away. I mean, I don't want to go that way

I mean, you know, I want to wait on the Raptures when I want to God's one. That's my druthers But our time is very limited

You know, we don't really we don't think about that and I don't think we have to sit around and be morbid and think about It but it is food for thought that we ought to be serving the

Lord and we're beginning things You know our lives in order because everything we do belongs to him our service belongs to him

I want to serve him more than I serve anybody else Ought to be willing to do for him at least what

I do for a neighbor or a friend or family ought to be able to Do that for him and then the blood upon the toe, of course the consecration of the believers walk

Ephesians 4 says we ought to walk worthy not as other Gentiles Ephesians 4 says we ought to walk in love

Ephesians 5 says we ought to walk as children of light and Ephesians 5 also says we ought to work circumspectly.

We ought to be wise Well, I mean we're not are we I mean, we just I mean, it's amazing how we get ourselves tangled up in things

That don't even matter to us. So the believer after being consecrated to the

Lord and saved through the blood Should recognize God's ownership and surrender fully to him.

I was thinking about this the other day It has really been fascinating to me with young people and I appreciate young people.

I really do and some of yours I I've known some of them since they were born and and I really appreciate you know, and I understand problems and pressures

But there was a time When you could ask any teenager and I've done it some in the recent couple of three years

I go up to a church and just for conversation sake I'll catch a teenager in the church They're good kids, you know not to say let me ask you a question and you start talking about role models

You know who they say Michael Jordan David Duvall Tiger Woods Shaquille O 'Neal

They'll name you a sports figure or a movie figure when there was a time when they named Bill Wallace of China the missionary they talked about the

Elliott boys who lost their heads and were killed and beheaded by the Auckland Indians in Ecuador Review The body of Christ is the habitation of God through the spirit as the tabernacle was the habitation of God in Israel The believer the

Bible says we are a temple of the Holy Spirit So the Holy Spirit doesn't dwell in a tabernacle anymore doesn't dwell in a building anymore

He's with you and me and if the Lord isn't with you and me we come in here What's going on in here?

This is only a building isn't it lovely as it is. It's only a building Only a building and then a portrayal the tabernacle is a portrayal of the heavenly reality one of these days

You know, we're gonna have you know, it it's interesting whenever you go the Holy of Holies was a square 15 to 15 four square my

Bible tells me in Revelation chapter 21 20 when the new Jerusalem comes down It'll be a city four square It will be a city four square as far as from Florida to Maine on the bottom equal distance from bottom to top

If you put 15 to 16 feet to a story and that's what construction people tell me a story is it's about 15 or 16 feet

Whichever pins on which way you go Do you know how many stories are in the new Jerusalem?

Literally trillions of stories if every man woman boy and girl who has ever lived on this earth

Who's ever lived on this earth every this this is the largest generation of all time 75 % of all the people who will have ever lived on this earth will have lived in this generation

And if every child who's ever lived since Adam was born again and was gonna live in the new

Jerusalem There'd be enough space there to give every man woman boy and girl 81 square miles

It is an immense thing That will descend from heaven and dear people when

I look at the brazen altar Christ's cross the labor of cleansing. He cleanses you from all your sins the golden candlestick

Here's our light table of showbread. He is the bread of our life altar of incense He's our great intercessor the veil his human body the

Ark of the Covenant the humanity and the deity of Christ and That is from God's standpoint.

That's the way God sees it But if I look at it from man's standpoint, I see the brazen altar atonement I need atonement by blood the labor regeneration through the word and through the

Spirit of God if I come by blood then God will Regenerate me and from man's point of view the table of showbread with its oblations and libations

Representing food and drink for sustaining my life is found in fellowship with Christ only fellowship with him

Human fellowship will satisfy your emotions and your mind But fellowship with Christ is the only thing that sustains the spirit

It sustains the spirit the golden candlestick to you and me is the light of the world the altar of incense prayer and supplication where we can pray to the

Father and pray to our Lord and bring our supplications the mercy seat always endeavors intercession reconciliation and Identifying with God and then fire on the altar

God our life Christ our all God is very real.

The Bible says our God is an all -consuming fire Yes, you know the song set my soul afire

Lord set my soul afire. We don't see much of that anymore Don't see much of it and I really believe with all of my heart if you and I as we go back through the scriptures and We look at this wonderful structure called the tabernacle.

I never cease to be amazed at it I never look at it or can look at it without becoming amazed to think that here was a group of people out in the middle of the wilderness and God told him to do something

That was going to perfectly picture what he had already planned His son would leave heaven and come and do

These young men would be doing things that God had already pictured and planned that you and I Would be doing in the name of our

Lord The things we do every Lord's Day the things we do every day that our wonderful Lord pictured that and portrayed

So that as Paul said in 1st Corinthians 10 those things that were done back there were done as examples for you

I Can learn from these wonderful things? Aaron he had some problems in his life

But that man and that man alone got to go in once a year into the very presence of God.

What a responsibility What a thrill what a thrill and then his sons

Could go into the holy place the people couldn't they had to stay outside and they would go in there with a light and the bread and the altar incense

All the rest of the people stood outside Can you imagine what they must? Oh, I wonder what it'd be like to be in there.

I wonder what it'd be like Wonder what they're doing wonder what they see wonder what they feel but you and I aren't left that way

Because now every believer Can move right on through the holy place? Right on into the holy of holies because the veil

Has been reared There's an opening there's an access and that's through Christ Jesus all picture

As our wonderful high priest and our coming King, let's pray father For your wonderful and gracious goodness how we thank you

Lord, we just love you today and thank you for your goodness again. I thank you for these faithful friends

I thank you for the encouragement that pastor and people always are I thank you for the encouragement that I see in their lives and Lord just knowing of them even though we're a distance away just thinking of them and hearing about them and Knowing how you're blessing them and knowing how faithful they are and Lord they work hard every day.

They go to school every day They have all kinds of responsibilities and family and making a living in this world and building family

Relationships and yet they always find time to serve you they always find time to be around you

They always find time to be in your presence and Lord for granting us a part of that privilege.

I thank you I just pray that you'll guard the truth. I pray that you'll guard your word Lord, I pray that you'll watch over it.

So the fowler cannot come now and snatch it away I pray that you'll let it be a fertile ground and I pray that you'll bring forth fruit

That will be beneficial to us and then by being beneficial to us It'll be beneficial to others as we minister and serve as servant