The Way (Hebrews 9:6-14 Jeff Kliewer)

Don't know, we at Cornerstone have official membership, which comes from 2

Corinthians 2, where it says the majority was sufficient. So you have to know who is an official member to obey that passage.

We also need the Holtz, where's Joe and Jess? Come on up. Come on up. And then who else?

The Reynolds. Where's Dave? There's Dave and Louise. So we do official membership at Cornerstone, and we had a membership class last fall that was awesome.

So I'm going to introduce you to the new members, and then what we do is we pray for them and we pray for the church that the

Lord would make us one, because the Bible talks so much about the unity in the spirit through the bond of peace, that we're actually one body.

There's different hands and feet, or heads and toes, and God is the one who's fashioning this body together as one.

So let me just introduce everybody. Down here on the end, we have Dave and Louise. Everybody say hi, Dave and Louise.

Dave and Louise came to the church through John Laskin. I think both Dave and John are referees, right?

And that's how you got to know John? And just such a blessing to us. I think probably

Joe and Jess have been here for what, two years, a few years? For a while, yeah. They've got little Everly and Nevin.

So thankful for them. Joe, of course, is the drummer, so he'll be pounding away up there today. So we're thankful that the

Lord has brought Joe and Jess. And then we have another musician. We have Phil. You guys recognize him from the guitar, and his wife,

Trish. And you guys came right before COVID hit, right? Just around January. So, and then, so, but you've just been here and now joining the church, and then we have

The Hoax. Now, how did you guys find out about Cornerstone? Michael Stockland, who's not here today.

But yeah, Michael invited, yeah, you were at Vacation Bible School with the kids, and that was your first time.

So we're so thankful the Lord brought these families, and we are excited about what

God is doing here at Cornerstone. So what we're going to do now is we are going to go before the Lord and pray for them and for us that the

Lord would knit our hearts together. So let's do this. All right. So Father, we want to give you all the praise and glory that you are redeeming a people for your own name.

God, you are building your church. Jesus, you said, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

Thank you, Jesus, that you are building this church, Cornerstone, built upon you, the rock, and we like living stones being fit together.

We thank you that we are the body of Christ, and some are hands and feet and different body parts,

Lord, but together we are your body, and you are the head. We confess, Lord, that there is no head but you,

God. You alone are the head of your church, and we look to your authority and we submit to your authority.

So Father, we thank you so much for bringing these new members to us here at Cornerstone, and we want to pray for them,

Lord, that you would fill them with your Holy Spirit. We ask that you would fan into flame the spiritual gifts that they already have, being born again.

We pray that each one of them would have a passion for the name of Jesus, that they would serve in ways that you have equipped them to serve, that you would lead them into ministries and areas where they can serve the body.

We pray that you would use them in their community and in their families in mighty ways to preach the gospel, that many would come to saving faith through their witness.

And Father, we pray for the body at Cornerstone to be welcoming and loving, to knit us all together as one.

We pray that we would love these new members not like friends that we see at church, but like brothers and sisters, like friends that we would lay down our lives for, that we would love one another the way you have loved us.

We think about that perfect love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and how you, in your high priestly prayer,

Jesus, in John 17, you prayed that we would love one another the way you love.

And so, Lord, we pray for Cornerstone to be knit together in love and that you would preserve the bond of the

Spirit, the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. So thank you for what you're doing here.

We give you all the glory. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you, guys.

Hey, let's give a hand clap to welcome the new members. And now let's pray for the service.

And by the way, we have a big class of new members coming soon that have just gone through starting point.

We're doing all these new member interviews, so there'll be another big wave of members here in the spring.

Let's pray. So, Father, thank you so much for gathering us here together to worship. We pray that we would come in spirit and in truth, that you would set our minds on heavenly things, not on things below.

We pray also for the fellowship afterwards as we have a luncheon, that we would enjoy time getting to know one another.

So many new people here, Lord. We pray that we would reach out to one another and extend just kindness and friendship and that you would knit us together.

As it says in Acts 242, that the believers were devoted to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship and to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

I pray that those things would mark Cornerstone Church. And Lord, as we come now to sing, we pray that you would help us not just to mouth words and join in just a song, but that our hearts would truly worship the true and living

God. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let's stand. Thank you,

God. Lift our souls to you.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Let's pray.

Hallelujah for the blood of the lamb. Thank you, Jesus, for loving us so much that you gave your life, your blood poured out on the cross.

Greater love has no one than this, the one who lays down his life for his friends. Thank you for the blood that washes us clean.

thank you that your blood has washed me that I can stand in the pulpit on a

Sunday morning without a guilty conscience, without sense of unworthiness, but instead a sense of joy and peace with God.

You've made peace by your blood and I thank you for that. I ask Lord that you would help me to preach this text, the

Word of God, this morning. It is so rich in meaning and so powerful, Lord.

I pray that your word would make an impact on every one of us this morning. Help us to think about the blood of Christ and the value.

And Lord, would you wash our consciences clean? There's probably many who came in this morning with a guilty conscience.

Would you wash consciences clean with your blood this morning? In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm.

Deep and unsearchable minds of never -failing skill, he treasures up his bright designs and works his sovereign will.

Many of you are familiar with those words, God moves in a mysterious way. It's become part of our lingo.

It was written by a man named William, William Cooper, spelled

C -O -W -P -E -R. William Cooper was a troubled soul.

When he was only six years old, his mother passed away. And then his dad, being unable to raise him, sent him off to boarding school.

And so he was raised at a boarding school from six years old and on. And as he grew, he really struggled with insecurities and that developed into a very strong depression and something that would plague him for the course of his life.

And yet he still knew God had a plan in all of it. When he was twenty -something years old, he had graduated from Cambridge and was about to become a lawyer.

So he went before the bar. And just before sitting down, now I know what it's like to sit down in front of a lot of people to examine you because I just did my ordination counsel.

So for like four hours they just blast you with questions. And it could be a little nerve -wracking. But William Cooper was struggling with this this heavy depression and this unstable mind because of his past and his childhood, the things that he suffered.

So he broke down in the ordination or the whatever it was called, the bar, to become a lawyer.

And he ran out of there and was unable to fulfill his dream. And this plunged him deeper and deeper into depression until he actually ended up in an insane asylum because he had attempted suicide.

Well somehow at that time he was introduced to Jesus Christ and the blood of Christ that can wash away his sins.

And so he established his more mind. His mind was sort of restored to to a place of peace to a certain degree.

Although he would still kind of have battles with this depression. It seemed like every 10 years it would come back on. But there was a guy named

John Newton. Many of you are familiar with Newton, right? Amazing Grace. Everybody knows the song Amazing Grace.

That was written by John Newton. And Newton was a friend to Cooper and would help him through his his times of depression.

Well at 40 years old he was celebrating a really blessed time in his life where he had freedom and joy in the

Holy Spirit. And he sat down and wrote the words that we just sang. There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day and there may

I though vile as he wash all my sins away. Dear dying lamb thy precious blood shall never lose its power till all the ransomed

Church of God be saved to sin no more. Ever since by faith I saw the stream thy flowing wounds supply.

Redeeming love has been my theme and shall be till I die. When this poor lisping stammering tongue lies silent in the grave then in a nobler sweeter song

I'll sing thy power to save. You know when

Cowper or Cooper published his books he wrote his name as William Cooper of the

Inner Temple Esquire. I think this was a reference to Hebrews 9. He never became a lawyer but somehow he called himself

Esquire and he never belonged to any society so he called himself of the

Inner Temple. Where did he go by the blood of the

Lamb? What did he know? Today he's reunited with his mother that he lost at age six.

Today he's in heaven worshiping the Lamb. Today his mind is fully healed and he'll never sin again.

He's saved to sin no more. He entered the holy place not by his own merit but by the blood of Jesus.

Today we're talking about the blood of Jesus and how that opens the way for us sinners who have no right or standing before a holy

God to go into the holy of holies. We're gonna learn about the holy of holies and how

Christ is the way. So turn with me if you will to Hebrews chapter 9.

Last week we left off at verse 5 which means we pick up at verse 6 because that's what we do.

We just keep going through the scriptures verse by verse believing that the scripture itself has the power of God to transform our thinking conform us into the image of God.

Now I mentioned to somebody after first service that this particular passage of scripture really from chapter 7 to chapter 10 is the hardest part of the hardest book in the

New Testament. So the book of Hebrews is probably the most complex of the 27 books in the

New Testament and these chapters are probably the most difficult to work our way through beginning with Melchizedek and the priesthood of Christ.

So if you ever feel like when I'm preaching you're drinking from a fire hose, take heart it's not always quite like this.

This is the deep stuff. But isn't it good to eat of the meat of God's Word? We're not babies so we don't want to feed on milk all the time.

We want the meat of God's Word. So it is a bit of a difficult passage to work through but not too difficult for us.

Last week where we left off we were looking at something called the tabernacle and you'll recall what the tabernacle was all about.

It was a tent, a giant tent. By the way I didn't mention this last week but it had one door.

Not many points of access it had one door and Jesus said when his in John chapter 10 about him being the

Good Shepherd and he has a flock that he brings it in and out he says I am the gate.

I am the gate. He also will say later I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the

Father except through me. So that door represents Christ and once you enter the tabernacle you go into the first room and there you have two items that really represent

Christ himself. There is a lampstand and the lampstand represents

Jesus who said I am the light of the world and then there is the bread on the table and Jesus said

I am the bread of life and then you go behind the curtain into the

Holy of Holies and there is the altar of incense and Jesus is the one who pleases the

Father. Then you come to the the tabernacle I'm sorry the what's it called the

Ark of the Covenant and inside the Ark of the Covenant is the manna in an urn and the two tablets of the

Covenant and Aaron's rod that budded and each of those things point to Christ because the manna is the bread from heaven

John chapter 6. Give us this manna. Jesus says I am the bread and the tablets all of us here have something in common.

We break that law but Jesus is unique and different from us. He keeps the law the perfect law keeper and obeys it in our stead.

He has a representative righteousness that he can impute to us. Jesus is the one who holds the staff.

Aaron's rod budded to say that Aaron was the Levitical high priest approved of God but according to Psalm 110 verse 4

Jesus is a priest who has the ruling staff and God says to him rule in the midst of your enemies.

All of the furniture in this tent point us to Christ.

It's all about Jesus he is the door he is the way. So we come now to verse 6 let's read it and we're gonna see the big idea being that we don't have access into the

Holy of Holies but Christ alone has right to enter and he has entered on our behalf to make a way for us.

Verses 6 and following these preparations having thus been made the priests go regularly into the first section performing their ritual duties but into the second only the high priest goes and he but once a year and not without taking blood which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people.

By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing which is symbolic for the present age.

According to this arrangement gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper but deal only with food and drink and various washings regulations for the body imposed until the time of Reformation but when

Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come then through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands that is not of this creation he entered once for all into the holy places not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood thus securing an eternal redemption for if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer sanctify for the purification of the flesh how much more will the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to God purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living

God amen let's look more carefully at what these words mean so we've read them and hopefully gain some understanding but now let's expose it let's draw out from the text the meaning that's that's here in the words so the big idea of verses 6 to 10 is in accessibility that no one can come into the

Holy of Holies except for this one particular case so in verse 7 it says into the second that means the inner room the

Holy of Holies only the high priest circle that word only only he goes and he but once a year and not without blood so three exclusionary terms the first one only is manas in the

Greek from which we would get like mano a mano right just one -on -one manas he is the one he's the only one only him and he goes but once a year which is the word in Greek is hoppocks it's a one -time event and we're given a timeframe once per year and then a third exclusionary principle here is that it's not without taking blood so ooh it's like a double negative here unless you have blood you cannot come so you're excluded from coming unless you bring blood and of course we talked about this a little bit last week the the priest not just any priest but the high priest has to first of all make a sacrifice for his own sin and bring that to the mercy seat which was on top of the

Ark of the Covenant that was like the lid of the box with the cherubim angels engraved and he would have to sprinkle blood on the altar for his own sins because this great high priest in the time of before Christ this priest is a sinner too he has to bring blood for his own sin and then he'd go back out make a sacrifice for the unintentional sins of the people and come in and with his fingers sprinkle the mercy seat seven times putting blood on the mercy seat this is to indicate that not just anybody can go see

God the Shekinah glory would would be in a special way manifest in the tabernacle do you think that that box could really hold

God could it contain him like a container no this was how

God manifested his presence in a special way even the whole universe cannot contain

God but he would locate his Shekinah glory between the wings of the cherubim over the mercy seat there at the mercy seat you can approach not just anyone though the priests can approach and only once a year and only with blood you get the idea it's not in anything goes kind of situation is it it is very regulated you see that word regulation chapter 9 verse 1 even the first covenant had regulations all of this symbolism was meaning to point to something bigger as long as this tabernacle was still standing and of course the temple was a permanent version of the tabernacle as long as that still standing it's showing that you can't come to God he's holy and you're not you cannot approach him only the high priest can in a certain way once a year inaccessibility that's what the temple is showing but verse 11 when

Christ emphasis on the person of Christ back in verse 7 it was into the second place only the high priest could go verse 11 but when

Christ and the idea here in fact it uses similar language when

Christ he and he alone is able to accomplish this over against the priest who could do this every year one time a year here you have one person who is worthy and it's not you sorry to take a stab at your self -esteem

I know the big thing in our culture is we need to build up self -esteem but the Bible is not doing this at this particular point it says when

Christ were to esteem Christ as the one when he appeared as a high priest this is his priestly work now of the good things that have come then through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands that is not of this creation he entered once for all ep hoppocks meaning a one -time event never to be repeated once and for all this is not with reference to the number of people that he represents it's with reference with reference to time it's a one -time occurrence now where does he go remember when

Jesus came to the temple what did he do there he went to the outer court and he saw money changers turning

God's house of prayer into a den of thieves making money on the Gentiles who would come because they couldn't bring a lamb with them they sold lambs that in in exorbitant prices that the word exorbitant very high prices and the point of that was they were trying to make money on the sacrificial system so Jesus came and he was not though meek and lowly shepherd that we sometimes picture him to be he was loving and he was good but he made a whip and he drove the money changers out of the temple and he opened the bird cages and he flipped the tables and he said my house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations he cleansed the temple but he did not go into the

Holy of Holies did he because according to our scripture here there was a greater tent that tabernacle that Moses was commanded to build was built after a pattern of something in heaven we learned that in chapter 8 all the earthly arrangements of the tabernacle were pointing to the throne room of God himself when you see cherubim over the mercy seat these are carved engraved metalwork by a very talented person

I think it was bezel out that built those it's overlaid with gold but they're made by human hands they represent the true and the real throne room of God that tent is not the throne room of God Jesus did not go into the

Holy of Holies on earth because when he does his priestly work it says here he goes to the very throne room of God itself look not made with hands that is not of this creation it's a greater and more perfect tent so you don't have carved angels over a lid on a box you have actual angels who are in the very presence of God Almighty who recognize the holiness of that place by covering their feet with two of their wings because the place is holy ground and with two wings they fly and with two wings they cover their faces and they never cease to say holy holy holy this is the very throne room of God that's where Christ went now what of us look at verse 12 the second part he goes once not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood thus securing an eternal redemption that is good news for sinners like us he secured eternal redemption so when

Christ went to heaven into the very throne room of God spiritually making the sacrifice on the cross he not only went there himself he opened away the

Holy of Holies was kept separate from sinners like us by what a thick curtain and in the death of Jesus as his body was broken that curtain was torn in two from top to bottom indicating that Jesus has opened the way to have access to God it's a beautiful image there he has opened the way to the holy place to heaven itself well how did he do that answer by blood that blood that the high priest would would offer killing a bull and then bringing it to the mercy seat and sprinkling the mercy seat seven times that blood of that bull could not take away sin it was pointing to the blood of Jesus on the cross and brothers and sisters as you read the

Bible don't miss this theme because it is the very centerpiece of Revelation the cross is like the pinnacle of the mountain if all of scripture is a mountain that declares the grace of God and the glory of God on the top of that mountain stands a cross and that cross is a place of sacrifice and sacrifice is bloodshed so when you see blood in the scripture all of it points to Jesus the blood of bulls and goats never took anybody sent away it was only like a type and a shadow of the blood of Jesus offered on that altar which is the cross way back in the garden

Adam and Eve sinned and so what did they do being guilty having that stain on their minds that conscience that guilty conscience what did they do they hid and they sewed together fig leaves to cover their shame didn't they do that did

God accept that for their clothing he did not the Bible says in Genesis 321 that God made coats of skin to cover them what that means is he took an animal probably a lamb and killed the lamb and made clothing for them from that animal sacrifice there had to be shedding of blood to cover their sin and then in the very next chapter chapter four

Cain and Abel each of them bring a sacrifice to God what does

Cain bring the fruit of the ground what does Abel bring an animal sacrifice and the

Bible tells us that God looked on the sacrifice of Abel and found it acceptable he looked on the fruit sacrifice of Cain and found it wanting it was not acceptable to him because blood needed to be shed for the covering of sin and so Cain grew jealous and angry and he killed his own brother but the

Bible says the blood of Abel cried out to God from the ground calling for justice and the blood is speaking a message it's calling something for the justice and righteousness of God but the blood of Jesus we will learn speaks a better message calling for mercy then

Abraham was told to take Isaac to a mountain that he would be shown and there

Abraham took his only son and was ready to kill him as a sacrifice of course

Isaac was never to be that sacrifice God was only testing Abraham and so there in the thicket on the mountain of the

Lord it will be provided there was a ram and that ram was taken and put on the altar and the innocent blood of that ram stood in the place of Isaac a substitute sacrifice by blood and then in the book of Exodus the people had fallen into captivity representing our captivity to sin all of us who sin are slaves to sin we can't erase our conscience we're a slave to the sins that we've committed and there in Egypt God said what each family take lambs one lamb per family and you sacrifice that lamb and take the blood of the lamb and mark the doorposts over your house and when

God sees the blood he will pass over the house and have mercy on you on account of what why would a holy

God have mercy on an Israelite and not on an Egyptian the Egyptian sons will die why do the

Israelites get spared the blood of the lamb they're spared by blood forgiven by blood and so they go into the wilderness and Moses goes up Mount Sinai receives the

Ten Commandments bring that brings down all the law of God and then he takes lambs and fills basins with the blood and I know it's a gruesome image but it needs to be gruesome because our sin is an affront to a holy

God and the blood filled the basins in Moses splattered some on the altar and then he took his up branches and he washed the people he sprinkled all of Israel Exodus 24 if you don't believe me with the blood of the

Lamb the blood washing them and sealing the covenant to enter this covenant arrangement all of this is done by blood and then it gets institutionalized doesn't it the book of Leviticus that the priests would minister daily offering blood and when you commit a sin you need to see something

Israelite you broke your brother's nose when you were fighting over the ball and you know you've sinned here's what you do you go to the

Levite and you bring an animal and you need to lay your hand on the head of that animal and you need to see the blood and that blood of an innocent animal will be offered in your place and then once a year the priest the high priest will go into the holy place and make atonement for all the unintentional sins that you committed in that year not moving forward into the future but dealing with all the unintentional sins that were committed for the previous year and this arrangement goes on for 1 ,500 years every year at Passover the day of atonement

I'm sorry on the day of atonement on Yom Kippur in the fall the blood would be offered for the unintentional sins of the people now

I know we had to spend some time going into depth there but let's see this in verse 12 Jesus offered not the blood of bulls and goats but his own blood that is the beautiful picture of a better sacrifice we already said he's a better prophet who brings a better word he's better than Moses he's the better man the new humanity of Hebrews 2 he's a better priest of the order of Melchizedek he has a better covenant the new covenant that replaces the old that makes the old obsolete now we learn he's a better sacrifice a better offering his own blood offered in our place it is an amazing thing

Ephesians 1 7 says in him we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace what this means is that the redemption the eternal redemption that was accomplished in the blood of Christ was secured when he died how do

I know that in John chapter 10 Jesus makes this staggering claim

I am the Good Shepherd the Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep a

Good Shepherd cares for his flock he lays down his life for his flock now a hireling would never do that a hireling would flee if he saw the wolf coming but the

Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep he goes on to say I am the Good Shepherd listen to this

I know my own and my own know me just as the father knows me and I know the father and I lay down my life for the sheep and I have other sheep that are not of this fold

I must bring them also and they will listen to my voice so there will be one flock and one shepherd how does this all tie together

Jesus is the Good Shepherd he lays down his own life like a lamb led to the slaughter but when he dies that death he is not shedding his own blood for his own sin he tells us he is laying down his life for his sheep he says he knows them and in fact he'll even say that the reason that the

Pharisees do not believe is because they're not his sheep John 10 26 they don't believe because they're not his sheep but when

Christ goes to the cross it is a very personal exchange that happens the shepherd for the sheep that means that when

Christ hung on the cross and nails were driven through his hands he knew those for whom he was dying he knew

Phil's name and every sin that he would ever commit he knew

Jeff and all of my sin and yet he took that sin knowing me intending his precious blood to stand in my place you see the soul that sins must die but in a great exchange

Jesus stood in for me I know there's thousands of years that separate us from that event but God moves in a mysterious way and God exists outside of time in a sense that sacrifice that Jesus offered once for all included you and I who believe in him the sheep now of course in Matthew 25 he distinguished that from the goats not all people will be sheep he knew those for whom he was dying it was a very personal exchange consider that love that he would lay down his life for you and I did you ever think about that what was on the lamb's mind as he hung on the cross his love for you his obedience to the father his reward which is a people for his own possession the reward of his suffering the thing that motivated him to go to the cross was a people that would know him and hear his voice and follow him and obey him this people that he calls the sheep

I find that to be one of the most staggering and beautiful verses what does it imply in verse 12 securing an eternal redemption it means that what he purchased is secure your salvation is secure because he died in your place covering all your sins past present and future you who are a sheep and so let's go to verses 13 and 14 in conclusion for if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer sanctify for the purification of the flesh and I said this is a difficult passage right let's pause right there what is that well you have to read numbers 19 and you understand in the law if a person became defiled unclean how could you become unclean well maybe somebody died in the tent where you were or you came in contact with the dead body or in some way you were defiled by something you ate or in any way you were made unclean here's what you did you go to the priest the red heifer was sacrificed it was burned on the altar and the ashes of that red heifer were mixed into water and with the hyssop branch the priest would then sprinkle you and you would go home clean right make sense not how we do it now but and by the way was this a bad arrangement no it was good it was a good arrangement this was

God's way of making people clean that's how somebody's flesh purification the flesh could be clean but look at verse 14 now this idea of how much more this is a new and better thing that we're talking about that has become obsolete according to chapter 8 verse 13 but now how much more will the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to God purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living

God this is thoroughly Trinitarian in its construction isn't it father son

Holy Spirit you have the son as an offering he's offering himself through the eternal spirit but to whom does he offer himself brothers and sisters sadly much of evangelicalism in the world today doesn't know the answer to this basic question but it's right there to God Christ offered himself to God Paul Washer tells the story of going to a college group in Europe and when he went there he began his sermon this way he said

I am going to tell you the most horrifying thing in all the

Bible God is good and everybody looked at him probably the way you're looking at me like why is that the most horrifying thing in the

Bible God is good you see if God wasn't good he can accept someone me into the

Holy of Holies no problem if God was like me sinners like me could waltz right into heaven if God was like me but God is good this is what the world doesn't understand sadly this is what many who occupy pews in churches don't understand

God is good that means he is pure radiant light inapproachable blinding holy nothing in the world is like him and no sinful flesh can enter into his presence sin cannot be in heaven so God is good is a terrifying horrifying statement it means you cannot come the soul that sins must die the wages of sin is death and this is eternal separation from a holy

God God is good you cannot come but in the Trinitarian work of God the father elects a people the son interposes his precious blood for those very ones the sheep he lays down his life for the sheep and then in time the spirit applies that redemption to a particular people who believe notice the

Trinitarian work in verse 14 it is the son who offers himself to the father

Paul Washer said another time he went to a church group and the first night he preached

Isaiah 53 it was a seven -night crusade that they invited

I mean you're gonna invite Paul Washer if you know anything about him he preached a sermon that kind of broke the internet like 20 years ago where he called people to repentance and faith and everybody was clapping and clapping and he said why are you clapping

I'm talking about you and they just all got stunned and silent and then many of them came to saving faith that day so that's kind of how he became known but Paul Washer says one time he went to a church and the first night of the crusade he preached

Isaiah 53 and he said it was the father's will to crush him the father was pleased to crush his own son and sadly this church had never connected the dots what does it mean when

I say Jesus died for your sins how does his dying relate to my sinning what does that mean well biblically the understanding of the

Bible is that Jesus is a sacrifice offering to propitiate the wrath of God God has wrath against a sinner like me because I'm a sinful man and he's a holy

God he's good and so he despises my shame but he still loves me and so what he does is he sends his one and only son and that son dies the death that I deserve as an offering to God that sacrificial system many people look at Christianity and think it just seems so old and pagan the idea that a deity would have to be appeased no that's not what

God's like God is good they say and they think that God is love means that he just winks at sin but the whole point of the sacrificial blood which went from cover to cover leading up to Jesus the whole point of it was to say that God is so good that he requires payment for sin he will never just wink at sin he's so just that sin must be punished but if I'm a sinner and he punishes me

I go away from him for all eternity so what he's done is he's taken a sacrificial lamb to bear that punishment in his body on the tree this is the gospel and so many people miss it the punishment was an offering that pleases

God so Paul Washer says after he preached that sermon the elders called him into the office and said you're disinvited for the next six days there is a hatred in our country for substitutionary atonement the doctrine that I'm preaching to you right now that the

Father is righteous and holy and he punishes sin in the Son as a sacrifice but without that doctrine you have no gospel no atonement for sin life is in the blood

Leviticus 17 11 and God has given the blood to make atonement for sin in closing what

I'm trying to say and what I think by God's grace I'm saying is that there's only one way to the

Father and it's through the blood of the Lamb the

Father has made a sacrifice it was a once -and -for -all sacrifice and it opens the way for any to come and I know there is a there's a paradox in the

Bible there's many paradoxes in the Bible by the way the Bible itself is a paradox who wrote these words we don't know who wrote

Hebrews some say it was Paul but Paul himself didn't write it Luke was the scribe that wrote it compiling a bunch of Paul's sermons many people think that's the human authorship of Hebrews that's a pretty good theory look at verse 8 who wrote

Hebrews by this the Holy Spirit indicates this book is fully human and fully divine your eternal redemption that is secured for you is entirely the work of God he secured it knowing you from before the foundation of the world electing you for salvation and yet here's the paradox he's opened the way and he genuinely invites all to come whosoever will come the way has been opened some one of my professors in seminary put it this way he said as we from our human perspective look up at the gates of heaven we see inscribed on the gate whosoever will and one day as we go through that gate and we look back on the gate that we just entered which is

Christ it will say chosen from the foundation of the world those two paradoxical ideas are not actually in conflict but somehow they're compatible how does it apply to us today it means do you desire to have your sins forgiven there's a cleansing flow for you

Zechariah 13 says he's opened a fountain for washing did you come here this morning with the guilty conscience for sins you've committed in the last week or so or maybe all your life you've never felt that forgiveness guys how is it that I can

I know myself to be a sinner but when I come into the pulpit I feel so free I feel happy to be here how can

I stand and preach about a holy God when I'm a sinner it's because my conscience has been cleansed the promise of verse 14 is not just that you'll go to heaven one day the promise of verse 14 is that your conscience can be cleansed today and you can serve him all the days of your life the way is open for you now you can enter the

Holy of Holies to the very presence of God you become the temple of God the Spirit dwells in you and then you serve him until you die and then you live with him forever and you'll see him you can read in Revelation 21 and 22 about this place this true tabernacle the end of chapter 21 it says nothing and unclean will ever be there so how can you and I be there by the cleansing of Jesus's blood this morning in closing

I want to invite any who have not yet come to the cross of Christ we're gonna just bow our heads and pray and if you would like to call on Jesus to wash your sins away that's what the

Bible is all about it was all pointing to Christ and his cross and his sacrifice the way is opened for you repent turn from your sin and by the way

I'll say this guys oh you can open your eyes one more one more thing I need to say because this is heavy very many people think that God will just accept anybody however they come haven't you heard that well maybe

Jesus is the Son of God and he died but if someone comes as a Buddhist or a Muslim or however as a pagan whatever religion they invent for themselves they can come that way but think about this if God despised sin so much that he required the blood of his one and only son do you think he can just look at any other way and find it acceptable in his sight there is one way to God and it is through his son he didn't just offer the precious infinitely valuable blood of his one and only son to say you can take it or leave it he requires that you turn from sin and turn to his son and ask for that cleansing flow and trust him for the forgiveness of sin it is the only way that's what

I needed to say John 14 6 Jesus said I am the way the truth the life no one comes to the

Father except through me there is no other way salvation is found in no other name but the name of Jesus it is the one way so let's do that now if you've never called on Christ you're still in your sin your conscience condemns you you're not free you've yet to learn what it is to serve the

Living God the good news for you is that blood was shed at Calvary the blood of the

Lamb that truly washes sin away you must repent turn from your sin so pray like this

I am a sinner I deserve to die

I cannot come to you I cannot wash myself so I call on Jesus Christ to save me

Jesus is the way the truth and save me

God based on the blood of Christ offered for the forgiveness of sin here

I am a sinner call on the name of Jesus his name

I pray amen guys let's stand and we're gonna close the song if you just prayed that prayer maybe this is the day you were born again

I'd like to talk with you give you a Bible encourage you in how to grow in grace and to serve the

Living God for the rest of your days let me know if you prayed that prayer let's sing wondrous cross it's me come and die and find that I may truly in him we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace amen and before you go in peace we have food today we have to multiply pray the

Lord multiplies it so everybody is welcome maybe let the women and children go first or the very hungry gather in here visit for a while but it's in the classroom to the left near the end of the building so as you're going out you go in one door grab a sandwich and right out there's tables outside it's a beautiful day out there we'll probably set up a couple tables in here just mingle around spend some time getting to know one another so many people here you're new and you might think that the person next to you has been here for a hundred years but they might be here for their first week as well so just everybody be friendly to one another welcome one another and we're all getting to know each other so praise

God for what he's doing after that we have the pie guys for those of you don't know