"A Holy Place"
Notes
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Opening prayer, dedication
Music ministry
Sanctuary
379 Take My Life and Let It Be (1,3,5,6)
Holy is Our God
Word of God
1 Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness.
2 For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place.
3 Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place,
4 having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.
5 Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
6 These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties,
7 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.
8 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
9 (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper,
10 but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.
Message: “A Holy Place”
As I read our core text preparing for this message, I was struck
In my ESV Bible the section title was “The Earthly Holy Place”
Throughout the text I kept seeing how a godly life intersects with this description
As we go through this text, I hope you will see how many of our daily living activities are addressed and represented
Let’s learn together about “Our Earthly Holy Place”
In the ESV, our text in Hebrews 9:1 began like this
1 Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness.
Cool, rules for worship and an “earthly place of holiness”
In full context, I actually prefer the New American Standard rendering which says Hebrews 9:1
1 Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary.
Even in the FIRST covenant, reminds us that even now, under the second covenant (NT) we have some rules
There were and ARE rules for what the NASB calls “divine worship” AND the earthly SANCTUARY
Not all “worship” is “divine”
When we worship an athlete, even our kids or political character, that isn’t divine
It’s also not “divine” to worship a priest or pastor, whether they are a celebrity or not
There are standards and rules for what we call “worship”
What does “worship” mean?
Worship is the awed response to the saving acts and praiseworthy character of God.
It is way too common for people to become so enamored with other people
political, entertainment or even religious
That they essentially worship them
Because they are in awe of their very existence
To be in their presence is beyond words
Some people are even in awe of a style of preaching or singing in church
Yet, true “worship” must be an “awed response to the saving acts and praiseworthy character of God”
That final word, “sanctuary”, is important
Sanctuary. Translation of two Hebrew words, kodesh and mikdosh, both of which are derived from the verb “to be clean” and/or “to be holy.”
Wouldn’t you agree that we all need a place to be holy and set apart from the filth of the world?
That’s what this passage is about
That what Grace Church is supposed to be
A place set apart to be clean and holy
A place where the darkness of the culture is not welcome
Yet, all who are damaged by that culture are welcome to come and be transformed
It’s that transformation that is our focus today
Hebrews 9:1 refers back to Exodus 25:8
8 And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.
That beautiful song “Sanctuary” is perfect here because it talks about how WE are to become a sanctuary
To recap just in the first verse of Hebrews 9
We see rules for true divine worship
We also see rules for creating a “earthly sanctuary”
The NASB calls it “earthly sanctuary” or “an earthly place of holiness” in the ESV
Now, before we continue with the text as it describes the physical temple/tabernacle or what we would call church
Let’s look at what it would have looked like
We’re going to see a series of images of the Tabernacle around 1450 BC
After they were freed from Egyptian slavery
The first image is for scale
These were NOT small places
The description is detailed and involved.
2 For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place.
The “tent” is actually the tabernacle as described in Exodus 26:1
1 “Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns; you shall make them with cherubim skillfully worked into them.
Not only a simple tent
A tent sectioned off with multiple layers and curtains
This was NO SMALL affair
Specific layers and specific colors and design
3 Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place,
4 having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.
I’m not going to re-read the whole passage
We do need to be aware of the complexity
The next image shows the overall layout
Can you imagine coming into church
The outer gate opens
Then you pass the slaughter table
Then the burn pit
Of course you would need to clean up before the temple
Clean your hands and feet
That’s brazen laver in the tabernacle
a wash basin
The text then goes on to describe the “cherubim of glory” which is to be overshadowing the mercy seat
The cherubim is a heavenly being who serves God
Let’s just say it was complex, beautiful and specific
Let’s take a minute to look at the Tabernacle in closer detail on the screen (leave up until I say so)
Tabernacle note
As you work your way from the outer gate into the Ark, there is division
The final area is called the Holy of Holies
Actually these are the effective layers
Outside
Courtyard
Where sacrifices were made
Then the cleansing area
Then through the Outer veil to Holy place
Which included incense
This is where the priests performed all their ritual duties
Finally through the Veil to the Holy of Holies
A place where only the High priest would go once a year
Only after sacrificing animals for unintentional sins of the people
The people NEVER entered this area
Only the High Priest went all the way in
8 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
Now we have the meat for today
It is the Holy Spirit who provides the understanding of the true purpose of the sacrificial system
All the description in the beginning of Hebrews 9 is of the first tent, not the entire tabernacle infrastructure
We have to look elsewhere for that detail
That description was of the first covenant
We are under the New Covenant because Jesus has already come the first time
Since Jesus came and died on the cross
That’s when the ultimate sacrifice was made
Now Believers experience the powers of the “coming age”
That was referred to back in Hebrews 6:5
The “first section” the one where animal sacrifices took place,
That’s now gone, thankfully!
We know from our previous study
As we read in Hebrews 7:18-19
18 For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness
19 (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.
The old Covenant was unable to produce true sanctification and peace
Every one of them then and every one of us now sin
None of us can fully remain clean
That’s what Hebrews 9:9-10 makes so clear
9 (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper,
10 but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.
The traditions and religious practices of the past are unable to truly clean our conscience
At least until the “reformation”
which means new order or new covenant
In other words, We are lost without Our savior
Isn’t that true?!
We are a part of the “present age” referenced in Hebrews 9:9 and but we have not truly entered God’s rest
Look at the culture around us
Is it at rest right now?
Look at your own life
Are you truly at rest?
When we create for ourselves a earthly Holy Place
Then we should be at rest there,
At least spiritually
We talked about what that looks like a bit when we studied Hebrews 4:9-10
9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,
10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.
Some would say the Sabbath is Saturday and some would say Sunday is the Sabbath
The Old Testament makes a clear claim of the Sabbath being on the seventh day of the week, Saturday
Religious practices under the New Testament church have Sunday as the Sabbath
A Sunday Sabbath is a min-Resurrection Sunday, so I get that
I believe that the legalistic arguments of WHICH day distract us from the main point
What matters to God is that we make a time and place in our lives to be wholy (w-h-o-l-y) with God
This means
To go past the outer gates of the culture and close the gate tightly
To remind ourselves that Jesus already provided the sacrifice
We don’t need the ritualistic purification
What we need is to focus on the fact that Jesus already solved that problem for us
Because of that, each of YOU can approach God
The veil that separated the people from God has broken
And God wrote His invitation for each of you to come to Him directly
Be clear and determined to maintain a practice to shut out the world and let Jesus carry you through whatever troubles you
Don’t contaminate your heart with hate
Don’t contaminate your heart with pornography
Don’t contaminate your heart with the culture
Let Jesus find a Holy place in your heart
Amen!?
Closing Hymn/Invitation:
Holy Spirit
Pastoral prayer/Benediction
Truman 210-789-0329
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