How To Approach The Almighty
Personally
Series Title: Life Lessons from
Leviticus? (For
More In This Series )
A Sermon By
Jim Hammond from Leviticus 16
Focus: Through Jesus, we have personal access
to the Almighty.
Many of you know that we have two dogs. One dog is
old and wise, Jessie, a 12 year old Golden Retriever. Another dog, is
…well okay, I’m just going to say how I feel today; she’s cute…and
STUPID. Baylee is a rather small Beagle that still appears to most people
to be a puppy, though she’s now 3 years old. I thought Baylee had
graduated from being in an Old Testament relationship with us to a New
Testament relationship with us. But yesterday I discovered she should not
yet have graduated!
What’s an Old Testament relationship? Before I get
into that, let me ask how many of you have had a pet dog before and it was
a good experience; raise your hand. Okay., how many of you have had a pet
dog that was a bad experience? Okay. How many of you have never had a
pet dog? Now I know who will appreciate this illustration, and who just
won’t be able to relate. But here’s trying anyway.
Today, we are going to study a couple of passages of
scripture that compare and contrast an Old Testament relationship to God,
with a changed New Testament Relationship. One of the best ways to
describe that change is by way of describing the change in the way we have
access to God.
I. It used to
be that Personal Access to the Almighty was only allowed Once A Year
and With Dread (16:1)
It used to be that God set up a number of barriers
for people so that they could not have direct access to himself. That was
best seen in the shadow picture of the reality the Tabernacle itself
represented. The Tabernacle represented God’s presence among his people.
But is was a restricted presence.
Today if you are attempting to go out into the
forests, you will run into barriers that say no access, or access
restricted to authorized personnel only. Or something like that. Well in
an Old Covenant relationship, God had set up barriers to himself. Let me
show you a picture of the Tabernacle to show you what I mean.
The outer wall kept all unauthorized personnel out.
Worshippers were allowed to come in for worship only when they were
prepared to come in, and only if they were supervised by a priest.
Inside this outer wall was the actual Tabernacle
structure. This tabernacle structure was like God’s house, where his
manifest presence dwelt among his people. Only priests were allowed to
enter the house. Authorized personnel only.
The house itself was divided by a curtain that
separated the Holy place from the Most Holy place. That curtain was only
opened for restricted access. It was only opened to allow the chosen High
Priest to enter once a year. We are going to learn about that today in
Leviticus 16. We are also going to learn from the New Testament, in the
book of Hebrews, that the very strict restrictions were lifted and why
they were lifted so that people could have a wonderful New Covenant
relationship with God with unrestricted access, rather than restricted
access.
BACK TO BAYLEE…
Let’s get back to how Baylee is Stupid. Hopefully
this will be insightful rather than trite. The risk I take here is that
perhaps only those of you who enjoy dogs are the ones for which this
illustration will be helpful.
Baylee is Karissa’s dog. This week Karissa was gone
to Mexico with the youth group. Baylee is spoiled. She’s an indoor dog.
But she is an Old Testament indoor dog. She only enjoys supervised access
to our home, our sanctuary. But Baylee knows how to push the right
buttons, wiggle with the right motions, and smile a dog’s smile to get her
way. Like I said, she’s cute but stupid. While Karissa was gone, Baylee
kept getting her way, waking me up to take her out repeatedly through the
night. Usually Karissa has to deal with this. Since Karissa was gone,
and I didn’t want to put up with this anymore, I promoted Baylee. I
bought and installed another dog door.
Baylee’s relationship to our Sanctuary is similar to
the Old Testament worshipper’s relationship to the Old Covenant sanctuary,
the Tabernacle. She has an outer court (her dog run). She has access
through a dog door anytime to the garage. But I promoted her by putting a
dog door in the kitchen door going out to the garage so she could have
unrestricted access from the inside of our house (the most clean place) to
the garage (a clean place), to the outer courts, or her camp (the not so
clean place).
Yesterday, Baylee demonstrated her Stupidity. She
lost her mind. Have you ever asked yourself what goes through a dog’s
mind? Here’s the answer. NOTHING! The good side of her stupidity
yesterday is this. I have this story to tell this morning, and the
lessons I learned from it. Before last night, I was in a conversation
with my family on the way back from Phoenix where we went to a ball game.
I asked my family what came to mind when I told them the title of my
message, “How To Approach The Almighty Personally.” I mentioned that we
would be studying the concept of unrestricted access to God, and I was
still hunting for an illustration to bring it to life. We came up with
several ideas. Access to the forest, the difficulty we had even accessing
to the restroom at the ball park when 49,000 people were exiting at the
same time etc. It wasn’t till I came home that I said shortly afterward.
There’s my opening illustration. Did I mention we were gone all day?
Before I tell you the rest of the story about Baylee,
and I’m sure you’ve already been guessing what she did, let’s listen to
Leviticus 16.
Leviticus 16:1-34
The Lord spoke to Moses
after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the
Lord.
2The Lord said to
Moses: "Tell your brother Aaron not to come whenever he chooses into the
Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the
ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement
cover.
3"This is how Aaron is to enter the sanctuary area: with a young
bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.
4He is to put on the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments
next to his body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the
linen turban. These are sacred garments; so he must bathe himself with
water before he puts them on.
5From the Israelite community he is to take two male goats for a
sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.
6"Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make
atonement for himself and his household.
7Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord
at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
8He is to cast lots for the two goats--one lot for the Lord
and the other for the scapegoat.
9Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord
and sacrifice it for a sin offering.
10But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented
alive before the Lord to be
used for making atonement by sending it into the desert as a scapegoat.
11"Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to make
atonement for himself and his household, and he is to slaughter the bull
for his own sin offering.
12He is to take a censer full of burning coals from the altar
before the Lord and two
handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense and take them behind the
curtain.
13He is to put the incense on the fire before the Lord,
and the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover above the
Testimony, so that he will not die.
14He is to take some of the bull's blood and with his finger
sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover; then he shall sprinkle
some of it with his finger seven times before the atonement cover.
15"He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the
people and take its blood behind the curtain and do with it as he did with
the bull's blood: He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and in front
of it.
16In this way he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place
because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their
sins have been. He is to do the same for the Tent of Meeting, which is
among them in the midst of their uncleanness.
17No one is to be in the Tent of Meeting from the time Aaron goes
in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he comes out, having
made atonement for himself, his household and the whole community of
Israel.
18"Then he shall come out to the altar that is before the Lord
and make atonement for it. He shall take some of the bull's blood and some
of the goat's blood and put it on all the horns of the altar.
19He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven
times to cleanse it and to consecrate it from the uncleanness of the
Israelites.
20"When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy
Place, the Tent of Meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live
goat.
21He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess
over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites--all their
sins--and put them on the goat's head. He shall send the goat away into
the desert in the care of a man appointed for the task.
22The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place;
and the man shall release it in the desert.
23"Then Aaron is to go into the Tent of Meeting and take off the
linen garments he put on before he entered the Most Holy Place, and he is
to leave them there.
24He shall bathe himself with water in a holy place and put on his
regular garments. Then he shall come out and sacrifice the burnt offering
for himself and the burnt offering for the people, to make atonement for
himself and for the people.
25He shall also burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.
26"The man who releases the goat as a scapegoat must wash his
clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp.
27The bull and the goat for the sin offerings, whose blood was
brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside
the camp; their hides, flesh and offal are to be burned up.
28The man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself
with water; afterward he may come into the camp.
29"This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of
the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work--whether
native-born or an alien living among you--
30because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse
you. Then, before the Lord,
you will be clean from all your sins.
31It is a sabbath of rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a
lasting ordinance.
32The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as
high priest is to make atonement. He is to put on the sacred linen
garments
33and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, for the Tent of
Meeting and the altar, and for the priests and all the people of the
community.
34"This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be
made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites."
And it was done, as the Lord
commanded Moses.
Chapter 10 showed how priests who dared to approach
God without do care and self preparation might die suddenly in the fire of
divine judgment. Thus chapter 16 sets out the proper rituals that the
high priest must carry out if he is to preserve himself from a fate
similar to Nadab and Abihu.
After the death of the two sons of Aaron
(verse 1). This flashback to chapter 10 places the laws about the day
of atonement firmly and a specific historical context. There was a
certain dread associated with the Day of Atonement when the Most Holy
Place was accessed by the High Priest. So dreadful was it that bells were
attached to the high priest so you could hear him inside the chamber. In
addition to the bells attached, a rope was tied on his ankle so that if he
were to die in the presence of the Lord and you no longer heard the bells
jingling in there, you could pull his body out of the Most Holy Place by
pulling on the rope tied to him.
A. Access was Allowable Only …
1. On the Specified Day
2. For the Specified Person
3. With the Specified protections
The basic precaution is given so that the priests
would protect themselves and not go at any time into the sanctuary behind
the curtain, but only at the appointed time, and with the appointed
protections. Before the tabernacle had been built God had come to his
people on Mount Sinai. After the tabernacle was built, God’s presence was
made manifest in the innermost part of the sanctuary. Familiarity can
breed contempt.
The purpose of the incense, was similar to the
purpose of the veil. The smoke of the incense created a screen which
would cover the mercy seat thereby protecting the High Priest.
BACK TO BAYLEE…
When we came home from the Ball game, the first thing
we noticed when we pulled into the driveway was a cute Beagle face looking
through our living room window. Cute but stupid! This meant she was
standing on the back of the couch looking out the window. Was she out of
her mind? What did she think she was doing? One day of unrestricted
access and now she thinks she owns the place, and she was wagging her tail
in greeting.
I admit I was a little nervous about what we might
find. Now the only reason I was nervous was this. When I put the dog
door in. The process scared Baylee to death. She watched as I turned on
the loudest scariest thing she had ever heard in her short life. I used a
power jig saw with a hack saw blade to cut through a metal hollow core
door.
Now some of you are squirming at the thought. I know
what you’re thinking; You ruined a perfectly good metal door to allow
your dog access to your house! Let me ask you, how many of you were
thinking this? I thought so. But this ruining of doors is what makes
this illustration even more pointed. Allowing my dog access cost me
something. Some of you are thinking, I’m stupid. How many of you have
also ruined doors for your dog? Like I said, this illustration is working
best for those of us who really like dogs.
Anyway, the only reason I was a bit nervous was that
Baylee had developed a fear of the dog door, after that loud jig saw
experience. Though she was perfectly used to the first dog door, from the
“not so clean place” into “the clean place”, now this new door, into “the
very clean place” was causing her to feel what the High Priest must have
felt. DREAD! That door, made a huge noise, and it was new. She had
never seen a dog door put in before. It took us many efforts to get this
skittish dog to scramble through the door. We learned something strange.
She was much more inclined to go IN through the door than to go OUT
through the door. We developed theories about this. Maybe she could go
in and not out because the door scared her as she looked at it from the
inside. Looking at it from the outside didn’t scare her so much. Maybe.
But probably motivation had a lot to do with it. She was simply much more
motivated to use the door to come in rather than to go out. She wants
in. For her, IN means comfort. IN means coolness. IN means finding a
soft resting place, even a spot on the bed, under the fan. I told you,
she’s a spoiled dog. OUT means discomfort. OUT means uncomfortable heat
and rocks. The point is this. Baylee is like us. She wants what is
comfortable and strangely avoids what is uncomfortable. She doesn’t
really want out. But there are also some fears involved because of the
Jig Saw. Even when she gets her courage up to go IN for comfort, she
bolts through the door, with that breathless look that says, “I did it. I
did it, oooh that was scary, but I did it, an I’m in.”
So you see why I had some cause for nervousness about
graduating Baylee to New Covenant unrestricted access status. When I got
into the house, I saw that my fears were well founded. There were several
small piles defiling the sanctuary not so judiciously hidden in far away
corners.
We still have Baylee…even though she has had an
experience not too dissimilar from the experience of Nadab and Abibu…and
you thought only Cats had nine lives. If you are a dog lover, you
probably want to stop and say a silent prayer for Baylee right now. After
all, I’m coming home later, and she still has a dog door. Hmmm…there are
lot’s of parallels here aren’t there?
The Primary Purpose For The Day of Atonement was not in order to
establish a way for Sinful People to Approach God
Although today’s message is “How to Approach The
Almighty Personally”, that is not the primary thrust of the Old
Testament. The thrust of Leviticus 16 is not how people could approach
God so much as how God could continue to dwell with man. The main purpose
of the day of atonement ceremonies was to cleanse the sanctuary from the
pollution introduced into it by the unclean worshipers. The purpose for
the ritual was in order to make it possible for God to dwell with Sinful
People. The aim of these rituals is to make possible God's continued
presence among his people. This tells me something about God’s love and
desires. It also tells me about his character and Holiness.
Let’s take a look at the change from Old Testament,
restricted supervised access, to New Testament unrestricted access.
II. How to Come
Through The Curtain With Confidence (Hebrews 9-10)
Hebrews 9:1-28 Now the first
covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary.
2A
tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand, the table and
the consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place.
3Behind
the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place,
4which
had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant.
This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron's staff that had budded,
and the stone tablets of the covenant.
5Above
the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover.
But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.
6When
everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into
the outer room to carry on their ministry.
7But
only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year,
and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the
people had committed in ignorance.
8The
Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had
not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing.
9This is
an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and
sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the
worshiper. 10They
are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial
washings--external regulations applying until the time of the new order.
11When
Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he
went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made,
that is to say, not a part of this creation.
12He did
not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the
Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal
redemption. 13The
blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who
are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.
14How
much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit
offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that
lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
15For
this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are
called may receive the promised eternal inheritance--now that he has died
as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first
covenant.
16In the
case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it,
17because
a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect
while the one who made it is living.
18This
is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood.
19When
Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he
took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches
of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people.
20He
said, "This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to
keep." 21In
the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and
everything used in its ceremonies.
22In
fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and
without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
23It was
necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with
these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better
sacrifices than these.
24For
Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true
one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence.
25Nor
did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high
priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his
own. 26Then
Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the
world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do
away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.
27Just
as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,
28so
Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he
will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to
those who are waiting for him.
Would you look at verse 27 again.
27Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face
judgment,
On the way home from church a little boy asked his mother, "Is it true,
Mommy, that we are made of dust?"
"Yes, darling."
"And do we go back to dust again when we die?"
"Yes."
"Well, Mommy, when I said my prayers last night and looked under the bed,
I found someone who is either coming or going."
This reminds me of another familiar preacher story. I believe I’ve shared
both of these before with you.
At
a cemetery on a tombstone somewhere, I know not where, there reads these
words…
Pause now, stranger as you pass by;
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, so soon you'll be.
Prepare yourself to follow me!
That’s thought provoking, but I liked what someone had placed on a piece
of wood next to that saying on the tombstone, an added verse, that read,
To follow you
I'm not content,
Until I know
Which way you went! (God says there are two ways to go!)[1]
27Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face
judgment,
This verse is a little heavy, don’t you think? Does it undermine your
confidence a little? I want you to hear this verse again, but this time I
want you to hear the noise it makes. As I read the verse try to hear with
the ears of your imagination the loudest scariest sound, through the ears
of a little Beagle, the sound of judgment! The noise of the jig saw.
This is the sound of scary judgment! It is frightening.
27Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face
judgment.,
That’s why access is scary. If it doesn’t cause you a little
dread, you probably need to read Leviticus again. You probably need to be
reminded that God is Holy, and we are not!
Listen, friends, Jesus did something so that we can know that we are more
than pile of dust. We have meaning, and eternal significance. Jesus also
did something so that we can know which way we will go. Verse 28
summarizes how he did it.
28so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many
people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring
salvation to those who are waiting for him.
Hebrews 10:19-25 Therefore,
brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the
blood of Jesus,
20by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that
is, his body,
21and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
22let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of
faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience
and having our bodies washed with pure water.
23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who
promised is faithful.
24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love
and good deeds.
25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of
doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the
Day approaching.
A. Come Through Jesus (Hebrews 10:19-25)
1. Through Jesus we have Confident Access to God
(10:19-20)
On the day Jesus took the judgment into himself when
he hung from a cross, something amazing happened to the barrier. He was
the door of access this verse says. He was the curtain. As his body was
torn and the blood flowed out, the Temple establishment was very surprised
as the heavy curtain that hung as a barrier keeping us out of “the most
clean place” was ripped, from the top down (see Matthew 27:51).
2. Jesus is our Mediator-Priest who makes us clean
from the inside out (10:21)
3. Jesus gives us Hope (10:23)
B. Since We Have ACCESS, We are Responsible to:
USE IT!!!! WHEN IT’S COMFORTABLE, WHEN IT IS
NOT! DON’T BE LIKE BAYLEE
We need to use the ACCESS both going IN and going
OUT! We like going in. We like the comfort of grace, the comfort of
forgiveness, the comfort of God’s love. But Jesus said,
John 10:9
I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be
saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.
Since We Have ACCESS, We are Responsible to USE IT!!!! Both
coming in AND going OUT. Even when it isn’t comfortable.
Since We Have ACCESS, We are Responsible
1. Personally Draw near to God Regularly with a Sincere
Heart (10:22)
I’ve been reading a book by Leanard Sweet called
“Soul Salsa” on learning to put the dance back into your life. It is
steps for Godly living in the 21st century. Let me pass along
some of the tid bits in one of his chapters that relates to this concept
Drawing Near to God regularly.
·
Say grace before meals. But we are talking about more than
that. G.K. Chesterton wrote,
You say
grace before meals. All right,
But I say grace before the play and the opera
And grace before the concert and pantomime
And grace before I open a book,
And grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking,
playing, dancing;
And grace before I dip the pen in the ink.
The point is to draw near to God in all of life.
Look for ways of accessing God in everything. Worship is to be made a way
of life, not a wayside on Sunday.
2. Hold Unswervingly to the Hope we profess (10:23)
Holding on to hope is the secret of persistence.
This is the "Code of Persistence." If you give up too easily, you might
want to write this down and read it daily for a while:
·
I will never give up so long as I know I am right (that is,
in the will of God).
·
I will believe that all things will work out for me if I
love God and hang on until the end.
·
I will be courageous and undismayed in the face of odds.
·
I will not permit anyone to intimidate me or deter me from
the goals I believe God has given me.
·
I will fight to overcome all physical handicaps and
setbacks.
·
I will try again and again and yet again to accomplish what
I believe is God’s will.
·
I will take new faith and resolution from the knowledge that
all successful men and women have had to fight defeat and adversity.
·
I will never surrender to discouragement or despair no
matter what seeming obstacles may confront me.
3. Consider How to spur one another on to Love and Good
Deeds (10:24)
·
Notice that the verse doesn’t just say, spur one another
on. It says to take time to CONSIDER HOW to spur one another on. Here’s
an assignment for you. Include as part of your devotional time this week,
a brainstorming session, be creative, CONSIDER ways of spurring one
another on! Be creative. Let that creativity energize you to the point
of going beyond the mere consideration.
4.
Remain tenaciously committed to meet regularly
together to encourage one another (10:24-25)
How many of you make it a high priority to be
faithful in church attendance? How many of you also make it a high
priority to be tenaciously committed to your small group? It isn’t always
easy accessing God. Sometimes it is comfortable (IN) sometimes it is not
(OUT). When we come home on a long day at work, it is more comfortable to
kick back, relax, and watch a show, than to go back out, interact and spur
one another on!
Would you pray with me.
Dear Lord,
I learned some things from my cute but stupid dog
this week. It amazes me how you arranged the circumstances for me to see
things from a different perspective, your perspective. I confess that
I’ve been leaving piles defiling your sanctuary. I confess that I’ve been
shrinking back from the uncomfortable. I confess that I’ve been stupid,
and I’m not sure I’m even cute to you. Thanks for loving me enough to
allow your son to take the jig saw for me. Thanks for loving me enough to
allow unrestricted access to you. I choose to enter into your presence
and grace today. I also choose to go OUT, through Jesus. IN and OUT.
Help me to lay my fears before you and go IN and OUT with confidence.
In Jesus’ Name, AMEN.
[1]
From The Pulpit Helps, March 1994, p. 14, The Gospel Truth, Inc.
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