Do We Appreciate the New Living Way to God?

Now we can begin to distribute the handouts for today. This message can better be understood with the handout, something for you to keep. You can use it to take notes as well. And actually this sermon arrives, and the way it came to my mind was when I was praying and just thinking about what a privilege it is to come directly before God. You don't have to go to a tabernacle or a temple to pray.

You don't have to go before a priest. And you don't have to offer a sacrifice. And are we truly grateful, or do we just take it for granted? It wasn't that way in the past, in the Old Testament. It was much harder to have access to God. And so the best way I thought to present this is by giving a contrast of how it was like to have access to God in the Old Testament and how we have access to God in the New Testament in what Paul calls a new and living way. We're so blessed. It's such a privilege. So we can contrast both systems.

And in the Old Testament, access to God was limited to the physical descendants of Abraham or those who converted to the faith after being circumcised, doing a ritual cleansing, and offering a sacrifice. But basically, the whole Gentile world didn't have direct access to God at all. It was through Israel that the true God was working. In the tabernacle that God made for Israel, he gave the following instructions about the courtyard.

Let's go to Exodus 33 verse 5. Exodus 33 verse 5. It says, And consume you. Now therefore take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do to you. So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb. Of course, they had gotten themselves into trouble with the golden calf incident. But God could not just be around Israel at that time. He needed a place to distance himself from the presence of the Israelites because they weren't converted.

They were learning his ways. But as he mentioned, they had a stiff-necked attitude, a very stubborn. They didn't have soft hearts to yield and adjust and adapt to God's ways. And so they're always rebelling and murmuring. And so he established this tabernacle system so that he could be there, but indirectly deal with them through Moses, through Aaron. Notice chapter 35 in verse 10. It says, all who are gifted artisans among you shall come and make all that the Lord has commanded. The tabernacle, its tent, its covering, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets.

And so God gives this instruction. So he can be in Israel but separate because God is holy. And he was dealing with the carnal-minded people. They didn't have God's Holy Spirit at the time. And so access to him was limited. And God wanted to be farther from them so he wouldn't strike them down for their rebellions and sins. And so as we look at this first part with a graph, the courtyard was what separated the presence of God from the Israelites.

It was to keep the people out. It was sacred ground. No uncircumcised person could enter around that fenced area made out of linen. And so it separated the holy area. As you can see here, this courtyard was around 50 feet by 75 feet. I had the notes here but I don't have them right now exactly the size. But it's mentioned in Exodus 35 and 36 where the instructions are given. Notice in Ezekiel 44 what God says here about who could enter this area. Ezekiel 44 mentioning about the temple in the future but it also harkens back to this time.

Verse 7 of Ezekiel 44 it says, When you brought in foreigners uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh to be in my sanctuary, to defile it, my house, when you offered my food, the fat, and the blood, then they broke my covenant because of all your abominations. And so it was an area. A gentile couldn't come into the presence.

Only the circumcised Israelites or those converted to the faith could enter in.

Now it wasn't where everybody had access to God either in Israel because once you entered through the courtyard, you couldn't go into the temple itself or the tabernacle, and both men and women could enter in. But the women basically had a section at the entrance of the courtyard and they would have to give their offerings and a priest could take it, a Levite could take it, but they didn't have total access to the whole place like the male Israelite who could at least go around the courtyard. So the point is there were all kinds of classes that were formed when if you were in Israelite. And this was later solidified and cleared up even further when the temple was built by Solomon and then later on expanded and rebuilt, especially during the time of Herod, which was a very large area. And basically there it was divided, first of all, into a courtyard where Gentiles could be. That was called the outer courtyard. And then you had a walled area that Gentiles could not enter. You remember the famous, there was a sign that says if you, any Gentile, any uncircumcised person entered there, that was a death sentence. The soldiers would kill you. So the Gentiles had to be way outside. And then they had what they called the middle courtyard. That was the court of the women. The Israelite women could come in to that section, but they could not get into the inner courtyard. That was only for the Israelite men.

And the Israelite men could not go inside the temple. Only the priests could do so. So you had the Levites that worked with the priests, but Levites could not enter the temple. Only the priests. And the high priest was the only one that could enter the Holy of Holies once a year. So you see all the classes, all the separations that were there during the Old Testament time.

And for a common Israelite, he would never think of just direct access. They had to go through the Levites. They had to go through the priests. If they sinned, they had to offer some type of a sacrifice before God. And so it was a very limited system at all. We see in this graph that basically there were 12 different parts to this tabernacle. The courtyard and in Genesis 1714, which I have here down, is where God gave the law to Abraham that his descendants had to be circumcised. Genesis 17 verse 14. God is very precise in this instruction. He says in verse 14, and the uncircumcised male child who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant. So you could not have access to God unless you were circumcised, and that then you became a descendant of Abraham with the rights of an Israelite.

After you entered the entrance of this courtyard, the curtains, basically it was about 30 feet that you had as the gate. There was only one way in and one way out right there in the front area.

The first thing you faced was the altar of sacrifice.

And in Leviticus 4 verses 1 and 2 and verse 10, you can read there where it says that when a person broke God's law, it was not intentional. It wasn't willing and with presumptuousness that you went to God by this sacrificial system and you offered a sacrifice.

And so the altar was there. That's the way the law in the Old Testament resolved the problem of breaking God's laws. And of course, there were certain crimes that there was no sacrifice for them. You simply were stoned to death. And there are all kinds of laws there in Exodus 20 through 24 that will say if a person does this wantonly, if he does it with premeditated, if he kills somebody that way, there's no sacrifice. This was more of the common type of sins where a person forgot something about God's law that he should have done and he didn't. But the point is that this was the part of the law that dealt with sins. And the Old Testament, that was what you should do.

If I would have been a Levite during the Old Testament times, you came and you said, well, say, I broke the Sabbath. I didn't realize the time it was and I just kept working too long. I broke the Sabbath. I didn't realize what had happened before I knew it. It was nighttime.

And I say, okay, you had to go and offer a sacrifice to God for that. So again, it wasn't the entire law of God that dealt with sin. Ten commandments didn't deal with sin. It was this ceremonial law that you were able to reconcile yourself through sacrifices. That was the part that changes in the New Testament. But it was important this alter of sacrifices was an integral part of the tabernacle. Then you have what's called the laver, which is this wash basin, a very large one, where before the priests could begin their work, they had to bathe themselves. They had to wash themselves before God. And again, very serious if you didn't do it. It had to do with the idea there of ritual purity.

And many times you had to go through this if there was some type of impurity. You had touched a dead person or something else. You had to go and you had to go and have a ritual bath.

And then you had the tabernacle itself, which was established because of that relationship with God, that God needed a separation from the sins of Israel. Notice in Leviticus 16 verse 2.

It says, And the Lord said to Moses, Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the holy place inside the veil before the mercy seat, which is on the ark, lest he die, for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.

And so this was an important place. You had certain times when you could go into the Holy of Holies, you had instructions. Everybody, being an Israelite, had to memorize these instructions. God was overseeing that people were going to be respectful of his laws.

And then inside the tabernacle itself, you had the lampstand.

In Exodus 27 verse 20, it tells us about the lampstand.

Exodus 27 verse 20, it says, And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light to cause the lamp to burn continually. So here it was a lampstand.

It provided the light inside the tabernacle, but it was also a symbol of something else that we're going to be discussing. And then you had the table with the showbread. Exodus 25 verse 23.

It says, You shall also make a table of acacia wood. Two cubits shall be its length, a cubit its width, and a cubit and a half its height. And you shall overlay it with pure gold and make a molding of gold all around. You shall make for it a frame. And then it says here, verse 30, And you shall set the showbread on the table before me always. So this was again part of the tabernacle, and Israelite could not come in and see these things. He knew they were inside the tabernacle, but they didn't have access to it. Even the Levites could not enter. Only if you were a priest did you have access to that part inside the tabernacle.

As a matter of fact, things were so strict that they said, well, what happens if a priest comes in to the tabernacle? And of course, he's been there many years doing it. He's aged. What happens if the priest dies inside or gets some type of attack because the Levites can't come in? What if there aren't any other priests? Well, they actually had a little rope that they would tie to the ankle of the priest, and so he would go in and he'd minister so that if they saw that there was a problem, they could drag them out because that place was holy. They weren't allowed to come in, even for emergencies. And they also had little bells that they wore so you could hear the priest is okay. He's still doing his job. When the bells stopped ringing, then you started to worry. But again, notice just how much formality you have because the presence of God is there.

And then you had the altar of incense. That was the third item inside this holy place in the tabernacle. That had to also be taken care of by the priests. Exodus 30, verse 10. It says, An Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year, with the blood of the sin offering of atonement once a year. He shall make atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord. In verse 34, it says, and the Lord said, Take sweet spices, Stagti and Nica and Galbanum, and pure frankincense with their sweet spices.

There shall be equal amounts of each, and this is the incense that will be placed in the altar. It had a very sweet-smelling aroma. Again, because you didn't want to have the Israelites' sins, the problem. So there was a fragrance inside the tabernacle, again, symbolizing something that we're going to cover in a moment.

And then you had inside the veil, which the high priest could only go once a year, you had the Ark of the Covenant. It was a large furniture. It looked like a type of a seat. It had the two carabims, and inside it had a cover where you could open the cover, and inside were the two tablets with the Ten Commandments inscribed with the finger of God. It also had a little flask of the hidden manna, because once after those 40 years that were in the wilderness, the manna seized, but God wanted to show that there was evidence that manna had been given miraculously. And so he took a sample, and it was placed inside the Ark, as well as Aaron's rod, the one that budded, and almonds came out of it. Of course, this was a dead branch already, but God made it come to life so that he could show which was a tribe that he was working with in that tabernacle area, and that was the tribe of Levi. That was Aaron's rod that budded.

So the point is that if you want to live in the Old Testament, these are the principles that you have. A good Jew that studies in a synagogue, basically at the age of five, you start reading a little bit about the Old Testament, and as you go through basically seven years, you study it until at 12, you go through that bar mitzvah. You're considered an adult Israelite at the age of 12, and you have had to study all of these commandments. You have to know all of this, and also you are under that law. But in the New Testament, there is a new and living way to have access to God. Notice what it says in Hebrews chapter 10.

And if we were living under the Old Testament system, I wonder how many would be complaining about all these things that you have to go through, all these hoops you have to jump, which we don't do today. Notice in Hebrews chapter 10, it says in verse 19, it says, therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus. No, it takes a lot of courage and boldness to just go before the very throne of God. Before that, you couldn't do that. You were going to be struck down. They had instructions, those priests, if you went inside.

And of course, the Holy of Holies was even worse. That was a death sentence, instant death. But he says, here we have boldness to just walk right into the Holy of Holies by the blood of Jesus.

Yes, it's not by our own righteousness. He says, by a new and living way, which he consecrated for us. In other words, he established it through the veil that is his flesh. So that curtain that separated, he opened it up. He made it available that we could go right to God the Father.

And having a high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies watch with pure water. So we have a new and living way to come before God. That's when we come to this second system established in the Bible, in the New Testament. And so, instead of having the courtyard that you had to be, first of all, examined, are you circumcised or not?

Have you been ritually cleaned? Have you made an offering, a sacrifice, or else you can't go in?

You can't go. You're not part of the Israelite citizenship.

But notice what it says in Acts chapter 10, what Peter realized at that time.

Acts chapter 10 verse 34.

Then Peter opened his mouth. He was there before Cornelius, a gentile who was not circumcised, who had not been ritually cleansed. He had not offered any sacrifices.

He said, in truth I perceive that God shows no partiality, but in every nation, talk about every race on earth, whoever fears him and works righteousness, so you are to obey God's commandments, is accepted by him. That was very revolutionary at that time.

That broke the barrier between an Israelite and a gentile.

The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ, he is the Lord of all. That word you know which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth, with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil. For God was with him. And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they kill by hanging on a tree. Him God raised up on the third day and showed him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us, who ate and drank with him after he arose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that it is he who was ordained by God to be the judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets witnessed that through his name, whoever believes in him will receive remission of sins. So now God's calling includes all races, all nationalities. It's not limited to just descendants of Abraham. And so basically, we can come before God because we have accepted his calling. He has opened our minds and hearts.

We have repented of our past lives and evil ways, and we have submitted to God, we have surrendered, given our lives to him to cleanse us, to make us a new person through this new and living way. And just like a person, when they accept God's calling and repent and start obeying God, you have access to go through that courtyard.

And the next thing you face is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the one and only sacrifice that we need for the forgiveness of sins. So first we have to accept God's calling, and then we have to accept God's sacrifice for our sins.

Once we accept Christ's sacrifice for our sins, then the next step is baptism.

That's what the labor with the water that the priests had to wash in and cleanse themselves of ritual impurity. Well, we have to cleanse ourselves, but from not ritual impurity, but of our sins. We are washing away those sins through baptism. So this is what makes a Christian a true follower of God. In Colossians chapter 2, it explains it very well.

Colossians chapter 2 in verse 11.

Paul, who God chose to reveal these wonderful truths to us about this new and living way, says verse 11, in him, talking about Jesus, you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands. It's not a physical circumcision you need to be able to go inside that courtyard. No, he says here, you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ buried with him in baptism in which you also were raised with him through faith in the working of God who raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he has made alive together with him, having forgiven you, all trespasses. So we come out of that watery grave and we have been made alive. And before God legally, we become a new person. Those sins no longer can accuse us, as it says here, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that were against us. This was the verdict of guilty. You have been served, you have been accused of all of these sins, and he says he has wiped out all of that accusation, and also the sentence that we have received of death because of our sins. He has wiped them out, which was contrary to us, and he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

And what did he nail? Our death sentence. So we no longer have that accusatory note that was over us, the sentence of all our sins.

After this, just like the tabernacle was the place where God's presence was in the Old Testament, so now we have a new relationship with God. We don't need a temple to have a relationship wherever we are. God is there, close to us. We can direct our thoughts and words directly to him. And once baptism is carried out, it's like now you can enter into the tabernacle area.

And the first thing you see in this tabernacle is the lampstand that had the light from the oil, which is symbolic of God's Holy Spirit. It's not complete, but we need, just from baptism, we also need the laying on of hands. And so, as it says in Acts chapter 8 and verse 14, Acts chapter 8 and verse 14, it says, Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet, and it should say it, because it's not a person, it's a power that God sends that's in God and connects with the person, it had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. So a lot of people get baptized by the name of the Lord Jesus. They haven't been laid hands upon.

So you need to find a church where both ceremonies are necessary. Hebrews 6 talks about the foundational doctrines, and one of them is baptism, and the other one is the laying on of hands.

God does not contradict himself. If he says this is part of the ceremony, part of the need, he will honor that. And you are not going to receive that Holy Spirit unless you go through the laying on of hands. And then that's the first item inside the tabernacle.

The second item was the table with the showbread, which is symbolic of the assembling of the saints, and all the races. If you have been duly baptized and repented of your sins and committed yourself to obeying God's laws and receive God's Holy Spirit to help us in the process of applying those laws, then you become part of this spiritual church of God on earth. And in Galatians chapter three, it makes it very clear what are those conditions to become a true member of the church.

Galatians chapter three verse 27 says, For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. You've been baptized, you receive God's Spirit, you are a full-fledged member of the church of God. Doesn't matter what nationality, what sexual gender you have, what language you speak, that is not important anymore.

Verse 29, And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise you're part of that Israelite church. You're part of spiritual Israel. Notice in chapter six of Galatians verse 25. Let's see, I think I got that wrong. It should be verse 15 and 16. So you can correct it there. It should be a one instead of a two. 15 and 16 it says, for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything. So it's different. It's not the Old Testament. It's this new and living way. It says, but a new creation through baptism, through receiving God's Spirit, you begin a new life. There's no other way.

You can't buy it. You can't purchase it. Everybody has to submit to the same conditions.

Verse 16, And as many as walk according to this rule, those who follow these principles, peace and mercy be upon them and upon the Israel of God. Israel of God now is composed of many races, nationalities, languages, and cultures. But we're all part of this spiritual church. That's why when we go to Africa, when we go Latin America, we don't make a difference. Just like what we have members here, Garden Grove, we have them in Mexico, we have them everywhere else. They are all integral parts. We don't have class separations like there was in the Old Testament. That takes us to the third item inside the tabernacle area, which was the altar of incense, which represents the prayers going directly to God now. Christ as the only mediator and high priest. So even if you had a physical high priest anymore, he's a member of the church because it's Christ the one who now is our high priest. And there's only one mediator between God and ourselves, and that's Jesus Christ. So we can go directly in prayer and we just say, God, here I am. What a wonderful privilege. We can come before you with our thoughts and our words and realize that you are going to listen to us. You're going to take us into account, not because we're so perfect, but because we've gone through the process. We've accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior. We have accepted following His holy perfect and just law, and we're walking toward that coming kingdom, and we let God's Spirit guide us in our lives. So our prayers now don't have to go into a temple, into some priest. No, it's directly before the throne of God in heaven.

And then the eighth element in the tabernacle was the veil that separated the holy place from the holy of holies. And Christ's flesh opens that inner curtain. We read this before in Hebrews chapter 10.

It says here verse 19, Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us through the veil that is His flesh, and having a high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart. So basically that separation, because God could not deal with impurities of man, all of that is broken, it's separated, it's torn, now we can go in again through what Jesus Christ has done with every one of us. And as we go inside the holy of holies, the first and only thing inside was the Ark of the Covenant. And that's the presence of God. Jesus Christ there as well at His right hand.

This was the throne room of God.

And we come before God in a pure state. Notice, I always love this part, the last two verses of the epistle of Jude. Let's go to Jude.

It says in verse 24, Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen. So this is what Christ does for us. We come before God in a pure state. As long as we repent, ask forgiveness, change, those sins are buried, are eliminated. And inside the Ark of the Covenant were three items as well. The tablets with the Ten Commandments, which has to do with what we will receive if we persevere to the end. If we're faithful, God's commandments are going to be internalized, inculcated through the Holy Spirit. Notice in Hebrews chapter 10, in verse 14, Hebrews chapter 10, verse 14, it says, And so we are having God's laws written in us. How ironic! Here, this small church, we are the ones that are keeping God's commandments. The rest of the world says, no, they've been abolished. Well, they've been abolished. Why is God writing them into our hearts and minds? I thought He should be erasing them from our hearts and minds. No, He's writing deeper into our hearts and minds. So you can tell which is the true church and which isn't. Just by that question, is God writing His laws in our hearts or is He erasing His laws?

Go to a church. Ask Him about God's law. They say, oh, no, that's been erased. That's been wiped out.

You know, that doesn't come from God. And then the second item inside this arc was the manna, the hidden manna in Revelation chapter 2 verse 18. Revelation chapter 2 verse 18.

Verse 17 rather. It says, he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And that's eternal life.

That's what it means. Christ mentioned there in John 6 that whoever eats this bread, I am the bread of life. Whoever eats of me shall live forever. And so God is offering us not only to write His laws, but to give us eternal life. And finally, we have Aaron's rod.

Eventually, we will be given rulership under Christ in His kingdom. Revelation 2 verse 26, just a couple of verses further down. It says, and he who overcomes and keeps my works until the end.

To him I will give power over the nations. He shall rule them with a rod of iron, which means he will be firm. Doesn't mean you're beating people over the head with it, but if they come, you're going to protect God's people. You're going to be in charge. They shall be dashed to pieces, like potters' vessels. Those who try to attack are enemies. So this is the new way that God has provided for us. We should be so thankful. Think in the past, people had just the Old Testament to work on. All the things, and many of them, were very dedicated at it. Much more than we are dedicated following this new system. Maybe we take it for granted. Maybe we don't do enough to thank God for it. But brethren, this is what I realized this past week when I was there before God and thanked Him, because I could come to Him, as all of us can do, in this new and living way.