Point me to the skies, have morning
breaks, and earth's vain shadows clean. In life, in death, O Lord,
abide with me. I know for a fact that we're
living in a dangerous time, perilous times, not because of terrorism, not that sort of thing, but materialism. I was just standing there thinking
how that The greatest detriment of worship
is materialism. The things of this world. The Lord warned the children
of Israel over and over again. Warned them. Be careful that you don't forget
me. You come into the land and you have plenty of cattle and
houses and lands and all of that. He said, be careful that you
don't forget me. When we're in trouble, when we're
in trials, when we're going through difficulties, we're calling on
the Lord. We're calling on the Lord. We're
seeking the Lord. We need the Lord, don't we? But when things, everything is
just wonderful. That's what he warned the church
at the Laodicea. You're rich and increased with
goods and have need of nothing but don't know. You've forgotten
how that you're poor. We're so spiritually poor. We
were so needy, spiritually speaking. So we need, at times like this,
we need to be asking the Lord, calling on Him more than ever.
Lord, don't let this world overcome me. Don't let me be consumed
with it. Don't let me. Children, keep
yourselves from idols. What's that? Covetousness. Covetousness. These are dangerous times. They
really are. This is probably the greatest temptation and one of
the most difficult trials of all for anybody is prosperity. prosperity. It really is. I say
that to me. To me. The brilliant Apostle Paul, and
he was a brilliant man. Brilliant. He said, we know in part. We just have a partial knowledge
of these things. He said, we preach in part. And
that is so true. The half has never been told.
Not even a part. The depth and the riches of the
wisdom of God has been told. Not a part. This morning we have
begun the study of the tabernacle. The tabernacle. And this was of God Almighty's
design. It wasn't an afterthought. It
wasn't a top of, so to speak, top of his head. It was something
that couldn't break forethought. purpose, everything in it was
ordered, designed, brilliant. John Newton called the gospel
the greatest stroke of genius ever. God being the only true genius
designed this architect, the author of salvation. God purposed
this building and every nail in it meant something. The number of them, the material
of them, where they were placed, the exact dimensions meant something,
meant something. Even today, architecture is a
very elevated vocation. We esteem architects as being
very wise men and women, very talented individuals. It's very
important, too, that we have good ones, especially if you
have a huge building. If you have a great and grand
and glorious building that reaches to the heavens in which many
people will dwell, you better have had a good architect. That
thing's going to fall. Is this important? Is all this
important? Every nail, every jot, every
tooth, our salvation depends on it. The world will ask, why
study this? Why study this? No believer would
ask that. No believer, no child of God
would ever ask that about any of God's work. Why study that? They say, I can't wait to study
that. I don't know why we've taken
so long. Gird up, I'm going to tell you
again, gird up the loins of your mind, this is not milk, this
is meat. I'm going to deal with the weightier matters. Are you ready? Alright, God said,
in verse 8, Exodus 25, it's written in a bulletin, Exodus
25, of which everyone here I'm sure read every word of and committed
to memorizing. I don't do that. Exodus 25 verse 8 says, Let them
make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to
all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and
the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so, Shall ye make
it a sanctuary, a tabernacle, that I may dwell among them?"
God says, you're going to make a building, a building in which God will
appear. He hasn't yet at this point. A building in which God will
dwell. and building a place in which
God will speak to the people, a place in which he will reveal
his glory as never seen before. Go with me back to Hebrews 9
now. Hebrews 9. Now, he said it's a sanctuary. A sanctuary. I don't like to
use that term in reference to this building. I don't think
we should. I don't think we should. I've mistakenly done that before. I don't think we should. Sanctuary
means a consecrated place. A place sanctified. Sanctuary. A sanctified place. So that is
a place for holy, a holy place. separated by God. God says, make
this building a sanctuary, separated by God, set apart by God, a holy
place where he would dwell, where he would appear. All right, now,
there's never been one before. And God purposed this, and he
said, this is it, this is the one, this is the only one. Only one, a tabernacle, a building. Tabernacle means a building.
It would be all right to call this place the tabernacle. It's
a building, a tabernacle. All right, look at Hebrews 9
now. Verse 1 says, Now verily the first covenant, what he's
talking about, is what we just read. We've been reading. You see, the book of Hebrews. The first ten chapters of Hebrews. Is all about. What we're getting
ready to study. In exit. First ten chapters is
important. Whoever wrote Hebrews, God led
them to write ten chapters. on the subject. High Priest and this tabernacle,
what it all means, is it important? It's vital. All right, go on. He says, verse one, first had
ordinances, ceremonies of divine service, that is, the service
of God, the worship of God, and a worldly sanctuary, a material
actual building. set apart by God. There, read
on, was a tabernacle made, a building made, read on, wherein was a
candlestick, a table, a showbread, which is called the holy place. And after the second veil, and
all of this we'll get into more later on, the tabernacle, the
dwelling which is called the holiest of all, holy of holies,
and you know what was in there, don't you? I wanted to deal with
that this morning along with this, but there's not enough
time, no way. We're not going to give that, what was in the holy of holies,
ten minutes of our time. We're just going to give a summary
of the tabernacle this morning, all right, what it's all about,
the tabernacle. All right, he said it's a sanctuary, that is,
a holy place, a building, yes. And he goes on to describe every
piece of furniture in it there in Hebrews 9. So God Almighty,
now here's what's being said, God Almighty, way back in the
beginning, designed a building. a dwelling place. He was an architect
of this place, in which he would come down to earth and dwell
with men. And I hope while I'm saying these
things you're reading between the lines. You're seeing this
with your eye of faith, hearing it with the ear of faith. God
designed, God purposed this building made of common earthly materials
for worship. Everything from their whole lives
from that day forward would all be centered around this tabernacle. All the blessings of God are
dependent upon this place, especially that that was in that holy abode. Everything, the blessings of
God, what distinguished these people from the rest of the world
was this. and God revealed it to me and
still true that. You're God's people. This was
a building of God's design made of, though it was made of common
earthly material, yet it was uncommon. God said, this is this
is sanctuary, this is a holy place, this is set apart. Because
it's the only place, the only place, where God Almighty was
going to be and dwell. There's only one. There's only
one. Never had been one before, and now there's one, and there
never will be another. Just one. What's this all about? A building? Let me see some smiles if you know
the answer. You do. God has abounded toward you in
wisdom and prudence, having made known this mystery unto you.
This is Christ. This is all about Christ, the
only place, the only place where God dwells. Christ, the tabernacle of God.
Look at verse 11 if you're still there in Hebrews 9. You have
it, verse eleven says, Christ being come and high priest of
good things to come by greater and more perfect tabernacle,
not made with hands. That is to say, a material building. But he said, he went on to say
in chapter ten, Lo, I come, a body hast thou given me, a tabernacle,
God, the Word made flesh. and dwelt
among us. And Paul said, we beheld his
glory. John said, we beheld his glory. We've been in the Holy of Holies
and seen that thing in the Holy of Holies. Well, I might. The whole purpose,
now listen, there was only one tabernacle where God would dwell.
Is that too narrow? It was an unbelieving world.
That's too narrow. We like our place. We got this
little place we made up. God's here. No, he's not. Only one place. Never has been
any other. Never will be. One place where
God meets with man. where God will speak to or be
spoken to, or God will have mercy, or God will accept anything from
man, only one, the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is the one and
only place. Do you remember reading that
in Deuteronomy with me? We studied that, the place which
God hath ordained to cause his name to dwell there. It says
that about ten times. It's not a place, it's not a
thing, it's a person. The Lord Jesus Christ. You see,
the whole purpose of this first tabernacle, the whole purpose
of the sanctuary, the whole purpose of everything written in this
book, is to point to the Lord Jesus
Christ. Appoint men, women and young
people to the Lord Jesus Christ, the only place where God will
deal with men. Look at Hebrews 10, look at Hebrews
10, and like I said, we're just preaching in part. I'm just,
we know in part, we preach in part. This is just a general
summary. Chapter 10, verse 1 says, the
law having a shadow of good things to come is not the very image
of the thing, can never. can never, with those sacrifices,
make the comers their own people. Nothing flesh, nothing material
can do anything for anybody spiritually. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. This is why the scripture says true worshipers
worship God in spirits. That is from the heart. God is
not interested in things. Let's do some beautiful things
for God, beautiful things. Let's make our building beautiful
for God. Well, fine, but you think he's impressed? Come with me to heaven. That's
one time the disciples, you know, thought they were going to impress
the Lord with a temple in the building. I think he's impressed. True worshippers worship the
father in spirit, not looking on the outward countenance, but
on the heart. Worship in spirit. Rejoice in
Christ Jesus. True worshippers worship God
in Christ. By faith in Christ, true worshipper. And what does it say? What's
the next line? This is why. This says that. Have no confidence
in the flesh. No confidence in the flesh. That
there's no such thing as holy water. No such thing. There's
no such thing as holy land. No such thing. Dirt's dirt. I
don't care if it's in Israel or Franklin County. It's dirt. A piece of wood like this. is
a worthless piece of wood. If they found that thing that
Christ hung upon, that tree, you could spit on it. And it wouldn't mean a thing. Isn't that what Hezekiah did
when he found the The serpent on the pole, the brass that people
started worshiping, they dug up, they found that relic. The
serpent on the pole, and people started worshiping the pole,
and not the God who saved them, not the Christ of whom that spoke
of. They worshiped the cross, oh, I'll cherish that old rugged
cross. A piece of wood? I don't much like it. They hung
my Lord on it. Something that killed my only
child, I wouldn't hang it around my neck. Just has it. Brother Milton Howard changed
the words of that song, right myself. He said, I'll cherish
the Christ of the cross, not the cross of When Paul said,
the only thing I glory in is in a cross of Christ, he wasn't
talking about a piece of wood. He's talking about what Christ
did on the cross. The cross, that is the redemption
that Christ accomplished on that wooden tree. We don't worship
things. There's nothing holy on this
planet. There's no building. This is
not God's house. I can spit on this floor. I bring
my dog in here every now and then. I would not, I would not desecrate,
I wouldn't, you know, abuse this place, we make it nice and all
that, but not to oppress God. Not because it's a holy place,
it's just a building. And so was the first one. The
first tabernacle. It's just a building. Why is
this important that I say all this? Well, look around you.
Look at the world. Look at the religious world. All taken up with religious relics
and things. True worshippers have no confidence
in the flesh. None. It's just flesh. That which is flesh is flesh.
Material things. And this tabernacle is all about
person. I think how important it is that
we understand this is all the people who were around this building
and beheld it and and took part in it and contributed to it and
all that perished. That. Damn. But they had the time. They must
not have been believe in Christ. Right. You can have the form,
you can have the ceremony, you can have the doctrine, you can
have this and that and the other and all the things, the peripherals
of religion. That's what it's all about. All
the religion, it can be beautiful, it can sound good, look good,
seem good and all that to men and everybody just esteem it
highly, but it might be an abomination to God. Right? If Christ is not
the center of it, if Christ is not the sum and substance of
it, and if everything done around that place and everything everybody's
doing is not pointing to, redounding to, the glory of God's Son, God
hates it. It's just worthless brass. Is that too strong? That's exactly
right. And God's going to destroy it
all, wood, hay, and stuff. You know, we've burnt with fire.
It's going to be revealed in that day, what's of God, what
is really for the glory of Christ and what's not. That's right. This was just a shadow, he said,
a shadow, a shadow. And down in verse 5 of chapter
10, he says, when he comes, he says, Sacrifice and offering
thou wouldst not but a body. A tabernacle has prepared me,
and in the volume of the book, verse 7, in the volume of the
book, it's written of me, Christ's Son. They are they which testify
of me. It's all about me. God said,
I designed the tabernacle. This is where I'm going to meet
with you. It's on the book. And I have purposed everything
concerned. Everything concerned. It's going
to be exactly according to that. Don't come up with it, it better
be according to the pattern. God left nothing up. God was
very, very particular about this building. Very, very particular. He told him twice, told Moses
twice, who was in charge of it. He told him twice, he said, now
you see that you make it according to the pattern. In other words,
he didn't leave anything up to Moses' interpretation. He didn't
leave anything up to anybody's interpretation. He didn't leave,
well, so-and-so, you want to contribute to the bill, what
you got to bring? Well, I've got here, my Aunt Sarah's made
this little papestry, and she's just so proud of it. Would you
put this in the building? Why, sure, bring it in here.
No, sir. Nobody. He's going to contribute,
and nobody's going to do anything except exactly like I said. It'll
be all according to this pattern, a blueprint, and exact details,
exact dimensions. I would have bored you if I'd
have written down everything, the numbers and distances and
all that. I was going to give it to you
to impress you, not with me. with how exact is in the details,
but he gives exact dimensions. Anyway, the length, breadth,
height, important. Ever heard that before length,
breadth, height, depth. The exact materials, gold, silver,
brass, precious stones, ramskin, linen and so forth. Exact details
of every area. There were certain areas. There
was an outer court. And something went on there,
and the details of every post or pillar that went in the ground,
a number of them, how they went in the ground,
what they were founded on, the pegs that they were attached
to, standing, the curtain, or that is, the fence around it,
and what was on top of that. That's just the outer core. And
then you go in, and the building itself. The building itself, our sister Vicki Patton worked
real hard on this. Model. This is pretty close,
pretty close to what the original tabernacle. We talked about the
tabernacle. This is the fence around it.
This is the actual tabernacle. Isn't it beautiful? Put that
right there. You've got to get on the inside.
Beauty's really on the inside. But we're going to keep looking
at this and we put it down here so you could. Now, Vicki, where is she? Vicki, don't hide. Vicky bemoaned
the fact while she was putting this together you know she was
really she bemoaned the fact that it's not exactly it's not
exactly the way. It's not. I counted the pillars
that it's not right. It's a real difference they put
the wrong number of pillars. How could they do that because
the world did it a religious nonprofit. Nonprofit organization. a religious salvation. It wasn't that important. The
dimensions are. There's a lot that's not right.
Vicki did the best she could with what she had. But God said. It's going to be exactly according
to the pattern. everything in every detail. Why
am I stressing it? Every detail, the building, that's
the actual building or tabernacle. And then you go inside and there's
pieces of furniture in there. Several pieces of furniture in
that building, every one of them means something. Deborah's smiling
because she's got this on her wall down there. She studied
this with her friend. Every piece of furniture means
something. Every piece of furniture, our
salvation depends on it. Especially that thing on the
inside. I haven't mentioned what it is.
It's that. That. There's a lot of furniture, but
not one chair. Not one chair. And then you go into that that.
Holy of Holies, you go through the last veil, the Holy of Holies,
and there's a there's a. Daytime. What's all this about? Why is God so particular? Why
is he going to such exact detail is important. It represents. God's son. It's got to represent as well
as a thing can. The holy immaculate spotless
altogether lovely. complex, my amazing son of the
most high God. It's all said and done, it's
just a building, it can't even come close. It can't even come
close. And did you read that with me?
Paul said, or whoever wrote Hebrew, we thank you, Paul. He said,
oh, this is a more perfect tabernacle. The one who came, these are shadows.
Let me ask you why you got if you're going to. All right. I
think of a good illustration. These things are pictures symbols
represent God's coming if. You wanted to someone to know
your son. Your son or daughter or wife
or whatever. And you said we're going to make
a picture. I'm going to send them a picture. I'm going to
send them a picture. Would you just grab any old picture? I think it's a pretty good illustration. I wouldn't send a picture of
one of my wife's baby pictures to somebody, would I? Would that
be glorifying to her by saying, here's my wife? Well, it's a
baby. Is this making sense? She has
a baby. She was a beautiful baby. But look at her now. I'd send the best picture I could
possibly send, wouldn't you? Wouldn't you? Unless that is
not born yet, and then you show the only picture you have, right?
Patrick and Jennifer? And beauty really is in the eyes
of the beholder, you know? I'm kidding you. But I tell you
what, when you see the real thing, A picture, a picture doesn't
do it justice. No picture, no picture can describe
a person accurately. No picture. Have you ever seen
a picture of somebody and then met them and said, well. Roberta, it's not the same as,
it's just not even close. When you got a living, breathing,
warm, moving, animated person, voice, smell, site touch feel
person. His picture. Someone might not see any beauty
in her at all. Right. That's her heart. Some people don't see any need
to look at these pictures. I think these pictures are glorious. Wonderful, beautiful, the best
pictures that could possibly be made of the Son of God who
was to come. But they don't compare to the
real thing. Don't even compare. Brother Marvin
Stoniker, you know, was an artist, and one time he was telling me
that when they were making prints
of his original paintings, he said he never was happy with
those prints. It never, never was really happy because the
depth of it was not the same as that actual hand-painted picture. The clarity of it, the color
of it, nothing. It just wasn't the same like
the original. The pattern that is, the print
is just not as good as the real thing. That's why we read over there
now if that is if there's anything that could actually do that would
not would not be another. But he take it away. Show the real. God. Very particular. And Christ and
his work of salvation was all purpose, ordained, designed,
and ordered by God before the world began. Nothing is left
to the imagination. No part of salvation would be
left up to man's interpretation. Nobody's going to add one thing
to what Christ came to do. Not one thing. When Christ hung
on that cross, he uttered those glorious words, the good news
for every believer. It's finished. It's all been
accomplished. It's all been fulfilled. Every
type, symbol, shadow, ceremony, everything, the whole purpose,
all that God Almighty authored, I have finished. He's the author and the finisher. A greater and more perfect time.
One place where God meets. One place where God will accept
the sacrifice. One place where Christ says,
I am the way. Well, the world says, I like
Buddhism, I like Hinduism, I like, I'm a Muslim. Well, then you're
wrong. You're wrong. And Jesus Christ,
if you're right, Jesus Christ is wrong. Both can't be right. Who do you blame? And, you know, the average person. These things. Don't appeal to
the average person. Even the natural man, it's hard
to enter into these things. That's what Scripture says, the
natural man receive, if not the things of God, but those that
are saved. Scripture says this is the power
of God and the wisdom of God. The natural man, and I'm going
to close, the natural man likes his way. He likes his buildings
that he has come up with, his religion, and this and that and
the other. The natural man doesn't see the glory, the majesty, the
beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ. Really, he doesn't. The natural
man doesn't see that his need of everything being ordered like
it is, ordained, predetermined, predestined, All of that doesn't
see the scripture says when Christ comes you'll see no beauty in
him that they should desire him. No former covenant no beauty
that they should desire him. And like I said this building
when you look at it from a distance that doesn't look like much does.
This is the building covered up the last covering. I'm getting way ahead here, but
the last covering on this building was made of badger skin, brown,
old brown hide, old brown, dark brown leather, covered all over,
couldn't see inside, completely covered. Now, you got all these people
of the world, they're passing through, the Israelites are passing
through, and this is with them everywhere they go. Or God's not with them. Right? In everything they do and everywhere
they go, this is with them. Especially that thing. Well, they pass it through and
they put this up. Sammy, wherever they stop for any length of time,
they put this up. Everybody gathered around it.
Now, if you're riding by and you're a highbiter or a hittite
or a parasite or a genocide or a whateverite or a freewillite,
Especially a free will, they're all free willers. You're driving
by, look at that and all the people around. What do they see
in that place? And the people say, God's here.
It's the only place He is. What are
you, a fool? Come see our place. What do you
see? They're not beautiful about that.
Just a plain old kid. Just a plain old kid. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. You
hadn't seen the inside. To the natural man. I see no
beauty that we should desire that we don't have attributes
of God are important, exact dimensions and all that stuff. It doesn't
matter one post or a hundred who cares. Who cares. God does and his people. In one
place. Yeah but we're sincere. Who cares. Who cares I love that you remember
that article. The joker wrote the last week
both. I'm sure he committed that one
of them with. Joe Carroll wrote he read one
place that. A believer said to an unbeliever. You believe. In a God who has
no control over anything. You don't believe that my God
who is sovereign over everything. You don't believe my God at all,
that he controls everything, predestines all things, purposes
all things, orders all things, controls all things, reigns over
all things. You don't believe that God exists. And I don't care whether yours
does or not. I like this. I don't give a flip
about your God. You're going to have it. that say unto Zion, Thy God reigneth. And it ordered all things, and
they're sure. Blessed is the man, blessed is
Israel, blessed is the man whom thou choosest, chosen, Israel. Blessed is the man whom thou
choosest, whom God brings into his courts. We're going to go
into the court. We're going to go into the forbidden
place, if you stay with me. We're going to go right on in.
We're going to go through the eastern gate, and we're going
to see a lamb slaughtered. We're going to go on past that,
and we're going to see it burning. We're going to go on past that.
We're going to go in through the veil. We're going to see
light. There's going to be enlightenment, darkness. We're going to eat
some bread. And lo and behold, we're going
to go within that, and we're going to see that. And God's going to show us your
kind of glory. Blessed is the man whom thou choosest and callest
to approach under his courts. Now you might inquire into his
temple and behold the beauty of the Lord. Interested? It's
just a brown tent. Oh, no. It's the most glorious
thing I've ever heard of. And I'm really OK, I hope that's
been a blessing to you. Brother Gabe, what number? I forgot. 449. 449. Sing the
first and last verse and let's stand. To God be the glory, great things
He hath done. So loved He the world that He
gave us His Son. And open the life's gate that
all may go in. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the earth hear His voice. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the people rejoice. O come to the Father, through
Jesus the Son, and give Him the glory. Great things He hath done. Great things He hath taught us. Great things He hath done. and great are rejoicing through
Jesus the Son. But purer and higher and greater
will be our wonder, our transport when Jesus we see. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord,
let the earth hear his voice. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
let the people rejoice. O come to the Father, through
Jesus the Son.