May I please Almighty God to
bless us together as we meditate in His Holy Word this evening.
Let's turn to the Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews, chapter
9, and we'll read verses 24, 25, and 26. The Epistle of Paul
to the Hebrews, chapter 9, and reading verses 24, 25, and 26. For Christ is not entered into
the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the
true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence
of God for us. Nor yet, but he should offer
himself often as the high priest entereth into the holy place
every year with blood of others. For then must he often have suffered
since the foundation of the world. But now, once, at the end of
the world, hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice
of himself. we should all be very thankful
to Almighty God that in his providence it was ordained that the Apostle
Paul should write this epistle to the Hebrews and indeed the
letters that he wrote to the churches. Especially as we realise
that Paul was converted dramatically on the Damascus Road, and following
that, he went into the desert in Arabia, and he was there for
three years. And in those three years, quite
clearly, God opened up to his understanding the Scriptures. He'd been very aware and knowledgeable
of the Old Testament, he was brought up at the feet of Germanial. He was, as he tells us, a Pharisee
of the Pharisees. He knew the Old Testament very
well, but obviously didn't realise the deep that is underneath the
surface and what the many figures refer to. But there he was for
three years in the desert. And there, quite clearly, God
instructed him. Hence the reason why He was then,
under the influence of the Holy Spirit, able to write the Epistle
of Paul to the Hebrews as we have it today. Of course, not
in our language, but thankfully translated. So that we do have
now this book that was written to the Hebrews, of course, the
Jews, Israel, the God's nation, who obviously knew the law in
their head, but didn't understand the truth of it. And really that's
very relevant today. So many people perhaps know the
law, but don't understand the truth of it. And again it's interesting
that many people in actual fact have not really read properly
or studied properly the Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews for some
unknown reason. Many people seem to shy away
from it and yet it's full of great and glorious truth and
it leads us so very clearly to the Saviour from the first chapter
right down to the end. So, if you have opportunity,
study the Hebrews. You will not find it unprofitable. And so, as we read it, we recognise
that the Lord directed Paul to spell out the situation. And
in this ninth chapter, we have a little insight into the tabernacle
and then of course the temple that followed the tabernacle
what it signified but then how the Lord Jesus came and through
his life and through his death it was done away with all those
ceremonies were no longer necessary because they had been fulfilled
through the life and death and resurrection and ascension and
intercession of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so I'm sure we can understand
how great and glorious this book is. And the Lord Jesus Christ
really was described and set forth as
our high priest. Remember, in the Old Testament,
I hope you can remember, that Aaron was the first high priest.
And then the priesthood was to follow down through his line. And he was, that was to deal
with the sacrifices and other priests, but in particular, on
one day in a year, the Day of Atonement, He went into the Holy
of Holies, not without blood. And the Holy of Holies was a
cube, it was the same height and breadth and length, and it
was all faced in gold, and in a natural way, it represented
the glory of heaven. And the Lord Jesus Christ therefore,
when he came onto this earth, he was indeed to be that high
priest. The high priests were done away
with when the Lord Jesus gave up his life on that cross at
Calvary. When he spoke those glorious
words, and they are very glorious words, he said, it is finished. It is finished. And one very
significant occurrence was that the veil of the temple, that's
the veil that separated the holy of holies from the holy place. And it was through that veil
that the high priest was only allowed to go once a year, not
without blood. When Christ died upon Calvary,
When he said the work the Father had given to him, it was finished.
We're told the veil of the temple, that great, heavy, glorious veil,
was torn from the top to the bottom. No longer was it necessary. No longer was a high priest necessary. because there was the great and
glorious high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, who now was the
high priest. And today, bless God, today,
you and I can come to our Father in heaven through that wonderful
high priest, our Lord Jesus Christ. Well, it's a great privilege
and it's a great blessing because our Father in heaven cannot look
upon sin and we're sinful creatures and therefore He cannot look
upon us but He sees us through Christ oh my friends what a blessing
that is and what a great mercy and we read together in this
9th chapter about this and we're told in verse 11 But Christ,
being come a high priest of good things to come, by a greater
and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, the natural
tabernacle, natural temple, were made with hands. Not made with
hands, that is to say, not of this building, neither by the
blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, He entered
in once into the holy place which of course is glory, is heaven. Having obtained eternal redemption
for us. Just ponder and think about that. Redemption means that we have
been redeemed from the curse, freed from the curse. Our sins
have brought upon us the curse of God. and the Lord Jesus redeemed
us from that curse and therefore he entered into the holy place
there to intercede for us. He goes on and says, for if the
blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling
the unclean, sanctifyeth to the purifying of the flesh. Again,
the Old Testament days. How much more shall the blood
of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without
spot to God, purge your conscience? from dead works to serve the
living God. Well, what a wonderful truth
that is. And then he just goes on, we
made a comment on, and for this cause he is the mediator of the
New Testament, that by means of death, for the redemption
of the transgressions that were under the First Testament, They
which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. You see, one was temporal, referred
to the things of this world, was passing. The other, the Lord
Jesus brought about, was an eternal inheritance. And how important
that is for us today to realize that we have, by the grace of
God and eternal inheritance and then just to carry on the comments
we made for where a testament is or a will is there must of
necessity be the death of the testator for a testament is a
force after men are dead otherwise it is of no strength at all while
the testator liveth wherefore neither the first testament was
dedicated without blood when Moses had spoken every precept
to all the people according to the law he took the blood of
calves and of goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop and
sprinkled both the book and all the people saying this is the
blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. Moreover he sprinkled with blood
both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry and almost
all things are by the law purged with blood, cleansed with blood. and without shedding of blood
is no remission. There was no forgiveness without
the shedding of blood. And the shedding of blood of
the bulls and goats was only typifying that which was to follow. And that which was to follow
was, of course, the death. of our great and glorious Saviour,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore, today, can we
not bless God that we do have this description set before us
in the Hebrews to encourage us and to strengthen our faith and
to realise we're not worshipping the unknown God. We're worshipping
that God who has ordained all things from before creation. He was before creation. This is the great and glorious
Savior that we have and I hope this is the great and glorious
Savior that by the grace of God we adore. Adore the Lord Jesus
Christ for all that he's done and for all that he is doing. as our intercessor, our glorious
high priest in glory. And then we read, it was therefore
necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should
be purified with these, but the heavenly things with better sacrifices
than these. Well that is a lengthy introduction
really to this grand statement. For Christ is not entered into
the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the
true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence
of God for us. Think about that. To think the
Lord Jesus Christ is entered into glory, entered into glory
with that divine purpose and reason that he might indeed appear in
the presence of God for us. You and I, unworthy sinners, not worthy of any notice, cannot
approach unto the Majesty on high because of our condition
to realise that Jesus, as our High Priest, presents our case. And as in Old Testament times,
the high priest could not go into the Holy of Holies without
blood. So the Lord Jesus Christ has
entered into glory. through his shed blood. And it was done but once. It was a perfect sacrifice. It was offered by a perfect man. My friends, in the Old Testament
times, these sacrifices were offered by the high priest. The high priest was not a perfect
man. The high priest was a sinner, but then we have the glorious
person, our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was a perfect
man, who lived a perfect life, and he was worthy to be accepted,
which he was, by the Father, to present our case unto his
Father in heaven. It's something we perhaps know
in our head, pass over very rapidly, but really it's a tremendous
consideration to think that the Lord Jesus Christ, almighty God himself, presents
our case, your case, my case, your prayers, my prayers, to
His Father and to our Father. And what is the result? We are
accepted in the Beloved. Accepted because of what Christ
has done. And it is He instead of us is
seen as we. approach to God these things
are very mysterious to us we're finite creatures we're not able
to grasp the great truth of eternity we're not able to grasp that
God always was had no beginning and no end but what a blessing
it is when the Holy Spirit gives you and me faith then to recognise
that these truths are true and they are spelt out for you and
me today. And what a wonderful blessing
it is to understand this, that now our Saviour appears in the
presence of God for us. It's so very humbling, isn't
it? It's really beyond our natural
comprehension to think that a just and righteous and holy God should
hear our prayers and take them and present them to his father
and our father. Well, what a blessing to realize
it is true. I'm worthy as we are and yet
what a wonderful and glorious truth it is. You know the Apostle
Paul when he wrote to the Galatians in the fourth chapter he wrote
these words, but when the fullness of the time was come time determined
by God. God sent forth his son, made
of a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were under
the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because
you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into your
hearts crying, Abba, Father. Again, that's a wonderful truth,
isn't it? To be able to call our God, Abba,
Father. Wherefore, says Paul, thou art
no more a servant, but a son. And if a son, then an heir of
God through Christ. We have set before us there the
future, the prospect, which is to all the living church of God,
no more a servant, but a son. And if a son, then an heir of
God through Christ. Well, does that encourage us? does that speak to our souls?
do we rejoice? to realize we have such a savior
who doesn't deal with us as our sins deserve doesn't deal with
us because of our backslidings doesn't deal with us because
of our enmity against the great truths of God but in love to
our soul because He's loved us with everlasting love and therefore
with loving kindness has drawn us. Oh it's amazing and glorious
and wonderful truth to realize this that we have such a God. You know the tabernacle and that
was followed by the temple and the temple was built in a very
grand and glorious manner Solomon did his utmost to produce everything
in accordance to the pattern which had been shown him and
to do everything exceedingly well so that it was a magnificent
building but you see it didn't compare with our Saviour the
Lord Jesus Christ No, there was a great, great difference. Today as we look at the building
of the temple, and you can read about it in the Old Testament,
you can read about in detail all that was put into it. But
just think, we have a greater than the temple, we have a greater
and glorious Saviour. We don't have to go to the temple
now. Indeed it was done away with when that valley of the
temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. And we
mustn't forget that. From the top to the bottom. It
wasn't rent by man. It was rent by God. From the top to the bottom. And so there was then entrance
into the Holy of Holies for our Saviour. And there he sits. on his rightful throne and the
right hand of God in glory. Well, we read this word, but
into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us. And as we pray, you know, we
should realize this is the ordained purpose and ordained way that
you and I should approach unto the majesty on high. We can approach
unto the majesty on high, but through the merits of the Saviour,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And as I've said to you quite
often how necessary it is that when we pray, we always end our
prayers with for Jesus Christ's sake, because we are only, our
prayers are only accepted through the Beloved. So many people today
don't understand this great and glorious truth, but the Scriptures
spell it out to us. The problem is, so many people
don't read the scriptures, don't study the scriptures, don't understand
what they really say. And so says the apostle, nor
yet, that he should offer himself often as the high priest entereth
into the holy place every year with the blood of others. And
you can imagine it was a very special occasion once a year. The High Priest went in to the
Holy of Holies to make an atonement for the sins of the people. And yet today, you and I, unworthy
sinners, can come to God at any time, in any place, through the
merits of the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, how wonderful
it is to meditate on these things and the glory of the gospel shines
forth, does it not, as we come to the end of the life on this
earth of the Savior and realize now He sits in glory to intercede
for you and me. Wonderful, isn't it? Very humbling. And so, as we read, as the high
priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of
others, for then must he often have suffered since the foundation
of the world, but now once in the end of the world hath he
appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. It's just a couple of words,
isn't it? Sacrifice of himself. But let us not underestimate
the greatness of that sacrifice and the cost of that sacrifice. how the Lord Jesus Christ was
willing to die in order to redeem us. And you will remember, as
he was in Gethsemane, praying to his father, that prayer, if
it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not
my will, but thine be done. And of course, he had to pass
that way. he had to endure and how wonderful
it was that he did, he did not fail and yet what agony he passed
through it's beyond our comprehension we can't understand it because
apart from that physical difficulty he also carried the weight of
the sins of his church Just ponder that. Think of it. Think of your
sin. I think of my sin. How great
it is. And the Savior was willing to
carry it. And not only my sin and your
sin, but the sins of the whole church of God. What a weight. And what an agony ensued. And
yet, the Savior was so willing. Surely we have to come and say,
what a Saviour, what a glorious God, what a glorious
High Priest, and really, you know, that leads us, doesn't
it, way back to before creation, when God the Father and God the
Son and God the Holy Ghost planned this day. planned this time. He knew how wicked man will be. He knew what he would have to
do. But it was done. And what does it do? What does
it do? Well, if you and I are rightly
taught, rightly instructed, it will bring us to the foot of
the cross, to bring us to honour and glorify our great and glorious
Saviour. We shall want to exalt Him. Indeed, as the psalmist, I think
it says, let us exalt His name together. What a great blessing
it is for the Church of God to join together to praise and bless
Almighty God. And it's through this wonderful
favour and this wonderful access we're able to understand what
the Paul goes on to say in the 10th chapter. Really the 9th
and 10th chapters are linked together very closely. He tells
us, verse 14, chapter 10, for by one offering he hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified. And all God's children are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is
a witness to us, to you and me. For after that he had said before,
this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days,
saith the Lord. I will put my laws into their
hearts, and in their minds will I write them, and their sins
and iniquities will I remember no more. Isn't that a great statement? How wonderful it is to think
that that is true of every true believer. Their sins and iniquities
will I, Almighty God, remember no more. Forever washed away,
cleansed through the precious blood of the Saviour, the Lord
Jesus Christ. And so the Apostle goes on. Now where remission of these
is, there is no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren,
boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new
and living way, which he hath consecrated for us through the
veil, that is to say, his flesh, 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 washed with pure water. And he goes
on, let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering. You may say, well, why was a
statement on that necessary? It was necessary because we have
a great adversary, the devil, who will endeavor to turn us
away from the great and glorious truths of the word of God. And
so therefore we should be thankful that we have such a statement
as this, that we may indeed hold fast, hold fast. What a mercy it is then to have
such a saviour. For then must he often have suffered
since the foundation of the world, but now once in the end of the
world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of
himself. He gave himself as that sacrifice
for sin. And it's wonderful to realise,
as you and I stand before that great God, that has a personal
application to you and to me. As he appeared to put away sin,
to put away our sin, by the sacrifice of himself. Well we should indeed
bless God for the great and glorious truths of the Gospel. Remember
the Apostle when he wrote to the Corinthians in the sixth
chapter he gave that list of all those sins and people perhaps
might stand back and say well I don't think they all apply
to me. Well the Apostle says And such were some of you, but
ye are washed, but ye are forgiven. What a mercy. Although we're
black and dark sinners, to realise Christ came into this world with
that divine purpose to deliver us from the wrath of God, to
deliver us from all that our sins deserved, and by his grace
to bring us safe home to glory, to be found in heaven enjoying
that wonderful and glorious time, that wonderful and glorious blessing
that the Apostle Peter speaks of in the first chapter. And
he tells us, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten
us again unto a lively hope, that means a living hope, by
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to, to what? An inheritance, incorruptible
and undefiled, and that fadeth not away. And then he says, reserved,
reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God
through faith, under salvation, ready to be revealed in the last
time. A place that is reserved in heaven
can never be removed, can never be taken away. It's reserved
for all of God's children how wonderful it is to believe that
there's a place reserved for you and me. Can't be taken by
anyone else. It's reserved. Reserved indeed
from before the foundation of the world. What a blessing and
what a favour. Well tonight, may we indeed come
together and rejoice in this great work of the Saviour, the
Lord Jesus Christ, and to have this great work applied to our
own souls, so that unworthy as we are, we can believe that Jesus
Christ came into this world, as the Apostle Paul said, to
save sinners, of whom I am chief. Amen.