Sovereign Grace Chapel, located
at 135 Annabel Lane in Beaver, West Virginia, invites you to
listen to a gospel message concerning Jesus Christ our Lord. If you
care to follow along, I'm going to be in Exodus chapter
25. Exodus chapter 25. And I read verses 17 to 22. And thou shalt put into the ark,
wait a minute, I just skipped where I was reading. Yeah, that's
right, I'm sorry. and thou shalt make a mercy seat
of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be
the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof,
and thou shalt make two cherubims of gold of beaten work shalt
thou make them in the two ends of the mercy seat, and make one
cherub on one end, and the other cherub on the other end, Even
of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends
thereof. And the cherubim shall stretch
forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings.
And their faces shall look one to another toward the mercy seat
shall the faces of the cherubims be. And thou shall put the mercy
seat above upon the ark. And in the ark thou shalt put
the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with
thee and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat,
from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the
testimony of all things which I give thee, I will give thee
in commandment unto the children of Israel. I read something the other day.
This is a quote from J.I. Packer. I don't know a lot about
J.I. Packer, but I like this quote. He said this. Were I asked to
focus the New Testament message in three words, my proposal would
be adoption through propitiation. and I do not expect ever to meet
a richer or more pregnant summary of the gospel than that. I like
that. Adoption through propitiation. Now, as we're gonna see when
I'm gonna try and preach here today, what that actually can
be translated to is adoption through the mercy seat, through
the mercy seat. Because that is what the word
in the New Testament, we'll get into it a little bit, in the
New Testament, when they use the word propitiation, it actually
means mercy seat. It means expiation. Advocacy through blood. I like
that, I do. But anyhow, I thought that was
good. Adoption through propitiation. Unfortunately, for some of these
things, you need to keep a dictionary nearby when you get some of them.
But that's all right. So, Exodus 25 is the beginning
of the instructions for the creation of the tabernacle. The materials
of the building of the tabernacle are to come, it says in verse
two, speak unto the children of Israel that they bring unto
me an offering of every man that giveth it willingly with his
heart. Ye shall take my offering. It
is to come from the willing offerings of the people to build this tabernacle. And the list of materials is
given from verse three to verse seven. Great materials, great
materials. This is the offering which you
shall take of them, gold, silver, and brass, blue and purple and
scarlet, and fine linen. I love that, fine linen. and
goat's hair, and ram skins dyed red, and badger skins, and chitim
wood, oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet
incense. Onyx stones and stones to be
set in the ephod and in the breastplate. That's the list of materials
starting out here in Exodus 25. Precious metals, precious stones,
beautiful colors, fine linens, skins, oil, and spices. These
are to be offered to the Lord willingly, willingly. And then
he explains to Moses why. Why am I asking you to take up
this offering? Verse eight says this, and let them make me a
sanctuary that I may dwell among them. Oh, I like that. Let them
make. This is a privilege for the people
of God, for the congregation of Israel. Let them make me a
sanctuary, a separate place, exclusively for the Lord, for
the Lord. Because this sanctuary is for
the Lord. Let them make me a sanctuary. Oh, I like that. The tabernacle,
the whole thing, is for the Lord. It's not for man. It's for the
Lord. Now, it's a place of sacrifices
and it's a place of offerings. Oh. There is a benefit to man in
the sanctuary, in that tabernacle. But that sanctuary was for the
Lord. There's a difference. It's called
the tent of the congregation, but only God's high priests and
priests got to go in that tent of the congregation. This is
to be a sanctuary for the Lord because it is God's tent, God's
tabernacle, surrounded by God's yard, God's courtyard. A courtyard
around it. And this is to be separate from
the tents of Israel and at the same time in the midst of them. He's gonna tell us all this later.
I'm just giving you an overview. This is a sanctuary for the Lord. Now, why a sanctuary? Well, God told us. And let them
make me a sanctuary that Here's the purpose. I may dwell among
them. Let's be clear, okay? Don't be
distracted by this. God was with them the whole way
from Egypt. God was with them in Egypt. But now he says, I want a sanctuary
and I'm gonna dwell with my people. I'm gonna dwell with them. from
Egypt to right here, out of Egypt, across the Red Sea, the whole
way. Matter of fact, when they were
sitting at the edge of the Red Sea, before they crossed over,
there was a wall of fire behind them that kept the Egyptian army
at bay. Oh, God was with them. God was
there. Oh, and before they crossed the
Red Sea, Moses made that great statement. Stand still. Stand still. What? And see the
salvation of the Lord. Oh, that's a great statement.
Oh, grace and mercy right there. Stand still. What's that mean?
Don't move. Don't walk. Don't twitch. Don't even try to help. The salvation of the Lord is
in the Lord's hands. Oh, I like that, I do. The parting,
and here's the thing, that parting of the Red Sea was salvation
to Israel, to the congregation of Israel. But I'm gonna tell
you something, that parting of the Red Sea was nothing but death
to that Egyptian army. Because after they had passed
through, and then Pharaoh's army came through, it came down on
them. and drowned them to a man. The
parting of the Red Sea was salvation to the Israelites, and it was
damnation to the Egyptians. Oh my. Is that too hard? It's still true. It's still true,
whether it's hard or not. That's just the way it is. You
understand, a lot of people think it's okay for God to have killed
people in the Old Testament, but you can't do it now. Y'all don't know God, that's
all I can tell you. Oh my. But here it is, God was
with them all through their journey. But he says now, now make me
a sanctuary, what? Now I will dwell among them. I will dwell among them, permanently
reside in the midst of them. I'm going to live, I like this,
among them, among them. Oh, I like that. That I may dwell
among them. Oh, that's good stuff. I'm gonna
tell you something. The Israelites were gonna know
where God was and where God is. I'm gonna dwell among them. Make
me a sanctuary. I'm gonna dwell among you. Here's
the thing. The Israelites, the congregation
of Israel, knew where God was, The heathen still didn't. That's
from last week. It'll work. The heathen won't
know, but the congregation of Israel shall know that I am right
here in the midst. This is the purpose of the tabernacle. Emmanuel. God with us. God with us. Because this shows
here God's desire to be among his people. and he shall. He shall. He said, I will. So
you know it's gonna happen. I will. But verse 21. The mercy seat. And thou shalt
put the mercy seat upon the ark. After all of the ark and the
mercy seat is built. That's what happens here. He
tells them how to build it. And what is it? Versus, what
is it? Verse 10 through verse 20, you'll
see the instructions for building the ark and the mercy seat. And understand this, this is the instruction for the
whole tabernacle. There's a lot more yet to come.
But where does God start giving Moses the instructions? He starts
with the ark. and the mercy seat, you understand? That's the central piece, the
central place for the presence of God at this time was going
to be the ark and the mercy seat. This is it, and here's what he
say about that mercy seat that he had made of solid gold with
the cherubims on top of it, also of gold. I love this part. Off after, and thou shalt put
the mercy seat, and here it is, above upon the ark. I like that. The mercy seat is
put above upon the ark. Above the ark is the mercy seat,
and upon the ark is the mercy seat. I like that because this
ark is Christ and this mercy seat is Jesus Christ also, pictured. Oh, the mercy seat is above upon
the ark. Ah, and what happens there on
this mercy seat? That is where the blood is applied. The blood is sprinkled by the
high priest once a year on the day of atonement. The blood sprinkled
upon the mercy seat I know this might be a fine point,
but it kinda hit me. Because the mercy seals the top
of the ark. It is put above but upon the
ark. Because the ark is, I did not
know this growing up. You hear things about the ark,
and I always thought about Noah's ark, okay? But I've heard things
about the ark. The ark, according to the Bible,
the ark is a box. Now it is one grand and glorious
box. But that's what it is, it's an
open top box. And the mercy seat is put above
it and upon it. To what? To seal that ark. Because here's the thing. The
blood sprinkled on the mercy seat does not enter the ark. Yeah, I know, it's, you know. The blood shed by our Lord Jesus
Christ did not change his perfection. He in himself is without sin. Even when his blood was shed,
he took our sin And it says he took our sins in his body on
the tree. It says that God made him to
be sin. What? Who knew no sin. Yeah, him who knew. For us. That's
right, Jack. For us. But here's the thing. That blood shed on that mercy
seat never entered that ark. It didn't change the ark whatsoever.
That ark was still perfect. And Jesus Christ, even though
all our sins were upon him, and he willingly took them upon him,
that did not change his sinless perfection. He was the perfect,
absolute, complete sacrifice for sin. Oh, I like that. because he took in himself our
sins, was made to be sins for us, and he's still perfect, and
sinless, and holy. Oh my, his sacrifice and offering
is just right above his perfection in this picture of the mercy
seat and the ark. Above, upon his perfection. The blood is shed because he
is the ark, he is the mercy seat, and it's his blood that is shed,
that is sprinkled. Oh, I like that. Everything in
this tabernacle pointed to Christ, especially this ark and this
mercy seat. Now, thou shalt put the mercy
seat above upon the ark, In the ark thou shalt put the
testimony that I shall give thee. The testimony was put in the
ark. The perfect testimony went in
the perfect ark. I like that. Now, but pay very
close attention here to what goes in the ark. What does man
have to do with the testimony in the ark? Well, the answer
to that is absolutely nothing. What does it say? Thou shalt
put the testimony that I shall give thee. That's the end of
verse 21. I'm gonna give it to you. Here's
the thing. Your testimony, my testimony,
even the testimony of Moses doesn't go in that ark. The Lord's testimony
goes in that ark. What does that mean? Witness. The testimony of the ark's perfection
is the Lord's witness and no one else's. He'll put it in there. We're gonna go into that maybe
a little bit more later on here. But the Lord's testimony goes
inside the ark and the mercy seat goes above and upon it. Oh, I tell you. And here's what he says. This
is what kinda got ahold of me this past week. Verse 22. We've got the ark, we've got
the testimony in the ark, and we've got the mercy seat above
and upon the ark. And what does he say here? Verse
22, and there, I will meet with thee, and I will commune with
thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims
which are upon the ark of the testimony of all things which
I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
Here he says, there, I will meet with thee, there, in my place,
in my sanctuary, at my ark, above my mercy seat. There I will,
and I will, God says it again, I will meet with thee. No questions,
no discussions. This is not a request. This is
a commandment. I'm gonna meet with you there.
I'm going to meet with you there. Oh, I like that. Here we are. The Lord will not leave his people
alone. Jesus Christ said, I will never
leave thee, I will never forsake thee. And you know what he meant
by that, right? He meant, I will never leave
thee and I will never forsake thee. The Lord never leaves his
people alone. And even more than that, put
it this way, the Lord will not leave his people on their own. on their own. You understand
what Jesus Christ called himself? I am the good shepherd. You're the sheep. I'm the shepherd. That's what he says. You know
what? You know who the responsible party in that relationship is?
It's the shepherd, not the sheep. The sheep are irresponsible.
And that's us, folks, that's us. The Lord will not leave his
people on their own. I will meet with thee. I will
meet with thee. Oh, and I'm gonna tell you something.
Here's the glory. God had made his place to meet with people. Because here's this. The Lord
wants to gather with his people and he sits in the heaven and
he does whatsoever he pleases. I like that. I will meet with
thee. And even more than that, what's
he say? There I will meet with thee and, and I will commune
with thee from above the mercy seat. Paul made this statement, I found,
at least three times, Peter almost made a same statement, but a
little different. But what Paul said about three
times, he said, brethren, I would not have you to be ignorant. What am I saying? There I will
meet with thee, and there I will commune with thee. Jesus Christ
communes with his people. Now, what does that word commune
mean? Well, according to Strong's it
means, excuse me, it means command, declare, promise, promise, I
like that one, and pronouns. But the number one meaning of
this word commune, speak. What does he say? I will meet
with thee and I will speak with thee. Oh, that's good stuff. You understand? I will tell you
what I want you to know. Wait a minute, folks. Look right here. See this book? He has told us
what he wants us to know. I will tell you what I want you
to know. I'm gonna meet with you above
the mercy seat. Above the mercy seat. Oh, wait
a minute, why? Well, wait a minute, just a minute.
I'm gonna speak with you. I'm gonna speak with you. Now,
this is the true essence of communion. God, Jesus Christ, speaks to
his people, and we, believers, those who have ears to hear,
listen. We are to listen. This is my
beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. What did God say? It's
about a transfiguration. Hear ye him. Hear him. Listen. Now, you understand, this says
God's gonna speak with us. It doesn't say we're gonna speak
with God. It just says here, God's gonna speak with us, because
I do want to point this out. This may sound hard. God cares
for us. but he's not looking for your
opinion on his salvation. He's not looking for anybody's
opinion. You see, God deals only in facts. God deals only in truth. Everything he says is true. He
doesn't need our opinion, he doesn't want it. You need to
hear his words. We need to listen. Our part of
communing with God is this. Yes, Lord. What? Not my will be done. And here's the thing, Christ
Jesus will send his preachers to preach his message. He communes
with us. He speaks to us by his word,
and he speaks to us through his bin, who've been given his message
to preach his gospel. Oh, and here it is, a separate
point, where? from above the mercy seat. Above
the mercy seat. Now understand, the mercy seat
is above upon the ark. Above the mercy seat is where
I will meet with thee and I will commune with thee. Where does
God commune with men? From above the mercy seat. From above the place where the
atonement was made. Above where? the blood was sprinkled. Oh, what am I saying? Well, I'm
saying this. Without the blood being shed,
there's no meeting and there's no communion. Without the mercy
seat, without propitiation, expiation, there is no way that God will
speak to us. The Lord gave this design and
pattern to Moses to be built this way to point to his son,
our Lord Jesus Christ. And let me tell you about this. Without the mercy seat, you don't
want God to speak to you. Without the blood being shed,
he's not gonna have anything good to say to you. Because without
the atonement, the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, God
has only condemnation and death for you. Thank God there is a
mercy seat. And thank God the blood was shed. Oh. But from above the mercy
seat. You know what God says? You know
what I wanna hear? You know what I need to hear
from above the mercy seat? There's one thing I need to hear,
one thing. And I'm gonna tell you something,
there's one thing you need to hear from above the mercy seat. What
you need to hear is this. When I see the blood, I will
pass over you.