Turn with me to Exodus chapter
27. I've entitled this message, In the
Courtyard. In the Courtyard. Let's begin
in verse 9 of Exodus chapter 27. And thou shalt make the court
of the tabernacle. For the south side, southward,
there shall be hangings for the court of fine twine linen of
an hundred cubits long for one side and the twenty pillars thereof
and their twenty sockets shall be of brass. The hooks of the
pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. Likewise, for the
north side in length, there should be hangings of 100 cubits long
and his 20 pillars and their 20 sockets of brass and the hooks
of the pillars and their fillets of silver. The fillets were the
rods that connected the pillars and it's what the hangings of
the white linen hung on for the fence. And for the breadth of
the court on the west side shall be hangings of 50 cubits, their
pillars 10 and their sockets 10. And the breadth of the court
on the east side, eastward, shall be 50 cubits. The hangings of
one side of the gate shall be 15 cubits, their pillars 3 and
their sockets 3. And on the other side shall be
hangings 15 cubits, their pillars 3 and their sockets 3. And for
the gate of the court shall be a hanging of 20 cubits of blue
and purple and scarlet and fine twine linen wrought with needlework
Their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four, and their
pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver.
Their hook shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass. The
length of the court shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth
fifty everywhere, and the height five cubits, seven and a half
feet, of fine twine linen, that's the fence, and their sockets
of brass, all the vessels of the tabernacle, and all the service
thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court
shall be of brass. Now remember who wrote this.
God wrote this. And that gives it all the importance
in the world, doesn't it? In the courtyard. Now the court
of the tabernacle, this is a reference to the courtyard of the tabernacle.
It was an area approximately 150 by 75 feet, enclosed by a
fence made of white linen. The fence was seven and a half
feet high, and there were brass pillars set in brass sockets
or plates, which served as the foundation to hold up the pillars.
Brass is an alloy of copper and tin, and that speaks of the two
natures of the Lord Jesus Christ, his deity and his humanity. There was a rod or a fillet made
of silver that connected the pillars. You had these 20 pillars
with this rod going across the top of them, and the white linen
would hang on those fillets, and thus we would have the fence. Now, the only way you could see
what was in the courtyard is if you were in the courtyard.
If you were standing outside of the courtyard, I doubt that
there were any Israelites that were over seven and a half feet
tall. I really doubt it. The only way you could see in
this courtyard is if you were in the courtyard. Now, what is
the significance of this courtyard? In Christ. There's not two more important
words that we'll ever hear. in Christ. That is the significance
of this courtyard. What was in the courtyard? Well,
there was the altar for the sacrifice. I was thinking about that altar.
If you'll remember a couple of weeks ago, I messed up on one
of those scriptures. I forgot about it, where it was.
I wrote it down wrong. But let me show you the significance
of this altar. Turn to Exodus 29. I got it this time because
it was such a blessing, I wanted everybody to see this. Verse 37, seven days thou shalt
make an atonement for the altar and sanctify it and it shall
be an altar most holy. Talking about the brazen altar
that the sacrifice was made on. whatsoever toucheth the altar
shall be holy. You see, you couldn't defile
this sacrifice, this altar. It could only make you holy. There was the brazen laver that
had the water. There was the tabernacle that
inside of it was the golden candlestick, the table of showbread. and the
altar of insight, sins, and in the holy of holies, there was
the Ark of the Covenant, which contained the golden pot of manna,
the Ten Commandments, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the mercy
seat with the lid of propitiation. Now, you couldn't see any of
that outside of that courtyard. You had to be in the courtyard
to have some understanding of what was there. Now, all of this
is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Every one of those glorious aspects
of His salvation, it's in the Lord Jesus Christ. The altar,
His sacrifice that makes me holy and without blame. That labor
with the water that the priest would wash in before he entered
the tabernacle. Christ, my sanctification. Christ
washes me. If you go into that tabernacle,
you would see the golden candlesticks, Christ my light. That's who God
is. I see who God is through the
Lord Jesus Christ. All the fullness of the Godhead
in a body dwells in Him. In Christ, I see my intercessor,
the altar of incense, the one who represents me before the
Father. In Christ, I see the table of showbread. I've got
the very presence of God. I've got His presence in the
Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, I see the Ark of the
Covenant. My life before God, Aaron's rod
that budded, his life is my life before God. I see the law, my
righteousness before God. I see the manner, my provision
before God. I see in the mercy seat, my propitiation,
my atonement. Oh, all that we have, we have
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, here is the point. All that
God is, Now, think of the vastness of
this statement. All that the living God is and
all that God has for the sinner is in the Lord Jesus Christ. All that God is. And that's a
vast subject. All that God is. is found in
the Lord Jesus Christ. In him, in his person, in his
body dwells all the fullness of the Godhead. And all that
God has for the sinner, every blessing that he has is found
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed, said Paul, be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Now, is it any wonder that Paul
said, oh, that I may win Christ and be found in him? You know, that's what I want
more than anything else. What do you want more than anything
else? I want to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what
I desire. That's what every believer desires,
to simply be found in Him. I don't want to be found standing
in my own righteousness because I don't have any. Not in and
of myself. I want to have the righteousness
which is of God, that which is through the faithfulness of Christ.
Oh, that I may win Christ. Can you say that? Oh, that I
may win Christ and be found in Him when God comes looking for
me. There's only one way I want Him to see me. In, in, in the
Lord Jesus Christ where all He sees is Christ. And that's all
I am. Paul said in Colossians chapter
2 verse 3 concerning Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge. Now I want to attempt to speak
upon this infinite subject in Christ. In Christ. Every believer is in the Lord
Jesus Christ. I'm in him right now. very much like a baby in its
mother's womb. How dependent, when a baby is
in its mother's womb, how dependent is that baby on its mother? You
know, it's actually more dependent upon its mother when it's in
the womb than when it's outside of the womb, isn't it? In the
womb, there's complete dependence for all things. Where the mother goes, the baby
goes. What the mother eats, the baby
eats. What the mother does, the baby
does, because the baby is in her. When the mother walks from
this room to that room, you know who else does? The baby. Because
wherever the mother goes, wherever the mother is, the baby is. You know, baptism actually pictures
this. Water baptism. I love this ordinance that our
Lord Jesus Christ gave us of water baptism. Now, what am I
confessing in water baptism? I'm confessing that when Christ
kept the law, I did too, because I was in Him. When He died, I
did too, because I was in Him. Literally? Literally. When He
was raised from the dead, I was raised from the dead too because
I was in him. When Matt was reading that scripture
in Psalm 89, turn with me over there, this just caught my attention.
Psalm 89. Verse 30, if his children forsake
my law and walk not in my judgments, If they break my statutes and
keep not my commandments, then will I visit their transgressions
with the rod and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless, my
loving kindness will I not utterly take from them. I didn't read
that right, did I? My loving kindness I will not
take from him. And here's my security in him. That's why he won't take it away. It's all in him. in Him as the branches are in
the vine. There's no point of union. There's no point of contact.
There's no place where they're joined together. The branch is
part of the vine. There's not a joint where those
lines, you've got the vine, the fibers going up through the vine.
There's not a joint where it all of a sudden goes off into
the branch. No, it's just part of the vine. It's part of the
vine. I'm one with the Lord Jesus Christ. united to him. I believe to me,
I know you're all aware of this, Hebrews chapter 7 verses 9 and
10 where it says, Levi paid tithes in Abraham. He wasn't even born,
but yet he was in the loins of his father so that when Levi
paid the tithe, or when Abraham paid the tithes, Levi did too. When Christ obeyed the law, I
did in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, what I'd like to do with
the remainder of our time is to see what the Bible has to
say about in the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'm just gonna read you a
bunch of scriptures. This is one of those, sometimes I fear
I have, in preaching, I might have too much information. You
know, we can only grab hold of one thing, I realize that. So
I'm gonna be giving you a lot of scriptures, but remember, we're
only dealing with one thing. one thing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, two times God spake from
heaven at the baptism of Christ and upon the Mount of Transfiguration.
And do you remember what he said? This is my beloved son in whom
I am well pleased. And that means if I am in Him,
the holy God of glory is well pleased with me. Now there's a tension here. There's
a tension here. You know, part of being a believer is being disgusted with yourself. Let me show you that in scripture.
Turn to Ezekiel chapter 36. Ezekiel chapter 36. Verse 25, then will I sprinkle
clean water upon you. Verse 26, a new heart also will
I give you a new spirit will I put within you. Verse 27, I
put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes.
He talks about all the things that he's going to do for them. Now pick up in verse. Verse 31, then shall you remember,
then shall you remember, not before then, then shall you remember
after I've done all these things for you. Then shall you remember
your own evil ways and your doings which were not good, and shall
loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and
for your abominations. You see, that's part of the blessings
of the covenant of grace. When I do these things for you,
then, and not before then, then you'll loathe yourself. Do you
loathe yourself? I do. I hate myself. I hate my sin. I hate my tongue. I hate myself. Now that being
said, that's real. That's real. I experienced that.
My sin is ever before me. I come into his presence crawling
in as a sinner, ashamed of myself, just oh, so sick of it. And it's
equally true. that I'm perfect in Christ Jesus
and God is well pleased with me and He can't find anything
to not be pleased with me about. And I have that confidence. How
are both of those true? I don't know, it's mysterious,
but it's so. I loathe myself and yet I'm perfect in Christ
Jesus and have such confidence and I know I'm holy in Christ
Jesus. And I'm not talking about positionally holy, I am holy.
Every believer is holy before God. That altar made me holy. I've touched that altar. I've
touched that sacrifice. It's caused me to be holy. This
is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. Oh, the pleasure of the Father
toward His Son. You see, it pleased the Father
that in Him should all fullness dwell. Does that please you too? That pleases a believer. If I
tell you all fullness is in the Lord Jesus Christ, you're pleased
with that just the way the Father is pleased. You see, we're pleased
with the same one the Father is pleased with, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Eternal life is in the Lord Jesus
Christ. This, then, is the record that
God hath given to us, eternal life, and this life is in His
Son. Verse John 5, 11. He that hath
the Son What's he have? Life. He that hath not the Son
of God hath not life. All of God's love is in Christ
Jesus our Lord. Now to talk about the love of
God, what a vast and glorious subject. But Paul tells us that
nothing shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ
Jesus. Christ Jesus, our Lord. It's not anywhere else. All of
God's love is in Christ. Now outside of Christ, there's
nothing but the judgment of God. There's nothing but the wrath
of God. There's nothing but the punishment and condemnation of
God but in Christ. We have nothing but the love
of God. Romans 8.39, and then all of
God's promises in him. Our yay and amen. I love that
scripture. Second Corinthians chapter one, verse 20, all the
promises of God in him are yay. They're, they're positive. They're
not conditional. They're yay and they're amen.
So be it. It's done. All the promises of
God. The exceeding great and precious
promises of His grace, of His preserving us, they're all yea,
and they're all amen. In Christ, we're made alive.
1 Corinthians 15, 22 says, For in Adam all die, even so in Christ
shall all be made alive. And I'm made alive in the Lord
Jesus Christ, so much so that he really is my life before God. It seems like I've got, it seems
like the Lord has blessed me to have a hold of this a whole
lot clearer than I ever have before. My life before God is
the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, I'm the way, I'm the
truth, I am the life. My life before God. This is why
I'm not ashamed of my life. My life before God is the life
of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's literally my life. I'm
in Him. If I'm in Him, He's my life before
God. What a wonderful place to be
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything is in Christ. Everything. How come we can't take that?
Election. Election. What would election
be If it was just God arbitrarily, I'm going to save that one, I'm
going to damn that one. I'm going to pick out that one, and I'm
just going to send that one to hell. There wouldn't be any joy
in that. There wouldn't be any rest in
that. There wouldn't be any peace in that. But somehow the elect
were chosen in Christ. I don't understand how that is.
There's not a point in time and eternity when all of a sudden
he chose us. We've always been in Christ, but the scripture
still says, according as he hath chosen us in Him before the foundation
of the world. And the reason God chose me is
because I'm in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why. He's the
reason behind election. Christ comes before election.
Acceptance is in Christ. You know, everybody wants to
be accepted. None of us like being rejected. You don't like
being rejected by anybody, do you? We all love acceptance.
Well, in Christ, I have acceptance. He hath, Ephesians 1, 6, he hath
made us. Accepted in the Beloved. I'm accepted right now. I'm received. I'm loved. I'm embraced. I'm
graced in the Lord Jesus Christ. God accepts me. And you know,
that gives me some comfort. If I think nobody else accepts
me, that's okay. If He accepts me, I'm all right. If nobody else in all the world
does. I know His people do, but you
know sometimes when you get on that pity porch, oh, nobody loves
me. He does. Accepted in the Beloved. Redemption
and forgiveness are in Christ, in whom we have redemption through
His blood, even the forgiveness of sins. Those sins I'm talking
about, they've been washed away in the blood of Christ. I have
redemption through His blood, which is the forgiveness of sins. Our inheritance is in Christ. Paul said in Ephesians 1 11 in
whom we have an inheritance being predestinated. We talked about
that last Sunday night. We have a seat in heaven in Christ.
I want you to look at this one with me Ephesians chapter 2.
Remember everything was in that courtyard. And the only way you
could see what was in that courtyard is if you were in the courtyard.
Ephesians chapter 2. Verse 4, But God, who is rich
in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when
we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ by grace,
ye are saved, and hath raised us up together. In other words,
when Christ was raised, you know who else was? I was. HE RAISED
US UP TOGETHER AND MADE US SIT TOGETHER IN HEAVENLY PLACES,
IN HEAVEN, IN CHRIST JESUS. Colossians chapter 2 verse 10
says, YOU ARE COMPLETE, YOU ARE COMPLETE IN HIM. That means you don't lack anything.
That means all that God requires you have. That means God can't
be any more pleased with you than He is in the Lord Jesus
Christ. In Him. Complete in Him. Listen to this. I love this.
Romans chapter 8 verse 1 says, There's therefore now no condemnation
to them that are where? In Christ Jesus. And why is that? Because according
to 1 John 3, verse 5, in Him is no sin. There's nothing to
condemn me for. That's why I don't fear condemnation. There's nothing to condemn me
for. In Him, in the Lord Jesus Christ
is no sin. In Him, I have no sin. And with no sin, There's no shame. John said, and now little children
abide in him. I, do you want to be anywhere
else? You know, I think of these, you
know, the Lord said, abide in me and I in you. I don't want
to be anywhere else. I want to abide in the Lord Jesus
Christ. He said, and now little children abide in him that when
he shall appear, we may have confidence and not be ashamed
before him. And the only way I'm not going
to be ashamed is being in Him. But in Him, I have nothing to
be ashamed of. Now, this is so glorious because
there is so much that I'm ashamed of. I'm ashamed of myself. Oh, I'm glad you can't see what
goes on in my heart. I'm so thankful. I'd be so ashamed.
And I know you feel the same way. But in Christ, I truly,
literally, actually have nothing to be ashamed of because I have
no sin. Near, so near to God, nearer I cannot be. For in the
person of his dear son, I'm as near to God as he. Dear, so dear
to God, dearer I cannot be. In the person of his dear son,
I'm as dear to God as he. Wonder how much we believe that. I just quoted it. It's hard to
get hold of it, but it's so. So now, according to Ephesians
3, 12, in whom, listen to this, in whom we have boldness. and access with confidence by
the faith of Him. You know, I have boldness. And
this is, I'm not just talking about myself, I'm talking about
every child of God. In the Lord Jesus Christ, we
have boldness, confidence, freedom of access to come into the very
presence of God and know I'm embraced, know I'm accepted,
know I'm loved, know I'm always welcome. He never gets tired
of me. In Him, we have boldness and
access with confidence by the faith of Him. You see, we have
this boldness and access with confidence because according
to 1 Corinthians 1, verse 2, we are sanctified. We are sanctified. We are holy in Christ Jesus. Now, the only thing that messes
up our confidence is sin. You know how it is when you sin and
you feel like you can't even come into God's presence? You
feel like you'd be thrust away. It's the sin that causes the
lack of confidence. But in Christ Jesus, I have no
sin. I am holy in Christ Jesus. You see, of Him are you in Christ
Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and
sanctification. and redemption. So now, in Christ
Jesus, you that were sometimes afar off are made nigh by the
blood of Christ. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 13.
Now would you turn with me to John chapter 16. Verse 29. His disciples said unto him,
lo, how speakest thou plainly and speakest no proverb. I think
that's one of the more interesting things are the disciples ever
said to the Lord. You know, now you're speaking
plainly. We always spoke plainly. They just didn't understand.
But they're giving Him their affirmation and approval. We
like the way you're talking now. Now are we sure that thou knowest
all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee? By this
we believe that thou camest forth from God. They're feeling good,
weren't they? Jesus answered them. Do you now believe? You're talking
big. Behold, the hour cometh, yea,
is now come, that you in all your big talk right now shall
be scattered every man to his own and you'll leave me alone. And yet I'm not alone because
the Father is with me. Now these things have I spoken
unto you that in me you might have peace. Now in the world you're going
to have nothing but trial and tribulation you're going to get
beat back and forth but be of good cheer I have overcome the
world in me you have peace and oh what peace is in him you see
we rejoice in Christ Jesus In Philippians 3.1 he said, finally
my brethren rejoice in the Lord. Do you rejoice in the Lord? You
know being in the Lord makes me happy. It makes me happy. Philippians chapter 3.3 he said
rejoice in the Lord and he uses a different word that means glory
in the Lord. Have confidence in the Lord. Rest in the Lord. Our confidence and our joy is
in the Lord. He said, rejoice in the Lord
always. Again, I say, rejoice. You know, it's in Christ that
we bear fruit. I'm interested in bearing fruit,
aren't you? I want to bear fruit to the glory of God. I want to
bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Well, listen to this scripture.
Abide in me, and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit
of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can you, except
you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He that abideth in me and I in
him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For without me, you
can do nothing. And being in Him, we know that
our labor is not vain in the Lord. That's what Paul tells
us in 1 Corinthians 15, 58. And I love this scripture from
2 Corinthians 2, 14, but thanks be unto God, who always, always causes us to triumph in
Christ. You know you never lose. You're
always victorious in Christ Jesus. Even when you feel like you've
lost all the Lord's blessing you in it. You always triumph
in Christ Jesus. Always. Does always mean always? Sure does. Jude says we are preserved
preserved in Christ Jesus. I will persevere and the reason
I'll persevere is because I'm preserved. I'm in the Lord Jesus
Christ and just as sure as he is preserved I am preserved. Now this courtyard we also read
had a gate And that gate was very wide. It was 45 feet wide. And did you notice the gate was
made of the blue, heavenly, purple, royalty, scarlet, blood, white
linen, the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. The gate into
the courtyard, that's Christ. The gate into Christ is Christ. You say, how can I get into Christ?
Christ. That's how I get into Christ. Well, how do I get into Him?
of him. Are you in Christ Jesus? God
put you there. How can I know if he put me there?
Do you believe the gospel? Then you have entered by the
gate. The way into Christ is Christ.
Now I repeat, is it any wonder that Paul said, Oh, that I may
win Christ and be found in When he shall come with trumpet
sound, O may I then in him be found, Dressed in his righteousness
alone, Faultless to stand before God's holy throne, On Christ
the solid rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand. In Christ, what a precious, precious
place to be. May God cause all of us to be
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray.