What a joy to be here. Would you turn with me to Revelation
chapter 11? Verse 19. And the temple of God was opened
in heaven. And there was seen in his temple
the ark of his testament. And there were lightnings and
voices and thunderings and an earthquake and great hail. When the temple of God is opened
in heaven, what is soon? The Ark of his Testament. Turn with me to Exodus chapter
25. Exodus chapter 25. Let's begin reading in verse one. And the Lord spake unto Moses,
saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me
an offering of every man that giveth it willingly with his
heart. He shall take my offering, and this is the offering which
you shall take of them. And he goes on to tell them what
the tabernacle is to be made of. Gold, silver, and brass. Gold, Christ's deity. Silver, the silver atonement
money. It has something to do with Christ's
work. Brass, an alloy made of tin and
copper. It has something to do with the
two natures of the Lord Jesus Christ combined in one. Verse four, and blue, the heavenly
collar. Purple, the royal collar. Scarlet,
the collar of blood. And fine linen, the white linen,
the righteousness of the saints, the righteousness of Christ in
goat's hair. I think you'll find this interesting.
I always wondered what the point in goat's hair was. And recently
Lynn bought me a cashmere sweater. Y'all have any cashmere sweaters?
They're soft. They're made of goat's hair.
And that makes the clothing of Christ very comfortable. Isn't
it comfortable to wear his righteousness? It's comfortable, isn't it? It's
blessed. Verse five, ram skins, dyed red,
and badger skins. Those are the two skins that
were over the tabernacle. Badger skins, the humanity of
Christ. Ram skins, that's the blood of
Christ. And you couldn't see that, you
had to know it was there. You had to be given God-given
faith to know it was there. Oil for light, or shittum wood,
that's Christ's humanity, the gold overlaying the shittum wood.
Oil for light, Christ our light. Spices for anointing oil, Christ's
anointing as prophet, priest, and king. Sweet incense, his intercession.
Onyx stones that had the names of the 12 tribes of the children
of Israel engraven in them and stones to be set in the ephod
and in the breastplate. And let them make me a sanctuary
that I may dwell among them according to all that I shall show thee
after the pattern of the tabernacle. and the pattern of all the instruments
thereof, even so shall ye make it. And they shall make an ark. Here's the first thing he tells
them to make. They shall make an ark of shittum wood. Two cubits and a half shall be
the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof,
and a cubit and a half the height thereof. And thou shalt overlay
it with pure gold within, and without shalt thou overlay it.
and shall make upon it a crown of gold round about it. And thou shalt cast four rings
of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof.
And two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings
in the other side of it. And thou shalt make staves of
shittum wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put
the staves into the rings by the side of the ark, that the
ark may be born with them. Now you can picture this in your
mind, how the ark was to be born. There were rings on either side,
A pole was put between, through the rings. It would be borne
by the priests on their shoulders wherever they marched. Verse
15, the staves shall be in the rings of the ark. They shall
not be taken from it. And thou shalt put into the ark
the testimony which I shall give thee. Now, when John was given
a vision of the temple opened in heaven, he saw the ark of
God. the one God told Moses to make. It was the most prominent of
all the pieces of furniture of the tabernacle. And remember
this about the tabernacle. I'm excited about, I'm preaching
through the tabernacle right now. In the past, I preached
through the tabernacle in 1994. And I'd read what somebody said
about it, and that's what I'd say. And didn't really I was
just spitting out something somebody else told me and it wasn't really
becoming alive to me, but I'm so thankful that this time it
seems like I've seen the person of the Lord Jesus so clearly
in the tabernacle. I knew he was there, but only
saw it because somebody told me he was there and I didn't
really see it, but it seems like this time I see. I hope I do. I hope I
do, but I know this, the most detailed portrait of the Lord
Jesus Christ himself is found in the tabernacle. If you want
to know what Jesus Christ looks like, He is seen in the tabernacle. It's the most detailed portrait
in all the Word of God. Now, this tabernacle made of
Shittem wood, overlaid with gold, was the first thing God told
Moses to make. It was a box, roughly four feet
wide, two feet deep, and two feet high, made of Shittem wood.
carved or carried in, covered inside and out with pure gold. Now you know that this is the
Lord Jesus Christ, his deity, the wood, the gold representing
his humanity and the crown signifying his kingship. And it was to be
carried with these staves going through the rings by the priests.
You weren't to pick it up with your hands. Nobody was to touch
it. Only the priests, the tribe of Levite could transport this
ark from one place to another. And it was always covered. It
was behind the veil. No one could see it. They knew
it was there, but they couldn't see it. It was behind the veil.
And even when it was transported from one place to another, while
the children of Israel were journeying through the wilderness, it was
covered with a blue cover and no one was allowed to see it. Now, it is the piece of furniture
that was in the Holy of Holies and the mercy seat was over it. And it symbolized God's favor,
God's presence, God's power. As a matter of fact, it's called
the Ark of His Strength in Psalm 132 verse eight. Now on the inside
of the Ark were the Ten Commandments and Aaron's rod that budded and
a gold pot of manna. We're going to get back to that
in a few moments. Now this Ark was central in the worship of
Israel because of who it represented. You see, there were times when
the children of Israel made an idol of the ark. They forgot
about the one it represented and they made an idol of it.
Let me show you this in first Samuel four. I'm going to ask you to
turn to several scriptures regarding the ark. First Samuel chapter
four. Verse two and the Philistines
put themselves in array against Israel. And when they joined
battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines, and they slew
of the army, and they filled about 4,000 men. And when the
people were coming to the camp, the elders of Israel said, wherefore
hath the Lord smitten us today before the Philistines? Let us
fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto
us, that when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the
hand of our enemies. Now you can see here, they were
making an idol out of that thing, weren't they? They were saying
the Ark can save us. The Ark doesn't have any saving
power in it. It's just wood and gold. It's material. There's
no saving power in that. It symbolizes something. And
they forgot that and they made an idol out of it. And there
were other times when they failed to give it due reverence for
the one it represented. Turn to 1 Samuel 6. You're right
there in 1 Samuel. Look at this. Verse 19. And he smoked the men of Bethshemesh
because they had looked into the Ark of the Lord. They were
brazen enough to open up the perpetuatory lid and look inside. Without a priest, they just came
in on their own. And look what the Lord did. He
smote of the people 50,000, three score and 10 men. And the people
lamented because the Lord had smitten many of the people with
a great slaughter. And the bed of Beshem said, who
is able to stand before this Holy Lord God? And to whom shall
he go up from us? They looked in and God killed
over 50,000 people. Turn over to 2 Samuel 6. You're familiar with this. 2
Samuel 6. Verse 6. And when they came to Nachan's
threshing floor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God and
took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. Now, think of what
happened. The Ark of God is set on oxcart. It's just being transported. Now, do you remember in reading
that passage of scripture, it was to be transported by the
Levites with these staves through the rings, they would bear it
on their shoulders. And that was the only way it was to be
transported. Now, Uzzah knew this, so did everybody else. They should have known them because
it was written in the word of God. They should have known it.
They had no reason to not know it. Now look what Uzzah does.
The Ark is shaken on that cart and he puts forth his hand to
hold it, to keep it from falling off the cart. And the anger of
the Lord was kindled against Uzzah and God smote him there
for his error. And there he died by the Ark
of God. And you think of that. He was
trying to keep it from falling into the mud, trying to help
it out. And God killed him for it. And the scripture says the
anger of the Lord was kindled against him. Now, if the anger
of the Lord was kindled against him, he had a reason to be angry,
didn't he? You know, people will read this
and think that's too severe. I mean, all he was doing was
trying to help it out, trying to keep it. God doesn't need anybody's
help. And the Lord had a reason to
be angry. You see, Uzzah thought he could come into God's presence
and touch that ark without a priest. And the Lord wasn't gonna have
any of that. And you see what happened to him as a result of that. You
see, this ark symbolized the presence of God in the worship
of the children of Israel. The cloudy pillar by day and
the pillar of fire by night would rest directly over the ark. When the ark moved, the cloudy
pillar and the pillar of fire moved. When the ark rested, the
cloudy pillar and the pillar of fire rested. Wherever the
ark was, the Shekinah glory of God dwelt. When the camp of Israel
moved, the ark always went in front, going before them. We
have another story in Numbers chapter 14, where God had promised
the children of Israel the promised land, you know, the land of Canaan.
And they sent some spies to spy out the land. They come back,
everything the Lord said about the land is true. It's indeed
a land that flows with milk and honey, but the inhabitants of
the land are too strong for us. We can't take them. We're like
grasshoppers before them. And the people started murmuring
against Moses. Why did you bring us here? Why
did you bring us here? And the Lord was angry. And he killed those 10 spies
with the plague right there, right there. He preserved Caleb
and Joshua, who believed the Lord. And the Lord's anger was
kindled against Israel. And they were getting ready to
go fight the Amalekites after this. And Moses said, don't go
up. The ark won't go with you. And they went up and thousands,
once again, I think over 14,000 people were killed because the
ark stayed behind. You see, the only way they would
have victory is through the presence of the ark. And you know, this
ark is the Lord Jesus Christ. All of God's salvation is in
him. In Joshua chapter three, When
the children of Israel were to enter the promised land, the
river Jordan is in front of them. How are they going to get there?
Well, the priests had the ark. And as soon as the scripture
says the soles of their feet hit the river Jordan, the water
parted and they marched through with the ark. And that represents
Jordan death. We go through death and are brought
into glory with the ark of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. He brings
us in and we truly have no reason to fear. In Joshua chapter 6,
when the children of Israel march around the city of Jericho seven
times with the ark of God and they blow that trumpet and the
walls come tumbling down and they go in and possess Jericho
with the ark of God. Enemies are defeated, sin, death,
the curse of the law. They're defeated through the
Lord Jesus Christ, our Ark. Let me show you what happened
to the enemies of the Lord when they stole the Ark. Turn back to 1
Samuel chapter 5. I love this chapter. And the Philistines took the
Ark of God. They stole it. They defeated
the Israelites. They took the Ark of God and
they brought it from Ebenezer and to Ashdod. When the Philistines
took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon and
set it by Dagon. And when they of Ashdod arose
early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face
to the earth before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon
and set him up in his place again. Dagon needed some help. And when
they arose early on the morrow morning, Behold, Dagon was fall
upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. And the
head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon
the threshold. Only the stump of Dagon was left to him. Therefore,
neither the priests of Dagon nor any that came into Dagon's
house trade on the threshold of Dagon and Ashdod. And to this
day, they were scared to death. But the hand of the Lord was
heavy upon them of Ashdod. And he destroyed them and smote
them with emeralds, tumors, even Ashdod and the coast thereof.
And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, the
ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us. for his hand
is sore upon us and upon Dagon our God. They sent therefore
and gathered all the Lords of the Philistines unto them and
said, what shall we do with the Ark of the God of Israel? And
they answered, let the Ark of God of Israel be carried into
Gath. And they carried the Ark of the God of Israel about thither.
And it was so that after they'd carried it about, the hand of
the Lord was heavy against that city with a very great destruction.
And he smote the men of that city, both small and great. And
they had hemorrhoids, tumors in their secret parts. Therefore
they sent the Ark of God to Ekron and it came to pass as the Ark
of God came to Ekron that the Ekronites cried out saying, they
brought about the Ark of the God of Israel to us to slay us
and our people. So they sent and gathered together
all the Lords of the Philistines and said, send away the Ark of
the God of Israel and let it go again to its own place that
it slay us not and our people for there was a deadly destruction.
Throughout all the city, the hand of God was very heavy there. And the men that died not were
smitten with emeralds and the cry of that city went up to heaven. Now the Ark was sent back to
Israel and whoever had this Ark had God's blessing, had God's
favor. Now it's not the Ark you realize
that, it's who that Ark represents. Whoever has the Lord Jesus Christ
has God's blessing. has God's favor. I love the way
David reacted to the ark being restored back to Israel. Turn
to 2 Samuel 6. Verse 12. And it was told King David saying,
the Lord hath blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that pertaineth
unto him because of the ark of God. So David went Now this is
after the Ark had been left there after the Lord killed Uzzah for
touching it, and they were scared to death. They didn't know what
to do with it. But when the Ark was there, all
of the Lord's blessing was on this house. And so David wanted
to bring the Ark back. So let's go on reading. So David
went and brought up the Ark of God from the house of Obededom
into the city of David with gladness. And it was so that when they
bared the Ark of the Lord had gone six places, he sacrificed
oxen and fags. I love that. I mean, they'd take
six steps, they'd stop, and they'd offer up a sacrifice. They were
scared to death. They were happy. They were glad. They knew the
only way God could accept them is through the blood. They wanted
to make sure that was clear. Every six paces, they'd stop and offer
up a sacrifice. And look what it says about David
in verse 14, and David danced before the Lord with all his
might. And David was girded with a linen
ephod. So David and all the house of
Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouting and the
sound of a trumpet. David danced in joy, in glee,
in gladness before the Lord. You see, this Ark represents
the Lord Jesus Christ and the salvation that's in him. And
we're going to see that more clearly. Now, would you turn
with me to Hebrews chapter nine? Let's look at the New Testament
commentary on this Ark. Hebrews chapter 9. Then barely the first covenant.
Had also ordinances of divine service. This is talking about
the tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant and so on a worldly
sanctuary. It was material. For there was
a tabernacle made the first, wherein was the candlestick Christ
our light, the table with the showbread That's the bread of
presence, Christ our presence, where God is present with us
in the Lord Jesus Christ, which is called the sanctuary, the
holy place. And after the second veil, the tabernacle, which is
called the holiest of all, which had the golden censer and the
ark of the covenant overlaid round about it with gold, wherein
was the golden pot that had manna and Aaron's rod that budded and
the tables of the covenant. The Ark of the Covenant. Now, what is the covenant? The
Ark of the Covenant. We see what this, have some idea
of what it looked like, but what does this represent? The Ark
of the Covenant. What's meant by the covenant,
the Ark of the Covenant? Well, you know as well as I do
that that's a reference to the Covenant of Grace. The Ark of
the Covenant of Grace. Now God's made two covenants. The first covenant he made before
the second covenant. Really, the second covenant is
older than the first covenant. The covenant of works, the covenant
of grace. The covenant of grace was made
before the foundation of the world. The covenant of works.
What is the covenant of works? That's salvation in some way
or the other conditioned upon something that I do. That's what's
meant by the covenant of works. Salvation in some way dependent
upon me doing something. Hey, it takes different forms.
Somebody says, well, you got to keep the law. That works,
obviously. Somebody else says, well, Jesus
Christ died for everybody. He made salvation possible for
everybody. He wants to save you. He wants to forgive you. He's
made everything possible, but there's something you need to
do. You need to accept what he did, or that same God who loves
you and Christ died for you will send you to hell. You've got
to do something in order to make what he did work for you. That's
the covenant of works, just as much as believing the Ten Commandments.
You're saved by the Ten Commandments, covenant of works. Salvation
conditioned upon something you do. Salvation ultimately dependent
upon you. And then there's the covenant
of grace. That's salvation conditioned,
accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ. David put it this way
in 2 Samuel chapter 23 verse 5, although my house be not so
with God, yet hath he made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered
in all things and sure. Now you think of who makes this
statement, David, the sweet psalmist of Israel,
the man after God's own heart. And when he makes this statement
regarding the covenant, he's dying. As a matter of fact, if
you read a few verses up, it says these be the last words
of Jesse, the son of David. He's dying. He knows he's soon
going to meet God face to face. Now, what is going to be on his
mind? What's he going to think of as
he's dying? You know, me and you were coming
there pretty soon, pretty soon. What's going to be on our mind?
Well, this is what was on David's mind. I think some of the things
he could have thought about. David could have thought about Bathsheba, Uriah. He could have thought about numbering
the children of Israel and causing 70,000 people to be killed. He
could have thought a lot of David. David was a bloody man. David
killed many men. Remember, God wouldn't let him
make the temple because he said, you're a bloody man. David was a man
of war. David. Now read the Psalms and
you'll find out what David thought about himself. He could have
thought about all kinds of things that he'd done. He could have also thought about
the fact that he is called by God a man after mine own heart. I don't read where the Lord said
that about anybody else. Now, I believe every believer is a
man or a woman after God's own heart. I realize that, but still
that's special. God called David a man after my own heart. Christ is called the son of David. David, I guess, is the greatest
king to ever live. Oh, how special this man is.
He's died. He wrote 150 psalms. Or I don't
know how many he wrote. He wrote a lot of them at any
rate. I mean, he was the sweet psalmist of Israel. You know,
if you want to, if you want to, the songbook of the church is
the psalms. If you want to, you know, I can read the psalms and
that describes what I'm, what's in my heart better than I can
describe it myself. I'm so thankful for the psalms. David could have
thought about how the Lord had used him for that, but he doesn't
mention any of that. Not the bad stuff, not the good
stuff. He says, although my house be not so with God, and his house
was a mess. It was a mess. And I think that
could even be a reference to his own physical body. Although
my house be not so with God, this sinful flesh, yet hath he
made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure. Sure, because Christ accomplished
it. Sure, because God purposed it.
Sure, because it doesn't have anything to do with my works.
It's a governor of grace. That's why it's sure. And David goes
on to say, this is all my salvation. Is this all your salvation? You
know, I can say that with just as much conviction as David.
This is all my salvation and all my desire. I don't even want
anything else. All my desire, though he maketh
it not to grow. This is the Ark of the Covenant. God's promise, God's grace. Thank God for the covenant. Now
inside this Ark were three things. The golden pot with manna, Aaron's
rod that budded, and the two tables of the law, the ten commandments
were all inside of the Ark. And these all represent what
the Lord Jesus Christ actually is to every believer. Now, first there was the golden
pot with the manna in it. Remember the manna that came
down from heaven every day? And it didn't last but a day,
you could get two days worth, but somehow this manna lasted.
This is the manna that stayed in the pot, supernaturally it
was preserved, and it is God's provision for the children of
Israel. All they needed was found in that man. They didn't have
anything to do with growing it. They didn't work for it. They just
came and picked it up. It came down from heaven. The
scripture calls it angel's food and it represents the provision
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now all we need, all of our provision,
all of God's blessing is found in the Ark of the Covenant, the
Lord Jesus Christ. Now that means everything. That
means everything. I could go to so many scriptures
that talk about this, but let's look at it. If you turn to Ephesians
chapter one, Ephesians chapter one, verse
three, blessed be the God and father
of our Lord Jesus Christ who had blessed us with how many
spiritual blessings? all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ. And here's what they are. According
as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before him justification
and sanctification. in love, having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according
to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of
his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved, in
whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of
sins, according to the riches of his grace, all spiritual blessings. Look in 1 Corinthians 1. Corinthians one. This is one of those verses of
scriptures. I there's there's probably six or eight or ten
of them. I don't know but almost every time I preach, I refer
to this passage of scripture and it I don't get tired of it. It's not grievous. It's not,
it doesn't, it doesn't get irksome. It, as a matter of fact, it's
more glorious than it's ever been. First Corinthians chapter
one verse thirty of him are you. in Christ Jesus, who of God,
this is our heavenly manner, this is God's provision that's
found in the ark, in the Lord Jesus Christ, but of Him are
you in Christ Jesus. How do you get in Christ? God
put you there. Of Him are you in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption. He's made unto me wisdom. You
know what that means? Now you think of how infinitely wise
God is. He's omniscient. I, Todd Nybert, am fit for fellowship
with God. I'm wise in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is my wisdom. He's made unto
me righteousness. You know what that means? When God looks at me, He looks
at somebody who has his very righteousness. Christ's righteousness
is mine. It's mine. I'm accepted by God. I'm perfect in Christ Jesus.
He's made to me sanctification, holiness. I am so holy in the Lord Jesus
Christ. that God embraces me and I smell
good. Fit for fellowship with God. He's made unto me redemption. He is my sin payment. I have
complete deliverance in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now this is where
our boldness comes from. We can come into the very presence
of God with boldness because as He is, as the Lord Jesus is,
so are we in this world. He's made unto me wisdom and
righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Is that complete?
Oh, the precious manner, the precious provision of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Is it any wonder that David said,
the Lord is my shepherd and because my shepherd is the Lord, I shall
not want. I'm plumb satisfied. I'm content. I'm satisfied to be saved by
Christ in a way where he gets all the glory and none goes to
me. I surely know none. I don't have anything coming,
don't you? You know that. Every believer loves being saved
by him. So this golden pot, the provision
of God for the children of Israel that they couldn't work for,
given to them, It's in the Lord Jesus Christ, in the ark. And
the next thing that is in the ark is Aaron's rod that budded. Now let me give you the story
behind Aaron's rod that budded. In number 16, you can read the
story about Korah, Dathan, and Abihu. They were
three men. They were leaders of the children
of Israel. It's a long chapter. You'd find it interesting reading.
But they got mad at Moses and Aaron. And they said, Moses,
you take too much on yourself. We're just as holy as you. We're
just as good as you. I'm sure Moses wouldn't have
had any objection to that. He knew that Moses was the meekest
man on the earth. He knew that he was a sinner
saved by grace, but anyway, these fellas thought they were somebody.
They said, it's not right that Aaron is the one, the only one
who can offer up incense. While we're just as holy as he
is, we can offer up incense just as well as he can. Why this is,
what makes you think that you guys have all the, the, the,
the pool and the power and so on. And, and we're as holy as
you, we can offer up incense. Now, obviously they missed the
point. The reason for the priest is to teach us that the only
way we can come into God's presence is by Christ, not on our own.
No man cometh to the Father, but by me. That's what our Lord
said. That doesn't mean we come to the Father behind Him or beside
Him, but we come by Him. The only way I can come to the
Father is Him coming to the Father and me being in Him. That's the
only way I can get to the Father, in the priest, in the Lord Jesus
Christ. And these fellows were saying we can bypass that. The
next day, they come up with their censors. They're going to show
that they can offer up incense too. And you know what God did?
He opened up the ground and sent them to hell with their shoes
on. 250 men and their families. And you know what the children of Israel
did? They got mad at Moses. They said, you've killed the
people of the Lord. Well, Moses didn't kill them, the Lord did.
They got mad and the Lord got mad and the Lord sent a plague. And thousands and thousands of
the children of Israel died before the plague. I can't remember
the number. It was a whole bunch. And Aaron offers up a sacrifice
and the plague has stayed. He stood between the dead and
the living and the plague was stayed. And God said, I'm going
to have this settled once for all. There's only one priestly
tribe. There's only one priest, only
one way into my presence. So he said, you take 12 rods. Dead pieces of wood, no roots,
12 rods. And you lay them before me and
in the morning, the rod that is budded, that has life coming
out of it, that has buds and almonds and so on coming out
of it. That's what came out of it. That's the priest. And so they came in the next
morning and whose rod budded? The rod of Aaron. the rod of
the priest. Life came from that dead wood. And you and I see how life comes
from the Lord Jesus Christ. Life comes from the cross. Life
comes out of that. But here's what I like thinking
about. Life coming out of that dead wood. I like to think about
Christ my life. This is so sweet to me. I'm going to hear, and not just
me, every believer, I'm going to hear God say to me, Todd Nybert,
well done, thou good and faithful servant. Now, can you imagine
the Lord saying that to you? It's hard to get hold of it,
that he would say, well done, thou good, because I don't feel
like I've done anything well. Matter of fact, I haven't. The
reason I don't feel like I have is because I haven't. But the life of the Lord Jesus
Christ is my life. He said, I am the resurrection
and the life. His life is my life before God. It really is. If you want to
read my biography, if you want to know my personal history,
if you want to know the real me, read Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John. The life of the Lord Jesus Christ
is my life before God. That really is my life. And he's going to say to me,
you've done a good job. Everything that you've done has
pleased me. You've been altogether lovely. You've been perfect. You've been
righteous. You've never sinned. Enter thou
in to the joy of thy Lord. Now that's how you're going to
hear. And that's how I'm going to hear. Well done. I used to, I
used to think about that. I thought, I'm not going to hear
that. There's no way I'm going to hear him say that. Well done.
But I am. Because the life of the Lord
Jesus Christ is my life. Aaron's rod that budded in life
came from that. And then what else was in this
Ark of the Covenant? There was the manna, Christ our
provision. There was Christ our life. Our
life is in the Lord Jesus Christ. You're dead and your life is
hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life,
you see that? When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear. Yes, I've got life before God.
When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall you appear
before him in glory. Christ our life. And then the
third thing that was in the ark was the law of God written with
the finger of God, the 10 commandments, the holy righteous law of God. Now you'll remember the first
time God wrote the law and gave it to Moses and he comes down
the mountain. And the children of Israel worshiping
that golden calf and he raises it up over his head and he throws
it down and it's broken. There's man's law keeping. That's all you can say about
it. Broken. Broken. All the law does is show
me that I have not kept it. Nothing else. It gives me no
power to obey. But here's my law keeping. My
law keeping is found in the ark in the Lord Jesus Christ. Here
is my righteousness. Here's my standing before the
law of God. Christ is my righteousness before
God. Let me show you a passage of
scripture in Matthew chapter three. Now, how can that be? How can
Christ actually be my righteousness before God? Well, it's called
union with the Lord Jesus Christ. We just sang about it. Union
with Christ. Both he that sanctifyeth and
they who are sanctified are all of one. That means that whatever
he did, I did. Now, did Jesus Christ the Lord
keep God's law perfectly? Did he obey all the commandments
of God? You know he did. Look here in
Matthew chapter 3. Verse 13. Then cometh Jesus from
Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him. But John
forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest
thou to me? Now put yourself in John's place.
What if the Lord Jesus Christ came up to you and said, I want
you to baptize me? You reckon you'd feel kind of uncomfortable
with that? You reckon you'd feel like you weren't worthy to do
it? Of course you would. And you understand why John said
this. I have need to be baptized to thee, comest thou to me? And
Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer to be so now, for thus
it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. When Jesus Christ
fulfilled righteousness, so did all the us. When he did it, I
did it. When he kept the law, I kept
the law. You see, everything he did, he
did as a representative. And everybody that's united to
him, united to him by faith, they did it too. He said to John,
it becometh us, us. And he wasn't just talking about
John the Baptist baptizing him. The us is the whole company of
God's elect, every believer to ever live. Thus, it becometh
us to fulfill all righteousness. When Christ fulfilled righteousness,
Every believer did too. And that ark, that ark, there's my salvation. There's
my life before God. There's my righteousness before
God. There's all my provision in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now
let's close back up at Revelation chapter 11. A couple of scriptures
I want to close with. Verse 19, And the temple of God
was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark
of his testament. Now, what is really glorious
about this is under the Old Testament economy, nobody ever saw the
ark. It was always behind the veil. Even when they transported
it, there was a blue cloth put over it so you could never see
the Ark. But when heaven is opened through
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Ark is seen. Figurative? I don't
know. It may be figurative language.
I don't know if he really saw an Ark or if this is figurative
of the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't know. I've not seen Christ
physically. I've not looked and seen the
Ark physically. But I have seen the Lord Jesus Christ. I've seen Him in His Word. I
see how he is the ark. Do you see how he is the ark?
Do you see how he is the message of this book? I've seen the Lord
Jesus Christ and I see that he is my life. And if I don't have
his life, I have no life before God. I see that he is my provision. I see that he's by all sufficient
provision. I see, I really do see that he
is my righteousness before God. This is the will of him that
sent me. Our Lord said that everyone that
seeth the Son and believeth on him hath everlasting life. I see the Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't this a beautiful picture
of him in the ark? I'm thankful for the portraits in scripture.
Let's pray together.