Now, under the first covenant, there stood out there in the
wilderness a tabernacle, a tabernacle in the center of
the camp. And around that tabernacle, a
high linen fence, a white linen fence. picturing the holiness of God. The people were outside the fence. And there was one gate which
faced the rising sun called the Eastern Gate. And as one came in that Eastern
Gate, he met with a large altar. And on this altar, the bullocks,
the goats, and the rams were slain, and their bodies roasted,
and the blood collected. And after just a very brief walk
across the courtyard, one came to a, in front of the tabernacle,
a labor of clean, fresh water, where the priest would wash his
hands and his feet before he entered into the tabernacle itself. Now, in the tabernacle, There
were two compartments. On the outside of that tabernacle,
or the outside was not very imposing or impressive. In fact, it was
quite plain. It looked like any other tent,
covered with its rough badger skin. But on the inside, it was
an unusual place, because it was the tabernacle of God. It
was where God met men, where men met God. And inside that
tabernacle all over was that beautiful white embroidered linen. There was only one source of
light in the entire structure, and that was from a candlestick
over on one side, seven candlesticks, and they were kept burning all
the time. Well, of course, this candlestick
is a picture of Christ, like that altar out there is the And
like that, labor of water is the sanctifying, cleansing, purifying
work of the Holy Spirit before one can come into the presence
of God. And then the candlesticks representing Christ, the light
of the world. And then there was over here
a table of showbread, twelve loads of bread, one for each
tribe of Israel. The bread was kept there all
the time, kept there, provided for the priests. And then as
you came toward the second compartment, this place out here was called
the Holy Place, and the priests ministered in there. There were
those who kept the candlestick burning. There were those who
kept the bread. There were those who kept this
altar of incense right in front of the veil. Now, you've heard
about the veil, which was rent in twain from top to bottom when
our Lord died on the cross. It was a heavy veil with no opening,
thick, four or five inches thick, a heavy embroidered veil. And
outside in the holy place, the priest ministered, and right
in front of this veil was called an altar of incense, and it was
kept burning twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three
hundred and sixty-five days a year. That incense, that was the business
of the priest, to keep it burning. is typical of the prayers of
Christ to every living to make intercession for us, that sweet-smelling
incense. Now, under the veil and into
the Holy of Holies, that's what it was called, the Holy of Holies,
went the high priest only, and that once a year, not without
blood, on the Day of Atonement, in which he would slay a bullock
and take the blood into the Holy of Holies. And in the Holy of
Holies, there was one piece of furniture with two parts. There
was the Ark. It sat alone there in that Holy
of Holies, the Ark of the Covenant. In that Ark, in that small box,
were the tables of stone, the Ten Commandments which God gave
to Moses. They were in that Ark. And also
Aaron's rod that budded, also a pot of manna, was in that ark. But over the top of that ark
was beaten gold, which was called the mercy seat. And on either
side of that ark, the winged cherubims reaching toward the
center. And in the center between the
wings of those cherubims coming down upon the mercy seat, covering
the ark, was the very Shekinah glory of God. There's no way
I can describe to you the awesomeness or awfulness of that place. The
presence of God, the Shekinah glory, the very holiness of God. No one was allowed in there.
No one was allowed in there, not even the priest, not even
the high priest was allowed in there, but once a year, once
a year. That high priest would come with
the blood. It is the blood that maketh atonement
for the soul. I've given it to you upon the
altar to make an atonement for your soul. He was not to bring
works or decisions or promises or offers or kindnesses or morality
or laws or deeds. It was blood or death. Now that's
all it was to him. The only thing, the only thing
that enabled that high priest, though he was a high priest.
Yeah, but you don't know who I am. You're not the high priest,
I know that. The only thing that kept that
high priest, and don't you know he came with fear and trembling?
The only thing that kept that high priest from being burnt
to a cinder or annihilated when he came under that veil into
the very presence of God's Shekinah glory, was that blood he had
in his hand, that blood which God ordained, that blood which
God appointed on the day that God appointed. He couldn't come
any other day. It was so precise and so strict. Now, when you want to go out
here and pop off and talk to people about, well, God's sympathetic, God understands. Or, God's too good to do this,
that, and the other. Or God's merciful. Let me tell
you something, and let me be as plain as I can. In this matter
of redemption, in this matter of acceptance with God, in this
matter of communion with a holy God, in this matter of approaching
a holy God, without the shedding of blood, there's no acceptance.
no communion and no admission, not even for the high priest,
not even for the highest-ranking officer in the Jewish community. Without the blood, there's no
remission. He came, and here's not only
without the blood, without the date that God ordained it, without
the method which God ordained, without the time that God appointed,
without the very type that God Almighty specified. And he'd
come once, and we'll read about it in Leviticus 16. I want you to turn to this Leviticus
16. And there was no compromise.
Believe me, it was so accurate and precise. You see, justice
does not know compromise. Justice has no mercy. Justice
is precise, and true sin must be punished. got to be, always
has been, will be. Leviticus 16, 15, Then shall
he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is, for the people, and
bring his blood within the veil, and do with that blood as he
did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy
seat, and before the mercy seat. And he shall make an atonement
at one for the holy place because of the uncleanness of the children
of Israel, because of their transgressions and all their sins. And so shall
he do for the tabernacle of the congregation that remaineth among
them in the midst of their uncleanness. And there shall be no man in
the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement
in the holy place by himself." Now, nobody did not violate this. God said, when that high priest
takes that blood, comes in that holy place, holy of holies, before
the mercy seat, with the blood, there'll not be anybody around.
He by himself purged our sin. This word is precise and accurate.
He got no help or encouragement from anybody. Nobody. Now, until he come out and have
made an atonement for himself, for his household, and for all
the congregation of Israel. Now, you got that with me, as
did they ever told me. But this high priest did something
else, something else. On that day, he did something
else. He also took something else into
the Holy of Holies. Back up to verse twelve. Back
up to verse twelve. Talking about the high priest
here now. Let's read verse 11. This is Aaron. Leviticus 16,
11. All right, you with me? Leviticus
16, 11. And Aaron shall bring the bullock
of the sin offering which is for himself, shall make an atonement
for himself, for his house, shall kill the bullock of the sin offering
which is for himself, and he shall take a censer. What is
a censer? Well, you know, I'm not an authority
on this sort of thing, and I've read some of these fellows, and
I don't think many of them are. But a censer, to me, is something
that a man can hold in his hand. I don't know how big it was.
It was probably about chains, like this, and it had a bottom
in it, something he could hold, a censer. And he brought that
censer full of burning coal. Before he came into the Holy
of Holies, before he came into the tabernacle, he stopped out
there at the altar, got those burning coals and put on that
censer, didn't you, Charlie? Holding that censer, those burning
coals. All right, read on. And his other
hands full of sweet incense. He got that sweet incense, that
precious incense, beaten small, fine, beaten up. And when he
came under the veil into the Holy of Holies, he came with
that censer of burning coals and that handful of crushed,
broken incense within the veil, and he put that incense on those
hot coals upon the fire before the Lord, and the cloud of incense
as it burned, cloud of smoke, and the fragrance and the sweet
smell covered the mercy seat, that is, upon the testimony that
he dine on. And he shall take of the blood
of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy
seat eastward. Before the mercy seat shall he
sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times." So when
this high priest came into the Holy of Holies, with the atonement,
the blood. He came previously, or at the
time, but something went on before he put the blood on the mercy
seat. There was that sweet, broken incense dropped on those hot
coals, and that fragrance went up and just filled that place
with its odor and aroma and fragrance. And what did I tell you the incense
is? It's the prayers of Christ our Lord. And over here in John
17, now here's our great high priest, the Lord Jesus. The Lord
Jesus Christ, the day before, He's going to that cross. He
is our Atonement. Christ is our Reconciler. Christ
is our Redemption. The Lord Jesus Christ is our
great High Priest. We have a High Priest. Because
we have a High Priest, we can come boldly before the throne
of grace. He is our great High Priest. He Himself is the High
Priest, He is the altar, He is the mercy seat, He is the sacrifice,
He is the atonement, He is the one who satisfies God's holiness
and righteousness, and He's the God who is satisfied. But before
He went to that cross and suffered and died, our Lord put the incense
on the hot coals. And here is the Lord's prayer.
He prayed for His people. It says in chapter 17 of John,
verse 1, John 17, 1, He lifted His eyes to heaven. Now, I wouldn't
advise you to do that. I wouldn't advise you to do that.
I would advise you and me, like the publican of old, to stand
afar off and bow our heads, and not lift so much as our eyes
to heaven, because we bow our heads in humility, bow our heads
in shame, bow our heads under a sense of our guilt and offense. But our Lord Jesus is without
sin. He can look straight to the throne,
straight to the throne. Yes, he can. He can lift his
eyes to heaven and look straight into the face of the Father,
because he has no sin. And he looked at his eyes and
he looked straight toward the throne, and he said, My Father,
the hour has come. The hour has come. He referred
to that hour several times. On one occasion at this wedding
feast in Cana of Galilee, His mother came to him and said,
They're without wine. And he said, Woman, what have
I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. It's not the
hour for my revelation. It's not the hour for the manifestation
of the sun. It's not the hour for the sacrifice.
On another occasion, he was in Nazareth, and they would have
put him to death, but he passed right through the midst of them
because his hour was not yet come. In John, several times
it talks about they would have laid hands on him, but his hour
was not yet come. Here's that sweet fragrance going
up to heaven. This is the day of atonement.
This is the hour, the hour which God purposed in eternity, the
hour set before time began, the hour typified by every sacrifice. This is the hour. This is the
hour of redemption. This is the hour it takes away
the old and establishes the new. This is the hour of the covenant.
This is the darkest hour, yet the brightest of all. This is
the hour. Oh, we could spend so long there.
Father, the hour has come. Thank God for that hour. Thank
God it came. Now watch it. Glorify thy son. Glorify thy son, that thy son
may glorify, may also glorify thee. You see, Christ will die.
Our Lord will die for His people. He will suffer. He will die. He will be buried, and God will
raise Him from the dead, and He shall be glorified. God has
glorified Him and given Him a name which is above every name because
He fulfilled all that God gave Him to do. God glorified Him. He shall be exalted. He shall
be glorified. And in all this, the Father shall
be glorified, because in Christ, and in the sufferings of Christ,
and the death of Christ, and the burial and resurrection of
Christ, every attribute of God is given full expression. You
see that? And God is glorified. The Son
glorified the Father. He glorified His justice. God's
justice has never been glorified like it was at Calvary. He glorified
his law, he glorified his righteousness. We want to glorify God, but my
soul, there's no way that we can glorify God like Christ did. He glorified his righteousness,
he glorified his love. Ever God is seen nowhere like
in Christ. He glorified his power. Glorify
thy son, that thy son may glorify thee. This is the proper order. He
that honoreth the Son honoreth the Father. You follow me? The Son must be glorified in
order that the Father may be glorified. And how impossible it is for
us to honor the Father and ignore the Son. Can't be done. Can't
be done. The hour has come, now you glorify
me. Assist me and aid me and help
me and enable me to glorify thee. For in glorifying the Son, the
Father's glory, every attribute of God is clearly manifested
and revealed. If you want to know God, study
Christ. If you want to know the living
God, just learn of Christ. His every word, His every move,
His every act, His agony, His suffering, His death, His compassion,
His mercy, His holiness. The Father is glorified in the
Son. Now then, in this prayer, our
Lord six times in this priestly prayer identifies those for whom
He prayed. Now, that high priest came into
the Holy of Holies. He came with holiness unto the
Lord on the miter. He came with the names of Israel
on His breastplate. He came representing a people
with that atonement and with that incense, those prayers of
intercession. And when our Lord Jesus Christ,
we're not talking about, as He stood over Jerusalem, O Jerusalem,
how often I've gathered thee, as ye observe different ones,
ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. This is the
High in the hour of atonement, doing business with the Father
on behalf of a people. This is reconciliation, this
is redemption, this is atonement, this is ransom. And our Lord
Jesus Christ is sending the sweet fragrance of His own personal,
effectual, perfect intercession to the nostrils of God in heaven,
in the supreme place. He's praying for somebody. Not
in general, but in particular. Six times he identifies them. He says in verse two, listen
to me, bear with me, don't be impatient, and don't get angry. But he says in verse two, you've
given me power, authority over all flesh. That, in order that
I should give eternal life to as many as you've given me. This
is the high priest. This is what goes up to heaven.
This is the intercession. This is the prayer. This is the
truth. This is the truth of all truth.
This is what our Lord is saying, I have all authority and complete
power over the whole universe in order that I might accomplish
redemption for those you gave me. There's not an angel in heaven. There's not a demon in hell.
There's not a man on earth, there's not a king on the throne, there's
not a creature wiggling over which Christ does not have absolute,
supreme, total, complete authority. That's what he said. And as a
result, the Father had put all things
into his hands. That's what he said. The Father
had put all things in subjection to Christ. We don't see it yet. He hath given all things, and
as a result of this authority," now listen to me, I'm telling
you the truth, and I'm telling you something not one preacher
in ten thousand will tell you tonight, but this is true, "...as
a result of this complete, supreme, absolute authority, and the mediatorial
kingdom of Jesus Christ A fallen race is permitted by God to exist. There's not one reason why this
world exists right now except it's under the mediatorial reign
and power and authority of Jesus Christ and it is not his pleasure
to wind it up yet. There's just one reason, one
reason why you are not in hell right now if you're not a believer.
He's not pleased to send you there yet. Folks don't care for
that. Folks didn't care for him either. He came to earth. Now, I'm telling
you what he's saying here. If we just knew the solemnity
of this prayer, if we just knew, if you'd seen that high priest
go into that Holy of Holies just one time a year, just one blessed
time with that censer of incense over those hot coals and that This is it right here, Jerry.
This is it. This is the high priest talking
to the Father. You've given me total authority
over all flesh. All flesh. That I should give eternal life
to as many as you get. He came to earth to redeem a
people. And even the unbeliever participates
in and partakes of His mercy in dealing with His people. Example. One day, to preserve
Israel, Joshua, by the power of God, made the sun stand still.
But every unbelieving, wicked, pagan nation had a longer day. That's right. And that fellow
over there was plotting some meanness, and darkness was about
to come on him, and he thought, oh, if I just had another hour
of daylight, I could get this done. He had it. He got it done. When our Lord Jesus Christ was
on the ship with his disciples, the waves were throwing that
little ship. They were scared to death, wringing their hands.
They said, ìWeíre going to drown. Everyone else is going to drown.
The whole outfitís going to perish. Lord, donít you care if we perish?
Peace be still!î That old ocean was just like glass. You reckon
thatís the only ship out there? Our Lord calmed the ship for
his disciples. But that pirate ship over there,
is on the way to rob another place. And they thought, well,
we blew this. We're not going to be able to
rob them today. In fact, we're all going to drown. We're not
going to be able to rob anybody. But they survived because the ocean
calmed down. And they robbed a lot of people. But why did he calm the sea for
his disciples? He's got power. It rains on the
just and the unjust. The fellow said to a preacher
one time, he said, I plow my fields on Sunday, and I plant
my crop on Sunday, and I reap it on Sunday. And I don't go
to church anyway. And I got a better crop than
any of them. And the preacher said, well, he said, this way,
he said, last October, I had a better crop than any of them.
And the preacher said, God doesn't always settle His accounts in
October. Maybe December before He settles. But it rained. God
didn't send that rain for that heathen. He sent that rain for
his believer next door. I'm telling you the truth. Paul
and Silas sat in a prison. An earthquake shook the thing.
The doors fell off. Their fetters fell off. But the
fetters fell off the rest of them, too. I'm going to say something here
that may upset some folks, but it's so anyway. The whole earth
and all people, black and white, rich and poor, learned and ignorant,
male and female, exist for the accomplishment of His divine
purpose to save His people which the Father gave Him before the
foundation of the world, and that's the purpose for which
you exist. That's right. I was down in Alabama at that
church preaching for some dear, beloved friends of mine. And
as you know, two of our members are down there, Carter and Joyce
Brown, and they're worshiping at that church. And they've been
a great blessing to some of the families at a particular needy
time. And they wonder why they're down
there. The mill out here shut down and 500 people lost their
jobs. Carter had to move to Birmingham
and go to church down there. A couple of people said to me,
well, said, Willie, he don't understand why he's down here,
but we know why he's down here. He's down here to be a blessing
to us. Now, you don't reckon the Lord shut down a steel mill
to take a man to Alabama, do you? I do. You say, yeah, what
about all those people? I told you. You only exist for
one reason, for Him to save His elect. Now, it ain't no use getting
high and mighty. I'm telling you the truth. I know folks don't
say that. You just don't say that, brother
of mine. I do, because I believe it. God won't only shut down
a steel mill. He'll shut down a nation. He'll
whip an army. He'll defeat a king. He'll unseat
a whole political party for one sheep. He's a great God. See, we've been playing Pinochle,
but he don't play Pinochle. God plays for keeps. That's what
our Lord said here. He said, Father, you have given
me authority over all flesh. That, in order of that. And they
give life to my sheep. That's what he said. I'll show
you something else, verse six. He said, I have manifested your
name. I've manifested your name." Now,
I know this, most of my generation does not know God. They have
a God, a God which they know, a God which they pretend to worship,
and a God which they preach, and a God which they serve. But
the God I'm hearing preached and the God I'm listening to
people talk about is not the God of the Bible. When I talk
about the God of the Bible, it makes people angry. When I talk
about the God of the Bible, the God they say they don't hate,
I found out they do hate. And what he is saying here is
this, I have manifested thy name. In other words, I have revealed
the Father himself to them. I told you this last Sunday.
The name is the character of God, the attributes of God, the
very definition or description or revelation of God is in His
name. His name, Elohim, His name Jehovah,
His name Jehovah-Rapha, Jehovah-Raya, Jehovah-Nisa, Jehovah-Shalom,
Jehovah-Sidkenu, the Lord our banner, the name of God is only
known as, you know, Christ. No man hath seen the Father at
any time, the Holy One Jesus Christ hath declared Him. No man knoweth the Father but
the Son, and He to whom the Son will reveal Him." It says in
Hebrews 1, this, that He's the expressed image of God. When men rejected Christ, there's
no beauty about Him that we should desire Him. They're saying there's
no beauty in God's character that we should desire Him. This
God does not fit the description we have of God. This God does
not fit the mold we've made for God. This God does not identify
with a God we know, so therefore He can't be God away with Him. But our Lord said to the, turn
to John 5 and listen to Him talking to them here. Talking to these
same religious people. In John 5 verse 42, He says,
I know you, I know you, you have not the love of God in you. You've
got an emotional, worldly, sentimental, hogwash love you talk about,
but it's not the love of God. I've come in my Father's name,
and you receive me not. If another come in his own name,
him you will receive. How can you believe you receive
honor one from another? You seek not the honor that comes
from God only. This is our problem. You don't
love God, don't know God. Seek God or seek God, or care
for the honor of God. You've got your own God. I'm not saying men aren't religious.
They are. I'm not saying men don't have
a God. They do. But I'm saying that the God of
creation, the God of the Scriptures, the living God, the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God who is God, is only known
as Christ reveals Him. And you know the people to whom
He reveals Him? He said, I have manifested Thee,
Thy name, To whom? To the men which you gave me
out of the world. Those are the ones I've manifested
your name to." So, my friend, listen. If you're one of God's
elect, one of those believers to whom the Lord Jesus has revealed
God, you ought never cease to thank Him. If I know God, it's
because Christ was pleased to reveal Him to me. Look at verse
9. I pray for them. Lord, who are you praying for?
I pray not for the world, I pray for them which thou hast given
me. That's who I'm praying for. This is the incense. This is
the high priestly prayer. This is the prayer preceding
the atonement. I desire for them. He says, I
make requests. I make requests. What's that
request? I ask the full merits of my redemption
to be given to them. Boy, I tell you that's something.
Here is the high priest, the one God anointed, ordained and
sent, God Himself, in perfect harmony with the Father, who
never is in conflict with the will or purpose or divine will
of the Father, and here He is looking straight into the throne
with His eyes. lifted to heaven with only one
divine purpose, to glorify the Father. And he said, here's my
desire, here's my request. I want for my people whom you
gave me the full merits of my redemption. Not praying for the world, I'm
praying for those whom you gave me. That shatters all this foolish,
sentimental, free-willed, Arminian, semi-Pelagian foolishness. He makes intercession for us. He ever lives to make intercession
for us. He entered heaven to appear before
the presence of God for us. If any man sin, we have an advocate
with the Father. I make requests for them. the full merits of my redemption.
Now, as Brother Tom Smith said, his regal presence is sufficient,
but here our representative and surety is praying. I tell you this, when he sat
down, the fact that the Father seated
is clear evidence and indication that all this that preceded it
would be done. Because, see this, His prayers
and His atonement, His prayers and His atonement are always
consistent. See that? Whatever He said, I'm
going to the cross to do. That was His full intention,
purpose. When he did it, when he was buried, when he rose,
when he prayed, when he ascended, the Father said, I'm taking you
and all that you represent. I'm taking you and all that you
did. I'm taking you and all that you
requested. See that? And I'm seeking you. And it's done. Now, he prayed
for them two reasons. Look at verse 9. Now watch this.
Pick them out. I pray for them. I pray not for
the world, but for them which thou hast given me. I pray for
you. They're yours. That's why I pray
for them. I've been made the surety for them because they're
yours. And the second reason, and because yours are mine. That's
why I pray for them. They're yours, and they're mine. And I pray for them. Now look
at verse 11. Here's the... I'll move on quickly.
Here's the security of his sheep. And now, Father, I'm no more
in the world, but they are, and we know that, don't we? I come
to thee. Holy Father, here's his prayer. Keep them. Keep them. Keep them. Keep them safe. Keep them. They can't keep themselves. Keep
them from the evil one. Keep them through your own name. Your name's at stake. You know
what that old man said to the fellow that asked him? He said,
what if you get to heaven, and they say that you can't come
in? He said, God will lose more than I'll lose. He said, what
do you mean by that? He said, I will lose my soul,
but God will lose His honor. He said, believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. And I believe. And
God will not compromise His word. keep through thine own name those
whom thou hast given me." Now, you folks listen to me. If men
knew anything, this sort of thing, if men knew anything at all about
who God is, in His character, purpose, and will, if men knew
anything at all about the person and work of Christ is eternal
will and purpose and glory. If people knew anything at all
about the victory of the cross and the intercession of Christ,
the prayers, if people knew anything at all about this, there'd be
no argument or even discussion about the security or perseverance
of the saints. No argument at all. The security of God's sheep like
the salvation of God's sheep, like the eternal glory of God's
sheep, is inseparably connected with the purpose of God and the
purchase of Christ and the victory of Christ. And if one sheep of
Christ should perish, heaven has a vacancy that can't be explained. Isn't that right? All the bride of Christ is a
simple, is a vacant chair and a nameplate. Father, did you
give him to Christ before the world began? I did. Did Christ die for him on the
cross? He did. Were all his sins paid for, put
away? They were. And the Holy Spirit
called him to faith in Christ through the gospel. He did. Where
is he? He's in hell. You going to put
that off on me? I can't cut that. Oh, you're
talking about another God. You see how far off you are from
what this book teaches? Tell you, that old preacher that
said hell is a monument to the failure of a triumphant God,
he made a fool of himself. But the bigger fool is that a
vacant seat in glory would be the monument to the failure of
a triumphant God. Now that would be, but there's
not going to be one. Barney used to say there's plenty
of room but no vacancies. Plenty of room. Well, we won't
stay on that. While I was with them, verse
12, I kept them in your name. Those you gave me, I kept. None
of them lost but one. He was lost from all eternity,
son of perdition. Perdition means damnation and
hell, is what the word means. And that was if the Scripture
might be fulfilled. Now, you let me tell you something.
We've got a little sentimental idea. God's merciful. Don't misunderstand. God is love. God is merciful.
If God wasn't merciful, I couldn't stand up and use the name of
God. God would turn me into a Christ-sender and send me to hell. I couldn't
use the name of God except through Christ, through His mercy and
through His love. Anything this side of hell is
mercy. God's merciful. But I wish we could get away
from this silly, sentimental idea of God, that everything
good that happens, we say, God was in this, and everything bad
that happens, disappointing or anything catastrophic is of the
devil. It's not so. God's the first cause of all
things. What happens is permitted by God. Listen to me now. God
raised Pharaoh up to dump his rear in the river. Did you know
that? That's why he gave birth to that bird. Is that too hard? Well, God said that. He said,
for the same reason I raised you up, to get my glory out of
you. God raised up Judas Iscariot
to infiltrate the circle of apostles, to deny his Lord and sell him
for eighteen dollars and be sent to hell. Did you know that? Is
that too hard? But I'm telling you, you can't
have this Bible and cut the parts out that do not fit with your
sentimental theology. God is ruthless. Now, I meant just what I said.
He'll accomplish his purpose. Who planted the crops in Canaan
that Israel ate? They didn't. Who built the cities
they occupied? They didn't. Who annihilated
the population and turned it over to a God-dead? Who sent
Saul down to kill everything that wiggles and leave nothing
alive, men, women, and babies? God-dead, to accomplish His purpose. Now, here's what we'd better
do, my friend. We'd better find out who God is, and if this attribute
If this purpose and glory and justice and righteousness of
God does not fit into the mold that we have for God, let's destroy
our mold and take His, and just bow to it. But thank God for
His mercy. But here's what I'm preaching.
There's mercy for the believer. Come to Christ. You want in the Holy of Holies,
then come to the high priest. He's in there. You want his prayers
and come, he's praying. You want his blood, come, it's
shedding. You want him to bail, come on,
the poor one is there. But you're not going to get the
glory. He is. Verse 24, and this just
overwhelms me. We might just take it up next
week. Father? Verse 24, I will. This is my
will. You just talk about will, free
will, man's will, Satan's will. Here's the will. Here's the high
priest. Here's the one to whom everything's
been turned over. And he's got a will, and he makes
it known. I will, this is my will and wish,
that those whom you have given me be with me where I am. Who's going to be in heaven?
Those folks right there. Colton, you see that? That's
exactly who's going to be there. You want to know who's going
to be there? That's who's going to be there. He said, I will,
this is my will. And his will will be done in
the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of this earth.
Not your will or my will, but his will. And here the high priest,
before he goes into the blood-shedding of Calvary, before he enters
into the holy place with that atonement, he said, This is my
will, that they be with me where I am. you gave me." And I want
to second request this. I want them to see my glory.
I want them to behold my glory, that glory which you gave me,
and not to another. My glory will I not give to another,
for you love me before the foundation of the world. My friends, I'm
neither a hard shell nor a hard head. I just believe this book. And I am determined and dedicated,
whatever it costs, to whomever God lets me preach, wherever
He lets me preach, to tell them in these closing days who God
is. And thank God who Christ is.
And I've shown you tonight, and I challenge anybody, I don't
care if he's a theologian or what he is, to question what's
been said from the Word tonight. That priest went into the holy
place with incense. And that was the prayers of my
Lord. And I just read you His, that's the Lord's prayer. I will,
that those whom you have given me be with me where I am, that
they may behold my glory. Oh, to be one of those. And I'll tell you, you're not
going to find it at some emotional, evangelical, Hollywood tent meet. You're not going to find it down
at some altar, beating your hands against the velvet, beautiful,
purple, padded pew. You're going to find it in Christ.
Now, if you want it, that's where it is, I'm telling you. Well,
preach your appointment to Christ. I just did. There he is, out
there revealing the Word. If you're not too proud, go to
him. You'll find in him a hiding place. Our Father, by Thy mighty Spirit,
by Thy mighty Spirit, open our hearts to receive the truth,
the truth that sets men free. It's the truth that sets men
free from religious bondage and tradition, human wisdom. And I say, stand not in the wisdom
of men, but in your power, in your son, in your great high
priest. Thank you for Christ. Once again,
publicly, before the congregation, thy people, in thy presence,
before thee, we say Christ is our Lord and our God. In his
name, amen.