Our God is Holy (Part 5)

And so, bless your people, Lord, through your word, we pray in Jesus name. Amen. So as you can see here, we’ve already, we’ve already, covered some of this. So this is a little bit of repeating, but we’ll just just to kind of review a little bit, how many of you remember what kind of we opened up with on the holiness of God? The first thing that we talked about on holiness of God was Moses at the burning bush. Do you remember? All right, so pop quiz. All right, how does Moses at the burning bush relate to holiness?

Somebody, anybody, anybody, anybody. All right, Ms. Lynn? While holding ground. Okay, that’s the first thing. Okay? That’s that’s there’s there’s probably two things we can we can talk about regarding holiness and the Moses and the burning bush. What is the other thing? First was holy ground. God said, this is holy ground. He told him to take his shoes off but what else? No.

No. Just the idea of holiness as it relates to the burning bush. The one separated. He was chosen to be that that’s true. I don’t I don’t know that we actually covered that when we were talking about it because it it that that is true. He was specifically chosen out of all the children of Israel. That is true but there was one other thing we we mentioned.

Okay, that’s true. That’s also true. Not not what I’m looking for exactly but it is related. Yeah, take off his shoes. You have to change and accommodate us. That’s true because of the holy ground. One other thing that one, everybody’s like kind of dancing around it. So is it because god it holy Also true but not exactly. Alright, Ben’s got it. Look at him. Look at his shirt. He’s saying, I have the answer.

That’s what I’m looking for. Remember what God said to Moses, he said, Draw not nigh hither. Stay back, right? That’s gonna be really important to what we study today. Why can’t you guys just read my mind? I mean, what’s wrong with you? That’s the problem with reviews, right? Alright, tell me what I’m thinking like Nebuchadnezzar to the to the the wise men of Babylon. Tell me the dream and tell us the dream. We’ll tell you the interpretation. He said, nope.

Tell me the dream and the interpretation. That’s that’s like what the preacher does, I guess. Alright. So, that it is true. The ground was holy. It was holy because God was there and that all that is true. It holy and that’s why only Moses, even throughout Mount Sinai and all that, only Moses was allowed to go up into the mount, that’s all related to that. Sanctification, all of that is related.

The thing I, again, the thing I want you to see though is when god said, draw not nigh hither. Stay back. Don’t come close. Don’t come close. Even for Moses, he said that at that time. And so we’ve looked at that and and what that is is a a kind of a visual representation of holiness, if you will. Sometimes, one of the best ways to understand, you know, you know, as a as a person, I’m a person that likes like likes words and I like to look at the dictionary and and understand what words mean but sometimes, the best way to understand something is not by being told but by it being visualized and if I were to say to you, if I were to say you, don’t come, don’t come near me. Stay over there.

That’s illustrating the kind of the the bay the basic principle behind holiness. That in other words, that distance from God, distance from sin, moral holiness, moral righteousness, and we talked about that all as well. But again, the visual, the visual demonstration of that sometimes is very helpful to us and in this case, it is vital. Well, what we’ll see today. So when you take this truth, this idea where God said stay back, stay away.

He says that and that’s not the only time he he’s done that. You you kinda fast forward to Mount Sinai. You remember Mount Sinai where the lord was preparing to come down and he was he was telling the telling the children of Israel to prepare themselves and to sanctify themselves. You all remember? And then one thing he said is, he said you need to put, paraphrasing, you need to put a fence, a border around the bottom of the mountain. What was the purpose of that?

To That’s keep people the same thing as the burning bush. Ironically, in the same location too because the burning bush was at Mount Sinai before it was Mount Sinai. But the idea was there there was supposed to be a perimeter and they were supposed to stay away from the mountain. Again, distance. God is god. You are not. You can’t go near him, right? He is holy and that’s why, okay? And so god said, tell him to get away and if anybody breaks through, kill That kinda grates on our sensibilities a little bit, but that’s exactly what he said. Man or beast, they break through, put them to death, spear them.

So obviously God takes that God took that very, very seriously. He told Moses to stay back, He told the children of Israel, don’t come close or you die. So this is not just a preference of God, no, this is a requirement, a necessity, a necessity. Then you move forward, fast forward, you press the fast forward button and you go through history and you get to the tabernacle, you get to the temple.

And in that case, now you have a building or in the early days you have a tent. And in that in that tent that tent is divided into two sections. So you have a courtyard, remember that, with a white border around it. And then within that courtyard, there’s a tent or later there would be a temple. And in that temple, it’s divided into two rooms. What are the two rooms?

Anybody? Yes, ma’am? The place and the most holy place. Okay? Notice the words? The holy place and the most holy place. That’s that’s what we’re studying, right? Okay? So, That’s where we get to Leviticus chapter 12. Now, let me show you why the Tabernacle is important. I I promise, I’m going somewhere with this if you hang with me to the very end, it’s it’s a good, it’s a it’ll be it’ll be worth it, okay? Leviticus chapter 12 verse number four.

Now, this is in the midst of the other, you know, other laws and regulations and things but there’s a principle I want you to see from this, okay? Leviticus 12 verse four, referring to the uncleanness of a woman after after she has a baby and you know, there were there were ceremonial laws and regulations regarding that and the the tabernacle. Verse four, and she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days and she shall touch no hallowed thing. Now, we we recognize that hallowed is another way to say holy, right? She’s not allowed to touch anything hallowed nor come into the sanctuary.

Until the days of your purifying are fulfilled. Now, when it says come into the sanctuary, we’re referring to the courtyard, right? The part where there’s the in in the tabernacle, the part where there’s a that fence around it. Later, it would be like a walled, you know, structure with a with a courtyard. Alright? But notice, this lady because of her uncleanness, because she is ceremonially unclean. This has nothing to do with whether she took a took a shower. This is and and you you might say, why did god do that? I mean, she didn’t do anything wrong. She just had a baby.

That’s not the point. It is to demonstrate the idea of holiness. That not everything is holy and some things are common and if you want to approach God, this is the whole idea being conveyed. If you want to approach God, you can’t be common. That there has to be a difference. And so it’s not about it has nothing when you read these things, these ceremonial laws and things, it has nothing to do with a woman, something is wrong with her after she had a baby or anything. Of course, we know there’s a physical aspect to that, but it’s just the Lord’s giving a regulation to separate the common from the hallowed, okay? Okay, so in this case, she wasn’t, the the separation was she wasn’t allowed to come into the sanctuary.

Now, normally, she could. Normally, women, men could go into that courtyard when they gave a sacrifice and those kinds of things but because of this case, there was there were restrictions and that wasn’t the only only case. Anybody that had any kind of like leprosy or disease or was sick or any other various other uncleanness like that in the Old Testament now under the Levitical law, they were not allowed to come into the sanctuary. This is just one example of that.

So here’s what want you to see. So in the temple, the restrictions that God places on people entering the sanctuary were a legal way to say, stay back. Right? The restrictions themselves are saying, stay back.

Everybody see that? You have that same concept as Mount Sinai, you have that same concept as Moses at the burning bush, stay back. Not just anybody can come, there are restrictions.

We have this idea that God is just this big bear hug and we can just, oh, He just wants to give us a big hug and hug us and all of that. Listen, a lot of that is nothing more than modern evangelical remaking of God Basically since the late 70s. It used to be that people took the idea of God’s holiness seriously, but now we wanna kinda remake God as just this big heavenly teddy bear that wants to give everybody a hug.

And there’s of course in everything there’s this little figment, a little element of truth to that, but it’s to the ignoring of everything else. But notice, I mean this is the same God, is there a God of the Old Testament, God of the New Testament, or are we talking about the same God?

Let me ask you, is this the same God or we have a different God in the Old Testament? It’s the same god. Okay. I just want to double check. Y’all are unusually silent. I was like, maybe I need to go back and yeah, exactly but so god is god has not changed. So, whatever you see in the New Testament, do not think that god has changed his mind on this. He has not. There has been a fundamental change in god’s relationship with man but that is not, it’s not because god feel god’s in a better mood now in the new, it’s not that at all. He’s still holy.

Okay and the holiness of god is represented and demonstrated in this restriction. Not just anybody can come into the temple, come into the courtyard. Okay, everybody with me? Any question on that? We’re moving forward. Now we’ve come into the tabernacle, we’ve walked into the tabernacle.

The courtyard that is. Look if you would at at numbers 18. Numbers chapter 18. Verse one. Numbers 18 verse one. And the Lord said unto Aaron, thou and thy sons and thy father’s house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary and thou thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood. And thy brethren also the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined unto thee and minister unto thee, but thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness. In other words, just just as a reminder, so god chose the tribe of Levi to serve and they were the one, they were the ones who took care of all the implements and all of the all the various things that dealt with the tabernacle but it was only the family of Aaron that was to do to be in the priesthood, okay? Everybody, everybody with me? Verse three, and they shall keep thy charge and the charge of the tabernacle, only they shall not come nigh. You see this? They shall not talking about Levi now.

They shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar that neither they nor you also, here we go again, die. Threat of death. Verse four, and they shall be joined unto thee and keep the the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation for all the service of the tabernacle and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you. Now, we’re not talking about somebody who’s not of Israel here. We’re just talking about someone who is not of the priesthood. In other words, what is God doing here? He’s laying another restriction. So you walk into the tabernacle assuming you don’t have any kind of ceremonial uncleanness, you walk into the courtyard and you see the tent or the temple later and and now you’re inside but the building, you are not permitted to go in.

That’s what this is saying. The only ones who are permitted to go in are the priests, the sons of Aaron. That is it. At no point, is any other living soul permitted to go into that holy place. You know what that is? It’s a restriction. It’s a restriction. And what is God saying? It actually says there, He says come not nigh. You know what God is saying?

As I get closer God says don’t. Stay over there. See it? Now again, this is often where the holiness of God sometimes gets a bad rap and sometimes people don’t like it as much because it cuts across the grain of Christian philosophy, but here God is saying, not just anyone can come into the temple, not just anyone can come into the tabernacle, you have to be a son of Aaron, that’s a restriction.

That restriction keeps people back. So you narrow it down to a smaller group and everybody else is out there and now only the smaller group can come in, okay? Now if you would look at Hebrews chapter nine.

I could go to the Old Testament for this but we’re going to Hebrews nine anyway so we can just get it from here. Verse one. Hebrews nine verse one.

This is speaking of the tabernacle now. Verse one says, then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made, the first, wherein was the candlestick and the table and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary. That’s what I just finished describing. 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 with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna and Aaron’s rod that budded and the tables of the covenant.

So now we’re proceeding forward, we’ve gone into courtyard and now we’ve gone, assuming we were one of the sons of Aaron, the priest, we’ve gone into the holy place where the table of shewbread and the altar of incense and the lampstand are. And now we’re going behind the big thick veil where the Ark of the Covenant is. Now you know what’s there. What’s there is, that is a representation of what we’ve been studying with what we talked about before which is the Seraphim, right, and the heavenly beings crying holy holy holy with wings you know, circling the throne of god in heaven. We we saw that in Revelation. We saw that in Isaiah. Do you remember?

The ark is a representation of that. An earthly representation of that and so the idea is that that Ark of the Covenant with its lid is the place where God is God’s throne. It’s kinda the that’s the idea there. And God, although God is not there, His presence is manifested there.

Now, you know as well as I do that there were even greater restrictions on who could go behind that veil into that most holy place. If you would, verse number five, and over the chair, over it, the cherubims of glory, shadowing the mercy seat of which we cannot now speak particularly. Now, when these things were thus ordained, the priest went always into the first tabernacle. That’s the holy place. Accomplishing the service of god but in into the second, the most holy place, went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the errors of the people.

So, in the in the in the most holy place, only the high priest, the first one being Aaron, only the high priest was allowed to go. The regular priest, his sons were not permitted to go. He could only go one time in the year. That’s a restriction. Three hundred sixty four days of the year, he couldn’t go. One time in the year, he could go. And if he went, he better have blood of a sacrifice.

Three very clear restrictions. Alright, so as you get closer to God in the tabernacle, the restrictions get tighter and stricter and stricter. What is God saying? Stay back. Stay back. I am holy. You cannot come near me.

Stay back. I will very selectively pick who and under what circumstances they might approach me. Everybody else, stay back. Come not nigh hither. Everybody see that? Now, to summarize what we’ve seen so far, all of these restrictions at the various levels of proximity, you might say to the Lord in the temple, physically. All of these restrictions keep people at a distance from god and from his holy things.

Now, look at chapter nine verse eight of Hebrews. The Holy Ghost, now we’ve already summarized the temple and the the different built, the different rooms, and who is allowed to go, and who wasn’t allowed to go, and all of that. But notice in verse number eight. Verse number eight, the Holy Spirit interprets those things for us. In other words, what is God trying to tell us by His laws that instituted all of these restrictions?

In verse eight, He tells us. Why did God do that? Brother Phil’s a little bit of a ring. Can you just bring it down a little bit? It might be because I’m ahead of the speaker. Verse number eight says this, the Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all, which one is that? That’s the where the ark is, right? Where only the high priest can go once a year with blood.

The way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest while as the first tabernacle was yet standing. So, in other words, the temple, the tabernacle was a real building but the fact of those rules and laws and restrictions and regulations, god was saying, you can’t come to me. That’s what he’s saying. Why not? His holiness. You see it? This is what God is telling them. He is visually and by law demonstrating his holiness and he’s saying you can’t come to me, you can’t come near me, keep your distance.

Now imagine God saying, you can’t come to Me, you can’t come to Me. That just really, it really bothers the Christian way of thinking, but this is exactly what the Spirit of God intended on Israel understanding. You can’t come to God, you can’t come near Him.

These restrictions kept men at a distance from God’s presence. And at that time, as verse eight says, the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest. There was no way into that most holy place. For you and for me, it was impossible. The only person that could go would be Aaron, and that with real restrictions. So none of his sons could go. So for most people, nobody could get close to God.

Now, I just wanna remind you of everything we’ve seen about the word holy. Even in these verses, we’ve seen verse number three. It mentions the holiest of all. It mentions it mentions you know, yeah, the holy place and then the most holy place. So, this word that we’re studying is being passed around and used over and over. Now, verse number nine, look at that.

Which was a figure, speaking of the tabernacle now, the tabernacle was a figure or a symbol, a type if you will, a figure for the time then present in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices that could not make him that did the service perfect as pertaining to the conscience. It was a figure for the time then present. Now, if you keep reading, it says, it goes on to say, which stood in meats and drinks and divers washings and ordinances imposed on them until the time of reformation. So it’s saying, all of the tabernacle in the temple and all that thing, all those things and the laws and the ceremony and regulation, all of that stuff was temporary for that time. That’s what verse nine says.

Now read verse 11. How’s it start? But Christ being common high priest of good things to come. So there’s a page turn. All of the things we’ve been studying in our lesson thus far were for that time.

Now, it says, But Christ, verse 11, being come in high priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, it tells us this, the worldly one, earthly one is not the real one, it’s just a figure, it’s a type, it’s supposed to represent the one that is real. Christ had no right to go into that one because he was of the tribe of Judah, not of the tribe of Levi. He wasn’t of the sons of Aaron. He had no right in the worldly sanctuary, as a human being anyway.

And but in the true tabernacle, the Bible says the one in heaven, remember, where the cherubim are, where God’s presence is manifested, that’s just a manifestation of God’s presence. But the one we’re talking about in heaven is where God actually is. His presence dwells, His throne is, and that’s the place Christ went. He was qualified for that because He has a different priesthood. Look at what it says, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands. That is to say, not of this building.

So, we’re what the lord is doing is he’s drawing our attention from the earthly temple to the true temple in heaven that the earthly one is supposed to picture where God actually dwells, and not just a manifestation of his glory, but where his throne, his very throne is.

And the Bible says, verse 12, Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood. Remember the high priest had to have blood? Here Christ goes into the real. With his own blood, he entered in once. So Christ went where it was the most highly restrictive. Right? You see that? Where the God’s holiness demanded distance. He encroached upon that because he was worthy, because he was qualified.

And he did it with blood following the pattern, with his own blood. He entered into that most holy place because he was qualified to approach God. Entered in once, remember once a year, this wasn’t once a year, this is once for all, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

This place, as I said, was severely restricted For only the Lord Himself, the Lord Jesus Himself was qualified to enter the very presence of God in heaven. Look at verse 24, same chapter. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true, that’s the earthly temple. But into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. Which one’s more important?

The earthly figure and shadow or the real thing? What’s more important, the blueprint or the building? Help me now. The building. The blueprint is just a type, a symbol, a figure of the real. The real is the real thing. Christ entered into the real temple where god, where god’s throne is. Now, look at chapter 10.

Look at verse 19. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest. What is that? Think about it, what is the holiest? The holiest of all, in the temple that’s the most holy, where the ark is, right? But are we talking about the ark on earth? No. We’re talking about the real one. This is the most holy place where God himself, his presence is. Here’s what it’s listen to what it says.

Having therefore, brethren, this is no longer Christ. This is you and this is me. Brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. By a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say his flesh, and having a priest over the house of God. Again, God says, listen to this, this is awesome. Let us, what does it say?

Draw near. What God said to Moses no longer applies. God does not say to us, keep your distance. He says, come close, but Lord, you’re holy, your place is holy. And the Lord says come close. You have a ransom. You have a redemption. The blood of Christ has been shed. You are holy. Come to me. Think about that.

Not only do we have the privilege of drawing nigh to God, but we have the privilege that no Jewish person in the old under the old covenant that they could not even go into the tabernacle much less the holy the most holy place. And yet God tells us, tells every single believer in Christ whose whose sins have been washed away by the blood of Jesus to come close, but not just closer, but come all the way to his very throne.

You wanna know why you’re gonna go to heaven when you die? You wanna know why you’re gonna go to heaven when you die? It’s because you, because of the blood of Christ shed for you, you have holiness that has qualified you on Christ’s merits to have full access to God’s very throne. There is no restriction.

There is no restriction because Christ has died for you, because his blood was shed for you. You have been made holy. You’re a saint, you see how that ties in? You’re a saint of God.

And so now we come down and we finish up which is this. This is the reason why modern evangelical preaching has described God as a big bear hug. This is the kernel of truth. It is true. To a saint who has been washed in the blood of Christ, whose faith is resting in Christ and his bloodshed for them, they have full access. He says, come into my very presence. That’s why you went to heaven because you have access into God’s very presence.

No restriction whatsoever. Read Revelation two and three, you’ll see we’re in His throne, that’s what it says. In His throne. No restriction at all. But, you see that’s true, But that does not apply to someone who is outside of Christ. Someone who stands in their sin. God says, stay away.

If you come nigh me, you will be destroyed. You think about how terrifying that would be at the great white throne judgment when sinners do stand before God and are melted by his pure holiness. No covering, no right to be there, right?

And that’s why he says, Jesus says come unto me and in Christ through him, have direct access. Without Christ, no access, none. Why? God’s holiness, stay away, stay away. You’ll be destroyed, stay away. So Christ is our access. Christ is our holiness. He is the reason why we can draw nigh to God at all.

Anybody wanna add to that? Anybody have a thought that before we close? You see these yeah. The veil ripping into Mhmm. That’s what that symbolized, that the way was made open. It was a symbol that the way into God’s very presence was open. Not open to just any old guy to be bop into God’s presence, but only to those who whose faith is resting in the blood of Christ, who are washed in the blood of the lamb.

To them, it is wide open. Let’s pray.