Intro:

• Recapping last weekend sermon
  • Tabernacle - God wants to be close
  • Altar - There is a cost for our closeness
  • Laver - Purity prepares us for presence

Sermon:

• What was your first job? 

Passages

• Leviticus 24:5–9 (NLT) — 5 “You must bake twelve flat loaves of bread from choice flour, using four quarts of flour for each loaf. 6 Place the bread before the LORD on the pure gold table, and arrange the loaves in two stacks, with six loaves in each stack. 7 Put some pure frankincense near each stack to serve as a representative offering, a special gift presented to the LORD. 8 Every Sabbath day this bread must be laid out before the LORD as a gift from the Israelites; it is an ongoing expression of the eternal covenant. 9 The loaves of bread will belong to Aaron and his descendants, who must eat them in a sacred place, for they are most holy. It is the permanent right of the priests to claim this portion of the special gifts presented to the LORD.”
• Exodus 27:20–21 (NLT) — 20 “Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually. 21 The lampstand will stand in the Tabernacle, in front of the inner curtain that shields the Ark of the Covenant. Aaron and his sons must keep the lamps burning in the LORD’s presence all night. This is a permanent law for the people of Israel, and it must be observed from generation to generation.
• Exodus 30:7–9 (NLT) — 7 “Every morning when Aaron maintains the lamps, he must burn fragrant incense on the altar. 8 And each evening when he lights the lamps, he must again burn incense in the LORD’s presence. This must be done from generation to generation. 9 Do not offer any unholy incense on this altar, or any burnt offerings, grain offerings, or liquid offerings.

The tabernacle is a model of heaven 

• Jesus is the High Priest of heaven
• We are the priests of our tabernacle
• What happens if we don’t perform the duties of the priest - The tabernacle suffers

What are our duties as priests?

1. Refresh the Bread
   1. Description - The table
      1. Gold
      2. 3 long, 1 1/5 wide, 1 1/5 high
      3. On the right when you walked in
   2. The ritual
      1. Every Sabbath day, the priest would bring fresh bread in, and replace the old bread with the fresh bread. He would then eat the bread in a holy place. 
   3. Symbolism
      1. Provision - God was a provider. The bread stood as proof that he consistently provided. 
      2. Fellowship - The table throughout the Bible
         1. God ate with the Elders on Mount Sinai
         2. He enjoyed a meal with Abraham
         3. He shared a meal with disciples on many occasions
         4. He says in Revelation that He will come in and share a meal with us
         5. Revelation 19:7–9 (NLT) — 7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. 8 She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people. 9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And he added, “These are true words that come from God.”
   4. Your duty
      1. Put new bread on the table - Desire to fellowship
      2. Enjoy the bread of fellowship in a holy place - The duty was to EAT! Enjoy fellowship
   5. I have a question for you, are you in fellowship? 
      1. Close to half our church is in groups, the other is not. 
2. Fill the Lamp
   1. Description - The lamp
      1. Solid gold
      2. Seven lamps
      3. Almond branches
      4. Oil canisters
      5. Without its light, no one could see in the holy place. 
   2. The ritual
      1. Every morning - Trim the wicks, fill the cups
      2. Every evening - Light the lamps
   3. Symbolism
      1. The eyes of the Lord - We are being watched; We are being watched over
      2. Holy Spirit - The Holy Spirit is the seven fold Spirit and the flame of God
         1. Revelation 4:5 (NLT) — 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit of God.
      3. Illumination - The Holy Spirit is the light of revelation, and inspiration
   4. Your duty
      1. Trim the wicks - Cut away the callousness that comes from serving the Lord
      2. Fill the cups - Ask the Holy Spirit to give you fresh oil
      3. Light the lamps - Let the Holy Spirit bring illumination, revelation, and inspiration
3. Burn the Incense
   1. Description - The altar of incense
      1. 3 tall, 1 1/5 wide, 1 1/5 long
      2. Four horns at the top
   2. The ritual
      1. Every morning and evening the priest would bring coals from the altar outside and then cover them with a special incense. 
      2. Strictly forbidden to offer a different incense
   3. Symbolism
      1. Prayer
         1. Revelation 8:3–4 (NLT) — 3 Then another angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God’s people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense, mixed with the prayers of God’s holy people, ascended up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out.
      2. Worship
   4. Your duty
      1. Burn incense morning and night

Closing

• JESUS shows us how to be priests in His house
  • He is the host at the marriage supper of the Lamb! Fresh Bread
  • He is the giver of the Holy Spirit - Fresh oil
  • He is the one who lives to make intercession for us - Fresh Incense
• God wants us to be priests in his house forever
  • We will forever fellowship with Him
  • We will forever walk in His light
  • We will forever worship Him