Intro:

• Final week of our series Sacred Spaces

Intro to message:

• Tabernacle review
  • Altar - We need a sacrifice 
  • Laver - Purity prepares us for presence
  • Table - God provides and wants fellowship
  • Lamp - The Holy Spirit lights the way
  • Incense - Our prayers rise before God
• Now we come to THE ROOM! 
  • The holy of holies
  • No one entered this room! 
  • God’s manifest presence was in the room

Passages

Hebrews 9:1–5 (NLT) — 1 That first covenant between God and Israel had regulations for worship and a place of worship here on earth. 2 There were two rooms in that Tabernacle. In the first room were a lampstand, a table, and sacred loaves of bread on the table. This room was called the Holy Place. 3 Then there was a curtain, and behind the curtain was the second room called the Most Holy Place. 4 In that room were a gold incense altar and a wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides. Inside the Ark were a gold jar containing manna, Aaron’s staff that sprouted leaves, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 5 Above the Ark were the cherubim of divine glory, whose wings stretched out over the Ark’s cover, the place of atonement. But we cannot explain these things in detail now.

Three things to note:

1. The Ark
   1. Describe earthly
      1. Mercy Seat
         1. Cherubim
         2. Cloud
      2. Golden Chest
         1. Ten Commandments
         2. Jar of Manna
         3. Rod of Aaron
   2. Application
      1. The mercy seat is God’s throne, surrounded by angels
         1. This is where we want to be
      2. The chest represents the foundation of our relationship with God
      3. The ten commandments are the basis for our right relationship with God
      4. The manna is God’s provision when we lack
      5. The rod is God’s chosen vessel to priesthood
2. The Atonement
   1. Understanding why - Propitiation; expiation; atonement 
   2. The day of Atonement - Yom Kippur; ten days after Rosh Hashanah 
   3. Process of earthly tabernacle
      1. Purity process
      2. Two goats, one sacrificed
      3. Entering in and sprinkling blood on the mercy seat
      4. Confessing sins
      5. Scapegoat ceremony
      6. Completion and cleansing
   4. Hebrews 9:11–12 (NLT) — 11 So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. 12 With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.
   5. Application
      1. See Jesus as this high priest
      2. Putting on human flesh (linens)
      3. Jesus chosen, Barabas released
      4. Jesus bringing His blood into the throne room
      5. Seated with the Father
3. The Access
   1. The Veil
      1. Linen, up to four inches thick, red, purple, blue, cherubim 
      2. Matthew 27:50–51 (NLT) — 50 Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart,
   2. Symbolism
      1. Heaven has been closed off to humans both in this life, and the next
      2. Jesus caused the veil to be ripped so we can enter
   3. Our Access
      1. Hebrews 4:14–16 (NLT) — 14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
      2. Hebrews 10:19–22 (ESV) — 19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
      3. We can come to the throne
         1. For grace
         2. For fellowship
         3. For petitions
   4. Eternal Access

Concluding the series

• The ultimate goal is for us to be at the throne of grace
• We come to the cross
• Cleansed by the word
• In fellowship with one another
• Enlightened by the Spirit
• With worship and prayer in our hearts
• We approach the throne of grace!