Exodus 27 Bible Study (Bronze Altar/Court of The Tabernacle/Lamp Oil) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

It is chapter 27 as we stand in the reading of God's word. Before we go there, you can join me in standing. Thank you. Before we go there, I just wanna read one verse in Isaiah. You don't have to turn there, but I just wanna read it.

Isaiah forty eight eighteen. Oh, that you had paid attention to my commandments. Then your peace would have been like a river and your righteousness like the waves of the sea. If only you had paid attention to my commandments. So I just pray that as you have come here tonight, that there would be something in you to say, Lord, just speak to me.

Whatever the word is, I wanna obey it because I know that on the other side of my obedience is peace like a river. That there's a flourishment of life. Exodus 27 verse one. You shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits broad. The altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits.

And you shall make horns for it on its four corners. Its horn shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with bronze. You shall make pots for it to receive its ashes and shovels and basins and forks and firepans. You shall make all its utensils of bronze. You shall also make for degrading a network of bronze, and on the net, you shall make four bronze rings and its four corners.

You shall set it under the ledge of the altar so that the net extends halfway down the altar. You shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood and overlay them with bronze. And the poles shall be put through the ring so that the poles are on two sides of the altar when it is carried. You shall make it hollow with boards As it has been shown you on the mountain, so shall it be made. Father, we thank you for your word, infallible, always true.

And we just ask as we've read in Isaiah that we would pay attention to your commandments. And, Lord, we know that paying attention isn't just listening rightly, it's also obeying immediately. And we pray that that we would do just that as we explore this piece of furniture. Give us the ears to hear, but the hearts also to receive and respond. We pray against every source of distraction.

We pray against every bird of the air that would come and steal this seed and ask that you would hedge us in. Hide us under the shadow of your wings that we may receive this in its fullness. In Jesus' mighty name we pray. Amen. You may be seated.

I'm curious to know based on just reading this specific portion of text concerning this specific furniture. As you have your rear view mirrors up about all the pieces of furniture that we've touched on, I'm not asking if you can pull out application. I'm I'm wondering if you guys have any observation of this specific piece of furniture in the tabernacle. Is there anything that comes to mind? Is there anything that pops out as you relate it to the other pieces of furniture?

Yes? The only metal that contains, like, colors. Say that again. The only metal that contains is colors. In comparison to the other pieces of furniture which is Tall.

Did you guys hear that? That this piece of furniture, unlike the other ones that we have touched on up to this point, is unique in its material. All the other pieces, which were found where, by the way? In the tabernacle. We're not in the tabernacle anymore.

We're outside the tabernacle. Now we're in the courtyard. And we see here that the material that is to cover the acacia wood of this altar is bronze, not gold. That's that's gonna be important later on. Any other observations?

Yes?

It's more of a question than an observation, but why does it have bronze?

That's a great question. Thank you for that question. We will touch on that at near the end of it, but that's a great question. Why does it have horns? It's a good question.

Any other observation? It was made it it moved around, not in one spot. That's right. So it's portable like the other pieces of furniture because we're not talking about the temple here. We're talking about this portable tent that is to follow the Israelites in the wilderness Jersey.

Yes. Absolutely. Anything else? Yes. Also hollow.

Hollow. Yes. Hannah? If you could tell it, this is the number for a lot here. Okay.

Four corners, four different things. Sure. We're just asking for observations that pop out to you. Here's what popped out to me when I was reading it. One, the the aspect of the fact that the material is different than all the other furnitures, and two, look at the measurement of it.

What does it say? Five cubits long, five cubits broad, and its height shall be three cubits. Up to this point, this is the biggest piece of furniture. Out of all the other pieces, this is the largest. It's covering the most ground, and that may be important for us to understand later on.

So now here's the second question. What is the purpose of this specific piece of furniture? In the immediate sense, what does it represent? What is what is its function for the Israelites as an act of worship towards God? Burn offerings and sacrifices.

Absolutely. And when we come to Leviticus, yes, we will be going through Leviticus as bible study. When we go through Leviticus, we will unpack how there are specific sacrifices for specific purposes with a specific message within each of them. But within Exodus itself, just a couple chapters after, and I need two volunteers here. In Exodus chapter 29, we see an immediate offering that is to be practiced for this specific furniture.

It's in Exodus 29, and I need somebody to read from verse 38 down to verse 40. And the other person to read from 41 to 44. So if you have it, make sure that you can say it loud enough for the people in the back to hear. If you're in the back, loud enough for the front to hear. Exodus twenty nine thirty eight down to 41, and then the second person 41 to 44.

Now this is what you shall offer on the altar, two lambs a year old day by day regularly. One lamb you shall offer in the morning and the other lamb you shall offer at the twilight. And with the first lamb, a tenth measure of fine flour mingled with the fourth of a hen of wheat and oil, and the fourth of a hen of wine for a drink offering.

Pause. So we now understand that there are two lambs that are to be offered when? Morning and night. How often? Every single day regularly.

And so two lambs. Now and this is this is an additional sacrifice that is to be recognized on top of the other sacrifices. And so this is a unique type of sacrifice and so we move on now in verse 41.

And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even shall do there too according to the meat offering of the morning and according to the drink offering thereof for a sweet savor, an an offering made by fire unto the Lord. This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord, where I will meet you to speak there unto thee. And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory. And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation in the altar. I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons to minister to me in the priest's office.

Now when you hear those things, do you see where God is asking for purpose behind this? I mean, is he unveiling why he wants this sacrifice to be made? Is it is it to cover sin? Is it to perform a certain act of worship for a certain festival? Does anybody see any of that in there?

There's one simple phrase. There's one simple reason why God wants this to be a regular offering. Does anybody see the phrase? To minister to me. To minister to me.

To minister to me. Is that what your translation says? What did you say in the King James?

Meat. Meat. I have meat.

Earlier, there's there's something in verse 41 by the end of it. For a pleasing aroma to God. So this is to be regularly kept by the priest just because it pleases God. Now there's more to it then, boo. Pleasing God in what way?

Just because he likes the smell of it? What's the pleasing aspect of it? And you're right on. This is the result of it. The result of the pleasing aroma will be that I will meet with you here.

So sacrifice is important to God. But if you look at the wider if you just zoom out in in chapter 29, the whole context is talking about consecration of the priests. So once the arrangements and the outfits of the priest is set, God's like, I want you to be consecrated. Meaning what? I want you to be set apart, priest.

Consecration is simply this, anything in my life that would hinder a greater intimacy with God and the cleansing of anything that would represent him wrongly. Consecration is this, a removal of anything in my life that would hinder a greater intimacy with God. Well, how do I know? Well, I gotta know what he wants. And a removal of anything in my life that would represent him wrongly, That's consecration, being set apart.

And so if you connect the context with the sacrifice, this sacrifice is a continual act of consecration on the priest's part. Consecration is not just a season of your life. Consecration is your life. And he says, this is gonna be a pleasing aroma to me, which tells you and me something, that consecration pleases God. It's an aroma to him.

And they were supposed to do it what? Every morning and every night. Their days were sandwiched with this proclamation and exclamation of I am consecrated unto you. Notice what type of animal that is given. A lamb at what age?

A year old. The prime of its life. In its fullest vigor and its strength, that's what I want. What a picture. Day and night, just because it pleases me.

And Sophia said it this way, that there's a result for this. That if you are to do this sacrifice, priest, this is the place where I'm gonna meet you in. You can you can think of it this way. The Lord is saying, I want you to create this sacrifice day after day. I want morning and evening sacrifice because that is the atmosphere, that is the heart posture in which I meet with you.

That is the the necessary factor for you and I to know nearness. He's saying I will meet with the people of Israel in the place of day and night sacrifice. That's how you're gonna know God near and near when you realize that consecration results in a greater intimacy. And there is a man in the Bible that understood this to the point where he took it so extreme, one would say. Can you think of a man who offered much sacrifice on the altar resulting in something concerning revelation?

Can you think of a man in the old testament? Joel. Gabriel. Good guess. Abraham.

Good guess. Abraham. Good guess. Abraham. Abraham.

Abraham. Good guess. Solomon. Solomon. Who said it?

Solomon. First Kings chapter three. First Kings chapter three. Beginning in verse three. The connection between my heart, God says, and yours is made possible in the place of continual sacrifice.

And look what Solomon does with this revelation. Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father. Only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places. And the king went to Gibeon. Let me ask the Bible some questions.

Why would he go to Gibeon? Why is Solomon going to Gibeon? You don't have to turn there. We'll put it up. If you can turn to first Chronicles one three.

Excuse me. Second Chronicles one three. This is why he's going to Gibeon because when Solomon, all the assembly went with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon for the tent of meeting of God, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, had made in the wilderness was there. So this portable tent that we're describing and we're unpacking at this point in history is at Gibeon. And so Solomon wants to go there to do what?

What does he do? And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. So the Bible wants to tell you and me something, that Solomon was making a sacrifice on this altar. I mean, beyond what I mean, I don't know how long of a period this was where he made a thousand offerings, but it wants to show us that he really meant it.

It wants to show us that he was really serious about it. It wants to show us that I mean, if you're making a thousand offerings, that means you're putting a lot of time into that. You're putting a lot of focus into that. You're putting a lot of energy into that. And look at the result.

I believe there's a connection between this verse and the next verse. At Gibeon, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night and God said, ask what I shall give you. So the principle is the same. That the basis for nearness, for revelation, for closeness, for intimacy, if you want God nearer and his voice clear, it has to be on the basis of sacrifice, on your part. He already did his part.

Your part and mine, consecration onto the Lord, sacrifice, giving him what he deserves day and night. That means continually is what he requires for him to say, how can we walk closer together? Let's walk closer together. This is why so many people are walking Christians that are hollow in heart because they have not made that the main purpose of their life. How can I be set apart for you?

How can I be consecrated unto you? And so we read that in the new covenant and we go, Lord, if that's the result of consecration, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to do you wanna become a farmer and and make a herd and and sacrifice my most precious animals to you? Do you want me to give a male lamb every day, morning and night? Do you want me to live in a cave?

What do you want me to do? And God answered that question already for us. If this element of relationship requires consecration, you don't have to shed blood day and night. Perhaps this is even harder. I appeal to you brothers by the mercies of God that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Romans twelve one. And so the Lord, the Lord in the new covenant, he doesn't want an animal burning in the morning and burning at night. He wants your heart burning in the morning and burning at night. The Lord in the new covenant does not want a young lamb at the peak of its life. The Lord wants the days of your youth, young people, in your strength, in your energy.

Where other people are living for self, he wants you to be consecrated. The Lord in the old covenant was pleased with the aroma of a dead sacrifice. In the new covenant, the aroma comes from a living one, you and me. And so in the new covenant, what a wonderful way to look at holiness. That as I say no to temptation, as I say yes to obedience, as I choose to separate myself from what the other people wanna mingle with, guess what's happening in the nostrils of God almighty?

There's a perfume of consecration and it's pleasing unto him. That's a great motivation in my heart. I don't know about you. That when temptation knocks on the door of my devotion, your no is incense to God. Is pleasing to God.

But here's the reality. Like Solomon, sacrifice will always be challenged by outside sources. Your consecration to God will be challenged by other invitations to split and divide that devotion and convince you that it will be alright. I read Solomon's life, and I can't help but to grieve, especially when I reach a certain chapter, and we're gonna go there in a moment. It's like my heart is in pain by how the Holy Spirit brings commentary to the downfall of Solomon.

It's shattering, but the principle is true, not just in Solomon's life, but in so many people's lives. And you're gonna have to turn a few chapters later in first Kings 11. This man who loved the Lord in his younger years, and saw his dependency upon God and longed to be consecrated, so inspired by his father's footsteps, so easily lost track By what? Well, he makes these marriage alliances. He went from a thousand burnt offerings to a thousand wives.

700 of them and 300 concubines. What happens? Verse seven. Then Solomon built a high place for Shamosh, the abomination of Moab, and for Molech, the abomination of the Ammonites on the mountain East of Jerusalem. And so he did for all his foreign wives.

It's amazing what emotion can do. It's amazing what wrong relationships can do. It's amazing with being in the wrong person's life and having their them in your life can do. Who made offerings and sacrifice to their gods. This man who made a thousand burnt offerings unto the Lord and knew the nearness of God now found himself sacrificing to other gods.

And this is the verse that punctures my soul. Verse nine. And the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel who had appeared to him twice. That part kills me every time. It's as though the Lord is saying through the author, it's like the Lord appeared to you twice, Solomon.

That that encounter in chapter three was one of two incredible encounters with God. And yet despite the encounters with God, he was still able to slip and find himself in a place of compromise and no longer in consecration. That puts a holy fear in my heart to say if Solomon could have such a history with God and find himself to slip into compromise and tragic so and end his life so tragically, I cling to your mercies, Lord, day by day. Day by day. I'm not relying on what I had with the Lord in the past.

I'm clinging to him day by day, every single day. Lord, I need a reminder daily of my foolishness. I need a reminder daily of your goodness. I need a reminder daily of your faithfulness. I look at that too and that scares me because how many people are living today as fathers, mothers, pastors, ministers, and had history with God, but they find themselves sacrificing to other idols?

That consecration is no longer a pursuit in their life. That they found ease in Zion, and they sit back, and they don't care, and they're just they're thinking and they're trusting in their own wisdom like this man. For Solomon, the compromise came from sacrificing actual animals to false gods. For you and me, compromise is expressed in Romans 12 verse two. Do not be conformed to the world.

If Romans twelve one is my act of worship and consecration to God, then Romans twelve two is the compromise factor. Do not be conformed to the world. Don't give yourself to the world. Give every piece of your life unto God. Fight for it.

Fight for it. Lest one becomes like Solomon, just another statistic in the book of first and second Kings that had such a tragic fall. The rarity in first and second Kings was not somebody who started well, was somebody who finished well. That's the rarity in the book of first and second Kings. That's why if you've ever read through the book of first and second Kings, when you see somebody dying well, it's like a breath of fresh air.

Because it's it is covered with the stench of compromise, and it's a warning to you and me. I love the fact that the bible puts in there. Just just account after account after account. This king messed up. This king he kind of followed the lord.

This just like, I can't breathe, lord. Keep me from being the common statistic. Keep me holy. Keep me on my face. Keep me delighting in sacrificing unto you.

Keep me in the pursuit of consecration. Let the world be composing whatever they wanna do with the world. That's fine. I wanna be consecrated unto you. This is a picture that God is pleased when we look at the bronze altar with consecration.

It's an aroma unto him. Look at your holy pursuit as that. Look at saying no to sin as that. Look at you separating yourself as that. It's it's something that pleases him.

But we have to look back at this with a different lens. We come back to 29 in Exodus. And we understand that what kind of animals are sacrificed day and night? A lamb, a year old. Have we seen that description for a different type of sacrifice in our reading of Exodus?

Way back in Exodus. Passover lamb. Exodus chapter 12, that they were to take a lamb a year old. The same idea, the same principle. And there could be a secondary purpose to the sacrifice in Exodus 29 that there would be this indirect reminder that their redemption was based on the sacrifice of a lamb, and it would be a continual reminder to them.

Day and night, day and night, they would be reminded that we were delivered from the bondage of pharaoh and from Egypt because of that type of lamb that delivered us. But here, they are faced now with a present reality that the continuous experience of fellowship with God is dependent upon a lamb being sacrificed morning and night. The sacrifice system sustained the reality of God's presence amongst his people. That's what the sacrifice system was. Neglect it, you forfeit the presence of God.

Ignore it, God withdraws his glory. That's what he does in Ezekiel. But sacrifice sustained the reality of God's presence. And so they look back at the past perhaps. It's not directly there, but this is just a thought.

They're looking at the past. We were delivered by a lamb in the prime of his life, and now our relationship is sustained and we have access to God to some degree based on a continual sacrifice of a lamb upon an altar. Why am I saying all of this? That if there's any picture that the bronze altar points to, loud and clear, brothers and sisters, it's the cross on Calvary. This is shouting gospel all over it.

So again, we look at the details when we go back to 27 verse one down to verse eight. What material is it made out of again? Does anybody have an idea why? Yes? Oh, because because of the fire.

Okay. So connect the fire element, which consumes the sacrifice to what? I was thinking the serpent and then bronze serpent. Bronze serpent as well. So that is another picture of something.

The this continuous theme of bronze goes all the way to Revelation chapter two verse 18, where the Lord introduces him to a specific church, and he says, my eyes are like a flame of fire and my feet are like burnished bronze. That doesn't sound like a nice letter. That doesn't sound like a very kind and soft introduction. And I believe that bronze in the appropriate context symbolizes judgment. That the Lord was, in Revelation two, willing to walk through that church and crush everything that defied his will.

And when you relate the bronze element to the sacrifice of the bronze serpent, it's all a picture of judgment against sin. And so this is what we see with this piece of furniture, that it has a specific role of satisfying judgment. Why is that important again? If we have it, can we pull up the map of the tabernacle? Because we gotta just look at this and understand where it's placed to understand gospel truth.

Where is it? If that's the gate, It's the first thing that you're walking and you're seeing when you enter into the courtyard, which tells me something in light of all the other truths. That if this is the presence of God, if this means close proximity to God, if this means intimacy with God, you cannot even think of taking a step forward into that reality unless you are first willing to step forward and acknowledge your sin. That's the first thing. That's the message that the Lord wants to reveal to you and me before we enter further into intimacy with him.

You and I first have to be faced with the reality that we are sinful beings, that apart from a substitution for our sin, you can't even imagine coming even closer to that. That's the message. That's the first thing that's there. And for any person in this room, or any person in this world, any person in history has to first, if they long for this, have to acknowledge your sin. You have to acknowledge your rebellion.

You have to can you imagine the sight of it? I mean, we could pull up that video again, and it's all polished and nice. That was probably the first day it was erected. But if you just gave it a few weeks and a few months, think about the practice of the sacrifice. Think about day and night.

That's just one sacrifice. You're slaughtering a lamb. Do you think that was a clean process? Think of the site after weeks and months. Blood and guts everywhere.

Blood at the base of the altar, blood on the horns of the altar, animals running around struggling. It wasn't a pretty sight. They were walking in there and they're faced with all of this. And it was a reflection of their need for saving grace. And just in case just in case you missed it, again, we go back to the fact that it's the biggest piece of furniture as though God wants to say, don't miss this.

As though God wants to say, you can't ignore this truth. It covered the most ground as though to shout sinful, sinful, sinful. And your need for sacrifice, and your need for a substitution, It was kind of hard to walk by that piece of furniture compared to the other ones. And so brothers and sisters, the basis, just like the tabernacle itself, if you want to build a relationship, like those boards needed to be upright, it needs to be securely placed upon and in the silver bases which represent atonement based on the atonement money that was given for it. And the Lord just wants to re reiterate that thought.

You can't even go further without first facing your need of a savior. It's glorious. It's wonderful. But it doesn't even end there. Somebody had asked earlier, why is there horns?

Not decorative, that's for sure. And there to be one piece with the bronze altar. You couldn't separate the horns from the pieces. Anybody have an idea why there are horns on the altar? Have you ever read in the Psalms that language, the horn of your altar?

And this is why I am an advocate. Just a side note, rabbit trail, and we'll come back. I am an advocate for daily bible reading. Why? Because this is where revelation comes.

When you scan through the Bible regularly, what you will do is position yourself to receive revelation because that comes through connecting truths found in the scripture. Think of it as a huge puzzle, and day by day you're just adding another piece to it. And as you come back to this text, you said I read this somewhere else. I put this here. And this is what happens.

You put those verses together, you put those ingredients, and you blend them in mind and the meditation of prayer, and boom, revelation comes. And so when we think of the horns of the altar, we have to understand that there is a specific purpose behind them. I won't turn there, but later on when they were to make the sacrifices in Leviticus And maybe if you remember in that video, let's see who remembers because it was the first piece. You saw the priest doing something with his hand. What was it?

Relating to the horns of the altar. He was wiping blood on each one. So we have in scripture, whenever a sacrifice, particular sacrifices were made, the priest would dip his finger and he would put it on each horn and he would throw the rest at the base. And I think that is a wonderful declaration of gospel truth. That if you put up that map again, you see that north, south, east, and west.

It's as though to say that the blood is made available to anybody. The four corners of the earth, the blood shouts for you to come. And you might be thinking this is a stress. Just wait. That this is an invitation of saving grace to all men of all places, of all the the jungles in the world and the skyscrapers and the cities and the landscapes, all those it's an invitation to say, this blood can reach to you.

This blood is available to you. This blood is inviting you to receive redemption, to receive refuge in Christ. You're saying, it's a stretch. Go back to Exodus 21 verse 12. These are the random laws that we covered briefly.

And here's one about murder. Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death. But if he did not lie and wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee. Where is that? What are those?

There is cities of what? Cities of refuge that are gonna be developed for the people in the Promised Land so that if you committed murder intentionally, you were to die. But if you did it unintentionally and you realized it, just think about it. Something happened. You you killed somebody on accident.

You could run to those cities of refuge and stay there, and nobody could avenge you. Nobody could come and destroy you. You were safe in those places, but not just there. Look at this slight little insight here. But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, you shall take him from my altar that he may die.

So there's another place of refuge. Where is it? The altar itself. Do we see that in the Bible anywhere? Where?

What yes. First Kings, Joab and Joab and Adonijah.

Good job, Marfil. If you read first Kings in the first few chapters, Joab was to be avenged by Solomon. He runs to the altar, but he committed murder intentionally, so he died. But Adonijah did not there was a mercy upon Adonijah in one fifty of first Kings. And Adonijah feared Solomon, so he rose and went and took hold of the horns of the altar.

Imagine that sight. He realized his guilt. He realized that there was judgment upon him. So what does he do? He books it and he grabs a hold of you wanna know what the horns are for?

To put your hands on it and to cling to it, praying and crying out for mercy. It was a safe zone from judgment. It was a place in which you felt secure. It was a law established by God to shout down the corridors of time of a truth about blood. You know what would make an incredible study?

Just a study of blood from Genesis to Revelation. That this blood, this this these blood stained horns that I cling to will shield me from whatever is chasing me to destroy me. And here's the difference, that if you committed it intentionally, you were worthy of judgment. Here's the reality of the gospel and the cross. Whether you committed intentionally or unintentionally, when you cling to the cross, there's always mercy.

Always mercy. So here here's the truth. Not just if you're not saved. If you're not saved here, I wanna tell you something. There's judgment racing towards you.

There is wrath ready to be poured out on you, and God will receive just as much glory from his wrath than he does his mercy upon your life and upon the millions that will reject Christ and be thrown into hell for all eternity. So where do you cling to? Where's your refuge? Are you clinging to the cross? Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the cross I cling.

Or are you clinging to your good works? Are you clinging to your church attendance? But not just that, believer. When condemnation chases you down, where do you run to? What do you hold on to when guilt from your past tries to chase you down?

When your past tries to haunt you and bring you to a place of self destruction, do you run and cling to the cross? What is your source of defense? What is your refuge? What is your safety? What is your security?

These men in the Old Testament had enough sense to realize that blood stained horns was a source of grace. How much more you and me with the cross, intentional, unintentional. So when those memories come, what do you bring before it? When Satan brings your record, what do you refute it with? How good you've been the past few months?

How much scripture you've memorized? Or the cross? Martin Luther knew it in that experience with the devil. When the devil wrote all the record of his sins, he says, you forgot to write one more thing. What's that?

There's nothing I can write. Yes. There is. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses me of all sin. Condemnation, brother.

Condemnation, sister, should be a foreign feeling when you understand the cross. So where do you cling to? Where do you run to in your heart? The gospel. This is our refuge, but it invites intentional or unintentional.

That's a wonderful truth. So we talked about what it means for the believer. We talks we talked about what it means for for a Christian relating to Christ and his gospel. How does that relate to the church? Because those are the three things that we believe the tabernacle points to.

Right? Christ, the believer as an individual tabernacle, Christ tabernacling amongst us, John one fourteen. But the church being the temple of God. And there's one story that came to mind. There's one story that came to mind and it it requires us to read it, to really grasp it.

So second Kings chapter 16 beginning in verse 10. And again I say this is the beauty of taking the time to read through your Bible, because this is where revelation comes when you connect truths with one subject from your discovery of the different books of the scriptures. We're faced with another king. And I'm just gonna read it from verse 10, but would you just imagine it? This king allied with the king of Assyria, and Assyria came in and and backed them up, and there was temporary victory, I guess, for Israel.

But look what it says in verse 10. When king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet the king of Assyria, he saw the altar that was at Damascus. And King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest a model of the altar and its pattern, exact in all its details. And Uriah the priest built the altar in accordance with all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. So Uriah the priest made it before King Ahaz arrived from Damascus.

You know what I'm reading right now? Danger. Danger. Danger. There's only one altar.

What are you doing, Ahaz? There's only one blueprint for instruction. What are you doing, Ahaz? And when the king came from Damascus, the king viewed the altar. Then the king drew near to the altar and went up on it and burned his burnt offering and his grain offering and poured his drink offering and threw the blood of his peace offerings on the altar.

What's going through your mind as you're reading this? In light of Exodus 27, is there room for another altar? Is there a permission for another altar? Or is there just one altar? This enough is transgression.

This enough is danger all over it, but he does something else, which I believe many churches have done today. Verse 14. And the bronze altar that was before the Lord, he removed from the front of the house, from the place between his north side of the altar. If we can put that map up again, please. So he comes up with this idea because, you know, he was inspired by something that the world was doing.

You know? And so he sends a priest. They minister. I have an idea. They do it this way, and it seems like it's working.

So why don't we do it the same way? Here's the instructions. Let's do it by detail. So he does it, and he builds it. But this is what he does on top of that.

It says what what direction did he move it towards? The north side. So what's the north side? That's the east gate. He pushes the altar out of the way, and he places his own altar in the front.

Now I wish that there was a description of what this altar was, what material was made out of, because I would have loved to just explore that. But we don't see it there, so I'm just gonna make a few assumptions. This is not prescribed or obviously here. But I I just thought as I was reading this, what kind of what kind of altar was it? And perhaps if this is a bronze altar, it was not a bronze altar.

Perhaps. And if this altar represents gospel truths, is a revelation of God's justice and judgment against sin and our need for redemption, then this other altar, maybe it's similar, but it's missing some elements. And perhaps it's not made out of bronze. Perhaps. And if bronze is a reflection of judgment, when they were faced with this new altar, perhaps they were not faced with that revelation of judgment Like many people who preach the gospel today, they'll preach a gospel, but they'll remove the judgment part of it.

They'll remove the wrath element of it. They'll keep some ingredients. It kind of looks like an altar. It kinda looks like the original altar, but it's not the real altar. It's not the full picture.

And so you'll hear Jesus died on the cross because he loves you. That's true, but that's not the full picture. He died on the cross, yes, because he loves you, but he also died on the cross as you. Because you deserve not just that cross, but an eternal judgment. But people don't wanna say that anymore.

And so it's this gospel with holes in it. It's not the full thing. It doesn't give the weight and the penetrating fact of the reality of my sin. So it's a new altar. It's a different type of altar.

And I don't wanna explore too much about how this altar might have been different, but it was different because it's not prescribed against this. But not only that. He didn't get rid of the altar completely. Right? What did he do?

He just moved it. He just moved it aside. And he brought in another way of approaching God. Do many people speak like that? This is becoming more and more evident in our day.

This inclusivism gospel. This there's more than one way to God. There's we all have the same God, but we're just different ways of expressing it. So it's not just the gospel, it's the gospel and. The gospel and this.

And we push the gospel aside and we invite something else, and that is blasphemy. Go back to Exodus 27. What did he say at the end? Very clearly, this was for Ahaz to memorize. You shall make it hollow with boards.

As it has been shown you on the mountain, so shall it be made. Don't change the message. Don't alter it. Don't do it like the world. That probably would have attracted a lot of people that were worshiping false gods.

Oh, you guys have the altar like us. Oh, look at that. Oh, you you have your altar, but you also have this altar, so we're included too. Not according to my gospel. There's only one way.

So you have to forsake your way in order for you to enter in and have a true relationship with God. What a sight for God. The central thing, the first thing that you're stepping into now is push to the side. And there there's another way to reach God apparently. But I think even just in the physical picture of it, how many temples, how many tabernacles, how many houses of God have pushed to the corner the centrality of the gospel, the preaching of the gospel.

I don't know if this new altar had horns or not. There was an element of blood sacrifice on it. But perhaps this altar had fewer emphasis on blood than the actual altar. And so people today now replace the message of Calvary with carnival activity. And that's just pushed to the corner.

We just kinda pull it out when we need it or in just specific seasons, specific moments. No. It's the first thing that you should face. It's the central thing. It's the elementary thing.

You can't change it. You can't push it aside. Notice this that the tabernacle and every detail including the position of the furnitures is meant to say something. And here, Ahaz has no reverence. Well, they kept it up that way and they forfeited exactly what God threatened to for forfeit his presence.

And that temple, it wasn't a tabernacle that time. That temple was destroyed in the end. And before we close, I just wanna open up for any questions about any of these things. Yes. I think a comment.

I was, just reminding me of second Corinthians two where Paul says, we are a role of Christ of God. We are the aroma of God. Absolutely. We are the aroma of God. And our consecration unto him, our union in him, our position in him because of Christ's sacrifice is that aroma, but also our consecration in our position is another fragrance that we can offer up unto him.

That excites me about consecration. And I didn't know when to read this specific thing. I really I really felt like it was unrelated, but I really it touched my heart, so I wanted to relay it here. And I thought that tonight would be appropriate since we have so many people. Is anybody here familiar with Paul Washer?

Anybody here not familiar with Paul Washer? Just lift up your hands so I know. A few people. Paul Washer is an evangelist, a missionary, and even to some extent a teacher, And he's been used mightily by God to touch millions of people's hearts. And even in my own life, I remember when I first watched, the shocking youth message within my first few months of salvation.

My mom sent it to me. It terrified me in a good way. And it really I'll be honest. I'll be transparent. It was one of the elements.

It was one of the things and one of the messages that set me, even after I got saved, on a path of of pursuing God in a specific manner. And and I just praise God for his life. I've never met him, but I I watch his stuff, and he suffered a heart attack last year, over a little a year ago. And recently, the beginning of this month, because because of his heart attack, it was so intense, he could not minister, and he still to this day cannot preach as much as he used to. And I don't think he's preaching at all at this point.

He's still resting. But he had posted a blog post on his missionary website in the beginning of this month. And I I stumbled upon it, and I wanted to read it. And if there's any relationship between this blog post and this Bible study, it's the idea of your life being consecrated to some degree. So I'm just gonna read this and just pay attention to it, and I hope it ministers to you the same way in even greater ways than it did to me.

Are you guys up for it? I'm gonna skip some parts. But just hear it from a man of God who had a heart attack in his mid fifties. It has been a little over one year since my heart attack, 03/21/2017. Without warning, I fell to the kitchen floor unconscious.

I remember nothing that happened thereafter until five days later when I found myself in a hospital room. I asked what happened and someone said you died three times. My heart had stopped on three separate occasions. During my hospital stay, the pain in my ribs was intense due to the cardiac revivement. To add to that, the damaged neuroceptors neuroceptors in my brain from a lack of oxygen made me feel like my skin was on fire.

The smallest movements resulted in intense pain. Due to a loss of my short term memory, I nearly drove my wife crazy by asking the same questions over and over. As the days passed, I had plenty of time for reflection. If I had died or stayed dead, what would have been my regrets? What would I have changed?

What should I change now that God has extended my life? And he gives three things. Number one. The first thing is love. I regretted that I had not loved more.

I'm not writing about mere sentimentality of misguided love that hinders one from speaking the truth. I am referring to a Christ like servant love for my family. Brothers and sisters in Christ and the unbelieving world, even my enemies, in this one thing all the commandments of God are fulfilled. However, it is an impossible task apart from a mind renewed in the word and filled with the Holy Spirit. Isn't it strange?

I did not regret that I preached too little or on the streets or that I spent too little time in my study. I regretted that I had played too few board games with my nine year old daughter. She loves board games. The second thing is intercessory prayer. I've heard many and old preachers say that no minister on his deathbed ever regretted praying too much, but always regretting praying too little.

Studying has never been a difficult task for me. The day after my return from the hospital, I studied and wrote for several hours. Indeed, I have spent most of this last year alone in my study. In fact, it requires more discipline for me personally to deny myself the joy of studying than it does to force myself to study. God's excellencies provoke the regenerated heart to draw near to him and to think much of him.

In contrast, intercessory prayer is work for me. More pointedly, it is war. War with my flesh, with the clock, with the devil. How my flesh hates intercessory prayer, fastings, and night watches. How many times my flesh has won out over my better understanding, drawing me back to bed or to the table or even to my study.

Yes, my flesh will choose even Bible study over intercessory prayer. But it is in the prayer closet and in the night watches that darkness is beaten back, that Christ gains ground in the heart, that souls are redeemed, and that battles are won. The prayers of God's saints ascend from the earth like a faint and feeble cry. But when the incense of heaven is added to them, they return to earth with power like thunder, lightning, and earthquakes. Revelation eight:three and five.

Why then do I not rush to the closet, to the night vigil, to times of separation? May God help me and you spend our days on the earth in believing, persevering, and prevailing intercessory prayer. The third and last thing I will mention is focus. This is a man who almost lost his life in his mid fifties. Love, intercessory prayer, and the last thing he says is my lack of focus.

This one will nail it nailed me in the heart concerning how I spend my life. I started my ministry in the city, mountains and jungles of my beloved Peru, traveling from town to town, preaching on the street, and training pastors and evangelists who never had the opportunity to study in a Bible institute. These were men far more worthy than myself, who toiled and suffered and accomplished so much with so little, men who labored in poverty, suffering and anonymity. These men are the reason that high HeartCry exists. This is a missionary organization.

They have always owned my heart above all matters of ministry, and it is to them that I purpose to return. Now here's a man who is a conference speaker around the world, well sought out. You put a sermon at Paul Washer, it's gonna get hundreds of thousands of views many times. And look what he says here. How many times in a conference setting in North America have I sat on the platform with a multitude of teachers far more instructed than I ever will be?

How many times have I asked myself, why am I here surrounded by so many outstanding teachers instead of in some remote jungle or mountain range where there are so few, if any? Please pray for me and the HeartCry staff that we might burn and burn out for the unreached and for those who labor with so little. I still plan this one was startling to me. I still plan to preach in some conferences and churches in The United States, but lord willing, I will give the greater part of the rest of my life to directing hard cry, preaching where Christ is not named, and training and writing material for the pastors and evangelists in those places. I read that you know what I said to myself?

God, don't let it take a tragic event in my life for me to realize my priorities were wrong, But let me glean off of this man's tragic event, which really is a glorious event in light of God's will in his life to say, I'm gonna be consecrated more and more. The title of that blog is Life is a Vapor. And so look at your life tonight as we end this bible study. Was it at one moment like King Solomon where consecration was the pursuit? Was the very thing that consumed your mind?

Or have you drifted back and you've given yourself the things that are foreign to the scriptures, given yourself to things that you never thought you would give yourself over to in the beginning of your walk with the Lord like Solomon? When you think of those horns of the altar and those men having this revelation in the midst of their depravity that they ran to it, I encourage you tonight if you do not know Jesus Christ as Lord, that you would run to the cross with nothing in your hands, but only with a heart that realizes your need for the blood of Jesus Christ to wash your record of sin and for you to realize that the only salvation you have in this life and for the next is his blood. Intentional, unintentional. Murder in the act or murder in the thought. Lust in the act or lust in thought.

His blood is willing to cover and wash and save from anything that is coming to hunt you whether it's a guilt or condemnation or God's judgment itself. Oh, the gospel in the tabernacle. So many messages for us to just chew on. And so let's do it. Let's chew.

Bow your head and just pray with me, please. As the worship team prepares to play in a moment, just set your heart before him. And I know that every person in here can tell God, Lord, here's my consecration. Whether you're on that pursuit or whether you've let back on that pursuit, would you find it within yourself to say, Lord, if my consecration is a pleasing aroma to you, then here it is. Morning and night, day and night.

Here's my life like that lamb in the strength and the life that it had in the peak of its life. Here's my life.