Fellowship Baptist Church: Recent Episodes
The "Good Things" that Christ gives us as the Great High Priest are too numerous to be exhaustively explained. His labor of love over us reaches beyond our understanding and touches our lives and souls in a manner that will take eternity to unpack. His intercession with God on our behalf richly and overflowingly provides all that we could ask or need… indeed "exceedingly, abundantly beyond all that we could ever ask or imagine" (Ephesians 3. 20) but within His perfect salvation the most extravagant set of provision orbits around our adoption into the family of God.
The next set of "good things" we are going to examine are the soul comforts that are ours because of the working of our great High Priest, Jesus. He has imparted to us Justification through his efficient sacrifice, as well as giving us the power to live out His life… but today we are going to think about how the life of Christ in us produces the comforts that we all so desperately need! About how Jesus' life is poured out into us who are HIS.
The second grouping of good things that our Great High Priest brings to us through His life, death and resurrection is the power to live this life for the Glory of God. To be transformed into the likeness of Jesus Himself as He works in us… "for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13, NKJV) This empowerment has two main goals, our sanctification and our testimony… and what God gives us through Christ in these pursuits will accomplish all that He purposes!
In the Law of Moses, provision for substitution of the life of and innocent animal was codified. But it was not first introduced by Moses. The worship of God had used this very device since the Garden of Eden; the blood of an innocent animal being accepted in appeasing the wrath of God for the sin of the guilty. However, for the millennia that passed between Adam and Moses, between the garden and the law, AND the millennia that passed between the Law and Cross of Christ not ONE sin was EVER taken away by the blood of an animal. It served the same purpose that it did in the garden… it was a vehicle for covering, for passing over.
Jesus Christ, the Messiah IS the High Priest who is to come. He is the Christ, He is the promised Messiah that Israel had been, and still is, waiting for. He is the only one who will ever BE that fulfillment and has completely fulfilled all that was promised… "For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us." (2 Corinthians 1:20, NKJV) thus he is the final end and fulfillment of all the Old Testament.
Until the time of Reformation…God has given us a precious gift in these words. The promise inherent in the word reformation is worth taking some time to consider. For God has accomplished in Christ what was only shadowed in the Old law, and more, He has accomplished this FOR US. It is on our behalf that Jesus has completed the demands of the Law, forever setting them aside and has thus completely reformed our relationship with God! In light of this reality it is utter folly and sin to attempt to return to the law for our salvation.
From the time that God first gave the Law to Moses on the mountain, man has been misunderstanding the reach and abusing the scope of God's law. We take what was given for a very specific purpose and make of it something with a pretended power to save. We ignore the things that God has really said and instead teach as the commandments of God the imaginings of men… We have taken that which was only for the flesh and imagine that it has the power to save our souls. And we still do so today as we teach rituals and practices that distract us from the risen Christ and all that He has done for us!
The God of Heaven has promised to be a Father to us. And He has made Himself known to us in many ways. But for many, they only see the expectations of God that are formed by their own understanding and their own past. These expectations flavor their experience of God and His offered relationship. They see the relationships they have had with others, with themselves, as the pattern for their relationship with God. These relationships are often bitter and painful; full of pain, loss, betrayal and disappointment. But God speaks to us here of His true heart for us. Of His eternally loving heart towards the people He has chosen as His own inheritance - this Father-heart of God towards us loves without cause, forgives without condition and extravagantly blesses for His own purpose and joy… This God is NOTHING like us, and it will do us good to remember this fact; Because He LOVES. Truly, deeply, eternally loves. If you are in Christ, the love of God's Father-heart, is poured out eternally FOR YOU.
The High Priest entered the Holiest Place one day each year. He carried with him the blood of the sacrifice for the Day of Atonement - But this was not the only sacrifice he oversaw and officiated in - his whole life was filled up with blood… his whole being was scarlet… and still he could not find a way to ease his conscience. For the heart, the mind the soul… all shouted out the condemnation he felt - guilty! Guilty! GUILTY!!! This is the fundamental problem with all of mankind. We are ALL guilty, and NOTHING we do can ever change that…
The writer speaks of two large divisions of offerings which were given in the temple. Gifts and Sacrifices. They are closely related, but distinct. They are visible in the church today by the divisions of tithes and offerings. Tithes are the required first 10% of all your increase… offerings are the voluntary gifts in excess of the basic tithe. No offering CAN be given until the tithe is satisfied, for the tithe is NOT ours but God's, and to fail to give it is to rob God … you cannot give a gift out of something that is stolen, especially when the one receiving the "gift" is the one from whom it was stolen in the first place. In the same manner, the Old Testament picture that illustrates this principle is where the writer is pressing the Hebrews to think. God is OWED their hearts, and no mere physical gift can even be acknowledged until THAT debt is paid!
The symbolism of the entire Old Testament is found in the revelation of the heart of God. He revealed Himself to us and what is even more amazing, in that self-revelation we see JESUS displayed on every page! God has shown us His great heart, His awesome nature and His perfect plan… and He has done this in the full display of His Son! We MUST accept what He has revealed or we cannot know Him at all, there is absolutely NO PATH to peace with God outside of His provision.
"While the first Tabernacle was still standing" This phrase is pregnant with meaning… it is a phrase that allows for some false understanding, and there has been much. It is a phrase that allows some room for thought, and there SHOULD be much… It is a phrase that should remind us that the OLD was never to be permanent, that it was passing away and was always to be superseded by the glory of the gospel… but at the same time, it had value then, and it has value NOW as it provides the context we need to rightly see, understand and LOVE Jesus for all He came to do! While it needed to be removed, it also was good for us that it was there for us to see…
The writer of Hebrews has introduced the voice of the Spirit into the discussion of the Old Testament system of worship and the New Testament reality of Holiness. The Spirit indicated by the old that the new was coming and that it would supersede the old completely and eternally. No longer would God's people stand OUTSIDE, but they would be welcome so far INTO the presence of God that God Himself would literally be INSIDE of them! This the promise, this is the reason why Jesus came, this is the contract of the eternal covenant and the Holy Spirit is both our surety of the covenant and the motive power of its work in us…
The writer of Hebrews begins to lead us to His main point. He has been declaring the superiority of Christ over the OT system of worship. And is coming to the glorious truth that Jesus entered the REAL holiest place and put His own precious blood on the true mercy seat on our behalf and so purchased our redemption. But, before we press on into this glory, we need to pause and consider something which is just a little bit hidden here. A nugget of pure gold that should be extracted and treasured. The Lord opens an door just a crack and allows us to glimpse the eternal nature and work of the Trinity in a preparatory comment… The Holy Spirit Indicating…
When we hear the words "committed in ignorance" the immediate temptation is to think that this limits the atonement of Jesus to only the sins that we commit without being aware of them… but nothing could be further from the truth. There is application to prohibit the presumptuous sin from being covered… (no, pre-asking for forgiveness allowed) but I think that the main issue here is that ALL of our sin is committed in ignorance. In almost all the other places where the atonement is addressed it is specifically given for ALL the sins of the people.
He went alone No one else could… No one else would. There was no one to help Him, Even the Father turned away. His friends all deserted Him, some even denied Him… His family stood back Betrayed by one whom He had loved, And rejected by all that He had come to save. Still, He shouldered the load that we could not bear, And paid the price that we cannot possibly comprehend. He went alone to our punishment, Alone to our doom. And ALONE He satisfied the justice of God… ALONE He paid the ransom… ALONE He appeased the awful wrath of the offended creator. And when He was finished, He alone pushed open the gates of the city of God… And He alone walked the streets of that place where no human foot had ever tread… And He alone took His place at the right hand of the Majesty on High, Seated upon the throne that has for all of eternity belonged to HIM ALONE!!
Throughout Scripture the blood holds a powerful and central place in our relationship with God. From the earliest dealings of God with man, life, death, sin and blood have been inextricably linked. In the Garden of Eden, God told His new creation that to eat of the fruit would mean death. Life was given, sin would translate the freedom of life for a purchased price, the cost of a life is death. And when man sinned death entered and death was the payment. In the Garden that death was spiritual, but there was also another death - God made skin tunics to cover the shame and sin of mankind. Something died for their sin. Blood was spilt, and death now had its role. When Noah came off of the ark and given all flesh on the earth as food, God gave him one parameter… "Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood." (Genesis 9:3–4, NKJV) God has told us to leave the blood, for it is life; and what is more, it is the blood that is OUR life. For our entry into the presence of God (which is life eternal) was purchased by the Blood of the Lamb… once more, Another died that we might live… And this time is the last time that another will die for our soul's forgiveness. There will be no other chance to escape paying for your sin. Either you are in Christ, purchased by His blood - or, you are waiting the judgment when you will be sentenced to spend eternity paying for your own rebellion.
God has finished the work making the way INTO the holiest place manifest… Jesus has opened a path for us that was NEVER open before. Throughout the whole of the Old Testament the only thing that was possible was the idea of access… But never could we even come close. But now in the finished work of Jesus Christ a way has been opened for us to come into the presence of God eternally and fully. We are welcomed into the place of God because Jesus paid the debt and made us His own!
As the High Priest enters behind the veil, he undertakes a work that points us to the Great Work of Redemption in Christ Jesus… He steps into mystery that for millennia was hidden from the children of men in the veil of God's mercy. In Christ Jesus that mercy is fulfilled and revealed for us to see… from this side of Calvary, the veil is rent, it is removed and God invites a lost world to come and see. But before He does this, He finishes the work, having completed all in the secrecy of the cloud, He puts it all on display.
We have considered carefully, the furniture of the holy place. We have thought about how each item points us to Jesus… We have filled our minds and our sanctified imaginations with the connections that honor our Lord in the physical space which God the Father commanded Moses to build… Today we will begin to put them together as we consider the work that Jesus came to do, the labor He fulfilled so absolutely as to entirely render obsolete a system which had stood as the only path to God for millennia… The services He renders still as our High Priest echo back to illuminate that older service, even as it resonates forward to help shape our understanding of His great and enduring passion.
In the OT the priesthood kept the people away from God. Being born into the line of Aaron, they served in place of the people and went before God on behalf of the people who could not do so. While the idea of a Christian priest serving in this manner is anathema to the whole plan of salvation… the lure of power and gain is hard to deny. And thus a false priesthood has been created by the Catholic church and imitated by others. Thus with the establishment of a "clergy class" who has the power and the duty to serve as gatekeepers for access to heaven, they have inserted themselves into the salvation promised by Jesus and in so doing nullified His word for all who listen to them. The scripture shows us a promise that God has opened the door and allowed us all access to Him through the blood of Jesus. Further the role of Pastor or Elder is not an elevated privilege which grants power, but rather a servant who labors in love to care for the flock of God as under-shepherds to the great Shepherd, our Christ.
The plans and purposes of God are always laid perfectly for His intention. They are always structurally where and when they need to be, functionally how they need to be, and of course always perfectly aligned for His ultimate intention… The worship of God must always proceed along the lines of what God has ordained, and planned. We must always proceed according to these plans and purposes and NOT according to our own forms, ideas or imagination.
"We cannot now speak in detail"… This is NOT an indication of Gnosticism in the early church, NOT an indicator that the writer of Hebrews is hiding something from the church. This is about prudence and discernment of the things that NEED to be said at the moment. This displays for us a shepherds heart to feed that which is most necessary at the time with an eye to what may come later. It shows concern, knowledge, understanding and willingness to commit to the long labor of systematic instruction. Rather than dump everything he knows, he stays on task and keeps his focus. It is a sign of a thorough and effective teacher.
The glory of God casts its splendor over the mercy seat… this is the highest, truest and most central truth of all that has been entrusted to us. It is the simple yet unimaginable truth that God has, by His grace and according to His own love, has saved a people that He chose before the foundations of all eternity. It is the truth that God will do everything needful to show His heart, His justice, His perfect love and His willingness to forgive - in a word, to display His infinite heart of mercy.
At the heart of all Hebrew worship stood the ark of the Testimony. So too was the mercy seat the heart of the ark itself. It was the place where God met with His people. A place of mercy obtained by sacrifice. A place of meeting through the mediation of blood. It was the place where sin was taken away… it is the place of Jesus.
Wherever God is, glory is manifest… His glory is transcendent, His presence incomprehensibly beautiful. Our ability to clearly comprehend this fact is hidden by our sin. We cannot approach God, we cannot comprehend Him, we cannot satisfy the demands of His perfect law… and the priest who entered once a year on the day of atonement could not even SEE the law he was supposed to be atoning for breaking, it was inside the ark, and the ark itself was under the cover of the wings of glory…
The tablets of the covenant were placed inside the ark as the most precious thing that Israel was given. They were the source of all spiritual knowledge and truth… they were the gift of God to Israel, and from Israel to the rest of the world. They served and still serve very specific purpose in the lives of men and women everywhere… and it is worth our time to understand just what is so special about those old stone tablets. The covenant, the law, the revelation that binds us all to Him.
The reality of God's promises is made abundantly clear by the gifts that He provided in the coming of the Magi. They brought gifts that would be useful for the young family, but more importantly they brought gifts that would declare all the more profoundly to us the person, nature and purpose of the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ. He who was declared to be Immanuel, "God with us".
When we think about the promises of God the idea of content is usually the core of the promise… just what does God promise, to whom, when? These are the usual questions that are asked and which we attempt to answer. But there is a unifying truth that runs through all of the promises of God and that is this: All of God's promises are centered around the display of Himself, around us knowing Him; for God is the chief and highest good of mankind, and of all men. HE Himself is always the answer to our need and the fulfillment of His promises.
God has spoken His promises to mankind for millennia. He has promised us that He will send one who will remove the burden of sin and the dominion of death from His people… and that idea has embedded in it and particular relationship with those people whom He comes to save. The relationship of Regal authority. God promised us that He would send His Anointed One who would provide all that He has promised, and who will lead and protect us. But make no mistake this One is to be KING. And there is no relationship possible with God the Father outside of belonging to the dominion of Jesus Christ the King. As distasteful as the concept might be to some, God promised and delivered a KING.
The historical relationship between the church and Israel has been muddied and twisted by many. Sadly, many in the church are just as guilty of hating those who brought us the promises of God and were the vehicle of God's blessing to the whole earth. For that is what Israel is, they are the people of the promise and the blessing that they carried and delivered is the fulfilled promises of God.
As we consider the purpose of God in creation, we must also reflect on the powerful promises He has made to bind His will into His creative work. God speaks His intent over all that He does, both to inform us of that which we need to know, but further because Christ, the Logos, the Word IS the creative force of all that is; He speaks out what He intends and fulfills all that He has spoken in Christ. "For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us." (2 Corinthians 1:20, NKJV). There is no other name which is given to us which fulfills the promise of God, because all the promises that bind God's work are ultimately made to Jesus Himself. He is the King of Kings and the very reason for all that has been created.
As we enter the Christmas season, we will be thinking together about the purpose, promise and person of God. This triad has always been the stamp of God's dealings with His people and has never changed. The purpose of God has always been exactly the same, it has never changed. He has always been about the purpose of saving a people for His own glory.
The next item given to be before the testimony was the rod of Aaron that budded. Where the manna was the lasting display of God's promise of provision and a lasting memorial of all His great mercies; the budded rod was a resounding declaration of God's power, purpose and absolute prerogative. God WILL lead His people according to His purpose and intent, and no amount of rebellion or grumbling will sway God from His purposes. God has power to save, He has purposed to love and He has the right to choose for Himself who, how and why. And NO ONE may gainsay Him. For salvation and all that it entails belongs to God.
The golden jar of manna was laid up before the ark of testimony in the holiest place. That manna which was the very bread of heaven, the bread of life pictured, sustained by God for the purpose of testimony, for the sake of the generations to come after. It was a shout of triumph, a whisper of hope and a confident assertion that our God will keep every promise he ever made! "For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us." (2 Corinthians 1:20, NKJV)
The ark of the covenant was, in the end, a box… that's it. It was a box. This object which was the beating heart of Hebrew worship was on its own, nothing more than a box. But it was so much more, not because of any inherent value in it, no… the ark, like us is special because of the fact that God chose to work in His chosen people. Because of what God put inside of it. For the ark was the place where the tokens of the covenant between God and Israel were kept. The ark was powerful because God keeps His promise. It was special because God is faithful, It was precious because God vowed to make and keep Israel for His own pleasure; and the ark was a reminder to them that the covenant which bound them and kept them close to God was kept alive by the hand of God himself.
The Ark of the Covenant is God's reminder to Israel that they belonged to God. It was the ever present symbol of His manifest presence, His unwavering holiness, and His abundant mercy. It was the reminder that God had made them His own for a PURPOSE … and ultimately that purpose was to produce the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ.
The ark of the Covenant was a small box, approximately 42 inches by 27 inches by 27 inches. It was made of wood and overlaid with pure gold. It had a sculpture of 2 cherubim on its removable lid, and between and under the shadow of their wings was the mercy seat. This was the place where God would meet with the representative of Israel to the accept the blood of the substitutionary sacrifice. This object was the beating heart of Hebrew worship. It was the mark of their relationship with God. They were His covenant people and He gave to them His law as a sign of that covenant, as the boundaries which they could never cross. The ark contained that law, the jar of manna, (a reminder of the faithfulness and power of their God); and the rod of Aaron which budded, giving testimony to the fact that God alone was the one who chose who is included in this binding agreement.
The offering of incense was a specifically prescribed act of worship. It was to be done daily; morning and evening and perpetually. There was to be a cloud of incense always in the holy place and drifting into the holiest…But entering the Holiest with incense was specific annual obedience. To attempt to enter the presence of God outside of His commanded time, method and place was to offer strange fire, and to court death.
The censer of incense is the first item of the Holiest place with which we have to deal. But there is a problem, in that the altar of incense stands OUTSIDE the Holiest… The censer of incense was to be carried into the Holiest by the priest… This morning we will examine the scriptures and attempt to resolve this antiphony. We will speak of incense, of fire, of blood and the Holy God who cannot be approached… but we will also speak of Christ who Himself has made a way for us to be in the presence of God.
What makes a Christian a Christian? What is the effect on our lives? What does God grant and what does He require? Pastor Murungi Igweta brings answers from Romans 8.15
In the heart of the temple was the place of God's presence. The Holiest place, the hagia hagiōn, the Holy of Holies. It was the place of the superlative presence of God and it was a place that was forbidden for all to enter into, save the High Priest, and He but once a year, with the blood of the sacrifice. It was a terrible and glorious thing to be the one to enter in, and behold the glory… but in that terrible glory was the stark reminder that he did not belong there… This is no longer the case, for now in Christ we are called to enter and do so boldly, for the barrier is destroyed and Christ has paid the price, and more, He has given us both His right and His righteousness in order to make us welcome. The holiest place is open to all who belong to Christ… not a cubic room in a destroyed temple, but the very throne room of heaven itself, the throne of our Father is open to us!
The veil of the temple is a part of the building and yet so much more. It defines the difference between the holy place and the holiest place. If the outer holy place represents life on this rock, then the Holiest represents the very Throne room of Heaven itself for it is the place where God Himself dwells. So the veil becomes more than just a piece of fabric acting as a door, it becomes a symbol of many things great and awesome and worth the time to consider… the veil was given for separation, for holiness, for instruction, for entrance and for transition… the veil was given so that we might know.
The promise of God to us is that we whom He calls Holy, He makes holy. That He will satisfy His own justice on our behalf, that He will make us into someone that is pleasing in His sight, someone who loves Him, and that He will take those that He has so transformed to be with Him forever. This is what holiness is… it is being set apart for the purpose and use of God for His glory. It is a single minded pursuit of Him, a dedication to His will and plan… to be Holy is to be HIS, and this is NOT something that we can ever accomplish on our own. It is not something that we can succeed in doing, in thinking, in obeying… It IS however something that God can and will do… and it is something that begins with Him simply CALLING us holy… like His sanctuary, we are CALLED holy. Peter reminds us that we are "… a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy." (1 Peter 2:9–10, NKJV) We are this because HE called us out of the darkness, we are this because HE CALLED us to be this, we are this because HE called us Holy…, because HE called us HIS!
On September 10, 2025 at approximately 12:230pm MDT a coward's bullet took the life of Charlie Kirk. For many of us who respected Charlie, shock and disbelief gave way to sorrow, horror and a grief which felt disproportionate… after all we didn't actually know him. But as TicTok followed TicTok, and the Facebook posts and YouTube comments began to flow, all filled with a demonic delight at this act of horrific evil - sorrow quickly found room for anger and even a sense of rage. The jibbering, dancing teachers, hysterically laughing nurses all delighting in this man's death; and of course the smug journalists blaming this gracious, gentle man for his own death brought me a point which felt frankly impossible to even think clearly. The hate-filled savagery of these responses left me feeling cold and furious… and unsettled with questioning. Questioning God, questioning my understanding of His Word, questioning my expectations of the world around me… This act and the sickening display of evil that followed in its wake demand a response. But what should that response be? How should the church, how should WE as Christ-followers answer these things? What does God require of me in the midst of this world gone insane? This world, which seems to have turned a corner to a dark reality, feels as if it has crossed over a Rubicon. It feels as if we have taken a step to find no ground under our feet and have dropped into a darkly broken parody of the reality we knew… How do we respond to these things? How do we answer? We answer with the only things we have. We answer with Truth empowered by Love.
In ESV Hebrews 9.2 renders the last clause as a full stop sentence. "It is called the Holy Place." In summary after the description of all that is in the tabernacle's outer room, the author says plainly, simply and emphatically "it is called the holy place." the word is the word holy. It can be rendered holy, holy place, holy one. God is THE Holy One and His people were to build him a place for their meeting with Him. God commanded Israel to build Him a place where He would dwell among them. It would be the place where they would encounter Him, where they would worship and where they would be reminded of all that it means to be counted as His, all that it means to be holy.
God has always spoken to His people using pictures and parables that we should be able to understand. Prophetic literature is filled with word pictures, similes and illustrations that teach us to know our God… But these are always a double edged sword. For we will all too often refuse to understand, refuse to see the truth and run to that which is false as if that which is not could supply the need of the moment or beyond. In Isaiah 55.2 God rebukes Israel for this tendency…"Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance." (Isaiah 55:2, NKJV) Notice the implied offer of bread contained in the rebuke, we chase after and spend ourselves to exhaustion to buy that which is not real, and all the while God offers us freely to have what we need and cannot otherwise obtain. The bread that we need cannot be bought. But it can be obtained in the covenant relationship with our God that is only available in Jesus Christ. As we return today to consider the shewbread once more, I want to focus our attention on the bread that it represents clearest. The bread of life, Jesus Christ.
It is extremely important for us to understand that we are saved by God, yes; but more to the point, we are saved FOR God. Our salvation is not a possession, a thing we carry about like a favorite toy, or treasured collection of junk that has no real value. It is not a thing given that is put in the bank or hoarded. It is the truth that we are saved for the sake of an ongoing relationship with God. This truth is captured powerfully and poignantly in the bread. In English it is the bread of presence, in older translations it is coined the shewbread, but literally in Hebrew it is the bread of the face. Or the bread of faces, usually simply stated; the face. It is the symbol of the presence of God among His people and the promise of their welcome with Him.
We come this week to the table of the showbread. The bread is obviously the centerpiece of the issue, but consider this: The bread changes out weekly, the table stands forever in the holy place, offering the provision of the bread, demonstrating the communion between God and His people, anointed and sanctified for holiness and grace… The bread was the bread of presence, or the bread of the face (of God) it became called both the bread of presence and the showbread. There was much significance here, but let us first consider the table itself.
Last week we spoke of the lampstand and the display of Christ in the lampstand, we touched very briefly on the reality that the light itself was also the display of God and the glory of God in Christ. But this topic is too large to pass over lightly. So before we move on to the showbread, we will spend some time together considering the nature of light, for the imagery used in scripture is replete with references to light. Light itself is part of the fundamental nature of the glory of God. And light and darkness are fundamentally opposed… this world is darkness, so to combat it God gives us light.
Everything in the tabernacle points to Christ. This is the essence of this passage of scripture. As we think about the lampstand, let us remember that Jesus is the Light of the world. And that anything that points people away from Him is darkness and destruction. There is much that the world looks unto for light, understanding and power, from spiritists, to mediums, to crystals, chanting and spirit guides… all of these are the darkness of the enemy and have no place in the life of the Christian. There is only ONE source of light in the world, and that source is Jesus Christ. This morning we begin thinking about the furniture in the tabernacle and we start with the lampstand.
The tabernacle was the place of the presence of God. As the writer of Hebrews makes his short description of the place of Hebrew worship, we see the presence of God in Christ given to the people He chose for Himself. We see the signs of Jesus' coming in the articles, in the worship in the confession and in the sacrifice. But we also see Him in the presence… the tabernacle was the place where God made Himself known; In Jesus Christ that work is completed.
Just as our activities of worship are defined and prescribed by Scripture, so too are our places of worship, and the life that grows from and centers around them are also defined and bounded by the Word of God. We must avoid the pagan ideas that this place of worship (or any) is HOLY for its own sake, consecrated ground is a fallacy of the pagan mind. But when we walk in the truth of God, empowered by His Spirit and motivated by His will and purpose every place we set our foot is holy ground. This is a holy place because of the life of Him who lives in us! And that truth should shape and form every single thing we are and do as a church!
The worship of the church is prescribed by God. He has determined our structure, our practice, our doctrine. This is how God has ordered the worship that He would accept from His people since the beginning of time. We do not invent our practice, we receive it from God Himself. It is not the will of man that rules the church, but the rule of God, given by the Word and guided by His Spirit.
The writer of Hebrews draws the justifiable conclusion that the Old Covenant is obsolete, aging and soon to disappear. The ceremonies still being conducted under it were spiritually empty; and the author's words suggest that the prophetic words of Jesus about the destruction of the temple (Matt 24.1-2) in Jerusalem were in his mind. The temple and its rituals were both empty of life, and so too was the covenant they proclaimed. It is likely that this prophecy was fulfilled soon after the book of Hebrews was written. If so, it was a dramatic confirmation of the writer's thesis about the Old Covenant. While the Mosaic Law still has a purpose in God's plan (cf. Gal. 3), it never was the vehicle that brought salvation. Rather, It brings people to Christ by showing fallen humanity their sinfulness and need for salvation. It helps us understand God and His ways. It is related to the new covenant as promise to fulfillment. While the law was incapable of bringing salvation because of the weakness and sinfulness of fallen mankind, the grace of God through the death of Jesus Christ delivered what the law could only hint toward. Just as the Jews (and many Jewish Christians) were clinging to the old Covenant and its rituals, we too, often live in obsolete ways. Bound to that which no longer has purpose or power we live in the old life and the old patterns…
The oldness of the old covenant is the planned obsolescence of God's purpose being displayed. It has not worn out by mere age, for the New Covenant has continued longer than the old, did and it is still fresh and new. It was worn out by its accomplished purpose. It did what it was meant to do and so has been forever put aside. It will NOT be resumed, taken back up or added back in in some partial measure. To do so would be a abrogate the sacrifice made by Jesus for the redemption of His people. The OT law and system of sacrifice is gone forever, and the church should celebrate this fact. For in it, is our hope and joy… the completion of that system by the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
There are things that God says will end and things that He says will not end. It is important that we understand that there IS a difference between the two, and it is even more important that we understand which is which. Confusing the two, especially when dealing with the matter of your soul is incredibly foolish and dangerous. It can leave you trusting in that which will vanish away when you need it most and despising that which will be the only matter on the day of judgement that will decide your eternal home and destiny.
In the final analysis of the New Covenant, we must understand that we are the recipients of the promise, the power and the work of God. That He has chosen, redeemed and preserved us against the day of His glory and that all that we are and all that we have is ultimately HIS. He has bought us with His blood, and kept us by His power and through that power He calls us to live out His will and purpose. It is NOT anything that we can do by ourselves, by our labor, by our work, but it IS something that commands our obedience and our allegiance all the same. God commands us to live in accordance to His will and promises us that He will supply all we need for that obedience.
As we consider the new Covenant which God promises, fulfills and preserves in Christ, we MUST consider that He will not only forgive us, but heal and restore us by that Covenant. He will not leave us ruined, cast off and abandoned through the destruction we wrought in our rebellions. He has a purpose which He will accomplish fully. A promised blessing that NOTHING can turn aside. And even our ruinous sin and rebellion is not capable of derailing the purpose of God. He intends to bless His chosen covenant people, and bless them He WILL!
We are at the end of this declaration of the new covenant, and have begun the work of looking at the forgiveness that is ours in the death of Jesus Christ. Does that forgiveness mean that there are never any cost or consequence that we experience in this life for our sin? Does it mean that God loses something that He once held in His mind? Is forgetting part of the bargain? Will we skate away laughing up our sleeves at God because we pulled one over on Him? Because we know we are guilty but God thinks we are not? Just what does God actually promise here?
There is a startling contrast between the old priesthood with its daily sacrifices and the once for all reality of Jesus' death for sinners. It is a glorious thing that is so hard for us to comprehend that we often are guilty of trying to add something to it, to complicate the simple act of faith in Jesus with the false hope of our works. Our religious practices, our religious symbols and icons, our sacred places, beautiful sanctuaries and our "holy men" can in no manner help us find God. Neither will they bring God closer to us… It is the blood of Jesus Christ alone that transcends the barrier our sins create, He ALONE paid the price, one time for all who will be saved! There is no need for us to pretend to repeat it, and no need for Christ to redo what He has already accomplished. Those who are found in Christ are forever forgiven.. And Jesus Christ has no need to continually die for sin, for He has already, once for all, paid the price to save those chosen by the Father!
The need for a priestly intervention is absolutely critical for our souls. We stand alienated from God by the sin nature we inherited from our father Adam, and what is more, we add to its curse with our constant rebellions. It requires someone who has the power to stand between us and God and intercede on our behalf- but the problem with this reality is that we cannot rely on a man to accomplish this for us. For every man dies, every priest dies, every man fails to live up to the standards of God. No human being is pure, no human being is powerful enough to overcome the grave and certainly no human being is able to make the grave give up anyone already claimed- unless that person is also God in the flesh- the need is just too great for any man to provide. For every single one of us is subject to death, and not any of us will be able to avoid that hour when it comes.
We know that God has done all that is needful on our behalf for the salvation of a people- but often we fail to fully appreciate the wonder that exists in the reality that not only does He secure our salvation completely, but He also secures us FOR that salvation. Jesus has become the one who, standing in our place as representative, participates in the promised covenant in our place- thus guaranteeing that there is indeed a people to save- We are saved by His power and grace- further, we are also completely delivered unto that salvation by His willing participation on our behalf-
There is no shortage of people and methods attempting to define God and Christ according to their own ideas. From the false sects who claim to be Christian such as the Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses to the atheist who denies Him altogether- every single religion is a statement about the veracity of scripture and the power of God to save. Every single religion at its heart says something -even in silence or denial- about Jesus Christ. True Christianity also says something about Christ, and it says in echo, what God Himself has said. Christ is EVERYTHING- Christ is the very heart of all creation and the reason for its existence. God Himself tells us the center of all things is Jesus when He confirmed the priesthood of Jesus with an oath. His own vow, His own promise staking His name on the worth and truth of this man Jesus Christ.
There are two possible reactions to the truth of God- We will either believe and seek, or we will doubt and hide. Those who make up God according to their own imaginations, and those who deny his existence, and everything in between, choose the latter. It is the default position of mankind. Since God is Holy, we are not- our sin and our own innate knowledge of our filth means that we will not run toward the Holy One. That is, unless something outside of us compels and draws us. Apart from the mercy of God, we will all flee- But the working of God in us through Christ creates the opposite response. We press in, we lean in, we seek Him through whatever it is that we are facing and the result is the presence of God - This drawing near is the single most important thing we can possibly do, and it is the work of a lifetime to do it.
This message was given by Pastor Hall at Fellowship Baptist Church on March 27th, 2022.
This message was given by Pastor Hall at Fellowship Baptist Church on March 20th, 2022. Even though the works of our hands are wicked, if we recognize the work of God's hands, He will not tear us down with the wicked. Pastor Hall will take a tour through the Bible and history to demonstrate the wicked will not stand long.
Judgment is woven throughout the scripture and is an integral part of the faith. The scripture speaks over 500 times about judgment, 196 of those are in the New Testament- it is NOT something to be dismissed with a tee shirt or a church sign. Judgment is both our responsibility AND a coming appointment with Jesus Christ Himself- we NEED to rightly understand this complex and important issue.
This message was given by a persecuted Canadian Pastor at Fellowship Baptist Church on March 13th, 2022. Jesus disciples the apostles through real-life experience, and now he disciples us through the Word and Spirit.
This message was given by Pastor Hall on March 6th, 2022 at Fellowship Baptist Church. In this stand-alone message Pastor Hall will exposit Jeremiah 23 and rebuke those who insist on peace in Zion when there is no peace. The blind are leading the blind. It's time got recompense to the cowardly.
This message was given by Pastor Hall at Fellowship Baptist Church on February 27th, 2022. In today's exposition, Pastor Hall will handle all 14 verses of Psalm 27, a pertinent and timely message.
This message was given by Pastor Hall at Fellowship Baptist Church on February 20th, 2022. These 12 verses will be exposited by Pastor Hall in a timely message. As the Psalmist cries out in trouble, he is most thankful for the Assembly of the Saints. It is the congregation of the Lord that is level ground.
This message was given by Pastor Jordan Hall at Fellowship Baptist Church on February 13th, 2022. Pastor Hall will focus on expositing verse 14, in the relationship between -friendship and God- and fear, and how those two work together.
Lead Lay-Pastor, Paul Richter, reads a statement from the elder body and church of support for Pastor Hall, while he faces the persecution of an activist judiciary, pledging that the pulpit and of the Fellowship Baptist Church shall not be gagged by any gag order, and that the civil government has no ecclesiastical authority over the church
This message was given by Pastor Hall on February 7th, 2022 at Fellowship Baptist Church. This Psalm promises blessings to those who fulfill its demands. Pastor Hall will demonstrate no one but Christ fulfills those standards. It is in him we are blessed.
This message was given by Pastor Hall at Fellowship Baptist Church on January 30th, 2022. In this famous passage, Pastor Hall plans to exposit the scripture in its entirety. But he plans to focus especially on the significance of God's rod and staff, why it comforts sheep despite their purpose. In this sermon you will discover why objects of pain can comfort the believer.
This message was given by Pastor Hall on January 24th, 2022 at Fellowship Baptist Church. Pastor Hall will exposit Psalm 22, the greatest messianic psalm in the Bible. Jesus is all throughout it, 500 years before the crucifixion.
This message was given by Pastor Hall at Fellowship Baptist Church. Pastor Hall is abiding by Pastor MacArthur's wishes that this Sunday churches will focus on the LGBTQ agenda. Pastor Hall will draw direct parallel perhaps those you haven't thought about, between the homosexuals of Sodom and America.
This message was given by Pastor Hall on January 9th, 2022 at Fellowship Baptist Church. This sermon is unique. It's a repackage and retooling of Psalm 2, preached by Pastor Hall at the Jan 6 -Our House Rally,- but applied and exposited from Psalm 21. The Kingship of Christ is not to be denied, and his war-like presence is reason to praise him. Pastor Hall will focus on verses 10-13.
This message was given by Pastor Hall at Fellowship Baptist Church on January 2, 2022. In this sermon from Pastor Hall, he'll exposit Psalm 20 with a special focus on letting God fight our battles.
This message was given by Pastor Hall at Fellowship Baptist Church on December 26th, 2021. In this sermon, Pastor Hall will commission new deacons to the deaconate and exposit the passage in which the first deacons were chosen.
This message is from the Christmas Eve service on December 24th, 2021 at Fellowship Baptist Church