lamb

The Meeting Place 

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Ezekiel 41:4
“…And he said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.”

IMG_6823.jpgThe deepest chamber within the temple housed the Ark of God and the the Mercy Seat. It was here, the high priest would enter only once a year to bring the blood of the sacrifice, and intercede on behalf of the Nation. It was here,  God had originally explained to Moses, they could meet with the Lord and talk to Him about anything.

Exodus 25:22 “And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.”

I think it is worth noting,  this chamber is called the Holiest Place. It is only in holiness that we can meet with God. That is particularly concerning when we realize we are not holy. The prophet made it abundantly clear, even our best attempts at doing good, lack true holiness in the sight of God.
Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind! Have taken us away.”

If God is holy, the meeting place between God and man is holy. We, at our best, are not holy;  we are in need of help. That is where the cross comes in. Under the old covenant, this was solved through sacrifice on the altar. The priest would confess his sins and that of the people, and would enter the holiest place. Now under the new covenant, this is solved by Christ. His sacrifice provides atonement for all our sins. We, like the priest, must accept the sacrifice, by accepting Christ and confessing our sin. When we do, we are forgiven, made holy, and have access to God.

If you have received Christ, there is nothing keeping you from the holy meeting place. You may attend there regularly, bringing yourself, your life and your needs before the Lord.

Pastor Jim

 

Title Deed 

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Revelation 5:5
“But one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.’”

Revelation 4 and 5 takes us on a heavenly tour, and with an all access pass, we are brought into the throne room of Jehovah God. There, we are privileged to observe as the saints and angels worship at His feet. Suddenly, the scene shifts from the throne to a scroll in the hand of God. All of Heaven seems fixated on this scroll and its contents. John is never told exactly what this scroll is, but it has been suggested by some, that it is the title deed to the earth.

Going all the way back to the beginning at the garden of Eden, we find that all of creation was given to mankind to enjoy. It did not take long before man’s rights were forfeited through sin, and all of creation was brought under bondage. At that moment, God’s plan of redemption began to unfold. Adam and Eve were promised that God would raise up a Savior who would make all things right. As the centuries moved forward, prophet after prophet spoke of the coming Messiah, who would free us from the bondage of sin, and establish His righteous reign over the earth.

In the heavenly scene, we find all heaven weeping because no one is found worthy to open the title deed to the earth and redeem it. No one, that is, until the Lion of the Tribe of Judah enters. Suddenly, all attention turns from the Scroll to the Lion. John also turns and describes what he saw, “A Lamb who had been slain.” The only one, in all of heaven and earth, worthy to hold the title deed to heaven and earth, is the one whose blood was shed to redeem us. Heaven’s choir breaks forth in song again, as angel and saint herald praise to the Worthy One.

“You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals; for You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.”

Jesus alone is worthy of our praise, for Jesus alone has set us free from the bondage of sin and death, and given us the hope of Heaven’s reward. While we will one day join the heavenly chorus, we need not wait that long, we can fall at the feet of the Worthy One now, and celebrate the promise of eternal life.

Pastor Jim

 

Offering

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Genesis 4:2-5
“Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.”

/home/wpcom/public_html/wp-content/blogs.dir/b9a/30989304/files/2015/01/img_1288.jpgAs the drama of Genesis unfolds, we are introduced to two of Adam’s sons, and given a glimpse into their lives and occupations. Abel, the younger, was a shepherd, while his older brother Cain was a farmer. It was not their occupations, but their character that determined their destinies. We read, Abel brought an offering of the flocks, while Cain brought the fruit of the ground; God respected Abel’s offering and rejected Cain’s. The question we must answer is why? What was wrong with Cain’s offering?

Two things stand out to me from the story. First off, back in the garden, God had already shown He rejected fig leaves as an acceptable covering for sin. Instead, He established a system of substitutionary sacrifice. This system will be further developed throughout Scripture, but will never change. We will see it in the Levitical system, established at Sinai, and it will have its ultimate fulfillment in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Never will the work of our own hands be a sufficient covering for sin.

The second aspect of this story which stands out, is the reason a substitute is necessary. Cain brought the fruit of the ground because he did not understand the far reaching effects of sin. He looked at his crops that represented hours of care and labor and thought they were an acceptable offering. This was because he failed to see they were grown in fallen dirt. As good as those vegetables may have been, at their core, they bore marks of the fall. The same is true with all works. My very best efforts are always tainted with sin.

From the beginning, God established a way for sinful man to have relationship with Him, and from the beginning, men have been trying to come their own way. The way to God is paved for us by the cross; entrance is as simple as trusting that Jesus died in our place. Isn’t it time to trust in Christ, instead of clinging to your own goodness as a means to access God?

It has been, and always will be, about His amazing grace

Pastor Jim