1 00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:05,680 Oh, crossing family, it is so good to be with you. 2 00:00:05,680 --> 00:00:07,880 I want to welcome those of you joining at all of our different 3 00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:11,120 locations, those of you watching online, and those of you who are 4 00:00:11,120 --> 00:00:14,080 part of our Crossing Inside family. 5 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:17,280 I also want to welcome those of you joining for the first time 6 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:18,760 or the first time in a long time. 7 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:22,240 We are so glad that you are here and I hope that you guys will 8 00:00:22,240 --> 00:00:24,680 take advantage of the new here booth at all of our different 9 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:28,000 lobbies. As a church, we exist to help 10 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:32,400 people find, start, grow in an intimate, personal relationship 11 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:36,000 with Jesus Christ. Our desire is to make this 12 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:40,080 region the hardest place on planet earth for people to get 13 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:44,360 to hell from. And in 2014, we opened our first 14 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:48,440 campus in Iowa in the town of Keokuk. 15 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:51,480 This campus serves people from all three states. 16 00:00:51,480 --> 00:00:55,920 And this past Easter, they had 1000 people attend on Easter, 17 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:57,640 which is unbelievable for that church. 18 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:02,400 For 10 years there have been people from Fort Madison, IA. 19 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:05,400 There have been people from Burlington, IA there who have 20 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:08,960 been traveling to this location to attend the crossing. 21 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:15,080 And then in 2018, we started a location in Monmouth, IL and 22 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:18,800 since then, people from Burlington, IA have been driving 23 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:22,280 all the way to Monmouth, IL to attend that location. 24 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:27,120 However, driving 30 to 45 minutes to find a church that 25 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:30,880 prioritizes your spiritual development is not sustainable 26 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:34,320 when it comes to trying to reach your family, your coworkers, and 27 00:01:34,320 --> 00:01:39,640 your neighbors for Jesus. And between Fort Madison, IA on 28 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:43,320 the South side and Burlington on the north side and West 29 00:01:43,320 --> 00:01:49,120 Burlington, there are 33,000 people in this corner of 30 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:52,840 southeast Iowa. That is the same population as 31 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:55,920 what you have in Keokuk, Kirksville and our Mount 32 00:01:55,920 --> 00:02:01,160 Sterling communities. Situated 15 minutes, like 33 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:04,960 perfectly situated between Fort Madison and Burlington and West 34 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:08,160 Burlington is a small town called Weaver, Iowa. 35 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:13,360 And it's spelled horribly because Weaver is spelled WEVER 36 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:16,600 and that's not how I would spell it if I was in charge. 37 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:18,640 And maybe I'll change that one of these days in the future. 38 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:23,160 Well, this past year we have been hosting town hall meetings 39 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:26,760 and preview services for the people of in that region who've 40 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:28,800 been attending one of our other locations. 41 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:32,960 And the last preview service, there were 143 people in 42 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,080 attendance at these little preview services once a month. 43 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:42,920 For context, a Church of 143 people would make it at least in 44 00:02:42,920 --> 00:02:47,040 the top 25 largest Christian churches in the entire state of 45 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:49,800 Iowa. And in fact, they also had two 46 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:53,000 baptisms at the last preview service and which is 47 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:56,920 unbelievable. And in the middle of all this, 48 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:01,720 we had a church that was kind of on their last leg and they 49 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:05,560 reached out to us and said we would like to give you our 50 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:10,080 building. Therefore, in service to our 51 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:12,680 mission to help people find an intimate personal relationship 52 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:16,800 with Jesus Christ, and in light of our unending commitment to 53 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:19,360 make this region the hardest place on planet earth to get to 54 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:23,680 hell from, our elders at our most recent meeting decided that 55 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:27,720 we will be launching our 12th crossing location in Weaver, 56 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:33,640 Iowa. I can't wait to those of you who 57 00:03:33,640 --> 00:03:36,000 call the crossing home and you're like Jennifer and I, I 58 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,760 want you to know you're, I know you're going, hey, we want to be 59 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:40,280 a part of this. There will be plenty of places 60 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:44,040 for you to make a difference. The building needs so much TLC. 61 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:47,160 And we will be leveraging part of our year end in Your Corner 62 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:50,320 generosity initiative to facilitate many of these 63 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:51,640 updates. And Jennifer and I will be the 64 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:55,280 very first check that goes in because I want everybody in 65 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:57,960 Southeast Iowa to know that we are in your corner as you try to 66 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:00,760 reach the people who are far from Jesus and bring them close 67 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:02,400 to Jesus. To those of you who want to 68 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:05,240 leverage your gifts, talents and abilities and service of helping 69 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:09,720 to get that campus up and off the ground, operate long term or 70 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:12,520 you have a skill set like you're Liam Neeson when it comes to 71 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:15,280 things and you're going, hey, I want to I can fix this. 72 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:16,680 I know how to do it. We will give you plenty of 73 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:19,480 opportunities in service and preparing the facility. 74 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:24,320 To those of you who are part of the Weaver campus, it's go time. 75 00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:26,560 Thank you for your patience. Thank you for your 76 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:29,040 participation. Thank you for your prayers. 77 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:32,640 And I'm telling you what, tell your friends, tell your family, 78 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:36,960 tell your neighbors, tell your Mama, tell your baby Mama and 79 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:43,840 your boss to pencil in an aggressive Christmas Eve launch. 80 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:46,840 We're coming and we're coming fast. 81 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:52,080 So what I want to do is I want to pray for this location that 82 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:53,200 I'm going to jump into my sermon. 83 00:04:53,440 --> 00:05:01,200 Heavenly Father, there's areas of this that feel like you've 84 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:04,160 just opened the doors and it would be silly not to walk 85 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:07,040 through it. And there are other areas that 86 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:08,920 are going to require radical faith. 87 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:14,200 And God, we want to honor you in both obedience and we want to 88 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:17,800 honor you in faith. God, we do not want to start 89 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:21,400 this campus in pride. We want to start this campus 90 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:24,560 because we just want people to know you. 91 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:28,720 And if you're in it, there's nothing that's going to stop it. 92 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:32,520 And so, God, I pray that you would be with us, be with the 93 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:34,240 people who are going to be a part of this journey, be with 94 00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:36,320 the people that are going to attend this church. 95 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:39,600 God, be with the people who are going to see prayers answered 96 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:41,360 that they never thought were going to be answered. 97 00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:44,880 God, I pray that we would be a blessing to those communities 98 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:47,680 and that it would be forever changed. 99 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:51,240 Not by us, Oh my goodness, not by us, but by your spirit and my 100 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:52,080 pray. Amen. 101 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:55,480 I'm going to put my professor hat on again and you're going to 102 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:58,800 have to hang on because this one's even more complicated than 103 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:01,160 last week. But I think if you can hang on, 104 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:04,560 and I mean this, if you can hang on, I think at the end of it, 105 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:09,720 you're going to see that God is just so stinking cool when he 106 00:06:09,720 --> 00:06:13,560 goes about doing stuff because He is hidden all of these 107 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:17,440 incredible Nuggets and chunks of scripture that you and I just 108 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:20,640 don't really appreciate. But if you were a 1st century 109 00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:24,360 Christian and you had grown up in the trappings of the Old 110 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:27,640 Testament and you started seeing all the things that Jesus was 111 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:32,000 going to do, in retrospect, your mind would have been blown. 112 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:35,200 Because what we talked about last week is we talked about the 113 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:40,280 Tabernacle, about God's desire to get back in relationship and 114 00:06:40,280 --> 00:06:45,640 in proximity with his people. It was here through the law and 115 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:48,000 through the sacrificial system, which we're going to unpack next 116 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:52,240 week, that people were able to temporarily be made right with 117 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:54,600 God. That every time you messed up, 118 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:57,640 there was a way for you in the short term to have a right 119 00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:00,320 relationship with God. But it was always temporary. 120 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:03,680 It was never fixed. It was never once and for all 121 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:06,760 solved. It was never completely handled. 122 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:10,160 We learned that God eventually moved out of this Tabernacle, 123 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:13,400 which was a temporary place of worship, into the temple, which 124 00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:16,120 was a permanent place. And then on the heels of that, 125 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:21,000 Jesus comes to earth, and Jesus is the temple. 126 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:25,520 He is God in the presence, in proximity to his people. 127 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:29,320 And when Jesus died, the curtain that separated the holy place 128 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:33,880 from the most holy place was torn into from top to bottom. 129 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:37,640 And what that meant is that you and I could now have access to 130 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:40,240 God because God is holy and we are not. 131 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:44,200 But God is making us holy, and there is no longer separation 132 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:47,840 between US and God. But it got even better because 133 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:52,080 not only was Jesus the temple, but check this out we become a 134 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:56,120 temple and he we are a place where the Spirit of God dwells. 135 00:07:56,320 --> 00:07:58,440 Let me recap that with Ephesians chapter 2. 136 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:03,280 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but 137 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:06,560 fellow citizens with God's people and also members of His 138 00:08:06,560 --> 00:08:09,760 household built on the foundation of the apostles and 139 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:13,560 the prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief 140 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:17,560 cornerstone. In Him the whole building is 141 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:22,800 joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord 142 00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:28,000 and in Him you 2 are being built together to become a dwelling in 143 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:33,559 which God lives by His Spirit. God doesn't just make a 144 00:08:33,559 --> 00:08:37,000 Tabernacle and then make a temple and then send Jesus as a 145 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:40,280 temple. Through Jesus, you and I become 146 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:44,039 a temple, a place where the Spirit of God dwells. 147 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:49,320 But not only did God establish a temple, a place to dwell, he 148 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:55,320 also established a priesthood. The priesthood was a group of 149 00:08:55,320 --> 00:09:00,080 people who would offer sacrifices on behalf of the 150 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:04,080 general population. They were to represent God to 151 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:08,720 the people, and they were to represent the people before a 152 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:14,160 holy God. They were mediators between God 153 00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:17,320 and man. They were a go between 154 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:21,880 representing both parties. And in charge of all of the 155 00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:26,080 priests. There was a high priest he had 156 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:28,040 there. All the priests were set apart. 157 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:31,280 All of the priests were holy to the Lord. 158 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:37,000 But then there was the chief priest, the high priest, and he 159 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:39,880 was in charge of all the priests who were in service to God who 160 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:42,600 had been set apart. One of the ways that the high 161 00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:45,640 priest, the high priest was kind of set apart in two ways. 162 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:48,440 Not only did he oversee everybody, but he was set apart 163 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:52,840 in what he wore and he was set apart in what he did. 164 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:56,920 He had a very specific task to set him apart. 165 00:09:56,920 --> 00:09:59,480 One of the things that was done is he was given a very special 166 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:03,000 wardrobe. OK, Exodus chapter 28, I 167 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:07,320 believe, make sacred garments for your brother Aaron. 168 00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:11,480 He's talking to Moses here, and Moses is going to make Aaron the 169 00:10:11,680 --> 00:10:15,600 high priest, or God selects Moses to be the high priest to 170 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:19,600 give him dignity and honor. Remember those words, dignity 171 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:22,360 and honor. Tell all the skilled workers to 172 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:25,400 whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make 173 00:10:25,400 --> 00:10:29,320 garments for Aaron for his consecration so he may serve me 174 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:32,360 as priest. These are the garments. 175 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:37,440 They are to make a breast piece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, 176 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:40,880 a turban, and a sash. They're to make these sacred 177 00:10:40,880 --> 00:10:44,600 garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so they may serve 178 00:10:44,600 --> 00:10:48,920 me as priests. Have them use gold and blue and 179 00:10:48,920 --> 00:10:53,520 purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen. 180 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:56,160 Now, why does all of this matter? 181 00:10:56,560 --> 00:10:59,960 Well, because the priest had one outfit that was had 182 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:02,720 similarities, but the high priest had a very special 183 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:04,080 outfit. And that's why they described 184 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:05,640 it. And you might be going, hey, 185 00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:08,520 this is one of the cool things. This is a throwaway thing. 186 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:14,240 I love how God takes people who have a unique set of skills, 187 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:16,960 gifts, talents, and abilities to do something that nobody else 188 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:19,440 can do. The entire Tabernacle was 189 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:23,920 created with specialists. So if you're a quilter and you 190 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:27,200 have ever taken flak from your family, I just want you to know 191 00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:30,120 God used people who were impeccable with a needle and 192 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:33,680 thread and fabric to make the place that his people dwelled. 193 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:36,920 He also used people that were gifted in art and stuff like 194 00:11:36,920 --> 00:11:39,160 that to actually make the garments that were used by the 195 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:40,880 high priest. So if you have a unique set of 196 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:43,800 skills, God acknowledges it and actually uses it in some of the 197 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:47,480 very special places. Now here is an image of the high 198 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:52,040 priest and instead of dignity and honor, I want you to think 199 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:55,240 glory and beauty. Those were the those were the 200 00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:58,160 words that are probably a a better version of the of the 201 00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:00,560 translation. They were to look, and I know 202 00:12:00,560 --> 00:12:03,360 for you it doesn't look this way, but they were to look 203 00:12:03,560 --> 00:12:06,040 amazing. You have all these people 204 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:09,800 walking around in earth tones out in the desert, and then you 205 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:12,800 have this guy. If he walked by you, you would 206 00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:15,480 go. Something is different. 207 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:19,120 Now, hear me. Aaron is not glorious and 208 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:23,480 beautiful. What he's wearing is glorious 209 00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:25,720 and beautiful. We're going to circle back to 210 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:27,760 this now. The first thing that he was to 211 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:30,720 do is he was supposed to put on some white undergarments, which 212 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:34,120 are basically to go from the, the Bible says from the hip all 213 00:12:34,120 --> 00:12:36,680 the way to the thigh. So he wore basketball shorts. 214 00:12:36,680 --> 00:12:40,800 In other words, the high priest wore boxer briefs, and they were 215 00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:43,960 all white, completely white. Whitey tidies probably goes all 216 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:45,800 the way back to the Old Testament law. 217 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:48,120 You didn't know that, but Whitey tidies are in Leviticus. 218 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:51,840 Now. On top of this was a white linen 219 00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:55,640 coat. It was a gigantic robe, OK, And 220 00:12:55,640 --> 00:12:58,480 it had a checkered pattern in it that either made it look like 221 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:04,320 squares or diamonds. It was just a big white robe. 222 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:08,360 Now on top of this he was supposed to wear on his head a 223 00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:13,240 perfectly white turban or hat, which is just a white linen hat. 224 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:17,240 And they were to make a plate of gold and they were to etch on 225 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:23,720 the on the plate of gold. Holy to the Lord, this guy has 226 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:28,800 been set apart as holy unto me. You might be going, Clayton. 227 00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:30,560 Why are we starting out with all of this white? 228 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:35,000 Well, what does a bride wear on her wedding day? 229 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:37,440 White. Why? 230 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:44,920 White symbolizes cleanliness, purity, the absence of evil or 231 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:48,440 sin. The clothes that Aaron is 232 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:53,720 wearing represents sinlessness. Aaron is not sinless. 233 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:59,240 What he is wearing represents sinlessness. 234 00:13:59,680 --> 00:14:05,320 Now on top of this, he was to put on a big robe, and this was 235 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:09,040 a this white linen coat was the robe of ephod, and it was a blue 236 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:14,280 garment, handmade, and at the very bottom of it had like a 237 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:17,760 version of a pomegranate. And then it had gold bells and 238 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:19,280 they were alternating all the way around. 239 00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:21,840 Why does this matter? When the priest was to walk 240 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:24,000 around in the courtyard, you could hear him. 241 00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:26,240 Jingle, Jingle, Jingle, Jingle, Jingle, Jingle. 242 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:28,480 Do you want to know why? Because everybody else, guess 243 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:30,120 what noise they made when they were walking around? 244 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:35,960 Absolutely nothing. Because this guy is completely 245 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:38,800 different. Everything about him is to make 246 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:41,920 you go. This guy is different than 247 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:45,200 everybody else. And when he went into the holy 248 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:47,760 place, not the most holy place, but when he went into the holy 249 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:50,400 place, you'd hear him in there because nobody else could go in 250 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:51,440 there. And you know what he'd be doing 251 00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:53,600 when he was in there. Jingle, Jingle, Jingle, Jingle. 252 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:56,320 Every time he moved, you could hear him. 253 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:02,480 He is completely set apart. Then he had an ephod. 254 00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:09,040 This was worn on top of the row. It was made of blue, purple and 255 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:12,520 scarlet yarn. And if you were paying attention 256 00:15:12,760 --> 00:15:17,120 in last week or you read your Bible, these are the exact same 257 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:23,320 colors that are inside the Tabernacle that are inside the 258 00:15:23,360 --> 00:15:27,400 temple. So in other words, he is wearing 259 00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:31,240 the same colors around the people that is found in the Holy 260 00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:37,440 of Holies and in the Holy Place. The High priest looks like the 261 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:41,400 Tabernacle. The High priest looks like the 262 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:44,280 inside of the temple. What was hidden from all the 263 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:49,560 people in the Holy of Holies is displayed to all of the people 264 00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:53,800 when he's walking around wearing the colors. 265 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:56,560 It was made public through the high priest. 266 00:15:56,880 --> 00:16:01,480 Now on top of his shoulders there were these big gems, one 267 00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:05,800 on each, and they're made of Onyx and inscribed on these gems 268 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:09,720 were on one shoulder were six of the tribes of Israel, and on the 269 00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:12,200 other shoulder were six of the tribes of Israel. 270 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:16,080 So he's wearing the people on his shoulders, and then these 271 00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:19,720 Onyx gems are set in a gold setting. 272 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:24,360 And then he was to put on a breast piece or a chest piece. 273 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:29,080 And on this chest piece were 12 more precious stones. 274 00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:34,760 And each stone was identified with one of the 12 tribes of 275 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:37,400 Israel. This is very similar imagery to 276 00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:42,080 the 50 stars on the flag. Everything is designed to point 277 00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:44,200 you to something. So here's what you have. 278 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:49,760 You have a man who is altogether different, completely set apart. 279 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:55,160 He is wearing the colors of the Tabernacle on his body, and 280 00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:59,160 carrying on his body are the names of the people. 281 00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:03,880 He is glorious and he is beautiful, and he is holy, and 282 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:08,040 he is adorned in purity. This is how God is setting up 283 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:11,240 the High priest. And when all of this is done, 284 00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:16,720 you have one man to represent all people before God. 285 00:17:17,599 --> 00:17:20,920 He is a representative of all people to God. 286 00:17:21,319 --> 00:17:24,599 Now that's his wardrobe. Now I want to talk to you 287 00:17:24,599 --> 00:17:27,000 quickly about his super important task. 288 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:29,080 And I'm going to wrap it all up at the end and you're going to 289 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:30,560 go, OK, now I'm tracking with you. 290 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:34,080 One day a year, only one day a year. 291 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:38,440 The high priest was to go in and he was to go. 292 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:42,680 He'd normally minister in the holy place, but one day a year 293 00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:48,840 he would go behind the curtain into the most Holy place, and 294 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:53,240 here he was to atone for the sins of the people. 295 00:17:54,120 --> 00:17:57,920 He would go into the very presence of God. 296 00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:03,320 And on this day he would offer a sacrifice and he would sprinkle 297 00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:07,040 the blood on the atonement cover on the mercy seat from last 298 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:09,560 week. And when that happened for the 299 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:13,920 for the past year, the sins of the people were forgiven. 300 00:18:14,320 --> 00:18:18,320 He atoned for their sins. However, before he could do 301 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:23,640 that, he had to take off all of his high priestly outer 302 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:27,840 garments. And all he was able to wear in 303 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:32,920 was the white turban, the white undergarments, and the white 304 00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:36,240 robe. He would take off all of his 305 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:42,400 glory, He would take off all of his beauty, and he would show up 306 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:52,920 as a normal man, wrapped, clothed in purity and 307 00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:57,680 sinlessness. Now, as stated earlier, the high 308 00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:00,840 priest was in charge of all of the other high priests. 309 00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:05,920 So he was the he was the CEO of Priest Inc. 310 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:11,880 And when his priesthood was established, when he got the 311 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:17,200 job, there was an ordination into the role and when he was 312 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:20,560 ordained into the ministry, so were the other Levites. 313 00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:24,360 They were all the other priests were also brought into service 314 00:19:24,360 --> 00:19:29,080 of God on behalf of the people. And during the ceremony, both 315 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:33,760 groups, both the high priest and the the regular priests went 316 00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:37,560 through the exact same things, but they went through them in 317 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:39,960 different order. It's going to sound a little 318 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:42,360 weird, but you, like I said, hang on. 319 00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:53,120 Aaron was washed in the lava and then after that, his, the 320 00:19:53,120 --> 00:19:56,000 spirit, I mean, the, the oil was poured on him. 321 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:58,440 He was anointed with oil. OK. 322 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:02,120 After that happened, blood was applied. 323 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:06,640 To his right ear, his right thumb and his right big toe, 324 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:11,200 symbolizing that his whole body was now in service to God. 325 00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:19,840 Now that was the order. It went washing, oil, anointing, 326 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:25,160 and then the blood is applied. But for the priest, the regular, 327 00:20:25,320 --> 00:20:28,480 the, the, the, the employees of the high priest, it was a 328 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:33,360 different order. They were washed and then the 329 00:20:33,360 --> 00:20:36,840 blood was applied and then they were anointed. 330 00:20:38,120 --> 00:20:41,760 So same things happened but just in a different order. 331 00:20:42,120 --> 00:20:45,840 Now, some of you are way ahead of me because as I talked about 332 00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:48,480 absolutely every single thing that the high priest wore and 333 00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:51,320 the high priest did, you were thinking and if we've taught you 334 00:20:51,360 --> 00:20:55,960 anything here, you're going, I think we're talking about Jesus. 335 00:20:56,360 --> 00:21:01,520 And if you thought that you would be 100% right, look at 336 00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:04,760 John chapter one, verse 14, and we're going to unpack how Jesus 337 00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:08,960 shows up in all of this. The Word became flesh and made 338 00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:11,520 his dwelling among us. He tabernacled, He templed. 339 00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:15,320 We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son 340 00:21:15,320 --> 00:21:17,720 who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 341 00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:21,360 Like the high priest, Jesus is adorned in glory. 342 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:26,960 But Jesus, while the high priest wore white to symbolize purity 343 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:32,360 and sinlessness, Jesus was pure and sinless. 344 00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:35,720 Let's keep going. Like the high priest who wears 345 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:40,120 the names of his people on his shoulders and over his heart, 346 00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:44,880 Jesus carried our sins on the cross and has our names on his 347 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:50,320 heart as he died on our behalf. Like the High priest who looks 348 00:21:50,320 --> 00:21:55,160 like the inside of the temple, Jesus is the temple who makes us 349 00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:59,880 into a temple of the living God. Like the High priest who 350 00:21:59,880 --> 00:22:05,200 represents us, represents us before God, Jesus represents us 351 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:08,400 before God. Like the High priest who makes a 352 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:11,960 sacrifice on behalf of the people to cleanse them from 353 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:16,640 their sins, Jesus made a sacrifice to cleanse us from our 354 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:19,680 sins. Like the high priest who took 355 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:24,720 off all of his glory and all of his beauty before he went in to 356 00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:28,040 the temple to to the Holy of Holies to pay for all the sins 357 00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:30,480 of the people. And he takes off all of his 358 00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:34,120 glory and beauty and he is just wearing his white, which is his 359 00:22:34,120 --> 00:22:37,840 sinlessness and his purity. Jesus took off all of the glory 360 00:22:37,840 --> 00:22:42,840 of heaven, and he shows up in human form as a sinless guy who 361 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:46,480 goes in and reclaims his glory through the resurrection and 362 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:50,080 ascension into heaven after he provided purification for the 363 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:52,520 sins of the people. If you want to unpack this in a 364 00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:55,240 really big way when you go home, you can read the book of 365 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:59,200 Hebrews, specifically chapter 6 and 7:00 and 8:00. 366 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:01,840 But let's just take a quick look at Hebrews Chapter 7. 367 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:06,480 The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and 368 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:09,040 useless for the law made nothing perfect. 369 00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:12,640 Here the author of Hebrews is talking about what is happening 370 00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:17,040 in the Old Testament versus what Jesus is doing for us today. 371 00:23:17,120 --> 00:23:22,080 Keep following with me and we have a better hope is introduced 372 00:23:22,360 --> 00:23:26,080 by which we draw near to God. You and I have a better hope 373 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:29,640 because we can now draw near to God where we used to not be able 374 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:30,840 to draw near to God. Why? 375 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:34,760 Because Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant. 376 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:38,080 There have been many of those priests since death prevented 377 00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:44,400 them from continuing in office. But because Jesus lives forever, 378 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:51,240 he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save 379 00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:58,320 completely those who come to God through him, because he always 380 00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:03,520 lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest truly meets 381 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:08,800 our need, one who is holy and blameless and pure and set apart 382 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:11,720 from sinners and exalted above the heavens. 383 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:13,680 Let me just pause here for a second. 384 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:19,040 Jesus is able to completely save. 385 00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:21,320 There's a miniature devotional in here for you. 386 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:24,720 I know that when you look at your soul kind of like I look at 387 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:27,760 mine, there are parts of your life that you've been honest 388 00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:30,480 about, that you said, yeah, I'm kind of screwed up there and I 389 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:32,760 could use some help and Jesus, please help me. 390 00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:37,320 But there are probably some some darker parts of your soul, some 391 00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:41,120 darker parts of your past that you're going there's no way 392 00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:43,400 Jesus could ever love me through that. 393 00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:47,960 There is no way God could forgive me for that. 394 00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:51,440 There is no way that I could ever be made right. 395 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:54,200 I understand the promises that Clayton talks about that are 396 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:56,920 revealed in Scripture. They're so good for a lot of 397 00:24:56,920 --> 00:24:58,680 people. But there's no way that that 398 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:01,280 could be good for me because I've what I've done. 399 00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:04,200 Hear me. When Paul is writing about the 400 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:10,720 priesthood of Jesus, he uses the word completely save all the way 401 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:13,680 through. Whatever you turn over to him 402 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:18,440 will be redeemed by him. There is no sin that has ever 403 00:25:18,440 --> 00:25:21,800 entered this world. There is no sin that has ever 404 00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:24,640 entered your life. There is no thought too dark 405 00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:30,080 that has entered your mind that cannot be completely saved by 406 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:32,600 Jesus Christ and your approach to God. 407 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:36,640 There is nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, 408 00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:41,720 nothing that you have ever done, thought, or have considered that 409 00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:44,400 is not redeemed through the work of Jesus Christ. 410 00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:47,840 And if you want to come to God, if you want to have the hope of 411 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:51,560 eternity and heaven in your heart, there is a way to 412 00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:54,200 experience it. And the way that you experience 413 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:58,600 it is through the work of our great High Priest, Jesus Christ. 414 00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:01,360 Why? Because he is holy and blameless 415 00:26:01,360 --> 00:26:05,360 and pure and set apart from sinners, and he is exalted above 416 00:26:05,360 --> 00:26:06,520 the heavens. Let's keep going. 417 00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:11,400 Unlike other high priests, he does not need to offer 418 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:15,440 sacrifices day after day. He didn't have to offer 419 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:19,840 sacrifices for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. 420 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:23,920 Because Jesus is like is unlike any other high priest, because 421 00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:27,480 Jesus didn't have to offer sacrifices for himself, because 422 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:31,720 Jesus never sinned. So therefore, when he sacrificed 423 00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:38,840 for their sins, once for all, when he offered himself, it is 424 00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:45,680 like your sins have already been forgiven in perpetuity because 425 00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:51,440 once and for all he paid it all. He racked up a line of credit 426 00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:54,160 that your sin can never touch the balance. 427 00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:58,040 There's just too much there. There's too much power in the 428 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:00,240 blood of Jesus. There's too much love in the 429 00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:03,280 sacrifice of Jesus. Now that should not motivate us 430 00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:06,360 to sin more. That should motivate us to sin 431 00:27:06,360 --> 00:27:09,040 less. This is why Paul writes about 432 00:27:09,120 --> 00:27:15,560 Jesus in this in First Timothy. For there is one God and one 433 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:21,960 mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus 434 00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:25,520 who gave himself as a ransom for all people. 435 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:31,040 Hear me carefully. There is no one. 436 00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:32,400 Look at your neighbor and say no one. 437 00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:42,240 No one who has the right or the authority to get in between you 438 00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:48,920 and your relationship with God. You have one mediator and that 439 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:54,440 is the man Jesus Christ. Hear me, You don't need a pastor 440 00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:58,240 to get your relationship right with Jesus or with God. 441 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:02,440 You have Jesus. You don't need a Bishop because 442 00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:05,320 you don't need a Bishop because you have Jesus. 443 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:09,320 You don't need a priest because you don't need a priest because 444 00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:13,760 you have Jesus and Jesus is the high priest. 445 00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:23,320 You have all you need in Jesus. Now hear me, God gave all kinds 446 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:26,960 of offices to the church, just like He gave all kinds of gifts, 447 00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:30,800 talents, and abilities to love and serve and lead the Church. 448 00:28:31,440 --> 00:28:34,240 But when it comes to you getting in a right relationship with God 449 00:28:34,520 --> 00:28:37,680 or you navigating the sins that are going on in your life, you 450 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:41,480 have direct access to the Father through the great High Priest 451 00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:44,360 Jesus Christ. And anyone who says that you 452 00:28:44,360 --> 00:28:47,760 have to go through them to get right with God is spitting on 453 00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:51,600 the work of Jesus Christ, a work that nobody else could ever do 454 00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:54,160 because there has never been anybody like him. 455 00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:58,800 Jesus is our one and only perfect mediator. 456 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:01,680 He is our priest. Now stay with me. 457 00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:05,320 Remember the order of Aaron and the order of the other priests 458 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:06,880 when they were ordained in the ministry. 459 00:29:07,680 --> 00:29:10,840 Watch what happens. Aaron was washed, then he was 460 00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:13,080 anointed, and then the blood was applied. 461 00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:16,800 But for the priests, pay attention now, they were washed, 462 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:19,680 then the blood was applied, and then they were anointed. 463 00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:24,680 Now if you're a bit of a nerd, the Bible has a uses a lot of 464 00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:29,120 imagery or typology to kind of preview that something is 465 00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:32,360 coming. And anytime you see a oil show 466 00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:36,400 up in the Old Testament, it is pointing towards the Holy Spirit 467 00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:43,200 in the New Testament. Watch this Jesus, our great high 468 00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:47,600 priest, he shows up. And what order did everything 469 00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:51,880 happen in Jesus's life? Well in Mark chapter 1, Jesus 470 00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:55,880 was baptized and then the Spirit came down on him. 471 00:29:56,240 --> 00:29:59,960 He was anointed by a woman in Mark chapter 14. 472 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:04,520 And then he was covered in his own blood on the cross, just 473 00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:08,720 like the high priest. But what about what about 474 00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:12,720 Jesus's followers? Something crazy happens here 475 00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:17,320 too. We are washed in the waters of 476 00:30:17,320 --> 00:30:20,280 baptism. And when we are washed in the 477 00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:24,800 waters of baptism, the blood of Jesus is applied to our lives, 478 00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:29,920 and we are cleansed from all of our unrighteousness, and we are 479 00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:33,640 made holy before the Lord. And the Bible says after you 480 00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:38,320 repent and you're baptized, you will receive the gift of the 481 00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:46,520 Holy Spirit, you'll be anointed, you are baptized into Christ, 482 00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:49,960 the blood is applied, and you receive the Spirit of Christ. 483 00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:52,720 Do you know how great our high priest is? 484 00:30:54,400 --> 00:30:59,960 He's making us priests in service to God. 485 00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:07,120 He's taking people that you would never pick and saying you 486 00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:11,120 can work for me in my house. He's taking people that 487 00:31:11,120 --> 00:31:13,040 everybody else would have written off. 488 00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:17,760 And he's saying you can be in service to me. 489 00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:22,440 You can come into all the places that are off limits for a person 490 00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:26,960 like you, not because of what you've done, but because of what 491 00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:29,880 Jesus has done. On Tuesday, I took my boys. 492 00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:32,280 They hit a couple of golf balls and I was up there with a couple 493 00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:35,440 people from our church and I just asked the guy a question. 494 00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:38,680 How much money would you have lost if, if someone would have 495 00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:41,000 bet you that your entire family would be coming to church five 496 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:44,800 years ago? He said quite a bit. 497 00:31:45,040 --> 00:31:47,560 The guy next to him is like, I can't imagine how much money 498 00:31:47,560 --> 00:31:49,200 people would have lost betting that I would be coming to 499 00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:51,080 church. And I said, I can't imagine how 500 00:31:51,080 --> 00:31:53,960 many people in Fort Madison, IA would have lost money thinking 501 00:31:53,960 --> 00:31:58,600 that I'd ever be a pastor. That's how good our high priest 502 00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:01,760 is. He takes people that you you've 503 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:04,400 written yourself off just because you know what you've 504 00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:11,480 done and without you even knowing it on your behalf, God 505 00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:14,160 was anointing you into the priesthood. 506 00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:17,160 Look what it says in first Peter chapter 2. 507 00:32:18,560 --> 00:32:21,880 You also like living stones are being built into a spiritual 508 00:32:21,880 --> 00:32:24,400 house. That's the temple to be a holy 509 00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:30,240 priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God 510 00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:35,480 through Jesus Christ. But you are a chosen people, a 511 00:32:35,480 --> 00:32:42,840 royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that 512 00:32:42,840 --> 00:32:46,920 you may declare the praises of him who called you out of 513 00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:50,080 darkness into his wonderful light. 514 00:32:50,440 --> 00:32:55,840 You and I have the ability to offer sacrifices that are 515 00:32:55,840 --> 00:33:00,200 acceptable to God, not because of what we've done, but because 516 00:33:00,200 --> 00:33:02,360 of what Jesus has done on our behalf. 517 00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:05,760 He allows us to be a part of His redemptive work. 518 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:08,440 Look what it says in Hebrews chapter 4, verse 16. 519 00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:14,280 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended 520 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:18,840 into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the 521 00:33:18,840 --> 00:33:22,240 faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest 522 00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:26,800 who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one 523 00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:31,400 who has been tempted in every way just as we are. 524 00:33:32,280 --> 00:33:35,800 There is not a single thing that you have faced that Jesus didn't 525 00:33:35,800 --> 00:33:37,880 face. Some of you've been waiting your 526 00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:41,040 whole life for somebody to understand you and the pain you 527 00:33:41,040 --> 00:33:43,600 go through. There's only one who knows 528 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:46,040 exactly what it's like to go through what you're going 529 00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:47,440 through. It's Jesus. 530 00:33:47,720 --> 00:33:50,960 But the big difference between Him and us is He went through 531 00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:53,680 everything that we went through, except He never sinned when He 532 00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:55,520 did it. Nobody here is raising their 533 00:33:55,520 --> 00:33:57,480 hand on that one. Like, yeah, I've managed all of 534 00:33:57,480 --> 00:33:59,440 it without sinning. That's not us. 535 00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:03,840 Jesus faced the same temptation, but when he faced it, he 536 00:34:03,840 --> 00:34:06,160 overcame it. Let's keep going. 537 00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:10,520 Let us then approach God's throne of grace with you guys. 538 00:34:10,520 --> 00:34:18,800 Say this next word so that we may receive mercy and find grace 539 00:34:19,159 --> 00:34:26,400 to help us in our time of need. When you become aware of all the 540 00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:30,120 things that you've done, the last thing you feel like you can 541 00:34:30,120 --> 00:34:35,520 have is confidence before God. But our confidence does not come 542 00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:39,000 because of what we have done. Our confidence comes. 543 00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:43,719 You see, we have access to a holy God through Jesus. 544 00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:47,600 Jesus understands our weakness. He understands our temptation. 545 00:34:47,800 --> 00:34:51,440 We can approach this God with confidence, not because of what 546 00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:56,120 we've done, but because of what Jesus has done on our behalf. 547 00:34:56,520 --> 00:35:00,080 Now check this The Bible says that when we come into a right 548 00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:06,640 relationship with a God, we are clothed in Christ. 549 00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:12,960 He is our white garment. He is the one. 550 00:35:13,040 --> 00:35:17,760 We are not sinless, we are clothed in His sinlessness, 551 00:35:18,080 --> 00:35:23,320 which means that you and I have full access to all the grace and 552 00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:27,240 mercy we could ever need in our time of need. 553 00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:31,560 We titled this sermon series Decisions in the Desert. 554 00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:37,360 So my question is, will you decide to make Jesus Christ your 555 00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:41,320 High priest? Will you decide to be a priest 556 00:35:41,600 --> 00:35:44,400 in service of God to help other people find him? 557 00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:46,760 Because we're moving to a time of decision. 558 00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:55,800 If you are here today or you are watching online, if you don't 559 00:35:55,800 --> 00:35:58,200 have a relationship with Jesus Christ, if you haven't started 560 00:35:58,200 --> 00:35:59,920 that intimate personal relationship that we talked 561 00:35:59,920 --> 00:36:03,120 about here at the Crossing, you need a high priest. 562 00:36:04,840 --> 00:36:10,160 You need somebody to represent you before God, and it better 563 00:36:10,160 --> 00:36:13,720 not be you. And I want you to know when 564 00:36:13,720 --> 00:36:16,600 you're standing before God, it's not going to be your grandma. 565 00:36:18,680 --> 00:36:21,280 I'll talk to some people like, well, my, my, my grandma really 566 00:36:21,280 --> 00:36:23,680 love the Lord. That's really awesome for her. 567 00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:28,400 But the only association that matters when you are standing 568 00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:31,360 before God is whether or not you are associated with His Son. 569 00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:38,080 Now, we can pass on the faith to future generations, but it has 570 00:36:38,080 --> 00:36:40,480 to be their faith. It's not ours. 571 00:36:41,800 --> 00:36:44,240 And if you're here today and you haven't started that 572 00:36:44,240 --> 00:36:46,880 relationship right now, you will stand before God on your own 573 00:36:46,880 --> 00:36:51,200 account, on your own works, on your own record. 574 00:36:52,160 --> 00:36:55,720 And the only record that God will tolerate is absolute 575 00:36:56,120 --> 00:36:59,640 perfection. And the Bible is clear, and your 576 00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:07,360 conscience is clear, and that you know you have failed, and 577 00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:13,320 God knows it too. And so he sent his Son, wrapped 578 00:37:13,320 --> 00:37:18,840 him in skin to come and not only be a temple, but to make you a 579 00:37:18,840 --> 00:37:21,880 temple. Not just be a priest for you, 580 00:37:22,200 --> 00:37:24,640 but to make you into a priest for him. 581 00:37:26,240 --> 00:37:31,720 And so if you want, you can stand, not on your own account, 582 00:37:32,320 --> 00:37:37,000 not on your own record, but you can stand on the record of 583 00:37:37,200 --> 00:37:40,320 Jesus. You can be wrapped in his 584 00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:43,440 sinlessness. And if you're here today and you 585 00:37:43,440 --> 00:37:46,160 haven't started it, I got to be honest with you. 586 00:37:49,080 --> 00:37:53,120 Why are you putting it off? Why are you trying to hold it 587 00:37:53,120 --> 00:37:55,560 back? You've probably been kicking 588 00:37:55,560 --> 00:37:58,040 this idea around for a really long time. 589 00:37:58,960 --> 00:38:01,240 And I'm not trying to pressure you to get it done today or 590 00:38:01,240 --> 00:38:03,400 tonight. I am trying to pressure you to 591 00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:06,200 start figuring out why you keep putting off the thing that God 592 00:38:06,320 --> 00:38:08,600 sent his son to die on behalf of you. 593 00:38:09,080 --> 00:38:10,640 Like why you keep putting that off. 594 00:38:11,640 --> 00:38:13,600 And I think we should at the very least, start asking some 595 00:38:13,600 --> 00:38:15,160 questions. And if you're here and you're 596 00:38:15,160 --> 00:38:16,920 wanting to do that, in just a few moments, the people around 597 00:38:16,920 --> 00:38:19,080 you are going to stand and sing and some people are going to 598 00:38:19,080 --> 00:38:20,680 come to the steps and pray. And I would encourage you to 599 00:38:20,680 --> 00:38:23,800 walk right over there underneath that screen right next to the 600 00:38:23,800 --> 00:38:26,160 baptistry. Or if you're watching online, I 601 00:38:26,160 --> 00:38:28,440 want you to type it in the chat and someone's going to reach out 602 00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:30,840 to you. Now to those of you who already 603 00:38:30,840 --> 00:38:34,440 have a relationship with Jesus Christ, it says because of what 604 00:38:34,520 --> 00:38:38,560 Jesus has done, we are to hold firmly to the faith. 605 00:38:38,560 --> 00:38:42,040 You're going to be tempted to grab on to a lot of things right 606 00:38:42,040 --> 00:38:43,960 now. You're going to be tempted to 607 00:38:43,960 --> 00:38:47,440 grab a grab on to a party. You're going to be tempted to 608 00:38:47,440 --> 00:38:48,680 grab on to some political issues. 609 00:38:48,680 --> 00:38:51,280 You're going to be tempted to grab a hold of your family. 610 00:38:51,360 --> 00:38:56,680 And I just want to tell you encourage you hold on to him 611 00:38:58,240 --> 00:39:02,880 because he never fails and he has done so much on our behalf 612 00:39:04,320 --> 00:39:07,000 that why would you want to hold on to anything else? 613 00:39:08,200 --> 00:39:11,120 The second thing I'll tell you is that you have been made a 614 00:39:11,120 --> 00:39:17,160 priest holy unto the Lord, set apart to represent God to the 615 00:39:17,160 --> 00:39:21,800 lost in our communities. God wants to use you in service 616 00:39:21,800 --> 00:39:26,440 of Him to bring his lost children home, and we should 617 00:39:26,440 --> 00:39:30,280 carry that responsibility really, really well. 618 00:39:30,640 --> 00:39:34,360 Would you stand with me? Heavenly Father, we need you and 619 00:39:38,840 --> 00:39:41,400 God, you know, every specific need, every hurt, every 620 00:39:41,400 --> 00:39:45,160 challenge, every hardship that's represented in this room and 621 00:39:45,160 --> 00:39:47,200 online at all of our different locations. 622 00:39:52,280 --> 00:39:55,160 God, we just want you to move in our hearts and our lives. 623 00:39:56,600 --> 00:39:59,080 We want you to bring about change that we could never make 624 00:39:59,080 --> 00:40:01,840 and change that we've been trying to manufacture. 625 00:40:01,840 --> 00:40:04,680 But God, you're the one who has the strength and the ability to 626 00:40:04,680 --> 00:40:08,120 bring it about. God, in the areas of our lives 627 00:40:08,120 --> 00:40:10,600 where we're prideful, God, I pray that you'd humble us. 628 00:40:11,600 --> 00:40:13,800 And God, in the areas where we've lost all confidence, I 629 00:40:13,800 --> 00:40:17,920 pray that you would lift us up. Your name I pray. 630 00:40:18,560 --> 00:40:18,960 Amen.