Participants: Stephen Bohr
Series Code: HWIS
Program Code: HWIS000008
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00:34 Shall we bow our heads for prayer.
00:38 Our wonderful heavenly Father, as we follow Jesus today 00:44 into the Holy Place to discover how we can reflect 00:52 His beautiful and glorious character, we ask for the 00:55 guidance of Your Holy Spirit. 00:58 We ask, Father, that You will help us understand 01:01 how to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ 01:06 as our wonderful Savior. 01:08 We know that You will be with us because You have promised 01:12 that when we come before Your throne in faith 01:15 You will answer our prayer. 01:17 And so we come boldly to the throne in the name of Jesus 01:21 asking for Your presence. 01:23 Amen. 01:28 Today we are going to talk about the triangle 01:33 of sanctification. 01:35 Or in other words, the three ways in which God develops 01:41 in us a holy life. 01:45 Now we need to understand that Jesus, at this moment, 01:49 is in the heavenly Sanctuary in the Holy Place of the 01:52 heavenly Sanctuary and He is pouring out the benefits 01:58 of His atonement, or of His work on earth. 02:02 You remember that Jesus, first of all, lived the life 02:05 that we should live. 02:07 And then Jesus died the death that we should all die. 02:11 And then at the laver, Jesus resurrected from the dead. 02:14 And then He entered into the Holy Place of the Sanctuary 02:18 to credit His life and His death to those individuals 02:22 who come to Him having confessed their sins 02:25 and repented of sin and trusted in the merits of Jesus Christ. 02:31 But this is just the beginning of the Christian life. 02:35 You know, repenting of sin and confessing sin 02:38 and trusting in the merits of Jesus and being baptized 02:42 are very important. 02:44 But these are things that take place at the beginning 02:48 of our Christian life. 02:51 But then after we have accepted Jesus Christ as our 02:54 Savior and as our Lord, we need to grow into Jesus Christ. 03:01 We need to come to reflect His holy character. 03:05 And this morning, we're going to study the three ingredients 03:09 of a holy walk with Jesus Christ. 03:13 And those three ingredients are found in the Holy Place 03:18 of the heavenly Sanctuary. 03:19 Now you find an illustration here of the Sanctuary 03:23 in its proper order on the platform. 03:26 We don't have the camp. 03:28 We didn't have enough panels to go there. 03:31 But there should be one with a camp. 03:34 And then, of course, there is the altar of sacrifice. 03:37 Then there is the laver. 03:39 And then as you go into the Holy Place of the Sanctuary, 03:43 you have three pieces of furniture. 03:46 Now the entrance to the Sanctuary was on the east. 03:49 Which means that as you go through the door into the 03:53 Holy Place, you're moving from west to east. 03:57 And as you look towards your left hand side 04:01 in the Holy Place of the Sanctuary, that would be south, 04:06 you see the seven branched candlestick that you have here 04:10 illustrated on the platform. 04:13 And then as you go in through the eastern door 04:15 into the Holy Place, into the tent, on your right hand side, 04:19 which would be north, you see the table of the showbread. 04:25 Twelve loaves of bread in two stacks of six 04:29 on a table overlaid with gold. 04:33 And then immediately in front of you, 04:35 which would be west, you see the altar of incense, 04:40 the golden altar of incense, where incense was burned 04:45 morning and evening perpetually and continually 04:50 in the Sanctuary. 04:52 Now these three pieces of furniture actually illustrate 04:56 the secret of a balanced sanctified and holy life, 05:02 a life similar to the life of Jesus Christ. 05:06 We're going to find in our study this morning that 05:08 the seven branched candlestick represents witnessing to others 05:15 under the power of the Holy Spirit. 05:18 Because the candlestick had oil. 05:21 And we're going to find that the oil represents the Holy Spirit. 05:24 And then the candlestick gives light. 05:28 So in other words, the seven branched candlestick 05:30 represents witnessing for Jesus Christ under the power 05:36 of the Holy Spirit. 05:38 The table of the showbread represents assimilating 05:42 the life of Jesus Christ through the study of His holy Word. 05:47 Because bread represents the Word of God. 05:51 In other words, it means nourishing ourselves, 05:54 spiritually, of Jesus Christ through a study 05:59 of His holy Word. 06:01 In other words, the table of showbread represents 06:04 the study of Scripture and the assimilating of the life 06:07 of Christ through a study of the Bible. 06:10 And then we're going to find that the altar of incense 06:13 represents prayer. 06:16 It represents coming to Jesus to offer Him our praise, 06:21 offer Him our thanks, offer Him our requests, 06:25 and also our penitence because of our sins. 06:30 So the altar of incense represents prayer. 06:34 So actually we have here a triangle. 06:38 You see, in Bible study God speaks to us. 06:42 In prayer, we speak to God. 06:45 And in witnessing, we speak to others about God. 06:50 And so these three pieces of furniture show us 06:54 how we speak with God, how God speaks with us, 06:57 and the importance of speaking to other people 07:01 about our experience with Jesus Christ. 07:05 Now first of all, we want to study about the 07:09 seven branched candlestick that was found on the south side 07:14 of the Holy Place of the Sanctuary. 07:17 First of all, I want to tell you a few things about 07:20 the golden candlestick. 07:22 It had seven branches. 07:24 Seven representing totality, or completeness. 07:29 It was made of solid gold. 07:33 And it weighted one talent, which is equivalent 07:36 to 120 pounds. 07:40 Now at $1,400 an ounce, which is ballpark these days, 07:46 that would be $2,688,000 just for the golden candlestick 07:55 that was in the Holy Place of the Sanctuary. 07:58 The Bible tells us that the wicks of this candlestick 08:03 were trimmed every day by the high priest. 08:06 And the high priest always made sure that there was sufficient 08:11 oil for these candlesticks to continue burning. 08:16 In other words, the seven branched candlestick 08:19 never burned out. 08:21 It was continually perpetually giving its light. 08:26 Which, by the way, was the only source of light 08:30 for the Hebrew Sanctuary. 08:32 Now the oil of these lamps represents the Holy Spirit. 08:37 Let's turn in our Bibles to Zechariah chapter 4 08:40 and verse 6. 08:41 Zechariah chapter 4 and verse 6. 08:45 This is the next to the last book of the Old Testament. 08:48 It says here, after referring to the candlestick 08:53 in the previous verses, "So he answered and said to me, 08:57 'This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, 09:01 "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit," 09:08 says the Lord of hosts.'" 09:11 So we find the oil as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. 09:15 And of course, the seven branches represent that the 09:18 Holy Spirit gives complete or total light. 09:24 Now what does this candlestick really represent? 09:28 We know the oil represents the Holy Spirit, 09:30 but what does the candlestick itself represent? 09:34 In order to understand that, we must go to the 09:37 book of Revelation. 09:39 So go with me to Revelation chapter 1, 09:42 Revelation chapter 1, and I want you to notice 09:45 that in Revelation 1 we have seven churches 09:49 that are mentioned, seven churches of Asia Minor. 09:53 Revelation chapter 1 and verses 10 and 11. 09:57 Here it says, and John is speaking... 10:35 So we have in Asia Minor seven churches. 10:40 Now I want you to notice that also in this vision 10:43 that John receives in Revelation chapter 1, 10:46 there are seven candlesticks mentioned. 10:49 Seven churches, we've just read their names, 10:51 but there are also seven candlesticks. 10:54 Notice Revelation chapter 1 and verse 12. 10:58 It says, "Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. 11:02 And having turned I saw..." What? 11:05 "...I saw seven golden lampstands." 11:10 And so you have seven churches mentioned by name, 11:14 and you have seven golden lampstands. 11:18 Now the question is, what do the seven golden 11:21 lampstands stand for? 11:22 What do they represent? 11:24 We don't have to guess. 11:26 Because in Revelation chapter 1 and verse 20, 11:29 we find an explanation of what is represented 11:32 by the seven candlesticks. 11:34 It says here in Revelation 1 and verse 20... 11:50 So what do the seven lampstands stand for? 11:53 They stand for the seven churches. 11:55 They are an illustration of the seven churches. 11:59 So in other words, the seven lampstands represent 12:03 God's church, these seven churches in Asia Minor. 12:08 Now we come up with a very important question. 12:12 There were many other churches in Europe and in Asia Minor 12:17 at this time. 12:18 John is writing around the year 95 AD. 12:21 This is long after Jesus resurrected and went to heaven. 12:25 For example, just in Asia we have churches like Troas, Asos, 12:31 Miletus, Colosse, Hierapolis, Magnesia, among others. 12:37 And there were many churches also in Europe. 12:39 So why these specific seven churches chosen in Asia Minor? 12:47 In one of the sheets that you received this morning, 12:49 you see the reason why. 12:51 If you take Patmos as the base of a candlestick, 12:55 you'll notice that a candlestick would project a shadow 13:00 into Asia Minor having the churches in the exact order 13:05 in which they appear in the book of Revelation. 13:08 That's no coincidence. 13:09 In other words, the seven churches form a candelabrum. 13:14 That's the reason why these seven churches were chosen. 13:17 Specifically because they formed a candelabrum. 13:22 And of course, the candelabrum represents the seven churches. 13:26 Of course, the question still remains, 13:29 why were these seven chosen over and above the fact that 13:33 you have a candelabrum formed by the location of the churches? 13:37 Why were seven specifically chosen? 13:41 Well allow me to read you, first of all, a statement from 13:43 the book, Acts Of The Apostles. 13:45 This is the book by Ellen White where she comments about 13:48 the Bible book, Acts of the Apostles, 13:51 page 585, where she explains why seven churches were chosen. 13:56 This is what she says. 14:07 So the names are what? 14:09 Symbolic of different periods of the Christian Era. 14:14 She continues saying... 14:36 So you notice that she says that the seven churches 14:39 represent seven periods. 14:40 Seven represents totality. 14:42 In other words, the seven churches represent 14:44 the totality of the history of the Christian church 14:47 from apostolic times until the end of time. 14:51 Now I want to read you a statement. 14:52 I normally wouldn't read a statement from this author, 14:55 but I will read this statement because 14:57 he agrees with Ellen White. 14:59 Hal Lindsey. 15:00 I disagree with almost everything else 15:03 that he ever wrote. 15:04 But he's right on this point. 15:06 I wanted to read this because you might say, 15:08 "Well that's what Ellen White says." 15:09 Actually, most conservative scholars believe that the 15:12 seven churches represents seven periods of church history. 15:16 Not only Adventists, but also non-Adventists. 15:19 Notice what he had to say. 15:21 This is in his book, Vanished Into Thin Air, page 276. 15:26 He says... 16:08 So very clearly, seven were chosen because 16:11 it represents totality. 16:13 These seven churches represent the totality of the history 16:17 of the Christian church. 16:19 And the reason why you have these specific churches 16:22 in Asia Minor is because they form a candelabrum. 16:25 And the candelabrum represents the seven churches. 16:30 Now let's put all of the symbols together. 16:33 The candelabrum represents what? 16:37 The church all throughout the course of history. 16:42 Now what is needed in order for the candelabrum 16:46 to give light? 16:48 You have to have oil in the candelabrum 16:51 to give light. 16:52 Let me ask you, what must the church need in all of the stages 16:57 of its history in order to shed light? 17:00 It needs the presence of what? 17:03 It need the presence of God's Holy Spirit in order to 17:08 give light to the world in all stages of church history. 17:12 Now let's notice how the Bible portrays Jesus 17:18 in this picture. 17:20 Go with me to Revelation chapter 1 and verse 13. 17:23 You see, the oil is not in the lamps automatically. 17:27 In other words, just by some type of strange 17:30 osmosis the oil is there. 17:32 No. 17:33 The high priest had to be in the Holy Place 17:36 and he had to be continually filling the lamps with oil. 17:40 Notice Revelation chapter 1 and verse 13. 17:44 It says, "And in the midst of the seven lampstands..." 17:47 And what do the seven lampstands represent? 17:50 The seven churches. 17:51 And the seven churches represent what? 17:53 The history of the church when? 17:55 All throughout the history of the church from apostolic times 17:59 until the end of time. 18:16 Now that's an interesting description. 18:18 He has, according to this, a garment down to His feet 18:22 and He has also across His chest a golden band. 18:27 Now if you go back to Exodus 28 and verse 4... 18:30 I'm not going to read that text, but you might 18:32 want to write it down. 18:33 Exodus 28 and verse 4 tells us that these were the 18:37 garments of the high priest. 18:39 In other words, Jesus is walking among the seven candlesticks 18:43 as the High Priest. 18:45 Now where did the High Priest go, according to what we 18:47 studied in our last lecture? 18:49 Where did He go? 18:50 He went to the Most Holy Place, right? 18:52 No, no, no. He went into the what? 18:55 He went into the Holy Place to intercede for His people. 19:00 But now we notice that He went in for another reason. 19:03 You see, the High Priest is Jesus Christ. 19:06 And Jesus walks among the seven candlesticks. 19:10 Why does Jesus walk among the seven candlesticks? 19:12 Because He wants to make sure that the candlesticks 19:16 have sufficient oil so that they can give light. 19:19 In fact, let's notice that. 19:21 Let's go back to the book of Leviticus chapter 24 19:25 and verses 1 to 4 to see what the role of the high priest was 19:30 in the Holy Place of the Sanctuary. 19:32 At least one of his roles in the Holy Place of the Sanctuary. 19:35 Leviticus 24 and verses 1 through 4. 19:38 Let me ask you, what was Aaron? 19:40 What was the function of Aaron? 19:42 Aaron was the high priest. 19:44 And this passage is talking about Aaron. 19:47 Notice what it says there in Leviticus 24 and verse 1. 20:08 So they were to bring oil so that the lamps would burn 20:11 continually and never go out. 20:13 It continues saying... 20:14 Now notice where this takes place, where Aaron is performing 20:17 this particular task. 20:23 In other words, outside the veil that divided the 20:25 Holy from the Most Holy Place. 20:27 This is taking place in what apartment? 20:29 It's taking place in the Holy Place of the Sanctuary 20:33 because that's where the candlestick is. 20:35 So it says in verse 3, "Outside the veil of the Testimony 20:39 in the tabernacle of meeting." 20:41 Now notice... 21:04 What was the role of Aaron the high priest in walking among 21:08 the candlesticks? 21:10 It was to make sure that the candlesticks always had oil 21:13 and the wicks were trimmed so that the candlestick 21:17 never ceased giving what? 21:19 Never ceased giving its light. 21:21 It was to perpetually give its light. 21:26 Now let me ask you this question. 21:28 Were there periods in church history where the light 21:31 flickered and it looked like it was going to go out? 21:34 Have any of you ever heard of the dark ages? 21:39 Why do you suppose they're called the dark ages? 21:42 Because there was a scarcity of what? 21:44 There's a scarcity of light. 21:46 But listen up. 21:47 Even though this period was dark, it was not totally dark. 21:53 The light of the church never went out. 21:56 Because Jesus was walking throughout the history of the 22:00 Christian church, illustrated by the fact that He was walking 22:03 among the seven candlesticks. 22:05 He was always walking in the midst of the history of the 22:08 church to make sure that the light of the church 22:11 never went out. 22:15 Let me ask you, on the day of Pentecost 22:18 what was it that gave the disciples the power to preach 22:22 the message to the world? 22:24 The Holy Spirit was poured out. 22:26 And so here you have illustrated the disciples would be 22:29 like the candlesticks. 22:31 This would be the first candlestick because 22:33 it's the apostolic church. 22:35 And they needed what? 22:37 They needed the oil. 22:38 Now who poured out the oil upon them? 22:41 Jesus Christ. 22:42 Through the power of what? 22:44 Through the power of the Holy Spirit. 22:47 So the seven branched candlestick simply represents 22:50 God's church in all ages giving the light of Jesus Christ 22:56 through the power of the Holy Spirit. 22:58 And who is in the midst of the church making sure 23:01 that the light never goes out? 23:03 Jesus Christ, the High Priest, is in the Holy Place 23:07 making sure. 23:08 Now go with me to Matthew chapter 5 23:10 and verses 14 through 16. 23:13 Matthew chapter 5 and verses 14 through 16. 23:17 Here, Jesus is speaking about His followers 23:20 and one of the roles of His followers? 23:23 He says here... 23:27 What are we? 23:29 The light of the world. 23:46 And then Jesus explains what He means by this 23:49 by saying that we are light and we're like a lampstand 23:51 that needs to be put on a place where everyone can see it. 23:54 Notice verse 16. 24:07 Folks, anyone who has the Holy Spirit 24:12 in his or her life will shed light to the world. 24:19 If we don't have any light to give, it's because 24:22 we are not connected with the Source of light. 24:25 Notice in the book, Christian Service, page 21. 24:29 Ellen White had this awesome statement. 24:31 "Everyone who is connected with God will impart light to others. 24:40 If there are any who have no light to give, it is because 24:46 they have no connection with the Source of light." 24:51 That's an awesome statement. 24:52 Which means that if we're not witnessing, 24:53 if we're not telling others, we don't have the oil. 24:57 We are not connected with the Source of light. 25:00 And by the way, when Jesus said, "You are the light of 25:02 the world," actually Jesus is the light of 25:05 the world, isn't He. 25:07 Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." 25:09 So how can He say to the church, 25:10 "You are the light of the world?" 25:12 Well let me give you an illustration. 25:15 Let's take the sun. 25:17 Does the sun have its own light? 25:20 Does it have its own original light? 25:22 Absolutely. 25:24 Now at night, the sun shines on what? 25:27 It shines on the moon. 25:29 Is the light of the moon light? 25:31 Of course it is. 25:33 But is it original light or is it derived light? 25:36 It's derived light. 25:37 So when you go out at night and you see the beautiful moon, 25:40 you say, "Oh, what a beautiful full moon." 25:43 That's only partially true. 25:45 What you should really say is, "Oh, the sun is sure beautiful 25:49 tonight, isn't it." 25:51 Because the glory of the moon is the glory of the sun. 25:55 And so it is with us. 25:56 When we are connected with the sun, we are like the moon 26:01 and we project the light of Jesus Christ to the world. 26:04 If we are not projecting light, it is because 26:07 we have no connection with the Source of light. 26:11 Now let's talk about the table of the showbread. 26:13 Do you understand what the candlestick represents? 26:15 It represents the church doing what? 26:17 Witnessing through the power of the Holy Spirit. 26:21 One of the ingredients of a holy life. 26:24 Is that what Jesus did? 26:25 Was Jesus constantly doing missionary work? 26:29 Was He constantly shedding light to other people? 26:31 Absolutely. 26:33 Now let's talk about the table of the showbread. 26:35 What does bread represent in Scripture? 26:39 Let's read three verses, or three passages. 26:41 Matthew chapter 4 and verses 3 and 4 tells us 26:45 explicitly what bread represents. 26:47 Matthew chapter 4 verses 3 and 4. 27:11 So what does bread represent? 27:13 It represents God's Word. 27:16 Notice Isaiah chapter 55 and verse 2. 27:20 Another text that speaks about the meaning of the bread. 27:23 Isaiah 55 and verse 2. 27:25 Here God says... 27:38 How do we listen carefully to God? 27:40 Through His What? 27:41 Through His Word. 27:47 So listening to God's Word is eating, according to this. 27:55 Notice also in the same chapter, Isaiah 55 and verses 10 and 11. 28:00 Isaiah 55 verses 10 and 11. 28:03 It says there... 28:24 Notice that bread is being compared to what? 28:27 To the Word of God. 28:40 So the showbread represents God's Word. 28:44 Now let's read a passage that describes the showbread. 28:48 Go with me to Leviticus chapter 24 28:51 and verses 6 through 8. 28:53 Leviticus chapter 24 and verses 6 through 8. 28:56 It's speaking about the showbread. 28:59 It says there... 29:05 In other words, how many loaves on the table of showbread? 29:08 There were twelve. 29:11 Is there sufficient bread for all of God's people? 29:13 Twelve is the symbol of God's people, we studied last night. 29:16 Right? So is there sufficient bread for everyone? 29:19 Absolutely. For all of Israel. 29:22 So it says... 29:42 And now notice when the fresh bread was put. 29:44 It says in verse 8... 29:56 Now let's notice several details from this passage 29:59 as well as some details that are found in other 30:02 passages of Scripture. 30:03 First of all, the bread was there every day. 30:07 Right? 30:08 It was changed on Sabbath, but the bread was there every day. 30:12 And when was the bread placed on the table? 30:16 It was placed there, the fresh bread was placed when? 30:19 On Sabbath. 30:20 Let me ask you, when is it that you get your fresh bread? 30:23 You're getting it right now. 30:26 On Sabbath. 30:28 That's the reason why the bread was changed 30:31 on God's holy Sabbath. 30:32 Notice also that frankincense was placed on top of the bread. 30:36 Frankincense represents praying through the 30:39 merits of Jesus Christ. 30:41 We'll come to that when we talk about the altar. 30:43 Should we ever partake of God's Word without prayer? 30:47 Absolutely not. 30:49 The prayer, the frankincense, is on top of the bread. 30:52 It's connected with the bread. 30:56 Also, and I'll give you the reference, Leviticus 2 verse 5, 30:59 says that this bread had to be unleavened. 31:01 What does leaven represent? 31:03 It represents sin. 31:05 Let me ask you, is the Bible free from sin? 31:10 It most certainly is. 31:12 It's free from sin. 31:14 Does the Bible rebuke sin? 31:16 Does the Bible rebuke darkness? 31:18 It most certainly does. 31:19 Because it's holy, it's undefiled by sin. 31:23 It tells the truth. 31:24 And so the bread was suppose to be unleavened. 31:28 Furthermore, the Bible tells us that this bread 31:32 had to be salted. 31:33 Leviticus 2 and verse 13 says that the showbread 31:36 had to be salted. 31:37 You know, salt performs several functions. 31:40 First of all, it seasons. 31:42 Let me ask you, does the Bible season our life? 31:45 Oh, it most certainly does. 31:46 The salt also preserves. 31:50 Does the Bible preserve us? 31:52 It most certainly does. 31:53 And the salt purifies and cleanses, doesn't it. 31:57 Does the Bible purify and cleanse? 32:00 It most certainly does. 32:02 And so the table of showbread represents God's holy Word 32:08 undefiled by human bias, by human sin. 32:11 It is salty because it gives flavor to our lives, 32:15 it cleanses our lives, it seasons our lives. 32:19 Every Sabbath, it's to be given fresh. 32:22 That's why we come to church on the Sabbath. 32:27 Unfortunately, some people prefer other kinds of food. 32:32 You remember in John chapter 6. 32:35 Let's go there, John chapter 6. 32:39 The Bible tells us there that many people followed Jesus 32:42 because of the miracles that He performed. 32:44 In fact, if you read John 6 you'll find that people 32:47 follow Jesus for three main reasons. 32:49 Number one, they followed Him because they loved His miracles. 32:53 Number two, they followed Him because they got a free lunch. 33:00 In other words, for the loaves and the fishes. 33:02 And in the third place, they had the hopes that Jesus 33:06 would establish His earthly kingdom here. 33:09 In other words, they had political aspirations, 33:12 they had material aspirations, and they loved the sensational 33:17 and they loved miracles. 33:18 Let's read John chapter 6 and verse 1 and verse 2. 33:40 It that the right reason for following Jesus? 33:43 Ah you know, people will go to a church where 33:45 there's all kinds of signs, and wonders, and jumping, 33:48 and tongues, and all kinds of things. 33:51 But when it comes to preaching the Word it's a different story. 33:53 We're going to see in a few moments. 33:54 Now let's go down to verse 14. 33:58 See, they're impressed by the miracles of Jesus. 34:06 Because He fed 5000 with five loaves and two fishes. 34:16 See, they said, "This is the Prophet because He does 34:19 signs and wonders. 34:20 He feeds 5000 people with five loaves and two fishes. 34:25 This Guy would make a great king." 34:30 But then Jesus started preaching. 34:33 Notice John chapter 6 verses 53 to 56. 34:36 He says some revolutionary words. 35:09 And when the people heard Jesus say this, 35:12 they said, "This Guy is teaching us cannibalism. 35:16 How can anyone eat His flesh and drink His blood?" 35:19 And Jesus made it very clear what He meant. 35:22 Notice John chapter 6 and verse 63. 35:24 What He was saying is, we eat the flesh and drink the blood 35:28 of Jesus through a study of His holy Word. 35:31 In other words, it's not by eating Jesus physically, 35:34 like is taught by the Roman Catholic Church 35:36 that in the mass you're actually eating the literal flesh and 35:40 you're drinking the blood of Jesus even though it appears 35:42 like bread and it appears like grape juice. 35:45 It's still the flesh and blood of Jesus. 35:47 That's not what Jesus was saying. 35:49 Notice what we find in John 6 verse 63. 35:53 Jesus explained what He did not mean and what He meant. 35:56 He says here... 36:04 In other words, "The Spirit gives life. 36:06 Eating My flesh doesn't profit anything." 36:08 And then He explains. 36:15 So what does it mean to eat the flesh and 36:17 drink the blood of Jesus? 36:18 It means to listen to His what? To His word. 36:22 "The words that I speak to you, 36:24 they are spirit and they are life." 36:26 And do you know when Jesus said that, almost everybody that 36:30 was present there, the multitude left. 36:31 They said, "We love miracles, and we'd love to have an 36:34 earthly king, and we love it when we have the material 36:39 things, but forget it. 36:40 If it comes to following this Guy's words, not interested." 36:45 And so it says in John 6:66... 36:51 It's coincidence. 36:53 But you can always remember this verse. 36:55 It says in John 6 verse 66... 37:07 But you know, Peter, in spite of the fact that many times 37:10 he put his tongue in fourth gear before putting his 37:13 brain in first gear, he caught the point that Jesus 37:16 was trying to teach. 37:18 Because Jesus says to His disciples, 37:19 "Are you going to leave too?" 37:20 Let's notice, John chapter 6 and verse 67. 37:23 Beginning with verse 67. 37:39 Did Peter understand what it meant to eat the flesh and 37:42 drink the blood of Jesus? 37:43 He said, "Yes, You have the..." What? 37:45 "You have the words of eternal life." 37:50 Physically, we eat through our mouth. 37:55 Spiritually, we eat primarily through our eyes 37:59 and through our ears. 38:01 And what we eat makes us either healthy or makes us sick. 38:07 Is that true? 38:08 Absolutely. 38:10 The question is, are we feeding on spiritual junk food? 38:16 Television, novels, worldly music that make us 38:23 totally unlike Jesus Christ? 38:26 Spiritually, we become what we eat. 38:30 Just like physically, we become what we eat. 38:33 In other words, this is a principle of Scripture 38:37 that we are composed of spiritually what we eat. 38:42 And that's the reason why we must guard our senses, 38:44 primarily our sight and our hearing, 38:47 and not allow anything to come through the avenue of our senses 38:51 that would defile our spiritual health. 38:54 Allow me to read you a statement from, Messages To Young People, 38:57 page 271 and 272. 39:01 Listen to this solemn statement. 39:23 And I think today she would add going to the show, 39:26 and she would add watching certain things on television, 39:29 and she would add music, and many other things as well. 39:32 But at that time, these things did not exist. 39:35 At least iPods where you can put your music, and so on. 39:38 She continues saying... 40:18 Let me ask you, if you've accustomed a child 40:22 to eating cookies and cake and ice cream, 40:28 and that is the child's diet, and then one day you 40:31 come and you have a plate of ice cream... 40:35 ...butter pecan... 40:39 ...and you have a bag of carrots, and you say 40:42 to the child, "Choose which of the two you want." 40:46 The child says, "Give me the carrots." 40:48 No way. 40:49 The child says, "Give me the ice cream." 40:51 Why? 40:52 Because that is how you have trained your physical habits. 40:56 Well spiritually, it's the same thing. 40:59 We are spiritually composed of what we eat. 41:02 And when we train ourselves to eat junk food, 41:05 spiritually speaking, that is what we are going to crave. 41:11 What God wants us to do is He wants us to contemplate 41:15 Jesus Christ as found in His Word. 41:18 So that we can receive spiritual nourishment 41:21 and Jesus can become part of us through a study 41:25 of His holy Word. 41:26 Do you know, as we behold Jesus and His Word, 41:29 a spiritual metamorphosis takes place. 41:32 Go with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 18. 41:35 2 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 18. 41:39 Here, we find the apostle Paul giving us one of the 41:43 secret ingredients of a sanctified and holy life. 41:46 The first ingredient, of course, is receiving the Holy Spirit 41:49 so that we can give the life of Jesus to the world 41:52 and His message to the world. 41:54 The second is the table of the showbread. 41:56 Now notice 2 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 18. 42:06 What are we beholding? 42:08 We're beholding the glory of the Lord. 42:10 What happens when we behold the glory of the Lord? 42:13 It says... 42:24 What happens as we continue to behold Jesus? 42:27 We are being what? 42:30 We are being changed. 42:31 If you don't believe that what you watch changes you, 42:35 I'll give you an example. 42:37 When I was teaching in South America, 42:39 one Saturday night they decided that they would 42:42 project this movie. 42:43 I don't know why they did it at our school. 42:45 But it was a Bruce Lee movie. 42:49 And you know, Bruce Lee's movies are... 42:54 Kicking out, you know. 42:57 After the movie was over, you would have thought that 43:01 you were in a training school of karate. 43:04 Because all of the kids went outside and they... 43:09 Let me ask you, where did they learn to do that? 43:12 They learned that by what they saw and by what they heard. 43:17 This is only a small example. 43:19 But it happens every day. 43:21 We are changed into the image of what we behold. 43:25 And incidentally, that word that is used here, 43:28 "are being transformed," the word, "transformed," 43:32 is the word, "metamorphosis." 43:37 Do you know what a metamorphosis is? 43:41 You know, when I was a kid, I collected butterflies. 43:43 Sometime I'll tell you the whole story. 43:45 We don't have time right now. 43:46 But I became a very proficient and professional 43:49 collector of butterflies. 43:51 Classifying them and being careful about the way 43:53 that they were dissected, and so on. 43:55 Now I can't kill them anymore. 43:56 You know, they're more beautiful flying in the air 43:59 the way God made them. 44:00 But you know, I was able to observe what happens 44:04 when the caterpillar attaches itself to a tree or to a wall, 44:09 or whatever, and then buries itself inside the chrysalis 44:12 or inside the cocoon. 44:15 Inside the cocoon, a process of transformation takes place. 44:19 One of the most miraculous things in nature called, 44:22 a metamorphosis. 44:24 And after several days, the cocoon starts shaking violently. 44:29 And all of a sudden, the cocoon breaks. 44:32 And lo and behold, out of the cocoon 44:35 comes a what? 44:38 A butterfly. 44:40 Notice that even the name has changed. 44:43 Before, it was a caterpillar. Now it's a butterfly. 44:46 The caterpillar, you know, drags himself along the ground 44:50 and can be stepped on, but a butterfly flies. 44:53 That's what Jesus meant. 44:54 That those who are in Christ are a new creation. 44:57 Old things have passed and everything is made new. 45:00 But we must feed that new spiritual nature. 45:04 Notice what Desire Of Ages, page 390, has to say. 46:07 This is what Jesus meant when He said that we should pray, 46:10 "Give us this week our daily bread." 46:15 Thank you very much. 46:17 My mind is still working. 46:19 It says, "Give us this day our daily bread." 46:23 Let me ask you, do you eat once a week? 46:26 I doubt it. 46:28 I don't see anyone here who eats once a week. 46:32 I can see your robust faces. 46:35 See, we're all well fed. 46:39 What would happen if you only ate once a week? 46:41 You'd get sick and die. 46:43 And yet many people, there only diet is a 46:46 Sabbath morning sermon. 46:49 Now I'm into meddling. 46:52 But it's true. 46:54 What happens spiritually when you only partake of 46:56 the showbread on Sabbath morning? 46:59 Our spiritual life shrivels up and dies. 47:03 Now let's talk about the third piece of furniture. 47:05 Are we learning anything from what we have in the Holy Place? 47:08 It's the triangle of sanctification. 47:11 Now let's notice the altar of incense, 47:14 the golden altar of incense. 47:16 This piece of furniture was immediately before the veil 47:20 that divided the Holy from the Most Holy Place. 47:23 It's orientation, even though it was in the Holy Place, 47:26 it's orientation was towards the Most Holy Place. 47:30 In fact, if you read a couple of verses from Scripture, 47:34 Exodus chapter 30 and verse 6, it tells us that this altar 47:39 was immediately before the veil that divided 47:41 the Holy from the Most Holy. 47:42 You see, what happened is when the incense was placed 47:45 upon this altar with the fire, the smoke would ascend the 47:49 veil and it would go over the veil into the presence of God 47:53 where the ark of the covenant was. 47:55 Notice Exodus chapter 30 and verse 6. 48:10 Do you notice the orientation? 48:11 It says the veil that leads into the Most Holy Place. 48:14 The veil behind which the mercy seat is. 48:17 "And I will meet with you there." 48:19 In other words, even though it was in the Holy Place, 48:21 its orientation was towards the Most Holy Place. 48:24 Perhaps this is the reason why in the book of Hebrews 48:27 the altar of incense is actually placed inside 48:29 the Most Holy Place. 48:31 Notice, for example, Hebrews chapter 9 verses 2 through 4. 48:35 It says... 49:01 And so notice that the censer is placed in the content 49:05 of the Most Holy Place. 49:06 Now let's talk a little bit about the altar of incense. 49:11 The altar of incense was so important that only holy fire 49:17 could be placed upon that altar. 49:19 And what does fire represent? 49:21 The fire represents the Holy Spirit. 49:23 The oil gives light, the Holy Spirit gives light. 49:27 Secondly, the incense was of a very special kind. 49:36 Which means that it could not be duplicated. 49:39 The Bible says that anyone who tried to duplicate 49:42 or to replicate the formula that was used for the incense 49:48 was to be put to death it was so serious. 49:51 You can read that in Exodus chapter 30 49:54 and verses 34 through 38. 49:58 Now you say, "Why in the world would God pronounce such a 50:00 dire sentence against people for trying to replicate 50:04 or duplicate this incense?" 50:07 The reason is that the incense represented the merits 50:11 of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. 50:14 And that cannot be replicated. 50:17 That cannot be reproduced. 50:20 The righteousness of Christ is a one of a kind righteousness. 50:25 In fact, I want you to notice that the altar of incense 50:29 is connected with prayer. 50:31 Notice Psalm 141 and verse 2. 50:35 Psalm 141 and verse 2. 50:38 It says here... 50:49 So notice, what is connected with the incense? 50:52 With the incense is connected prayer, according to this text. 50:57 You can also read Revelation chapter 8 and verses 3 through 5 51:01 where it speaks about the prayers of the saints 51:05 ascending to the Sanctuary through the incense 51:10 that is offered on the altar. 51:12 Now I want to read you a statement that we find in 51:15 The Youth's Instructor, April 16, 1903, 51:19 where we find these very significant words. 51:49 Your prayers, if they go to the heavenly Sanctuary 51:52 without the incense, they will be rejected by God 51:55 because they're going from sinful human channels. 51:57 She continues saying, listen carefully... 52:32 And so the altar of incense represents prayer 52:36 intermingled with the righteousness of Jesus Christ. 52:40 Now do you know the Bible tells us that it's the angels 52:43 who take our prayers to heaven? 52:45 And the angels bring the answers from God back to us? 52:51 You say, "Where does the Bible say that?" 52:52 Do you remember that on the veil that divided the Holy 52:55 and Most Holy Place, there were what? 52:57 There were cherubim. 52:58 We studied this last Sabbath. 53:00 Cherubim embroidered on the veil, 53:03 ascending and descending on the veil. 53:05 So when the smoke of the incense went over the veil 53:10 into the presence of God, it represents the fact that the 53:13 angels actually bore the prayers to heaven 53:15 and brought answers back to human beings who prayed. 53:20 Incidentally, you remember the story of the ladder? 53:24 The misnomered Jacob's ladder? 53:27 It wasn't Jacob's ladder, it was the Lord's ladder. 53:29 See, we speak of Noah's ark. It wasn't Noah's ark. 53:32 Solomon's temple. 53:34 You know, really it wasn't Solomon's temple. 53:37 It was the temple of the Lord that was built by whom? 53:40 That was built by Solomon. 53:42 But you remember the ladder. 53:43 The Bible tells us that the ladder represents Christ. 53:46 The top of the ladder represents His divinity, or His deity. 53:49 The bottom of the ladder represents His humanity. 53:51 But ascending and descending upon the ladder, 53:54 what was there? 53:56 Angels were ascending and descending upon the Son of man. 54:00 In other words, the Holy Spirit works through the ministration 54:03 of the angels. 54:05 When we pray, the angel takes our plea to Jesus 54:08 in the Sanctuary and presents it before His Father. 54:10 And then Jesus pleads with His Father, 54:13 and His Father gives us answers back through 54:15 the ministration of the angels. 54:17 In other words, the angels are very, very important 54:20 in the economy of salvation. 54:25 Now let me read you just one more passage as we 54:27 draw this to a close about the altar of incense. 54:31 Luke chapter 1 verses 8 through 10. 54:34 This is a very important passage. 54:35 Because it gives us the symbol and what the symbol represents. 54:41 Notice Luke chapter 1 and verses 8 through 10. 54:46 It says here... 54:51 That is Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist. 55:19 Isn't that interesting. 55:20 You have the symbol and what the symbol means. 55:23 Because you have Zacharias offering what? 55:27 Incense. 55:28 But what are the people doing outside while the 55:30 incense is ascending? 55:31 The people are what? 55:32 Praying. 55:33 So in other words, the altar of incense represents 55:36 our praises, and our thankfulness, and our petitions, 55:41 and our praises to God for how wonderful He is with us. 55:46 Steps To Christ, page 91. Excuse me, 93. 55:51 We find this very significant statement. 55:58 Some people say, "Well how do I pray?" 56:00 Well let me ask you, how do you talk to your friends? 56:03 That's how we should pray. 56:24 We're all acquainted with that very short verse in 56:26 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 17 where the 56:29 apostle Paul says... 56:34 So my question is this. 56:36 What is the secret of a holy balanced spiritual life? 56:42 It is being in the Holy Place with Jesus Christ. 56:45 Number one, receiving the oil of His Holy Spirit 56:49 to give His light to the world. 56:50 Number two, assimilating Jesus Christ as our life 56:55 through a study of His Holy Word. 56:57 And number three, raising on a regular basis 57:00 our prayers to God with our praises, our thanks, 57:05 our penitence, and our requests. 57:08 And when we have these three ingredients 57:11 in perfect balance, not one predominating over the other, 57:16 we have a balanced spiritual life, and we are in the 57:20 Holy Place with Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord. |
Revised 2014-12-17