Welcome back...
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before the break, we were
taking a look at the Laver
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which is the second article
of furniture in the sanctuary.
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It was a place of washing
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where the priest would
wash their hands and their feet
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and this physical washing
typified a spiritual washing
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that God wants to
do with each one of us.
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In Ezekiel chapter 36
verse 25 the Bible says,
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"I will sprinkle clean water
on you; and you will be clean;
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I will cleanse you
from all your impurities
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and from all your idols. "
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I like the emphasis of how this
verse brings out the reality
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that it's actually God
who does the cleansing.
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We can't cleanse ourselves.
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God says, "Look, I'm going to
be the One that cleanses you...
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I'm going to be the
One that washes you...
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I'm going to be the One
that makes you pure... "
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and the Laver...
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the washing represents
the spiritual regeneration
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that God wants to
do with each one of us.
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The implication of the spiritual
washing that we experience
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by the grace of God
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indicates that there is
defilement that takes place
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every time we sin.
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We get spiritually dirty
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and the Laver represents the
washing that God wants to bring
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into our lives and
our spiritual nature.
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Now, in Acts chapter 22
verse 16, the Bible says,
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"And now what
are you waiting for?
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Get up, be baptized
and wash away your sins,
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calling on His name. "
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This is an instance in Scripture
where the Bible brings out
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that baptism is a symbol
of the washing away of sin.
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In the Christian experience,
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this is one place
in which water is used
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and that water...
the waters of baptism,
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according to Acts, represents
the washing away of sin.
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Now, when you get baptized,
that water is not holy water...
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I've news for you,
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that water is
not sanctified water
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but that water is a
symbol... an important symbol
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of what the Holy
Spirit has done in your heart
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and you want to publicly
demonstrate in that ceremony...
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that beautiful
ceremony of baptism...
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of the cleansing that has
taken place in your heart...
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the washing away of sin.
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So, that's one place
where baptism is mentioned.
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Now, you notice that the Laver
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is the second article of
furniture in the sanctuary...
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It is not the last article...
it is not the first article...
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it is the second
article of furniture
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and some people think
that when they're baptized
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it's like graduation...
it's like you've arrived.
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In reality, you have just begun.
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It does not
indicate that you're perfect,
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far from it...
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but it indicates that
you've accepted of the provision
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of Jesus Christ,
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and you've asked for the
cleansing in your own heart.
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You see,
graduation is not this thing
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where you come to
this place and you say,
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"Lord, I'm
perfect... I've arrived...
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I've achieved
all these things. "
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Quite the contrary...
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baptism is a symbol
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of the new birth
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and when you
look in the sanctuary,
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it is the second
article of furniture.
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In other words, you come to
Jesus just the way that you are,
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you accept Him as
Savior of your life,
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and you are baptized.
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You come to the
altar... the burnt offering...
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accept Him as Savior,
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then you come to
the Laver and you say,
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"Lord, I want to be baptized. "
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I want to be
cleansed by this water
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which symbolizes the
cleansing of my own heart.
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This is where
baptism comes into place.
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Now, some people
have asked this question,
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"Is there a
case for re-baptism?"
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Now, the Bible
brings out two instances
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in which
re-baptism is appropriate.
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One of them is, when
you're given new life
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like in the book of Acts,
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individuals had
only been baptized
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by the baptism of John,
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they did not hear...
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or had not heard of the
Holy Spirit or Jesus Christ,
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they were re-baptized,
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so, if you have
been walking with Jesus
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and you come upon new
light such as the Sabbath
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or the state of the dead...
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new light in Scripture
that has been rediscovered
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or discovered for you...
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that is a case in which
it's Biblically supported
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to be appropriate
to be re-baptized.
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There are other cases where
re-baptism would be appropriate
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and that is when
there is a significant
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public falling away from sin.
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Now, there are cases
in which we make a mistake
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or someone in the Christian
community makes a mistake
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that causes a stain
upon the community of Christ
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and that would be a case
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in which someone
would be re-baptized.
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Now, I would say that
re-baptism should be something
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that is prayerfully considered
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I was meeting with
this one individual
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that wanted to be re-baptized
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and I said, "How many times
have you been re-baptized?"
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And he said, "Eight. "
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And I said,
"Brother, I think you're...
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you're overdoing
it here a little bit
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because
re-baptism was not something
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that was to be done
over and over again.
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There are special
instances for re-baptism. "
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In Titus chapter 3
verse 5, the Bible says,
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"He saved us, not
because of righteous things
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which we have done,
but because of His mercy.
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He saved us through
the washing of rebirth
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and the renewal
by the Holy Spirit. "
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You notice what the Bible says
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that it's the Holy
Spirit that washes us.
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He cleanses us...
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the Holy Spirit
comes into our lives
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after we accept
Jesus as our Savior,
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and He cleanses
us and He renews us
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and when we are re-baptized,
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that is a symbol of
what has taken place
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in our own lives...
in our own hearts...
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There's another
place where we use water
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and it's found in John
chapter 13 verses 8 through 10,
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Peter said to Him, You
shall never wash my feet,
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Jesus answered to
him, "If I do not wash you,
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you have no part with me. "
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Simon Peter said to
Him, "Lord, not my feet only
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but also my hands and my head. "
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Jesus said to him,
"He who is bathed... "
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and notice the language here,
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"needs only to
wash his feet... "
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what did Jesus mean?
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"He who is bathed needs
only to wash his feet. "
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Scholars believe
that this bathing
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is a reference to baptism.
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In other words,
baptism is a symbol
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of that bathing and washing
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but he says that
you must wash your feet
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after you have bathed.
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What this is a metaphor of
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is that after we have
accepted Jesus and been baptized
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and we're walking
the Christian walk,
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metaphorically,
our feet get dirty.
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They need cleansing
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and the foot-washing service
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which takes place
on a regular basis
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in our community of faith,
is sort of like a mini baptism
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because after baptism,
because of human weakness,
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we make
mistakes... we make foibles...
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we make errors...
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and every time we
have that foot washing,
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one of the
symbols in the ceremonies
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of the foot-washing service,
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is that it takes care of
those incidental mistakes...
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it's like a mini-baptism
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as we are walking
the Christian walk
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and the Christian experience.
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So, I don't believe
that re-baptism for...
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for that individual that wanted
to be re-baptized eight times
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perhaps, he should have been
using the foot-washing service
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for those times that he
felt that he made mistakes
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that were not of
an egregious nature.
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What did Solomon call the
Laver when he built the temple?
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In 2nd Chronicles
chapter 4 verse 2,
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"He made the Sea of cast
metal, circular in shape,
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measuring ten
cubits from rim to rim
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and five cubits high.
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He took a line of thirty
cubits to measure around it. "
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Now, Solomon was
called to build the temple
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and this temple was to
replace the Mosaic sanctuary
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that God had
told Moses to build.
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The... the tabernacle
built by Moses was a... a...
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a portable structure
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and God
instructed Solomon to build
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a more permanent structure
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and everything was
upscaled including the Laver.
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The Laver was so
large in Solomon's temple
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that the Bible
called it, "A Sea... "
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it was... it was
huge... it was huge
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now give me the
dimensions of this...
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we don't use
cubits in today's age
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and there's a debate out there
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as to which
cubit this was using...
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the ancient cubit
or the royal cubit
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but it said... it took a line of
30 cubits to measure around it,
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to give you some comparison,
Noah's ark was 30 cubits high
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and that was to
house all the animals
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so this was 30 cubits around...
this was a huge structure...
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I mean it was a huge Laver,
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it was so large that when
the Israelites looked at it,
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they said, "It
looks like the sea. "
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So the Laver is also referred
to the Sea in Solomon's temple.
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Now, why are we
emphasizing this?
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Because in
Revelation chapter 4 verse 6,
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the Bible indicates...
"Also, in front of the throne
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there was what looked
like a sea of glass... "
00:09:44.11\00:09:48.82
this is a scene in
the New Jerusalem...
00:09:48.85\00:09:51.45
clear as crystal...
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"In the center
around the throne,
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were four living
creatures, and there they were
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with their eyes in the
front and in the back. "
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So, you can see in
front of God's throne,
00:10:00.30\00:10:02.26
in His holy
temple, there is a sea...
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and the Bible also points out in
Revelation chapter 15 verse 2,
00:10:05.33\00:10:10.57
"I saw as it were a sea of glass
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mingled with fire:
00:10:16.71\00:10:18.91
and them that had gotten
the victory over the beast,
00:10:18.95\00:10:21.55
and over the
image, and over his mark,
00:10:21.58\00:10:23.18
and over the number of his name,
00:10:23.25\00:10:24.59
stand on the sea of glass,
having the harps of God. "
00:10:24.62\00:10:30.23
This is a fascinating picture
00:10:30.26\00:10:31.66
because when the redeemed
are standing before God...
00:10:31.69\00:10:34.96
they're standing
not in the sea...
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they're standing on the sea.
00:10:37.50\00:10:40.37
Now, the
implication of this verse
00:10:40.40\00:10:43.00
is that God's people...
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when they're in the New
Heavens and the New Earth,
00:10:45.07\00:10:47.78
have no further
need of cleansing.
00:10:47.81\00:10:50.88
They were on the
sea... not in the sea.
00:10:50.95\00:10:54.62
This is from
Dr. Leslie Hardinge,
00:10:54.65\00:10:55.98
"The final vision of the Laver
leaves us with the assurance
00:10:56.02\00:10:59.69
that
Christ-transformed disciples
00:10:59.75\00:11:02.06
would need no further
purifications hereafter.
00:11:02.09\00:11:05.33
They will stand before the
throne of the eternal judge
00:11:05.36\00:11:08.36
without fault.
00:11:08.40\00:11:09.76
Their robes of
character washed and made white
00:11:09.80\00:11:13.80
by Calvary's twin streams. "
00:11:13.84\00:11:17.14
I praise God for that.
00:11:17.17\00:11:18.51
I praise the Lord for
His cleansing power...
00:11:18.54\00:11:22.08
that he's able to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness
00:11:22.11\00:11:24.91
and when we get to heaven,
00:11:24.95\00:11:26.41
we will not be in the sea...
00:11:26.45\00:11:27.88
implying that there's
no need for cleansing,
00:11:27.92\00:11:30.09
we'll be on the sea
00:11:30.12\00:11:31.95
indicating that God has
brought us all the way back.
00:11:31.99\00:11:36.56
Now, when you look in Scripture,
00:11:36.59\00:11:38.79
you can see that
God wants to cleanse us
00:11:38.83\00:11:43.90
and in the story of the
leper in Matthew chapter 8,
00:11:43.93\00:11:48.37
the leper comes
to Jesus and says,
00:11:48.40\00:11:50.84
"If you are willing,
you can make me clean. "
00:11:50.87\00:11:54.68
The Bible indicates that
Jesus reached out His hand
00:11:54.71\00:11:59.41
and touched him.
00:11:59.45\00:12:00.98
Notice the order that God
engages with this leper...
00:12:01.02\00:12:05.02
God did not say to the leper,
00:12:05.05\00:12:07.26
"Look, be clean and
then I will accept you. "
00:12:07.29\00:12:11.79
He said... or He acted
by touching the leper...
00:12:11.83\00:12:16.26
an act of acceptance
and then He cleansed him.
00:12:16.30\00:12:20.74
This typifies what
Jesus does in the sanctuary.
00:12:20.77\00:12:25.17
We come to Him just
the way that we are.
00:12:25.21\00:12:28.44
We come to the brazen Altar...
we accept Jesus as our Savior,
00:12:28.48\00:12:32.38
and then He brings us
to the Laver to cleanse us.
00:12:32.41\00:12:36.82
There is nothing that you can do
00:12:36.85\00:12:39.55
that will make God
love you less or more...
00:12:39.59\00:12:43.93
His love for you is not
based on your condition...
00:12:43.96\00:12:47.30
not based on your
actions or your performance...
00:12:47.33\00:12:51.47
God's love for you is
there despite our uncleanness.
00:12:51.50\00:12:55.24
In other words, the
washing is not a pre-requisite
00:12:55.27\00:12:58.97
of God's acceptance,
00:12:59.04\00:13:00.58
it comes after His acceptance.
00:13:00.64\00:13:03.65
Jesus loves to
have us come to Him
00:13:03.68\00:13:05.85
just the way that we are.
00:13:05.88\00:13:08.22
Won't you accept Him today?
00:13:08.25\00:13:09.98
Won't you come
into the sanctuary?
00:13:10.02\00:13:12.39
Won't you accept
Him as your Savior?
00:13:12.42\00:13:14.72
Won't you be washed by
His Spirit at the Laver?
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Won't you accept Him
as your Savior and Lord?
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I want to invite you
to join us the next time
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as we continue in our study
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of the sanctuary,
salvation and our Savior.
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