[0:00] for a short time and as God will grant his liberty I'd like to consider with your words you find in that portion of scripture which we read Paul's epistle to Hebrews chapter 9 I'm reading again at verse 11 Christ being come and high priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands that is to say not of this building neither by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place having obtained eternal redemption for us a greater and more perfect tabernacle just a few words firstly on the earthly tabernacle secondly on the heavenly tabernacle and thirdly on the blessings obtained for us as you know the book of Hebrews seeking to portray for us the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ begins in the first few chapters that
[1:31] Christ is greater than the angels he's greater than any of the prophets he's greater than Moses greater than Aaron he is in fact the great high priest high priest after the order of Melchizedek without beginning and without end and here in this chapter he comes towards the tabernacle that there is a tabernacle that is greater than the one established through the instruction given to Moses in the wilderness he says words to the effect that of which we cannot speak particularly that is that Paul or the writer to the Hebrews can't speak definitively of the tabernacle or of the equipment of the tabernacle and the temple because they're no longer in existence in Israel when Israel was taken into Babylon the tabernacle and the temple was destroyed and all of the furniture of the temple was either hidden, destroyed or taken into Babylon and when the temple was rebuilt after the return from Babylon there was no act of the covenant there was no furniture of the old tabernacle that could be established or placed into those particular wombs and that in itself should show us the inadequacy of the tabernacle to make anyone acceptable to God there were two rooms and between those two rooms in the tabernacle there was the linen veil decorated there was blue, purple and scarlet decorated with various angels and through that veil and through that veil no light came into the holiest of holies because the light of the holiest place of all in the tabernacle was provided by God himself he was the light of the sanctuary he was the light of the earthly tabernacle and sanctuary in this world incense we are told was burnt morning and evening indicating the prayers of the people of God the cloud rising up to God himself and the incense going into that inner sanctuary where we had the presence of the cloud the cloud that came to represent the presence of God himself and there's a significant text in the New Testament where John says we have seen his glory as the glory of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth the glory that John is speaking of there is the glory that came to rest upon the tabernacle the priests entered into the first room of the tabernacle each day they attended to the light they attended to the bread they attended to the service of that tabernacle but the high priest alone went into the inner sanctuary but only once every year he first of all went in with blood for his own sins and sprinkled that before the presence of God before the mercy seat and he also went in with the blood of the sacrifice as he made atonement for the people of God upon that day of atonement it's a day when there was a comprehensive sacrifice a nationwide confession made where the people of God gathered before the tabernacle and there they confessed their sins over the God that was killed as a sacrifice and as over the court that was punished into the wilderness it means that each year they gathered around the tabernacle building but they weren't allowed to come anywhere near to where the sacrifice was being offered that was done by the high priest alone and even when they came with a with a sacrifice for their own sins they brought it towards the outer court of the tabernacle but they themselves were not allowed to offer a sacrifice to God it had to be done by one of the priests it shows us that there was a barrier between the people of the Old Testament and the God whom they worshipped it shows us that there was a glory with the God whom they worshipped a glory which we could not approach it shows that even for ourselves there is a glory with the God whom we worship that we cannot approach and there is a danger even as we gathered in this tabernacle in this sanctuary that we approach the God of heaven in our own strength without recognising that we can only do so through his spirit without recognising that as we gather around his world that his spirit is with us he is in our midst we pray oh Lord that we might be aware of the presence of the spirit of God in our midst this day the sacrifice for sins as I have said was repeated each year showing the inadequacy of the sacrifices of goats and of bulls and of lambs no one approached the presence of God except the high priest himself no one had access to God to have unbroken communion and fellowship with the God or creator nothing on earth can give us that access there is no man there is no fellowship there is no communion with God through any man or through any service that is performed upon this earth it is all material it is all sinful it is all but shadows and faint copies of a perfect worship that goes on in the heavenly tabernacle the earthly tabernacle then as established by God had inadequacies and for that reason there is a heavenly tabernacle it is for the worship of God just as the earth is actually yes but then you would ask how does the heavenly differ from the earthly well in the first instance the heavenly tabernacle has a perfect high priest the high priest of heaven is not just a man he does not come from mere men men are imperfect we are frail we are sinful and all men are of the same but the high priest of heaven is the son of God he is the son of God he is the son of man perfect and eternal he came to take our nature to himself he had no beginning he is from everlasting to everlasting he is God he came to take our nature upon him he took our nature to be united to himself so that he could make intercession for us so that he could save us to the uttermost for all who come to God by him but not only do we have the perfect high priest but we have a spiritual and perfect tabernacle not made by hands the tabernacle made on earth was earthly it was physical it was of the materials of this world and we know that when we sinned in our first parents that not only did they sin but everything in the world all of creation became to be take out by their sin and all of the materials that were used in the earthly tabernacle although they were dedicated to the service of God and although they were cleansed by blood and water yet they were physical they were earthly they were worldly they were sinful in themselves but the tabernacle of heaven is not made of those things that are corruptible and decaying we can see of ourselves that we are aging we are decaying we are in a dying world we ourselves are coming nearer and nearer to death each day of our lives because our own nature our own being is made of decaying materials but the tabernacle of heaven is not made with hands it is a spiritual it is a perfect world it is a heavenly world it is a world which is in the presence of
[14:02] God it is glorified it is manifested to make and to see the worship of God in perfection Christ himself said in my father's house are many mansions if it were not so I would have told you I go to prepare a place for you he has gone to prepare a place for us he is the one who is the perfect the great high priest he is the one who even at this time this day is conducting the service of the perfect heavenly tabernacle but not only do we have a perfect high priest not only do we have a perfect sanctuary a spiritual sanctuary but we have the perfect sacrifice man is imperfect and sinful guilty of disobedience of rejection of rebellion against God and even our greatest sacrifice is even our greatest service is still sinful but there was a plan devised by which it was possible for someone to come and to offer not only a perfect sacrifice but also a perfect life to the
[15:40] God who created us one of the commentators says that he offered his human nature on the altar of his divine nature that in one person we had a priest an altar and a sacrifice it is impossible for us to understand fully what it meant to the great high priest to sacrifice himself to offer himself for the guilt and the judgment of the sins of men but what we can say when we ask the question why would he have done this for us we can say it's because he was the son of God because he loves us because above all else it was a covenant duty in the annals of eternity it was decided that there would be a sacrifice for man there would be no sacrifice that could be offered for the angels that would fall but before time was
[17:09] God decided that there would be a sacrifice there would be redemption there would be a tabernacle a sanctuary for fallen man and within his own passions one was found who would fulfil all that was required not only in that moment did they set out how that was to be fulfilled not only did they decide that it would be when the Romans would rule over Israel but they decided that it would be done by a cross at Calvary and one of the persons who set up that plan and who decided upon the way of salvation he himself governanted that he would accept that work that he would accept the work of salvation and having fulfilled that covenant having lived the perfect life having gone forward and suffered on our behalf he entered the holy of holies not made with hands not in this world but in heaven itself but he entered only once because his was a perfect sacrifice his was the redemption for sin sin and death and condemnation have now been captured by
[19:03] Jesus Christ and we have been set free delivered from the enemy delivered from the enemy of God and his people he paid a ransom price we were slaves to sin and as slaves we could be ransomed but a price had to be paid he sacrificed himself he says significant words about his own death that no one had the power to take his life away but he had the power to lay down his life but he also has the power to take it up again he substituted himself for man he gave his life a sacrifice john says if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship one with another and the blood of jesus christ his son cleanses us from all sin jesus christ alone makes acceptable gives us access fellowship and communion we now have access to the veil between the outer and the inner rooms in the sanctuary has now been torn from top to bottom what lay behind the curtain is now laid bare access is free to our god through jesus christ by his spirit jesus christ not only is with us in this building with us through his spirit in the service but he lives in our hearts he is an actual person living in the person of his spirit in our hearts allowing us enabling us to have constant communion and fellowship even as he says the spirit of truth whom the world cannot perceive because it seeth them not neither all but ye know for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you do we know what it is to have this spirit in us finally not only is there a sanctuary an earthly sanctuary there is a heavenly sanctuary but there is now also blessings blessings which have been obtained for man it is what he called the inheritance that eternal inheritance he has obtained for us eternal redemption the redemption purchased by christ need not be renewed it is once and for all we have been in bondage we have been enslaved we have been corrupted we are sinful but christ has redeemed us from that bondage he has paid the price you are redeemed peter says not with corruptible things which have silver and gold but with the precious blood of grass without spot and without blemish
[22:50] Isaiah says that I am speaking as a prophet of the one that was to come he has sent him to bind up the brokenhearted to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that have bowed and for most there are shallows these days what could be more heartening this day than to know that there is one who would bind up the brokenhearted we can come to him there is free access he delivers us from condemnation our own heart our own nature will condemn us but he delivers us from this condemnation it delivers us from the guilt of sin we sin daily in thought and word and in deed it delivers us from this guilt it delivers us from defilement it delivers us from the sovereignty of sin sin has sovereignty over us but when we come to
[24:07] Christ sovereignty is broken he is no longer the master of our lives he is now the one who has made us free and if the man if the son shall make you free he shall be free indeed and this redemption this deliverance is eternal it lasts not just for this life but for the eternity to come it introduces us to an everlasting liberty it introduces us to the heavenly kingdom it starts as someone says a career of endless progress and blessedness when we come to know Christ it's the beginning of a new career our career is that we learn more and more of this Christ we learn more and more of the gospel we learn more and more from his word we learn more and more of the blessedness that is ours through
[25:21] Christ and we see the progress in ourselves from when we started to know the knowledge that we have but as one commentator said this career is one of endless progress we don't start we don't begin and then the time comes when we know it all we continue in endless progress and one of our own theologians has said that even Christ himself in his human nature continues to gain knowledge of his own passion passion that in eternity he grows in the knowledge that he has of the mystery of himself of his own passion and with that knowledge he feeds the church he feeds us through his spirit in the form of government there were things in the future things that are now our present possession because it has been fulfilled by Christ
[26:40] Christ having gone to the eternal home has left us great blessings for the future they shall be obtained when we come to tabernacle with him in that eternal inheritance where we shall enter into an inheritance incorruptible undefiled and that fadeth not away the blessings of the eternal heavenly calment and the heavenly tabernacle are inexhaustible they are through him and they will ever be the good things to come amen and may go