Participants:
Series Code: SCM
Program Code: SCM210017S
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00:09 Who was Jesus?
00:12 He had compassion for the weak and the hurting. 00:15 He loved every person He met and taught them how to love, 00:20 His great heart helped all those who came near Him. 00:24 But most of all, He was a friend. 00:27 That was who He was. 00:29 Now find out who He is. 00:44 Hello, friends, and welcome and Happy Sabbath to you. 00:48 If you've been following camp meeting, 00:49 you know it's been a tremendous blessing. 00:52 And we thank you for taking the time to tune in, 00:54 watch or listen. 00:56 And our theme has continued to be who is Jesus? 01:00 This Sabbath afternoon Pastor Kameron DeVasher. 01:02 Pastor Kameron DeVasher is going to be presenting 01:04 a message entitled our High Priest. 01:08 The question is, what is Jesus doing now 01:10 as we are getting ready for His soon return? 01:13 What kind of ministry is Jesus involved in to get the world 01:17 ready and His children ready for His soon return? 01:20 Those questions will be answered in the sermon. 01:24 Pastor DeVasher is the director of Sabbath School 01:27 and Personal Ministries for the Michigan Conference. 01:30 He's also a pastor, 01:31 but more than that he's a man of the Word. 01:34 Stay tuned for a life transforming look at another 01:38 aspect of Christ and His ministry. 01:41 But before he comes, Tim Parton is going to play 01:43 and I'm going to sing a song entitled 01:45 Who Am I answering the question 01:48 what did Jesus see in us that He was willing to give us 01:51 life for us to save us. 02:10 When I think of how He came 02:16 So far from glory 02:22 He came 02:24 And dwelt among the lowly 02:30 Such as I 02:35 To suffer shame 02:39 And such disgrace 02:43 On Mount Calvary take 02:48 My place 02:51 When I ask myself 02:55 The question Who am I? 03:03 Who am I 03:07 That a King 03:10 Would bleed 03:12 And die for 03:17 Who am I 03:20 That He would pray 03:24 Not my will, Thine Lord 03:30 The answers I may 03:34 Never know 03:37 Why He ever loved me so 03:44 That to an old rugged cross 03:48 He'd go For who am I? 03:58 When I'm reminded 04:01 Of those words 04:05 I'll leave you never 04:10 If you'll be true 04:14 I'll give to you life 04:19 Forever 04:23 I wonder 04:26 What I could have done 04:31 To deserve God's only Son 04:38 To fight my battles until 04:42 They're won For who am I? 04:51 Who am I 04:55 That a King Would bleed 05:00 And die for 05:04 Who am I 05:08 That He would say 05:11 Not my will, Thine Lord 05:16 I know the answers 05:19 I may never know 05:24 Why He ever loved 05:28 Me so That to an old rugged cross 05:34 He'd go For 05:38 Who am I? 05:42 Yes, who am I 05:46 That a king Would bleed 05:51 And die for 05:55 Who am I 05:58 That He would pray 06:02 Not my will Thine Lord 06:07 The answers I may 06:12 Never know 06:15 Why He ever loved 06:19 Me so 06:22 That to an old rugged cross 06:26 He would go 06:28 Yes, to an old rugged cross 06:32 He did go 06:35 Yes, to an old rugged cross 06:39 He did go 06:44 For who am I? 07:02 And all God's people said, amen. 07:06 I don't know if you can understand that 07:07 that was just performed live. 07:09 That was live singing, live piano playing 07:12 and it was a blessing to my soul 07:14 and I trust it was a blessing to yours as well. 07:16 Thank you, Pastor Lomacang, for that introduction 07:18 and for that wonderful piece of music that got 07:20 our spirits lifted. 07:22 As we want to be thinking about Jesus and I love this theme, 07:27 who is Jesus? 07:28 A lot of people are asking that question. 07:30 And often times the answers are very generic, 07:32 very kind of cookie cutter bland 07:34 and don't go particularly deep. 07:36 Well, in this message, today, 07:38 we're going to be looking not at just Jesus in a nebulous, 07:41 etherial, theoretical sense, but we're going to be looking 07:43 at Jesus in a very specific way, 07:46 as Christ our High Priest. 07:49 And we're going to understand from Scripture what that means. 07:53 And I'd like to begin with a rhetorical question, 07:55 it's kind of going to build the foundation 07:57 of where we go today. 08:00 If you've ever heard me present, 08:01 I like to preach in a logical flow. 08:05 I like things, I like A plus B to equal C. 08:09 And I like things to make sense in my mind. 08:11 And I trust that if it makes sense to me from God's Word, 08:13 it'll make sense to you too. 08:15 So I want to open with a rhetorical question 08:17 even before we have a word of prayer to kind of set 08:19 the stage for where we're going today. 08:22 It's a very simple question and it's this, 08:24 if someone were to come up and ask you, 08:27 what is the purpose of the Christian Church? 08:32 Why does the Christian Church exist at all? 08:36 What would you answer? 08:38 Now I believe in a lot of people would answer, 08:40 and also believe correctly, so the answer would be, 08:43 well, the Christian Church was established. 08:45 Its mission is to carry the gospel to the world. 08:51 In that opening line of the great book Acts 08:54 of the Apostles, Ellen White states, 08:56 unequivocally in fact, that quote, 08:59 "The church is God's appointed 09:01 agency for the salvation of men. 09:03 It was organized for service and its mission is to carry 09:07 the gospel to the world." 09:11 Now, in our message today, 09:12 I want to explore what that gospel message 09:17 actually involves and specifically 09:22 where Christ current work, as High Priest, 09:27 fits into our understanding of that gospel message. 09:31 So that's the burden of our message today. 09:32 Understand the gospel 09:34 and Christ as our High Priest in it. 09:37 But before we do any study of God's Word, 09:39 we must, of course, begin with a word of prayer. 09:41 Please bow your heads with me. 09:44 Heavenly Father, I thank You so much for another day 09:47 of life at all, 09:48 but particularly for the Sabbath day, Lord, 09:51 where we can come apart and we can rest 09:53 and we can worship, we can fellowship 09:55 and we can serve You not in our work but in Yours. 10:00 And, Lord, as we study more intently, more specifically, 10:03 the very work that Christ is doing right now, 10:08 help us to be illumined not by our own opinions 10:12 or the expectations or answers we might have heard elsewhere. 10:15 But, Lord, help us to see from the Holy Spirit's 10:18 inspired Word of God, 10:20 exactly who Jesus is and what He's doing, 10:23 even now, for we pray it in Jesus' name. 10:28 Amen. 10:30 So again, what is the gospel message 10:33 that we're supposed to be giving to the world? 10:36 Seems like a pretty simple question, what is the gospel? 10:39 And I think a lot of the people would answer 10:41 and I believe so again, that the gospel 10:44 is the good news about Jesus. 10:47 Fair enough. Good news about Jesus. 10:49 But let's dig a little deeper. 10:51 But what about Jesus is that good news? 10:56 For instance, is the gospel 10:59 the truth of the incarnation, 11:03 that God sent His Son into this world to take 11:06 life upon Himself, humanity upon Himself 11:09 and live like one of us. 11:12 Galatians 4:4 says very clearly, 11:14 "But when the fullness of the time had come, 11:16 God sent forth his Son born of a woman, 11:19 born under the law." 11:21 So there you have it. 11:23 The message of the good news of Jesus 11:26 is the incarnation that God became man who was born 11:29 of a woman and dwelt among us. 11:33 So is that the gospel? 11:36 Could we just hold a whole lot of Christmas pageants, 11:38 you know, call it a day? 11:41 I'm guessing people say, well, I mean just being born, I mean, 11:44 of course, but there's more to the story of Jesus, 11:47 the good news than merely the incarnation. 11:51 We think of the fact that after 11:52 He was born that the Bible says that He grew in wisdom 11:55 and in stature and in favor with God and man 11:58 and He lived a sinless life 12:00 and exemplary life that we can look to as our perfect pattern. 12:05 And in so doing, He revealed to this world 12:07 and to the on looking universe, the marvelous character of God. 12:12 Think of 1 Peter 2:21-22 12:15 where the Apostle Peter speaks of Christ, quote, 12:17 "Leaving us an example that we should 12:20 follow in His steps, who committed no sin 12:23 nor was deceit found in his mouth." 12:27 The Apostle Paul likewise picks up that same understanding 12:30 of the revelatory exemplary perfect life 12:33 of Christ that is seen in the gospel. 12:35 In Romans 1:16-17, He says, 12:38 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, 12:40 for it is the power of God unto the salvation," 12:44 and he adds for in it, in the gospel, 12:46 the good news of Jesus, 12:48 "for in it the righteousness of God is revealed." 12:53 So Christ came, lived a perfect life, 12:55 set an example for every one of us and before this world 12:59 and all the on looking universe revealed the glory 13:01 of God in the person of Jesus. 13:04 So is the perfect 13:08 and exemplary life of Christ the gospel? 13:14 Well, yes, you might be saying, but there's surely 13:18 more than Him being born 13:20 and living a perfect life that makes the good news, 13:23 the good news that we need to share with the world. 13:27 Many of you might be thinking, okay, Jesus coming to the earth 13:31 as God incarnate and even growing up into an exemplary 13:35 perfect man, all that is good, but it's still not the gospel 13:40 unless you deal with humanity's sin problem. 13:44 He has to be our sin bearer not just a perfect man 13:49 who came here. 13:51 And that's it. 13:54 We think of passages like 2 Corinthians 5:21, 13:57 where the Apostle Paul says, "For He made Him, 14:00 that is Jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, 14:06 that we might become the righteousness 14:08 of God in Him." 14:10 So more than just coming here and more than just being 14:13 perfect that perfection needs to stand in our place. 14:17 He needs to bear our guilt, 14:19 so that we can have His righteousness. 14:23 Isaiah 53 in the Old Testament look forward to this aspect 14:26 of Jesus' life and ministry. 14:28 Prophesying all we like sheep have gone astray. 14:33 We have turned everyone to his own way 14:34 and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 14:40 Now that, friends, is good news. 14:43 So the story of Jesus 14:45 we could trace it from His birth to His growing up 14:48 years to His perfect public ministry and life 14:50 of sinlessness even all the way to the Garden of Gethsemane 14:54 where that mysterious gloom came over Jesus 14:58 and He said, "My soul is sorrowful even unto death. 15:02 He even began to bleed great drops of blood. 15:04 Sweat drops of blood right there in the garden, 15:06 not one physical hand put on Him. 15:08 The weight of sin crushing out His life. 15:10 And if we told the story of Jesus right up to Gethsemane, 15:15 would we have preached the gospel? 15:18 Well, it's a good start, you might be saying, 15:23 but there's surely still more. 15:25 I enjoy this logical like thinking, by the way. 15:30 Do you ever have... 15:31 You ever play with your kids a little bit 15:33 and have some treasure that you've hidden from them? 15:36 And then you've got to tell them 15:37 where it is by giving them hints like warmer, warmer, 15:41 colder, colder, warmer, hot, hot, hot burning up, right? 15:44 This is kind of like that where we're seeing Jesus, 15:46 we're getting closer and closer and closer and every step 15:49 of the way we're seeing more and more clearly. 15:52 But even if we walk with Jesus all the way to Gethsemane 15:54 and He is our sin bearer and He's... 15:58 But if that's all we had, 16:00 would it truly be the gospel? 16:05 Surely when we get to Christ's next step, 16:09 His death on the cross, 16:12 we finally reach the culmination 16:14 of the gospel message. 16:17 And no doubt the death of Jesus on the cross of Calvary 16:20 is the great centerpiece around which all other aspects 16:23 of His ministry revolve. 16:25 Everything leading up to it was prelude to this. 16:29 And everything afterward is contingent upon its success. 16:32 The gospel message centers on Christ and the cross, 16:38 Christ's sacrificial death, His precious spilled blood 16:41 is the active agent of our salvation. 16:46 It is the fuel that makes the engine of redemption run, 16:49 nothing would work without it. 16:53 You see this in Leviticus 17:11, 16:56 with Lord outlined this significant saying, 16:59 the life of the flesh is in the blood 17:02 and I have given it to you to make upon the altar to make 17:06 atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes 17:11 atonement for the soul. 17:13 So again, Christ could have been born, He could have lived, 17:16 He could have never sinned, He could even felt the weight 17:18 of our sins, but unless He shed that precious spilled blood, 17:23 died the death that we deserve, 17:25 it would not be the gospel. 17:30 This is why the Apostle Paul in his presentation 17:32 of the ministry of Jesus would 17:34 declare in 1 Corinthians 2:1-2, quote, 17:37 "Brother when I came to you, I did not come with excellence 17:40 of speech or of wisdom, 17:42 declaring to you the testimony of God, 17:45 for I determined not to know anything among you, 17:48 except Jesus Christ and Him," what? 17:53 "Crucified." 17:54 He didn't just say Jesus Christ and Him born, 17:56 Jesus Christ and His sinless life, 17:59 Jesus Christ and His substitutionary. 18:01 No, he says Him at the cross is the burden of my message. 18:05 And listen to this, from the pen of inspiration 18:09 written in 1898, this is Manuscript 49, 18:13 simple sentence but it's beautiful. 18:16 Hanging upon the cross, 18:19 Christ was the gospel. 18:23 Hanging upon the cross, 18:24 Christ was the gospel. 18:28 So it almost seems unnecessary, 18:33 redundant or even offensive to ask the question now. 18:38 Is the death of Christ on the cross the gospel? 18:48 To even hint at anything other than a yes 18:50 seems almost heretical, 18:53 nearly blasphemous. 18:58 But I would urge you to turn to 1 Corinthians Chapter 15. 19:05 To keep me out of trouble. 19:09 And to answer this question definitively, 19:11 is the death of Christ on the cross, 19:14 is that the gospel? 19:16 Let's consult the Apostle Paul. 19:19 1 Corinthians Chapter 15 starting with verse 13. 19:22 Now, a little context for this passage. 19:25 The Apostle Paul here is dealing with a group 19:27 of people who did not believe that the resurrection 19:30 for anyone was possible. 19:34 They said it is a physical impossibility, 19:36 it is a spiritual, a fairy tale. 19:38 It's not a real thing. 19:40 So there might have been a real Jesus born, 19:42 lived and even died, 19:44 but nobody ever comes to life again. 19:48 They were denying the possibility or the reality 19:53 of a resurrection. 19:55 Now to this audience, 19:58 with this mindset the Apostle Paul writes, quote, 20:01 "But if there is no resurrection of the dead, 20:05 then Christ is not risen." 20:07 That's only logical, if no one rises from the dead 20:10 and Christ was someone who died, 20:13 then He wouldn't have raised from the dead either. 20:15 Okay? 20:16 If there is no resurrection of the dead, 20:18 then Christ is not risen. 20:19 And then he adds, and if Christ is not risen, 20:23 then our preaching is empty 20:25 and your faith is also empty. 20:30 He goes on to say again, for if the dead do not rise, 20:34 then Christ is not risen. 20:36 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile, 20:42 you are still in your sins. 20:48 You got to step back and marinate in that for a minute. 20:50 Try to wrap your minds around 20:52 the conclusion he's just come to. 20:55 The Bible here in 1 Corinthians Chapter 15, 20:57 explicitly states that Jesus 21:02 could have been God incarnate, 21:04 He could have lived a sinless life, 21:07 He could have taken the guilt of all of our sins upon 21:09 His innocent shoulders and paid the penalty of the death 21:14 we deserve on Calvary. 21:16 And still after all of that, 21:19 if He hadn't moved on to the next step 21:21 of the redemption process, 21:23 namely being resurrected from the dead, 21:27 we would still be lost. 21:32 So counterintuitive as it may seem and feel, 21:36 it is nonetheless true then to state that Christ's 21:40 life and sacrificial death 21:43 is not all that is necessary for our salvation. 21:48 There is even 21:49 more to the gospel. 21:54 Now, this is a kind of a staggering thought. 21:57 And I'm guessing you are with me up to the birth 21:58 or He's got to live, then He's got a substitute 22:01 and then He's got to die. 22:02 But once He's done, but you telling me Apostle Paul, 22:07 that even if Christ did all of that and died, 22:09 if He hadn't risen from the dead, 22:11 hasn't resurrected from the grave 22:13 and continued His life and moved on in His work, 22:18 then according to him our faith is futile. 22:20 We are still in our sins. 22:23 Now to help us see the incredible breadth 22:26 of this gospel plan, the Lord outlined 22:28 the entire redemption process in miniature 22:33 starting in the Old Testament. 22:35 Through the sequential steps of the Old Testament 22:37 sanctuary services, God carefully traced each distinct 22:43 and equally essential stage 22:46 of Christ's ministry for our redemption. 22:50 And you recall this, students of the Word, 22:53 you would go back and you look at the types and symbols 22:55 and ceremonies of the Old Testament sanctuary. 22:58 How the sacrificial lamb, 23:00 though growing up being born in and growing up around 23:04 a camp full of sinners had Himself to be without 23:07 spot or blemish, a symbol of that sinless life 23:11 of Jesus that reflected the holiness of God. 23:16 Then the laying on of hands by the penitent 23:19 sinner out in the courtyard just prior to the Lamb's death, 23:23 symbolized the transference of guilt from the penitent 23:26 sinner to our sinless Savior. 23:28 So the Lamb is born in the camp, 23:30 raised in the camp without spot or blemish 23:32 comes into the courtyard, has the sins 23:35 of the sinner placed on it by transference, 23:39 by laying on of hands. 23:43 And then the sacrifice itself on the altar, 23:48 which required not merely the death 23:49 of the Lamb in any old fashion, 23:52 but death by the shedding of its blood foreshadowed 23:56 the literal shedding of Christ's blood 23:58 with which He would make atonement for our souls, 24:02 because as Leviticus 17 says, it is the blood that makes 24:05 atonement for the soul. 24:09 But now keep in mind, in the Old Testament 24:13 types you had the Lamb that took on the sin that died 24:18 as our substitute, a sacrificial death. 24:23 But you realize that there was more to the sanctuary than just 24:26 the camp and the courtyard, there was also the Holy Place 24:31 and the Most Holy Place. 24:33 You see the camp in the courtyard represent 24:36 the work of Christ here on the earth, 24:39 where the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place 24:42 represent His work continued in heaven. 24:47 So again, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15, 24:49 if all we had was Christ's death, 24:50 we would still be in our sins, that the sacrifice 24:52 stopped at the altar and the blood 24:54 was spilled on the ground. 24:57 We would be lost, my friends. 25:00 It is here that we begin to understand 25:02 the need for yet another step in the redemption process, 25:06 the need for a mediating priest. 25:09 What would happen with that blood is the priest 25:12 would catch the blood 25:15 and he would take a sample of that blood 25:18 through the veil where the sinner cannot go. 25:22 By the way, the sinner would come in guilty, 25:25 transfer the sins onto the sacrifice 25:27 and he would leave forgiven. 25:30 But we all understand that the life is in the blood 25:35 and the guilt now that was on the sinner 25:38 is found symbolized in the blood of the Lamb. 25:42 So he takes that blood 25:44 and while the sinner leaves forgiven, 25:47 the work for his redemption continues. 25:51 The priest would take that blood through 25:53 the veil into the Holy Place 25:56 and sprinkle it before the altar of incense, 26:01 so it could be appearing before 26:02 the throne of God in the sinner's behalf. 26:06 The priest could go where the sinner could not 26:09 and only through the intercession 26:12 and the mediation of a priest, 26:14 would the salvation process for that poor 26:17 sinner be complete. 26:20 Now, I want to throw out another 26:22 idea that might be a new thought for some of you. 26:27 But the central message of the early church 26:31 was not just that Jesus had come, 26:34 that Jesus had lived and that Jesus had died. 26:38 The central focus of the early church presentation 26:43 of the gospel was what, at that time was the present 26:46 truth of Jesus at the right hand of God in heaven. 26:50 Let me demonstrate to this, this to you. 26:52 Go to Acts Chapter 2. 26:55 The quintessential early church passage, 26:58 the day of Pentecost where 3,000 souls 27:01 were baptized and you got to keep in mind this is only 27:03 50 days after the events of the Passover weekend 27:07 where Jesus became that literal lamb slain for the salvation 27:10 of the world. 27:12 And here in Acts Chapter 2, the same Peter that earlier 27:15 got be cowering by the fire and denying his Lord 27:17 is now imbued by the Holy Spirit's outpouring 27:20 and power and he preaches a sermon. 27:22 It's 26 verses long, 27:24 13 of which are just quotes from the Old Testament 27:26 prophecies about Jesus. 27:28 But notice what he comes to the conclusion of. 27:31 It's here in Acts Chapter 2, we'll start here in verse 32. 27:36 He says, "This Jesus God has raised up 27:41 of which we are all witnesses." 27:44 Now turn up for just a second. 27:46 Clearly, he was preaching about the life of Jesus, 27:49 which culminated in the death of Jesus, 27:51 but he's not just preaching the death of Jesus, 27:53 he's preaching the resurrection of Jesus. 27:56 And what does he say about the resurrection? 27:57 Look at it again, verse 32. 27:59 This Jesus God has raised up of which we are all witnesses. 28:04 He's saying look, that is, 28:07 it's relatively old news but it's something 28:09 we already know, we've already seen it. 28:11 It's known around these parts, that Jesus not only died, 28:16 but He rose again. 28:18 Praise the Lord. 28:20 Then he adds verse 33, 28:22 "Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God 28:27 and having received from the Father the promise 28:30 of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you 28:33 now see and hear." 28:36 So notice, he wasn't just preaching what Christ did, 28:38 he preached what Christ is now doing. 28:40 Friends, we call that present truth. 28:44 The early church was based on Bible prophecy 28:47 pointing clearly to present truth and it had a convicting, 28:51 converting influence on the soul. 28:54 Thus in verse 36, he would skip down there and say, 28:57 "Therefore, let all the house of Israel 29:00 know assuredly that God has made this Jesus 29:04 whom you crucified," past tense, 29:09 both Lord and Christ, present tense. 29:14 He didn't just preach about the death of Jesus 29:16 which by the way, everyone there at that crowd 29:19 not only heard about, they participated in. 29:22 It was the last feast of the Jews 29:24 where they had come together the Passover and said, 29:25 "Let His blood be on us and on our children." 29:29 And yet now that same Jesus who they had killed just 29:32 50 days earlier, is now at that moment, 29:36 sitting at the right hand of God 29:37 with their destiny in His hand. 29:41 You can see the conviction came home, said verse 37, 29:44 "When they heard this, they saw cut to the heart 29:47 and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 29:48 men and brethren, 'What shall we do?'" 29:52 And praise the Lord, he didn't say, 29:53 "Oh, there's nothing you can do. 29:55 I just wanted to inform you that you're lost." 29:57 Of course not. 29:58 Peter said what John the Baptist would have said. 30:01 Peter said what Jesus would have said. 30:03 Peter said to them, 30:05 "Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name 30:08 of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins 30:10 and you shall receive the promise of the Holy, 30:13 the gift of the Holy Spirit." 30:14 And then he adds, "For the promise is to you 30:16 and to your children. 30:18 So I know what you said 50 days ago, 30:21 you were under the spell of Satan. 30:22 And now with clear mind in this, 30:24 you see Jesus at the right hand of God and let me tell you, 30:26 there is salvation available for you and your kids today." 30:31 Uh! Powerful, powerful preaching. 30:34 Go five chapters to the right. 30:35 Acts Chapter 7, you see the apostles, 30:37 I'm sorry, the Deacon Stephen, 30:39 I almost called him the Apostle Steven. 30:40 But the reality is Stephen was a lay member of the church 30:44 and he was one of the first deacons in the early church 30:47 and, friends, let me tell you this, 30:48 this is not the sermon at time and place. 30:49 But deacons and local church leaders are not 30:52 there just to unlock doors and set up chairs, 30:55 they are to preach the gospel as well. 30:57 And Stephen is dragged before 31:01 the Sanhedrin to answer for his faith 31:03 and what was the burden of his message. 31:05 Look at Acts 7:44. 31:07 He talks about the sanctuary starting on earth, 31:10 but then he transitions to heaven. 31:11 Watch this, says. 31:12 "Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness 31:16 as he appointed instructing Moses to make it 31:18 according to the pattern that he had seen, 31:20 which our fathers having received and in turn also 31:22 brought with Joshua into the land 31:23 possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out before 31:26 the face of our fathers until the days of David, 31:28 who found favor before God and asked to find 31:30 a dwelling place for the God of Jacob, 31:32 but Solomon built him a house." 31:35 So he's transitioning from Moses building 31:37 the temporary tabernacle in the wilderness to Solomon 31:40 finally building the great temple that they adored 31:42 and loved and revered so greatly. 31:44 Then he said in verse 48, "However," comma, 31:48 "the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands 31:53 as the prophet says, 'Heaven is my throne 31:57 and earth is my footstool.'" 31:59 What house will you build for me says the Lord? 32:01 What is the place of My rest? 32:02 Has My hand not made all these things? 32:07 He was trying to transition their thinking from the types 32:09 and services of the earthly sanctuary to the reality 32:13 of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary. 32:16 And it was right then that he lost His audience, 32:21 because look at the very next verse. 32:23 I don't know if he was looking at their body language 32:24 or their facial aspect or heard their murmurings 32:26 and grumblings, but it says in verse 51, 32:28 that he cut straight to the appeal. 32:30 Quote, "You stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart 32:33 and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit 32:35 as your fathers did so do you." 32:41 Verse 54, "When they heard these things, 32:42 they were cut to the hearts." 32:45 By the way, friends, clearly they understood 32:47 that what he was saying was true. 32:49 They were just as convicted 32:50 as the people on the day of Pentecost were. 32:52 They were both cut to the hearts. 32:56 The differences on the day of Pentecost, 32:57 they yielded to the influence of the Holy Spirit, 33:00 looked into heaven and saw Jesus by faith. 33:04 But here in Acts Chapter 7, they were cut to the heart. 33:07 And it says they gnashed at Him 33:09 with their teeth, ah. 33:14 But he being full of the Holy Spirit 33:16 gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God 33:22 and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 33:26 He wasn't just saying, 33:28 "Think about what Jesus used to do." 33:29 No, he's saying, "Look at what Jesus is doing right now." 33:33 And he said, "Look, I see the heavens opened 33:36 and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." 33:40 Friends, the burden of the early church was not 33:43 merely what Jesus had done, but what Jesus 33:45 was doing at that time, present truth. 33:48 Thus, we'll read in Hebrews 33:50 1:1-2. 33:55 The Apostle Paul, the same Apostle Paul mind you who said, 33:58 "I determined not to know anything 34:00 except for Christ and Him crucified." 34:01 Now says, 8:1-2. Now, this is the main point 34:06 of the things we are saying, we have present tense, 34:10 such a high priest who is present tense seated, 34:14 present tense at the right hand of the throne 34:16 of the Majesty in the heaven, 34:19 a minister of the true sanctuary and of the true 34:21 tabernacle which the Lord erected and not man. 34:26 From Peter to Stephen to Paul, the theme of their message over 34:29 and over was not just generic Jesus, 34:32 but it was present truth Jesus, 34:33 where is He and what is He doing right now? 34:37 Thus, we read comments like this in Great Controversy, 34:40 488 and 489. 34:42 The intercession of Christ in man's 34:44 behalf in the sanctuary above 34:47 is as essential to the plan of salvation, 34:50 as was His death upon the cross. 34:54 By the death, by His death He began that work 34:58 which after His resurrection, 35:00 He ascended to complete in heaven. 35:04 There the light from the cross of Calvary is reflected. 35:07 There we may gain a clear 35:09 insight into the mysteries of redemption. 35:12 Friends, when Jesus ascended into heaven, 35:14 He didn't retire. 35:17 He simply relocated His place of business. 35:21 He continues to work for our salvation 35:24 even now. 35:27 But let's continue. 35:29 When Christians, many Seventh-day Adventist included 35:32 talk about Christ's work in heaven, 35:35 they focus almost exclusively on His role 35:38 as interceding priest. 35:40 And there's certainly good reason to do so. 35:42 Listen to these powerful promises. 35:44 Hebrews 7:24-25 says, 35:47 He, speaking of Jesus, because He continues 35:51 forever has an unchangeable priesthood. 35:54 Amen. 35:55 Therefore, He is able to save to the uttermost 35:58 those who come to God through Him, 36:00 since He always lives to make intercession for them. 36:05 What do you say, friends, amen? 36:08 How about this one from 1 John 2:1, 36:11 "My little children, these things 36:13 I write to you so that you may not sin. 36:15 And if anyone sins, 36:18 we have," present tense, 36:21 "an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous." 36:25 Praise the Lord. 36:27 We have an interceding advocate in Jesus Christ, 36:32 our Heavenly Priest. 36:34 Now, having said all of that, 36:38 clearly we've moved from Christ's earthly work 36:40 which included His birth and His life 36:42 and His sin bearing and His sacrificial death on Calvary, 36:47 and His resurrection 36:48 and then His ascension into heaven after His death 36:51 on the cross and His right hand ministry in the Holy Place, 36:55 interceding as our advocate even now. 37:00 That all parallels the work of the camp, 37:03 the courtyard and the Holy Place. 37:06 But there's still one more room, 37:09 there's the Most Holy Place. 37:13 Again, we know from the ceremonies of the earthly 37:15 sanctuary that the redemption process is not complete 37:19 with that daily or ongoing work of the priest 37:22 as an intercessor for the forgiveness of sins. 37:26 But it also entails a yearly or at an appointed time 37:30 prophetically work of a high priestly judge. 37:35 Turn in your Bibles with me to Leviticus Chapter 16. 37:39 As we look at the miniature to help us understand 37:44 the original, as we look at the shadow or copy 37:47 of what is in heaven. 37:49 Leviticus Chapter 16 talks about the Day of Atonement, 37:52 that one day a year when after all those sins 37:55 had been accumulated by the daily intercession 37:57 of the priest and the sacrifices of the lambs 38:00 would be collected in the sanctuary itself. 38:03 For we understand the sanctuary acts as a filter for sin. 38:07 It takes the sin off the sinner, 38:09 but it places it on to the sacrifice 38:12 and the sanctuary itself. 38:14 So while sinners get clean, the sanctuary gets dirty. 38:20 Thus the need for a day to cleanse the sanctuary. 38:25 Leviticus Chapter 16 outlines this. 38:28 Now importantly, there was still a daily 38:30 sacrifice available on the Day of Atonement. 38:33 So the daily literally means that every day 38:36 including that day, there was a sacrifice for the forgiveness 38:39 of sins, for the remission and guilt. 38:41 And anyone who had the conscience 38:44 prick that wanted to lay their sins before the Lord 38:46 could do so even on that day. 38:48 I praise the Lord that though the Christ is in the Most Holy 38:51 Place now, there's still pardon available for us today. 38:56 But there was something special that happened on that day. 38:59 It says here, Leviticus Chapter 16, says in verse 7, 39:04 "He shall take the two goats and present them before 39:08 the Lord at the door of the tabernacle meeting. 39:10 Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, 39:12 one lot for the Lord 39:14 and the other lot for the scapegoat." 39:16 And then it goes on to outline how and I won't have to take 39:18 the time to read this, but you can read it for yourself 39:20 from Leviticus 16. 39:22 Essentially, after the daily ceremony, 39:23 he would take these two otherwise identical goats 39:27 and cast lot. 39:28 One would be assigned to be the Lord's goat 39:30 and the other would be called the scapegoat. 39:35 Now, after the daily service was done, 39:38 he would come and take the Lord's goat 39:40 and sacrifice it. 39:41 This time not for the cleansing of just that day sin, 39:44 but all the sins that had accumulated in the sanctuary 39:48 for the whole year. 39:51 So notice what it says here, we go down to verse 15. 39:53 "Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering 39:55 which is for the people. 39:56 Bring its blood inside the veil, 39:58 do with the blood as he did with the blood 39:59 of the bull and sprinkle it on the mercy seat 40:02 and before the mercy seat." 40:03 Verse 16, 40:04 "So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place." 40:09 Now why would the Holy Place need atonement 40:11 if it had never sinned? 40:13 Because it had been the repository 40:15 of all those sins that had been confessed by those putting 40:19 faith in the Lamb and its sacrifice. 40:22 So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place because 40:25 of the uncleanliness of the children of Israel 40:27 and because of their transgressions 40:29 for all their sins. 40:31 And so, he shall do for the tabernacle meeting 40:33 which remains among them in the midst 40:35 of their uncleanness. 40:38 So, fascinatingly enough, 40:39 the sanctuary itself would need it, 40:41 would need cleansing and this sinless goat this once 40:45 a year sacrifice would be collected 40:47 all the way to the accumulated sins 40:49 and that would be sacrificed to make atonement. 40:52 And then it says in verse 20, "And when he has made an end 40:55 of atoning for the Holy Place, the tabernacle meeting 40:57 and the altar, he shall bring the live goat." 41:01 Now, please, friends, understand this, 41:02 that live goat, that scapegoat represents not Christ, 41:06 but Satan. 41:09 Satan is the great originator of evil. 41:12 He's the great tempter. 41:13 He's the one who leads the world. 41:15 The Bible says he deceives the whole world. 41:18 So every sin finds its root 41:21 and headwaters in him. 41:24 He bears culpability for the sins he has led 41:27 the universe to commit. 41:30 At least our portion of the universe, 41:31 the only part that has fallen. 41:34 So here we have 41:38 the great day of reckoning if you will. 41:42 And he was supposed to take all of those sins that had already 41:44 been paid for by the slain goat. 41:47 And now place them on the live goat, 41:50 transferred that guilt but this time there's no shedding 41:53 of blood. 41:54 There's no death in the courtyard 41:56 or anywhere else in the sanctuary area. 42:00 But he was taken by the hand of a pseudo man 42:02 out to the wilderness to die under 42:03 the weight of their own sins. 42:08 This prefigures 42:11 the great concluding work of the great controversy, 42:14 when Christ will take all those who have 42:16 put their faith in Him and if their faith is true 42:19 and if their repentance is genuine, 42:21 if their lives reflect 42:23 the pardon they've been blessed with, 42:24 He will place those sins on that scapegoat 42:29 and say, "They have been paid for." 42:33 Now you die under 42:34 the weight because you're the great instigator. 42:41 This is a work of judgment that was shown the Prophet Daniel. 42:45 In Daniel 7:9-10, when it says, 42:47 "I watched till thrones were put in place, 42:49 and the Ancient of Days was seated, 42:51 His garment was white as snow, 42:52 and the hair of His head was like pure wool. 42:54 His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire, 42:57 a fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. 43:00 A thousand thousands ministered to Him, 43:02 ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. 43:04 The court was seated, and the books were opened." 43:08 And then watch as Christ comes from the Holy Place 43:10 into that judgment room in verses 13 and 14. 43:13 "I was watching in the night visions, and behold, 43:16 one like the Son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. 43:19 He came," now notice, not to the earth, 43:22 "He came to the Ancient of Days, 43:26 and they brought Him near before Him." 43:29 So there's God the Father, God, the Son Jesus Christ, 43:32 there's all the on looking universe arraigned 43:34 before this heavenly tribunal. 43:36 "Then to Him was given dominion 43:38 and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, 43:41 nations and languages shall serve Him. 43:43 His dominion is an everlasting dominion 43:45 which shall not pass away and His kingdom one 43:47 which shall not be destroyed." 43:51 At this point, I would urge you, 43:53 you want some good Sabbath afternoon reading to read 43:55 Chapters 23, 24 and 28 from that classic, 44:00 The Great Controversy. 44:03 Ellen White, from the inspired pen, 44:07 speaks about the details of this work of judgment 44:11 as Christ our High Priest goes into the Most Holy 44:14 Place for the final work before He returns. 44:18 He is evaluating each one claiming to be a son of God, 44:23 each one claiming to have faith in Christ to see 44:25 if that faith is real. 44:28 She writes, in the typical service that is the earthly 44:32 or the miniature, only those who would come 44:35 before God with confession and repentance 44:37 and who sins through the blood of the sin offering 44:39 were transferred to the sanctuary 44:41 had a part in the service of the Day of Atonement. 44:44 So in the great day of final atonement 44:47 and investigative judgment, the only case 44:50 is considered are those of the professed 44:53 people of God. 44:54 Now, that only makes sense. 44:55 If no one had availed themselves 44:57 with the lamb in the court and the intercession 44:59 of the priest in the... 45:00 I mean in the Holy Place, then they would have 45:02 no nothing to do with the Most Holy Place at all. 45:05 They would be out in the camp with their sins 45:07 and never even confessed Christ never repented, 45:09 they never even started down the road. 45:12 But for the people of God who've made a profession 45:14 of faith, there's a final analysis. 45:18 She continues, by the way, all of these statements 45:20 are from 480 to 484 in The Great Controversy. 45:23 She continues, 45:24 as the books of record are opened in the judgment, 45:27 the lives of all who had believed on Jesus, 45:31 come and review before God. 45:33 Beginning with those who first lived upon the earth, 45:35 our advocate presents the cases of each successive generation 45:40 and closes with the living. 45:43 Every name is mentioned, 45:44 every case closely investigated. 45:48 Now this makes us a little bit uneasy. 45:50 When we talk about the gospel, 45:52 we don't often talk about judgment and inquiry 45:55 and scrutiny and investigation but here it is. 45:58 She further explains, every man's work 46:00 passes in review before God and is registered 46:03 for faithfulness or unfaithfulness. 46:05 Opposite each name in the books of heaven 46:07 is entered with terrible exactness, every wrong word, 46:10 every selfish act, every unfulfilled duty 46:13 and every secret sin with every artful dissembling. 46:18 Heaven sent warnings of reproofs neglected, 46:20 wasted moments, unimproved opportunities, 46:23 the influence exerted for good or for evil, 46:26 with its far reaching results. 46:28 All are chronicled by the recording angel. 46:32 Friends, the Lord is keeping up with what we're doing through 46:35 His ministering angels. 46:37 It's not some blurry, hazy, spotty thing here and there. 46:41 There is an exact record according to inspiration 46:44 of our lives. 46:45 Now, sometimes that makes us nervous. 46:46 Yes, it should. 46:50 Because, friends, God doesn't want to just call us 46:52 good and us keep on living. 46:53 He says, no, I'm not only offering your pardon, 46:55 I want to offer you power. 46:59 But I love this line, 47:01 Jesus will appear as their advocate, 47:05 not as their accuser. 47:06 There's one who's the accuser of the brother 47:07 and that's Satan. 47:09 So you get the idea. 47:10 Christ is there in the ultimate overseer role. 47:13 Jesus is there as the advocate 47:14 and Satan is there as the accuser. 47:19 Jesus, it says will appear 47:21 as their advocate to plead in their behalf before God. 47:25 Good news number one is that God takes 47:27 His time to get things right and good thing number two, 47:30 is He doesn't just look at the record cold. 47:32 He says, "Wait a minute, let's bend it towards Jesus." 47:35 Let's give them the best shot, let's give them an advocate." 47:40 She then writes all who have truly repented of sin 47:42 and by faith claim the blood of Christ 47:44 as their atoning sacrifice have had pardon entered 47:48 against their names in the book of heaven, 47:50 as they have become partakers of the righteousness 47:52 of Christ and their characters are found to be in harmony 47:56 with the law of God, their sins will be blotted out 47:59 and they themselves will be counted worthy 48:02 of eternal life. 48:03 Now timeout, are they worthy because they never sinned? 48:06 Absolutely not. 48:07 They wouldn't even be in consideration 48:09 if they hadn't sinned, they had to have a pardoning 48:11 sacrifice in order to even be there. 48:14 But now more than just claiming the name of Jesus 48:16 and hoping to get a ticket to get in, 48:18 they want the power of Christ in their lives to transform 48:21 them into citizens of His kingdom. 48:27 While Jesus, it goes on to say is pleading for the subjects 48:29 of His grace, Satan accuses them before God 48:32 as transgressors. 48:33 And by the way, he's right. We are transgressors. 48:36 The Bible says, "All have sinned and come short 48:38 of the glory of God." 48:41 The great deceiver has sought to lead them into skepticism 48:45 to cause them to lose confidence in God, 48:47 to separate themselves from His love and to break His law. 48:50 Now he points to the record of their lives, 48:53 to the defects of character, the unlikeness to Christ 48:55 which has dishonored their Redeemer, 48:57 to all the sins that he has tempted them to commit 49:00 and because of these, he claims them as his subjects. 49:03 Now notice this Christ, Jesus does not excuse their sins. 49:09 He's not playing like I don't see it. 49:10 I don't think it, I don't believe it. 49:12 Christ knows your sin too, the jig is up. 49:15 All the universe is a witness. 49:17 Jesus does not excuse their sins, 49:19 but shows their penitence and faith 49:23 and claiming for them forgiveness, 49:24 He lifts His wounded hands before the Father 49:27 and the holy angel saying, "I know them by name. 49:30 I have graven them on the palms of My hands." 49:35 Friends, the investigative judgment is not legalism. 49:40 It is loyalty born of love. 49:43 In our security in the judgment is found in an abiding 49:47 faith in Christ and in His righteousness alone. 49:51 This is why the Apostle John could appeal 49:53 so earnestly in 1 John 2:28. 49:56 "And now little children abide in Him." 49:59 That means present tense, abide, 50:02 while He is present tense, interceding, 50:04 you are present tense, abiding, living, 50:07 dwelling in Him, that when He appears, 50:12 we may have confidence and not be ashamed 50:15 before Him at His coming. 50:20 What a powerful thought, friends. 50:23 But it does bring people's question to mind. 50:24 Wait a minute, am I saved by faith or judged by works? 50:30 And the answer is, yes. 50:34 We are both saved by faith 50:35 and at the same time judged by works. 50:38 Let me give you an example of this in Genesis Chapter 15, 50:42 to Abraham the Lord had called. 50:45 In Genesis Chapter 12, He called him 50:47 and told him He is going to make him a great nation. 50:49 Yet year after year went by and there were no children 50:52 coming from and he was getting frustrated, 50:53 he was getting confused. 50:55 And the Lord in Genesis Chapter 15, 50:57 came to him in verse 2 after Abraham said, 50:59 Lord God, "What will you give me 51:01 seeing I go childless and the heir of my house 51:03 is Eliezer of Damascus. 51:05 Then Abraham said, 'Look, you have given me no offspring. 51:09 Indeed, one born in my house is my heir.' 51:13 And behold it says, 'The word of the Lord came to him saying, 51:17 this one shall not be your heir, 51:19 but one who will come from your own body 51:21 shall be your heir.' 51:22 Then he brought him outside and said, 'Now, 51:24 look toward heaven, and count the stars 51:25 if you're able to number them.' 51:27 And he said to him, 'So shall your descendants be.'" 51:28 In verse 6. 51:29 "And he believed in the Lord 51:31 and he accounted it to Him for righteousness." 51:34 Now that belief in the Lord and accounting 51:35 for righteousness in Genesis Chapter 15. 51:37 But Isaac doesn't come along the child 51:39 of promised to him years later. 51:43 And when Isaac finally arrives, 51:45 God tests his faith to see if it's genuine 51:48 and he asked him to sacrifice him on the mountain. 51:51 And this time, instead of looking for an Eliezer 51:53 loophole or the Hagar issue, as was brought up by Sarah, 51:56 his wife and all that mess he just obeyed the Lord, 51:59 took Isaac and bound him on the altar 52:02 and raised the knife to slay him. 52:04 And then it records, verse 12. 52:07 And he said, the Lord 52:08 says, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, do anything to him. 52:11 For now, I know that you fear God, 52:15 since you have not withheld your son, 52:17 your only son from me. 52:20 Now I know." 52:21 And, of course, the Lord had provided a lamb. 52:26 Now, why is that so important to our topic 52:28 today of the investigative judgment because 52:31 the profession of faith, the declaration 52:34 of faith that was made in Genesis 15 52:37 wasn't demonstrated until Genesis 22. 52:41 And the Apostle James picks up on this nuance of the story 52:45 and applies it to a life of genuine faith. 52:49 Listen to just James 2, starting with verse 20, 52:54 starting with verse 14. 52:55 He says, "What does it profit, my brethren, 52:57 if someone says he has faith but not have works? 52:59 Can faith save him? 53:01 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 53:03 and one of you says to them, 53:05 'Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,' 53:06 but you do not give them the things 53:07 which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 53:09 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, 53:12 is dead." 53:14 "But someone will say," verse 18, 53:16 "You have faith, and I have works. 53:18 Show me your faith without your works, 53:20 and I will show you my faith by my works." 53:23 He goes on to say, verse 20, "But do you want to know, 53:26 O foolish man, that faith without works is dead." 53:29 And then he recalls the story of Abraham, 53:31 "Was not Abraham, our father justified by works 53:34 when he offered Isaac his own son on the altar? 53:38 Do you see the faith was working together 53:40 with his work and by works, faith was made perfect." 53:43 Now notice verse 23, 53:45 "And the Scripture was fulfilled." 53:47 Now he's talking about offering up Isaac in Genesis 22. 53:51 Now notice what he says next, 53:53 "And the Scripture was fulfilled which said, 53:56 Abraham believed God 53:57 and it was accounted to him for righteousness." 54:02 The Declaration of Genesis Chapter 15 was 54:04 manifested in the demonstration in Genesis 22. 54:09 When it went from merely a profession, 54:11 to a practical application and God could say, 54:14 "Now I know that you fear God." 54:18 And James sums it up saying, 54:19 you see them that a man is justified by works 54:22 and not by faith only. 54:25 What a powerful thought. 54:26 Yes, we are saved by faith, 54:28 but we're judged by our works because works are the evidence 54:32 of genuine faith. 54:35 Let me state this in no uncertain terms in our final 54:37 minutes here. 54:39 Christ's high priestly work of judgment in the Most 54:41 Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary is an essential 54:43 aspect of the gospel message 54:45 we are to give to the world. 54:48 Friends, according to Bible prophecy, 54:49 we are currently living at that time in earth's history 54:53 when the hour of His judgment has come. 54:55 By the way, look at Romans Chapter 2 at some point 54:57 when the Apostle Paul talked about the day 55:00 when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, comma, 55:04 according to My gospel. 55:07 Jesus talked about you'll be justified by your 55:09 work in the Day of Judgment. 55:11 The Apostle Paul also talked about righteousness, 55:13 self-control and the judgment to come 55:15 when he preached the gospel, 55:16 he was preaching the whole gospel, 55:18 including Christ's work as judge. 55:21 And again, Revelation 14:6-7, that first angel's message 55:25 reveals that we are living in the judgment hour. 55:30 Yet far too often the very church God 55:32 is raised up to give this gospel message 55:34 of Christ pre-advent judgment. 55:36 Those commissioned to sound the alarm and warn 55:38 the world say almost nothing about it. 55:41 Seventh-day Adventists 55:42 who don't share this message are like Noah 55:44 failing to mention the boat or John the Baptist 55:46 not pointing to Jesus in the crowd. 55:49 And just as Nicodemus wasn't really confused about 55:52 the logistics of being born again, 55:54 but merely feigned confusion in order to avoid 55:57 a clear but uncomfortable truth. 55:59 The reason we don't focus on the present truth 56:01 of Christ's Most Holy Place ministry isn't because we don't 56:04 understand it. 56:06 The difficulty many have with the doctrine 56:08 of the investigative judgment isn't a lack of clarity about 56:11 the sanctuary structure or even disagreement 56:14 about the date 1844. 56:16 The real issue is that Christians, including I believe 56:19 a great many Seventh-day Adventists have come to regard 56:22 judgment itself as separate from or even 56:25 antithetical to the gospel. 56:28 Thus, we imagine investigative judgment that involves 56:31 no investigating and no judgment. 56:34 We seem to believe that there's this gospel 56:36 over here by which people are saved. 56:39 And then in addition, there is this special judgment 56:41 message unique to the Seventh-day 56:43 Adventist Church, which most of us don't understand 56:45 and nobody else really needs to hear. 56:49 Friends, I believe that is a grave error. 56:52 I believe that Satan is inventing a number 56:54 of ways to occupy our minds from the very message 56:56 we're supposed to give. 56:58 And what's incredible, friends, this is exactly 57:00 how Satan wants it. 57:01 Listen to this passage, Satan invents unnumbered 57:04 schemes to occupy our minds that they may not dwell 57:07 upon the very work which we ought to be best 57:10 acquainted with. 57:12 The arch deceiver hates the great truths 57:13 that bring to view an atoning sacrifice in an all 57:16 powerful mediator. 57:17 He knows that with him, everything depends on diverting 57:20 minds from Jesus and His truth. 57:23 She goes on to say, all need a knowledge for themselves 57:26 of the position and work of their great high priest, 57:28 otherwise it will be impossible for them to exercise the faith 57:32 which is essential at this time or to occupy the position 57:35 which God designs them to fill. 57:37 My friends, let me ask you today, how many of you, 57:39 like me want to be filling the position 57:42 God wants us to fill and have the faith He wants us to have? 57:45 Let's look to Jesus, present Jesus High Priest Jesus 57:49 as He soon to return. 57:53 His body was broken, 57:57 so that we could live, giving us the gift of eternal life. 58:03 He pursues us relentlessly with an everlasting love 58:08 regardless of our failures and mistakes, 58:12 the One who loves us like no other. 58:16 This is who Jesus is. |
Revised 2021-11-11