Well, good morning. Again, it's good to see all of you. If you are feeling hot and overwhelmed, we will say this a few times this summer, there are fans.
If you can't feel a fan, it's okay for you to get up and move to a place you can feel a fan. Or you can go downstairs to our lower level meeting room, which is air conditioned and live streams are service from there.
We would rather you get up and move in order to continue to participate than sit in the pews and suffer. So, that's our heart as we come to God's Word today.
So, I want to begin by asking a question. When you think of a priest, what do you think of? Maybe you think of Indiana Jones in the Temple of Doom, the pagan priest offering human sacrifices.
Or maybe you think of the princess bride, marriage. Marriage is what brings us here together today. Maybe you think of a priest like that.
Maybe you think of the classic stereotypical priest in a Catholic school, ready to wrap your knuckles for chewing gum or not having your socks pulled up.
Or maybe you think of a Catholic priest as a judge whose life is consumed with exposing all of your unrighteous living and to bring you shame.
Now, some of you may have had good experiences with priests and have different views, but these negative responses are typical in our culture and often come from our personal experience, don't they?
But is that how we are supposed to think of priests? Well, that brings us to our text today.
We are going through the summer, the book of Numbers, and we are in Numbers 17 and 18.
Interestingly, at the end of this week, I did a Google search online to see if I could find a sermon on Numbers 18 in the internet, and the answer was no.
So, here we go. We're going to do it, and we're going to be exploring parts of the Scripture that maybe aren't always looked at.
And just to remind you where we are as we come into this section, last week, Pastor Nick preached about chapter 16,
where the people of God rose up and rebelled, at least a portion of them, rebelled against the priesthood that God had established among His people.
The followers of Korah, a part of the Levites, rose up against them, and God brought judgment upon them because of their rebellion.
They were swallowed up by the earth, and then a plague came, and Aaron, the high priest who God had anointed, brought his censer full of incense,
and the smoke of that stopped the plague that was a second judgment against the people of God because they were rebelling against God's plan.
And the people realized the danger of trying to come to God without a priest, of trying to come to God on their own.
But they haven't yet even learned that lesson. We'll see in verse 12 of chapter 17, they will come back to this refrain again and say,
we are undone. We will all perish if we try to approach God.
But God speaks a word of hope to them and to us today because God has given the priesthood in order to bring blessing to His people.
And that's the overarching theme of verses of chapters 17 and 18.
We're going to walk through it in three sections, so we'll read it in a section at a time
to see how these blessings come to God's people through the priesthood.
So, first, chapter 17.
This is page 117 in the Pew Bible.
If you want to pull out your Pew Bible and follow along, or it will be on the screen behind me as well.
The Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to the people of Israel and get from them staffs, one for each father's house,
from all their chiefs according to their father's house, twelve staffs.
Write each man's name on his staff and write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi.
For there shall be one staff for the head of each father's house.
Then you shall deposit them in the tent of meeting before the testimony where I meet with you.
And the staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout.
Thus I will make to cease from me the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against you.
Moses spoke to the people of Israel, and all their chiefs gave him staff, one for each chief according to their father's houses,
twelve staffs, and the staff of Aaron was among their staffs.
And Moses deposited the staffs before the Lord in the tent of testimony.
On the next day, Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and behold,
the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted, and put forth buds, and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds.
Then Moses brought out all the staffs from before the Lord to all the people of Israel.
And they looked, and each man took his staff.
And the Lord said to Moses,
Put back the staff of Aaron before the testimony,
to be kept as a sign for the rebels,
that you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest they die.
Thus did Moses, as the Lord commanded him, so he did.
And the people of Israel said to Moses,
Behold, we perish.
We are undone.
We are all undone.
Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord shall die.
Are we all to perish?
Let me pray as we look at God's Word this morning.
Lord, thank you for this Word.
Thank you that, Lord, by your Spirit, you have given us this Word so that we might know you and be instructed by you,
so we might understand what you are up to in the world,
and Lord, what it means to be your people.
Lord, I pray for your help this morning.
You would help me to speak clearly as I ought.
And I pray for all of our hearts,
that we would sit under your Word,
that we would receive it as from you.
Lord, that we would know it in our minds,
that we would love it in our hearts,
that we would do it with our hands.
Thank you, Lord.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
So the first thing we see in chapter 17 is that God gives a priest
who brings abundant life to his people.
Right?
So this story, remember, they've just come out of judgment,
and God comes to Moses and says,
okay, I've got to do more to establish Aaron in the eyes of the people
as the one that I have chosen.
And so he calls all the tribes together.
He says, we want one tribe from the leader of each tribe to give a staff.
And they write a name on it.
And in case you're doing a little math and you're wondering,
the Hebrew is a little less clear than the way…
The English suggests there were 12 staffs,
then there were 13 staffs.
There were 13 staffs total because there are 12 tribes.
And then on top of that, there was the tribe of Levi.
Because, if you remember, Jacob had 12 sons.
Those were the 12 tribes.
But then Levi gets set apart earlier,
and the two sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim,
become their own individual tribes.
In the 12 tribes, when they enter the land,
they will get 12 different parcels of land.
Levi will get something different,
and we'll see that by the end of our passage.
So, sorry, that was a little excursus
into the history of that, but that's the way it was.
So, 13 staffs, Moses gathers with the names of these tribes,
and he puts them in the tent of meeting,
the holy place, right?
The Ark of the Covenant in the middle of the tabernacle.
And he puts them in, and he says,
just wait and see.
And then he comes back the next morning,
and there are 12 dead sticks,
and there's one staff that has budded.
And it hasn't just budded.
It has budded, and it's flowered,
and it's borne fruit, right?
Don't miss the fact that this is not
some sort of natural process
where somehow a green staff
became a little bit more lifelike.
God did something miraculous
to picture something that was dead
being brought back to life,
and not only life, but abundant life
where it was producing something, almonds,
that would bless those who received it.
So, this is the sign that God gives.
Now, here's a question for you.
If I say to you,
what's the biblical significance of almonds?
Anything? Anyone?
Yeah, me neither, right?
So, I did a word search,
and do you know what?
It's amazing.
There are a couple of other references to almonds,
but there's this really neat one
in Exodus 25.
Exodus 25 is when God is giving instructions
to the people of God on Mount Sinai
as they receive the law
about the building of the tabernacle,
the place where God will meet with his people.
And in it, there's a lampstand.
And that lampstand has, like a menorah,
like multiple branches
that will then hold candles
to bring light into the temple
where the priests are offering sacrifices.
But in Exodus 25, verses 33 and 34,
it describes those branches like this.
They will have three cups
made like almond blossoms,
each with calyx and flour.
And on one branch,
and three cups made like almond blossoms,
each with calyx and flour,
on the other branch.
So, for the six branches
going out from the lampstand,
and on the lampstand itself,
there shall be four cups
made like almond blossoms,
their calyxes and flour.
So, this is the one place
in all the ritual life of Israel
where almonds are mentioned.
And it's amazing.
I don't think, by the way,
that Aaron's staff
was made from an almond tree.
It might have been.
I suppose it's possible.
But I don't think that was the point.
The point is that the people of God
would remember this passage
and would see that Aaron alone
has the right to minister
in that place where the lampstand was,
he and his sons in the priesthood,
right?
And that, that lampstand was a picture.
One commentator says
that the lampstand was like
a stylized almond tree
set within the holy place
representing Eden's tree of life,
its light symbolizing
the light of Yahweh's blessing.
Did you get that?
In this place, in the temple,
there was this lampstand
that pictured a tree of life
and it had almond blossoms.
And so, when you get to this sign
in Numbers,
God is reminding the people,
the priesthood is there
so that they can minister
in the tabernacle
so that you may have
the abundant life
that I'm going to bring you
because I am your God.
What an amazing thing it is
that God has given us
a priesthood that brings life.
Sometimes we feel like
coming to God
is more like being called
into the principal's office.
We know we've messed up
and now we're just waiting
for the other shoe to drop
and the consequence time
to happen for us
and we are afraid
and we fear the outcome, right?
And it's fascinating
because that's what God's people did.
They said,
we're not done.
How can we ever approach God?
But God is trying to say,
your priesthood is there
to give you life,
not death.
And of course,
we know that the priesthood
of Aaron
is just a picture
of a priesthood
that's yet to come.
That Jesus would come
as a greater priest
and that He would come
as one
not to bring death
and destruction,
but to bring life
life
and life
that is abundant
in Him.
And He would picture
this death
by being
one who is made dead
and then who is brought
back to life
as the resurrected
Son of God.
And so,
this staff of Aaron
both affirms
the priesthood
and pictures ahead
the resurrection life
that Jesus will bring
as our high priest
to all
who believe
in Him.
And because Jesus
is raised from the dead,
you don't have to fear
going to God
because He's a God
who delights
to give life
to those
who come to Him.
So,
chapter 17,
the priesthood
that brings life.
Let's look ahead
now to verse,
chapter 18
and think,
what else do we learn
from these sections
about the priesthood
that God gives?
What we'll see,
well,
let's read it first.
So,
we'll look at
verses 8,
chapter 18,
verses 1 through 7.
So,
the Lord said to Aaron,
you and your sons
in your father's house
with you
shall bear iniquity
connected with the sanctuary
and you and your sons
with you
shall bear iniquity
connected with your priesthood
and with you
bring your brothers also
the tribe of Levi,
the tribe of your father
that they may join you
and minister to you
while you and your sons
with you
are before the tent
of the testimony.
They shall keep guard
over you
and the whole tent
but shall not come near
to the vessels
of the sanctuary
or to the altar
lest they and you die.
They shall join you
and keep guard
over the tent
of the meeting
for all the service
of the tent
and no outsider
shall come near you
and you shall keep guard
over the sanctuary
and over the altar
that there may never again
be wrath
on the people of Israel
and behold
I have taken your brothers
the Levites
from among the people
of Israel
they are a gift to you
given to the Lord
to do the service
of the tent of meeting
and you and your sons
with you
shall guard
your priesthood
for all that concerns
the altar
and that is within
the veil
and you shall serve
I give you
your priesthood
as a gift
and any outsider
who comes near
shall be put
to death
so the second thing
that God's priesthood
brings us
is access to God
why do I say that
well you've got to go back
and recognize a couple things
first remember the context
of Korah's rebellion
where people rose up
and said we can get to God
without the priest
without the Levite
we can just go in
straight ahead
and lo and behold
they found out
the holiness of God
is too great
to be born
for sinful people
to merely approach him
go back and listen
to Pastor Nick's sermon
last week
to get all of that
but the other thing
you need to remember
is that
what God is reaffirming
to Aaron here
is the structure
of the camp
okay this goes back
to numbers
one through four
we're trying to pull
all the threads together
so you can follow
through all this
so remember
that in chapters
one through four
when God set up
the people of God
to leave
he set it up
with a particular
structure
to picture
things that he thought
were important
first
at the center
of the camp
was the tabernacle
the tent of meeting
and that's where
God's presence
was manifested
that's where Moses
met face to face
with God
and that's where
Aaron and his sons
would offer sacrifices
in worship to God
according to God's instruction
so God was in the center
of the people of God
and then you had
these other people
you had the priests
ministering within the temple
and then you had the Levites
and the four tribes
and you can look at chapter four
and see all the details
they had particular roles
about packing and carrying
and setting up
and all that stuff
but the Levites
were tasked
with ministering
on the outer
outside of the tent
but between
the tent of the meeting
and the people
then the twelve tribes
who were set up
in a square
around that
and that's what they would do
when they were camped
and then when they would move
they would elongate it
and make it a big line
but the same picture
basically is there
with concentric circles
going from
God at the tent of meeting
to the priests
to the Levites
and then to the tribes
of the people
and then the people outside
and that was the picture
that you got
right
and God is reminding
Aaron
and the Levites
and the people of God
by extension
that this structure
had a purpose
right
the priests
had a particular role
to deal with
the holy things
in the vessel
to offer sacrifices
to atone for the sin
of people
inside the tent
they stood between
God
and the people
and represented them
so that the people
of God
and their sin
would be addressed
the Levites
surrounded them
and served
the priests
so that they could
continue this act
and acted as a buffer
and here in this passage
you see very clearly
they were the guard
of the tent of meeting
to make sure
that people
didn't fall into
the same sin
that had happened
in chapter 16
of thinking
you could just run
rush right into
the tent of meeting
and face God
in his holy of holies
on your own
because
as we're reminded
God's holiness
is like the sun
it is beautiful
it is radiant
but it cannot bear impurity
it will burn up
anything
that draws close
that is not
perfectly pure
and so the priests
and the Levites
lived between
and did you notice
the phrase
that they will bear
the iniquity
of the sanctuary
that they will
actually stand
and bear the consequences
if the Levites
transgressed
and tried to do
what the priests
would do
both the Levites
and the priests
would die
if people
from the outside
tried to come in
and the Levites
allowed that to happen
the Levites
would die
so they stood
in the gap
and bore
responsibility
for the judgment
of God
against the people
all of this
is to say
God created a system
like the guardrails
a couple of summers ago
we went to Yellowstone
National Park
and if you've ever seen
the hot springs
right
they're absolutely beautiful
they're gorgeous
they're also really hot
and every once in a while
you see
that some bison
wandered into a hot spring
and do you know
what happens
it dies
really quickly
it's boiled to death
almost instantaneously
and so
when you go visit
these things
there are guardrails
there are boundaries
that are set up
so that you and me
and the silly
tourists
in our world
that always think
I've got to get
a little closer
I've got to get
the perfect selfie
and transgress
these boundaries
and end up falling
into these things
and dying
that's what the priests
and the Levites
were doing
they were preventing
the foolish
Israelite people
from doing something
that would lead
to their death
by their guarding
the tent
and the tabernacle
by their playing
their particular roles
that God
had given them
friends
how much more now
do we have
a high priest
who mediates
our access
to God
just like it was
a matter of life
and death
for them
we too
have a high priest
who mediates
life and death
to us
so in Hebrews
chapter 9
verses 24
and following
the writer
says this
for Christ
has entered
not into
holy places
made with hands
which are copies
of the true things
but into heaven
itself
now to appear
in the presence
of God
on our behalf
nor was it
to offer himself
repeatedly
as the high priest
entered the holy places
every year
with blood
not his own
for then he would
have had to suffer
repeatedly
since the foundation
of the world
but as it is
he has appeared
once for all
at the end
of the ages
to put away
sin
by the sacrificing
of himself
and just as it is
appointed for a man
to die once
and after that
comes judgment
so Christ
having been
offered once
to bear the sins
of many
will appear
a second time
not to deal
with sin
but to save
those who are
eagerly
waiting for him
okay
there's a lot
here
I don't know
if you've noticed
how often
we keep quoting
the book of Hebrews
as we're reading
numbers
but it's a really
amazing
rich
deep connection
between these books
so for your
for your benefit
but what we see
here in Hebrews
is picturing
Christ being
the ultimate
high priest
who goes in
and by his
final and perfect
sacrifice
makes it possible
for us
to approach
God
because our sins
have been dealt
with
because he has
died in our
place
and so
when we
on this
side
of the
crucifixion
of Jesus
in his
sacrifice
and the
resurrection
of Jesus
in his
justification
approach
God
in Christ
trusting in
him
knowing that
we have
no righteousness
that we would
be just like
the Israelites
burning up
if we try to
approach him
on our own
but because
Christ has
done that
and because
Christ was
perfect in
his sacrifice
we now have
access to
God
we have a
mediator
who has
opened the
doors
I didn't
read Hebrews
10 19
through 25
because we've
read it
every week
for the last
three weeks
but go back
and read it
again
because
therefore
Christ has
opened a way
for us
by the
sprinkling
of his
blood
and the
cleansing
of our
conscience
for us
to approach
God
with great
confidence
this is
the access
that God
has given
to us
he is
our
great
guardian
who has
made a way
so that we
have access
to him
so this is
the second
blessing
that we see
the first one
is abundant
life
the second
one is
access to
God
and fellowship
with him
and then the
last section
gives us
one more
thing
to see
about the
priesthood
now this
is a longer
section
so bear
with me
here we
go
starting
in verse
8 of
chapter
18
then the
Lord spoke
to Aaron
behold I
have given
you charge
of the
contributions
made to
me
all the
consecrated
things of
the people
of Israel
I have
given them
to you
as a
portion
and to
your
sons
as a
perpetual
due
this
shall
be yours
of the
most
holy
things
reserved
from
the
fire
every
offering
of
theirs
every
grain
offering
of theirs
and every
sin
offering
of theirs
which they
render
to me
shall be
most holy
to you
and to
your
sons
in a
most
holy
place
you
shall
eat
it
every
male
shall
eat
of it
it
is
holy
to
you
this
also
is
yours
the
contribution
of
their
gift
all
the
wave
offerings
of
the
people
of
Israel
I
have
given
them
to
you
and
to
your
sons
and
daughters
with
you
as
a
perpetual
due
everyone
who
is
clean
in your
house
may
eat
the
first
fruits
of
what
they
give
to
the
Lord
I
give
to
you
the
first
ripe
fruits
of
all
that
is
in
the
land
which
they
bring
to
the
Lord
shall
be
yours
everyone
who
is
clean
in
your
house
may
eat
it
every
devoted
thing
in
Israel
shall
be
yours
everything
that
opens
the
womb
of
all
the
flesh
whether
man
or
beast
which
they
offer
to
the
Lord
shall
be
yours
unclean
animals
you
shall
redeem
and
their
redemption
price
at
a
month
old
you
shall
redeem
them
you
shall
fix
at
five
shekels
of
in
silver
according
to
the
shekel
of
the
sanctuary
which
is
twenty
geras
but
for
the
first
born
of
a
cow
for
the
first
born
of
a
sheep
the
first
born
of
a
goat
you
shall
not
redeem
they
are
holy
you
shall
sprinkle
their
blood
on
the
altar
and
shall
burn
their
fat
as
a
food
offering
with
a
pleasant
pleasing
aroma
to
the
Lord
but
their
flesh
shall
be
yours
as
the
breast
that
is
waved
and
as
the
right
thigh
are
yours
all
the
contributions
that
the
people
of
Israel
present
to
the
Lord
I
give
to
you
and
to
your
sons
and
daughters
with
you
as
a
perpetual
due
it
is
a
covenant
of
salt
forever
before
the
Lord
for
you
and
for
your
offspring
with
you
and
the
Lord
said
to
Aaron
you
shall
have
no
inheritance
in
their
land
neither
shall
you
have
any
portion
among
them
I
am
your
portion
and
your
inheritance
among
the
people
of
Israel
to
Levites
I
have
given
every
tithe
in
Israel
for
an
inheritance
in
return
for
their
service
that
they
do
their
service
in
the
tent
of
the
!
so
that
the
people
of
Israel
do
not
come
near
the
tent
of
the
meeting
lest
they
bear
sin
and
die
but
the
Levites
shall
do
the
service
of
the
tent
of
the
meeting
and
they
shall
bear
their
iniquity
it
shall
be
a
perpetual
statute
throughout
your
generations
and
among
the
people
of
Israel
that
they
shall
have
no
inheritance
for
the
tithe
of
the
people
of
Israel
which
they
present
as
contribution
to
the
Lord
I
have
given
to
the
Levites
for
an
inheritance
for
I
have
said
of
them
that
they
shall
have
no
inheritance
among
the
people
of
Israel
and
the
Lord
spoke
to
Moses
saying
moreover
you
shall
speak
and
say
to
the
Levites
when
you
take
from
the
people
of
Israel
the
tithe
that
I
have
given
you
from
them
for
your
inheritance
then
you
shall
present
a
contribution
from
it
to
the
Lord
a
tithe
of
the
tithe
and
your
contribution
shall
be
counted
to
you
as
though
it
were
the
grain
of
the
threshing
floor
and
as
the
fullness
of
the
wine
press
so
you
shall
also
present
a
contribution
to
the
Lord
from
all
your
tithes
which
you
shall
receive
from
the
people
of
Israel
and
from
it
you
shall
give
the
Lord's
contribution
to
Aaron
the
priest
out
of
all
the
gifts
to
you
shall
present
every
contribution
due
to
the
Lord
from
each
its
best
part
is
to
be
dedicated
therefore
you
shall
say
to
them
when
you
had
offered
from
it
the
best
of
it
then
the
rest
shall
be
counted
to
the
Levites
as
produce
of
the
threshing
floor
and
as
produce
of
the
wine
press
and
you
may
eat
of
it
in
any
reason
of
it
when
you
have
contributed
the
best
of
it
but
you
shall
not
profane
the
holy
things
of
the
people
of
Israel
lest
you
die
okay
reading
the
law
is so
much
fun
isn't
it
there's
lots
of
little
details
in
here
and
there
are
lots
of
threads
that
I
could
pull
out
about
different
kinds
of
offerings
or
about
how
do
we
redeem
people
and
things
like
that
but
I
don't
think
actually
that's
the
big
picture
because
what
we
see
here
is
basically
two
big
things
right
what
God
is
doing
in
this
section
is
assuring
both
Aaron
in
verses
11
through
verses
8
through
19
and
then
the
Levites
in
21
through
32
he's
saying
I'm
going
to
provide
for
you
even
though
you
don't
have
an
inheritance
of
the
land
because
the
other
12
tribes
will
take
up
all
the
land
and
the
promise
I
will
provide
for
you
through
the
contributions
and
one
of
the
things
that
remarkable
is
if
you
look
through
this
over
and
over
again
God
isn't
instructing
the
people
hey
you
need
to
give
to
these
God
is
saying
I
will
provide
for
you
I
will
provide
as
these
people
give
to
me
I
will
be
the
one
who
will
provide
for
you
God
is
the
source
of
their
abundant
provision
and
generous
inheritance
and
when
you
look
through
the
details
you
see
they
get
the
best
stuff
they
get
the
first
fruits
of
the
grain
and
of
the
wine
they
get
the
fat
parts
of
the
meat
that
is
offering
all
that
doesn't
go
straight
to
the
Lord
is
available
to
them
and
it's
not
just
to
them
but
it's
for
their
whole
families
right
did
you
hear
again
commentaries
I
read
actually
argued
that
this
is
the
very
center
of
the
entire
book
of
numbers
we
can
talk
about
that
later
but
it's
an
interesting
is
verse
20
look
back
with
me
at
verse
20
let me
read
it
again
for
you
and
the
Lord
said
to
Aaron
you
shall
have
no
inheritance
in
their
land
neither
shall
you
have
any
portion
among
them
I
am
your
portion
and
your
inheritance
among
friends
all
of
this
the
promise
that
goes
way
back
to
Abraham
that
God
would
make
his
people
great
and
would
give
them
a
land
and
a
place
all
of
that
is
temporary
in
some
way
because
God's
ultimate
purpose
is that
the
inheritance
that
his
people
receive
is
not
merely
a
place
but
him
God
himself
right
and
when
we
have
God
as
our
inheritance
then
we
live
in
his
kingdom
and
he
provides
a
place
for
us
and
you
know
Jesus
went
to
provide
many
rooms
for
us
in
his
mansion
there
is
a
place
that
we
live
but
the
key
to
it
is
not
the
land
that
we
get
but
the
person
around
whom
we
are
centered
it
is
God
himself
who
is
the
center
and
God
the
of
Levi
around
you
your
inheritance
will
be
me
and
my
provision
and
my
presence
among
you
that
is
picturing
what
is
to
come
for
the
people
of
God
and
so
again
looking
at
the
book
of
Hebrews
chapter
9
verses
11
through
15
when
Christ
appeared
as a
high
priest
of
the
good
things
that
have
come
then
through
the greater and more perfect tent, not made with hands, that is not of this creation,
He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves,
but by means of His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and
bulls and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer sanctified for the
purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit
offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our consciences from dead works to serve the living
God. And then listen to this verse, therefore He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who
are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that
redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. Now again, there's far
more in that passage than I'm going to unpack this morning, but do you see the resonance again and
again and again of how the Old Testament sacrificial system and the role of the priests and the role of
the sacrifices are all pointing to Christ in different ways? Here I want to focus on this last verse 15
where it says, therefore He is a mediator of a new covenant, so those who are called may receive the
promised eternal inheritance. Friends, this is what our great high priest has done. He has secured for us
by being the high priest who has entered into the throne room of God, offering Himself in our place
so that we no longer face judgment, but rather welcome and acceptance because our sins are atoned for.
As we come into that, our inheritance is God Himself.
And with God, the richness of everything that comes with being God's people in God's kingdom.
Right? And we know that right now, as the church, we're not experiencing the fullness of that
in all of it yet, and yet we do have the most important part, don't we?
We don't have the fullness of God's kingdom in all of its riches and all of its glory where
justice will reign and where righteousness is ascendant and where there's no more sin and no more sorrow
and no more death in the world. We don't live in that world, but we do live in a world where even now
we can have God as our inheritance.
Because through faith in Christ, we are now His, and He calls us His children.
And all that He is, then, He gives to us the riches of His kingdom, the joy of knowing Him,
the freedom from guilt and shame, the hope of eternal life, the purpose of living for His glory
and His righteousness every day on this earth. And all that we do, the riches of His kingdom,
right, are not counted in our bank accounts or in our deeds or in our trophy cases or in all the
other things that maybe we wish they would be. But we have an inheritance that's better than that
of God Himself. And so, friends, we are not fearful outsiders because of our great high priest.
These high priests, this priesthood in the Old Testament pictured the reality of where we are,
but Christ has come and fulfilled so much so that now we may be able to approach God with great
confidence, that we may have an inheritance that is kept for us in heaven as 1 Peter writes,
that is imperishable and undefiled, waiting for us. And even though we don't have all of that now,
we do have the joy of knowing Christ and knowing God Himself, and He is our inheritance. And so,
this is then the priesthood, friends, a priesthood that brings us much blessing and great joy.
Because we have in this priest abundant life. We have in this priest access to God, and in this
priest a certain inheritance that is worth all of our lives. So, let me pray as we close. Lord,
thank You for this Word, and thank You for Jesus, our great high priest who has gone before us to secure
all of these things. And Lord, that Your call is that by faith we may know You. Lord, I pray this morning
that if we are struggling, struggling with fear because we don't know if we can approach You,
or struggling with doubt, Lord, that what You have done for us is truly good. Lord, I pray this morning
that as we gaze upon Christ, we would be renewed in faith, that we'd be strengthened in belief,
and that our hope would be encouraged and emboldened as we think of Christ, our great high priest.
We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.