WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:13.160
 Thank you, that's beautiful.

00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:20.719
 God chasing after his sheep and rejoicing at bringing them back home.

00:00:21.679 --> 00:00:23.339
 We're talking about that this morning.

00:00:23.480 --> 00:00:25.379
 Turn with me to Leviticus 16.

00:00:27.060 --> 00:00:28.580
 Leviticus chapter 16.

00:00:28.579 --> 00:00:34.039
 In the next few weeks as we move toward Easter and get ready for the Easter season,

00:00:34.179 --> 00:00:40.019
 we're going to spend some time talking together about the death and the resurrection of Jesus.

00:00:40.899 --> 00:00:47.079
 The cross and the empty tomb are, of course, the culmination of God's great story of redemption,

00:00:47.780 --> 00:00:50.799
 of what he's doing all the way through the scripture.

00:00:51.799 --> 00:00:53.879
 They're to be the ground of our faith, right?

00:00:53.959 --> 00:00:56.840
 The basis of our hope and our joy.

00:00:56.840 --> 00:01:00.340
 And Paul writes about the cross of Jesus.

00:01:00.520 --> 00:01:05.100
 He says we should never boast except in the cross of Jesus Christ.

00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:07.500
 That the cross alone is our glory.

00:01:08.060 --> 00:01:13.640
 And we cling to for our own hope and tell others for their hope.

00:01:14.340 --> 00:01:17.859
 Only Jesus Christ and him crucified.

00:01:17.859 --> 00:01:21.060
 That's the good news of the gospel message.

00:01:22.280 --> 00:01:28.879
 The cross and the empty tomb are so simple in many ways that a child can understand the beauty,

00:01:29.640 --> 00:01:31.920
 the essence of what God is doing there.

00:01:32.680 --> 00:01:36.120
 But they're endlessly rich and complex as well,

00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:42.299
 like a diamond with many, many unique facets that can be appreciated and marveled at.

00:01:42.299 --> 00:01:50.579
 And this idea of a crucified and risen savior didn't just pop out of nowhere in the story of God's redemption.

00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:55.560
 Like many great stories, as the plot develops in the Old Testament,

00:01:56.219 --> 00:02:03.799
 we get glimpses, glimpses of the climactic scenes that are coming even early on in the story.

00:02:03.799 --> 00:02:07.599
 You could call these events and images foreshadowing.

00:02:08.520 --> 00:02:13.460
 Seeing ahead something that's coming even though we don't see it clearly quite yet.

00:02:13.560 --> 00:02:17.800
 So we're going to talk about foreshadowing for the next few weeks.

00:02:18.759 --> 00:02:23.740
 There are significant events in their own right to teach God's people to trust him.

00:02:25.079 --> 00:02:32.099
 And there are also snapshots that help us prepare for God's ultimate act of redemption through his son.

00:02:32.099 --> 00:02:36.799
 These images help us when we get to the cross and the empty tomb of Easter

00:02:36.799 --> 00:02:43.659
 to have a fuller and richer understanding and appreciation of what God has accomplished for us there.

00:02:44.079 --> 00:02:47.259
 There are dozens of such images through the Old Testament.

00:02:47.819 --> 00:02:54.079
 Events, prophecies, patterns that go on in the Old Testament.

00:02:54.359 --> 00:02:56.780
 And we're going to look at just a few of them in the coming weeks.

00:02:57.079 --> 00:03:00.500
 But that's the context that we have on this side of the cross, right?

00:03:00.500 --> 00:03:03.120
 We now see the cross itself.

00:03:03.539 --> 00:03:09.740
 And looking back, we have the context where we know the story that these stories are foreshadowing.

00:03:10.300 --> 00:03:11.400
 We see what's coming.

00:03:12.199 --> 00:03:17.199
 So how can looking back at these stories help us understand the work of Christ more?

00:03:17.420 --> 00:03:20.300
 How can they help us glory more in our Savior?

00:03:20.979 --> 00:03:23.120
 That's what we're asking as we look back.

00:03:23.120 --> 00:03:27.219
 So one image today from Leviticus 16.

00:03:27.719 --> 00:03:29.700
 We're going to read the passage as we go.

00:03:29.819 --> 00:03:33.640
 But let's pray and ask for God's help as we study his word together.

00:03:36.259 --> 00:03:41.620
 Holy Spirit, this is the word that you delight to use.

00:03:41.620 --> 00:03:50.420
 And we know that you delight to show us Jesus more clearly and more gloriously than we have seen him before.

00:03:51.180 --> 00:03:56.020
 We also know that that's what our hearts need this morning.

00:03:56.659 --> 00:03:59.480
 We do run after a lot of other things.

00:03:59.479 --> 00:04:06.340
 But we confess to you this morning that what our hearts most need is a clear vision of Jesus.

00:04:07.519 --> 00:04:14.679
 Holy Spirit, show us Jesus this morning in the word of God that we might see him clearly,

00:04:14.839 --> 00:04:21.680
 that we might praise him deeply, that we might honor him in every aspect of our lives.

00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:24.620
 Would you come and work and teach us?

00:04:24.740 --> 00:04:26.139
 We ask in Jesus' name.

00:04:26.819 --> 00:04:27.139
 Amen.

00:04:27.139 --> 00:04:27.319
 Amen.

00:04:29.480 --> 00:04:36.160
 When I was a kid growing up, we never had a no shoes in the house policy in our family.

00:04:36.740 --> 00:04:39.860
 It was just never something that was real important at my house.

00:04:40.020 --> 00:04:43.819
 But as a result of that, when I went to friends' houses,

00:04:43.819 --> 00:04:49.259
 and some of those friends did have such a policy that you were to kick your shoes off at the front door,

00:04:49.720 --> 00:04:54.939
 I regularly, even when I didn't mean to do something wrong, forgot that rule.

00:04:55.420 --> 00:04:58.660
 Didn't remember that my shoes were on when I came inside.

00:04:58.660 --> 00:05:09.540
 And I remember the embarrassment of even unintentionally tracking mud in from playing outside on their new carpet that they kept so nice and clean.

00:05:09.540 --> 00:05:13.620
 And I remember looking and seeing, oh no, I did that.

00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:18.100
 And looking down at my shoe and, oh no, oh, that was mine.

00:05:18.300 --> 00:05:19.640
 It's all my fault.

00:05:19.639 --> 00:05:24.259
 I don't remember getting yelled at by any of my friends' parents.

00:05:24.259 --> 00:05:26.060
 Apparently they were patient people.

00:05:26.779 --> 00:05:30.180
 But I do remember thinking that I wanted to crawl under a rock.

00:05:30.659 --> 00:05:32.979
 Or that I wanted just to go home immediately.

00:05:33.259 --> 00:05:36.959
 I felt so bad that I had done this to their house.

00:05:37.019 --> 00:05:38.479
 I just wanted to be away.

00:05:38.480 --> 00:05:48.140
 But I never did anything quite like the damage caused by a giant St. Bernard in one of my favorite childhood movies.

00:05:48.139 --> 00:05:59.240
 Beethoven, you may remember, is a dog who, when he comes in one day, leaves muddy footprints from the front door all the way around the house,

00:05:59.300 --> 00:06:07.839
 on the carpet, on the walls, going up the stairs, all the way until his owner, George, finally finds him right there.

00:06:09.659 --> 00:06:15.339
 Wet, muddy, filthy in the middle of the white bed.

00:06:15.339 --> 00:06:15.679
 Right?

00:06:16.379 --> 00:06:18.299
 Just sitting there looking up at him.

00:06:18.599 --> 00:06:26.659
 In fact, shortly after this, what happens is that Beethoven gets up on all fours and shakes like a giant St. Bernard can shake.

00:06:26.739 --> 00:06:29.620
 And the mud goes all over everywhere.

00:06:29.839 --> 00:06:30.039
 Right?

00:06:30.679 --> 00:06:40.839
 And so, of course, he scolded and sent out to the doghouse literally and figuratively.

00:06:40.839 --> 00:06:44.379
 This is not acceptable in this house.

00:06:44.379 --> 00:06:48.779
 But, I mean, hey, he was really just being a dog, wasn't he?

00:06:49.500 --> 00:06:52.199
 I mean, he just rolled around in the mud and then came inside.

00:06:52.500 --> 00:06:54.199
 I was just being a boy.

00:06:54.300 --> 00:06:58.680
 I just went outside and played and then came running inside for a drink.

00:06:59.719 --> 00:07:11.600
 But our muddy, sweaty, wet selves didn't belong in the nicely decorated, white-carpeted homes with new bedding on them.

00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:15.379
 That's what I call a purity problem.

00:07:16.379 --> 00:07:22.460
 Day in and day out, Beethoven and I were not clean enough to be in those homes.

00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:29.420
 Even if we intended no harm or were trying to be careful and do our best, we were out of place.

00:07:29.420 --> 00:07:34.500
 The Israelites are facing a similar problem in Leviticus.

00:07:35.280 --> 00:07:39.680
 You see, if you don't read Leviticus every morning, just to remind you where we are,

00:07:40.300 --> 00:07:42.480
 Exodus comes right before Leviticus.

00:07:42.640 --> 00:07:45.700
 And the end of Exodus is God moving in.

00:07:46.160 --> 00:07:51.500
 God shows up and begins to dwell right in the middle of his people, Israel.

00:07:52.379 --> 00:07:55.800
 He gives them instructions on how to build a home for him there.

00:07:55.879 --> 00:07:57.200
 We call it the tabernacle.

00:07:57.199 --> 00:08:01.420
 And so when Leviticus opens, there's a problem.

00:08:01.920 --> 00:08:08.659
 Because the holy, holy, holy God has taken up residence in the middle of the Israelite camp.

00:08:09.139 --> 00:08:18.680
 And their problem's bigger than mine because God's white-hot holiness means that when his home encounters something unclean, it dies.

00:08:18.680 --> 00:08:25.860
 The end of Leviticus 15 has already told us there's going to be this purity problem.

00:08:26.139 --> 00:08:28.920
 And in verse 31, he says,

00:08:28.920 --> 00:08:47.180
 There's death that's at issue because an unclean people are living close to the house of a holy God.

00:08:47.600 --> 00:08:51.340
 And that's the context of our passage this morning in chapter 16.

00:08:52.340 --> 00:08:53.680
 Let me read you the first part of it.

00:08:53.679 --> 00:09:18.539
 Do you hear what's happening as this passage starts?

00:09:18.539 --> 00:09:36.399
 This is a real problem, right?

00:09:36.399 --> 00:09:47.220
 I mean, you may break the rules on purpose and have a sin problem, but you may even forget the rules and in your uncleanness muddy God's house and die.

00:09:47.220 --> 00:09:58.340
 The uncleanness of very regular activities made very regular people unworthy of coming into God's presence.

00:09:59.139 --> 00:10:10.519
 And so this story, as we keep reading through chapter 16 this morning, is about what's necessary for someone, for the high priest himself, to come near to God's house.

00:10:10.660 --> 00:10:13.180
 Right here, the first warning is don't come at all.

00:10:13.179 --> 00:10:18.239
 And the rest of the chapter is going to say, but when you do, here's how it works.

00:10:18.339 --> 00:10:19.979
 It's the day of atonement.

00:10:20.539 --> 00:10:21.299
 Okay, here we are.

00:10:21.359 --> 00:10:29.479
 The one day of the year where the high priest is actually going into that most holy place, into the presence of God.

00:10:30.779 --> 00:10:31.620
 How will he go in?

00:10:31.719 --> 00:10:32.219
 Verse 3.

00:10:33.500 --> 00:10:36.319
 In this way, Aaron shall come into the holy place.

00:10:36.959 --> 00:10:38.039
 He's going to have his hands full.

00:10:38.039 --> 00:10:42.919
 With a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for the burnt offering.

00:10:43.379 --> 00:10:48.059
 He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body.

00:10:48.159 --> 00:10:51.839
 And he shall tie the linen sash around his waist and wear the linen turban.

00:10:52.099 --> 00:10:53.240
 These are the holy garments.

00:10:53.839 --> 00:10:58.179
 He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on.

00:10:58.179 --> 00:10:59.839
 A bull.

00:11:00.979 --> 00:11:01.679
 A ram.

00:11:02.319 --> 00:11:03.579
 A full bath.

00:11:04.399 --> 00:11:08.079
 Brand new, shining, white linen clothes.

00:11:08.759 --> 00:11:15.139
 All that just for the holiest guy in the whole nation to come into God's house.

00:11:15.519 --> 00:11:18.639
 That is the utter purity of God.

00:11:18.639 --> 00:11:19.080
 God.

00:11:19.080 --> 00:11:26.259
 The holy, holy, holy God who's different and set apart from his people.

00:11:26.439 --> 00:11:29.659
 That no one can be near him and live.

00:11:29.919 --> 00:11:37.799
 That the people he created to live with him cannot in their fallen state even survive the purity of his presence.

00:11:39.259 --> 00:11:42.000
 Not even, by the way, the high priest Aaron.

00:11:42.120 --> 00:11:44.240
 Hey, who picked Aaron and thought he would be a good guy?

00:11:45.340 --> 00:11:45.879
 God.

00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:51.820
 God picked one man and said, I want you to mediate my presence to my people.

00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:55.279
 Even that guy can't come in.

00:11:55.740 --> 00:11:57.179
 It's not safe for him.

00:11:57.600 --> 00:12:04.960
 One of the things Leviticus is very clear on over and over is the priest's need for sacrifice for himself too.

00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:13.519
 Before he offers sacrifices on behalf of the people, he's over and over and over offering sacrifices for himself.

00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:16.620
 He's not worthy to come into God's presence.

00:12:16.759 --> 00:12:18.779
 And God makes that very clear.

00:12:19.159 --> 00:12:20.399
 Lest anyone be confused.

00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:25.519
 Lest they be tempted to share his glory with another and think, oh, that priest is a really holy guy.

00:12:27.500 --> 00:12:29.819
 That's important for us to remember.

00:12:29.899 --> 00:12:30.699
 Don't forget that.

00:12:31.860 --> 00:12:34.600
 Don't forget that leaders you respect.

00:12:34.600 --> 00:12:42.560
 That pastors, that writers you love their opinions are not right up here kind of next to God.

00:12:42.700 --> 00:12:43.560
 They're just not.

00:12:45.100 --> 00:12:50.600
 God is here by himself and we are all together over here unworthy.

00:12:51.379 --> 00:12:53.440
 Don't expect them to be like that.

00:12:53.500 --> 00:12:54.779
 They'll disappoint you.

00:12:54.779 --> 00:13:02.819
 If you think that of anyone that, you know, he's not God but he's, you know, he's pretty close, you don't know them very well at all.

00:13:03.839 --> 00:13:11.819
 We're all over here together fundamentally unclean and impure before a holy God.

00:13:12.579 --> 00:13:16.339
 Not even able to walk in to the room where he is.

00:13:17.779 --> 00:13:21.279
 Do you see your purity problem again this morning?

00:13:21.279 --> 00:13:24.919
 Do you know that you deserve to be kept away?

00:13:25.839 --> 00:13:35.259
 That you don't belong near God because of your impurity and your sinfulness any more than muddy Beethoven belonged on that white bed.

00:13:35.459 --> 00:13:36.620
 It doesn't fit.

00:13:36.759 --> 00:13:37.939
 You don't belong.

00:13:39.159 --> 00:13:46.220
 Do you remember that trying to be near God at all should cause you to be consumed by holy fire?

00:13:48.439 --> 00:13:51.179
 God's people had regular reminders of that, didn't they?

00:13:51.639 --> 00:13:52.720
 In these sacrifices.

00:13:54.259 --> 00:13:57.720
 What would be done so that they could continue living near God?

00:13:57.839 --> 00:14:01.919
 If he just moved in in the midst of the camp, how was this going to be okay?

00:14:02.339 --> 00:14:04.579
 Or would they all just quickly die out?

00:14:05.740 --> 00:14:08.720
 Let's keep reading about this day of atonement.

00:14:08.959 --> 00:14:13.620
 What happens as you go through Leviticus 16 is Aaron gets two goats from the people.

00:14:14.379 --> 00:14:15.939
 And then here's what we do.

00:14:16.059 --> 00:14:19.100
 We can call the next chapter a scapegoat solution.

00:14:19.339 --> 00:14:20.240
 Look at verse 7.

00:14:20.240 --> 00:14:25.899
 Aaron's going to take these two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

00:14:26.600 --> 00:14:28.879
 And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats.

00:14:29.240 --> 00:14:32.519
 One lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel.

00:14:32.799 --> 00:14:34.539
 Don't get too hung up on that word.

00:14:34.620 --> 00:14:35.399
 It's a weird one.

00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:36.059
 I understand.

00:14:36.059 --> 00:14:39.120
 It's difficult to know exactly what it means.

00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:44.139
 But it comes from the concept of a goat that is sent away.

00:14:44.139 --> 00:14:50.659
 There's one goat that's going to be sacrificed to the Lord and the other is going to be sent away into the wilderness.

00:14:50.919 --> 00:14:54.720
 And that's the one that's referred to as being sent to Azazel.

00:14:54.720 --> 00:14:57.019
 Verse 9.

00:14:57.019 --> 00:15:01.560
 Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and use it as a sin offering.

00:15:01.700 --> 00:15:03.879
 He sacrifices it to the Lord.

00:15:04.920 --> 00:15:14.600
 But the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.

00:15:14.600 --> 00:15:20.159
 So this goat is prepared to be sent off and sent away.

00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:24.820
 And we read in the next several verses particulars of the sacrifices.

00:15:25.519 --> 00:15:29.720
 As Aaron cleanses himself, he cleanses the altars, cleanses the tabernacle.

00:15:30.019 --> 00:15:32.960
 And then at verse 20 we come back to the scapegoat.

00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:35.720
 The one that's going to be sent away.

00:15:35.879 --> 00:15:37.320
 Listen to the rest of his story.

00:15:38.440 --> 00:15:42.680
 When he's made an end of atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting in the altar,

00:15:42.680 --> 00:15:44.399
 he shall present the live goat.

00:15:45.500 --> 00:15:52.139
 And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel,

00:15:52.279 --> 00:15:54.360
 all their transgressions, all their sins.

00:15:54.680 --> 00:16:00.740
 And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness.

00:16:01.860 --> 00:16:05.420
 The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area.

00:16:05.800 --> 00:16:09.060
 And he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.

00:16:10.060 --> 00:16:13.220
 Aaron lays his hands on the head of the goat, right?

00:16:13.220 --> 00:16:19.600
 He's transferring sin from the people of God onto the goat.

00:16:20.060 --> 00:16:21.279
 And then the goat is taken where?

00:16:21.399 --> 00:16:22.540
 Outside the camp.

00:16:23.180 --> 00:16:24.139
 Into the wilderness.

00:16:24.620 --> 00:16:27.899
 Sent away from the community of God's people, yes.

00:16:28.580 --> 00:16:29.700
 But away from what else?

00:16:30.560 --> 00:16:32.379
 From the presence of God, right?

00:16:32.560 --> 00:16:34.200
 This must go away.

00:16:34.540 --> 00:16:37.600
 The goat sent away from the presence of God.

00:16:37.600 --> 00:16:43.519
 This was how atonement was made, at least temporarily, for the sins of the people.

00:16:44.560 --> 00:16:55.600
 The only way they could go another year with God dwelling among them, that their sins, even the ones they were unaware of, could be taken far away by the scapegoat.

00:16:55.600 --> 00:17:02.200
 That's the way it's translated in many Bibles, so you don't have to use Azazel and confuse everybody.

00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:04.160
 The word refers to a scapegoat.

00:17:04.200 --> 00:17:05.480
 We know what a scapegoat is, right?

00:17:05.900 --> 00:17:13.440
 It's someone who is blamed for something that he's not responsible for, or at least not entirely responsible for.

00:17:13.440 --> 00:17:16.840
 You may think of Mrs. O'Leary's cow.

00:17:17.240 --> 00:17:18.200
 You may not.

00:17:18.539 --> 00:17:24.480
 But you may think of Mrs. O'Leary's cow who was blamed and scapegoated for the great Chicago fire.

00:17:25.140 --> 00:17:28.299
 That was the story that was told that this cow had kicked over a lantern.

00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:33.220
 It wasn't true, but the cow was blamed for a terrible event.

00:17:34.080 --> 00:17:36.680
 Or, if you're a sports fan, you may think of who?

00:17:37.980 --> 00:17:39.039
 Bill Buckner, right?

00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:41.340
 I know that was the first name that came to mind.

00:17:41.339 --> 00:17:46.699
 Bill Buckner, the first baseman for the Red Sox in the 1986 World Series,

00:17:46.899 --> 00:17:53.699
 who regularly is blamed as the one who lost the World Series because a ground ball went right through his legs.

00:17:53.980 --> 00:17:59.179
 And when you hear people talk about that, it's as though Buckner single-handedly lost the World Series

00:17:59.179 --> 00:18:05.759
 when, in fact, there were several games played and many other opportunities for other people on his team

00:18:05.759 --> 00:18:10.319
 to perform well or not before the Mets beat them.

00:18:11.339 --> 00:18:12.619
 But it's blamed on him.

00:18:13.019 --> 00:18:15.099
 He takes the brunt of the blame.

00:18:15.439 --> 00:18:20.619
 Well, this passage in Leviticus is where the concept of a scapegoat comes from.

00:18:20.740 --> 00:18:24.779
 When you've blamed a sibling for all of your sins and gotten away with it,

00:18:24.839 --> 00:18:26.639
 maybe that's one you're more familiar with.

00:18:27.399 --> 00:18:31.079
 Someone else who takes the blame instead of you.

00:18:31.079 --> 00:18:36.639
 One who is sent away, carrying the blame and guilt of all the others.

00:18:36.639 --> 00:18:42.579
 In this case, for God's people, a scapegoat sent away from the presence of God

00:18:42.579 --> 00:18:47.839
 so that everyone else can remain near the presence of God.

00:18:48.319 --> 00:18:48.919
 Right?

00:18:50.259 --> 00:18:54.319
 And that's where we start seeing an image of the cross, isn't it?

00:18:54.319 --> 00:18:57.259
 A glimpse of the cross of Jesus there.

00:18:57.319 --> 00:18:58.539
 Do you start to see it?

00:18:59.179 --> 00:18:59.700
 Foreshadowing?

00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:04.399
 Jesus, too, is sent away outside the city, isn't he?

00:19:05.220 --> 00:19:10.399
 Carrying his cross up to Golgotha, outside the camp of God's people,

00:19:10.599 --> 00:19:13.419
 but away from God's presence as well, right?

00:19:14.220 --> 00:19:15.819
 What does he cry out on the cross?

00:19:15.819 --> 00:19:20.700
 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

00:19:20.879 --> 00:19:27.559
 As he's bearing our sins, God turns his face from him.

00:19:27.879 --> 00:19:32.439
 The very one, Jesus, who knew the glory of the presence of God,

00:19:32.519 --> 00:19:36.419
 of living in his presence, having dwelt with him from all eternity,

00:19:36.779 --> 00:19:40.460
 he knows now distance from God.

00:19:40.659 --> 00:19:43.019
 He experiences God's rejection.

00:19:43.019 --> 00:19:46.920
 He's sent away from God to die.

00:19:47.099 --> 00:19:47.220
 Why?

00:19:47.960 --> 00:19:52.099
 So that we can come near God and live.

00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:55.400
 Stop and realize what's happening.

00:19:56.960 --> 00:20:03.960
 We are the filthy, muddy, sinful ones who deserve to be sent away,

00:20:04.579 --> 00:20:06.339
 away from God's presence.

00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:07.980
 You don't belong here.

00:20:07.980 --> 00:20:16.259
 And yet the pure, sinless Son of God is sent away in our place

00:20:16.259 --> 00:20:19.680
 so that we can be welcomed into the presence of God.

00:20:22.620 --> 00:20:25.900
 Hebrews speaks of this Day of Atonement.

00:20:26.079 --> 00:20:29.460
 It talks about how God's people would do it year after year.

00:20:30.539 --> 00:20:33.240
 And then of how Jesus, as our great high priest,

00:20:33.240 --> 00:20:39.000
 fills the role of priest and sacrifice in an even greater way than the Levitical ceremony.

00:20:39.140 --> 00:20:40.720
 Look at chapter 9 of Hebrews.

00:20:41.460 --> 00:20:46.319
 Into the second part of the tabernacle, into that holy place,

00:20:46.380 --> 00:20:49.120
 only the high priest goes, and he but once a year,

00:20:50.140 --> 00:20:53.420
 with blood, and he's going to offer for himself and the sins of the people.

00:20:54.859 --> 00:20:55.859
 And the writer of Hebrews says,

00:20:55.859 --> 00:21:01.579
 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened

00:21:01.579 --> 00:21:04.339
 as long as the first section is still standing.

00:21:04.799 --> 00:21:10.339
 As long as this Day of Atonement, year after year, this practice continues,

00:21:10.539 --> 00:21:14.119
 it's because there's not an openness into the presence of God, right?

00:21:15.079 --> 00:21:16.619
 But, verse 11,

00:21:16.619 --> 00:21:20.979
 When Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come,

00:21:21.239 --> 00:21:23.219
 then through the greater and more perfect tent,

00:21:23.479 --> 00:21:26.459
 he entered once for all into the holy places,

00:21:27.419 --> 00:21:29.519
 not by means of the blood of goats and calves,

00:21:29.619 --> 00:21:31.099
 but by means of his own blood,

00:21:31.479 --> 00:21:34.239
 thus securing an eternal redemption.

00:21:35.159 --> 00:21:38.439
 For if the blood of goats and bulls could sanctify

00:21:38.439 --> 00:21:40.299
 for the purification of the flesh,

00:21:40.299 --> 00:21:42.419
 how much more will the blood of Christ

00:21:42.420 --> 00:21:46.840
 purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

00:21:47.000 --> 00:21:48.880
 Do you see what the writer of Hebrews is saying?

00:21:49.320 --> 00:21:52.240
 If the goat sent away once a year

00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:55.380
 could keep the people ceremonially clean

00:21:55.380 --> 00:21:57.340
 to be in God's presence,

00:21:57.340 --> 00:21:59.539
 to live near him for the next year,

00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:05.840
 how much more does the blood of Jesus do that for us?

00:22:06.340 --> 00:22:09.080
 How much more has Jesus made us clean,

00:22:09.200 --> 00:22:11.820
 moving us from death to life?

00:22:12.420 --> 00:22:16.560
 The way into the presence of the holy God is now open.

00:22:17.320 --> 00:22:18.279
 That's what's happened.

00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:22.640
 The first section is no longer being practiced.

00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:26.240
 The day of atonement is no longer needed

00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:28.960
 because Jesus has flung the doors open

00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:33.160
 to come into God's presence by his blood.

00:22:34.100 --> 00:22:37.039
 The cross says we have the privilege of living

00:22:37.039 --> 00:22:40.779
 in the presence of God and serving him every day.

00:22:40.779 --> 00:22:45.039
 So the question for us now is not merely

00:22:45.039 --> 00:22:47.500
 do you know you deserve to be kept away,

00:22:48.740 --> 00:22:51.700
 but have you placed your hands on the one sent away?

00:22:52.500 --> 00:22:54.940
 In other words, have you confessed your sins

00:22:54.940 --> 00:22:57.940
 and trusted Christ's sacrifice on the cross

00:22:57.940 --> 00:23:01.899
 in your place so that he has carried your sins far away

00:23:01.899 --> 00:23:04.259
 and you can draw near to God?

00:23:04.259 --> 00:23:06.900
 That's the call of the gospel for us.

00:23:07.700 --> 00:23:10.140
 Have you placed your hands on Jesus

00:23:10.140 --> 00:23:13.900
 to transfer your guilt to the scapegoat?

00:23:14.940 --> 00:23:16.140
 Have you done that?

00:23:16.359 --> 00:23:18.599
 Or are you clinging to other solutions?

00:23:19.519 --> 00:23:22.039
 Perhaps you're denying the weight of your problem.

00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:24.259
 You're minimizing your uncleanness.

00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:25.940
 It's really not that bad.

00:23:25.940 --> 00:23:29.980
 Or perhaps you're still trying to handle it yourself

00:23:29.980 --> 00:23:31.840
 to clean yourself up,

00:23:31.900 --> 00:23:33.200
 to somehow perform better.

00:23:35.299 --> 00:23:37.980
 Listen, friends, this is good news.

00:23:38.519 --> 00:23:40.200
 The scapegoat was sent away

00:23:40.200 --> 00:23:43.220
 so that God's people would never have to be.

00:23:45.160 --> 00:23:47.580
 Jesus experienced the rejection of the Father

00:23:47.580 --> 00:23:49.200
 so you would know his welcome.

00:23:50.279 --> 00:23:51.820
 God knows we've blown it.

00:23:52.320 --> 00:23:53.200
 He knows us.

00:23:53.360 --> 00:23:54.279
 He's not confused.

00:23:54.279 --> 00:23:56.180
 That's why there's a scapegoat,

00:23:56.720 --> 00:24:00.339
 a lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

00:24:01.599 --> 00:24:02.720
 Won't you trust him?

00:24:03.259 --> 00:24:05.700
 Won't you place your hands on him this morning

00:24:05.700 --> 00:24:07.940
 and let him take care of your sins

00:24:07.940 --> 00:24:09.579
 so that you can live with God?

00:24:09.879 --> 00:24:11.160
 He's opened the way.

00:24:11.500 --> 00:24:12.819
 He invites you in.

00:24:13.180 --> 00:24:16.059
 Come in to the presence of God

00:24:16.059 --> 00:24:17.779
 and know him and trust him.

00:24:20.799 --> 00:24:22.700
 I don't know if you're anything like me,

00:24:22.700 --> 00:24:25.620
 but for me, I've heard these things for many years.

00:24:26.019 --> 00:24:27.279
 I grew up in the church.

00:24:27.500 --> 00:24:31.100
 I've known about my sin and the cross

00:24:31.100 --> 00:24:33.360
 and that Jesus has opened a way for God.

00:24:33.400 --> 00:24:34.819
 I've believed these things.

00:24:35.940 --> 00:24:38.279
 But still, many days, if I'm honest,

00:24:38.380 --> 00:24:41.180
 I feel distant from God.

00:24:41.860 --> 00:24:44.500
 I talk about walking with God

00:24:44.500 --> 00:24:46.380
 in the nearness of relationship,

00:24:46.380 --> 00:24:51.700
 but oftentimes, I see and feel the uncleanness

00:24:51.700 --> 00:24:53.820
 of my sin and my failures

00:24:53.820 --> 00:24:57.020
 more than I feel near to God.

00:24:59.000 --> 00:25:00.960
 When Christy and I lived in St. Louis,

00:25:01.080 --> 00:25:04.840
 we moved into our first apartment together there

00:25:04.840 --> 00:25:08.220
 and we were excited to be in this small apartment

00:25:08.220 --> 00:25:12.320
 and worked on getting the little living room filled out.

00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:16.139
 All of it was tied together by a beautifully clean,

00:25:16.279 --> 00:25:19.460
 light-colored carpet remnant

00:25:19.460 --> 00:25:21.980
 that was there in the middle of the room.

00:25:22.039 --> 00:25:23.679
 Made it feel like home, really.

00:25:24.200 --> 00:25:25.359
 Tied the whole room together.

00:25:25.720 --> 00:25:27.240
 I think it was the first weekend

00:25:27.240 --> 00:25:30.659
 that we had that bound remnant in our home

00:25:30.659 --> 00:25:33.259
 that I stood up from a chair

00:25:33.259 --> 00:25:34.899
 and bumped the ironing board

00:25:34.899 --> 00:25:39.399
 and knocked a hot iron onto the new carpet,

00:25:39.400 --> 00:25:43.740
 immediately searing an iron print onto the carpet

00:25:43.740 --> 00:25:45.800
 right there before I could even get down to pick it up.

00:25:45.860 --> 00:25:47.200
 Some of you have done that before, apparently.

00:25:47.660 --> 00:25:49.019
 It happens very quickly.

00:25:50.460 --> 00:25:52.660
 Now, you may be able to wash mud off furniture.

00:25:53.740 --> 00:25:55.700
 This iron print was not coming off.

00:25:57.100 --> 00:25:58.259
 I felt awful.

00:25:59.340 --> 00:26:02.000
 I put myself in the doghouse.

00:26:02.759 --> 00:26:05.820
 My wife had worked so hard to save money

00:26:05.819 --> 00:26:07.659
 and make our apartment a home,

00:26:07.819 --> 00:26:09.779
 and I had dirtied it.

00:26:10.740 --> 00:26:14.039
 So I did what any good-thinking husband would do,

00:26:14.159 --> 00:26:16.220
 and I turned the rug every which way

00:26:16.220 --> 00:26:17.960
 and rearranged the room several times

00:26:17.960 --> 00:26:19.919
 trying to get that iron print to go away.

00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:21.079
 I rearranged furniture,

00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:24.099
 hoping it would be under a coffee table or something,

00:26:24.339 --> 00:26:27.059
 and every time you could still see it.

00:26:28.500 --> 00:26:30.879
 Every time I saw it, I felt the guilt,

00:26:32.119 --> 00:26:33.679
 the unworthiness again.

00:26:33.680 --> 00:26:36.860
 Listen, my wife had forgiven me and moved on.

00:26:37.480 --> 00:26:38.460
 She loved me.

00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:42.580
 I couldn't stop seeing the iron print.

00:26:43.860 --> 00:26:47.519
 I think that's the way I often feel about my sin,

00:26:47.940 --> 00:26:51.900
 that I feel the guilt and the unworthiness of it,

00:26:52.160 --> 00:26:56.220
 the shame I feel that keeps me at a distance from God,

00:26:56.380 --> 00:26:59.259
 even a God who loves me and has forgiven me.

00:27:01.299 --> 00:27:02.380
 Look at the rest of this passage.

00:27:02.380 --> 00:27:04.520
 I want us to notice something together.

00:27:05.180 --> 00:27:07.920
 After this whole scapegoat thing,

00:27:08.620 --> 00:27:10.920
 after they go through this whole process

00:27:10.920 --> 00:27:13.800
 and it's finished, year after year,

00:27:13.900 --> 00:27:14.680
 what's going to happen?

00:27:14.760 --> 00:27:15.440
 Verse 29.

00:27:16.180 --> 00:27:17.880
 It's going to be a statute to you forever.

00:27:18.040 --> 00:27:20.200
 In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month,

00:27:20.740 --> 00:27:22.940
 you shall afflict yourselves and shall do no work,

00:27:23.060 --> 00:27:25.360
 the native or the stranger who sojourns among you.

00:27:26.120 --> 00:27:28.400
 For on this day shall atonement be made for you

00:27:28.400 --> 00:27:29.080
 to cleanse you.

00:27:29.080 --> 00:27:31.960
 You shall be clean before the Lord from all your sins.

00:27:32.380 --> 00:27:34.480
 And the priest shall make atonement

00:27:34.480 --> 00:27:36.420
 wearing the holy linen garments.

00:27:36.520 --> 00:27:38.040
 He shall make atonement for the sanctuary,

00:27:38.420 --> 00:27:40.040
 the tent of meeting, the altar,

00:27:40.300 --> 00:27:43.160
 for the priests, for all the people of the assembly.

00:27:43.920 --> 00:27:46.480
 And this shall be a statute forever for you,

00:27:46.680 --> 00:27:48.940
 that atonement may be made for the people of Israel

00:27:48.940 --> 00:27:51.180
 once in the year because of all their sins.

00:27:51.180 --> 00:27:55.660
 Aaron did just as Moses had come up with

00:27:55.660 --> 00:27:57.240
 as a great idea for God's people.

00:27:58.680 --> 00:27:58.960
 No.

00:28:00.120 --> 00:28:02.600
 Aaron did as the Lord commanded Moses

00:28:02.600 --> 00:28:05.480
 to be done year after year.

00:28:05.740 --> 00:28:08.640
 Whose idea is all this?

00:28:10.019 --> 00:28:12.799
 Is this the priest's idea of how to stay alive near God

00:28:12.799 --> 00:28:14.980
 because they live closer to God's house

00:28:14.980 --> 00:28:15.880
 than everybody else?

00:28:15.880 --> 00:28:18.420
 Is this the people's idea

00:28:18.420 --> 00:28:19.660
 because they're headed into battle

00:28:19.660 --> 00:28:21.840
 and they need this mighty warrior God

00:28:21.840 --> 00:28:24.060
 to be cajoled into staying on their team

00:28:24.060 --> 00:28:24.840
 so they win?

00:28:26.680 --> 00:28:27.320
 No.

00:28:28.040 --> 00:28:28.740
 It's not.

00:28:28.980 --> 00:28:31.300
 It's the plan of God himself

00:28:31.300 --> 00:28:34.280
 who is gracious in his character,

00:28:34.580 --> 00:28:37.080
 who's committed to dwelling among them,

00:28:37.320 --> 00:28:39.860
 who is intent on addressing the distance

00:28:39.860 --> 00:28:42.800
 that they feel between himself and them,

00:28:42.799 --> 00:28:45.259
 who refuses to allow their weakness

00:28:45.259 --> 00:28:48.799
 and their sin to keep him from those that he loves.

00:28:49.059 --> 00:28:50.639
 It's his idea, isn't it?

00:28:51.419 --> 00:28:53.059
 To do this over and over

00:28:53.059 --> 00:28:54.919
 and year after year.

00:28:56.339 --> 00:28:57.940
 And then to do it once for all.

00:28:59.039 --> 00:29:01.039
 How much more is that what God was doing

00:29:01.039 --> 00:29:02.940
 on the cross for us?

00:29:03.500 --> 00:29:06.579
 How much more is that what he expected to happen

00:29:06.579 --> 00:29:08.599
 when his son paid that sacrifice?

00:29:09.039 --> 00:29:11.059
 God wanted to dwell with his people.

00:29:11.059 --> 00:29:13.139
 And Hebrews 10 tells us this.

00:29:13.579 --> 00:29:14.779
 In these sacrifices,

00:29:15.039 --> 00:29:16.919
 what there is is a reminder of sins.

00:29:17.319 --> 00:29:19.059
 Every year you're just being reminded

00:29:19.059 --> 00:29:20.619
 you can't come near him.

00:29:21.000 --> 00:29:23.379
 It's impossible for the blood of bulls and goats

00:29:23.379 --> 00:29:24.839
 to take away sins.

00:29:24.940 --> 00:29:26.399
 It had to be done again next year.

00:29:26.740 --> 00:29:28.240
 It was a temporary remedy.

00:29:30.740 --> 00:29:33.179
 The sacrifices are like that iron print

00:29:33.179 --> 00:29:34.500
 burned on the carpet, aren't they?

00:29:35.220 --> 00:29:36.359
 Every time they see it,

00:29:36.419 --> 00:29:36.899
 thinking, oh,

00:29:36.900 --> 00:29:40.680
 I'm not worthy to come and be there.

00:29:40.800 --> 00:29:41.920
 I don't belong here.

00:29:42.640 --> 00:29:45.140
 Always reminding God's people of their sins.

00:29:45.400 --> 00:29:46.860
 Needing to be done over and over

00:29:46.860 --> 00:29:48.800
 to keep a holy God in the camp.

00:29:49.540 --> 00:29:51.140
 You can understand the people of Israel

00:29:51.140 --> 00:29:52.460
 being hesitant, couldn't you?

00:29:52.720 --> 00:29:54.540
 To come near God.

00:29:55.280 --> 00:29:57.440
 They were always reminded of their sin,

00:29:57.540 --> 00:30:00.100
 of never being fully okay with God,

00:30:00.320 --> 00:30:02.180
 waiting on the next year's sacrifice

00:30:02.180 --> 00:30:03.720
 or scapegoat.

00:30:04.680 --> 00:30:06.680
 But something changed.

00:30:07.759 --> 00:30:09.779
 Every priest stands daily at his service

00:30:09.779 --> 00:30:12.240
 offering repeatedly the same sacrifices

00:30:12.240 --> 00:30:14.240
 which can never take away sins.

00:30:14.799 --> 00:30:17.700
 But when Christ had offered for all time

00:30:17.700 --> 00:30:20.140
 a single sacrifice for sins,

00:30:20.400 --> 00:30:22.640
 he sat down at the right hand of God.

00:30:22.900 --> 00:30:24.420
 For by a single offering,

00:30:24.680 --> 00:30:27.080
 he has perfected for all time

00:30:27.080 --> 00:30:29.519
 those who are being sanctified.

00:30:29.519 --> 00:30:32.299
 He has with his one sacrifice,

00:30:32.559 --> 00:30:33.500
 once for all,

00:30:33.700 --> 00:30:36.279
 made you perfectly clean forever.

00:30:36.859 --> 00:30:39.920
 We await no more sacrifice.

00:30:40.900 --> 00:30:43.559
 There's not another one we need to wait for next year.

00:30:44.720 --> 00:30:46.599
 Because you stand in the purity

00:30:46.599 --> 00:30:48.660
 of the perfect Son of God,

00:30:48.900 --> 00:30:51.420
 you walk into the presence of God

00:30:51.420 --> 00:30:54.240
 every moment of every day,

00:30:54.379 --> 00:30:56.539
 clean and pure.

00:30:56.920 --> 00:30:58.500
 He insists on it.

00:30:58.500 --> 00:31:00.579
 When Jesus dies on the cross,

00:31:00.660 --> 00:31:01.779
 the curtain of the temple,

00:31:02.279 --> 00:31:04.059
 the one that separated the people

00:31:04.059 --> 00:31:05.599
 from the presence of God

00:31:05.599 --> 00:31:07.900
 is torn from top to bottom.

00:31:08.559 --> 00:31:09.720
 God reaches down

00:31:09.720 --> 00:31:11.759
 and welcomes you into his presence

00:31:11.759 --> 00:31:13.000
 through the death of Jesus.

00:31:13.420 --> 00:31:15.019
 He insists that you come

00:31:15.019 --> 00:31:16.539
 and be near to him.

00:31:18.599 --> 00:31:19.400
 So I'd ask you,

00:31:19.480 --> 00:31:21.319
 are you daily rejoicing and resting

00:31:21.319 --> 00:31:23.180
 in his welcome?

00:31:24.420 --> 00:31:25.440
 Or are you like me,

00:31:25.619 --> 00:31:28.059
 fixated on the iron print?

00:31:29.500 --> 00:31:30.160
 I'm thinking,

00:31:30.299 --> 00:31:30.460
 you know,

00:31:30.559 --> 00:31:33.339
 I really deserve to keep my distance.

00:31:34.779 --> 00:31:35.940
 Are you keeping yourself

00:31:35.940 --> 00:31:37.720
 in the doghouse of shame

00:31:37.720 --> 00:31:40.319
 over what you've looked at?

00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:43.319
 How you've failed your family?

00:31:44.960 --> 00:31:46.759
 How you've disappointed God?

00:31:46.759 --> 00:31:51.599
 Maybe you're busy rearranging the rug,

00:31:51.700 --> 00:31:53.519
 trying to assuage your guilt yourself.

00:31:53.599 --> 00:31:54.980
 There's some way I can fix this

00:31:54.980 --> 00:31:56.079
 so no one will notice.

00:31:58.079 --> 00:31:59.000
 You tried that?

00:32:00.799 --> 00:32:02.299
 Listen, the good news is this.

00:32:02.559 --> 00:32:04.019
 The cross of Jesus does indeed

00:32:04.019 --> 00:32:06.279
 have an eternal value for you this morning.

00:32:06.640 --> 00:32:09.420
 That you're welcomed into God's presence forever.

00:32:09.680 --> 00:32:09.980
 Amen.

00:32:09.980 --> 00:32:15.599
 But it also has a present value today for you.

00:32:15.779 --> 00:32:19.480
 You are joyfully welcomed into God's presence today

00:32:19.480 --> 00:32:21.299
 because of the cross of Jesus.

00:32:21.700 --> 00:32:23.680
 Are you drawing near to him?

00:32:23.920 --> 00:32:26.579
 Or are you devaluing the cross of Jesus

00:32:26.579 --> 00:32:29.400
 by insisting that you deserve to stay distant

00:32:29.400 --> 00:32:30.259
 by saying,

00:32:30.360 --> 00:32:31.740
 Jesus, I know what you did.

00:32:32.140 --> 00:32:33.960
 It was supposed to be effective,

00:32:34.099 --> 00:32:35.440
 but it wasn't enough for me.

00:32:35.440 --> 00:32:40.420
 Listen, I know you deserve to be kept away from God.

00:32:40.620 --> 00:32:43.240
 I also know Jesus paid the full price

00:32:43.240 --> 00:32:45.660
 to welcome you back to the Father's house.

00:32:45.960 --> 00:32:48.100
 Don't tell him it wasn't enough.

00:32:48.740 --> 00:32:50.519
 Don't say Jesus paid some of it

00:32:50.519 --> 00:32:52.420
 and I've got to work the rest off.

00:32:52.700 --> 00:32:53.820
 Jesus paid it all.

00:32:54.140 --> 00:32:55.400
 Don't scorn his death

00:32:55.400 --> 00:32:57.360
 by keeping your distance from your Father

00:32:57.360 --> 00:32:59.980
 as though you can't come into his presence.

00:33:00.980 --> 00:33:02.759
 That's what it means that Jesus,

00:33:02.759 --> 00:33:03.740
 your scapegoat,

00:33:03.740 --> 00:33:07.480
 was sent away instead of you.

00:33:08.059 --> 00:33:10.079
 As far as the east is from the west,

00:33:10.859 --> 00:33:15.059
 so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

00:33:15.420 --> 00:33:18.160
 They're not associated with us anymore

00:33:18.160 --> 00:33:20.019
 in God's presence.

00:33:20.640 --> 00:33:21.839
 That sin you think about

00:33:21.839 --> 00:33:24.120
 every time someone says sin.

00:33:26.319 --> 00:33:28.620
 Jesus has taken it away.

00:33:28.620 --> 00:33:30.900
 It too goes on him

00:33:30.900 --> 00:33:32.240
 as he carries it away

00:33:32.240 --> 00:33:33.660
 from the presence of God

00:33:33.660 --> 00:33:36.259
 so that you can live at peace with God.

00:33:36.640 --> 00:33:38.120
 Does that thrill your heart?

00:33:38.539 --> 00:33:39.839
 The freedom of that.

00:33:40.140 --> 00:33:42.079
 Do you love being with your Father

00:33:42.079 --> 00:33:43.140
 because of that?

00:33:43.440 --> 00:33:44.559
 Do you welcome others

00:33:44.559 --> 00:33:46.460
 the way he has welcomed you?

00:33:49.740 --> 00:33:51.620
 Listen, brothers, sisters,

00:33:51.620 --> 00:33:53.240
 who know what it's like

00:33:53.240 --> 00:33:55.480
 to feel distant from God,

00:33:55.799 --> 00:33:57.500
 we all still feel that sometimes,

00:33:57.500 --> 00:33:57.920
 don't we?

00:33:57.920 --> 00:34:01.940
 We know how much we don't deserve

00:34:01.940 --> 00:34:03.519
 to be near him.

00:34:04.480 --> 00:34:05.560
 Remember this morning

00:34:05.560 --> 00:34:07.060
 who moved in first.

00:34:08.260 --> 00:34:10.139
 Listen to the grace of this.

00:34:10.380 --> 00:34:12.200
 This is not anything we deserve.

00:34:12.599 --> 00:34:14.420
 It was our gracious God

00:34:14.420 --> 00:34:15.659
 who created us

00:34:15.659 --> 00:34:17.300
 to live in fellowship with him,

00:34:17.400 --> 00:34:18.980
 who instructed his people

00:34:18.980 --> 00:34:20.360
 to build him a home

00:34:20.360 --> 00:34:21.220
 in the middle of them

00:34:21.220 --> 00:34:22.340
 so he could live there,

00:34:22.340 --> 00:34:24.340
 who instituted sacrifices

00:34:24.340 --> 00:34:25.420
 and scapegoats

00:34:25.420 --> 00:34:27.240
 so that he could stay with them

00:34:27.240 --> 00:34:29.300
 and who ultimately sent

00:34:29.300 --> 00:34:30.659
 his only son

00:34:30.659 --> 00:34:32.840
 to ensure that we could live with him

00:34:32.840 --> 00:34:34.920
 forever and today.

00:34:36.840 --> 00:34:38.900
 Marvel at that astounding love,

00:34:39.320 --> 00:34:40.980
 at that amazing grace.

00:34:41.760 --> 00:34:42.940
 Lay your hands on Jesus.

00:34:43.440 --> 00:34:44.880
 Give your sins to him

00:34:44.880 --> 00:34:46.200
 and then come boldly

00:34:46.200 --> 00:34:48.619
 into your Father's presence often.

00:34:48.619 --> 00:34:51.539
 Because Jesus was sent away,

00:34:51.639 --> 00:34:53.299
 we never will be.

00:34:54.159 --> 00:34:56.039
 Because he was sent outside the camp,

00:34:56.119 --> 00:34:57.500
 we are always welcomed

00:34:57.500 --> 00:34:59.159
 into the Father's home.

00:34:59.500 --> 00:35:01.480
 Because the Father turned his face

00:35:01.480 --> 00:35:03.059
 away from Jesus,

00:35:03.339 --> 00:35:04.199
 he will never,

00:35:05.359 --> 00:35:06.079
 not today,

00:35:06.739 --> 00:35:07.460
 not ever,

00:35:08.000 --> 00:35:09.259
 turn his face away

00:35:09.259 --> 00:35:10.319
 from you.

00:35:10.400 --> 00:35:10.880
 Let's pray.

00:35:14.079 --> 00:35:15.299
 Father, thank you.

00:35:15.300 --> 00:35:18.140
 It is genuinely

00:35:18.140 --> 00:35:20.120
 too good to be true

00:35:20.120 --> 00:35:21.560
 in our minds.

00:35:23.519 --> 00:35:25.060
 We know and feel

00:35:25.060 --> 00:35:26.080
 our filth

00:35:26.080 --> 00:35:27.980
 way too much

00:35:27.980 --> 00:35:29.380
 to feel comfortable

00:35:29.380 --> 00:35:29.940
 with this.

00:35:30.160 --> 00:35:31.060
 We don't even like

00:35:31.060 --> 00:35:32.640
 the idea of someone else

00:35:32.640 --> 00:35:33.420
 being punished

00:35:33.420 --> 00:35:34.920
 for things that we did.

00:35:38.240 --> 00:35:39.560
 We have too much pride.

00:35:41.160 --> 00:35:42.180
 We'd like to be able

00:35:42.180 --> 00:35:43.320
 to pay it off.

00:35:45.300 --> 00:35:46.560
 To make things right

00:35:46.560 --> 00:35:46.980
 with you

00:35:46.980 --> 00:35:48.100
 after messing them up

00:35:48.100 --> 00:35:48.700
 so badly.

00:35:49.460 --> 00:35:50.920
 Would you give us hearts

00:35:50.920 --> 00:35:52.039
 that receive

00:35:52.039 --> 00:35:53.539
 the gift

00:35:53.539 --> 00:35:54.780
 of your grace

00:35:54.780 --> 00:35:57.960
 from your Son

00:35:57.960 --> 00:35:59.060
 who was sent away

00:35:59.060 --> 00:36:00.000
 for us?

00:36:01.539 --> 00:36:02.820
 Would we regularly

00:36:02.820 --> 00:36:04.220
 run into your presence

00:36:04.220 --> 00:36:05.519
 and dance

00:36:05.519 --> 00:36:07.420
 and rest

00:36:07.420 --> 00:36:10.180
 and have joy

00:36:10.180 --> 00:36:12.740
 because we stand

00:36:12.739 --> 00:36:13.479
 before you

00:36:13.479 --> 00:36:15.539
 clean

00:36:15.539 --> 00:36:18.179
 a way that we

00:36:18.179 --> 00:36:19.039
 don't deserve?

00:36:20.279 --> 00:36:21.419
 It's the only way

00:36:21.419 --> 00:36:22.319
 anyone can stand

00:36:22.319 --> 00:36:22.879
 before you

00:36:22.879 --> 00:36:23.619
 and we stand there

00:36:23.619 --> 00:36:25.039
 clean because of Jesus.

00:36:25.699 --> 00:36:26.359
 Thank you

00:36:26.359 --> 00:36:27.779
 for what he has done.

00:36:28.119 --> 00:36:29.139
 Make us grateful.

00:36:30.039 --> 00:36:31.119
 Bring us into your presence

00:36:31.119 --> 00:36:32.179
 to rejoice in that

00:36:32.179 --> 00:36:32.939
 again today.

00:36:33.459 --> 00:36:34.839
 Might we boldly come

00:36:34.839 --> 00:36:36.219
 because we're confident

00:36:36.219 --> 00:36:37.259
 that the sacrifice

00:36:37.259 --> 00:36:37.959
 of Jesus

00:36:37.959 --> 00:36:39.159
 was all that was

00:36:39.159 --> 00:36:39.500
 needed

00:36:39.500 --> 00:36:40.739
 for us.

00:36:40.739 --> 00:36:42.939
 We ask it in his name.

00:36:43.539 --> 00:36:43.819
 Amen.

00:36:47.479 --> 00:36:48.899
 For more information

00:36:48.899 --> 00:36:50.219
 visit us online

00:36:50.219 --> 00:36:51.500
 at southwood.org