It is good to be together for these times, brothers and sisters. We had a rich ministry of the Word this morning and this afternoon. Tonight, we want to begin looking at this vision of Moses.
Please turn to Exodus 24. We will begin reading in verse 12.
Moses and the children of Israel are at Mount Sinai. We will begin in Exodus 24:12 and read into Exodus 25.
The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandment which I have written for their instruction.”
So Moses arose with Joshua his servant, and Moses went up to the mountain of God.
But to the elders he said, “Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a legal matter, let him approach them.”
Then Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.
The glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud.
To the eyes of the sons of Israel, the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the mountain top.
Moses entered the midst of the cloud as he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me. From every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution.
“This is the contribution which you are to raise from them: gold, silver and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet material; fine linen; goats’ hair; rams’ skins dyed red; porpoise skins; acacia wood; oil for lighting; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; onyx stones; and setting stones for the ephod and for the breastpiece.
“Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it.”
Notice what happens at this point. The Lord begins to give specific details regarding the furnishings and construction of this holy tent, this sanctuary, this tabernacle. He begins with the ark of the covenant, then the mercy seat, the table of showbread, the golden lampstand, the curtains, the boards, the veils, the screens, the brazen altar, the outer court, the garments of the priests, the altar of incense, and the anointing oil.
It is seven chapters of description concerning the pattern of the tabernacle.
I would like us to focus, however, on Exodus 25:8-9:
“Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it.”
Let us look to the Lord in prayer.
Lord, we thank You for these times, as we have opportunity to find before Your throne a vision that will govern our lives, move us into Your purpose, and keep us faithful to You until You return.
We pray for everyone in this auditorium tonight: for the casual listener and the deep pursuer, for the young and the old, all alike. O Lord, we ask that You would speak to every one of us tonight.
We know such a wide and impossible task can only be done by the Holy Spirit, Who has been given to us to give us the most personal and definitive kind of instruction. So we place our dependency upon Him and ask that He would anoint us and fill this place with His presence.
As we share the Word of God together, we give You thanks—so much thanks—that You have shown us all that we have seen already in Christ. Now we ask even for more, by Your mercy and grace. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
I am going to be sharing from this command of God to Moses: “Build the tabernacle according to the pattern shown you on the mount.” We read that in Exodus 25:9. You also see it in Exodus 25:40:
“See that you make them after the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.”
I am going to be sharing three messages, the Lord willing, in these three times. Tonight I will share on the tabernacle as the pattern for a new and living way.
The next time, I will share on the tabernacle as the revelation of truth in glory.
Then, the third time, Lord willing, I will share on the heavenly presence in the house of God, or the heavenly life in the house of God.
So we have the way, the truth, and the life.
Tonight, as we speak about the new and living way, we will see that after Moses received this vision and began to construct the tabernacle, it caused him to go back up and pray:
“O Lord, if I have found favor in Your sight, show me Your ways.”
He saw something of the new and living way and asked, “O Lord, show me Your ways, that I may be pleasing in Your sight, that I may know You.”
The second time, when we share on the revelation of truth in glory, we will consider Moses’ prayer in Exodus 33:18:
“Lord, show me Your glory.”
The third message, concerning the heavenly presence in the house of God, will consider Moses’ prayer in Exodus 33:15:
“If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.”
In these three areas, we find their fulfillment in the New Testament.
Tonight, we consider the pattern for a new and living way, where Jesus says:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
The second message concerns revealed glory:
“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
—John 1:14
The final message concerns the heavenly life in the house of God:
“For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete.”
—Colossians 2:9-10
From the verses we have read in Exodus 24 and 25, I want to introduce our message by considering two matters in the context which will help us understand the tabernacle with greater insight.
Did you notice, in Exodus 24, that Moses was called up into the mountain?
Keep in mind that for one year or more, the children of Israel were at Sinai. Throughout that year, there were clearly two perspectives on everything that transpired: the perspective of those at the base of the mountain, and the perspective of the one who was up the mountain.
The suggestion is plain: if we want to see the vision of God’s purpose, God’s will, and God’s tabernacle according to the pattern, we need to climb up the mountain.
In Exodus 24:15-18, Moses “went up to the mountain,” and the cloud covered it. The glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai for six days. On the seventh day, He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud.
To the children of Israel down below, the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire. They probably thought Moses was going to be burned to a crisp—Kentucky Fried Moses.
But Moses entered the midst of the cloud. I think all the children of Israel said, “No, no, Moses, not now!” Yet he was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
They all saw the glory of God, but do you see the difference of perspective?
Consider Exodus 19:16-20:
It came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.
Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.
When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him with thunder.
The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
You see Moses going up while the people remain below. The thunder and lightning terrified the people, but Moses climbed toward the thunder. It is an amazing sight. I wonder how many of us would have the courage.
Then, in Exodus 20:18-21, immediately after the Ten Commandments were given, we read:
All the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance.
Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die.”
Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin.”
So the people stood at a distance, while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.
Brothers and sisters, right away we have a choice. Where do you want to view the things of God? Down at the bottom of the mountain, where everything is dusty, where there is a lot of noise, a lot of arguments, a lot of human beings rushing around confused?
You have some people ready for idolatry and the worship of a golden calf. You have some ready to rise up and play. You have political intrigue going on at the base of the mountain.
Or would you like to go up?
There is some cost in going up, huh? You may have to wait six days in the cloud with no voice. Then, when the Lord begins to speak, He may start a message that lasts forty days.
You do not have time to eat a snack. There is no McDonald’s on the hill.
You may end up interceding for everybody down at the bottom because you are the only one doing the will of God.
There is a definite difference in what we see before us. All the children of Israel had experienced the covenant, the mighty works of God, the deliverance through the Red Sea, the cloud and fire, the manna, and the water from the rock. Yet their perspective was completely different.
They stood at a distance, saying, “No, no, no, we do not want to talk to God. You talk to God. We can do anything He tells us to do.”
They knew so little of themselves.
At the bottom of the mountain, everything was noise and terror. “This vision stuff is awful. Scary stuff.”
I think many Christians feel that this whole matter of vision is for men who are ready to die and go up into the clouds—like an elephant burial ground. But as long as we have work to do, we say, “Just tell us what to do, and we will do it.”
But that is not at all the case.
These people all received the same blessings and saw the same glory, but interpreted everything differently. Why? They had a perspective from the bottom of the hill, but they had no vision.
They did not see the Lord for Who He was. They did not even want to see the Lord for Who He was.
Psalm 103:7 says:
He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the sons of Israel.
Everybody could have seen the ways of God if they wanted to, but they preferred to see His acts. They sang songs when God saved them. They appreciated His mighty power. They had reverence, awe, and trembling. But it was Moses who saw vision.
In Exodus 19:4-6, the Lord said:
“You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself.
“Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine;
“And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
The people answered, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” But they did not hear the heart of God.
“I want you to be My special treasure. I want you to be a kingdom of priests. I want you to be a holy nation. I saved you out of Egypt to bring you to Myself.”
He was already sharing His heart with them, but they were not ready to hear it. They were busy at the base of the mountain.
By contrast, we see Moses, who “gat him up the mount.” He went up into the cloud. He had the faith to do it because he had already been apprehended by God.
It was wonderful this morning when our brother shared concerning different kinds of vision. Early in Exodus, Moses received a vision of ministry. He had a vision of delivering the children of Israel. God called him, and finally he said, “Okay, I will go.”
But now he goes up the mountain for an overall vision, a vision of glory. It is more than a calling vision. It is a vision of glory.
Often, those who receive an overall vision are prepared by being willing servants. When God calls them to serve, they say yes.
For many people, they hear a calling to serve before they see the vision. But if they are faithful, service drives them to seek an overall vision.
Moses had delivered the children to the foot of the mountain. Then he looked at all the trouble and became a desperate man climbing the mountain. He needed an overall vision. He needed a larger vision. It was Moses going into the mountain and seeing vision that enabled him to minister to the people.
In Hebrews 11:24-27, we see several aspects of vision in Moses:
By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,
choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,
considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.
By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him Who is unseen.
When someone sees this kind of all-encompassing vision, there are four characteristics usually present.
First, they see glory. They see the One Who is invisible. They may not be able to describe it, but they see His glory.
Second, they see a throne. There is a throne involved in a vision that apprehends us. It is a throne that demands that we bow. Moses saw the mercy seat; he saw the throne.
Third, they see a dwelling. Moses understood that God wanted to dwell among His people. He saw the possibility of that which is naturally impossible: that God would dwell among His people.
Fourth, there is the hope of reward—the possibility of having a place in the kingdom and a part in the inheritance. At that point, there is a whole new motivation in a person’s life.
The children of Israel continued arguing and murmuring in the wilderness, but Moses seemed almost to live on another planet. He was always before the Lord, always interceding, always pursuing the Lord. That was the result of this vision.
In this vision of Moses, I am convinced that Moses saw more than the details of the tabernacle. He must have seen a vision of the heavenly tabernacle.
The details given in the seven chapters could be followed by people at the bottom of the mountain. But if you took only the written instructions of Exodus 25 through 31, you would not necessarily build correctly. You had to see something that gave you a standard of building.
In Exodus 39:42-43, after everything had been constructed, we read:
So the sons of Israel did all the work according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses.
Moses examined all the work and behold, they had done it; just as the Lord had commanded, this they had done. So Moses blessed them.
Moses looked at the furniture, curtains, and all the construction, and he knew it was right. God said it was good, and Moses said it was good.
How did Moses know?
You might say he took out his ruler and measured everything. But it was more than that. Two of the seven pieces of furniture in the tabernacle have no dimensions given to them: the bronze laver and the lampstand.
There are many details concerning how the lampstand was to be constructed, but no details of its size. Yet Moses could look at it and say, “Yes, that is exactly right.”
He had seen something.
This is important in our day of church life. Many people are trying to construct churches based on dimensions, without a real understanding of the overall vision. It comes out wrong.
The lampstand was not merely a small candelabra sitting on a piano. It was like a tree of light. Moses had seen the heavenly pattern and could recognize its earthly expression.
The Lord gave the details, but they were based on the heavenly pattern Moses had seen. The Bible gives us details, and that is wonderful. But first we have to see something beyond the details in order to make them real.
Moses saw something of God. After seeing this vision, he went back down the mountain and prayed:
“Lord, show me Your ways.”
“Lord, show me Your glory.”
“Lord, if Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.”
Something in that vision had taken hold of him.
The second matter we must note is found in Exodus 25:8:
“Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them.”
The Lord causes trouble for Himself, because He is asking for an impossible thing: “I want to dwell with My people.”
How can a holy God dwell with such a common people? How can a righteous God dwell with sinners? How can a loving God dwell with such fickle people that it did not take them forty days to build an idol?
It is impossible for man to dwell with God. During that year at Sinai, God was showing them Who He was through grand revelations of His holiness.
In Leviticus, He gives instruction after instruction regarding holiness:
“You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”
God says, “I want you to be uncommon. I want you to be unusual. I want you to be pure, just like I am.”
God is holy. God is righteous. God is love. These three matters belong to the deepest part of His nature.
He gave Israel the Ten Commandments because He is righteous. The law immediately became their tutor, showing them that they were unrighteous. They could not even keep the covenant for forty days.
God said, “I am righteous; you be righteous.” They broke the covenant.
God said, “I am holy; you be holy.” Yet within days of their ordination, Aaron’s two sons offered strange fire before the Lord and were judged.
What is the Lord going to do?
He must create something that enables Him to dwell with man without compromising Who He is.
God is holy, righteous, and loving in perfect combination. There is no schizophrenia with God. Holiness, righteousness, and love are perfectly blended in Him.
So He says, “Moses, come up here. I want to build a sanctuary so that I can dwell with My people. I can talk with them, and they can talk with Me.”
How does He do it? He builds a tabernacle in which we see the righteousness of God in the outer court, the holiness of God in the holy place, and the mercy and love of God in the Holy of Holies.
The tabernacle reveals a way of approach. God is saying, “My people, I want you to approach Me, but understand that there is a way. There are no shortcuts. You cannot jump over the fence.”
“If you build it according to the pattern on the mountain, My glory will come down and My presence will be with you.”
This is the only way that the impossible desire of God becomes possible. God must devise the way. Man has never figured out how to dwell with God, but this is God’s vision and God’s pattern.
The tabernacle, after all, is a picture of Jesus, Who says:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
The tabernacle is a picture of the new and living way opened to us through Jesus Christ.
The tabernacle courtyard was about 150 feet long and 75 feet wide—roughly half the size of a soccer field. The tabernacle itself was 15 feet high, 15 feet wide, and 45 feet deep.
It consisted of two compartments: the holy place, measuring 15 by 30 feet, and the Holy of Holies, a perfect cube measuring 15 by 15 feet.
In the outer court were the bronze altar and the bronze laver. In the holy place were the table of showbread, the golden lampstand, and the altar of incense. In the Holy of Holies were the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat.
In this simple picture we see God’s nature. In the outer court, everything was bronze, speaking of judgment. In the holy place, everything was gold, speaking of purity and holiness. In the Holy of Holies were gold, glory, mercy, and the dwelling of God.
As you approached from the outside, you saw a white linen fence. If you do not sense God’s righteousness and purity when you approach Him, then you are not approaching the true and living God.
The white linen speaks of Christ’s righteousness. The sixty poles were made of bronze, reminding us of judgment. Yet there was silver at the top, speaking of redemption.
It is as if God is inviting us and saying:
“Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow.”
There was only one entrance into the courtyard. Jesus said:
“I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”
—John 10:9
There is a door. There is a way in. But there is only one way and only one door.
The entrance curtain displayed four colors: white linen, scarlet, purple, and blue. These are gospel colors.
The door was wide—thirty feet wide—because the gospel says that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Yet it was still one door. This is God’s way.
When you entered the courtyard, the first thing you saw was the large bronze altar. This was where the sacrifices were offered.
It was a rough place. There was blood everywhere. There was smoke, soot, dirt, sparks, priests cutting and chopping animals, and the smell of sacrifice.
It was not for the weak-stomached person.
The bronze altar teaches us that God’s righteousness is a serious matter. Hebrews 9:22 says:
“Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”
God is righteous, and He demands a life for a life. If someone commits sin, there is death. This is righteousness.
The altar represents the cross. In 1 Corinthians 1:18, Paul says:
“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
To the world, the sacrifices and the cross seem foolish, brutal, and barbaric. But to those who are being saved, the cross is the power of God.
Brothers and sisters, I remember when I first began to understand that my sin was serious. I saw how much pride was short-circuiting my young marriage. I loved my wife, but I had so much pride that I could not forgive, love, humble myself, or admit that I was wrong.
I began to see the toll sin was taking. I began to understand: what if Jesus really did have to die for me? What if my sins were really so terrible?
Many of you may have grown up being very nice, and perhaps you do not think sin is such a serious thing. But if you want to walk according to the pattern shown on the mountain, if you want fellowship with God, you cannot avoid the bronze altar.
The Jewish worshiper came with an offering. When we came, we had nothing but our sins. Yet we hear the wonderful gospel:
“Behold, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!”
Jesus was brought as a Lamb and slain for us. He cried:
“My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?”
At the cross, we see the agony of His death, the blood poured out, and the Lamb offered in our place. Then we hear the good news: our sins have been forgiven through the precious blood of the Lamb.
The bronze altar becomes the cross of our salvation.
Then we meet the high priest. He looks remarkably like the Lamb Who was sacrificed for us. His garments display the same gospel colors: white, scarlet, purple, and blue.
The high priest says, “Come into My dwelling place.”
But when I was first invited to come into that dwelling place, I did not want to go. I knew I was sinful and unworthy. How could I enter?
The high priest makes us able to enter by washing our feet and washing our hands.
The bronze laver was used whenever a priest served at the altar or entered the holy place. He had to wash his hands and feet. This was a daily matter.
Jesus explained this to Peter. Peter said, “Lord, You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered that unless He washed Peter’s feet, Peter could have no fellowship with Him.
Then Peter wanted a whole bath. But Jesus said, in effect, “You have been cleansed, but your feet become contaminated walking in the dust.”
We have been saved by the blood of the Lamb, but we need daily cleansing.
Every day, we need to confess our sins and find Him faithful and righteous to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We need to keep short accounts with God—not to keep sin under the surface, unconfessed or denied, but to be honest with God.
The laver was made from the bronze mirrors given by godly women. When you looked into it, you saw yourself. You said, “Oh, I need cleansing.”
Thank God for the washing of water by the Word. The precious blood of the Lamb cleanses us, and the Word of God washes our minds, clearing out the accumulated dust so that we may enter with our Lord.
Then the high priest bids us to come through the entrance veil of the holy place. Again, we see the gospel colors: white linen, scarlet, purple, and blue.
When we enter the holy place, we receive the shock of our lives. We are surprised by its beauty.
The walls are gold. The furniture is gold. The table of showbread, the altar of incense, and the lampstand are all gold. Above us, the coverings display the gospel colors and cherubim.
Everything is beautiful.
We begin to understand that God has taste. He has the beauty of holiness. Slowly, by the renewing of our minds, we begin to agree with Him regarding what is truly beautiful.
From the outside, all you could see was an old, brown, waterproof covering. But inside there was gold everywhere.
That is how God keeps His secrets. From the outside, Christ may not seem attractive. But when you enter into Him, you discover the beauty of holiness.
The first thing the priest does is invite you to sit down at the table with Him and break bread. He says:
“I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”
—John 6:35
There were twelve loaves on the table, one for each tribe of Israel. They remained there for a week, and then fresh bread was placed there every Sabbath.
Christ is the Bread of Life given for us. He provides for our physical needs, but He also satisfies the hunger of our hearts.
We discover that:
“Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”
When we read the Word with awe and appreciation for what God has provided, we find satisfaction. We have physical appetites and spiritual appetites. As we eat of the Bread of His presence, we are strengthened and nourished.
The table is called the table of showbread, or the table of the presence. Those twelve loaves were always before God’s face. It is as if God says, “I always have My eye on you. I know you. You are always before My face.”
When you enter the holy place, you find that you are not merely part of a wandering mass in the wilderness. Your name is there. He knows you. He is a faithful High Priest Who provides for you.
Then we realize that the light is coming from behind us: the golden lampstand. It was not a wax candleholder. It was a seven-branched lampstand, like a tree of light.
In the Christian life, things begin to make sense. Your mind is renewed. Things are revealed to you.
In the outer court, everything is in the realm of what you can think and understand. But in the holy place, things begin to be revealed by the Holy Spirit. You begin to understand matters that you cannot fully explain.
Unseen things become real. Some seen things grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.
As the lampstand shines the light of revelation, we begin to see the beauty of the High Priest Himself. Not merely the furniture, not merely the blessings, but the beauty of Christ. We admire His faithfulness. He is becoming our best friend.
Then we smell something: the fragrance of Christ. It is the fragrance of redemption and grace.
At the golden altar of incense, incense is burning, and its fragrance fills the holy place. There is nothing sweeter than the fragrance of Christ.
In the holy place, there are others worshiping and praying. That is what you do when you sense the beauty of Christ. You worship. You pray. You offer songs, praise, and thanksgiving.
Worship becomes the natural response to seeing His beauty.
The High Priest continues to bid us to come in. We approach the veil separating the Holy of Holies.
In the Old Testament order, only the high priest entered behind that veil, and only once a year. It was a fearful thing.
But this is not our condition any longer.
When Jesus died on the cross, the veil was torn from top to bottom. A new and living way into the Holy of Holies was opened for us.
“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh.”
—Hebrews 10:19-20
Jesus went into the Holy of Holies and offered sacrifice once for all for the forgiveness of our sins. He is our great High Priest.
Now there is glory coming from that place, and the High Priest says, “Let us go right to the dwelling place. Let us go right to the throne.”
In the Holy of Holies, we find the ark and the mercy seat. Inside the ark were the tablets of the covenant. Above the ark was the mercy seat, with the cherubim overshadowing it.
God said, “I will dwell there, and I will speak with you there.”
Hebrews tells us concerning Jesus our High Priest:
We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One Who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
—Hebrews 4:15-16
We are invited to come boldly to the throne of grace, to bow down in worship, to be in His presence, to experience His glory, to see the unseen, and to dwell there.
This is the new and living way. It was pictured through the tabernacle.
Turn to Romans 3. Paul speaks of the salvation we have in Christ Jesus:
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith.
This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed.
—Romans 3:23-25
The word translated “propitiation” is the word for the mercy seat. Through His death and salvation, Christ has become for us the mercy seat in His blood.
This is such a great salvation.
Most of us here tonight are Christians. But perhaps there is someone who has never understood that there is only one way—a way that allows God to remain righteous, holy, and loving.
People at the foot of the mountain, reasoning through their philosophies, say there are many ways to God. But not without compromising either His holiness, His righteousness, or His love.
Some people say we can get to God through a maze of works, climbing higher and higher. But you would have to be perfect. One mistake means you cannot approach the holy God.
Others say we can bypass the cross through meditation. No, you may worship some other god, but you will not worship in the presence of the living God unless you come by way of the cross.
Others say, “God is love. We are already His sanctuary. We do not need righteousness or holiness.” But that makes God less than He really is.
The new and living way does not compromise God at all.
God is holy, righteous, and loving.
Our gospel must be preached according to the pattern shown on the mountain. We cannot compromise our God.
The gospel says:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
—John 14:6
And positively:
“I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved.”
—John 10:9
There is one door. There is one way.
We have not only seen the way of salvation; we have seen the way for our whole life.
What is the way of daily devotion and consecration? You start at the cross. You ask for cleansing. You eat from the table of bread. You ask God to reveal Himself by the Spirit. You worship Him at the altar of incense.
This is the way for us every day.
It is also the only way of service. You cannot simply go into the holy place and begin serving with unwashed hands and feet. How many people serve God while their consciences are disturbed and dirty? It does not work.
We go the same way: from righteousness, through holiness, to His mercy. Mercy is waiting at the end, but there is a way.
Do not be careless in your Christian life. Do not throw aside your little unrighteousnesses. Do not become slipshod in purity, holiness, or uncommonness. These things cause damage when we try to live without living according to this way.
This is not merely a command for salvation. It shows us the new and living way in the presence of a holy, righteous, and loving God.
Let us not compromise Who He is. Let us not make a caricature of God that is not truly the way He is.
There is a way provided for us, and we see it in the picture of the tabernacle. Jesus has provided it because He is the way—the only way to God.
I know I have shared simple things tonight, but I do so with a purpose.
We have a conference here, and we are sharing concerning vision, service, and holy living—very important matters. But perhaps some of you here tonight see more clearly than ever that Jesus is the door and that He is the only way.
Perhaps someone needs to come through the door, accept the sacrifice of Jesus for sin, receive cleansing, and enter that holy dwelling place where there is glory.
From the cross to glory: that is the new and living way.
It is for everybody.
“Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Maybe you are a teenager. Maybe someone brought you as a friend, and you are here tonight. Let us bow our heads and pray.
Lord, we see in the tabernacle a clear proclamation that You are the way, the truth, and the life. But if it does not touch our hearts and keep us from carelessness, how can we find the way to dwell with God?
We hear this as a promise far off, yet You bid us to come up into the cloud and find this new life in Christ Jesus.
We see that there can only be one door if God is to remain righteous, holy, and loving. Lord, we pray tonight for someone in this room who needs to come through the door, who needs to become part of the dwelling of God.
O Lord, we pray that hearts would be revealed tonight. May they see the reality of Your righteousness in the death of Jesus on the cross, the beauty of Your holiness, and the desire to live in Your presence.
We pray for everyone in this room. Many have Christian backgrounds and experiences, but are they really convinced that there is only one way?
We know that the world would proclaim a gospel that allows anyone to slip under the curtain. But we know that does not satisfy Your heart.
O Lord, may we all become ministers of the gospel according to the pattern shown on the mountain.
If you are here tonight and want to come through the door, if you realize Jesus is the door and the way of salvation, then ask Him in your heart:
“Lord, I realize that You are my sacrifice, and I cannot go further with You until I acknowledge my sin. Lord, I ask forgiveness. I embrace You as my salvation and my High Priest. Lead me in this new and living way—the way of glory and revelation.”
Lord, we thank You so much for Your great salvation. If in any way we can clarify how wonderful Your way is—how exclusive it is, how beautiful it is—we pray that You would write these things in our hearts tonight.
Give us a vision, not merely of the tabernacle and these pictures, but something living, something real, something that is Yourself.
You have opened living access for us to be in the presence of the living God. Perhaps there are Christians here tonight who run quickly into Your presence and run out as fast as they can, uncomfortable with the reality of the life You want us to live.
O Lord, show us Your mercy. Lead us in Your high priesthood to come boldly to the throne of grace.
Lord, bring us up the mountain and help us truly see how beautiful and how great is our salvation. We pray in Jesus’ name.