A Place For Everyone
by Dan MacLeod
October 25, 2023 · New Life Terre Haute (New Life Fellowship)
Kind: teaching
Scripture: Isaiah 54:2-3, 1 Kings 8:27, Exodus 25:8-9, Leviticus 19:30, Psalm 73:2, Psalm 73:17, Psalm 20:1-2, Acts 13:22, Psalm 63:1-2, Psalm 27:4, 1 Chronicles 29:1-3, 1 Corinthians 15, Romans 6:4, 1 Timothy 3:16, Galatians 4:4

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/dan-macleod--a-place-for-everyone
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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But I want to talk to you about this subject, a place for everyone. Our theme or overarching focus this month has been to consider the field, which is our city, the region of the country that God has placed us, and to consider this, why we have this, the purpose for which this beautiful new sanctuary was constructed, that there are people God has called us to reach. And so tonight I want to talk to us about a place for everyone. Isaiah 54 verses 2 and 3, the prophet says, enlarge the place of thy tent and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations. Spare not, lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy stakes. For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left, and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. The prophet Isaiah is speaking to the people of Israel at the conclusion of a time of Babylonian captivity. As you could imagine,

captivity is not a pleasant experience. It has worn on the faith of God's people, no doubt. It has changed their attitude and maybe even dampened their expectation. This was what Isaiah would go on to call a time that they were widowless, and by virtue of being widowless they were barren or did not have the blessing of reproduction. Now he's speaking to them of the spiritual state they lived in, but now Isaiah writes and he says, sing, O barren, what he's trying to prepare them for is this change of attitude to prepare for the increase that God says is coming. He says enlarge the place of your tent. This is to tell them. You need a bigger piece of land because the size of your tent is about to grow. So the first thing you've got to do is find space for the increase of size. He tells them, let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitation. Spare not. Lengthen thy cords and

strengthen thy stakes. I want to draw your attention to these two phrases. Lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy stakes. When he tells them to lengthen their cords, he's saying I need you to uproot that stake from the ground and I need you to stretch it out because we're about to add on to this tent. We're about to increase the capacity of this tent. We're going to increase the seating capacity of this tabernacle. We're going to make room for more people. So I need you to lengthen the cords. I need you to stretch the cord out so there's more space for more people. But I also need you to strengthen the stake. This is to say that to lengthen the cord and neglect the strengthening of the stake is to jeopardize the safety of the tent. And on the contrary, we could strengthen the stake over and over and over, but if we are not considerate of the fact that God desires to actually

increase the capacity, so it is not either or, it is both and. We have lengthened the cords. We've increased our capacity. We have made room for people. This is what I would call evangelism. Lengthening the cords is the work of evangelism. It's bringing new people into the place where we have increased our space, our capacity. But it is not simply evangelism that we are after. This is part of it. We're also seeking to strengthen the stakes. This is discipleship. We believe in the necessity of water baptism in Jesus' name. We absolutely believe in the necessity of being filled with the gift of the Holy Spirit. But this is not the conclusion. This is the beginning. It's why we call it the new birth. And following that birth, we are to pursue a life of discipleship. This is where we press on past spiritual infancy. This is why tonight, all across this campus, there are seven, eight, nine different classes, including this group right

here, because we are trying to cultivate in atmosphere a culture that when people have received the work of evangelism, they have been born of water and of spirit that they can then press on to maturity. They can engage in the life of discipleship. This is what we are about at new life. We see it, we hear it. What is this? This is a place where no one has a past and everyone has a future. How does this happen? It happens when the church assumes the mission of evangelism. And we say to somebody, come and see. Come and experience God. Come and see what the Lord can do in your life. We don't just leave them in the waters of baptism. We don't just leave them at the altar when they have received the gift of the Holy Ghost. No, the Bible has a lot to say about what the life of discipleship looks like. And so as we move into this harvest and

we seek to feel the tabernacle that God has given us, know this, that we have a responsibility tonight to do both lengthening the cords, this is to evangelize the lost, but also to strengthen the stakes. This means that, we must understand this, is to increase the size of the tent means there are more opportunities for weakness. The larger the tent, the more opportunity for wind to grab hold of that fabric and uproot it. And so Isaiah knows, if we're going to increase our capacity for people, we must also increase the strengthening of the stake. We must ground people in the Word of God, disciple people to know who Jesus is, know what the Scripture says, live according to the Scripture. So this is what we are endeavoring to do. It's not simply stopping at the waters of baptism. It's not simply stopping when somebody is born of the Spirit. This is their new birth, but then there is an entire Christian life that

speaks to how we treat one another, to the disciplines we build in our lives, to how we speak, how we act, how we dress, so many things, the content of our media, the music we might listen to. This is the life of discipleship that the onset of this lesson tonight, I would tell you we must give ourselves diligently to both. Let's talk about the sanctuary for a minute. This is what we call the sanctuary series, and tonight we sit for some three weeks now in this beautiful new sanctuary, so let's talk a little bit about this idea of sanctuary. The testimony of Scripture highlights the centrality of the sanctuary among the Jewish people and their faith. When you look at the Old Testament structure, not only was that tabernacle of Moses geographically positioned in the center of the twelve tribes, but as you survey the Torah, which is the first five books of your Old Testament, you would discover this, that the sanctuary,

the house of God was central to the Jewish mind and faith. Within the first five books alone, some forty-five chapters are devoted exclusively to the subject of the sanctuary and its services. Moving beyond the Torah, we find at least forty-five additional chapters in the prophets and history books that focus upon this same subject, and this does not even consider the book of Psalms, which is the music of the sanctuary. It alone contains more than one hundred and fifty references to the sanctuary. This is an average of one reference per song. The Old Testament is, in fact, saturated with hundreds, if not thousands, of references to the sanctuary. And this is only considering those first thirty-nine books. All the way back to the beginning of the Old Testament, we find a pattern of God's relationship with man. He had a custom of what I would call a meeting place with man. When he comes to Adam in the Garden of Eden,

the Bible said they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the cool of the day, and Adam hides himself, but while we often focus on that component of the story, I would draw your attention to what is perhaps a little bit between the lines, is that this was their custom. This is why the Lord asks the question, Adam, where are you? This is to say you are not where you usually are. Where are you? Now, he's not asking because he doesn't know the answer. He's asking so Adam would be confronted with the error of his ways. But in the asking of the question is this subtle implication that we are accustomed to meeting here and you're not here. You can find this pattern throughout many of the Old Testament patriarchs. It was said of Abraham in Genesis 18, 19, somewhere around there that he rises early in the morning and he stood before the Lord at the time and the place

he had before. What is the writer telling us? He is telling us that Abraham had a meeting place with God. Even following Jesus' own earthly ministry, we would find his practice of separating from the people, going up into the mountain, into the wilderness, among the trees, among nature, separating from the busyness of life. What for? He was practicing the discipline of a meeting place with God. Now, I think this is a necessary discipline in all of our individual lives. Pastor Shock has spoke on this many times. I've not heard him say it here locally, though I'm sure at some time he has. But many years ago, he started teaching this concept called the chair. Not the four chairs like Pastor has taught, but the chair. And asking the question, where is your chair and when do you go to your chair? Emphasizing this discipline that every individual has to have a meeting place with God. But there came a point when God began

to fashion a people to himself. It wasn't just an individual relationship, but God delivered these Hebrews out of Egyptian captivity and on their way journeying through the wilderness, he begins to speak to Moses and gives him instruction for a corporate meeting place. He had practiced the discipline of an individual meeting place for many, many, many, many years. And the fact is that individual meeting place could happen anywhere. It could happen in the garden. It could have been Abraham's place. It could be a burning bush to Moses on the backside of the desert. It could be at a desk in a hotel room, a recliner in your living room, your dining room table every morning. That individual place can be comprised of many different locations as we move about our life. But now, as God has called this people, this body of people to himself, he begins to speak to Moses and gives him instruction to build a corporate meeting place. Now, it's not

that God needs a sanctuary anymore than an ocean needs an aquarium. God doesn't really need this. And so this is why Solomon says in 1 Kings 8 and 27, will God indeed dwell on the earth? This is a question now. Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain the how much less this house that I have built it. The heavens cannot even contain you how much less this house that I have built it. It's beautiful and I love it and I'm thankful for it. But we have fooled ourselves if we think this house can contain the Lord. But still, even with this awareness and this understanding, many years prior to Solomon writing these words, God speaks to Moses on Mount Sinai. We find it in Exodus 25 and this is what he says. Let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them according to all that I show thee after the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern

of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it. Let them make me a sanctuary. The sanctuary is a consecrated place with set patterns and a specific purpose. We'll say that again because that's a law in this statement. The sanctuary is a consecrated place with set patterns and a specific purpose. The very word sanctuary in and of itself does not need another adjective joined to it. And the Hebrew, the word in and of itself denotes that it is consecrated. It exists for a consecrated purpose. It's been set apart. And God says you're doing this that I may dwell among you. This is the purpose. And you will do it according to everything that I show you after the pattern of the tabernacle. And so God said as you build it and as you fulfill the work of the sanctuary, know this, there is a pattern you must follow. We'll come back to this pattern in a little bit. But I want to

emphasize this now that the sanctuary exists for a consecrated place and a specific purpose. Leviticus 19 and 30, God commanded them this and it is repeated several times in the Old Testament, reverence my sanctuary. I would admonish us tonight, though I think we do a great job already, I would admonish us that we cannot allow ourselves to become careless with what has been consecrated. Culture is this. It's both what you create and it's what you allow. This is why you hear pastor and sister Harpole get in the pulpit and say things like this, now church, we don't bring food in the sanctuary. Now listen, we don't chew gum on the campus. What is that? It is intentional action to protect a consecrated culture. Is it really that big of a deal? Well it is because if you're not careful, little acts of carelessness gradually erode that consecrated purpose. So there are times that pastor gets up and he begins to preach about how

we're going to worship in the house. He jumps off the platform and runs around the sanctuary. He's intentionally preaching and acting in a manner that builds the culture that should exist in the sanctuary. But it's also what you allow, which is why sometimes leadership has to rise to the pulpit and draw some lines and teach some principles and give guidance and counsel. Because if we're not careful, if we allow carelessness to exist among a consecrated atmosphere, that carelessness, it erodes that consecrated purpose. And so as we consider tonight the culture of the sanctuary, just know this, it is both what we create and it's what we allow. Let me give you a personal example. When we're worshiping and when church is going on, I'm going to let my kids get out in the aisle. I don't mind if they come to the front. If he wants to dance and run, I'd fin these four and a half, he doesn't really understand everything. But

if he can be conditioned with that behavior, the understanding will follow. I'm going to let him do that in the right time, in the right context. But when church is done and fellowship is happening, I'm not going to let him just run aimlessly around the sanctuary. Now he may struggle to understand that in his immaturity. Well, why did you let me run a little bit 40 minutes ago, but you won't let me run right now? Well, because we were doing that as an act of worship unto God, but I'm not going to allow you to do that when it's not an act of worship, because I don't want that carelessness of behavior to erode the consecrated purpose that this exists for. And so know this, we all share in this responsibility to guard the culture of this sanctuary, to make sure that it is a meeting place for God and man where people can come, leave their past, and find their future. So

let's talk about, let's move on, having a heart for his house. Psalm 73, there are literally dozens of scriptures we could have looked at tonight. I pulled a few of my favorite. Psalm 73 is written by Asaph. He is a prophet, a singer, and a musician in the time of David and Solomon. He writes and he tells us what happened when he went into the sanctuary. Verse 2 says, But as for me, my feet were almost gone, my steps had well nigh slipped. He's speaking of when he looked at the prosperity of the wicked as he becomes consumed with what's happening in the world around him. And all of these people who don't serve God, but seem to have things happening in their life. He said, my feet were almost gone, my steps had well nigh slipped. And then verse 17, how quickly it changes when he writes, Until I went into the sanctuary of God, then I understood their aim. Now I

want you to catch this now. Everything changed for him when he got into the sanctuary. But look at what he says, I understood their end. So it's in the sanctuary he finds understanding and alignment. His thinking comes into alignment with God's thinking. His ways or his perspective comes into alignment with God's ways when he gets into the sanctuary. And I trust everybody here knows this is true. Because your week's not going the way you want it to go and work's been rough and things are going wrong. Your car broke down, you're not feeling well, you're tired, you're worn out, and your thinking gets messed up. But when you come into the sanctuary, something happens, your perspective changes, your thinking changes, you receive understanding. This is what happens when we get into the sanctuary. Psalms 20 said, the Lord hear thee. This is verse 1 and 2 of Psalms 20. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble. The name of the God

of Jacob defend thee. Send thee help from the sanctuary and strengthen thee out of Zion. I'm preaching to somebody tonight that there is help in the sanctuary. That's why when you've had a bad week and it feels like everything's against you, you just got to press on and get into the sanctuary. Because there is a help in the house of God. There is a strength in the house of God. It comes from the body and it comes from God Himself. But you've got to get into the sanctuary. Asaph said, my feet had almost gone, my steps had almost slipped in till. Everything changed when I just got into the sanctuary. I'm telling you there's powerful things that happen in the sanctuary. God's commendation of David demands our consideration tonight. Acts 13 and 22 describes him as a man after God's own heart. And yes, we could comprise a long list of reasons as to what got this notable comment from the Lord. But

I would submit tonight that at least evidenced in part this comes by his heart for God's house. David writes of the house of God with a strength of language that no other writer of Scripture uses. The implication is that his experiences in the sanctuary were so deeply formative that they forever became a reference point in his life. Psalm 63 verses 1 and 2. A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. Oh God, thou art my God. Early will I seek thee my soul thirst for thee. My flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is. Let's see verse 2. To see thy power and thy glory so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Now to grasp the power of what he's saying you've got to go back to the opening sentence because where is he? He's in the wilderness. In his wilderness he is crying out to God and he's saying, Lord

I want to see you in the wilderness as I've seen you in the sanctuary. This is what this means is that when he finds himself in trouble, his reference point, what he longs for, what he looks for is the experience he had in the sanctuary. He was his heart for God's house. In the wilderness his mind is consumed with the wonders of that sanctuary. It wasn't the decor. It was not the carpet or the wall finishings or the new screens. It was thy power and thy glory. Because the sanctuary was always meant to be the place where God could dwell. What he discovered in that sanctuary has shaped him and now in his own wilderness his heart is longing for it. The experience of these moments in this place have become his personal reference point. It is his place of refuge and when he is in need he is calling to memory the formative moments he had in the sanctuary of God. Psalm

63 is but one of many. Let's look at Psalms 27 in verse 4. He says one thing, one thing, that in itself is a pretty strong statement because if you ask Dan McLeod what he wants, I can give you a long list. But David said I've narrowed it down to one thing that I have desired of the Lord and that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. You've got to understand he is writing these words as a fugitive being hunted finding refuge in the rocks and the caves of that wilderness and in that place he said there's one thing I want and there's one thing I'm seeking after and it's that I could dwell in the house of God forever. All the days of my life that's what I want. He's being hunted, his life is in

jeopardy. He's in the most unpleasant of circumstances and his heart longs for that sanctuary. And if you think that this focus of David was unique to these moments of special and unfortunate circumstances you would be wrong because David is crowned king after Saul's death first at Hebron seven and a half years later in Jerusalem also. His immediate concern was this, first we must subdue the Philistines and when that is accomplished he turned his attention to bring the Ark back. 2 Samuel 6. Then he consults with Nathan the prophet about his strong desire to build God a permanent house in 2 Samuel 7. Nathan initially gives his enthusiastic support but then the word of the Lord comes to him and says David cannot build me a temple for he is a man of war and has shed too much blood but his son Solomon, a man of peace whose name Solomon means the peaceable one he will build my house. You find it in

2 Samuel 7 and 1 Chronicles 17 and 22. One might think David after all you've done and all you've cried for and the house that you have so diligently cared for now being forbidden to build the house of God will you now forego the attitude, the passion that you so desperately live with before know quite the contrary. Being forbidden to build the house did not cause David to forego the desire of his heart. If he could not build the temple he just decided okay then I will make every preparation possible so my son can build it. He did all he could short of actually building the temple. God gives him the blueprints for the building project 1 Chronicles 28. He appoints masons to cut the stones in chapter 22. He prepared iron for the nails used in the gate and bronze beyond measure in verse 3 of chapter 22. He orders cedar wood from tear inside on. He collected a fabulous amount of

gold and silver and other precious stones. David goes so far as to do this. He appointed and organized into divisions the 4,000 gatekeepers. 4,000 instrumental musicians. He set aside 288 of the most skilled singers to be instructed in the songs of the Lord. David why are you doing all this? God already told you you can't build it. He didn't stop there. He even composed much of the music for the collection that was to become in effect the hymnal that they would use in the temple. Approximately two-thirds of the Psalms are attributed to David and many of these Psalms focus upon the sanctuary. David was determined to be a contributor regardless of his role. David you had the capacity to build this thing. You had the skill to build it, the vision to build it. But you being a man of war could not build it and at that point he probably could have folded his arms, checked out, found a

new hobby. You're not letting me do what I want to do. But he had a heart for the house and instead of doing that he just said I'm going to do whatever I can do to protect and to build this sanctuary. If it's gathering the building supplies I'm going to do it. If it's working with the singers I'm going to do it. If it's picking the musicians I'm going to do it. If it's pushing a vacuum I'm going to do it. If it's holding the door I'm going to do it. If it's greeting people when they walk in I'm going to do it. He had a heart for God's house and that heart moved him based on his value for the sanctuary to contribute regardless of his role. David it would be more honorable if you could say you built it. Yeah I know it would but God said that's not my role. So I just found something else to do. Let us

be like David. Look at 1 Chronicles 29 1-3 Furthermore David the king said unto all the congregations Solomon my son whom alone God hath chosen is yet young and tender and the work is great. Hear it for the palace or the temple is not for man but for the Lord God. He says now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God. The gold for the things to be made of gold. Silver for the things of silver. Brass for the things of brass. Iron for the things of iron. Wood for the things of wood. Onyx stones and stones to be set. Glicering stones and diverse colors and all the precious stones. Marble stones in abundance. Verse 3. Moreover because I have set my affection to the house of my God. David why are you doing all this? Because I put my heart in God's house. That's why I'm doing all this. That's why I'm here early. That's why

I stay late. That's why I give. That's why I sacrifice. That's why I work. Because I put my heart in God's house. But I want you to look at this. He keeps going. I set my affection to the house of my God. I have of mine own proper good. Of gold and silver. Which I have given to the house of my God. So first what David is saying is I've collected all this. I've got people to give. I've got people to donate. But then David says I have given of my own house. It's one thing to ask somebody else to do it. It's one thing to live in the blessing of somebody else's generosity. But David says just because I couldn't build it. Just because I didn't get the glory. Just because it wasn't my name and my honor. I didn't withhold my offering. I didn't just ask them to give. I of my own house gave of my resource. Why? Because my

heart was in his house. I didn't just thank God. Would you just lift your hands and thank God for his house? God I thank you. My life has been changed in the house of God. I met you in your house God. You filled me with your spirit in your house. Woo! Thank you Jesus. What we need is to put our heart in the house. Oh that God would raise up a thousand Davids at New Life Fellowship. They say my heart is in this house. I don't care what my role is. I'm going to contribute. I'm going to find a way to invest. I'm going to serve. I'm going to protect the culture. Now let's talk about the pattern. We read in Exodus 25 when God spoke to Moses and said let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. He said you've got to do it after the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all the instruments thereof.

There's some diversity of thought among Hebrew scholars over this word pattern. Some believe that it was a pattern as in a set of blueprints. God drew it out and said Moses here it is. Some believe that it was more like a model. God gave him a visual depiction. He could see a model of what this was to look like. But of this we are certain. God gave a pattern. This is what it's going to look like. These are the measurements you will use. The material it will be made of. The order of the house. The system of worship. There is a pattern. I want to talk to you about this pattern. Because God's purpose for the sanctuary was so that he could have a relationship with sinful people. It would only exist if the tabernacle that they would build was assembled and run properly. To stray or to deviate from the pattern that was given would result in the absence of glory. It

must. It is imperative. This is not up for discussion or negotiation. It must be done according to the pattern. The tabernacle was God's original blueprint for relationship. And it foreshadows everything else that the scriptures would teach us about the process of salvation and sanctification. I direct your attention to the little chart on your handout. We had time and the ability we could have made these fill in the blanks but that was just too much. You are getting all the information at once. But let me walk you through what you are looking at. Why did they build the tabernacle the way they built it? Because God said, this is my pattern. When you come into that outer core you are going to come to that altar. To the altar where the sacrifice would be given. Where the body of that animal would be laid and the blood would be shed. Then the priest would move on from that altar and he would come to

that laver of water. It was necessary in that water that he would put down his hands and begin to wash the blood from his body. I want you to consider, just imagine you are the one walking through the ordinances that the priest would fulfill and your hands are covered with the blood of the sacrifice and now you are staring into this laver of water. What was water is now water mingled with blood and now you are looking at your own reflection through the blood of the sacrifice. Only after he had washed himself could he then move in to the holy place and only one day a year on the day of atonement could the high priest take the blood of that offering enter in past the veil into what the scripture called the holy of holies or the most holy place. He would sprinkle the blood of that offering upon the mercy seat. The glory of God would come and dwell between the

cherubs atop the mercy seat. Year after year as the high priest fulfilled the ordinance that was given by the pattern God would push away the consequences of sin, maintain his fellowship with God's people. But as you come into the tabernacle this was the pattern. The altar, the laver, the ark of the covenant. If we are talking about the sacrifice that deals, that rolls away the sin it is the altar, the sacrifice, the laver, the water, and the ark of the covenant and the glory. The altar is where the blood was shed. The laver is where the water is cleansing. The ark of the covenant is where the glory or the spirit dwells. This is the pattern. To deviate from the pattern meant the absence of glory. This is why in Jesus comes what does he do? He dies on a cross. Blood is shed. He is buried in a tomb. But he rises, he is resurrected. Paul would say that the same spirit

that raised him from the dead. What is so fascinating is they look into the tomb where his body lay and they find two angels standing there. The last time they would have seen that would have been in the imagery of the ark of the covenant where the glory dwell between two cherubs. So Jesus comes and what is he? John said he was the Word made flesh and dwelt or tabernacled among us. There is no tabernacle of Moses in the New Testament. It is the earthly tabernacle of the man Jesus Christ. The same glory that dwelled in the Holy of Holies in the Old Testament now dwells in the physical body of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. But there is no deviation from the pattern just like blood had to be shed at the altar. Jesus shed his blood on the cross just as the priest had to wash in the water symbolizing the burial or the cleansing. Jesus is buried in the

tomb and just as the blood was sprinkled and the glory or the spirit of God would appear the spirit resurrects that lifeless body. There is consistency of pattern throughout the scripture. So when Paul writes about the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15 he says the gospel that I have preached and you have received is this. It is the death, the burial and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is why when he preaches the gospel on the day of Pentecost Peter says this same Jesus whom you have crucified he has been raised up ascended into heaven seated at the right hand of the Father which is not a physical position but in Hebrew terminology denotes a position of power. This means if you want to access God's power the only way you do it is through the person, the work or the name of Jesus Christ. Don't you try to pray and call on Dan McLeod. Don't you even try to call on Pastor Harpolder

or David Cabernet. There is only one name that has power. And this is what Peter says. He has poured out the promise of the Father which you now see and hear. See he's preaching the gospel. He's saying you crucified him, you killed him, he shed his blood you buried him but he rose again he ascended into heaven he's poured out the spirit and now they ask the question men and brethren what shall we do? I hear the gospel my heart is convicted I must obey but somebody tell me what to do well if you want the glory you better stay true to the pattern. So Peter says just like he died you've got to die in repentance and just like he was buried you've got to be buried in baptism. Now when you get baptized this is what Paul said I don't have time to go through all these scriptures I put them there in your notes if you want to study them

but when Paul said in Roman 6 that we are buried with him that means when you get baptized whatever name is spoken over you you must be able to show me in the Scripture where that person was buried this is why you can't be baptized and somebody verbally invoke the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit because you can't show me where the Father was buried or where the Holy Spirit was buried you can't bury a spirit that's why God was manifest in the flesh Paul said in 1 Timothy 3 16 that's why he wrote in Galatians 4 that it was in the fullness of time God sent forth his Son don't misunderstand the Scripture this is not like me taking my Son and sending it when you read the term Son in the New Testament the Son of God understand it as the body of God the Spirit of God came to earth in a human

body to accomplish the work of salvation and just like Jesus was buried in the tomb when I'm buried with him which is to be baptized in Jesus' name it's not joining me to the church it's for the remission of sins it's for the removal of that stain and sin off my life and I rise to walk he said in the newness of life receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit and he said that promise is unto you and your children and all that are afar off see there is no deviation from the pattern the Old Testament it's altar laver Ark of the Covenant blood water Spirit Jesus dies is buried and resurrected we repent are baptized and receive the Holy Ghost this is the vertical direction of the Tabernacle this is the pattern that God gave because if you want to be in alignment vertical alignment if you want to be saved and in relationship with God you've got to deal with this

sin nature and this is how you do it because he died and was buried in Rose again we must die in repentance be baptized in Jesus' name for the remission of sins and the promise of the Holy Ghost it's for us it's for everyone this is a place for everyone but I told you at the onset this is not just about evangelism it's also about discipleship that's why if you were to look at the Tabernacle there was not only those three instances and counters of furniture moving straight or vertically but when you came into the Holy Place there were three pieces of furniture horizontally one on the left one before the veil and one to the right the golden candlestick the altar of incense and the table of showbread that golden candlestick don't misunderstand this in our 21st century idea of candle this is not a wax candle big difference here because your wax candle is self-consuming this was the golden candlestick

or the menorah fueled by the oil that the priests would pour in so the light the witness or the testimony of the light is not coming from self-consumption it's not a candle it's oil it's an oil that's poured in and that oil is fuel for the light to shine the altar of incense is a symbol of prayer the table of showbread a symbol of the Word of God now this is the Old Testament pattern this is what God gave Moses Moses you want to meet me there you better build this thing according to my pattern and you better operate this thing according to my pattern so here comes Jesus the tabernacle of the New Testament and he says I am the light of the world he Hebrews writes about this is our intercessor forever making intercession for us that's prayer he is the bread of life see the pattern has never changed and that's why when we assume the work of the

sanctuary he was the light of the world but we become the light in the world he was our intercessor and now we become their intercessor thy kingdom come he was the bread of life and we hide that word in our heart we feast on the bread of life we nourish our mind and soul and heart on this not on CNN not on Facebook not on modern media on the bread of life we've got too many malnourished Christians because we're not eating the right thing but do you see this the pattern has never changed that vertical movement was about salvation but that horizontal furniture the candlestick the altar of incense the table of showbread this was about sanctification was about discipleship this is our pattern this is why we do what we do this is why we're here on a Wednesday night because we're growing we're getting deeper we're strengthening the stakes because between tonight and Sunday somebody's going to meet somebody else that

needs to be evangelized and they're going to come on Sunday but we've got to strengthen the stakes too this is about our witness, our prayer and our relationship with the Word I just we must grasp this tonight the pattern cannot change sadly there are many churches whose pattern is changing they're deviating from the pattern God gave Moses because what he gave Moses was actually pattern of what already existed in the heaven that's why the writer of Hebrew said that when Jesus ascended into heaven he entered into the tabernacle everything God gave Moses was fashioned after what was in heaven how silly would it be to pray to have heaven on earth and not build with the pattern that came from heaven and so tonight here we see and this beautiful sanctuary dedication which will be a special weekend only a couple weeks away but our sanctuary really doesn't resemble the sanctuary that Moses constructed in cosmetics he didn't have no concrete there were

no nice chairs like this no well-designed carpet he certainly didn't have big screens in many ways it doesn't resemble that why? because we have liberty to exercise creativity and our design and our decor and even in our production we can decide if we want a praise team one singer or choir we can decide if we want three screens one screen graphics or no graphics we can pick what instruments we want or don't want little pulpit big pulpit chairs that flop up or chairs that stay down pews or chairs fan shape or rectangle you get liberty and the design the core and the production just remember this that the glory of God does not come in response to any of these elements it only comes in our obedience to following his pattern so whether we're across the street in the north campus in the old building or in the last sanctuary where that is now a gymnasium or this beautiful new sanctuary or

your dining room table or somebody's living room or a table at the coffee shop the pattern cannot change and if we stay true to the pattern if we preach the gospel and guide people to repentance baptism in Jesus name and the infilling of the holy ghost the glory is going to show up and there'll be a lot of people in this building that are just like David and say you know what I had a bad week I went through a hard season but my heart was in the house because what happened there changed me informed me I met God there I found strength there but once you've been born again when you've gone through the ordinance or the process of that vertical movement of pattern you must not forget there's also some horizontal activity we don't stop at baptism and we don't stop at the holy ghost we have to be a people of prayer we must be a people of the word

we must be passionate about our witness this is the pattern and if we will just work the pattern stay true to the pattern then God said I'm going to dwell there I'm not going to dwell there because there's a cross on the building or the sign says church I'm going to dwell there because you stay true to my eternal pattern that's why I'm going to be there would you stand together with me thank you Jesus thank you Jesus thank you Jesus thank you Jesus if you are here tonight and you have never repented of your sin and you have never been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins has nothing to do with you joining this church it's about you entering in the covenant relationship with Jesus Christ and if you have never received the gift of the holy ghost I want you to know these are the most important things in your life but I know there's

a lot of us here we were baptized a long time ago we got the holy ghost a long time ago but there's still a pattern for our lives there's some furniture there's a candlestick there's an altar of incense there's show bread we must witness, we must pray we must eat and feast and study and share the word of God this is the pattern God is not going to dwell in a building just because it calls itself a church listen I've even preached in churches that call themselves pending costal to hold the truth I'm going to be honest with you there's not a lot happening does that happen how can you know the gospel even preach the gospel and not a lot happen because it's just one part of the pattern the gospel can be made of no effect when the church that pulls the cords doesn't also strengthen the stake when the church that says this is how you should be born again

or this is what we believe or this is what the Bible says isn't fervent in prayer passionate in their witness feasting on the word so to all of us who've been around church a little while who've been born again can I tell us the pattern still speaks to us and we must give ourselves to this pattern if God's going to dwell in this house hey I'm not silly enough I know this little sanctuary can't contain God but I also know that this is a meeting place for a holy God to meet some sinful people and say hey here in this sanctuary nobody has a past and everybody has a future this is a place for everyone with all their baggage and all their bondage and all their tattoos and scars and all their substance abuse issues and marriage struggles and family trauma bring it on in come on bring it in someone told my wife and I at a dinner table last weekend

well maybe you'll see me at church on Sunday by the building might burn down how I'm going to tell you there ain't nothing you can do that's going to jeopardize the safety of this house and it's not because I trust in the grade of concrete in this building it's because there's a pattern that's unmovable unstoppable unshakable this is a place for everyone so God help us to lift our voice to every year in every heart and vehicle county and clay county come and see this is a place for you with all your questions and all your uncertainty and all your baggage and all your sin you're welcome here and when they come all we've got to do is stay true to the pattern because God doesn't confirm personality he doesn't confirm the decor, the design the production or the service elements his glory comes when we execute the eternal pattern let's lift our hands to the Lord thank you Jesus would you lift

up your voice and just give him praise tonight come on invest your heart in this house invest your heart in this house your life is changed in the sanctuary there's help in the sanctuary there's strength in the sanctuary and there's a place for everyone in the sanctuary oh I love you Jesus I love you Jesus thank you for a house where we can meet with you thank you for a place where we can feel your spirit move thank you for a place where your glory and your power shows up where miracles happen where the Holy Ghost is poured out where sin is washed away thank you for a house God where we can gather with people of like precious faith where we can bring sinners and heathens and doubters and skeptics and when they feel your presence and when they hear your word lives are transformed oh I love you Jesus feel this house with hungry people feel this house with hurting people

draw the lonely draw the angry draw the hearts that are filled with sorrow draw the families that are grieving oh God because what they need is in this house because there's a pattern that we're holding to in Jesus name oh my there's just a sweet presence of the Lord here right now hula macando ria bassata la mokosha la maha I thank you God I don't ever want to take it for granted I don't want to become careless about the pattern I don't want to become careless about the place of the person this is your house God I'm not walking in this holy house with carelessness in my heart no sir I'm coming with reverence for the sanctuary because my life was changed here families are going to be changed here the lost are going to be saved here praise be to God