Congratulations, Christian, Access Approved

Introduction

Shane Pruitt serves as the Next Generation Director for the North American Mission Board and is one of the best speakers I’ve had the opportunity to listen to. Earlier on in ministry, Shane and his wife found themselves counseling a couple that was teetering on the edge of divorce. They met with this couple often, they prayed with them in person and for them when they were away, they led this couple through Scripture, and progress was being made. That is until one day they were told that the couple was officially going to file for divorce. The reason that was given was because one of the members of the couple said, “God just wants me to be happy.”

Have you ever heard someone use that phrase before? God JUST wants me to be happy. So many people think this in our world, but in reality it’s not true. Yes, God created us. Yes, God desires good things for us. Yes, God is good. Yes, God has a perfect plan for us. Here’s the problem, though: There are things in this life that make us happy that are not good things. So often we fix our eyes on what we think that we want or need rather than what God desires for us. We’ll say this, “If I just had this thing, then I’d be happy” or, “If I finally had a girlfriend or a child then I’d be happy” or, “If I just had this much money in my bank account, then I’d be happy” or, “If I could be in control or have this go my way or make this decision, then I’d finally be happy.” This pulls at our heart - we want to be happy, but do we know what will provide us with lasting happiness? The answer to that question in our lives is a resounding no. Our happiness fades. We look for it in the wrong things. Things don’t provide what they promise to. Products fail, people let us down, feelings stop. God doesn’t just want us to be happy - He, first, wants us to be holy. Oswald Chambers shares that, “Holiness, not happiness, is the chief end of man.” God wants us to find JOY in Him and that starts with understanding His holiness and His plan for us.

The fundamental problem facing us in this process is our sin. Our sin separates us from God and the book of Hebrews has been addressing this reality the last few chapters we’ve studied. On our own, we don’t have access to God because of our sin. We have a fallen, sinful heart that craves the wrong things. We prioritize our happiness over our holiness. We do things our way, not God’s way. Where’s the hope in this fallen world? How can we gain access to God? How can we find TRUE happiness and unending joy? Through Jesus Christ. Through Jesus we gain access to the Father. As we continue our study of Hebrews this morning, we’re in chapter 9 and we’re going to unpack more of what Jesus has done for us as He provides us with security and salvation once and for all.

Hebrews 9:1–14 CSB

1 Now the first covenant also had regulations for ministry and an earthly sanctuary. 2 For a tabernacle was set up, and in the first room, which is called the holy place, were the lampstand, the table, and the presentation loaves. 3 Behind the second curtain was a tent called the most holy place. 4 It had the gold altar of incense and the ark of the covenant, covered with gold on all sides, in which was a gold jar containing the manna, Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. 5 The cherubim of glory were above the ark overshadowing the mercy seat. It is not possible to speak about these things in detail right now. 6 With these things prepared like this, the priests enter the first room repeatedly, performing their ministry. 7 But the high priest alone enters the second room, and he does that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. 8 The Holy Spirit was making it clear that the way into the most holy place had not yet been disclosed while the first tabernacle was still standing. 9 This is a symbol for the present time, during which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the worshiper’s conscience. 10 They are physical regulations and only deal with food, drink, and various washings imposed until the time of the new order. 11 But Christ has appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come. In the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands (that is, not of this creation), 12 he entered the most holy place once for all time, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow, sprinkling those who are defiled, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works so that we can serve the living God?

Lots of regulations here, especially early on in Hebrews 9, as we see the sacrifices offered under the Old Covenant. Is anyone else thankful for Jesus after reading this? Because of what Jesus has done, you and I can approach our Father in heaven, not because of our goodness or awesomeness, but because of His holiness and righteousness! Today as we study from God’s Word, I want to simply ask you this question: Do you have this access today? Has Jesus changed your heart and provided you with access to the Father in heaven? If your answer is no, understand that today that can change and it’s all because of the love and grace of Jesus Christ.

Before Christ, There was Separation (1-10)

In 2017, David Brooks wrote in a New York Times article that, “religion may be in retreat, but guilt is as powerfully present as ever.” We live in a country where fewer and fewer people claim to be followers of Jesus Christ and fewer and fewer attend church. To an outsider, it appears as though religion may be on the retreat and it’s not as common and popular anymore. Some say that Christianity is outdated just like the Bible and it doesn’t matter anymore. Some say that you can be just as good a person without Jesus as a Christian, so what’s the point in going to church or being a Christian? Many believe that there is power in self and being by oneself rather than committing yourself to a group like the body of Christ. They argue that there is more freedom in that sense. True freedom, our world argues, is found in being true to self. The problem that we all experience, though, is that we still feel guilt. Even when we do things the way we think we should, we still leave feeling guilty.

We all know what it’s like to feel guilty about something. There was a story that made national news several years ago about a man who failed to pay a parking ticket and felt guilty about it and he sent in the money to the police department to clear his conscience. Maybe this doesn’t seem that shocking - but whenever you read the storyline and realize that the ticket was from 1974, more than 40 years ago, suddenly you see the significance! This man felt guilty for something he had done over 40 years ago and he eventually couldn’t cleanse his conscience anymore so he paid the ticket. Friends, we can’t escape our guilty conscience - but people have tried to cope with it in a lot of different ways. Some try to solve the matter of a guilty conscience by doing good deeds. This guilt leads people to do different things, though. Some break a law or do something wrong and feel no guilt on the one extreme, while others look at their lives and into their hearts and only feel guilt for the things they’ve done. Guilt is a problem that we all face to varying degrees but it persists nonetheless. What is the solution to this problem? The solution is to see the purpose of guilt. What could that purpose be? Consider a check engine light on a car, what is its purpose? To turn on whenever there might be a problem and alert you of potential danger. What do you do whenever that light turns on? Some of y’all do absolutely nothing at all… but we all should understand that we need to get it checked out. Guilt is the same way. It is there for a reason and the reason is that we would search out an answer to solve our guilty conscience.

Where could we find that answer? God’s Word provides the solution to that problem. In Hebrews we see that the answer to our sinful condition is Jesus Christ. For the people in Hebrews, Jewish Christians, there would’ve been a temptation to find assurance and atonement in the law and in their works - just as some are tempted to place their confidence and assurance in their works today as well. Hebrews 8 shared last week that this doesn’t work, though, and Hebrews 9 picks up with the same logic. There were regulations and stipulations and obligations with the first covenant and the way that the people could worship God. The reason for this is because God is holy and sin separates us from the holiness and presence of God. God sets up worship in the Old Testament to glorify Himself and to protect His covenant people. Look with me at a passage in Leviticus 10 to see the severity of ignoring God’s regulations for worship

Leviticus 10:1–2 CSB

1 Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his own firepan, put fire in it, placed incense on it, and presented unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them to do. 2 Then fire came from the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.

These two individuals did something that went against God’s regulation for worship and they died - now, can you imagine if that’s how worship worked today? You sing off key and zap, you’re gone? You drink too much coffee before worship and you have to get up 3x during service to go to the bathroom and on the 3rd time, zap, you’re gone? God’s Word is clear that worship is a serious thing, but by God’s grace we know that because of Jesus we don’t have to be fearful for our lives whenever we come to worship our God.

God gave specific instructions for this tabernacle - there was a lampstand in the first room as well as a table with bread, and then in the second room, the most holy room or the holy of holies, you had the ark of the covenant, a golden jar with Aaron’s rod and manna, the 10 commandments, and beautiful things that the preacher of Hebrews says he can’t even speak about. Here’s what we see in this place of worship in the Old Covenant. The tabernacle and the temple restricted where God’s people could go. Let’s imagine this with our church here at FBC Salem - you have certain areas where everyone can go. Everyone can go to the Family Life Center. Some men could go into the Welcome Center. Priests could come into the sanctuary. Only the high priest could go to the pulpit. Aren’t you thankful that things are different now?

This tabernacle was portable and as the Israelites wandered through the wilderness, they could still offer sacrifices to God and the presence of God would be with them… but because of their sin, the people couldn’t just come in. There was separation, with the exception of the 1x per year when the high priest went in and offered a sacrifice for the people on the Day of Atonement. We read that he has to offer this blood sacrifice for his own sins in the presence of God and the sins of others. Hebrews 9 uses the phrase sins committed in ignorance. Let’s process this together. Sin is anything we think, say, do, or don’t do that displeases God and goes against His Word and we’re all guilty of this… What is a sin of ignorance? Say you’re from another country and you’re here in the United States and you think that red on the stoplight means “go” and “green” means stop. You might not know the law, but you still broke it and you still can get a ticket even though you can plead ignorance - you still ran a red light. What about a sin not committed in ignorance, though? In 30-40 minutes, I’ll be driving down to Branson for my sister-in-laws wedding and I’ll probably use my cruise control… what if I set that to 5 over, like I know some of you do too? Well that’s not a sin of ignorance, that’s a sin of commission. I’m committing to doing something that’s breaking the law of the land and we’re all guilty of that type of sin! See, the sacrifices offered by the high priest could only help the sins committed in ignorance - do you see how this is problematic? That’s like 25% of our sins… what about the remaining 75%? No hope there. God is still holy and we are still stuck in our sin and separated from His presence.

But, by the grace of God, we see in the second part of our passage that God has something better in store and this is found in the New Covenant brought about by the work of Jesus Christ. Jesus brings His people into the presence of God, no more separation…

Because of Christ, There is Celebration (11-14)

Think of the storyline of Scripture in the Old Testament. You have creation where all is perfect and unimprovable… but then you have sin enter the world and cause problems as Adam and Eve disobey God’s commands and are kicked out of Eden. Brokenness enters the world and even today, we see brokenness. We see heartache. We see trouble. We see suffering. We see injustice. We see chaos. As the Old Testament continues on after Genesis 3, we see much brokenness. Violence. Hatred. Murder. Idolatry. Greed. Pride. The list goes on! It seems like things are bad and only getting worse - have you ever been in a situation like that? You don’t hear your alarm, so you get up late and don’t have time to get ready like you’d normally do because you’re in a rush. You forget to brush your teeth. You forget your phone at home. You get in your car but forgot to close the garage door. You get to work and realize that you also forgot your the notes for the presentation you are making. It’s like a snowball picking up speed and debris as it races down the mountainside and it’s all getting worse. In that moment where you’re about to lose all hope and have a panic attack of sorts, someone comes up to you and says, “Hey, I’ve got this presentation. You don’t need to worry anymore.” In the middle of a stressful morning, that moment changes everything in your day. As we think of the state of humanity in the Old Testament, we see things getting worse and worse. Yet, into this dark world, we see that Jesus came and does something remarkable as John 1:14 tells us

John 1:14 CSB

14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Literally, Jesus tabernacled with us just as the people of God built a tabernacle where the presence of God would be with them, Jesus is this for His people. He dwelt with His people in the flesh. The two words at the start of Hebrews 9:11 change everything. We have a guilty conscience - but God. We fall short - but God. We have sinned - but God. We are at fault - but God. Jesus Christ changes everything. He changes our hearts. He changes our stories. He changes our future. He changes our past. Think of how Jesus Christ has changed you. John Newton was a leading slave trader nearly 250 years ago. He profited by selling slaves and did this for years and years. One day he was reading a Bible and came under conviction from some of his actions but the slave trade was not one of them as he continued in that for years. Eventually, the Holy Spirit convicted him of that and he repented. He said this at that time, “I was once an active instrument in a business at which my heart now shudders.” Newton would go on to pen the most wellknown song in the world, “Amazing Grace” where he would describe himself as a wretch who was once lost and blind… but now he is found and he can see. What changed in the life of John Newton? Well, Jesus changed his heart. How can Jesus, who walked this earth 2000 years ago, chance hearts today? That sounds like a fairytale. Consider what Scripture teaches about this Jesus - Christ is our high priest in the greater tabernacle - meaning this: Jesus isn’t dead and gone, He’s alive and active! Jesus still changes lives because Jesus is still Lord and Savior. There’s a newer song that every Christian should know and we’ll learn sometime soon as a church called “Yet Not I But Through Christ in Me” and one of the verses reminds us of this saving truth.

To this I hold, my sin has been defeated Jesus now and ever is my plea Oh the chains are released, I can sing, "I am free" Yet not I, but through Christ in me

I pray that this is your story - that your chains have been released because of Jesus Christ and you can sing “I AM FREE”

Because, just as Jesus Christ changed John Newton’s heart 250 years ago, Jesus Christ still changes the hearts of people today. If you are here and you think that you are a Christian, but you haven’t been changed by the power of Jesus Christ, then you are fooling yourself and others, but you will not fool Christ. He must change you! How can He do this? Through His blood. In the Old Testament, the high priests would go into the holy of holies 1x per year and people would be waiting for him to return because that meant that the sacrifice was completed and the people would go on with their days but the priest would get right back to work. He couldn’t go back to the most holy place again for another year because of his own sin and the sins of his people and because his sacrifice wasn’t sufficient for more than that. But this is not what Jesus does. Look with me in verses 11-12 at Jesus’ sacrifice

So what does Jesus do? 3 things:

Jesus enters a better place

Jesus doesn’t go into a tabernacle made by human hands to offer a sacrifice like the high priest does - Jesus enters the most holy place in the perfect tabernacle in heaven. That’s quite the contrast!

Jesus offers a better sacrifice

Jesus doesn’t offer the blood of bulls and goats that cannot take away sins - He offers Himself and sheds His own blood in our place on the cross.

Jesus gives a better redemption

The result of Jesus doing this is that we, as Christians, obtain eternal redemption through His sacrifice in our place. Jesus took names to the cross and He took names to glory too! Based on our works, we deserve eternal separation from God, but because of Jesus, we receive eternal celebration WITH God! This is good news and the result of redemption and this redemption is only found through Jesus Christ. See, only Jesus is qualified to save sinners from their sins.

Consider the hope that Jesus gives to us today. So many in our world are stressed out about their standing before others and their standing before God because they’re worried about their works. I hope my good outweighs my bad. I hope that I’ve done enough. I hope that I’ve done enough to earn this free gift of salvation… Do you see the problem with that statement? We want to earn something that we could never earn. We want to feel like we’ve done enough to deserve heaven and salvation because we want credit. We want things to be fair. It’s fair for a good person to get into heaven because they’re good, right? As we read in Hebrews and throughout the Bible, we find the opposite. Happy people don’t always go to heaven, holy people who find their joy in Jesus do.

This is God’s purpose in our lives - to make us holy. This requires Him to draw us away from the desires and things of this world and towards Himself and the things that He has in store for us. As Christians, we get from God what we could never deserve or earn because Christ got from us what we deserved. Romans 3:23-25

Romans 3:23–25 CSB

23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as the mercy seat by his blood, through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed.

So often it’s easy to skip over this in church life… I’m going to be honest with you all this morning - this has been a long week and my sister-in-law is getting married in just a few hours in Branson. I’m tired. Many of you are in the same boat. You’re tired. You’re struggling. Some of you are here and you’re having difficulty with guilt. It’s so easy to skip over what Jesus has done and take it for granted. But we can’t afford to do that this morning. We have all sinned and broken God’s law. We can’t change what the Bible says and we can’t water things down. Our situation doesn’t change, even if we change names and titles. God’s standard doesn’t change either. AW Tozer once shared this, “Much of our difficulty stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly. We insist upon trying to modify Him and bring Him nearer to our own image.” If you are here and you are trying to modify God to fit your image and your preferences, then you have changed God and you are not worshipping the God of Scripture but a god of your own making and that god is powerless to save. We must take God as He is and as He has revealed Himself to us and we must rejoice at what Jesus has done. We must worship Him as He demands to be worshipped. There are days where we might not feel particularly good - but in those moments, Jesus still deserves our praise!

Regardless of how we might feel on a day in and day out basis, we have so many reasons to celebrate as Christians. Let’s consider 3 from our text this morning:

We celebrate because we have access to God

We celebrate because we have forgiveness of sins

We celebrate because we have eternal salvation

Think about these amazing gifts from Jesus! Salvation, forgiveness, access to God and the list goes on. Think of the access Jesus gives us. As your pastor, I try to be as accessible as I can be - genuinely! You can ask the staff this question, my office door is open about 98% of the time and the 2% of the time that it’s closed is likely because of a meeting or because I need quiet time to pray and study. When the door is shut there are emergencies from time to time, but our staff understands that its rare for my door to be closed, so it’s probably not a good time to come in and start up a conversation that isn’t an emergency. Now, this goes out the window with my son, Gabriel. When Gabriel is at the church throughout the week and he wants to come into dad’s office, Gabriel will barge in whether the door is open or not. Why would he think he has the right to do that? Why would that be ok for him? Because he’s my son and even if I’m in a meeting that’s important - he’s my son and seeing him and hearing his voice puts a smile on my face, especially on long, draining days. Get this: Because of what Jesus has done, we’re not stuck behind a door. We’re not stuck on the other side of the veil in the temple! Jesus Christ ripped that to shreds whenever He sacrificed Himself in our place on the cross. Jesus has given us unhindered access to our Father. God is still holy, that will never change, He still demands to be worshipped in a certain way, but Christ paid the price for our salvation and we can run to the Father whenever we want to dressed in Christ’s perfect righteousness. He has given us His Spirit, He hears us whenever we call to Him, and it’s all because of what Jesus has done! We see in this text that God desires people to approach Him. It is in His presence that we find wholeness and hope and life everlasting.

The result of the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross in the life of a Christian is a life of service to Jesus. We don’t work to save ourselves, we work and serve and obey Christ because we have been saved! Our guilty conscience is no more - it’s been wiped clean! God has written His laws on our hearts and changed us from within. Therefore, we come to our Father with a blank check, knowing that He has given us all that we have, and we ask Him to fill out that check however He see’s fit. We serve Him and we worship Him and we tell others about Him because He has saved us and He has changed us.

Have you been changed by the blood of Jesus Christ? Has Jesus forgiven you from your sins? Has He saved you? If your answer is yes to those questions, understand that His blood won’t wear out or wash off. It’s been applied to your account and it grants you access to your Father. It took blood for Adam and Eve out of Eden. It took blood for the Israelites out of Egypt. It takes blood to get sinners out of their sin - but the blood of Jesus alone is what gets us into heaven. Aren’t you thankful for this blood?

If this is your story, ask yourself this: Am I serving Him today? Based on how I live my life and the things that I say and the things that I do, am I serving Jesus well? Maybe your answer is no. I’m not serving Jesus - then, friend, start! Maybe your answer is no, I don’t know Jesus as Lord and Savior - then, friend, repent of your sins and trust in Christ and be changed by Him! Maybe your answer is a “maybe” - you’re here and you’re trying to figure out where you stand. You’ve worked hard. You want to be happy. But you still feel guilty and uncertain about tomorrow and you want something more than what you’ve experienced in this life. Friend, understand that true joy is found in surrendering our all to Jesus and following Him each day of our lives. Jesus alone can cleanse your conscience and save your soul. Repent of your sins and trust in Christ today - I’d love to talk with you about that decision after we pray. Come to Jesus, and be satisfied! God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him. Come to Jesus today!