The Pattern of Prayer Through the Tabernacle (Pt. 1)
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And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the Lord went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp.
Intro: Let’s speak very candidly about the Tabernacle for a moment. As we read our Bible, we see it as a place that holds a lot of ritual, and ceremony, and if I can just be honest a lot of burden. There is a reason for this, however: it was a reminder to man, that no matter what man tried to do, they could never accomplish that which was required of them.
The Tabernacle was a picture of better things to come, and a study of the Tabernacle we very quickly come to understanding that all of the details given to Moses were not at random, but where after a pattern.
According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.
And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.
And this work of the candlestick was of beaten gold, unto the shaft thereof, unto the flowers thereof, was beaten work: according unto the pattern which the Lord had shewed Moses, so he made the candlestick.
So if something is a pattern of something else, it should tell us that there is an original somewhere. The Bible tells us where that original is...
Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
We understand that the Old Testament was written for our learning...
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
We also understand that we do not seek a physical Tabernacle, but if we were to translated to heaven right now, we would see that heavenly Tabernacle… What I would like to do to that is preach on the pattern of prayer that we see through the physical Tabernacle as we approach boldly that throne of grace where we find mercy.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
Do we realize that that throne of grace where we obtain mercy is the mercy seat in the Tabernacle in heaven? Our goal this morning is to consider the first three elements of the Tabernacle as a pattern of prayer and then continue those tonight through the Holy Place and Most Holy Place.
Gate & Court: Made up of four pillars… A gate is a door… Our New Testament begins with four gospel accounts projecting Christ as, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham, the Son of man, and the Son of God.
Of David making Him heir to David’s throne.
Of Abraham, making Him rightful owner of the promised land.
Of man, (the name used most (84) times in the gospel accounts) fulfilling the Old Testament prophecy and ones still to come.
Son of God, the Word manifest, and the fulness of the Godhead bodily… Mighty to save...
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,
And into his courts with praise:
Be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
Practically, this is the largest portion of the Tabernacle, and should occupy much of our prayer! Our father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name...
Brazen Alter: For a moment, let's go back to the physical Tabernacle in the OT. As we walk through the gate and into the court, we immediately hear the crackling of a burning fire, we feel the heat upon our face, and the smoke begins to burn our eyes, and we smell the smell of the burning sacrifice upon the brazen altar.
Physically, this is obviously the place of sacrifice, and in our prayer, this is the place of our yielding sacrifice...
It’s neat that upon entering the presence of the Lord, we are immediately met with the very thing that permitted our access in the first place. And, of course, that wasn’t through the sacrifice of animals but the sacrifice of our Saviour on the cross, which is the greatest sacrifice ever offered in the history of this world. And when we are faced with this in our prayer, we are brought to the Scriptures…
Philippians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
And all at once, we are reminded that we were once at enmity with God… But...
Colossians 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
And that by dying on the cross, what He did for me…
Colossians 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
That long list that hung over our heads, that we were indebted to, and was a list that we could never pay for with our own merit. When we received Christ’s sacrifice as our own, he took out his paid-in-full stamp, dipped it in the ink of His blood, and applied it to every single line that stood against us… Everything that counted you and I as a sinner, everything that required us to die, an eternal death.
And do you know what else He did when He saved us?
Ephesians 2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
It is because of Christ, and by Christ, that we have access. So, when we come to God’s presence by prayer, we come through the gate by way of the cross. We are reminded of why He died there, and we are reminded that it wasn’t just because the world is sinful, but it’s more personal than that… It was because I am sinful, and it was my sin that brought Him to that cross. And that if no one else had ever sinned, but I was a sinner, Christ would have died just for me… Here, I am met with the grim reality. that…
It was my sin that scourged Him...
It was my sin that cut deep into His flesh with every passing blow of that whip...
It was my sin, that wound, that thorny crown of thorns...
It was my sin that then drove it into his brow...
It was my sin that he bore upon His back as He carried His cross to Golgotha...
It was my sin that took those nails that were to be driven into His hands and His feet...
It was my sin that picked up that hammer...
It was my sin that took those blows, which nailed the God of this universe to that wooden cross.
It was my sin that dug the hole that His cross would be dropped into...
It was my sin that picked that cross up off the ground as Saviour of the world hung there on it and dropped into that hole...
It was my sin, that was those voices that ridiculed Him and mocked Him as He suffered...
It was under the weight of my sin that the Holy Lamb of God could no longer lift Himself to take another breath.
It was my sin; that was the tip of the spear that pierced His heart by which the last drops of blood could drip from His lifeless body into the basin of that altar.
You see, it was my sin that took the life of Life Himself…
And it is here at the altar of sacrifice that we don’t just tip our hat, but we personally take responsibility that my sin put Him there. And that if I were the only one that needed a Saviour, He would have willingly died just for me… And now, in seeing just how personal His sacrifice on the cross was for me, I come in absolute humility, and I cry out to God and say… “Oh God, that cross is not a place that you ever deserved to be, but it is the place that I still deserve to be…
And it is here that we are reminded that Christ’s sacrifice on that cross was through His obedience and submission to His Father. We are reminded of the night in the garden when He sweat drops of blood as He prayed, not my will, but thine...
And it is through this that we are again brought back to the Scriptures…
Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
I am brought back to this truth...
That the cross was an instrument of His death that brought me life, and that spiritually it is here that He now intends for that same cross to be the instrument of my death, that now gives Him life...
2 Corinthians 4:10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
It gives a whole new context to...
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Practically, in prayer, what does this look like?
We remember the cross and just how personal it really was… We see that in our necessity Christ gave us life in dying, and so we seek to do the same for Him! We yield our members…
This means we yield and present them before the Lord in prayer, our hands and our feet because they represent my service and my walk with Him, and more than anything, I want to do what He wants me to do, and go where He wants me to go… And I extend my hands and my feet to receive those nails because I know it isn’t about me working for Him, but Him working through me...
And as the process of my Crucifixion is now underway...
I bow my head in preparation to receive the crown of thorns and present my head unto the Lord, representing my will. I yield my will to God because He knows what is best and because His way is perfect...
I present my lips and ears because they represent what I say and hear… I only want say those things that are pleasing to Him and I only want to hear, those things that He wants me to hear…
I yield and present my eyes because they represent my desires…
And as that crown of thorns is pressed into my brow, I present and yield my brain because it represents my thinking, and I want God to be pre-eminent in my mind.
And then lastly, as that spear pierces my side, I present and yield my heart because it represents my motive. And I don’t want to take a single step that is motivated by me… And I remember what the Psalmist said…
The Brazen Laver: It is important that we see the significance of this place! Because of the truth here at the brazen laver, my prayer is that each of us would open our hearts to what God intends for us here. It is a place where, prayerfully, we will really come to grips with some truths that are taught in the Scriptures concerning our walk with the Lord!
The brazen laver is a water basin; that it was intended to be where the priest would wash their hands and feet before entering the tent of the Tabernacle. For the priests, it was a ceremonial cleansing, purifying, and sanctifying of themselves before the Lord and before they entered the HOLY PLACE! Before entering that place, the priest was required to enter with clean hands and feet, which represented a pure walk, a purity of service, and a purified heart!
As we consider the brazen laver, we are reminded that through all of this, our sins were forgiven at the brazen altar, and we were saved from our sins because of what Christ did on the cross! I still have flesh, and whenever I do not crucify that flesh through the sacrificial yielding and presenting it before the Lord in my time of prayer at the brazen altar. I will give into its desires and lusts. The reality is that as Christians, when we walk in our flesh, we are reminded very quickly that the flesh is not yet saved, and those sins that we talked about last week that put Christ on that cross in the first place, are still very much alive and well through our flesh.
I want to be as clear as I can about this… Positionally, when we came to the cross of Calvary, we received forgiveness for our sins, and positionally, when God looks at us, He sees the righteousness of Christ! Positionally, we stand as the Bible says,
Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
And listen from a positional standpoint. We should praise God, thank Him for His grace, and give much consideration to the blessing that it is to be where we are because none of us deserve it!
But then, from a practical standpoint, the fact is that many of our sins from our past still creep up from time to time. Practically, we have times of weakness, feeding our flesh and committing the same sins that held us captive all those years that we walked in darkness as a child of the devil. Not every time, but some of the time, but listen, when I am weak, I may overcome the indulgence of that sin, but the desire to indulge in that sin is absolutely still there.
On the one hand, we find ourselves rejoicing, thanking, and praising Christ for dying for our sins! On the other hand, we’re in a dog fight every day, not to go back and commit the very sins that put Christ on the cross in the first place...
Here is why the laver is such an important part of us coming into the presence of God. It is where all that gets sorted out and needs to be sorted out! We are talking about personal holiness! The laver is the place where our lives get reckoned before God.
2 Corinthians 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Ephesians 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Did you notice that this sanctifying and cleansing is not with His blood? That is because we have already received that cleansing! The laver is here to remind us that we need to allow ourselves to be cleansed and sanctified by washing water of His word!
Isn’t it great that we don’t have to go to that physical laver, but it is through Christ and by His word that we are made clean!
Let’s do another visual… We must use our imagination again… We entered the gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; we yielded and presented our members at the brazen altar, and as we get up off our knees, and look before the tent of the Tabernacle we see the brazen laver. As we approach it, we see that it has water in it, and as we stand over it, we look into the water and see a reflection, but it isn’t what I normally see when I look into a mirror. I see myself differently because it is here that I see myself as God sees me…
And in seeing what God sees, I see the filth in my life that I didn’t notice was there before when it was my view, and as those sins are exposed, the Spirit of the Lord reproves me and corrects me, and when I respond to His working correctly it results in me being cleansed!
Practically here is what happening at the brazen Laver.
1. We see our sin the way that God sees it!!
2. We say about our sin what God says about it!!
As we stand and look into the laver, we realize that this process is deeper than just looking at the reflection, but it is here that we dip our hands into that water. We dive into His word, begin to see what God says about our specific sins, and call it the same thing that God calls it.
Now, let’s consider the laver in all of this. What if we came to the Lord through the brazen laver? Because when we do, our prayer will look more like this…
Lord, here at the laver of your word, I see my sin through your eyes, and I am going to say about my sin what you say. Lord, my sin of lust means that I am an adulterer and Lord, you even see further than just that, but Lord, not only am I an adulterer, but I am an idolater.
Do you see how seeing it as God does, and saying about it what God does, changes the urgency and the necessity of our being washed and cleansed from that filthiness?
Now, let’s consider the laver in all of this. What if we came to the Lord through the brazen laver? Because when we do, our prayer will look more like this…
Lord, here at the laver of your word, I see my sin through your eyes, and I am going to say about my sin what you say. Lord, my sin of lust means that I am an adulterer and Lord, you even see further than just that, but Lord, not only am I an adulterer, but I am an idolater.
Do you see how seeing it as God does, and saying about it what God does, changes the urgency and the necessity of our being washed and cleansed from that filthiness?
3. We do with our sin what God says to do with it!
1 Cor. 7:1 Tells us to cleanse ourselves of it!
Col. 3:8-9 Tells us to put it off!
Romans 6:1 Tells us no longer to continue in it!
Romans 6:2,11 Tells us to die to it!
Romans 6:12 Tells us to no longer allow it to reign!
Romans 6:13 Tells us to no longer yield ourselves to it.
Romans 6:16, 20 Tells us to no longer serve it!
Romans 8:2 Tells us to apply the law of the Spirit of life in Christ to free us from it!
1 Cor. 15:34 Tells us to awake to righteousness so we sin not!
1 John 2:12 Tells us to accept His forgiveness for it!
That’s what God says that we are to do with it! And so, in coming to the laver, what happens to us is we begin to get as serious about our sin as God is! And listen to me, please… Be truthful with yourself here. Because we will one day all find out that as we stand before Him at the judgment seat of Christ. That we stand there and that it isn’t about our standing positionally because no matter what the judgment seat of Christ reveals we are still saved, but that it is all about our standing practically…
As we prepare to get into that throne room, let us be cleansed first… Garbage…
In the Lord's model prayer this is where we do not pray using vain repetitions that think that our prayers are heard through much speaking, but where we seek forgiveness for our debts, which we can’t do without also forgiving our debtors.
The Bible tells us,
2 Corinthians 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
That is done at the laver and the last thing we must see is…
“…let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness...”
The laver is more than just a mirror that exposes the filth; it is more than just dipping our hands into that water; it is about our response to what God shows us there and what God says to us there. The laver is all about the application of that water, which is done by taking what God has shown us through His word and allowing Him to apply it to our life and cleanse us by it!
