The Tale of the Temple

Today I want to tell you a tale. It is more than a story, more than folklore, and more than legend. It is tale from days of old, a tale of One that makes all things new. It is a tale the world does not understand; a tale that is nonetheless true. It is the tale that answers the question… why did He die for me? Today… I tell you the Tale of Two Temple. And be mindful for as this tale is told… things are more than they appear.

It was a beautiful day. It was a day like you and I have never experienced before. All was right. All was… perfect. All had been declared by God to be good… and this is where we begin our tale today.

In six days, God created all that we know. He spoke it into existence. And at the top of His creative achievements were Adam and Eve… a man and woman… who were given the ability to choose… the ability to make decisions… the ability to obey or disobey.

Adam and Eve had but one command to follow. God had given them EVERYTHING except access to two trees: The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The rest of creation had been given to them by God to steward and to take care of.

We know this story well… influenced and persuaded by a creature of darkness… Eve decided to disobey the Lord. After doing so, Adam did the same… and both were now in new territory - a territory God had hoped they would never enter in. For they had sinned against God… and they were about to experience sin’s terrible consequence.

Adam and Eve scrambled to create coverings for themselves for they realized they were naked… they desired to cover their shame. But the worse was yet to come.

I would offer the most tragic Scripture in all the Bible tells this tale…

Before all of this took place, all was perfect. Before all of this took place, there existed no sin, no shame, and no reason to hide. But now… their eyes had been opened.

As God walked through the garden… instead of running to His presence, Adam and Eve found a hiding place among the trees. So God called out to them saying, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9) to which Adam responded, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so i hid.” (Genesis 3:10)

Afraid. Naked. In hiding. This was Adam and Eve’s new reality… a reality brought on by sin. A reality that separated them from the presence of God and placed them in hiding. A reality… they could not fix on their own for what had been done… could not be undone… without paying the price.

For me… Genesis 3:9-10 are the most tragic verses in all the Bible. For they speak of the separation that is caused by sin.

Like oil and water… God’s righteousness and the unrighteousness of sin cannot mix. Light and dark cannot coexist. When sin entered this world… a separation was formed between God and His creation… and Genesis 3 shows the effects of this separation… mankind hid from the presence of God - but take notice of something very important: God called the sinners out of hiding. God made new coverings for them - coverings made from animal skins - blood was spilt on the behalf of the sinners. A foreshadowing of things that were yet to come.

And it was from this moment on that mankind was isolated from the presence of God. God was present… but His presence was found only within a special setting. Beginning first within the tabernacle and then moving to the temple, the Holy of Holies was where God’s presence could be found. A veil… a very thick and sturdy curtain, separated the room from the rest of the Temple. It was the barrier… the divider between the Holy God… and the unholy people.

The Temple served as a place of worship… a place of sacrifice and atonement. But it also served as a visual and physical reminder of the separation that existed between God and the people. God WAS NOT HIDING. The people knew where He was. Yet… because of their sin… they had NO ACCESS TO HIM.

They didn’t have what was required… the price to undo what had been done was too much. No earthly resource could mend the separation sin had created between God and His creation… Was creation doomed to forever be isolated from the presence of God? No… for God had destined His Son… to take on our separation… and to deal with it once and for all.

As He rode into Jerusalem… Jesus was met with celebration and shouts of Hosanna! (John 12:12) People laid down their cloaks and waved palm branches for their Savior… their Messiah had arrived!

Many though Jesus had come to overthrow a corrupt government. Many thought Jesus had come to restore the nation of Israel. Many thought Jesus had come to restore the throne room of David. But Jesus had come… to restore our broken fellowship with God the Father. And only one thing could accomplish such a restoration… the blood of the spotless Lamb had to be shed.

Now condemned and crucified upon the top of Calvary’s hill, Jesus was in the process of giving His life as a ransom for many.

He took our sins… and nailed them to the cross. He took our condemnation… and nailed it to the cross. He took our suffering, our brokenness… and nailed it to the cross. And with it all… he took on our separation… and as He did he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). In this moment… Jesus felt the presence of His Father leave Him for as Jesus took on our sin… He also took on our separation, our broken fellowship with God, with Him.

And when Jesus breathed His last… the price had been paid IN FULL. And when the payment had been made, the room where God’s presence was transformed. The veil, “the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:52). God’s presence was no longer isolated to a special room. In His death… Jesus took on the separation caused by sin… and dealt with it once and for all. The Temple… would never be the same again.

If God’s presence left the Temple… where did His presence go? Where would people go to find God? God was not hiding… but in fact, through Christ… was calling all sinners to come out from their hiding places.

The Truth of the Tale

it was NEVER God’s desire to isolate His presence within a temple. It was NEVER God’s desire for a separation to exist between Himself and mankind. In their choosing to sin… Adam and Eve brought to the world a separation that could only be restored by the blood of Christ. And thus… God’s redemptive plan was placed into motion - and that plan remains in motion to this very day.

God DESIRES to restore His fellowship with ALL PEOPLE.

This is more than an assumed conclusion… this is biblical truth. God desires to restore His fellowship with ALL PEOPLE. That restoration comes through redemption. That redemption comes through repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 assures us that God is “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” And God made the way… God paid the price… and that payment was CONFIRMED the moment the veil within the Temple was torn in two.

While talking to His disciples, Jesus made clear that He was the way back to the Father. He told them in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Coming to the Father is coming back into fellowship with God. This is something that cannot be done without the help of Jesus. HIS BLOOD was shed for those who would believe in Him. His blood washes and cleanses those who choose repentance. And once your sins are washed out… the presence of God can now move in!

Remember… the message title is the tale of the temple - the temple being the place in which the presence of God can be found.

Remember also the question I asked a moment ago… when the veil was ripped in half, where did God go? God did not go into hiding or leave this earth… He instead filled the hearts of those who believe with His presence! How can such a thing happen? Because Jesus… through His death on the cross… took on our separation and restored our fellowship with God! The people of God became the temple… the place in which His Spirit now dwells!

So why is this significant? Why is this a game changer? Because God, through the blood of His Son, restored what sin had broken. Believers can now experience the fullness of His presence!

The shame of our sin now covered with the blood of Christ. The payment for our sin is fully satisfied through the giving of Jesus’ life.

In Christ we find forgiveness. Through Christ we are justified or made righteous in the eyes of God. WE TAKE ON THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST!

As sin separates us from the presence of God, the blood of Jesus restores our fellowship with God. The blood of Christ does what we could not do. A person cannot undo their sin… a person must have their sin washed away by the blood of the Lamb!

Our fellowship is restored when we choose to respond to God’s calling. God is calling out to those in darkness… God is calling out to those in hiding to come out of the dark and into His marvelous light.

How is it that God is calling out to sinners? He calls out through the message of the cross. He calls out through those who are found.

Just as God called out to Adam and Eve in the Garden… God is calling out to ALL sinners through the giving of His Son to COME HOME. Leave your sin behind you and come home.

When Adam and Eve came out of hiding… they had to accept the new covering God had made for them. After the initial confrontation of truth… God provided… and they accepted the animal skin God prepared for them.

Here’s the deal, church… I feel many are hearing the call… and only pretending to come out of darkness. Our restored fellowship with God has to be more than a claim… it has to be confirmed in our walk.

Jesus’s victory over sin was CONFIRMED the moment the veil in the temple was torn in two. Darkness lost the fight that day!

How we live our lives CONFIRMS whether or not our fellowship with God has been restored. Our walk CONFIRMS whether or not the Spirit of God has moved into our hearts.

1 John 1:5 reads, “5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

Our walk with God… our fellowship with the Father… MUST BE MORE THAN A CLAIM.

If it’s all talk, the Bible says it’s a lie. We cannot “respond” to the call of God and continue to walk in darkness. Your walk confirms the truth. Your walk confirms who you fellowship with… and WHO YOU ARE HIDING FROM.

Jesus Invites All to Walk in the Light

In order for the blood of Jesus to purify a person from their sins… that person must hear the call of God and accept the new covering being offered through Christ. By accepting that new covering, that person chooses to come out of hiding, and to remain in the light of Christ.

The sin in the Garden of Eden brought death to this world… death to all who would remain hidden from the presence of God.

But Pastor, you don’t understand! I’ve been looking for God all my life and I cannot find Him! I’m not the one hiding, GOD IS HIDING FROM ME!

Here’s the truth… and this one might hurt a bit… YOU WILL NEVER FIND GOD IN THE DARK THINGS OF THIS WORLD. Too many try to do things their way… too many try to go down their own path… but the Bible makes it VERY CLEAR - the only path that leads back to the Father is through Jesus Christ His Son!

Jesus took on our separation that we could be reconnected to the Father! Jesus was forsaken on the cross so our fellowship with God could be restored!

Those who believe… become the temple! Those who believe become the dwelling place of God’s Spirit! Those who walk in the light as He is in the light have fellowship with God and with the family of God! But the key… once again… is we must respond to the call of God to come out of hiding!

God wants NO ONE to perish. God wants ALL to come to repentance. God is calling out to the lost of this world… God is calling out to all who would hear… WHERE ARE YOU? I’M HERE AND HAVE SUPPLIED A COVERING FOR YOUR SIN! COME OUT OF HIDING! COME OUT OF YOUR SHAME! REPENT AND COME BACK TO INTO FELLOWSHIP WITH ME!

Will you come back into His light?

First, you have to come to terms with your reality. You have to understand that… all have sinned and fall short of His glory.

1 John 1:8 reads 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

If we claim to be without sin… then we deny our need for a Savior and will ignore God’s call to come out of hiding.

Second, we have to accept that new covering that God has provided. We come under the blood of the Lamb.

This happens as we repent - repentance acknowledges our sins, realizes our need for a Savior, and through that Savior receives forgiveness.

And once that new covering is applied… YOU BECOME THE TEMPLE… GOD’S SPIRIT WILL NOW MAKE YOUR HEART HIS DWELLING PLACE!

Will you answer the call? Will you come back to fellowship with God? Jesus took our separation caused by sin and nailed it to the cross and today… God offers a new covering that covers ALL SIN. Will you choose to believe and receive from Him?

Prayer - Salvation

Lastly, perhaps you are struggling with darkness in your life. Whatever it might be… you understand you are entertaining things in your life that shouldn’t be… things that jeopardize your fellowship with God.

Sin separates us from His presence… but the blood of the Lamb reconnects us with the Father. Will you choose to walk in the light as God is in the light?