Exodus (Lesson 54)

Welcome to the Preaching of the Cross Radio Podcast, featuring the radio ministry of Pastor James W.

Knox of the Bible Baptist Church of Delane, Florida.

Our prayer is that these half-hour Bible study programs will bring the lost to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and enable the saved to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Savior.

Now here's your host, Pastor James W.

Knox.

We're going to study the Bible together today.

I'm Brother James.

I greet you as always in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

This is the Preaching of the Cross Radio Broadcast.

We're going to do our very, very best in the next half an hour to give you something from God's Word that'll be a help to your heart and a blessing to your life, and hope you can stay with us.

If you're in a place where you can sit with an open Bible before you, that would be an added benefit if you're at work or driving in your vehicle, or for some other reason you're not able to follow along in the scripture.

We understand that, but we're going to read the word and discuss the word and be blessed by the word of God together today.

We're studying the Bible book of Exodus.

We have made our way all the way up to chapter number 28.

Chapter 28.

We're really moving out here.

And we just uh so glad you're here.

We're going to start reading at verse number 31.

We're talking about the garments of the high priest.

And we got down to Exodus 28, verse 31 on the last broadcast.

Exodus 28:31

The Bible says, And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue, and there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof, it shall have a binding of woven work round about the whole of it, as it were the whole of a habirgen, that it be not rent.

And beneath upon the hem of it, thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet round about the hem thereof, and bells of gold between them round about, a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about, and it shall be upon Aaron to minister, and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the Lord, and when he cometh out, that he die not.

So this being spoken, uh while this is being spoken, now think about this.

This is Aaron the high priest.

We talked about his uh mitre uh last time, just briefly we mentioned in the breastplate and the gemstones, and uh now the ephod of the robe of the ephod.

And here these uh the this uh over garment, if you will, is all of blue to remind the high priest of his heavenly calling and his relationship to God up in heaven.

And then around about the hem of that garment, blue again, so that as he looks earthward, he's reminded.

Don't forget, even as you walk on this earth, don't forget, even as you look step by step to make your way through this life, that your responsibility and your destination and and your God is in heaven.

And as these bells are ringing, the ringing of the bells as he goes into the holy place and the holy of holies to worship God, and the ringing of the bells as he comes out, having uh provided or or or offered uh the atoning sacrificial blood for the children of Israel.

Now, while all of this is being spoken to Moses upon the mountain, you know what Aaron's doing.

Those of you that are familiar with the book of Exodus, you you know what's next.

While Moses is on the mountaintop receiving these instructions, Aaron is down in the valley making a golden calf.

Ah, what is man?

What is man?

You say, why do we need all these reminders, the colors of the garments to remind us of heaven?

Why do we need these ringing bells to remind us of our consecration and our purity?

Why do we need these?

We need it all, my friend.

We need a Bible, we need preaching, we need fellowship, we need prayer, we need the Holy Spirit, prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.

Prone to leave the God I love.

What a horrible thing it is that man can so quickly and completely forget his God and his relationship to God.

And yet it happens over and over and over again.

So verse 36 says, And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, engrave upon it like the engravings of a signet, all block capital letters.

Holiness to the Lord.

Holiness to the Lord.

Here these words are on the forehead of the high priest.

In the millennial kingdom, these words will be worn on the bells of the horses, Zechariah 14, 20 to 21.

But what's the cry?

What's the call?

What's the reminder?

Holiness to the Lord.

Should that high priest look in the mirror, what would he see?

Holiness to the Lord.

Should a man, should a woman look upon the high priest as he ministers, what would they see?

Holiness to the Lord.

As that man picked up that plate of gold and began to dress himself for the day's work and activity, what would he read?

Holiness to the Lord.

God wants his people separate from sin.

God wants his people separate from the inward iniquity that so besets them from the outward transgressions that so appeal to them holiness to the Lord.

And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre, upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be, and it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts, and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.

The Lord does not accept wickedness, the Lord does not accept folly, the Lord does not accept a violation of his commandments.

What does he accept?

Holiness, holiness unto the Lord.

The Bible says in Isaiah 64, verse 6, but we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities like the wind have taken us away.

Isaiah 64:6

You know, there were golden seals placed in the tombs of Egyptian nobility who died in youth, believing they could afford to uh and use them to uh weigh their goodness against their sins, these golden scales.

Let me tell you something.

One sin tips the scale in the favor of sin.

One one transgression makes a man a transgressor.

One violation makes a man a lawbreaker.

You can be buried with golden scales if you want to.

God's not grading on a curve, God's not judging on a percentage basis.

It's holiness unto the Lord, or He does not accept you or your sacrifice.

And so Jesus Christ, we see again, He's the only hope for sinners, no one else is holy, no one else is pure, not entirely, not completely, not start to finish, not inside and out.

Verse thirty nine.

And thou shalt embroider the coat of fine linen, and thou shalt make the mitre of fine linen, and thou shalt make the girdle of needlework, and for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles and bonnets, shalt thou make for them for glory and for beauty, and thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, and shalt anoint them and consecrate them and sanctify them that they may minister unto me in the priest's office.

Now hear me, listen carefully, please, please.

These men have an appointment to the priesthood.

These men have a birthright as sons of Aaron to minister as priests in the priestly office.

If all they were doing were performing religious activities in relation to their fellow man and their fellow citizens, they could probably live and die any old way they chose.

No matter what they did, some would agree, some would disagree, some would praise and some would criticize, some would say they were too loud, some would say they were too soft, some would say they were too serious, some would say they joked around too much.

They couldn't please men, but that's not the issue.

These priests are to minister on behalf of men in the presence of God.

They have beautiful garments.

That's not enough.

They have beautiful headgear, that's not enough.

They have sparkling gemstones and shining gold ornaments, that's not enough.

They have embroidered work and ringing bells, that's not enough.

God says I want them consecrated.

God says I want them sanctified, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office.

You see, let's let me let me bring it down to our day.

Can I do that?

And please listen carefully, because some of you uh you just live right on the border of offended, and it takes next to nothing, why the slightest breeze can blow you across that line and you're offended.

I understand that.

I'd hate to live that way.

I'd hate to be so quickly and easily offended, as some of you are, but nevertheless, please listen carefully.

If you were to walk into a grand, beautiful, multimillion dollar church building built for the worship of God, and if in that church building you saw marvelous carvings, statues, paintings, wall hangings, all supposedly for the worship of God, and if you saw standing in the pulpit of that great church a man in gorgeous flowing robes, beautifully decorated, all to identify him as a servant of God, and you saw that man offer prayers, and you saw that man offer sacrifices, and you saw that man wave incense about everything about that outwardly and visibly would suggest to you that this is a special man in a special place doing special things for God.

And that might satisfy your religious appetite, that might satisfy the religious expectations of those who attend that place and worship in that place.

However, when that man leaves that auditorium and takes off those priestly garments and begins to molest altar boys, does it matter how beautiful the building was?

When that man begins to engage in immoral acts with other men, does it matter how well adorned that sanctuary was?

When that man begins to commit vile and base acts of a sexual nature, does it matter how beautiful his priestly garments were, or how well recited his prayers were?

Not to God.

Not to God.

You know what the Lord said?

I want consecrated ministers.

I want sanctified ministers.

Brother, your speaking ability is no substitute for holiness.

Your knowledge and skill is no substitute for separation from sin.

Your eloquence, your ability to stir and move a crowd is no substitute for you being right in your conduct and right in your heart before a holy God.

Let me tell you something, brother.

I listen, I don't know who's listening to my voice right now.

I know this.

I know this.

Some of the men who've cried the loudest and the longest against sin have fallen in over their head.

I don't know.

Pastor, thank you for listening today.

Missionary, thank you for listening today.

Church worker, thank you for listening today.

I'm going to tell you something.

God knows your heart.

God knows what's going on in your secret life and in the secret recesses of your longings and desires and appetites.

I don't know who I'm speaking to right now.

That's the great thing about radio.

But I know this.

After you have preached 1,000 fantastic sermons, if you leave town with a woman who's not your wife, there's not a single person in that town who's going to remember any of those thousand sermons or care a thing about them.

The only thing that town will call to mind, and the only thing that town will discuss will be the fact that you were not consecrated and you were not sanctified.

That's just how it goes.

I travel, I'm on the road every other week.

I pastor a church, but I'm on the road every other week, preaching in this town, that town, this city, that city, from one end of this land to the other, and many countries around the world.

I'm going to tell you something.

When I go into a town into a community, and a man has pastored a church for 10 years, and then left that church having stolen a pile of money, nobody in that town wants to talk about how many hospital visits that man made.

Nobody in that town wants to talk about how many families that man comforted at a funeral home.

Nobody in that town wants to talk about any of the good works that that man ever did.

The only thing the people in that town want to talk about, and the only thing the people left behind in that church call to mind when you bring that man's name up is the fact that he stole money.

You know that's true.

Now, my my brother, listen to me, my sister, listen to me.

It is not enough for you to have done the right things outwardly this past Sunday in your church.

It is not enough for you to do the right observable deeds today in your service for the Lord.

You had better be consecrated and you had better be sanctified because the condition of your heart is as important.

In fact, it's more important than what you are doing outwardly, because sooner or later, sooner or later, what you are in your heart, you will be in your life.

If you don't believe it, I'll give you example after example after example of men who thought they were standing and did not need to take heed, and they fell.

God wants a consecrated priesthood.

God wants a beautiful, glorious, sanctified priesthood.

That's what he's that's what he demands.

Verse 42.

And thou shalt make them linen breeches, a breach, a divide.

One leg goes in here, one leg goes in there, to cover their nakedness.

How about that?

Cover their nakedness.

You know something?

You go in the church house, nobody needs to see your undergarments.

How about that?

Sister?

Nobody, nobody needs to see that.

You can get you can you can get a shirt that fits, you can get a blouse that covers you, you can get a skirt long enough to be modest when you stand, when you sit, when you pray.

Come on, brother.

Do you understand how many times, how many times we have seen in our Bible that God is concerned with what men wear when they approach Him and when they come into His presence?

How about that?

It's in the Bible.

What do you go by?

The mall?

What do you go by?

The movies?

What do you go by?

Public opinion?

And God says, from the loins, even unto the thighs, shall they reach?

God says, if I see a man's thighs, he's naked far as I'm concerned.

And they shall be upon Aaron, upon his sons, when they come into the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place, that they bear not iniquity and die.

It should be a statute forever unto him and his seed after him.

Lord said, I don't want I don't want people distracted in the midst of work at worship service, because somebody got too much of their flesh uncovered.

How you like that, you contemporary folks?

How you like that, you come as you are crowd?

How you like that, uh, you people go to church and watch women dance and cavort about, and you got no dress code for your young people and no dress code for your girls?

Don't tell me your eyes aren't wandering.

I know they are.

You say, How dare you say that?

I don't dare say it.

I just believe the Bible, and I know what the Bible says, and the Bible's true, and the Bible's right, and you disagree with it, you don't like it, you got the problem, not me.

How's that?

You like that?

I don't like that.

Well, that's okay.

What do you like?

Hollywood?

What do you like?

Country Western?

What do you like?

Immodest girls?

I mean, if you if you don't like that, what do you like?

If you object to that, you object on the basis of what?

You better you better pay attention.

God said I want consecration.

God said I want sanctification.

Uh man, you don't like that, you're headed somewhere, it's not anywhere good.

I'll tell you that.

Alright, 29.1.

And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them.

See, once you wholly hallowed, to minister unto me in the priest's office.

Take one young bullock and two rams without blemish, and unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened, tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened, anointed with oil, and of wheat and flour shalt thou make them.

And thou shalt put them into one basket and bring them in the basket with the bullock and the two rams.

And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water.

Here's something else God wants.

He wants He wants people that worship him clean.

Clean.

So he says, Consecrated, excuse me, sanctified, hallowed, and clean.

That's the Lord.

And thou shalt take the garments and put upon Aaron the coat, the robe, the Ephahad, and the Ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with a curious girdle of Ephod, and thou shalt put the mitre upon his head and put the holy crown upon the mitre.

And thou shalt take the anointing oil.

Very interesting wording.

They don't put the crown on Aaron.

They put the crown on the mitre that Aaron is wearing, and thou shalt then shalt thou take the anointing oil and pour it upon his head and anoint him.

And thou shalt bring his sons and put coats upon them, and thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them, and the priest's office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute.

And thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons, and thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock, and thou shalt kill the bullock before the Lord, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar, and thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the call that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar.

But the flesh of the bullock and his skin and his dung shalt thou burn with fire without the camp.

It is a sin offering.

And so we see one more thing.

These men, before, before they were fit to minister before God in the priest's office, they had to be consecrated, they had to be sanctified, they had to be hallowed, they had to be clean, and they had to have an acceptable blood sacrifice.

Now, next time, God willing, we're going to go into detail on all the New Testament pictures that are found in this anointing and consecrating of Aaron and his sons.

But my friend, do you realize that the only reason we are able to serve God at all is because an acceptable blood sacrifice has been offered.

Do you realize, do you appreciate that the only reason we are able to do anything for God, for man in the name of God, to do anything pleasing in the sight of the Lord is because an acceptable blood sacrifice has been offered on our behalf.

You see, when Jesus Christ died on the cross, he didn't just do so in order that I might be saved, though I'm glad he did.

He didn't just do so so that my sins could be paid for and I could be forgiven, though I'm glad he did so.

But when he died on that cross and shed his blood to pay for my sin, he thus made it possible for me to serve God.

He thus made it possible for me to minister for man in the presence of God, for God in the presence of man.

We are called in the New Testament a nation of priests, a royal priesthood.

But it's only because the precious blood of Jesus Christ has made us acceptable to serve in the eyes of a holy God.

You know, there's so much involved in the cross of Jesus Christ.

It just takes a lifetime to discuss it.

It'll take an eternity to praise God for all that He has done.

It's a wonderful thing to be able to come your way day after day with the preaching of the cross, because you can't exhaust that subject.

The cross of Jesus Christ.

Well, we hope you'll take the time to write to us today.

It wouldn't take long, but it would sure be a blessing to our hearts.

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Until next time and throughout eternity, may Jesus Christ be praised.