Description: The way of coming to God is shown in the picture of the Tabernacle. We can go to the Mercy Seat of grace. Take time as you go to Him. Start with thanks at the gate and enter the courts. Confession comes at the altar. The brass laver holds water to wash and we are made clean by the engrafted Word and Spirit. Eat at the table and rest in the fragrance of incense and light of the lamp that pictures church life.
Hebrews 10:19-20; Psalm 100:1-4

Speaker: Thomas Schaller
Date: 2023-08-16
Time: Wed 7PM

P. Schaller –

I spoke with P. Love at the camp. He sends greetings. There’s about 400 people there at Camp Life. They’re
having a great time. The theme is Faith Fields. Living by faith. What a great thing to hear. He
said at the camp fire, 10 or 12 young people came to Christ. They raised their hands and
wanted Christ in their lives. Wow! What a good word that is.

I’d like you to, I’d like to speak about our approach to God in prayer and think about this
tabernacle and praying through the tabernacle as a model for us in our prayer life. So, should
we do it right now? Just go right at it? Okay. Amen. (Prayer). Turn with me to a couple of verses
as we kind of get our bearings as to what we’re talking about. Heb. 10. We have in our Bible a
pattern called a tabernacle. The tabernacle is on the earth, and is a model of the tabernacle that
is in heaven. We maybe know Hebrews 8, 9, and 10; and understand that the writer to the Hebrews
is saying that the earthly tabernacle is going to pass away, but we have a heavenly one. And
that we have access to God to come boldly in Hebrews 10:19-22.

Now, in this text, we need to understand – I can draw a picture of the tabernacle, 150 feet long
and 75 feet wide with the gate. The gate here. Inside a smaller building, a tent actually. Not a
building. A smaller tent. Let’s see the size of…there’s a veil here that enters into the or is
separating the holy of holies. This is the place inside, the deepest part, called the holy of holies.
This is where the Shekinah glory is with the chabod. Remember Ichabod? The glory has
departed. But this chabod part is where God is. And in there is the mercy seat, the ark of the
covenant, the box. And I think many of you know this. I just need to do a little bit of work here.
There is when you come in, there is the altar, the brazen altar and then the laver. The place to
wash is also made of brass.

This is the laver or the basin for washing the blood off of you or kind of washing, cleaning up after the bloody sacrifice at the altar. So, we have a couple of phases here. We have phase one, #1. entering the courts, entering through the gate is here. #2. the altar. #3. The laver. Sorry. I got this wrong. Courtyard. Here’s the holy of holies here. The ark is
inside here. In here the priest had three pieces of furniture. We have the table of shewbread.
We have the candelstick. And then we have the incense. Out here we have the laver. And then
we have the altar. I hope I don’t lose you with the detail, but it’s important for what we want to
say.

So, this tabernacle picture can be used for us regarding our approach to God, our fellowship
with God. Our prayer life actually. Praying. I love the whole idea, help me pray, Lord. I don’t
know how to pray. Help me pray. How should I approach God. Give me a picture or a pattern or
something that would help me understand what I am doing, how I approach you, God. Like how
does this work? Cause you say men ought always to pray and not to faint. So, we say our
prayers.

But this model or praying through the tabernacle might help us and take our time and really
think of something. Have some picture in our mind regarding our approach to God. So, go back
to Hebrews 10:19. Let’s make this clear immediately. When you come to God, you come boldly
through all of this into the holiest, and this way has been made possible immediately, always for
the believer. So, there is no process for us. It’s all been taken care of by the finished work of
Christ.

Close your eyes. You are in the presence of God. Open your eyes. You are in the presence of
God. Make your bed in hell. You are in the presence of God through Christ Jesus. He made it
possible. In the good days, the bad times, in trouble, in comfort, in leisure, he made it possible.
Christ did it all. He is the priest that went all the way into heaven on our behalf. Opened up
heaven for us. Sent the Holy Spirit into our lives. Now, we have fellowship with God without
hindrance. We have access to God through Christ. Do you see that?

Go to Ephesians 2 please. Let’s read it there. We have vs. 18. Wow! Life is spiritual. The Father gave
us the Holy Spirit. We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. We have access to God. We are in fellowship with God. God has called us into the fellowship. Through Christ, we have access to
God the Father. There isn’t a process here. We have access with God. We are born of him. We
are in his presence. We have been given his grace. We are saved by grace. So, that is to be
understood regarding our salvation, our status, our privilege, our access. God the Father loves
us. Sent the Spirit into our life. Christ is our Advocate. We have the finished work. We have the
blood of the Lamb. That could never be substituted for in any means, by any way.

The blood of the Lamb. I come to God in the name of Christ. By the blood of the Lamb, I am justified. By the
blood of the Lamb, we have fellowship with God. He did the work. That’s so true and so
important in our prayer life. Do you see what I’m trying to say here and what I have said clearly?
Do you see it? Okay. Okay. Beautiful. Wow. Amazing. Here we go.

Now, how do we – when we are tired, exhausted maybe. Not wanting to pray. Confused.
Troubled. Filled with ourselves. How do I pray? How do I pray? I know we all have our different
things about us, but I feel like I should be prepared. God should prepare me. I feel that when I
come before God, I would like God to somehow lead me. I would like God to show me or put it
on my heart or in my mind how it is that I should come before him. I have access to him. So,
Lord, show me.

Turn to Psalm 100. It’s beautiful. Psalm 100 is a great verse for us, because it is about coming
before God. vs. 1-2. This is an attitude that I want to have in my life all the time, and that is to
have gladness in serving God. I would like God to put it in my heart. Help me to serve him with
gladness, and to come before his presence with singing. vs. 3-4. So, up on our diagram here,
we have #1. This is the entry with two words, and it is thanksgiving and praise. When you kind
of step back and you say I’m going to pray. Lord, I’d like to come before you in prayer.

I know I have access to you through Christ. But you have also said to me that I come with thanksgiving.
This is point #1. Thanksgiving. What could I be thankful for? How much could I be thankful?
What could I thank God for in my heart? How do I come before God? With thanksgiving.
Thinking about the nature of God. That helps me a lot. Who is God? Can I be thankful for him.
My troubled life is like so, but then there’s God. Who is God? Yahweh Nissi. The Lord is my
Banner. Yahweh Tsidqenu. The Lord is my righteous one. The Lord Shalom. Yahweh Shalom.
The Lord my peace. Yahweh Jireh. He is my provider. The Lord is Yahweh Raffa. The Lord is
my shepherd. Can I be thankful that I have God, the living God? The wonderful God. The saving
God. The providing God.

How do I enter his courts? With thanksgiving. This is a preparation for my prayer. Now, I’m not
kneeling down necessarily, because to be honest, sometimes I kneel down and I kind of struggle
with that. It might be boring. It might be I fall asleep or I don’t have much or I’m just groaning or
depressed or saddened or I can’t see. Let’s enter prayer with anticipation. I am coming before
him with thanksgiving, with praise to God. With praise in my heart. With thanksgiving in my
spirit. I put God before my face. And our God is a great big God, the Almighty God.

Now, notice. I have not gone yet in the tabernacle deep in. I’m just at the court. I’m at the gate. I
spend my time at the gate. I’m not in a hurry. I’m taking time at the gates. I’m entering his court,
and that is a big deal to me in my heart. It’s a big deal to me that I’m coming before God. Who
has the privilege to come before God but the believer? What are you talking about? I’m talking
about way before I get into my prayers. I’m way back here at the gate of the tabernacle, and I’m
thinking about my attitude. I’m thinking about what a privilege it is to come before the living God
and to ask him and trust him and believe him and worship him.

You know, like any child coming before the parents, when they are hurting of course they are
crying and hurting and they need the comforter. Of course. But generally in our lives we need to
understand that we often come with our miserable selves, and there’s no reason for it. There’s
only our misery, our complaining, our negativity, our unbelief, our fear and so on. You know what
I mean?

It’s like wait a minute. Let’s get a grip on who we are approaching. We are talking about coming
before the living God who made the heavens and the earth. We could stay there for a while. He
made the sea and everything moving in it. He is the God of history. He is the God of creation.
He is the God of every born child. The miracle of our eyeball and our ears. The miracle of our
physical body. The miracle of food and animals and the planets. The miracle of who is God.
God is God and how much we can be thankful to him for everything.

Why couldn’t I just say my prayer time is a time of praise? That I just am praising God for every
year that I have lived. Why not start when you’re one year old. And say God thank you that I had
a mother that changed my diapers. When I’m two years old, thank you when I fell down and cut
my eye open you were there and they took care of me. And when I was three years old and four
and so on. And every year just be thankful for all that we have. And then if you have a partner in
life, if you have a spouse or a child or you have something. You know what I mean. I think a lot
could be said about being thankful. Not to make us feel guilty but only to inspire us and
encourage us regarding thanksgiving and praise.

If you could go back a couple psalms to 95 and look at the danger, the danger here in Psalm 95.
It’s about coming before God with singing and joyful noise. And it talks about the sea is his and
he made it and his hands formed the dry land. Look at the first seven verses. He’s talking about
praise and thanksgiving and he’s our God. Then, danger! Red light! Flashing light. vs. 8. Harden
not your heart as they did in the wilderness. What? Seven verses singing and praising and
being thankful. Eighth verse, harden not your heart like they did in the wilderness. And that’s our
prayer. Lord, when the hard times come, keep me soft. Thankful. Keep me singing. Give me a
song in the night.

Keep me thankful, encouraged, because we harden our hearts when trouble
comes. We harden our hearts in life. We harden our hearts by things that happen to us. We
cannot see the good when it comes. We harden our hearts when your fathers tempted me,
proved me, and saw my work. Do you see that? Psalm 95 is a good picture of like how it can go.
Okay. Now, are you with me? Are we good? Okay. Thank you. Encourage me. Does anybody
love me? Does anybody care? #2 in our walk in the tabernacle. Coming in prayer to God. That
thanksgiving and praise, we could talk about that all night. It’s a big subject.

The second thing is the altar. It’s where the animal is brought and sacrificed. Now, I’m talking about a believer. This
is something the priest did. The priest took the animal and offered the animal for the believer.
And I don’t want to say – we are priests. I don’t want to confuse you. The earthly tabernacle
operated this way. But we are operating is that we bring our sacrifice, and we are confessing our
sin. The priest would lay his hands on the sacrificial animal, and it would be slaughtered. It
would be cut in pieces, and pieces would be put on the fire. This is fire here.

The altar is a place like coals and fire wood. There were priests that managed the furnace, the altar that was there,
and they would put the sacrificed animal there and it would be burned.
Confession is important. Confess your sin. Make it a habit in your life. Anything that you are
aware of that you just need to bring before God. Don’t hide it. Bring it out on the table. Put it out
in front of God. Make your confession. I have sinned. I have sinned. This is my sin. I have
sinned. This is part of our prayer life. If you don’t have anything in your mind, don’t make it up. If
the Holy Spirit is not bringing anything to your heart and mind, do not bring it – you don’t have to
say anything. This isn’t like you have to do this, and this is not a formality. This is a kind of model
for instructing us how we come to God in prayer.

Let the Lord search my heart, Psalm 139, and see if there be any evil way in me. Don’t hide. He
that hides his sin forsakes his own mercy, Jonah 2:8-9. Let’s not try to hide from God. It’s silly.
Hiding from your parents was fun when you were two years old, but not when you’re 18 years
old. You can play hide and seek with your parents as a game, but when you’re an adult, you
can’t play hide and seek with your parents. You shouldn’t play hide and seek. You should have
honest, open conversation. When it comes to God, even more so. Like open up my heart. Show
me, Lord, if there’s anything. May your Word penetrate to my spirit and my heart. Let me tell you
my heart is hard. My heart is hard, Lord. I’m hurt.

I’m suffering. Please send a comforter and fill me with your Spirit and give me fresh anointing and lead me in prayer. I need you. I need you.

Psalm 136 is also beautiful. Who is God? His mercy endures forever. We are coming to a merciful
God. We are making our confession to a merciful God. The true God. The only wise God. The
one that you don’t hide things from. The one that you’re very bold, to be very open and naked
with him with whom we have to do. Any kind of jealousies or envy or covetousness. Anything.
Let it be a pure work of grace that happens in our life. Okay.

Third one. The brazen laver. Brazen meaning brass. Laver is like a bowl that held water. An
interesting thing about this piece of furniture is that it’s made out of the brass that the Jews
brought out of Egypt that was the looking mirrors, looking glasses, Exodus 38:8. Let’s read it. vs. 8,
of the looking glasses. What is that? They didn’t have glass. I don’t even know if glass was
invented at that time. So, what is a mirror, a looking glass? It was polished metal. So, you take a
piece of metal. You polish it, and you can see a reflection. This was made of brass in Egypt. The
women had them, looking glasses. It wasn’t glasses, it was polished metal. And they got favor
from the Egyptians.

The Jews got favor from the Egyptians, so the Egyptians gave this metal to
them. What did they need metal for? To make the tabernacle. It was ordained of God that the
Egyptians would give them the silver, gold, brass, and whatever other valuables that they
needed for building the tabernacle. So, this particular piece of furniture, #3 up there, was made
of looking glasses that was of the women, vs. 8.

Okay, now, that’s meaningful to me, because when you look at yourself, when you look at
yourself, you’re aware of your blemishes or you see yourself. But this is a change. It’s another
kind of looking. It’s filled with water. So, this brazen laver was filled with water, and what is water
in the Bible but the Word of God. We see that in Ephesians 5. The washing of the water of the Word.
John 15:3, now you are clean through the Word that I have spoken unto you. That cleaning I
think was more husbandry, this horticultural cleansing of a tree. Clipping it and pruning it. But
you are clean through the Word. The Word and the Spirit. This is what we wash in. Instead of
being aware of ourselves, we become aware of what God says about us. I want to know what
God says.

So, if we have a brazen laver that was made out of looking glass mirrors, and I’m washing in
there, it’s another kind of awareness. It’s an awareness of myself based on the Word. I would
like to know what God is saying to me. I’ve been looking at myself long enough. Now, I want to
know what God is saying about me. Honestly. I’d like to know what God says about me. Really.
That’s a real thing. This is part of our approach to God is to shift from ourselves to what God is
saying about us. I’d like to know what God is saying about me. I look at myself in Egypt, but now
I want to look at myself in the wilderness, in the brazen laver that will wash me.

Notice the phase before was bloody. So, when I have some blood on me or this is the priest and
he’s washing, because he’s going to minister to God in the holy place. This is the first part of the
room here. Okay. Wow. That’s cool, huh? Engrafted word which is able to save your soul.
Engrafted word. Let’s put that verse up, because I don’t want to go too quick on that word.
Engrafted word, James 1:21. What’s the word “engrafted” mean? Sounds like it in English.
Engrafted. Planted in you. Grafted in. Like wedded to you.

A grafted word. It connects with you. The word that is able to save your soul. Now, prayer. This is getting fascinating, because we’re talking about having a prayer life that is actually relating to something that God does by his
Word, in connecting his Word with your spirit. Now, you are ministering. You have entered into
the tabernacle, and you’re making your way in ministry. And the Word of God, water of the Word
that you are washing in, is actually making you an able minister. You’re actually in the presence
of God ministering not your flesh, cause you left the flesh back outside. When you enter the
gates with thanksgiving and with praise, you’re stepping into faith. And you’re putting away the
things of the world.

Listen. Outside here, there’s camels walking by. There’s thieves and conspirators talking. The
world is happening outside of this tabernacle. The world is happening. There’s government and
powers and militaries and armies and philosophies and society as people know it. But you are now ministering to God. You have a ministry to God. Angels have a ministry to God.

The believer has a ministry to God. The believer is actually in the courts of God ministering, and he’s
clean and he’s ministering. He has an influence. He has an effect. He’s on the earth and the
angels are coming and going and they know, they recognize. Remember the demons said,
Jesus we know, Paul we know, but who are you? You don’t have any power with God. But these
people have power in prayer. Power in praise. Power in faith. Power with God. They are the
Spirit-filled people that are praying, that are asking God, that are ministering in the tabernacle.
Now, we wash here, and I think if we took our time at every stage here, – we took our time and
worked on it in our hearts.

At that brazen laver, I think I could stay there for a long time. And go
through Bible verses in my heart. Wait on God. Just kind of look at my Bible. Take my time. I
don’t have to read a lot. I don’t have to talk a lot. But I can just take my time, and look at a page
and just enjoy it. I’m in the presence of God. The Spirit of God is our teacher. If I just took my
time, it’s like a couple minutes at every stage. Easily thirty minutes is gone. But I really am
saying, I really believe there is something to this. That yes, I have Christ.

That makes it possible for me to take my time and go through this and approach God with fervency, clarity, and
authority. And say Lord, I am here in Christ’s name. And you know, I know, you know we are in
fellowship and I’m asking you. I’m believing you. I’m believing you. And I’m serious about it.
Cause you work that in me. You work that in me.

You see the difference between what we are talking about right now, and how some believers
could say, oh, yeah, I said my prayers and they just move on? I said prayers. Yeah, of course, I
pray. I was in my car. I was in traffic and I prayed. I turned into the grocery story, I prayed for a
parking spot, and I got one right up front.

I’m not making fun of those prayers, but I am trying to say something. That we have access to
the living God, and he is an amazing God. He is the living God. He is the powerful God. I’m
trying to say that you have power with him. I’m saying that prayer is an awesome thing. Jesus
knew it and he spoke a lot about it. And he told us to pray. He also inferred that we don’t have
because we don’t ask. Maybe we’re not asking because we’re so quick. We’re so fast. We’re not
thinking about it. It’s like a credit card. Hey, God, in Jesus’ name. Thank you very much. I got it.
You know what I mean? This is I hope it’s, I know it’s helpful. Let’s slow it down here. Maybe we
will do a couple more aspects.

You enter into this place here called the holy place. There’s three articles of furniture. And one of
them is the bread. There were loaves of bread there for the priest to eat. And I don’t want to say
much about it except that actually I believe that there’s something there for me to eat. I have an
appetite. I am hungry. But I’m spiritually hungry. I want to eat something. You know, when you
start eating and you’re living and you’re eating, this is spiritual food. Then, you remember that.
That was great pizza that I had the other day. That was a great sandwich I had the other day.
You remember that. And spiritually, in prayer, when you find this, you remember it. You go back
for it. You remember it. It’s food.

Jesus said it to his disciples at the well. He said I have bread to eat that you don’t know of. And
he said I am the bread of life. If you eat this bread, you will not be hungry. You’re be hungry for
that bread, but you won’t be hungry for the world. The problem in life is people don’t have this
prayer life, this fellowship, so they are hungry for the world. They wrestle with the world so
much. They’re afraid of falling. They’re afraid of temptation. They’re afraid of living in sin. They’re
afraid of falling. They’re afraid of failing God. They’re afraid. That’s how they live. They’re torn,
cause they don’t have enough of this that is satisfying to them.

And that’s where you and I want to be. Have you found it? Have you found Christ in such a way
that you are hungry for him more and more? Have you found like words, bread, words. Have we
found Jesus as the bread of life? The priest does and he’s eating there. How long will you stay
there? I’ll stay there for a while. I’m eating the bread. I’m there. I’m not going anywhere. I got it. I
enjoy it. Jesus is real. Jesus is here. Thank you, God. Thank you, Jesus. How many pastors in
this country and in the world want that for their people? How many of us want it for ourselves?

How many pastors know that Jesus is satisfying to them and their people? And how many labor
so we can get through this swamp of a life and find this ministry inside the holy of holies and
eating that bread. How about it?

I remember this, because of what I just said is coming from my experience. I was weak
spiritually. I was struggling in different ways. I did not have much of a prayer life. I didn’t have, I
wasn’t, I was somehow stale. And then I found myself dealing with temptations, and I started to
worry about it. You know, oh my. This temptation is fascinating to me. This thing I would do
wrong it’s like oh, no! I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to do that but it’s strong. It’s drawing
me to this other thing, this way or this temptation is strong. And I remember. It helped me to
understand. I go oh that’s what my people are struggling with. That’s what many believers are
struggling with and failing it. They are so close to the temptation and they feel the strength and
they are afraid of it and then they give in and they feel discouraged and depressed and hurt and
their failures and so on.

So, what do you do about it? I think what we are saying tonight. Like maybe think about this
message, and process it and somehow believe what I’m saying, what the Word is saying that
actually come before God this way and he fills you and strengthens you. And you find the joy
and the power of God in your heart. And then you look at that temptation and oh, no not even,
I’m not looking at you. I’m not fascinated by you. I’m not attracted to you. I’m not interested in
you. You have no power over me.

Thank you, Jesus. You have made that clear to me. Thank
you. At this moment, and as a habit, and as a way of life, we run through a troop. We are seated
in heavenly places. We have an authority over our sin nature. And if I reckon myself dead and
alive unto you, indeed that is the reality. The devil says it’s not real. And we counter and say, it
is. Absolutely and we found it. Watch how I live, devil. I’m over you and above you and I’m a
testimony of the fact that it is real. Okay. All right.

The second piece of furniture there is the candelstick. And this is the churches. I’m just going to
put it that way, because in Revelation the candlestick is the seven churches. And the menorah,
the Jewish candelstick, the seven branches, and using Revelation and just say that the ministry,
the ministry in the context of the church, the ministry for people in the church, the prayers for the
Body members in the church, the pastors in the churches, the work of God happening on the
earth that this is in God’s heart. Pray for the churches that are outside of our fellowship. Pray for
the denominations. Pray for the leaders. Pray for the pastors. Pray for our sisters and brothers
around the world that we know. And we are ministering. We have power in prayer. Prayer for the
churches.

And then, the incense is this one here. The incense. We have, and this is also prayer, Psalm 141.
The incense that was burned filled the fragrance. It was sweet. That’s beautiful. I love to smell
incense. Some of you burn it in your homes. The incense. When things are dirty or unclean or
smelly, people burn incense. In the ancient world, they did do that. They burned incense a lot
cause things did stink as I explained the other day. They smelled bad. But not in this room. Not
in this room. It smells great. It’s beautiful. It’s a fragrance.

Then, the high priest would enter once a year into the holy of holies with the blood and we are
accepted. The veil was torn when Christ was crucified, so we have access to God in the holy of
holies. I think I just wanted to say if you want a prayer life to be somehow have a pattern of
thinking of how you approach God, take your time at it, this is one of them. And I want to
practice this myself. I have. I’ve heard about it. I studied it today, and I’d like to present that to
you folks to help you think about your prayer life. And I really believe that our whole work around
the world is connected with this kind of ministry. I think if we don’t have this kind of ministry, it
doesn’t really matter what we’re doing. The wheels are turning. People are going. People are
talking. They’re giving money. They’re doing this and that. But really, it’s not what needs to be
done. What needs to be done has to happen from heaven.

When it happens from heaven, people do give money. Large amounts sometimes. Or two mites.
Little amounts of money. They do. People do go to the mission field because God sends them.

People do come here to go to Bible college because we prayed. We were in the holy place. We
asked the living God. He accepted our prayers. Our prayers were not about us and our flesh.
Our prayers were in the Holy Spirit in faith and in love, and God answered our prayers. And he
did work in saving souls and homeless people finding a new life. Wow. A police officer finding
Christ. Wow. An important person like a politician who has a lot of influence for millions of
people getting saved. Or an athlete or somebody addicted and it’s over. It’s done. Wow! How did
it happen? God answered prayer.

How did the Bible open up to somebody? The Bible was closed for decades, and it opened up
to them and they are so excited about the Bible. How did that happen? God answered prayer.
Prayer did it. How did the church get packed out with people? God sent people. Like he sent
animals to Noah’s ark, he sent people to Moravia Park Drive. By the grace of God, he answered
prayer. He answered prayer. Where did P. Scibelli come from? God answered prayer. Where did
Karen Pevac come from? God answered prayer. Where did Kaylee’s going to marry – oh no!
God answered prayer! How did it happen? There was prayer. Men ought always to pray. How
did the prodigal come home? God answered prayer. Do you follow what we’re saying tonight?
Do you understand it? I know you do.

Listen. I’m so encouraged by it. I really believe a lot is happening in the world, because we are
people of prayer. But I also believe more could happen. Do you know what’s in my heart? Just
to share it with you by faith. New York City. New York City. Sixteen million people. The place is
on fire. They have problems, way, amazing, God send. God could do it. I don’t know. I don’t
want to go. I don’t want to go. I enter the court here. I enter into this place here saying I don’t
want to go. I don’t want to go. I come before God saying I don’t want to go. And then it’s like
leave it at the door. It’s not about you or me. It’s about what does God want to do? And he
needs us on the earth to participate with him and ask, receive, and see what God will do. Amen.
Would you pray with me. I got another idea before we pray. Talk to your neighbor for a minute
about the message. Then, we’ll pray. (Prayer).

I want to just before you close ask you – I’ll just tell you this message effected me. It
encouraged me a lot . It did. It encouraged me a lot. Like I could go to a room kind of excited
that I could go before God and long before I get to that room and I’m thinking about it, it’s like
could I really do business with God? Could I do business with God in that room? Could I do
there? You know what I mean? That’s how I feel. I feel like this is amazing. I’m very encouraged
in my heart that we have this power, this access to God. Really. I’m inspired by it. I really believe
it.

But I know it takes like – we’re Americans, right? We’re very fast. We’re living fast. Moving fast.
Talking fast. We get stuff done. We’re moving. We’re doing stuff. The other side of it is we’re
bored. We’re bored. Kind of empty. Bored. We go through the motions. Don’t bring that in to
your Christianity. Let’s have the real thing happening in our hearts, and maybe this little lesson
about praying through the tabernacle would kind of give us a better perspective. I’m not saying
there’s some performance here. I’m saying there’s a meditation here, and the Lord is telling us
when you come before me, this is how it works. And you’re going to be Spirit filled. You will be
Spirit filled. This is how it works. You come with thanksgiving and praise. And you confess your
sin. And you wash in that laver. And you’re good to go.

You can go inside, and I am with you in it. And spend time there and eat the bread and pray for
the churches and burn the incense and worship the living God there. And it’s fun to think about
it.

And then, you’re back outside, back in the courtyard – I mean outside the court. You’re on the
outside. You’re living your life. But I know where to go. I know what I need. I know how to get
there. I know how it goes. Our God is a living God who cares about us, and he’s going to take
care of us all the way.

Question: Could you live your whole life in a victorious way? Absolutely. Will you fall down? Yes,
seven times, but you know where to go. You know how this goes. You know who God is. He is
for you and not against you. And he builds you up and he speaks to you and he helps you. You
live your whole life like a victorious – it’s not boring. It’s not hard. It’s easy. You just have to have
a life with God where you know like God is God and respect him and fear him and he’s going to
take care of you and I. And it’s a lot more than we even expected.

Even more. Even more. But don’t harden your heart like they did in the wilderness. And don’t have a misunderstanding
about the nature of God. But enjoy it. I just am encouraged by that. So, praise the Lord for
tonight. Thank you for coming out. And also making our church a home, a spiritual home. You
know, I don’t have to come here and do anything. I just sit here, and the Lord will minister to us,
because this is his house. And he will use us to build up each other and help each other in the
faith. If you are new here, keep at it. Don’t draw away. You need it more than you realize. We all
need it. We’re going to meet him one day. We’re going to say thank you, Lord. I redeemed the
time. I did something worthwhile. I didn’t know how it worked. But your hand was on my life.
Thank you, God. In the Body of Christ, thank you God. You did it. Okay. Amen. God bless you.
You’re dismissed.

 

Please enjoy these sermon notes from the messages preached at Greater Grace Church in Baltimore. These notes are provided to aid in your study and understanding of the Word. Note that these notes do not represent complete, word-for-word transcriptions. Also, they may contain omissions as well as some errors in spelling and structure, etc., as we attempt to provide them as soon as possible. Our hope is that these notes serve as a way to help you search and connect with messages on related subjects and passages. Thank you for your interest in the ministry of Greater Grace.