Full Transcript for Beyond The Mirror

planks. 00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:33.040 Moreover, verse 8, here it is. 00:04:33.279 --> 00:04:43.199 He made the laver of bronze with its base of bronze from the mirrors of the serving women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 00:04:43.439 --> 00:04:56.319 Then he made the court, for the south side, hanging of the court were of fine twisted linen, one hundred cubits and their twenty pillars, and twenty bases made of bronze, the hooks of the pillars and their bands were of silver. 00:04:56.560 --> 00:05:05.680 For the north side there were one hundred cubits, their twenty pillars and their twenty bases were of bronze, the hooks of the pillars and their bands were of silver. 00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:10.639 For the west side there were hangings of fifty cubits with their ten pillars and their ten bases. 00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:16.399 The hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver, for the east side towards a sunrise, fifty cubits. 00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:22.160 The hangings for the one side of the gate were fifteen cubits with three pillars and their three bases. 00:05:22.399 --> 00:05:30.319 And so for the other side, on both sides of the gate of the court were hangings of fifteen cubits, with their pillars and their three bases. 00:05:30.560 --> 00:05:34.720 All the hangings of the court all around were of fine twisted linen. 00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:36.959 Bases for the pillars were of bronze. 00:05:37.120 --> 00:05:45.600 The hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver, and the overlayings of their tops were of silver, and all the pillars of the court were furnished with silver bands. 00:05:45.759 --> 00:05:59.519 The screen of the gate of the court was the work of a weaver of blue and of purple and of scarlet material and fine twisted linen, and the length was twenty cubits, and the height was five cubits, and the corresponding to the hangings of the court. 00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:07.120 There were four pillars, and the four bases were bronze, their hooks were of silver, and the overlaying of their tops, and their bands were of silver. 00:06:07.279 --> 00:06:07.920 Verse 20. 00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:13.040 Let's pray. 00:06:13.279 --> 00:06:16.879 Father, we thank you for these details, intricate details. 00:06:17.920 --> 00:06:23.600 The building of your outer courts, the tabernacle, your place of dwelling. 00:06:23.920 --> 00:06:33.519 And you had these craftsmen and these women, and many give and donate and work to build this place of dwelling for you. 00:06:33.680 --> 00:06:40.240 And Lord, as we zoom in on the details, as we extract from this ancient text, we ask that you would speak to our hearts. 00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:49.279 Somehow you'd bring it into today, in the modern times, and we'd be able to take the principles and apply them to our lives and use our lives for your glory. 00:06:49.439 --> 00:06:51.120 Bless our time as we study your word now. 00:06:51.279 --> 00:06:52.560 We ask it in Jesus' name. 00:06:52.800 -->

00:06:53.279 Amen. 00:06:53.519 --> 00:06:54.800 You can be seated. 00:06:56.800 --> 00:07:02.639 Again, an exhaustive text of details, one that we would very naturally skip over. 00:07:03.279 --> 00:07:07.519 But so many cool things sitting right here as we look closely at it. 00:07:07.759 --> 00:07:11.120 So last week we walked through the furniture inside the tabernacle. 00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:12.399 We saw the Ark of the Covenant. 00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:15.439 We saw the table, the table of showbread. 00:07:15.519 --> 00:07:18.800 We saw the lampstand or the menorah here to the left. 00:07:18.959 --> 00:07:25.120 And that was inside of the tabernacle or inside God's house, a place of his dwelling. 00:07:25.279 --> 00:07:28.560 And this week, uh Bezalel steps outside. 00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:32.800 Exodus 38 takes us into the outer courts of the tabernacle. 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:40.480 And so there's this tent of meeting, this thing called the tabernacle, where God dwelt in a tent in the midst of tents. 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:45.040 All the people around were encamped in tents. 00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:49.040 And God had a tent in the center of it called the tabernacle in which he dwelt. 00:07:49.199 --> 00:07:54.480 And we know there was the holy place, there was the outer courts and the holy place inside the tent. 00:07:54.560 --> 00:08:02.639 And then the holy of holies, the most holy place where God's presence dwelt, and the Ark of the Covenant was, you could only enter one time a year. 00:08:02.720 --> 00:08:09.759 And the only one who could do that was the high priest, and he only could do it by the blood of the Lamb, which we've talked about extensively. 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:17.759 But essentially, uh God wanted to dwell amongst his people, and so he built a tent with them, and that's what they are working on right now. 00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:25.680 We have this guy, Bezalel, he's the master craftsman, kind of the general contractor overseeing this thing, making sure it all comes together. 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:29.920 Exodus 38 again starts to map the courtyard. 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:40.000 Um picture a rectangle about 150 feet long, um, about half a football field and 75 feet wide. 00:08:40.159 --> 00:08:42.879 Um, this gym is about 60 feet wide. 00:08:42.960 --> 00:08:47.600 So maybe about another 15 feet uh wider than this, 90 by 60. 00:08:47.759 --> 00:08:50.799 And uh so maybe another 15 feet that way. 00:08:51.120 --> 00:09:03.440 Um and then what we see is surrounded um by this white linen fence, which is about seven and a half feet high or about eight feet tall. 00:09:03.600 --> 00:09:09.759 You have this white linen fence that wraps, kind of like these curtains, wraps the entire uh area. 00:09:10.159 --> 00:09:12.480 Inside it said two pieces of silver. 00:09:12.559 --> 00:09:16.879 You see a bronze altar and a bronze basin. 00:09:17.519 --> 00:09:22.480 So um, and and and then beyond that was the uh tent. 00:09:22.720 --> 00:09:33.279 Um I don't know we if we I mean it might be too much to ask, but if Aaron had if if we've got the exploded view in the uh in and uh pro presenter back there, it'd be cool to show the exploded view. 00:09:33.360 --> 00:09:35.519 I've been talking about it a lot, we haven't seen any pictures. 00:09:35.679 --> 00:09:39.200 So if you magically uh find an Aaron, you want to throw it up there, that'd be great. 00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:42.000 Just the giant exploded view, so everybody can see it. 00:09:42.080 --> 00:09:47.360 And when when it comes up on the screen, you guys say, Ah, there it is, and and I'll uh okay, there it is. 00:09:47.519 --> 00:09:50.159 Okay, so do we have the bigger exploded view, maybe? 00:09:50.240 --> 00:09:51.519 Uh the wider view. 00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:53.360 If you can bring it up, it'd be great. 00:09:53.600 --> 00:09:54.559 There it is. 00:09:54.879 --> 00:09:57.440 So you see the white uh linen around the outside. 00:09:57.519 --> 00:10:00.480 I've I've I stumbled upon this when I was living in Israel. 00:10:00.559 --> 00:10:05.759 We were down in the south of Elat, and uh we saw this on the side of the road and we pulled into it. 00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:07.519 It was a state park, and we went in. 00:10:07.600 --> 00:10:10.240 It was a life-size tabernacle, and so there it is. 00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:17.840 There's the white linen that wraps it again, uh 75 feet wide, 150 feet long, and there's the tabernacle. 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:27.519 There is the altar, the square box, there, the altar where they would sacrifice the animals, and the giant bronze basin where they would wash their hands before they entered into the tabernacle. 00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:29.039 There now you have a visual. 00:10:29.120 --> 00:10:30.799 We could leave that up there if you want. 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:34.720 Um, but this is uh part of God's house. 00:10:34.799 --> 00:10:37.679 Um the ordinary Israelite actually saw. 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:44.080 Most of them would never lay eyes on the Ark of the Covenant, which was in the back of that inner tent. 00:10:44.159 --> 00:10:51.600 Um, but everyone of them knew that the gates, the altar, and the basin was there, and it was the front yard of God. 00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:59.919 Um as we walk through it, uh, we're going to discover that the way to God runs really past three things. 00:11:00.080 --> 00:11:10.559 We see first an altar and then a basin, and then of course, uh we have the gates, the entrance to the outer courts, um, which is uh seen down here. 00:11:10.720 --> 00:11:19.519 You can see it the blue and the purple and the uh scarlet, which is found in our text, and that is the gate, the entrance into the courtyard. 00:11:19.679 --> 00:11:24.159 Point number one, if you're taking notes, beyond the mirror is an altar. 00:11:25.600 --> 00:11:29.600 And it's ultimately because our guilt needs a substitute. 00:11:29.759 --> 00:11:31.759 This is verses one through seven. 00:11:32.000

--> 00:11:32.960 Uh look at verse one. 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:41.360 Then he made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood, uh, five cubits long, five cubits wide, square, three cubits high. 00:11:41.440 --> 00:11:47.759 So that's about seven and a half feet square and four and a half feet tall, a giant bronze grill. 00:11:47.919 --> 00:11:49.440 That's what that giant box is. 00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:53.360 It's a giant barbecue made of solid bronze. 00:11:53.600 --> 00:11:57.279 And you could throw an entire cow on there if you wanted to. 00:11:57.519 --> 00:12:00.960 Uh, verse two says it had horns on the four corners. 00:12:01.200 --> 00:12:11.200 Verse three lists the tools prepared for it, so pots for the ashes, shovels, uh, bowls for the blood, fresh hooks, and fire pans. 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:23.279 Those aren't decorations, those are tools of a slaughterhouse, because they slaughtered and killed uh hundreds, if not thousands, of animals on this uh altar. 00:12:23.840 --> 00:12:31.360 And verse four through seven had a bronze uh grating, rings, poles, because this altar traveled with the Israelites wherever they went. 00:12:31.600 --> 00:12:43.840 So when God moved, um they would pack up this entire tabernacle and they would slide the poles through the sides of this uh bronze altar, and they would pick it up and they would carry the altar wherever they went. 00:12:43.919 --> 00:12:45.279 So it was mobile. 00:12:45.519 --> 00:12:49.519 Um, it was the very first thing you saw when you walk through the gates, notice. 00:12:49.679 --> 00:12:51.840 You see the altar, boom, there it is. 00:12:52.240 --> 00:12:56.240 Uh you could not get to God without going past it. 00:12:56.720 --> 00:13:04.639 And here's how it worked: a worshiper brought an animal in through those doors, and they would walk up to the altar with the animal. 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:28.000 You got the you got the rope in hand, you have the animal with you, and you would walk it up to that altar, and the worshiper would lay his hand on the head of that animal, Leviticus chapter four, verse, uh, verse Leviticus chapter one, verse four, and that's a simple act saying, This animal is standing in my place. 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:30.559 Then the animal was put to death. 00:13:30.720 --> 00:13:35.039 They would cut its throat, and the fire on that altar was never allowed to go out. 00:13:35.200 --> 00:13:36.720 They would burn that animal. 00:13:36.960 --> 00:13:39.279 And Leviticus chapter 6, verse 13. 00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:41.840 And they would do this morning and evening. 00:13:42.320 --> 00:13:47.200 Year after year, the blood flowed on this altar, and the fire never went out. 00:13:47.519 --> 00:13:51.759 Sacrifice was made for the forever sins of the people. 00:13:51.919 --> 00:13:53.440 Is that wild or what? 00:13:54.320 --> 00:14:03.519 Now, while the blood, because Hebrews chapter 9, verse 22 tells us without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. 00:14:03.759 --> 00:14:05.120 No forgiveness of sins. 00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:08.559 Sin is not a smudge that we can wipe off a window. 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:11.679 It's a death sentence, and somebody has to pay for it. 00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:13.759 So it was a wild experience. 00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:19.919 Just as I'm saying it to you here in Los Angeles, Studio City, I can feel that wildness. 00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:22.080 Like, what did they walk up with an animal? 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:29.200 Can you walk walking up with your dog or walking up with an animal, a goat, or walking up with a cow, walking up with a lamb? 00:14:29.519 --> 00:14:33.519 And now you put your hand on that animal and you watch it put to death. 00:14:33.840 --> 00:14:38.000 I remember we were, I was in Israel in Yom Kippur, uh, the Day of Atonement. 00:14:38.480 --> 00:14:48.240 Um, and and we walked into one side of town there in Israel in Jerusalem, and they were cutting the throats of chickens, and they were turning them upside down, and there was blood in the streets everywhere. 00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:55.279 I took video of it, I still have it, and I was like, whoa, you know, these are just chickens, you know, it's like chicken nugget, you know. 00:14:55.600 --> 00:15:00.240 I mean, we just we eat chicken like crazy here in this town, no big deal, you know. 00:15:00.399 --> 00:15:05.519 But it's like when you see it and you experience it, you're like, whoa, animals are being put to death. 00:15:06.159 --> 00:15:06.799 Why? 00:15:07.120 --> 00:15:08.720 You have to ask that question. 00:15:08.879 --> 00:15:11.120 Like, why are we gonna go so hard in the paint? 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:16.399 Like we on sin, we have to like put an animal to death. 00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:21.759 Again, God is trying to say something, it's a it is a shocking thing on purpose. 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:25.840 He's trying to tell you that sin brings death into your life. 00:15:26.159 --> 00:15:32.240 Sin will destroy you, sin will destroy your family, your marriage, your everything around you. 00:15:32.320 --> 00:15:33.840 It'll burn your life down. 00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:36.639 He's literally trying to tell you it brings death. 00:15:36.799 --> 00:15:39.039 The wages of sin is what, church? 00:15:39.679 --> 00:15:40.320 Death. 00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:42.799 It will bring death upon you. 00:15:42.960 --> 00:15:44.960 So watch it in real time. 00:15:45.279 --> 00:15:48.559 We're gonna let you experience the death of a real animal. 00:15:50.240 --> 00:15:54.799 Without the shedding of blood, there can be no forgiveness of sins, Hebrews 9 22. 00:15:54.879 --> 00:15:55.919 Sin is not a smudge. 00:15:56.000 --> 00:15:59.519 Again, it must be paid for by blood. 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:01.120 That's how big of a deal it is. 00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:09.600 Hebrews chapter 10, verse 4 adds it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away your sins. 00:16:10.480 --> 00:16:14.799 That altar was a symbol, not a

final solution. 00:16:15.039 --> 00:16:24.480 Every lamb on that altar was pointing to the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. 00:16:24.639 --> 00:16:34.879 The Lord Jesus Christ, Hebrews chapter 9, verse 26, has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 00:16:35.840 --> 00:16:40.000 So Jesus is the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:54.399 Arkant Hughes uh wrote about a book in his commentary called The Maya Mysteries by Wendy Zoba, who studied the ancient Mayan uh and their bloody sacrifices. 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:59.759 They understood something our culture has forgotten, that sin requires blood. 00:16:59.919 --> 00:17:05.440 So they shed more and more and more of it, even the blood of their own children, sadly. 00:17:05.839 --> 00:17:06.880 And it never worked. 00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:16.799 Zoba's conclusion was that their gods were never satisfied because what they lacked was the blood of God shed by God Himself. 00:17:18.079 --> 00:17:20.079 They would keep sacrificing. 00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:23.839 And that's exactly what the cross has given us legacy. 00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:36.880 Not human blood offered up to an angry God, but God's own blood, God's Son, God's own bloodline offered up in our place to pay for the requirement of God's judgment. 00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:37.759 Interesting. 00:17:38.079 --> 00:17:42.480 God places the judgment, then provides the sacrifice himself. 00:17:43.440 --> 00:17:45.279 It's wild to think about, isn't it? 00:17:45.599 --> 00:17:49.359 That the blood of God could only put pay for God's judgment. 00:17:49.759 --> 00:18:01.119 And these animals are a picture, are a foretelling of the darkness of our sin and how much we should hate it and hate what it does to us and to the people around us. 00:18:01.759 --> 00:18:05.039 People, you know, all of the time they say, yeah, I can just sin, just do whatever. 00:18:05.119 --> 00:18:07.200 It's not gonna be that big of a deal. 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:11.680 But we know the repercussions of sin come upon us long term. 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:16.079 Repercussions of sin, church, remember, is always greater than what you can handle. 00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:17.599 It doesn't seem like it in the moment. 00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:19.200 No big deal, it's all right. 00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:23.680 But then we plant those seeds and long term they sprout up in our lives. 00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:25.759 They start coming after us. 00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:28.799 It starts creating that in our lives. 00:18:29.039 --> 00:18:36.640 And so this sacrifice of the animal was the telling of the destruction that it would create in your life over and over. 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:38.079 It was an important step. 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:38.960 Praise God. 00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:42.480 We I don't have to drag a goat here on stage every week, huh? 00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:44.720 Can you imagine? 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:46.880 That would not

be fun. 00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:47.759 Not for me either. 00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:49.839 Like, hey, here we go, let's kill another goat. 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:54.960 You know, when we think of the priestly garments, we'd we always think of like these gold perfect garments. 00:18:55.920 --> 00:18:57.599 It was a slaughterhouse, man. 00:18:57.680 --> 00:19:00.160 They were dripped in blood, these men. 00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:03.680 Not a fun thing to look at and see. 00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:09.200 But here's where the mirror comes back in here, the this point of the mirror. 00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:14.000 Most of us, when we see something wrong in our reflection, we try to fix ourselves. 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:18.400 A little more effort, a little more religion, a little more cover-up. 00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:23.920 But you can't fix guilt and sin with concealer. 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:27.920 Uh you can't cover it up with makeup. 00:19:29.039 --> 00:19:32.480 You ladies do some magical things with that makeup. 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:37.920 But you cannot, you cannot cover up sin. 00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:42.079 We have to stop working on a reflection and go to the altar. 00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:44.880 You gotta lay your hand on the head. 00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:53.599 You lay your hand on the head, you lay your hand on the head of the Lord Jesus Christ, the substitute by faith. 00:19:54.079 --> 00:19:59.359 Lord, thank you for dying in my place and let your sin transfer to him. 00:19:59.759 --> 00:20:01.279 That's how you deal with it. 00:20:01.599 --> 00:20:04.880 And nobody who wants to do that, not me. 00:20:05.200 --> 00:20:09.200 Go put my hand on the head of the Lord Jesus Christ, let him take on my sin. 00:20:11.119 --> 00:20:24.480 John Stock put it this way in the cross of Christ: the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:27.440 He substituted himself for me. 00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:36.960 The poet Heradius Bonner said this: Upon a life I have not lived, upon a death I did not die. 00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:41.839 Another's life, another's death, I stake my whole eternity. 00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:47.759 Another's life and another's death, I stake my entire eternity on that. 00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:53.599 Augustus top lady, he wrote the Rock of Ages hymn in 1776. 00:20:53.680 --> 00:20:58.960 He says, Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling. 00:21:00.160 --> 00:21:02.559 Nothing in my hand I bring. 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:04.240 I mean, let's be honest. 00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:05.279 We walk up to the altar. 00:21:05.359 --> 00:21:06.559 What do we have in our hands? 00:21:06.799 --> 00:21:07.920 We're gonna pay? 00:21:08.160 --> 00:21:09.759 We're gonna make payments. 00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:23.599 We walk in there with the cross, we walk in there with the Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God, and by the grace of God, that He would be so gracious and so merciful, and we should be unbelievably humbled in that moment. 00:21:23.680 --> 00:21:29.839 That God the Father would say, Yes, I will transfer sin to the Lamb. 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:37.359 And I will give you His righteousness, I will give you His perfection, and that's why you're getting into heaven. 00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:39.279 Unbelievable, isn't it? 00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:43.279 Point number two, if you're taking notes, beyond the mirror is a basin. 00:21:43.680 --> 00:21:48.480 First we have an altar, but now we have a basin because our lives need cleansing. 00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:51.440 Now again, we're gonna zoom in on verse eight. 00:21:51.680 --> 00:21:53.920 Uh it's one verse, and you can easily miss it. 00:21:54.000 --> 00:22:02.000 And I you can read right past it very quickly, but it's really, it's really bizarre when you look at What has happened? 00:22:02.319 --> 00:22:16.880 It says, moreover, he made the labor of bronze with its base of bronze from the mirrors of the serving women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:24.079 So there must have been these women who stood at the doorway of the tent of meeting and they were ministering women. 00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:28.559 And these women, of course, what woman doesn't have a mirror. 00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:32.559 These women got their hands on mirrors. 00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:36.640 Mirrors in the ancient world were not glass. 00:22:37.599 --> 00:22:40.559 Egyptian-made mirrors were of copper. 00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:43.279 What a beauty product, huh, ladies? 00:22:43.599 --> 00:22:45.200 Perfectly shine copper. 00:22:45.440 --> 00:22:46.079 Bang. 00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:47.599 Beautiful. 00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:49.119 Or bronze. 00:22:49.680 --> 00:22:51.200 Bronze would be fun too. 00:22:51.359 --> 00:22:53.440 Super highly polished bronze. 00:22:53.759 --> 00:22:54.400 Super cool. 00:22:54.559 --> 00:22:56.960 Maybe we need some new products, huh? 00:22:57.599 --> 00:23:01.599 But they were polished until they gleamed, and these were luxury items. 00:23:02.079 --> 00:23:06.240 Where did the nation of former slaves get luxury items? 00:23:06.400 --> 00:23:09.200 Remember, the Israelites, the Hebrews, they were slaves in Egypt. 00:23:09.279 --> 00:23:12.000 How did they get their hands on these luxury products? 00:23:12.240 --> 00:23:17.119 Exodus chapter 12, verse 35 tells us that on the way out of Egypt, let my people go. 00:23:17.279 --> 00:23:19.039 And Pharaoh's like, get them out of here. 00:23:19.119 --> 00:23:21.279 I'm sick of these people and the plagues. 00:23:21.519 --> 00:23:26.880 On the way out of Egypt, the Egyptians handed them silver, gold, and clothing. 00:23:27.359 --> 00:23:30.400 Now put yourself in that woman's sandals for a second here. 00:23:30.480 --> 00:23:32.240 For her whole life, she's a slave. 00:23:32.480 --> 00:23:39.359 She spent her days making her Egyptian mistress beautiful and never once saw her own

face clearly. 00:23:39.440 --> 00:23:43.440 Maybe she would walk by the mirror standing there on the table and get a glimpse. 00:23:44.400 --> 00:23:49.680 Then on the night of the Exodus, somebody gave her a polished bronze mirror in her hands. 00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:51.759 Some woman gave it to her. 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:54.960 And for the first time in her life, she could see herself. 00:23:55.359 --> 00:24:00.400 She's walking out of Egypt with a copper or bronze mirror. 00:24:01.359 --> 00:24:02.480 Wild, huh? 00:24:02.720 --> 00:24:06.400 Then Moses announced that God needed bronze. 00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:12.640 And she looked at that mirror, she looked again, and she gave it away. 00:24:13.119 --> 00:24:14.559 And she wasn't the oldie one. 00:24:14.720 --> 00:24:16.480 A whole group of women did the same thing. 00:24:16.640 --> 00:24:29.759 And Bezalel, the craftsman, the general contractor, took all the metal of those mirrors and he melted them down to create the basin where the priests would wash their face and their hands. 00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:36.960 There it is, that bronze basin, that big bowl, made of mirrors. 00:24:37.359 --> 00:24:39.119 It says it here in verse 8. 00:24:39.279 --> 00:24:40.799 Is that crazy or what? 00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:47.599 I'll never forget for the rest of my life that that basin is made of the mirrors of women. 00:24:50.319 --> 00:24:52.079 The basin was no small matter. 00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:59.039 Exodus 30, verses 20 to 21 says the priests had to wash their hands and their feet before they served, so they will not die. 00:24:59.200 --> 00:25:03.440 It was to be washed and to be cleansed, or they would die. 00:25:04.400 --> 00:25:05.839 You see the picture? 00:25:06.240 --> 00:25:08.640 Amir shows you what is dirty. 00:25:08.960 --> 00:25:11.759 A basin makes you clean. 00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:18.160 These women traded the thing that reflected them for the thing that cleansed God's servants. 00:25:18.319 --> 00:25:21.200 They were ministering women standing at the entrance. 00:25:21.279 --> 00:25:22.079 It's beautiful. 00:25:22.319 --> 00:25:38.799 James chapter 1, verse 23 says, the person who hears God's word but doesn't act on it is like a person, a man who looks at his natural face in the mirror and then walks away and forgets what he looks like. 00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:44.000 Looking isn't the same as washing. 00:25:44.079 --> 00:25:50.640 It's like looking at your face and seeing you got barbecue sauce all over your face, you know, from the barbecue that day. 00:25:51.279 --> 00:25:54.000 And you walk away and act like nothing's there. 00:25:55.200 --> 00:25:56.640 Isn't that wild? 00:25:58.000 --> 00:26:02.799 You see something spiritually on your face, and you don't even want to wipe it off. 00:26:06.559 --> 00:26:15.759 The Greeks told the story of Narcissus, a young man so taken with his own reflection in a pool that he couldn't pull himself away. 00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:19.200 He stared until

he wasted away and died. 00:26:19.440 --> 00:26:21.119 Right there at the water's edge. 00:26:21.279 --> 00:26:22.160 Now think about that. 00:26:22.319 --> 00:26:28.720 He was kneeling beside the water that could have washed him, and all he could do was look at himself. 00:26:29.519 --> 00:26:31.039 That wild or what? 00:26:32.319 --> 00:26:36.319 Now I was just listening to a recent podcast, I was CEO. 00:26:37.359 --> 00:26:41.680 Yeah, the great Robert Green wrote Mastery and wrote a lot of these uh incredible books. 00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:43.680 He was talking about narcissism. 00:26:44.160 --> 00:26:45.359 And I love what he said. 00:26:45.519 --> 00:26:49.200 He basically said, every single person is a narcissist. 00:26:51.200 --> 00:26:53.440 There's just very variations. 00:26:55.279 --> 00:27:00.079 And the way that you know this is when we take a picture together, who's the first person you look at? 00:27:00.960 --> 00:27:02.559 That's not a good one. 00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:04.319 Don't post that one. 00:27:04.400 --> 00:27:05.039 I don't like it. 00:27:05.279 --> 00:27:05.519 Why? 00:27:05.680 --> 00:27:06.319 I look great. 00:27:06.480 --> 00:27:08.880 I mean, look at me, I look thin, man. 00:27:09.039 --> 00:27:09.839 Come on. 00:27:13.279 --> 00:27:14.720 Isn't that interesting? 00:27:15.279 --> 00:27:16.400 Just variations. 00:27:17.519 --> 00:27:19.680 A healthy narcissist or an unhealthy one. 00:27:19.839 --> 00:27:21.920 That's the way he puts it, and I love it. 00:27:22.480 --> 00:27:24.079 We're all sinners. 00:27:24.720 --> 00:27:26.720 All in need of a savior. 00:27:26.960 --> 00:27:28.079 All broken. 00:27:29.039 --> 00:27:32.000 All needing to be cleansed and washed in some way. 00:27:32.160 --> 00:27:32.799 Amen. 00:27:34.720 --> 00:27:37.039 He's a non-believer, literally preaching humility. 00:27:37.119 --> 00:27:38.799 And I was like, yeah, man. 00:27:40.480 --> 00:27:41.920 That's the human condition. 00:27:42.079 --> 00:27:46.640 We stare at our reflection, we stare at ourselves and miss the basin, we miss the cleansing. 00:27:46.880 --> 00:27:51.200 We choose to overlook our sin, but we are ready to see everyone else's sin. 00:27:51.279 --> 00:27:52.559 Isn't that interesting? 00:27:53.359 --> 00:27:53.920 Look in the mirror. 00:27:54.079 --> 00:27:56.160 I don't, I look, I look great, actually. 00:27:56.640 --> 00:27:58.079 Look at look at you. 00:27:58.799 --> 00:28:00.240 Look at you, man. 00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:02.160 Can't you see your problems? 00:28:02.319 --> 00:28:03.279 I see them. 00:28:04.640 --> 00:28:06.559 We don't like seeing our own. 00:28:07.680 --> 00:28:11.759 We choose to overlook our own sin, but we are ready to see everyone else's sin. 00:28:11.920 --> 00:28:13.839 Some people stay away from mirrors. 00:28:13.920 --> 00:28:18.559 They don't want to see themselves, but others can't stop looking at themselves. 00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:21.519 Both have the ability to overlook their own blemishes.

00:28:21.599 --> 00:28:22.960 Isn't that interesting? 00:28:23.920 --> 00:28:26.880 But we see clearly everyone else's problems. 00:28:27.279 --> 00:28:30.240 Praise God, He's provided cleansing for us all. 00:28:30.880 --> 00:28:38.079 Titus chapter 3, verse 5 calls it the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit of God. 00:28:38.880 --> 00:28:52.160 And for the dirt we pick up along the way, 1 John chapter 1, verse 9, he promises us if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. 00:28:53.440 --> 00:28:56.319 Ladies, when you look in the mirror, what do you see? 00:28:57.200 --> 00:28:59.359 Wrinkles you wish you could erase? 00:28:59.839 --> 00:29:02.480 A number on the scale you wish you could change? 00:29:02.720 --> 00:29:08.400 Or do you see a woman loved by God, washed by Christ, being made beautiful by his spirit? 00:29:08.720 --> 00:29:10.480 Because that's what matters. 00:29:11.039 --> 00:29:16.160 Men don't dare, you can't sit there and say, Yeah, tell the ladies, you know. 00:29:16.400 --> 00:29:20.319 Some of us spend more time in the mirror than we do our wives, huh, brothers? 00:29:20.559 --> 00:29:23.680 You've been looking at that piece of hair for a long time. 00:29:25.279 --> 00:29:26.640 Pastor, you don't have any hair. 00:29:26.799 --> 00:29:27.440 I know. 00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:30.799 But I look at my hairs closely, thank you very much. 00:29:32.640 --> 00:29:38.319 1 Samuel 16:7, man sees what is visible to the eye, but Yahweh sees the heart. 00:29:39.200 --> 00:29:41.680 He doesn't care about all this stuff. 00:29:42.559 --> 00:29:44.079 So what's in your mirror? 00:29:44.319 --> 00:29:49.519 Maybe it's your image, your reputation, your Instagram feed, whatever keeps you staring at yourself. 00:29:49.680 --> 00:29:54.319 Give it to God and let him make a basin out of it. 00:29:54.559 --> 00:29:59.680 Let him take this bronze mirror and use it, use to look at ourselves and prop ourselves up. 00:29:59.839 --> 00:30:06.640 Everyone look at me and use this bronze mirror to be melted down and then used to cleanse sinners. 00:30:08.079 --> 00:30:12.799 Use us, Lord, to help others be cleansed and forgiven and brought close to you. 00:30:12.960 --> 00:30:18.240 Whatever it is that God has given you to get everyone to look at you, you have something magical. 00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:20.480 Everybody, you have something that you can do. 00:30:20.640 --> 00:30:28.319 You have something about you, your thing that God has given you that makes people look at you and be impressed with you. 00:30:28.799 --> 00:30:33.279 You take that thing and you offer it to God and say, God, use this for your glory. 00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:37.119 Use my image for your glory. 00:30:37.759 --> 00:30:38.720 You see that? 00:30:39.359 --> 00:30:41.680 You don't have to throw your mirrors away, ladies. 00:30:42.079 --> 00:30:43.359 Don't do that. 00:30:44.319 --> 00:30:46.559 Use the mirror for God's glory. 00:30:47.200 --> 00:30:48.559 Look beyond the mirror. 00:30:48.799 --> 00:30:50.000 What do you see? 00:30:50.319 --> 00:30:52.160 Do you see what God sees? 00:30:52.799 --> 00:30:54.559 See it like God sees. 00:30:55.839 --> 00:30:59.279 Robert Murray Shea said, this is a Scottish pastor. 00:30:59.359 --> 00:31:01.359 He died when he was 29 years old. 00:31:01.599 --> 00:31:06.480 He said, for every one look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ. 00:31:07.759 --> 00:31:12.400 For every one look at others, take ten looks at Christ. 00:31:12.720 --> 00:31:13.599 Isn't that good? 00:31:15.039 --> 00:31:17.519 For every one look at yourself, take ten looks at others. 00:31:17.680 --> 00:31:26.799 John Calvin in his institutes, he said, man never attains to a true self-knowledge until he has previously contemplated the face of God. 00:31:27.680 --> 00:31:32.960 He's essentially saying you can't be self-aware until you are aware of God. 00:31:33.839 --> 00:31:39.599 You can't even start to self-reflect on who you are and what you're up to until you come and look into the face. 00:31:39.920 --> 00:31:41.279 He is the mirror. 00:31:41.599 --> 00:31:46.240 You got to look into his face and he shows you everything. 00:31:46.559 --> 00:31:54.079 The greatest thing about it, church, is not only does he show you the bad and the ugly, he shows you the good and the perfect in you as well. 00:31:55.519 --> 00:31:58.160 You look at the face of the guy, you're like, I'm ugly. 00:32:00.160 --> 00:32:01.359 He's like, No, you're not. 00:32:01.440 --> 00:32:02.079 You're beautiful. 00:32:02.160 --> 00:32:03.920 I love you just as you are. 00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:05.680 I see you. 00:32:06.240 --> 00:32:08.319 I see you for who you are. 00:32:08.640 --> 00:32:11.359 You keep doing what I've called you to do. 00:32:11.519 --> 00:32:15.279 Point number three, and finally, beyond the mirror is the gate. 00:32:16.480 --> 00:32:18.400 God has made one way in. 00:32:18.480 --> 00:32:19.119 That's it. 00:32:19.279 --> 00:32:21.519 This is verses really 9 to 31. 00:32:21.680 --> 00:32:24.480 Verses 9 through 17 describe this fence. 00:32:24.720 --> 00:32:37.119 Again, a hundred cubits of fine twisted linen on the north and south, fifty on the west, held up by bronze bases and silver hooks, all white, all the way around, white linen, beautiful, clean. 00:32:37.359 --> 00:32:52.720 Except for one spot, verse 18 says the screen of the gate of the court was the work of a weaver of a blue and purple and scarlet material, fine twisted linen, 20 cubits wide, about 30 feet, and on the east side towards the sunrise. 00:32:53.440 --> 00:32:58.079 Um, that colorful curtain matched the fabric of the tabernacle itself. 00:32:58.160 --> 00:33:03.119 And anyone looking at that fence knew instantly where the door was of the outer courts. 00:33:03.279 --> 00:33:04.000 Where's the door? 00:33:04.160 --> 00:33:05.119 Can't you see? 00:33:05.279 --> 00:33:08.400 It's

blue, purple, and scarlet, red. 00:33:08.960 --> 00:33:09.839 You can't miss it. 00:33:09.920 --> 00:33:11.359 Everything else is white all the way around. 00:33:11.519 --> 00:33:12.880 Boom, there's the door. 00:33:13.680 --> 00:33:19.119 And there was no back door, notice, and there was no climbing over the fence. 00:33:19.200 --> 00:33:24.000 There was one gate, and it was wide open to anybody in the camp who wants to come in. 00:33:24.079 --> 00:33:24.960 Isn't that great? 00:33:25.200 --> 00:33:27.920 Anyone want to come into the courts of God? 00:33:28.079 --> 00:33:29.759 Come into his front yard and play. 00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:32.240 Throw some ball around in the front yard of God's court. 00:33:32.559 --> 00:33:35.200 Anyone who wants to come in, the door is open. 00:33:35.519 --> 00:33:36.559 Beautiful. 00:33:36.880 --> 00:33:40.799 Verse 21 to 31 give the inventory of this whole thing. 00:33:40.960 --> 00:33:45.599 It was roughly a ton of gold, three tons of silver, and two tons of bronze. 00:33:45.680 --> 00:33:51.359 It's about 130 million dollars given to the building of this tent. 00:33:52.000 --> 00:33:53.759 Unbelievable, huh? 00:33:54.720 --> 00:33:57.119 And that's today's estimation, of course. 00:33:57.359 --> 00:34:00.960 But look closely at the silver in verse 25 and 26. 00:34:01.119 --> 00:34:12.960 It came from a Becca of a head, or for 603,000 men, that was the ransom money of Exodus 30, where every man paid the same half shekel to redeem his life. 00:34:13.119 --> 00:34:15.360 Rich or poor, the price was the same. 00:34:15.519 --> 00:34:21.440 And verse 27 says that the silver became the bases the sanctuary stood on. 00:34:21.679 --> 00:34:24.480 God's house literally rested on redemption. 00:34:24.719 --> 00:34:32.880 These men is a symbol of Christ's ultimate paying or bringing silver to the house of God, and they used this silver in building the tabernacle. 00:34:33.119 --> 00:34:36.639 Again, a picture of the ultimate price paid for all to come through that gate. 00:34:36.880 --> 00:34:38.960 Jesus said, I am the door. 00:34:39.360 --> 00:34:41.599 If anyone enters through me, he will be saved. 00:34:41.760 --> 00:34:42.880 John 10, 9. 00:34:43.119 --> 00:34:46.800 Again, no one comes to the Father but through me. 00:34:47.119 --> 00:34:49.440 John chapter 14, verse 6. 00:34:50.639 --> 00:34:52.559 That's not narrow-mindedness. 00:34:52.719 --> 00:34:55.440 The gate is narrow and few find it. 00:34:55.599 --> 00:34:58.639 Not because it's small, it's like it's a small gate. 00:34:58.800 --> 00:35:00.159 It's a gate for babies. 00:35:00.320 --> 00:35:01.599 You cannot get in. 00:35:01.760 --> 00:35:03.039 That's not true. 00:35:03.280 --> 00:35:05.199 It is narrow, is the word. 00:35:05.360 --> 00:35:07.599 That means not many ways. 00:35:09.199 --> 00:35:11.119 The door is wide open. 00:35:11.280 --> 00:35:14.079 It's giant and it's wide open for anyone to come through. 00:35:14.239 --> 00:35:17.760 There's just only one door, and his name's Jesus. 00:35:18.800 --> 00:35:22.400 And anyone in the camp can come through that door by faith. 00:35:22.800 --> 00:35:24.239 The price to get in? 00:35:24.559 --> 00:35:36.719 Peter tells us that we are not redeemed with perishable things like silver and gold, but the precious blood of the blood of the Lamb, unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ, 1 Peter 1.18. 00:35:42.159 --> 00:35:54.159 On a Sunday in January 1850, a 15-year-old named Charles Spurgeon ducked into a little Methodist chapel in Colchester. 00:35:54.880 --> 00:35:57.679 The preacher didn't show that day. 00:35:58.079 --> 00:36:09.199 So a thin lay preacher stood up and read Isaiah 45, 22, look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. 00:36:09.360 --> 00:36:17.840 Then he spotted the miserable teenager in the back and he pointed at him, Charles Spurgeon, and he shouted, Young man, look to Jesus. 00:36:18.159 --> 00:36:21.119 Look, look, look to Jesus. 00:36:22.000 --> 00:36:28.400 And Spurgeon looked not at himself, but beyond himself. 00:36:28.719 --> 00:36:30.800 And he walked through the gate that morning. 00:36:30.960 --> 00:36:36.000 The prince of preachers was saved, maybe the greatest preacher to ever walk the earth. 00:36:36.400 --> 00:36:43.840 And he went on to preach, look to Jesus, look beyond the mirror, look to Jesus for the rest of his life. 00:36:44.159 --> 00:36:49.039 Some of you have spent years looking at yourself trying to decide whether you're good enough for God or not. 00:36:49.360 --> 00:36:52.320 So stop looking in the mirror and look to Christ, look to Jesus. 00:36:52.480 --> 00:36:55.119 The gate is open, the price is paid. 00:36:55.360 --> 00:36:56.639 It's already been done. 00:36:56.960 --> 00:37:15.519 John Bunyan in The Pilgrim's Progress in 1678, when Christian in his story reaches the narrow gate, ashamed of his wrong, goodwill opens it gladly and tells him, no matter what you've done before you got here, when you come, you will not be turned away. 00:37:16.559 --> 00:37:17.519 Come in. 00:37:18.159 --> 00:37:22.480 Put your hand on the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus, and let sin be transferred. 00:37:22.639 --> 00:37:26.639 Give your mirror over to be used to cleanse yourself and others. 00:37:26.880 --> 00:37:30.159 The door is clear and open to all who come in by faith. 00:37:30.239 --> 00:37:31.519 You will not be turned away. 00:37:31.760 --> 00:37:34.960 God is ready to forgive you and welcome you into his courts. 00:37:35.119 --> 00:37:35.760 Amen. 00:37:37.760 --> 00:37:39.519 Beyond the mirror is an altar. 00:37:39.760 --> 00:37:41.519 Beyond the mirror is a basin. 00:37:41.840 --> 00:37:43.679 Beyond the mirror is a gate. 00:37:44.159 --> 00:37:46.000 When you look through that mirror, what do you see? 00:37:46.079 --> 00:37:47.679 Is there anything beyond it? 00:37:47.920 --> 00:37:53.760 The mirror will always tell you the truth about your face, but it can never tell you the truth about

your future. 00:37:53.840 --> 00:37:57.440 It can only show you the dirt, but it can't wash it away. 00:37:57.920 --> 00:38:01.920 It can show you your age, but it can't give you life. 00:38:02.159 --> 00:38:05.519 Only Jesus can do all of that. 00:38:05.920 --> 00:38:07.119 Here's a beautiful part. 00:38:07.280 --> 00:38:21.599 Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3.18 that we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from glory to greater glory. 00:38:22.800 --> 00:38:28.719 When we stop staring at ourselves and start beholding Jesus, we start to look like Him. 00:38:29.199 --> 00:38:30.880 Look beyond the mirror. 00:38:31.119 --> 00:38:32.400 Look to Jesus. 00:38:32.639 --> 00:38:35.760 And the more you look at Him, the more you will become like Him. 00:38:36.000 --> 00:38:36.400 C.S. 00:38:36.480 --> 00:38:40.239 Lewis wrote in The Weight of Glory that we don't merely want to see beauty. 00:38:40.480 --> 00:38:47.119 We want to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves. 00:38:47.360 --> 00:38:50.800 And those women at the tabernacle door understood that. 00:38:50.960 --> 00:38:56.480 They gave up a reflection of themselves to gain something far more beautiful. 00:38:56.719 --> 00:39:00.079 And so this morning, it's time to hand over the mirror. 00:39:00.239 --> 00:39:00.800 Amen. 00:39:00.960 --> 00:39:05.599 And to come through the gates, come to the altar, come to the basin, wash your hands. 00:39:05.920 --> 00:39:07.039 Come to the Lord Jesus. 00:39:07.119 --> 00:39:08.480 We're going to do it in communion this morning. 00:39:08.559 --> 00:39:09.119 Isn't that great? 00:39:09.199 --> 00:39:12.400 We'll spend just 10 minutes closing today in communion. 00:39:12.480 --> 00:39:13.039 Let's pray. 00:39:13.199 --> 00:39:14.559 Let's go before the Lord. 00:39:14.800 --> 00:39:25.039 Father, we bless you in this place, and we ask that you now bless this time of communion as we look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, for the joy set before him. 00:39:26.000 --> 00:39:31.119 Endured the cross, despising, shame, gave himself for us. 00:39:31.360 --> 00:39:33.199 We just want to declare that we love you, Lord. 00:39:33.280 --> 00:39:34.159 We are for you. 00:39:34.320 --> 00:39:36.480 And we ask that you would draw us near to yourself today. 00:39:36.559 --> 00:39:40.719 I pray for anybody here today, where their heads are bowed, our eyes are closed, and we're praying. 00:39:40.880 --> 00:39:54.239 Anyone who needs to get things right with you before we partake of the body and the blood of Christ, Lord, we come to you by faith, just simply believing that you've done the work, and we say, Jesus, save me, save me from my sins. 00:39:54.400 --> 00:40:00.400 We look to you, Jesus, and we turn away from sinning and we turn to you with all of our hearts. 00:40:00.559 --> 00:40:07.519 And we make a new commitment, a fresh commitment, a recommitment, saying, I want to follow you all the days of my life. 00:40:07.679 --> 00:40:10.960 And then we want to profess that by the partaking of communion. 00:40:11.199 --> 00:40:16.719 We take of your body and we say thank you for taking care of us, healing us of our sin. 00:40:17.039 --> 00:40:24.719 We take of the blood, we take of the cup, celebrating your promises and your grace and your mercy and the gift of heaven in our lives. 00:40:24.800 --> 00:40:25.679 We love you, Lord. 00:40:25.840 --> 00:40:27.280 We give you our lives. 00:40:27.519 --> 00:40:29.360 We want to commune with you now. 00:40:29.599 --> 00:40:31.360 Please hear our prayers. 00:40:31.679 --> 00:40:32.800 Meet with us now. 00:40:32.960 --> 00:40:34.639 We pray in Jesus' name. 00:40:34.960 --> 00:40:35.599 Amen.