In this sermon, the preacher focuses on the significance of the Ark of the Covenant as described in the book of Deuteronomy. He emphasizes the importance of recognizing the presence of God and not becoming complacent or routine in our worship. The preacher highlights the redemption and atonement provided by Jesus through his death and resurrection, emphasizing that we are saved by his life. He encourages the congregation to love and worship Jesus, acknowledging his goodness and praising him.

This recording is provided by Times Square Church in New York City. You're welcome to make additional copies for free distribution to friends. All other unauthorized duplication or electronic transmission is a violation of copyright and other applicable laws. This recording cannot be posted on any website. However, written permission to link to the Times Square Church homepage may be requested by emailing info at timessquarechurch.org. Other recordings are available by calling 1-800-488-0854 or by writing to Times Square Church Tape Ministry, 1657 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. This is the fourth in a series I've been preaching here at Times Square Church about our blessed Savior and our relationship to Him. And I've entitled this, The Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant, would you go with me to Deuteronomy, the 10th chapter, please? Deuteronomy, the 10th chapter. Welcome to all of our overflow rooms, those who are watching on giant screens. We know that the presence of the Lord is in the room where you're at. We trust you to prepare your heart for the word of the Lord. Deuteronomy, chapter 10. The first five verses. At that time the Lord said unto me, this is speaking to Moses, Hew thee two tablets of stone, like unto the first, and come up unto me unto the mountain, and make thee an ark of wood. Now write on the tablets the words which were in the first tablets which thou breakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark. And I made an ark of shit of wood, and hew two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mountain, having two tables in my hand. He wrote on the tables according to the first writing, the Ten Commandments, which the Lord spake unto you in the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly, and the Lord gave them unto me. And I turned myself, came down from the mountain, I put the tables in the ark, which I have made, which I had made, and there they be as the Lord commanded me. Lord, we pray that you manifest, Holy Spirit, that you would manifest Christ in one of the many facets, in one of the many rays of light, until we see the fullness of Christ. And Lord Jesus, that it would warm our hearts and draw us closer to you. Holy Spirit, we know that this is your ministry in your heart, that you would make Christ known to us, that he would become precious to us, that he would become our life. And Lord Jesus, that's the heart of everything that we say and do. You are everything. Lord, you are everything, and we focus on you now, Holy Spirit. Come and make your word real to us, that there be no fog in what is presented, and let this be a part of my life even as I preach it. In Christ's name I pray, amen. Now, I'm going to try to simplify this as much as I can. I'm not going to go into all the typology of the Ark of the Covenant. Most young people, some of the only thing you know about the Ark is a movie they had years ago called The Raiders of the Lost Ark. And you saw people disappearing and vanishing if they touched the Ark, and that's about all some people know about the Ark of the Covenant. That was not Noah's Ark, but the Ark of the Covenant. God instructed Moses to build a box. It's 42 inches long, 27 inches wide, 20 inches deep. And it was to be overlaid inside and outside with gold. On top of that box was a lid, the same dimension, 42 by 27, and it was made of shidom wood, a very solid, long-lasting hardwood, and it was plated with gold, both sides and corners, and it had a rim around it. And on that lid were two carved pure gold angels with wings that spread over that lid of that box. And these were cherubim, and they were looking down on the lid. That lid is called the mercy seat. That box was called the Ark of Testimony. The testimony being the law, the Ten Commandments on two tablets of stone. Later on, of course, Moses put in the bowl of manna that was miraculously preserved for at least quite a period of time, and also the budding rod of Aaron, which represented the spiritual authority of Christ, the priesthood of Christ. And the man, of course, is that he is what we live off of. He is our meat. He is our bread. We're not going to go any further than that in the typology, but this ark was placed in the tabernacle, the wilderness tabernacle that God instructed in minute detail how to build. And the centerpiece of this tabernacle in the wilderness, it was a portable tabernacle. You could tear it down and take it to other encampments. And in the middle of this encampment or this tabernacle, surrounded by curtains, a wall of curtains and cloth, there was an enclosure including two rooms. One room you entered first was called the holy place. Now, most of you know this, but some that are new here and maybe just walked in wouldn't understand what we're saying. The second part of that enclosure was called the holy of holies. And there was a curtain, a veil between the two. And when you went through the holy place, you came to this curtain, this veil. And behind that veil was placed this golden ark, completely. It was just brilliant with pure gold, covered with gold, the top of it being the mercy seat and inside the law. You see, God is here, the law is here. You can't get to God until you go through the mercy seat. You can't go from the box itself. You can't go from the law to the Father. You have to go through the mercy seat. Now, I'll explain that as we go. But no one could go into that holy of holies except the high priest once a year. He had on a breastplate that had all the names of the tribes of Israel. And he was to go in. First of all, he would sacrifice, the blood would be shed. Now, he has to be the high priest once a year on the day of atonement. Atonement means reconciliation to God. Listen closely. Reconciliation to God through blood sacrifice. That all is made well through a blood sacrifice. But it can't just be sacrificed. A vial of that blood had to be taken once a year. This man has to be dressed conspicuously as God had ordained. He has to make sure that his heart is prepared. He could die if he does not come in divine order. He could be slain. He has to come and he takes the blood of a slain animal and he sprinkles it on the mercy seat. And then he intercedes for the people. Now, that was called atonement. God's plan of reconciliation for mankind. When the tabernacle was moved, it had to be very meticulously. All the divine order had to be followed. The Kohites were those Levites that were given the privilege of moving the tabernacle from one place to the other. Now, this little ark had four holders, so to speak. Corners were staged or rods were put through so they could carry it. No one was to look at this in its nakedness. No one could look at it in its golden brilliance. No one except the high priest once a year. But when it was moved, there was a procedure. The Kohites could not go in till first. Aaron, the high priest, went in with his priest sons. And the first thing they did when they're going to move it was to take down the veil. And he had to go then and put that veil over the ark. And not only was it covered with the veil, it had three covers. They covered it with badger skins. And then they covered it with a blue blanket, brilliant bright blue blanket. No one was to look at this. No one was to gaze at the expense of their life. They could not touch it. They could not look at it. The Kohites came in and picked up the ark after it had been wrapped by the high priest. There was a mystery to it. There was an incredible mystery. The Kohites would move, would take that ark out first. It was the first item of business in the transportation of this. Now, I'm not going to get complicated on this, trying to make it very, very simple and easy to understand. They shall not go in to see the holy objects, even for a moment, lest they die. If a curious Levite or someone would happen to stray in there and look at this naked, before it's wrapped, look at it, they would die. Very, very dangerous thing. You see, it represented the presence of God. God said, you will never take my presence lightly. You will never. The most important thing in the life of a believer is the presence of God. It's the presence of Jesus Christ. Because we're going to see that that is what the ark represented. What a sight it must have been when they set out to a new encampment. And it's a very amazing thing that when they moved from Mount Sinai, it said that the ark went before them for three days, seeking out a place of rest. Put the typology together. The ark, which represents Christ going three days ahead, looking for a place of rest. And all through this you see God in object lessons, trying to teach. Because the law was a tutor, Paul said, trying to teach. He said men were shut up for centuries. They were shut up, not understanding the mystery, but God was taking them to school. One lamb after another was slain, and the blood was taken in for atonement. And God saying, do you ever get it? Do you understand? There has to be, before sin is forgiven, there has to be a blood sacrifice. And it has to be taken to the mercy seat. He was trying to show what was coming in the fullness of time, Paul said. In the fullness of time, this mystery would be revealed to mankind. What a sight it must have been. I'm sure the caravans saw it. We do know, according to the Bible, that the Canaanites, the Philistines, all of those in the promised land, were spying on Israel. And every move, especially when the Red Sea opened, because that spread all over the Philistine nations, and all the inhabitants of all the lands, and it melted their hearts. The fear of God came on them. Remember in Jericho, what the harlot Rahab said to the two Israeli spies that came in to spy out Jericho? She said, the terror of you, speaking of Israel, has fallen upon us. And all the inhabitants of the land have melted away because of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the sea, and your Lord God, He is God in heaven above and earth beneath. Now you see, to go into the promised land there at the border of Jordan, right across the Jordan River, and you can see it from the other side, is Jericho, a great walled city, with walls that you could ride with chariots. You could raise chariots on those walls that were so wide and so high. And they're gathered now with the ark, ready to cross into the promised land. And the whole city had to be on that wall observing a frightful scene, because there are six men dressed in their priestly outfits, and they have a blue-covered box. Now, in Hebrew, the word ark means box. So I'm not being disrespectful when I call it a box. That's what the Hebrew word means, a box or a chest. And here comes, they have heard that there is a God among them, that there's a presence of God, and they're convinced He's in the box. Because as soon as those priests put their foot in the Jordan River, it opens up. And they start going by in dry land. And that ark stops, and all the people pass, and then here comes the ark. And suddenly, the fear that must have hit Jericho, that God in the box is coming at us. What's in that blue box? In fact, they look down, and here are the children of Israel following that blue box around the walls. Now, folks, that box was not shining in gold. No one could look at it. It was covered three times. The hiddenness of the revelation of Jesus Christ, because in that box is a revelation, a veiled revelation, of a Redeemer who's going to come one day. But not until the law has finished its work, not until mankind has been schooled in his own frailty, only after he knows that his own works can't save him. How long it takes? God says if it takes a thousand years, then it took over a thousand years for the law to tutor and change us, that we cannot save ourselves, that good works cannot get us through the mercy seat to God. They're marching around. Now, the great question is, what is in the box? Do they have a little golden idol? Because that's what they did. They had golden mice. Do they have mice in there? What kind of golden thing is inside that box? They feared that box. They feared that ark of the covenant. Now, keep in mind, those Israelites now who are marching around were not there when it was constructed. This is a new generation, and all they know about that ark, they've not seen it other than in its cover. They've not known anything about it but what their parents have taught them. But they do know it's dangerous. They do know that there's been a wall of mystery around that. Now, folks, they never did fully understand. And, folks, we have not fully understand that God teaches us who Christ is through the Old Testament. We have people today doing away with the Old Testament. There are ministers, there are books being written now, even in Pentecostal circles, that the Old Testament doesn't count anymore. You cannot understand Christ without the Old Testament. It's impossible. I warn you, you go to a church and you hear that, you're hearing the worst blasphemy that ever came from the lips and the heart of man. Don't believe it. Jesus taught from the Old Testament. Paul gave us all of his teaching based on the Old Testament and the symbolic lessons learned there. Now, most Christians, as I said, do not understand the credible spiritual significance. Let's take a look at the cherubs, for example. Where have we seen the two cherubs before, or at least cherubs, cherubim? Remember when Adam and Eve sinned against God and they were driven from the garden? The Bible said that God established the cherubim with a flaming sword to guard the tree of life. The tree of life, again, is the presence of God and the presence of Jesus Christ. Now, it's not complicated, friends. The cherubim represent guardianship. You see, the tabernacle was built as a safe house for the Word of God. It was built that the covenant was a safe deposit box, so to speak, where God is going to guard His Word from any backslidden priest who'd want to change or add anything. He's going to keep backslidden, ungodly, idolatrous prophets and Levites and others from trying to look in that box and reach in and add something to the Word of God. God said, My people are going to fear and honor My Word. And you change it, you touch it, you tamper with it, it'll cost you life. It'll bring judgment upon you, it'll bring judgment upon a nation. And that's exactly what happened when the ark was taken by the Philistines and taken to their temple with the God of Dagon and placed there as nothing, just as an empty box. And our God is greater, the Word of God means nothing. If this represents the Word of God, we despise it. And of course, Dagon fell with his head cut off and his arms cut off, and suddenly the whole nation was under judgment. Tumors broke out. People died by the thousands because they despised the Word of God. What do you think can happen to a nation that takes the Word of God and despises it? What do you think is going to happen in Sweden now? I just got the email yesterday or this past week. Pentecostal pastor has just been thrown in jail for speaking against homosexuality from the Book of Romans. He's in jail now. It's a law now in Sweden. You cannot offend homosexuals, transvestites or gays or lesbians or cross-gender people. You cannot offend them or go to jail from the pulpit. What happens when the Word of God is despised? You see, this is one of the issues. God is trying and illustrating how He guards His Word and you cannot touch it. How does God close out the Bible? Does He say any man who adds a word or changes a word or takes from it will face judgment? And folks, I see in the United States and not just the United States, around the world, this disrespect for the law of God, this disrespect for the Bible. This nation was founded on the Bible, founded on gospel truths. You see, the cherubs were guarding the law, the Word of God. And there's a sober warning in the numbers having to do with respecting the Word of God. The Kohites were those chosen to move, as I said. And God came to Moses, and this is what He said in Numbers 14, 18. Do not let the tribe of the families of the Kohites be cut off from among the Levites. He said, Be careful, those who handle the Word. You warned them, Moses, of the danger of being frivolous or lighthearted. And to come into my presence joking. Come into my presence as foolish, with foolishness or lightheartedness, lest they be stricken. He said, Don't let them be cut off. Don't let the Kohites who handle the Word of God do it other than in fear and trembling. Folks, when I come to this pulpit, when all of these men come to the pulpit, we come with fear and trembling. We don't come having read joke books. We've come from the throne of God. And the reason there is not the presence of Jesus Christ in many churches today, because the Word of God has not been esteemed and feared. It's not been respected. It's been sometimes a borrowed message. It's been something that comes from a book somewhere, but it's not the heart of God. It's not that which represents the true fear, the righteous fear of God. That's why I am not too much excited when I hear jokers in the pulpit. He said, Warn them that they might live and not die when they approach the most holy objects. Do not let the tribe of Kohites be cut off. Don't cause their death because they didn't get a full warning. Now, let me tell you how that hits my soul. It hits me as a minister of the gospel who has the privilege of handling the Word of God. David, be careful that you give both law and mercy. You handle law, yes. Preach the law until men see that their sins are transgression against God. And you see, the law in that box, the whole purpose of that law was to show men the ugliness and the exceeding sinfulness of their sin. For one reason. Because it keeps you from the mercy seat. He was just trying to show, the law shows everything that hinders you from coming into life. Because life, mercy seat represents life. And he wants to remove everything in our lives that would hinder the life of Jesus Christ from flowing in us. It's not just God trying to vent Himself because somebody's offended Him. It's more than that. He said, it's keeping you from the life that I've provided. But you see, there are thousands and thousands of people sitting in congregations right now, this Sunday morning, all across this United States and other places of the world. And they are being cut off. They're being cut off from the life of Jesus Christ. They've never heard about sin. It's never been preached from their pulpits. The law has been totally disregarded. The law is a mirror. There's no mirror in that church to show sin. It's, you're okay. And I'm going to show you that as much as we glory in the cross, and as much as we glory in the blood, that in itself is not enough until it's taken to the mercy seat. And I'll show you the meaning of that in just a moment. You see, I don't want to stand before the judgment seat and have paraded before me a multitude of people who did not have reverence for God, never had the fear of God, could come into the house of God like it was a playhouse, come into the house of God without any righteous fear. I believe this with all my heart. When you come into this house, this is just a building, yes, it's a box. But you come into here, this is where God says, I will meet with you. Yes, it's in the heart. We bring the glory in. Yes, but this is a house corporately where God says, I want to meet with you. I want to touch you. I want to anoint you. I want to heal you. But don't come in with a blemish sacrifice. I watch people come in. I was in a church not too long ago. I had a little time off and I went into a church. And such disrespect. People in their short shorts and halters and sipping a Coke and sitting there draped over a chair. No awe, no glory, no respect for the Word of God. Kids running loose everywhere. You won't find it in Times Square Church. You're welcome to come here. If you walked in, nobody going to put you down for being in shorts. If you're here for the first time, third or fourth time, you might get a glance. And it will be a loving glance. And it won't be from us. It will be from the Holy Ghost. We go now to the time of David. For 70 years, the ark had been relegated to a man's residence. For 70 years it's in his house. Now, he is a descendant from the Kois. But it is there for 70 years. The whole reign of Saul. Saul never visited Abinadab. There's no evidence that Saul ever did. Saul was unconcerned about the presence of the Lord, and that's why it led to such rebellion under Saul. That's what eventually cost his life, neglecting the presence of God, unconcerned about the presence of God. And for 70 years it sat there until David sent for it. But, you know, there were two sons of Abinadab that were assigned to care for that ark. One of them was Uzzah. Now, you had to be 25, 30 years old before you could be appointed in the Levitical position. In other words, to be active in ministry as a Levite. And so it had to be... I'm telling you that he had to be at least 30 years old for at least 40 years. Uzzah is at least 70 years old by the time David comes. He's an old man. And I want to tell you something. I'm going to tell you that I believe that man was dead before he touched the ark. Or he walked. But you see, he becomes so familiar. Here it was under this cloth that he sat there. And you see, he didn't see any glory in it. It was just a routine. It was just something he did occasionally, maybe once a week. Gaze at it. It lost something. He was not concerned. He saw no presence of God. He saw no meaning to it. He had gotten so used to that box. Going through the ritual. He never identified the presence of God with that ark. After 40 years, he's ready to retire. And I think he's probably ready to see... He's pretty glad that it's going out. That's the minister of the gospel. And that's the Christian who is willing to go and sit to church. Totally unconcerned whether God shows up. Totally unconcerned about the presence of God. Unconcerned about the presence. Folks, have you ever gone in a church that's dead? I said, have you ever been in a dead church? Have you ever heard a dead preacher? Now, folks, thank God for all of the pastors and evangelists who are on fire, who love Jesus. Thank God I'm not indicting them all. But, folks, nowadays you have to go to about 20 churches before you can find one where the presence of God is honored. Where there's a pastor who said, I don't care if I have a crowd or not, I'm going to preach something I heard from God. And there's a man who's going to sit there all through the service and say, Jesus, if you don't show up, I can't go on. How was it that he could touch the ark? He had lost all respect for the touch of God. He had no fear of God. He knew that any man touched the ark, he's dead. He knew it was not to be carried on an ark, but with the priest carrying it on their shoulders. He knew it had to have a blue cover, and I don't even know if he had the second or third cover on it. Total disrespect for divine order. Total respect for the things of God. And the Bible said the oxen shook. It didn't even say the ark shook. It was in no danger. And he touches it nonchalantly, and he dies on the spot. No respect for the Word. No respect for the presence of God. I tremble to think of a time that would ever come in this house that there would be a man who stands in this pulpit just for a paycheck. And that's what this man's going through. The Levites are provided for. It's a living. And how many pastors I've met who said, I have only a year till I retire. And others say, I can't wait. I would have quit five years ago, but it would have hurt my retirement. You see, I'm concerned about the presence of God. Go to Solomon's Temple on Mount Moriah. The great temple had a holy of holies. Solomon prepared an inner sanctuary within the house in order to place there the ark of the covenant of the Lord. Then the priest brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the most holy place under the wings of the cherubim. And for 500 years, almost 500 years, that ark had endured such abuse and mockery. It had been captured under Eli's ministry and taken to the house of Dagon. You remember that? Thousands of people die with tumors. And the Bible said there was deep, mass confusion in every territory. And that speaks of the judgment that comes. I don't care whether they're homosexuals. Let me tell you something else. We talked about gay marriages. What about all these kids living together without getting married? Total disrespect for the word of God. Doing away with the Bible. Do you understand that it's not just outlawing Ten Commandments on a stone or on a picture wall, or some kind of a framed Ten Commandments in a courthouse. It's much more than that. It's a whole nation now by courts and officials absolutely, totally doing away with God's word. You figure it out. I don't have to prophesy. You figure it out. The same thing had happened to the Philistines. This, for 500 years. And you know, after the Philistines said, we've got to get rid of this box, they take it to Bethshemes. And that's a Levite town. That's a town of preachers. And what does the Bible say happened in Bethshemes? And God struck down some of the men of Bethshemes because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. The people mourned because the Lord struck down the people with a great slaughter. Hear a minister so backslidden, so disrespectful for the things of God. The ark comes and the Philistines are trembling. The Philistines are saying, I won't go near it. And here comes the priest. Here come the Levites of Bethshemes. That's their town. It's one of the chosen towns. Joshua is signed for Levites. And they can't wait to open that box, look in. The Bible said a great slaughter, a great slaughter. Now, that ark laid behind that curtain in Solomon's temple for 425 years. Nebuchadnezzar came with Babylonians and destroyed the temple. And at that time, God removed the ark. It's never heard of again. It is taken. As sure as they couldn't find Moses who built it, they didn't find and couldn't find the ark. Men are still looking for the ark. Not just Noah's ark. They're looking for the ark of the covenant. The Jews are looking for the ark of the covenant. Jeremiah said, if you want to find out, you go to Jeremiah 3.16. Jeremiah said, God took it and he said, it will never be found, never to be spoken of again, as far as the Israelites were concerned. The ark is gone now. So, what is the real meaning of the ark? What is the real meaning? What is the veiled revelation that was locked up in the ark? Now, here's the hidden mystery according to Paul. Paul said it would be revealed in the fullness of time. And we are living in what the Bible calls the fullness of time, the end of time. And Paul spoke of the mystery which was hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to his saints, to whom God would make known what is the riches and the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. You see, here is the box now. Here is that hidden place. In thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you. It's a type, it's speaking of that time when Christ would be revealed to the world. Christ would inhabit his people. It would be Christ in us. We would become the temple of the living God. Know you not that your body is the temple of God? What is this sealed revelation? Paul said this mystery was hidden in God for ages, but now being brought to the light, that which was not known before is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit of God. It foreshadowed everything that we've had the privilege to enjoy and understand now, that when the law has completed its work, we move to the mercy seat. It's to drive us to the mercy seat, which, let me get into this if you will please. It brings us to the mercy seat. This is where sin is not only exposed, but atoned for, removed, completely removed from the eye of God. Now, as I said, the high priest could go in once a year. Now, picture Aaron. I'm not going to preach more than another five or ten minutes at the most. But picture Aaron. He's at the altar and he's slain. The bullock is really just a young, castrated bull. And it's killed and laid on the altar and the blood drains. And then he goes in to the holy place with a vial of that blood and he sprinkles it on the altar. Now, the atonement is not complete. Reconciliation with God is not complete. Full pardon of sin is not complete until the blood is on the mercy seat. Jesus is that lamb that was slain. Jesus is crucified. The blood comes from his hands and from his nail scars and from the sword in his side. And the blood flows to the ground. And Jesus then is taken and wrapped and put in a tomb. Thank God that we rejoice in the cross of Jesus. Thank God for the blood of Jesus. But Christ is in the tomb now. And we say, now we can go out and we can preach the cross. We go out now and we can preach the power of the blood. But, folks, that's only the foundation. Thank God for the power of the blood of Jesus Christ. But it doesn't become the precious blood. It doesn't become the efficacious blood until first the priest, the high priest. Who is the high priest? I said, who is the high priest? Jesus Christ is our high priest. There has to be a resurrection. Christ has to come out of the grave. He has to get to the throne. He has to go to the Holy of Holies, not made with hands. He has to get to the Father. It has to be presented and accepted by the Father as full pardon, full atonement for sin. If he'd been left in the grave, Calvary is void without the resurrection. Why do you think the apostles and Paul preached resurrection? They didn't preach just the cross. They preached resurrection. They preached not the blood drained, but the blood sprinkled on the mercy seat. Where is the mercy seat? That's at the very throne of God, the true mercy seat. Mary comes to the tomb and looks in. What did she see? She saw two men dressed in white, one at the head and one at the tail. Where have you seen that picture? Where did you see it? She said, where have they taken my Lord? Where is he? Turns around and there stands Jesus. He says, don't touch me. Mary, please don't touch me, because I've not yet ascended to my Father. But go to my brethren and tell them that I ascend to my Father and your Father to my God and your God. Now, not too much later, he's going to be able to say to Thomas, touch me, put your hand on my side. But he can't see it now. Why? Because he has to take his blood. He has to go to the Father. He has to go to the mercy seat. Yes, he represents the mercy seat. Christ is God expressing the mercy of God. But it has to be accepted by the Father. He says, I believe that Christ ascended to the Father. Now, don't see it literally that he actually took a vial of his blood. He took the legal claims of his blood. He took the legal rights of his blood. And he stands before the Father. And, folks, the Bible says that he, by every type and shadow in this Old Testament, he went there with your name on his heart and my name on his heart. He went there for our sake. And you see, the Bible says that at the end of time, at the judgment, there's going to be a book open. It's called the book of life. He said, everyone who knows Christ is going to be in that book. Everyone who has walked with Christ and who has walked in his righteousness are named in that book. But you see, there was a title page. And that title page was empty. And I believe that Jesus went with the legal rights. God works legally. This is not just a handshake. This is not just a good word God says by an oath. God works legally with the devil. He works legally regarding his righteousness. He has a legal, binding, everlasting commitment. He said, so that your heart would rejoice, so that you would be secure, that you would never doubt your salvation. And I believe Jesus went. And with his own precious rights of his own blood, he wrote these words on the book of life. First page. By the merits and the sacrifice of my shed blood, I have obtained eternal salvation for the following names. And brother, my name is on that book. And your name is in the book. And as sure as Moses took the blood of the animal and sprinkled it on the book of the law, this is the law fulfilled and this is the blood sprinkled on the book who is Jesus Christ himself. Thou sprinkled the book of life. God said, I've sealed you. Don't let any devil rob you of that. What was in the box? Jesus. Not just crucified. Not just buried. But resurrected and ascended, claiming your soul, claiming my soul to the glory of God. And that's where God, that's where in Jesus Christ, the covenant promise that God made to his son. Now I'll recognize you and everyone you bring through your blood to me. There's only going to be one corporate man now that I recognize. That's everyone that's in you by faith, sprinkled by the blood, trusting in the power, the efficacy of that blood redeemed. One last word before I close here. Paul, the apostle, sums it up. He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit. He's one. We've been talking about the oneness with Christ, our position in Christ. I was amazed when I looked up that word joined, it means glued. Did you hear what I said? He that is glued to Christ is one. That's what happened when Jesus took his blood. And all the rights of that blood, it was to allow me to cleave to him so that nothing can separate me from the love of God. No demon in hell, no principality, power of darkness. To put it, to put it in the vernacular, I'm stuck to Jesus. Paul said, you have not come now to the Mount Sinai. You've not come to the gloom. You've not come to the darkness. You've not come to the law now. He said, but now you look unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. He said, be sure you hear it. Be sure you hear it from heaven, this voice from heaven. Hear it now. Don't go back to the law. Don't go back to your bondage now because the blood has been sprinkled on the mercy seat. And God has accepted it. And by accepting his blood, he's accepted you in Christ and he's accepted me. And he said, be careful. Listen to this voice from heaven. You're redeemed by the blood. Accepted, not just shed, but sprinkled and atoned. Full atonement for sin. I don't know if you understand what I'm saying or not, but it's all about Jesus. It's all about what he has accomplished, the love that he has for us. We're not to live in fear. We're not to live under the bondage of the law. We're looking unto Jesus, who what he started will finish. He called you. The Bible said we are saved by his death and by his life. Not the life he lived in his 33 years, but the life after his resurrection. We're saved by his life. I'm going to tell you something. If a dead Christ can redeem my sins, a living Christ can keep me. Stand. Oh, how we love you, Jesus. Would you just lift your hands and love Jesus? Just love him and thank him for his goodness. Lord, I love you. I worship you and I praise you. Friends, I usually don't preach this long, but I had to finish what I believe God wanted me to say. Could we sing, oh, how I love Jesus? In the annex and here in the main auditorium, all the overflow rooms. I'll ask you a question. Do you really love Jesus? So much so that you're willing to trust him with every care, every burden, every trial you're going through right now. Do you really want him? Do you want Christ to actually live his life in and through you? And I'll tell you what, if you let him live his life through you, it's going to be a life of trust. Absolute faith and trust because he trusts the Father. And your prayers will be answered because they'll be prayers that Jesus prays in and through you. And some of you came to church this morning, heavily burdened. You're going through something perhaps as trying as anything you've been through. He's not looking just for a river of tears. He's just looking for those who say, Jesus, I want to be near you. You've gone through all of this just to draw me. And I'm not going to reject that wooing, that drawing. He's wooing you now. Some of you have known the Lord. You've walked with him. But you're standing here this afternoon or this morning. And you've just been put aside. You've backed away from him. I want you to come back to that love, that first love for Jesus this morning. And if you don't know him, if you don't know Christ at all, I want you to obey that tug. No man can produce in you what you're feeling now. That's the Holy Spirit. That's the Holy Spirit who draws men to the Christ. He's drawing you. God's not mad at you. He's not threatening you. He's loving you and wooing you to the resurrected Christ. If you don't understand the theological part of what I'm saying this morning, please understand this. Paul the Apostle said, look unto Jesus. Keep your eyes on Jesus, not on your sins. Be aware of them. Let the Holy Spirit show you the exceeding sinfulness of your sin. Don't ever excuse it. But look beyond your sins. Look to what he calls his mercy seat, the mercy, the love of God. And he said, if you keep looking unto Jesus, he will complete the work that he started in your heart. He will complete. You have to trust that right now. Can you understand that he's not mad at you? He's not angry at you. Because if there was any anger in the law, it was against the sin that would keep you from Jesus. Keep you from understanding the love of God. And he's here now to forgive and cleanse you, whatever it may be. Would you pray with me right now? Jesus, thank you for loving me. Thank you for showing me when I go wrong. Thank you for convicting me when I sin. But Lord, thank you that you've made a way to forgive me and to reconcile me to God. And now I come to the power of the blood of Jesus, receive total forgiveness and cleansing and acceptance with God. I am accepted. I am loved. Thank you, Jesus, for your sacrifice. Now let me pray for Lord. I pray for those that are here and I pray for those in the audience and those in the overflow rooms. Those will be walking out of these doors very shortly. But Lord, go with them with their eyes fixed on you. Lord Jesus, it's not really complicated. It's yearning. Hungry, thirsty after you. Lord, you've removed all the mystery. It's coming to me. Oh, you weary and heavy laden. I'll give you rest. I'll give you peace. Lord, let the peace of Christ be ours now and forevermore, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. This is the conclusion of the message.