Practical Blessings: Public Defender

Pastor Darryl Bentley

Midland SDA Church

October 8, 2011

 

Homiletical Idea: The sanctuary doctrine embodies the post-earthly ministry of Jesus Christ.  The earthly tabernacles and their attendants were but types of the true sanctuary in heaven and the High-priestly ministry that Christ would conduct once He returned to heaven.  Paul makes it very clear that Jesus—now ascended to the right hand of the Father—ministers on our behalf in that heavenly sanctuary and it is because of His ministry that we have hope in the judgment.  Essentially we stand guilty before the judgment bar of God, but because of the blood Jesus’ shed on our behalf we can be acquitted and cleared of all wrong-doing.  Jesus is our public defender in this judgment and He is will to defend all who will rally under the banner of His love.

 

1.       Opening Illustration: Miranda v. Arizona. 1966, Ernesto Arturo Miranda.

a.       “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be held against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?”

b.      In this world of sin you and I deserve to be placed under arrest. 

c.       We are guilty of crimes against God and we deserve the death penalty.

d.      But I am very thankful that we do not have to face judgment alone.  Because we are blatantly guilty of our crime of sinfulness we have no defense to offer for our actions.  Therefore we need a pardon for what we have done wrong.  We need forgiveness for our crimes against God.  Ultimately, we need Jesus’ blood to take away our sinfulness that we might stand guiltless before the judgment seat of God.

e.      Ultimately, we need Jesus to publicly defend us in the heavenly courts.  He is the only One capable of defending us because it only by His blood that our guilt can be taken away.

2.       Transition to the topic:

a.       William Miller knew about this need to be free from sin and its penalty.  In the early 1800s William Miller began to study the Bible in an attempt to understand all that it contained.

b.      By 1831 Miller was preaching about his discoveries in Daniel 8:14.  Miller was convinced that this earth was the sanctuary and that in order for it to be cleansed fire must be used and if that was going to happen then it must mean that Jesus was coming back.

c.       It was with great exuberance and compassion that he shared these things and the public response was incredible.  People near and far flocked to Miller seeking to ask him questions and inviting him to come and share his teaching.

d.      By 1840 Miller’s views were a national movement with many looking for the second coming of Christ around the year 1844.

e.      Sadly, on the morning of 1844 nothing of special note occurred on earth for the Millerites except for the glaringly obvious disappointment of Christ not returning.  Many left their hope of Christ’s eminent return while others left God all together.

f.        However, there was a faithful remnant who believed God had been leading through the Millerite movement and they desperately longed to understand where they had gone wrong.

g.       On the morning of October 23rd, 1844 Hiram Edson was making his way through a cornfield on his way to meet other Adventist believers who had also suffered great disappointment.  It was while passing through the cornfield that Edson was shown by God that the Millerites had been on the right track but they had wrongly interpreted Daniel 8:14’s sanctuary to be this earth when it was really the heavenly sanctuary that was being referred to.

h.      Eventually Edson and two others, O. Crosier and Frank Hahn, studied this teaching out thoroughly and realized that on October 22, 1844 Jesus moved from the holy to the most holy place in the heavenly sanctuary.  Thus beginning His atoning work on our behalf prior to His second coming.

3.       The sanctuary in the Bible:

a.       We become aware fairly early on in the Old Testament (OT) that there is a heavenly sanctuary.

                                                               i.      See: Exodus 25:8.  It is here that God instructed Moses to have the people make a portable tabernacle that was in heaven.

                                                             ii.      In Exodus 26:30 it was reiterated to Moses that he was to have everything done according the pattern that he was shown on the mountain.

                                                            iii.      Paul asserts in Hebrews 8:5 that the pattern was based on heavenly things.  In other words, the pattern that Moses was shown in the wilderness was not a set of blueprints that God had drawn up, but rather Moses was shown a vision of the actual sanctuary in heaven.

                                                           iv.      Paul goes on further to say in Hebrews 9:11, 12 that Christ ministers in that heavenly sanctuary with His own blood and not the blood of animals that were only pointing to Jesus.

 

4.       Daniel’s Vision:

a.       The prophet Daniel was shown when Christ would begin His ministry of cleansing the sanctuary.  The Lord gave Daniel a vision that has been recorded in the Bible in Daniel 8:14.

                                                               i.      Here is reads that

1.       KJV: “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”

2.       NKJV: “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”

3.       NASB: “For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be properly restored.”

4.       HCSB: “For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be restored.”

                                                             ii.      Daniel would have known very clearly what it meant for the sanctuary to be cleansed or restored.

1.       Once a year on Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement the high priest would go into the most holy place and offer a guiltless offering to take away the sinfulness that had accumulated throughout the year.

2.       Not only did this service take away confessed sins but according to Hebrews 9:7 it was to take away the sins the people had committed in ignorance.

                                                            iii.      If we were to take time to study this entire prophecy from Daniel 8:14 we would discover that the 2,300 days began in 457 B.C. as the same time the 490 years or 70 weeks of Daniel 9:24-27 began.  If we studied that out we would see that the 2,300 day of this prophecy are actually 2,300 years.  We know this because Daniel 8:17 says “that the vision refers to the time of the end.”

1.       Since the vision refers to the time of the end the 2,300 days has to extend beyond Daniel’s day to a more recent time in history.  This takes us back to Miller’s date of October 22, 1844.  It was in the fall of 1844 that the 2,300 day prophecy came to an end and was then that Christ began His work of ministering in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary and preparing to come and take His people home to heaven with Him.

5.       So what?

a.       So what does it matter that there is a heavenly sanctuary?

b.      What does it matter that Jesus is in that sanctuary ministering His shed blood?

c.       What does it matter that in 1844 Jesus cleansed that sanctuary by presenting His own blood—blood without guilt—on behalf of fallen humanity?

d.      How does this doctrine affect our daily lives and why should I care?

 

6.       Here’s why:

a.       It matters because if there is no heavenly sanctuary then there is essentially no salvation for mankind.  Yes, Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary was where the perfect sacrifice was made, but if His innocent blood is not presented on our behalf then our sins are not taken away.

b.      It matters because a determination of who is saved and who remains lost must be made prior to Christ’s return to earth.

c.       It matters because you and I need a daily administering of the blood of Jesus over our lives. 

d.      It matters because without Jesus, our public defender, you and I do not stand a chance of making to heaven alone.

7.       Jesus is the High Priest:

a.       You see, friends, Jesus stands ready each and every day to take care of us. 

b.      Every day Jesus stands ready to grant us forgiveness for our sins.

c.       Every day Jesus longs for us to turn to Him and lean on Him for every need.

d.      Paul makes it very clear in Hebrews 8, 9, and 10 that Jesus is a kingly High Priest who does what no other can do: take away the sin of the guilty with His own blood.

8.       Making it Real:

a.       But you and I can present the 2,300 day prophecy with all its dates and meanings, but if we miss the fact that Jesus stands ready daily to keep us from falling prey to sin then we really miss the whole point.

b.      If you and I can speak with the tongues of angels but we have not the love of Christ in our lives then we are like sounding brass or clanging symbols.

c.       If we profess to be Christians but we have not had a sanctuary experience with Jesus then we are like vinegar without baking soda: sour and smelly.  But with Jesus we can be filled with the Holy Spirit so that we can bubble over for Christ to the world around us.

9.       Wrap-up and Appeal:

a.       Over the last 9 days my family’s lives have been turned upside-down. 

b.      Over the last 9 days Ginger and I have had trouble sleeping.

c.       Over the last 9 days we have had to be reminded that Jesus in an ever present help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

d.      Why?  Why have we had trouble sleeping?  Why have our lives been turned upside-down?  Why did we have to be reminded about Jesus’ desire to help us during a time of need?

                                                               i.      On Thursday, September 22, 2011 I received a call from Elder Jay Gallimore.  He was joined in the room where He sat by the personnel committee.  After a few short greetings Elder Gallimore began to tell me how much he and the committee appreciate me and Ginger.  He then said it was because of that appreciation that they wanted us to interview with the Troy and Farmington SDA churches near Detroit.  We attended that interview this past Monday and the interview went wonderfully.  The elders and their wives voted unanimously to extend a call to our family.  After heavy consideration and much prayer Ginger and I have decided to accept that call.

                                                             ii.      That decision has been and will ever remain a bittersweet one.  Sweet because we can see that Jesus is leading us into another phase of ministry for Him, but very bitter because it means that we must leave two church families that we have grown to love very, very much.  We had hoped that we would not have to leave this pastoral district until after my ordination, but such shall not be the case.

                                                            iii.      Like so many who have gone before us, we have to begin anew and learn new faces, new places, and partner with Christ in attempting to prepare a people for His soon return.  Ginger and I are so thankful for the past three years that we have had to spend with you all, and Midland and Mt Pleasant will always have a very special place in our hearts.  Special because you have given us a start in ministry and you have allowed us to learn and grown into what Jesus would have us to be.

                                                           iv.      Do you want that peace today?  Do you want the High Priest, the Lord Jesus to draw close to defend and comfort you today?  That is my heart’s desire and I pray that it is yours as well.  Let us pray.