Yesterday, I took my son and 3 years old grandson to the city dump with a load of my wife’s accumulated ’treasures.’ As I was waiting to give this message I associated that experience with the person who has the feeling that nothing is going right, problems are everywhere, coping is impossible, and in general just an emotional mess. We used to call that feeling ’getting down in the dumps.’
When you get like that, what should you do? Well, you can’t go to the society at large. Several years ago an expression was popular that defined our society which is so self oriented. "I couldn’t care less." Unfortunately, we are living in an impersonal society that has lost the art of caring. And for many chureches that lack of concern has creeped into the assembly of believers. Yet that saved have a great need for care. Just because you got saved doesn’t mean everything is coming up roses. For one thing, Satan is now your enemy. You are caught between God’s expectations and Satan’s attacks.
This passage may give us some insight into what you should do to get out of the dumps.
A. Know your Place. (19-21)
(19) "The Holy of Holies or "holiest" was representative of God. Only the High Priest could enter into it, and then only once a year on the Day of Atonement. Man had no access to God. But all of that changed when Christ died on the Cross. And it changed for you when you accepted Christ as your Savior. Now you can enter into the presence of God. As can every believer.
What provides the basis for entry? "the blood of Jesus". Because of His perfect sacrifice, God now see you as pure and clean.
(20) The old sacrifices couldn’t get anyone into the presence of God. But their is a new way that can. Who is the new way? (John 14:6) "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
"for us" Man stands unique in all of creation. God did not come to this earth for the angels or for the animal kingdom. The coming of Jesus Christ was for man personally. It was for us that Jesus died.
"veil..flesh" the heavy veil of the temple barred access to God. When Christ died, the veil was torn from top to bottom. This verse says that veil was Christ’s flesh. As long as Christ was living on earth, the way to God was barred. But when His flesh was torn the way was opened. The Good News for Moder Man version of the Bible has removed references to the blood and substituted the word sacrifice. We cannot have a bloodless religion. "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin." Our salvation was paid for with the shed blood of Christ. An uncrucified Christ cannot save.
But if He died on Calvary, how can He be the "Living way?" Because of the Resurrection. He came alive again. Christianity is described 6 times in the book of Acts as the Way. When people begin to follow Christ they begin to travel a different path - a different way in their lives.
(21) The High Priest represented the people before God. We don’t need a human priest anymore. We have Jesus. As the High Priest Jesus has access to God in His holy place. But not only did He open the way. He took us there with Him. Christ has brought us into His family, His fellowship and His presence.
B. Know your Position. (22,23)
(22) The sprinkled heart pictures salvation and the washed body symbolizes a right lifestyle. There is always a connection between a true heart and outward behavior. You can’t have a heart right and a body wrong.
The true heart is how you draw near. God said to Judah, "But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul." (Deut. 4:29)
"in full assurance of faith" has nothing to do with the amount of faith, but the object of faith, Jesus Christ. You can put a lot of faith in the wrong thing of the wrong person. But when you put your faith in Jesus, He cleanses you.
Before a sacrifice could be offered to God, there was a cleasing process that took place to make it acceptable. But the acceptable sacrifice today must be cleansed inside. (Rom. 12:1) "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."
We are cleansed by the Word. (Eph. 5:26) "That he might sanctify and cleanse us with the washing of water by the word."
As we come together the Word is taught and preached and the Holy Spirit goes to work to reveal the areas of our lives that are not clean. Then He begins to scrub. that is He brings conviction to our hearts. By this conviction we are stirred to be obedient to the Word.
People can’t see your heart. So God wants what is inside on the outside.
God does not save us and then leave us to our own resources. Conversion is only the beginning. "draw near" is continous. Keep on confessing, keep on praying, keep on studying the Word, keep on assembling together, keeping on using your gifts for others, keep on walking in the moral commandments of God. Doing all of this with a true heart that is yielded to Him will keep you near to God.
(23) Hold on to the promises of God. He always keeps His Word. Holding on is the evidence of salvation.
C. Know your Purpose. (24,25)
(24) Some people come to church for the music, some for the Bible study, some for the fellowship. All of those are good. ONe thing you should not come for is to be alone. The church is designed by God to be an interaction of believers. And what are those believers supposed to do?
"provoke" incite to action. Sometimes defined as "irritate." We are to irritate one another. Some people are better at that than others. Really, this means to stimulate one another in a positive way. Again this is present tense indicating continuous action. Keep on encouraging and loving one another.
Part of your worship is care for God’s family members. Salvation is personal; one on one with Jesus. But living out your salvation is done in a community of believers called the local church. Just as God never intended for man to be alone in His creation, He never intends for believers to be alone in His new creation. God didn’t save you just for you.
(25) People come to church for different reasons. With one boy is was obvious he came because he was made to. He was asked one time. "What is the highest number you ever counted to?" He replied, "5372". The inquirer asked, "Why did you stop there?" To which the little boy answered, "Church was over."
We tend to look at things backwards. Most of us come to church with the idea of seeing what we can get out of it. The question God wants answered is not what we get out of it, but how much we give to it.
There is an acronym that describes the church: W I F E
Using the text of Acts 2 will define what the church is to be about.
(46,47) "..continuing daily with one accord in the temple..praising God."
The local church is to be about WORSHIP. Praising God for Who He is and what He has done.
(42a) "And they continued stedfastly in the apostle’s doctrine."
The word doctrine just seems to turn some people off. It simple means looking at our Lord and what He taught in greater detail. We are to be about INSTRUCTION. You can’t love Him more unless you know Him more. Since He is inexhaustible, you can study Christ you whole life and still not know all there is to know about Him.
(42b) "..and FELLOWSHIP, and in breaking of bread..." God made us in His image, and He has never existed by Himself. He has always existed as 3.
This doesn’t mean eatin’ meetin’s. "Exhorting one another" one of my favorite stories has been around a long time but makes a great point. A pastor went to see a member who very seldom attended church. The man presented the usual argument that he could worship just as well at home or elsehwere as he could at the church. He really didn’t need the church. The 2 men were sitting in fron of a burning fireplace. The pastor reached over while the man was talking and took out a burning ember. In just a few minutes, the ember had lost its heat and grown cold. He said to the man, "My friend, that is what is happening in your life. As soon as you isolate yourself away from the church, the fire goes out."
Satan’s plan for the church is to divide, deceive and destroy. That is the method that worked on Eve and has been working since.
(47) "And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved."
God wants us to be fishers of men, not keepers of the aquarium. We are to be about EVANGELISM. A local church that operates in the Spirit in the manner that God has designed it for is His greatest witness.
God has provided a new and living way to cope with the adversities of life. Draw near to God, make your outside reflect your inside and be an active part of a caring local church.
