Re-access

[ leviticus: into the presence of a holy god ]

Series Dates: 06/23/19 - 08/11/19

God’s presence is like the Sun.  In it we receive the nourishment we need for life but it is also powerful, even dangerous. When something corruptible comes into its presence it is destroyed.  In the same way God is Holy, powerful, even dangerous- we as corrupted beings cannot live in His presence. 

In the Garden, our first parents walked with the Lord, perfectly in His presence, intimately in relationship, without the distortion of sin.  But through our first parents' rebellion, our access to His presence was closed when they were banned from the garden.  Since then unholy humanity has lived in conflict with His Holiness- our unholiness inhibits access to His presence.  

The Bible is the account of how, in love, God opens a pathway of re-access, for a fallen creation, including humanity, to dwell in His perfect presence again without being destroyed. The remainder of Genesis and Exodus tells the story of the beginnings of God’s pursuit by choosing an imperfect family (Israel) who find themselves enslaved in Egypt, grow into a nation and are set free by a great liberator, Moses.  In Exodus 19 we find the nation is brought to a mountain (Mt. Sinai) where God gives instructions, codifying His covenant (10 commandments) and showing this newly liberated nation how they are to live in light of the freedom God had gained for them.  In these instructions, they are given directions to construct a mobile space where people have access into God’s presence (Tabernacle). 

However, in Exodus 40.35 we discover a problem- Moses is unable to enter into the presence of God through the tabernacle because the glory of God filled the space.  As it was in our departure from the Garden, the effects of sin, still inhibit people, even Moses and the nation of Israel, from having access to the presence of a Holy God. 

Leviticus is a book of ethical, ritualistic, festival and worship codes and practices that show Israel how they, as a sin stained, unholy people can have access to relationship and presence to God.  The most astonishing thing about the book of Leviticus is that, with all of its unique, complex and sometimes confusing elements, it is a sign pointing forward to how God would ultimately offer both His nation and the world re-access into His presence- by taking on form himself and becoming the sacrifice that atones for our sin and ushers us into His presence once and for all.  We have titled our study through Leviticus Re-Access because in one word, this is what Leviticus is- a visible picture of how we have re-access to God’s presence through Jesus Christ.  

Each Sunday at our Gatherings we will be taught through one of the seven major sections of Leviticus that point us to the re-access we have to a Holy God in Christ including Jesus as our true offering (ch.1-7), Jesus as our true High Priest (ch.8-10), Jesus as our personal purity (ch.11-15), Jesus as our true vision of love for the world (ch.18-22), Jesus as our true festival (ch.23-25) and Jesus as our perfect obedience (ch.26-27).

Each week, in our personal time of solitude with the Lord we will be studying each verse of that section using The Daily. In our Community Groups we will be discussing one set of verses that were taught on Sunday.  Our Community Group leaders are equipped with some simple resources to help us make sense of this complex book.  

Our hope and prayer is that we would be drawn deeper into relationship with God knowing it is only by His grace that we have re-access into His presence.  Our prayer is that week by week the Lord would surface the areas in our lives that we are attempting to gain access to God on our own strength or merit and to see Jesus as the one who is the true access point into God’s presence.

grace + peace,

The Downtown Hope Theology Team

SERIES SERMONS