Place of Worship
Text: Hebrews 8:1-2
Theme: Jesus is our High Priest in the true place of worship in heaven.
Key verses: “Here is the main point: We have a High Priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven. There he ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands” (v. 1-2).
What God said to me: Dwayne, you have a High Priest… Let that sink into your soul. Do you have any idea what that means? You have a High Priest above all priests. You have my Son, Jesus the Christ, interceding for you, always pleading His blood for your sins and your salvation. You have a great High Priest, and He sits in the highest place of honor at my right hand by my throne in heaven. And listen to what it says he does by my throne: “There he ministers.” He’s not merely soaking up the praise from the heavenly beings. He could do that, mind you. He has certainly earned the right to garner some praise for himself. He finished the work I sent him to do on earth. He paid the ultimate price and suffered unimaginable agony for the sins of the world. Who would question if he claimed some heavenly praise time for himself, to reciprocate on the huge and wonderful job he did on earth? I want you to notice something else profoundly important: Jesus ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle. This translation calls it the “true place of worship.” Other translations say things like “the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.” Either way, it is still accurate to understand that the buildings and tents set up on earth as places to offer sacrifices were only a foreshadowing mock-up of the real place of worship in heaven–the one I created myself. You need to realize and grasp that true worship which I will accept has to be done the way I prescribed and in the place I created. Worship on earth must happen inside the temple which is now your body; however, I only accept your worship in that earthly temple because my Son is here in the heavenly temple making intercession for you. I have much still to show you about this profoundly important truth. Stay with it; keep digging and keep listening to my Spirit and searching my Scripture for understanding.
What I said to God: Lord, I admit I’m a bit confused and overwhelmed by all of this. I’m not even fully confident that some of what I think You “said” You really said to me today. What I do know is that I have a High Priest! And what a High Priest He is! Wow, I certainly could never deserve such love and compassion and continued intercession and help. LORD, I should be overwhelmed! I should be flabbergasted! But instead, most of the time, I’m just piously over-confident in my own ability to offer acceptable worship. Father, please forgive me and remind me daily of the pain and sacrifice Your Son paid to make my worship (and my being) acceptable in Your sight. I know He ever lives to make intersession for us. I just wish I really “knew” what all that involves and implies. Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief and lack of appreciation. I want to love You more, and more consistently.