Are You Ready for God's Final Judgement pt. 2

Mark Finley: Jesus can only represent those who've come to him. He can only stand for those that have given their lives to him. In that judgement, the judgement reveals those who have taken advantage of the promise of forgiveness.
Guest (Female): This is Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. Today’s message, Ancient Sanctuary: Are You Ready for God’s Final Judgment? Part two. Enjoy and remember you can always catch up with past messages and stay up-to-date with Hope Lives 365 and Pastor Mark by going to HopeLives365.com. And now, Pastor Mark Finley.
Mark Finley: Sometimes people say to me, "Well, the law of God was done away with." If the law of God was done away with, Jesus would not have had to die because he died because we broke the law. The law of God is enshrined. It is tabernacled there beneath the very throne of God in the sanctuary. And the priest comes and sprinkles the pure blood above the broken law. Thank God that the blood of Christ can be sprinkled over our transgressions, that the blood of Christ can be sprinkled over our sins. Thank God in the judgment hour, there is our high priest sprinkling, in symbol, his blood over the law that we have broken so that we can go free. And as our names come up in judgment, Jesus says, "This man, this woman is one of mine. My blood covers their sin and pardons their sin." But notice, this is not sin-laden blood now that is sprinkled. It is pure blood. When we confess our sins, they are covered by the blood of Christ. But one day, heaven itself must be cleansed. One day, the record of those sins must be blotted out forever. So that leads us to understand the difference between the covering of sin and the blotting out of sin. When we confess our sins, they are covered by the blood of Jesus. But yet, the record of that sin remains in heaven until the day that Christ finally blots sin out of the universe. So day by day we seek him and we say, "Jesus, I long for you not only to blot sin out of the record in heaven, but Jesus, my longing is for you to blot sin out of the temple in my heart. Lord, blot sin out of my life. Lord Jesus, by your grace, blot out that evil temper, blot out that lust, blot out that anger, blot out that resentment. Jesus, I have confessed it. Jesus, I want it blotted out of my life." Now notice, some people say, "Well, what could there be in heaven that could ever need to be cleansed?" The Bible is very clear. It talks about the sanctuary in Hebrews 9, verse 22 and 23. It says, "Apart from the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins. It was needful, therefore, that the copies of the things in heaven should be cleansed in this way." Now notice the expression "it was needful." That means it has to be done. "But that heavenly things themselves should be cleansed with more costly sacrifices." Is there anything up in heaven that needs to be cleansed? According to this text, there is. What is it? The stream of sin that has been transferred through the record of sin into heaven by the blood of Christ. That record still remains. And Jesus, through this ancient sanctuary service on the Day of Atonement, is revealing just how heaven is going to be cleansed through the blood of Christ. Now, how could anything in heaven need cleansing? The sprinkled blood spoke of pardon. It spoke of covering. But God desires not only to cover sin, but he desires to blot it out of the universe forever. The blotting out of sin was typified by the services of the Day of Atonement, the climax in the round of ministration dealing with sin. So here you have this final end of sin. I am so glad that sin is not going to remain forever, aren't you? I'm so glad that there's a record of sin that's going to be gone forever. I'm so glad that sin will be blotted out of the universe never to raise up its ugly head again. That's why the Bible says that he not only wants to blot sin out of the heavenly sanctuary, he wants to blot sin out of the sanctuary in the temple of our hearts. Look at Acts 3, verse 19 to 21. "Repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out, so that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send Jesus Christ who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of the restoration of all things." God wants to restore all things. He wants to restore his image in your life. The Bible says in First John 3, verse 1 and 2, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God. Yet it doth not yet appear what we shall be. But when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." You say, "How can God ever do that in my life?" The Bible says in Hebrews 12, verse 1 and 2, that he is the author and the finisher of our faith. Philippians chapter 1, verse 6 says that he that has begun a good work in you is going to finish it. God is going to do something amazing with you. When a child is in the first grade, are they in school? Are they in school? Do they know algebra, trigonometry, and calculus? No. I know you got smart kids. But if they stay in school, will they one day have a class in algebra? Look, you're in school with Jesus. Don't go out of school. As long as you stay in the school of Christ, committed to him, he will work miracles in your life that you cannot imagine. As you come to him every day and let the light of his word shine in your life, as you come to him every day and feast on the bread of life, and don't let the devil discourage you. Don't let the devil say to you you're not good enough. Don't let the devil say to you you'll never make it, because he that has pardoned your sins will give you power and strength in your life. Because God has spoken it by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. And I believe it, friends. What about you? Now what's the difference between sprinkled blood in the holy place and sprinkled blood in the most holy place? The sprinkled blood in the holy place records the record of our sin. The stream of sin goes in through the lamb, carried by the priest there. The sprinkled blood in the holy place is sin-tinged blood. The sprinkled blood in the most holy place is not sin-tinged blood. It's pure blood that will cleanse. The blood in the holy place represents sins covered. The blood in the most holy place represents sins blotted out. Why doesn't God blot out our sins as soon as sinners confess them? Why doesn't he just blot sin out? For two reasons. Number one, God never takes away your freedom of choice. When you come to Christ, he's going to forgive you instantly and immediately. No questions about it. But the record of that sin is up there in the sanctuary. And if you want to go looking for it, you want to go hunting it, you want to go take it back, he's not going to take that away from you. So when he blots out sin finally, it's because we have confessed that sin, we repent of that sin, and we don't want it anymore. We say, "Lord, I want to be done with that thing." But there's a second reason why you have the blotting out of sin. And it's this: the blotting out of sin in heaven's sanctuary is so that the whole universe will be totally, absolutely clean. And there won't even be a record of sin any longer. It's going to be gone, completely gone. In those Day of Atonement services, when the priest left the sanctuary, when he came out—you remember when he went into the sanctuary, the Lord's goat was slain. But there was one other goat left. Now the Bible says that he came out of the sanctuary now. Leviticus 16, verse 21. "And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat." Now remember, when you lay your hands on the animal, what are you doing? You're not only confessing, but you're transferring ownership. So here Aaron comes out of the most holy place. He carries with him out all the sin that has been accumulating through the record of sin in the sanctuary. He lays both of his hands on the head of the live goat. The guilt of sin is transferred. He confesses over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel and all their transgressions. This is not a goat that is a savior. The savior's pure blood has cleansed the sanctuary. But here, all of the guilt of sin, all of the shame of sin, all the condemnation of sin, all of the failures, all of the rebellion, all of that now is placed on the head of this goat. It says, "And all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and he shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man." So this goat is taken away, this goat that now bears the responsibility. Here, this goat is called Azazel. It represents Satan. So at the end of time, Christ leaves heaven's sanctuary and Satan bears all the responsibility, all the guilt, all the shame of sin. He is led far away and eventually burned and consumed in the lake of fire. And the universe is clean and we rejoice with Jesus forever and ever and ever and ever through the ceaseless ages of all eternity. What do you say? Praise God that one day the devil that's tempted us, one day that the devil that has led us into sin, one day the devil that has tried to trip you up, one day he bears the responsibility, he bears the guilt, he bears the condemnation. He's led away forever and ever. Now there in that judgment previous to that final day, somebody is thinking here, "But pastor, what if I don't pass the judgment?" I want to take you up into the courtroom of heaven. I want you to look up there at thousands and thousands of heavenly beings. The cherubim are there, the seraphim are there, angels are there. They crowd in around the throne of God. Daniel saw it, actually, in Daniel 7, verse 9 and 10. Daniel said, "I kept looking until the thrones were set up." This is during this Day of Atonement. This is previous to the sins being put on Satan. But this is what leads up to it that's so exciting and thrilling.
Guest (Female): We'll be right back with Pastor Mark Finley. We thank you for listening and hope you're enjoying today's message. Our mission is to attractively present the Christ-centered biblical truths of scripture in a practical, relevant way to people around the world so that they may experience the abundant life that Christ offers. If you want to learn more about the Bible, check out our free Bible series at globalbibleschool.org. Discover answers to your deepest questions straight from God's word. And now, back to Pastor Mark Finley.
Mark Finley: I kept looking until the thrones were set up, the Ancient of Days—who's the Ancient of Days? God the Father—took his seat. Thousands, thousands were attending to him. Thousands of angels gather around. There's nothing more interesting, more fascinating, more captivating in the universe than this. The thousands of angels gather around. The Bible says myriads were standing before him. The court was set, the books were opened. Here is earth's final judgment before the guilt of sin is placed upon Satan. And there, as Daniel looks up, he sees this judgment scene. A Son of Man enters the court. Daniel says, "I beheld till the Son of Man came." He enters the heavenly court. And as Jesus walks into the courtroom, every voice is hushed. And Jesus walks right to the judgment bar of God. The Bible says, Daniel 7, verse 13, he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. Jesus comes there before the very throne of God. Why is this Son of Man, why is this our high priest—he's actually treated like a prisoner before the bar of God because he stands there and your name comes up in judgment. And all of the universe is hushed. You are so valuable to God that nobody will be saved or lost by the stroke of some cosmic pen. But your name comes up before God and Jesus steps forward and he says, "Mark Finley deserves eternal death. He deserves to go into the grave and never come out." But before the universe he says, "Father, I died that death. I was judged as guilty. I was condemned for his sins. He's come to me. His sins are covered with my blood. Now Father, by grace, blot them out of the record forever." And the whole universe begins to sing, "Worthy, worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive riches and power and glory forever." Your name comes up. Alice, or Mary, or Sally, or John, or Peter, Harry, your name comes up before God. And you are one of his children, bought by the blood of Christ. And as your name comes up, Jesus steps forth and he says, "This man, this woman is one of mine. My blood covers their sin. They came to me and confessed. And now the record of that sin is expunged, blotted out of the whole universe." Jesus was judged as a prisoner before the bar of God. The gospel is good news. Jesus Christ has earned the right to take our place in the judgment. If we stand in the judgment alone, there is no way we can be saved. But if we stand in the judgment with God, there is no way that we can be lost. Hebrews 9, verse 28. Can you read it with me please? "Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." Notice what the text says. Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many. That's on the cross. And unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin. What does it mean that Jesus will appear the second time without sin? He comes this time not as a sin-bearer. He comes this time not to bear our sin, but to deliver us from this world of sin and ultimately place the responsibility all on Satan. Notice Hebrews 9, verse 26. He has put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. The sacrifice of Christ on Calvary's cross is not cheap grace. There are many Christians who believe that grace is cheap. Grace is free, but it's not cheap. Our sins have caused heaven the death of the Son of God. Our sins bring pain to Jesus now. Jesus is the Lamb, Revelation 13:8, slain from the foundation of the world. So from the first inkling of sin, pain entered into the universe and into heaven. And the cross is a revelation to our dull senses of the pain that sin from its very inception has brought to the heart of God. Every deed of sin, every departure from right brings grief to him. He has come to put away sin, not simply to pardon our sin, but to deliver us from the grip of sin. Grace delivers us from the guilt of sin and the grip of sin. Grace delivers us and pardons us from the penalty of a broken law, but it empowers us to be different people. We come to Christ just as we are and he says, "I accept you, my child, just as you are." But as we come as we are, we don't stay as we are. There's power in the gospel to change us. In ancient Israel, all eyes were on the sanctuary during that Day of Atonement. What was going on then? Leviticus 23, verse 27 to 29, it says, "It shall be a holy convocation for you. You shall afflict your souls and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord." During these 10 days before the final judgment, what was happening? They afflicted their souls. "You shall do no work on that same day." In other words, it was a special time. "For it is the Day of Atonement for you before the Lord your God." For 10 days Israel gathered. Any person who's not afflicted of soul—what is afflicted of soul? Means to repent of sin, means to confess your sin on that same day, he'll be cut off. In other words, those that did not confess their sin on the Day of Atonement, the day of judgment, would be judged and cut off from God's people during that time. So in heaven's final judgment, before the throne of God, Jesus can only represent those who've come to him. He can only stand for those that have given their lives to him. Who's going to be approved in the judgment on that great final day? Could it be that we are living in the judgment hour right now? Revelation chapter 14, verse 6 and 7 says, "And I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those that dwell on the earth to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people." That's happening right now. "Fear God," the Bible says, "and give glory to him for the hour of his judgment is come." When Christ comes to give out the rewards, there must be a judgment previous to his coming to determine who receives what reward. Are we living in the judgment hour right now? How can I possibly stand before the throne of God? I can only stand before the throne of God in Christ. The investigative phase of the judgment takes place before Jesus comes back. This sometimes is called the pre-advent judgment, a judgment that takes place before Jesus comes. But Jesus will stand for us in that judgment. Have I placed my absolute trust in Jesus as my sacrifice, as my only hope? Tonight, Jesus for you has paid it all. But the only sin he can forgive is the one you give to him. The only sin that he can pardon is the one that you confess. Jesus has paid it all, all to him I owe. When sin has left its crimson stain, Jesus washed it white as snow. When your name comes up before the judgment bar of God, there is no way you can be lost in Christ.
Guest (Female): You’ve been listening to Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. We hope you’ve enjoyed today’s message, and remind you that you can find more in our many ministry resources at HopeLives365.com. And you can support this ministry by going to HopeLives365.com/donate. And now, a final thought from Pastor Mark.
Mark Finley: His power is sufficient to blot the deepest stains of sin out of your life right now. Many years ago, a young boy crossing the street was in a terrible accident. Ambulances were called, medical personnel came. The boy was rushed to the hospital and the medical personnel and physicians recognized that this boy needed a very serious operation. They operated. But as happens in many operations, the boy needed a blood transfusion. They looked for someone to donate blood. Finally, they found a blood donor. His dad had the same blood type. And the father went into the operating recovery room. It was before the days of blood plasma. It was the days that they did direct blood transfusions. The nurse took that swab and dipped it in the alcohol and rubbed father's vein and pricked him. And blood began to flow through that plastic tube directly into the boy. And the father stood there looking at the form of his son lying there, watching the blood flow into his son. And the father said, "Doctor, if you need to, take it all. Doctor, if you need to, take every drop of my blood." Jesus came into a sinful world and hung on Calvary's cross. And with blood running down his hands, dripping on the rock below, it's as if Jesus looked up and said, "Father, take every drop of my blood, because my people are too precious to be lost." Jesus paid it all, all to him we owe. Would you like to, in the quietness of this moment, wherever you are, God is touching your heart? Why not open your heart to Jesus right now? Why not say, "Jesus, my life is yours? Jesus, I'm confessing my sin to you now? Jesus, I'm coming to you now?" Jesus says, "Him that cometh to me I'll never cast out." But you say, "I've come. I've come before." But what is it in your life? What's deep down inside? He wants not only for you to confess your sins, he wants not only to cover them, but he wants to do a work in your heart to blot them out. Would you let him do that right now? Would you ask him for grace, for pardon, and grace for deliverance as we pray right now? Wherever you are, his arms are wide open for you. He says, "Come unto me, all you that are burdened and heavy laden, and I'll give you rest." Let's pray. Oh my Father, we come to you just now. We open our heart to you just now. You gave every drop of blood for us. And Father, thank you for covering our sin. Thank you that it's covered from the universe as far as the east is from the west. You've separated our sins from us. The record of our sin is there covered by the blood of Christ in the sanctuary. But Father, thank you for the teaching of the Day of Atonement that one day sin will be blotted out. One day sin will be gone forever. Lord, blot sin out of the universe soon. Come soon, Lord. But blot it out of our hearts, Lord. And may we stand with you one day in glory and rejoice in a world with no sickness, suffering, or pain. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.