How to get close to God...

This is the tabernacle.
I have been thinking about the tabernacle for the last couple of years and I feel like I'm going to explode. There is so much to share.
You know, a wiser man than me once said that the Old Testament of the Bible is Jesus concealed and the New Testament of the Bible is Jesus revealed. I agree.
As I look at the tabernacle and everything about it it is all about Jesus. Every part, every socket, every board, every skin, every material, every colour, every precious stone, the gold, the priest's garments, the sacrifices, the ritual, the process, the procedure, every altar, every article of furniture, the bowls and the jars and the incense and the blood, and the...everything, EVERYTHING POINTS TO JESUS.

Now I said I was about to explode and that is because there is so much to share and nowhere to share it.
I could write loads here but no one would read it.
(Apparently for anyone to read it it must be short and with lots of pictures. I write a daily post on my Facebook page and I'm told that people sometimes read it when it's not too long. Please quantify 'too long' for me.)
I'm digressing.

There is so much to say about the tabernacle, it is full of type and symbol, it is laced with grace and beauty, it is bubbling over with the revelation of God to His people, JESUS; HE is everywhere in the tabernacle and I could write a lot but I feel this morning to say this.

I have a friend who told me that he wants to be close to God and asked me to help him.
So here's a question.
Do you want to be close to God?
Do you want me to show you the way to be close to God?
The Way, it's in the tabernacle.
The tabernacle is made up of three sections; the court, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. In the Bible the Holy Place is called the  meeting place with God, where the people 'meet' with God.
I suggest that to be close to God you must meet Him at the meeting place. Make sense to you?
We are going on a journey, are you coming? This is the journey of 'getting close to God.'
Okay, off we go.

You enter the court of the tabernacle. The first thing you see is the Brazen Altar.

It is here the offering is offered. You lay your hand on the head of the offering and in that act the purity of the unblemished offering is transferred to you in the case of a burnt offering, or your sin is transferred to the offering in the case of a sin offering. Either way you receive purity and forgiveness as the offering is consumed by fire on behalf of the offerer...you.
Can you see Jesus?
This is the moment you believe.
The next thing you see is the Laver.

It is a big bowl of water. This is where washing occurs. The priest has a wash regularly. You, having received Jesus are now the priest, that is scriptural. You need to wash in the water. I would thoroughly recommend baptism but whatever you need washing, regularly. The water is the Word. You want to get close to God you need to seek Him. Where do we seek Him? You might try in your feelings, or your emotions, or in your mates, or in the counsel of your friends, you might even in the counsel of your mentor or coach, you might through the pastor of your church but...the best place, the only place is in the Word. If you want the Word you need the word and you need to wash in it regularly. Not because it's a law but because you want to get close to God.
Can you see Jesus?

Next we have a tent with a veil. Not THE veil but you enter through this veil in to the Holy Place. Remember this is also called the 'meeting place' in the Bible.
Firstly, in this place, we see two things, the table of Showbread and the Lampstand.

Now I could go on and on about this and about the oil for the lamp and about the bread that is to be perpetually on the table and about the drink offerings that are made on this table but typically here we have two often overlooked but two exceedingly wonderful things in your journey toward God, light from burning oil and bread.
Can you see it? Holy Spirit and Holy Communion.
Why do we take Holy Communion once a month in our churches? Because we miss the point, we are blind to the point and think it is just about remembering Jesus in His death and we struggle to do it because we have made it about our remembering when it is truly about a daily receiving of Him in all His wonder and beauty.
In our journey to be close to God we need burning oil and we need to receive Him in His covenant feast every day. We need to be Acts people breaking bread from house to house, having fellowship not around our stuff but around Jesus, HE is our bread and wine, He is everything!

Next we see another veil, a big, heavy veil.
Inside this veil is the Holy of Holies. Here is the dwelling place of God, the shekinah glory. No one can go in here because the only thing that can stand here is absolute holiness and we aren't.
Now I need to remind us all that Jesus made some changes to the layout. As He hung on the cross of Calvary He took the big heavy veil in His hands and He tore it from top to bottom. The place that was no-go for the Israelite is open to YOU in Jesus Christ. Oh yes some dude probably sewed it up again but the point is that God tore it in two. The Holy of Holies is open. Wow!
Now for us, this side of the cross, in our journey to be close to God we have arrived in the Holy of Holies, the dwelling place of God.
This is the right place to be 'close to God'

In front of us is the Altar of Incense.

It was here that incense was burnt perpetually. Remember that fact.

Beyond this is a big gold box, the Ark of the Covenant, over which is the mercy seat of God with two cherubim at either end and within their wings is the dwelling place of God, God is here! GOD IS HERE!

The incense burnt perpetually. Praise Him perpetually.

Mercy seat, come to His mercy. The priest came once a year with blood. He had to come with much smoke from the incense altar because he couldn't see the glory of God and live and he had to have blood of the atoning (atoning means covering) sacrifice which he sprinkled on and before the mercy seat.
Can you see Jesus?

Do you know what was in the box? It contained the tablets of stone, the Law (symbolising man's rejection of God's standard), Aaron's rod that budded (symbolising man' rejection of God's priesthood) and manna (the stuff that fell every day from heaven symbolising man's rejection of God's provision).
Wow!
Man's rejection of God was in the box covered by the mercy seat of God.

Can you see Jesus?

Remember when Jesus lay in the tomb after His death? He lay on a stone bed and was overlooked by two cherubim, one at His head and one at His feet.
Can you see it? The mercy seat! The place to meet God! JESUS.
Nothing to do with us but everything to do with Him.
Jesus went in to the Holy of Holies on our behalf. His life was perpetual praise, His blood eternally worthy, His priesthood fully accepted, His provision totally complete, Himself completely holy. He is God with us.
So much to share. I could go on and on but this might be too long!

Want to be close to God?
Take the journey.
Receive Him at the brazen altar. Wash regularly with the water of the Word. Enter the Holy Place and receive Him in His Spirit and in His Covenant through His covenant meal. Praise Him perpetually at the altar of incense and come to His mercy seat and see Jesus. You are welcome to come in Him because He took away it being about your performance and made it about His performance and His performance was, is complete, finished, and perfect and wonderful.

Want to meet God? Want to be close to God?
Come to His mercy seat, and this is the Way...believe, wash, receive, praise, meet in the meeting place, receive Grace.
JESUS!
Oh...perpetual praise...shout the Victory Call.

'GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD, HIS HESED (His lovingkindness, His love, His grace, His mercy) ENDURES FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER...

Go on. shout it, and watch the walls of Jericho come down, watch the giant be slain and the Philistines be put to flight, watch the the enemy destroy themselves and it will take three days for you to pick up the spoils.