We are continuing our study in the book of Exodus, and I want us to look at the message of the veil, the veil of the temple that is given to us here. And the Bible tells us there, as Brother Craig read the verses in chapter 26 in verse 1, it says, And thou shalt make a veil, a veil of blue and purple and scarlet and fine twine linen, of cutting work. With cherubim shall it be made, And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of chitum wood, overlaid with gold. Their hooks shall be of gold upon the four sockets of silver. Thou shalt hang up the veil under the tacks, that thou mayest bring in thither within the veil the ark of the testimony. And the veil shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy. And there's one other verse I want you to look at over in the New Testament. In Matthew chapter 27, In verse 51, when the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross at Calvary, something happened in that temple to that veil. And in verse 51 of Matthew 27, it says, And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent. Lord, would you help us this morning as we look at this veil in the temple and help us in it to see the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that you'll open our minds and hearts and understanding and encourage and direct and guide in each of our lives. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Augustine, referring to the Bible, said the new is in the old concealed. The old is in the new revealed. There are a lot of things in the Old Testament that are revealed to us in the New Testament, and they both fit together. I'm glad that when Jesus came and provided salvation for us, he didn't do away with the Old Testament. It's still very, very important to us today. And many items and people in the Old Testament serve as a kind of a guideline and point ahead to the things in the New Testament that are more clearly revealed to us there. That was the idea that Paul had in 1 Corinthians 10 verse 11. He said, Now all these things happened unto them for in samples, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world come. What I'm trying to say is that in the Old Testament there are many objects that pointed ahead to truths that are more fully revealed in the New Testament. For instance, in Numbers chapter 21, you have the story of the brazen serpent. You remember when the children of Israel were judged by God, and they were bitten by snakes, and many of them were dying, and God had Moses make a brazen serpent and put it up in the pole in the center of the camp, and they were to bring those that were bitten, and all they had to do was look on that serpent, and they would be healed. In the New Testament, the Bible tells us in John 3 and verse 14, And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. And Jesus Christ was lifted up on the cross, and we look to Him for the healing from our sin and for salvation. Back in Exodus chapter 16, you have the account of the manna being given to the children of Israel. After they had wandered, or after they were going into the promised land and going through that 40 years of wandering, God provided manna for them every morning, except on the Sabbath, they would go out and gather the manna. And in John 6 and verse 31, the Bible says, Our fathers did eat manna in the desert. As it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, but my Father which giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. And there are many other examples of things in the Old Testament that help us to understand and they're more clearly revealed in the New Testament. From one end to the other, the tabernacle here in the Old Testament is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ and his redemption that we enjoy because of faith in him and his shed blood on the cross at Calvary. And so this morning, I want us to just think a little bit about this veil that was in the temple. This object, the veil, contains a great message for all of us who are willing to see it and to understand it. It is a wonderful type and a wonderful picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, it is specifically a picture of Jesus and his work while he was here on earth in the flesh. In Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 20, the Bible says, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh. With that in mind, I want us to look at that veil this morning and see what it represents. First of all, notice with me the pattern of the veil. The pattern of the veil. Now, I put a couple of pictures up for you. I want you to see them this morning. Guys, if you'll show me the picture of the temple. There you have the temple. And towards the back of the temple, you see the red veil there, the curtain that is placed there. And in the front of that is the holy place. Behind that is the Holy of Holies. And the high priest was the only one that was allowed to go back behind that into the Holy of Holies once a year. We'll say more about that a little bit later on. And then that veil, if you'll give me the next picture of the veil, there when Jesus died on the cross, the Bible says that veil was rent from the top to the bottom. It wasn't rent from the bottom up, it was from the top down, which of course is the fact in pictures for us the fact that salvation is from God, it's not from man, it starts from God from above. But that veil was rent so that now we have access into the Holy of Holies. Hebrews says, let us therefore come boldly before the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. The only reason we can go into the Holy of Holies, the only reason we can come into the very throne room of our God in heaven is because of the Lord Jesus Christ who went to the cross at Calvary and he made the way for us to come unto the Lord. So then notice with me, if you will, the colors that are used in the veil. There are three specific colors that are mentioned. Oftentimes, colors in the Bible are symbolic in nature. The colors used of the veil are no exception. They paint a picture for us of the Lord Jesus Christ and who He is. The first color I want to mention is blue. Blue, as you well know, is a color. It's the color of the sky. And it reminds us of the heavenly origin of the Lord Jesus Christ. God came down from heaven. Jesus Christ is God in human flesh. He left heaven, came to earth. And the blue pictures for us the heavenly origin of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Son of God. And nobody ever gets saved without acknowledging that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God, that He is God. Romans chapter 8 and verse 3 says, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. 1 Timothy 3.16 says, And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, and believed on in the world, received up into glory. So blue reminds us of the heavenly origin of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then scarlet As mentioned here, I'm skipping over purple. I'll come back to that in just a moment. Scarlet is the color of blood. It represents for us the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus was the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. You saw the picture of the veil, and the high priest once a year would go behind that veil, but he couldn't go without taking the blood of the sacrifice with him. And the only way we can come to the throne of God is through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And His blood, as you know, was shed as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of man. Revelation 1-5 says, And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood. He washes us in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then purple. Purple is the third color that is mentioned. That is the color of royalty. It reminds us that Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords. He reigns supreme. Isaiah chapter 9 verses 6 and 7 says, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice, for henceforth even forever the zeal of the Lord will perform this. The zeal of the Lord of hosts. Revelation 19.16 says, And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. Now, here's why I skipped over purple and come back to it because purple is made from equal amounts of red and blue. Blue represents the heavenly origin, red the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and purple is a blending of equal amounts of those two colors. Jesus Christ is a perfect blend of God and man. He is 100% God, He's also 100% man. He is the God-man. And He, as God, became man so that He could pay the sacrifice, the penalty for our sins so that we could be forgiven. The Son of God became the Son of man so that the sons of men could become the sons of God. And what a privilege it is because of Him and what He did for us. we get to live with him for eternity. Then notice with me the cloth, not only the colors, but the cloth that was used in this veil. Pure white linen was the cloth that was supposed to be used. That pure white linen speaks of the purity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was the sinless Son of God. He lived a perfect, sinless life, and consequently, he qualified to be the Savior of the world. None of us, no man, no other man apart from Jesus Christ who ever lived, lived a perfect life. Jesus did. 2 Peter 2.22 says, Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth. Again 2 Corinthians 5.21 says, For He, that's talking about God the Father, hath made Him, that's Jesus Christ, to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Jesus never sinned. He knew no sin. He became our sin so that we could become His righteousness. And that's the only way we qualify to go to heaven. We become the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then notice, thirdly, the construction that's used in this veil. How was this veil made? The Bible says it was to be fine-twined and of cunning work, it says. That tells us that the cloth that was used was to have a very special weave. It was fine twined. It was to be different from any other form of cloth. Now, how many of you understand Jesus was different from any other man that has ever lived? Amen. There has never been another man like him. There never will be another one like him. And in his person, he was a perfect blend of the deity and of humanity. He, as I said, was the God-man. He is unique because he is God in human flesh. God became man. John tells us that in chapter 1 and verse 1, it says, And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, or the Word was made flesh, verse 14, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Verse 1 says, And the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And then the word was made flesh, and we beheld his glory. I like this phrase. He says, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. John 3, 16 says, for God so loved the world that he gave his what? Only begotten Son. Why is that so important? One of the reasons it's so important, the Mormon Church teaches that Jesus and Satan were brothers. Now, I have a problem with that. If Jesus is the only begotten, How do you have a brother? Right? So you had a problem with it. God gave his only begotten son, and he says, the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. The glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Philippians chapter 2 verse 5 and following says, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as of a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. We could stop right here and know that the veil reveals much to us about the Lord Jesus Christ. But there's a whole lot more to the message of the veil. We've seen the pattern of the veil. I want you to notice also the purpose of the veil. What is the purpose? Why was this veil between the holy place and the holy of holies? It was hung between there where the priests ministered. The priests came in into the holy place every day. And the Holy of Holies was where the presence of God was, where the mercy seat was. And the veil served as a barrier between the holy God and sinful men. Men could come in up to the veil, but they couldn't go in except for once a year into the Holy of Holies. They were told to prepare this veil with cherubim on it. The cherubim are angelic creatures that serve as guardians for the holiness of God. They're first seen in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 24 when they were positioned at the entrance to the Garden of Eden. They were placed there to prevent man from going back into the garden and getting access to the tree of life. Now why was that so important? Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Consequently, they sinned, they fell, and in their fallen condition, had they eaten of the tree of life, they would have to live forever in that fallen condition. And so God put the cherubims there to guard anybody from eating of that tree of the knowledge, or the tree of life, rather. So the presence of the cherubims on this veil seems to serve the purpose of telling those that entered into the tabernacle that they could come this far, they could come to the veil, but they couldn't go any farther. There was a constant reminder there that access to God was forbidden. They were reminded that a holy God dwelt just behind that veil. You know, that in itself is a picture of the grace of God. That God would remind man and warn man that he couldn't come into the presence of a holy God in his sinful condition. God is so holy and so righteous he cannot even look upon sin. And sinful men cannot enter into God's holy heaven without something happening to our sin. And that's where the blood of Christ comes in. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all unrighteousness, the Bible says. And so the cherubims were there to warn man, but it also served to protect them, to preserve life, because had they gone beyond that veil, they would have died. Secondly, it served as a wall. It served as a wall. It was a warning to them, but then it also was a wall. This veil was a barrier between God and man. It shut man out of the presence of God. Leviticus chapter 16 and verse 2 says, And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil, before the mercy seat which is upon the ark, that he die not. For I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. You see, between the sinner, those who were on the outside of that veil, and God, there was that veil, a great wall you might say, standing between the sinner and God. Isaiah puts it this way in Isaiah 59 in verse 2, he said, but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid the face of God from you that he will not hear. Before we get saved, our sins separate us from God. Thank God when our sins are forgiven, we have access to God. But you know, even as Christians, as believers, Psalm 66, 18 says, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. As a Christian, as a believer, my sin can separate me from God. He's promised that He'll never leave us or forsake us, but when we have sin in our lives that we're unwilling to confess, it's a wall and God does not hear. and answer our prayers. So it served as a wall between the sin and the sinner and God. But then it also served as a way. It served as a way. While the veil served to keep men out, there was one day a year when the high priest could go around that veil and could enter in. It was on the Day of Atonement. The high priest would come and enter into the Holy of Holies. But he could only come into there with the blood of the sacrificial lamb. Leviticus 16 verse 15 says, Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat. On that day, the Day of Atonement, once a year, the high priest was allowed to go around the side of that veil and to minister in the Holy of Holies in the presence of God. He would come in and he would sprinkle the blood of the sacrificial lamb on the altar, making atonement for the sins of the people. It was the only time anyone was allowed to come behind that veil. The priests, oftentimes, they wore bells around the bottom of their robes, their garments. Some people say that that was because if they went in there and God did not accept the sacrifice, they would die, and they had no one else that could go in there. And so they literally would tie a rope around their ankle to pull them back out. I don't know if that's just a... just a traditional thing or what, we're not told that specifically in Scripture, but we do know that the priest could only go in there with the blood of the sacrificial lamb. He could only come into the presence, and you and I can only come into the presence of Almighty God through the sacrificial blood of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary. Hebrews 9.22 says, And almost all things are by the law purged with blood, and without shedding of blood is no remission of sin. Without the blood of Jesus there is no forgiveness of our sin. Hebrews 10 verses 19 and 20 says, Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh. He was the veil. Jesus Christ was the veil. And when He died on that cross, He made a way for us to come in before the presence of Almighty God. Bloodless, Christless religion. will never save anybody. And those who try to get to God without the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ will themselves spend eternity in the lake of fire forever and ever, because there is no other method that God will accept than the veil, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And to enter into his presence, you must be born again. John 3, 3, Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. In verse 7 of that same chapter, marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again. And the only way to be born again is through the blood, the sacrificial blood of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary. 1 Peter 1 verses 18 and 19 says, For as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. Jesus was that perfect lamb. He was without blemish. He was without spot. Thank God that Jesus Christ made a way for you and me to go beyond the veil into the presence of the Lord Jesus or of Almighty God himself because of the cross of Jesus that took care of our sin. It served as a way. That veil represented Jesus Christ. And then it also served as a witness. It was a witness. You see, while the high priest could only enter into the holies once a year, the other priests could come into the holy place every day of the year. Only the higher priests could go beyond that veil once a year. But as these priests came into the holy place, they were only inches away from the holy of holies. They could come up to the veil, but they couldn't get beyond it. They were never allowed past it. It was a constant reminder to them that there was a separation between sinners and God. It was a constant reminder to them of the moral failure of man. And so it is with the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ in his flesh. There's sometimes people who say, well, I just want to copy the life of Jesus. I just live like Jesus and I'll get to go to heaven. Well, the only problem is none of us can live like Jesus perfectly. He was perfect. We can't do that. It is not the life of Jesus that saves us. It is the blood of Jesus that saves us. That blood had to be shed on the cross at Calvary. When man fails to realize that the life does not save, it's the blood that saves. When they fail to realize that, they miss out on eternal life. In fact, the life of Jesus condemns us. because He was perfect and none of us can match up to that. We all have fallen short of the glory of God that Romans 6.23 talks about. John 15.22 says, If I had not come and spoken unto them, this is Jesus speaking, He said they had not known sin, but now they have no cloak for their sin. You see, if they hadn't seen Jesus in His perfect life, they wouldn't know that they had fallen short. But Jesus is the glory of God that all of us have fallen short of. In the final analysis, the veil is a reminder to you and me, it is a witness to you and me that as sinners, we come short of the glory of God. And as sinners, we need a Savior. That veil represents the Savior. We need the Savior to get to Almighty God. and we'll never be able to approach God on our own merits, we must come through the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the only way. You don't come to God through the saints, you don't come to God through Mary, you come to God through Jesus Christ. Paul said to Timothy, there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. He's the only one. He's the veil that was rent for us. So you have the pattern of the veil. You have the purpose of the veil. Let's look at the parting of the veil. The veil was rent. It was parted. It was torn apart. In Matthew chapter 27, I read the verse for you in verse 52. And it says, or in verse 51, it says, and behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent, and the graves were open, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose. Look with me, if you will, at the method of the parting. The method. It was God and not man that parted that veil, that tore it open, that rent that veil. While the priests were offering the evening sacrifice, Jesus was offering his life on the cross as the offering and as a ransom for our sin. When the innocent one died for the guilty ones, the veil of the temple was rent from the top to the bottom. And man had nothing to do with that. It was the work of God. When Jesus died on the cross, that veil was rent, as I said, from top to bottom. That veil was 60 feet high and 30 feet wide. They say it was four inches thick. It was so heavy that Josephus says it took 300 priests to move that veil and to put it into place. He also says that two teams of oxen would not have been able to rend or to tear or rip that veil. You see, what man could never do, God by His power could do, couldn't He? Man can never provide a way to God, but God, through His Son, through the blood of His Son, has provided a way. We cannot do that ourselves, but Jesus did it for us. We had nothing to do with it. Jesus did it all. I've said oftentimes you can take all the religions of the world and you can divide them into two groups. In fact, you can divide them into two words. All the religions of the world are either described by the word D-O, do. They're trying to do something to earn their way to heaven. Or it's D-O-N-E. It's what has already been done by Jesus on the cross at Calvary. And if you and I trust in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, it's what was done for us, not what we're trying to do to earn heaven, what Jesus did for us. That's why Hebrews talks about the rest. We can rest when it comes to the matter of our salvation, when it comes to the matter of going to heaven. I don't have to fret and worry and struggle about it. I rest in the shed blood of Jesus Christ and in His Word that tells me that it's through His blood that I find salvation. It's not a matter of what if I'm not good enough? What if I don't hold out till the end? You know, it's not me holding on to Jesus. It's Jesus reached down and holds on to me. If it was me holding on to Him, I'd be in trouble. But thank God He holds on to us. And He did what was necessary on the cross at Calvary. It originated with God in heaven. But I want you to know that it originated before the world ever began. There was a pretty popular Christian song some years ago that was written that said, God searched all through heaven looking for someone who was willing to come. God didn't search through heaven looking for somebody who was willing to come. God planned before the world ever began. It was originated by God in heaven before this world was ever made. In Revelation 13 verse 8 it says, And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship Him, whose names are not written in the book of life, of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 1 Peter 1.20 says, Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you. Before the foundation of the world it was already planned by Almighty God that His Son Jesus would come and die on the cross and pay our sin debt. Now that's amazing to me. If God knew, and He did, long before He even created man, that man would fail and fall and sin, and that it would cost Him His only begotten Son to come to this earth and be beaten and tortured and crucified on an old rugged cross and literally become our sin, if God knew that and He did before the world ever began, why did He even make us? If it's me, I might say, they're not worth it. Why should I give my son? But he did because that's part of the character of God, the love of God. God so loved that he gave his only begotten son. It was a brutal death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary, but it was the work of a sovereign God. And so, we see the method of the parting. Picture the death of Jesus and the shed blood on the cross at Calvary. Notice the message of its parting. The message of that rent veil, that torn veil. The message is clear. It tells us that the way to God in the Old Testament, they came into the holy place, but they couldn't get to the holy of holies. That's where God was. That's where the mercy seat was. They couldn't get there. But the way to God has been torn apart and opened up. And now we have a way to God. Amen. Now we have access to the very presence of Almighty God. I can imagine those priests in that temple, how they must have tried to sew the parted veil back together again and continue on in their religion, not realizing that the veil pictured the opening and access to Almighty God. Not just one day a year, but every day we have access to God. And I want to say to you this morning that all the religions of the world are trying to, in a sense, sew up the veil and come some other way, not realizing that they're missing. The only way is through Jesus Christ. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 13 says, But now, in Christ Jesus, you who were sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. we can get past that veil and into the presence of God. Verse 18 says, For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. When Jesus gave what we commonly call the Lord's Prayer, how did He start it out? He started out by saying, Father. Our Father. He's our Father. We can come directly to Him. I can talk to my Heavenly Father just like I'm talking to you this morning because Jesus Christ made the way the only way that I can come to Him. The way has been opened up into the presence of God. The Bible tells us whosoever will can come into His presence and have access to God. Revelation 22 and verse 17 says, And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come, and let him that heareth say, Come, and let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will let him take of the water of life freely. John 3.16 says, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that... What's the next word? Whosoever. Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." I praise the Lord that the way to God has been opened up for you and me forever, forever. When the high priest entered in behind that veil, when he would go around and in behind, he came into the very presence of God himself and he offered the blood, but then he had to leave the presence of God. And he was not allowed to come back until the next year. What if you could only talk to God once a year? For some of you, it might not be any difference than what you do now. I hope not. But now we get to come before God every moment of every day if we want to. That high priest couldn't go back there without the blood. He could not come whenever he wanted. He could only come when God allowed, once a year and with the blood. However, when Jesus came in the flesh and gave his life for you and me, he forever tore down that middle wall, that partition that was between God and man, and made free access to God for every one of us. And now, in Jesus, we can come before our Father at any time. What a wonderful privilege that is. What a glorious privilege. And it's given to us because Jesus Christ became the veil He was rent on the cross at Calvary so that you and I could get to God. What a wonderful privilege we have. We get to come into the very presence of Almighty God. We get to fellowship with Him. We get to talk to Him. We get to spend time with Him, all because of Jesus. And one day, we'll get to be with Him for all of eternity. Isn't that amazing? All that Jesus went through on the cross at Calvary was because God so loved us, He wanted us to get to live with Him forever. And He died. In fact, Hebrews says that when Jesus was there on the cross, it says that He endured the shame and went through the suffering for the joy that was set before Him. And the joy was getting to be with us forever. Why would God want to live with us forever? I look at some of you and I think, I wouldn't want to live with you forever, you know? Some of you wouldn't want to live with me for one day, you know? But God wants to live with us forever. What love, what amazing God we have. And He so loved us, He parted that rail, that veil, so that we could have access to Him. Have you come to Him today? Have you come through that rent veil, through the blood of Jesus Christ? Have you made your peace with God and come into his presence and been forgiven. See, you can't get there unless something happens to the sin and only the blood can take away the sin. You must come through the blood of Jesus Christ. Let's bow our heads together in prayer. Father, thank you for the picture of the veil. Those Old Testament priests didn't get to enjoy what we get to enjoy. and yet we take it for granted. That privilege of coming into your presence every day, that privilege of spending time with the Creator of the universe, the God of heaven, and we take it so lightly. Thank you for the great price. You paid much too high a price for us. Thank you for loving us. for giving your Son, for rending that veil so we could have access to you. Lord, I pray that if there's one person here today that has not come to you through the blood of your Son Jesus Christ, that today they'd open their heart and life to you. Trust Jesus. Trust His blood. Not our good life. Not our church membership, not our baptism, not whatever else, our good works. We're trusting only in the shed blood of Jesus Christ. That's the only thing that could tear that veil apart. Give us access to you. If there's one person that has not come through the blood of Jesus, would you help them to come today? Give their life to you. And then Lord, those of us who are your children, we've come through the blood. Lord, may we not neglect the wonderful privilege that we have of prayer, of coming into your presence on a daily basis, spending time with you. Come into your Word and experience the presence of your Holy Spirit as you talk to us through your Word and teach us and we fellowship together. As those disciples said on the road to Emmaus, did not our hearts burn within us? as they walked with Jesus. Lord, may we have in our hearts a great desire, a burning desire to spend time with you. And may we never forget what a wonderful God and what a wonderful privilege. We don't have to stay over there on the other side of the veil. We don't get to just come in once a year. The doors open. anytime, anywhere. Help us, I pray in Jesus name. Amen.