Welcome to the Cross Power Church podcast.
You're listening to a service from our church in Campbell, TX.
We pray this message strengthens your faith and points you to the
cross. Now let's join the service.
We're going to be taking communion tonight, man, What all
what awesome week, you know, this week.
It it, it floods. It just floods my mind.
What to preach, man, because it's so it's such a week.
You know, I, we, sometimes I think that, that we forget what
this week we, we get in the story of Easter, the
Resurrection Sunday, Easter, whatever you choose to call it,
I like Resurrection Sunday. But but sometimes we, you know,
even as preachers, we preach the story so much that we, I think
we forget what it really accomplished, what this week
really accomplished man, had it not been for Calvary, had it not
been for that old rugged cross, had it not been for a man named
Jesus, like the old song says, forever my soul would be lost.
Think about that. Isn't that powerful.
But I got kind of different take on it tonight.
We're I usually just do communion and but the Lord give
me a word today. So we're going to do a little
reading tonight. I, I begin to think, you know,
sometimes when we, when we read scripture, I know when I read a
lot of Scripture up here, the devil attacks me.
You ever notice that when you read your Bible, your mind gets
confused when you, when you begin to really dive into the
things of God and, and I've noticed it in a church setting
so much if, if, if I'd stopped preaching and go to reading that
it just, I think, you know, the enemy comes in.
Well, they think you're reading, they think you don't know what
you're talking about. They think on and on and on.
But you know, it's the Word of God that sets us free and, and
the word of God, if we realize what's in this and we realize
that that sin dies where the blood is applied.
It's been that way even before the covenant, the new covenant,
that we are now under the covenant of grace, even back in
First Samuel. I'm going to read to you a
little story in First Samuel chapter 5.
You can stay seated because I'm going to do a little reading
tonight. I want to know what the word
says. How about you?
But in first Samuel chapter 5 and verse one it says then the
Philistines took the ark of God. You'll hear the Ark of God or
the ark of the covenant. They are the same thing and they
brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod verse 2 When the
Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the House
of Dagon and said it by Dagon. Dagon was, was a, was a idol.
It was a, it was a mermaid per SE.
It was 1/2 man from here up from waist up and then it had a tail
behind it and it was a fish, half man and half fish.
It was many worshipped at the as the, as the God of the boughs
and different things. Many believed it was a Pagan God
of fertility. Some worshipped it because it
was the nature and the things that grew and it was just they,
it was just an idol. That's what Dagon was.
But I want you to get this story tonight because there's
something that happened here. Because they were toting the the
Ark of the Covenant and it wasn't in the rightful place
that David would ultimately put it back in.
I preached about the House of old Bad Edom, a man that that
hid it out at his place for a while and people didn't want
anything to do with the Ark of the Covenant because when they
touched it, they didn't handle it right.
They didn't do it like God said to do it.
They would drop dead and there was plagues that would come up
on them. There was all kinds of things
that would happen. But when I read this story
today, it was the Ark of God and they brought it to the House of
an idol to to Dagon. It was the Philistines temple.
Sampson had ultimately he would destroy that temple.
And that was the same place that we read about them pushing the
walls down and the things that Sampson did.
But they set this, that the Ark of the Covenant in there.
And when the people of Ashtod arose early in the morning, get
this Daggone had fallen on its face to the earth before the
Ark. Isn't that awesome?
The word of God, idols fall, sin cannot stay.
You know, we, we battle through this life as Christians many
times and we struggle with things and I really don't think
we get the story of Calvary. I really don't think we get the
power of the cross of Calvary. What was in this arc?
I wanted this happened. This kind of intrigued me
because see, sin can't stand when the word of God is present
and active in the life of a believer.
Satan cannot win. We need to get that in our
mentality. He cannot win.
But yeah, we give him so much credit of what he does and how
he attacks us. But like I said, sometimes I
think we forget what this accomplished.
But the Ark of God, what was this?
It had, it was a box. It had the 10 commandments.
I'm not going to get into all this.
Linda taught on a while back, so did I, but it had the 10, the 2
tablets of the 10 commandments in it.
So it had, it had a list of do's and don'ts per SE, but had the
10 commandments. It had mana in a gold pot.
I often thought why would they put mana in this pot?
But see, the first thing the art really had was what the
commandments that had obedience right?
I preach message that when you have nothing left but obedience
is still all you need. It had obedience, but it had
mana also in the ark of the covenant.
And I believe that it was to remind them that he was Jehovah
Jireh. He was the great provider.
So we had the 10 the tablets of the 10 commandments.
We had mana and there was also Aaron's rod in there which to
remind him that he was Elohim what he was majesty with
creative power, as the Hebrews called him.
So we had these three things, but yet today sometimes we
forget that he's Jehovah Sid canoe.
He's the great promise keeper. God keeps his promises.
He's a source of righteous. That's what that Sid canoe means
is he's the he's a source of righteousness and salvation for
us if we believe. But see, when the people back to
verse 3 of Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Dagon
falling on its face to the earth before the ark of the Lord.
So they take they took Dagon and they set it back up in its place
overnight and they went back the next morning and they arose
early and there was daggone again.
It was falling upon his face again to the ground before the
ark of the Lord. Isn't that powerful?
The power of God just makes idols fall in our life.
It still works today. And it says the head of Daggone
and both Inverse and and the palms in its hand were broken
off at the threshold. Only Dagon's torso was left on
it. Therefore, neither the priest of
Dagon nor any who come into Dagon's house tread on the
threshold of Dagon and Ashdod until this day.
But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon the people of Ashdod,
and he ravaged them, and he struck them with tumors, both
Ashdod and its territory. God was serious about his word.
Can I tell you he's still serious today?
And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said the ark of
the God of Israel must not remain with us for his, for his
hand is harsh toward us, and dag on our God.
Therefore they sit and they gathered themselves all the
Lords of the Philistines, and they said, what shall we do with
the ark of the God of Israel? I ask you tonight, what are you
doing with the ark of the God of Israel?
What are you doing with the promises that He has given us?
See, just as the Philistine God Daggone had wilted, had broken
to pieces, had fell over on the ground, I come by to tell you
that sin today, when it comes in contact with the blood, it still
has to fall. What we observe this week is
Resurrection Sunday and it's a fulfillment of what?
It's a fulfillment. We think about the cross, we
think about what happened, but really we have to go to Hebrews
chapter 8 to find out what this week was really about.
It's about a new covenant. Somebody say new covenant with
me. Thank God when we don't
disobeyed it, when we disobey today, we don't get struck with
these tumors and and these things which God can, but thank
God we have grace that we sing about.
But in Hebrews chapter 1, it says now this is the main point
of the things we are saying. We have such a high priest who
is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the
heavens talking about Jesus. Where is he seated?
At the right hand of God, a minister of the sanctuary and of
the true Tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.
For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts
and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that
this one also have something to offer.
I'm in verse 4. For if he were on earth, he
would not be a priest, since we are priests who offer the gifts
according to the law, who served the copy and the shadow of the
heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was
about to make the Tabernacle. For he said, see that you make
all these things according to the pattern shown to you on the
mountain. Thank God for grace.
You know, if it wasn't for grace today, they're probably there.
There wouldn't be any such thing as a Christian if we had a law
or something we had to do. You know, all these religions of
the world, you know, the, the Catholics, they go to Mass, they
go to, they go to confession, they, they go to church a lot
more than we do. You know, the Muslims, they,
they pray more than most Christians.
They pray up to five times a day, many more than that to, to
a God that's not a God at all, to something that's not even
alive. But yet we as Christians, we
have trouble giving God an hour and a half.
Thank God there's a covenant today, a new covenant, because
we wouldn't make it. Don't say man right there for he
said, see that you make all the things according to the pattern
shown to you on the mountain. But now he has attained verse
6A, more excellent ministry in as much as he is also mediator
of a better covenant, mediator of a better covenant, which was
established on better promises. Isn't that good to know that
you're in a better covenant that's established on better
promises? You don't begin to think about
that. They had a promise that that the
fire would lead them by night, and there was a shade in the
daytime and there was manna that fell from heaven like dew and
fed the children of Israel. But it says that we are
partakers of a better covenant, right?
So why aren't we partaking? Why aren't we receiving?
What is this word? Mediator here.
I look this up. It's a person who attempts to
make people involved in a conflict, if you're involved in
a conflict, to come to peace, to bring about peace with God and
humanity. That's what Jesus is.
He's a mediator of this covenant.
You know, the the world. Remember when you was lost and
undone without God and you wasn't obeying the commandments
of God and didn't really care even to hear about those things
because conviction fell on your life.
Anybody ever been there? And yet when you heard about
that, it didn't seem like Christ was the mediator, but it seemed
like that you were in conflict, right?
You were in conflict. But what is what is Jesus trying
to do? He's trying to bring about peace
in our life. He's a mediator of a better a
covenant established on a better promise.
Isn't that good to know? Verse 7 let's read the rest of
this is good stuff. For if that first covenant had
been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a
second. Thank God.
What happened under the first come what?
God destroyed everything he made except those that obeyed and got
on the ark, right? He destroyed it because he's
seen that it was no good. God was not happy with us
mankind which he had created, but he said that's what that's
what Paul was saying here. Whoever wrote Hebrews, but then
no place would have been sought for a second verse 8 because
finding fault with them. He says, behold, the days are
coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant.
How many is that? Glad you found out about the new
covenant with the House of Israel and with the House of
Judah. Verse 9.
Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers
in the day when I took them by the land to lead them out of the
land of Egypt. See, even under the first
covenant they were being LED. Can I tell you under the second
covenant of grace, you're still being LED a man, but it's to a
place of peace and joy because they did not continue in my
covenant and I disregarded them, says the Lord.
For this is the covenant that I will make with the House of
Israel after those days, after those days that they were led
out of Egypt, after he had disregarded them, says the Lord.
He said, I will put this is under the new covenant.
I will put my laws in their mind.
Isn't that good to know? His law is in my mind and I will
write them on their hearts, and I will be their God and they
shall be my people. Isn't that a great covenant
we're under? None of them shall teach his
neighbor, and none his brother, saying, know the Lord, for all
shall know me from the least of them to the greatest, for I will
be merciful. Well, wait, somebody ought to
shout right now, for I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness. Aren't you glad when you was
living unrighteous and all the crazy things some of us done,
that he was merciful? He reached down.
That's what this week is about. For I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness and their sins and their lawless deeds.
I will remember no more. Man, We have something to be
thankful for. In that he says a new covenant.
He has made the first one obsolete.
Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to
vanish away, but we must never forget under this new covenant.
See, Jesus said I didn't come to do away with that law, but he
said, I'm going to put the law in your mind that you're going
to meditate upon it day and night, that you can have good
success. And I'm going to ride it in your
hearts of my people. And I'm going to do something so
great for them called the cross of Calvary and Grace, that
they're going to want to love me.
They're going to want to live for me.
They're going to realize what I gave for them, which was
everything. See, we're in a new covenant
tonight, and Jesus is the mediator.
Aren't you glad He put His laws in your mind and He wrote them
on your hearts and that He can be your God and we can be His
people. See inverted in Chapter 9.
I want to read some of this. It says then indeed, even the
first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly
sanctuary for a tab Tabernacle was prepared.
The first part, in which was the lamp stand, the table, the shoe
bread, which is called the Sanctuary.
And behind the second view, the part of the Tabernacle is called
the holiest of all, which had the golden sensor.
There it is again, and the Ark of the Covenant overlaid on the
sides with gold, and which were the golden pot that had the
manna, Aaron's rod that butted, and the tablets of the Covenant
describing what I've already told you.
And above it were the Cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the
Mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now
speak. In verse 6 it says Now when
these things had been thus prepared, talking about what
they had to do to even pray to God.
When these things had been prayer prepared, the priest
always went into the first part of the Tabernacle performing the
service, but into the second part the High priest went alone
and only once a year, and not without blood, which he offered
for himself and for the people's sins committed in ignorance.
The Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the holiest of
all was not yet made manifest. While the first Tabernacle or
the first covenant was still standing, it was symbolic for
the present time in which both gift and sacrifices are offered,
which cannot make him prove perform the service.
Perfect in regard to the conscious, concerned only with
foods and drinks and various washings and fleshy ordinances
imposed until the time of Reformation.
I like what verse 11 says. But Christ came.
I mean that that just weighed on
me when I read all that today. Because think about how hard it
is. Think about how hard it is in
your life. If you're really honest, think
about how hard it is to get to church on Sunday morning.
Think about how hard it is to really get here on Wednesday.
If I got something that's going to happen or go wrong or any
kind of scheduling, it's going to be on a Wednesday.
My wife, she'll look at me and say, guess what day I said
Wednesday? Every day I had to get 2
fillings this morning. Guess what day it was?
Wednesday they looked at me and I said, y'all, I got to talk
tonight. I got a preach that didn't need
all that numbness. They said, well, Kate, you think
you can do it without it without getting it dead.
And I said yeah, let's go for it.
So I just got it done without dead and they got this new
stuff. Now they it's different, you
know, they don't have to do all the drilling and it's, it was
pretty cool really. No numbness.
I can't stand that numbness. But Christ came think about that
though. How hard is it?
The enemy don't fight, y'all.
It's hard. It's a constant fight and you
win the fight a lot because you're out there in the heat and
elements working. You're working.
All of us are. You win the fight a lot.
But imagine under this other covenant we would have lost.
Christians today have very little, if any, staying power.
If it suits us, if we get along with a preacher and a few people
in the church, we're on board. But if not, we're clicking it on
down the road, right? For the most part, not willing
to fight to keep the church together.
Not willing. Many aren't.
Tell me. I know I've spent 16, almost 17
years trying to build 1 where I had people I could trust.
And I'm not going to say anymore, but Christ came as a
high priest of good things to come with the greater and more
perfect Tabernacle, not made with hands.
That's what this week's about. That is not of this creation.
Isn't that powerful? What we're looking for is not of
this creation, not with the blood of goats and calves, but
with his own blood. He entered the most holy place.
I love this, what this says right here once and for all.
He don't ever have to die again, but you know I by the by my
ignorance, I can crucify him for himself.
According to Hebrews 10/26, when I do things contrary to the word
of God, I put him on that cross again, but he died once and for
all, for all of my ignorance. Aren't you glad of that, having
obtained eternal redemption not just once a year, but for all
eternity? Man, we got it easy.
For if the blood of bulls and goats and ashes of a heifer,
sprinkling the uncurrent clean, sanctifies for the purifying of
the flesh, y'all reading with me how much more shall the blood of
Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself?
You know a lot of people today, they talk about how Jesus got
beat and how He did this. You know, he said that no one
took his life. He laid it down.
He gave it for you and I. He could have called 10,000
angels at any time and canceled the redemptive plan of God.
But He knew that what he had already seen in glory was not
worth anything. Risking on this earth to lose,
getting back to glory. If we can only see a glimpse of
what we have waiting on the other side.
If we could just get a glimpse of how much more shall the blood
of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself
without spot to God, Cleanse your conscience.
I like that. I need my conscience cleansed.
You ever need your conscience cleansed from dead works to
serve a living God? He's not in that tomb.
Hey, man, that's what we'll celebrate.
He walked out of that grave. And for this reason, here it is
again. He is the mediator.
What's the mediator doing? Trying to bring those that are
at conflict with God and humanity into peace.
God's not trying to wreck your life.
He's trying to fix your life. Amen.
He's the mediator of what the new covenant by means of death
for the redemption of the transgressions under the first
covenant that those who are called may receive the promise
of an eternal inheritance. Isn't that powerful.
Thank God for grace Thank God for grace.
I will put my laws as you stand to your feet.
We're going to take communion tonight long about this time,
give or take they Jesus was at the table with his disciples and
I don't know if they can understand that what he was
about to do was he was to about to put his laws in their mind.
He was about to write his grace upon their heart.
Do we really grasp that that he could be their God and they
shall be his people as the music plays tonight.
So we're going to everybody go ahead and gather pass this out.
Somebody help us there if he'll just pass it out.
Thanks for listening to the Cross Power Church podcast.
May you know that true hope, peace, and salvation can only be
found in Jesus. If you're near Campbell, TX, we
would love for you to join us in person.
You can find service times at crosspowerchurch.com.