Good morning everyone. Good morning to you who are
familiar? Good morning to you, who maybe
we're still getting to know. We're glad to everyone who's
here today to share in the most important thing that we could
possibly do in our lives. The most important thing that we
could possibly do is to recognize the Creator who
brought us here, who designed us to formed us, who gave us hearts
that have eternity in them that we should gather together to
learn more about how to learn more about his word to study and
to sing Raise. And to remember the things that
we are alive for, what a wonderful day it is and we have
a beautiful day outside today. Spring is here, life is come and
I'm having a good day. I don't know about you, but it's
good to be here. This morning.
We're going to continue our study in the book of Hebrews.
Now there are several here who maybe weren't here as we've been
doing this study. So I'll try to kind of fill you
in as we go without going through, the whole Hebrew study
again but basically what we're studying is a book written by
This is unusual in the Bible but it's an unknown author.
We're not told who wrote this but we do know it comes from
God. God inspired the holy scriptures
to be written so that we could know his plan so that we can
know his will for us in our lives.
And so we know it came at least from God.
God designed the Bible and had it written through the Holy
Spirit and and We Know It Was Written who it was written to.
It was written to the Jews at the time who were transitioning
from this old I meant to the New Testament and you're like, what
in the world is that if you don't know, if you're not
familiar about this much of your Bible, the front half or front
will weigh more than half of your Bible, is the old Covenant,
that's where the Jews were under.
That's what the Old Testament. And the sacrificial system was
about before Jesus came, and this kind of division between
the two is where Jesus set up the New Covenant, what we live
under today, if you've seen movies, it's kind of like the
setup and the plot development and then Rising action.
The climax of the whole story and this is kind of where we're
studying in this climax where Jesus has come to fulfill the
setup that is the foundation of the world, the old Covenant,
that tells us God's will and his plan, this is what we're living
under today. This New Covenant and this
letter, we're studying is just a piece of that, but the the
unique part about this letter is, it's the transition point
between the two because there were people who were, who had to
make the switch. Now the A thing, I think we're
trying to relate to maybe the biggest with the Jews is they
had a lot of big changes to undergo and their religious
perspective and their life perspective.
And maybe that's the case for you.
Maybe you didn't grow up with this stuff, maybe this isn't
what you came from, you can relate to the Jews, the Hebrews
who are receiving this letter, because they have to learn about
this Messiah and accept this Messiah, whose come to save them
from their sins. Now, as will learn, hopefully,
they were waiting for it, and they should have been waiting.
But such as the case today, I guess we're not all waiting for
Jesus today but that's the goal. That's the goal is to always be
waiting for God's next step in his plan, both in our personal
lives and for the life and for the greater plan of God's will.
So we're reading in Hebrews chapter 9 up into this point and
the goal of the Hebrew writers to get these Jews to realize how
great and how much Divine Jesus is.
So we've talked about how in the early chapters Jesus has Other
than the, the prophets, he's greater than Angels, he's
greater than everything before in the Old Testament so that
they should listen to him. And now we're going to talk in
this in this chapter about the Tabernacle, and from the last
study, we talked about how in the Old Testament, that was
types of sacrifices that were made, there was a, an atonement
offering there was the the, the bread offering the peace
offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering.
So, the types of offerings In sacrifices to God, in the Old
Testament, we went over before and those themes will carry
through. And just to kind of bring us up
to speed and Hebrews chapter 8. The last couple verses before
chapter 9 that will read today, say this for this is the
Covenant that I will make with the house of Israel.
After those days says the Lord, I will put my laws in their mind
and write them on their hearts. I will be their God and they
shall be my people. So this new law that God's going
to bring is going to be something that changes us from
the inside out. If you, if you've seen a lot of
religious activities, sometimes it can seem very rich.
Dualistic. The goal for God's people.
In this new covenant is to take it beyond the ritual to take you
in word to change us that way. Verse 11.
He said, none of them shall teach his neighbor and none of
them his brother saying know the Lord for everyone shall know.
Me from the least of them to the greatest of them.
From the poor man to the rich man from the from the lowly man
to the to the ruler. Everyone will know.
For I will be merciful to the unrighteousness and their sins
and their Lawless Deeds. I will remember no more.
He is going to forgive us in this new covenant.
Verse 13. The last verse of that chapter
in that he says a New Covenant, he has made the first obsolete.
So now what is becoming obsolete?
And growing old is ready to vanish away.
So that old Covenant that we talked about if the word
covenant is strange and unfamiliar just think the word
will someone who leaves behind a plan and a system that is their
will. And so this old law he said is
obsolete. It's now going away and ready to
vent a white van. Nashua and replaced by the new
law, okay? So Hebrews chapter 9 verse 1.
It says then indeed even the first Covenant had ordinances of
divine service and the Earthly Sanctuary.
Okay. So this Sanctuary is talking
about is going to be related to the physical presence that they
would set up for the religious people in Israel.
Okay, it might sound like a lot of terminology and things like
that for the people who are members here we've been studying
about this. We've studied several Times.
So, I hope not to belabor it too much because I think we've
gotten good practice in this area and study recently.
But this this Earthly Sanctuary, he's talking about the religious
setup that they used to have. And this is what was called The
Tabernacle. So this place was set apart.
So if you're thinking themes is a good thing to think for us New
Testament, Christians, what are the themes?
God had a place that was set apart.
There was a special place for God in the Old Testament.
It was first surrounded by specific dimensions of this.
These, this Veil, this Tabernacle is set up with an
outer area in which whereas the altar of sacrifice where we,
they would do those burnt offerings and they would have a
washing area and then this is where it got even closer and
closer to the presence of God you have this first area is
called the holy place and then right after After that, the
closest place to the presence of God for the Israelites was
called this, Most Holy place. And that's where the Ark of the
Covenant that we're going to talk about today.
That's where it was and that's where they would go to the
presence of God. So it was set apart.
It was, it was very specific and very designed to be intentional
with how they approached God. He wasn't someone who they would
just look up into the sky during that time and just go.
I know you're here somewhere. No.
There was a specific presence and they could pray to him and
things like that. But anyway, we'll get them.
So, this is what he's going to be talking about with this
Tabernacle, this Earthly Sanctuary verse 24.
A tabernacle was prepared the first part in which was the
lampstand. So this lampstand was the
candlesticks and it was what provided like for the holy
place. You know they don't have they
don't have light fixtures in there and so that Candlestick
was the plate was the thing that provided that In the light and
the table, and the showbread, which is called The Sanctuary.
So in this holy place, so we are talking about this area right
here. There are three main things.
There's a Candlestick, there's a table of showbread, and there's
an altar of incense three things.
Those three things had a special representation and to keep it
the beauty of God's word is, it's not just some religious
mumbo-jumbo. It's the showbread was had
twelve loaves of bread on it and those were to represent the 12
families or the 12 tribes of Israel.
So it was a symbol of God's fellowship with his people.
Then you have the altar of incense that was representation
of the prayers of the people going before, God.
And so as they would like that, incense it would float through
the curtains and into the room and even into the presence of
God. So you have something that
represents prayer. We do that today.
Very simple, the prayer we have fellowship with God and the
light that God provides to us represented in the Candlestick.
And it even looks like a tree. I think, is the idea is to
symbolize the tree of life that God brings to us Okay.
So we have the table. The showbread.
So this is the sanctuary. This is the setup of the Earthly
sanctuary in the Old Testament. We don't have this anymore.
Another picture of it. Verse 3 and behind the second
Veil, the part of the Tabernacle which is called the holiest of
all. So there's a first Veil to enter
the holy place and just kind of like a curtain, separating it?
And then the second Veil is, what goes to the holiest of all?
Where God's presence was verse 4, which had the golden censer
and the Ark of the Covenant overlaid on all sides with gold.
So, as we've been reading through the Old Testament, all
those did everything was so suspicious, so specific and So
precious, they had precious stones and precious materials to
cover, even the wood of these boxes.
Overlaid on all sides with gold and which were the golden pot
that had Manna. Now the Ark of the Covenant is a
symbol of God's presence with the people as you read through
the Old Testament. What happens with the ark really
determines, what's happening is with God's people, when the ark
is taken away from God's people and it's not in their hands,
they're, they're separate, they're losing battles.
But when the art comes with them, it's God's presence is
strengthening them and they win and they it's a symbol.
It's all themes that are carried even into what we can understand
today. The presence of God and this Ark
of the Covenant. So that was overlaid on all
sides with gold and which were the golden pot.
So inside there's a golden part pot that had the Manna and
Aaron's Rod that budded and had the tablets of the covenants.
Okay? So if three things inside of the
Ark of the Covenant, the the first thing was the Manna and in
case you're not familiar with that, and the Old Testament.
God did some incredible things. They're hard to Fathom, but when
his people needed food out in the middle of the desert, he
brought down food from the skies and it was like Dew on the
ground in the morning and they called that mana.
And what's interesting is that they kept Semana in this golden
pot as a memorial and as a symbol.
But we took we're told in the Old Testament if they kept it
for more than Than a day. Or if they kept too much, it
would grow worms and it would stink and rot immediately,
because God wanted them to have Manna every day.
And he would God wanted them to come to him for the food.
And from the bread from heaven. But what's interesting is, God
somehow, preserve that because that wasn't a bucket full of
worms. It was, it was Mana as symbol so
that they would remember. It had Aaron's Rod that budded
in the Old Testament. God's people started to go up
against Aaron and say, hey, why, why are you getting all the
power? Why you getting all the
authority? What's wrong with us?
Why can't we have some power? And Aaron was like, guys, this
is not me, this is not my deal, God set me up.
I'm not the one choosing it. I'm just serving in the way God
has asked me to And the way that the way that they settled this
is Aaron, God told Aaron to do this.
And so they all took their staffs up and they set them and
one area together, and Aaron's Rod was set apart to show that.
He was the leader and that his Rod a grew and blossomed out of
this stick. This dead chopped off, stick
started to grow and Blossom buds.
And I believe it said he, it even had almonds come off of,
it's fascinating. The detail in that the
confirmation of God's will and his plan and his leaders, and
the Old Testament and the tablets of the Covenant.
So, when this was originally written this whole Old
Testament, it was written on tablets of stone.
And so, those stone tablets were the third thing that were inside
of there. Now, really, when you think
about these things, these are all things that should symbolize
and carried a wait for them. That was - it reminded them a
lot of their failures if you think about Mana well, it
reminded them that God was there to provide for them but how much
they failed and complain against God to get that mana and how
much they complain about and when they got that man, are they
wanted Quail? They wanted something else.
There's a it was a reminder of their own failure, Aaron's Rod,
that budded that was a reminder of them going against God's plan
and God's leadership. And then the Covenant, there was
a time where those tablets were Split air Moses would got so
angry. He split them, he broke them.
And that was a covenant, they that they could not keep
perfectly. But it was in this it was in
this Covenant. That was God's presence in God's
will was surrounding it, verse 5 and above it.
So Above This Covenant on top kind of like a lid where the
cherubim of Glory overshadowing, The Mercy Seat of these things.
We cannot now speak in detail. Okay?
So these chair of them were like those, those winged creatures,
those angels. These are the same creatures
that were described in the, in the exit of Garden in Genesis
when when Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden, God
Place cherubim there to guard it and there was a flaming sword
twirling around to keep them out.
So it's fascinating. Now that that God is trying to
make a way for his people to come back to him and to be
reconciled. And to be taken to him that
there are cherubim they're showing where God's presence is
in the holiest of all. Verse 6.
Now, when these things have been thus prepared, so all of these
symbols in the Tabernacle, when these things have been prepared,
the priests always went into the first part of the Tabernacle
performing the services, okay? So in their system, you had the
levitical priesthood. So that was a family of Levi,
who were the priests one man was the, was the high priest, but
they had these priests who would go through and do these
services. So the services they did, they
would come put new bread. They put fresh bread every day.
On that table and they would they would like incense and
offer prayers. And they would add oil to the
lamps to keep it running because the oil was the fuel and the
lamp. That was keeping that Lit, that
light was supposed to never go out in the Tabernacle.
So they were every single day going in and Performing these,
these little services. Verse 7, but into the second
part, so the most holy place, the high priest went alone once
a year, just the high priest, not without blood, which he
offered for himself, and for the people's sins committed in
ignorance. So this holy place this Most
Holy Place, only the high priest went in, and he went in once a
year twice on that day, he went in the two reasons, it says
here, he had to go in first and offer atonement for himself.
Self. Then he went in afterward a
second time to offer atonement for the people of Israel and he
would take blood in there and sprinkle it on The Mercy Seat,
this place where the chairman and the lid are, this is called
The Mercy Seat. Now think about the presence of
God. God, I was hurt, I read it,
described God looking down. He might see those articles in
the in the Ark of the Covenant, the symbols of their failure in
their inability to keep the Old Law and their continual
Rebellion. But when that blood Sprinkled on
The Mercy, Seat God had mercy and he saw the blood of the
sacrifice, instead of just seeing those symbols of their
failure. And that was called atonement
day, one day a year was called atonement day, where there was
blood sprinkled. They're very, very intentionally
on The Mercy Seat, it was not without blood.
So, that's kind of the theme. We're going to get two of
connecting it to Jesus and Jesus is blood.
Is that there was even blood offered in the Old Testament on
The Mercy Seat. And it's interesting here that
it talks about it's offered for the sins committed in ignorance.
When I was kind of starting to become more aware of things in
our faith system and understanding the way God works.
It fascinated me. I remember asking my dad, you
know, how does God forgive us for our sins?
That we don't even know we're doing if you think about it, I
mean, that's probably the majority of our sins and in the
more we grow older and the more we grow up, we realized Our
faults more and more. And we start to peel back the
layers of our own selfishness. Our own Pride, our own Wrongs in
our hearts, there are so many layers of our individual wrong.
How in the world does God, forgive us for that.
And even the Old Testament, there was a way for them to have
to have those sins covered in to have those sins atone for its
beautiful that God understands, where we're at let's be real we
all have deep issues on some level or another And maybe we've
gotten some progress in those, maybe we have it but God is
concerned with taking care of us that he even understands and
takes care of the sins. We commit ignorance.
As long as we are trying to follow his plan, okay.
It's not like we can just be ignorance, is bliss?
Because we learned the New Testament that that Paul was
persecuting the church and Indian and going against the
Jesus, ignorantly. So it's not like you can just
live in ignorance obviously, but God understands when his people
Who are following him? That were not just going to be
there, right? When you start maturation helps
overcome sin and it makes send pop up less often, but we still
have issues to overcome and God understands us on that level
from the, from the beginning. Until now, Verse 8, the Holy
Spirit, indicating this, that the way into the holiest of all
was not yet made manifest. While the first Tabernacle was
still standing. Okay, so the fact that only one
man could go in once a year to do this.
It's showing us that there's not really a way in there, yet,
while this first Tabernacle this Earthly Tabernacle in the Old
Testament, and those ways had not given them a way to really
access the holiest of all, Just the fact that they had to do
that once a year, it's like we're waiting on something,
aren't we? Something else has to happen
because this can't be it and that's true.
And on top of that to kind of give a little more color to what
would happen with this. The priest had bells on the
bottom of his garments and he had a rope tied around his foot
as security, because if that priest came in there and he
wasn't ceremonial clean ceremonially ceremonially clean
He might be struck dead on the spot.
So if he hits the floor, nobody's going else is going in
there because only the high priest can go in there.
So if someone else were to go in there and get him, they would
die. And so they had a rope tied
around his foot so that if he happened to be killed in there
or for some reason died, they could pull him out.
So as we started to understand the gravity of the Old Law and
God's presence that will help us to understand the new law and
how great Jesus is to counteract.
The sin problem that we have and how it separates, what separates
us from God. God's presence was so great.
He didn't want them to take it lightly.
He had a way for them to be ceremonially clean and to the
where they could come into His presence and his Holiness and
not be defiled, and this seems like a crazy reality.
Why in the world would a good God?
Just strike somebody dead. He was coming to talk to him.
There are realities that we don't fully comprehend because
we don't fully live in it in a way that is aware of them all
the time. We don't talk to people who do
the kinds of things that God can do on a daily basis.
We talk to people who get tired and have to sleep every 16 hours
like we do. We get tired.
We have to interact with people who have failures in faults.
We're not dealing on a daily basis face to face with a God
who can literally raise people from the dead.
And who created the world. So when we try to understand
him, it's helpful to understand that we're not dealing with
someone who's like us. So that if he demands something
OS and ask something of us, we should seriously respect it and
take it for the gravity that holds.
And we'll talk about this more in a minute.
Verse 9, these things we've talked about it was symbolic for
the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are
offered, which cannot make him who perform the service.
Perfect in regard to the conscience concerned only with
foods and drinks various Washings and fleshly ordinances
imposed until the time of reformation, okay.
That was a lot of maybe words that might be hard to
understand. So it was symbolic the Old law
was symbols, that word in Greek is Parabola.
It's a parable of the things that would come.
It's not the real thing. The old, let the Old Testament
was full of symbols for the present time in which both gifts
and sacrifices that we've already talked about those are
offered, but they cannot make him and perform the service.
Perfect, it doesn't make him completely complete, it makes
him a toned for for a time. It makes him clean for a But it
doesn't make him perfect and regard to the conscience.
And as we strive to serve God, we have to be aware of the fact
that no kind of ritualistic thing.
We do by itself can make us clean and conscience.
We can all come to worship today and do what are really.
These are rituals a ritual isn't necessarily against God's will.
It's just something that you do have like on a regular basis as
part of your routine of Performing tasks.
We seen we commune around the Lord's table, we pray, those are
rituals. And so if we do those things and
we expect that alone to make us pure and perfect and clean in
our conscience. It's not going to be enough.
That is what Jesus calls only on the outside, a whitewash to,
that's what the Jews were called, in the New Testament by
Jesus. So, these things could not
perfectly take care of the sin problem of man.
They were only concerned with foods and drinks and various
Washings and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of
reformation It's interesting about those various Washings as
a side note. This is really the point, the
Riders getting out, but if you look into some of those
Washings, it's fascinating that God knew.
So God knew so much before any of our modern medicine did part
of the Washings that they would do.
And part of the cleansing process is.
If you were made unclean by let's say touching a dead body,
you are considered ceremonially unclean.
You couldn't come into the presence of God so you had to be
purified. Fide.
And so they have they would have this water that your purified
with. Okay ceremonially.
That's kind of the picture but practically speaking, the way
they made that water of purification is they would take
a burnt sacrifice. They would take its ashes and
they would run water through those ashes.
And that was your cleansing water and they would apply it
with hyssop, okay? Ashes and hyssop are both now
known today to be antibacterial and antiviral.
That's when you run water through ashes.
It collects the chemical lie and lie, is what many people in the
early settlement days we're using to make soap, it was a
modern or ancient version of soak, that really, they were
using. They might not have even known
in too much quantities. Like can be bad for you.
And it can be damaging, but in the right quantity, it is like
soap, God was having them be ceremonially cleanse with
something. They probably didn't even
understand to be antiviral and then it was applied with hyssop
will show you a picture of his up in a minute but it's just a
plant has thymol in it or time all however you pronounce it and
that is what we use in mouthwashes.
A lot of times today. On the leaves.
There were gross. A type of mold that produced
penicillin. So there were all these things
going into the process of the cleansing.
Ceremony that maybe it helped. Keep them healthy, I don't know,
but at least it was scientifically Way Beyond what
we can ever understand today. That can't be an accident.
That can't be just have happened.
God is behind Even things like this in the Old Testament where
man didn't know what was going on.
God knew The last verse said, these things.
We're insufficient. So they were, they were
insufficient by themselves, but they are a very important and we
learn from Romans 12:1. I, it tells us there.
Paul says, I beseech you therefore Brethren by the
mercies of God, that you present, your bodies, a Living
Sacrifice, holy acceptable to God, which is your reasonable
service. So, all these things they were
doing alone. Weren't going to cleanse them
and conscience perfectly and nothing.
We do. today, when our works alone, can cleanse our
consciences but It is just our reasonable service.
It is what we should logically do.
If our God is this great and this merciful to us we should
just reasonably respond by wanting to serve him with
everything that we have verse 11.
But I but Christ came as high priest of the good things to
come with the greater and more perfect Tabernacle not made with
hands. So he is not the high priest
according to the Earthly Tabernacle, he's got a high
priesthood that's going way beyond that.
To the good things to come things that we as the church are
just kind of participating in in Hope Of Heaven.
That's coming the good things to come with the greater and more
perfect Tabernacle not made with hands, God's Tabernacle head.
The Heavenly places that we are going to that.
We are heading for That's what Jesus came to prepare.
He came to prepare, not someplace that was 10 by forty,
five and Fifteen by fifteen with a certain amount of elements.
No, he came for a perfect and Heavenly Tabernacle that he
wants us to join him in one day, these things are not made with
men's hands. Like the Earthly Tabernacle was
The good things to come was even symbolized in the the lampstand.
It was meant to look like the tree of life and Jesus.
In the New Testament was crucified on a tree.
He came bringing good things even through his death and
through his suffering verse 12, not with the blood of goats and
calves but with his own blood, he entered the most holy Place
once for all having obtained. Eternal Redemption once for all
Jesus suffered And he saved us eternally to redeem, something
has to pay for it, and he bought our Eternal salvation and our
Eternal Redemption with his own blood.
For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer,
splink sprinkling the unclean sanctifies for the purifying of
the flesh. How much more shall the blood of
Christ? Who through the eternal spirit
offered himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience
from dead Works to serve the Living God.
So, remember, he's writing this to people who were used to the
fact that you could perform a sacrifice and become clean.
So that they were, so the point of the writer is saying Is that
if those bulls and goats who were sacrificed made them
Sanctified, or set apart and purified to be able to be in
God's presence for the purifying, it's all language
that in the Old Testaments being clean before God, we don't want
to be dirty before God. We want to be clean because we
have to be clean to come into His presence. if all of that,
there was animals Made us pure how much more shall the blood of
Christ? The perfect sacrifice in every
way who through the eternal spirit both.
His spirit that is eternal and is aware of what he was doing,
eternally and the Holy Spirit, who planned this and and made
this plan into go into effect. He offered himself without spot.
He was a perfect sacrifice. Like in the Old Testament there
animals had to be a great animal.
It had to be the pick of the litter, it had to be the best of
their flock without spots that made an ugly animal.
Jesus was without spot in his character and his morality.
How much more selfish Jesus cleanse, your conscience from
dead Works to serve the Living God, those dead works.
I believe are kind of two fold. Any kind of dead work.
Any kind of sinful act that you might do.
Then I might do that. Should that should cleanse us?
His blood will cleanse us from those dead works and the sinful
lives that we've lived in the past.
But I think specifically to the context, he's talking more hear
about the dead Works associated with the Old Law, those old law
acts of sacrifice and ritual alone did not make them
eternally pure. So in that sense, they were dead
and when the New Covenant came they would be completely
irrelevant. God doesn't want people anymore
to sacrifice animals. He sacrificed Jesus, once for
all So that we could leave behind these dead works of just
killing an animal that poor animal day.
After day, after day, we can take comfort in that we have
freedom in conscience and then our Spirits from the Eternal
consequences of dead Works to serve the Living.
God, We already talked about. Here's a couple pictures of
that, lye soap, I was talking about.
They were use those ashes and sprinkling the unclean.
And here's a picture of hyssop that plant that they would use
to sprinkle with verse 15. And for this reason, he is the
mediator. Jesus is the mediator of a New
Covenant and new will by means of death for the Redemption of
the transgressions under the first Covenant.
Again, Redemption means paid for and transgressions means our
sins. What?
We've done to go against God under the first Covenant that
those who are called may receive the promise of the Eternal
inheritance. Now, some people think that,
that there's a limited calling, you know, God hasn't called
everyone and the reality is, in the New Testament, we see Jesus
talking about using language. Like, hey, if you want to hear
hear, if you can, if you will change your heart, if you will
have an open heart, you are called You are called if you
will accept God's will. So if you're wondering, am I one
of those called people? Like what you are today, you're
hearing it today. God is calling everyone.
Who will hear him? Jesus said, he who has ears to
hear, Let Him hear. That those who are called may
receive the promise of the internet of the Eternal
inheritance. Maybe you're not familiar with
what God's offered us. I don't have any pictures up
here to show you God's Eternal inheritance.
I think we experience God's and her intern Eternal inheritance
and glimpses. Here the moments that are pure
and joyful in the moments that are designed by God, to be
reflections of the light that he wants to bring to us.
The beauties of Life are just mere glimpses into the Eternal
peace satisfaction Joy. And life that we have in him.
I don't have any pictures of that. and so if you hear that
message, And you hear about eternal inheritance and you're
like, what in the world? How does something be eternal?
We don't know yet. We haven't seen it yet, but what
we do know is that It is the greatest thing we could ever
possibly imagine more. And if we are trying to count
the cost of being a Christian today, if you're one, who's
trying to decide, whether I should be a Christian, because
that's what the New Testament says.
Before you make a commitment like this, you need to count the
cost and see what it's worth. Being a Christian involves not
giving part of yourself. That's watered-down.
God wants you to give everything to him.
And he will take care of us. Abundantly if we are willing to
do that, In my business classes in college, we called it return
on investment. This is a no brainer.
If you, if you have an investment today that you see
can prospectively give you 30% return on investment, you will
run out of your shoes to go by that investment.
Because if you're making thirty percent of ten thousand dollars,
you making 3 Grand a year on an investment, that's good.
We understand temporal Investments.
Do, but do we understand how great our investment is here,
how great our investment should be of our effort, in our time,
in our life? But do we understand what we're
giving God? Do we understand?
We're giving God our whole lives to the point that he will give
us an eternal life. This Beyond any percentage
return we could ever imagine if we would ever be excited about
making 200,000 dollars in the stock market this year, We
should know that we logically would drop all of that, if it
meant, that we had to sacrifice for the return of Heaven, the
return of a neat having Eternal inheritance that we cannot even
fathom. If you're one of these young
people here today, who doesn't know what inheritance is?
It's with some, it's what someone leaves behind for you,
when they're gone. Jesus has left an eternal in
Eternal inheritance for us. For where is from?
Where there is a testament or a will, or a covenant.
There must also of necessity, be the death of the testator.
So the person who writes that Testament or the Covenant, the
parent in a situation where they're going to leave behind a
will they have to die before? Their will goes into effect for
a testament? Or will or a covenant is in
force after? Men are dead since it has no
power at all? While the testator lives.
Therefore, not even the first Covenant.
Was that was dedicated without blood.
For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people.
So, no Moses delivering the Old Law.
He took the blood of calves and goats with water Scarlet, wool,
and hyssop and sprinkled, both the book itself and all the
people Verse 20 saying this is the blood of the Covenant, which
God has commanded you. Then likewise he sprinkled with
blood? Both the Tabernacle and all the
vessels of the ministry. Everything we've talked about
this morning, Moses went through and sprinkled all that with
blood, everything on blood. And according to the law, almost
all things are purified with blood.
And without shedding of blood, there is no remission.
So here's a pic kind of picture of what might look like with
Moses sprinkling, the book and all the people.
And we have a parallel of Jesus, pouring out his blood for the
forgiveness. And what we're going to partake
of today is the blood of the Covenant, the New Covenant saves
us. That's that part of the verse
that says and without shedding of blood, there is no remission.
This has been a theme that we just kind of need to understand
about God's the world of God runs that.
Even in the beginning, when Adam and Eve sinned in, they were
separated from God or they were in pure before God because of
their sin, he covered them with coats of fur.
The very beginning. Before the Old Law was even set
up an animal had to die, to be given fur to cover them for
their sins. And then obviously, in the Old
Testament, like we've already talked, about the sacrifices,
and in the New Testament, Jesus, is that shedding of blood verse
23. Therefore, it was necessary that
the copies of the things in the heavens, should be purified with
these, but the Heavenly things themselves with better
sacrifices than these. So the copies the lampstand and
and and the the Covenant, all these things that the Old
Testament, cleansed all those copies should be purified with
the blood of animals, but the Heavenly things the true,
Heavenly things need to be Need to be covered with a better
sacrifice, and that better sacrifices.
Jesus, because he is number one, perfect.
Because you is number two voluntary.
Because he was a rational sacrifice.
And because he was motivated by motivated by love.
He is the perfect sacrifice, he wasn't something, it was given
against his will. It was all within his will.
Verse 24 for Christ has not entered.
The holy places made with hands. He hasn't come to some Earthly
setup Tabernacle, which are copies of the true, but into
heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us, it's
not shocking to me that Jesus appears in the presence of God.
He is great. We've established through this
study that Jesus is greater than the angels.
He is one with God, but it's fascinating to me that he's
there to appear for us to me. That Jesus is in the presence of
God for us, Romans 8, verse 31 Echoes.
This thought. What then shall we say to these
things if God is for us? Who can be against us?
He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him up for us
all. How shall he not with him also
freely? Give us all things that Eternal
inheritance, he will freely give it to us, who shall bring a
charge against God's elect, is it?
It is God. Who justifies?
Who is he? Who condemns it is Christ who
died. And And furthermore is also
risen who is even at the right hand of God who also makes
intercession for us. Jesus, is there at the right
hand of God, pleading on our behalf who shall separate us
from the love of Christ, shall tribulation shall distress or
persecution or famine or nakedness or Peril or sword as
it is written for your sake. We are killed all day long.
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Yet in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him
who loved us. Us for.
I am persuaded that. Neither death, nor life, nor
angels, nor principalities nor powers nor things present, nor
things to come nor height nor depth, nor any other created
thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which
is in Christ. Jesus, our lord.
If God is for us, then who can be against us, He is interceding
with God in the real, Heavenly places not in some copy.
Heavenly Tabernacle set up with these Dimensions but in a
Heavenly place for on our behalf, not that he should offer
himself often as the high priest, enters the most holy
place every year with the blood of another Jesus isn't going to
sacrifice multiple times because he then would have had to suffer
often since the foundation of the world.
That's not what happened though. But now once at the end or the
consummation, the the build-up of all the ages, he has appeared
to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
And is appointed and as it is appointed for men to die once.
But after this, the judgment, Just like we're going to die
once and that's it, just like that.
So Christ was offered once to Bear the sins of many He's
trying to get them to see that the system is very different.
They're not going to have continual, sacrifice has Jesus
was so great. He was a one-time thing to
those. To those who eagerly wait for
him, he will appear a second time apart from sin for
salvation. So this the fact that Jesus is
going to come once there are some religions in the world.
Believe that believe that we are reincarnated year after year,
lifetime after Lifetime, and it's all based on how you were
in the previous life and some of those Eastern religions.
If you're a good person, you'll take a step up, maybe if you
were a grasshopper this year, you'll be a squirrel and it's It
sounds funny, but it's really what they believe.
You'll take a step up to then maybe being a gopher and then
maybe you're a rabbit and maybe a deer.
And then your person, if you're bad, you go down, maybe your
grasshopper next and then some kind of larvae That's really
what some people believe. You have multiple lifetimes and
never ends until you become you become a poor man and then you
become a rich man and he become a ruler.
And then you reach nirvana in your, and just part of the
existence of the world, you're part of the rocks and the trees,
you're no longer. A person or an animal, you are
just part of the the world's consciousness.
That sounds so stressful. I'm tired.
Just thinking about that. Can't imagine how some of you
who are a little bit older you're tired.
You want to wake up as a squirrel and have to do it all
over again. We have one shot.
But Jesus gave his only shot for us.
So that we can eagerly wait for him today.
We can eagerly wait today and it's almost sad to me that I
think of it like a foregone conclusion, Jesus probably isn't
going to come today, but he literally could come to that.
That's the world view that we're told.
He's going to come sometime and people are going to not be
expecting it. So I just want you to be ready
all the time. That's how when, you know,
somebody's devoted to you as if they're waiting for you all the
time when you're there. Jesus said we're told that to
those who eagerly wait, he's going to come back to us apart
from sin. The first time he was dealing
with the whole sin problem. He had a lot of that on his
shoulders and that was his whole mission to deal with this sin
mess. But he's coming apart from that.
He's not coming to deal with sin when he comes back.
He's coming to get those who are his For salvation.
And today, you can be one who eagerly Waits Sorry, one more
thing. I just thought we were done one
more thing. This is the last slide.
How in the world? Can Eternal salvation be so
eternal? Yoke is.
How can one sacrifice for all time?
Be enough for me to just enjoy, enjoy it.
Millions and millions of years. No, end of all those.
Good things in God's presence. The only answer that I can have
this morning is that? That's how great our sacrifices,
that's how great the payment is that Jesus bought for us, it's
hard to Fathom it because it paid for millions of years of
peace and God's presence. And on the flipside of that Y is
eternal suffering. So, Eternal, why can't it just
be like maybe five days and in punishment, or whatever?
Because that's, that's beyond me.
Why is it Eternal suffering? That will be for those who do
not want God in their lives? It's because Divine Justice is
just that way. Because if we are not going to
have Jesus cover our sins, we have to pay for it ourselves and
just like that sacrifice. We would have to be punished day
after day and year after year because we can never pay for our
sins. It is on an unending problem.
It's either an unending solution or an unending problem.
If we try to fix it on our own, if we try to solve our own
problems to the point that we think we're just good enough to
get into heaven, we cannot pay for it on our own, and we cannot
suffer enough in eternity to pay the price.
That was our sins, undealt with We if we do not pay for that.
Or if Jesus is not pain for that we have to do eternally.
Just like those animals who are sacrificed day after day year
after year. I can just imagine God pleading,
you cannot carry this burden on your own here and you cannot
carry the burden of your sin and Eternity.
He's pleading with us today. He's pleading with mankind.
You can't carry this. It's literally going to be your
eternity because you'll never pay for it.
But the good news is. Jesus did no booster needed note
10,000-year booster. Once we get to heaven, we need a
booster for this vaccine, probably to make it really what
it should be for us. You don't need that with Jesus.
He did it once and he can continually cleanse you.
So if you're not part of that, if you're not waiting eagerly
earnestly for that Eternal Redemption, why not today?
The Bible offers us a plan to join that.
First obviously to understand something, we have to hear it.
We have to believe it. We have to repent.
What? You just means.
You know what, I was living the way I wanted to live.
I want to live the way God wants me to live now, because I
believe in his plan and I believe all of the best life
because I could possibly, imagine we can repent of Our
Lives confess. That Jesus Christ is the Son of
God, we learned that no man can come to the father, but by
Jesus. And so we must confess Jesus
before men, and be baptized for the remission of our sins Acts
2:38 to contact Jesus's blood that it cleanses us, and makes
us eternally. Whole and forgiving, if you've
done that today and you've Fallen away, we're here.
That's why we have a church body at church family to get back on
the right track together to pray one for another.
But if you're in that position, if it's not a public thing, you
can take care of it, your seat. But today don't put it off any
longer. You want to join God's family
today, you can do that while we stand while we see.
We thank you for listening to our podcast, put on by the
Church of Christ at 22:15 plans. Road in Bakersfield, if you
would like any additional information or you would like to
receive a free Bible correspondence, course by mail.
Please email us at info at True Church of Christ
Bakersfield.com. Our service times are on Sundays
at 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. and Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.
Please make plans to join us. We would love for you to be our
honored guest.