WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:18.100 In case you haven't picked up on this, as we've been looking through the book of Hebrews, Hebrews is probably, I'll go ahead and say it is the most Old Testament book of the New Testament. 00:00:18.100 --> 00:00:30.840 It refers back to many people in the Old Testament. It refers back to the temple, to the sacrificial system, the promises made by God. It has large portions of the Old Testament quoted right there in it. 00:00:30.920 --> 00:00:38.140 In fact, half of chapter 8 is essentially a quotation of Jeremiah 31 that Sean read for us earlier. 00:00:38.140 --> 00:00:46.540 So many things that are happening in the book of Hebrews are a continuation of the Old Testament, of looking at it like that. 00:00:46.539 --> 00:00:56.100 But at the same time, the book of Hebrews explains something new in greater detail than most of the places in the New Testament as well. 00:00:56.439 --> 00:00:59.979 It explains in great detail this new covenant. 00:01:00.619 --> 00:01:03.019 Now, I want us to be careful as we look at this today. 00:01:03.019 --> 00:01:12.180 In no way, shape, or form are we suggesting that we do away with the Old Testament or unhitching ourselves from it or whatever you may say. 00:01:12.180 --> 00:01:16.040 But to do so would not only be irresponsible, it would be unlike Christ. 00:01:16.360 --> 00:01:20.860 Because if you remember from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:24.020 Do not think that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets. 00:01:24.460 --> 00:01:28.080 I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. 00:01:28.680 --> 00:01:32.040 And so as we mentioned at the beginning of our study of the book of Hebrews, 00:01:32.520 --> 00:01:37.540 as we think about the Old Testament and the New Testament, we see it much like a two-act play. 00:01:37.900 --> 00:01:40.760 You have Act 1 and you have Act 2. 00:01:40.760 --> 00:01:42.719 The Old Testament is Act 1. 00:01:42.820 --> 00:01:44.280 New Testament is Act 2. 00:01:44.840 --> 00:01:51.219 And if you only have the Old Testament, you have the beginning of the story without the resolution. 00:01:51.400 --> 00:01:58.140 If you only have the New Testament, you have the resolution without the setup, without understanding where this is going. 00:01:58.820 --> 00:02:05.600 And so if you go to see a play and you leave before the final act, you're probably going to be pretty disappointed. 00:02:06.160 --> 00:02:09.620 In fact, you can't give a review on the play if you don't see the whole thing. 00:02:09.620 --> 00:02:13.539 You can't say, oh, well, this is a bad play or a good play if you don't see the whole thing. 00:02:13.620 --> 00:02:18.920 Because it helps to make the whole play make sense when we see it together. 00:02:19.800 --> 00:02:25.039 Not because there's anything wrong with the first few Acts, but because the play wasn't finished. 00:02:25.099 --> 00:02:27.740 And so we have to see it as a whole. 00:02:28.460 --> 00:02:31.879 Michael Kruger, reflecting on the Old Testament, he describes it this way. 00:02:31.879 --> 00:02:36.919 He says, it is a single coherent story that ends on a cliffhanger. 00:02:37.439 --> 00:02:39.120 A story that needs an ending. 00:02:39.299 --> 00:02:40.819 God spoke to his people. 00:02:41.620 --> 00:02:45.780 And the cliffhanger is that he promised to send a redeemer for them. 00:02:46.259 --> 00:02:49.879 And when Jesus came, he resolved that cliffhanger. 00:02:49.879 --> 00:02:50.439 Cliffhanger. 00:02:51.479 --> 00:02:52.280 Alistair Begg. 00:02:52.359 --> 00:02:55.219 And I have to make sure that I enunciate this. 00:02:55.359 --> 00:02:58.979 Because Clay, last time I said Alistair Begg, he thought I said Alex Trebek. 00:02:59.579 --> 00:03:01.560 And so it is not Alex Trebek. 00:03:01.680 --> 00:03:10.019 But Alistair Begg, he was making a statement recalling his Sunday school teacher when he was growing up. 00:03:10.020 --> 00:03:18.860 How his Sunday school teacher explained the metanarrative of scripture, the continuation of scripture to him as he was growing up. 00:03:18.960 --> 00:03:22.980 Now, before I get into this explanation, I just want to take this as an encouragement. 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:30.620 To you Sunday school teachers, to you parents who are training up your kids, what you tell your kids matters. 00:03:31.360 --> 00:03:35.580 What our Sunday school teachers are teaching them matters because they listen. 00:03:35.580 --> 00:03:47.100 And so this great preacher who has become incredibly influential over his life, who has PhDs, who is able to explain scripture in great detail in many ways, 00:03:47.340 --> 00:03:56.060 he still refers back to what his childhood Sunday school teacher told him about how to understand the story of scripture. 00:03:56.720 --> 00:03:58.640 And so he explains it this way. 00:03:58.640 --> 00:04:04.080 He says, if you want to see the kind of the picture of the whole story, as you think of it like this. 00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:06.219 He says, you think of it as the Old Testament. 00:04:06.340 --> 00:04:08.780 In the Old Testament, Jesus is predicted. 00:04:09.420 --> 00:04:11.900 In the Gospels, Jesus is revealed. 00:04:12.560 --> 00:04:15.140 In the Acts, Jesus is preached. 00:04:15.760 --> 00:04:19.500 In the epistles, which Hebrews falls under, Jesus is explained. 00:04:19.780 --> 00:04:23.199 And then in Revelation, Jesus is expected. 00:04:23.900 --> 00:04:25.400 And so you have Jesus predicted. 00:04:25.620 --> 00:04:27.139 You have Jesus revealed. 00:04:27.460 --> 00:04:28.420 You have Jesus preached. 00:04:28.680 --> 00:04:30.000 You have Jesus explained. 00:04:30.100 --> 00:04:31.840 And you have Jesus expected. 00:04:31.839 --> 00:04:37.019 You see, the Bible is not a series of disconnected stories. 00:04:37.779 --> 00:04:43.639 It is one story that has Jesus at the center from beginning to end. 00:04:43.859 --> 00:04:48.679 And our passage today helps highlight this in great detail. 00:04:48.839 --> 00:04:54.319 And so if you have a copy of God's Word, I want you to invite you to open with me to Hebrews chapter 8. 00:04:54.639 --> 00:04:59.319 And we're going to read all of chapter 8, the 13 verses here in chapter 8. 00:04:59.319 --> 00:05:00.219 It says this. 00:05:01.319 --> 00:05:04.560 Now the point in what we are saying is this. 00:05:05.180 --> 00:05:07.420 We have such a high priest. 00:05:07.899 --> 00:05:12.100 One who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven. 00:05:12.100 --> 00:05:14.100 A minister in the holy places. 00:05:15.100 --> 00:05:17.439 In the true tent that the Lord set up. 00:05:17.539 --> 00:05:18.199 Not man. 00:05:18.899 --> 00:05:23.100 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices. 00:05:23.100 --> 00:05:28.760 Thus, it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. 00:05:29.460 --> 00:05:32.280 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all. 00:05:32.360 --> 00:05:39.220 Since the priests who offer gifts according to the law, they serve a copy and a shadow of the heavenly things. 00:05:39.560 --> 00:05:44.020 For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God saying, 00:05:44.520 --> 00:05:50.260 See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain. 00:05:50.259 --> 00:05:56.980 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is much more excellent than the old. 00:05:57.099 --> 00:06:02.519 As the covenant he mediates is better since it is enacted on better promises. 00:06:03.659 --> 00:06:09.719 For if the first covenant had been faultless, there would not have been, there have been no occasion to look for a second. 00:06:10.459 --> 00:06:13.000 For he finds fault with them when he says, 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:19.579 Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel. 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:29.120 And with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. 00:06:29.959 --> 00:06:35.019 For they did not continue in my covenant, and I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. 00:06:35.399 --> 00:06:40.279 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. 00:06:40.279 --> 00:06:44.299 I will put my laws into their minds and write them on their hearts. 00:06:44.619 --> 00:06:47.519 And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 00:06:48.179 --> 00:06:54.000 And they shall not teach each one his neighbor and each other his brother, saying, 00:06:54.339 --> 00:06:58.759 Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 00:06:59.139 --> 00:07:04.000 For I was merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more. 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:09.100 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. 00:07:09.779 --> 00:07:15.980 And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. 00:07:16.800 --> 00:07:23.300 And so from this passage, there are two truths and a great promise that I want us to bring our attention to today. 00:07:23.680 --> 00:07:26.019 Two truths and a great promise. 00:07:26.399 --> 00:07:32.160 To begin with, I want us to clearly see that we have a better high priest. 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:34.340 We have a better high priest. 00:07:34.680 --> 00:07:40.820 Last week, the author showed us in great detail that Jesus is a high priest after a different order. 00:07:41.280 --> 00:07:43.840 He's a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. 00:07:44.260 --> 00:07:49.680 And as a high priest after the order of Melchizedek, he is both a priest and a king. 00:07:49.879 --> 00:07:52.900 That was the point of what we were sharing last week. 00:07:53.160 --> 00:07:57.580 And this week, he begins to explain what he means by that. 00:07:57.579 --> 00:08:02.219 He begins to explain this, and he does so in great detail in the first five verses. 00:08:02.339 --> 00:08:06.719 But I want us to read those first two again, just to bring our attention back to this. 00:08:06.839 --> 00:08:12.819 So after he's talked about who Melchizedek is and how Jesus is a high priest after this order, 00:08:13.379 --> 00:08:13.740 he says, 00:08:13.740 --> 00:08:34.519 And it tells us he's appointed to this. 00:08:34.519 --> 00:08:40.799 You see, this passage gives us at least a couple of reasons why Jesus is better. 00:08:41.139 --> 00:08:43.860 Why he is a better high priest. 00:08:44.419 --> 00:08:48.039 And to begin with, we see that Jesus makes a better offering. 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:55.419 Verse 3 tells us that Jesus is a better high priest because he offers a better offering. 00:08:55.419 --> 00:09:05.279 His sacrifice, the sacrifice that he gave his life for to pay our sin debt, 00:09:05.819 --> 00:09:08.519 Jesus, we are told, is appointed to this role. 00:09:08.819 --> 00:09:12.240 He's appointed to this role as a high priest. 00:09:12.679 --> 00:09:15.879 Now, kids, I want you to answer a question for me today. 00:09:16.139 --> 00:09:16.919 This is for the kids. 00:09:17.019 --> 00:09:17.819 This isn't for the adults. 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:19.759 So, kids, think about it this way. 00:09:19.759 --> 00:09:26.100 Okay, if a person is appointed to the position of a firefighter or a fireman, 00:09:26.179 --> 00:09:27.659 what would you expect them to do? 00:09:29.759 --> 00:09:31.360 Okay, maybe we do need some adult help. 00:09:32.179 --> 00:09:32.879 Fight fires. 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:33.759 Yes, exactly. 00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:35.899 You would expect them to fight fires. 00:09:36.500 --> 00:09:40.960 If someone is appointed to the position or role of a police officer, 00:09:41.019 --> 00:09:42.419 what would you expect them to do? 00:09:42.819 --> 00:09:45.120 You would expect them to keep us safe. 00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:49.799 If someone was appointed to the role of a second grade teacher, 00:09:49.919 --> 00:09:53.560 you would expect them to teach children how to read, how to write, 00:09:53.659 --> 00:09:56.639 how to do those things to set them up for success. 00:09:57.019 --> 00:10:03.820 And so, when the author says that Jesus was appointed to the role of high priest, 00:10:03.980 --> 00:10:06.779 it would have triggered something in the reader's minds. 00:10:07.340 --> 00:10:13.379 It would have triggered for them that Jesus is appointed for the purpose of making a sacrifice. 00:10:13.379 --> 00:10:16.659 And this is exactly what he did. 00:10:17.019 --> 00:10:22.139 Except his sacrifice was better than the Levitical priesthood sacrifice. 00:10:22.659 --> 00:10:24.320 Remember, he's after a different order. 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:25.779 He's after the order of Melchizedek. 00:10:25.860 --> 00:10:30.939 And so, his sacrifice is better because his sacrifice was lasting. 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:35.460 Because he laid down his own life for this sacrifice, 00:10:35.980 --> 00:10:39.899 making this sacrifice final and complete. 00:10:39.899 --> 00:10:45.059 So, I want you to put yourself into the shoes of these first century Jewish Christians 00:10:45.059 --> 00:10:46.559 that would have heard these words. 00:10:47.399 --> 00:10:50.159 What this is saying is that Jesus has achieved 00:10:50.159 --> 00:10:54.740 what all of Israel have been longing for throughout the generations. 00:10:55.340 --> 00:10:59.679 The real, full, and final forgiveness of sins. 00:11:00.439 --> 00:11:05.519 And it's really easy for us to miss this in our reading today 00:11:05.519 --> 00:11:11.100 if we don't have an understanding of how Act 1 paints the picture for Act 2. 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:15.460 If we don't understand how the Old Testament is paving the way for this, 00:11:15.620 --> 00:11:19.079 it's really easy to miss this part where it says that Jesus 00:11:19.079 --> 00:11:24.000 is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven. 00:11:24.919 --> 00:11:28.240 You see, in the Old Testament, while the priests were doing their work, 00:11:28.299 --> 00:11:29.360 when they were doing things, 00:11:29.659 --> 00:11:31.939 they never completed their work. 00:11:32.220 --> 00:11:33.639 They never sat down. 00:11:33.639 --> 00:11:37.000 In fact, when you look at all the furnishings 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:40.259 that were to be put into the tabernacle and into the temple, 00:11:40.379 --> 00:11:43.580 you had all of these great things that were supposed to go into the temple, 00:11:43.919 --> 00:11:44.799 into the tabernacle. 00:11:44.939 --> 00:11:47.039 You had these lamp sands. 00:11:47.179 --> 00:11:50.340 You had these basins that were all made out of fine metals 00:11:50.340 --> 00:11:52.379 and precious gold and different things. 00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:53.860 You had different furnishings. 00:11:53.899 --> 00:11:54.580 You had altars. 00:11:54.720 --> 00:11:56.080 You had the Ark of the Covenant. 00:11:56.220 --> 00:11:57.139 You had curtains. 00:11:57.240 --> 00:12:00.419 You had all of these things that were meticulously laid out 00:12:00.419 --> 00:12:03.259 that were supposed to be in the tabernacle and the tent. 00:12:03.639 --> 00:12:09.519 But there was something that wasn't mentioned that wasn't in there. 00:12:09.960 --> 00:12:12.980 There's something that isn't mentioned because it wasn't supposed to be in there. 00:12:13.220 --> 00:12:16.399 And that's a chair for the high priest to have a seat in. 00:12:16.919 --> 00:12:19.319 And it was intentional that this isn't in there 00:12:19.319 --> 00:12:24.240 because in the Old Testament, the work of the high priest is never done. 00:12:24.759 --> 00:12:25.580 It's never complete. 00:12:25.620 --> 00:12:28.360 There's no need to put a chair in there because they can't sit down 00:12:28.360 --> 00:12:29.779 because they're always working. 00:12:29.899 --> 00:12:33.360 They're always trying to figure out, to try to follow the pattern, 00:12:33.460 --> 00:12:35.220 to pay for these sins. 00:12:35.879 --> 00:12:37.700 Because their work was never done. 00:12:37.840 --> 00:12:39.200 Peter O'Brien notes, he says, 00:12:39.639 --> 00:12:42.360 that Christ sat down as a priest 00:12:42.360 --> 00:12:45.700 after his work of making purification for sins 00:12:45.700 --> 00:12:49.659 shows that his work was finished. 00:12:49.659 --> 00:12:51.819 Do you know what finished means? 00:12:53.100 --> 00:12:54.219 It means it's done. 00:12:55.219 --> 00:12:56.539 It means it's complete. 00:12:57.579 --> 00:13:00.559 The atonement for sin is done and it is complete. 00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:04.519 If something is finished, that means there's nothing you and I can do 00:13:04.519 --> 00:13:06.819 to add to it or to take away from it. 00:13:07.360 --> 00:13:11.100 If you are saved, then your sins, past, present, and future, 00:13:11.259 --> 00:13:15.539 are paid for because Jesus' work is finished. 00:13:15.539 --> 00:13:19.819 Jesus makes a better offering. 00:13:20.379 --> 00:13:22.539 But what we also see in this passage 00:13:22.539 --> 00:13:24.319 is that he's a better high priest 00:13:24.319 --> 00:13:27.219 because he serves in a better place. 00:13:27.959 --> 00:13:29.519 Verses 1 and 2 tell us 00:13:29.519 --> 00:13:31.819 that Jesus is seated at the right hand 00:13:31.819 --> 00:13:35.079 of the throne of majesty in heaven. 00:13:35.819 --> 00:13:38.179 A minister in the holy places, 00:13:38.299 --> 00:13:42.399 in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. 00:13:43.199 --> 00:13:44.980 See, one of the ways that we see 00:13:44.980 --> 00:13:46.779 that we have a better high priest 00:13:46.779 --> 00:13:49.940 is because Jesus serves from a better place. 00:13:50.500 --> 00:13:51.940 He serves from a better place, 00:13:51.940 --> 00:13:54.000 from heaven in the true tent. 00:13:54.379 --> 00:13:55.940 Some of your translations right here 00:13:55.940 --> 00:13:58.680 may use the word tabernacle instead of tent. 00:13:58.779 --> 00:14:00.879 And I actually kind of like that translation 00:14:00.879 --> 00:14:01.940 a little better here. 00:14:02.259 --> 00:14:04.019 But on a very basic level, 00:14:04.180 --> 00:14:06.779 tabernacle is the same as tent. 00:14:07.139 --> 00:14:08.159 But more specifically, 00:14:08.379 --> 00:14:10.639 tabernacle refers to the tent 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:12.879 where God met with his people 00:14:12.879 --> 00:14:14.759 after the exodus from Egypt. 00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:18.019 You see, the people needed a tabernacle 00:14:18.019 --> 00:14:19.039 or they needed a tent 00:14:19.039 --> 00:14:20.539 because they were wandering around 00:14:20.539 --> 00:14:21.200 in the wilderness. 00:14:21.980 --> 00:14:24.620 And the tabernacle provided a mobile place 00:14:24.620 --> 00:14:26.580 to meet with God. 00:14:27.220 --> 00:14:28.340 But Hebrews tells us 00:14:28.340 --> 00:14:30.360 that Christ fulfills his ministry 00:14:30.360 --> 00:14:33.500 in a tabernacle that the Lord set up. 00:14:34.019 --> 00:14:35.720 It's not a tent on earth. 00:14:35.800 --> 00:14:38.460 It's a superior tabernacle in heaven. 00:14:38.820 --> 00:14:40.620 The tabernacle on earth was real, 00:14:40.620 --> 00:14:42.299 but it wasn't the place 00:14:42.299 --> 00:14:44.519 where salvation was finalized, 00:14:44.580 --> 00:14:46.039 was finished, was won. 00:14:46.580 --> 00:14:48.179 Full salvation takes place 00:14:48.179 --> 00:14:50.720 in the true tabernacle in heaven. 00:14:51.580 --> 00:14:53.840 Man does not make this tabernacle, 00:14:53.940 --> 00:14:55.399 only the Lord does. 00:14:55.480 --> 00:14:58.120 You see, the original is always better 00:14:58.120 --> 00:14:59.399 than the substitute. 00:14:59.580 --> 00:15:02.940 The real thing is better than a shadow 00:15:02.940 --> 00:15:04.220 as it describes it here. 00:15:04.500 --> 00:15:06.220 The original is always better 00:15:06.220 --> 00:15:07.440 than the substitute. 00:15:08.840 --> 00:15:10.540 As I was thinking about this week, 00:15:10.600 --> 00:15:12.340 I was reminded of two vacations 00:15:12.340 --> 00:15:14.200 that I went on when I was growing up. 00:15:15.040 --> 00:15:16.980 I can remember the first vacation 00:15:16.980 --> 00:15:19.340 that really just stands out to me 00:15:19.340 --> 00:15:22.060 and really made a big impact in my life 00:15:22.060 --> 00:15:24.879 and probably was one of my favorite vacations 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:26.000 ever growing up 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:28.379 was when I was in sixth or seventh grade, 00:15:28.660 --> 00:15:31.680 our family went to Yellowstone National Park. 00:15:32.160 --> 00:15:33.899 And we saw some different things around there, 00:15:33.940 --> 00:15:35.500 but we went to Yellowstone National Park 00:15:35.500 --> 00:15:36.200 and I just remember 00:15:36.200 --> 00:15:38.379 it was an eye-opening experience. 00:15:38.820 --> 00:15:39.840 Because we get there 00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:41.800 and all of a sudden I'm seeing mountains 00:15:41.800 --> 00:15:42.840 bigger than any mountains 00:15:42.840 --> 00:15:44.139 that I've ever seen before. 00:15:44.639 --> 00:15:46.300 I'm seeing wildlife 00:15:46.299 --> 00:15:49.679 that you don't have around here. 00:15:50.039 --> 00:15:51.339 I'm seeing all kinds of things. 00:15:51.459 --> 00:15:53.620 I'm seeing lakes that are so big 00:15:53.620 --> 00:15:56.000 that you can barely see to the other side. 00:15:56.259 --> 00:15:58.359 Canyons, you're seeing these geysers 00:15:58.359 --> 00:16:01.079 that erupt almost like clockwork. 00:16:01.639 --> 00:16:03.219 And so it was just this amazing thing 00:16:03.219 --> 00:16:04.120 and it really began, 00:16:04.279 --> 00:16:05.740 my love for Yellowstone began there 00:16:05.740 --> 00:16:07.599 and really was one of the reasons 00:16:07.599 --> 00:16:09.659 that I wanted to go back 00:16:09.659 --> 00:16:10.559 when I was in college 00:16:10.559 --> 00:16:12.620 to serve with Baptist Collegiate Ministries 00:16:12.620 --> 00:16:14.439 as a missionary in Yellowstone. 00:16:14.440 --> 00:16:16.760 And so all of those things 00:16:16.760 --> 00:16:19.000 were impactful about that. 00:16:19.080 --> 00:16:19.800 But one of the things 00:16:19.800 --> 00:16:21.180 that I remember from that 00:16:21.180 --> 00:16:23.300 is one of the places that we stayed. 00:16:23.800 --> 00:16:25.600 We stayed in the Old Faithful Inn. 00:16:25.680 --> 00:16:27.380 Anybody ever been to the Old Faithful Inn? 00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:29.780 Okay, a handful of you in here 00:16:29.780 --> 00:16:31.200 have been to the Old Faithful Inn. 00:16:31.240 --> 00:16:31.940 It's amazing. 00:16:32.400 --> 00:16:35.480 It was built around 1900 or so. 00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:37.440 And so it's a very old lodge, 00:16:38.140 --> 00:16:39.340 a very old inn. 00:16:39.760 --> 00:16:41.000 And so it was made 00:16:41.000 --> 00:16:42.700 with a lot of the trees 00:16:42.700 --> 00:16:43.440 that were from the air, 00:16:43.440 --> 00:16:45.080 these lodgepole pines 00:16:45.080 --> 00:16:46.920 and it has exposed beams everywhere. 00:16:47.220 --> 00:16:49.400 You walk into this foyer 00:16:49.400 --> 00:16:50.220 that you just see 00:16:50.220 --> 00:16:51.840 multiple levels going up. 00:16:51.920 --> 00:16:53.120 And so as soon as you walk in, 00:16:53.240 --> 00:16:55.020 your eyes immediately 00:16:55.020 --> 00:16:56.060 start looking at me like, 00:16:56.220 --> 00:16:58.360 wow, this place is massive. 00:16:58.540 --> 00:16:59.280 It's huge. 00:16:59.680 --> 00:17:01.500 And each floor that it goes up, 00:17:01.560 --> 00:17:03.340 it has an area there 00:17:03.340 --> 00:17:03.920 where you can, 00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:05.600 a little lobby on each floor 00:17:05.600 --> 00:17:06.960 where you can go out at night, 00:17:07.080 --> 00:17:07.940 enjoy cookies, 00:17:08.360 --> 00:17:10.900 enjoy somebody playing on a piano 00:17:10.900 --> 00:17:13.660 that just fills up the whole lobby 00:17:13.660 --> 00:17:15.580 of this giant inn. 00:17:16.519 --> 00:17:17.200 And it's really, 00:17:17.280 --> 00:17:18.900 it's something that you should look up sometimes. 00:17:18.980 --> 00:17:19.640 If you've never seen it, 00:17:19.640 --> 00:17:20.280 you should look it up. 00:17:20.340 --> 00:17:20.960 Now, not right now. 00:17:21.040 --> 00:17:22.120 Don't get your phone out now. 00:17:22.440 --> 00:17:23.480 But later, 00:17:23.860 --> 00:17:25.759 look it up and see this 00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:28.240 because it really is an amazing thing. 00:17:28.460 --> 00:17:29.900 They have this observation deck 00:17:29.900 --> 00:17:30.620 where you can go out 00:17:30.620 --> 00:17:31.660 and look at Old Faithful 00:17:31.660 --> 00:17:34.900 as it erupts on the hour almost. 00:17:34.900 --> 00:17:36.920 And so it's an amazing place. 00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:39.180 It truly is an amazing building. 00:17:39.400 --> 00:17:41.259 It is beautiful and elegant 00:17:41.259 --> 00:17:44.259 and rustic all at the same time. 00:17:44.780 --> 00:17:46.160 But the other vacation 00:17:46.160 --> 00:17:48.019 that I can remember very well 00:17:48.019 --> 00:17:50.440 was a year or two after this vacation. 00:17:51.240 --> 00:17:52.480 And it was when our family 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:53.840 went to Disney World. 00:17:53.920 --> 00:17:55.580 I think I was in the eighth grade or so. 00:17:55.980 --> 00:17:58.259 And we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge. 00:17:58.400 --> 00:17:59.720 Anybody ever seen Wilderness Lodge? 00:18:00.259 --> 00:18:01.140 Okay, a few more of you 00:18:01.140 --> 00:18:02.600 have seen the Wilderness Lodge than this. 00:18:03.459 --> 00:18:04.899 Some of you may have stayed there, 00:18:05.039 --> 00:18:07.719 but it was a really beautiful, nice hotel. 00:18:07.919 --> 00:18:10.219 But much of it seems to be based 00:18:10.219 --> 00:18:11.599 on the Old Faithful Inn. 00:18:12.019 --> 00:18:12.779 And so that was something 00:18:12.779 --> 00:18:14.159 we noticed immediately 00:18:14.159 --> 00:18:15.099 as we walked in. 00:18:15.259 --> 00:18:16.759 Like so much of this, 00:18:16.819 --> 00:18:17.899 it seems to be based 00:18:17.899 --> 00:18:18.779 on the Old Faithful Inn. 00:18:18.839 --> 00:18:19.839 It was a nice place. 00:18:20.199 --> 00:18:21.319 We enjoyed our stay. 00:18:21.419 --> 00:18:22.279 It had a great pool. 00:18:22.379 --> 00:18:23.659 But the whole time, 00:18:24.059 --> 00:18:26.919 we kept comparing the Wilderness Lodge 00:18:26.919 --> 00:18:28.039 to the Old Faithful Inn. 00:18:28.639 --> 00:18:29.259 We kept saying, 00:18:29.319 --> 00:18:30.259 well, this is great, 00:18:30.259 --> 00:18:32.480 but remember the Old Faithful Inn. 00:18:32.599 --> 00:18:33.679 You know, this is really neat 00:18:33.679 --> 00:18:35.179 that they're trying to make it look like this, 00:18:35.279 --> 00:18:37.500 but remember the Old Faithful Inn. 00:18:38.079 --> 00:18:40.439 And because as nice as the copy was, 00:18:40.579 --> 00:18:43.319 it was not as impressive as the original. 00:18:43.980 --> 00:18:45.819 What the author is telling us here 00:18:45.819 --> 00:18:48.159 is that Jesus is mediating, 00:18:48.279 --> 00:18:49.719 he's ministering from heaven 00:18:49.719 --> 00:18:52.279 in a far superior place. 00:18:52.659 --> 00:18:54.159 Using the language of the author, 00:18:54.259 --> 00:18:56.059 he's not ministering from a copy 00:18:56.059 --> 00:18:57.279 or a shadow, 00:18:57.279 --> 00:19:00.259 but he's ministering from the real thing. 00:19:01.039 --> 00:19:02.420 You see, we may run the risk 00:19:02.420 --> 00:19:04.059 of thinking that because Jesus 00:19:04.059 --> 00:19:05.200 ascended to heaven, 00:19:05.680 --> 00:19:06.920 that he left earth, 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:09.339 that he is somehow less effective 00:19:09.339 --> 00:19:10.539 because he is in heaven 00:19:10.539 --> 00:19:11.819 and not on earth. 00:19:12.180 --> 00:19:14.339 What the author is communicating here, 00:19:14.680 --> 00:19:15.960 what the author is telling us 00:19:15.960 --> 00:19:17.259 is that nothing could be further 00:19:17.259 --> 00:19:18.099 from the truth. 00:19:18.460 --> 00:19:19.859 He is more effective 00:19:19.859 --> 00:19:21.339 because he is ministering 00:19:21.339 --> 00:19:23.660 from a far superior place. 00:19:23.660 --> 00:19:25.480 He lives to make intercession 00:19:25.480 --> 00:19:26.420 for us forever. 00:19:26.759 --> 00:19:28.660 He's ministering from the original, 00:19:28.660 --> 00:19:30.640 not a copy, not a shadow, 00:19:30.800 --> 00:19:32.580 but from the real thing. 00:19:33.240 --> 00:19:35.120 So we see a better sacrifice. 00:19:35.340 --> 00:19:35.940 We see he's serving 00:19:35.940 --> 00:19:37.120 from a better place. 00:19:37.700 --> 00:19:39.440 And hopefully we can clearly see 00:19:39.440 --> 00:19:42.220 that we have a better high priest, 00:19:42.320 --> 00:19:45.560 which leads us to understanding 00:19:45.560 --> 00:19:46.600 this next truth. 00:19:46.920 --> 00:19:48.740 We have a better covenant. 00:19:49.400 --> 00:19:50.700 We have a better covenant. 00:19:51.300 --> 00:19:53.460 We get this from verses 6 through 13, 00:19:53.560 --> 00:19:53.940 where it says, 00:19:53.940 --> 00:19:55.160 but as it is, 00:19:55.220 --> 00:19:57.060 Christ has obtained a ministry 00:19:57.059 --> 00:19:59.359 that is far more excellent 00:19:59.359 --> 00:20:00.220 than the old 00:20:00.220 --> 00:20:01.799 as the covenant he mediates 00:20:01.799 --> 00:20:02.379 is better, 00:20:02.879 --> 00:20:03.940 since it is enacted 00:20:03.940 --> 00:20:05.379 on a better promise. 00:20:05.899 --> 00:20:07.220 For if that first covenant 00:20:07.220 --> 00:20:08.319 had been faultless, 00:20:08.399 --> 00:20:09.960 there would have been no occasion 00:20:09.960 --> 00:20:11.879 to look for a second. 00:20:12.559 --> 00:20:14.000 Then in verses 8 through 12, 00:20:14.079 --> 00:20:15.960 the author quotes Jeremiah 31, 00:20:16.519 --> 00:20:19.019 highlighting the need 00:20:19.019 --> 00:20:20.899 and promise of a new covenant, 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:22.940 followed by verse 13 00:20:22.940 --> 00:20:23.899 that says this, 00:20:23.900 --> 00:20:26.140 In speaking of a new covenant, 00:20:26.580 --> 00:20:28.500 he makes the first one obsolete. 00:20:29.160 --> 00:20:30.920 And what is becoming obsolete 00:20:30.920 --> 00:20:31.840 and growing old 00:20:31.840 --> 00:20:33.880 is ready to vanish away. 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:36.759 Now, as we begin our discussion 00:20:36.759 --> 00:20:38.460 of this better covenant, 00:20:38.660 --> 00:20:39.800 I believe Kruger provides 00:20:39.800 --> 00:20:42.240 some helpful guardrails for us 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:43.600 as we think about this 00:20:43.600 --> 00:20:45.100 and making this comparison 00:20:45.100 --> 00:20:46.060 between the old 00:20:46.060 --> 00:20:47.040 and the new covenants. 00:20:47.100 --> 00:20:47.440 He says, 00:20:47.560 --> 00:20:49.380 As we enter into this comparison 00:20:49.380 --> 00:20:50.940 between the old and new covenants, 00:20:50.940 --> 00:20:53.039 we need to begin by remembering 00:20:53.039 --> 00:20:54.799 the contrast between them 00:20:54.799 --> 00:20:56.220 is not absolute. 00:20:57.120 --> 00:20:57.860 We must be careful 00:20:57.860 --> 00:20:59.620 not to overstate the differences 00:20:59.620 --> 00:21:00.920 in a way that caricatures 00:21:00.920 --> 00:21:02.039 the old covenant 00:21:02.039 --> 00:21:05.019 as harsh, cold, legalistic, 00:21:05.140 --> 00:21:07.039 and only concerned with externals, 00:21:07.480 --> 00:21:08.759 nor should we present 00:21:08.759 --> 00:21:09.620 the new covenant 00:21:09.620 --> 00:21:11.860 as unconcerned with the law 00:21:11.860 --> 00:21:12.960 or with obedience. 00:21:13.700 --> 00:21:15.000 As we shall see, 00:21:15.340 --> 00:21:16.880 the differences between the covenants 00:21:16.880 --> 00:21:19.640 are often a matter of degree. 00:21:19.640 --> 00:21:21.340 And so with this in mind, 00:21:21.940 --> 00:21:23.860 let's look at some of these differences. 00:21:24.880 --> 00:21:26.840 You see, Christ's work allows us 00:21:26.840 --> 00:21:29.080 to directly and confidently 00:21:29.080 --> 00:21:31.060 enjoy God's presence. 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:34.940 We no longer have to come before God 00:21:34.940 --> 00:21:37.180 in a tabernacle made by human hands 00:21:37.180 --> 00:21:39.759 because Christ has fulfilled 00:21:39.759 --> 00:21:41.120 the tabernacle's purpose. 00:21:41.759 --> 00:21:44.580 We can draw near to the very throne of God 00:21:44.580 --> 00:21:47.160 and we can do this boldly and confidently 00:21:47.160 --> 00:21:48.320 knowing that Christ, 00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:50.039 our great high priest, 00:21:50.099 --> 00:21:51.799 has made a way for us. 00:21:52.119 --> 00:21:53.819 We can do this boldly. 00:21:54.319 --> 00:21:55.220 Al Mohler, he says, 00:21:55.319 --> 00:21:57.119 this great truth permeates 00:21:57.119 --> 00:21:58.539 the pages of the Old Testament. 00:21:59.059 --> 00:22:00.960 The king who ransoms his people 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:02.019 from their iniquities 00:22:02.019 --> 00:22:04.220 and brings them to peace with God 00:22:04.220 --> 00:22:06.559 has ushered in the new covenant 00:22:06.559 --> 00:22:07.859 by his blood. 00:22:07.919 --> 00:22:08.799 And the old covenant 00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:11.240 is of far greater excellence 00:22:11.240 --> 00:22:15.000 than the first. 00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:16.920 And so in this passage, 00:22:16.920 --> 00:22:18.279 it tells us the old covenant 00:22:18.279 --> 00:22:20.099 had a fault. 00:22:20.960 --> 00:22:22.779 Now, when he says it had a fault, 00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:24.579 don't think of it like a machine 00:22:24.579 --> 00:22:25.440 having a fault. 00:22:25.640 --> 00:22:27.220 Or your computer showing up 00:22:27.220 --> 00:22:28.380 with this error message 00:22:28.380 --> 00:22:30.700 that something went wrong with it. 00:22:30.779 --> 00:22:32.339 Or your check engine light 00:22:32.339 --> 00:22:33.819 coming on your car 00:22:33.819 --> 00:22:34.839 and you're needing to take it 00:22:34.839 --> 00:22:36.200 into a mechanic for a repair. 00:22:36.599 --> 00:22:38.980 Don't think of it as a fault like that. 00:22:38.980 --> 00:22:41.039 But its faultiness 00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:43.720 was rooted in its incompleteness. 00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:44.980 Its faultiness 00:22:45.519 --> 00:22:47.000 was rooted in its incompleteness. 00:22:47.120 --> 00:22:48.980 The old covenant was faulty 00:22:48.980 --> 00:22:50.640 because it was not final. 00:22:51.339 --> 00:22:53.220 If it were the final covenant, 00:22:53.420 --> 00:22:54.779 there would have been no need 00:22:54.779 --> 00:22:56.599 for a better covenant 00:22:56.599 --> 00:22:57.920 that is talked about here. 00:22:58.880 --> 00:23:00.799 You see, the new covenant is better 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:02.819 because it makes the full 00:23:02.819 --> 00:23:05.339 and final atonement for our sins. 00:23:06.160 --> 00:23:07.940 No longer an endless cycle 00:23:07.940 --> 00:23:09.600 that makes, and this is what makes 00:23:09.600 --> 00:23:11.000 Christ's statement on the cross 00:23:11.000 --> 00:23:12.140 all the more amazing. 00:23:12.200 --> 00:23:14.340 When he says, it is finished. 00:23:14.920 --> 00:23:16.460 When Christ says it is finished 00:23:16.460 --> 00:23:17.860 on the cross, he was announcing 00:23:17.860 --> 00:23:19.660 that the wrath of God 00:23:19.660 --> 00:23:21.460 toward the sin of his people 00:23:21.460 --> 00:23:24.380 was finally paid for in full. 00:23:24.700 --> 00:23:26.080 Never again would there need 00:23:26.080 --> 00:23:27.299 to be an animal sacrifice 00:23:27.299 --> 00:23:30.600 because Jesus paid it all. 00:23:31.440 --> 00:23:33.640 When you look at the Jeremiah passage quoted, 00:23:33.759 --> 00:23:36.820 there's a promise of a relationship here. 00:23:36.819 --> 00:23:39.379 A promise of not only forgiveness, 00:23:39.599 --> 00:23:42.200 but remembering the sin no more. 00:23:42.879 --> 00:23:44.559 What you see is a fulfillment 00:23:44.559 --> 00:23:46.619 of the promise the angels made 00:23:46.619 --> 00:23:48.439 of the shepherds at the birth of Jesus. 00:23:48.939 --> 00:23:50.539 You remember when the angels were there 00:23:50.539 --> 00:23:52.980 at the birth and announcing this birth, 00:23:53.079 --> 00:23:53.460 and they said, 00:23:53.879 --> 00:23:56.139 a heavenly host praising God 00:23:56.139 --> 00:23:57.859 and saying, glory to God in the highest 00:23:57.859 --> 00:23:59.579 and on earth, what? 00:24:00.399 --> 00:24:00.960 Peace. 00:24:00.960 --> 00:24:04.900 Peace among those with whom he is pleased. 00:24:05.799 --> 00:24:07.940 Peace among those with whom he is pleased. 00:24:08.059 --> 00:24:10.019 Ephesians 2 reminds us 00:24:10.019 --> 00:24:11.100 that because of sin, 00:24:11.480 --> 00:24:13.700 it's impossible to please God. 00:24:14.519 --> 00:24:16.759 In fact, we follow the ways of this world, 00:24:16.880 --> 00:24:18.259 the sons of disobedience, 00:24:18.720 --> 00:24:21.779 and we're by nature objects of wrath 00:24:21.779 --> 00:24:23.019 like the rest of mankind. 00:24:24.039 --> 00:24:25.900 There is a condition 00:24:25.900 --> 00:24:28.519 that we have no hope of peace 00:24:28.519 --> 00:24:30.359 outside of the only begotten son 00:24:30.359 --> 00:24:31.279 coming to the earth 00:24:31.279 --> 00:24:32.420 and accomplishing 00:24:32.420 --> 00:24:33.920 what we could never hope 00:24:33.920 --> 00:24:35.019 to accomplish on our own. 00:24:35.259 --> 00:24:36.519 But in the new covenant, 00:24:36.819 --> 00:24:39.299 we get to experience new peace. 00:24:40.200 --> 00:24:42.460 Peace that is final and complete. 00:24:43.400 --> 00:24:45.019 And what does all of this talk about? 00:24:45.079 --> 00:24:46.619 A better high priest 00:24:46.619 --> 00:24:47.660 and a better covenant 00:24:47.660 --> 00:24:50.139 actually change about our lives today. 00:24:50.140 --> 00:24:52.060 Well, this passage 00:24:52.060 --> 00:24:55.280 and especially the last couple of chapters 00:24:55.280 --> 00:24:56.460 that we've looked at 00:24:56.460 --> 00:24:57.160 in the book of Hebrews 00:24:57.160 --> 00:24:59.259 are some pretty difficult chapters 00:24:59.259 --> 00:25:00.220 to understand. 00:25:00.880 --> 00:25:03.540 In fact, if you're just trying to read through 00:25:03.540 --> 00:25:05.020 for completion the Bible, 00:25:05.160 --> 00:25:06.540 you might get to these passages 00:25:06.540 --> 00:25:07.200 and you're like, you know what? 00:25:07.320 --> 00:25:09.320 I don't really have time to think about this. 00:25:09.360 --> 00:25:10.120 I don't really have time 00:25:10.120 --> 00:25:12.220 to dive into what this means. 00:25:12.300 --> 00:25:14.500 And so I'm just going to read over this quickly 00:25:14.500 --> 00:25:16.060 and then get to some other places. 00:25:16.059 --> 00:25:18.200 But in doing so, 00:25:18.399 --> 00:25:20.460 we miss some great promises 00:25:20.460 --> 00:25:21.599 that we have in this. 00:25:21.960 --> 00:25:23.559 We miss some great truths 00:25:23.559 --> 00:25:26.740 that bring about this great promise. 00:25:27.419 --> 00:25:29.099 There are passages that are difficult, 00:25:29.319 --> 00:25:30.200 that are hard to study, 00:25:30.259 --> 00:25:32.159 but really what we are doing 00:25:32.159 --> 00:25:33.440 is we're growing 00:25:33.440 --> 00:25:35.720 in our understanding of the gospel in this. 00:25:36.399 --> 00:25:38.099 We're not growing past the gospel. 00:25:38.319 --> 00:25:39.539 We're not checking a box 00:25:39.539 --> 00:25:40.679 and going past this. 00:25:40.879 --> 00:25:41.940 We're growing deeper 00:25:41.940 --> 00:25:44.759 when we study this in a greater detail. 00:25:44.759 --> 00:25:46.299 In this passage, 00:25:46.299 --> 00:25:48.000 we are not growing past the gospel, 00:25:48.119 --> 00:25:50.059 but simply growing deeper into it. 00:25:50.279 --> 00:25:52.000 The more that we dive into it, 00:25:52.019 --> 00:25:53.720 the more we clearly see God. 00:25:54.319 --> 00:25:55.759 And what we must understand 00:25:55.759 --> 00:25:57.839 is the true knowledge of God 00:25:57.839 --> 00:25:59.859 always leads us to action. 00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:02.920 True knowledge and understanding of God 00:26:02.920 --> 00:26:04.400 is always going to lead us 00:26:04.400 --> 00:26:06.519 to serving Him in greater ways. 00:26:07.200 --> 00:26:08.480 And so it's my hope and prayer 00:26:08.480 --> 00:26:09.440 that these truths 00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:12.140 will help us to see this final promise, 00:26:12.539 --> 00:26:14.039 a promise that declares 00:26:14.039 --> 00:26:16.259 we have a better way 00:26:16.259 --> 00:26:17.720 of experiencing God. 00:26:18.460 --> 00:26:19.779 We have a better way 00:26:19.779 --> 00:26:20.680 of experiencing God. 00:26:20.740 --> 00:26:21.220 In other words, 00:26:21.359 --> 00:26:23.259 what does this new covenant 00:26:23.259 --> 00:26:24.420 change about us? 00:26:24.779 --> 00:26:26.119 This new covenant changes 00:26:26.119 --> 00:26:27.559 the way we approach God. 00:26:28.319 --> 00:26:28.960 To begin with, 00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:29.940 our better high priest 00:26:29.940 --> 00:26:30.920 and better covenant changes 00:26:30.920 --> 00:26:32.680 the way that we approach Scripture. 00:26:33.139 --> 00:26:34.259 We read the Bible 00:26:34.259 --> 00:26:35.819 as new covenant Christians, 00:26:36.200 --> 00:26:37.759 which means that we distinguish 00:26:37.759 --> 00:26:39.379 the Old Testament 00:26:39.379 --> 00:26:40.579 and our Scripture 00:26:40.579 --> 00:26:41.700 as our Scripture, 00:26:41.700 --> 00:26:43.680 but not as our covenant. 00:26:44.259 --> 00:26:45.600 All the Bible is true 00:26:45.600 --> 00:26:47.080 from Genesis to Revelation. 00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:49.279 All the Bible is our Scripture. 00:26:49.759 --> 00:26:52.120 All the Bible is profitable for us. 00:26:52.620 --> 00:26:54.279 All the Bible should be known, 00:26:54.440 --> 00:26:55.700 but the Old Covenant 00:26:55.700 --> 00:26:57.120 is not our covenant. 00:26:57.840 --> 00:26:59.880 The Old Testament is vital 00:26:59.880 --> 00:27:01.279 to understanding our new covenant. 00:27:01.720 --> 00:27:03.640 Act 2 cannot be understood 00:27:03.640 --> 00:27:05.240 without Act 1. 00:27:05.559 --> 00:27:06.559 We should read it. 00:27:06.660 --> 00:27:07.460 We should study it. 00:27:07.580 --> 00:27:08.539 We should memorize it. 00:27:08.580 --> 00:27:09.700 We should apply it. 00:27:09.700 --> 00:27:11.640 In fact, I would say that without it, 00:27:11.700 --> 00:27:13.140 it's impossible to understand 00:27:13.140 --> 00:27:13.860 the New Testament. 00:27:14.380 --> 00:27:15.380 But the Old Covenant 00:27:15.380 --> 00:27:17.440 is not our covenant. 00:27:18.319 --> 00:27:19.559 And so as we read the Bible 00:27:19.559 --> 00:27:21.200 as new covenant Christians, 00:27:21.600 --> 00:27:23.880 we take the commands of Christ 00:27:23.880 --> 00:27:25.580 as given to us. 00:27:26.140 --> 00:27:28.420 The final command that Christ gives 00:27:28.420 --> 00:27:29.620 before He ascends to heaven, 00:27:30.059 --> 00:27:31.700 the Great Commission of going 00:27:31.700 --> 00:27:32.860 and making disciples, 00:27:33.380 --> 00:27:34.460 this is for us. 00:27:35.160 --> 00:27:36.920 Piper uses this to help us 00:27:36.920 --> 00:27:38.960 to see another difference 00:27:38.960 --> 00:27:39.680 in these covenants. 00:27:39.759 --> 00:27:40.080 He says, 00:27:40.580 --> 00:27:42.320 the Old Testament was more 00:27:42.320 --> 00:27:43.360 come and see. 00:27:43.500 --> 00:27:45.640 The New Testament is go and tell. 00:27:46.240 --> 00:27:49.180 The Old Covenant at its core 00:27:49.180 --> 00:27:51.000 was ethnic and tribal. 00:27:51.640 --> 00:27:53.340 There were provisions for outsiders 00:27:53.340 --> 00:27:54.620 to come into the covenant, 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:56.300 but by and large, 00:27:56.300 --> 00:27:58.759 it was something that you were born into. 00:27:59.300 --> 00:28:01.539 The New Covenant is not tribal 00:28:01.539 --> 00:28:03.080 and ethnically centered. 00:28:03.580 --> 00:28:04.920 You see, Jew is an ethnicity. 00:28:04.920 --> 00:28:06.900 Christian is not. 00:28:07.500 --> 00:28:08.660 It is not primarily 00:28:08.660 --> 00:28:10.420 a come and see religion. 00:28:10.660 --> 00:28:13.100 It is a go and tell religion. 00:28:13.960 --> 00:28:15.620 It is a personal relationship 00:28:15.620 --> 00:28:17.060 that you enter into. 00:28:17.880 --> 00:28:19.259 This is why we practice 00:28:19.259 --> 00:28:20.440 believer's baptism. 00:28:20.440 --> 00:28:21.740 It's not infant baptism 00:28:21.740 --> 00:28:23.440 because it's not a religion 00:28:23.440 --> 00:28:24.940 that you are born into. 00:28:25.060 --> 00:28:25.759 It's a relationship 00:28:25.759 --> 00:28:27.940 that you are reborn into. 00:28:28.360 --> 00:28:30.740 A relationship that has new birth, 00:28:30.800 --> 00:28:31.860 one that requires you 00:28:31.860 --> 00:28:33.759 to be born again. 00:28:33.759 --> 00:28:35.200 One of the, 00:28:35.440 --> 00:28:37.119 our better high priests 00:28:37.119 --> 00:28:37.720 and better covenant 00:28:37.720 --> 00:28:39.500 changed the way that we pray. 00:28:40.160 --> 00:28:41.700 When you look at the Lord's Prayer, 00:28:41.799 --> 00:28:42.940 or as I like to call it, 00:28:42.960 --> 00:28:43.920 the Disciples Prayer, 00:28:44.420 --> 00:28:46.079 Jesus begins this prayer 00:28:46.079 --> 00:28:47.200 in a radical way. 00:28:48.180 --> 00:28:49.279 Again, without knowing 00:28:49.279 --> 00:28:49.980 the Old Testament, 00:28:50.099 --> 00:28:51.740 this will be very easy to miss. 00:28:52.160 --> 00:28:53.819 But the prayer that Jesus 00:28:53.819 --> 00:28:55.619 teaches His disciples to pray, 00:28:55.960 --> 00:28:57.039 the model prayer 00:28:57.039 --> 00:28:58.119 that He models for them, 00:28:58.180 --> 00:28:59.480 saying you need to pray like this, 00:28:59.619 --> 00:29:01.779 He begins with a very bold statement. 00:29:01.779 --> 00:29:02.720 He says, 00:29:02.799 --> 00:29:03.339 when you pray, 00:29:03.460 --> 00:29:04.299 pray like this, 00:29:04.700 --> 00:29:06.099 Our Father, 00:29:07.200 --> 00:29:09.099 Our Father in Heaven, 00:29:09.759 --> 00:29:10.819 hallowed be Your name. 00:29:11.759 --> 00:29:13.680 By addressing God as Father, 00:29:14.220 --> 00:29:16.460 He gets everyone's attention. 00:29:17.639 --> 00:29:19.119 Kent Hughes made the observation, 00:29:19.240 --> 00:29:19.440 He says, 00:29:19.519 --> 00:29:21.920 You can search from Genesis to Malachi, 00:29:22.139 --> 00:29:23.299 and you will not find 00:29:23.299 --> 00:29:26.359 one individual speaking of God as Father. 00:29:26.680 --> 00:29:28.420 The New Covenant allows us 00:29:28.420 --> 00:29:30.240 to go from God's enemies 00:29:30.240 --> 00:29:31.140 to God's children. 00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:34.480 Pray as a New Covenant believer. 00:29:35.039 --> 00:29:37.840 Pray as addressing God as Father, 00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:40.480 and end by doing so in Jesus' name. 00:29:41.160 --> 00:29:42.620 Our better high priest 00:29:42.620 --> 00:29:43.300 and better covenant 00:29:43.300 --> 00:29:44.400 change our relationship 00:29:44.400 --> 00:29:45.580 with God and others. 00:29:46.400 --> 00:29:48.539 We now have a relationship with God, 00:29:48.900 --> 00:29:50.779 not an impersonal relationship 00:29:50.779 --> 00:29:52.640 of knowing that somewhere, 00:29:53.039 --> 00:29:53.620 somehow, 00:29:53.940 --> 00:29:55.220 there probably is a God, 00:29:55.220 --> 00:29:56.420 but we can actually have 00:29:56.420 --> 00:29:58.160 a relationship with this God. 00:29:58.640 --> 00:29:59.839 By placing our faith 00:29:59.839 --> 00:30:01.519 and our trust in Jesus, 00:30:01.779 --> 00:30:03.900 we can go from death to life. 00:30:04.240 --> 00:30:05.620 We can go from enemies 00:30:05.620 --> 00:30:06.700 to His children. 00:30:07.019 --> 00:30:09.640 We get to have a personal relationship 00:30:09.640 --> 00:30:10.960 with God. 00:30:11.740 --> 00:30:12.839 And so whether you are 00:30:12.839 --> 00:30:14.120 a believer or not, 00:30:14.600 --> 00:30:16.100 I hope and pray 00:30:16.100 --> 00:30:18.100 that all of this covenant talk 00:30:18.100 --> 00:30:19.480 that we've talked about this morning 00:30:19.480 --> 00:30:21.120 helps us to see 00:30:21.120 --> 00:30:23.500 the gift we have in Christ, 00:30:23.799 --> 00:30:26.039 to experience a relationship 00:30:26.039 --> 00:30:26.839 with God 00:30:26.839 --> 00:30:28.799 that because of Jesus 00:30:28.799 --> 00:30:30.500 is final 00:30:30.500 --> 00:30:32.019 and it is complete. 00:30:32.839 --> 00:30:33.579 Heavenly Father, 00:30:33.680 --> 00:30:34.920 I thank You so very much 00:30:34.920 --> 00:30:36.620 for Your Word. 00:30:37.279 --> 00:30:38.319 I thank You for what 00:30:38.319 --> 00:30:39.640 it teaches us about You. 00:30:39.740 --> 00:30:40.640 I thank You that we can 00:30:40.640 --> 00:30:41.860 look at it and study 00:30:41.860 --> 00:30:43.319 passages like this 00:30:43.319 --> 00:30:44.120 in the book of Hebrews 00:30:44.120 --> 00:30:46.120 that can be difficult 00:30:46.120 --> 00:30:46.799 to understand, 00:30:46.920 --> 00:30:47.620 that can be difficult 00:30:47.620 --> 00:30:48.980 to wrap our minds around, 00:30:48.980 --> 00:30:49.940 but Lord, 00:30:50.180 --> 00:30:51.299 what a privilege, 00:30:52.220 --> 00:30:53.920 what an incredible knowledge 00:30:53.920 --> 00:30:54.460 that we get 00:30:54.460 --> 00:30:55.700 when we take the time 00:30:55.700 --> 00:30:57.480 to dig into Your Word, 00:30:57.980 --> 00:30:59.180 to understand 00:30:59.180 --> 00:31:01.099 what You are communicating to us 00:31:01.099 --> 00:31:03.160 by understanding the Old Testament, 00:31:03.220 --> 00:31:04.400 by understanding this, 00:31:04.620 --> 00:31:05.860 it paves the way for us 00:31:05.860 --> 00:31:07.579 to be able to more clearly see 00:31:07.579 --> 00:31:08.759 who You are 00:31:08.759 --> 00:31:10.140 and what You've done for us. 00:31:10.539 --> 00:31:11.019 So Lord, 00:31:11.120 --> 00:31:12.180 I pray that today 00:31:12.180 --> 00:31:14.019 that we see You 00:31:14.019 --> 00:31:15.240 in greater ways, 00:31:15.539 --> 00:31:17.660 that we see You more clearly 00:31:17.660 --> 00:31:19.300 and by doing so 00:31:19.300 --> 00:31:20.519 that we trust You 00:31:20.519 --> 00:31:21.740 in a greater way. 00:31:21.840 --> 00:31:22.200 So Lord, 00:31:22.259 --> 00:31:23.300 I pray that there's someone 00:31:23.300 --> 00:31:24.040 here today 00:31:24.040 --> 00:31:26.180 that needs to know You 00:31:26.180 --> 00:31:27.540 as their Lord and Savior, 00:31:28.240 --> 00:31:29.080 that needs to go 00:31:29.080 --> 00:31:30.180 from death to life, 00:31:30.220 --> 00:31:30.880 that You would give them 00:31:30.880 --> 00:31:31.500 the boldness 00:31:31.500 --> 00:31:32.220 to step forward 00:31:32.220 --> 00:31:32.540 and say, 00:31:32.940 --> 00:31:33.200 God, 00:31:33.279 --> 00:31:34.840 I'm ready to follow You. 00:31:35.519 --> 00:31:36.620 I'm ready to place 00:31:36.620 --> 00:31:38.080 my faith and trust in You. 00:31:38.320 --> 00:31:40.040 I'm ready to stop trying 00:31:40.040 --> 00:31:41.540 to do this on my own, 00:31:41.779 --> 00:31:44.160 stop trying to do this cycle 00:31:44.160 --> 00:31:45.380 of doing enough good, 00:31:45.380 --> 00:31:46.240 being good enough 00:31:46.240 --> 00:31:47.360 to finally earn something, 00:31:47.440 --> 00:31:49.560 but realizing that I can't 00:31:49.560 --> 00:31:51.520 and that when You said 00:31:51.520 --> 00:31:52.140 on the cross, 00:31:52.220 --> 00:31:53.280 it is finished, 00:31:53.480 --> 00:31:55.360 that can be applied to me. 00:31:56.220 --> 00:31:56.740 And so Lord, 00:31:56.820 --> 00:31:57.880 I pray that there's someone 00:31:57.880 --> 00:31:59.360 that needs to experience 00:31:59.360 --> 00:32:01.840 Your saving grace. 00:32:02.520 --> 00:32:03.140 You would give them 00:32:03.140 --> 00:32:04.640 the boldness to do so today. 00:32:05.800 --> 00:32:06.440 But Lord, 00:32:06.520 --> 00:32:08.740 I pray that for the rest of us 00:32:08.740 --> 00:32:10.560 who have placed our faith 00:32:10.560 --> 00:32:11.720 and our trust in You, 00:32:12.240 --> 00:32:13.200 that we would see You 00:32:13.200 --> 00:32:13.900 more clearly, 00:32:14.580 --> 00:32:15.759 that we would see 00:32:15.759 --> 00:32:17.980 the gift You've given us 00:32:17.980 --> 00:32:20.640 to live as new covenant believers, 00:32:21.440 --> 00:32:23.400 understanding what You accomplished 00:32:23.400 --> 00:32:24.680 on the cross is final, 00:32:24.880 --> 00:32:25.680 it's complete, 00:32:25.880 --> 00:32:26.700 it's done. 00:32:27.660 --> 00:32:28.200 And so Lord, 00:32:28.259 --> 00:32:29.420 help us to live in light 00:32:29.420 --> 00:32:31.059 of that each and every day. 00:32:31.759 --> 00:32:33.240 And we ask all these things 00:32:33.240 --> 00:32:34.580 in Jesus' precious name. 00:32:34.980 --> 00:32:35.319 Amen. 00:32:35.980 --> 00:32:37.360 I'm going to invite you to stand. 00:32:37.460 --> 00:32:38.059 We're going to sing 00:32:38.059 --> 00:32:39.140 a song of invitation. 00:32:39.640 --> 00:32:40.880 The Lord is speaking this morning. 00:32:40.880 --> 00:32:41.640 And I want you to respond 00:32:41.640 --> 00:32:43.380 as we stand together and sing. 00:32:43.380 --> 00:32:43.880 Amen.