Better in Every Way (Hebrews 12:24) | Worship Service

Good morning.

Thank you for coming to Kootenai Church this morning. Would you please stand as we sing Standing on the

Promises medley. Standing on the promises of Christ my

King. Through eternal ages let His praises ring.

For in the highest I will shout and sing. Standing on the promises of Christ my

King. of God. Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises that cannot fail. When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail.

By the living word of God I shall prevail. Standing on the promises of God.

Standing, standing, standing on the promises of God my

Savior. Standing, standing, I'm standing on the promises of God.

What a fellowship, what a joy divine. Leaning on the everlasting arms.

What a blessedness, what a peace divine. Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms.

Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

Are you washed in the blood? In the soul cleansing blood of the

Lamb? Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? I'm standing, standing, standing on the promises of God my

Savior. Standing, standing, I'm standing on the promises of God.

Yes, I'm standing, standing, I'm standing on the promises of God.

It's a little quiet. I'm standing, I got it. Alright, Psalm 62.

Surely my soul waits in silence for God, from Him is my salvation. Surely He is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold

I shall not greatly be shaken. How long will you assail a man that you may murder him, all of you, like a leaning wall, like a fence thrust down?

Surely they have counsel to thrust him down from his high position. They find pleasure in falsehood, they bless with their mouth, but inwardly they curse.

Surely wait in silence for God, oh my soul, for my hope is from Him. Surely He is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold

I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my glory rests.

The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, oh people.

Pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge for us. We're going to sing together,

My Soul Will Wait, Psalm 62. When the enemy surrounds and my heart grows faint within, when the darkness overwhelms and my fears are pressing in,

I will trust in You, oh Lord. In the silence

I will wait, I will stand upon Your Word.

You're my solid rock and my salvation, my steadfast hope that won't be shaken.

My soul will wait, my soul will wait for You. You're my stronghold and my shield in the midst of every threat.

Though the wicked never heal, they will banish like a crab.

Yes, I know the outcome's sure. Satan's evil plans will fail.

In Your power I'm secure. You're my solid rock and my salvation, my steadfast hope that won't be shaken.

My soul will wait, my soul will wait for You. You're my comfort when

I feel forsaken, my refuge and my sure foundation.

My soul will wait, my soul will wait for You. This is love

I can't explain. This is mercy unreserved.

Through Your sacrifice so great, I have peace that's undeserved.

For the battle has been won and I fear no shame or loss.

Now the sting of death is gone. You're my solid rock and my salvation, my steadfast hope that won't be shaken.

My soul will wait, my soul will wait for You. You're my comfort when

I feel forsaken, my refuge and my sure foundation.

My soul will wait, my soul will wait for You. Earth before You, we will trust in You.

Perfect Savior, strong defender, we will trust in You.

Holy heart before You, we will trust in You.

Perfect Savior, strong defender, we will trust in You.

I sought the Lord and He answered me and delivered me from every fear.

Those who look on Him are radiant. They'll never be ashamed.

They'll never be ashamed. This poor man cried and the

Lord heard me and saved me from my enemies.

The Son of God surrounds His saints.

He will deliver them. Magnify the

Lord with me. Come exalt His name together.

Glorify the Lord with me.

Come exalt His name forever. Taste and see that the

Lord is good. Oh, blessed is He who hides in Him.

Oh, fear the Lord. Oh, all you saints,

He'll give you everything. He'll give you everything. Magnify the

Lord with me. Come exalt

His name together. Glorify the

Lord with me. Come exalt His name forever.

Let us bless the

Lord every day and night. Never -ending praise.

May our incense rise. Let us bless the Lord every day and night.

Never -ending praise. May our incense rise.

Magnify the Lord with me.

Come exalt His name together.

Glorify the Lord with me. Come exalt

His name forever. Magnify the

Lord with me. Come exalt His name together.

Glorify the Lord with me. Come exalt

His name forever. You may be seated.

Just a couple of announcements and a couple of these are a little bit more detailed than maybe most of our announcements are.

But first, there is a new round of fellowship dinners starting up in this next quarter.

So if you want to be part of a group of other families that meet together and fellowship and have food and get to know each other, then make sure you sign up for the fellowship dinner rotation on the welcome table out in the foyer.

And then second, September 6th, we're planning to have a movie night here. That is a Wednesday night.

And we're going to be watching the new film from Living Waters, What Is It? It is their pro -life film that they've produced.

Knowing that it comes from Living Waters, Ray Comfort and the gang, you know it's going to be excellent. And you know it's going to have a gospel presentation.

So you're welcome to show up for that. We will have popcorn here available and we're going to watch that film together.

And then third, I needed to give a little bit of an update on the upstairs and the progress with that because we have been intending to finish that project and get those classrooms done upstairs so we can move some of the overflow crowding that we have in Sunday school classrooms and even possibly adult

Sunday school class to some of those rooms upstairs. We got started on that this spring.

And basically when it came time to put in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning unit and the units that were supposed to go up there, we realized or found out that what we had designed two decades ago now when we designed this building is no longer up to code.

So we had to redesign the HVAC for that and it's going to be a little bit more expensive and we're going to have to use a package unit instead of a couple of the small units.

All of that to say that that engineering has been done and we're hoping to put in a concrete pad on this side of the building to feed the air conditioning and ventilation for the upstairs.

And once we get that done, then the rest of the dominoes will kind of begin to fall relatively quickly after that.

And I don't know that we're going to have it done by the end of this year, certainly not by the first of September, which we'd hope. But all you can do is just love and pray for the regulators and the people who know far better than any of us.

There is, and of course you know that that's said with all the sarcasm I can suppress. Also in keeping with that is some expansion and improvement to parking lot that we're going to do.

So we've had our stormwater management plan redone and we are going to have some stormwater management work done on our property here as well as an expansion of the parking lot.

So on this side behind me to the north, we're going to add another, I don't know how many feet it is, but it's quite a few feet to the north of this that will be additional parking lot.

And that will be done ready to pave so that in the event that someday we get ready to pave, that one will be to grade and it will have everything necessary to do that.

And the same will be true on this side of the building from the kitchen doorway here all the way almost to the driveway that comes in on the southeast corner of the building, out to very close to the road, that's all going to become parking out there.

And Lord willing, we'll have that done in the month of September, be working on that in the month of September. So before the rain come, before the snow hits, we're hoping to have updated and upgraded parking lot ready for the winter.

So that's where we're at with those projects. Turn now, if you will, please, to Hebrews chapter 8 for our

Scripture reading. Hebrews chapter 8, we're going to be in the book of Hebrews in chapter 8 and then again in chapter 12 when we are during the sermon time and looking at that passage.

But our Scripture reading is from Hebrews 8 and we're going to read together the entire chapter. It's not very long. Hebrews 8, beginning of verse 1.

Now the main point in what has been said is this. We have such a high priest who has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle which the

Lord pitched, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer.

Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the law, who serve a copy and a shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle.

For see, he says, that you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain. But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry by as much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.

For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. For finding fault with them, he says,

Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will effect a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which

I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, but they did not continue in my covenant, and I did not care for them, says the

Lord. 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 into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts, and I will be their

God, and they shall be my people. They shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen and everyone his brother, saying,

Know the Lord, for all will know me from the least to the greatest of them, for I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.

When he said a new covenant, he has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.

Will you stand with me as we pray? Bow our heads.

Our Father, it is a great mercy that you have extended to us, your people, that we are able to gather here together and to worship you today.

We thank you for the many spiritual blessings that you have poured out on us in your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, for the hope and promise of the new covenant, where our sins and our iniquities are remembered no more.

You have taken them out of the way through the sacrifice of your Son. We thank you for that. We thank you for opening our eyes and our hearts to that reality, drawing us to yourself, that we may be brought to Zion, the city of the living

God, and be incorporated with the church of the firstborn, the royal children of God.

All of these great blessings you have lavished upon us, and we thank you for it. It is by your grace we are undeserving.

We deserved only your wrath and only your punishment for our sins and for our iniquities.

But we thank you, O gracious God, that you have laid those upon your Son, and because of His work, because of what

He has done, we can come and approach your throne of grace and petition you, find grace to help in time of need.

You have brought us near through the blood of your Son and forgiven us all our iniquities. So we thank you for that. And ask your blessing upon our time of worship and our time of fellowship together.

Direct our hearts and our minds and our affections to you and to the truth of your Word, and we pray that you would be honored and glorified as we sing to you, praise that you are due, and may you draw near to us in the preaching of your

Word and in our time of fellowship around it. You would be honored and glorified in the hearts and affections and the thoughts of your people this morning, we ask in Christ's name.

Amen. Sing my great

Redeemer's praise The glories of my

God and King The triumphs of His grace

My gracious Master and my God Assist me to proclaim

To spread through all the earth abroad The honors of thy name

Jesus, the name that charms our fears That bids our sorrows cease

Tis music in the sinner's ears Tis life and health and peace

He breaks the power of canceled sin He sets the prisoner free

His blood can make the foulest clean His blood availed for me

He speaks and listening to His voice

New life the dead receive The mournful broken hearts rejoice

The humble poor believe Glory to God and praise and love

Be ever, ever giv 'n By saints below and saints above The church in earth and heaven

Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing My great

Redeemer's praise The glories of my

God and King The triumphs of His grace

In Ephesians chapter 2, verse 13 to 22, it says,

But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off Have been brought near by the blood of Christ For He Himself is our peace

Who made both groups one And broke down the dividing wall of the partition By abolishing in His flesh the enmity

The law of commandments Contained in ordinances So that in Himself He might create the two

Into one new man making peace And might reconcile them both in one body

To God through the cross Having in Himself put death The enmity

And He came and preached the good news of peace To you who are far away And peace to those who are near For through Him we both have our access

In one spirit to the Father So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners But you are fellow citizens with the saints

And are of God's household Having been built on the foundation of the apostles And prophets,

Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone In whom the whole building being joined together

Is growing into a holy sanctuary in the Lord In whom you also are being built together

Into a dwelling of God in the Spirit We're going to end our music service this morning And sing

Forgiven Lord forgive us for our pride

When our faith becomes a show Dressed in righteous deeds to hide

All the stains below We have judged your sons and daughters

For the sin that is our own May we now forgive each other

And lay down our stones Forgiven, forgiven

Through the blood of Christ we are forgiven

Lord forgive us for our love Of the things we wish to own

We forsake the feast above For all the crumbs below Though you've made us sons and daughters

We do not the world disown May we find our greatest treasure is in you alone

Forgiven, forgiven

Through the blood of Christ we are forgiven

Forgiven, forgiven Through the blood of Christ we are forgiven

Lord forgive us for our shame

When we can't release the past When we're quick to take the blame

But forget we're free at last We avoid your sons and daughters

For the fear we don't belong Give us eyes to see each other

Through your only Son Forgiven, forgiven

Through the blood of Christ we are forgiven

Forgiven, forgiven Through the blood of Christ we are forgiven

You may be seated Times are in your hands at your command

His decree who formed the earth Fixed my first and second birth

Now my life to Him I owe Where He leads me

I will go Ever faithful, ever true

Here to only you Since I cannot part with thee

Sovereign ruler ever be Till He bids

I cannot die Not a single shaft can hit

Till the God of love thinks fit

Times the tempter's power to prove

Time to taste a Savior's love All must come and last and end

I shall please my happily friend Ever faithful, ever true

Keep my heart to only you

Since I cannot part with thee

Sovereign ruler He that formed me in the womb

He shall guide me to the tomb All my times shall ever be

Ordered by His wise decree Ever faithful, ever true

Keep my heart to only you

Since I cannot part with thee

Sovereign ruler Faithful, ever true

Keep my heart to only you

Sovereign ruler Thee at all times will

I bless Since I cannot part from thee

Sovereign ruler ever be Now you'll need to turn please to Hebrews chapter 12.

Let's begin with a word of prayer. Our gracious God, we have sung to you those things which are true of you and your character and your redemptive plan.

You've spoken true things in our worship and in our praise. And now we pray that you would speak your truth to us in your word.

Help us to understand what is written here and the implications of it. We pray that you would grant that we may live in a manner that is worthy of this high calling with which we have been called.

As we reflect upon your many and great blessings we pray that you would sanctify us by your truth and open our eyes and our hearts to your word.

We ask this in Christ's name. Amen. Hebrews chapter 12. We're going to begin reading at verse 22 and we'll read through verse 24.

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood which speaks better than the blood of Abel.

We come now to these final items on the list of blessings that have been bestowed upon us in the new covenant.

And we come now really to the reason and the means and the surety, the certainty that these glorious blessings shall be ours.

This is the crowning jewel of this list and the author has saved I think the best for last. We've come to Jesus and to the blood sprinkled which speaks better than the blood of Abel.

He is the mediator of the new covenant. We have been brought to the city of the living God, verse 22 says, that's true, the heavenly

Jerusalem. We have been brought to the gathering of festive angels in this massive assembly which is the worship that goes on in heaven.

That is a blessing. We have been brought to the church of the firstborn. We are therefore the royal children of God by adoption into God's family.

All of those are great blessings. And we have been brought even to God himself who is the judge of all. And that is something that is, all of those things really are inconceivable in light of the depth of our sin and the hurdle that that presented to us enjoying any of these blessings, let alone even a single one.

But now we have come to Jesus who is the mediator of the new covenant and the sprinkled blood. And that tells us why it is and how it is that all of these other blessings we get to enjoy.

How is it and why is it that we are incorporated into the company of the festive angels and we are brought into the church of the firstborn and we are adopted into the family of God?

How is it that we have been secured into this everlasting and eternal city, which is ours?

How is it that we have been brought and come to all of these things? It is because we have also come to Jesus who is the mediator of the new covenant and the one we have been brought to the blood, which is sprinkled and speaks better than the blood of Abel.

In fact, this growing list or this massive list of blessings which incorporates blessings present and blessings future, all of it is secured for us by the blood of Christ.

And you will notice the word in verse 24, which returns us to a theme of Hebrews, that is the word better.

This blood, this sprinkled blood speaks better than the blood of Abel. That word better is used 13 times in the book of Hebrews, 13 times.

It's one of the main themes in Hebrews as Jesus is compared with all of the features and forms of the old covenant and the old

Testament. And at every turn, with every example, with every comparison, we find out that Jesus is better.

He is superior. He is more excellent. And this is the 13th, the final time that the word better is used in the book of Hebrews.

It has been used to describe the new covenant, which is better than the old. Jesus' sacrifice, which is better than the animals.

Jesus' blood, which is better than the blood of bulls and goats. Jesus' priesthood, which is better than the Aaronic priesthood.

The covenant, which is better than the old covenant. That's how the word has been used. And now we come to this final reference to a main theme in the book of Hebrews.

And you know that once we come to the last reference, the last mention of a theme of a book that we're also coming close to the end of the book.

So there's a little bit of hope. His blood speaks better than the blood of Abel.

Now all of these things mentioned in verse 24, Jesus being a mediator, the new covenant, and the blood, all of that brings us back to themes and ideas that the first 10 chapters of the book of Hebrews expounded at great length.

And we took the time to go through that comparison, the new covenant and the old covenant. Jesus as a mediator compared to Old Testament priest, his blood compared to the blood of animals.

And we took the time to labor through those 10 chapters. So in our examination of verse 24 here today,

I don't need to recover all of that ground and rehash all of that material because it was 10 chapters that we spent looking at those things.

So I'm just going to connect some of the dots between this text and some of the things that we have covered in order that we can see why it is that the author at this point mentions these three blessings.

We've come to a better mediator who has inaugurated a better covenant with a better blood.

And as I said, all three themes previously mentioned. So now we can just jump into that outline, which that is our outline.

We have a better mediator who has inaugurated a better covenant and sealed it with better blood.

Better mediator, better covenant, better blood. Let's first look in verse 24 at the better mediator.

We have come to Jesus who is the mediator of a new covenant and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.

In this context, Jesus is not the only mediator that is mentioned. There are two other mediators that are mentioned in our context.

And there is an intended comparison here. Though the author does not use the term mediator to speak of Moses or the angels, there is an intended comparison here with those two,

Moses and the angels, because there is a sense in which both Moses and the angels served as mediators under the old covenant.

If you look up at verse 18, verse 19, to the blast of the trumpet and the sound of words, which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to him, for they could not bear the command.

If even a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned. And so terrible was the sight that Moses said, I am full of fear and trembling.

And the angels are mentioned in verse 22. And we know from other references in scripture, which

I gave you several weeks ago, that the angels were involved in some way in mediating the old covenant when it was given at Sinai.

Paul mentions this in Galatians 3. Why the law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made.

So angels were present at Sinai and they in some way transferred or mediated the law as it was given to the nation of Israel.

And Moses himself was also a mediator. He was a go -between or a stand -between between Israel and God.

Remember, it was Israel who was not allowed to even approach the base of the mountain. But it was Moses who went up on the mountain and stood there and received the law for Israel.

And then Moses brought that law back down and delivered it to the nation of Israel. This is what a mediator do. A mediator is one who delivers something on behalf of another.

That's one idea of mediation. And it is that sense in which Moses was a mediator. And then we know also that the angels were somehow involved in the ordaining of the law at Mount Sinai that ordaining of the law is what is described.

That's the event described in verse 18 of chapter 12. There's another meaning to the word mediator.

And that is one who is an arbitrator or an umpire or a go -between. One who brings two factions together.

One who is a reconciler. Mediator is one who stands between two parties and mediates something between these two parties to bring two parties together and to execute, as it were, or to negotiate a settlement between two parties.

An arbitrator who brings two factions together. And this is the way in which Jesus is also a mediator.

He's the mediator of the New Covenant because He brings us to God. He stands between the Father and us.

And we were at enmity with God and all of our sin, all of our violation of the law, all of our transgressions, our iniquities, and our guilt stood between us and God.

And the necessity was that that hostility needed to be dealt with.

God was rightly angry with us because we had offended His law and violated His law and we deserved

His wrath. That wrath had to be satisfied. That hostility had to be taken away.

And the enmity, the division between the Father and us had to be reconciled. It had to be glossed over to be dealt with.

And that is what the Lord Jesus does as a mediator. He is an arbitrator between Yahweh and between us.

And being one who is both God and man, He is the perfect mediator. For He is able to stand between the one who is

God and lay His hand, as it were, upon Yahweh and being infinitely and fully righteous,

He is able to then stand and lay His hand upon us, man, and act as our representative in terms of His sacrifice and as God's representative in terms of satisfying

His wrath. And He is able to atone for our sin on the cross and thus bring us together so that He has reconciled us to the

Father through His death on the cross and He is therefore a mediator. Now Moses didn't do that as a mediator.

Moses didn't remove enmity. Moses revealed our enmity. When the law came, we saw sin.

And we knew sin. And when God said, Thou shalt not, we said, but I have.

I'm guilty. And then God said, Thou shalt not, and I've done that too, and I'm guilty. And Thou shalt not, and I've done that too, and I am guilty.

So far from removing the hostility or the enmity, the Old Covenant, and Moses as a mediator, simply revealed our hostility.

It revealed our sin and the justice and what that justice would look like if God were to pour out

His wrath upon sin. But Jesus is a better mediator, superior. He occupies a better priesthood which is an eternal priesthood.

He is offered a better blood. He is offered a better sacrifice. He is a better priest. He provides a better intercession.

Hebrews 7 verse 15, If another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek who has become such not on the basis of the law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life.

That's what makes Him a better priest. He has an indestructible life. Hebrews 7 verse 25,

Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Because He is a perfect intercessor, because He stands between us, between us and the

Father, He is able to reconcile these two parties. Which I think is why the author uses the name Jesus here instead of Christ or even

Jesus Christ. Jesus is the name of His humanity. Remember the angel told Joseph, You will name Him Jesus for He will save His people from their sins.

What do you name this one who is genuine, true man? His human name is Jesus. The office that He occupies, the office of His divinity or His Messiahship is

Christ, but His human name is Jesus. So we now come to Jesus who is the perfect mediator, the one who can stand as perfectly righteous and represent us to the

Father. He is a better mediator than Moses. Moses brought Israel to Sinai and the law came through Moses.

Christ brings us to Zion and grace and truth come to us through Him. Moses did not remove enmity, but Christ does.

He is a better mediator. Second, He has inaugurated a better covenant. Verse 24, He is the mediator of a new covenant.

We have been brought to the sprinkled blood which speaks better than the blood of Abel. There is a contrast here again with, and I just remind you of it, verses 18 through 21,

Sinai. That was the initiation or the inauguration of the old covenant, the Mosaic covenant, where God gave the law to Moses and instituted a priesthood and a priestly class and sacrifices and gave instructions for the tabernacle and the way in which sinners would approach

God through the basis of a blood sacrifice. All of that was inaugurated at Sinai. And now we are told here that Jesus has initiated or inaugurated a better covenant.

It is also a new covenant. That's the word that's used here, new covenant. It's described elsewhere in Hebrews as a better covenant.

Now, oftentimes, things that are new are not necessarily better. Are you familiar with that?

You might get a new phone, but it might not be as good as your previous phone. Take New Coke, for instance.

Everybody that's over 35 or so remembers the debacle that was New Coke. New Coke was not necessarily better than Coke Classic.

Things that are new are not necessarily better than things that are old. But in terms of the covenant, this covenant, the new covenant, far superior to the old covenant in every way.

It's better in every way. Hebrews 8, verse 8, for finding fault with them, he says, Behold, days are coming, says the

Lord, when I will effect a new covenant with the house of Israel. Chapter 8, verse 13, when he said a new covenant, he has made the first obsolete, but whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.

Hebrews 9, verse 15, says for this reason, he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of an eternal inheritance.

The old covenant is obsolete. And here's something to remember. We covered this back in chapter 8. When God says that he is inaugurating and creating and bringing to us a new covenant, he is not describing the old covenant with all of its forms and features with something just added onto it, like an appendix or like you hook a trailer onto something else.

He's talking about one thing, the old covenant, that has been taken away and made obsolete and has been replaced by something entirely new and entirely better.

It is a new covenant and a better covenant. So we don't take the law of Moses and all the stipulations of it and just simply attach

Christ to that, like you might just throw on an extra layer of clothing or something. That old covenant is entirely done away with and something new and far superior has come.

The old covenant could not make us righteous. It could not take away sin. It could not mediate a relationship to God in the sense of bringing us near.

Do you remember that? With the old covenant, there was the veil that stood between the ark of the covenant with the mercy seat on top of that and the outside of the temple and that on one day a year, only one man of all of Israel got to step behind that and apply the blood of the sacrifice to the mercy seat.

At no point ever under the old covenant did people ever feel like they could draw near to God in the way that you and I can.

But now the veil has been torn in two and the blood has been applied and forgiveness has been purchased by the blood of Christ and now we can draw near and we can draw near freely and we can draw near forever.

So far superior. The old covenant revealed your sin. The new covenant reveals the source of your righteousness.

The old covenant made your sin known and the new covenant provides us righteousness. The old covenant called for your damnation.

The new covenant provides a payment for your sin so that you will not be damned. The old covenant kept you at a distance.

The new covenant draws you near. Every blessing that is listed here in verses 22 through 24, every last one of them has been purchased by the blood of the new covenant.

By the blood of the sacrifice of the new covenant, the Lord Jesus Christ. So, if God has spilled

His own blood, the blood of His own Son in order to purchase all of these blessings for you, then how will

He not with Him also freely give you all things? Give you all things. Give you victory over your besetting sin, the strength to say no, the strength and the grace to resist temptation, deliverance from your guilt, strength to obey and pursue holiness, and the sanctification without which no one will see the

Lord. All of that is provided in the new covenant. Second, or third

I should say, this is sealed by a better blood. We have a better mediator and a better covenant. These things we understand and it is sealed now by a better blood.

This is an intriguing statement. We have been brought to the sprinkled blood, verse 24, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.

A sprinkled blood, that describes, that is the language by the way of sacrifice, sprinkled blood. Not just blood poured out, not just blood spent, something like that, but the language of sprinkled blood is the language of, it's the

Old Testament language of sacrifice. A blood that has been applied and it is the picture of the day of atonement on Yom Kippur, which

I mentioned just earlier, a few minutes ago, where one man, the high priest, would enter into the tabernacle on one day of year, the day of atonement.

It was the highest holy day of the nation of Israel. And he would take the blood of the animal that was offered outside of the tabernacle and he would step behind the curtain and he would apply that to the mercy seat above the broken law which was contained in the

Ark of the Covenant. And he would do that not by pouring, but he would sprinkle the blood on that mercy seat. So the reference here to sprinkled blood speaks of a blood that is applied.

It speaks to the blood of a sacrifice. That's what's being described. He's not just describing blood in the sense of blood, but a blood that was shed as a sacrifice and as an offering to atone for sin.

Hebrews 9, verse 11, But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood,

He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered

Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? You hear the contrast there between the old tabernacle and the new tabernacle, which is

Christ, the old sacrifice, the new sacrifice, the blood sprinkled then, the blood sprinkled now? Hebrews 10, verse 11,

Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

But He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.

For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. That is a glorious truth.

All the Old Testament priests could come in and offer blood after blood after blood, sacrifice after sacrifice, and never even begin to approach paying for sin.

It was simply a picture of a full and final payment of sin that was to come. But He, having offered one sacrifice, has perfected, that is, made mature or brought to an end and completed the salvation for all time of those who are sanctified.

This is the language of blood applied. Under the Old Covenant, sacrifice was not complete and a priest had not done his job until the blood was applied where the blood needed to be applied.

Do you remember Yom Kippur? It wasn't enough for the priest to offer the sacrifice outside of the tabernacle and then leave the blood there.

It wasn't enough for him to do that and to burn incense and do everything else. He had to take that blood behind the veil and apply it to the mercy seat.

That was what was required. On the night of Passover, it wouldn't have been enough if the children of Israel had slaughtered the

Passover lamb and roasted its flesh and eaten it with all of the accoutrements that went with the

Passover meal and followed all of the instructions if they had not applied the blood to the doorpost they would have been executed on the night of the

Passover. The blood had to be applied. So here is the question for you.

Has His blood been applied to you? Or do you simply observe the glories of that sacrifice from a distance?

Do you admire His love and His grace that a man would die for his enemies? And do you admire the love and the grace that is poured out in the hearts of others?

Do you simply acknowledge mentally that yes, a sacrifice was needed and that sacrifice was sufficient, but I really don't want any part of that?

Or has the blood of His sacrifice been applied to you? Another way of asking that is, have you been born again or are you covered by the blood of His sacrifice?

If you are not covered by the blood of Christ, and if that blood has not been applied to your account, evidenced by your repentance and your faith, then you will admire the virtues of that sacrifice from afar until the day of your judgment.

It must be applied to you. It must cover you. And the evidence of that will be your repentance and your faith.

These two things, Christ and His sacrifice, Jesus as the mediator and the blood which speaks better than the blood of Abel, these two things are inseparable because one describes

His person. He is the mediator. The other describes His work. He has sprinkled blood.

He has offered a sacrifice. And to come to Him and receive any of the blessings in verses 22 -24 is to receive all of those blessings that have been purchased by and only by the blood of Christ.

If your sin has not been paid for by His atoning sacrifice, and if His blood has not been applied to your account, then you have no part in Him and no part in His grace.

Know that for sure. He's not your life coach. He's not your therapist.

He's not your inspiration. He's not your daily chicken soup for your soul. If He is not your atonement,

He is your judge. If He is not your payment for sin, He will damn you in it. Those are your two options.

Has that blood been applied to you? Even the mention of sprinkled blood here connects us back again to Sinai because blood is involved there as well at the inauguration of that first covenant.

It's not mentioned in verses 18 -21, but it doesn't need to be because it's mentioned in the Old Testament record that describes the events that took place at Mount Sinai.

Hebrews 9 mentions it at the beginning of verse 18. Therefore, even the first covenant, and by the way, the giving of that covenant is described here in verses 18 -21.

Therefore, even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood. For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop and sprinkled, listen to that reference, sprinkled both the book itself and all the people saying this is the blood of the covenant which

God commanded you. In the same way, he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood.

And according to the law, one may almost say all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

And the reference to sprinkling there with the first covenant because at the giving of the first covenant, Moses and the people, though they were filled with fear and trembling, they made that covenant with God and then they sprinkled the people with blood and the book with the blood, sealing and inaugurating that first covenant.

Likewise with the second covenant, no covenant is made without the sealing of blood. Likewise with the second covenant, there is blood involved and it is the sprinkling of blood, the sprinkling of God's, blood of God's own

Son. Sinai saw the sprinkling of blood and the sprinkling of blood is involved in the second covenant as well.

Notice verse 24, now we're getting to this perplexing statement that the sprinkled blood speaks better than the blood of Abel.

This is yet another contrast with something at Sinai. Look up at verse 20. There was speaking that took place at Sinai, remember, for they could not bear the command if even a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned.

And Moses spoke, verse 21, and so terrible was the sight that Moses said, I'm full of fear and trembling. So there's speaking at Sinai, but it is the speaking that results in fear and trembling.

It is the speaking of wrath and judgment and His law. And then there is a speaking that takes place here by the blood of Christ and it speaks better than both of those statements.

It also speaks better than the blood of Abel. What does it mean here then that it speaks better than the blood of Abel?

Because that's kind of an odd statement, isn't it? Like why drag Abel into all of this? He just seems like an innocent bystander in the

Old Testament. Why grab one guy who was murdered in the Old Testament, drag him into the narrative, put his name in here?

You might expect the author to say that the blood of Christ sprinkled speaks better than the blood of bulls and goats, and he has said that.

Or the blood of animal sacrifices, and he has said that. You could expect him to say that it speaks better than the blood of the

Passover lambs. Or better than the blood of the first covenant. All of that we might expect in this context.

Why Abel? In what sense does the blood of Christ speak something better than the blood of Abel?

Did you even know that the blood of Abel spoke? Did you know that? Were you even thinking about that this morning while you were brushing your teeth?

Oh, the blood of Abel still speaks. No, you didn't think that. That's not something that pops into your mind.

Why does the author mention it here? He's already made the point that Christ's blood is better than the blood of Old Testament sacrifices, but there is something prophetic going on here.

Now, there is a take on this passage that I do not think is right that I want to make you aware of. There are some people who say that what the author means here is that the blood of Christ's sacrifice speaks something better and superior to the blood of Abel's sacrifice.

In other words, Christ's blood speaks better, the blood of Christ's sacrifice speaks something better than the blood of Abel's sacrifice, describing the blood of the sacrifice that Abel made right before his older brother

Cain killed him. Okay, so that animal sacrifice. There are some who say that the comparison here is between the animal sacrifice, the blood that Abel spilled in that sacrifice,

Genesis chapter 4, is inferior to the blood that Christ spilled in his or sprinkled in his sacrifice for us on the cross.

I don't think that that is the way that this should be understood. I think that this should be understood to refer to Abel's blood that was shed on the ground when

Cain killed Abel. I think that that is the true take or the right interpretation of that.

Abel being the first person ever murdered, his blood was the first blood, first human blood ever shed.

Therefore, his blood as the first one that was shed speaks something, I think, symbolic and something very theologically significant.

Being the first blood, human blood, that ever hit the ground, he was the first person murdered. Now there are two passages that I think come into play here.

One in Genesis chapter 4. One of them back in Hebrews chapter 11. Read the one from Hebrews chapter 11, verse 4 first.

By faith, Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous,

God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. Now there's not mentioned there to Abel's blood still speaking, but there is a sense in which the author in Hebrews chapter 11 intends for us to understand that the example or the incident of Cain and Abel still speak to us, particularly that Abel's testimony as a righteous man who was righteous by faith still speaks to us.

And there is a reason why Abel is listed somewhat toward the top of that list of Old Testament saints in Hebrews chapter 11, because the author is telling us that we can look to Abel as an example, an illustration of something that is true for all the saints of all people.

That is that Abel responded to God in obedience and in faith, and he was declared righteous, and the sacrifice that he gave was an evidence of his righteousness and his faith in God.

It was an act of obedience. Faith is obedient in worship, and Abel stands as an example of one who is obedient to God, who responds to God in faith, but further, he becomes an example of those who are gods by faith, how they are persecuted and hated and hunted and even killed by the wicked throughout all of time.

And you see that then all the way through Hebrews 11, that the righteous end up being hunted and hated and rejected by the world, and this became an example of how you and I are to respond to those who are hostile to us.

We respond to God by faith, and we respond to others in a gracious way, like the saints in Hebrews 11. So there is a way in which

Abel becomes then an example who still speaks to us. But his blood has a prophetic significance in that, as a righteous man, he was murdered by the unrighteous.

This becomes the tale that is as old as time. You follow it all the way through the

Old Testament, the righteous are never on the upside of anything that happens in the Old Testament and throughout human history.

They are always the ones who are hunted and hated and persecuted. The world responds with hostility, and Abel becomes a prophetic picture of that.

He also becomes a prophetic picture of the consequences of sin and that blood, human blood, would eventually be shed because of this sin problem.

Now, his blood did not atone for anything. Abel's blood did not. His blood did not atone for anything or pay any price.

But it becomes a reminder of the seriousness, the gravity of sin, and something of a picture of a righteous man who would be to come who would end up shedding his blood to pay for sin.

Second, Abel's blood speaks of the need for retribution and justice. The second passage that pertains to this is back in Genesis 4.

It's just verse 10. You don't need to turn to that passage. You can if you want. Chapter 4, verse 10 says, when

God confronts Cain for killing Abel, he says, what have you done? The voice, listen, the voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.

Now, I happen to believe that all innocent blood that is shed in this world calls out to God for justice.

That is a heavy thing to consider when you realize that as a nation, we have shed a lot of innocent blood, not just in abortion, but also in murder.

We've shed a lot of innocent blood. The blood of the innocent cries out to God in heaven for justice, for vengeance, and for retribution.

And it cries out, how can the guilty go free? How can the murderer walk? Does not the shedding of one man's blood demand that that man's blood who shed that blood be shed on behalf of that?

Doesn't the shedding of the blood of the innocent require or demand that justice be done and that the one who sheds that blood should be punished for it?

It does. That goes all the way back to Genesis 9, where because we are created in the image of God, the death penalty was instituted for those who would shed innocent blood.

So the blood of Abel cries out, how can the guilty go free? Why should the murderer walk? Justice demands a payment.

Justice for the shedding of innocent blood must be satisfied. God cannot leave the guilty unpunished.

Innocent blood cries in heaven for vengeance, and innocent blood cries from the ground for vengeance, for retribution, and for justice.

So Abel's blood did cry to God from the ground, and it cried out for condemnation, for payment.

It cried out that Cain was guilty. It cried out for retribution, and for justice, and for vengeance.

That's what Abel's blood speaks. Justice must be done because sin must be avenged.

That's what the blood of Abel speaks. It's one of the things. But what does the blood of Christ speak?

In him we have redemption through his blood, Ephesians 1, 7. He himself bore all of our sin in his body on the tree, 1

Peter 2, verse 24. God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in him, this great exchange.

The blood of Abel speaks of the blood of the one who would come who would pay the penalty for our sin.

The blood of Abel cries out for retribution, and the blood of Christ has satisfied that demand for retribution.

So Abel's blood cries that justice must be satisfied, and the blood of Christ cries justice has been satisfied.

The blood of Abel demands that sin be avenged, and the blood of Christ says sin has been avenged for any and all who will trust in him.

The blood of Abel demands that sin be punished, and Christ's blood says he has taken the punishment for all the sin of any and all who will trust in him.

The blood of Abel cries that Cain should be made a vagabond who flees from the presence of God and has no welcome into his courts.

But the blood of Christ says not only are you not a vagabond, but you have been adopted into the

Father's family, and you have been invited into his eternal city where you can come and enjoy commerce and fellowship and worship for all of eternity, and you can stay as long as you want, and he will give you the kingdom for he has satisfied every demand of justice and every demand of your sin's debt against you.

He has satisfied it all. He has poured out upon Christ all of the just demands of his wrath upon him, so that Christ has borne and drunk the bitter cup that was reserved for you and me.

He has drunk it down and absorbed all of God's wrath on behalf of those who will trust in him. Every last sin that you have ever committed, that you have committed today, and that you will ever commit, has been poured out and paid for upon Jesus Christ.

So Abel's blood demanded that another die for the crime committed against him. And Christ's blood says another has died for the crimes committed against God, and not just for one person, but for an untold multitude of people who will trust in the

Son. Christ's blood is better than Abel's. Such is the measure and the depth of our grace that has been bestowed upon us and the loving kindness of the

Father to give us such grace. Now here's the key, or a key. To presume upon that and to use his grace as an excuse to coddle our pet sins, to deny that we have a problem, to be apathetic or indifferent, or to indulge our sinful habits is a high -handed crime against an infinite grace.

If we were to summarize verses 22 to 24, we would say that we have been brought to a great place, to the heavenly city, and therefore, you and I should live as citizens of that heavenly city, live and serve as citizens of that heavenly city, knowing that we are going to spend eternity there.

We have been brought to a great people, an angelic host, and festive assembly, and the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and therefore, we should live and serve as those who have a place among that great company of God's elect, his elect angels and his elect people.

And we have been brought to a great privilege, the firstborn enrolled in heaven, and therefore, we should live and serve as those who have been given such a promised inheritance, and we have been brought to a great purchase, namely, we have been purchased by the blood of God's own

Son, and therefore, we should live and serve as those for whom Christ has shed his blood, the highest price that can be paid.

Let's bow our heads. Our Father, we are so grateful to you for the price that has been paid to bring our salvation nigh, to purchase a people for your

Son and for your own eternal glory who will honor and glorify you forevermore.

We thank you that by your grace, you have included us in that number, and I pray that you would use these truths and these great blessings to strengthen our hearts to live in obedience, to you in affection and appreciation for the grace that you have given, and that you would be honored through our response to these great truths.

We pray for strength to obey, and we trust that the one who has spared not his own son will give to us everything that is necessary for us to live holy and God -honoring lives in the midst of a wicked and perverse generation.

And we pray for any who are here hearing these words who have not yet trusted Christ, we pray that you would be honored to bring to salvation an untold multitude, and that you would be glorified in that salvation.

Make every sinner to see their need for a Savior, to see their own sin and the gravity of it, and to find in Christ the precious substitute who bore their sin in His own body on the tree.

It is for that great grace and all of your blessings that we thank you in Christ's name. Amen. Would you please stand?

And as we end our service this morning, we'll sing Before the Throne of God Above. Before the throne of God above I have a strong and perfect knee

A great high priest whose name is love Who ever lives and bleeds for me

My name is graven on His hands My name is written on His heart

I know that while in heaven He stands No tongue can bid me thence depart

No tongue can bid me thence depart When Satan tempts me to despair

And tells me of the guilt within Upward I look and see

Him there Who made an end to all my sin

Because the sinless Savior died My sinful soul is counted free

For God the just is satisfied To look on Him and pardon me

To look on Him and pardon me Hallelujah Praise the one risen

Son of God Behold Him there the risen

Lamb My perfect spotless righteousness The great unchangeable

I am The King of glory and of grace

Born with Himself I cannot die My soul is purchased with His blood

My life is hid with Christ on high With Christ my

Savior and my God With Christ my Savior and my

God Praise the one risen

Son of God I bow before the cross of Christ And marvel at this love divine

God's perfect Son was sacrificed To make me righteous in God's eyes

This river's depth I cannot know But I can glory in its flood

The Lord most high has bowed down low And poured on me

His glorious love And poured on me His glorious love

Hallelujah Praise the one risen

Son of God Hallelujah Hallelujah Praise the one risen

Son of God Now may the

God of perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the