Good, Better, Jesus Is The Best - [Hebrews 9:15-28]

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I don't know if you recognize the gravity of that quote in the song, come let us stand before his face.
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Of course you think of criminals and they are whisked off into a police car and they're trying to hide their face from the cameras and trying to get the handcuffs in their shirt and their jackets.
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Back in the old days sometimes before someone would approach a judge they'd have to have a knife underneath their chin so they would look at the judge in the face and receive condemnation for their crimes.
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Can you imagine? We get to stand before the face of a thrice holy God, angels even blush in his presence.
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We stand there and we don't have to be ashamed, we don't have to hide our face, not because we haven't sinned, but because as Christians those sins have been paid for.
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Aren't you glad? No wonder when the Bible says the Lord bless you, and the Lord keep you, and the
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Lord make his what? Face to shine on you. Instead of a frown, instead of consternation, instead of I'm mad at you,
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I love you. And all those sins that would ever separate me from you the Lord would say Jesus has paid for those.
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And so we get to stand before the face of God, blameless and in his presence with great what?
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Joy. That's sermon one. The book of Hebrews has literally changed my life.
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Maybe more specifically the Lord has used his word in the book of Hebrews to talk about the exalted
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Jesus, the high priest, to change my life. I don't know if you know this, but pastors need sermons too.
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Pastors need pastoring. And this book, the book of Hebrews, is a sermon written by a pastor to tell everybody that Jesus Christ, the exalted
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King, is worthy of his praise. And so I regularly love to just sit underneath the sermon of the book of Hebrews about the
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Lord Jesus because my soul needs it. I need to be reminded every single week as I prepare my heart to preach to you that Jesus is enough, that Jesus is sufficient, that Jesus is worthy to be praised.
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And even this writer in the book of Hebrews, he does what he tells his readers to do,
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Hebrews 12, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.
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So if you take your Bibles please and turn to the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 9. We are back in the book of Hebrews after a summer break and a few messages from Proverbs 5 and the gospel message that we had and also
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Matthew 15 from last week. Hebrews chapter 9. Why is this book so important?
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Well, this book is written to Hebrews. Remember that old funny line by I think Barnhouse, it's written by a
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Hebrew to Hebrews to have them stop being Hebrews. By looking to the ultimate
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Hebrew, the last Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ. And there are some commands in the book of Hebrews, most of them are at the end in chapter 13.
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And there are some warnings for people who are dabbling with turning their back on Christianity.
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But the bulk of the message is to try to encourage people, to try to get them to rest.
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Chapter 4, rest, rest, rest, rest. And why this book has changed my life?
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For many reasons, but here's one. It's hard for me to rest. Here's what
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I think. I think God has saved me by grace alone through faith alone, Christ's work alone, and then
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I have to keep my position by treadmilling, by being on that cage that goes around and around and around.
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And I keep my standing before God based on my works. And therefore when I fail and sin, then
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I think somehow God is going to not like me anymore, or not love me anymore, or my status before him legally will change.
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That's the book of Galatians too, where they were saved by faith in Christ Jesus, faith alone,
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Christ alone, but then they just try to keep by working. And this book doesn't let you do that. It wants you to rest.
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Because if you have to stand before God based on your works, there's no rest.
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Because what does God require? God requires perfect obedience, perpetual obedience, exact obedience, entire obedience.
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How you doing so far? And he requires that for unbelievers, but he requires that of his children too, but to stand before God, to stand before his face.
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The book of Hebrews says it's all about Jesus the high priest, who's not only your priest, he was the sacrifice.
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And everything in the Old Testament, all of Mosaic law essentially, was a large sermon illustration pointing to this one we want you to rest in.
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We say the word believe, it's a great word. We say the word trust, but a synonym is to rely on or to rest.
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And so this is good for those who need rest. This is a book about the Lord Jesus Christ.
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I could ask maybe this question, when's the last time you read a book about Jesus? And I don't mean left behind.
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Hal Lindsey or something like that. When's the last time you read a book on Christ? We don't usually do that.
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We're like, well we want to read that marriage book, we want to read a communication book, and an anger book, and this, that, and the other. This is a book about Jesus, and so every week you come and learn from a book about Jesus.
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It will refresh you. In this day and age where everything's about being good and being moral and doing the right thing, deep down don't we all know we fail?
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Deep down don't we all know we sin and fall short of the glory of God? So we've got two options.
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Either if we're not going to look to Jesus in the book of Hebrews, be honest with ourselves and we'll have despair.
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Because if you're honest with yourself, you know you're not living up to your calling. Or, the other option, this is my default,
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I just do things on the external. I know how to be on time, I know how to read my Bible, I read my Bible every day, I do the right things, but is my heart far from the
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Lord? So those are my two options if I'm going to do things the wrong way. And the right way is just to look to the
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Lord Jesus and rest, and look at this Lord who loves sinners. And by the way, not only is
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Hebrews about the greatest subject in the world, the Lord Jesus, it's written well.
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It's written in such a style that the way he writes is commensurate with what he's writing about.
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I mean if you had a great subject and you can't talk very well or write very well about it, you kind of do damage to the subject.
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But when you have a great subject and you speak well of that subject, this is the book. This is the book that, even though you say this is hard to understand, when you do get it, you think it was worth the wait.
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Right? And you're like, we want to get into the text. I know. I do too. I'm just telling you a little background of the book of Hebrews.
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Now what Hebrews has done up to this point, if you go to chapter 8 verse 1, I know you know this, but we have some visitors and some new people.
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If you'd like to summarize the book of Hebrews as it is exalting Christ's finished work dealing with sin, as a high priest who sacrifices and prays.
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That's what priests do. It's a good summary statement in 8 .1. Now the point in what we're saying is this.
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Here's the message of the sermon. We have such a high priest, present tense, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven.
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Dear friends, don't go back to Judaism or if you're here today and there's something else calling you, some other kind of old religion or what you used to be in, why would you ever go back?
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Because this Jesus, he's better than angels and angels, by the way, are impressive. He's better than the prophets.
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The prophets were impressive. He's better than Moses. Moses was impressive. He's better than all the
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Old Testament ceremonies and a sacrificial system. That was impressive, but don't go back.
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There's no reason you should go back and be tempted because you have a trial today. Here's what Christians sometimes do.
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Trust in Jesus and he's offered me every blessing in the heavenly places and forgiveness and I'm reconciled before God and I didn't think
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I'd have to go through that trial. I didn't think I'd have to suffer. I didn't think I'd have to go through this big deal and therefore maybe it's not worth it and so this writer says he, the
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Lord Jesus, is worth it and you can only find rest in and assurance in the
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Lord Jesus Christ. One last statement before we get into the text. I love this book because it makes me look to the
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Lord Jesus and not to myself. If you're like me and I know you are, you've got a problem and that problem is introspection.
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Introspection that doesn't stop with, it stops with I'm looking at myself versus I look at myself,
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I see my sin, I confess my sin and then I look to the Lord Jesus Christ. This book won't let you do that.
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This sermon is about Jesus. Hebrews I mean and this sermon today.
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Alright, ready? Hebrews chapter 9 verses 15 through 28.
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Here's what we're going to do this morning for an outline. I'm going to give you several questions about the death of Christ and its effects so that you can understand
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Hebrews 9 15 to 28 better. I'll tell you why I'm doing that is because there's some hard sections here.
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There's some difficult concepts at a micro level, at an atomistic level but big picture, it's simple.
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Rest in Jesus, trust in Jesus, make Him the focus, don't be tempted to go back to any other kind of religion of works.
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It's not going to save you. Jesus is the one chosen by God to redeem you and save you.
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He's the chosen one and His sacrifice was enough, His death was enough, His life was enough and we know that because He has been raised from the dead.
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So several questions and of course you know me, I have seven questions but I don't know if I'm going to get through them all.
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If I don't get through them all and I need some more questions for next week, I can add them. Okay, so I have several questions about the death of Christ that the answers will be found in this passage so that you can think big picture what about this high priest and what about death in my place and will that allow me rest before God and God looking at me with a face that's a smiling open face versus a frown.
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If you're not a Christian, I implore you to repent and believe in this Jesus as you learn about Him.
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Question number one, is there something more important than the here and now? Is there anything more important than right here right now?
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Answer, let's go to verse 15, therefore He is the mediator of a new covenant so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
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The question is, is there anything more than here and now? And what's happening in our society is we've all been influenced by the
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Joel Osteen's of the world and I don't mean by Joel, I mean our own heart. It's easy to look at him and say you know what false teacher but I've got many false teachers in my heart.
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I think you do too and here's the false teaching. Everything in Christianity is about glory now.
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Everything is about your best life now. Everything is right here and now and for many of you that have good lives now, wonderful.
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When you're going through trials now, you may be longing for heaven more but there's that temptation for glory now.
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This is all we've got. Is that not true? When Satan showed Jesus all the nations, he said you can have them all right now.
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That's glory but Jesus knew he had to suffer first and then die. Peter says you're not gonna die
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Jesus and what did Jesus say to Peter? Get behind me
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Satan because Jesus' plan is suffering then the glory. I mean
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I just think about my life. I've had many trials but I've had a great life but is this all there is?
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And for the Jewish people who would read this and they saw, what does the text say? That word inheritance. What are they thinking about when they think about the inheritance that they're going to get?
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What's ultimately what they're thinking and in Genesis 12 today it helped us. They're thinking it's what? All together.
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Land. The promises of the land. There's something better than the land promise.
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Do you see it? The promised eternal inheritance. While Abraham was promised the land, there's something better.
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Look at chapter 11 verse 13. Keep your finger there at chapter 9 but look at 11 13. Is there something better than this today and our best life now?
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As one man said, if this is your best life now then that means you're going to hell. No, we're waiting for heaven.
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There's a better country, better land, better promises. Better, better, better. That's the book of Hebrews.
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Hebrews 11 13. These all died in faith not having received the things promised but having seen them and greeted them from afar and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on earth.
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For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. Everybody wants to go home.
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Everybody wants a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land for which they had gone out, they would have had an opportunity to return.
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But as it is, they desire a better country. That is a heavenly one.
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Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for he has prepared for them a city. Dear friends, and I'm included with you, dear friends, our eternal inheritance should be what?
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Judgment, punishment, eternal hell. And because of the death of Jesus, our inheritance is what?
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What the text talks about this being with the Lord Jesus forever and eternal redemption.
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Verse 12 of chapter 9, the eternal Holy Spirit chapter 9 verse 14 and an eternal inheritance.
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I said the other day to someone, I don't have any parents or rich relatives who are older than I am and neither does
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Kim. Translation, I have no inheritance coming. Maybe some of you are waiting for an inheritance.
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Maybe some of you like to share with clergy. I don't know. Since the
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Lord did what he did, we have an inheritance and you can just think about the Jews. They're getting persecuted.
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They're learning about Jesus. They're trusting in him, but they think they want to go back to the opulence of the temple and all the things for the land promises.
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And he say, no, they've got better promises. Go back to chapter 9, please. He hinges it with the verse 15 with it when he says, therefore, and I think when you see the word, therefore, you should, should jump up a few verses at least to see what he's talking about.
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Therefore, or for this reason, it's an explanation. What is he explaining? Verse 13, for if the blood of bulls and goats and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself with blemish to God, to purify our conscience from dead works, to serve the living
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God. Therefore, verse 15, he is the mediator. So when it comes to having a mediator standing before you and God, he's the one don't run back to anything else or to anyone else.
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Jesus takes on flesh at the incarnation so he can die a literal death.
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Just a couple of the comments about verse 15. You notice it's guaranteed because what's the text say? It's promised.
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There's a certainty. It's as good as ours. While you might be looking for land, there's something better.
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This inheritance with God forever in heaven, worshiping the Lord Jesus Christ. By the way, in verse 15, maybe this is the understatement of the entire book since a death has occurred.
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An interesting since a death has occurred. Yes, the death, a death of all deaths, the death of death.
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Question two, there's something more important than the here and now. Now, number two, was it enough for Jesus to be a holy example and a great teacher?
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Verses 16 and 17. Was it enough for Jesus to just live a really good life? We could emulate and listen to what he said.
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Let's say on the Sermon on the Mount. That's the way many think. Verse 16 and 17 give us an answer.
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Of course, Jesus was a great example. Of course he was the greatest preacher, but he had to die. That's why he came.
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Verse 16, for where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established.
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It's fine if you have a will, but nobody gets any money until there's a death, right? For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive.
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We get that kind of language, don't we? Somebody's got a will. We don't get any of that money in the will until that person dies.
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Very interestingly, that word for a will in the ESV could be translated covenant. It's diatheke in the
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Greek and it can be translated testament, will or covenant. I think the sense here is right, but I think in the background, these
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Jewish people when they hear about a covenant and they hear about death, what do you think they're thinking? I'll tell you what
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I think they're thinking, which comes to their mind right away, which is, it was a, it's a good kind of backdrop. Remember when
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God promised Abram, what did he do? He took the animals and slayed them and put them on the side.
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Half the animals on this side that were cut in half, half on this side. And then he, God went through the middle of those slain animals.
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And what you would typically do back in those days for a covenant is we'd make a promise and we'd say, we're going to, we're going to buy this, this land over here.
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And Anthony and I are going to buy the land. And so we sign everything. And then Anthony and I get some animals and we sacrifice them.
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And we walk through the middle arm and arm. And we say this, if I break my contract or Anthony breaks the contract, what was done to these animals will be done to us.
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This is the promise. This is the contract. There's death in a covenant. And I think that's what he's wanting you to think about.
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He's also got this idea of will. I think both, both are, are, are clear. New covenant is a last will and Testament.
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That's the idea. Jesus had to die. When you hear people say,
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Jesus was just an example. That's all I want him for. Here's, here's my little hint for you. You say to them with a smile, by the way, let's be nice people.
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I have lots of goals in life, but one of my goals in life is to be the nicest person, um, who believes in, uh, all the doctrines of grace.
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I don't want to be winsome. I want them to go. You believe in that? I hardly ever say this, but I guess
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I can since I've been here so long. You're a five point Calvinist. How, how could that be? You're too nice. That's what I want them to think.
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And even if you're a four point Calvinist, you should be nice too. You'd be nicer with that false doctrine that you have.
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That's not true. That's not true. That was my radio voice. I'm sorry. I just think
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Jesus is a good example. My friendly rejoinder back is, how are you doing with that example following?
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Because I don't think you lived the life Jesus did. So you don't need him just as an example. You're going to need him as substitute for when you're not as example, right?
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Oh, he's just a great teacher. Do you do what he says? You obviously don't.
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So you need him as more than a teacher, more than example, even though he's a great teacher and example, you've got to have his death because the wages of sin is what death and God will be just because he is just, we need somebody to pay for our sins.
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And by the way, who can take death and make something good out of it? You have seen your loved ones.
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I've seen my loved ones there in the casket at the mortuary. And you're like, what could come out of this?
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That's good at all. Death is an enemy. Death steals, death robs. Death is not supposed to happen.
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It's an alien. And then all of a sudden the death of death, the one person who shouldn't have died in all the world, we all deserve death, but the one who didn't, he dies and it seems wrong.
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It was wrong, but it was simultaneously planned by the father and the son and the spirit who can take death and make something good out of it.
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The Lord Jesus. And the language here is simple. Once Jesus dies, you get the inheritance.
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Question three, why all this blood? What's going on with all the blood?
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There's something more important than the here and now, and that is the heavenly inheritance. Jesus had to die for us to get that inheritance.
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And now number three, what's going on with all the blood? Verse 18, therefore not even the first covenant.
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Remember he's talking to Jews. So of course he's going to bring up old Testament stuff, old covenant stuff, mosaic covenant was not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood.
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Talk about understatement. For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of the calves and the goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people saying, this is the blood of the covenant that God commanded you.
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And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood, both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. Indeed, under the law, there are a few exceptions here.
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They're almost everything is purified with blood and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.
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No wonder people call Christianity a slaughter house religion. No wonder
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George Bernard Shaw, when he was attacking the Anglican common book of prayer said of that book of prayer, it is saturated with the ancient and to me quite infernal superstition of atonement by blood sacrifice, which
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I believe Christianity must completely get rid of if it is to survive among thoughtful people.
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In other words, if you believe all this blood stuff, you are less than smart, less than a thinker.
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Now I want you to go to Exodus 24 because that's where this is coming from. And I just want you to see a few verses and here's the paradigm.
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You either totally obey God and God will be pleased with you or you need blood. Those are the two options for heaven.
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Perfect obedience, our blood that covers your disobedience. Two options live perfectly.
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Our blood. That's the paradigm. Say, I don't like that paradigm. Well, I'm sorry.
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That's God's paradigm. That came out wrong, didn't it? But that's just the way it is.
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Life's in the blood. Leviticus. Wages of sin is death. If I sin as God defines sin, then
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I've got to die. So either perfectly obey or there's blood. And by the way, there's blood everywhere. As this illustration that God is preparing in the old
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Testament comes to fruition as Jesus fulfills this perfectly.
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I just put yourself here and just listen to this. Exodus 24, verse one.
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Then he said to Moses, come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and the 70 elders of Israel and worship from afar.
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Moses alone shall come near to the Lord, but the other shall not come near and thus the people shall not come up with him.
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God defines worship. God prescribes worship. God regulates worship.
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Three verse three. Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the rules.
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Get ready. And all the people answered with one voice and said, you say it with me. All the words that the
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Lord has spoken, we will do a, that was poor on your part.
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B they all answered simultaneously. Everything that you say, we're obeying.
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Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain.
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What's that? What's that signaling to you already? You either obey or there's blood. The people all say we'll obey.
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And what's Moses go do right away? He knows there's going to have to be blood altar verse five.
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And he sent young men of the people of Israel who offer burnt offerings and sacrifice peace offerings of the oxen to the
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Lord. This is, this is the language of Hebrews nine. And Moses took half the blood and put it in the basins and half the blood he threw against the altar.
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Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said all that the
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Lord has spoken, we will do, and we will be obedient. Can you imagine that it's amazing what
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Moses do? You've got two options. You either obey or there's gotta be blood. And Moses took the blood.
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He threw it on the people and said, behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words, you either obey perfectly, or there's going to be blood and it's going to be your blood.
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I just thought to myself, this is exactly like humanity. We will obey. We can do it.
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Here's how most people think. And probably how I thought before I was saved, I have enough good things done. And then that outweighs my bad things.
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I wonder how that would have worked for David, King David. I'm a man after God's own heart and I've been a good
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King and, and I'm doing the right thing. And, and I've done all these things that are good, but okay.
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Uriah murder, Bathsheba, et cetera. God's requirement is perfection.
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Deuteronomy 27 cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them. And all the people said, amen, everything's set up so that we say we can't do it.
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And we need a savior. We don't want to die. We know the, the calf and the bull and the goats.
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That's just a picture of the ultimate death. We need the Messiah. Isaiah 53 to finally die for us.
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A bloody death. We can't obey, but the
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Lord Jesus in fact did. Galatians quotes, Deuteronomy cursed.
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It is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law and to do them, their requirement and our requirement.
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Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind. We can't do it, but the
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Lord Jesus did. We like Adam have transgressed the covenant. Now let's turn back to Hebrews chapter nine.
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The idea is there's got to be blood for sin because blood is sacrificial and it could be a lamb.
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It could be a goat or it could be the precious blood of Christ like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
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First Peter chapter one verse 19 death was the penalty for breaking the covenant.
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A vicious death, a bloody death. God's not just going to say, let's buy gods be bygones.
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There has to be the shedding of blood. And by the way, if you look at verse 22, let's spin this a positive way, not spin, but just take it from the opposite.
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Without the shedding of blood, there's no forgiveness of sins. Dear Christian, with the shedding of the blood of the
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Lord Jesus, is there forgiveness of sins? Yes, there is. That's good news for Christians.
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You don't know how many times I think, uh, well, people believe Jesus died for unbelievers sins, but they don't believe that he died for believer sins,
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Christian sins. There's been a death and we are purified. No wonder chapter eight says in verse 12,
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I will remember their sins no more. Why? Because you've either got to obey or there's got to be blood.
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And if it's not your blood, you need to sacrifice and goats and bulls and all those things won't work because they just happened all the time.
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All pointed to Jesus, but Jesus dies and God has been satisfied with his justice because you sin, you die.
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Jesus takes your place. He dies instead. I don't want to leave this.
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I want, I want people who come to me and say, pastor, I've really done some awful things. I want to say, you know what?
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Nothing you tell me is going to make me say to you that your sins cannot be forgiven. I have a little assignment.
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Here's my assignment for you. Uh, dear congregation, if you don't think you live up to your name
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Christian, and if you still struggle with sin as a Christian and you're a Christian and you think I I've been a
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Christian for 30 years and I still keep struggling with these sins and, and what's going on. And what about my sanctification?
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Two things I want you to know. One is sanctification is slow. Maybe three things
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I want you to know. Number two, the struggle is good. And number three, I want you to go outside tonight at about nine o 'clock, 10 o 'clock.
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And I want you to look up into the sky. And I want you to think of these words for as high as the heavens are above the earth.
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So great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him. And I want you to look over that way.
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And then I want you to look over that way and I want you to think of these words so far as the East is from the
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West. So far does he remove our transgressions from us as a father shows compassion to his children.
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So the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. He knows our frame.
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He remembers that we are but dust. Now when
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I was going through all kinds of medical things, I thought to myself, I think
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I better be a birdwatcher. And when I see birdwatchers, I always think of Geritol and geriatric things and just old people that are so blind anyway, they need binoculars.
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So they might as well use it for something. And I know what you're saying, physician, heal yourself.
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But the Lord Jesus said, when you're worrying, you should go out and look at the birds. Did he not? And when you're thinking, you know what?
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I wanted to obey the Lord this week and I wanted to honor my parents and I wanted to love my wife like I should.
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And I know I'm a Christian and I've seen fruit of my life and evidence in my life and, and I'm still trusting in Jesus, but I'm weak and I keep stumbling and falling.
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I just want you to go outside and take a look up and think, think, you know what? My view of God and his death, the son's death is too small.
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So refreshing. As I've said over and over and over, dear Christian, your legal standing before God is based on Jesus's death, not your performance.
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And because of that, doesn't that make you want to say, God, thank you. Crown him with many crowns.
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I want to obey. I could take nine 22 and flip it around.
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That is to say with the shedding of blood, there is forgiveness. Because Jesus shed his blood and died
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Christian, you're forgiven. Notice what I'm saying. There are people here that aren't Christians. You're not forgiven and you need to repent.
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So you can be, but for Christians, you're forgiven. It was Rome that said, you know what?
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We keep you on that treadmill. You obey more this week and you can earn God's favor. That's wrong.
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Not even a bad dad would probably do that to a kid. Luke, I'm not going to let you know that I love you and care for you until, well,
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I'll decide our legal standing is based on the death of Christ.
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And if Jesus died for your sins, they're done. No double jeopardy. That doesn't mean we don't want to live a holy life.
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And we're, we're predestined to become conformed to the image of Jesus. Be holy as I am holy.
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That is all true. But your motivation for holiness is their friend's gratitude. It's this death for you.
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We deserve this death. Jesus took this death. And now in light of that, we say rest.
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I have been forgiven. David uses the language.
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In Psalm 51 that we might be familiar with purge me with hyssop.
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That's what Moses used to sprinkle all the people in the book. And I shall be clean. Wash me. And I shall be whiter than snow.
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That good. Spurgeon quote, this solemn truth needs to be well -learned and remembered.
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Nothing can cleanse us, but the blood of Jesus, sacraments, prayers, repentances are all useless as a substitute for faith in God.
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In the blood, there is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins and sinners plunged beneath that flood, lose all their what guilty stains.
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It cleanses Christians to you say, well, I don't feel forgiven.
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I direct you back to the Lord Jesus. This also dear friends should make you say to anyone who says, well, my
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God's a God of love and he just overlooks everything. Well, he was so concerned about sin that he even punished
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Jesus in our place. Question for what is Jesus? Excuse me.
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What is Jesus doing right now? Back to Hebrews chapter nine. What is Jesus doing right now?
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Or maybe I could ask the question, what isn't he doing in light of the Old Testament priests and washings and ceremonies and regulations and and slaying animals over and over and over?
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What is Jesus doing now? Because the whole the whole picture in Hebrews is they were types.
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He's the fulfillment. They did things yearly. He did things once. They offered sacrifices all the time for Jesus.
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It was one and done. What is Jesus doing right now? Well, he's representing us in heaven is the answer, as we'll read the verses.
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Remember, priests do two things, mainly they sacrifice, they intercede. We've talked about the sacrifice.
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And since he has been sacrificed, now he intercedes, verse twenty three. Thus, it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rights.
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That's what we just read in Exodus 24, all the sprinkling, all the blood, all the hyssop. But the heavenly things themselves.
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With better sacrifices than these, for Christ has entered not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself.
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Now, here's the point. There's a lot of talk about what those first two verses could mean and all the details, but I don't want you to lose the main point for those details.
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Here's the main point. He dies. So now what happens now to appear because he's been raised and he's ascended and exalted now to appear in the presence of our of God on our behalf.
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Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly as high priest, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood, not his own.
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Jesus dies. That means he he cleanses us. He he purifies us. And since Jesus's blood was sufficient.
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Heaven's gates are open. And he's there for us and we have free access. Let me say that again, because of the cleansing blood of Jesus, because of of Christ's blood making atonement for our sin.
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Jesus finishes his work and says it is finished. God raises him from the dead. He ascends to heaven.
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He's exalted to the right hand of the father and he makes a way for us as he now is there making intercession on our behalf.
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Now I know what you're thinking. I was thinking the same thing. What it's one thing to say, verse 23, things are purified on earth.
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Seems like he's trying to talk a little bit about things in heaven have to be purified. See that in the end of verse 23, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
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Um, when I study the baptism for the dead passage in first Corinthians chapter 15,
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I think there are 42 views, by the way, that makes a compelling sermon, 42 views of what baptism for the dead is.
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There's probably more now. I think my view, the right view makes 43. Don't ever trust me if I say, well, you know,
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Calvin and Luther and Zwingli and Knox and, and, uh, William Ames and all these people, they had these views, but I have my new novel view.
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That's when you go, uh, sorry, Mike, get back on the bike. There's about nine views here.
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What do you mean heaven kind of has to be purified? Is it, is it just kind of language because we're seeing this earthly heavenly cleanse cleanse?
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Is it somehow that, you know, heaven is Satan's realm, you know, with it and he's the, he's the, the ruler of the age.
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There's all kinds of ways to think about this and you can study those on your own. But what
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I don't want you to do is miss the end of verse 24, that God is appearing. Uh, the son is appearing before the presence of the father on our behalf.
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We have free access, free approach before his face in his presence, and we don't have to think to ourselves, we're unclean because we've got, you know,
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Moses didn't sprinkle enough blood on me. And so I can't make it in the blood of Jesus. Yes, I trust in it, but I don't really trust enough in it.
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No, it's Jesus's life that purifies his death. It cleanses and we have access to God.
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It's probably the best way to think of it. So you don't get bogged down in every little detail. If you don't have
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Jesus's blood, you don't have an open heaven. If you don't have Jesus's sacrifice, you don't have a way to stand before God in his presence.
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But when you do have his blood, you sing with revelation five with your blood, you purchase men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
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All the Old Testament purification rituals, one writer said, are fulfilled in Christ so that now in our great high priest, we have free and open access to the court of heaven.
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And quote, sin has been dealt with forever.
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That means, Christian, your past sin, your present sin, and even your future sin.
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Number five, question five, did Jesus need to die more than once? Did Jesus need to die more than once, verse 26, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world.
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But as it is, he has appeared once for all, you see that refrain in Hebrews, and if you have dear friends and loved ones who are caught in the system where they have a mass every
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Sunday and Saturday and every other day, here's a good way to talk to them and love them and dialogue with them.
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He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do what to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
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Day of atonement, annual sacrifices, regular once, though, for Jesus, once and done.
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By the way, do you notice there it says to put away sin? I think I've said it before, but remember when
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David was approached by Nathan and Nathan finally, as a prophet says, you are the man. And Nathan said this to David as he confronts him.
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David admitted that he sinned, and Nathan said to David, the Lord has also put away your sin, you shall not die.
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And I remember hearing one man say, I wonder if David ever thought I wonder where the Lord put my sin.
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Well, he put his sin, David's sin on the Lord Jesus, and he put it away by the sacrifice of himself.
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His death was conclusive, his death was exhaustive, his death was perfect. Number six, what do we need to do to appear before God?
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If you're a Christian. Maybe you even sinned this morning. Can I appear before God?
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Do I need to do something? Before I read the verses, I want you to think very clearly about this, dear congregation, even this week, an associate pastor of harvest in Riverside, an associate pastor killed in self suicide.
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And I see people online running their mouths about it. And I just think, A, it's inappropriate.
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And B, they're starting to say things like, you know what? He wasn't he couldn't repent of that sin, he wasn't alive long enough after he killed himself, obviously, to deal with those sins.
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And so we know he's not in heaven. And I thought, A, you're cruel,
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B, you're a fool and C, you've got awful theology. Obviously, suicide is sin.
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Obviously, it's selfish. Obviously, it's awful. And I don't know if that man was a
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Christian or not. But I know if you're justified by the blood of Jesus, every sin, including the future sins that you'll commit, like how about worrying on your deathbed?
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What if you die while you're worrying on your deathbed? Is Jesus enough for you? What if you get to your deathbed and you go, you know,
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I always thought I'd be a martyr when I was younger, I think, you know what? If I ever had to die for Jesus, I would. You know what? I'm not sure
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I would. I don't want to presume on the grace of God to let me stand there.
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I mean, I want to. But the
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Lord Jesus, he knows how to deal with bruised reeds and your theology of suicide, while it's awful and wrong and sometimes people kill themselves, they say they're
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Christians or not. But if you're a Christian, you have been justified by the work of another and you get Christ's perfect righteousness.
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Jesus didn't commit any sins on his deathbed. And that person gets credit for that. And even the death of murder is forgiven.
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You've got to think clearly. You've got to think rationally. You can't think like the person that says, if I don't confess my sin,
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God's not going to forgive me. Does that sound familiar to you? Anybody in the background that I, that you experienced in Roman Catholicism, for me and Lutheranism, and you've got to confess all those sins.
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That's why dear friends, Luther was a.
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Pain. To his leaders. Because he just kept thinking about all his sins.
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He just kept thinking, you know what? Since Jesus's death wasn't enough, it wasn't once and done.
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It wasn't offered once to bear the sins of many. Verse 28. It's not enough. I've got to confess all those sins.
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And if I confess them, then they're all forgiven. And so how long do you go on? That's why
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Luther was told eventually, you know what? Why don't you just go out and commit some big sins so we can deal with those?
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Because you're just going on and on and on now about all these little sins and all these things. And I just, you know, would you just please stop this?
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This is insane. I remember at nighttime trying to confess all my sins.
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So if I died in the night, I'd go to heaven. Maybe you've done that problem is there's a lot more that I don't even know about.
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Because I'm just thinking things I did do or didn't do versus have I loved God with all my heart and soul and mind and strength.
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I just want you to know that there's no sin that anybody could ever commit as a
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Christian. Obviously, it will grieve God, but it doesn't unsave you. And when you look at this language, you just think done, finished, accomplished.
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Now, I wanted to say more, but maybe I'll end this way. Thomas Bilney of Cambridge, hundreds of years ago in the
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English Reformation, 1500s, got saved. God opened his eyes. He saw his sin.
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He repented, trusted in the risen Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, as his substitute. He wanted to go evangelize.
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So where's he going to go? I'll go to my confessional booth and evangelize the priest.
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True. And that priest's name was Hugh Latimer.
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Hugh was happy because he knew Bilney was playing around with the
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Protestant Reformation, and so he's coming in to recant all his trusting in Luther and his doctrines of sola fide.
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And here's how the account goes. When Bilney came to confess,
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Latimer thought his preaching against Reformation heresy had converted Bilney back to Roman Catholicism.
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Latimer was eager to hear Bilney's confession. Kneeling before Latimer, Bilney, quote, related to him with touching simplicity, the anguish he had once felt in his soul, the efforts he had made to remove it, their unprofitableness so long as he determined to follow the precepts of the church.
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And lastly, the peace that he had felt when he believed that Jesus Christ is the
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Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. And the account says upon hearing
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Bilney's confession, Hugh Latimer, the arch enemy of the gospel, was himself converted.
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His heart cleansed through Jesus' blood, and he became a preacher of the very gospel he once despised.
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Is that not great news? Tormented consciences not resting, working, working, working.
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How much have we done? How can we please God as unbelievers or as believers? I want you, dear Christian, to realize the death of Jesus was sufficient.
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And why don't you just exhale and rest? It's just good to rest. It's been done. Jesus paid it all, all to him
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I owe, because that kind of death for you, that kind of love for you makes you want to say, I've got to respond.
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And I don't have to respond perfectly, but I just want to respond every day for every year. For lots of years,
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I would rub the children's stomachs or backs when they're in their little crib. And I would sing,
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Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. Sin has left a crimson stain.
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He washed it white as snow. Jesus died for Christian sins too.
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Let's pray. Lord in heaven, you are holy.
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As our savior taught us, we're to pray that you're hallowed. Your name is hallowed.
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Everything about you is holy. So how could we stand before your face? Because there's one standing before your face now, and he's clean and he's pure and he's paid for our sins.
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I do pray. I pray for Harvest Riverside that you would grant that church, the wife and children, some rest and some comfort and some solace.