Christology 101 - [Hebrews 8:1-6]

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Well, I moved here in 1997, and the church was named Bethlehem Baptist Church, part of the
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Baptist General Conference, and that conference did some strange things, some liberal things, and so we left, and we thought, well, we should probably just change the name of the church, and so we changed it to Bethlehem Bible Church, still with BBC for a short little acronym.
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Years ago, when we bought the land in Sewell, I thought, if we ever move there, maybe we should change the name, because I'm really not the most excited about Bethlehem, although it means house of bread, and that means you get bread here, the word, sustenance, okay,
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I can make it work. But the problem if you change the name is twofold. Number one, people would get upset, and number two, what would we change the name to?
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Well, there was an article in the Federalist written by Shane Morris with new church names that are catching on, trendy names, and he had them under different categories.
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He said some churches are just random words, the orchard, the harbor, the painted door, journey, the river.
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I don't think those would work. He said there's another category, grocery store romance novel.
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These are all real church names, door of hope, liberating spirit, burning hearts, passion.
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My all -time worst, the nest of love, I would have to quit.
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Some are called gated after gated communities, crossing, bridge point, bayside, center point.
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He said some churches name their churches seemingly after nightclubs, dwell, elevate, epic, ignite, oasis, verge.
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Some name themselves after gyms, it seems, the foundry, empowerment center, church on the move, champion life.
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Some name their churches after internet startups, it would seem, gateway, Genesis, legacy, netcast.
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Some name their church names after spas, radiate, renovate, wellspring, healing place, sandals.
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This is in the Federalist magazine. He has one category, H -U -H, huh?
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Cowboy church, Caleb's foot, scum of the earth, and the list goes on.
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If we ever were going to change our church name, what would we change our church name to? What would we name our church?
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Maybe the most theologically precise would be Christ's Church, since that is what we are. But if the author of Hebrews could pick a name for our church, and I'm not suggesting we change the name, but if he could pick a church name, what would he pick the church to be named?
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I think he would name our church Christ Our Great High Priest Church.
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Don't you think? Let's turn our Bibles to Hebrews chapter 8, because that, for this writer, is the central theme of life.
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Jesus, the Lamb who was slain, and he is not just a prophet, although he's the prophet of prophets, and he's not just a king, although he's the king of kings.
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He is the great high priest. Everyone needs a high priest. Everybody has to stand before God with some kind of mediator, and that mediator can't be of any kind.
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He has to be perfectly human, and he has to be perfectly divine. Perfectly human to represent us, and perfectly divine, so he can give us as much righteousness as we need, and that happens to be perfect righteousness.
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No one can approach God without a mediator, and the mediator, the book of Hebrews, has been granted to you,
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Christian, freely, at great cost to the father as he had to send the son, and great cost to the son as he had to die.
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But freely, you get this high priest, a high priest that's been chosen for you perfectly, based on the
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Old Testament. And what I'd like to do this morning is I'd like to read Hebrews chapter 8, all of it, so you can see the theme, and then we'll probably work through verses 1 through 6 this morning.
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Jesus, the great high priest, and he's such a great high priest, the covenant that he oversees must also be great.
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So the first seven chapters are essentially Jesus, his person of being a high priest is great.
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And now, since he's so great, then the covenant which he oversees must also be great.
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Hebrews chapter 8. Now, the point in what we are saying is this. We have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the
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Lord set up, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices.
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Thus, it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. Now, if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law.
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They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God saying, see that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.
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But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old, as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.
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For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. For he finds fault with them when he says, behold, the days are coming, declares the
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Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers.
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On the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant.
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And so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the
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Lord. I will put my laws into their minds and write them on their hearts.
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I will be their God and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, know the
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Lord, for they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities and I will remember their sins no more.
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And speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish.
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Hebrews chapter 8, the great high priest. Now, some of you might be thinking,
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I understand that everything in the Bible is relevant because it's God's Word and it changes.
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And sometimes that relevancy shows up in actions that I must take. And sometimes it shows up in attitudes and thoughts about God that I must have.
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But just really, how relevant is all this high priest stuff? I mean, over and over and over, Mike, you've been hammering through the book of Hebrews.
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Jesus is a great high priest. How relevant is it? Let me just stop and remind you before we dissect this passage, that this book gives you the motivation to obey
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God. Deep down, this is the motivation for you to endure. I could ask it this way.
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What motivates you to love God? What motivates you to be kind to your neighbor? What motivates you to honor
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God? What motivates you to be sexually pure? What motivates you to be a good dad? What motivates you to be a good student?
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A good mom? A good wife? A good husband? A good Christian? Obedience is important.
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But why should you obey? And if I just told you every week, obey, obey, obey, you probably should be thinking, what's the motivation for my obedience?
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Of course, it's not to secure your legal standing because the Lord did that. Of course, it's to show fruit.
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But if you only hear from me, obey, obey, obey, obey, that will drive you to two things if we don't think about our high priest.
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It will drive you to despair because deep down you'll realize, I can't do what
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God commands. And therefore, I just can never measure up. And so, obedience preaching without the high priest in mind drives you to A, despair, or B, what's the other option?
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Pride. Pride. Because then in your mind, you think you can actually do it. You just superficially look at your life and say, you know what?
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I can perform well on the outside. Preaching obedience is fine as long as you do it in light of who
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Jesus is. The ultimate hope of Jesus, the great high priest, who perfectly lives the life that you needed to live, and you can be seen in his perfect obedience.
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His perfect obedience to the law. Jerry Bridges writes it this way, just as we look by faith to Christ for our righteous standing before God, listen, so by faith we are to look to him for the enabling power to live the
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Christian life. This power comes to us as a result of our vital and living union with him.
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What makes you want to obey? Me just saying obey and buckle up are who this
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Jesus is and how he gives you the power to obey and how he indeed died on the cross and you have no penalty to pay for your sins anymore.
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The power of sins because of Jesus has been broken in your life and ultimately in heaven the presence will be gone.
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Now if anybody ever writes to you a little booklet and says, here's the secret for Christian life, beware.
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Except this particular case. Horatious Bonar wrote this, the secret of a believer's holy walk is,
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I like to be holy, right? God is holy, we're to be holy. What's the secret for holy living? It's his continual recurrence to the blood of the surety and his daily communion with a crucified and risen
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Lord. That's the secret. That's the book of Hebrews. That's why forever and always he is not going to just say, obey, obey, obey, obey and here's the list, but listen, here's who this
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Jesus is. He created the world. He created you. He's purged your sins. He's a high priest.
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He lives to make intercession for you. He understands what it's like to be tempted and never sin. He's your advocate.
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Horatious writes, all fancied sanctification which does not arise holy, W -H, from the blood of the cross is nothing better than Phariseeism.
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If we would be holy we must get to the cross and dwell there. Free and warm reception into the divine favor is the strongest of all motives in leading a man to seek conformity to Him who has thus freely forgiven him all his trespasses.
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You want to be motivated to obey? You've been forgiven. All those sins that you've ever committed and all those sins that you will and mine included, forgiven freely, purged based on the work of another.
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The book of Hebrews is essentially guilt. We're guilty in Adam and then our own sins. The grace of our
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Savior, and how do you respond knowing that you are guilty and now given grace? What's the response?
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Gratitude. That's the motivation for the Christian, gratitude. So let's take a look at Hebrews chapter 8 verses 1 to 6 today, learning about Jesus the high priest.
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But as your motivation, as your affection is turned toward Him so you have a reason to obey, simply to obey, you'll never endure.
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These people needed to have hope because their property was being stolen. They were getting persecuted.
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They weren't getting killed yet, but I'm sure that was around the corner. How do we keep going day after day after day?
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I can just hear my father say, my father had all kinds of slogans and one was, he's a real piece of work.
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But a different one, that one wasn't in my notes. He'd say regularly, another day, another dollar.
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I have to wake up again today and love my spouse and love my neighbor and read my
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Bible and go to work tomorrow for that boss that I have and all these things. How can I keep going?
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And if the answer is just you just better keep going, it's not going to work. You're going to be driven to despair or pride, one of the two.
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So I love the book of Hebrews because he will just not let you forget about who the
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Savior is. You can hear Paul kind of off in the corner. Him we proclaim.
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You can hear Paul. I've determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. The motivation isn't five steps for better living.
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It's don't forget about your Savior. Don't forget about the one who died for you. Don't forget about the one who demonstrates his own love towards you that while you were yet sinners,
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Christ died for you. Now this whole section is pretty much about the covenant, the better covenant.
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And if you look at 722, Hebrews 722, all of chapter eight is probably a fleshing out of this concept in 722.
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Some say all of chapter eight is a commentary on this verse. This makes Jesus, Hebrews 722, the guarantor of a better covenant.
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Everything with Israel was passing away. Everything with Israel was temporary. They broke the covenant.
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There's going to have to be a better covenant. And so this morning, let me give you an outline.
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Three declarations or challenges for you to rest in the finished work of Jesus.
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I could put it this way. Let me change it up. Three motivations to obey the Lord Jesus because of what he's done for you.
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How do I get motivated to go to work again tomorrow? Three motivations to obey the
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Lord Jesus. And it's almost kind of a review of what we've seen in other parts of the scripture, but that's okay.
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It's a needed review. We Christians, we forget what we ought to remember and we remember what, what we ought to forget.
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What a great section on the Lord Jesus Christ. First motivation.
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Jesus is better. Jesus is excellent. Jesus is superior because he is seated.
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So we're going to be 10. We're Baptist back to the 1997 Bethlehem Baptist church seated, sacrifice and substance.
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Those are our three words for our outline today. But the first one is he is seated. Who is this
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Jesus that should motivate you? What is he done versus one and two.
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Jesus is better and should motivate you because he is seated. Verse one.
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Now the point in what we are seeing is this. Don't you love that? Here's the point. We have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places in the true 10 that the
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Lord set up, not man. This reminds me of another section of scripture.
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Do you know where this is found? But emptied himself by taking the form of a servant being born in the likeness of men and being found in human form.
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He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, and this is the language of Hebrews, the concept of Hebrews.
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Therefore, God has highly what exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.
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Sort of the name of Jesus. Every need should bow in heaven on earth and under earth. And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is
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Lord to the glory of God, the eternal son born of a virgin, born of a woman born under law and all of humanity and all the suffering and all the condescension that people would give him.
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He fully suffers, including the wrath of God. And therefore God exalts him.
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He, he makes him highly exalted. And that, that exact exaltation starts off with his resurrection.
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It goes to his ascension and here he's seated. It ends up with the exaltation. Now people say, you know,
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I maybe play around with other religions a little bit. Find me another high priest who does this.
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That's the book of Hebrews. Well, yeah, but I really liked that old Testament priest, that Levitical priest, that ironic priest.
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And he's a pretty good guy and he does this and he knows my name. He pats my children on the forehead. He seems to know a lot.
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He's been around the block. A lot of other people follow him. The list goes on and on. Okay, compare whoever your priest is, whoever your religious leader is to this priest.
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There's no comparison. The lady I met Kim through was a lady named
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Sharon, but her false teacher gave her the name Aria. And I said to Aria one day, who gave you your name?
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And she said, Jesus did. I said, and I wasn't even a believer at the time, but I knew
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Jesus didn't give her that name. And she said, I have a picture of Jesus. Do you want me to see me in Jesus?
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Sure. There's a picture of Aria next to Jesus.
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And he's like some bald 60 -year -old guy with glasses. Pretty much looks like me.
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I thought, that's not Jesus. I know well enough that's not Jesus. He's just some guy trying to control you, give you a new name.
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He was part of a cult is what he was, John Rogers. Whatever your background is, you go, my background is sacramentalism.
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My background is Rome. My background is education. My background is, this is the kind of religion, my own religion.
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My name's Sheila, so I have Sheilaism. That's what I do. Okay, take all your isms, put them over here, show me somebody that lived perfectly, that has been raised from the dead, who ascended into heaven in glory, and sits at the right hand of the
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Father, and then I might listen to you. The writer's saying, you know what?
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I dare you to find somebody who's greater than Jesus. And by the way, this is the chief point of the passage.
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See it back in the text? Now the point of what we're seeing is this. It's not necessarily a summary, although it is a summary.
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In the original language, it's more of like the chief point, the apex, the most important point.
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This is the high water mark. Everything is important so far, but this is where the water rises up the highest.
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Coverdale translated the Bible, and this is what he called this little saying. He called it, it's kind of cool, he called it the pith.
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I did not say the sith. Okay, for you young people. The pith. Just trying to keep you awake.
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The pith. What we would say pithy, right? But this is the pith. This is the substance. This is the heart.
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This is the kernel. This is the nub. This is the nucleus. This is the crown of the argument.
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Jesus is such a high priest. This is the God that rescued you from your sins. This is the God that had the wrath of God hell condensed to three hours and poured out that you deserve that He took for you.
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He intercepted the wrath of God for you. I put myself with you when I say this, but I'll say it to you.
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Your sins are so treasonous you deserve to be crucified naked forever.
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But the Lord saved us. This is the most significant thing. And He stands to mediate for you.
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He stands between you and the Father. That's the chief point. This is the capital. This is the motivations.
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Old Testament Levitical priests, they're dead. And you could not say what He says here about those.
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We have such a great high priest. You could say we had high priests like that in our mind.
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We used to have a high priest. We wish we had a high priest, but they're all dead or they will be. This one has conquered death.
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The one that has loved you is almighty in power. The one who loved you is tender and sympathetic and compassionate.
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It doesn't take long for me to forget how great this God is where He says in chapter 4, verse 15,
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He's able to sympathize with our weaknesses who has in every respect been tempted as we are yet without sin.
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And so, Christian, you have a hard week. You have a hard month. You have a hard life. And you're like, it was easier when
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I wasn't a Christian to go back to atheism and paganism and hedonism and everything else. But friend, don't go back.
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There's no greater person than this one who's loved you. I love
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Zechariah chapter 6. It talks about a priest on a throne. Here is the man whose name is
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The Branch, capital B, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. It is he who will build the temple of the
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Lord and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne and he will be a priest on his throne.
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Friends, when you sin, I have good news for you. You have no more atonement to do. No more crawling up knees on the
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Scala Sancta in Rome to have your sins atoned for. No more killing of animals. No more threat,
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Christian, of eternal damnation. When you sin, if you're motivated not to sin as a
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Christian because you're afraid of the wrath of God, you forgot about the high priest. Don't let anybody motivate you,
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Christian. If you're not a Christian, this should motivate you. But if you're a Christian, there is no motivation for you to not sin because you're afraid of the wrath of God.
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Because you have a high priest and that high priest has absorbed the wrath of God in your place. And you're like, anybody that would do that for me,
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I will bow and I will say, worthy is the Lamb that was slain. Jesus did the work.
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There's no more work for you to do. That's why this whole thing, and this is in my notes and that's why
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I should probably be careful, but this whole thing about Lent ignores the high priest.
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There's no more suffering to be done. It's been done. There's no more abstaining from things to be done.
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Jesus paid it all. This Jesus, look at the text,
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He's taken His seat. Finished work. Done.
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But does He just do nothing now? What does He do? Verse 2, a minister in the holy places. While Jesus did the work of atonement,
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He still ministers. He still prays. He still intercedes. He finished the work that His Father gave
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Him to do, John 17, of dying for sins, but He still lives to make intercession.
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While He said, it is finished and bowed at His head when it comes to substitution and atonement, He still ministers in the holy places, in the true tent, as mediator, as intercessor.
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Remember 725? He always lives to make intercession for them.
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And when He's seated, that has been taught to us throughout this session, this section of scripture, but to be reminded, priests never sat down because there was always more sin, so always more animals to kill.
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But I know if they did ever sit, they would not sit where this king, this priest, this king priest sits, and it's on a throne.
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Christian, you are so blessed. I can hear John, can't you? Echoing this truth, my little children,
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I'm writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have, present tense, an advocate with the
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Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. That's the motivation to obey.
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I don't want you to sin, but if you do, the eternal
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Son of God loved you and became man to save you, and now reigns with splendor and power and glory.
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Unbroken fellowship with the Father. Immediate fellowship with the Father. Superior, great, and don't you love what
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He's called there? At the throne of the Majesty, capital M. Oh, the
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Father so great, so preeminent. Who could sit next to Him? This is Hebrews 1 .3
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language. He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Nobody in the Bible is called
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Majesty except this one. When you hear the word pontifix, you know what pontifix means?
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It comes from pont, bridge, like Florence, Italy, pontificio, pont, bridge, and fesari, to make, to make a bridge.
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And when you hear pontifus maximus, that means the greatest bridge builder. That actually means the high priest.
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You have a high priest. You don't need another priest. Jesus did not have to offer any animal for His sins.
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He is the unblemished Lamb. Can't you just hear John the Baptist? He sees
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Jesus and what does He say? Behold the
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Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Now just a few comments about verse 2, a minister in the holy place, in the true tent that the
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Lord set up, not man. This is language of servant. This is language of ministry in a holy place, in a tabernacle.
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And when you hear the word tabernacle, one of the first things you should be thinking of, a tabernacle in the wilderness was a place where holy
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God could meet with sinful mankind. That was the tabernacle.
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But it had to be based on blood and death. Spurgeon said the sanctuary was a place in which only one person ever dwelt, and that was
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God Himself. The mysterious light that they called the Shekinah shone from between the wings of the cherubim.
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They were the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. It was God's house. No man lived with Him.
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No man could. A high priest went in but once a year. And out he went again to the solemn assembly.
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But now in Christ Jesus, in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, we find a sanctuary to reside in.
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We dwell in Him. We are one with Him. The union of Christ and His people.
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Jesus ministering in the true tabernacle. Look at chapter 9 verse 11.
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You see the same kind of language. But when Christ appeared as high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent, not made with hands, that is not of this creation.
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You kind of see this in chapter 9 verse 24, do you not? For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.
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Jesus' subsequent death accomplished. He said it is finished. The Father raised
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Him from the dead. And now He goes into the sanctuary and He ministers. And He represents your interest before the
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Father as a mediator. Nothing can unseat
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Jesus. Nothing can say in the world, including your sin, Christian, it is not finished.
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Secondly, the second motivation, Jesus is better because He is seated, but He is also better because He has sacrificed.
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Verse 3, He has sacrificed. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts, present tense, over and over and over, right?
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People keep sinning, sinning, sinning. Thus it is necessary for this priest, it doesn't say
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Jesus, but it's referring to Jesus, also to have something to singular, not present tense, once and for all, something to offer.
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We know Jesus offered Himself. It doesn't explicitly say that there, but that's what He offered Himself. Because does not 27th verse of chapter 7 say that?
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Since He did this once for all when He offered up what? Himself. The sacrifice of sacrifices.
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You say, well, you know what? I've got some bad circumstances going on in my life. Can you tell me something more practical, please?
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The entire stress of the author is to these Christians who are going through these difficult times and He wants to remind them who they are in Christ Jesus.
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Not one circumstance that you're going through now or will you ever go through, including death, can change this reality of Jesus dying on the cross for you and making intercession for you.
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It can't be changed. I'm encouraged by that. Will I make it to the end?
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Will I be faithful to the end? Will I be worried on my deathbed? Will I do this, that or the other on my deathbed? He's faithful to the end.
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Listen to Paul in Ephesians 5. Walk in love just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us in offering and sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
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Christian, you can't even take away this great death if God has applied it to you and every
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Christian He has applied it to you. I was studying this week what people would do to try to get rid of their sins.
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What if you didn't have Jesus to die for your sins and you knew guilt deep down, conscience getting you and you're like,
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I just have to kind of like get rid of the sins or get rid of the guilt. I don't like this guilty feeling. And so maybe it's alcohol, maybe it's this, that or the other.
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Some of my studies showed from the Bible, Pilate trying to wash his hands in that basin,
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I've got to get the sin off of me. I know this is wrong. Lady Macbeth, she said, here's the smell of the blood still.
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All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this land. Oh, oh, oh.
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There's nothing I can do. No water, no blood, no perfumes. I can get rid of this sin.
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But Jesus offers himself once and for all as a sin bearer.
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And as he's in heaven, he's not idle, he's praying. Jesus, the great sacrifice, unrepeatable, definite, complete.
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You know, the great man Anselm, he met a man who was dying. And here's what
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Anselm said, a bold pastor who loved this man.
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Do you confess that your life has been so evil that you deserve eternal punishment?
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The man said, I confess it. Do you repent of this? I repent.
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Do you believe that the Lord Jesus died for you, made a sacrifice for you? I believe it.
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Are you thankful to him? I am. Do you believe that you cannot be saved except through his death?
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I do believe it. Then do this while the soul remains in you.
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Place your whole trust in his death alone. Have no trust in any other thing. Commit yourself wholly to this death.
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Cover yourself wholly with it alone. Wrap yourself wholly in this death.
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And if the Lord God should wish to judge you, say this, I interpose the death of our
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Lord Jesus Christ between me and your judgment. In no other way do
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I argue with you. And if you say to me, it is because you're a sinner.
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Anselm said to the dying man, say this, Lord, I plead the death of the Lord Jesus Christ between you and my sins.
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If God should say to you, it's because you deserve condemnation. Say, dying man, Lord, I place the death of our
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Lord Jesus Christ between you and my demerits. And I offer his merit in the place of the merit of which
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I owe and do not have. If God should say to you that he's angry with you, say,
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Lord, I place the death of our Lord Jesus Christ between me and your anger. That's the high priest.
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The lamb is my only ground to stand before you. Both his obedience and his death, his resurrection, his ascent and his exaltation.
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This is why we have to proclaim substitutionary atonement. This is why the therapeutic model in evangelicalism is horrible and awful.
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This is why seeing Christ as some kind of nurturer or mother figure rather than a bloody sacrifice is not enough.
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On your deathbed, what you need is to be reminded of what you've known your entire life, that you have a high priest who offered himself for you.
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If the world calls this substitutionary atonement, this death, execution, capital punishment, wrong, they call it boorish and unrefined, it's not going to help your self -esteem.
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Then I still have to go back to what does the Scripture say? 1 Peter 3, for Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.
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Sin is so bad that curse, punishment, blood and death need to happen.
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But we're thankful someone paid that for us. That motivates me.
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And thirdly and finally, he's not just seated, he's not just sacrificed, but he fulfills all shadows.
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He's the substance, verses 4 through 6. You're going to see words in this section like copy, shadow, pattern.
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What would Jesus do if he was on earth? This text is going to tell us he couldn't even do Levitical things because he's from Judah.
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Let me read verses 4 through 6. Now, if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law,
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Levitical law with Levitical priests. They serve a copy and shadow of heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God saying, since you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain, boy, that must have been amazing.
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But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is much more excellent than the old, as the covenant he mediates is better since it is enacted on better promises.
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So if you just take a look at verse 4, Jesus, if he was on earth, couldn't be a priest because he's not a
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Levitical priest. He is from Judah. But Jesus is a priest, so he must be ministering someplace, and so therefore the writer is saying he ministers in heaven.
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Some of these Jewish recipients of this letter must have been thinking, well, if he's such a high priest, where does he do the priesting?
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Well, it's in heaven. He can't be on earth to do it. He has to be in heaven where that sanctuary is. He comes from the tribe of Judah, and the only way you can be a priest if you're not from the tribe of Judah is to be a
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Melchizedekian priest that David talked about, which we looked at earlier in chapter 7. Now let's take a look at this section here.
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Moses was going to erect the tabernacle out in the wilderness, and God said, see that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.
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What does that verse mean? Well, it means that God showed Moses everything that he was supposed to make according to the pattern.
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I've just repeated the verse. Let's close in prayer. That was easy. It's interesting,
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Acts 7, Stephen said, our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it according to the pattern that he had seen.
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So Moses sees the tabernacle. God shows him the tabernacle, and now
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Moses knows how to build it. Exodus 25, 40, and see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being shown you,
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Moses, on the mountain. Moses, here's how
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I want you to build it, but think copy, think type, think shadows, think ultimate fulfillment in heaven.
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You say, well, I have this kind of speculation about heavenly sanctuaries and what was seen there and what was made there, and what's it look like?
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There's all kinds of interesting backgrounds on this. Some rabbis said that Gabriel showed up, that Archangel Gabriel showed up in a workman's apron.
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I don't know what that looks like, but a workman's apron, showing Moses how to reproduce everything in the tabernacle.
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Other Jewish lore says an ark of fire and a table of fire and a candlestick of fire came down from heaven.
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Moses looked at them, then built these things in the temple, a tabernacle rather, and then those things went back up to heaven.
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I think we should be careful not to go too far to try to figure out anything except what has been told us in Scripture.
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And what's told us in Scripture is Moses saw something that God showed him to make, and Moses did it.
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Exodus 26 says, set up the tabernacle according to the plan shown you on the mountain. So Moses goes up into God's presence, he sees what he sees, and he makes it.
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That's not that big of a miracle in terms of what God can do, so it shouldn't surprise us that that happens. But that's not the ultimate tabernacle.
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That's not the ultimate place where God and man dwell. Because there's something better, a better covenant, a better mediator, better promises, better than any high priest, better than any
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Levitical priest. What does the text say? Verse 6, it says, of the covenant that he mediates is better.
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He's the one that's better. He's mediating, he's the arbiter, he's the umpire, he's the mediator between God and man, the man
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Christ Jesus. It's like the shadow is on earth and the fulfillment is found in heaven.
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And verse 6, gets your mind off of any kind of what did Moses exactly see back to the person and work of Jesus Christ.
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But as it is, let me redirect your mind, Christ obtained a ministry that is much better.
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So I have a question this morning. What motivates you to obey? Jesus is a high priest.
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Can't be a priest on earth, so he has to be a priest in heaven. That's our passage. Luther had a little small catechism, and here was the question.
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How does this work of redemption benefit you? Answer, this is what you're supposed to teach your children.
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Christ was my substitute. He took my place under God's judgment against my sin.
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By paying the penalty of my guilt, Christ atoned or made satisfaction for my sins.
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I don't know how much more practical doctrine could be than that. I'm thinking about Revelation chapter 5 that we sang about and heard read.
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Amazing to think about. So I end where I started.
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What do you do when it comes to motivation for the Christian life? How are you motivated day in and day out?
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Horatius Bonar said, False ideas of holiness are common, not only among those who profess false religions, but also those who profess the true.
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The love of God to us and our love to him work together for producing holiness.
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Terror accomplishes no real obedience. Suspense brings forth no fruit unto holiness.
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No gloomy uncertainty as to God's favor can subdue one lust or correct our crookedness of will.
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But the free pardon of the cross uproots sins, withers all its branches.
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Only certainty of love, forgiving love can do this. Christian, it is certain that you're forgiven.
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Christian, God loves you. I asked the other day to someone, True or false?
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God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Now, Bill Bright came up with that. And he dumbed down sin a little bit.
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Even his daughter didn't like it. But he said, Go to unbelievers and say, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Would you say that to an unbeliever?
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Well, I don't think that's the best thing to say to an unbeliever. Because if they don't repent, God has a horrible plan for their life.
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Eternal wretchedness plan for their life. But I don't want to lose that phrase.
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Could you say that to a Christian? Christian, based on the work of Christ Jesus, your high priest, even though I know this week hasn't been perfect, even though I know last month hasn't been perfect,
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God knows it better than I do, better than you do. How about this? Christian, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.
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Does that seem odd? That seems kind of strange. You're like, well, yeah, but what about suffering and martyrdom and all that stuff?
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All right, let's tweak it just a little bit. God, because of the Son, loves you.
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And your ultimate life will be wonderful. How are we going to do that? Your best life now? Remember, if your best life is now, that means you're going to hell.
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But your best life isn't now. The plan is He's conforming you to the image of Christ. The great high priest, the motivation for the
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Christian life has to be not just obey. It has to be
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God loves you. God has done this for you. Horatius Bonar is right.
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The certainty of love, that is why the Protestants came along in the Reformation and said a
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Jesus who is a high priest that can make you lose your salvation and have no assurance is not the
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Jesus of the Bible. It's the Jesus of the papists. But the Jesus who is the high priest,
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He's a king and He's a prophet and nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
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Trusting Christian, believing Christian, God's good with you.
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You stand before Him based on the merits of another. You say, well, that's going to make me just fly off that deep end and I'm going to just go wild.
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No, you won't because it's the love of Christ that constrains people. Now, if we were going to vote for a new church name,
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I don't know what we would vote for. I would vote veto Caleb's foot and I would fire the person that came up with Nest of Love.
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Hi, my name is Mike Abendroth. Where are you pastoring? Nestoflove .com But I just might vote for Christ, our great high priest church.
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Let's pray. Thank you, Father, for this time. You have exalted the
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Son and you have applauded Him and celebrated Him and received Him into your presence because He accomplished the work you gave
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Him to do. And we stand in Christ's stead, united with Him, not because of anything in us, in spite of us, but we stand because we have a great high priest.
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Thank you for that. We're thankful that the work of Jesus isn't finished when it comes to His praying and interceding and being our advocate.
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We're thankful that it is finished when it comes to our sin. And Father, I pray for these dear
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Christian people. Would you help them to be motivated, not because they're afraid of you, but because you love them.