Hebrews 8 :Obsolete // INTRO I want to begin this morning by reading a short list of items, and then you can attempt to tell me what they all have in common It’ll be fun! Here’s the list: Shopping malls, cash, pay phones, paper maps, print catalogs, parking meters, house keys (stop and ask the audience if they can guess what the common factor is) These are all things that are now either obsolete or nearly obsolete And the actual list is a good deal longer than what i just read to you So the word of the day is OBSOLETE It means, “no longer in use or no longer useful; no longer the style; old fashioned” And we’ve all experienced this to some degree over the course of our lives, though sometimes things that were in that category come can back to the culture again It's ironic, really So many people today look at our short list, and add Jesus and the Bible to the list of being obsolete And what they can’t see in Jesus and His offer of salvation will land them in the Lake of Fire if they don’t repent and trust in Him The great majority of people in western culture have some knowledge of or experience with Christianity, but fewer and fewer have been actually engaging with it in recent decades And all of this, (and this is my conjecture) because belief in Jesus has largely gone by the wayside in Western civilization, and we’re rapidly becoming more and more pagan That’s a bleak forecast, I know, but it’s also in alignment with what the Bible says about the Last Days that we’re in But we have to remember, as God’s people, that trouble, fear, and hardship are instruments that the Lord uses in the world, and even in the lives of His Redeemed Just this week India attacked Pakistan, and in talking briefly to a contact there, many Pakistanis are seeking Jesus, most ardently! And I can see the hand of God in all of that, even though war is horrific! But those who see Christianity and the Bible as obsolete only hold a view rooted in ignorance And that’s not a put-down of anyone - it’s simply the truth Without a relationship with the Lord, and the truth of His Word, men and women are devoid of the knowledge of God, beyond His immediate Creation And this is precisely why the Lord Jesus has tasked us with the happy burden of taking the Good News to those around us, and all over the world That Gospel is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father, except they come to and through Jesus! That’s the only way anyone discovers the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE! You and I belong to a belief system that asserts that we cannot, by our own will or devices make our own way into God’s good graces In fact, those who embrace and attempt that alternate route will find themselves …’thrown into hell, ‘where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ And I say all of this to make the salient point that Christianity, and especially the promises that are stated about the life to come, are not OBSOLETE, though many in our culture might argue the point But as the people of The Book, we know what God has told us, and we know how this story goes Things around our planet are heating up now Wars and rumors of wars So many, especially in our culture look at Christianity with suspicion, but we must find ways to assuage that suspicion, that we might show them that neither Jesus, nor His people are obsolete - At this moment in history, it is desperately important that those who claim the Lord also stand up for the 1 Timothy 2:1–6 [1] First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, [2] for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. [3] This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, [4] who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. [5] For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, [6] who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. We are called to live the Gospel so that we may speak the Gospel You cannot do it in reverse order! Time is running out to do the Lord’s work So with that, let’s parse the text of Hebrews 8 // TEXT & EXPOSITION [1] 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, [2] a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. So take the collective push and meaning of the text of Hebrews up until this point, and make ready to understand what the author of Hebrews has been driving at for 7 chapters already We have a Great High Priest in the order of Melchizadek, and this High Priest is seated at the right hand of Majesty So Jesus ever lives to make intercession for us, as our High Priest He ever lives to minister to us and on our behalf No human priest in the Old Testament ever ascended into Heaven, neither did he minister in the REAL, TRUE Holy of Holies in Heaven Only Jesus has done this, and done it on our behalf And He’s done this because He loves us! Think about that! His love for His people is what drives His actions and decisions, and He has only ever wanted good for us And all this comes to us by grace alone through faith [3] For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. We know that the Old Testament was filled with offerings and gifts and sacrifices to God But humanity is sinful (literally full of sin) and even our errant thoughts accuse us to God Therefore, it was essential that God put in place intermediaries - men who were called by God to be a part of the intercession They offered prayers and offerings to the Lord in the Old Covenant in order to save their lives on earth How odd of God to choose the Jews! But as the covenant people of God, they were tasked as priests, again making intercession on behalf of God’s covenant people, and being salt and light in the world So when we come to Jesus, it’s not invoking Him and worshipping Him because He’s getting something from that worship - that’s a human perspective God is self-sustaining and needs nothing from His Creation, although He loves all that He has made, and desires to redeem it He loves us and wants all to come to the saving faith that is only found in Jesus But, if you are a priest, there must be an offering (and don’t think that it doesn’t apply to you! We are a royal Priesthood!) In the Old Covenant, that offering would have been an animal sacrificed on an altar But in the New Covenant, that sacrifice dies to itself (I’m talking about you and me!), but then comes to life in Christ Jesus, and so that one ever lives to do the will of God, who saved us and called us into this blessed calling and glorious light [4] 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. [5] 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.” Every priest, and especially the High Priest, must have something to offer on their own behalf, so that they might be ceremonially clean, and therefore able to perform their priestly duties on behalf of the people of God They didn’t come to God empty handed Jesus would not have been a priest in the OT because He was not of the Tribe of Levi He came from the Tribe of Judah, which could not act as priests under the Old Covenant Jesus abrogated the Old Testament priesthood, and that word simply means, “to abolish by authoritative action; to annul something that was formerly in place” So the priesthood of Aaron is null in the world, though the Jews are moving towards the reinstatement of the old sacrificial system in Israel, even at this very moment Some Jews have come to Christ and consider themselves to be “completed Jews” having embraced Jesus/Yeshua as their Messiah and High Priest, and praise God for that! But largely, the Jews are still looking to Yahway (YHWH is referred to as the tetragrammaton) because to say His Name is forbidden, lest they profane it Therefore it is not spoken Instead, they call Him Hashem, a Hebrew term that literally means "the Name" It is commonly used to refer to God in Judaism, as it is used as a respectful substitute for the Tetragrammaton, again, the four-letter name of God that is traditionally not pronounced When you study Judaism, you’ll find a people who are embracing Yaweh, but don’t have close relationship with Him They honor Him, praise Him, and worship Him, but they really don’t KNOW Him as Christians do And to be fair, they likely would be somewhat offended at the notion that we have a personal relationship with YAWEH, whereas they are still bound (by their own choosing) to the Mosaic Law So most Jews would not articulate the idea of having a relationship with Yaweh, they way we talk about knowing Jesus Our relationship is far more intimate in nature, while their relationship with God is still predicated on ceremony, and keeping the Law Our’s is based on intimacy, as He has come to live inside of us by the Holy Spirit And praise Jesus for all that He has done for us, amen? [6] 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. [7] For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. Christ obtained a ministry from the Father That ministry is far and exceedingly better than the ministry of the Old Covenant Last week we read Hebrews 7:26 which describes Jesus as “holy, innocent, undefiled, set apart from sinners” In other words, the writer of Hebrews was highlighting Jesus’ purity And we’ll come to Hebrews 9:12, unless Jesus comes first, but it teaches that, “He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption.” This far and surpasses every animal sacrifice as a complete, once-for-all payment for sin!! All one has to do now is to embrace what Jesus Christ has accomplished for us, and apprehend it for his or her own! WOW!! What incredible grace abounds from our God!! He is able to save to the uttermost!! [8] For he finds fault with them when he says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, [9] not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. Jesus established the New Covenant for us in His blood We should walk in it all the days of our lives, though some choose to walk away for different motives (we won’t get into the Deconstruction movement this morning…) But our world is divided We see the divisions of nations, and we hear of wars and rumors of wars Our culture is largely pagan, and forsaking the Bible and the belief in the one true God who made all things It is imploding with it’s own hatred and anger, which are boiling over everywhere we look And yet John 13:35 tells us, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” The gift of God in Christ Jesus is not first to be imitated until it is truly received and embraced by the individual That only comes when the individual acknowledges that no merit can gain such grace If we who call on His Name, do not regularly remember what Christ has done, and receive from Him His Word and love and power, then we will become anemic and sickly, lacking in power, having nothing to pour out into the lives of others And so Isaac Watts’ beautiful hymn puts it succinctly: “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all” [10] For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. "The New Covenant is in the Old Covenant contained; and the Old Covenant is by the New Covenant explained." I learned that from the late Chuck Missler, who was an incredible thinker, and loved the Lord’s ways The original version is ascribed to St. Augustine And the text continues…. [11] And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. [12] For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” [13] In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. So let’s put it like this: the Old Covenant laws no longer apply, BUT…much of the principles still remain It is abundantly clear that God still values holiness and despises sin So then, the New Covenant is not to be used as a license to sin This is because God's attitude towards sin has not changed That's NOT to say that we are to act perfect because we are not perfect, nor can we be in this life, but our hearts towards sin should be completely changed once we submit ourselves to the fullness of Christ God’s abolishing of the OT law does not necessarily mean that He scraps the whole thing and throws it in the dumpster Jesus puts it succinctly in Matthew 5:17, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." To say that we scrap the whole Mosaic Law would be overkill God still desires that we avoid lying and coveting and lust, and all the other sins, but because of what Christ has done for us on the cross, there is a new righteousness, along with grace Additionally, Jesus' finished work gives us access to the Holy Spirit, and He is the one that teaches our hearts to say no to sin And when men and women, boys and girls truly understand what He has done for us, we will want to be servants to Him and not to our sinful desires Hallelujah, what a Savior! // APPLICATION Now, you may have someone ask you this week, “Are the Covenants now obsolete?” And my answer is, “Yes, except for the New Covenant that Jesus instituted in His own precious blood!” And this is “The WHY” that drives it…because Jesus instituted the New Covenant, not with mere words, or even with the blood of bulls and goats, but with the precious atoning blood of the Lamb of God! What that New Covenant does for us, is that it opens the way for us to be ONE with our God, as He gives us His Holy Spirit to dwell in those who believe on Him for everlasting life! This is why we are called “little Christs” (Christians) We are to go, as Jesus went, and tell others about the Lord and the offer of salvation Yes, some will scoff and even berate you for even bringing it up, but the Scriptures tell us that, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. (Matthew 5:11-13) Basically, the text is telling us not to go through the motions of coming to Jesus, only to then just sit and soak, waiting for the Harpazo/the Rapture of the Church There are so many people around us every day, and I want to challenge you to lovingly and respectfully to open the door of conversation when it comes to Jesus and religious views My general rule is, “Be winsome in order to win some!” It could be an encouraging word to someone at work who is struggling The door that you open might just be a cause of celebration whereby you ask the rhetorical question, “Isn’t Jesus good to us?” You can talk about the life to come in glory, and how you miss others who have gone on before you, and can’t wait to see them again! And that freaks some people out, but that’s OK You can confide to a friend that you’re hurting, but mention that Jesus is always with you, ministering in your life, even in the hardship There are a hundred different ways to open a conversation about spiritual things Heck - you could just ask the question, “What do you think about spiritual realities?” That question is just an opener…come up with your own, if you like But be assured, you and I have been tasked with the Great Commission, and our Lord will be sure to ask us about what we did with the resources He apportioned to us To sum up, Jesus Christ is central to the obsolescence of the Old Covenant His life, death, and resurrection fulfilled the requirements of the Law and established a New Covenant The Old Covenant, while once necessary, has been surpassed by the New Covenant through Christ Chapter 8 concludes by saying by declaring a new covenant, God has made the first one obsolete And what is old and aging is ready to vanish or fading away It is a stark reminder that we cannot cling to the past or try to hold on to systems that have been replaced by something better Those old ways of relating to God (through laws, sacrifices, and human mediators) has been replaced by a direct, personal, and grace-filled relationship with Jesus, the very Son of God! We cannot mix the two or to hold on to outdated forms of religious striving Instead, we are invited to step fully into the freedom and assurance of the new covenant. O praise the lord who paid my sin and raised me up to life again! And now we go forward, out of this place and into the world once more, so please hear me this morning You do not know what might happen between now and next Sunday Jesus could come War could break out in our own country, just as it has in Pakistan, when India attacked this this last week And in speaking to some Christian Brothers and Sisters there, they knew it was a possibility, but now it is reality Pray for our Brothers and Sisters in Christ And know that what is happening around the world was prophesied…For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. Hold fast to what you have until He comes! Here’s the simple Gospel in a nutshell He sacrificed Himself for us, so that we would escape the penalty of sin, in which we have all partaken You had a fine of sin that you could not ever possibly pay Jesus stepped in and paid your fine He gave Himself for us Therefore, we, above all others, should die to ourselves daily so as to live as a sacrifice, holy and blameless Our mission is to seek those who need Him, so that they also might know Him and be cleansed by His atoning blood To make Jesus known is our task from God, our mission Matthew 28:18–20 [18] And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” May we all be used of Christ in the world so that others might come and be cleansed before God This is our task This is our mission Let us obey the Lord our God in all that He calls us to, and especially to love one another Let’s pray! // ANNOUNCEMENTS // DEVOTED Study - This Wednesday evening! We’ll be following up with discussion from today’s sermon, so we can go deeper! Theme is Foods that start with M // Grilling with the Sattys at our home - May 15th Sign up through the Church Center app OR call or text us - 706-338-7049 2 couples (family of couples welcome) // Men’s Huddle - May 17th @ 7:30am in the ER space Looking forward to our time together, Men! // BENEDICTION Go in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and walk in obedience to the Lord by His Holy Spirit in us! Emmaus Road Church, YOU ARE SENT!!