Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP220008S
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00:01 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn,
00:02 and we welcome you to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:06 Oh, we're having a wonderful study 00:08 on the Book of Hebrews in this quarter. 00:11 And today's lesson is one of my favorites, 00:14 Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant. 00:18 Now if you don't have a Sabbath School quarterly, 00:21 you'll be sure to want to get this 00:24 and you can go to 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com 00:29 download quarterly, 00:30 and you can also watch all of the past programs. 00:34 This is nice because you can listen, pause, 00:37 write your notes, listen, pause, write your notes. 00:40 But anyway, join us today, 00:42 get your pencil and paper ready 00:44 and have your Bible, we'll be right back. 01:17 We're so glad that you're joining us 01:18 because you are the reason 01:20 we're into Sabbath School Panel 01:22 and I'll tell you what? 01:23 We enjoy doing it. 01:25 Let me introduce you 01:26 to the 3ABN family at the table. 01:28 I have Pastor John Lomacang. 01:30 Good to be here. 01:31 And as you said Hebrews is 01:32 not only one of our favorite books, 01:34 but it's a continual learning book. 01:36 Amen. Pastor James Rafferty. 01:38 Hi, Shelley. 01:39 It is great to be here this morning. 01:41 We're glad you're here. 01:42 And, Jill Morikone, my dear sister. 01:44 Thank you, Shelley. Excited about the study today. 01:46 Me too. 01:48 And we have Pastor John Dinzey. 01:51 It's a blessing to be here for me as well. 01:52 Thank you. We're glad you're here. 01:55 Jill, would you like to have our prayer? 01:56 Sure. 01:58 Holy Father, we come before You in the name of Jesus, 01:59 grateful for the gift of Your Word 02:01 and the gift of Your Spirit 02:03 and we ask just now, 02:04 would You open up our minds and hearts 02:07 to receive what You have for us 02:09 and that we could hear and obey 02:11 and we thank You in Jesus' name. 02:13 Amen. Amen. 02:15 I love that prayer hear and obey. 02:17 That's what it means when the Bible says here. 02:19 Well, lesson eight, we are studying Jesus, 02:22 the Mediator of the New Covenant. 02:24 Let me read our memory text. 02:26 This is actually from the English Standard Version, 02:29 Hebrews 8:6, 02:32 "But as it is Christ has obtained a ministry 02:36 that is much more excellent than the old 02:40 as the covenant He mediates is better, 02:44 since it is enacted on better promises." 02:49 Let me tell you something, God cannot sin. 02:51 Because God is love and sin is the... 02:56 or love is the absence of sin. 02:59 The penalty for sin has always been death, 03:03 God is a just God. 03:05 He is a God who is merciful 03:10 but He set the penalty for sin as death 03:13 because He planned to pay the penalty. 03:17 The everlasting covenant is found in Revelation 13:8. 03:22 "Jesus, the Lamb who was slain 03:25 from the foundation of the world." 03:28 And Hebrews 13:20 says, 03:31 "His blood is the blood of the eternal covenant." 03:36 When God told Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden 03:39 in Genesis 3:15, 03:41 He says, "Hey, I'm going to put enmity 03:45 between the serpent and the seed of the woman." 03:49 That was pointing to Jesus Christ, 03:52 the coming Messiah. 03:53 So the entire Bible is just the progressive unfolding 03:59 of the everlasting covenant. 04:01 Each covenant builds on the next 04:03 and it shows a little more revelation, 04:06 but the culmination of the revelation 04:09 of God's plan of redemption 04:12 was the incarnation. 04:14 God stepped out of heaven and became a man. 04:17 In Philippians 2:5-8 we see that, 04:20 I'm not going to take time to read it 04:23 but it says God came down. 04:25 He condescended to take on human form. 04:29 How exciting that is and He lived a perfect life 04:33 but obedience to the commandments. 04:35 He became the covenant Son of God. 04:38 He lived this perfect life, 04:40 that He might impute His righteousness to us. 04:43 And then He died for us on the cross. 04:46 Hebrews 10:5-9 says, 04:48 "Therefore, when He came into the world, 04:50 He said: 'Sacrifice and offering 04:51 You did not desire, 04:53 but a body You have prepared for Me. 04:56 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin 05:00 You had no pleasure.'" 05:03 See every sacrifice under the Old Covenant, 05:06 the Book of the Law, pointed to Christ. 05:09 It was just symbolic but then Hebrews 10:7 says, 05:14 "Then I said, 'Behold, 05:16 I have come in the volume of the book, 05:19 it is written of Me, this is the Messiah, Jesus. 05:23 I have come to do Your will, O God.'" 05:28 I love the Sabbath School quarterly 05:31 and they quoted from the Seventh-day Adventist 05:34 Bible Commentary, 05:36 referring to a volume 7 05:39 even, page 460, Psalm 40, 05:41 referring to the Messiah's desire 05:45 to render to God, total obedience. 05:49 It says, "Behold, I've come, 05:50 in the scroll of the book it is written of Me, 05:52 I delight to do your will, O my God, 05:55 Your laws written within my heart." 05:57 That's Psalm. 05:58 I'll talk straight in a minute. 06:00 Psalm 40:7-8. 06:02 And what does He do in the New Covenant? 06:04 He writes the law in our hearts. 06:07 It says, in the original context, 06:09 this phrase to do Your will 06:12 described moral obedience to the will of God. 06:17 The author of Hebrews uses the phrase to show 06:20 that the sacrifice of Christ 06:23 fulfilled the will of God in providing 06:27 an acceptable atonement, 06:30 which the animal sacrifices had not. 06:34 And It's interesting, all those animal sacrifices, 06:38 the whole sanctuary system was explaining, 06:43 in a visual form, 06:48 the whole plan of salvation. 06:50 So Hebrews 10:8-9, 06:53 "Previously saying, 'Sacrifice and offerings, 06:56 burnt offerings, and offerings for sin 06:58 You did not desire, 07:00 nor had pleasure in them, ' 07:02 which are offered according to the law," 07:05 that's the Law of Moses, "then He said, 07:08 'I have come to do Your will, O God.' 07:11 And He takes away 07:13 the first the Law of Moses, 07:17 the Book of the Law 07:19 that He may establish the second.'" 07:22 When Christ died as our sacrifice, 07:25 our substitutionary sacrifice, 07:28 He canceled the penalty of death 07:30 for those who will come to Him and accept Him as Savior 07:34 and He was resurrected to the same glory 07:37 that He had with the Father before His incarnation. 07:41 So now He serves as a mediator 07:44 of this New Covenant and new means renewed, 07:49 it's new in quality, 07:51 it's just a continuation of the everlasting covenant. 07:54 Now He serves as our High Priest. 07:57 Our quarterly says Jesus embodied 08:00 the obedience of the New Covenant. 08:03 He is our example. 08:04 We've been saved not only because of His death, 08:09 but because of His perfect obedience. 08:12 So moving right along quickly. 08:15 Sunday is The Need of the New Covenant. 08:18 Let me read Hebrews 7:11-19... 08:25 Here's what the Bible says, 08:27 "Therefore, if perfection, 08:31 were through the Levitical priesthood, 08:34 for under it the people received the law," 08:36 he's speaking of the Law of Moses, 08:38 "what further need was there that another priest 08:41 should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, 08:44 and not be called 08:46 according to the order of Aaron?" 08:49 So we've studied this in past, you look back for that one. 08:53 For the priesthood being changed of necessity, 08:56 there is also a change of the law. 08:59 And he's speaking again, from the Law of Moses, 09:03 Book of the Law to this. 09:04 "For He who of whom 09:07 these things are spoken belongs to another tribe 09:10 from which no man has officiated at the altar. 09:14 For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, 09:18 of which tribe Moses spoke 09:21 nothing concerning the priesthood, 09:24 and it is yet far more evident 09:26 if in the likeness of Melchizedek 09:28 there arises another priest, 09:30 who has come not according to the law 09:33 of a fleshly commandment, 09:34 but according to the power of an endless life. 09:38 For he testifies: 'You are a priest forever 09:41 according to the order of Melchizedek.' 09:43 For on the one hand 09:45 there is an annulling of the former commandment, 09:49 talking about this Levitical priesthood, 09:51 because of its weakness, and its unprofitableness, 09:55 for the law made nothing perfect, 09:58 on the other hand, 09:59 there is the bringing in of a better hope, 10:02 through which we draw near to God.'" 10:06 The Old Covenant is the Book of the Law, 10:09 it was ratified with blood. 10:13 When Moses built the altar, 10:15 it is given on the basis of the Levitical priesthood, 10:19 those priests served as mediators 10:21 between God and men, 10:22 but the change of the priesthood 10:26 implies a change of the law of the priesthood. 10:30 Jesus inaugurated a New Covenant, 10:33 a Renewed Covenant, ratified it with His own blood. 10:37 So the Old Covenant ministry, the priesthood, 10:41 the ministry of sacrifice, and feast, 10:44 and all of those things could not provide perfection, 10:49 could not provide total cleansing from sin, 10:51 or direct access to God. 10:55 So what we have is, according to our study guide, 11:00 let me quote this, it says, 11:02 "The Levitical ministry and services of the tabernacle 11:05 were designed to protect them from idolatry, 11:08 and also to point them to Jesus' future ministry. 11:13 Hebrews stresses that the sacrifices 11:17 were a shadow of the good things to come. 11:21 We find that in Hebrews 10:1. 11:23 So the reason 11:26 there's the need of a new covenant 11:29 is because the Old Covenant was symbolic. 11:32 It just was pointing to Jesus, 11:35 He is the mediator of the Renewed Covenant. 11:38 Let me read quickly from Galatians Chapter 3. 11:42 This is a chapter that many people get confused 11:45 and I want to show you something. 11:46 Galatians 3:10, says, 11:50 "For as many as are of the works of the law 11:53 are under a curse." 11:55 Now, most people say, see, 11:56 you don't have to keep the Ten Commandments. 11:58 That's the works of the law. 11:59 No, no, you're gonna see in context, 12:02 he's talking about the Law of Moses, 12:05 the Book of the Law, 12:07 what God spoke to Moses and Moses wrote down. 12:11 Now let's look, he says, 12:14 "As many as are the works of the law are under a curse, 12:16 for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone 12:19 who does not continue in all things 12:22 which are written in the Book of the Law." 12:27 And that's Deuteronomy. 12:30 And this is a direct quote from Deuteronomy, 12:32 "To do them, but there is no one justified 12:35 by the law in the sight of God is evident for it 12:39 since the just shall live by faith. 12:41 Yet the Law of Moses, law is not of faith, 12:44 but the man who does them shall live by them. 12:47 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, 12:51 having become a curse for us, for it is written, 12:54 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree, 12:56 that the blessing of Abraham, 12:58 the everlasting covenant of salvation 13:00 by grace through faith 13:02 and righteousness by faith 13:03 might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, 13:06 that we might receive the promise 13:09 of the Spirit through faith." 13:11 And in Galatians 3:23-24. 13:15 Here we are, same context is speaking 13:17 of the Book of the Law, 13:19 the Old Covenant just served as a tutor. 13:23 Galatians 3:23, "But before faith came, 13:26 we were kept under guard by the law kept for the faith, 13:31 which would be afterward revealed. 13:33 Therefore the law was our tutor, 13:36 to bring us to Christ 13:37 that we might be justified by faith." 13:40 So God's law, the Old Covenant, 13:42 the Book of the Law, the Sabbath School Panel says, 13:46 even the 10, our study says, even the Ten Commandments, 13:50 as good and is perfect as they are 13:52 cannot provide salvation. 13:54 They provide a perfect standard of righteousness, 13:56 but they do not provide righteousness. 13:59 Any more than looking in a mirror 14:01 can erase the wrinkles of age, don't we wish? 14:05 For perfect righteousness, 14:07 we need Jesus as our substitute. 14:10 We need Jesus as the mediator of the New Covenant. 14:15 Thank you, Shelley. 14:16 You know, it's amazing that 14:18 as you talk about this particular lesson, 14:19 we're kind of piggybacking on each other. 14:22 It's kind of like, 14:23 I think of this lesson as a flight of stairs. 14:25 Yes. 14:27 We're on the same step, 14:28 which is going one level to the next, 14:30 to the next, to the next. 14:31 And what you've said, 14:32 I'll be reiterating some of those things 14:34 because my Monday lesson is called New and Renewed, 14:36 New and Renewed. 14:38 Now the promise of the New Covenant, 14:40 and I think Shelley alluded to this 14:42 refers back to the Book of Jeremiah. 14:44 Jeremiah looked as one of the prophets of God. 14:47 As a matter of fact, my wife and I are reading 14:49 through the Book of Jeremiah together, 14:51 and it's a wonderful excursion. 14:52 And Jeremiah was a strong prophet of God, 14:56 we're looking back at the writings of Jeremiah. 14:59 We go to Jeremiah 31:31-34 15:05 to look back at the promise that God made 15:07 for a New Covenant. 15:09 There were two reasons 15:10 that the New Covenant was necessary. 15:12 One was as Shelley pointed out 15:14 and the Bible points out in Hebrews, 15:16 the blood of bulls and goats could not perfect anyone. 15:19 But secondly, the people began to look at 15:23 the efficacy of the sacrifice. 15:26 They got locked in on the symbols, 15:28 and they were missing what the symbols meant. 15:31 So they were looking for, 15:32 you know, as the requirement were, 15:34 lambs without blemish and without spot, 15:36 and they thought, since I found a physical lamb 15:38 without blemish and without spot, 15:40 that was sufficient. 15:41 They were missing what it was pointing to. 15:44 They were missing the significance 15:45 of all of the symbols of the sanctuary services 15:49 and they were not looking forward 15:50 to the coming of Christ. 15:51 That's why you find when Jesus said in John, 15:54 I came to my own, my own did not receive me. 15:57 John the Baptist tried 16:00 to kickstart their brains by saying, 16:02 "Behold, the Lamb of God 16:05 that taketh away the sin of the world," 16:06 and they just couldn't get it 16:08 because they had gotten steeped in the symbolism. 16:11 That's why when he died, 16:12 he ended the ceremonial system so that he could say, 16:18 please don't impose this on the new converts, 16:21 because I have fulfilled all the requirements 16:24 of that particular law. 16:26 But Jeremiah is seeing the people looking over here, 16:29 rather than looking over there, looking at the lamb, 16:32 rather than remembering that 16:33 this means the Messiah is coming. 16:35 Jeremiah said these words to us, 16:37 Jeremiah 31:31-34. 16:40 "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, 16:44 when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel 16:46 and with the house of Judah 16:48 because Jesus is the lion of the tribe of Judah." 16:51 Verse 32, "Not according to the covenant 16:53 that I made with their fathers in the day, 16:55 that I took them by the hand 16:57 to lead them out of the land of Egypt." 17:00 My covenant which they broke 17:05 and you notice that he is saying 17:07 that the covenant was not at fault. 17:09 At that particular point, 17:10 He made a covenant with them, but they broke it. 17:13 He keeps on going. 17:15 "Though I was a husband to them, says the Lord," 17:20 verse 33, "but this is the covenant 17:22 that I will make with the house of Israel 17:24 after those days, 17:25 says the Lord. 17:27 I will put My law in their minds, 17:29 and write it on their hearts, 17:33 and I will be their God, 17:34 and they shall be My people. 17:35 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, 17:38 and every man his brother, saying, 17:40 'Know the Lord, for they all shall know Me, 17:43 from the least of them to the greatest of them, 17:46 says the Lord. 17:47 For I will forgive their iniquity, 17:50 and their sin I will remember no more." 17:52 So when we get down to Hebrews Chapter 8, 17:55 it's just a reiteration 17:56 of what the Prophet Jeremiah said 17:57 hundreds of years 17:59 before more than 1000 years earlier, 18:00 he made this statement. 18:02 So it should not have been new to the Jewish leaders 18:06 when the time came. 18:07 So when the Messiah came, 18:09 and He was identified as the Lamb slain 18:12 from the foundation, 18:13 they should have said, wait a minute, 18:14 didn't the prophet Jeremiah tell us 18:16 that's what's going to happen? 18:17 But they still missed it. 18:19 That's why it's important today when we think about worship. 18:23 Let us not worship-worship. 18:25 That's what's happening today in many of our churches. 18:27 We're worshipping worship, the feeling of worship, 18:30 we're trying to stimulate a feeling, 18:32 when in fact, what does the worship mean? 18:35 It even go so far, it says, 18:36 "Let us not worship the Sabbath. 18:38 Let us worship the Lord of the Sabbath." 18:40 The Sabbath is a symbol, a sign between God and us. 18:43 By honoring the day we are honoring the Lord. 18:47 But don't let the Sabbath 18:49 become the focus of your worship. 18:52 Let the Lord of the Sabbath on the day of the Sabbath 18:55 become the focal point of worship. 18:58 Let me go even further. 19:00 Don't worship your diet, worship the Lord 19:03 who wants you to be healthy. 19:04 You could see the same thing 19:06 that the Israelites did. 19:07 We can be in danger of doing the very same thing. 19:11 When the object 19:12 becomes the eclipse of the Lord, 19:15 then the object loses its significant, 19:17 and the Lord is lost in the entire exercise. 19:20 So don't worship-worship. 19:22 Don't worship the day, worship the Lord. 19:25 That's why the Psalmist David said, 19:26 "Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." 19:29 The Sabbath is holy. 19:31 It's a beautiful holiness, 19:32 the way that the Lord wants us to live and eat 19:33 and dress is beautiful holiness, 19:35 but never allow those things 19:37 to eclipse the beautiful picture 19:39 of Jesus Christ. 19:41 You find in Hebrews. 19:43 Let's go to Hebrews Chapter 8. 19:45 I think you may have read this. 19:46 I'm not going to go to that one. 19:47 But I'm going to go to Hebrews 7:18-19, 19:51 as the Lord reiterates that the covenant itself 19:54 and here's why we have to be very vitally careful saying 19:57 that the covenant or the components 19:59 of the covenant were faulty 20:01 because the Lord appointed all the things 20:05 that they should do. 20:07 So if we say that the things 20:09 that He asked them to do are faulty, 20:10 then we're saying, well, we serve a faulty God. 20:13 They looked at those things 20:15 and forgot the one who appointed them. 20:18 Hebrews 7:18-19, 20:20 "For on the one hand there is an annulling 20:22 of the former commandment 20:23 because of its weakness and unprofitableness." 20:26 That means the lambs were weak, 20:29 all the bulls and goats and calves, 20:31 these are just fleshy ordinances, 20:33 but the true sacrifice was the coming spotless Lamb. 20:38 "For the law made nothing perfect, 20:41 on the other hand, 20:42 there is the bringing in of a better hope, 20:45 through which we draw near to God." 20:46 We draw near to God through Christ. 20:48 So let's look at some of the passages in the Bible 20:50 that talks about how beautiful 20:52 this New Covenant would be. 20:53 Let's go to... 20:54 First let's go to Isaiah 24:5, I want you to see this 20:58 because the covenant that was broken 21:00 by the Israelites 21:02 was, if you go further back than the Israelites, 21:05 you find that there was an earlier covenant 21:07 that was made that was broken 21:09 right on the heels of the flood. 21:12 The Lord established a rainbow in the heavens and said, 21:15 "This is the covenant I will make with mankind. 21:18 I will never destroy the world by a flood again." 21:21 What happened? 21:22 I know what he said, but we need to build us a tower 21:25 because I'm not sure if we could trust Him. 21:27 Salvation by works is always an earmark 21:31 of a false system of worship. 21:33 They built a tower to try to save themselves. 21:36 That's why that symbol, the Tower of Babel, 21:38 we could say Babelon, but it's Babylon. 21:40 The Tower of Babel is a symbol of last days Babylon 21:45 trying to save yourself by your works. 21:47 Isaiah 4:1, the problem is once again being repeated. 21:51 The Lord says, "In that day, 21:54 seven women will take hold of one man saying, 21:57 'We will eat our own bread, we will wear our own apparel, 22:00 only let us be called by your name, 22:03 to take away our reproach." 22:05 Once again, what the Israelites were guilty of, 22:07 what the antediluvians 22:09 on the post-flood were guilty of, 22:11 the church is guilty of today too. 22:13 That's why we have to get back to the focus. 22:14 It's Christ and Christ alone. 22:17 Let's not forget that. 22:19 So Isaiah points out what happened in those days, 22:21 what the entire human race did, Isaiah 24:5, 22:25 "The earth is also defiled 22:27 under its inhabitants," because what? 22:29 "They have transgressed the laws, 22:31 changed the ordinance, 22:33 broken the everlasting covenant." 22:35 As Shelley pointed out, 22:36 the covenant was everlasting, it hadn't changed. 22:38 The people had issues, they couldn't keep it, 22:41 because they had a different ideology 22:43 compared to the direction 22:44 that God was trying to give them. 22:46 But if you notice, 22:47 even Paul the Apostle 22:49 on the heels of his conversion testimony. 22:52 Romans 7:14, he says, 22:55 "For we know that the law is spiritual, 22:57 but I am carnal sold under sin." 22:59 Once again, the faultiness of any agreement 23:02 is the one who is making the agreement 23:04 with the perfect God. 23:06 That's why He says, we must die daily, 23:08 to maintain this beautiful renewal 23:11 that we have in Christ. 23:12 If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 23:14 To maintain that 23:16 it is necessary that we die daily 23:19 because without that daily dying to self, 23:21 then we could fall into the same trap 23:23 as the Israelites thinking that, 23:25 well, we do all the things of worship, 23:27 we keep the day that the Lord says, 23:28 we do the right things. 23:29 We read His Word, 23:31 we study our Sabbath School lesson, 23:32 then we're okay. 23:33 No, Paul says that you'll never be okay 23:35 until you are glorified, made perfect. 23:37 We need that daily commitment to have personal renewal. 23:40 That's what we have to keep in mind 23:42 that the work that is being done 23:43 is not by us. 23:44 Philippians 2:13, 23:46 "For it is God who works in you 23:48 both to will and to do of His good pleasure." 23:51 That's why Paul says, later on, 23:53 I can do all things through Christ 23:55 who strengthens me. 23:56 Notice where the focus is. 23:58 Galatians 2:20, 23:59 "I have been crucified with Christ, 24:01 it is no longer I who live," 24:02 all that you do is of no value without 24:05 the remainder of the verse, 24:06 "but Christ lives in me 24:08 and the life which I now live in the flesh, 24:10 I live by faith in the Son of God 24:13 who loved me and gave Himself for me." 24:15 Only through Christ are we new and renewed. 24:19 Amen and amen. 24:20 Thank you. 24:22 And this is what I love about the Book of Hebrews 24:23 is it lifts Jesus up and we see it 24:27 is only by His blood that we are saved, 24:30 but we've got to take a short break. 24:32 Stay tune, we'll be back in 30 seconds. 24:39 Ever wish you could watch a 3ABN 24:41 Sabbath School Panel again, 24:43 or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 24:46 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com 24:51 A clean design makes it easy to find the program 24:54 you're looking for. 24:56 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 24:59 so you can follow along. 25:01 Sharing is easy. 25:02 Just click share and choose your favorite social media. 25:05 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 25:10 As John said, we're on the journey up 25:11 a flight of stairs to understand Jesus, 25:14 the Mediator of the New Covenant. 25:15 And now we go to Pastor James Rafferty 25:18 for Tuesday's lesson, 25:19 Amen. Just good stuff. 25:22 My name is James Rafferty, and I have Tuesday's lesson, 25:25 which is, The New Covenant Has a Better Mediator. 25:29 We're going to be reading Hebrews 8:1-6 25:32 a little bit of repetition here, 25:33 but there's so much in the Book of Hebrews. 25:36 There's so much Jesus in the Book of Hebrews that, 25:39 well, it's good for us to go over it again and again. 25:42 Hebrews Chapter 8, 25:43 and I'm just gonna read the verses, verses 1-6, 25:46 "Now of the things which we have spoken 25:48 this is the sum: 25:50 We have such an high priest, 25:51 who is set on the right hand of the throne 25:53 of the Majesty in the heavens, 25:55 a minister of the sanctuary, 25:57 and of the true tabernacle, 25:59 which the Lord pitched, and not man. 26:01 For every high priest is ordained 26:03 to offer gifts and sacrifices: 26:06 wherefore it is of necessity 26:08 that this man have somewhat also to offer. 26:11 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, 26:15 seeing that there are priests 26:16 that offer gifts according to the law: 26:18 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, 26:21 as Moses was admonished of God 26:23 when he was about to make the tabernacle: 26:25 for, see, says he, that thou make us all things 26:28 according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount. 26:31 But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry, 26:34 by how much also he is the mediator 26:37 of a better covenant, 26:39 which was established upon better promises." 26:43 These verses are power-packed. 26:45 And I really love the fact that Paul begins by saying, 26:47 I just want to summarize 26:48 everything we've studied so far. 26:50 He's gone through 26:51 Hebrews Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. 26:53 Now he's in 8. 26:54 I just want to summarize 26:56 everything we've studied so far. 26:57 And here's the summary of everything 26:59 we've studied so far. 27:00 We have a mediator 27:03 of a better covenant in heaven. 27:06 Just in case you missed that, 27:08 that's the point I'm trying to make. 27:09 I'm really, you know because we've, 27:11 we've gone through a little bit of, 27:12 you know, well, you should be teachers, 27:14 but you need Milken. 27:16 I'm not sure if it's possible, you know, but the focus 27:19 that Paul is trying to bring us to is Jesus, 27:22 the mediator of a better covenant. 27:24 So number one, and that the question is 27:27 asked here in the quarterly this day is, 27:29 why is Jesus a better mediator of the covenant? 27:33 Why is it? 27:35 Well, number one, He's sitting at the right hand 27:37 of the throne of God! 27:40 That's why. 27:41 He's at His right hand, He is there for us. 27:43 Number two, He is a mediator of the true tabernacle 27:48 that was set up and built by the Lord and not by man. 27:52 Number three, and this is implied, 27:55 the gifts and the sacrifice of Christ have merit. 28:00 The gifts and the sacrifice of Christ are meritorious. 28:03 The gifts of priests, the sacrifices of priests, 28:06 the sacrifices of animals, as shared by Shelley, 28:08 emphasized by John were not meritorious. 28:11 They couldn't bring what God wanted to bring to us, 28:14 but the gifts and sacrifice of Christ can. 28:16 And that's in verse 3, number six or excuse me, 28:19 point number four in verse 6. 28:21 He has a more excellent ministry, 28:23 again in verse 6, better promises. 28:26 And this is key, we gonna look at this in just a second. 28:29 And, of course, finally, 28:31 in verse 6, it's a better covenant. 28:33 Why? 28:34 Because the Old Covenant was based upon bad promises. 28:39 And what were these bad promises? 28:40 We've talked a little bit about them 28:42 but one of the promises 28:43 that stand out in relationship to the Old Covenant 28:46 is this statement that the people said, 28:49 all that the Lord has said 28:51 we will do and be obedient. 28:53 How long did that last? 28:54 Yeah. Not very long. 28:56 For a day. And it was done. 28:58 The New Covenant is based upon Hebrews 10:9, Hebrews 10:7, 29:04 we've already looked at that. 29:05 I delight to do your will, 29:07 O, my God, ye Thy laws within my heart. 29:10 And Jesus came as a human being, 29:12 and He exemplified that New Covenant experience. 29:16 He did what the Old Covenant promises failed to do. 29:21 He delighted to do it. 29:23 He didn't just say, oh, all that the Lord has said 29:25 we will do and be obedient. 29:27 Just Moses, you go talk to God, 29:29 and we'll do everything you tell us. 29:31 He busted through all of that fear. 29:33 He said, "I delight to You Thy will, 29:35 O my God, ye Thy law is within my heart." 29:38 This is why Jesus Christ, 29:41 as Hebrews explains, is the guarantor. 29:44 That's what the lesson brings out. 29:45 He is the guarantor of the New Covenant. 29:49 He is the guarantor 29:51 because He is a better mediator. 29:53 Now that word mediator is equivalent to guarantor. 29:57 He guarantees that the covenant promises 30:00 will be fulfilled. 30:03 So Christ's death makes the institution 30:06 of the New Covenant possible 30:08 because it satisfies the claims 30:11 of the first covenant with Israel. 30:13 And even with first, 30:15 the first covenant with human beings in Eden, 30:17 which had been broken. 30:19 In this sense, Jesus is the guarantor, 30:22 for He took upon Himself 30:24 all of the legal obligations of the covenant 30:26 that had been broken. 30:28 Check this out. 30:30 Jesus did all that the Lord has said. 30:34 Yes, amen. That's right. 30:35 We said, "We'll do all the Lord has said," 30:37 we didn't, but Jesus did all that the Lord said. 30:40 All that the Lord said Jesus did. 30:42 I love that. 30:44 You see, the Old Covenant was... 30:47 Let me put it this way. 30:48 God's covenant was intercepted by bad promises. 30:53 God's everlasting covenant on Sinai, 30:55 God's everlasting covenant, 30:57 the one He made with Abraham, the one He made with Noah, 30:58 the one that's that continues all the way down 31:01 through the very end of the Book of Revelation. 31:03 That covenant that God wanted to establish on planet earth 31:06 was intercepted by bad promises. 31:09 God's new covenant, God's everlasting covenant, 31:12 Jesus Christ was faithful, He was obedient. 31:16 He intercepted the bad promises with good promises. 31:21 He intercepted the bad promises with faithfulness, 31:24 and He did it not as a God, 31:26 not even as an angel but as a man. 31:29 He came in humanity, 31:31 and He fulfilled the bad promises 31:33 humanity had made. 31:34 We intercepted God's everlasting covenant 31:37 with our bad promises. 31:38 Jesus became a man 31:40 and intercepted our bad promises 31:41 with faithfulness. 31:42 It's just a beautiful picture 31:44 that we see here in the Book of Hebrews. 31:47 So as we get to the last page of this day's lesson, 31:51 it says that Jesus is a greater mediator 31:54 than Moses, 31:55 because He ministers in the heavenly sanctuary, 31:57 and as offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice for us, 32:01 not just perfect in the sense of a sacrifice for sin, 32:04 but perfect in a sense of obedience 32:07 to the covenant to all that the Lord has said. 32:10 Hebrews 8:1-5, 32:12 Moses' face reflected the glory of God, 32:15 but Jesus is the glory of God. 32:18 Amen. I like that. 32:21 Moses spoke with God face to face, 32:23 but Jesus is God personified, 32:27 powerful thoughts. 32:29 So in closing, 32:31 the quarterly asked the question, yes, 32:33 Christ did satisfy the demands 32:35 of the covenant for obedience, praise God. 32:37 In this light, what is the role of obedience 32:41 in our life 32:42 and why is it so important? 32:45 I want us to look at a verse in Colossians Chapter 1. 32:48 Now the context of this verse 32:50 in Colossians Chapter 1 is telling us about 32:53 how the gospel has come 32:55 into our lives into our hearts. 32:56 It's impacted us. 32:58 And Paul proceeds to tell us what happens 33:01 when this gospel that we've just described 33:03 of Christ fulfilling the covenant promises of Him 33:08 as a human intercepting our bad promises 33:11 and being faithful to God's everlasting covenant. 33:13 What does that look like when it comes into the heart 33:16 of a human being, 33:17 into my heart and into your heart? 33:18 Colossians Chapter 1, 33:20 we'll just begin here with verse 5 33:22 and read verses 5 and 6. 33:24 "For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, 33:27 whereof you heard 33:28 before in the word of truth of the gospel, 33:31 which is come unto to you," 33:33 verse six, "as it is in all the world," 33:36 here it is, "brings forth fruit, 33:40 as it does also in you, 33:42 since the day you heard of it 33:43 and knew the grace of God in truth." 33:45 The point is that God wants to bring forth fruit. 33:49 Jesus says this is how you're going to know 33:51 the truth from the error. 33:53 This is how you gonna know My disciples 33:54 from those who just professed to be My disciples. 33:56 By their fruits, Jesus says in Matthew Chapter 7, 33:59 "By their fruits, you shall know them." 34:01 The fruit is what confirms 34:05 the authenticity of the tree. 34:08 See, we planted an orchard many years ago, 34:10 we first build a house. 34:12 I've been Miele washing by the Canadian border, 34:13 you know, they said, plant those trees, 34:15 because only three years 34:17 before you let them have the fruit. 34:18 And so we planted those trees 34:19 even before we had our house finished, 34:21 and every year we plucked off all the blossoms, 34:23 so none of the fruit would appear 34:24 because we didn't want the tree to have fruit 34:27 before the roots were established. 34:29 After the third year, 34:30 we let the blossoms grow into fruit. 34:32 By that time, I had forgotten which tree was the peach tree, 34:35 and which tree was the apple tree, 34:37 and which tree was the cherry tree. 34:38 I wasn't an orchardist so to speak, 34:41 but as those blossoms turned into fruit, 34:44 and as the fruit began to appear and take shape, 34:46 oh, there's the cherry tree, got little cherries on there. 34:49 There's the pear tree, there's little pears on there. 34:52 There's the apple tree. 34:53 It's got the apples on there. 34:55 But let me ask you a question. 34:56 Did the fruit make the tree an apple tree? 35:00 Yeah. 35:01 I know you shared this a little bit earlier 35:02 because I remember the one I missed, 35:04 you were sharing this illustration. 35:05 I love it. 35:07 No, the fruit didn't make the tree an apple tree. 35:09 The apple tree was already a tree, 35:11 it was an apple tree for three years 35:12 before the fruit appeared. 35:13 But what did the fruit do? 35:15 It confirmed that the tree was an apple tree. 35:18 We're not saved by our fruit. 35:20 The fruit doesn't save us, the fruit simply confirms 35:23 that we are saved in Jesus Christ. 35:24 Amen. And I love that. 35:27 Thank you so much, Shelley, Pastor John, and Pastor James. 35:30 I love the analogy, Pastor John, of the staircase, 35:33 because that's really what's happening 35:35 as we journey through the Book of Hebrews. 35:37 Sometimes we climb up a step or we go down a step 35:40 because the whole thing is about Jesus, 35:42 and the covenant and His high priestly ministry, 35:46 and His sacrifice. 35:47 So what a beautiful quarterly and study. 35:50 I'm Jill Morikone, I have Wednesday's lesson, 35:53 The New Covenant Has Better Promises. 35:56 And we're going to be touching, repeating, 35:58 and enlarging on many of the things 36:00 that have been already shared here today. 36:03 We're gonna compare actually the Old Covenant promises 36:06 with the New Covenant promises. 36:10 I want to ask you a question. 36:11 Are there greater rewards for the New Covenant 36:13 than there were for the Old Covenant? 36:16 Was there eternal life promised in the Old Covenant? 36:19 Absolutely. 36:20 Eternal life in the New Covenant? 36:21 Absolutely. 36:23 In the Old Covenant were they looking forward 36:25 to the heavenly homeland? 36:27 Absolutely. 36:28 Hebrews 11, we have not really gotten to that yet, 36:30 but we will in a few lessons. 36:32 Hebrews 11:10, says, for he, this is Abraham, 36:36 now he would be under the "Old Covenant, 36:39 the Abrahamic Covenant." 36:40 "He waited for the city which has foundations, 36:43 whose builder and maker is God." 36:46 And then jump down to verse 13. 36:48 It says these, who are these? 36:50 These are the patriarchs and prophets 36:53 under the Old Covenant. 36:54 "They died in faith, 36:56 not having received the promises, 36:59 but having seen them afar off, and they were assured of them, 37:02 they embraced them and confessed 37:04 that they were strangers and pilgrims in the earth." 37:06 So both the Old Covenant 37:07 and the New Covenant had the same rewards. 37:10 They both had the promise of eternal life 37:14 but yet the New Covenant is built on better promises. 37:19 Hebrews 8:6, 37:21 we've already read this, but let's read it again. 37:22 Hebrews 8:6, "Now He, this is Jesus, 37:26 has obtained a more excellent ministry, 37:29 inasmuch as He is also a mediator of the New Covenant, 37:33 of a better covenant, 37:35 which was established on better promises." 37:39 That word better appears many times 37:42 in the Book of Hebrews. 37:44 And if you look at the original Greek, 37:46 that word appears in Hebrews 1:4, 37:48 Jesus became so much better, 37:50 there's that word, than the angels. 37:53 It appears in Hebrews 7:19, we have a better hope, 37:56 through which we draw near to God. 37:59 It appears in Hebrews 7:22, 38:01 Jesus has become surety of a better covenant. 38:05 Hebrews 8:6, we just read it. 38:07 Jesus is the mediator of a better covenant 38:09 established on better promises. 38:12 Hebrews 9:23 talks about better sacrifices than these. 38:17 Hebrews 10:34 talks about a better 38:20 and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. 38:24 Hebrews 11:16 says they desire a better country, 38:28 that is a heavenly country. 38:31 Hebrews 11:35, others were tortured, 38:34 not accepting deliverance, 38:35 that they might obtain a better resurrection. 38:39 Hebrews 11:40, 38:41 God having provided something better for us, 38:45 this again is the promise of the New Covenant. 38:48 Hebrews 12:24, to Jesus, 38:50 the Mediator of the New Covenant 38:52 and to the blood of sprinkling 38:53 that speaks better things than that of Abel." 38:57 That word better is all throughout 39:00 the Book of Hebrews. 39:02 In Hebrews, something better refers 39:04 to those blessings that we're going to look at 39:06 in the New Covenant. 39:08 Now, this has been covered very clearly, 39:10 those under the Old Covenant, 39:11 they had access to the same blessings as well, 39:15 but they only received them in figure 39:17 or in shadow of what was to come 39:21 and they failed at receiving those blessings 39:25 as Pastor James brought out so eloquently. 39:27 So let's look at the Old Covenant promises 39:29 and the New Covenant promises. 39:31 We're going to compare Exodus 24, 39:34 and Hebrews Chapter 10. 39:35 So you can keep a finger in Hebrews 10 39:37 and a finger in Exodus 24, 39:40 we're going to compare the two. 39:42 Remember, Exodus 24, is right at the end 39:44 of the giving of the Sinaitic Covenant. 39:47 It's given in Exodus 19, 39:48 we have the heart of the covenant 39:50 with the Ten Commandment law in Exodus 20. 39:52 And then by the time we get to Exodus 24, 39:54 we see this ratification of the covenant and blood. 39:57 So let's take a look at this. 39:59 We're going to compare the Old Covenant promises 40:02 and the New Covenant promises, 40:03 we're going to compare them. 40:05 And I have five comparisons for you and hopefully, 40:08 we'll get through all of this. 40:10 The first comparison is separation from God. 40:13 In the Old Covenant, 40:14 the people were separated from God, 40:16 only Moses was allowed direct access 40:20 into God's presence. 40:22 In the New Covenant, 40:23 Jesus' sacrifice bridged the gulf 40:26 between us and God and brought us together. 40:29 We're in Exodus 24, this is the Old Covenant, 40:32 we see that gulf between the people and God. 40:34 Exodus 24:1-2, "Now He said to Moses, 40:38 'Come up to the Lord, 40:39 you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, 40:40 and seventy of the elders of Israel, 40:43 and worship from afar. 40:46 And Moses alone shall come near the Lord, 40:49 but they shall not come near, 40:51 nor shall the people go up with him.'" 40:52 We see this separation from the people 40:55 in their sinfulness and the holiness of God 40:57 and Moses alone was allowed access. 41:00 Moses is a type of Christ. 41:01 Moses as an intercessor, 41:03 you could say for the people in the New Covenant. 41:06 In Hebrews 10:19-20, "We see therefore, brethren, 41:10 having boldness to enter the Holiest 41:13 by the blood of Jesus." 41:15 So Jesus bridges that access. 41:17 Jesus brings us, bridges that gulf 41:20 and brings us directly 41:21 into the presence of the Father. 41:24 Through Him, you and I can come boldly 41:26 before the throne of grace. 41:28 Ephesians 2:13, "Now in Christ Jesus, 41:31 you who are once far off 41:33 have been brought near by the blood of Christ." 41:36 Let's look at comparison number two. 41:38 Obedience is a condition of the covenant. 41:43 In the Old Covenant, as Pastor James brought out, 41:46 the humans imperfectly obeyed the law. 41:49 Why? 41:51 They tried to obey in their own strength. 41:52 They said, all that the Lord has said, 41:54 we will do, not recognizing that 41:59 they couldn't do anything. 42:00 All our righteousness is as filthy rags. 42:05 In the New Covenant, Jesus, we're in Hebrews 10:7, 42:09 I think it was Shelley who read this. 42:10 "Then I said, 'Behold, I have come in 42:12 the volume of the book it is written of Me 42:15 to do Your will, O God." 42:18 Jesus came as the perfect sacrifice 42:21 in substitute. 42:22 He lived the perfect life in humanity, 42:26 in flesh, He lived the perfect life, 42:29 and He died as the perfect substitute. 42:32 His perfect obedience guarantees 42:35 the covenant promises 42:37 that are extended to us today. 42:40 Comparison number three, 42:42 sacrifice is required as a result of sin. 42:46 In the Old Testament, 42:47 the difference between the two covenants. 42:49 The Old Testament 42:50 and that sacrifice prefigured Christ. 42:52 It was animals' sacrifices, 42:55 but it did not actually cleanse from sin, 42:57 but by faith in the coming Messiah, 43:01 it cleansed from sin, but Jesus when He came, 43:05 He was the perfect sacrifice and He cleansed from sin. 43:09 Not only everyone from that point forward 43:12 but everyone behind who had looked forward 43:15 in faith to the coming Messiah. 43:18 We see in Hebrews 10:6, 43:20 "And burn offerings and sacrifices for sin, 43:22 you had no pleasure." 43:24 Verse 8, "Previously saying, sacrifice and offering. 43:27 Burnt offerings and offerings for sin, 43:28 you did not desire nor had pleasure in them." 43:31 Verse 10, 43:33 "But that will we have been sanctified 43:35 through the offering of the body 43:37 of Jesus Christ once for all." 43:39 You see in Christ type met antitype. 43:42 By one offering He perfected forever 43:46 those who are being sanctified. 43:48 Comparison number four, 43:49 the covenant was to be ratified with blood. 43:52 In the Old Testament, the Old Covenant, 43:55 it was ratified with the sacrifice of animals. 43:58 In the New Covenant, 43:59 it's ratified with the blood of Christ. 44:02 Hebrews 10:9, "Then he said, 'Behold, 44:06 I have come to do Your will, 44:07 O God, He takes away the first. 44:11 Jesus death took away the animal sacrificial system, 44:16 that he may establish the second." 44:19 That Old Covenant system 44:20 of the sacrifices was taken away 44:23 so that the New Covenant of Jesus' blood 44:26 would be established. 44:28 And finally, number five, comparison number five, 44:31 the covenant required the law. 44:34 The Old Covenant, 44:36 the laws we know was written on the tables of stone. 44:39 The New Covenant is written where? 44:41 In the tables of the heart. 44:45 Hebrews 10:16, 44:46 "This is the covenant I will make with them 44:48 after those days, says the Lord. 44:50 I put My law in their hearts, and in their minds, 44:54 I will write them." 44:55 Now, I don't know this is just Jill's interpretation 44:58 and you might disagree with this, 44:59 but I actually believe the Old Covenant, 45:01 God wanted to write in their hearts as well. 45:04 If you read that in Deuteronomy Chapter 11, 45:07 you can see where God says, 45:09 "Write it in your hearts." 45:11 But for whatever reason, 45:12 the people looked at it as legalism 45:15 or an outward form of obedience 45:17 or we can save ourselves by our own works 45:20 or our own obedience. 45:21 And they fail to recognize 45:23 that God really wanted to write it 45:25 in their hearts as well. 45:26 So in that case, I think God wanted to write 45:28 in the Old Covenant and New Covenant, 45:30 the law in their hearts, 45:31 but the people were stubborn 45:32 but the beautiful thing is that the New Covenant 45:34 is built on those better promises. 45:37 That's right. Amen. 45:38 Amen. 45:39 What a blessing it has been to be here 45:41 at this part of the table 45:42 and listening to each and every one of you. 45:44 Well, my name is John Dinzey, 45:45 and I have Thursday's portion of the lesson. 45:48 The title is The New Covenant 45:50 Has Solved the Problem of the Heart. 45:55 In this portion of the lesson 45:56 we are comparing Ezekiel 36:26-27 46:01 and Jeremiah 31:33. 46:04 So we've been using a word that I wonder 46:07 if the new generation understands. 46:09 We don't use this in everyday language, 46:10 the word covenant. 46:12 Well, what is the covenant? 46:13 Well, the dictionary says it's an agreement, 46:15 usually formal between two or more persons. 46:18 So if you're in the... 46:20 Younger generation, perhaps, 46:21 a synonym would be an agreement or a contract, 46:24 where two are joined together, 46:26 either groups of people or people to agree to do 46:29 one thing or not to do one thing. 46:31 So here, we've talked about 46:34 the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. 46:36 Good information, and I hope you jotted things down 46:39 or like we've said before, 46:40 you can go on to 3ABN+ 46:43 and go back and listen again and write things down. 46:46 Let's go to Jeremiah 11:10, 46:52 this is what God says, 46:53 "They are turned back to the iniquities 46:56 of their forefathers 46:58 which refused to hear My words, 47:01 and they went after other gods to serve them, 47:04 the house of Israel and the house of Judah 47:07 have broken My covenant, 47:09 which I made with their fathers." 47:12 So here we have a situation 47:15 where God is declaring they broke My covenant. 47:17 And the lesson says, 47:18 the first covenant document 47:20 was written by God on tablets of stone, 47:23 and was deposited in the Ark of the Covenant 47:25 as an important witness of God's covenant 47:27 with His people. 47:29 That's found in Exodus 31:18, 47:31 and Deuteronomy 10:1-4 discusses it. 47:34 Now stone, when you write something on stone, 47:37 it's permanent, it's very difficult 47:38 to change what's written on stone, 47:40 however, you can take a stone and hit it with a hammer 47:44 or throw it up in the air 47:45 and maybe you can break it. 47:46 Now the lesson also brings out documents written in stone, 47:50 however, could be broken and scrolls as Jeremiah 47:53 had experienced could be cut up 47:54 and burned in Jeremiah 36:23. 47:59 There's going to be a difference 48:01 when they are written in the heart. 48:02 Praise the Lord for that. 48:03 Look at Deuteronomy 5:29. 48:05 This is God's desire. 48:07 Notice the expression here that is brought out. 48:10 Deuteronomy 25:29, 48:12 "All that they had such a heart in them, 48:16 that they would fear Me, 48:18 and always keep all My commandments, 48:21 that it might be well with them, 48:24 and with their children forever." 48:27 You see, keeping God's commandments 48:29 brings you the blessings that God wants to bring you. 48:32 When you disobey God's commandments, 48:34 God has to withhold blessings from you. 48:38 In Jeremiah 3:20, we go there quickly. 48:41 He says, surely as a wife treacherously 48:45 departs from her husband, 48:46 so have you dealt treacherously with Me, 48:49 oh house of Israel, says the Lord." 48:52 So here we have the Lord, 48:53 and over and over again He sent prophets, 48:57 and He sent judges to them, 48:59 to help them understand 49:01 that they should serve the Lord with all of their hearts, 49:04 and they just continually refused. 49:07 Jeremiah, 3:12-13 says, 49:11 "Go and proclaim these words towards the north, 49:14 and say, return, 49:17 backsliding Israel says the Lord. 49:19 I will not cause My anger to fall on you, 49:22 for I am merciful says the Lord, 49:24 I will not remain angry forever. 49:27 Only acknowledge your iniquity 49:29 that you have transgressed against the Lord your God, 49:33 and have scattered your charms to alien deities 49:36 under every green tree, 49:37 and you have not obeyed My voice, 49:39 says the Lord." 49:41 So while the people of Israel are doing this, 49:43 we see this call of the Lord to return 49:46 and He would have mercy on them. 49:47 In the same way, if you are not with the Lord, 49:51 if you have walked away from the Lord, the Lord says, 49:53 return to Me, and I will be merciful to you. 49:58 In Jeremiah 17:1, 50:00 the lesson brings out this verse, 50:03 very important, it says, 50:05 "The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, 50:09 and with the point of a diamond 50:11 it is engraved on the tablet of the heart, 50:14 and on the horns of your altar." 50:17 It's very interesting that it says 50:18 on the tablet of the heart, 50:20 because like, you must understand 50:23 that if you do evil, evil, evil, 50:25 this forms a pattern in the mind and in the heart, 50:28 in which the devil wants to bring people 50:32 to the same condition 50:34 that the people before the flood. 50:36 This is something he's trying to do today. 50:38 What were the conditions in Genesis 6? 50:41 It says, the thoughts of people's hearts 50:45 were only evil continually. 50:47 And God wants to bring us out of that 50:51 and He wants to change us and transform us. 50:54 Jeremiah 13:23, 50:57 "Can the Ethiopian change his skin 51:01 or the leopard its spots? 51:03 Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil." 51:08 We need a new mind. 51:09 We need a new heart, and that comes from the Lord. 51:13 So the Lord promises a New Covenant 51:14 that you have heard. 51:16 Jeremiah 31:33, "But this is the covenant, 51:21 the agreement that I will make with the house of Israel 51:24 after those days, 51:26 says the Lord. 51:27 I will put My laws in their minds 51:33 and write it on their hearts, 51:35 and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." 51:39 Notice that it says, I will be their God, 51:42 and they shall be My people. 51:44 It is a people that have a desire to serve the Lord. 51:47 I will be their God, I will be with you. 51:50 I will protect you. 51:52 I will be your fortress around you. 51:55 I will be a father to you, and you will be My children. 51:59 This is what God wants to do. 52:01 Revelation 22:17, the Bible says, 52:05 "And the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' 52:09 And let him who here say, 'Come!' 52:11 And let him who thirsts come. 52:13 Whoever desires, 52:14 let him take the waters of life, freely." 52:17 God is making this offer to people today. 52:22 And, you know, we're talking about a covenant 52:24 that He wants to make with the house of Israel. 52:27 We have to understand that this is a reference 52:30 to modern spiritual Israel, 52:34 the Jews, the people of Israel, 52:36 they too can partake of this as individuals, 52:39 but as a nation, 52:41 they forfeited that right as you see there 52:43 in the Book of Daniel Chapter 8. 52:45 And then you can read the Book of Romans to see 52:47 how this is established 52:48 all throughout the New Testament. 52:50 You see what happened with the people of Israel. 52:52 Opportunities were given to them 52:54 over and over and over again. 52:56 But everyone has an opportunity to come to Jesus. 53:00 And what was said in Isaiah Chapter 1 53:02 to the people of Israel? 53:04 God says to people today, notice this in verse 18 and 19, 53:07 "Come now and let us reason together, 53:09 says the Lord, though your sins be a scarlet, 53:12 they shall be as white as snow. 53:14 Though they be red like crimson, 53:16 they shall be as wool." 53:18 Praise God. 53:20 Notice, if ye be willing and obedient, 53:25 you shall eat the good of the land. 53:27 Promised back then, and promised to us today. 53:31 If you are willing and obedient, 53:33 you will eat the good of the land 53:35 of the New Jerusalem. 53:37 God has blessings 53:39 that we cannot even imagine for God's people. 53:43 And so we've been talking about the Mediator 53:45 of the New Covenant, Jesus Christ. 53:47 And notice what Romans 5:8 says, 53:51 "But God demonstrate His own love toward us, 53:56 in that while we were still sinners, 53:58 Christ died for us." 54:00 While these sins were written with the pen of iron 54:04 and the diamond in the heart, 54:07 Jesus dies for us to give us a new heart. 54:12 And so in Ezekiel 36:26-27, it says, 54:16 "I will give you a new heart, 54:18 and put a new spirit within you. 54:21 I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh, 54:24 and give you a heart of flesh. 54:28 I will put My Spirit within you, 54:30 and cause you to walk in My statutes, 54:33 and you will keep My judgments and do them." 54:36 So praise God for this offer that He wants to do 54:41 in each and every one of us. 54:43 Isn't God good? 54:44 God is merciful. God is wonderful. 54:47 And today you have that opportunity. 54:50 So I read again, Jeremiah 31:33, 54:53 "But this is the covenant 54:54 that I will make with the house of Israel. 54:57 All those that are willing today 54:58 after those days, says the Lord, 55:00 I will put My law in their minds 55:01 and write it on their hearts, 55:03 and I will be their God and they shall be My people." 55:06 In the heart, 55:08 they cannot be thrown to the ground 55:10 or hit with a hammer and broken, 55:12 they cannot be cut up and burned up. 55:14 They are a part of you. 55:16 And I encourage you to consider what God wants to do with you. 55:21 You see in the New Covenant as the lesson brings out, 55:23 it says the heart refers to the mind, 55:26 the origin of memory and understanding 55:28 and especially 55:29 to where conscious decisions are made. 55:32 God wants to transform us. 55:35 And I encourage you to allow Him to do the work, 55:38 marvelous work that He wants to do in you 55:40 that you may be His child and live eternally. 55:43 Amen and amen. 55:44 I just quickly want to expand on covenant in the Bible. 55:48 There are two types of covenant 55:49 one is a will that is called a diatheke. 55:53 That's when one person makes all the promises. 55:57 The other is a contract that syntheke between two parties. 56:01 All of God's covenants are diatheke. 56:04 It's God alone making the promises, 56:07 we enter through our loyalty 56:12 in covenant relationship with Him. 56:14 A quick comment on your day. 56:16 And the new and renewed is, in Isaiah 43:19, 56:19 "Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth, 56:24 shall you not know it? 56:26 I will even make a road in the wilderness 56:29 and rivers in the desert." 56:31 Under the New Covenant, 56:32 the Lord is making all the provision. 56:34 We are the benefactors of all the works that He does. 56:37 And the New Covenant has a better mediator 56:40 because Jesus Christ as a human 56:42 has intercepted all of our bad promises. 56:44 And He has made them good. 56:46 He's been faithful to God. Amen. 56:49 We can look at the New Covenant and say, 56:51 well, that's great, but it avails nothing 56:53 unless we make a choice. 56:55 We make a decision to accept Jesus 56:57 and accept His efficacy, 56:59 His blood on our behalf. 57:01 Amen. 57:02 I'm reading to you from one of my favorite books, 57:04 Desire of Ages, page 668. 57:06 All true obedience comes from the heart. 57:08 It was heart work with Christ. 57:10 And if we consent, He will so identify Himself 57:13 with our thoughts and aims, 57:15 so blend our hearts and minds into conformity to His will, 57:18 that when obeying Him we shall be 57:20 but carrying out our own impulses. 57:23 Praise the Lord. Amen. 57:25 Do you remember when Jesus told His disciples, 57:28 I have so much more to tell you but you're not ready to learn? 57:31 You know, we can look and say, 57:33 why did God have a progression in His revelation 57:38 of the everlasting covenant? 57:40 Because people weren't ready to learn 57:42 so God just continues to build, to reveal Himself. 57:47 He came down in the flesh to reveal 57:50 the actual character of God. 57:54 We hope you've enjoyed today's lesson 57:56 as much as we have. 57:58 And lesson number nine is going to be Jesus, 58:03 the Perfect Sacrifice. 58:04 So join us again next week. 58:06 Bye-bye. |
Revised 2022-01-27