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May 15, 2025 · 1 hr · The Greatest
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Pastor Jeff Schwarzentraub serves as president of Pastor Jeff Ministries, a national and global ministry designed to equip believers and challenge them to take
139K followers
The Superiority of Christ's Ministry 0:00 An amen. You know, in the heart of human nature, it's always this idea that we want something better. It's rare that we're content. We always want something better. And so, you know, whether we're0:12 talking about schools, we want our kids to be in the best schools. And oftentimes, even when they're young, we want them in the best schools. And when they go off to college, we want them in the the best schools. Or, you0:20 know, if we're employed, we want the the best jobs that have the best pay with the best retirement. We we want the best of everything. We wanna live in the best neighborhoods. We wanna have the0:32 the best neighbors. And we're seems like we're always looking for an upgrade on something. I mean, even when it comes to athletic teams, we often hope that our team will get 1 of those better players. And when they come0:44 to our team, then we have a better team. And we we like to compare. And it's in the heart of us from the time that we're young. I mean, some of you may remember this phrase as a kid. Remember0:55 that? I mean, it was this idea, I have something you don't have and I'm better than you or I'm faster than you and you can't get it. And in the heart of us, there's something about that where we wanna know that we have1:06 what's best. As we've been studying the book of Hebrews, we've been taking a look at our great high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, and taking a look at who he is and how he is better than any other high priest that1:16 served. But today, I wanna talk about why his ministry is superior, why his ministry is the the best. For those of you that are Christians, you'll wanna hear this message because you'll wanna know often how to answer1:28 somebody when they think that you're arrogant because you believe Jesus Christ is the only way, the truth, and the life. And they begin to talk to you about, hey, why can you say that? I mean, I know this person over1:37 here and this person over here and they're not Christian and they're a good person. And for you who are non believers, some of you that are exploring the faith and you're saying, I'm not so sure where I am yet with1:46 Jesus. How do I know that Jesus Christ is real? And how do I know he's the only way and how do I know he's the 1 that I need to give my life to? I believe that God has a word for you. Because what God wants to point out1:58 through his word that is that the ministry or the service of Jesus Christ is superior to all other charlatans or anyone else that pretends to be God. And so to look at that today, we're gonna be in2:10 Hebrews chapter 8. I'd like to read through those 13 verses there and then we'll unpack and take a look at 4 ways that the ministry of Jesus Christ is superior to any other ministry. And I think as you hear this today,2:20 it should bring your heart a incredible deal of hope and joy. Hear the word of the Lord. It says, Now the main point in what has been said is this, we have such a high priest who has taken his seat at the2:32 right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven, tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and2:44 sacrifices. So it is necessary that this high priest also has something to offer. Who offer the gifts according to the law, who serve as a2:56 copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God erect the tabernacle for See, he says that you make all things according to the pattern3:08 which was shown you on the mountain. But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry by As much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better3:20 promiseness. For if that covenant had been been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a for I will affect a3:32 new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day when I took the to lead them out of the land of Egypt for they did not continue in my3:42 covenant and I did not care for them says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days says the Lord, I will put my laws into their mouth, into their minds, and I will3:54 write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people, and they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen and everyone his brother saying, know the Lord for all will know me from the least to4:04 the greatest of them, for I will be merciful to their inequities and I will remember their sins no more. When he said a new covenant, he made the first obsolete, but whatever is becoming obsolete and growing4:16 old is ready to disappear. And here as this author is telling us about this high priestly ministry of Jesus and how he's so perfect and powerful and present and wonderful4:27 and awesome and good, he's reminding these people of why his ministry is superior. Because all of us wanna know when we're in times of trouble or distress or living our lives or who we're gonna rejoice with, who cares4:39 about our lives? The author of Hebrews wants you to know, the Lord Jesus Christ does. And no matter who you are and no matter what you're going through, there's a ministry that the Lord wants to have in your life that's4:50 superior to any other place that you can go. And so we're gonna take a look at 4 good ways that the Lord's ministry is superior to anybody else. And here's the first. We have a great high priest who number5:02 1 ministers in a superior location. He ministers in a superior location. Now, he's been talking about the sun and who the sun is and the great high priest that he is. And even though he's holy, he5:14 welcomes us to come. And in chapter 8, he begins to move us forward by summarizing and going ahead. And here's what he says. Now the main point in what has been said is this. I mean, when I read this5:26 part of the passage, I think, if you haven't been paying attention for the last several weeks, specifically the last 2, I'm gonna tell you what you need to know, and I'm gonna tell you what you need to remember. If5:37 you've ever written a doctoral thesis or you've ever read 1, which is even more boring, you'll know that when you get to a place, it's redundancy sometimes, and you're saying the same thing as, now the main point is5:48 this. If you miss everything else, get this now. Well, what's the main point? The main point is this, that we have such a high priest. That's the main6:00 Y'all have him. If you have Jesus, you have everything that we've been talking about. If you have Jesus, you have everything you need for life and godliness. If you have Jesus, you need look nowhere else. That's6:12 the main point. And what does he tell us about this high priest who has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the Now, when we talk about6:24 real estate, there's 3 words when you talk about real estate that are really important. You know what they are. Right? Location, location, location. Right? That's the most important. So a bad house in a good location6:34 might cost more than a good house in a bad location. He's saying Jesus is ministering from the most premier location. Where is he ministering from? The right hand of the throne of God. What's the right hand of the throne6:46 of God? We know God is spirit, so he really doesn't have a right hand. God the father doesn't have a right hand. He's spirit. The place of the right hand of the throne of God is a place of designated Jesus' authority and6:56 power and exaltation and worthiness that he's greater than anyone else. It means it sets Jesus Christ apart from anyone else who would claim to be a minister, anyone else who would7:08 claim to speak for God. Jesus Christ is the greatest of all time. That's what he's saying. Now we know that he came to earth and that the word became7:20 flesh. But when Jesus Christ died on the cross, his work was completed. If you were here on Good Friday, we talked about that verse in John 19 verse 30 that said,7:32 it is finished. The 1 Greek word, tetelestai. It means it's done. It's over. Later rose from the dead and then was on the earth for a period of days and7:44 then ascended into heaven, what did he do when he ascended into heaven? He took a seat. Completed7:55 once and for all, for all time. We're gonna see as we go through this book of Hebrews that priests of the day would offer sacrifices on a daily basis over and over and over because they needed to continually cover the8:07 sins of the people because guess what? The people in the first century and thousands of years ago are just like us. They still sinned. And so they had to cover it and cover it and cover it. But when Jesus died, he8:17 covered our sins once and for all. First Peter 8 says, the righteous died for the unrighteous once for all to bring you to God. Second Corinthians 5 21 says, God made him who had no sin to8:29 be sin for us so that in him you might become the righteousness of God. A high priest never sat down. A priest never sat down. A priest was always ministering before the Lord. His work was8:41 never completed. When Jesus sat down in the heavens, he was saying, it's done. I told you it was done. It's finished. My atoning work is8:53 completely complete. And that's what he wanted us to know. And he ministers from a wonderful place. He ministers from the the right hand, the place of power, which9:05 tells us this. When you need something from God, there's 1 who can deliver to you. It also is pretty interesting for me because the book of Ephesians in chapter 2 and verse 6 tells9:17 us that positionally, when we trust in Jesus Christ, we are seated in the heavenly realms with Christ Jesus. That for those of us who have turned from our sins and placed our faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone, while9:28 we're physically here on this planet, positionally we're in the heavens with Christ Jesus for which he's ruling and reigning. Now that's pretty important because if you think about it, even in our lives today, many times9:40 we think about like where we're gonna go to church. That's a good question, right? And oftentimes we think about this, which is closest to me? How long does it take me to get there? Is the traffic pattern okay?9:52 Can I park there? You can't here. Or are the seats comfortable? No. We know that. All those but those are things that go through our minds. But here's what I want you to know. When10:04 it comes to the person of Jesus, it's not where you attend, it's who you are attending to. It's where we give our attention. Friends, I love brave. I love brave. I think brave is 1 of the greatest10:15 places to minister. If the I had my wish before the Lord, this is where I'd like to finish my ministry. I'd like to be here until the day I go home to meet Jesus. I hold it with an open hand, but that's what I hope. But10:27 when I get to have, and I'm not looking for brave. I'm looking for the brave 1, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen? And brave is only good to the extent that we're seeking the10:39 1 who's sitting at the right hand of the throne of God. Brave is only significant to the place that we're going to give him all of our adoration, glory, and praise. Brave is only significant to the extent we're going to10:47 preach his word, that we're going to seek him in prayer, that we want to serve him. Amen? And so here's the neat thing about Jesus. You may be familiar with this credit card commercial. It says this. I think it's Visa.10:59 It's everywhere you wanna be. Friends, because Jesus is located at the right hand of the throne of God, he's everywhere you wanna be. It means if you're right here in Inglewood, you're in11:11 Westminster, you're in the United States, you go overseas to Czech Republic, Germany, India, Israel, wherever you go, you can call upon his name at any time. And he holds the place of authority, the place of power,11:23 the place of glory. He's being exalted above the heavens and the earth and he is available to you any place at any time. That's good news. Right? That's good news because he's ministering from a superior location.11:35 He's the king of kings and the lord of lords. There's no earthly priest that can make that claim. There's no earthly priest that can minister from here and say, I'm God. Jesus is God. And that's why he's in the11:47 throne of God, ministering as God in this situation. So he ministers in a superior location. That's the main point. We have this great high priest. He ministers in a11:59 superior location. Number 2, he does this. He ministers in a superior sanctuary. It says of him in verse 2, a minister in the sanctuary12:11 and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. The Old Testament, you can go back and study this and some of you may even know more about this than12:23 than I do. I don't consider myself an expert on it. But if you study through the Old Testament and you ask yourself, where is God's presence? You would start with the tent of meeting. Moses would go out and pitch a tent12:34 and then God he would go out to that tent and God would descend and visit him there. And all Israel would gather around and if they had questions, they would ask Moses. And the Bible says that God would talk to Moses12:44 face to face as a man talks to another man. So in that tent of meeting, which then became the tabernacle. And if you're interested, you can go through the Old Testament. I think Exodus 25 to12:56 31 would be 1 of those places you could look and you could see how the tabernacle was to be erected and the pieces of furniture that needed to be there because they were all represented all representative of how God13:08 wanted to be approached in holiness. So whether it was the offering that had to be made on the altar, or whether it was the laver that had to clean them, or whether it was the the lampstand that represented the light of13:18 Christ and the holy spirit, or whether it was the showbread of the fresh word of God, or whatever it was, it was all ways of showing how to get into the presence of God. And all throughout Israel's history, there13:29 were animals being sacrificed and God being served and people going after God because that was what he set up. And then came the temple period where it wasn't just a tenth that they pitched, but it was an13:41 actual temple in Jerusalem where they had many of those same pieces and God was clear, this is how the temple should be built. This is how it should look. This is what the priest should wear. This is how he should dress.13:52 This is what he should have on his head. This is what he should have on his chest, because it's so clear that God wants to be worshiped in holy array and there's a certain way to approach the holiness of God. So every14:04 Jew knew from the scriptures exactly how God was to be approached. Who he is. But all of the way that they focused in that sanctuary or tabernacle14:16 or temple was a foreshadowing of the 1 who was to come, who would be the completeness of that sanctuary. The book of John, the gospel of John, when14:27 he opens up, he opens up his gospel a little differently. He tells us in John one:one, in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. So this unknown God that we're14:39 we don't know and that we're not gonna understand, he's God and he's always been there from the beginning. And in John 1 14, he says an incredible thing. And the word, this very word, became14:51 flesh and made his dwelling among us. This God became flesh. This God became a man and he lived among us. You know what the literal15:03 translation is? He pitched his tent among us. He tabernacled among us. When Jesus Christ came into the world, he came into the world as the tabernacle,15:15 the very presence of God. Old Testament were all pointing to the coming Messiah. We're all pointing to the 1 who was the fulfillment15:27 of all those things, the holy 1 of God, the presence of God, then you can understand. That's why the15:39 Jews got so upset when Jesus said something like this. And then, destroy this temple and I will rebuild it in 3 days.15:51 The Jews thought he was talking about the temple. Took 46 years to build and you think you're gonna But he wasn't talking about the temple. What was he talking about? He was talking about himself being God. When you16:02 crucify me 3 days later, I'm going to arise and I am the temple of God. I am the presence of God. I am God. Why do you think the Jews wanted to kill him? Because for centuries and for16:13 generations, they have been told through their scriptures what the tent of meaning was and what the tabernacle was and what the temple was and what the holiness of God was to be like and here comes this radical saying we16:23 don't need that anymore because I'm here. Well that's blasphemy Jesus, because you're claiming that you're God. He's like, it's not blasphemy because I am God. That's who I am. That's why at the end of16:34 Jesus life, the high priest was asking him, are you the Christ? Are you? Are you not gonna answer me? And what he say? I am. I am. I've never tried to keep that from16:46 you. And that's why it's not that the tabernacle or the temple or the tent of meeting was bad. It's not like this is the true temple as if the other 1 was false. But those16:58 were all just shapes and shadows, types and shadows of what was to come. Right? I mean, if you're looking forward to something, it's not the picture of what's coming that's as important17:10 as what reality is. You know, some of you as you drive down the street, you may see billboards for concerts that are coming to town this summer. As a matter of fact, I was driving up I 25 recently and I saw on the side17:21 of Empower Field at Mile High, some of the concert series that are coming this summer. And I remember thinking, okay, so they're advertising for this and they're putting out dates. Hey, this is a billboard directing you17:32 to something live that is coming. And I saw signs like Luke Combs is coming and Red Hot Chili Peppers and Kenny Chesney. They're all coming to empower field in my heart. Now if you like those artists, you can17:44 buy a ticket and go. And the whole reason for the billboard and the picture of this person is to show you that what's coming at the live event is better than the billboard. Everything in the old17:56 testament is a billboard pointing forward to the Messiah, so that when Jesus comes, you don't need the billboard anymore. Because if you're gonna purchase a ticket and you're gonna go to 1 of those shows, I promise you18:08 if you like those bands, the show's gonna be better than the billboard. It would be weird, wouldn't it, to say, I don't want a ticket. I just wanna buy the billboard. And I'd like to hang that in my front yard and just18:18 look at it and just think about that that could happen someday. And what God is telling us through his word is that the shadows and types of the old18:30 testament were all promising the coming messiah. And now that the coming messiah is here and he's the fulfillment of God's present, we don't need the types and shadows anymore.18:42 They're obsolete. They don't do anything for us. Their whole purpose was to point us to Christ. And once we have Christ, he has a superior ministry because he's ministering in a superior location18:54 and he's ministering in a superior sanctuary. He's in the very presence of God. And that's what he's trying to tell us. And you say, well, I'm not Jewish and I didn't live19:06 in the first century, so I don't get it. Here's what I mean. No matter what denomination you go to, there's different practices and rituals that they will have you do. And if you study them, some of them can be valid19:18 in your Christian experience and walk. But what I find is that sometimes people would rather prefer those religious preferences and standing and sitting and doing things in a certain way and going through the motions19:30 when they don't even know Christ. And they're afraid to realize that that was all pointing to Jesus and now that you have Jesus, you don't need to do all the rituals anymore. When you come to Brave Church, we're not19:42 here to give you rituals so that if you do those rituals, you'll get closer to God. We're here to put Jesus Christ on display so you can have the living presence of God in your life and worship him and19:53 honor him and pray to him and seek him and hear him so that you can grow as a believer in Christ. That's what he's saying. And we have this tendency because all of us in our hearts would prefer to be religious than be in20:05 a relationship. And if you don't think that that's true, just think about your own life. I mean, when it comes time for people to get married, some people, I gotta get married in a church. That's the only way God will20:15 honor it. Can't get married on a beach. Yeah, you can. Especially if I'm officiating, you definitely can. But we have all20:27 these things and if I don't stand and sit at just the right time or the priest doesn't pray this prayer in just the right way and Every church has a form and a style of20:39 worship and we can be attracted to 1 more than another as long as Jesus Christ is being honored. There's nothing wrong with having a kneeling rail and kneeling. There's there's nothing wrong with praying routine prayers20:50 as long as Jesus is being honored. So I'm not putting down rituals and routines in and of themselves. What I'm saying is sometimes we preference the rituals and routines to having a personal relationship with Jesus.21:01 And there's a lot of people that have different rituals and routines that love Jesus and that's fine. There's different ways to honor and worship him and that's fine. But Jesus has a superior ministry. He has a superior21:13 sanctuary because he himself is our sanctuary. Everything in our old testament that's so true and that we read about, we read about this God who never changes. But we were reading billboards in our old testament.21:25 It's pointing to Jesus. That's why when he came, and I quote the scripture often,21:46 You're studying the scriptures. That's good. They testify about me. But they've all been a billboard pointing to me, and here I am in front of you, and you're rejecting the very scriptures that are telling you that I'm21:55 coming. That's the problem. And we live in a day and age sometimes, for sure with non believers who would rather go through religious practices than have a relationship with Christ. And even sometimes as Christians,22:08 once we come to Christ, we think there's all these things we gotta do in a certain order, in a certain way, and if we do them in that order, in a certain way, in a certain time, then God's gonna love us more. No sir, no22:18 ma'am. He ministers in a superior sanctuary. He ministers in a superior location and he loves you with an unconditional love. So the first 1, superior location.22:30 Second 1, superior sanctuary. Third 1 is this, we have a great high priest who ministers in a superior manner. He he ministers in a superior manner or a superior way. Hear the word of the22:42 Lord in verse 3. He says, for every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, so it is necessary that the high priest also have something to offer. Here's the question the Jews would have asked. Well,22:53 if your high priest Jesus is in heaven and he sits down, I mean, is he lazy? Does. They're they're ministering on our behalf because a Jew understood the23:05 only way to God was through the priest. If they were gonna give tithes, they gave it through the priest. If they were gonna offer sacrifices, the priest would offer the sacrifices on behalf of God. They were gonna23:14 worship or serve. It always came through the priest. Now, they're not being offered temple service or synagogue service, and they don't have a priest they can call their own, and they're asking the question then, well,23:24 what's Jesus doing now if he's just sitting around doing nothing? Like, doesn't he do anything anymore? And Like, doesn't he do anything anymore? Because priests offer gifts and they offer sacrifice. Sacrifice is what23:35 they offer to cover sin. In the old testament, sin was not cleansed, it was just covered. And there's a big difference. Did you know that? In the Old Testament, sin was covered in such a way until the Messiah got here23:47 where it could be cleansed. I remember when I was a teenager, you know, when you used to have acne or pimples or those kind of things, pads. You'd wash your face in the morning.23:59 You'd wash your face at night. It didn't take that stuff away. It just kind of covered it up a little bit so people couldn't see it. Ladies, let me be a little more specific. There's this thing called foundation. Have24:09 you ever heard of it? When ladies put on foundation, they're not they they put it on understanding that the the blemishes they're covering, they haven't gone anywhere, but nobody else can see them. That's what24:21 old testament was for. It was the covering of sin until the Messiah came. But in the New Testament, when Jesus paid for our sin, we were cleansed from the inside out. The the warts, the blemishes, the things we didn't24:32 want, it's gone. It's different now. Which Jesus is ministering. He's no longer just covering up sin saying, 1 day I'll deal with that, but you24:44 know, you gotta understand I'm not looking at it anymore. He's saying, I'm washing it all away and I'll never remember it anymore. It's a fantastic new way of ministry. It's 1 the Old Testament did not24:55 have. And so that was what he did with sin, but what about gifts he still offers? Well, when it comes to worship, when it comes to prayer, when it comes to confessing sin, serving, being obedient,25:08 or seeking forgiveness, they all come through Christ. We can't worship the living God except through Christ. We can't honor the living God except through Christ. We can't pray to God except through the living25:19 Christ. We can't confess our sin except through the living Christ. We can't serve unless we're serving through the living Christ. We can't be obedient apart from the living Christ. We can't even seek forgiveness apart25:29 from Christ. The Bible says that we have 1 mediator, the man Jesus Christ, first Timothy 2 5. So we still have a high priest on our behalf that ministers. That's why when you25:41 say, well, I know some people, they're not Christians, but they're good people. They're they're still spiritual. They do all these things. If they're not doing it through Christ, it's meaningless. Let me say it again25:51 because some of you don't understand this. What I'm saying is, spiritual, but apart from Christ, they're meaningless.26:03 And your response is, but Jeff, they're good people. Good according to whose definition?26:16 Short of the glory of God. So why are they good? If you're not good and I'm not good and no one's good, how are they good?26:27 Something that's even worse. God says, we still need a mediator. We can't worship God apart from Christ. We wouldn't even know God if Christ hadn't come on our behalf. We wouldn't know Christ if he hadn't awakened our26:37 hearts and shown us the way to faith. We would not know anything apart from Christ. Christ is our mediator between God and man, and he's a superior mediator. He ministers in a superior manner.26:49 And if you have Christ, you don't need other high priest to go through. All you need is the Lord Jesus Christ. Friends, I want you to know something today that through Christ and through his sacrifice on the cross, he's27:00 forgiven all your sins. There's no need for another sacrifice. That's really good news this morning hard time coming into church on Sunday because of the Saturday night that27:12 they had. And I know there's empty seats here because some that normally attend had a bad Saturday night according to their idea last night and don't feel like they can be here until they work it off and make things27:22 right. Worked off all your sin. And when you've turned from your sin and turned to Christ, you are completely 100 percent forgiven. And he27:34 doesn't minister to you so that you will do good things for him. You're you're not getting right with God so that he'll love you. He already loves you unconditionally and it's those things that prompt you to love God the27:46 way he wants you to love him. I'll be I'll be candid with you. When I first became a Christian, I was so excited. I knew that I knew that I knew that Jesus Christ had washed away all my sin. I knew I wasn't religious27:57 anymore. I knew I had a personal relationship with Christ. But then I began to get discipled, and it started to feel like a burden. And I read my bible and then it felt like a burden. Like all this behavior I need to28:08 change and all this stuff I need to do and I gotta attend church and I gotta serve and I gotta give money and I gotta I gotta I gotta I mean, it just felt burdensome. You ever felt that? Felt burdensome to me. Maybe28:20 some of you are way more spiritual than I was, but felt burdensome to me. And finally, I got to a point where I realized, I don't have to do all these things so that God will like me. I recognize God already loves me and28:30 he already likes me and I'm already adopted and I'm already and I'm already holy, and I'm already righteous, and I'm already forgiven, and I'm already loved. And because he loves me so unconditionally, he's offering me a28:42 way to bring him the greatest honor and to bring me the greatest joy, and I want in on that. So I don't attend church today because I have to I'm not coming here for a paycheck. It's an honor to get to28:54 come into the presence of God with God's people and serve him. Right? It's it's an honor to be able to give back to the Lord. It's an honor to be able to serve him. Grow in him. It's an honor that he loves me29:05 unconditionally. And even on my best days and my worst days, he doesn't change his mind about me. Praise the Lord. And friends, some of you need to hear that truth today because some of you, although born again and29:16 although genuinely know Jesus, are still trying to work for your salvation. God never tells you to work for your salvation. He says, work out your salvation. Let let God work it in and through you.29:28 Right? There's freedom in Christ. There there's joy in Christ. And yet, most of us tend to go back and prefer rituals. And I'm not putting down any denomination because we could call ourselves29:40 non denominational and that'd be a denomination. I mean, all of us have rituals that we do. My wife and I happened to eat in a restaurant last night that was a old Catholic church, small small little place. It was29:52 really cool to eat there and stuff, an Italian restaurant now, but 1 of the tables was in what was formerly the confessional booth. And we thought maybe we should go that 1. Maybe we should get that table next time.30:04 And as I was there, I was thinking how many people have sat there across from a priest and confessed their sins and what really what things have really gone on in the hearts of people in this place over time when they30:12 weren't there eating spaghetti and chicken parm and all that kind of stuff. Right? And some of us prefer that because in some ways, religion is easier than a relationship because religion tells me if I30:24 do these things that I've set up in my mind to do, then God will be pleased. And so I'll just do them and make sure I do them better than others. Versus, I just wanna give up the entirety of my life to Christ and let him30:35 do his work in and through me. And my life is his and I'm not working for him anymore. I'm letting him work through me. Right? And the glory of the gospel and the freedom that we have in Christ is that's the truth of the30:46 gospel. Make no mistake about it. Superior sanctuary in a superior manner. He really does. Notice30:58 verse 5, 4 and 5. He says, now if he were here on earth, he would not be a priest at all since there are those who offer the gifts according to the law who serve as a copy and a shadow of the heaven heavenly things just31:08 as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle. He says from Exodus 25 40, see that you make all things according to the pattern which he has shown you on the mountain.31:24 He he didn't come from the ironic line. He wasn't part of the Levitical tribe. He was from the tribe of Judah. That's why even when Jesus goes into the temple on the earth, he never goes into the holy of holies. He31:33 wasn't welcome there. He wasn't of the right tribe. He couldn't do that. But as we've read for the last 2 weeks, he was from a different order of priests. He was from the order of Melchizedek, the king of peace and the31:43 king of righteousness. And because he's always been part of that eternal order, he's able to minister as the eternal high priest from heaven to us. If he was here on earth, he couldn't do that because he wouldn't meet31:55 the requirements of the law. But they've all been fulfilled in him through his death, burial, and resurrection. And now he's our great high priest in the heavens who ministers to us from heaven in a superior sanctuary,32:07 in a superior way. It means this, there are people in the church who can serve you and who can help you grow and you should be grateful for those around you that are helping pour into your life32:18 or helping you grow together or that you're being able to pour into other, that's wonderful, but there's nobody that replaces Jesus, you don't need anybody else. We don't have confessional here because you don't need to32:29 confess your sins to me so that I'll confess them to Christ. If you're a Christian, just confess them to Christ. You don't need me so that you can worship God. If you wanna worship God, just worship God through Jesus32:38 Christ. Right? I'm here to facilitate your worship of him. I'm not the mediator between him. You and the father are mediated by Jesus Christ himself. Isn't that good news? That's what32:50 he's saying. And so we have a superior location, a superior sanctuary, a superior manner. You say why? I'll make this final point because our33:02 high priest Jesus Christ ministers in a superior covenant, in a superior covenant. We just got done reading about the fact that, you know, they were to build the tabernacle according to God's standards,33:14 but notice verse 6, but now he has obtained a more excellent ministry by as much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises. There's a new covenant. There's a new promise.33:26 There's a a new way of doing things. This covenant or promise, think about it like a will. For those of you that have a will, perhaps you have written down, like, where your belongings33:38 and goods are gonna go and if they're gonna go to your children or your church or your friends or your relatives, just how that's all gonna play out in the events of an untimely death. You you just don't know when you're33:47 gonna go. And so you plan ahead so that you can make the decisions as to where you want to direct your thing so that the government doesn't come in and do it for you. If you don't have a will, get a will.33:58 So that's what it is. But you can make changes to that will all up until the time that you die. And when you make changes, that final will is the will that34:10 counts. None of the other ones make a difference. First born. It's going to your first born. On your tenth will, you say, you know what? I want it to go to my church or I want it to go to my34:22 nephew or I want it to go to That's the only binding 1. This new covenant that Jesus is establishing or has established means that the other one's going to be.34:35 And so it's important that we take a look at this new covenant. It's important that we take a look at this superior covenant. If the old 1 was a type and a shadow of what was to come, then we better take a look at what34:45 this new covenant, a stanza and a stanza, and for that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a the first covenant was bad. It wasn't34:57 wasn't that it was awful, it just meant this, under the old covenant through the law, you could become aware of your sin, and you could become aware of the holiness of God, and you could become aware of your need for a35:09 savior, but the law couldn't save you, cleanse you. And the law couldn't do anything for you other than to point out God's holiness, your unrighteousness, and your need for God.35:21 That's what the old testament was for. Pointing you forward to a day when the messiah that would come and be able to take care of all the things that you need. Well, friends, now that the messiah has come, there's a new35:32 covenant. When I read this, I kind of think about those old westerns. There's a new sheriff in town. His name is Jesus. We're gonna operate by a different way. And what you're gonna see in the following passages35:45 is quoted directly from Jeremiah 31 through chapter Jeremiah chapter 31 verses 31 to 34. Jeremiah chapter 31 verses 31 to 34. Jeremiah chapter 31 verses 31 to 34. Jeremiah chapter 31 verses 31 to 34. Jeremiah chapter 3135:55 verses 31 to 34. I encourage you to read this because the Lord tells about days that are coming. I'll I'll just read it from Hebrews because almost exactly verbatim of what Jeremiah 31 through 34 says. He says this,36:06 behold days are coming says the Lord when I will affect a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand36:16 to leave them out of the land of Egypt, for they did not continue in my covenant, and I did not care for them. So throughout the Old Testament, here's what we read about. Blessings and curses.36:27 God says, if you honor me, I'll honor you. If you're disobedient to me, I'll punish you. Either way, the world's gonna know that I'm God. I've been God. I've read through the prophets. I remember I had a pro an old36:39 testament prophets class. It was from noon to 3 on a Wednesday afternoon because I hated going. And I remember because every time I would go, it was just God being so ruthless with his people, and I was learning about36:50 how serious he was about And I would think, God, these are your children. These are your people. Why would you do that? And finally, it dawned on me 1 day. Because God's name was at stake, and God wanted37:01 Israel to be a light to the nations. So God told them, if you do what I want you to do, I'll honor you in such a way that every other nation on the earth will look on and say, whoever their God is, we wanna act like37:11 they're acting because we want the blessing they're getting. And say, whoever their God is, we don't want him mad at us. We don't wanna act the way that they're acting. Either way,37:23 God was gonna get his glory. So God says, if you do what I want, I'll bless you. And if you don't do what I want, I'll curse you. But either way, I'm gonna be honored. That's the old covenant. New covenant, God says, I'm37:33 gonna do it a little different this time. It's not gonna be a conditional covenant. It's gonna be an unconditional covenant. It's gonna be something I do for you and establish with you that once you're part of, you'll37:45 never not be part of it again. This is a covenant that God authored. And you say, well, well, when did it start? It started at the end of Jesus' ministry through his death, burial, and resurrection and his37:57 ascension into to heaven. Now I wanna make clear something here. I mean, you can read about the the new covenant as well in Ezekiel 36 and 37. He'll talk about taking your heart of stone and making it a heart ofShow more In this video 0:00 The Superiority of Christ's MinistryComments No comments yet. Start the conversation.
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