Sunday Morning Service 8:30AM - The Ministry is Christ ~ Hebrews 8 ~ Pastor Ryan Nichols

chapter 8. Hebrews, chapter 8. Well, today we move into a new series within the book of Hebrews that I have simply entitled, The Ministry of Christ. And ultimately, this is the last of what we will call the doctrinal series that he gives us. In the book of Hebrews, after that it becomes very, very practical and applicable in nature. But he's dealing with the doctrinal part. And what he's been trying to do is point out to these

Hebrew believers that are being tempted to return to the law, being tempted to return to the Judaic, the Mosaic system, to tell them that Jesus is better. And so he has said that Jesus is so much better than the angels. He has said that Jesus is, much better than the priesthood. And now he tells us that Jesus is far superior in his ministry. So there's four things over the next few weeks that we will take a look at. I will

foreshadow these for you now, but we'll talk specifically about the first one. The first one is that Jesus is the minister in a better sanctuary. That's what we'll cover today. The second one is that Jesus is the minister of a better covenant. The third is that Jesus is the minister in a better tabernacle. And the fourth is that Jesus is the minister of a better

sacrifice. But for this morning, what we will look at is that Jesus is the minister in a better sanctuary. Starting in chapter 8, verse 1, it says this. Now, the main point in what has been said is this. We have such a high priest who has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven. In the sanctuary and the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. For every high priest

is appointed to serve or is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. So it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer. Now, if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the law, who serve a copy and a shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned. By God, when he was about to erect the tabernacle for sea, he says that you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain. But now he has obtained a more excellent

ministry by as much as he is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises. The ministry of Jesus, a minister in a better sanctuary. He starts off by saying this. He starts off by talking about. The ministry of Jesus in the sanctuary. And he says, this is the main point in which we have said. I love this about the writer to the Hebrews, because he gives a lot of information in this

book, right? And every now and then you're kind of like, so what's the point? What are we trying to get to here? And he makes sure that we know this. He says, now this is the main point. He says that we have such a high priest, that we have such a high priest. And what he does is he links everything that he talked about with the priesthood of Jesus, with what he's about to talk about in

the ministry of Christ. So he says, we have such a high priest who, as he told us in the last chapter was holy. This high priest is innocent. He is undefiled. He is separate and he is exalted in his character, but also he is a savior forever. And he is a savior who ever lives to make intercession for us. We have such a high priest who is like that, but we also,

we also have a high priest that looks forward to what he's about to tell us in this next chapter. He tells us that he is a priest who has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven. He has taken his seat at the throne of the right hand of the majesty in heaven. Why does he point this out? Well, he points this out because what he's about to tell us is about

a better sanctuary that is heavenly in nature, not earthly in nature. He's going to tell us

and so Jesus as a high priest is not only the one who is exalted in his character. He is holy. He is innocent. He is separate. He is a high priest forever. He is able to say forever, and he is able to make intercession for us because he ever lives to make intercession for us. But this Jesus is a minister in a heavenly reality. And he starts off telling us that he is seated at the right hand

of the majesty on high. Now there is both a theological, sense in this, but then there's also a very practical purpose to this. Theologically, the fact that he is seated at the right hand of the majesty on high reminds us of the authority that Jesus has. We were told in the first chapter of the book of Hebrews that after he had made cleansing for sins, that he was seated at the right hand of the majesty, indicating the authority that Jesus has because the right hand is always the seat of authority. And so theologically,

he is ministering in heaven in a place of authority, seated at the right hand of the father. But then there's also something very practical about this. Something that's very significant of the fact that Christ is seated at the right hand of the majesty that is on high. You know what you never find in any of the implements of the temple. You never find in any of the temple furnishings a chair. There's tables, there's altars, there's candle

sticks, there's an ark of the covenant, but there is no chair. Why? Because on earth, the work of the priest was never finished. On earth, the work of the priest was continual because he was continually making sacrifice after sacrifice after sacrifice for sin, indicating that the work of the priest was never indicated and was never meant to be the final work. It was always looking forward to

something that would have a finality in the high priesthood of Jesus Christ who would make a sacrifice once for all for sin. And so when he says Jesus is seated at the right hand of the father, there's a significance to that. And I wrote down three things that I think are significant about the fact that he is seated at the right hand of the father. Number one point of significance is that since Jesus is seated at the right hand of the father, it means that his work of redemption is finished. His work of redemption is finished. And I, and I, and I tell all of us

that because I think as believers, we need to continually be reminded of the fact that what Jesus did on the cross is a finished work in the life of the believer, not something that we have to add anything to. I will always say the most significant statement that I believe, if I remember correctly, is written down in all four gospel accounts is what Jesus cried out from the cross right before it says he gave up the ghost. Right before he died, it says that he cried out, finished. And the idea of it is finished comes from a Greek word, tetelestai. And that Greek

word literally means paid in full. And when someone owed a debt, a debt that they had to pay off, the certificate of their debt would be nailed to the door of their home so that everyone knows they owe a debt and they have to pay off this debt. Well, when that debt was paid off, they would take a stamp on and stamp on it, tetelestai, meaning paid in full. And when that debt was paid in full, they can never be held accountable for this debt again because this debt has been paid off. And that's exactly what it meant when Jesus said, it is finished, it is paid in full. And

believer in Jesus Christ, as you sit here this morning, I want you to remember that you have a finished work of Jesus accomplished in your life. There is nothing more you have to do to add to your salvation. There is nothing more you can do to add to your salvation. There is nothing more you can do to add to your salvation. You are as saved as you can ever be because the work of

redemption is finished. Number two, the second thing that's significant about this, not only is the work of redemption finished, but number two, the work of redemption is accepted. The work of redemption has been accepted. Do you know that we are told that the work of Jesus Christ on the cross was proven to be accepted when God raised him from the dead and seated him at the right hand of the throne of the majesty on high. That's what that indicates is that, is that God said it

is accepted. The work on the cross of Jesus finishing redemption has been accepted by the father. Therefore he has highly exalted him and given him a name, which is above every name. In other words, God has the receipt for Jesus. And that receipt is not only the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but the ascension of Jesus Christ. And that receipt is not only the resurrection of Jesus

Christ to the right hand of the father, the work of the cross has been accepted. But the third thing, and I think this is where a lot of us need to live right now, since Jesus is seated at the right hand of the father, he, listen, is at rest. Do you know that Jesus is not worried about what you're worried about today? Whatever it is that has your mind occupied and full of worry and fear, Jesus doesn't have that worry and fear. Why? Because he is not pacing at the right hand of

the father. He is not, uh, twiddling his thumbs at the right hand of the father. He is not stressed out at the right hand of the father. No, he is seated at the right hand of the father. Why? Why is Jesus seated there? Well, because he has no reason to work any longer. He has no reason to stress any longer. He has no reason to fret any longer because Jesus is not worried about what

you're worried about. Jesus is not anxious about what you're anxious about because he is confident in his own finished work on the cross. Then he is confident that if his... finished work is enough for you, and he's not withheld his life for you, how much more is he not going to withhold every good thing that you need in your life? He is not worried about what

you are worried about. Don't get me wrong. It doesn't mean that Jesus is not ministering. We were already told that he ministers in a new sanctuary. We're told that he ever lives to make intercession for us, but Jesus is ministering from a place of confidence and rest, because his work is finished, and because his work has been accepted, and I think that we need to rest in the

fact that Jesus is at rest, because if Jesus isn't fretting about it, maybe you shouldn't fret about it either. If Jesus isn't worried about it, maybe you shouldn't worry about it either. Do you know where we always found Jesus? Anytime the disciples were in the middle of a storm, we always found him at rest, right? Like in the middle of the storms, did you notice?

Jesus was never freaked out. First of all, he was always there. He was always aware, but he was never not at rest. He was always, matter of fact, one time they even woke him up. They're like, we're gonna die, and what was Jesus doing when they were crying? We're gonna die. He was sleeping. Jesus, you should be worried like the rest of us, and too many of us are just like the disciples.

We're trying to pull Jesus out of his seat and say, Jesus, don't you know I'm about to die? And he's going, oh, you have little faith, because as he speaks to the winds and the waves in our lives, he reminds us that there is nothing that is too hard for him. You see, brothers and sisters, we have such a high priest who is not just our savior forever for our souls, but he is at rest in our lives because of his finished work on the cross. Amen? So we have such a high priest who is

in our lives because of his finished work on the cross. Amen? So we have such a high priest who is who has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of the majesty on high. But he goes on to say this,

That word minister is an interesting word. That word minister is literally a public servant or a servant for the people. And so what he's going to do is he's going to present the kind of servant that Jesus is. Jesus is a servant for the people. Remember what we just said. He may be seated at the right hand, but he's not going to be seated at the right hand, because he's going to sit at the right hand.

But he's going to sit at the right hand, because he's going to sit at the right hand, doesn't mean he's not serving. He's serving from a place of confidence and rest, but he's still serving us as our minister. He is a servant for the people. And where is he a servant? He is a servant in, notice what it says, the true sanctuary and tabernacle. The sanctuary and the

true tabernacle. The word sanctuary literally means holy places. That's what the word literally means if you translate that in the Greek. He is a minister in the holy places. Only we know where that really means, because where that really means is the holiest of all. We're going to spend just a little bit of time talking about the tabernacle in just a moment, but let's begin now, shall we?

We're reminded of how the tabernacle was set up, because what he's going to tell us about is the true tabernacle in just a moment. We know how the tabernacle was set up. There was a fence around the outside of it where some of the common people could be, and then you go another lane. There was a level inside of that fence where only the priests could go, and then you have another level inside of that called the holy place. Once again, only the priests can go in there at certain

times to do certain functions that were performed with the table of showbread and the altar of incense and the lampstand and some of those things. And then beyond that, beyond what's called the holy place, was an inner sanctum. It's called the most holy place or the holiest of all. And inside of that holiest of all was a box, and that box is called the Ark of the Covenant. And on top of the Ark of the Covenant

sat the mercy seat where there were these two cherubim facing each other with their wings sticking up in the air. And it would be on that mercy seat that once a year, the high priest, after he had first of all made sacrifice for his own sins, would take the blood of a spotless goat and he would sprinkle it on the mercy seat to make a really fancy word called propitiation or a mercy seat for our sins. Every single year. Well, Jesus ministers in a better sanctuary because the sanctuary that Jesus ministers in, this holiest of all, notice what it says, is in the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man. That word true means genuine. You could also translate that

with a certificate of authenticity. That's the idea of the true tabernacle. Those of you that are card collectors or some sort of historical collectors, you know that oftentimes when you buy a historical artifact or my uncle used to collect all of these helmets and different things from different ballplayers and they would be signed. And along with that would come what? It would

come a certificate of authenticity to say that this is the genuine article. Some guy named Joe Montana didn't sign it. It was actually Joe Montana that signed it, right? It's a certificate of authenticity saying this is the real deal. It's a genuine article. This is the idea of what he says. Jesus serves in the holiest of all in the genuine tabernacle that the Lord set up and not man. Where is the genuine tabernacle that the Lord

set up and not man? Well, it's in the courts of heaven itself. That's the true tabernacle. That's the genuine tabernacle, which is why he tells us that Jesus served in the true tabernacle, not just in the copy or the shadow that we'll talk about in just. A moment. He says he is that kind of a minister for us, a minister in a better sanctuary that is a part of a true tabernacle. He goes on to tell us about some of these earthly ministers. Notice what

he says in verse three. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices so that it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer. He begins to once again tell us about the earthly. So that we can build the idea of the heavenly reality. He says on the earth, priests were appointed in these priests, particularly the high priest is appointed to do the ministry for the people.

And what he would do is he would offer gifts and sacrifices on behalf of the people that made their connection immediately. Okay. We understand who the high priest is. He says, but this high priest must also have something to offer. Interestingly enough, the writer to the Hebrews doesn't go into what he has to offer. He says, but this high priest must also have something to offer.

Partly because when he gets into chapter 10, he'll get more specific about that. But since we've got a few weeks till we get to chapter 10, let me tell you what he had to offer. He didn't have to offer a gift or sacrifice of a temporary animal or some sort of a grain offering of this earth. No, the priest that ministers in a better sanctuary brought a better sacrifice that wasn't temporary like a bull or a goat. He brought the better sacrifice of himself because the better sacrifice of himself did not

take away sin from the world. He brought the better sacrifice of himself because the better sacrifice of himself did not take away sin from the world. He brought the better sacrifice of himself because the better, because he is the priest in a better sanctuary with a heavenly reality. He goes on from there to say, now, if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all. Since there are those

who offer gifts according to the law, you see, this is what this takes us back to what we talked about. Jesus being a high, a high priest, according to the order of Melchizedek. If Jesus were a priest here on earth and the earthly shadow the law would not allow him to be a priest why because he was of the tribe of judah not of the tribe of levi which is why it was necessary that he was a priest according to a different order the order of melchizedek but now he goes on to explain something else he says again starting in verse four so we build the context now if he were on earth he meaning jesus would be no priest at all since there are those who offer gifts according

to the law who serve a copy and a shadow of the heavenly things just as moses was warned by god when he was about to build the tabernacle for see he says that you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain he says the earthly priesthood served in a copy and a shadow of the heavenly thing that word shadow means an imperfect portrayal or a representation of a heavenly reality an imperfect portrayal or a representation of a heavenly reality it's interesting to watch kids play sports especially small kids anybody ever watch small kids play sports right i remember i helped coach my oldest daughter's soccer team i helped coach my youngest daughter's

team but this one sticks out to me the most from my oldest daughter and because when i coached my oldest daughter's soccer team i think she was three she might have been four at the time and and my oldest daughter was not overly interested in soccer it was one of those things you just signed your kid up for it i don't know why that's what we all do but we all sign our kid up for soccer and and it was morning and the sun was shining and my daughter was running and i noticed her not looking at the ball or the goal or anyone else on the team you know what she was looking at was watching her shadow she was going man i'm gonna get in trouble for this one later but that's

okay she's watching her shadow right listen if 17 year old violet still did that i wouldn't tell you that story anymore this is four year old violet and i remember thinking back on that and thinking isn't it amazing that that's what we kind of do with jesus too we don't look at the real deal we look at the shadow and the shadow is always like it's kind of accurate but it's not really accurate right it sort of gives the trail of the person but it's always mildly distorted because because a shadow can only do so much until you get to the reality right a shadow can only show you so much about the person what you really need to do is look at who they are it shows you that they are here and that there is

a reality because i see the shadow that it casts but it doesn't show me the detail of who they are because it's just that it is an imperfect portrayal or a representation of a reality well the shadow here is the tabernacle and the priesthood which was an imperfect portrayal of a heavenly reality he goes on from there to say because moses was warned see that you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain that's a direct quote you might write this down that's a direct quote out of exodus chapter 25 verse 40 exodus chapter 25 verse 40 and i got to thinking about this a lot about the tabernacle and the sanctuary being an imperfect portrayal of the representation of a heavenly reality it's kind of interesting to

think so follow me on this right like there's there's certain times when god began to give really specific revelation before we have some of the written history of the bible i believe that that god had some not before written history some things that are not included in the bible there was a revelation that was given right that's how guys like job came to know jesus job was not an israelite job job was not a part of the family of abraham job was actually probably a contemporary with abraham and he's not part of the chosen people and yet we realized that job had an understanding of god because he was given a general revelation of who god is right um it's kind of like uh rahab in the book of joshua not a part of the israelites but had a general

revelation of god as seen through nature but there are certain points in time in history when when god was given a revelation of who he was and he was given a revelation of who he was and he was given a revelation of who he was and he was given a revelation of who he was specifically to people the first of those people of course is is abraham abraham god spoke to and and said go to a land that i'm going to show you and i'm going to make you a great nation he also spoke directly to isaac and then to jacob and and then there's really no direct revelation from god through the patriarchs until you come to the book of exodus with moses you realize that there's hundreds of years in between genesis and the beginning of exodus where there was no specific

revelation from god they just had the general revelation of nature plus passed down statements that were made to the patriarchs well in the book of exodus god begins to speak specifically again through a man named moses and moses first of all showed the glory of god through the plagues that took place to set the children of israel free in the parting of the red sea but the really specific revelation that god gave through moses was the law specifically the ten commandments which showed the righteousness of God, and then the parts of the law that are sacrificial in nature, which showed God's desire to meet with man that would ultimately be fulfilled in Christ. Part of that sacrificial system that he gave him was the building of the tabernacle.

And the reason why God gave the tabernacle was so that he could show them God's desire to meet with man, because that tabernacle would be the meeting place for the children of Israel. But ultimately what he was doing in that tabernacle is he was showing them a picture of a very heavenly reality. In other words, if you want to know what it's like in heaven, look at the tabernacle, and that gives you a little bit of an idea of what heaven looks like. Because as we go into the book of Revelation, when John is taken up into heaven, you see so many of those heavenly realities presented.

For instance, in the tabernacle, just outside of it, there were two men. There was the bronze laver, where the priests were to cleanse themselves. Interestingly enough, the Holy Spirit is referred to as water, as well as the Word of God is referred to as water, both of which have a cleansing effect on our life. So when you look at the tabernacle and this bronze laver, which brought cleansing, we're reminded of the cleansing power of the Word of God, which is a heavenly reality, and the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit, which is a heavenly reality.

Everybody following me so far? And then you come to the altar, of burnt sacrifice. And the altar of burnt sacrifice is where they would sacrifice the animals that would ultimately make atonement for the people. Well, Jesus ultimately made atonement for the people, only he wasn't sacrificed on an earthly altar. He was sacrificed in a heavenly one, in a sense,

because that sacrifice was brought directly before the throne room of God to make propitiation, to make covering, to make atonement for sin. Well, then as you enter into, to the tabernacle, you find a handful of things in that holy place. The first thing that you find is the table of showbread. And there were 12 loaves of bread that had to be put freshly every week there.

And what did Jesus say that he is? He said, I am the bread of life, which is why in John chapter six, he says, you must eat my body, not because he wants us to cannibalize him, nor does it mean that the Lord's supper eventually transubstantiates and becomes the body and the blood of Jesus, no, he's speaking of the heavenly reality of the fact that Jesus has to be a part of who we are through faith, which is why he tells us he comes and he makes his home inside of us. And so we have this table of showbread that reminds us of the reality of the fact that Jesus is our life. And then in there you have this golden lampstand, which illuminates, it's the only light that illuminates the entire inside of the temple.

What did Jesus say he is? Jesus said, I am the, go ahead, shout it out. I'm the light of the world. right? And we are reminded that the light of Jesus Christ shines into our lives and through us shines into the world around us. That's the heavenly reality that we're given the shadow of in the tabernacle. Well, there's one other thing inside of that holy place, and it's the altar of

incense that was kept burning all the time. Well, we're told in the book of Revelation that the burning of the incense are the prayers of the saints. In other words, every time you pray, it's like you're lighting the altar of incense, and God goes, that smells so good because you are communing with him. Therefore, prayer is not just an earthly shadow. It's a heavenly reality. That

altar of incense was never intended to be something that they always lived with. It was to show them the importance of prayer because it was always coming into the nostrils and the ears of God. Well, then you come into the most holy place, and in the most holy place, the holy of hosts. The throne room of God is the Ark of the Covenant. And the Ark of the Covenant was the representation

of the presence of God amongst the people. But again, it was a shadow, not a reality. The reality is that the throne room of God is in heaven. And now, as he'll get to in chapter 10, we have access directly to the throne room of God, the heavenly reality, because of the blood of Jesus Christ. You see, all of these things are true. They were not true in the true tabernacle, but they were shadows in the earthly tabernacle.

And I keep telling you this because I want you to live. I want all of us to live in the reality of who we are in Christ, not in the shadow of the experiences of the earth. One of my favorite worship songs that we used to sing when I was in Bible college is, I don't remember the name of it, but it goes like this. I'll sing it. I'll just speak it because it's just better that way. It says,

take me past the outer courts into the holy place, past the brazen altar, Lord, I want to see your face. Take me past the crowds of people and the priests that sing your praise. I hunger and thirst for your righteousness, and it's only found one place. Take me into the holy of holies. Take me in by the blood of the lamb. That's the idea. Brothers and sisters, we don't have to live in

the shadows any longer. We can go directly to God. We don't need to go through a priest to be our mediator any longer because we have a better mediator and his name is Jesus. We don't have to go through an advocate any longer because we have a better advocate and his name is Jesus. And you can take all of everything directly to God because he serves, Jesus serves in a true sanctuary that is not a copy or a shadow of the heavenly things.

It is the genuine article, the real tabernacle. And we have access to that through faith. We have access to that. We have access to that because of our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus is a minister and a better sanctuary. There's one more verse we got to cover. We're going to camp out there for a minute because he has a more excellent ministry. Look at verse six.

But he has now 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. He's obtained a more excellent ministry by as much as he is a mediator of a better covenant, which has also been enacted on better promises. Let's take each of those statements. First of all, he's been given a more excellent

ministry. How has Jesus been given a more excellent ministry? I feel like this is the heart of everything that we've been getting to. wrote down again three things why i think jesus has a more excellent ministry based on not only what we've seen here but what we know is true in the word of god number one jesus has a more excellent ministry because it is a ministry of redemption jesus has a more excellent ministry because it is a ministry of redemption that word redemption means to means to pay the purchase price and to buy back and that's what jesus has done with us his ministry with us you see jesus saw all of us on the slave market of sin and you proved that you were on the slave market of sin

because you acted like a slave right like everybody wants to act like they're free when they're living in the world but the fact of the matter is the freedom that you have convinced yourself that you have is actually the slavery that you become comfortable living in the slavery of of the sexual immorality the slavery of the alcohol the slavery of the parties the slavery of the self-righteousness the slavery of all different things whatever it is you name it that's the slavery of the world and when jesus saw you on the slave market of sin acting like a slave he said i'm not content to see them live as a slave and so he went and he paid the purchase price to buy you out of the

slave market of sin so that you could become his own precious possession only he could not pay for that with some form of money we're told in first peter he did and redeem us with silver and gold according to our vain expectations or our vain traditions no he purchased us with the precious blood of jesus you see his is a ministry of redemption because he redeemed you with his own precious blood he purchased you off of the slave market of sin now the question is are you going to live like a slave even though you've been bought off of the slave market of sin or are you going to live like a free man because god has set you free you see the tragedy is that too many people have been purchased by the precious blood of jesus christ but they're still

living like they've never been set free you have been purchased by the blood of jesus but you're still living like a slave and usually that's one of two things either one you live to a slave of your shame you live as a slave of your shame or number two you live as the slave of the things that god has set you free from and you need to believe that he has a more excellent ministry because his is a ministry of redemption and if he has redeemed you then live like you're redeemed if you've been set free then live like you've been set free if you have been purchased by jesus then live like you belong to jesus not the slave market of the world you see his is a more excellent ministry number one because it's a ministry of redemption

number two his is a more excellent ministry because it is a ministry of rebirth his is a more excellent ministry because it's a ministry of rebirth i watched a little clip of a guy by the name of jp pacluta i don't know if you know who that is uh pastor down in texas big church down there's fantastic guy to listen to and and uh he i think he was on fox news is where i saw this clip and he was being interviewed by them because there was some that took place there uh last couple of weeks and and they said what's making your church so successful it's a very successful church down in texas it's very solid in this teaching so what what makes your church so successful especially amongst young people he said you know

i just give them a really simple message you are dead in your sins jesus died for your sins and he wants you to be born again those that's jesus language he wants you to be born again are you ready for a brand new birth are you ready to be made alive in christ and he goes and people say yes i was like why are we reinventing the wheel all the time the guy just gave the simplicity of the gospel message you're dead in your sins jesus died to give you new life do you want to be born again why because the the ministry of jesus is a ministry of rebirth and that's what we'll talk about next week when we get into this new covenant but it's a ministry of rebirth where jesus gives you a brand new life he

gives you a brand new heart he gives you a brand new soul so that it doesn't mean that you never fail anymore but it means you don't want to fail anymore it doesn't mean you live as perfect but it means you want to live as perfect because you want to pursue god with all of your heart which you cannot do any other way too many people are trying to act like they're born again but they never have been and so what do they find themselves doing they find themselves constantly failing i'm trying so hard to be a good person quick trying so hard then and take a step back and just surrender your life to jesus and get reborn and then the holy spirit will be at work inside of you and you won't constantly fail the ministry of jesus is a more

excellent ministry because it is a ministry of rebirth so number one his ministry is more excellent because it's a ministry of redemption number two it's a ministry of rebirth number three it's a ministry of restoration it's a ministry of restoration restoration. The word to restore means to return to its original state. That's what the word restore means. And that's what Jesus is able to do with us. Do you know that that's God's desire for us

is to be restored to our original? What was our original state? Well, our original state was with him, right? It was, it was perfection in Christ. We were, we were not made for death. We were not made for sin. Sin brought death and sin brought a curse into our lives. And so Jesus is in the business of restoring lives. He's in the business of restoration, which is why, which is why people

can come to Jesus Christ. And all of a sudden he gives them not only a new heart and a new life, but he gives them brand new relationships, not only with him, but with everybody else. And you begin to see the work of restoration that God does in people. I've watched God restore alcoholics to being clean. I've watched God restore drug addicts to being clean.

I've watched God restore relationships that we never thought could ever be healed. And he's brought them back to not only being a relationship that's healed, but it's stronger than it ever was before. I can tell you story after story of that because God is in the business of restoration. But if, if you're going to be restored, you have to take all of the broken parts to Jesus, right?

Yeah. You have to take all of the broken parts to him. I've never been a guy that restores cars, partly because I would look at that and go, that's a problem. But I, cause I can't do that. I'm not in the business of restoration, but I know guys that are. And it's always fascinating to me, these guys that restore old cars, because they can look at an old piece of, I know some of you guys, some of you probably in

this room this morning, you can look at an old car and you can go, wow, that thing's beautiful. And I'm like, wow, no, it's not. There's nothing beautiful about that car. That's the ugliest thing I've ever seen in my entire life. It does not have an engine in it. It's missing seven windows. And it was only meant to have five. I have no idea how you can see something beautiful in that.

And they're like, we can. And they go and they restore this thing. And when they're done, I'm just going, I had no idea that was possible. Why? Cause they're in the business of restoration. That's not who I am. That's who Jesus is. Now I'm not in the business of restoring cars, but I'm in the business of helping people restore their lives. And what I like to do is I like to see somebody come into

my office and say, I don't know if God can ever restore this. And I can be like, well, let me tell you some stories. The names will be changed to protect the innocent, but let me tell you some stories. Because what I can see, is what Jesus wants to do with you, not who you are right now. Because Jesus is in the business of restoration. Amen. Because he has a more excellent ministry. Second thing it tells us

is that he is the mediator of a better covenant. I'm not going to get into that one today because that will take away my study for next week. We're going to talk about him being the mediator of a better covenant next week. But I want to close with this last statement. It says, because the covenant has been enacted on better promises. Because the covenant has been

enacted on better promises. I love this. Because first of all, let's contextually take this and talk about the promises of the new covenant. What are the promises of the new covenant? Well, everything I just told you about the more excellent ministry of Jesus. The promises of the new covenant are redemption that is not temporary, but that is eternal. It is rebirth,

and a brand new life in Jesus Christ. And it is restoration. Not so that you can look and go, oh, kind of looks like the old person, only with a little coat of paint on him. No, you don't even recognize you anymore because of the restoration that Jesus has brought into your life. Those are the promises of the new covenant. It is enacted on better promises. But I want to remind you

of the truth of something that I read in David Guzik's commentary. And I love this. And I got to tell you, this one broke me when I read this. It says, God has given us promises to get us through the darkest of times. God has given us promises to get us through the darkest of times. And I want to remind all of us of this truth right now. Because I don't know that we take the promises of God as seriously

as we should. And I don't think we claim them like we should. Listen, because of what certain movements have done with claiming things by faith, we stop doing this, I think, sometimes as the conservative church. We go, listen, I'm not going to claim that. I joke about things all the time. I don't want a brand new truck, so I'm going to claim it by faith. And unfortunately, that is an entire movement out there. And so they have robbed

us of good biblical language, which is to claim the promises of God by faith, because they've replaced it with fleshly things. Like, I'm going to claim this new truck by faith, or this brand new house by faith, or this brand new pool by faith, or my own espresso machine by faith. Whatever it is, right? Like, like, like they've completely ruined it. But sometimes I think that we need to get a little bit Pentecostal about the fact that there

are promises in God's scripture that we need to be claiming by faith. Not that they give us something of this world, but they give us something beyond the shadow of this world, and it's the reality of the heavens. And so I sat down with this yesterday. I sat down and just, I just sat in this thought all day long. I started studying this part of it yesterday morning, and I just,

I sat in this all day long for different, everything that I did. I thought about this while I was on my mower. I thought about this while I was running. Sidebar, do not run when 89 degrees outside, and you're not used to that. That went terrible yesterday. But I thought about this the whole time, and the promise I was holding on to was, I'm not gonna die, right? So, so I'm

thinking about this all day. So I wrote down a handful of promises that I hold on to that get me through the darkest of times. You don't have to write these down. This is just my own cathartic moment, okay? Joel chapter 2 verse 25. Joel chapter 2 verse 25. It says this, at least the New King James, it words it mildly different than the other translations, but I prefer the New

King James on this. It says, and I will restore to you the years that the swarming locusts have eaten, and the years that the chewing locusts have eaten, and all of the army that I have sent against you. And I'm reminded that that's what God is in the business of doing, because that's the restoration that he's in the process of doing. Do you feel like sin has eaten away years of your life? Do

you feel like sin has eaten away years of your life? Do you feel like sin has eaten away years of your life? Do you feel like sin has eaten away years of your relationship? Do you feel like the judgment that God had to bring into your life because of sin has eaten away years of your life? And now you're finally coming back to church, and now you're finally coming back to Jesus, and you're going,

there's nothing I can do about that now. All of that's just wasted time in my life. I'm here to tell you, God is able to restore the years that the locusts have eaten away. And he's able to do something very beautiful with that, because he's going to take your story of brokenness, he's going to take your story of brokenness, and he's going to take your story of brokenness, and he's going to take your story of sin, he's going to take your story of tragedy, and he's going to make it something beautiful that you can tell everybody in the world, and you can say, look at what God has done. And you need to hold on to that promise, the promise that God says, I will restore to you

the years that the locusts have eaten away. And you just say, Lord, this is what your word says that you're going to do, so Lord, I expect that this is what you're going to do. And I don't think that's too bold of language with God. God doesn't make promises that he does not expect us to believe. The second one that's really good for me is Psalm 147, verse 3. Psalm 147, verse 3 says,

I will heal the brokenhearted, and I will bind up their wounds. That's been one that I've been holding on to for a real long time now, because I've dealt with a lot of brokenheartedness, I've dealt with a lot of wounds, and so I have to say, Lord, your word says that you heal. That word heal means to restore and return back to its original state. The idea of restoration is there, again. Lord, your word says that you will heal, and you will bind up. That word bind up means to

wrap up for the purpose of healing. You will bind up my wounds. And so, Lord, I'm believing that that's what you're going to do, and I am claiming by faith that you are a God who heals, and that you are a God who binds up the wounds. So, Lord, do that work in my life, and I claim that boldly by faith. Another one that I really like is Ezekiel, chapter 36, verse 36. I'm praying this

for someone now who needs to come to the Lord. I'm praying for someone now who needs to come to the Jesus, even though they know the truth, and they've rejected the truth. And it's this. Ezekiel, chapter 36, verse 36 says, I will take away their heart of stone, and I will give to them a heart of flesh. And the idea is I will give them a soft heart to be able to take in the truth. And so,

moms and dads, do you have some prodigals out there? And it's time to start praying that God would take away their heart of stone, and that God would re-give them a heart of flesh. Wives, do you have a husband that doesn't want to come to church with you? Husbands, do you have a wife that doesn't want to come to church with you because they're so hardened against the gospel of Jesus Christ? Then you need to start praying for them and claiming the promise that God made

through the mouth of Ezekiel that I will take away their heart of stone, and I will give them a heart of flesh. Why? Because God gives us promises to enact in our lives to get us through the hardest of times. This is the one that makes all the refrigerator doilies, but it's one of the best promises in all of the Bible. It's Romans. Romans 8, verse 28, it says,

For we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and to those who are called according to his promise. Not we hope, but we know that God will cause all things to work together for the good. That means that there is nothing that will come into your life that God will not eventually do something beautiful with. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

Because God's in the middle of it. It's the business of taking the most painful things in our lives and growing roses on our barren soil. Amen? And then the last one, of course, is one of my favorites. 1 John 1, verse 9, it says that if you confess your sins, he is faithful and he is just to forgive you of your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Brothers and sisters,

we have been given these promises, not so that we can create decorations for our home and not to keep Hobby Lobby and business. We have been given these promises so that we can live by them, so that we can claim that truth in our life and it can be what we hold on to in our darkest of times. And what continues to give us joy in even the best of times. Because Christ is a minister in a better sanctuary. A sanctuary that is the heavenly reality,

not an earthly shadow. Amen? Let's all stand. And if you'd bow with me. Father, we come before you. And Lord, I thank you for who you are and I thank you for your promises that are always yes and amen. And Lord, I just want to pray for everyone that's in this room this morning and just ask that you would continue to do the work that needs to be done in our hearts and lives. Father, there are two specific of those promises that I feel like you've

laid heavy on my heart for people in this room this morning. And that's the one out of Joel that says you will restore the years that the locusts have eaten away. Lord, I feel like there's somebody or somebodies in here, Lord, that have lost some years of their life pursuing the things of the world. And now they live in shame because of it. And they feel like they've just lost so much of their life. And they need to be reminded that you are able to

restore the years that the locusts have eaten away. And now it's time for them to redeem the time because the days are evil. And so, Lord, I just claim that promise. And I pray that you would promise over their life and that you would begin to show them how that's true. And Father, the other one is Ezekiel 36, 36, because I feel like there's some prodigals represented in this

room this morning, whether they be the prodigal son, the prodigal daughter, the prodigal husband, the prodigal wife, whatever it is, Lord. And we need to believe the truth of your promise. God, that you are able to take away that heart of stone and you are able to replace it with a heart that is soft. So, Lord, we pray for that this morning. And, Lord, I pray that we would not stop praying that

until we see you move. So, God, we offer this time to you. We offer your word to you and just pray that you would continue to speak as you see fit through it. Minister it to our hearts and our lives. In Jesus' name. Amen. Be blessed.

In the name of the Lord. Oh, praise his name. For I cast my mind. I cast my mind to Calvary. In Jesus' name. And I see his wounds, his feet. My Savior, our Savior. In sin's tears, they laid him. I cast my mind to Calvary. In Jesus' name. For I cast my mind to Calvary. In sin's tears, they laid him. In Jesus' name. For I cast my mind to Calvary. In sin's tears, they laid him.

Lord God, we just praise your name this morning. God, we give you praise. We give you glory. We give you honor. Lord God, we thank you for your word this morning. Lord, minister to our hearts this morning, God. Change our lives. We love you and we praise you. In Jesus' name. Amen. You guys have a wonderful week. God bless you.