Sunday Morning Service 10:30AM- The Ministry of Christ pt 4 ~ A Better Tabernacle With A Better Cove

Good morning. Sorry, my strap was giving me issues. For service, it fell off, so at least it didn't do that this time. Good morning. It's so incredible to see all of you this morning. Let's all stand and worship together. Lord, I thank you for this time. God, I thank you just for the ability to take a breath this morning, Lord, and be able to stop and say Allah, Lord, to be here, Lord, in your presence. I pray that you just make us so aware of your

presence this morning. Father, I pray that we can just put you in the rightful place on our hearts, Lord, and our minds, God, and we can worship you this morning as you deserve, Lord, as our king, as our savior, as our creator, as our father. Father, I pray that we humble ourselves before you this morning and are able to just come to you. Come to your throne boldly, Lord, and pray to you and worship you and ask you to fill us with your Holy Spirit, Lord. Just make us so aware of who you are this morning. In

Jesus' name, amen. You guys may be seated. But yes, we praise you. We praise you. We worship you this morning, God. We just want to continue to honor you and glorify you as we end in this last song. In Jesus' name. This morning, Lord, to ourselves, to our families, to our friends, we can just keep our eyes and our minds and our hearts fixed on you, Lord, and just be reminded of who you are in our lives, God. Take your rightful place

in our lives this morning, Lord. I pray that you just continue to speak to our hearts this morning, God. I pray that you, again, just fill Pastor Ryan with your Holy Spirit, Lord, as he's done the work to prepare, to share from your word, God. But you're going to have a way this morning. You're going to speak to each and every one of us, Lord. So I pray that you just do what you're going to do this morning and go before us, Lord. In Jesus'

name, amen.

All right. Whoa. If you could start making your way back to your seats, we're going to have a couple announcements, and then we'll get started. So this week is a normal week. If you look on the left-hand side of your bulletin, there are the things that go on every week and get plugged in. Look through those things and get plugged in somewhere. Come to Wednesday night, go to a small group, get involved. And then in the center, peace

of your bulletin, the trifold. There's three things going on this week. Well, it's not this week, but there's three announcements. There's three things coming up that you should be aware of. There's the baptism that we've been talking about for several weeks. It's July 15th. The sign-up is still out in the lobby. Get signed up. And if you've already been baptized, still come, still plan on coming. We're not doing, what do they call that, potluck

this time. But you can still come. You can still fellowship with everyone. You can celebrate with us. And I think there may be some treats. Swimming. So come out for that. This week is promotion. So your kids might be in a different classroom than they were last week. So just be aware of that when you go to pick up your kids. They might be somewhere slightly different, a different classroom. And make sure to ask

them about their teachers, their new teachers. There's a women's retreat hosted by Calvary Wichita, September 18th through 20th at St. Crispin's Convention Center in Wawoka. I hope that's pronounced right. Somewhere in Oklahoma. Look there if you want to know where it's at. And then lastly I want to invite Ross to come up and talk about the mission trip. Good morning. I wanted to talk about the mission trip that we're going on here. And it's one

month from this weekend. So we'll be going four weeks from now. There's 11 of us going. And those of you who don't know what we're doing there, yeah, we have, there's a slide up there. I'm going to talk about that too. But I just wanted to quickly go through what Calvary is. What Calvary is doing. And I made my notes here. So put on my glasses. We'll be going

to small villages that really are really small. We think about villages here that we go to see that, or a small town. I mean, the last time we were down in Guatemala, we'd go to a place, there may be 10 little houses, little shelters, if you will. And they'll be up in the far remote regions of Guatemala. So God Said Go is the missionaries that we're going down to.

There's a lot of support. But these children that are in these little places, they are so remote, you just can't believe it. Things that we take for granted that we get here all the time, they never see. And so like, I think, let's see, we had a drone there last year. I think Danielle's and where you guys at? Yeah, right over here. You had your drone didn't you?

Yeah. Yeah, I had the drone down there and the kids had never seen it. And the kids had never seen it. The kids had never seen it. Yeah. Yeah, they got it. They got it. They got it. They got it. They got it. They got it. They got it. They got it. They got it. They got it. They got it. seen anything like a drone that would fly, and they just were completely blown away by this little

toy, if you will, for them. There may be 40, 10 to 40 families in these little places. They have very bad drinking water. Their water is gathered up in a cistern, if you will, and there's lots of disease. So God said go as a medical mission, and they are delivering medicine to these folks and helping minister to them when they go out to these places. So there's, as you can imagine,

there's lots of needs. Things that we get here, they're just not available down there. So God said go is going out and doing it. We are going down to support them as they go out and do these missions. So while there'll be a clinic, when we go to each one of these little places, the clinic will be just where a nurse hands out medicine and so on, and while they're doing that,

our team, the 11 of us that are going, will be supporting them in some ways, and in the other ways, we're going to be having medical mission. Ministering to the children. So which there's, the children are just, they're everywhere around us while we're there. So the children will be, we'll be sharing Jesus with them. We'll be having a Bible skit. Last time we were there, we did the Good Samaritan, and Jack was the, he was the

person who got beat up, and you know, I think we had to take his wallet from him and so on, and the kids just loved it because it was a lot of fun to see him. We read the Bible to them, and then translated, there was a translator who translated into Spanish, so they understood it, and really was, you know, an opportunity to share some Christ there with them out of the Bible, and then, and then we do crafts with them. We're going to take pinwheels and little things to do that we'll put together with these kids, and so then last, I'd like to say, God Said Go really wants to thank you as a body for your support and what you're doing to help them. They have a clinic that they're going to be doing, and they're going to be doing

a lot of things. They've started in Guatemala. Medical services in Guatemala are very, well, expensive if you can get them. They charge a lot for them if you go to the hospital, but God Said Go is starting a clinic out in the, in the area where the poor people are, you know, with people who just don't have anything, so they can come and get general medical checkups, things that, you know, like for a cold or for the flu or for, you know, small services that, that we might be able to get at anywhere. They're starting this up to help them to get

that done, and so you're helping support that clinic, and let's see. Their, their, their dream is to build this clinic and build it up to where they can provide a lot more services, so anything, if you want to help with that, please contact Jana or myself, and we can help direct that, your, your efforts there. As you can imagine, lastly, I just, one more couple things here. As they go out, into these remote locations, it's very difficult to get to these places. The, the, the roads are,

are unbelievably bad. Last time we were there, we drove over a boulder going up a little, a mountain road, and the boulder actually rolled the side of the van up over the door, so we couldn't get the door open. We couldn't get out without climbing over all the supplies to get out the back. I mean, these roads are really hard on vehicles, so if you want to support that, there's a lot of ongoing efforts.

Just to keep the vehicles on the road. So, and then finally, we got the list up here that talks about the things that we're going to take with us. So there are, there's a sheet like this sitting out in the lobby with a suitcase, and what we're allowed to do is to pack that suitcase full of general medicines. So things like cough drops or ibuprofen. Let me know if you need help sorting

or checking off the items. Yes, thank you. My phone is listening to us. And so, vitamins, any things like that. So there's a list out there. If you'd like to bring some of those things and put them in a suitcase, we can take several suitcases with medicines. So if you want to help put that general stuff in there, again, a simple headache medicine, something like that, they don't have out in these remote locations.

They're just non-existent. So we take this down, give it to God, said go, and they distribute it to the people. So there's a list out there. There's a list up there, and here's, be sure and pick up one of these and bring some stuff. So again, thank God, said go, wants to thank the body for all of your efforts. And you've helped with vehicles, you've helped with the clinic, and then you're helping sponsor the 11 of us that are going.

So thank you very much. All right, so I'll invite Pastor Ryan up for responsive reading.

Good morning. For our responsive reading this morning, we are going to be in Psalm 28. Psalm 28. Look at the New American Standard for this part. If you need to come up here, copy, there should be one in a row around you. And as you are turning to Psalm 28, if you are able, please stand in the honor of the reading of God's Word. I will read the odd verses, if you will follow along with Mason, and the even verses. Psalm 28, a Psalm of David.

To you, O Lord, I call. My rock, do not be deaf to me, for if you are silent to me, I will become like those who go down to the pit. Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to you for help. I will be like those who go down to the pit. I will be like those who go down to the pit. Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to you for help. When I lift up my hands towards your

holy sanctuary. Do not drag me away with the wicked and with those who work iniquity, who speak peace with their neighbors while evil is in their hearts. Requite them according to their work and according to the evil of their practices. Requite them according to the deeds of their hands. Repay them for their recompense. Because they do not regard the works of the Lord, nor the deeds of his hands,

he will. Tear them down and not build them up. Blessed be the Lord, because he has heard the voice of my supplication. The Lord is my strength and my shield. My heart trusts in him, and I am helped. Therefore, my heart exalts, and with my song I shall thank him. The Lord is their strength, and he is a saving defense to his anointed. And read verse 9 with me.

Save your people and bless your inheritance. Be their shepherd also and carry them forever. And so, Father, we do praise you that you are our strength and our shield. And so, Lord, as we look to you not only for protection, Lord, but for sustenance and guidance, I pray that you would work in our hearts right now through the power of your Holy Spirit as we study your word. Father, bring forth

your word with power into our lives. And Lord, apply it to each of our hearts as your Holy Spirit sees fit. In Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. If you would open up in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews. Chapter 9. Hebrews chapter 9. We come today to part 4 in our series of the ministry of Christ. And really, it's a subheading underneath of part 3 because we said that, first of all,

the ministry of Christ was a superior ministry because it was a ministry in a better sanctuary. We said that it was a superior ministry because it was the ministry of a better covenant. And what we've been talking about is that it's a superior ministry because it's a ministry in a better tabernacle. And as we looked at the tabernacle, there were two different things we looked at. So last week, we did kind of a comparison and a contrast between the earthly

tabernacle and the heavenly tabernacle. Well, today, what we will look at is we will look at a better tabernacle with a better covenant. He will take all of those things from chapter 8 with the better covenant, tie them into the tabernacle here in chapter 9. And so picking up in verse 15, it says this, So that since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be death of the one who

made it. For a covenant is valid only when men are dead. For it is never in force while the one who made it lives. Therefore, even the first covenant was not inaugurated, without blood. For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people, according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and he sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying,

This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you. And in the same way, he sprinkled both the tabernacle and the vessels of the ministry with blood. And according to the law, one may almost say that all things are made by the blood of the one who made it. And so things are cleansed with blood. And without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness

of sins. Therefore, it was necessary for the copies of these things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. Nor was it that he would offer himself often as a sacrifice to the one who made it. For he did not enter a holy place made with hands,

as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise, he would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world. But now once, at the consummation of the ages, he has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this the judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation, without reference to sin, to those who eagerly wait for him. A better covenant with a

better tabernacle. So there's three things we're going to look at here today. We're going to look at the mediator, we're going to look at the first covenant, and then we're going to look at Christ and the new covenant. We start off in verse 15, and he says, for this reason, which of course creates a link to everything that we talked about up to this point in time. For this reason, since

Christ has died once for us, we are going to look at the mediator, and we're going to look at the eternal redemption. Since he is so much better than the sacrifice of the bulls and goats, since he is so much better in this tabernacle, in the heavenly tabernacle, than the earthly tabernacle, for this reason, he is the mediator of a new covenant. The mediator of a new covenant. In my study, I came across this little statement from Kenneth Wiest in his word study, and I want to read it to you on the word mediator. It says this,

is the translation of a Greek word that I can't pronounce, which refers to one who intervenes between the two to make or to restore peace and friendship. Here, the Messiah acts as a go-between or a mediator between a holy God and sinful man. By his death on the cross, he removes the obstacle of sin, which caused estrangement between man and God. And when the sinner accepts the sacrifice of the Messiah, the guilt and the penalty of his sin is no more.

The power of sin in his life is broken. He becomes the recipient of the divine nature, and the estrangement between himself and God disappears. I'll remind you of the picture we painted two or three weeks ago when we talked about Jesus as our mediator. Fixed between us and God is a giant gulf, and that giant gulf is one that cannot be overcome. And on one side of

the gulf stands all of humanity, soaked in all of the sin and all of the impurities and all of the evil. And because of that, we cannot span this gulf that stands between us. There's a gap between us that there's no bridge to, and on the other side stands God and all of his holiness and all of his sanctity and all of his purity. And he is completely unapproachable by us, completely unreachable by us because the gulf, the chasm is too great for us to span, and the holiness is too much for us to approach. And so God in his infinite mercy said, I will create a bridge that will

span that great divide, that will span that chasm, and Jesus becomes that bridge. We are told in the book of John when Jesus says, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. We are told that Jesus is that link between us and God. He is the thing that spans that gulf. And so the aching that all of us has on the inside, though covered in sin,

that is there because sin has separated us from God, that our desire to know him is so great, but we are still unable to do it. And so we are told that we are the way and the truth and the able to get to him. That problem is solved in Jesus Christ. And picture this, if you will, because remember, it paints the picture for us, this word mediator, of one who brings two angry parties together. Our sin caused us to be at war with God. And because we were at war with

God, not only were we separated by a chasm, but we were separated by our enmity, our strife, our anger with God because of sin. And he takes the hand of sinful man, and he takes the hand of holy man, and he takes the hand of the one who brings us together. And he becomes, if you will, that link, the one who becomes the sacrifice that does away with the power of sin, that takes away the estrangement between ourselves and God. All of that disappears. He is the mediator of a better

covenant. The second thing that it tells us in verse 15 is he says, not only is he the mediator of a new covenant, but it says this, so that since a death has taken place for the redemption, redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant a death has taken place well what death is he talking about well of course you know he's talking about the death of jesus christ and that death that has taken place is a death of redemption the word redemption means to purchase off of the slave market of sin i did this first service too and i decided this is the one statement that i'll make about it but but but this is a great week right it's a great week because we as americans get to celebrate our independence people in my

neighborhood started celebrating their independence last night as they started setting bombs off around 10 p.m i was like wow praise god we're free and they're free to set off bombs in the middle of the night right but but we get to celebrate this independence and i am reminded that while we as americans have this unique ability to celebrate the fact that 250 years ago a group of men got together signing their the the death sentence as they wrote their name on a document prepared by thomas jefferson that said we are free men that we are endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights among them our life and liberty in the pursuit of happiness as they wrote their name on that we

are reminded that their stand ultimately purchased our freedom with their lives but what we are also reminded as believers in jesus christ is that freedom finds at its roots the gospel of the gospel of jesus christ that's where freedom is ultimately birthed in you see we were always created to be free we were always created to live in the freedom of holiness but when we sinned we signed away that freedom so that we could live under the bondage of sin and while men signed their names on a document 250 years ago to say we are free from physical bondage jesus signed a document two thousand years ago not with a signature of his name on it but we are free to live in the freedom of holiness

hand but with his own precious blood declaring that we could be free eternally from the sin that holds us down and so this week as you celebrate freedom and you should celebrate freedom this week you should celebrate the fact that you have been set free and we have been not only endowed by our creator but we have also been gifted in this nation with the right to worship god to freely assemble to have freedom of speech and freedom of religion because we have that we should celebrate that freedom because if we stop celebrating that freedom listen it will be taken from us but at the heart of that freedom i want to remind you that the freedom that we ultimately

celebrate is the freedom that we have in christ both of them came about because of great sacrifice one perhaps even greater than the other and so he says not only is he the mediator of a better covenant but it's because that since his death has taken place there is the redemption of the transgressions listen that were committed under the first covenant what does he mean by that we'll have a question for you how were old testament saints saved i want you to think about that for just a minute how were the old testament saints saved well ryan they made sacrifices those sacrifices did not save them we are already told that in multiple places throughout the book of hebrews those sacrifices could not save eternally so how were old testament saints saved

by the blood of jesus christ see all of the sacrifices that they made when we get to hebrews chapter 11 we'll see this all of the sacrifices that they made were made in faith knowing that there was a greater salvation there was a greater sacrifice that was coming and so and so when jesus came it says he led captivity captive in other words what he did is he is he set all of those free who had died in faith and they were able to go directly into the presence of the father why because the redemption that he purchased purchased also the redemption that he purchased and the redemption that he purchased also the transgressions of those who sinned under the old covenant let me tell you what that means

for you and i that means that the salvation of jesus christ is both reactive and proactive what do you mean by that ryan it means that not only does he deal with the sins of my present he deals with the sins of my future and he deals with the sins of my past and listen i think believer in jesus christ you need to rest in that this morning the fact that all of the sins of your past have been put underneath of the blood of jesus christ you need to rest in that this morning because they have been redeemed they have been purchased back that means that your past no longer defines you that means that your past is no longer who you are your past is not what holds you down because it has already been redeemed by the blood of jesus that means that

the future sins that you don't even know are coming for you yet because you're still weak in your humanity because we will never be perfect on this side of eternity those sins have already been purchased by the blood of jesus and i can have ultimate confidence in the finished work of christ but it also means that what i should be doing is i should be doing what i should be doing because what i need there is a way to be me with your heart while you're busy with a house of water or just be a a the promise of the eternal inheritance so that those who have been called, well, who are the called? Well, anybody who's willing to answer the call to salvation. You know, I believe everybody

God is calling to for salvation. I believe that there is not a soul on top side of planet earth in all of history that God has not been calling. It's just that some people have not answered the phone, right? Some people are refusing to answer the call of God in their lives because I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt, I've talked to people, sinner and saved alike, who can tell me moments when they felt God tugging on their heart. The saint says, and so I answered the call. The

sinner says, so I finally got rid of that in my life. Because God is always calling. But for all those of us who are the called, who have answered the call of Jesus Christ, we have the promise of an eternal inheritance, the promise of eternal freedom in Christ. Eternal salvation. He goes on from there as he presents this mediator to us to tell us about the first covenant. He says in verse 16, for where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death

of the one who made it. For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives. Now, he sort of gives us an example here. He gets a little bit cerebral on us about covenants. Now, my translation translates those words as covenants in both 15, 16, and 17, in all three of those verses. Your translations may have it a little

bit different because the word in the Greek is a little bit different. In verse 15, the word is covenant. But in 16 and 17, your translation may have it as either will or testament. Anybody got that word in their translation? It's a little bit of a different word that's given to us there. Because in verse 15, he deals with covenant. He says, covenant on a religious level. In verses 16 and 17, he deals with it on a legal level. Why is that

important? Let me tell you. Because what he points out is this. He says, for where a covenant is, or where a testament is, or a will is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. For a will is valid only when men are dead, for it's never enforced while the one who made it lives. Let me give you a little bit of an example. When I go home to be with Jesus, I will leave some bills and a whole lot of Bibles to my daughters.

Right? That is theirs in the will. I've already willed it to them. Those are, all those Bibles are theirs. That's all they're going to get from me. But they will get a whole heap full of Bibles. And a decently what I consider good sneaker collection. Right? All of that's going to be theirs. They do not get that until I die. Because my will will not go into effect until I die.

Everybody follow me on this? Ryan, why do I care? Because notice, this is what he says. Therefore, even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood. For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all of the people, according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and he sprinkled the book itself, and all of the people, saying,

This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you. What he's saying is, a covenant's only good, if the covenant's only good, if the covenant's only good, if the covenant's only good, if the covenant maker has died. The first covenant was kept through blood. He paints for us a picture. On the margin of your Bible, you might write Exodus 24. Exodus 24. That's where that whole little story is given to us about him sprinkling all the people with the blood.

So let's paint this picture for us, okay? So Exodus chapter 20, Moses receives the law from God. Actually, all of the people do. God speaks from the cloud, and he declares the law to them. Moses writes it down. He writes it all in a book, brings it to the people, and the people say, we will obey. Yay, everything's going to be great. And so Moses, in chapter 24, goes and sends his elders out,

and they build these altars, and they sacrifice on these altars, and they bring the blood to Moses. And he takes half of the blood, and he sprinkles it on the altar. And then he takes the other half of the blood and mixes it with water and takes hyssop. If you don't know what hyssop is, imagine grabbing a bunch of grass out of a pasture. That's hyssop. He goes and he dips it in the blood and stirs it all up,

and then he takes the hyssop and he goes, this is the blood of the covenant that you have sealed. Blood is just flying everywhere. Listen, this is a bloody end of the chapter, okay? We just need to understand this. The word is used a lot here. And so he's just sprinkling. Can you imagine he gets splattered in the face? You're going to need a new shirt after that.

Blood stains worse than coffee. Don't ask me how I know. It just does. And all of a sudden, all this blood. Blood is just going everywhere, and he sprinkles the book with it. And he goes to, when the tabernacle is built, he does the same thing with the tabernacle. He sprinkles it with blood. Why? Because the covenant is sealed in blood. Why was the old covenant sealed in blood?

Because he wanted the people to always understand the necessity of the blood for the life of the believer. And so he kept these sacrifices always in front of them. And so he goes and he sprinkles. He does all of this blood, and he does all of these things, saying, this is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you. And I want you to notice what he says in verse 21.

And in the same way, he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with blood, bringing us to verse 22 and the point of the whole thing. According to the law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood. And without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. Almost all things are cleansed with the blood. I want you to go with me one place in Scripture.

Hold your finger here. Put a bookmark here. Go to the book of Leviticus. It's way back there. Leviticus chapter 17. Dust off those pages.

It's the third book of the Bible if you've never been there before. Leviticus chapter 17. And I want you to look down at verse 11. I'll give you a minute to get there.

Leviticus chapter 17, verse 11.

Leviticus 17, 11 says this. For the life of the flesh is in the blood. And I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls. For it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement. From very early on, God wanted them to be aware that blood was very important. That the life is in the blood. Now, physically speaking, this is true. This is something that science continues.

To prove over and over again that the Bible is correct. Because science continues to show us just how necessary blood is for life. Because we realize that blood not only carries like all this important DNA type information. But it also is what carries oxygen to different parts of your body. It's what carries nutrients to different parts of your body. Blood flow is the most important thing that you can have.

As a matter of fact, athletes know it's so important. That if they're having an area of inflammation or soreness. They will do things to increase blood flow in that particular area of their body. Because increase. Blood flow. Means that that thing is going to operate better as it's supposed to. Inflammation comes from decreased blood flow. Because the blood carries the life in it.

Why do you suppose that God wrote life into the blood of a human body? Because he wanted us to realize that life comes from the blood. Not just physically, but spiritually speaking. Because the life is in the blood. And he says, and I've given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your sin. And so God gave them these sacrifices. So that over and over again they would be reminded that blood sacrifice was necessary for the forgiveness of sin.

We can take this all the way back to Genesis chapter 3. Remember in Genesis chapter 3, God not only makes the first declaration of the gospel after man sinned. But then he gave the first picture of the gospel. Okay, so Adam and Eve sinned. They realized they're naked. And so they make themselves what? They make themselves coverings. And they made themselves coverings of fig leaves.

Right? Insufficient coverings. Because sin brought shame into their life. Previously they were clothed in the righteousness of God. But when they sinned, that righteousness was removed. And they realized that they were naked. So the first thing they did is they tried to make themselves coverings. Those coverings were insufficient. And so if you go to the end of Genesis chapter 3, you find that God made for them coverings of what?

Animal skins. How do you suppose God got the skins of the animals to cover Adam and Eve with? A blood sacrifice. A blood sacrifice. Indicating that that would always be the way that man would be made right with God. You move a little bit further into Genesis, you've got Cain and Abel. Cain brings a sacrifice of the ground. Abel brings a sacrifice of the flock.

God accepted Abel's sacrifice but not Cain's. Why? Because Cain brought a sacrifice of the fruit of the ground. Abel brought a sacrifice of blood. Why did God accept Abel's sacrifice? First of all, because it was a faith. Second of all, because it was a blood sacrifice. Cain is like most of the world today. He wanted a bloodless gospel. I want to bring you my works of my hands so that you accept me.

And God says, I can never accept the work of your hands. I can only accept the sacrifice of a substitute. And then if you move throughout all of the old covenant, you see all of the sacrifices that were there. Why? Back to Hebrews chapter 9, verse 22. Because according to the law, when they almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.

Why are people walking around soaked in guilt right now? Why are people walking around in the world that we live in today feeling like they can never measure up? And they're always trying to numb that feeling with something. You ever notice that? Listen, they can be the happiest looking person on the face of the earth, but at some point in time, they've got to lay their head on their pillow at night.

When they lay their head on their pillow at night, all of those thoughts begin to rush in again. All of those thoughts of how much they have failed. And they keep trying to mask it with the next thing. They try to mask it with a good job. They try to mask it with a good income. They try to mask it with the things of the world, substances of the world, with the happiness of the world, with the pleasures of the world.

And they try to mask it with everything except the one thing that will bring them hope and help, and that's the blood of Jesus Christ. And as they continue to mask it, and they put on the face, today, I'm a pretty good guy. Then they lay their head on their pillow at night, and they're reminded, no, I'm not. And they have to deal with that guilt every single night.

And it leads to depression, and it leads to anxiety, and it leads to fear, and it leads to shame, and all of the things that cause us to not really be ourselves in front of people. And the only way that you can be set free is to take all of that sin and put it underneath the blood of Jesus Christ. Why? Because without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin.

Verse 23. Therefore, it was necessary. Therefore, this brings us into the last part that we're going to talk about, Christ and the new covenant. Therefore, it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true,

but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. Therefore, it was necessary. Since there had to be the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sins, and since everything was cleansed in the blood, then in the old covenant, it was necessary that all of those things that were the copy of the real, in other words, the tabernacle, the instruments, all the things on earth, they all had to be covered in blood. And so if that were true for this, then how much more so does it say, but the heavenly things with better sacrifices than these.

For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true, but into heaven itself. Every year, the high priest would have to do the same thing. He would have to enter into the most holy place that we talked about last week, the place where the Ark of the Covenant was, and he had to come in with a blood sacrifice. And he'd have to sprinkle that blood all over the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant.

But Jesus, our high priest, in a better tabernacle, did not have to do that. He didn't enter into a temporary tabernacle to sprinkle temporary blood on a temporary box showing the temporary presence of God. He went directly into the throne room of God in heaven, and he offered his own precious blood as a sacrifice to say, this is not just enough to cover their sins for another year. This is enough to do away with their sins completely.

And he went into that heavenly tabernacle to make that sacrifice, for us, as our better high priest, in a better sanctuary, through a better tabernacle, because of a better covenant. He appeared in the presence of God for us. Verse 25 says this, Nor was it that he would have to offer himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year, with blood that is not his own. Otherwise, he would have needed to suffer, often, since the foundation of the world.

He would not have to offer himself often, as the high priest who enters once a year. You know, I've thought about quite a few times this, how stressful it had to have been to be the high priest. I'll remind you of what the high priest had to go through. First, he had to make sacrifice for himself on that day of atonement. And then he had to walk into the most holy place

to make sacrifice for the people. And I'll remind you of the two things on his garments when he went in to make that sacrifice. The first thing he had to do was, the first is he got all these bells around the hem of his garments jangling to make sure everybody knows that guy's still alive. If the bell stops ringing, you better start pulling because that guy died, right?

Oh, crap, the bell stopped ringing. We're all in trouble now. And he had a rope tied to his leg that stuck out from underneath that curtain so that if God did not accept the sacrifice and he struck him dead, they could pull that guy out without going into the presence of God and dying themselves. You want that job? Hey, go into the presence of God. If you do it right, he'll accept it.

If you don't, we'll pull you out. We'll pull you out later. I mean, it's a stressful thing. You can imagine he goes in there and he makes the sacrifice and he's like,

so far so good. And he walks out, he's just really good. And for that one day, he feels really good. But he wakes up the next morning and you know what he says? 364 more days. Because he's got to do it again, right? We just had an NBA championship, right? I really don't care that much about the NBA. I don't have a dog in that fight. But the New York Knicks won.

And for one week, they're the champions. I would say one day, except there's always a parade about a week later. So for one week, they're the champions. But you know what happens at the end of that week? They're not the champions anymore because it's time to start recruiting for a new season. Why? Because that championship doesn't last. It's temporary. They said, no, they're the world champions.

No, they're the 2026 world champions, not the 2027 ones. He says, the high priest had to go in there once a year, but Christ did not end. He would not have to offer himself often. Otherwise, he would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world. And listen, I'm just going to make this point right now. We need to understand the once for all nature

of the sacrifice of Jesus. It is not a continual sacrifice, and it is not a perpetual sacrifice. And this is one of the litany of issues that I have with the Catholic Church. And the only reason I'm bringing this up, I've been talking about the Catholic Church a lot here lately, but you have to understand, in the last two years of my ministry, I have had more people come to me with questions and concerns about the Catholic Church than I did the previous 22 put together.

There's something going on here, and so I want to address it. I want to address these things because I want to be biblical about the way that we handle these things. And we have to understand something about the Catholic Mass. In the 1500s, it was declared that the Mass was the way that you atone for your sins. That was the atoning sacrifice for your sins. Because you would come,

and we would say re-crucify, but the Catholics would nail us on semantics. They're like, no, we don't re-crucify. It's a continual sacrifice. Okay, we're continuing to sacrifice Jesus up on the cross, which is why you have to partake in it every week because that's another atonement for your sins. You are atoning weekly for the sins that you have committed,

which is why you have to partake in, I'm pointing here because this is usually where we said it, you have to partake in communion. They call it the Eucharist. Because they say the Eucharist is what saves you. That is how you transfer grace into your life. Catholics will tell you, no, you're saved by grace. Except here's the thing. In the Bible, it says that we are saved by grace through faith.

In the Catholic Church, it says you are saved by grace through the sacraments. That is your receiving of grace. And so I tell you this because I don't want you to live in bondage. I don't want anyone to live in bondage. The people that I know that are, that are in that church that I love dearly with all of my heart, some of them I believe in are believers in Jesus Christ,

but they are still in bondage to works because they think we are continuing the sacrifice of Jesus, forgetting what it says in the first chapter of Hebrews when he says that Jesus who was crucified and raised from the dead is now seated at the right hand of the Father. He's not on that cross anymore because that debt was paid when he declared, it is finished. That's what he meant. It is finished.

And I tell you that because too many people in the church walk around without confidence. You don't have the confidence in who you are in Christ. You don't have the confidence of the forgiveness that you have because you are so scared. Well, what if I don't do it right? I've been there. I spent the first few years of my walk with Jesus Christ living in bondage to fear.

What if I don't have enough faith? What if I haven't confessed things correctly? What if I haven't done enough? And I was wrapped up in anxiety and turmoil because of it. And in that moment, God showed me the day of atonement. And he said, see that? That's what I did. Only I did it once, never to be done again. And I said, and I've had peace in my life ever since.

Are there moments? Sure. But I remind myself of the truth. Jesus paid it all. That's it. End of story. The sacrifice is finished. The work is done. And we now live in the victory that we have in Christ. It was not that he had to offer himself often as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with the blood that is not his own. Otherwise, he would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world.

But now at the consummation of the ages, he has been manifested, or I prefer the translation, he has appeared to the world. He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. He has put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. That phrase put away is really interesting. That phrase put away could also be translated abolition. In other words, he has abolished sin.

That's what he's done in your life is he has abolished the sin in your life. He has abolished that penalty. That guilt, that shame of sin in your life. Now you have to believe on a daily basis that that's what he's done. He said, Ryan, I don't always feel like the sin's been abolished. That's because you got to start deciding by faith. You're going to believe that every single day.

The enemy will continue to tell you that you live in your sin. The enemy will continue to tell you that that's not true. You tell the enemy where to go because it is. He has abolished sin by the one time sacrifice of himself. Now once at the consummation of the ages, he has been. He has appeared to put away sin. How? By the sacrifice of himself. By his work on the cross.

He goes on to say this. He said, and in as much as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes the judgment, so Christ also having been offered once to bear the sins of many will appear a second time for salvation. Without sin. To those who eagerly wait for him. He said, in as much as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this, the judgment.

Now this is not a main point that I want to make. It's a sub point that I want to make. We can't build doctrine off of one verse, but when one verse supports the rest of doctrine, we point it out. There is no such thing as reincarnation. I want you to know that. You are not going to come back as a different thing. I was not something previous in my previous life, even though it might appear to be a

general. It's not true. I was nothing before I was born, because it has been appointed to man once to die, and after that, the judgment. You know what that means? You better deal with your sin now, because you're not coming back as somebody else to try to deal with it in a later life. So deal with it today. Deal with it now. But he says this because he says, it's been appointed to man once to die, and after that,

the judgment. So Christ also was offered once to bear the sins of many will appear a second time for salvation. He will appear a second time for salvation. That's the hope for the future that we have. We are looking forward to that glorious appearing of Jesus Christ when he will deal with salvation ultimately. Wait, Ryan, I thought I'm saved already. You are saved, but you will also be saved.

I want to point something out to you. It's kind of interesting to see the three tenses of salvation given to us in this section of Scripture. Do you know that there's three tenses of salvation? They're called justification. Justification, sanctification, and glorification. So let's look at these three tenses. First of all, you have been saved. Notice what it says.

Otherwise, verse 26, he would have needed to offer, suffer often since the foundation of the world. But now once at the end of the ages, he has appeared, past tense, to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. That's justification. You have been saved. At least I hope you have. Now, I suppose, is a really good time. Now, I suppose, is a really good time for me to ask a question.

Have you been saved? Yes, Ryan, I prayed a prayer one time. That's not what I said, nor is it what I asked. I asked if you've been saved. You see, praying a little prayer, that doesn't mean that you're saved. Wholehearted faith in Jesus, that means that you're saved. Trusting God for every part of your salvation, that means that you're saved. If you went forward when you were five years old and you've lived like hell ever since,

then I got some questions for you. Did you just say a prayer? Or are you actually saved? You've been saved. But that's justification. You have been saved. But notice what he says in verse 24, for Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself now to appear, that's present tense, in the presence of God for us.

In the present tense, you are being saved, because Jesus is our advocate before the Father who is advocating on our behalf, and you are now in the process of being saved. So, saint, believer in Jesus Christ, who still sees areas of your life where you need to grow, be a little bit patient with yourself, because you are in process. You are in the process of being saved. That's sanctification.

That's learning to live as you really are. And he is appearing before the Father for us, present tense. But then we see glorification, future tense. Verse 28, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear, that's future tense. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly wait for him.

Justification, you have been saved from the penalty of sin. Sanctification, you are being saved from the power of sin. Glorification, you will be saved from the presence of sin. Everybody with me? And it's all purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ. The freedom that you have from the penalty of sin is the freedom that you can have from your sin. have from the power of sin and the freedom that you will have from the presence of sin. All because

of the once for all sacrifice of Jesus. Amen? We should all be geeked about this, right? Amen. Let's all stand. Now I can get my worship team up here. And if you'd bow with me. Father, you're so good to us. Your word is so good and powerful and it gets us excited because it's so true and it changes us. And so I pray that your word would change the hearts and the lives of every person

that's here this morning. And Lord, if there's anybody here this morning that, Lord, they're not they're not really yours. They've maybe gone through some motions, but they're not really yours. And we're either believers in Jesus or we're on our way to hell, one or the other. There's no middle ground. We know that. And so Lord, I just pray for the working of your Holy

Spirit in their lives. Father, that that when they lay their head down on their pillow tonight, you would not let them be content until they confess their sins to you. And Lord, they give their heart to you in full surrender. Lord, I lift up those who are being saved. They're in that process of justification. Excuse me, in that process of sanctification, Lord, becoming who you've created for them to be.

I pray that they would be patient with their weaknesses, Lord, but not excuse their failures. Lord, that they would be patient with themselves, but that they would learn to live as you have called for them to live. And so Lord, we pray for that power of your Holy Spirit because of the blood of Jesus to continue to set them free from the power of sin in their life. And Lord, we praise you for the hope that we have, the hope that we have of glorification, the hope that we have of you coming back to rule and to reign where freedom will truly ring free because we have a we have a God who reigns. We have a God who reigns. We have a God who reigns. We have a God who reigns.

He rules us in righteousness and truth and in justice. And so, Lord, move in our hearts, we pray. In Jesus' name. Amen. Be blessed.

Jesus, we thank you, Father, for your salvation that you have given us. God, for the sacrifice, Lord, for being our God, being our Savior, being everything that we could ever need, Lord, for being our sustainer, giving us breath in our lungs this morning in each and every moment of every day, Father, allowing us to come to church this morning to hear from you, Lord. It's not by accident that we're here this morning to worship, to hear this specific message at this specific time. God, we thank you for freedom. Father, we thank you for the blessing it is to be able to

walk and worship and listen and hear and study freely. God, may we never take that for granted. God, may we take advantage of that fact and go preaching and sharing and sharing the good news, God, that we just get to hear this morning. Lord, so I pray that you give us boldness, that you fill us with your Holy Spirit today. Go before us the rest of this week. In Jesus' name, amen.