Heb. 8:10-12 The New Covenant Part 2 A New Part
Intro:
This morning we are once again in Heb. Ch.8 continuing our Study on the N.C.
A)We are taking our time in this portion of the book of
Heb because the subject of the N.C is one of the most
important in the Bible
CHS THE doctrine of the New covenant lies at the root of all
true theology. It has been said that he who understands the distinction between
the OC & the NC is a master of
divinity.
B) Understanding the
various aspects of the NC is the Key to experiencing intimacy w/ God / Freedom
in our walks / Usefulness for the Lord
1) It is essential to living a Vibrant /
Fruitful / successful Christian life
C) Pray & Read v. 10-12
Some
people suggest that if they lived in O.T. times they would have no problem
believing in God Living for God
A)Because in O.T. times God did all these incredible miracles / Plagues in Egypt / Red Sea / water from a Rock/ Manna from Heaven
B) And there were times
in the O.T. when God spoke in an Audible voice to people.
1) If
God did that to me they say I would have no problem believing in Him / trusting in
him/ looking to Him / Living for Him
C) I say REALLY? Read the O.T. yes it is true that they saw God work
miraculously and heard Him Speak at times Audibly
1)
But they struggled
Miserably in living for God / Their faith was weak
D) In fact the
Generation that saw & heard so much to prove the reality & the Power of
God / we are told perished in the Wilderness
1) The REASON? their Unbelief
The
Reality in my opinion is that those who
lived in the OT were at a great
Disadvantage
A)Yes, they occasionally saw incredible miracles & yes they sometimes heard Gods voice audibly
B) But their whole
interaction w/ God was all external / they didnt have the Lord working in
their hearts the way that we do in the days of
the New Cov.
C)
God gave to them Great & Marvelous promises but they were all predicated
upon their obedience their keeping of the law /
1) All they had to do was Obey & they
would be blessed in every direction
D) But that is where the
Cov. Broke down / that is where it failed / Man was unable to Keep the law of
God
1)
But some 900 yrs after
the Law was given and the first Cov. Was established God in the Book of Jer.
promised a New Covenant
E)Heb 8:10-12 is a
direct quote from Jer. 31: 31-34 / Promise made during the reign of Josiah / Prophecy future Application for Israel
1)
Present application
for the Church thru The Ministry of Christ
We
noted in our study last week there are 3 Key components New heart / New Part
/ New Start
A)We looked at a companion passage to Jer.31 / written 100yrs later in the book of Ezk. Where the Lord gives further insight to NC
Ezk.36:26
27 26I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you;
I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
27I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My
statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
B) A New
heart God was going to do a work on
the inside / take your heart of Stone give you a heart of flesh tender & responsive
1)
The OC was purely
External / based upon the External keeping of the
10 Commandments
C)But
The New Covenant. Is an Internal work
God says Give you a New heart / write my will not
on tables of stone but on the tables of your heart
D) Not external rules
& regulations to follow but a work that God is doing in our Hearts
1) In the NC Gods carves the reality of Who He is & what is Will is for our lives
upon our hearts
E) He Places His spirit
in us to empower us & enable us to walk after Him
The
OC promised blessings to the obedient; the NC promises blessings to help us be
obedient.
A)The H.S. is promised
to lead us and strengthen us for duty"
B) So The new Covenant is so great because God works
from Within He changes my mind & my will He gives me a new will /
C)He gives me a New
desire to please Him / so that the things that He loves becomes the things that
I love
1) So the First component is New Heart Focus last wk
( Tape)
This
morning I want us to consider the 2nd aspect of this New Covenant
A New Part / notice the end of v.10
and I will be their
God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and
none his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for all shall
know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.
A.)Now right away we see a difference here / there is an Intimacy that is described in the words "I will be their God! They all shall know me "
1.) we see here the Lord gives Himself as the chief blessing of the NC
B) Now I want to
consider the Magnitude of this Statement by noting the nature of the
Relationship that God had w/ Israel in the OC
1)
As seen thru the
Illustration of Tab worship
When
the Children of Israel camped in the wilderness / they would set up the Tab in
the Middle of the Camp / put their tents around it.
A)The Tabernacle was a tent that set inside of a
fenced court yard / 45 ft. long /15 ft high / 15 ft wide ( 2 Compartments HP /
HH / separated by a Veil)
B) It was there in the HH that the presence of God dwelt !!!!
1)
If looking at your
diagram outer line the fence that surrounded the court yard 6ft high/ 75ft
wide / 150 ft long
Now
lets say that you were a Moabite you came riding up to the camp of Israel on
your camel Notice this fence inside this tent
A)Ask what is that you would be told that is the Tab. / that is where God dwells
B) Wow I would like to see Him / Cant / You have
to be a Jew to even enter in thru this fence into the court yard Bummer
1) Only those from the tribe of Levi the
Priestly tribe actually get to enter into the Tab itself /
Now
lets pretend that you were a young boy from the tribe of Levi / you know that
one day you are going to be the Priest
A)You have stood there in the courtyard watched your father offer burnt offerings on the Bronze altar / wash in the Brass Laver
B) Thought occurred to
you One day I am going to get to do that !
1)
Yrs later a young man
/ There you are offering Sacrifices / but now you get to do what only the
Priest could do that is go into the Holy place
C) You do that twice a day Once in the morning & once at night / You go
in to check and make sure that the fire on the altar of incense is burning
1)
Change the oil in the
lamp stand / & once a week change the bread on the table of Showbread
D) Now if He was from the
family of Aaron there was a Chance that he would be able to be the High Priest
1)
And it was his
privilege once a year on the day of Atonement to enter into the Holy of Holies
Now to do this was quite an ordeal / in
fact in NT times when the worship was in the temple he would spend a week
living at the temple grounds
A) That week would be
spent in Preparation / everyday he would go thru rehearsals to get ready for
what he would do on that day
B) When the Day of
Atonement came He would sacrifice a Bull on the altar as
an offering of dedication
C) After he was done sacrificing the bull He would go thru a ritual
washing
1)
Then he would take off
his High Priestly robes / & he would wear only
a Linen Robe
D) Then He would go
& sacrifice another Bull / this time as a sin offering for Himself / a sacrifice for His own sins
1)
Then he would take two
handfuls of Incense & go into the Holy place
where
he would place them upon the Altar of Incense / Smoke fill HP
After
that he would come back out to Altar where the Blood from the Bull was draining
into a basin
A)He would then take the
Blood into the HP / then pass thru the veil into the Holy of Holies / blood
sprinkled 7 times on the floor / Mercy seat
B) After that if He was still alive ( if unconfessed sin in his
life struck dead)
1)
If he was still alive
back out / another sacrifice this time a goat for the sins of the people / back
in w/ the blood / sprinkle 7 times again
C) All the while the
people waited outside in the courtyard or behind the fence for this ritual to
be finished
1) Now that was the nature of Worship &
relationship w/ God under the OC
External / distant / No one could really Know the Lord
But
in the NC the Lord says I will be their God
& they shall be my people and all of them shall Know me
A)What does this Mean when He says I will be their God ?
B)It means knowing Him as more than Just our Creator
1) Any man possessed of reason may know that there is a Supreme Being, who created all things and preserves the universe in existence.
Psa.19:1 The heavens
declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.
C) The tokens of divine skill and power are so abundant
in Creation that / Paul declared in
Rom. 1:
20For
since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and
Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21because, although they
knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile
in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
D)Creation testifies that there is God / a Creator / and the Bible declares that it is only the fool who says in His heart there is no God !!
1) But this knowledge of God that the NC promises is much more than Knowing that He exist as Creator
Nor
is it simply an intellectual Knowledge of Him / Knowing about Him
A)I know about Billy Graham read books about his
life / From what I have read / I consider him a great man / But no first hand
Knowledge
B) Now I have friends who have spent time w/ him / pictures of them w/ Billy in their office They Know him
1) They tell me about their time w/ him ( very jealous )/ But for me It is only a Knowledge / Blown away if he invited me for Lunch
C) The NC promises more than just an intellectual Knowledge /
1) it is not a vicarious relationship where I am trying to live my relationship thru someone else ( tell me more about God)
Remember Kid tell her I like her / See if she likes me /
Tell her I think she is cool / tell her pretty dress
A)Word gets out so & so
likes each other never talked / dont really know each other
B) Some people are like that w/ the Lord Live their relationship w/ Him through someone else / parent / Spouse / Missionary in a book
1) But the NC is a Relationship
where the Lord says You can Know me
It is a Knowledge that speaks of an Intimacy a closeness in relationship
D) And When God says they shall be my people terms of endearment not servitude that He is referring to / talking FAMILY
1) Incredible to try & understand that God declares that He wants us to know Him !!!!
When He says that I will be their God He is declaring I
will be their all in all
A)A loving & tender Father. A watchful shepherd &Guardian of his flock. A friend that sticks closer than a brother. A rock/ A refuge/ A fortress/
B)A high tower/ A castle of defense/ all that,& more is part of what is meant when He said I will be their God,
1) Included in that phrase are all the gracious titles of our Lord and all the blessed promises, and all the divine privileges.
C) Do you need provision? The cattle on a 1,000 hills are his; it is nothing for him to give; it will not impoverish him; he will give to you like a God.
1) Do you need comfort? He is the God of all Comfort ; he will comfort you like a Father .
D) Do you need guidance? He says just ask There is infinite wisdom waiting at your disposal
1) Do you need support? There is eternal power, the same that created the worlds / brought Christ from the grave
E) Do you need grace? He delights in mercy, and all His mercy is yours.
Every
attribute of God belongs to his people who are in covenant with him thru Jesus
Christ
A)All that God is or can be all that you can conceive and more; all the angels have and more; all that heaven is and more;
B) All that is in Christ, even the boundless fullness of
Godhead all this belongs to you if you are in covenant with God through Jesus
Christ.
C) The NC is all about what Jesus has done for us / We
are the Recipients of wonderful benefits & blessings / because of Him
1)
His
Performance not mine
A farmer
repeatedly invited a friend into his apple orchard to taste the fruit and make
some fresh cider. But, just as often, the
friend said, "No, I would rather not."
Finally, the farmer said, "I guess
you are prejudiced against my apples."
"Well, to tell the truth," his friend said, "I have tasted a few of them and they are very sour."
The farmer then asked which apples his friend had eaten. "Why, those apples which fell along the road over your fence," he replied.
"Ah,
yes," said the farmer, "they are sour. I planted them to fool the boys who live around here. But,
if you will come into the middle of my orchard, you
will find a different taste."
Same is true w/ the Lord
A)On the edges of Christianity are some very sour apples conviction, self-denial, and purity of life, which at 1st glance keep off hypocrites
B)But in the middle of the orchard are
delicious fruits, sweet & desirable.
The nearer to God, the sweeter the joy.
C) Some live at the altar know saved /
sacrifice / Others live in the HP they are involved in service / Better place
HH/ fellowship / Intimacy
D)If on the edges today - I pray - come to know Him!
1)If you are in sin today - affect that relationship limit closeness the
intimacy - repent!
3rd
The Results of Knowing God in the heart
1) It turns our hearts
away from Idols
A)Paul declared to the
Gal. In 4:8 that it was when they didnt know God that they were given over to
idols
1)
But once they came to
know the Lord they turned from their idols at once
B)A knowing of God w/ the heart creates an abhorrence of idols, especially
of those which have enslaved our own hearts.
CHS Way w/ words Beloved, God so enamors the soul of the converted man, so
engrosses every spiritual faculty, that he cannot endure an idol, however dear
in former times; and if perchance in some backsliding moment an earthly love
intrudes, it is because the man has withdrawn his eye from the splendor of the
Deity. When once he gets his eye back again to the God of love, then does Dagon
fall before the ark of the Lord, and not so much as the stump remains left.
Blessed Lord, let us know thee, for then we shall know our idols no more.
C)When a person truly
knows God & is growing in that intimacy w/ God they understand that there
is nothing that compares w/ that relationship
1)
Not silver not gold /
not any person / not any possession
In the Story of Ulysses / there
was a certain Island called siren / Beautiful women sang wonderful
melodies songs of enchantment
A)Ships that were passing by the Island would here
the music and they would be so entranced that they would turn in toward
Island / Rocks
B) No ships were able to make it past the Island
C) Now Ulysses was determined to make it past the Island but he
also wanted to hear the music / tied to the Mast / Men wax in their ears
1)
Past by Ulysses was
able to hear the music / screamed at his men to turn in / but they could hear
him
D) He tried to break free
of the ropes but it was to no avail
1)
Once the ship was
safely past the Island His men untied him / they as a crew were able to
survive
But there was also another man who
survived his name was Orpheus
A)Orpheus was a great musician & when he & his men were sailing by the Island / they heard the music / they were drawn / began to turn in
B) At that moment Orpheus broke out his flute & began to play a song that was far superior to the song coming from the Island
1)
His men were able to
sail safely past
C) Like w/
Jesus it isnt that we are struggling oh I have to keep myself from the world
1)
But it is that the
Music of Jesus in our hearts is so much better that there isnt a desire for
the those other things / He is working in Me
2) It
Produces Faith:
Psa. 9:10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You;
A)We cannot trust an unknown God, but when he reveals himself to us by his Spirit, then to trust him is no longer difficult; it is, it is the natural result .
B) Whenever a man does not believe God, it is because he does not know him.
1) If you doubt his willingness to pardon sin you do not know the abundance of his mercy.
C) If
you doubt his skill to bring you through your present difficulties you do not
know the infinite resources of his wisdom.
1) If you dream that he cannot deliver you in this your time of need you have closed your eye to the unlimited of his power.
3) It Creates a Hunger for God
Psa 63:1 O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts
for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.
A) Paul in Phil 3
B) David Psalm 23 One thing I desired of the Lord .seek ..
4) Creates a desire
for Good works
1 Jn.2:3 3Now by this we
know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
B) So in love / natural response I want to please
Him
5) It transforms us
2Cor. 3:18 18But we all, with
unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being
transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of
the Lord.
6) The Knowledge of
God causes us to Praise Him
Psa. 34: I will bless the LORD at all times; His
praise shall continually be in my mouth.2My soul shall make its
boast in the LORD;
Psa.44:8 8In God we boast
all day long, And praise Your name forever.
Psa.63:3 Because Your
lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You.4Thus I
will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and
fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.
A)All true knowledge of God is attended by affection for him. In spiritual language to know God is to love him. He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love.
B)Where the Lord is fully known he is intensely loved.
1) The person who truly knows God is compelled to worship Him
C) It is the great passion of the renewed soul to glorify God,
7) The man who knows
the Lord will be useful
A)Dan.11:32 the people who
know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.
2Cor.2: 14Now thanks be to
God who always leads us in triumph in Christ,& through us diffuses the
fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
15For we are to God
the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are
perishing. 16To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death,
and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for
these things?
A)The
man who knows God has a savor about him, and wherever he goes he will be a
power among men;
1) the savor of Christ will come streaming out of him, as incense from a censor filled with glowing coals.
B)Our usefulness very much depends upon our knowledge of God. We cannot teach others of things what we do not know ourselves.
1) if we are filled with a knowledge of Christ, then the sweet savor of his name will pour forth from us as perfume from the flowers.