Latest / The Daily Word / July 11 – Let It Go
Transcript
- Cory: Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, good wee hours of the night, whenever you are joining us. Welcome to the Daily Word Podcast from Lakeshore Christian Fellowship. My name is Corey Barnes. It's my privileged pastor, Arcitava Campus, and I'm excited to be sitting down with you to look at Hebrews chapter 8 today on July the 11th, ⁓ which is the New Testament portion of our life journal Bible reading plan. Now, one thing about Hebrews ⁓ that makes it sometimes a little bit more challenging to read is that ⁓ it was written to an audience that was expected to be really, really familiar with the Old Testament and with the Jewish way of following ⁓ the Lord. And while that is beautiful and Christianity is built on. ⁓ that foundation, it can make it a little bit hard for us reading today to understand everything that's being said. So I want to make sure that I capture a little bit about what this chapter is talking about before we get to the actual devotion part. ⁓ this chapter is finishing up some thoughts ⁓ that the author brought ⁓ and built chapter seven around the thought that Jesus is a better high priest. Than all who went before him. Remember, Hebrews is all about how Jesus is a better this, he's a better that. Jesus is just better than anything the Jews had going for them before Jesus. And in his concluding thoughts on Jesus being a better high priest, the author Hebrews lays out the fact that ⁓ earthly high priests' duties, or priest's duties in general, was to bring sacrifices to the altar. Now in in the next couple chapters, nine and ten, we're gonna see just how Jesus' sacrifice is better and greater than the sacrifices ⁓ that those priests were bringing. But before we get there, ⁓ the author of Hebrews makes a point to establish that Jesus ministers even from a greater altar than the old testament priests brought their sacrifices to. ⁓ we see that the sanctuary is this is all in this chapter. The sanctuary in the old covenant, the whole the initially the holy tabernacle and then the holy temple, they were actually made to be an earthly copy of the heavenly sanctuary. It's a picture on earth of what the sanctuary in heaven looks like, which is why Moses had to be super careful to follow the instructions the Lord gave him to the letter, because he was copying something that was very real ⁓ in ⁓ heaven. And it's super important because not is a picture of the sanctuary in heaven, it's actually also a picture ⁓ of God's throne room and what that looked like heaven. ⁓ And here's the point that that the author of is making. ⁓ And laying all that out. It's that Jesus doesn't minister like earthly priests says, He's a better priest who ministers in a better sanctuary because he doesn't minister from a earthly shadow of the heavenly sanctuary. He ministers from the actual heavenly sanctuary continually for eternity, bringing his own sacrifice. before the altar, before the throne of God and ministering for us, for his followers from that heavenly sanctuary. I know all that is a little bit complex, and you might be asking, why does that even matter? But I want you to remember, Hebrews is being written to Jewish Christ followers who are facing the temptation to return to Judaism. They're facing persecution, and they're some of them are considering giving up this whole Jesus thing and going back. To what they were raised in, back to their community, back to their old way of doing things. And the author of Hebrews is systematically, one by one, knocking down every aspect of the old religious system and tearing it down to point to the fact that the ministry of Jesus, his system, is better than anything they had before, and that is because. Jesus' ministry is established on a new covenant that is better than the old covenant. And that's where the rest of this chapter kind of camps out on the fact that we have a better covenant. ⁓ we see that that the rest of the chapter is largely a quotation where the the author of Hebrews is quoting the word of the Lord given through the prophet. Jeremiah, where the Lord promised that one day he would bring a new covenant in which he would record his law in the hearts and minds of his people, and where he would continually be their God, and they would continually be his people. And they would remain so because verse twelve tells us for I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more. Now I know this this theme here of better covenant, this theme of salvation, of forgiveness from our sins. It's something that that we've talked about a lot on this podcast, and that's because it's a theme that is woven throughout the New Testament. And it's one of those things that we can truly never hear about too much because it's never going to cease to be foreign to our minds. And we need to be reminded of just how good our God is and how good we have it with Jesus. So let's let's turn to application. I know this has been a lot of information, but but the Hebrews has so many details in it. I wanted to make sure that I covered all that. Let's turn to application though. Now, if we can see that God has forgiven our sins, that He has gone so far as to even forget. Them, why is it that we sometimes hold on to them in our own lives? Why do we sometimes struggle to forgive ourselves? Let me put it to you this way: after King David sinned with adultery and murder, ⁓ two sins that we can clearly see harmed. And hurt other people, why is it that King David then, being inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote in Psalm fifty-one, his Psalm of Repentance in verse four, Against you you only have I sinned and done what is evil as in your sight. So you are right in your verdict and justified when you judged. See, after actions that most of us would most definitely consider being sinning against Bathsheba and her husband Uriah, King David turns around and says, No, no, no, it's only against you, Lord, that I have sinned, and whatever verdict you come to, whatever judgment you make about my sin, it is justified and it is righteous. So if God Is right when he judges our sins. If it is true that when we sin, no matter how that sin hurts other people, that we truly have only sinned against the Lord, I'm not saying we don't make restitution, I'm not saying we don't try to try to ease the pain and heal the pain that we've caused in the lives of other people. But if it truly is only the Lord that we have sinned against. Then why do we feel justified holding on to the shame of those sins after the Lord has chosen not only to forgive, but also to forget? So let's stop. Let's reflect. This is the actual application. Let's stop and let's reflect. Is there anything in my life? that I am holding against myself after God has already forgiven it and letten it go. Now, in this reflection, in this talking with the Lord, if if something comes up and bubbles to the surface, let's go boldly before the throne of grace. Let's ask the Lord for his power to be able to forgive ourselves, to be able to let those things go and stop dragging them with us when the one we've sinned against has already forgiven us. Let's pray. Father, we thank you. We thank you that there's so much good stuff in your scripture, even when it may seem like it's on the top shelf, even when we have to stretch a little bit to get to it. Your word has things in it that we can carry into our daily life every day. It is so beautiful. I thank you, Lord, for who you are. I thank you, Jesus, that every time we come to your word, you make it come alive. You breathe on us through your word. And you inspire us, you bring life and strength into our bones. We are so thankful, Lord. I pray that you would help us, grace us, empower us to let things go that you've already forgiven, that you've already forgotten. If we haven't repented for it, Lord, I thank you that when we bring those things to you, you will forgive us. ⁓ you're going to go so far as to even forget it because that is what you have promised to do, and you are a faithful God. We thank you, Jesus, for the power to walk and live ⁓ see ourselves ⁓ the basis, our foundation being how you ⁓ us. ⁓ each and every one of us see ourselves the way you see us today. In the name of Jesus. Amen.