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Hebrews 10:19-25 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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Go ahead and up up your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 10.
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My thanks to all of you parents and grandparents who have done your best to explain to me what newborn life is like.
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! It's everything you said it would be.
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It's been pretty awesome, but tonight was, last night was one of those nights.
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So, very thankful to be here with everyone.
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Let's see, Hebrews 10, we're going to continue on.
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Reese did a fine job of going through, all the way down to verse 18 in chapter 10.
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And we're getting into Hebrews 10.
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It's kind of called the lettuce patch of Scripture.
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I didn't think it was that funny either, but lettuce is repeated quite a few bits in our passage.
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And everyone always said that, and everybody found that funny.
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But apparently y'all don't either.
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But we're going to start in verse 19 of Hebrews 10.
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Here we go.
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Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,
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by the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain, that is, through His flesh,
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and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
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let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith,
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with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
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Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,
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for He who promised is faithful.
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And let us consider how to stir up one another into love and good works,
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not neglecting to meet together as is habit of some,
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but encouraging one another,
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and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
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Let's pray together.
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Father, we love You.
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We respect You.
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This is Your Word.
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And so, Lord, may we see it as a blessing,
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a gift of grace this morning,
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something that each one of us need to hear,
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something that You have brought each one to hear, Lord,
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and to allow it to soak into their souls and their hearts.
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And, Lord, all of us are very tempted to always draw back from You
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instead of drawing near to You.
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And so, Lord, may You minister this passage to our hearts as You see fit.
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And, Lord, we are so thankful for Your grace.
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Amen.
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So, following along with our theme in Hebrews,
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the overall theme, you could say, is Jesus is superior.
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Jesus is better than.
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That's really close.
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Jesus is better than the old covenant.
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And we have been looking at the priesthood.
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We've looked at how Christ is superior to the Arianic priesthood,
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how Christ is superior to the sacrificial system,
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how He is the best and the great eternal high priest that we are to look to.
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And I guess our writer now is turning from so much instruction
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to start encouraging everyone.
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This is all the stuff I've been telling you in the previous chapters.
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I'm now trying to tell you how this ought to affect your life,
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how this ought to encourage you
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and drive you on to have confidence to draw near to the living God
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and strengthen your faith.
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So, in our passage today, something that kind of points out is,
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if you notice, the let us stands out three different times in our passage.
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And it's important for us to understand that though our salvation is individual,
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though God has saved us as individuals
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and has relationship with each of us individually,
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what a blessing.
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He also has not just saved us, but He saved a people.
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He saved the church.
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He has saved a group of us to be called His own.
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And we're to be together.
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We are the family of God.
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And so, that's why there's so much instruction on the one another's in Scripture.
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And there's also these three exhortations here of,
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let us draw near together.
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So, He's calling the believers He's writing to,
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to draw near to God.
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So, let us.
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Very thankful for the church.
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And He talks about this in, I guess,
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what you could almost call the three huge Christian virtues.
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He mentions faith, hope, and love in verse 22, 23, and 24.
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So, the first point today in the let us idea is,
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number one, let us draw near to God in faith.
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And we see this in verses 19 through 22.
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Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,
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by the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain,
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that is, through His flesh.
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And since we have a great high priest over the house of God,
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let us draw near with true heart and full assurance of faith,
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with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience,
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and our bodies washed with pure water.
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So, a great aim of the writer of Hebrews,
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as he mentions this over and over and over,
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is one of his favorite phrases in the book,
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is draw near to God.
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So, he doesn't want us just to settle for a dry,
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ritualistic, religious life.
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He wants us to have fellowship with God.
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He desires God not to be a distant thought in our minds,
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but a near and present reality.
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So, he's calling us to draw near.
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Many of us have this idea of God.
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He's more of a concept in our minds.
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He's more of a knowledge just in our head.
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But we have to connect that to our heart
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and realize He actually is a living being who's present with us.
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He is a person.
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And the writer of Hebrews wants us to come near,
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as the Puritans used to say,
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to have a sweet communion with God,
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to have fellowship with God.
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That is the goal and the heartbeat of the writer of Hebrews.
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He wants the Heavenly Father to be with His children.
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So, He's calling us to draw near.
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And it's not a physical act.
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It's not like drawing near.
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It's this physical thing we do.
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We go from one location to another location.
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It's a spiritual act.
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We have fellowship with God through faith.
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It's as distant as the Holy of Holies in heaven,
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but as near as the door of faith.
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God is beckoning us,
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and even sort of lovingly commanding us to draw near,
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to come to Himself, to approach Him.
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And draw near for what?
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Right.
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Well, again, one of the favorite phrases.
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So, three of the seven occurrences in the book of Hebrews.
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I'll just read you three of them.
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In chapter 4, verse 16, He says,
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Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace,
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that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
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He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him,
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since He always lives to make intercession for them.
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And then you look at,
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what's this next verse here?
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It's in chapter 11, verse 6,
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which we haven't gotten to yet.
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It's going to be a great passage.
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It says,
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Without faith, it is impossible to please Him.
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For he who draws near to God must believe that He is,
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and that He is the rewarder of those who seek Him.
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So, all this drawing near language,
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drawing near to God for fellowship,
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to approach the throne of grace for mercy.
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And so, the question I asked myself when I was studying this,
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and I'm asking you this morning,
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is, do you lack confidence to approach the holy, majestic, sovereign God?
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And when I pondered that thought, I'm a little fearful.
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I shudder a little bit to think that how messy my life is,
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that I could actually approach, come before the living God,
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and not be consumed because of my sin.
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And, we would naturally want to draw back from God.
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The God who dwells in unapproachable light, as Paul called it.
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And, even the most bold of us would probably shrink back
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when we really ponder stepping into the holy presence of God.
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We read about all these moral and upright men in Scripture
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that we look to as heroes,
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and we see that they very easily were terrified
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when they appear before God.
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Isaiah, for example.
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John, the Apostle John,
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terrified when encountering the holy presence of God.
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And so, I want you to stop and think about this as well.
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When is the last time
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you actually just sat still
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and enjoyed the fellowship of the Lord?
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I feel like I'm just so busy sometimes
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just trying to check the boxes
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and read and pray and just get on with it.
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It's kind of like
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when you have a conversation with someone
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and they're just kind of going,
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and they're kind of looking around,
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not really giving you attention,
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not really taking in what you're saying.
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I feel like that's how we often treat God.
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We're not giving Him our full attention,
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and He desires us to draw near for fellowship,
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draw near to worship.
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So when was the last time that you had that?
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That sweet fellowship with God
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where you just sat at the feet of Jesus
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and worshiped and prayed
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and poured your heart out to Him?
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And in our passage,
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we see that
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there's probably a couple ways to break this down,
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and one of them is just a question we can ask,
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like, how is it that we can draw near to God?
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Like, what's made that possible?
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How can we actually do it?
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And when you look at
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verse 19 and 20,
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we see that it's by the blood of Jesus.
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As you might remember,
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the tabernacle and then later,
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the temple,
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will have this long veil
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that separated sinful man
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from entering the Holy of Holies
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where the very presence of God manifested.
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The curtain or the veil
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symbolized separation between us
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and a fallen sinful man
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and relationship with God
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from the holy presence of God.
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It's as if the veil could actually talk.
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It would probably say something like,
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that's far enough.
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You may go no further.
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You are defiled.
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You are sinful.
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You cannot come any closer.
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Do not draw near to God,
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but draw away,
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or you will perish.
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I think that's like what the veil would actually say.
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Like, get away.
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Back off.
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You cannot enter into
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the presence of this most holy God.
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So, I only have a couple places for you to look outside our main passage today,
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but flip over to Matthew chapter 27,
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the gospel of Matthew chapter 27.
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And this is around the crucifixion of Jesus,
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just a small little account.
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But,
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when we think about what the veil meant,
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that separation idea,
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that you cannot come closer,
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we are broken and sinful,
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and God is holy.
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And yet,
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we see,
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that God,
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from eternity past,
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had a plan to bring us near to himself.
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Look at verse 50.
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Just kind of go down.
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We can read this whole story,
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but the crucifixion has been going on,
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and it gets to the very end.
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You look at verse 50.
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It says,
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Jesus cried out again with a loud voice,
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and yielded up his spirit.
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And behold,
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the curtain of the temple was torn in two,
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from top to bottom.
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And the earth shook,
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and the rocks were split.
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The tombs also were opened,
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and many bodies of the saints
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who had fallen asleep were raised,
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and coming out of the tombs
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after his resurrection,
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they went into the holy city,
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and appeared to many.
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When the centurion,
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and those who were with him,
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keeping watch over Jesus,
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saw the earthquake,
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and what took place,
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they were filled with awe,
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or fear,
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and said,
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Truly,
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this was the Son of God.
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And we see in our passage,
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this idea of how,
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when Jesus breathed his last,
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the veil of the temple was torn,
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from top to bottom.
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An impossible task,
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for just a human being to do.
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There's a huge veil,
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in the temple of Herod.
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A huge veil.
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And so what did that symbolize?
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Well, flip back to our passage in Hebrews,
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and we see that,
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the curtain of the temple,
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was torn in two,
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from top to bottom.
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And now the writer is saying,
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the good news now,
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is that we can,
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with confidence,
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enter the holy places,
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by the blood of Jesus,
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by the new and living way,
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that he opened for us,
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through the curtain,
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that is,
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through his flesh.
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So Jesus' flesh,
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his body,
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is identified,
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with the curtain,
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or with the veil,
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metaphorically,
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torn at his death.
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So we can now,
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walk with confidence,
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in faith,
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through the torn curtain,
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of Christ,
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if you would,
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into the presence of God.
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His body was torn,
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his blood was spilled,
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and he has provided the way,
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for us to now have access,
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to God.
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Chilling thought,
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to me,
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that Christ's body,
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was torn,
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his blood spilled,
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and it gives us access,
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to the holy of holies,
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to have fellowship,
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with God.
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And that's the gospel promises,
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that one time,
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you could go no further.
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None of us could approach,
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none of us could enter in,
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but now,
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because of his son,
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we no longer draw back,
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in fear,
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but we can draw near,
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with confidence.
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Because of what Jesus has done,
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he's opened a new,
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and living way,
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for us to have access,
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to come and be with God.
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So,
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that is a,
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crazy connection.
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You want to talk about,
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just how the book of Hebrews,
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connects to so much,
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from the old covenant,
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well,
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that separation,
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has now been dealt with.
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We now can have access,
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alone,
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through Jesus.
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Right?
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That is a,
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a huge blessing,
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huge gospel promise,
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that we have.
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Secondly,
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we also see in our passage,
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in Hebrews here,
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how else,
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can we enter in?
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Right?
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How can we draw near to God,
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by our great high priest?
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And we have talked about this,
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constantly on Sunday mornings,
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that Jesus is,
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far greater,
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far superior,
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than any priest,
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to come before him.
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Greater than Aaron himself,
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greater than Moses.
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And he is,
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an eternal high priest.
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He never,
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he's not going to die,
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he keeps office forever,
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he's not going anywhere.
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He is sympathetic.
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He's a sympathetic high priest,
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and he understands,
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our weakness.
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He sympathizes,
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with all that we're going through,
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so he can present us well,
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represent us well,
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before God.
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He is a flawless,
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sinless priest,
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so he doesn't have to make atonement,
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for his own sin.
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He can just go into,
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the presence of God.
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All these things,
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are the beauty of it all.
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So remember,
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at the tabernacle,
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or the temple,
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the high priest,
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only went in,
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once a year,
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behind the veil,
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and he sprinkled blood,
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on the mercy seat.
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And people would stand outside,
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waiting in fear,
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for him to come back out.
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The difference is,
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Jesus,
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our great,
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eternal,
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sinless,
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sympathetic high priest,
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entered not just a copy,
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like the temple,
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but he actually entered,
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into heaven itself,
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into the actual,
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holy of holies,
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and he didn't come out.
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He's still there,
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and he opened the way,
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for us to come,
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and follow him.
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So one of my favorite,
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old,
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timey preachers,
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from the early 1800's,
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get into him,
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and read him.
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Robert Murray,
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McShane.
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Yeah,
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I like him,
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because he's Scottish,
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but I also like him,
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because he's just,
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a really godly guy,
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and he had respiratory,
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problems,
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which I identify with,
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and he died young,
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probably at the same age,
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I would have died,
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if I hadn't had my transplant,
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because that's why,
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I identify with him a lot.
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But he preached,
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a sermon on John 17,
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in the high priestly prayer,
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of Jesus.
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I want you to let this,
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just soak in.
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He says,
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if I could hear,
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Christ praying for me,
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in the next room,
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I would not fear,
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a million enemies.
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Yet distance,
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makes no difference,
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he is praying for me.
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Live near to God,
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and so all things,
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will appear to you,
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little,
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in comparison,
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with eternal realities.
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Jesus is there,
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making intercession for us,
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before the throne of God.
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And you know,
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think about someone,
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that you really love,
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and trust,
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and look up to in the faith,
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and how,
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just something about,
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when they pray for you,
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you just feel like,
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you're bulletproof.
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You can just run outside,
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and take on anything.
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You know,
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but the idea is,
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Christ is the one,
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making intercession for us.
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Jesus is praying,
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on our behalf,
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so we can face anything.
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And that's the beauty,
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of what we have.
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And also under this passage,
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if you look at verse 22 again,
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there's a certain manner,
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in which we can approach God,
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which we can draw near to God.
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It talks about,
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with a true heart,
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and full assurance of faith,
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all these things.
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So our hearts represent,
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our inner life,
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and our hearts have to be genuine,
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to approach God.
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There's no facade,
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you can't fake it.
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God sees right through you.
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And we must approach Him,
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with a sincere heart.
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One that God has,
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made whole,
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right?
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He wants our heart,
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He doesn't just want,
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us to fake our attention.
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Like I was saying a minute ago,
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when you sit down,
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and have a meal with somebody,
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and you're trying to talk,
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about something serious,
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and they're just looking around,
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and not paying attention.
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And you can just,
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you know,
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there's other times,
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I just say some absurd sentence,
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just to see if they're listening,
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kind of thing.
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And God wants our whole heart,
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He wants our whole attention,
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focused on Him.
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But that phrase,
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in the full assurance of faith,
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we draw near to God again,
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not in a physical sense,
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but in faith.
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Not in doubt or fear,
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but assurance.
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So,
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we believe here,
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at this church,
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that once one person is saved,
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they are saved forever.
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And that those who are truly saved,
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and they alone,
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will persevere to the end,
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and be saved.
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But you cannot lose your salvation,
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if it is real.
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And many people would agree with that,
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but there's also another part of that.
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God wants us to have assurance,
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of our salvation.
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He wants us to come,
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before Him,
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in full assurance,
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of faith.
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And I believe,
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wholeheartedly,
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that words like this,
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wouldn't exist in the Bible,
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if we actually couldn't know,
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for sure,
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that we belong to Christ.
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There would be doubt there,
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there would be fear,
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there would not be assurance,
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of faith.
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It means we can,
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experience joy,
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and peace,
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and hope,
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in this life,
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as a result,
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of that objective,
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spiritual reality.
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A lot of the Bible writers,
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talk about assurance,
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in context of salvation.
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Colossians 2,
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verse 2,
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Paul talks about,
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full assurance.
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1 Thessalonians 1,
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5,
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much assurance.
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In Hebrews 6,
20:53
11,
20:53
full assurance,
20:54
of hope.
20:56
And now we have,
20:57
full assurance,
20:58
of faith.
20:59
A beautiful word,
21:00
but the word really means,
21:01
a complete,
21:02
and most certain confidence.
21:04
So you're not just kind of,
21:06
hoping,
21:07
crossing your fingers,
21:08
kind of wishful thinking,
21:09
that you belong to God.
21:10
This means that you know,
21:12
you belong to God.
21:13
You can have that peace,
21:15
that inner quiet.
21:17
Not all believers,
21:18
have assurance,
21:19
but it's something that God wants to give you.
21:22
If you really belong to him,
21:23
he wants you to know,
21:24
that you belong to him,
21:25
and actually enjoy,
21:26
the salvation that he's given you.
21:28
And not always be afraid of,
21:30
falling off the edge.
21:31
Right?
21:31
I don't think that words like joy,
21:33
or peace,
21:34
would be real words,
21:36
if that was true.
21:37
I would not have any peace,
21:38
or any joy,
21:39
if I just felt like I would just undo,
21:41
what God has done.
21:43
But praise God,
21:44
he is the one who saves,
21:45
and he's the one who,
21:46
began the good work in us,
21:48
and he will,
21:49
finish it.
21:50
For his name's sake,
21:52
he will finish it.
21:54
Right?
21:54
And the last place you really have to turn today,
21:58
but keep your hand in Hebrews 10,
22:00
is Leviticus 16.
22:02
So what does all this have to do with
22:04
heart-sprinkled,
22:05
bodies-washed?
22:07
This idea.
22:11
But just a couple verses,
22:12
out of Leviticus 16,
22:15
when the Lord was instructing Moses,
22:18
and Moses was passing this on to Aaron,
22:20
about temple worship,
22:22
or tabernacle worship at that time,
22:24
what God desired.
22:26
And look at verse 1 and 2 of chapter 16.
22:28
It says,
22:30
The Lord spoke to Moses
22:32
after the death of the two sons of Aaron,
22:36
when they drew near before the Lord and died.
22:39
So,
22:40
don't draw near to God at that point.
22:42
Right?
22:44
Don't approach God in a sinful way,
22:45
as his sons had done,
22:47
and they died.
22:48
And the Lord said to Moses,
22:51
Tell Aaron, your brother,
22:52
not to come at any time
22:54
into the holy place inside the veil,
22:57
before the mercy seat that is on the ark,
23:00
so that he may not die.
23:03
For I will appear in the cloud
23:05
over the mercy seat.
23:07
Jump down to verse 16.
23:09
Thus he will make atonement for the holy place,
23:15
because of the uncleanliness of the people of Israel,
23:19
and because of their transgressions and all their sins.
23:22
And so shall do for the tent of meeting,
23:25
which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleanliness.
23:29
You see all this separation language?
23:31
You see this being exclusive?
23:34
The high priest only being able to come in once,
23:36
and he said,
23:37
Aaron cannot just come in any time he feels like it,
23:40
or he will die.
23:42
There is something that needs to be done.
23:43
And it talks about how the blood is to be sprinkled.
23:46
So back in Hebrews,
23:49
back in Hebrews again,
23:52
the sacrificial blood that was sprinkled on the priest
23:55
was an outward sign
23:56
of their being consecrated for God's service.
24:01
And here the writer is kind of carrying that further
24:03
and saying that now our hearts are inwardly
24:08
are sprinkled by the sacrificial blood of Jesus,
24:12
and his atoning work purifies us
24:15
from an evil conscience.
24:17
And it's so complete that it covers our sin,
24:20
it covers our shame.
24:23
The conscience, guys, only condemns us.
24:27
Do you all know that?
24:28
It only says you've broken the law.
24:31
You may try to reason around it and say,
24:33
well, it really wasn't that bad.
24:35
And God really didn't mean it when he said this.
24:39
But the conscience is just going to say guilty.
24:41
It's only going to condemn you.
24:43
The conscience doesn't know anything of mercy or grace.
24:47
And because we have sinned,
24:50
we have an evil conscience.
24:52
We have a vexed conscience.
24:55
Guilt and shame weigh on us constantly all the time
24:59
for things that we've done.
25:02
Right?
25:04
But here's the good news.
25:05
The amazing thing is that the blood of Jesus is so complete,
25:08
so powerful,
25:10
that it can remove the guilt and shame
25:12
and put our conscience at rest.
25:14
It can appease our vexed conscience
25:17
and give us rest.
25:20
Not because we're sinless, right?
25:23
Not because our conscience doesn't sometimes accuse us,
25:27
but because when it does accuse us,
25:29
we can say in faith
25:30
that the blood of Christ has covered that.
25:33
That Jesus has dealt with that sin,
25:35
and even though it grieves us,
25:37
we have a Savior
25:39
that has shed His priceless blood for us.
25:42
And we can have a clean conscience because of that.
25:46
He has dealt with it.
25:48
And you can lay down your head on the pillow at night
25:50
and have peace because of what Christ has done.
25:53
And not just be torn apart
25:54
by the nasty things that you've done
25:57
to yourself and to one another.
26:00
The blood of Jesus can bring peace to our conscience.
26:02
And because that's true,
26:05
let us draw near.
26:07
Our bodies wash,
26:09
most likely alluding to Old Testament imagery
26:12
of how priests have ceremonially washed themselves
26:14
with all these different sanctified vessels for service.
26:18
But I guess the connection,
26:20
I would believe, is here,
26:22
is pointing forward to how the Holy Spirit
26:24
cleanses us and purifies us.
26:27
Not just when we're born again,
26:29
but as we are being sanctified
26:30
and as we are growing spiritually.
26:33
So there's a huge reminder here.
26:34
Be reminded.
26:36
We all need reminders to draw near to God.
26:40
Though we've been born anew of the Spirit
26:42
and though we've been adopted as the children of God,
26:45
and such we are, right?
26:47
We still have the strong,
26:49
I do,
26:50
strong pull of the flesh on a daily basis.
26:54
We still have many voices around us
26:56
telling us that this is what life is about.
26:58
This is what you're to pursue.
26:59
This is what you're to love.
27:01
The allure of the world
27:03
and the lies and deception of the evil one.
27:07
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.
27:09
We all are like that.
27:10
So we need reminders like,
27:12
draw near to God
27:13
in full assurance of faith.
27:15
You can draw near.
27:17
This passage is God calling us to himself.
27:21
So next time you sit down
27:22
and open up the Word,
27:24
or next time you're just wanting to sit down
27:27
and pray with some other friends,
27:28
draw near to God.
27:29
Don't just do an intellectual activity.
27:32
Ask Him to help your hearts.
27:34
Connect with Him.
27:35
Because Christ has prepared the way for you to go.
27:38
So that's all number one.
27:41
But the rest of them aren't that long.
27:44
Number two, the second let us.
27:47
Number two, let us hold fast to our hope.
27:50
Verse 23.
27:54
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope
27:56
without wavering,
27:58
for He who promised is faithful.
28:02
So, secondly,
28:05
He urges us to persevere
28:07
by holding on to hope.
28:09
Another favorite phrase of the writer of Hebrews,
28:11
this faithful, tenacious, unwavering embrace
28:15
of what we believe to be true,
28:17
the confession of our hope.
28:19
All that we believe,
28:21
the gospel,
28:22
all that we say we believe
28:24
as followers of Jesus,
28:26
the confession of our hope.
28:28
And these truths and promises
28:30
like God gives us,
28:32
and the hope is
28:33
if we actually believe these things,
28:35
it will produce hope in us.
28:39
Why?
28:39
Again,
28:40
what gives you that hope?
28:43
Because He who promised is faithful.
28:45
A promise is only good
28:48
as the one making it.
28:49
We all know that to be true.
28:50
Many of us have been hurt greatly
28:52
by people who made us promises
28:53
and didn't keep them
28:55
or didn't have the power to keep them.
28:59
Liars and fools cannot be counted on
29:01
to keep promises.
29:03
We've all put our hope in things that
29:05
let us down.
29:07
a lot of the leaders of this church,
29:14
a lot of the time,
29:15
people just think that we're invincible,
29:17
that we have it all together.
29:19
And then they're disappointed
29:20
and sometimes even angry
29:22
that we can't hold them together
29:24
at times.
29:25
We can barely hold our own lives together.
29:27
We need grace as well.
29:29
The only person
29:32
you can fully place your hope in
29:34
without being let down
29:35
is God Himself.
29:38
That's it.
29:40
You have to bank your hope
29:41
all in Him.
29:43
And remember,
29:44
gospel hope is not wishful thinking.
29:46
It's not crossing our fingers
29:47
and just hoping it turns out okay.
29:49
It's this sure,
29:50
certain confidence.
29:53
We know that God has made a promise.
29:57
And because the Scripture says,
29:59
in Titus 1 verse 2,
30:02
we can say
30:02
that we have hope of eternal life
30:05
which God,
30:06
who never lies,
30:08
has promised before the ages began.
30:11
We have a living hope, right?
30:13
1 Peter chapter 1 verse 3,
30:16
according to His great mercy
30:17
has caused us to be born again
30:18
to a living hope.
30:21
A hope that's active and moving,
30:24
not just this dead idea,
30:25
distant thought in our head.
30:27
And one of my other Puritan writers
30:30
I like,
30:30
he wrote,
30:31
hope fills the afflicted soul
30:32
with such inward joy
30:35
and consolation
30:36
that it can laugh
30:38
while tears are in the eye
30:40
and sigh
30:40
and sing
30:42
all in one breath.
30:44
It's called rejoicing in hope.
30:46
So,
30:49
our hope is real
30:50
because of the one
30:51
who has promised.
30:53
We can throw our lives
30:54
completely into that.
30:57
The one who promised
30:59
is faithful.
31:00
He will do it.
31:03
Alright, so,
31:04
thirdly,
31:05
and lastly,
31:07
see in verse 24 and 25,
31:10
let us
31:10
stir up one another
31:12
to love.
31:14
So,
31:14
we've seen faith,
31:15
we've seen hope,
31:17
and now we see love.
31:18
Verse 24,
31:19
let us consider
31:20
how to stir up
31:21
one another
31:22
to love
31:23
and good works,
31:24
not neglecting
31:25
to meet together
31:25
as is the habit
31:26
of some,
31:28
but encouraging
31:29
one another
31:29
and all the more
31:31
as you see the day
31:32
drawing near.
31:34
We all know
31:34
that when trials come
31:35
and when difficult things happen,
31:37
we're tempted
31:37
to mainly just think
31:38
about ourselves.
31:40
We're not naturally
31:41
going to be selfless.
31:42
We,
31:44
you see the most
31:45
patient person
31:45
being destroyed
31:46
by a certain thing
31:47
that they're going through.
31:49
We're not,
31:50
love is not our
31:50
natural outflow
31:51
when pressure
31:52
is put on us.
31:54
It usually is
31:54
self-preservation,
31:56
survival mode.
31:59
But,
31:59
great gospel faith,
32:01
great gospel hope
32:02
that we possess
32:02
in Christ
32:03
will inevitably
32:05
lead us
32:07
to gospel love,
32:08
which is sacrificial.
32:11
It puts other people
32:12
before itself.
32:15
That's as the writer
32:16
is wanting us to see here
32:17
that if you believe
32:17
all these things,
32:18
if you really do,
32:19
it's going to lead
32:20
to love
32:22
in the form
32:23
of good works.
32:25
Right?
32:25
So,
32:26
but a lot of us
32:27
get lazy,
32:28
we get apathetic,
32:29
we slow down.
32:31
And so,
32:31
he puts the phrase
32:32
in there,
32:33
stir up,
32:34
let us consider.
32:35
you have to stop
32:37
and think about it.
32:38
Give thoughtful
32:39
consideration
32:40
to how you are
32:41
showing love
32:42
to other believers.
32:45
So,
32:45
stir up means
32:46
to provoke
32:47
or incite them.
32:49
We need that.
32:50
We need to do that
32:51
for each other
32:52
because many of us
32:53
are just tempted
32:54
to fall asleep.
32:56
And that's stimulated
32:57
by us meeting together
32:58
for worship,
32:59
fellowship,
33:00
mutual encouragement.
33:03
College students,
33:04
you cannot do
33:05
the Christian life
33:05
on your own.
33:07
You have a home
33:08
and that's the church.
33:09
And you're married to it
33:10
whether you like it or not.
33:12
This is your family.
33:15
We all belong
33:16
to the body of Christ.
33:19
Fellow believers
33:20
bought with the blood
33:21
of Jesus.
33:22
We are his bride
33:24
and don't hate
33:25
on his bride.
33:28
He'd saved you
33:29
as an individual
33:30
but he has saved
33:31
a people
33:31
for his own possession,
33:34
the church.
33:35
And he calls us
33:36
to be with one another
33:37
because we need
33:38
one another.
33:40
Here in the Bible Belt
33:41
it's just so easy
33:42
just to sort of blend in
33:43
but you go to many,
33:45
many parts of this world
33:46
the other few,
33:48
few believers
33:49
in a certain community
33:50
are precious
33:52
to one another.
33:52
They treasure
33:53
one another deeply
33:54
because that's all
33:55
they have.
33:56
That's their family.
33:57
and we need each other
34:01
for the goal
34:02
of perseverance.
34:04
This is a picture
34:05
of the local church,
34:06
the gathering
34:07
of the saints.
34:08
And he's saying
34:09
back then,
34:10
which is funny, right?
34:11
Back then
34:12
in the first century,
34:14
no less true today,
34:15
some people
34:16
are neglecting
34:18
this gathering.
34:19
Some people
34:19
are just choosing
34:21
not to come around.
34:22
They're trying
34:23
to be solo.
34:25
They're trying
34:26
to do this thing
34:27
on their own.
34:28
They're neglecting
34:29
the gathering
34:30
or the meeting
34:31
of the saints.
34:34
He's saying
34:34
don't do that
34:35
as is the habit
34:36
of some.
34:38
We need each other.
34:39
If you want to cool off
34:40
and really lose
34:42
your passion for Jesus,
34:43
just go solo
34:44
for a little while
34:45
and you'll just get
34:45
your clock cleaned.
34:47
You don't have
34:47
the encouragement.
34:48
You don't have
34:48
the fellowship.
34:49
We need one another.
34:53
I've done that
34:54
quite a few times.
34:55
It doesn't work out.
34:57
And some people
34:58
would even argue,
34:59
what about Paul?
35:00
He was solo.
35:00
Not really.
35:02
Not all the time.
35:03
Wherever he went,
35:04
he had other believers.
35:05
He had the church
35:06
that God grew
35:07
at that place.
35:09
And there were times
35:10
he was forced
35:10
to be alone,
35:11
but he always had
35:12
other believers
35:13
as well.
35:15
And it says
35:15
encouraging one another
35:16
as even more so
35:18
as you see
35:19
the day drawing near.
35:21
That's the return
35:22
of Christ,
35:22
the judgment.
35:23
So even as you think
35:24
and you see
35:24
the end coming,
35:26
step it up.
35:27
Continue stepping it up.
35:29
Love one another.
35:30
Serve one another
35:31
even as the day
35:32
draws near.
35:34
Knowing that it's coming.
35:38
The church
35:39
is the biggest blessing
35:40
that a believer
35:41
can have.
35:43
And I hope that
35:44
you've experienced that.
35:46
I hope you've experienced
35:47
the joy that God
35:49
desires to give you
35:50
through the local body.
35:51
I know many of us have.
35:53
This is our family.
35:54
We don't even know
35:55
what we would do.
35:55
I don't even know
35:56
what I would do
35:56
without y'all,
35:57
honestly.
35:59
It's such a blessing
36:00
that God has given us.
36:02
We're not to do this alone.
36:04
We need each other.
36:06
And encouraging one another
36:08
all the more.
36:09
You see the day
36:10
drawing near.
36:12
There's urgency here.
36:15
Stir up one another.
36:16
So there's all these
36:17
exhortations for
36:18
let us do this
36:19
and let us do that.
36:22
Circle those in your Bible.
36:23
It's okay for you
36:24
to write in your Bible.
36:26
All right.
36:28
If it's not,
36:29
I'm in trouble.
36:30
So,
36:31
with that in mind,
36:35
let's pray together.