We Have Such a High Priest, Part 2

Well, two weeks ago I started to work on the book of Hebrews with you. And as we studied at that time, we learned that the book of Hebrews is primarily about the priesthood. It's primarily about the high priesthood of Jesus Christ. We see that in Hebrews 8. It specifically states how Jesus is above, how He is before, how He was greater and more important than all of the other individuals that are written about in the early part of the book.

It says He's more important than the prophets. He's more important than any communication through an angel. He's more important than Moses. He's more important than Aaron. He's more important than the Levitical priesthood. He's more important than all of that because He has been sent to the earth to provide a perfect sacrifice. And after that sacrifice, He returned to the perfect sanctuary. And today, of course, is our merciful high priest.

He also serves as the mediator of the New Covenant, the mediator of a better covenant. And, of course, that covenant has better promises, the promise of eternal life, the promise of being a part of the family of God. And I think in many ways it's hard for us to fully realize just what God is offering.

Whenever He says, I have eternal life to give, He knows what that is. And we're just learning what it is that He would like for us to agree with Him on because that's really going to be. We're not going to be designing the plan for it. He already has the plan. It's just a matter of how we fit into that plan, how we appreciate the plan, and in this case, how we appreciate the better covenant that He is extending to us. And that's what I want to focus on in the sermon today. I'd like for us to go back in the book of Exodus because in the Old Testament we have a description of the people who descended from Abraham and Isaac and then Jacob or Israel, the sons of Israel, the nation of Israel, and later as it divided up the nation of Israel and Judah.

God called Israel His people. He said, these are the people of God. But He also had made a covenant with them. He made an agreement with them. And of course we call that the first or the old covenant. And we realize that we are in a time today when the new covenant is available. It is a better covenant and one that we certainly want to embrace. But I want to focus a little bit on the old here in Exodus 19.

This is at the time when the Israelites had been brought out of Egypt and they were awaiting God's instructions. They were being guided by God in a sense. Actually, the verse I mentioned in verse 4, He says, how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to Myself. He was talking about how He had not only brought them out of Egypt but how He had preserved them through the wandering in the wilderness. And now they were on the verge of going into the promise, going into the promised land.

And He says in verse 5, now therefore if you obey My voice and if you keep My covenant. And so here He mentions that He was entering into an agreement with the people. And the people at this point were people who had survived the wilderness. Many of them were younger because many of the older ones had died in the wilderness. But He says, if you obey My voice and if you keep My covenant, you shall be My treasured possession out of all people. Indeed, the whole earth is Mine, but you shall be for Me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that Moses was to speak to the Israelites.

That's what he was to tell them. God wanted a relationship. It actually showed that God had a great deal of concern for them. He loved them a great deal. But in many ways, what they were going to go through in a physical sense was going to be a type that would lay ground for something later. Of course, in chapter 20, you find the giving of the Ten Commandments, the listing of others of the laws regarding numerous different things. I'd like for us to then look at chapter 24. In chapter 24, we find something significant.

Significant about the Old Covenant. Significant about the covenant that God made with Israel. Here in Exodus 24, starting in verse 5, Moses is preparing. If we look in verse 5, he says he sent some young men to bring some offerings, to bring some bulls or goats. He was going to take their blood, and he was going to do something with that blood. Here in verse 6, it says Moses took half of the blood, and he put it in a basin, and he took half of the blood, and he dashed against the altar.

Even in this setting, in this case, blood of bulls and goats was involved. In verse 7, it says he took the book of the covenant, and he read it in the hearing of the people. And they said all that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient. Now, this wasn't the only time they had said that. They had seemingly been in agreement.

They had seemingly wanted what God had to offer several different times. And yet here, as this covenant was presented, they said all that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.

And so Moses took the blood, and he dashed it on the people, and he said, see, this is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.

And so this is, in essence, just showing the agreement, the covenant, that the people at that time, the people of Israel, made with God. They said they'd obey, and it was confirmed by blood. Now, we want to contrast that with what we find in the New Testament here in Mark chapter 14.

Mark chapter 14, I want to contrast what we see Moses doing there with the blood that dealt with the old covenant. I want to contrast that with what we see Jesus doing here in Mark chapter 14.

Mark chapter 14, in verse 23, this was when Jesus met with his disciples, individuals that he loved, individuals he was going to cause to be leaders of the New Testament church. They were friends to him. They had been learning at his feet for some time. He was about to offer his life as a sacrifice for sin, and he is designating the symbols of the bread and the wine that would then be used in a service in remembrance of him.

But the part that I'm focusing on is in verse 23, where it says, He took a cup, and after giving thanks, He gave it to them, and all of them drank from the cup.

This was a common cup, and He said to them, This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many.

He, of course, was changing things. He was setting things differently for the people of God.

And yet we find that, as He mentions this, that my blood, the blood of the Lamb of God, is the blood that is the blood of the new covenant. It's the blood of the covenant that we make with God. When we were baptized, and I know many of us can think back to that time, we should be able to remember that. I remember not only date or year. I know what day it was, because I was thrilled. I was excited. I was scared as well, because I was a little apprehensive about something that I knew was important. Something at the age of 19 that I knew was very significant. And, of course, I've been taught or told, this is the most important commitment that I will ever make. But whenever we're baptized, we make a commitment to God. And, of course, God returns to us His mercy and His forgiveness.

And we enter into a contract or covenant with God, making that most important decision. And what we're doing is we're embracing. We're entering into the new covenant.

And so, if you want a title for what we're covering today, it's embracing the better covenant. Because that's what all of us have done. Or, if we're a baptized individual as a part of the Church of God, then we are entering into this very important relationship. And I know we can go back, and I won't take time to do so, but we can go back to Jeremiah 31. I'll just reference this for you. If you go back to Jeremiah 31 and verse 31 through the next few verses, it talks about, in the latter days, I will make a new covenant. Of course, Jeremiah is in the Old Testament, and it was spoken at a time, it was said at a time when Israel was in great distress, they were about to be overthrown, they were about to be taken captive. And yet, God said there in Jeremiah 31, verse 31, down through verse 34, He says, there's going to come a time when I'm going to make a new covenant. I'm going to make a different covenant. It'll be different, a different covenant than I made with the people of Israel in the past, your forefathers.

And of course, He says, you know, unfortunately, they didn't keep my covenant. They broke the covenant. They disobeyed, even though I was faithful to them. Even though I was a faithful husband to them, they rebelled, they disobeyed, they ignored. He describes that new covenant as putting my law within them and writing it on their hearts. He describes it as being, I will be their God and they will be my people and they shall all know the Lord. And He says, I will, in verse 34, forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more. So this was predicted long ago. This is a part of the plan of God. This is a part of how God wants us.

to relate to Him individually and personally. Now, for a couple, you know, we both may have that same commitment, but it's an individual commitment. It is a commitment that we make with God. And I want us to look in Hebrews 8 because the description of that better covenant, that new covenant, as it is enacted after the death of Jesus Christ. And as we read here from the author of Hebrews, who writes about how that the Christians at that time, decades, few decades at least, after the time of Jesus, how that those Christians were embracing a new covenant. It says in verse 6 of Hebrews 8, it says, but Jesus has now obtained a new or, excuse me, a more excellent ministry.

And to that degree, He is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted through better promises. Clearly, Jesus is the high priest. He is not only the sacrifice, but the high priest and the one who guides us in our Christian lives. If we go ahead and follow verse 7, it says, if the first covenant had been faultless, then there would have been no need for a second.

See, there was fault. There was certainly limitation with the first covenant. It only dealt with the promised land. It didn't deal with eternal life. It didn't even really deal with the forgiveness of sin. But the better covenant does. That's what we're going to see. The better covenant has greater promises. And in verse 8, it says, God found fault with them.

And of course, it was the people who were... they didn't live up to their terms of the agreement. They didn't obey. They didn't do the will of God. They didn't follow God like, you know, certainly we wish to do. But it says, God finds fault with them when He said, the days are surely coming, says the Lord, whom I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant I made with their ancestors on a day, when I take them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I have no concern for them. See, this is actually quoting out of what Jeremiah wrote, describing how it was that that covenant was forsaken. But he says in verse 10, this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord.

He says, I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write those laws on their hearts.

So Mr. Beyer picked out a very nice song for us to sing right before, you know, we come to the sermon because, you know, coming to appreciate, coming to love, the law of God, is a big part of the relationship we have with God. But God says in the new covenant, I'm going to put my laws in your heart or your mind, and writing it on your heart. I will be their God, and they will be my people. They shall not teach one another to say to each other, know the Lord, for they will all know me from the least of them to the greatest.

And he says in verse 12, I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sin no more. Actually, what we find here are four very clear terms of the better covenant.

Therefore, very clear terms that I want us to rehearse here today, because it's important for us as we live Christian lives, as we honor God with our lives, as we maintain our covenant with God, that we understand the terms of the agreement, the terms of the covenant. So the first thing that you see mentioned, it's mentioned here in verse 10, and clearly it's a very important part of our relationship to God. The law of God is the foundation of both the old and the new covenant.

The law of God was a part of the agreement that was made with Israel, and yet the law of God is even a greater part of the agreement that we make with God. Now, it certainly was an important part of the teaching that Moses extended, but we might ask ourselves, why? Why is the law so important?

Well, clearly it existed long before. It didn't just start with the old covenant.

When did it start? Well, it started back in the time of Adam, because we see numerous of the commands that God would codify in the Ten Commandments. You see numerous of those neglected and forsaken by Adam and Eve as they stole something they were not supposed to take, as they refused to honor the Word of God. You can go through numerous of the Ten Commandments that point out what they were doing in resisting God and following the deception. Certainly, a little farther further in chapter 3, I think, or 3 or 4, Cain killing Abel, that was a sin.

That was disobedience. Of course, it was out of jealousy. It was out of hatred. That was why Cain was so filled with wrath toward his brother, because his offerings were acceptable and Cain's weren't. He obviously had a certain penalty for that, and ultimately the penalty would be death. That's why the Law of God, the Ten Commandments specifically, are parts of both the Old and the New Covenant that we are embracing here today. I'd like for us to look at Romans 7, because it makes it clear, unfortunately, many don't believe that the keeping of the commands of God, the Ten Commandments, primarily even the Sabbath command, that they're applicable today. And yet, they very much are, because even as you read, you can clearly read in Jesus' statements that I didn't come to do away with the Law or abolish it. I actually came to even explain, even in greater detail, how that law is applicable to human beings.

But here in Romans 7, it says, what shall we say? This is in verse 7. What shall we say?

Shall we say that the law of sin? Paul says, by no means. Yet if it had not been for the law, then I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, you should not covet. See, without being able to have an understanding of the law of God, then we don't know what missing the mark is. We don't know what sin is. It's not allowed, or it's not allowed to me, to make up what I think is sin. God alone.

And of course, I'll go on to show you. I want us to go over to the next page here in Romans 8.

Because you find some very specific statements about what it is to be fleshly-minded, carnally-minded, and what it is to be spiritually-minded, which we want to be. We want to be spiritually-minded. And actually, what you see described here in chapter 8 is the contrast between a carnal mind that is hostile to the law of God, and actually is hostile to the authority of the Creator to tell me how to live. That's really what we find here in verse 6. It says, to set our mind on the flesh is death, but to set our mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

For this reason, in verse 7, the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile, or is in enmity to God.

And it does not submit to God's law. Indeed, it cannot submit to God's law. And those who are in the flesh simply cannot please God. Here he gives a very clear explanation, I think, of what it is. If we're going to come to please God, well, then we're going to have to turn from the prideful, arrogant way of ignoring God's instructions. See, Satan has to see the world into believing that that's the way to go. But of course, I know that you realize that that's not the case. That is the foundation for the beginning of our Christian lives. And clearly, as we turn from what it says in 7, the carnal mind is enmity against God, and it is not subject to the law of God.

Well, I certainly hope our minds are being transformed. I hope that we're in a transition from knowing that and repenting of that and then seeking the life and peace that comes through the Spirit of God. But actually, what you find is the transition that the Israelites of old could not make was that they did not have the fear of God. They were afraid of God. They don't want to hear God's voice, for sure. They were afraid of God, but they didn't have the right fear and awe and reverence for God and for His law. They just didn't have that, and certainly then they didn't obey.

And they clearly weren't able to do the will of God. But all of those, a right fear of God, a desire to obey, a desire to love the law, and then to do not only the law, but to do the will of God, to do the work that God says His people will be doing. So the first element of the better covenant has to do with the foundation, the law of God, that is to be in our minds and to be written in our hearts. It's not to be something that we forget. It actually needs to be transformed. What we find whenever we read in the New Testament is that our minds need to be transformed by the renewing of our mind, and that our hearts need to be softened so that we are not so hard-hearted and resistive to God's instruction and God's direction in our life. The second section of the new covenant, or the better covenant, is that God says, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Now that can seem to be a kind of a, what, statement that anybody could make at any time. Well, God's not making it in a whimsical way at all. He's saying the people of God, the people who are embracing a better covenant, well, they truly will be my people, and I will truly be their God. I like first to look into Galatians 6, because in Galatians 6, of course, Galatians was written to a congregation of the Church of God in Asia Minor, Turkey today. And in concluding that book in chapter 6 verse 16, speaking about the new creation of a Christian life, Paul says those who are following this rule, those who are yielded to God, those who are submitting themselves to God's law, he says, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. So here he gives a description of Christians in the New Testament time who have embraced a new covenant. He calls them the Israel of God. It's important for us to make that connection, because you can read in Jeremiah and even in Hebrews that, well, this will be with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

Well, physically, that's going to be the case for some today. But whether we're in Israel or Judah, physically, we certainly spiritually are called the Israel of God. And I'd like for us to think, you know, about this statement, I will be their God and they shall be my people. I think that has to do with God calling us. God inviting us to be a part of the kingdom. Him inviting us to being a part of His divine family. His calling. If we take a look at John 15. John 15, you see Jesus directly stating to His disciples, to His friends, He said, you are people that I love, you are people that I adore, but in verse 16, He says, you didn't choose me. You didn't select me. You didn't just pick me and decide to follow me. But He says, I have chosen you and I'm going to appoint you to go and bear fruit fruit that will last. So here we see a confirmation of what we read earlier in John about God drawing, the Father drawing individuals to Jesus Christ. See, that's a special calling.

It's a calling that we need to acknowledge, but we even more than acknowledge need to appreciate because it's a special blessing for God to offer us an opportunity to know Him, for Him to be our God and for us to be His people. That's a special blessing and it shouldn't be taken for granted. It shouldn't be taken lightly. It should be deeply appreciated. I'd like for us to think, you know, when we think of even the Old Testament Israelites, you know, the house of Israel came from the children of Israel and His sons, but prior to that, through Isaac and through Abraham.

Did Abraham pick God? That's not what you read in Genesis 12. Abraham, he did obey God. Once he knew what he was supposed to do, he did it. Or at least he learned to do it. He stumbled at times.

And yet what you read in Genesis 12, verse 1 through 4, is that God called Abraham.

And He says, I want you to go from where you live and I'm going to put you in the land of promise.

And so what you read, and I think it's in verse 4, is Abraham went. God called him. He drew him, and he was going to work through him. And as the father of the faithful, he clearly is a prominent figure in the plan of God. But see, just like God created the nation of Israel, He created this by His selection, this nation by this selection. He's also created the church of God by His invitation, by His request. And even as I read this verse regarding Jesus saying, to His disciples, you didn't choose me, I chose you. But now that you know who I am, because He was revealing who He was, He says, I want you to do my will. And of course, we find ourselves in the same situation. We can also look in 1 Peter 2, because this is, again, another statement that's very clear about how it is that we are to respond to God.

You know, actually, Peter has written this 1 Peter, as well as 2 Peter, was written to the church of God in general, not to a specific congregation, but to people scattered in many different places. But He says in verse 9, but you are a people who have chosen me? No, He says, you are a chosen people. He says, I'm the one who has brought you to an awareness of your need for me. And you are a royal priesthood, a holy nation. You are God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. See, the tone of the entirety of that verse, verse 9, is on God. It's on accepting Jesus Christ, as the verses before that say, but He says, you know, He's the one who draws us together. He's the one who gives us the job. And, of course, our job is to proclaim the mighty works of Him who called us, to proclaim His kingdom. He says in verse 10, once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. And once you had not received forgiveness, you had not received mercy, but now you have received my mercy. See, that's tied together with the section in the New Covenant about being their God and they being my people.

And see, that's a wonderful blessing to be grateful for and appreciate. The next section of the Better Covenant talks about coming to know the Lord. Now, that again is a common phrase that religions use today. And yet, do you really come to know the Lord? Do you really come to know Jesus Christ and His relationship with the Father without submitting to His rule? Submitting to His law? Do you really do that? Well, that's why I think you have so many people trying to get people to at least know the name of Jesus, which certainly is right. That's the starting point. But that's not the ending point because what we find whenever we go back and say, they shall all come to know the Lord. That's talking about a personal and individual relationship with Jesus Christ. And what a wonderful thing to live with. What a wonderful blessing to live with that relationship where we clearly believe. Let's look at Acts 4. Acts 4 describes how it is that Jesus Christ is the only one through whom we'll have salvation. Actually, a healing had occurred here in Acts 4. And in verse 10, it says, Let it be known to all of you and to the people of Israel, if this man is standing here before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

And so clearly they were giving credit. Peter and John in this case were giving credit to who deserved all the credit. They had seen a miracle occur, and yet he's standing here before them because of Jesus. And yet he continues here in this statement saying, Whom you crucified, whom God had raised from the dead. And this Jesus is the stone that is rejected by you and the builders. It has become the cornerstone. And he says in verse 12, There is salvation in no one else, no other name. For there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which you must be saved. See, that's true for you and me. That's true for ultimately every human being who today lives or who has ever lived and who will live as the only name under heaven, whereby we can have salvation. See, now it's scary to me to have biblical terms thrown about.

There is no other Messiah besides the true Messiah. There's not an anointed one. There's not other people who can save us. It's alarming to see some of the statements that are made by people.

And yet, what we do find is that we have come to believe in Jesus Christ. We've come to believe that He's the Son of God. We've come to believe that He was sent by the Father. The plan was being enacted when He was sent as the Lamb of God. We've come to believe His announcement of the Kingdom of God. And we've come to truly know the Father. See, that's what it says in John 17, verse 3.

This is eternal life. This is eternal life that you come to know the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ. See, that we understand their family, that we understand their unity, that we understand their togetherness and their agreement in every way. And now that they want us to have those same attributes. John 17, verse 3, it says, this is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God, and that they may know Jesus Christ whom you sent.

See, Jesus is praying to the Father in this case. He's pointing out something. He's asking the Father to re-glorify me. I was in glory with you before I came to the earth as a servant, and I'm desiring to be re-glorified. And yet He said, it's eternal life for those individuals that you work with to come to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you sent. And of course, if we back up a few pages, John chapter 10, I won't take time to go through much of what's here, because it's a fabulous chapter. And of course, it talks about Jesus being the Good Shepherd.

And yet, even in addition to Him saying that I'm the Good Shepherd, and I'm wanting to help you, I'm wanting to nurture you as the sheep of my pasture even shows that I'm the door. I'm the door through whom you get into the sheepfold, and I'm the Good Shepherd, and you'll need to appreciate that as we come to know the Lord. And He says here in verse 27, in verse 27, He says, My sheep hear My voice, because I know them, and they follow Me. There can be a lot of illustration that it can be done about the Good Shepherd, and certainly David's example of writing as a shepherd and writing how He thought toward the Lord and the one who He understood would be nurturing Him and caring for Him. And yet, that same type of knowing, that same type of loving, that same type of following is what Jesus expects of His sheep. And so, if we're going to be the people of God, then we're certainly going to come to know the Lord in the way that He has stated. We mentioned, I mentioned to all of you a few weeks ago, about taking a yoke of Jesus upon you. That's a very important thing, particularly as we labor with difficulties and struggles. And I will, I think I'll continue to mention that because even as I think about it, as I read about it, I understand it better. And it's not something I want to exclude from my life. I want that to be a mainstay in my life, to be able to bear the burdens and to bear the load that God allows us to go through. But He says, I'll help you. I'm with you. I am living in you.

And we want to be grateful for that. The last segment of the Better Covenant is that He will provide merciful forgiveness for our sins. He will remember our sins no more.

See, again, all of these are pretty simple statements, and clearly all of you have heard read those many, many, many, many times. But I think it's really important for us as we embrace the Better Covenant that we clearly understand what we're agreeing to, what it implies, and what He expects of us. Matthew 26, this is even a part of our analysis, even as we prepare for a Passover service, as we prepare for the spring holy days. Here in Matthew 26, again describing the service where He instituted the bread and the wine. In verse 27, He took a cup and after giving thanks, He gave it to them. And He said, Drink from it all of you, for this is my blood of the new covenant. For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of their sins. Jesus highlights things at different places, at different times. He does that for a reason because when you think of what we saw in the old covenant, what we saw with the entire elaborate Levitical priesthood that was set up and the offerings and the sacrifices and the shedding of blood. And as I've mentioned to you, it seems like the priest really, you know, we're just, you know, much of their job was butchering. Much of their job was offering these animals. Much of the job was, I'm sure, pretty hard labor. And yet, it involved blood. But none of that blood, none of that blood could ever truly forgive sin. That's what we find when we look in Hebrews chapter 10. Here in Hebrews chapter 10, we see in verse 4, and this is a contrast that is made here in this chapter. It says in verse 4, it's impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin. It says in verse 3, it was a reminder. They could be reminded of how they missed the mark. But see, they could never really, truly be at one with God. They could never truly be forgiven because that forgiveness was ultimately going to be coming. It was going to become available through the blood of Jesus Christ, through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

And if we go on to verse 16, this is talking about the sacrifice that Jesus would give and how that that sacrifice would extend true forgiveness. Verse 16, this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days. I will put my laws in their hearts and I will write them on their minds. And he said, I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.

And in verse 18, he says, where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin. See, the sacrifice of Jesus was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It existed once and it was of such magnitude that it covers everybody's sins.

The offerings didn't need to be repeated. And if we back up to verse 10, it says, it is by the will of God that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. In verse 12, when Jesus had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God and since then he's been waiting.

See, he is our high priest. He is at the right hand of God. He is awaiting his return. And yet, what it says here, since he offered this single sacrifice for sin, he sat down at the right hand of God and since then has been waiting until his enemies should be made of footstool for his feet.

He's awaiting the time when he is sent back to the earth. He's awaiting the time when he will intervene in world affairs and that he will gather those who are growing in the better covenant.

He's going to gather those who are going to be a part of the family of God. He's going to cause us to increase in understanding. I guess one of the ways you could describe the new covenant or the better covenant would simply be that our sins are forgiven. That would be a pretty simple statement because they were not. As you read throughout the Old Testament and even as you read through Hebrews 10, it just didn't achieve anything except it reminded them that they owed their life to God.

Certainly, that's a big part of what we want to understand as we understand the better covenant, as we understand how it is to transform our heart and mind with the law of God, a growing appreciation of that law, with a recognition that God has drawn us, that he helps us know Jesus Christ our Lord and that he is the merciful God who will remember our sins no more.

See, he's in the process of transforming us and I know that I think it's amazing to see that the nature of those who embrace the new covenant is described in the beatitudes that Jesus gave in Matthew 5. See, the nature that God is wanting to incorporate into us, writing his laws on our minds and our hearts, causing us to be appreciative for forgiveness of our sins and the relationship with God. What you read in Matthew 5, verses 3-10, is again a very well-known Scripture. I'm sure all of you know of it. But what it says, and what Jesus says, is, blessed are those who are poor in spirit. Blessed are those who are mourning. See, we can mourn our own sins. We can mourn the deplorable condition of the world.

We can mourn even the distress that we see people in. But he says we'll be comforted.

He said, blessed are those who are meek. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Blessed are those who are merciful, because they'll be extended mercy.

Blessed are those who are pure in heart. See, this wasn't something Israelites had access to.

This is something that Christians today, those who embrace a better covenant, you know, and with the help of the Spirit of God, we were able to be pure in heart. We're able to be peacemakers. Jesus says, blessed are the peacemakers. He said, even blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness. You know, if we're going to obey God, if we're going to honor His laws, we may be persecuted. That's just kind of part of the turf. That's almost to be expected. But what you see in Jesus' description of the attitudes of those who embrace the better covenant is that they shall be comforted. They shall be filled. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

They shall be the children of God. They shall see God. Those are the descriptions that Jesus gives of those who embrace the better covenant. So, brethren, I hope as we study, as we think even toward our spring holy days, as we analyze our understanding of the Word of God that we clearly see in Hebrews, the wonderful blessing of knowing Jesus as our high priest, of embracing the new covenant, embracing that better covenant who has better promises, and that we truly heed the warnings next time I'll go over the warnings because there are a number of warnings in the book of Hebrews.

But we want to be doing that because we want what Jesus says He wants in us. And that's described in the Beatitudes. It's described in those qualities and characteristics that the Spirit of God is able to grow in us. So I hope that we can truly appreciate that as we embrace the better covenant, that we appreciate the forgiveness of our sins, that we appreciate the nature of our responsibility before God, our responsibility toward God, and that we appreciate the fact that that covenant is based on better promises, and that promise is the hope of eternal life.