11-10-24 Sermon "Blessings In Christ" - 16 Minutes

Hebrews 9:24-28

This morning I'll be reading Hebrews chapter 9 verses 24 through 28. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Hebrews 9:24-28 In these verses that we will look at this morning,,, we will continue to learn why the sacrifice,,, Christ's death on the cross,,, is superior to any of the offerings of the High Priest,,, that were offered in the temple. Hebrews 9:24–28 (HCSB) 24 For the Messiah did not enter a sanctuary made with hands (only a model of the true one) but into heaven itself, so that He might now appear in the presence of God for us. 25 He did not do this to offer Himself many times, as the high priest enters the sanctuary yearly with the blood of another. 26 Otherwise, He would have had to suffer many times since the foundation of the world. But now He has appeared one time, at the end of the ages, for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment — 28 so also the Messiah, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him. The word of God for the people of God,,, thanks be to God! God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ___________________________________ Last Sunday,,, David filled in for me while we were on vacation.

And while I didn't get to hear the message,,, I'm sure that it was very informative and interesting.

The last Sunday that I was here,,, we looked at Hebrews 7:23-28,,, and we seen that those verses taught us that God is always available for us,,, but we must be sure that we haven't turned away from Him,,, as so many seem to have done,,, over and over again!

But if we keep our eyes on Jesus,,, pay attention to the Holy Spirit the way that we should,,, no-one will ever come between us and God,,, that's what God wants us to understand!

Jesus Christ has completed His job,,, all that we need to do is trust Him,,, and allow Him to guide us each and every day going forward.

Because He will always be there for us,,, each and every day!

This morning we will look at "these" verses in Hebrews,,, and see how they will help us,,, in our walk with God this week.

___________________________________ Verse 24 said: 24 For the Messiah did not enter a sanctuary made with hands (only a model of the true one) but into heaven itself, so that He might now appear in the presence of God for us. Christ was appointed as High Priest of the New Covenant to represent sinful people in heaven itself,,, that is,,, in the presence of God. Therefore,,, Jesus did not enter the man-made sanctuary,,, which was a pattern or figure of the true one,,, but into heaven itself. There He appears in the presence of God for us. It is difficult to understand why anyone would want to leave the reality and go back to the copy,,, why anyone would leave the great High Priest serving in the heavenly sanctuary to return to the priests of Israel serving in a symbolic tent. But,,, we must remember that Paul is dealing with people that have been using High Priest their whole lives,,, that was all that they knew,,, until Jesus came into the world,,, as the perfect sacrifice! So as a result of this,,, we can see that,,, His sacrifice had to be greater than that,,, which allowed entrance into a mere man-made sanctuary,,, that was only a copy,,, (antitypa),,, or a "model",,, of the true one. ___________________________________ Verse 25 said: 25 He did not do this to offer Himself many times, as the high priest enters the sanctuary yearly with the blood of another. Christ doesn't offer repeated sacrifices as in the Levitical institution,,, for that would have required Him to die many times since the Creation of the world.

Remember,,, that the high priest went into the Most Holy Place,,, one day of the year—that is,,, the Day of Atonement,,, and he did not offer his own blood,,, but the blood of sacrificial animals.

Jesus Christ's sacrifice was sufficient for all of the sins of the world,,, as we will see from the next verse. ___________________________________ Verse 26 said: 26 Otherwise, He would have had to suffer many times since the foundation of the world. But now He has appeared one time, at the end of the ages, for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

If Christ had made repeated offerings,,, that would have meant repeated suffering,,, since His offering was His own life.

It is unthinkable that He should have suffered the agonies of Calvary periodically since the foundation of the world!

And unnecessary too!

Under the New Covenant,,, there is:

1. A positive finality—He has appeared once for all.

The work never needs to be repeated.

2. It was a perfect time,,, —,,, He appeared at the end of the ages,,, that is,,, after the Old Covenant had conclusively demonstrated man’s failure and powerlessness.

3. A perfect work,,,—,,, He appeared,,, to put away sin.

The emphasis is on the words put away.

It was no longer a matter of annual atonement.

Now it was,,, or is,,, eternal forgiveness.

4. It was a personal sacrifice,,, —,,, He put away sin,,, by the sacrifice of Himself.

In His own body,,, He bore the punishment,,, which our sins deserved.

Philip P. Bliss said:

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,

In my place condemned He stood;

Sealed my pardon with His blood;

Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

___________________________________ Verses 27-28 said: 27 And just as it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment — 28 so also the Messiah, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him. Verses 27 and 28 seem to present another contrast between the Old Covenant and the New.

The law condemned sinners to die once,,, but after this the judgment.

The law,,, was given to a people,,, the Israelites,,, who were already sinners,,, and who could not,,, keep it perfectly.

Therefore,,, it became a means of condemnation,,, to all who were under it.

The "law" showed them that they needed,,, Jesus Christ!

Now,,, the New Covenant,,, introduces the infinite sacrifice of Christ; - He was offered once to bear the sins of many.

It presents the blessed hope of His imminent Return; to those who eagerly wait for Him,,, He will,,, appear a second time.

But when He returns,,, it will not be to deal with the problem of sin: - He finished that work at the cross.

Instead,,, at that time,,, He will come to take His people home,,, to heaven.

This will be the culmination of their salvation,,, - ,,, they will receive their glorified bodies and be forever beyond the reach of sin.

The expression,,, those who are waiting for Him,,, is a description of all true believers.

All of the Lord’s people,,, look for Him to return,,, though they may not agree on the exact order of events connected with His Coming.

The Bible does not teach that only a certain group of especially spiritual Christians will be taken to heaven at the time of the Rapture.

It describes the participants,,, as “the dead in Christ”,,, and,,, “we who are alive and remain”,,,

1 Thessalonians 4:16–17

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we will always be with the Lord.”

this means all true believers,,, dead or living,,, will be forever united with Christ,,, at that time.

In 1 Corinthians 15:23,,, the participants are identified as “those who are Christ’s.”

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It has often been pointed out that we have three appearances of Christ in verses 24–28.

They may be summarized as follows:

Verse 26: He has appeared.

This refers to His First Advent when He came to earth to save us from the penalty of sin,,, (the past tense of salvation).

Verse 24: He now appears.

This is a reference to His present ministry in the presence of God to save us from the power of sin (the present tense of salvation).

Verse 28: He will appear.

This speaks of His imminent Return when He will save us from the presence of sin (the future tense of salvation).

This shows that Jesus Christ was available for us,,, is available for us right now,,, today,,, and will fully finish the work for us,,, in the days ahead,,, when He returns!

___________________________________ We are living in a time,,, where we as Christians,,, truly have it easy compared to other generations.

It is so easy for us since we have so much more information than those that came before us.

Through our Bible study,,, we can see clearly what God has planned for us,,, and how easy it is for us,,, if,,, we just trust Him the way that we should!

With that being said,,, we still can face our own type of persecution.

Especially today,,, in our politically correct world that we must deal with,,, each and every day!

Our persecutions may be small or light,,, compared to the early church,,, but they are still there for us to face.

These verses were written to help the Jewish Christians continue in spite of any type of persecution that they might face.

And we know that the message of Hebrews is as timely today as it was in the first century of the church.

We need to be constantly reminded of the eternal privileges and blessings that are ours in Christ.

We need encouragement to endure in spite of opposition and difficulties,,, and all professing believers need to be warned against reverting to ceremonial religion,,, especially,,, after having tasted and seen,,, that the Lord is good.

___________________________________ So,,, going forward,,, when we leave here today,,, we leave with these words of encouragement that should help us to place our trust in Jesus Christ,,, and stay on that narrow path that He is always showing us,,, if we just pay attention!

These words were written to help them deal with their persecutions,,, and we can use them for ours,,, if we just recognize the "blessings in Christ" that are available for us,,, just as Paul tried to convince them,,, that it was available,,, to them!

Let us leave here today,,, knowing that Jesus Christ is alive,,, and available for us,,, just as He promised,,, when He ascended into heaven,,, and the "blessings in Christ" will always,,, be there for us,,, just as Paul said,,, so many years,,, ago!

___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction -----------------------------------------------------------