New and Living Way

Perhaps, you've noticed that. In stories, Movies, Any manner of fairy tales. There is a thread, a stream that flows concerning the idea. That maybe just maybe. We might be more. Then we presently see. Then we presently know that maybe something would happen in life that we would discover that we're actually descended from royalty.

I've got a family member who still insist that in my family that somehow we're attached to royalty. I don't buy it.

But you know the themes it's a theme that comes in and out in various ways. It's it's got different ways of appearing. I mean think about just the story of Cinderella. The idea of going from scrubbing, the floors to then being married to the prince. Or even more recently, in recent years. Our children have been taken with that character Harry Potter, who starts out under the stairs living in a Cupboard, Under the Stairs of his aunt, and uncle only to find out that he's a legend in the Wizard World and he didn't even know it.

There's something inherent in us that wonders if we could be something more. Then what would presently know ourselves to be? And it's that theme, that stream of thought that brings us to our passage today in which the author of Hebrews or maybe I might rightly say the preacher of Hebrews for much of recent scholarship really believes that the book of Hebrews is probably a sermon preserved for us. That the preacher is tapping into that stream, tapping into that idea that we are something more than what we presently see. And the argument, the case has been building in Hebrews through chapter after chapter, and we come in right towards the end of that case. When the final parts are laid out. And that's what we're going to read today concerning a New and Living Way. A New and Living Way. Let's pray the Lord that you open to us Your word. May we hear it a new and a fresh may we grasp the many ideas that are flowing, may it come together and make sense.

And more than makes sense, may it have now an impact on our lives that we might become better followers. And worshippers of you.

We pray this almighty God, through your son, Jesus Christ. And the gift of your spirit. Amen. Reading from Hebrews chapter 10, beginning at verse 11. And as I mentioned we are coming into the very end of the case as it's being made. So chapter 10 beginning at verse 11.

And every priest stands daily at his service. Offering repeatedly the same sacrifices. Which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all-time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering, he has perfected for all time, those who are being sanctified.

And the Holy Spirit. Also Bears witness to us. First after saying, this is a covenant that I make with them. After those days, declares the Lord. I will put my laws on their heart and write them on their minds. That's a passage from Jeremiah. We just heard at the start of worship. Then he adds. I will remember their sins and their Lawless Deeds, no more.

Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. Therefore brothers and sisters since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus by the New and Living Way that he open for us through the curtain that is through his flesh. And since we have a great priest over the house of God. Let us, draw near with a True Heart in full Assurance of faith. With our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience. And our bodies, washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of Our Hope without wavering. For he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works. Not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day Drawing Near.

This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Now, the preacher. The preacher of Hebrews. Has just been building with excitement building with the anticipation of laying out the final parts of the case that we are in fact changed. That we are more than what we see. That this New and Living Way has two parts. Not only is it new? But there's also a way to live into.

But I confess we came into the passage at the very end and it's not unlike coming into a really good movie towards the end when the climax is happening. And you can tell its the climax. You can tell everything is coming together and there's a part in which you want to stop and pause movie to ask those who have been watching right along So what what about this? And what about that? You want to go back in and get the underpinning and see that which is built up to this moment, even though you can tell it's a big moment. And so we need to do just that we need to go back a little bit into the case, that the preacher's been building. Into the case that we are more than what we see and experience. And the case is simply this. If I were to summarize it and ask you to remember without any of the other details. It's a differentiation. Between a shadow.

And what is real. Between a shadow. And what is real. One can't help but wonder if the preacher, the author of Hebrews plays on Plato's work of the cave. And for those who are familiar with philosophy, Plato was playing with this idea that what if everything we see isn't really real, what if we were not like people who were chained in place inside a cave and there was and we couldn't look around we could only look forward on a wall. And it was a light behind us that cast a shadow. So all we could see, we couldn't even see one another all we could see was the Shadows on the wall. That would be the only reality we know.

And yet we're real, but all were familiar with is a shadow. Hebrew writer preacher is doing something the same in which he takes us into the temple system. A system that we're really not familiar with. We don't really have much experience. We don't really regularly journey to and experience temples nowadays with sacrifices taking place. It's a different reality. So for the people to whom the preacher was writing, it made sense and they could follow. But let's put it simply this way.

Sacrifices were offered for people sins for the ways they missed the mark in what God wanted them to be and do. And so sacrifices were offered in the temple system, priests, offered those sacrifices on behalf of the people, people would bring sheep and goats, and even Bulls. And these will be sacrificed, the priest would do that work on their behalf. Now, in that Temple system, there was also the holy Place into which the priests could go. And they could go in there and offer incense and this was a very holy place, but there was a place that was even more holy than that. There was one more step into the temple. The final stub. It was the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was. And where no one went, not even the priests except for one priest, the great high priest, and that high priests would go in but once a year. Into the holy of holies. And at that time would make sacrifices on behalf of all the people and on behalf of himself as well. It's known as Yom, Kippur the day of atonement. This year. That day was September 16th into the 17th. The day of atonement Yom Kippur still takes place. And it was the day in which the sacrifices for all people were made. The problem with the temple sacrificial system. Is that once someone sinned or did something wrong and a sacrifice was made. They inevitably sinned again. How many of you have stopped sinning? By the way? Y'all got that down.

So inevitabably another sacrifice would have to take place, inevitably, The high priest would have to go in yet another year and it also gives sacrifice for all the people over and over again, year after year, day after day, year after year, these sacrifices had to happen. And the preacher is saying, look in reality, what we see around us is really a shadow. A pale reflection of what really is. Moses was given Direction, About how to set up the Tabernacle. And Solomon was later given Direction on how to set up the temple. All these directions were from God and they were to mirror or reflect, a Heavenly reality.

But we could see would be a pale reflection.

And the preacher is building the case.

That the sacrifice has never, really solved the sin. And that the priests had to do this again and again until they died and more priests would have to step up and it just went on and on.

Until Jesus. And the preacher gets more and more excited, more more revved up and makes the case that Jesus is, the great high priest for all time. And that he didn't just bring a sacrifice, He brought himself.

And gave up his life for us for our sins and did that not only in this world? But in heaven as well. In the real place. In what really matters? And that his sacrifice was one sacrifice for all time. And there was no need for any more sacrifices. Praise be to God.

The preacher and I can't do it as well gets just enormously revved up by the building, the case, coming to this point, excited to finally, say he's done it and not only that uses the language. I love this. He has perfected for all time, those who are being Sanctified. He has perfected for all time. Those who are being Sanctified Sanctified. Those were being Sanctified. That's us. Sanctified is to make holy to set apart. To make pure.

And what the author is saying. By that final sacrifice of Jesus gave up on the cross. He has perfected you and I

He has made us perfect in the eyes of the father, and that word perfected is fascinated. Because what it really means is, he's completed. He's fulfilled. He has finished, which interesting enough. Is that what he says on the cross? It is finished.

He has perfected for all time. Those who are being Sanctified. In other words. The author of Hebrews is just getting so excited. He draws back on the Prophet, Jeremiah he reaches back into time, reaches back to the prophet and says hey look remember when it said that no longer will, they wonder about knowing the Lord for they will all know me and I will write my laws upon their hearts and their minds. That's what the prophet was. Speaking of long ago that God spoke to the prophet. That's what's come to be. That is what's happened that God through? Jesus Christ has made a new way.

Part of the reason you no longer experience a temple system. It's not just that the Romans destroyed the temple in 70 AD, part of the reason that you live in a faith without such a temple system is because we believe that one and final sacrifice has happened. It's done and it is good.

And nothing can ever take it away. It is the new way. But the author of Hebrews the preacher doesn't stop there. It doesn't stop with just say, hey, isn't this great in this in this wonderful. Remember, he calls it a New and Living Way. Not only has the system been fulfilled. Not only is God's judgement been paid for that. Jesus. Took The Cup of Wrath on our behalf. Not only has that Been completed finished. Put it now provides for us. A new and living way another ways away to live into that reality. And isn't that the question we asked most Sundays When we come here, when we played our favorite game afterwards, when we go home and we play roast the pastor. Right? When we when we talked to you about the the message was we agreed disagreed, or quite frankly, whether we remember it at all.

Right? more often. We can tell you, how many lights are in the place, rather than how many the new and living with. How do we live? How do we live in to that? What is the rub? What does it matter? What is this do for us? And this is where the preacher goes into the next place and says, because of this because of this new way, let us. And that's not lettuce. As in something from the grocery store. Let us let. All of us, let us, he gives us three different charges. Three different tasks. Three different calls to action. This is the New and Living Way. This how we live into this new way. He gives us three different ways to go, and I'm going to help you remember this by giving you the acronym Ace. Like an ace up your sleeve. Ace.

All right. Want you to remember Ace.

Access.

Confidence.

And encouragement.

This living way is Ace access. Confidence, or even certainty.

And encouragement. Let's do the first one access. the first of the three times in which the preacher says let us, he says, let us

Draw near. With a True Heart. In full Assurance of faith. With a heart sprinkled clean from an evil conscience. In our bodies, washed with pure water. Let us draw near.

Access. What Christ has done is he has given us access into the kingdom of God is no longer a question of whether we're good enough or whether we have been righteous or not or whether we have done all that God has required of us. We haven't we have failed in that but Christ has paid the price with his blood so that we may have access so that we may draw near with full assurance. Have you ever gone to a place and you see you know, only authorized Personnel Beyond here, you know, those types of signs are going to stop in your tracks. Wonder if you're supposed to take the next step or you see the the the line and what you're wondering whether you're allowed to Cross or not.

The lines been removed that signs been taken down, and you have been given access. You are being called to draw near to the kingdom of God to come into God's presence. You have every right to be there because Christ has paid the price. Every family has family, lore family stories and my family is no different and it has a number of them, and many of them revolve around my grammy grandma lived to almost 102 and I knew her obviously much later in life. But Grammy was apparently incredibly shy when she was young, but she turned heads everywhere she went. I know you're wondering where I got the looks from right? Grammy was apparently an incredible beauty. She didn't marry till well into her 30s because she was so shy in her twenties, but her parents took her on a trip, over to England and among the many things. They did, they did a tour of Buckingham Palace. Well, Grammy was noticed by one of the Dukes. And the Duke struck up a conversation with her and the next thing you know, my grandmother and her parents were being given a personal tour in the rest of the palace. They went places. You just can't go. They had a ball. They got to see the family quarters. They got to go all over the place, right? Such that at one point, that Duke was called away on an emergency situation and she was left with one of the stewards and they were in the throne room. When this happened and the steward was aghast that the Thrones had been cleaned, but they've been replaced and on the opposite sides. And so the Thrones had to be moved one on side of the other. And so my grandmother got to move, the Throne of England.

The point is my grandmother. My grammy was given access. She didn't have to worry about whether someone say, oh you're not supposed to be here when she had permission. She was given a personal tour. You know what you have more than permission and a personal tour. You are now because of Jesus Christ children of God. And you have every right to walk into the throne room of God paying your God, your father all respect, but he has done this so that you can be there. He loves you that much. The preacher is so excited to say, look what Jesus has done for once. And for all time. He has paid the price. There is no need for any more sacrifices. He has done this for you so that you may draw near with full assurance. And you would think that would do it? That would give us the access and there would be no more conversation needed. But there's something else that he says. the second, let us The second lettuce pertains to certainty or confidence that you can access. Listen again to the second "let us" Let us hold fast. The confession of Our Hope without wavering. For he who promised is faithful, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering. It's as if the preacher knows and even though we've been told were given access we start to take the steps and with each step we start to say are you sure? How come i'm the one out in front? Nobody else is following. And we start to backup. We start to become uncertain. The second, let us the second action of this New and Living Way, is not only that you have access but that you do So, with the confidence and the certainty that you've been given that access and that access has nothing to do with you.

It has everything to do with the confession of our hope. We have placed our hope not in ourselves, not in whether we've done Well, not as well as whether we've done better than the person next to us, it has nothing to do whether we're keeping some kind of Ledger in our minds, while I'm fairly decent compared to the rest of the world had kept most of the Commandments. I'm working pretty good. I got 8 out of 10.

Has nothing to do with any of that. The second let us has to Do completely with we with the fact that our confidence. Our certainty comes in our confession, in the hope of Jesus Christ. That we live in a hope that is certain and it's a hope that we didn't do its a hope that Jesus himself did for us.

By the way, even though we're Dutch Frozen chosen, that's where you say. Amen.

The confidence we have is in Jesus Christ, and not in our self and that goes for everyone. Because if we set up a camera with that screen. And followed any one of us through the rest of this week and showed everything in your life. Everyone would be here except for you.

Jesus has paid the price and it's giving you access. And that's so if you live in, you do not live in hope in yourself.

So once the preacher, gets those two things out of the way. That you have access, and you need to be certain of that. Hope that you didn't do that. I didn't do, but that Jesus Christ did. The next step is the step for the work of the church. Encouragement. Encouragement. This one's a little different than the first two lettuces this one. This let us is that sense and which were to Spur one another.

There's a, there's a word spurring, that's not a comfortable thing. That's when you put the Spurs in the side of the horse.

To move forward. And what are we to Spur one another to do what are we challenge? One another to do? love and good works. It's as if the preacher, the writer of Hebrews knows that is not in our DNA, as much as we might think it is to really love and do good works. No in our DNA and who we are, as we are broken, sinful, people. And as much as we might do good things for other people. We usually have a selfish motive involved. Usually, everything really is about us as much as we Say, It Isn't So, does we do good things for other people? Because they say good things about us. Some have wondered, is it possible to do a selfless deed?

The preacher recognizes that we need to Spur one Another on. We need to challenge one. Another on. We need to encourage one another to love and good works.

Because I don't know about you, but I'm perfectly fine. Loving the people. I like, and who like me.

It's loving those who I know. Don't like me.

It's loving those who are very different from me. It's loving those who quite frankly. Don't look anything Like what I say the kingdom of God should look like.

And yet, if I need a model for what that looks like, all I need to do is look at Jesus and see that Jesus goes to all these people. I wouldn't go to.

Let us spur one another on. Let us push one another on to those acts of love and those good deeds that make a difference, not just in the world, but a difference in the lives of others, that they may experience the love of God as well.

This third "let us" has three different parts that first part of that love and Good Deeds. Another part is hey, let's not neglect meeting together. As is a habit of some. It's as if there's a recognition that they all we still want to do things individually. We still want to be our own thing. No, we need one and other And this is not a thing where we get a check box off and say well, who was that? What meeting or who was at worship or who participates in this or that? No. It's a it's an indication that we need to work together as a people of God. God has designed us and brought us together to be the people of God with our multiple different gifts.

Let's not lose that.

And the third part of the "let us", this final part of Ace is again, coming back to just the spur. One. Another is simply encourage one Another. I don't know about you, but I function a lot better when people authentically encourage me when they're honest with me. Hey, we can see you struggle with this, but you're really good at that. We appreciate that. Keep it up or how can I help you? What can I do? I see that that's a struggle. How can I encourage and help you? How can I come alongside? You know, we think about Moses, how great he was in the faith, but you know, Moses had to stand there. One time, one of those jobs was to hold their hands up high so that the Israelites would win the battle. Well I don't know about you, how I have you ever done that standing here like this for a long time? First off. I know where Frozen chosen and we don't do that but keep your arms up in the air for a while just go home try that as an exercise today. I don't know set the clock to 15 minutes.

Yeah, right Moses had to do it while the other wild. Is it. While his arms are up the Israelites once when his arms went down. Well, they start to loose. And so what happens but two others, come along side and hold his arms up, right? We are to encourage one another. The idea that we think we got it all alone on our own. My goodness. We are missing it. We want to be the body of Christ. We need to be the body of Christ.

Preacher of Hebrews is just literally bursting out of his seat. Some suggested, may even have been a her. Bursting, out of the seat. Just eager to say hey because Jesus has done this. We're now in a whole new reality. It's a new way of living. Let's do this. And, you know, where the author, the preacher goes from this moves, right into those Faith, passages of all the different Heroes of the faith and how they live by faith. And then gets to chapter 12 after chapter 11 and all faith. And then says, this, we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses.

Which is where we were the other week when we talked about All Saints Sunday.

Preacher is excited to share with us. The reality in which we now live. Which is a New And Living Way. Praise be to God.