New Covenant Worship

Hebrews 9:1-14: New Covenant Worship Good morning! If you have your bibles, please open them to Hebrews, chapter nine. We will be discussing verses 1-14. Recently, I traded in my 2009 Nissan sedan for a new (used) dad-mobile, a minivan. If you would have asked me 15 years ago if I would ever drive a minivan, I would have likely laughed at you, scoffed at you, and maybe even called you crazy. Fact is, we needed a change. Fact is, the sedan just wasn't cutting it anymore. The sedan was no longer relevant for what we needed for transportation in our lives in the present time. While in our specific case, it wasn't a world changing event that had to shift our way of doing life, in the passage we will read today, we'll see that in a single moment, the way that the Jewish Christians worshipped God would need to be changed and altered in a significant way. Let's read Hebrews 9:1-14 1 NOW EVEN THE FIRST COVENANT HAD REGULATIONS FOR WORSHIP AND AN EARTHLY PLACE OF HOLINESS. 2 FOR A TENT WAS PREPARED, THE FIRST SECTION, IN WHICH WERE THE LAMPSTAND AND THE TABLE AND THE BREAD OF THE PRESENCE. IT IS CALLED THE HOLY PLACE. 3 BEHIND THE SECOND CURTAIN WAS A SECOND SECTION CALLED THE MOST HOLY PLACE, 4 HAVING THE GOLDEN ALTAR OF INCENSE AND THE ARK OF THE COVENANT COVERED ON ALL SIDES WITH GOLD, IN WHICH WAS A GOLDEN URN HOLDING THE MANNA, AND AARON'S STAFF THAT BUDDED, AND THE TABLETS OF THE COVENANT. 5 ABOVE IT WERE THE CHERUBIM OF GLORY OVERSHADOWING THE MERCY SEAT. OF THESE THINGS WE CANNOT NOW SPEAK IN DETAIL. 6 THESE PREPARATIONS HAVING THUS BEEN MADE, THE PRIESTS GO REGULARLY INTO THE FIRST SECTION, PERFORMING THEIR RITUAL DUTIES, 7 BUT INTO THE SECOND ONLY THE HIGH PRIEST GOES, AND HE BUT ONCE A YEAR, AND NOT WITHOUT TAKING BLOOD, WHICH HE OFFERS FOR HIMSELF AND FOR THE UNINTENTIONAL SINS OF THE PEOPLE. 8 BY THIS THE HOLY SPIRIT INDICATES THAT THE WAY INTO THE HOLY PLACES IS NOT YET OPENED AS LONG AS THE FIRST SECTION IS STILL STANDING 9 (WHICH IS SYMBOLIC FOR THE PRESENT AGE). ACCORDING TO THIS ARRANGEMENT, GIFTS AND SACRIFICES ARE OFFERED THAT CANNOT PERFECT THE CONSCIENCE OF THE WORSHIPER, 10 BUT DEAL ONLY WITH FOOD AND DRINK AND VARIOUS WASHINGS, REGULATIONS FOR THE BODY IMPOSED UNTIL THE TIME OF REFORMATION. 11 BUT WHEN CHRIST APPEARED AS A HIGH PRIEST OF THE GOOD THINGS THAT HAVE COME, THEN THROUGH THE GREATER AND MORE PERFECT TENT (NOT MADE WITH HANDS, THAT IS, NOT OF THIS CREATION) 12 HE ENTERED ONCE FOR ALL INTO THE HOLY PLACES, NOT BY MEANS OF THE BLOOD OF GOATS AND CALVES BUT BY MEANS OF HIS OWN BLOOD, THUS SECURING AN ETERNAL REDEMPTION. 13 FOR IF THE BLOOD OF GOATS AND BULLS, AND THE SPRINKLING OF DEFILED PERSONS WITH THE ASHES OF A HEIFER, SANCTIFY FOR THE PURIFICATION OF THE FLESH, 14 HOW MUCH MORE WILL THE BLOOD OF CHRIST, WHO THROUGH THE ETERNAL SPIRIT OFFERED HIMSELF WITHOUT BLEMISH TO GOD, PURIFY OUR CONSCIENCE FROM DEAD WORKS TO SERVE THE LIVING GOD. This passage speaks of the Jewish way of worship, and how the sacrifice and blood of Jesus changed all of this, granting us direct access to the Father, as He has assumed the role of High Priest. Here is the main idea that we're going to unpack this morning. It's a bit long, so bear with me: Because of Jesus' fulfillment of the old tabernacle, we can freely worship, have a clear conscience, and serve in truth. For the rest of the morning, we will what the passage says about these three key words, and then we'll close with some practical things that we can do in our lives as followers of Christ to worship Him in spirit and truth. Two things I want to do, however, before we explore this further. First, let's discuss the tabernacle itself. What we will end up seeing is that every item of the tabernacle points to Jesus. The author of Hebrews is trying to point these early Christians to understand this more clearly. In the first five verses, the author speaks to their old sacrificial system. He speaks of the furnishings that were located in the Holy Place and the Most Holy place. On the screen behind me and on the screen if you're watching online, you should see these items and the tabernacle. What's interesting is that each of these things all pointed to Christ in some capacity or another. Verse 5 (to me) is comical. The author is basically saying, "I don't have the time or the need to speak about this right now." But we will touch on this briefly. For example, in the outer courtyard are the laver - which is a washing bin - and the alter. The laver represents the cleansing power of the blood of Christ, which we'll see more of later. Inside the Holy Place (specifically mentioned here in verse 2) is the lampstand, the table of showbread, and the alter of incense (even though this is listed as being in the Most Holy Place by the author of Hebrews). The lampstand represents Jesus as the light of the world. The showbread represents Jesus as the bread of life, and the incense represents the prayers of the saints. Then, in the Most Holy Place is the ark of the covenant, which contains the manna, Aaron's rod, and the tablets. The author also mentions "CHERUBIM OF GLORY OVERSHADOWING THE MERCY SEAT." The mercy seat represents Christ's atoning sacrifice through the shedding of blood. We can go on and on, but the primary purpose here is that they all point to Christ. Second thing, I want to address how Jesus fulfilled the picture of the old tabernacle. John 1:14 says that: AND THE WORD BECAME FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US, AND WE HAVE SEEN HIS GLORY, GLORY AS OF THE ONLY SON FROM THE FATHER, FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH. That phrase, DWELT AMONG US, literally means that Jesus pitched His tent among us, that He tabernacled with us. In addition to this, we also know from Matthew 27:51 that the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place was torn in two when Jesus was crucified. Second Corinthians 3:18 tells us that the veil has been lifted and we can now behold the glory of the Lord. Jesus makes this possible. Another clear example of this comes from Jesus Himself in John 14:6, when He declares that He is the only way to the Father. He was the final and finished sacrifice. He completed the work of the Mediator between man and God. I recently finished a book. In this book, it was a call for revival. Based off of the author's personal experience of becoming born again during the "Jesus Movement" of the 60's and 70's. He noted that one of the symbols of that movement was this "One Way" sign. This is to say that what we do - or don't do - is never enough to save us, only Jesus can. A few moments ago, in our main idea, I mentioned ... THREE KEY TRUTHS FROM THIS PASSAGE 1. We can freely worship. a. This passage helps us to learn several things about God i. God is a God of order 1. Everything that He did here had a purpose. We could easily spend a lot more time speaking about all the details of the tabernacle. In fact, John MacArthur says that there is over fifty chapters in the bible about the tabernacle, and in contrast, only two on creation. This was obviously something very important to the Lord. Why? a. I think, in part, this was because this is where God chose to manifest His presence among His people, in an earthly copy of the heavenly tabernacle that Pastor Pat touched on last week. b. I think, more than that, however, it is because: ii. God instructed His people to build the tabernacle 1. God created a systematic approach to His people, in that time, to worship Him. 2. It was focused around His holiness and it was focused around their obedience. iii. But, it was temporary and incomplete 1. We see this when we get into verses 6-10, where the function of the priests and high priests are described. 2. So, the people have free access to go into the outer area. This is where they bring in their daily sacrifices. The priests bring those into the Holy Place to slaughter and offer the sacrifice. 3. But only once per year is the High Priest able to enter the Most Holy Place, and as you likely know, that is during the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur. a. So, what does this tell us about that system of worship? It was restricted. In a way, it was impersonal. It was ritualistic. It was no longer relevant. iv. In Christ, the system changed 1. John Piper says it this way: "The whole point of this book of Hebrews is to say that the coming of Christ, the Son of God, into the world is the ending of 'the present time' of the old, strange, foreign way of relating to God, and the beginning of 'the reformation' where Christ himself replaces the high priest and the temple and the blood of the animals and the food and drink rituals. That's the point of the book of Hebrews." 2. We can have a free conscience. a. How many of you have a sibling? How many of you have done something to upset or even hurt your sibling? How many of you have at one point or another, heard one or both of your parents tell you, "go apologize to your brother or sister." How many of you responded to that request with the most insincere, "I'm sorry?" Only later to be told to offer a more sincere apology. i. The conscience kind of helps you to apologize sincerely without someone having to tell you to do so. It's one of those, "I really messed up, I need to make it right" moments. ii. When Christ suffered the death of that sacrificial lamb, He took with Him all of our past, present, and future sins. In doing so - particularly when we look at the past - we no longer need to have guilt, because He has already declared us not-guilty before God. iii. The author of Hebrews is telling us that we have no ability to be guilt free under the old system. Only under the new system, where the last and only effective sacrifice was sufficient to atone for our sins. This ties, obviously directly into the next subpoint: b. Only the blood of Christ can provide forgiveness of our sin. i. Let's peak ahead to verse 22 of this chapter: INDEED, UNDER THE LAW ALMOST EVERYTHING IS PURIFIED WITH BLOOD, AND WITHOUT THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD THERE IS NO FORGIVENESS OF SINS. ii. Also note, that verse 9 ties directly to verse 14: HOW MUCH MORE WILL THE BLOOD OF CHRIST, WHO THROUGH THE ETERNAL SPIRIT OFFERED HIMSELF WITHOUT BLEMISH TO GOD, PURIFY OUR CONSCIENCE FROM DEAD WORKS TO SERVE THE LIVING GOD. iii. But more than that, true worship is complete in Jesus, because of the work He did. 1. All of these rituals and relics and traditions can take the worshipper's focus off of the Lord. 2. I want to draw your attention back again to verse 1. This idea of an earthly place of holiness reminds us that under the old covenant, we only had shadows and types, but under the new covenant, we have the substance. 3. We can serve in truth. a. Christ opened the door for a personal relationship with the Father i. I scroll through Facebook quite regularly. Every once in a while, I'll come across a news article headline that seems interesting enough for me to click the link, then it takes me to the landing page, where it tells me I need to subscribe in order to read the article. So - naturally, I quickly change my mind and become disinterested. The point here, though, is that this article, in a sense has become inaccessible. Before Christ, access to the Father was limited. Now, however, under the New Covenant, the Father is accessible and relational because Jesus paid the price of this "subscription," saving us by declaring us holy before a Holy God. ii. Reminding us, that access to God under the old covenant was limited because He is holy. iii. Even the one man - the High Priest - who had access to the Most Holy Place was imperfect. Before he can atone for the sin of others, he had to atone for his own sin. They even tied a rope to his ankle, just in case something went wrong and he was struck down, so that they can drag him out of there. iv. As we saw in verse 12, Christ secured an eternal redemption. Once and for all. v. The Father broke down the limitation and restrictions that were once in place, and through Jesus, we now have a way to Him. vi. Do you have a personal relationship with the Father? Are you spending quality and meaningful time with Him? With His people? If not, you can do that today. The Bible says that if you confess with your mouth the Jesus is Lord, you will be saved. b. Because the blood of Christ has cleansed us, we can live freely i. I often think of Romans 8 when this comes up. It is difficult to understand that we've been made clean and we've been justified before a Holy God. 1. It's difficult because we know ourselves. We know what we have done. We know what we're capable of. We know our heart. But God does to. Romans 8:1 says: THERE IS THEREFORE NOW NO CONDEMNATION FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST JESUS. 2. Following Christ means that we are wholly dependent on His finished work. 3. Following Christ means that we are acknowledging His finished work of redemption on the Cross. We cannot add to this. We cannot do this on our own accord. c. Because we are free, we can freely serve the Living God. i. Drawing us back to verses one and fourteen, we can serve freely, knowing that serving God is an act of worship. 1. Did you know that word "SERVE" in verse 14 is closely related to the word "WORSHIP" in verse 1? a. Verse 1 speaks of the action of service, while verse 14 speaks of the actor of that service. b. This means that serving God is part of our worship experience. ii. Serving is seen all throughout the Scriptures, beginning with Adam tending the garden to even Jesus reminding us that He came to serve and lay down His life for others in Matthew 20:28. iii. When we approach service as an act of worship, we are trusting God with the outcome. We've seen this morning ... Because of Jesus' fulfillment of the old tabernacle, we can freely worship, have a clear conscience, and serve in truth. SO, NOW WHAT? 1. Let Jesus be the focus of your worship. a. Maybe you don't like a certain song. b. Maybe you would like more hymns. c. Maybe you would like to see the pastor do more of this, or less of this. d. Maybe you'd like to see more suits than jeans. e. Maybe you'd like to have the Lord's Supper every week. f. Maybe you'd like to have a weekly Prayer Meeting g. You get the idea ... h. Worship isn't about you and I, it is about the Lord. It is possible that we lose sight of this from time to time. It is possible that we allow other things to disrupt our worship. Let's not allow that to happen. One way of doing this may be that you pray before participating in worship. Ask God to help you keep your focus on Him. I assure you, when you're worshipping here at Thornydale, we want your attention to be on Christ, not us. 2. Don't allow your past mistakes to dictate how you worship today. a. Jesus said these words in Luke 19:10: FOR THE SON OF MAN CAME TO SEEK AND TO SAVE THE LOST. b. You see, we were all lost before Christ. We were all dead in our sins and trespasses. By grace, through Christ, we are declared righteous. Despite our past. c. The beauty of it is that it is not up to us, but He who saves. We cannot change what has already happened, and if He has already forgiven us, then we have new life in Christ Jesus. Finally ... 3. Find somewhere to serve. a. There are always opportunities for service inside and outside of this local body of Christ. If you are looking for somewhere to serve, come see one the pastor or elders. We'd love to get you plugged in somewhere. b. There are also great community organizations that you may be able to serve in. c. What are you doing with the time or resources He has gifted us with? Are we serving others? These passages are not always easy. But, this one here. This one points us directly to Jesus Christ. May our lives reflect a life that is pointing directly to Jesus in the way we worship, in our joyful attitude towards the One who forgives, and through the way we serve. Let's pray. 2