Christ Better Covenant | Hebrews 8:1-13 ESV

[Music] wanting a place to hide and i try with all my mind but i just can't win the fight i'm slowly drifting [Music] he told me pick me up [Music] i thank god [Music] got no choice but to believe my doubts are very [Music] you can just keep it moving [Music] is [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] god [Music] i am [Music] [Music] i am i am free [Music] i thank god [Music] he can do it for you if he did it for me get up get up get up get up get up [Music] good morning friendship family we are so grateful that you would join us for worship today we are especially grateful for our guests who are joining us from here there and everywhere across these united states and internationally we thank god for you we pray that your time today in friendship cyber sanctuary is encouraging and strengthening to you beloved i want to remind our members or those of you who have our app would you check in let us know that you're watching that you attended church today let us know how we might pray for you or how god is moving in your life that's called a praise report we pray that you will send that information know that my prayer team and myself we are praying for you constantly and so we want to uh we want to connect with you and we want to hear back from you we invite you to lean in let god minister to you and speak to your heart speak to your head and then beloved stay to the end of the service we have a few announcements for you uh and we're grateful to god for you enjoy worship and i'll see you later in the service good morning good morning good morning praise the lord we're going to lift the lord high above the heavens amen we all know this song and we're just going to call and respond because the lord come on give is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] and all the people said [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] hey [Applause] [Music] [Applause] hey [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] hallelujah [Music] me he's worthy of the praise hallelujah he deserves it he deserves every hallelujah every thank you jesus he delivers all the glory all the honor [Music] hallelujah [Music] my hallelujah belongs to my hallelujah belongs to you my belong to you [Music] hi hallelujah [Music] you [Music] hallelujah [Music] god you deserve the highest [Music] thank you [Music] oh [Music] give me [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Applause] [Music] we [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] they belong to you yesterday my hallelujah belongs to you come on sing with us [Music] oh [Music] come on wherever you are just give god the praise he deserves it he deserves it he deserves that he deserves our praise he deserves our waving of the hands he deserves everything we have belongs to him i am because he is hallelujah he deserves it come on i don't know i don't care what it looks like and what it feels like just know that it belongs to god all your problems all your troubles he deserves you he deserves you freedom he deserves you to freely worship him hallelujah he deserves it he deserves it he deserves it he deserves it hallelujah thank you lord good morning friendship for our sermonic scripture this morning is hebrews chapter eight verses one through thirteen reading from the esv version verse one now the point is what we are saying is this we have such a high priest one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven a minister in the holy places in the true tent that the lord set up not man for every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer now if he were on earth he would not be a priest at all since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law they serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things for when moses was about to erect the tent he was instructed by god saying see that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain but as it is christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better since it is enacted on better promises for if that first covenant had been thoughtless there would have been no occasion to look for a second verse eight for he finds fault with them when he says behold the days are coming declares the lord when i will establish a new covenant with the house of israel and with the house of judah not like the covenant that i made with their fathers on the day when i took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of egypt for they did not continue in my covenant and so i showed no concern for them declares the lord for this is the covenant that i will make with the house of israel after those days declare the lord i will put my laws into their minds and write them on their hearts and i will be their god and they shall be my people verse 11 and they shall not teach each one his neighbors and each one his brothers saying no the lord for that shall all know me for the least of them to the greatest for i will be merciful towards their iniquities and i will remember their sins no more in speaking of the new covenant he makes the first one obsolete and what is becoming obsolete and growing old is already vanished away the word of god for the people of god this morning as we enter into prayer we want to encourage you to visit our website we are friendship dot church slash pray or follow the push notifications that is being sent to you to view this week's prayer list and pray for them throughout the week the names on that list are also scrolling before you on our screen there you can also submit your own prayer requests as you can also do in the we are friendship church app or by contacting the church office as always we continue to pray for our pastor and his family pastor curry as well as carrington family and the friendship family and every one of you that's watching us live stream on today let us pray heavenly father we thank you and we praise you god god for you are worthy of all the praise god we call you holy we call you righteous god god you are amazing god you deserve all of our praise you deserve all the honor and so god as we come before you this morning with bowed down head and humble hearts god we first say thank you for yet another day one that you've made one we've already chosen to rejoice and be glad in father we invite you in this room on today to have your way lord god we move ourselves out of the way and allow you to take full reign full control god not our will god which thy will be done father we bless and honor you on today god for god we could have not made it over into another brand new day of mercy but god you specially hand chose us on today to yet see another day and we say thank you god we thank you oh god for being such a forgiving god god as we cast our cares on you and as we ask for forgiveness god of the many sins god whether it be in thought god or whether we actually played about god we thank you for being a forgiving god now father we lift up our pastor our first lady their entire family god we pray in the name of jesus god that you would continue to prop pastor upon every leaning side god continue to download your word in it in him oh god that god he would preach the uncompromised word of jesus christ god i pray in the name of jesus for his family who come alongside him god we pray oh god as they continue to lift him up as they continue to pray god we the friendship baptist church continue to pray now father we pray in the name of jesus god that every song that's being sang on today the prayers that's being prayed god god we not do it in our own strength god but we do it that you would get the glory and so god we thank you for the very breath of life god and so god we ask that you would have your way in this service this morning god we lift up our sick and our shut-in on today god we know you as a healer we know you as a waymaker we know you as a promise keeper god we know you as a miracle worker now god we pray in the name of jesus god that as we all stand by faith trusting in you o god that your will be done your way in our lives and so father we bless you we honor you we glorify you we lift you up this i do pray in the mighty the matchless marvelous miraculous magnificent merciful meek majestic name of jesus those that stand in agreement shall say amen amen now as we continue in our worship worship in our giving and we pray in the name of jesus that you have already prayed as to what god has offered for you to give and so we pray that you o god would bless these that would give generously and those even those that don't have it to give on behalf of our community in whom we serve week after week we offer our faithfulness and our gratefulness to you that being said we ask that you prayerfully consider giving at this time to continue supporting the work of the church now if you would take a moment and invite god into your decision on what you should give at this time and we pray that you would be obedient as you hear the voice of god we want to remind you that you can give online at we are friendship dot church slash give or in our church app or by mailing a check to the friendship church if you have any trouble with any of these options please do not hesitate to call the friendship baptist church let us pray father we pray for this offering we pray oh god for those that have it to give and we pray for those that had not to give god you being the gift giver we cannot beat you given and so god we pray in the name of jesus god that as you have spoken to the hearts and the minds of the people god that they would give as you have commanded them to give on this morning god we ask that you would bless it purify it and sanctify it for the edification of the upbuilding of the church this i do pray in jesus name amen [Music] it's so amazing it's so amazing your love for me your love for it's so amazing it's so amazing your sacrifice for me for every blessing forever [Music] foreign [Music] not foreign [Music] you oh me it's so amazing [Music] your sacrifice [Music] but for your grace [Music] foreign [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] me [Music] me [Music] me [Music] [Music] you are amazing [Music] my god [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] yes [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] yes [Music] amazing [Music] me [Music] amazing everything you do [Music] you're amazing guys you're amazing [Music] i sound amazed at your glory amazing yes you are everything you do [Music] indeed god is so amazing christ is so amazing his love for us amazing his care for us amazing the way he watches over us amazing there's nobody like him and none to come he is simply amazing he's amazing so amazing beloved as we move expeditiously this morning to the word of god would you join me in prayers we ask god's blessing over the message and over our hearts and minds and spirits as we hear the message father in the name of jesus we acknowledge you as amazing oh god we acknowledge you as the only living god we we we acknowledge you as king of kings and lord of lords we acknowledge you lord as our great provider we acknowledge you as the all-sufficient supply we acknowledge you and you alone oh god for you're worthy to be praised you're worthy to be praised god we thank you for the opportunity to be in this worship service we thank you for the opportunity to experience worship in this manner god as i consider that today marks a full year of virtual worship that we started our first virtual worship on the third sunday of of march last year and we're still here god we've still been able to to to worship we've still been able to gather we've still been able to meet you've still been watching over us and providing for us and god while we've been in lockdown and while we've been instant home orders god you're making a way for us to come out so god we look with anticipation to resurrection sunday but in this moment god we celebrate you author and finisher of our faith who does amazing things oh god we bless you now lord you know what my week has been like you know what my stresses and my triggers have been you know what i lack and what i need and so god in the preaching moment i need you to take over and it'd not be me i need you to have your way god you choose to use men of clay to articulate to speak to preach your word we will never understand why fully but god we thank you for the opportunity lord my prayer today this morning is let the words of my mouth the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight you are our strength and our redeemer this we pray today god in the great name of jesus amen amen beloved i am sure that you have seen before and after pictures in marketing uh they are everywhere before and after pictures in marketing they are everywhere you've seen uh the photos specifically in uh the fitness realm although they are utilized in other arenas as well a bald guy alone on the couch on the left and a guy with a full head of hair riding a horse on the beach on the right a scraggly unshowered dude in a v-neck to the left a do that hates wearing ties but wow that tie sure looks good on the right why why do companies use before and after pictures like this because they work why do companies use before and after pictures is because they work even if you're not selling fitness products ask any great salesman and they'll tell you if you want someone to buy from you you need a product that delivers results but more important than that you'll need marketing that persuades your prospect that your product can deliver them results showing your prospects uh where others came from and where they are now helps prove to them that this can work for you too uh as an example let's say you move to a new apartment you love to decorate your your your place or you want to decorate your place so that it looks amazing you've got a few thousand dollars to spend and you create a pinterest board uh with room inspirations but eventually you say to yourself these rooms look great but there's no way my apartment my house my space could look like this i don't have enough money i don't have enough know-how i can't do it and that might be the typical response now if you stumbled onto an interior designer's website on the website you might see two pictures side by side of the same apartment in the first picture the apartment is real boring in the second it's beautiful below the pictures you see we made this transformation with just two thousand dollars what would would you email that interior designer you would do it in a second why because you think wow i can have a place like that in my budget well the writer of hebrews does the same thing with word pictures he contrasts the old covenant of moses specifically to the new covenant that christ offers as a result of his death burial and resurrection he says repeatedly over and over again christ is better christ is better he's better than the angels he's better than the prophets he's better than moses he is better his priesthood is better than aaron's his covenant is better than the old covenant his blood is better than the blood of bull and goats in every way at every turn jesus is better beloved forgive me just for a moment allow me some latitude he's better than money or wealth he's better than status and prestige he's better than comfort and ease he's better than what you have in your house he's better than your bestest friend jesus is better christ is better he's just better he's just better i'm sorry i had to get that out he's better than all of the stuff that we think is important christ is better he's better let me get back to my sermon proposition my sermon position and proposition today or my subject today is christ covenant or christ better covenant excuse me christ better covenant in other words christ offers a better covenant christ better covenant that is uh what the idea is in hebrews chapter eight many of your bibles titled hebrews chapter eight a superior covenant my thought today is that you understand that this covenant is christ's covenant with believers and it is better than anything else out there but more directly because of the original audience it is better than the old testament covenant that christ made with the children of israel through moses remember the author of hebrews is writing to a jewish audience who are in who are under great attack and are in danger of backsliding yes they're ready to give up they're ready to go back to the jewish way of of of worship they're going back to sacrifices they want to go back to something that's familiar and i told you a couple of weeks ago that a lot of times we want to go back to the familiar not because it's better but because it's easier we want to go back to the familiar not because it's better but because we have experience with it and beloved when it comes to our relationship with jesus christ we can't just go back to where we've been we've got to move forward to where he wants us to go to christ covenant is better christ covenant is better christ better covenant even though in some ways hebrews is a very complex book unfolding complex theological concepts and intricate relationships between old testament ideas and new testament counterparts the fundamental idea is that this is the simplest book in the new testament i told you last week i told you on the first sunday it's repetitive uh it is a very simple message the whole message of hebrews could be summarized simply by saying this jesus christ is greater so you would be a fool to worship anything other than him you will be a fool to worship anyone other than him christ is greater christ is better he is the way the truth and the life he has no rivals he has no no no one that you can put up against him this book hebrews relentlessly relentlessly over and over asserts the supremacy of christ in every possible category especially in the categories uh a christian excuse me a jewish christian would think in beloved i i just have to say it again jesus is more superior than moses more superior than joshua more superior than aaron he's better than the kane his conquest was better than the canaan conquest he's a better priest than the levitical priest he's the great high priest that reigns and lives forever after the order of melchizedek that's that's what we've come so far that's that's what we've heard and read and preached to you up until this very moment and now we will see that jesus is also the mediator the governor the pastor he is the he is the shepherd of a better covenant covenant is one of those words that just keeps coming up when you read the bible and certainly when you study the bible when the bible mentions the covenant is uh referring to a strong solemn agreement between two parties there's the covenant that god made with adam the covenant that god made with noah there's the covenant that god made with moses which is what is referred to here in hebrews and then there's the covenant that uh god made with david that david would have someone of his lineage liv on the throne forever covenants covenants make two into one god help me covenants make two into one when two parties make a covenant in the bible they're joined together and identified with each other they may exchange coats have a commemorative meal erect a long-lasting memorial to their promise at at the covenant's core it's about relationship covenant is about relationship but it also involves promise people don't just get joined together at ran at random the agreement usually includes some kind of practical application it means that they're not going to harm one another they're gonna treat one another right in marriage it's a promise to fidelity and faithfulness uh it involves promises that say i uh uh uh obliterate my my thought processes of the past for something new as we move forward so it it it's about relationship it's about promise it is about uh the the spiritual it is about inviting god when we talk about covenants biblically god is involved god is invited as a witness god is invited to help keep promises covenants beloved are not only spiritually involved but they they they involve families or bloodlines the two parties it talks about generations ongoingly it brings together a a families when david made a covenant with to his friend jonathan uh he kept that covenant even after jonathan died and cared for jonathan's relative mephibosheth he he he promised himself and then beloved lastly i want you to understand that covenants are not easily broken people making covenants often slaughter animals to demonstrate what should happen to one who breaks the covenant to to break a covenant is a serious thing jonathan calls on god to kill him if he does not alert david of danger when saul breaks the covenant with his uh forefathers god punishes israel for with three years of famine covenants are serious when the bible speaks of covenant it's more than just an alliance and certainly more than a transaction of goods and services it is a bond between god himself lord help me and his people when when the bible talks about covenant it is a it is a relationship it is a it is a connection between god and his people and so god so today i want to give you three uh differences between the old covenant uh or the covenant of moses and the new covenant this this text lifts out three areas of superiority god help me of the new covenant three areas of superiority beloved number one uh we must understand that uh christ's covenant is better because it has a superior sanctuary god help me christ's covenant is better because it has a superior sanctuary listen to hebrews chapter eight which was read for us verses one through five now the point is that we are saying this we have such a high priest one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven a minister in the holy places in the true tent that the lord set up not man for every priest is appointed to offer sacrifice thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer now if he were on earth he would not be a priest at all since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law there they serve as a copy and a shadow of the heavenly things for when moses was about to erect the tent he was instructed by god saying see that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain remember jesus is no mere high priest but one who reigns as king as well which is what we talked about last week and seated at the right hand of god here the hebrew writer contrasts the earthly tabernacle within heavenly one after moses led the people out of the out of egypt to an encampment at the base of mount sinai god gave him explicit instructions that they were to construct a portable throne room in the desert to serve as a dwelling place of god in their midst it was called a tabernacle which simply means a tent it was supposed to represent a place where god comes and dwells hundreds of years later it was superseded by the temple built in jerusalem first by solomon then rebuilt after the exile under zerubbabel as noted in ezra chapters 3 through 6 and finally enlarged by herod the great as noted in john 2 20 and begun in 20 bc and completed finally in 64 a.d here the author makes the point that jesus service as a priest is not in the earthly man-made tabernacle but in the original true sanctuary that god himself set up for himself in heaven in other words beloved this superior sanctuary is in heaven itself jesus ministers before god on your behalf and on my behalf in heaven he sits high god help me but he looks low he realizes that he has to have audience with god he does not need audience with us he doesn't need to prove anything to us but what he does is he reminds god that he already died for your sins and mine he's there before god not inviting god to come to where we are but he is there where god is where you and i can't get to he's where god is jesus ministers on our behalf before god and not in front of people he is in the heavenly throne room representing believers before god our covenant with god rests in the sanctuary that is limitless and untouched by human hands beloved i pass the friendship and friendship only it's one location one place that represents the presence of god it represents the authority of god my ministry and my pastoring is limited but christ operates in a heavenly sanctuary where god rules from christ is there with god and he's here there and everywhere when he represents us before god he's not just representing friendship but he's representing every church of believers open in his name he's representing every believer that may not have a church home yet he represents us before god listen listen listen to verses two and five two through five again for every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices thus it is necessary for the priest also to have something to offer now if he were on earth he would not be a priest at all since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law they serve as a copy and a shadow of heavenly things for when moses was about to erect the tent he was instructed by god saying make sure see tour that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain the levitical priest uh ministered uh and they served as a copy jesus ministers and he is the original god gave them a pattern by which uh to help us get ready for when jesus would come and beloved i want you to know i serve as a copy i'm not the original i serve as a copy here at friendship but jesus serves as your original in the sanctuary of heaven oh god that's why the songwriter declared bread of heaven bread of heaven feed me till i want no more open wide thy crystal fountains where they're streaming waters flow beloved we must understand that this stuff is temporary but christ is ministering in the original sanctuary and it's not a copy he is ministering before god in a better place why why fellowship with priests who are serving as a copy in the sanctuary when you can fellowship with christ who is the original in the heavenly sanctuary that's what the writer is saying don't go backwards go forward get closer to god but through christ jesus because jesus is right there with him in heaven beloved i i want you to know it would be like trying to live on the blueprint instead of in the building itself uh we are challenged to live in a way that we connect with christ so uh the new covenant christ's covenant offers us a superior sanctuary that is in heaven but secondly this covenant boasts a superior shepherd uh this covenant boasts a superior chevron i promise not to keep you long on this point because i think i talk about the same thing every week i talk about jesus this point is about jesus jesus is our superior shepherd look at verse six of chapter 8 but as it is christ obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates as better since this is since it is enacted on better promises lord help us he is a superior shepherd in other words i'm saying he's a superior uh pastor he's a superior savior he's a superior priest the the the hebrew writer calls him the great high priest who governs our faith god with uh uh god's uh with is with believers in covenant and it rests on entirely on the shoulders of jesus the new covenant christ's better covenant is not just because we're saying that christ owns the covenant but christ is the covenant i can't get no help it rests solely upon him christ died on the cross christ was put in a borrowed tomb christ stayed there friday christ stayed there saturday christ rose up on sunday morning it rest on christ without jesus i could do nothing without him i would fail without him my life would be rugged like a ship without a cell jesus is a great emancipator jesus is a great fixer jesus is the one that made my life brand new jesus is the one that fixes it for us uh he died on the cross his greatness is found in his divine person in his perfect priestly work he alone is a sinless priest he alone made the perfect sacrifice for sin he his work on our as our great shepherd is superior to any other priest because christ's work is finished i know i said some of this last week like when christ dies of criminals death on calvary's cross he says it is finished he says i don't need no replacements i don't need no help i don't need anybody else the work is done and the victory is won jesus is a superior shepherd he's seated now at the right hand of the father and beloved when you sit down from a long day at work it says i'm finished i'm done i can't put out no more christ is seated because there's nothing left to do jesus uh paid it all long to hear my oh sin had left a crimson stain but he washed it all away he's a superior shepherd he's a great high priest he finished the work he is enthroned in heaven he's sitting next to god he's the chief architect of the universe his sacrificial work made a way he made a way he made a way for me and his recent work is done he's in the heavenly tabernacle he's serving hear me as the mediator between god and man sitting at the right hand of god his sacrificial work is finished but his priestly work continues christ is still ministering to his people as he calls the elect and as he preserves us through the ups and downs of life beloved christ is not only ministering to to god on our behalf mediating to god on our behalf but christ is helping you and me get through it god help me he's helping us to get through the storms and the rain he's helping us to deal with the ups and the downs he's helping us to deal with the ins and outs he's helping us to get through problematic pandemics he's helping us to dig through our personal problems of of perplexity he's helping us to get through political propositions he's helping us to deal with everything that's happening day in and day out christ is still working but the work is finished i know that's an oxymoron christ is still ministering guys it's still helping christ is still assisting but the work is done in other words your storm is already over you just gotta walk all the way through it your child is already saved your house is already reconciled because christ has already done the work we just have to wait on him to finish it in our lives to manifest it rather in our lives so that we can stand and haven't done all to stand what he says is you got a good shepherd keep leaning on him you got a good shepherd keep depending on him you got a good shepherd don't turn your back on him christ better covenant number one it has a superior sanctuary in heaven number two it has a superior shepherd that is jesus christ himself all of our faith rest on him third and finally and i'll get out of your way uh this covenant has superior sustained ability that is the promise is sure and christ's salvation is complete it has superior sustainability agree with me look at verses 7 through 13. this is the last of the text and to be honest beloved this is kind of where it gets good so the hebrew writer writes and he quotes old testament scripture remember i told you he does that often he he he's preaching he uses old testament texts to make his point for if that first covenant had been flawless there would have been no occasion for a second for he finds faults with them when he says behold the days are coming declares the lord when i will establish a new covenant with the house of israel and with the house of judah not like the old covenant i made with their fathers on the day that i took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of egypt that lets us know he's talking about the mosaic covenant for they did not continue in my covenant so i show no concern for them declares the lord and this is the covenant that i will make with the house of israel after those days declares the lord i will put my law into their minds and write them on their hearts i will be their god and they shall be my people and they shall not teach each one his neighbor and each one his brother saying know the lord for they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest for i will be merciful towards their iniquities and i will remember their sins no more and speaking of a new covenant he makes the first one obsolete and what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away beloved this this covenant is better because it has better sustainability or superior sustainability sustainability talks about longevity sustainability talks about being able to go into the future and not affect the past sustainability uh talks about being able to go into the future and have greater effect better effect on future generations in other words what he's saying is the longer christianity that goes the longer it is that uh that that time uh is between when christ returned and when christ went to heaven uh the longer we wait all that gets all of it gets better beloved i know that people are asking is the church dying is the black church dying i stopped by to tell you we're still strong we may not look like what we used to look like and we may not feel all of the strength but i stopped by to tell you god gets the final say and ultimately this covenant this promise has sustainability it's different it has a greater promise what the writer is saying it has a greater promise and a greater commitment notice the promises of the greater covenant the law will no longer be external meaning written on tablets but it will become internal written on their hearts lord have mercy they will no longer assume that we will be together as god and people we will not be away from god but close to god they will know their god the lord personally they will be forgiven of their sins beloved this means we don't have to over and over sacrifice goats and bulls and lambs for our sins because there's been one sacrifice god took the initiative to make a covenant with his people here the new covenant is god's initiative with us and when god talks about the old covenant and the scripture says that the old covenant was faulty it was not so much as faulty as it was temporary the hebrew writer here quotes jeremiah the hebrew writer here reaches back and gets where god says i'm going to give them a new covenant i'm going to give us a new relationship i'm going to make a new commitment a commitment that is rooted in the blood of jesus a commitment that is rooted in the blood of jesus that will never lose his power a commitment that is rooted in the blood of jesus that reaches to the highest mountains and flows to the lowest valley a commitment that's rooted in the blood of jesus that washes your white as snow a commitment that is rooted in the blood of jesus but a commitment that is also uh uh wrapped up in the holy spirit that you don't have to uh uh wait for god to show up but the holy spirit comes to live and to reside in us and to help us to be who god's called us to be when christ calls us and we experience salvation he gives us a new heart i know we like to sing the scripture and sing the song creating me a clean heart and renewing me a right spirit beloved i want you to know that when you got saved he gave you a new heart gave us a new person he gave us a new outlook on life he wants us to walk differently beloved he shows us sin we are convicted of sin we don't have to wonder if we sin we feel that we sin he writes a new covenant on our heart that changes us and frees us from sin frees us from the bondage of sin why because god said i will be merciful to their iniquities and i will remember their sins no more this new covenant brings god's people an internalized law not a memorized law see in the old testament they had to memorize the law and they were to try and hold it up and do what they could on their own but what god offers is a relationship with jesus christ where you don't need another mediator but you're able to go right to god because god sent his son they called him jesus he came to love to heal and forgive an empty grave is there to prove that his that he still lives that he makes intercession for you and me beloved uh what we must understand is that not one word of god's covenant fails not one word of god promises goes away that as we read and study the word of god the word of god takes root in us and we are changed we might not be everything we want to be overnight but god will continue to change us and that's why it's a superior sustainability because god is still working on us god is working in us and he's making us brand new right the covenant is about the fact that god has longevity with us ongoing relationship with us it's not a one time and you're done but god is saving us we get saved at salvation but god saves us or sanctifies us ongoingly he works on us so when i prayed a prayer that i learned as a kid god work on my eyes so i see no evil but work on my ears so i hear no evil work on my tongue so i speak no evil work on my mind so i think no evil work on my heart so i can love everybody work on me work on me god i don't want to just go to heaven but make me better down here on earth creating me a clean heart renewing me a right spirit fix me lord fix me lord make me better make me new god i don't want to be a slave to sin deliver me deliver me deliver me it's a better covenant why because the sanctuary of the covenant is in heaven untouched by man it's a better covenant why because it has a superior shepherd a superior high priest a superior pastor and whoever your favorite pastor is because i know it might not be me know that jesus is more superior than that individual jesus is the great emancipator but he's also the great mediator he represents you before god he holds you up he sustains you he keeps you and then it has superior sustainability years ago one of these youth or young adult prayer breakfasts or something i preached a message entitled a promise as a promise used as my subject where paul says in corinthians the promises of god are yes and amen well beloved what i'm trying to say i'm done what i'm trying to say is that this covenant this agreement this contract this promise is superior sustainability it is not dependent upon lambs and and and and and and bulls and goats is not dependent upon the levitical priesthood men who die it's not dependent upon an old way of thinking that can never come back it is dependent upon christ who is who what i like the way the scripture says who was and is to come christ who is the same yesterday today and forevermore christ who went to calvary's cross for you and for me christ who died it is no one but jesus nobody but jesus sustains us nobody but jesus holds us nobody but jesus is able to deliver and carry us through christ went to calvary for you and for me and we hope in him and in him alone christ offers a better covenant that better covenant has a superior sanctuary it's heaven better that that better covenant has a superior shepherd as jesus that better covenant has a superior sustainability a lasting promise what's the promise it is john 14. i go to prepare a place for you that where i am you may be also that he's going to take care of us until we see him face to face father in the name of jesus we thank you we thank you for your word which is still a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path god i thank you that hebrews is not so deep theologically that we don't get it because it's all about jesus jesus in the morning jesus in the noonday jesus in the midnight hour jesus when i cannot make it jesus when i don't have it anymore jesus jesus it's all about jesus father i've done the best i could with the message today so i'm praying that you would make up the difference lord that we would see the before and after picture that before it was difficult but after it's easy because of the way that jesus made before before there was this system and there was rules and regulation and now there's grace and mercy god i pray in the name of jesus that those under the sound of my voice might be impacted might be impacted god by what has been shared today be glorified we pray in the great name of jesus [Music] amen [Music] i worship you [Music] i [Music] i worship you i worship you you are here working in this place i worship you i worship you you are here [Music] is [Music] [Music] you are here mending every heart i worship you i worship you you are here touching every heart [Music] you [Music] i worship you [Music] that making is [Music] thank you lord for moving in this way [Music] my god [Music] [Music] he's [Music] d [Music] [Applause] [Music] me [Music] yes [Music] we worship you god we worship you you are here [Music] we worship you thank you for being a promise keeper thank you for being a miracle worker thank you for keeping me thank you for loving me thank you for keeping me we worship you we worship you [Music] thank you god hallelujah thank you god for being awake thank you for keeping me going thank you for healing me thank you for loving me your love is so amazing to me you are away maker way maker miracle worker promise keeper like my god that is [Music] is [Music] that is who you are who you are [Music] miracles [Music] indeed he is a waymaker miracle worker promise keeper light in the darkness that is who our god in christ is you all know i like that song waymaker miracle worker promise keeper light in the darkness beloved i want to make an appeal and invitation to individuals who have not accepted christ as lord and savior you do not have access to a better covenant until you accept christ that means you believed he died a criminal's death on calvary's cross did you believe he took your place because you and i were meant for death and hell and the grave but christ took our place he died for us and beloved if you believe that today and you want christ as the head the ruler of your life you want access to this better covenant i offer christ to you it doesn't matter what you did what your past was like right there where you are ask god [Music] to have christ take control of your life i know you don't know what all that means but confessing i don't know what your sins are but i know the scripture is true that all have sinned and come short of the glory of god and the wages of sin is death but the free gift of god is eternal life that's the promise of the new covenant of christ covenant christ better covenant right where you are just pray i'ma pray for you father in the name of jesus i lifted my brother my sister the individual in the sound of my voice as they make it appeal to you to have relationship and fellowship with you god i pray you hear their prayer and god i pray that they feel released in the name of jesus i also want to make an appeal to the individual that already knows jesus you've accepted christ as lord and savior maybe you need a church home i believe friendship to be a good church i have served this church now over 19 years in january i will celebrate 20 years serving at this church as a staff member and then the last seven eight years as its pastor i believe in the ministry of this church that predates me i wasn't even around you need a church home i invite you to be a part of who we are here at friendship doesn't matter where you live we do virtual ministry we want to grow with you and we want you to grow with us now for those that have accepted christ today and those that need a church home go to our website www.wearfriendship.church.org there's a tab there for membership click that you'll see a form it says why church membership something like that fill that out even if you accepted christ today for the very first time fill that out it will go to our shepherd's team and someone will contact you if you don't hear back from someone email me kay curry at we are friendship dot church we want to connect you and we want to walk with you as you all become a disciple and as you are disciple or as you grow in your discipleship we thank god for you today beloved christ offers a better covenant based on his superior position as our high priest he ministers from the superior sanctuary he is a superior shepherd and this covenant has superior sustainability there is not another one coming this is it and i pray that you were encouraged but also enlightened by the message i want to invite you to check out our weekly updates i send those out every friday as i announced on friday it's been a year we sent out the first update on thursday i believe it was march the 12th and it's been a year today sunday the third sunday march the 15th today is sunday the third sunday march 21st but it's been 52 sundays since we've been able to gather together on a sunday and so i i i thank god for sustaining us and keeping us for you to check out our email there's a lot going on um and so we invite you to be a part of that also i want to remind the teachers fbi christian education and discipleship teachers that we're having a meeting today at 1pm i hope to see your face in the place via zoom uh lady karima and sister lashon archer we're looking for you and again we just thank god for all of you uh tuning in today and pray that today's service and totality was a blessing to you don't forget to like share subscribe what's going on here at friendship god bless you let's prepare to go father in heaven we thank you for today it's been a good day and we're grateful for the ministry of music and of preaching and proclamation of your word we pray god that you would help us to walk in the new covenant in the security of the new covenant the sustained ability of the new covenant god i pray for my brother and my sister you know what we're dealing with and god as things begin to open up i pray god that you'd help us still pray and be patient take precautions [Music] not panic father as uh we go from this place never from your presence go with us stand by us watch over and keep us we pray in jesus great name amen you

Channel: Friendship Baptist Church

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Length: 89min 37sec (5377 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 21 2021