This is your daily reminder. God has not run
out of mercy, not for you, not today. Welcome
to the New Mercies Podcast. Welcome back. Today
is Thursday, March the 26th. I am excited to
be here today. If you are new to the podcast,
I want to encourage you to follow, subscribe,
like, do all the things. Our audience has been
growing every day. We've had a few more kind
of trickle in. And so it's awesome to see that
this may be encouraging some people out around
our community and around the world. So thank
you for following. And as always, if you want
to donate or help To keep this podcast running,
you can do so in the episode description. There's
a link you can donate if you feel led or compelled
to. Now, today our reading is in Hebrews chapter
10. I love the book of Hebrews very, very much.
And as we jump into it today, here's what I want
to do. I'm not going to read a lot of verses
within this chapter. I want to give you a little
explanation of how Hebrews as a whole is understood
and explained, and then talk a little bit about...
where this sits, this chapter sits within this
book. So if you've ever read through the entire
book of Hebrews, I preached a whole sermon series
on it through in maybe 2024 or something. It's
been a couple of years ago now, but I love the
book of Hebrews very, very much. And part of
it is because it's just better. It's just better.
The writer is encouraging believers. We have
a better everything. Jesus has made everything
better. Here's how the book kind of lays out.
I believe it lays out in three parts. The first
part is the first two chapters are part one,
and that is Christ is. better. Hebrews chapters
1 and 2 just talks about how Jesus is better.
And then chapters 3 down through chapter 10 is
the second part that I call the cross is better.
It gives an explanation that Jesus' sacrifice
is greater than all the sacrifices of the Old
Testament. Jesus is greater than all the prophets
of the Old Testament. Jesus is better than all
of those great leaders from before in the Old
Testament. next section here about the cross,
it talks about the sacrifices, how he's a greater
priest, he's a greater everything. Chapter 5
talks about how he is a greater priest than any
that have come before, than Aaron, the first
one, or he's coming in the order of Melchizedek,
and just the powerful, incredible idea and truth
that Jesus is just better in the sacrifice that
he makes. Why? Because priests in the Old Testament
had to go over and over repeatedly, and they
were the access to God. You'd have to take your
sacrifice to the priest. The priest would go
and do the ritual duties of a priest, the spiritual
holy things, and then you would have access to
God at that point. But the priest was really
the only one with that type of access, and he
wasn't available all the time. And the access
wasn't available all the time. So Jesus is better
because he gives us full access all the time,
100%. Incredible. So if the first couple of chapters
in Hebrews is about Jesus is better or Christ
is better, Then the second section, chapters
3 through chapter 10, which is where our reading
is today, is the cross is better. And then the
last few chapters of Hebrews gives the complete
understanding that Christianity is better. We
have a better walk by faith and how we're challenged
to continue on in this relationship with him
in the new covenant. This chapter today, our
reading, is in chapter 10 specifically. So it's
at the end of the cross section of the book of
Hebrews where it talks about Jesus' sacrifice
and how it is better. It goes and it kind of,
there's a little bit of a... tug of war, a little
bit of push and pull as you read the text today.
And specifically, the writer is saying, why in
the world would you go back to a system that
doesn't give finality? It doesn't give a fullness.
In Jesus's death, he gives a fullness. Once and
for all, he died. once and for all. He didn't
have to go back and do it again. He doesn't have
to do it again later to finish up who's born
later. He did all of it one time. He's saying,
why would you go back to a priest who stands
at his post and then he keeps going back? He
says, listen, the Old Testament, the way it was
before in the Old Covenant, the blood covered
sin. That's what the blood did. So whenever you
would take a sacrifice in the Old Testament,
you would take it to a priest and it would cover
your sins. You'd be forgiven of those sins. It
would cover them. Well, in the New Testament
with Jesus, he cancels sin. It's no longer a
covering that won't last. It's a cancellation
that lasts forever. I love chapter 10 of the
book of Hebrews. I will end up reading a couple
of verses. I just wanted to read a couple that
stood out to me today as I read it. Listen to
what it says here in verse number 12. 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. This is a Christ
died once and for all. You know, I think that
whenever we read the Bible sometimes, we grossly
misunderstand or maybe have this false idea that
we're not enough or that something about us is...
Displeasing and because of that like we can't
be in right standing with God gee if it yes,
here's the deal We are nothing Jesus is everything
he took every sin Every sin. I'm a believer in
Christ, meaning I've been saved. I've been forgiven.
I've been made right with God because of what
Jesus did. I didn't do anything in this process.
Even he's the one that drew me into a relationship
with him. He drew me into a relationship. I just
said, I submit my life. Yes, Lord, I submit my
life to you. Why? Because Jesus died for me.
He died for all the mistakes that I made, all
of my unrighteousness, and then he It makes me
holy. I get his goodness. That's what I get.
And I get to have an inheritance, which they
talk about in the next couple chapters. But here's
where the writer is telling us, listen, Jesus'
sacrifice, him dying on the cross, is a huge
deal, life -altering deal. Read the text. Look
at how the writer is helping us understand. Listen
to this other verse I want to share that sticks
out. It says this in verse number 19. Ryder again
leans back into the truth that he talked about
in chapter 5 about Jesus being this great high
priest, the person that's in between us and God
that connects us to God. He says, the curtain
has been torn. Now, this is referencing, whenever
we'll read in Luke chapter 23, when the curtain,
when the temple veil is rent in two from the
top to the bottom, it's torn. That's the curtain
in between us and the presence of God. You couldn't
go past that curtain except for a certain high
priest priest at a certain time of the year,
and now that curtain has been torn in two, meaning
access has now been granted. And the writer is
telling us it's not just a piece of fabric that's
been ripped. It was the body of Christ that was
ripped, and now we have access to God. I want
you to think about the reason we say at the end
of our prayers, in Jesus' name we pray. is not
because that's some magical term. It's because
that's the only way to pray. It's the only way
into the presence of God. It's through Jesus
that we pray. It's through his sacrifice and
what he did. And in Romans chapter 8, it tells
us that he is interceding for us. Right now at
the throne of God, Jesus is praying for you.
Why? Because we don't even know what to pray
most of the time. We go to him. I have tons of
prayer requests on my docket today. I've got
friends and church family members there. They're
in surgeries today and dealing with multiple
issues today. So I'm praying, and I've spent
some time praying, and I'm going to spend some
more time praying. And what happens to me is
I pray all these prayers. I don't even know what
I'm praying. Yes, Lord, heal them, make them
better. I don't know. And God's like, I want
to do a great work in their life. So Jesus has
to intercede for me. He has to kind of translate
my prayers to the throne of God. But it says
right here, he's given us the access. It's him
that's given us access. I love Hebrews 10. Listen.
I'm going to stop recording now, and I want you
to go read Hebrews 10. Read it a couple times.
Pray over it. Let the Lord speak to your heart
today, and let's live like this high priest wants
us to be connected to God.