Hebrews 8

Hebrews 8:1

Chapter 8 begins with a summary of the previous seven chapters… What Jesus did for me on the Cross of Calvary opened the way for me to fellowship with the Father regardless of whether I have morning devotions, regardless of whether I made it to church last Sunday, regardless of whether I’ve been tithing or worshiping. Those are not the issues. Yes, it benefits me greatly to cultivate my walk with the Lord through prayer and worship, through tithing and devotions. But my relationship with the Father is not based on any of these things. It’s based on the High Priestly work of Jesus Christ. So, if you have need in any way, you can come boldly before the Fathereven if you haven’t prayed in the past ten years. You can come boldly before Him because of one thing and one thing only: the High Priestly work of Jesus Christ and what He accomplished on Calvary. Nothing must be added to that; indeed, nothing can be added to that.

Hebrews 8:2

In other words, Jesus was of a higher priesthood than the Levitical priesthood. He was of the order of Melchizedek, a superior priesthood.

Hebrews 8:5

“Moses,” God said, “be sure you make the tabernacle precisely according to the pattern I give you because the pattern of the earthly tabernacle is a shadow of the true tabernacle which is in heaven.”

Hebrews 8:6

After the 49’ers win the Super Bowl, their owner is not going to fire the offensive and defensive coordinators. No, once you win the championship, you stay with the team. But there will be a whole lot of defensive and offensive coordinators of other teams canned in January because they didn’t do well enough, because they didn’t win the championship, because their record was not satisfactory. So, too, the author of Hebrews says, “If the first covenantthe lawwas a winner, there would be no talk of a second covenant, a New Covenant. But because the Old Testament itself speaks of a New Covenant, it can only mean the first one wasn’t sufficient.”

Hebrews 8:8

Here begins the prophecy of Jeremiah 31the same one repeated in Ezekiel 36the prophecy of the New Covenant, the new agreement, the New Testament. The Old Covenant said, “Do this and live” (see Deu_4:1), and, by implication, “if you don’t, you’re dead.” The Old Covenant was based upon your success, my obedience, our keeping the rules and regulations. And therein lies the problem, for, like the house of Israel, we are unable to keep the law, the Old Covenant.

Hebrews 8:10

Jeremiah 31 is pivotal to understanding Christianity in the truest sense because it is there God declares that, rather than writing His will on tablets of stone as He did with the Old Covenant, He would write the New Covenant on the tablets of our hearts. No longer external, His will would be internal. In other words, grace would put into us everything God wants out of us… Go to the YMCA today, and you’ll find it full of people who made New Year’s Resolutions to get in shape. Go back in June or July, however, and you’ll find it far less crowded because although people want to, although they mean to, they’re unable to live up to their resolutions. So, too, you can read the Scriptures and say, “I want to do that. That’s how I want to be"but inevitably you’ll find your flesh incapable. So God says, “I’m going to do something new. I’m going to write My will in your heart. I’m going to put My thoughts in your mind. I’m going to put My Spirit in your spirit.”

Hebrews 8:11

One day, someone said, “Jon, I haven’t been in church lately.” “I know,” I said. “Well, why didn’t you come and tell me to get back to church?” he asked. “That’s not my job,” I answered. “The New Covenant says you already know what you should have been doing because the Lord wrote His will on your heart.” Gang, we don’t need anyone to put rules on us or regulations around us because the Lord lives in us. And that’s the great thing about Christianity. When you’re walking with the Lord, when you’re living in the New Covenant, you don’t have resolutions and regulations, stipulations and obligations. Those are the way of the law. Instead, you just do what the Lord is writing on your heart, telling you in your mind, whispering in your ear moment by moment… “Talk to that guy over there,” or, “Go to the Mission,” or, “Make her some chocolate chip cookies…” And all you have to do is say, “Okay. Far out!“and do it. That’s what it means to be a born-again New Covenant, Spirit-led Christian, for whatever God wants from you, by His grace, He will work within you (Php_2:13). Our brothers and sisters in the first-century church were the most radical Christians in all of history. They sold all of their possessions. They spread throughout the world. They lived for the kingdom. But you know what? They didn’t get together and study Hebrews, because Hebrews wasn’t yet written. They didn’t study the theological implications of Romans because Romans wasn’t written. They didn’t scrutinize the teachings of Jesus as recorded in John’s Gospel because John’s Gospel wasn’t written. They didn’t have the written New Testamentbut they did understand the reality of the New Covenant. They obeyed what the Lord was writing in their hearts. And as a result, they turned the world upside down (Act_17:6). Then, when the New Testament was written and began to circulate through the church, it was a confirmation of what they were already doing because it was the same Lord who had been writing His will for them upon their hearts. Today, sad to say, many don’t understand the New Covenant. Our Trinity is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Bible. We’ve lost touch with how the Holy Spirit speaks to us moment by moment because we’ve replaced His voice with the written Word. Many churches and organizations study the Bible and are right in their theologybut they’re dead right because theirs is knowledge for knowledge’s sake. The New Testament was never intended to be an esoteric, intellectual, theological trip for people who like to fill notebooks, answer questions, and work on workbooks. That was never the intent of the New Testament writer.

What was the intent? To provide a way believers could be confirmed or corrected in what they were already living out as a result of obeying the still, small voice of the Spirit. The person who’s really used by the Lord is one who simply says, “You’re going to tell me moment by moment what I should do, and, Lord, I will just say, ‘Yes,’ to whatever You say.” A whole lot of people have made the New Testament writings the new law. Like Pharisees searching for jots, tittles, and interesting insights, they fail to see that the Word was simply written to nudge them along in their walk and to confirm the voice of the Lord in their heart.

Hebrews 8:12

What makes me want to know God and walk with Him? Why do I start my day wanting to touch base with the Lord and be in the Word? Why am I here tonight? One reason: God’s mercy. I am such a jerk. I have failed so miserably. I have missed the mark so greatly. I have been so inconsistent and stubborn. I’ve been such a sinner. And yet God keeps blessing me; He keeps putting up with me; He keeps allowing me to know Him. I look at my life, my family, this church, the nation, the worldand I say, “Lord Your mercy is incredible. How good You’ve been to me. I don’t pray the way I could or should. I don’t know as much as I should know at this point in my walk with You. I don’t serve You with the kind of faithfulness You’re worthy of. But, Lord, You just keep blessing. You keep showing mercy. You keep forgivingand I have no other choice but to want to know You more.”