Transcript

Good morning, church. We're continuing our series through the Book of Hebrews. We've entitled this series Jesus is Greater, and that's the truth. Jesus is greater than anything you're facing today. Any problem, any shortcoming, anything that you're facing today.

He's greater. And that's what the Book of Hebrews is about. And when we look at the very first chapter, we see the keys under the doormat, if you will, of the theme of this book. It says in Hebrews, chapter 1, verse 4. This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names.

And so that's what we've been talking about these past few weeks, going verse by verse through the Book of Hebrews. Jesus is greater. And every week we consider a new aspect of his greatness, of his superiority. And this week, we've entitled our message, a Greater Offering. That Jesus offers a greater offering.

I wonder, have you ever run up a debt on a credit card? Maybe when you were younger and you got that first piece of plastic, you're just like, cool, man. I can just like, did he. And. And I just get stuff.

Like, I can go to the restaurant. I can go to the store. I can just buy stuff. And before you knew it, what, you had $5,000. You all of a sudden you owe $5,000.

And then you notice, hey, there's this thing. You only have to pay this minimum payment. That's no big deal. And you just start paying the minimum payment. And have you ever thought about how long it takes to pay off a debt when you only pay the minimum payment?

It's like the credit card companies, they know what they're doing. 21% interest. Pay the minimum payment on a $5,000 credit card debt, 30 years to pay it back. And when you finish, you will pay over $26,000. Yeah, minimum payment.

That's. That's a problem right there. That's all you're doing is paying the minimum payment. That's much. That's probably what the Jews felt like every year when they were going to the temple for Yom Kippur, for the Day of Atonement, to pay for their sins.

It just felt like we're never going to get our sins paid off. We just keep paying the minimum payment through sacrifices. When's God going to do something to actually make these sacrifices good so that our sin debt is paid for? It must have been what they felt like continually trying to deal with their sin. And many of us feel like that many of us.

Even after we hear the message of the gospel, we still struggle with what to do with a feeling of past guilt or shame. Because, you know, guilt and shame, they go hand in hand. You ever notice that you feel guilty about something you did and you're ashamed of it? And here's what your flesh will do, and here's what the evil one will do. He'll bring it back to your memory and you'll think about it.

And even after you hear the gospel, sometimes you haven't fully understood how to apply the gospel to every area of your heart. And there are those little places, those dark corners of your soul where you. You still don't like to think about it, those previous sin areas. Or maybe there's a sin area that you keep stumbling back into, like an addiction or some other bad habit. And you've asked God to forgive you, and you feel his forgiveness, and then you do it again.

And then the shame just. God just increases even more. And you start wondering, is God's payment through Jesus sufficient for me? Why do I still feel this guilt and shame? What do I do about this guilt and shame?

Then there's this other ditch. So that's one ditch. That's the shame and the guilt. Then there's this other ditch where maybe you're like a firstborn child and you grew up always trying to please your parents, and you kind of transferred that way of thinking about God. And so then you're always thinking, I want God to be proud of me.

And so you're kind of a perfectionist. And you're always thinking that your relationship with God. I know Jesus died for me. I believe that. But I want to be his star.

And so you think your relationship with God's about earning instead of receiving. And see, that's like the other ditch. That's like the other place of misunderstanding your relationship with the Father. And so that's what we're talking about today, that Jesus has given us the perfect offering, a greater offering so that we can rest from our labor. God doesn't care about our religiosity.

He cares about our relationship to a person named Jesus. Where we're going to be looking at the book of Hebrews, chapter 10, the first 18 verses. And in these verses, the author told the Hebrew background believers that had come to Jesus that the offering that Jesus had given on the cross was greater than all the offerings of the old covenant. And I believe today we can see how this is so, how the offering of Christ is greater. And as we look at the text Today we'll see four reasons why this is so.

So put your seatbelts on. I didn't say three, right? I said four reasons. So we're going to go fast. You better hang on.

Here we go. Chapter 10, verse 1. For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come, instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have consciousness of sins. But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.

For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me in burnt offerings and sin offerings. You have taken no pleasure. Then I said, behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book, when you said above, you have neither desired nor taken pleasure. And sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings, these are offered according to the law.

Then he added, behold, I have come to do your will. He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 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. For after saying, this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord, I will put my laws on their hearts and write them on their minds. 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.

This is God's word. Amen. So we're digging into these 18 verses today. We're looking for four reasons that the offering of Christ is greater. Here's the first reason.

It's because the old offerings could never perfectly cleanse us. The old offerings could never perfectly cleanse us. These 18 verses just kind of break naturally into these four reasons. We're going to look at the first four verses to see our first reason. First, just look at verse one.

It starts off by talking about the Law. It says, for since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come, of the true form of these realities, it can never. Never what? By the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Right out of the gate, he says something to us.

He says, the Old Covenant cannot. The Old Law. The Old Covenant cannot perfectly cleanse us. It can't make us perfect. It's unable to do that.

Indeed, that's not why God gave it to us. It was always meant to point us to the One who could make perfect. But at this point, he's teaching those Jewish background believers why the covenant, the Old Covenant, could not save them and why it's replaced and fulfilled by the second. So it helped them, but it also helps us as believers to understand why we have the Old Testament and how to read the Old Testament. We read the Old Testament through the lens of the New Testament.

We read it through the lens of Jesus. And so we're looking here and we're seeing that his sacrifice, his offering is greater. First of all, because theirs was unable to make us perfect, it could not cleanse us. Notice it says in verse one that it was just a shadow. It says, for since the Law has but a shadow, if I stand here on the stage, you might not be able to see it, but as the spotlight hits me, my shadow goes all the way across the stage.

And as I move my hand, the shadow's hand is moving. As I turn, it bears the resemblance of me, but it's not me. Here's the reality that's the shadow. And that's what he says about the Old Testament. That's what he says about the tabernacle, about the sacrifices, about all those details, that it was a shadow, a reflection of the reality in heaven, that it's a mere shadow of that which was real.

You see it. For since the Law has but a shadow of the good things to come. Well, the good things have come. They came when Jesus came. The good things have come.

He says, the true form of these realities. Well, the true form has come. It came when Jesus came. It can never by the same sacrifices that are continually offered, they're offered every year on what day? On the day of atonement.

Yom Kippur in the Hebrew, that they would offer the lamb's blood, that the high priest would go into the holy of Holies, and he would offer the blood of the lamb for his own sins. And also as a representative of the Sins of all the people. And then when he would come back out, the people would rejoice. They'd say, okay, we've paid the minimum payment again for one year. But we still accumulate sin as soon as we walk out of the temple.

As soon as we start living again, we know we'll be back here again next year. We know that we continually need this. Indeed, as he goes on to read this, as we go on to read this, he says, it seems like if it really worked, verse two, they would have been able to cease offering. Because after once being cleansed, they would no longer have consciousness of sins, like God would clean their conscience. But they kept feeling guilty.

They kept. In fact. In fact, the sacrificial system had the opposite result. Instead of cleansing their conscience, it became a reminder, verse three. But in these sacrifices, there was a reminder of sins.

So every time they would offer a sacrifice, it would remind them that they were falling short of God's glory. It had the net result of being an annual. And not only an annual, because they offered sacrifices daily. Thanksgiving sacrifices, sacrifices for known sins and for unknown sins. There's a whole category.

Read the book of Leviticus. It's exhausting the amount of sacrifice that took place. It doesn't give them rest. They continually are reminded of their sins. And then he makes this conclusion in verse four.

And it had to be startling to hear from Jewish ears. But if they really thought about it, they know it's true. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Why? Because it was only a preparation for Jesus.

Those bulls, those goats, those little lambs, all of those were like checks written on a future deposit. If God doesn't make the deposit of sending his son Jesus, then all of this was for naught. So they're placing their faith in this, believing that one day God will provide a lamb, as he told Abraham, as he took Isaac up on the mount called Memoria. And so God has provided a lamb. The time has come.

And this is what we're speaking of here. He was not able, through these offerings, to make them perfect. But one has come that is able. Look at Hebrews chapter nine. We preached on this just a while ago, Hebrews nine.

This is a symbol for the present time during which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the worshiper's conscience. So we see the word shadow here. And what we just read, that the Old Testament, the Old Covenant, is like a shadow here in Hebrews 9. It's a symbol for the reality in heaven. So if it's only a shadow and a symbol.

Why did God give it all? Just touch on that for a second. I want to give some thought to that, because you might be asking, as we've been going through the Book of Hebrews, okay, so why did God give us the Old Testament? Why did he give us the sacrificial system and so forth? Let me give you three good purposes for the law.

I have it in your notes there. Here's the first good purpose. And we just saw it in verse three. It reminds us of our guilty condition. It tells us that we're a sinner.

Our own hearts tell us this, but the law clearly tells us that we've all fallen short. It reminds us. In fact, the Book of James, chapter one says that the word of God is like a mirror. So when you look in it, it reflects back to you. It reminds you of who you are.

And here's the second one. It restrains our sinful behavior. The book of Galatians, chapter three talks about how it's like a guardrail. Like, it keeps you from running over the cliff just. Just because of the fear of the law.

And so it keeps. It restrains sin. And then finally, and this is the most important one, it reveals our need for a savior because it shows you your desperate situation and how you can't keep the law. And I'm reminded of Jesus preaching in the Sermon on the Mount. He starts preaching through some of the.

Of the Old Testament laws. He says, you've heard it said, thou shall not kill. But I tell you, if you've called your brother Empty Head, the Aramaic word was raqqa. If you've called your brother Raqqa, which means empty Head, then you've committed murder already. And people were like, oh, man, I thought I was keeping that one.

And no, I guess I've done that. You've heard it said, thou shall not commit adultery. But I say if a man looks at woman with lust in his heart, he's committed adultery in his heart. And he just kind of destroyed any sense of anyone being able to keep the law. We're all sinners, and we all need a Savior.

And so that's a good purpose of the law. You see, as I said before, the way to read the Scripture is to read and look for Jesus on every page, to look for Jesus on every page. Because Christ is predicted in the Old Testament. He's revealed in the Gospels. He's preached in the Book of Acts, he's explained in the Epistles, and he's.

He's announced and anticipated in the Book of Revelation. He's on every page. He's on every page. And that's the way to read the Bible. Look for Jesus.

And that's what he says to the Hebrew background believers. Your rituals, your sacrificial system cannot cleanse you of sin. It can't make you perfect before God. So he sets up the problem. Now we're waiting for the solution.

So let's move to the second reason. He offered his own sinless body once for all. We're at verses 5 through 10 now. He offered his own sinless body once for all. This is God's solution for man's predicament, that man couldn't save himself.

And even through religion and ritual, he still couldn't get right with God. Because the blood of bulls and goats do not take away sin. It's impossible for them. And then we come to verse five. He says, consequently, when Christ came into the world, well, that's already happened.

Consequently, Christ came. He, God saw this problem, this predicament, and he came. Now, I was reading this this week. I was studying this, and I have never preached verses five through ten at Christmas before. And this week I went, wait a minute, I've got a new home text.

I don't know if I'll do it this year or not, but I could preach this at Christmas. Y'all mark my words. Now, if the Lord delays his coming, I'm going to preach this at Christmas one of these years. Because we got Christ coming and we got that. It says, sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me.

That's the incarnation. That's the Son of God born into the body of this little baby on Christmas Day. That's God who had said he was going to do this long before he did it. And notice the unusual language here. Verse 5 says that he said, speaking of Christ, that Christ said this.

Now, if you look this up, this is the Hebrews author once again preaching from the Old Testament. And here his text is Psalm 40. He's preaching from Psalm 40 right here, but it says that it was Christ doing the talking. Now, we know that Psalm 40 has an inscription at the top that says a Psalm of David. Well, it was a Psalm of David, but it was the Spirit of Christ, the Son of David, the Son of God, who said this through him so that the Hebrews would recognize him when he came.

And what did he say of himself? Sacrifices and offerings won't get it done. In fact, they don't really even please the Lord. They're only a shadow, a symbol of that which is to come. Now, what is to come?

A body you have prepared for me. Oh, my goodness. A body of you you've prepared for me. And then verse seven says, or verse six, rather. It says, you take no pleasure in these things.

It doesn't please God. Verse 7 says, Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the Book. This is Jesus talking. As it was written of me. This whole book was written about me.

And that you were going to prepare a body for me. And that I'm going to come and do all your will. I'm going to obey everything, everything you've ever said I will fulfill. No man has been able to do what I will do. I will come and fulfill obedience.

And obedience is what pleases God. And I'm going to come and do that. And so then we have our preacher here, the preacher of Hebrews. He's going to now preach from his text, from Psalm 40, starting at verse 8. He goes, when he said above, you have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings.

These are offered according to the law. Then he added, behold, I have come to do your will. Why did he add that? It's just as I said. What's God's will?

That you obey him. That you believe in him. That you do as he says. If you love me. Jesus said, you'll keep my commandments.

And that's what he came to do. It says, behold, I've come to do your will. Verse 9. He does away with the first in order to establish the second. What's the first?

The Old Covenant. He does away with the Old Covenant. How? By fulfilling it. And he brings us the second.

What's the second? It's the New Testament. It's the New Covenant. So he does away with the Old to bring us the first in order to bring us the second. And then verse 10.

And by that will, by the will of God, that we would be. That we would be obedient. He came and we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ. Once for all. He offered his body.

His body that was prepared for him. That little lamb that was born in that stable came to die. He is the lamb who takes away the sins of the world. He came to die once for all. Once.

Not many sacrifices, as the priest had to do continually, but one sacrifice, one perfect sacrifice. His sinless body offered once for all, one time for all time, one Time for all people that would believe once for all. It says in second Corinthians. For our sake he made him, speaking of Jesus, to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. The sinless body of Christ was offered.

The Lamb without spot or blemish was given on that cross. And so as he hung on the cross, he took my separation from God. He cried out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? He took my separation from God. And he offers his relationship with God, his sonship, so that I can become a child of God.

He took my sin upon him so that the Father turned his back from His Son. And he that knew no sin became sin so that I might become his righteousness. He took my death that I deserved. For the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

And he offered his eternal life. Oh, what a great exchange. He gave his body. I was thinking what would be a good way to illustrate this point to my church. I was studying on it this week, and then I thought, wait a minute.

We give them an illustration every Sunday at the four tables down front. This was the illustration that Jesus gave to his disciples. That Passover meal before his crucifixion. He said as he broke the bread, and he prayed the Jewish prayer that they were used to hearing, I'm sure. Baruch atah adonai el hanumalako elam amatsi lechem min haeretz amin.

He prays this, blessed art Thou, O God, King of the universe, who bringeth forth bread from the earth. And he goes, do you see this bread? This is my body, which is broken for you whenever you eat it. Do it in remembrance of me. You see this cup?

It's the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, you proclaim my death until I return. He gave us the illustration to constantly remind us that it's not something that we could do. No sacrifice could do it. It's impossible for any other one or any other way to approach God.

He has done what we needed to solve this problem that we had. And he's brought us to the Father. He's finished it. He is the one. He offered his body, and so there's no need to add to his work.

We're invited to trust in his perfect offering. And then we have a third reason. We have a third reason. His single offering perfects us completely. His single offering perfects us completely.

Look at verse 14. Verse 14. And then we'll we'll back up and get 11 through 13. But look at verse 14, verse for by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. Now that is a deep verse right there, boy.

That. That verse is just jam packed with. With interesting things to understand. First, he makes this huge point once again. He's been making this point by a single offering.

Not repeated offerings, not continual offerings, but by one offering, his offering on the cross. He's done it. He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. That word perfected is of interest. It's the Greek word tele.

Us, we get the word telescope from that Greek word teleos. It means to see a thing from afar. If you're using a telescope, it means something that was far off has been brought near. That's how they use the word in telescope. But the idea really is to go to the finish of a thing, to perfect a thing to complete or bring something to maturity, to bring, to make something whole.

It says that with this one sacrifice, he has perfected those who are being sanctified. That's. That's believers. He has done it. Now, may I say just a little bit more about this Greek word because it's so, so jammed with information that it's important.

We don't have a word like this in the English language. It's in the Greek perfect tense. We don't have that in our language. I still remember in seminary my Greek professor saying, the Greek perfect has peculiar action with continuous result. Now that makes sense, right?

Punctila. Your action with continuous result. That's what the perfect means. Okay, help me out, people. Help me out who took math class.

And remember this thing called array. It's a dot with a line and an arrow on the end. You remember that? Didn't want to remember that, right? Some of you didn't appreciate math.

Some of you loved math. Array. It's got a dot, a line, and an arrow on the end, right? And so that's what a Greek perfect. It's a ray.

It means that something happened in the past that was a complete action. It needed no further action. That's the dot. And then the arrow. The line with the arrow says it has continuous result.

He has already on that one offering on the cross, done all that was necessary. It was a complete action. No other action needed to take place. And it has continuous result for eternity in the Bible. Amazing.

Isn't it wonderful? You dig in here and he says for a single offering, he has perfected back there at the cross all the way, for all time, for all eternity, those who are being sanctified. So now he says something very unique here. He says, now this thing that he's done, this dying for us on the cross, offering his body the perfect sinless sacrifice that has ongoing result. He says then he has this present tense participle going on, that we are being sanctified.

He's already done all that's necessary, but it's still working itself out in the present. So this is the tension, okay? Some of y'all are going to get this. Between the already and the not yet of our reality as we stand before the Father. The Book of Colossians, chapter three says to set our minds and our hearts on heaven at the right hand of the Father, where Christ is, that we are already there.

Now, I feel like I'm standing right here. Y'all look at me. Does it look like I'm standing right here? But the Scripture says I'm already there. So that's a positional truth.

Positionally, I'm in Christ and he's in me. It's a spiritual truth. We believe it by faith. It's been revealed to us. Our eyes don't see it, but we don't walk by sight.

We walk by faith, right? And so, positionally, I'm already there. But experientially, I am being sanctified. I'm already perfected. It's done before the Father.

Everything's right between me and God because of Jesus. But it's being worked out in my daily life. He is sanctifying me, which means he's making me holy, which means he's making me like Jesus. Because what's God's will for you? Well, that's what I've been wondering.

Here's his will for you. That you would become like Jesus. That's what it means to be perfected. That you would become like His Son in every way. And that's what Jesus has done for us and is doing for us that believe in Him.

It says in Romans, chapter six, for the death he died. He died to sin once for all. But the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. And so we count his death as our death and his life as our life.

And so we are being sanctified. It says in First Peter, he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. What was the last words of Jesus on the cross? There were seven last sayings.

If you study all four Gospels, there are seven last sayings. I preached a series some years ago called the Last seven Sayings of Jesus. What is the very last one? What was saying number seven? Do you know?

It is finished. It is finished. I heard different ones because they're all the last words, but the very last ones recorded in John, it is finished. The Greek word is tetelestai. It's connected to that tele word again.

He says, it is finished. I came and obeyed the will of the Father. I said, not my will, but yours be done. I did it all. It is finished, paid in full.

This is the last words of Jesus. If you will remember, he refused the wine mixed with gall, which has kind of an analgesic effect. He refused it on the first offering. But here he accepted it right at the end because he wanted to declare one last thing. He accepted a little bit to moisten his lips.

I believe he pulled up on those nails. It was the only way he could breathe. He pulled it up and he goes, it is finished. He came and it was mission accomplished, paid in full. He gave his body, and his offering is perfect, and it perfectly pays for our sin.

And now this leads to our fourth reason. We've said that the rituals of offerings do not take away sin. We've said that he offered his body as a perfect sacrifice. And we've said that his sacrifice was so perfect that it made us perfect that believe in him. And then finally we see this.

His offering bears the Spirit's assurance of forgiveness. Well, we're in our final verses now, verses 15 through the end. And now he says, and the Holy Spirit also bears witness. What do you mean also? He's referring to how Jesus was talking earlier.

Remember how Jesus preached to us from Psalm 40? Right. He goes, so he preached from Psalm 40. Now he says, let's hear some encouragement and a testimony from the Holy spirit from Jeremiah 31. Well, I thought Jeremiah wrote chapter 31, Jeremiah.

Well, he did, but he did it inspired by the Holy Spirit. And here the Holy Spirit is speaking afresh through our preacher, our author of the Book of Hebrews. He says, and the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us. For after saying, this is the covenant. Speaking of the new covenant.

He's already speaking of the new covenant. See, the Old Testament's already talking about the New Testament. This is the covenant that I will make with them. After those days, after the days have ended of the Old Testament, I will put my laws on their hearts and write them on their minds. There's coming a day where it won't be on stone tablets anymore.

He says, there's one who's coming. And when he comes and pays the perfect sacrifice, then the Holy Spirit will come and dwell in us. And he will write his law and his word on our hearts and on our minds so that it's internalized. This was something that the old covenant was unable to do. But in Christ we have this new way of living and we have the Holy Spirit.

He's assuring us that Christ is in us. He speaks to us and he reveals his word. And then verse 17, he's still quoting from Jeremiah 31. I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds. No more.

No more reminders, no more minimum payments, no more sin debt. I'm going to set you free. In fact, verse 18 says, where there is forgiveness of these. Of what? Those sins and lawless deeds.

There's no longer any offering for sin. You don't need any. You don't need to make any more offerings. He's paid it in full. It's all done.

It's all paid for. You're free. Those who believe in Jesus are free. This is why his offering is greater. We see that word offering in these 18 verses 14 times.

The offering of Jesus is greater and His Holy Spirit bears witness. He lives inside of you, and he tells you that you are his and that he is yours. Oh, he's mine and I am His. The Holy Spirit within reveals this to us. He's that inner voice that makes us sure.

He's that deposit on that future that we have with. With the Lord. Oh, it's a wonderful thing. Wouldn't it be great? I don't know how many of you.

I look around the room. Some of you have gray hair like mine. Maybe you've paid off your mortgage. Boy, wasn't it a great thing when you got that deed of trust in the mail and it said paid in full on it. Or maybe you're.

You're. You're gray like me. And you've had so many kids and grandkids and refined the thing so many times, trying to take care of everybody. You're still paying on it and wish somebody come along and just pay it off. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Well, that's what Jesus did. That's what Jesus did. He paid in full. And there's nothing to be added to it. There's no earning with the Father.

There's receiving and there's rest and there's joy. And then out of this joy, we live for him. Not in earning, but in love. Because if you love me, he says, you'll keep my commandments because you want to show that you love him. It says in the book of Romans.

There's therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Oh, he's. He's the one who lives in us that gives us this assurance of salvation.

Do you have that assurance today that you know, that you know, that you know. Oh, someday. We learned this last week. The Bible says that. That there's two appointments given unto man.

That. That there's the day of death right is appointed unto. Man wants to die. And after that, the judgment. We just studied that last week.

Two appointments that God has on the calendar for each of us. Are you aware of that? There's a day you'll stand before God and perhaps he'll ask a question. Why should I let you into my holy heaven? And I hope you don't answer in the first person.

I hope you don't answer with the word. I. I tried to be good. I went to church. Maybe somebody like me, you might say, well, you might say I planted a church and I preached for over 33 years.

And I was faithful to my wife for over 45 years. And I, you know, I could live. I'd be like Paul if I started doing that. I'd be like foolishly making known my pedigree. But I would say with Paul, I've counted all of that as done.

I've counted all of that as nothing in order to know Jesus. Because I will not answer when God asks me, why should I let you into my holy heaven? By saying, I. I'll start out with he. Because he died for me.

And he said if I received him, I could come. You see, there's nothing I can add to that. And perhaps today you say, well, Gary, it just seems like week after week all you do is talk about how great Jesus is. Well, you're right. That's all I do, because that's who he is.

Less of me, more of him. And he's working in my life. And he's working in your life too believer to make you more like Jesus. And as we go through the Book of Hebrews, you perhaps have been saying, man, I get it. He's greater.

How much more are you going to Tell me. I'm going to keep on telling you how much greater Jesus is until you finally get it. And even then, when you get it, perhaps you'll be like that old hymn where you just love to hear it over and over again. You know that old hymn. It was written back in 1866.

Perhaps you might remember some of these lyrics if I were to recite them to you. I love to tell the story of unseen things above Of Jesus and his glory Of Jesus and his love I love to tell the story Because I know tis true it satisfies my longings as nothing else can do I love to tell the story More wonderful it seems Than all the golden fancies of all my golden dreams I love to tell the story it did so much for me and that is just the reason I tell it now to thee I love to tell the story Tis pleasant to repeat what seems each time I tell it More wonderfully sweet I love to tell the story for some have never heard the message of salvation From God's holy word I love to tell the story for those who know it best Seem hungering and thirsty to hear it Just like the rest and when in scenes of glory I sing the new, new song Twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long I love to tell the story Twill be my theme in glory to tell the old, old Jesus and His love oh, I'm not gonna get tired of that story. So come back next week, same story. He's the greatest. He's the greatest and his offering is greater than all and so we can rest, we can trust, we can believe.

There's nothing to add to it. It's all love and joy from here on. Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, thank you. Thank you. That you gave your body and your blood. That we might be made whole once for all. Once for eternity.

You have perfected us and you are sanctifying us even now. I pray for that one that's here this morning. And you've never giving your life to Jesus. Oh, he's knocking at your heart's door right now. He is.

That's that uncomfortable feeling you're feeling right now that he's drawing you. He's. He's. He's touching your heart. That's the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ knocking at yout heart's door.

I pray right now you would say yes. That you would open the door, invite him to come in. You can do it right now by prayer. Pray with me. Dear Lord Jesus, I repent of My sin.

I turn from my sin and I turn to you. I believe you died on the cross for my sin and that you were raised from the grave and that you live today. Come and live in me. Forgive me of my sin. Make me the person you want me to be.

I want to be a child of God. I want to follow you as my Lord and Savior for the rest of my life. If you're praying that prayer of faith, believe and he'll save you. Others are here. You're a believer.

You're a follower of Jesus, but you've stumbled into one of those two ditches. You're hanging on to some guilt or shame from the past. You haven't fully applied the blood, you haven't fully applied the sacrifice to your conscience. So that your conscience is clear. Even now, say, lord, cleanse me.

You said in your word, if we confess our sins, that you are faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Even now, Lord, do it. Others are here and you've fallen in the other place and you're still trying to earn his favor. And would you rest? Jesus says, come unto me, you that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is easy, my burden is light. Would you say yes to that right now? Oh Lord, I just want to rest in you. Thank you for dying for me and for being raised from the grave and living in me so that I'm prepared and made perfect for heaven. In Jesus name, amen.