17 OCT 2014, WORD4ALL: THE TABERNACLE & THE FIRST COVENANT

THE TABERNACLE & THE FIRST COVENANT

(Hebrews 9:1-8 NLT)

# That first covenant between God and Israel had regulations for worship and a place of worship here on earth.
# There were two rooms in that Tabernacle.

# In the first room were
     % a lampstand,
     % a table, and
     % sacred loaves of bread on the table.
This room was called the Holy Place.

# Then there was a curtain, and behind the curtain was the second room called the Most Holy Place.

In that room were
     % a gold incense altar and
     % a wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides.

# Inside the Ark were
     % a gold jar containing manna,
     % Aaron’s staff that sprouted leaves &
     % the stone tablets of the covenant.

# Above the Ark were the cherubim of divine glory, whose wings stretched out over the Ark’s cover, the place of atonement.

# When these things were all in place, the priests regularly entered the first room as they performed their religious duties.
# But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year.
# And he always offered blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.
# By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that
# the entrance to the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the Tabernacle and the system it represented were still in use.

16 OCT 2014, WORD4ALL: NEW COVENANT

NEW COVENANT

(Hebrews 8:8, 10-13 NLT)

But when God found fault with the people, He said:
# “The day is coming, says the lord , when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.

But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the lord :
# I will put my laws in their minds, and
# I will write them on their hearts.
# I will be their God, and they will be my people.
# And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the lord.’
# For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already.
# And I will forgive their wickedness, and
# I will never again remember their sins.”

When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means He has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.

15 OCT 2014, WORD4ALL: HEAVENLY TABERNACLE

HEAVENLY TABERNACLE

(Hebrews 8:1-6 NLT)

Here is the main point:
# We have a High Priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven.
# There He ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands.
# And since every high priest is required to offer gifts and sacrifices, our High Priest must make an offering, too.
# If He were here on earth, He would not even be a priest, since there already are priests who offer the gifts required by the law.
# They serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven.
# But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood,
# for He is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises.

14 OCT 2014, WORD4ALL: THE PERFECT HIGH PRIEST FOREVER

THE PERFECT HIGH PRIEST FOREVER

(Hebrews 7:23-28 NLT)

# There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office.
# But because Jesus lives forever, His priesthood lasts forever.
# Therefore He is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through Him. # He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.
# He is the kind of high priest we need because
     % He is holy and blameless, unstained by sin.
     % He has been set apart from sinners and
     % has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. 

# Unlike those other high priests, He does not need to offer sacrifices every day.
# They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people.
# But Jesus did this once for all when He offered Himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins.
# The law appointed high priests who were limited by human weakness.
# But after the law was given, God appointed His Son with an oath, and His Son has been made the perfect High Priest forever.

11 OCT 2014, WORD4ALL: JESUS OUR NEW PRIEST LIKE MELCHIZEDEK

JESUS OUR NEW PRIEST LIKE MELCHIZEDEK

(Hebrews 7:4-6, 12, 15-16 NLT)

# Consider then how great this Melchizedek was.
# Even Abraham, the great patriarch of Israel, recognized this by giving him a tenth of what he had taken in battle.
# Now the law of Moses required that the priests, who are descendants of Levi, must collect a tithe from the rest of the people of Israel, who are also descendants of Abraham.
# But Melchizedek, who was not a descendant of Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham.
# And Melchizedek placed a blessing upon Abraham, the one who had already received the promises of God.
# And if the priesthood is changed, the law must also be changed to permit it.
# This change has been made very clear since a different priest, who is like Melchizedek, has appeared.
# Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed.

08 OCT 2014, WORD4ALL: MELCHIZEDEK

MELCHIZEDEK

(Hebrews 7:1-3 NLT)
# This Melchizedek was king of the city of Salem and also a priest of God Most High.
# When Abraham was returning home after winning a great battle against the kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him.
# Then Abraham took a tenth of all he had captured in battle and gave it to Melchizedek.
# The name Melchizedek means “king of justice,” and king of Salem means “king of peace.”
# There is no record of his father or mother or any of his ancestors—no beginning or end to his life.
# He remains a priest forever, resembling the Son of God.