Jesus: The Supreme Sacrifice

Good morning! It's always a blessing to be with you at Grace Fellowship. I'm always encouraged when I'm driving up here, and there's nothing like singing a worship song while holding my youngest grandson—that's just a win! I don't know how this is going to go, but that was fantastic. If you have a Bible, we're going to be in Hebrews chapter 10. About a month ago, when Pastor Paul asked if I was available this morning, I thought I knew why. A church in my hometown of Akaville had asked me to preach from Hebrews 10 this summer while their pastor was away. They're doing a series entitled "Jesus is Greater Than Everything," verse by verse through Hebrews. I thought, "Oh, that's a great portion of Scripture. When I go to Dixon, I will share that." I assumed it was because I was preaching it elsewhere, but I found out during Sunday school that it's actually because you all are studying Hebrews in Sunday school. By the way, that is a great class! The way it's laid out and the way the study is done draws everyone into the conversation, and you learn something every time. I encourage you, if time allows, to come at 9:00 and sit in that room. It's a truly profitable time of studying the Word. Today was great.

So, we're going to be in Hebrews 10, studying under the title "Jesus is Greater Than Everything." The goal is that when we're done, you would say, "Yes, absolutely, that is true." Let's pray:

Lord, we bow before You, the God of all creation, the Creator of heaven and earth, all that is seen and unseen, the God who chose the time and place in history for us to live. You knit us together in our mother's womb. You placed us here in this place at this time, and then You revealed Yourself to us. Romans 1 says through Your creation, Romans 2 says through our conscience, we know that You've revealed Yourself through the speaking of Your name from Christians to us and from pulpits. Lord, I pray that those who are born again are rejoicing this morning, and those who are not sure are seeking by the power of the Spirit that they might be born again. They might be new. Lord, I pray that You would be glorified in the study of Your Word, that You would remove the speaker and the hearer, the flesh in both, and just allow the Holy Spirit to do Your work in such a way that we'd all grow in our faith. Lord, we live in interesting times, and we know that even as we gather in a room like this, there are those whose lives are upside down. Some are living with those they know and love who are sick, and their lives are upside down. We come to the place of hope, to the throne of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we cry out, "Teach us something that might help us to walk in a way that would be pleasing to You and be a blessing to others." In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

So, Jesus is greater than everything. That's a true statement. Jesus, properly Jesus the Christ, the incarnate eternal Son of God, the divine Messiah, the anointed one—Jesus. The word "is" indicates a state of being or existence. Jesus is greater, exceeding, far above, the preeminent one, everything else, all that exists. The sermon title "Jesus is Greater Than Everything" tells us that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of sinners, His state of existence, just by existing, is far above anything else in our lives. I would ask the question: Would you say that is true? Most people who know Him would say, "Yes, I'd like to scream that from the mountaintop: Jesus is greater than everything else in my life!" But we can always check the plumb line, right? We can look to our left or right, to our spouse, a loved one, a child, a grandchild, a coworker, a neighbor, and ask them, "What do you think the most important thing in my life is?" Listen to see if they say, "Well, Jesus is clearly the greatest, the most important thing in your life." Or maybe they would say golf, fishing, sports, your job, or who knows what they would say.

There's a challenge in Jeremiah 9:23-24 that has stuck with me for months. It says, "This is what the Lord says: Let no wise man boast in his wisdom, nor let the mighty man boast in his might, nor a rich man boast in his riches, but let the one who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises mercy and justice and righteousness on the earth, for I delight in these things, declares the Lord." If we know Him, that's what we will boast in. He says more than wisdom, might, or riches. It's interesting because wisdom, might, and riches are not bad things. Proverbs 4:7 says about wisdom, "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get wisdom." Might is a good thing. Proverbs 24:5 says, "A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge increases in power." So, might is good. Wealth can be good. Proverbs 10:4 says, "Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, but the hand of the diligent will be made rich." Jeremiah says, "Even though those three things are good, if you're going to boast, if you're going to speak about, if you're going to glory in something, if you're going to say, 'This is glorious,' you should think this: that you understand and know God." There's only one way to understand and know God, and I'm sure I've said this here before, so I may sound like a broken record—I know I will to my friend Mike. To be a man of God, you must be a man of the Word of God, right? If you say, "I want to know and understand God because it's better even than wisdom, might, and wealth," the only way that will happen is to be a man or woman of the Word of God.

2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, that the man of God might be thoroughly furnished unto all good works." It says about itself: all Scripture, the living, breathing text of Scripture, teaches us, corrects us, reproves us, instructs us, that we might become mature in our faith. Paul said to Timothy, it's not just that it's living and breathing, but you should study it. In 2 Timothy 2:15, it says, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman who needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." If we want to say, "Jesus is greater than everything," Jeremiah says, "The way we get there is we know Him." The way we know Him is we become men and women of the Word of God because it instructs us, corrects us, reproves us, matures us. In 2 Timothy 2:15, Paul says to Timothy, "Show your study to show yourself approved unto God." Do you know what that word "show" means? It means to step into the presence of God. Imagine that: step into the presence of God, and God says, "I approve." Why? Because you're rightly dividing His Word. If we can get there, if we can be men and women who say, "That's where I want to be," then it's possible that we can be what Jeremiah says: we can know Him. In knowing Him more and more, maybe we'll get to the place where we say, "Yes, you know what? Jesus is greater than everything else in my life. Everything else is secondary but Christ."

As we go to Hebrews 10, I have two "if" statements. First, if Jesus is more than an add-on to your life—what do I mean by an add-on? More than Sunday-only, you know, that thing where some people come to church and they're a saint on Sunday, but Monday through Saturday, they're more secular than saint, living more like the world. If that's not you, and you're actually faithfully consuming the Word of God and you're a person of prayer, it is likely that, although you may struggle with this, you may say, "Yes, Jesus is greater than everything." The other "if" is: if you're struggling in your faith, if you're lukewarm, or if you're actually outside of faith altogether, then we pray that by looking at Hebrews 10 and seeing what Jesus has done, it'll reignite your excitement for Christ, or for the first time, you'll bow your knee and be born again.

The text is Hebrews 10:1-18—that's way too long. I've never preached 18 verses anywhere at any time. Let me give you a broad, simplistic overview of the verses, and then we'll take the key verses and gain some understanding. First point: the Old Testament sacrificial system provided a temporary covering for sin. It pointed to Christ, but it couldn't wipe away sin. Sound like Sunday school? You were there. The sacrificial system was part of the old covenant. That's point one. Second: Jesus came as the once-for-all sacrifice, through which the sins of those in Christ are forgiven and wiped away as far as the east is from the west. These are two broadly simplistic overviews of these 18 verses. The old had a work and a purpose, but it couldn't wipe away your sin; it could cover your sin. The new is a once-for-all forgiveness of sin that takes your sin as far as the east is from the west. If you're struggling with sin this morning, walked in here battling sin, you might say, "Oh, the new, the once-for-all sacrifice forgives my sin as far as the east is from the west. I need that!" And I join you; I need that.

Let's look at the first four verses, which teach us that the old covenant is not sufficient. Then we'll look at verses 5-9, which tell us the new covenant is established by Christ. Finally, we'll look at the last verses, which tell us that the new is sufficient to forgive sins once for all. Let me read the first couple of verses, Hebrews 10:1-2: "For the law, since it has only a shadow of good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sin?" Verse 1 starts by telling us that the law, the Old Testament covenant, was a shadow of what was to come, and what was to come was Christ. A shadow indicates a reality but has no substance, right? If the sun was shining behind me and there was a shadow, you could say, "Oh, look at the shadow of a pulpit," but if you went to grab it, there's no substance. You know it represents something, and you might turn around and see the pulpit and say, "Oh, there it is." That's what a shadow is: no substance, but it indicates a reality. You've heard the word "foreshadowing" in the Old Testament. Throughout the Old Testament, there are places where it foreshadows, pointing to the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

One of the clearest places this happens, and it's an easy place to get your mind into what he's saying in Hebrews 10, is Genesis chapter 3. Picture Adam and Eve; you know the story. They sinned. In verse 7, it says their eyes were opened after they ate the fruit and sinned. They knew they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. They tried to cover their sin. By the way, isn't that what we do as people? We sin, and then we don't post on social media, "Hey, these are my sins of today." That's not how the world works. Adam and Eve did what is natural to man: they tried to cover, hide, deny, or avoid detection for sin. God calls them back to Himself—what a loving and kind God. He calls out to them in the garden after they sin, explains the consequences for their sin, and then in verse 21, we see the foreshadowing of Christ: "The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them." This means an innocent animal had to die; its blood had to be shed so that God could provide a covering for that original sin—a foreshadowing of Christ, who would die and shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sin. Right there in Genesis chapter 3, you read that chapter and say, "Oh, this points to Christ." In Hebrews 9:22, it says, "According to the law, one may say all things are cleansed with blood; without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin." There's this theme that begins in the garden of the shedding of blood for the covering of sin, pointing to the cross where Jesus dies and His blood is shed for the forgiveness of our sin. That's the shadow in Hebrews 10:1: "For the law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come." The good thing to come is the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ.

Verses 1 and 2 tell us that the old system did not make perfect those who draw near. After they sacrificed, verse 2 says they would walk away and have to sacrifice again; otherwise, they'd have no thought of their sin. Just the opposite: they don't walk away without thought of their sin. They sacrifice and walk away thinking about sin. Verse 3 says, "But in those sacrifices, there is a reminder of sin year by year, for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." Isn't that interesting? Year by year, a worshipful act of contrition, not sufficient to take away their sin. Imagine a family in the Old Testament, like in 1 Samuel chapter 1. This man, Elkanah—you may hear the name and think, "Elkanah?" But then you hear Hannah, and you go, "Oh, Elkanah is Hannah's husband." He had another wife named Peninnah. They would go as a family—Hannah, you know because of Samuel. They would go yearly as a family to Shiloh to sacrifice. Picture this godly, worshiping family joining the mass of other Jewish humanity to gather there and sacrifice. They would bring a spotless animal to substitute for their sin. Elkanah would place his hand on the animal's head, symbolically picturing the transfer of his sin and the sin of his whole family to that animal, which would then be killed, just like Genesis 3:21. Do you see the connection? The innocent animal killed in the garden for the covering of sin; Elkanah puts his hand there for the covering of sin for the family. Then they would turn and walk away. These first four verses say that the moment they turned, they had to come back next year because the sacrifice is a reminder of their sin year by year. It's impossible for that to take away their sin, as verse 4 says. Imagine living under that. If you're a Christian, you don't. That worshipful moment of obedience was just that—a moment—and a reminder that they had to do it again and again.

You might ask, as it came up in Sunday school today, "How was an Old Testament saint saved, then?" Hebrews 11 lists faithful people, Old Testament saints, one after another. How was someone saved? The same way you were saved. Salvation has always been by the same means. Let's use Abraham as our example: salvation by grace through faith. Genesis 15:6 says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." It doesn't say that when Abraham, in Genesis 12, left everything and was obedient to God, it was counted to him for righteousness. It doesn't say when Abraham took his son Isaac up on the mountain to sacrifice him, and God provided the true sacrifice, that because of that obedience, it was credited to him for righteousness. It says Abraham believed, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Romans 4:3 says, "What does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." Galatians 3:6 says, "For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." He believed and was right in the presence of God. How were you saved? You believed. What was your great act of obedience? There wasn't one. You were a sinner who believed. Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that He was raised from the dead, you shall be saved." Same as Abraham: you believed, and you were saved.

The first point is that the old covenant wasn't sufficient to do this. That's what verses 1-4 say: not sufficient. All that work was an act of obedience, God's plan for them, but those who came, put their hand there, and believed were saved. It was also a foreshadowing because it was a tutor to lead us to Christ. Galatians 3:24 says, "The law leads us to Christ that we might be justified by faith." We read the Old Testament, like the Ten Commandments, which might bring conviction. If you look at what happened in schools from when they removed the Ten Commandments from classrooms to today, it's dramatic. Why? Because some would read them and say, "Yes, it's good not to kill, not to steal, not to commit adultery." The list brings conviction. Galatians 3:24 says that, like a tutor, it educates you to see Christ and be justified by faith.

Second, the new system was established by Christ—what a blessing. Verse 5 says, "Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, 'Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, but a body You prepared for Me.'" Verse 4 says the bulls and goats could not take away sin; therefore, He came. If you're a follower of Christ, think about this for the rest of the week: the old system didn't work, so He came. There's no argument about whether Jesus came. It says He came into the world because the sacrifice and offering were not desired, but the body prepared for Him. Don't let anyone argue that Jesus of Nazareth didn't live on earth for 33 years, die, was buried, and rose again. There is no argument. John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Jesus is the Word; He was with God and was God. Verse 14 says, "He came and dwelt among us." Because the old covenant didn't work, He came.

It can be easy to go through the motions of coming to church, reading the Bible, struggling with the practice of truth, not having it in the heart. I heard a guy say this week, "Is it in your bones?" You read the Bible, come to church, but is it in your bones? Is it who you are? It's easy to go through the motions. Jesus is referenced here as coming, but the author of Hebrews quotes from Psalm 40. Read Psalm 40 this week because, in context, it's beautiful. Psalm 40 tells us what God wants instead of the old sacrificial system: your heart. That's the question: Is it in your bones? He wants your heart. Psalm 40:8 says, "I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart." God has always wanted a relationship with us. Jeremiah says, "You know Me." He wants a heart relationship. He's not as interested in obedience, although obedience is always better than sacrifice. Is your heart's delight what the psalmist writes: "I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart"? The desire to do the work, when proper, comes from the desire connected because you know and love Him. Knowing Him should drive our walk of faith. Ask yourself: Is it a heart issue for me? Does He own my heart, or am I going through the motions?

Jump to verse 9, which makes the second point: "And He said, 'Behold, I have come to do Your will.' He takes away the first in order to establish the second." Praise the Lord that Jesus came to establish the new covenant. The first wasn't sufficient; the second is sufficient, and we'll learn in the next verse, once for all, it doesn't need to be repeated year after year. You don't have to be like Elkanah, who comes, puts his hand on the lamb, its blood is shed, has that wonderful moment with God, then turns, takes a step, and says, "I'm a sinner; I have to return." No, that's not you. The once-for-all sacrifice means your sin is as far as the east is from the west. Spurgeon says when the writer puts the word "behold" on the page—"Behold, I have come to do Your will, to take away the first to establish the second"—the word "behold" is a word of wonder, an Old Testament signboard trying to catch your attention and point you to what's within. Spurgeon says we must pause and say, "Behold what? What do You want me to behold?" It's this: Jesus came to earth to do the will of the Father by taking away the old and establishing the new. He takes away the animal sacrifice completely; it's permanently replaced with our only hope, Jesus Christ. The Greek word for "takes away" means to dispose of completely—not partially. The writer wants it clear: there's no going back. Jesus came to take away the old and establish the new, and it's folly to try to replace Him with anything else. From the moment He came, it was all about Christ. In eternity past—if that's a thing, because eternity is eternity—Jesus has always been the thing. He was in the garden, throughout the Old Testament, and then He came to create a new covenant. Anything besides Him is folly, yet we try to replace Him with so many things to walk this life comfortably: relationships, success, money, health, sacrifice. I may not go to the temple to sacrifice, but I'll sacrifice hours of work to be a good provider for my family, and then the family says, "Who is that provider? He's so absentee, I don't know him."

So, we try to replace and satisfy what is only found at the cross with things in our lives. The question is: How are you doing with Jesus and Jesus alone? Is He sufficient for you? Is He greater than anything? Is there anything that could happen or come into your life that would derail that? It's easy to say, "I'm so glad He came." But ask yourself: Does tribulation and trial derail that He's greatest, or is He the first place to look in the midst of trial and tribulation? Sickness and death—does that get in the way? Do you still say He's the greatest? Our dear brother in the back—his mom passed away 14 years ago today, and there's a bench in front of the church dedicated to her. It didn't derail him; he's still here. I've been married 41 years. About 25 years ago, some of you know this, we got a letter from the genetics department at Kaiser. It said our daughter, Caitlyn Rose, little Katie, who was maybe 12 at the time, had one mutated gene. We have thousands of genes in our body, but she had one partially mutated gene. In the two paragraphs, that was the only thing that mattered because it meant she had a disease that would take her life in the next 8 to 10 years, 100% guaranteed, never been one cured. One year later, we got another letter from the genetics department, this one for Annie Alio, who was maybe two or three years old. She had been tested for the same disease, and it said the exact same words. I looked at the letters side by side, and the only difference was the name. Part of me thought, "Should you get a form letter in the mail to tell you your kid's dying?" It was literally a form letter with the exact same words: same partially mutated gene. Of our six kids, Katie died at 22, and nine years later, Annie died at 22.

When we got the diagnosis, everyone began to sacrifice time and energy to the care of the girls. We did fundraising, went to conferences, did public speaking to raise money to give researchers the opportunity to try to solve the mystery of this disease. We all learned how to change diapers from 2-year-olds to 22-year-olds, do feeding tubes, have sleepless nights, endless doctor's appointments. Our healthy kids watched their friends drop off because they were busy changing diapers and doing feeding tubes—all sacrifice. However, by God's grace, the hope wasn't in the sacrifice. I remember at the first conference we went to, one year after the first diagnosis, my wife and I went to the science section and listened intently. We walked out, went right back to our hotel room, and wept. We realized, "There's no hope; they're dying." We went there with hope, thinking maybe the scientists would solve the problem. Upstairs, we realized they're dying, so this isn't about solving the problem of their dying; it's about how we live. We got on our knees and committed this season of life to Christ, right in the new covenant, the covenant of grace through faith in Jesus Christ, Him alone. The Scripture says, "O death, where is your sting?" I know where the girls are going; I know where they're at today. Does it mean it was easy? No, it was the worst thing I've ever had to deal with. Is it still painful today? Yes. Are there days I don't feel like getting out of bed, when my thought goes to them, and I think, "I got nothing; I got no energy"? Yes. But Jesus is greater than even that.

Katie and Annie are both in heaven; they loved Jesus. If you knew either of them, you knew the first thing they wanted to know was if you knew Jesus. It was awkward for many people—doctors, nurses. "Hi, I'm Nurse So-and-So. Do you know Jesus?" They'd lay it out: "For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son." Someday, my entire family will be present with Him in heaven. Did I mention that my oldest son, after 25 years of wandering away, prayed for him for 25 years, just got born again a few months ago? Never stop praying. Never stop praying for family, friends, neighbors. Prayed for that young man for 25 years, and for the first time in 25 years, he has hope of the day he sees his sisters. Is Jesus greater than everything? Ask yourself: Am I living in a new normal in your life? Have you lost a parent, a sibling, a spouse, a child, a close relationship, the dream you once had about what life would be like, or the job you thought was the answer to your family's financial security? Whatever it is, you're in a new normal. How does it fit, this normal that you're living in? I would ask you to try this new normal on for size: He, Jesus, brought you up out of the miry clay and set your feet upon a rock and established your goings. Let that be your new normal. When the world hits and it's not good, say, "Yes, but you know what? I was in a miry pit, and a miry pit you cannot climb out of on your own." He grabbed me, put me on the rock of Himself, and established my goings. I was spiritually blind, but now I see; I was dead, but now I'm alive. Jesus is greater than everything. As a Christian, you can live there; that's your new normal.

The old system didn't work; the new system was established by Christ. Verse 10 tells us why the new system is so much better than the old: "By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." The offering of Jesus Christ's death on the cross and His resurrection on the third day allowed those who believe to be sanctified. The word "sanctified" in this context means inwardly cleansed from sin, making you fit to be in the presence of God. God is holy and perfect, so regardless of what you bring to the table today, if you believe and He's your Lord and Savior, you have been made fit to stand in His presence. The original Greek is in the perfect tense, meaning it was a past action with ongoing results. At the moment you believed, the work was done. The word we use is "justified"—a legal decision. At the moment you believed, you were justified, right in the presence of God, and that moment goes forward for the rest of your life through this up-and-down roller coaster of sanctification until glorification. What a clear contrast to the old system! His is once for all, sanctified. Do we continue in sin? Yes, we struggle with sin. Do we have ups and downs? Yes. The difference is, at the moment of salvation, you have one bucket of truth that says you are right in the sight of God forever. Then there's this thing called sanctification: you walk in it, stub your toe into sin, and 1 John 1:9 says, "If you confess your sin, He's faithful and just to forgive you of your sin and cleanse you of all unrighteousness." Even though the work was done, you might say, "I don't know if I can go back to church; I don't know if I can face Him again." He already did. If you're His, the work is done. You're going to face Him in heaven for all eternity, worshiping Him. He says, "I want you to come and ask for My forgiveness because My blood was shed that you might be forgiven. You need to understand who you are: a forgiven child of God."

In the Hebrew study the Sunday school class has been doing, back in chapter 4—we're in chapter 8 today—in verse 15, it says we have a high priest who sympathizes with us in our place of sin because He was tested in all the same things we're tested in, but He didn't sin. So, He sympathizes. Can you imagine Jesus Christ, seated at the right hand of the Father? I shared this in Sunday school today, but when He sees me bumble into the same sin over and over, He doesn't say, "I'm going to smash that knucklehead." He sympathizes. He's like, "That poor Joe, he did it again. Boy, he really is struggling. I hope the Holy Spirit comes alongside, kicks him in the side, gets him back on his feet, lets him step and walk forward." It took me a long time to understand that's how Jesus looks at me, but that's what Hebrews says, and I choose to believe the Word of God.

You might ask, "How can all the sacrifice be set aside? It was a long time of sacrificing; how does it just end?" 2 Corinthians 5:21: "God made Him, Jesus, who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." That's how. He picked a time in history and sent His Son that He might die in your place, that you might be forgiven of your sin. That's the how. What's the why? Katie and Annie's favorite verse: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." The how is He sent His Son; the why is because of love.

The old system didn't work; Jesus came to get rid of the old and create the new. It's once for all, sanctified. We still have verses 11-18—that's not possible. Here's what we're going to do: we'll walk through these together. Verses 11-13 are a beautiful and clear contrast to what Christ came and did. Verse 11: "Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sin." Contrast that with verse 12: "But He, speaking of Jesus, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God." The priests sacrifice after sacrifice—no forgiveness, only covering of sin. Jesus dies, rises again; you receive Him as Lord and Savior—forgiven, done, finished. He sat down in the seat of power at the right hand of God, verse 13, "waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made His footstool." In the end times, when it all comes to an end, everyone who's ever stood against Him will bow before Him. Every knee will bow. Contrast verses 11-13—that's good news.

Verse 14 is a hinge. The word "for" swings open this truth that our salvation is eternal. The old didn't do any good in verse 11; Jesus came, did the good, sat down, waiting for the end. Then it says, "for." Picture the word as a door on a hinge; the door swings open, and you look: "For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified." The writer of Hebrews paints a picture of a priest killing an animal, never stopping, then shows the next scene where Jesus dies one time, rises from the dead, finished, sits down at the right hand of the Father, place of power, waiting for the time when He decides it's over, and there'll be a new heaven and a new earth. Then the writer uses a word that means you're seeing that, and a door swings open, and you look on the other side: "Oh, by the way, it's for eternity." Their sacrifice was for the moment; He says, "The door swings open, and you look, and that one offering is perfected for all time those who are sanctified." It's like, "Give me door number three!" Some of you are too young to remember "Let's Make a Deal"—good, clean humor. You could win a Chevy or a donkey, depending on what you picked. None of this is in my notes, and Paul may never ask me back; I'm doing game show trivia. It blows me away how it's written: these pictures—the priest, the one sacrifice, then the word "for," the door swings open, it's forever. Everything else was not sufficient; you had to come back. This is forever.

Then we see the Holy Spirit's work in verses 15-16: "And the Holy Spirit testifies to us, for after saying, 'This is the covenant I will make with them after those days,' says the Lord: 'I will put My laws upon their heart, and on their mind I will write them.'" The Holy Spirit speaks, teaches, and testifies to us. At moments like this, when you're learning, if you had a thought today like, "Oh, that's interesting; I didn't know that," or "Yes, I knew that; I really like that," those thoughts are the Holy Spirit testifying. God is speaking to you—is that amazing? Then we get to verses 17-18: "And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." Can you imagine Old Testament saints? Paul says in Ephesians and elsewhere that this was a mystery they didn't know. Can you imagine when they understood for the first time: "Wait a second, there's no going to the temple and sacrificing; it's remembered no more"? That's the covenant we live under: remembered no more. "Now where there is forgiveness of sins, there is no longer any offering for sin." There's forgiveness; we don't have to offer. He is the offering because He loved us and chose to offer Himself for us. The permanence of forgiveness—Psalm 103:12 says, "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." Thank Him for that and maybe stop beating yourself up. Confess the sin and follow Him. When you find where east connects to west, come back and share that with everyone. Just go east, and when you find west, you'll be done.

What do we do with this? If it's your first time at church ever, or you've been coming and know you're outside of faith, not a Jesus follower, consider that Jesus came as the once-for-all sacrifice for your particular sin. You know you're a sinner; that's not an issue for any of us. The Borgardises have the cutest grandbabies, the sweetest little sinners in their house. You're born a sinner. If you know that but aren't a Jesus follower, listen to Peter in Acts 2, who says, "Repent and turn from your sin and confess God; acknowledge your need for a Savior." Do it today, right now, and tell somebody sitting next to you, "You know what I did today?" You might say, "I want to be like Abraham who believed. I want to be the one like Romans 10:9: if I confess with my mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead, I will be saved." Say, "Today's the day I say, 'Yes, I know this to be true.'" Maybe you didn't know it was that clear: a once-for-all sacrifice, sanctified forever. The door swings open, and you say, "Oh, I'm saved into eternity." Confess your sin and tell somebody because you can't walk the journey of faith alone; you have to be connected. Acts 2:42 says, "The early church was steadfast about doctrine, fellowship, communion, and prayer." Fellowship isn't just hot dogs on the fourth Sunday of the month; it's being connected to other Christians often, all the time.

If you're a Jesus follower, know you're born again—rejoice! You're forgiven, justified. Walk around like you're happy to be on the planet. Have a smile on your face. Ever been around Christians who are so ho-hum? You're forgiven; that's who you are. Go out, be the light unto this world. Know the once-for-all sacrifice was sufficient for the forgiveness of your sin. You have the hope of eternal life and say, "Jesus is greater than everything." Tell the person you live with, the person closest to you, "If this isn't clear, I want it to be clear. Help me with this. I want it to be clear that for me, Jesus is greater than everything." Ask them to hold you accountable because what would we choose instead of Christ? The Old Testament saints looked to the next sacrifice; we saw the door swing open, we look to glory, to heaven. That's the path we're on; we're so blessed.

Let's pray:

Lord, we thank You for Hebrews 10, an interesting portion of Scripture, the whole book of Hebrews. We thank You that You reminded us this morning that the old is not sufficient, and the new is more than sufficient—it is the perfect sacrifice, the one Christ, the Messiah, the Savior, the one who gives hope into eternity. Help us rejoice in the fact that Jesus is greater than everything and live like so. Pray for Pastor Paul, his family, bless their time. Lord, I ask You to bless Grace Fellowship of Dixon. Every time I come here, I'm surrounded by people who know You, love You, and desire for You to be what radiates from this place. I pray Your blessing on this church. Pray for the day ahead, that it would be to Your glory. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.