Jesus, Our New and Living Sacrifice

Isn’t the Lord wonderful? There is no one like Him. If you have your Bibles, we’re going to go into Hebrews chapter 10 this morning, and we’re wrapping up this Hebrews chapter 10. We have been in this study for some time — much longer than I had anticipated. But I’ve been meditating on this portion of Scripture for over a year now, and I believe there’s so much the Lord wants to bring to us.

As we go into Hebrews chapter 10, we’re going to start at verse 19. But it’s important that we understand the context of where we’re at in the book. Again, this was written to believers who were wavering in their faith. There were questions and concern: did they make the right decision to follow Jesus? Things were getting difficult. They weren’t able to trade in the marketplace. Their families were being persecuted, and their homes were being vandalized. And so they were wondering, did I make the right decision here?

And up to this point, the author is making the case that what we have received in Jesus is better than anything else. That there is nothing else — as we were just singing — besides Him. That Jesus really is better. The author’s been making this case for our understanding, in our theology, of why Jesus is better: how He has trumped everything that was before, everything that was offered in the old covenant, the old sacrifices, and that He’s given us full access to the very presence of God by the blood of Jesus.

God is after your heart

And there’s this emphasis on how Jesus is better, and now we’re coming into this new section where the author is saying, now this is what it should look like. I think oftentimes we like to just jump to the conclusion. Anybody else? I watch a lot of YouTube videos to learn how to do things like fix my car. I’m a terrible mechanic, but I can follow instructions pretty well. And I typically will skip through to try to find the place that I want to go, and then all of a sudden I’m halfway through and I’m like, oh no, and stuff starts spilling all over, because I skipped to it. I just jump around and I miss some important steps.

And sometimes we just like to be told what to do. Maybe you come on a Sunday: just tell me what to do and I’ll go do it. But how many of you know that’s not really what God is after? God is not just looking for people who do stuff for Him. He’s looking for people whose hearts belong to Him. You can’t perform for God. He’s not looking for your performance; He’s looking for your heart. And when your heart belongs to Him, you will be obedient to Him.

And so if you leave here understanding anything, understand that the Lord is after your heart. He’s not looking at your performance. He’s not looking at your failures. He’s not looking at your wins. He wants your heart. And so the author is coming to this place in Hebrews chapter 10 where he’s saying, listen, this is what it looks like.

Now, the first three verses that we’re going to go through today are a summary of what the author was talking about in the last several chapters. But I also believe that it’s a call that the Lord is giving us prophetically. I believe this is something the Lord is speaking to us specifically right now, for our church. And Pastor Suzie had preached on some of these verses a few weeks ago and did a wonderful job, so be sure to check that out. She’s a very gifted teacher.

Boldness to enter

Hebrews chapter 10, starting at verse 19, says, “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God.”

Notice it says, “Therefore, brethren, having boldness.” In other words, what these first couple of verses are saying is, because of what Jesus did on the cross, and as our great High Priest instituting the new covenant, we have access to God that we did not have before. Jesus has provided something by the breaking of His body, by the shedding of His blood, that we now have access, and we can come boldly. Everybody say, “Boldly.”

In verse 19 it says, “Therefore, having boldness to enter the Holiest.” Now, this isn’t an exhortation. This word in Scripture is actually used as though the author is stating a reality. He’s saying, no, this is the way it is. He’s not saying, I’m encouraging you to have boldness. No, you’ve been given boldness. This is your new reality. This is a new way of living. And that’s what I want to talk about today: Jesus, our new and living way.

And so in other words, it could say right here, since you have boldness to enter. Now, it’s not an arrogance. We don’t approach the throne of God arrogantly. It’s not because, well, I’m so awesome and I’m just better than most, and so I’ve been given privileges. No, it’s only by the blood of Jesus. Notice it says, “by the blood of Jesus.” In other words, without the blood of Jesus there would be no access to the presence of God.

Verse 20 says, “by a new and living way.” Sometimes I think we can go to Scripture and we just think it’s a bunch of ancient tales or old stories. But how many of you know the story of the gospel never gets old and never gets stale? It is as relevant today as it was when it first was instituted, when the gospel first was preached. It is just as relevant, because it is a new and living way. Not only does this speak to our approach to the presence of God; it speaks to the fact that the sacrifice of Jesus never gets old. It never gets old.

The veil torn in two

It says, “by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh.” How many of you remember a couple weeks ago we were talking about the tabernacle? When Jesus died on the cross, Scripture says that the veil of the tabernacle was torn in two from the top to the bottom. And that veil is what separated the holy place, the sanctuary, from the Holy of Holies, or the Most Holy Place. It was the very presence of God.

And when Jesus died on the cross, Scripture says that veil was torn in two. People were amazed. People were astonished, right? Jesus said, “It is finished.” It is done. He died, and then all of a sudden everything went dark, and the veil was torn, and people were saying, “Surely this is the Son of God.” But what does that mean? It means that there is now no veil. There is no barrier. There is nothing that separates us from the presence of God. The veil was torn in two. In other words, because of Jesus, we now have full access to the presence of God. Somebody say amen.

First of all, I love how it’s from the top to the bottom, meaning we didn’t initiate this. God initiated this. It was torn from the top to the bottom, and it was ripped in two. It wasn’t just moved to the side so that it could be closed later — like God regrets His decision: “Oh, I’m just going to close this back up. Y’all are messed up.” Right? He ripped it. There wasn’t just a small hole put in it so that maybe some of the best can come in. No, He ripped it wide, and He has given everyone full access — those who enter by the blood of Jesus. Amen.

Verse 21: “and having a High Priest over the house of God.” In other words, we now have a High Priest, Jesus, who is ministering right now in the heavenly places, in the heavenly tabernacle, on our behalf. Jesus is our new and living way. We have free access to the throne room of God, into the very presence of God, and Jesus is ministering there to make sure that you get to that place.

Maybe you’ve seen the clubs where there will be a bouncer, right, preventing people from having certain access. Only certain people can come in. Jesus is kind of like the reverse of that. Jesus is in the heavenly places interceding and ministering as our High Priest so that we have full access. In other words, He’s saying, not only can you come, I will make sure that you get there. He is our great High Priest. And so His presence is available to every believer. It’s not based on merit. It’s not based on effort. But it is based on who Jesus is and what He did on the cross.

Let us draw near

And so these first three verses serve as a summary of everything that we’ve been talking about over the last several weeks. But now we come into this shift in verse 22, and he shifts from the understanding of what Jesus did to the practicality of living it out. And look at the action in verse 22. I believe this is what the Lord is bringing to us. I believe He’s speaking this to us today. Verse 22 says, “let us draw near.”

I feel like the Lord is bringing this invitation to us. Maybe you’ve not drawn near to the Lord. Maybe you’re here today and you’re like, I don’t know if I’ve ever really experienced the presence of God. When I go into His Word, I don’t feel like He speaks to me. Or maybe when I’m in my prayer time, I don’t feel like He’s answering my prayer. But I believe the Lord is wanting to bring a new level of boldness, a new level of faith to our hearts, and an encouragement and an invitation to draw near to Him.

And we know Scripture says that when we draw near to Him, He draws near to us. You see, He’s already made the way, and now He’s saying, so come. Come into My presence. Come be with Me. Let Me tell you who you really are. Some of you have had things spoken over you, things that have been said about you, and because they cut to the core, you believe them, and you’ve adopted those words. And they may not have been true. In fact, they probably aren’t, because we aren’t defined by what others say. We’re not even defined by what we do. We are defined only by the blood of Jesus, which washes us, which cleanses us, and gives us full access and an inheritance as sons and daughters of the Lord.

You want to know who you really are? You want to know who God says you are? You are sons and daughters. You have been adopted in. You’re not defined by your failures. You’re not defined by your wins. You’re defined by Jesus and what He accomplished on the cross.

So it says, “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” We see two things here. Number one, the author goes from building up the understanding, building up our theology, to the practical. This is common through Scripture, especially with the Pauline letters. That’s why a lot of people think he wrote the book of Hebrews. We don’t really know that, but they think that. There is often this building up of our understanding and then going into the practical, and so we see this shift.

But number two, we see the heart of God: that God wants us to experience these things. God is not just wanting us to learn more about Him; He wants us to experience Him. You can know all the facts in Scripture, and it doesn’t make you any better. What God wants for us is to experience His promise, to experience His truth. He doesn’t just want you to know about His presence. He wants you to be in His presence. And we have this full access. We have this gift that has been given to us.

And so if you are here today and you’re not regularly experiencing what God has made available to you, there should be a level of frustration — not towards the church, not towards other people. If you aren’t experiencing the presence of God in your life — when you come into worship and your heart just isn’t connecting and you’re just not sensing the Lord, or you’re in the Word and you feel like He’s not speaking, or you’re in prayer and you’re feeling like He’s not even hearing — it should frustrate you. And you should be frustrated not with Him, not with believers, not with the church. You should be frustrated with the flesh, with the world, and with the devil, because there is something that you have believed that is preventing you from what has been freely given.

And may we never, ever settle for a low level of what is promised to us in His Word. May we never settle with where we’re at in our walk with the Lord. It’s very easy for us to get comfortable and to be like, well, this is good enough, not recognizing that there’s actually so much more that He wants to bring to you. That He wants you to experience Him. That He wants you to know Him. And the more time you spend with Him, the more time you abide with Him, the more you become like Him. And the more you become like Him, the more people see Him in you. And the more people see Him in you, the more people are drawn to Him for His glory. Amen.

You see, this is meant to be real. Church is not just something you’re supposed to attend. There is something special that the Lord wants to bring to us every time we come into His Word, every time we come into His presence with worship, every time we get on our knees in our bedroom and we begin to pray to the Lord. He wants you to know Him, to experience Him, because He paid for it. He paid for it.

Hearts sprinkled, bodies washed

“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” The reason we draw near is not because we’re so great. It’s because Jesus is so great. And Jesus is the one who cleanses and washes us, right? We get that image again of the sprinkling, of the cleansing, and we get that image of the great high priest sprinkling the blood for the forgiveness of sins. And that’s what Jesus does. He applies His perfect blood for the washing of our sins.

But another way that we’re connected is by water baptism, the washing of pure water. We have water baptisms coming up next week, and we should be excited about that. That is the fulfillment of the Great Commission. It is everything that we pray for as a church. It is what Jesus commanded: go into all the world, make disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

And many of you have probably heard that water baptism is an outward confession of an inward decision. And yes, that is true, but I believe it’s so much more than that. It is a holy encounter with the Lord. You see, Jesus Himself was baptized, and Jesus commanded us to be baptized. And when we walk in obedience to the thing that God’s asked us to do, there is this connecting. There is this moment where we are honoring the Lord with our obedience, and He reveals Himself to us. And so it’s important to be baptized as a believer in Jesus.

It says, “our bodies washed with pure water.” Now, it’s not saying just go and jump into the shower and congratulations, you’re baptized. Most of us do that with some regularity, and I would encourage that. But that does not mean that you were baptized as a believer in Jesus. What it means to be baptized as a believer is: because I have been cleansed on the inside by the blood of Jesus, there is this outward demonstration of me being cleansed on the outside.

You see, we’re to be baptized as believers. And I felt like the Lord wanted me to bring this, because many of us here, especially in this part of the nation and in our culture — many of you grew up in the church, and many of you were baptized as babies. And I believe that you were adorable, that you were cute, and that you were sweet, and the intentions of all that are good and great. But you need to be baptized as a believer. When you’re a baby, you’re cute, but you’re not a believer. You’re a baby, yet to believe. And so when you make that decision, it’s important for us to be baptized as a believer in Jesus. Somebody say amen.

If it’s not costly, it’s not worship

So let us draw near. We can do that because He has removed every obstacle. There is nothing standing in the way of you experiencing more of God in your life except your flesh, your fallen thinking, and this world, the pressures of this world. If you want more of the Lord, surrender and say, Lord, I’m rejecting all of that, and I’m choosing to follow You. He’s removed every obstacle, and He’s made a way when there’s no way.

Sometimes I feel like many of us will keep God at a distance, where we’ll be like, well, I believe in Jesus, but I don’t want to be like one of those crazy Christians that lift their hands in church. That’s wild. How many of you know Scripture says we’re to lift up a sacrifice of praise? That our praise becomes more effective when we humble ourselves and we don’t do it our way; we do it God’s way. Meaning He will ask you to do things that are out of your comfort zone, because if it’s not costly, it’s not worship. If worship is convenient for you, is it even an offering?

And it doesn’t mean that we need to go to extremes. It doesn’t mean we need to just do things that we’ve never done before. No, we need to be led by the Spirit. But the Lord does give us instruction on how we’re to worship Him. He says, lift your hands in the sanctuary and bless the Lord. Speak blessing. Sing His praise. Sing to the Lord a new song.

That’s why sometimes I have you guys go off script, and you all get really uncomfortable when I do that, by the way. I can sense it. But the Lord wants us to grow in this. Scripture says, sing a new song to the Lord. That’s why sometimes I’m like, turn off the screens; you all don’t need the lyrics; sing your own song. Why do we do that? Because Scripture says to do that. And when we do that, in that discomfort, it takes humility. It’s a sacrifice to the Lord. We come into the presence of the Lord. Why? Because we’re worshiping Him His way. Does this make sense?

So we can come in and we can go through the motions, we can do what we’ve always done, or we can say, Lord, I want to be a blessing to You, and I ask that You would teach me by Your Holy Spirit how to worship You today. If that was your prayer every Sunday, you better believe the Lord will meet you at church. You should never walk out of here not having met the Lord. One of you got that.

Let us draw near. It’s not enough just to know. How many of you have ever gotten a new car before? Well, a new used car — I consider that new. I recently got a new used car, and the first thing I did, because I’m that guy, is I was reading the manual. I was reading through all these buttons and features, and I was like, what? I don’t even know what that button means, but I’m going to look it up. And so I was looking it up because I wanted to know what it could do. But how many of you know a car isn’t created just so you can know how it functions? A car is meant to be driven.

In the same way, it’s not enough just to know about God. God wants you to experience Him. And the way that we enter into that is to draw near to Him with full assurance — not based on what you feel, by the way. You won’t usually feel it, unless the Lord’s doing a new work in you, which those are great, by the way. You’re on fire, right? And yeah, I messed up yesterday, but God is good, right? Those are good spots. But there will be times where you’ll come in and it takes everything for you just to get into the room. Let us draw near, because He who calls us is faithful to reveal Himself to us. He is faithful to His promise.

Verse 23, and I’m going to wrap this up. By the way, the reason I try to stay on time — it’s not so much for you guys. I mean, you guys are great, and I know you got stuff to do. But we have kids that are in kids church, and we got to take care of them. By the way, did you know they go to church too? That’s not daycare; that’s church over there. I was just sharing this a couple weeks ago, and I’ve shared this before, but one of my favorite memories or experiences in ministry is when I was serving in kids church, because our pastors do that regularly. And I go, “Okay, who’s ready to worship Jesus?” And all of them dropped what they were doing and said, “Yeah!” And they all ran and gathered around. I was like, you all are excited. All right, here we go.

Hold fast without wavering

Verse 23 says, “Let us hold fast” — everybody say, “Hold fast” — “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” In other words, don’t give an inch to the world. Don’t give an inch to the flesh or to the devil. We have a hope in Jesus, and it does not need to be shaken. It says “without wavering.” Remember, this was a letter written to believers who were wavering in their faith. But the author is saying, in light of everything that Jesus has done, in light of the full access that He has given, let us hold fast. Do not waver. Do not succumb to the pressures of this world. Come, let us draw near. Let us be with Him, because He is our hope.

You see, we need believers today who will hold fast to the truth of God’s Word. You cannot navigate life correctly without being tethered to something that is true. You will be all over the place. It’s like Scripture says: you’ll be tossed to and fro by the storms that come. And by the way, storms will come. But Jesus said, those who come to Me and hear My sayings and do them, I will show you what he’s like: he is like a man who built his house on the rock. In other words, when the storms come — because they will come — don’t be like the man who builds his house on the sand, because it will be complete destruction. Build your house on the rock. Who’s the rock? Jesus Christ. Build your house on Jesus.

Put your trust in Him, and no matter what is going on out there, we have a hope and an assurance that He who has promised is faithful, and we will not be shaken. That is a sign and a wonder to people in the world. How can there be crisis in this world and all around you, and you are walking in perfect peace? You better believe people will look at your life. If you are founded on the Rock and if you are not wavering, people will look at you and they will give glory to the Lord, because they know there’s something different. Your hope isn’t in our government. Your hope isn’t in what’s in your bank account. Your hope is somewhere else. The highs, the lows, no matter what may come, we do not need to waver, because He is our firm foundation.

And you may feel like sometimes you can’t live according to God’s Word. But I will tell you, He can. You can, because not only have you been washed, He has made His Spirit available to strengthen you to follow Him, to live this out, because He who promised is faithful. I like to think I’m reliable, but I’m not reliable. He’s reliable.

Let us consider one another

Verse 24 says, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.” Say, “Let us consider one another.” Consider one another in order to stir up love and good works. I love how the author goes through these three directions. The first part is “let us draw near.” In other words, the direction is towards God. “Let us hold fast” — the direction is in the face of the world, in the face of all the pressures that may come: the temptations, the fallenness, the brokenness, the fear, the anxiety. It’s all there. But then there’s this new direction: “let us consider one another.”

You can’t walk with the Lord effectively without other believers. The Lord commands it. You are better when you are in fellowship with other believers, because God said so. You need to be encouraged by other believers. Sometimes we’re running behind on Sundays. We like to sleep in a little bit, and we show up maybe a little bit late to worship, or we show up right on time and then we leave right when it’s over because we got plans; we got things to do. But I would encourage you, if you want to grow in your relationship with the Lord, you need to start looking outside of yourself. Even in the church, we can become so focused on self.

And by the way, you do need to take care of your heart. You need to take care of yourself. But it is important to consider others. In other words, maybe instead of showing up late and leaving right on time, maybe show up a little bit early and ask, Lord, who can I pray for today? Because if you have Jesus, you have something to offer. Jesus says, “Freely you have received, freely give.” So let us consider one another. Maybe instead of leaving right away, stay a little bit and say hi to someone and say, you know, is there something I can be praying for you about? You have something to offer, because you’ve been given something that is so valuable and so precious.

“Let us consider one another... not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” How many of you are looking forward to that day? That day when Jesus will return in all glory. I actually love talking about this with young people, because every time you talk to young people about Jesus coming back, they’re like, “Wait, what?” Yes, Jesus is coming back.

Right now He is seated in the heavens, in the throne room, at the right hand of God the Father. But there is a day that is coming where He will come, and He will descend from the heavens with the clouds, with a whole host of angels, and He will come back for those who have put their faith and trust in Him. There is a day that is approaching. And Scripture says, be together even more as that day approaches. In other words, with every day that passes, we are getting closer and closer to that day.

We don’t know when it is, by the way. If someone says they do know, they’re lying. They don’t know, because Jesus said nobody knows — not even the Son knows; only the Father knows when that day will be. But the day is coming, and Scripture says it will be as though a thief in the night. Watch, therefore; be ready. Right? So there is this call that the Lord is bringing to us.

Let’s stand together. We’re going to close. I want to pray a blessing over you guys, and I want to encourage us right now. Let this be our prayer: that we would be people who draw near, that we would be people who do not waver, that we would be people who consider one another. Can we just lift our hands to the Lord?

Lord Jesus, we thank You for Your precious Word. We thank You, Lord, that You have revealed through Scripture Your heart for us. Lord, that not only have You made a way, not only do we understand that Your presence is real and it’s available, but Lord, You are inviting us in. And so Lord Jesus, I pray that You would do a work in our hearts, Lord, to be people who don’t settle for normal, who don’t settle for what everybody else has. But Lord, that we would be people who come to Your Word and who believe You at Your Word, who are raised up in faith to experience the full promise of what You have made available to us through Jesus — the one whose blood was shed, whose body was ripped open so that we could have full access to the very presence of God.

Lord, let us be people who regularly come into Your presence, who regularly draw near. Lord, I pray that as we come near, as we come and spend time in the Word and in prayer this week — maybe it’s in our bedrooms alone — would You speak so clearly. Would You speak so clearly, Lord Jesus. Would You do a work in our hearts, Lord. Would You cleanse us again. Would You wash us with Your precious blood, Lord, that You would wash us from the dirt and the filth that we pick up, that comes with this world. But Lord Jesus, You are the one who washes us, who cleanses us, and who gives us full access. And so Lord, we will be obedient. We will draw near, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Transcribed from the message recording and lightly edited for reading.