Hebrews: The Better Covenant – Part 4 – Lawson Perdue

Hebrews: The Better Covenant Part 4

In Hebrews: The Better Covenant Part 4, Pastor Lawson teaches from the book of Hebrews in Chapters 7 and 8. In this lesson, reveal how Jesus is the king of righteousness. When you believe on Jesus you enter into the righteousness of Jesus Christ rather than your own works!

Hebrews Part 4 Transcript

Praise God friends. I love the word of God. And one of my favorite books is the book of Hebrews. Today we’re teaching from chapter seven and chapter eight, we’re talking about, we have a better covenant established on better promises. And today what makes it better is we have Jesus who’s the guarantee of the new covenant, open your heart and receive the good word of God today, blessings. So today we’re gonna be in chapter seven and chapter eight, open your Bible there in Hebrews 7-8 Let’s look at this in Hebrews 7:1, it’s talking about Jesus is our king of righteousness. It says in chapter 7:1, “this Melchizedek or Melchisedec. Melchizedek is in the old Testament called my king of righteousness. He was the king of Jerusalem or Salem, the city of peace priest of the most high God who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the Kings and blessed him” Now, when you study about that in Genesis 14 these foreign Kings had come and they were robbing cities, they were taking the people, they were taking the good. So they came to Sodom where Abraham’s nephew Lot was. They took Lot and his family took basically all the people outta Sodom and stole the goods but they were robbing a number of cities. So when Abraham heard about it, he took 300 trained men and armed them. And it basically a small army. And he went after them and went and he got back a Lot. He got back his family, he brought back all the people of Sodom and all the goods, but not only that, he got more. See, because if the thief be found, he’s gotta repay seven times and they’ve been robbing all these cities. So he not only got the property of Sodom. He got the property of a number of cities. And when he came back in Genesis 14, Melchizedek, the king of Jerusalem, met him on the way and he blessed Abraham. And after Melchizedek blessed Abraham, Abraham tithed, Abraham gave him a 10th of all. So this was 400 years before the law came into existence. And it’s really important that you understand the order, that before, before Abraham tithed to him, he received the blessing. You see, when you’re born again, you’re blessed. Amen, and as a result of being blessed, Abraham gave a 10th of all. Now, we’re gonna read about this. He says “he blessed him to whom Abraham gave a 10th part of all first being by interpretation, king of righteousness and after that king of Jerusalem or Salem, which is the king of peace, he was without father talking about Melchizedek without mother, without descent having neither beginning of days, nor end of life, but made like the son of God. He’s a type of Christ. And he abides a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a 10th of the spoils”. So he was a great man if Abraham gave a 10th to him and verily they, that are the sons of Levi. Now he’s talking about the Levitical priesthood that came as a result of the mosaic law who received the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take ties of the people according to the law that is of their brethren though, they come out of the loins of Abraham”. So when the Levitical priesthood came and Moses law was given 430 years after Abraham, then the Levitical priesthood under Moses law would take ties from the children of Israel. Notice what it says in verse six, “but he, whose dissent is not counted from them. Speaking of Melchizedek received tithes of Abraham and blessed him that had the promises. So he blessed Abraham Abraham received tithes and without contradiction, the less is blessed of the better”. So Abraham’s gift satisfied the debt of many generations. This is the only time the Bible says that somebody paid tithes, Levi paid ties in Abraham, but he’s not talking about what Levi did. He’s talking about Abraham’s gift and Abraham’s gift satisfied the debt of many generations, but Jesus’ gift satisfied the debt of every generation. So when I give, I do not give as a debt that I owe, I give as a seed that I sow, because if I give as a debt that I owe, there is limited blessing on that. But if I give as a seed that I sow there’s a future to it.

[Man] C’mon that’s a word, come on.

Praise God, and what I do is I move into seed time and harvest. And the Bible talks a lot about that. It talks about the grace of giving in 2 Corinthians 8 and the only place that talks about grace, as much as Romans 5 is 2 Corinthians 8-9 where Paul’s talking about the grace of giving, which talking about the grace whereby we receive righteousness they’re equal. And so what happens when you get involved in the grace of giving, I believe that you, by faith sow seed, and that seed goes into your future and produces a harvest for you.

[Man] Amen.

Praise God, and all he he’s saying all this to say, simply this, as we move forward, that we are moving into a better covenant. And since we are in moving into a better covenant, the better covenant requires a better priest. And Jesus is the great high priest of the new covenant, a priesthood of believers. And he is better than Levi. Now let’s go read about this. He says in verse 11, “if therefore completion or perfection were by the Levitical priesthood in verse 11 for under it, Hebrew 7:11, the people received the law. What further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec notice this in verse 11, verse 15, verse 17 in verse 21. He says, essentially that same thing and not be called after the order of Aaron for the priesthood being changed there is made a necessity, also a change of a law for he, of whom these things are spoken pertains to another tribe of which no man gave attendance at the altar for it as evident that our Lord came out of Judah, which is the tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning the priesthood. And it’s far more evident that after the likeness of Melchisedec, there arises another priest who is made not after the law of a Carnal commandment, not after the law of a physical commandment, but after the power of an endless life for he testified, you are a priest forever speaking of Jesus, after the order of Melchisedec for there verily is a disannulling of the commandment going on for the weakness and unprofitable thereof”. In other words, he says the old Testament, the law was weak and it was unprofitable and it was weak. And it was unprofitable because weak couldn’t keep it. He says in verse 19 “for the law made nothing perfect. He made nothing complete, made nothing whole, but the bringing in of a better hope did by which we draw near to God. In other words, if you get legalistic and you start going by the law, when people sin, what it does is drives them from God”. A knowledge of sin by the law, Romans 3 says is the knowledge of sin. And if you preach the law and just preach a knowledge of sin, what it will do is exactly what it did in the old Testament. It will drive people from God. The law was not made for a righteous man. 1 Timothy says, “but for ungodly, for unholy, for murders of mothers, murders of fathers, kidnappers, so on and so forth. Fornicators so if you’re living like the devil”, the law was made for you to show you that you’re in sin so you would come to Christ, but the law cannot save you. The law can only show you your sin and just like sin will kill you legalism will kill you. And so he goes on and he talks about this. So he says “the law, the old Testament law made nothing perfect, made nothing whole, but the bringing in of a better hope did by which we draw near to God in as much as not without an oath, he was made priest for those priests in verse 21 were made without oath, but this with an oath by him that said unto him, the Lord swear, and he will not repent. You are a priest forever. He’s speaking of Jesus after the order of Melchisedec”. Jesus is my king of righteousness, but so much more Jesus was made the surety of a better Testament. So not only do I have a better hope because it doesn’t drive me from God but I have a better covenant. And Jesus is the guarantee. The promises of the new covenant are guaranteed to us because of Christ’s work because of Christ’s performance. Because of what he did, praise God, he took our sin and he gave us his righteousness. I love what Alicia said, that he gave us his record. He took our record. He paid for our record. He paid for our sin. Do you know in legal terms, the record has been expunged. You cannot even find any remembrance of it, your sins and your iniquities will I remember no more. There is no more remembrance of it because Jesus paid for it at the cross. And when you begin to understand it, it’s gonna change the way that you live your life. Now we’ve got far too many believers today, living like old Testament people. And that’s what the writer of Hebrews was addressing. We can’t go back to the law and we cannot improve on the work that Jesus did. The law made nothing perfect. The law completed nothing. The law finished nothing. So Jesus came and did what Moses and the law could never do. And so he says, we have a better hope and we have a better covenant. And Jesus is the guarantee of this new covenant. Now he says this in verse 23, “they truly were many priests because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death”. The Levitical priests did when they died, they just put another one in. And they just kept dying off, get one, get another one. But this man, Jesus, because he continues forever has an unchangeable priesthood because of this in verse 25, “he is able to save them to the uttermost”. He is able to save them completely that come to God, by him seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them. How many of you glad that Jesus is praying for you? You remember what Jesus told Peter. He said, Peter, ‘Satan has desire to sift you as weak, but I have prayed for you that your faith will not fail”. And when you are converted, you will strengthen the brethren. After that Peter went, he cussed, he swore he denied Jesus three times. And then after Jesus was raised from the dead, the angel, there was at the tomb, said to Mary and people that go tell my disciples and Peter.

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It’s not me, but it’s Jesus he’s living his life in me. It’s not my strength, it’s not my power, it’s not my ability, it’s not a self opera, it’s Jesus.

[Announcer] What’s the difference between the old and new covenants? Jesus, in this series Hebrews, the better covenant you will learn about the grace of God that we receive by faith. Jesus did the work and secured the promises for us. So we can live in a better covenant with him. You can get the book for $15, the CD or USB for $39 or the book and your choice of CD or USB for $49 with free shipping call 719-418- 4000 or visit lawsonpurdue.com.

Go tell Peter. And when Peter heard, he ran to the tomb, praise got to see the good news that Jesus was raised from the death. And Peter became the first benedict preached on the day of Pentecost when the church was born, because he was changed by the grace of God, he was changed by the… it wasn’t because he was the most qualified. He might have been the most unqualified, but it was the blood of Jesus Christ and the spirit of the living God that qualified Peter to move into that and do that which God called him to do. And so he goes on and he says, he’s the guarantee. How many of you glad that Jesus is the guarantee? The promises of this new covenant are guaranteed to you because of Christ work. I mean the promises of healing, the promises of peace, the promises of forgiveness, the promise of freedom, the promise hallelujah of righteousness it’s guaranteed to you because of Christ work. It’s not your work. It’s the work that he did. So what happens when you begin to believe this, you run to Jesus “for such a high priest became his verse 26, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners and made higher than the heavens. Isn’t Jesus awesome. Who needs not daily as those priests to offer up sacrifice first for his own sin then for the peoples, this he did once when he offered up himself for the law makes men high priests who have weakness, but the word of the oath, the word of the covenant, which was since the law makes the son who is consecrated forever”. So we have a better hope. We have a better covenant and we have a better priest and Jesus is better because he’s holy, he’s harmless, he’s undefiled. He’s never been defiled. He’s separate from sins. He’s never sin. And he is made higher than the heavens. You see, the Bible says “that because Jesus humbled himself and became obedient to death. Even the death of the cross, that God has highly exalted him and given him a name that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow and every tongue should confess of things in heaven, of things in the earth and of things under there earth that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the father”, amen. So this is Jesus. Praise God, we have a better hope, we have a better covenant and we have a better priest. Now let’s move on into chapter eight. “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum. This is what we were getting to all the time. We have such a high priest who is set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heavens”. What does it mean that Jesus is seated on the right hand of the father? That means the work is finished. That means the work is done. How many of you heard the war is over? What will Jesus see Jesus already conquered the devil. Jesus already won the battle. There’s only one war going on right now. That’s right between your ears, your brain. He says, “he’s a minister of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle, which the Lord preach and not man for every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices. We’re for its of a necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer for. If he were here on earth, he would not be a priest. Seeing that there are priests that offer gifts. According to the law who serve as an example, the old Testament was an example and shadow of heavenly things. As Moses was admonished of God, when he was about to make the tabernacle for, see, he says that you make all things, according to the pattern showed you in the mount. But now he, speaking of Jesus has obtained a more excellent ministry by how much he is the mediator of a better covenant, which established on better promises”. So he says, we have a better hope. We have a better covenant, amen. We have better promises. So we’ve got a Bible full of promises and he says, we have a better covenant, which was established on better promises. What made it better was Jesus. Now let’s move forward in verse seven “for if that first covenant which had been faultless, if it had been faultless, then there would be no place sought for the second, but finding fault with them. He said, behold, the days comes, says the Lord that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant. And I regarded them not, this was the problem with the old covenant mankind could not keep it. All right, so God said, if you do this, I’ll do this. The problem was we couldn’t because of our sin nature. So God came and fulfilled the righteous requirement of the law in Jesus, Jesus fulfilled the promise and then made it available to us on the basis of his grace on the basis of what he did. He said “for this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days said the Lord, I will put my laws into their mind and write them in their heart and I will be to them the God. And they will be to my me a people”. This is the goal. I wanna put my laws in your heart and in your mind, I want to be your God. And I want you to be my people, listen to verse 11 “and they will not teach every man, his neighbor and every man his brother saying, no, the Lord for they will all know me from the least to the greatest”. This is the goal of the gospel. This is the goal of the new covenant that you would know God. Great people of faith are people that know God Jesus said in John 17:3, “this is eternal life that they know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent” because it’s not me, but it’s Jesus he’s living his life in me. It’s not my strength, it’s not my power, it’s not my ability, it’s not a self opera it’s Jesus. If Christ being you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is alive because of righteous. So it’s no longer me that’s living it’s Jesus. And if we don’t get people to Jesus, if we don’t get them to the gospel to understanding who they are, that you are the righteousness of God in Christ, they’re going stay stuck just like Paul was stuck in Roman 7, saying, I want to do what’s right but I can’t. And I don’t wanna do what’s wrong, but I do it anyway ’cause legalism is I grew up in a church like that. But if you ever get a picture of who he is in you and who you are in him, how much he loves you. And how amazing his plan is for you guess what? Paul says this in Ephesians 5:8 “you were in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk is children of the light”. Understand who you are, understand who God made you to be, understand what Christ has done for you. And the goal of the gospel is to know him because he did for you what you could never do. Now can I give you one more on knowing him? Look at 1 John 3:6 “whoever abides in him doesn’t sin” What happened, you were in darkness. Let’s say this is darkness over here. We’re gonna say that’s light. You were in darkness. The old church said don’t do darkness. Don’t do darkness. Don’t do, don’t do darkness. Don’t do darkness. Don’t do darkness. Don’t do, don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t and it was all about the law. But now he says you are light in the Lord. What happened when I found out I turned away from the darkness and I walk into the light and what happens? The darkness doesn’t have power over me anymore. I understand who I’m the righteousness of God in Christ. I’m sanctified by the blood of Jesus. I’m justified amen. And I’m walking out of the dark, you were darker. See this whole teaching, this law teaching treats me like I’m some kind of wild dog that has no control over my passions and appetites, but I am not some kind of wild dog that has no passion control over my passion and appetite. I am a child of God. I am born of God. I am the righteousness of God. I’m sanctified by the blood of Jesus. And it changed my desire changes. So I walk out of the darkness into the light and it’s not this my good friend, Andrew Womack wrote a book called “Effortless Chain”. “If you abide it in me and my words abide in you you’ll ask what you will and it shall be done in you here and is my father glorified that you bear much fruit”. You just abide in the vine and let the life of the vine abide in you. And you walk outta the darkness, walk into the light, amen. And as long as I’m trying to do it in my strength and long I’m focused, it’s not me. I cannot do this in myself. You cannot live the christian life without the Christ life. So he says here. When we’re in Hebrews, go back to Hebrews, “whoever abides in him. 1 John 3:6 sins not “whoever sins who’s ever in the practice of it. They just haven’t seen him neither they known him”. What’s the goal of the gospel?

[Woman] Know God.

Know him because when you see who he is, when you know him, when you get to know he’s living in you, all of a sudden, we didn’t come in this room and curse the darkness today. We turned on the light. What happens when you turn on the light? The light is greater than the darkness and the darkness leaves. Now let’s go back to Hebrews 8. See what he says. He says, this is the goal I want. They’ll all know me from the least to the greatest “for I’ll be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and inequities will I remember no more”. That’s the gospel.

[Man] Amen.

This is the new Testament. This is the new covenant, your sins and inequity. The old Testament, if you do this, then I’ll do this, but we couldn’t do it. Now look at compare verse 12 with verse nine, “they continue not in my covenant. And I regarded them not that’s man in his own strength, in his own power apart from Christ that’s men trying to do that’s men. Now I wanna do what’s right, but I don’t. And I don’t wanna do what’s wrong, but I do it. That’s Romans 7. But when I move over to verse 12, I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. I moved into Romans 8 in that he said the new covenant he has made the first old. Now that which decays, he calls it decaying and waxes away is ready to vanish”. And in other words, the law had power over a man, as long as he lives. But when you take that man and he is crucified with Christ for I have been crucified with Christ nevertheless, I live yet not but Christ lives in me and the life, which I now live I in the flesh, I live by the faith of the son of God. It’s no longer me doing, but it’s, Jesus’s taking up residents in me. So we have a better covenant established on better promises. And we have a better hope because our hope is not based on our performance. Our hope is based on Jesus and Jesus did for me what I could never do.

[Announcer] You can get the book for $15, the CD or USB for $39 or the book and your choice of CD or USB for $49 with free shipping call 719-418-4000 or visit lawsonpurdue.com.

Friends I want to invite you to family camp meeting at Charis Christian Center in Colorado Springs. We are gonna have a great time in the holy ghost. We’re gonna have a great time in the Lord. We have special children’s meetings, special youth meetings, special holy ghost meetings for the adults. We have pastor Mark and Trina Hankins, Ashley Terradez, myself, pastor Max Cornell, pastor Aaron Purdue. You can register at familycampmeeting.com. We would love to see you here in Colorado Springs. Thanks so much friends for stay in tune with us today. We’ve been sharing about Jesus. We have a better covenant established on better promises and Jesus made it better. And we can receive those promises because of what Jesus has already done for us. If you’d like to get this great teaching, I believe it’s one of my greatest teachings that I’ve ever done seven messages on the book of Hebrews, and you can get them in audio, you can get them in video, on USB, or you can also get my book. Just give us a call today. We would love to get this into your hands, to help you receive what God has for you, blessings.

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