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Luke 13:1-5 (KJV) There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? 3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Luke 13:6-9 (KJV) He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. 7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? 8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: 9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

Luke 13:18-22 (KJV) Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it? 19 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it. 20 And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? 21 It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. 22 And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.

Luke 13:31-35 (KJV) The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee. 32 And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. 33 Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. 34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! 35 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

We have just had our 2016 Presidential Election, and there were winners and losers. Some are upset that their candidate did not get into office. But I want to assure each and every Child of God that Our Father is still in control. It doesn’t matter who is in control in the White House, the Congress, or the Supreme Court. God is still in control. His Government – the Kingdom of God – will in the end prevail.

We have political unrest today, but the people had political unrest when our Lord Jesus walked the earth. If you were to put a heading to summarize what is taught in Luke chapter 13, the heading would read “Jesus Explains Government”. That’s what chapter 13 is all about. It’s about government, the dissatisfaction of the people with their government, and the fact that God is above all governing powers. Israel was an occupied nation. They had fallen to Rome.

Israel’s“King” Herod was not of the line of David, but was an Idumean (born in Edom) of the lineage not of Jacob but of Esau. Esau, as you remember, sold his heritage for a pot of lintel stew (Genesis 25:30). No child of Edom should have sat on David’s Throne, but Israel was conquered and Herod was made King by Rome. Though a “cousin” to Israelites, Herod was not an Israelite. The Roman Emperor Tiberius assigned Pontius Pilate to be Governor of Israel.

God’s people were upset. They wanted Jesus to come and overthrow Rome and restore the line of David.

But God is in control.

1 It Is God Who Establishes Governments. Some disciples told Jesus about something terrible that happened. They said:

Luke 13:1 (KJV) There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

If there were a newspaper this event would have made headlines. I can see it now. You’re having coffee one morning and open your copy of the Jerusalem Independent or the Holy Cow Times and read the front page headlines,

Followers of Judas Gaulonites
Murdered At Church By Rome!

The truth is that the followers of Judas Gaulonites believed that there was no government but their god’s government. They refused to submit to Roman authority, refused to pay taxes, and were constantly seeking means by which they could overthrow the current Law of the land. They were not law abiding citizens but insurrectionists, anarchists, zealots who would do whatever they could to destroy the hated government. On one holy day when Israel was making sacrifices agents of Pilate followed these revolutionaries into the Temple and executed them by the sword as enemies of the state. Their blood flowed in the same area where animals were sacrificed in the Temple.

People came running to Jesus. “Jesus, did you hear what Pilate did? He murdered these GALILEANS while making sacrifices in the Temple. Jesus, aren’t YOU a GALILEAN? Didn’t you grow up in Nazareth? Pilate murdered your people in your Temple! What are we going to do about it?” Oh, I can see their faces now! Here is Jesus, a Person Who has healed the sick, caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear. Here is a Man from God. Surely He will join us in our cause and help overthrow the Government.

Then Jesus shocked them. He didn’t come back with a “let’s get them!” or a “God is on your side” speech. Jesus said:

Luke 13:2-5 (ESV) Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? 3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

God does not call His people to be anarchists, to arrange themselves in armed uprising against the government. Jesus calls us to repentance. The word repent means to stop trying to do things your way and to come to Christ, doing things and living life HIS Way. God is in control of all things. God either DECREES or ALLOWS all things according to His Eternal Purpose.

God establishes governments. The Bible is clear on this. The Apostle Paul, imprisoned for his faith and headed to almost certain death to Rome, wrote:

Romans 13:1-6 (ESV) Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

God establishes governments. The Bible says

Proverbs 21:1 (ESV) The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever he will.

God sets up kings and deposes kings. It is God Who is in control! If you are a Christ Follower you hold duel citizenship. You are a Citizen of the Kingdom of God, but you are also a Citizen of the nation where you reside. You are to speak with boldness the Gospel of Christ, the Glorious Hope of salvation. But you are never to refuse to pay taxes or to support your government in all ways that do not stand against the Kingdom of God.

God is in control. Honor God, and, insofar as your government does not demean God’s Kingdom, honor your government.

When Jesus was about to go to the Cross the Governor Pilate wondered why Jesus wasn’t more deferential to him. Pilate had many times had people before him fell to their knees, begging for their lives. Pilate asked Jesus in John 19:10 (and I paraphrase here),

Why don’t you grovel before me, Jesus?
Don’t You know I have the power to let You go?

Jesus told Pilate

You have NO AUTHORITY over Me at all,
UNLESS it had been GIVEN to YOU from ABOVE!

God is in control. It is God’s Will that Christ go to Cross for us, to die for our sins, to rise again for our salvation. Pilate wasn’t calling the shots here – the Father was. Pilate wasn’t in control – Jesus was! He could have but spoke a word and the Father would have sent twelve thousand angels (John 12:49).

Jesus wasn’t made to go to that Cross. He laid down His life.
The Father gave His Son. He laid down His life.

Unless you repent, you will ALL likewise PERISH! God is control of the powers that be. God is in control of every event. This is why Jesus mentions the Tower of Siloam. Little is known about this, but the Pool of Siloam was where people who were sick came to be healed. Jesus met a blind man at the Pool of Siloam. The Bible tells us that

John 9:6-7 (ESV) {Jesus} spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

Siloam was believed to be a sacred place, and a tower on the wall round about the city overlooked Siloam. One day that tower fell, and 18 sick people were killed under it’s rubble. Why? Why did this happen?

I have no idea.
I have no idea why sick people seeking relief would be killed by a falling Tower.
I have no idea, but I do know this.
God is in control.
And unless you repent, you will all likewise perish!

2 It Is God Who Claims Our First Allegiance. Jesus said to the Jews who came to Him “Unless you REPENT you shall ALL likewise perish”. God sustains a government for the protection of His people. Rather than tell these followers how bad Rome was Jesus spoke a parable of the Fig Tree. The Fig Tree, by the way, is a reference to Israel. His listeners – Jews – would have been familiar with the witness of the Prophet Jeremiah who in Jeremiah 24 referred to Israel as a Fig Tree. Jesus told these people who wanted Him to lead an armed revolt against Rome:

Luke 13:6-9 (KJV) He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. 7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? 8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: 9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

The Fig Tree is a reference to Israel. Israel was in Roman bondage because, though she was to be populated with those who love the Lord, they ceased loving the Lord. Not everyone. There were many who looked for the coming Messiah.

Simeon looked for the “Consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25)
Anna the Prophetess looked for the “Redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38)
Nicodemus sought Jesus by night (John 3)
Eleven common men followed the Lord, fishermen and tax collectors

There were many who followed Christ when He walked the earth, and many who heard His Gospel. But there were many more who were only outwardly religious, showy but ignorant of God. For three years Jesus looked for fruit from the Fig Tree. He came first for the Children of Abraham, the Israelites. But everywhere He looked He saw fruitlessness.

The Owner of the Fig Tree – God Almighty – saw no fruit from Israel. His people were fruitless.

Cut it down! Why cumbereth it the ground?

Beloved, God’s Church is America has become in many places much like ancient Israel. It is Church in Name Only, just as Israel was God’s People in Name Only.

The Way of Christ is to bear fruit.
The Fig Tree – The People of God – Are To Bear Fruit.

I am not talking of earning your salvation. Salvation is not a thing earned, but it is a gift bestowed. But if you are a Child of God then God indwells you. And, like the Fig Tree, you are His, and He expects you to be fruitful. The Christian way of life is not meant to be easy. Salvation is free, but it is neither cheap nor easy. It is hard to be light in the midst of darkness. But have you ever considered,

You cannot see the stars nor the moon while the day is lit by the sun.
You can only see those points of light in the deepest and darkest of nights.

Jesus said in His parable that the owner of the fig tree said “Cut it down”. But the Gardener told the Owner:

Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:
And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down

The nation Israel rejected Christ and was fruitless. But God gave Israel a little more time. Many Israelites came to Christ, but many more resisted and fought against the Gospel. At one point after Christ’s resurrection and ascension into Heaven the High Priest and the Rulers of Israel told the Disciples:

Acts 5:28-32 (ESV)…. “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” 29But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

The Christian way of life is to be the Light of Christ, to shine for Him and to tell others of Him. The Christian Way of life is to love. Not to be terrorists. Not to kill and to steal. Our way is the way of Love, the way that Christ has taught us.

Israel rejected Christ, so God allowed Rome to destroy Israel in 70 AD. The Temple was destroyed, the people scattered. Why? Because the Fig Tree was fruitless. Jesus is not done with Israel. He will one day redeem His Israel, praise His Holy Name.

3 We Are To Keep Our Eyes Of Faith On God’s Kingdom. We are to repent and follow the Lord. His Kingdom cannot be defeated. Jesus said:

Luke 13:18-21 (KJV) Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it? 19 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it. 20 And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? 21 It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

The Kingdom is a tiny mustard seed. Jesus said a man cast it into his garden. There was no working of the ground. The Gospel message is just shared. A tiny word. A loving act in Christ’s name. That seed will grow. God makes the seed grow. Not us, but God. As it seed grows, it makes a great tree.

And a bunch of strange birds rest in that Gospel!

You don’t think you’re strange? You are. Who does God call to His Kingdom?

1 Corinthians 1:26-30 (ESV)  For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

You are a strange and peculiar people. But you are, if you have received Christ and Lord and Savior, a loved people, a cherished people, the Light of the World, a loving people, a kingdom of God’s Children. Look unto Him.

Do not be afraid of governments. Fear God, love one another, be good citizens, but stand in the Gospel.

The Bible tells us that several Pharisees came to Jesus saying:

Luke 13:31 (KJV) The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee.

and Jesus shivered in His sandals! No, not at all. How did Jesus reply?

Luke 13:32-33 (KJV) … Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. 33 Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.

Jesus knew that He would not be hindered by any government until His mission was fulfilled. Let me tell you, brothers and sisters, as long as we follow our Lord and seek to honor Him we will be all right.

God is in control.

God’s Church is the independent conscience of the Nation. We are to continue to speak His truth in love, trusting that the mustard seed we sow will bear fruit. Stephen Witmer wrote:

“Herod, the ruler over Galilee, had already locked John the Baptist in prison and lopped off his head (Matthew 14:3–12). Now he has heard about Jesus and apparently has a desire to kill him, possibly because he believed it was John back from the dead. Herod is powerful and paranoid (Matthew 14:1–2), as well as selfish and erratic in his behavior. This is no idle threat. And yet, this passage records no hint of fear on Jesus’s part. Jesus’s strongest emotions don’t even involve Herod, whom he seems to dismiss and quickly forget. Herod is actively seeking his life, but Jesus isn’t fazed.”

Why? Because God is in control.
So set your eyes on Jesus.
Continue to speak the truth in love.
Be uncompromising about sin.
Be focused and comforted by the Sovereignty of God.

Rest in Him. Rest in His Promise that all things work together for good to those who love the Lord, to them who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28-32).

May God touch your hearts with His Word.

Hebrews 9:1-15 (KJV)  Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. [2]  For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary. [3]  And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; [4]  Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; [5]  And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. [6]  Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. [7]  But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: [8]  The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: [9]  Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; [10] Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. [11]  But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; [12]  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. [13]  For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: [14]  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? [15]  And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

When the Book of Hebrews was written the Temple – called Herod’s Temple – still stood in Jerusalem. Pastor John MacArthur said that he believes this Book was written sometime between AD 60 and AD 69, perhaps about AD 65. If it was written in AD 65 these Hebrews had no idea that the Temple would be destroyed just five short years later in AD 70.

But God knew the Temple would be destroyed. The Temple HAD to be destroyed.

1 God Does Not Want To Live In Our Man Made Structures. Idols Live In Man Made Structures. God Is Everywhere And Eternal! The Hebrews – like many who do not understand God and His immensity – looked to the Temple, to the Levitical Priests, to the sacrifices and sacraments to see God. They believed that the rituals gave them a relationship – an unbreakable relationship – with God. Many of the Hebrews when told of Christ pointed to the Temple and said:

Why do we need Jesus? We have the Temple!

Hebrews 9:1 (KJV)  Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.

The mark of the First Covenant that God made with Israel was a MAN MADE Tabernacle or a Temple. Certainly God told Israel how to build the Tabernacle. Certainly God told Israel how to furnish the structure. These were “ordinances of divine service”.

But it was a WORLDLY sanctuary.
Anything that is “worldly” is temporary.

While Israel was moving and not yet in the Promised Land God decreed that they use a Tent called the Tabernacle. But once they were settle in Jerusalem God allowed Solomon to build a Temple, a more permanent structure. But notice what we see in verse 2:

Hebrews 9:2 For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary.

Look at the word “tabernacle”. This is the Greek σκηνή skēnē (pronounced skay-nay’) a tent or a temporary shelter. Whether TENT or BUILDING the Temple was ALWAYS TEMPORARY. It was a SKAY-NAY!

A Little History Lesson Here:

When Israel got to the Holy Land David asked God if he could build Him a more permanent shelter. King David told the Prophet Nathan:

2 Samuel 7:2 (ESV) …. See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.

The Ark – a box that represented the Presence and blessing of God – was in a tent. David wanted to build a more permanent structure for God. David wanted to do this because David loved God.

a David Loved God, So He Wanted To Build God A Place To Stay, A Home. In his love he said “God, I want to be as good to You as You have been to me. God understood what David was saying, and blessed King David because of it.

May I say, dear Ones, that …

The Way to Blessing is to love God!

The Way to Blessing is to love God!

God told King David …

2 Samuel 7:4-11 (ESV) … ‘Thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. 7 In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’ 8 Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. 9 And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. … 11 … Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.

The Lord told David “I have not asked you for a house – but I will build you, David, a house!” God loved David. God didn’t need a house, no more than He needed David or needs us. But God loves those who love Him.

Deuteronomy 7:9-10 (ESV) Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, 10 and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face.

You can’t OUT LOVE God, you can’t OUT LIVE God, and you can’t OUT GIVE God.

He told David “the Lord will make you a house” (or in the King James “He will make thee an house”. David wanted God to have a PERMANENT PRESENCE in Jerusalem. Because he desired this in his heart, God told David I WILL MAKE YOU A PERMANENT PRESENCE in history.

2 Samuel 7 was where God made an everlasting covenant with David. It is because of this covenant – the Davidic Covenant – that Christ had to descend from the family of David.

God told David “you shall not build a house for Me because you are my man of war”. But God told David:

1 Chronicles 28:6 (KJV) …. Solomon thy son, he shall build my HOUSE and my COURTS: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.

God uses the word בַּיִת bayith (pronounced bah’-yith) for the word “house”. That word means “a dwelling place”. What God was saying was akin to “I’ll let Solomon build Me a Baymont Inn, a Hilton, a Ritz Plaza”. You can build Me a place to visit.

But you can’t build God a permanent dwelling place. Why? It’s impossible! God says …

Isaiah 66:1 (ESV) … “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?

b Inside This “Baymont Inn” That Solomon Would Build (It Is A SKEINE or Tent) There Were Several Representative Things, Shadows That Pointed To A Greater Truth.

Hebrews 9:2 For there was a TABERNACLE made; the first, wherein was the CANDLESTICK, and the TABLE, AND THE SHEWBREAD; which is called the sanctuary.

There Was A Candlestick or Lampstand That Represented Christ

Or the Lampstand (λυχνία lychnia) a shadow of the Coming Messiah.

The Lampstand was made of pure gold, there were no impurities in it.

When the Messiah came He there would be no impurities in Him.

The lamp was to be tended by the High Priest and his successors so that its light never went out,

Exodus 27:20 (KJV) … to cause the lamp to burn always.

This Light would shine day and night so that the priest could see his way unto God in the Holy of Holies. This Lampstand symbolized the Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said:

John 8:12 (KJV)  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

John 9:5 (KJV) As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

Jesus Christ is the “true light that gives light to everyone” (John 1:9), the “Only Way a person can come unto the Father” (John 14:6). The Golden Lampstand was a shadow of the Coming Christ. The Tabernacle is temporary, beautiful as it was. The Lampstand is temporary, costly as it was.

There Was A Table Of Showbread That Represented Christ

The Table of Showbread contained twelve loaves, each representing God’s sustenance to His people. God loves you. God loves you! God will provide for you. He is in covenant with His people. But again, the Table of Showbread was only a shadow, something temporary that promised a greater tomorrow. The Table of Showbread looked forward to – once more – the Coming of Christ. Jesus said:

John 6:32-35 (ESV) “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

Jesus is THE Bread of Life. When we gather for the Lord’s Table the broken Bread represents His Body, broken for us. The Cup is the communion of the Blood of Christ (1 Corinthians 10:16-17). He is what the Table of Showbread foreshadowed.

There Was A Holy Of Holies That Represented Heaven

Hebrews 9:3-7 (KJV)  And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; [4]  Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; [5]  And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. [6]  Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. [7]  But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:

The Priests only went into the first veil of the Temple.|
But inside the Second Veil was what was called the Holy of Holies.
This place was entered into only by the High Priest, and only once a year.

The Holy of Holies and it’s contents represented God in His Heaven. It was symbolic only because the High Priest went into this place every year to cover the sins of the people.

Solomon, I am told, began building the Temple in 966 BC, some 480 years after Israel came out of Egypt under Moses (see 1 Kings 6:1). The original Holy of Holies contained the Ark of the Covenant which represented God’s Throne and His Presence. That Temple was destroyed by the invasion of the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC. For 70 years there were no sacrifices because there was no Temple.

When the Temple was rebuilt (see the Book of Ezra) the Ark Of The Covenant was missing, and has never been discovered. In P.E. Hughes Commentary on Hebrews we read:

“With the destruction of Solomon’s temple in 587 B.C. the Ark disappeared from the scene, and in the second or post- exilic temple, which remained standing until the sack of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, the HOLY OF HOLIES WAS COMPLETELY EMPTY, the former position of the ark being demarcated by a slab of stone known as ‘the stone of foundation.'”

Both the Temple and the Holy of Holies were temporary, representative of Someone Greater to come. That Someone Greater is Jesus Christ.

2 The Only Way To Enter Heaven – To Be With God Forever – Is Through Christ Jesus! The High Priest of Israel entered the Holy of Holies with the Blood of the Sacrifice – but the High Priest only entered a shadow Heaven. The High Priest entering the Holy of Holies represented Christ entering Heaven on our behalf. Read carefully this next section of Hebrews with me …

Hebrews 9:8-10 (KJV)  The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the WAY INTO THE HOLIEST OF ALL WAS NOT YET MADE MANIFEST, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: [9]  Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; [10] Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

Notice that first sentence – “The Holy Spirit showed that the way into the holiest of all was not yet revealed while the first Tabernacle was standing”.

“The Holiest ofAll” is not here a reference to the Holy of Holies.
The “Holiest of All” is a reference to Heaven where God is enthroned.

The High Priest entered into the Holy of Holies with animal sacrifices, but he did not enter into the holiest of all, that place we call Heaven. The Holy of Holies was a picture or a foreshadow of Heaven, and only one person entered into that place.

Listen to me … this is VERY IMPORTANT!

The word “Heaven” is found in 313 verses in the Old Testament, but the Old Testament Saint did not go to “Heaven” where God is. Why? Because Christ had not yet come.

When the Old Testament Saints died they went to a place called “Abraham’s Bosom” or “Paradise”. It was a place of comfort, where those who looked for the Coming Jesus waited for the Promise of His Blessing. Jesus spoke of Abraham’s Bosom when He spoke of the Rich Man and Lazarus:

Luke 16:22-23 (KJV) And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; [23] And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

Jesus clarifies this when He tells us in …

John 3:11-13 (KJV) Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. [12] If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? [13] And NO MAN HATH ASCENDED UP TO HEAVEN, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

As Jesus speaks to Nicodemus, a Rabbi, He tells Nicodemus “no one has ascended unto Heaven BUT HE THAT CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN”. Jesus was speaking of Himself. The Old Testament Saints died looking for the Messiah, but as we are told …

Hebrews 11:13 (ESV) These all died in faith, not having received the things promised ….

You could enter the earthly and temporal Holy of Holies with animal blood once a year if you were the High Priest, but NO ONE entered the Eternal Holy of Holies which is Heaven. Why? Because the blood of animals cannot atone for sin.

Because the works of our hands cannot bring us to God’s Heaven.

But no one went into God’s Heaven under the Old Covenant nor under the Old Law. The Priest entered a shadow of Heaven, but no one entered Heaven itself.

Until Jesus.

I love the “Buts” of Scripture. Read it with me.

Hebrews 9:11-12 (KJV) BUT CHRIST being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; [12]  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

The Old Testament Saint looked forward to the Coming Messiah, for they knew that He would be the key to Heaven. They looked for that Heavenly city. They died and went to Paradise, Abraham’s Bosom. But none entered Heaven proper until Christ entered that Heavenly Holy of Holies by His own Blood, having obtained ETERNAL REDEMPTION for us. Oh the Old Testament Saint had glimpses into Heaven. Enoch walked with God and was not, for God took him (Genesis 5:24). Elijah was caught up by a chariot of fire (2 Kings 2:11). Isaiah glimpsed into Heaven and was horrified, for he was a man of unclean lips, in the midst of a people with unclean lips (Isaiah 6:5). There were glimpses, but none entered into that beautiful place. They died looking for the promise, and waited in Abraham’s Bosom. And they waited. They were comforted, but they waited. Then we are told in ..

Ephesians 4:8 (KJV)  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

Jesus entered into the Heavenly Throne-room of God bearing His Blood shed on Calvary for us. He carried the Old Testament Saints with Him when He ascended. He led captivity captive. As Shari Abbott wrote, “When Jesus offered Himself in payment for the penalty of man’s sins, His shed blood made the complete and final atonement for sins. And, when Jesus ascended into Heaven, He led the Old Testament saints from Abraham’s Bosom to their new dwelling place with Him (Ephesians 4:8) in the Heaven of heavens.”

3 The Blood Of Christ Gives Us Standing With God Both Now, And In Eternity. It is His Blood shed on Calvary that pays for our sins. It is His sacrifice that makes us right with God, not just in Heaven, but here on this earth. This is what the text concludes with, saying …

Hebrews 9:14-15 (KJV)  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? [15]  And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

The question I now ask you is quite simple. Are you relying on Jesus Christ for your salvation, or on something or someone else? The Pharisees relied on the Temple and their strict adherence to the Law, yet Jesus called them “children of the devil” (John 8:44-45). Religion without a relationship with God in Christ makes a child of the devil.

John 1:12-13 (KJV)  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: [13]  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Heaven waits for those who have received Christ and His works for salvation. Heaven is coming for those who are His Children, inheritors of Eternal Life. May God use this message to draw you to faith in Christ.

Psalms 86:1-17 (KJV) A Prayer of David. Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy. [2] Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee. [3] Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily. [4] Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. [5] For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee. [6] Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications. [7] In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me. [8] Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works. [9] All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name. [10] For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone. [11] Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. [12] I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. [13] For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell. [14] O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them. [15] But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. [16] O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid. [17] Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, LORD, hast holpen me, and comforted me.

Two wives sat in the laundry mat waiting for their clothes to wash. As they sat there they were each mending their husband’s pants.

One wife said, “My husband is so miserable. Nothing goes right at work, and he can’t find anything good on television. Our home is a place of despair. When we go to church, the song leader is terrible and the pastor is an idiot”.

The second wife said “My husband is always happy. He looks forward to Church services, and loves the Pastor and his sermons. Our household is joyful, and we enjoy one another and others.”

It got very quiet in the laundry room as the women continued sewing their husband’s pants. The first wife was patching the seat of the pants, whereas the second wife was patching the knees.

Prayer makes a difference. God’s presence – or absence – in your life makes a difference. Today we’re going to talk about the Prayer God hears.

The Book of Psalms is often called The Hebrew Hymnal. But if you read Psalms (and I suggest you do) it is jam packed with prayers. Of the 150 Psalms there are five Psalms that are marked by the Psalmist as PRAYERS. There is one Prayer “For The Afflicted” (Psalm 102), one Prayer of Moses (Psalm 90), and three Prayers of David (Psalm 17, 86, 142). In our text today we see why King David was “a man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22), and why God spent so much time with David.

1 The Prayer That God Hears Comes Not From The Perfect, But The Poor, The Broken, The Humble. David prayed:

Psalms 86:1-3 (KJV) Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy. [2] Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee. [3] Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.

When many pray, they pray expecting God to be in the room. It is as if they think that God is the Heavenly Servant and Man is the Earthly Almighty. They make demands of God, or else pray without seeking God’s face.

When you pray, you are speaking to God. You are speaking to God as His creation, His child, His servant. You are speaking to the King of Kings Who is under no obligation whatsoever to hear you. David prayed

Bow down Thine ear, O LORD, hear me

I am so low that you must bow down to hear me. I am unworthy. God, please hear me.

If God is not in the room your prayer has no effect.

As Spurgeon once said, “If you are not speaking to God, what are you doing? I should say that a prayer would do as much good repeated backwards as forwards, if it is not spoken to God.”

When you’re talking to an empty room you’re talking to YOURSELF!

Throughout every prayer of David he begged God to be in the room with him.

Psalms 4:1 (KJV) … Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.

Psalms 17:6 (KJV) I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.

Psalms 27:7-8 (KJV) Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me. [8] When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.

David did not take the Presence of God for granted.

God does not exist to meet my needs.

Many of us pray like the little boy did at the foot of his bed. His mother heard him say:

“Thank You for the baby brother, but I think you got confused God …
because what I prayed for was a puppy.”

That’s how children are, but not how Children of God should be.

God does not exist for our pleasure.

God is.

God is so much higher than I am, and God will hear my prayers.

But God is not my Waiter, my Doctor, my Banker.

He is God.

He is, as David often called Him, YAHWEH, the Eternal and Ever Present God.

When David came to God He cried out:

Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy

David came to God with empty hands, not with threatening demands.

Though David was King over Israel and had any material thing that he wanted at his disposal he still cried “I am poor and needy”. David realized that even with all his blessing, only God could give him what he needed.

Preserve my soul; for I am holy

 David was afflicted on every side by enemies. When you walk without God you will have enemies. When you walk with God, you will have more enemies. David walked wit God. He said “I am holy”. That word “holy” has often been misinterpreted. The word “holy” is the Hebrew חָסִיד châçîyd (pronounced khaw-seed’), which is translated into the King James as “Saint, Holy, Godly”. The self righteous interpret “holy” as “being without sin”. That’s not true. Holy doesn’t mean to be sinless. Holy means to be set apart as God’s own, the possession of God”. What David is praying is:

Preserve my soul, O Lord,
For I belong to YOU!

God is under no obligation to preserve the soul of someone who does not belong to Him,
no more than I am under obligation to feed and care for your child or grandchild.

I am under obligation to care for my own. David prays “preserve my soul, Lord … I am YOURS”. Now God knows that David is his child, but God wants US to know it. The Bible tells us that God is under NO OBLIGATION to answer the prayer of the wicked:

Isaiah 59:2 (ESV) but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

Proverbs 15:29 (ESV) The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

Micah 3:4; Jeremiah 14:10-12; and Job 35:12 tell us that God isn’t interested in listening to the prayers of the unrepentant and lost. God will hear the prayer of the sinner seeking salvation, just as He heard the prayer of the tax collector who cried:

Luke 18:13-14 (ESV) ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ [14] {Jesus said} I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

God will forgive whosoever will if they come to Him through Christ surrendering to Him as Lord and Savior. And God will hear the cries of His people. He delights to hear the cries of His people. This is why David calls on the Lord as His child, His servant, His possession.

O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.
David did not demand from God on the basis of past acts that he himself did.
He did not demand God hear his prayer as King of Israel.
Lord, I am your servant.
Lord, I trust in You.

David trusted in God, not in himself or in his friends. David found hope in his Sovereign King, the Father Who Is In Heaven.

Psalms 18:2-3 (ESV) The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. [3] I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.

Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.
David did not just cry out to God when life was at its darkest.
David cried out to God daily.
We are to take up our Cross DAILY.
We are to follow Jesus DAILY.
We are to cry out to God DAILY.

Enemies abound for those who are God’s Children. David placed his faith not in man but in God.

Jeremiah 17:5-8 (ESV) Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. [6] He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. [7] “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. [8] He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

We who are God’s have an enemy, a fearful enemy (1 Peter 5:8). Our adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. He watches for those sheep who wander off from the Great Shepherd. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12), but a dreadful enemy who will destroy us if he can. The devil despises you because you, dear Christ follower, belong to God. And only God can preserve you, protecting your souls from the onslaught of this fallen angel and his demons! Each day David prayed for protection to the Only One Who …

Jude 24-25 (ESV) … is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, [25] to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

2 When God Hears Our Prayers He Gives Us Happiness And Joy. David prayed for JOY.

Psalms 86:4-6 (KJV) Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. [5] For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee. [6] Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.

Marshall Segal wrote: “Humans were not created just to be rescued from sin, but to be flooded with joy in the Rescuer. Sin disrupted God’s ultimate plan for you; it didn’t create it. Jesus is not only a get-out-of-jail card, but a get-into-eternal-joy Savior and Treasure. God made you to demonstrate his worth by making you happy in him — not just by placing you in heaven, but by giving you himself.”

Americans are fixated on happiness, on being happy, on pursuing happiness. Our Declaration of Independence has the well known phrase:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence at the request of the other representatives from the 13 colonies. He believed that God gave us the right to pursue happiness – and that is true. So Americans pursue happiness. As a people we pursue happiness and shun unhappiness and pain. We are a comfort seeking people, and we are obsessed with safety and ease. We have more stuff, but find in it less and less happiness. That is because there is no true happiness, nor joy for that matter, to those who look for it in things. Things can only bring temporal happiness.

God wants us to pursue happiness in Him

God made us to be happy and joyful only in Him. He is to be our greatest Possession. Our relationship with Him will bring us the greatest blessing. The Bible declares:

Psalms 144:15 (KJV) …. happy (אֶשֶׁר ʼesher) is that people, whose God is the LORD.

Proverbs 16:20 (KJV) …. whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he.

• A Jet Ski or Four Wheelercan make you happy for a time, but then the new wears off and it becomes common place.
• A fancy car or truckcan make you happy for a time, but then the new wears off, and it’s just ho-hum.
• The new baby brings happiness until it learns to walk and break things.
• A new relationship makes happiness until you come to know that person and find out that they – like you – are broken beings.

The only place you can find fulfillment, true joy, and yes even happiness is in a growing relationship with your Creator and Savior.

When unhappiness and trials come the Presence of the Lord – unlike the lesser presence of your new toy or your new relationship – will comfort you and draw you back into blessing.

thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive

Is there a better companion than our God? The greatest pursuit you can have is in seeking God’s face, getting to know Him better.

Psalms 32:10-11 (ESV) Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD. [11] Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Philippians 4:4 (ESV) Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

Where is rejoicing found? IN the Lord! Where is gladness? IN the Lord!

Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications

The same God Who hung the stars in space, who is still even today creating the Heavens and making planets without number is the same God Who loves us and loves to hear our prayers. We come to Him with supplications, with requests, the request of His child.

Throughout his prayer David spends a lot of time praising and magnifying God. He prayed …

Psalms 86:8-12 (KJV) Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works. [9] All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name. [10] For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone. [11] Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. [12] I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. 

David prayed unite my heart to fear your name. He did not want to have a divided heart, but a heart solely committed to his Creator. This is where power is found.

• David was able to kill Goliath with one stone and a sling shot because his heart was focused on God. But when David divided his heart between honoring God and satisfying himself he brought death and destruction into his household. Remember Bathsheba?
• Elijah was able to rain fire down from Heaven and kill the false Prophets of Baal while his heart was focused on God. But when Elijah let Jezebel frighten him he fell into depression and suicidal thoughts.
• Peter was able to walk on water while his focus was on Jesus, but once he looked down – splash!
• Enoch walked with God, never taking his attention from the Lord. And God took him!

We need to stop telling others how BIG our PROBLEMS are.
We need to start telling our PROBLEMS how BIG our God is!

3 God Is Able. God Is Able. God Is Able. Only God Is Able!

Psalms 86:14-17 (KJV) O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them. [15] But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. [16] O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid. [17] Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, LORD, hast holpen me, and comforted me.

Sometimes the Old English of the King James causes us to stumble a bit in our reading. For instance, the word “holpen” in the last sentence literally means “to help”. But it really means more than that. The Hebrew עָזַר `azar literally means “to surround so as to help, to lift up”. The sense of what David is saying is “Help, Lord, I’m surrounded and overwhelmed. I need you to surround me so that those who surround me cannot get to me”. Then he uses another word “comforted”, which is the Hebrew נָחַם nacham “to be a Comforter”.

David wants to be embraced by God, to be wrapped in God’s arms as a young baby would be swaddled and wrapped in the arms of his mother.

I heard a story once of a king who was in his throne room, holding a council with his advisers, noblemen, and high ministers of state. Suddenly there was a bang and a clatter at the door of the throne room. All eyes turned as the door burst open and a young boy ran into the room. One of the king’s royal guardsmen tried to stop the boy. “Hold there, lad!” he said as he reached out to grab the child. “Don’t you know you’re disturbing the council of the king?” The little boy said “He’s your king, but he’s my Daddy!”. With that, the child scrambled up the throne and into the arms of his father. A child of the king always outranks any nobleman, adviser, minister, ambassador, or dignitary. That is the position we have with God. That is the access we have to His throne room.

Let Him wrap His arms around you. Let Him embrace you as you go to Him in prayer!

Hebrews 8:1-7 (KJV) Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; 2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. 3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. 4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: 5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. 6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.

1 God Has Always Dealt With His Creation Of Mankind Through Covenants. What is a covenant? Webster’s defines “covenant” as:

“a usually formal, solemn, and binding agreement, a compact. (or) a written agreement or promise usually under seal between two or more parties especially for the performance of some action”

a God’s First And Best Covenant With Man Was A Covenant Of Love.

• God loved Adam and Eve. God put this first couple in the Garden East of Eden to “dress it and guard it”. Our Heaven created fore-parents were placed in a sinless place to work a work that needed not be done.

Eden was not a covenant of works – it was a Covenant of Love!

God gave man but one command, do not eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good And Evil (Genesis 2:17). God said:

Eat whatever you want, Eat all you want
The world is your buffet,
But do not eat this one fruit!
If you love Me, keep My Command.

Someone asked me once why God put even one No in a Garden of Yes.
Because true love always has a NO.

Good and Evil are concepts to be decided by God, not by us. God is the Creator. God knows “Good” and God knows “Evil”. You cannot “be good for goodness sake”. That is gibberish. God alone is God, and God establishes right and wrong, not us!

Adam failed to love God, and broke the Covenant
But God loves us still!

• God loved Abram. God came in a Covenant of Love to an old man named Abram. What did Abram have to do? Follow God. Love God. Hear God.

I love my wife. I go home to my wife not because I must. There is no law that make me care for her. I could walk away tomorrow if I wanted. But she is written on my heart, and I will go home to her, I will care for her, I am in Covenant of Love with her.

God was in a Covenant of Love with Abram. Abram’s name went from Abram to Abraham. Love changes things. My wife went from a “Carter” to a “Buffaloe”. Love changes things. When I married God He ceased being “God” to me. His Name changed. He became:

Wonderful Counselor
Mighty God
Everlasting Father
Prince of Peace
Ancient of Days
Alpha and Omega
The God of Knowledge
The Self Existent God Who Sees

Abraham followed God in the Covenant of Love. He did what God bid him do not because he had to, but because he loved God. Abraham believed God, and God counted it to him for righteousness (Romans 4:3).

• God loved Israel. When God reached out to Israel it was with a Covenant of Love. Israel had nothing God could want. God told Israel:

Deuteronomy 7:7-8 (ESV) The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers …

God said “I love you, and keep My word”. It was a Covenant of Love that God offered to Israel. But Israel rejected the Covenant of Love. They couldn’t love God for 40 Days while Moses was in the Mountain. Why?

Because the fallen heart is deceitful.
Desperately wicked, who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9)
We are, at core, (as that old song once said) “born to be wild”.
We have a heart problem.

b Israel Rejected The Covenant Of Love, So God Gave Israel A Covenant Of Works On Mount Sinai. Israel rejected Love, so He gave them Works. The Covenant of Works says:

“Do this and live” (Luke 10:28)

It was a Covenant of Works, a Covenant of DOING. It was a Covenant of Priests sacrificing animals, animals that believers brought to them. It was Covenant of Blood. It was a Covenant that Found Fault.

Hebrews 8:7-8 (KJV) For if that first covenant (the Covenant of Works) had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. 8 For finding fault with THEM…

The Covenant of Works was faultless, but the people who tried to do it were filled with fault. The Bible says that

“God found FAULT WITH THEM”
There is no fault in the Law.
The Law is good, and perfect, and holy.
It is a reflection of God.
A broken person cannot do a Perfect Law.

So Israel tried and failed. God cannot be pleased with an imperfect person. He kept finding fault with them.

You might be saying “I am good enough to go to Heaven”. No, you are not. When Jesus preached His Sermon on the Mount He showed us how impossible it is to live according to the Law.

Matthew 5:21-22 (ESV) “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

Matthew 5:27-28 (ESV) “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Matthew 5:29-30 (ESV) If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

Matthew 5:33-34 (ESV) “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,

Matthew 5:43-45 (ESV) “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Jesus was not redefining the Law but He was showing us how impossible it us for US to fulfill the Law perfectly. The Covenant of Works said “do this and live”. But we could not fulfill it. Israel could not be perfectly in accordance with God’s Law.

We all need a heart transplant!

2 God Promised His People A Heart Transplant In The New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34). The Writer of Hebrews quotes this Covenant in:

Hebrews 8:8-10 (KJV) For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: 9 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 continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord;

I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

The Covenant of Works was given to show us that we need a Savior. The Covenant of Works was a School Teacher Who, showing us our badness made us despair. And in our despair we cry out to God for a New Covenant, a Covenant not of Works but of Grace. What is distinctive of the New Covenant.

a The Old Covenant Was Written On Tablets Of Stone. The New Covenant Which Comes Through Christ Is Written In The Heart By God.

Hebrews 8:10 (KJV) … I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MIND, and WRITE THEM IN THEIR HEARTS: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

I remember sitting in a meeting several years ago with men who were supposedly saved, born again by the Grace of God. These men were plotting together to cast someone out of the Church. The ringleader – Steve – convinced the others it was better to disassociate from this one man, a man against whom he had a grudge. Steve meant that this person would be cast out. I begged. I pleaded. I yelled at these men. I tried everything I could do to stop it. But they were determined. And when they did the wrong they did, and it hurt the Church as I warned it would, these men – craven cowards all – resigned their posts and left the Church.

The proof of salvation is that God has written His Word in your heart. Pastor John Piper wrote:

“Hebrews is teaching that, when we are born again, God gives us a new heart and a new spirit, and the result is that the law of God written in Scripture is no longer offensive to us. We are no longer hostile to it like Paul says in Romans 8:7. We are not hostile to the word of God, but rather, we are submissive. We delight to do God’s commandments. It doesn’t mean that we know them all by heart, because they are written on our hearts. It doesn’t mean that. It means that, when we read them in the word, the inclination to do them is in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. This is a great work of the Holy Spirit, purchased by the blood of Christ called the new covenant.”

God said “I will put MY LAWS into their minds”. Those who come to God through the New Covenant understand the Law of God and acknowledge that it is good. Their minds, once darkened, are now changed. “Their foolish heart was darkened” – but now no more. The mind of the lost is darkened to the Word of God. The mind of the saved is the mind of Christ. We have the mind of Christ. The Apostle highlighted the difference between those under the New Covenant and those under the Old Covenant when he wrote:

1 Corinthians 2:12-14 (ESV) Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. 14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

Those under the Covenant of Works had the Law written on stone and on animal skins. Those under the Covenant of Works even today have the Law written only on paper. Some of those are liberal, people who do not accept the Word of God but reject it. Some of those are conservative, like Pharisees were conservative. They memorize the Law, God’s Word, but do not know the Author. Neither liberal nor conservative that is under the Covenant of Works will ever fully understand the things of God.

Not so the Child of God, born again of His Spirit.

The Child of God who receives Christ (for Christ is the Gospel) has the Law of God written in their hearts. We who are God’s Elect read and believe His Word. We do not argue with God, but His Spirit speaks that Word to our hearts. The Old Covenant saint had a High Priest who ministered in the Tabernacle, and served in the shadow of Heavenly things. But we who are of Christ have a High Priest who …..

Hebrews 8:1-2 (KJV) … is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; 2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle …

The Old Testament Priest mediated a covenant that was but a shadow of greater things to come. But Christ is the …

Hebrews 8:6 (KJV) … he is THE mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

The Spirit of God comes to His people in the New Covenant, the Covenant of Grace. God said I will place My Laws in their minds, and write them in their Hearts. I cared nothing for God’s Word when I was lost. To me it was a fabrication of old dead men, a fable, a foolishness. But once I met Christ He put a love for His Word in my heart. So it is with every Child of God.

The drunkard now despises the drink that once owned him.
The womanizer now realizes that once he once desires destroys not one but two.
The homosexual does not revel in his desire, but his desire is to God.
The murderer now sees that life is a gift from God, too precious to waste.

The Holy Spirit writes the right and the wrong in every heart, and those who are His find themselves agreeing with both Prophet and Apostle. Whereas we were at war with God under the Covenant of Works, now we are at Peace. God is in us, and God lightens our eyes.

The work of the New Covenant is not just to save us from Hell,
but to put Heaven’s Law in our hearts.
And God does the work!

What does the Scripture say?

Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV)  For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,  [9]  not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  

Salvation is entirely a work of God in the New Covenant. It is salvation “by Grace”. What does this mean? The text goes on to say in the next verse …

[10]  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

We are not saved by works, but now saved we work in one accord with one another and with our Jesus.

b The Old Covenant Did Not Bind The Soul To God, But The New Covenant Does. We read:

Hebrews 8:10 (KJV) …. I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

God does not force Himself on any to save them, but if a person hears and receives His Gospel then God promises:

I will be to them a God
and they shall be to Me a people

There is a love between the saved and their Savior that cannot be denied.

When Israel was saved from Egypt and led out of harsh bondage
– slavery and torment – by God Himself.
When God led them out by Pillar of Fire and by Pillar of Cloud.
When God destroyed the Egyptian Army by crushing it beneath the Red Sea.

You would have thought that these people would have loved God and followed Him no matter what. Yet they did not. Moses was not gone from them 40 days before they had Aaron the High Priest smelting a golden calf to worship. How dare they?

But God was not in their hearts.

I remember when I was at another Church one of it’s “members” (a Secret Service candidate, for she was never in Church) contracted a terrible abscess in her back. She was going to die. Every other day for 6 months – 6 MONTHS – I drove 45 minutes one way to go and pray with her and her husband. She told me “When I get out of here – if I ever get out of here – I’m going to come to Church”. At the end of that six month period the Lord saved her. She was healed, though the doctors who were treating her gave absolutely no hope for her recovery. A month later she attended Church.

And never came back again.

You would think that she would be in Church praising the Lord, thanking Him for what He did. But she and her husband built a golden calf and worshiped it instead. “I think I’m all right with God. I’m a moral person. I’ve not done anything wrong, not really. Surely I deserve to go to Heaven when I die.”

If you think you deserve Heaven because of what you have done, you are probably going to go to hell. You are under not the Covenant of Grace, but the Covenant of works.

There was another man whose name was David. He was not saved when I first met him. He contracted cancer – the bad kind – liver cancer. I visited him in the hospital, prayed with him, and told him about Jesus. Two weeks later he received Jesus as his Lord and Savior. I remember I heard that he joined a Church near where he lived, and was baptized. I walked in the hospital room some time after his baptism. As he lay there, tubes coming out of his body, he turned, looked at me, and smiled like a lighthouse shining brightly. As we talked he told me that he knew Jesus was going to heal him – if not here, up there. And this precious man was at perfect peace. I helped bury his earthly body a few weeks later, and he left this planet with a smile on his face.

I will be to them a God
and they shall be to Me a people

The New Covenant – found only in Christ – binds us to God and God to us. He is the Mediator of the New Covenant.

3 Has God Touched You? Are You Going To Heaven Under The Covenant of Works, Or Under The Covenant Of Grace?

Let us pray.