If you would, please turn again
to the book of Hebrews, this time Hebrews chapter 10, and I wanna read verses 19 to 22. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 19. Having therefore, brethren, boldness
to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. by a new
and living way, which he hath consecrated for us through the
veil, that is to say his flesh, and having an high priest over
the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full
assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil
conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. I'm gonna read
verse 23, Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without
wavering for he is faithful. That promise that I am going
to stop there just for sake of brevity. I could
keep reading. I said it last week. It's still
true. I love the book of Hebrews. And I remember Walter saying
a while back that it's hard to preach from Hebrews and he's
exactly right. Because it's hard to talk about
Hebrews 10 without talking about Hebrews 3. It's hard to talk
about Hebrews 3 without talking about Hebrews 7. It's hard to
talk about Hebrews 7 without talking about Hebrews 9. And
you can't talk about Hebrews 9 without talking about Hebrews
10. It's like, because it is all condensed and it's all there. This whole thing of where the
Old Testament became the Old Covenant. And the reason it became
the old covenant is Christ declared it the old covenant when he declared
the new covenant. Now it wasn't a new covenant
never before seen a new answer. It was the old covenant that
was first made between the father and the son, but it's newly revealed. And that old covenant had been
around a while. but in that he called this covenant,
this Testament new, he made the other one old. And I wish I could lay hold of
these verses right here the way I should. I will say this, just
by way of a little bit of introduction, Americans have been indoctrinated basically
against the idea of royalty, myself included. I mean, and
to be honest, it works. I remember growing up and for
the most part thinking to myself and sometimes saying out loud
that nothing and no one was sacred or holy. No one's birth qualified them
to be a ruler. And here's the word for the weird
part. I was right. And I was wrong at the same time, because the key part of that
statement is no one I knew at that time, no one I knew at that
time when I was growing up, no one I knew was worthy of being
called sacred or Holy. Nothing. I knew. was worthy of
being sacred or holy. But that was a function of my
ignorance. But I do now. I do know now. I know one. One that I didn't
know at the time, that I didn't comprehend at the time, one that
I didn't believe at the time is sacred and holy and royal. By his grace I know now that
one was born Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And what is
written here, this is more work of our great high priest, our
prophesied high priest, our living high priest, who is also our
king. He is God. the king of all the
earth, whether those in the earth know it or not. He is worthy
of praise and of honor and of glory, and he is worthy of our
sacrifice. The Old Testament sacrifices
are done away. But we can offer the sacrifice
of praise. We can offer the sacrifice of
prayer. We don't offer sacrifices from the pulpit. Preaching the
gospel is not a sacrifice, it's a privilege. It's a duty. It's an honor. And it's necessary,
per the word of God. Now it's not necessary for life,
but it's necessary for the believing of the sinner. In the New Testament church,
I do want to put this, I did mention this last week. The old
priest has been put away. The old covenant has been put
away. That priesthood is gone, but we are now priests unto God. In the New Testament church,
throughout all the epistles and the gospels, you have offices
listed in the New Testament, but you will never see the office
of priest listed in the epistles as an office in the New Testament
church. There were priests left over.
They were still doing the duties in the temple. But you will never
see it as a New Testament. You'll see elders, see preachers,
bishops, evangelists, pastor teachers. And there may be others
that I'm leaving out. Those are valid New Testament
apostles, even though there are apostles no more. But there were
the apostles. Those are valid offices of the
New Testament church, deacons. You'll never see the word priest
there. Because every New Testament believer
is a priest. Now, the old covenant is done
away with. We don't need these priests to
go between us and God. We have boldness, what? Having
therefore boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus. Believers are to be bold in coming
to God by Jesus Christ. Now I don't know if Paul wrote
the book of Hebrews or not. I suspect if he didn't, he taught
whoever did. Because this fella talks a lot
like the apostle Paul. I mean, I can't read the Greek.
I don't know whether he used the same word or not. And it
doesn't really matter because it's still the truth of God inspired
by the Holy Ghost and written down by men. But here's the point. Paul tells us in other epistles
to be bold, to go into what? The throne of grace. And here
it tells us to enter boldly. Why in the world should we have
to be reminded to do this? Because we forget, because we're
scared, And because we know, true believers know, we are sinful. Don't let your sin keep you from
coming to God. Not if you know him. Our Lord died for sinners. And he takes great delight and
derives great glory from bringing sinners to God by himself. I'm not saying be bold in your
flesh. Be bold in going to him who has
the power to help in time of need. What's it say all throughout
the Old Testament and especially in the Psalms? Fear not. Fear not. If you know God, fear
not. Having therefore, brethren, it
doesn't even say having therefore, having therefore preachers enter
in. Brethren, every child of God
is given this grace, having boldness to enter what? The holiest. The
holy, we can approach God in Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ, we are in God. Jesus, he told us, when you pray,
pray after this manner. How's he started out? Our Father. Now that's a part of boldness
right there. That's a part of boldness right there, where you,
with the old man still intact, the new man also, but the old
man still intact, can look up there and not look up there,
can look down here and say, our Father. In Jesus Christ, God
is our Father. He is our elder brother. He is
the forerunner who went before to say that there are more coming. He entered in first, but we follow
after. Jesus Christ said to his father
in what we call his high priestly prayer in John 17, I in them
and thou in me that they may be made perfect in one. Jesus Christ, Father, is our
Father also. Enter boldly, enter boldly. Hebrews 4, I'll just read this. Hebrews 4 and verse 14 starting,
seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed into
the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. Now notice very carefully it
doesn't say hold fast to your profession. It says hold fast
your profession. Hold fast to the faith that he's
given you. Basically it means continue,
continue, hold fast, hang on to. For we have not a high priest
which cannot be touched with a feeling of our infirmities,
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews four and verse 16, let
us therefore come boldly under the throne of grace, that we
may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Enter into the holiest, where? The holiest. Wait a minute, who
sits on the throne of grace? Our great high priest sits on
the throne of grace. He is seated at the right hand of the majesty
on high. Who is the mercy seat in the
holiest? Our great high priest is the
mercy seat. Who makes intercession? Ever
liveth to make intercession for us our great high priests. How do we enter? Verse 20 tells
us. By a new and living way, which
he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say his
flesh. A new and a living way. He died and he lives forevermore. he ever lives. This is definitely
new. At this time, when it happened,
Jesus Christ declared it to be the new covenant. In Hebrews
8, 13. Some had been raised from the
dead before, but no man until this man had ever raised himself
from the dead. This is a new and a living way,
and the new and the living way that we enter the holiest of
holies is in him. The new and the living way is
a person. The sacrifice, I said this last
week, the sacrifice was made on earth, the offering was made
in heaven. I believe the holy is made without
hands, not of this creation. The offering, and the sacrifice were both necessary. And here's the thing, both places
are necessary. Understand, the blood couldn't
be shed in the holiest. And the offering couldn't be
made on earth. It's not possible. How can you say that? Well, the
sacrifice, the death of Jesus Christ and the shedding of his
blood could not take place in heaven. He had to be born on
earth to have blood. His condescension. He came down
from heaven and what took upon him the nature of flesh. The
nature of man, the form of a servant. He had to die on earth also. Why? He was made sin. He took
our sins in his body on the tree. That can't happen in heaven.
That can't happen in the holiest place. Sin must be punished by
God and the holy place is not a place for the punishment of
sin. It's a place of reconciliation, not punishment. And the perfect
offering of his precious blood could not be made on earth. because
that offering was for sin forever. That offering was himself and
that offering was to God, not to man. And the father was not coming
here. What did Christ say? I go to my father. I go to my
father. What did he do? He went to his
father. This was shown in shadow and
type. I said it last week in the Old Testament, in that old
tabernacle, in the old temple. This is a new and a living way. Jesus Christ offered himself
without spot to God. And he is the way, the truth,
and the life. And he is the new and living
way, which he has consecrated for us through the veil. Because
we have, where it says here, we have an entrance into the
holiest. And then it tells us he's consecrated us, what? Through
the veil. Through the veil. There was no entry. from the
holy place, the first part of the tabernacle, where the regular
priesthood, to the holiest, or the holy of holies, they called
it. There was no doorway there. There was a curtain, a veil.
And this was not a gauzy, filmy, lightweight, see-through curtain.
This was one serious piece of fabric of several different,
well, I've got it written here. Not written, I've marked it here
with a bookmark. And thou shalt make a veil of
blue and purple and scarlet and fine twine linen of cunning work
with cherubim shall it be made. And you'll hang it on four pillars
of shittum wood overlaid with gold. The hook shall be of gold
upon the four sockets of silver. And thou shalt hang up the veil
under the tashes that thou mayest bring in thither within the veil
the ark of the testimony. And the veil shall divide unto
you between the holy place and the most holy. Now, this is something that happened
when our Lord Jesus Christ died that's not often spoken of, and
I have thought about it often. When he died, And Jesus cried with a loud voice
and gave up the ghost. This is Mark 15 in verse 38. And the veil of the temple was
rent in twain from the top to the bottom. Matthew also has it recorded,
Matthew 27 in verse 50 and 51. Jesus, when he had cried again
with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost, and behold, the veil
of the temple was rent entwined from the top to the bottom, and
the earth did quake, and the rocks rent. It also says the
sun was darkened. You understand, this all happened
when our Lord Jesus Christ gave up the spirit. when he died on
this earth, that veil, it was in the temple. Now this is not
the tabernacle in the wilderness, but it's probably the same veil.
That veil was rent from top to bottom, and what happened? That
opened up the way on this earth from that first part of the tabernacle
into the holiest part of the tabernacle. The reason that veil was there,
that veil was a barrier between the priests and the holiest of
all in the Old Testament. That veil, like everything else
in the tabernacle, that veil is Christ. And it says it here
plainly. It's not, it wasn't a denigration
of those priests. It was actually for the protection
of those priests. Because in those days, if you
entered the holiest of holies, you died unless you were the
high priest on the day of atonement. That's the way it was. That's
the way it was. No man was permitted to enter,
not even a priest of God. But the one high priest was allowed. And when our great high priest
died, that veil, dead in half from top to bottom. It was two pieces. I have no
idea how those boys explained that Mason when they went in
that temple or how they kept it secret. Guess what? They didn't
keep it secret. I'll bet you money. They tried.
I'll bet you money they didn't want to say that that veil was
rent. They come in one day and the
veil was rent in twain, in two pieces. And I'll lay odds the high priest
didn't believe him. But that's the way it happened. We have now in our great high
priest, in Jesus Christ, entrance into the holiest of all Through
the veil through the veil Beyond that veil beforehand was death
Now with the life of Christ Beyond that veil through that veil you
understand That high priest had to go under it We don't have
to go under it. We don't have to go around it.
We get to go through the veil into the holiest of all, into
the presence of God. In our great high priest, we
are seated at the right hand of the Father now, in Him. The physical, real veil in the
Old Testament tabernacle was rent in two when he died, but
his sacrifice consecrated, inaugurated, made new, an entry for us, those
who believe. Now there is an entrance. Like
I said, not under the veil, not around the veil, not over the
veil. We go through the veil into the
holiest of all because of our great high priest. And we are
to enter because he has made the entrance for us. Boldness,
that's bold. That is bold. I'm not talking
about showing off. Then I go up to do that. No,
that's not what we're talking about. That kind of boldness.
But our boldness is in our savior. It's in our Lord. It's in our
God. I, and this is a very strange
thing for me to say, and it's kind of hard to get out, but
it's I, In some ways, have no fear of God now. I have no fear
of his condemnation. I have no fear of his punishment.
I'm a little fear of chastisement. Because chastisement is not fun. It's grievous. But afterwards,
what? It yields the peaceable fruit
of righteousness. but I have no fear of condemnation
by God. That veil was written twain.
That barrier was removed so that priests can now go into the holiest
of all without fear of death. That's boldly, that's boldness. And it does say, By a new and living way which
he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his
flesh. We enter only by him. Our mediator, the man Christ
Jesus, he hath made the entrance, he has made the entry, he has
made the new and living way because he is the new and the living
way. gave his flesh and his blood
as the evidence of the new covenant and His flesh and his blood were
the offering to the father he gave himself And he gave his
very life for his people Verse 21 says and having an high
priest over the house of God We still got him He's still our
high priest. I said that last week. I'll say
it again this week He was the high priest. He is the high priest.
He always shall be the high priest He is Savior, which is Christ
the Lord. He will be Savior, which is Christ
the Lord Jesus Christ is God and God never changes We have a high priest We have
the high priest. He has us, and we have him. Christ's glory is eternal. Christ's
salvation is eternal. Christ's love is eternal. His
life, and thereby our life, is eternal. And his priesthood is
eternal. And it says having a high priest
over the house of God. Let's not make any qualms about
it. I hear preachers trying to tell their people that they tell
God what to do. It doesn't happen. It's never
happened. It's a bald-faced lie. God has
never needed the advice of any man. God never will need the
advice of any man. I love the part in the scripture
where it says, if I needed anything, I wouldn't ask you anyway. Hebrews three and verse six.
But it says we have a high priest over the house of God. Over it,
mind you, but over. The house of God. Moses was faithful unto all his
house as a servant for a testimony of those things which were to
be spoken after Hebrews 3 and verse 6 but Christ as a son over
his own house Whose house are we Whose house
we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of of the hope
firm until the end. Continue. But guess what? We are his house. Having a high priest over the
house of God, we are the household of God in our Lord Jesus Christ. He is not ashamed to call us
brethren. Brethren. We have, we have, Believers
are in the family of God. Believers are the family of God. And we are a royal priesthood.
And we have a great royal high priest. Let us draw near with
a true heart and full assurance of faith. Now where did we get
that? Let's draw near. Christ can't get any closer to
you than being in you. Christ in you, the hope of glory.
But let us draw near. With a true heart and full assurance
of faith. Where do we get a true heart?
We get it from the same place, we get faith. He gives it to
us. It's his gift. Having our hearts
sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure
water. What are we to do, those who
believe Christ? Those that have submitted to
Christ? Those who know Christ? Draw near
to Him. Draw near to God with a true
heart. Don't kid yourself. A true heart knows that old heart's
still in there. You understand? I was wondering
why we have to be reminded to come with boldness. Don't let
your sinfulness keep you away, but don't be ignorant of it either.
Don't delude yourself saying, oh, I'm a new creature. Yes,
you are. Thank God you are. But that old
creature is still in there. But draw near unto him. Draw
near unto him. Don't let the old nature keep
you away either. You can't draw near someone you
don't know. And the only reason you know
him is because he's revealed himself to you. What? True heart
and the full assurance of faith. Those who have been given faith,
his perfect faith, shall believe him. And the question is, do
you still believe him? Do you still believe him? If
we continue. If we continue, hold fast our
profession. Do you believe today? Because
everything we have in Christ and in God is only because of
the work of our great high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. All life,
all faith, all approach, to the throne of grace. All entry into
the holiest is through him, in him, and because of him. Because
without his work, we'd be just like Sodom and Gomorrah. He is
seated on the right hand of the majesty on I. Our Lord, our savior,
our prophet, our high priest, and our king. because the great
high priest who is passed into the heavens, Jesus Christ, the
son of God. Hebrews 7.25 says this, wherefore
he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto
God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. He's able to save to the uttermost
all that come to God by him. There is no other way. He's the
way. He's a new and living way. He
died, but yes, and he rose from the dead. He resurrected and
he ever liveth to make intercession for his people. That's how you
can enter boldly. What about my sins? Confess them,
not to me, confess them to him. And he's faithful and just to
forgive us our sins. He knows your sins. He was tested
like as we are, all points, yet without sin. But he knows our
infirmities. He knows our old nature better
than we know our old nature. Draw near to him. If you feel
a need, come to him. I put a pause in there and drank
a glass of water there to give you a chance to think about it.
If you have a need, come to him. If you don't have a need, don't.
Pretty simple, ain't it? All the fitness he requires is
to feel your need of him. You know what I'm saying? Not your need of righteousness,
not your need of holiness, your need of him. Now he is righteousness
and he is holiness and he will give it to you. But you got to know him. who
is all righteousness, who is all true holiness, who is all
and in all. He is able to save them that
come to God by him, believe him and draw near to God through
the veil, which his death has rent in twain. There's an entrance
now. And you know who gets to go through
that entrance? Sinners, ungodly sinners who
are given the righteousness of God in him. And he is not ashamed to call
us brethren and we are invited in, draw near. What does it say? Verse 25, I purposely didn't
read this. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together
as the manner of some is. Gather together. What? In his
name. In his name. Gather together
to hear his gospel. Gather together to praise him,
to pray, to worship to hear his word preached and to preach his
word. And we gather together for God, we gather together for
ourselves, and we gather together for others. All three. Don't forsake the assembling
of yourselves together. It's not good for the assembly
and it's not good for you. It's just the way it is. We have been given a chance to
fellowship with God together as believers in Christ, our high
priest. That is a privilege divine. Enter in, boldly. Our Heavenly Father, we're thankful
again for this time and this place, most of all, for your
son, our Lord, who has done it all for us and done marvelous
things to us, given us life and faith and the power to believe
him. We believe by the working of
his mighty power. Be with Walter as he comes to
preach your gospel. Help us all, Lord, to understand
your will and your way in this world as we go on. In Christ's
name we pray, amen.