Hebrews chapter 12, and we want to look at verses 28 and 29 this morning to finish out this chapter. I'll go ahead and go back and read through the verses that we've been through, and we'll continue on looking at verse 28 and 29. It says in verse 18 is where we began.

It says, for ye are not come unto the mouth that might be touched and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of trumpet and the voice of words, which voice, that they that heard entreated that the words should not be spoken to them anymore. For they could not endure that which was commanded.

As if so much as a beast touched the mountain, it shall be stoned or thrust through with the dart. And so terrible was the sight that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake. But ye are come unto Mount Zion and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. and unto a memorable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See that you refuse not him that speaketh, for if they escape not who refuse him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth, but now he hath promised, saying, yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.

And this word yet once more signifies the removing of those things that are shaken as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore, we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, for our God is a consuming fire.

Now, brethren, we've already looked verses 18 down through 27, and we've seen in here, and I'll just kind of somewhat kind of recap what we looked at and everything but before I do that I want to just reiterate again that what we see in view here as we do in everything that we look at in God's Word is the centrality that is in Christ Jesus.

Everything that we look at in scripture. Everything that we talk about in scripture is always gonna come back to the fulfillment in Christ Jesus, that he is the all in all. He is the one that has accomplished all things on our behalf. And particularly as we see in these passages, we see that Jesus Christ not only is the culmination and the fulfillment of the old covenant, the ending of the old covenant as he comes as judge to judge that wicked nation and to judge those heathen that were also a part of that destruction, but to judge during that time period to bring an end to all those things that were going on in Jerusalem, in the tabernacle, in that old covenant system, that he came to bring an end to all of that stuff and to bring forth in its fullest manifestation the everlasting covenant that has been from all time.

And so that's what's in view of us. And that is what the main point of this is all about, is Paul is writing to these Hebrews, and I just wanted to remind you of that again, that Paul is writing to Jewish believers who are being enticed to go back into the law system, to go back into the law. the Old Covenant system of bringing forth sacrifices, following the laws of Moses, all these things that the Judaizers were out there trying to persuade all these believers back into that Judaic system. And we even see that today, brethren. We see that all over the place today, that whether or not they're actually trying to get you into the Judaic system of Hebrew roots movement, Some of y'all may not know that terminology, but there are groups of people out here that claim to be Christians, but they're called Hebrew Roots or they're called Messianic Jews, Mosaic, I think they're called Mosaic Jews or something like that anyway, Mosaic Christians or something like that.

Anyway, they believe that we should go back and follow all these feasts and festivals and law keeping the dietary laws and all this kind of stuff. However, a lot of the ceremonial stuff, you don't have to do that because, you know, there ain't a temple over there, there ain't a place to do sacrifices. So a lot of the ceremonial things you don't have to do, but you still have to keep the civil and the social and all the festival things and the dietary things and all this other stuff, you know, the moral things.

You gotta keep all these things. Well, brethren, if you remember, Paul vividly told us that to keep the law means to keep it all. That none of it falls. It all rises and falls together. If you break in one point, you've broken in all. And so to keep the law doesn't mean to keep onesies and twosies of the law. To keep the law means to keep it all. Every law, every command, every festival, every feast, every sacrifice, everything that God commanded to keep it and to keep it all the time. That's what keeping the law is all about. And so Paul here is warning these believers, hey, don't go back. We have people today saying, hey, let's go back. We can do this. We can keep these things.

And therefore, in the mentality of what's going on today, and especially with all this that's going on in the Middle East and America's relationship with Israel, the mentality is this, we must help this people over here that's calling themselves Israel, because if we don't, God is gonna curse us because the Bible says that he will curse those who curse you and he will bless those who bless you. So we have to bless Israel so that we will not be cursed. Well, let me ask you, brethren, since 19, when was it, 1948? Since 1948, we've been blessing that people over there. and look at us, are we any better for it today? No, we're worse now than we have ever been.

We have homosexuality, we have all kinds of perversions in this world, we have all the stuff that's going on with the Epstein type people and the child trafficking, the drugs, just everything, a total disregard for the family and the family order. We have total disregard for government and the way that God has set up the rule of law. Complete disregard and a complete abandonment of the biblical church, the biblical family, all the things that God set up. God has set up three things, three institutions. The institution of marriage, the institution of the church, and the institution of government. And man, and especially the United States, has obliterated every likeness of the biblical institutions that God has set up.

And you think we're being blessed because we're blessing those people over there who claim to be Jews but are not? Who claim to be Israel and are not? See that plot of land over there is not what is in view, and that's what Paul, that's what Peter, that's what John, that's what all the prophets were prophesying about, is it is not a piece of land. Matter of fact, if you're still there in Hebrews, look over into the next chapter, we even see, and we're not gonna go through this, but I just wanted you to see, it says, And Paul and these believers even knew this. Abraham knew this, brethren. He says, if you look over in verse nine, it says, be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines, for it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace. The heart be established with grace.

Now listen, I didn't mean to even talk about this. This just kind of come to my mind as I was talking about this. but we're gonna follow wherever the spirit wants us to go here. What are pulpits in modern churches today telling you to be established in? Obedience, obedience, obedience, obedience.

And I'm not knocking obedience. Don't get me wrong. Don't go from one extreme to the other, okay? I'm not knocking obedience. Obedience comes as God gives us grace. Obedience comes when he works in us to will and to do his good pleasure. Obedience will come. because the Holy Spirit works in us. But what I'm saying here is the doctrine and the preaching and the testifying and the testimony and the exaltation is not in what you do, what you do, what you do. It is in what Christ has done. And so he says here, for it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace. Why do we preach grace here all the time?

Why do you hear me every week preach almost the same message just from different verses. Now, some of my detractors that listen to me on the internet say this to my dismay or not dismay, to make me look bad, okay? But I'm saying this and I'm agreeing with them. Why do I preach the same sermon every week, just from different verses?

It's all of grace, it's not of you. Christ is the center of everything. No matter whether I'm talking about the family, no matter whether I'm talking about your money, whether I'm talking about the church, whether I'm talking about things to come, whether I'm talking about things that have happened, what does it all come down to? Everything is by grace and everything is because of Jesus Christ. the same message every week, and it will continue by God's grace, be the same thing every week. It will be Christ and Him crucified. And it's gonna be preached from all the different vantage points that the Bible in the volume of the book declares it. Whether it be the symbols, whether it be the types and foreshadows, or whether it be the direct revelation that's been given to us, it's all about Him and His grace that has been given to us who don't deserve it. And he goes on to say, he says, for it's a good thing that the heart be established with grace, not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.

We have an altar whereof they, who are they? Those who are after the meats, after the ceremonies, after the law, those of the old covenant system, We have an altar where they have no right to eat, which served the tabernacle. If you serve the tabernacle, and he's talking about the old covenant system. If you serve the tabernacle, you don't have right to this altar, which he's talking about Christ. Christ is the true altar.

You know, back whenever I grew up in Southern Baptist Church and at the end of each service, and all of us, I'm sure, has come through a church like this at some point, whether it was Southern Baptist or not, but there are some people who never have been in them type of systems, right, that might be listening or watching.

But we used to have, at the end of every service, what was called an invitation, where we would invite people to come to Christ, make a decision for Jesus, to choose to come to Christ. Whatever verbiage you want to put on it, we were inviting people to become Christians, okay? To make a choice and believe, receive, whatever. We'd call that an invitation.

And we would say, come down to the altar, which was the front of the church, which was nothing more than the front pew or the front few steps before you walked up onto the platform where the pulpit was, okay? And we called that the altar. So you were coming down to the altar to bring your sacrifice to God. And that altar was also a place where people came and prayed, whether they came to pray for their own sins.

See, all it was is basically taking the Catholic belief of confession and putting it down here into a front pew. We got to come down to the preacher and have the preacher pray for us and tell us that we've done good. Encourage us to give us his blessings. Tell us what we need to do to get back right with God. That's what the altar system was for. Was to tell you what you need to do.

For you to come down and you to, when the Bible tells us that whenever we pray, go into your closet and pray where nobody sees. In secret. It says to confess your sins. To confess your sins to who? God. Not to come down and have to confess them to everybody. Now, sometimes there are some things that we need to publicly do. If I sinned before you guys, I need to publicly come and do something about that and confess that publicly. If I've done something in public that is a sin, then I do that simply. But my everyday sins, they're no business to anybody else.

Matter of fact, that only can cause division among people. That can cause disunity among the brethren in the church. But we have this altar system in these modern churches where that is the place where mediation is being done between the preacher or between just the person and God, but they feel that this is the magical place where it all happens.

Come down. Make them all come down here. rather than the Bible teaches and the symbology in the Old Testament of that ark where the altar was, where the sacrifices were being presented to God, that's the picture of Jesus. He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament times. We don't need front pews. We don't need preacher shaking hands to bring you into Jesus. Jesus is the altar. He is the priest. He is the prophet who preaches. He is the priest who exercises the sacrifice.

And he is the king who is the one who is satisfied with all of it. He does all the work on your behalf, and he is the one who brings you into relationship and he is the one who brings you into fellowship and brings you into the experience of that relationship. He's the one who brings you, gives you life, gives you eyes, gives you ears, and he brings you to himself. It's all about him. All about him.

And we see here, that this passage is saying that if you go back and serve the tabernacle, the old covenant system, you don't have a place at this altar. He says, we have an altar where they have no right to eat. We cannot eat at the altar of Christ and at the altar of the Mosaic law of the old covenantal system. Jesus said, you cannot serve two masters. You have one master who has said that everything is done by me, for me and through me. Everything is coming from my hands or it's over here.

Salvation is something that you have to procure. You have to enact. You have to keep up. You're the custodian of your own destiny. You have to choose it. and then you have to maintain it. Except for the Southern Baptist who, for some reason, got some weird idea that you enact it and you have to keep it up, but if you don't keep it up, you can't lose it. So, you know, they believe God's sovereign, that God can sovereignly keep you from going away. He can bend your will to make you come back. but he can't bend your will to come in the first place. See, crazy. But anyway, I'm getting way off track here. Let me get back on track on my first off track.

He says, we have an altar, wherefore they have no right to eat, which serve the tabernacle. For the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burned without the camp. That was the symbology in the Old Testament, that whenever that priest would go to sacrifice that animal, After that sacrifice was over, he'd take the body outside the camp and he would burn the body. You want to know why Jesus was crucified outside of Jerusalem and not inside of Jerusalem? So that all things might be fulfilled, that the shadow might be fulfilled in the substance. The substance was taken outside the camp and was crucified and was burned as you would in wrath outside the camp.

The wrath of God fell upon Christ on our behalf outside the camp. And so Paul goes on to say, wherefore Jesus also that he might sanctify the people with his own blood suffered without the gate. Let us go therefore unto him without the camp bearing his reproach. So what's he saying here? Let us leave Jerusalem. Another reason, by the way, Jesus was crucified outside of Jerusalem is because that also indicated that Jerusalem was not going to be the place where we would worship Christ. The tabernacle was not going to be the place.

You remember whenever Jesus spoke to Was it the woman at the well or the woman caught in, the woman that had, yeah, the woman at the well who had many husbands, right? She came and said, well, where are we supposed to worship? You guys say that we're supposed to worship in Jerusalem. And we say you're supposed to worship on this mountain, all like this. And Jesus said, listen, the time is coming and is here, but you will no longer worship God on this mountain or on that mountain.

It was already there, why? Because the kingdom had already began to descend. Remember, I spoke about that a few weeks ago, that the kingdom was already becoming an activity, but it had not been fully manifested yet. It wasn't fully manifested until the destruction of Jerusalem. But what had been happening? They were receiving, they were receiving a kingdom. It had not been fully manifested.

And so Jesus is saying, listen, it's already come. When did it come? Whenever Jesus began his earthly ministry. Whenever the gospel began and it began there. Whenever Jesus come preaching the kingdom of God. Whenever John came preparing the way, preparing the people for Jesus to begin to instruct and to indoctrinate that would then perpetuate for every generation after that, the doctrine of Jesus Christ John came and began to prepare them saying, prepare you the way of the Lord, prepare for the kingdom of God is at hand.

And so we see the fulfillment here. And so he says, let us therefore go unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach for here where Jerusalem, we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come. And he's talking about that city that he just talked about in the previous chapter, that city that's coming down out of heaven, the new Jerusalem. That city that is the city of the living God, where he dwells, where he abides, where he said he will be our God and we will be his people. That's where the presence of God is, is in this new Jerusalem. where we are come, as it says in verse 22, ye are come unto Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. So this is the city that they were looking for. This is the city that they are searching for, is the spiritual city, not the physical one.

He said, here, we have no continuing city. Even Paul and Peter and John and James, they all knew this place is coming under destruction and will be left desolate, just as Jesus said, that this desolation will continue on. Now, sure, there's some residual of it being revamped over there, but it is not according to the Mosaic law. And brethren, I believe it never will be, because Jesus himself has promised, I will leave to you your house desolate. Now, He goes on to say, for here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come.

But him, therefore, by him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. That is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. You see how we give the sacrifice of praise to God? It isn't by law service. You see that? Brother, that hit me like a ton of bricks whenever God revealed that to me. Therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise. I thought the sacrifice that we are to offer is our body. A living sacrifice. Holy and acceptable unto him, which means obeying the law. Well, I have a message on that. You can go back and listen to that. He says, but it is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

But to do good and to communicate, forget not, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. But what's the communication of the new tabernacle? What's the communication of praise in the new Jerusalem? What's the communication of service in the new city the new jerusalem the city of the living god it is the sacrifices of praise what are we doing here today the sacrifice of praise our lips are showing forth the fruit of praise to his name it isn't here to pump you up and to encourage you and to build you up in Your activity is to encourage you and build you up in the most holy faith, which is Christ. And so that's why we're here today now.

So remember, this is who this is written to. It's written to those Jews who coming from this sacrificial system, this mosaic system, this system that is ingrained in their mind. It's coming from a system that it's just nature to them. Just as with us, as I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, it's just nature for us, the things that we are ingrained in growing up. We just believe them. We just say them.

Why? Because that's what we've heard over and over and over and over again until God shined his light upon our little paradigm that we were taught under. And we all of a sudden seen it from a different paradigm. Well, wait a minute, this is meaning something completely different. Whenever God showed me the doctrines of grace and saying, wait a minute, this isn't about what I have to do.

It was about what Jesus already did. And God is looking to him. I talked about a substitute. Jesus is my substitute. I don't know how many times I talked and maybe preached on that as an Arminian, but had not a clue that, well, wait a minute, a substitute means he's in my place. He's taking my place. not just in my death that was due to me on the cross, the wrath of God for all my sin, but he was also my substitute in living.

He lived for me. He lived all of the law of God. He performed all righteousness for me as my substitute. So God takes Christ's obedience and righteousness as my righteousness. God takes Christ's death as my death. So now I have paid the price in Christ and I have lived the life in Christ.

Imputation is the word, brethren. It is an important word. It's one that if it's not in your vocabulary, you need to have it in your vocabulary. If it's one that you don't see in scripture, you need to pray that the Lord give you eyes to see because it's all about imputation.

It's never about imparting something to you so that you can live it out so that then God would turn around and say, well pleased with you because he's well pleased with his son. Matter of fact, he said it from the sky three times upon Christ himself.

This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. This is my son. Hear ye him. And we heard a couple of weeks ago that his voice is the one who's speaking from heaven. He's the one. whose voice is like the voice of many waters. And I would put forth, which is for another time, is the latter rain itself that we are hearing now.

Anyway, the old covenant is about to vanish away. Paul is warning them that this thing is going away and this kingdom, is over with. This kingdom is done. We are receiving verse 28, wherefore we receiving a kingdom, which cannot be moved, which is in reference to what we looked at last week, the kingdom that cannot be shaken. Okay. The old covenantal kingdom, heaven and earth will pass away, but this kingdom cannot be shaken. It is a kingdom that cannot go anywhere.

Now, just to kind of remind everybody that this was what was in view here, Hebrews chapter 10, look at verse 25. It says, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more, as you see the day approaching.

For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. So he's already predicting, he's already telling. There is no more sacrifice for sins, guys. Listen, there's coming an end to this. Daniel 9 calls it the abomination of desolation. The putting an end to the sacrifice. If we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. You can't go back.

That's what I was just saying a while ago. That's what's wrong with the Hebrew Roots Movement. That's what's wrong with the modern Armenian preaching and even some sovereign grace people. Preaching on law keeping the law is everything's okay that you got to continue keeping these things except for those Sarah those Those ceremonial things that had to do with sacrifice in that instance, and if you remember I told you the the illustration of the the Person that used to come to our church who kind of got off into the law thing they was listening to a family member and was drawn away by the law and and thought we needed to keep the law and was still under the law and all like that, eventually came back and confessed that that was wrong and repented of that and realized that what had been preaching and taught not only by me, but by their family members prior to me was what they could see was the truth. But it was this, what every Armenian is preaching that oh well Jesus is there for those things that we cannot keep but everything else we have we need to keep as best as we can but if we can't then Jesus his blood is there to do that that's what the that's what these guys are saying it's not an either-or it's not you can have a little bit of the Mosaic covenantal system and a little bit of Jesus Paul wrote Galatians to tell them that.

He said, you're being bewitched. If you go back to the law system, you are going back to a system that only can condemn you. It's only gonna point the finger at you. It's gonna be walking around.

Can you imagine? Kids, a lot of times, they can be irritating. Young kids, and I'm not talking about anybody in specific, but in general, sometimes kids can be irritating. You have a kid, have you ever had a kid come to you and say, you say something and they just keep repeating it? Whatever you say, whatever you say. What are you talking about? What are you talking about? Would you quit that? Would you quit that?

Or have you ever had a kid where he just like follows you around? Wherever you go, he's just like right there. And you say, look out, get back. And he just keeps following you, follows you around. Sometimes kids can be irritating. Well, that's what we see here. We see a lot of a lot of following around and irritation. These Judaizers was following around and becoming irritable.

And Paul was like, listen, you are being bewitched by these people who are telling you to go back into this covenant. And they kept following Paul around everywhere he went. And they were saying, I know Paul said this, but what about this? I know Paul said this, but what about this? What about this? What about this? And then Galatians, he said, have you begun in the spirit? Are you now made perfect in the flesh? After reading what I wrote in Romans, that the flesh profits nothing, that there is nothing that you can do in this flesh that is gonna be pleasing to God. Are you going to go back to this old covenant system where all it does, it's just like the little kid that follows you around. He keeps pointing at you. You can't do it. You missed it. You missed it. What about that? Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Missed it. Condemned. Condemned. Condemned. That's all he does is condemn us.

He says, but a certain, there remains no sacrifice for sin. Why? Well, two reasons there is no more sacrifice for sin, okay? There's two reasons why there's no more sacrifice for sins. Number one, and the most important is, is because Jesus made the sacrifice for sin once for all, that's found here in Hebrews.

He has been the sacrifice once for all time. That means the time backwards, time forwards. He is the one sacrifice for all of time from Adam to the consummation at the end when Christ comes again and everything is done. That, my friends, is the one sacrifice and the one sacrifice only.

But there's another reason there remaineth no more sacrifice. is because Jesus himself is going to put an end to their sacrificial system with the destruction of the tabernacle, the temple, and the city, and the desolation of the people in it. There will be no more sacrifice.

Now, look at Matthew chapter 21. We see here in our passage in verse 28, let me read 28 one more time before we go to read these verses. It says, wherefore we receiving a kingdom, and I looked that phrase up, we receiving a kingdom, that receiving, and I don't mean to get into big fluent words, and I'm not trying to make myself look smart or anything, it's me trying to learn and study and be diligent in the scriptures to know if what I'm saying bears any, weight of truth.

It says, wherefore we receiving, that word receiving, its grammatical use is a past and a continuing thing. The big word is aorist, or however you say that, aorist or whatever. I don't know what all that means. I just know that whenever words are constructed that way, it means it's something that began in the past and is continuing into the future.

And so Paul here says, wherefore we receiving a kingdom, meaning a kingdom has already begun to be received and will continue to be received. Jesus said, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. The word I will build means to mound up, to continue to mound upon. He is building his church as each lively stone is being put into its place. whenever God brings another one of his children into that wall of that city, if you allow me that imagery, as Paul and Peter uses, or excuse me, as Paul and John uses, the imagery is there, is telling we are that people.

And he says here, let me get back to where I was at, we receiving a kingdom which cannot be removed. Now look with me if you would at Matthew chapter 21. Matthew 21, look with me down at verse 43. Let me start at verse 42. It says, Jesus saith unto them, did ye never read in the scriptures the stone which the builders rejected, the same has become the head of the corner?

This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. Therefore say I unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation, bringing forth the fruits thereof. And what are the fruits thereof? Well, we just looked at it a while ago. What were the fruits of the lips and the service of the new tabernacle? The praise of his name. What was going on back here? They weren't praising Jesus' name. They were praising Moses' name. but they weren't praising Jesus's name.

And so Jesus is saying, therefore, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth fruits thereof. Now, is that gonna be a physical nation? No, it's a spiritual nation. A spiritual nation that is made up of people out of every physical nation, but a spiritual nation. He says, and whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parable, they perceived that he spake of them. And when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude because they took him for a prophet. See, even those religious leaders realized Jesus was talking about them.

The kingdom was going to be taken from them. They had been the ones who God had entrusted the oracles and the ordinances of the kingdom in its types and foreshadows. But now they're being told the kingdom is going to be taken from you. What is going to be the cause of that?

Jesus said, if you tear down this building, this tabernacle, I'll build it up in three days. talking about his body. When Jesus was crucified, the kingdom of God was being taken away from them and given to another people. We see the beginning of the end of the old covenant. Look if you would at Matthew 22, verse seven.

Which, by the way, back there in that passage, where the Pharisees perceived that he spake of them, why did the Pharisees, in all the parables that Jesus told, a lot of times, the Pharisees didn't understand them, but they understood this one. Do you know why they understood this one for some reason? Well, remember, these Pharisees and chief priests, they were schooled in the law. and the prophets. And the prophets and the law had been screaming for thousands of years this was gonna happen.

It was being prophesied. And that the fulfillment of prophecy would end with Christ. That he would be the one to fill it all up and conclude it all of this old covenant system. That there would be no more to it. They also seen and knew that the old covenant or the law and the prophets spoke of them being the ones and Jesus directly said it as we'll see forth maybe here in a minute, that they're the ones who were killing the prophets who were prophesying these things.

Why? Because they didn't like that. Just like these religious leaders didn't like it. They didn't want to hear of that kingdom. They wanted a physical kingdom. They didn't want a spiritual kingdom. They wanted a physical king, not a spiritual king. They wanted a physical rulership over other nations, not a spiritual rulership over all nations by the gospel. They didn't want that. They wanted something that they could put their hands on. They wanted something that they could pat their backs on. They wanted something that all the accolades comes back to them. And brethren, that is the very part of Arminianism.

That's the very heart of what I used to preach, although I didn't think it, and although I didn't say it outright, because I didn't realize that's what I was thinking and preaching. I was deceived. My heart was desperately wicked above all things, and I didn't know it. I thought that I was preaching good things whenever I was preaching self-righteous things.

See, the Arminian says, touch it, feel it, see it, look at it. What is faith? Faith is what you see. Faith is what you enact. Faith is what you do. Faith is something that is tangible. When the Bible says just the opposite, faith is something that's intangible. Faith is something that is not from yourself. It's given to you, it's a gift. And it's worked in you by God. It's not something that you wield like a sword. And Arminianism does just the opposite.

And these men here, that's what they were wanting. And so whenever they seen and heard this very thing, they knew Jesus was talking about us. But guess what? Did it change their ways? Here's the other amazing thing about it. Did it change their ways? They knew Jesus was the Messiah. Almost from the time he came on the scene and was baptized, these men were questioning.

John, are you that man? No, that's the man. Well, if he's the man, what's about to happen? How come he's not coming in and setting up the kingdom? How come all this stuff isn't happening like we thought it was gonna happen? John was saying, this is the kingdom of God. This is the kingdom of God. This is the kingdom of God. Well, and if you remember, those men came to John and they wanted to be baptized because that's what was happening. So they wanted to, stand in both sides of the stream, right? And John told him, he said, wait a minute, who is the one who told you about the kingdom to come?

And bring forth fruits of repentance and then I'll baptize you. Right now, you don't show any fruits of repentance. What was he talking about? Well, the Arminian says, well, they weren't obeying Jesus. That was the fruits of repentance. Repentance is whenever you turn from your sin and don't do it again. So I quit drinking, I quit smoking, quit running around, quit having a debaucherous lifestyle. That's what everybody thinks is what he's talking about. Quit being sinful. Repent, fruits of repentance. That's not what John was talking about. The fruit of repentance that John was talking about is you're still following the old covenant system. The new kingdom has come. He is the king of the new kingdom. And this kingdom is not the kingdom of the earth. It's a kingdom from heaven. It's a spiritual kingdom. And you guys are continuing in that old covenant system. Therefore you have not shown fruits of repentance.

Fruits of repentance are given to the child of grace who says, my righteousness is not in my law keeping. It's in what Jesus is for me. And we trust in Christ, our Messiah, Christ, our anointed from heaven, Christ, our substitute, our surety, our redeemer. We trust in him. That's the fruits of repentance that we no longer seek after acceptance through self-righteousness. We seek acceptance through Jesus Christ.

And those men weren't doing that. Therefore, John said, I'm not going to baptize you because only those who show forth fruits of repentance are baptized. Those whose gospel is that of Christ in Christ alone. Those who have been given to know and believe on Christ alone for their righteousness. You guys aren't doing that.

Get along, little doggie. And these men, as Jesus said, continued to fill up the measure of the iniquity of their forefathers and was predestinated to do so. That's why these men didn't make up their mind to say, oh, wait, he's talking about us. I better change my mind. Why? Because these men were of old ordained to this condemnation.

Peter spoke of it. He said, there are going to be false prophets and false teachers come up among you. We keep thinking false prophets and false teachers like Jim Jones and people like that, cultists and all kinds of stuff. No, he's talking about men who are coming up among their own ranks and teaching them things that would even maybe draw the elect away if it were possible.

And how would that happen? What is the one thing that everyone of God's elect still struggles with? I know the good that I should do, but I don't do it. Paul in Romans chapter 7, it comes back to that warfare. So what is the false teacher going to be able to preach to the child of grace who is the elect of God that could almost convince them if it were possible?

Come back to the law system. Come back to that old covenantal system. You can do your own self-righteousness. look away from that and look back to this. And that's why Paul is giving these exhortations. Whether it be in his epistles, or whether it be in this book of Hebrews, or whether it be Peter in 2 Peter, or whether it be John in his book, it is a reminder, don't go back, because this kingdom is going away. Now, Look if you would with me at 1 Thessalonians chapter two. So Jesus predicted all of this.

Did we go? We didn't, I forgot. Matthew chapter 22, we didn't go to Matthew 22. Look at Matthew 22 real quick, and then we'll go to 1 Thessalonians. If you've got your finger in 1 Thessalonians, keep it there. And it is like really hot in here because of the air on. Matthew 22, and look at verse seven. All right, we'll start verse one.

Jesus answered and spake unto them, saying, by parables, the kingdom of heaven is likened to a certain king which made a marriage for his son and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding, and they should not come. Again, he sent forth another servant, another servant, saying, tell them which are bidden.

Behold, I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready. Come unto the marriage. But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise. And the remnant took his servants and entreated them spitefully and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth and he sent forth his armies and destroyed those murderers and burned up their city. Then said he to his servants, the wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore to the highways and as many as you shall find bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good. And the wedding was furnished with guests.

And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not a wedding garment. And he said unto him, friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, bind him hand and foot and take him away and cast him into outer darkness.

There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth for many are cold, Few are chosen. Now, if you'll notice there, Jesus, again, foretelling about this coming destruction. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth, and he sent forth his armies and destroyed those murderers and burned up their city. That was a precursor to the destruction of Jerusalem.

But also notice, there was a man that came in and he didn't have a wedding garment. And if we look at this, we see, well, wait a minute, how did a man even get in there if he didn't have a wedding garment? I mean, only those who have wedding garments are at the supper, right? So how did he get in there if he didn't have a wedding garment?

I believe this is also talking, Jesus was talking about these Judaizers that would infiltrate the churches during that time period, who would come in among them and would be preaching not having a wedding garment. The wedding garment, by the way, is the righteousness of Christ. That's what we are clothed in. The wedding garment is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And so this man coming in didn't come in with the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He came in with his own righteousness. There will be some that come in among you preaching these things, but don't listen to them. Don't go out and hear them wherever they're at. Don't go listen to them. So there was this warning about these men. Now, if you look in 1 Thessalonians, we'll see, if I can get there again. 1 Thessalonians chapter two, look with me at verses 14.

It says, for ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God, which in Judea are Christ Jesus. For ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen. even as they have of the Jews." So he's telling these Gentiles, he said, listen, you're suffering the same things by your own people, just like we have suffered by the Jews of our own people, you know, the Jews of the Jews. who both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us, and they please not God, and are contrary to all men." Now, brethren, think about that. Think about that in relation to what's going on today with this group that's calling themselves Israel, or calling themselves Jews, but they're not.

Okay? They have killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets. Now we think, hey, they're ridding the world of all the false prophets of Muhammad right now. But brethren, they will turn on us just as quick as they will turn on anybody else. We are the last chink in the armor for them. They can get rid of all these other people and get America to do their bidding. But we, We're the last stand that they have to take over. And if they could, they would.

Because they hate our God. They hate our Jesus. They hate Jesus. But notice here, it says those who follow after that way, those of that covenantal system, those of that order, and listen, even more so, those of the Talmudic, Pharisaical, Babylonian influence system, even more, they please not God and are contrary to all men. They're contrary to all men. It says, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved to fill up their sins always for the wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.

I also looked on that, that word has come is also in that Aorist or that started in the past and is working its way into the present. Because at this time, the kingdom had already come, the judgment is already looming, part of it has already come because the cross and the Pentecost and the ascension of Jesus Christ, those were the prophecies that had to be fulfilled before the destruction comes. So those things had taken place, and now after the ascension of Jesus Christ, now, We are in this period of the kingdom is coming down, the city is coming down, and the judgment is about to come into full view, and that is what the judgment to the uttermost is all about here.

Notice if you would, back to Hebrews, excuse me, Hebrews chapter 10, look at verse 27. Oh, we just read that, I'm sorry. We just read that. But if certain fearful and looking of judgment, fire and indignation. For if we sin willfully, that after we have received the knowledge of truth or have made no more sacrifice for sins, that a certain fearful looking of judgment and fire and indignation which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses. Of how much sore punishment shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing and hath done despite unto the spirit of grace.

One thing I didn't mention a while ago in reading the rest of that passage Notice what Paul says there. If you go back into that old covenantal system, what is it that you are doing? You're counting the blood of the covenant an unholy thing. That's pretty serious business, right? Now think about this with me, brethren, because I know that I'm taking from a lot of places. I'm trying to draw in to this picture on how serious God is about the ending of this covenant, and the importance of the new covenant, wherein dwells righteousness, Christ at the center of all things.

You remember in, is it Matthew 7? They will say to me, Lord, Lord, is that in Matthew 7? Anyway, Matthew 25, can't remember. It's in Matthew somewhere, but they come before God and they say, many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not do this? And did we not do that? And did we not do this?

All these things in your name, you notice they said in your name, they are pleading and their case is being grounded upon. These are the works that I have done for you in your name. But they were going back into the old covenant system of works, of works, of works. And Jesus says here through Paul, those who go back to that system, they count the blood of the covenant an unholy thing, and they trodden underfoot the Son of God."

Meaning basically that this isn't meaning anything. This is just something that we've added to. We just add this to our list of things to do. A lot of the pagans who were idol worshipers, they had physical idols that they would build and they would worship to.

And a lot of these men, they would, whenever they would come in and invade a thing, they may take their idols from their gods and add it to the idols that they worship. They just took this idol. Okay, well, okay, we'll take this idol. Okay, we'll take this idol. The Romans were one of those ones. They would invade a place, they'd go in and they would take their idols out, okay?

It's kind of what's going on here is people are just taking whatever little bit of religiosity that they hear and they stick that to their life and they think, well, if I do enough of all these religious things, then God's going to be pleased with me.

When all along, God is saying that there is not one of these religious things that is ever going to count in my estimation. The only thing that's gonna count my estimation is the Son of God and the blood of the covenant. And that you have trodden and count as an unholy thing by going back to that covenant of work system. For we know that him that has said, vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, the Lord shall judge his people.

It is a fearful thing to fall in the hands of the living God. So we see here that Paul is warning them even early before chapter 12 that it is a serious matter to go back into this covenantal system. So what have we learned coming through these verses in Hebrew? Well, the first thing I hope you've learned is And I think I have a verse that can sum it up, but look with me, if you would, at Luke chapter 12. It's basically coming off of reading those verses saying, this kingdom is going to be stripped from you. It's going to be taken from you, from those who are under that old covenantal system. Look at Luke chapter 12, look down at verse 12.

Verse 26, if ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow. They told him, I think I went too far back upwards. Verse 29, and seek not ye what ye shall eat or what you shall drink, neither be ye doubtful mind.

For all these things do the nations of the world seek after, and your father knoweth that ye have needed these things. Here's probably where I should have started. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. And then listen to this, brethren, right here. Fear not, little flock. Notice he says it's a little flock. Fear not, little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

He has taken the kingdom from them and given it to his little flock. He has taken it from the chief priests from the line of the Levites and the religious Pharisees who wedged their way into the covenantal system somehow. But he's taken it from those chief priests who have turned their back on God, who have turned their back on the new covenant and the Messiah that was being prophesied about, and the covenant that was being told about, they have turned their backs on all of that, and they have trusted in their Babylonian gods, they have trusted in their Talmud, they have trusted within themselves and their own self-righteousness, and they have turned away from God and trodden underfoot the Son of God and the blood of the covenant. And so God is taking away from them and given it to his spiritual people, his little flock. The kingdom is entrusted to us. Now it is no longer in the hands of the chief priests, but now every member of the kingdom has been made priest unto God. How's that for you? I tell you what, I like that better than having priests over me. I don't know why the Catholic church likes that business. having bishops and priests that they have to go and run to every time they do something.

You know what that is? That's just a continuation of the pharisaical law system, the old covenant system. It's a system of works. And you know what that was? It was influenced by Babylon. It is not the mosaic system that God handed down. It's a perversion of it.

But even that, that it is in its truest form, God said, it's going away. It's being done with. The purpose of it was to be a type and a foreshadow of the substance, which is Christ Jesus, who has come and is coming in judgment to put an end of everything and fulfill all the prophecy concerning that kingdom, concerning the old covenant and its destruction. So we find that the covenantal and historical covenant is being removed. The world of Jerusalem, temple, sacrifices, all that stuff comes to an end.

And we see that this passage in Hebrews is an exaltation of Christ Jesus. It's an exaltation of him and the new covenant in which are better promises. in which your security is found. It's not found in do and live, it's found in done. He did it, he done it, he fulfilled it, it's yours by grace. We see that it's ecclesiological. It has to do with the church.

We see the manifestation of the church of the firstborn, now gathered together where God's presence is. So we see brethren that Sinai, back in our passage here, look back if you would at Hebrews. We see that Sinai was a picture of terror, law, condemnation. We've seen that Zion, is that new heavenly Jerusalem, which is the elect church of God, with Christ as our mediator, the efficacious blood of Jesus as the blood of the covenant. And listen, brethren, you're not going to erase that blood. It's a kingdom that cannot be shaken. That kingdom is built upon his blood.

We see Haggai's prophecy was fulfilled and the shaking of the kingdom came. We saw that that old covenant was ended. The new covenant became manifest and as now is. And we see that we live and thrive as the children of God, that little flock in this kingdom with Christ as our King. He's ruling over us. The gospel is going forth into all the nations.

The gates of hell cannot prevail against it. that salvation is entirely of the sovereign grace of Jesus Christ, who is the mediator of that covenant. The elect, whose names are in heaven, are the members of that city, and that old covenant will stand no more, because Jesus himself has promised its desolation, and that his kingdom will reign and rule forever, as it has.

All right, any comments or questions? Rebukes, corrections. Brethren, I don't, neither do any of y'all, but I don't deserve what Christ has done for me. I am just like everyone that was destroyed and will be destroyed. I'm just like them. The only difference that is made in whether we receive that destruction or we don't receive that destruction. The only thing that makes that difference is the blood of the covenant and for whom the blood of the covenant was shed. Jesus shed his blood for you. If you are his, he shed his blood for you. That doesn't change you from who you are. It just shows who you belong to. You belong to Christ and he stands in your place and for you and has brought you into a kingdom. That old covenant system, there was a picture of that whenever they were going into Canaan.

The Bible said, you're gonna go in and you're gonna take over a city with, it's gonna have cities that you didn't build. It's gonna have gardens and crops that you didn't plant. And you're gonna eat meat that you didn't provide for yourself. Take of all the fruit of that, you're gonna enjoy all of that and you don't have to do anything for it. You just gotta walk into it. You just gotta come right in. It's yours. And that's a picture of what rest in Christ Jesus is.

We don't work for it. We don't do it because that old covenant has gone away. The new covenant isn't about due. The new covenant is Jesus has already provided you a city. He's provided you the fruit. He's provided you the sustenance, the bread and the wine. It's His body and blood. Why do I preach the same sermon week after week just from different vantage points? Because that's the bread and the wine. Christ and Him crucified. He is the center of all that. All right, I've gone on too far. Gonna keep rambling if I don't shut up. Anybody got anything you'd like to say?

Lord, thank you once again for your mercy and grace. We thank you for the kingdom of Christ. Thank you that you have brought us into this kingdom, Lord. We thank you for the sustenance that you give us in this kingdom. Father, we thank you that you have given us evident scripture to know that that old covenant and that old kingdom has been taken away and lord we desire to praise you with the fruit of our lips in this new kingdom lord we thank you again for christ jesus who is the mediator of this covenant we thank you for christ jesus who is the savior of these people we thank you father for the Holy Spirit of Christ who comes and dwells within us, who teaches us not only these things and gives us the heart and the mind to receive them, but Father, that he also works within us to look and continue to look to Christ Jesus alone as our salvation. We thank you for the Holy Spirit who has also been given to us so that we might rejoice in these things to know that they are ours. You say that you send your spirit into our spirit, not only where we cry Abba Father, but that we might know that we are your children. And Father, we thank you for that because we surely know that each and every day our flesh would bring forth unrighteousness and the law would once again condemn us. But we are thankful, Lord, that we are no longer under law, but we are under grace.

We are in Christ Jesus. And by being in him, all the inheritance is ours. All the promises of God are yea and amen in him. And Father, we know that our salvation is contingent only upon what Christ has done. And so may we never go back into that old system. May we never look back because we know that there is no more sacrifice for sin there. We know that to go back would be to trod and underfoot your son and the blood of his covenant. Father, may you keep us and may you give us to rejoice in these things. For it's in Christ's name that we pray, amen.