God Does Care
Part 3

Hebrews 8:1-13

Last week we looked at some attitudes we need to have when we're facing

difficulty. We reconsidered the fact that the problem isn't always the

problem. The problem is our attitude, or our focus about our problems.

We need to focus on our Great High Priest, Jesus, who is able to help

us successfully confront any problem.



Last week we gave attention to our minds. Today we want to give

attention to our hearts. Ever sensed that you needed what we often call

a change of heart? You know some things in your mind but brain function

isn't enough.



I want to approach Hebrews chapter 8 in our last part of our series

"God Does Care"



It's one thing to change your mind, what you're going to think about

it's another to have a change of heart. And both these things can be

needed when we're discouraged. It's not that God doesn't care, it's

that our minds and hearts need changing. That's why this

week’s key verse is Hebrews 8:10:



"But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on

that day, says the LORD: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will

write them on their hearts."



What we need is a supernatural act of God. This is a God-thing. There

are so many times when I try to do something naturally that only comes

supernaturally. I need to ascend to a higher plane.



Personally, I've often faced this in ministry. I try to do stuff for

God by my own strength. Ain't gonna happen. Even writing these sermons,

teaching the Scriptures to you takes God giving me the heart to do it.

I can't do it on my own.



Do you have anything like that in your life? A relationship? A job?

Finances? Forgiving someone?



Hebrew 8:



1 Here is the main point: We have a High Priest who sat down in the

place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven. Jesus

"sat down" because He was finished. He "sat down in the place of honor

beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven" because He was king as

well as priest. The Old Testament priest never sat down in the

tabernacle or Temple because He was never finished.



2 There he ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle the true place of

worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands.



3 And since every high priest is required to offer gifts and

sacrifices, our High Priest must make an offering too. 4 If he were

here on earth, he would not even be a priest, since there already are

priests who offer the gifts required by the law. 5 They serve in a

system of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in

heaven. For when Moses was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God

gave him this warning: "Be sure that you make everything according to

the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain."



6 But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far

superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a

far better covenant with God, based on better promises.



7 If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no

need for a second covenant to replace it. 8 But when God found fault

with the people, he said: "The day is coming, says the LORD, when I

will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 9 This

covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I

took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They did

not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them, says

the LORD. 10 But this is the new covenant I will make with the people

of Israel on that day, says the LORD: I will put my laws in their

minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and

they will be my people.



11 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need

to teach their relatives, saying, 'You should know the LORD.' For

everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already. 12 And

I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their

sins.



13 When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he

has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon

disappear.



The main feature I want to draw out of this biblical portrait is the

emphasis on a new heart. Often, when we're facing difficulties we talk

about "losing heart," or becoming "disheartened." What can we do to

keep from thinking God doesn't care about us, like these first century

Hebrew Christ followers were?



This chapter encourages us in three ways. Remember I told you last week

that the key word in the Hebrews letter is "better." Here are three

things that are better about following Christ.



Better than the Old Covenant and better than anything or anyone!



1 As a Better Priest, Christ works from the inside out, not the outside

in. (That's the linch-pin of the New Covenant) God says, "I'll give you

a new heart." Why? Because God works from the inside out, not the

outside in.



I wrote to you in detail last week from Hebrews chapter 7 when I

mention to you about how Christ is a better priest, a priest after the

order of Melchisedek, not Aaron or Levi.



The one big thing that Jesus does when He is invited into a person's

life is to give him or her a new heart. Ezekiel foretold this New

Testament characteristic that didn't exist in the Old Testament. God

says to His people through the prophet:



"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove

from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will

put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful

to keep my laws." Ezekiel 36:26-27



When I need a change of heart I need to rely upon this Better Priest

named Jesus and let His Spirit fill me more so that I can cope with my

problem.



How is one filled with the Holy Spirit? Basically by emptying oneself

of him or herself! You don't have to beg and plead with God to fill you

with His Spirit. You just have to make room in your life if you want to

be filled.



What happens when I'm filled with the Spirit? I have a lesser desire

for fleshly things. I find it easier to do the things that God wants me

to do because I want to do them. I have God in me to a greater degree!



The closer my loving relationship with God, the more Christ is in me by

the Holy Spirit, the more I serve God from the inside out and not the

outside in. Now why do we care about this aspect of Christ’s

priesthood?



When I utilize this inside-out priesthood my problems don't shake me as

much. I'm human. I don't always practice the filling of the Holy

Spirit. But to the extent that I do, my difficulties in life don't

shake my faith! My friendship with God stablizes me!



I have a better priest than they had in the Old Testament and I need to

be filled with the Holy Spirit. That's why the Bible instructs me this

way:



"Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead,

be filled with the Holy Spirit." Ephesians 5:18 (NLT) [Literally, "be

being filled."]



Secondly,



2 As a better place, heaven is where our treasure is! I need to look

upward, not downward!



Heaven is the original. This earth is the copy. One of the reasons we

get so discouraged in life sometimes is because we place too much value

on this earth and not enough on heaven!



One time I watch the TV show on the History Channel called "Pawn Stars"

about a pawn shop in Las Vegas. People are always bringing the most

unusual items into the pawn shop to pawn or sell. I love the historical

significance of the items.



One guy brought in 5 Pete Rose baseball cards to sell. You could see

the dollar signs in his eyes! But the pawn shop owner could tell by the

coloration, etc. that they were copies of no real value. Had they been

originals they would have been valuable.



The really sad thing was the owner of the cards wouldn't believe it. He

still thought the cards were real.



That's how the majority of people feel about life on this planet. They

think this is the real life and what comes after is imaginary. Truth is

this life is the shadow. This life is temporary. What comes after is

forever and is the real deal!



This is what the Bible says about our life on earth: "Your life is like

the morning fog—it's here a little while, then it's gone."

James 4:14b (NLT)



But of eternity Jesus said, "I am the living bread that came down from

heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread,

which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.” John

6:51 (NLT)



Jesus is using an analogy. He's comparing receiving Him into your life

to eating bread. He is the living bread. If you make a faith commitment

to Him, you can live forever! Living with Him forever in heaven is the

real life we should address our lives to. The priests on earth were

serving in a Temple that was a copy. What kept God's people going when

the going got rough? They kept their gaze on heaven!



8 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home

and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He

went without knowing where he was going. 9 And even when he reached the

land God promised him, he lived there by faith for he was like a

foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited

the same promise. 10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city

with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God. Hebrews

11:8-10 (NLT)



God works from the inside-out. He wants us to look upward, not

downward. And: Thirdly,



3 Armed with better promises, our hearts have more assurance. We need

to operate by faith, not sight.



God's promises in the Old Testament were generally, "If you obey me I

will bless you." The condition for blessing was often obedience or what

we would call "good works."



The New Testament, or New Covenant, is different. God's promises are

based on the condition of faith. If I trust God He will bless me.



The other night a pastor friend wrote to me, "You know, we live here in

Florida now with a bunch of other retired people and lot of folks here

don't have enough faith to give their tithes and offerings because the

economy is in a recession and they're on fixed incomes." He went on to

remind me of how He and his wife were laid off from work years ago in a

previous recession and yet they still gave their tithes and offerings

and never had to pay a single bill one day late. He said, "You know, we

just trusted God's promises by faith and never once paid a bill one day

late!"



For the Christ follower, it is not the circumstances that dictate our

actions, it's our faith. We have the faith that leads us to trust God's

promises.



Last week we saw our mind affects our attitude.



This week we see that our hearts affects our actions. We live by faith

in God's promises, not by whether the sun is shining or whether it's

raining. So enjoy the journey ahead inspite of the obstacles that are

in our way. With faith small as a mustard seed Mountains will move.

Have a little faith.