068 - The Great Shepherd

You pick up your Bible is more than meets the is there something here for me. I mean it's just words printed on paper right may look like just print on the page but it's more than Inc. join us for the next half hour, as we explore God's word together as we learn how to explore it on our as we ask God to meet us there in its pages welcome to more than sad refinishing Hebrews. Today we were finishing with a word at the end of the letter. I wonder what he's gonna say is this final closing word finishes reading of Hebrews today on more than Inc. Jim and we are excited today said a little bit cited as well is time to finish. We read the whole book is we are in our last episode. Looking at Hebrews and a go it goes over the bank. This is really nice is a nice benediction here that he prays over us that we worry about the readers and it's it's just really nice cells more than nice as profound as profound.

So it's it's it's a wonderful thing to come and on and will take some time. Also as well to to reminisce a little bit back on the themes that really impressed us throughout the entire book 13 chapters and he himself says it was it was a brief a brief written account. As you been listening you know what has stuck out to you, what things of impacted you. What kind of thing to be seen and maybe we'll just compare notes.

As we finish up today's broadcast so so here you are. Hebrews 13 when just jump in benediction. They call it such a beautiful closing prayer and actually just before I read this say to you if you listeners have never taken the time to really pay attention to the Bennett fictions of the health in the New Testament. That in itself can be a lovely fruitful piece giving study.

So, okay, here's our very main time I think is just to throw a look and say goodbye. Thank you for reading. In the letter. Love you by mom or whoever is her a letter. This is statement of blessing. So starting in verse 20 now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus the great Shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant equip you with everything good that you may do as well, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Man, what can you say after that man yeah well let's look at it more slowly is progressing now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus.

That's an interesting title. He's got a piece of that guy, registers a lot of things in our heads, but the principal you know when we talk about God and peace often comes up the New Testament that before coming to Jesus. We were at war. We had no arrests had no wrestling or not. It started inside yeah and is always in attendance ID when you talk about peace in the New Testament about closing of distance between someone so you know your wild with somebody you have a disagreement. You're not a piece of them are distant from them so it ties in the whole idea that you at one time.

You are opposed to God in your distant from and and you were restless.

As a result, I have got to open in front of the Lord said formerly this is Ephesians 213 to 14, but now in Christ, you who formerly were far off have been brought here the blood of Christ, for he himself is our peace, who has made both groups into one and broke down the barrier dividing wall right he is our peace right. He took upon himself the initiative to open the way and bring us into this relationship with God where there is no more opposition. Yes, there is a welcome and that's a very big deal that the God of the universe yeah wanted to wanted to narrow the distance between us we we cause that distance. By the way right. I didn't cause it doesn't, but he's one that takes the initiative to fix that distance and bring peace between us and Diane explained the very next phrase how we did. It is amazing we we often live in a state of peace right we had unreconciled relationships were unsettled all the time because things just are not right unfulfilled relationship right but here we have the God of peace that God who pursues peace who pursues reconciliation and who takes upon himself the responsibility to put in place everything required for us to enter his presence in the result. After that narrow distances he sees or rest rest so you know it really is a seeming Hebrews is so yes we got a piece who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus the great Shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant so that this blood of the eternal, that's accomplished all this and an attendant to that he brought him back from the dead, and he calls him, not the King of Kings and Lord of lords. But the great Shepherd of the sheep is such a tender and near and and is this is the shepherd who engaged on our behalf in order to bring us to God. That's what shepherds do. They do things that benefit the sheep and so as the greatest Shepherd of all time. He did what he could do to benefit the sheep to bring us in the nearness of God, and he did that through his own death while the covenant. This is the only place in the Scripture that I am aware of where it's this phrase the eternal covenant shows up and I was thinking about that now we know that when God speaks his word last forever. Right. We have plenty of Scripture that supports that. But I was looking for. This idea of the eternal covenant and I came to Psalm 111.

Listen to this, just misread your couple of verses the works of his hands are truth and justice, all his precepts are sure there upheld forever and ever and performed in truth and righteousness. He has sent redemption to his people. He has ordained his covenant forever. Forever yeah and it's an interesting contrast goes through this entire book Kevin.

We kept talking about the old covenant and the old covenant and the new covenant, and so here's an eternal covenant. So which one of his is both well, you know.

Revelation says we we see the Lamb for ever slain like the one who was marked from before creation for this very purpose. So, this eternal covenant this eternal arrangement for doing life for giving us life has been in the heart of God from before time right it's eternal right eternal idea and he sort.

He sort of plotted that course through Hebrews started at the covenant with Abraham's will talk about that so that yet.

So it's really the eternal covenant God hasn't changed his mind at all.

And then in verse 21. The last half is benediction. He he prays for our equipping yeah isn't that interesting. Well, this is the whole point of the new covenant that says I will you will know in your heart I will write my words on your hard work in us so just equip you finish you out menu.

Put everything in order provide for you.

Everything required for you to to do what God's purposes for you. Yeah yeah and he's the one that doesn't.

He we don't have to, you don't hold our breath and bumper muscles and see if we make ourselves for the abuse he equips us with everything good so sufficient in every respect for for how he wants to glorify himself through us, that you may do his will you working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus, so he makes us pleasing in his sight. That's right. Through all of this memorably talked about the new covenant we are impressed by the fact that it says repeatedly. God says I will I will I will I will.

There is never as you well until we get almost to the end of the same horses and know me right so the profound emphasis of the new covenant is not what we can do what you doing, as is done in yeah and that's probably the most profound difference between new and old, you'll covenant stress sure what we did in compliance. Yeah. And even at that it you know what he argues that all that stuff that we didn't know covenant with gayness much know what in the new covenant is all about what Jesus accomplished for us alone ought to give us true in this piece right. Romans five says we have received our entry action into the peace of God's grace in which we stand. Through Jesus right. We we have a place to stand in relationship with God because of the piece that he established the blood of Christ, right right does that not give you peace a sense of steadiness and I rest in your soul.

You know and remember earlier. He said it's impossible to please God without faith. And here he is talking about the fact that he is going to equip us. He's going to everything working in us the sufficiency of every good thing in order that will be pleasing in his sight. And so when you tied it back together with the faith issue really is a brand-new kind of relationship berthed here when you come to Jesus where you're in relationship with him. You relate to him through faith, he equips you totally and fully to do his will for the rest of your life and it's all about what he doesn't us, not what we do for him. So it's a fascinating thing and then he Said by saying through Jesus Christ.

Through Jesus all this is possible. That's an amazing thing. So if you're a believer of your follower of Jesus. Do you realize he's at work right now within you to equip you to do his will.

And wherever he's placed you in whatever you're doing, and hell out of us. We wish I won't say sure, but we should shy away from being used by got a situation for you Noel.

If I say this are going to react kinda weird to want that's a question I can't answer, and I'm not a scriptorium, not an expert doesn't just need to realize he's been equipping you all along for work with it wherever he leads you in order to serve as well. That's what he does and you does not what you have to write for him. You just show up. Just show. Well, I just well we were talking here I was thinking of another benediction. It's the one at the end of Jude where you just Jude says now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling right you don't keep yourself in stumbling. He keeps you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory blameless and with great joy when I got that's what God does address to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory and majesty, dominion and authority before all time now is new covenant emphasis again what he does is able to make us stand blameless before him with great joy in his presence. Yeah, what we want to be able to stand in confidence before God in the Bible and Jesus by the blood of Jesus just makes all possible and and from the point of now until the fulfillment of his promise to us. We live this life that glorifies him, with him equipping us and how to do that so that's the new covenant, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Never write a natural result of that in us should be giving praise and honor and recognition to God for what he is done I love is benediction. The great Shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant that phrase all by itself kinda staggers me and makes become a step back and just think for a while. It's a great statement, the great Shepherd of the sheep well and when you think that at the heart of making a covenant in the Old Testament picture was the death of the Lamb the sacrifice the blood that was brought in. Here we have the great Shepherd who himself becomes the sacrifice right yeah that is a stunning picture yeah and you know he tutored us all the way through.

Hebrews wrote about how Jesus fulfills so many different roles in the Old Testament.

This is such a fitting action for this letter not not just the sacrifice Lamb, which he is, but he's also our high priest is a forerunner into the holy, holy your son on my mind. Let me just let me just read a file greaser and then go back okay to reminisce about the themes, pop… Just reinforce the final greetings of 22 I peeled two brothers bear with my word of exhortation this thing right here like bear with it, for I have written to you briefly. You should know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if you come soon, greet all your leaders and all the saints.

Those who come from Italy send you greetings grace you with all of you.

The end is a is a grateful stomach went who wrote it does.

But we know we don't know is a lot of presumptions going around. But we just just don't know is why it's one of the many letters in the New Testament, but one of the few that doesn't state who wrote it because I always at the front say this is me writing this to you and he doesn't do that and we talked about that weeks and weeks ago started into this but you know many people think that it was Paul but the more familiar you are with Paul's writing class. This feels like you've all translated into English. It doesn't sound like doesn't sound like pop yeah yeah so some someone else. But somebody who had a close relationship with Timothy so yeah exactly somebody new Paul someone someone in the circle yeah well it's been the last 10 minutes or so talking about the is we look back on these 13 chapters the great themes that you saw what I want to go for cells. The things it really just emailing when you said you want to talk about this. The first thing that came to mind is Jesus is better Jesus is better is the theme that runs all the way through the book for me and then when I began to thumb through it and kind of watch for that list just growled he's better than Angels.

He has a better name his name to sign right. He though he rains, he became one of us. He's better than Moses. He's a better priest because he sympathize with us. He was tempted yet without sin. He forever lives always intercede for us right.

He gives us a better hope a better covenant a better ministry. He's a better mediator. All of these things just read about the page. Jesus is he's a better sacrifice.

He entered the true holy place once for all. On the basis of a better promise} blood would pay for good once for all.

And we have a better reward which is to be with him. Jesus is anything and what that's a very powerful message of Jewish years because in in Jewish lore. You know they they tend to hold up in reverence people like Abraham and Moses, knowing that all these all these people really you know that their principal people God gave them as their leaders. And yeah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, I mean that there there's no doubt that should be prominent but for a Jew, the thought that's the big list right and Jesus is not on the big list and the Pharisees took Moses to our Jesus to test for single who are you are you greater than they were emigrated and Moses and he said yeah I am my side is very clear about derailing the writer of Hebrews is making very strong statement about the preeminence of Christ. You might have your own kind of you know list of heroes in the Old Testament, but Jesus is bigger than all so and he's better than any other religious system unite be laboring under, or impose upon yourself. This is a better way so that really struck home to me on this letter writers that even the beginning he says like he's the only ultimate way how we can escape if we neglect so great is God's. God's word God's final word to us.

Yeah.

So that's a big one for me, but then second second said that I I was struck by there's these urgent calls all the way through the letter. To do this, do do this right okay so now listen to the practical. Don't drift.

Don't neglect don't fall away through unbelief. Don't harden your heart, which actually has said repeatedly don't grow dull of hearing, and don't be sluggish. I'm guilty of everything. One of us, perhaps on a daily basis is a list of dues that got coming up I getting to consider to draw near, do be diligent do hold fast happens again and again and again.

Probably 05 times listed here hold fast told Klink anchor yourself so you know it's along with this argument that Jesus is the better. The only way then there is this very personal urgent call to so don't don't let your heart grow cold. Don't fail to believe.

Don't fail to cling fast. You know, it should always be the case that that what you believe should should color a lot of what you do should be tied together. Well, they actually really are, whether we admit it.

Not only don't leave becomes clear. By the way we act yeah but a lot of people who have never really looked. Hebrews closely will say well it's just the big book of theology and all. When you say theology you think will not real practical not real down to earth. It's just kind of figure you and stuff like that but it's really not. It's just he's he's outlining what the truth is from a Hebrew mindset and that has consequences on what you do is what he is so pragmatic about saying don't do this, don't do this. This should color exactly how you walk forward from this point life.

You know I left something like that list, which was in Hampton chapter 1266 drives just because you is the only way you will get to that goal only way you're going to finish the race and get where you are going, so it is very practical in the midst of just some profound truth that stated from Hebrew mindset profound truth is practical. The changes everything. It really does them and you can find out what someone truly believes but how they act. By the way, which is why Jesus is you will know them by their fruits right.

Look at what kind on the outside. You understand what they really believe because it's those two together closely can be fairly convicting right because we can say something and then we just don't live like it's trending exactly which makes us a functional atheist. Yeah at least a hypocrite.

Another that's it.

It's really true, but I think that's why God gave us these outward action so we can we can start to understand we can plumb the darkness of our final who we are.

Just look at what you do what you do and you'll understand this. Like they say if I want to find a house when really you see what the doing is nowhere a lot while yeah right will take some thing tell me your MMI things are actually there one in the same there was. Early on he talked about the promises you know promise to Abraham upon that promise as a threat extends onto us and that promise is a promise for life is a promise for a place to live and he talked about how the Israelites left Egypt in the promise was to bring them to a place to live, the place of living with God so that promises there and then he switched and started to use another word for the same thing, which is this idea of rest. Remember because he says they were going in the promise of but they didn't make it because he didn't believe he could get in because the Giants and so God says you know I wouldn't let them enter my rest so that place of the promise is also characterizes rest use as a cone and then he switches and uses another word for that same promise. The promise rest, which is a city. You know it's a place to dwell. So these are always about places to dwell that God had designed and got it intended for them and these places God would be in the midst, and God would give life to them in that new living situation so it isn't. It is just an idea about how to get our heads together so with a happy life is the fact that God has always intended starting with this promise way back that he wants to live with us yeah and and and with us living in God's presence we find real life and that's rest and that's a promise that is the promise from Abraham and that's the city. The city remembers you look at the people in Hebrews 11 he said you know they all desire to better country. I have only one so so God saw should be called their God, and so that the looking is is toward that. So even in this last chapter 13. He said you know here we don't have a lasting silly you know you can set your tent here, but we will have a lasting city here so we seek the city that is to come and were receiving a kingdom that will not be shaken will not be shaken. Yeah so I was really impressive that his this red of you know, here's here's what were talking about this God wants us to find life and that life even when you went back to the Garden of Eden was life with God in that class rank and God says I want to bring you back to that there are some problems with sin and we work through all that kind of stuff but in the end. In the end, the final benefit is if you want to find life real life is life living with God. And guess what God has it all planned out and in the last metaphor, it's the city of God in your life where God lives in our midst right dwell with him and I think we said last week that the beautiful picture of that is in Revelation 19. Yeah, absolutely, where he says you and the light is there's no son there because the light is the Lamb. Yeah right as the light is the center of the city. The center of this entire new community designed and built by God as the same place as Jesus said to the apostles you know you know if if if there wasn't a place that you that there was going to accommodate you. I would've been telling you about this place in my father's house with lots of places… I'm going there, so that you can be with me. That's the whole port so you can be with me and were struck.

We look in the Old Testament about the fact that they wanted in the desert and their tents. God said here's a good arranger tents by tribe. And guess who will be in the center of all your tents my head. That is why were that 1st yard it out there. You and for so that that's a remarkable thing God's intentions to bring life to us by us living with him, but soon got met way and God again took the initiative through the blood of Christ, and took care of it was always God's intention to dwell in the midst of his people.

Exact right picture by Matt to nothingness in the middle of the camp and then pictured later on by the temple that was built into the city right in the middle of the city and now you know then we become the temple right in the New Testament in Christ but were still looking forward to that. Still, City, whose architect and builder is God still looking and that's what impresses me so strongly in chapter 4 of Joshua had given them rest, then God would not have spoken of another. Not a day later on.

And that's what we are still waiting for us to look at the is the culmination of that promise.

The culmination so we have rest right now in Jesus wildly look late for that final culmination if it's possible for you to live life in fellowship with God. You can find it and we can because of the spirit we So we start to experience that right now we are out of time again we want to tell Morgan to go to stall you now after Thanksgiving. We are to move into the book of Exodus accident has been a favorite of mine for a number of site I never realized until I embarked on a study of Exodus fairly focused study of Exodus house Central. It was to understanding what God did rise people out of Egypt. We will know the story well seeing as the central story of the nation of Israel, recorded in Exodus, so we are excited about that. All I I am too. It's just it's it's more than just a story in my own yeah I know I have the central events. It's essential that has a defining event because this is God taking initiative to rescue a people and try and that's look the largest metaphor for his to him for all to literally make them just give them his name and rate rescue. So that's really go to next time and we hope you join us with that were glad you stuck it out with us through all of Hebrews and a great, great explorations of collective joys and if you didn't you just came in part way through. You can go back and find these online there'll posted on the more than Inc.org. So join us next time again for more than Inc. is a production of mainstream church is solely responsible for its content.

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