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 current series “Does God Care” by talking about "What to Do When I Need a Change of Heart."
It’s one thing to change your mind – what you’re going to think about – its 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 today’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 standing here 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. [Circle “sat down.” 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 linchpin 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 talked to you in detail last week from Hebrews chapter 7 when I spoke to you about “How to Let God Care for 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!
Deb and I were recently having a conversation with our daughter Bethany and her husband David about raising kids. She was interested in getting our advice on the best ways to discipline kids. We talked about different things and about dealing with children according to their individual temperaments, etc. But the main principle we reiterated was to build a loving relationship between parents and children. Of course this takes a lot of work and a high level of dedication on behalf of the parents and it has a lot of corollaries, but children become healthy teens and adults when they have healthy relationship with their parents. They want to do the right thing because they sincerely love their mom and dad and know that they’re loved by them. They want to do right because of love.
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 whay 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!
I often 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!
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 the 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. It’s only value was that it represented the real deal in Heaven!
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 an old friend called the house and had some questions about missions giving. In the midst of the conversation she said, “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.” She went on to remind me of how she and her husband 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. She 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 a change of heart that leads us to trust God’s promises.
Last week we saw a change of mind affects our attitude.
This week we see that a change of heart affects our actions. We live by faith in God’s promises, not by whether the sun is shining or whether it’s raining.
