What's New? Series

Introduction:

1. Have You Ever Been Asked The Question: “What’s New?” Usually, The Person Asking You This Question Is Really Trying To Find Out How You Are Doing. But Sometimes, They Want To Find Out If Anything Fresh & Exciting Is Going On In Your Life! Or They Want To Know If Anything Interesting Is Going On In Your Life! How Do You Usually Answer? “Oh, Nothing!” - Or - “Not Much!” This Morning, I Want You To Think About This Question In A Whole New Light! Because, In The Life Of A Born-Again Christian, There Should Be Something New Going On In Your Life! After All, This Is What Jesus Does! According To Revelation 21:5, Jesus Says: “Behold, I Make All Things New!”

2. So, What’s New In Your Life This Morning? Is There Something New In Your Life? Is There Something New In Your Mind? Is There Something New In Your Heart? Is There Something New In Your Walk? If There’s Not – Something’s Wrong! Because If You Consider Yourself To Be A Christian, There Ought To Be Something New In Your Life!

3. In Hebrews 8, We Have Already Seen That The Lord Jesus Christ Is The Greatest Servant – He Is Our “High Priest, Who Is Set On The Right Hand Of The Throne Of The Majesty In The Heavens; A Minister Of The Sanctuary!” (8:1-2) Now, We Learn That The Lord Jesus Has “Obtained A More Excellent Ministry!” (8:6) In Other Words, The Greatest Servant Performs The Greatest Service! And This Great Service That He Performs Is Making The Hearts & Lives Of His People New! How Does He Perform This Great Service – Of Making “All Things New” In The Mind, Heart & Lives Of His People? 8:6 - “But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much [Or Through Which] also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises!” He Performs His Great Service – Of Giving You A New Mind, Heart & Life – Based Upon A “New Covenant” – A “Better Covenant” Between God & His People! And This Is What The Rest Of This Chapter Talks About!

4. What Are These “Covenants”? We Need To Understand A Few Things About These Covenants:

First, A Covenant Is A Serious & Solemn Contract! There Are Usually 2 Or More Parties Involved, With Certain Stipulations Written Down, A Vow To Uphold Them, And Consequences If They Are Not Kept! In The Hebrew Language, The Word For “Covenant” Actually Means “To Cut Through” - Which Shows How Serious & Solemn These Agreements Were! An Animal Would Be Killed & Cut In Two - Then, The Participants In The Covenant Would Walk Between The Two Parts, Basically Saying: “May This Happen To Me If I Fail To Keep My End Of The Agreement!”

Second, A Covenant Between God & Man Is Always A Covenant Of Grace! Because A Covenant Between God & Man Is Basically An Arrangement & Agreement Initiated By God In Order For Him To Provide Salvation & Blessing For His People! What Is Grace? God Giving To Us What We Do Not Deserve! Especially The Opportunity To Have A Relationship With Him! God Has Made Several Covenants With Man! And They Are All Covenants Of Grace! Because, God Alone Can Offer This Kind Of Relationship! And It Reveals His Grace! And Because, God Doesn’t Have To Offer This Kind Of Relationship! And He Never Did Have To Offer This Kind Of Relationship! But It Reveals His Grace!

Third, The Two Covenants Being Described Are:

The First Covenant - The Covenant Of Moses - When God Gave The Moral Laws & The Ceremonial Laws To His People, Expecting Them To Show Their Love For Him Through Obedience! But They Failed – Miserably!

The Second Covenant - The Covenant Of Christ - When God Gave His Only Son To Satisfy All The Requirements Of The Laws For His People, Expecting Them To Show Their Love For Him Through Faith! This Is The “Better Covenant, Which Was Established Upon Better Promises!” (8:6) And This Is “What’s New” For A Child Of God! As Paul Put It: “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new!”

5. So, What’s New In Your Life?

* Let’s Look At:

I. Why We Need Something New!

We Often Discover That What Is True Of The Old Testament Israelites Is True Of Us! The Reason They Needed Something New In Their Lives Is The Same Reason We Need Something New In Our Lives – We Are Failures!

8:7 - “For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second!”

“Although The Law . . . Was Perfect, It Could Not Make Man Perfect!” (Kistemaker) And We See This Clearly In Verse 8!