The Perfect Way Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:1-18)

Hello everybody. The title of our pulpit message was The Perfect Way Jesus Christ. And I have a question for you. What does perfect mean? Before we talk about what perfection means, if you want to take notes, make sure your paper is this way because we are going to be using this aspect ratio. So up heee, I want you to write down the definition of perfection. Right now just think about it, what does perfect mean? 

God has told us about something that is perfect. If we know what this is we have the answer to our lives. This answer is in the Bible so we will use a lot of Bible verse today. I hope the Bible verses will be projected on the screen because it will take a long time to flip back and forth.

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. I will draw this. The heavens is the spiritual world and the earth is the physical world.In heaven we have things like angels, oh also I apologies because my drawings are really bad, but hopefully when you guys draw it’ll look a lot better. We also have something called the throne of God. I don’t know how to draw a throne. And the throne of God has all of this glory. So here are some glory lines. And this is where God is seated. What about us? We are here. It says in Genesis 1:26-28, first God said something, “let us make man in our image” and then God made man. And then God gave us this command to fill the earth and subdue it. And this is how we are created to be with God. 

It also says in Genesis 2:7, that God breathed into man to breath of God. So that means we are not just physical beings, we are spiritual beings. Meaning we are created to be with God. And the spirit of God is within me. And what is the way to maintain this relationship? God gave us the word in Genesis 2:17, you must not eat from try tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat if it you will surely die. God is saying, “hey stay with me. This is how you can be truly happy.” When you’re with God you have everything that you need, to what extent? Genesis 2:25 tells us Adam and his wife were both naked and they felt no shame. I’m not telling you to run around naked, but what does it mean to be naked? You literally have nothing, you don’t even have clothes, and you’re okay. This is how God created us to be. I don’t have anything, and I feel no shame, I’m okay. 

What happens after this verse? It’s the story of Genesis 3. Immediately after the Bible tells us that Adam and Eve were naked, they felt no shame. We have Genesis 3:1-6. So when the serpent came, he was like “no no don’t be with God.” You can be like God, you can decide what’s good and evil. And Adam and Eve were like “oh maybe we should listen to Satan.” And so what happened was, they left God. They became separated from God. And then heaven and earth became separated. 

And so what happens right after this? In verse 6, and 7 says, “Then the eyes of Adam and Eve were opened. “Oh no I’m naked!” I need something else. I need to put some fig leaves over me, to cover me up. And this is the greatest solution they can come up with. “I have to do something, I’m naked.” And they’re stuck like this. What is the real problem? They have fallen into sin. In Romans 3:23, it says, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 

What does sin do? Isaiah 59:2 says, for your iniquities have separated you from your God. Your sins have hidden his face from you, I can try to cry out to God but he won’t listen to me. In the midst of all this, what do I think I have to do? I think I need to trust myself. What are the things we run after when we trust ourselves? In Genesis 3:21 the lord God made clothing of skin meaning something needs to die because of my sin. It’s the blood that takes away my sin.

 If I don’t have this, I will end up like Noah the age of the Nephilim. It says in Genesis 6 that sons of God went to the daughter of men because they were beautiful. They look for things that are beautiful. I really need to have a boyfriend or girlfriend. I need a husband or wife, I need physical things. I need sheeps. I need cows with really big horns. I need money. I need  all of these physical things because I don’t want to be naked. I am filled with so much shame. This isn’t enough.

What we see in Genesis 11:1-8, people wanted to build a city for ourselves towers, that will reach heaven.

Do you know this building? It used to be the tallest building until one day another building showed up. What is this? This made it the tallest building in LA. Why did they do that? Because they wanted it to be the tallest. 

It’s really stupid, but that’s what they did. They think, “Oh I need a big house, I need a lot of money. This is what really makes me happy.” And the entire time what’s going on? People don’t know that this problem of Genesi 11 is the same problem of Satan. If we take a look at Isaiah 14:12-15, it talks about how Satan was right before he fell. It says, “you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heavens, I will raise my throne, above the throne of God,.” Satan thought he can be better than God. And when I don’t trust God, we think we’re better than God. But God is going to have none of that, so we fight with God. How do we fight with God? I get power from evil spirits. 

In Acts 13:8-12, it talks about Shamanism. It talks about this sorcerer who was controlling the government. He had a lot of evil spirit power, to the point he can even control the governor. And then there’s Acts 16:16-18, it talks about this this fortune teller girl, I don’t know how to draw a fortune teller but, she was among a lot of many for her slave owners, because people think, “hey if I know what’s going to happen in the future, I can make the right choices so I can make a lot of money, and if I have a lot of money, I can get a boyfriend, or a car.” That’s the worst car I’ve ever seen. 

“I can get a lot of sheep, I can get so much power if I have these things, and then I won’t need God.” But people actually do need God. And the way people get demon possessed is by doing a bunch of idol worship. So if you look at Acts 19:8-20, it talks about idol worship. It says that they were burning a bunch of scrolls that had a lot of sorcery powers and it was worth 2 million dollars. They just burned it all up. Imagine and entire city coming together and burning up to 2 million dollars of stuff. Like biting in up idol worship and mysticism things. It is crazy right? But people worship these things. In some places in the world if there’s a really big tree they will be like, “ Oh that’s a really big tree” then they will bow down to and worship it. They think if I bow down to this tree then I will give me what I want.

 In the midst of this what do you think is the biggest thing humans can worship? That’s why Egypt had  reasons they were able to get the pyramids. The biggest thing you can worship is the sun, that’s why pharaoh, raoh in the ancient Egyptian language means the sun and the pharaoh was the son of the sun. That means that the pharaoh was a God, so they worship the sun. 

But what does the Bible say about this? It says in Ecclesiastes 1:9 There’s nothing new under the sun. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again, there’s nothing new under the sun. That new tiktok you think it’s so cool that everybody needs to see, it’s already done. The new movie or drama, it’s actually already been done. But you think it’s the coolest thing ever. Why is that? Because we start here. Because our entire life started here. I’m lost in my sin, I’m separated from God, and I’m under Satan’s control. So of course I need to have money, I need to have a lot of sheep, I need to have a nice house, I need to have extra power. And everything really sucks. How can I overcome this? There’s one thing that you actually need. You need to be above the sun. Lamentations 3:22. It says, God’s mercy and faithfulness are new every morning, because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed. There’s nothing new under the sun, but there’s something new above the sun. And what is that? It is God’s compassion, and mercy. 

What is God’s compassion and mercy? It is Jesus Christ. What happens when I don’t have Jesus Christ? Everything I do starts from here, what do I do with it? I try things like religion, good works, I try to be a good person, and what does God think of my good works? Isaiah 64:6 says, “My good works are like filthy rags.” Actually the English translation is pretty bad, when I went to Ethiopia they told me the true meaning. Filthy rags need to be translated to used tampons. Why is it that my good works are inadequate? In Romans 3:10-12 it says nobody seeks God. People turned to their own ways, I think I’m good, so I do good things, but I don’t do what God wants. 

What else do people try? They try philosophy. But in Colossians 2:8 it says, don’t be deceived by hollow and deceptive philosophy. You have to be careful of people who talk too much, because they’ll say so many words, but it’s all empty. What do you really need? In 1 Corinthians 4:20, it says that the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk about power. When you experience the grace of God coming into your life, you don’t need to say a bunch of words, being filled with the Holy Spirit , you don’t have to relay  your own wisdom, you relay the word of God, and that word has saving power.

 Other people try religion, they’ll go and try to cast out evil spirits, like in Matthew 12:43-45, yes, even if you don’t believe it, because that’s the power of Jesus’ name, but what happens to a person when the evil spirit departs?  If that’s all you do, that person is going to be empty.

Then the evil spirits will come back, they will see it’s empty and clean. The evil spirit will bring back seven more evil spirits even worse than itself and the person will get possessed even more. What’s the real solution?  In Mark 7:6-8, it says “People honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me” People are worshiping in vain. Everything I do starts from  Genesis 3, 6, 11. If I fall then where do I go? I go back and try again. I’m stuck in this loop. 

This verse from our pulpit message, Hebrews 10:1 says, “ By the same sacrifices endlessly repeated year, after year, I can’t be made perfect.” I can’t be made perfect no matter when I try. What is perfection? What is your definition of perfection and is your idea of perfection aligned with this? When I have a lot of money I can depend on myself. When I have a lot of money, I can hire some bodyguards, so nobody will kill me. Is this perfection? 

No but there’s something God is doing. What God is doing is perfect. There’s somebody actually who was above the sun. Genesis 37:9, this was Jospehs’ dream, he saw that the sun, moon, and stars were going to bow down to him. Satan was like, “no we’re going to be above God’s throne.” But Joseph, he just received this dream. So the question is, how can I get here. Maybe you’re thinking right now, “How can I be like Joseph?” And if you start here, it’s not going to work. “I want to be successful like Joseph, I want people to look up to me like Joseph, I want to be above the sun.” It’s not going to work but God has told you something. If you enjoyed the pulpit message, you would enjoy this all the time. In order for me to actually enter into heaven, I need to hold onto something called the covenant. 

And this is also the covenant that Joseph held onto. He knew he couldn’t defeat Satan on his own. That’s why he held onto the covenant of Genesis 3:15. The offspring of the women would crush the head of the serpent. I cannot fight with Satan, God will have to do it for me. In exodus 3:18, this is similar to Genesis 3:21, they had to do the blood sacrifice. And it’s the blood sacrifice that’ll take away my sin. 

And there’s one promise, in Isaiah 7:14, it says, “the Lord himself will give you a sign, the Virgin shall conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel”, meaning I’m no pinger separated from God, but God will be with me, just because God said so. How will these words be fulfilled? By Jesus Christ. We see Matthew 16:16, “Simon Peter answered, you are the Christ the son of the living God.” And you all know what Jesus Christ means. He is the true king, who defeated Satan in the cross, 1 John 3:8 “ The reason the son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” Romans 8:2 “ Through Christ Jesus the law of the spirit that gives life has sent me free from the law of sin and death.” John 14:6  “I am the way, the truth, and the life nobody can come to the father except through me.”

When Jesus Christ died upon the cross he said, “It is finished.” What was finished? What was fulfilled? The promises from the old testament because I have these problems that God only knows about therefore; God will solve those problems for me and he did it through Jesus Christ. These problems are no longer problems for me because Jesus Christ took care of them. That’s how I can move from Genesis 3,6 and 11 to Christ.

Looking at our pulpit message Hebrews 10:12 but when this priest had offered For all time one sacrifice for all sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Jesus Christ is our sacrifice and he sits at the throne. What does that have to do with me?

If you look at Ephesians 2 it gives the entire way of salvation. Ephesians 2:1 say first you are dead and your transgressions and your sins meaning I am imprinted in Genesis 3,6 and 11. I follow the way of this world meaning I am rooted in the world. I am on after all these things. I follow the cravings of my flesh and try to satisfy these desires, that’s my nature.

My nature is to do this. And I’m stuck in this loop. Then what do I do? It’s actually now what I do, but in verses 4-5, it says, But because of his great love for us, God. It’s not that I do something, but God who is rich in mercy, he made us alive. It’s not something to do, it’s something God does. Even when I was dead. This is what we call grace, it’s a gift. God does it. When I recognize that, that’s when.. it’s just amazing. And not for nothing, what happens after that? 

Do you know where you are? You might think, “Oh I’m just sitting in church.” And that’s true from the physical perspective, but what does it say in verse 6? It says, God raised us up with Christ, and seated us with him. This is me, this is where I am. I didn’t make this up, I didn’t write the Bible. Do you know where you are? You’re seated with Christ who is seated at the right hand of God. And it continues, in order that in the coming ages, he may show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness of us, Christ Jesus. 

The incomparable riches of his grace means that I can be saved. In the coming ages, Paul wrote this almost about 2,000 years ago. And the coming age is now, and he wants to show this incredible grace and kindness to me. That’s what this gospel is. So that even if you mess up, what happens? Let’s say you sin, you fall back into your old imprints, is that really a problem? What did we read in our pulpit message. It says, in Hebrews 10:13-14, he waits for his enemies to be his footstools, meaning Satan is still here, and Christ is waiting, until Satan will become, you know, the stepping on the neck thing the pastor was talking about. 

Satan is still alive, God knows that, and he says it’s okay. Why is it okay? For by one sacrifice, he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. Has made perfect. If you’re really good at grammar, you’ll see that this is the present perfect tense. When do you use “has made” if somebody asks you something like “did you eat?” Then you can be like, “oh yeah I ate.” You don’t really know when that happened. But when you say, “Oh I have eaten.” Very recently it just happened. Very recently you have been made perfect. This is what the Bible is saying. It could’ve been like with one sacrifice I’m perfect, it’s like it has been made perfect, it’s like something that happened right now.  And what do I do with this? I just enjoy it. 

I’m no longer following the ways of this world, but I’m stuck in this new loop where God is putting the law into my heart.  This is the covenant.  Slowly, I’m being changed.  The amount of time I spend with my old imprints is going to change, too.  I have to remember that I’m up here.  If I fall, what do I do?  I ask, “What is it that’s in my heart right now?” I surrender the things I don’t need, the things of the world I do not need.  I ask God, “Please, write Your Word into my heart.”  It’s the Word about Christ that gives me faith.  I remember what Jesus Christ did, because these are the words that pertain to Christ.  This talks about why I need Jesus Christ, it talks about what happens now that I believe in Jesus Christ.  I believe that I’m seated right here, right next to God, not because I want to be, but because God has called me to be there.

This is a tremendous blessing.  I think we’re almost out of time, but really quickly, when I’m seated here, I have these blessings, there’s actually seven blessings and we’ll go through them very quickly.  John 1:12, you are now children of God.  1 Cor. 3:16, “Don’t you know that you are God’s temple and the Spirit of God dwells in you?”  John 15:7, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it shall be given to you.”  Not just that, but unseen to your eyes, angels are sent to help you. You have the authority to cast out evil spirits.  You have the background of the kingdom of heaven, and God will use you to do world evangelization.  God promises, “Surely, I am with you always until the very end of the age.” We’ve talked about the blessing of the throne. Because you’re seated with Christ, these are the blessings you have.  All you have to do is enjoy them.

We talked about the story of David, and David was a man after God’s own heart. We also saw that David fell, he made a mistake and he wrote Psalm 51.  In Psalm 51, it talks about repentance. It’s not about offerings and sacrifices, but it’s a body.  It’s Christ.  Christ is the One Who restored David to the extent that if you look in Matthew 1, you’ll actually see “Uriah’s wife.”  Everyone knows adultery is a terrible thing, and it is, but you being right here, like this, is part of God’s plan.  

So, I don’t need my own standards; I need only the covenant.  How deeply did David understand this covenant?  Do you know Psalm 23?  “The LORD is my shepherd; I lack nothing.”  He was just taking care of sheep, he was not a rich person, but he said he had everything.  There were many people in the Old Testament, but we’ll talk about one more, and this is a test.  There’s a prophet named Habakkuk.  He starts out in the first couple of chapters, crying out and lamenting to God, but then, he recognizes something at the very end of Habakkuk.  I’m going to read it and I want you to think about what comes after Hab. 3:17.

What do you think comes next, what do you think it says in verse 18?  Anybody?  There’s nothing new under the sun? It’s all just going to continue to be like this, praise God?  Any other suggestions?  Yet, I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God, my Savior.  That means he was here.  “Though the fig tree does not bud,” there’s no cattle in the pens, there’s no sheep, I have no money, I don’t have a girlfriend, I don’t even have a car, I don’t have a building, I don’t even have a tall building, I have no power, I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, yet, I will rejoice in the LORD.  I will be joyful in God, my Savior.

I’m naked, and I have everything. Let us pray.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, You are the Christ, the son of the living God. We thank You for You have given us everything through Christ. May You give us the faith to remember we are seated with You in the heavenly realms.  May we enjoy always being with you from now until eternity. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.