The Power of the Promise

Here is the auto transcript from this week’s sermon on the Gospel to the Hebrews, The Power of the Promise

Okay, two quick things. First, no more coffee for him prior to service. And

secondly, did you just compare me to hummus? I mean, I kind of felt like he

oversold my feelings for like the donut place where we got donuts. I just

really, really liked them. And he made it, you know, everybody was like, I had a kid

coming over, they were just donuts. Well, I never said they were heavenly manna, I just

said they were donuts. And now hummus. Anyway, I have way too much to get into

today to be distracted by all of this. But I just want to begin this morning by

saying, saying, "Hayom Shalom." Everybody say, "Hayom Shalom."

"Hayom Shalom." That's not what we say on this day, is it? No, it's not a thing. But

we'll loop back to it, you'll understand why. Last week I laid out three goals.

One, to accurately proclaim what the Holy Spirit gave to the Hebrew writer to give

to us. Two, to rehabilitate your respect and my respect for the Holy Spirit

inspiration of the book of Hebrews, because others have undermined it. Number

three, to correctly apply its powerful message in the manner the Holy Spirit

wanted it applied. And there has never been a generation that needs

its truth more than we do right now in these last days. So we looked last week

at the power of the gospel, and I want to encourage you, I wanted to encourage you

because it's encouraging me that many of you are letting me know that you take

time during the week to go back and watch again. I realize that, you know,

sometimes it can be like drinking from a fire hydrant because we're disseminating

so much, and now through the miracle of technology we can go back and you can

pause me and you can go like, "What did he say?" Well, you know, "Was that a joke or was

he just, you know, too much coffee?" Who knows. So, Hayom, today we have the benefit of

instant replay, and you can easily go back and watch again and kind of follow

the train of thought. So even if something goes by you today, don't stop

and try to go back in your mind and process that, just continue with the flow.

You see, the power of the gospel is the power of God's Word coming to pass.

The power of the promise is the same thing. A promise is simply God's Word that He

has said that is going to come to pass. Last week we looked at the power of the

gospel, how God literally took and used the very thing that Satan was going to

use to destroy us, death, and He used that very vehicle to redeem us. And may I just

sidebar right now. You may feel like you're in a bit of a wilderness. You may

feel like you're facing some challenges in your life. You may feel like there's

some some uphill struggles, and it feels like maybe life is trying to defeat you.

Good. It may very well be that the attack of the enemy is the very thing God is

going to use to reveal His power. That's the power of the gospel. God takes the

tools and the weapons of the enemy and can literally use them for our

benefit if we'll trust Him. So don't curse your time in the wilderness. It may be

the very place where you hear His voice the most. Today, hayom, we're going to

be working our way through Hebrews chapter 3 and 4 and a little bit of 5,

and there is a passage in chapter 4, and I was trying to figure out how do I

illustrate for you the significance of this passage. And so this is what I came

up with, because we're all familiar with John 3 16. As John 3 16 is to the gospel

of God sending His Son, so Hebrews chapter 4 verse 12 is to the power of

God's will. I mean, if you want a verse that just succinctly and powerfully

states the proposition of the gospel, John 3 16 is it. If you want a really

powerful verse that speaks to the power of God's Word, the writer of Hebrews

pens this in Hebrews 4 12. Now unfortunately Hebrews chapter 4 verse 12

is often preached in sermons about the

nature of God's Word, but it also happens outside the context of where it appears

in the context of the Hebrew writer's letter. So we're going to look at it in

the context of what does it say in the context of what we're reading. So what is

that verse? It is simply this, "For the fact is the Word of God is living and

active and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing as far as the

division of soul and spirit of both joints and morrow, and able to judge the

thoughts and intentions of the heart." That's the power of God's Word, and we're

gonna see how it relates today to the power of the promise. So, "Hayom," today, if

you will in these moments open your mind and your heart, you might just hear the

Holy Spirit speaking to you. Will you pray with me? "Abba, Father, to that end we ask you

to do just that. Your Apostle prayed that you would give us a spirit of wisdom and

knowledge and understanding, or wisdom and understanding in the

knowledge of your Son. And so, Father, by the presence and ministry of your Holy

Spirit and the hearts and minds of those who have gathered here this morning and

those who are watching online today and those who will come across this message

in the days to come, will you meet us with a spirit of wisdom and knowledge in

the understanding of Yeshua your Son? I pray this for his glory. Amen."

All right, so class is now in session. What do I mean by that? I've got to do

some teaching about how this book comes together. Two frames that

are used in this book. The one is I'll just call to the Hebrew heritage, and the

other, well, I'll get to that in a minute. The Hebrew heritage, as I've referred to

it as the beautiful tense "Hashem," this is the whole story and legacy of the

Hebrew people and the Hebrew language. And the writer of Hebrews is going to

constantly be referring back and using that language and history and heritage

to help us understand what the Holy Spirit is trying to say to us in these

last days. But there's another frame of reference, and I'm just going to nickname

it "Holy Hellenism." Now, Hellenism is a word that is used to refer to three

things. The Greek religion, which was obviously pagan and polytheistic, the

Greek language, and the Greek culture. But we're not interested in all that. We're

interested in Holy Hellenism. Well, what is that? Hellenism also is a word that is

used to describe the Greek language. And there's an ancient Greek

author who wrote these words defining what is "good Greek." "Good Greek," by "good

Greek" is meant language that is faultless in its point. Meaning, "good

Greek" is language that drives home the point, expresses it so explicitly, so

clearly, that you can get a hold of the author's meaning. That's "good

Greek." And so that's my definition for Holy Hellenism. We're looking at the "good

Greek" that the Hebrew writer is using to tell the Hebrew story to the Hebrew

people. Now, Hayom, today there are two elements that are used by the Hebrew

writer that I must share with you before we dive into this text. The first comes

from the context of the Hebrew heritage, and it's become a real problem in our

lifetime. But it is essential to fully appreciate the point that the

writer is making. But it's a loaded term, and you've heard it, especially those who

have been connected with the part of the body of Christ that loves the Hebrew

heritage. It's the word "midrash." How many of you have heard the word "midrash"? It is a

very controversial word. Why is it so controversial? Namely, because it gets

misused and misapplied repeatedly. People just attach whatever definition to it

they want. So what is a "midrash"? Well, that's a loaded question, because it's

almost impossible to give you a simple one-statement explanation. The

oversimplified definition is what gets us in trouble, but the oversimplified

definition isn't actually incorrect. Hebrew roots groups often use it to

describe a Bible study. How many of you ever been at an event and you say, "Well, we're

gonna have a morning midrash." And what happens in that midrash is really, we

sit in a circle or we're in a room and we have a Bible discussion. And so the

definition of "midrash" simply becomes a time when we're just gonna talk about a

text and seek to commentate on its meaning and application. That's not

entirely wrong, but a midrash is more than just a discussion. It's a method of

interpreting Scripture, a method of drawing out the meaning of the text. It's

not sitting around asking, it's not serendipity, "Hey, what does this verse

mean to you?" A midrash is seeking to understand what did the author actually

say, and ultimately what is the Holy Spirit saying to the author to say to us?

Are you with me? Am I going too fast? Don't forget, you can watch it

again. So what is it? Well, that's a good question. And while there's no easy

definition, midrash is something that we have to become familiar with because of

how it is used to help us interpret Scripture. So what is the method? It is a

method of making connections and comparisons between biblical events,

people, and scriptural text that may not on the surface seem related. So like if

you go to one of the ancient Jewish midrashes written about Genesis 1

creation, they're actually going to start in Proverbs 8 verse 22, and they're

going to show how that verse connects and relates to what we read in the event

and the description of creation. So why is it so controversial? Well, two reasons.

The first is the question of its authority. Does midrash, and another

simple definition I should throw out here, is commentary. And here's where we

get into trouble. Does midrash have the same authority as Scripture? So here's

the problem, I wish I had a headset today. In Judaism, here is the Scripture, and

here is midrash. In Christianity, here is the Scripture, and here is midrash,

because it's commentary. The problem is, both are incorrect. They need more

explanation than that. You see, in Judaism, the answer is sometimes, yes, midrash is

looked at almost authoritatively. But in Christianity, we would say, no,

commentary is not Scripture. But the problem is, sometimes the Scripture is

commentary. Did you hear me? Sometimes the Scripture is midrash. I can remember

people saying to me, "Well, you know, I've come to see the New Testament as midrash,

and I knew we were in trouble." Because what they were saying is, it was a

reducing view of, it's just commentary, as opposed to, Holy Spirit breathed

Scripture. Do you see why it's controversial? Do you see why it's a problem? Because it was

used to undermine the text of the New Testament by simply saying, "Well, that's

just midrash." That is absolutely 100% true and 100% false at the same

time, if your definition of midrash is that midrash can't be Scripture. There is

midrash in Scripture. That doesn't mean every midrash is inspired. This is so

complicated. Are you with me, though? Do you understand? Are you understanding the kind of

the playing field? So there's another reason for its controversy, and that is

that midrash uses a four-part method of interpreting the Bible, which is an

acronym called Pardes. How many of you ever heard of Pardes? It's an acronym for

four Hebrew words, pashat, ramez, drash, and sod. Pashat simply means the

plain-sense meaning. That's the first level of interpretation. It says what it

says, it means what it means. The ramez level is the allusion. Well, it says what

it says, and it means what it means, but it may be alluding to something else or

being used allegorically of something else. The drash level, hence midrash, is

the homiletical or the application level. David slew Goliath. You can slay your

giants, too. That's drash. That's making application from the text. The sod level,

or the beneath the sod, I like to say, the mystery level, is how you can interpret

things, how the letters are written, the numerical value of the letters, that

there's this mystery level. Spoiler alert, do you guys want to know what the sod

level meaning of the entire Scripture is? Are you ready to write this down? I'm

gonna reveal the mystery. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus, if you search the Scripture, you try.

Jesus. That's the mystery of the tabernacle. That's the mystery of the

temple. That's the mystery of the calling of the children of Israel. That's the

mystery of the altar of incense. That's the mystery of the ark of the covenant.

That's the mystery of the land of Israel. Jesus. It all adds up to him. Spoiler. So

why is this a problem? Because about the second century, the Jewish people began

to write down their midrash, their commentaries on the Old Testament, and

they were using that method. But it wasn't until 1,300 years later that a

group of Jewish commentators who were into mysticism called Kabbalah, which

just means to receive. When we're in Israel and, you know, I need to call down

to the front desk, to the reception desk, I call down, I say, "Kabbalah! Reception!"

All right? So Kabbalah is just how the Scripture is received. But these guys, the

problem was that 1,300 years later, these Jewish mystics then kind of codified

what had already been written, had been used, but because they were the ones that

codified it, suddenly it's taboo. Do you understand what I'm saying? They were

already commentating using the plain sense meaning. They were already writing

books commentating on the illusions and the allegories of the text. They were

already commentating on homiletical application. They were already exploring

the depths of Scripture. But it was the mystics, some who have accused them, and

I'm not saying they're wrong, of even having occultic ties. They were so

focused on trying to find that mystery. Let me tell you, if you get so focused on

trying to find the mystery that you miss the obvious, the mystery has done you no

good. So the problem is, if I come to you today and I say, "The book of Hebrews is

Midrash," someone's gonna go on the internet and tell you, "Brent is a Kabbalist."

It's already happened to me. Years ago, I was teaching a series in Revelation, and

I was just using some Jewish references from the Qumran text, the Dead Sea Scroll

text, and I was talking about Melchizedek and some of the things that

those Kabbalists had commentated on Melchizedek, just trying to

show some Jewish thought. The next thing you know, there's a full-page article on

the web calling me a false prophet and occultist, taking LSD, and all kinds of

stuff, that I was endorsing Kabbalah. I most certainly was not. But the method is

in the New Testament. The shady origins of those Jewish mystics who codified it

doesn't change the fact that the Hebrew writer was using it 1,300 years or 1,200

years before they showed up. Are you with me? So this is kind of indemnifying

myself, helping you understand what I mean and what I don't mean. So why am I

telling you this? Because the book of Hebrews is definitively a midrash, a

commentary that uses midrashic methods of interpretation, but is at the same

time holy scripture. It is a commentary on the scriptures of the past, but it is

also an inspired scripture that uses these methods to correctly apply what

did they find in the Old Testament scriptures to give us the correct

application. And that is what the writer of Hebrews is going to do in the book of

Hebrews. He's going to make comparisons and connections from the past scriptures,

from the people, from the events, from the location, and then he's going to drash,

he's going to show us how that applies. But he is doing it at Holy Spirit

inspired levels, and I'm going to show you that. So that's way too much time on

that because now I got to talk about the Greek. And we'll introduce you to a word

that I don't expect you to remember, but it's called metonymy. It's a figure of

speech whereby one word is used to substitute another. Julius Caesar, "Friends,

Romans, countrymen, lend me your ear." So they all ran out and cut off their ear.

What does he mean? By metonymy, "ear" is simply allegorically talking about the

whole aspect of listening, right? We do this all the time. Metonymy has a sister

we call synecdoche. Say that three times fast. And like metonymy, it uses one word

in place of another, but synecdoche uses a word as a part for the whole. In

Caesar, when Caesar says that, the ear stands for the whole aspect of listening.

The husband says, "Honey, we need groceries." The wife says, "Okay, I'll go to the store."

"Honey, that's not helpful. We don't need stores, we need groceries. I don't need

you to go waste time sitting in the parking lot going, 'Well, there's the store.'"

In that sentence, the store, what? It implies everything connected to getting

groceries. You use it all the time. "Hey, lend me a hand."

That's synecdoche. Are you with me? Your brain's going, "Midrash and metonymy," and

like, "What does the Bible say?" We're getting there. So again, why do I bring

this up? Because the inspired writer of Hebrews is going to use both metonymy

and synecdoche while commentating on the Scripture using midrash.

[silence]

Hello. It was not a mic drop, I tried to mic place. It is a brilliant blend of

Hebrew heritage and holy Hellenism and hayom today, we're going to encounter

both, so let's dive in. One quick sidebar. You got to dabble. You know, we don't

really know who wrote the book of Hebrews, right? And it's funny when you

read some commentaries, some guys just say, "It's Paul," and they write their whole

commentary, "Well, when Paul said this, Paul said that." You don't know if it's

Paul or not. So I spend all my time calling the writer Hebrews, but I want to

give him a new nickname. And I want you to know who I mean when I...because I'm

going to start calling him Bezalel. Why would I say that? Do you remember who

Bezalel was? Moses comes down from the mountain, he's received the commandment

to build the tabernacle. Does Moses build the tabernacle? Nope. God supernaturally

imparts the knowledge to someone Moses had to preach to about the tabernacle to

actually be the one gifted to build the tabernacle. Jewish tradition says he was

13 years old. Some people say, "Well, it had to be one of the...the book of Hebrews

had to be written by one of the guys who were eyewitnesses." Bezalel was not on

the mountain, and he built the tabernacle. He was supernaturally gifted to

pull all of that together, and that's how I see the book of Hebrews. That whoever

this guy was, God supernaturally gifted him to bring together all of these

components to make this message. So here we go. Now we're going to dive in. Chapter

3. Chapter 2. It ends with Messiah being made like us in all things so that

he could serve us in all ways. Chapter 3, Messiah is shown as the one who not only

was able to serve us in all things, but was also serving God in all things

pertaining to God. Chapter 3 begins with a midrash. Remember, making a connection

and comparison. Moses was a servant in God's house. Yeshua, the Son, Jesus is the

Son over God's house. Hebrews chapter 3 verses 1 and 2. "Therefore, holy brethren,

partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus the Apostle and High Priest of our

confession. He was faithful to him who appointed him, as Moses was also in his

house." He starts with this midrash by making this comparison, by telling

the reader to pay careful attention to Jesus. What is he saying? Look deeper. Pay

attention to what is being revealed to you through the Son. Verse 5. "Now Moses

was faithful in all his house as a servant for a testimony of those things

which were to be spoken later." What did he just tell you? Moses was a midrash.

When you look at the life and ministry of how God used Moses, you're looking at,

to correctly interpret Moses, you have to understand, and by the way, this isn't

limited to just Christianity, our view, this is also Jewish view as well, that

Moses is a type of a future Redeemer. That's a midrash. It's a comparison.

It's a connection. "But Christ was faithful as a Son over his house, whose

house we are if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope

firm until the end." So the first midrash is the comparison and connection between

Jesus and Moses. Now good old Bezalel, Bezi for short, is going to make another

connection and comparison, actually a contrast, between Jesus and the

Israelites of the wilderness who were part of that generation. Verse 7. "Today if

you hear the Holy Spirit say," everybody say "Hayom," "today if you hear his voice, do

not harden your hearts as when they provoked me in the day of trial in the

wilderness where your fathers tried me by testing me and saw my works for 40

years. Therefore I was angry with this generation and said, 'They always go

astray in their heart, in their heart, and they did not know my ways. As I swore in

my wrath, they shall not enter my wrath.'" Did you just hear what that verse that he

just quoted said? God says, "I knew their heart." Hebrews 4:12 come to mind? The

writer then calls us to focus our attention so that we do not act like

that generation in the wilderness who would not listen and would not believe.

And to enforce this, he quotes David from Psalms 95, 7 through 11. Now I just want

to throw in a real quick tidbit. This is a verse that proves the writer of

Hebrews, whoever he was, was familiar with the Greek translation of the Old

Testament. How do I know that? If you go to your English Bible and you turn to

Psalm 95, you will nowhere find that it gives reference to David being the

author of that text. If you go to the Greek Septuagint, written about 250 to

200 years before Jesus, guess what? It describes the the Psalm to David. This

guy knows the Greek text. So what is he doing? He's saying, "You best be listening

to what the Scripture has said about that event and what God said to those

people." Verse 13, "But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is

still called 'Hayom' today, so that none of you will be hardened by the

deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold

fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end. While it is said today, if

you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked me. For who

provoked me when they had heard, indeed not all of those who came out of Egypt

led by Moses, was it not them? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it

not those who sinned and whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did

he swear that they would not enter his rest? But to those who were disobedient,

are you listening to what God promised?" Notice the writer keeps coming back to

Psalm 95, and he keeps looping. This is another one of these beautiful

methods, and this is why I keep refer... why I greeted you today with "Hayom Shalom."

You're not used to that, are you? What are you used to? Shabbat Shalom. The white...

Hayom Shalom is not a thing. I just made it up. But I'm trying to illustrate what

the writer of Hebrews is doing by audibly lacing one word through the text.

He's making connections, and that's what I'm trying to do with you today. And I

mean, it's like a hick trying to explain a masterpiece. "Oh, that was great the way

he used that one word over and over again." But this is a mirac... I mean, the

multi levels of things are happening in here. All I get to do is go, "Look at that."

Chapter 4.

"Therefore," let's continue the Midrash, "Therefore let us fear if a... if while a

promise remains of entering his rest, any one of you may seem to have come short

of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also. But the

word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith, trust,

in those who heard. For we who have believed enter that rest. Jesus, just as

he said, 'As I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest,' although his

works were finished from the foundation of the world." Guys, notice the Midrash and

the metonymy. A promise remains. Both them and us received a promise from God. What

is that promise? It is God's Word. It is something God has spoken that will come

to pass. The power of the promise is that it is the living and active Word of God

that will come to pass. Now the Midrash is the comparison between the promise

they received and the promise we received. This is kind of amazing. You see

the connection he's making? They were given a promise. They were given a

promise while they were in Egypt. They were given promises when they were in

the wilderness. Now what is that promise? The metonymy is that entering his rest

is now being used as a synonym for salvation. Did you realize that the

Sabbath is a Midrash? It is something that when you look at it, you're not just

looking at a weekly obligation, you are looking at a future promise of God that

he's going to fulfill. Should have gotten "Amen" there because that's really

cool, at least in my head. And by the way, this isn't the first time he's done this.

Hebrews chapter 1 verse 14 speaks of those who will inherit salvation. Hebrews

chapter 2 verse 5, he clarifies when he uses the words "Olam Haba" the world to

come. He says that this is what we're talking about. So when he's

talking about salvation, if he calls it "Olam Haba" that's just metonymy. That's

just synecdoche. That's just a different word standing in place of the rest of it.

And by the way guys, the Sabbath rest is one amazing beautiful expression of the

promise of God, but it's just one part. Okay?

Entering his rest, having a share in the world to come, what are we talking about?

We're talking about salvation. Both are good news. The gospel is good news, but

this raises a question. What is the gospel? Because he just said that in the

wilderness the Israelites had the good news preached to them. Have you ever

heard someone ask this question, "Well, what is the gospel?" Well, and they get all

confused by it. And I understand why, because in Luke the angels declare that

a baby has been born in Bethlehem who is Christ the Lord, and that's good news for

all people. So the gospel is a baby is born in Bethlehem. Okay? But then in

Galatians 3, Paul says that God preached the good news, the gospel, to Abraham in

the form of a blessing when he said, "All the nations will be blessed through you."

Oh, okay. So the good news, the gospel, is a blessing. Well, is it a baby or is it a

blessing? Now the Hebrew writer says that the wilderness Israelites had the good

news preached to them when they were given the promise of entering his rest.

Do you see why we in Christianity, it's so silly. Remember the old, the

illustration of the blind men trying to figure out what an elephant looks like?

And one grabs the trunk and one grabs the tail and that's us. It's

entering his rest. It's the Sabbath. Sabbath, Sabbath, Sabbath. And someone says, "No, it's

getting saved from my sin. I'm a sinner. I'm gonna...it's that." Someone says, "No, it's

just...it's a baby." Are we really this silly? You know, spoiler alert, the writer of

Hebrews is gonna get to a place where he says, "Would y'all knock it off? Can we

please move on?" These are elementary things. You can describe salvation in

more than one term because of Midrash. Again, what's the soul level of

everything? Jesus. And who is Jesus? Salvation.

I love the Hebrew writer because he's a little cheeky. I mean, he's talking to the

Hebrew people. Sabbath, Sabbath, Sabbath. He said, "Really? What about Hayom? What

about what God has said today? Are you listening to that?" So how do you affirm

the validity of the promise? How do you illustrate that God will do exactly as

he promised Abraham, as he swore to the Israelites, as he proclaimed to us in his

son? You Midrash, and you remind the Hebrews of what happened to those who

would not believe, who were faithless because that was a promise. God swore in

his wrath, "You will not enter my rest if you do not believe." "For God so loved the

world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever would..." What? Believe. If you

don't believe, guess what? You ain't going in. Period. That's a Midrash.

Entering the Sabbath by metonymy and by Midrash is speaking about the ultimate

salvation in Jesus, and Jesus isn't just my Savior. Isn't it interesting that of

all the names that God could have had for his Son, he could have used the word

for Savior? He didn't. He used the word salvation.

Yeshua isn't just a Savior who saves me for something disconnected from himself.

He is not only the one who saves me, he is the thing that I gain by his saving

me. He is my salvation because all things come in him, by him, and through him. If I

have an inheritance, it's not that he won me an inheritance that somebody else is

going to give me. He is the inheritance. He is my rest. He is my salvation. He is

the mystery revealed. So how do you stress it? You kind of poke your Hebrew

brothers in the eye and say, "We kind of have a moment in our history where our

people had a chance to enter, and they didn't because they did not believe."

Verse 4, "For he has said somewhere concerning the seventh day, 'And God

rested on the seventh day from all his works.' And again in this passage, 'They

shall not enter my rest.' Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and

those who formerly had the good news preached to them," did you hear that? "to

them failed to enter because of disobedience, disbelief, lack of faith. He

again fixes a certain day, today," everybody say today, "saying through David,

'After so long a time, just as it has been said, 'Today,'" if you hear his voice, "do not

harden your hearts." The writer uses the seven-day creation midrash to say that

even that, even the creation week, you can compare and you can connect what God did

in that seven days to what God is promising to do for us for an eternity.

That's a midrash. He stresses that we have a promise that remains, which means

now in these last days we have been spoken to through the Son, we face the

same choice as they did in the Midbar in the wilderness. Are we going to listen to

God speaking to us, Med-De-Bear? Are we going to listen to the Son? The Son

himself is a means of making the promise because he's a descendant of a man whom

God promised to give life. And how does he stress this? He stresses that there is

a day called today. You ever heard someone say, "Well, God only named one day."

Ever heard of that? Not true. The writer of Hebrews pulls from the Old Testament text

and says, "Do you see how God, yeah, He ordained the Sabbath day, but He's also

reminding us of today and all the things He said related to today." Today, if you

hear His voice, if you hear His Word, don't harden your hearts. Why? Look at me.

Because God's Word knows the truth about what's in your heart. Are you with me now?

Sidebar. Calling the seventh-day Sabbath doesn't get you entrance into the rest

of God. Well, Sunday's not the Sabbath, and the thing that the church needs to know

the most is that Sunday is not the Sabbath. You know what the church needs

the most? Today. Today. Jesus. That's right, sister. I'm going to get some response.

Maybe from a child, but I'll take it. Today. Don't harden your hearts. Keep

listening, keep trusting, keep following. Verse 8, "For if Joshua had given them

rest, he would not have spoken of another day, so there remains a Sabbath rest for

the people of God." Another sidebar. This is not a proof text about Gentiles

keeping the Sabbath. Please knock it off. That's not His point. You can love the

Sabbath, you can choose to keep the Sabbath, you can embrace the revelation

of the Sabbath, but I'm going to tell you right now, if the Sabbath doesn't connect

you to the Lord of the Sabbath, you can call it the Sabbath from now to kingdom

come, you're not going into the kingdom. It's not the fact that you know the

right name for the seventh day of the week, it's whether or not we have heard

what He is speaking to us about the Son.

Verse 10, "For the one who has entered his rest has himself also rested from his

works as God did from his." He's talking about Jesus. "Therefore let us be diligent to

enter that rest so that no one will fall through following the same example

of disobedience." Now we get to verse 12, "For the Word of God is living and active

and sharper than a two-edged sword and piercing as far as the division of soul

and spirit of both joints and marrow and able to judge the thoughts and

intentions of the heart and there is no creature hidden from his sight but all

things are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do." With whom

we got to do business. Now do you understand the meaning of Hebrews 4:12?

It comes as a power point to what the writer of Hebrews has been saying,

those people, God knew what was in their heart and that's why they did not enter.

Now do you understand why he begins this chapter, "Hey, you need to be terrified."

What do you mean? Because there's a promise that yet remains and there's an

enemy trying to talk you out of it.

There's a whole host of rabbis and former believers on the internet

trying to say, "You know what, Yeshua isn't who he said he is." And if you buy

that, you will not enter his rest. You will not experience salvation. You will

not be saved from your sins. You will not inherit the promise and that is

terrifying. That's what's so powerful about this book in these last days. The

writer of Hebrews is saying, "What are you doing? What are you doing listening to

people undermining your faith in the Word of God?"

Well, that's just commentary. "What are you doing listening to people who are saying,

'Well, Jesus, he was just an agent of God or he was just, you

know, he is the Word of God made flesh. He is Emmanuel God with us.' Why are you

listening to that? Don't you realize what is at risk if you stop listening to the

Word of God and Yeshua is the Word of God?" Therefore, he returns to the high

priest, Midrash. "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed

through the heavens, entered through the heavens, Yeshua the Son of God, let us

hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize

with our weakness, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet is

without sin. Therefore, let us draw near." By the way, that's altar terminology.

See what he just did there? He's threw a little Hebrew nugget in there. He's talking

about the high priest. What does the high priest do? He draws near. How does he draw

near? Through the sacrifice. How do we draw near to God? Through the sacrifice of his

Son who is also the high priest. Genius. "For we do not have a high priest who

cannot sympathize with our weakness, but one who has been tempted in all things,

and yet without sin. Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne

of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in the time of

need. For it is not the angels to whom he gives help, it is the descendant of

Abraham, Yeshua. And if Yeshua is the one who has received all the help, where are

you going to find yours? In Him." So how in the world did we go from introducing a

high priest comparison and connection to a faithless generation in the wilderness?

Well, this is what Midrash does. It makes you think through the connection. So let

me ask you a question. When you think of the high priest, what distinguishes or

differentiates the high priest from just a regular priest? Think about it just for

a moment. I'll have a moment of refreshment. Anybody want to buzz in? The

high priest, what about the Holy of Holies? Say it out loud. Thank you, Michael.

He's the only one who enters in. Connection made. Why are we talking about

a generation that didn't go in? Why did they not go in? Faithlessness. Some of

them wanted to go back to Egypt. You know, the Apostle Paul, I don't have time to

get into this, I'll just say it and make you mad, and we can come back to it later.

Paul says, "Why are you wanting to go back under the law?

You're turning back." Chris has said this many times. "Why do you want to go back to

Sinai?" I'm not demeaning the law. No one in the New Testament does. But the law

was to bring you to the Messiah, the living Word of God, righteousness

incarnate. No, no, no, I want to go back and make sure that I have all the

definitions of these words right, and I pronounce this right, and I want to

make sure I'm on the right day.

You want to go back. I've made you mad enough now. I'll move on.

That's the point of connection. Our high priest, unlike that generation that didn't

go in because of faithlessness, he goes in through the heavens into the heavenly

holy of holies, takes his place at the right hand of God, and he does it because

of his faithfulness. Do you hear that? This is the point of the comparison. You

can follow the example of those who didn't believe because God had made a

promise, "You don't believe, you're not going in." Or you can follow the one whom

he puts before you and says, "This is my son. Listen to him." That's exactly what

God said. This is the midrash of the faithful high priest and a faithless

generation. There's no promise greater than this, for the fact is that God so

loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever would

believe on him should not perish but have eternal life. We're only going to go

a few verses into chapter 5 as we wrap it up. "For every high priest has taken

from among men, is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God in order

to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins." He can deal with the ignorant and

misguided since he himself also is beset with weakness, and because of it he is

obligated to offer sacrifice for sins as for the people but also for himself. And

no one takes the honor to himself but he receives it when he is called by God

even as Aaron was. So also Christ the Messiah did not glorify himself so as to

become a high priest but he who said to him, "You are my son. Today I have begotten

you." Did you hear those words? Today. He is the only begotten Son who is the

promise of God and he's been set before us and the question is, "Will we listen?

Will we obey?" Worship team you may return.

This is the today that God was talking about and that is our Hebrew heritage.

Every way, the temple, the tabernacle, the times of the Lord, the life of the

Patriarch, it was all pointing to the Son and setting up our moment because you

know what? There yet remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. It's coming.

Oh but Lord, the wilderness is hard. No one told me what being an adult was

gonna be like. You may have seen my post. They tell you when you're a kid, "Oh

you're gonna become a grown-up." G-R-O-W-N. No, no, no, no, no, no. You become a grown-up.

G-R-O-A-N. Ow! Life suddenly has sound effects for everything. I used to just

stand up. Now I have to, and then every once in a while you have that successful

Life isn't easy and sometimes we want to turn back. It was easier in Egypt. It was

easier when there was just a list of rules for me to do. You're asking me to

put my faith in someone else but everything in my flesh says trust me.

That makes more sense to my flesh. Your flesh is lying. He says, "Man, you

don't want to go back to slavery. Salvation is still a promise and it's

coming." He started this whole thing by telling us we have a high priest who's

greater than Moses because he was, Moses was great. He was faithful as a servant

in the house of God. But Jesus is the Son of God and he is over God's house and he

is the promise. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in

me for in my Father's house are many rooms, many mansions and I am going to

prepare a place for you that where I am you may be also because I have gone in

because of faithfulness. I will come back that you may be where I am in the

Father's house. That is one holy Midrash and it's an amazing promise.

Will we be the generation that truly hears and truly believes and truly

enters? A couple months we're talking about how the Holy Spirit has entered us.

We're gonna see if we believe it. I do.

So what is the Drash? What's the application? Life is hard. He has made you

a promise. Trust Him and know that the same promise that He fulfilled, the same

Word of God that He has spoken about those who don't believe, He has spoken

about those who will believe. And if He kept His Word about those who didn't

believe, how much more will He fulfill His promise for those of us who will

believe? As we go into this time of response, as we sing, it's not just a time

to sing. It's a time to reflect. It's a time to answer a very important question.

What is in my heart and mind? Am I thinking about going back? Am I

thinking about walking away? Or am I absolutely committed to entering in

through the One who entered in for me? Let's worship. Let's think. Let's consider

Jesus as we worship.