Good morning Ridgefield. My name is Chris Rowley if you've not met me before. For the last 12 years my wife and I have had the incredible honor of getting the chance to serve and love international students. who come to America from all around the world, and your church, Ridgefield Baptist, has partnered with us in that for many years. And Pastor Chuck gave me the invitation to come here and share God's word with you, and I am excited. I'm excited to jump into Hebrews chapter 10. It's been such an incredible passage of scripture. It's touched my heart many times over many years, and I'm excited about what God is gonna do through this word this morning as you open it up with me. If you want to know more about the ministry that we're involved with, you can feel free to get in touch with the church. They could put you in touch with me. But for now, let's jump right into God's word. If you've got your Bible there with you as you're sitting on your couch, you can open it up. We're going to be focusing on Hebrews chapter 10 this morning. But before we get there, I just want to say a quick prayer and then we'll open up the word. God, we thank you. Thank you that you're here with us. Thank you that you love us. Thank you that you never change. And God, I am asking and praying that the spirit would work in the hearts of each and every person who's listening to your word this morning in the name of Jesus. Amen. So I don't know if any of you can relate to something that the Apostle Paul wrote in the book of Romans a long time ago. The Apostle Paul said that he doesn't understand his own actions. He says, I do. Romans chapter 7. Have you ever had that experience? Have you ever felt like, oh man, I'm just doing the things that I don't want to do and I wish that I didn't do that. And many people walk around with this nagging sense of guilt and we know that something's not quite right. We know that there's something between us and God. The Bible calls it sin. It separates us from God. It causes us to feel shame. And a lot of people in our culture, a lot of people in our churches, maybe you this morning, are walking around under this weight of sin and guilt and shame. And we're wondering, what do we do with it? And the truth is that it's not just people in the church that feel this way. Many religions, many world religions build systems to help people try to get close to God by following religious rituals, by doing things to get close to God. Many people who are not even religious find this nagging sense in their hearts that something's not right with God. Have you ever felt that way? Do you feel that way this morning? Maybe you're just wondering, I don't know if God loves me. I don't know if my sins will ever be forgiven. I don't know if I can have peace with God. If that's you this morning, you're in the right place. You tuned in to the right channel because God wants to speak to you about how he can take away that sin and that shame that you've been carrying all this time. You know, the problem of dealing with our sin and knowing how we can have peace with God, it's not a new problem. It's something that the ancient Israelites, the Jewish people, dealt with many years ago. And they had this system. It was a sacrificial system. And the idea was this. When they did something wrong, when they disobeyed God, when they sinned against God, they would sacrifice an animal to appease the wrath of God. And the idea was this, the animal would be sacrificed, the animal would be killed, the animal would be punished so that the person who had committed the sin doesn't need to be punished, so that their sin would be covered over. Now, even though God gave them that structure to follow, there were some problems with that structure. There were some things that were incomplete about it. And today, we're going to find a solution that God gives in his word to this ancient problem of how human beings can be in a right relationship with God. And we're gonna look at this as if as if this was a play, as if this was a movie. We're gonna look at some different scenes. We're gonna look at five scenes from Hebrews chapter 10 to help us learn about how we can be made right with God. Scene one is this. Just like in many movies, just like in many plays, in scene one we're going to be introduced to the problem. Introduced to the problem. Hebrews chapter 10 verse one to four, let me read it. It says, for since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins. But in these sacrifices, there is a reminder of sins every year, for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Okay, if you're reading that and you're hearing that this morning and you're thinking, what is going on here? Many years ago, thousands of years ago, this was the way that people dealt with their sin. They would sacrifice animals, as I said before, because they knew that something wasn't right with God. And it would be very easy for us this morning, sitting here in 2020, modern people, to say, hey, that animal sacrifice thing, yeah, I'm not doing that. This is not even really a relevant topic for me to think about. But this is a relevant topic for you to think about because even though you, a modern person, might not sacrifice animals to try to make yourself right with God, There are many things that modern people do to try to make the relationship between them and God feel better, to try to take away their sin. Maybe you give money to charity and that's what you're trying to do to make yourself acceptable to God. Maybe you think that just going to church or just tuning into church will make you acceptable to God. Maybe you think that by being a good person, you'll become acceptable to God. Maybe you have this whole list of things and rituals that you try to do to make yourself acceptable to God. If that's you this morning, you need to know that none of those things is good enough or big enough or complete enough to make you acceptable to God. Just like those sacrifices that the Jewish people used to do was never enough to make them fully acceptable to God. All the good efforts that we modern people can do is never enough to get us to God. You see, there were some problems with that ancient sacrificial system. There were some reasons why the good things that we do are not good enough to make us acceptable to God. Let me explain some of those. There's four reasons from Hebrews chapter 10 that explains why the sacrificial system was never good enough to get us to God. Verse six. it tells us God was not happy with the offerings of the people because their offerings were not heartfelt. Okay, so reason number one why the sacrificial system, the ritualistic system was not enough to get the people in an acceptable position before God was because their hearts were far from God. They could do the sacrifices, they could make the offerings, but their hearts were still so far away from God. Now, I don't know how many of you listening have children or have been with children or have seen children, but I think most people will recognize you could make a child say, I'm sorry to their sibling. They could say, I'm sorry. but never really be sorry. Or maybe they don't even know what the word sorry really means. And just like a child could go through the motions and say they're sorry, but not really be sorry, the Jewish people could go through the religious motions, but their hearts were still far away from God. That was the first reason why the ritualistic system was not working. The second reason, verse 11, tells us it was never permanent. The sacrifices need to be offered repeatedly, again and again and again and again. You're gonna hear me say this throughout this sermon a few times. Again and again and again, day after day, year after year, month after month, they needed to offer the sacrifice again and again. It was never permanent. It was never complete. The third reason why it wasn't enough to get them to God was, verse four says that the sacrifices they were offering were never enough to take away their sin. Verse one says these sacrifices they offered were never enough to make them perfect. And the last reason why this system of rituals was was not working was because instead of it being a reminder of forgiveness, the scripture says in verse three that it was a constant reminder of their sin. How many of you listening this morning, you could you could just say, hey, that's me. All I can think about is my sin right now. I just feel like I'm in this system. I'm trying to earn God's love. I'm trying to earn God's forgiveness. Maybe that's you and you feel like all you can see right now is your sin. If that's you, hold on with me for a few more minutes. We've got some incredible news coming up. I want you to really recognize why this is relevant today. Scene one opens with a bleak picture. All of these systems and sacrifices, all the good things that you can do are not enough to get you to God. They're not enough to cover your sin. And if we're honest with ourselves, we know this, we recognize that something is not right between us and God. And we can relate to the people that it talks about in verse two. We keep doing good things. We keep trying hard. But we know deep in our hearts, there must be something more. There must be someone who can save us. So scene one introduces us to the problem. Scene two, we get to meet the hero of the story. I love running. I love distance running. I'm a distance runner. I'm one of those crazy guys you see on the side of the road running. Now, my distance running hero is a man from Kenya. His name is Eliud Kipchoge. He is the fastest marathon runner ever to live. He's run the marathon, which is 26.2 miles. He has run it at a four-minute and 35-second mile pace. Mile after mile after mile for 26 miles he ran at a four minute 35 pace. Most human beings could never even run one mile in four minutes and 35 seconds, but this incredible man has run an entire marathon at that pace. Our heroes, they're people who do things that we just cannot do. We admire them because they perform extraordinary feats. I think that's why since 2007, Marvel has made 23 superhero movies. I think Marvel has made like $22 billion or some extraordinary number like that. Americans love heroes because when we see a hero, it touches something deep within us because we all know we need help. We all know that we can't do it on our own and we love it to see the hero come in and save the day. We love it when the hero does something that we just can't do ourselves. So meet the hero of the story. The hero of the story today is Jesus. Jesus is the one who God sent on a rescue mission. And I'm going to teach you a couple things about Jesus from this passage that are so incredible. Look at verse 5. In verse 5, we learn that the hero came to us. This is really important. Many religious systems in the world are focused on the question, how do we get to God? How do we get to God? But get this, the hero of the Bible came to us. Christianity doesn't answer the question, how do we get to God? Christianity shows that the answer is God came to us. Jesus, the Messiah, verse five, came into the world. Jesus, the hero, came here. If you're wondering this morning, does God even care? Does God care about what is going on in your life? Does he care about what's happening on this little blue ball that we call planet Earth? Does he care? If you're wondering that, the answer is yes. How do we know that? Because he came here. Have you ever noticed that after a natural disaster happens, like a tornado or a hurricane, First the tornado and the hurricane comes through, and then what's the next group that usually comes through? It's often politicians and leaders. They often will come through after a natural disaster to do what? To survey the scene, to be with the people, to show the people that they're standing with them in solidarity. We recognize when a natural disaster happens that sometimes it's more important for the leader to come to the people and to be with them in their brokenness than it is for them to sit at their desk in Washington. And now I don't know if you're familiar with the big story of the Bible, but this is it. The big picture of the Bible is that God created a world that was perfect. And then human beings rejected him And entering into the world as a result of our rebellion against God was this brokenness called sin. And like a tornado, sin has just ripped across the good creation that God has made. And many of us wonder, does he care? Does he see what's happening? The answer is yes, he came here. He didn't stay in the comfort of heaven. He didn't stay in the comfort of his glory. He came here in humility to be with us because he loves us. God cares about you this morning and what you're going through. The hero of the story also, verse five, says he came in a human body. It says God prepared a body for Jesus. Real flesh and blood. So if you're wondering, does he know what it's like to be me? Does Jesus really understand what it's like to have a blister on your foot? Does he know what it's like to deal with sickness? Does he know what it's like to deal with annoying people? You bet he does. He came here flesh and blood. He lived here. He understands what we're facing. Now, not only did he come here, verse five says, the hero, he knew that there was a problem with the sacrificial system. Jesus knew that human beings were not getting to God by this system of sacrifices. Jesus knew that human beings were not getting to God by doing good works. Jesus knew there was another way that humans had to be brought to God. And it involved, verse seven, doing God's will. Jesus says he has come to do God's will. So let's review what we've covered so far. We know there's a problem. We can't get to God, okay? There's a gap between us and God, a universal problem. Our efforts are not getting us there. But the hero came to do God's will. So what was God's will? What did Jesus come to do? Scene three, the hero, Jesus. offers himself as a sacrifice for sin. Let me give you the big idea, and then we'll unpack it, okay? It was God's will for Jesus to give his life as a one-time, once-for-all sacrifice for sin, and Jesus willingly obeyed. Let's read verse eight and verse nine, and we'll unpack that a little bit. It says, when he said above, you have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings. These are offered according to the law. Then he added, behold, I've come to do your will. He does away with the first in order to establish the second. The first is that system of law. The first that he's doing away with is that sacrificial system. Jesus is doing away with it. He is completing it. by offering himself as a substitute sacrifice for us. So let's ask that next question, what is the will of God? We're gonna go a little deeper in this. What is the will of God? You could preach five million sermons about what is the will of God, but we get a little glimpse of God's will in verse 10. Verse 10 says, by that will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Okay, there's two things in this text that tells us what God's will was. God's will, number one, was that Jesus would offer himself as a substitute sacrifice for sin. That was God's will. The second piece of God's will that we see from verse 10 is that God's will is our sanctification through the offering of Jesus. So that sanctification, it's a big word. It means that that God is making us holy. He's making us acceptable to him. So God's will, number one, was that Jesus would die on the cross for sin. God's will, number two, is that through the death of Jesus on the cross, there would be a way now that you and me could be acceptable to God. We could have our sin forgiven and our guilt taken away. That's why I told you to hold on with me. We have good news here. This is good news for people who feel burdened by sin and guilt. All the things that the animal sacrifices could not accomplish, Jesus did. He accomplished it. And going through all the religious motions, it's not enough to make us right with God. This is so important. You could teach Sunday school for 20 years. You could give 99% of your income to charity. You could pray 17 hours a day and fast twice a week. But that's not enough to make you right with God. But Jesus is enough to make us right with God through his sacrifice. which leads us to scene four. In scene four, we learn that Jesus, the hero, shows his superiority over every other way of trying to get to God. Every other human effort of trying to get to God is not as superior as what Jesus has done on the cross. Verse 11 and 12 unpacks this a little bit. Verse 11 and 12 talks about how the priests before Jesus, they were offering repeated sacrifices again and again and again. But Jesus, the scripture says, offered one sacrifice. Are you tired this morning? I mean religiously tired. Are you burned out? Jesus made a once for all sacrifice so you don't need to go through rituals to get to God. You may be tired this morning from trying all on your own to get what only Jesus can give you as a gift. In Matthew chapter 11, Jesus says these incredible words. He says, come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Some of you listening this morning, you need to stop trying to earn God's love. He wants to freely give it to you through Jesus. And he's asking you this morning, will you trust him? Will you stop relying on yourself and trust Jesus? Verse 11 and verse 12 also gives this another contrast. Okay, the priests that it's describing in the old system, they're standing, they're doing things, they're working still. But verse 11 and 12 says, Jesus, what is his posture? It says he's sitting, he's done. The work is done. Jesus completed the mission. And verse 12 says, not only is Jesus sitting, he's sitting at the right hand of God in the highest position of honor. And verse 13 tells us his victory is complete. You know, the victory of Jesus, it's our victory. If you're on a sports team and your team wins the championship, it doesn't matter if you're the worst player on the team. Because your team wins, you're a champion. And if you are in Jesus, you are on His team. And His victory is your victory. So the question is, are you in Jesus? We learned there's a problem, scene one. We met the hero of the story, scene two. We learned in scene three that the hero offers his life as a sacrifice for us. We learned in scene four that Jesus is superior and his sacrifice is superior to every other sacrifice and every other way of trying to get to God. So what do we make of all this? Where do we go from here? Well, let me just share a really quick story. In August of 1941, while serving as a prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp, the Polish Franciscan friar by the name of Maximilian Kolbe made an incredible decision. The Germans were preparing to kill some fellow prisoners and they told one prisoner by the name of Franciszek Gajewicznik They said to this man, you're going to be killed. And the man cried out, oh, but I have a wife and a child. At that moment, Maximilian Kolbe, the friar, spoke up and said, take me instead. Kolbe, an unmarried Christian man, volunteered to take the place of a man condemned to die. Colby went to his grave, Franz Cizek lived to be 93 years old, and he told the whole world the story. Those kinds of stories are so rare. And when we hear them, they demand that we ask a question. Why? Why would he do that? What would motivate him? And the more important question for us to ask this morning is why? Why would Jesus give his own life instead of us? Why would he die for me and for you? We don't have to look very far. If you turn just a couple pages in Hebrews, you get to chapter 12 and verse 2, which says that Jesus, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross. Part of that joy that Jesus foresaw as he was hanging on the cross, part of what propelled him to the cross was love for you and love for me and the joy of having a redeemed community of faith. He loves you, that's why he would do it. He loves you too much to leave you on your own. The big idea that you need to remember is summed up in verse 14. It says that by a single offering, he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. The offering that Jesus made, it's enough for you to be made right with God. His offering is enough for you to be forever united with God's family. You can stop jumping through religious hoops. You can stop going through the motions. You can stop wondering, does God love me? You can stop wondering if you could ever do enough to be acceptable to God. And instead, you know what you can do this morning as you're listening? You can come to God in faith. and receive adoption into God's forgiven family, you can finally, through Jesus, be united with God and have peace and forgiveness of your sins. We have a problem. We're not right with God. We met the hero. He came to save us. You learned that His sacrifice was for your sin. And you learned that you can be forgiven and included in His family through trusting Him. Which brings us to the last scene, scene five, it involves you. Will you receive Jesus? Will you trust that He died on the cross for your sins? Will you surrender to His love? and stop trying to earn his love? Will you commit to follow him as the master and leader of your life? Both the Bible and our own experience shows us we can't get to God on our own, but he came here to us. If you're ready to trust Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, for receiving eternal life and peace with God, no matter where you are right now, no matter who's sitting next to you right now, I invite you to pray this prayer with me, to take a first step of faith towards Jesus. If you're ready to trust him this morning, I'd love you just in the quiet of your heart to repeat this prayer that I'm about to pray. God, I admit that I am a sinner. I have said and thought and done things which bring shame on you, which have separated me from you. And I admit, God, I cannot earn my forgiveness. And I choose today to receive the free gift of forgiveness that comes through faith in Jesus. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins as a substitute sacrifice. He died instead of me. And I believe he rose from the dead. and open the door for me to have eternal life. I commit to follow you, Jesus, as my Lord. If you prayed that prayer today, I want to encourage you. You just made the first step on your journey of faith. And I want to encourage you to contact the team here at Ridgefield Baptist. Just contact the church. They would love to help guide you through some next steps as you grow in your faith and your understanding of who Jesus is and what he's done for you. Let's pray as I close. God, we thank you for your word. We thank you that you've been with us this morning. We love you. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.