JESUS IS THE MEDIATOR OF THE NEW COVENANT, BY FULFILLING THE OLD COVENANT WHICH POINTED TO HIM

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John 8:12 NIV

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Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.​​​

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Jesus is the Mediator of the New Covenant. Christ is the eternal high priest of the New Covenant (New Testament). And Jesus said, I did not come to abolish the Law of Moses or the Prophets, I have come to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17); while adding, These are the very scriptures that testify about Me (John 5:39b). Jesus is the logos, the word of God, which became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:1, 14; 6:51). By the word, the breath of the LORD's mouth, all things were made for Him and through Him, everything in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, thrones or powers, rulers or authorities, and nothing that was made was made apart from Him (Psalm 33:6; John 1:2-5; Colossians 1:16). God made everything so that His glory would shine through people around the world, for to know His glory is to bring it forth (Numbers 14:21; Psalm 57:5; Habakkuk 2:14). An entire cosmic plan was established, throughout the ages, to bring this into being, which included the fall and rise of man through Adam and Jesus, respectfully (1 Corinthians 15:21; Romans 5:12-21).

The Shadow of Death. In God's glorious plan is the truth that God never changes so He is without a shadow (James 1:17) but His creation is likened to a shadow of heavenly things, with the tabernacle of Moses being a shadow of the heavenly sanctuary, while the law practiced within it is a foreshadow of the true substance which was to come, Jesus, the man to bridge the gap between God and man (Colossians 2:17; Hebrews 8:5; 10:1). Jesus came from the law, for He had to be born of a woman under the law (Galatians 4:4-5). God is an amazingly awesome and complex God. And after the 'fall' of man, we sat in the shadow of death, but Christ the light of the world, the one who doesn't change, the light of man; He came to give us the light and take away the shadow (Matthew 4:16; Luke 1;79; John 1:4; 8:12; Ezekiel 31:17; Psalm 23:4; 44:19; 107:10, 14). As much as I study the bible, I'll only ever be a beginner in understanding the deep mysteries of our Lord and savior. But who wants a God that could be completely understood!

Come to the Gate. In this earthly tabernacle, which points to Christ's coming, the worshiper comes to the gate to inform the priest of their guilt and wrong-doing, and the priest immediately begins the work to correct the problem. Jesus said, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends (Revelation 3:20). He loves us so much, that He was willing to leave eternal blessing with glory and honor to be humbled, humiliated, beaten and killed for you! He did all of it, so when we come to the door, we do not die from looking upon Him, but instead, we live. We live outside the shadow, now in the light. You can receive the light and begin to shine forth with it. You see, our trespasses against Him, hurt us, for it created an eternal pit of emptiness within our hearts, as God had placed eternity there (Ecclesiastes 3:11). So that emptiness inside is eternity, without God. That's only a taste of the terror of hell, I tell you. Nothing in this world can fill it, because everything here is temporary, a shadow, lacking the real substance. Do you like the feeling of emptiness, and the lack of love the world has given you? No amount of drug, alcohol, porn, sex, money, wealth, fame or whatever can fill it. Nothing but Jesus, the real substance (Hebrews 10:1). Only Jesus can fill the eternal void within us. Our sin has separated us from God, for He must hide His face, for if we look upon it, we will surely die (Isaiah 59:2; Habakkuk 1:13; Exodus 33:20). To be with God is to be complete, lacking nothing and shining in His glory; which comes from your walk and talk. As we increase in understanding and knowledge of God's tenderness and His loving kindness towards us, then we grow in the wisdom to walk in His ways. To truly know Him, is to love Him. My struggle in this life is to find the words to express just how magnificent God is, so that you will hunger and thirst for Him for He is the drink which will make you never thirst again. Truly, truly, I tell you.

The Sacrifice with the Sweat Aroma. Immediately after confession of sin, the atonement sacrifice began. Hands were laid on the animal to transfer the sin, the animal was slaughtered and the blood was spilled on and around the burnt offering altar, located near the entrance, inside the courtyard of the tabernacle. These burnt sacrifices are offered as a pleasing aroma to God. Interesting enough, the 'sin offering' isn't burnt here, not at all. That carcass is taken outside the camp to the ash pile; it is covered in ash and burned (Leviticus 4:11-12). The pieces of animal burnt on altar which are offered to God as a pleasing aroma, are from the 'burnt sacrifice,' which is a sacrifice without the association of sin. Interesting! And one must know, the entrails and legs were cleansed with water prior to its offering. Along with this, only the fat and kidneys of the 'sin offering' and 'peace offering' are offered. Plus a small portion of bread, made without leaven, with oil and salt from the 'grain offering.' Plus handfuls of pure flour, oil and frankincense thrown onto the fire to make the smoke to rise up and go before the Lord as a pleasing aroma. And this is done, daily, beginning early in the morning (Leviticus 1-7).

The Meaning of the Acceptable Sacrifice. We have an entire animal, without the association of sin, at the same place and time the kidneys and fat of the sin and peace offering occurs, with a piece of unleavened bread too. Do you see it? This is the story of salvation, and exactly how it occurs. The believer who already has been cleansed by the fire and water offers themselves up daily as a living sacrifice (the burnt offering carcass), so they go and preach the gospel to those trapped in the shadow of death from their sin. Washing the entrails symbolizes Jesus washing our hearts of dead works; while the leg washing the repentance we offer during our walk as we deviate off His path soiling our feet, so we have to come back, and wash our feet, as we witnessed with Jesus' and the apostle's feet being cleansed (Luke 7:36-50; John 13:1-17). Only with the Lord's presence, the bread of life, shown in the grain offering can the sinner be cleansed. The salted bread is Jesus who is truth, life and the way (John 14:6); pure without the leaven, the lies of Satan spoken through the false religious leaders (John 14:6; Matthew 16:6). We water and sow, but God produces the harvest (1 Corinthians 3:6-7). With the sower and 'grower,' the harvest can be produced, which is the removal of sin and the implanting of peace with God in the new converts heart, shown in the entrails of the 'sin' and 'peace' offerings, accompanied by the burning fire of the Holy Spirit, which transforms all of it from the physical world of the flesh, to the spiritual world shown in smoke which rises to God, who is well pleased with it all. This is us rising to to meet Him and be one with Him. It's Beautiful! Simply marvelous. Honestly, God loves you so very much!! This is all to show love. The enemy would love to present this as evil or mean, but this is what real love is.

And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices (Matthew 12:33 ESV).

It Has Always Been About the Work of Jesus. We know from scripture that the Lord was never satisfied with the blood of bulls and goats, but it's always been about a heart that loves Him. For we read, 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 have come to do your will.' He does away with the first in order to establish the second.  And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:8-10). We also know, after David transgressed God with adultery and murder, he cried out to God for mercy; he acknowledged that God wanted a heart that breaks from hurting God and damaging fellowship with Him. For he said, For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (Psalm 51:16-17 ESV).

True Love is Self Sacrifice for Another. God is pleased to see someone give up their lives to save another, for there is no greater love than for someone to lay down their lives for another (John 15:13). This is why the Lord tells us to lay down our lives, pick up our cross and follow Him (Matthew 10:38; 16:24; Mark 16:24; Luke 9:23). He will leave the 99 to find the one (Matthew 18:12). He is pleased to see another lost sheep be found, and come back into the camp, the Tent of Meeting. Jesus tells a parable to show the joy in heaven for such a day, for He says, 'Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, "Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin." In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.' (Luke 15:8-10). This is why it is a pleasing aroma to God; because He loves you, so very much that He was willing to send the Light to find you, the one lost in the shadow. God rejoiced to get you back, but He was deeply saddened at the death of His Son, so this occurred outside the camp. We serve an awesome God! This system was put in place, long before it was to take place, all because God never wanted to be without you!

The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9 NIV).​

Jesus is the Mediator of a New Covenant. The Jewish sacrifices had to be repeated for they couldn't cleanse the conscious of dead works, as it was a foreshadow of Jesus, who could (Hebrews 8:5; 9:13-14; 10:1-4, 6, 8). Praise God! Gone are our efforts to be good enough, for they went up in smoke! Gone are our transgressions that separate us from God, for they were burnt in the fire, by Lord Jesus Himself; burnt in an everlasting fire that burns in fierce love and jealousy for you. Lord Jesus is eternally in love with you. He was thinking and talking about you, even writing your name in His book, before the creation of the world, long before you were ever born (Isaiah 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jeremiah 1:5; 139:13-16; Revelation 21:27). In fact, He loves you so much that He created you to be with Him forever sharing in oneness and everlasting love. Standing in a sea of family members, without a single argument, not even a scornful glance, just love. All love. Oh, how the devil himself, got into the church and gained access to the pulpit and taught us many damaging lies about the holiness of God. The devil struck the sheep through false prophets and they scattered (Zechariah 13:7), but the Lord is regathering them to Himself (Jeremiah 32:37). If my words, written in the paper, could be enough to make you see the love of the Lord, it would completely fill all the empty voids within your broken heart; you'd be filled with an eternal love, peace and joy. 

The New Priesthood. The Jewish priests always stood in making their sacrifices, but they do not stand anymore for the glory departed (Ezekiel 10:18), and now they await the coming of their Messiah. God gave the Jews a spirit of slumber, so the windows of heaven could open and the Light of man could dawn upon the gentiles, you and me, in the 'age of grace' (Romans 9:11). But God is gracious and merciful, so He will restore the Jews to Himself on His second coming. They will wait no longer, the Messiah will come and they will know Him, Lord Jesus. But for now, we rejoice, greatly, for we are the priests of the New Covenant (1 Peter 2:9; Hebrews 8:6; 13) bearing the oracles and testimony of God. Can you believe that? You are a priest of one true and living God. You get to serve in His royal courts. Amazing!  Serving, as we give our bodies as a living sacrifice to our God, as we go and call the sheep back to their Shepherd (Romans 12:1) as we go about our days, always giving thanks and praises to our Amazing God, which is to shine in His glory!

Dear heavenly Father, we thank You! We praise Your holy name, Lord Jesus, our eternal King, Father, Lord and Savior. We thank You that You were ALWAYS there for us; and that You have ALWAYS loved us; and that You have ALWAYS been working and making a way for us to come back to you, for it was never You who left us, but it was us who hurt you by walking away; please forgive us Father, as we know you have, and always continue to stand at the door and wait for us, as we know You will, help us to know Your glorious love and forgiveness, for we have not seen the likes of it here on earth, and open our hearts and minds to You. AMEN.  ​​​
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