What is Obsolete in Your Life?

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Read Hebrews 8:1-13
Title in NIV: Jesus’ priesthood presents a new and better covenant.

I made an analogy for chapter 8. I went to an antique store recently. I was looking for an old heavy iron with a handle to hold up Christmas stockings on my fireplace mantle. What I found amazed me. I found an iron heated by kerosene.

It had a round bulb-like chamber on the back to hold the kerosene. The owner of the store told me that when it was lit, you could see flames coming out of the slits on the base. I’ve never seen anything like that. He jokingly said, “Wonder how many fires started with this thing.”
Why don’t they make those anymore? They have become obsolete. Better irons have been made—electric ones. Ones that turn off automatically. Ones that cool down quickly.

Because it was so old, it was hard to find. They have disappeared from use and from stores.
This explains the old covenant with the forefathers, too. Hebrews 8:13 says the old covenant was obsolete and a better covenant was made. The old disappeared and the new took its place.
We see this with technology, too. The new is old in a couple of months…over and over and over.

The problem: people want to hold on to the old for so many reasons. It is comfortable, it is not challenging, however it is impossible to maintain!

I challenge you to look behind your actions and examine your motives. What is the motive for not giving a beggar on the street a hamburger or a couple of bucks, or for not sharing your struggles to help someone else. What are your motives for gossiping or complaining or comparing or shunning a person with tattoos? What motivates people to hang onto the old covenant of laws and not move forward to the new covenant of faith. (Not transitioning to the new covenant of love was discussed last week) (Thinking about it…what I explained just now reminds me of the two men who passed the Samaritan. It reminds me of the Pharisees who looked good on the outside but had bad hearts.) Be motivated by love, not by fear or comfort or status.

Let’s compare the old and the new again. Old (vs 9): God took people by the hand and led them; New: We chose to be led by Him or turn from Him.

Old (vs 9): People did not remain faithful (could not follow the 600+ laws perfectly). New: We need only to remain faithful to Jesus Christ and we look perfect because of his blood. (we are not perfect by we seem that way because we are His)

Old (vs 9): God turned away from the people;
New (vs 12) God will forgive their wickedness and remember sins no more
I really like the new! It might be a little scary to reach out to others when you don’t know if you will get rejected or ridiculed or not know what to say. But that is what faith is. The new covers all our sins and I really like and need that because following Jesus example…lets face it, is hard to do all the time.