Hebrews 8:6 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better Covenant, which was established on better Promises.
In Old Testament times, God’s people were controlled by the Law. God gave Moses Ten Commandments for the people to keep. Because of the sin nature, they couldn’t do it so God instituted the Sacrificial System for the covering of their sins.
In addition to this, the religious leaders added hundreds of other laws the people were to keep. In all, the Law consisted of more than 600 rules and the people did their best to keep them. This system continued until the Crucifixion of Christ which was some 1,500 years. This is the time period in which all the stories of the Old Testament happened. Jonah and the whale, Daniel in the lion's den, David and Goliath, Sampson, Solomon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the Walls of Jericho, and all the others actually happened during this 1,500 year period of time.
During this time, God spoke to the people through people called Prophets. At times, the Holy Spirit would visit a Prophet and give Him a Word for the people. These are the Words we find in the Books of the Old Testament like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, etc. In these Books, we read where the Lord gave the Prophecy of the coming Messiah. The most descriptive and detailed of these Prophecies is found in the 53rd Chapter of Isaiah which he received in approximately 700 BC.
When Jesus was actually born, it happened exactly as Isaiah had Prophesied but the people wanted and were expecting a King, not a peasant born in a barn! When Jesus turned thirty years old, He began His Ministry. It was the Law that a man could not become a Priest until he was thirty years old. For three and one-half years, Jesus ministered to the people healing them of every disease and casting out demons. We read of these accounts in the Four Gospels; Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
While many people believed Jesus was the Messiah the Prophets wrote about, the religious leaders hated Him because He was taking away their power and position in the Synagogue. So, to make a long story short, they crucified Him. Jesus willingly went to the Cross because He knew this was His Purpose in life. His Father sent Him to live as a man to die on the Cross for the sins of the world. He was the final Blood Sacrifice God required for all sin.
As Prophesied, Jesus was Crucified and buried in a borrowed tomb. However, the grave could not hold Him! Just as it was Prophesied, Jesus rose from the dead on the Third Day! To prove His Resurrection, He appeared to well over 500 people and performed many more Miracles. Then He Ascended into Heaven to sit at the Right Hand of His Father and that is where He is today.
While Jesus was alive on earth as a man, He told His followers that He would be leaving but His Father would be sending them the Holy Spirit Who would dwell inside them. They had a difficult time understanding this and they wanted Jesus to stay with them. What they didn’t understand was that what God had for them now would be better.
What could be better than walking with Jesus, talking with Him? They actually sat and listened to Him teach and were able to ask Him questions. They watched Him Heal people and cast out demons. They walked with Him, ate with Him, and were eyewitnesses to everything He did. What could be better than that?
It was a special time for that select group of people, but what God had planned for believers after that was indeed better. His Plan for all believers after Jesus Ascended into Heaven was for them to have the Holy Spirit actually dwelling inside them. He would be with them all the time. They didn’t have to find Jesus and physically ask Him a question. They could speak to God the Father through His Holy Spirit who was continually with them.
This, my friends, is what we have now! This is the Better Promise! This is Who Jesus was talking about when He said, I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. (John 16:12-13)
Most people rejected Jesus when He walked the earth and we say, how foolish! Unfortunately, most believers reject the Holy Spirit today. Again we say, how foolish! Don’t be foolish, my friend. Don’t discount and reject that which the Lord God Almighty has given you. Accept the Better Promise of the Holy Spirit of God. He is dwelling inside you waiting for you to accept Him and communicate with Him. He has a lot to tell you and it’s all GOOD!
The Better Promise will……….turn the tide……….in your life.
Thank you God for the Better Promise, Doreen
www.bettsministries.org
