DAILY VIDEO DEVOTIONAL
Hebrews : Chapter 9
1) Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. 2) A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. 3) Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, 4) which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 5) Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now. 6) When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. 7) But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. 8) The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. 9) This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. 10) They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order. 11) But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here,[a] he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation.
Book of the Month
Sammy Tippit told his fiancée, “I can’t promise we’ll be rich, but life won’t be boring.”
Sammy had no idea what an understatement that would become. Beginning in the bars of Baton Rouge and the nightclubs of Chicago, Tippit has shared the news of life-changing faith in Christ all over the world – including in the middle of a revolution in Romania, the aftermath of genocide in Rwanda, and war in Burundi and the Congo.
Sammy’s lifelong adventure has come at a great price. He’s been cursed, threatened, arrested, deported, and blacklisted. He’s also been personally broken, ravaged with illness, and devastated by grief.
Yet he continues to preach to in stadiums, in open fields, and via satellite technology to hundreds of thousands around the globe. For all other books…
Death of Jesus
Sammy Tippit: We’ve been talking about prayer, and in our last session I was visiting with Dave Butts, a dear friend of mine. God has done a work in his heart and his life about prayer and what prayer is.
Dave Butts: That’s right.
Sammy: We were just talking in our last session about the God of love who wants to communicate with us and wants us to communicate with him. It’s in that love relationship that prayer really grows. I want us to talk about that. What is the source of love? I mean, when we talk about God, a lot of people say, “Well, I love God,” but it’s not really us loving him first. It’s him first loving us.
Dave: That’s right.
Sammy: Let’s go back to how it is that… I know you, Dave. You are a great guy, but I hate to tell you that you fall far short of God’s standard. How is it that a guy like you…? I fall much shorter of God’s standard. How is it that we can come into the presence of a holy God? Because God is love, but he’s also holy.
Dave: Absolutely. That is such a critical issue. I find that a lot of people, even in churches, do not pray, because they still sense that there’s something there. There’s something that is blocking them and keeping them from that relationship. What they have not understood is that we serve a God who is love, not merely a God who loves but who is love.
Sammy: Yeah.
Dave: That’s his character, his nature. God’s love is not some sort of intellectual or emotional thought or feeling. It is an expression of who he is, and it ultimately comes across in this concrete action that took place 2,000 years ago on a cross outside of Jerusalem where the Son of God died for me, for you, and (of course) for absolutely everyone on the planet who will take Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of their life.
What happened is the God who loved us so much saw us in the condition we were in, saw that we were desperate without him, even if we didn’t know it, and initiated out of his great love that which only he could do. He tore down any barrier between us, that barrier that sin causes, and he brought us into his family. Now I love that because I love family.
Sammy: Yeah.
Dave: It is the death of Jesus that brought us into the family of God. It gives me free access. You know, Sammy, I didn’t know your dad, so I would’ve felt really funny coming to your dad and asking him for something.
Sammy: Yeah.
Dave: Because I didn’t know him. But my dad? I know my dad really well, and I could go in there and talk to my dad anytime. Now there was also a little bit of fear. I understood that my dad was not a pushover. I knew how much he loved me, but because I was his son, because I was a part of his family, I had free access to come and ask. I could spend time with him. You know what’s even better? He wanted me to.
Sammy: Wow.
Dave: When we begin to understand the astonishing love the Father has for us, such that he sent his only Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to die for us, to bring us into his family… That gave us free access into his very throne room. We literally get to come and sit on his lap, if you will. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say we can come, sit on the Father’s lap, and say, “Abba Father, Daddy, I have something I want to talk to you about.”
Sammy: I want us to kind of hang out there just a little bit, especially when we go back to what happened to Jesus.
Dave: Sure.
Sammy: A lot of people don’t understand why Jesus came. What did he die for? The thing is we have to remember God is holy. Holy is a category all its own. I mean, he’s absolute purity, so how can somebody like Dave or Sammy come into the presence of a God who is absolute purity? That’s why Jesus came. He took upon himself human flesh.
He was all God and all man, the Son of God and the Son of Man. He was not just a great teacher, not just a great prophet, but God in human flesh. As a man, he took the punishment for our sins. You know, Dave, when you were talking about that, I was reminded of something. When he died in Jerusalem, something happened in the temple.
Dave: Oh yes. That’s right.
Sammy: In the temple, there was what was called the Holy of Holies. Only the high priest could go into the Holy of Holies, because that’s where the manifest presence of God was. When we talk about prayer, we’re talking about coming into the manifestation of God’s presence. That’s where it was. There was this curtain that separated common people like us from the manifest presence of God, but when Jesus died, Dave, something miraculous happened.
Dave: From top to bottom, that curtain was ripped in two. Now there’s access into the manifest presence of God. Prayer suddenly becomes this astonishing privilege because of one thing: Jesus.
Sammy: Yep. You know, every time I pray, I’m reminded it’s about Jesus. The truth is, Dave, we’re here talking because of Jesus and what he did.
Dave: Absolutely.
Sammy: This thing about the initiative that you keep mentioning… I think it’s important for us to come back to that. Not only did he take the initiative 2,000 years ago for the sins of the whole world, but today he takes the initiative. The truth is I wasn’t seeking God. In fact, when I came to Christ… People ask, “How did you come to know Jesus?” I went to a church looking for a girl.
I wasn’t looking for God. I was looking for a girl. You know what? God found me. He was looking for me. He had me right in the right place at the right time. I came to Jesus, and you know what happened when I came to Jesus? The first thing I wanted to do… Now nobody taught me this. The first thing I wanted to do was go into his presence and meet with him.
Dave: That’s right.
Sammy: Three friends of mine and I started meeting on a little hill right next to the state capitol building in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, meeting with God early in the morning. Oh, the wonderful presence of God… So I think that initiative you’re talking about is also critically important.
Dave: If we don’t get that, we will always somehow feel as though we’re barging in or it’s all dependent upon us. But when it comes right down to it, prayer begins with God. It begins with his love and his initiative, and he’s the one who comes after us. He’s the one who opened the door, he’s the one who invites, and he’s the one whose presence we get to enjoy. We don’t somehow annoy him. I hear people say things…
Good old fellas say things like, “Oh, I don’t want to bother God with that.” I’m going, “Oh, you don’t get it, do you? This is a Father who so loves you that he sent his Son, Jesus, and you can’t bother him. There’s not one thing you can do to bother him.” He delights in our coming to him and spending our time with him to the point that Scripture finally gets to say, “Pray without ceasing.” That’s a tough point to get to, but it all comes because of Jesus.
Sammy: Yeah. I have some friends in San Antonio, and they are not from a Christian religious background. They’re from another religious group and background. The sister-in-law of one of them began to pray for him, and something began to happen. This person had a dream about Jesus. Jesus came to him in that dream. He wasn’t seeking Jesus, but Jesus came to him in that dream and showed himself to that person. Then the son came in and said, “Daddy, mama, God is on me. God told me to tell you Jesus really is the Son of God.”
Dave: Wow.
Sammy: All of a sudden, they got on their knees and called on the name of Jesus. Today they experience this same relationship you and I have experienced.
Dave: The whole family?
Sammy: The whole family has now, and they know Jesus Christ. God is so real to them. God can be just as real to you. It begins with looking to Jesus and putting your faith in him.
About Sammy Tippit Ministries
STM has been providing inspiration and help around the world for nearly 50 years. Sammy Tippit, founder and president, is a world renowned counselor, teacher and evangelist with experience serving and helping people in over 80 countries. Sammy provides materials that help people tackle a broad array of social, societal, psychological and spiritual issues. He is particularly passionate about making materials accessible to other countries around the world. Sammy is married to Debara “Tex” Tippit, and they have two children and five grandchildren.
Sammy Tippit Ministries is a registered 501c3 non-profit organization.
Contact: info@sammytippit.org
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