"The Old Testament Shadow vs. New Testament Reality"

This program is brought to you in part by the partners and friends of Creflo Dollar Ministries. Coming up next on Changing Your World. So, the Old Testament is Jesus concealed in scripture. The New Testament is Jesus revealed. Jesus concealed, Jesus revealed. But, THE WHOLE BOOK ABOUT JESUS. WE TRY TO CHOP IT UP AND SAY IT'S about this, this, THIS, THIS.

THE WHOLE STORY IS HIS STORY. HOPEFULLY, you're going to choose to let heaven determine your thinking because whatever choice you make, then that's going to be your mentality for today. CAN YOU SAY THAT HE'S A WAYMAKER? YES. CAN YOU SAY THAT HE'S A GOD THAT SITS HIGH AND LOOKS LOW?

YEAH. [screaming] GET THE MESSAGE of grace any way you want. Stream service live 10:00 a.m. Eastern time on Sunday with re-airs at 2:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m., and 10:00 p.m. Eastern time. This is your world. So, let's vow to make it ((music playing)) a better place. Let every heart that meets you to know your love is here to stay.

It's time we live a new life. Let his love shine bright in you. We're saved by his ((music playing)) grace, so we embrace your love today. We are changed. And so, here's what we're going to talk about this morning. Very, very interesting. I think it's going to clear up a lot of questions that you've had in the past.

We're going to talk about the Old Testament shadow versus the New Testament reality. The shadows that are located in the Old Testament versus the new realities that are in the New Testament. And we're going to look at things that were shadows, and you're going to have to decide uh am I satisfied with the shadow, or am I going to move on to the reality of what's causing that shadow?

I said to you before, a shadow of a dog has never bit anybody. But, at the same time, if you see a shadow of a dog, you might want to move cuz that dog's somewhere cuz the reality is that dog's somewhere. And so, likewise, as Christian people, have we been living off and by shadows of Jesus?

Or have we finally got to the point where we can locate the reality of Jesus? And so, what I'm going to do, if you'll allow me this morning, uh I'm going to go through the scriptures and show some shadows and then trace it back to the Jesus who's casting the shadow.

Show you some things that we don't even ask the question about when we see it in the Old Testament and trace it back to Jesus. Show you some things that Jesus said about this. And I think it'll be so awesome to be able to have a church, not just leadership, not just ministers, but to have you to understand how to connect all of this so that you don't see the Bible as a book of contradictions, that you see the Bible as, oh wow, we get to live in the reality where they were just existing by the shadows.

All right? So, let's begin here this morning in the book of Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 1. And I'm going to read this out of the King James, the NLT, and the Mirror. Uh I just want us to get a a fullness of what's going on here. Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 1.

He says, "For the law having a shadow of good things to come." Did you see that? The law having a shadow of good things to come. From that place of the law, it was a shadow of something to come, or someone to come, or the kingdom to come.

And he says, "And not the very image of the things." So, the law didn't have the very image of the thing. The Old Testament is divided up into two parts, the law and the prophets. Joshua identifies the law as uh the book of Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy.

Those are the books of the law, okay? And then, from Judges to Malachi, those are the books of of the prophets. Now, Luke 16:16 uh hold your place there in Hebrews 10. I think they need to see this. Luke 16:16 tells us about the law and the prophets.

The law being those four books that that make up the the the law. And then, the prophets are those books from Judges to Malachi. And here's where you're making a here's where the body of Christ is just missing a lot. Now, right here he says, read verse 16 out loud with me.

Ready? Read. "The law and the prophets were They were They were what? Okay, what does that mean? Okay, so it it lasted until until So, when Jesus, full of grace and truth, showed up, you notice Jesus showed up, John baptized him, then they arrested John, and they cut John's head off.

Why? Because the law and the prophets ended with John cuz John ended that day because Jesus, full of grace and truth, came in. And he says, "Since that time, the kingdom since the time of John, the kingdom of God is preached since John." So, I said, "WHAT'S THE KINGDOM OF GOD?"

It's the kingdom of grace. It's Jesus full of grace and truth was preached. And he said, "And every man presses into it." Now, it was interesting to know, Jesus shows up, there's now a new dispensation that's on the horizon, the dispensation of Jesus full of grace and truth.

The dispensation of the law and the prophets ended with John. IF YOU DON'T GET THAT, YOU'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO TRY to mix everything you read in the law and the prophets and try to mix it with what Jesus brought into this new and living way. Now, show you something very interesting.

Go back to Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 1. Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 1. Now, notice what he said. "For the law having A SHADOW of good things to come." And then, not the very image of the things can never with those sacrifices, all of those sacrifices they made, which they were offered year by year, continually make the comers there unto perfect.

So, the shadow could never make anybody complete or perfect. Even though they came every year to make sacrifices, they would con- continue to have to come because those sacrifices would never make you perfect. It wouldn't end the process. Why? Shadows don't end the process. SHADOWS ARE NOT the reality.

To have a shadow of a sacrifice to deal with your sin versus having the reality, Jesus the sacrifice, to deal with your sin, one of them, the first sacrifices of animals, caused sin to continue to go. But, when Jesus, the final sacrifice, showed up, he dealt finally with your sins once and for all.

Y'all seeing that? Now, let's look at the NLT. I got to get rocking and rolling. I spent all that on just one. Look at the NLT. He says, "The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow." That's clear, right? It's only a shadow. It was a dim preview of the good things to come.

A preview of what was to come. Not the good things themselves, not the good things themselves. It's the sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. It's pretty clear, right?

Let's look at this in the Mirror translation, and then we'll move on. All right. "For the law presented to us a faint shadow outlining the promise of the blessings anticipated in the coming of Christ, even detailing its future significance. THE MERE SKETCH, OH MY GOD, HOWEVER, could never be confused with the actual object that it represented.

The sketch represented the object, but it couldn't do it right, well, or complete. The annual sacrificial rites as shadow of eventual object would always leave the worshiper feeling inadequate and be a reminder year after year of the sinfulness of mankind." So, church, today you have to have make a decision.

Are you going to continue to live by the law and the prophet continue to live by shadows that will never be able to do for you what the reality of the coming of Jesus can do for you. And you keep going back to the law and the prophet.

You keep opening yourself up hearing sermons and teachings on the law and the prophet. You keep doing that kind of stuff because you don't really understand what that shadow was for. That shadow was a sketch of what's to come. When an artist does a sketch, it's not the finished work.

You don't have the color in there. You don't have all the details in there. It's a sketch. THE LAW AND THE PROPHET WAS A SKETCH. WHY ARE YOU CONTINUING TO LIVE Some of y'all think what? Okay, we get it. Okay, what's up? But But you got it You You know what I'm saying?

There are people who they just And I I No, that ain't what my Bible say. I'm like And so that's explains the intensity that I have that Make sure that you have today. All right? Pray for me. All right? So the law itself was not the ultimate reality.

But it was a foreshadowing of Christ and his works. Well, why did he gave us the Old Testament with the New? Why didn't he just give us the New? You won't appreciate the New unless you had the Old. So let's see why he would do this. What What was the purpose of the things that were written aforetime?

Romans chapter 15 verse 4 in the King James and NLT. What is the purpose for the things that were written aforetime? And you got to rightly divide. You got to know over here it says that. Oh, but that stream leads to Jesus. And then that Oh, that's And that leads to Jesus.

Here I'm going to I'm going to let you in on something. Everything in the law and the prophets lead to the real. His name is Jesus. Everything. So I appreciate having the shadow cuz it it it it it gives me even deeper understanding of Jesus. Hallelujah. Jesus is my Passover lamb.

Oh, glory to God. Calm down. You ain't got started yet. Leave it alone. All right. Now But watch this. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our what? Our living. So we can live by. The things were written aforetime was written for our what? Learning. Why?

That we through patience and comfort of the scriptures that we might have hope or that we might have an earnest expectation. All right. Now look at this in the in the in the in the NLT. There There's an There was an expectation that came. When you read those.

Such things were written in the scriptures long ago to teach us. And the SCRIPTURES GIVE US HOPE and encouragement as we wait patiently for God's promises to be fulfilled. Now you got to put yourself in the perspective. They're talking to people who were under the law, living under the law before Jesus came.

So they're reading these the laws and the prophets, all of these things to give them hope of of something's coming. It's kind of like Revelation. We read that and we know something's coming. All right. Now watch carefully. So the Old Testament is Jesus concealed in scripture. The New Testament is Jesus revealed.

Jesus concealed, Jesus revealed. BUT THE WHOLE BOOK ABOUT JESUS. WE TRY TO CHOP IT UP AND SAY IT'S ABOUT this this THIS THIS. THE WHOLE STORY IS HIS STORY. AMEN. THE WHOLE THING'S ABOUT JESUS, GUYS. THE WHOLE THING IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU. IT'S THE WHOLE THING IS ABOUT JESUS.

AND the whole thing is about Jesus trying to help you to realize you ARE HIS IN THE SAME IMAGE. HE TRYING TO SHOW YOU HIM SO YOU CAN SEE YOURSELF. SO IT'S NOT JUST THESE THINGS WERE WRITTEN FOR OUR LEARNING. WHAT IS IT THAT HE WANTS US TO LEARN AS WE READ THESE THINGS?

HE WANTS YOU TO LEARN ABOUT WHO YOU ARE IN relationship to the hope that is to come. Y'all better come on here somebody. That thing He trying to He trying to What have you WHAT DO YOU LEARN ABOUT YOU? OOH, BETTER BE glad ain't no table up here.

I will wreck that thing. I'm I was about to ask you if you're on the bus, but I'm like saying you better hurry and get on this bus cuz the bus is moving. All right. Now let's look and see what Jesus himself said about it. John 5 verse 39 and 40.

Let's look at it in the King James in the message and then the mirror. John 5 39 and 40. So this is what the Old Testament scriptures are about all about. Jesus is getting ready to tell us about what it's all about. Well, why are you teaching this to us at church?

Cuz you can't grow if you don't understand how to rightly divide the Bible. And if you keep rightly dividing it wrong, you're going to come up with these weird ideas and then you're going to get on TikTok and start talking about what you don't know. Y'all be a prophet lying all time.

Just prophet lying. Cuz you didn't know that was the shadow. That ain't the reality. Case in point, we'll talk about it later. You sitting up there arguing about what day is the Sabbath. The shadow leads to the true Sabbath, Jesus. Jesus is our Sabbath rest. And what The reason why he's talking about the Sabbath day because that was They had indicated rest and and and and it it pointed towards resting in Jesus.

You still You still arguing about Saturday, Sunday, Friday or Monday. And your podcast come on. Is Sunday really the day of rest? >> [laughter] >> You must have did that, did you? I'm just playing. I'm just playing. All right. Now watch this. Verse 39. Here's Jesus talking. And and when you when you rightly divide the word, you identify who's doing the talking.

He said, "Search the scriptures. For in them you think you have eternal life." Very interesting. You ever met somebody who knew all the scriptures and they thought that they got some extra credit from God cuz they knew all the scriptures? And then you meet somebody who didn't know hardly none of the scriptures, but they knew Jesus.

You going to have to pick which one you want. I want to know Jesus. Search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life. And they are uh and they are they which testify The scriptures are they that testifyeth of me. And you will not come to me that YOU MIGHT HAVE LIFE.

All right. Now look at this in the What did I say? The the next uh translation. The message. You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you will find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. THESE SCRIPTURES ARE ALL ABOUT ME.

AND HERE I AM STANDING RIGHT BEFORE YOU and you AREN'T WILLING TO RECEIVE from me the life you say you want. And for us it's even A A BIGGER DEAL. HERE I AM LIVING ON THE INSIDE OF YOU AND YOU ignore everything I tell you to do. All right.

Let's go to the the next version. Mirror. You scrutinize the scripture tirelessly. Assuming that in them you embrace the life of the ages. Yet I am what THE SCRIPTURES ARE ALL ABOUT. STILL YOU REFUSE TO RESORT TO ME AS THE VERY SOURCE OF THE LIFE YOU SEEK. I KNOW WHAT SOME OF YOU THINKING.

WELL, WELL, you know, in the beginning was the word, word with God, word was God. Stop it. It's very clear. Cuz I was asking the same thing. I said, "Lord, you need to give me something cuz I'm going to have some them kind of folks in church tomorrow."

All right. Now Before I answer that question in in John 5, move down to the end of that chapter verse 46 and 47 in the King James. King James, message and mirror, same thing. Look at this what he said. Now he's This is awesome. He said this about about Moses.

John chapter 5 46. Come on. John 5 46 and 47. All right. For had you believed MOSES YOU WOULD HAVE BELIEVED me for he wrote of me. Oh my goodness. HE SAID, "ALL THE STUFF MOSES WROTE WAS ABOUT ME." And if YOU'D HAVE BELIEVED WHAT MOSES WROTE, you would have believed me.

CUZ MOSES WAS WRITING the shadow of me who was the caster of that shadow. And look what he says next verse. But if you believe not his writings, how shall you believe my words? Oh, wow. This stuff getting Jesus is Jesus is wanting a personal relationship with you.

He wants to know you and he wants you to know him so he can be your teacher. Well, well, what do you mean know him? I'm talking about get to know him. And you know anybody you you try to get to know, you got to spend some time with them.

Anybody you get to know, you got to talk to. Anybody you get to know, you got to listen to. But you think that THROUGH YOUR SCRUTINIZING OF THE SCRIPTURES THAT YOU'RE GOING to have the the LIFE AND THE SOURCE OF LIFE IS IN YOU THAT HE TALKS TO YOU, but you can't hear him cuz your brain your mind is so cluttered with everything else.

He trying to get to know you, but you might not be doing the same kind of thing to try to get to know him. The scripture talks about you. The scripture's talking about Jesus. So we should engage and embrace a relationship with Jesus as the source of life eternal.

I want a relationship with the one who's the source of life. I'm not talking about by being well educated. Nothing wrong with being educated in the scriptures. Nothing wrong with you studying the scripture. The Bible says study to show yourself approval. You can You know, we can't Christian people got to stop doing this.

We we show you something and then you make this adjustment way too far, way over here making adjustment. And only thing I'm telling you is this, okay, so what you're studying is good. Make an adjustment. It's like this, Jesus. And I study the scriptures because I know more about it.

And when I talk to him, hey Jesus, you know what I found out today? I said I found out in the scripture that you already know what I'm going to pray for before I pray it. So I'm going to start talking to you from that basis. If you know what I'm saying?

Rather than you you discovered a what he said about prayer and then now you get a ministry called the the the prayer ministry of such so of of of Damascus and uh you uh and and you're not getting to know him. I I I I I I I need you to hear what I'm saying, guys.

If you were to get born again today and ask me, what's the first thing I do? I'll respond, get to know Jesus. But you know how we responded? And it's not wrong. It's not wrong. Get in the word, read the word. That's not wrong. But keep keep first things keep the main thing the main thing.

((music playing)) I'm getting in the word. That'll help me to get to know Jesus. I'm meditating in the word. Help me to get to know Jesus. I'm confessing ((music playing)) the word. Help me to get to know Jesus. The primary point here is after my study, does it enhance my relationship? Sometimes you'll read something about Jesus >> ((music playing)) >> and then you'll go and you'll cry the whole time in prayer because you didn't realize that he loved and cared for you that much.

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