This clip is from the message “When Better Feels Backwards” To watch the full message, click here: https://youtu.be/Iojt-t9RufA
better is relative when the writer of
Hebrews says we are convinced of better
things concerning you brothers and
sisters he is writing to a tired church
under persecution dealing with
oppression and it’s not about to get
better
it’s about to get worse Nero hasn’t even
started his tyrannical games and
maniacal persecution of the Christian
Church in Rome and yet this very
eloquent experienced preacher writes
them a letter saying I am convinced it’s
going to get better that’s kind of hard
to hear when your situation keeps
getting worse you ever had somebody tell
you something that was meant to make you
feel better but it actually had the
opposite effect because when your life
keeps getting worse the last thing you
want to hear is is going to get better
and yet the consistent message of this
particular letter from the writer of
Hebrews is better that Jesus Christ is
better than worldly pleasures that Jesus
Christ is better than religious systems
that Jesus Christ is better than Moses
who was the leader that Israel knew and
revered that Jesus Christ is better he
uses that word better 13 times in the 13
chapters of the book of Hebrews the
Greek word sounds a lot like what you
put on a salad but it’s kreittón kreittón it’s used to describe the covenant
that we have because of the blood that
Jesus shed for us he says that the blood
of bulls and goats or sacrifice can only
make things better for a little while
and then you have to do it again but he
says that Jesus is a better High Priest
kreittón He’s better Jesus is better
because He has a better nature He has a
better ministry it says that because His
blood speaks a better word that we never
have to believe the voice of accusation
in our life no matter how bad
is what you did the blood of Jesus
speaks a better word kreittón because
He’s better than that and even though
sometimes you feel like you should have
done better
His blood was better than the worst
thing that you did so whatever His blood
needs to cover in your life today you
can have confidence to enter the most
holy place I am preaching in my
introduction like I’m on fire with the
Word of God it’s a better covenant it is
a better promise he says it is a better
hope kreittón better it’s like an anchor
for your soul it’s a better hope because
even when it hits the bottom it grips on
and it won’t let you drift it’s a better
hope some people have a surface-level
hope and as long as things are floating
along in their lives and everything is
moving in the direction of their
intention and their aspiration they have
great faith but the writer says that we
have a kreittón better hope somebody say
better see I know they made a movie
called hope floats but my hope is better
than that my hope doesn’t even kick in
till it gets to the bottom so for
everybody who has hit bottom in your
emotions this week or bottom in your
bank account or bottom in your body and
your physical health I want you to know
there is a hope that is better than the
passing pleasures of fleeting
aspirations of this world and he says
I’m convinced of better things
concerning you isn’t it wonderful to have
somebody believe in you when you don’t
believe in yourself have you ever had
somebody just see something in you that
you quit believing a long time ago it’s
a matter of trying to discern in my life
what purpose God has made me for and if
I don’t do that I will always compare
myself to the wrong standards in my
quest to be better so now I’m trying to
bear fruit that belongs on somebody
else’s tree but better is relative and
for all of us who are constantly trying
to improve ourselves when we read and we
study and we try and we
attend church at the 11:30 at Elevation
Ballantyne which means you have to fight
traffic to go into the parking lot but I
came here because I want to be better
here’s what I need you to know better is
relative better needs a point of
reference in order to be judged but with
the things that are really important but
the things that really matter I wonder
sometimes do we confuse what feels
better with what is better when my dad
went in for surgery when they did his
liver transplant he felt better before
he went into surgery than he did after
they cut him open but he had a new liver
but the human body goes through
something called a rejection period when
something new is introduced the
challenge with the Church in Rome is
that they’re walking in a new covenant
but the old one feels better the
challenge for some of us as God is
moving in our life is that we are in a
rejection period where we are trying to
assimilate new truth into an old life
and an old mindset the temptation is to
go back to bad because sometimes bad
feels better
can I be honest with you I see a lot of
people who go back to bad relationships
because sometimes bad feels better it’s
true sometimes we go back to bad
patterns of thinking because they are
more familiar than new ways of faith and
opportunities that doors open sometimes
we go back to something bad and we go
backwards because what is new is not
working at first most of the things that
grace will introduce into your life for
the operating system called faith will
feel worse at first
and yet the writer of Hebrews says to
you and to me and to this beloved Church
of precious people who are striving to
follow the ways of Christ and yet their
life is good
worse he says don’t go back what you
have now is better yeah but if it’s
better then why is my situation getting
worse but if it’s better why do I keep
struggling with this it’s an interesting
thing about sin until you resist it you
don’t know how strong it really is when
you first start resisting a sin and
let’s don’t call out one that church
people love to talk about let’s do one
that doesn’t usually make the list
self-pity y’all thought I was gonna say
smokin and you were gonna be fine
because you quit twelve years ago no I’m
coming for the real one self-pity
feels better than owning and becoming
accountable for the things God is doing
in your life so now let’s say God is
delivering you from self-pity and then
you know you feel yourself pulled back
to self-pity don’t be surprised when you
go back to the old way don’t be
surprised it’s not because you’re not a
new creation it’s just because sometimes
backwards feels better when you’ve been
doing something wrong for long enough
the right way feels awkward y’all I wanted
a hobby so I went to play tennis Holly
started taking tennis lessons and I was
like well I mean I like the way you look
in the uniform so I’ll come out there
with you hey man I like the scenery amen
I’m allowed to that’s my wife
so when I showed up for the lesson
Robert said to me before we even got
started hitting the first ball and
see you need to know I have a style of tennis
that I had developed that was
independent of professional instruction
or expert input and it kind of worked
for me as long as the person on the
other side of the net
had never played tennis before I could
get it over the net and the first thing
he said to me was
show me your serve I need to see what
I’m working with show me your serve so
I was like okay I grabbed the racket
and the way I would control the racket
was with my index finger and I would
dink the ball over the net and it would
usually go in I’m telling you it would
you it would go in six miles an hour it
was slow but if the person on the other
side never played before they couldn’t
hit it back and I put it over the net
and I showed him my serve and it went in
and he said all right now I see what I’m
working with
let’s fix your grip he showed me I was
holding the racket the whole wrong way a
completely different way than it’s meant
to be held so he showed me how I’m
supposed to hold the racket the next 50
balls that I tried to hit over the net
either went over the fence into the net
or somewhere far outside the box I was
complaining because I thought I came out
here to pay you so you could make me do
better how many know that sometimes in
order to get better first you have to go
backwards this is so important I got out
the bed this morning to tell you this I
studied to tell you this sometimes in
your life you will feel as if you’re
going backwards and the temptation will
be to revert back to something that
worked I tried to turn the other cheek
and then they hit that one too and now
I’m gonna do what I know how to do I
tried to be generous I tried to
surrender control I tried to stop
manipulating people I tried to be still
and know that he was God it didn’t work
but God said this is a season where He
is fixing your grip you see all of your
life you’ve been doing it a certain way
and it worked for a little while but
you’ve entered into grace now this is a
better way this is a better covenant
this is a better High Priest
this is a better approach this is a
better resurrection
somebody shout better but it doesn’t
feel better the temptation is always to
go back to go back when you feel like
it’s not getting any better I mean I
used to have friends and then I joined
this church and my friends kicked me out
of the synagogue imagine what it would
have been like to be a new Christian in
the Roman Empire
the religion that you came from won’t
accept you the empire that you’re a part
of doesn’t recognize you and actually
wants to eliminate you imagine what it
would have been like and here’s the
writer of Hebrews saying is going to get
better let’s go get better he must have
a different definition of better than
what I see on Instagram he must have a
different definition of better than just
a situation improving I wonder what is
your different definition of better I
wonder what is your standard better is
relative oh well I’m not one of those
good Christians there’s only one good
Christian it’s the one with the name
Crist in the tian he put the Christ the
rest of us are just following one
failure at a time they don’t like me
over here
I must see what’s going on on the west
wing you hear me
oh well they’re a better Christian than
me they memorized all this scripture
no they’re a better memorizer that
doesn’t make them a better Christian
sometimes we get better backwards well
well if I if I was more famous yeah it
would be better we all have some idea is
is it’s like it’s like something that we
think will be so much better life only
so much better if it value more
followers and I have it be better really
would it really be better you ever you
ever met a miserable rich person I can
introduce you to a few they are more
miserable than a person who is miserable
wants to get rich because while you’re
trying to get rich you get to tell
yourself that if I get rich it’ll get
better
but then when you get money and you
still feel miserable because better is
not a byproduct of external
circumstances improving
it is a products of washes sometimes it
gets better sometimes it doesn’t and you
do this is the word LJ I don’t need any
organ I’m preaching so good I don’t need
anything behind this message
somebody shout better better and it’s so
difficult for us to believe that it’s
getting better when it feels worse it’s
so difficult for me to believe that it’s
getting better because I am comparing my
real life to somebody else’s fake life
see the reason you feel like everybody
is happier than you is because you’re
not seeing the parts that they choose to
hide from you
you are only seeing the version of them
that they want to broadcast so when you
really understand that better is
relative you can understand as a parent
that there is nobody better equipped to
raise that child than you yeah but I got
a temper
well they needed a strong hand then just
don’t kill them and we’ll be all right
amen amen there’s nobody better because
better is relative so if you walk into
Krispy Kreme it’s better than broccoli
unless you need to lose 30 if the
purpose of the food is nutrition give me
the broccoli if the purpose of the food
is to make my taste buds dance and shout
the Hallelujah Chorus I want the Krispy
Kreme doughnut better is relative I
walked into Guitar Center I was trying
to buy some software for my son to make
his beats and I asked Jamie who I’ve
known for years which one is better you
know he said get ready to shout over this he said depends on what you want to use it
for
I got happy because that spoke to all my
insecurities it depends on the purpose
which one is better for what God
intended you to do you’re perfect for it
there’s nobody better to do it there’s
nobody more qualified to do it there’s
nobody who can do what you do when God put
you where He puts you and you give him
what you got I’m better Wow I’m like the
Clemson Tigers I’m better I’m like
Adidas over Nike I’m better i’ma stop with
this but I want to speak to somebody
who’s been telling yourself that
somebody could do it better than you
that there’s somebody more fit than you
that there’s somebody who’s got more
knowledge than you sometimes God needs
somebody who is lesser so He can show
that He’s better
on what basis is my confidence that it’s
going to get better all the way back to
Hebrews chapter 1 where he takes him all
the way back you know sometimes you got
to go back to get better if some of us
compared our lives right now to where we
should be I mean you have no idea touch
somebody say you have no idea what’s in
my bloodline
so the fact that I’m even in church come
on shout angels the fact that I’m even
in church shout about it the fact that
I’m holding a pen and writing down notes
off of a Bible Scripture
come on the fact that I’ve got my hands
lifted right now I’m convinced He has
been better to me than I even know how
to be to myself so when I think about
how far I have to go it makes me want to
quit but when I think about how far he’s
brought me come on I’m so much better
than I was
I’m so much wiser than I was I’m so much
stronger than they said I would be kreittón you gotta go back to understand
better when’s the last time you
considered your testimony when’s the
last time that you considered how much
God has taught you when’s the last time
you rejoiced when’s the last time that
you thank God for what’s right in front
of your face rather than looking so far
out for something that would be better
what could be better than His presence
what could be better than peace with God
what could be better to be known by the
one who knows you completely and yet
loves you entirely what could be better
I only came out to preach the 1130
because Graham was out here that’s my
11 year old I like to chill on the front
row with him during worship the way I
preached this at 9:30 is the one I want
to put online I never can decide when
they ask me Saturday night 9:30
11:30 which one was better I don’t
really know how to tell I can’t really
pick because better is relative better
is subjective one girl told me this week
something I said seven years ago at a
9:30 service she said changed her life
she said they didn’t even put the 9:30
online I went to look for it it was the
11:30 the 9:30 was better
well maybe to you it was better you never
know what’s better you never know what
experiences are better sometimes you
look back over the things that afflicted
you and you realize those are the very
same things that developed you into the
person that you are better is relative
I’d rather have a a better sense of
appreciation than a better car I would
and if you have a better car but you
can’t drive I’d rather be with a better
driver in a worse car come on
and I know you want to go back sometimes
I know you want to quit because
depression is giving up on the belief
that it could ever get better that’s
what makes people end it all that’s why
we need faith that’s why we can’t let
that go no matter what that’s why we
continually have to tell ourselves it’s
already getting better I’m cut open
right now on the surgeons table but I’m
getting better and although it doesn’t
look better yet God is doing some of the
infrastructure work that is so important
and I’m getting better come on if that’s
your testimony give God praise that He’s
making you better
and he said to the suffering Saints in
the Roman Empire that long ago this is
Hebrews 1 verse 1 long ago at many times
and in many ways he’s going all the way
back to show them how much better it
really is how much better it is than
they can recognize he said God used to
speak through the prophets and that was
good
but now in these last days He has spoken
through His son what could be better
than to know the Incarnate son of God
now the reason that the people missed
Jesus when He came is because they were
looking for something better but yet God
snuck into Bethlehem looking like a baby
in a manger I got a question are you
looking at better but haven’t recognized
it yet has God allowed your eyes in this
season to be right in front of something
that your spirit has not yet ascertained
some of us don’t know how good we have
it in the reason I mentioned Graham is
because I slipped him a piece of paper
the other day and said list five things
that could make our life better and he
wrote back this was three years ago he
said they’re about as good as they get
I said thank God that my son recognizes
what my experience has caused me to
forget some of us need to go back to our
first love I don’t know who I’m
preaching to today but if you would go
back you would realize that God has made
you so much better that He has treated
you so much better than your sins
deserve kreittón is better it’s better
mercy is better than sacrifice you know
what one writer said he said it’s better
to have a little crust with peace than a
house full with strife some of you I don’t
have much but the crumb I have is better
I’m grateful for this piece I’m grateful
for this little bit it’s better and he
said He spoke through His son and we
missed Him because we deemed Him
insignificant just like we missed some
of the best moments of our life because
we’re waiting on something better
he said He’s spoken through His son the
word became flesh that’s Jesus He is the
heir of all things through whom He also
created the world next verse He is the
radiance of the glory of God and the
exact imprint of His nature and He
upholds the universe by the word of His
power and after making purification for
sins He sat down I don’t have this
memorized I’m reading it off the screen
at the right hand of Majesty on high the
next verse tripped me up because I
couldn’t understand it it said having
become as much kreittón better
translated here superior as much better
kreittón as the angels as the name He
has inherited is more excellent than
theirs how many know His name is higher
how many know He has the name that is
exalted above every name how many know
every name you can name has to bow to
that name when I speak the name and it
says that the Creator is better than
what He created never worship the gift
and forget the giver He’s better and
their lives are getting worse and maybe
I can’t understand why that as God is
doing something deeper in me while my
spirit is getting better
why is my situation getting worse
and so I had to go back to understand
what verse 4 says because it doesn’t
just say that Jesus is better put it up
real quick it’s gunna blow your mind
can I show you this you yeah yeah I’m
gonna show you cuz you look like you’re
hungry for the Word of God and when I
was reading this out loud I know my kids
thought I was crazy I was walking around
the house preaching it chest-bumping the
Holy Ghost just running into nothing oh
I was excited cuz it said He became did
you see that having become now that that
that made me stop how could He become
better when He’s already perfect and in
order to understand not that He is
better I believe that I believe God is
greater than any situation any angel how
many believe that God is greater than
you I advise you to raise your hand real
high even if it is pit-stained or
something
raise it all the way up okay He’s
better right but how did He become
better we read verse three so it can’t
be that His character was improved He is
the exact imprint of the image of God
you can’t get any better than that it
says that He sustains the world by the
power of His word you can’t get any
stronger than that so how did He who was
without blemish from the foundation of
the world become better and it’s right
there in the verse it doesn’t say that
He improved look at verse 3 it says that
after He had made purification for sin
He sat down He got better by coming
lower
I’ll know what’s going on in your life
today it seems like it’s going backwards
kids getting crazier bills getting more
expensive everything in your life seems
to be more and more out of control could
it be that God is making you better by
taking you lower here’s what I read in
my Bible that He will exalt the humble
that if I will humble myself see I don’t
understand how Jesus could become better
but the way He became better since He
was already high and lifted up it
doesn’t get any higher since He already
inhabited eternity since He couldn’t be
raised any higher the Bible says that
Jesus came lower watch this Jesus went
backwards so you could get better let’s
praise the name come on jump up if you
know mercy is real let’s praise the name
of the one who stepped down out of
heaven looking like a man who died on a
cross and who is glorified forever
somebody shout I’m getting better
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