3-17-24 Sermon "New Covenant" 16 Minutes

Jeremiah 31:31-34

This morning I'll be reading Jeremiah chapter 31 verses 31 through 34. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Jeremiah 31:31-34 The verses that we will look at this morning,,, are some of the words that were written to give comfort to the people as they go through a time of punishment. These words give them something to look forward to in the future. Jeremiah 31:31–34 (HCSB) — 31 “Look, the days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke even though I had married them” —the Lord’s declaration. 33 “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will put My teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. 34 No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them” —this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sin.” The word of God for the people of God,,, thanks be to God! God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ___________________________________ Last Sunday we looked at John 3:14-21,,, and seen that Jesus is the,,, "Light of the World"!

I reminded you that as we continue our Lenten journey,,, we must remember these words from John!

We must be sure that we understand that God has provided a way,,, the debt has been paid,,, and salvation is free!

But,,, it must be accepted!

And once it is accepted,,, we must continue to build that relationship by staying close to the "light of the world",,, our Lord and Savior,,, Jesus Christ!

We should continue to do the things that help us in that regard,,, by our Bible reading and study,,, our quiet time with the Lord,,, our prayers,,, our church attendance,,, etc.

All of the things that keep us near Jesus,,, keep us within sight of His glorious light,,, that helps us to stay on that narrow path that leads to heaven one day,,, those are the things that we,,, as Christians must continue to do!

This morning we will look at these verses in Jeremiah 31:31-34,,, and see how they will help us in our walk with God this week.

___________________________________ Verse 31 said: 31 “Look, the days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

I told you earlier that Jeremiah wrote these words so that they would help the people as they are going through a time of punishment.

The Israelites are going through tough times that they have brought upon themselves.

But they have these words from God to comfort them as they mourned for their mistakes.

God has promised them a new beginning.

In addition to that new beginning,,, God promised to make a New Covenant with His people.

This New Covenant was expressly for the house of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) and the house of Judah (the Southern Kingdom).

___________________________________ Verse 32 said: 32 This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke even though I had married them” —the Lord’s declaration.

It would not be like the covenant God had made with Israel’s forefathers at the time of the Exodus because that covenant had been broken by the people (cf. 11:1–8).

The earlier covenant God referred to was the Mosaic Covenant contained in the Books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Twice God had announced a series of punishments or “curses” that would be invoked on those who violated His Law (Lev. 26; Deut. 28).

The final judgment would be a physical deportation from the land of Israel.

With the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. this final “curse” was completed.

God had set a holy standard of conduct before the people, but because of their sinful hearts they could not keep those standards.

A change was needed.

___________________________________ Verses 33-34 said: 33 “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will put My teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. 34 No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them” —this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sin.”

God’s New Covenant will involve an internalization of His Law.

He will put His Law in their minds and on their hearts,,, not just on stones,,, like He did when the ten commandments were given to Moses as seen in Exodus 34:1).

There will be no need to strongly encourage the people to know the LORD because they will already all know God.

We have the words of Isaiah 11:9 and Habakkuk 2:14 to help us understand.

Isaiah 11:9

“None will harm or destroy another on My entire holy mountain, for the land will be as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the sea is filled with water.”

Habakkuk 2:14

“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord’s glory, as the waters cover the sea.”

We can see from these verses that this is partially fulfilled today.

Jesus Christ has fulfilled the requirements to pay for our sins,,, and if we listen to the Holy Spirit the way that we should,,, it would be totally fulfilled,,, but we still let worldly things get in the way.

But the day is coming,,, when Christ comes again,,, or we get called home,,, that this will no longer be a problem!

As it says here,,, God’s New Covenant will give Israel the inner ability to obey His righteous standards and thus to enjoy His blessings.

Ezekiel indicated that this change will result from God allowing the Holy Spirit to dwell on these believers,,, found in Ezekiel 36:24–32.

In Old Testament times,,, the Holy Spirit did not universally indwell all believers.

There were many individuals,,, that had the help of the Holy Spirit at different times,,, but it wasn't readily available to all like it is available to us today!

So we can see that one different aspect of the New Covenant is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in all believers,,, as it said in Joel 2:28–32.

A second aspect of the New Covenant will be God’s provision for sin.

The sins of the people resulted in the curses of the Old Covenant.

However,,, as part of the New Covenant,,, God will forgive Israel’s wickedness and remember their sins no more.

But you might ask,,, how could a holy God overlook sin?

The answer is,,, that God did not “overlook” sin - its penalty was paid for by a Substitute (cf. Isa. 53:4–6).

In the Upper Room Christ announced that the New Covenant was to be inaugurated through the shedding of His blood,,, we are reminded of this during our communion service (cf. Matthew 26:27–28; Luke 22:20).

Forgiveness of sin would be part of the New Covenant only because God provided a Substitute to pay the penalty required of man.

Through the death,,, and resurrection of Jesus Christ,,, we are given the "New Covenant"!

___________________________________ We know that Jesus has finished His work,,, the "New Covenant" is in effect,,, even though we don't always act the way that we should,,, but it is there for us today!

And we have many opportunities to live the life that God has called us to live,,, simply because of the help of the Holy Spirit that is available to us today.

As a result of Jesus' death and resurrection,,, we no longer must wait for the priest to offer sacrifices to take care of our sins,,, they are already taken care of,,, the debt has been paid,,, it just needs to be accepted!

We have a personal relationship with God that the Israelite people,,, as a whole,,, never had available to them,,, at least until Jesus came and made it available to them,,, and us,,, the Gentiles!

Through the Holy Spirit living inside us,,, guiding us,,, correcting us,,, offering up prayers for us,,, all of the things that He does for us,,, we have the chance to a better life,,, and we have it in abundance!

___________________________________ What's amazing as well,,, this was prophesied about many years before Christ ever came.

He fulfilled what man had never been able to do,,, and offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins,,, once,,, for all,,, never again needing anyone to offer sacrifices for us,,, because our debt has been paid.

We may be punished by God,,, as we see the Israelites dealing with this,,, but this shows that even while we are going through this trial brought on by our own mistakes,,, God is there with us,,, continuing to work things out for us!

And even if it is not punishment,,, just problems that we have because we live in a sin infested world,,, sickness,,, emotional pain,,, financial problems,,, physical pain,,, etc.,,, God is still right here with us,,, guiding us if we let Him,,, each and every day!

God wants the best for us,,, and Jesus Christ gave us the chance,,, we need to remember that!

___________________________________ As we continue our Lenten journey,,, we must remember that Jesus has made it possible for the blessing that we have today.

The Holy Spirit with us,,, guiding us,,, correcting us,,, praying for us when we don't know what to say,,, keeping us on the narrow path,,, while the world pulls us towards the wider path that leads to destruction,,, all of these wonderful things for us,,, we need to give God the praise and glory,,, as we get closer to our Easter celebration!

We must also be ready to tell others about the blessings that God has given us,,, and do what we can to bring others to church,,, so that they can hear,,, the good news,,, of the "New Covenant" that is available to us today!

Next Sunday is Palm Sunday,,, it begins the week in celebration,,, but ends in fear for the disciples by the time Friday comes around,,, but thankfully,,, we know,,, that it doesn't end there,,, and we know that God's plan is still in effect,,, as we continue our journey,,, towards the celebration,,, of Easter!

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