Untitled Sermon

Today I want to talk to you about looking at God’s word from a new covenant perspective and we're wanting to renew our minds. We're wanting to change the way we think about the why we communicate with God from an old covenant perspective to a new covenant perspective. And today we're going to be talking about discerning the Lord's body.

Now the Bible tells us clearly why we struggle with sickness, weakness, death and disease. And unfortunately, most of what we're taught about these things just does not come out of the new covenant. Sometimes it doesn't even come out of the Bible at all.

We have too many people teaching opinions that sound very reasonable, but they're not actually based on new covenant scripture. Now keep in mind, just because somebody pulls something out of the Bible does not mean that it's based on new covenant principles.

You know, in the old covenant, there were all of these sacrifices. There were the, the ceremonies, there were the rituals, all of these kinds of things, the feast and all of that was fulfilled in Jesus. If you want to no more about the feast go back and read

Leviticus around the 23 chapter. 1)

Passover (Leviticus 23:5) – Pointed to the Messiah as our Passover lamb

(1 Corinthians 5:7) whose blood would be shed for our sins. Jesus was crucified during the time that the Passover was observed (Mark 14:12). Christ is a “lamb without blemish or defect”

(1 Peter 1:19) because His life was completely free from sin

(Hebrews 4:15). As the first Passover marked the Hebrews’ release from Egyptian slavery, so the death of Christ marks our release from the slavery of sin

(Romans 8:2). 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

Romans 14:4-9 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

4 Who are you to pass judgment on and censure another’s household servant? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he shall stand and be upheld, for the Master (the Lord) is mighty to support him and make him stand.

5 One man esteems one day as better than another, while another man esteems all days alike [sacred]. Let everyone be fully convinced (satisfied) in his own mind.

6 He who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. He also who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; while he who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.

7 None of us lives to himself [but to the Lord], and none of us dies to himself [but to the Lord, for]

8 If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or we die, we belong to the Lord.

9 For Christ died and lived again for this very purpose, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

Colossians 2:15-19 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

15 [God] disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us and made a bold display and public example of them, in triumphing over them in Him and in it [the cross].

16 Therefore let no one sit in judgment on you in matters of food and drink, or with regard to a feast day or a New Moon or a Sabbath.

17 Such [things] are only the shadow of things that are to come, and they have only a symbolic value. But the reality (the substance, the solid fact of what is foreshadowed, the body of it) belongs to Christ.

18 Let no one defraud you by acting as an umpire and declaring you unworthy and disqualifying you for the prize, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, taking his stand on visions [he claims] he has seen, vainly puffed up by his sensuous notions and inflated by his unspiritual thoughts and fleshly conceit,

19 And not holding fast to the Head, from Whom the entire body, supplied and knit together by means of its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

Jesus took care of every aspect of how we relate to God. And Jesus delivered us from the curse of the law having been made a curse for us.

Galatians 3:13 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

13 Christ purchased our freedom [redeeming us] from the curse (doom) of the Law [and its condemnation] by [Himself] becoming a curse for us, for it is written [in the Scriptures], Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (is crucified);

So, none of those curses apply to us. In other words, in him, we are free from those curses, but that does not mean that we will never experience those curses. If we do not trust what Jesus did for us. And if our faith is not based in what Jesus did in delivering us from the curses, then we're going to live under those curses.

2 Corinthians 1:20 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

20 For as many as are the promises of God, they all find their Yes [answer] in Him [Christ]. For this reason we also utter the Amen (so be it) to God through Him [in His Person and by His agency] to the glory of God.

So what do I do when I know

Galatians 3: 13 says I'm delivered from the curse but everything in my life seems like a curse. 2 Corinthians 1:20 says, all the promises of God are yes for me, but it seems like none of the promises are working.

You make a decision and use your authority as a believer because I trusted in the finished work of Jesus to stop the curse. And to take hold of the promises. Take hold of what God has given us, but unfortunately, you know, people read these scriptures about the curses out of the old Testament and they make us believe that we're under that same covenant and that if we failed in any area, then these curses have the right to come upon us, and the word right literally means the authority.

The bible says Matthew 28:18 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

18 Jesus approached and, [a]breaking the silence, said to them, All authority (all power of rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.

We can't give authority to anything that's inconsistent with what he's done, but if we don't use the fact that we trust in the finished work of Jesus and then exercise our authority as believers, then the truth is we can live under the curse that Jesus has already delivered us from

Not understanding what we have in Christ from a New covenant perspective keeps us dealing with sickness, weakness, physical and prosperity problems which affects Our ability to serve God and our ability to building our lives and living out our dreams, enjoy our relationships, enjoy our life which is directly related to health and energy.

If we don't know how to live in God's plan for our lives then I've got news for you. We're not going to live out our dreams we’re not going to have a very fulfilled life. We're not going to enjoy our relationships we’re not going to do very much God at all.

Now we can deal with sickness, weakness, physical problem now and the real truth is you can apply this principal to any area of your life and it works. Any principal you find in the bible you can apply it to any area and get the results that the bible says you have.

the Bible says that there is sickness and weakness and people dying among us and it's directly connected to discerning the Lord's body. Now, Paul talks about this in the book of 1 Corinthians, the 11th chapter

Now when Jesus took the bread, it says that he gave things. You know what's interesting? That word gave thanks. Everybody knows what it means sort of to give thanks, but basically it means to put yourself in a good frame of mind or to put yourself in a good frame of mind by rejoice about something so Jesus gave thanks. So Jesus put himself in a good frame of mind by rejoicing about somethings.

When we get ready to take communion, whether we're doing it as a ceremony or whether we're just commuting in our heart with Christ, one of the first things we've got to do is we've got to get ourselves in a right frame of mind.

Whenever we are overcome with problems, whenever we have pain in our physical body. It is hard to see and perceive the promises of God as being real, and being authentic, believing that the promises work. So giving thanks is more than just saying thank you Jesus. It’s about putting ourselves in the right frame of mind no matter what I am facing.

Jesus is our example so lets look to him

the book of Mark, the sixth chapter, we have the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 that was 5,000 men plus women and children.

So there could have been easily 20,000 or maybe 25,000 people there that he had to feed with just five loaves of bread and two fish. Now keep in mind, Jesus was tempted every way like as we are tempted. HEBREWS 4:14

So that means that when he stood before those people with those five loaves and those two fish that he faced, the same type of internal struggle that we faced, the only difference was he didn't give into sin. Now remember, sin is when you believe our perceive our function in any way that's less than who you really are or what you really have in God.

you're standing there and you've got your resources. You've got your loaves, you got your fish, and so you're looking at your resources, but you're looking out at all of these people and somewhere in your mind, there has to be this battle that says, my resources do not meet the need or the demand that is placed on me right now. I mean, if you're standing there with five loaves and two fish needing to feed somewhere between five and 25,000 people, would you go through that struggle of wondering how in the world I'm going to meet this need, I don't have the resources

So that's no different than what you face when, you got more bills than you do money. That's what happens when you, have more pain than you do relief, or when you have more fatigue than you do energy, you're always comparing your resources to the problem.

And sometimes instead of moving the mountain, we make our problems into the mountain because we focus on our problems rather than on our true resources.

The problem will not be resolved by something beyond you but by something from among you.

Jesus sees possibilities where his disciples see only impossibilities, for God can multiply even the smallest gifts if they are made available to him. You see we look to ourselves for help instead of looking to God not understanding our true strength and resources

2 Chronicles 20:1–37

2 Kings 6:15-18

15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.

16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.