God's New Covenant

Introduction

What would it be like to live in a perfect world?

like the world described in the promises made to David and Abraham (review these from the previous verses)

Babel; Plato’s republic

What is standing between you and that world?

Is it faith?

In Luke 1:76-80, there are two important lessons that must learn in order to experience the blessings of God’s covenants.

1 - One Thing Prevents God’s Blessings - vs. 76-77

A Prophet to prepare

how? “repent” Mt 3:2

They couldn’t have the blessings of the OT b/c of breaking the law

do you want to know this salvation? - vs. 77

then you need forgiveness

Isaiah 59:1–2 NKJV

1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.

Okay, I’ll try harder

Deut 27-28; cursed; the threats and promises of the law could not change their hearts

Deuteronomy 30:1–6 NKJV

1 “Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you, 2 and you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. 4 If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. 5 Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. 6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

the blessings of Abraham and David only come through the New Covenant

Jeremiah 31:31–34 NKJV

31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

2 - One Person Provides God’s Blessings - vs. 78-80

We serve a God with a merciful heart

Ephesians 2:4–5 NKJV

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Zacharias depicts the Messiah as a great light from heaven, who will shine the light of salvation upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death

2 Corinthians 4:4–6 NKJV

4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

heart - mercy visits

mind - light shines

John 12:46 NKJV

46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.

will - guidance comes and brings peace

John 14:27 NKJV

27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Light has “dawned” but the day is not over

vs. 80 - waiting for all the new covenant to be fulfilled

Luke 1–5: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary The Blessings of the New Covenant

With the end of Zacharias’s song of praise, the curtain falls on the life of John the Baptist, not to be raised again until the beginning of his public ministry in chapter 3. The Bible passes over his childhood in silence, revealing even less details about it than it does of Jesus’ childhood. All that is known of John during the long years between his circumcision and the beginning of his public ministry is that he continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel. He then assumed the role predicted for him as Messiah’s forerunner, proclaiming the New covenant of which his father so eloquently and passionately spoke.

Conclusion

Application Questions:

How does this message address those who believe God wants everyone to prosper (have health and wealth) if they only believe?

Why are people inclined to think that they can do something to save themselves? How does Romans 9:16 refute this?

Will the fact that God offers forgiveness by His mercy lead to loose living? Why/why not?

How can we deepen our daily awareness of God’s tender mercy toward us?

Agree/disagree: No one can become a Christian without bending their will to God. How can we be clear about this when sharing the gospel?