New Covenant

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Today, we are continuing in this study called I Promise. We’ve been looking at God’s love for mankind evidenced through what the Bible calls “covenants.” These are particular moments throughout human history in which God chooses to partner with mankind in a particular way. God creates these partnerships with Noah, Abraham, through Moses, and with David. That’s what Pastor Alan talked about last week with you guys while I was at our Main Campus teaching our brothers and sisters out there.

I had a fun time there, but I’m so glad to be back here with you guys! As Dorothy said, “There’s no place like home!”

And I will say, thank you guys for making Alan, Becca and their kids feel welcome! They enjoyed being here!

This morning will be the last message in this series as we look at the New Covenant.

I want to begin by reading the words of Jesus himself as he speaks of the New Covenant. Then I’ll pray and we can start studying this thing together...

Luke 22:19–20 CSB

And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he also took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

PRAY

Jesus is gathered in this verse with his disciples the night before he is betrayed. This is the first time we see followers of Jesus taking the bread and cup of the Lord’s Supper which now churches have been doing for 2000 years and we will do today.

And we talk about the bread and the cup. If you have been around the church in your life to some degree, you probably know the bread represents the body of Jesus that was broken for us in his death and the cup represents his blood which was poured out. But you and I read this New Covenant thing and just skim right over it.

Well, I can tell you, Jesus’ followers that day, did not miss it! It probably blew their minds! Today, I want us to look at why those two words Jesus spoke were so impactful to these Jewish boys who were following Jesus so long ago.

I’ve talked to you guys about hyperlinks before. You know what hyperlinks are, on a website or an email? It’s that little blue underlined word that you can click on to find more info about that particular word or phrase. The Bible has those too! There are certain HOT words that the biblical authors will use that are just LOADED!

Like babylon. That can sound just like a normal city back then. But is loaded with context and represents everything that is evil and sinful about man’s heart.

Image of God is another. When you see that throughout the Bible it is pointing back to Genesis 1 and 2 as God made man in his image and then called him to bear that image on the earth.

This term New Covenant was a LOADED word even to them then!

The words New Covenant are actually only used one time in the whole Old Testament. That’s in Jeremiah 31 (We will get there....) But the idea is mentioned several times by the prophets throughout the Old Testament. They speak of a time in the future in which God makes a new partnership with his people. One that will be different from all of the previous covenants.

The contrast in each one of these passages seems to be that while the previous covenants were physical (dealing with flesh and obedient actions) this new covenant will be one that is spiritual and involves the heart of man.

The first passage I want to look at is Moses speaking near the end of his life. In this one, he shows us that in the New Covenant, God will offer...

1. A New Kind of Marking

Look at the passage with me...

Deuteronomy 30:6 CSB

The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love him with all your heart and all your soul so that you will live.

Moses has led God’s people all the way to the Jordan River. They are not far from actually marching into the Promised Land that God had promised to their ancestors, but Moses (knowing he will not get to pass into it because of some decisions he made, God had made it clear) takes the opportunity to really challenge and inform the people of God of what has happened. He reminds them of the law as well.

But here, he points back further to God’s covenant with Abraham. If you remember, man’s part in that covenant was to circumcise all the boys. This was a sign that they were set apart and that they were part of the family of Abraham and, therefore, part of the people of God.

But here, Moses points back to that covenant, then points forward to the New Covenant and says, “You know how God had us perform this physical sign on ourselves to signify the family we were a part of? Well, there is a day coming in the future in which there will not be a circumcision of the flesh to signify we are God’s people, but of the heart! And God will be the surgeon who performs it!

Paul talks about this new marking in Romans 2. He says that God’s true people are not identified as such by their outward appearance (as in circumcision). They have been changed inwardly to be considered God’s people!

Paul actual makes the argument against the Jewish people that just because you have the outward sign, doesn’t mean jack! God has made a way in Christ for us to be changed inwardly! Right?

So, let me just ask a question...

Are you banking on some outward sign to prove your spot in the family? If so, you are missing it! I don’t care if you have walked an aisle, joined a church, been dunked in a baptistry, or even served in a role at church for decades! The Bible is clear that if your heart has not been changed by the Holy Spirit through salvation, you are still in your sin and separated from God! You need to turn from your sin and turn to God today, trusting in Jesus as the only one who can save you from your sin, committing your life to follow him! Then you will experience the circumcision of the heart that Moses talked about so many thousands of years ago!

This is the new Covenant… A New kind of marking in Jesus!

Point number 2...

2. A New Kind of Knowledge

Let’s read...

Jeremiah 31:31–34 CSB

“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. This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—my covenant that they broke even though I am their master”—the Lord’s declaration. “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. 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 iniquity and never again remember their sin.

I love this passage! IT’s chocked full of goodies!

First… Which covenant is Jeremiah referencing? Noah, Abraham, Moses, or David? Out of the land of Egypt… This is the covenant with Moses! Right?

Let’s remember that one. The Covenant with God’s people through Moses is where we get the law. 613 laws that were to guide God’s people. These laws were known by the Hebrew word TORAH. Which gets translated law but actually means more like “teaching.”

They were asked to keep the Torah as part of the Covenant. And what would they get in return? The one thing that stands out is what God told Moses when he first called him to save God’s people

Exodus 6:7 CSB

I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians.

God seems to desire to make a people who KNOW him.

That becomes more clear as God and Moses converse on Mt. Sinai. Moses asks God that through the law God might teach Moses his ways.

Exodus 33:13 CSB

Now if I have indeed found favor with you, please teach me your ways, and I will know you, so that I may find favor with you. Now consider that this nation is your people.”

Fun trivia note… This is part of the first passage I preached as your pastor at the beginning of January 2020.

So, it seems to Moses at least that the law did show them how life worked best and how to worship God, but arguably the most important goal was for the laws God had brought to them to help them know God better!

Alright, now that we have that in place, let’s go back to Jeremiah...

Jeremiah 31:33 CSB

“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.

Here, God says, “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts.”

Here’s the beautiful, almost poetic piece that we can miss because we are reading an English translation… What did I tell you was a Hebrew word for teaching???

TORAH! Y’all this is so good!

In the Mosaic Covenant, God put his Torah before them by writing it on stone (you remember the 10 commandments). BUT in the New Covenant Jeremiah says that God will put his TORAH IN THEM and will write it on their hearts! The teaching of God is no longer just before us. In Christ, God has placed it IN US! Do you see the difference that can make!?

But what’s the difference for us?

Well, what was the purpose of the law in Moses’ day? Moses asked “Teach us your ways.” Teach us to know you. God gives the Torah and says, You are people and I am your God.

So the New Covenant purpose must be the same! Us being his people and he being our God! KNOWING GOD!

We can pursue intense knowledge of God as believers in Jesus! We still have the Torah before us but now we have God’s teaching in us through the Holy Spirit (more on that in a moment) and we also have the teachings of the Apostles in the New Testament! There is no excuse for our lack of knowledge of God!

So, what are you doing with it? If you are a Christian in the room, God’s Word just says that in this New Covenant, you have an access to knowledge of God that will blow your mind! So, are you growing in that? If not, what’s your excuse? There are more resources out there to help you learn read your Bible than ever before!

If you are not regularly in God’s Word, we have built a resource just for you. It’s a simple reading guide that walks through the life of Christ over 8 weeks. Less than a chapter per day! If you need a boost in reading God’s Word, or just need a plan before you, join me in this study! You can stop by Next Steps today and pick that up. Someone there with a badge on should be able to help you with that.

But the New Covenant doesn’t just offer a new kind of Knowledge...

3. A New Kind of Obedience

Let’s look at the prophet Ezekiel for this one...

Ezekiel 11:19–20 CSB

I will give them integrity of heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone from their bodies and give them a heart of flesh, so that they will follow my statutes, keep my ordinances, and practice them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

Ezekiel gives us an intense look at what happens in the New Covenant! The first point he makes is that we are given a “new spirit.” And this new Spirit does a work in us that’s crazy! Through this Spirit, God takes a heart of stone and gives it new life! This is what the New Testament authors would call REGENERATION.

What was the purpose of this regneration?

So they will follow me! Be obedient!

In the Old Covenant, the people of God made a mess of things through sin and blatant disobedience. However, in the New Covenant, Ezekiel says that because of this regeneration, this new soft heart that’s been given, God’s people will be able to follow God!

Now, inside of every believer is not just the law of God memorized, but the Spirit of God HIMSELF! How cool is that!?

And that’s what we have! If you are a believer in Jesus, you have been made new! You have been given a heart of flesh instead of stone so that you can know God and pursue God and be obedient to God! Church this is good news!

For those of us in Christ, Why do we live in this world like defeated, weak people! Listen to me… If you have sinned in some big way as a Christian and you are feeling beat up and defeated because of that… I think I can speak on behalf of God’s Word and tell you that this guilt is not from God. If you have repented of that sin, then you can let it go! Do you need to be naive and allow temptation into your life? NO! But you don’t have to beat yourself up! If you feel that way after repenting, that is the work of Satan and not of our powerful God!

God has given you his spirit so that you can follow hard after him! Don’t wallow in self pity and shame! If you are in Christ, you have a new heart!

Think back to the Disciples for a moment. All of the verses that you and I just studied have already been written by now. These men have read those passages and probably know them well. Jesus’ disciples were not trained theologians, but all Jews were familiar with certain passages and the New Covenant would have been one of them.

So, imagine, they know about the new kind of marking, the new kind of knowledge and the new kind of obedience, and they are just waiting on God. Remember, in every one of these, the prophet is pointing forward to some date in the future.

That’s all in the disciples heads. That’s a whole folder in their minds. And then Jesus says...

Luke 22:19–20 CSB

And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he also took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

What would have been their reaction to hear Jesus say that this cup represented a NEW COVENANT in his blood?

Their mouths would have dropped open! Did he just say what I think he did? OH SNAP! It’s on! Right? This is the covenant their people had been waiting for! And it was finally here!

Today, you can experience that same type of excitement! Today, you can trust fully in Jesus as the bringer of this New partnership with man. As a follower of Jesus, I get to partake in life here on earth as a covenant partner with God! If you are not a follower of Jesus, if you have never trusted fully in Jesus to save you, or just have questions about it, please talk to us today! Patrick is going to begin to play softly and I want you to just stay seated today. Bow your heads and close your eyes with me.

If you know beyond any shadow of a doubt that you have are not a follower of Jesus, a Christian, you have not been saved. Would you be willing to let me know that simply by raising your hand. I just want to pray for you.

Amen. Let me pray for you now...

PRAY

I would never want to embarass you at all but I want you to know that right now, there are two decision counselors standing by the doors that you came in. If you would like to talk with me or with them about how you could trust in Jesus, you can simply pop up right where you and go back there.

If you are here and you know that you are a believer, be challenged yet encouraged by today’s message!

And we are about to take the Lord’s Supper, the symbol of the Covenant. It is a symbol of Christ’s sacrifice for us. We want to approach that well today, so you may want to spend just a few moments praying to God and confessing the sins that you have committed lately. Ask God to forgive you of any bitterness that resides in you. Even go speak to someone if they are here about something you have against them.

Today, this is just an opportunity for you to do business with God. Take the Next Steps that you need to take!