A New Covenant

 Bus driver Billy drove his route. As usual, some got on & a few got off. Things went well. At the next stop was a 6' 8", Hulk-Hogan of a man. He got on & glared Billy. "Big John doesn't pay!" He sauntered to the back & sat down. Billy was so afraid & upset he didn't argue. For weeks, it was the same. Big John got on, refused to pay, & sat down. Billy began losing sleep. When he couldn't stand it, he signed up for body building, karate, & judo classes. By the time he got black belts, he was strong. Next day, Big John got on. "Big John doesn't pay!" Billy stood, glared, & bellowed, "Why not?!" Surprised, Big John replied, "Big John has bus pass."1 Many fear God the way Billy feared Big John. They think He's angry, waiting to zot us, & judges even tiny sins harshly. Here's the thing. Billy didn't need the classes. He didn't need to fear John. And Christians don't need to fear God. Not since God gave us the New Covenant. Heb 11 told us to run our race with perseverance. Toss all weights that slow us down. Shed the sins that trip us up. Our race is a marathon, so he told us to endure the race's hardships by accepting them as spiritual discipline. To win, keep our eyes on Jesus. As bridegroom, He's the goal of our race. He's also Author & Perfector of our faith, the Way to win our race. Today's verses compare the 2nd Covenant to the 1st to show how much better it is. Let's look at Heb 12:18-29. By faith in Jesus, 18ayou haven't come to a mountain that can be touched & is burning with fire. Not like Sinai, when God gave the 1st Covenant. 18aYou haven't come to darkness, gloom & storm like they did. We come to the Light of the world. Nor have we come19 to a trumpet blast or to such a voice that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them. Why not? For one, the earth was quaking. Continuous lightning strikes on a mountain that's already "on fire." People are already scared. The trumpet & voice terrified them! On top of that, 20athey couldn't bear what was commanded. How so? Not what we think, the 10 Commandments. Then what? God is holy. How holy? 20b"If even an animal touches Sinai (Horeb / Zion), it must be stoned." And people? No wonder they're terrified! 21The sight was so terrifying that even Moses said, "I'm trembling with fear." No wonder people said, "Moses, you go up & hear what God says. Come back & tell us. We'll obey." God was teaching them. He's holy. No one / nothing can be in His presence & live. (Remember Uzzah? On a rough patch, He tried to steady the Ark on a wagon carrying to Jerusalem. One touch & zot.) We have a better covenant. Ours wasn't given in fear but in love. 22aYou've come to Mt. Zion. Think home. Think 22bheavenly Jerusalem, coming down from heaven to earth. The city where God dwells with His people. The 22cCity of the living God. That Mt Zion. Who will live there? 22dYou've come to 1,000s upon 1,000s of angels in joyful assembly. How can that be? Our citizenship is already in heaven. angels are already there. But assembly = church. Not just their church. It's also 23athe church of the 1stborn. Who are they? Those 23bwhose names are written in heaven. If Jesus is our Savior & Lord, we're 1stborn! But how 1stborn? 1stborn got a double share of inheritance. As God's children, guess what our inheritance is?! Eternal life with God as His children. Christ as our brother. Us, glorified & reigning with Him. Our inheritance is awesomely great. So much so we're all 1stborn! It's a double inheritance. Best of all, in New Jerusalem, 23cYou've come to God, the judge of all men. Why's that best of all? For each & every confessed sin, our judgment is already complete. Jesus already paid the sin-debt. And He's our defense attorney! As the Accuser brings each new charge about us, Jesus has one reply for. "Already covered. This one is mine." New Jerusalem will be heaven on earth. The KoG on earth. His will done, perfectly. Thus, we'll also come 23dto the spirits of righteous men made perfect. And starting now, we've come 24ato Jesus, mediator of a new covenant. Not the one that terrifies us because we can't obey it. You've come instead 24bto the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than Abel's blood. How's that? After Cain slew Abel, God confronted him in Ge 4:10. 10"Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground." Abel's blood cried out for justice. (Same with everyone murdered ever since.) With Jesus, it's different. His blood speaks from heaven. His blood speaks mercy for sinners. Abel's blood made Cain feel guilty (rightly) & drove him away in despair. Jesus' blood frees us from sin's guilt. His blood opens the way to heaven & ends our separation from Him. Christ's blood enables us to come near God. Without it, we could never enter New Jerusalem. What's the point? 25aSee to it you don't refuse him who speaks. It's crucial. Accept God's gift.25bPeople didn't escape at Sinai when they refused. And they saw God's power up close & personal! 25cGod warned them on earth. Then, he spoke from Sinai. There, they could see & feel His power. They still refused Him. Because they did everyone in their generation died. ~1.5M people. None was allowed to enter the Promised Land. All because they refused God's gracious covenant to be with them. Then, he warned from earth. 25dHow much less will we escape, if we turn away from Him who warns us from heaven?! It's an eternal issue. 26a On earth at Mt Sinai, God's voice 26b shook the earth. 26bNow, he's promised from heaven. From heaven, in contrast to from earth. 26c"Once more I'll shake not only the earth but also the heavens." From heaven, He'll shake all Creation. Once more? One last time. He'll shake all Creation like we'd shake dirt out of a throw rug. 27"Once more" indicates removal of what can be shaken-created things-so what can't be shaken may remain. What can't be shaken? Anything we build on the foundation of Jesus Christ. His KoG. Everything else? Gone. Us? If we didn't refuse Him, we've accepted Jesus not only as Savior but as Lord. The result? We're already citizens of His KoG. We can't be shaken. We won't be removed. What's the result? 28aWe're receiving a kingdom that can't be shaken. Because we're in His KoG now, neither can we. 28bTherefore, let's be thankful. Even if God never did anything more for us, we have reason to be thankful. But God has done far more for us than that. Each day that goes by, God blesses us abundantly. Even if we face major health issues. Don't believe me? Make a list of things we SHOULD be grateful for. Compare that to the list of what we're cranky about. Now come back to whether we should be thankful. 28cLet's worship God acceptably with reverence & awe. Why is acceptable worship reverent? Calling God the Big Kahuna (as I've heard a pastor do) isn't reverent. It doesn't respect Who God is. Reverence does. He's Creator & final Judge for eternity. He invited us (& Jesus told us) to call Him Father. So we may. But Pops isn't as respectful. With the most powerful being in the universe, I don't want to take any chances. Let's choose to worship Him with reverence-love & respect. That's acceptable. But why worship Him with awe? 29Our "God is a consuming fire." He purifies all that's unacceptable & in those who serve Him. Those who are unfit to live in His presence will be burned up. He's that kind of consuming fire. Let's worship Him with awe, if only for that reason. But there's another reason. Who else can bend the rules (natural law) to help us? How should we live in a shaking world? Listen to God, He's speaking if we'll listen. Whatever He says, obey Him. Even minor decisions? (Which way do I turn at this traffic light?) Ask God. Listen. He'll answer. Then obey. His way always works out better, whether or not we understand why. Let's confess our sins early. (Punishments get worse as sins age.) Receive grace day by day. As we do, we can serve Him with reverence & godly fear. Keep our eyes on Jesus the prize. Don't let huge changes going on around us distract or frighten us. Keep running our race with endurance. Keep looking to Jesus Christ. Remember that our Father loves us. Keep drawing on God's enabling grace. While others are scared, we can be confident. Let's pray. 1 Ed Rowell, Monument, Colorado; www.PreachingToday.com --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ A New Covenant - Hebrews 12:18-29 Page 1 of 1