Participants:
Series Code: TMC
Program Code: TMC000012A
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00:20 Our Father in heaven,
00:23 tonight as we look at this covenant 00:28 that You desire to make with each of us 00:32 we pray that You will help us understand what's involved 00:36 that we might realize 00:41 what You want to do for each of us. 00:44 We ask, Lord, that our faith 00:47 may not be weak 00:50 but that we might look to You 00:53 and know that all heaven and earth 00:57 is dependent upon Your power, 01:00 Your strength. And the very throne of heaven 01:04 is staked on the fulfillment of Your Word. 01:08 And so we ask tonight 01:10 that You'll bless us as we study Your Word together. 01:13 For this we pray in Christ's name, Amen. 01:24 Revelation the 19th chapter 01:28 pictures Jesus coming back on a white horse. 01:33 And it just simply says that when He comes back 01:36 He has His name written certain places. 01:40 This is what it says... Revelation 19:16: 01:53 So it says He has written on His thigh 01:57 and on His robe His name: 01:59 "KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. " 02:02 Why would that be? 02:04 Why would He have His name written on His thigh? 02:08 Rather strange place to write His name. 02:11 Or why would He write it on His robe? 02:14 Well, you remember a man in the Bible by the name of Jacob? 02:20 You remember Jacob was coming back 02:23 from his uncle Laban's house headed back to Canaan. 02:28 He's got out onto the plains 02:31 of Peniel and there he's concerned 02:35 because when he left 20 years ago 02:37 his father's home his brother Esau 02:40 had said to him: "When Dad dies I'm going to kill you. " 02:46 And now he's headed back home 02:48 and he hears that Esau is coming 02:51 with 400 soldiers. 02:54 And so he thinks that his life is in danger. 02:58 And so here he is out in the middle of this plain 03:01 and a stranger comes into the camp. 03:04 And he begins to wrestle with this stranger thinking that 03:07 it's Esau. 03:08 Wrestles with him all night long. 03:11 As it begins to break towards dawn, he realizes 03:15 that he's been wrestling with an angel. 03:18 And it says that he took hold of this angel 03:23 and said to him: "I will not let you go 03:26 unless you bless me. " 03:28 Do you remember? Do you remember what that angel did? 03:35 Said that he touched his thigh 03:39 and from that day on Jacob was crippled. 03:43 Touched his thigh. Now Jacob is an old old man. 03:49 He's in Egypt. 03:51 He is dying. 03:54 Watch what happens here: 04:16 He said: "If I have found favor in your sight, 04:18 put your hand under my thigh... " 04:29 You see, this was a way 04:32 that they entered into a covenant. 04:35 That's the way that they entered into an oath with that person 04:38 is they put their hand under their thigh 04:42 and they entered into a covenant or took an oath. 04:46 And there's other cases in Scripture where that took place. 04:48 So when Jesus comes back 04:50 and He has His name written on His thigh 04:53 that is a sign of the covenant that He has with you. 04:57 That's what that is. 04:58 That's why His name is written on His thigh. 05:01 Why is it written on His robe? 05:03 Well listen... this is what it tells us: 05:22 Now listen carefully: 05:37 You see, part of this covenant that God wants to make with you 05:41 is that He takes His robe of righteousness 05:45 and places that robe of righteousness around you 05:48 and around me. 05:50 That's the reason when He comes back 05:52 He has His name written on His robe. 05:55 Because His robe represents the righteousness of God 05:59 that God covers you with. 06:02 That's what it stands for... that's what it represents. 06:05 Listen... Hebrews 10 verse 16: 06:19 All right, this is the covenant He's entering into with you. 06:25 OK. 06:36 You see, He simply takes that robe of righteousness 06:39 and He covers you and I with that robe of righteousness. 06:43 So when Jesus comes back in the clouds of heaven 06:46 and He has His name written on His thigh 06:48 and upon His robe, that is the covenant that He's made with you 06:53 and He says: "Listen, I'm not going to remember your sins 06:55 any more. " That's what He's talking about. 06:59 Very very special covenant 07:02 that God wants to make with you tonight. 07:05 You see, in the English language 07:07 we have quite a few different words for a covenant. 07:11 Sometimes we refer to a covenant as a will. 07:16 Sometimes when they make out a will they refer to it 07:19 as a covenant. This is an agreement... 07:22 something that they made. We use the word 07:24 contract also for a covenant. 07:28 That can refer to a covenant. 07:30 Or we use the word testament. 07:34 That's what you have here. 07:36 Old and New Testament 07:39 means old and new covenant. 07:43 See, that's a word for covenant is the word testament. 07:46 Or you have the word agreement. 07:49 That's another word for a covenant. 07:51 An agreement that's made... a contract. 07:53 Or you use the word covenant itself. 07:56 So when we're talking about a covenant 07:59 and entering into a covenant with God 08:02 there's very special things that we want to see about that 08:05 covenant. So tonight I want to give you a definition 08:09 of what a covenant is so you can understand 08:12 if you're going to enter into a covenant with God 08:15 what are those conditions. 08:17 This is what the definition of a covenant is: 08:28 That is a covenant. 08:31 When an individual or parties 08:33 bind themselves to each other 08:37 to fulfill certain conditions that is a covenant. 08:41 OK? 08:43 So, let's say tonight 08:46 we're going to enter into a covenant. 08:49 OK... let's say that you and I are going to 08:53 enter into a covenant. 08:55 If we enter into a covenant, when is that covenant in force? 09:01 Now let me illustrate what I'm saying. 09:04 Let's say that you and I enter into a covenant. 09:07 We put down all the conditions of the covenant. 09:10 We list it all... we decide what we agree on. 09:13 And we take that to a lawyer and we have that written up 09:17 in legal language. He writes it all up. 09:20 We have it notarized. 09:22 OK. Can that covenant be changed? 09:31 Can that covenant be changed? 09:33 Well, let's say there's some condition in that covenant 09:36 that both of us don't like. 09:39 We make the covenant, we get it all settled 09:42 and everything but it just doesn't work quite right 09:45 and so both of us don't like it. 09:47 Can we go back to the lawyer and get that changed? 09:50 Oh, yes... we can go back to the lawyer. 09:52 We can have him strike out part of it 09:55 and we can initial it. OK? 10:00 Let's say that one of us dies. 10:04 Can it be changed? 10:06 All right... now listen carefully: 10:28 So the covenant goes in force after men are dead. 10:33 So what I'm trying to tell you tonight: 10:35 don't let anybody ever tell you any different, 10:38 the covenant... 10:40 if Jesus Christ 10:43 was going to change the covenant - 10:45 follow me, folks - 10:47 if Jesus Christ was going to change the covenant, 10:51 He had to do it before He died 10:53 because when He died He sealed it with His blood. 10:57 Cannot be changed once Jesus died. 11:02 So no matter what anybody ever tells you 11:05 the covenant had to be changed if it was going to be changed 11:09 before Jesus died not after He died. 11:15 The Bible doesn't teach that. 11:17 Neither does legal terms teach that. 11:20 It teaches it's enforced after men are dead. 11:25 OK. So God has a special covenant 11:30 that He wants to enter into with you and with me. 11:38 It's just simply saying that it was dedicated to blood. 11:41 God has a covenant that He wants to make with man. 11:45 Let's take a look... see what that covenant is. 11:48 Now dear friends, I can't think of anything in God's Word 11:54 that offers more to you 11:58 and to me than what I'm about to read to you. 12:02 You look at this carefully. Wonderful promise, OK? 12:17 Now God's saying to you and we'll see that this applies 12:20 to you tonight. God's saying: "If you'll obey My voice, 12:24 keep my covenant... " what's going to happen? 12:38 God said: "If you will obey My voice, 12:41 keep My covenant, you will be a special people to Me. " 12:46 That's what God is saying. 12:48 He said: "All the earth's Mine... 12:49 you'll be My special people. " 12:51 So God wants to enter in to this covenant with you tonight 12:55 in a very special way. 12:58 Listen to some of the things that He says: 13:20 So God is saying to you: 13:23 "If you'll enter into a covenant with Me, 13:26 then I will put My law in your heart. 13:30 I'll write it on your mind; 13:33 you will be My people 13:36 and I will be your God. " 13:40 That's what He promises to all of you here tonight... 13:42 to each one of us. 13:54 That is the covenant He wants. 13:56 "Walk in all the ways that I have commanded you 14:00 and it will be... " Come on... "it will be 14:05 well with you. " 14:07 Now folks, this Book has not failed! 14:11 I mean, it has stood the test of time. It hasn't failed. 14:15 So if God says: "If you do this it will be well with you" 14:20 then is it going to be well with you? 14:23 You'd better believe it is. 14:25 God makes that promise and He says: "Just do this. 14:28 It will be well with you. " 14:44 So God wants to enter in to a covenant with you tonight. 14:48 Now God has made some covenants, 14:51 and some of the covenants that He has made 14:54 were what we call everlasting covenants. 14:58 Everlasting covenants mean that they never end, right? 15:02 Never come to an end. 15:04 They're everlasting covenants. 15:07 One of the everlasting covenants that God made - 15:10 one you ought to remember - 15:13 was what? Do you remember this one? 15:32 OK, let's see what the covenant is. 15:54 God entered into a covenant with man. He said: "Never 15:57 again will the entire earth ever be flooded with water. " 16:01 That's a covenant that God made. 16:04 Let me ask you something: has God broken His covenant? 16:07 Never! 16:08 Every time you walk out there and you see a rainbow 16:11 that is a sign of God's covenant that He is faithful 16:15 that He does not fail. 16:18 And that covenant is an everlasting covenant. 16:22 Never ends. You with me? 16:26 OK, God made an everlasting covenant 16:29 with Abraham. 16:41 He's making this covenant 16:43 with Abraham. That's who He's making it with. 16:51 So He said: "Abraham, I'm going to enter in to an 16:53 everlasting covenant with you. " 17:00 So He said: "Abraham, I'm going to be your God; 17:05 you are going to be My people. " 17:09 That's the covenant He made with Abraham. 17:11 He said: "I'll be your God; you're going to be My people. " 17:14 That covenant that God made with Abraham 17:17 is an everlasting covenant. Listen to this: 17:43 So dear friends, the Scripture says 17:46 That God is a covenant-keeping God. 17:50 Doesn't fail... OK? 17:53 Everlasting... to a thousand generations. 17:57 All right. 18:28 So He made an everlasting covenant with them. 18:31 Now that being the case 18:33 that God said: "Abraham, I'm going to make a covenant 18:36 with you and with your descend- ants. It will be forever. " 18:40 Then the question that you and I have to ask ourselves 18:43 tonight is: "Does that covenant 18:49 include the Gentile or is it just for the Jew? " 18:55 Now folks, you've got to settle that in your heart 18:59 and in your soul because if you do not settle that 19:02 once and for all, 19:04 you will never understand this Book. 19:08 So you've got to settle it in your heart tonight. 19:12 Does that covenant that God made... 19:14 does that covenant include the Gentile 19:17 or was it made just to the Jewish people? 19:22 And if you don't settle it 19:24 then you will never fully understand the Word of God. 19:29 OK? So we need to look at some Scripture here 19:32 and ask ourselves very clearly 19:34 does that covenant include the Gentile? 19:39 All right. Moses... 19:44 right down there about ready to cross the Jordan River... 19:49 Moses is soon going to go up to Mount Nebo where he will die. 19:54 He is repeating the covenant. 19:56 I want you to listen to what it says here: 20:05 Now here all the children of Israel are standing out there. 20:09 All they are. And Moses is saying: 20:11 "This covenant that God is making, He's not making it 20:15 with you alone. " Hmm. 20:18 Who else is there? 20:22 What Gentiles? 20:25 Are there Gentiles there? Yes there are. 20:28 There's a lot of Egyptians that left the land of Egypt 20:31 with the children of Israel. 20:33 So He's saying: "I'm not just making this with you alone. " 20:36 Let's go on: 20:43 He said: "All of you that are standing out there - 20:46 Jew, Gentile... all of you that are standing out there - 20:50 I'm making this covenant with you 20:52 before the Lord our God... " 21:02 Does it include the Gentiles? 21:06 Are you sure? 21:07 Well, let's look at another scripture. 21:30 He said: "No... not just with you; 21:33 I'm giving you as a light to the Gentiles. " 21:42 So that covenant does not include just the Jew. 21:46 It includes the Gentile as well. 21:49 Look at one more: 22:06 All right. 22:18 So it doesn't include just the Jew. 22:23 And you find when you move into the New Testament 22:25 it makes it very very clear that it included more 22:30 than the Jew. Galatians the 3rd chapter verse 14 says: 22:36 Now, God made an everlasting covenant with who? 22:39 Abraham. 22:47 So dear friend, tonight 22:49 I hope that you are 100% clear 22:52 that that covenant included you. 22:56 OK? Now if that covenant included you, 23:00 then we need to take a good close look at it 23:03 and see what's involved in it. 23:06 That we might receive the promise of the Spirit 23:09 through faith. That He promises, that's part of the covenant. 23:13 OK. You see, the covenant... 23:23 Did you know that? 23:25 I mean, it's not just some- thing that God takes lightly. 23:29 God had a very special place that He kept the covenant. 23:33 And He made the covenant there with the Jewish people - 23:36 Abraham and all of them - and the Scripture says this: 23:59 So the ark... the ark was the place where God 24:03 kept the covenant. 24:06 Put it in the ark, and it was kept in a special place there 24:09 because it was special to God. 24:11 But you remember Nebuchadnezzar came down 24:16 and destroyed the temple. 24:18 And Jeremiah and some devout men took the ark 24:21 and hid it. Never been found to this day. 24:26 So what about the covenant now? 24:29 Is it just hidden in some cave 24:32 and God knows where it is but you and I don't? 24:36 No... the Scripture doesn't leave you in any doubt. 24:39 Listen: 24:55 So the ark's there in heaven. 24:57 There's an ark there in heaven, and in that ark 25:01 is the covenant that God enters into with you. 25:05 Right there in heaven. 25:06 "And there were lightnings and noises 25:09 and thunders and great earthquakes and great hail. " 25:13 So it talks about the ark up in heaven. 25:16 Now what we want to do now 25:17 is we want to take a look at what the New Testament 25:20 has to say about the covenant. 25:25 You see, you may not have realized it 25:28 but many of you when you go to church 25:31 you do something that when you do it 25:34 you may not have understood that you're actually 25:37 entering into a covenant with God. 25:39 You're actually entering into this covenant 25:41 and saying: "Lord, listen, I'll be Your people; 25:44 You be my God. " 25:46 Do you know what you do 25:48 when you do something at church? 25:50 Every time you celebrate the Lord's Supper 25:54 that's what you're doing is you're entering into a covenant 25:58 with God. 26:18 So when you celebrate the Lord's Supper 26:21 you're actually entering into a covenant with the Lord. 26:25 That's what you're doing. 26:27 You may not understand 26:29 the ramifications of the covenant. 26:32 And I hope tonight that you will understand what's involved 26:36 in the covenant and what God wants you to understand. 26:40 Galatians... Galatians the third chapter 26:45 and verse 29. It says: 26:49 You understand that statement "If you are Christ's? " 26:52 That means if you belong to the Lord. 26:54 That means if you've given your heart to Jesus Christ. 26:57 If you've accepted Him... that's what that's saying. 27:08 Hmm... so if you accept Jesus Christ 27:14 you are what? Abraham's seed. 27:19 Are you beginning to get the picture? 27:21 God made the covenant with Abraham. 27:24 He made an everlasting covenant. 27:26 And when you accept Jesus Christ 27:29 you become part of Abraham's seed and therefore 27:34 you become part of the covenant that God made with Abraham. 27:39 OK? That's what happens. 27:41 That's what takes place. You become an heir to the 27:45 promise because you are an heir of Abraham. 28:00 Can't do anything about that, can we? 28:02 That's the way we're born. 28:04 Born a Gentile in the flesh 28:07 so that's nothing that you and I can do anything about. 28:10 But watch what God promises you here. 28:16 When you were a Gentile in the flesh 28:18 God says you at that time were without Christ. 28:22 If there's any of you here tonight that do not know Jesus 28:26 Christ as your personal Savior 28:28 then you are without Christ. 28:31 OK? You are a Gentile in the flesh. 28:35 That's what the Scripture says. 28:36 All right: 28:41 You're not connected to Israel. 28:44 You're an alien 28:45 separated from Israel because you don't know Jesus Christ. 28:57 But oh, when you accept Jesus Christ 29:01 ah, you become... you become a seed of Abraham. 29:07 You become an heir to the promise. 29:09 You become part of the covenant that God made. 29:13 That's what you become. 29:14 All right? So that promise was given to you, dear friend, 29:18 just as much as it was given to the Jew. 29:22 Now the question I've gotta ask you tonight: 29:26 why do we need a new covenant? 29:30 Was there something wrong with the old covenant? 29:35 And if there was nothing wrong with the old covenant, 29:37 then why did they have a new covenant? 29:41 See? Why does the Scripture, New Testament, talk about 29:45 a new covenant. Was there some- thing wrong with the old one? 29:48 And if there's something wrong with the old one, 29:50 what was wrong with it? Well, let's take a look. 29:54 Let's see where the problem is. 30:08 Moses came down out of the mountain, 30:10 took the Book of the Covenant, and read it to the people. 30:15 All right? "And they said... " 30:22 Good response or bad response? 30:27 You don't know, huh? 30:30 Good response or bad response? 30:32 Good response... good response. 30:35 Not anything wrong with that. They said: 30:38 "All that the Lord has said we will do and be obedient. " 30:41 That was a good response! 30:44 OK? That was not where the problem was. 30:47 Remember that a covenant, a covenant is an agreement... 30:57 That's what they did. 30:59 They said: "All that the Lord has said 31:03 we will do and be obedient. " 31:07 Not anything wrong with that in any way. That was good. 31:11 OK. Now the question is: 31:21 Do you understand what I mean by that? 31:23 Was there something wrong with what was written down. 31:28 The conditions of it. The things that were written down 31:32 in God's covenant, was there something wrong with that? 31:36 Or where was the problem? If there was something wrong, 31:39 where was the problem? 31:40 Well let's see if we can find out where the problem was. 31:53 So the Bible says very clearly 31:55 if there wasn't something wrong with the first one, 31:58 then there would have been no reason for the second. 32:00 So there must be something wrong with the first one. 32:03 The question you have to settle in your heart tonight: 32:06 is the problem with the first covenant 32:09 concerning what was written down? 32:11 The conditions of it? 32:14 Well let's see if the Scripture tells us where the problem is. 32:23 The problem was not in what was written down... 32:27 the problem was with the people. 32:31 Not anything wrong with what was written down. 32:34 The problem was with the people. 32:37 They said: "All that the Lord has said 32:39 we will do. " This is what they did. 32:47 They did not do what they said 32:50 and God said: "Therefore I will not honor them 32:54 because they didn't do what they said they would do. " 32:56 So the problem was not in the conditions. 32:59 The problem was with the people. 33:02 What did they do? They took the old covenant 33:06 and they turned it into obedience by works. 33:11 And they said: "If you do 33:15 this, this, this, and this, 33:17 you're going to get into heaven. " 33:20 And they made it totally and completely 33:23 a matter of works. 33:27 That's what they believed. 33:29 That's what they thought. 33:31 Are you acquainted with this woman? 33:34 Her name is Dr. Laura. 33:37 You hear her on the radio. 33:39 Huh? Acquainted with her? 33:41 You understand that she's a Jew? 33:44 OK... she wrote a book called The Ten Commandments. 33:48 I read the book. 33:50 Very good book. Very excellent book on morals. 33:54 In the book she says this and she gives a definition 33:58 of Christianity. 34:01 One of the clearest definitions I have ever read. 34:04 I want you to listen to it carefully. 34:17 That's beautiful, folks. That's exactly what Jesus does 34:20 for you, what He does for me. 34:23 I accept Jesus Christ and He comes in and begins 34:29 to change my life and to change the tendencies 34:32 and to change the way I live. Listen: 34:46 So you and I... by faith we reach out 34:50 and we accept Jesus Christ. And as we accept Him 34:53 we turn our life over to Him. And He comes in 34:56 and He begins to do His work in our life and changes us. 35:00 That's what the Christian believes. 35:02 This is what she believes: 35:14 That is salvation by works. 35:18 Great great difference than what Jesus taught. 35:23 He taught that salvation was by grace. 35:27 Salvation was by looking to Him. 35:29 Salvation did not come in one's ability. 35:34 OK... that's what the Jewish people did: 35:37 they took that covenant and they turned that into 35:40 a covenant of works. 35:42 Now the Scripture simply tells us this: 35:52 Jesus Christ has obtained a more excellent ministry... 36:08 Hmm? Established on better promises? 36:13 Let me ask you: 36:15 are your promises better than the Jewish people? 36:20 You've got more backbone than Jewish people? 36:25 You've got more willpower than the Jewish people? 36:29 Huh? Are your promises better than the Jewish people? 36:33 Well if your promises aren't any better than the Jewish people 36:37 then how can you make it on better promises? 36:43 Well you see, the first covenant - 36:46 the old covenant - 36:48 was simply between God and the people. 36:51 Moses came down, read it, and they said: "All 36:54 that the Lord has said we will do and be obedient. " 36:57 But they weren't. 36:59 The new covenant is not between God and the people. 37:03 The new covenant is between God and Jesus Christ. 37:07 That's why it's on much much better promises: 37:12 because it is between God and Jesus. 37:16 That's what makes it much better. 37:18 And so when you and I come to Jesus Christ 37:21 and we accept Him 37:23 ah, dear friend, THEN He begins to do His work 37:27 in our hearts. Watch 37:30 'cause it says here in Hebrew 9 verse 15: 37:41 OK, what is He saying? 37:43 He's saying: "Listen, this new covenant... I have sealed it 37:47 with My death. " 37:50 You see, it required blood. 37:52 And so He died... paid the price. 37:55 He sealed that covenant forever by His death. 38:11 So He said: "Listen, I'm going to give you this promise 38:14 because I died. " 38:23 Jesus Christ said: "I'm making this covenant with you 38:26 and I'm going to come down and I'm going to pay the price 38:29 for each one of you here tonight. " 38:31 And that He did for every last one of you here. 38:35 But that wasn't enough! 38:37 That wasn't enough, friends. 38:40 If all that was necessary to save you 38:44 was for Jesus to die, 38:48 He could have died as a baby and gone back to heaven. 38:53 He wouldn't have had to stick around for 30 years. 38:58 Why? 'Cause the covenant required something else. 39:15 God says: "Hang on! " 39:25 He is our High Priest; He can sympathize 39:28 with our weaknesses because He came here 39:30 and He lived on this earth just like you and I. 39:34 OK? Lived here. 39:46 Came down here and He lived an absolute perfect life 39:50 because the covenant says: "If you obey Me 39:54 and follow Me. " Jesus said: "I'll live a perfect life 39:58 for you. " So He died and He lived a perfect life 40:04 for you and me. Therefore He says to you: "Because 40:07 I did that for you, let us therefore come boldly 40:11 to the throne of grace... " 40:21 Now I want you to understand 40:25 some of the conditions of the covenant here. 40:27 What I'm sharing with you right now, dear friends, 40:31 as far as I'm concerned is the most important 40:33 part of the whole covenant. 40:36 And you have to listen carefully or you'll miss it. 40:39 Many times if you're reading if you don't read slowly 40:42 and you don't read carefully 40:44 you miss some of the great great promises of God's Word. 40:48 So listen carefully... Hebrews 13 verse 20: 41:04 So it's talking about the everlasting covenant. 41:13 Now folks, if you don't watch carefully you miss it. 41:17 It says: "make you complete. " 41:20 Who makes you complete? 41:23 Jesus Christ! You see, we miss that 41:25 many times... we think that's our job 41:28 is to make ourselves complete. 41:30 No... that's God's job! 41:32 Your responsibility and mine 41:34 is to turn your live over to Him 41:36 and let Him do His work in your life 41:39 and He will make you complete to do His will. 41:42 He promises that. 41:44 And I don't care who you are, I don't care what you've done, 41:47 I don't care what your situation is, 41:49 if you get up every morning and you commit your life 41:52 to Jesus Christ HE WILL do His work in your life. 41:56 Change it; make it different for you. 42:08 He'll work in your life and He'll change and He'll make it 42:10 different. 42:16 That is the promise. 42:18 And dear friends, when you enter into that kind of relationship 42:21 with Jesus Christ you no longer have 42:26 obedience by works. 42:29 You no longer have that. 42:31 You have something completely different. 42:47 Who does the putting? 42:49 Jesus Christ. He said: "I'll put My law 42:52 in your mind; I'll write it on your heart. " 42:59 That, dear friend, is obedience by faith. 43:04 See? Totally and completely different 43:06 than obedience by works. 43:08 It's when I turn my life over and by faith I cling 43:12 to the Lord Jesus Christ He does His work in my life 43:15 and that changes it and makes it different. 43:18 That is a joyous occasion. 43:21 That's a joyous work because the Lord is doing it 43:24 and He changes my life. 43:26 This idea that we have of struggling and fighting 43:29 all the time... that's why so many people go around 43:33 with long faces 'cause their Christian experience 43:36 is not happy. 43:38 See? Because they never have found the joy there is 43:40 in Jesus Christ. 43:44 Now God has a covenant. 43:48 That covenant... He has a sign of the covenant. 43:52 Always has a sign of the covenant. 43:54 He made an everlasting covenant with you and me. 43:58 That was the rainbow. 44:00 So that when you see the rainbow you know the earth's 44:03 never going to be flooded. 44:05 In order for that sign to be right 44:08 it has to fulfill certain requirements. 44:10 One: in order for that sign to be right 44:13 it has to be universal. 44:15 If, you know, you only saw rainbows in the United States, 44:19 that wouldn't be very good, would it? 44:20 I mean, it's gotta be universal, it's gotta be everywhere. 44:23 Secondly, not only does it have to be universal 44:25 it has to be tangible. It has to be something you can see, 44:28 feel, taste. You've gotta be able to 44:30 know that it's there... it's gotta be tangible. 44:32 Thirdly, it has to be well-defined. 44:35 And the rainbow is very well-defined, right? 44:37 Don't have any trouble... when you see it you know it. 44:40 All right. Four: it has to be incorruptible. 44:43 You can't corrupt it. 44:45 No way... I don't care how long you look for the 44:47 end of the rainbow you can't corrupt it: 44:50 you can't steal the gold. OK? 44:52 And it has to be personal. 44:54 OK? Those are things that have to be in a sign 44:59 of a covenant. Now God has an everlasting covenant, 45:03 right? that He made with Abraham. 45:06 OK... do you know what the sign is? 45:12 God gave a sign. Just the same as a rainbow 45:16 He gave a sign of that everlasting covenant. 45:18 Let's see if we can find out what it is. 45:35 Listen, I'm going to read you several texts. 45:37 Watch... it makes it crystal clear 45:39 that the Sabbath is the sign of God's covenant with you. 45:42 That's what it is. 45:57 So He said: "This is a sign that I have given of My covenant. " 46:12 So He says: "I've given the Sabbath. 46:14 That is a sign of My covenant. " 46:33 OK... if the Sabbath 46:37 is God's sign of the covenant that He made with Abraham, 46:41 then does it fulfill all the requirements? 46:46 Got to ask ourselves that. 46:47 "It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever. " 47:06 Well, let's see if it does. 47:08 Well, to begin with: is it universal? 47:12 Sure. Any place you go in the world 47:15 it's universal. All right? 47:17 Secondly, is it tangible? 47:21 Huh? Absolutely... it's a piece of time. 47:24 It is tangible. 47:26 OK? Very much a piece of time. 47:28 Thirdly, is it well-defined? 47:33 Huh? Oh, very well defined indeed. 47:37 For you remember God made it very clear that the Sabbath 47:42 began at sunset 47:45 and goes to sunset. 47:49 He defined it... absolutely. 47:51 So no question... it is well-defined 47:55 when you take a look at it. 47:56 So when we took a look at it we found that the Sabbath 47:59 is: 48:08 OK... Let's go on. 48:10 Is it incorruptible? 48:13 Absolutely! You may not keep it but you can't corrupt it. 48:16 See? It's incorruptible! 48:19 And five: is it personal? 48:22 So it fits all the criteria of a sign... 48:26 the Sabbath does. 48:27 All right. So my question is simply this one which you've 48:32 gotta settle in your heart... 48:34 The question that you have to settle is: 48:41 Now you understand what you're saying? 48:44 See, you've already told me that that covenant 48:47 included the Gentile. 48:49 And if the covenant included the Gentile 48:52 and the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant, 48:55 then does it include the Gentile? 48:58 Absolutely... but let's look at some Scripture 49:00 and see if the Bible says that it's for the Gentile as well as 49:03 for the Jew. 49:30 Listen carefully, friends: 49:44 Therefore, does it include the Gentile? 49:47 Yes. Did it include the Gentile in the New Testament? 49:52 Was it involved there? Listen very carefully. 49:55 Paul is preaching. 49:57 As he preaches Paul says: 50:14 Now listen carefully: 50:25 They heard about it and they said: "Praise God... 50:27 We're included! " See? 50:31 "We're included! " 50:37 Paul and his companions, they've made their way over to 50:41 Macedonia. That's Europe. 50:44 There at that time in history the Jewish people had 50:48 not settled much into Europe. 50:49 They've made their way up to the city of Philippi. 50:53 They're there for a number of days. The Sabbath comes. 50:56 Let's see what happens here in Acts the 16th chapter verse 12: 51:10 OK... no Jewish synagogue here. 51:24 They heard about these women that were meeting 51:26 out by the river. They went out and worshiped with them. 51:28 This is where Lydia was converted. 51:31 So definitely the Gentiles are keeping the Sabbath. 51:35 Listen... Acts 17 verse 2: 51:47 Who's he reasoning with? 51:56 Not just Jews... it included more than that... 52:00 in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. 52:05 So dear friend, yes... the Sabbath was involved 52:09 not just with the Jew but with the Gentile as well. 52:21 So put it down. God has never changed it. 52:26 It will never be changed. 52:28 If Jesus was going to change it, He had to do it before He died. 52:33 And you find that He said very clearly that He was 52:36 Lord of the Sabbath. 52:38 It even tells you that the Sabbath will be kept in heaven. 52:42 Listen, Isaiah 66:22: 52:53 Listen: 53:10 Hmm? 53:11 Because it is a sign 53:16 of an everlasting perpetual covenant. 54:01 Do you know what language Jesus Christ spoke? 54:07 Do you know? 54:08 Aramaic. 54:10 I'm going to read you a text from the Aramaic 54:13 translated into English. 54:15 Comes from Hebrews the 4th chapter 54:18 verse 9. This is what it says: 54:28 That's the way it reads in Aramaic. 54:30 "It is the duty of the people of God to keep the Sabbath. " 54:35 Now... Jesus wants to enter into a covenant with you. 54:40 A covenant is about a relationship. 54:42 Jesus had a very close relationship with His Father. 54:46 And you remember as He prayed there 54:48 in the Garden of Gethsemane He said: 55:00 Now folks, He's talking to His Father 55:03 and He's talking to His Father in very familiar terms. 55:07 That's the reason the Scripture translates that word 55:10 Abba 'cause we do not have a word 55:13 in English that expresses the intimacy 55:17 that that word Abba does. 55:19 The closest word we have in English 55:21 for that word Abba is Daddy. 55:25 That's the closest word we have. 55:27 So He's appealing to His Father here 55:29 in very intimate terms. 55:31 Abba Father. OK? It means a very 55:36 very close relationship. That's what it means. 55:40 That's what it stands for. 55:41 A covenant... It says that when God enters into a covenant 55:46 that's a sign of a relation- ship between you and God. 55:49 And it says that He comes in and He writes it in your heart 55:52 and puts it where? In your mind. 55:55 OK? The Scripture says that He's going to write His name 55:59 in your mind on your forehead. 56:02 That He's going to put His law in your mind. 56:05 Do you know how He does that? 56:08 Huh? Do you know how He does that? 56:12 This is how He does it, friends: 56:18 See... that's what's there. 56:20 See, it has His name right in the very heart of it. 56:25 And so that Sabbath represents... He said: 56:28 "Listen, that's My covenant with you; that's the sign 56:31 of this relationship that I have with you. " 56:51 God wants to enter into a covenant with you tonight. 56:55 He wants to write His law, put it in your heart, 56:59 write it on your mind. 57:05 Abba, Father, 57:10 let me be 57:15 Yours and Yours 57:20 alone. 57:25 May my life 57:30 forever be 57:35 evermore 57:41 Your own. |
Revised 2019-03-20