The Ministry of Christ pt 2 - Hebrews 8:7-13 - Pastor Ryan Nichols- Sunday Morning Service 10:30AM

All right, good morning, church family. It's really good to see you guys. I'm glad you're here. I just want to invite you to stand with us. We'll pray, and we'll get things started.

Lord, we come before you this morning. We thank you for allowing us to be here, Lord God. Thank you. Thank you for who you are. Thank you that you're so good to us. Lord God, you're so faithful. Lord God, you're just amazing. Lord God, we just give you praise. Lord, now we ask your blessing upon this time. Bless your word as it goes out, Lord. Bless this time of worship, Lord God, as we lift praise to you, to your holy name.

We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

You guys are going to have a seat if you'd like.

Would you guys go ahead and stand with me for the last one?

Lord God, we just thank you for who we are in you, Lord God. That we are your children. That we are chosen in you, Lord. Lord, that you've given us new life in you. Lord, that our old life has passed away. And in you, Lord God, we have new life. We have freedom. Lord God, who you set free is free indeed, Lord. Help us to live that way. Help us to act like we are free.

Help us to stop living like we're still in chains. Like we're still slaves to sin. Because we're not, Lord. You've set us free.

Now, as Pastor Ryan comes, I just ask that you would move mightily through him. By the power of your Holy Spirit and by the power of your word. Move mightily in our lives. Move mightily in mine. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Why don't we take some time and greet one another.

Good morning. If you could begin to locate your seat. Grab a bulletin. We'll get ready to go over some announcements.

Welcome to Calvary Chapel. I'm glad that you've joined us this morning. Full of things to take note of in your bulletin. Most of which are in the middle section of your bulletin. The first big thing to pay attention to is that Vacation Bible School is this week. So some things to... Yeah, that's right. Yay. So some things to pay attention to about that. First of all, if you have volunteered to help out with VBS,

there's going to be a quick stand-up meeting right after the service back in the Agape room. She's just got a few things to share with you. Also, don't forget to register your kids because it is this week. So you're going to want to go ahead and do that. So I know that there's... Aaron told me somebody that wasn't registered. I'm like, yep, they're volunteering.

Their kids are going to be here. So make sure that your kids are registered for that. Also, there is a VBS workday Tuesday at 9 a.m. I'm looking at the person in charge of this right now. Tuesday at 9 a.m. Listen, I'm just going to tell you something right now, okay? I'm going to be here. I'm going to be here. I'm going to be here. I'm going to be here. I'm going to be here. I'm going to be here. I'm going to be here. I'm going to be here.

I'm going to be here all day Tuesday. Before 9 a.m. And the more help that I get on Tuesday means that I get to go home Tuesday evening. And that's going to be fun to get to go home Tuesday. So the more of you that show up and help me do all of the fun things to turn this entire church into Emerald Crossing, into Ireland, the better it's going to go. So anybody that wants to come help, come help.

It's going to be great. It's from 9 a.m. until we're done. That's literally what it says. So pay attention to that. Love to have you come out for that. A couple of things also is that, which also this means there's no Wednesday night service this week. I forgot to include that. Reminder, there's a prophecy conference if you are not helping out with VBS stuff up in Emporia.

And then we have a baptism coming up Wednesday, July the 15th. All of our weekends got really full in the summer. So we said, why not do it on a Wednesday night? So Wednesday, July the 15th over at Parris Park Pool. We'll be doing a baptism. If you have not been baptized and you would like to be, there is a sign up sheet out there in the lobby. You can put your name and your number down.

I'll give you a call and we can talk about what that looks like and what baptism is. And then also there's probably going to be a meal beforehand, usually over at that picnic shelter. But I have not gotten through to them yet. So a little more details to come on that. But all that's going to be Wednesday, July the 15th. And then one last thing that is not in your bulletin.

Is those of you that sign your kids up through the little thing we do down here, KidCheck. You get a little code on your parent slip or the little sticker that you get. And if we have a crier, this is particularly for nursery and toddlers. If we have a crier, what they'll do is they will put your little code up there on that TV. And when your little code shows up on that TV, that means, hey, there is unhappiness in paradise.

And see, just like that. See? A little code down there at the bottom. And we do it super discreet. And then we're just going to assume you're getting up to go to the bathroom. Or you're getting up to refill your coffee or something like that. It's not your kid. It's somebody else's kid. But they would really appreciate if that code pops up that you go ahead and address that.

You can even hold your coffee cup up and be like, got to get more. I don't care what you do. Just go back and take care of your kid. They're going to be really appreciative of that. So those are the things that are going on. If you would make sure that your mobile device is silenced. And for our responsive reading this morning, we are going to be in Psalm 67.

Psalm 67. All right. So a couple of things occurred to me this morning. Number one, I didn't mean to choose Psalm 67. It just happened that way. And this is June the 7th. So all the middle school kids are probably just loving life right now. Six, seven is all over the place. Not on purpose. While you're turning to Psalm 67, if you're able, please stand in the honor of the reading of God's word.

I will read the odd verses if you will follow along with Pastor Allen. And the even verses. Psalm 67 for the choir director with stringed instruments, a psalm, a song. God be gracious to us and bless us and cause his face to shine upon us. Say la. That your way may be known on the earth. Your salvation among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God. Let all the peoples praise you.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy. For you will judge the peoples with uprightness. And guide the nations. On the earth. Say la. Let the peoples praise you, O God. Let all the peoples praise you. The earth has yielded its produce. God, our God, blesses us. And read verse 7 with me. God blesses us that all the ends of the earth may fear him. And so, Father, we do praise you for your blessings.

And we praise you that those blessings reveal your character. And so, Lord, as you bless us with your word this morning, I pray that your Holy Spirit would fall on this place. Overflow me, Lord. With your gift of teaching. And overflow all of us with that ability to hear what your Spirit has to say. Whether those be words of conviction. Whether they be words of comfort or words of instruction.

Lord, may our hearts be attentive to what you have to say this morning. In Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. If you would open up in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, chapter 8. Hebrews, chapter 8. Today we come to part 2 in our series, The Ministry of Christ. And we said that there's... There were so many ways that Jesus was going to... That the writers of the Hebrews was going to show us that Jesus is so much better than the old ministry of the old priesthood.

That's what the theme of all of Hebrews has been. Is the fact that Jesus is so much better in his ministry than all of the old covenant. And so, for context's sake, we're going to pick up in verse 6. Because verse 6 is going to tie together everything that we talked about last week. With the superior ministry of Jesus and a better sanctuary to what we have to talk about today.

Which is the superior ministry of Jesus and a better covenant. So, we pick up in verse 6 and it says this. But now, he has obtained a more excellent ministry by as much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant. Which has been enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second.

For finding fault with them, he says, Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord. When I will affect... A new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand. To lead them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant and I did not care for them, says the Lord.

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days, says the Lord, I will put my laws into their minds. And I will write them on their hearts. And I will be their God and they shall be my people. They shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen and everyone his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for all will know me from the least to the greatest of them.

For I will be merciful to their iniquities and I will remember their sins no more. When he said a new covenant, he has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear. The ministry of a better covenant. Now, we are going to reach back into verse 6. Last week, as we closed out this section, we said that there were three things that we showed.

Number one, that he had a more excellent ministry. Number two, that he was the mediator of a better covenant. And number three, that his covenant was enacted on better promises. We covered two of those things last week. We talked about the fact that he has a more excellent ministry. And we talked about the better promises. But we said we would save the mediator of a better covenant for this week.

And so that's what we're going to do. So the first thing that we want to look at. Is the fact that he is the mediator of a better covenant. The word mediator means one who intervenes between two to bring peace. One who intervenes between the two to bring peace. And of course, a covenant is an agreement. And so Jesus is the one who stands between the two to bring peace with a much better covenant.

You see, there's a gulf fixed between us and God. There's a chasm. And that chasm that stands between us and God is our sin. The law was a way to bridge the gap between God and man to deal with sin. The problem is that law could never bridge the gap between man and God. And the reason why the law could never bridge the gap between man and God was the insufficiency of man,

not the insufficiency of the covenant. Therefore, what was meant to be a bridge between God and man failed. Therefore, there needed to be another bridge between God and man. And the bridge that God provided was none other than. Jesus himself, because he is the mediator, the one who intervenes between God and man. He bridges the gap between us and God stands over the chasm of sin so that we can have access to the father,

which is why he said in the gospel of John, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one can come to the father except through me, because there is nothing else that can bridge the gap between God and man than Jesus. Every other bridge. That tries to fill that gap will always fall short. Every other bridge will always fail because there is no other way to God other than through the mediating work through the covenant of Jesus Christ.

And so he says he is the mediator of a better covenant. That word better is a very interesting word as well. The word better means more useful, advantageous or excellent. In other words, Jesus is so far superior to the old covenant because he provides us a better covenant. That actually. Gives us access to God. And so he begins to describe this old and new covenant relationship.

And the first thing he does is he tells us the problem with the old. Says in verse seven, for if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second for finding fault with them. He says, and we'll cover the rest of it here in just a moment for the first covenant. Now, I hope you're asking yourself a question right now. Maybe.

You're biblically, uh, aware of what the first covenant was, but if you're not, I hope you're asking yourself the question. What was this first covenant that we keep talking about? Well, I'm really glad you asked, because I feel like this paints the picture to get where we need to go. So I want you to hold your finger here and go back to the book of Exodus.

Oh, the way towards the beginning of the Bible. If you hit Genesis, she went too far. Exodus chapter 19. It's specifically. We're going to look at verses. Five and six Exodus chapter 19, verses five and six. Let me paint the picture for you for where we have arrived in Exodus chapter 19. So the children of Israel at the end of the book of Genesis had exited the promised land and for a time moved down to the land of Egypt.

We're told that 70 of them all together went down to the land of Egypt. And while they were in the land of Egypt, they grew from a group of 70 people into a nation of well over a million people. And they began to be enslaved by the. And so God once again gave that direct revelation through Moses, like we talked about last week and told him to go and set the people free.

And he used those plagues to set them free and they get set free and they're walking through the wilderness. I don't know. They come to the Red Sea and all the Red Seas in front of us and the armies behind us. We're going to die. God parts the Red Sea. They go across the Red Sea. They come to the edge of Mount Sinai and Mount Sinai is where they would receive the law.

And so God begins to speak to Moses and God tells Moses, I want you to go. I want you to go down and I want you to tell the children of Israel that this is a covenant that I will make with them. And that's where we come in verse five. He says, now, then Exodus chapter 19, verse five. Now, then, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you will be my own possession among all the peoples for all of the earth is mine.

And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak. They're the sons of Israel. So did you take note of what the old covenant was? If you will obey me, then you will be my people. I will be your God. I will make of you a great nation. Did you notice the contingency there? It is completely contingent upon the obedience of the people.

If you will obey, then you will be my people. And it's interesting because if we were to keep reading, we would find that they're like, yes, we'll obey. We'll do everything he says. There was great celebration that day because everybody made the covenant. God, we will obey you. Now, the fascinating thing is from this point on, God calls Moses to come up into the mountain.

Right. So so if you don't know what happens with the mountain, like like when God shows up on the mountain, it's like thunder and lightning and fire and cloud. And it was awe inspiring. And God speaks from the cloud to the people. And they're like, Moses, you go talk to God. We'll wait here. Right. Because it was kind of a scary thing for them. And so Moses goes up on the mountain.

He's up on the mountain for 40 days. And while Moses is up on the mountain for 40 days. The people are like, I don't think that guy's coming back. I think he has left us. And he might have died up there. Do you see the cloud? I bet he didn't even survive up there. Aaron, make us to God. And so that's what Aaron does. Aaron takes all the people's gold jewelry and he fashions this golden calf.

And he says, behold, your God who set you free from Egypt. And within 40 days, they had broken the old covenant. Within 40 days of them saying, we will obey you. They were like, except when we don't want to. Because that's why the old covenant fails is because it's based upon man's ability. Go back to Hebrews chapter eight. He says, for if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second.

Well, where was the fault? Was the fault in the covenant? No, we're told in the book of Romans that the law is holy and it is righteous and it is good. So where is the fault? Well, the fault is in us because at the end of the day, you and I are bent towards sin at the end of the day, you and I. We are bent towards all of the things of the world and we have a bent to disobey God.

Therefore, we can never keep a covenant that says I can reach God if I can keep a law because we'll eventually break that law. Therefore, he says, if there had been no fault in the first, we wouldn't have sought a second. And that's why there is a necessity for a new covenant. And that brings us to the next verse, verse eight for finding fault. With them, he says, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will affect a new covenant with the house of Judah.

What we will spend the rest of our time here doing this morning is we will spend the rest of our time looking at this passage of Scripture and the description of the new covenant. What we are going to read is a direct quotation. You might write this in the margin of your Bible is a direct quotation out of Jeremiah, chapter 31, verses 31 through 34. I would actually encourage you to go back this week sometime and read all of Jeremiah 31 because it's a fascinating passage of Scripture.

If I remember correctly, earlier in that chapter, he even says, behold, I have loved you with an everlasting love. Now, let's paint the picture of where Jeremiah is when he's writing this prophecy. Jeremiah is the prophet to the end of the southern tribes of Israel. They are just about to go into captivity because of their idolatry. They are just about to go into captivity.

They are just about to go into captivity because of their sin. There's a short-lived revival under a king named Josiah. And that's when Jeremiah writes this prophecy. It's under the short-lived revival of Josiah. But he says, understand this revival is short-lived because judgment still has to come upon the nation because you have broken the law. Because you have profaned God's law.

Therefore, you will have to go into captivity because of this. Because that was the punishment that God had laid out. But a little bit of hope that Jeremiah gives a group of people. Who are about to have to suffer the consequences of sin. As he tells them, but there's coming a day. There's coming a day when there's a new covenant that's going to be made with the people.

What an encouraging thing for the nation of Israel. Who is about to go into captivity to be told that this sin is not their end. That this judgment is not the end for them. But that God has something brand new for them. And what an encouraging word for these Hebrew believers. Who are facing the persecution of the world for them to know this is not their end.

But that God has something so much better for them. And what's better is this new covenant that God has laid out. And so, as he describes this new covenant, he's going to describe it five ways. The first thing he tells them about this covenant is that it is new. Ryan, you've already said that. Oh, but it's an important thing to pay attention to. Verse, the end of verse eight.

Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will effect a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Not like the covenant which I made for you. Not like the covenant which I made for you. But the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt for they did not continue in my covenant and I did not care for them, says the Lord.

He says, I will make with them a new covenant. Now, the word new that's used here doesn't mean new in time. Let me give you an example. As a runner, I pay attention to running shoes because the older that I get, the more my feet hurt, the more I have to pay attention to my running shoes. Right. And here's what you find about runners. Once they find a type of running shoe.

shoe that they buy, that they like, they buy the new version of that every time it comes out. Like I'm a Brooks Adrenaline guy. So every new Brooks Adrenaline that comes out, I buy it because they make my feet feel good when I run, right? It doesn't hurt my feet. It doesn't hurt my shins. It doesn't hurt my knees. It lines everything back up. That's not what he means by new. Some of y'all

aren't runners. Some of y'all are car guys. Some of y'all that mine the new iteration of the Chevy Silverado every single time it comes out, right? It's not a new truck. It's a new version of the old truck, right? It's the same idea here. He says, this is new, but not new like it's a new iteration of the old thing. The idea of new means it's new in quality, in character, and in nature. In other

words, this new thing will never have to be replaced because this is a new covenant. He describes it like this. He says, it is a new covenant that I will make with their fathers, with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. Now, wait a minute. I hope that just bothered you. This is a new covenant for Israel and Judah. So what does that mean for the church? So why are we preaching this in church right now if this is a

new covenant that's made with Israel and with Judah? Hmm. I'm really glad you asked. Here's the thing. You and I, according to the book of Romans, have been grafted in as the church. We have been grafted in spiritually to the nation of Israel, and now the covenants and blessings of this new covenant are now available to us as well because we have been grafted in. That's what Paul describes in Ephesians when he calls it the mystery of the

church, that God will now make one new man out of the two, that God will now join together Jew and Gentile together in one body known as the church. Does that mean that the church has replaced Israel? That's dumb. No, the church has not replaced Israel. That means that the church has been grafted in for a time. And even as it says in Romans, the church has been grafted in for a time.

Romans 9, 10, and 11, if the church has been grafted, if Israel falling away and the church being grafted in has brought blessing, how much more so when Israel is grafted back in and God begins to pour out his blessings upon them. Because ultimately this new covenant will find its greatest fulfillment when Jesus is ruling and reigning over a repentant nation of Israel in what we call the new heavens and the new earth. That's when this will ultimately find its fulfillment. Until now, you and I have been grafted in and we enjoy the blessing, joy, and joy and glory by God. You are his God. And we know that today is the day when

all through the world that is what's going to happen that you have never yet witnessed. It's going to be just this day, this moment of God. Just like in Romans 10, verse 15, now that we have the disease to keep us alive in the flesh we are going to get to everyday ministry that's going to continue to keep each and every one of us for many more years. Just to let you know that we are going to have an opportunity to respond to all the scared hörings in the world. We're going to have faith. We are going to be able to talk to

a new spirit i will pour out my spirit upon you it's contingent upon the work of christ not the work of man he says it's not like the old covenant that i made with their fathers when i took them by the hand and i led them out of egypt which is what we just talked about with uh that section in exodus 19 for they did not continue in my covenant therefore i did not care for them they couldn't keep the old covenant and so god had to keep his part of the old covenant which was the cursings that went along with it and so the first thing he tells us about this covenant is that it is new in nature it's not like the old covenant that's contingent upon me it's a new covenant that is contingent upon the faithfulness of god

who by the way has never shown himself to lack faithfulness amen and so he goes on from there to tell us the second thing about the new covenant the second thing that he tells us is that it is in their minds and on their hearts notice what it says in verse 10 for this is the covenant that i will make with the house of israel after those days says the lord i will put my laws into their minds and i will write them on their hearts what does he mean by that well the idea is that there will be internal transformation this new covenant brings an internal transformation you see most of the old covenant was external in nature it was all about the way that you acted

it was the sacrifices that you kept it was the laws that you did it was all of the things it was very external in nature it was all about the way that you acted it was the sacrifices that you kept external in nature and unfortunately too many of us turn following god into an external thing how do you know you're a christian well i go to church every sunday that doesn't mean your heart's changed that just means you show up in a building with a bunch of other people every week how do you know that you're a christian well i read my bible satan knows the bible too it doesn't make him a believer how do you know that you're a christian well because there's been an internal change that's

taken place he's written his law on my mind and he's written his law on my heart because that's the idea the law can never change the heart only god can do that look at it like this those of you raising kids right now especially little kids what do you have to give them a lot of gotta give them a lot of rules right don't put the poop in your mouth make sure that you pick up after yourself make sure that you do this do that do the other thing then you have to do all of those things until when until it's written on their heart and then no one has to tell them anymore don't put the poop in your mouth right because they know now because the law is written on their hearts and

they know that's disgusting they know they should pick up after themselves what's the it's i can't wait for my teenage listen my girls aren't in here right now i can't wait for my teenage girls to have their own place right you know why because you know what i'm gonna do as soon as i get to their place i'm gonna hide my sock somewhere and i'm gonna cry for an hour about the fact that i cannot find my sock right and i'm gonna do it at 2 a.m i'm gonna go in there and i'm gonna turn every single light in the house on and i am gonna put cups all over that place i don't care how many cups i've used cups will fill the entire land and i will pull every piece of clothing out of their

drawers and throw it all over the floor and say it looks like you need to do some laundry now i can't wait to do that why because they still need rules right now because it's not written on their heart there's an amazing thing that happens when you finally mature and you move into your own place what happens well the law is written on your heart why because you know you got to clean up after yourself ain't nobody else doing it for you right that's the idea that he talks about here there's no internal change from an external law all you can do is create the parameters and wait for god to bring about the internal change inside of them you see parents what we're doing with our kids right now is we are training them to be accountable to god

that's why what you do with your kids is so incredibly key are you always gonna do it perfect absolutely not but you have to do it because eventually they're gonna go i'm not accountable to you anymore i'm accountable to god and that's what you're doing with the things that you lay out for your kids that's why if you are incredibly uh shall we say licentious with your kids and you never nail them for the things that they do wrong you never discipline them you never hold them accountable they're never disciplining them you never hold them accountable you are raising an adult like me that's why you are all praised so I know if you're not doing that and i'm so galaxious about youth, that's why youtube and all that but you got to put in that, build on.

who will never be accountable. They'll never be accountable to God. They'll never be accountable to anybody else. You don't like seeing a bunch of kids that don't like to work? Look in the mirror. I bet you didn't hold them accountable. We can't change that. But you've got to change the heart of a person. And God's the only one that can do that. And that's what the new covenant does.

How does God change our heart? God changes our heart by making it brand new. Do you remember when Nicodemus came to Jesus in John chapter three, when Nicodemus came to Jesus, he was asking him questions about who Jesus was. And Jesus completely dodged that question. And he said, if you want to see the kingdom of God, you must be born again. And Nicodemus goes, I have no idea what that means.

And Jesus goes, that's tragic. You're a teacher of the law and you have no idea what it means to be born again. You see, if you're not born of water, that's a physical birth. And the spirit, that's a spiritual birth. You will never see the kingdom of heaven. That's called being born again. That is the spiritual transition that takes place in your heart and in your life

when you surrender your life to Jesus. And once you surrender your life to Jesus, the law begins to be written on your heart and in your mind. And now no one has to tell you to seek God with all of your heart because it's your desire. No one has to tell you to walk away from sin because it's your desire. Do you still need encouragement? Do you still need instruction?

Absolutely. But at the end of the day, it's now your heart's desire, not what someone has to tell you to do. I always use the example of, of growing up in a Christian home. Growing up in a Christian home, I had lots of rules. And when I was a kid, I hated all of those rules until I started walking with Jesus. And then all of a sudden it was like, yep, those were pretty good rules.

Actually, now that I think about it, that's a really good idea. That's exactly what should happen because I know that if those rules weren't there, I would have been a moron, right? Because all of a sudden, now the law is written on my heart. And now I'm pursuing God with all of my heart. I always like to say, April of 1998, first Sunday I showed up after I gave my heart to Jesus,

no one had to tell me to open my Bible. No one had to tell me to start taking notes in the back of the bulletin because all I knew was, I think I should write that down because that sounded good, right? Because God was changing my heart. And I have a question for you here this morning. Has God changed your heart? Or is this just an outward exercise for you?

Is you showing up to church just an outward exercise? Have you ever really given your heart to Jesus to where he has been the inward change that has absolutely, absolutely changed the way that you think and the way that you talk and the way that you act? I can tell you right now, if you examine your life and you look at the fruit that comes from your life, you can answer that question for me. Because if the fruit that constantly comes out of your life is all of the garbage of the world, we have really good reason to say, but has Jesus ever really changed your heart?

You know why? Because scripture tells us that that heart change is what he does. I'm gonna read a handful of scriptures to you. You might just write these down. I'm not gonna turn there myself. I've printed them out. The first one, is Ezekiel chapter 36, verses 26 through 27. Ezekiel chapter 36, verses 26 through 27. We referenced this last week, but it says this.

And I will give you a new heart and I will put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and I will give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will keep my judgments and do them. This is a reiteration of the new covenant that was given to us in Jeremiah chapter 31. He says,

when this new covenant comes about, I will write my laws on your heart. I will take away the heart of stone that is hard to the things of God, that is hard to the things of the spirit. And I will give you a heart of flesh that is tender and that is receptive to the things of God. And I will also put my spirit within you and give you brand new life in Christ.

He goes on, another scripture that we go on to see is Romans chapter eight. Verses one through four. It says this, therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, weak as it was to the flesh, God did by sending his own son,

the likeness of sinful flesh as an offering for sin. He condemned sin in the flesh so that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. You see, God did what we could not do and he did it by coming in and changing our hearts. He did it by coming in and fulfilling what we could not, therefore making us brand new.

One last verse I'll give to you. Second Peter chapter one, verse three. Second Peter chapter one, verse three. It says this, as his divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own. Glory and virtue. Godliness comes through the knowledge, the heart, real knowledge of God. And so I'm going to ask you a question again.

Have you been born again? Have you been renewed in your spirit by the power of God through the gospel of Jesus Christ because of the blood of the cross? Or are you just going through a religious ritual? If you're just going through a religious ritual and it's time for you to make that change, then today's the day to do that. Don't put it off till tomorrow. Don't put it off till tonight.

Do it today. And in a few minutes, I say a few, it's going to be like 20. In like 20 minutes, we're going to talk about the communion meal and talk about the fact that this is a meal for believers whose hearts have been made new in Christ. And I'm going to give you the opportunity to do that. But he tells us, he says, this covenant is new because, because it transforms from the inside out.

So number one, it's a new covenant. Number two, it's a covenant that's in our minds. It's on our hearts. Number three, he says, I will be their God. Notice what it says. Verse 10. Let me read the whole thing in context again. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days, says the Lord, I will put my laws into their minds

and I will write them on their hearts and I will be their God and they shall be my people and they shall not teach everyone, his fellow citizen, everyone, his brother saying, know the Lord for all will know me. For all will know me. From the least to the greatest of them. He says, I will be their God. That tells us it's a personal relationship. This new covenant brings up a personal relationship.

It's fascinating to look through the Old Testament and find out how God was always foreshadowing the idea of a personal relationship with himself. It of course started in the Garden of Eden. It started with Adam and Eve because they would show up every day. God would show up every day in the afternoon in the breeze of the day. As it says in the Hebrew there

and he would walk with them. And so I told first services to always have two questions about God showing up to walk with him. Number one, I want to know how long they were in the garden before they blew it, right? Like, are we talking they were there a day and day two, they were like, ooh, fruit, that looks tasty, right? Or are we talking like a hundred years?

I don't know. How long were they there before they blew it for all of us? Number two, I want to know what they talked about in the garden. I want to know what those days were. Like, are they just walking and God's like, one day, Adam, you're going to really enjoy playing golf, right? And none of us will understand it, but you will. Eve, one day you will want to redo houses

and I have no idea why, but that's what's going to happen to you one day. I got to want to know what those conversations were like, but it was God foreshadowing that this is his desire for us, his personal relationship. Well, then as you move into the old covenant, you see the foreshadowing of that personal relationship in the old covenant. First of all, God gave them a tabernacle, which was a meeting place with God.

That's what the tabernacle was supposed to be. It was to be a foreshadowing of their ability to meet with God on a personal level. And so it was the foreshadow of God's desire for a personal relationship. Even though there was something more impersonal about the old covenant, God always intended for that personal one-on-one relationship. But then God did something fascinating

in the old covenant when he gave them the plans for the tabernacle and the plans for the way that the camp was to be laid out. He put the tabernacle, the tabernacle in a specific spot. When they were journeying through the wilderness as they would journey, the camp was laid out in a specific way. It was laid out almost in a big T where you had three tribes, three tribes, three tribes, three tribes.

And they were all camped around one thing. Do you know what they were all camped around? They were all camped around the tabernacle. Do you know why they were all camped around the tabernacle? Because it was God's foreshadowing of the fact that he always wanted his presence to not only be at the heart of the nation, but that he wanted his presence to be at the heart of the person.

Well, now that we're in this new covenant relationship, do you know what we're told is now the tabernacle of the Holy Spirit? It says temple of the Holy Spirit, but we live in tents, so I'm gonna call it a tabernacle. Do you know what now is a tabernacle of the Holy Spirit? You are. And now God is at the heart of who you are because that was always his indication.

That was always his plan for you is a personal one-on-one relationship with you, which is why your own personal time with the Lord is the clutch of your day. It's the key to your life because in that personal relationship with the Lord, his Holy Spirit speaks to you. He uses his word to do it, but his Holy Spirit ministers to you and he speaks to you. I tell people I don't mean to get so excited about telling everybody to get into the word for themselves to hear God's Holy Spirit speak, but I don't know what else to do to get you to understand that you just have to experience it for yourself.

When you really have that time where you hear from the Lord, and those words leap off the page at you like God was speaking them directly to you by the power of his Holy Spirit, that is an irreplaceable moment in your life. I sat down this morning and I was getting ready to start work on Sunday mornings. I sit down, I grab all my stuff, I put it in my lap. I just bought myself a lap desk.

I'm pretty happy about that so far, but I put it all in my lap and I always do the same thing. I sit down, I'm like, okay, I got to spend a little bit of time in prayer. And I don't know why, but my Sunday morning prayer times are the sweetest prayer times that I have. I think it's because, I'm the absolute most dependent on the Lord on Sunday mornings because it's really early in the morning.

So my brain's functioning on two of the eight cylinders that sometimes it's on. And so I'm like, Lord, if you're going to put something together here, it's going to have to be you because me and my two cylinders can't make it happen. And so there's a lot of dependence on the Lord in that moment. But as I was sitting there praying this morning, it really is just genuinely some of the sweetest communion that I have with the Lord.

And as I was sitting there praying this morning, I literally told God, why don't I do this more? Why don't I have this kind of sweet communion? Why don't I have this sweet communion with you more? And you know what I really sensed the Lord saying? Because you won't. Because God made me for that personal relationship. That's what this new covenant is all about

is now we can get past the outer courts. We can get past the holy place. We can get past the veil that keeps us from the altar or that keeps us from the ark of the covenant. We can go directly into the throne room of God and have that sweet communion with him. But too many of us are content to dwell outside of the temple. Too many of us are content to dwell outside of the fence

where we don't really have that personal relationship. And God is going, that's what my new covenant is all about, is my personal relationship with you, restoring what sin destroyed from the garden experience. Which is why those times that you have with the Lord in his word and in prayer are the sweetest things that you can do. And I'm here to tell you right now, I would love to describe it to you, but I can't.

All I can say is you got it. All I can say is you got to experience it for yourself. And so get into his word, spend some time with him and really let God's word speak to you. Because that's what he wants to do. Because the new covenant is all about a personal relationship with the father. But not only is it a personal relationship with the father, it's a relationship of response.

It's a relationship of response to everything of who God is and everything that he has done for us. It's responding to what he's done in our life. But it's also a relationship of true personal knowledge. I want you to notice what it says, verse 11. And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen and everyone his brother saying, know the Lord for all will know me from the least to the greatest.

Again, this will find its ultimate fulfillment in the physical kingdom that we're going to get into. But we see some form of it now in the true knowledge that we can have of God. As he reveals himself to us through the power of his Holy Spirit and the wonder of his word. That true personal relationship that we can have. And so, the new covenant. Number one, it's new because it's new in character and nature.

Number two, it's written on our minds and on our hearts. Number three, he says, I will be their God. Number four, he says, and I will remember their sin no more. Verse 12, for I will be merciful to their iniquities and I will remember their sin no more. Merciful. Of course, the word mercy means not getting what you deserve. Not getting what you deserve. I've always said, I think there's one main reason

why people do not come to know the Lord as their savior. Why they will not surrender themselves to the gospel. And one of the main reasons why people will not surrender themselves to the gospel is because they don't know they need to. They don't know they need a gospel. They don't know the bad news. So the good news means nothing to them. And the problem is,

the bad news is really, really bad. They can go, yeah, I mean, I'm a pretty good person, right? I mean, I gave some money to a homeless guy one time, right? Like, I'm a pretty good person. I don't kick dogs. It's like, well, okay, but you giving money to the homeless guy doesn't cover over all the other murderous thoughts that you've had. You giving some money to a homeless guy

doesn't cover over all the pornographic thoughts that go through your mind that sometimes you actually play out in real life sometimes. That doesn't cover over all the other murderous thoughts that you've had. That doesn't cover over all of that. All of that kindness that you show to somebody else, that can't cover all of the profanity that comes out of your mouth all the time.

That can't cover all the lies that you've told. That can't cover all the self-righteousness, which is, by the way, what you're living in right now. No, that's why we need God's mercy. I need mercy because I'm guilty. I stand before the judge and I go, you're right. I did all of those things. And then God shows us mercy, but it doesn't show us. It doesn't show us mercy because he's some happy grandfather

willing to give us a pat on the back in a Werther's original, right? He shows us mercy because of the blood of Jesus Christ. He says, I can show you mercy because the blood of Jesus has covered your sin, because all of your sin was placed upon Jesus at the cross. He says, I will be merciful to their iniquities. And then my favorite part, and he says, and I will remember their sins no more.

I will remember their sins no more. I don't know that we always fully grasp what that means. Sometimes I think that that means that we think God is like, he's like Dorian finding Nemo, right? Like he just constantly forgets things all the time. He's like, what was I talking about? You know, yeah, that's right. You had sin. I totally forgot about it. No, God has a great memory.

God can remember everything. So what does it mean when it says I will remember their sins no more? Well, the idea behind remembering their sins no more is, is that he no more holds it against us. He holds our sin against us no more. And I think that that's a wonderful thing for us to pay attention to about who God is, is that he no longer holds our sins against us because he has shown us mercy

and he remembers them no more. Now, I don't know who in here needs to understand this, but I think that there's three things. Well, I know that there's three things I want to point out to you about this idea of remembering our sins. No more. First of all, I think for us personally, we need to really grasp onto this because I think too many people hold on to their past sins.

You hold on to the guilt over your past sins. You hold on to the shame over your past sins. And you live in a place where you just keep bringing it up to God. I'm so sorry for what I did 25 years ago. And God's like, would you stop already? I forgave it. I'm not holding it against you anymore. I've forgotten it. I have chosen to let it go. Now I need you to choose to let it go.

I always say, you know who the last person to forgive you is? You. You're the last person to forgive yourself. And so you're holding onto it because somehow you think it makes you a little bit more righteous if you don't let go of that sin. After all, you need to continue to punish yourself for it. The problem is Jesus stopped because he took all of the punishment himself for that sin.

And it's time for you to let it go. It's time for you to stop holding that sin against you because God has no longer held it against you. Otherwise, you're putting yourself in the place of God and saying that the promise of his word is enough for everybody else, but it's not enough for you. So let it go. Number two, I think that corporately we as a church need to become

a group of people who don't hold their sins against them. Listen, the easiest thing in the world to do is to see somebody walk into church sometime and you know their past and you know their reputation and all of a sudden the whispers start, I can't believe this. And that person feels it. That person knows it because you're holding their past against them. Listen, if you have a jacked up past,

I want you sitting in church right now. If you have a jacked up past of all of your sins and all the garbage that you've done, I want you sitting in this church because I want you to hear the message of the gospel so that you can turn from your sin so that you can be saved. And listen, if you're going to be a person who holds everybody else's sin against you, let's start with you. Let's start holding your sin against you.

Because we've got dirt on all of us, right? And at some point in time we have to go, all right, yeah, you can sit next to me. Because you're no worse than I am. And the worst thing in the world is to be a judgmental church like that. And that's what the world does not need right now. Listen, I intended to say something about this first service and I failed.

So I'm going to say this service, this is Pride Month, right? We all know that. I think that there was a thing going on in Winfield the other day, maybe yesterday, that had to do with it. There's stuff going on all over the place, right, with Pride. And the easiest thing for us to do right now as Christians is to go, bunch of filthy sinners, and get all high and mighty,

and start calling people out for the things that they've done wrong. I think what we should do instead, instead of posting straight Pride Month, which I know some of y'all like to do, or posting the American flag and saying the real Pride Month, how about we do this? How about we start praying for everyone lost in their sin? How about we start praying for a generation of people who have been told a lie and are believing a lie and are following after that lie and they need set free from sin.

They need set free from a lie that is destroying their life. Do you realize that suicide amongst the LGBTQ community is at an all-time high? It's the largest community that we have that commits suicide. You know why? Because they are so guilty in their sin and they feel so guilty, but then we pile it on by making them feel unloved. We pile it on by not showing them

the grace of God to the people that are around us. Brothers and sisters, I don't care what their sin is, they are created in the image of God too. And they need the gospel just like the straight sinner needs the gospel. And it's time for us as the church to start saying, you can sit next to me, I'm not going to affirm your sin, but I love you. I love you. I want to see you set free.

Because we can't hold other people's sins against them. As soon as we start holding people's sins against them, God has to hold our sin against us. And I don't want that. And I don't think you want that. And so we need to know it personally. You shouldn't live in guilt and shame. We need to know it corporately as a church. We need to be a church who shows love and grace.

We still hold on to truth, but we show love and grace. But we also need to do this relationally. You know why your relationship is broken? Because you won't forget. I can forgive, but I can't forget. You're right. You do not have the ability to block that out of your brain for all of life and pretend like that never happened. You do have the ability through the grace of God

to stop holding it against them. You do have that ability. You know why? Because the more that God shows you the grace that he has shown in your life, the more you can show that grace to other people. And listen, I don't say this flippantly. I say this with a heart because I know there's hurt people in here. And I know you all have been hurt by things in life.

You've been hurt by people. And unfortunately, we compound that hurt sometimes by turning it into bitterness. And we start hating the people that hurt us. And the only one that that does any damage to is us. And the best thing that we can do is we can forgive and we can forget. We can forgive and we can stop holding it against them. And I always get asked this question,

but Ryan, what if they haven't asked for forgiveness? Forgive them anyway. Because you still have to have that heart that is willing the moment that they show up to say, forgive me when God brings that restoration to that relationship. You have to have your heart prepared to forgive them in that moment. As I've pointed out lots and lots of times, the restoration of the gospel does not end

with our relationship with God. The restoration of the gospel begins with our restoration to God. And then it carries into our relationships with each other. Because that's the restoration. That's the restoration that the gospel of Jesus Christ can bring. Why? Because that's the new covenant. The new covenant says, I will be merciful to their iniquities and I will remember their sins no more.

Well, he goes on to say one last thing. He goes on to say the old is obsolete. Notice what it says in verse 13. And when he said a new covenant, he has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete, obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear. That word obsolete means old and worn out. He says that which is obsolete, he says when he says a new covenant means

the first has been made obsolete, it means it's old and it's worn out. If that's what it is, then why are we going back to it? Why do you want to go back to a system that's old and obsolete and worn out? And I think there's two groups of people that really hear this in here this morning. First of all, there's a group of people that get lean legalistic. You lean toward law in your life.

You love your list of things that you do so that you can say I'm doing pretty good because I've checked off all the boxes. And you're leaning really legalistic. And listen, I've seen some people leave and go into legalistic movements because they want to keep the list. They want to be able to check all the boxes. And I find myself going, why do you want to go back to a system

that is old and worn out? Why do you want to go to a place where what bridges the gap is your works instead of Jesus? Why do you want to go back to a system where it's all dependent on how well you do and not the faithfulness of Jesus Christ? And I'm here to tell you right now, if you find yourself leaning that way, it's time to go, why am I going to go back to what's old and worn out?

But there's a second group of people that needs to hear this in here this morning. And that's the group of people that have a tendency to fall back into their sin. You have a tendency to keep going back to all of those things. You have a tendency to go back to the bondage of sin, to the things of sin. And I'm here to tell you, why are you going to return to something

that's old and worn out? Why are you going to return to something that God delivered you from? Why are you going to return to something that God set you free from? We're told in the book of Proverbs, as a dog returns to its vomit, so a man returns to his sin. Why? It's old and it's worn out. What looks good about that to you? Wouldn't you rather live in the newness

of life that you have in Jesus Christ? Brothers and sisters, God has a new covenant with new promises, better promises, and a better ministry for us. Amen? Well, this morning is Communion Sunday. And so I'm hoping that we got, I see movement, a little bit of movement. In just a moment, we're going to bring the kids in, but I don't see, oh, they're scrambling now.

But before they bring the kids in, I want to just wrap this up with the group that's sitting in here right now. If you're here this morning, and you've never made that commitment to a new life in Christ, then today's the day for you to do that. Today is the day for you to make that new life in Christ. And listen, there's no magic words, there's no magic prayer.

What it takes is a right heart condition and a giving of yourself to the Lord. And so when we get ready to say this last prayer while they sing this last song, you could take the opportunity to say, Lord, I'm a sinner, and I need you to be my Savior. And in that moment, He will make your heart brand new. He will take away that heart of stone, and He will give you a heart of flesh to make you brand new in Christ.

But I also have a question for some of you in here this morning. And again, we'll finish this up a little bit when we get ready for communion. But are you holding stuff against other people? Is there a broken relationship where you're harboring the unforgiveness? It's time for you to deal with that between you and the Lord today. It's time for you to forgive them in your heart

between you and the Lord, and then later deal with it with them. Because today is that day of salvation, amen? And so we're gonna bring these kids in. If you'd keep an eye on this back door here, I'm sorry. For your kids as they roll in. And I'd like to invite the worship team to come on up. Everybody, perfect. All right. So, communion Sunday. So inside of each of these trays,

you have the communion elements a couple of cups stacked together. I always do this part in case somebody who's new and doesn't know, the top cup has the juice and the bottom cup has the cracker, and as always in and of themselves. Not a lot of significance there, but what they really do is basing it on the offensive. represent is incredibly powerful because what they what those elements represent is the new covenant on that last night of the feast jesus took that bread and he broke it now i always like to take a minute to explain this i try not to get too redundant but i think this is important to get redundant about that bread was so fascinating because because it was unleavened bread and the

bread that jesus would have held is not a sweet fluffy loaf of bread like what we think about it it would have been like a giant cracker and so there are three things that are really significant about this bread number one it was unleavened and leaven in scripture always speaks of sin the second thing is that the baking process required them to pierce it and so this bread was pierced and and then part of the baking process would have caused it to be striped when all was said and done and so so if you will he took this bread that was sinless and it was striped and it was pierced and he held it up and he broke it he said this is my body broken for you and in

that way he broke it and he broke it and he broke it and he broke it and he broke it and he broke it moment we are reminded that his sinless body was broken and pierced and striped for us not only through the sacrifice of the cross but because all of the sin of humanity was laid upon him at the cross he says take and eat and then he took the cup and he said this is the cup of the new covenant in my blood that is shed for you the cup of the new covenant because we're reminded that the new covenant is one that was sealed not with the blood of bulls and goats but with the precious blood of jesus christ and so we're told every time that we partake in this we're to partake in a

worthy manner and that means three things number one what we just did explaining what we do explaining the significance of what's taking place here this morning the second is to make sure that you're part of the family because this is a family meal and so the only way that you can be part of the family is if your heart's been made brand new in christ if if you've been born again and so again i want to encourage you if you've never been born again that while we sing this last song you deal with that business between you and the lord but the third thing that we're told is to make sure that we don't have anything against somebody else and so make sure that you've dealt with that make sure

there's nothing you're holding against someone else confess that to the lord and then maybe later if necessary confess that to them make that relationship right because we are the body of christ and this represents not only our oneness with god but our oneness with each other and so these guys are going to sing this last song the ushers are going to hand out the elements when you receive your elements if you'd please stand and then we'll partake together jesus is calling jesus is calling jesus there's no reason to wait jesus is calling jesus is if you'd bow with me father we come before you the lord i thank you for the body of jesus christ that was broken for us lord wounded for our transgressions bruised for our iniquities

father by your stripes we are healed and so lord i just thank you for the body of jesus christ that was broken for us lord i thank you for the blood of jesus christ it was enough to cover all of our sins It was enough to do away with all of our sins. With the blood of Jesus Christ, it makes us brand new in you. It causes you to remember our sins no more. And so, Father, as we partake of this this morning, may we remember that we are declaring your death.

May we remember that we are family. And may we remember that we have been reunited with you by the power of your Holy Spirit through the blood of Jesus. Father, we thank you and praise you. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Let's partake.

And if you'd bow with me one last time. Father, we thank you for your word that is so good to our souls. And so, Father, as we depart from here, I just ask that your word would sink deeply into our heart and that we would live as new covenant believers. We would live in that personal relationship with you, knowing that you have given us brand new hearts, brand new spirits.

Father, we thank you for who you are. We thank you for the work of the cross. In Jesus' name, amen. Be blessed.